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University Of Nebraska Botanical Survey Of Nebraska Conducted By The Botanical Seminar Parts 1 4 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA BOTANICAL SURVEY OF NEBRASKA CONDUCTED BY THE.
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< The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night
The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night
Volume 2by Unknown, translated by John Payne
The History of King Omar Ben Ennuman and His Sons Sherkan and Zoulmekan
Volume 2by Unknown, translated by John Payne
The History of King Omar Ben Ennuman and His Sons Sherkan and Zoulmekan
THE HISTORY OF KING OMAR BEN ENNUMANAND HIS SONS SHERKAN AND ZOULMEKAN.
There reigned once in the City of Peace, (Baghdad),before the Khalifate of Abdulmelik ben Merwan,[1] a kingcalled Omar ben Ennuman, who was of the mighty giantsand had subdued the kings of Persia and the Emperors ofthe East, for none could warm himself at his fire[2] norcope with him in battle, and when he was angry, there camesparks out of his nostrils. He had gotten him the dominionover all countries, and God had subjected unto him allcreatures; his commands were obeyed in all the greatcities and his armies penetrated the most distant lands:the East and West came under his rule, with the regionsbetween them, Hind and Sind and China and Hejaz andYemen and the islands of India and China, Syria andMesopotamia and the land of the blacks and the islands ofthe ocean and all the famous rivers of the earth, Jaxartesand Bactrus, Nile and Euphrates. He sent his ambassadorsto the farthest parts of the earth, to fetch him true report,and they returned with tidings of justice and peace, bringinghim assurance of loyalty and obedience and invocationsof blessings on his head; for he was a right nobleking and there came to him gifts and tribute from allparts of the world. He had a son called Sherkan, whowas one of the prodigies of the age and the likest of all men to his father, who loved him with an exceeding loveand had appointed him to be king after him. The princegrew up till he reached man’s estate and was twenty yearsold, and God subjected all men to him, for he was giftedwith great might and prowess in battle, humbling thechampions and destroying all who made head againsthim. So, before long, this Sherkan became famous in allquarters of the world and his father rejoiced in him: andhis might waxed, till he passed all bounds and magnifiedhimself, taking by storm the citadels and strong places.
Now King Omar had four lawful wives, but God hadvouchsafed him no son by them, except Sherkan, whomhe had gotten of one of them, and the rest were barren.Moreover he had three hundred and threescore concubines,after the number of the days of the Coptic year,who were of all nations, and he had lodged them all withinhis palace. For he had built twelve pavilions, after thenumber of the months of the year, in each thirty chambers,and appointed to each of his concubines a night, which helay with her and came not to her again for a full year. Asprovidence would have it, one of them conceived and herpregnancy was made known, whereupon the King rejoicedwith an exceeding joy, saying, “Mayhap it will be a son,in which case all my offspring will be males.” Then herecorded the date of her conception and made much ofher. But when the news came to Sherkan, he was troubledand it was grievous to him, for he said, “Verily, therecometh one who shall dispute the kingdom with me.” Sohe said to himself, “If this damsel bear a male child, Iwill kill it.” But he kept this his intent secret in hisheart. Now the damsel in question was a Greek girl, byname Sufiyeh,[3] whom the King of Roum,[4] lord of Cæsarea,had sent to King Omar as a present, together with greatstore of rarities. She was the fairest of face and most graceful of all his women and the most careful of herhonour and was gifted with abounding wit and surpassingloveliness. She had served the King on the night of hislying with her, saying to him, “O King, I desire of theGod of the heavens that He grant thee of me a male child,so I may rear him well and do my utmost endeavour toeducate him and preserve him from harm.” And her wordspleased the King. She passed the time of her pregnancyin devout exercises, praying fervently to God to grant hera goodly male child and make his birth easy to her, tillher months were accomplished and she sat down onthe stool of delivery. Now the King had given aneunuch charge to let him know if the child she shouldbring forth were male or female; and in like manner hisson Sherkan had sent one to bring him news of this.In due time, Sufiyeh was delivered of a child, which themidwives took and found to be a girl with a face moreradiant than the moon. So they announced this to thebystanders, whereupon the eunuch carried the news to theKing and Sherkan’s messenger did the like with his master,who rejoiced with exceeding joy; but after these two haddeparted, Sufiyeh said to the midwives, “Wait with meawhile, for I feel there is yet somewhat in my entrails.”Then she moaned and the pains of labour took her againbut God made it easy to her and she gave birth to a secondchild. The midwives looked at it and found it a boy likethe full moon, with flower-white forehead and rose-redcheeks; whereupon the damsel and her eunuchs andattendants rejoiced and she was delivered of the after-birth,whilst all who were in the palace set up cries of joy.The other damsels heard of this and envied her; and thenews came to Omar, who was glad and rejoiced. Then herose and went to her and kissed her head, after which helooked at the boy and bending down to it, kissed it, whilstthe damsels smote the tabrets and played on instruments of music; and he commanded that the boy should be namedZoulmekan and the girl Nuzbet ez Zeman, which was doneaccordingly. Then he appointed nurses, wet and dry, andeunuchs and attendants to serve them and assigned themrations of sugar and liquors and oil and other necessaries,such as the tongue fails to set out. Moreover the people ofBaghdad heard of the children that God had vouchsafed tothe King; so they decorated the city and made proclamationof the good news. Then came the amirs and viziersand grandees and wished the King joy of his son anddaughter, wherefore he thanked them and bestowed dressesof honour and favours and largesse on them and on allwho were present, gentle and simple. Then he bade carrygreat store of jewellery and apparel and money to Sufiyehand charged her to rear the children carefully and educatethem well. After this wise, four years passed by, duringwhich time the King sent every few days to seek news ofSufiyeh and her children; but all this while, his son Sherkanknew not that a male child had been born to his father,having news only of the birth of his daughter Nuzhetez Zeman, and they hid the thing from him, until years anddays had passed by, whilst he was busied in contendingwith the men of war and tilting against the cavaliers.
One day, as the King was sitting on his throne, therecame in to him his chamberlains, who kissed the earthbefore him and said, “O King, there be come ambassadorsfrom the King of the Greeks, lord of Constantinople themighty, and they desire to be admitted to pay their respectsto thee: so if the King give them leave to enter, we willadmit them, and if not, there is no appeal from hisdecree.” He bade admit them, and when they entered,he turned to them and asked them how they did and thereason of their coming. They kissed the earth before himand replied, “O illustrious King and lord of the long arm,[5]know that King Afridoun, lord of the lands of the Greeksand of the Nazarene armies, holding the empire of Constantinople,hath sent us to make known to thee that heis now waging grievous war with a fierce rebel, the lordof Cæsarea; and the cause of this war is as follows. Oneof the kings of the Arabs, awhile since, chanced, in one ofhis conquests, upon a treasure of the time of Alexander,from which he carried away countless riches and amongstother things, three round jewels, of the bigness of anostrich’s egg, from a mine of pure white jewels, never wasseen the like. Upon each of these jewels were graventalismans in the Greek character, and they had many propertiesand virtues, amongst the rest that if one of themwere hung round the neck of a new-born child, no ailmentwould hurt him nor would he moan or be fevered, solong as it was about his neck. When they came to thehands of the Arabian King and he knew their virtues, hesent the three jewels, together with other presents andrarities, as a gift to King Afridoun, and to that end fittedout two ships, one bearing the treasure and presents andthe other men to guard them against whoso should offerthem hindrance on the sea, being nevertheless assured thatnone would dare waylay them, for that he was King of theArabs, more by token that their way lay through the seain the dominions of the King of Constantinople and theywere bound to him, nor were there on the shores of thatsea any but subjects of the most mighty King Afridoun.The ships set out and sailed till they drew near our city,when there sallied out on them certain corsairs of thecountry and amongst them troops of the King of Cæsarea,who took all the treasures and rarities in the ships, togetherwith the three jewels, and slew the men. When the newscame to our King, he sent an army against them, but theydefeated it; then he sent another army, stronger than thefirst, but they put this also to the rout; whereupon the King was wroth and swore that he would go out againstthem in person at the head of his whole army and not turnback from them, till he had left Cæsarea in ruins and laidwaste all the lands and cities over which its King heldsway. So he craves of the lord of the age and the time,the King of Baghdad and Khorassan, that he succour uswith an army, to the end that glory may redound to him;and he has sent by us somewhat of various kinds ofpresents and begs the King to favour him by acceptingthem and accord us his aid.” Night xlvi.Then they kissed the earthbefore King Omar and brought out the presents, whichwere fifty slave-girls of the choicest of the land of theGreeks, and fifty white male slaves in tunics of brocade,rich girdles of gold and silver and in their ears pendantsof gold and fine pearls, worth a thousand dinars each.The damsels were adorned after the same fashion and cladin stuffs worth much money. When the King saw them,he rejoiced in them and accepted them. Then he commandedthat the ambassadors should be honourably entreatedand summoning his viziers, took counsel with themof what he should do. Accordingly, one of them, an oldman named Dendan, arose and kissing the earth beforeKing Omar, said, “O King, thou wouldst do well to equipnumerous army and set over it thy son Sherkan, with usas his lieutenants; and to my mind it behoves thee to dothus, for two reasons: first, that the King of the Greekshath appealed to thee for aid and hath sent thee presents,and thou hast accepted them; and secondly, that no enemydares attack our country, and that if thy host succour theKing of the Greeks and his foe be put to the rout, theglory will fall to thee and the news of it will be noisedabroad in all cities and countries; and especially, whenthe tidings reach the islands of the ocean and the peopleof Western Africa, they will send thee presents and tribute.”When the King heard the Vizier’s speech, it pleased him and he approved his counsel: so he bestowed on him adress of honour and said to him, “It is with such as theethat kings take counsel and it befits that thou commandthe van of the army and my son Sherkan the main battle.”Then he sent for Sherkan and expounded the matter tohim, telling him what the ambassadors and the Vizier hadsaid, and enjoined him to take arms and prepare to setout, charging him not to cross the Vizier Dendan in aughtthat he should do. Then he bade him choose from amonghis troops ten thousand horsemen armed cap-a-pie andinured to war and hardship. Accordingly, Sherkan rose atonce and chose out ten thousand horsemen, in obedienceto his father’s commandment, after which he entered hispalace and mustered his troops and distributed money tothem, saying, “Ye have three days to make ready.” Theykissed the earth before him and proceeded at once tomake their preparations for the campaign; whilst Sherkanrepaired to the armouries and provided himself with allthe arms and armour that he needed, and thence to thestables, whence he took horses of choice breeds and others.When the three days were ended, the troops marched outof Baghdad, and King Omar came forth to take leave ofhis son, who kissed the earth before him, and he gave himseven thousand purses.[6] Then he turned to the VizierDendan and commended to his care his son Sherkan’sarmy and charged the latter to consult the Vizier in allthings, to which they both promised obedience. Afterthis, the King returned to Baghdad and Sherkan commandedthe officers to draw out the troops in battle array.So they mustered them and the number of the army wasten thousand horsemen, besides footmen and followers.Then they loaded the beasts and beat the drums and blewthe clarions and unfurled the banners and the standards,whilst Sherkan mounted, with the Vizier Dendan by his side and the standards waving over them, and the armyset out and fared on, with the ambassadors in the van, tillthe day departed and the night came, when they haltedand encamped for the night. On the morrow, as soon asGod brought in the day, they took horse and continuedtheir march, nor did they cease to press onward, guidedby the ambassadors, for the space of twenty days. On thetwenty-first day, at nightfall, they came to a wide andfertile valley, whose sides were thickly wooded and coveredwith grass, and there Sherkan called a three days’ halt.So they dismounted and pitched their tents, dispersingright and left in the valley, whilst the Vizier Dendan andthe ambassadors alighted in the midst. As for Sherkan,when he had seen the tents pitched and the troops dispersedon either side and had commanded his officers andattendants to camp beside the Vizier Dendan, he gavereins to his horse, being minded to explore the valley andhimself mount guard over the army, having regard to hisfather’s injunctions and to the fact that they had reachedthe frontier of the land of Roum and were now in theenemy’s country. So he rode on alone along the valley,till a fourth part of the night was passed, when he grewweary and sleep overcame him, so that he could no longerspur his horse. Now he was used to sleep on horseback;so when drowsiness got the better of him, he fell asleepand the horse paced on with him half the night and entereda forest; but Sherkan awoke not, till the steed smote theearth with his hoof. Then he started from sleep and foundhimself among trees; and the moon arose and lighted upthe two horizons. He was troubled at finding himselfalone in this place and spoke the words, which whoso saysshall never be confounded, that is to say, “There is nopower and no virtue but in God the Most High, theSupreme!” But as he rode on, in fear of the wildbeasts, behold, the trees thinned and the moon shone out upon a meadow as it were one of the meads of Paradiseand he heard therein a noise of talk and pleasant laughtersuch as ravishes the wit of men. So King Sherkan dismountedand tying his horse to a tree, fared on a littleway, till he espied a stream of running water and hearda woman talking and saying in Arabic, “By the virtue ofthe Messiah, this is not handsome of you! But whosospeaks a word, I will throw her down and bind her withher girdle.” He followed in the direction of the voiceand saw gazelles frisking and wild cattle pasturing andbirds in their various voices expressing joy and gladness:and the earth was embroidered with all manner of flowersand green herbs, even as says of it the poet in the followingverses:
Earth has no fairer sight to show than this its blossom-time, With all the gently running streams that wander o’er its face:
It is indeed the handiwork of God Omnipotent, The Lord of every noble gift and Giver of all grace!
Midmost the meadow stood a monastery, and within theenclosure was a citadel that rose high into the air in thelight of the moon. The stream passed through the midstof the monastery and therenigh sat ten damsels likemoons, high-bosomed maids, clad in dresses and ornamentsthat dazzled the eyes, as says of them the poet:
The meadow glitters with the troops Of lovely ones that wander there:
Its grace and beauty doubled are By these that are so passing fair;
Virgins that, with their swimming gait, The hearts of all that see ensnare;
Along whose necks, like trails of grapes, Stream down the tresses of their hair:
Proudly they walk, with eyes that dart The shafts and arrows of despair,
And all the champions of the world Are slain by their seductive air.
Sherkan looked at the ten girls and saw in their midsta lady like the moon at its full, with ringleted hair and shining forehead, great black eyes and curling brow-locks,perfect in person and attributes, as says the poet:
Her beauty beamed on me with glances wonder-bright: The slender Syrian spears are not so straight and slight:
She laid her veil aside, and lo, her cheeks rose-red! All manner loveliness was in their sweetest sight.
The locks, that o’er her brow fell down, were like the night, From out of which there shines a morning of delight.
Then Sherkan heard her say to the girls, “Come on,that I may wrestle with you, ere the moon set and thedawn come.” So they came up to her, one after another,and she overthrew them, one by one, and bound theirhands behind them with their girdles. When she hadthrown them all, there turned to her an old woman, whowas before her, and said, as if she were wroth with her,“O wanton, dost thou glory in overthrowing these girls?Behold, I am an old woman, yet have I thrown them fortytimes! So what hast thou to boast of? But if thou havestrength to wrestle with me, stand up that I may grip theeand put thy head between thy feet.” The young ladysmiled at her words, although her heart was full of angeragainst her, and said, “O my lady Dhat ed Dewahi, wiltindeed wrestle with me, or dost thou jest with me?” Night xlvii.“Imean to wrestle with thee in very deed,” replied she.“Stand up to me then,” said the damsel, “if thou havestrength to do so.” When the old woman heard this, shewas sore enraged and the hair of her body stood on end,like that of a hedge-hog. Then she sprang up, whilst thedamsel confronted her, and said, “By the virtue of theMessiah, I will not wrestle with thee, except I be naked.”“O baggage!” So she loosed her trousers and putting herhand under her clothes, tore them off her body; then,taking a handkerchief of silk, she bound it about hermiddle and became as she were a bald Afriteh or a piedsnake. Then she turned to the young lady and said to her, “Do as I have done.” All this time, Sherkan waswatching them and laughing at the loathly favour of theold woman. So the damsel took a sash of Yemen stuffand doubled it about her waist, then tucked up her trousersand showed legs of alabaster and above them a hummockof crystal, soft and swelling, and a belly that exhaledmusk from its dimples, as it were a bed of blood-redanemones, and breasts like double pomegranates. Thenthe old woman bent to her and they took hold of oneanother, whilst Sherkan raised his eyes to heaven andprayed to God that the damsel might conquer the old hag.Presently, the former bored in under the latter, and grippingher by the breech with the left hand and by the gulletwith the right, hoisted her off the ground; whereupon theold woman strove to free herself and in the strugglewriggled out of the girl’s hands and fell on her back. Upwent her legs and showed her hairy tout in the moonlight,and she let fly two great cracks of wind, one of whichsmote the earth, whilst the other smoked up to the skies.At this Sherkan laughed, till he fell to the ground, andsaid, “He lied not who dubbed thee Lady of Calamities![7]Verily, thou sawest her prowess against the others.” Thenhe arose and looked right and left, but saw none save theold woman thrown down on her back. So he drew nearto hear what should pass between them; and behold, theyoung lady came up to the old one and throwing over hera veil of fine silk, helped her to dress herself, makingexcuses to her and saying, “O my lady Dhat ed Dewahi,I did not mean to throw thee so roughly, but thou wriggledstout of my hands; so praised be God for safety!” Shereturned her no answer, but rose in her confusion andwalked away out of sight, leaving the young lady standingalone, by the other girls thrown down and bound. Thensaid Sherkan to himself, “To every fortune there is a cause. Sleep fell not on me nor did the steed bear mehither but for my good fortune; for of a surety this damseland what is with her shall be my prize.” So he turnedback and mounted and drew his scimitar; then he gavehis horse the spur and he started off with him, like anarrow from a bow, whilst he brandished his naked bladeand cried out, “God is Most Great!” When the damselsaw him, she sprang to her feet and running to the bankof the river, which was there six cubits wide, made aspring and landed on the other side, where she turnedand standing, cried out in a loud voice, “Who art thou,sirrah, that breakest in on our pastime, and that with thywhinger bared, as thou wert charging an army? Whencecomest thou and whither art thou bound? Speak thetruth, and it shall profit thee, and do not lie, for lying isof the loser’s fashion. Doubtless thou hast strayed thisnight from thy road, that thou hast happened on this place.So tell me what thou seekest: if thou wouldst have us setthee in the right road, we will do so, or if thou seek help,we will help thee.” When Sherkan heard her words, hereplied, “I am a stranger of the Muslims, who am comeout by myself in quest of booty, and I have found no fairerpurchase this moonlit night than these ten damsels; soI will take them and rejoin my comrades with them.”Quoth she, “I would have thee to know that thou hast notyet come at the booty: and as for these ten damsels, byAllah, they are no purchase for thee! Indeed, the fairestpurchase thou canst look for is to win free of this place;for thou art now in a mead, where, if we gave one cry,there would be with us anon four thousand knights. DidI not tell thee that lying is shameful?” And he said,“The fortunate man is he to whom God sufficeth and whohath no need of other than Him.” “By the virtue of theMessiah,” replied she, “did I not fear to have thy deathat my hand, I would give a cry that would fill the meadow on thee with horse and foot; but I have pity on thestranger: so if thou seek booty, I require of thee thatthou dismount from thy horse and swear to me, by thyfaith, that thou wilt not approach me with aught of arms,and we will wrestle, I and thou. If thou throw me, layme on thy horse and take all of us to thy booty; and ifI throw thee, thou shalt be at my commandment. Swearthis to me, for I fear thy perfidy, since experience has itthat, as long as perfidy is in men’s natures, to trust in everyone is weakness. But if thou wilt swear, I will come overto thee.” Quoth Sherkan (and indeed he lusted after herand said to himself, “She does not know that I am achampion of the champions”), “Impose on me whateveroath thou deemest binding, and I will swear not to drawnear thee till thou hast made thy preparations and sayest,‘Come and wrestle with me.’ If thou throw me, I havewealth wherewith to ransom myself, and if I throw thee,I shall get fine purchase.” Then said she, “Swear to meby Him who hath lodged the soul in the body and givenlaws to mankind, that thou wilt not beset me with aughtof violence, but by way of wrestling; else mayst thou dieout of the pale of Islam.” “By Allah,” exclaimed Sherkan,“if a Cadi should swear me, though he were Cadi of theCadis, he would not impose on me the like of this oath!”Then he took the oath she required and tied his horse toa tree, sunken in the sea of reverie and saying in himself,“Glory to Him who fashioned her of vile water!”