This etext was scanned by JC Byers and proofread by Nancy
Bloomquist, Lynn Bornath, JC Byers, Wanda Champlin, Jeff Ferrell,
Janelle Miau, Jordan Roberts, Robert Sinton, Mats Wernersson,
Alexa Zimmerman, and Michelle.

HTML file produced by David Widger





                          SUPPLEMENTAL
                             NIGHTS
                  To The Book Of The Thousand
                   And One Nights With Notes
                      Anthropological And
                          Explanatory

                               By
                       Richard F. Burton

                          VOLUME FIVE
              Privately Printed By The Burton Club


        To The Curators of the Bodleian Library, Oxford
      Especially Revd. B. Price and Professor Max Muller.



Gentlemen,

I take the liberty of placing your names at the Head of this
Volume which owes its rarest and raciest passages to your kindly
refusing the temporary transfer of the Wortley Montague MS. from
your pleasant library to the care of Dr. Rost, Chief Librarian,
India Office.  As a sop to "bigotry and virtue," as a concession
to the "Scribes and Pharisees," I had undertaken, in case the
loan were granted, not to translate tales and passages which
might expose you, the Curators, to unfriendly comment.  But,
possibly anticipating what injury would thereby accrue to the
Volume and what sorrow to my subscribers, you were good enough
not to sanction the transfer--indeed you refused it to me twice--
and for this step my clientele will be (or ought to be) truly
thankful to you.

                    I am, Gentlemen,
                         Yours obediently,
                              Richard F. Burton.

Bodleian Library, August 5th, 1888






               Contents of the Fifteenth Volume.



1.   The History of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah
2.   History of the Lovers of Syria
3.   History of Al-Hajjaj Bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid
4.   Night Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab
     a.   The Loves of the Lovers of Bassorah
     b.   Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the
          Greedy Sultan
     c.   Tale of the Simpleton Husband
     d.   Note Concerning the "Tirrea Bede," Night 655
5.   The Loves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf
6.   The Three Princes of China
7.   The Righteous Wazir Wrongfully Gaoled
8.   The Cairene Youth, the Barber and the Captain
9.   The Goodwife of Cairo and Her Four Gallants
     a.   The Tailor and the Lady and the Captain
     b.   The Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo
     c.   The Lady With Two Coyntes
     d.   The Whorish Wife Who Vaunted Her Virtue
10.  Coelebs the Droll and His Wife and Her Four Lovers
11.  The Gatekeeper of Cairo and the Cunning She-Thief
12.  Tale of Mohsin and Musa
13.  Mohammed the Shalabi and His Mistress and His Wife
14.  The Fellah and His Wicked Wife
15.  The Woman Who Humoured Her Lover At Her Husband's Expense
16.  The Kazi Schooled By His Wife
17.  The Merchant's Daughter and the Prince of Al-Irak
18.  Story of the Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives
19.  Story of the Two Lack-Tacts of Cairo and Damascus
20.  Tale of Himself Told By the King
     Appendix A: - Catalogue of Wortley Montague Manuscript
Contents
     Appendix B: - Notes on the Stories Contained in Volumes XIV.
and XV by W. F. Kirby






                   THE TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.



This volume contains the last of my versions from the Wortley
Montague Codex, and this is the place to offer a short account of
that much bewritten MS.

In the "Annals of the Bodleian Library," etc., by the Reverend
William Dunn Macray, M.A. (London, Oxford and Cambridge, 1868:
8vo. p. 206), we find the following official notice:--

                          "A.D. 1803."

"An Arabic MS. in seven volumes, written in 1764-5, and
containing what is rarely met with, a complete collection of the
Thousand and one Tales (N.B. an error for "Nights") of the
Arabian Nights Entertainments, was bought from Captain Jonathan
Scott for £50. Mr. Scott published, in 1811, an edition of the
Tales in six volumes (N.B. He reprinted the wretched English
version of Prof. Galland's admirable French, and his "revisions"
and "occasional corrections" are purely imaginative), in which
this MS. is described (N.B. after the mos majorum). He obtained
it from Dr. (Joseph) White, the Professor of Hebrew and Arabic at
Oxford, who had bought it at the sale of the library of Edward
Wortley Montague, by whom it had been brought from the East.
(N.B. Dr. White at one time intended to translate it literally,
and thereby eclipse the Anglo French version.) It is noticed in
Ouseley's Oriental Collections (Cadell and Davies), vol. ii. p.
25."

The Jonathan Scott above alluded to appears under various titles
as Mr. Scott, Captain Scott and Doctor Scott. He was an officer
in the Bengal Army about the end of the last century, and was
made Persian Secretary by "Warren Hastings, Esq.," to whom he
dedicated his "Tales, Anecdotes and Letters, translated from the
Arabic and Persian" (Cadell and Davies, London, 1800), and he
englished the "Bahár-i-Dánish" (A.D. 1799) and "Firishtah's
History of the Dakkhan (Deccan) and of the reigns of the later
Emperors of Hindostan." He became Dr. Scott because made an LL.D.
at Oxford as meet for a "Professor (of Oriental languages) at the
Royal Military and East India Colleges"; and finally he settled
at Netley, in Shropshire, where he died.

It is not the fault of English Orientalists if the MS. in
question is not thoroughly well known to the world of letters. In
1797 Sir Gore Ouseley's "Oriental Collections" (vol. ii. pp.
25-33) describes it, evidently with the aid of Scott, who is the
authority for stating that the tales generally appear like pearls
strung at random on the same thread; adding, "if they are truly
Oriental it is a matter of little importance to us Europeans
whether they are strung on this night or that night."[FN#1] This
first and somewhat imperfect catalogue of the contents was
followed in 1811 by a second, which concludes the six volume
edition of "The

                         ARABIAN NIGHTS
                        ENTERTAINMENTS,
          Carefully revised and occasionally corrected
                        from the Arabic.
                       to which is added
                    A SELECTION OF NEW TALES,
                      Now first translated
                   from the Arabic Originals.
                             also,
                   AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES,
                      Illustrative of the
      RELIGION, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE: MAHOMMEDANS."

The sixth volume, whose second title is "Tales | selected from
the Manuscript copy | of the | 1001 Nights | brought to Europe by
Edward Wortley Montague, Esq.," ends with a general Appendix, of
which ten pages are devoted to a description of the Codex and a
Catalogue of its contents. Scott's sixth volume, like the rest of
his version, is now becoming rare, and it is regretable that when
Messieurs Nimmo and Bain reprinted, in 1882, the bulk of the work
(4 vols. 8vo) they stopped short at volume five.

Lastly we find a third list dating from 1835 in the "Catalogi |
Codicum Manuscriptorum Orientalium | Bibliothecæ Bodleianæ | Pars
Secunda | Arabicos | complectens. | Confecit | Alexander Nicoll,
J.C.D. | Nuper Linguæ Heb. Professor Regius, necnon Ædis Christi
Canonicus. | Editionem absolvit | et Catalogum urianum[FN#2]
aliquatenus emendavit | G. B. Pusey S.T.B. | Viri desideratissimi
Successor. | Oxonii, | E Typographio Academico | MDCCCXXXV." This
is introduced under the head, "Codicis Arabici Mahommedani
Narrationes Fictæ sive Historiæ Romanenses | in Quarto (pp .
145-150).

I am not aware that any attempt has been made to trace the
history of the Wortley Montague MS.; but its internal evidence
supplies a modicum of information.

By way of colophon to the seventh and last volume we have, "On
this wise end to us the Stories of the Kings and histories of
various folk as foregoing in the Thousand Nights and a Night,
perfected and completed, on the eighteenth day of Safar the
auspicious, which is of the months of (the year A.H.) one
thousand one hundred and seventy-eight" (= A.D. 1764-65).

"Copied by the humblest and neediest of the poor, Omar-al-Safatí,
to whose sins may Allah be Ruthful!

          "An thou find in us fault deign default supply,
           And hallow the Faultless and Glorify."

The term "Suftah" is now and has been applied for the last
century to the sons of Turkish fathers by Arab mothers, and many
of these Mulattos live by the pen. On the fly-leaf of vol. i. is
written in a fine and flowing Persian (?) hand, strongly
contrasting with the text of the tome, which is unusually
careless and bad, "This book | The Thousand Nights and a Night of
the Acts and deeds (Sírat) of the Kings | and what befel them
from sundry | women that were whorish | and witty | and various |
Tales | therein." Below it also is a Persian couplet written in
vulgar Iranian characters of the half-Shikastah type:

Chih goyam, o chih poyam?          * Na mí-dánam hích o púch.
(What shall I say or whither fly?  * This stuff and this nonsense
                                   know not I.)

Moreover, at the beginning of vol. i. is a list of fifteen tales
written in Europeo-Arabic characters, after schoolboy fashion,
and probably by Scott. In vol. ii. there is no initial list, but
by way of Foreword we read, "This is volume the second of the
Thousand Nights and a Night from the xciiid. Night, full and
complete." And the Colophon declares, "And this is what hath been
finished for us of the fourth (probably a clerical error for
"second") tome of the Thousand Nights and a Night to the
clxxviith. Night, written on the twentieth day of the month
Sha'bán A.H., one thousand one hundred and seventy-seven" (=A.D.
1764). This date shows that the MS. was finished during the year
after incept.

The text from which our MS. was copied must have been valuable,
and we have reason to regret that so many passages both of poetry
and prose are almost hopelessly corrupt. Its tone and tenor are
distinctly Nilotic; and, as Mr. E. Wortley Montague lived for
some time in Egypt, he may have bought it at the Capital of the
Nile-land. The story of the Syrian (v. 468) and that of the Two
Lack-tacts (vi. 262), notably exalt Misr and Cairo at the expense
of Shám and Damascus; and there are many other instances of
preferring Kemi the Black Soil to the so called "Holy Land." The
general tone, as well as the special incidents of the book,
argues that the stories may have been ancient, but they certainly
have been modernised. Coffee is commonly used (passim) although
tobacco is still unknown; a youth learns archery and gunnery
(Zarb al-Risás, vol. vii. 440); casting of cannon occurs (vol. v.
186), and in one place (vol. vi. 134) we read of "Taban-jatayn,"
a pair of pistols; the word, which is still popular, being a
corruption of the Persian "Tabáncheh" = a slap or blow, even as
the French call a derringer coup de poing. The characteristic of
this Recueil is its want of finish. The stories are told after
perfunctory fashion as though the writer had not taken the
trouble to work out the details. There are no names or titles to
the tales, so that every translator must give his own; and the
endings are equally unsatisfactory, they usually content
themselves, after "native" fashion, with "Intihá" = finis; and
the connection with the thread of the work must be supplied by
the story-teller or the translator. Headlines were not in use for
the MSS. of that day, and the catchwords are often irregular, a
new word taking the place of the initial in the following page.

The handwriting, save and except in the first volume, has the
merit of regularity, and appears the same throughout the
succeeding six, except in the rare places (e.g. vi. 92-93), where
the lazy copyist did not care to change a worn-out pen, and
continued to write with a double nib. On the other hand, it is
the character of a village-schoolmaster whose literary culture is
at its lowest. Hardly a sheet appears without some blunder which
only in rare places is erased or corrected, and a few lacunæ are
supplied by several hands, Oriental and European, the latter
presumably Scott's. Not unfrequently the terminal word of a line
is divided, a sign of great incuria or ignorance, as "Sháhr |
baz" (i. 4), "Shahr | zád" (v. 309, vi. 106), and "Fawa |
jadtu-h" = so I found him (V. 104). Koranic quotations almost
always lack vowel points, and are introduced without the usual
ceremony. Poetry also, that crux of a skilful scribe, is
carelessly treated, and often enough two sets of verse are thrown
into one, the first rhyming in úr, and the second in ír (e.g.
vol. v. 256). The rhyme-words also are repeated within unlawful
limits (passim and vol. v. 308, ll. 6 and 11). Verse is thrust
into the body of the page (vii. 112) without signs of citation in
red ink or other (iii. 406); and rarely we find it, as it should
be, in distichs divided by the normal conventional marks,
asterisks and similar separations. Sometimes it appears in a
column of hemistichs after the fashion of Europe (iv. 111; iv.
232, etc.): here (v. 226) a quotation is huddled into a single
line; there (v. 242) four lines, written as monostichs, are
followed by two distichs in as many lines.

As regards the metrical part Dr. Steingass writes to me, "The
verses in Al-Hayfá and Yúsuf, where not mere doggerel, are
spoiled by the spelling. I was rarely able to make out even the
metre and I think you have accomplished a feat by translating
them as you have done."

The language of the MS. is generally that of the Felláh and
notably so in sundry of the tales, such as, "The Goodwife of
Cairo and her four Gallants" (v. 444). Of this a few verbal and
phrasal instances will suffice. Adíní = here am I (v. 198); Ahná
(passim, for nahnu) nakháf = we fear; 'Alaykí (for 'alayki) = on
thee; and generally the long vowel (-kí) for the short (-ki) in
the pronoun of the second person feminine; Antah (for ante) =
thou (vi. 96) and Antú (for antum) = you (iii. 351); Aráha and
even arúha, rúhat and rúha (for ráha) = he went (vii. 74 and iv.
75) and Arúhú (for rúhú) = go ye (iv. 179); Bakarah * * * allazi
(for allatí) = a cow (he) who, etc.; (see in this vol., p. 253)
and generally a fine and utter contempt for genders, e.g. Hum
(for hunna) masc. for fem. (iii. 91; iii. 146; and v. 233); Tá
'áli (for ta'ál) fem. for masc. (vi. 96 et passim); Bíhím (for
bi-him) = with them (v. 367); Bi-kám (for bi-kum) = with you
(iii. 142) are fair specimens of long broad vowels supplanting
the short, a peculiarity known in classical Arab., e.g. Miftáh
(for Miftah) = a key. Here, however, it is exaggerated, e.g.
Bá'íd (for ba'íd) = far (iv. 167); Kám (for kam) = how many? Kúm
(for kum) = you (v. 118); Kúl-há (for kul-ha) = tell it (iv. 58);
Mín (for man) = who? (iii. 89); Mirwád (for Mirwad) = a branding
iron; Natanáshshad (for natanashshad) = we seek tidings (v. 211);
Rájal (pron. Rágil, for Rajul) = a man (iv. 118 and passim);
Sáhal (for sahal) = easy, facile (iv. 71); Sír (for sir) = go, be
off! (v. 199); Shíl (for shil) = carry away (i. 111); and Záhab
(for zahab) = gold (v. 186). This broad Doric or Caledonian
articulation is not musical to unaccustomed organs. As in popular
parlance the Dál supplants the Zál; e.g. Dahaba (for zahaba) = he
went (v. 277 and passim); also T takes the place of Th, as Tult
for thulth = one third (iii. 348) and Tamrat (for thamrat) =
fruit (v. 260), thus generally ignoring the sibilant Th after the
fashion of the modern Egyptians who say Tumm (for thumma) =
again; "Kattir (for kaththir) Khayrak" = God increase thy weal,
and Lattama (for laththama) = he veiled. Also a general ignoring
of the dual, e.g. Házá 'usfurayn (for 'Usfuráni) = these be birds
(vi. 121); Nazalú al-Wazirayn (do) = the two Wazirs went down
(vii. 123); and lastly Al-Wuzará al-itnayn (for Al-Wazíráni) =
the two Wazirs (vii. 121). Again a fine contempt for numbers, as
Nanzur ana (for Anzur) = I (we) see (v. 198) and Inní (for inná)
narúhu = indeed I (we) go (iii. 190). Also an equally
conscientious disregard for cases, as Min mál abú-há (for abí-há)
= out of the moneys of her sire (iv. 190); and this is apparently
the rule of the writer.

Of Egyptianisms and vulgarisms we have Ant, má ghibtshayy = thou,
hast thou not been absent at all? with the shayy (a thing)
subjoined to the verb in this and similar other phrases; Baksísh
for Bakhshish (iv. 356); Al-Jawáz (for al-zíwáj) = marriage (i.
14); Fakí or Fikí (for fakih) = a divine (vi. 207 and passim);
Finjál (for finján) = a coffee-cup (v. 424, also a Najdí or
Central Arabian corruption); Kuwayyis = nice, pretty (iv. 179);
Láyálí (for liallá) = lest that (v. 285); Luhúmát (for lukúm) =
meats, a mere barbarism (v. 247); Matah (for Matá) =when? (v.
464); Ma'áyah (for ma'í) =with me (vi. 13 et passim); Shuwayy (or
shuwayyah) Mayah, a double diminutive (for Muwayy or Muwayh) = a
small little water, intensely Nilotic (iv. 44); Mbarih or Embárah
(for Al-bárihah) = yesterday (v. 449); Takkat (for Dakkat) = she
rapped (iv. 190); Úzbáshá and Uzbáshá (for Yúzbáshí) = a
centurion, a captain (v. 430 et passim); Záídjah for Záijah (vi.
329); Zarághít (for Zaghárít) = lullilooing (iv. 12); Zínah (for
Ziná) = adultery, and lastly Zúda (for Záda) = increased (iv.
87). Here the reader will cry jam satis; while the student will
compare the list with that given in my Terminal Essay (vol. x.
168-9).

The two Appendices require no explanation. No. I. is a Catalogue
of the Tales in the Wortley Montague MS., and No. II. contains
Notes upon the Storiology of the Supplemental Volumes IV. and V.
by the practiced pen of Mr. W. F. Kirby. The sheets during my
absence from England have been passed through the press and
sundry additions and corrections have been made by Dr. Steingass.

In conclusion I would state that my hope was to see this Volume
(No. xv.) terminate my long task; but circumstance is stronger
than my will and I must ask leave to bring out one more--The New
Arabian Nights.

RICHARD F. BURTON.

ATHENÆUM CLUB, September 1st, 1888.






                      Supplemental Nights

                       To The Book Of The

                  Thousand Nights And A Night






         THE HISTORY OF THE KING'S SON OF SIND AND THE
                      LADY FATIMAH.[FN#3]



It is related that whilome there was a King of the many Kings of
Sind who had a son by other than his wife. Now the youth,
whenever he entered the palace, would revile[FN#4] and abuse and
curse and use harsh words to his step-mother, his father's Queen,
who was beautiful exceedingly; and presently her charms were
changed and her face waxed wan and for the excess of what she
heard from him she hated life and fell to longing for death.
Withal she could not say a word concerning the Prince to his
parent. One day of the days, behold an aged woman (which had been
her nurse) came in to her and saw her in excessive sorrow and
perplext as to her affair for that she knew not what she could do
with her step-son. So the ancient dame said to her, "O my lady, no harm shall befal thee; yet is thy case changed into other case
and thy colour hath turned to yellow." Hereupon the Queen told
her all that had befallen her from her step-son of harsh language
and revilement and abuse, and the other rejoined, "O my lady, let
not thy breast be straitened, and when the youth shall come to
thee and revile thee and abuse thee, do thou say him, 'Pull thy
wits somewhat together till such time as thou shalt have brought
back the Lady Fatimah, daughter of 'Ámir ibn al-Nu'umán.'" The
old woman taught her these words by heart, and anon went forth
from her, when the Prince entered by the door and spoke harsh
words and abused and reviled her; so his father's wife said to
him, "Lower thy tone and pull thy wits somewhat together, for
thou be a small matter until thou shalt bring back the daughter
of the Sultan, hight Fatimah, the child of 'Amir ibn al-Nu'uman."
Now when he heard these words he cried, "By Allah, 'tis not
possible but that I go and return with the said Lady Fatimah;"
after which he repaired to his sire and said, "'Tis my desire to
travel; so do thou prepare for me provision of all manner
wherewith I may wend my way to a far land, nor will I return
until I win to my wish." Hereupon his father fell to transporting
whatso he required of victuals various and manifold, until all
was provided, and he got ready for him whatso befitted of bales
and camels and pages and slaves and eunuchs and negro chattels.
Presently they loaded up and the youth, having farewelled his
father and his friends and his familiars, set forth seeking the
country of Fatimah bint Amir, and he travelled for the first day
and the second day until he found himself in the middle of the
wilds and the Wadys, and the mountains and the stony wastes. This
lasted for two months till such time as he reached a region
wherein were Ghúls and ferals, and to one and all who met him and
opposed him he would give something of provaunt and gentle them
and persuade them to guide him upon his way. After a time he met
a Shaykh well stricken in years; so he salamed to him and the
other, after returning his greeting, asked him saying, "What was
it brought thee to this land and region wherein are naught but
wild beasts and Ghuls?" whereto he answered, "O Shaykh, I came
hither for the sake of the Lady Fatimah, daughter of 'Amir ibn
al-Nu'uman." Hereat exclaimed the greybeard, "Deceive not
thyself, for assuredly thou shalt be lost together with what are
with thee of men and moneys, and the maiden in question hath been
the cause of destruction to many Kings and Sultans. Her father
hath three tasks which he proposeth to every suitor, nor owneth
any the power to accomplish a single one, and he conditioneth
that if any fail to fulfil them and avail not so to do, he shall
be slain. But I, O my son, will inform thee of the three which be
these: First the King will bring together an ardabb of sesame
grain and an ardabb of clover-seed and an ardabb of lentils; and
he will mingle them one with other, and he will say:--Whoso
seeketh my daughter to wife, let him set apart each sort, and
whoso hath no power thereto I will smite his neck. And as all
have failed in the attempt their heads were struck off next
morning and were hung up over the Palace gateway. Now the second
task is this: the King hath a cistern[FN#5] full of water, and he
conditioneth that the suitor shall drink it up to the last drop,
under pain of losing his life; and the third is as follows: he
owneth a house without doors and windows, and it hath[FN#6] three
hundred entrances and a thousand skylights and two thousand
closets: so he covenanteth with the suitor that he make for that
place whatever befitteth of doors and lattices and cabinets, and
the whole in a single night. Now here is sufficient to engross
thine intellect, O my son, but take thou no heed and I will do
thy task for thee." Quoth the other, "O my uncle, puissance and
omnipotence are to Allah!" and quoth the Shaykh, "Go, O my son,
and may the Almighty forward the works of thee." So the Prince
farewelled him and travelled for the space of two days, when
suddenly the ferals and the Ghuls opposed his passage and he gave
them somewhat of provaunt which they ate, and after they pointed
out to him the right path. Then he entered upon a Wady wherein
flights of locusts barred the passage, so he scattered for them
somewhat of fine flour which they picked up till they had eaten
their sufficiency. Presently he found his way into another valley
of iron-bound rocks, and in it there were of the Jánn what could
not be numbered or described, and they cut and crossed his way
athwart that iron tract. So he came forward and salam'd to them
and gave them somewhat of bread and meat and water, and they ate
and drank till they were filled, after which they guided him on
his journey and set him in the right direction. Then he fared
forwards till he came to the middle of the mountain, where he was
opposed by none, or mankind or Jinn-kind, and he ceased not
marching until he drew near the city of the Sultan whose daughter
he sought to wife. Here he set up a tent and sat therein seeking
repose for a term of three days; then he arose and walked
forwards until he entered the city, where he fell to looking
about him leftwards and rightwards till he had reached the
palace[FN#7] of the King. He found there over the gateway some
hundred heads which were hanging up, and he cried to himself,
"Veil me, O thou Veiler! All these skulls were suspended for the
sake of the Lady Fatimah, but the bye-word saith, 'Whoso dieth
not by the sword dieth of his life-term,' and manifold are the
causes whereas death be singlefold." Thereupon he went forwards
to the palace gate--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

            The Four Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
went forward to the Palace gate and purposed to enter, but they
forbade him nor availed he to go in; so he returned to his tents
and there spent the night till dawn. Then he again turned to the
King's Serai and attempted to make entry, but they stayed him and
he was unable to succeed, nor could he attain to the presence of
the Sovran. So he devised with one who was standing at the door a
device to enter the presence, but again he failed in his object
and whenever he craved admission they rejected him and drave him
away saying, "O youth, tell us what may be thy need?" Said he, "I
have a requirement of the Sultan and my purport is a business I
may transact with him and speech containeth both private and
public matters; nor is it possible that I mention my want to any
save to the Sovran." So a Chamberlain of the chamberlains went in
to the presence and reported the affair to the King, who
permitted them admit the stranger, and when he stood before the
throne he kissed ground and deprecated evil for the ruler and
prayed for his glory and permanency, and the Monarch, who
marvelled at the terseness of his tongue and the sweetness of his
speech, said to him, "O youth, what may be thy requirement?"
Quoth the Prince, "Allah prolong the reign of our lord the
Sultan! I came to thee seeking connexion with thee through thy
daughter the lady concealed and the pearl unrevealed." Quoth the
Sultan, "By Allah, verily this youth would doom himself
hopelessly to die and, Oh the pity of it for the loquence of his
language;" presently adding, "O youth, say me, art thou satisfied
with the conditions wherewith I would oblige thee?" and the
Prince replied, "O my lord, Omnipotence is to Allah; and, if the
Almighty empower me to fulfil thy pact, I shall fulfil it." The
King continued, "I have three tasks to impose upon thee," and the
Prince rejoined, "I am satisfied with all articles thou shalt
appoint." Hereupon the Sovran summoned the writers and witnesses,
and they indited the youth's covenant and gave testimony that he
was content therewith; and when the Prince had signified his
satisfaction and obligation, the King sent for an ardabb of
sesame and an ardabb of clover-seed and an ardabb of lentils and
let mingle all three kinds one with other till they became a
single heap. Then said the King to the Prince, "Do thou separate
each sort by itself during the course of the coming night, and if
dawn shall arise and every seed is not set apart, I will cut off
thy head." Replied the other, "Hearing and obeying." Then the
King bade place all the mixed heap in a stead apart, and
commanded the suitor retire into solitude; accordingly, he passed
alone into that site and looked upon that case and condition, and
he sat beside the heap deep in thought, so he set his hand upon
his cheek and fell to weeping, and was certified of death. Anon
he arose and going forwards attempted of himself to separate the
various sorts of grain, but he failed; and had two hundred
thousand thousands of men been gathered together for the work
they had on nowise availed to it. Hereupon he set his right hand
upon his cheek[FN#8] and he fell to weeping and suffered the
first third of the dark hours to pass, when he said to himself,
"There remaineth naught of thy life save the remnant of this
night!" But the while he was conjecturing and taking thought,
behold, an army of the locusts to whom he had thrown the flour
upon his road came speeding over him like a cloud dispread and
said to him with the tongue of the case,[FN#9] "Fear not neither
grieve, for we have flocked hither to solace thee and ward from
thee the woe wherein thou art: so take thou no further heed."
Then they proceeded to separate each kind of grain and set it by
itself, and hardly an hour had passed before the whole sample was
distributed grain by grain into its proper place while he sat
gazing thereon. After this the locusts arose and went their ways,
and when morning dawned the Sultan came forth and took seat in
the Hall of Commandment and said to those who were present,
"Arise ye and bring hither the youth that we may cut off his
head." They did his bidding but, when entering in to the Prince,
they found all the different grains piled separately, sesame by
itself and clover-seed alone and lentils distributed apart,
whereat they marvelled and cried, "This thing is indeed a mighty
great matter from this youth, nor could it befal any save himself
of those who came before him or of those who shall follow after
him." Presently they brought him to the Sultan and said, "O King
of the Age, all the grains are sorted;" whereat the Sovran
wondered and exclaimed, "Bring the whole before me." And when
they brought it he looked upon it with amazement and rejoiced
thereat, but soon recovered himself and cried, "O youth, there
remain to thee two tasks for two nights; and if thou fulfil them,
thou shalt win to thy wish, and if thou fail therein, I will
smite thy neck." Said the Prince, "O King of the Age, the
All-might is to Allah, the One, the Omnipotent!" Now when night
drew nigh the King opened to him a cistern and said, "Drink up
all that is herein and leave not of it a drop, nor spill aught
thereof upon the ground, and if thou drain the whole of it, thou
shalt indeed attain to thine aim, but if thou fail to swallow it,
I will smite thy neck." The Prince answered, "There is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!"
Then he took his seat at the cistern-mouth and fell to thinking
and saying in his mind, "Wherefore, O certain person, shouldst
thou venture thy life and incur the cruel consequence of this
King on account of thy frowardness to thy father's wife? and by
Allah, this is naught save Jinn-struck madness on thy part!" So
he placed his left hand upon his cheek, and in his right was a
stick wherewith he tapped and drew lines in absent fashion upon
the ground,[FN#10] and he wept and wailed until the third of the
first part of the dark hours had passed, when he said in himself,
"There remaineth naught of thine age, ho, Such-an-one, save the
remainder of this night." And he ceased not to be drowned in
thought when suddenly a host of savage beasts and wild birds came
up to him and said with the tongue of the case, "Fear not neither
grieve, O youth, for none is faithless to the food save the son
of adultery and thou wast the first to work our weal, so we will
veil and protect thee, and let there be no sorrowing with thee on
account of this matter." Hereupon they gathered together in a
body, birds and beasts, and they were like unto a lowering cloud,
no term to them was shown and no end was known as they followed
in close file one upon other--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

           The Four Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the wild
beasts and the feral birds met one another beside that cistern
and each took his turn thereat and drank without drinking his
full[FN#11] until naught of water remained in the reservoir and
they fell to licking the sides with their tongues so that anyone
seeing it would say that for the last ten years not a drop of
liquid had been stored therein. And after this they all went
their ways. Now as soon as it was morning-tide the King arose and
hied forth the Harem and taking his seat in the Hall of
Commandment said to sundry of his pages and Chamberlains, "Go
bring us tidings of the cistern." Accordingly they went thither
and inspected it but found no trace of water therein; so they
returned straightway to the ruler and reported the matter.
Hereupon the Sultan was amazed and his wits were bewildered and
he was certified that none had power to win his daughter for wife
save that youth. So he cried, "Bring him hither," and they fared
to fetch him and presented him in the presence where he salam'd
to the Sovran and deprecated[FN#12] for him and prayed for him.
The Sultan greeted him in return and said, "O Youth, there now
remaineth with me but a single task which if thou accomplish
shall save thee and win for thee my daughter; however if thou
fail therein I will smite thy neck." "Power is to Allah!"
exclaimed the Prince whereat the Sultan marvelled and said in his
mind, "Glory be to God: the words and works of this youth be
wonderful. Whatever I bid him do he beginneth with naming the
name of the Lord whereas those who forewent him never suffered me
hear aught of the sort. However, the fortunate are Fortune's
favourites and Misfortune never befalleth them." Now when it was
night-tide the Sultan said, "O youth, in very deed this mansion
which standeth beside the palace is brand-new and therein are
store of wood and timbers of every kind, but it lacketh portals
and lattices and the finishing of the cabinets; so I desire that
thou make for it doors and windows and closets. I have provided
thee with everything thou dost require of carpenter's gear and
turner's lathes; and either thou shalt work all this during the
coming night, or, if thou be wanting in aught and morning shall
morrow without all the needful being finished, I will cut off thy
head. This is the fine of thy three labours which an thou avail
to accomplish thou shalt attain thine aim and if thou fail
thereof I will smite thy neck. Such be then my last word."
Accordingly the Prince arose and faring from before him entered
the unfinished mansion which he found to be a palace greater and
grander than that wherein the King abode. He cried, "O Veiler,
withdraw not Thy veiling!" and he sat therein by himself (and he
drowned in thought) and said, "By Allah, if at this hour I could
find somewhat to swallow I would die thereby and rest from this
toil and trouble have been my lot;[FN#13] and the morning shall
not morrow ere I shall find repose nor shall any one of the town
folk solace himself and say, 'The Sultan is about to cut off the
head of this youth.' Withal the bye-word hath it, 'Joyance which
cometh from Allah is nearer than is the eyebrow to the eye,' and
if Almighty (be He extolled and exalted!) have determined aught
to my destiny, there is no flight therefrom. Moreover one of the
Sages hath said, 'He released me from pillar to post and the
Almighty bringeth happiness nearhand.' From this time until dawn
of day many a matter may proceed from the Lord wherein haply
shall be salvation for me or destruction." Then he fell to
pondering his affair and thinking over his frowardness to the
wife of his father, after which he said, "The slave meditateth
and the Lord determineth, nor doth the meditation of the slave
accord with the determination of the Lord." And while thus
drowned in care he heard the sound of the Darabukkah-drum[FN#14]
and the turmoil of work and the shiftings of voices whilst the
house was full of forms dimly seen and a voice cried out to him,
"O youth, be hearty of heart and sprightly of spirits: verily we
will requite thee the kindness thou wroughtest to us in providing
us with thy provision; and we will come to thine aidance this
very night, for they who are visiting and assisting thee are of
the Jánn from the Valley of Iron." Then they began taking up the
timbers and working them and some turned the wood with lathes,
and other planed the material with planes, whilst others again
fell to painting and dyeing the doors and windows, these green
and those red and those yellow; and presently they set them in
their several steads; nor did that night go by ere the labour was
perfected and there was no royal palace like unto it, either in
ordinance or in emplacement. Now as morning morrowed the Sultan
went forth to his divan, and when he looked abroad he saw a
somewhat of magnificence in the mansion which was not to be found
in his palace, so he said in his surprise, "By Allah, the works
of this youth be wondrous and had the joiners and carpenters
loitered over three years upon this work they never would have
fulfilled such task: moreover we ken not by what manner of means
this young man hath been able to accomplish the labour."
Thereupon he sent for the Prince to the presence and robed him
with a sumptuous robe of honour and assigned to him a mighty
matter of money, saying, "Verily thou deservest, O youth, and
thou art the only one who meriteth that thou become to my
daughter baron and she become to thee femme." Presently Sultan
Amir ibn al-Nu'uman bade tie the marriage-tie and led to her in
procession the bridegroom who found her a treasure wherefrom the
talisman had been loosed;[FN#15] and the bride rejoiced with even
more joyance than he did by cause of her sire, with his three
tasks, having made her believe that she would never be wedded and
bedded but die a maid, and she had long been in sadness for such
reason. Then the married couple abode with the King their father
for the space of a month, and all this time the camp of the young
Prince remained pitched without the town, and every day he would
send to his pages and eunuchs whatso they needed of meat and
drink. But when that term ended he craved from the Sultan leave
of travel to his own land and his father-in-law answered, "O
youth, do whatso thou ever wishest anent returning to thy native
realm;" and forthwith fell to fitting out his daughter till all
her preparations were completed and she was found ready for
wayfare together with her body-women and eunuchs. The Prince
having farewelled his father-in-law caused his loads to be loaded
and set out seeking his native country and kingdom; and he
travelled by day and by night, and he pushed his way through
Wadys and over mountains for a while of time until he drew near
his own land, and between him and his father's city remained only
some two or three marches. Here suddenly men met him upon the
road and as he asked them the tidings they replied that his sire
was besieged within his capital of Sind by a neighbour King who
had attacked him and determined to dethrone him and make himself
Sovereign and Sultan in his stead. Now when he heard this account
he pushed forward with forced marches till he reached his
father's city which he found as had been reported; and the old
King with all his forces was girded around within his own walls
nor could he sally out to offer battle for that the foe was more
forceful than himself. Hereupon the Prince pitched his camp and
prepared himself for fight and fray; and a many of his men rode
with him whilst another many remained on guard at the tents.--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Four Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
busked him for fight and fray seeking to assault the army of the
King who had besieged his sire, and the two hosts fought together
a strenuous fight and a stubborn. On this wise fared it with
them; but as regards the bride, she took patience till such time
as her bridegroom had ridden forth, when she donned her weapons
of war and veiled herself with a face-veil and sallying forth in
Mameluke's habit presently came up with her mate the Prince whom
she found straitened by the multitude of his foes. Now this
Princess was mistress of all manner weapons, so she drew her
sword from its sheath and she laid on load rightwards and
leftwards until the wits of all beholders were wildered and her
bridegroom inclined to her and said, "Verily this Mameluke he is
not one of our party." But she continued battling till the sun
rose high in the firmament-vault when she determined to attack
the ensigns and colours which were flying after right royal of
fashion, and in the midst thereof was the hostile Sultan. So she
smote the ancient who bore the banner and cast him to the ground
and then she made for the King and charged down upon him and
struck him with the side of the sword a blow so sore that of his
affright he fell from his steed. But when his host saw him
unhorsed and prostrate upon the plain they sought safety in
flight and escape, deeming him to be dead; whereupon she alighted
and pinioned his elbows behind his back and tied his forearms to
his side, and lashed him on to his charger and bound him in bonds
like a captive vile. Then she committed him to her bridegroom who
still knew her not and she departed the field seeking her camp
until she arrived there and entered her pavilion where she
changed her attire and arrayed herself in women's raiment. After
this she sat down expecting the Prince who, when she had
committed to him the captured King, carried him into the city
where he found the gates thrown open. Hereupon his sire sallied
forth and greeted him albeit he recognised him not but was
saying, "Needs must I find the Knight who came to our
assistance." "O my papa," quoth the Prince, "dost thou not know
me?" and quoth the other, "O young man, I know thee not;" whereat
the other rejoined, "I am thy son Such-an-one." But hardly had
the old King heard these words when behold, he fell upon him and
threw his arms round his neck and was like to lose his sense and
his senses for stress of joyance. After a time he recovered and
looking upon the captive King asked him, "What was it drave thee
to come hither and seek to seize from me my realm?" and the other
answered him with humility and craved his pardon and promised not
again to offend, so he released him and bade him gang his gait.
After this the young Prince went forth and caused his Harim and
his pages and whoso were with him enter the city and when they
were seated in the women's apartment the husband and wife fell to
talking of their journey and what they had borne therein of toil
and travail. At last the Princess said to him, "O my lord, what
became of the King who besieged thy sire in his capital and who
sought to bereave him of his realm?" and said he, "I myself took
him captive and committed him to my father who admitted his
excuses and suffered him depart." Quoth she, "And was it thou who
capturedst him?" and quoth he, "Yea verily, none made him
prisoner save myself." Hereupon said she, "Thee it besitteth not
to become after thy sire Sovran and Sultan!" and said he, "Why
and wherefore?" "For that a lie defameth and dishonoureth the
speaker," cried she, "and thou hast proved thee a liar." "What
made it manifest to thee that I lied?" asked the Prince, and the
Princess answered, "Thou claimest to have captured the King when
it was other than thyself took him prisoner and committed him to
thy hands." He enquired, "And who was he?" and she replied, "I
know not, withal I had him in sight." Hereupon the bridegroom
repeated his query till at last she confessed it was she had done
that deed of derring-do; and the Prince rejoiced much in
her.[FN#16] Then the twain made an entry in triumph and the city
was adorned and the general joy was increased. Now his taking to
wife the Lady Fatimah daughter of the Sultan Amir bin Al-Nu'uman
so reconciled him to his stepmother, the spouse of his father the
Sovran of Sind, that both forgot their differences and they lived
ever afterwards in harmony and happiness.




             HISTORY OF THE LOVERS OF SYRIA[FN#17]



It is stated that of olden times and by-gone there dwelt in the
land of Syria two men which were brothers and whereof one was
wealthy and the other was needy. Now the rich man had a love-some
daughter and a lovely, whilst the poor man had a son who gave his
heart to his cousin as soon as his age had reached his tenth
year. But at that time his father the pauper died and he was left
an orphan without aught of the goods of this world; the damsel
his cousin, however, loved him with exceeding love and ever and
anon would send him somewhat of dirhams and this continued till
both of them attained their fourteenth years. Then the youth was
minded to marry the daughter of his uncle, so he sent a party of
friends to her home by way of urging his claim that the father
might wed her to him, but the man rejected them and they returned
disappointed. However, when it was the second day a body of warm
men and wealthy came to ask for the maid in marriage, and they
conditioned the needful conditions and stood agreed upon the
nuptials. Presently the tidings reached the damsel who took
patience till the noon o' night, when she arose and sought the
son of her uncle, bringing with her the sum of two thousand
dinars which she had taken of her father's good and she knocked
softly at the door. Hereupon the youth started from sleep and
went forth and found his cousin who was leading a she-mule and an
ass, so the twain bestrode either beast and travelled through the
remnant of the night until the morning morrowed. Then they
alighted to drink and to hide themselves in fear of being seen
until the second night fell when they mounted and rode for two
successive days, at the end of which they entered a town seated
on the shore of the sea. Here they found a ship equipped for
voyage, so they repaired to the Ra'is and hired for themselves a
sitting place; after which the cousin went forth to sell the ass
and the she-mule, and disappeared for a short time. Meanwhile the
ship had sailed with the daughter of his uncle and had left the
youth upon the strand and ceased not sailing day after day for
the space of ten days, and lastly made the port she purposed and
there cast anchor.[FN#18] Thus it befel them; but as regards the
youth, when he had sold the beasts he returned to the ship and
found her not, and when he asked tidings thereof they told him
that she had put to sea; and hearing this he was mazed as to his
mind and sore amated as to his affair, nor wot he whither he
should wend. So he turned him inland sore dismayed. Now when the
vessel anchored in that port quoth the damsel to the captain, "O
Ra'is,[FN#19] hie thee ashore and bring for us a portion of flesh
and fresh bread," and quoth he, "Hearkening and obedience,"
whereupon he betook himself to the town. But as soon as he was
far from the vessel she arose and donning male's dress said to
the sailors, "Do ye weigh anchor and set sail," and she shouted
at them with the shouting of seamen. Accordingly they did as she
bade them and the wind being fair and the weather favourable, ere
an hour had sped they passed beyond sight of land.[FN#20]
Presently the captain returned bringing bread and meat but he
found ne'er a ship, so he asked tidings of her and they answered,
"Verily she is gone." Hereupon he was perplext and he fell to
striking hand upon hand and crying out, "O my good and the good
of folk!" and he repented whenas repentance availed him naught.
Accordingly, he returned to the town unknowing whither he should
wend and walked about like one blind and deaf for the loss of his
craft. But as regards the vessel, she ceased not sailing with
those within till she cast anchor near a city wherein was a King;
and no sooner was she made fast than the damsel arose and donning her most sumptuous dress and decorations fell to scattering money amongst the crew and saying to them, "Hearten your hearts and be not afraid on any wise!" In due time the news of a fresh arrival reached the Ruler, and he ordered his men to bring him tidings concerning that vessel, and when they went for her and boarded her they found that her captain was a damsel of virginal semblance exceeding in beauty and loveliness. So they returned and reported this to the King who despatched messengers bidding her lodge with him for they had heightened their praises of her and the excess of her comeliness, and he said in his mind, "By Allah, an she prove as they describe her, needs must I marry her." But the damsel sent back saying, "I am a clean maid, nor
may I land alone but do thou send to me forty girls, virgins like
myself, when I will disembark together with them."--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to
say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet
is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

               The Five Hundred and Third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the damsel
demanded of the king forty clean maids and said, "We will land, I
and they together," whereto he replied, "The right is with her."
Hereupon he ordered all those about him, the Lords of his land
and the Commons, that each and every who had in the house a
virginal daughter, should bring her to him until the full tale of
forty (the daughter of the Wazir being amongst them) was told and
he sent them on board the ship where the damsel was about sitting
down for supper. But as soon as the maidens came she met them in
her finest attire, none of the number being more beauteous than
herself, and she salam'd to them and invited them into the
cuddy[FN#21] where she bade food be served to them and they ate
and were cheered and solaced, after which they sat down to
converse till it was the middle of the night. Now when sleep
prevailed over the girls they retired to their several berths,
and when they were drowned in slumber, the damsel arose softly
and arousing the crew bade them leave their moorings and shake
out their canvas; nor did daylight dawn to them ere they had
covered a far distance. As soon as the maidens awoke they saw
themselves on board a ship amid the billows of the main, and as
they asked the Captainess she answered, "Fear not for yourselves
or for the voyage you are making;"[FN#22] and she gentled them
and solaced them until whatso was in their hearts was allayed.
However, touching the affair of the King, when morrowed the morn
he sent to the ship with an order for the damsel to land with the
forty virgins, but they found not the craft and they returned and
reported the same to their lord, who cried, "By Allah, this be
the discreetest of deed which none other save she could have
done." So he arose without stay or delay and taking with him the
Wazir (both being in disguise), he went down to the shore and
looked around but he could not find what had become of them. And
as regards the vessel carrying the virgins, she ceased not
sailing until she made port beside a ruined city wherein none was
inhabitant, and here the crew cast anchor and furled their sails
when behold, a gang of forty pirate[FN#23] men, ever ready to cut
the highway and their friends to betray, boarded them, crying in
high glee, "Let us slay all in her and carry off whatso we find."
When they appeared before the damsel they would have effected
their intent; but she welcomed them and said, "Do ye return
ashore: we be forty maids and ye forty men and to each of you
shall befal one and I will belong to your Shaykh, for that I am
the Captainess." Now when they heard this they rejoiced with
excessive joy and they said, "Walláhi, our night shall be a
blessed one by virtue of your coming to us;" whereto she asked,
"Have you with you aught of sheep?" They answered, "We have," and
quoth she, "Do ye slay of them somewhat for supper and fetch the
meat that we may cook it for you." So a troop of pirates went off
and brought back ten lambs which they slaughtered and flayed and
brittled. Then the damsel and those with her tucked up their
sleeves ad hung up their chauldrons[FN#24] and cooked the meat
after the delicatest fashion, and when it was thoroughly done and
prepared, they spread the trays and the pirates came forward one
and all, and ate and washed their hands and they were in high
spirits each and every, saying, "This night I will take to me a
girl." Lastly she brought to them coffee which they drank, but
hardly had it settled in their maws when the Forty Thieves fell
to the ground, for she had mixed up with it flying Bhang[FN#25]
and those who had drunk thereof became like unto dead men.
Hereupon the damsel arose without loss of time and taking in her
hand a sharp-grided sword fell to cutting off their heads and
casting them into the sea until she came to the Shaykh of the
Pirates and in his case she was satisfied with shaving his beard
and tearing out his eye-teeth and bidding the crew to cast him
ashore. They did as she commanded, after which she conveyed the
property of all the caitiffs and having distributed the booty
amongst the sailors, bade them weigh anchor and shake out their
canvas. On this wise they left that ruined city until they had
made the middle of the main and they fared for a number of days
athwart the billowy deep nor could they hit upon their course
amongst the courses of the sea until Destiny cast them beside a
city. They made fast to the anchorage-ground, and the damsel
arose and donning Mameluke's dress and arraying the Forty Virgins
in the same attire all walked together and paced about the shore
and they were like garden blooms. When they entered the streets
they found all the folk a-sorrowing, so they asked one of them
and he answered, "The Sultan who over-reigneth this city is dead
and the reign lacketh rule." Now in that stead and under the hand
of the Wazir, was a Bird which they let loose at certain times,
and whenever he skimmed round and perched upon the head of any
man to him they would give the Sultanate.[FN#26] By the decree of
the Decreer they cast the fowl high in air at the very hour when
the damsel was landing and he hovered above her and settled upon
her head (she being in slave's attire), and the city folk and the
lords of the land cried out, "Strange! passing strange!" So they
flushed the bird from the place where he had alighted and on the
next day they freed him again at a time when the damsel had left
the ship, and once more he came and settled upon her head. They
drove him away, crying, "Oh rare! oh rare!" but as often as they
started him from off her head he returned to it and alighted there again. "Marvellous!" cried the Wazir, "but Allah Almighty hath done this[FN#27] and none shall object to what He doeth nor shall any reject what He decreeth." Accordingly, they gave her the Sultanate together with the signet-ring of governance and the
turband of commandment and they seated her upon the throne of the
reign. Hereupon she fell to ordering the Forty Virgins who were
still habited as Mamelukes and they served the Sultan for a while
of time till one day of the days when the Wazir came to the
presence and said, "O King of the Age, I have a daughter, a model
of beauty and loveliness, and I am desirous of wedding her with
the Sovran because one such as thou should not remain in single
blessedness."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent, and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

               The Five Hundred and Fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
Wazir to the Sultan, "I have a daughter, a model of beauty and
loveliness and I am desirous of wedding her with the Sultan,
because one such as thou should not remain in single
blessedness." "Do whatso thou wishest," quoth the King, "and
Allah prosper thy doing." Hereupon the Wazir fell to preparing
the marriage-portion[FN#28] of his daughter, and of forwarding
her affair with the Sultan, until her wedding appointments[FN#29]
and other matters were completed. After this he caused the
marriage-tie be tied, and he brought her to the supposed Sultan
where she lay for the first night, but the damsel having
performed the Wuzú ablution did naught but pray through the hours
of darkness. When dawned the day the Wazir's wife which was the
mother of the maiden came to look upon her daughter and asked her
of her case, and the bride answered, "All the livelong night hath
he passed in orisons, nor came he near me even once." Quoth the
mother, "O my daughter, this be the first night, and assuredly he
was ashamed, for he is young in years, and he knoweth not what to
do; haply also his heart hangeth not upon thee; and he is but a
raw lad.[FN#30] However, on the coming night ye shall both enjoy
your desire." But as soon as it was the evening of the next day
the Sultan went in to his Harim and made the minor ablution, and
abode in prayer through the night until the morrow morrowed, when
again the mother came to see how matters stood, and she asked her
daughter, who answered, "All the dark hours he hath passed in
devotion, and he never approached me." Now on the third night it
happened after like fashion, so the mother said, "O my daughter,
whenever thou shalt see thy husband sitting by thy side, do thou
throw thyself upon his bosom." The bride did as she was bidden,
and casting herself upon his breast cried, "O King of the Age,
haply I please thee not at all;" whereat said the other, "O light
of mine eyes, thou art a joy to me for ever; but I am about to
confide to thee somewhat and say me canst thou keep a secret?"
Quoth she, "Who is there like me for hiding things in my heart?"
and quoth the other, "I am a clean maid, and my like is thy like,
but the reason for my being in man's habit is that the son of my
uncle, who is my betrothed, hath been lost from me and I have
been lost from him, but when Allah shall decree the reunion of
our lots he shall marry thee first and he shall not pay the
bridegroom's visit save unto thee, and after that to myself." The
Wazir's daughter accepted the excuse, and then arising went forth
and brought a pigeon whose weazand she split and whose blood she
daubed upon the snow-white sheet.[FN#31] And when it was morning
and her mother again visited her, the bride showed her this proof
of her pucelage, and she rejoiced thereat and her father rejoiced
also. After this the Sultan ruled for a while of time, but she
was ever deep in thought concerning what device could be devised
in order to obtain tidings of her father and her cousin and what
had wrought with them the changes of times and tides. So she bade
edify a magnificent Hammám and by its side a coffee house,[FN#32]
both nearhand to the palace, and forthwith she summoned
architects and masons and plasterers and painters, and when all
came between her hands she said to them, "Do ye take a long look
at my semblance and mark well my features for I desire that you
make me a carven image[FN#33] which shall resemble me in all
points, and that you fashion it according to my form and figure,
and you adorn it aright and render it to represent my very self
in all proportions, and then bring it to me." They obeyed her
order and brought her a statue which was herself to a nail, so
she looked upon it and was pleased therewith. Then she ordered
them set the image over the Hammam-door, so they placed it there,
and after she issued a firman and caused it to be cried through
the city that whoso should enter that Bath to bathe and drink
coffee, should do so free and gratis and for naught. When this
was done, the tongues of the folks were loosed with benison,
and they fell to praying for the Sultan and the endurance of his
glory, and the permanence of his governance till such time as the
bruit was spread abroad by the caravans and travellers, and the
folk of all regions had heard of the Hammam and the coffee-house.
Meanwhile the Sultan had summoned two eunuchs and ordered them
and repeatedly enjoined them that whoso might approach the statue
and consider it straitly him they should seize and bring before
the presence. Accordingly, the slaves fared forth and took their
seats before the doors of the Baths. After a while of time the father of the damsel who had become Sultan wandered forth to seek her,[FN#34] and arrived at that city, where he heard that whoso entered the Hammam to bathe and afterwards drank coffee did this without cost; so he said in his mind, "Let me go thither and enjoy myself." Then he repaired to the building and designed to enter, when behold, he looked at the statue over the gateway, and he stood still and considered it with the tears flowing adown his cheeks, and he cried, "Indeed this figure be like her!" But when the eunuchs saw him they seized him and carried him away until they had led him to the Sultan his daughter, who, seeing him,
recognised him forthright, and bade set apart for him an apartment and appointed to him rations for the time being. The
next that appeared was the son of her uncle, who also had
wandered as far as that city seeking his cousin, and he also
having heard the folk speaking anent a free entrance to the
Baths, said in himself, "Do thou get thee like others to that
Hammam and solace thyself." But when he arrived there he also
cast a look at that image and stood before it and wept for an
hour or so as he devoured it with his eyes when the eunuchry
beholding him seized and carried him off to the Sultan, who knew
him at first sight. So she bade prepare a place for him and
appointed to him rations for the time being. Then also came the
Ra'is of the ship, who had reached that city seeking his lost
vessel, and when the fame of the free Hammam came to his ears, he
said in his mind, "Go thou to the Baths and solace thyself." And
when he arrived there and looked upon the statue and fixed his
glance upon it he cried out, "Walláhi! 'tis her very self."
Hereupon the eunuchry seized him and carried him to the Sultan
who seeing him recognised him and placed him in a place apart for
a while of time. Anon the King and the Wazir, who were
responsible for the Forty Virgins came to that city.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent, and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

              The Five Hundred and Seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
accompanied by the Wazir came to that city seeking the lost Forty
Virgins and when the twain had settled there and were stablisht
at ease their souls longed for the Baths and they said each to
other, "Hie we to the Hammam that we may wash away the dirt which
be the result of travel." So they repaired to the place and as
they entered the gateway they looked up and fixed their eyes upon
the statue; and, as they continued to gaze thereupon, the eunuchs
who sighted them seized them and carried them off to the
Sultan.[FN#35] When they stood between her hands and they
beheld the Forty Mamelukes who were also before her, the Wazir's
glance happened to fall upon his daughter who was on similar wise
in slave's habit, and he looked at her with the tears flowing
adown his cheeks and he said in his mind, "Walláhi! Verily this
Mameluke is like my child as like can be." Hereupon the Sultan
considered the twain[FN#36] and asked them of their case[FN#37]
and they answered, "We be Such-and-such and we are wandering
about to seek our daughter and her nine-and-thirty maidens."
Hereupon she assigned them also lodgings and rations for the
present. Lastly appeared the Pirate which had been Shaykh and comrade of the Forty Thieves also seeking that city, and albeit
he was aweary and perplext yet he ceased not to wander that he
might come upon the damsel who had slain his associates and who
had shaved his beard and had torn out his eye-teeth. He also when
he heard of the Hammam without charge and the free coffee-house
said in himself, "Hie thee to that place!" and as he was entering
the gateway he beheld the image and stood still and fell to
speaking fulsome speech and crying aloud and saying, "By Allah,
this statue is likest to her in stature and size and, by the
Almighty, if I can only lay my hand upon her and seize her I will
slaughter her even as one cutteth a mutton's throat. Ah! Ah! an I
could but catch hold of her." As he spake these words the
eunuchry heard him; so they seized him and dragged him along and
carried him before the Sultan who no sooner saw him and knew him than she ordered him to jail. And they imprisoned him for he had not come to that city save for the shortening of his days and the
lavishing of his life-blood and he knew not what was predestined
to him and in very sooth he deserved all that befel him. Hereupon
the damsel bade bring before her, her father and her cousin and
the Ra'is and the King and the Wazir and the Pirate (while she
still bore herself as one who administered the Sultanate), and
when it became night time all began to converse one with other
and presently quoth she to them, "O folk, let each and every who
hath a tale solace us with telling it." Hereat quoth one and all
of them, "We wist not a recital nor can we recount one;" and she
rejoined, "I will relate unto you an adventure." They cried, "O
King of the Age, pardon us! for how shalt thou rehearse us an
history and we sit listening thereto?"[FN#38] and she replied,
"Forasmuch as you have no say to say, I will speak in your stead
that we may shorten this our night." Then she continued, "There
was a merchant man and a wealthy with a brother which was needy,
and the richard had a daughter while the pauper had a son. But
when the poor man died he left only a boy who sought to marry the
girl his cousin: his paternal uncle, however, refused him maugre
that she loved him and she was beloved of him. Presently there
came a party of substantial merchants who demanded her in wedlock
and obtained her and agreed upon the conditions; when her sire
was minded to marry her to their man. This was hard upon the
damsel and sore grievous to her so she said, 'By Allah, I will
mate with none save my uncle's son.' Then she came to him at
midnight leading a she-mule and an ass and bringing somewhat of
her father's moneys and she knocked at the youth's door and he
came out to her and both went forth, he and she, in the outer
darkness of that murky night and the Veiler veiled her way." Now
when the father and the cousin heard this adventure they threw
themselves on her neck,[FN#39] and rejoiced in her until the turn
came for her recounting the tale of the merchant-captain and he
also approved her and was solaced by her words. Then, as she
related the history concerning the King and the Wazir, they said,
"By Allah, this indeed is a sweet story and full of light and
leading and our lord the Sultan deserveth for this recital whatso
he may require." But when she came to the Pirate he cried,
"Walláhi, O our lord the Sultan, this adventure is a grievous,
and Allah upon thee, tell us some other tale;" whereat all the
hearers rejoined, "By Allah, in very sooth the recital is a
pleasing." She continued to acquaint them with the adventure of
the Bird which invested her with the monarchy and she ended with
relating the matter of the Hammam, at all whereof the audience
wondered and said, "By Allah, this is a delectable matter and a
dainty;" but the Pirate cried aloud, "Such story pleaseth me not
in any way for 'tis heavy upon my heart!"--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

               The Five Hundred and Ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Pirate
cried out, "This tale is heavy upon my heart!" Presently the
damsel resumed her speech and said, "Walláhi! if my mother and my
father say sooth this be my sire and that be my cousin and here
standeth the King and there the Wazir and yonder are the Ra'is
and the Pirate, the comrade of the Forty Thieves whose only will
and wish was to dishonour us maidens all." Then she resumed,
addressing the King and his Minister, "These forty Mamelukes whom
you see standing between your hands are the virgin girls
belonging to you." After which she presented the twain with
sumptuous gifts and they took their maidens and with them went
their ways. Next she restored to the Ra'is his ship and freighted
it with her good and he set forth in it on his return voyage. But
as regards the Pirate she commanded her attendants to kindle for
him a furious fire and they lit it till it roared and the sparks
flew high in air, after which they pinioned him and cast him into
the flames, where his flesh was melted before his bones.[FN#40]
But as concerned her cousin she caused the marriage tie to be
tied between him and the Wazir's daughter and he paid her his
first visit on that same night and then she ordered her father to
knit the wedding knot with the youth on the next night and when
this was done forthwith he went in unto her. After this she
committed to him the Sultanate and he became a Sovran and Sultan
in her stead, and she bade fetch her mother to that city where
her cousin governed and where her father-in-law the Wazir was
chief Councillor of the realm. On this wise it endured for the
length of their lives, and fair to them were the term and the
tide and the age of the time, and they led of lives the
joyfullest and a livelihood of the perfectest until they were
consumed by the world and died out generation of the
generation.[FN#41]




             HISTORY OF AL-HAJJAJ BIN YUSUF AND THE
                      YOUNG SAYYID.[FN#42]



It is related (but Allah is All-knowing) that there was in times
of yore a man named 'Abdullah al-Karkhí and he was wont to tell
the following tale:--One day I was present in the assembly of
Al-Hajjáj the son of Yúsuf the Thakafí[FN#43] what time he was
Governor of Kúfah, and the folk around him were seated and for
awe of him prostrated and these were the Emirs and Wazirs and the
Nabobs and the Chamberlains and the Lords of the Land and the
Headmen in command and amongst whom he showed like a rending
lion. And behold, there came to him a man young in years and
ragged of raiment and of case debased and there was none of
blossom upon his cheeks and the World had changed his cuticle and
Need had altered his complexion. Presently he salam'd and
deprecated and was eloquent in his salutation to the Governor who
returned his greeting and looking at him asked, "Who art thou, O
young man, and what hast thou to say and what is thine excuse for
pushing into the assembly of the Kings even as if, O youth, thou
hadst been an invited guest?[FN#44] So say me, who art thou and
whose son art thou?" "I am the son of my mother and my father,"
answered he, and Al-Hajjaj continued, "In what fashion hast thou
come hither?"--"In my clothes." "Whence hast thou come?"--"From
behind me." "Whither art thou intending?"--"Before me." "On what
hast thou come?"--"On the ground." "Whence art thou, O young
man?"--"I am from the city Misr." "Art thou from Cairo?"[FN#45]-
-"Why asketh thou me, oh Hajjaj?" Whereupon the Lieutenant of
Kufah replied, "Verily her ground is gold and her Nile is rare to
behold and her women are a toy for the conqueror to enjoy, and
her men are nor burghers nor Badawis." Quoth the youth, "I am not
of them," and quoth Al-Hajjaj, "Then whence art thou, O young
man?"--"I am from the city of Syria." "Then art thou from the
stubbornest of places and the feeblest of races."[FN#46]
"Wherefore, O Hajjaj?"--"For that it is a mixed breed I ween, nor
Jew nor Nazarene." "I am not of them." "Then whence art thou, O
young man?"--"I am of Khorásán of 'Ajamí-land." "Thou art
therefore from a place the fulsomest and of faith the infirmest."
--"Wherefore, O Hajjaj?" "Because flocks and herds are their chums and they are Ajams of the Ajams from whom liberal deed never comes, and their morals and manners none to praise presumes and their speech is gross and weighty, and stingy are their rich and wealthy." "I am not of them." "Then whence art thou, O young
man?" "I am from Mosul." "Then art thou from the foulest and
filthiest of a Catamite race, whose youth is a scapegrace and
whose old age hath the wits of an ass." "I am not of them." "Then
whence art thou, O young man?" "I am from the land of Al-Yaman."
"Then art thou from a clime other than delectable." "And why so,
O Hajjaj?" "For that their noblest make womanly use of
Murd[FN#47] or beardless boys and the meanest of them tan hides
and the lowest amongst them train baboons to dance, and others
are weavers of Burd or woollen plaids."[FN#48] "I am not of
them." "Then whence art thou, O young man?" "I am from Meccah."
"Then art thou from a mine of captious carping and ignorance and
lack of wits and of sleep over-abundant, whereto Allah
commissioned a noble Prophet, and him they belied and they
rejected: so he went forth unto a folk which loved him and
honoured him and made him a conqueror despite the nose of the
Meccan churls." "I am not of them." "Then whence art thou, O
young man? for verily thou hast been abundant of prate and my
heart longeth to cut off thy pate."[FN#49] Hereupon quoth the
youth, "An I knew thou couldst slay me I had not worshipped any
god save thyself," and quoth Al-Hajjaj, "Woe to thee and who
shall stay me from slaying thee?" "To thyself be the woe with
measure enow," cried the youth; "He shall hinder thee from
killing me who administereth between a man and his heart,[FN#50]
and who falseth not his promise." "'Tis He," rejoined Al-Hajjaj,
"who directeth me to thy death;" but the Youth retorted, "Allah
forfend that He appoint thee to my slaughter; nay rather art thou
commissioned by thy Devil, and I take refuge with the Lord from
Satan the stoned." "Whence then art thou, O young man?" "I am
from Yathrib."[FN#51] "And what be Yathrib?" "It is Tayyibah."
"And what be Tayyibah?" "Al-Madinah, the Luminate, the mine of
inspiration and explanation and prohibition and licitation,[FN#52] and I am the seed of the Banú Ghálib[FN#53] and the purest scion of the Imam 'Ali bin Abí Talíb (Allah honour his countenance and accept of him!), and all degree and descent[FN#54] must fail save my descent and degree which shall never be cut off until the Day of Doom." Hereupon Al-Hajjaj raged with exceeding rage and ordered the Youth to execution; whereat rose up against him the Lords of the realm and the headmen of the reign and sued him by way of intercession and stretched out to
him their necks, saying, "Here are our heads before his head and
our lives before his life. By Allah, ho thou the Emir, there is
naught but that thou accept our impetration in the matter of
this Youth, for he is on no wise deserving of death." Quoth the
Governor, "Weary not yourselves for needs must I slay him; and
even were an Angel from Heaven to cry out 'Kill him not,' I would
never hearken to his cry." Quoth the youth, "Thou shalt be
baffled[FN#55] O Hajjaj! Who art thou that an Angel from Heaven
should cry out to thee 'Kill him not,' for thou art of the vilest
and meanest of mankind nor hast thou power to find a path to my
death." Cried Al-Hajjaj, "By Allah, I will not slay thee except
upon a plea I will plead against thee, and convict thee by thy
very words." "What is that, O Hajjaj?" asked the Youth, and
answered Hajjaj, "I will now question thee, and out of thine own
mouth will I convict thee and strike off thy head.[FN#56] Now say
me, O young man: - Whereby doth the slave draw near to Allah
Almighty?" "By five things, prayer (1), and fasting (2), and alms
(3), and pilgrimage (4), and Holy War upon the path of Almighty
Allah (5)." "But I draw near to the Lord with the blood of the
men who declare that Hasan and Husayn were the sons and
successors of the Apostle of Allah.[FN#57] Furthermore, O young
man, how can they be born of the Apostle of Almighty Allah when
he sayeth, 'Never was Mohammed the father of any man amongst you,
but he was the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the
Prophets.'"[FN#58] "Hear thou, O Hajjaj, my answer with another
Koranic verse,[FN#59] 'What the Apostle hath given you, take: and
what he hath refused you, refuse.' Now Allah Almighty hath
forbidden the taking of life, whose destruction is therefore
unlawful." "Thou has spoken sooth, O young man, but inform me of
what is incumbent on thee every day and every night?" "The five
canonical prayers." "And for every year?" "The fast of the month
of Ramazán." "And for the whole of thy life?" "One pilgrimage to
the Holy House of Allah." "Sooth thou hast said, O young man; now
do inform me"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

              The Five Hundred and Twelfth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hajjaj
said, "Now do thou inform me who is the most excellent of the
Arabs and the noblest and of blood the purest?"--"The Khoraysh."
"And wherefore so?" "For that the Prophets from them proceeded."
"And what tribe is the knightliest of the Arabs and the bravest
and the firmest in fight?"--"The Banu Háshim."[FN#60] "And
wherefore so?" "For that my grandsire the Imám Alí ibn Abí Tálib
is of them." "And who is the most generous of the Arabs and most
steadfast in the guest-rite?"--"The Banu Tayy." "And wherefore
so?" "For that Hátim of Tayy[FN#61] was one thereof." "And
who is the vilest of the Arabs and the meanest and the most
miserly, in whom weal is smallest and ill is greatest?" "The Banu
Thakíf."[FN#62] "And wherefore so?" "Because thou, O Hajjaj, art
of them." Thereupon the Lieutenant of Kufah raged with exceeding
rage and ordered the slaughter of the youth; but the Grandees of
the State rose up and prayed him for mercy, when he accepted
their intercession and pardoned the offender. After which he said
to him, "O young man, concerning the kid[FN#63] that is in the
firmament, tell me be it male or female?" for he was minded on
this wise to cut short his words. The young Sayyid replied, "O
Hajjaj, draw me aside its tail so I may inform thee
thereanent."[FN#64] "O young man, say me on what pasture best
grow the horns of the camel?" "From leaves of stone." "O
lack-wit! do stones bear leaves?" "O swollen of lips and little
of wits and wisdom, say me do camels have horns?" "Haply thou art
a lover fond, O youth?" "Yes! in love drowned." "And whom lovest
thou?"--"I love my lord, of whom I hope that he will turn my
annoy into joy, and who can save me this day from thee, O
Hajjaj." "And dost thou know the Lord?" "Yes, I do." "And whereby
hast thou known Him?" "By the book of Him which descended upon
His Prophet-Apostle." "And knowest thou the Koran by heart?"
"Doth the Koran fly from me that I should learn it by rote?"
"Hast thou confirmed knowledge thereof?" "Verily Allah sent down
a book confirmed."[FN#65] "Hast thou perused and mastered that
which is therein?" "I have." "Then, O young man, if thou have
read and learned what it containeth, tell me which verset is the
sublimest (1) and which verset is the most imperious (2) and
which verset is hopefullest (3) and which verset is fearfullest
(4) and which verset is believed by the Jew and the Nazarene (5)
and in which verset Allah speaketh purely of Himself (6) and in which verset be the Angels mentioned (7) and which verset alludeth to the Prophets (8) and in which verset be mentioned the People of Paradise (9) and which verset speaketh of the Folk of the Fire (10) and which verset containeth tenfold signs (11) and which verset (12) speaketh of Iblís (whom Allah accurse!)." Then quoth the youth, "Listen to my answering, O Hajjaj, with the aid of the Beneficent King. Now the sublimest verset in the Book of Allah Almighty is the Throne verse;[FN#66] and the most imperious is the word of Almighty Allah, 'Verily Allah ordereth justice and well-doing and bestowal of gifts upon kith and kin';[FN#67] and the justest is the word of the Almighty, 'Whoso shall have wrought a mithkál (nay an atom) of good works shall see it again, and whoso shall have wrought a mithkál (nay an atom) of ill shall again see it';[FN#68] and the fullest of fear is that spoken by the Almighty, 'Doth not every man of them desire that he enter into the Paradise hight Al-Na'im?'[FN#69] and the fullest of hope is the word of the Almighty, 'Say Me, O My worshippers who have sinned against your own souls, do not despair of Allah's ruth';[FN#70] and the verset which containeth ten signs is the word of the Lord which saith[FN#71] 'Verily in the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth and in the shifts of Night and Day and in the ships which pass through the sea with what is useful to mankind; and in the rain
which Allah sendeth down from Heaven, thereby giving to the earth
life after death, and by scattering thereover all the moving
creatures, and in the change of the winds, and in the clouds
which are made to do service between the Heavens and the Earth
are signs for those who understand'; and the verset wherein
believe both Jews and Nazarenes is the word of Almighty
Allah,[FN#72] 'The Jews say the Nazarenes are on naught, and the
Christians say the Jews are on naught, and both speak the sooth
for they are on naught.' And the verset wherein Allah Almighty
speaketh purely of Himself is that word of Almighty Allah,[FN#73]
'And I created not Jinn-kind and mankind save to the end that
they adore Me'; and the verset which was spoken of the Angels is
the word of Almighty Allah which saith,[FN#74] 'Laud to Thee! we
have no knowledge save what Thou hast given us to know, and
verily Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.' And the verset which
speaketh of the Prophets is the word of Almighty Allah that
saith[FN#75] 'And We have already sent Apostles before thee: of
some We have told thee, and of others We have told thee naught:
yet no Apostle had the power to come with a sign unless by the
leave of Allah. But when Allah's behest cometh, everything shall
be decided with truth; and then perish they who entreated it as a
vain thing'; and the verset which speaketh of the Folk of the
Fire is the word of Almighty Allah which saith[FN#76] 'O our
Lord! Bring us forth from her (the Fire), and, if we return (to
our sins), we shall indeed be of the evildoers'; and the verset
that speaketh of the People of Paradise is the word of Almighty
Allah,[FN#77] 'And they shall say: Laud to the Lord who abated to
us grief, and verily our Lord is Gracious, Grateful'; and the
verset which speaketh of Iblis (whom Allah Almighty accurse!), is
the word of Almighty Allah,[FN#78] 'He said: (I swear) therefore
by thy glory, that all of them will I surely lead astray.'"
Hereupon Al-Hajjaj exclaimed, "Laud to the Lord and thanksgiving
Who giveth wisdom unto whoso He please! Never indeed saw I a
youth like this youth upon whom the Almighty hath bestowed wits
and wisdom and knowledge for all the tenderness of his age. But
say me, who art thou, O young man?" Quoth the youth, "I am of the
folk of these things,[FN#79] O Hajjaj." Resumed the Lieutenant,
"Inform me concerning the son of Adam what injureth him and what
profiteth him?" And the youth replied, "I will, O Hajjaj; do thou
and these present who are longing for permanency (and none is
permanent save Allah Almighty!) be early the fast to break nor be
over late supper to make; and wear light body-clothes in summer
and gar heavy the headgear in winter, and guard the brain with
what it conserveth and the belly with what it preserveth and
begin every meal with salt for it driveth away seventy and two
kinds of malady: and whoso breaketh his fast each day with seven
raisins red of hue"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth
continued to Al-Hajjaj: - "And whoso breaketh his fast daily with
seven raisins red of hue shall never find in his body aught that
irketh him; moreover, whoso each morning eateth on the
spittle[FN#80] three ripe dates all the worms in his belly shall
be slain and whoso exceedeth in diet of boucan'd meat[FN#81] and
fish shall find his strength weakened and his powers of carnal
copulation abated; and beware lest thou eat beef[FN#82] by cause
that 'tis a disease forsure whereas the soured milk of cows is a
remedy secure and clarified butter is a perfect cure: withal is
its hide a succor for use and ure. And do thou take to thee, O
Hajjaj, the greater Salve."[FN#83] Cried the Lieutenant, "What
may be that?" and said the youth in reply, "A bittock of hard
bread eaten[FN#84] upon the spittle, for indeed such food
consumeth the phlegm and similar humours which be at the mouth of
the maw.[FN#85] And let not blood in the hot bath for it
enfeebleth man's force, and gaze not upon the metal pots of the
Balnea because such sight breedeth dimness of vision. Also have
no connection with woman in the Hammam for its consequence is the
palsy; nor do thou lie with her when thou art full or when thou
art empty or when thou art drunken with wine or when thou art in
wrath nor when lying on thy side, for that it occasioneth
swelling of the testicle-veins;[FN#86] or when thou art under a
fruit-bearing tree. Avoid carnal knowledge of the old
woman[FN#87] for that she taketh from thee and giveth not to
thee. Moreover let thy signet ring be made of carnelian[FN#88]
because it is a guard against poverty; also a look at the Holy
Volume every morning increaseth thy daily bread, and to gaze at
flowing water whetteth the sight and to look upon the face of
children is an act of adoration. And when thou chancest lose thy
way, crave aidance of Allah from Satan the Stoned." Hereupon
quoth Al-Hajjaj, "Allah hath been copious to thee, O young man,
for thou hast drowned me in the depths of thy lore, but now
inform me, Where is the seat of thy dignified behaviour?"--"The
two eyes." "And where is the seat of thy well-doing?"--"My
tongue." And where is the seat of thy intellect?"—"My brain." "And where is the seat of thy hearing?"--"The sensorium of mine ears." "And where is the seat of thy smelling?"--"The sensorium of my nose." "And where is the seat of thy taste?"--"My
palate." "And where is the seat of thy gladness?"--"My heart." "And where is the seat of thy sorrow?"--"My soul." "And where is the seat of thy wrath?"--"My liver." "And where is
the seat of thy laughing?"--"My spleen."[FN#89] "And where is the
seat of thy bodily strenght?"--"My two shoulders." "And where is
that of thy weakness?"--"My two calves." Hereupon Al-Hajjaj
exclaimed, "Laud to the Lord and thanksgiving; for indeed, O
young man, I see that thou knowest everything. So tell me
somewhat concerning husbandry?"--"The best of corn is the
thickest of cob and the grossest of grain and the fullest sized
of shock."[FN#90] "And what sayest thou concerning palm-trees?"--
"The most excellent is that which the greatest of gathering doth
own and whose height is low-grown and within whose meat is the
smallest stone." "And what dost thou say anent the vine?"--"The
most noble is that which is stout of stem and big of bunch." "And
what sayest thou concerning the Heavens?"--"This is the furthest
extent of man's sight and the dwelling-place of the Sun and Moon
and all the Stars that give light, raised on high without columns
pight and overshadowing the numbers that stand beneath its height." "And what dost thou say concerning the Earth?"--"It is wide dispread in length and breadth." "And what dost thou say anent the rain?"-
-"The most excellent is that which filleth the pits and pools and
which overfloweth into the wadys and the rivers." Hereupon quoth
Al-Hajjaj, "O young man inform me what women be the best"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hajjaj
said, "O young man, inform me what women be the best and the most
enjoyable."[FN#91]--"One in winning ways excelling and in
comeliness exceeding and in speech killing: one whose brow
glanceth marvellous bright to whoso filleth his eyes with her
sight and to whom she bequeatheth sorrow and blight; one whose
breasts are small whilst her hips are large and her cheeks are
rosy red and her eyes are deeply black and he lips are
full-formed; one who if she look upon the heavens even the rocks
will be robed in green, and if she look upon the earth her
lips[FN#92] unpierced pearls shall rain; one the dews of whose
mouth are the sweetest of waters; one who in beauty hath no peer
nor is there any loveliness can with hers compare: the coolth of
the eyes to great and small; in fine, one whose praises certain
of the poets have sung in these harmonious couplets,[FN#93]

'A fair one to idolaters if she herself should show, * They'd
     leave their idols and her face for only Lord would know.
If in the Eastward she appeared unto a monk, for once * He'd
     cease from turning to the West and to the East bend low;
And into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, * Assuredly
     the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow.'"

Hereupon quoth Al-Hajjaj, "Thou hast said well and hast spoken
fair, O young man; and now what canst thou declare concerning a
maiden of ten years old?" Quoth the youth, "She is a joy to
behold." "And a damsel of twenty years old?"--"A coolth to eyes
manifold." "And a woman thirty of age?"--"One who the hearts of
enjoyers can engage." "And in her fortieth year?"--"Fat, fresh
and fair doth she appear." "And of the half century?"--"The
mother of men and maids in plenty." "And a crone of three
score?"--"Men ask of her never more." "And when three score and
ten?"--"An old trot and remnant of men." "And one who reacheth
four score?"--"Unfit for the world and for the faith forlore."
"And one of ninety?"--"Ask not of whoso in Jahím be."[FN#94] "And
a woman who to an hundredth hath owned?"--"I take refuge with
Allah from Satan the Stoned." Then Al-Hajjaj laughed aloud and
said, "O young man, I desire of thee even as thou describedst
womankind in prose so thou show me their conditions in verse;"
and the Sayyid, having answered, "Hearkening and obedience, O
Hajjaj," fell to improvising these couplets,[FN#95]

"When a maid owns to ten her new breasts arise * And like diver's
     pearl with fair neck she hies:
The damsel of twenty defies compare * 'Tis she whose disport we
     desire and prize:
She of thirty hath healing on cheeks of her; * She's a pleasure,
     a plant whose sap never dries:
If on her in the forties thou happily hap * She's best of her
     sex, hail to him with her lies!
She of fifty (pray Allah be copious to her!) * With wit, craft
     and wisdom her children supplies.
The dame of sixty hath lost some force * Whose remnants are easy
     to ravenous eyes:
At three score ten few shall seek her house * Age-threadbare made
     till afresh she rise:
The fourscore dame hath a bunchy back * From mischievous eld whom
     perforce Love flies:
And the crone of ninety hath palsied head * And lies wakeful o'
     nights and in watchful guise;
And with ten years added would Heaven she bide * Shrouded in sea
     with a shark for guide!"

Hereupon Al-Hajjaj laughed aloud and all who were with him in
assembly; and presently he resumed, "O youth, tell me concerning
the first man who spake in verse[FN#96] and that was our common
sire, Adam (The Peace be upon him!), what time Kábíl[FN#97] slew
Hábíl his brother when our forefather improvised these lines,

'Changed I see my country and all thereon; * Earth is now a
     blackavice, ugly grown:
The hue and flavour of food is fled * And cheer is fainting from
     fair face flown.
An thou, O Abel, be slain this day * Thy death I bemourn with
     heart torn and lone.
Weep these eyes and 'sooth they have right to weep * Their tears
     are as rills flowing hills adown.
Kábil slew Hábil--did his brother dead; * Oh my woe for that
     lovely face, ochone!'"[FN#98]

Hereat Al-Hajjaj asked, "O young man, what drove our ancestor to
poetry?" whereto answered the youth--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Five Hundred and Eighteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth
replied, "He was driven to poetry by Iblis (whom Allah accurse!)
when he spake in this verse,

'Thou bewailest the land and all thereon * And scant was the
     breadth of Eden didst own,
Where thou was girded by every good * O' life and in rest ever
     wont to wone:
But ne'er ceased my wiles and my guile until * The wind o'erthrew
     thee by folly blown.'"[FN#99]

Whereupon quoth Al-Hajjaj, "O young man, inform me concerning the
first couplet of verse spoken by the Arab in praise of
munificence;" and quoth the youth, "O Hajjaj, the first Arabic
distich known to me was spoken by Hátim of Tayy, and 'twas as
follows,

'And the guest I greet ere from me he go * Before wife and weans
     in my weal and woe.'"

Then cried Al-Hajjaj, "Thou hast said well and hast spoken fair,
O young man; and thy due is incumbent upon us for that thou hast
drowned us in the deeps of thy wisdom." Presently the Lieutenant
of Kufah turning towards one of his eunuchs said, "Bring me at
this very moment a purse containing ten thousand dirhams[FN#100]
upon a charger of red gold and a suit of the rarest of my raiment
and a blood mare the noblest steed of my steeds with a saddle of
gold and a haubergeon;[FN#101] and a lance of full length and a
handmaid the handsomest of my slave-girls." The attendant
disappeared for a while, and presently brought all this between
the hands of Al-Hajjaj, who said, "O young man, this damsel is
the fairest of my chattels, and this be the purse on a charger of
gold, and this mare is the purest in blood of my steeds together
with her housings, so do thou take whatever thou desirest
thereof, either the mare with all upon her or the purse of gold
or the concubine," presently saying to himself, "If the young man
prefer the purse, 'twill prove he loveth the world and I will
slay him, also if he choose the girl, he lusteth after womankind,
and I will do him die: but if he take the mare and her furniture,
he will show himself the brave of braves, and he meriteth not
destruction at my hands." Then the youth came forward and took
the mare and her appointments. Now the damsel was standing by the
young Sayyid, and she winked at him with her eye as one saying,
"Do thou choose me and leave all the rest;" whereupon he began to
improvise the following couplets,

"The jingling bridle at Bayard's neck * Is dearer to me than what
     sign thou deign:
I fear when I fall into straits and fare * Abroad, no comrade in
     thee to gain:
I fear when lain on my couch and long * My sickness, thou prove
     thee nor fond nor fain:
I fear me that time groweth scant my good * And my hand be strait
     thou shalt work me bane:
A helpmate I want shall do what do I * And bear patient the
     pasture of barren plain."[FN#102]

Presently the handmaid answered his verse with the following
couplets,

"Forfend me, Allah, from all thou say'st * Though my left with my
     right thou shalt hew in twain.
A husband's honour my works shall keep * And I'll wone content
     with his smallest gain:
Didst know me well and my nature weet * Thou hadst found me mate
     of the meekest strain.
Nor all of women are like to sight * Nor all of men are of
     similar grain.
The charge of a mate to the good belongs; * Let this oath by
     Allah belief obtain."

Hearing these words Al-Hajjaj exclaimed, "Woe to thee, O damsel,
dost thou answer him in his verse? and do thou O young man, take
the whole, and may Allah give thee no blessing therein."[FN#103]
Answered by the young Sayyid, "Here with them, O Hajjaj, inasmuch
as thou hast given them to me, I will not oppose the order of
Allah through thee, but another time there is no union between us
twain, me and thee, as there hath been this day." Now the city of
Al-Hajjaj had two gates--the door of Destruction and the door of
Salvation; and when the youth asked him, "O Hajjaj, shall I go
forth from this or from that?" the Lieutenant of Kufah cried,
"Issue by this outlet," and showed him the Gate of Safety. Then
the youth took all the presents and fared forth by the passage
which had been shown to him, and went his ways and was seen no more. Hereupon the Grandees of the kingdom said to Al-Hajjaj, "O our lord, how hast thou given to him these gifts and he hath on
nowise thanked thee, nor wished thee well[FN#104] for thy favours, and yet hast thou pointed out to him the Gate of
Salvation?" Hereupon he replied, "Verily, the youth asked
direction of me, and it becometh the director to be trustworthy
and no traitor (Allah's curse be upon him who betrayeth!), and
this youth meriteth naught save mercy by reason of his
learning."[FN#105]




             NIGHT ADVENTURE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND
                   THE YOUTH MANJAB.[FN#106]



It is told in various relations of the folk (but Allah is
All-knowing of His secret purpose and All-powerful and
All-beneficent and All-merciful in whatso of bygone years
transpired and amid peoples of old took place) that the Caliph
Hárún al-Rashíd being straitened of breast one day summoned his
Chief of the Eunuchs and said to him, "O Masrur!" Quoth he,
"Adsum, O my lord;" and quoth the other, "This day my breast is
straitened and I would have thee bring me somewhat to hearten my
heart and consume my care." Replied Masrur, "O my lord, do thou
go forth to thy garden and look upon the trees and the blooms and
the rills and listen to the warblings of the fowls." Harun
replied, "O Masrur, thou hast mentioned a matter which palleth on
my palate[FN#107] nor may my breast be broadened by aught thou
hast commended." Rejoined the Eunuch, "Then do thou enter thy
palace and having gathered thy handmaids before thee, let each
and every say her say whilst all are robed in the choicest of
raiment and ornaments; so shalt thou look upon them and thy
spirits shall be cheered." The Caliph retorted, "O Masrur, we
want other than this;" whereupon quoth the slave, "O Prince of
True Believers, send after the Wazirs and thy brotherhood of
learned men and let them improvise for thee poetry and set before
thee stories whereby shall thy care be solaced." Quoth he, "O
Masrur, naught of this shall profit me." Hereat cried the Eunuch,
"Then, O my lord, I see naught for thee save to take thy sabre
and smite the neck of thy slave: haply and peradventure this may
comfort thee and do away with thy disgust."[FN#108] When the King
Harun al-Rashid heard these words, he laughed aloud and said to
him, "O Masrur, go forth to the gate where haply thou shalt find
some one of my cup-companions." Accordingly he went to the porte
in haste and there came upon one of the courtiers which was Ali
ibn Mansúr Al-Dimishkí and brought him in. The Commander of the
Faithful seeing him bade him be seated and said, "O Ibn Mansur, I
would have thee tell me a tale somewhat rare and strange; so
perchance my breast may be broadened and my doleful dumps from me
depart." Said he, "O Prince of True Believers, dost thou desire
that I relate to thee of the things which are past and gone or I
recount a matter I espied with my own eyes?" Al-Rashid replied,
"An thou have sighted somewhat worthy seeing relate it to us for
hearing is not like beholding." He rejoined, "O Emir al-Muuminín,
whilst I tell thee this tale needs must thou lend me ear and
mind;" and the Caliph[FN#109] retorted, "Out with thy story, for
here am I hearkening to thee with ears and eyes wide awake, so
that my soul may understand the whole of this say." Hereupon Ibn
Mansur related to him "The Loves of the Lovers of
Bassorah."[FN#110] Now when Al-Rashid heard the tale of Ibn
Mansur there fell from him somewhat of his cark and care but he
was not wholly comforted. He spent the night in this case and
when it was morning he summoned the Wazir Ja'afar ibn Yahyá the
Barmaki, and cried to him, "O Ja'afar!" He replied, "Here am I!
Allah lengthen thy life, and make permanent thy prosperity." The
Caliph resumed, "Verily my breast is straitened and it hath
passed through my thought that we fare forth, I and thou (and
Eunuch Masrur shall make a third), and we will promenade the main
streets of Baghdad and solace ourselves with seeing its several
places and peradventure I may espy somewhat to hearten my heart
and clear off my care and relieve me of what is with me of
straitness of breast." Ja'afar made answer, "O Commander of the
Faithful, know that thou art Caliph and Regent and Cousin to the
Apostle of Allah and haply some of the sons of the city may speak
words that suit thee not and from that matter may result other
matter with discomfort to thy heart and annoyance to thy mind,
the offender unknowing the while that thou art walking the
streets by night. Then thou wilt command his head to be cut off
and what was meant for pleasure may end in displeasure and wrath
and wrong-doing." Al-Rashid replied, "I swear by the rights of my
forbears and ancestors even if aught mishap to us from the
meanest of folk as is wont to happen or he speak words which
should not be spoken, that I will neither regard them nor reply
thereto, neither will I punish the aggressor, nor shall aught
linger in my heart against the addresser; but need must I pass
through the Bazar this very night." Hereupon quoth Ja'afar to the
Caliph, "O Viceregent of Allah upon earth, do thou be steadfast
of purpose and rely upon Allah!"[FN#111] Then they arose and
arousing Masrur doffed what was upon them of outer dress and
bag-trousers and habited themselves each one of them in garments
differing from those of the city folks. Presently they sallied
forth by the private postern and walked from place to place till
they came to one of the highways of the capital and after
threading its length they arrived at a narrow street whose like
was never seen about all the horizons.[FN#112] This they found
swept and sprinkled with the sweet northern breeze playing
through it and at the head thereof rose a mansion towering from
the dust and hanging from the necks of the clouds. Its whole
length was of sixty cubits whereas its breadth was of twenty
ells; its gate was of ebony inlaid with ivory and plated with
plates of yellow brass while athwart the doorway hung a curtain
of sendal and over it was a chandelier of gold fed with oil of
'Irákí violets which brightened all that quarter with its light.
The King Harun al-Rashid and the Wazir and the Eunuch stood
marvelling at what they saw of these signs and at what they smelt
of the scents breathing from the clarity[FN#113] of this palace
as though they were the waftings of the perfumed gardens of
Paradise and they cast curious glances at the abode so lofty and
of base so goodly and of corners so sturdy, whose like was never
builded in those days. Presently they noted that its entrance was
poikilate with carvings manifold and arabesques of glittering
gold and over it was a line writ in letters of lapis lazuli. So
Al-Rashid took seat under the candelabrum with Ja'afar standing
on his right and Masrur afoot to his left and he exclaimed, "O
Wazir, this mansion is naught save in the utmost perfection of
beauty and degree; and verily its lord must have expended upon it
wealth galore and of gold a store; and, as its exterior is
magnificent exceedingly, so would to Heaven I knew what be its
interior." Then the Caliph cast a glance at the upper lintel of
the door whereupon he saw inscribed in letters of golden water
which glittered in the rays of the chandelier,

"WHOSO SPEAKETH OF WHAT CONCERNETH HIM NOT SHALL HEAR WHAT
PLEASETH HIM NOT."

Hereupon quoth Al-Rashid, "O Ja'afar, the house-master never
wrote yonder lines save for a reason and I desire to discover
what may be his object, so let us forgather with him and ask him
the cause of this legend being inscribed in this place." Quoth
Ja'afar, "O Prince of True Believers, yonder lines were never
written save in fear of the curtain of concealment being
withdrawn."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Six Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Ja'afar
the Barmecide said to the King, "Verily the master of this house
never wrote yonder lines save in fear lest the curtain of
concealment be withdrawn." Hearing this the Caliph held his peace
for a while and fell to pondering this matter then said he, "O
Ja'afar, knock at the door and ask for us a gugglet of water;"
and when the Wazir did his bidding one of the slaves called out
from within the entrance, "Who is it rappeth at our gate?"
Hereupon said Masrur to him, "O son of my uncle, open to us the
door and give us a gugglet of water for that our lord thirsteth."
The chattel went in to his master, the young man, Manjáb hight,
who owned the mansion, and said, "O my lord, verily there be at
our door three persons who have rapped for us and who ask for a
drink of water." The master asked, "What manner of men may they
be?" and the slave answered, "One of them sitteth under the
chandelier and another of them standeth by his side and the third
is a black slave between their hands; and all three show signs of
staidness and dignity than which naught can be more." "Go forth
to them," exclaimed the master, "and say to them, 'My lord
inviteth you to become of his guests.'" So the servile went out
and delivered the message, whereat they entered and found five
lines of inscription in different parts of the hall with a
candelabrum overhanging each and every and the whole five
contained the sentence we have before mentioned; furthermore all
the lights were hung up over the legend that the writing might be
made manifest unto whoso would read it. Accordingly Harun
al-Rashid entered and found a mansion of kingly degree[FN#114]
and of marvellous ordinance in the utmost that could be of beauty
and ornament and five black slaves and as many Eunuchs were
standing in the saloon to offer their services. Seeing this the
Caliph marvelled with extreme marvel at the house and the
house-master who greeted them in friendly guise; after which he to whom the palace belonged sat down upon a divan and bade Al-Rashid sit over against him and signed to Ja'afar and Masrur to take their places in due degree,[FN#115] whilst the negroes and the eunuchs stood expecting their commands for suit and service.
Presently was brought to them a huge waxen taper which lighted up
the whole of the hall and the young house-master accosted the
King and said to him, "Well come and welcome and fair welcome to
our guests who to us are the most esteemed of folk and may Allah
honour their places!" Hereupon he began to repeat the following
couplets,[FN#116]

"If the house knew who visits it, it would indeed rejoice * And
     stoop to kiss the happy place whereon her feet have stood;
And in the voice with which the case, though mute, yet speaks, *
     Exclaim, 'Well come and many a welcome to the generous, and
     the good.'"