[8] Thenhe girt himself and made ready for wrestling and said toher, “Cross the stream to me.” Quoth she, “It is not forme to come to thee: if thou wilt, do thou cross over tome.” “I cannot do that,” replied he, and she said, “Oboy, I will come to thee.” So she gathered her skirtsand making a spring, landed on the other side of the riverby him; whereupon he drew near to her, wondering at her beauty and grace, and saw a form that the hand ofOmnipotence had tanned with the leaves of the Jinn andwhich had been fostered by Divine solicitude, a form onwhich the zephyrs of fair fortune had blown and overwhose creation favourable planets had presided. Then shecalled out to him, saying, “O Muslim, come and wrestlebefore the day break!” and tucked up her sleeves, showinga fore-arm like fresh curd; the whole place was lighted upby its whiteness and Sherkan was dazzled by it. Then hebent forward and clapped his hands and she did the like,and they took hold and gripped each other. He laid hishands on her slender waist, so that the tips of his fingerssank into the folds of her belly, and his limbs relaxedand he stood in the stead of desire, for there was displayedto him a body, in which was languishment of hearts, and hefell a-trembling like the Persian reed in the hurricane. Soshe lifted him up and throwing him to the ground, satdown on his breast with buttocks like a hill of sand, forhe was not master of his reason. Then she said to him,“O Muslim, it is lawful among you to kill Christians; whatsayst thou to my killing thee?” “O my lady,” replied he,“as for killing me, it is unlawful; for our Prophet (whomGod bless and preserve!) hath forbidden the slaying ofwomen and children and old men and monks.” “Since thiswas revealed unto your prophet,” rejoined she, “it behovesus to be even with him therein; so rise: I give thee thylife, for beneficence is not lost upon men.” Then she gotoff his breast and he rose and brushed the earth from hishead, and she said to him, “Be not abashed; but, indeed,one who enters the land of the Greeks in quest of bootyand to succour kings against kings, how comes it thatthere is no strength in him to defend himself againsta woman?” “It was not lack of strength in me,” repliedhe; “nor was it thy strength that overthrew me, but thybeauty: so if thou wilt grant me another bout, it will be of thy favour.” She laughed and said, “I grant thee this:but these damsels have been long bound and their armsand shoulders are weary, and it were fitting I should loosethem, since this next bout may peradventure be a longone.” Then she went up to the girls and unbinding them,said to them in the Greek tongue, “Go and put yourselvesin safety, till I have brought to nought this Muslim’scraving for you.” So they went away, whilst Sherkanlooked at them and they gazed at him and the young lady.Then she and he drew near again and set breast againstbreast; but, when he felt her belly against his, his strengthfailed him, and she feeling this, lifted him in her hands,swiftlier than the blinding lightning, and threw him to theground. He fell on his back, and she said to him, “Rise,I give thee thy life a second time. I spared thee beforefor the sake of thy prophet, for that he forbade the killingof women, and I do so this second time because of thyweakness and tender age and strangerhood; but I chargethee, if there be, in the army sent by King Omar benEnnuman to the succour of the King of Constantinople,a stronger than thou, send him hither and tell him of me,for in wrestling there are divers kinds of strokes and tricks,such as feinting and the fore-hipe and the back-hipe andthe leg-crick and the thigh-twist and the jostle and thecross-buttock.” “By Allah, O my lady,” replied Sherkan,(and indeed he was greatly incensed against her), “wereI the chief Es Sefedi[9] or Mohammed Caimal[9] or Ibn esSeddi,[9] I had not observed the fashion thou namest; for,by Allah, it was not by thy strength that thou overthrewestme, but by filling me with the desire of thy buttocks,because we people of Chaldæa love great thighs, so thatnor wit nor foresight was left in me. But now if thou havea mind to try another fall with me, with my wits about me,I have a right to this one bout more, by the rules of the game, for my presence of mind has now returned to me.”“Hast thou not had enough of wrestling, O conqueredone?” rejoined she. “However, come, if thou wilt; butknow that this bout must be the last.” Then they tookhold of each other and he set to in earnest and wardedhimself against being thrown down: so they strainedawhile, and the damsel found in him strength such as shehad not before observed and said to him, “O Muslim, thouart on thy guard!” “Yes,” replied he; “thou knowestthat there remaineth but this bout, and after each of uswill go his own way.” She laughed and he laughed too:then she seized the opportunity to bore in upon himunawares, and gripping him by the thigh, threw him tothe ground, so that he fell on his back. She laughed athim and said, “Thou art surely an eater of bran; for thouart like a Bedouin bonnet, that falls at a touch, or a child’stoy, that a puff of air overturns. Out on thee, thou poorcreature! Go back to the army of the Muslims and send usother than thyself, for thou lackest thews, and cry us amongthe Arabs and Persians and Turks and Medes, ‘Whoso hasmight in him, let him come to us.’” Then she made aspring and landed on the other side of the stream andsaid to Sherkan, laughing, “It goes to my heart to partwith thee; get thee to thy friends, O my lord, before themorning, lest the knights come upon thee and take thee onthe points of their lances. Thou hast not strength enoughto defend thee against women; so how couldst thou makehead against men and cavaliers?” And she turned to goback to the monastery. Sherkan was confounded andcalled out to her, saying, “O my lady, wilt thou go awayand leave the wretched stranger, the broken-hearted slaveof love?” So she turned to him, laughing, and said,“What wouldst thou? I grant thy prayer.” “Have I setfoot in thy country and tasted the sweetness of thy favours,”replied Sherkan, “and shall I return without eating of thy victual and tasting thy hospitality? Indeed I am becomeone of thy servitors.” Quoth she, “None but thebase refuses hospitality; on my head and eyes be it! Dome the favour to mount and ride along the bank of thestream, abreast of me, for thou art my guest.” At thisSherkan rejoiced and hastening back to his horse, mountedand rode along the river-bank, keeping abreast of her, tillhe came to a drawbridge, that hung by pulleys and chainsof steel, made fast with hooks and padlocks. Here stoodthe ten damsels awaiting the lady, who spoke to one ofthem in the Greek tongue and said to her, “Go to himand take his horse’s rein and bring him over to the monastery.”So she went up to Sherkan and led him over the bridge tothe other side and he followed her, amazed at what he sawand saying in himself, “Would the Vizier Dendan werewith me, to look on these fair faces with his own eyes!”Then he turned to the young lady and said to her, “Owonder of beauty, now art thou doubly bound to me, firstly,by the bond of comradeship, and secondly for that thoucarriest me to thy house and I accept of thy hospitalityand am at thy disposal and under thy protection. So dome the favour to go with me to the land of Islam, wherethou shalt look upon many a lion-hearted prince and knowwho I am.” His speech angered her and she said to him,“By the virtue of the Messiah, thou art keen of wit withme! But I see now what depravity is in thy heart andhow thou allowest thyself to say a thing that proves theea traitor. How should I do what thou sayest, when I knowthat, if I came to thy King Omar ben Ennuman, I shouldnever win free of him? For he has not the like of meamong his women nor in his palace, all lord of Baghdadand Khorassan as he is, with his twelve palaces, in numberas the months of the year, and his concubines therein, innumber as the days thereof; and if I come to him, he willnot respect me, for that ye hold it lawful to take possession of the like of me, as it is said in your scripture, ‘Thatwhich your right hand possesses.’[10] So how canst thouspeak thus to me? As for thy saying, ‘Thou shalt lookupon the champions of the Muslims,’ by the Messiah, thousayst that which is not true; for I saw your army, whenit reached our country, these two days ago, and I did notsee that your ordinance was that of kings, but beheld youonly as a rabble of men collected together. And as for thysaying, ‘Thou shalt know who I am,’ I did not show theecourtesy of any intent to honour thee, but out of pride inmyself; and the like of thee should not say this to the likeof me, even though thou be Sherkan himself, King Omarben Ennuman’s son, who is renowned in these days.”“And dost thou know Sherkan?” asked he. “Yes,” repliedshe; “and I know of his coming with an army often thousand horse, for that he was sent by his father withthese troops to the succour of the King of Constantinople.”“O my lady,” rejoined Sherkan, “I conjure thee, as thoubelievest in thy religion, tell me the cause of all this, thatI may know truth from falsehood and with whom the faultlies.” “By the virtue of thy faith,” replied she, “were itnot that I fear lest the news of me be bruited abroad thatI am of the daughters of the Greeks, I would adventuremyself and sally forth against the ten thousand horse andkill their chief, the Vizier Dendan, and take their championSherkan. Nor would there be any reproach to me in this,for I have read books and know the Arabic language andhave studied good breeding and polite letters. But I haveno need to vaunt my own prowess to thee, for thou hasttasted of my quality and proved my strength and skill andpre-eminence in wrestling; nor if Sherkan himself hadbeen in thy place to-night and it had been said to him,‘Leap this river,’ could he have done so. And I could wish well that the Messiah would throw him into my hands herein this monastery, that I might go forth to him in the habitof a man and pull him from his saddle and take him prisonerand lay him in fetters.” Night xlviii.When Sherkan heard this, prideand heat and warlike jealousy overcame him and he wasminded to discover himself and lay violent hands on herbut her beauty held him back from her, and he repeatedthe following verse:
Their charms, whatever fault the fair commit, A thousand intercessors bring for it.
So she went up, and he after her; whilst he looked ather back and saw her buttocks smiting against each other,like the billows in the troubled sea; and he recited thefollowing verses:
In her face an advocate harbours, who blots out her every fault From the hearts of mankind, for he is mighty to intercede.
Whenas I look at her face, I cry in my wonder aloud, “The moon of the skies in the night of her full is risen indeed!”
If the Afrit of Belkis[11] himself should wrestle a fall with her, Her charms would throw him forthright, for all his strength and speed.
They went on till they reached a vaulted gate, archedover with marble. This she opened and entered withSherkan into a long vestibule, vaulted with ten archesfrom each of which hung a lamp of crystal, shining likethe rays of the sun. The damsels met her at the end ofthe vestibule, bearing perfumed flambeaux and having ontheir heads kerchiefs embroidered with all manner jewelsand went on before her, till they came to the inward of themonastery, where Sherkan saw couches set up all around,facing one another and overhung with curtains spangledwith gold. The floor was paved with all kinds of variegated marbles, and in the midst was a basin of water, with four-and-twentyspouts of gold around it, from which issuedwater like liquid silver; whilst at the upper end stood athrone covered with silks of royal purple. Then said thedamsel, “O my lord, mount this throne.” So he seatedhimself on it, and she withdrew: and when she had beenabsent awhile, he asked the servants of her, and they said,“She hath gone to her sleeping-chamber; but we willserve thee as thou shalt order.” So they set before himrare meats and he ate till he was satisfied, when theybrought him a basin of gold and an ewer of silver, and hewashed his hands. Then his mind reverted to his troops,and he was troubled, knowing not what had befallen themin his absence and thinking how he had forgotten hisfather’s injunctions, so that he abode oppressed withanxiety and repenting of what he had done, till the dawnbroke and the day appeared, when he lamented and sighedand became drowned in the sea of melancholy, repeatingthe following verses:
I lack not of prudence and yet in this case I’ve been fooled; so what shift shall avail unto me?
If any could ease me of love and its stress, Of my might and my virtue I’d set myself free.
But alas! my heart’s lost in the maze of desire, And no helper save God in my strait can I see.
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Hardly had he finished, when up came more than twentydamsels like moons, encompassing the young lady, whoappeared amongst them as the full moon among stars.She was clad in royal brocade and girt with a wovengirdle set with various kinds of jewels, that straitly claspedher waist and made her buttocks stand out as they were ahill of crystal upholding a wand of silver; and her breastswere like double pomegranates. On her head she worea network of pearls, gemmed with various kinds of jewels,and she moved with a coquettish swimming gait, swaying wonder-gracefully, whilst the damsels held up her skirts.When Sherkan saw her beauty and grace, he was transportedfor joy and forgot his army and the Vizier Dendanand springing to his feet, cried out, “Beware, beware ofthat girdle rare!” and repeated the following verses:
Heavy of buttocks, languorous of gait, With limber shape and breasts right delicate,
She hides what passion in her bosom burns; Yet cannot I my heat dissimulate.
Her maidens, like strung pearls, behind her fare, Now all dispersed now knit in ordered state.
She fixed her eyes on him and considered him awhile,till she was assured of him, when she came up to himand said, “Indeed the place is honoured and illuminedby thy presence, O Sherkan! How didst thou pass thenight, O hero, after we went away and left thee? Verilylying is a defect and a reproach in kings, especially ingreat kings; and thou art Sherkan, son of King Omarben Ennuman; so henceforth tell me nought but truthand strive not to keep the secret of thy condition, forfalsehood engenders hatred and enmity. The arrow ofdestiny hath fallen on thee, and it behoves thee to showresignation and submission.” When Sherkan heard whatshe said, he saw nothing for it but to tell her the truthso he said, “I am indeed Sherkan, son of Omar benEnnuman, whom fortune hath afflicted and cast into thisplace: so now do whatsoever thou wilt.” She bowed herhead a long while, then turned to him and said, “Reassurethyself and be of good cheer; for thou art myguest, and bread and salt have passed between us; so artthou in my safeguard and under my protection. Have nofear; by the virtue of the Messiah, if all the people of theearth sought to harm thee, they should not come at theetill the breath had left my body for thy sake; for thou artunder my protection and that of the Messiah.” Then she sat down by his side and began to sport with him, till hisalarm subsided and he knew that, had she been minded tokill him, she would have done so on the past night. Afterawhile, she spoke in the Greek tongue to one of herserving-women, who went away and returned in a littlewith a goblet and a tray of food; but Sherkan abstainedfrom eating, saying in himself, “Maybe she hath putsomewhat in this meat.” She knew what was in histhought; so she turned to him and said, “By the virtue ofthe Messiah, the case is not as thou deemest, nor is thereaught in this food of what thou suspectest! Were Iminded to kill thee, I had done so before now.” Thenshe came to the table and ate a mouthful of every dish,whereupon Sherkan came forward and fell to. She waspleased at this, and they both ate till they were satisfied,after which she let bring perfumes and sweet-smellingherbs and wines of all colours and kinds, in vessels ofgold and silver and crystal. She filled a first cup anddrank it off, before offering it to Sherkan, even as she haddone with the food. Then she filled a second time andgave the cup to him. He drank and she said to him,“See, O Muslim, how thou art in the utmost delightand pleasure of life!” Night xlix.And she ceased not to drink andto ply him with drink, till he took leave of his wits, for thewine and the intoxication of love for her. Presently shesaid to the serving-maid, “O Merjaneh, bring us someinstruments of music.” “I hear and obey,” replied Merjaneh,and going out, returned immediately with a lute, aPersian harp, a Tartar flute and an Egyptian dulcimer.The young lady took the lute and tuning it, sang to it ina dulcet voice, softer than the zephyr and sweeter than thewaters of Tesnim,[12] the following verses:
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May Allah assoilzie thine eyes! How much is the blood they have shed! How great is the tale of the shafts thy pitiless glances have sped!
I honour the mistress, indeed, that harshly her suitor entreats; ’Tis sin in the loved to relent or pity a lover misled.
Fair fortune and grace to the eyes that watch the night, sleepless, for thee, And hail to the heart of thy slave, by day that is heavy as lead!
’Tis thine to condemn me to death, for thou art my king and my lord. With my life I will ransom the judge, who heapeth unright on my head.
Then each of the damsels rose and taking an instrumentplayed and sang to it in the Greek language. The ladytheir mistress, sang also, to Sherkan’s delight. Then shesaid to him, “O Muslim, dost thou understand what Isay?” “No,” replied he; “it was the beauty of thyfinger-tips that threw me into ecstasies.” She laughedand said, “If I sang to thee in Arabic, what wouldst thoudo?” “I should lose the mastery of my reason,” repliedhe. So she took an instrument and changing the measure,sang the following verses:
Parting must ever bitter be; How shall one bear it patiently?
Three things are heavy on my heart, Absence, estrangement, cruelty.
I love a fair to whom I’m thrall, And severance bitter is to me.
Then she looked at Sherkan and found he had lost hissenses for delight: and he lay amongst them insensibleawhile, after which he revived and recalling the singinginclined to mirth. Then they fell again to drinking andceased not from sport and merriment till the day departedwith the evening and the night let fall her wings. Thereuponshe rose and retired to her chamber. Sherkan enquiredafter her and being told that she was gone to herbedchamber, said, “I commend her to the safe-keeping ofGod and to His protection!” As soon as it was day, awaiting-woman came to him and said, “My mistress bidsthee to her.” So he rose and followed her, and as he drewnear her lodging, the damsels received him with smittentabrets and songs of greeting and escorted him to a greatdoor of ivory set with pearls and jewels. Here they enteredand he found himself in a spacious saloon, at the upper end of which was a great estrade, carpeted with variouskinds of silk, and round it open lattices giving upon treesand streams. About the place were figures, so fashionedthat the air entered them and set in motion instrumentsof music within them, and it seemed to the beholder asif they spoke. Here sat the young lady, looking on thefigures; but when she saw Sherkan, she sprang to her feetand taking him by the hand, made him sit down by herand asked him how he had passed the night. He blessedher and they sat talking awhile, till she said to him,“Knowest thou aught touching lovers and slaves of passion?”“Yes,” replied he; “I know some verses on thesubject.” “Let me hear them,” said she. So he repeatedthe following verses:
Pleasure and health, O Azzeh, and good digestion to thee! How with our goods and our names and our honours thou makest free!
By Allah, whene’er I blow hot, she of a sudden blows cold, And no sooner do I draw near, than off at a tangent flies she!
Indeed, as I dote upon Azzeh, as soon as I’ve cleared me of all That stands between us and our loves, she turns and abandons me;
As a traveller that trusts in the shade of a cloud for his noontide rest, But as soon as he halts, the shade flits and the cloud in the distance doth flee.
When she heard this, she said, “Verily Kutheiyir[13] wasa poet of renown and a master of chaste eloquence andattained rare perfection in praise of Azzeh, especially whenhe says:
If Azzeh should before a judge the sun of morning cite, Needs must the umpire doom to her the meed of beauty bright;
And women all, who come to me, at her to rail and flite, God make your cheeks the sandal-soles whereon her feet alight!
And indeed it is reported,” added she, “that Azzehwas endowed with the extreme of beauty and grace.”Then she said to Sherkan, “O king’s son, dost thou knowaught of Jemil’s[14] verses to Butheineh?” “Yes,” repliedhe; “none knows Jemil’s verses better than I.” And herepeated the following:
“Up and away to the holy war, Jemil!” they say; and I, “What have I to do with waging war except among the fair?”
For deed and saying with them alike are full of ease and cheer, And he’s a martyr[15] who tilts with them and falleth fighting there.
If I say to Butheineh, “What is this love, that eateth my life away?” She answers, “’Tis rooted fast in thy heart and will increase fore’er.”
Or if I beg her to give me back some scantling of my wit, Wherewith to deal with the folk and live, she answereth, “Hope it ne’er!”
Thou willst my death, ah, woe is me! thou willst nought else but that; Yet I, I can see no goal but thee, towards which my wishes fare.
“Thou hast done well, O king’s son,” said she, “andJemil also did excellently well. But what would Butheinehhave done with him that he says, ‘Thou wishest to kill meand nought else?’” “O my lady,” replied he, “she soughtto do with him what thou seekest to do with me, and eventhat will not content thee.” She laughed at his answer,and they ceased not to carouse till the day departed andthe night came with the darkness. Then she rose andwent to her sleeping-chamber, and Sherkan slept in hisplace till the morning. As soon as he awoke, the damselscame to him with tambourines and other instruments ofmusic, according to their wont, and kissing the earth beforehim, said to him, “In the name of God, deign to follow us; for our mistress bids thee to her.” So he roseand accompanied the girls, who escorted him, smiting ontabrets and other instruments of music, to another saloon,bigger than the first and decorated with pictures andfigures of birds and beasts, passing description. Sherkanwondered at the fashion of the place and repeated thefollowing verses:
My rival plucks, of the fruits of the necklets branching wide, Pearls of the breasts in gold enchased and beautified
With running fountains of liquid silver in streams And cheeks of rose and beryl, side by side.
It seemeth, indeed, as if the violet’s colour vied With the sombre blue of the eyes, with antimony dyed.[16]
When the lady saw Sherkan, she came to meet him, andtaking him by the hand, said to him, “O son of King Omarben Ennuman, hast thou any skill in the game of chess?”“Yes,” replied he; “but do not thou be as says the poet.”And he repeated the following verses:
I speak, and passion, the while, folds and unfolds me aye; But a draught of the honey of love my spirits thirst could stay.
I sit at the chess with her I love, and she plays with me, With white and with black; but this contenteth me no way.
Meseemeth as if the king were set in the place of the rook And sought with the rival queens a bout of the game to play.
And if I looked in her eyes, to spy the drift of her moves, The amorous grace of her glance would doom me to death straightaway.
Then she brought the chess-board and played with him;but instead of looking at her moves, he looked at her faceand set the knight in the place of the elephant[17] and theelephant in the place of the knight. She laughed and saidto him, “If this be thy play, thou knowest nothing of thegame.” “This is only the first bout,” replied he; “takeno count of it.” She beat him, and he replaced the pieces and played again with her; but she beat him a secondtime and a third and a fourth and a fifth. So she turnedto him and said, “Thou art beaten in everything.” “O mylady,” answered he, “how should one not be beaten, whoplays with the like of thee?” Then she called for food,and they ate and washed their hands, after which the maidsbrought wine, and they drank. Presently, the lady tookthe dulcimer, for she was skilled to play thereon, and sangto it the following verses:
Fortune is still on the shift, now gladness and now woe; I liken it to the tide, in its ceaseless ebb and flow.
So drink, if thou have the power, whilst it is yet serene, Lest it at unawares depart, and thou not know.
They gave not over carousing till nightfall, and this daywas pleasanter than the first. When the night came, thelady went to her sleeping-chamber, leaving Sherkan withthe damsels. So he threw himself on the ground and slepttill the morning, when the damsels came to him withtambourines and other musical instruments, according totheir wont. When he saw them, he sat up; and they tookhim and carried him to their mistress, who came to meethim and taking him by the hand, made him sit down byher side. Then she asked him how he had passed thenight, to which he replied by wishing her long life; andshe took the lute and sang the following verses:
Incline not to parting, I pray, For bitter its taste is alway.
The sun at his setting grows pale, To think he must part from the day.
Hardly had she made an end of singing, when therearose of a sudden a great clamour, and a crowd of menand knights rushed into the place, with naked swordsgleaming in their hands, crying out in the Greek tongue,“Thou hast fallen into our hands, O Sherkan! Be sure ofdeath!” When he heard this, he said to himself, “ByAllah, she hath laid a trap for me and held me in play, till her men should come! These are the knights withwhom she threatened me: but it is I who have thrownmyself into this peril.” Then he turned to the lady toreproach her, but saw that she had changed colour; andshe sprang to her feet and said to the new-comers, “Whoare ye?” “O noble princess and unpeered pearl,” repliedthe knight their chief, “dost thou know who is this manwith thee?” “Not I,” answered she. “Who is he?”Quoth the knight, “He is the despoiler of cities and princeof cavaliers, Sherkan, son of King Omar ben Ennuman.This is he who captures the citadels and masters the mostimpregnable strengths. The news of him reached KingHerdoub, thy father, by the report of the old princessDhat ed Dewahi; and thou hast done good service to thearmy of the Greeks by helping them to lay hands on thispestilent lion.” When she heard this, she looked at theknight and said to him, “What is thy name?” And he answered,“My name is Masoureh son of thy slave Mousourehben Kasherdeh, chief of the nobles.” Quoth she, “And howcamest thou in to me without my leave?” “O our lady,”replied he, “when I came to the gate, neither chamberlainnor porter offered me any hindrance; but all the gate-keepersrose and forewent me as of wont; though, whenothers come, they leave them standing at the gate, whilstthey ask leave for them to enter. But this is no time forlong talk, for the King awaits our return to him with thisprince, who is the mainstay of the army of Islam, that hemay kill him and that his troops may depart whence theycame, without our having the toil of fighting them.” “Thousayest an ill thing,” rejoined the princess. “Verily, thelady Dhat ed Dewahi lied; and she hath avouched a vainthing, of which she knows not the truth; for by the virtueof the Messiah, this man who is with me is not Sherkan,nor is he a captive, but a stranger, who came to us, seekinghospitality, and we received him as a guest. So, even were we assured that this was Sherkan and did we know that itwas he beyond doubt, it would suit ill with my honour thatI should deliver into your hands one who hath come undermy safeguard. Betray me not, therefore, in the person ofmy guest, neither bring me into ill repute among men; butreturn to the King my father and kiss the earth before himand tell him that the case is not according to the reportof the lady Dhat ed Dewahi.” “O Abrizeh,” replied theknight Masoureh, “I cannot go back to the King withouthis enemy.” Quoth she (and indeed she was angry), “Outon thee! Return to him with the answer, and no blameshall fall on thee.” But he said, “I will not return withouthim.” At this her colour changed and she exclaimed, “Atruce to talk and idle words; for of a verity this man wouldnot have come in to us, except he were assured that hecould of himself make head against a hundred horse; andif I said to him, ‘Art thou Sherkan, son of King Omar benEnnuman?’ he would answer, ‘Yes.’ Nathless, it is notin your power to hinder him; for if ye beset him, he willnot turn back from you, till he have slain all that are inthe place. Behold, he is with me and I will bring himbefore you, with his sword and buckler in his hands.” “IfI be safe from thy wrath,” replied Masoureh, “I am notsafe from that of thy father, and when I see him, I shallsign to the knights to take him prisoner, and we will carryhim, bound and abject, to the King.” When she heardthis, she said, “The thing shall not pass thus, for it wouldbe a disgrace. This man is but one and ye are a hundred.So, an ye be minded to attack him, come out against him,one after one, that it may appear to the King which isthe valiant amongst you.” Night l.“By the Messiah,” rejoinedMasoureh, “thou sayest sooth, and none but I shall goout against him first!” Then she said, “Wait till I go tohim and tell him and hear what he says. If he consent,it is well but if he refuse, ye shall not anywise come at him, for I and my damsels and all that are in the housewill be his ransom.” So she went to Sherkan and toldhim the case, whereat he smiled and knew that she hadnot betrayed him, but that the matter had been bruitedabroad, till it came to the King, against her wish. So helaid all the blame on himself, saying, “How came I toventure myself in the country of the Greeks?” Then hesaid to her, “Indeed, to let them tilt against me, one byone, were to lay on them a burden more than they canbear. Will they not come out against me, ten by ten?”“That were knavery and oppression,” replied she. “Oneman is a match for another.” When he heard this, hesprang to his feet and made towards them, with his swordand battle-gear; and Masoureh also sprang up and rushedon him. Sherkan met him like a lion and smote him withhis sword upon the shoulder, that the blade came outgleaming from his back and vitals. When the princesssaw this, Sherkan’s prowess was magnified in her eyes andshe knew that she had not overthrown him by her strength,but by her beauty and grace. So she turned to the knightsand said to them, “Avenge your chief!” Thereupon outcame the slain man’s brother, a fierce warrior, and rushedupon Sherkan, who delayed not, but smote him on theshoulders, and the sword came out, gleaming, from hisvitals. Then cried the princess, “O servants of the Messiah,avenge your comrades!” So they ceased not to come outagainst him, one by one, and he plied them with the sword,till he had slain fifty knights, whilst the princess lookedon. And God cast terror into the hearts of those who wereleft, so that they held back and dared not meet him insingle combat, but rushed on him all at once; and hedrove at them with a heart firmer than a rock and smotethem as the thresher smiteth the corn, till he had drivensense and life forth of them. Then the princess cried outto her damsels, saying, “Who is left in the monastery?” “None but the porters,” replied they; whereupon she wentup to Sherkan and embraced him, and he returned withher to the saloon, after he had made an end of the mellay.Now there remained a few of the knights hidden in thecells of the convent, and when Abrizeh saw this, she roseand going away, returned, clad in a strait-ringed coat ofmail and holding in her hand a scimitar of Indian steel.And she said, “By the virtue of the Messiah, I will not begrudging of myself for my guest nor will I abandon him,though for this I abide a reproach in the land of theGreeks!” Then she counted the dead and found thathe had slain fourscore of the knights and other twentyhad taken flight. When she saw how he had dealt withthem, she said to him, “God bless thee, O Sherkan! Thecavaliers may well glory in the like of thee!” Then herose and wiping his sword of the blood of the slain, repeatedthe following verses:
How often in battle I’ve cleft the array And given the champions to wild beasts a prey!
Ask all men what happened to me and to them, When I drove through the ranks on the sword-smiting day.
I left ail their lions of war overthrown: On the sun-scorchéd sands of those countries they lay.
When he had finished, the princess came up to him andkissed his hand; then she put off her coat of mail, and hesaid to her, “O my lady, wherefore didst thou don thatcoat of mail and bare thy sabre?” “It was of my carefor thee against yonder wretches,” replied she. Then shecalled the porters and said to them, “How came you tolet the king’s men enter my house, without my leave!”“O princess,” replied they, “we have not used to need toask leave for the king’s messengers, and especially for thechief of the knights.” Quoth she, “I think you wereminded to dishonour me and slay my guest.” And shebade Sherkan strike off their heads. He did so and she said to the rest of her servants, “Indeed, they deservedmore than that.” Then turning to Sherkan, she said tohim, “Now that there hath become manifest to thee whatwas hidden, I will tell thee my story. Know, then, thatI am the daughter of Herdoub, King of Roum; my nameis Abrizeh and the old woman called Dhat ed Dewahi ismy grandmother, my father’s mother. She it was whotold my father of thee, and she will certainly cast aboutto ruin me, especially as thou hast slain my father’s menand it is noised abroad that I have made common causewith the Muslims. Wherefore it were wiser that I shouldleave dwelling here, what while Dhat ed Dewahi is behindme; but I claim of thee the like kindness and courtesy Ihave shown thee, for my father and I are now become atodds on thine account. So do not thou omit to do aughtthat I shall say to thee, for indeed all this hath fallen outthrough thee.” At this, Sherkan was transported for joyand his breast dilated, and he said, “By Allah, none shallcome at thee, whilst my life lasts in my body! But canstthou endure the parting from thy father and thy folk?”“Yes,” answered she. So Sherkan swore to her andthey made a covenant of this. Then said she, “Now myheart is at ease; but there is one other condition I mustexact of thee.” “What is that?” asked Sherkan. “Itis,” replied she, “that thou return with thy troops to thineown country.” “O my lady,” said he, “my father, KingOmar ben Ennuman, sent me to make war upon thyfather, on account of the treasure he took from the Kingof Constantinople, and amongst the rest three greatjewels, rich in happy properties.” “Reassure thyself,”answered she; “I will tell thee the truth of the matterand the cause of the feud between us and the King ofConstantinople. Know that we have a festival calledthe Festival of the Monastery, for which each year thekings’ daughters of various countries and the wives and daughters of the notables and merchants resort to a certainmonastery and abide there seven days. I was wont to resortthither with the rest; but when there befell hostility betweenus, my father forbade me to be present at the festival forthe space of seven years. One year, it chanced that amongstthe young ladies who resorted to the Festival as of wont,there came the King’s daughter of Constantinople, a handsomegirl called Sufiyeh. They tarried at the monasterysix days, and on the seventh, the folk went away; butSufiyeh said, ‘I will not return to Constantinople, but bysea.’ So they fitted her out a ship, in which she embarked,she and her suite, and put out to sea; but as theysailed, a contrary wind caught them and drove the shipfrom her course, till, as fate and providence would have it,she fell in with a ship of the Christians from the Island ofCamphor, with a crew of five hundred armed Franks, whohad been cruising about for some time. When theysighted the sails of the ship in which were Sufiyeh andher maidens, they gave chase in all haste and coming upwith her before long, threw grapnels on board and madefast to her. Then they made all sail for their own islandand were but a little distant from it, when the wind veeredand rent their sails and cast them on to a reef on ourcoast. Thereupon we sallied forth on them, and lookingon them as booty driven to us by fate, slew the men andmade prize of the ships, in which we found the treasuresand rarities in question and forty damsels, amongst whomwas Sufiyeh. We carried the damsels to my father, notknowing that the King’s daughter of Constantinople wasamong them, and he chose out ten of them, includingSufiyeh, for himself, and divided the rest among hiscourtiers. Then he set apart Sufiyeh and four other girlsand sent them to thy father, King Omar ben Ennuman,together with other presents, such as cloth and stuffs ofwool and Grecian silks. Thy father accepted them and chose out from amongst the five girls the princess Sufiyeh,daughter of King Afridoun; nor did we hear aught moreof the matter till the beginning of this year, when KingAfridoun wrote to my father in terms which it befits notto repeat, reproaching and menacing him and saying tohim, ‘Two years ago, there fell into thy hands a ship ofours, that had been seized by a company of Frankish corsairsand in which was my daughter Sufiyeh, attended bynear threescore damsels. Yet thou sentest none to tellme of this and I could not make the case public, lestdisgrace fall on my repute among the kings, by reason ofmy daughter’s dishonour. So I kept the affair secret tillthis year, when I communicated with certain of the Frankishpirates and sought news of my daughter from the kingsof the islands. They replied, “By Allah, we carried hernot forth of thy realm, but we have heard that King Herdoubtook her from certain pirates.” And they told meall that had befallen her. So now, except thou wish to beat feud with me and design to disgrace me and dishonourmy daughter, thou wilt forthright, as soon as this letterreaches thee, send my daughter back to me. But if thoupay no heed to my letter and disobey my commandment,I will assuredly requite thee thy foul dealing and the basenessof thine acts.’ When my father read this letter, itwas grievous to him and he regretted not having knownthat Sufiyeh, King Afridoun’s daughter, was amongst thecaptured damsels, that he might have sent her back to herfather; and he was perplexed about the affair, for that,after the lapse of so long a time, he could not send toKing Omar ben Ennuman and demand her back fromhim, the more that he had lately heard that God hadvouchsafed him children by this very Sufiyeh. So whenwe considered the matter, we knew that this letter wasnone other than a great calamity; and nothing wouldserve but that my father must write an answer to it, making his excuses to King Afridoun and swearing tohim that he knew not that his daughter was among thegirls in the ship and setting forth how he had sent her toKing Omar ben Ennuman and God had vouchsafed himchildren by her. When my father’s reply reached KingAfridoun, he rose and sat down and roared and foamedat the mouth, exclaiming, ‘What! shall he make prize ofmy daughter and she become a slave-girl and be passedfrom hand to hand and sent for a gift to kings, and theylie with her without a contract? By the virtue of theMessiah and the true faith, I will not desist till I havetaken my revenge for this and wiped out my disgrace, andindeed I will do a deed that the chroniclers shall chronicleafter me.’ So he took patience till he had devised a plotand laid great snares, when he sent an embassy to thyfather King Omar, to tell him that which thou hast heardso that thy father equipped thee and an army with theeand sent thee to him, Afridoun’s object being to lay holdof thee and thine army with thee. As for the three jewelsof which he told thy father, he spoke not the truth ofthem; for they were with Sufiyeh and my father tookthem from her, when she fell into his hands, she and hermaidens, and gave them to me, and they are now with me.So go thou to thy troops and turn them back, ere they farefarther into the land of the Franks and the country of theGreeks; for as soon as you are come far enough into theinward of the country, they will stop the roads upon you,and there will be no escape for you from their hands tillthe day of rewards and punishments. I know that thytroops are still where thou leftest them, because thou didstorder them to halt there three days; and they have missedthee all this time and know not what to do.” WhenSherkan heard her words, he was absent awhile in thoughtthen he kissed Abrizeh’s hand and said, “Praise be to Godwho hath bestowed thee on me and appointed thee to be the cause of my salvation and that of those who are withme! But it is grievous to me to part from thee and Iknow not what will become of thee after my departure.”Quoth she, “Go now to thy troops and lead them back,whilst ye are yet near your own country. If the ambassadorsare still with them, lay hands on them, that thecase may be made manifest to thee, and after three daysI will rejoin thee and we will all enter Baghdad together;but forget thou not the compact between us.” Then sherose to bid him farewell and assuage the fire of longing;so she took leave of him and embraced him and weptsore; whereupon passion and desire were sore upon himand he also wept and repeated the following verses:
I bade her farewell, whilst my right hand was wiping my eyes, And still with my left, the while, I held her in close embrace.
Then, “Fearest thou not disgrace?” quoth she; and I answered, “No. Sure, on the parting-day, for lovers there’s no disgrace!”
Then Sherkan left her and went without the monastery,where they brought him his horse and he mounted androde down the bank of the stream, till he came to thebridge, and crossing it, entered the forest. As soon as hewas clear of the trees and came to the open country, hewas aware of three horsemen pricking towards him. Sohe drew his sword and rode on cautiously: but as theydrew near he recognized them and behold, it was theVizier Dendan and two of his officers. When they sawhim and knew him, they dismounted and saluting him,asked the reason of his absence, whereupon he told themall that had passed between him and the princess Abrizehfrom first to last. The Vizier returned thanks to God theMost High for his safety and said, “Let us at once departhence, for the ambassadors that were with us are gone toinform their king of our arrival, and belike he will hastento fall on us and seize us.” So they rode on in haste, tillthey came to the camp, when Sherkan commanded to depart forthright, and the army set out and journeyed byforced marches for five days, at the end of which timethey alighted in a thickly wooded valley, where they restedawhile. Then they set out again and fared on till theycame to the frontiers of their own country. Here they feltthemselves in safety and halted to rest; and the countrypeople came out to them with guest-gifts and victual andfodder for the cattle. They lay there and rested two days;after which Sherkan bade the Vizier Dendan fare forwardto Baghdad with his troops, and he did so. But Sherkanhimself abode behind with a hundred horse, till the rest ofthe army had been gone a day, when he mounted, he andhis men, and fared on two parasangs’ space, till they cameto a narrow pass between two mountains and behold, therearose a great cloud of dust in their front. So they haltedtheir horses awhile, till the dust lifted and discovered ahundred cavaliers, as they were fierce lions, cased in completesteel. As soon as they came within earshot of Sherkanand his men, they cried out to them, saying, “By Johnand Mary, we have gotten what we hoped! We have beenfollowing you by forced marches, night and day, till weforewent you in this place. So alight and lay down yourarms and yield yourselves, that we may grant you yourlives.” When Sherkan heard this, his eyes rolled and hischeeks flushed and he said, “O dogs of Nazarenes, howdare ye enter our country and set foot on our earth? Anddoth not this suffice you, but ye must adventure yourselvesand give us such words as these? Do ye think to escapeout of our hands and return to your country?” Then hecried out to his hundred horse, saying, “Up and at thesedogs, for they are even as you in number!” So saying,he drew his sword and drove at them, without furtherparley, he and his hundred men. The Franks receivedthem with hearts stouter than stone, and they met, man toman. Then fell champion upon champion and there befell a sore strife and great was the terror and the roar of thebattle; nor did they leave jousting and foining and smitingwith swords, till the day departed and the night came withthe darkness; when they drew apart, and Sherkan musteredhis men and found them all unhurt, save four who wereslightly wounded. Then said he to them, “By Allah, allmy life I have waded in the surging sea of war and battle,but never saw I any so firm and stout in sword-play andshock of men as these warriors!” “Know, O King,” repliedthey, “that there is among them a Frank cavalier,who is their leader, and indeed he is a man of valour andhis strokes are terrible: but, by Allah, he spares us, greatand small; for whoso falls into his hands, he lets him goand forbears to slay him. By Allah, an he would, he couldkill us all!” When Sherkan heard this, he was confoundedand said, “To-morrow, we will draw out and defy them tosingle combat, for we are a hundred to their hundred;and we will seek help against them from the Lord of theheavens.” Meanwhile, the Franks came to their leaderand said to him, “Of a truth, we have not come by ourdesire of these this day.” “To-morrow,” quoth he, “wewill draw out and joust against them, one by one.” Sothey passed the night in this mind, and both camps keptwatch till the morning. As soon as God the Most Highbrought on the day, King Sherkan mounted, with hishundred horse, and they betook themselves to the field,where they found the Franks ranged in battle array, andSherkan said to his men, “Verily, our enemies are of thesame mind as we; so up and at them briskly.” Then cameforth a herald of the Franks and cried out, saying, “Letthere be no fighting betwixt us to-day, except by way ofsingle combat, a champion of yours against one of ours!”Thereupon one of Sherkan’s men came out from the ranksand spurring between the two parties, cried out, “Who is forjousting? Who is for fighting? Let no laggard nor weakling come out against me to-day!” Hardly had he madean end of speaking, when there sallied forth to him aFrankish horseman, armed cap-a-pie and clad in cloth ofgold, riding on a gray horse, and he had no hair on hischeeks. He drove his horse into the midst of the fieldand the two champions fell to cutting and thrusting, norwas it long before the Frank smote the Muslim with hislance and unhorsing him, took him prisoner and bore himoff in triumph. At this, his comrades rejoiced and forbiddinghim to go out again, sent forth another to thefield, to whom sallied out a second Muslim, the brother ofthe first. The two drove at each other and fought for alittle, till the Frank ran at the Muslim and throwing himoff his guard by a feint, smote him with the butt-end ofhis spear and unhorsed him and took him prisoner. Afterthis fashion, the Muslims ceased not to come forth andthe Franks to unhorse them and take them prisoner, tillthe day departed and the night came with the darkness.Now they had captured twenty cavaliers of the Muslims,and when Sherkan saw this, it was grievous to him, andhe mustered his men and said to them, “What is this thingthat hath befallen us? To-morrow morning, I myself willgo out into the field and seek to joust with their chief andlearn his reason for entering our country and warn himagainst fighting. If he persist, we will do battle with him,and if he proffer peace, we will make peace with him.”They passed the night thus, and when God brought onthe day, both parties mounted and drew out in battle array.Then Sherkan was about to sally forth, when behold, morethan half of the Franks dismounted and marched on foot,before one of them, who was mounted, to the midst of thefield. Sherkan looked at this cavalier and behold, he wastheir chief. He was clad in a tunic of blue satin and aclose-ringed shirt of mail; his face was as the full moonat its rising and he had no hair on his cheeks. In his hand he held a sword of Indian steel, and he was mountedon a black horse with a white star, like a dirhem, on hisforehead. He spurred into the midst of the field andsigning to the Muslims, cried out with fluent speech in theArabic tongue, saying, “Ho, Sherkan! Ho, son of Omarben Ennuman, thou that stormest the citadels and layestwaste the lands, up and out to joust and battle with himwho halves the field with thee! Thou art prince of thypeople and I am prince of mine; and whoso hath theupper hand, the other’s men shall come under his sway.’Hardly had he made an end of speaking, when out cameSherkan, with a heart full of wrath, and spurring his horseinto the midst of the field, drove like an angry lion at theFrank, who awaited him with calm and steadfastness andmet him as a champion should. Then they fell to cuttingand thrusting, nor did they cease to wheel and turn and giveand take, as they were two mountains clashing together ortwo seas breaking one against the other, till the day departedand the night brought on the darkness, when theydrew apart and returned, each to his people. As soon asSherkan reached his comrades, he said to them, “Never inmy life saw I the like of this cavalier; and he has onefashion I never yet beheld in any. It is that, when he hasa chance of dealing his adversary a deadly blow, he reverseshis lance and smites him with the butt. Of a truth, I knownot what will be the issue between him and me; but Iwould we had in our army his like and the like of hismen.” Then he passed the night in sleep, and when itwas morning, the Frank spurred out to the