Presently Manjab the master of the house bade bring for his
guests meats and viands meet for the great, of all kinds and of
every colour, so they obeyed his orders, and when they had eaten
their sufficiency they were served with confections perfumed with
rose-water wondrous fine. Hereupon quoth the youth to Al-Rashid
and those with him, "Almighty Allah make it pleasant to
you[FN#117] and blame us not and accept our excuses for what
Allah hath made easy to us at such time of night, and there is no
doubt but that this be a fortunate day when ye made act of
presence before us." They thanked him and Al-Rashid's breast was
broadened and his heart was heartened and there fell from him all
that whilom irked him. Then the youth shifted them from that
place to another room which was the women's apartment; and here
he seated them upon the highest Divan and bade serve to them a
platter containing fruits of all descriptions and ordered his
servants to bring roast meats and fried meats and when this was
done they set before them the service of wine. Anon appeared four
troops of singers with their instruments of music and each was
composed of five handmaids, so the whole numbered a score and
these when they appeared before the master kissed ground between
his hands and sat down each one in her own degree. Then amongst
them the cups went about and all sorrow was put to rout and the
birds of joyance flapped their wings. This continued for an hour
of time whilst the guests sat listening to the performers on the
lute and other instruments and after there came forward five
damsels other than the first twenty and formed a second and
separate set and they showed their art of singing in wondrous
mode even as was done by the first troop. Presently on like guise
came set after set till the whole twenty had performed and as
Al-Rashid heard their strains he shook with pleasure--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Six Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when
Al-Rashid heard their strains, he shook with pleasure and wonder
and joyance and enjoyment until he rent his robes[FN#118] and the
house-master beholding this said to him, "O our lord, be the
heart of thine enemies thus rended asunder!" Now there was
amongst the handmaids a songstress who began to sing and to
improvise these couplets,

"My world goes strait when thou art a-gone * And when fled from
     my ken in my heart dost wone[FN#119]
And I love my love with a love as fond * As Jacob him who in pit
     was thrown."

Hereupon Ja'afar was delighted with exceeding delight and rent
his raiment even as the Caliph had done, but when the
house-master saw this from him he ordered for the twain a suit of
clothes that befitted them and bade strip them of the rended
garments and clothed them in the new. Presently the young man
said, "O my lords, your time is gleesome and Allah make it to you
gladsome and broaden your hearts and from you fend everything
loathsome and lasting to you be honour and all that is
blithesome." Hereupon he ordered another damsel to chaunt that
was with her and when Masrur the Eunuch heard it he tare his
garment as had been done by Al-Rashid and the Wazir, when the
house-master bade bring for him a suit that besitted him and they
donned it after doffing the torn clothes. Then the youth ordered
a handmaid of the fourth set who sang a tune and spake these
couplets,

"Thou hast a lover of looks lune-bright * And lighter than
     crescent[FN#120] he shows to sight;
For the sheen of the crescent shall ever wane * But he shall grow
     to a perfect light."[FN#121]

Hearing this Manjab the master of the house shrieked out a mighty
loud shriek and tare his upper dress and fell aswoon to the
ground, and as Al-Rashid looked upon him (and he bestrown in his
fainting fit) he beheld upon his sides the stripes of scourging
with rods and palm-sticks. At this sight he was surprised and
said, "O Ja'afar, verily I marvel at this youth and his
generosity and munificence and fine manners, especially when I
look upon that which hath befallen him of beating and
bastinadoing, and in good sooth this is a wondrous matter." Quoth
the other, "O our lord, haply someone hath harmed him in much
money and his enemy took flight and the owner of the property
administered to him this beating[FN#122] or peradventure someone
lied concerning him, and he fell into the hands of the rulers and
the Sultan bade bastinado him, or again perchance his tongue
tripped and his fate was fulfilled to him." Quoth Al-Rashid, "O
Ja'afar, this youth be not in the conditions thou hast mentioned
to me," and, replied the other, "Sooth thou hast said, O our
lord; by cause that indeed this young man, when we asked him for
a gugglet of water invited us into his place and honoured us with
all this honour and heartened our hearts and this was of the
stress of his generosity and his abundant goodness." Al-Rashid
continued to converse with his Wazir while the young man did not
recover from his swoon for a while of time, when another maiden
of the maidens spoke out reciting these couplets,

"He adorns the branch of his tribal-tree, * Loves the fawn his
     song as his sight she see;
And beauty shines in his every limb * While in every heart he
     must stablished be."

Hereat the young man came to himself and shrieked a mighty loud
shriek more violent than the first and put forth his hand to his
garment and rent it in rags and fell swooning a second time, when
his sides were bared more fully than before until the whole of
his back appeared and Al-Rashid was straitened thereby as to his
breast and his patience made protest, and he cried, "O Ja'afar,
there is no help but that I ask concerning the wheals of this
bastinadoing." And as they talked over the matter of the youth
behold, he came to his senses and his slaves brought him a fresh
suit and caused him don it, whereupon Al-Rashid came forward and
said, "O young man, thou hast honoured us and favoured us and
entreated us with such kindness as other than thyself could never
do nor can any requite us with the like; withal there remaineth a
somewhat in my heart"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Six Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will." It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Rashid
said to the youth, the master of the house, "Withal there
remaineth a somewhat in my heart which if I manifest not to thee
will abide there to my displeasure in my thought; and, albeit
there is nothing to equal that thou hast done with us, still I
desire of thee and of the excellence of thy kindness a fulfilling
of thy favour." Said the youth, "What dost thou wish of me, ho
thou the lord?" and said the Caliph, "I would have thee inform me
concerning the scars upon thy sides and let me know for what
cause they be there." Now when the young man heard these words he
bowed his brow groundwards and wept awhile, then he wiped his
face and raised his head and asked, "What hath urged you to this?
But the fault is from me and I merit a penalty even greater. O
sons of impurity, say me have you not read the lines written over
the doors of my house that here you are speaking of what
concerneth you not and so right soon shall ye hear what pleaseth
you not? However, had ye never entered my house you would not
have known of my case and my shame[FN#123] and withal sooth spoke
he who said amongst his many sayings,

'We sowed kindness-seed but they wrought us wrong * Which is
     caitiff-work and a traitor-deed.'"

Resumed the young man, "O vilest of folk, you asked of me a
gugglet of water, and I brought you into my house and honoured
and welcomed you and you ate of my victual and my salt, after
which I led you into my Harem with the fancy that ye were honest
men and behold you are no men. Woe to you, what may ye be?" On
this wise he continued to chide and revile them unknowing that
the Caliph Harun al-Rashid stood before him, and presently the
Prince of True Believers made reply, "We be folk of Bassorah."
"Truth you have spoken," cried the other, "nothing cometh from
Bassorah save the meanest of men and the weakest of wits but now
rise up, O ye dung[FN#124] of mankind, O ye foulest of folk, and
go forth from us and may Allah curse him who speaketh of whatso
concerneth him not." All this and Ja'afar and Masrur rose to
their feet for shame of the youth and of what they had heard from
him of ill language and they went from beside him. But
Al-Rashid's temper was ruffled and his jugulars swelled and the
Hashimi vein stood out between his eyes and he cried, "Woe to
thee, O Ja'afar! go this moment to Such-an-one the Wali and bid
him muster his men of whom each one must have in hand an
implement of iron, and let him repair to the mansion of this
youth and raze it till it return to be level with the ground, nor
let the morning dawn and show a trace thereof upon the face of
earth." Quoth Ja'afar to Al-Rashid, "O Prince of True Believers,
from the very first we feared for all this, and did we not make
condition on the subject? However, O our lord, the good man is
not ruined by the good man and this work is not righteous; nay,
'tis wholly unright, and one of the sages hath said, 'The mild in
mind is not known save in the hour of wrath.' But, O Prince of
faithful men and O Caliph of the Lord who the worlds dost
vice-reign, thou swarest an oath that although the vilest of men
should ill-speak thee yet wouldest thou not requite him with
evil, nor return him aught of reply nor keep aught of rancour in
thy heart for his unmannerly address. Moreover, O our lord, the
youth hath no default at all and the offence is from us, for that
he forbade and forefended us and wrote up in many a place the
warning words, Whoso speaketh of what concerneth him not, shall
hear what pleaseth him not. Therefore he unmeriteth the pain of
death. Now what we had better do in this case is as
follows:--Send thou for the Wali and bid him bring the youth and
when he is present between thy hands, encounter him with kindness
that his fear may find rest and his affright be arrested after
which he shall inform thee of whatso befel him." Cried Al-Rashid,
"This is the right rede and Allah requite thee with weal, O
Ja'afar. 'Tis the like of thee should be Wazir of the Councillors
and Counseller of the Kings." Hereupon Harun al-Rashid returned
to his palace in company with Masrur the eunuch, and they entered
the aforesaid private door whereby they had gone forth, nor was
any aware of them. But when Ja'afar reached his abode he took
thought in his mind as to how he should act and how he should
send the Wali to the young man and bring him into the presence;
and presently he retraced his way afoot and going to the Chief of
Police acquainted him with the matter of the youth and carefully
described his house and said to him, "Needs must thou bring him
to us in the front of morning, but do thou be courteous in thy
dealing and show him comradeship and startle him not nor cause
him aught of fear." After this Ja'afar dismissed the Wali and
returned to his own quarters. And when the morning morrowed the
Chief of Police, having chosen him as escort a single Mameluke,
made for the house of the youth, and when he had reached it
knocked at the door, upon which the owner came out to him and the
Wali knew him by the description wherewith Ja'afar had described
him, so he bade him accompany him. Hereat the heart of the young
man fluttered.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive." Now when it
was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
youth's heart fluttered when the Chief of Police summoned him to
go in his company and he was smitten by sore fear; but the Wali
said to him, "No harm shall befal thee: obey the summons of the
Commander of the Faithful." Now when he heard these words Manjab
was terrified with sorer alarm and affright, so by leave of the
Wali he entered his house and farewelled his family and familiars
after which he fared forth with the Chief of Police saying,
"Hearkening and obedience to Allah and to the Prince of True
Believers." Then he mounted his beast and the two rode together
until they reached the Palace of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid where
they craved admission to the presence; and, when leave was
granted, the youth went in and standing between the hands of
Harun he encouraged his intent and made his tongue eloquent and
kissed ground between the royal hands and sat respectfully before
him. Then he began with a tongue that was free of fear and showed
naught of apprehension and spake the following lines,

"Hail to this place for such be honoured stead * Of God's
     viceregent known to all and some:
Palace of Al-Rashid, our lord, which aye * Excelleth Heaven
     higher still become:
I haste that may I write what should be writ * And eloquent the
     writ albe 'tis dumb."

After which he said, "The peace be upon thee, O Commander of the
Faithful, and Allah prolong thy life and gladden unto thee what
He hath given." Hereat Al-Rashid raised his head, and returning
his greeting signed to the Wazir Ja'afar who, as was his wont,
stood by his side, and the Minister taking the youth's hand, led
him up to Al-Rashid and seated him beside him. "Draw near me,"
said Harun al-Rashid, and the young man did accordingly until he
was close to the King who thus addressed him, "O young man, what
is thy name?" The other replied, "I am Manjab hight wherefrom
hath been cut off all cause of delight and who for a year hath
suffered parlous plight." "O Manjab," quoth the Caliph, "favour
for favour and the beginner is the better, and ill for ill and
the first is the worst, and whoso seed of good soweth shall reap
it, and whoso planteth evil shall harvest it, and know thou, O
Manjab, that yesterday we were thy guests, and that in thee was
no default, but we transgressed against thee when thou honouredst
us with most high honour, and favouredst us with the highmost
favours. I desire, however, that thou relate to me the cause of
the blows upon thy body and no harm shall befal thee." The youth
replied, "O Prince of True Believers, an thou desire to hear my
tale order me a cushion to be placed on my right hand, and deign
lend unto me three things, to wit, thine ears and thine eyes and
thy heart, for verily my adventure is wondrous and were it graven
with needle-gravers on the eye-corners it would be a warning to
whoso would be warned and a matter of thought to whoso would
think. Learn, O Commander of the Faithful, that my father was a
jeweller man, a connoisseur in gems, who owned no son save
myself; but when I had increased in age and had grown in stature
and Allah had given me comeliness and perfection and beauty and
brilliancy and plenty and good fortune, and my sire had brought
me up with the best of education, Allah vouchsafed to him a
daughter. Now as I had reached the age of twenty years my parent
departed to the ruth of Allah Almighty, bequeathing to me a
thousand thousand dinars and fiefs and tenements and landed
estates, so I let perform for him a sufficiency of
mortuary-ceremonies after committing him to mother earth, and
caused read twenty perlections of the Koran, and bestowed for him
in alms a mighty matter. I abode a-mourning for him a month full
told, and when the term was ended my heart turned to diversion
and disport and eating and drinking, and I made presents and gave
away and doled charities of that my property, and I bought other
tenements at the highest price. After this I purchased me singing
damsels of the greatest value, and whosoever of my friends and
companions was pleased with a musician girl I would hand her over
to him without price; nay, I would present her in free gift, and
if any saw aught of my belongings which pleased him and said to
me, 'This is nice,' I would bestow it upon him without
money-claim. Furthermore I robed all my familiars in honourable
robes, and honoured them with the highest honour, lavishing all
that was by me, and whatever my hand possessed, ever quoting
these lines,

'Rise, O comrade of cup, and to joy incline; * I've no patience,
     O brother, from pressing of wine:
See'st not how night with her hosts be fled * Routed, and morn
     doth her troops align?
How with Nadd and ambergris, rarest scents, * Rose laughs and
     smiles on us Eglantine?
This, my lord, is joy, this is pure delight. * Not standing at
     doors which the books confine.'

But when my mother, O Commander of the Faithful, espied these
doings she reproached me, yet would I not be reproved. Then she
saw that my wealth would be wasted, so she divided it between me
and her, to each one half, a moiety for herself and her daughter,
and the rest for myself. And presently she left me, carrying away
her good and separated herself from me, abiding afar and leaving
me to enjoy my frivolity and intoxication. I ceased not eating
and drinking and diversion and disport, and enjoying the
all-conquering faces of the beautiful,[FN#125] until the days
smote me with their shafts, and all my wealth fell away from me
and naught remained to me either above me or below me, and I
ceased to be master of aught. Then my condition waxed strait, and
as nothing was left to me at home I sold the pots and pans until
I lacked even a sleeping-mat, and I used to patch my skirt with
my sleeve. And naught profited me, neither friend nor familiar
nor lover, nor remained there any one of them to feed me with a
loaf of bread; so my case became hard and the folk entreated me
evilly, nor was there one of my comrades or compeers who would
take thought for me; nay more, when I met any of them on the road
or at the receptions they would turn away their faces from me. So
at last I took to pulling up the slabs[FN#126] of the house floor
and selling them by way of a livelihood, and one day as I did on
this wise, lo and behold! there opened in the floor a large vault
whereinto I descended."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day, and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable;" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next
night, and that was

              The Six Hundred and Fortieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth
Manjab continued his tale to Al-Rashid in these words. "So I
descended into the vault, O Commander of the Faithful, and I
found there three boxes each containing five bags and every bag
held five thousand gold pieces. I carried forth the whole of them
and set them in an apartment of the apartments and returned the
flag of the floor to its place. Then I pondered what my brethren
and companions had done with me, after which, O Prince of True
Believers, I bought handsome clothes and made my person as it was
before; and as soon as those men who were with me of yore and
upon whom I had spent my substance in gifts and presents beheld
me on such wise they flocked around me again. I accepted of them
for a device which I purposed carrying out and took patience with
them for a whole month whilst they came to visit me every day.
But when it was the thirty-first day I summoned the Kazi and his
assessors whom I concealed in a private place and bade write a
bond and an acceptance for everything they might hear from my
familiars and friends. After this I spread a feast and assembled
all my associates; and when we had eaten and drunken and made
merry, I drew them on to talk and to each and every whom I had
gifted with a present I said, 'Allah upon thee, O Such-an-one,
did I not donate to thee so-and-so without taking any return from
thee?' And they replied, 'Yes, thou gavest it to me for naught.'
I continued, O Prince of True Believers, to address each and all
after this fashion whilst the Kazi and witnesses wrote down
against them everything they heard from them and documented every
word until not one of my friends remained without confession.
Then, O Commander of the Faithful, I rose to my feet without
delay and ere anyone could leave the assembly I brought out the
Kazi and his assessors and showed them the writ in the name of
everyone, specifying whatso he had received from the youth
Manjab. After this manner I redeemed all they had taken from me
and my hand was again in possession thereof, and I waxed sound of
frame and my good case returned to me as it had been. Now one day
of the days I took thought in my mind, O Prince of True
Believers, that I could open the shop of my sire and I would sit
in it as my parent was wont to do, selling and buying in
sumptuous Hindi cloths and jewelry and precious metals.
Accordingly I repaired to the place, which I found fast locked
and the spider had pitched her web-tent about it; so I hired a
man to wipe it and sweep it clean of all that was therein. And
when the Bazar folk and the merchants and the masters of shops
saw me they rejoiced in me and came to congratulate me saying,
'Praise be to Allah who opened not the store save for the owner
thereof in succession to his sire.' Then I took of merchandise a
mighty matter and my shop became one whose like was not to be
looked upon throughout the market-street, and amongst the goods I
laid in were carnelians of Al-Yaman; after which I seated me upon
my shop-board that very day and sold and bought and took and
gave, and I ceased not to be after such wise for nine days. Now
when it was the tenth day I entered the Hammam and came out after
donning a dress which was worth one thousand gold pieces, and my
beauty was increased and my colour waxed sheeny-bright and my
youth looked as though it had been redoubled, and I was not such
but that the women were like to throw themselves upon me.
However, when I returned from the Baths and sat in my store for
an hour or so behold, I heard a shout that came from the depths
of the Bazar and heard one saying, 'Have patience,'[FN#127] when
suddenly I looked up and saw a stare-coloured mule whereon was a
saddle of gold dubbed with pearls and gems, and upon it an old
woman was riding accompanied by three pages. She ceased not going
till she stood at my shop-door where she drew rein and her
servants halted with her. Then she salam'd to me and said, 'How
long is't since thou hast opened this store?' and said I, 'This
day is the full tenth.' Quoth she, 'Allah have ruth upon the
owner of this shop, for he was indeed a merchant.' Quoth I, 'He
was my parent,' and replied she, 'Thou art Manjab named and as
uniter of thy friends enfamed.' Said I, 'Yes!' whereat she smiled
and questioned me, 'And how is thy sister, and what is the
condition of thy mother, and what is the state of thy
neighbours?' 'They are all well,' said I, when said she, 'O my
son, O Manjab, thou hast grown up and reached man's estate.'
Rejoined I, 'Whoso liveth groweth up;' and she continued, 'Say me
hast thou a necklace of gems which is pleasing to the sight?' I
responded, 'With me in the shop are many necklaces but I have
better at home and I will bring them for thee betimes to-morrow
if it be the will of Almighty Allah.' When she heard these my
words she returned by the way she came and her pages walked by
her side; and at the end of the day I went to my mother and
informed her of the adventure how it was with the old woman and
she said, 'O my son, O Manjab, verily that ancient dame is a
confidential nurse and she conferreth benefits upon the folk
amongst whom was thy sire before thee: therefore do thou be
urgent in bringing about her business nor do thou forgo thine
appointment with her.' The old woman disappeared for a day; but
on the next she returned in her wonted state and when she came to
my shop she said, 'O Manjab, arise and mount thy mule in weal and
good health!' So I left my store and mounted my she-mule."--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you in the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night, and that
was

            The Six Hundred and Forty-second Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth
Manjab said to the Prince of True Believers, "So I mounted my
she-mule and I went with the old woman until I came to a mansion
built of stone and wide of gates; so we dismounted, I and she,
and entered the door, I following after her until we came to the
great hall. There I found, O Prince of True Believers, carpets of
fine silk and embroidered hangings and mattresses of gold-cloth
and vases of the same kind all golden and fine brocades and jars
of porcelain and shelves of crystal; in fine I saw things which I
may not describe to thee, O Commander of the Faithful. And at the
side of the mansion within were four bench-seats of yellow brass,
plain and without carving, and the old woman seated me upon the
highest mattress and she pointed out to me a porch where stood
pourtrayed all manner birds and beasts, and hills and channels
were limned. Now as I cast my eye over these paintings suddenly a
young lady accosted us speaking with a delicate voice demure and
words that the sick and sorry would cure and she was behind a
hanging and saying, 'Whoso hath let down this curtain let him
receive one hundred stripes.' Then she bade withdraw it and they
removed it and behold, I felt as though the lightning were
gleaming and glittering and it took away my sight until my head
was near striking the ground, for there stood before me a young
lady of lance-like stature and a face like the morning bright as
though she were a chandelier a-hanging amid the cressets. She was
dressed in sumptuous raiment and was even as said of her the
poet,

'To us she bent whenas Night hung her veil * And nigh went she my
     sense to turn from right;
And rang her anklets and her necklace chimed * With dainty music
     to my tearful plight.
Showed me that her face a four-fold charm, * Water and fire and
     pitch and lamping light.'

Then, O Commander of the Faithful, she cried out to the slave
girls, 'Woe to you, where is the Nurse,' and when she was fetched
between her hands she asked her, 'Hast thou brought the
jeweller;' and the other answered, 'Yea, verily, O lady of
loveliness, and here he is sitting like the full moon when it
easteth.' The young lady cried, 'O old woman, is this he or is it
his servant?'[FN#128] Whereto she replied, 'No, 'tis he himself,
O lady of loveliness.' Quoth the other, 'By the life of my
youth,[FN#129] thou deservest naught for this[FN#130] save whatso
thou fanciest not and thou hast raised me from before my
food[FN#131] while yet I fancied that he merited rising up to
him.' Then she considered me and cried, 'Am I then in this
fashion become[FN#132] a bundle of dirty clothes all of poverty,
and say me now, hast thou not even washed thy face?' But I, O
Prince of True Believers, was still as I came forth from the
Hammam and my countenance was shining like unto lightning. Hereat
I made myself exceeding small and it mortified me to hear how she
had found fault with my face and befouled my dress, scorning me
till I became between her hands smaller than the very smallest.
Then she fixed her sight upon me and she said to me, 'Thou art
Manjab hight, thou dogs' trysting-site or gatherer of friends as
saith other wight, but by Allah how far be familiars and friends
from thy sight, O thou Manjab hight! Now, however, do thou look
upon me, O Jeweller man, the while I eat and when my meal shall
end there will be talk.' Hereupon, O Commander of the Faithful,
they brought her a crystal platter in a golden basin and therein
were the thighs of fowls; so she took seat before me and fell to
eating without shyness or difficulty as though in her presence I
were other than a son of Adam. And I stood looking at her and
whenever she raised her wrist to take up a morsel, the
dimple[FN#133] became manifest from without, and upon the skin
was a tattoo of green colour and about it jewelled
ornaments[FN#134] and armlets of red gold and a pink dye appeared
upon the whiteness of her hand: so glory be to Him who created
her and she was naught but a seduction to whoso espied her and
blessed be Allah the best of Creators. May the Almighty have ruth
upon the poet who said concerning the beauty of his lover these
couplets,

'Rise and pass me the wine, O thou son of Mansúr; * And for
     stopping it hope not my pardon forsure:
Let it come by the hand of a fair white maid * As though she had
     fared from the Heav'n of the Húr:
When we see the figure her wrist adorns * 'Tis a musk grain lying
     on limestone pure.'

Then, O Prince of True Believers, she fell to conversing with me
hending in hand a broidered kerchief wherewith whenever she had
eaten a morsel she wiped her lips and when her sleeve fell from
off her wrist she tucked it up even as the poet said of such,

'She hideth her face from the folk, * With a wrist whereon Ottars
     abound;
And to eye of watcher it seems * Gold shaft on Moon's silvern
     round.'

Now when she had eaten, O Commander of the Faithful, I gazed at
her face and she cried, 'O ye women, behold how Manjab looketh
upon me and I am eating till my nature cry enough;' presently
adding, 'O Manjab, what calamity hath befallen thee that thou
comest not forward and eatest not of this food?' So I drew anigh
and ate with her, but I was dazed of my wits and sore amazed at
her ways."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

             The Six Hundred and Forty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating that Manjab
continued to the Caliph, "Verily I came forward and ate with her,
but I was so dazed of my wits and so sore amazed at her beauty
and loveliness that as I took up a mouthful to carry it to my
mouth behold, I would carry it to my eyes in consequence of what
befel me from seeing that was in this young lady. And presently
she fell to laughing at me and inclining towards me in her
haughtiness and in beauty's pride, saying at the same time, 'By
Allah, indeed this man is a maniac and a Bahlúl:[FN#135] where is
thy mouth and how far from thine eye?' So said I, 'By Allah, O
lady of loveliness, I am nor a madman nor a Bahlúl, but whilst
looking at thy beauty my wits have fled and I am in condition of
unknowing how I ate.' Then she asked me, 'Do I please thee, O
Manjab?' and I answered her 'Yes! Walláhi, O my lady, indeed thou
dost.' Quoth she, 'What should be the penalty of him who owning
me and my white beauties[FN#136] shall then forsake me to take
other than myself?' and quoth I, 'His award should be a thousand
stripes upon his right side and as many upon his left ribs,
together with the cutting off of his tongue and his two hands and
the plucking out of either eye.' She cried, 'Wilt thou marry me
upon this condition?' and I replied, 'O my lady, dost thou mock
and laugh at me?' Said she, 'No, by Allah, my word is naught save
a true word'; and said I, 'I am satisfied and I accept this
compact; however do thou make haste and delay not.' But when she
looked at me and heard mine intent regarding the marriage she
shook with joy and pride and she inclined towards me as she sat
before me and my senses were like to take flight. Then she rose
up and left me for an hour and came back dressed in sumptuous
garments and fairer than before, and perfumes reeked from her
sides as she walked between four handmaidens like unto the
refulgent moon. But I, when I looked upon her in this condition,
cried out with a loud outcry and fell fainting to the ground for
what befel me from her beauty and perfection: and she had no
design therein, O Commander of the Faithful, save her favour for
me. When I came to myself she said, 'O Manjab, what dost thou say
of my beauty and comeliness?' and I replied, 'By Allah, O lady of
loveliness, there is none in this time can be thy peer.' Then
quoth she, 'An I please thee thou wilt be content with these
conditions?' whereto quoth I, 'Content! CONTENT!! CONTENT!!!'
Thereupon she bade summon the Kazi and the assessors who came
without stay or delay and she said to the Judge 'Do thou listen
to the condition of this marriage and write from his word of
mouth a bond on oath and under penalty for breaking it, to the
effect that if he betray me and mate with other or by way of
right or of unright, I will smite him a thousand stripes on his
right side and as many on his left ribs and I will cut off his
tongue and his two hands and I will pluck out his either eye.'
Said the Kazi to me, 'Shall we bear witness against thee with
this condition?' and when I answered 'Yes,' he wrote out, O
Commander of the Faithful, his testimony together with the
penalty, while I hardly believed in all this. Presently, she
brought out a tray, whereupon were a thousand miskals of gold and
a thousand dirhams of silver which she scattered among the Kazi
and witnesses; so they took them and went their ways having duly
tied the marriage-knot and indited the penalty thereto attached.
Then they served up food and we ate and drank and I lay with her
that night in the pleasantest of nighting and the gladsomest of
living and I only desired that morning would never appear for the
stress of what befel me of joyance and delight; and, verily, I
never saw and never heard and never knew any that was the like of
her. So I abode with her, O Prince of True Believers, for seven
days which passed away as one watch,[FN#137] and on the eighth
she said to me, 'O thou Manjab named and for friend of friends
enfamed, do thou take this purse wherein are a thousand dinars
and buy with it merchandise of necklaces and gems and fine
clothes wherewith to beautify thy shop and other things that
befit thee; for 'tis my will that thou become the greatest of men
in the Bazar and that none therein shall boast of more good than
thyself. Moreover 'tis my wish, O Manjab, that thou fare to thy
store at early dawn and return to me about noon-tide, lest my
breast be straitened by thine absence.' Replied I, 'Hearkening
and obedience,' but, O Commander of the Faithful, it was mine
intent and desire never to fare forth from her, or by night or by
day, from the stress of what befel me of enjoyment with my bride.
Now she was wont every hour to go don a dress other than that
which was upon her, and when I saw her in that condition I could
not contain my passion, so I would arise and fulfil my need of
her and she would do likewise. Also, as soon as morn appeared I
would repair to my shop and open it and take seat therein until
midday, at which time my mule would be brought me to ride
homewards when she would meet me alone at the threshold whereupon
opened the door of her apartment. And I would throw my arms round
her neck as soon as she appeared to me till she and I entered the
Harem where I had no patience from her but was fain to enjoy my
desire. After this she would cry to her women and bid them bring
us dinner whereof I ate with her, and in due time she would arise
and command her slave-girls to clean the Hammam and perfume it
with pastiles of lign-aloes and ambergris adding a sufficiency of
rose-water. Then we would enter it, I and she, and doff our
dresses when I again lost patience until I had my will of her
twice or three times.[FN#138] Anon we would wash and wipe
ourselves with apron napkins of thick silk and drying towels of
palm-fibre, after which she would cry aloud to the women who,
coming to us at her call, would bring sherbets and we would
drink, I and she, until mid-afternoon. Then I would mount my
she-mule and return to my store and as evening fell I would order
the slave to padlock the door and I would return to my house. Now
I abode in such case for ten months, but it fortuned one day of
the days that, as I was sitting upon my shop-board, suddenly I
saw a Badawi woman bestriding a she-dromedary and she was marked
with a Burka'[FN#139] of brocade and her eyes danced under her
face-veil as though they were the wantoning eyes of a gazelle.
When I looked upon her, O Commander of the Faithful, I was
perplexed as to my affair."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy
tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth
Manjab to the Caliph, "O Prince of True Believers, when I beheld
the eyes of the Badawi woman under her Burka' which were like
those of a gazelle they tempted my passions herto and I forgot my
oath and its penalty and the Kazi and witnesses. Then she
approached me and said, 'Allah give thee long life, O Chief of
the Arabs;' and said I, 'To thee too, O most seemly of
semblance!' Cried she, 'O comely of countenance, say me, hast
thou a necklace fine enough for the like of me;' whereto I
rejoined, 'Yes.' Then I arose and brought out one to her, but she
seeing it said, 'Hast thou naught better than this?' So I
displayed to her, O Commander of the Faithful, all the necklaces
I had by me in the shop but, none of them pleasing her, I said,
'In all the stores there is naught finer than these.' Then, O
Prince of True Believers, she brought out to me from off her neck
a carcanet and said, 'I want one such;' and, as I looked upon it,
I knew that there was nothing like it in my store, and that all I
had by me of collars and jewels and other goods were not worth a
single grain of that carcanet. So I said to her, 'O Winsome of
Eyes, this is a thing whereto none of this time can avail save it
be with the Commander of the Faithful or with his Wazir Ja'afar
bin Yahyá the Barmaki.' Quoth she, 'Wilt thou buy it of me?' and
quoth I, 'I have no power to its price,' when she exclaimed, 'I
require no payment for this necklace, and I want from thee
nothing save a kiss upon thy cheek.' Then said I, 'O Lady of
loveliness, bussing without treading I trow is like a bowyer sans
a bow,' and she replied, 'Whoso kisseth surely treadeth.' Then, O
Prince of True Believers, she sprang from off her dromedary and
seated herself beside me within my store, so I arose with her and
went into the inner room, she following me (albeit I expected not
this from her), and when we were safely inside she clasped me to
her bosom and encountered me with her breasts never withal
withdrawing her veil from her face. Hereat I lost all power over
my senses and when I felt her strain me to her bosom I also
strained her to mine, and fulfilled of her my desire after the
fairest fashion. And when this was done she sprang to her feet
even as springeth the lion from his lair, and flying to the door
of the shop swiftlier than a bird and leaving the necklace with
me, she mounted her dromedary and went her ways. I imagined, O
Prince of True Believers, that she would never return to me at
all; so my heart rejoiced in the necklace which she had left and
I was of that fancy and opinion anent the matter and manner of
her going, when suddenly my pages brought me the she-mule, and
said to me, 'O our lord, rise up and fare to the house, for that
our lady hath required thee at this very hour and she hath caused
dinner to be served and sore we fear lest it wax cold.'
Therefore, O Commander of the Faithful, I found it impossible to
bathe[FN#140] by reason of the pages which were standing with the
mule at the door of my shop; so I mounted and rode home. I
entered my house according to my usual habit when my wife met me
and said to me 'O my dearling, my heart hath been occupied with
thee this day, for thou has tarried away from me so long a time
and contrary to thy custom is delaying on such a day as this.'
Said I, 'This morning the Bazar was crowded exceedingly and all
the merchants were sitting in their shops, nor was it possible
for me to rise from my store whilst the market was so warm.'
Quoth she, 'O my dearling and coolth of mine eyes, I was at this
moment sitting and reading in the Sublime Volume when there befel
me a doubt concerning a word in the chapter 'Yá Sín'[FN#141] and
I desire that thou certify it to me that I may learn it by heart
from thee.' Quoth I, 'O lady of loveliness, I am unable to touch
The Book much less may I read the Koran;' and quoth she, 'What is
the cause of that?' Replied I, 'I was sleeping at the side of my
shop when I had a polluting dream;' and she rejoined, 'An this
thy speech be sooth-fast thy bag-trowsers must be fouled, so draw
them off that I may see to their washing.' I retorted, 'Indeed my
trowsers are not bewrayed because I doffed them before lying down
to sleep.' Now when she heard these my words, O Commander of the
Faithful, she said to a slave of my slaves whose name was Rayhán,
'O man, go and open the shop and bring the kerchief that is
therein.'[FN#142] Then said I, 'O lady of lovelings, I presented
it in alms-gift to an old woman who was naked of head and her
condition pained me and her poverty, so I largessed it to her.'
Rejoined she, 'Say me, was the old woman she who was mounted on
the dromedary, the owner of the valuable necklace which she sold
to thee for a kiss when thou saidst to her, 'O Winsome of Eyes,
bussing without treading I trow, is as a bowyer sans bow.' Now
when her words were ended, O Commander of the Faithful, she
turned to her women and cried to them, 'Bring hither this moment
Sa'ídíyah, the kitchen-wench,' and when she came between her
hands behold, she was a slave-girl, a negress, and she was the
same in species and substance who came to me under the form of a
Badawi woman with a face-veil of brocade covering her features.
Hereupon my wife drew the Burka' from before the woman's face and
caused her doff her dress, and when she was stripped she was
black as a bit of charcoal. Now as soon as I saw this, O
Viceregent of Allah, my wits were bewildered and I considered my
affair and I knew not what to do, thinking of the conditions
whereto I had consented."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

             The Six Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab
continued, "And I thought of the conditions whereto I had
consented and the penalty which had been written for me by the
Kazi in the presence of his assessors, so I wandered from my
right mind when she looked at me and said, 'Is this our compact,
O Manjab hight, thou dogs' trysting-site?' and when I heard her
speech, O Commander of the Faithful, I hanged my head
ground-wards and could not return a reply, nor even attempt to
address her could I. Said she, 'Woe to thee, did I not say to
thee, 'O Manjab hight, thou who with curs dost unite and no
foregatherer with friendly wight?' Woe to thee, and he lied not
who said that in men-kind there be no trust. But how, O Manjab,
didst thou prefer this slave-girl before me and make her my equal
in dress and semblance? However, O ye women, do ye send and bring
the Kazi and the assessors at this moment and instant.' So they
fetched them without stay or delay, and they produced the
obligation which had been written, with the penalty duly attested
by testimony. Then she said to the witnesses, 'Read all that for
him,' and they did so and asked me, 'What hast thou to say about
this obligation and the punishment for breaking it?' Answered I,
'The document is right and fair, nor have I aught to utter
thereanent.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she summoned
the Governor and his officials, and I confessed before them and
bore witness against myself, when they reviled me and abused me,
and I told them the tale full and complete. But they would not
excuse me and they all cried, 'Verily, thou deservest splitting or quartering;[FN#143] thou who wouldst abandon this beauty and
perfection and brilliancy and stature and symmetry and wouldst
throw thyself upon a slave-girl black as char-coal; thou who
wouldst leave this semblance which is like the splendours of
moonlight and wouldst follow yon fulsome figure which resembleth
the murks of night.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she
said to the Governor, 'Hearken unto what I tell thee. I bear
witness against myself that I have excused him the cutting off
his hand and tongue and the plucking out his eyes; but do ye
redeem my rights of him by one condition.' 'And what may that
be?' asked they; and she answered, 'A thousand stripes upon his
right side, and as many upon his left ribs.' Hereupon, O
Commander of the Faithful, they seized me and smote me upon my
right flank until I was estranged from the world,[FN#144] and
after they took a handful of salt, which they rubbed upon the
wounds.[FN#145] Then they applied a thousand stripes to my left
ribs, and threw over me a ragged robe wherewith to veil my shame.
But my flanks had been torn open by such a bastinado, nor did I
recover for a space of three days, when I found myself lying
cast-out upon a dunghill. Seeing this my condition, I pulled
myself together, and arising walked to the mansion wherein I was
wont to wone; but I found the door locked with three padlocks and
it was empty and void, nor was voice or sound to be heard therein
at all, and 'twas, as said one of the poets in this couplet,

'The chambers were like a beehive well stocked; * When the bees
     quitted them they became empty.'[FN#146]

So I lingered there an hour of time, when a woman suddenly came
out from one of the neighbouring houses and asked me, 'What dost
thou want, O asker; and what seekest thou?' I answered, 'We are
in quest of the owners of this mansion;' and said she, 'Here they
were in crowds and then they abandoned it, and may Allah have
mercy upon him who spake these two couplets,

'They fared and with faring fled rest from me * And my parted
     heart no repose can see:
Have ruth on a wight with a heart weighed by woes * Seest not how
     their door is without a key?'

Then indeed I repented, O Commander of the Faithful, over that I
had done and regretted what had befallen me and what had
proceeded from me of ill-deeds, and quoth I to the woman who had
addressed me, 'Allah upon thee, O my mistress, say me hast thou
of their traces any tidings?' "--And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day and fell silent, and ceased saying her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is
thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab,
speaking to the woman, said, "O my lady, say me, dost thou know
of their traces any tidings, and hast thou come upon any manifest
news?" Said she, "This thing was to befal thee of old, O thou
poor fellow, even as quoth the poet in the following couplets,

'My tears flow fast, my heart knows no rest * And melts my soul
     and cares aye molest:
Would Heaven mine eyeballs their form beheld * And flies my life,
     and ah! who shall arrest?
'Tis wondrous the while shows my form to sight, * Fire burns my
     vitals with flamey crest!
Indeed for parting I've wept, and yet * No friend I find to mine
     aid addrest:
Ho thou the Moon in a moment gone * From sight, wilt thou rise to
     a glance so blest?
An thou be 'stranged of estrangement who * Of men shall save me?
     Would God I wist!
Fate hath won the race in departing me * And who with Fate can
     avail contest?'"

"Then, O Commander of the Faithful, my longings grew and I poured
fast tears in torrents and I was like to choke with my sobs, so I
arose to walk about the city highways and I clung from wall to
wall for what befel me of despight and affright at the
disappearance of them,[FN#147] and as I wandered about I repeated
these verses,

'To man I'm humbled when my friends lost I * And missed the way
     of right where hardships lie:
Sorrow and sickness long have been my lot * To bear, when need
     was strong to justify:
Say me, shall any with their presence cheer-- * Pity my soul?
     Then bless my friend who's nigh!
I kiss your footprints for the love of you, * I greet your envoy
     e'en albeit he lie.'

After this, O Prince of True Believers, I remained immersed in
cark and care and anxious thought, and as ever I wandered about
behold, a man met me and said, ''Tis now three days since they
marched away and none wotteth where they have alighted.'[FN#148]
So I returned once more to the mansion-door and I sat beside it
to take my rest when my glance was raised and fell upon the
lintel and I saw attached to it a folded paper which I hent in
hand and found written therein these lines,

'Scant shall avail with judgment just the tear * When at
     love-humbled heart man dareth jeer:
I was thy dearling, fain with thee to dwell * But thou
     transgressedst nor return canst speer:
And if by every means thou find me not, * From thee I fled and
     other hold I dear:
I come in dreams to see if sore thy heart; * Let it take patience
     in its woe sincere:
Thou dost beweep our union fled, but I * Wist that such weeping
     brings no profit clear:
Ho, stander at my door, once honoured guest, * Haply my tidings
     thou some day shalt hear.'

Thereupon, O Commander of the Faithful, I returned to my mother
and sister and told them the tale of what had betided me, first
and last, and the twain wept over me and my parent said, 'I
thought not, O my son, that such case as this would come down
upon thee; withal every calamity save Death is no calamity at
all; so be thou of long-suffering, O my child, for the
compensation of patience is upon Allah; and indeed this that hath
happened to thee hath happened unto many the likes of thee, and
know thou that Fate is effectual and Sort is sealed. Hast thou
not heard the words of the poet who spoke these couplets,[FN#149]

'The world aye whirleth with its sweet and sour * And Time aye
     trippeth with its joy and stowre:
Say him to whom life-change is wilful strange * Right wilful is
     the world and risks aye low'r:
See'st now how Ocean overwhelms his marge * And stores the
     pearl-drop in his deepest bow'r:
On Earth how many are of leafy trees, * But none we harvest save
     what fruit and flow'r:
See'st not the storm-winds blowing fierce and wild * Deign level
     nothing save the trees that tow'r?
In Heaven are stars and planets numberless * But none save Sun
     and Moon eclipse endure.
Thou judgest well the days when Time runs fair * Nor fearest
     trouble from Fate's evil hour:
Thou wast deceived what time the Nights were fain, * But in the
     bliss o' nights 'ware days of bane.'

Now when I heard these words of my mother, O Prince of True
Believers, and what she addressed to me of wise sayings and
poetry, I took patience and rendered account to Allah;"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab
said, "O Commander of the Faithful, I had patience and rendered
my account to Allah Almighty. Then my mother fell to nursing me,
with medicines and unguents and what not else of remedies
wherefrom cometh health until I was healed, yet there remained to
me the scars even as thou sawest. But I inscribed not those lines
upon my house which thou didst espy, O Commander of the Faithful,
save that the news thereof might reach thee, and that naught be
concealed from thee of my tidings and my past fate, and present
condition. And this is the whole that hath befallen me."[FN#150]
Now when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard these words he smote
hand upon hand and cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no
Might save in Allah the Glorious, the Great." Then he cried upon
the Minister Ja'afar the Barmecide, and said to him, "O Wazir,
unless thou bring me information of this affair and root out this
matter and make manifest to me the condition of this youth,
verily I will smite thy neck." The Minister answered, "Hearing
and obeying: however, do thou, O Commander of the Faithful, give
me three days' delay," and the Caliph rejoined, "I have granted
this to thee." Hereupon Ja'afar went forth like unto one blind
and deaf, unseeing nor hearing aught, and he was perplext and
distraught as to his affair and continued saying, "Would Heaven
we had not forgathered with this youth, nor ever had seen the
sight of him." And he ceased not faring till he arrived at his
own house, where he changed his dress and fell to threading the
thoroughfares of Baghdad, which in the time of Harun al-Rashid
was a mighty great city, and in every street he entered he sought
intelligence and questioned the folk concerning every affair
which had happened in town from dawn to dark, but he hit upon no
trace nor information manifest touching this matter. On the
second day it was the same, and nothing became known to him
between morning and evening; but on the third day as he fared
forth he repeated these words,

"With the King be familiar and 'ware his wrath * Nor be wilful
     when cometh his order 'Do.'"

And he crossed and recrossed the city until it was noon-tide
without aught of novelty appearing to him, so he returned to his
mansion where he had a confidential nurse whom he apprised of the
tidings, and concealing naught from her said, "Verily the term
allowed to me by the King is until set of sun, at which time
unless I bring him the information required he will cut off my
head." Thereupon the Kahramánah went forth and circled through
the city until it was mid-afternoon, but she brought back no
fresh tidings; whereat Ja'afar cried, "There is no Majesty and
there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Now
the Wazir had a sister who lived single in his home with her
women and eunuchs, and he said to himself, "I will go to my
sister Budur and solace myself by conversing awhile with her and
farewell her: haply Fate is not afar." This sister was yet
unwedded for none dared come forward and propose marriage to her,
albeit in the city of Baghdad not one was her peer in beauty,
even amongst the women of the Caliph. Accordingly he turned
towards her apartment and entered therein, when she met him upon
the threshold of the gate, and as she saw him changed of
condition she cried, "No harm to thee, O my brother, verily thou
art altered in case;" and he replied, "Indeed I have fallen into
evil plight and into a matter of affright, whereupon naught can
deliver me save the power of Allah of All-might, and unless the
affair be made evident to me by the morning the Caliph will cut
off my head." Then he related to her the affair from beginning to
end, and she, when she heard the words of her brother, waxed wan
of colour, and was altered in case and said, "O brother mine,
give me immunity and a binding bond when I will explain to thee
the matter of this youth." Hereat calmed was his affright, and
his heart was satisfied quite, and he gave her promise of safety
and a binding bond and contract not to harm her; whereupon said
she to him, "O my brother, womankind was created for mankind, and
mankind was created for womankind, and albe falsehood is an
excuse, yet soothfastness is more saving and safe-guiding. The
whole of this business is mine and I am she who married him and
made with him that condition which he accepted for himself, being
contented with the covenant and its penalty." Now when Ja'afar
heard these words spoken to him by his sister concerning the case
of Manjab, he outwardly made merry but he inwardly mourned, for
that he had forbidden her to wed, and she had worked this craft
and had given herself away to wife. Hereupon he arose without
stay or delay and fared forth until he went in to the Caliph
Harun al-Rashid whom he blessed and greeted, and the King, having
returned his salam, asked him, "Hast thou brought to me the
required tidings, O Ja'afar?" The Wazir answered, "Yes, O my
lord, the news hath become manifest and 'tis certified to me that
this is a private matter; and had not the Creator favoured me by
forgathering with the young lady in her substance and accidence
and had I not met her at a term not appointed, I should have been
done to die." Quoth the Caliph, "And who is she that I may
requite her for her deeds and for what she hath practiced upon
Manjab, who verily deserveth not that which hath betided him,
although he may have been somewhat in fault." Then Ja'afar came
forward and craved pardon from the Caliph in token of honour for
his sister's sake, and quoth his lord, "O Ja'afar, thou hast
declared that she it is with whom thou hast forgathered." Quoth
Ja'afar, "O Prince of True Believers, the same is my sister
Budur." But when the Caliph heard these words, he asked, "O
Ja'afar, and why did thy sister do such deed?" and the Wazir
answered, "Whatso is fated shall take place nor shall any defer
the predestined nor forbid it when decreed, nor hasten it when
forbidden. This thing which hath happened was of no profit to
anyone and whatever thou shalt ordain that shall be done."
Thereat Manjab after saluting the Caliph, accompanied Ja'afar to
the house of his sister, and when they went in the Wazir made
peace between the two, and the Caliph largessed the youth with
most sumptuous presents. Now the Caliph every year at times
appointed was accustomed to go by night in disguise to the house
of Manjab accompanied by Ja'afar for the sake of hearing music,
and one night of the nights he said to the youth,
"Alhamdolillah--Glory be to God--O Manjab, that I have caused
reunion between thee and Budur, thy beloved; but I desire that
thou tell me some tale which shall be rare and shall broaden my
breast." The youth replied, "Hearing and obeying,"--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to
say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet
is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night, and that was

             The Six Hundred and Fifty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
and Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, bade the youth Manjab tell him some
tale of the Kings of old and he replied, "Hearkening and
obedience, O Prince of True Believers;" and thereupon he fell
recounting the





Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the Greedy Sultan.



It is related (but Allah is All-knowing of hidden things and
All-wise!) that in the days of a King called Dahmár[FN#151] there
was a barber who had in his booth a boy for apprentice and one
day of the days there came in a Darwaysh man who took seat and
turning to the lad saw that he was a model of beauty and
loveliness and stature and symmetric grace. So he asked him for a
mirror and when it was brought he took it and considered his face
therein and combed his beard, after which he put hand in pouch
and pulling out an Ashrafi of gold set it upon the looking-glass
which he gave back to the boy.[FN#152] Hereupon the barber turned
towards the beggar and wondered in himself and said, "Praise be
to Allah, albeit this man be a Fakir yet he placeth a golden
piece upon the mirror, and surely this is a marvellous matter."
Hereupon the Darwaysh went his ways, and on the following day he
suddenly made his appearance and entering the booth called for a
looking-glass from the barber's prentice and when it was handed
to him combed his beard after he had looked at his features
therein; then, bringing forth an Ashrafi, he set it upon the
mirror and gave it back to the boy; and the barber marvelled yet
the more to see the Fakir rising up and wending his ways.[FN#153]
The beggar ceased not coming every day and gazing at himself in
the glass and laying down his ducat, whereat the barber said to
himself, "By Allah, indeed this Darwaysh must have some object of
his own and haply he is in love with the lad my prentice and I
fear from the beggar lest he seduce the boy and take him away
from me." Hereat he cried, "O boy, when the Darwaysh shall come
to thee draw thou not anear him; and when he demandeth the
looking-glass give it not to him; for I myself will do so." On
the third day behold, the Fakir appeared according to his custom
and asked for the mirror from the boy who wittingly disregarded
him, whereupon he turned towards him and waxed wroth[FN#154] and
was like to slay him. The apprentice was terrified at his rage
and gave him the looking-glass whilst he was still an-angered;
but when the man had reviewed himself therein and had combed his
beard and had finished his need, he brought out ten dinars of
gold and setting them upon the mirror handed them to the lad.
Seeing this the barber wondered anew with extreme wonderment,
saying to himself, "By Allah, this Darwaysh cometh daily and
layeth down an Ashrafi, but this day he hath given ten gold
pieces; withal there accrueth not to me from my shop even half a
piastre of daily wage. However, O Boy, when the man shall come
hither, as is his wont, do thou spread for him a prayer-rug in
the inner room of the shop, lest the people seeing his constant
visits should have ill suspicions of us." "Yes!" said the lad. So
when it was the next day the Fakir came and went into the ben
whither he was shown by the boy, and he followed him till they
were in the innermost of the booth. Now the heart of this
Religious hung to the love of the barber's boy for that he had of
beauty and perfection and he continued frequenting the shop every
day whilst the lad ceased not spreading the rug and receiving
upon the mirror ten Ashrafis. Hereat the barber and his
apprentice rejoiced till one day of the days when the Darwaysh
came to the shaving-shop, as was his wont, where he met none but
only the boy nor was there any other in sight. So he asked
concerning his employer and the other answered, "O uncle, my
master hath gone forth to solace himself with seeing the casting
of the cannon; for this day the Sultan and the Wazir and the
Lords of the land will all be present thereat." Said he, "O my
son, go thou with us and we will also enjoy the spectacle and
return before the rest of the folk, ere thy master can be back,
and we will enjoy ourselves and make merry and look at the sport
before I set out upon my journey, for 'tis my intention this day
to go forth about noontide." Quoth the lad, "'Tis well O uncle;"
and arising he locked the shop-door and walked with the Darwaysh
till they reached the spot where the cannon were being cast.
There they found the Sultan and the Wazirs and the Chamberlains
and the Lords of the land and the Grandees of the realm all
standing in a body until presently the workmen took the
crucibles[FN#155] from off the fire. Now the first who went up to
them was the Sultan and he found them full of molten brass: so he
put his hand into his pocket and drew it forth full of gold which
he cast into the melting pots. Then the Grand Wazir walked
forward and did as the King had done and all the Notables who
were present threw cash into the crucibles, bar-silver and
piastres and dollars. Thereat the Darwaysh stepped out of the
crowd and brought from his cowl a reed used as an étui[FN#156]
wherefrom he drew a spoon-like ear-picker and cast into one of
the crucibles a something of powder like grain.[FN#157] This he
did to each one of the melting pots; after which he disappeared
from the eyes of the folk and taking the boy with him returned to
the booth and opened it and said to him, "O my child, when the
Sultan shall send after thee and shall question thee concerning
me, do thou tell him that I am in such a town where shouldst thou
come to seek me thou shalt find me sitting beside the gate." Then
he farewelled the boy, the barber's apprentice, and set forth
seeking that city. Such was the case with these twain; but as
regards the matter of the King, he ceased not standing there
until they had brought the crucibles to the cannon-moulds and
when the folks designed to pour out their contents they found all
therein pure gold. Then quoth the Sultan to the Wazir and the
Notables of his realm, "Who was it threw aught into the crucibles
and what stranger man happened to be here?" Quoth they, "We
beheld a Darwaysh man who took some powder and fell to casting
thereof a somewhat into the crucibles." Hereupon enquiries were
made of the bystanders and they gave information how that same
Darwaysh was inclined to the barber's apprentice who lived in
such a quarter. Hereupon the Sultan ordered one of his
Chamberlains to bring the boy,--And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Fifty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan
sent one of his Chamberlains to the boy, the apprentice of the
barber, whom they sought for and brought into the presence and
placed between the royal hands; and he on entering kissed ground
and deprecated and prayed for his liege lord with prayers fit for
the Caliphs. The Sovran returned his salam and questioned him
concerning the Darwaysh who had been with him and he replied, "O
King of the Realm, he charged me saying that he was faring for
and would be found in such a city." Hereupon the Sultan commanded
the lad go forth and bring him, and was answered, "Hearkening and
obedience;" so he appointed for him an especial ship and gifted
him with various presents and the boy set sail and voyaged for a
short while till he reached the port-town in question. Here he
landed and made for the city-gate and as he entered it behold, he
came face to face with the Darwaysh who was sitting upon a raised
bench, and when he beheld him he salam'd to him and told him what
had taken place. The Fakir at once arose, and without resisting
the lad, went down to the ship and they shook out the sails and
the two voyaged together until they reached the city of the
Sultan. Here the twain went in to him and kissed ground between
his hands and salam'd to him and their greeting was answered. Now
as to the lad, the King largessed him largely and raised his
degree to Governor and despatched him to one of his provinces
therein to rule;[FN#158] but as for the Darwaysh, he remained
beside King Dahmar the first day and the second until the
seventh; after which quoth the Sovran, "'Tis my desire that thou
teach me the art and mystery of making gold;" whereto the other
replied, "Hearing and obeying, O our lord the Sultan." Presently
the Darwaysh arose; and, bringing a brazier,[FN#159] ranged
thereupon the implements of his industry and lighted a fire
thereunder; then, fetching a portion of lead and a modicum of tin
and a quant. suff. of copper, the whole weighing about a quintal,
he fanned the flame that was beneath the crucible until the metal
was fluid as water. And while the Sultan was sitting and looking
on and considering the operation, the Fakir brought out something
from a casket and taking a pinch of it on the ear-picker
besprinkled therewith the lead and copper and the tin which
presently became virgin gold. He repeated this feat once or twice
before the King who after that fell to working as the Religious
had wrought and turned out in his presence the purest gold. So
the Sultan rejoiced and was wont to sit before the Darwaysh
whatever time his heart chose[FN#160] and there and then he
gathered together ignoble metals and besprinkled them with the
powder[FN#161] which had been given to him by the Fakir and all
came out of the noblest gold. Now one night of the nights, as the
Sultan was sitting in his Harem and would have worked as he had
wrought in the presence of the Darwaysh, nothing went right with
him; whereat he was exceedingly sorrowful and said, "I have
neither magnified nor minished aught, so how is this
case?"[FN#162] As soon as it was morning he forgathered with the
Fakir and worked in his presence and produced virgin gold; so in
his surprise he said, "Walláhi, 'tis indeed most marvellous that
whatso I work alone cometh not right and when I have wrought in
presence of the Darwaysh it succeedeth and turneth to gold."
After this the Sultan never transmuted metals save in the
presence of the Fakir, until one day of the days when his breast
was narrowed and he sought recreation in the gardens. Accordingly
he rode forth, he and the Lords of the land, taking also the
Darwaysh with him and he went to the riverside, the Monarch
preceding and the Mendicant following together with the suite.
And as the King rode along with a heavy hand upon the reins he
grasped them strongly and his fist closed upon them; but suddenly
he relaxed his grip when his seal-ring flew from his little
finger and fell into the water, where it sank to the bottom.
Seeing this the Sultan drew bridle and halted and said, "We will
on no wise remove from this place till such time as my seal-ring
shall be restored to me." So the suite dismounted, one and all,
and designed plunging into the stream, when behold, the Fakir
finding the King standing alone and in woeful plight by cause of
his signet asked him saying, "What is to do with thee, O King of
the Age, that I find thee here halted?" He replied, "Verily my
signet-ring of Kingship[FN#163] hath dropped from me into the
river somewhere about this place." Quoth the Darwaysh, "Be not
grieved, O our lord;" after which he brought out from his breast
pocket a pencase, and having drawn from it a bit of bees' wax, he
fashioned it into the form of a man and cast it into the water.
Then he stood gazing thereat when, lo and behold! the Figure came
forth the river with the seal-ring hanging to its neck and sprang
upon the saddle-bow in front of the Sultan. The King would have
taken his signet when the Form jumped off and approached the
Darwaysh who hent the ring in hand and rubbed it and the Figure
at once became wax as it had been. Hereupon the Darwaysh restored
it to his pencase and said to the Sovran, "Now do thou ride on!"
All this and the Lords of the land sat gazing upon the Darwaysh
and what he had done; after which the whole party fared forwards
till they reached the gardens, where they dismounted and took
seat and fell to conversing together. They enjoyed themselves
that day and when evening fell they remounted and sought their
homes, and the Darwaysh returned to the apartment which had been
set apart for him. But presently the Grandees of the realm
forgathered with the Sultan and said to him, "O King of the Age,
yon Darwaysh requireth of thee exceeding caution seeing that he,
whenso he ever will, availeth to slay everyone in the Palace, and
after doing thee die can raise himself to rule in thy stead."
"How so?" quoth the King, and quoth they, "In that 'twere easy
for him to make Figures of wax and cause them prevail over thee
and over us, so that they may kill us and he may succeed thee as
Sultan; nor would this be aught of inconvenience to him." Now
when the King heard these words he was afeared and cried, "By
Allah, sooth ye speak, and this is the right rede and one which
may not be blamed indeed!" presently adding, "And how shall we
manage with this Darwaysh?" Said they, "Do thou send for him and
summon him and slay him forthright; and better 'twere that thou
kill him ere he kill thee;[FN#164] and if he say thee 'I will go
and return,' suffer him not depart." The Sultan acted after their
counsel and sending to fetch the Fakir--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan
sent after the Darwaysh and bade him be brought into the presence
and set between his hands, when he said to him, "O Darwaysh, do
thou know 'tis mine aim and intention to slay thee: say me then,
hast thou any charge thou wouldst send to thy family?" Quoth the
Religious, "Wherefore shouldst thou kill me, O our lord, and what
of ill deeds hath proceeded from me that thou shouldst destroy me
therefor, and do thou make me aware of my sin, and then if I
merit death kill me or decree to me banishment." Quoth the King,
"There is no help but that I slay thee,"[FN#165] and the Darwaysh
fell to gentling him but it availed him naught; so as soon as he
was certified that the Sultan would not release him or dismiss
him, he arose and drew a wide ring upon the ground in noose shape
and measuring some fifteen ells, within which he described a
lesser circle. Then he stood up before the Sovran and said, "O
King of the Age, verily this greater circle is the dominion
belonging to thee, whilst the lesser round is mine own realm." So
saying he moved from his place and stepped forwards and passing
into the smaller ring quoth he, "An thy reign, O King of the Age,
be not ample for me I will inhabit my own;" and forthright upon
entering the lesser circle he vanished from the view of those
present. Cried the Sultan to the Lords of the land, "Seize him";
but they availed not to find him, and after going forth in search
they returned and reported that they could light upon no one.
Then said the Sovran, "He was beside me in this place and passed
into the smaller ring; so do ye seek for him again;" and
accordingly they went forth once more but could not see a trace
of him. Hereupon the Sultan repented and cried, "There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah the Glorious, the
Great: verily we have exceeded in the matter of this Darwaysh and
we have hearkened to the words of hypocrites who caused us to
fall into trouble by obeying them in all they said to me against
him. However, whatso they did to me that will I do unto them."
And as soon as it was morning-tide and the Lords of the land
forgathered in the Divan, the Sultan commanded to slay those who
had counselled him to kill the Darwaysh, and some of them were
done to death and others of them were banished the
country.[FN#166] Now when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard this
narrative from Manjab, he wondered with extreme wonderment and
said to him, "By Allah, O Manjab, thou deservest to be a
cup-companion of the Kings:" so he created him from that moment
his Equerry in honour to the Grand Wazir Ja'afar the Barmaki,
whereof he had become brother-in-law. Now after some time
Al-Rashid asked from Manjab a tale concerning the wiles of
womankind, and when the youth hung his head groundwards and
blushed before him, Harun said to him, "O Manjab, verily the
place of the Kings in privacy is also the place for laying aside
gravity." Said Manjab, "O Prince of True Believers, to-morrow
night (Inshallah!) I will tell thee a tale in brief concerning
the freaks of the gender feminine, and what things they do with
their mates." Accordingly when night came on, the Caliph sent for
and summoned Manjab to the presence, and when he came there he
kissed ground and said, "An it be thy will, O Commander of the
Faithful, that I relate thee aught concerning the wiles of wives,
let it be in a private place lest haply one of the slave girls
hear me and any of them report my tale to the Queen." Quoth
Rashid, "This is the right rede which may not be blamed indeed!"
So he went with him to a private place concealed from the folk,
and took seat, he and the youth, and none beside, when Manjab
related to him the following





Tale of the Simpleton Husband.[FN#167]



It is related that there was a Badawi man who had a wife and he
dwelt under a tent of hair[FN#168] in the desert where, as is the
fashion of Arabs, he used to shift from site to site for the
purpose of pasturing his camels. Now the woman was of exceeding
beauty and comeliness and perfection, and she had a friend (also
a Badawi man) who at all times would come to her and have his
wicked will of her, after which he would wend his ways. But one
day of the days her lover visited her and said, "Wallahi, 'tis
not possible but that what time we sleep together, I and thou, we
make merry with thy husband looking on."--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the man
which was the friend of the Badawi's wife said to her, "Walláhi,
'tis not possible but that when we make merry, I and thou, thy
husband shall look upon us." Quoth she, "Why should we suffer at
such time of our enjoyment either my husband or any wight to be
present?" and quoth he, "This must needs be, and unless thou
consent I will take to me a mistress other than thyself." Then
said she, "How shall we enjoy ourselves with my husband looking
on? This is a matter which may not be managed." Hereupon the
woman sat down and took thought of her affair and how she should
do for an hour or so, and presently she arose and dug her
amiddlemost the tent a hole[FN#169] which would contain a man,
wherein she concealed her lover. Now, hard by the tent was a tall
sycamore tree,[FN#170] and as the noodle her husband was
returning from the wild the woman said to him, "Ho thou,
Such-an-one! climb up this tree and bring me therefrom a somewhat
of figs that we may eat them." Said he, "'Tis well;" and arising
he swarmed up the tree-trunk, when she signed to her lover who
came out and mounted and fell to riding upon her. But her mate
considered her and cried aloud, "What is this, O whore: doth a
man cavalcade thee before me and the while I am looking at thee?"
Then he came down from the tree in haste, but he saw no one, for
as soon as the lover had finished his business the good-wife
thrust him into the hole amiddlemost the tent and covered him
with a mat. When the husband went inside to the booth and met his
wife he found no stranger with her so said she to him, "O man,
thou hast sinned against me, saying, 'Verily, some one is riding
thee'; and thou hast slandered me by falsely charging me with
folly." Quoth he, "By Allah I saw thee with my own eyes;" but
quoth she, "Do thou sit here the while I have a look." Hereupon
she arose and swarmed up the trunk and sat upon one of the
branches, and as she peered at her spouse she shrieked aloud
crying, "O man, do thou have some regard for thine honour. Why do
on this wise and lie down and allow a man to ride thee, and at
this moment he worketh his will on thee." Said her husband,
"Beside me there is neither man nor boy." And said she, "Here I
am[FN#171] looking at thee from the top of this tree." Quoth he,
"O woman, this place must be haunted,[FN#172] so let us remove
hence;" and quoth she, "Why change our place? rather let us
remain therein." Hereupon the Caliph said to Manjab, "By Allah,
verily, this woman was an adulteress;" and the youth replied,
"Amongst womankind indeed are many more whorish than this. But of
that anon; and now do thou hear from me and learn of me this
marvellous tale anent






         NOTE CONCERNING THE "TIRREA BEDE," NIGHT 655.



Scott refers to a tale in the "Bahar-Danush" (Bahár-i-Dánish); or, "Garden of
Knowledge," translated by himself, story viii. lesson 4; chapter xii. vol.
iii. pp. 64-68. Cadell & Co., Strand, London, 1799. Five women come from a
town to draw water at a well; and, finding there a young Brahmin, become his
teachers and undertake to instruct him in the "Tirrea" or fifth "Veda"--there
being only four of these Hindu Scriptures. Each lesson consists of an
adventure showing how to cornute a husband, and the fourth runs as follows. I
leave them in Scott's language:--

The fourth lady through dread of the arrow of whose cunning the warrior of the
fifth heaven[FN#173] trembled in the sky, like the reed, having bestowed her
attention on the pilgrim bramin (Brahman), despatched him to an orchard; and
having gone home, said to her husband, "I have heard that in the orchard of a
certain husbandman there is a date tree, the fruit of which is of remarkably
fine flavour; but what is yet stranger, whoever ascends it, sees many
wonderful objects. If to-day, going to visit this orchard, we gather dates
from this tree, and also see the wonders of it, it will not be unproductive of
amusement." In short, she so worked upon her husband with flattering speeches
and caresses, that nolens volens he went to the orchard, and at the
instigation of his wife, ascended the tree. At this instant she beckoned to
the bramin, who was previously seated, expectantly, in a corner of the garden.

The husband, from the top of the tree, beholding what was not fit to be seen,
exclaimed in extreme rage, "Ah! thou shameless Russian-born[FN#174] wretch,
what abominable action is this?" The wife making not the least answer, the
flames of anger seized the mind of the man, and he began to descend from the
tree; when the bramin with activity and speed having hurried over the fourth
section of the Tirrea Bede,[FN#175] went his way.

                             VERSE.

     The road to repose is that of activity and quickness.

The wife during her husband's descent from the tree having arranged her plan,
said, "Surely, man, frenzy must have deprived thy brain of the fumes of sense,
that having foolishly set up such a cry, and not reflecting upon thine own
disgrace (for here, excepting thyself, what male is present?), thou wouldst
fix upon me the charge of infidelity?" The husband, when he saw no person
near, was astonished, and said to himself, "Certainly, this vision must have
been miraculous."

The completely artful wife, from the hesitation of her husband, guessed the
cause, and impudently began to abuse him. Then instantly tying her vest round
her waist she ascended the tree. When she had reached the topmost branch, she
suddenly cried out, "O thou shameless man, what abominable action is this! If
thy evil star hath led thee from the path of virtue, surely thou mightest have
in secret ventured upon it. Doubtless to pull down the curtain of modesty from
thy eyes, and with such impudence to commit such a wicked deed, is the very
extreme of debauchery."

The husband replied, "Woman, do not ridiculously cry out, but be silent; for
such is the property of this tree, that whoever ascends it, sees man or woman
below in such situations." The cunning wife now came down, and said to her
husband, "What a charming garden and amusing spot is this! where one can
gather fruit, and at the same time behold the wonders of the world." The
husband replied, "Destruction seize the wonders which falsely accuse man of
abomination!" In short the devilish wife, notwithstanding the impudence of
such an action, escaped safely to her house, and the next day, according to
custom, attending at the well, introduced the bramin to the ladies, and
informed them of her worthy contrivance.[FN#176]





            THE LOVES OF AL-HAYFA AND YUSUF.[FN#177]



I had a familiar in the Northern region who was called 'Abd
al-Jawád and he was one of the greatest of merchants there and
made of money; also he loved voyage and travel, and at whatever
time I visited him and we forgathered, I and he, we exchanged
citations of poetry. Now one day my heart yearned to visit him,
so I repaired to his place and found him there; and as we came
together we both sat down in friendly converse, I and he; and he
said to me "O my brother, do thou hear what happened and was
accomplished for me in these times. I travelled to the land of
Al-Yaman and therein met a familiar who, when we sat down to
talk, I and he, said, 'O my brother, verily there befel me and
betided me in the land of Al-Hind a case that was strange and an
adventure that was admirable and it ran as follows. There was
erewhile a King of the kings of India and one of her greatest,
who was abundant in money and troops and guards and he was called
Al-Mihrján.[FN#178] This same was a lord of high degree and a
majestic and he had lived for a long while of his age without
having issue male or female. Wherefor he was full of cark and
care wanting one who after him would preserve his memory, so he
said in his mind one night of the nights, 'Whenas I die cut off
shall be my name, and effaced shall be my fame nor shall anyone
remember me.' So saying he raised both hands to Heaven and
humbled himself before Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) to
vouchsafe him a child who should outlive him with the view that
man might not lose the memory of him. Now one night as he was
sleeping a-bed dreaming and drowned in slumber behold, he heard a
Voice (without seeing any form) which said to him, 'O Mihrjan the
Sage, and O King of the Age, arouse thee this moment and go to
thy wife and lie with her and know her carnally, for she shall
indeed conceive of thee at this very hour and bear thee a child
which, an it be a boy shall become thine aider in all thine
affairs but will, an it prove a girl, cause thy ruin and thy
destruction and the uprooting of thy traces.' When Al-Mihrjan
heard from the Speaker these words and such sayings, he left his
couch without stay or delay in great joy and gladness and he went
to his wife and slept with her and swived her and as soon as he
arose from off her she said, 'O King of the Age, verily I feel
that I have become pregnant; and (Inshallah--if Almighty Allah
please!) this shall prove the case.'[FN#179] When Al-Mihrjan
heard the words of his wife he was glad and rejoiced at good news
and he caused that night be documented in the archives of his
kingdom. Then, when it was morning he took seat upon the throne
of his kingship and summoned the Astrologers and the Scribes of
characts and Students of the skies and told them what had been
accomplished to him in his night and what words he had heard from
the Voice; whereupon the Sages one and all struck tables of sand
and considered the ascendant. But each and every of them
concealed his thought and hid all he had seen nor would any
return a reply or aught of address would supply; and said they,
'O King of the Age, verily appearances in dreams hit the mark at
times and at times fly wide; for when a man is of a melancholic
humour he seeth in his sleep things which be terrible and
horrible and he waxeth startled thereat: haply this vision thou
hast beheld may be of the imbroglios of dreams so do thou commit
the reins to Him who all overreigns and the best Worker is He of
all that wisheth and willeth He.' Now when Al-Mihrjan heard these
words of the Sages and the Star-gazers he gifted and largessed
them and he freed the captives in prison mewed and he clothed the
widows and the poor and nude. But his heart remained in sore
doubt concerning what he had heard from the Voice and he was
thoughtful over that matter and bewildered and he knew not what
to do; and on such wise sped those days. Now, however, returneth
the tale to the Queen his Consort who, when her months had gone
by, proved truly to be pregnant and her condition showed itself,
so she sent to inform her husband thereof. He was gladdened and
rejoiced in the good news and when the months of gestation were
completed the labour-pains set in and she was delivered of a
girl-child (praise be to Him who had created and had perfected
what He had produced in this creation!), which was winsome of
face and lovesome of form and fair fashioned of limbs, with
cheeks rosaceous and eyne gracious and eyebrows continuous and
perfect in symmetrical proportion. Now after the midwives
delivered her from the womb and cut her navel-string and kohl'd
her eyes, they sent for King Al-Mihrjan and informed him that his
Queen had borne a maid- babe, but when the Eunuchs gave this
message, his breast was narrowed and he was bewildered in his
wits, and rising without stay or delay he went to his wife. Here
they brought to him the new-born when he uncovered her face and,
noting her piquancy and elegancy and beauty and brilliancy and
size and symmetry, his vitals fluttered and he was seized with
yearning sorrow for her fate; and he named her Al-Hayfá[FN#180]
for her seemlihead. Then he gifted the midwife'"--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O
sister mine and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

             The Six Hundred and Sixty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that King
Al-Mihrjan largessed a robe of honour to the midwife and gifted
her with a thousand gold pieces and went forth from beside his
daughter. Then they committed her to wetnurses and drynurses and
governesses who reared her with the fairest rearing, and after
she had reached the age of four they brought to her divines who
lessoned her in the art of writing and of making
selections[FN#181] and presently she approved herself sharp of
wits, clever, loquent of tongue, eloquent of speech, sweet spoken
of phrase; and every day she increased in beauty and loveliness
and stature and perfect grace. And when she reached the age of
fourteen she was well read in science and she had perused the
annals of the past and she had mastered astrology and geomancy
and she wrote with caligraphic pen all the seven handwritings and
she was mistress of metres and modes of poetry and still she grew
in grace of speech. Now as her age reached her fourteenth year
her sire the Sultan chose for her a palace and settled her
therein and placed about her slave-girls, high-bosomed virgins
numbering an hundred, and each and every famous for beauty and
loveliness; and presently she selected of them a score who were
all maidenhoods, illustrious for comeliness and seemliness. These
she taught in verse and poetry and in the strangenesses of
history and in striking instruments of mirth and merriment until
they surpassed all the folk of their day; and she assiduously
enjoined upon them the drinking of wine pure and new and
boon-companionship with choice histories and strange tales and
the rare events of the time. Such was the case with Al-Hayfa; but
as regards her father, King Al-Mihrjan, as one night he was lying
abed pondering what he had heard from the Voice, suddenly there
addressed him a sound without a form and said, "O King of the
Age," whereat he was fully aroused by sore terror and his vitals
fluttered and his wits were bewildered and he was perplexed as to
his affair. So he took refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned
and repeated somewhat of the Koran and fenced himself about with
certain of the holy names of Allah the Munificent; then he would
have returned to his couch but was unable, even to place cheek on
pillow. Presently sounded the Voice a second time, saying, "O
King of the Age, O Mihrjan, verily shalt thou die by reason of
her;" and forthwith improvised the following couplets,

"Ho thou! Hear, O Mihrjan, what to thee shall be said * Learn the
     drift of my words in these lines convey'd:
Thy daughter, Al-Hayfa (the girded round * With good, and with
     highest of grade array'd)
Shall bring with right hand to thee ruin-bowl * And reave thee of
     realm with the sharp-biting blade."[FN#182]

Now when Al-Mihrjan had heard what the Voice had spoken of verse
and had produced for him of prose, he was wholly aroused from his
sleep and became like one drunken with wine who knew not what he
did and his vitals fluttered and increased his cark and care and
anxious thought. So he removed from that site into another stead
and was stirred up and went awandering about. Then he set his
head upon the pillow but was unable to close his eyelids and the
Voice drew nearer and cried upon him in frightful accents and
said, "O Mihrjan, dost thou not hearken to my words and
understand my verse; to wit, that thy daughter Al-Hayfa shall
bequeath to thee shame and thou shalt perish by cause of her?"
Then the Unseen One recited these couplets,[FN#183]

"I see thee, O Mihrjan, careless-vain * who from hearing the
     words of the wise dost abstain:
I see Al-Hayfa, by potent lord * Upraised in her charms and
     speech sweet of strain,
Who shall home thee in grave sans a doubt and she * Shall seize
     thy king-ship and reave thy reign."

But when Al-Mihrjan had heard the words of the Voice and what it
had urged upon him of poetry and of prose-addresses, he arose
from his rest in haste and anxiety until Allah caused the morn to
morrow and break in its sheen and it shone, whereupon the King
summoned the Mathematicians and the Interpreters of dreams and
the Commentators on the Koran; and, when they came between his
hands, he related to them his vision, fully and formally, and
they practised their several arts, making all apparent to them;
but they concealed the truth and would not reveal it, saying to
him, "Indeed the consequence of thy vision is auspicious."-- And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night, and that
was

             The Six Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Astrologers said to King Al-Mihrjan, "Verily the consequence of
thy vision is auspicious;" and on the second night Iblis the
Accursed appeared to him under the bodily form of a handsome man
and said, "Ho thou the King, I am he who terrified thee
yesternight in thy dream, for the reason that thou hast ruined
the Monastery of the Archers[FN#184] wherein I lay homed. However
an thou wilt edify it again I will favour thee with my counsel,
ho thou the King!" Al-Mihrjan replied, "Upon me be its rebuilding
an thou wilt honour me with thy advice, ho thou the Voice!"
Hereupon Iblis fell to lying with him and saying, "Verily I am
thine aider in building thee a palace by the river
Al-Kawá'ib,[FN#185] O thou will of me and desire of me!" (Now the
folk heard these words spoken aloud.) Then Al-Mihrjan arose from
his sleep joyful and cheerful and when morning came he summoned
the Mathematicians and Architects and Masons and bade them
rebuild the Monastery of the Archers; so they obeyed his bidding
until they had completed it in the handsomest fashion and with
the best of workmanship. After that the King ordered they
construct for his daughter Al-Hayfa a palace unsurpassed by any
edifice and perfectly builded and decorated, hard by the river
Al-Kawa'ib; moreover that it should be situate in a wady, a
hill-girt plain through which meandered the stream. So they
obeyed his bidding and laid its foundations and marked with large
stones the lines thereof which measured a parasang of length by a
parasang of breadth. Then they showed their design to the King,
who gathering together his army returned with them to the city.
Presently the Architects and Master-masons fell to building it
square of corners and towering in air over the height of an
hundred ells and an ell; and amiddlemost thereof stood a
quadrangular hall with four-fold saloons, one fronting other,
whilst in each was set apart a cabinet for private converse. At
the head of every saloon a latticed window projected over the
garden whereof the description shall follow in its place; and
they paved the ground with vari-coloured marbles and alabastrine
slabs which were dubbed with bezel stones and onyx[FN#186] of
Al-Yaman. The ceilings were inlaid with choice gems and lapis
lazuli and precious metals: the walls were coated with white
stucco painted over with ceruse[FN#187] and the frieze was
covered with silver and gold and ultramarine and costly minerals.
Then they set up for the latticed windows colonnettes of gold and
silver and noble ores, and the doors of the sitting chamber were
made of chaunders-wood alternating with ebony which they studded
with jewels and arabesque'd with gold and silver. Also they
placed in each sitting-room a pillar of Comorin lign-aloes and
the best of sandal-wood encrusted with gems; and over the
speak-room they threw cupolas supported upon arches and
connecting columns and lighted in the upper part by skylights of
chrystal and carnelian and onyx. And at the head of each saloon
was a couch of juniper-wood whose four legs were of elephants'
ivories studded with rubies and over each was let down a
hanging[FN#188] of golden weft and a network of gems, whilst
higher than the whole was a latticed casement adorned with pearls
which were threaded upon golden wire and curtains bearing scented
satchels of ambergris. The furniture of the divans was of raw
silk stuffed with ostrich- down and the cushions were purfled
with gold. The floors of all the saloons were spread with carpets
and rugs embroidered with sendal, and in the heart of the Great
Hall amiddlemost the four saloons rose a marble jet-d'eau, square
of shape, whose corners were cunningly wrought and whose floor
and marge were set with gems of every hue. They also placed upon
the edges of that fountain figures fashioned of gold and silver
representing all manner birds and beasts, each modelled according
to his several tint and peculiar form; their bellies too were
hollow and from the fountain was conducted a conduit which led
the water into their insides and caused it gush from their mouths
so that they jetted one at other like two hosts about to do
battle. After this the same water returned to the middle of the
fountain and thence flowed into the gardens, of which a
description will follow in its place.[FN#189] Also the walls of
the Great Hall were variegated with wondrous pictures in gold and
lapis lazuli and precious materials of every kind, and over the
doors of the sitting-places they hung candelabra of chrystal with
chains of gold wherein were set jewels and jacinths and the
costliest stones; after which they inscribed upon the entrance of
the speak-rooms couplets to the following purport,

"Clear and clean is our seance from slanderous foe; * And from
     envious rival whose aim is blame:
None hither may come save the cup-boy, and eke * Cup-comrades who
     never our fame defame."

Upon the chandeliers themselves were inscribed these lines,

"I am raised in reverence high o'er head * For they see that my
     gift is the boon of light:
I'm a pleasure to eyesight, so up with you all, * O Seers, and
     joy ye the joys of my sight."


And upon the Palace-door was inscribed the following quatrain,

"This Mansion's adorned           * As delight to mans eye;
O'er its door writ is 'Welcome,' * So safely draw nigh."

And when they had finished this inscription over the doorway,
they went forth from the entrance which stood at the head of the
Great Hall and proceeded to a square of large space abounding in
trees and enjoyable for rills; and they surrounded it with a
fencing-wall built of rough stone which they stuccoed over and
figured with various paintings. Then they planted this garden
with all manner fruit-bearing trees and fragrant herbs and
flowers and firstlings of every kind and hue and they trained the
branches after a wonderful fashion, leading under their shade
leats and runnels of cool water; and the boughs were cunningly
dispread so as to veil the ground which was planted with grains
of divers sorts and greens and all of vegetation that serveth for
the food of man. Also they provided it with a watering wheel
whose well was revetted with alabaster[FN#190]--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Architects set up in that palace-garden a water-wheel whose well
was revetted with alabaster and whose wood-work and wheel were of
chaunders-wood, whilst its pitchers were of fine porcelain and
its cordage[FN#191] was of raw silk. And when they were free of
this work they edified amongst the scented shrubs and blossoms a
towering dome based upon four-square walls of variegated marbles
and alabasters studded with carbuncles[FN#192] and its ceiling
was supported upon columns of the finest stone with joinery of
lign-aloes and sandal, and they dubbed its cupola with jewels and
precious stones and arabesque'd[FN#193] it with gold and silver.
Then they made therein four saloons more, each fronting other,
and at the head of one and all was a latticed window impending
over the bloomy shrubs and fragrant herbs; the colonnettes of
those casements were silvern whilst the shutters were of
sandal-wood plated and studded with precious metals; and over the
lintels thereof was an ornamental frieze of gold inscribed with
lines of verse which shall be described in its due place. And
they inlaid that frieze with rubies and jacinths until it made
the cupola resemble the domes of Paradise. Moreover they trained
the flowering shrubs and the perfumed herbs to overrun with their
tendrils the casements in the drum of the dome, and when they had
completed the work and had embellished it with all adornments
they pierced for it an entrance and ranged around it three
ramparts which, built up with large stones, were in breadth seven
cubits. Then they edified for the Palace an impregnable gateway
of Chinese steel whereunto led flights of alabastrine steps which
were continued to the highmost parts, and lastly they derived the
river Al-Kawa'ib till it surrounded the edifice on every side and
encircled it as signet-ring girdeth finger or wristlet wrist. Now
when the Architects and Master-masons had made an end of building
the Palace and its domes and had finished laying out and planting
the parterres, they went in to King Al-Mihrjan and kissing ground
between his hands informed him thereof; and he, receiving this
report, at once took his daughter, Al-Hayfa, and mounting horse,
he and the Lords of his land rode forth till they reached the
river Al-Kawa'ib which ran at three days' distance from his
capital. When he arrived there and looked upon the Palace and its
elevation in fortalice-form he was pleased therewith and so were
all of his suite and retinue; whereupon he went up to it and
beholding the ordinance and the ornamentation and the cupolas and
the gardens and the edification and embellishment of the whole,
he sent for the Architects and Master-masons and the artificers
whom he thanked for their work, and he bestowed upon them robes
of honour and gifted and largessed them and assigned to them
rations and pay and allowances. So they kissed ground before him
and went their ways. Then King Al-Mihrjan and his host withdrew
within the Palace, and he bade serve up the trays of viands and
sumptuous food for a banquet, after which he and his abode three
days in eating and drinking and diversion and disport; and he
gave robes of honour to his Wazirs and Emirs and the Grandees of
his kingdom, and in fine issued orders for their departure. When
they went forth from him, he commanded to summon Al-Hayfa and her
women with all their belongings; and she, having made act of
presence and having ascended to the Palace and considered it with
its beauty and artifice and ornamentation, was pleased and
rejoiced therein. The father abode with her three days, and then
farewelling her returned to his capital; and she on his departure
bade her slave-girls distribute the couches about the saloons
placing in each one a seat of ebony plated with glittering gold,
whose legs were of elephant's ivory, and over one and all they
reared canopies of silk and brocade adorned with jewels and
precious metals and bespread them with mattresses and cushions
and pillows, and over the floor of the palaces they laid down
carpets whereupon was orfrayed this couplet,

"O Friend hereon seated be blythe and gay * Unless hereto bound
     and debarred of way."[FN#194]

Then they set upon them settees for seats whereupon were
inscribed these couplets,

"O Seat, be thy beauty increased evermore; * Fair fall thee with
     happiness choice and meet;
An I fail in life through my slip and sin, * To-morrow in Heav'n
     I'll give thee seat."

Then[FN#195] the attendants decorated the whole Palace until it
became like unto one of the Mansions of Heaven, and when the
women had done her bidding, Al-Hayfa was much pleased, so she
took one of the slave-girls by the hand and walked with the rest
of them around the Palace considering its artifice and its
embellishment, especially the paintings which covered the walls;
and they rejoiced thereat, marvelling at the cunning decorations
and they were grateful to the Architects who had builded and
presented all these representations. And when Al-Hayfa reached
the terrace- roof of the Palace she descended by its long flight
of steps which led to the river-side, and bidding the door be
thrown open she gazed upon the water which encircled it like ring
around finger or armlet round arm, and admired its breadth and
its swiftness of streaming; and she magnified the work and
admired the gateway of steel for its strength and power of
defence and sued for pardon of Almighty Allah.[FN#196]--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

             The Six Hundred and Seventieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will." It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hayfa
sued pardon of Allah the Great and took refuge with the Almighty
from Satan the Stoned, after which said she, "There is no
diverter to whatso is doomed by the Lord nor availeth aught of
solicitude against that commanded by the Omnipotent, the All-
puissant; and His power is upon me with His destiny and needs
must it come to pass." Then she called for a pen-case of gold and
she wrote for placing over the gateway of the Palace the
following couplets,[FN#197]

"Behold here's a mansion like 'Home of Delight' * Whose sight
     heals the sick and abates all blight:
Here are roe-like maidens with breasts high raised * And with
     charms of the straightest stature bedight:
Their eyes prey on the lion, the Desert's lord. * And sicken the
     prostrate love- felled plight:
Whomso their glances shall thrust and pierce * Naught e'er
     availeth mediciner's might:
Here Al-Hayfa scion of noble sire * E'en craven and sinner doth
     fain invite;
And here for the drunken wight there abide * Five pardons[FN#198]
     and bittocks of bread to bite.
My desire is the maiden who joys in verse, * All such I welcome
     with me to alight,
And drain red wine in the garth a-morn * where beasts and birds
     all in pairs unite;
Where rose and lily and eglantine * And myrtle with scent
     morning-breeze delight,
Orange bloom, gillyflower and chamomile * With Jasmine and
     palm-bud, a joyful site.
Whoso drinketh not may no luck be his * Nor may folk declare him
     of reason right!
Wine and song are ever the will of me * But my morning wine lacks
     a comrade-wight
O who brightenest the Five[FN#199] do thou rise and fetch * By
     night for my use olden wine and bright:
O thou reading this writ, prithee comprehend: * Cross the stream
     I swear thee by God's All-might!
This is House of Honour may none gainsay :* Cup-comrade shall be
     who shall self invite;
For within these gates only women wone, * So of men-folk here
     thou hast naught to affright."

When Al-Hayfa had finished her writing and what she had
improvised of verse and couplets, she bade close the entrance of
the Palace and went up, she and her women, to the higher
apartments; and the while she was drowned in thought and fell to
saying, "Would Heaven I knew an this mighty guard and ward will
defend Al-Mihrjan and would I wot if this fortalice will fend off
Fate and what fain must be." Then she enjoined her women to high
diet and the drinking of wine and listening to intimate converse
and the hearing of songs and musical instruments and gladness and
gaiety for a while of time; and she felt herself safe from the
shifts of chance and change. Such was her case but now we will
recount (Inshallah!) what further befel her.[FN#200] In the land
of Sind was a King hight Sahl[FN#201] and he was of the Monarchs
of might, endowed with puissance and prepotency and exalted
degree, abounding in troops and guards and overruling all that
fair region. Now Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) had
vouchsafed him a son than whom was none in his age fairer of
semblance: beautiful exceedingly was he, with a face brighter far
than the full moon; and he was of tongue eloquent and of pluck
puissant, valorous, formidable. Also he was mighty fond of wine
mere and rare and of drinks in the morning air and of converse
with the fair and he delighted in mirth and merriment and he was
assiduous in his carousing which he would never forego during the
watches of the night or the wards of the day. Now for the
abundance of his comeliness and the brilliancy of his
countenance, whenever he walked abroad in the capital he would
swathe his face with the Lithám,[FN#202] lest wax madly enamoured
of him the woman-kind and all creation, wherefore he was named
the Veiled Yúsuf of Beauty. It chanced one night as he sat
carousing with his boon companions that the wine prevailed over
him and he became sprightly and frolicsome; so he went forth from
the door of his cabinet in a state of drink, understanding naught
and knowing nothing of that he did. He wandered about the rooms
belonging to his father and there he saw a damsel of the paternal
concubines standing at the door of her bower and his wine so
mastered him that he went up to her and clasped her to his bosom
and threw her backwards upon the floor. She cried aloud to the
royal Eunuchs who stood there looking on at him, not one of them,
however, dared arrest him or even draw near him to free the girl,
so he had his will of her and abated her maidenhead after which
he rose up from off her and left her all bleeding[FN#203] from
his assault. Now this slave-girl had been gifted to his sire and
Yusuf left her to recover her condition when he would have
visited her again, but as soon as he had returned to his
apartment (and he not knowing what he had done) the Eunuchs took
the damsel (she bleeding as before) and carried her to King Sahl
who seeing her in such case exclaimed, "What man hath done this
to her?" Said they, "'Tis thy son Yusuf;" and he, when he heard
the words of his slaves, felt that this matter was hard upon him
and sent to fetch the Prince. They hastened to bring him, but
amongst the Mamelukes was one lovingly inclined to the youth who
told him the whole tale and how his father had bade the
body-guards summon him to the presence. And when Yusuf had heard
the words of the Mameluke he arose in haste and baldrick'd his
blade and hending his spear in hand he went down to the stables
and saddled him a steed of the noblest blood and likeliest
strain; then he mounted and, taking with him a score of Mamelukes
his pages, he sallied forth with them through the city gate and
rode on unknowing what was concealed from him in the Secret
Purpose--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

           The Six Hundred and Seventy-second Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince
Yusuf, son of King Sahl, went forth the city all unknowing
whither he should wend and to what part he should turn, and he
ceased not faring with his merry men for ten full-told days,
cutting across the wold and wild and the valley and the
stone-clad hill, and he was perplext as to his affair. But whilst
he was still journeying he came upon the river Al-Kawa'ib and he
drew in sight of the castle of Al-Hayfa, which stood amiddlemost
that mighty stream with its height and bulk and defensive
strength. Hereupon quoth Yusuf to himself, "By Allah, none
founded this puissant fortalice in such power and prepotency and
forcefulness save for a mighty matter and a cause of much
consequence. Would Heaven I wot to whom this belongeth and who
dwelleth therein!" Then he applied his mind and had recourse to
the knowledge of his companions the Mamelukes and he commanded
all his white slaves alight upon the marge of the river for the
purpose of rest, and when they had reposed he asked them, "Who
amongst you will go down to this stream and will over-swim it and
will visit the lord of the Castle and bring us news of it and
tidings of its ownership and discover for us the man to whom it
belongeth?" But as no one would return him a reply he repeated
his words without any answer and he, when he saw that, arose
forthright and doffed what he had upon him of dress, all save his
shirt only. Then he took his bow and quiver and placing his
clothes with his weapon and arrow-case upon his head he went down
to the river and swam it until he came forth it on the further
side. Here he walked up to the gateway and found an impregnable
entrance all of steel which none might avail to open, but when he
saw the verses thereon inscribed and understood their
significance he gave himself joy and was certified of entering.
Then he took from his quiver a pen-case and paper whereupon he
inscribed these couplets,

"At your door, O Fountains of weal, I stand * A stranger from
     home and a-morning bann'd.
Your grace shall haply forfend my foe * And the hateful band of
     unfriends disband:
I have none resort save your gates, the which * With verse like
     carcanet see I spann'd:
Ibn Sahl hath 'spied with you safe repair, * So for lonesome
     stranger approach command!"

And when Yusuf had ended his writing, he folded the paper and
made it fast to a shaft; then he took his bow and arming it drew
the string and aimed the arrow at the upper terrace, where it
dropped within the parapet. Now, by the decree of The Decreer
Al-Hayfa was walking there with her women when the shaft fell
between her feet and the paper became manifest, so she caught
sight of it and took it up and opened it, and having read it
understood its significance. Hereat she rejoiced and
congratulated herself and her cheeks flushed rosy-red, and
presently she went hastily in the direction of the entrance,
whilst her women still looked down from the terrace upon the
doorway and saw Yusuf a-foot before it. They cried out to their
lady, "Verily there standeth below a youth lovely in his
youthfulness, with his face gladdening as the crescent moon of
Sha'abán."[FN#204] But when Al-Hayfa heard the words of the women
she was glad and gave herself joy and sensed an oppression of
pleasure, whilst her vitals palpitated and she perspired in her
petticoat-trowsers.[FN#205] Then she went down to the gateway
which she bade be thrown open, and seeing Prince Yusuf she smiled
in his face and welcomed him and greeted him. He returned her
salam with sweetness of phrase and softness of words, when said
she to him, "Well come and welcome and good cheer to thee, O thou
who dost visit us and takest refuge in our demesne[FN#206] and in
our presence, for that here thou hast immunity and impunity and
civility;" presently adding, "Enter into this guarded stead and
feel thou no fear from any foe, for thou hast wrought thy wish
and hast attained thine aim and hast won thy will, O fair of face
and O perfect of form, O thou whose countenance excelleth the new
moon: here thou hast preserved thy life and art saved from
foeman's strife." Thereupon she mounted the staircase and he
behind her, while the slave-girls surrounded the twain, and she
conversed with him and cheered him with fair words and welcomed
him once more till they had entered the Castle saloon, when she
took his hand and seated him at the head of the hall. But as
Yusuf looked upon the fortalice and the beauty of its building
and the excellence of its ordinance and the high degree of its
decorations which made it like unto the Palaces of Paradise, and
as he beheld that furniture and those couches, with what was over
them of hangings, and the gems and jewels and precious metals
which abounded there, he magnified the matter in his mind and
said to himself, "This place belongeth to none save to a mighty
monarch!" Then Al-Hayfa bade her women bring a bundle of
clothing, and when they had set it between her hands, she opened
it and drew forth a suit of Daylakian[FN#207] garments and a
caftan of Coptick stuff (fine linen of Misraim purfled with
gold), and bestowed them upon him, and she bound around his head
an or-fringed Shash[FN#208] with either end gem-adorned. And when
he donned the dress his countenance became brilliant and its
light shone afar, and his cheeks waxed red as rose, and she
seeing this felt her wits bewildered and was like to faint.
However, she soon recovered herself and said, "This is no mortal:
verily he is naught but of the Húrs of Heaven." Then she bade her
women bring food--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day,
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Six Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hayfa
bade her women bring the food trays, and when they obeyed her
bidding and placed them between the hands of Yusuf, he considered
them and saw that one was made of Yamání onyx and another of red
carnelian and a third of rock chrystal, and they bore platters of
gold and silver and porcelain and jasper. Upon them were ranged
dishes furnished with the daintiest food which perplexed the
wits, and sweetmeats and sumptuous meats, such as gazelle's
haunch and venison and fatted mutton and flesh of birds, all the
big and the small, such as pigeon and rock-pigeon, and greens
marinated and viands roasted and fried of every kind and colour
and cheeses and sugared dishes. Then she seated Yusuf beside her
and served him with all manner cates and confections and conjured
him to fall-to and morselled him until he had eaten his
sufficiency; after which they twain sat together in laughter and
enjoyment each conjoined to other and both cast in the mould of
beauty and loveliness and brilliancy and stature and symmetric
grace as though in the likeness of a rattan-palm. All this and
Al-Hayfa rejoiced in Yusuf, but ever and anon she took thought
anent her sire King Al-Mihrjan and his works and she kept saying
in her mind, "Would Heaven I wot will he wed me to this youth so
charming of inner grace; and, if my father be not satisfied
therewith, I will marry my lover in despite of him." And the
while Yusuf quoth to himself "Would Heaven I wot how my sire will
act in the business of the concubine whose pucelage I did away,
and would Heaven I knew if he have ridden forth in search of me,
or he have lost sight of me and never asked of me." On this wise
either of the twain spoke to themselves, and neither of them
believed in safety, all unknowing what was predestined to them by
Him who saith to a thing, "Be" and it becometh. So Al-Hayfa and
Yusuf sat drowned in the depths of thought, withal their joyance
and enjoyment made them clean forget that writ for them by Fate;
and the Prince gazing upon the greater tray saw graven upon its
edge these couplets,

"For the gathering of friends and familiars design'd * Between
     hands of Kings and Wazirs I'm shrin'd:
Upon me is whatever taste loves and joys * Of flesh and viands
     all kinds combin'd:
From me fill thee full of these cates and praise * Thy Lord, the
     Maker of all mankind."

Then the attendants placed bread upon the trays, and the Prince
found writ in moulded letters upon the loaves the couplets that
follow,

"And a loaf new-born from the flour of wheat, * White and piping
     hot from the oven-heat:
Quoth to me my chider, Be wise and say * Soothe my heart and
     blame not, O friend I greet."

Presently the handmaidens piled upon the trays platters of silver
and porcelain (whereof mention hath been made) containing all
that lip and tongue gratify of the meat of muttons in fry and
Katá-grouse and pigeon-poults and quails and things that fly of
every kind and dye which hungry men can long to espy, and Yusuf
saw inscribed upon the china dishes the following couplets,

"Platters of china fair     * That all men's eyne ensnare,
None seeth in this our town * China of mould so rare."

Then he looked upon the silver plate and found it graven with
these lines,

"Plate worked in silver of the brightest white * In height of
     beauty, O thou joy to sight,
When fully finisht and when perfect made * Becometh chargers
     peerless in delight."

And portrayed upon the porcelain were all that grow and fly of
geese and poultry. Anon a handmaid brought in hand a knife
wherewith to carve the meats, and Yusuf looking at the blade saw
upon it letters gold-inlaid and forming these verses,

"I am blade of finest grain     * Wherefrom comes naught of bane:
Fro' my friends all harm I ward * And thy foes by me be slain!"

Hereupon the handmaids ended the ordinance of the table and set
everything in its own stead; after which the Princess took seat
beside the Prince and said to him, "O my lord, hearten our heart
and deign grace to us and honour us by eating with us: this
indeed be a day of joy for my union with thee and for thy
lighting this my lodging with the splendour of thy semblance so
bright and thy beauty so rare and for thine alighting at my home
and thine opportune kindness and thine inner
graciousness,[FN#209] O thou unique one of the Age and the Time,
and O thou who hast no peer in our day and our tide." Now when
Yusuf heard the words of Al-Hayfa he said to her, "Wallahi, O
thou who the moons adornest and who the sun and the daylight
shamest, O lady of brow flower-bright and of stature
elegant-slight, O thou who passest in beauty and comeliness all
mortal beings, O thou with smile like water sweet and mouth-dews
like purest spring and of speech the softest, I wot thou art the
lady of goodness and excellence and generosity and liberality."
Then she again fell to morselling the Prince until they both had
a sufficiency of food, whereupon she bade them fetch water for
washing their hands after meat. And they brought to Yusuf a basin
of glittering gold, when he rejoiced with exceeding exultation
the while he was sunk in meditation, and at times he gazed upon
Al-Hayfa and his wits were bewildered and his senses seduced him
to something he would do with her for the abundance that was in
her of beauty and loveliness. But his reason forbade to him his
passion, and quoth he in his mind, "To everything its own
time,"-- And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Six Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will." It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Yusuf
said, "To everything its own time, and soothly sayeth the old
saw, Whoso hurrieth upon a matter ere opportunity consent shall
at last repent. Now when they brought the basin before him and
therein stood an ewer of chrystal garnished with gold, he looked
at it and saw graven thereupon the following couplets,

"I'm a Basin gold beautifies * For the hands of the great and the
     wise:
Abased[FN#210] for the cleansing of palms, * Washing hands with
     the water of eyes."

Thereat he considered the ewer and saw inscribed upon it these
lines,

"O rare the Ewer's form whereon must dote * Our hearts and pupils
     of our eyes fain gloat:
Seems ferly fair to all admiring orbs * You seemly body wi' the
     slender throat."

And when he had finished washing his hands and had dried them
with the napkins he pointed at them and spoke these couplets,

"Groweth my love a-heart and how to hide * When o'er the plains
     of cheek tear-torrents glide?
I veil what love these sobs and moans betray * With narrowed
     heart I spread my patience wide.
O Farer to the fountain,[FN#211] flow these eyes * Nor seek from
     other source to be supplied:
Who loveth, veil of Love his force shall reave, * For tears shall
     tell his secrets unespied:
I for the love of you ain bye-word grown, * My lords, and driven
     to the Desert-side;
While you in heart of me are homed, your home; * And the
     heart-dweller kens what there may bide."

When Prince Yusuf had finished his improvisation and the poetry
which he produced, Princess Al-Hayfa bussed him upon the brow,
and he seeing this waxed dazed of his wits and right judgment
fled him and he fell fainting to the floor for a while of time.
And when he came to himself he pondered how she had entreated him
and his Passion would have persuaded him to do with her somewhat
but Reason forbad and with her force he overcame himself. After
his improvising Al-Hayfa again saluted him on the front and
cried, "Indeed thou hast done well in thy words, O thou with
Crescent's brow!" Presently she came for the table of wine and
filling a cup drank it off; then she crowned another goblet and
passed it to Yusuf who took it and kissed it while she improvised
some couplets as follows,

"Thy seduction of lips ne'er can I forbear * Nor deny
     love-confession for charms so rare:
O thou aim of my eyes, how my longing stay? * O thou tall of form
     and long wavy hair?
Thy rose-hued cheek showeth writ new-writ[FN#212] * Dimming wine
     my cups in their rondure bear."

And presently she added,[FN#213]

"I hid his phantom, by the Lord, but showed * My looks the blush
     his scented cheek had sent:
How veil the joy his love bestows, when I * To blood-red[FN#214]
     tears on cheek give open vent,
When his uplighted cheek my heart enfires * As though a-morn in
     flame my heart were pent?
By Allah, ne'er my love for you I'll change * Though change my
     body and to change consent.

And when Al-Hayfa had finished her improvisation and her poetry,
Yusuf drained the goblet and after kissing it returned it to her;
but he was as one a-swoon. Then she took it from him and he
recovered and presently declaimed for her the following couplets,

"A maiden in your tribe avails my heart with love to fire[FN#215]
     * And how can I a-hidden bear the love my eyes declare?
The branches of the sand-hill tree remember and recall * What
     time she softly bent and showed a grace beyond compare;
And taught me how those eyne o'erguard the roses of her cheek *
     And knew to ward them from the hand to cull her charms would
     dare."

As soon as Yusuf had finished his improvisation and what of
poetry he had produced, Al-Hayfa took seat by his side and fell
to conversing with him in sweetest words with softest smiles, the
while saying, "Fair welcome to thee, O wonder of beauty and
lovesome in eloquence and O charming in riant semblance and lord
of high degree and clear nobility: thou hast indeed illumined our
place with the light of thy flower-like forehead and to our
hearts joyance hast thou given and our cares afar hast thou
driven and eke our breasts hast made broad; and this is a day of
festival to laud, so do thou solace our souls and drain of our
wine with us for thou art the bourne and end and aim of our
intent." Then Al-Hayfa took a cup of chrystal, and crowning it
with clear-strained wine which had been sealed with musk and
saffron, she passed it to Prince Yusuf. He accepted it from her
albeit his hand trembled from what befel him of her beauty and
the sweetness of her poetry and her perfection; after which he
began to improvise these couplets,

"O thou who drainest thy morning wine * With friends in a bower
     sweet blooms enshrineÂ–
Place unlike all seen by sight of man * In the lands and gardens
     of best design--,
Take gladly the liquor that quivers in cup * And elevates man,
     this clean Maid of the Vine:
This goblet bright that goes round the room * Nor Chosroës held
     neither Nu'uman's line.
Drink amid sweet flowers and myrtle's scent * Orange-bloom and
     Lily and Eglantine,
And Rose and Apple whose cheek is dight * In days that glow with
     a fiery shine;
'Mid the music of strings and musician's gear * Where harp and
     pipe with the lute combine;--
An I fail to find her right soon shall I * Of parting perish
     foredeemed to die!"

Then Al-Hayfa responded to him in the same rhyme and measure and
spake to him as follows,

"O thou who dealest in written line * Whose nature hiding shall
     e'er decline;
And subdued by wine in its mainest might * Like lover drunken by
     strains divine,[FN#216]
Do thou gaze on our garden of goodly gifts * And all manner
     blooms that in wreaths entwine;
See the birdies warble on every bough * Make melodious music the
     finest fine.
And each Pippet pipes[FN#217] and each Curlew cries * And
     Blackbird and Turtle with voice of pine;
Ring-dove and Culver, and eke Hazár, * And Katá calling on Quail
     vicine;
So fill with the mere and the cups make bright * With bestest
     liquor, that boon benign;--
This site and sources and scents I espy * With Rizwan's garden
     compare defy."

And when Al-Hayfa had ended her improvisation and what she had
spoken to him of poetry, and Yusuf had given ear to the last
couplet, he was dazed and amazed and he shrieked aloud and waxed
distraught for her and for the women that were beside and about
her, and after the cry he fell fainting to the ground. But in an
hour[FN#218] he came to, when the evening evened and the wax
candles and the chandeliers were lighted, his desire grew and his
patience flew and he would have risen to his feet and wandered in
his craze but he found no force in his knees. So he feared for
himself and he remained sitting as before.--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Six Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when Yusuf
remained sitting as before, Al-Hayfa asked him saying, "How art
thou hight, O dearling of my heart and fruit of my vitals?" Hereupon he told her his name and the name of his sire, and related to her the whole of what had befallen him, first and last, with the affair of the concubine and his faring forth from his own city and how he had sighted her Palace and had swum the stream and shot the shaft that carried the paper, after which he recited to her these couplets,

"I left my home for a fair young maid * Whose love my night with
     its light array'd;
Yet wot I not what her name may be * Thus ignorance mating with
     union forbade.
But when of her gifts I was certified * Her gracious form the
     feat easy made;
The King of Awe sent my steps to her * And to union with beauty
     vouchsafed me aid:
Indeed disgrace ever works me shame * Tho' long my longing to
     meet I'm afraid."

When Al-Hayfa heard his name her great love to him waxed greater.
Then she took the lute upon her lap and caressed it with her
finger-tips when it sighed and sobbed and groaned and
moaned[FN#219] and she fell to singing these verses,

"A thousand welcomes hail thy coming fain, * O Yusuf, dearling
     son of Sahl's strain:
We read thy letter and we understood * Thy kingly birth from sand
     that told it plain:[FN#220]
I'm thine, by Allah, I the loveliest maid * Of folk and thou to
     be my husband deign:
Bruit of his fair soft cheek my love hath won * And branch and
     root his beauty grows amain:
He from the Northern Realms to us draws nigh * For King Mihrjan
     bequeathing ban and bane;
And I behold him first my Castle seek * As mate impelled by
     inspiration fain.
The land upstirs he and the reign he rules * From East to West,
     the King my father slain;
But first he flies us for no fault of ours * Upon us wasting
     senseless words and vain:
E'en so Creation's Lord hath deigned decree, * Unique in
     Heaven--glorified be He!"[FN#221]

Now when Yusuf heard the words of Al-Hayfa he rejoiced with
exceeding joy and she was gladdened in like manner, after which
he gifted her with all that was upon him of gear and in similar
guise she doffed what dress was upon her and presented it to
him.[FN#222] Then she bade the slave-girls bring her an especial
suit and they fetched her a second bundle and she clothed Yusuf
with what was therein of sumptuous clothes. After this the Prince
abode with Al-Hayfa as an inmate of her palace for a term of ten
days in all the happiness of life, eating and drinking and
enjoying conjugal intercourse.[FN#223] Presently Almighty Allah
(be He extolled and exalted!) decreed that, when all tidings of
Yusuf son of Sahl were lost, his sire sent in search of him
Yahyà,[FN#224] his cousin and the son of his maternal aunt,
amongst a troop of twenty knights to track his trail and be
taught his tidings until Allah (be He glorified and magnified!)
guided him to the pages who had been left upon the river-bank.
Here they had tarried for ten days whilst the sunshine burnt them
and hunger was exterminating them; and when they were asked
concerning their lord, they gave notice that he had swum the
stream and had gone up to yonder Castle and had entered therein.
"And we know not (they ended) whether he be alive or dead." So
the lord Yahya said to them, "Is there amongst you any will cross
the current and bring us news of him?" But not one of them would
consent and they remained in silence and confusion. So he asked
them a second time and a third time yet none would rise up before
him and hearten him to attempt the dangers of the stream,
whereupon he drew forth his ink-case of brass and a sheet of
paper and he fell to writing the following verses,

"This day I have witnessed a singular case * Of Yusuf scion to
     Sahl's dear race:
Since he fared at undurn his sire was grieved * And the Palace
     remained but an empty place:
I liken the youth to full moon 'mid stars * Disappeadng and
     darkening Earth's bright face.
'Tis my only fear that his heart is harmed, * Brent by Love-fires
     lacking of mercy and grace:
By Allah, albeit man's soul thou rule * Among stranger folk thou
     art but an ace!"

Presently he took a reed and grasping it thrust thereinto the
twisted and folded paper, after which he stopped the hole with
wax; then, lashing it to the surface of the shaft, he set it upon
the bow-handle and drew the string and shot the bolt in the
direction of the Castle, whither it flew and fell at the foot of
the staircase beside the main entrance. It so fortuned at that
time a slave-girl came forth to fill her pitcher with water and
she found the arrow and picked it up and carried it to her lady
who was sitting in the speak-room at converse with Yusuf.
Hereupon the Prince hent the reed in hand and broke it and drew
forth the paper which he opened and read and comprehended.
Hereupon he wept with exceeding great weeping until he fell to
the floor a-faint and the Princess took the note from his grasp
and perused it, and it was hard upon her, so she bade them beat
the slave-girl who brought the writ with an hundred blows and
they bastinadoed her till she lost her senses. But when Yusuf
recovered, he thought of his pages and his people and his
homestead and his family and he cried to Al-Hayfa, "Wallahi, I
have sinned with a great sin when I left my suite in the desert;
and Satan garred me forget them and the wine made me mindless of
them and banished from my thought my folk and my home. And now
'tis my desire to fare and look upon my pages and to forgather
with Yahya my cousin, the son of the King's sister and greet them
and dismiss them to their homesteads, after which I will return
to thee forthright." Quoth she, "By Allah, I may not patient
myself away from thee a single hour otherwise shall my spirit
depart my body, and I conjure thee by the Almighty that thou bid
me return to them a reply!" Quoth Prince Yusuf, "What news wilt
thou give them? An thou say that I never came to thee none will
believe; for indeed my pages saw me passing into thy Palace"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

              The Six Hundred and Eightieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince
Yusuf said to the Princess Al-Hayfa, "Indeed my pages saw me
passing into the Palace and have given him[FN#225] tidings to
that effect." And she responded to him with fairest response and
tenderness of terms and gem-like verse. Then she took her
ink-case and paper and a brazen pen and would have written but he
forbade her, saying by way of deprecation "This be not the right
rede! An thou return a reply my slaves will take it and will bear
it to my native country and will inform the folk of all our
adventure: 'tis better far that I fare to them myself and greet
them and going with them to my own country satisfy my sire, after
which I will return to thee in hottest haste. And do not thou on
this wise, for we fear lest our affair be made public and this
our case be reported to thy royal father, and it prove hard to
him by reason that all such talk in the case of the Kings is to
them mighty grievous. Moreover, when he shall be acquainted with
the truth he will either transport thee to his presence or he
shall place over this Palace guards who may forbid thee from me
and forbid me from thee, and this shall be a cause of our
separation each from other." But Al-Hayfa shrieked aloud when she
heard these words and wept and wailing said, "O my lord, prithee
take me with thee, me and my handmaids and all that be in this my
Palace." Said he, "I will not delay from thee save for the space
of my wayfare an I live and Allah Almighty preserve me." Hereat
she wept with loud weeping and groaned, and love-longing surged
up in her and she fell to repeating the following couplets,

"Rain, O mine eyeballs, gouts of blood beshed * From clouds of
     eyelids e'en as grass turns red.
O mighty bane that beatest on my bones * And oh heart-core, that
     melts with fire long-fed!
My soul's own dearling speedeth on his march * Who can be patient
     when his true love sped?
Deal kindly with my heart, have ruth, return * Soon to my Castle
     nor be long misled."

And when Al-Hayfa had ended her verse, Yusuf wept with sore
weeping and cried, "By Allah, I had intended to return to thee
after I had fared to them and had settled the matter in hand. But
suffer me dismiss those who have come for me and seek reunion
with thee, Inshallah--an it be the will of Allah Almighty." Then
he farewelled her and doffed what he had of dress, and when
Al-Hayfa asked him, "Wherefore take off these clothes?" he
answered,[FN#226] "I will not inform anyone of our news, and
indeed this dress mostly befitteth womenkind." Then he went forth
from her with a grief-bound heart and she wept and cried, "Help!
Help!"[FN#227] and all her women shrieked and shed tears over
parting with him. But as soon as Yusuf passed out of the
palace-door he took off the gown which was upon him and turband'd
it around his head together with his bow and quiver, and he
stinted not to stem the stream until he had reached the further
bank where he found and greeted the lord Yahya and his Mamelukes.
They all kissed his hand, and his cousin enquired of him, "What
is the cause of thy disappearing from these thy men for a space
of ten days?" He replied, "By Allah, O son of my aunt, when I
went up to yonder Palace, I found there a Youth of the sons of
the kings, who welcomed and greeted me as a guest and honoured me
with the highmost honour and favoured me with the fullest favour.
But when I would have taken leave of him, the air smote
me[FN#228] and fell upon my loins and laid me up so that I feared
to swim the stream and the unease that was upon me increased, and
such is the reason of my delaying away from you." Then he took
horse together with Yahya and the pages, and they all sought
their homes and cut across the wilds and the wastes and the vales
and the stony hills until they drew near to their destination and
their city rose clear before eyes of them. As soon as they
reached it the tidings were told to King Sahl[FN#229] who made
ready for faring forth, he and the lords of his land, to meet and
greet his son and heir Yusuf; and meanwhile he bade decorate the
capital with the choicest decorations and ornaments and
adornments. The lieges gave one another joy of their Prince's
safe return, and clothed their city in gala-guise, and the father
having met the son alighted from his steed and embraced him and
kissed him between the eyes, and personally conducting him up to
the Palace did him due honour and largessed him; and so great and
lasting was their joy that the day of arrival became high
holiday. As soon as night fell, Prince Yusuf repaired to his own
Palace where he was met by his mother and his women who were as
full moons a-rising; and the spouses numbered three, besides
forty concubines. However he turned away from them and he lay
alone that night moaning even as moaneth the dove for the loss of
her mate; and he regarded not one of those wives and lemans, and
he passed the dark hours in brooding over the loss of his
beloved, and in weeping and in the reciting of poetry-- And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Six Hundred and Eighty-second Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Yusuf
passed the night weeping and improvising verse, but he let not
fall a word of explanation fearing lest he divulge his secret;
and his spouses supposed that he was wroth with his sire and knew
not what there was in his vitals of exceeding desire to Al-Hayfa.
But when brake the day he was roused and gazing upon the rise of
awaking Dawn he pondered the happy mornings which had passed; so
he wept and complained and moaned like the culver and he fell to
reciting these couplets,

"No joy but you in house and home I know * Save bitter heart and
     tears that ever flow;
Nor with mine eyes I view aught save yourselves * Whenas in lowe
     of love-desire I glow:
My heart enjoys but gust and greed for you, * Mine eyelids own no
     joy save wake and woe:
O blaming me for them, avaunt, by God * Nor leave me fancy-free,
     worst gift of foe!"

And when Yusuf had finished his poetry he fell into a fainting
fit and he quivered as quivereth the fowl with cut throat,[FN#230] and he came not to himself save when the sun had arisen arraying the lowlands with its rays. Then he waxed wood and sat with eyes at the ground, a-gazing and not accosting anyone nor answering aught, and lastly he took to his pillow. These tidings presently reached the King his father, who accompanied by the
Lords of his land came to him and after greeting him said, "O my
son, whom I would ransom with my life, what contagion hath come
upon thee of disease, and whereof dost thou complain?" Quoth he,
"O my father, the air hath struck me and hath cut my
joints,"[FN#231] and quoth his father, "O my son, Almighty Allah
vouchsafe ease thee of this thy disease." Then the King mounted
and went forth from him, and sent a leach which was a Jew[FN#232]
of wits penetrating and sagacious. The man went in to him, and
sitting beside him felt his joints and asked him of his case; but
he held his peace nor would return aught of reply. So the
Israelite knew that he was a lover and in the depths of love
bedrowned; accordingly he left him and told the King that the
Prince had no complaint save that he was a hot amourist and
distraught of vitals. Hereupon his mother came to Yusuf and said,
"O my son, fear Almighty Allah for thy soul, and have some regard
for thy wives and concubines and yield not to thy passions which
will mislead thee from the path of Allah." But he deigned not
answer her. In this condition he remained until three days sped,
taking no taste of meat or drink, nor finding pleasure in any
stead, nor aught of rest a-bed. Presently he bade summon a
Mameluke of the Mamelukes Hilál hight, and asked him, "O Hilal,
say me wilt thou be my companion in travel?" whereto the other
answered, "Yea, verily, O my lord, to hear is to obey thee in all
thou devisest and desirest." Hereupon the Prince bade him saddle
a steed of the purest blood, whose name was
"The-Bull-aye-ready-and-for-Battle-day- steady,"[FN#233] a beast
which was a bye-word amongst the folk. The Prince waited until
the first third of the night had gone by when he mounted the
courser and placed Hilal his Mameluke upon the crupper, and they
cut once more the wilds and the wastes until they sighted hard-by
the river Al-Kawa'ib and the Castle of Al-Hayfa rising from its
waters. Hereupon Yusuf fell to the ground in a swoon, and he when
he recovered said to Hilal, "Do thou ungirth the horse's saddle
and hide it within the cave amid the rocks;" and the Mameluke did
as he was bidden and returned to him. Herewith Prince Yusuf
turband'd himself with his clothes and those of his man and
backing the horse bade Hilal hang on by its tail, then the beast
breasted the stream and ceased not swimming with them until it
reached the farther side. There Yusuf dismounted and knocked at
the door when a confidential handmaid established in the good
graces of her mistress,[FN#234] came down and threw it open,
after which she embraced him and kissed his hands and his breast
and his brow between the eyes. Then she ran up and informed
thereof her lady who with wits bedazed for excess of joy hurried
down to him and threw her arms round his neck, and he threw his
arms round hers, and she clasped him to her bosom, and he clasped
her to his, and he kissed her and she kissed him, and they
exchanged accolades, after which they both of them fell fainting
to the floor until the women who stood by thought that they had
been reaped by Death, and that their latest hour had been doomed.
But when they recovered from their swoon they complained and
wept, each lamenting to other the pains of parting, and lastly
she asked him concerning Hilal, and he answered, "This is a
Mameluke of the number of my Mamelukes." So she marvelled how two
men had come upon one horse,[FN#235] and quoth she to him, "O
Yusuf, thou hast indeed tortured me with thine absence;" and
quoth he to her, "By Allah (and beside Him God there is none!) my
hand never touched or woman or aught of feminine kind or of
she-Jinn or Jinn kind, but in me desire for thee ever surged up,
and wake and in vitals a fiery ache." Then the Princess bade her
handmaids wend with Hilal in a body to the garden, and when they
obeyed her bidding she arose and walked forth with Yusuf. And
Shahrazad was surprised by dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How
sweet and tasteful is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable
and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that
I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is
benefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating,
that Al-Hayfa walked forth with Yusuf and led him to the saloon
of session where they passed their day in privacy, he and she,
and right joyous was the joy of them twain. After this the Prince
abode with her thirty full-told days in merriment prime and
pleasure and wine. But when that time had elapsed, she said to
him, "O light of my eyes, do thou arise and go up with me to the
highmost post of the Palace that we may look upon this flow of
stream and command a view of these mounts and mountains and these
wilds and valleys wherein wander the gazelles." Thereupon the
twain fared together and solaced themselves with the spectacle of
the antelopes browsing on the desert growth, when quoth Al-Hayfa,
"Ah, O my lord, would I had for captive one of these herding roes
to keep beside me in the Palace," and quoth he, "By the rights of
thine eyes, and the night of their pupils, I indeed will fill the
place with them." Hereupon he went forth from her in haste,
albeit she hung on to him and forbade him from that, and she
invoked upon herself a mighty strong invocation, yet would he not
be stayed, but taking his horse and saddling it he left his
Mameluke Hilal in the Castle and swam the stream upon his steed,
and rode through the wold in quest of the gazelles. He ceased not
chasing them till he had taken three,[FN#236] which he tied fast
and slung upon his courser and rode back until he had reached the
river-bank, and Al-Hayfa sat looking at him as he pounced upon
and snatched up the roes from his courser's back like a lion and
she wondered with extreme wonderment. But when he had made sure
of his place on the water-side and purposed returning to the
palace, lo and behold! he saw a batel[FN#237] manned by sundry
men coming towards him down-stream from the direction of his
capital. Now Al-Hayfa, who was in her bower, expected the craft
to be sent, bearing rarities and presents, by her sire King
Al-Mihrjan; and Yusuf, when he looked upon its approach, was
certified that it came from her father. So he delayed going down
to the river till he had seen what action might be taken by the
batel, but when the Princess sighted it she made sure of its
coming from her sire, so she bade bring paper for note and a pen
of brass wrought wherewith she wrote in verse and lastly indited
to Yusuf these couplets,

"O my need, thou hast left me a-field to fare * When come is a
     craft which our men doth bear:
I deem she be sent by Al-Mihrján * And it bringeth of provaunt a
     goodly share:
So loiter a little, then back to us * And obey my bidding, O
     Beauty rare."[FN#238]

Then she made fast the paper to a shaft and setting it upon a
bow-handle drew the string aiming high in air, and the arrow fell
between the feet of the Prince, who seeing it took it up and read
the writ and comprehended its meaning and full significance. So
he hung back and he turned to wandering amongst the mountains,
but anon he said in himself, "There is no help but that I
discover this matter." Then he dismounted from his steed and
stabled it in a cave hard-by, and having loosed the antelopes he
propped himself against a rock and fell to gazing upon the batel,
which ceased not floating down until it made fast at the Palace
gate. Hereupon there issued from it a youth, singular of
comeliness, whom Al-Hayfa greeted and embraced, and forthright
led within her Palace. Presently came forth from the batel the
four pages that were therein, and amongst them was a man hight
Mohammed ibn Ibráhím, one of the King's cup-companions, whereas
the youth she had embraced was her cousin, named Sahlúb, the son
of her maternal aunt. But when Yusuf looked upon this lover-like
reception, his wits were wildered and the sparks started from his
eyes, and he deprecated and waxed care-full and indeed he was
like one Jinn-mad, and he cried, "Walláhi, I will stay away from
them this night and see whatso they do." Now Al-Hayfa had left
her trusty handmaid at the Palace gate, saying to her, "Tarry
here alone: haply Yusuf shall return during the dark hours, when
do thou open to him the door." Then she returned to her guests
and bade serve the table of wine and seated Sahlub and Ibn
Ibrahim, and took seat between them after she had hidden the
Mameluke Hilal in a closet and she had disposed of the pages
about the Palace-sides. Then they fell to drinking wine. Such was
the case with these; but as regards Yusuf, he took patience until
the dark hours drew near, when he swam the stream and he came
forth it to the Palace-door, at which he knocked a light knock.
Hereupon the porter-handmaiden opened to him and he accosted her
and questioned her concerning her lady, and was told that she was
sitting with her cousin and the prime favourite and cup-companion
of her sire. So quoth he to the girl, "Say me, canst thou place
me in some commanding place that I may look upon them?" and she
did accordingly, choosing a site whence he might spy them without
being espied. He gazed at them as one distraught, while Al-Hayfa
engaged them in converse and improvised verse to them; and this
was so distressful to him that at last he asked the slave-girl,
"Say me, hast thou by thee ink-case and paper?" And-- Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How
sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable
and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that
I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince
Yusuf took from the handmaid the pen-case and paper, and waxing
void of sense through jealousy, fell to writing the following
couplets,

"Indeed I deemed you of memory true * And our hearts as one that
     had once been two;
But I found to my sorrow you kept no pact: * This much and you
     fain of unfaith I view.
Ill eye ne'er looketh on aught but love * Save when the lover is
     hater too.
You now to another than us incline * And leave us and homeward
     path pursue;
And if such doings you dare gainsay, * I can summon witness
     convicting you;
To the Lion, wild dogs from the fount shall drive * And shall
     drink themselves, is none honour due.
That I'm not of those who a portion take * In love, O Moslems, I
     know ye knew."

This done, he folded the paper and gave it to the slave-girl
crying, "Say me, dost thou know where be Hilal?" and as she
replied "Yes," he told her to fetch him. So she went and brought
him, and when he came his lord dismissed the girl on some
pretext; then he opened the Castle-door and turband'd himself
with his gear and that of his Mameluke, and the twain went down
to the river and swam the stream until they reached the other
side. When they stood on terra firma, the Prince found his horse
and saddled and mounted him, taking Hilal upon the crupper, and
rode forth to his own country. Such was the case with Yusuf; but
as regards Al-Hayfa, when she awoke a-morn, she asked of her
lover and her handmaid handed to her the letter; so she took it
and read it and mastered its meaning and significance, after
which she wept with excessive weeping until she fainted and the
blood issued from her eyes. Presently she came to herself and
dismissed Sahlub and his companions; then she said to Ibn
Ibrahim, "Rise thou and depart our presence; haply some wight may
come to us and swim the stream and pass into the Palace." But Ibn
Ibrahim remained behind while Sahlub departed with those about
him; and when they had left the company, Al-Hayfa asked, "O Ibn
Ibrahim, say me, canst thou keep my secret and my being
fascinate[FN#239] by love?" and he answered, "Yea, verily, O my
lady, how should I not conceal it for thee, when thou art my
mistress and princess and the daughter of my master, even though
I keep it inside mine eyes?" So she continued, "O Ibn Ibrahim,
there came to me a youth named the Veiled Yusuf of Beauty, son of
King Sahl, Sovran of Sind; and I waxed enamoured of him and he
waxed enamoured of me, and he abode with me two score of days.
One day of the days, quoth I to him, 'Come up with me to the
Palace-roof that we may gaze upon the view,' when we saw from its
height a herd of gazelles, and I cried, 'Ah that I had one of
these!' Hereat said he, 'By Allah, and by the life of thine eyes
and by the blackness of their pupils, I will in very deed fill
thy Palace therewith;' and with such words he went forth and
saddled his steed and swam the river to the further side, where
he rode down three roes within sight of me. Then I looked
city-ward up stream and saw a batel cleaving the waters, whereby
I knew that my father had sent me somewhat therein; so I wrote to
the Prince and shot the paper bound to a shaft and bade him hide
away from your faces until ye should have departed. So he
concealed himself within a cave where he tethered his horse, then
he sought tidings of me, and seeing my cousin Sahlub, he was
seized by jealousy. So he lingered till yesternight, when he
again swam the stream and came to the Palace where I had posted
Rádih, the handmaid, bidding her take seat beside the door lest
haply he should enter; and presently she opened to him and he
sought a place commanding a sight of us, and he saw me sitting
with you twain, and both of you were carousing over your wine.
Now this was sore to him; so he wrote to me yonder note, and
taking his Mameluke with him, fared forth to his own folk; and my
desire is that you hie to him."[FN#240]--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Six Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth
Al-Hayfa to Ibn Ibrahim, "I devise that thou hie to Yusuf with
this letter;" whereto quoth he, "Hearkening is obedience: I will,
however, take this thy writ and wend with it first to my own
folk, after which I will mount my horse and fare to find him." So
she largessed him with an hundred gold pieces and entrusted to
him the paper which contained the following purport in these
couplets,

"What state of heart be this no ruth can hoard? * And harm a
     wretch to whom none aid accord,
But sobs and singulfs, clouds that rain with tears * And seas aye
     flowing and with gore outpour'd;
And flames that rage in vitals sickness-burnt * The while in
     heart-core I enfold them stor'd.
Yet will I hearten heart with thee, O aim! * O Ravisher, O
     Moslems' bane ador'd:
Ne'er did I look for parting but 'twas doomed * By God Almighty
     of all the lords the Lord."

Then Mohammed Ibn Ibrahim took the paper and Al-Hayfa said to
him, "Ho thou! Inform none that thou wast sitting beside me on
that night." Then he went forth until he drew near his folk and
there he mounted a she-dromedary and pushed her pace until he
arrived at the capital of Sind. He asked for the son of the King;
and when they had directed him thereto he entered and found the
Prince in privacy; so he kissed hands and gave him the writ which
he took and opened and read. But when he had comprehended its
object and purport, he turned and re-turned it with stern regards
until he had well nigh torn it to tatters. Then he threw it to
Ibn Ibrahim who said to him, "O lord of the Time and the Tide,
'tis not on this wise that the sons of the Kings cast away an
address without returning aught of reply." Quoth he, "There is no
response from me," and quoth Ibn Ibrahim, "O King of the Age,
pity that thou mayest be pitied!"[FN#241] Hereupon the Prince
called for pen-case and paper of note and pen of brass
wrought[FN#242] and wrote in reply to her poetry the following
couplets,

"Al-Hayfá with verses a-tip of tongue * Comes suing mercy for
     love so strong:
She hath no mercy fro' me, but still * She pleadeth a plea that
     our love was long:
She falsed, turned face, doubted, recked her naught * And her
     hard false heart wrought me traitor's wrong:
Were my heart now changèd her love to woo * She with quick
     despisal my heart had stung:
Were my eyne to eye her, she'd pluck them out * With tip of
     fingers before the throng:
Soft and tranquil life for her term she seeks * While with
     hardness and harshness our souls are wrung.

Then Yusuf folded the paper and handed it to Ibn Ibrahim and
ordered him a robe of honour and an hundred dinars. So he took
them and rode forth until he drew near the Palace of Al-Hayfa,
when he tethered his dromedary and hid her in a cave whose mouth
he walled with stones. Then he went down to the river and swam it
till he reached the other side; and entering into the presence of
Al-Hayfa he drew forth the paper and committed it to her. But
she, after perusing it, wept with sore weeping and groaned until
she swooned away for excess of tears and for the stress of what
had befallen her. Such was the effect of what she had read in the
letter, and she knew not what might be the issue of all this
affair and she was perplext as one drunken without wine. But when
she recovered she called for pen-case and paper, and she wrote
these improvised couplets,

"O Lord of folk, in our age alone * And O Raper of hearts from
     the bonny and boon:
I have sent to thee 'plaining of Love's hard works * And my
     plaint had softened the hardest stone:
Thou art silent all of my need in love * And with shafts of
     contempt left me prone and strown."

And after she had ended writing she folded her note and gave it
to Ibn Ibrahim who took it, and cried to his slaves, "Saddle my
she-dromedary,", after which he mounted and fared until he had
made the city of Sind. Then he repaired to Yusuf and after
greetings handed the letter to him, but the Prince after perusing
it[FN#243] threw it in his face, and presently rose and would
have left him. But Ibn Ibrahim followed him and heard him say to
his pages, "Send him back without beating him," and they did
accordingly, after forbidding him the place. So he again bestrode
his she-camel and ceased not pushing on till he arrived at the
Palace of Al-Hayfa where he presented himself in her
presence.[FN#244] But when he handed to her the writ she found it
was that very same she had sent to the Prince, so she wept and
sorrow was sore upon her and presently she cried, "O Ibn Ibrahim!
what's to do?" He replied, "When I delivered thy writ to him, he
brake its seal and read it and threw it in my face: then he rose
in wrath from beside me, and as I followed he bade his slaves and
pages drive me away, adding, 'I have for her nor answer nor
address'; and this was all he did." When the Princess heard his
words, she felt the matter to be grievous, and she wept unknowing
how she should act, and fainted for awhile, and when she
recovered she said, "O Ibn Ibrahim, what is this affair and on
what wise shall I behave? Do thou advise me in my case; and haply
joy shall come to me from thy hand, for that thou be a Counsellor
of the Kings and their boon-companion." "O my lady," he replied,
"do thou not cut off thy tidings from him and haply shall
Almighty Allah change his heart from case to case and
peradventure insistance overcometh hindrance."[FN#245] Quoth she,
"Had he sent me a reply I had been rightly directed as to what I
should write, but now I wot not what to indite, and if this
condition long endure I shall die." "Address him again," answered
he, "and I will fare back once more and fain would I ransom thee
with my life, nor will I return without a reply."--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How
sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable
and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that
I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Ibn
Ibrahim said to Al-Hayfa, "Do thou write to him and there is no
help but that I return to thee with a reply, albe life depart
from me." Then she asked for pen-case and paper and thereon
indited the following couplets,

"Ah would thou knew what I of parting dree * When all my hiddens
     show for man to see;
Passion and longing, pine and lowe o' love * Descend surchargèd
     on the head of me:
God help the days that sped as branches lopt * I spent in Garden
     of Eternity.[FN#246]
And I of you make much and of your love * By rights of you, while
     dearest dear be ye:[FN#247]
May Allah save you, parted though we be, * While bide I parted
     all unwillingly:
Then, O my lord, an come thou not right soon * The tomb shall
     home me for the love of thee."

And when she had written her reply, she largessed Ibn Ibrahim
with an hundred dinars, after which he returned[FN#248] to the
capital of Sind, where he found Yusuf issuing forth to hunt; so
he handed to him the letter, and the Prince returning citywards
set apart for him a fair apartment and spent the livelong night
asking anent Al-Hayfa. And when it was morning he called for
pen-case and paper whereupon he wrote these improvised couplets,

"You dealt to us a slender dole our love mote satisfy, * Yet nor
     my gratitude therefor nor laud of me shalt gain:
I'm none of those console their hearts by couplets or by verse *
     For breach of inner faith by one who liefly breaks the
     chain:
When so it fortunes she I love a partner gives to me * I wone in
     single bliss and let my lover love again:
Take, then, what youth your soul desires; with him forgather, for
     * I aim not at your inner gifts nor woo your charms I deign:
You set for me a mighty check of parting and ill-will * In public
     fashion and a-morn you dealt me bale and bane:
Such deed is yours and ne'er shall it, by Allah satisfy * A boy,
     a slave of Allah's slaves who still to slave is fain."

Then Prince Yusuf robed Ibn Ibrahim in a robe of green; and
giving him an hundred gold pieces, entrusted him with the letter
which he carried to Al-Hayfa and handed it to her. She brake the
seal and read it and considered its contents, whereupon she wept
with sore weeping which ended in her shrieking aloud; and after
she abode perplext as to her affair and for a time she found no
sweetness in meat and drink, nor was sleep pleasant to her for
the stress of her love-longing to Yusuf. Also her nature tempted
her to cast herself headlong from the terrace of the Palace; but
Ibn Ibrahim forbade her saying, "Do thou write to him replies,
time after time; haply shall his heart be turned and he will
return unto thee." So she again called for writing materials and
indited these couplets, which came from the very core of her
heart,

"Thou art homed in a heart nothing else shall invade; * Save thy
     love and thyself naught shall stay in such stead;
O thou, whose brilliancy lights his brow, * Shaped like
     sandhill-tree with his locks for shade,
Forbid Heaven my like to aught else incline * Save you whose
     beauties none like display'd:
Art thou no amongst mortals a starless moon * O beauty the dazzle
     of day hath array'd?"

These she committed[FN#249] to Ibn Ibrahim who rode again on his
route and forgathered with Prince Yusuf and gave him the letter,
whose contents were grievous to him; so he took writing materials
and returned a reply in the following verses,

"Cease then to carry missives others write, * O Son of Ibrahim,
     shun silly plight:
I'm healed of longing for your land and I * Those days forget and
     daysters lost to sight:
Let then Al-Hayfá learn from me I love * Distance from her and
     furthest earthly site.
No good in loving when a rival shows * E'en tho' 'twere victual
     shared by other wight;
 These modes and fashions never mind arride * Save him unknowing
     of his requisite."

Then he entrusted the writ to Ibn Ibrahim, after giving him an
hundred dinars, and he fared forth and ceased not faring till he
had reached the palace of the Princess. Presently he went in and
handed to her the writ, and as soon as she had read it, the
contents seemed to her sore and she wept until her vitals were
torn with sobs. After this she raised her hand[FN#250]
heavenwards and invoked Allah and humbled herself before him and
said, "My God, O my Lord, do Thou soften the heart of Yusuf ibn
Sahl and turn him mewards and afflict him with love of me even as
thou hast afflicted me with his love; for Thou to whatso Thou
wishest canst avail, O bestest of Rulers and O forcefullest of
Aiders." Anon she fell to writing and indited these verses,

"Love rules my bosom and a-morn doth moan * The Voice, ah Love,
     who shows strength weakness grown!
His lashes' rapier-blade hath rent my heart; * That keen curved
     brand my me hath overthrown:
That freshest cheek-rose fills me with desire: * Fair fall who
     plucketh yonder bloom new-blown!
Since love befel me for that youth did I * Begin for charms of
     him my pride to own:
O thou my hope, I swear by Him did share * Love and decreed thou
     shouldst in longing wone,
In so exceeding grief why sight I thee * Jacob made Joseph by
     the loss of me?"

She then handed the letter to Ibn Ibrahim, after giving him an
hundred dinars; and he returned forthright to the city of Sind
and, repairing to Yusuf, gave him the writ which he took and
read. Hereupon the Prince waxed sore sorrowful and said to
himself, "By Allah, indeed Al-Hayfa cleaveth to love."--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Ninety-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince
Yusuf said, "By Allah, had Al-Hayfa any save myself she had not
sent me these letters; but the outgoings of the heart conciliate
lovers and correspond each with other." Then he took writing
materials and after thinking awhile he improvised these couplets,

O thou of stature fair with waist full slight[FN#251] *
     Surpassing sandhill-branch and reedlet light;
I deal in words and gems of speech that melt, * By none 'mid all
     of mortal kind indite;
From my tribe's lord, a lion rending foes * Moon of Perfections
     and 'The Yusuf' hight:
Homed in thy home I joyed my joys with maids *
     High-breasted,[FN#252] virgins weakening forceful sprite;
Your songs and touch of lute 'mid trembling wine * Consoled all
     sorrows, made all hearts delight,
Till you to other deignèd union grant * And I your nature learnt
     and learnt aright,
Whereat my vitals failed, sore bane befel, * Pine,
     disappointment, and injurious blight.
No virtue dwelleth in the fairest forms * But forms the fairest
     are by goodness dight.
How many a maiden deckt with crescent brow * Hath nature dealing
     injury and despite?
Man hath no merit save in kindly mind * And loquent tongue with
     light of wits unite."[FN#253]

And when Yusuf had ended his poetry he presented an hundred
dinars to Ibn Ibrahim, who took the letter and fell to cutting
through the wilds and the wolds, after which he went in to the
presence of Al-Hayfa and gave her the missive. She wept and
wailed and cried, "O Ibn Ibrahim, this letter is indeed softer
than all forewent it; and as thou hast brought it to me, O Ibn
Ibrahim, I will largesse thee with two honourable robes of golden
brocade and a thousand dinars." So saying, she called for
pen-case and paper whereupon she indited these couplets,

"O my lord, these words do my vitals destroy, * O thou gem of the
     earth and full moon a-sky!
How long this recourse to denial and hate * With heart whose
     hardness no rocks outvie?
Thou hast left my spirit in parting-pangs * And in fires of
     farness that flame on high:
How long shall I 'plain of its inner pains? * Haps thy grace
     shall grant me reunion-joy:
Then pity, my vitals and whatso homed * Thy form within me before
     I die."

She then handed the paper to Ibn Ibrahim who again set out and
sought the Prince and kissed his hand and gave him the letter;
whereupon said he, "O Ibn Ibrahim, come not thou again bringing
me aught of missive--ever or any more after this one." Quoth Ibn
Ibrahim, "Wherefore, O my lord, shall I not do on such wise?" and
quoth Yusuf "Suffer her to learn the fates of men-kind." Said the
other, "I conjure thee, by Allah Almighty, ho thou the King,
inasmuch as thou art of the seed of mighty monarchs, disappoint
her not of her question; and Allah upon thee, unless thou show
pity to her heart it haply will melt away with melancholy and
love and madness for thy sake; and all of this is for the truth
of her affection." Hereupon Yusuf smiled and taking up his pen
wrote these couplets,

"Stay thy tears; for hindrance and parting hie, * And the endless
     of Empire aye glorify:
From my core of heart fly all cark and care * After parting that
     seemed all Time defy.
A Lion am I for the love of him * Whom the slanderer's part ne'er
     can satisfy:
My mind and soul be this day with you * But my heart and thought
     are at enmity:
Thought and mind delight in Love's cruelty * While heart and soul
     for re-union cry:
And if mind and thought e'er can overcome * Soul and heart,
     Re-union thou ne'er shalt 'spy."

And when Yusuf had finished his writing, he gifted Ibrahim with
an hundred dinars and sent him again to Al-Hayfa with the letter,
and she on receiving it shed tears and said, "O Ibn Ibrahim,
seeing that his soul and heart be with us, Allah Almighty
availeth to turn his thoughts and his fancy and the mind of him."
Hereupon she took writing materials and wrote,

"Calm, O my lord, thy vitals' painful plight, * O thou whose
     semblance lighteth sooty night:
O gladding heart, O sweet of union, Oh * Whose charms the tribe
     in festal hours delight:
O high in honour passing height of Kings, * O thou with purest
     blood 'mid Kings bedight,
Fear'st not the Throne[FN#254] of God (O hope of me!) * When
     harming heart whereon all pains alight?
Then deign thou grant me union, for such wise * Shall rest my
     heartstrings and dark care wax bright:
From none, except that Lion O' men Ali[FN#255] * Comes pardon
     proving to man- kind his might."

Then she passed her missive to Ibn Ibrahim giving him an hundred
gold pieces and he pushed his pace till he reached the city of
Sind, where he went in to Yusuf and kissed his hands and feet.
The Prince taking the letter smiled and laughed and said, "O Ibn
Ibrahim, when Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) shall decree my
faring I will fare to them[FN#256] within a short while; but do
thou return and let know that I intend forgathering with them."
Quoth the other, "Ah! O my lord, do thou indite her a reply,
otherwise she will have no trust in me; so the Prince fell to
penning these lines,

"My vitals restless bide for very jealousy * The while my heart
     must ever show unfriendly gree:
Yet I obeyed my heart and tore it out for him * Albe man ever
     holds his heart in amity;
And I have heard my lover drives me forth from him * But Allah
     grant my prayer of benedicite.
In anxious care I came and sought your side this day * Naught
     shall the youth exalt save generosity."

Then Prince Yusuf passed the letter to Ibn Ibrahim who, after
receiving his hundred dinars, repaired to Al-Hayfa and greeted
her[FN#257] informing her the while that her lover was about to
make act of presence.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Ninety-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Ibn
Ibrahim said to Al-Hayfa, "Verily Yusuf purposeth to visit thee
after a little while." But when the Princess heard his words she
would not believe him albeit her heart palpitated with pleasure;
whereupon Ibn Ibrahim improvised to her as follows,

"O thou world-seducer and full moon bright, * Stay thy speech and
     with boon of good news requite.
Love pledged me his word he would see thee and said, * Hie thee
     home and order the house aright.
I awoke this morning in cark and care, * In tears distraught and
     in dire despite;
For the wrongs and farness thou doom'st me dree * Have forced my
     forces to fright-full flight."

And when Ibn Ibrahim had ended his verse, Al-Hayfa joyed with
increased and exceeding joy, and in her delight she answered him
according to the rhyme and rhythm of his verse,

"O who spreadest clouds,[FN#258] Son of Ibrahim hight; * By the
     Lord who ruleth in 'Arsh his height,
By Mohammed the bestest of men and by * Th' adorers of yore and
     the Tá-Há's[FN#259] might,
By Zemzem, Safá and wall Hatím[FN#260] * And Ka'abah and glories
     of Ka'abah's site,
An this speech be sooth and my dearling come * One thousand, two
     thou- sand dinars are thy right;
And I'll give thee a courser, O Ibrahim's son, * Selle, stirrups
     and bridle with gold bedight;
Six turbands and robes that shall honour show * With that courser
     the colour of blackest night.
So hold me not like the most of mankind, * Who joy the fair ones
     to twit and flyte."

And when Al-Hayfa had finished her verses, Ibn Ibrahim brought
out to her the letter of the Prince, and as soon as she read it
her heart was comforted and she waxed glad with exceeding
gladness and she bade them present him with largesse of value
great and a thousand dinars upon a china plate. After this she
took him by the hand and led him into a closet and said, "O Ibn
Ibrahim, all that be in this cabinet is a free gift to thee when
thou shalt have brought to me that lover of mine." Such was the
case with them; but as regards Prince Yusuf, when Ibn Ibrahim
left him, he felt love-lowe aflaming in his heart, and he
summoned his Mameluke Hilal and said to him, "Go saddle for us
the steed known by the name of The
Bull-aye-ready-and-for-Battle-day-steady." Hereupon the slave
arose and enselled the courser and Yusuf mounted; and, taking his
Mameluke on the crupper, pushed his pace (and he madly in love
with Al-Hayfa), and he ceased not faring till he reached her
Palace. He then swam the stream with his Mameluke hanging on, as
before, to the tail, and knocked at the door which was opened by
a damsel hight Nuzhat al-Zaman[FN#261] and she on recognising him
kissed his hands and hurrying to her lady informed her of his
coming. Al-Hayfa hearing of the arrival fell fainting to the
ground and when she recovered she found Yusuf standing beside her
head; so she arose and embraced him for a long while, after which
she improvised and said,

"O thou Pilgrim of Love, after parting far * From us driven by
     malice of jealous foe!
My life for the friend in affection comes; * Naught dearer to me
     than such boon can show;
Full many a writ have I written thee * Nor union nor grace of
     return I know.
In this world I see him with single heart * O my wish! and Allah
     ne'er part us two."

And when she had ended her verses she bade the slave-girls convey
Ibn Ibrahim and Hilal to the gardens, after which she led Yusuf
to the saloon of session and the twain passed the night together
he and she, in joyance and enjoyment, for that night was indeed a
night of delight. But when Allah bade the morn to morrow,
Al-Hayfa arose and cried, "How short it is for a night: Ah that
it had been longer for us! but 'tis for me to say even as said
Imr al-Kays[FN#262] in sundry of his verses upon a similar theme,

"On me Night waxeth long nor would I shorten Night; * Yet hasteth
     Morn when I for longer Nights would sue:
It brings me union till 'My lover's mine' I cry * Yet when with
     him unite disunion comes to view.

Now when it was the second day, Al-Hayfa took seat in the
assembly of converse.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Six Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hayfa
repaired to the saloon of séance, she and Yusuf, and summoned Ibn
Ibrahim and bade the handmaids bring everything that was in the
closet. They obeyed her bidding and fetched her all the contents,
amongst which were ten robes of honour and three coffers of silk
and fine linen and a packet of musk and a parcel of rubies and
pearls and jacinths and corals and similar objects of high price.
And she conferred the whole of this upon Mohammed ibn Ibrahim,
the while improvising these verses,

"We are noblest of lords amongst men of might; * What we give and
     largesse bring the most delight:
And when we strive with our hearts and souls * We strive in
     public nor rue our plight.
With me the pact no regret shall breed * Save in head of
     suspecting envying wight.
I am none who riseth sans bounteous deed; * I am none who giveth
     with felon sprite."

And when Al-Hayfa had ended her poetry, Prince Yusuf
largessed[FN#263] Ibn Ibrahim and said to him, "Thou shalt have
on my part one thousand dinars and twenty robes of brocade and an
hundred she-camels and eighty horses (whereof the meanest is
worth five hundred gold pieces and each is saddled with a golden
selle), and lastly forty handmaids." After which he began to
improvise these couplets,

"Good signeth man to sight and all men see * Sahl's son is lord
     of liberality:
Time and the world and mortals one and all * Witness my goodness
     and for aye agree:
Who comes for purpose him I gratify * With boons, though 'twere
     with eyen-light of me:
I back my neighbour whenas harmèd by * Dolour of debt and
     foeman's tyranny:
Whoso hath moneys lacking liberal mind * Though he snatch Fortune
     'mid the vile is he."

And when Yusuf had finished his verse, Ibn Ibrahim arose and
bussed his hands and feet and cried, "Allah dole to thee all thou
desirest." The other replied, "When thou shalt return to our
city, do thou go to my quarters and therefrom take thee whatso I
have promised." Then the Prince and Princess waxed assiduous in
the eating of meat and the drinking of wine; and this continued
for many successive months[FN#264] until Ibn Ibrahim craved leave
to visit his folk; and, when he received permission, he took with
him that was light in weight and weighty of worth. And as he set
forth, Al-Hayfa said to him, "When thou shalt return to thy
people in safety, do thou salute for me my sire and name to him a
certain stallion which same he shall largesse to thee and
likewise its saddle and bridle." Hereupon he farewelled them and
went forth and stemmed the stream and withdrawing his
she-dromedary from the cave harnessed her and mounted her and set
forth upon his desert way, and as soon as he reached the capital
of Sind he went to his folk who greeted him kindly. Now when King
Al-Mihrjan heard of Mohammed ibn Ibrahim's coming he sent to
summon him and as soon as he appeared between his hands he asked
concerning his absence. "O King of the Time and the Tide," quoth
he, "I have been in Yathrib[FN#265] city;" and indeed he was one
of the cup-companions of Al-Hayfa's father and by the decree of
Destiny he had been ever in high favour with the King. So the
twain sat down to drink wine and as Fortune willed it Ibn Ibrahim
bore about him a letter containing poetry, part of the
correspondence between the Prince and Princess, wherein were
written the names of all three. Now when he was at the height of
his joy he wagged his head and shook off his turband and the
paper fell therefrom into Al-Mihrjan's lap.[FN#266] The King took
it and read it and understood its contents but he kept the case
secret for a while; presently, however, he dismissed his
Courtiers and Equerries who were around him and forthright bade
smite Mohammed ibn Ibrahim with stripes until his sides were
torn. Then quoth he, "Acquaint me concerning this youth who
correspondeth with my daughter, making thee the goer between them
twain, otherwise I will cut off thy head." Quoth Ibn Ibrahim, "Ho
thou the King; verily this be only poetry which I found in one of the histories of old."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

            The Six Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Ibn
Ibrahim said to Al-Mihrjan, "Verily I found this poetry in a tale
of the olden time." So the King issued orders to smite his neck,
when intercession was made for him by a Courtier hight Tá'il
al-Wasf,[FN#267] whereupon the King commanded him to jail,
whither he was taken forthright. But as Ibn Ibrahim was being
locked up, he said to the gaoler, "Say me, canst thou bring for
me a pen-case and paper and pen?" and the other assented,
fetching for him whatso he wanted. So he wrote to Prince Yusuf
the following couplets,

"O Yúsuf, master mine, for safety fly; * In sorest danger
     Ibrahim's son doth lie:
When from thy side for house and home he sped * Forthright bade
     Al-Mihrjan to bring him nigh,
And 'mid th' Assembly highest stead assigned * A seat in public
     with a sleight full sly.
A writ thou wrotest bore he on his head * Which fell and picked
     it up the King to 'spy:
'Tis thus discovered he thy state and raged * With wrath and fain
     all guidance would defy.
Then bade he Ibrahim's son on face be thrown * And painful
     beating to the bare apply;
With stripes he welted and he tare his sides * Till force waxed
     feeble, strength debility.
So rise and haste thee to thine own and fetch * Thy power, and
     instant for the tribe-lands hie;
Meanwhile I'll busy to seduce his men * Who hear me, O thou
     princely born and high;
For of the painful stress he made me bear * The fire of bane I've
     sworn him even I."

Now when Ibn Ibrahim had finished his verse, he said to the
gaoler, "Do thou summon for me the son of my brother hight
Manná'[FN#268] and thou shalt have from me one hundred gold
pieces." The man did his bidding, and when the youth came the
uncle gave him the letter and bespake him as follows: "O son of
my brother, take thou this paper and fare with it to the Castle
of Al-Hayfa and swim the stream, and go up to the building and
enter therein and commit this missive unto a youth whom thou
shalt see sitting beside the Princess. Then do thou greet him
with the salam from me, and inform him of all that I am in and
what I have seen and what thou hast witnessed, and for this
service I will give thee an hundred gold pieces." The nephew took
the uncle's letter and set forth from the first of the night
until he drew nigh the Castle. Such was the case with Ibn Ibrahim
and his sending his nephew Manna' on a mission to the Princess;
but as regards King Al-Mihrjan, when the morning morrowed and
showed its sheen and shone and the sun arose with rays a-lowland strown, he sent to summon Ibn Ibrahim; and, when they set
him between his hands, he adjured him saying, "O thou! by the
rights of the God unique in his rule for Unity; by Him who set up
the skies without prop and stay and dispread the Earths firmly
upon the watery way, unless thou inform me and apprise me rightly
and truly I will order thy head to be struck off this very
moment." So the cup-companion related to the King the whole
affair of Princess Al-Hayfa and Prince Yusuf, and all that had
passed between the twain; whereupon Al-Mihrjan asked, "And this
Yusuf from what land may he be?" "He is son to the Sovran of
Sind, King Sahl," quoth the other, and quoth Al- Mihrjan, "And is
he still in the Palace, or hath he gone to his own country?" "He
was therein," replied Ibn Ibrahim, "but I know not whether he be
yet there, or he be gone thence." Hereupon Al-Mihrjan commanded
his host at once to mount, and all took horse and rode forth
making for the Castle of Al-Hayfa. Now, between Manna' and King
Al-Mihrjan was a march of only a single night, when the youth
went up to the Palace of the Princess, where he knocked at the
door and they opened and admitted him to the presence of Prince
Yusuf. There he handed to him the letter, which the Prince opened
and read; then he suddenly rose up crying upon Hilal, whom when
he was fetched he bade forthwith bring out his steed. Hereat
cried Al-Hayfa, "I ask thee by Allah, O my lord, what may be the
news?" and he answered her, "Verily when Ibn Ibrahim fared from
us to his folk he was summoned on his arrival by thy sire, and he
went to him and informed him of all that hath befallen us, first
and last." So saying he put the letter into her hands, and she
having read it exclaimed, "O my lord, do thou take me with thee
lest haply he slay me." Answered the Prince, "O end and aim of
mine every wish, we have naught with us save this one steed who
availeth not to carry three; therefore will thy father overtake
us upon the road and will put us to death one and all. Now the
rede that is right be this, that thou conceal thyself somewhere
in the Palace and charge the slave-girls when thy sire shall come
hither, to tell him that I have carried thee off to mine own
country, and for the rest be thou assured that I will tarry away
from thee but a few days." So saying Yusuf took his horse with
him and Hilal his page a-crupper and swam the river and made for
his own land pushing his pace, and presently he drew within sight
of the capital. Such was the case of Prince Yusuf, son to King
Sahl; but as regards the matter of King Al-Mihrjan and his host,
he ceased not marching them till such time as he came within
sight of the Castle of his daughter Al-Hayfa; and this was soon
after the departure of Yusuf. And when he had led hither his
host, which was like unto a dashing sea, he dismounted upon the
river-bank that all might free themselves of their fatigue, after
which he summoned Sahlub and bade him swim the stream and walk up
to the Castle and knock at the door. The youth did as he was
bidden, and the handmaids opened to him and greeted him as he
asked for Al-Hayfa--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day, and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Six Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when
Sahlub went up to the Palace, he asked of Al-Hayfa, and the
slave-girls told him that a youth had come thither and had taken
her away and had carried her off to his own country. So he
returned to Al-Mihrjan and informed him thereof, when the King
took horse with all his host and pursued Yusuf with uttermost
haste and hurry until there was between the twain less than a
day's march. But as the Prince drew near his capital on the tenth
day he went in to his sire and told him whatso had befallen him
from incept to conclusion, nor did he hide from him aught;
whereupon King Sahl mustered his many (all who received from him
royal solde and allowances), and bade them take horse with his
son Yusuf. The troops did accordingly and the Prince rode a-van,
and after a little while the two armies met. Now Ibn Ibrahim had
made a compact with five of the nobles who were the chiefest men
of King Al-Mihrjan's reign and had promised them five hundred
thousand dinars. So when the two hosts were about to engage, an
Emir of the Emirs came forth (and he was one of those whom Ibn
Ibrahim had appointed to watch over Yusuf) and said to the
Prince, "O Son of the King, verily Ibn Ibrahim hath promised five
of the nobles as many hundred thousand dinars of gold the which
we may take and receive from thee." Replied he, "The like sum
shall be thine from me with all thou canst ask of us." Presently
the Emir returned from him to Al-Mihrjan and said to him, "Verily
I have asked this youth that he make vain and void the battle
between us twain, but he assented not and sware an oath that he
would never return from affray until the enemies should meet and
fight it out, and that he had with him a mighty host and a
conquering whose van was not known from its rear.[FN#269] Now
'tis my rede that thou strive to take him prisoner[FN#270] and
then do whatso he may please, especially he being son to thee,
King of the mighty Kings and with him a thousand thousand knights
all mailed cap-à-pie and clothed in steel not one of whom hath
any fear of fight." King Al-Mihrjan waxed wroth at the Emir's
speech and cried, "What words be these? Shall the Kings of the
Age remain saying of me that a man hath debauched the daughter of
Al-Mihrjan and hath carried her away perforce despite the nose of
her father? Never shall such thing be spoken of me; no, never!
But do thou know, ho thou the Emir, that an ye have no taste for
fray nor avail for fight and ye have no training save for bibbing
of wine and ease at home, I have sworn and swear by Him who
lighted the lucident fires of the Sun and the Moon, none shall
sally forth to do single combat with this youth save I myself."
But when so saying he knew not that was hidden from him in the
World of Secrets. Presently he rushed into the field of fight
with reins floating upon his courser's neck and he renowned it,
showing himself between the foremost files, and he played with
the edge of glaive and spit of spear until men's wits were
bewildered and he improvised the while and cried out the
following couplets,

"Ibn Sahl, ho scion of tree abhorr'd! * Rise, meet me in mellay
     and prove thee lord:
My daughter hast snatched, O thou foul of deed, * And approachest
     me fearing the Lion of the horde.
Hadst come in honour and fairly sued * I had made her thine own
     with the best accord;
But this rape hath o'erwhelmed in dishonour foul * Her sire, and
     all bounds thou hast overscor'd."

Now when King Al-Mihrjan finished his verse, Yusuf rushed out to
him, and cried at him with a terrible cry and a terrifying, and
garred his own steed bound upon the battle-plain, where he played
with brand and lance until he cast into oblivion every knight,
reciting in the meantime the following verses,

"I am son to Al-Sahl, O of forbears vile! * Come forth and fight
     me sans guile or wile;
Thou hast hurt my heart; O of deed misdone, * So thou com'st to
     contend with this rank and file."[FN#271]

King Al-Mihrjan re-echoed his war-cry, but hardly had he ended
when Yusuf drawing near him answered it with a shout which
enquaked his heart and ravished his reason with sore terror, and
repeated in reply these couplets,

"I am not to be titled of forbears vile * O whose ape-like face
     doth the tribe defile!
Nay, I'm rending lion amid mankind, * A hero in wilds where the
     murks beguile.
Al-Hayfá befitteth me, only me; * Ho thou whom men for an
     ape[FN#272] revile."

When Yusuf had ended these words, Al-Mihrjan rushed forth and
charged down upon him, and the two drawing nigh each of the
foemen set on the other with a mighty onset and a prodigious.
They fought in duello and lanced out with lance and smote with
sword, and dashed together as they were two ships or two
mountains clashing; and they approached and retired, and the
dust- cloud arose over them and they disappeared from men's
sight. But hardly had an hour passed by when Yusuf made a final
attack upon his enemy and narrowed his course and barred his way
and pressed him hard; and, hanging upon his flank, smote him with
the scymitar upon the nape of the neck[FN#273] and caused his
head to fall between his feet, when he slipt from his steed upon
the ground, and he lay stone dead and in his gore drowned. Now as
soon as the folk looked upon Yusuf and what he had dealt to their
King and how he had made his head fly his body and had done him
dead, they turned to take flight. Thereupon Yusuf recognised
Sahlub the cousin of Al-Hayfa, he who had been the cause of their
separation and had roused her wrath against him; so he drew near
to him and smote him with the bright shining blade on the right
flank, and it came forth gleaming between his left ribs; so he
fell to the ground drenched with blood, and he was left prostrate
in the dust. And when Yusuf had slain King Al- Mihrjan and
Sahlub, his nephew, the Grandees of the realm came around him and
greeted him with the salam.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy
tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

                   The Seven Hundredth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
Grandees of King Al-Mihrjan's reign saw their Sovran slain, they
flocked to Prince Yusuf and greeted him, marvelling at his beauty
and valour and excellence: then they all agreed to salute him as
their Sultan and they raised him to the rank of King and sole
ruler over them. Presently they led him with them, and fared
seeking the city of Al-Mihrjan until they reached it, when they
adorned the streets on the occasion of his coming. And King Yusuf
having entered his capital took seat on the throne of his
kingship and bade and forbade and deposed and appointed; and
lastly freed Mohammed ibn Ibrahim from gaol, and established him
his Wazir. Hereupon the new Minister displayed to him the four
wives and the hundred concubines of King Al-Mihrjan, also his
negro slaves, male and female, whom he found to number two
hundred and four hundred. Moreover, he showed his riches and
rarities and treasuries wherein were found an hundred boxes full
of silk and fine linen, and parcels of pearls and rubies and
jacinths and jewels and precious minerals and other wealth in
abundance. So he distributed the whole amongst his nobles, and
largessed them with excessive largesses; and his partisans of his
subjects and his guards flocked to him with presents and
offerings; and all the city-folk gave him joy and rejoiced in
him. Then he commissioned Ibn Ibrahim to Al-Hayfa, daughter of
King Al-Mihrjan, saying, "Do thou bring her hither to me, her and
her handmaids and all that be in her palace." Accordingly he
went forth to Al-Hayfa's Castle, and ceased not wending till he
came to its entrance where he discovered that King Yusuf had
appointed a craft for the river transport. And when he arrived
there and found the vessel afloat he went in to Al-Hayfa and he
greeted her. Then he related to her what had betided her sire
from Yusuf and how the Prince had slain him after the fashion of
what befel; so she cried, "There is no Majesty and no Might save
in Allah, the Glorious, the Great; and this was writ in the Book
of Life!" Then she asked Ibn Ibrahim touching her mother, and he
answered that she was sound and safe in her own home which she
had never left nor did any one go in to her; and, (added he) "she
expecteth thy coming to her." Then he bade carry down her
impediments and her bondmaids and all the good that was in her
Castle until nothing remained, and embarked them upon the craft;
and presently, mounting her in a litter of sandal-wood plated
with ruddy gold, he set her women in Howdahs;[FN#274] and, taking
horse himself, he rode until they drew near the city. And when
they arrived there he went up to King Yusuf whom he informed of
their coming and was told, "Suffer them to be till night shall
set in." Hereupon he took patience, and when came the appointed
term Al-Hayfa went up to the Palace. Now as Allah caused the morn
to morrow and to light the world with its shine and sheen, King
Yusuf sent to summon the Kazi and witnesses and bade them write
his writ of marriage with Al-Hayfa and was wedded to her by Book
and traditional Usage.[FN#275] After this Al-Hayfa sent to fetch
her mother and bore her to her home and their joy and enjoyment
were great and lasting. Now by the decree of the Decreer anon it
befel that the Caliph Al-Maamun waxed strait of breast one night
of the nights: so he summoned a certain of his courtiers whose
name was Ibrahim the Cup-companion;[FN#276] but, as they found
him not, he bade bring a man hight Al-Khadí'a, and when he came
between his hands quoth he to him, "'Tis a while since I have
seen thee here." Quoth the other, "O Commander of the Faithful, I
have been wayfaring about the land of Syria." Continued the
Prince of True Believers, "Do thou this very night broaden the
Caliph's heart with a delectable tale;" and the other rejoined,
"O Viceregent of Allah upon Earth, know thou an adventure befel
me with a youth named the Veiled Yusuf of Beauty, son to King
Sahl, the friendly ruler of Al-Sind, and with Al-Hayfa the
daughter of King Al-Mihrjan, and 'tis a tale whose like hath
never been heard; no, never." Hereupon he related to Al-Maamun
the history of the two, first and last, adding, "Furthermore, O
Commander of the Faithful, I have learnt that Al-Hayfa owneth ten
handmaidens whose peers are not to be found in thy Palace, and
they are mistresses of all manner instruments of mirth and
merriment and other matters; and amongst things said of them by
their lady when they marvelled at her good fortune, 'Verily this
day I have acquired half a score of slave- girls the like of
which Al-Maamun hath never collected.'" But when the Prince of
True Believers heard this he gave ear to the tale anent them
during the livelong night till Allah caused the morn to morrow.
Then he sent for Ibrahim the Cup-companion, and to him coming
into the presence the Viceregent of Allah exclaimed "Mount
without stay and delay taking with thee one thousand Mamelukes
and make thy way to this youth who is King of Al-Sind[FN#277] and
named 'The Veiled Yusuf of Beauty,' and bring me his ten
handmaidens. After which do thou ask concerning his case and
anent his subjects, whether he be just or unjust to the lieges,
and if he be righteous I will robe him in honourable robes and if
otherwise do thou bring him to my presence." Hereupon Ibrahim
took leave of the Caliph and went forth at that very time and
tide intending for Al-Sind, and he ceased not wending till he
arrived there and found Yusuf setting out for the chase. But when
the youth saw the host approaching him--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night, and that was

              The Seven Hundred and Second Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that, when
Yusuf beheld Ibrahim the Cup-companion, and those in his company,
he returned to the city and took them with him; yet he knew not
Ibrahim nor did Ibrahim know him. But on entering the capital he
was met by his guards and his soldiers who blessed him and prayed
for him length of days and permanence of rule wherefor the
courtier knew him to be a just King. Yusuf led them to and lodged
them in the House of Hospitality; after which returning to his
own Palace he sent for Ibrahim and assembled for him a session
and received him with the highmost honour that could be, and rose
to him and greeted him and embraced him and accompanied him to
the sitting-saloon where the twain took their places. Then Yusuf
bade summon the ten handmaidens with as many instruments of
music; and, sitting down begirt by them, he ordered wine be
brought. So they set before him flagons and beakers of chrystal
and jewelled cups; and presently pointing to the first of the
slave-girls whose name is not recorded, bade her recite somewhat
of her pleasantest poetry. So she hent the lute in hand and set
it upon her lap and swept it with a light touch and caressed it
with her finger-tips and smote it after eleven modes; then she
returned to the first[FN#278] and recited these couplets,

"My heart for parting ever burns with lowe; * My lids fiery with
     tear-floods ever flow:
Ho thou in lover's loving ferly fair, * Cut is the road for those
     Love gars to glow.
How many a youth has felt his vitals torn * By slender forms and
     glances forceful prow?
Alas for lover slain by might of Love; * Nor friend avails nor
     brother true, I trow!"

When the first handmaiden had finished, Yusuf rejoiced (as did
Ibrahim the Cup-companion) with excessive joy and the King bade
robe her in a sumptuous robe. Hereupon she drained her cup and
passed it to her compeer whose name was Takná, and this second
handmaiden taking beaker in hand placed it afore her and hending
the lute smote on it with many a mode; then, returning to the
first[FN#279] while the wits of all were bewildered, she
improvised the following verses,

"Look on the lute that 'minds of Mangonel; * Whose strings are
     ropes that make each shot to tell:
And note the pipes that sound with shriek and cry, * The pipes
     that cast a fearful joyful spell;
Espy the flagons ranged in serried rank * And crops becrowned
     with wine that longs to well."

But when Takna had finished her poetry Yusuf and Ibrahim were
gladdened and the King bade largesse her with a sumptuous robe
and a thousand dinars and she tossed off her cup and passed it to
her successor the third handmaiden Mubdi'[FN#280] hight. She
accepted it and setting it before her took the lute and smote it
after manifold fashions and presently she spake these couplets,

"Love with his painful pine doth rack this frame of me; * Melts
     heart and maims my vitals cruel agony;
And rail my tears like cloud that rains the largest drops; * And
     fails my hand to find what seek I fain to see:
Thee I conjure, O Yúsuf, by Him made thee King * O Sahl-son, Oh
     our dearest prop, our dignity,
This man methinks hath come to part us lovers twain * For in his
     eyes I see the flame of jealousy."

And when Mubdi' had sung her song, Ibrahim the Cup-companion and
King Yusuf smiled and rejoiced and anon there befel them what
there befel and the two slipt down aswoon;--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night and that was

               The Seven Hundred and Third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that King Yusuf
and Ibrahim the Cup-companion hearing the song sung by Mubdi',
the third handmaiden, both fell to the floor aswoon; and when
they revived after an hour or so, Ibrahim largessed to her one
thousand dinars and a robe purfled with glistening gold. Then she
drained her cup and crowning it again passed it to her compeer
whose name was Nasím[FN#281] and who took it and set it in front
of her. Then hending in hand the lute she played upon it with
manifold modes and lastly spake these couplets,

"O Blamer, blaming me for draining lonely wine, * Stint carping,
     I this day to Holy War incline:
Oh fair reflection she within her wine-cup shows * Her sight
     makes spirit dullest earthly flesh refine:
How mention her? By Allah 'tis forbid in writ * To note the
     meaner charms in Eden-garth divine."

When the fourth handmaiden had ended her verse, Ibrahim gifted
her with one thousand dinars and presented a sumptuous robe to
her owner, then she drank off her cup and passed it to her
compeer hight Al-Badr[FN#282] and she sang the following lines,

"One robbed of heart amid song and wine * And Love that smiteth
     with babe of eyne:
His voice to the lute shall make vitals pain * And the wine shall
     heal all his pangs and pine:
Hast e'er seen the vile drawing near such draught * Or miser
     close-fisted thereto incline?
The wine is set free in the two-handed jar[FN#283] * Like sun of
     summer in Aries' sign."


When she had finished Ibrahim bade reward her like the rest with
gold and gear and she passed her cup to her compeer whose name
was Radáh.[FN#284] The sixth handmaiden drained it and performed
in four-and-twenty modes after which she sang these couplets,

"O thou wine-comrade languor cease to show; * Hand me the morning
     draught and ne'er foreslow;
And prize fair poesy and sweet musick hear * And shun the 'say'
     and naught of 'said' beknow:
The wine of day-dawn drunk with joyous throng * From house of
     Reason garreth Grief to go:
The man of Kays aye loved his wine right well * And from his lips
     made honey'd verse to flow;
And in like guise[FN#285] came Isa singing sweet * For such was
     custom of the long-ago."

When Radah ended her verse and her improvising of mysterious
significance, and secret, King Yusuf and Ibrahim the Cup-
companion tore their robes from their bodies until naught
remained upon them save only the bag-breeches about their waists.
Then the twain shrieked aloud and at one moment and they fell
fainting to the floor, unheeding the world and their own selves
from the excess of that was in their heads of wine and hearing of
poetry spoken by the slave-girl. They remained in such condition
for a while of time, after which they recovered though still
amazed, a-drunken. Then they donned other dresses and sat down to
listen as before, when Radah drained her goblet and filled and
passed it to her compeer whose name was Na'ím;[FN#286] and she
taking her lute, improvised the following verses,

"My poesy-gem showeth clear of shine, * When appears that pearl
     with cheek coralline:
'Tis marvel the cloud cannot quench the blaze * That fire in the
     heart and this water of eyne!
Then alas for Love who hath made me woe! * Pine that rends and
     racks limbs and vitals o' mine:
O thou Well of Poetry well forth thy gems * O'er our drink when
     our cups overbrim with wine:
And sing in her presence, for Envy hath fled * And flies jealous
     spite and all joys combine.
Oh the charms of wine which enthral the mind, * Clear and
     clearing sprites by its sprite refined!"

When the seventh handmaiden had ended her verses, King Yusuf and
Ibrahim rejoiced with exceeding joy and each of them bade gift
her with a thousand gold pieces and quoth the courtier, "By Allah
Almighty, none of the Emirs or of the Wazirs or of the Kings or
of the Caliphs hath attained excellence like unto this handmaid."
Hereupon Na'im passed her goblet to her compeer and she, whose
name was Surúr,[FN#287] tossed it off and taking in hand her
lute, sang these couplets,

"How is't with heart of me all cares waylay * As drowned in
     surging tears of Deluge-day?
I weep for Time endured not to us twain * As though Time's honour
     did not oft betray.
O my lord Yúsuf, O my ending hope, * By Him who made thee lone on
     Beauty's way,
I dread lest glorious days us twain depart * And youth's bright
     world be dimmed to old and grey;
O Lord! be Parting's palm for us undyed[FN#288] * Ere death, nor
     carry this my lord away."

When the eighth handmaiden had ended her song, the twain
marvelled at her eloquence and were like to rend that was upon
them of raiment--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

               The Seven Hundred and Fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and goodwill!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that King Yusuf
and Ibrahim the Cup-companion were like to rend that was upon
them of raiment and they joyed with extreme joy after hearing
what Surur had sung to them. Hereupon she passed her cup to her
fellow, hight Zahrat al-Hayy,[FN#289] who took it and recited as
follows,

"O cup-boy, I crave thee cup-comrade to be * And hearten my heart
     of its malady;
Nor pass me the bowls for I sorely dread * when drunken all
     dolours of Love- lowe to dree,
To be vilely reviled in the sittings of men, * To be frowardly
     treated where zephyrs play free.
God-blest is the Lute for her melodies * Which pain me with
     painfullest penalty,
With the jewels of speech whose transcendent charms * Like fires
     of Jahím[FN#290] burn the vitals of me.
By Allah, show ruth, be compassionate, * For Allah deals pardon
     compassionately.

Yusuf and Ibrahim, hearing her words, were gladdened with
excessive gladness and cried to the ninth handmaid, "May the lord
be copious to thee like the fruitful years!" Then the Cup-
companion bade gift her with one thousand gold pieces as like-
wise did her lord. Hereupon she passed her cup to the tenth
handmaiden known as Muhjat al-Kulúb[FN#291] who fell to
improvising these couplets,

"O Blamer, who canst not my case explain; * Cease, for who blame
     friends shall of blame complain;
And whoso unknoweth the workings of Love * Mankind shall reckon
     him mean and vain:
Alas for Love, O ye tribe-landers, I * Am weaned that wont
     nipples of union to drain.
I have learnt the whole of Love's governance * Since my baby days
     amid cradles lain.
Forbear by Allah to ask of my state * How shall morn one banned
     with debtor bane?
O thou jewel of speech, O thou Yúsuf, laud * To the Lord who
     robed thee with charms amain!
Deign the God of 'Arsh make thy days endure * In wealth and
     honour sans pause or wane;
E'en as Ishak's son[FN#292] every gift conjoined * Amid men,
     making rulers to serve him fain."


When Muhjat al-Kulub ended her song, Yusuf gifted her with a
splendid robe and a thousand gold pieces as eke did Ibrahim, and
presently the courtier said to the handmaiden, "Who is Ibrahim
that thou shouldst sing of him in song?" She replied, "Walláhi, O
my lord, he is son of Ishak, amongst the pleasant ones sans peer
and a cup-companion to the Caliphs dear and the pearl concealed
and the boon friend of our lord the Commander of the Faithful
Al-Maamún and his familiar who to him joy and enjoyment maketh
known. Ah! happy the man who can look upon him and forgather with
him and company with him before his death; and verily by Allah he
is the Master of the Age and the one Wonder of the World.
Moreover, by the Almighty, O my lord, wert thou to see this lute
fall into his hands, thou wouldst hear it converse in every
language with the tongues of birds and beasts and of the sons of
Adam: and well nigh would the place dance ere he had improvised a
word. And he the horizons can make to joy and lovers with
overlove can destroy, nor shall any after his decease such
excellence of speech employ." All this, and Muhjat al-Kulub knew
not who was sitting beside them as she went on to praise Ibrahim.
Hereupon he took the lute from her hand and smote it till thou
hadst deemed that within the instrument lurked babes of the
Jinns[FN#293] which were crying and wailing while spake the
strings, and in fine King Yusuf imagined that the palace had
upflown with them between heaven and earth. And the handmaidens
sang to his tunes in sore astonishment; when Ibrahim designed to
talk but King Yusuf cut him short and fell to saying poetry in
these couplets,

"By the rights of our lord who shows ruth in extreme, * And Giver
     and Guide and boon Prophet we deem,
And by Ka'abah resplendent and all its site * And by Zemzem, Safa
     and the wall Hatim,
Lo! thou'rt hight Ibrahim, and suppose I say * Thee sooth, my
     wits thou must surely esteem:
And thy face shows signalled with clearest eyne * Deliv'rance
     followed by Yá and Mím."[FN#294]

Now Ibrahim kept his secret and did not manifest himself to any,
but presently he also improvised and spake in these words
preserving the measure and rhyme,

"By him who chose Musà, the Speaker,[FN#295] by Him * who
     made[FN#296] Háshimite orphan select and supreme!
Ibrahim am I not, but I deem this one * The Caliph who sits by
     Baghdadian stream;
Of his grace the heir of all eloquent arts * And no partner hath
     he in all gifts that beseem."