mid-field, whereSherkan met him, and they fell to fighting and circlingone about the other, whilst all necks were stretched out tolook at them; nor did they cease from battle and swordplayand thrusting with spears, till the day departed andthe night came with the darkness, when they drew asunderand returned each to his own camp. Then each related to his comrades what had befallen him with his adversary,and the Frank said to his men, “To-morrow shall decidethe matter.” So they both passed the night in sleep, andas soon as it was day, they mounted and drove at eachother and ceased not to fight till the middle of the day.Then the Frank made a shift, first spurring his horse andthen checking him with the bridle, so that he stumbledand threw him; whereupon Sherkan fell on him and wasabout to smite him with his sword and make an end of thelong strife, when the Frank cried out, “O Sherkan, this isnot the fashion of champions! It is only the beaten[18] whodeal thus with women.” When Sherkan heard this, heraised his eyes to the Frank’s face and looking straitly athim, knew him for none other than the princess Abrizeh,whereupon he threw the sword from his hand and kissingthe earth before her, said to her, “What moved thee to dothis thing?” Quoth she, “I was minded to prove thee inthe field and try thy stoutness in battle. These that are withme are all of them my women, and they are all maids;yet have they overcome thy horsemen in fair fight; and hadnot my horse stumbled with me, thou shouldst have seenmy strength and prowess.” Sherkan smiled at her speechand said, “Praised be God for safety and for my reunionwith thee, O queen of the age!” Then she cried out to herdamsels to loose the prisoners and dismount. They did asshe bade and came and kissed the earth before her andSherkan, who said to them, “It is the like of you that kingstreasure up against the hour of need.” Then he signed tohis comrades to salute the princess; so they dismounted alland kissed the earth before her, for they knew the story.After this, the whole two hundred mounted and rode dayand night for six days’ space, till they drew near to Baghdadwhen they halted and Sherkan made Abrizeh and her companions put off their male attire and don the dress of thewomen of the Greeks. Night li.Then he despatched a company ofhis men to Baghdad to acquaint his father with his arrivalin company with the princess Abrizeh, daughter of KingHerdoub, to the intent that he might send some one to meether. They passed the night in that place, and when Godthe Most High brought on the day, Sherkan and his companytook horse and fared on towards the city. On theway, they met the Vizier Dendan, who had come out witha thousand horse, by commandment of King Omar, todo honour to the princess Abrizeh and to Sherkan. Whenthey drew near, the Vizier and his company dismountedand kissed the earth before the prince and princess, thenmounted again and escorted them, till they reached thecity and came to the palace. Sherkan went in to hisfather, who rose and embraced him and questioned himof what had happened. So he told him all that had befallenhim, including what the princess Abrizeh had toldhim and what had passed between them and how she hadleft her father and her kingdom and had chosen to departand take up her abode with them. And he said to hisfather, “Indeed, the King of Constantinople had plottedto do us a mischief, because of his daughter Sufiyeh, forthat the King of Cæsarea had made known to him herhistory and the manner of her being made a gift to thee,he not knowing her to be King Afridoun’s daughter; elsewould he have restored her to her father. And of a verity,we were only saved from these perils by the lady Abrizeh,and never saw I a more valiant than she!” And he wenton to tell his father of the wrestling and the jousting frombeginning to end. When King Omar heard his son’sstory, Abrizeh was exalted in his eyes, and he longed tosee her and sent Sherkan to fetch her. So Sherkan wentout to her and said, “The king calls for thee.” She replied,“I hear and obey;” and he took her and brought her in to his father, who was seated on his throne, attendedonly by the eunuchs, having dismissed his courtiers andofficers. The princess entered and kissing the groundbefore him, saluted him in choice terms. He was amazedat her fluent speech and thanked her for her dealing withhis son Sherkan and bade her be seated. So she sat downand uncovered her face, which when the king saw, hisreason fled and he made her draw near and showed herespecial favour, appointing her a palace for herself andher damsels and assigning them due allowances. Thenhe asked her of the three jewels aforesaid, and she replied,“O King of the age, they are with me.” So saying, sherose and going to her lodging, opened her baggage andbrought out a box, from which she took a casket of gold.She opened the casket and taking out the three jewels,kissed them and gave them to the King and went away,taking his heart with her. Then the King sent for his sonSherkan and gave him one of the three jewels. Sherkanenquired of the other two, and the King replied, “O myson, I mean to give one to thy brother Zoulmekan andthe other to thy sister Nuzhet ez Zeman.” When Sherkanheard that he had a brother (for up to that time he hadonly known of his sister) he turned to his father and saidto him, “O King, hast thou a son other than myself?”“Yes,” answered Omar, “and he is now six years old.”And he told him that his name was Zoulmekan and thathe and Nuzhet ez Zeman were twins, born at a birth.This news was grievous to Sherkan, but he hid his chagrinand said, “The blessing of God the Most High be uponthem!” And he threw the jewel from his hand and shookthe dust off his clothes. Quoth his father, “What madethee change colour, when I told thee of this, seeing thatthe kingdom is assured to thee after me? For, verily, thetroops have sworn to thee and the Amirs and grandeeshave taken the oath of succession to thee; and this one of the three jewels is thine.” At this, Sherkan bowedhis head and was ashamed to bandy words with his father:so he accepted the jewel and went away, knowing notwhat to do for excess of anger, and stayed not till hereached the princess Abrizeh’s palace. When she sawhim, she rose to meet him and thanked him for what hehad done and called down blessings on him and his father.Then she sat down and made him sit by her side. Afterawhile, she saw anger in his face and questioned him,whereupon he told her that God had vouchsafed his fathertwo children, a boy and a girl, by Sufiyeh, and that he hadnamed the boy Zoulmekan and the girl Nuzhet ez Zeman.“He has given me one of the jewels,” continued he, “andkept the other two for them. I knew not of Zoulmekan’sbirth till this day, and he is now six years old. So whenI learnt this, wrath possessed me and I threw down thejewel: and I tell thee the reason of my anger and hidenothing from thee. But I fear lest the King take thee towife, for he loves thee and I saw in him signs of desirefor thee: so what wilt thou say, if he wish this?” “Know,O Sherkan,” replied the princess, “that thy father has nodominion over me, nor can he take me without my consent;and if he take me by force, I will kill myself. Asfor the three jewels, it was not my intent that he shouldgive them to either of his children and I had no thoughtbut that he would lay them up with his things of price inhis treasury; but now I desire of thy favour that thoumake me a present of the jewel that he gave thee, if thouhast accepted it.” “I hear and obey,” replied Sherkanand gave her the jewel. Then said she, “Fear nothing,”and talked with him awhile. Presently she said, “I fearlest my father hear that I am with you and sit not downwith my loss, but do his endeavour to come at me; and tothat end he may ally himself with King Afridoun and bothcome on thee with armies and so there befall a great turmoil.” “O my lady,” replied Sherkan, “if it pleasethee to sojourn with us, take no thought of them, thoughall that be in the earth and in the ocean gather themselvestogether against us!” “It is well,” rejoined she; “if yeentreat me well, I will tarry with you, and if ye deal evillyby me, I will depart from you.” Then she bade hermaidens bring food; so they set the tables, and Sherkanate a little and went away to his own house, anxious andtroubled.
Meanwhile, King Omar betook himself to the lodgingof the lady Sufiyeh, who rose to her feet, when she sawhim, and stood till he was seated. Presently, his twochildren, Zoulmekan and Nuzbet ez Zeman, came to him,and he kissed them and hung a jewel round each one’sneck, at which they rejoiced and kissed his hands. Thenthey went to their mother, who rejoiced in them andwished the King long life; and he said to her, “Whyhast thou not told me, all this time, that thou art KingAfridoun’s daughter, that I might have advanced thee andenlarged thee in dignity and used thee with increase ofhonour and consideration?” “O King,” replied Sufiyeh,“what could I desire greater or more exalted than this mystanding with thee, overwhelmed as I am with thy favoursand thy goodness? And God to boot hath blessed meby thee with two children, a son and a daughter.” Heranswer pleased the King and he set apart for her and herchildren a splendid palace. Moreover, he appointed fortheir service eunuchs and attendants and doctors and sagesand astrologers and physicians and surgeons and in everyway redoubled in favour and munificence towards them.Nevertheless, he was greatly occupied with love of theprincess Abrizeh and burnt with desire of her night andday; and every night, he would go in to her, and talk withher and pay his court to her, but she gave him no answer,saying only, “O King of the age, I have no desire for men at this present. When he saw that she repelledhim, his passion and longing increased till, at last, whenhe was weary of this, he called his Vizier Dendan andopening his heart to him, told him how love for theprincess Abrizeh was killing him and how she refused toyield to his wishes and he could get nothing of her. Quoththe Vizier, “As soon as it is dark night, do thou take apiece of henbane, the bigness of a dinar, and go in to herand drink wine with her. When the hour of leave-takingdraws near, fill a last cup and dropping the henbane init, give it to her to drink, and she will not reach her sleeping-chamber,ere the drug take effect on her. Then do thougo in to her and take thy will of her.” “Thy counsel isgood,” said the King, and going to his treasury, tookthence a piece of concentrated henbane, which if anelephant smelt, he would sleep from year to year. Heput it in his bosom and waited till some little of the nightwas past, when he betook himself to the palace of theprincess, who rose to receive him; but he bade her sitdown. So she sat down, and he by her, and he began totalk with her of drinking, whereupon she brought the tableof wine and set it before him. Then she set on the drinking-vessels,and lighted the candles and called for fruitsand confections and sweetmeats and all that pertains todrinking. So they fell to drinking and ceased not tocarouse, till drunkenness crept into the princess’s head.When the King saw this, he took out the piece of henbaneand holding it between his fingers, filled a cup and drankit off; then filled another cup, into which he dropped thehenbane, unseen of Abrizeh, and saying, “Thy health!”presented it to her. She took it and drank it off; thenrose and went to her sleeping-chamber. He waited awhile,till he was assured that the drug had taken effect on herand gotten the mastery of her senses, when he went in toher and found her lying on her back, with a lighted candle at her head and another at her feet. She had put off hertrousers, and the air raised the skirt of her shift and discoveredwhat was between her thighs. When the Kingsaw this, he took leave of his senses for desire and Satantempted him and he could not master himself, but put offhis trousers and fell upon her and did away her maidenhead.Then he went out and said to one of her women,by name Merjaneh, “Go in to thy mistress, for she callsfor thee.” So she went in to the princess and found herlying on her back, with the blood running down herthighs; whereupon she took a handkerchief and wipedaway the blood and tended her mistress and lay by herthat night. As soon as it was day, she washed the princess’shands and feet and bathed her face and mouth withrose-water, whereupon she sneezed and yawned and castup the henbane. Then she revived and washed her handsand mouth and said to Merjaneh, “Tell me what has befallenme.” So she told her what had passed and how shehad found her, lying on her back, with the blood runningdown her thighs, wherefore she knew that the King hadplayed the traitor with her and had undone her and takenhis will of her. At this she was afflicted and shut herselfup, saying to her damsels, “Let no one come in to me andsay to all that I am ill, till I see what God will do withme.” The news of her illness came to the King, and hesent her cordials and sherbet of sugar and confections.Some months passed thus, during which time the King’sflame subsided and his desire for her cooled, so that heabstained from her. Now she had conceived by him, andin due time, her pregnancy appeared and her belly swelled,wherefore the world was straitened upon her and she saidto her maid Merjaneh, “Know that it is not the folk whohave wronged me, but I who sinned against myself in thatI left my father and mother and country. Indeed, I abhorlife, for my heart is broken and I have neither courage nor strength left. I used, when I mounted my horse, tohave the mastery of him, but now I have no strength toride. If I be brought to bed in this place, I shall bedishonoured among my women, and every one in the palacewill know that he has taken my maidenhead in the way ofshame; and if I return to my father, with what face shallI meet him or have recourse to him? How well saysthe poet:
Wherewith shall I be comforted, that am of all bereft, To whom nor folk nor home nor friend nor dwelling-place is left?”
Quoth Merjaneh, “It is for thee to command; I willobey.” And Abrizeh said, “I would fain leave this placeprivily, so that none shall know of me but thou, and returnto my father and mother; for when flesh stinketh, there isnought for it but its own folk, and God shall do with meas He will.” “It is well, O princess,” replied Merjaneh.So she made ready in secret and waited awhile, till theKing went out to hunt and Sherkan betook himself tocertain of the fortresses to sojourn there awhile. Thenshe said to Merjaneh, “I wish to set out to-night, but howshall I do? For already I feel the pangs of labour, andif I abide other four or five days, I shall be brought tobed here, and how then can I go to my country? Butthis is what was written on my forehead.” Then she consideredawhile and said, “Look us out a man who will gowith us and serve us by the way, for I have no strengthto bear arms.” “By Allah, O my lady,” replied Merjaneh,“I know none but a black slave called Ghezban, who isone of the slaves of King Omar ben Ennuman; he is astout fellow and keeps guard at the gate of our palace.The King appointed him to attend us, and indeed we haveoverwhelmed him with favours. I will go out and speakwith him of the matter and promise him money and tellhim that, if he have a mind to tarry with us, we will marryhim to whom he will. He told me before to-day that he had been a highwayman; so if he consent, we shall haveour desire and come to our own country.” “Call him,that I may talk with him,” said the princess. So Merjanehwent out and said to the slave, “O Ghezban, Godprosper thee, do thou fall in with what my lady says tothee.” Then she took him by the hand and brought himto Abrizeh. He kissed the princess’s hands and when shesaw him, her heart took fright at him, but she said toherself, “Necessity is imperious,” and to him, “O Ghezban,wilt thou help us against the perfidies of fortune and keepmy secret, if I discover it to thee?” When the slave sawher, his heart was taken by storm and he fell in love withher forthright, and could not choose but answer, “O mymistress, whatsoever thou biddest me do, I will not departfrom it.” Quoth she, “I would have thee take me andthis my maid and saddle us two camels and two of theking’s horses and set on each horse a saddle-bag of stuffand somewhat of victual, and go with us to our own country;where, if thou desire to abide with us, I will marry theeto her thou shalt choose of my damsels; or if thou preferto return to thine own country, we will send thee thither,with as much money as will content thee.” When Ghezbanheard this, he rejoiced greatly and replied, “O my lady,I will serve thee faithfully and will go at once and saddlethe horses.” Then he went away, rejoicing and sayingin himself, “I shall get my will of them; and if they willnot yield to me, I will kill them and take their riches.”But this his intent he kept to himself and presently returned,mounted on one horse and leading other two andtwo camels. He brought the horses to the princess, whomounted one and made Merjaneh mount the other, albeitshe was suffering from the pains of labour and couldscarce possess herself for anguish. Then they set outand journeyed night and day through the passes of themountains, till there remained but a day’s journey between them and their own country, when the pangs of travailcame upon Abrizeh and she could no longer sit her horse.So she said to Ghezban, “Set me down, for the painsof labour are upon me,” and cried to Merjaneh, saying,“Do thou alight and sit down by me and deliver me.”They both drew rein and dismounting from their horses,helped the princess to alight, and she aswoon for stressof pain. When Ghezban saw her on the ground, Satanentered into him and he drew his sabre and brandishingit in her face, said, “O my lady, vouchsafe me thy favours.”With this, she turned to him and said, “It were a finething that I should yield to black slaves, after havingI refused kings and princes!” Night lii.And she was wroth withhim and said, “What words are these? Out on thee!Do not talk thus in my presence and know that I willnever consent to what thou sayst, though I drink the cupof death. Wait till I have cast my burden and am deliveredof the after-birth, and after, if thou be able thereto,do with me as thou wilt; but, an thou leave not lewd talkat this time, I will slay myself and leave the world and be atpeace from all this.” And she recited the following verses:
O Ghezban, unhand me and let me go freer Sure, fortune is heavy enough upon me.
My Lord hath forbidden me whoredom. “The fire Shall be the transgressor’s last dwelling,” quoth He:
So look not on me with the eye of desire, For surely to lewdness I may not agree;
And if thou respect not mine honour and God Nor put away filthy behaviour from thee,
I will call with my might on the men of my tribe And draw them all hither from upland and lea.
Were I hewn, limb from limb, with the Yemani sword, Yet never a lecher my visage should see
Of the freeborn and mighty; so how then should I Let a whoreson black slave have possession of me?
When Ghezban heard this, he was exceeding angry; his eyes grew bloodshot and his face became of the colourof dust; his nostrils swelled, his lips protruded and theterrors of his aspect redoubled. And he repeated thefollowing verses:
Abrizeh, have mercy nor leave me to sigh, Who am slain by the glance of thy Yemani eye![19]
My body is wasted, my patience at end, And my heart for thy cruelty racked like to die.
Thy glances with sorcery ravish all hearts; My reason is distant and passion is nigh.
Though thou drewst to thy succour the world full of troops, I’d not stir till my purpose accomplished had I.
Thereupon Abrizeh wept sore and said to him, “Out onthee, O Ghezban! How darest thou demand this of me,O son of shame and nursling of lewdness? Dost thouthink all folk are alike!” When the pestilent slave heardthis, he was enraged and his eyes reddened: and he cameup to her and smote her with the sword on her neck andkilled her. Then he made off into the mountains, drivingher horse before him with the treasure. In the agonies ofdeath, she gave birth to a son, like the moon, and Merjanehtook him and laid him by her side, after doing him thenecessary offices; and behold, the child fastened to itsmother’s breast, and she dead. When Merjaneh saw this,she cried out grievously and rent her clothes and cast duston her head and buffeted her cheeks, till the blood came,saying, “Alas, my mistress! Alas, the pity of it! Thouart dead by the hand of a worthless black slave, after allthy prowess!” As she sat weeping, there arose a greatcloud of dust and darkened the plain; but, after awhile, itlifted and discovered a numerous army. Now this was thearmy of King Herdoub, the princess Abrizeh’s father, who,hearing that his daughter had fled to Baghdad, she and her maidens, and that they were with King Omar benEnnuman, had come out with his troops to seek tidings ofher from travellers who might have seen her with KingOmar at Baghdad. When he had gone a day’s journeyfrom his capital, he espied three horsemen afar off andmade towards them, thinking to ask whence they cameand seek news of his daughter. Now these three were hisdaughter and Merjaneh and Ghezban; and when the lattersaw the troops drawing near, he feared for himself; so hekilled Abrizeh and fled. When they came up and KingHerdoub saw his daughter lying dead and Merjaneh weepingover her, he threw himself from his horse and felldown in a swoon. So all his company dismounted andpitching the tents, set up a great pavilion for the King,without which stood the grandees of the kingdom. At thesight of her lord the King, Merjaneh’s tears redoubled,and when he came to himself, he questioned her and shetold him all that had passed, how he that had slain hisdaughter was a black slave, belonging to King Omar benEnnuman, and how the latter had dealt with the princess.When King Herdoub heard this, the world grew black in hissight and he wept sore. Then he called for a litterand laying his dead daughter therein, returned to Cæsareaand carried her into the palace. Then he went in to hismother Dhat ed Dewahi and said to her, “Shall the Muslimsdeal thus with my daughter? King Omar ben Ennumandespoiled her by force of her honour and after this, one ofhis black slaves slew her. By the Messiah, I will assuredlybe revenged for her and clear away the stain from myhonour! Else I shall kill myself with my own hand.” Andhe wept passing sore. Quoth his mother, “It was noneother than Merjaneh killed her, for she hated her in secret.But do not thou fret for taking revenge for thy daughter,for, by the virtue of the Messiah, I will not turn back fromKing Omar ben Ennuman, till I have slain him and his sons; and I will assuredly do a deed, passing the power ofwise men and champions, of which the chroniclers shalltell in all countries and places: but needs must thou obeyme in all I shall direct, for he who is firmly set on aughtshall surely compass his desire.” “By the virtue of theMessiah,” replied he, “I will not cross thee in aught thatthou shalt say!” Then said she, “Bring me a number ofdamsels, high-bosomed maids, and summon the wise menof the time and let them teach them philosophy and theart of conversation and making verses and the rules ofbehaviour before kings, and let them talk with them of allmanner of science and edifying knowledge. The sagesmust be Muslims, that they may teach the damsels thelanguage and traditions of the Arabs, together with thehistory of the Khalifs and the pedigree of the Kings ofIslam; and if we persevere in this for the space of fouryears, we shall attain our end. So possess thy soul inpatience and wait; for, as one of the Arabs says, ‘It isa little thing to wait forty years for one’s revenge.’ Whenwe have taught the girls these things, we shall be able todo our will with our enemy, for he is a doting lover ofwomen and has three hundred and threescore concubines,to which are now added a hundred of the flower of thydamsels, that were with thy late daughter. So, as soon aswe have made an end of their education, I will take themand set out with them.” When the King heard his mother’swords, he rejoiced and came up to her and kissed herhead. Then he rose at once and despatched messengersand couriers to the ends of the earth, to fetch him Muslimsages. So they betook them to distant lands and broughthim thence the sages and doctors whom he sought. Whenthey were before him, he made much of them and bestowedon them dresses of honour, appointing them stipends andallowances and promising them much money, whenas theyshould have taught the damsels. Night liii.Then he committed the latter to their charge, enjoining them to instruct them in allmanner of knowledge, sacred and profane, and all polite accomplishments;and they set themselves to do his bidding.