And when Ibrahim had finished his verses, Yusuf said to him, "By
the virtue of Almighty Allah, an I guess aright and my
shot[FN#297] go not amiss, thou art Ibrahim the musician;" but
the courtier retained his incognito and replied, "O my lord,
Ibrahim is my familiar friend and I am a man of Al-Basrah who
hath stolen from him sundry of his modes and airs for the lute
and other instruments and I have the practice of improvisation."
Now when Ibrahim was speaking behold, there came one of the
Caliph's pages and he walked up to the head of the assembly
bearing with him a letter, which he handed to his lord. But Yusuf
put forth his hand and took it, and after reading the
superscription he learnt that his companion was Ibrahim without
doubt or mistake, so he said to him, "By Allah, O my lord, verily
thou hast slighted me, for that thou hast not informed me of
thyself." Quoth the other, "By Allah, I feared from thee lest I
give thee excess of trouble;" and quoth Yusuf, "Do thou take to
thee all these handmaids whom the Commander of the Faithful hath
bid thee receive." Ibrahim replied, "Nay, I will not accept from
thee the handmaidens but rather will I fend from thee the
Prince of True Believers;" however, King Yusuf rejoined, "I have
gifted them to the Viceregent of Allah: an thou take them not I
will send them by other than thyself." Presently King Yusuf set
apart for the Caliph great store of gifts, and when the
handmaidens heard of that they wept with sore weeping. Ibrahim,
hearing their wailing, found it hard to bear, and he also shed
tears for the sobbing and crying of them; and presently he
exclaimed, "Allah upon thee, O Yusuf, leave these ten handmaidens
by thee and I will be thy ward with the Prince of True
Believers." But Yusuf answered, "Now by the might of Him who
stablished the mountains stable, unless thou bear them away with
thee I will despatch them escorted by another." Hereupon Ibrahim
took them and farewelled King Yusuf and fared forth and hastened
his faring till the party arrived at Baghdad, the House of Peace,
where he went up into the Palace of the Commander of the
Faithful-- And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next
night and that was

              The Seven Hundred and Seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when
Ibrahim reached Baghdad and went up to the Palace of the
Commander of the Faithful and stood in the presence he was asked,
"What hast thou brought for us from thy journey, O Ibrahim?"
whereto he answered, "O our lord, I have come to thee with all
thou willest and wishest that of rede be right and of word
apposite." Quoth he, "And what may that be?" and quoth the other,
"The ten handmaids:" and so saying he set them before the Caliph,
whereupon they kissed ground and did him suit and service and
deprecated for him and greeted him with blessings, and each and
every of them addressed him in tongue most eloquent and with
theme most prevalent. The Prince of True Believers hugely admired
them, marvelling at their deftness of address and their sweetness
of speech which he had never witnessed in any other; and he was
delighted with their beauty and loveliness and their stature and
symmetrical grace, and he wondered with extreme wonderment how
their lord had consented they should be brought before him. Then
cried he, "O Ibrahim, what hath been thy case with the owner of
these damsels, and did he commit them to thee despite himself in
anger and care or with resignation of mind and broadening of
bosom and joy and satisfaction?" "O my lord," said Ibrahim,
"verily he made them over to me in none except the best of
dispositions, and Allah give him length of life for a youth! How
benign was his countenance and how beautiful, and how perfect and
how liberal were his hands and prompt to act, and how excellent
were his wits and how goodly and gracious was his society and how
yielding was his nature and how great was his dignity and how
just were his dealings with his lieges! By Allah, O Commander of
the Faithful, when I went to him from thee I found him outside
his city intending for the hunt and chase and about to enjoy
himself in pleasurable case, but seeing our coming he met me and
salam'd to me and greeted me and rejoiced in me with extreme joy.
All this, and he knew me not nor did I on my part know him; but
he took me with him and returned to town, and as we entered he
was met by the Lords of the land and the lieges who prayed for
him; so I knew that man to be their King and Captain of
commandment, also that he was equitable to his subjects. Then he
made me alight in his House of Hospitality, and went up into his
Palace, after which he sent to call me and I obeyed his summons,
when he set apart for me an apartment under his own roof and
taking me by the hand led me thereto, where I found everything
the best that could be. Anon he despatched for us wine and wax
candles and perfumes and fruits fresh and dry and whatnot of that
which becometh such assembly; and, when this was done, he bade
summon the ten handmaidens, and they also took their seats in the
session, and they smote their instruments and they sang verse
wherein each one excelled her companion. But one of them insisted
in her song upon the name of me, saying, 'None availeth to
compose such lines save Ibrahim the Cup-companion, the son of
Ishak.' Now I had denied myself to their lord and acquainted him
not with my name; but when the damsel had finished her verse, I
largessed to her a thousand gold pieces and asked her, 'Who may
be this Ibrahim whereat thou hast hinted in thy song?' Said she,
'He is the boon-companion of the Caliph and he is unique among
the pleasant'; then she fell to praising me with praise galore
than which naught could be more, unknowing me the while, until I
took the lute from her hand and smote it with a touch unlike
their play. Hereby their lord discovered me and said in his
verse, 'Thou art Ibrahim without doubt or mistake'; but still I
denied myself, replying, 'I am a man from Al-Basrah and a
familiar of Ibrahim the Master-Musician': And on this wise I
answered him, when behold, there came up to us a page bearing a
rescript from thee. So King Yusuf took it from his hand and read
the address when he made certain that I was Ibrahim, the
Cup-companion, and having learnt my name he blamed me saying, 'O
Ibrahim, thou hast denied thyself to me.' 'O my lord,' I replied,
'Twas that I feared for thee excess of trouble'; after which
quoth he, 'Verily these ten damsels are a free gift from me to
the Commander of the Faithful.' Hearing these words I refused to
receive them and promised on my return to the Caliph that I would
defend their lord from all detraction, but he cried, 'O Ibrahim,
unless thou take them I will forward them with other than
thyself.' And lastly, O Prince of True Believers, he presented to
me fifty slave-girls and as many Mamelukes and an hundred and
fifty negro-serviles and twenty steeds of purest blood, with
their housings and furniture, and four hundred she-camels and
twenty pods of musk."[FN#298] Then having told his tale, the
Cup-companion fell to commending Yusuf, and the Caliph inclined
ear to him admiring at this man and his generosity and his
openness of hand and the eloquence of his tongue and the
excellence of his manners, until Al-Maamun desired to forgather
with him and work him weal and gift him with liberal gifts.
Presently the Caliph bade summon the ten handmaidens and the hour
was past supper-tide, at which time Ibrahim the Cup-companion was
seated beside him without other being present. And as soon as the
girls came before him the Caliph bade them take their seats, and
when they obeyed his order the wine cups went merrily round, and
the ten were directed to let him hear somewhat of their chaunting
and playing. So they fell to smiting their instruments of mirth
and merriment and singing their songs, one after other, and each
as she ended her poetry touched the Caliph with delight until it
came to the last of them, who was hight Muhjat al-Kulúb;--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

               The Seven Hundred and Ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the last
poetical piece recited by the ten damsels to the Commander of the
Faithful was by Muhjat al-Kulub; and he upon hearing it rose at
once to his feet and shrieked and fell aswoon for an hour of
time. And when he recovered he cried, "By Allah, O Muhjat
al-Kulub and Oh of eyne the coolth, do thou repeat to me what
thou hast said." Hereupon she touched her instrument with another
touch accompanying the repetition of her poetry in a style wholly
unlike the first, and she repeated her song in the mode and form
Nahawand.[FN#299] But when the Caliph heard her, his wits were
wildered, and he rent that was upon him of raiment, and he fell
fainting to the floor until Ibrahim the Cup-companion and the ten
handmaidens deemed him dead. But as he revived after an hour of
time he said to the handmaiden, "O Muhjat al-Kulub, ask and it
shall be granted to thee." "I pray," quoth she, "first of Allah
and then of the Commander of the Faithful that he restore us, all
the ten, unto our lord;" and he granted her request after he had
gifted them all and largessed them.[FN#300] He also wrote to
their owner, King Yusuf, a royal Rescript appointing him Sultan
over all the kingdoms that were in and about the land of Al-Sind;
and moreover that whenas the Caliph might be absent from his good
city of Baghdad, Yusuf should take his place in bidding and
forbidding and ordering and governing. This ended, he despatched
the ten slave-girls with a body of his Chamberlains after giving
them wealth galore and of presents and rarities great store; and
they fared forth from him and ceased not faring till they reached
the city of Al-Sind. Now when the ten handmaidens drew nigh
thereto they sent to inform King Yusuf of their coming, and he
commissioned his Wazir Mohammed bin Ibrahim to meet and receive
them, and he caused them enter the Palace, wondering the while
that his ten bondswomen had not found favour with the Prince of
True Believers. So he summoned them to his presence and asked
them thereanent, and they answered by relating all that had
befallen them; and presently Muhjat al-Kulub presented to him the
Royal Rescript, and when he read it he increased in joy and
delight.[FN#301] Now[FN#302] when supper was over the Prince of
True Believers said to Ibn Ahyam, "Needs must thou relate unto us
a story which shall solace us; and said the other, "O Commander
of the Faithful, I have heard a tale touching one of the Kings."
"What is that?" asked the Caliph, whereupon Ibn Ahyam fell to
relating the adventures of





              THE THREE PRINCES OF CHINA.[FN#303]



Whilome there was a King in the land of Al-Sín and he had three
male children to whose mother befel a mysterious malady. So they
summoned for her Sages and leaches of whom none could understand
her ailment and she abode for a while of time strown upon her
couch. At last came a learned physician to whom they described
her disorder and he declared, "Indeed this sickness cannot be
healed save and except by the Water of Life, a treasure that can
be trove only in the land Al-'Irák." When her sons heard these
words they said to their sire, "There is no help but that we make
our best endeavour and fare thither and thence bring for our
mother the water in question." Hereupon the King gat ready for
them a sufficiency of provaunt for the way and they farewelled
him and set forth intending for Barbarian-land.[FN#304] The three
Princes ceased not travelling together for seven days, at the end
of which time one said to other, "Let us separate and let each
make search in a different stead, so haply shall we hit upon our
need." So speaking they parted after dividing their viaticum and,
bidding adieu to one another, each went his own way. Now the
eldest Prince ceased not wending over the wastes and none
directed him to a town save after a while when his victual was
exhausted and he had naught remaining to eat. At that time he
drew near to one of the cities where he was met at the entrance
by a Jewish man who asked him saying, "Wilt thou serve, O
Moslem?" Quoth the youth to himself, "I will take service and
haply Allah shall discover to me my need." Then said he aloud, "I
will engage myself to thee;" and said the Jew, "Every day thou
shalt serve me in yonder Synagogue, whose floor thou shalt sweep
and clean its mattings and rugs and thou shalt scour the
candlesticks." "'Tis well," replied the Prince, after which he
fell to serving in the Jew's house, until one day of the days
when his employer said to him, "O Youth, I will bargain with thee
a bargain." "And what may that be?" asked the young Prince, and
the man answered, "I will condition with thee for thy daily food
a scone and a half but the broken loaf thou shalt not devour nor
shalt thou break the whole bread; yet do thou eat thy sufficiency
and whoso doth contrary to our agreement we will flay[FN#305] his
face. So, an it be thy desire to serve, thou art welcome." Now of
his inexperience the Prince said to him, "We will serve thee;"
whereupon his employer rationed him with a scone and a half and
went forth leaving him in the Synagogue. When it was noon the
youth waxed anhungered so he ate the loaf and a half; and about
mid-afternoon the Jew came to him and finding that he had
devoured the bread asked him thereanent and the other answered,
"I was hungry and I ate up all." Cried the Jew, "I made compact
with thee from the beginning that thou shouldst eat neither the
whole nor the broken," and so saying he fared forth from him and
presently brought a party of Jews, who in that town numbered some
fifty head, and they seized the youth and slew him and bundling
up the body in a mat[FN#306] set it in a corner of the synagogue.
Such was his case; but as regards the Cadet Prince, he ceased not
wayfaring and wending from town to town until Fate at last threw
him into the same place where his brother had been slain and
perchance as he entered it he found the same Jew standing at the
Synagogue-door. The man asked him, "Wilt thou serve, O Moslem?"
and as the youth answered "Yea verily," he led the new comer to
his quarters. After this the Jew had patience for the first day
and the second day--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

             The Seven Hundred and Eleventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King's son tarried with the Jewish man the first day and the second day, after which his employer did with him even as he had done by his brother before him; to wit, he slew him and wrapping him in a mat placed his corpse beside that of the eldest Prince.
On this wise it happed to these twain; but as regards the
youngest of the three, he ceased not travelling from town to town
and enduring excessive fatigue and hunger and nakedness until by
decree of Destiny and by determination of the Predestinator he
was thrown into the hands of the same Jew whom he found standing
at the Synagogue-door. Here the man accosted him, saying, "Wilt
thou serve, O Moslem?" and the Youth agreeing he imposed upon him
the same pact which he had made with his two brothers, and the
Prince said "'Tis well, O Master." Then quoth the Jew, "Do thou
sweep the Synagogue and cleanse it and shake out the mats and
rugs;" and quoth the other, "Good!" But when the Prince left him
and went into the building, his glance fell upon the two bundles
of matting wherein were wrapped the corpses of his brothers, so
he drew near to them and, raising a corner of the covering, found
the bodies stinking and rotten. Hereat he arose and fared forth
the Synagogue and opening a pit in the ground took up his
brothers (and he sorrowing over them and weeping) and buried
them. Then he returned to the building and, rolling up the mats,
heaped them together and so with the rugs, after which he built a
fire under them until the whole were burnt and after he took down
the candlesticks one and all and brake them to bits. Now when it
was mid-afternoon behold, the Jew came to the Synagogue and found
a bonfire and all the furniture thereof lying in ashes and when
he saw this he buffeted his face and cried, "Wherefore, O Moslem,
hast thou done on such wise?" Replied the youth, "Thou hast
defrauded me, O Master," and rejoined the Jew, "I have not
cheated thee of aught. However, O Moslem, hie thee home and bid
thy mistress slaughter a meat-offering and cook it and do thou
bring it hither forthright." "'Tis well, O my Master," said the
Prince. Now the Jew had two boy children in whom he delighted and
the youth going to his house knocked at the door which was opened
to him by the Jewess and she asked, "What needest thou?" Quoth
the Prince to the Jew's wife, "O my mistress, my master hath sent
me to thee saying, 'Do thou slaughter the two lambs that are with
thee and fifty chickens and an hundred pair[FN#307] of pigeons,'
for all the masters are with him in the Synagogue and 'tis his
desire to circumcise the boys."[FN#308] The Jew's wife replied to
him, "And who shall slaughter me all this?" when he rejoined, "I
will." So she brought out to him the lambs and the chickens and
the pigeons and he cut the throats of all. The Jewess hereupon
arose and cried upon her neighbours to aid her in the cooking
until the meats were well done and all were dished up. Then the
youth hending the ten porcelain plates in hand went with them to
a house in the Ghetto[FN#309] and rapped at the door and said,
"My Master hath sent all these to you." Meanwhile the Jew was in
the Synagogue unknowing of such doings; and as the Prince was
setting down the last of the plates which he carried with him,
behold! the Jew came to that house because he had noticed his
servant's absence, so he repaired thither to see concerning the
business of the meat offering wherewith he had charged him. He
found his home in a state of pother and up-take and down-set and
he asked the folk, "What is the matter?" They related the whole
to him and said, "Thou sentest to demand such-and-such," and when
he heard this case he beat his face with his brogue[FN#310]--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

              The Seven Hundred and Twelfth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that, when the
Jew came to his home and looked around, he found it in the
condition which the youth had contrived, so he beat his face with
his brogue and cried, "O the ruin of my house!" Suddenly the
prince entered and his employer asked him, "Wherefore doest thou
on such wise, O Moslem?" Answered the youth, "Verily thou hast
defrauded me," and rejoined the other, "No; I have not cheated
thee on any wise." Then said the Jew in his mind:--"Needs must I
set a snare for this youth and slay him;" so he went in to his
wife and said, "Spread for us our beds upon the terrace-roof; and
we will take thereto the young Moslem, our servant, and cause him
lie upon the edge, and when he is drowned in slumber we will push
him between us and roll him along the floor till he fall down
from the terrace and break to bits his neck." Now by fiat of Fate
the youth was standing and overhearing[FN#311] their words. As
soon as it was night-time the woman arose and spread the beds
upon the roof according as her husband had charged her do; but
about mid-afternoon the Prince bought him half a pound of filberts and placed them with all care and circumspection in his
breast-pocket. Presently the Jew said to him, "O Moslem, we
design to sleep in the open air, for the weather is now summery;"
and said he, "'Tis well, O my Master." Hereupon the Jew and the
Jewess and the children and the Prince their servant went up to
the roof and the first who lay him down was the house-master,
placing his wife and children beside him. Then said he to the
youth, "Do thou sleep here upon the side,"[FN#312] when the
Prince brought the filberts out of his breast-pocket and cracked
them with his teeth, and as often as they repeated to him,
"Arise, O Moslem, and take thy place on the couch," he answered
them, "Whenas I shall have eaten these filberts." He ceased not
watching them till all had lain down and were fast asleep, when
he took his place on the bed between the mother and the two boys.
Presently the Jew awoke, and thinking that the youth was sleeping
on the edge, he pushed his wife, and his wife pushed the servant,
and the servant pushed the children towards the terrace-marge,
and both the little ones fell over and their brain-pans[FN#313]
were broken and they died. The Jew hearing the noise of the fall
fancied that none had tumbled save his servant the young Moslem;
so he rose in joy and awoke his wife saying, "Indeed the youth
hath rolled off the terrace-roof and hath been killed." Hereat
the woman sat up, and not finding her boys beside her, whilst the
Prince still lay there she wailed and shrieked and buffeted her
cheeks, and cried to her husband, "Verily none hath fallen save
the children." Hereat he jumped up and attempted to cast the
youth from the roof; but he, swiftlier than the lightning, sprang
to his feet and shouted at the Jew and filled him with fear,
after which he stabbed him with a knife which was handy, and the
other fell down killed and drowned in the blood he had spilled.
Now the Jew's wife was a model of beauty and of loveliness and
stature and perfect grace, and when the King's son turned upon
her and designed to slay her, she fell at his feet, and kissing
them, placed herself under his protection. Hereupon the youth
left her alive, saying to himself, "This be a woman and indeed
she must not be mishandled;"[FN#314] and the Jewess asked him, "O
my lord, what is the cause of thy doing on this wise? At first
thou camest to me and toldest me the untruth, such-and-such
falsehoods, and secondly, thou wroughtest for the slaughter of my
husband and children." Answered he, "In truth thy man slew my two
brothers wrongously and causelessly!" Now when the Jewess heard
of this deed she enquired of him, "And art thou their very
brother?" and he replied, "In good sooth they were my brethren;"
after which he related to her the reason of their faring from
their father to seek the Water of Life for their mother's use.
Hereat she cried, "By Allah, O my lord, the wrong was with my
mate and not with thee; but the Decreed chevisance doth need, nor
is there flight from it indeed; so do thou abide content.
However, as regards the Water in question, it is here ready
beside me, and if thou wilt carry me along with thee to thy
country I will give thee that same, which otherwise I will
withhold from thee; and haply my wending with thee may bring thee
to fair end." Quoth the Prince in his mind, "Take her with thee
and peradventure she shall guide thee to somewhat of good:" and
thereupon promised to bear her away. So she arose and led him
into a closet where she showed him all the hoards of the Jew,
ready moneys and jewellery and furniture and raiment; and
everything that was with her of riches and resources she
committed to the young Prince, amongst these being the Water of
Life. So they bore away the whole of that treasure and he also
carried off the Jewess, who was beautiful exceedingly, none being
her peer in that day. Then they crossed the wilds and the wastes,
intending for the land of Al-Sín, and they persevered for a while
of time.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and
fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next
night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the young
Prince ceased not wayfaring until the twain drew near to the
capital of China[FN#315] where, by the fiat of Fate and the
sealed decree of Destiny, on entering the walls he found that his
father had fared to the mercy of Allah Almighty, and that the
city, being Kingless, had become like unto a flock of sheep
lacking shepherd. Moreover he was certified that the Lords of his
father's land and the Grandees of the realm and all the lieges
were in the uttermost confusion. He went up to the palace and
forgathered with his mother, and seeing that she had not been
healed of her sickness, he brought her out the Water of Life and
gave her to drink some little thereof whereby health returned to
her and she rose from her couch and took seat and salam'd to him
and asked concerning his brethren. However he concealed his
secret thereanent fearing lest it induce in her weakly state a
fresh attack and discovered to her naught but said, "Verily, we
parted at such a place in order to seek the Water of Life." Then
she looked upon his companion the Jewess (and she cast in the
mould of loveliness) and she questioned him concerning the woman
and he recounted to her the whole affair, first and last, still
concealing for the reason aforesaid, the fate of his brothers.
Now on the second day the bruit went abroad throughout the city
that the King's son had returned; so the Wazirs and Emirs and the
Lords of the land and all who had their share in governance
forgathered with him and they set him as King and Sultan in the
stead of his sire. He took seat on the throne of his Kingship and
bade and forbade and raised and deposed and so tarried for a
while of time, until one day of the days when he determined to
enjoy the hunt and chase and divert himself in pleasurable
case.[FN#316] So he and his host rode forth the city when his
glance fell upon a Badawi girl who was standing with the Shaykh
her father considering his retinue; and the age of the maiden
might have mastered thirteen years. But as soon as the King
looked upon the girl love of her upon his heart alighted, and he
was thereby engrossed, for she was perfect in beauty and
comeliness. Hereupon he returned to his palace and sending for
her father asked her of him in marriage; the Shaykh, however,
answered saying, "O our lord the Sultan, I will not give up my
daughter save to one who hath a handicraft of his own,[FN#317]
for verily trade is a defence against poverty and folk say,
'Handicraft an it enrich not still it veileth.'"[FN#318] Hereupon
the King took thought in himself and said to the Shaykh, "O Man,
I am Sovran and Sultan and with me is abundant good;" but the
other replied, "O King of the Age, in King-craft there is no
trust." However, of his exceeding love to the girl the Sultan
presently summoned the Shaykh of the Mat-makers and learnt from
him the craft of plaiting and he wove these articles of various
colours both plain and striped.[FN#319] After this he sent for
the father of the damsel and recounted to him what he had done
and the Shaykh said to him "O King of the Age, my daughter is in
poor case and you are King and haply from some matter may befal a
serious matter; moreover the lieges may say, 'Our King hath wived
with a Badawi girl.'" "O Shaykh," replied the King, "all men are
the sons of Adam and Eve." Hereupon the Badawi granted to him his
daughter and got ready her requisites in the shortest possible
time and when the marriage-tie was tied the King went in unto her
and found her like unto a pearl.[FN#320] So he rejoiced in her
and felt his heart at rest and after tarrying with her a
full-told year, one chance day of the days he determined to go
forth in disguise and to wander about town and solace himself
with its spectacles alone and unattended. So he went into the
vestiary where the garments were kept and doffing his dress
donned a garb which converted him into a Darwaysh. After this he
fared forth in early morning to stroll around the streets and
enjoy the sights of the highways and markets, yet he knew not
what was hidden from him in the World of the Future. Now when it
was noon-tide he entered a street which set off from the Bazar
and yet was no thoroughfare,[FN#321] and this he followed up
until he reached the head and end, where stood a cook[FN#322]
making Kabábs. So he said to himself, "Enter yon shop and dine
therein." He did so and was met by sundry shopmen who seeing him
in Darwaysh's garb welcomed him and greeted him and led him
within, when he said to them, "I want a dinner." "Upon the head
and the eyes be it," they replied, and conducting him into a room
within the shop showed him another till he came to the place
intended, when they said to him, "Enter herein, O my lord." So he
pushed open the door and finding in the closet a matting and a
prayer-rug[FN#323] spread thereupon he said to himself, "By
Allah, this is indeed a secret spot, well concealed from the eyes
of folk." Then he went up to the prayer-rug and would have sat
down upon it after pulling off his papooshes, but hardly had he
settled himself in his seat when he fell through the floor for a
depth of ten fathoms. And while falling he cried out, "Save me, O
God the Saviour;" for now he knew that the people of that place
only pretended to make Kababs and they had digged a pit within
their premises. Also he was certified that each and every who
came in asking for dinner were led to that place where they found
the prayer-rug bespread and supposed that it was set therein for
the use of the diners. But when the Sultan fell from his seat
into the souterrain, he was followed by the thieves who designed
to murther him and to carry off his clothes, even as they had
done to many others.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

             The Seven Hundred and Sixteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
King fell into the pit (and he disguised in Darwaysh-garb) the
thieves sought to slay him and carry off his clothes, when quoth
he to them, "Wherefore kill me when my garments are not worth a
thousand groats[FN#324] and I own not a single one? However, I
have at hand a handicraft whereat I am ready to work sitting in
this pit and do you take and sell my produce for a thousand
faddahs; and every day I will labour for you, finishing one and
requiring naught save my meat and drink and perpetual privacy in
your quarters." "At what craft art thou crafty?" asked they, and
he answered, "At mat-weaving: so do ye bring me a piastre[FN#325]
worth of rushes[FN#326] and the same of yarn." Accordingly they
fared forth and fetched him his need and presently he made a mat
and said to them, "Take ye this and sell it not for less than a
thousand faddahs." They hied out and carried the work to the
Bazar where, as soon as the folk caught sight thereof, they
crowded about the seller, each man offering more until the price
had risen to a thousand and two hundred silvern nusfs. Hereupon
said the thieves to themselves, "By Allah, this Darwaysh can
profit us with much profit and enrich us without other trade;" so
every morning for ten days they brought him rushes and yarn and
he wove for them a mat which they vended for a like sum. On this
wise it happened to him; but as regards the Wazirs and Emirs and
lords of the land, they went up to the Council-chamber[FN#327]
for the first day and the second and the third until the week was
ended and they awaited the coming of their King, but he came not,
neither found they any tidings nor hit they upon any manifest
traces and none knew whither he had wended. So they were sore
exercised and confusion befel with much tittle-tattle of folk;
each one said his own say nor were they guided by any to what
they should do. Furthermore, as often as they asked of the Harem
they were answered, "We have no tidings of him;" so they were
perplext and at last they agreed, their King being clean lost, to
set up a Sultan as his successor. However the Wazirs said, "Tarry
ye until Allah shall open unto us a door whereby we shall be
rightly directed to him." Now the King had required from the
people of the pit rushes of various colours, red and green, and
when they fetched them he fell to weaving a mat like those of the
striped sort, whereon he figured by marks and signs the name of
the quarter wherein he was gaoled[FN#328] and discovered to his
men the way thereto and the site itself; after which he said to
the thieves, "Verily this mat misfitteth every save those in the
Royal Palace and its price is seven thousand faddahs. Do you take
it and hie with it to the Sultan who shall buy it of you and pay
you the price." They obeyed his bidding and wending to the palace
of the Grand Wazir found him sitting with the Lords of the land
and with the Nobles of the realm talking over the matter of the
King when behold, those who brought the mat entered into his
presence. Quoth the Minister, "What be that which is with you?"
and quoth they, "A mat!" whereupon he bade them unroll it and
they did so before him; and he, being sagacious, experienced in
all affairs, looked thereat and fell to examining the bundle and
turning it about, and considering it until suddenly he espied
signs thereupon figured. He at once understood what they meant
and he was rightly directed to the place where the King was
confined; so he arose without delay and after ordering them to
seize those who had brought the mat took with him a party and
went forth, he and they, after mastering the marks which were
upon the weft. He ceased not wending (and the people of the pit
with him under arrest) until such time as he arrived at the
place. Here they went in and opened the souterrain and brought
out the King who was still in Darwaysh garb. Presently the Wazir
sent for the Linkman and when he appeared they seized all who
were in that place and struck off their heads; but as for the
women they put them into large sacks[FN#329] of camel's hair and
drowned them in the river: furthermore, they spoiled all that was
on that site and the Sultan gave orders to raze the house until
it became level with the ground. When all this had been done they
questioned the Sultan concerning the cause of that event and he
informed them of what had befallen him from incept to conclusion
and lastly he cried, "Walláhi! the cause of my escape from this
danger was naught save the handicraft which I learnt; to wit, the
making of mats, and the Almighty requite with welfare him who
taught me because he was the means of my release; and, but for my
learning this trade, ye had never known the way to discover me,
seeing that Allah maketh for every effect a cause." And having on
such wise ended this tale Ibn Ahyam[FN#330] fell to relating to
the King the history of





                 THE RIGHTEOUS WAZIR WRONGFULLY
                        GAOLED.[FN#331]



It is related that there was a King among the manifold Kings of
Al-Hind, and he had a Wazir which was a right good counsellor to
the realm and pitiful to the lieges and the Fakirs and merciful
to the miserable and just in all his dealings. Despite this the
Grandees of the kingdom hated him and envied him, and at all
times and seasons when he went forth the presence or returned to
his house, one of the Emirs would come forward and say to the
King, "O our lord, verily the Wazir doth of doings thus and
thus,"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,

 Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Lords
of the land, whenever the Wazir was absent traduced him and
maligned him in the presence of the Sultan, saying, "The Minister
doth such and such doings," and this continued for a while of
time. Now one day of the days, as the Sultan was sitting in his
palace behold, a running messenger came to him bearing letters
from sundry of the provinces which were in his reign imploring
help against their foemen's violence. "What may be done in this
case?" asked the Sultan, and his Nobles answered saying, "Send to
them the Wazir," but they spake not this speech save in their
resolve to ruin him and their determination to destroy him.
Hereupon the King sent for him and summoned him and commanded him
to journey to the places in question; but those of whom the
complaints had been made threw dangers and difficulties in his
way. Said the Wazir, "Hearing and obeying;" and after preparing
himself for wayfare he set forth on his way. Now the Lords had
despatched letters to the province whither he intended, apprising
the folk of his coming, and saying to them, "Empower him not with
anything, and if you avail to work him aught of wrong, so do."
When the Wazir marched upon those places he was met by the people
with welcomes and deputations to receive him and offer him
presents and rarities and sumptuous gifts, and all who were
therein honoured him with highmost honour. Presently he sent for
their adversaries, and having brought them before him made peace
between the two parties, and their gladness increased and their
sadness ceased, and he tarried with them for a month full-told;
after which he set out on his homeward march. The Lords, however,
had reported all this to the King and they were right sore and
sorrowful, for that their desire had been the destruction of the
Minister. And one day of the days as the Wazir was sitting at
home, behold, a party of Chamberlains appeared before him and
summoned him to the presence, saying, "Arise, the King requireth
thee." He rose without stay or delay, and taking horse made for
the presence, and ceased not riding until he had reached the
palace and had gone in to the King, who forthright bade throw him
into gaol. (Now it happened that the prison had seven
doors.)[FN#332] Cried the Wazir, "There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great; and verily we
be Allah's and unto Him are we returning! Would I wot why and
wherefore the King hath confined me and for what cause; but
Omnipotence is Allah's." As soon as the Minister was quartered in
his new quarters the Sovran sent to interdict his eating any food
of flesh-kind, allowing only bread and cheese and olives and
oil, and so left him in durance vile. Hereupon all the folk
applied them to addressing the King with petitions and to
interceding for the captive; but this was not possible; nay, the
Sultan's wrath waxed hotter nor did it soon cool, for the Wazir
abode in gaol during the longsome length of seven years. At last
one day of the days that Sultan went forth disguised in
Darwaysh-garb and toured about town unattended, and ceased not
walking until he reached and passed before the palace of the
Wazir, where he found a gathering of much folk, some sweeping and
others sprinkling water, and others spreading[FN#333], whilst the
Harem and household were in high glee and gladness. He stood
there amongst the spectators and presently asked what was doing,
and they informed him, saying, "The Wazir returneth from abroad
this night and folk have been informed by messenger that the
Sultan hath deigned restore him to favour and expressed himself
satisfied, so presently we shall see him once more at home."
"Praise be to Allah!" quoth the King in his mind; "by the
Almighty, this occurrence hath no cause, and how went the bruit
abroad that the King hath again accepted him? And now there is no
help but that I forgather with the Wazir and see what there may
be to do and how this occurred." The Sultan increased in
disquietude therefor, so he went and bought a somewhat of bread
and repairing to the gaol (he being still in Fakir's garb)
accosted the gaoler and said to him, "Allah upon thee, O my lord,
open to me the bridewell that I may enter and distribute this
provaunt among the prisoners, for that I have obliged myself to
such course by oath, and the cause is that when suffering from a
sickness which brought me nigh to death's door I vowed a vow and
sware a strong swear that, an Almighty Allah deign heal me, I
would buy somewhat of bread and dole it out to the inmates of the
gaol[FN#334]. So here am I come for such purpose." Upon this the
man opened to him the door and he went in and divided all the
bread amongst the captives yet he saw not the Wazir; so he said
to the gaoler, "Hath any one remained that I may dole to him his
share?" "O Darwaysh," said the other, "whereof askest thou?" and
said the Fakir, "O my lord, I have sworn an oath and Allah upon
thee, if there be among the captives any save these I have seen,
do thou tell me thereof." Quoth the man, "There remaineth none
save the Wazir who is in another place, but indeed he is not in
want;" and quoth the Fakir, "O my lord, my desire is to free
myself from the obligation of mine oath." Accordingly the gaoler
led him in to the Wazir and when the Darwaysh drew nigh the
visitor shrieked and fell fainting to the floor, and the warder
seeing him prostrate left him to himself and went his ways.
Hereupon the Minister came to him and sprinkling somewhat of
water upon his face said to him, "O Darwaysh, there is no harm to
thee!" So the Fakir arose and said, "O my lord, my heart hath
been upon thee for a while of time;"--And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy
story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Thirty-First Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
Fakir to the Wazir, "By Allah, O my lord, my heart hath indeed
been with thee for this space of seven years; and often as I went
to thy mansion, they told me that the Sultan is wroth with the
Wazir; withal I still awaited for thee until this very day, when
I repaired to thy quarters according to my custom and I found in
thy house much folk, this sweeping and that sprinkling and that
spreading, and all were in joyous case. So I asked of the
by-standers and they informed me that the Sovran hath become
satisfied with thee and that on the ensuing night thou wilt hie
thee home for that this thy saying is soothfast."[FN#335] "O
Darwaysh," replied the other, " 'Tis true that I sent to my
household and informed them thereof, for that I have received
welcome news from an event befel me; so I bade apprise those at
home that the Sultan is satisfied with me; and to me, O Darwaysh,
hath betided a matter wondrous and an occurrence marvellous; were
it written with needle-gravers upon the eye-corners it had been a
warning to whoso would be warned." The Fakir asked, "And what may
be that?" and the other answered, "By Allah, O Darwaysh, the
while I was in the service of His Highness the King, I was a true
counsellor to him and pitiful to the lieges and I never deceived
him nor did I betray him at any time at all; and often as he sent
me to a place wherein were mutual strife and trouble and wrong
and tyranny, I smoothed matters and pacified the folk and righted
wrongs amongst them by the power of Almighty Allah. But one day
of the days, my mind was set upon riding out to the waste lands
about the town and the gardens thereof, by way of solacing my
self; so I embarked in a little caïque[FN#336] upon the river and
when we were amid stream I had a longing for coffee[FN#337]; so I
said to the boatman, 'Abide in this place and throw out the anchor
while we drink coffee.' Hereat all my suite arose and busied
themselves in preparing it until 'twas ready and I had a
finján[FN#338] worth a treasury[FN#339] of money which they
filled and passed to me. I took it as I was sitting upon the
gunwale of the boat whence it dropped into the stream; and I was
sorely sorrowful therefor, because that cup was a souvenir.
Seeing this, all in the boat arose and sent for a diver who
asked, saying, 'In what place hath the finjan fallen that I may
seek it? and do ye inform me of its whereabouts.' So we sought
for a pebble in the caïque but we found none, and as I wore upon
my finger a signet ring which was worth two treasuries of money I
drew it off and cast it into the water crying, 'The cup fell from
me in this place.' But when the ducker saw me throw my ring he
said to me, 'Wherefore, O my lord, hast thou parted with thy
seal?' and said I to him, 'The deed is done.' Then he went down
and plunged into the deep for a while and behold he came up
grasping the cup, in the middle of which we saw the signet ring.
Now when this mighty great matter befel me, I said to myself, 'Ho
certain person, there remaineth upon this good luck no better
luck; and haply there will befal thee somewhat contrary to
this.'[FN#340] However those with me rejoiced at the finding of
my two losses, not did any fear therefrom my change of state and
downfall, but they wondered and said, 'By Allah, this is a rare
matter!' Then we went forward in the caïque until we had reached
the place intended, where we tarried the whole of that day and
presently returned home. But hardly was I settled and had I taken
seat in my home quarters when behold, a party of Chamberlains of
the King's suite came in to me and said, 'The Sultan requireth
thee!' Accordingly, I arose and mounted horse and rode on till I
had come to the palace and entered the presence; and I designed
to offer suit and service to the King as was my wont, when
suddenly he cried, 'Carry him away.' So they bore me off and
confined me in this place, after which the Sultan sent and
interdicted me from eating a tittle of flesh food, and here I am
after the space of seven years, O Darwaysh, still in the same
condition. Now on the morning of this day my stomach craved for
meat, so I said to the gaoler, 'O Such-and-such, 'tis now seven
years since I tasted flesh, so take this ashrafi and bring us an
ounce of meat.' He accepted the money saying, ' 'Tis well,' and
went forth from me and brought me my need."--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Thirty-Third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right guiding, lord of the rede which is
benefiting, and of deeds fair seeming and worthy celebrating,
that the Wazir continued to the Fakir, "Then, O Darwaysh, we
divided the meat (I and the gaoler) with our fingers, and we
washed it and set it upon the hearth, building a fire beneath it
until it was cooked, when we took it off, and after waiting
awhile dished it up and were about to eat it. But it happened to
be noon-tide, and the hour of incumbent orisons, so we said, 'Let
us pray our prayers;' and we arose and made the Wuzú-ablution,
and went through the mid-day devotions. After this we set the
plate before us; and I, removing its cover, put forth my hand to
take up a bit of meat, but as I took it, behold, a mouse passed
over that same morsel with its tail and paws[FN#341]. I cried,
'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah the
Glorious, the Great! I have divided this meat with my own hand
and have cooked it myself, so how could this matter have
occurred? How ever, Allah the Omniscient haply knoweth that the
stumbling stone hath been removed from my path,' and this I said,
for when I saw that mouse do on such wise I felt that glad news
and good tidings were coming from the Lord of the Heavens and the
Earth. So I sent to my home and informed them that the Sultan was
satisfied with me, for things when at their worst mend, and in
joyance end; and I opine, O Darwaysh, that all my troubles have
now ceased." Said to him the Fakir, "Alhamdolillah-- Glory be to
God--O my lord, who hath sent thee forerunners of welfare." Then
he arose from beside the Wazir, and went forth and ceased not
wending until he came to his palace where he doffed his disguise
and donned the garments of the Kings, and taking seat upon the
throne of his Kingship summoned the Wazir from his gaol in all
joy, and set him between his hands and gifted him with sumptuous
gifts. And all displeasure in the Sultan's heart being removed
from the Wazir he committed to him once more the management of
all his affairs[FN#342]. But when Ibn Ahyam (continued Shahrazad)
had ended his history of the Righteous Wazir he presently began
to tell the tale of





             THE CAIRENE YOUTH, THE BARBER, AND THE
                            CAPTAIN.



It is related that in Misr there was a Youth, a Shalabí,[FN#343]
sans peer for semblance and excellence, and he had to friend a
lovely woman whose husband was a Yúzbáshí[FN#344] or captain. Now
whenever that young man or his playmate would fain conjoin, each
with other, union proved almost impossible and yet his heart was
always hanging to her love and she was in similar state and even
more enamoured for that he was passing fair of form and feature.
One day of the days the Captain returned home and said to his
wife, "I am invited to such a place this afternoon, therefore an
thou require aught ask it of me ere I go." Cried they,[FN#345]
"We want nothing save thy safety;" yet were they delighted
therewith, and the youth's friend said, "Alhamdolillah--Glory to
God--this day we will send to a certain person and bring him
hither and we will make merry he and I." As soon as the husband
fared forth his home in order to visit the gardens according to
his invitation, the wife said to a small boy which was an eunuch
beside her, "Ho boy, hie thee to Such-an-one (the Shalabi) and
seek him till thou forgather with him and say to him, 'My lady
salameth to thee and saith, Come to her house at this moment.' "
So the little slave went from his mistress and ceased not wending
to seek the Shalabi (her friend) till he found him in a barber's
booth where at that time it was his design to have his head
shaved and he had ordered the shaver so to do. The man said to
him, "O, my lord, may this our day be blessed!" whereupon he
brought out from his budget a clean towel, and going up to the
Shalabi dispread it all about his breast. Then he took his
turband and hung it to a peg[FN#346] and placing a basin before
him washed his pate, and was about to poll it when behold, the
boy-slave passed within softly pacing, and inclining to him
whispered in his ear confidentially between them twain so that
none might overhear them, "My lady So-and-so sendeth thee many
salams and biddeth me let thee know that to-day the coast is
clear, the Captain being invited out to a certain place. Do thou
come to her at once and if thou delay but a little thou mayst not
avail to possess her nor may she possess thee, and if thou be
really minded to forgather with her come with all speed." Hearing
these words of the boy the lover's wits were wildered and he
could not keep patience; no, not for a minute; and he cried to
the Barber, "Dry my head this instant and I will return to thee,
for I am in haste to finish a requirement." With these words he
put his hand into his breast pouch and pulling out an ashrafi
gave it to the Barber, who said in himself, "An he have given me
a gold-piece for wetting his poll, how will it be when I shall
have polled him? Doubtless he will then gift me with half a score
of dinars!" Hereupon the youth went forth from the Barber who
followed him saying, "Allah upon thee, O my lord, when thou shalt
have ended thy business, return to me that I may shave thy scalp
and 'twere better that thou come to the shop." "Right well," said
the youth, "we will presently return to thee," and he continued
walking until he drew near the place of his playmate when
suddenly the Barber caught him up a second time--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to
say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet
is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
youth approached the house of his friends, suddenly the Barber
caught him up hard by thereto and placing himself in front said,
"Allah upon thee, O my lord, do not forget me, but be sure of
return to the shop that I may poll thee." Quoth the youth to him
in his folly, " 'Tis well, O Man, I will certainly come back to
thee and will not forget thy shop." So the lover left him and
ganged his gait and presently went up to the home of his friend,
whilst the Barber stayed expecting him and remained standing at
the door; and of the denseness of the tonsorial wits would not
budge from that place and would await the youth that he might
shave him. Such was the case with them; but as regards the
Yuzbashi, when he went forth from his house bent upon seeking his
friend who had invited him, he found that a serious matter of
business[FN#347] would hinder his giving the entertainment, so
the host said to the Captain, "Allah upon thee, O my lord, pardon
me for I have this day a matter which will prevent my going forth
to the garden and Inshallah--God willing--on the morrow we will
there meet and enjoy ourselves, we and thou, free and with hearts
at rest; for a man who hath work in hand may not take his
pleasure and his thoughts will remain ever preoccupied." Hereupon
quoth the Captain, "Sooth thou hast said, O Such-and-such, and
herein there is naught to excuse of harm or hindrance, and the
day's engagement between us if it be not to-morrow will come
after to-morrow." So he farewelled his host and left him and
returned homewards. Now that Yuzbashi was a man of honour and
sagacity and pluck and spunk and by nature a brave. He ceased not
wending until he had reached his home where he found the Barber
standing at the house door and the fellow came up to him and
said, "Allah upon thee, O my lord, when thou goest within do thou
send me down a handsome youth who went upstairs into this
dwelling." The Yuzbashi turned upon him with a face fiery as
ruddy sparks and cried to him, "What, O Man, dost thou say that
one hath gone up to my house, O pimp, O pander?[FN#348] What
manner of man can enter therein and I absent?" Quoth the Barber,
"By Allah, O my lord, one did go up whilst I stood awaiting him
the while he passed out of my sight; so when thou art abovestairs
do thou send him down to me, saying, 'Thine own Barber awaiteth
thee at the entrance below.' " Now when the Yuzbashi heard these
words, he waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and going up into his
house with haste and hurry knocked at the inner door which
defended the Harem. The inmates heard him and knew that it was
he, and the Youth fell to piddling in his bag-trowsers; but the
woman took him and hid him in the shaft of the cistern[FN#349]
and going forth opened the door to her husband. Cried the
Yuzbashi, "Of a truth, hath any right or reason to say that here
in this house is a man?"[FN#350] and she replied, "Oh, the shame
of me! How ever, O my lord, can there be here a man?"[FN#351] So
the Yuzbashi went about seeking and searching but he came not
upon any; then he went down to the Barber wight and cried, "O
Man, I have found none upstairs save the womenkind;" but the
Barber replied, "By Allah, O my lord, he went up before my eyes
and I am still awaiting him." Then the Captain hurried away a
second time and rummaged about, high and low, and left no place
whereinto he did not pry and spy, yet he came upon no one. He was
perplext at his affair and again going down to the Barber said to
him, "O Man, we have found none." Still the fellow said to him
doggedly, "Withal a man did go within, whilst I who am his
familiar here stand expecting him, and thou sayest forsooth he is
not there, albeit he be abovestairs and after he went in he never
came out until this tide." Hereupon the Captain returned to his
Harem a third time and a fourth time unto the seventh time; but
he found no one; so he was dazed and amazed and the going in and
faring out were longsome to him. All this and the youth concealed
in the cistern shaft lay listening to their dialogue and he said,
"Allah ruin this rascal Barber!" but he was sore afraid and he
quaked with fright lest the Yuzbashi slay him and also slay his
wife. Now after the eighth time the Captain came down to the
Barber and said to him, "An thou saw him enter, up along with me
and seek for him." The man did accordingly, but when the two had
examined every site, they came upon no one; so the Barber was
stupefied and said to himself, "Whoso went up before me and I
looking upon him, whither can he have wended?" Then he fell to
pondering and presently said, "By Allah, verily this is a
wondrous matter that we have not discovered him;" but the
Yuzbashi cried fiercely, "By the life of my head and by Him who
created all creatures and numbered the numberings thereof, an I
find not this fellow needs must I do thee die." The Barber of his
exceeding terror fell to rummaging all the places but it fortuned
that he did not look into the shaft of the cistern; however at
last he said, "There remaineth for us only the cistern-shaft ;"--
And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell silent,
and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

          The Seven Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Barber
wight, after he and the Captain had finished their search without
finding anyone, said, "There remaineth to us only the cistern-
shaft;" so he went and peered therein, but he could not use his
sight overwell. Hereat the Yuzbashi came up behind him and cuffed
him with a mighty cuff upon the neck and laid him prostrate and
insensible at the mouth of the shaft. Now when the woman heard
the Barber saying, "Let us explore the door which openeth upon
the cistern-shaft," she feared from the Yuzbashi, so coming up to
him she said, "O my lord, how is it that thou art a Captain and
that thy worth and thy length and thy breadth are on such wise;
withal thou obeyest the word of a fellow Jinn-mad[FN#352] and
sayest that there is a man in thine own house. This is indeed a
reproach to thee." So the Yuzbashi of his stupidity believed her,
and approaching the Barber on the edge of the cistern-shaft
cuffed him with a cuff whose excess of violence dazed him and he
fell upon the floor retaining naught of his senses. When the
woman saw this she cried to her husband, "Pinion his elbows at
this moment and suffer me take my due of him by a sound drubbing,
and then let him go." "This is the right rede,"quoth he and after
all was done she cried to her husband, "Come with us above that
we enjoy our pleasure, and Alhamdolillah that thou didst not go
to the place of invitation for I should have been desolate by
thine absence this day." So they ascended and sat together, each
beside other, and they sported and were gladdened and rejoiced;
and after that the Captain lay down and was presently drowned in
slumber. Seeing this the wife arose and repaired to the cistern-
shaft wherefrom she released her beloved and finding all his
clothes in a filthy state from the excess of what had befallen
him of affright penetrating into his heart by reason of the
Yuzbashi, she doffed his dress and bringing a bundle of clean
clothing garbed him therein; after which his fear was calmed and
his heart comforted and he was set on the right way. Then she led
him to a private stead, wherein they twain, he and she, took
their joyance and had their pleasure and made merry for the space
of three hours, till such time as each had had fullest will of
other. After this he went forth from her and the Veiler veiled
him. On such wise were the wife's doings; but as regards what
befel the Barber-man, he ceased not to remain strown on the
ground and dazed by the stress of the blow and he abode there
pinioned for a while. About mid-afternoon the Yuzbashi's wife
went to her husband and awaking him from sleep made for him
coffee which he drank and felt cheered; and he knew nothing anent
that his spouse had done with her beloved during the while he
slumbered like unto a he goat. So she said to him, "Rise up and
go we to the man and do thou drub him with the soundest drubbing
and turn him out." Quoth he, "Yes indeed, by Allah, verily he
deserveth this, the pimp! the pander! the procurer!" Accordingly
he went to him and finding him lying upon the ground raised him
and said to him, "Up with thee and let us seek the man whereof
thou spakest." Hereupon the Barber arose and went down into the
cistern-shaft where he found none and therewith the Captain laid
the fellow upon his back; and, baring his arms to his elbows,
seized a Nabbút[FN#353] and beat him till he made water in his
bag-trowsers; after which he let him go. So the Barber arose and
he in doleful dumps, and went off from the house and ceased not
wending until he reached his shop about sunset, hardly believing
in his own safety. But (resumed Shahrazad) as regards the history of the woman who was a fornicatress and an adultress, I have to relate to thee the following story of





               THE GOODWIFE OF CAIRO AND HER FOUR
                       GALLANTS.[FN#354]



It is said that in Misr lived a woman, a model of beauty and
loveliness and stature and perfect grace, who had a difficulty
with a man which was a Kazi and after this fashion it befel. She
was the wife of an Emir[FN#355] and she was wont to visit the
Baths once a month; and when the appointed term for her going
forth had come, she adorned herself and perfumed herself and
beautified herself and hastened, tripping and stumbling,[FN#356]
to the Hammám. Now her path passed by the Kazi's court-house
where she saw many a man[FN#357] and she stopped to enjoy the
spectacle, upon which the judge himself glanced at her with a
glance of eyes that bequeathed to him a thousand sighs and he
asked her saying, "O woman, hast thou any want?" "No indeed,"
answered she, "I have none." Then he inclined to her and drawing
near her said, "O lady mine and O light of these eyne, is union
possible between us twain?" She replied, "'Tis possible," and he
enquired of her when it could be, and she made an appointment
with him saying, "Do thou come to me after supper-time,"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable! Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Goodwife said to the Kazi, "Do thou come to me after
supper-time," and went her ways and entered the Hammam, where she
washed herself and cleaned herself; then, coming out thence, she
determined to go home. But she was met on her road by a
Gentleman[FN#358] who was Sháhbandar of the Trader-guild, and he
seeing her set his affections upon her; so he accosted her,
saying, "Is't possible that we ever be merry together?" Hereat
she appointed him to come when supper was done, after which she
left him and ganged her gait. As she neared her home she was met
by a Butcher whose heart inclined to her, so he addressed her
saying, "Is union possible?" and she appointed him to visit her
an hour after supper had been eaten. Then she went home and
mounting the stairs took seat in the upper saloon open to the
air, where she doffed her head-veil[FN#359] and all that was upon
her head. Now in the neighbourhood of her house was a Trader and
he had mounted to the terrace-roof for a reason; so when the
woman bared her hair and taking up a comb began to dry and
prepare it for dressing, his eyes fell upon her whilst so
engaged, and his heart was engrossed with her love. Presently he
sent to her an old woman; and she returned him a reply and
appointed him to visit her house during the night after
supper-tide. On this wise she had promised herself to four
men.[FN#360] Now the Kazi had got ready for her a Kohl-style and
the Gentleman had prepared for her a fine suit of clothes and the
Butcher had led for her a full-sized ram and the Trader had set
apart for her two pieces of silk. As soon as it was supper-time,
behold, the Kazi repaired to her in privacy bringing his gift and
knocked at the door which he found unbolted and she cried to him,
"Come in." Accordingly he entered to her and presented to her
that which was with him, but hardly had he settled himself
comfortably in his seat when the Gentleman arrived and also
rapped. Quoth the Kazi to the Goodwife, "Who may this be?" and
quoth she, 'Fear thou nothing, but arise and doff thy dress;" so
he stripped himself altogether and she garbed him in a gaberdine
and bonnet[FN#361] and hid him in a closet and went to open the
door. Hereupon appeared the Consul and she let him in and
accepted what he had brought and seated him beside her. But
hardly had he settled down when, behold, there came a knock at
the door and he cried, "Who may that be?" Said she, "Fear nothing
but up and doff thy dress;" so he arose and stripped himself and
she disguised him in a gaberdine and bonnet and hid him in
another closet all alone. Then she hastened to the door and
suddenly the Flesher-man appeared and she let him in and led him
within and having accepted his present seated him; but hardly was
he at his ease when the door was again knocked, whereat he was
overcome and affrighted: however, she said to him, "Fear nothing,
but arise and doff thy dress in order that I may hide thee." So
he threw off his clothes and she invested him in a gaberdine and
a bonnet and thrust him into a third cabinet. After this she went
and opened the door when there came to her the Trader who was her
neighbour, so she let him in and took what was with him, and
seated him; and he was proceeding to sit down in comfort when
behold, some one knocked at the door and he said, "Who may that
be?" Hereupon she cried, "O my honour! O my calamity! This is my
husband who but yesterday[FN#362] killed off four men; however do
thou rise up and doff thy dress." He did as she bade him, upon
which she garbed him in a gaberdine and a bonnet and laid him in
a fourth closet. So these four one and all found themselves in as
many cabinets[FN#363] sorely sorrowful and fearful; but she went
forth and suddenly her mate the Emir came in and took seat upon a
chair that was in the house. Hereat all four sensed that she had
opened to her husband and had admitted him; and they said in
their minds, "Yesterday he killed four men and now he will kill
me." And each and every considered his own affair and determined
in his mind what should happen to him from the husband. Such was
the case with these four; but as regards the house-master, when he took seat upon the chair, he fell to chatting with his wife and asking her saying, "What hast thou seen this day during thy walk to the Hammam?" Said she, "O my lord, I have witnessed four
adventures and on every one hangeth a wondrous tale!" Now when
the four heard the Goodwife speaking these words each of them
said to himself, "Indeed I am a dead man and 'tis the intention
of this woman to peach upon me." Presently her husband asked her,
"What be these four histories?" and answered she, "I saw four men
each and every of whom was an antic fellow, a droll, a buffoon;
furthermore, O my lord, one and all of them were garbed in
gaberdine and bonnet."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Forty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director,the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the woman
said to her husband, "Moreover each of the four was habited in
gaberdine and bonnet." But when the amourists heard these words
every one of them said to himself, "Here be a judgment this
strumpet of a woman hath wrought upon us, the whore! the witch!"
and her husband understanding what she told him asked, "Wherefore
didst thou not bring them hither that the sight might solace us?"
"O my lord," answered she, "had I brought them what hadst thou
said to them? indeed I fear me thou wouldst have slain them!" And
he, "No indeed; I would not have killed them, for they are but
buffoon-folk, and we should have enjoyed their harlequinades and
would have made them dance to us a wee and all and some tell us
tales to gladden our minds; after which we would have suffered
them depart and go about their own business." The wife enquired,
"And given that they knew neither dancing nor story-telling what
hadst thou done with them?" and replied he, "Had the case been as
thou sayest and they ignorant of all this, verily we would have
killed them and cast them into the chapel of ease." The four men
hearing such threatening words muttered to themselves, "There is
no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great;" but the Kazi said in his mind, "How remain Judge of this
city when I shall have been found garbed in gaberdine and bonnet
and dancing and tale-telling? and indeed this is the greater
death. Allah bring to ruin this adulteress of a woman!" Then the
Flesher took thought as follows, "How shall I continue to be
Chief of the Butchers when I prance about with a bonnet on my
pate? this is indeed a painful penalty!" Then quoth the
Gentleman, the Consul, "How shall it be with me when I am seen
dancing and donning a bonnet? indeed death by the sword were
lighter than this!" Then muttered the Trader which was the
woman's neighbour, "'Tis easier to kill myself with my own hand
than to endure all such ill." Anon the woman said to her husband,
"Inshallah--God willing--on the morrow we will bring them hither
to thy house that we may solace ourselves therewith;" but said
he, "Walláhi, hadst thou brought them this night 'twere better,
for that to-morrow evening I have business in the house of the
Chief Emir." Quoth she to him, "Now grant me immunity and give me
permission and I will arise and bring them to thee at this
moment, but each must come to thee alone and by himself." Quoth
he, "O Woman, leave I do give thee and immunity I do grant thee;"
whereupon she rose without stay or delay and went to the closet
wherein was the Judge. Then she opened it and entered, and taking
him by the hand dragged him forward and came out with him and set
him before her spouse garbed as he was in gaberdine and bonnet.
The house-master scrutinised him and was certified of his being
the Kazi and said to him, "Blessed be to thee, O our lord, this
bonnet and this gaberdine which become thee passing well." But
the Judge, as he stood before the presence of the woman's
husband, bowed his front downwards and was clothed as with a
garment in the sweat of shame and was sore abashed, when the Emir
said to him, "O our lord the Kazi, do thou dance for us a wee the
baboon dance and rejoice us; after which performance do thou tell
us a tale that our breasts may thereby be broadened." But when
the man said this to him, the Judge feared for his life because
he had heard and well remembered the words of the householder and
he fell to clapping his palms and prancing to right and left.
Hereupon the Emir laughed consumedly, he and his wife, and they
signed and signalled each to other deriding the judicial dance,
and the Kazi ceased not skipping until he fell to the floor for
his fatigue. Hereupon the man said to him, "Basta! Now tell us
thy tale that we may rejoice thereat; then do thou rise up and go
about thy business." "Hearkening and obedience," said the Judge
and forthright he began to relate the adventure of





The Tailor and the Lady and the Captain.[FN#364]



It is related that a Tailor was sitting in his shop facing a tall
house tenanted by a Yúzbáshi, and this man had a wife who was
unique for beauty and loveliness. Now one day of the days as she
looked out at the latticed window the Snip espied her and was
distraught by her comeliness and seemlihead. So he became
engrossed by love of her and remained all day a-gazing at the
casement disturbed and perturbed, and as often as she approached
the window and peered out therefrom, he would stare at her and
say to her, "O my lady and O core of my heart, good morning to
thee; and do thou have mercy upon one sore affected by his
affection to thee; one whose eyes sleep not by night for thy fair
sake." "This pimp be Jinn-mad!" quoth the Captain's wife, "and as
often as I look out at the window he dareth bespeak me: haply the
folk shall say, 'Indeed she must needs be his mistress.'" But the
Tailor persevered in this proceeding for a while of days until
the lady was offended thereby and said in her mind, "Walláhi,
there is no help but that I devise for him a device which shall
make unlawful to him this his staring and casting sheep's eyes at
my casement; nay more, I will work for ousting him from his
shop." So one day of the days when the Yuzbashi went from home,
his wife arose and adorned and beautified herself, and donning
the bestest of what dresses and decorations she had, despatched
one of her slave-girls to the Tailor instructing her to say to
him, "My lady salameth to thee and biddeth thee come and drink
coffee with her." The handmaiden went to his shop and delivered
the message; and he, when hearing these words,[FN#365] waxed
bewildered of wits and rose up quivering in his clothes;--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Forty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
Tailor heard the girl's words, he quivered in his clothes; but
indeed he recked not aught of the wiles of womankind. So after
padlocking his shop he went with her to the house and walked
upstairs, where he was met by the lady with a face like the
rondure of the moon and she greeted him right merrily, and taking
him by the hand led him to a well-mattressed Divan and bade her
slave-girl serve him with coffee, and as he drank it she sat
facing him. Presently the twain fell to conversing, she and he;
and she soothed him with sweet speech, whilst he went clean out
of his mind for the excess of her beauty and loveliness. This
lasted until near midday, when she bade serve the dinner-trays,
and took seat in front of him, and he began picking up
morsels[FN#366] designed for his lips and teeth, but in lieu
thereof thrust them into his eye. She laughed at him, but hardly
had he swallowed the second mouthful and the third when behold,
the door was knocked, whereupon she looked out from the casement
and cried, "Oh my honour! this is my husband." Hereat the man's
hands and knees began to quake, and he said to her, "Whither
shall I wend?" Said she, "Go into this closet," and forthright
she thrust him into a cabinet and shot the bolt upon him and
taking the key she tare out one of its teeth[FN#367] and put it
in her pocket. After this she went down and opened the door to
her husband who walked upstairs; and finding the dinner trays
bespread, asked her, "What is this?" She answered, "I and my
lover have been dining together." "And what may be thy lover?"
"Here he is."[FN#368] "Where may he be?" to which she replied,
"He is inside this closet." Now as soon as the Tailor heard her
say this say, he piddled in his bag-breeches and befouled himself
and he was in a filthy state with skite and piss.[FN#369]
Hereupon the Captain asked, "And where's the key?" and she
answered, "Here it is with me."[FN#370] "Bring it out," said he,
so she pulled it from her pocket and handed it to him. The
Captain took the key from his spouse and applying it to the
wooden bolt of the cabinet rattled it to and fro[FN#371] but it
would not open; so the wife came up to him and cried, "Allah upon
thee, O my lord, what wilt thou do with my playmate?" Said he, "I
will slay him!" and said she, "No, 'tis my opinion that thou
hadst better pinion him and bind him as if crucified to the
pillar in the court floor and then smite him with thy sword upon
the neck and cut off his head; for I, during my born days, never
saw a criminal put to death and now 'tis my desire to sight one
done to die." "Sooth is thy speech," quoth he: so he took the key
and fitting it into the wooden bolt would have drawn it back, but
it could not move because a tooth had been drawn therefrom and
the while he was rattling at the bolt his wife said to him, "O my
lord,'tis my desire that thou lop off his hands and his feet
until he shall become marked by his maims;[FN#372] and after do
thou smite his neck." "A sensible speech," cried the husband and
during the whole time her mate was striving to pull the bolt she
kept saying to him, "Do this and do that with the fellow," and he
ceased not saying to her, "'Tis well." All this and the Tailor
sat hearkening to their words and melting in his skin; but at
last the wife burst out laughing until she fell upon her back and
her husband asked her, "Whereat this merriment?" Answered she, "I
make mock of thee for that thou art wanting in wits and wisdom."
Quoth he, "Wherefore?" and quoth she, "O my lord, had I a lover
and had he been with me should I have told aught of him to thee?
Nay; I said in my mind, 'Do such and such with the Captain and
let's see whether he will believe or disbelieve.' Now when I
spake thou didst credit me and it became apparent to me that thou
art wanting in wits." Cried he to her, "Allah disappoint thee!
Dost thou make jibe and jape of me? I also said in my thoughts,
'How can a man be with her and she speak of him in the face of
me?'" So he arose and took seat with her, the twain close
together, at the dinner-tray and she fell to morselling him and
he to morselling her, and they laughed and ate until they had
their sufficiency and were filled; then they washed their hands
and drank coffee. After this they were cheered and they toyed
together and played the two-backed beast until their pleasure was
fulfilled and this was about mid-afternoon--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night, and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Yuzbashi fell to toying with his wife, and thrusting and foining
at her cleft,[FN#373] her solution of continuity, and she
wriggled to and fro to him, and bucked up and down, after which
he tumbled her and both were in gloria.[FN#374] This lasted until
near mid-afternoon when he arose and went forth to the Hammam.
But as soon as he left the house she opened the cabinet and
brought out the Tailor, saying, "Hast thou seen what awaiteth
thee, O pander, O impure? Now by Allah, an thou continue staring
at the windows or durst bespeak me with one single word it shall
be the death of thee. This time I have set thee free, but a
second time I will work to the wasting of thy heart's blood."
Cried he, "I will do so no more; no, never!" Thereupon said she
to her slave-girl, "O handmaid, open to him the door;" and she
did so, and he fared forth (and he foully bewrayed as to his
nether garments) until he had returned to his shop. Now when the
Emir heard the tale of the Kazi, he rejoiced thereat and said to
him, "Up and gang thy gait!" so the judge went off garbed in his
gaberdine and bonnet. Then said the house-master to his wife,
"This be one of the four, where's Number Two?" Hereat she arose
and opened the closet in which was the Gentleman and led him out
by the hand till he stood before her husband, who looked hard at
him and was certified of him and recognised him as the
Sháhbandar; so he said to him, "O Khawájah, when didst thou make
thee a droll?"[FN#375] but the other returned to him neither
answer nor address and only bowed his brow groundwards. Quoth the
house-master to him, "Dance for us a wee and when thou shalt have
danced do thou tell us a tale." So he fell perforce to clapping
his hands and skipping about until he fell down of fatigue when
he said, "O my lord, there is with me a rare story, and an
exceeding strange if thou of thy grace accord attention to my
words." "Tell on and I will listen to thee," quoth the other,
whereupon said the Gentleman, "'Tis concerning the wiles of
womankind," and fell to relating the adventures of





The Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo.[FN#376]



There was a man, a Shámí, who came to the God-guarded city of
Misr al-Káhirah--Misr of Mars--and with him was a store of money
and merchandize and sumptuous clothing. He hired for himself a
room in a caravanserai, and having no slave, he was wont to go
forth every day and roam about the city-thoroughfares and cater
for himself. Now this continued for a while of time till one day
of the days, as he was wandering and diverting his mind by
looking to the right and to the left, he was met on the way by
three women who were leaning and swaying one towards other as
they walked on laughing aloud; and each and every of the three
surpassed her fellow in beauty and loveliness. When he looked at
them his mustachios curled[FN#377] at the sight and he accosted
them and addressed the trio, saying, "May it be that ye will
drink coffee in my lodging?" "Indeed we will," said they, "and we
will make mirth with thee and exceeding merriment, passing even
the will of thee." Quoth he, "When shall it be?" and quoth they,
"To-night we will come to thy place." He continued, "I am living
in a room of Such-and-such a Wakálah."[FN#378] and they rejoined,
"Do thou make ready for us supper and we will visit thee after
the hour of night-prayers." He cried, "These words are well; " so
they left him and went their ways; and he, on the return way
home, bought flesh and greens and wine and perfumes; then, having
reached his room, he cooked five kinds of meats without including
rice and conserves, and made ready whatso for the table was
suitable. Now when it was supper-time behold, the women came in
to him, all three wearing capotes[FN#379] over their dresses, and
when they had entered they threw these cloaks off their shoulders
and took their seats as they were moons. Hereupon the Syrian
arose and set before them the food-trays and they ate their
sufficiency, after which he served to them the table of wine,
whereat they filled and passed to him and he accepted and swilled
until his head whirled round, and as often as he looked at any
one of them and considered her in her mould of beauty and
loveliness he was perplext and his wits were wildered. They
ceased not to be after such fashion until the noon o' night.--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Syrian
and the three ladies ceased not to persevere in the drinking of
wine until the noon o' night, at which time he would not
distinguish between masculine and feminine from the excess of his
wine-bibbing, so he said to one of the three, "Allah upon thee, O
my lady, what may be the name of thee?" She replied, "I am hight
'Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me?'" Whereat he exclaimed, "No,
Walláhi!" Then he up-propped himself on his elbow and rising from
the ground said to the second, "Thou, O my lady, and life-blood
of my heart, what is thy name?" She answered, "I am hight
'Never-sawest-thou-my-like,'" and he replied, "Inshallah--what
Allah willeth--O my lady Never-sawest-thou-my-like." Then said he
to the third, "And thou, O dearling of my heart, what may be the
name of thee?" And said she, "I am hight
'Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me.'" When he heard these words
he cried out with a loud outcry and fell to the ground saying,
"No, by Allah, O my lady
Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me."[FN#380] But when the three
women regarded him his reason was upset and they forced upon him
more wine-bibbing whilst he cried to them, "Fill for me, ho my
lady Never-sawest-thou-my-like, and thou too, my lady
Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me, and eke thou, O my lady
Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me." And they drove him to drink
still more until he fell to the ground without a vein
swelling[FN#381] for he had become drunken and dead drunk. When
they saw him in this condition they doffed his turband and
crowned him with a cap, and fringes projecting from the
peak,[FN#382] which they had brought with them; then they arose
and finding in his room a box full of raiment and ready money,
they rifled all that was therein. Presently they donned their
dresses and, waiting until the door of the Wakalah was opened
after the call to the morning-prayer, they went their ways and
the Veiler vouchsafed them protection[FN#383] and they left the
Syrian man in his room strown as a tried toper and unknowing what
the women had done with him of their wile and guile. Now when it
was the undurn-hour he awoke from his crapula and opening his
eyes, cried, "Ho my lady Never-sawest-thou-my-like! and ho my
lady Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me! and ho my lady
Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me!" But none returned to him any
reply. Then he pulled himself together and glanced carefully
around but his sight fell not upon anyone beside him, so he arose
and went to the box wherein he found never a single thing. This
restored him to his right senses and he recovered from his drink
and cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great: this be a judgment they have
wrought for me." Then he went forth still wearing the tall fringed cap and knowing nothing of himself and, when he had issued from his caravanserai, he cried to everyone he met in the streets, "I am seeking Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me?" and the men would reply, "No, I never sighted the like of thee;" and to a second he would say, "I am looking for one
Never-sawest-thou-aught-like-me;" and the other would answer,
"Indeed, I never beheld thy fellow;" then he would ask a third,
"Hast thou seen one Look-at-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me?" and the
questioned would answer, "Indeed, I have looked at thee but I
know thee not at all." And he ceased not wandering about, bonnet
on head, and everyone who met him by the way returned to him the
like replies until he came upon a party of folk who were in front
of a barber's booth.[FN#384] There he cried upon them also, "Ah!
Hast-thou-seen-aught-like-me! and Ah! Never-sawest-thou-my-like!
and Ah! Look-upon-me-and-thou-shalt-know-me!" Hereat,
understanding that he was touched in brain and this was a
judgment that had been wrought upon him, they seized him and
forced him into the barber's shop and bringing a mirror set it in
his hands. When he looked therein he found a fool's cap upon his
head, so forthwith he tore it off and took thought and said to
those present, "Who of you can guide me to those three women?"
They said to him, "O Syrian, march off with thyself to thy own
land for that the folk of Egypt can play with the egg and the
stone."[FN#385] So he arose without stay and delay; then, taking
what provaunt was sufficient for the way and what little of fine
raiment had been left to him, he quitted Cairo intending for his
own country. Now the Emir hearing this tale of the Shahbandar
wondered thereof with extreme wonderment and said to the
Gentleman, "An thou have finished do thou fare forth and go about
thy business." Accordingly he went from him still garbed in
gaberdine and bonnet on head when the house-master asked his
wife, "Who of them here remaineth with thee?" And she answered,
"Have patience and I will bring thee the third." So she arose and
opening another closet summoned the Flesher and taking him by the
hand, whilst he was ashamed and abashed, led him till he stood
before her spouse and the poor fellow availed not to raise his
eyes from the ground. Presently the husband considered him and
knew him and was certified that he was Such-and-such the Chief
Butcher and head of the craft, so he said to him, "Ho thou the
clever one, do thou dance for us a wee and after that tell us a
tale." Accordingly he stood up and clapped hands and fell to
dancing and prancing till such time as he dropped down for
fatigue; after which he said, "O my lord, I have by me a tale
anent the craft and cunning of women." Asked the other, "And what
may it be?" and the Butcher began to relate the tale of





The Lady with Two Coyntes.



It is told of a woman which was a fornicatress and adulteress and
a companion of catastrophes and calamities that she was married
to a Káim-makám[FN#386] who had none of the will of mankind to
womankind, at all, at all. Now the wife was possessed of beauty
and loveliness and she misliked him for that he had no desire to
carnal copulation, and there was in the house a Syce-man who was
dying for his love of her. But her husband would never quit his
quarters, and albeit her longing was that the horse-keeper might
possess her person and that she and he might lie together, this
was impossible to her. She abode perplext for some sleight
wherewith she might serve her mate, and presently she devised a
device and said to him, "O my lord, verily my mother is dead and
'tis my wish to hie me and be present at her burial and receive
visits of condolence for her; and, if she have left aught by way
of heritage, to take it and then fare back to thee." "Thou mayest
go," said he, and said she, "I dread to fare abroad alone and
unattended; nor am I able to walk, my parent's house being afar.
Do thou cry out to the Syce that he fetch me hither an ass and
accompany me to the house of my mother, wherein I shall lie some
three nights after the fashion of folk." Hereupon he called to
the horse-keeper and when he came before him, ordered the man to
bring an ass,[FN#387] and mount his mistress and hie with her;
and the fellow, hearing these words, was hugely delighted. So he
did as he was bidden, but instead of going to the house they
twain, he and she, repaired to a garden carrying with them a
flask of wine and disappeared for the whole day and made merry
and took their pleasure[FN#388] until set of sun. Then the man
brought up the ass and mounting her thereon went to his own home,
where the twain passed the entire night sleeping in mutual
embrace on each other's bosoms, and took their joyance and
enjoyment until it was morning tide. Hereupon he arose and did
with her as before, leading her to the garden, and the two, Syce
and dame, ceased not to be after this fashion for three days
solacing themselves and making merry and tasting of love-liesse.
On the fourth day he said to her, "Do thou return with us to the
house of the Kaim-makam," and said she, "No; not till we shall
have spent together three days more enjoying ourselves, I and
thou, and making merry till such time as I have had my full will
of thee and thou thy full will of me; and leave we yon
preposterous pimp to lie stretched out, as do the dogs,[FN#389]
enfolding his head between his two legs." So the twain ceased not
amusing themselves and taking their joyance and enjoyment until
they had ended the six days, and on the seventh they wended their
way home. They found the Kaim-makam sitting beside a slave which
was an old negress; and quoth he, "You have disappeared for a
long while!" and quoth she, "Yes, until we had ended with the
visits of condolence for that my mother was known to foyson of
the folk. But, O my lord, my parent (Allah have ruth upon her!)
hath left and bequeathed to me a somewhat exceeding nice." "What
may that be?" asked he, and answered she, "I will not tell thee
aught thereof at this time, nor indeed until we remain, I and
thou, in privacy of night, when I will describe it unto thee."--
And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent
and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Seven Hundred and Fifty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the woman
said to her husband, "My mother hath left and bequeathed to me
somewhat, but I will not tell thee thereof till the coming night
when we twain shall be alone." "'Tis well," said he; after which
he continued to address himself, "Would Heaven I knew what hath
been left by the mother of our Harím!"[FN#390] Now when darkness
came on and he and she had taken seats together, he asked her,
"What may be the legacy thy mother left?" and she answered, "O my
lord, my mother hath bequeathed to me her Coynte being loath that
it be given to other save myself and therefore I have brought it
along with me." Quoth he of his stupidity (for he was like unto a
cosset),[FN#391] "Ho thou, solace me with the sight of thy
mother's Coynte." Hereupon she arose; and, doffing all she had on
her of dress until she was mother-naked, said to him, "O my lord,
I have stuck on my mother's Coynte hard by and in continuation of
mine own cleft and so the twain of them have remained each
adjoining other between my hips." He continued, "Let me see it;"
so she stood up before him and pointing to her parts, said, "This
which faceth thee is my coynte whereof thou art owner;" after
which she raised her backside and bowing her head groundwards
showed the nether end of her slit between the two swelling cheeks
of her sit-upon, her seat of honour, crying, "Look thou! this be
the Coynte of my mother; but, O my lord, 'tis my wish that we wed
it unto some good man and pleasant who is faithful and true and
not likely treason to do, for that the Coynte of my mother must
abide by me and whoso shall intermarry therewith I also must bow
down to him whilst he shall have his will thereof." Quoth the
Kaim-makam, "O sensible say! but we must seek and find for
ourselves a man who shall be agreeable and trustworthy,"
presently adding, "O woman, we will not give the Coynte of thy
mother in marriage to some stranger lest he trouble thee and
trouble me also; so let us bestow this boon upon our own Syce."
Replied the wife of her craft and cursedness, "Haply, O my lord,
the horsekeeper will befit us not;", yet the while she had set
her heart upon him. Rejoined the Kaim-makam her husband, "If so
it be that he have shown thee want of respect we will surely
relieve him of his lot." But after so speaking he said a second
time, "'Tis better that we give the Coynte of thy mother to the
Syce;" and she retorted, "Well and good! but do thou oblige him
that he keep strait watch upon himself." Hereat the man summoned
his servant before him and said to him, "Hear me, O Syce; verily
the mother of my wife to her hath bequeathed her Coynte, and 'tis
our intent to bestow it upon thee in lawful wedlock; yet beware
lest thou draw near that which is our own property." The
horsekeeper answered, "No, O my lord, I never will." Now after
they arrived at that agreement concerning the matter in question,
whenever the wife waxed hot with heat of lust she would send for
the Syce and take him and repair with him, he and she, to a place
of privacy within the Harem, whilst her mate remained sitting
thoroughly satisfied, and they would enjoy themselves to the
uttermost, after which the twain would come forth together. And
the Kaim-makam never ceased saying on such occasions, "Beware, O
Syce, lest thou poach upon that which is my property;" and at
such times the wife would exclaim, "By Allah, O my lord, he is a
true man and a trusty." So they continued for a while[FN#392] in
the enjoyment of their luxury and this was equally pleasurable to
the husband and wife and the lover. Now when the Emir heard this
tale from the Butcher, he began laughing until he fell upon his
back and anon he said to him, "Wend thy ways about thine own
work;" so the Flesher went forth from him not knowing what he
should do in his garb of gaberdine and bonnet. Hereupon the woman
arose and going to the fourth closet threw it open and summoned
and led the Trader man by the hand and set him before her husband
who looked hard at him in his droll's dress and recognised him
and was certified of him that he was his neighbour. So he said,
"Ho Such-an-one! Thou art our neighbour and never did we suspect
that thou wouldst strive to seduce our Harím;[FN#393] nay rather
did we expect thee to keep watch and ward over us and fend off
from us all evil.[FN#394] Now by Allah, those whom we have
dismissed wrought us no foul wrong even as thou wroughtest us in
this affair; for thou at all events art our neighbour. Thou
deservest in this matter that I slay thee out of hand, but
Default cometh not save from the Defaulter; therefore I will do
thee no harm at all as did I with thy fellows even save that
needs must thou tell us a tale whereby to rejoice us."[FN#395]
Quoth he, "Hearing and obeying," and herewith fell to relating
the story of





The Whorish Wife who Vaunted her Virtue.



It is related that once upon a time there was a man which was an
astronomer[FN#396] and he had a wife who was singular in beauty
and loveliness. Now she was ever and aye boasting and saying to
him, "O man, there is not amongst womankind my peer in
nobility[FN#397] and chastity;" and as often as she repeated this
saying to him he would give credit to her words and cry,
"Walláhi, no man hath a wife like unto the lady my wife for high
caste and continence!" Now he was ever singing her praises in
every assembly; but one day of the days as he was sitting in a
séance of the great, who all were saying their says anent
womankind and feminine deeds and misdeeds, the man rose up and
exclaimed, "Amongst women there is none like my wife, for that
she is pure of blood and behaviour;" hereat one of those present
said to him, "Thou liest, O certain person!"--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that while the
man was singing the praises of his spouse one of those present
rose and said to him, "Walláhi, thou liest, O certain person!"
"Wherein do I lie?" quoth he, and quoth the other, "I will teach
thee and show thee manifestly whether thy wife be a lady or a
whore. Do thou rise up from amongst us and hie thee home and go
thou in to her and say, 'O woman, I am intent upon travelling to
a certain place and being absent for a matter of four days and
after will return; so do thou arise, O woman, and bring me some
bread and a mould of cheese by way of viaticum.' Then go thou
forth from beside her and disappear for a while; and presently
returning home hide thee in a private place without uttering a
word." Cried those present, "By Allah, indeed these words may not
be blamed." Accordingly, the man went forth from them and fared
till he entered his house where he said, "O woman, bring me
something of provision for a journey: my design is to travel and
to be absent for a space of four days or haply six." Cried the
wife, "O my lord, thou art about to desolate me nor can I on any
wise bear parting from thee; and if thou needs must journey do
thou take me with thee." Now when the man heard these the words
of his wife he said to himself, "By Allah, there cannot be the
fellow of my spouse amongst the sum of womankind," presently
adding to her, "I shall be away from four to six days but do thou
keep watch and ward upon thyself and open not my door to anyone
at all." Quoth she, "O Man, how canst thou quit me?[FN#398] and
indeed I cannot suffer such separation." Quoth he, "I shall not
long be separated from thee;" and so saying he fared forth from
her and disappeared for the space of an hour, after which he
returned home softly walking and hid himself in a place where
none could see him. Now after the space of two hours behold, a
Costermonger[FN#399] came into the house and she met him and
salam'd to him and said, "What hast thou brought for me?" "Two
lengths of sugar-cane," said he, and said she, "Set them down in
a corner of the room." Then he asked her, "Whither is thy husband
gone?" and she answered, "On a journey: may Allah never bring him
back nor write his name among the saved and our Lord deliver me
from him as soon as possible!" After this she embraced him and he
embraced her and she kissed him and he kissed her and enjoyed her
favours till such time as he had his will of her; after which he
went his ways. When an hour had passed a Poulterer[FN#400] came
to the house, whereupon she arose and salam'd to him and said,
"What hast thou brought me?" He answered, "A pair of
pigeon-poults;" so she cried, "Place them under yon
vessel."[FN#401] Then the man went up to the woman and he
embraced her and she embraced him and he tumbled[FN#402] her and
she tumbled him; after which he had his will of her and presently
he went off about his own business. When two hours or so had gone
by there came to her another man which was a Gardener;[FN#403] so
she arose and met him with a meeting still fairer than the first
two and asked him, "What hast thou brought with thee?" "A
somewhat of pomegranates," answered he; so she took them from him
and led him to a secret place where she left him and changed her
dress and adorned herself and perfumed herself and Kohl'd[FN#404]
her eyes. After that she returned to the pomegranate-man and fell
a-toying with him and he toyed with her and she hugged him and he
hugged her and at last he rogered and had his wicked will of her
and went his ways. Hereupon the woman doffed her sumptuous dress
and garbed herself in her everyday garment. All this and the
husband was looking on through the chinks of the door behind
which he was lurking and listening to whatso befel, and when all
was ended he went forth softly and waited awhile and anon
returned home. Hereupon the wife arose and her glance falling
upon her husband she noted him and accosted him and salam'd to
him and said, "Hast thou not been absent at all?" Said he, "O
Woman, there befel me a tale on the way which may not be written
on any wise, save with foul water upon disks of dung,[FN#405] and
indeed I have endured sore toil and travail, and had not Allah
(be He praised and exalted!) saved me therefrom, I had never
returned." Quoth his wife, "What hath befallen thee?"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent, and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the wife
asked the husband saying, "What hath befallen thee on thy way?"
And he answered, "O Woman, when I went forth the town and took
the road, behold, a basilisk issued from his den and coming to
the highway stretched himself therealong, so I was unable to step
a single footstep; and indeed, O Woman, his length was that of
yon sugar cane, brought by the Costermonger and which thou
placedst in the corner. Also he had hair upon his head like the
feathers of the pigeon-poults presented to thee by the
Poulterer-man, and which thou hast set under the vessel; and
lastly, O Woman, his head was like the pomegranates which thou
tookest from the Market Gardener[FN#406] and carriedst within the
house." Whenas the wife heard these words, she lost command of
herself and her right senses went wrong and she became purblind
and deaf, neither seeing nor hearing, because she was certified
that her spouse had sighted and eye-witnessed what she had
wrought of waywardness and frowardness. Then the man continued to
her, "O Whore! O Fornicatress! O Adulteress! How durst thou say
to me, 'There is not amongst womankind my better in nobility and
purity?' and this day I have beheld with my own eyes what thy
chastity may be. So do thou take thy belongings and go forth from
me and be off with thyself to thine own folk." And so saying he
divorced her with the triple divorce and thrust her forth the
house. Now when the Emir heard the aforetold tale from his
neighbour, he rejoiced therein; this being a notable wile of the
guiles of womankind which they are wont to work with men for
"Verily great is their craft."[FN#407] And presently he dismissed
the fourth lover, his neighbour, even as he had freed the other
three, and never again did such trouble befal him and his wife,
or from Kazi or from any other.[FN#408] And to the same purport
(quoth Shahrazad), to wit, the slights and snares of the sex,
they also tell the tale of





             CÂŒLEBS THE DROLL AND HIS WIFE AND HER
                          FOUR LOVERS.



There lived at the Court of a certain King a man wherewith he was
wont to jest and this droll was unmated. So one day of the days
the Sultan said to him, "O Man, thou art a bachelor, so suffer us
to marry thee," and said the buffoon, "No, O King of the Age;
allow me to remain in single blessedness, for in womankind there
is no rest and they work many a wile, and indeed I fear lest
haply we fall upon one who shall be of the fornicatresses, the
adulteresses." Quoth the King, "There is no help but that thou
wed;" and quoth the Droll, "'Tis well, O King of the Age."
Hereupon the Sultan sent to summon the Wazir and bade him betroth
the man to a woman of righteous conduct and come of decent folk.
Now the Minister had with him an old nurse, and he commanded her
to find a match for the Sultan's Jester; whereupon she rose and
went out from him and engaged for the man a beautiful woman. And
presently the marriage-tie was tied between these twain and he
went in unto the bride and she tarried with him a while of time
even half a year or may be seven months. Now one day of the days
the King's Jester went forth his house ere the dawn-prayer had
been called on some business for the Sultan, intending to return
before rise of sun. Such was the case with him; but as regards
his wife, she had known when yet unmarried four men who to her
were the liefest of her companions and who, during the earlier
days of her wedding, had not been able to possess her. However,
on the morning when her husband fared forth from her before the
call to dawn-prayers, each and every of these four favoured
lovers made up their minds to visit their playmate. Now one of
them was a Pieman[FN#409] and the second was an Herbalist[FN#410], the third was a Flesher and the fourth was the Shaykh of the Pipers[FN#411]. When the Droll went forth from his wife behold, the Pieman came and rapped at the door, whereat she
opened to him and said, "Thou hast come betimes," and said he, "I
have minced the meat and I desired to work it up when I found
that the hour was too early and that no one was in the market. So
I said to myself, 'Up with thee and go to Such-and-such a woman.'" "'Tis well," quoth she; but when they desired to make merry together, of a sudden the door was knocked; so quoth he to her, "Who is this?" and quoth she to him, "I know not, but do thou hie
and hide thee in yonder closet." He did her bidding, whereupon
she went forth and threw open the door when behold, it was the
Herbalist and she said to him, "This is a time betimes." Said he,
"By Allah, I was nighting in the garden and I have brought these
sweet-scented herbs, and as the hour was over-early I said to
myself, 'Go thou to Such-and-such a woman and make merry, thou
and she, for a wee.'" So she let him in; but hardly had he
settled himself in his seat when suddenly the door was again
rapped and he asked her, "Who is this?" and she answered, "I know
not, but do thou hie and hide thee in yonder closet." So he went
in and found the Pieman there seated and said to him, "What thing
mayest thou be?"[FN#412] and said the other, "I and thou are each
like other." Meanwhile the woman had gone forth and opened the
door when behold, she was met by the Flesher whom she led within
and then said to him, "This is a time betimes." Quoth he, "By
Allah, I arose from sleep and slaughtered a ram[FN#413] and
prepared the flesh for selling when I found that the hour was
over-early and said I to myself, 'Take thee a piece of mutton-flesh and go thou in to a certain person and enjoy yourselves,
thou and she, until the Bazar shall have opened.'" But hardly had
he taken seat when came a fourth knock at the door, and as he
heard this he was wonderstruck; so she said to him, "Fear not,
but hie thee and hide thee within yonder closet." Accordingly he
went in and found the Pieman and the Herbalist there sitting and
he salam'd to the twain who returned his salute; then he asked
them, "What hath brought you hither?" and they answered, "That
which brought us brought also thee." He took seat with them while
the woman went and threw open the door and behold, she was met by
her friend the Shaykh of the Pipers belonging to the Sultan, so
she brought him in and said to him, "Indeed thy time is betimes."
Said he, "Walláhi, I went forth my home intending to fare and
prepare the band[FN#414] in the Royal Palace when I found the
hour was over-early, so said I to myself, 'Hie thee to a certain
person and make ye merry, thou and she, until the sun shall rise
and thou art bound to wend palacewards.'" "'Tis well," quoth
she and seated him and designed to take seat beside him when
behold, came a rap at the door and he cried, "Who is that?" and
she replied, "Allah only is Omniscient, but haply 'tis my
husband." So he was startled and afeard, and when she whispered
to him, "Up and enter yon closet," he did her bidding and found a-facing him therein the Pieman and the Herbalist and the Flesher
to whom he said, "Peace be upon you," and when they returned his
greeting he asked them, "Ye, who brought you?" They answered him
saying, "That which brought us also brought thee." After this he
sat beside them and the four remained seated in the closet and
huddled together, whilst each addressed himself saying, "What now
wilt thou do?" Meanwhile the woman suddenly went forth and opened
the door when behold, it was her mate the Droll who walked in and
took seat; whereupon she asked him, "And thou, why hast thou come
at such an hour? 'tis not often thy wont to return early from the
King's presence. Haply thou art unwell, for thy custom is not to
appear until near supper-tide and now thou hast forestalled our
meeting-time and hast returned a-morn. I suspect that he hath
bespoken thee concerning some matter of urgent matters that thou
comest home at this hour; but haply thou wilt finish off such
business and hie thee back to the Sultan." Quoth he, "By Allah, O
Woman, when I fared forth hence and went to the King I found that
he had many and important affairs to settle, so he said, 'Hie
thee to thy home and abide therein, nor return to me till after
the third day.'"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent, and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
King's Jester went in to his wife she said, "Thou, wherefore hast
thou come so early?" and said he, "By Allah, the Sultan hath much
and important business and said to me, 'Hie thee home, and tarry
there and return not to me save after the third day.'" Now when
the four men who were closeted together heard these words they
were perplext as to their affair, and said one to other, "What
shall we do? Indeed we are unable to sit out three days in this
stead." Hereupon the Pieman said to them, "Nay, rather let us
play a prank whereby we may escape," and said they, "What may be
the device thou wouldest devise?" Quoth he, "Whatso I do that do
ye look upon and then act in like guise," and so speaking he
arose and taking his minced meat fell to sticking it upon his
skin until he was like a leper covered with sores.[FN#415] Then
he went forth the closet to the husband of the mistress, and
cried, "The Peace be upon you!" The man returned his salute and
asked him, "What art thou?" to which he made answer, "I am the
Prophet Job the Ulcered, where is the way out of this?" "Here,"
cried the Jester, upon which Job passed out of the door and went
about his business and on such wise made his escape. Next the
Herbalist stood up and opening his basket brought out fragrant
herbs and fell to scattering them over his sconce and about it
and over his ears,[FN#416] till such time as all his face was
hidden in greens, after which he also went out and accosting the
house-master said, "The Peace be upon you!" And when the man
returned the salam he asked him, "Hath Job the Ulcered passed by
thee on this path?" "Indeed he hath," said the other; "but what
mayst thou be?" "I am Al-Khizr, the Green Prophet" (upon whom be
The Peace),[FN#417] and so saying he brushed by the Droll and
passed through the door. Now when the second lover had gone forth
and escaped, the Flesher arose and donning the ram's skin set its
horns upon his head and began crawling out of the closet upon all
fours, hands and knees, until he stood before the husband of his
beloved, and said to him, "The Peace be upon you!" "And upon you
be The Peace," returned the other, "What mayst thou be?" "I am
Iskandar, Lord of the Two Horns," cried the other; "say me, have
there passed by thee Job the Ulcered and Al-Khizr the Green
Prophet (upon whom be The Peace)?" Quoth the house-master, "They
went by this place and forewent thee." So the third lover passed
through the doorway and escaped, and presently the Shaykh of the
Pipers rose to his feet and applying the mouthpiece of his pipe
to his lips went up to his mistress's mate and said, "The Peace
be upon you!" and on the man returning his salam, asked him,
"Hath it so happened that Job the Ulcered and Al-Khizr the Green
Prophet and Iskandar Lord of the Two Horns passed this way?"
"They have," answered the other, "What art thou?" Cried he, "I am
Isráfíl,[FN#418] and 'tis my design forthright to blow the Last
Trump." Hereupon the Droll straightway arose and laid hands upon
him crying, "Yállah, Yállah,[FN#419] O my brother, blow not at
all until we shall have gone, I and thou, to the Sultan." So
saying he took him by the hand and fared forth with him and
ceased not faring until he had carried him into the presence,
when the King asked, "Wherefore hast thou arrested this man?"
Answered he, "O King of the Age, this is our Lord Israfil and
'twas his intent to blow the Last Trump, so I forbade him
therefrom until such time as I had brought him for thee to look
upon, lest haply he might so have done without thy knowledge, and
said I to myself, 'By Allah, better set him before the Sultan ere
he sound his Trumpet.' Furthermore I do pray for thy welfare, O
King of the Age, inasmuch as thou hast married me to this dame
because I had fear of her lest she company with strange men. But
I found her a saintly woman who admitted none of mankind save
that to-day when I went forth from thee at morning-tide I turned
me homewards and going into my house caught with her three
Prophets and one Archangel and this is he who intended to blow
the Last Trump." Hereupon quoth the Sultan to him, "O Man, art
thou Jinn-mad? How canst thou have found with thy spouse any of
the Prophets as thou sayest?" And quoth he, "By Allah, O King of
the Age, whatso hath befallen me that I have reported to thee nor
have I hidden from thee aught." The King asked, "Which was he of
the Prophets thou foundest beside thy wife?" and he answered,
"The Prophet Job (on whom be The Peace) and after him came forth
to me from a closet the Prophet Al-Khizr (on whom be the Peace!),
and after him Iskandar Lord of the Two Horns (on whom be the
Peace!) and lastly this the fourth is the Archangel Israfil." The
Sultan marvelled at his words, and exclaimed, "Laud to the Lord!
Verily this man whom thou entitlest Israfil is naught but the
Shaykh of my Pipers." "I wist naught, O King of the Age," said
the other, "but I have related to thee what hath occurred and
what I beheld and eyewitnessed." Hereupon the Sultan understood
that the wife had friends who forgathered with her, and who had
served her husband with such sleight, so he said to the musician,
"O man, unless thou tell me truly what happened I will cut off
thy head." Thereupon the Shaykh of the Pipers arose, and kissing
ground before the Sultan, said to him, "O King of the Age, give
me promise of immunity and I will relate to thee all that befel."
Quoth the King, "'Tis upon condition that thou tell no lies;" and
quoth the other, "O King of the Age, verily, I will shun
leasing."[FN#420] So the King gave him a pledge of safety, and
the Shaykh described everything that had been done and kept
nothing back, and when the King heard the story and the trick
which had been wrought by the woman's friends he marvelled
thereat and cried, "Allah kill all womankind,[FN#421] the
fornicatresses, the adulteresses, the traitresses!" After which
he despatched a posse of the Chamberlains to bring into his
presence the four persons.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

             The Seven Hundred and Sixtieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
despatched a posse of his Chamberlains to bring into his presence
the four persons who were lovers to the Droll's wife, and he
found the first to be a Pieman who had claimed the rank of our
lord Job (on whom be The Peace!), and the second to be a
Market-Gardener who sold savoury herbs and all manner fragrant
growths, and he had made himself out to be Al-Khizr (on whom be
The Peace!), and the third to be a Butcher who had passed himself
off as Iskandar, Lord of the Two Horns (on whom be The Peace!);
whilst the fourth, whom the Jester had brought, and who declared
that he was the Archangel Israfil, and was about to blow the Last
Trump, proved to be the Shaykh of the Pipers. Now when the four
were before the King he gave orders to castrate them all save the
Shaykh[FN#422] this being the award of him who lewdly frequenteth
the women of the royal household. Hereupon they gelded them, and
each one who was made a eunuch died without stay and delay; and
the Droll divorced his wife and sent her about her business.

I have also by me (said Shahrazad) another tale concerning the
wiles of womankind, and it is that of





            THE GATE-KEEPER OF CAIRO AND THE CUNNING
                       SHE-THIEF.[FN#423]



It is related that in Misr of Káhir there was a man who had
reached the age of fourscore and ten years, and he was a
chief-watchman of the ward in the service of the Wáli; a brave
man withal, and one not wont to be startled or afeard. Now one
night as he was going around about the city with the Chief of
Police, and he was returning to the guard-house[FN#424] before
break o' day that he might perform the Wuzú-ablution, and at the
call to dawn-prayers he might rise and repeat them, it so
fortuned that when he was about to stand up to his orisons,
according to the custom of him, suddenly a purse fell before him
upon the ground. As soon as he had done with his devotions he
arose and gazed around to see who had thrown him that bag of
money, but he could find nobody; so he took it up and opened it,
when an hundred dinars met his sight. Hereat he wondered; but on
the following day when he had washed and was praying, behold, a
second purse was cast at his feet; so he waited until he had
finished his orisons and then stood up and looked around to see
who had thrown it. Thereupon, as he failed to find any, he took
it up and opened it and again beheld an hundred dinars, a matter
which filled him with wonder. This continued till the third day
at morning-tide, when he had washed as was his wont and stood up
to his prayers, and lo and behold! another purse was dropped at
his feet. Herewith he cut short his devotions, and turning him
round saw beside him a girl whose years had reached fifteen; so
he seized her and said, "Who art thou, and what is the reason of
thy throwing at my feet every day a purse of an hundred gold
pieces, and this is the third time; argal the sum amounteth to
three hundred. What may be this case?" Said she, "O my lord, my
name is Fátimah, and my wish and will is a matter which thou
canst bring to an end for me by means of thy tongue!" Quoth he,
"What is't thou wantest of me?" and quoth she, "'Tis my intent
that on the morrow I sham drunkenness with wine and cast myself
before the mansion of the Kazi of the Army.[FN#425] Thou shalt
find me there strown upon the ground and dressed in all the best
of my clothes and finest ornaments. So when thou shalt come to
that quarter and espy me lying there in drink do thou bid the
Linkman move the links to and fro; then come forward, O
Mukaddam,[FN#426] and investigate the case and examine me, and
say the Wali, 'This girl is in liquor.' The Chief of Police shall
reply to thee, 'Take her and carry her to the watch-house and
keep her there till day-break.'"--And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is
thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night, and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Sixty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
girl to the Mukaddam, "And when thou shalt have found me drunken
with wine, the Wali shall bid thee, 'Take her to the watch-house
and there keep her till daybreak.' Hereto do thou object, 'No!
this were not suitable: I will cry upon someone of the quarter
and will awake the Kazi of the Army, for that she belongeth to
his ward.' Then assemble all thy folk and say to them, 'Verily
this girl is in liquor and not mistress of herself at such time;
needs must she be of a great family and daughter to grandees;
therefore 'twere not proper that we take her with us to the
watch-house; nor let any hold her in his charge save the Kazi of
the Army till morning and until such time as she shall have
recovered her senses and can fare to her own folk.'" Hereupon
quoth the Mukaddam to her, "Easy enough!" and quoth she, "An thou
act on this wise and my success be from thy hand, I will give
thee five hundred dinars besides the three hundred." "This matter
is not far to us,"[FN#427] said he; so she left him and went
away. Now when it was the season after night-prayers, the Chief
of Police came forth his quarters and, repairing to the
watch-house and taking the Mukaddam and his men, would have
threaded the highways of Cairo as was his wont, but the head
Gate-Keeper forewent him and took the direction of the quarter
wherein dwelt the Kazi of the Army; the Wali unknowing the while
what was in the man's thought. They ceased not faring until they
entered that part of the town wherein stood the Judge's house,
and when they approached it, lo and behold! the Mukaddam found a
something strown upon the ground. So said he to the Linkman who
carried the light, "O my son, do thou shake the torch," and when
he moved the link to and fro it illumined the whole quarter. Then
the Gate-Keeper came forward; and, looking at what was lying
there, found it to be a damsel in liquor dressed out with
sumptuous dress and adorned with all her ornaments: so he said to
the Wali, "O my Chief,[FN#428] this girl is drunken with wine and
hath fallen on the ground;" and said the Chief of Police, "Take
her up and carry her to the watch-house until morning." Hereupon
quoth the Mukaddam, "No! this were not fitting; nor is it
possible for the like of this girl. She is in the ward of the
Kazi al-'Askar, to whose household haply she belongeth or to some
great man in the quarter, and we fear lest befal her of evil
matters some matter and we shall come to be transgressors."
Hereupon, after applying some remedy to the damsel, they made her
sit up and presently they called aloud upon the people of the
quarter and awoke the Judge and when all the folk came out in a
body the Wali said to them, "Look ye upon this girl; peradventure
you may know whose daughter she is." They came forward and
examined her and found her garbed in sumptuous garments and
trickt out with the whole of her ornaments, whereupon the Chief
of Police and the Mukaddam of the Watchmen said to them, "Indeed
'tis not possible for us to remove yon maiden from this place; so
do you take her to your homes until morning-tide when she shall
recover and be able to care for herself and then fare to her own
folk." Hereat they made agreement that none should lodge her in
his house save the Kazi of the Army; so a party of the servants
raised her and led her to his mansion and set her in a chamber
hard by the open saloon; after which each and every of them fared
forth to sleep in his own place. On this wise it befel the Wali
and the Mukaddam and the Kazi and the folk of the ward; but as
regards the affair of the damsel whom they found stretched on the
ground as one drunken, she on entering the Kazi's abode pulled
herself together and recovered herself, for that she had wrought
all this wily work for the special purpose of being led into the
house there to carry out her wish and will. Presently the Judge
lay down and was drowned in slumber and knew not what Allah had
destined to him from the plans and projects of the girl who,
rising up at midnight, opened the door of her chamber leading
into the saloon where the Kazi al-'Askar kept all his hoards and
coin[FN#429] and dresses and belongings. Now she had appointed
her people to meet her at that house, so they came and carried
off the whole of what was in the saloon nor did they leave aught
therein, at all, at all, save only the matting. And when dawned
the morn, the Kazi of the Army arose and repaired to the saloon,
as was his wont, for the purpose of dressing, but he found
therein nothing except the matting. So he buffeted his face with
his palms and wailed aloud whereat a party of his servants came
to him and asked, "What is the matter with thee, O our lord the
Kazi?" then, on going into the saloon they remarked that it had
been gutted of everything. So they went from him and threw open
the door of the chamber wherein they had placed the damsel but
they found her nowhere.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Sixty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Kazi's
folk went and threw open the door of the chamber wherein the
damsel had slept; and, when they found nothing therein, they were
certified it was she who had carried away the goods. After such
fashion it happened to these; but as regards the action of the
Judge, he took horse and wended his way to the Sultan, and he
ceased not wending till he had entered the presence and salam'd
and blessed the Sovran who returned his salute. Then cried he, "O
King of the Age, there hath befallen me that which is so-and-so,
and I have a claim on the Chief of Police and the Mukaddam of the
watch, for that indeed they were the men who bade me admit the
girl into my home, and this guest of mine hath left me nor muchel
nor little." Hereupon the King bade summon the men with their
many, and when they came before him, he bade strike off the heads
of the two head men; but they said to him, "O King of the Age,
grant us three days' respite and, if aught discover itself to us
and we rid ourselves of the responsibility, we shall be saved;
but an we avail not thereto, the sword of the Sultan is long."
"Go forth," cried the King; "I have granted you a three days'
delay; if you bring the offender 'tis well, and if not, your
heads shall be in lieu thereof and eke so your families and your
properties." Hearing this they sued for dismissal, and the Wali
went forth to search in this way and wander in one direction and
the Mukaddam in another. They roamed about Cairo for two
full-told days, but naught happened to them until the third about
the call to noontide-prayers, when the Mukaddam entered a narrow
street on the side of the city to the west, and behold, a door
opened and a speaker spake saying, "O Mukaddam, who is behind the
door?" So he turned towards the sound and said, "'Tis well," and
the other cried, "Come thou and draw near to me." He did so and
approached the entrance when suddenly he saw the damsel who had
shammed drunkenness[FN#430] and whom they had introduced into the
Kazi al-'Askar's house. Now when he accosted her and recognised
her, he seized her and she asked him, "Wherefore dost thou arrest
me and what is thine intent to do with me?" "We will carry thee
to the Sultan," answered he, "and I and the Wali shall be set
free. During the last three days I have done nothing but wander
about in search of thee who hast wrought for us such work and
after hast fled from us." Quoth the girl, "O clever one, had I
designed the ruin of you I had never made myself manifest to
thee, nor couldst thou have met me or forgathered with me:
however, I will now work at freeing you from the hands of the
Sultan, that both thou and the Wali may escape and that you twain
may take from the Judge of the Army whatever of good you want and
will." Quoth he, "How shall we do?" and quoth she, "I have by me
a white slave-girl the very likeness of myself and at this time I
have dressed her in my dresses and decorations and have cut her
throat, and by my cleverness and force of heart I have caused her
to be carried to a ruin hard by the Kazi's house and have had her
buried therein and have set over her a slab. So do thou fare
hence and taking the Wali seek the Sultan and say him, 'We
have wandered about Misr, the whole thereof, but we have found
naught of our want, and now nothing remaineth to us save the
house of the Kazi al-'Askar; so we desire to search therein and,
if we find that damsel murthered, we will gather together the
folk of the quarter who saw us before that they may look upon
her; and be the Judge also standing by that we may ask the
people, 'What say ye concerning this maiden?' when haply they may
reply, 'This is the girl which was drunken with wine.' And as
soon as they shall bear witness that it is the same, you twain
shall stay behind to converse with the Judge as ye desire and
take from him whatever you wish and will; and he shall sue you
for grace and for aidance. Then will he go up to the King and
report to him saying, 'I have found my debtor and I have
recovered from him all my good;' whereupon you shall be set free
and eke I shall be freed. And finally do ye come hither to me and
we will divide all the plunder I have taken from the Kazi's
house." Now when the damsel had made the old Watchman understand
these words, he left her, and going to the Wali, informed him of
the whole affair and reported all that the girl had communicated
to him of treachery and plottings, whereupon the Chief of Police
took horse, and accompanied by the Mukaddam, rode to the
Palace,--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy story, O sister mine,
and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Wali
rode to the Palace, he and the chief Watchman, seeking the
Sultan, and they ceased not riding until they entered the
presence and saluted the Sovran, praying for the endurance of his
glory and the continuance of his life-tide. He returned their
salute and asked concerning the affair of his Judge and they
answered him, "O King of the Age, verily we have wandered about
Misr and the entirety thereof, without finding any and now there
remaineth for our search naught save the quarters occupied by the
Kazi al-'Askar. So we design to examine it that if aught be found
therein we may be set free, and if not that thou work upon us
thine own intent." Hereupon the Sultan sent to summon the Judge;
and, when he made act of presence, commanded him suffer the Wali
and the Mukaddam to search his quarters and he replied, "Hearing
and obeying." The whole forty then fared from the Palace and
reaching the Judge's mansion rummaged it until they came upon the
ruined stead described by the damsel; so thither they went and
seeing a slab newly laid, pulled it up and found beneath it a
white girl full-dressed and ornamented.[FN#431] The Watchman
fared forth and summoned all the ward-folk who considered
narrowly the corpse of the murthered damsel, and they all cried
with a single voice, "Indeed this be the girl which was drunken
with wine and which was carried into the Kazi's quarters." And
they bore official testimony to such effect what while the Judge,
who was standing in that stead looking and listening, said to
himself, "How can such case have occurred to us without cause?"
And when this business was finished, the Wali turned to the Kazi
and said "O Shaykh of Islam,[FN#432] we left this damsel in thy
charge and to thine honour until morning-tide, deeming that haply
she might be the daughter of a grandee house and yet hast thou
cut her throat and hidden her within thy premises." But the Judge
could return to him no reply nor attempt any address, for he
feared lest the King should hear thereof; so he inclined to the
Master of Police and got ready for him an hundred purses and
twenty for the Mukaddam that they might keep silence and not
report such matter of scandal to the Sultan. Accordingly they
accepted that amount of money from him and the Kazi went forth
from him and took horse and informed the Sultan that he had found
his debtor and had recovered his due; but he spoke not these
words save for fear of the Chief of Police and the Head of the
Watchmen lest they inform the King that they had found the
murthered damsel within his demesne. Then the Mukaddam repaired
to the house where the She-thief had bespoken him and standing at
the door knocked thereat when those inside asked, "Who mayest
thou be?" and he answered, "I am seeking Fatimah!" "Who is
Fatimah?" cried they, "we have here nor Fatimah nor
Halímah."[FN#433] Thereupon quoth the Mukaddam, "Indeed this
Fornicatress, this Adulteress hath wrought upon us and hath
escaped us; but, seeing that we also have won free by virtue of
the wile she pointed out to us, we will leave her to time and
doubtless during the length of days we twain shall forgather
again." On this wise endeth the story (quoth Shahrazad); but I
will now relate a very different adventure and 'tis the





                TALE OF MOHSIN AND MUSA.[FN#434]



It fortuned once upon a time that two men went forth from the
same place, one foregoing the other, and they forgathered by the
way. Now each had a bag full of flour and a flask[FN#435]
containing somewhat of water; and when they made acquaintance on
the road the first of them said to his companion, "O my brother,
what may be thy name?" and said the Second, "I am hight Mohsin,
the Beneficent,[FN#436] and thou what art thou called?" Quoth
the other, "Músà the Malignant."[FN#437] So the two fared on in
converse and whenever mealtime came round, each would bring out a
portion of meal and knead it and make of it a scone,[FN#438] and
light a fire and bake it thereon: after which they would satisfy
their hunger. But Mohsin knew not that had been doomed for him by
his companion Musa the Misdoer, so the twain would fare together
and feed together. On the following day quoth Musa to Mohsin, "O
my brother, I have with me a bag of flour and a flask of water
and thou hast the same, and whenever eating-time cometh round
each one bringeth out somewhat of his vivers. Now this is not
right; 'twere the better way that we first eat that is with thee
and when 'tis ended we use my provaunt." "'Tis well, O my
brother," quoth Mohsin. They agreed upon this condition and
whenever moved by appetite they ate of Mohsin's viaticum until
his bag of flour and his flask of water were clean emptied. But
when the meal-hour came, Musa arose and made for him a single
scone and no more, and baked it and ate it by himself, while
Mohsin sat by looking on. This befel time after time for the
first day and the second day until Mohsin waxed anhungered and
famine wrung his vitals, so quoth he to Musa, "O my brother, give
me somewhat of thy food that I may nourish myself therewith, for
indeed I am empty exceedingly." But Musa made reply, "By Allah, I
will not give it to thee; no, not a single mouthful." Rejoined
Mohsin, "O my brother, we two made covenant that we should become
brethren, and first eat of my provaunt and then of thine; now,
however, thou art not pleased to grant me or bite or sup. This is
not the act of an honest man." He answered, "Be brief! an thou be
hungry I will give thee half of my scone on condition that I
pluck out thine eye." "How so, O my brother?" rejoined Mohsin,
"Wilt thou blind me of one eye for the sake of half a scone?
better leave me to die with my sight as it is." Said Musa, "At
thy pleasure!"[FN#439] But on the third day Mohsin was like to
sink for extreme hunger, and he cried, "There is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great. Do
thou, O Musa, give the half-scone and pluck out one of mine
eyes." Musa did as he was bidden, and thrusting forth his finger
gouged[FN#440] out the right eye, whereby Mohsin remained
purblind, withal was he not filled by the half-scone. Now on the
fourth day Mohsin waxed yet more ravenous and famine was right
sore upon him, and he cried, "There is no Majesty! by Allah, O
Musa, my brother, I am a-famished, so pity me and the Lord shall
pity thee." Replied the other, "I will give thee nothing until I
shall have gouged out thine other eye." Quoth Mohsin, "Verily we
are Allah's and unto him we shall return! but, by the Almighty,
famishing is bitter; so do thou with me, O Musa, what the
Omniscient hath predestined as to the plucking out of my two
eyes." Accordingly the man gave him the half scone and plucked
out his other eye; and on such wise made him stone blind.
Hereupon Musa left his companion darkly tramping[FN#441] about
the roads. Now in the neighbourhood of that place was a well full
of water;[FN#442] so when Mohsin drew near knowing nothing
thereof, Musa came up and pushed him thereinto; and while falling
into the pit Mohsin said to himself, "O Lord, thou hast doomed me
to blinding and at last Thou hast condemned me to drowning."--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when Musa
had thrust Mohsin into the well with intent to drown him, the
blinded man cried, "O Lord thou hast doomed me to blinding, and
at last Thou hast condemned me to drowning." Then he struck out
with hands and feet till he felt the walls of the well wherein he
found two niches; so he set toes into one of them and there stood
awaiting the salvation of Allah which was nearhand; and his heart
was satisfied and he drank of the water. When the first night
fell behold, two of the Jinns came to the pit and sat down in
converse each with other, when quoth the first to the second,
"Walláhi! O certain person, there is now to be found nor sage nor
leach, and all of them are preposterous pretenders and balkers of
man's intent." Quoth the other, "What may be these words?" and
the former resumed, "By Allah, I have possessed the daughter of
the Sultan and she is the dearling of my heart whom I love with
dearest love; yet can none avail to unsorcel her of me." Quoth
his companion, "And what would expel thee?" And quoth he, "Naught
will oust me save a black cock or a sable chicken; and whenas one
shall bring such and cut his throat under her feet of a
Saturday,[FN#443] I shall not have power to approach the city
wherein she dwelleth." "By Allah, O my brother," said the other,
"thou hast spoken sooth: there is in this land nor wizard nor
mediciner who knoweth aught, and all of them are liars and
contradictors who lay claim to science without aught of
intelligence; indeed there is not one of them who knoweth of this
tree (which adjoineth our well) that whoso shall take the leaves
thereof and plaster them upon his eyes, even though he be born
blind he will be gifted with sight and wax sound after two or
three days by the kind permission of Allah Almighty. Yet are the
folk all heedless of such virtue in the tree." Now Mohsin
remained listening to these words and pondering them as he stood
supported by the side-wall of the well, and when it was the last
third of the night, the Jinns which were conversing at the mouth
took leave each of other. And as soon as the day brake and the
time waxed bright behold there came a Kafilah which passed by the
pit seeking drink for themselves and water for their cattle.
Presently they let down a bucket by a cord and when Mohsin felt
the rope he caught hold thereof, whereat the caravan people
cried, "We take refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned," and
said one to other, "Verily in this well is a Satan!" Mohsin heard
their words and answered them and said, "Yá'llah[FN#444] Ho you,
draw me out hence, for verily I am of mankind and not of
Jinn-kind and being blind I fell yesterday into this hole." Cried
they, "Catch tight hold of the cord," and when he did so they
drew him out and finding him weak from famine they gave him a
somewhat of food and he ate and drank. The caravan-folk on like
guise drank from the well and watered their beasts; after which
they would have led Mohsin away with them but he said, "O my
brethren (whose weal Allah increase[FN#445] and whose grace may
He reward!), I have a single want wherewith I fain ye would
favour me!" Asked they, "And what may that be?" and he answered,
"That ye direct me to the tree which adjoineth this well and lead
me close thereto and God shall gar your good to grow!" Hereupon
one hent him by the hand and after doing as he desired and
setting him beside the tree returned to his own folk and the
caravan loaded and left the place. Presently Mohsin swarmed up
the trunk; and, taking seat upon a branch of its branches, fell
to cropping the leaves and patching them upon either eye as he
had heard the Jinni prescribe; and hardly had two days gone by
when he felt healed of his hurt and opened his eyelids and saw
what was around him. Then, after taking somewhat of its foliage,
he came down from the tree and went on his wayfare until he
entered a city and found him a lodging. When this was done he
fell to threading the streets and ways crying aloud the while, "I
am the Leach, the Healer![FN#446] I am the Mediciner who can cure
the blind!" whereat all the one-eyed and the sightless would
summon him with outcries and he would apply to them somewhat of
his leaves; and after two or three days (he superintending the
while) they would open their eyes and see. On this wise went by a
term of time until at last the King of that city heard rumour of
a new leach; so he sent to him and summoned him and said to him,
"Art thou a clever Medicine-man even as they have informed me
concerning thee? I have a daughter ridden[FN#447] by a Jinni of
the Jann and we desire of thee that thou unsorcel her." "And if I
avail not to free her?" asked Mohsin, and the King answered,
"Then will I kill thee even as I have slain a many before thee
who have looked upon the face of the Princess." "And if I prove
able to deliver her and fend her from further offence?" "I will
give thee what thou askest of coin and hoards." "No, O King of
the Age; this condition I will not accept: if I free her I must
take her to wife, for an I fail therein thou wilt slay me; and
unless thou agree with me after I shall have saved her that thou
e'en wed her to me"--[FN#448] "'Tis well, O Shaykh; and for
releasing her I give thee a delay of three months for visiting
and healing her."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it
was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
covenanted with the Mediciner that the unsorcelling of the
Princess should be within three months; after which he set apart
an apartment for him with all the furniture and appurtenances
thereof and appointed to him rations of meat and drink. So Mohsin
abode with him the appointed time and he in the extreme of
comfort and enjoyment; but when the three months were ended the
Sultan sent for him and summoned him between his hands and said,
"O Shaykh, the term is gone by." Hereupon Shaykh Mohsin went
forth and bought him a black cock and when Sabbath[FN#449] came
round the Sultan presented him to his daughter whom he found in
sore and sorrowful state, unknowing aught concerning herself or how the mishap had occurred
to her. Now when he went in and looked upon her in such case, he
drew near to her and fell to reciting Koranic versets which avert
evil (the Sultan sitting beside them the while); and at the last
he slaughtered the cock between her feet. Hereat the Princess
recovered her senses and rose up and sat down[FN#450] forthright
and called for meat and drink which were brought to her; then she
ate and drank and besought for herself the guidance of God and
said, "Alhamdolillah"--laud to the Lord--and presently she kissed
the hand of her sire and of Shaykh Mohsin. Quoth the King, "O my
daughter, art thou indeed well?" and quoth she, "At this present
I feel naught of pain in my person nor do I sense anything of
what hath been with me; and all this is by blessing of yonder
Shaykh thou hast brought to me. But say me, O my father, what
hast thou made over to him of money as a reward for unsorcelling
me?" "O my daughter," replied he, "I have offered him all he
shall ask." But when the Princess recovered from her malady and
returned to self, she changed from mode to mode and she became as
one cast in the mould of beauty and loveliness and Shaykh Mohsin
looking upon her was dazed and amazed in his wits by cause of her
exceeding comeliness and seemlihead. Presently the Princess
addressed, "O Shaykh Mohsin, what thing dost thou ask of the
King's Majesty?" for indeed her heart was fulfilled of the love
to him which had mastered her. Now the Wazir had a son and it was
his aim that his heir should marry the King's daughter, but this
his wish was in vain; for when she was certified that her
salvation was at the hand of Shaykh Mohsin, she said to her sire,
"Do thou, O my father, largesse what is dearest to thee upon my
healer."[FN#451] Her design in these words was that the Sultan
might bestow her to wife upon her deliverer, and she added,
"Indeed our joyance hath been at his hands and he is deserving of
munificence full and abundant." But again the object of her
speech was that her parent might espouse her to the Shaykh for
the love to Mohsin which had mastered her heart. Quoth her
father, "O my daughter we will give him a sumptuous robe of
honour and ten purses;" but quoth she, "No, O my sire, this be
not gift sufficient for the like of such service." Now she was
the sole prop of her parents who had no child save herself, so
the King replied, "O my daughter, I will give him whatso thou
shalt say." Thereupon she asked him, "How many of the folk came
in to me and uncovered my shame[FN#452] and were slain therefor?"
and he answered, "Some fifty." Then cried she, "Had not Shaykh
Mohsin been able to exorcise me what hadst thou done with him?"
"Indeed I had slain him." "Then Alhamdolillah--Glory be to
God--for that my deliverance was at his hand: so do thou bestow
upon him thy best," and so she spake for that she was ashamed to
say her sire, "Wed me to him." The King not understanding the
hint she had hinted said to her, "All thou wishest I will
largesse to him;" and she, "I have spoken to thee but thou hast
not comprehended my words! All who have looked upon my shame and
proved unable to deliver me thou wast wont to slay and this man
hath been my salvation after seeing me unveiled: how then wilt
thou gift him with money and means or condition with him when
thou art unable to carry out thy compact?" Hereupon the King
became ware of what was in his daughter's mind and forthwith
sending to summon the Kazi and witnesses he bade bind the
marriage-bond between her and Shaykh Mohsin and in due time let
them lead him to her in procession and suffer him go in unto her.
So he cohabited with the Princess a while of time, after which
the life-term of the Sultan drew near, and he fell sick of a
sickness whereof he died. And when they had committed his remains
to earth the Lords of the land and the Grandees of command
forgathered and agreed in council that none should overrule them
save the Shaykh Mohsin. So they invested him with the signet-ring
of Sovranty and seated him upon the throne of Kingship and he
became Sovereign and Sultan. Moreover Allah Almighty enlightened
his heart in governance with justice and equity; and all the
subjects with the Notables of the realm and the Rulers of high
rank blessed him and prayed for him. Now one day of the days
Sultan Mohsin felt desirous of solacing himself in the gardens;
so he rode forth, he and his suite, when he suddenly sighted his
whilome comrade, the same who had plucked out one eye for half a
scone and had gouged out the other eye for the other half. He
bade them bring the man to the presence and when they set him
between his hands he asked him saying, "O Shaykh, what may be thy
name?" and he answered, "I am hight Shaykh Mohammed." So he
carried him with his suite to the gardens where they abode until
day ended, after which the Sultan rode back and entering his
palace, bade bring Shaykh Mohammed whom he despatched to the
House of Hospitality.[FN#453] On the third day he bade summon his
guest after supper-tide and taking him by the hand led him into a
cabinet and said, "O Shaykh Mohammed, do thou tell us a
tale."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

           The Seven Hundred and Seventy-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, o my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
King entered the closet leading Mohammed by the hand he said to
him, "Do thou, O Shaykh, tell us a tale." "By Allah, O our lord,"
quoth the other, "I know naught of stories." Whereupon the Sultan
rejoined, "If so it be, I will relate to thee, O Shaykh Mohammed,
an adventure of my own and 'tis as follows:--Once upon a time a
man went forth his town and he made companionship with another
upon the way, and each one of them bore with him a bag of meal
and a flask of water." On this wise the Sultan continued
recounting to him the real history of Mohsin and Musa the
Malignant, till at the end of the tale he said, "And Musa, after
gouging out both eyes of Mohsin for the sake of a single scone,
thrust him into a well designing to drown him therein, but Allah
Almighty preserved his life and brought him forth the pit and our
Lord favoured him and restored to him his two eyes and empowered
him over the kingdom and thus did he become Sovran and Sultan.
Now the prosperity of that Shaykh Mohsin was from the well
whereinto Musa had thrust him." Presently he added, "An this tale
be soothfast, then am I Mohsin and thou art Musa the Malignant. I
am able at this moment to slay thee but I will spare thee and
moreover counsel thee as follows:--Do thou go to the well and
haply Almighty Allah shall thereby grant to thee some good, for
that the root of my fair fortune was from that same pit." Now
when the first third of the night had sped, Musa arose and
repaired to the pit and descended therein when behold, the same
two Jinnis had forgathered beside the wellmouth at that same hour
and were seated together conversing each with other. Quoth the
first, "What is thy case this day?" and quoth the second, "By
Allah, O my brother, my condition is ill-conditioned ever since a
certain night when we met in this place and talked together. And
so it hath continued until the present time, for that I have been
unable to approach the city wherein dwelleth the Sultan's
daughter: and someone that was in the well must have overheard us
whilst we knew naught of him and he must have acted according to
our words and slaughtered the black cock; after which I have been
unable to near her abode." Quoth the other, "By Allah, O my
brother, thou hast spoken sooth; but our ill-constraint is from
this well." Hereupon the Jinni put forth his hand about the
pit[FN#454] and finding Musa the Misdoer snatched him up and
seizing him between his palms tore his body into four pieces and
cast away the quarters in some desert stead. And this (said
Shahrazad) is the award of whoso betrayeth his fellow man. And
they also relate the adventure of






             MOHAMMED THE SHALABI AND HIS MISTRESS
                     AND HIS WIFE.[FN#455]



It is told among the many things which happened in Cairo the
God-guarded that therein dwelt a man who was an Emir and who had
a son Mohammed Shalabi[FN#456] hight, a youth in his day unique
for beauty and loveliness, nor in his time was there his peer for
comeliness and seemlihead amongst women or amongst men. Now when
he had attained the age of ten and was approaching puberty, his
sire betrothed him and wedded him to a fair wife who loved him
with fondest love even after marriage. There was also in Misr a
Kazi al-'Askar, a Judge of the Army, who had a daughter singular
for form and favour and bloom and brilliancy, and stature and
symmetric grace and she was known as Sitt al-Husn--the Lady of
Loveliness. Now one chance day of the days she went forth
together with her mother and the handmaidens to the Baths and
when they reached the half way behold, they were confronted by
the young Shalabi whose glance fell upon the girl and her glance
lit upon the youth, wherefrom love and affection for him settled
in her heart and it was with him after the same fashion.
Presently she began to send him messages and letters and he to do
on like guise, yet could neither win possession of other nor
indeed could the twain meet privately in one place. This endured
for the space of three years therefore were their hearts melted
in fire of mutual love-longing, until on a certain day when
desire in the girl surged high for her lover and likewise did his
yearning for his beloved; withal neither availed to win union.
Hereupon befel them sore travail and trouble and the young lady
sent an old woman to her dearling praying him to meet her in such
a site; and when the go-between had informed him thereof, he
arose to obey her without stay or delay, unknowing what was
hidden from him in the Secret Purpose. He fared till he came to
the place in question when it was the hour of sunset and here the
Shalabi forgathered with the Kazi's daughter who had kept tryst
with him accompanied by her handmaidens; and anon the twain, he
and she, repaired to a retired spot. Now by the decree of the
Decreer which is written upon the foreheads and the brows of
mankind, one of the folk belonging to the Chief of Police was
loitering about the place when the couple entered that secret
stead; and as soon as they had settled themselves comfortably,
each began complaining to other of the pangs of separation. After
this the handmaidens brought to them food, meat and wine, and
they ate and drank and toyed and were cheered and made merry from
set of sun till the noon o' night and they conversed together as
boon companions until either was fulfilled of other and the pains
of parting had vanished from their hearts. Such was the case with
the lover and the beloved; but as regards the Wali's man who was
looking upon them and listening, he well knew the place wherein
the couple had retired and having noted it and certified himself
thereof, he went to the Chief of Police and made his report
saying, "In such a site of such a ward are a man and a maid
whereupon show the signs of affluence, and doubtless an thou
seize them thou shalt easily get from each and either some
fifteen purses." The Wali hearing these words forthwith led out
his party and marched with them to the spot appointed; and he
ceased not wending for half the night until they all came to the
trysting place. Then he pushed forward axe[FN#457] in hand and
smote the door and broke it down; and forthright he rushed into
the room without being expected by the youth or the young lady
whom he found sitting together in the very height of enjoyment.
But when they saw him suddenly appear they were consterned and
confounded and confused as to their affair, so he arrested them
and led them off and carried them to his house, where he placed
them in prison.[FN#458] Forthwith the bruit concerning the youth
went abroad and reached his family; to wit, how Mohammed Shalabi
had been seized by the Chief of Police, together with the girl
his beloved. Now after imprisoning them the Wali said, "This pair
shall remain with me for a day or two days and until I catch them
in their robbery;"[FN#459] but quoth one of the party, "Indeed
thou knowest not and thou hast not learnt that this damsel is the
daughter of the Kazi of the Army who throughout the past year
wrought for the slaying of thee by the Sultan." And hardly had
the Wali heard these words than his heart was filled with joy and
he exclaimed, "By Allah, needs must I have his wench disgraced
and proclaimed by bell[FN#460] about the thoroughfares of Cairo
and him dishonoured in the presence of the Sultan and degraded
from his degree." Now when it was morning-tide a rumour flew
about town that the Judge's daughter had been seized by the Wali
and the watch together with the young Shalabi in a certain place
and presently the report reached her father who cried, "There is
no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great! O Saving God, save me! Oh vile disgrace and foul
dishonour before Sultan and subjects who shall say the Kazi's
daughter hath been seduced and abused. However may the Veiler
enveil me!" On his part the Wali went up to the Palace and sought
the Sovran to acquaint him therewith; but, finding that he had
business, he sat him down to await its ending when he purposed
informing him concerning the daughter of his enemy the Chief
Kazi. On such wise it befel him; but as regards the wife of the
youth who was lover to the girl, as soon as the rumour reached
her that the Shalabi had been arrested by the Wali and the watch,
she arose to her feet without stay and delay and doffing whatso
of woman's dress was upon her--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy
tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

          The Seven Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that as soon as
the Shalabi's wife was informed touching her husband how the Wali
had seized him in company with the Kazi's daughter, she arose
forthright and doffing whatso of woman's dress was upon her and
donning man's disguise provided herself with somewhat of
provaunt[FN#461] and went forth intending for the gaol in the
Wali's house. She asked for the road as she went and a man of the
people directed her to the office until she reached the place
carrying her victuals; then she enquired for the gaoler. So they
made him meet her and quoth she, "Open to me the prison wherein
they have gaoled the Shalabi and the maiden," and she promised
him by signs a gold piece; hereupon he admitted her and she
passed into the room where lay her spouse and the girl and set
meat before him. But he knew her not and cried, "Indeed I will
nor eat nor drink, and do thou fare from me and leave me in this
my plight." Quoth she, "Nay, thou must eat and gladness shall
befal thee." Accordingly he came forward and ate a small matter
and she after sitting with him for an hour or so, arose and
doffed her man's dress. Then she stripped the Kazi's daughter of
all the clothes she was wearing and garbed her in the masculine
garb wherewith she had entered to the twain. The young lady did
as she was bidden and showed likest to the Shalabi's wife who
lastly served her with what remained of the meat and said to her,
"Up with thee and hie thee home." So the Kazi's daughter fared
forth under the disguise of a dainty youth such an one as he who
anon had entered the gaol; and as soon as she had wended her way
the wife took seat beside her husband. When he saw her habited in
the habit of the Kazi's daughter he recognised her and knew her
for his spouse; so he asked of her, "What hath brought thee
hither?" and she answered, "I have come with this contrivance for
the purpose of saving thee and of saving the honour of the girl
thou lovest." But as soon as the Kazi's daughter had departed in
her disguise the gaoler was deaf to entreaty and closed the
prison doors upon the pair and the Shalabi and his spouse sat
down together and his heart was satisfied and his secret was
safe-directed,[FN#462] and fell from him all the sorrow which had
settled upon his heart. Such was the case with these two; but as
regards the Chief of Police, when he went up to the Sultan and
saw that he was busied he took patience until the work was ended,
after which he came forward and kissed ground before him and
salam'd to him and blessed him. The King returned his salute and
then said, "What is to do?" and said he, "O King of the Age, I
found during the past night the Lady Sitt al-Husn, daughter to
the Kazi al-'Askar, companying with her lover a certain Mohammed
Shalabi son of the Emir Such-and-such; so I seized the couple and
confined them by me and now I myself come to report the case in
thy presence." When the Sultan heard these words, he was wroth
with exceeding wrath and his eyes flashed red and his outer
jugulars[FN#463] swelled and he foamed at the mouth and roaring
cried, "How can it be that the daughter of the Kazi al-Islam
companieth with a lover and alloweth herself to be debauched? By
Allah, needs must I slay her and slay her father and slay the
youth her lover." Thus befel it with the Sultan and the Wali; but
as regards the matter of the girl Sitt al-Husn, when she went
forth the prison in the dress of a Shalabi, a dainty youth, she
ceased not wending till she reached her paternal home. Here she
repaired to a place which was private and having doffed her man's
dress garbed her in maidenly garments, then retiring secretly to
her own room lay her down and her heart was heartened and trouble
and turmoil and travail of mind fell from her. Now at that time
her mother was lamenting like a funeral mourner and buffeting her
face and her breast and kept crying out, "Oh the shame of us! Oh
the dishonour of us! When they shall have informed the Sultan of
this, he shall surely slay her sire." And the Kazi waxed
distraught and full of thought and he also said in his mind, "How
shall I remain Kazi al-Islam when the folk of Cairo say, 'Verily
the daughter of our Lord High Chancellor hath been debauched?'"
With these words he kept visiting his wife's apartment and
sitting with her for awhile, then faring forth and coming in from
place to place[FN#464] and he wandered about like one bewildered
of wits. When behold, a handmaid of the handmaidens entered the
room wherein lay the Kazi's daughter and finding her strown upon
her bed looked upon her and recognised her. So she left her and
running in her haste hied her to the mistress and cried, "O my
lady, indeed Sitt al-Husn of whom you are talking is lying down
in such a room of the Harem." Thereupon the mother arose and went
and came upon her daughter, so she rejoiced in her and returning
to the Kazi in his apartment acquainted him therewith. He also
repaired to his daughter's bower and finding her therein quoth
he, "Where hast thou been?" Quoth she, "O my father, my head
began to ache after sunset-time, so I lay me down in this place."
Hereupon without stay or delay the Kazi took horse, he and his
Officials, and repaired to the Sultan--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Kazi
of the Army repaired to the Sultan, he and the whole of his
officials, and he ceased not wending until he entered the
presence, where he salam'd and said, "O King of the Age, is it
lawful and allowed of Allah Almighty that thy Wali charge us with
calumnious charge and false?" As the Chief of Police was standing
hard by, the Sultan asked him, "How can the Wali have mispoken
thee and thy daughter when she is still imprisoned by him and in
his house?" whereto the Chief of Police added, "'Tis true! his
daughter is surely with us in durance vile, she along with her
lover, for indeed I found the pair in such a place." Said the
Kazi, "O King of the Age, I will abide here beside thee and do
thou let the Wali go down and bring before thee that which is
with him in gaol, and the case shall be made manifest, because
hearing with the ear is not like eyeing with the eye." The Sultan
replied, "This rede is right," whereupon the Chief of Police
returned to his house and ordered the gaoler to open the gaol and
bring thereout the maiden Sitt al-Husn and her lover the youth
Mohammed Shalabi. The man did his bidding and leading forth of
prison the couple committed them to the Chief of Police who took
them and fared with them to the Sovran, rejoicing the while with
all joy. The citizens of Cairo heard of all this, so they flocked
in crowds to solace them with the spectacle; and when the Wali
reached the presence, the maiden and the young man being with
him, he set them before the Sultan. Presently the King asked the
youth saying, "Who mayest thou be, O young man, and who is thy
father?" and answered he, "I am son of such an Emir;" when the
King who believed that she was the daughter of the Chief Kazi
continued, "And this maiden that is with thee, who may she be and
whose daughter?" The youth replied, "This is my wife, O King of
the Age," and the King rejoined, "How can she be thy wife?" So
the youth retorted, "Indeed she is; and Such-an-one and So-and-so
and Such-another together with a host of thy favoured courtiers
wot right well that she is my spouse and that she is the daughter
of So-and-so." Hereupon they accosted her and bespoke her and she
bespake them, so they recognised her and were certified that she
was lawful wife to the Shalabi. Then asked the King, "How is it
that the Wali arrested thee and her?" and the youth answered, "O
King of the Age, I went out with this my wife intending to enjoy
ourselves and, finding a place that was cheerful and pleasant we
tarried there until midnight when the Wali broke in upon us and
seized us, scandalously declaring that I was companying with the
Kazi's daughter. Then he carried us off and gaoled us in his
house and now (Alhamdolillah!) here we are between thy hands. So
do thou whatso thou will and command according to Holy Law and
whoever shall deserve chastisement deal it to him, for thou art
the lord of our necks and the master of our good." Now when the
youth spake these words the King bade put to death the Chief of
Police and harry his house and enslave his women and he commanded
the Crier before the execution to cry about the thoroughfares of
Cairo in front of the Wali that he was being led to die and
declare, "This is the award of him who dishonoureth the noble and
chargeth the folk with lying charges and false!" After that they
slew the Chief of Police and thus carried out the King's
commandment.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming
night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the
next night and that was

          The Seven Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that after the
Wali had been put to death the Sultan bestowed his good upon
Mohammed Shalabi and having gifted him with munificent gifts sent
him home with his spouse in all honour. And when the youth
returned to his quarters he fell to kissing his wife's hands and
feet, for that he had been saved at her hands by the stratagem
she had wrought for him and she had preserved the honour of the
Kazi's daughter and had enabled her father to prevail over his
enemy the Wali.[FN#465] "And now I will relate to thee" (quoth
Shahrazad) "another tale touching the wiles of women;" and
thereupon she fell to recounting the story of





            THE FELLAH AND HIS WICKED WIFE.[FN#466]



There was of olden time in the land of Egypt a Fellah, or tiller
of the ground, who had a fair woman to wife and she had another
man to friend. The husband used to sow every year some fifty
faddán[FN#467] of seeding-wheat wherein there was not one
barley-grain, and grind it in the mill and pass this meal to his
spouse who would sift it and bolt it. Then would she take the
softest and best of the flour to make thereof either scones or
cakes[FN#468] or something more toothsome which she would give to
her friend and feed him therewith, whereas the refuse of the
flour[FN#469] she would make into loaves for her husband so this
bread would be ruddy-brown of hue.[FN#470] Now every day about
dawn-time the Fellah was wont fare to his field either to ear or
to delve and tarry there working till noon at which time the wife
would send him the bread of bran and refuse flour, whilst to
those beside him who wrought as he did, would be brought from
their homes white bread and clean. So they said, "Ho certain
person! thy wheat is from fine sowing-seed, nor is there in it a
barley-corn, how then be your bread like unto barley?" Quoth he,
"I know not." He remained in such case for a while of time whilst
his wife fed her playmate with all the good food and served to
her husband the vilest of diet, until one chance day of the days
the Fellah took his plough and went off at early dawn to work and
wrought till midday when his wife sent him his dinner of dirty
bread. Hereupon he and his neighhours, who were earing in the
same field, took seat and each one set before him white bread and
seeing the Fellah's scones brown as barley-meal they marvelled
thereat. They had with them a scald-head boy who was sitting with
them at the noon-meal, so they said to the peasant, "Take thee to
servant this youngster and he shall manifest thee the case
wherein thou art from the doings of thy dame." He obeyed their
bidding--And Shahrazad was suprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night, and that
was

          The Seven Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Fellah
obeyed their bidding and took with him the scald-head youngster
for house-service and on the second day the lad fell to grinding
at the mill and carried the meal to his mistress and sat beside
her and anon she rose and sifted and bolted the flour; still he
stayed by her stealthily watching her while she kneaded it and
balled it and breaded it. After this he carried off the early
meal for his master and faring to the field set it before him and
when the Fellah looked upon it he cried, "O Boy, by Allah this
bread is white and 'tis clean unlike the foregone." Quoth he, "O
my master, I have ground it with my own hands and I sat beside my
mistress the while she got it ready, kneading it and baking it,
wherefor she availed not to do aught else with it." Now when the
servant-lad had left the hut her lover came in asking, "Hast thou
made bread for me?" and she answered, "Indeed the boy with the
scald-head ceased not sitting beside me, nor was I able to bake
aught for thee." But when the lad had gone forth to the field
with his master's dinner he set it before him and returned in hot
haste and hurry to the house, where he found the friend of his
mistress conversing with her; so he hid himself behind the door
and fell to overhearing them and to noting whatso they said.
Amongst other things quoth she, "Take this quartern of good wheat
and clean grain and grind it in this mill and I will make thee a
platter of bread from handrubbed flour[FN#471] which I will send
to thee on the morrow." Asked he, "How shalt thou know the
field?" and she answered, "Carry with thee a basket of bran and
drop the contents as thou walkest along the highway; then leave
it hard by the land belonging to thee and I will follow the
traces and find thee a-field; and so do thou remain at rest." All
this and the scald-head boy was standing behind the door
hearkening to their words until he had understood them all. On
the next day the lad took a basket of bran which he scattered on
the way to his master's land and then sat with him whilst the
wife, after baking the platter full of scones, carried it upon
her head and fared forth intending for her lover in the field.
She marked the traces of the bran which the scald-head had
dropped and she ceased not following them until she came to her
husband's field. Hereupon the lad arose and taking the platter
from her said, "By Allah, O my master, verily my mistress loveth
thee and favoureth thee, for that she hath brought a bannock made
from handrubbed grain;" and so saying he set it before him.
Presently she looked out of the corner of her eye and saw her
lover ploughing at a little distance from them; so she said to
her husband, "Allah upon thee, O certain person, call aloud to
so-and-so our neighbour that he may come and eat the noon-meal
with thee." The man said, "'Tis well;" and presently added, "O
Boy, go forth and shout to such-an-one." Now the lad had brought
with him a parcel of green dates, so he arose and scattered them
at intervals upon the highway; and when he came to his mistress's
lover he cried aloud, "Do thou come dine with my master." But the
man refused so to do wherefore the scald-head returned and said,
"He will not;" and hereupon the wife bade her husband go himself
and fetch him. The Fellah trudged along the highway and finding
thereon the scattered dates bowed himself downwards to gather
them when the lover said to himself, "This one is picking up
stones wherewith to beat me;'"[FN#472] and as he saw the man
often stoop he fled and left the place, and the more the other
cried to him, "Come hither, O certain person," the faster sped he
in his running.--And Shahrazad was suprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is
benefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating,
that the more that man cried to the lover "Come," the faster did
he run away; so the Fellah returned and said, "He misliketh to
come and he hath fled." Hereupon he took seat together with the
scald-head and the neighbours to dine off the scones of
hand-rubbed grain, and the wife served to them whatso she had
made for her lover's eating and she would not touch aught thereof
but left it for her spouse and for his servant and for the
neighbours. On the following day the Fellah went forth betimes to
plough whilst the boy, delaying purposely at home, hid himself
behind the door when behold, the lover entered to her, and she
said, " 'Tis my desire that we forge a story whereby to slay my
husband and Master Scald-head the servant." Quoth he, "How wilt
thou slay them?" and quoth she, "I will buy for them poison and
make it up in cooked food, so they may devour it together and
perish together; after which we will abide, I and thou, making
merry, nor shall the dead disturb us any more." He rejoined, "Do
what thou willest," and all this whilst the boy stood listening
to them behind the door. But as soon as the lover went forth the
house, the lad arose and retired; then, donning Jews' garb he
shouldered a pair of saddle-bags and went about crying, "Ho!
Aloes good for use. Ho! Pepper[FN#473] good for use. Ho! Kohl
good for use. Ho! Tutty good for use!" Now when the woman saw him
she came forth the house and hailed him, "Ho thou the Jew!" and
said he to her, "Yes, O my lady." Then said she, "Hast thou with
thee aught of poison?" and said he, "How, O my lady? Have I not
with me poison of the hour?[FN#474] and whoever shall eat thereof
in a mess of sweet milk[FN#475] and rice and clarified butter
shall die within that time." "Do thou take this dinar," continued
she, "and give me somewhat of it;" but he rejoined, "I do not
trade for moneys, and I will sell it only for ornaments of
precious metal." Hereupon she pulled off one of her anklets and
handed it to him and he, who had provided himself with half a
loaf of Egyptian sugar,[FN#476] gave her the moiety thereof,
saying, "Use it with sweet milk and rice and clarified butter."
She took it in high glee, and arising milked the she-buffalo,
after which she boiled the loaf-sugar in the milk and then threw
it into a sufficiency of the rice and the clarified butter,
fancying the while that she was cooking a mortal meal,[FN#477]
and lastly she ladled out the mess into a large platter. Now when
it was sunset-time her husband returned from the field and was
met about half-way by the boy who told him all that he had
overheard and how he had sold her the sugar for one of her
anklets, saying, "This be poison." Then he charged him that, as
soon as both of them should have swallowed the mess of milk and
rice and clarified butter, they fall down and feign dead. So
master and servant agreed upon this plan. And when the Fellah
entered the hut she served to them the platter which contained
their supper, and they ate the whole thereof, she sitting by
intent upon their action and expecting their death. But they
served her with a sleight; for suddenly the Fellah changed
countenance and made as though he waxed ill and faint, and fell
upon the ground like one in the last agony, and shortly after the
boy rolled upon the floor on similar wise. Whenas she considered
them she exclaimed, "May Allah have no mercy upon you; the
wretches are dead!" Hereupon she went out and called aloud to her
lover, and as he was coming cried, "Hie thee hither and enjoy the
sight of these dead ones;" so he hastened up to them, and seeing
them stretched upon the door said, "They're dead." Presently
quoth she, "We two, I and thou, will now make merry;" and so
saying she withdrew with him into another hut, intending at once
to sleep together. Hereupon the husband arose and went in to them
and smote the lover with a quarter-staff upon the neck and broke
in his back bone,[FN#478] after which he turned to the wicked
woman his wife and struck her and split open her head, and left
the twain stone dead. And as soon as it was midnight he wrapped
them in a single sheet and carried them forth outside the
village, and after choosing a place,[FN#479] dug a hole and
thrust them therein. And ever after that same Fellah had rest
from his wife, and he bound himself by a strong oath not to
interwed with womankind-never no more.[FN#480] And now (quoth
Shahrazad) I will recount to you another tale touching the wiles
of women; and thereupon she fell to relating the adventure of





              THE WOMAN WHO HUMOURED HER LOVER AT
                 HER HUSBAND'S EXPENSE.[FN#481]



There was a man in Cairo and he had a wife who ever boasted of
her gentle blood and her obedience and her docility and her fear
of the Lord. Now she happened to have in the house a pair of
fatted ganders[FN#482] and she also had a lover whom she kept in
the background. Presently the man came to visit her and seeing
beside her the plump birds felt his appetite sharpened by them,
so he said to her, "O Such-an-one, needs must thou let cook these
two geese with the best of stuffing so that we may make merry
over them, for that my mind is bent upon eating goose-flesh."
Quoth she, "'Tis right easy; and by thy life, O So-and-so, I will
slaughter them and stuff them and thou shalt take them and carry
them home with thee and eat them, nor shall this pimp my husband
taste of them or even smell them." "How wilt thou do?" asked he,
and she answered, "I will serve him a sleight shall enter into
his brains and then give them to thee, for none is dear to me as
thyself, O thou light of mine eyes; whereas this pander my mate
shall not touch a bittock thereof." Upon this agreement the lover
went from her and when her husband returned at sunset-tide she
said to him, "Ho Man, how canst thou ever call thyself a man when
thou never invitest anybody to thy house and no day of the days
thou sayest me, 'I have a guest coming to us,' even as another
would do; and folk surely will talk of thee and declare thou art
a miser and unknowing the ways of generosity." "O Woman," said
he, "this were for me an easy business and to-morrow morning
(Inshallah!) I will buy for thee flesh and rice and thou shalt
let cook for us or dinner or supper, whereto I will invite one of
my intimates." Quoth she to him, "Nay, O Man; rather do thou buy
for me a pound of mince-meat; then slaughter the two geese and I
will stuff them and fry them, for that nothing is more savoury to
set before guests." Said he, "Upon my head and mine eye be it!"
and as soon as it was dawn he slaughtered the geese and went
forth and bought a Rotolo of meat which he minced and took all
was required of rice and hot spices and what not else. These he
carried home to his wife and said to her, "Do thou finish off thy
cooking before midday when I will bring my guests," and presently
he fared forth from her. Then she arose and cleaned out the geese
and stuffed them with minced meat and a portion of rice and
almonds and raisins;[FN#483] and fried them until they were well
cooked; after which she sent for her lover and as soon as he came
she and he made merry together, and she gave him the geese which
he took up and left her.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

            The Seven Hundred and Eighty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the woman
gave to her lover the geese which she had fried and he took the
twain and fared away with them. Now when it was noon suddenly her
husband came home accompanied by a friend and knocked at the
door; so she arose and opened to him and admitted them. Then she
asked, "And hast thou brought only one man?[FN#484] hie thee
forth and fetch at least two or better still three." "'Tis well,"
said he and went off to do her bidding. Then the woman accosted
the guest who came first and cried, "Oh the pity of it! By Allah
thou art lost and the Lá Haul of Allah[FN#485] is upon thee and
doubtless thou hast no children." Now when the man heard these
words he exclaimed, "Why, O Woman?" for indeed fear and affright
had sunk deep into his heart. She rejoined, "Verily my husband
hath not brought thee hither save with the intention of cutting
off thy precious stones the honours of thy yard[FN#486] and of
gelding thee to a Castrato; and heigho and alas for thee whether
thou die or whether thou live, and Oh the pity of it for thee!"
Now when the man heard this speech, he arose in haste and hurry
and rushed out by the door, when behold, the husband came
bringing with him two of his familiars. So the wife met him at
the entrance and said to him, "O Man, O miserablest of men, O
thou disappointed, O thou dissatisfied,[FN#487] thou hast brought
to me a fellow which was a thief, a ne'er-do-well like unto
thyself." "How so?" asked he, and she answered, "The man stole
the two geese and stole away." Thereupon the husband went out and
catching sight of the guest running off shouted to him, "Come
back! Come back! even although thou bring only one with thee and
take the other." Cried the man in reply, "An thou catch me do
thou take thee the two." But the house-master meant the two geese
whilst the man who was running away thought only of himself,
saying in his mind, "This one speaketh of my ballocks, meaning
that he will take only one of my stones[FN#488] and leave me the
other." So he ceased not running and the other followed after
him, but being unable to catch him he returned to his guests and
served them with somewhat of bread and so forth, whilst the woman
kept blaming him and knagging about the matter of the geese which
she said had been carried off, but which had been given by her to
her lover. The husband enjoined her to silence; however she would
not hold her peace[FN#489] and on this wise he was balked of the
meal to feed his wife's friend. And now (quoth Shahrazad) I will
relate to you somewhat of the wiles of an honest woman, and
thereupon she fell to recounting the adventure of





                 THE KAZI SCHOOLED BY HIS WIFE.



It is related of a man which was a Kazi that he had a wife of the
virtuous and the righteous and of the charitable and the pitiful
to the orphan and the pauper; and the same was beautiful
exceedingly. Her husband held and was certified anent womankind
that all and every were like unto his spouse; so that when any
male masculant came into his court[FN#490] complaining about his
rib he would deliver his decision that the man was a wrongdoer
and that the woman was wronged. On such wise he did because he
saw that his wife was the pink of perfection and he opined that
the whole of her sex resembled her, and he knew naught of the
wickedness and debauchery of the genus and their sorcery and
their contrariety and the cunning contrivance wherewith they work
upon men's wits. He abode all careless of such matters, in
consequence of the virtues of his spouse, until one chance day of
the days when suddenly a man came to him with a grievance about
his better half and showed how he had been evil entreated by her
and how her misconduct was manifest and public. But when the man
laid his case before the Kazi and enlarged upon his charge, the
Judge determined that he was in tort and that his wife was in the
right; so the complainant went forth the court as one deaf and
blind who could neither hear nor see. Moreover he was perplexed
as to his affair, unknowing what he should do in the matter of
his helpmate and wherefore the Kazi had determined contrary to
justice that he had ill-used his spouse. Now as to the Kazi's
wife none could forgather with her;[FN#491] so the plaintiff was
distraught and confounded when he was met unexpectedly on the way
by one who asked him, "What may be thy case, O certain person,
and how hath it befallen thee with the Kazi in the matter of thy
rib?" "He hath given sentence," quoth the man, "that I am the
wrong-doer and that she is the wronged, and I know not how I
shall act." Whereupon quoth the other, "Return and take thy
station hard by the entrance to the Judge's Harem and place thyself
under the protection of its inmates." The man did as his friend
advised him and knocked, when a handmaiden came out and he said
to her, "O Damsel, 'tis my desire that thou send me hither thy
lady, so I may bespeak her with a single word." She went in and
informed her mistress[FN#492] who rose and humoured him, and
standing veiled behind the door asked, "What is to do with thee,
O man?" "O my lady," said he, "I place myself under thy ward and
thine honour, so thou enable me to get justice of my wife and
overcome her and prevail over her, for in very deed she hath
wronged me and disgraced me. I came to complain of her
ill-conduct before His Honour our lord the Kazi, yet he hath
determined that I am the wrong-doer and have injured her while
she is the wronged. I know not what I shall do with him, and
sundry of the folk have informed me that thou art of the
beneficent; so I require that thou charge for me the Judge to
deliver according to Holy Law his decree between me and my mate."
Quoth she, "Go thou and take thy rest, nor do thou return to him
until he shall have sent after thee, and fear not aught from him
at all." "Allah increase thy weal, O my lady," quoth he, and he
left her and went about his business pondering his case and
saying to himself in mind, "Oh would Heaven I wot whether the
Kazi's wife will protect me and deliver me from this
fornicatress, this adulteress, who hath outraged me and carried
away my good and driven me forth from her." Now when it was
night-tide and the Judge was at leisure from his commandments, he
went into his Harem, and it was his wife's custom whenever he
returned home to meet him at the middle doorway. But as on that
occasion she failed so to do, he walked into the apartment
wherein she woned and found her at prayers; then he recalled to
mind the contention of the man who had come to him with a
grievance against his spouse--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy
tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she,
"And where is this compared with that I would relate on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Eighty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
Kazi went in to his wife whom he found praying, he recalled to
mind the matter of the man who had come to him with a contention
against his spouse and he said in his thought, "Verily nor
hurting nor harming ever cometh from womankind and indeed this
liar complaineth of his wife falsely;" for it was still in his
mind that all of the contrary sex are as virtuous as his lady.
But when she had done with her devotions, she rose up to him and
served him and set before him, she and her handmaidens, the tray
of food and she sat down at meat with him as was her wont. Now
amongst the dishes was a charger containing two chickens, so said
she to her husband, "By Allah, O my lord, do thou buy for us
to-morrow a couple of geese that I may let stuff them, for my
heart is set upon eating of their meat." Said he, "O my lady,
to-morrow (Inshallah! an it be the will of the Almighty) I will
send to the Bazar and let buy for thee two geese of the biggest
and the fattest and the Eunuchs shall slaughter them and thou
shalt use them as thou will." Accordingly, at dawn-tide the Judge
sent to buy two plump birds and bade the Eunuchs cut their
throats and the handmaidens gutted them and stuffed them and
cooked them with rice over and above the usual food. Thereupon
the Kazi's wife arose and proceeded to work her contrivance. She
had bought two sparrows which the hunter had trapped; and she
bade kill and dress them and place them upon the rice instead of
the geese and awaited the even-tide when her husband would return
to supper. Then they spread the tables whereupon was placed a
covered platter under which he supposed stood the geese, so he
took it off and behold, he found the two sparrows. Hereat he was
perplext and said to his wife, "Allaho Akbar-God is most
Great-where be the geese?" and said she to him, "Whatso thou
broughtest here it be[FN#493] before thee upon the dish." "These
be two sparrows," quoth he, and quoth she, "I wot not." So the
Judge arose displeased[FN#494] with his wife and going to her
home fetched her father and as she saw him coming, she stood up
and whipping off the two small birds placed the big ones in their
stead; and he uncovered the plate and found the geese. So he said
to his son-in-law, "Thou declarest that these be sparrows but
indeed they are geese;" for he also was deceived and went forth
in displeasure with the Judge, after which the Kazi followed in
his footstep and soothed him and invited him to meat but he would
not return with him. Hereupon the husband padlocked the door but,
before he had entered, the wife had substituted the birdies for
the big birds and when her mate sat down to meat and would fain
have eaten he uncovered the platter and beheld the two sparrows.
Seeing this he was like to go out of his mind and he cried aloud,
"Walláhi! indeed this be a portentous calamity," and he went
forth, trotting in his haste, until he met his father-in-law upon
the way. Then he cried upon him and said, "Come and look at the
two geese which were in the platter." "Wherefore?" asked the
other and answered he, "Because I found them changed to two
sparrows." Hereupon the father returned with him to the house and
walked up to the table whence the lady, during her husband's
absence, had removed the birdies and replaced the birds in lieu
of them. So the father took off the cover and finding before him
the pair of geese said to his son-in-law, "Be these two geese?
consider them well whether they be sparrows or not." "Two geese,"
said the other and said the sire, "Then why dost thou come to me
a second and a several time and bring me hither and complain of
my daughter?" Hereupon he left him and went forth an-angered and
the Judge came up with him at the doorway and soothed him and
conjured him to return. Meanwhile the lady arose and whipping off
the geese set the two birdies in lieu thereof and covered them
up; and as soon as the Kazi returned and sat down to meat he
removed the cover from the platter and found the two sparrows.
Hereat he shrieked aloud and arose and went forth the door and
cried, "Ho Moslems, come ye to my help!"[FN#495] Now when the
people of the quarter heard the outcry, they gathered together
about the house, when the lady seized the occasion to carry off
the two birdies and to set in lieu of them the two geese. Asked
they, "What is to do with thee, O our lord the Kazi, and what
hath befallen thee?" and he answered, "I bought two geese for our
supper and now I find them turned into two sparrows;" and so
saying he led the Notables of the quarter into his house and
showed them the dish. They uncovered it and found therein two
geese, so they exclaimed, "These be two geese which thou callest
sparrows;" and so saying they left him and went their ways. He
followed them making excuses and was absent for a while, when his
wife took the birds and set the birdies in place of them and when
the Kazi returned and proceeded to sit down at meat he uncovered
the platter and behold, thereon stood the two sparrows. So he
smote hand upon hand crying, "These be two sparrows without doubt
or hesitation;" whereat his wife arose and called out with a loud
voice, "O ye Moslems, help ye a Moslemah."[FN#496] So the folk
ran to her aidance and asked her saying, "What is to do, O our
lady?" and she answered, "Verily my calamity is grievous and
there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great. My husband the Kazi hath gone Jinn-mad and
do you of our grace and benevolence lay hold of him and carry him
to the Máristán."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Judge's wife cried upon the folk of the quarter, "Do ye of your
grace and benevolence to us seize the Kazi and carry him to the
Maristan that they may confine him therein until he return to his
reason and regain his right mind." Hereupon they laid hands upon
him and bore him to the Bedlam and imprisoned him therein amongst
the maniacs, and it was certified to all the folk that their Kazi
had been suddenly struck by insanity and that they had confined
him in the madhouse. Now all this was of the cunning contrivance
of his wife, that she might make manifest to him concerning
womankind how none of mankind can prevail over them. But after
the lapse of three days which the Judge passed in the Bedlam, his
wife went in to him bringing a somewhat of food and set meat
before him and asked him saying, "What was it thou foundest on
the platter?" Answered he, "Two sparrows," and continued she,
"Recover thy senses and thy right mind and see here am I who have
made thee out mad for thy confusion between two geese and two
sparrows. Now whenever any man cometh to thee complaining of his
wife (and thou unknowing aught of the couple and of their
circumstances), thou determinest that the male is the evil-doer
and withal thou wottest not that women are often the worst of
wrongers and that men are sorely wronged by them. And in the
matter now in hand, the whole of the folk declare that the Kazi
is a wrong-doer to his wife, and no one knoweth that thou art
really the wronged and I the wronger. Indeed sooth did he say who
said, 'Alas for those who be gaoled wrongfully!' So do thou never
decide aught thou knowest not. However, thou hast approved to
thyself that I am true and loyal to thee and thou makest all the
folk like one to other, but this is a sore injury to some. In the
present case do thou send for the man who is wronged and let
bring him to thy presence and bid his wife be also present and do
him justice of her." After this she removed her husband from the
Máristán and went her ways, and the Kazi did with the man as his
lady had charged him do and whenever a plaintiff came before him
with a grievance against his wife he would decide that the man
was the wronged and the woman was the wronger, and he ceased not
doing after this fashion for a while of time. And now (quoth
Shahrazad) I will relate to you another history of womankind and
this is the tale of






             THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER AND THE PRINCE
                      OF AL-IRAK.[FN#497]



Whilome there was, men say, a Khwajah, a merchant man who was
lord of money and means and estates and endowments and appanages,
withal he had no seed, or son or daughter, and therefore he sued
Almighty Allah that he might be blessed with even a girl-child to
inherit his good and keep it together. Suddenly he heard a Voice
bespeak him in dreamery saying, "Ho Such-an-one, Predestination
overcometh Prudence and resignation to the trials sent by Allah
is foremost and fairest." Hearing this he arose without stay or
delay and casually[FN#498] slept with his wife who, by decree of
the Decreer and by allowance of Allah Almighty, conceived that
very night. When she became pregnant and the signs of gestation
showed in her, the merchant rejoiced and distributed and doled
and did alms-deed; and, as soon as her tale of days was
fulfilled, there befel her what befalleth womankind of
labour-pangs, and parturition came with its madding pains and the
dolours of delivery, after which she brought forth a girl-babe
moulded in mould of beauty and loveliness and showing promise of
brilliance and stature and symmetric grace. Now on the night
after the birth and when it was the middle thereof, the Merchant
was sitting at converse beside his wife and suddenly he again
heard the Voice announcing to him that his daughter was fated to
become a mother in illicit guise by the son of a King who reigned
in the region Al-Irak. He turned him towards the sound but could
see no man at such time, and presently he reflected that between
his city and the capital of the King's son in Al-Irak was a
distance of six months and a moiety. Now the night wherein the
Merchant's wife became a mother was the same when the King's wife
of Al-Irak bare a boy-heir, and the Merchant, albe he wist naught
thereof, was seized with trembling and terror at the words of the
Voice and said in himself, "How shall my daughter forgather with
the King's son in question when between us and him is a travel of
six months and a half? What can be such case? But haply this
Voice is of a Satan!" As soon as it was morning-tide the father
summoned astrologers and men who compute horoscopes and scribes
who cast lots,[FN#499] and when they presented themselves he
informed them that a daughter had been added to his household and
his aim was to see what the prognostic[FN#500] might be. Hereupon
all and every wrought at his art and mystery, and it was shown
that the Merchant's daughter would become a mother by the son of
a King and this would be in the way of unright: but so far from
informing him of this or suffering him to learn concerning of her
circumstance they said, "The future none wotteth it save Allah
Almighty and our craft at times proveth soothfast and at times
falsifieth us." However the Khwajah's heart was on no wise
satisfied and he ceased not to suffer patiently nor did rest
repose him nor were meat and sleep to him sweet for the space of
two years, during which his daughter was suckled and in due time
was weaned. The father never ceased pondering how he should act
towards his child and at sundry times he would say, "Let us slay
her and rest from her," and at other times he would exclaim, "Let
us remove her to a stead where none shall approach her or of
man-kind or of Jinn-kind." Withal did none point out a path to
pursue nor did any guide him to any course of the courses he
might adopt. Now one day of the days he fared forth his house
unknowing whither he should wend and he stinted not wending until
he found himself without the town,--And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

          The Seven Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Khwajah stinted not wending until he found himself without the
town, where he was expectedly met by a wight in Darwaysh-garb to
whom he salam'd and by whom he was saluted. Presently the holy
man turned to the merchant and seeing him changed of colour and
conduct asked him, "What is with thee to do, and what ill hast
thou to rue that thy case and complexion are so changed to view?"
"O Fakir," answered the other, "verily a matter of marvel hath
betided me and I know not how to act therein." Quoth the ghostly
man, "And what may that be?" whereupon the Merchant related to
him all his affair first and last, and how he had heard a Voice
saying to him, "In very deed thy daughter shall conceive after
unlawful fashion by the King's son of Al-Irak." The Darwaysh was
surprised on hearing these words from him and said in his
thought, "There is no averting of adversity foredoomed and Allah
will do whatso he will;" presently adding, "O Khwajah, in yonder
direction riseth a mountain Jabal al-Saháb[FN#501] hight, which
is impenetrable or to mankind or to Jinn-kind; but given thou
avail to reach it thou wilt find therein and about the middle
combe thereof a vast cavern two miles in breadth by an hundred
long. Here, an thou have in thee force and thou attain thereto
and lodge thy daughter, haply shall Allah Almighty conserve and
preserve the maid from what evils thou heardest the Voice declare
to thee for her destiny: however, thou shalt on no wise reach
those highlands until thou shalt have expended thereon a matter
of much money. Moreover at the head and front of that
cave[FN#502] is an inner crevice which, extending to the
mountain-top, admitteth daylight into its depths and displayeth a
small pavilion by whose side be five-fold pleasaunce-gardens with
flowers and fruits and rills and trees besprent and birds hymning
Allah, the One, the Omnipotent. Now an thou avail to convey thy
daughter to that place, she shall dwell there secure,
safe-guarded." As soon as the Khwajah heard those words from the
Fakir, there faded from his heart whatso there was of thought and
forethought and cark and care and he took the hand of the
Religious whom he led to his home and honoured him and robed him,
for that he had indicated such place of protection. When the
maiden reached the age of five and had waxed killing in beauty,
her father brought her a learned Divine with whom she began
reading and who taught her the Koran and writing and the art of
caligraphy;[FN#503] and when she had seen the first decade, she
fell to studying astrology and astronomy and the aspect of the
Heavens. Such was her case; but as regards that of her sire the
Merchant, from the hour he forgathered with the Darwaysh he
ceased not to hold him in his heart and presently he proposed to
take him and travel with him to the mountain aforementioned. So
they set out together and when they reached it they found it a
site right strong as though fortified, and entering the antre
they fell to considering it right and left till they reached its
head where they came upon the little pavilion. After all this
quoth the Fakir, "Indeed such stead shall safe-guard thy daughter
from the shifts of the Nights and the Days;" withal was he
unknowing that the Decreed be determined and must perforce be
done, albeit Doom be depending from the skirts of the
clouds.[FN#504] And the Religious ceased not showing the site
until he caused his companion enter the parterres, which he found
as they had been described to him with flowers and fruits and
streams and trees besprent and birds hymning the One, the
Omnipotent. As soon as they had finished solacing themselves with
the sights, they fared back to their town where, during their
absence-term, the damsel's mother had made ready for them
viaticum and presents, and by the time the twain returned they
found ready to hand everything of travel-gear and all the wants
of wayfare. So they equipped themselves and set forth, taking
with them the maiden together with five white slave-girls and ten
negresses and as many sturdy black chattels who loaded the packs
upon the mules' and the camels' backs. Then they fell to cutting
across the wilds and wolds, each and everyone intent upon ministering
to the maiden, and they ceased not faring until they drew near
the mountain, and they took station by the cavern-door. Here they
unloaded the bales and burthens and transported them to the
pavilion within the cave, after which the Merchant's daughter
went in and as she walked forwards fell to gazing, rightwards and
leftwards, until such time as she had reached the pavilion.
Presently she found it poikilate of corners and columns, and she
was assured that the distance of that mountain from her father's
town measured the march of a full-told month. And whenas she had
taken seat and had settled in that pavilion, her father
considered the unapproachable nature of the place and waxed
contented of heart and his mind became right of rede, because he
was certified of his daughter that she was safe from the tricks
of Time and every trickster.[FN#505] So he tarried beside her for
a decade of days, after which he farewelled her and wended him
home, leaving the damsel in the mountain-cave. Thus fared it with
these; but as regards the case of the Prince of Al-Irak, his
father who owned no issue, or man-child or girl-child, lay
sleeping one night of the nights when, lo and behold! he heard
the words, "All things befal by Fate and Fortune." Hereat he
arose from slumber being sore startled and cried, "Laud to the
Lord whom I have heard say[FN#506] that all things depend upon
Doom and Destiny." On the next night he slept with his spouse who
by leave of Almighty Allah forthright conceived. When her
pregnancy became manifest the Sovran rejoiced and he scattered
and largessed and doled alms-deeds to the widows and paupers and
the mean and miserable; and he sued the Creator on high saying,
"O Lord vouchsafe to me a man-boy which may succeed me in the
reign, and deign Thou make him a child of life."[FN#507] But when
the Queen's time had sped she was seized by labour-pangs and
delivery-pains, after which she bare a babe--Glory be to God who
created him and confirmed what He had wrought in the creation of
that child who was like unto a slice of the moon! They committed
him to the wet-nurses who fell to suckling him and tending him
and fondling him till the milk-term was completed, and when his
age had reached the sixth year, his father brought for him a
Divine perfect in knowledge of all the sciences, spiritual and
temporal, and the craft of penmanship and what not. Accordingly,
the boy began to read and study under his learner until he had
excelled him in every line of lore, and he became a writer deft,
doughty in all the arts and sciences: withal his sire knew not
that was doomed to him of dule and dolours.--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she "And where is this compared with that I would relate to
you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

             The Seven Hundred and Ninetieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
became a penman doughty in all knowledge, withal he wist not that
was written for him of dule and dolours. This lasted until his
tenth year, and the old King rejoiced in him and caused him to
back steeds until he had mastered all of horsemanship, and he
waxed accomplished in hunting and birding and he had attained the
bourne of omnis res scibilis. Every morning he would superintend
the governance of his sire in the office of Commandments and
direct him to affairs wherein lay rede that was right until, one
day of the days, his parent said to him "O my son, do thou rule
for a day and I will govern on the next." "O my father," said he,
"I am young of years nor is it meet that I meddle with public
matters or sit in thy Divan." Now when he reached the age of
fourteen and had entered upon man's estate and had waxed perfect
in the words of ordinance and had become complete and sanspareil
in beauty and loveliness, the King resolved upon marrying him,
but he consented not, nor did his heart incline to womankind for
the being in the All-Knowledge of Almighty Allah all that was
foredoomed to him from Time beginningless. Presently on a chance
day his nature longed for the hunt and chase, and he asked leave
of his sire who consented not, fearing for his safety; but he
said in himself, "An I go not I will slay myself;"[FN#508] and so
he privily apprized of his intent a party of his dependents who,
all and every, prepared to ride forth with him into the Desert.
Now the King had in his stables a stallion, known as Abú
Hamámah,[FN#509] which was kept alone in a smaller stall, and he
was chained by four chains to a like number of posts[FN#510] and
was served by two grooms who never could draw nigh to him or let
him loose; nor could any, save only his lord, approach him with
bridle or saddle or aught of horse-gear. But when the Prince had
designed to fare forth a-hunting and a-birding, he went in to his
father's steed Abu Hamamah by hest of Allah Almighty's might over
him and for what was hidden to him in the Future, and found him
chained and tethered; and, as the horse pleased him and affected
his fancy, he approached him and gentled him with caressing
hands. The stallion also at that time under decree of Destiny was
influenced by the Lord and directed towards the Prince for the
sake of that which was hidden from him in the World of Secrets.
So he continued to gentle the animal and to caress him and to
make much of him, and he was ever the more pleased with him, and
said to himself, "Verily my riding forth to the hunt and chase
shall not be save upon this stallion;" and he ceased not pacing
and pressing around him, soothing him the while, until the steed
showed subjection and neither started nor lashed-out nor indeed
moved a limb, but stood like a man obedient and dependent. And
when the youth's glance wandered around he saw beside the
stallion a closet, and as he neared it and opened it he found
therein all manner harness and equipments, such as a saddle
complete with its girths and shovel-stirrups and bit and
bridle,[FN#511] whilst on every side was gear of warfare enfolded
in the furniture, such as scymitar and dagger;[FN#512] and a pair
of pistols. So he wondered at this circumstance of the horse how
that none could draw near him or place upon him that harness, and
he likewise marvelled at the subjection of the steed to himself.
Hereupon he carried the furniture from the closet and going forth
with it walked up to the Father of a Pigeon, which was somewhat
fearful of him and affrighted, and he uplifted the saddle and
threw it upon his back, and girthed him tight and bridled him
with the bit, when the horse became adorned as a bride who is
displayed upon her throne. Now the King's son at times enquired
of himself saying, "An I loose this horse from his chains he will
start away from me;" and at other times quoth he, "At this hour
the stallion will not think of bolting from me," and on this wise
he abode between belief and unbelief in his affair. And he
stinted not asking of himself until his suite was a-weary of
waiting and of looking at him, so they sent to him praying that
he would hurry, and he said in his thought, "I place my trust in
Allah, for the Forewritten hath no flight therefrom." Anon he
loosed the stallion's chains after harnessing and girthing him
straitly; then, throwing his right leg over his back[FN#513]
mounted thereupon with a spring and settled himself in selle and
came forth. And all who looked at that steed were unable to stand
upon the road until the Prince had ridden forwards and had
overtaken the rest of his suite without the town, whence they
sought the hunting-grounds. But when they were amiddlemost the
waste lands and beyond sight of the city, the courser glanced
right and left and tossed his crest and neighed and snorted and
ran away; then shaking his head and buck-jumping under the son of
the Sultan bolted[FN#514] with him until he became like a bird
whereof is seen no trace nor will trick avail to track.[FN#515]
When his folk beheld him they were impotent to govern their
horses until their lord had vanisht from their view, nor had
anyone the muscle or the manhood to keep up pursuit. So waxing
perplext and wildered in their wits they sought counsel one of
other saying, "Let each and every of us ride by a separate road
until such a day when haply we shall meet him." Hereupon the
whole party dispersed and all took their own directions seeking
the Prince; and they stinted not search, anon putting out to
speed and anon retracing their steps[FN#516] and then returning
by the same road. This endured for five days when not a soul came
upon their liege lord, so they waxed distraught nor could they
find right guidance to aught they should do. However when the
trysting-day came, all gathered together and said, "Fare we to
the Sultan and acquaint we him with this and let him devise a
device for the matter of his son; because this youth is his
father's prop and stay, nor owneth he any other than this one."
Hereupon they set out citywards and ceased not riding until they
drew near the capital where they found a marquee pitched without
the walls, and having considered it they knew it to be the King's
own. So they drew near it and there found the Chamberlains and
Nabobs and officers of high commandment standing round about it,
and when they asked saying, "What is the cause for setting up
yonder tent in such place?" they were answered, "Verily, whenas
his son fared from him designing to hunt and bird, on the next
day his heart was straitened for the Youth and he wist not what
had befallen him. On the first night when the Prince fared forth
from him and disappeared, all went well, but on the second his
breast was straitened and in his vitals he sensed a change and
'twas at the hour when the stallion began buck-jumping with his
child and running away. Anon he lost all patience and unable to
endure session within his Palace so he commanded pitch his
pavilion without the walls and here we have been sitting for a
space of six days, awaiting the escort to return." As the party
drew near the marquee the bruit of them went abroad until it came
to the King's ears.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Ninety-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
feeling his breast a-straitened bade pitch his pavilion without
the walls and tarried therein for a space of six days and on the
seventh appeared his son's suite which had been left behind when
the horse ran away with the Prince, nor did any know what
direction the beast had taken. As soon as the bruit went abroad
and came to the ears of the bereaved father, he cried out with a
single outcry and fell to the ground aswoon, and the fainting fit
lasted for two days. But when he came to himself and asked after
his son, the suite reported all that had befallen the youth from
the stallion and at that moment the King recalled to mind the
Voice which had spoken saying, "All things befal by Fate and
Fortune;" and had declared, "Resignation to the trials sent by
Allah is first and best till such time as Destiny shall win to
her end." "If" (he mused) "my lot be forgathering with him
anywheres then needs must it be; and, if otherwise, we will be
patient under the All-might of Allah Most Highest." Such was the
case with these; but as concerns the young Prince,[FN#517] when
the stallion started off with him and bolted and became like a
bird flying between the firmament and terra firma, he suffered
nor fatigue nor emotion, nay, he sat contented upon the beast's
back, for that had he hent in hand a cup full of coffee naught
thereof would have been spilt. And the stallion ceased not
galloping at speed with him through the livelong day until night
came on when, seeing a lake, he halted by the side of it. The
Prince thereupon dismounted and withdrawing the bridle offered
him water which he drank; then he foddered him with forage which
he ate, for our Lord had subjected to him that steed till it
became between his hands like one familiar from the first and, as
the youth had somewhat of provaunt in his budget he drew forth
of it and took food. But the Prince knew not whither the horse
was minded to bear him and the Fiat of Fate drove him to the
matter foredoomed to him from Eternity. So after that time as
often as he mounted and let loose the bridle thongs,[FN#518] the
horse paced unguided on those wilds and wastes and hills and
dales and stony leas, and whenever they drew near a city or a
town the son of the Sultan dismounted from his steed; and,
leaving him where he was, went into the streets in order to bring
provaunt and forage, after which he could return to his beast and
feed him in the same place. And he ceased not wayfaring until he
drew near a city where he designed to dismount as was his wont
and lay in somewhat of vivers and fodder, so he alighted and
leaving his horse outside the houses he went in to satisfy his
need. Now by the decree of the Decreer the King of that Capital
had left it on an excursion to hunt and bird, and he chanced
return at that moment and as he drew near the walls behold, he
found the steed standing alone and harnessed with trappings fit
for the Kings. The Sultan was astounded when he looked upon this
and being on horseback himself he designed to draw near and catch
the animal, and when he came close he put forth his hand. But the
steed was scared with the scaring of a camel, and the King bade
his followers form ring around him and seize him; so they gat
about him and designed to catch him and lead him away, when
suddenly the steed screamed a scream which resounded throughout
the city and when the horses heard the cry of that stallion they
turned with their riders in headlong flight and dispersed one
from other. And amongst them was the Sultan, who, when his
courser ran away with him, strove hard to pull him up and control
him, but he lost all power and whilst the rest of the horses were
trembling under their riders he swooned and fell to the ground.
Presently the followers came to his aid and found him in fainting
condition, so they propped him up and sprinkled somewhat of water
upon him, when he recovered and asked them, "Where is the horse?"
Answered they, "He is still standing in the same place;" and
quoth he, "Walláhi, needs must this affair have a cause, and do
ye lie awaiting him and see whither he will wend, for this beast
God wots must be of the Jinns." On this wise it befel them; but
as regards the horse's owner, the son of the Sultan, when he
entered the city seeking to buy somewhat of victual and fodder,
he heard the scream of the steed and recognised it, but of the
city-folk all who had hearkened to that outcry felt their hearts
fluttering with extreme affright; so each one rose and padlocked
his shop and hardly believed that he could reach his house in
safety and this continued until the capital (even within its
bazars) became empty like a waste, a ruin. Hereupon quoth the
youth, "By Allah, needs must some matter of the matters have
befallen the horse," and so saying he went forth the city and
walked on till he neared the site where he had left the steed
when, behold, he came suddenly upon a party of people in the
middlemost whereof appeared one sitting and trembling in all his
limbs, and he saw the attendants standing about him and each one
holding in hand a horse. So he drew near him and asked him what
was to do and they acquainted him with the affair of the stallion
and his scream and the cause of the man being seated; and this
was none other than the Sultan who had been seized with affright
and had fainted at the outcry of the Father of a Pigeon. Hereupon
he fell to conversing with them and they knew not that he was the
owner of the steed until such time as he asked them, "And doth
not any of you avail to draw near him?" Answered they, "O Youth,
indeed there is none who can approach him." Quoth he, "This is a
matter which is easy to us and therein is no hindrance;" and so
saying he left them and turned towards the courser who no sooner
saw him than he shook his head at him; and he approached the
beast and fell to stroking his coat and kissing him upon the
brow. After this he strewed somewhat of fodder before him and
offered him water and the stallion ate and drank until he was
satisfied. All this and the suite of the Sultan was looking on at
the Prince and presently informed their lord, saying, "O King of
the Age, a Youth hath come to us and asked us for information
touching this steed and when we told him what had happened he
approached him and gentled him and bussed him on the brow; and
after that he strewed before him somewhat of forage which he ate
and gave him water to drink and still he standeth hard by him."
When the Sultan heard these words he marvelled and cried, "By
Allah, indeed this is a wondrous matter, but do ye fare to him
and bring him to me, him and his horse; and, if he make aught
delay with you, seize and pinion him and drag him before me
debased and degraded and in other than plight pleasurable!"--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Seven Hundred nd Ninety-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
sent to his suite bidding them bring the owner of that stallion
adding, "If he make aught delay with you drag him before me
debased and degraded, and in other than pleasurable plight."
Accordingly, they went to him and accosting him said, "O youth,
thou owest hearing and obeying to His Highness the King; and, if
thou come not to him with good gree we will bear thee maugre
thyself." But the Prince, hearing these their words, set his left
foot in stirrup and throwing his right leg over the saddle
mounted till he was firm of seat upon his stallion's back and had
power over his monture. Then he asked saying, "Who amongst you
shall come near me or carry me to yonder Sultan of yours?" Whenas
they saw this from him they kept away from his arm-reach, but
inasmuch as they could not return to their King and report
saying, "We availed not to bring him," they exclaimed, "Allah
upon thee, O Youth, that thou draw nigh with us to the Sovran and
bespeak him from the back of thy steed: so shall we be clear and
bear nor rebuke nor reproach." Hearing this much the Prince
understood what was in their thoughts and that their design was
to win free of the King and the avoidance of blame; accordingly
he said to them; "Fare ye before me and I will follow
you."[FN#519] But when they returned with the youth behind them
to within a short distance of the King where either of the twain
could hear the other's words, the Prince asked, "O King of the
Age, what dost thou require of me and what is it thou wantest?"
"Do thou dismount," answered the Sultan, "and draw near me when I
will tell thee and question thee of a certain matter;" but quoth
the youth, "I will not alight from the back of my steed and let
whoso hath a claim upon me demand satisfaction,[FN#520] for here
be the Maydán--the field of fight." So saying he wheeled his
steed and would have made for the open country, when the Sultan
cried aloud to his followers, "Seize him and bring him hither."
So they took horse all of them, a matter of one hundred and fifty
riders, and followed him at full speed (he still riding) and
overtook him and formed a ring around him, and he seeing this
shortened the bridle-reins and gored flanks with stirrup-irons
when the beast sprang from under him like the wafting of the
wind. Then he cried out to them, "Another day, O ye dogs;" and no
sooner had they heard his outcry than they turned from him flying
and to safety hieing. When the Sultan beheld his followers, some
hundred and fifty riders, returning to the presence in headlong
flight and taking station before him, he enquired the cause of
their running, and they replied that none could approach that
horseman, adding, "Verily he cried a warcry which caused each and
every of us to turn and flee, for that we deemed him one of the
Jánn." "Woe to you!" exclaimed the King: "an hundred and fifty
riders and not avail to prevail over a single horseman!"
presently adding, "By Allah, his say was sooth who said,

'And how many an one in the tribe they count * When to one a
     thousand shall ne'er amount?'

Verily this youth could not be confronted by a thousand, nor
indeed could a whole tribe oppose him, and by Allah, I have been
deficient in knightly devoir for not doing him honour; however,
it was not to be save on such wise." But the youth ceased not
faring through days and nights for the whole of four months,
unknowing the while when he should reach a place wherein to take
repose. And as soon as this long wayfare ended, suddenly a
mountain towering high to the heights of heaven arose before him;
so he set his face thither, and after a further term of three
days[FN#521] (and he ever wayfaring) he reached it and beheld
upon its flanks fair leasows with grasses and rills and trees and
fruits besprent, and birds hymning Allah the One, the Omnipotent.
Anon he alighted therein for that his heart had somewhat to say
anent that mountain, and he also marvelled thereat by cause that
during his wayfare he had never seen aught like it at all, nor
anything resembling that herbage and those streams. And after
dismounting he unbridled his steed and suffered him browse and
pasture upon the greenery and drink of the water, while he on
like wise fell to eating of the fruits which hung from the trees
and taking his ease and repose. But the more he shifted from
place to place the fairer he found it than the first, so he was
delighted with the site, and as he looked upon it he improvised
these couplets,

"O who fearest the world do thou feel right safe; * Trust all to
     Him did mankind create:
Fate aye, O my lord, shall come to pass * While safe thou art
     from th' undoomed by Fate."