As for King Omar ben Ennuman, when he returned fromhunting, he sought the princess Abrizeh, but found her notnor could any give him news of her. This was grievous tohim and he said, “How did she leave the palace, unknownof any? Had my kingdom been at stake in this, it were ina parlous case! Never again will I go a-hunting till I havesent to the gates those who shall keep good guard overthem!” And he was sore vexed and heavy at heart for theloss of the princess Abrizeh. Presently, his son Sherkanreturned from his journey; and he told him what had happenedand how the princess had fled, whilst he was absenta-hunting, whereat he was greatly concerned. Then KingOmar took to visiting his children every day and makingmuch of them and brought them wise men and doctors,to teach them, appointing them stipends and allowances.When Sherkan saw this, he was exceeding wroth andjealous of his brother and sister, so that the signs ofchagrin appeared in his face and he ceased not to languishby reason of this, till one day his father said to him, “Whatails thee, that I see thee grown weak in body and pale offace?” “O my father,” replied Sherkan, “every time Isee thee fondle my brother and sister and make much ofthem, jealousy seizes on me, and I fear lest it grow on me,till I slay them and thou slay me in return. This is thereason of my weakness of body and change of colour.But now I crave of thy favour that thou give me one ofthine outlying fortresses, that I may abide there the restof my life, for as the byword says, ‘It is better and fitterfor me to be at a distance from my friend; for when theeye seeth not, the heart doth not grieve.’” And he bowedhis head. When the King heard Sherkan’s words andknew the cause of his ailment, he soothed him and said to him, “O my son, I grant thee this. I have not in myrealm a greater than the fortress of Damascus, and thegovernment of it is thine from this time.” So saying,he called his secretaries of state and bade them makeout Sherkan’s patent of investiture to the viceroyalty ofDamascus of Syria. Then he equipped Sherkan and formallyinvested him with the office and gave him his finalinstructions, enjoining him to policy and good government;and the prince took leave of his father and the grandeesand officers of state and set out for his government, takingwith him the Vizier Dendan. When he arrived at Damascus,the townspeople beat the drums and blew the trumpets anddecorated the city and came out to meet him in great state,whilst all the notables and grandees walked in procession,each according to his rank.
Soon after Sherkan’s departure, the governors of KingOmar’s children presented themselves before him and saidto him, “O our lord, thy children’s education is now completeand they are versed in all polite accomplishmentsand in the rules of manners and etiquette.” At this theKing rejoiced with an exceeding joy and conferred bountifullargesse upon the wise men, seeing Zoulmekan grownup and flourishing and skilled in horsemanship. Theprince had now reached the age of fourteen and occupiedhimself with piety and devout exercises, loving the poorand wise men and the students of the Koran, so that allthe people of Baghdad loved him, men and women. Oneday, the procession of the Mehmil[20] of Irak passed round Baghdad, previously to the departure of the pilgrimage tothe holy places[21] and tomb of the Prophet.[22] When Zoulmekansaw the procession, he was seized with longing togo on the pilgrimage; so he went in to his father and saidto him, “I come to ask thy leave to make the pilgrimage.”But his father forbade him, saying, “Wait till next year,and I will go with thee.” When Zoulmekan saw that thefulfilment of his desire was postponed, he betook himselfto his sister Nuzhet ez Zeman, whom he found standingat prayer. As soon as she had made an end of her devotions,he said to her, “I am dying of desire to see the HolyHouse of God at Mecca and to visit the Prophet’s tomb.I asked my father’s leave, but he forbade me: so I meanto take somewhat of money and set out privily on thepilgrimage, without his knowledge.” “I conjure thee byAllah,” exclaimed she, “to take me with thee and thatthou forbid me not to visit the tomb of the Prophet, whomGod bless and preserve!” And he answered, “As soonas it is dark night, do thou leave this place, without tellingany, and come to me.” Accordingly, she waited till themiddle of the night, when she donned a man’s habit andwent to the gate of the palace, where she found Zoulmekanwith camels ready harnessed. So they mounted and ridingafter the caravan, mingled with the Irak pilgrims, and Goddecreed them a prosperous journey, so that they enteredMecca the Holy in safety, standing upon Arafat and performingthe various rites of the pilgrimage. Then they paid avisit to the tomb of the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve)and thought to return with the pilgrims to their nativeland; but Zoulmekan said to his sister, “O my sister, itis in my mind to visit Jerusalem and the tomb of Abrahamthe friend of God (on whom be peace).” “I also desireto do this,” replied she. So they agreed upon this, andhe went out and took passage for himself and her and they made ready and set out with a company of pilgrimsbound for Jerusalem. That very night she fell sick of anague and was grievously ill, but presently recovered, afterwhich her brother also sickened. She tended him duringthe journey, but the fever increased on him and he grewweaker and weaker, till they arrived at Jerusalem, wherethey alighted at a khan and hired a lodging there. Herethey abode some time, whilst Zoulmekan’s weakness increasedon him, till he was wasted with sickness and becamedelirious. At this, his sister was greatly afflicted andexclaimed, “There is no power and no virtue but in Godthe Most High, the Supreme! It is He who hath decreedthis.” They sojourned there awhile, his sickness ever increasingand she tending him, till all their money wasspent and she had not so much as a dirhem left. Thenshe sent a servant of the khan to the market, to sell someof her clothes, and spent the price upon her brother; andso she sold all she had, piece by piece, till she had nothingleft but an old rug; whereupon she wept and exclaimed,“God is the Orderer of the past and the future!” Presently,her brother said to her, “O my sister, I feel recoverydrawing near and I long for a little roast meat.” “O mybrother,” replied she, “I am ashamed to beg; but to-morrowI will enter some rich man’s house and serve himand earn somewhat for our living.” Then she bethoughtherself awhile and said, “It is hard to me to leave theeand thou in this state, but I must perforce go.” “Godforbid!” rejoined he. “Thou wilt be put to shame; butthere is no power and no virtue but in God!” And hewept and she wept too. Then she said, “O my brother,we are strangers and this whole year have we dwelt here;yet none hath knocked at our door. Shall we then die ofhunger? I know no resource but that I go out and earnsomewhat to keep us alive, till thou recover from thy sickness;when we will return to our native land.” She sat weeping with him awhile, after which she rose and veilingher head with a camel-cloth, which the owner had forgottenwith them, embraced her brother and went forth,weeping and knowing not whither she should go. Zoulmekanabode, awaiting her return, till the evening; butshe came not, and the night passed and the morning came,but still she returned not; and so two days went by. Atthis he was greatly troubled and his heart fluttered for her,and hunger was sore upon him. At last he left the chamberand calling the servant of the inn, bade him carry him tothe bazaar. So he carried him to the market and laid himdown there; and the people of Jerusalem came round himand were moved to tears at his condition. He signed tothem for somewhat to eat; so they took money from someof the merchants and bought food and fed him therewith;after which they carried him to a shop, where they laidhim on a mat of palm-leaves and set a vessel of water athis head. At nightfall, they all went away, sore concernedfor him, and in the middle of the night, he called to mindhis sister, and his sickness redoubled on him, so that heabstained from eating and drinking and became insensible.When the people of the market saw him thus, they tookthirty dirhems for him from the merchants and hiring acamel, said to the driver, “Carry this sick man to Damascusand leave him at the hospital; peradventure he may becured and recover his health.” “On my head be it!” repliedhe; but he said to himself, “How shall I take thissick man to Damascus, and he nigh upon death?” So hecarried him away and hid with him till the night, when hethrew him down on the fuel-heap in the stoke-hole of abath and went his way. In the morning, the stoker of thebath came to his work and finding Zoulmekan cast onhis back on the fuel-heap, exclaimed, “Could they find noother place in which to throw this dead man?” So saying,he gave him a push with his foot, and he moved; whereupon quoth the stoker, “This is some one who haseaten hashish and thrown himself down at hazard.” Thenhe looked at him and saw that he had no hair on his faceand was endowed with grace and comeliness; so he tookpity on him and knew that he was sick and a stranger.“There is no power and no virtue but in God!” said he.“I have sinned against this youth; for indeed the Prophet(whom God bless and preserve!) enjoins hospitality tostrangers.” Then he lifted him up and carrying him tohis own house, committed him to his wife and bade hertend him. So she spread him a bed and laid a cushionunder his head, then heated water and washed his hands andfeet and face. Meanwhile, the stoker went to the marketand buying rose-water and sherbet of sugar, sprinkledZoulmekan’s face with the one and gave him to drink ofthe other. Then he fetched a clean shirt and put it onhim. With this, Zoulmekan scented the breeze of recoveryand life returned to him; and he sat up and leant againstthe pillow. At this the stoker rejoiced and exclaimed, “Omy God, I beseech Thee, by Thy hidden mysteries, makethe salvation of this youth to be at my hands!” Night liv.And henursed him assiduously for three days, giving him to drinkof sherbet of sugar and willow-flower water and rose-waterand doing him all manner of service and kindness, tillhealth began to return to his body and he opened his eyesand sat up. Presently the stoker came in and seeing himsitting up and showing signs of amendment, said to him,“How dost thou now, O my son?” “Thanks be to God,”replied Zoulmekan, “I am well and like to recover, if soHe please.” The stoker praised the Lord of All for thisand going to the market, bought ten chickens, which hecarried to his wife and said to her, “Kill two of these forhim every day, one in the morning and the other at nightfall.”So she rose and killed a fowl, then boiling it, broughtit to him and fed him with the flesh and gave him the broth to drink. When he had done eating, she broughthot water and he washed his hands and lay back uponthe pillow; whereupon she covered him up and he slepttill the time of afternoon-prayer. Then she killed anotherfowl and boiled it; after which she cut it up and bringingit to Zoulmekan, said, “Eat, O my son!” Presently, herhusband entered and seeing her feeding him, sat down athis head and said to him, “How is it with thee now, O myson?” “Thanks be to God for recovery!” replied he.“May He requite thee thy goodness to me!” At this thestoker rejoiced and going out, bought sherbet of violetsand rose-water and made him drink it. Now his day’searnings at the bath were five dirhems, of which he spentevery day two dirhems for Zoulmekan, one for sweet watersand sherbets and another for fowls; and he ceased not toentreat him thus kindly for a whole month, till the tracesof illness ceased from him and he was quite recoveredwhereupon the stoker and his wife rejoiced and the formersaid to him, “O my son, wilt thou go with me to the bath?”“Willingly,” replied he. So the stoker went to the marketand fetched an ass, on which he mounted Zoulmekan andsupported him in the saddle, till they came to the bathThen he made him alight and sit down, whilst he repairedto the market and bought lote-leaves[23] and lupin-meal,[23] withwhich he returned to the bath and said to Zoulmekan, “Omy son, in the name of God, enter, and I will wash thybody.” So they both entered the inner room of the bath,and the stoker fell to rubbing Zoulmekan’s legs and wasgoing on to wash his body with the lote-leaves and powder,when there came to them a bathman, whom the keeper ofthe bath had sent to Zoulmekan, and seeing the stokerrubbing and washing the latter, said to him, “This istrespassing on the keeper’s rights.” “By Allah,” repliedthe stoker, “the master overwhelms us with his favours!” Then the bathman proceeded to shave Zoulmekan’s head,after which he and the stoker washed and returned to thelatter’s house, where he clad Zoulmekan in a shirt of finestuff and a tunic of his own and gave him a handsometurban and girdle and wound a silken kerchief about hisneck. Meanwhile the stoker’s wife had killed two chickensand cooked them for him; so, as soon as Zoulmekanentered and seated himself on the couch, the stoker aroseand dissolving sugar in willow-flower water, made himdrink it. Then he brought the tray of food and cuttingup the chickens, fed him with the meat and broth, till hewas satisfied, when he washed his hands and praised Godfor recovery, saying to the stoker, “It is to thee, underGod the Most High, that I owe my life!” “Leave thistalk,” replied the stoker, “and tell us the manner of thycoming to this city and whence thou art; for I see signsof gentle breeding in thy face.” “Tell me first how thoucamest to fall in with me,” said Zoulmekan; “and afterI will tell thee my story.” “As for that,” rejoined thestoker, “I found thee lying on the rubbish-heap, by thedoor of the stoke-house, as I went to my work, near themorning, and knew not who had thrown thee down there.So I carried thee home with me; and this all I have totell.” Quoth Zoulmekan, “Glory to Him who quickens thebones, though they be rotten! Indeed, O my brother, thouhast not done good to one who is unworthy, and thou shaltreap the reward of this. But where am I now?” “In the cityof Jerusalem,” replied the stoker; whereupon Zoulmekancalled to mind his strangerhood and his separation from hissister and wept. Then he discovered his secret to the stokerand told him his story, repeating the following verses:
They heaped up passion on my soul, beyond my strength to bear, And for their sake my heart is racked with weariness and care.
Ah, be ye pitiful to me, O cruel that ye are, For e’en my foes do pity me, since you away did fare!
Grudge not to grant unto mine eyes a passing glimpse of you, To ease the longing of my soul and lighten my despair.
I begged my heart to arm itself with patience for your loss. “Patience was never of my wont,” it answered; “so forbear.”
Then he redoubled his weeping, and the stoker said tohim, “Weep not, but rather praise God for safety andrecovery.” Quoth Zoulmekan, “How far is it hence toDamascus?” “Six days’ journey,” answered the stoker.“Wilt thou send me thither?” asked Zoulmekan. “O mylord,” replied the stoker, “how can I let thee go alone,and thou a young lad and a stranger? If thou be mindedto make the journey to Damascus, I will go with thee; andif my wife will listen to me and accompany me, I will takeup my abode there; for it goes to my heart to part withthee.” Then said he to his wife, “Wilt thou go with meto Damascus or wilt thou abide here, whilst I bring thismy lord thither and return to thee? For he is bent upon,going to Damascus, and by Allah, it is hard to me to partwith him, and I fear for him from the highway robbers.”Quoth she, “I will go with you.” And he said, “Praisedbe God for accord!” Night lv.Then he rose and selling all his ownand his wife’s gear, bought a camel and hired an ass forZoulmekan; and they set out and reached Damascus atnightfall after six days’ journey. They alighted there, andthe stoker went to the market and bought meat and drink.They had dwelt but five days in Damascus, when his wifesickened and after a few days’ illness, was translated tothe mercy of God. The stoker mourned for her with anexceeding grief, and her death was no light matter toZoulmekan, for she had tended him assiduously and he wasgrown used to her. Presently, he turned to the stoker andfinding him mourning, said to him, “Do not grieve, forwe must all go in at this gate.”[24] “God requite thee withgood, O my son!” replied the stoker. “Surely He will compensate us with his bounties and cause our mourningto cease. What sayst thou, O my son? Shall we walkabroad to view Damascus and cheer our spirits?” “Thywill is mine,” replied Zoulmekan. So the stoker took himby the hand, and they sallied forth and walked on, till theycame to the stables of the Viceroy of Damascus, wherethey found camels laden with chests and carpets andbrocaded stuffs and saddle-horses and Bactrian camelsand slaves, white and black, and folk running to and froand a great bustle. Quoth Zoulmekan, “I wonder to whomall these camels and stuffs and servants belong!” So heasked one of the slaves, and he replied, “These are presentsthat the Viceroy of Damascus is sending to KingOmar ben Ennuman, with the tribute of Syria.” WhenZoulmekan heard his father’s name, his eyes filled withtears and he repeated the following verses:
Ye that are far removed from my desireful sight, Ye that within my heart are sojourners for aye,
Your comeliness is gone and life no more for me Is sweet, nor will the pains of longing pass away.
If God one day decree reunion of our loves, How long a tale of woes my tongue will have to say!
Then he wept and the stoker said to him, “O my son,thou art hardly yet recovered; so take heart and do notweep, for I fear a relapse for thee.” And he applied himselfto comfort him and cheer him, whilst Zoulmekansighed and bemoaned his strangerhood and separationfrom his sister and his family and repeated the followingverses, with tears streaming from his eyes:
Provide thee for the world to come, for needs must thou be gone; Or soon or late, for every one the lot of death is drawn.
Thy fortune in this world is but delusion and regret; Thy life in it but vanity and empty chaff and awn.
The world, indeed, is but as ’twere a traveller’s halting-place, Who makes his camels kneel at eve and fares on with the dawn.
And he continued to weep and lament, whilst the stokerwept too for the loss of his wife, yet ceased not to comfortZoulmekan till the morning. When the sun rose, he saidto him, “Meseems thou yearnest for thy native land?”“Even so,” replied Zoulmekan, “and I may not tarry here;so I will commend thee to God’s care and set out withthese people and journey with them, little by little, till Icome to my country.” “And I with thee,” said the stoker;“for I cannot bear to part with thee. I have done theeservice, and I mean to complete it by tending thee on theway.” At this, Zoulmekan rejoiced and said, “May Godabundantly requite thee for me!” Then the stoker wentout and selling the camel, bought another ass, which hebrought to Zoulmekan, saying, “This is for thee to rideby the way; and when thou art weary of riding, thou canstdismount and walk.” “May God bless thee and help meto requite thee!” said Zoulmekan. “Indeed, thou hastdealt with me more lovingly than one with his brother.”Then the stoker provided himself with victual for thejourney, and they waited till it was dark night, when theylaid their provisions and baggage on the ass and set outon their journey.
To return to Nuzhet ez Zeman, when she left her brotherin the khan and went out to seek service with some one,that she might earn wherewith to buy him the roast meathe longed for, she fared on, weeping and knowing notwhither to go, whilst her mind was occupied with concernfor her brother and with thoughts of her family and hernative land. And she implored God the Most High todo away these afflictions from them and repeated the followingverses:
The shadows darken and passion stirs up my sickness amain, And longing rouses within me the old desireful pain.
The anguish of parting hath taken its sojourn in my breast, And love and longing and sorrow have maddened heart and brain.
Passion hath made me restless and longing consumes my soul And tears discover the secret that else concealed had lain.
I know of no way to ease me of sickness and care and woe, Nor can my weak endeavour reknit love’s severed skein.
The fire of my heart with yearnings and longing grief is fed And for its heat, the lover to live in hell is fain.
O thou that thinkest to blame me for what betides me, enough; God knows I suffer with patience whate’er He doth ordain.
I swear I shall ne’er find solace nor be consoled for love, The oath of the children of passion, whose oaths are ne’er in vain!
Bear tidings of me, I prithee, O night, to the bards of love And that in thee I sleep not be witness yet again!
She walked on, weeping and turning right and left, asshe went, till there espied her an old man who hadcome into the town from the desert with other fiveBedouins. He took note of her and seeing that she wascharming, but had nothing on her head but a piece ofcamel-cloth, marvelled at her beauty and said in himself,“This girl is pretty enough to dazzle the wit, but it isclear she is in poor case, and whether she be of thepeople of the city or a stranger, I must have her.” So hefollowed her, little by little, till presently he came in frontof her and stopping the way before her in a narrow lane,called out to her, saying, “Harkye, daughterling, art thoua freewoman or a slave?” When she heard this, she saidto him, “By thy life, do not add to my troubles!” Quothhe, “God blessed me with six daughters, but five of themdied and only one is left me, the youngest of them all;and I came to ask thee if thou wert of the people of thiscity or a stranger, that I might take thee and carry thee toher, to bear her company and divert her from mourning forher sisters, If thou hast no parents, I will use thee as oneof them, and thou and she shall be as my two children.”When she heard what he said, she bowed her head forbashfulness and said to herself, “Surely I may trust myselfto this old man.” Then she said to him, “O uncle, I am a girl of the Arabs (of Irak) and a stranger, and I havea sick brother; but I will go with thee to thy daughter onone condition; that is, that I may spend the day only withher and go to my brother at night. I am a stranger andwas high in honour among my people, yet am I becomecast down and abject. I came with my brother from theland of Hejaz and I fear lest he know not where I am.”When the Bedouin heard this, he said to himself, “ByAllah, I have gotten what I sought!” Then he turned toher and said, “There shall none be dearer to me thanthou; I only wish thee to bear my daughter company byday, and thou shalt go to thy brother at nightfall. Or, ifthou wilt, bring him to dwell with us.” And he ceased notto give her fair words and coax her, till she trusted in himand agreed to serve him. Then he went on before herand she followed him, whilst he winked to his men to goon in advance and harness the camels and load them withfood and water, ready for setting out as soon as he shouldcome up. Now this Bedouin was a base-born wretch, ahighway-robber and a brigand, a traitor to his friend anda past master in craft and roguery. He had no daughterand no son, and was but a wayfarer in Jerusalem, when,by the decree of God, he fell in with this unhappy girl.He held her in converse till they came without the city,where he joined his companions and found they had madeready the camels. So he mounted a camel, taking Nuzhetez Zeman up behind him, and they rode on all night,making for the mountains, for fear any should see them.By this, she knew that the Bedouin’s proposal was a snareand that he had tricked her; and she gave not over weepingand crying out the whole night long. A little before thedawn, they halted and the Bedouin came up to Nuzhet ezZeman and said to her, “O wretch, what is this weeping?By Allah, an thou hold not thy peace, I will beat thee todeath, city faggot that thou art!” When she heard this, she abhorred life and longed for death; so she turned tohim and said, “O accursed old man, O greybeard of hell,did I trust in thee and hast thou played me false, and nowthou wouldst torture me?” When he heard her words, hecried out, “O insolent wretch, dost thou dare to bandywords with me?” And he came up to her and beat herwith a whip, saying, “An thou hold not thy peace, I willkill thee.” So she was silent awhile, but she called tomind her brother and her former happy estate and wept insecret. Next day, she turned to the Bedouin and said tohim, “How couldst thou deal thus perfidiously with me andlure me into these desert mountains, and what wilt thoudo with me?” When he heard her words, he hardenedhis heart and said to her, “O pestilent baggage, wilt thoubandy words with me?” So saying, he took the whip andbrought it down on her back, till she well-nigh fainted.Then she bowed down and kissed his feet; and he leftbeating her and began to revile her, saying, “By my bonnet,if I see or hear thee weeping, I will cut out thy tongue andthrust it up thy kaze, city strumpet that thou art!” So shewas silent and made him no reply, for the beating irked her;but sat down, with her arms round her knees and bowingher head, fell a-musing on her case. Then she bethoughther of her former ease and affluence and her present abasement,and called to mind her brother and his sickness andforlorn condition and how they were both strangers in aforeign land; whereat the tears coursed down her cheeksand she wept silently and repeated the following verses:
The tides of fate ’twixt good and ill shift ever to and fro, And no estate of life for men endureth evermo’.