The Sultan's son ceased not straying from stead to stead for a
term of ten days, during which he wandered round about the
Mountain and solaced himself by gazing upon the trees and
waters,[FN#522] and he was gladdened by the warbling of the birds
till at length the Doom of Destiny and the Fiat of Fate cast him
over against the door of the cave which contained the Khwajah's
daughter with her handmaids and her negro slaves. He looked at
the entrance and marvelled and was perplexed at--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad "How
sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable
and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that
I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
King's son took place before the Cavern-door he marvelled at its
strength intended to protect those within, but he knew not if it
had any inmate or an it were void of inhabitants, seeing that the
mountain was far distant and divided from towns and cities nor
could any avail to reach it. So he said in his mind, "Sit thee
down here over against the entrance amid these grasses and trees
and fruits, for an thou quit this site thou shalt find none like
it in charms and eke it shall console thee for parting from thy
people. Moreover, haply shall someone of this place pass by me
and from him I may ask tidings concerning this region and
peradventure Almighty Allah shall guide me back to my own country
and I shall forgather with my father and my folk and my friends.
Indeed possibly there may be someone within this place who when
he issueth forth shall become my familiar." So he ceased not
sitting at the door of the cave for a term of twenty days eating
of the fruits of the trees and drinking of the water of the rain
pools as likewise did his steed; but when it was the twenty and
first day, behold, the door of the antre was thrown open and
there came forth it two black slave-girls and a negro chattel,
followed by five white handmaidens, all seeking diversion and
disport among those meadows which lay on the mountain-flank and
beyond. But as they paced along their eyes fell on the son of the
Sultan who was still sitting there with his steed before him and
they found him cast in the mould of beauty and loveliness, for he
had now rested in that place from his wayfare and the perfection
of charms was manifest upon him. When the slave-girls looked at
him they were overwhelmed by the marvels of his comeliness and
shapeliness and they returned in haste and hurry to their
mistress and said to her, "O our lady, verily at the cavern-door
is a Youth, never saw we a fairer than he or a seemlier of
semblance, and in very deed he resembleth thee in grace and
elegance of face and form, and before him standeth a steed even
as a bride." Now when the Merchant's daughter heard these words
from her handmaidens, she arose and in haste and hurry made for
the cave-door and her heart was filled with gladness and she
ceased not walking till she reached it. Then she looked upon the
Prince and came forward and embraced him[FN#523] and gave him the
salam and she continued to gaze upon and consider his beauty and
comeliness, until love to him settled in her heart and likewise
the Prince's love to her increased. Hereupon she hent him by the
hand and led him into the cavern where he fell to looking
rightwards and leftwards about the sides thereof and wondering at
what he saw therein of pleasaunces and trees and streams and
birds, until at last they reached the pavilion. But before
entering thither the Prince had led his horse and loosed him in
the leasows which lay in the cavern; and, when at last the twain
ended at the palace and went within, the attendants brought meat
for him; so he ate his sufficiency and they washed his hands and
then the couple fell to conversing together whilst all were
delighted with the son of the King. And they continued in such
case until night drew nigh when each of the handmaidens went to
her chamber and lay her down and on like wise did the black
slaves until there remained none save the Prince and the
Merchant's daughter. Then began she to excite him and incite him
and disport with him until his heart inclined towards her by
reason of her toyings and her allurements, so he drew near to her
and clasped her to his breast and at last he threw her upon her
back and did away her maidenhead. Now by hest of Allah Almighty's
All-might she conceived of him that very night and they ceased
not to be in sport and laughter until the Creator brought on the
dawn which showed its sheen and shone and the sun arose over
lowland and lawn. Then did the twain, she and he, sit communing
together, when the girl began to improvise these couplets,

"Loving maid in obedience doth come * Trailing skirt with her
     pride all astir;
And she's meet for no man save for him * And he's meet for no
     maid save for her."[FN#524]

After this the Khwajah's daughter tarried with the King's son for
a term of six months; but, from the night when he had abated her
pucelage, he never approached her at all, and she also on like
wise felt no lust of the flesh for him in any way nor did she
solicit him to love-liesse.[FN#525] But when it was the seventh
month, the youth remembered his family and native land and he
sought leave of her to travel but she said to him, "Why dost thou
not tarry beside us?" Said he, "If in our life there be due
length needs must we forgather." Then asked she, "O my lord, who
mayest thou be?" so he declared to her his pedigree and degree
and the name of his native country and she also informed him of
her rank and lineage and her patrial stead. Presently he
farewelled her and mounting his horse fared forth from her in
early morning,--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the King suffer me to survive." Now when it was the next night
and that was

           The Seven Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King's
son farewelled the Merchant's daughter and fared forth from her
in early morning, seeking his folk and his natal land, and he
drove amiddlemost the wilds and the wolds. On this wise it was
with him; but as regards the merchant, the father of the damsel,
he and the Darwaysh after consigning her to the cavern returned
to his town and there spent six months in business as was his
wont; but on the seventh he called to mind his child and was
desolated by her absence because he had none other. So quoth he
to her mother, "I have an intent to visit the girl and look upon
her and see what may be her condition, for my heart is in sore
doubt on her account and I cannot but fancy that some unforeseen
casualty hath brought calamity or that some wayfarer may have
visited her; and my thoughts are occupied with her, so 'tis my
will to fare forth and see her." "Such act were advisable," quoth
the wife; and so saying she fell to making him somewhat of
provaunt amounting to some ten camel-loads.[FN#526] Presently he
led forth with him a few of his negro slaves and set out to see
his daughter on the Jabal al-Saháb. So he dove into the depths of
the desert and cut across the dales and the hills and conjoined
the journeyings of night with day for a space of three months,
and about sunset-tide on the first of the fourth behold, a rider
appeared to him coming from the breast of the waste, nor had he
with him anyone. When the stranger drew near, the Khwajah saluted
him and his salam was returned by the horseman who happened to be
the Prince returning from the Merchant's daughter. Quoth the
Khwajah, "O Youth, dismount with us in this place and let us
twain, I and thou, night together and solace ourselves with
converse;[FN#527] then, when it shall be morning, each of us
shall depart seeking his own stead." Quoth the Prince, "No harm
in that," and so saying he sprang from the back of his steed and
unbridled him and suffered him to browse upon the grasses and
greenery together with the Khwajah's cattle. Hereat the two sat
down together in talk while the slaves slaughtered a lamb and
flayed it, then, having lighted a fire, they set the meat
thereupon in a chauldron and when it was cooked they fished it
out with a flesh-hook and scored it[FN#528] and placed it in a
mighty platter which they served up to their lord and the King's
son. Both ate of it after the measure of their sufficiency and
the remnants were borne off by the slaves for their suppers. And
when the time for night-prayers came, the two having made the
Wuzú ablution performed the orisons obligatory upon them, and
anon sat down for evening converse, overtalking the tidings of
the world and its affairs, until quoth the Merchant to the
Prince, "O Youth, whence comest thou and whither art thou
wending?" Quoth the other, "Walláhi, O Khwajah, I have a wondrous
tale, nay a marvel of marvels which, were it graved with
needle-gravers upon the eye-corners were a warning to whoso would
be warned. And this it is, I am the King's son of Al-Irak and my
sire's prop and stay in the House of the World, and he reared me
with the fairest of rearing; but when I had grown to man's estate
and had learnt the mysteries of venerie I longed one chance day
of the days to ride forth hunting and birding. So I went for a
horse (as was my wont) to the stables, where I found yon stallion
which is with me chained to four posts; whereupon of my
ignorance, unknowing that none could approach him save myself nor
any avail to mount him, I went up to him and girthed him, and he
neither started nor moved at my gentling of him, for this was
existing in the purpose of Almighty Allah. Then I mounted him and
sought my suite without informing my sire and rode forth the city
with all my many, when suddenly the horse snorted with his
nostrils and neighed through his throttle and buckjumped in air
and bolted for the wilderness swift as bird in firmament-plain,
nor wist I whither he was intending.[FN#529] He ceased not
running away with me the whole day till eventide when we reached
a lake in a grassy mead." (Now when the Khwajah heard the words
of the Prince his heart was heartened and presently the other
pursued), "So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse
also feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and
next morning I set out and stinted not riding for a march of four
months. But on the first of the fifth I neared a towering
mountain whose length and whose breadth had no bounds, and on its
flanks I found leasows manifold with trees and fruits and streams
besprent and birds hymning the One, the Omnipotent. So I was
gladdened by the sight and dismounted and unbridled my steed whom
I allowed to browse the while I ate of the fruits, and presently
I fell to roaming about from site to site. And when some time had
passed I came to the mouth of a cavern whence after a short delay
on my part fared forth slave-girls under the escort of a negro
chattel. When they beheld me they rejoiced in me, then going in
they disappeared for an hour and anon returned bringing a young
lady as she was the moon of the fourteenth night, who salam'd to
me, and invited me to become her guest and led me into the cave--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent
and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an
the Sovran suffer me to survive." Now when it was the next night
and that was

               The Eight Hundred and First Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
continued to the Merchant saying, "The slave-girls invited me and
led me into the cave until I reached a Pavilion that was there. I
tarried beside them for a matter of some six months when I felt
desolate for my folk and my native land, so I craved leave to
depart from them and farewelled them and went forth, they sending
me away with highmost honour. But when bidding them goodbye, I
covenanted with them saying, 'an there be in life any length
needs must we forgather'; and with these words I left them, and
now 'tis some time since I journeyed thence when thou mettest me
in this place." Now the Merchant hearing his tale knew from the
beginning what had occurred there, and was certified of the
saying of the Voice, and judging from the tenor of the
information said in his mind, "There is no doubt or hesitation
but that this be the youth to whom was appointed my daughter,
that of him she should conceive in the way of unright and the
Written[FN#530] is now fulfilled." So quoth the Merchant, "O
Youth, where is thy town?" and he informed him thereof. Now the
Prince knew not that he had come upon the damsel's father by the
road, whereas the Khwajah wotted right well that this man had had
to do with his daughter. As soon as it was morning the twain
farewelled each other and either of them went his own way; but
the Khwajah fell into cark and care such as cannot be conceived,
and he fasted from food nor was meat to him sweet nor was sleep.
However, he ceased not travelling till he arrived at the Jabal
al-Sahab, when he approached the door of the cave and rapped
thereat. The handmaidens opened to him and as soon as they saw
his face they recognised him, and returning to their lady
informed her thereof: so she arose to seek him, and presently met
him and salam'd to him and kissed his hands and walked by his
side until she reached the Pavilion, where the twain, he and she,
went up, and she seated him and stood before him in his suit and
service. Hereat her father looked at her and considered her and
found her colour changed and her belly grown big, and asked her,
"What is to do with thee and what is't hath altered thy
complexion, for to-day I see thee heavy of body, and no doubt
some man has mixed[FN#531] with thee?" Now when she heard the
words of her father she understood and was certified that he had
compassed full knowledge concerning what had befallen her, so she
returned him nor answer nor address, and she was overwhelmed with
shame and confusion, and waxed changed and was well nigh falling
upon the floor. Presently she sat down in abashment before her
sire by reason of the bigness of her belly, but he bowed in
obedience before the power of Almighty Allah; and they two ceased
not conversing until fall of night, when each and every of the
handmaids had sought her own chamber that she might sleep
therein. As soon as the Khwajah remained alone with his daughter
and without other being present he said to her, "O my child,
verily this matter was foredoomed to thee from the Lord of the
Heavens, and there is no Averter of whatso is fated; but do thou
relate to me what befel between thee and the youth who owneth the
steed, and who is the King's son of Al-Irak." Hereupon the girl
was consterned and she could return no reply, and presently when
she recovered she said to her sire, "How shall I relate to one
who is already informed of all, first and last, and thou
declarest that the foredoomed must come to pass, nor can I say
thereanent a single word?" And presently she resumed, "O my
father, verily the Youth promised me that an his life have length
he would certainly forgather with me, and I desire of thee that
when thou shalt return to thy country thou take me and carry me
in thy company to him, and reunite me with him and let me meet
his sire and ask him to keep his word, for I require none else
nor shall anyone ever unveil me in privacy. And in fine do thou
marry me to him. Now whatso hath betided me thou hast heard it
from the Voice, and thou hast wearied thy soul in transporting me
to this place, fearing for me the shifts of the days, and thou
hast contraried the power of Allah, nor hath this profited thee
aught, because the Destinies which be writ upon mankind from
infinity and eternity must needs be carried out. All this was
determined by Allah, for that prosperity and adversity and
benefaction and interdiction all be from the Almighty. Do thou
whatso I have said and that which is inscribed upon my forehead
shall be the quickening of me (Inshallah--an so please God!),
since patience and longsuffering are better than restless
thought." When her father heard from her such words, he agreed
with her in all she had spoken to him, and as soon as it was
morning he fell to preparing for wayfare, he and his daughter and
his handmaidens and his negro-slaves; and on the third day they
loaded their loads and set forth on return to their country and
city. Then they conjoined the travel of night and day and pushed
forward on their journey without stay or delay for a term of five
months, until they reached their home and settled them down
therein. Such was their case; but as regards the King's son of
Al-'Irak, after he had met the girl's father on the road and had
parted from him, without recognising him withal, he strave for
return to his own land and behold, he wandered from the way and
was confronted by a sea dashing with clashing billows. So he was
perplext as to his affair and his judgment left him and his right
wits, and he knew not what he should do or whither he should
wend, or what direction he should take or what Allah had decreed
for him--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

               The Eight Hundred and Third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
Prince came upon that sea he was perplext and wist not what to
do, so he leapt from the back of the Father of the Pigeon and set
his steed standing beside him that he might lean against his
quarter[FN#532] when, of the excess of his night watching, he
fell asleep and was drowned in slumber. Then, by doom of Destiny
the beast shook his head and snorted and set off at full speed
making for the wild and the wold and was presently amiddlemost
the waste. Now when some two-told hours of time had passed, the
Prince shook off his drowsihead and opened his eyes, but of his
steed could see nor sign nor aught of visible trace. So he smote
hand upon hand and cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no
Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great," after which he
took seat by the side of the sea and sued comfort of Almighty
Allah. On the next day a ship suddenly sailed in and made fast to
the shore, after which a posse of Jews landed from her and as
soon as they saw him they fell upon him and seized him and
pinioned him; then, carrying him perforce aboard, loaded his legs
with irons. So quoth he to himself, "Whenas Fate is so minded our
eyes are blinded; however, patience is fairest and of Allah must
we ask aidance." Hereupon the Jews again disembarked and filled
their kegs with the water of an adjoining rain-pool, after which
they trooped aboard and making sail voyaged over the billows of
the ocean before them. This lasted for a month, after which time
they cast anchor beside a harbour-town, and presently swarmed out
to sell and to buy, and there they delayed for a term of two
months until they had finished their business and they had
purchased them what sufficed of provaunt. All this while the
Prince lay bound in the black hole deep down in the ship's hold,
nor did anyone go near him save a Jew, a man of a certain
age.[FN#533] And whenever he entered that dismal place he heard
the youth reciting from the Koran and he would stand to hearken
until his heart was softened to the speaker and he would favour
him in the matter of meat and drink. When they cast anchor beside
the second place, the King's son asked the man, "What may be this
port-city and what is her name and the name of her ruler? Would
Heaven I wot an her lord be a King or a Governor under a royal
hand?" "Wherefore askest thou?" quoth the Jew, and quoth the
other, "For nothing: my only want is the city's name[FN#534] and
I would learn whether it belong to Moslems or Jews or Nazarenes."
"This be peopled by Moslem folk," replied the Jew, "natheless can
none carry tidings of thee to her inhabitants. However, O Moslem,
I feel a fondness for thee and 'tis my intent when we reach the
city of Andalús[FN#535] to give tidings of thee, but it must be
on condition that thou accept of me to thy company whenas Allah
Almighty shall have delivered thee." Said the Prince, "And what
hindereth thee from Al-Islam at this hour?" and said the other,
"I am forbidden by fear of the ship's Captain."[FN#536] Replied
the Prince, "Become a Moslem in secret and wash and pray in
privacy beside me here." So he became of the True Believers at
the hand of the King's son, who presently asked him, "Say me, be
there in this vessel any Moslems save myself?" "There are some
twenty here," answered he, "and 'tis the design of the Captain to
offer them up on arrival at his own country and he shall devote
them as victims in the Greater Synagogue." Rejoined the other,
"Thou art now a Moslem even as I am a Moslem, and it besitteth
thou apprise me of all and whatsoever befalleth in the ship, but
first art thou able to gar me forgather with the other True
Believers?" And the man answered in the affirmative. Now after
the ship had sailed with them for ten days, the whilome Jew
contrived to bring him and the Moslem prisoners together and they
were found to number twenty, each and every in irons. But when it
was the Sabbath about undurn hour, all the Jews including the
Captain fell to wine-bibbing and therein exceeded until the whole
of them waxed drunken; whereat the Prince and his convert arose,
and going to the armoury[FN#537] and opening it found therein all
manner war-gear, even habergeons. So the Youth returned to the
captives and unbinding their bonds, led them to the cabin of
weapons and said to them, "Do each and every of you who shall
find aught befitting take it and let such as avail to wear coat
of mail seize one of them and don it." On this wise he heartened
their hearts and cried to them, "Unless ye do the deeds of men
you will be slaughtered with the slaughtering of sheep, for at
this moment 'tis their design on reaching their own land to offer
you up as corbans in their Greater Synagogue. So be you on your
guard and, if ye fall in this affair,[FN#538] 'tis fairer for you
than to die with split weasands." So each of them snatched up
whatso of war-gear suited him and one equipped other and they
heartened their hearts and all waxed eager for the fray. Then
sallied they forth, one and twenty in number, at a single word,
with the Takbír and the Tahlíl,[FN#539] whilst the Jews who
formed the ship's crew were some one hundred and five. But these
were all drunken with wine and giddy of head, nor did they
recover until the weapons began to play upon their necks and
their backs, whereat they shook off their crapulence and learned
that the Moslems had gotten about them with their war-gear. So
they cried out to one another and became ware and the
liquor-fumes left their brains. Then they rushed for the armoury
but found that most of the weapons were with the Moslems, whom
the Prince was urging to derring-do of cut and thrust. Thus were
they departed into two portions and hardly had passed an hour, an
hour which would grey the hair of a little child, in fight and
fray and onset and retreat--And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy
tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

               The Eight Hundred and Fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
urged on his party and fortified their hearts to fight, nor had
an hour passed in battle and slaughter (and he smiting rightwards
and leftwards) when behold, he was encountered by the Captain who
sprang at him with his scymitar and designed to cut him down. But
he forestalled him with sway of sabre and smote him a swashing
stroke and an all-sufficient which share through his joints and
tare through his limbs; and when the ship's crew saw their Chief
fall dead they gave in their submission[FN#540] and throwing down
their weapons would have saved their lives. The Prince, however,
went forward to them and fell to pinioning them, one after other,
until he had bound them all, after which he counted them and found
them to number about forty head while the slain were three score
and five. These he threw into the sea,[FN#541] but the captives
he placed in prison after chaining them with iron chains and they
padlocked the doors upon them; and the Moslems worked the ship's
sails while the man who had newly islamised directed them upon
their course until they moored at a holm hard by the mainland.
Here they landed and found the place abounding in blooms and
trees and streams, and the Prince left the ship to reconnoitre
the continent when suddenly a dust cloud drew nigh and a
sand-pillar soared awhile in air high; then it uncovered some
fifty horsemen, and they were pursuing in the hottest of
haste,[FN#542] a stallion which was saddled and bridled and which
they intended to secure. Now for ten days they had galloped after
him but none availed to catch him. When the King's son looked
upon that case he uttered a loud cry and the courser, hearing the
sound of his master's voice, made for him and fell to rubbing his
cheeks upon his back and shoulders[FN#543] until they came up
with him as he was standing beside his lord. Hereat all the
riders dismounted with intent to seize him, but the Prince
opposed them saying. "This is my horse and he was lost from me in
such a place upon the margin of the main." Replied they, "'Tis
well, but this is our booty nor will we ever leave him to thee,
for that during the last ten days we have galloped after him
until we are melted, and our horses are melted as well as
ourselves. Moreover, our King awaiteth us and if we return
without the steed our heads will be cut off." Quoth the Prince,
"Nor ye nor that Sovran of yours can have any command over him,
albeit you may have pursued him at speed for ten days or fifteen
days or twenty days; nor shall you make him a quarry or for
yourselves or for the King of you. By Allah, one Sultan was
unable to take even a hair from him and, by the Almighty! were
you to pursue him for a full-told year not one of you could come
up with him or make him your own." Hereupon talk increased
between them and one drew weapon upon other and there befel
between them contest and enmity and rage of bad blood and each
clapt hand to sword and drew it from sheath. When the King's son
saw this from them, he sprang upon the steed's back swiftlier
than the blinding leven; and, having settled himself firmly in
selle, he put forth his hand and seized a sword which hung by the
saddle bow. As soon as the folk saw that he had mounted the
horse, they charged upon him with their scymitars and would have
cut him down, but he made his steed curvet and withdrew from them
saying, "An you design battle I am not fain of fight, and do ye
all go about your business and covet not the horse lest your
greed deceive you and you ask more than enough and thereby fall
into harm. This much we know and if you require aught else let
the strongest and doughtiest of you do his best." Then they
charged upon him a second time and a third time and he warded
them off and cried, "Allah draw the line between me and
you,[FN#544] O folk, and do ye gang your gait for you be fifty
riders and I be alone and singlehanded and how shall one contend
in fight with half an hundred?" Cried they, "Naught shall save
thee from us except thou dismount from the steed and suffer us to
take him and return home with him;"--And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy
story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night and that was

              The Eight Hundred and Seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the fifty
horsemen said to the King's son, "There is no help but that we
take from thee the horse," and said he, "I have given you good
advice, and well I wot and am certified that were you two hundred
riders ye could never prevail over me whilst I am mounted on my
courser's back and indeed I have no fear of fight; but let any of
you who hath claim to knightlihood come forwards and take him and
mount him." So saying he alighted forthright and left his horse
and went to some distance from him, when one of the fifty riders
pushed forwards and designed to seize the steed by the reins and
bestride him, when suddenly the stallion raged like fire at him
and attacked him and smote him with his forehand and drove the
entrails out of his belly and the man at once fell to the ground
slain. As his party saw this they bared their brands and
assaulted the horse designing to cut him in pieces when behold, a
dust-cloud high in lift upflew and walled the view; and all
extended their glances in that direction for an hour of time
until it opened and showed some two hundred knights headed by a
King mighty of degree and majesty and over his head were flags
a-flying. The fifty horsemen, seeing him advance with his troops,
drew off and stood still to look and see whom he might be, and
when the horse sighted these banners he sniffed with nostrils
opened wide to the air, and made for them at full speed, as if
gladdened by the sight, and approached them and returned to them
a second time in like guise and at the third time he drew up hard
beside them and nearing the King fell to rubbing his cheeks upon
the stirrups whilst the ruler put forth his hand and gentled the
steed by smoothing his head and forehead. As soon as the fifty
riders saw this, they marvelled thereat, but the King's son who
had kept his ground was astounded and said to himself, "The horse
fled me and when this host drew nigh he sought me again."[FN#545]
Presently the Prince fixed his glance upon the latest comers and
behold, the King was his father, so he sprang to him and when the
sire saw him he knew his son and footed it and the twain embraced
and fell fainting to the ground for awhile. When they recovered
the suite of the Sultan came forward and salam'd to the Prince
who presently asked his sire, "What may be the cause of thy
coming to this plain?" and the ruler informed him by way of
answer that after his child's departure slumber to him brought no
rest nor was there in food aught of zest and with him longing
overflowed for the sake of his son, so that after a while of time
he and the grandees of his realm had marched forth, and he ended
by saying, "O my son, our leaving home was for the sake of thee,
but do thou tell me what befel thee after mounting the Father of
a Pigeon, and what was the cause of thy coming to this spot."
Accordingly the Prince told all that had betided him, first and
last, of his durance vile amongst the Jews and how he had devised
the killing of the Captain and the capture of the craft; and how
the steed, after being lost in the waste,[FN#546] had returned to
him in this place; also of the fifty riders who encountered him
on landing and would fain have seized him but failed and of the
death of the horseman who was slain by the horse. Hereat they
pitched the pavilions upon that spot and set up a throne for the
King who after taking seat thereon placed his son by his side and
bade summon the fifty riders who were brought into the presence--
And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent
and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

              The Eight Hundred and Eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting,
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the
Sultan took seat upon the throne and set his son by his side he
summoned the fifty riders, who were brought into the presence and
placed between his hands. Then he questioned them of their case
and their country and the cause of their coming to that stead and
they notified to him their native land and their Sovran and the
reason of their wandering; to wit, their headlong pursuit of the
stallion which had lasted for a term of ten days. Now when the
Sultan understood their words and knew and was certified
concerning their King and their country, he robed them with
honourable robes[FN#547] and said to them, "Walláhi! had I known
that the stallion would have submitted to you and would have
obeyed you I should have delivered him up to you, but I feared
for any that durst approach him, barring his master. Now,
however, do ye depart and salam to your Sovran and say him, 'By
Allah, if the stallion thou sawest wandering the waste befitted
the use of thee I had sent him in free gift.'" With this fair
message the men farewelled him and fared from him and they ceased
not faring until they returned to their liege lord and reported
to him all that had betided them; that is, how the owner of the
stallion had appeared and proved to be a King who (they added)
"hath sent his salam to thee saying it was his desire to despatch
the horse but none availed to manage him save himself and his
son." And when the Ruler heard these words, he returned thanks to
the Sovran for the grace of his goodness, and returned forthright
to his own land. Meanwhile the Sultan who was owner of the
stallion presented the captured ship to those who had captured
her, and taking his son turned towards his capital, and they
marched without stay or delay until they reached it. Hereupon the
Chamberlains and the Nabobs and the high Officers and the
townsfolk came forth to meet and greet their Ruler and rejoiced
in his safety and that of his son, and they adorned the city for
three days and all were in high mirth and merriment until what
time the Sultan had settled down at home. Such was his case; but
as regards the Khwajah and his daughter, when they had let load
their loads they quitted the cavern and set forth, making for
their country and patrial stead, and they ceased not forcing
their marches for a term of ten days. But on the eleventh they
encountered fiery heat beginning from mid-forenoon; and, as the
place was grassy ground and overgrown with greenery, they
alighted from their beasts and bade pitch two pavilions, one for
the daughter and the other for her father and his folk, that it
might shade them and shelter them from the excessive sultriness.
Now when it was mid-afternoon behold, the damsel was seized with
the birth-pains and the pangs of child-bearing, but Allah
Almighty made delivery right easy to her and presently she became
the mother of a man-child--Glory be to God who fashioned him and
perfected what He had fashioned in the creation of that
babe![FN#548] So his mother cut his navel-string and, rolling it
up in one of her shifts, kept careful guard over it.[FN#549] And
presently her father entered to look upon her, and finding that
she had been delivered was grieved with exceeding grief and the
world was straitened before his face, and unknowing what to do he
said to himself, "Had we reached our homes and that babe appeared
with the damsel, our honour had been smirched and men had blamed
us saying, 'The Khwajah's daughter hath brought forth in sin.' So
we cannot confront the world, and if we bear with us this infant
they will ask where is its father?" He remained perplext and
distraught, seeing no way of action, and now he would say, "Let
us slay the child," and anon, "Let us hide it;" and the while he
was in that place his nature bespake him with such promptings.
But when morning came he had determined upon abandoning the
new-born and not carrying it further, so quoth he to his
daughter, "Hearken unto whatso I shall say thee." Quoth she,
"'Tis well!" and he continued, "If we travel with this infant the
tidings of us will spread through the city and men will say, 'The
Khwajah's daughter hath been debauched and hath borne a babe in
bastardy'; and our right way (according to me) is that we leave
it in this tent under charge of the Lord and whoso shall come up
to the little one shall take it with the tent; moreover I will
place under its head two hundred dinars and any whose lot it is
shall carry off the whole." When the damsel heard these words she
found the matter grievous, but she could return no reply. "What
sayest thou?" asked he, and she answered, "Whatso is right that
do thou." Hereupon he took a purse[FN#550] of two hundred gold
pieces which he set under the child's head and left it in the
tent. Then he loaded his loads and fared forth, he and his
daughter and his pages, and they ceased not pushing their marches
until they reached their own land and native country and entered
their home, where they were met by sundry of their familiars
coming forth to greet them. They settled down in their quarters
when the damsel forgathered with her mother who threw her arms
round her neck for exceeding affection to her and asked her of
her news; so she informed her concerning the matter of the cavern
and what was therein and how great was its distance, but she told
her naught of what had befallen her nor of her pregnancy by the
Prince nor of the babe she had abandoned. The mother still
supposed that she was a clean maid, yet she noted the change in
her state and complexion. Then the damsel sought privacy in one
of the chambers and wept until her gall-bladder was like to burst
and said to herself, "Would Heaven I knew whether Allah will
re-unite me with the child and its father the Prince!" and in
this condition she remained for a while of time. On such wise it
befel the Merchant and his daughter; but as regards the son of
the Sultan, when he had settled down in the city of his sire he
remembered the Khwajah's daughter, and quoth he to his father, "O
my papa, my desire is to hunting and birding and diversion."
Quoth the King, the better that Destiny might be fulfilled, "'Tis
well, O my son, but take with thee a suite." "I desire no more
than five men in all," said the other, and gat himself ready for
travel and, having farewelled his father, set forth from the
city--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

               The Eight Hundred and Tenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince
went forth from his father with a train of five attendants and
made for the wilderness, and he conjoined the journeys of night
and day; withal he knew not whither he was going, and he chanced
travel over the same wilds and wolds and dales and stony leas.
But as regards the Merchant and his daughter, he went in to her
one day of the days and found her weeping and wailing, so he said
to her, "What causeth thee to shed tears, O my child?" and said
she, "How shall I not weep? indeed I must wail over my lot, and
over the promise wherewith Allah promised me." Hereupon he
exclaimed, "O my daughter, be silent and Inshallah--God willing--
I will equip me for travel and will fare to the son of the King;
and look to it, for haply Allah Almighty our Lord may direct me
to a somewhat shall conduct me to the Prince's city." So saying
he bade his handmaidens and eunuchs make ready forthright a
viaticum sufficing for a full-told year himself and his following
of pages and eunuchs, and they did his bidding. After a few days
they prepared all he had required and he purposed to set out;
then, he loaded his loads and, farewelling his wife and daughter,
went forth seeking the city of the King's son. He ceased not
travelling for a space of three months, when he found a meadow
wide of sides on the margin of a sweet-water lake, so he said to
his slaves, "Alight we here in this very place that we may take
our rest." Accordingly, they dismounted and pitched a tent and
furnisht it for him, and he passed that night by the water-side,
and all enjoyed their repose. But as soon as morn 'gan show and
shone with sheeny glow, and the sun arose o'er the lands lying
low, the Khwajah designed to order a march for his slaves when
suddenly espying a dust-cloud towering in rear of them, they
waited to see what it might be, and after some two hours of the
day it cleared off and disclosed beneath it six riders and with
them a bât-beast carrying a load of provisions. These drew near
the meadow where the Khwajah sat looking at them, and fear hereat
entered into his heart, and trembling fell upon his limbs[FN#551]
until he was assured that they were but six men. So his mind was
calmed. But when the party drew near him he fixed his glance and
made certain that the men were headed by the King's son whom he
had met on his first journey, and he marvelled indeed at the
youth making for the same place, and he strove to guess the cause
of his coming with only five followers and no more. Then he arose
and accosted him and salam'd and sat down in converse with him,
being assured the while that it was the same who had had doings
with his daughter, and that the child which she had borne in the
tent and which they abandoned was the son of this Prince, while
the youth knew not that the Khwajah was father to the damsel with
whom he had tarried in the cavern. So they fell to communing
together for a while until the Prince asked the Trader, "What is
the cause of thy coming hither?" and answered the other, "I have
come seeking thee and thy country, for I have a want which thou
must fulfil me;" presently adding, "And thou, whither art thou
intending?" Quoth the King's son, "I am making for the cavern
wherein the handmaidens showed me much honour, for indeed I gave
my word that I would return to them after I had revisited my
country and had met my folk and my friends; and here I am coming
back to keep what plight and promise were between us." Hereupon
the Merchant arose, and taking the Prince, retired with him to a
place of privacy where none could wot of them twain save Allah
Almighty. "Would Heaven I knew what may be in the thoughts of
this Khwájah!" said the Prince in his mind; but when both had
seated themselves at ease, the Merchant addressed the King's son
in these words, "O my son, all things are foredoomed in the World
of Secrets, and from fated lot is no flight. Now the end and aim
whereto thou designest in the cavern, verily they[FN#552] left it
for their own land." When the King's son heard these words
informing him that his beloved had quitted her abode, he cried
out with a loud outcry for stress of what had betided him, and
fell a-swoon by cause that love of the damsel had mastered his
heart and his vitals hung to her. After a while he recovered and
asked the Khwajah, "Say me, be these words of thine soothfast or
false?" "Soothfast indeed," answered the father, "but, O my
child, be of good cheer and eyes clear, for that thy wish is
won"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

              The Eight Hundred and Twelfth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
Khwajah to the King's son after he had revived, "O my child, be
of good cheer and eyes clear for that thy want is won and for
thee the way hath been short done and if thy heart be firm-fixed
upon thy beloved the heart of her is still firmer than thine and
I am a messenger from her who seek thee that I may unite you
twain Inshallah--an Allah please." Asked the Prince, "And who
mayest thou be to her, O my lord?" and answered the other, "I am
her father and she is my daughter and hers is a marvel-tale, I
swear by the All-might of Him who made the Heavens and the
Earth." Then he fell to recounting anent the Voice which came to
him on the night of her being conceived in her mother's womb and
all that had since befallen her, keeping concealed[FN#553] only
the matter of the babe which she had borne in the tent. But when
the Prince knew that the wayfarer was her sire who was travelling
to seek him, he rejoiced in the glad tidings of forgathering with
the damsel and on the morning of the second day all marched off
together and made for the Merchant's city. And they stinted not
wayfaring and forcing their marches until they drew near it, and
as soon as they entered it, the Merchant, before going to his
home, led the Prince with him and sought the Kazi by whose aid
the marriage-tie, after due settlement of the dowry, might be
tied between him and the damsel. This done, he conducted him to a
place of concealment and presently went in to his daughter and
her mother who saluted him and asked him the news. Hereupon he
gave them to know that he had brought the King's son and had made
ready to knot the knot of wedlock between him and her. As soon as
the damsel heard these tidings she fainted for excess of her
happiness, and when she revived her mother arose and prepared her
person and adorned her and made her don her most sumptuous of
dresses. And when night fell they led the bridegroom in
procession to her and the couple embraced and each threw arms
round the neck of other for exceeding desire and their embraces
lasted till dawn-tide.[FN#554] After that the times waxed clear
to them and the days were serene until one chance night of the
nights when the Prince was sitting beside his bride and
conversing with her concerning various matters when suddenly she
fell to weeping and wailing. He was consterned thereat and cried,
"What causeth thee cry, O dearling of my heart and light of mine
eyes?" and she, "How shall I not cry when they have parted me
from my boy, the life-blood of my liver!" "And thou, hast thou a
babe?" asked he and she answered, "Yes indeed, my child and thy
child, whom I conceived by thee while we abode in the cavern. But
when my father[FN#555] took me therefrom and was leading me home
we encountered about midway a burning heat, so we halted and
pitched two tents for myself and my sire; then, as I sat within
mine the labour-pangs came upon me and I bare a babe as the moon.
But my parent feared to carry it with us lest our honour be
smirched by tittle-tattle, so we left the little one in the tent
with two hundred gold pieces under its head, that whoso might
come upon it and take it and tend it might therewith be repaid."
In fine, she told her spouse the whole tale concerning her infant
and declared that she had no longer patience to be parted from
it. Her bridegroom consoled her and promised her with the fairest
promises that he would certainly set out and travel and make
search for the lost one amongst the lands, even though his
absence might endure through a whole year in the wilderness. And
lastly he said to her, "We will ask news and seek tidings of him
from all the wayfarers who wend by that same valley, and certify
ourselves of the information, nor will we return to thee save
with assured knowledge; for this child is the fruit of my loins
and I will never neglect him; no, never. Needs must I set forth
and fare to those parts and search for my son." Such was their
case; but as regards the babe which had been abandoned (as we
have noticed), he lay alone for the first day and yet another
when a caravan appeared passing along that same road; and, as
soon as they sighted the pavilion yet they saw none within, they
drew near to it and behold, they found a babe lying prostrate
with his fingers in his mouth and sucking thereat[FN#556] and he
was even as a slice of the moon. So they approached him and took
him up and found under his head the purse, whereupon they carried
him, not forgetting the gold, and showed him to the Shaykh of the
Cafilah[FN#557] who cried, "Walláhi, our way is a blessed for
that we have discovered this child; and, inasmuch as I have no
offspring, I will take him and tend him and adopt him to son."
Now this caravan was from the land of Al-Yaman and they had
halted on that spot for a night's rest, so when it was morning
they loaded and left it and fared forwards and they ceased not
wayfaring until they reached their homes safe and sound. After
returning all the Cafilah folk dispersed, each to his own stead,
but the Shaykh, who was employed by government under the King of
Al-Yaman, repaired to his own house accompanied by the child
which he had carefully tended and salam'd to his wife. As soon as
she saw the babe she marvelled at his fashion and, sending for a
wet-nurse, committed him for suckling to her and set apart for
her a place; and the woman fell to tending him and cleaning him,
and the house prospered for the master and dame had charge of
it[FN#558] during the days of suckling. And when the boy was
weaned they fed him fairly[FN#559] and took sedulous charge of
him, so he became accustomed to bespeak the man with, "O my
papa," and the woman with, "O my mamma," believing the twain to
be truly his parents. This endured for some seven years when they
brought him a Divine to teach him at home, fearing lest he should
fare forth the house; nor would they at any time send him to
school. So the tutor[FN#560] took him in hand and taught him
polite letters and he became a reader and a writer and well
versed in all knowledge before he reached his tenth year. Then
his adopted father appointed for him a horse that he might learn
cavalarice and the shooting of shafts and firing of bullets at
the butt,[FN#561] and then brought for him a complete rider that
he might teach him all his art and when he came to the age of
fourteen he became a doughty knight and a prow. Now one chance
day of the days the youth purposed going to the wild that he
might hunt,--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

            The Eight Hundred and Fourteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth
proposed going forth to the wild that he might hunt, but his
guardians feared for him so that he availed not to fare forth.
Grievous to him was it that he could not obtain his liberty to
set out a-chasing, and there befel him much concern[FN#562] and a
burning thirst; so he lay him down sore sick and troubled.
Hereupon his father and mother went in to him and, finding that
he had taken to his pillow, they mourned over him, and fearing
lest he be afflicted by some disease they asked him, "What is to
do with thee and what calamity hath befallen thee?" Answered he,
"There is no help but that I go forth a-hunting in the
wilderness." Quoth they, "O our son, we fear for thee," and quoth
he, "Fear not, for that all things be foredoomed from Eternity
and, if aught be written for me, 'twill come to pass even
although I were beside you; and the bye-word saith, 'Profiteth
not Prudence against Predestination.'" Hereat they gave him
permission, and upon the second day he rode forth to the chase,
but the wold and the wilds swallowed him up, and when he would
have returned he knew not the road, so he said to himself, "Folk
declare that affects are affected and footsteps are sped to a
life that is vile and divided daily bread.[FN#563] If aught be
written to me fain must I fulfil it." And whenever he hunted down
a gazelle, he cut its throat and broiled the meat over a fire and
nourished himself for a while of days and nights; but he was lost
in those wastes until he drew in sight of a city. This he
entered, but he had no money for food or for foraging his horse,
so he sold it willy nilly and, hiring a room in a Wakálah, lived
by expending its price till the money was spent. Then he cried,
"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great! The wise man doth even as the fool, but
All-might is to Allah." So he went forth to solace himself in the
highways of the city, looking rightwards and leftwards, until he
came to the gateway of the King's Palace, and when he glanced
around he saw written over it, "Dive not into the depths unless
thou greed for thyself and thy wants."[FN#564] So he said in his
mind, "What is the meaning of these words I see here inscribed?"
Presently he repaired for aid to a man in a shop and salam'd to
him, and when his salutation was returned enquired of him, "O my
lord, what is the meaning of this writ which is written over the
Sultan's gateway?" The other replied, "O my son, whereof dost
thou ask? Verily the Sultan and all the Lords of his land are in
sore cark and care for the affair of his daughter, the Princess."
The youth rejoined, "What is the matter with her and what hath
befallen her?" and the man retorted, "O my son, verily the Sultan
hath a daughter so fair that she seemeth cast in the very mould
of beauty and none in her day can excel her, but whoso is
betrothed to her and marrieth her and goeth in unto her the dawn
never cometh without his becoming a heap of poison, and no one
wotteth the business what it may be." Hearing these words the
youth said to himself, "By Allah, the death of me were better
than this the life of me, but I have no dower to offer her." Then
he asked the man, "O my uncle, whoso lacketh money and wisheth to
marry her, how shall he act?" "O my son," answered the other,
"verily the Sultan demandeth nothing; nay, he expendeth of his
own wealth upon her." The youth arose from beside the man at that
moment and, going in to the King, found him seated on his throne;
so he salam'd to him and prayed for him and deprecated and kissed
ground before him, and when the King returned his salutation and
welcomed him he cried, "O King of the Age, 'tis my intent and
design to be connected with thee through the lady safe-guarded,
thy daughter." "By Allah, O Youth," said the Sultan, "I consent
not for thine own sake that thou wed her by cause that thou wilt
be going wilfully to thy death;" and hereupon he related to him
all that befel each and every who had married her and had gone in
unto her. Quoth the youth, "O King of the Age, indeed I rely upon
the Lord, and if I die I shall fare to Allah and His ruth and, if
I live, 'tis well, for that all things are from the Almighty."
Quoth the Sultan, "O Youth, counsel appertaineth to Allah, for
thou art her equal in beauty;" and the other rejoined, "All
things are by Fate and man's lot." Hereupon the King summoned the
Kazi and bade tie the marriage-tie between the youth and his
daughter; then he went in to his Harem and apprised thereof her
mother that she might prepare the girl's person for the coming
night. But the youth departed from the Sultan's presence perplext
of heart and distraught, unknowing what to do; and, as he walked
about, suddenly he met a man in years, clean of raiment and with
signs of probity evident; so he accosted him and said, "O my
lord, ask a blessing for me." Said the Shaykh, "O my son, may our
Lord suffice thee against all would work thee woe and may He ever
forefend thee from thy foe."[FN#565] And the youth was gladdened
by the good omen of the Shaykh's words. But when the Sultan had
sought his Harem he said, "By Allah, he who hath wedded the
damsel is a beautiful youth: oh the pity of it that he should
die! Indeed I dissuaded him, saying so-and-so shall befal thee,
but I could not deter him. Now by the rights of Him who raised
the firmament without basement, an our Lord deign preserve this
Youth and he see the morn in safety, I will assuredly gift him
and share with him all my good, for that I have no male issue to
succeed me in the sovranty; and this one, if Allah Almighty
vouchsafe prolong his days, shall become my heir apparent and
inherit after me. Indeed I deem him to be a son of the Kings who
disguiseth himself, or some Youth of high degree who is troubled
about worldly goods and who sayeth in himself, 'I will take this
damsel to wife that I may not die of want, for verily I am
ruined.' I diverted him from wedding her, but it could not be,
and the more I deterred him with words manifold only the more
grew his desire and he cried, 'I am content'; thus speaking after
the fashion of one who longeth to perish. However, let him meet
his lot--either death-doom or deliverance from evil." Now when it
was eventide the Sultan sent to summon his son-in-law and,
seating him beside the throne, fell to talking with him and
asking after his case; but he concealed his condition and said,
"Thy servant is such whereof 'tis spoken, 'I fell from Heaven and
was received by Earth.' Ask me not, O King of the Age, or of the
root or of the branch, for one of the wise and ware hath said:--

'To tell my root and my name refrain; * The root of the youth is
     what good he gain:[FN#566]
A wight without father full oft shall win * And melting shall
     purify drossy strain.'

And folk are equal but in different degrees."[FN#567] Now when
the Sultan heard these words, he wondered at his eloquence and
sweetness of speech; withal he marvelled that his son-in-law
would not explain to him from what land or from what folk he
came. And the two ceased not their converse until after the hour
of night prayers, when the Lords of the land had been dismissed;
whereupon the Sultan bade an eunuch take the youth and introduce
him to the Princess. So he arose from him and went with the
slave, the King exclaiming the while, "There is no Majesty and
there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great: verily
yonder young man wendeth wilfully to his death." Now when the
bridegroom reached the apartment of the Sultan's daughter and
entered to her--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

            The Eight Hundred and Seventeenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth,
when entering to the Sultan's daughter, exclaimed "Bismillah--in
the name of Allah--I place my trust upon Allah, and I have
committed mine affair unto Allah!" Then he went forwards and
found his bride seated upon her bedstead, and she was as a Hoard
newly loosed from its Talisman; while she on her part rose and
met him, and looked upon him and considered him until she was
certified of his being cast in beauty's mould, nor had she ever
seen any like unto him. So she wept till the tears trickled adown
her cheeks and she said to herself, "Oh the pity of it! Never
shall my joy be fulfilled with this beautiful youth, than whom
mine eyes never fell upon one fairer." Quoth he, "What causeth
thee cry, O my lady?" and quoth she, "I cry for the loss of my
joys with thee seeing that thou art to perish this very night;
and I sue of the Almighty and supplicate Him that my life may be
thy ransom, for by Allah 'tis a pity!" When he heard these words
he presently looked around and suddenly he sighted a magical
Sword[FN#568] hanging by the belt against the wall: so he arose
and hent it and threw it across his shoulders; then, returning he
took seat upon the couch beside the Sultan's daughter, withal his
heart and his tongue never neglected to recite the Names of Allah
or to sue aidance from the Prince of the Hallows[FN#569] who
alone can reconcile with the Almighty fiat the fates and affairs
of God's servants. This lasted for an hour until the first third
of the night, when suddenly were heard the bellowings as of wind
and rumblings of thunder, and the bride, perceiving all the
portents which had occurred to others, increased in weeping and
wailing. Then lo and behold! a wall amiddlemost the chamber clave
asunder, and there issued forth the cleft a Basilisk[FN#570]
resembling a log of palm-tree, and he was blowing like the
storm-blast and his eyes were as cressets and he came on
wriggling and waving. But when the youth saw the monster he
sprang up forthright with stout heart that knew naught of
startling or affright, and cried out, "Protect me, O Chief and
Lode-star of the Hallows, for I have thrown myself upon thine
honour and am under thy safe-guard." So saying and setting hand
on brand he advanced and confronted the portent swiftlier than an
eye-glance, raising his elbow till the blackness of the armpit
appeared; and he cried out with a loud outcry whereto the whole
city re-echoed, and which was audible even to the Sultan. Then he
smote the monster upon his neck[FN#571] and caused head to fly
from body for a measure of some two spans. Hereupon the Basilisk
fell dead, but the youth was seized by a fainting-fit for the
mighty stress of his stroke, and the bride arose for the excess
of her joy and threw herself upon him and swooned away for a
full-told hour. When the couple recovered, the Princess fell to
kissing his hands and feet and wiping with her kerchief the sweat from his brow and saying to him, "O my lord, and light of
mine eyes, may none thy hand ever foreslow nor exult over thee
any foe," till he had recovered his right senses and had regained
his strength. Anon he arose, and taking the Basilisk set it upon
a large tray;[FN#572] then, letting bring a skinful of water he
cleaned away the blood. After this the youth and the King's
daughter sat down and gave each other joy of their safety and
straightway disappeared from them all traces of distress.
Presently the Bridegroom looked at his Bride and found her like a
pearl, so he caused her to laugh and disported with her and
excited her and she did on like wise and at last he threw her
upon her back and did away her maidenhead, whenas their gladness
grew and their pleasures were perfected and their joyance was
enhanced by the monster's death. They ceased not, the twain of
them, toying and enjoying themselves until it was well nigh dawn
and sleep overcame them and they slumbered. But the Sultan during
that night could relish nor lying down nor sitting up, and as
soon as he heard the shout he cried, "The Youth is indeed dead
and this world hath fled! There is no Majesty and there is no
Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great." About morning-tide
he prepared for him a shroud and mortuary perfumes, and all
things required, and despatched a party to dig a tomb for him who
had been slain by the side of his daughter, and he let make an
iron bier, after which he sent for the washers of the dead and
summoned them to his presence and lastly he awaited for his wife
to seek her daughter and bring him the tidings--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

            The Eight Hundred and Nineteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan
sat until morning-tide expecting his wife to bring him tidings of
the youth that he might take him and bury him. But the
Queen-mother repaired to her daughter's apartment where she found
the door locked and bolted upon the couple; so she knocked for
them whilst her eyes were tear-stained and she was wailing over
the loss of her daughter's love-liesse. Hereat the Princess awoke
and she arose and opened the door when behold, she found her
mother weeping so she asked her, "What caused thee shed tears, O
Mother mine, whilst my enjoyment hath been the completest?" Asked
she, "And what hath joyed you?" So the daughter led her to the
middlemost of the apartment where she found the Basilisk (which
was like the section of a palm-trunk) lying dead upon a huge tray
and she saw her son-in-law sleeping upon the bedstead[FN#573] and
he was like a fragment of the moon on the fourteenth night. The
mother bowed head towards him and kissed him upon the brow
saying, "Verily and indeed thou deservest safety!" Then she went
forth from him lullilooing aloud and bade all the handmaids raise
the cry of joy[FN#574] and the Palace was turned topsy-turvy with
gladness and delight. When the Sultan heard this he arose and
asked "What may be the news? Are we in grief or in gladness;" and
so saying he went forth when suddenly he was met by his wife in
the highest delight who took him and led him to the apartment of
her daughter. There he also espied the Basilisk stretched dead
upon the tray and the youth his son-in-law lying asleep upon the
bedstead, whereat from the stress of his joyance he fell to the
floor in a fainting-fit which lasted an hour or so. But when he
revived he cried, "Is this wake or rather is't sleep?" after
which he arose and bade the musicians of his band beat the
kettledrums and blow the shawms and the trumps and he commanded
adorn the city; and the citizens did all his bidding. The
decorations remained during seven days in honour of the safety of
the Sultan's son-in-law, and increased were their joys and fell
from them all annoys, and the Sultan took to distributing and
giving alms and largessing and making presents to the Fakirs and
the miserable and he robed his nobles with honourable robes and
fed the captives and the prisoners one and all;[FN#575] and the
naked he clothed, and those anhungered he feasted in honour of
his daughter. Then said the Sultan, "By Allah, this youth
deserveth naught save that I make him my partner and share with
him my good, for he hath banished from us our dule and our
dolours and eke on account of himself and his own sake." After
this he made over to him half of his realm and his riches and the
Sultan would rule one day and his son-in-law the other and their
joys endured for the space of a full-told year. Then the Sovran
was seized of a sickness, so he bequeathed to his son-in-law all
he had and everything he owned; and but a little time elapsed
before his malady increased day by day until he fared to the ruth
of Almighty Allah and the youth sat in his stead as Sovran and
Sultan. Such was his case; but as regards the matter of his sire,
the King's son of Al-'Irak, when he promised his wife that he
would certainly go forth and travel and search for their son, he
ceased not wending through the regions for a length of nights and
days until Destiny threw him into such-and-such a city; and from
the excess of what he had suffered of toil and travail he tarried
therein a time. Now the Shaykh of the Caravans (who had found the
babe in the tent and had taken him and had tended and adopted
him, and from whom the youth when grown to man's estate had
disappeared on the hunting excursion and returned not to his
parents) also set out a-seeking him and fell diligently to
searching for tidings of him and roaming from place to place.
Presently he was cast by doom of Destiny into the same city; and,
as he found none to company with, he was suddenly met on one of
the highways by the youth's true father and the twain made
acquaintance and became intimate until they nighted and morning'd
in the same stead; withal neither knew what was his companion.
But one night of the nights the two sat down in talk and the true
sire asked the adoptive father, "O my brother, tell us the cause
of thy going forth from thy country and of thy coming hither?"
Answered his comrade, "By Allah, O my brother, my tale is a
wondrous and mine adventure is a marvellous." Quoth he, "And
how?" and quoth the other, "I was Shaykh of the Cafilahs on
various trading journeys, and during one of them I passed by a
way of the ways where I found a pavilion pitched at a forking of
the roads. So I made for it and dismounted my party in that place
and I glanced at the tent but we found none therein, whereupon I
went forwards and entered it and saw a babe new-born strown upon
his back and sucking his fingers.[FN#576] So I raised him between
my hands and came upon a purse of two hundred dinars set under
his head; and I took the gold and carried it off together with
the child." But when his comrade, the true father, heard this
tale from him he said to himself, "This matter must have been
after such fashion," and he was certified that the foundling was
his son, for that he had heard the history told by the mother of
the babe with the same details essential and accidental. So he
firmly believed[FN#577] in these words and rejoiced thereat, when
his comrade continued, "And after that, O my brother, I bore off
that babe and having no offspring I gave him to my wife who
rejoiced therein and brought him a wet-nurse to suckle him for
the usual term. When he had reached his sixth year I hired a
Divine to read with him and teach him writing and the art of
penmanship;[FN#578] and, as soon as he saw ten years, I bought
him a horse of the purest blood, whereon he learnt cavalarice and
the shooting of shafts and the firing of bullets until he
attained his fifteenth year. Presently one day of the days he
asked to go a-hunting in the wilderness, but we his parents (for
he still held me to be his father and my wife his mother) forbade
him in fear of accidents; whereupon he waxed sore sorrowful and
we allowed him leave to fare forth."--And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and
tasteful is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Twenty-first Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
adoptive father pursued to his comrade, "So we permitted him to
hie a-hunting, and he farewelled us and went forth from us and
left us, whereat we fell to beweeping him; and inasmuch as until
this present he hath not returned to us, I have set out to seek
him and here am I in this place searching for traces of him.
Peradventure may Allah Almighty deign unite me with him and gar
me forgather with him; for, Walláhi! from the hour he went from
us sleep hath done us no good nor have we found relish in food."
And when the speech was ended, quoth his comrade, "O my brother,
whenas he is not the son of thy loins and he could prove himself
perverse to thee, what must be the condition in his regard of the
father who begat him and the mother who enwombed him?" He
replied, "Theirs must be cark and care and misery beyond even
mine;" and the other rejoined, "By Allah, O my brother, verily
the relation thou hast related anent this child proveth that he
is, by God, my child and of mine own seed, for in sooth his
mother gave birth to him in that stead where she left him being
unable to carry him with her; but now she beweepeth the loss of
him through the nights and the days." "O my brother," quoth the
adoptive father, "we twain, I and thou, will indeed make public
search and open inquiry for him through the lands, and Allah
Almighty shall guide us himwards." When morning came the pair
went forth together intending to journey from that city, but by
doom of the Decreer the Sultan on that very day set out to visit
the gardens; and, when the travellers heard tidings thereof, one
said to the other, "Let us stay and solace ourselves with a sight
of the royal suite and after we will wend our ways." Said his
comrade, "'Tis well." So they took their station to await the
issuing forth of the Sultan, who suddenly rode out amid his suite
as the two stood leaning beside the road and looking at the
Sultan, when behold, his glance fell upon the two men. He at once
recognised the father who had reared him, and when he gazed at
the other standing beside him his heart was opened to the love of
him albeit he weeted naught of their tie of blood nor believed
that any was his sire save the Shaykh who had adopted him.
Accordingly, after considering them he bade carry them both to
the House of Hospitality, so they led them thither and did his
bidding. Hereupon the twain said to themselves, "Wherefore hath
the Sultan made us his guests? Nor he knoweth us nor we know him
and needs must this have a cause." But after leaving them the
King rode to the gardens where he tarried the whole day, and when
it was sunset he returned to his Palace, and at suppertide
commanded the men be brought before him. They salam'd to him and
blessed him and he returned their salutations, and bade them take
seat at the trays whereat none other was present. They obeyed his
order much wondering thereat the while and musing in their minds,
"What condition is this?" They ate till they were satisfied,
after which the food-trays were removed and they washed their
hands and drank coffee and sherbets; then, by command of the
King, they sat down to converse when the Sultan addressed them
instead of the others, whereat they marvelled self-communing and
saying, "What can be the cause?" But as soon as all the
attendants had been dismissed to their quarters and no one
remained save the Sultan and his guests (three in all and no
more), and it was the first third of the night, the King asked
them, "Which of you availeth to tell a tale which shall be a
joyance to our hearts?" The first to answer him was the true
father, who said, "Walláhi, O King of the Age, there befel me an
adventure which is one of the wonders of the world, and 'tis
this. I am son to a King of the Kings of the earth who was
wealthy of money and means, and who had the goods of life beyond
measure. He feared for my safety because he had none other save
myself, and one day of the days, when I craved leave to go
a-hunting in the wilderness, he refused me in his anxiety for my
safety." (Hereat, quoth the Sultan in himself, "By Allah, the
story of this man is like my history!") "So quoth I, 'O King,
unless I fare forth to sport, verily I will slay myself,' and
quoth my sire, 'O my son, do thou go ride to the chase, but leave
us not long for the hearts of us two, I and thy mother, will be
engrossed by thee.' Said I, 'Hearing and obeying,' and I went
down to the stable to take a steed; and finding a smaller stall
wherein was a horse chained to four posts and, on guard beside
him two slaves who could never draw near him, I approached him
and fell to smoothing his coat. He remained silent and still
whilst I took his furniture and set it upon his back, and girthed
his saddle right tight and bridled him and loosed him from the
four posts, and during all this he never started not shied at me
by reason of the Fate and Fortune writ upon my forehead from the
Secret World. Then I got him ready and mounted him and went
forth"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

           The Eight Hundred and Twenty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the man
who was bespeaking the Sultan pursued to him, "Then I mounted him
and rode him over the gravelly ground without the city when
behold, he snorted and snarked and shook his crest and started at
speed and galloped with me and bolted, swiftly as though he were
a bird in the firmament of heaven." On this wise he fell to
recounting all that had befallen in the cave between him and the
Merchant's daughter and what had betided him by decree of Allah;
how he had left her for his own land and how had her sire come
and carried her away; also in what manner she had been delivered
of a son by him on the road and had left her babe-child in the
tent hoping that someone might find him and take him and tend
him; and, lastly, how he had married the child's mother and what
was the cause of his going forth and his coming to that place
that he might seek his son. Hereupon the Sultan turned to his
adoptive father whom hitherto he had believed to be his real
parent saying, "And thou, the other, dost thou know any tale like
that told to us by thy comrade?" So the Shaykh recounted to him
the whole history as hath before been set forth from incept to
conclusion, nor hid from him aught thereof. Then the Sultan
declared himself to his true sire, saying, "Thou art my father
and there befel such things and such," after which said his
adoptive parent, "Walláhi, O my son, verily none is thy father
save this one from whose loins thou art sprung, for I only found
thee in the pavilion and took thee and tended thee in my home.
But this is thy very parent in very deed." Hereat all the three
fell upon one another's necks and kissed one another and the
Sultan cried, "Praise to Him who hath united us after disunion!"
and the others related to him anent his maternal grandfather how
he was a Merchant, and concerning his paternal grandsire how he
was a Monarch. Anon each of the two was ordered to revisit his
own country and convey his consort and his children; and the
twain disappeared for the space of a year and a month and at
length returned to the young King. Hereupon he set apart for them
palaces and settled them therein and they tarried with him until
such time as there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the
Severer of societies.





        Story of the Youth Who Would Futter His Father's
                         Wives.[FN#579]



It is related that there was a man who had a grown-up son, but
the youth was a ne'er-do-well,[FN#580] and whatever wife his sire
wedded, the son would devise him a device to lie with her and
have his wicked will of her, and he so managed the matter that
his father was forced to divorce her. Now the man once married a
bride beautiful exceedingly and, charging her beware of his son,
jealously guarded her from him.--And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night, and that was

          The Eight Hundred and Thirty-second Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
not sleeping, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the
watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and
good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director,
the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of
deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the father
applied himself to safe-guarding his wife and gave her a charge
warning her with threats against his son and saying, "Whenas I
wed ever a woman, yonder youth by his cunning manageth to have
his wicked will of her." Quoth she, "O Man, what be these words
thou speakest? This thy son is a dog, nor hath he power to do
with me aught, and I am a lady amongst women." Quoth he, "Indeed
I but charge thee to have a care of thyself.[FN#581] Haply I may
hie me forth to wayfare and he will lay some deep plot for thee
and work with thee as he wrought with others." She replied, "O
Man, hold thyself secure therefrom for an he bespeak me with a
single word I will slipper him with my papoosh;"[FN#582] and he
rejoined, "May safety be thine!" He cohabited with her for a
month till one day of the days when he was compelled to travel;
so he went in to his wife and cautioned her and was earnest with
her saying, "Have a guard of thyself from my son the debauchee
for 'tis a froward fellow, a thief, a miserable, lest he come
over thee with some wile and have his will of thee." Said she,
"What words are these? Thy son is a dog nor hath he any power
over me in aught whereof thou talkest, and if he bespeak me with
one injurious word, I will slipper him soundly with my foot-
gear."[FN#583] He rejoined, "If thou happen to need aught[FN#584]
never even mention it to him;" and she, "Hearkening and
obedience." So he farewelled her and fared forth wholly intent
upon his wayfare. Now when he was far enough from the town the
youth came to the grass-widow but would not address a single word
to her, albeit fire was lighted in his heart by reason of her
being so beautiful. Accordingly he contrived a wile. It happened
to be summer-tide so he went[FN#585] to the house and repaired to
the terrace-roof, and there he raised his clothes from his
sitting-place and exposed his backside stark naked to the cooling
breeze; then he leant forwards propped on either elbow and,
spreading his hands upon the ground, perked up[FN#586] his
bottom. His stepmother looked at him and marvelling much said in
her mind, "Would Heaven I knew of this froward youth what may be
his object!"[FN#587] However he never looked at her nor ever
turned towards her but he abode quiet in the posture he had
chosen. She stared hard at him and at last could no longer
refrain from asking him, "Wherefore dost thou on this wise?" He
answered, "And why not? I am doing that shall benefit me in the
future, but what that is I will never tell thee; no, never." She
repeated her question again and again, and at last he replied, "I
do thus when 'tis summer-tide and a something of caloric entereth
my belly through my backside and when 'tis winter the same cometh forth and warmeth my body; and in the cool season I do the same and the frigoric cometh forth in the dog-days and keepeth me in heats like these, fresh and comfortable."[FN#588] She asked, "An
I do what thou doest, shall it be the same to me?" And he
answered, "Aye." Herewith she came forward beside him and raised
her raiment from her behind till the half of her below the waist
was stark naked;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next
night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the grass-
widow came forward beside her stepson and raised her raiment from
her behind until the half of her below the waist was stark naked;
and she did even as her husband's son had done, and perked up her
buttocks, leaning heavily upon her knees and elbows. Now when she
acted on this wise the youth addressed her saying, "Thou canst
not do it aright." "How so?" "Because the wind passing in through
the postern passeth out through thy portal, thy solution of
continuity." "Then how shall I do?" "Stopper thy slit
wherethrough the air passeth." "How shall  I stopper it?" "An
thou stopper it not thy toil will be in vain." "Dost thou know
how to stopper it?" "Indeed I do!" "Then rise up and stopper
it." Hearing these words he arose, because indeed he greeded for
her, and came up behind her as she rested upon her elbows and
knees and hending in hand his prickle nailed it into her coynte
and did manly devoir. And after having his will of her he said,
"Thou hast now done thy best for me and thy belly is filled full
of the warm breeze." On this wise he continued every day,
enjoying the wife of his father for some time during his wayfare,
till the traveller returned home, and on his entering the house
the bride rose and greeted him and said, "Thou hast been absent
overlong!"[FN#589] The man sat with her awhile and presently
asked of her case for that he was fearful of his son; so she
answered, "I am hale and hearty!" "Did my son ask thee of aught?"
"Nay, he asked me not, nor did he ever address me: withal, O Man,
he hath admirable and excellent expedients and indeed he is
deeply versed in natural philosophy." "What expedients and what
natural philosophy?" "He tucketh up his dress and exposeth his
backside to the breeze which now passeth into his belly and
benefiteth him throughout the cold season, and in winter he doeth
exactly what he did in summer with effect as beneficial. And I
also have done as he did." Now when the husband heard these her
words he knew that the youth had practised upon her and had
enjoyed his desire of her; so he asked her, "And what was it thou
diddest?" She answered, "I did even as he did. However the breeze
would not at first enter into my belly for whatever passed
through the back postern passed out of the front portal, and the
youth said to me, 'Stopper up thy solution of continuity.' I
asked him, 'Dost thou know how to stopper it?' and he answered,
'Indeed I do!' Then he arose and blocked it with his prickle; and
every day I continued to do likewise and he to stopper up the
peccant part with the wherewithal he hath." All this was said to
the husband who listened with his head bowed groundwards; but
presently he raised it and cried, "There is no Majesty and there
is no might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;" and suddenly
as they were speaking on that subject the youth came in to them--
And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
not sleeping, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short the
watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and
good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director,
the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting, and of
deeds fair-seeming and worth celebrating, that the youth came in
to his father and found his stepmother relating to him all they
had done whilst he was away and the man said to him, "Wherefore,
O youth, hast thou acted on such wise?" Said the son, "What harm
have I done? I only dammed the waterway that the warm air might
abide in her belly and comfort her in the cold season." So the
father knew that his son had played this trick in order to have
his will of her. Hereat he flew into a fury[FN#590] and
forthright divorced her, giving her the contingent dowry; and she
went her ways. Then the man said in his mind, "I shall never get
the better of this boy until I marry two wives and ever keep them
with each other, so that he may not cozen the twain." Now after a
couple of weeks he espoused a fair woman fairer than his former
and during the next month he wived with a second and cohabited
with the two brides. Then quoth the youth in his mind, "My papa
hath wedded two perfect beauties and here am I abiding in single
blessedness. By Allah, there is no help but that I play a prank
upon both of them!" Then he fell to seeking a contrivance but he
could not hit upon aught for that whenever he entered the house
he found his two step-mothers sitting together and thus he could
not avail to address either. But his father never fared forth
from home or returned to it without warning his wives and saying,
"Have a care of yourselves against that son of mine. He is a
whoremonger and he hath made my life distraught, for whenever I
take to myself a wife he serveth some sleight upon her; then he
laugheth at her and so manageth that I must divorce her." At such
times the two wives would cry, "Walláhi, an he come near us and
ask us of amorous mercy we will slap him with our slippers."
Still the man would insist, saying, "Be ye on your guard against
him," and they would reply, "We are ever on our guard." Now one
day the women said to him, "O man, our wheat is finished," and
said he, "Be ye watchful while I fare to the Bazar in our market-
town which lieth hard by and fetch you the corn." So he left them
and made for the town,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the
coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was
the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worth celebrating, that when the
father had gone forth and was making for the market-town, his son
happened to meet him, and the two wives went up to the terrace
wishing to see if their husband be gone or not. Now by the decree
of the Decreer the man had in some carelessness forgotten his
papooshes so he turned to the youth who was following him and
said, "O my son, go back and bring me my shoes." The women still
stood looking, and the youth returned in mighty haste and hurry till he stood under the terrace, when he looked up and said, "My father hath just now charged me with a charge saying, 'Do thou go sleep with my wives, the twain of them, and have each one of them
once.' They replied, "What, O dog, O accursed, thy father bespake
thee on this wise? By Allah, indeed thou liest, O hog, O ill-
omened wight." "Wallahi," he rejoined, "I lie not!" So he walked
back till he was near his father when he shouted his loudest so
as to be heard by both parties, "O my papa, O my papa, one of
them or the two of them? One of them or the two of them?" The
father shouted in reply, "The two, the two! Allah disappoint
thee: did I say one of them or the two of them?" So the youth
returned to his father's wives and cried, "Ye have heard what my
papa said. I asked him within your hearing, 'One of them or the
two of them?' and ye heard him say, 'Both, both.'" Now the man
was speaking of his slippers, to wit, the pair; but the women
understood that his saying, "the two of them" referred to his
wives. So one turned to her sister spouse and said, "So it
is,[FN#591] our ears heard it and the youth hath in no wise lied:
let him lie with me once and once with thee even as his father
bade him." Both were satisfied herewith; but meanwhile the son
stole quietly into the house and found his father's papooshes:
then he caught him up on the road and gave them to him and the
man went his ways. Presently the youth returned to the house and
taking one of his father's wives lay with her and enjoyed her and
she also had her joy of him; and when he had done all he wanted
with her he fared forth from her to the second wife in her
chamber and stretched himself beside her and toyed with her and
futtered her. She saw in the son a something she had not seen in
the sire, so she joyed in him and he joyed in her. Now when he
had won his will of the twain and had left the house the women
foregathered and began talking and saying, "By Allah, this youth
hath given us both much amorous pleasure, far more than his
father ever did; but when our husband shall return let us keep
our secret even though he spake the words we heard: haply he may
not brook too much of this thing." So as soon as the man came
back with the wheat he asked the women saying, "What befel you?"
and they answered, "O Man, art thou not ashamed to say to thy
son, 'Go sleep with both thy father's wives?' 'Tis lucky that
thou hast escaped." Quoth he, "Never said I aught of this"; and
quoth they, "But we heard thee cry, 'The two of them.'" He
rejoined, "Allah disappoint you: I forgot my papooshes and said
to him, 'Go fetch them.' He cried out 'One of them or the two of
them?' and I replied, 'The two of them,' meaning my shoes, not
you." "And we," said they, "when he spake to us such words
slippered him and turned him out and now he never cometh near
us." "Right well have ye done," he rejoined, "'tis a fulsome
fellow." This was their case; but as regards the youth, he fell
to watching and dogging his father's path, and whenever the man
left the house and went afar from it he would go in to the women
who rejoiced in his coming. Then he would lie with one, and when
he had won his will of her he would go to the sister-wife and
tumble her. This lasted for some time, until the women said each
to other, "What need when he cometh to us for each to receive him
separately in her room? Let us both be in one chamber and when he
visiteth us let us all three, we two and he, have mutual joyance
and let him pass from one to the other." And they agreed to this
condition, unknowing the decree of Allah which was preparing to
punish the twain for their abandoned wantonness.--And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to
say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet
is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
not sleeping, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the
watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and
good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director,
the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of
deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the two women
agreed to partnership in iniquity with the youth their stepson.
Now on the next day the man went forth and left his house for
some pressing occasion and his son followed him till he saw him
far distant: then the youth repaired to the two wives and found
them both in one chamber. So he asked them, "Why doth not each of
you go to her own apartment?" and they answered, "What use is
there in that? Let us all be together and take our joy, we and
thou." So he lay between them and began to toy with them and
tumble them; and roll over them and mount upon the bubbies of one
and thence change seat to the other's breasts and while so doing
all were plunged in the sea of enjoyment.[FN#592] But they knew
not what lurked for them in the hidden World of the Future.
Presently, lo and behold! the father returned and entered the
house when none of them expected him or was ware of him; and he
heard their play even before he went into the chamber. Here he
leant against a side-wall and privily viewed their proceedings
and the lewd state they were in; and he allowed time to drag on
and espied them at his ease, seeing his son mount the breasts of
one woman and then shift seat to the bubbies of his other wife.
After noting all this he fared quietly forth the house and sought
the Wali complaining of the case; so the Chief of Police took
horse and repaired with him to his home where, when the two went
in, they found the three at the foulest play. The Wali arrested
them one and all and carried them with elbows pinioned to his
office. Here he made the youth over to the Linkman who struck his
neck, and as for the two women he bade the executioner delay till
nightfall and then take them and strangle them and hide their
corpses underground. And lastly he commanded the public Crier go
about all the city and cry:--"This be the award of high treason." And men also relate (continued Shahrazad) the





            STORY OF THE TWO LACK-TACTS OF CAIRO AND
                       DAMASCUS.[FN#593]



Whilome in Cairo-city there was a man famed as a Lack-tact and
another in Damascus was celebrated for the like quality. Each had
heard of his compeer and longed to forgather with him and sundry
folk said to the Syrian, "Verily the Lack-tact of Egypt is
sharper than thou and a cleverer physiognomist and more
intelligent, and more penetrating, and much better company; also
he excelleth thee in debate proving the superiority of his lack
of tact." Whereto the Damascene would reply, "No, by Allah, I am
more tasteful in my lack of tact than yon Cairene;" but his
people ceased not to bespeak him on this wise until his heart was
filled full of their words; so one day of the days he cried, "By
Allah, there is no help for it but I fare for Cairo and forgather
with her Lack-tact." Hereupon he journeyed from Damascus and
ceased not wayfaring till he reached Cairo. The time was about
set of sun and the first who met him on the road was a woman; so
he asked her concerning certain of the highways of the city and
she answered, "What a Lack-tact thou must be to put such a
question at such an hour! Whoso entereth a strange place in the
morning enquireth about its highways, but whoso entereth at
eventide asketh about its caravanserai[FN#594] wherein he may
night." "Sooth thou sayest," rejoined he, "but my lack of tact
hath weakened my wits." He then sought news of the Khans and they
showed him one whereto he repaired and passed the night; and in
the morning--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was

          The Eight Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Lack-tact of Damascus passed the night in the Wakálah and in the
morning he went forth and wandered about the highways of Cairo
questing her Lack-tact; and, when they informed him of his
rival's whereabouts, he forgathered with him and was received
with an honorable reception and was welcomed and kindly entreated
and comfortably seated that the twain might talk over the news of
the world. Presently quoth the Lack-tact of Damascus to the
Lack-tact of Cairo, "I would that we two test each other's
quality by playing a prank in turn; and whoso shall be preferred
by the testimony of the general, he shall lord it over his
rival." The Cairene asked, "Which of us shall begin?" and the
Damascene answered, "I," whereto the other rejoined, "Do whatso
thou willest." So the Syrian went forth and hired him an ass
which he drove out of the city to a neighbouring clump of
Ausaj-bushes[FN#595] and other thorns whereof he cut down a
donkey-load, and setting the net-full upon the beast's back
returned to the city. He then made for the Báb al-Nasr,[FN#596]
but he could not enter for the crowding of the folk frequenting
it and the Cairene was gladdened by his doings: so the man
stinted not standing there with his ass and load of thorns till
morn was near, when he lost his temper and urged his beast close
up to the gate. By so doing all the garments of the wayfarers
which were caught by the Ausaj-thorns were torn to rags and
tatters, and some of the people beat him and others buffetted him
and others shoved him about saying, "What a superior Lack-tact
thou art! Allah ruin thy natal realm! Thou hast torn folk's dress
to rags and tatters with that load of thorns." Still he drave his
donkey onwards albeit the people cried to him, "O man, withdraw
thee, the passengers are all jammed at the gate;" but he would
not retire and those present dealt him more blows and abuse.
Hereat he only cried, "Let me pass through!" and pushed on
whereby he obtained a severer beating. This lasted till
mid-afternoon, for he could on nowise enter by reason of the
crush at the Báb al-Nasr; but about sundown the crowd thinned and
so he drove on his ass and passed the gate. Then quoth to him the
Cairene, "What is this thou hast done? This is mere
horseplay[FN#597] and not lack of tact." Now on the morning of
the next day the Lack-tact of Cairo was required to play his
prank even as the Damascene had done; so he rose up and girded
his loins and tucked up his sleeves and took up a tray--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
not sleeping, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the
watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and
good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director,
the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of
deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Egyptian rose
up and girded his loins and tucked up his sleeves, and taking him
a tray said to the Syrian, "Up and after me and see what I shall
do." Then he went out tray on head, and foregoing the Damascene
to a flower-garden he gathered a bundle of blooms and
sweet-scented herbs, pinks and roses and basil and
pennyroyal[FN#598] and marjoram and other such, until the tray
was filled, after which he turned to town. About noontide he
repaired to one of the Cathedral-mosques and entered the
lavatory,[FN#599] around which were some fifteen privies:[FN#600]
so he stood amiddlemost the floor considering the folk as they
entered the jakes to do their jobs in private lest the
bazar-people come upon them during their easement. And all were
sore pressed wanting to pass urine or to skite; so whenever a man
entered the place in a hurry he would draw the door to. Then the
Lack-tact of Cairo would pull the door open, and go in to him
carrying a posy of perfumed herbs, and would say, "Thy
favour![FN#601] O my brother," and the man would shout out
saying, "Allah ruin thy natal realm, are we at skite or at
feast?" whereat all standing there would laugh at him. Suddenly
one rushed into the lavatory sore pressed and hanging an
arse[FN#602] and crying aloud in his grievous distress, "O Allah,
O His Prophet, aid me!" for that he feared to let fly in his
bag-trousers. Then the Lack-tact would accost him holding in hand
his posy of perfumed herbs, and softly saying, "Bismillah-take
it, and give me thy favour;" and the man would roar at the top of
his voice, "Allah disappoint thee! what a Lack-tact thou art: I
am sore pressed; get thee out." And the further that man would
fare away from him the closer he would follow him saying, "Thy
favour! Take it! Smell it!" Now at that time all the cabinets of
easement were full of people, nor did one remain vacant, and the
distressed man stood there expecting someone to issue that he
might enter; but in his condition the delay was over-long--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How
sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

           The Eight Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Cairene Lack-tact kept bespeaking that sorely distressed man and
following him as he fled, crying out to him and saying, "Away
from me, am I not this moment about to skite or am I at a feast?"
till at last the excess of weight in his arse-gut caused him to
let fly in his bag-trousers and bewray all his behind. And during
this time none came out of the jakes, so the unhappy sat in his
unease and all the folk seeing him conskite himself fell to
laughing at him as he sat there, and the Lack-tact of Cairo
continued offering him the posy, saying, "Thy favour!" and the
other continned shouting his loudest, "Am I at skite or at a
feast?" Thereupon the Lack-tact of Damascus turned to his rival
and cried, "The Fátihah[FN#603] is in thy books, O Chief Joker of
Cairo. By Allah (and the Almighty grant thee length of life!)
thou hast excelled me in everything, and they truly say that none
can surpass or overcome the Cairene and men have agreed to
declare that the Syrian winneth his wish and gaineth only blame,
while the Egyptian winneth not his wish and gaineth thanks and
praise." And amongst other things it happened[FN#604] that a
Cairene went to borrow a donkey from another man, a Damascene,
wishing to ride it to a wedding, and when he met his friend he
saluted him and said, "Ho Such-an-one, lend me thine ass for such
a purpose." Now when the owner of the animal heard these words he
smote hand upon hand and cried, "O worshipper of Allah,[FN#605] a
little while ere thou camest to me, a man urgently asked it of me
and took it on loan: haddest thou been somewhat earlier I would
have lent it to thee. Verily I am put to shame by thee as thou
goest from me without thy need." The Egyptian said in his mind,
"By Allah, this one speaketh sooth, and had the donkey been in
his house assuredly he would have lent it to me." But the owner
of the animal said to himself, "Certainly Such-an-one begged it
of me, but the rest is a lie, for the beast is shut up in the
stable." However the Syrian who owned the beast went to his
gossip, the man who had begged a loan of it, and entering the
house salam'd to him and said, "Give me the donkey, O
Such-an-one;"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was

             The Eight Hundred and Fortieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Syrian
went to his gossip saying, "Give me the ass;" and when the other
heard this he showed his teeth[FN#606] and cried, "Allah
disappoint the donkey and the owner of the donkey and whoso
rideth the donkey," and flying into an exceeding fury at last
said, "Go, O my lord, and take it from the stable, and may Allah
never bring back nor thee nor the beast." So the Syrian went from
him saying in himself, "Allah disappoint this fellow, why did he
not give me the ass at first and then he had not had occasion to
abuse and curse himself and to revile me also." But they say and
say truly, "The Syrian winneth his wish, but gaineth only blame
while the Egyptian winneth not his wish and gaineth thanks and
praise!"





            Tale of Himself Told by the King[FN#607]



I have a tale, O my lord the Kazi, which bewildereth the wits and
it is on this wise. By birth and origin I was the son of a
Khwájah, but my father owned much worldly wealth in money and
effect and vaiselle and rarities and so forth, besides of landed
estates and of fiefs and mortmains a store galore. And every year
when the ships of Al-Hind would arrive bringing Indian goods and
coffee from Al-Yaman the folk bought thereof one-fourth of the
whole and he three-fourths paying in ready cash and hard
money.[FN#608] So his word was heard and his works were preferred
amongst the Traders and the Grandees and the Rulers. Also he had
controul[FN#609] in counselling the Kings and he was held in awe
and obeyed by the merchants, one and all, who consulted him in
each and every of their affairs. This endured until one year of
the years when suddenly he fell sick and his sickness grew upon
him and gained mastery over his frame, so he sent for me, saying,
"Bring me my son." Accordingly I went and entered to him and
found him changed of condition and nearing his last gasp. But he
turned to me and said, "O my son, I charge thee with a charge
which do thou not transgress nor contrary me in whatso I shall
declare to thee." "What may that be?" asked I, and he answered,
"O my son, do thou never make oath in Allah's name, or falsely or
truly, even although they fill the world for thee with wealth;
but safeguard thy soul in this matter and gainsay it not, nor
give ear to aught other." But when it was midnight the Divine
Mystery[FN#610] left him and he died to the mercy of Allah
Almighty; so I buried him, expending much money upon his
funeral and graved him in a handsome tomb. He had left to me
wealth in abundance such as the pens could not compute, but when
a month or so had sped after his decease suddenly came to me a
party of folk, each and every claming by way of debt from me and
my sire the sum of some five thousand dinars. "Where be your
written bond given by my father?" asked I; but they answered,
"There be no instrument and if thou believe us not make oath by
Allah." Replied I saying, "Never will I swear at all," and paid
them whatso they demanded; after which all who feared not the
Lord would come to me and say, "We have such-and-such owing to us
by thy parent;" and I would pay them off until there remained to
me of ready moneys a matter neither great nor small. Hereupon I
fell to selling off my landed estates--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is
thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night and that was

              The Nine Hundred and Twelfth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King
thus continued his relation to the Kazi:--I began selling off my
landed estates and fiefs and letting out my settlements of
bequeathal[FN#611] until naught of all that remained by me; so I
fell to vending the house-gear and goods and carpets and pots and
pans until I owned nothing whatever, and my case waxed straitened
and the affair was grievous to me. Then I quoth to myself,
"Allah's earth for Allah's folk!" and, albeit I had a wife and two male children, I left them and went forth under cover of the
night a wanderer about the world and unknowing where I should
bring myself to anchor. But suddenly O my lord the Kazi, I was
confronted by a man whose aspect bred awe, showing signs of
saintliness and garbed wholly in spotless white; so I accosted
him and kissed his hand, and he on seeing me said, "O my son,
there is no harm to thee!" presently adding,

"Do thou be heedless of thy cark and care * And unto Fate commit
     thy whole affair;
The Lord shall widen what to thee is strait; * The Lord shall all
     for breadth of space prepare:
The Lord shall gladly end thy grievous toils; * The Lord shall
     work His will, so jar forbear."

After these words he took my hand and walked with me athwart
those wilds and wolds till such time as we made a city and
entered its gates. Here, however, we found no signs of
creature-kind nor any mark of Son of Adam, and when I sighted
this my condition changed and fear and affright entered my heart.
But presently the man turned to me and said, "Dread not nor be
startled, for that this city shall (Inshallah!) be thy portion,
and herein thou shalt become Sovran and Sultan." Quoth I to
myself, "Walláhi, verily this man be Jinn-mad lacking wit and
understanding! How shall become King and Kaysar in such place
which is all ruins?" Then he turned to me yet another time,
saying, "Trust in Allah and gainsay Him not; for verily shall
come to thee joy out of that wherein thou wast of straitness and
annoy."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate an the Sovran suffer me to
survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was,

             The Nine Hundred and Thirteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
man to the youth[FN#612], "Trust in Allah, for verily joy shall
assuredly come to thee from the Almighty." "What joy?" quoth the
Khwajah's son, "and indeed this city is a ruinous heap nor is
there indweller or habitant or any to attest God's Unity." But
the man ceased not going about the highways of the deserted town
with his companion till such time as he reached the Palace of the
Sultanate, and the twain entering therein found it with its vases
and its tapestry like a bride tricked out[FN#613]. But the Spider
had tented therein, so both the wights fell to shaking and
sweeping for three days' space till they had cleaned away all the
webbing and dust of years; after which the elder man took the
younger and entered a closet. Herein he came upon a trap-door
which the two uplifted, when behold, they found a staircase
leading below; so they descended and walked till they ended at a
place with four open halls, one and all fulfilled with gold, and
amiddlemost thereof rose a jetting fount twenty ells long by
fifteen broad, and the whole basin was heaped up with glittering
gems and precious ores. When the merchant's son saw this sight,
he was wildered on his wits and perplext in his thoughts, but the
man said to him, "O my son, all this hath become thine own good."
After this the two replaced the trap-door as it was and quitted
that place; then the man took him and led him to another stead
concealed from the ken of man wherein he found arms and armour
and costly raiment; and the two stinted not wandering about the
palace until they reached the royal Throne-room. Now when the
Khwajah's son looked upon it he waxed distraught and fell
a-fainting to the floor for awhile[FN#614] and presently when he
revived he asked his companion, "O my lord, what be this?"
Answered he, "This be the throne of the Sultanate wherewith the
Almighty hath gifted thee;" and quoth the other, "By Allah, O my
lord, I believe that there is not in me or strength or
long-suffering to take seat upon yonder throne." All this the
King (who erst was a merchant's son) recounted to the Judge and
presently resumed:[FN#615]--Then the man, O my lord, said to me,
"O my son, to all who shall come hither and seek thee be sure
thou distribute gifts and do alms-deeds; so the folk, hearing of
thy largesse, shall flock to thee and gather about thee and as
often as one shall visit thee, exceed in honour and presents from
the treasure-store thou hast sighted and whose site thou
weetest." And so speaking, O our lord the Kazi, he vanished from
my view and I wist not an he had upflown to the firmament or had
dived into the depths of the earth, but one thing I knew; to
wit, that I was alone.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Nine Hundred and Fourteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the merchant's son resumed to the Kazi:--Then the man vanisht from my view and I wist no more thereof. So I seated me (and I was all alone) in that city for the first day and the second, but on the third behold, I saw a crowd making for me from the city-suburbs and they were seeking a site wherefrom they had somewhat to require. So I met them and welcomed them and seated them, and soon I arose and cooking for them food ate in their company and we nighted together; and when it was morning I presented each and every of them with an hundred dinars. These they accepted and fared forth from me and on reaching their homes they recounted the adventure to other folk who also flocked to me and received presents like those who preceded them. Anon appeared to me a multitude with their children and wives who said, "Billáhi,[FN#616] O my lord, accept of us that we may settle beside thee and be under thy protecting glance;" whereupon I ordered houses be given to them. Moreover there was amongst them a comely youth who showed signs of prosperity and him I made my assessor; so we two, I and he, would converse together. The crowd thickened, little by little, until the whilome ruined city became fulfilled of habitants, when I commanded sundry of them that they go forth and lay out gardens and orchards and plant tree-growths; and a full-told year had not elapsed ere the city returned to its older estate and waxed great as erst it was and I became therein Sovran and Sultan. Such was the case of this King;[FN#617] but as regards the matter of his wife and his two sons, whenas he fared forth from them he left them naught to eat and presently their case was straitened and the twain set out, each in his own direction, and overwandered the world and endured the buffets of life until their semblance was changed for stress of toil and travail and transit from region to region for a while of time. At last, by decree of the Decreer, the elder was thrown by Eternal Fate into the very town wherein was his sire and said to himself, "I will fare to the King of this city and take from him somewhat."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Nine Hundred and Fifteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the young man went in to the Sultan and kissed the ground before him and the King regarding him felt his heart yearn himwards and said, "What wantest thou, O youth?" "My design is service with thee," said the other; and the King rejoined, "Then welcome to thee!" So he abode in his employ for a term of four months until he became like unto a Mameluke[FN#618] and his first case was changed: the Sultan also drew him near and fell to consulting him in sundry matters the which proved propitious, so quoth the King, "By Allah, this young man meriteth naught less than to become my Wazir," and accordingly made him his Minister of the Right. In his new degree he became as another liege lord[FN#619] and his word was heard, so the land was opened up by his hand and year by year he derived from it corvées and taxes, nor did he cease to be Chief Councillor under the right hand of the King. Meanwhile his brother who was the younger stinted not faring from land to land until he was met by a party of wayfarers that said to him, "O youth, verily the Sultan who ruleth in such a capital is a liberal lord, loving the poor and paupers; so do thou seek him and haply shall he show himself bounteous to thee." Quoth he, "I know not the city," and quoth they, "We will lead thee thereto for we purpose to go by his town." So they took him and he accompanied them until they reached the city when he farewelled them and entered the gates. After solacing himself with the sights he passed that night in the Wakálah and as soon as it was morning he fared forth to serve for somewhat wherewith he might nourish himself,[FN#620] and it was his lot and the doom of the
Decreer that the Sultan, who had ridden forth to seek his
pleasure in the gardens, met him on the highway. The King's
glance fell upon the youth and he was certified of his being a
stranger and a wanderer for that his clothes were old and worn,
so he thrust his hand into pouch and passed to him a few gold
pieces which the other accepted right thankfully and blessed the
giver and enlarged his benediction with eloquent tongue and the
sweetest speech. The Sultan hearing this bade them bring to him
the stranger, and whenas they did his bidding he questioned him
of his case and was informed that he was a foreigner who had no
friends in that stead; whereupon the Sovran took him in and
clothed him and entreated him with kindness and liberality[FN#621]. And after a time the Wazir of the Right became kindly hearted unto him and took him into his household where he fell to teaching him until the youth waxed experienced in expression and right ready of the reply and acquired full knowledge of kingcraft. Presently quoth the Minister to the Sultan, "o King of the Age, indeed this youth befitteth naught save councillorship, so do thou make him Wazir of the Left." The
King said, "With love," and followed his advice; nor was it long
before his heart inclined to the hearts of his two Ministers and
the time waxed clear to him and the coming of these two youths
brought him serenity for a length of days and they also were in
the most joyous of life. But as regards their mother; when her
sons went forth from her, she abode alone--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

             The Nine Hundred and Sixteenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the woman who abode alone having been abandoned by her husband and her children, cried, "I am here sitting sans my mate and sans my sons; whatso shall I ever do?" and anon the case became grievous to her and she set out to bewander the regions saying, "Haply shall Allah reunite me with my children and my husband!" And she stinted not passing from place to place and shifting from site to site until she reached a town upon the margin of the main and found a vessel in cargo and about to sail.[FN#622] Now by the decree of the Decreer the ship-captain having heard tell of the Sultan's generosity and open handedness had made ready for him a present and was about to voyage therewith to his capital. Learning this the woman said to him, "Allah upon thee, O Captain, take me with thee;" and he did accordingly, setting sail with a fair wind. He sped over the billows of that sea for a space of forty days and throughout this time he kept all the precepts and commandments of religion, as regards the woman,[FN#623] supplying her with meat and drink; nay more, he was wont to address her, "O my mother." And no sooner had they made the city than he landed and disembarked the present and loading it upon porters' backs took his way therewith to the Sovran and continues faring until he entered the presence. The Sultan accepted the gift and largessed him in return, and at even-tide the skipper craved leave of return to his ship fearing lest any harm befal vessel or passengers. So he said, "O King of the Age, on board with me is a woman, but she is of goodly folk and godly and I am apprehensive concerning her." "Do thou night here with us," quoth the Sovran, "and I will dispatch my two Wazirs to keep guard over her until dawn shall break." Quoth the Captain, "Hearing and obeying," and he sat with the Sultan, who at night-fall commissioned his two
Ministers and placed the vessel under their charge and said,
"Look ye well to your lives, for an aught be lost from the ship I will cut off your heads," So they went down to her and took their seats the one on poop and the other on prow until near midnight when both were seized by drowsiness; and said each to other, "Sleep is upon us, let us sit together[FN#624] and talk."
Hereupon he who was afore returned to him who was abaft the
ship[FN#625] and they sat side by side in converse, while the
woman in the cabin sat listening to them.--And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was

            The Nine Hundred and Seventeenth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the two sons forgathered in converse while the mother was listening and anon quoth the elder to the younger, "Allah upon thee, O Wazir of
the Left, do thou relate to me whatso befel and betided thee in
thy time and what was the true cause of thy coming to this city;
nor conceal from me aught." "By Allah, O Wazir of the Right,"
quoth the other, "my tale is wondrous and mine adventure
marvellous and were it paged upon paper the folk would talk
thereanent race after race."[FN#626] "And what may that be?"
asked he, and the other answered, "'Tis this. My sire was son to
a mighty merchant who had of moneys and goods and estates and
such like what pens may not compute and which intelligence may
not comprehend. Now this my grandsire was a man whose word was
law and every day he held a Divan wherein the traders craved his
counsel about taking and giving and selling and buying; and this
endured until what while a sickness attacked him and he sensed
his end drawing near. So he summoned his son and charged him and
insisted thereon as his last will and testament that he never and by no means make oath in the name of Allah or truly or falsely." Now the younger brother had not ended his adventure before the elder Wazir threw himself upon him and flinging his arms around his neck cried, "Walláhi, thou art my brother by father and mother!" and when the woman heard these words of the twain her wits wandered for joy, but she kept the matter hidden until morning. The two Wazirs rejoiced in having found each of them a long-lost brother and slumber fled their eyes till dawned the day when the woman sent for the Captain and as soon as he
appeared said to him, "Thou broughtest two men to protect me but
they caused me only trouble and travail." The man hearing these
words repaired forthright and reported them to the Sovran who
waxed madly wroth and bade summon his two Ministers and when they stood between his hands asked them, "What was't ye did in the ship?" They answered, "By Allah, O King, there befel us naught but every weal;" and each said, "I recognised this my brother for indeed he is the son of the same parents," whereat the Sovran wondered and quoth he, "Laud to the Lord, indeed these two Wazirs must have a strange story." So he made them repeat whatso they had said in the ship and they related to him their adventure from the beginning to end. Hereupon the King cried, "By Allah, ye be certainly my sons," when lo and behold! the woman came forwards and repeated to him all that the Wazirs had related whereby it was certified that she was the King's lost wife and their lost mother.[FN#627] Hereupon they conducted her to the Harem and all sat down to banquet and they led ever after the most joyous of lives. All this the King related to the Judge and finally said, "O our lord the Kazi, such-and-such and so-and-so befel until Allah deigned re-unite me with my children and my wife."






                       End of Volume XV.





                          Appendix I.



                 CATALOGUE OF WORTLEY MONTAGUE
                      MANUSCRIPT CONTENTS.




I here proceed to offer a list of the tales in the Wortley
Montague MS. (Nos. 550-556), beginning with





                            VOL. I.,



which contains 472 pages=92 Nights. It is rudely written, with
great carelessness and frequent corrections, and there is a noted
improvement in the subsequent vols. which Scott would attribute
to another transcriber. This, however, I doubt: in vol. i. the
scribe does not seem to have settled down to his work. The MS.
begins abruptly and without caligraphic decoration; nor is there
any red ink in vol. i. except for the terminal three words. The
topothesia is in the land of Sásán, in the Isles of Al-Hind and
Al-Sind; the elder King being called "Báz" and "Shár-báz" and the
younger "Kahramán" (p. 1, ll. 5-6), and in the same page (l. 10)
"Saharbán, King of Samarkand"; while the Wazir's daughters are
"Shahrzádah" and "Dunyázádah" (p. 8). The Introduction is like
that of the Mac. Edit. (my text); but the dialogue between the
Wazir and his Daughter is shortened, and the "Tale of the
Merchant and his Wife," including "The Bull and the Ass," is
omitted. Of novelties we find few. When speaking of the Queen and
Mas'úd the Negro (called Sa'id in my text, p. 6) the author
remarks:--

Take no black to lover; pure musk tho' he be * Carrion-taint
shall pierce to the nose of thee.

And in the "Tale of the Trader and the Jinni " (MS. 1, 9: see my
transl. 1, 25) the 'Ifrit complains that the Merchant had thrown
the date-stones without exclaiming "Dastúr!"--by thy leave.

The following is a list of the Tales in vol. i.:--

                                                           PAGE

Introductory Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9
Tale of the Trader and the Jinni, Night i.-ii. . . . . . . . . .9
The First Shaykh's Story, Night ii.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Second Shaykh's Story, Night ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Third Shaykh's Story, Night iv.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Scott, following "Oriental Collections," ii. 34, supposes that
the latter was omitted by M. Galland "on account of its
indecency, it being a very free detail of the amours of an
unfaithful wife." The true cause was that it did not exist in
Galland's Copy of The Nights (Zotenberg, Histoire d' 'Ala al-Din,
p. 37). Scott adds, "In this copy the Genie restores the
Antelope, the Dogs and the Mule to their pristine forms, which is
not mentioned by Galland, on their swearing to lead virtuous
lives."

                                                           PAGE
Conclusion of the Trader and the Jinni, Night v. . . . . . . . 43
The Fisherman and the Jinni, including the Tales of the Sage
Dúbán and the ensorcelled Prince
     and omitting the Stories (1) of King Sindibád and his Falcon
     (2) the Husband and the Parrot and (3) the Prince and the
     Ogress.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad, Night v. . . . . .100
The First Kalandar's Tale, Night xxxix.. . . . . . . . . . . .144
The Second Kalandar's Tale, Night xlviii.. . . . . . . . . . .152

     (The beginning of this Tale is wanting in the MS. which
     omits p. 151: also The Envier and the Envied, admitted into
     the list of Hikáyát, is here absent.)

The Third Kalandar's Tale, Night lv. . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
The Eldest Lady's Tale. Night lxvi.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Tale of the Portress. Conclusion of the Story of the Porter and
Three Ladies of Baghdad,
     Night lxii. (a clerical mistake for lxx.?). . . . . . . .260

     (In Galland follow the Voyages of Sindbad the Seaman which
     are not found in this copy.)

The Tailor and the Hunchback, Night lxviii. (for lxxiv.?). . .295
The Nazarene Broker's Story, Night lxviii. (for lxxiv.?) . . .308
The Youth whose hand was cut off, Night (?)[FN#628]. . . . . .312

     (In p. 314 is a hiatus not accounting for the loss of hand.)

The Barber's Tale of his First Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .314
The Barber's Tale of his Second Brother. . . . . . . . . . . .317
 The Barber's Tale of his Third  Brother . . . . . . . . . . .323
The Barber's Tale of his Fourth Brother. . . . . . . . . . . .327
The Barber's Tale of his Fifth Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .331
The Barber's Tale of his Sixth Brother . . . . . . . . . . . .343
The end of the Tale of the Hunchback, the Barber and others,
Night lxviii.(?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350

                     (Here Ends My Vol. I.)

Núr al-Dín Alí and the Damsel Anis al-Jalís, Night lxviii. . .355
Sayf al-Mulúk and Badí'a al-Jamal, Night xci.[FN#629]. . . . .401
Tale of the Youth of Mosul whose hand was cut off, Night xcii466-472

     (The Tale of the Jewish Doctor in my vol. i. 288-300.)

Vol. i. ends with a page of scrawls, the work of some by-gone
owner.





                            VOL. II.



Contains 316 pages, and includes end of Night xcii. to Night
clxvi. The MS. is somewhat better written; the headings are in
red ink and the verses are duly divided. The whole volume is
taken up by the Tale of Kamar al-Zamán (1st), with the episodes
of Al-Amjad and Al-As'ad, but lacking that of Ni'amah and Naomi.
In Galland Kamar al-Zaman begins with Night ccxi.: in my
translation with vol. iii. 212 and concludes in vol. iv. 29. This
2nd vol. (called in colophon the 4th Juz) ends with the date 20th
Sha'abán, A.H. 1177.





                           VOL. III.



Contains 456 pages, extending from Night cccvi. (instead of Night
clxvii.) to cdxxv. and thus leaving an initial hiatus of 140
Nights (cxvi.-cccvi. C. de Perceval, vol. viii. p. 14). Thus the
third of the original eight volumes is lost. On this subject Dr.
White wrote to Scott, "One or two bundles of Arabic manuscript,
of the same size and handwriting as the second volume of the
Arabian Tales, were purchased at the sale by an agent for Mr.
Beckford of Fonthill, and I have no doubt whatever but that the
part deficient in your copy is to be found in his possession." If
such be the case, and everything seems to prove it, this volume
was not No. iii. but No. iv. The MS. begins abruptly with the
continuation of the tale. There is no list of contents, and at
the end are two unimportant "copies of verses" addressed to the
reader, five couplets rhyming inÂ–ímu (e.g. ta'dimu) and two
in--af (e.g. Salaf).

The following is a list of the contents:--

                                                           PAGE
Part of the Tale of Hasan of Bassorah, Nights cccvi.-cccxxix 1-81
Story of the Sultan of Al-Yaman[FN#630] and his Sons, told to
Al-Rashíd by Hasan of Bassorah,
     Nights cccxxix.-cccxxxiv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Story of the Three Sharpers,[FN#631] Nights cccxxxiv.-cccxlii. 96
The Sultan who fared forth in the habit of a Darwaysh, Night
cccxlii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo, Night cccxliii.-cccxlviii124
Story of the First Lunatic,[FN#632] Night cccxlviii.-ccclv . .141
Story of the Second Lunatic, Night ccclv.-ccclvii. . . . . . .168
Story of the Sage and his Scholar, Night ccclvii.-ccclxii. . .179
Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo with three foolish
Schoolmasters,
     Night ccclxii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Tale of the Mother and her Three Daughters, Night ccclxii. . .206
Story of the broke-back Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii . . . . .211
Story of the Split-mouthed Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii. . . .214
Story of the limping Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiv.-ccclxv . . 219
Story of the three Sisters and their Mother the Sultánah, Night
ccclxvi.-ccclxxxvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
History of the Kází who bare a babe, Night ccclxxxvi.-cccxcii.322
Tale of the Kází and the Bhang-eater, Night cccxciii.-cdiii. .344
History of the Bhang-eater and his wife, Night cccxciii.-cdiii348
How Drummer Abú Kásim became a Kází, Night cdiii.-cdxii. . . .372
Story of the Kazi and his Slipper (including the Tale of the
Bhang-eater who became the Just
      Wazir and who decided two difficult cases), Night
     cdxii.-cdxiii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424
Tale of Mahmúd the Persian and the Kurd Sharper, Night
cdxiii.-cdxvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428
Tale of the Sultan and the poor man who brought to him fruit,
including the
      Fruit-seller's[FN#633] Tale, Night cdxvi.-cdxxv. . . . .432
Story of the King of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons and the
Enchanting Bird, which ends this
      volume, Night cdxvii-cdxxvi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437





                            VOL. IV.



                                                           PAGE
Contains 456 pages, and ranges between Nights cdxxvi. and dxcvi.

Continuation of the Story of the King of Al-Yaman[FN#634] and his
Three Sons and the
      Enchanting Bird, Night cdxxvi.-cdxxxix . . . . . . . . 1-34

     SCOTT prefers "The Sultan of the East," etc.

History of the First Larrikin, Night cdxxxix-cdxliv. . . . . . 34

     SCOTT: "The first Sharper in the Cave," p. 185.

History of the Second Larrikin, Night cdxliii.-cdxlv . . . . . 46
History of the Third Larrikin, Night cdxlv.-cdxlvi . . . . . . 53
Story of a Sultan of Hind and his Son Mohammed, Night
cdxlvi.-cdlviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

     SCOTT: "The Sultan of Hind."

Tale of a Fisherman and his Son, Night cdlix.-cdlxix . . . . . 83
Tale of the Third Larrikin concerning himself, Night
cdlxix.-cdlxxii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

     SCOTT: "The Unfortunate Lovers."

History of Abú Niyyah and Abú Niyyatayn, Night cdlxxii.-cdlxxxiii
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

     SCOTT: "Abou Neeut, the well-intentioned Sultan of Moussul,
     and Ab ou Neeutteen, the double-minded."

The Courtier's Story, or Tale of the Nadim to the Emir of Cairo,
Night cdlxxxiii.-cdxci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

     SCOTT: "Story related to an Ameer of Egypt by a Courtier,"
     p. 229.

Another relation of the Courtier, Night cdxci. . . . . . . . .157

     (Here Iblis took the place of a musician.)

The Shaykh with Beard shorn by the Shaytan, Night cdxcii . . .162
History of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah, Night
cdxci.-di. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

     SCOTT: "The Sultan of Sind and Fatimah, daughter of
     Ummir[FN#635] ('Ámir) Ibn Naománn (Nu'uman)."

History of the Lovers of Syria, Night di.-dx . . . . . . . . .189

     SCOTT: "The Lovers of Syria."

History of Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid, Night dx-dxx
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

     SCOTT: "The Young Sayd and Hijauje."

Uns al-Wujúd and the Wazir's Daughter Rose-in-hood, Night
dxxi.-dxli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

     SCOTT: "Ins al-Wujood and Wird al-Ikmaum, daughter of
     Ibrahim, Vizier of Sultan Shamikh."

Story of the Sultan's Son and Daughter of the Wazir, Night
dxli.-dxlv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
Tale of Sultan Káyyish, Night dxlv.-dlvii. . . . . . . . . . .312

     (A romance of chivalry and impossible contests of ten
     knights against 15,000 men.)

The Young Lady transformed into a Gazelle by her Step-mother,
Night dlviii.-dlxiii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345
The History of Mázin, Night dlxviii-dxcv. (omitted, because it is
the same as "Hasan of Bassorah
     and the King's Daughter of the Jinn," vol. viii. 7); to the
     end of vol. iv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456





                            VOL. V.



                                                           PAGE
Contains 465 pages from the beginning of Night dxcvi. to dccxlvi.

Continuation and end of the History of Mazin, Night dxcvi-dcxxiv1-94
Night adventure of Harun al-Rashid, Night dcxxxxv.-dcl . . . . 95

     SCOTT: "Adventure of Haroon al-Rusheed, vol. vi. 343
     (including Story related to Haroon al-Rusheed) by Ibn
     Munsoor of Damascus, of his adventures at Bussorah; the
     Story related to Haroon al-Rusheed by Munjaub (Manjab) and
     Haroon's conduct on hearing the story of Munjaub."

Tale of the Barber and his Son (told by Manjab), Night dlxi.-dcli
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180

     SCOTT: "Story of the Sultan, the Dervishe and the Barber's
     Son."

The Badawi Woman and her Lover, Night dclv.-dclvi. . . . . . .196
Story of the Wife and her two Gallants, Night dclvi.-dclx. . .199
Tale of Princess Al-Hayfá and Prince Yusuf, Night dclx.-dccx .210

     SCOTT: "Story of Aleefah, daughter of Mherejaun, Sultan of
     Hind, and Eusuff, Prince of Sind, related to Haroun
     al-Rusheed by the celebrated reciter of Tales, Ibn Malook
     Aleed Iowaudee," p. 352.

Adventures of the Three Princes of China, Night dccx.-dccxvii.362

     SCOTT: "Adventures of the Three Princes, sons of the Sultan
     of China."

History of the first Brave, Night dccxvii.-dccxxii . . . . . .385

     SCOTT: "The Military Braggadocio;" OUSELEY, "the Gallant
     Officer" and the Lat. list "Miles Gloriosus."

History of another Brave, Night dccxxii.-dccxxiii. . . . . . .395
The Merry Adventures of a Simpleton,[FN#636] Night
dccxxiii.-dccxxvi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400

     SCOTT: "The Idiot and his Asses."

The Goodwife of Cairo and the three Rakehells, Night
dccxxvi.-dccxxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409
Story of the righteous Wazir wrongfully gaoled, Night
dccxxviii.-dccxxxviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416
Tale of the Barber, the Captain and the Cairene Youth, Night
dccxxxiii.-dcxxxvii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430

     (In the Lat. list we find  "Tonsor et Juvenis Cahirensis.")

Story of the Goodwife of Cairo and her Gallants, Night
dccxxxviii.-dccxliii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444

     SCOTT: "The virtuous Woman of Cairo and her Suitors," p.
     380.

The Kazi's Tale of the Tailor, the Lady and the Captain,[FN#637]
Night dccxlii.-dccxlvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455

     SCOTT: "The Cauzee's Story," p. 386.

Story of the Syrian and the Three Women of Cairo, Night
dccxlvi-and to end of vol. v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .465





                            VOL. VI.



                                                           PAGE
Contains 365 pages, from Night dccxlvi. to Night dccclxxiii.

The following is a list of the contents:--

Continuation of the Story of the Syrian, Night dccxlvi.-dccxlix1-9
Tale of the Káim-makám's Lady and her two Coyntes, Night
dccxlix.-dcclii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Tale of the whorish Wife who vaunted her virtues, Night
dcclii.-dcclv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Cœlebs the Droll[FN#638] and his Wife and her four lovers, Night
dcclv.-dcclx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

     SCOTT: "The Deformed Jester."

The Gate-keeper of Cairo and the wily She-Thief, Night
dcclix.-dcclxv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

     SCOTT: "The aged Watchman of Cairo and the artful female
     thief."

Tale of Mohsin and Musa, Night dcclxv.-dcclxxii. . . . . . . . 57

     SCOTT: "Mhassun the liberal and Mousseh the treacherous
     Friend."

Mohammed Shalabí[FN#639] and his Wife and the Kazi's Daughter,
Night dcclxxii.-dcclxxvii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

     SCOTT: "Mahummud Julbee," etc.

The Fellah and his wicked Wife, Night dcclxxvii.-dcclxxx . . . 92
The Woman who humoured her Lover at her Husband's expense, Night
dcclxxx.-dcclxxxi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

     SCOTT: "The Adulteress."

The Kazi Schooled by his Wife, Night dcclxxxi.-dcclxxxv. . . .106
The Merchant's Daughter and the Prince of Al-Irák, Night
dccclxv.-dcccxxiv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

     SCOTT: "Story of the Merchant, his Daughter, and the Prince
     of Eerauk," p. 391. In the text we find 'Irák for Al-Irák.

The Story of Ahmad and Ali who cuckolded their Masters, Night
dcccxxiv.-dcccxxix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

     SCOTT: "The Two Orphans."

The Fellah and his fair Wife, Night dcccxxix.-dcccxxx. . . . .241
The Youth who would futter his Father's Wives, Night
dcccxxx.-dcccxxxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247

     SCOTT: "The Vicious Son, translating the Arab. Al-Ibn
     al-Fidawi."

The two Lack-tacts of Cairo and Damascus, including the short
'Tale of the Egyptian, the
     Syrian and the Ass," Night dcccxxxviii.-dcccxl. . . . . .261

     SCOTT: "The two wits of Cairo and Sind."

The Tale of Musa and Ibrahim, including Anecdotes of the
Berberines, Night dcccxl.-dcccxliii. . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
The Brother Wazirs, Ahmad and Mohammed, Night dcccxiv.-dccclxxiii
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
And to end of vol. vi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365





                           VOL. VII.



Contains 447 pages, from Night dccclxxiii.-mi.

The following is a list of the contents:--

                                                           PAGE
Conclusion of the Brother Wazirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-69
Story of the thieving Youth and his Step-mother, Night
dcccxcvii.-cm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The Kazi of Baghdad and his virtuous Wife, Night cm.-cmxi. . . 77
History of the Sultan who protected the Kazi's Wife, Night
cmxi.-cmxvii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
The Sultan of Al-'Irák, Zunnár ibn Zunnár, Night cmxvii.-cmxxi126
Ardashir, Prince of Persia, and the Princess Hayát al-Nufús,
daughter of Sultan Kádir, Night
     cmxxi.-cmlxviii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Story of Shaykh Nakkit the Fisherman, Night cmlxviii.-cmlxxviii297
The Sultan of Andalusia, and the Prince of Al-'Irák who
deflowered the Wazir's daughter; a prose
      replica of Al-Hayfá and Yusuf. MS. vol. v. 210. Night
     cmlxxviii.-cmlxxxviii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329
Tale of Sultan Taylún and the generous Fellah, Night cmlxxxviii.-cmxciv. . . . 365
The retired Sage and his Servant-lad, Night cmxcviii . . . . .414
The Merchant's Daughter who married an Emperor of China, Night
cmxcviii.-mi.,
     ending the work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430-447

This MS. terminates The Nights with the last tale and has no
especial conclusion relating the marriage of the two brother
Kings with the two sisters.





                          Appendix II.



   I.--NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOLUME XIV.[FN#640]

                        By W. F. Kirby.




      Story of the Sultan of Al-yaman and His Three Sons.



P. 9.--The hippopotamus has also been observed, at the Zoological Gardens, to scatter his dung in the manner described.

P. 13.--It is evident from the importance which the author attaches to good birth and heredity, that he would hardly approve of the Socialistic custom, so prevalent in the East, of raising men of low birth to important offices of State.





          The Story of the Three Sharpers (pp. 17-35).



P. 19.--In quoting the titles of this and other tales of the Wortley Montague
MS., in which the word Ja'ídí frequently occurs, Scott often wrote "labourer"
or "artisan" instead of "sharper." The term "sharper" is hardly applicable
here, for the fellows appear really to have possessed the knowledge to which
they laid claim. The "sharpers" in this story differ much from such impostors
as the Illiterate Schoolmaster (No. 93, vol. v. pp. 119-121), who escapes from
his dilemma by his ready wit, or from European pretenders of the type of
Grimm's Dr. Knowall, who escapes from his difficulties by mere accident; or
again from our old friend Ma'aruf (No. 169), whose impudent pretensions and
impostures are aided by astounding good luck.

P. 23.--This test was similar to that given to Ma'aruf (vol. x. pp. 16,17),
but there is nothing in the latter passage to show whether Ma'aruf had any
real knowledge of gems, or not. In the present story, the incident of the worm
recalls the well-known incident of Solomon ordering worms to pierce gems for
Bilkees, the Queen of Sheba.

P. 23.--English schoolboys sometimes play the "trussing game." Two boys have
their wrists and ankles tied together, and their arms are passed over their
knees, and a stick thrust over the arms and under the knees, and they are then
placed opposite each other on the ground, and endeavour to turn each other
over with their toes.

P. 25 note.--Can the word Kashmar be a corruption of Kashmiri?




       History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo (pp. 37-49).



P. 37.--A few years ago, a travelling menagerie exhibited a pair of dog-faced
baboons in Dublin as "two monstrous gorillas!"

P. 40.--Ma'aruf's jewel has been already referred to. The present incident
more resembles the demand made by the king and the wazir from Aladdin and his
mother, though that was far more extravagant.

Pp. 42, 43.--A more terrible form of these wedding disillusions, is when the
bridegroom is entrapped into marriage by an evil magician, and wakes in the
morning to find the phantom of a murdered body in the place of his phantom
bride, and to be immediately charged with the crime. Compare the story of
Naerdan and Guzulbec (Caylus' Oriental Tales; Weber, ii. pp. 632-637) and that
of Monia Emin (Gibb's Story of Jewad, pp. 36, 75). Compare my Appendix,
Nights, x. pp. 502, 508, 509.

Pp. 44, 45.--There is a Western story (one of the latest versions of which may be
found in Moore's Juvenile Poems under the title of "The Ring") in which a
bridegroom on his wedding-day places the ring by accident on the finger of a
statue of Venus; the finger closes on it, and Venus afterwards interposes
continually between him and his bride, claiming him as her husband on the
strength of the ring. The unfortunate husband applies to a magician, who sends
him by night to a meeting of cross-roads, where a procession similar to that
described in the text passes by. He presents the magician's letters to the
King (the devil in the mediæval versions of the story) who requires Venus to
surrender the ring, and with it her claim to the husband.

One of the most curious stories of these royal processions is perhaps the
Lithuanian (or rather Samoghitian) story of

                 The King of the Rats.[FN#641]

Once upon a time a rich farmer lived in a village near Korzian, who was in the
habit of going into the wood late in the evening. One evening he went back
again into the wood very late, when he distinctly heard the name Zurkielis
shouted. He followed the voice, but could not discover from whence the sound
proceeded.


On the next evening the farmer went into the wood, and did not wait long
before he heard the cry repeated, but this time much louder and more
distinctly. On the third evening the farmer went again to the wood; but this
time on Valpurgis-night--the Witch's Sabbath. Suddenly he saw a light appear
in the distance; then more lights shone out, and the light grew stronger and
stronger; and presently the farmer saw a strange procession advancing, and
passing by him. In front of the procession ran a great number of mice of all
sorts, each of whom carried a jewel in his mouth which shone brighter than the
sun. After these came a golden chariot, drawn by a lion, a bear, and two
wolves. The chariot shone like fire, and, instead of nails, it was studded
with dazzling jewels. In the chariot sat the King of the Rats and his consort,
both clad in golden raiment. The King of the Rats wore a golden crown on his
head, and his consort marshalled the procession. After the chariot followed a
vast procession of rats, each of whom carried a torch, and the sparks which
flew from the torches fell to the earth as jewels. Some of the rats were
shouting "Zurkielis" incessantly; and whenever a rat uttered this cry, a piece
of gold fell from his mouth. The procession was followed by a great number of
fantastic forms, which collected the gold from the ground, and put it into
large sacks. When the farmer saw this he also gathered together as much of the
gold and jewels as he could reach. Presently a cock crew, and everything
vanished. The farmer returned to his house, but the gold and jewels gave him a
very tangible proof that the adventure had not been a dream.

A year passed by, and on the next Valpurgis-night the farmer went back to the
wood, and everything happened as on the year before. The farmer became
immensely rich from the gold and jewels which he collected; and on the third
anniversary of the Valpurgis-night he did not go to the wood, but remained
quietly at home. He was quite rich enough, and he was afraid that some harm
might happen to him in the wood. But on the following morning a rat appeared,
and addressed him as follows: "You took the gold and jewels, but this year you
did not think it needful to pay our king and his consort the honour due to
them by appearing before them during the procession in the wood; and
henceforward it will go ill with you."

Having thus spoken, the rat disappeared; but shortly afterwards such a host of
rats took up their abode in the farmer's house that it was impossible for him
to defend himself against them. The rats gnawed everything in the house, and
whatever was brought into it. In time the farmer was reduced to beggary, and
died in wretchedness.




            Story of the Second Lunatic (pp. 67-74).



This is a variant of "Woman's Craft" (No. 184 of our Table), or "Woman's
Wiles," (Supp. Nights, ii. pp. 135-148). Mr. L. C. Smithers tells me that an
English version of this story, based upon Langlès' translation (Cf. Nights, x.
App., p. 498, sub "Sindbad the Sailor"), appeared in the Literary Souvenir for
1831, under the title of "Woman's Wit."


Pp. 69-76.--Concerning the Shikk and the Nesnás, Lane writes (1001 Nights, i.,
Introd. note 21): "The Shikk is another demoniacal creature, having the form
of half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed
that the Nesnás is the offspring of a Shikk and of a human being. The Shikk
appears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was
killed by, 'Alkamah, the son of Safwán, the son of Umeiyeh, of whom it is well
known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-Kazweenee.

"The Nesnás (above-mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being,
having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with
much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and being endowed with
speech; 'but God,' it is added, 'is all-knowing.' (El-Kazweenee in the
khatimeh of his work.) It is said that it is found in Hadramót as well as
El-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil; it resembled a man
in form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a
tail like that of a sheep. The people of Hadramót, it is added, eat it; and
its flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went
there asserted that he saw a captured Nesnás, which cried out for mercy,
conjuring him by God and by himself. (Mi-rát ez-Zemán.) A race of people whose
head is in the breast is described as inhabiting an island called Jábeh
(supposed to be Java) in the Sea of El-Hind or India; and a kind of Nesnás is
also described as inhabiting the Island of Ráïj, in the Sea of Es-Seen, or
China, and having wings like those of the bat. (Ibn El-Wardee.)" Compare also
an incident in the story of Janshah (Nights v. p. 333, and note) and the
description of the giant Haluka in Forbes' translation of the Persian Romance
of Hatim Tai (p. 47): "In the course of an hour the giant was so near as to be
distinctly seen in shape like an immense dome. He had neither hands nor feet,
but a tremendous mouth, situated in the midst of his body. He advanced with an
evolving motion, and from his jaws issued volumes of flame and clouds of
smoke." When his reflection was shown him in a mirror, he burst with rage.

I may add that a long-tailed species of African monkey (Cercopithecus
Pyrrhonotus) is now known to naturalists as the Nisnas.




      Story of the Broken-backed Schoolmaster (pp. 95-97).



I once heard a tale of two Irishmen, one of whom lowered the other over a
cliff, probably in search of the nests of sea-fowl. Presently the man at the
top called out, "Hold hard while I spit on my hands," so he loosed the rope
for that purpose, and his companion incontinently disappeared with it.




      Story of the Split-mouthed Schoolmaster (pp. 97-101).



In Scott's "Story of the Wry-mouthed Schoolmaster" (Arabian Nights, vi. pp. 74-75) the schoolmaster crams a boiling egg into his mouth, which the boy smashes.




        Night Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo (pp.
                            90-109).



P. 103.--Scott (vi. p. 403) makes the proclamation read, "Whoever presumes
after the first watch of the night to have a lamp lighted in his house, shall
have his head struck off, his goods confiscated, his house razed to the
ground, and his women dishonoured." A proclamation in such terms under the
circumstances (though not meant seriously) would be incredible, even in the
East.




        Story of the Kazi Who Bare a Babe (pp. 167-185).



In the Esthonian Kalevipoeg we read of two giants who lay down to sleep on
opposite sides of the table after eating a big supper of thick peas-soup. An
unfortunate man was hidden under the table, and the consequence was that he
was blown backwards and forwards between them all night.




     History of the Bhang-Eater and His Wife (pp. 202-209).



Selling a bull or a cow in the manner described is a familiar incident in
folk-lore; and in Rivière's "Contes Populaires Kabyles" we find a variant of
the present story under the title of "L'Idiot et le Coucou." In another form,
the cow or other article is exchanged for some worthless, or apparently
worthless, commodity, as in Jack and the Bean-stalk; Hans im Glück; or as in
the case of Moses in the Vicar of Wakefield. The incident of the fool finding
a treasure occurs in Cazotte's story of Xailoun.[FN#642]





       How Drummer Abu Kasim Became a Kazi (pp. 210-212).



I have heard an anecdote of a man who was sued for the value of a bond which
he had given payable one day after the day of judgment. The judge ruled, "This
is the day of judgment, and I order that the bill must be paid to-morrow!"




        Story of the Kazi and His Slipper (pp. 212-215).



This story is well known in Europe, though not as forming part of The Nights.
Mr. W. A. Clouston informs me that it first appeared in Cardonne's "Mélanges
de littérature orientale" (Paris, 1770). Cf. Nights x. App. pp. 509 and 512.




          History of the Third Larrikin (pp. 296-297).



Such mistakes must be very frequent. I remember once seeing a maid stoop down
with a jug in her hand, when she knocked her head against the table. Some one
sitting by, thinking it was the jug, observed, "Never mind, there's nothing in
it."

Another time I was driving out in the country with a large party, and our host
got out to walk across to another point. Presently he was missed, and they
inquired, "Where is he?" There was a dog lying in the carriage, and one of the
party looked round, and not seeing the dog, responded, "Why, where is the
dog?"




        Tale of the Fisherman and His Son (pp. 314-329).



The present story, though not very important in itself, is interesting as
combining some of the features of three distinct classes of folk-tales. One of
these is the anti-Jewish series, of which Grimm's story of the Jew in the
Bramble-Bush is one of the most typical examples. According to these tales,
any villany is justifiable, if perpetrated on a Jew. We find traces of this
feeling even in Shakspeare, and to this day Shylock (notwithstanding the
grievous wrongs which he had suffered at the hands of Christians) rarely gets
much sympathy from modern readers, who quite overlook all the extenuating
circumstances in his case.[FN#643] Nor do we always find the Jew famous for
'cuteness in folk-tales. This phase of his reputation is comparatively modern,
and in the time of Horace, "Credat Judæus" was a Roman proverb, which means,
freely translated, "Nobody would be fool enough to believe it except a Jew."

The present story combines the features of the anti-Jewish tales, the Alaeddin
series, and the Grateful Beasts series. (Compare Mr. W. A. Clouston's remarks
on Aladdin, Supp. Nights, App. iii., pp. 564-581; and also his "Tales and
Popular Fictions.")

In vol. 53 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1884, pp. 24-39) I
find a Nicobar story which relates how Tiomberombi received a magic mirror
from a snake whose enemy he had killed. Its slaves obeyed all his orders if he
only put the key into the keyhole, but he was not allowed to open the mirror,
as he was too weak to face the spirits openly. He dwelt on an island, but when
a hostile fleet came against him, the gunners could not hit it, as the island
became invisible. The hostile chief sent an old woman to worm the secret out
of Tiomberombi's wife; the mirror was stolen, and Tiomberombi and his wife
were carried off. On reaching land, Tiomberombi was thrown into prison, but he
persuaded the rats to fetch him the mirror.[FN#644] He destroyed his enemies,
went home, and re-established himself on his island, warning his wife and
mother not to repeat what had happened, lest the island should sink. They told
the story while he was eating; the island sank into the sea, and they were all
drowned.




        The History of Abu Niyyah and Abu Niyyatayn (pp.
                           334-352).



This story combines features which we find separately in Nos. 3b (ba); 162 and
198. The first story, the Envier and the Envied, is very common in folk-lore,
and has been sometimes used in modern fairy-tales. The reader will remember
the Tailor and the Shoemaker in Hans Christian Andersen's "Eventyr."
Frequently, as in the latter story, the good man, instead of being thrown into
a well, is blinded by the villain, and abandoned in a forest, where he
afterwards recovers his sight. One of the most curious forms of this story is
the Samoghitian




                  Truth and Injustice.[FN#645]



Truth and Injustice lived in the same country, and one day they happened to
meet, and agreed to be friends. But as Injustice brought many people into
trouble, Truth declared that she would have no more to do with her, upon which
Injustice grew angry, and put out the eyes of Truth. Truth wandered about for
a long time at random, and at last she came to a walnut-tree, and climbed up
it to rest awhile in safety from wild beasts. During the night a wolf and a
mouse came to the foot of the tree, and held the following conversation. The
wolf began, "I am very comfortable in the land where I am now living, for
there are so many blind people there that I can steal almost any animal I like
without anybody seeing me. If the blind men knew that they had only to rub
their eyes with the moss which grows on the stones here in order to recover
their sight, I should soon get on badly with them."

The mouse responded, "I live in a district where the people have no water, and
are obliged to fetch it from a great distance. When they are away from home I
can enjoy as much of their provisions as I like; indeed, I can heap together
as large a store as I please without being disturbed. If the people knew that
they had only to cut down a great oak tree, and a great lime tree which grow
near their houses, in order to find water, I should soon be badly off."

As soon as the wolf and the mouse were gone, Truth came down from her tree,
and groped about until she found a moss-covered stone, when she rubbed her
eyes with the moss. She recovered her sight immediately, and then went her way
till she came to the country where most of the people were blind. Truth
demanded that the blind people should pay her a fixed sum of money, when she
would tell them of a remedy by which they could recover their sight. The blind
men gave her the money, and Truth supplied them with the remedy which had
cured herself.

After this, Truth proceeded further till she came to the district where the
people had no water. She told them that if they would give her a carriage and
horses, she would tell them where to find water. The people were glad to agree
to her proposal.

When Truth had received the carriage and horses, she showed the people the oak
and the lime tree, which they felled by her directions, when water immediately
flowed from under the roots in great abundance.

As Truth drove away she met Injustice, who had fallen into poverty, and was
wandering from one country to another in rags. Truth knew her immediately, and
asked her to take a seat in her carriage. Injustice then recognised her, and
asked her how she had received the light of her eyes, and how she had come by
such a fine carriage. Truth told her everything, including what she had heard
from the wolf and the mouse. Injustice then persuaded her to put out her eyes,
for she wanted to be rich, and to have a fine carriage too; and then Truth
told her to descend. Truth herself drove away, and seldom shows herself to
men.

Injustice wandered about the country till she found the walnut tree, up which
she climbed. When evening came, the wolf and the fox met under the tree again
to talk. Both were now in trouble, for the wolf could not steal an animal
without being seen and pursued by the people, and the mouse could no longer
eat meat or collect stores without being disturbed, for the people were no
longer obliged to leave their home for a long time to fetch water. Both the
wolf and the mouse suspected that some one had overheard their late
conversation, so they looked up in search of the listener, and discovered
Injustice in the tree. The animals supposed that it was she who had betrayed
them, and said in anger, "May our curse be upon you that you may remain for
ever blind, for you have deprived us of our means of living."

After thus speaking, the animals ran away, but Injustice has ever since
remained blind, and does harm to everybody who chances to come in her way.





       II.--NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOLUME XV.

                        By W. F. KIRBY.




     History of the King's Son of Sind and the Lady Fatimah
                          (pp. 1-18).



P. 3.--This mixture of seeds, &c., is a very common incident in folk-tales.

P. 7.--Compare the well-known incident in John xviii. 1-11, which passage, by
the way, is considered to be an interpolation taken from the lost Gospel of
the Hebrews.




          History of the Lovers of Syria (pp. 21-36).



P. 18.--Divination by the flight or song of birds is so universal that it is
ridiculous of Kreutzwald (the compiler of the Kalevipoeg) to quote the fact of
the son of Kalev applying to birds and beasts for advice as being intended by
the composers as a hint that he was deficient in intelligence.

In Bulwer Lytton's story of the Fallen Star (Pilgrims of the Rhine, ch. xix.)
he makes the imposter Morven determine the succession to the chieftainship by
means of a trained hawk.

P. 26, note 2.--Scott may possibly refer to the tradition that the souls of
the dead are stored up in the trumpet of Israfil, when he speaks of the
"receiving angel."




      History of Al-Hajjaj Bin Yusuf and the Young Sayyid
                          (pp. 39-60).



P. 43, note 1.--I doubt if the story-teller intended to represent Al-Hajjaj as
ignorant. The story rather implies that he was merely catechising the youth,
in order to entangle him in his talk.

P. 46.--Compare the story of the Sandal-wood Merchant and the Sharpers
(Nights, vi. p. 206) in which the Merchant is required to drink up the sea [or
rather, perhaps, river], and requires his adversary to hold the mouth of the
sea for him with his hand.

P. 52, note 3.--It is well known that children should not be allowed to sleep
with aged persons, as the latter absorb their vitality.




    Night Adventure of Harun Al-Rashid and the Youth Manjab
                          (pp. 61-105).



P. 102.--In the Danish ballads we frequently find heroes appealing to their
mothers or nurses in cases of difficulty. Compare "Habor and Signild," and
"Knight Stig's Wedding," in Prior's Danish Ballads, i. p. 216 and ii. p. 339.




       Story of the Darwaysh and the Barber's Boy and the
                   Greedy Sultan (pp. 105-114).



This story belongs to the large category known to students of folk-lore as the
Sage and his Pupil; and of this again there are three main groups:

1. Those in which (as in the present instance) the two remain on friendly
terms.

2. Those in which the sage is outwitted and destroyed by his pupil (e.g.,
Cazotte's story of the Maugraby; or Spitta Bey's tales, No. 1).

3. Those in which the pupil attempts to outwit or to destroy the sage, and is
himself outwitted or destroyed (e.g., The Lady's Fifth Story, in Gibb's Forty
Vezirs, pp. 76-80; and his App. B. note v., p. 413).




         The Loves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf (pp. 121-210).



P. 149, note 1.--I believe that a sudden attack of this kind is always speedily fatal.




        The Goodwife of Cairo and Her Four Gallants (pp.
                           251-294).



P. 255, note.--It may be worth while to note that Swedenborg asserts that it
is unlawful in Heaven for any person to look at the back of the head of
another, as by so doing he interrupts the divine influx. The foundation of
this idea is perhaps the desire to avoid mesmeric action upon the cerebellum.




             Tale of Mohsin and Muss (pp. 232-241).



The notes on the story of Abu Niyyat and Abu Niyyateen (supra, pp. 356) will
apply still better to the present story.




    The Merchant's Daughter, and the Prince of Al-irak (pp.
                           264-317).



Pp. 305-312.--The case of Tobias and Sara (Tobit, chaps. iii.-viii.) was very
similar: but in this instance the demon Asmodeus was driven away by fumigating
with the liver and heart of a fish.





                   Arabian Nights, Volume 15
                           Footnotes



[FN#1] In the same volume (ii. 161) we also find an "Introductory Chapter of the Arabian Tales," translated from an original manuscript by Jonathan Scott, Esq.; neither MS nor translation having any merit. In pp. 34, 35 (ibid.) are noticed the "Contents of a Fragment of the Arabian Nights procured in India by James Anderson, Esq., a copy of which" (made by his friend Scott) "is now in the possession of Jonathan Scott, Esq." (See Scott, vol. vi. p. 451.) For a short but sufficient notice of this fragment cf. the Appendix (vol. x. p. 497) to my Thousand Nights and a Night, the able and conscientious work of Mr. W. F. Kirby. "The Labourer and the Flying Chain" (No. x.) and "The King's Son who escaped death by the ingenuity of his Father's seven Viziers" (No. xi.) have been translated or rather abridged by Scott in his "Tales, Anecdotes and Letters" before alluded to, a vol. of pp. 446 containing scraps from the Persian "Tohfat al-Majális" and "Hazliyát' Abbíd Zahkání" (Facetiæ of 'Abbíd the Jester), with letters from Aurangzeb and other such padding much affected by the home public in the Early XIXth Century.

[FN#2] So called from Herr Uri, a Hungarian scholar who first
catalogued "The Contents."

[FN#3] W. M. MS. iv. 165–189: Scott (vi. 238–245), "Story of the
Prince of Sind, and Fatima, daughter of Amir Bin Naomaun":
Gauttier (vi. 342–348) Histoire du Prince de Sind et de Fatime.
Sind is so called from Sindhu, the Indus (in Pers. Sindáb), is
the general name of the riverine valley: in early days it was a
great station of the so-called Aryan race, as they were migrating eastwards into India Proper, and it contains many Holy Places dating from the era of the Puránás. The Moslems soon made
acquaintance with it, and the country was conquered and annexed
by Mohammed bin Kásim, sent to attack it by the famous or
infamous Hajjáj bin Yúsuf the Thakafite, lieutenant of Al-'Irák
under the Ommiade Abd al-Malik bin Marwán. For details, see my
"Sind Re-visited": vol. i. chapt. viii.

[FN#4] [In MS. "shakhat," a modern word which occurs in Spitta
Bey's "Contes Arabes Modernes," spelt with the palatal instead of the dental, and is translated there by "injurier."--ST.]

[FN#5] In the text "Sahríj"; hence the "Chafariz" (fountain) of
Portugal, which I derived (Highlands of the Brazil, i. 46) from
"Sakáríj." It is a "Moghrabin" word = fonte, a fountain, preserved in the Brazil and derided in the mother country, where a New World village is described as

                         --Chafariz,
             Joam Antam e a Matriz:

which may be roughly rendered

                    --Parish church,
     Pump on the Green and Johnny Birch.

[FN#6] [Here I suppose the scribe dropped a word, as "yahtáj," or the like, and the sentence should read: it requires, etc.--ST.]

[FN#7] In text "Sárayah," for "Saráyah," Serai, Government House: vol. ix. 52.

[FN#8] A manner of metonymy, meaning that he rested his cheek
upon his right hand.

[FN#9] For the sig. of this phrase = words suggested by the
circumstances, see vol. i. 121.

[FN#10] Mr. Charles M. Doughty ("Arabia Deserta," i. 223) speaks
of the Badawin who "sit beating the time away, and for pastime
limning with their driving-sticks (the Bákúr) in the idle land."

[FN#11] In text "Lam yanúb al-Wáhidu min-hum nisf haffán." [I
cannot explain this sentence satisfactory to myself, but by
inserting "illá" after "min-hum." Further I would read "nassaf" = libavit, delibavit, degustavit (Dozy, Suppl. s. v.) and "Hifán," pl. of "Hafna" = handful, mouthful, small quantity, translating accordingly: "and none took his turn without sipping a few laps."--ST.]

[FN#12] "Tarajjama": Suppl. vol. iv. 188. I shall always
translate it by "he deprecated" scil. evil to the person
addressed.

[FN#13] [The text, as I read it, has: "In wahadtu (read wajadtu)
fí házih al-Sá'áh shayyan naakul-hu wa namút bi-hi nartáh min
házá al-Taab wa'l-mashakkah la-akultu-hu" = if I could find at this hour a something (i.e. in the way of poison) which I might eat and die thereby and rest from this toil and trouble, I would
certainly eat it, etc.--ST.]

[FN#14] See vol. i. 311 for this "tom-tom" as Anglo-Indians call
it.

[FN#15] i.e. Whereinto the happy man was able to go, which he
could not whilst the spell was upon the hoard.

[FN#16] Here ends this tale, a most lame and impotent conclusion, in the W. M. MS. iv. 189. Scott (p. 244–5) copied by Gauttier (vi. 348) has, "His father received him with rapture, and the prince having made an apology to the sultana (!) for his former rude behaviour, she received his excuses, and having no child of her own readily adopted him as her son; so that the royal family lived henceforth in the utmost harmony, till the death of the sultan and sultana, when the prince succeeded to the empire."

[FN#17] W. M. MS. iv. 189. Scott (vi. 246-258) "Story of the Lovers of Syria; or, the Heroine:" Gauttier (iv. 348-354) Histoire des Amans de Syrie.

[FN#18] Scott (vi. 246) comments upon the text:--"The master of
the ship having weighed anchor, hoisted sail and departed: the
lady in vain entreating him to wait the return of her beloved, or send her on shore, for he was captivated with her beauty. Finding herself thus ensnared, as she was a woman of strong mind . . . she assumed a satisfied air; and as the only way to preserve her honour, received the addresses of the treacherous master with pretended complacency, and consented to receive him as a husband at the first port at which the ship might touch."

[FN#19] The captain, the skipper, not the owner: see vols. i.
127; vi. 12; the fem. (which we shall presently find) is
"Ra'isah."

[FN#20] Scott (p. 246) has:--"At length the vessel anchored near
a city, to which the captain went to make preparations for his
marriage; but the lady, while he was on shore, addressed the
ship's crew, setting forth with such force his treacherous
conduct to herself, and offering such rewards if they would
convey her to her lover at the port they had left, that the
honest sailors were moved in her favour, agreed to obey her as
their mistress, and hoisting sail, left the master to shift for
himself."

[FN#21] In text "Kamrah," = the chief cabin, from the Gr. ?aµ??a = vault; Pers. Kamar; Lat. "Camera" or "Camara"; Germ. "Kammer."
It is still the popular term in Egypt for the "cuddy," which is
derived from Pers. "Kadah" = a room.

[FN#22] Scott makes the doughty damsel (p. 249), "relate to them
her own adventures, and assure them that when she should have
rejoined her lover, they should, if they chose it, be honourably
restored to their homes; but in the mean time she hoped they
would contentedly share her fortunes."

[FN#23] In text "Fidáwi," see "Fidá'i" and "Fidawíyah," suppl.
vol. iv. 281.

[FN#24] [In the text "Al-Kázánát," pl. of "Kázán," which occurs
in Spitta Bey's tales under the form "Kazán" on account of the
accent. It is the Turkish "Kazghán," vulgarly pronounced "Kazan," and takes in Persian generally the form "Kazkán." In Night 652 it will be met again in the sense of crucibles.--ST.]

[FN#25] In text "Banj al-tayyár," i.e. volatile: as we should
say, that which flies fastest to the brain.

[FN#26] This marvellous bird, the "Ter-il-bas" (Tayr Táús?), is a particular kind of peacock which is introduced with a monstrous amount of nonsense about "Dagon and his son Bil-il-Sanan" and made to determine elections by alighting upon the head of one of the candidates in Chavis and Cazotte, "History of Yamalladdin (Jamál al-Din), Prince of Great Katay" (Khátá = Cathay = China). See Heron, iv. 159.

[FN#27] Lit. "hath given it to him."

[FN#28] Arab. "Jiház," the Egypt. "Gaház," which is the Scotch
"tocher," and must not be confounded with the "Mahr" = dowry,
settled by the husband upon the wife. Usually it consists of
sundry articles of dress and ornament, furniture (matting and
bedding carpets, divans, cushions and kitchen utensils), to which the Badawi add "Girbahs" (water-skins), querns, and pestles with mortars. These are usually carried by camels from the bride's house to the bridegroom's: they are the wife's property, and if divorced she takes them away with her and the husband has no control over the married woman's capital, interest or gains. For other details see Lane M.E. chapt. vi. and Herklots chapt. xiv. sec. 7.

[FN#29] [Arab. "Shuwár" = trousseau, whence the verb "shawwara
binta-hu" = he gave a marriage outfit to his daughter. See Dozy
Suppl. s. v. and Arnold's Chrestom. 157, 1. --ST.]

[FN#30] Arab. "Ghashím," see vol. ii. 330. It is a favourite word in Egypt extending to Badawi-land, and especially in Cairo, where it is looked upon as slighting if not insulting.

[FN#31] The whole of the scene is a replica of the marriage
between Kamar al-Zamán and that notable blackguard the Lady Budúr (vol. iii. 211), where also we find the pigeon slaughtered (p. 289). I have mentioned that the blood of this bird is supposed throughout the East, where the use of the microscope is unknown, and the corpuscles are never studied, most to resemble the results of a bursten hymen, and that it is the most used to
deceive the expert eyes of midwives and old matrons. See note to
vol. iii. p. 280.

[FN#32] Scott (p. 254) makes his heroine "erect a most
magnificent caravanserai, furnished with baths hot and cold, and
every convenience for the weary traveller." Compare this device
with the public and royal banquet (p. 212) contrived by the
slave-girl sultaness, the charming Zumurrud or Smaragdine in the
tale of Ali Shár, vol. iv. 187.

[FN#33] In text "Shakhs," see vol. iii. 26; viii. 159.

[FN#34] This assemblage of the dramatis personæ at the end of the scene, highly artistic and equally improbably, reminds us of the ending of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman (vol. iii. 112).

[FN#35] The King and the Minister could not have recognised the
portrait as neither had seen the original.

[FN#36] In text "Ishtalaka" = he surmised, discovered (a secret).

[FN#37] In the Arab. "she knew them," but the careless
storyteller forgets the first part of his own story.

[FN#38] Story-telling being servile work.

[FN#39] [In the MS. "istanatú lá-ha." The translation in the text presupposes the reading "istanattú" as the 10th form of "natt" = he jumped, he leaped. I am inclined to take it for the 8th form of "sanat," which according to Dozy stands in its 2nd form "sannat" for "sannat," a transposition of the classical "nassat" = he listened to. The same word with the same meaning of "listening attentively," recurs in the next line in the singular, applying to the captain and the following pronoun "la-há" refers in both passages to "Hikáyah," tale, not to the lady-sultan who reveals herself only later, when she has concluded her narrative.--ST.]

[FN#40] Here the converse is probably meant, as we have before
seen.

[FN#41] Scott ends (p. 258) "Years of unusual happiness passed
over the heads of the fortunate adventurers of this history,
until death, the destroyer of all things, conducted them to a
grave which must one day be the resting-place for ages of us all, till the receiving (?) angel shall sound his trumpet."

[FN#42] Scott (vi. 259-267), "Story of Hyjuaje, the tyrannical
Governor of Coufeh, and the Young Syed." For the difference
between the "Sayyid" (descendant of Hasan) and the "Sharíf,"
derived from Husayn, see vol. v. 259. Being of the Holy House the youth can truly deny that he belongs to any place or race, as will be seen in the sequel.

[FN#43] This masterful administrator of the Caliphate under the
early Ommiades is noticed in vols. iv. 3, vii. 97. The succession to the Prophet began--as mostly happens in the proceedings of elective governments, republics, and so forth--with the choice of a nobody, "Abubakr the Veridical," a Meccan merchant, whose chief claim was the glamour of the Apostolate. A more notable personage, and seen under the same artificial light, was "Omar the Justiciary," also a trader of Meccah, who was murdered for an act of injustice. In Osman nepotism and corruption so prevailed, while distance began to dim the Apostolic glories, that the blood-thirsty turbulence of the Arab was aroused and caused the death of the third Caliph by what we should call in modern phrase "lynching." Ali succeeded, if indeed we can say he succeeded at all, to an already divided empire. He was the only one of the four who could be described as a man of genius, and therefore he had a host of enemies: he was a poet, a sage, a moralist and even a grammarian; brave as a lion, strong as a bull, a successful and experienced captain, yet a complete failure as a King. A mere child in mundane matters, he ever acted in a worldly sense as he should have avoided acting, and hence, after a short and disastrous reign, he also was killed. His two sons, Hasan and Husayn, inherited all the defects and few of the merits of their sire: Hasan was a pauvre diable, whose chief characteristic was addiction to marriage, and by poetical justice one of his wives murdered him. Husayn was of stronger mould, but he fought against the impossible; for his rival was Mu'áwiyah, the Cavour of the
Age, the longest-headed man in Arabia, and against Yezíd, who,
like Italy of the present day, flourished and prospered by the
artificial game which the far-seeing politician, his father, had
bequeathed to his house--the Ommiade. The fourth of this dynasty, 'Abd al-Malik bin Marwán, "the Father of Flies," and his successor, Al-Walid, were happy in being served thoroughly and unscrupulously by Al-Hajjáj, the ablest of Lieutenants, whose specialty it was to take in hand a revolted province, such as Al-Hijáz, Al-Irák, or Khorásán, and to slaughter it into
submission; besides deaths in battle he is computed to have slain 120,000 men. He was an unflinching preacher of the Divine Right of Kings and would observe that the Lord says, "Obey Allah an ye can" (conditional), but as regards royal government "Hearing and obeying" (absolute); ergo, all opposition was to be cut down and uprooted. However, despite his most brilliant qualities, his learning, his high and knightly sense of honour, his insight and his foresight (e.g. in building Wásit), he won an immortality of infamy: he was hated by his contemporaries, he is the subject of silly tale and offensive legend (e.g., that he was born without anus, which required opening with instruments, and he was suckled by Satan's orders on blood), and he is still execrated as the tyrant, per excellentiam, and the oppressor of the Holy Family--the children and grand-children of the Apostle.

The traditional hatred of Al-Hajjaj was envenomed by the
accession of the Abbasides and this dynasty, the better to
distinguish itself from the Ommiades, affected love for the Holy
Family, especially Ali and his descendants, and a fanatical
hatred against their oppressors. The following table from Ibn
Khaldún (Introduct. xxii.) shows that the Caliphs were cousins,
which may account for their venomous family feud.

[First Version]

                        'Abd Manaf
                            |
                ____________|____________
                |                       |
              Hashim                 Abd Shams
                |                       |
         Abd al-Muttalib            Umayyah
                |                       |
     ___________|__________         ____|______
     |          |         |         |         |
  Al-Abbas  Abdullah  Abu Talib   Harb       Abu 'l-Aus
     |          |         |         |         |
  Abdullah  Mohammed      |      Abu Sufyan  Al-Hakim
     |          |         |         |         |
    Ali   Fatimah married Ali   Mu'awiyah    Marwan
     |         _____|_____    (1st Ommiade)
     |         |         |
  Mohammed  Al-Hasan Al-Husayn
    |
Al-Saffáh
(1st Abbaside)


[Second Version]

'Abd Manaf, father of Hashim and Abd Shams
   Hashim, father of Abd al-Muttalib
     Abd al-Muttalib, father of Al-Abbas, Abdullah, and Abu Talib
         Al-Abbas, father of Abdullah
             Abdullah, father of Ali
                 Ali, father of Mohammed
                    Mohammed, father of Al-Saffáh (1st Abbaside)
         Abdullah, father of Mohammed
             Mohammed, father of Fatimah, who married Ali
                       (son of Abu Talib)
                Fatimah, mother of Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn
         Abu Talib, father of Ali
   Abd Shams, father of Umayyah
     Umayyah, father of Harb and Abu 'l-Aus
         Harb, father of Abu Sufyan
             Abu Sufyan, father of Mu'awiyah (1st Ommiade)
         Abu 'l-Aus, father of Al-Hakim
             Al-Hakim, father of Marwan

[FN#44] [The word here translated "invited guest" reads in the
MS. "Mad'úr." In this form it is no dictionary word, but under
the root "D'r" I find in the Muhít: "wa 'l-'ámatu takúlu fulánun
da'irun ya'ní ghalízun jáfin" = the common people say such a one
is "da'ir," i.e., rude, churlish. "Mad'úr" may be a synonym and
rendered accordingly: as though thou wert a boor or clown.--ST]

[FN#45] A neat specimen of the figure anachronism. Al-Hajjaj died in A.H. 95 (= A.D. 714), and Cairo was built in A.H. 358 (= A.D. 968).

[FN#46] Perfectly true even in the present day. The city was famed for intelligence and sanguinary fanaticism; and no stranger in disguise could pass through it without detection. This ended with the massacre of 1840, which brought a new era into the Moslem East. The men are, as a rule, fine-looking, but they seem to be all show: we had a corps of them in the old Básh-Buzuks, who, after a month or two in camp, seemed to have passed suddenly from youth into old age.

[FN#47] In text, "Yasta'amilúna al-Mrd," which may have a number
of meanings, e.g. "work frowardness" (Maradd), or "work the fruit of the tree Arák" (Marad = wild capparis) and so forth. I have chosen the word mainly because "Murd" rhymes to "Burd." The
people of Al-Yaman are still deep in the Sotadic Zone and
practice; this they owe partly to a long colonization of the
"'Ajam," or Persians. See my Terminal Essay, § "Pederasty," p.
205.

[FN#48] "Burd," plur. of "Burdah" = mantle or woollen plaid of
striped stuff: vol. vii. 95. They are still woven in Arabia, but
they are mostly white.

[FN#49] So in Tabari (vol. III. 127) Al Hajjáj sees a man of
haughty mien (Abd al-Rahmán bin Abdullah), and exclaims, "Regarde comme il est orgueilleux: par Dieu, j'aurais envie de lui couper la tête!"

[FN#50] [The phrase is Koranic (viii. 24): "Wa 'lamú anna 'lláha
yahúlu bayna 'l-mari wa kalbi-hi," which Rodwell translates: Know that God cometh in between man and his own heart.--ST]

[FN#51] "Yathrib," the classical name ?at??ppa, one of the
multifarious titles of what is called in full "Madínat al-Nabi,"
City of the Prophet, and vulgarly, Al-Madinah, the City.
"Tayyibah," the good, sweet, or lawful: "Al-Munawwarah" = the
enlightened, i.e. by the light of The Faith and the column of
(odylic) flame supposed to be based upon the Prophet's tomb. For
more, see my Pilgrimage, ii. 162. I may note how ridiculously the story-teller displays ignorance in Al-Hajjaj, who knew the
Moslem's Holy Land by heart.

[FN#52] In text "Taawíl," = the commentary or explanation of
Moslem Holy Writ: "Tanzíl" = coming down, revelation of the
Koran: "Tahrím" = rendering any action "harám" or unlawful, and
"Tahlíl" = the converse, making word or deed canonically legal.
Those are well-known theological terms.

[FN#53] The Banú Ghálib, whose eponymous forefather was Ghálib,
son of Fihr, the well-known ancestor of Mohammed.

[FN#54] In text "Hasab wa Nasab." It is told of Al-Mu'izz bi
Díni'llah, first Fatimite Caliph raised to the throne of Egypt,
that he came forward to the elective assembly and drew his sword
half way out of the scabbard and exclaimed "Házá Nasabí" (this is my genealogy); and then cast handfuls of gold amongst the crowd, crying, "Házá Hasabí" (such is my title to reign). This is as good as the traditional saying of Napoleon the Great at his first assuming the iron crown--"God gave her to me; woe for whoso toucheth her" (the crown).

[FN#55] [In MS. "takhsa-u," a curious word of venerable yet green old age, used in the active form with both transitive and
intransitive meaning: to drive away (a dog, etc.), and to be
driven away. In the Koran (xxiii. 110) we find the imper.
"ikhsaú" = be ye driven away, and in two other places (ii. 61,
vii. 166), the nomen agentis "khási" = "scouted" occurs, as
applied to the apes into which the Sabbath-breaking Jews were
transformed. In the popular language of the present day it has
become equivalent with "khába," to be disappointed, and may here
be translated: thou wilt fail ignominiously.--ST]

[FN#56] Scott introduces (p. 262), "the tyrant, struck with his
magnanimity, became calm, and commanding the executioner to
release the youth, said, For the present I forbear, and will not
kill thee unless thy answers to my further questions shall
deserve it. They then entered on the following dialogue: Hyjuawje hoping to entrap him in discourse."

[FN#57] See the dialogue on this subject between Al-Hajjaj and
Yáhyá ibn Yamar in Ibn Khallikan, iv. 60.

[FN#58] Surah xxxiii. (The Confederates), v. 40, which ends, "And Allah knoweth all things."

[FN#59] Surah lix. (The Emigration), v. 40: the full quotation
would be, "The spoil, taken from the townsfolk and assigned by
Allah to His Apostle, belongeth to Allah and to the Apostle and
to his kindred and to the orphan and to the poor and to the
wayfarer, that naught thereof may circulate among such only of
you as be rich. What the Apostle hath given you, take. What he
hath refused you, refuse. And fear ye Allah, for Allah is sure in punishing."

[FN#60] The House of Háshim, great-grandfather to the Prophet.

[FN#61] Ibn Khallikan (vol. i. 354) warns us that "Al-Taî" means
belonging to the Taî which is a famous tribe. This relative
adjective is of irregular formation; analogy would require it to
be Táîî; but the formation of relative adjectives admits some
variations; thus from dahr (time) is derived duhrí (temporal) and from sahl (a plain), suhlí (plain, level). The author might also have told us that there is always a reason for such
irregularities; thus "Dahrí" (from Dahr) would mean a Mundanist,
one who believes in this world and not the next or another.

[FN#62] The "Banú Thakíf" was a noble tribe sprung from Iyád (Ibn Khallikan i. 358-363); but the ignorant and fanatic scribe uses every means, fair and foul, to defame Al-Hajjaj. It was a great race and a well known, living about Táif in the Highlands East of Meccah, where they exist to the present day. Mr. Doughty (loc. cit. ii. 174) mentions a kindred of the Juhaynah Badawin called El-Thegif (Thakíf) of whom the Medinites say, "Allah ya'alan Thegíf Kuddám takuf" (God damn the Thegíf ere thou stand still). They are called "Yahud" (Jews), probably meaning pre-Islamitic Arabs, and are despised accordingly.

[FN#63] In Arab. "Jady" = the Zodiacal sign Capricorn.

[FN#64] We find a similar facetia in Mullah Jámí (Garden viii.).
When a sheep leapt out of the stream, her tail happened to be
raised, and a woolcarder said laughing:--"I have seen thy parts
genital." She turned her head and replied, "O miserable, for many a year I have seen thee mother-naked yet never laughed I." This alludes to the practice of such artisans who on account of the heat in their workshops and the fibre adhering to their clothes work in naturalibus. See p. 178, the Beharistán (Abode of Spring). Printed by the Kamashastra Society for Private
Subscribers only. Benares, 1887.

[FN#65] This passage is not Koranic, and, according to Prof.
Houdas, the word "Muhkaman" is never found in the Holy Volume.
[The passage is not a literal quotation, but it evidently alludes to Koran iii. 5: "Huwa'llazí anzalá 'alayka 'l-kitába minhu áyâtun muhkamátun" = He it is who sent down to thee the book, some of whose signs (or versets) are confirmed. The singular "muhkamatun" is applied (xlvii.) to "Súratun," a chapter, and in both places the meaning of "confirmed" is "not abrogated by later revelations." Hence the sequel of my first quotation these portions are called "the mother (i.e. groundwork) of the book," and the learned Sayyid is not far from the mark after all.--ST]

[FN#66] Surah ii. (The Cow) v. 56, the verse beginning, "Allah!
there be no God but He; ... His Throne overreacheth the Heavens
and the Hearth," etc.

[FN#67] Surah lxxiii. (The Bee) v. 92, ending with, "And he
forbiddeth frowardness and wrong-doing and oppression; and He
warneth you that haply may ye be warned."

[FN#68] Surah (Meccah) xcix. vv. 7 and 8: in text "Mithkála
Zarratin," which Mr. Rodwell (p. 28) englishes "an atom's weight
of good," and adds in a foot-note, "Lit. a single ant." Prof.
Houdas would render it, Quiconque aura fait la valeur d'un
mitskal de millet en fait de bien; but I hardly think that
"Zarrah" can mean "Durrah" = millet. ["Mithkál" in this context
is explained by the commentators by "Wazn" = weight, this being
the original meaning of the word which is a nomen instrumenti of
the form "Mif'ál," denoting "that by which the gravity of bodies
is ascertained." Later on it became the well-known technical term for a particular weight. "Zarrah," according to some glossarists, is the noun of unity of "Zarr," the young ones of the ant, an antlet, which is said to weigh the twelfth part of a "Kitmír" = pedicle of the date-fruit, or the hundredth part of a grain of barley, or to have no weight at all. Hence "Mukhkh al-Zarr," the brains of the antlet, means a thing that does not exist or is impossible to be found. According to others, "Zarrah" is a particle of al-Habá, i.e. of the motes that are seen dancing in the sunlight, called "Sonnenstäubchen" in German, and "atomo solare" in Italian. Koran xxi. 48 and xxxi. 15 we find the expression "Mithkála Habbatin min Khardalin" = of the weight of a mustard-seed, used in a similar sense with the present quotation.--ST]

[FN#69] Surah lxx. 38, Mr. Rodwell (p. 60) translates, "Is it
that every man of them would fain enter the Garden of Delights?"

[FN#70] Surah xxxix. 54: they sinned by becoming apostates from
Al-Islam. The verset ends, "Verily all sins doth Allah forgive:
aye, Gracious, and Merciful is He."

[FN#71] Surah ii. 159; the quotation in the MS. is cut short.

[FN#72] Surah ii. 107; the end of the verse is, "Yet both are
readers of the Book. So with like words say they (the pagan
Arabs) who have no knowledge."

[FN#73] Surah li. (The Scattering), v. 56.

[FN#74] Surah ii. v. 30.

[FN#75] Surah xl. (The Believer), v. 78. In the text it is
fragmentary. I do not see why Mr. Rodwell founds upon this verset a charge against the Prophet of ignorance concerning Jewish history: Mohammed seems to have followed the Talmud and tradition rather than the Holy Writ of the Hebrews.

[FN#76] Surah (The Believers) lxiv. 108.

[FN#77] Surah xxxv. (The Creator or the Angels), v. 31: The
sentence concludes in v. 32, "Who of His bounty hath placed us in a Mansion that shall abide for ever, therein no evil shall reach us, and therein no weariness shall touch us."

[FN#78] Surah ("Sad") lix. 54; Iblis, like Satan in the Book of
Job, is engaged in dialogue with the Almighty. I may here note
that Scott (p. 265) has partially translated these Koranic
quotations, but he has given only one reference.

[FN#79] In text "Aná min ahli zálika," of which the vulgar
equivalent would be "Kizí" (for "Kazálika," "Kazá") = so (it is)!

[FN#80] i.e. On an empty stomach, to "open the spittle" is = to
break the fast. Sir Wm. Gull in his evidence before a committee
of the House of Commons deposed that after severe labor he found
a bunch of dried raisins as efficacious a "pick-me-up" as a glass of stimulants. The value of dried grapes to the Alpinist is well known.

[FN#81] Arab. "Al-Kadíd" = jerked (charqui = chaire cuite) meat-flesh smoked, or (mostly) sun-dried.

[FN#82] I have noticed (i. 345) one of the blunders in our last
unfortunate occupation of Egypt where our soldiers died uselessly of dysenteric disease because they were rationed with heating beef instead of digestible mutton.

[FN#83] Arab. "Al-Marham al-akbar."

[FN#84] [In the text: "Al-Kisrat al-yábisah 'alà 'l-Rík fa-innahá tukhlik jamí'a má 'alà fum al-mádah min al-balgham," of which I cannot make anything but: a slice of dry bread (kisrah = piece of bread) on the spittle (i.e. to break the fast), for it absorbs (lit. uses up, fourth form of "khalik" = to be worn out) all that there may be of phlegm on the mouth of the stomach. Can it be that the dish "Khushk-nán" (Pers. = dry-bread) is meant, of which the village clown in one of Spitta Bey's tales, when he was treated to it by Harun al-Rashid thought it must be the "Hammám," because he had heard his grandmother say, that the Hammám (bath) is the most delightful thing in the world?–ST]

[FN#85] The stomach has two mouths, œsophagic above (which is
here alluded to) and pyloric below.

[FN#86] Arab. "'Irk al-Unsá" = chordæ testiculorum, in Engl.
simply the cord.

[FN#87] The "'Ajúz" is a woman who ceases to have her monthly
period: the idea is engrained in the Eastern mind and I cannot
but believe in it seeing the old-young faces of men who have
"married their grandmothers" for money or folly, and what not.

[FN#88] Arab. "Al-'Akík," vol. iii. 179: it is a tradition of the Prophet that the best of bezels for a signet-ring is the
carnelian, and such are still the theory and practice of the
Moslem East.

[FN#89] Arab. "Tuhál;" in text "Tayhal." Mr. Doughty (Arabia
Deserta, i. 547) writes the word "Tahal" and translates it
"ague-cake," i.e. the throbbing enlarged spleen, left after
fevers, especially those of Al-Hijáz and Khaybar. [The form
"Tayhál" with a plural "Tawáhil" for the usual "Tihál" = spleen
is quoted by Dozy from the valuable Vocabulary published by
Schiaparelli, 1871, after an old MS. of the end of the xiii.
century. It has the same relation to the verb "tayhal" = he
suffered from the spleen, which "Tihál" bears to the verb
"tuhil," used passively in the same sense. The name of the
disease is "Tuhál."--ST]

[FN#90] In text "Kasalah" = a shock of corn, assemblage of
sheaves. It may be a clerical error for "Kasabah" = stalk, haulm, straw.

[FN#91] Of course the conversation drifts into matters sexual and inter-sexual: in a similar story, "Tawaddud," the learned slave girl, "hangs down her head for shame and confusion" (vol. v. 225); but the young Sayyid speaks out bravely as becomes a male masculant.

[FN#92] [In the text: "Allatí lau nazarat ilà 'l-samá la-a'shab
(fourth form of 'ashab with the affirmative "la") al-Safá (pl. of Safát), wa lau nazarat ilà 'l-arz la amtar taghru-há (read
thaghru-há) Lúluan lam yuskab wa ríku-há min al-Zulál a'zab (for
a'zab min al-Zulál)," which I would translate: Who if she look
upon the heavens, the very rocks cover themselves with verdure,
and an she look upon the earth, her lips rain unpierced pearls
(words of virgin eloquence) and the dews of whose mouth are
sweeter than the purest water.--ST.]

[FN#93] These lines have often occurred before: see index (vol.
x. 443) "Wa lau anunahá li 'l-Mushrikín," etc. I have therefore
borrowed from Mr. Payne, vol. viii. 78, whose version is
admirable.

[FN#94] For the Jahím-hell, see vol. viii. 111.

[FN#95] For the Seven Ages of womankind (on the Irish model) see
vol. ix. 175. Some form of these verses is known throughout the
Moslem East to prince and peasant. They usually begin:--

From the tenth to the twentieth year * To the gaze a charm doth
     appear;

and end with:--

From sixty to three score ten * On all befal Allah's malison.

[FN#96] [Here I suppose the word "kál" has been dropped after "bi 'l-shi'r," and it should be: He (the youth) replied, that was our common sire, Adam, etc.--ST.]

[FN#97] "Hábíl" and "Kábíl" are the Arab. equivalent of Abel and
Cain. Neither are named in the Koran (Surah v. "The Table," vv.
30-35), which borrows dialogue between the brothers derived from
the Targum (Jeirus. on Gen. iv. 8) and makes the raven show the
mode of burial to Cain, not to Adam, as related by the Jews.
Rodwell's Koran, p. 543.

[FN#98] Sit venia verbo: I have the less hesitation in making
Adam anticipate the widow Malone from a profound conviction that
some Hibernian antiquary, like Vallancey who found the Irish
tongue in the Punic language of Plautus, shall distinctly prove
that our first forefather spoke Keltic.

[FN#99] In text "Ríh," wind, gust (of temper), pride, rage.
Amongst the Badawín it is the name given to rheumatism (gout
being unknown), and all obscure aching diseases by no means
confined to flatulence or distension. [The MS. has: "ilà an
káta-ka 'l-'amal al-rabíh," which gives no sense whatever. Sir
Richard reads: "kátala-ka 'l-'amal al-ríh," and thus arrives at
the above translation. I would simply drop a dot on the first
letter of "káta-ka," reading "fáta-ka," when the meaning of the
line as it stands, would be: until the work that is profitable
passed away from thee, i.e., until thou ceasedst to do good. The
word "rabíh" is not found in Dictionaries, but it is evidently an intensive of "rábih" (tijárah rábihah = a profitable traffic) and its root occurs in the Koran, ii. 15: "Fa-má rabihat Tijáratuhum" = but their traffic has not been gainful.--ST.]

[FN#100] Arab. "Badrah": see vol. iv. 281. [According to Kámús,
"Badrah" is a purse of one thousand or ten thousand dirhams, or of seven thousand dínárs. As lower down it is called "Badrat Zahab," a purse of gold, I would take it here in the third sense.--ST.]

[FN#101] In text "Zardiyá," for "Zaradiyyah" = a small mail-coat, a light helmet.

[FN#102] Arab. "'Ind 'uzzáti 's-siníni" = lit. the thorny shrubs
of ground bare of pasture.

[FN#103] This is another form of "inverted speech," meaning the
clean contrary; see vols. ii. 265; vi. 262; and viii. 179.

[FN#104] In text "Lam yakthir Khayrak"; this phrase (pronounced
"Kattir Khayrak") is the Egyptian (and Moslem) equivalent for our "thank you." Vols. iv. 6; v. 171. Scott (p. 267) makes Al-Hajjaj end with, "Cursed is he who doth not requite a sincere adviser, declareth our sacred Koran."

[FN#105] In the W.M. MS. this tale is followed by the "History of Uns al-Wujúd and the Wazir's daughter Rose-in-hood," for which see vol. v. 32 et seq. Then comes the long romance "Mázin of Khorásán," which is a replica of "Hasan of Bassorah and the
King's daughter of the Jinn" (vol. viii. 7). I have noted (vol. x. 78) that this story shows us the process of transition from the Persian original to the Arabic copy. "Mázin" is also the P.N. of an Arab tribe: De Sacy, Chrest. i. 406.

[FN#106] MS. vol. v. pp. 92-94: Scott, vol. vi. 343: Gauttier,
vi. 376. The story is a replica of the Mock Caliph (vol. iv. 130) and the Tale of the First Lunatic (Suppl. vol. iv.); but I have retained it on account of the peculiar freshness and naïveté of treatment which distinguishes it, also as a specimen of how extensively editors and scriveners can vary the same subject.

[FN#107] In text "Natar" (watching) for "Nataf" (indigestion,
disgust).

[FN#108] Here again we have the formula "Kála 'l-Ráwí" = the
reciter saith, showing the purpose of the MS. See Terminal Essay, p. 163.

[FN#109] It were well to remind the reader that "Khalífah" (never written "Khalíf") is = a viceregent or vicar, i.e. of the Prophet of Allah, not of Allah himself, a sense which was especially deprecated by the Caliph Abubakr as "vicar" supposes l'absence du chef; or Dieu est présent partout et à tout instant. Ibn Khal. ii. 496.

[FN#110] This tale, founded on popular belief in tribadism, has
already been told in vol. vii. 130: in the W.M. MS. it occupies
23 pages (pp. 95- 118). Scott (vi. 343) has "Mesroor retired and
brought in Ali Ibn Munsoor Damuskkee, who related to the Caliph a foolish narrative (!) of two lovers of Bussorah, each of whom was coy when the other wished to be kind." The respectable Britisher evidently cared not to "read between the lines."

[FN#111] In pop. parlance "Let us be off."

[FN#112] Arab. "Al-Áfák" plur. of Ufk, "elegant" (as the
grammarians say) for the world, the universe.

[FN#113] [In MS. "Rankah" or "Ranakah," probably for "Raunakah,"
which usually means "troubled,"; speaking of water, but which,
according to Schiaparelli's Vocabulista, has also the meaning of
"Raunak" = amenitas. As however "Ranakah" taken as fem. of "Ranak" shares with Raunakah the signification of "troubled," it may perhaps also be a parallel form to the latter in the second
sense.--ST.]

[FN#114] The text has "Martabat Saltanah" (for Sultániyah) which
may mean a royal Divan. The "Martabah" is a mattress varying in
size and thickness, stuffed with cotton and covered with cloths
of various colours and the latter mostly original and admirable
of figuration but now supplanted by the wretched printed calicoes of civilisation. It is placed upon the ground and garnished with cushions which are usually of length equally the width of the mattress and of a height measuring about half of that breadth. When the "Martabah" is placed upon its "Mastabah" (bench of masonry or timber) or upon its "Sarír" (a framework of "jaríd" or midribs of the palm), it becomes the Díwan = divan.

[FN#115] In text "Bi-izá-humá;" lit. vis-à-vis to the twain.

[FN#116] These have occurred vol. i. 176: I quote Mr. Payne (i.
156).

[FN#117] In text "Hanná-kumú 'llah:" see "Hanian," vol. ii. 5.

[FN#118] This is usually a sign of grief, a symbolic act which
dates from the days of the Heb. patriarchs (Gen. xxxvii. 29-34);
but here it is the mark of strong excitement. The hand is placed
within the collar and a strong pull tears the light stuff all
down the breast. Economical men do this in a way which makes
darning easy.

[FN#119] [The MS. is very indistinct in this place, but by
supplying "'an" after "ghibta" and reading "'ayní" for "'anní," I have no doubt the words are: Wa in ghibta 'an 'ayni fa-má ghibta 'an kalbi = and if thou art absent from my eyes, yet thou are not absent from my heart. The metre is Tawíl and the line has occurred elsewhere in The Nights.--ST.]

[FN#120] I have already noted that "Hilál" is the crescent
(waxing or waning) for the first and last two or three nights:
during the rest of the lunar month the lesser light is called
"Kamar."

[FN#121] The sense is that of Coleridge.--

        To be beloved is all I need;
        And whom I love I love indeed.

[FN#122] There is something wrong in the text. I cannot help
again drawing the reader's attention to the skilful portraiture
of the model Moslem Minister, the unfortunate Ja'afar. He is
never described in the third person; but the simple dialogue
always sets him off as a wise, conciliatory, benevolent, loveable and man-loving character, whose constant object is to temper the harshness and headstrong errors of a despotic master as the Caliph is represented to be by way of showing his kingliness. See vol. i., 102. [The MS. is certainly wrong here, but perhaps it can be righted a little. It has: "Kad yakún Z R H ahad fí Mál jazíl wa harab al-Maz'ún," etc., where Sir Richard reads "zarra-hu" = he harmed, and Mazghún = the hated one, i.e. enemy. I have a strong suspicion that in the original from which our scribe copied, the two words were "zamin" and "al-Mazmún." Zamin in the Arabic character would be {Arabic characters} The loop for the "m," if made small, is easily overlooked; the curve of the "n," if badly traced, can as easily be mistaken for "r" and a big dot inside the "n" might appear like a blotted "h". Mazmún would become "Maz'ún" by simply turning the "m" loop upwards instead of downwards, an error the converse of which is so frequently committed in printed texts. Curiously enough the same error occurs p. 192 of the MS., where we shall find "na' 'al" with two 'Ayns instead of "na'mal" with 'Ayn and Mim. If this conjecture is correct the sense would be: Haply he may have stood security for someone for much money, and the person for whom security was given, took to flight, etc. For "zamin" with the acc. see Ibn Jubair ed. by Wright, 77, 2. I may say on this occasion, that my impression of the Montague MS. is, that it is a blundering copy of a valuable though perhaps indistinctly written original.--ST.]

[FN#123] In text "'Aurat" = nakedness: see vol. vi. 30.

[FN#124] In Arab. "'Urrah": see Fatimah the Dung in vol. x. 1.

[FN#125] [In the MS. "bi-Wujúh al Fániját al-Miláh." The
translator conjectures "al-fátihát," which he refers to "Wujúh."
I read it "al-Ghániját," in apposition with al-Miláh, and render: the faces of the coquettish, the fair. See index under
"Ghunj."--ST.]

[FN#126] In text "Ballát," the name still given to the limestone
slabs cut in the Torah quarries South of Cairo. The word is
classical, we find in Ibn Khaldún (vol. i. p. 21, Fr. Trans.) a
chief surnommé el-Balt (le pavé),  à cause de sa fermeté et de sa force de caractère.

[FN#127] In text "Usburú" = be ye patient, the cry addressed to
passengers by the Grandee's body-guard.

[FN#128] The "young person" here begins a tissue of impertinences which are supposed to show her high degree and her condescension in mating with the jeweller. This is still "pretty Fanny's way" amongst Moslems.

[FN#129] A "swear" peculiarly feminine, and never to be used by
men.

[FN#130] In text "'Alà-Aklí:" the whole passage is doubtful.
[I would read, and translate the passage as follows: "Má tastahlí 'alà hazá illá shay lá tazann-hu allazí (for "allatí," see Suppl. iv. 253) kayyamtíní (2nd fem. sing.) min 'alà aklí wa aná zanantu innahu man yújab la-hu al-kiyám; thumma iltifatat illayya wa kálat hakazá sirtu aná la-ghazárat al-thiyáb al-wasikhat min al-fakr fa-hal má ghasalta wajhak?" = Thou deservest not for this but a thing thou doest not fancy, thou who madest me rise from before my food, while I thought he was one to whom rising up is due. Then she turned towards me, saying, "Am I then in this manner (i.e. like thyself) a bundle of clothes all dirty from poverty, and hast thou therefore ("fa" indicating the effect of a cause) not washed thy face?" Or to put it in more intelligible English: "Am I then like thyself a heap of rags that thou shouldst come to me with unwashed face?"--ST.]

[FN#131] Of the respect due to food Lane (M. E. chapt. xiii.)
tells the following tale: "Two servants were sitting at the door
of their master's house, eating their dinner, when they observed
a Mameluke Bey with several of his officers, riding along the
streets towards them. One of these servants rose, from respect to the Grandee, who regarding him with indignation, exclaimed, Which is the more worthy of respect, the bread which is before thee or myself? Without awaiting a reply, he made, it is said, a
well-understood signal with his hand; and the unintending
offender was beheaded on the spot." I may add that the hero of
the story is said to have been the celebrated "Daftardar" whose
facetious cruelties have still a wide fame in the Nile Valley.

[FN#132] I would read (for "Sirtu ana" = I have become) "Sirt'
anta" = thou hast become.

[FN#133] In text "Mukh;" lit. = brain, marrow.

[FN#134] [In Ar. "Wa zand mujauhar fí-hi Asáwir min al-Zahab
al-ahmar," which may mean: and a fore-arm (became manifest),
ornamented with jewels, on which were bracelets of red
gold.--ST.]

[FN#135] For this famous type of madman see Suppl. Vol. vi. 155.

[FN#136] [Ar. "Ghurrát," which may be bright looks, charms, in
general, or according to Bocthor, fore-locks. The more usual plural of "Ghurrah" is "Ghurar."--ST.]

[FN#137] In the text "Darajah" = an instant; also a degree (of the Zodiac). We still find this division of time in China and Japan, where they divide the twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which is marked by a quasi-Zodiacal sign: e.g.--

Midnight until 2 a.m. is represented by the Rat.
 2 a.m. until 4 a.m. is represented by the Ox.
 4 a.m. until 6 a.m. is represented by the Tiger.
 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. is represented by the Hare.
 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. is represented by the Dragon.
10 a.m. until noon is represented by the Serpent.
Noon until 2 p.m. is represented by the Horse.
2 p.m. until 4 p.m. is represented by the Ram.
4 p.m. until 6 p.m. is represented by the Ape.
6 p.m. until 8 p.m. is represented by the Cock.
8 p.m. until 10 p.m. is represented by the Hog.
10 p.m. until midnight is represented by the Fox.

See p. 27 Edit. ii. of C. B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan, a most important contribution to Eastern folklore.

["Darajah" is, however, also used for any short space of time;
according to Lane it is = 4 minutes (i.e. the 24 hours or 1,440
minutes of the astronomical day divided into 360 degrees of 4
minutes each), and Bocthor gives it as an equivalent for our
instant or moment.--ST.]

[FN#138] The young fool vaunts his intersexual powers, apparently unknowing that nothing can be more fatal to love than fulfilling the desires of a woman who, once accustomed to this high diet, revolts against any reduction of it. He appears to have been a polisson by his own tale told to the Caliph and this alone would secure the contempt of a high-bred and high-spirited girl.

[FN#139] The "nosebag"; vol. ii. 52, etc. The Badawíyah (Badawí
woman) generally prefers a red colour, in opposition to the white and black of civilisation; and she of the Arabian Desert
generally disdains to use anything of the kind.

[FN#140] This ablution of the whole body he was bound to perform
after having had carnal knowledge of a woman, and before washing
he was in a state of ceremonial impurity. For "Ghusl," or
complete ablution, see vol. v. 80.

[FN#141] "The Heart of the Koran," chap. xxxvi. see vol. iv. 50.

[FN#142] The Mandíl apparently had been left in the shop by the
black slave-girl. Women usually carry such articles with them
when "on the loose," and in default of water and washing they are used to wipe away the results of car. cop.

[FN#143] In Arab. "Shakk." The criminal was hung up by the heels, and the executioner, armed with a huge chopper, began to hew him down from the fork till he reached the neck, when, by a dextrous turn of the blade, he left the head attached to one half of the body. This punishment was long used in Persia and abolished, they say, by Fath Ali Shah, on the occasion when an offender so treated abused the royal mother and women relatives until the knife had reached his vitals. "Kata' al-'Arba'," or cutting off the four members, equivalent to our "quartering," was also a popular penalty.

[FN#144] In text "Ghibtu 'an al-Dunyá," a popular phrase, meaning simply I fainted.

[FN#145] This was done to staunch the blood: see the salt-wench
in vol. i. 341.

[FN#146] This couplet has repeatedly occurred: in the preceding
volume, Night cdv. (Suppl. iv. 222); and in The Nights (proper),
vol. vi. 246. Here I have quoted Lane (A.N. iii. 220), who has
not offered a word of comment or of explanation concerning a
somewhat difficult couplet.

[FN#147] The plur. masc. for the sing. fem.: see vol. vii. 140.

[FN#148] He speaks after the recognised conventional fashion, as
if reporting the camp-shift of a Badawí tribe.

[FN#149] See vol. i. 25 for the parallel of these lines.

[FN#150] The text inserts here, "Saith the Reciter of this
adventure and right joyous history strange as rare," etc.

[FN#151] Scott, in the "Story of the Sultan, the Dirveshe, and
the Barber's son" (vi. 348), calls the King "Rammaud."  The tale
is magical and Rosicrucian, laid somewhat upon the lines of "The
Physician Dúbán"; i.45.

[FN#152] This is the custom among Eastern Moslems: the barber,
after his operations are over, presents his hand-mirror for the
patient to see whether all be satisfactory, saying at the same
time "Na'íman" = may it be pleasurable to thee! The customer
answers "Allah bring thee pleasure," places the fee upon the
looking-glass and returns it to the shaver. For "Na'íman" see
vol. ii. 5.

[FN#153] The least that honest Figaro expected to witness was an
attempt upon the boy's chastity.

[FN#154] In text "Tazaghzagha," gen. = he spoke hesitatingly, he
scoffed. [I read the words in the text: "Tazaghghara fíhi." The
Kámús gives "Zaghara-hu" = he seized it by force, he took hold of him with violence, and this present fifth form, although not
given in the Dictionaries, has doubtlessly the same meaning.
Popularly we may render it: he pitched into him.--ST]

[FN#155] In the text "Kazánát" (plur. of "Kázán"), afterwards
written "Kázát" (a clerical error?). They are opposed to the
"Kawálib" = moulds. [See note to p. 24.--ST.]

[FN#156] "Akhraja min Kuláhi-hi (Kulah?) búsah."

[FN#157] "Akhaza min-há 'ala ma' lakati 'l-Hilál shay misl
al-Jinnah." [I have no doubt that "Kuláh" is meant for "Kuláh," a Dervish's cap. "Búsah" puzzles me. I am inclined to take it for a reed used as a case or sheath, as we shall see p. 263 of the MS. Prince Yúsuf uses a "Kasabah" or reed to enclose a letter in it. "Mi'lakat (popular corruption for 'Mil'akat') al-Hilál" may be the spoon or hollow part of an ear-picker, Hilál being given by Bocthor as equivalent for "cure-oreille." Lastly for "al-Jinnah" I would read "al-Habbah" = grain. The article before the word may indicate that a particular grain is meant perhaps "al-Habbat al-halwah" = anise seed, or that it stands for "al-Hubbah," according to Lemprière (A Tour to Marocco, London 1791, p. 383) a powder employed by the ladies of Marocco to produce embonpoint.--ST.]

[FN#158] So even in our day Mustafá bin Ism'aíl who succeeded
"General Khayru 'l-Dín" as Prime Minister to "His Highness
Mohammed al-Sádik, Bey of Tunis," began life as apprentice to a
barber, became the varlet of an officer, rose to high dignity and received decorations from most of the European powers.

[FN#159] In text "Wiják," a stove, a portable hearth.

[FN#160] In the text: ["Wa sára kulla-má tastarí nafsuhu yak'ad
kuddáma 'l-Darwísh," which I would translate: and each time his
heart chose (8th form of "Sarw") he used to sit before the
Darwaysh, etc.--ST.]

[FN#161] In text "Darín" for "Zarín" = what is powdered, collyrium.

[FN#162] The King failed because his "Niyat" or intention was not pure; that is, he worked for wealth, and not, as the Darwaysh had done, for the good of his brother man.

[FN#163] For the importance attached to this sign of sovereignty
see in my Pilgrimage (ii. 218-19) the trouble caused by the loss
of the Prophet's seal-ring (Khátim) at Al-Madinah.

[FN#164] The text is somewhat doubtful--"Min kuddám-ak." [Perhaps it means only "from before thee," i.e. in thy presence, without letting him out of sight and thereby giving him a chance of escape.--ST.]

[FN#165] This especially is on the lines of "The Physician
Dúbán"; vol. i. 45.

[FN#166] In text "Wa min-hum man fáha," evidently an error of the scribe for "Man nafáhu." Scott (vi. 351), after the fashion of the "Improver-school," ends the tale, which is somewhat
tail-less, after this fashion, "At the same instant, the Sultan
and his courtiers found themselves assaulted by invisible agents, who, tearing off their robes, whipped them with scourges till the blood flowed in streams from their lacerated backs. At length the punishment ceased, but the mortification of the Sultan did not end here, for all the gold which the Dirveshe had transmuted returned to its original metals. Thus, by his unjust credulity, was a weak Prince punished for his ungrateful folly. The barber and his son also were not to be found, so that the sultan could gain no intelligence of the Dirveshe, and he and his courtiers became the laughing-stock of the populace for years after their merited chastisement." Is nothing to be left for the reader's imagination?

[FN#167] See under the same name the story in my Suppl. vol. i.
162; where the genealogy and biography of the story is given. I
have translated the W.M. version because it adds a few items of
interest. A marginal note of Scott's (in the W.M. MS. v. 196)
says that the "Tale is similar to Lesson iv. in the Tirrea Bede." See note at the end of this History.

[FN#168] For the Badawí tent, see vol. vii. 109.

[FN#169] In text "Birkah" = a fountain-basin, lake, pond,
reservoir. The Bresl. Edit. has "Sardáb" = a souterrain.

[FN#170] Arab. "Jummayz": see vol. iii. 302. In the Bresl. Edit.
it is a "tall tree," and in the European versions always a
"pear-tree," which is not found in Badawi-land.

[FN#171] "Adí" in Egyptian (not Arabic) is = that man, the (man)
here; "Adíní" (in the text) is = Here am I, me voici. Spitta Bey
(loc. cit. iv. 20, etc.)

[FN#172] Arab. "Ma'múrah." In the Bresl. Edit. "the place is full of Jinns and Marids." I have said that this supernatural agency, ever at hand and ever credible to Easterns, makes this the most satisfactory version of the world-wide tale.

[FN#173] The planet Mars.

[FN#174] The Asiatics have a very contemptible opinion of the
Russians, especially of the females, whom they believe to be void of common modesty. Our early European voyagers have expressed the same idea.--Scott.

[FN#175] i.e. having enjoyed the woman.--R.F.B.

[FN#176] The reader will doubtless recollect the resemblance
which the plot of this lesson bears to Pope's January and May,
and to one of Fontaine's Tales. Eenaiut Olla acknowledges his
having borrowed it from the Brahmins, from whom it may have
travelled through some voyage to Europe many centuries past, or
probably having been translated in Arabic or Persian, been
brought by some crusader, as were many Asiatic romances, which
have served as the groundwork of many of our old stories and
poems.--Scott.

[FN#177] In Scott (vi. 352) "Adventures of Aleefa and Eusuff."
This long and somewhat longsome history is by another pen, which
is distinguished from the ordinary text by constant attempts at
fine writing, patches of Saj'a or prose-rhyme and profuse poetry, mostly doggerel. I recommend it to the student as typically Arabian with its preponderance of verse over prose, its threadbare patches made to look meaner by the purpureus pannus; its immoderate repetition and its utter disregard of order and sequence. For the rest it is unedited and it strikes me as a sketch of adventure calculated to charm the Fellah-audience of a coffee-house, whose delight would be brightened by the normal accompaniment of a tambourine or a Rabábah, the one-stringed viol.

[FN#178] This P. N. has occurred in vol. vi. 8, where I have
warned readers that it must not be confounded with the title
"Maháráj" = Great Rajah. Scott (vi. 352) writes "Mherejaun," and
Gauttier (vi. 380) "Myr-djyhan" (Mír Jahán = Lord Life).

[FN#179] I need not inform the civilised reader that this
"feeling conception" is unknown except in tales.

[FN#180] i.e. "The Slim-waisted." Scott (vi. 352) persistently
corrupts the name to "Aleefa," and Gauttier (vi. 380) follows
suit with "Alifa."

[FN#181] In text "Al-Istikhráj," i.e. making "elegant extracts."

[FN#182] These lines are the merest doggerel of a strolling Ráwí, like all the pièces d'occasion in this MS.

[FN#183] Which are still worse: two couplets rhyme in –ání, and
one in –álí, which is not lawful.

[FN#184] In text "Dayr Nashshábah," a fancy name.

[FN#185] So in text: the name is unknown to me; its lit. meaning
would be, "of high-breasted Virgins."

[FN#186] In text "Al-Jay'a" which is a well-omened stone like the 'Akík = carnelian. The Arabs still retain our mediæval
superstitions concerning precious stones, and of these fancies I
will quote a few. The ruby appeases thirst, strengthens cardiac
action and averts plague and "thunderbolts." The diamond heals
diseases, and is a specific against epilepsy or the "possession"
by evil spirits: this is also the specialty of the emerald,
which, moreover, cures ophthalmia and the stings of scorpions and bites of venomous reptiles, blinding them if placed before their eyes. The turquoise is peculiarly auspicious, abating
fascination, strengthening the sight, and, if worn in a ring,
increasing the milk of nursing mothers: hence the blue beads hung as necklaces to cattle. The topaz (being yellow) is a
prophylactic against jaundice and bilious diseases. The
bloodstone when shown to men in rage causes their wrath to
depart: it arrests hemorrhage, heals toothache, preserves from
bad luck, and is a pledge of long life and happiness. The
"cat's-eye" nullifies Al-Ayn = malign influence by the look, and
worn in battle makes the wearer invisible to his foe. This is but a "fist-full out of a donkey-load," as the Persians say: the
subject is a favourite with Eastern writers.

[FN#187] Or white lead: in the text it is "Sapídaj,"
corresponding with the "Isfidaj" of vol. vi. 126.

[FN#188] In the text "Bashkhánah"; corr. of the Pers.
"Peshkhánah" = state-tents sent forward on the march.

[FN#189] This phrase, twice repeated, is the regular formula of
the Ráwí or professional reciter; he most unjustifiably, however, neglects the "Inshallah."

[FN#190] The revetment of the old wells in Arabia is mostly of
dry masonry.

[FN#191] [Ar. "Tawánís," with a long final to rhyme with
"Kawádís," instead of the usual "Tawánis," pl. of "Taunas," which Dozy (Suppl. s.v.) identifies with the Greek t???? in the sense of cable.--ST.]

[FN#192] In Arab. "Hajárata 'l-Bahramán."

[FN#193] In text "Zamakú-há."

[FN#194] I can see little pertinence in this couplet: but that is not a sine quâ non amongst Arabs. Perhaps, however, the Princess understands that she is in a gorgeous prison and relieves her heart by a cunning hint.

[FN#195] I again omit "Saith the Reciter of this marvellous
relation," a formula which occurs with unpleasant reiteration.

[FN#196] i.e. she cried "Astaghfiru 'llah" (which strangers
usually pronounce "Astaffira 'llah"); a pious exclamation,
humbling oneself before the Creator, and used in a score of
different senses, which are not to be found in the dictionaries.

[FN#197] In vol. viii. 183, there are two couplets of which the
first is here repeated.

[FN#198] [Here the translator seems to read "Khams Ghaffár," = five pardoners,where however, grammar requires a plural after "khams." I take "khams" to be a clerical error for "Khamr" = wine, and read the next word "'ukár," which is another name for wine, but is also used adjectively together with the former, as in the Breslau Edition iv. 6 "al-Khamr al-'ukár" = choice wine.--ST.]

[FN#199] I understand this as the cupbearer who delights the five senses.

[FN#200] In the original we have, "Saith the Sayer of this
delectable narrative, the strange and seld-seen (and presently we will return to the relation full and complete with its sense
suitable and its style admirable), anent what befel and betided
of Destinies predestinate and the will of the Lord preordinate
which He decreed and determined to His creatures." I have omitted it for uniformity's sake.

[FN#201] Meaning "The easy-tempered." Scott (vi. 354) writes
"Sohul."

[FN#202] In text "Litám" = the mouth-band for man: ii. 31, etc. The "Mutalathsimín" in North Africa are the races, like the Tawárik, whose males wear this face-swathe of cloth.

[FN#203] "Drowned in her blood," says the text which to us
appears hyperbole run mad. So when King Omar (vol. ii. 123)
violently rapes the unfortunate Princess Abrízah "the blood runs
down the calves of her legs." This is not ignorance, but that
systematic exaggeration which is held necessary to impressionise
an Oriental audience.

[FN#204] For this allusion see vol. v. 191.

[FN#205] This physical sign of delight in beauty is not
recognised in the literature of Europe, and The Nights usually
attributes it to old women.

[FN#206] In text "Himà" = the private and guarded lands of a Badawi tribe; viii. 102.

[FN#207] In text "Daylakí."

[FN#208] A small compact white turband and distinctive sign of
the True Believers: see vol. viii. 8.

[FN#209] [The words in the text seem to be: "wa Talattuf Alfázak
wa Ma'áník al-hisán" = and for the pleasingness of thy sayings and meanings so fine and fair.--ST.]

[FN#210] [The Arabic seems here to contain a pun, the consonantic outline of "Tasht" = "basin" being the same as of "tashshat" = she was raining, sprinkling.--ST.]

[FN#211] In Arab. "Yá Wárid": see vol. iii. 56.

[FN#212] The growing beard and whisker being compared with black
letters on a white ground.

[FN#213] In the text these seven couplets form one quotation,
although the first three rhyme in --úru and the second four in --íru.

[FN#214] This "diapedesis" of bloodstained tears is frequently
mentioned in The Nights; and the "Bloody Sweat" is well-known by
name. The disease is rare and few have seen it whilst it has a
certain quasi-supernatural sound from the "Agony and bloody
sweat" in the Garden of Gethsemane. But the exudation of blood
from the skin was described by Theophrastus and Aristotle and
lastly by Lucan in these lines:--

                         --Sic omnia membra
          Emisere simul rutilum pro sanguine virus.
          Sanguis erant lachrymæ, etc.

Of Charles IX. of France Mezaray declares "Le sang lui rejaillait par les pores et tous les conduits de son corps," but the superstitious Protestant holds this to be a "judgment." The same historian also mentions the phenomenon in a governor condemned to die; and Lombard in the case of a general after losing a battle and a nun seized by banditti--blood oozed from every pore. See Dr. Millingen's "Curiosities of Medical Experience," p. 485, London, Bentley, 1839.

[FN#215] [I read this line: "Fí Hayyi-kum Taflatun|háma 'l-Fawádu bi-há (Basít)" and translate: In your clan there is a maiden of whom my heart is enamoured. In the beginning of the next line the metre requires "tazakkarat," which therefore refers to "Aghsun," not to the speaker: "the branches remember (and by imitating her movements show that they remember) the time when she bent aside, and her bending, graceful beyond compare, taught me that her eyes kept watch over the rose of her cheek and knew how to protect it from him who might wish to cull it." This little gem of a Mawwál makes me regret that so many of the snatches of poetry in this MS. are almost hopelessly corrupted.--ST.]

[FN#216] In the text "Simá'a," lit. hearing, applied
idiomatically to the ecstasy of Darwayshes when listening to
esoteric poetry.

[FN#217] The birds mentioned in the text are the "Kumrí"
(turtle-dove), the "Shabaytar" [also called "Samaytar" and "Abu
al-'Ayzar" = the father of the brisk one, a long-necked water bird of the heron kind.--ST.], the Shuhrúr (in MS. Suhrúr) = a blackbird [the Christians in Syria call St. Paul "Shuhrúr al-Kanísah," the blackbird of the Church, on account of his eloquence.--ST.], the "Karawán," crane or curlew (Charadrius ædicnemus) vol. vi. 1; the "Hazár;" nightingale or bird of a thousand songs, vol. v. 48; the "Hamám," ruffed pigeon, culver, vol. v. 49; the "Katá," or sandgrouse, vols. i. 131, iv. 111, etc.; and the "Sammán" or quail, Suppl. vol. vi. 66.

[FN#218] The "Sá'ah," I may here remark, is the German Stunde,
our old "Stound," somewhat indefinite but meaning to the good
Moslem the spaces between prayer times. The classical terms,
Al-Zuhà (undurn-hour, or before noon) and Maghrib = set of sun,
become in Badawi speech Al-Ghaylah = siesta-time and Ghaybat
al-Shams. (Doughty, index.)

[FN#219] For the beautiful song of the lute, referred to here,
see vol. viii. 281.

[FN#220] Alluding to the "Takht Raml," table of sand, geomantic
table?

[FN#221] As before noted, her love enables her to deal in a
somewhat of prophetic strain.

[FN#222] This scene may sound absurd; but it is admirable for its materialism. How often do youthful lovers find an all-sufficient pastime in dressing themselves up and playing the game of mutual admiration. It is well nigh worthy of that "silliest and best of love-stories"--Henrietta Temple.

[FN#223] The text bluntly says "Wa Nikáh," which can mean nothing else.