All things that to the world belong have each their destined end And to all men a term is set, which none may overgo.
How long must I oppression bear and peril and distress! Ah, how I loathe this life of mine, that nought but these can show!
May God not prosper them, these days, wherein I am oppressed Of Fate, these cruel days that add abjection to my woe!
My purposes are brought to nought, my loves are reft in twain By exile’s rigour, and my hopes are one and all laid low.
O ye, who pass the dwelling by, wherein my dear ones are, Bear them the news of me and say, my tears for ever flow.
When she had finished, the Bedouin came up to her andtaking compassion on her, bespoke her kindly and wipedaway her tears. Then he gave her a cake of barley-breadand said to her, “I do not love to be answered, when I amangry: so henceforth give me no more of these insolentwords, and I will sell thee to an honest fellow like myself,who will use thee well, even as I have done.” “It is well,”answered she; and when the night was long upon her andhunger gnawed her, she ate a little of the barley-cake. Inthe middle of the night, the Bedouin gave the signal fordeparture; Night lvi.so they loaded the camels and he mounted oneof them, taking Nuzhet ez Zeman up behind him. Thenthey set out and journeyed, without stopping, for threedays, till they reached the city of Damascus, where theyalighted at the Sultan’s khan, hard by the Viceroy’s Gate.Now she had lost her colour and her charms were changedby grief and the fatigue of the journey, and she ceased notto weep. So the Bedouin came up to her and said, “Harkye, city wench! By my bonnet, an thou leave not thisweeping, I will sell thee to a Jew!” Then he took her bythe hand and carried her to a chamber, where he left herand went to the bazaar. Here he went round to themerchants who dealt in slave-girls and began to parleywith them, saying, “I have with me a slave-girl, whosebrother fell ill, and I sent him to my people at Jerusalem,that they might tend him till he was cured. The separationfrom him was grievous to her, and since then, shedoes nothing but weep. Now I purpose to sell her, andI would fain have whoso is minded to buy her of me speaksoftly to her and say to her, ‘Thy brother is with me inJerusalem, ill;’ and I will be easy with him about her price.” Quoth one of the merchants, “How old is she?”“She is a virgin, just come to the age of puberty,”replied the Bedouin, “and is endowed with sense and breedingand wit and beauty and grace. But from the day I senther brother to Jerusalem, she has done nothing but grievefor him, so that her beauty is fallen away and her valuelessened.” When the merchant heard this, he said, “Ochief of the Arabs, I will go with thee and buy this girlof thee, if she be as thou sayest for wit and beauty andaccomplishments; but it must be upon conditions, whichif thou accept, I will pay thee her price, and if not, I willreturn her to thee.” “If thou wilt,” said the Bedouin, “takeher up to Prince Sherkan, son of King Omar ben Ennuman,lord of Baghdad and of the land of Khorassan, and I willagree to whatever conditions thou mayst impose on me; forwhen he sees her, she will surely please him, and he willpay thee her price and a good profit to boot for thyself.”“It happens,” rejoined the merchant, “that I have just nowoccasion to go to him, that I may get him to sign mepatent, exempting me from customs-dues, and I desireof him also a letter of recommendation to his father KingOmar. So, if he take the girl, I will pay thee down herprice at once.” “I agree to this,” answered the Bedouin.So they returned together to the khan, where the Bedouinstood at the door of the girl’s chamber and called out,saying, “Ho, Najiyeh!” which was the name he had givenher. When she heard him, she wept and made no answer.Then he turned to the merchant and said to him, “Thereshe sits. Do thou go up to her and look at her and speakkindly to her, as I enjoined thee.” So he went up toher courteously and saw that she was wonder-lovely andgraceful especially as she was acquainted with the Arabictongue; and he said to the Bedouin, “Verily she is even asthou saidst, and I shall get of the Sultan what I will for her.”Then he said to her, “Peace be on thee, O daughterling! How dost thou?” She turned to him and replied, “Thiswas written in the book of Destiny.” Then she looked athim and seeing him to be a man of reverend appearance,with a handsome face, said to herself, “I believe this mancomes to buy me. If I hold aloof from him, I shall abidewith this tyrant, and he will beat me to death. In any case,this man is comely of face and makes me hope for bettertreatment from him than from this brute of a Bedouin.Mayhap he only comes to hear me talk; so I will give hima fair answer.” All this while, she had kept her eyes fixedon the ground; then she raised them to him and said ina sweet voice, “And upon thee be peace, O my lord, andthe mercy of God and His blessing! This is what is commandedof the Prophet, whom God bless and preserve!As for thine enquiry how I do, if thou wouldst know mycondition, it is such as thou wouldst not wish but to thineenemies.” And she was silent. When the merchant heardwhat she said, he was beside himself for delight in herand turning to the Bedouin, said to him, “What is herprice, for indeed she is illustrious!” At this the Bedouinwas angry and said, “Thou wilt turn me the girl’s headwith this talk! Why dost thou say that she is illustrious,[25]for all she is of the scum of slave-girls and of the refuseof the people? I will not sell her to thee.” When themerchant heard this, he knew he was dull-witted andsaid to him, “Calm thyself, for I will buy her of thee,notwithstanding the defects thou mentionest.” “And howmuch wilt thou give me for her?” asked the Bedouin.“None should name the child but its father,” replied themerchant. “Name thy price for her.” “Not so,” rejoinedthe Bedouin; “do thou say what thou wilt give.” Quoth the merchant in himself, “This Bedouin is anaddle-pated churl. By Allah, I cannot tell her price, forshe has mastered my heart with her sweet speech andher beauty: and if she can read and write, it will be thefinishing touch to her good fortune and that of her purchaser.But this Bedouin does not know her value.” Thenhe turned to the latter and said to him, “O elder of theArabs, I will give thee two hundred dinars for her, in cash,clear of the tax and the Sultan’s dues.” When the Bedouinheard this, he flew into a violent passion and cried out atthe merchant, saying, “Begone about thy business! ByAllah, wert thou to offer me two hundred dinars for thepiece of camel-cloth on her head, I would not sell it tothee! I will not sell her, but will keep her by me, to pasturethe camels and grind corn.” And he cried out to her,saying, “Come, thou stinkard, I will not sell thee.” Thenhe turned to the merchant and said to him, “I thoughtthee a man of judgment; but, by my bonnet, if thou begonenot from me, I will let thee hear what will not pleasethee!” “Verily,” said the merchant to himself, “thisBedouin is mad and knows not the girl’s value, and I willsay no more to him about her price for the present; forby Allah, were he a man of sense, he would not say, ‘Bymy bonnet!’ By Allah, she is worth the kingdom of theChosroës and I will give him what he will, though it be allI have.” Then he said to him, “O elder of the Arabs,calm thyself and take patience and tell me what clothesshe has with thee.” “Clothes!” cried the Bedouin; “whatshould the baggage want with clothes? The camel-clothin which she is wrapped is ample for her.” “With thyleave,” said the merchant, “I will lift her veil and examineher as folk examine girls whom they think of buying.”“Up and do what thou wilt,” replied the other, “and Godkeep thy youth! Examine her, inside and out, and if thouwilt, take off her clothes and look at her naked.” “God forbid!” said the merchant; “I will but look at her face.”Night lvii.Then he went up to her, confounded at her beauty andgrace, and seating himself by her side, said to her, “O mymistress, what is thy name?” “Dost thou ask what is myname now,” said she, “or what it was formerly?” “Hastthou then two names?” asked the merchant. “Yes,” repliedshe, “my whilom name was Nuzhet ez Zeman;[26] butmy name at this present is Ghusset ez Zeman.”[27] When themerchant heard this, his eyes filled with tears, and he saidto her, “Hast thou not a sick brother?” “Indeed, mylord, I have,” answered she; “but fortune hath parted us,and he lies sick in Jerusalem.” The merchant’s heart wasconfounded at the sweetness of her speech, and he said tohimself, “Verily, the Bedouin spoke the truth of her.”Then she called to mind her brother and how he lay sickin a strange land, whilst she was parted from him andknew not what was become of him; and she thought ofall that had befallen her with the Bedouin and of herseverance from her father and mother and native land;and the tears ran down her cheeks and she repeated thefollowing verses:
May God keep watch o’er thee, belov’d, where’er thou art, Thou that, though far away, yet dwellest in my heart!
Where’er thy footsteps lead, may He be ever near, To guard thee from time’s shifts and evil fortune’s dart!
Thou’rt absent, and my eyes long ever for thy sight, And at thy thought the tears for aye unbidden start.
Would that I knew alas! what country holds thee now, In what abode thou dwell’st, unfriended and apart!
If thou, in the green o’ the rose, still drink o’ the water of life, My drink is nought but tears, since that thou didst depart.
If sleep e’er visit thee, live coals of my unrest, Strewn betwixt couch and side, for aye my slumbers thwart
All but thy loss to me were but a little thing, But that and that alone is sore to me, sweetheart.
When the merchant heard her verses, he wept and putout his hand to wipe away her tears; but she let down herveil, saying, “God forbid, O my master!” The Bedouin,who was sitting at a little distance, watching them, saw hercover her face and concluded that she would have hinderedhim from handling her: so he rose and running to her,dealt her such a blow on the shoulders with a camel’shalter he had in his hand, that she fell to the ground onher face. Her eyebrow smote against a stone, which cutit open, and the blood streamed down her face; whereuponshe gave a loud scream and fainted away. The merchantwas moved to tears for her and said in himself, “I mustand will buy this damsel, though I pay down her weightin gold, and deliver her from this tyrant.” And he beganto reproach the Bedouin, whilst Nuzhet ez Zeman lay insensible.When she came to herself, she wiped away hertears and bound up her head: then, raising her eyes toheaven, she sought her Lord with a sorrowful heart andrepeated the following verses:
Have ruth on one who once was rich and great, Whom villainy hath brought to low estate.
She weeps with never-ceasing tears and says, “There’s no recourse against the laws of Fate.”
Then she turned to the merchant and said to him, ina low voice, “By Allah, do not leave me with this tyrant,who knows not God the Most High! If I pass this nightwith him, I shall kill myself with my own hand: save mefrom him, and God will save thee from hell-fire.” So themerchant said to the Bedouin, “O chief of the Arabs, thisgirl is none of thine affair; so do thou sell her to me forwhat thou wilt.” “Take her,” said the Bedouin, “and payme down her price, or I will carry her back to the campand set her to feed the camels and gather their droppings.”[28]Quoth the merchant, “I will give thee fifty thousand dinars for her.” “God will open,”[29] replied the Bedouin. “Seventythousand,” said the merchant. “God will open,” repeatedthe other; “she hath cost me more than that, for she hatheaten barley-bread with me to the value of ninety thousanddinars.” Quoth the merchant, “Thou and all thy peopleand thy whole tribe in all your lives have not eaten a thousanddinars’ worth of barley: but I will make thee oneoffer, which if thou accept not, I will set the Viceroy ofDamascus on thee, and he will take her from thee by force.”“Say on,” rejoined the Bedouin. “A hundred thousand,”said the merchant. “I will sell her to thee at that price,”answered the Bedouin; “I shall be able to buy salt withthat.” The merchant laughed and going to his house, returnedwith the money and gave it to the Bedouin, whotook it and made off, saying, “I must go to Jerusalem: itmay be I shall happen on her brother, and I will bringhim here and sell him.” So he mounted and journeyed toJerusalem, where he went to the khan and enquired forZoulmekan, but could not find him.
Meanwhile, the merchant threw his gaberdine overNuzhet ez Zeman and carried her to his house, where hedressed her in the richest clothes he could buy. Night lviii.Thenhe carried her to the bazaar, where he bought her whatjewellery she chose and put it in a bag of satin, which helaid before her, saying, “This is all for thee, and I asknothing of thee in return but that, when thou comest tothe Viceroy of Damascus, thou tell him what I gave forthee and that it was little compared with thy value: and ifhe buy thee, tell him how I have dealt with thee and askof him for me a royal patent, with a recommendation tohis father King Omar Ben Ennuman, lord of Baghdad, tothe intent that he may forbid the taking toll on my stuffsor other goods in which I traffic.” When she heard his words, she wept and sobbed, and the merchant said toher, “O my mistress, I note that, every time I mentionBaghdad, thine eyes fill with tears: is there any one therewhom thou lovest? If it be a merchant or the like, tellme; for I know all the merchants and so forth there; andan thou wouldst send him a message, I will carry it forthee.” “By Allah,” replied she, “I have no acquaintanceamong merchants and the like! I know none there butKing Omar ben Ennuman.” When the merchant heardthis, he laughed and was greatly rejoiced and said in himself,“By Allah, I have gotten my desire!” Then he saidto her, “Hast thou then been shown to him?” “No,”answered she; “but I was brought up with his daughterand he holds me dear and I have much credit with him; soif thou wouldst have him grant thee a patent of exemption,give me ink-horn and paper, and I will write thee a letter,which, when thou reachest Baghdad, do thou deliver intothe King’s own hand and say to him, ‘Thy handmaidNuzhet ez Zeman salutes thee and would have thee toknow that the changing chances of the nights and dayshave smitten her, so that she has been sold from place toplace and is now with the Viceroy of Damascus.’” Themerchant wondered at her eloquence and his affection forher increased and he said to her, “I cannot think but thatmen have abused thine understanding and sold thee formoney. Tell me, dost thou know the Koran?” “I do,”answered she; “and I am also acquainted with philosophyand medicine and the Prolegomena and the commentariesof Galen the physician on the Canons of Hippocrates, andI have commented him, as well as the Simples of IbnBeltar, and have studied the works of Avicenna, accordingto the canon of Mecca, as well as other treatises. I cansolve enigmas and establish parallels[30] and discourse upongeometry and am skilled in anatomy. I have read the books of the Shafiyi[31] sect and the Traditions of the Prophet,I am well read in grammar and can argue with the learnedand discourse of all manner of sciences. Moreover I amskilled in logic and rhetoric and mathematics and themaking of talismans and calendars and the Cabala, and Iunderstand all these branches of knowledge thoroughly.But bring me ink-horn and paper, and I will write theea letter that will profit thee at Baghdad and enable thee todispense with passports.” When the merchant heard this,he cried out, “Excellent! Excellent! Happy he in whosepalace thou shalt be!” Then he brought her ink-hornand paper and a pen of brass and kissed the earth beforeher, to do her honour. She took the pen and wrote thefollowing verses:
“What ails me that sleep hath forsaken my eyes and gone astray? Have you then taught them to waken, after our parting day!
How comes it your memory maketh the fire in my heart to rage? Is’t thus with each lover remembers a dear one far away?
How sweet was the cloud of the summer, that watered our days of yore! ’Tis flitted, before of its pleasance my longing I could stay.
I sue to the wind and beg it to favour the slave of love, The wind that unto the lover doth news of you convey.
A lover to you complaineth, whose every helper fails. Indeed, in parting are sorrows would rend the rock in sway.
“These words are from her whom melancholy destroysand whom watching hath wasted; in her darkness thereare no lights found, and she knows not night from day.She tosses from side to side on the couch of separationand her eyes are blackened with the pencils of sleeplessness;she watches the stars and strains her sight into thedarkness: verily, sadness and emaciation have consumed herand the setting forth of her case would be long. No helperhath she but tears and she reciteth the following verses:
“No turtle warbles on the branch, before the break of morn, But stirs in me a killing grief, a sadness all forlorn.
No lover, longing for his loves, complaineth of desire, But with a doubled stress of woe my heart is overborne.
Of passion I complain to one who hath no ruth on me. How soul and body by desire are, one from other, torn!”
Then her eyes brimmed over with tears, and she wrotethese verses also:
“Love-longing, the day of our parting, my body with mourning smote, And severance from my eyelids hath made sleep far remote.
I am so wasted for yearning and worn for sickness and woe, That, were it not for my speaking, thou’dst scarce my presence note.”
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Then she wept and wrote at the foot of the scroll, “Thisis from her who is far from her people and her native land,the sorrowful-hearted Nuzhet ez Zeman.” She folded theletter and gave it to the merchant, Night lix.who took it and readingwhat was written in it, rejoiced and exclaimed, “Glory toHim who fashioned thee!” Then he redoubled in kindnessand attention to her all that day; and at nightfall,he sallied out to the market and bought food, wherewithhe fed her; after which he carried her to the bath andsaid to the tire-woman, “As soon as thou hast madean end of washing her head, clothe her and send and letme know.” Meanwhile he fetched food and fruit and waxcandles and set them on the dais in the outer room of thebath; and when the tire-woman had done washing her,she sent to tell the merchant, and Nuzhet ez Zeman wentout to the outer room, where she found the tray spreadwith food and fruit. So she ate, and the tire-woman withher, and gave what was left to the people and keeper of thebath. Then she slept till the morning, and the merchantlay the night in a place apart. When he awoke, he cameto her and waking her, presented her with a shift of finesilk, a kerchief worth a thousand dinars, a suit of Turkishbrocade and boots embroidered with red gold and set with pearls and jewels. Moreover, he hung in each of her earsa circlet of gold, with a fine pearl therein, worth a thousanddinars, and threw round her neck a collar of gold, withbosses of garnet and a chain of amber beads, that hungdown between her breasts to her middle. Now this chainwas garnished with ten balls and nine crescents and eachcrescent had in its midst a beazel of ruby and each ball abeazel of balass ruby. The worth of the chain was threethousand dinars and each of the balls was worth twentythousand dirhems, so that her dress in all was worth a greatsum of money. When she had put these on, the merchantbade her make her toilet, and she adorned herself to theutmost advantage. Then he bade her follow him andwalked on before her through the streets, whilst the peoplewondered at her beauty and exclaimed, “Blessed be God,the most excellent Creator! O fortunate man to whom sheshall belong!” till they reached the Sultan’s palace; whenhe sought an audience of Sherkan and kissing the earthbefore him, said, “O august King, I have brought thee arare gift, unmatched in this time and richly covered withbeauty and good qualities.” “Let me see it,” said Sherkan.So the merchant went out and returning with Nuzhet ezZeman, made her stand before Sherkan. When the latterbeheld her, blood drew to blood, though he had never seenher, having only heard that he had a sister called Nuzhetez Zeman and a brother called Zoulmekan and not havingmade acquaintance with them, in his jealousy of them,because of the succession. Then said the merchant, “OKing, not only is she without peer in her time for perfectionof beauty and grace, but she is versed to boot inall learning, sacred and profane, besides the art of governmentand the abstract sciences.” Quoth Sherkan, “Takeher price, according to what thou gavest for her, and gothy ways.” “I hear and obey,” replied the merchant;“but first I would have thee write me a patent, exempting me for ever from paying tithe on my merchandise.” “Iwill do this,” said Sherkan; “but first tell me what youpaid for her.” Quoth the merchant, “I bought her fora hundred thousand dinars, and her clothes cost me asmuch more.” When the Sultan heard this, he said, “Iwill give thee more than this for her,” and calling histreasurer, said to him, “Give this merchant three hundredand twenty thousand dinars; so will he have a hundredand twenty thousand dinars profit.” Then he summonedthe four Cadis and paid him the money in their presence;after which he said to them, “I call you to witnessthat I free this my slave-girl and purpose to marryher.” So the Cadis drew up the act of enfranchisement,and the Sultan scattered much gold on the headsof those present, which was picked up by the pages andeunuchs. Then they drew up the contract of marriagebetween Sherkan and Nuzhet ez Zeman, after which hebade write the merchant a perpetual patent, exemptinghim from tax and tithe upon his merchandise and forbiddingall and several to do him let or hindrance in allhis government, and bestowed on him a splendid dress ofhonour. Night lx.Then all who were present retired, and thereremained but the Cadis and the merchant; whereuponquoth Sherkan to the former, “I wish you to hear suchdiscourse from this damsel as may prove her knowledgeand accomplishment in all that this merchant avouches ofher, that we may be certified of the truth of his pretensions.”“Good,” answered they; and he commanded thecurtains to be drawn before Nuzhet ez Zeman and herattendants, who began to wish her joy and kiss her handsand feet, for that she was become the Viceroy’s wife. Thenthey came round her and easing her of the weight of herclothes and ornaments, began to look upon her beauty andgrace. Presently the wives of the Amirs and Viziers heardthat King Sherkan had bought a damsel unmatched for beauty and accomplishments and versed in all branchesof knowledge, at the price of three hundred and twentythousand dinars, and that he had set her free and marriedher and summoned the four Cadis to examine her. Sothey asked leave of their husbands and repaired to thepalace. When they came in to her, she rose and receivedthem with courtesy, welcoming them and promising themall good. Moreover, she smiled in their faces and madethem sit down in their proper stations, as if she had beenbrought up with them, so that their hearts were taken withher and they all wondered at her good sense and finemanners, as well as at her beauty and grace, and said toeach other, “This damsel is none other than a queen, thedaughter of a king.” Then they sat down, magnifying her,and said to her, “O our lady, our city is illumined by thypresence, and our country and kingdom are honoured bythee. The kingdom indeed is thine and the palace is thypalace, and we all are thy handmaids; so do not thou shutus out from thy favours and the sight of thy beauty.” Andshe thanked them for this. All this while the curtainswere drawn between Nuzhet ez Zeman and the womenwith her, on the one side, and King Sherkan and the Cadisand merchant seated by him, on the other. Presently,Sherkan called to her and said, “O queen, the glory ofthine age, this merchant describes thee as being learnedand accomplished and asserts that thou art skilled in allbranches of knowledge, even to astrology: so let us hearsomething of all this and give us a taste of thy quality.”“O King,” replied she, “I hear and obey. The first subjectof which I will treat is the art of government and theduties of kings and what behoves governors of lawful commandmentsand what is incumbent on them in respect ofpleasing manners. Know then, O King, that all men’sworks tend either to religion or to worldly life, for noneattains to religion save through this world, because it is indeed the road to the next world. Now the world isordered by the doings of its people, and the doings ofmen are divided into four categories, government (or theexercise of authority), commerce, husbandry (or agriculture)and craftsmanship. To government are requisite perfect(knowledge of the science of) administration and justjudgment; for government is the centre (or pivot) of theedifice of the world, which is the road to the future lifesince that God the Most High hath made the world to beto His servants even as victual to the traveller for theattainment of the goal: and it is needful that each manreceive of it such measure as shall bring him to God, andthat he follow not in this his own mind and desire. If thefolk would take of the goods of the world with moderationand equity, there would be an end of contentions; butthey take thereof with violence and iniquity and persist infollowing their own inclinations; and their licentiousnessand evil behaviour in this give birth to strife and contention.So they have need of the Sultan, that he maydo justice between them and order their affairs prudently,and if he restrain not the folk from one another, the strongwill get the mastery over the weak. Ardeshir says thatreligion and the kingship are twin; religion is a treasureand the king its keeper; and the divine ordinances andmen’s own judgment indicate that it behoves the folk toadopt a ruler to hold the oppressor back from the oppressedand do the weak justice against the strong and torestrain the violence of the proud and the unjust. Forknow, O King, that according to the measure of the ruler’sgood morals, even so will be the time; as says the apostleof God (on whom be peace and salvation), ‘There are twoclasses, who if they be virtuous, the people will be virtuous,and if they be depraved, the people also will be depraved:even princes and men of learning.’ And it is said by acertain sage, ‘There are three kinds of kings, the king of the Faith, the king who watches over and protects thosethings that are entitled to respect and honour, and theking of his own inclinations. The king of the Faith constrainshis subjects to follow the laws of their faith, and itbehoves that he be the most pious of them all, for it is byhim that they take pattern in the things of the Faith; andthe folk shall do obedience to him in what he commandsin accordance with the Divine ordinances; but he shallhold the discontented in the same esteem as the contented,because of submission to the Divine decrees. As for theking of the second order, he upholds the things of theFaith and of the world and compels the folk to follow theLaw of God and to observe the precepts of humanity; andit behoves him to conjoin the sword and the pen; forwhoso goeth astray from what the pen hath written, hisfeet slip, and the king shall rectify his error with the edgeof the sword and pour forth his justice upon all men. Asfor the third kind of king, he hath no religion but thefollowing his own lusts and fears not the wrath of his Lord,who set him on the throne; so his kingdom inclines to ruin,and the end of his arrogance is in the House of Perdition.’And another sage says, ‘The king has need of many people,but the folk have need of but one king; wherefore it behovesthat he be well acquainted with their natures, to theend that he may reduce their difference to concord, thathe may encompass them one and all with his justice andoverwhelm them with his bounties.’ And know, O King,that Ardeshir, styled Jemr Shedid, third of the Kings ofPersia, conquered the whole world and divided it into fourparts and let make for himself four seal-rings, one for eachdivision of his realm. The first seal was that of the seaand the police and of prohibition, and on it was written,‘Alternatives.’ The second was the seal of revenue and ofthe receipt of monies, and on it was written, ‘Culture.’The third was the seal of the commissariat, and on it was written, ‘Plenty.’ The fourth was the seal of (the Courtof Enquiry into) abuses, and on it was written, ‘Justice.’And these remained in use in Persia until the revelation ofIslam. King Chosroës also, wrote to his son, who waswith the army, ‘Be not over-lavish to thy troops, or theywill come to have no need of thee; Night lxi.neither be niggardlywith them, or they will murmur against thee. Do thygiving soberly and confer thy favours advisedly; be liberalto them in time of affluence and stint them not in time ofstress.’ It is said that an Arab of the desert came once tothe Khalif Mensour[32] and said to him, ‘Starve thy dog andhe will follow thee.’ When the Khalif heard his words, hewas enraged, but Aboulabbas et Tousi said to him, ‘I fearthat, if some other than thou should show him a cake ofbread, the dog would follow him and leave thee.’ Thereuponthe Khalif’s wrath subsided and he knew that theBedouin had meant no offence and ordered him a present.And know, O King, that Abdulmelik ben Merwan wrote tohis brother Abdulaziz, when he sent him to Egypt, as follows:‘Pay heed to thy secretaries and thy chamberlains,for the first will acquaint thee with necessary matters andthe second with matters of etiquette and ceremonial observance,whilst the tribute that goes out from thee willmake thy troops known to thee.’ Omar ben el Khettab[33](whom God accept) was in the habit, when he engageda servant, of laying four conditions on him, the first thathe should not ride the baggage-beasts, the second that heshould not wear fine clothes, the third that he should noteat of the spoil and the fourth that he should not delay topray after the proper time. It is said that there is nowealth better than understanding and no understanding like common sense and prudence and no prudence like thefear of God; that there is no offering like good moralsand no measure like good breeding and no profit likeearning the Divine favour;[34] that there is no piety like theobservance of the limits of the Law and no science likethat of meditation, no devotion like the performance of theDivine precepts, no safeguard like modesty, no calculationlike humility and no nobility like knowledge. So guardthe head and what it contains and the body and what itcomprises and remember death and calamity. Says Ali[35](whose face God honour!), ‘Beware of the wickedness ofwomen and be on thy guard against them. Consult themnot in aught, but be not grudging of complaisance tothem, lest they be tempted to have recourse to intrigue.’And also, ‘He who leaves the path of moderation andsobriety, his wits become perplexed.’ And Omar (whomGod accept) says, ‘There are three kinds of women, first,the true-believing, God-fearing woman, loving and fruitful,helping her husband against fate, not helping fate againsther husband; secondly, she who loves and tenders herchildren, but no more; and thirdly, the woman who isas a shackle that God puts on the neck of whom He will.Men also are three: the first, who is wise, when he exerciseshis judgment; the second, wiser than he, who, whenthere falls on him somewhat of which he knows not theissue, seeks folk of good counsel and acts by their advice;and the third, who is addle-headed, knowing not the rightway nor heeding those who would instruct him.’ Justiceis indispensable in all things; even slave-girls have needof justice; and highway robbers, who live by violence,bear witness of this, for did they not deal equitably amongthemselves and observe fairness in their divisions, theirorder would fall to pieces. For the rest, the chief of noble qualities is generosity and benevolence. How wellsays the poet:
By largesse and mildness the youth chief of his tribe became, And it were easy for thee to follow and do the same.
And quoth another:
In mildness stability lies and clemency wins us respect, And safety in soothfastness is for him who is soothfast and frank;
And he who would get himself praise and renown for his wealth from the folk, In the racecourse of glory must be, for munificence, first in the rank.”
And Nuzhet ez Zeman discoursed upon the policy andbehaviour of kings, till the bystanders said, “Never heardwe one reason of the duties of kings like this damsel!Mayhap she will favour us with discourse upon some subjectother than this.” When she heard this, she said, “Asfor the chapter of good breeding,[36] it is wide of scope, forit is a compend of perfections. There came in one dayto the Khalif Muawiyeh[37] one of his boon-companions, whospoke of the people of Irak and the goodness of their wit;and the Khalif’s wife Meisoun, mother of Yezid, heardhim. So, when he was gone, she said to the Khalif, ‘OCommander of the Faithful, prithee let some of the peopleof Irak come in to thee and talk with them, that I mayhear their discourse.’ So the Khalif said to his attendants,‘Who is at the door?’ And they answered, ‘The BenouTemim.’ ‘Let them come in,’ said he. So they camein and with them Ahnaf ben Caïs.[38] Now Muawiyeh haddrawn a curtain between himself and Meisoun, that shemight hear what they said without being seen herself; and he said to Ahnaf, ‘O Abou Behr,[39] pray, near and tellme what counsel thou hast for me.’ Quoth Ahnaf, ‘Partthy hair and trim thy moustache and clip thy nails andpluck out the hair of thine armpits and shave thy pubesand be constant in the use of the toothstick, for thereinare two-and-seventy virtues, and make the Friday (complete)ablution as an expiation for what is between thetwo Fridays.’ Night lxii.‘What is thy counsel to thyself?’ askedMuawiyeh. ‘To plant my feet firmly on the ground,’ repliedAhnaf, ‘to move them with deliberation and keepwatch over them with my eyes.’ ‘How,’ asked the Khalif,‘dost thou carry thyself, when thou goest in to the commonfolk of thy tribe?’ ‘I lower my eyes modestly,’ repliedAhnaf, ‘and salute them first, abstaining from what doesnot concern me and being sparing of words.’ ‘And how,when thou goest in to thine equals?’ asked Muawiyeh.‘I give ear to them, when they speak,’ answered the other,‘and do not assail them, when they err.’ ‘And how dostthou,’ said the Khalif, ‘when thou goest in to thy chiefs?’‘I salute without making any sign,’ answered Ahnaf, ‘andawait the response: if they bid me draw near, I do so,and if they bid me stand aloof, I withdraw.’ ‘How dostthou with thy wife?’ asked the Khalif. ‘Excuse me fromanswering this, O Commander of the Faithful!’ repliedhe; but Muawiyeh said, ‘I conjure thee to answer.’ Thensaid Ahnaf, ‘I entreat her kindly and show her pleasantfamiliarity and am large in expenditure, for women werecreated of a crooked rib.’ ‘And how,’ asked the Khalif,‘dost thou when thou hast a mind to lie with her?’ ‘Ispeak to her to perfume herself,’ answered the other, ‘andkiss her till she is moved to desire; then, if it be as thouknowest, I throw her on her back. If the seed abide inher womb, I say, “O my God, make it blessed and let itnot be a castaway, but fashion it into a goodly shape!” Then I rise from her and betake myself to the ablution,first pouring water over my hands and then over my bodyand returning thanks to God for the delight He hathgiven me.’ ‘Thou hast answered excellently well,’ saidMuawiyeh; ‘and now tell me what thou wouldst have.’Quoth Ahnaf, ‘I would have thee rule thy subjects in thefear of God and do equal justice amongst them.’ So saying,he withdrew from the Khalif’s presence, and when hehad gone, Meisoun said, ‘Were there but this man in Irak,he would suffice to it.’ This (continued Nuzhet ez Zeman)is a small fraction of the chapter of good breeding. KnowO King, that Muyekib was intendant of the treasury duringthe Khalifate of Omar ben Khettab. Night lxiii.‘One day (quoth he)the Khalif’s son came to me and I gave him a dirhem fromthe treasury. Then I returned to my own house, andpresently, as I was sitting, there came to me a messenger,bidding me to the Khalif. So I was afraid and went tohim, and when I came into his presence, I saw in his handthe dirhem I had given his son. “Harkye, Muyekib,”said he, “I have found somewhat concerning thy soul.”“What is it, O Commander of the Faithful?” asked I; andhe answered, “It is that thou wilt have to render anaccount of this dirhem to the people of Mohammed (onwhom be peace and salvation) on the Day of Resurrection.”’This same Omar wrote a letter to Abou Mousa el Ashari,[40]to the following purport, ‘When these presents reach thee,give the people what is theirs and send the rest to me.’And he did so. When Othman succeeded to the Khalifate,he wrote a like letter to Abou Mousa, who did his biddingand sent him the tribute accordingly, and with it cameZiad.[41] When the latter laid the tribute before Othman,the Khalif’s son came in and took a dirhem, whereupon Ziad fell a-weeping. ‘Why dost thou weep?’ asked Othman.Quoth Ziad, ‘I once brought Omar ben Khettabthe like of this, and his son took a dirhem, whereuponOmar bade snatch it from his hand. Now thy son hathtaken of the tribute, yet have I seen none rebuke him nortake the money from him.’ And Othman said, ‘Wherewilt thou find the like of Omar?’ Again, Zeid ben Aslamrelates of his father that he said, ‘I went out one nightwith Omar, and we walked on till we espied a blazing firein the distance. Quoth Omar, “This must be travellers,who are suffering from the cold: let us join them.” Sowe made for the fire, and when we came to it, we founda woman who had lighted a fire under a cauldron, and byher side were two children, crying. “Peace on you, Ofolk of the light!” said Omar, for he misliked to say, “folkof the fire;”[42] “what ails you?” Quoth she, “The coldand the night irk us.” “What ails these children that theyweep?” asked he. “They are hungry,” replied she. “Andwhat is in this cauldron?” asked Omar. “It is what I quietthem with,” answered she, “and God will question Omarben Khettab of them, on the Day of Resurrection.” “Andwhat,” rejoined the Khalif, “should Omar know of theircase?” “Why then,” said she, “should he undertake thegovernance of the people’s affairs and yet be unmindful ofthem?” Then Omar turned to me and said, “Come withme.” So we both set off running till we reached thetreasury, where he took out a sack of flour and a pot offat and said to me, “Put these on my back.” “O Commanderof the Faithful,” said I, “I will carry them forthee.” “Wilt thou bear my burden for me on the Day ofResurrection?” replied he. So I put the things on hisback, and we set off, running, till we came to the woman,when he threw down the sack. Then he took out someof the flour and put it in the cauldron and saying to the woman, “Leave it to me,” fell to blowing the fire; Nowhe had a great beard and I saw the smoke issuing fromthe interstices thereof, till the flour was cooked, when hethrew in some of the fat and said to the woman, “Do thoufeed the boys whilst I cool the food for them.” So theyate their fill and he left the rest with her. Then he turnedto me and said, “O Aslam, I see it was indeed hungermade them weep; Night lxiv.and I am glad I did not go away withoutfinding out the reason of the light I saw.”’ It is saidthat Omar passed, one day, by a flock of sheep, kept by aslave, and asked the latter to sell him a sheep. ‘They arenot mine,’ replied the shepherd. ‘Thou art the man Isought,’ said Omar and buying him of his master, set himfree, whereupon the slave exclaimed, ‘O my God, thou hastbestowed on me the lesser emancipation; vouchsafe menow the greater!’[43] They say also, that Omar ben Khettabwas wont to give his servants sweet milk and eat coarsefare himself and to clothe them softly and wear himselfcoarse garments. He gave all men their due and exceededin his giving to them. He once gave a man four thousanddirhems and added thereto yet a thousand, wherefore itwas said to him, ‘Why dost thou not favour thy son asthou favourest this man?’ He answered, ‘This man’sfather stood firm in fight on the day of Uhud.’[44] ElHassan relates that Omar once came (back from an expedition)with much money and that Hefseh[45] came to himand said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, be mindful ofthe due of kinship!’ ‘O Hefseh,’ replied he, ‘God hathindeed enjoined us to satisfy the dues of kinship, but ofour own monies, not those of the true believers. Indeed,thou pleasest thy family, but angerest thy father.’ And she went away, dragging her skirts. Says Omar’s son,‘I implored God one year (after Omar’s death) to showme my father, till at last I saw him wiping the sweat fromhis brow and said to him, “How is it with thee, O myfather?” “But for God’s mercy,” answered he, “thy fatherhad perished.”’” Then said Nuzhet ez Zeman, “Hear, Oaugust King, the second division of the first chapter of theinstances of the followers of the Prophet and other piousmen. Says El Hassan of Bassora,[46] ‘Not a soul of the sonsof Adam goes forth of the world, without grieving for threethings, failure to enjoy what he has amassed, failure tocompass what he hoped and failure to provide himselfwith sufficient provision for that to which he goes.’[47] Itwas said to Sufyan,[48] ‘Can a man be devout and yet possesswealth?’ ‘Yes,’ replied he, ‘so he be patient underaffliction and return thanks, when God giveth to him.’When Abdallah ben Sheddad was on his death-bed, hesent for his son Mohammed and admonished him, saying,‘O my son, I see the messenger of death calling me and soI charge thee to cherish the fear of God, both in public andprivate. Praise God and be true in thy speech, for the praiseof God brings increase of prosperity, and piety in itself isthe best of provision,[49] even as says one of the poets:
I see not that bliss lies in filling one’s chest; The God-fearing man can alone be called blest.
For piety aye winneth increase of God; So of all men’s provision ’tis surely the best.’
When Omar ben Abdulaziz[50] succeeded to the Khalifate,he went to his own house and laying hands on all that his family and household possessed, put it into the publictreasury. So the Ommiades[51] betook themselves for aid tohis father’s sister, Fatimeh, daughter of Merwan, and shesent to Omar, saying, ‘I must needs speak with thee.’ Soshe came to him by night, and when he had made heralight from her beast and sit down, he said to her, ‘O aunt,it is for thee to speak first, since it is at thine instance thatwe meet; tell me, therefore, what thou wouldst with me.’‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ replied she, ‘it is thine tospeak first, for thy judgment perceives that which is hiddenfrom the senses.’ Then said the Khalif, ‘Of a verity Godsent Mohammed as a mercy to some and a punishment toothers; Night lxv.and He chose out for him what was with him andwithdrew him to Himself, leaving the people a river,whereof the thirsty of them might drink. After him hemade Abou Bekr the Truth-teller Khalif and he left theriver in its pristine state, doing what was pleasing to God.Then arose Omar and worked a work and furnished fortha strife, of which none might do the like When Othmancame, he diverted a stream from the river, and Muawiyehin his turn sundered several streams from it. In likemanner, Yezid and the sons of Merwan, Abdulmelik andWelid and Suleiman,[52] ceased not to take from the river anddry up the main stream, till the commandment devolvedupon me, and now I am minded to restore the river to itsnormal condition.’ When Fatimeh heard this, she said,‘I came, wishing only to speak and confer with thee, butif this be thy word, I have nothing to say to thee.’ Thenshe returned to the Ommiades and said to them, ‘Seewhat you have brought on you by allying yourselves withOmar ben Khettab.’[53] When Omar was on his death-bed, he gathered his children round him, and Meslemeh[54] benAbdulmelik said to him, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, wiltthou leave thy children beggars and thou their protector?None can hinder thee from giving them in thy lifetimewhat will suffice them out of the treasury; and this indeedwere better than leaving it to revert to him who shall comeafter thee.’ Omar gave him a look of wrath and wonderand replied, ‘O Meslemeh, I have defended them all thedays of my life, and shall I make them miserable after mydeath? My sons are like other men, either obedient toGod the Most High or disobedient: if the former, Godwill prosper them, and if the latter, I will not help themin their disobedience. Know, O Meslemeh, that I waspresent, even as thou, when such an one of the sons ofMerwan was buried, and I fell asleep by him and saw himin a dream given over to one of the punishments of God,to whom belong might and majesty. This terrified meand made me tremble, and I vowed to God that, if everI came to the throne, I would not do as the dead man haddone. This vow I have striven to fulfil all the days of mylife, and I hope to be received into the mercy of my Lord.’Quoth Meslemeh, ‘A certain man died and I was presentat his funeral. I fell asleep and meseemed I saw him, asin a dream, clad in white clothes and walking in a gardenfull of running waters. He came up to me and said, “OMeslemeh, it is for the like of this that governors (or menwho bear rule) should work.”’ Many are the instances ofthis kind, and quoth one of the men of authority, ‘I usedto milk the ewes in the Khalifate of Omar ben Abdulaziz,and one day, I met a shepherd, among whose sheep werewolves. I thought them to be dogs, for I had never beforeseen wolves; so I said to the shepherd, “What dost thouwith these dogs?” “They are not dogs, but wolves,” repliedhe. Quoth I, “Can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them?” “When the head is whole,” replied he, “thebody is whole also.”’ Omar ben Abdulaziz preached oncefrom a mud pulpit, and after praising and glorifying Godthe Most High, said three words and spoke as follows, ‘Ofolk, make clean your hearts, that your outward lives maybe clean to your brethren, and abstain from the things ofthe world. Know that from Adam to this present, there isno one man alive among the dead. Dead are Abdulmelikand those who forewent him, and Omar also will die, andthose who come after him.’ Quoth Meslemeh (to this sameOmar, when he was dying), ‘O Commander of the Faithful,shall we set a pillow behind thee, that thou mayest lean onit a little?’ But Omar answered, ‘I fear lest it be a faultabout my neck on the Day of Resurrection.’ Then hegasped for breath and fell back in a swoon; whereuponFatimeh cried out, saying, ‘Ho, Meryem! Ho, Muzahim!Ho, such an one! Look to this man!’ And she began topour water on him, weeping, till he revived, and seeing herin tears, said to her, ‘O Fatimeh, why dost thou weep?’‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ replied she, ‘I saw theelying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostrationbefore God the Most High in death and of thy departurefrom the world and separation from us. This is what mademe weep.’ ‘Enough, O Fatimeh,’ answered he; ‘indeedthou exceedest.’ Then he would have risen, but fell down,and Fatimeh strained him to her, saying, ‘Thou art tome as my father and my mother, O Commander of theFaithful! We cannot speak to thee, all of us.’[55]Night lxvi.Again(continued Nuzhet ez Zeman), Omar ben Abdulaziz wroteto the people of the festival at Mecca, as follows, ‘I callGod to witness, in the Holy Month, in the Holy City and on the day of the Great Pilgrimage, that I am innocent ofyour oppression and of the wickedness of him that dothyou wrong, in that I have neither commanded this norpurposed it, neither hath any report of aught thereofreached me (till now) nor have I had knowledge of it;and I trust therefore that God will pardon it to me. Nonehath authority from me to do oppression, for I shall assuredlybe questioned (at the Last Day) concerning everyone who hath been wrongfully entreated. So if any oneof my officers swerve from the right and act without lawor authority,[56] ye owe him no obedience, till he return tothe right way.’ He said also (may God accept of him),‘I do not wish to be relieved from death, for that it is thesupreme thing for which the true believer is rewarded.’Quoth one of authority, ‘I went one day to the Commanderof the Faithful, Omar ben Abdulaziz, who was thenKhalif, and saw before him twelve dirhems, which he badetake to the treasury. So I said to him, “O Commander ofthe Faithful, thou impoverishest thy children and reducestthem to beggary, leaving nothing for them. Thou wouldstdo well to appoint somewhat by will to them and to thosewho are poor of the people of thy house.” “Draw near tome,” answered he. So I drew near to him and he said,“As for thy saying, ‘Thou beggarest thy children; providefor them and for the poor of thy household,’ it is withoutreason, for God will replace me to my children and to thosewho are poor of the people of my house, and He will betheir guardian. Verily, they are like other men; he whofears God, God will provide him a happy issue, and he thatis addicted to sin, I will not uphold him in his disobedience.”Then he called his sons before him, and they were twelve innumber. When he beheld them, his eyes filled with tears andhe said to them, “Your father is between two things; either ye will be rich and he will enter the fire, or ye will bepoor and he enter Paradise; and your father’s entry intoParadise is liefer to him than that ye should be rich. Sogo, God be your helper, for to Him I commit your affair.”’Quoth Khalid ben Sefwan,[57] ‘Yusuf ben Omar[58] accompaniedme to Hisham ben Abdulmelik,[59] and I met him ashe came forth with his kinsmen and attendants. Healighted and a tent was pitched for him. When the peoplehad taken their seats, I came up to the side of the carpet(on which the Khalif was reclining) and waiting till my eyesmet his, bespoke him thus, “May God fulfil His bountyto thee, O Commander of the Faithful, and direct into theright way the affairs He hath committed to thy charge, andmay no harm mingle with thy cheer! O Commander ofthe Faithful, I have an admonition for thee, which I havegleaned from the history of the kings of time past!” Atthis, he sat up and said to me, “O son of Sefwan, saywhat is in thy mind.” “O Commander of the Faithful,”quoth I, “one of the kings before thee went forth, in atime before thy time, to this very country and said to hiscompanions, ‘Saw ye ever any in the like of my state orto whom hath been given even as it hath been given untome?’ Now there was with him one of those who surviveto bear testimony to the Faith and are upholders of theTruth and walkers in its highway, and he said, ‘O King,thou askest of a grave matter. Wilt thou give me leaveto answer?’ ‘Yes,’ replied the King, and the other said,‘Dost thou judge thy present state to be temporary orenduring?’ ‘It is a temporary thing,’ replied the King.‘Why then,’ asked the man, ‘do I see thee exult in that which thou wilt enjoy but a little while and whereof thouwilt be questioned at length and for the rendering an accountwhereof thou wilt be as a pledge?’ ‘Whither shall Iflee,’ asked the King, ‘and where is that I must seek?’‘Abide in thy kingship,’ replied the other, ‘and apply thyselfto obey the commandments of God the Most High;or else don thy worn-out clothes and devote thyself to theservice of thy Lord, till thine appointed hour come to thee.’Then he left him, saying, ‘I will come to thee again atdaybreak.’ So he knocked at his door at dawn and foundthat the King had put off his crown and resolved to becomean anchorite, for the stress of his exhortation.”When Hisham heard this, he wept till his beard wasdrenched and putting off his rich apparel, shut himselfup in his palace. Then the grandees and courtiers cameto me and said, “What is this thou hast done with theCommander of the Faithful? Thou hast marred his cheerand troubled his life!”’ But (continued Nuzhet ez Zeman,addressing herself to Sherkan) how many admonitory instancesare there not that bear upon this branch of thesubject! Indeed, it is beyond my power to report all thatpertains to this head in one sitting; Night lxvii.but, with length ofdays, O King of the age, all will be well.”