[FN#224] Scott calls him "Yiah": vi. 354.

[FN#225] Arab. "Akhbarú-hu," alluding to the lord Yahyà.

[FN#226] Here I presume a "Kála" (quoth he) is omitted; for the
next sentence seems appropriate to Yusuf.

[FN#227] In Arab. "Tastaghís" = lit. crying out "Wa Ghausáh"--Ho, to my aid!

[FN#228] The "Zug" or draught which gave him rheumatism--not a
romantic complaint for a young lover. See vol. ii. 9. But his
power of sudden invention is somewhat enviable, and lying is to
him, in Hindustani phrase, "easy as drinking water."

[FN#229] Who evidently ignored or had forgotten the little matter of the concubine, so that incident was introduced by the
story-teller for mere wantonness.

[FN#230] In text "Mazbúh" = slaughtered for food.

[FN#231] i.e. "I suffer from an acute attack of rheumatism"--a
complaint common in even the hottest climates.

[FN#232] Needless to say that amongst Moslems, as amongst
Christians, the Israelite medicine-man has always been a
favourite, despite an injunction in the "Díním" (Religious
Considerations) of the famous Andalusian Yúsuf Caro. This most
fanatical work, much studied at Tiberias and Safet (where a
printing-press was established in the xvith century) decides that a Jewish doctor called to attend a Goi (Gentile) too poor to pay him is bound to poison his patient--if he safely can.

[FN#233] Lit. "The-Bull-(Taur for Thaur or Saur)numbered-and-for-battle-day-lengthened." In p.30 this charger is called, "The-bull-that-spurneth-danger-on-battle-day." See vol. vi. 270 for a similar compound name, The-Ghul-who-eateth-man-we-pray-Allah-for-safety.

[FN#234] In text "Al-Járiyah rádih," the latter word being
repeated in p.282, where it is Rádih a P.N. [Here also I would
take it for a P.N., for if it were adjective to "al-Járiyah" it
should have the article.--ST.]

[FN#235] The "Radíf," or back-rider, is common in Arabia, esp. on dromedaries when going to the Razzia: usually the crupper-man
loads the matchlock and his comrade fires it.

[FN#236] The text has "thirty," evidently a clerical error.

[FN#237] Arab. "Sakhtúr" for "Shakhtúr," vol. vii. 362.

[FN#238] Doggerel fit only for the coffee-house.

[FN#239] In text "Ta'ayyun" = influence, especially by the "'Ayn," or (Evil) Eye.

[FN#240] I have somewhat abridged the confession of the Princess, who carefully repeats every word known to the reader. This iteration is no objection in the case of a coffee-house audience to whom the tale is told bit by bit, but it is evidently unsuited for reading.

[FN#241] In text "Irham turham:" this is one of the few passive
verbs still used in popular parlance.

[FN#242] This formula will be in future suppressed.

[FN#243] I spare my readers the full formula:--"Yúsuf took it and brake the seal (fazza-hu) and read it and comprehended its
contents and purport and significance: and, after perusing it,"
etc. These forms, decies repetitæ, may go down with an Eastern
audience, but would be intolerable in a Western volume. The
absence of padding, however, reduces the story almost to a
patchwork of doggerel rhymes, for neither I nor any man can "make a silk purse from a suille ear."

[FN#244] Here again in full we have:--"He mounted the she-camel
and fared and ceased not faring until he drew near to the Palace
of Al-Hayfá, where he dismounted and concealed his dromedary
within the same cave. Then he swam the stream until he had
reached the Castle and here he landed and appeared before
Al-Hayfá," etc.

[FN#245] "'Tis dogged as does it" was the equivalent expression
of our British Aristotle; the late Charles Darwin.

[FN#246] Arab. "Jannat al-Khuld" = the Eternal Garden: vol. ix.
214.

[FN#247] [I read: Wa inní la-ar'ákum wa ar'à widáda-kum,
wa-hakki-kumú antum a'azzu 'l-Warà 'andí = And I make much of you and of your love; by your rights (upon me, formula of swearing), you are to me the dearest of mankind.--ST.]

[FN#248] In text: "He swam the stream and bestrode his
she-camel."

[FN#249] In text "Then she folded the letter and after sealing
it," etc.

[FN#250] Not "her hands" after Christian fashion.

[FN#251] In text, "Ahyaf," alluding to Al-Hayfá.

[FN#252] Arab. "Al-Kawá'ib," also P. N. of the river.

[FN#253] This is moralising with a witness, and all it means is
"handsome is that handsome does."

[FN#254] In text "'Arsh" = the Ninth Heaven; vol. v.167.

[FN#255] The Shi'ah doctrine is here somewhat exaggerated.

[FN#256] "Them" for "her," as has often occurred.

[FN#257] In the original "entrusted to her the missive:" whereas
the letter is delivered afterwards.

[FN#258] The cloud (which contains rain) is always typical of
liberality and generous dealing.

[FN#259] The Koranic chapt. No. xx., revealed at Meccah and
recounting the (apocryphal) history of Moses.

[FN#260] The "broken" (wall) to the North of the Ka'abah:
Pilgrimage iii. 165.

[FN#261] i.e. "Delight of the Age:" see vol. ii. 81.

[FN#262] In the text written "Imriyyu 'l-Kays": for this
pre-Islamitic poet see Term. Essay, p. 258. "The Man of Al-Kays"
or worshipper of the Priapus-idol was a marking figure in Arabian History. The word occurs, with those of Aera, Dusares (Theos Ares), Martabu, Allat and Manát in the Nabathæan (Arabian) epigraphs brought by Mr. Doughty from Arabia Deserta (vol. i. pp. 180-184).

[FN#263] In text "Zakka," which means primarily a bird feeding
her young.

[FN#264] In the text "months and years," the latter seeming de
trop.

[FN#265] Or "Yathrib" = Al-Madinah; vol. iv. 114.

[FN#266] Scott (vi. 358 et seqq.) who makes Ali bin Ibrahim, "a
faithful eunuch," renders the passage, "by some accident the
eunuch's turban unfortunately falling off, the precious stones
(N.B. the lovers' gift) which, with a summary of the adventures
(!) of Eusuff and Aleefa, and his own embassy to Sind, were
wrapped in the folds, tumbled upon the floor."

[FN#267] i.e. "Drawer-out of Descriptions."

[FN#268] i.e. a Refuser, a Forbidder.

[FN#269] i.e. both could not be seen at the same time.

[FN#270] [The MS. has T Kh D H, which the translator reads
"takhuz-hu." I suspect that either the second or eighth form of
"ahad" is meant, in the sense that thou comest to an agreement
(Ittihád) with him.--ST.]

[FN#271] In the MS. v. 327, we find four hemistichs which
evidently belong to Al-Mihrján; these are:--

Hadst come to court her in fairer guise * I had given Al-Hayfá in
     bestest style;
But in mode like this hast thou wrought me wrong * And made Envy
     gibe me with jeering smile."

Also I have been compelled to change the next sentence, which in
the original is, "And hardly had King Al-Mihrján ended his
words," etc.

[FN#272] In this doggerel, "Kurúd" (apes) occurs as a rhyme twice in three couplets.

[FN#273] "Upon the poll of his head" ('alà hámati-hi) says the
Arabian author, and instantly stultifies the words.

[FN#274] Arab. "Haudaj" = a camel-litter: the word, often
corrupted to Hadáj, is now applied to a rude pack-saddle, a
wooden frame of mimosa-timber set upon a "witr" or pad of old
tent-cloth, stuffed with grass and girt with a single cord. Vol.
viii. 235, Burckhardt gives "Maksar," and Doughty (i. 437)
"Muksir" as the modern Badawi term for the crates or litters in
which are carried the Shaykhly housewives.

[FN#275] In text "Sunnah" = the practice, etc., of the Prophet:
vol. v. 36, 167.

[FN#276] This, as the sequel shows, is the far-famed Musician,
Ibrahim of Mosul: vol. vii. 113.

[FN#277] In the text King of Al-Sín = China, and in p. 360 of MS. Yusuf is made "King of China and Sind," which would be much like "King of Germany and Brentford."

[FN#278] This is the full formula repeated in the case of all the ten blessed damsels. I have spared the patience of my readers.

[FN#279] This formula of the cup and lute is decies repetita,
justifying abbreviation.

[FN#280] i.e. The Beginner, the Originator.

[FN#281] The Zephyr, or rather the cool north breeze of upper
Arabia, vol. viii. 62.

[FN#282] The "Full Moon"; plur. Budúr: vols. iii., 228, iv., 249.

[FN#283] "Dann" = amphora, Gr. ?µf??e?? short for ?µf?f??e?? = having two handles.

[FN#284] "The large-hipped," a form of Rádih.

[FN#285] In text "Minba'ada-hu" making Jesus of later date than
Imr al-Kays.

[FN#286] i.e. "The Delight": also a P.N. of one of the Heavens:
vols. iii. 19; iv. 143.

[FN#287] i.e. Joy, Contentment.

[FN#288] In text "Lá khuzibat Ayday al-Firák," meaning, "may
separation never ornament herself in sign of gladness at the
prospect of our parting." For the Khazíb-dye see vol. iii. 105.

[FN#289] i.e. "Bloom of the Tribe." "Zahrat" = a blossom especially yellow and commonly applied to orange-flower. In line 10 of the same page the careless scribe calls the girl "Jauharat (Gem) of the Tribe."

[FN#290] For this Hell, see vol. viii. 111.

[FN#291] "Core" or "Life-blood of Hearts."

[FN#292] Presently explained.

[FN#293] In text "Afrákh al-Jinn," lit. = Chicks of the Jinns, a
mere vulgarism: see "Farkh 'Akrab," vol. iv. 46.

[FN#294] "Ibráa" = deliverance from captivity, etc. Yá = í, and
Mím = m, composing the word "Ibrahím." The guttural is concealed
in the Hamzah of Ibráa, a good illustration of Dr. Steingass's
valuable remarks in Terminal Essay, pp. 235, 236.

[FN#295] "Kalím" = one who speaks with another, a familiar.
Moses' title is Kalímu'llah on account of the Oral Law and
certain conversations at Mount Sinai.

[FN#296] In text "Istífá" = choice, selection: hence Mustafà =
the Chosen Prophet, Mohammed; vols i. 7; ii. 40.

[FN#297] In text "Jazr" = cutting, strengthening, flow (of tide).

[FN#298] In the text "Náfishah" = Pers. "Náfah," derived, I
presume, from the {root} "Náf" = belly or testicle, the part which in the musk-deer was supposed to store up the perfume.

[FN#299] For 'Nahávand," the celebrated site in Al-Irak where the Persians sustained their final defeat at the hands of the Arabs A.H. 21. It is also one of the many musical measures, like the Ispaháni, the Rásti, the Rayháni, the Búsalik, the Navá, etc., borrowed from the conquered 'Ajamí.

[FN#300] This second half of the story is laid upon the lines of
"The Man of Al-Yaman and his six Slave-girls": vol. iv. 245.

[FN#301] This history again belongs to the class termed "Abtar =
tailless. In the text we find for all termination, "After this he (Yúsuf) invited Mohammed ibn Ibrahim to lie that night in the
palace." Scott (vi. 364) ends after his own fashion:--"They (the
ten girls) recited extempore verses before the caliph, but the
subject of each was so expressive of their wish to return to
their beloved sovereign, and delivered in so affecting a manner,
that Mamoon, though delighted with their wit and beauty,
sacrificed his own pleasure to their feelings, and sent them back to Eusuff by the officer who carried the edict, confirming him in his dominions, where the prince of Sind and the fair Aleefa continued long, amid a numerous progeny, to live the protectors of their happy subjects."

[FN#302] This tale is headless as the last is tailless. We must
suppose that soon after Mohammed ibn Ibrahim had quitted the
Caliph, taking away the ten charmers, Al-Maamun felt his "breast
straitened" and called for a story upon one of his Ráwís named
Ibn Ahyam. This name is repeated in the text and cannot be a
clerical error for Ibn Ibrahim.

[FN#303] Scott (vi. 366) "Adventures of the Three Princes, sons
of the Sultan of China."

[FN#304] In the text "'Ajam," for which see vol. i. 2, 120.
Al-Irak, I may observe, was the head-quarters of the extensive
and dangerous Khárijite heresy; and like Syria has ever a bad
name amongst orthodox Moslems.

[FN#305] In the Arab. "Salkh," meaning also a peculiar form of
circumcision, for which see Pilgrimage iii. 80-81. The Jew's
condition was of course a trick, presenting an impossibility and
intended as a mere pretext for murdering an enemy to his faith.
Throughout the Eastern world this idea prevails, and both Sir
Moses Montefiore and M. Cremieux were utterly at fault and
certainly knew it when they declared that Europe was teaching it
to Asia. Every Israelite community is bound in self-defence, when the murder of a Christian child or adult is charged upon any of its members, to court the most searching enquiry and to abate the scandal with all its might.

[FN#306] The text has "Fí Kíb," which Scott (vol. vi. 367)
renders "a mat." [According to the Muhít "Kíb" is a small thick
mat used to produce shade, pl. "Kiyáb" and "Akyáb." The same
authority says the word is of Persian origin, but this seems an
error, unless it be related to "Keb" with the Yá majhúl, which in the Appendix to the Burháni Káti' is given as synonymous with
"Pech," twist, fold. Under "Bardí" = papyrus the Muhít mentions
that this is the material from which the mats known by the name
of "Akyáb" are made.--ST.]

[FN#307] The text has here "Wasayah," probably a clerical error
for "wa Miah" (spelt "Máyah"), and a hundred pair of pigeons.--
ST.]

[FN#308] Showing utter ignorance of the Jewish rite which must
always be performed by the Mohel, an official of the Synagogue
duly appointed by the Sheliach = legatus; and within eight days
after birth. The rite consists of three operations. Milah = the
cut; Priah = tearing the foreskin and Mezzízah = applying styptics to the wound. The latter process has become a matter of
controversy and the Israelite community of Paris, headed by the
Chief Rabbi, M. Zadoc Kahin, has lately assembled to discuss the
question. For the difference between Jewish and Moslem
circumcision see vol. v. 209.

[FN#309] The Jewish quarter (Hárah), which the Israelites
themselves call "Hazer," = a court-yard, an inclosure. In Mayer's valuable "Conversations-Lexicon" the Italian word is derived from the Talmudic "Ghet" = divorce, separation (as parting the Hebrews from the rest of the population) and the Rev. S. R. Melli, Chief Rabbi of Trieste, has kindly informed me that the word is Chaldaic.

[FN#310] [Ar. "Sarmújah," from Persian "Sar-múzah," a kind of
hose or gaiter worn over a boot.--ST.]

[FN#311] [Arab. "Yastanít," aor. to the preter. "istanat," which
has been explained, p. 34.--ST.]

[FN#312] The bed would be made of a carpet or thin mattress
strewn upon the stucco flooring of the terrace-roof. But the
ignorant scribe overlooks the fact that by Mosaic law every
Jewish house must have a parapet for the "Sakf" (flat roof), a
precaution neglected by Al-Islam.

[FN#313] Good old classical English. In the "Breeches Bible"
(A.D. 1586) we read, "But a certaine woman cast a piece of
millstone upon Abimelech's head and broke his brain-panne" (Judges ix. 33).

[FN#314] [The words "'Irz," protection, in the preceding
sentence, "Hurmah" and "Shatáráh" explain each other mutually.
The formula "fí 'irzak" (vulg. "arzak"), I place myself under thy protection, implies an appeal to one's honour ("'Irz"). Therefore the youth says: "Inna házih Hurmah lam 'alay-há Shatárah," i.e. "Truly this one is a woman" (in the emphatic sense of a sacred or forbidden object; "this woman" would be "házih al-Hurmah"), "I must not act vilely or rashly towards her," both vileness and rashness belonging to the many significations of "Shatárah," which is most usually "cleverness." --ST.]

[FN#315] In the text "Sind," still confounding this tale with the preceding.

[FN#316] In text "Intihába 'l furas," lit. = the snatching of
opportunities, a jingle with "Kanas."

[FN#317] [Compare with this episode the viith of Spitta Bey's
Tales: Histoire du Prince qui apprit un métier.--ST.]

[FN#318] i.e. enables a man to conceal the pressure of
impecuniosity.

[FN#319] In text "Al-Sádah wa al-Khatáyát."

[FN#320] Subaudi, "that hath not been pierced." "The first
night," which is often so portentous a matter in England and upon the Continent (not of North America), is rarely treated as
important by Orientals. A long theoretical familiarity with the
worship of Venus

          Leaves not much mystery for the nuptial night.

Such lore has been carefully cultivated by the "young person"
with the able assistance of the ancient dames of the household,
of her juvenile companions and co-evals and especially of the
slave-girls. Moreover not a few Moslems, even Egyptians, the most lecherous and salacious of men, in all ranks of life from prince to peasant take a pride in respecting the maiden for a few nights after the wedding-feast extending, perhaps to a whole week and sometimes more. A brutal haste is looked upon as "low"; and, as sensible men, they provoke by fondling and toying Nature to speak ere proceeding to the final and critical act. In England it is very different. I have heard of brides over thirty years old who had not the slightest suspicion concerning what complaisance was expected of them: out of mauvaise honte, the besetting sin of the respectable classes, neither mother nor father would venture to enlighten the elderly innocents. For a delicate girl to find a man introducing himself into her bedroom and her bed, the shock must be severe and the contact of hirsute breast and hairy limbs with a satiny skin is a strangeness which must often breed loathing and disgust. Too frequently also, instead of showing the utmost regard for virginal modesty and innocence (alias ignorance), the bridegroom will not put a check upon his passions and precipitates matters with the rage of the bull, ruentis in venerem. Even after he hears "the cry" which, as the Arabs say, "must be cried," he has no mercy: the newly made woman lies quivering with mental agitation and physical pain, which not a few describe as resembling the tearing out of a back-tooth, and yet he insists upon repeating the operation, never supposing in his stupidity, that time must pass before the patient can have any sensation of pleasure and before the glories and delights of the sensual orgasm bathe her soul in bliss. Hence complaints, dissatisfaction, disgust, mainly caused by the man's fault, and hence not unfrequently a permanent distaste for the act of carnal congress. All women are by no means equally capable of such enjoyment, and not a few have become mothers of many children without ever being or becoming thoroughly reconciled to it. Especially in the case of highly nervous temperaments--and these seem to be increasing in the United States and notably in New England--the fear of nine months' pains and penalties makes the sex averse to the "deed of kind." The first child is perhaps welcomed, the second is an unpleasant prospect and there is a firm resolve not to conceive a third. But such conjugal chastity is incompatible, except in the case of "married saints," with a bon ménage. The husband, scandalised and offended by the rejection and refusal of the wife, will seek a substitute more complaisant; and the spouse also may "by the decree of Destiny" happen to meet the right man, the man for whom and for whom only every woman will sweep the floor. And then adieu to prudence and virtue, honour and fair fame. For, I repeat, it is the universal custom of civilised and Christian Europeans to plant their womankind upon a pedestal exposed as butts to every possible temptation: and, if they fall, as must often be expected, to assail them with obloquy and contempt for succumbing to trials imposed upon them by the stronger and less sensitive sex. Far more sensible and practical, by the side of these high idealists, shows the Moslem who guards his jewel with jealous care and who, if his "honour," despite every precaution, insist upon disgracing him, draws the sabre and cuts her down with the general approbation and applause of society.

[FN#321] [Arab. "'Alà ghayri tarík," which I would translate "out of the way," like the Persian "bí-Ráh."--ST.]

[FN#322] In text "Kababjí" (for Kabábji) seller of Kabábs, mutton or kid grilled in small squares and skewered: see vol. vi. 225.

[FN#323] In text "Sujjádah;" vol. vi. 193.

[FN#324] In text "Faddah" all through.

[FN#325] In text "Kirsh" ( = piastre) a word before explained. See Lane (M.E.) Appendix B.

[FN#326] In Arab. "Samár;" from the Pers. "Sumar" = a reed, a
rush.

[FN#327] In Arab. "Díwán:" vols. vii. 340; ix. 108.

[FN#328] Scott has (vol. vi. 373), "The desired articles were
furnished, and the Sultan setting to work, in a few days finished a mat, in which he ingeniously contrived to plait in flowery characters, known only to himself and his vizier, the account of his situation."

[FN#329] In Arab. "Ghirárah" (plur. "Gharáír") = a sack. In Ibn
Khall. (iv. pp. 90, 104) it is a large sack for grain and the
especial name of a tax on corn.

[FN#330] In the text "Mohammed ibn Ibrahim," another confusion
with the last tale. This story is followed in the MS. by (1) "The History of the First Brave," (2) "The History of the Second
Brave," and "The Tale of the Noodle and his Asses," which I have
omitted because too feeble for insertion.

[FN#331] Scott (vi.375) "Story of the Good Vizier unjustly
imprisoned." Gauttier (vi. 394) Histoire du bon Vizier
injustement emprisonné.

[FN#332] This detail has no significance, though perhaps its
object may be to affect the circumstantial, a favourite manœuvre
with the Ráwí. [It may mean that the prisoner had to pass through seven gates before reaching it, to indicate its formidable strength and the hopelessness of all escape, except perhaps by a seven-warded, or as the Arabs would say, a seven-pinned key of gold. In the modern tale mentioned on p. 223 the kidnapped Prince and his Wazir are made to pass "through one door after the other until seven doors were passed," to emphasise the utter seclusion of their hiding place.--ST.]

[FN#333] i.e. the mats and mattresses, rugs and carpets, pillows
and cushions which compose the chairs, tables and beds of a
well-to-do Eastern lodging.

[FN#334] The pretext was natural. Pious Moslems often make such
vows and sometimes oblige themselves to feed the street dogs with good bread.

[FN#335] In text "Min hakk házá 'l-Kalám sahíh."

[FN#336] In text "Káík" and "Káík-jí," the well-known caïque of
the Bosphorus, a term which bears a curious family resemblance to the "Kayak" of the Eskimos.

[FN#337] Here coffee is mentioned without tobacco, whereas in
more modern days the two are intimately connected. And the reason is purely hygienic. Smoking increases the pulsations without strengthening them, and depresses the heart-action with a calming and soothing effect. Coffee, like alcohol, affects the
circulation in the reverse way by exciting it through the nervous system; and not a few authorities advise habitual smokers to end the day and prepare for rest with a glass of spirits and water. It is to be desired that the ignorants who write about "that filthy tobacco" would take the trouble to observe its effects on a large scale, and not base the strongest and extremest opinions, as is the wont of the Anglo-Saxon Halb-bildung, upon the narrowest and shakiest of bases. In Egypt, India and other parts of the Eastern world they will find nicotiana used by men, women and children, of all ranks and ages; and the study of these millions would greatly modify the results of observing a few hundreds at home. But, as in the case of opium-eating, populus vult decipi, the philanthrope does not want to know the truth, indeed he shrinks from it and loathes it. All he cares for is his own especial "fad."

[FN#338] Arab. "Fínjál" systematically repeated for "Finján"
pronounced in Egypt "Fingán" see vol. viii. 200. [The plural
"Fanájíl," pronounced "Fanágíl," occurs in Spitta Bey's Contes
Arabes Modernes, p. 92, and in his Grammar, p. 26, the same
author states that the forms "Fingán" and "Fingál" are used
promiscuously.--ST.]

[FN#339] For the "Khaznah" (Khazínah) or 10,000 kís each = £5,
see vols. ii. 84; iii. 278.

[FN#340] A euphuism meaning some disaster. The text contains a
favourite incident in folklore; the first instance, I believe,
being that of Polycrates of Samos according to Herodotus (lib.
iii. 41-42). The theory is supported after a fashion by
experience amongst all versed in that melancholy wisdom the
"knowledge of the world." As Syr Cauline the knight
philosophically says:--

          Everye white will have its blacke,
          And everye sweete its sowre: etc.

[FN#341] Thus making the food impure and unfit for a religious
Moslem to eat. Scott (vi. 378) has "when a huge rat running from
his hole leaped into the dish which was placed upon the floor."
He is probably thinking of the East Indian "bandycoot."

[FN#342] In text this tale concludes, "It is ended and this
(next) is the History of the Barber."

[FN#343] A dandy, a macaroni, from the Turk. Chelebi, see vol. i. 22. Here the word is thoroughly Arabised. In old Turk. it means, a Prince of the blood; in mod. times a gentleman, Greek or European.

[FN#344] In the text "Úzbáshá" or "Uzbáshá," a vile Egyptianism
for Yúzbáshi = head of a hundred (men), centurion, captain.

[FN#345] Scil. the household, the Harem, etc. As usual, the masc. is used for the fem.

[FN#346] [Ar. "Al-Rashákah," a word is not found in the common
lexicons. In Dozy and "Engelmann's Glossary of Spanish and
Portuguese words derived from the Arabic," it is said to be a
fork with three prongs, here probably a hat-stand in the shape of such a fork.--ST.]

[FN#347] In text "Shá'il" copyist's error for "Shághil," act.
part. of "Shughl" = business, affairs. [Here it stands probably
for the fuller "Shughl shághil," an urgent business.--ST.]

[FN#348] In text "Yá 'Ars, yá Mu'arras": vol. i. 338.

[FN#349] In Syria most houses have a rain cistern or tank into
which the terrace-roof drains and which looks from above like a
well with a cover. The water must have been low when the lover
hid himself in the reservoir.

[FN#350] [In the MS. "Min Hakk la-hu Asl an 'and-ná huná Rájil,"
a thoroughly popular phrase. "Min Hakk" and "min Hakkan," where
in the adverbial meaning of Hakkan its grammatical form as an
accusative is so far forgotten that it allows itself to be
governed by the preposition "min," is rendered by Bocthor "tout
de bon," "sérieusement." "Asl" = root has here the meaning of
foundation in fact. The literal translation of the passage would
therefore be: "Forsooth, is there any truth in it that a man is
here in our house?" "Min Hakk" has occurred page 235, where the
text, quoted in the note, may perhaps be translated: "Of a truth, is this saying soothfast?"--ST.]

[FN#351] [The MS. has: "Yá Gháratí a-Zay má huná Rájil;" "Yá
Gháratí" will recur presently, p. 256, along with "yá Musíbatí" = Oh my calamity! I take it therefore to be an exclamation of
distress from "Ghárat" = invasion, with its incidents of
devastation, rapine and ruin. It would be the natural outcry of
the women left helpless in an unprotected camp when invaded by a
hostile tribe. In "a-Zay má" the latter particle is not the
negative, but the pronoun, giving to "a-Zay" = "in what manner,"
"how ?" the more emphatical sense of "how ever?" In the same
sense we find it again, infra, Night 754, "a-Zay má tafútní" =
how canst thou quit me? I would therefore render: "Woe me I am
undone, how ever should there be a man here?" or something to
that purpose.--ST.]

[FN#352] In Persian he would be called "Parí-stricken,"--smitten
by the Fairies.

[FN#353] A quarter-staff (vols. i, 234; viii. 186) opp. to the
"Dabbús," or club-stick of the Badawin, the Caffres' "Knob-
kerry," which is also called by the Arabs "Kaná," pron. "Ganá."

[FN#354] Scott's "Story of the Lady of Cairo and her four
Gallants" (vol. vi. 380): Gauttier, Histoire d' une Dame du Caire et de ses Galans (vi. 400). This tale has travelled over the Eastern world. See in my vol. vi. 172 "The Lady and her Five
Suitors," and the "Story of the Merchant's Wife and her Suitors"
in Scott's "Tales, Anecdotes, and Letters" (Cadell, London,
1800), which is in fact a garbled version of the former,
introduced into the répertoire of "The Seven Wazírs." I translate the W. M. version of the tale because it is the most primitive known to me; and I shall point out the portions where it lacks finish.

[FN#355] This title does not appear till p. 463 (vol. v.) of the
MS., and it re-appears in vol. vi. 8.

[FN#356] i.e. in her haste: the text has "Kharrat." The Persians
who rhetorically exaggerate everything say "rising and sinking
like the dust of the road." [I doubt whether "Kharrat" could have the meaning given to it in the translation. The word in the MS. has no Tashdíd and I think the careless scribe meant it for
"Kharajat," she went out.--ST.]

[FN#357] I read "Nás malmúmín = assembled men, a crowd of people."--ST.]

[FN#358] "Rajul Khwájá:" see vol. vi. 46, etc. For "Sháhbandar" = king of the port, a harbour-master, whose post I have compared with our "Consul," see vol. iv. 29. It is often, however, applied to Government officials who superintend trade and levy duties at inland marts.

[FN#359] Arab. "Khimár," a veil or rather a covering for the back of the head. This was the especial whorishness with which
Shahrazad taxes the Goodwife: she had been too prodigal of her
charms, for the occiput and the "back hair" should not be
displayed even to the moon.

[FN#360] These four become five in the more finished tale--the
King, the Wazir, the Kazi, the Wali or Chief of Police and the
Carpenter. Moreover each one is dressed in different costume,
gowns yellow, blue, red and patched with headgear equally absurd.

[FN#361] In text "Turtúr" = the Badawi's bonnet: vol. ii. 143. Mr. Doughty (i. 160) found at Al-Khuraybah the figure of an ancient Arab wearing a close tunic to the knee and bearing on poll a coif. At Al-'Ula he was shown an ancient image of a man's head cut in sandstone: upon the crown was a low pointed bonnet. "Long caps" are also noticed in i. 562; and we are told that they were  "worn in outlandish guise in Arabia."

[FN#362] In text "Embárah" (pron. 'Mbárah); pop. for Al-bárihah = the last part of the preceding day or night, yesterday. The vulgar Egyptian uses it as if it were a corruption of the Pers. "in bár" = this time. The Arab Badawin pronounce it El-beyrih (with their exaggerated "Imálah") and use it not only for "yesterday," but also for the past afternoon.

[FN#363] This device is far inferior in comic effect to the
carpenter's press or cabinet of five compartments, and it lacks
the ludicrous catastrophe in which all the lovers make water upon one another's heads.

[FN#364] Scott (vi. 386) "The Cauzee's story:" Gauttier (vi. 406) does not translate it.

[FN#365] In the text the message is delivered verbatim: this
iteration is well fitted for oral work, with its changes of tone
and play of face, and varied "gag"; but it is most annoying for
the more critical reader.

[FN#366] Arab. "Lukmah" = a balled mouthful: vols. i. 261, vii.
367.

[FN#367] The "Miftáh" (prop. "Miftah") or key used throughout the Moslem East is a bit of wood, 7–14 inches long, and provided with 4–10 small iron pins which correspond with an equal number of holes in the "Dabbah" or wooden bolt. If one of these teeth be withdrawn the lock will not open. Lane (M.E. Introduction) has a sketch of the "Miftah" and "Dabbah."

[FN#368] In text "Ayoh" which is here, I hold, a corruption of "Í (or Ayy) hú" = "yes indeed he." [I take "aywah" (as I would read the word) to be a different spelling for "aywa" = yes indeed, which according to Spitta Bey, Gr. p. 168 is a contraction of "Ay (Í) wa'lláhi," yes by Allah. "What? thy lover?" asks the husband, and she emphatically affirms the fact, to frighten the concealed tailor--ST.]

[FN#369] In the Arab. "Al-Ashkhákh," plur. of "Shakhkh" and
literally "the stales" meaning either dejection. [I read: "bi
'l-Shakhákh," the usual modern word for urine. "'Alayya Shakhákh" is: I want to make water. See Dozy Suppl. s.v.--ST.]

[FN#370] In text "Ahú ma'í"--pure Fellah speech.

[FN#371] In the Arab. "laklaka-há"--an onomatopoeia.

[FN#372] In text "Ilà an yasír Karmu-hu." The root Karm originally means cutting a slip of skin from the camel's nose by way of mark, in lieu of the normal branding.

[FN#373] In text "Yazghaz-há fí shikkati-ha," the verb being
probably a clerical error for "Yazaghzagh," from {root} "Zaghzagha," = he opened a skin bag.

[FN#374] This is the far-famed balcony-scene in "Fanny" (of
Ernest Feydeau translated into English and printed by Vizetelly
and Co.) that phenomenal specimen of morbid and unmasculine
French (or rather Parisian) sentiment, which contrasts so
powerfully with the healthy and manly tone of The Nights. Here
also the story conveys a moral lesson and, contrary to custom,
the husband has the best of the affair. To prove that my judgment is not too severe, let me quote the following passages from a well-known and popular French novelist, translated by an English littérateur and published by a respectable London firm.

In "A Ladies' Man:" by Guy de Maupassant, we read:--

Page 62.--And the conversation, descending from elevated theories concerning love, strayed into the flowery garden of polished blackguardism. It was the moment of clever, double meanings; veils raised by words, as petticoats are lifted by the wind; tricks of language, cleverly disguised audacities; sentences which reveal nude images in covered phrases, which cause the vision of all that may not be said to flit rapidly before the eyes of the mind, and allow well-bred people the enjoyment of a kind of subtle and mysterious love, a species of impure mental contact, due to the simultaneous evocations of secret, shameful and longed-for pleasures.

Page 166.--George and Madeleine amused themselves with watching
all these couples, the woman in summer toilette and the man
darkly outlined beside her. It was a huge flood of lovers flowing towards the Bois, beneath the starry and heated sky. No sound was heard save the dull rumble of wheels. They kept passing by, two by two in each vehicle, leaning back on the seat, clasped one against the other, lost in dreams of desire, quivering with the anticipation of coming caresses. The warm shadow seemed full of kisses. A sense of spreading lust rendered the air heavier and more suffocating. All the couples, intoxicated with the same idea, the same ardour, shed a fever about them.

Page 187--As soon as she was alone with George, she clasped him
in her arms, exclaiming: "Oh! my darling Pretty-boy, I love you
more and more every day."

The cab conveying them rocked like a ship.

"It is not so nice as our own room," said she.

He answered; "Oh, no." But he was thinking of Madame Waller.

Page 198.--He kissed her neck, her eyes, her lips with eagerness, without her being able to avoid his furious caresses, and whilst repulsing him, whilst shrinking from his mouth, she, despite herself, returned his kisses. All at once she ceased to struggle, and, vanquished, resigned, allowed him to undress her. One by one he neatly and rapidly stripped off the different articles of clothing with the light fingers of a lady's maid. She had snatched her bodice from his hands to hide her face in it, and remained standing amidst the garments fallen at her feet. He seized her in his arms and bore her towards the couch. Then she murmured in his ear in a broken voice, "I swear to you, I swear to you, that I have never had a lover."

And he thought, "That is all the same to me."

[FN#375] In text "Ant' amilta maskhará (for maskharah) matah (for matà)," idiomatical Fellah-tongue.

[FN#376] Scott (Appendix vol. vi. 460) simply called this tale
"The Syrian." In M. Clouston's "Book of Noodles" (pp. 193–194) we find a man who is searching for three greater simpletons than his wife, calling himself "Saw ye ever my like?" It is quoted from Campbell's "Popular Tales of the West Highlands" (ii. 385–387), but it lacks the canopic wit of the Arabo-Egyptian. I may note anent the anecdote of the Gabies (p. 201), who proposed, in order to make the tall bride on horseback enter the low village-gate, either to cut off her head or the legs of her steed, that precisely the same tale is told by the biting wits of Damascus concerning the boobies of Halbún. "Halbáún," as these villagers call their ancient hamlet, is justly supposed to be the Helbon whose wine is mentioned by Ezekiel in the traffic of Damascus, although others less reasonably identify it with Halab = Aleppo.

[FN#377] In text "La'bat Shawáribu-hu" = lit. his mustachios
played.

[FN#378] For the "Wakálah," or caravanserai, see vol. i. 266.

[FN#379] In text "Kabút," plur. Kabábít:

          Oh! who is more brave than a dark Suliote,
          In his snowy camise and his shaggy capote?
              "Childe Harold," Canto II.

And here I cannot but notice the pitiful contrast (on the
centenary of the poet's nativity, Jan. 22nd, '88) between the
land of his birth and that of his death. The gallant Greeks
honoured his memory with wreaths and panegyrics and laudatory
articles, declaring that they will never forget the anniversaries of his nativity and his decease. The British Pharisee and Philistine, true to his miserable creed, ignored all the "real Lord Byron"--his generosity, his devotion to his friends, his boundless charity, and his enthusiasm for humanity. They exhaled their venom by carping at Byron's poetry (which was and is to Europe a greater boon than Shakspeare's), by condemning his morality (in its dirty sexual sense) and in prophesying for him speedy oblivion. Have these men no shame in presence of the noble panegyric dedicated by the Prince of German poets, Goethe, to his brother bard whom he welcomed as a prophet? Can they not blush before Heine (the great German of the future), before Flaubert, Alfred de Musset, Lamartine, Leopardi and a host of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese notables? Whilst England will not forgive Byron for having separated from his unsympathetic wife, the Literary society of Moscow celebrated his centenary with all honour; and Prof. Nicholas Storojenko delivered a speech which has found an echo

                                   further west
          Than his sires' "Islands of the Blest."

He rightly remarked that Byron's deadly sin in the eyes of the
Georgian-English people was his Cosmopolitanism. He was the
poetical representative of the Sturm und Drang period of
the xixth century. He reflected, in his life and works, the wrath of noble minds at the collapse of the cause of freedom and the reactionary tendency of the century. Even in the distant regions of Monte Video Byron's hundredth birthday was not forgotten, and Don Luis Desteffanio's lecture was welcomed by literary society.

[FN#380] He cried out thinking of the mystical meaning of such
name. So ????? sea?t??, would mean in Sufí language--Learn from thyself what is thy Lord;--corresponding after a manner with the
Christian "looking up through Nature to Nature's God."

[FN#381] The phrase prob. means so drunk that his circulation had apparently stopped.

[FN#382] This is the article usually worn by the professional
buffoon. The cap of the "Sutarí" or jester of the Arnaut
(Albanian) regiments--who is one of their professional braves--is usually a felt cone garnished with foxes' brushes.

[FN#383] In Arab. "Sabbal alayhim (for Alayhinna, the usual masc. pro fem.) Al-Sattár" = lit. the Veiler let down a curtain upon them.

[FN#384] The barber being a surgeon and ever ready to bleed a
madman.

[FN#385] i.e. Can play off equally well the soft-brained and the
hard-headed.

[FN#386] i.e. a deputy (governor, etc.); in old days the governor of Constantinople; in these times a lieutenant-colonel, etc.

[FN#387] Which, as has been said, is the cab of Modern Egypt,
like the gondola and the caïque. The heroine of the tale is a
Nilotic version of "Aurora Floyd."

[FN#388] In text "Rafaka" and infrà (p. 11) "Zafaka."

[FN#389] [In text "Misla 'l-Kalám," which I venture to suggest is another clerical blunder for: "misla 'l-Kiláb" = as the dogs do.--ST.]

[FN#390] i.e. My wife. In addition to notes in vols. i. 165, and
iv. 9, 126, I would observe that "Harím" (women) is the broken
plur. of "Hurmah;" from Haram, the honour of the house, forbidden to all save her spouse. But it is also an infinitive (whose plur. is Harîmát = the women of a family); and in places it is still used for the women's apartment, the gynæceum. The latter by way of distinction I have mostly denoted by the good old English corruption "Harem."

[FN#391] In text "Misla 'l-khárúf" (for Kharúf) a common phrase
for an "innocent," a half idiot; so our poets sing of "silly
(harmless, Germ. Selig) sheep."

[FN#392] In text this ends the tale.

[FN#393] In text "Wa lá huwa 'ashamná min-ka talkash 'alà
Harimi-ná." "'Ashama," lit. = he greeded for; and "Lakasha" = he
conversed with. [There is no need to change the "talkas" of the
text into "talkash." "Lakasa" is one of the words called "Zidd,"
i.e. with opposite meanings: it can signify "to incline
passionately towards," or "to loath with abhorrence." As the noun "Laks" means "itch" the sentence might perhaps be translated: "that thou hadst an itching after our Harím." What would lead me to prefer the reading of the MS. is that the verb is construed with the preposition "'alà" = upon, towards, for, while "lakash," to converse, is followed by "ma'" = with.--ST.]

[FN#394] Such was the bounden duty of a good neighbour.

[FN#395] He does not insist upon his dancing because he looks
upon the offence as serious, but he makes him tell his tale--for
the sake of the reader.

[FN#396] "Sáhib al-Hayát:" this may also = a physiognomist, which, however, is probably not meant here.

[FN#397] In text "Harárah" = heat, but here derived from
"Hurr" = freeborn, noble.

[FN#398] In text "Azay má tafút-ní?"

[FN#399] In the Arab. "Rajul Khuzarí" = a green-meat man. [The
reading "Khuzarí" belongs to Lane, M.E. ii. 16, and to Bocthor.
In Schiaparelli's Vocabulista and the Muhít the form "Khuzrí" is
also given with the same meaning.--ST.]

[FN#400] [In text "Farárijí," as if the pl. of "Farrúj" = chicken were "Farárij" instead of "Faráríj." In modern Egyptian these nouns of relation from irregular plurals to designate
tradespeople not only drop the vowel of the penultimate but
furthermore, shorten that of the preceding syllable, so that
"Farárijí" becomes "Fararjí." Thus "Sanádikí," a maker of boxes,
becomes "Sanadkí," and "Dakhákhiní, a seller of tobacco brands,"
"Dakhakhní." See Spitta Bey's Grammar, p. 118.--ST.]

[FN#401] In the Arab. "Al-Májúr," for "Maajúr" = a vessel, an
utensil.

[FN#402] In text "shaklaba" here = "shakala" = he weighed out (money, whence the Heb. Shekel), he had to do with a woman.

[FN#403] [The trade of the man is not mentioned here, p. 22 of
the 5th vol. of the MS., probably through negligence of the
copyist, but it only occurs as far lower down as p. 25.--ST.]

[FN#404] A certain reviewer proposes "stained her eyes with
Kohl," showing that he had never seen the Kohl-powder used by
Asiatics.

[FN#405] ["Bi-Má al-fasíkh 'alà Akrás al-Jullah." "Má
al-Fasíkh" = water of salt-fish, I would translate by "dirty brine" and "Akrás al-Jullah" by "dung-cakes," meaning the tale should be written with a filthy fluid for ink upon a filthy solid for paper, more expressive than elegant.--ST.]

[FN#406] "Al-Janínáti"; or, as the Egyptians would pronounce the
word, "Al-Ganínátí". [Other Egyptian names for gardener are
"Janáiní," pronounced "Ganáiní," "Bustánjí" pronounced
"Bustangi," with a Turkish termination to a Persian noun, and
"Bakhshawángí," for Baghchawánjí," where the same termination is
pleonastically added to a Persian word, which in Persian and
Turkish already means "gardener."--ST.]

[FN#407] A Koranic quotation from "Joseph," chap. xii. 28: Sale
has "for verily your cunning is great," said by Potiphar to his
wife.

[FN#408] I have inserted this sentence, the tale being absolutely without termination. So in the Mediæval Lat. translations the MSS. often omit "explicit capitulum (primum). Sequitur capitulum secundum," this explicit being a sine qua non.

[FN#409] In text "Fatáirí" = a maker of "Fatírah" = pancake, or
rather a kind of pastry rolled very thin, folded over like a
napkin, saturated with butter and eaten with sugar or honey
poured over it.

[FN#410] In Arab. "Nayízáti," afterwards "Nuwayzátí," and lastly
"Rayhání" (p. 34) = a man who vends sweet and savoury herbs. We
have neither the craft nor the article, so I have rendered him by "Herbalist."

[FN#411] In text a "Mihtár" = a prince, a sweeper, a scavenger; the Pers. "Mihtar," still used in Hindostani. [In Quatremère's
Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks "Mihtar" occurs also in the sense
of superintendent, of head-equerry, and of chief of a military
band. See Dozy Supp. s. v.--ST.]

[FN#412] "Ant' aysh" for "man," decidedly not complimentary,
"What (thing) art thou?"

[FN#413] Arab. "Kabsh." Amongst the wilder tribes of the East
ram's mutton is preferred because it gives the teeth more to do:
on the same principle an old cock is the choicest guest-gift in
the way of poultry.

[FN#414] "Naubah," lit. = a period, keeping guard; and here a band of pipes and kettledrums playing before the doors of a great man at certain periods.

[FN#415] In text "Al-Mubtali."

[FN#416] Arab. "Hawwálín"; the passage is apparently corrupt.
["Hawálín" is clerical error for either "hawálà" = all around, or "Hawálí" = surroundings, surrounding parts, and "Audán" is pl. of the popular "Widn" or "Wudn" for the literary "Uzn," ear.--ST.]

[FN#417] The exclamation would be uttered by the scribe or by
Shahrazad. I need hardly remind the reader that "Khizr" is the
Green Prophet and here the Prophet of greens.

[FN#418] For "Isráfíl" = Raphael, the Archangel who will blow the last trump, see vol. ii. 287.

[FN#419] Gen. meaning "Look sharp," here syn. with "Allah!
Allah!" = I conjure thee by God. Vol. i. 346.

[FN#420] A Persian would say, "I am a Irání but Walláhi indeed I
am not lying."

[FN#421] [This sentence of wholesale extermination passed upon
womankind, reminds me of the Persian lines which I find quoted in 'Abdu 'l-Jalíl's History of the Barmecides:

          Agar nek búdí Zan u Ráy-i-Zan
          Zan-rá Ma-zan Nám búdí, na Zan,

and which I would render Anglicè:

          If good there were in Woman and her way
          Her name would signify "Slay not," not "Slay."

"Zan" as noun = woman; as imp. of "zadan" = strike, kill, whose
negative is "mazan."--ST.]

[FN#422] In the text the Shaykh, to whom "Amán" was promised, is
also gelded, probably by the neglect of the scribe.

[FN#423] This tale is a variant of "The First Constable's
History:" Suppl. Nights, vol. ii. 3-11.

[FN#424] In text "Al-Bawwábah" = a place where door-keepers meet, a police-station; in modern tongue "Karakol," for
"Karaghol-khánah" = guard-house.

[FN#425] In text "Kází al-'Askar" = the great legal authority of a country: vol. vi. 131.

[FN#426] Anglo-Indice "Mucuddum" = overseer, etc., vol. iv. 42.

[FN#427] i.e. is not beyond our reach.

[FN#428] In text "Yá Sultán-am" with the Persian or Turkish
suffixed possessional pronoun.

[FN#429] In text "mál," for which see vol. vi. 267. Amongst the
Badawin it is also applied to hidden treasure.

[FN#430] I carefully avoid the obnoxious term "intoxication"
which properly means "poisoning," and should be left to those
amiable enthusiasts the "Teetotallers."

[FN#431] A sign of foul play; the body not having been shrouded
and formally buried.

[FN#432] For the title, the office and the date see vol. ix. 289.

[FN#433] The names are = Martha and Mary.

[FN#434] MS. vi. 57-77, not translated by Scott, who entitles it
(vi. 461) "Mhassun, the Liberal, and Mouseh, the treacherous
Friend." It is a variant of "The Envier and the Envied:" vol. i.
123.

[FN#435] The Arab. "Jarrah": vol. viii. 177.

[FN#436] i.e. One who does good, a benefactor.

[FN#437] In the text "Músà wa Múzi," the latter word = vexatious, troublesome. [I notice that in the MS. the name is distinctly and I believe purposely spelt with Hamzah above the Wáw and Kasrah beneath the Sín, reading "Muusí." It is, therefore, a travesty of the name Músà, and the exact counterpart of "Muhsin", being the active participle of "asáa", 4th form of "sáa," = he did evil, he injured, and nearly equivalent with the following "Muuzí." The two names may perhaps be rendered: Muhsin, the Beneficent, and Muusí, the Malignant, the Malefactor.--ST.]

[FN#438] In text "Fatír" for "Fatírah" = a pancake, before
described.

[FN#439] In text "Bi-khátiri-k" = Thy will be done; the whole
dialogue is in pure Fellah speech.

[FN#440] Supposed to be American, but, despite Bartlett, really
old English from Lancashire, the land which has supplied many of
the so-called "American" neologisms. A gouge is a hollow chisel,
a scoop; and to gouge is to poke out the eye: this is done by
thrusting the fingers into the side-hair thus acting as a base
and by prising out the ball with the thumbnail which is purposely grown long.

[FN#441] [In the text: "Fa tarak-hu Muusí am'à dáir yaltash fí
'l-Tarík." Latash has the meaning of beating, tapping; I
therefore think the passage means: "hereupon Muusí left him,
blind as he was, tramping and groping his way" (feeling it with
his hands or stick).--ST.]

[FN#442] In text "Biiru milyánah Moyah." As a rule the Fellah of
Egypt says "Mayyeh," the Cairene "Mayya," and the foreigner
"Moyah": the old Syrian is "Mayá," the mod. "Moy," and the
classical dim. of "Má" is "Muwayh," also written "Muwayy" and
"Muwayhah."

[FN#443] "Sabt" = Sabbath, Saturday: vol. ii. 305, and passim.

[FN#444] i.e. "By Allah," meaning "Be quick!"

[FN#445] For this well-nigh the sole equivalent amongst the
Moslems of our "thank you," see Vol. iv. 6. and v. 171.

[FN#446] In Arab. "Ana 'l-Tabíb, al-Mudáwi." In pop. parlance,
the former is the scientific practitioner and the latter
represents the man of the people who deals in simples, etc.

[FN#447] In text "Rákiba-há," the technical term for demoniac
insiliation or possession: the idea survives in our "succubi" and "incubi." I look upon these visions often as the effects of
pollutio nocturna. A modest woman for instance dreams of being
possessed by some man other than her husband; she loves the
latter and is faithful to him, and consequently she must explain
the phenomena superstitiously and recur to diabolical agency. Of
course it is the same with men, only they are at less trouble to
excuse themselves.

[FN#448] The construction here, MS. p. 67, is very confused. [The speech of Muhsin seems to be elliptical. In Ar. it runs: "Li-anní izá, lam nukhullis-ha (or nukhlis-há, 2nd or 4th form) taktulní, wa aná iz lam tattafik ma'í anní izá khallastu-há tu'tí-há alayya" --which I believe to mean: "for if I do not deliver her, thou wilt kill me; so I (say) unless thou stipulate with me that when I have delivered her thou wilt give her to me in marriage--" supply: "well then I wash my hand of the whole business." The Shaykh acts on the tit for tat principle in a style worthy of the "honest broker" himself.--ST.]

[FN#449] In text "Yaum Sabt" again.

[FN#450] As has been said (vol. ii. 112) this is a sign of
agitation. The tale has extended to remote Guernsey. A sorcier
named Hilier Mouton discovers by his art that the King's daughter who had long and beautiful tresses was dying because she had swallowed a hair which had twined round her praecordia. The cure was to cut a small square of bacon from just over the heart, and tie it to a silken thread which the Princess must swallow, when the hair would stick to it and come away with a jerk. See (p. 29) "Folk-lore of Guernsey and Sark," by Louise Lane-Clarke, printed by E. Le Lievre, Guernsey, 1880; and I have to thank for it a kind correspondent, Mr. A. Buchanan Brown, of La Coûture, p. 53, who informs us why the Guernsey lily is scentless, emblem of the maiden who sent it from fairy-land.

[FN#451] The text says only, "O my father, gift Shaykh Mohsin."

[FN#452] Her especial "shame" would be her head and face: vol.
vi. 30, 118.

[FN#453] In northern Africa the "Dár al-Ziyáfah" was a kind of
caravanserai in which travellers were lodged at government
expense. Ibn Khaldún (Fr. Transl. i. 407).

[FN#454 In most of these tales the well is filled in over the
intruding "villain" of the piece. Ibn Khaldun (ii. 575) relates a "veritable history" of angels choking up a well; and in Mr.
Doughty (ii. 190) a Pasha-governor of Jiddah does the same to a
Jinni-possessed pit.

[FN#455] This tale is of a kind not unfrequent amongst Moslems,
exalting the character of the wife, whilst the mistress is a mere shadow.

[FN#456] Here written "Jalabí" (whence Scott's "Julbee," p. 461)
and afterwards (p. 77, etc.) "Shalabí": it has already been
noticed in vol. i. 22 and elsewhere.

[FN#457] In text "Baltah" for Turk. "Báltah" = an axe, a hatchet. Hence "Baltah-ji" a pioneer, one of the old divisions of the Osmanli troops which survives as a family name amongst the Levantines and semi-European Perotes of Constantinople.

[FN#458] Here the public gaol is in the Head Policeman's house.
So in modern times it is part of the Wali or Governor's palace
and is included in the Maroccan "Kasbah" or fortalice.

[FN#459] In text "Naakhaz bi-lissati-him;" "Luss" is after a
fashion ??st??; but the Greek word included piracy which was
honourable, whenas the Arab. term is mostly applied to larcenists and similar blackguards. [I would read the word in the text "Balsata-hum," until I have received their "ransom."--ST.]

[FN#460] In the text "Tajrís" which I have rendered by a
circumlocution. [For the exact meaning of "Tajrís," see Dozy,
Suppl. s.v. "jarras," where an interesting passage from Mas'údí
is quoted.--ST.]

[FN#461] In Moslem lands prisoners are still expected to feed
themselves, as was the case in England a century ago and is still to be seen not only in Al-Islam, Egypt and Syria, but even in Madeira and at Goa.

[FN#462] In text "Hudá Sirru-hu," i.e. his secret sin was guided
(by Allah) to the safety of concealment. [A simpler explanation
of this passage would perhaps be: "wa hadá Sirru-hu," = and his
mind was at rest.--ST.]

[FN#463] Arab. "Audáj" (plur. of "Wadaj") a word which applies
indiscriminately to the carotid arteries and jugular veins. The
latter, especially the external pair, carry blood from the face
and are subject abnormally to the will: the late lamented Mr.
Charley Peace, who murdered and "burgled" once too often, could
darken his complexion and even change it by arresting jugular
circulation. The much-read Mr. F. Marion Crawford (Saracinesca,
chapt. xii.) makes his hero pass a foil through his adversary's
throat, "without touching the jugular artery (which does not
exist) or the spine." But what about larynx and pharynx? It is to be regretted that realistic writers do not cultivate a little
more personal experience. No Englishman says "in guard" for "on
guard." "Colpo del Tancredi" is not = "Tancred's lunge" but "the
thrust of the (master) Tancredi:" it is quite permissible and to
say that it loses half its dangers against a left-handed man is
to state what cannot be the fact as long as the heart is more
easily reached from the left than from the right flank.

[FN#464] Lit. "Then faring forth and sitting in his own place." I have modified the too succinct text which simply means that he
was anxious and agitated.

[FN#465] After this in the text we have only, "End of the
Adventure of the Kazi's Daughter. It is related among the many
wiles of women that there was a Fellah-man," etc. I have supplied the missing link.

[FN#466] On the margin of the W. M. MS. (vi. 92) J. Scott has
written: "This story bears a faint resemblance to one in the
Bahardanush." He alludes to the tale I have already quoted. I
would draw attention to "The Fellah and his Wicked Wife," as it
is a characteristic Fellah-story showing what takes place too
often in the villages of Modern Egypt which the superficial
traveller looks upon as the homes of peace and quiet. The text is somewhat difficult for technicalities and two of the pages are written with a badly nibbed reed-pen which draws the lines
double.

[FN#467] The "Faddán" (here miswritten "Faddád") = a plough, a
yoke of oxen, a "carucate," which two oxen can work in a single
season. It is also the common land-measure of Egypt and Syria
reduced from acre 1.1 to less than one acre. It is divided into
twenty-four Kiráts (carats) and consists or consisted of 333
Kasabah (rods), each of these being 22-24 Kabzahs (fists with the thumb erect about = 6½ inches). In old Algiers the Faddán was called "Zuijah" (= a pair, i.e. of oxen) according to Ibn Khaldun i. 404.

[FN#468] In text "Masbúbah."

[FN#469] Arab. "Dashísh," which the Dicts. make = wheat-broth to be sipped. ["Dashísh" is a popular corruption of the classical
"Jashísh" = coarsely ground wheat (sometimes beans), also called
"Sawík," and "Dashíshah" is the broth made of it.--ST.]

[FN#470] In text "Ahmar" = red, ruddy-brown, dark brown.

[FN#471] In text "Kas'at (= a wooden platter, bowl) afrúkah." [The "Mafrúkah," an improvement upon the Fatírah, is a favourite dish with the Badawí, of which Dozy quotes lengthy descriptions from Vansleb and Thévenot. The latter is particularly graphical, and after enumerating all the ingredients says finally: "ils en font une grosse pâte dont ils prennent de gros morceaux.--ST.]

[FN#472] The Fellah will use in fighting anything in preference
to his fists and a stone tied up in a kerchief or a rag makes no
mean weapon for head-breaking.

[FN#473] The cries of an itinerant pedlar hawking about woman's
wares. See Lane (M. E.) chapt. xiv. "Flfl'a" (a scribal error?)
may be "Filfil" = pepper or palm-fibre. "Tutty," in low-Lat.
"Tutia," probably from the Pers. "Tutiyah," is protoxide of zinc, found native in Iranian lands, and much used as an eye-wash.

[FN#474] In text "Samm Sá'ah."

[FN#475] "Laban halíb," a trivial form = "sweet milk;" "Laban"
being the popular word for milk artificially soured. See vols.
vi. 201; vii. 360.

[FN#476] In text "Nisf ra'as Sukkar Misri." "Sukkar" (from Pers.
"Shakkar," whence the Lat. Saccharum) is the generic term, and
Egypt preserved the fashion of making loaf-sugar (Raas Sukkar)
from ancient times. "Misri" here = local name, but in India it is applied exclusively to sugar-candy, which with Gúr (Molasses) was the only form used throughout the country some 40 years ago.
Strict Moslems avoid Europe-made white sugar because they are
told that it is refined with bullock's blood, and is therefore
unlawful to Jews and the True Believers.

[FN#477] Lit. "that the sugar was poison."

[FN#478] In text "Kata'a Judúr-há" (for "hu"). [I refer the
pronoun in "Judúr-há" to "Rakabah," taking the "roots of the
neck" to mean the spine.--ST.]

[FN#479] In text "Fahata" for "Fahasa" (?) or perhaps a clerical
error for "Fataha" = he opened (the ground). ["Fahata," probably a vulgarisation of "fahatha" (fahasa) = to investigate, is given by Bocthor with the meaning of digging, excavating. Nevertheless I almost incline to the reading "fataha," which, however, I would pronounce with Tashdíd over the second radical, and translate: "he recited a 'Fátihah' for them," the usual prayer over the dead before interment. The dative "la-hum," generally employed with verbs of prayer, seems to favour this interpretation. It is true I never met with the word in this meaning, but it would be quite in keeping with the spirit of the language, and in close analogy with such expressions as "kabbara," he said "Allabu akbar," "Hallala," he pronounced the formula of unity, and a host of others. Here it would, in my opinion, wind up the tale with a neat touch of peasant's single-mindedness and loyal adherence to the injunctions of religion even under provoking circumstances.--ST.]

[FN#480] In the MS. we have only "Ending. And it is also told,"
etc. I again supply the connection.

[FN#481] Scott does not translate this tale, but he has written
on the margin (MS. vi. 101), "A story which bears a strong
resemblance to that I have read (when a boy) of the Parson's maid giving the roasted goose to her Lover and frightening away the guests, lest he should geld them."

[FN#482] In text "Zakarayn Wizz (ganders) simán"; but afterwards
"Wizzatayn" = geese.

[FN#483] These dried fruits to which pistachios are often added,
form the favourite "filling" of lamb and other meats prepared in
"puláo" (pilaff).

[FN#484] "Anta jáib(un) bas rájul (an) wáhid (an)"--veritable and characteristic peasant's jargon.

[FN#485] i.e., it is a time when men should cry for thy case. "Lá Haula" = there is no Majesty, etc. An ejaculation of displeasure, disappointments, despair.

[FN#486] In text "Maháshima-k" = good works, merits; in a secondary sense beard and mustachios. The word yard (etymologically a rod) is medical English, and the young student is often surprised to see, when a patient is told to show his yard, a mere inchlet of shrunken skin. ["Maháshim," according to Bocthor, is a plural without singular, meaning: les parties de la génération. Pedro de Alcala gives "Hashshúm," pl. "Hasháshim," for the female parts, and both words are derived from the verb "hasham, yahshím," he put to shame.--ST.]

[FN#487] Characteristic words of abuse, "O thou whose fate is
always to fail, O thou whose lot is ever subject to the accidents of Fortune!"

[FN#488] Arab. "Bayzah" = an egg, a testicle. See "Bayza'áni," vol. ii. 55.

[FN#489] Here the text ends with the tag, "Concluded is the story of the Woman with her Husband and her Lover. It is related of a man which was a Kazi," etc. I have supplied what the writer
should have given.

[FN#490] The "Mahkamah" (Place of Judgment), or Kazi's Court, at
Cairo is mostly occupied with matrimonial disputes, and is
fatally famous for extreme laxness in the matter of bribery and
corruption. During these days it is even worse than when Lane
described it. M.E. chapt. iv.

[FN#491] The first idea of an Eastern would be to appeal from the Kazi to the Kazi's wife, bribing her if he failed to corrupt the husband; and he would be wise in his generation as the process is seldom known to fail.

[FN#492] In Arab. "Sitta-há": the Mauritanians prefer "Sídah,"
and the Arabian Arabs Kabírah" = the first lady, Madame Mère.

[FN#493] In text "Ahú 'inda-k,"--pure Fellah speech.

[FN#494] In text here and below "Maghbún" usually = deceived,
cajoled.

[FN#495] He began to fear sorcery, Satan, etc. "Muslimína" is
here the reg. Arab. plur. of "Muslim" = a True Believer. "Musulmán" (our "Mussalman" too often made plur. by "Mussalmen") is corrupted Arab. used in Persia, Turkey and India by the best
writers as Sa'adi; the plur. is "Musulmánán" and the Hind. fem.
is Musalmání. Francois Pyrard, before alluded to, writes (i. 261) "Mouselliman, that is, the faithful."

[FN#496] In the text "help ye the Moslems."

[FN#497] Again the old, old story of the "Acrisian maid," and a
prose variant of "Yusuf and Al-Hayfa" for which see vol. v. p. 123. I must note the difference of treatment and may observe that the style is rough and the incidents are unfinished, but it has the stuff of an excellent tale.

[FN#498] In text "Min ghayr Wa'ad" = without appointment, sans
préméditation, a phrase before noticed.

[FN#499] In text, "Al-Mukawwamína wa Arbábu 'l-Aklam," the latter usually meaning "Scribes skilled in the arts of caligraphy."

[FN#500] In text "Zarb al-Fál" = casting lots for presage, see v. 136.

[FN#501] "The Mount of Clouds."

[FN#502] In the margin is written "Kbb," possibly "Kubb" for
"Kubbah" = a vault, a cupola. [I take "Kubba" for the passive of
the verb "Kabba" = he cut, and read "Fajwatun" for "Fajwatan" =
"and in that cave there is a spot in whose innermost part from
the inside a crevice is cut which," etc.--ST.]

[FN#503] "Zarb al-Aklám," before explained: in a few pages we
shall come upon "San'at al-Aklám.

[FN#504] A pun upon the name of the Mountain.

[FN#505] In text "Wa kulli Tárik" = Night-traveller, magician,
morning-star.

[FN#506] i.e. In Holy Writ--the Koran and the Ahádís.

[FN#507] "Walad al-Hayáh" for "Hayát" i.e. let him be long-lived.

[FN#508] This and other incidents appear only at the latter end
of the tale, MS. p. 221.

[FN#509] i.e. "Father of a Pigeon," i.e. surpassing in swiftness
the carrier-pigeon.

[FN#510] "Bi-sab'a Sikak" = lit. "with seven nails;" in the MS.
vol. vi. p. 133, l. 2, and p. 160, l. 4, we have "four Sikak,"
and the word seems to mean posts or uprights whereto the chains
were attached. ["Sakk," pl. "Sikák" and "Sukúk," is nail, and
"Sikkah," pl. "Sikak," has amongst many other meanings that of
"an iron post or stake" (Bocthor: piquet de fer).--ST.]

[FN#511] In text "Al-Lijám w' al-Bílám" = the latter being a
"Tábi'" or dependent word used only for jingle. [The Muhít
explains "Bilám" by "Kimám at-Thaur" = muzzle of a bull, and
Bocthor gives as equivalent for it the French "cavecon" (English
"cavesson" nose-band for breaking horses in). Here, I suppose, it means the headstall of the bridle.--ST.]

[FN#512] In Arab. "Al-Sayfu w' al-Kalanj."

[FN#513] In text "Itowwaha," which is repeated in p. 146, l. 2.
["Ittawwah" seems to be the modern Egyptian 5th form of "Tauh."
In classical Arabic it would be "tatawwah," but in the dialect of to-day the prefix becomes "it," whose final dental here
assimilates with the initial palatal of the root; p. 146 the word is correctly spelt with two Tashdids. The meaning is: he threw himself (with his right foot foremost) upon the horse's back. Instances of this formation, which has now become all but general in Egyptian, are not infrequent in old Arabic, witness chapters lxxiii. and lxxiv. of the Koran, which begin with "ayyuhá 'l Muddassiru" and "ayyuhà 'l-Muzzammilu" respectively.--ST.]

[FN#514] In text "Ramaha bi-h."

[FN#515] The vowel points in the MS. show this to be a quotation.

[FN#516] In text "Yarjú," I presume an error for "yarja'u." [I
believe "yarju" is an error for yajrú," and the various paces to
which they put their horses are meant: sometimes they galloped
(ramahú), sometimes they trotted (Pedro de Alcala gives "trotar"
for "jará yajrí"), sometimes they ambled (yasírú).--ST.]

[FN#517] In text "Saith the Sayer of this say so wondrous and
this delectable matter seld-seen and marvellous,"--which I omit
as usual.

[FN#518] In text "Sar'a 'l-Lijám."

[FN#519] The invariable practice of an agent de police in England and France, according to the detective tales of MM. Gaboriau and Du Boisgobey. In Africa the guide often attempts to follow instead of leading the party, and this proceeding should always awake suspicion.

[FN#520] In text another prothesis without apodosis: see vol. vi. 203, etc.

[FN#521] In text "Fa ghába thaláthat ayyamin" = and he (or it the mountain?) disappeared for three days. ["Ghába" = departed, may have here the meaning of "passed away" and three days had gone, and he ever travelling, before (ilà an) he reached it.--ST.]

[FN#522] A feeling well-known to the traveller: I have often been laughed at for gazing fondly upon the scanty brown-green growth about Suez after a few months' sojourn in the wolds of Western Arabia. It is admirably expressed in that book of books Eothen (chapt. xvii.): --"The next day I entered upon Egypt, and floated along (for the delight was as the delight of bathing) through green wavy fields of rice, and pastures fresh and plentiful, and dived into the cold verdure of grasses and gardens, and quenched my hot eyes in shade, as though in deep, rushing waters."

[FN#523] The writer does not mean to charge the girl with
immodesty (after the style "Come to my arms, my slight
acquaintance!") but to show how powerfully Fate and Fortune
wrought upon her. Hence also she so readily allowed the King's
son to possess her person.

[FN#524] [I read "al-Muhibbattu," fem. of "Muhibb," lover (in
Tasawwuf particularly = lover of God), and take the "lam taku
taslah" in the second verse for the 3rd person fem., translating: The loving maiden has come in obedience to the lover's call, proudly trailing her skirts ("tajarru min al-Tíhi Azyála-há"), and she is meet, etc.--ST.]

[FN#525] Again the work of Fate which intended to make the lovers man and wife and probably remembered the homely old English proverb, "None misses a slice from a cut loaf."

[FN#526] A little matter of about a ton at the smallest
computation of 200 lbs. to each beast.

[FN#527] In text "Natawású sawíyah" [Clerical error for
"natawánasú (nataánasú, the rarely used 6th form of anisa)
shuwayyah" = let us divert ourselves a little.--ST.]

[FN#528] In text "salaku-hu wa nashalú-hu." The {root} "salk" = scoring the skin and the {root} "nashl" = drawing meat from the cooking-pot with its fingers or a flesh-hook or anything but a ladle which would be "Gharf."

[FN#529] This account has been slightly abridged seeing that it
is a twice-told tale.

[FN#530] "Written" either on the Preserved Tablet (vol. ii. 68)
or on the sutures of the skull (iii. 123).

[FN#531] In Arab. "Khálat-kí insánun," meaning also to lie with: compare the Gr. µ????µ?, Lat. misceo. [The same word occurs presently in another tropical sense: "Khálata-há al-Khajal wa 'l-Hayá" = shame and abashment mixed with her, i.e. suffused or overwhelmed her.--ST.]

[FN#532] In text "Istanade 'alà Shakkati-h." ["Istanáda 'alà" is
in the Vocabulista in Arabico rendered by "recumbere" and
"Shikkah" is a rug, while I can find no authority for "Shakkah"
as "quarter." The passage may therefore mean he lay down on his
rug. If he had been leaning against the standing horse, it would
on bolting have thrown him on the ground and awaked him rudely.--ST.]

[FN#533] "Rajul ikhtiyár," a polite term for an old man: See i.
55. In the speech of the Badawin it means a man of substance and
hospitality.

[FN#534] In Arab. "Wa lásh: Murádí bas Ism al-Madinah." I
seem to hear some Fellah speaking to me from the door of his clay hut.

[FN#535] "Madínat al-Andalús" = usually Seville.

[FN#536] In text "Kabdán," the usual form being "Kaptan," from
the Ital. Capitano (iv. 85): here, however, we have the Turk.
form as in "Kapúdán-pashá" = Lord High Admiral of ancient
Osmanli-land.

[FN#537] Arab. "Khaznat al-Síláh." When Easterns, especially
Maroccan Moslems and Turkish Pilgrims, embark as passengers,
their weapons are taken from them, ticketed and placed in a safe
cabin.

[FN#538] Arab. "Waka'h" = an affair (of fight).

[FN#539] i.e. crying the war-cry, "Alláho Akbar" = God is most
Great (vol. ii. 89, etc.) and "Lá iláha illa 'llah," the refrain
of Unity: vol. ii. 236.

[FN#540] In text "A'atú Al-Wírah." ["Wírah" is gerund of the
Turkish "wírmek" or "wermek," to give, to give up, and the phrase in the text corresponds to the Turkish "wírah wírmek" = to capitulate.--ST.]

[FN#541] The "buccaneers," quite as humane, made their useless
prisoners "walk a plank." The slave-ships, when chased and
hard-driven, simply tossed the poor devil niggers overboard; and
the latter must often have died, damning the tender mercies of
the philanthrope which had doomed them to untimely deaths instead of a comfortable middle passage from Blackland to Whiteland.

[FN#542] [In the text "Kárishín" = chasing, being in hot pursuit
of; see Dozy, Suppl. s. v. "karash."--ST.]

[FN#543] See in Mr. Doughty's valuable "Arabia Deserta" (i. 309)
how the Badawi's mare puts down her soft nose to be kissed by the sitters about the coffee-hearth.

[FN#544] In text, "Hadda 'lláho bayní wa baynakum."

[FN#545] The last clause is omitted in the text which is
evidently defective: MS. vol. vi. p. 180, line 7.

[FN#546] In text "Tauhán al-Husán."

[FN#547] In Abyssinia the "Khil'at" = robe of honour (see vol. i. 195) is an extensive affair composed of a dress of lion's pelt with silver-gilt buttons, a pair of silken breeches, a cap and waist-shawl of the same material, a sword, a shield and two
spears; a horse with furniture of silk and silver and a mule
similarly equipped. These gifts accompany the insignia of the
"Order of Solomon," which are various medals bearing an imperial
crown, said to represent the Hierosolymitan Temple of the Wise
King, and the reverses show the Amharic legend "Yohanne Negus zei Etiopia"--John, Emperor of Ethiopia. The orders are distinguished as (1) the Grand Cross, a star of 100 grammes in massive gold, hammer-wrought, and studded with gems, given only to royalties; (2) the Knighthood, similar, but of 50 grammes, and without jewels, intended for distinguished foreigners; (3) the Officer's Star, silver-gilt, of 50 grammes; and (4) the Companion's, of pure silver, and the same weight. All are worn round the neck save the last, which hangs upon the chest. This practice of gilding the medals prevails also in Europe, for instance in Austria, where those made of gun-metal are often gilt by the recipients contrary to all official etiquette.

[FN#548] Meaning only that the babe was perfectly beautiful.

[FN#549] In order that the cord might not be subject to the evil
eye or fall into the hand of a foe who would use it magically to
injure the babe. The navel-string has few superstitions in
England. The lower classes mostly place over the wound a bit of
cloth wherein a hole has been burned, supposing that the carbon
will heal the cut, and make it fast to the babe by a "binder" or
swathe round the body, as a preventative to "pot-belly." But
throughout the East there are more observances. In India, on the
birth of the babe, the midwife demands something shining, as a
rupee or piece of silver, and having touched the navel-string
therewith she divides it and appropriates the glittering
substance, under the pretence that the absence of the
illuminating power of some such sparkling object would prevent
her seeing to operate. The knife with which the umbilical cord
has been cut is not used for common purposes but is left beside
the puerpera until the "Chilla" (fortieth day), when "Kajjal"
(lamp-black), used by way of Kohl, is collected on it and applied to the child's eyelids. Whenever the babe is bathed or taken out of the house the knife must be carried along with it; and when they are brought in again the instrument is deposited in its former place near the mother. Lastly, on the "Chilla"-day they must slaughter with the same blade a cock or a sheep (Herklots, chapt. i. sec. 3). Equally quaint is the treatment of the navel-string in Egypt; but Lane (M.E.) is too modest to give
details.

[FN#550] In text "Sarsarah," a clerical error for "Akhaza(?)
surratan." See MS. vol. vi. p. 197, line 9. [I read "sarra Surrah (Surratan)" = he tied up a purse.--ST.]

[FN#551] In the text "on account of the dust-cloud" which, we
were just told, had cleared away [The translator seems to have
overlooked the "kána" before "kad dákhala-hu al-Ra'b," which
gives to the verb the force of a pluperfect: "and fear had
entered into him at the sight of the dust-cloud."--ST.]

[FN#552] i.e. his daughter, of whom he afterwards speaks in the
plur.

[FN#553] These concealments are inevitable in ancient tale and
modern novel, and it need hardly be said that upon the nice
conduct of them depends all the interest of the work. How careful the second-rate author is to spoil his plot by giving a needless "pregustation" of his purpose, I need hardly say.

[FN#554] The mysteries of the marriage-night are touched with a
light hand because the bride had already lost her virginity.

[FN#555] In text "Abúyah," a Fellah vulgarism for Abí which
latter form occurs a few lines lower down.

[FN#556] In text "Wa-Sawábi 'hu (Asábi 'a-hu?) fí hanaki-h:" this is explained in MS. p. 216: "Bi-yarza'u fí Asábí hi." [Dozy, Suppl. i. 815, gives "Sawábi'" as an irregular pl. of "Asba'" quoting from Bresl. ed. iii. 381, 9. I would rather say it is a regularly formed broken plural of a singular "Sábi'" = the pointing one, i.e. index, now commonly called "Sabbábah" the
reviler, where the same idea of pointing at with contempt seems
to prevail, and "Sháhid" = the witnessing, because it is raised
in giving testimony. In the plural it would be naturally
generalised to "finger," and in point of fact, the sing. "Sábi'"
is used nowadays in this sense in Egypt along with the other
popular form of "Subá'."{--ST.}]

[FN#557] I write "Cafilah" and not "Cafila" with the
unjustifiable suppression of the final "h" which is always made
sensible in the pure pronunciation of the Badawi. The malpractice has found favour chiefly through the advocacy of Dr. Redhouse, an eminent Turkish scholar whose judgments must be received with great caution; and I would quote on this subject the admirable remarks of my late lamented friend Dr. G. P. Badger in "The Academy" of July 2, 1887. "Another noticeable default in the same category is that, like Sale, Mr. Wherry frequently omits the terminal 'h' in his transliteration of Arabic. Thus he writes Sura, Amína, Fátima, Madína, Taháma; yet, inconsistently enough, he gives the 'h' in Allah, Khadijah, Kaabah, Makkah, and many other words. This point deserves special notice, owing to Dr. Redhouse's letter, published in 'The Academy' of November 22 last, in which he denounces (as 'a very common European error') the addition of the 'h' or 'final aspirate,' in the English transliteration of many Arabic words. Hence, as I read the eminent Orientalist's criticism, when that aspirate is not sounded in pronunciation he omits it, writing "Fatima," not Fatimah, lest, as I presume, the unwary reader may aspirate the 'h.' But in our Bibles we find such names as Sarah, Hannah, Judah, Beulah, Moriah, Jehovah, in the enunciation of which no one thinks of sounding the last letter as an aspirate. I quite agree with Dr. Redhouse that in the construct case the final h assumes the sound of t, as in Fatimatu bint-Muhammed; yet  that does not strike me as a valid reason for eliding the final h, which among other uses, is indicative of the feminine gender, as in Fâtimah, Khadîjah, Amînah, etc.; also of the nomina vicis, of many abstract nouns, nouns of multitude and of quality, as well as of adjectives of intensiveness, all which important indications would be lost by dropping the final h. And further unless the vowel a, left after the elision of that letter, be furnished with some etymological mark of distinction, there would be great risk of its being confounded with the â, formative of the singular of many verbal nouns, such as binâ, safâ, jalâ; with the masculine plurals ending in the same letters, such as hukamâ, ághniyâ, kúfarâ; and with the feminine plurals of many adjectives, such as kúbra, súghra, húsna, etc. Dr. Redhouse says that 'many eminent Arabists avoid such errors'--a remark which rather surprises me, since Pocock, Lane and Palmer, and Fresnel and Perron among French Orientalists, as also Burton, all retain the final aspirate h, the latter taking special care to distinguish, by some adequate, diacritical sign, those substantive and adjective forms with which words ending in the final aspirate h might otherwise be confounded."

[FN#558] In the text, "Wa sába'l-dár wa Zaujatu-hu mutawassíyín
bi-há." [I cannot explain to myself the plural "Mutawassín"
unless by supposing that the preceding "Sáb al-Dár" is another
blunder of the scribe for "Sáhibu 'l-Dár" when the meaning would
be: "and the master of the house and his wife took charge of her
(the nurse) during the days of suckling." --ST.]

[FN#559] In text "Sárú yaráshú-hu wa yatawassu."

[FN#560] [In the text "Fikí" the popular form of the present day
"Fikíh," properly "learned in the law" (LL.D. as we would say),
but now the usual term for "school-master."--ST.]

[FN#561] Both of which are practised by Easterns from horseback,
the animal going at fullest speed. With the English saddle and
its narrow stirrup-irons we can hardly prove ourselves even
moderately good shots after Parthian fashion.

[FN#562] In text "Ihtimám wa Ghullah": I suspect that the former
should be written with the major h, meaning fever.

[FN#563] See Suppl. vol. iv. p. 245.

[FN#564] i.e. tempt not Providence unless compelled so to do by
necessity.

[FN#565] The youth was taking a "Fál" or omen: see vol. v. 136.

[FN#566] In text "Hasal," for which I would read "Khasal."

[FN#567] A wiser Sprichwort than those of France and America. It
compares advantageously with the second par. of the Declaration
of Independence (July 4, 1776) by the Representatives of the
U.S., which declares, "these truths to be self-evident:--that all men are created equal," etc. It is regretable that so trenchant a state-paper should begin with so gross and palpable a fallacy. Men are not born equal, nor do they become equal before their death-days even in condition, except by artificial levelling; and in republics and limited monarchies, where all are politically equal, the greatest social inequalities ever prevail. Still falser is the shibboleth-crow of the French cock, "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité," which has borrowed its plumage from the American Bird o' Freedom. And Douglas Jerrold neatly expressed the truth when he said,--"We all row in the same boat but not with the same sculls."

[FN#568] Sayf Kunúzí = a talismanic scymitar: see "Kanz," ix.
320.

[FN#569] In Arab. "Al-Kutb al-Ghauth" = lit. the pole-star of
invocation for help; or simply "Al-Ghauth" is the highest degree
of sanctity in the mystic fraternity of Tasawwuf. See v. 384; and Lane (A. N.) i. 232. Students who would understand these titles will consult vol. iii. chapt. 12 of The Dabistán by Shaw and Troyer, Paris and London, 1843. By the learned studies of Dr. Pertsch the authorship of this work of the religious eclecticism of Akbar's reign, has been taken from the wrongful claimant and definitively assigned to the legitimate owner, Mobed Shah. (See Z. d. M. G. xvi. 224.) It is regretable that the index of the translation is worthless as its contents are valuable.

[FN#570] Arab. "Su'ubán" = cockatrice, etc., vols. i. 172; vii.
322. Ibn Khaldun (vol. iii. 350) tells us that it was the title
of a famous and fatal necklace of rubies.

[FN#571] In Ar. "Anakati-h." [This is a very plausible conjecture of the translator for the word written in the text: "'Anfakati-h" = the hair between the lower lips and the chin, and then used for the chin itself.--ST.]

[FN#572] In the text "Tisht" (a basin for the ewer), which I have translated tray: these articles are often six feet in diameter.

[FN#573] A neat touch of realism: the youth is worn out by the
genial labours of the night which have made the bride only the
merrier and the livelier. It is usually the reverse with the
first post-nuptial breakfast: the man eats heartily and the woman can hardly touch solid food. Is this not a fact according to your experience, Mesdames?

[FN#574] In text "Tazarghít" a scribal error for "Zaghrítah." In
Mr. Doughty (ii. 621) "Zalághít" for "Zaghárit" and the former is erroneously called a "Syrian word." The traveller renders it by "Lullul-lullul-lullul-lá." [Immediately before, however, the
correct form "hiya tazaghritu," she was lulli-looing, had been
used. The word occurs in numerous forms, differentiated by the
interchange of the dental and palatal "t" and of the liquid
letters "r" and "l." Dozy gives: "Zaghrata," "Zaghlata" and
"Zalghata" for the verb, and "Zaghrítah," "Zaghrútah" (both with
pl. "Zaghárít"), "Zalghútah," "Zalghatah" (both with pl.
"Zalághít"), and even a plural "Zaghálít" for the noun.--ST.]

[FN#575] In these cases usually an exception is made of brigands, assassins and criminals condemned for felony. See Ibn Khaldun, iv. 189.

[FN#576] [In text: "biyarza' fí Asábí-hi" (see supra p. 409).
This is, as far as I remember, the only instance where in the MS. the aorist is preceded by the preposition "bi," a construction now so common in the popular dialects. Strange as it may appear at first sight, it has a deep foundation in the grammatical sentiment, if I may say so, of the Arabic language, which always ascribed a more or less nominal character to the aorist. Hence its inflection by Raf' (u), Nasb (a) and Jazm (absence of final vowel), corresponding to the nominative, accusative and oblique case of the noun. Moreover in the old language itself already another preposition ("li") was joined to the aorist. The less surprising, therefore, can it be to find that the use of a preposition in connection with it has so largely increased in the modern idiom, where it serves to mark this semi-nominal character of the aorist, which otherwise would be lost in consequence of the loss of the vowel terminations. This interesting subject deserves a fuller development, but I must reserve it for another opportunity--inshá 'lláh!--ST.]

[FN#577] [Again "yastanit" = he listened attentively; comp. note
p. 24.--ST.]

[FN#578] In text "Zarb al-Aklám."

[FN#579] Vol. iii. 247-261. This violation of the Harem is very
common in Egypt.

[FN#580] Arab. "Fadáwi," here again = a blackguard, see Suppl.
vol. iv. 281.

[FN#581] The Irishman says, Sleep with both feet in one stocking.

[FN#582] Arab. or rather Egypt. "Bábúj," from "Bábúg," from the
Pers. "Pay-púsh" = foot-clothing, vulg. "Pápúsh." To beat with
shoe, slipper, or pipe-stick is most insulting; the idea, I
believe, being that these articles are not made, like the rod and the whip, for corporal chastisement, and are therefore used by way of slight. We find the phrase "he slippered the merchant" in old diaries, e.g. Sir William Ridges, 1683, Hakluyts,  mdccclxxvii.

[FN#583] Arab. "Sarmújah" = sandals, slippers, shoes, esp. those
worn by slaves.

[FN#584] Suggesting carnal need.

[FN#585] The young man being grown up did not live in his
father's house.

[FN#586] Arab. "Tartara." The lexicons give only the sigs.
"chattering" and so forth. Prob. it is an emphatic reduplication
of "Tarra" = sprouting, pushing forward.

[FN#587] The youth plays upon the bride's curiosity, a favourite
topic in Arab. and all Eastern folk-lore.

[FN#588] There is a confusion in the text easily rectified by the sequel. The facetia suggests the tale of the Schildburgers, who on a fine summer's day carried the darkness out of the house in their caps and emptied it into the sunshine which they bore to the dark room.

[FN#589] A kindly phrase popularly addressed to the returning
traveller whether long absent or not.

[FN#590] In the text "Hamákah."

[FN#591] Arab. "Adi" which has occurred before.

[FN#592] This "little orgie," as moderns would call it, strongly
suggests the Egyptian origin of the tale.

[FN#593] MS. vol. vi. 262-271. Arab. " 'Adím al-Zauk" which the
old Latin dictionaries translate "destitutus experientiæ" and
"expers desiderii," and it is = to our deficient in taste,
manners, etc. The term is explained in vol. ix. 266 (Correct my General Index "ix. 206"). Here it evidently denotes what we call "practical joking," a dangerous form of fun, as much affected by Egyptians as by the Hibernians.

[FN#594] In text "Wakálah" = an inn: vol. i. 266.

[FN#595] " 'Ausaj," for which the dictionaries give only a thorny plant, a bramble.

[FN#596] The grand old Eastern or Desert-gate of Cairo: see vol.
vi. 234.

[FN#597] Arab. "Thakálah," lit. = heaviness, dullness, stupidity.

[FN#598] This is a mere shot: the original has "Baítharán."

[FN#599] Arab. "Mayzah" = the large hall with a central fountain
for ablution attached to every great Mosque.

[FN#600] In the text "Shashmah," from Pers. "Chashmah" a
fountain; applied in Egypt to the small privies with slab and
hole; vol. i. 221.

[FN#601] [In Ar. "Unsak," an expression principally used when
drinking to one's health, in which sense it occurs, for instance, in the Bresl. ed. of The Nights, i. 395, 7.-ST.]

[FN#602] Arab. "Mutáti bi zahri-h": our ancestors' expression was not polite, but expressive and picturesque.

[FN#603] The normal pun: "Fátihah," fem. of "fátih" = an opener,
a conqueror, is the first Koranic chapter, for which see iv. 36.

[FN#604] This appears to be a kind of padding introduced to fill
up the Night. The loan of an ass is usually granted gratis in
Fellah villages and Badawi camps. See Matth. xxi. 2, 3; Mark xi.
2-6, and Luke xix. 30-34.

[FN#605] i.e. O Moslem, opposed to Enemy of Allah = a non-Moslem. In text Yá 'Ibád, plur. for sing.

[FN#606] Arab. "Kashshara" = grinned a ghastly smile; it also
means laughing so as to show the teeth.

[FN#607] This tale follows "The Kazi of Baghdad, his treacherous
Brother and his Virtuous Wife," which is nothing but a replica of "The Jewish Kazi and his Pious Wife" (vol. v. 256). Scott has
translated it, after his fashion, in vol. vi. p. 396-408, and
follows it up with "The sultan's Story of Himself," which ends
his volume as it shall be the conclusion of mine.

[FN#608] In text, "Wa yaakhazu 'l thalátha arbá' min máli-hi wa
salbi hálí-hi."

[FN#609] In text, "La-hu Diráah (for "Diráyah" = prudence) fí
tadbírí 'l-Mulúk."

[FN#610] In text, "Al-Sirru 'l-iláhi," i.e. the soul, which is
"divinæ particula auræ."

[FN#611] In text, "Nuwájiru 'l-wukúfat." [I read "nuwájiru (for
nuájiru") 'l-wukúfát," taking the first word to be a verb
corresponding to the preceding, "nabí'u," and the second a
clerical error for "al-Maukúfát." In this case the meaning would
be: "and letting for hire such parts of my property as were
inalienable."--ST.]

[FN#612] Here the text has the normal enallage of persons, the
third for the first, "the youth" for "I." I leave it unaltered by way of specimen.

[FN#613] In text "'Arús muhallíyah."

[FN#614] He fainted thinking of the responsibilities of whoso
should sit thereupon.

[FN#615] Here is a third enallage, the King returning to the
first person, the oratio directa.

[FN#616] i.e. "by Allah;" for "Bi" (the particle proper of
swearing) see viii. 310.

[FN#617] Here again is a fourth enallage; the scribe continuing
the narrative.

[FN#618] i.e. well fed, sturdy and bonny.

[FN#619] "Sára lá-hu Shanán." [The work in the text, which is
exceedingly badly written, looks to me as if it were meant for
"Thániyan" = and he (the youth) became second to him (the
Sultan), i.e. his alter ego.--ST.]

[FN#620] In text "Yatama'ash min-hu." [A denominative of the 5th
form from "Ma'ásh," livelihood. It usually has the meaning of
"earning one's living," but occurs in Makkari's Life of Ibn
al-Khatíb also in the sense of "feeding or glutting upon,"
although applied there not to victuals but to books.--ST.]

[FN#621] In text "Sára yuráshí-h." ["Yuráshí" and "yuráshú,"
which had occurred p. 420, are the 6th form of "rashá, yarshú" =
he bestowed a gift (principally for the sake of bribery, hence
"Rashwah" or "Rishwah" = a bribe), he treated kindly.--ST.]

[FN#622] "Markab Mausúkah," from {root} "Wask" = conceiving, being pregnant, etc.

[FN#623] "Mutawassi * * * al-Wisáyat al-Támmah." ["Mutawassi" has been met with before (see p. 420) and "Wisáyah" is the
corresponding noun = he charged himself with (took upon himself)
her complete charge, i.e. maintenance.--ST.]

[FN#624] [In Ar. "khallí-ná nak'ud," a thoroughly modern
expression. It reads like a passage from Spitta Bey's Contes
Arabes Modernes, where such phrases as: "khallí-ná niktib
al-Kitáb," let us write the marriage contract, "ma-tkhallihsh
(for "má takhallí-hu shay") yishúfak," let him not see thee, and
the like are very frequent.--ST.]

[FN#625] "Fi Kashshi 'l-Markab;" According to custom in the East
all the ship's crew had run on shore about their own business as
soon as she cast anchor. This has happened to me on board an
Egyptian man-of-war where, on arriving at Suez, I found myself
the sum total of the crew.

[FN#626] In text, "Jílan ba'da Jíl:" the latter word =
revolutions, change of days, tribe, people.

[FN#627] The dénouement is a replica of "The Tale of the King who lost kingdom and wife and wealth and Allah restored them to him" (Suppl. Nights, vol. i. 319). That a Sultan should send his
Ministers to keep watch over a ship's cargo sounds passably
ridiculous to a European reader, but a coffee-house audience in
the East would find it perfectly natural. Also, that three
men, the Sultan and his sons, should live together for years
without knowing anything of one another's lives seems to us an
absurdity: in the case of an Oriental such detail would never
strike him even as impossible or even improbable.

[FN#628] Between Nights lxviii. and xci. (p. 401) the Nights are
not numbered.

[FN#629] Here the numeration begins again.

[FN#630] In Ouseley he becomes a "King of Greece."

[FN#631] The Arab. is "Ja'idi": Scott has "Artizans or Sharpers": Ouseley, "labourers."

[FN#632] Ouseley has "Story of the first foolish Man."

[FN#633] In the Latin Catalogue he is called Agricola, and by
Scott the Husbandman.

[FN#634] In Ouseley he now becomes a King of Greece.

[FN#635] In Ouseley, "Bint-Ameen."

[FN#636] In Arab. "Rujub al-Mutarmakh," in the Lat. list
"insipicus."

[FN#637] In Ouseley "The Tailor, a story told by the Cauzee."

[FN#638] In Scott "The Deformed Jester," reading "Al-Ahdab" for
"Al-Maskharat al-Azib."

[FN#639] In text "Al-Jalabí," whence Ouseley and Scott's
"Mahummud Julbee."

[FN#640] Further notes illustrative of this and the succeeding
volumes will be found in the Bibliography in Supp. Nights vol vi. I frequently refer to tales by their numbers in the Table (Nights, vol. x., pp. 514-530).

[FN#641] Veckenstedt, Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten,
ii. pp. 160,162.

[FN#642] Compare, too, Mr. Clouston's "Book of Noodles," chap.
v., "The Silly Son."

[FN#643] Cf. "An Apology for the Character and Conduct of
Shylock,"  in a volume of Essays published by a Society of
Gentlemen in Exeter (1796), pp. 552-573.

[FN#644] This incident shews that the story belongs to the
Grateful Beasts' class, though it is not said that Tiomberombi
had conferred any benefit on the rats; it is only implied that he understood their language.

[FN#645] Veckenstedt, Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten, i. pp. 163-166.