Then said the Cadis, “O King, of a truth this damsel isthe wonder of the time and the unique pearl of the age!Never in all our lives heard we the like.” And they calleddown blessings on Sherkan and went away. Then said heto his attendants, “Prepare the wedding festivities and makeready food of all kinds.” So they addressed themselves todo his bidding, and he bade the wives of the amirs andviziers and grandees depart not until the time of the wedding-banquetand of the unveiling of the bride. Hardly wasthe time of afternoon-prayer come, when the tables werespread with roast meats and geese and fowls and all thatthe heart can desire or that can delight the eye; and all the people ate till they were satisfied. Moreover, the Kinghad sent for all the singing-women of Damascus and theywere present, together with all the slave-girls of the Kingand the notables who knew how to sing. When the eveningcame and it grew dark, they lighted flambeaux, right andleft, from the gate of the citadel to that of the palace, andthe amirs and viziers and grandees defiled before KingSherkan, whilst the singers and the tire-women took Nuzhetez Zeman, to dress and adorn her, but found she neededno adorning. Meantime King Sherkan went to the bathand coming out, sat down on his bed of estate, whilst theyunveiled the bride before him in seven different dresses;after which they eased her of the weight of her dressesand ornaments and gave such injunctions as are usuallygiven to girls on their wedding-night. Then Sherkan wentin to her and took her maidenhead; and she at once conceivedby him, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joyand commanded the sages to record the date of her conception.On the morrow, he went forth and seated himselfon his throne, and the grandees came in to him and gavehim joy. Then he called his private secretary and badehim write to his father, King Omar ben Ennuman, a letterto the following effect: “Know that I have bought me adamsel, who excels in learning and accomplishment and ismistress of all kinds of knowledge. I have set her freeand married her and she has conceived by me. And needsmust I send her to Baghdad to visit my brother Zoulmekanand my sister Nuzhet ez Zeman.” And he went on topraise her wit and salute his brother and sister, togetherwith the Vizier Dendan and all the amirs. Then he sealedthe letter and despatched it to his father by a courier, whowas absent a whole month, after which time he returnedwith the old King’s answer. Sherkan took it and read asfollows, after the usual preamble, “In the name of God,”etc., “This is from the afflicted and distraught, him who hath lost his children and is (as it were) an exile from hisnative land, King Omar ben Ennuman, to his son Sherkan.Know that, since thy departure from me, the place is becomecontracted upon me, so that I can no longer havepatience nor keep my secret: and the reason of this is asfollows. It chanced that Zoulmekan sought my leave togo on the pilgrimage, but I, fearing for him the shifts offortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year or theyear after. Soon after this, I went out to hunt and wasabsent a whole month. Night lxviii.When I returned, I found that thybrother and sister had taken somewhat of money and setout by stealth with the caravan of pilgrims. When I knewthis, the wide world became strait on me, O my son; butI awaited the return of the caravan, hoping that they wouldreturn with it. Accordingly, when the caravan came back,I questioned the pilgrims of them, but they could give meno news of them; so I put on mourning apparel for them,being heavy at heart and sleepless and drowned in the tearsof my eyes.” Then followed these verses:
Their image is never absent a breathing-while from my breast, I have made it within my bosom the place of the honoured guest,
But that I look for their coming, I would not live for an hour, And but that I see them in dreams, I ne’er should lie down to rest.
The letter went on (after the usual salutations to Sherkanand those of his court), “Do not thou therefore neglect toseek news of them, for indeed this is a dishonour to us.”When Sherkan read the letter, he mourned for his father,but rejoiced in the loss of his brother and sister. NowNuzhet ez Zeman knew not that he was her brother norhe that she was his sister, although he paid her frequentvisits, both by day and by night, till the months of herpregnancy were accomplished and she sat down on the stoolof delivery. God made the delivery easy to her and shegave birth to a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sherkanand said to him, “This is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt.” Quoth he, “Folk use to name their children on theseventh day.” Then he bent down to kiss the child andsaw, hung about her neck, a jewel, which he knew at oncefor one of those that the princess Abrizeh had broughtfrom the land of the Greeks. At this sight, his senses fled,his eyes rolled and wrath seized on him, and he looked atNuzhet ez Zeman and said to her, “O damsel, whencehadst thou this jewel?” When she heard this, she replied,“I am thy lady and the lady of all in thy palace. Artthou not ashamed to say to me, ‘O damsel’?[60] Indeed, Iam a queen, the daughter of a king; and now concealmentshall cease and the truth be made known. I am Nuzhet ezZeman, daughter of King Omar ben Ennuman.” WhenSherkan heard this, he was seized with trembling and bowedhis head towards the earth, Night lxix.whilst his heart throbbed andhis colour paled, for he knew that she was his sister bythe same father. Then he lost his senses; and when herevived, he abode in amazement, but did not discover himselfto her and said to her, “O my lady, art thou indeedthe daughter of King Omar ben Ennuman?” “Yes,” repliedshe; and he said, “Tell me how thou camest to leavethy father and be sold for a slave.” So she told him allthat had befallen her, from first to last, how she had lefther brother sick in Jerusalem and how the Bedouin hadlured her away and sold her to the merchant. WhenSherkan heard this all was certified that she was indeedhis sister, he said to himself, “How can I have my sisterto wife? By Allah, I must marry her to one of my chamberlains;and if the thing get wind, I will avouch that Idivorced her before consummation and married her to mychief chamberlain.” Then he raised his head and said,“O Nuzhet ez Zeman, thou art my very sister; for I amSherkan, son of King Omar ben Ennuman, and may Godforgive us the sin into which we have fallen!” She looked at him and seeing that he spoke the truth, became as onebereft of reason and wept and buffeted her face, exclaiming,“There is no power and no virtue but in God! Verilywe have fallen into grievous sin! What shall I do andwhat answer shall I make my father and my mother, whenthey say to me, ‘Whence hadst thou thy daughter’?”Quoth Sherkan, “I purpose to marry thee to my chiefchamberlain and let thee bring up my daughter in hishouse, that none may know thee to be my sister. Thisthat hath befallen us was ordained of God for a purpose ofHis own, and there is no way to cover ourselves but bythy marriage with the chamberlain, ere any know.” Thenhe fell to comforting her and kissing her head, and shesaid to him, “What wilt thou call the child?” “Call herKuzia Fekan,”[61] replied he. Then he gave her in marriageto the chief chamberlain, and they reared the child in hishouse, on the laps of the slave-girls, till, one day, therecame to King Sherkan a courier from his father, with aletter to the following purport, “In the name of God, etc.Know, O puissant King, that I am sore afflicted for theloss of my children: sleep fails me and wakefulness is everpresent with me. I send thee this letter that thou maystmake ready the tribute of Syria and send it to us, togetherwith the damsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife;for I long to see her and hear her discourse; because therehas come to us from the land of the Greeks a devout oldwoman, with five damsels, high-bosomed maids, endowedwith knowledge and accomplishments and all fashions oflearning that befit mortals; and indeed the tongue fails todescribe this old woman and her companions. As soon asI saw the damsels, I loved them and wished to have themin my palace and at my commandment, for none of thekings possesses the like of them; so I asked the oldwoman their price, and she replied, ‘I will not sell them but for the tribute of Damascus.’ And by Allah, this is butlittle for them, for each one of them is worth the wholeprice. So I agreed to this and took them into my palace,and they remain in my possession. Wherefore do thouexpedite the tribute to us, that the old woman may returnto her own country; and send us the damsel, that she maystrive with them before the doctors; and if she overcomethem, I will send her back to thee with the year’s revenueof Baghdad.” Night lxx.When Sherkan read this letter, he went into his brother-in-law and said to him, “Call the damsel towhom I married thee.” So she came, and he showed herthe letter and said to her, “O my sister, what answerwouldst thou have me make to this letter?” “It is forthee to judge,” replied she. Then she recalled her peopleand her native land and yearned after them; so she saidto him, “Send me and my husband the Chamberlain toBaghdad, that I may tell my father how the Bedouin seizedme and sold me to the merchant, and how thou boughtestme of him and gavest me in marriage to the Chamberlain,after setting me free.” “Be it so,” replied Sherkan. Thenhe made ready the tribute in haste and gave it to theChamberlain, bidding him make ready for Baghdad, andfurnished him with camels and mules and two travellinglitters, one for himself and the other for the princess.Moreover, he wrote a letter to his father and committed itto the Chamberlain. Then he took leave of his sister, afterhe had taken the jewel from her and hung it round hisdaughter’s neck by a chain of fine gold; and she and herhusband set out for Baghdad the same night. Now theircaravan was the very one to which Zoulmekan and hisfriend the stoker had joined themselves, as before related,having waited till the Chamberlain passed them, riding ona dromedary, with his footmen around him. Then Zoulmekanmounted the stoker’s ass and said to the latter, “Dothou mount with me.” But he said, “Not so: I will be thy servant.” Quoth Zoulmekan, “Needs must thou rideawhile.” “It is well,” replied the stoker; “I will ride whenI grow tired.” Then said Zoulmekan, “O my brother, thoushalt see how I will do with thee, when I come to myown people.” So they journeyed on till the sun rose, andwhen it was the hour of the noonday rest, the Chamberlaincalled a halt, and they alighted and rested and wateredtheir camels. Then he gave the signal for departure andthey journeyed for five days, till they came to the city ofHemah, where they made a three days’ halt; then set outagain and fared on, till they reached the province of Diarbekir.Night lxxi.Here there blew on them the breezes of Baghdad,and Zoulmekan bethought him of his father and motherand his native land and how he was returning to his fatherwithout his sister: so he wept and sighed and complained,and his regrets increased on him, and he repeated the followingverses:
How long wilt thou delay from me, belovéd one? I wait: And yet there comes no messenger with tidings of thy fate.
Alack, the time of love-delight and peace was brief indeed! Ah, that the days of parting thus would of their length abate!
Take thou my hand and put aside my mantle and thou’lt find My body wasted sore; and yet I hide my sad estate.
And if thou bid me be consoled for thee, “By God,” I say, “I’ll ne’er forget thee till the Day that calls up small and great!”
“Leave this weeping and lamenting,” said the stoker,“for we are near the Chamberlain’s tent.” Quoth Zoulmekan,“Needs must I recite somewhat of verse, so haplyit may allay the fire of my heart.” “God on thee,” criedthe stoker, “leave this lamentation, till thou come to thineown country; then do what thou wilt, and I will be withthee, wherever thou art.” “By Allah,” replied Zoulmekan,“I cannot forbear from this!” Then he set his face towardsBaghdad and began to repeat verses. Now the moon wasshining brightly and shedding her light on the place, andNuzhet ez Zeman could not sleep that night, but was wakeful and called to mind her brother and wept. Presently,she heard Zoulmekan weeping and repeating thefollowing verses:
The southern lightning gleams in the air And rouses in me the old despair,
The grief for a dear one, loved and lost, Who filled me the cup of joy whilere.
It minds me of her who fled away And left me friendless and sick and bare.
O soft-shining lightnings, tell me true, Are the days of happiness past fore’er?
Chide not, O blamer of me, for God Hath cursed me with two things hard to bear,
A friend who left me to pine alone, And a fortune whose smile was but a snare.
The sweet of my life was gone for aye, When fortune against me did declare;
She brimmed me a cup of grief unmixed, And I must drink it and never spare.
Or ever our meeting ’tide, sweetheart, Methinks I shall die of sheer despair,
I prithee, fortune, bring back the days When we were a happy childish pair;
The days, when we from the shafts of fate, That since have pierced us, in safety were!
Ah, who shall succour the exiled wretch, Who passes the night in dread and care,
And the day in mourning for her whose name, Delight of the Age,[62] bespoke her fair?
The hands of the baseborn sons of shame Have doomed us the wede of woe to wear.
Then he cried out and fell down in a swoon, and whenNuzhet ez Zeman heard his voice in the night, her heartwas solaced and she rose and called the chief eunuch, whosaid to her, “What is thy will?” Quoth she, “Go andfetch me him who recited verses but now.” Night lxxii.“I did nothear him,” replied he; “the people are all asleep.” Andshe said, “Whomsoever thou findest awake, he is theman.” So he went out and sought, but found none awakebut the stoker; for Zoulmekan was still insensible, and going up to the former, said to him, “Art thou he whorecited verses but now, and my lady heard him?” Thestoker concluded that the lady was wroth and was afraidand replied, “By Allah, ’twas not I!” “Who then wasit?” rejoined the eunuch. “Point him out to me. Thoumust know who it was, seeing that thou art awake.” Thestoker feared for Zoulmekan and said in himself, “Maybethe eunuch will do him some hurt.” So he answered, “Iknow not who it was.” “By Allah,” said the eunuch,“thou liest, for there is none awake here but thou! Soneeds must thou know him.” “By Allah,” replied thestoker, “I tell thee the truth! It must have been somepasser-by who recited the verses and disturbed me andaroused me, may God requite him!” Quoth the eunuch,“If thou happen upon him, point him out to me and Iwill lay hands on him and bring him to the door of mylady’s litter; or do thou take him with thine own hand.”“Go back,” said the stoker, “and I will bring him tothee.” So the eunuch went back to his mistress and saidto her, “None knows who it was; it must have been somepasser-by.” And she was silent. Meanwhile, Zoulmekancame to himself and saw that the moon had reached thezenith and felt the breath of the breeze that goes beforethe dawn; whereupon his heart was moved to longing andsadness, and he cleared his throat and was about to reciteverses, when the stoker said to him, “What wilt thou do?”“I have a mind to repeat somewhat of verse,” answeredZoulmekan, “that I may allay therewith the fire of myheart.” Quoth the other, “Thou knowest not what befellme, whilst thou wert aswoon, and how I only escaped deathby beguiling the eunuch.” “Tell me what happened,”said Zoulrnekan. “Whilst thou wert aswoon,” replied thestoker, “there came up to me but now an eunuch, witha long staff of almond-tree wood in his hand, who lookedin all the people’s faces, as they lay asleep, and finding none awake but myself, asked me who it was recited theverses. I told him it was some passer-by; so he wentaway and God delivered me from him; else had he killedme. But first he said to me, ‘If thou hear him again,bring him to us.’” When Zoulmekan heard this, hewept and said, “Who is it would forbid me to recite? Iwill surely do so, come what may; for I am near my owncountry and care for no one.” “Dost thou wish to destroythyself?” asked the stoker; and Zoulmekan answered, “Icannot help reciting verses.” “Verily,” said the stoker,“I see this will bring about a parting between us herethough I had promised myself not to leave thee, till I hadbrought thee to thy native city and re-united thee with thymother and father. Thou hast now been with me a yearand a half, and I have never baulked thee or harmed theein aught. What ails thee then, that thou must needs recite,seeing that we are exceeding weary with travel andwatching and all the folk are asleep, for they need sleepto rest them of their fatigue.” But Zoulmekan answered,“I will not be turned from my purpose.” Then griefmoved him and he threw off disguise and began to repeatthe following verses:
Halt by the camp and hail the ruined steads by the brake, And call on her name aloud; mayhap she will answer make.
And if for her absence the night of sadness darken on thee, Light in its gloom a fire with longings for her sake.
Though the snake of the sand-hills hiss, small matter is it to me If it sting me, so I the fair with the lips of crimson take.
O Paradise, left perforce of the spirit, but that I hope For ease in the mansions of bliss, my heart would surely break!
And these also:
Time was when fortune was to us even as a servant is, And in the loveliest of lands our happy lives did kiss.
Ah, who shall give me back the abode of my belov’d, wherein The Age’s Joy[63] and Place’s Light[64] erst dwelt in peace and bliss?
Then he cried out three times and fell down senseless,and the stoker rose and covered him. When Nuzhet ezZeman heard the first verses, she called to mind her motherand father and brother; and when she heard the second,mentioning the names of herself and her brother and theirsometime home, she wept and calling the eunuch, said tohim, “Out on thee! But now I heard him who recitedthe first time do so again, and that hard by. So, by Allah,an thou fetch him not to me, I will rouse the Chamberlainon thee, and he shall beat thee and turn thee away. Buttake these hundred dinars and give them to him and dohim no hurt, but bring him to me gently. If he refuse,give him this purse of a thousand dinars and leave himand return to me and tell me, after thou hast informedthyself of his place and condition and what countrymanhe is. Night lxxiii.Return quickly and do not linger, and beware lestthou come back and say, ‘I could not find him.’” So theeunuch went out and fell to examining the people andtreading amongst them, but found none awake, for thefolk were all asleep for weariness, till he came to thestoker and saw him sitting up, with his head uncovered.So he drew near him and seizing him by the hand, said tohim, “It was thou didst recite the verses!” The stokerwas affrighted and replied, “No, by Allah, O chief of thepeople, it was not I!” But the eunuch said, “I will notleave thee till thou show me who it was; for I fear to returnto my lady without him.” Thereupon the stoker fearedfor Zoulmekan and wept sore and said to the eunuch, “ByAllah, it was not I, nor do I know who it was. I onlyheard some passer-by recite verses: so do not thou commitsin on me, for I am a stranger and come from Jerusalem,and Abraham the Friend of God be with thee!”“Come thou with me,” rejoined the eunuch, “and tell mylady this with thine own mouth, for I see none awake butthee.” Quoth the stoker, “Hast thou not seen me sitting here and dost thou not know my station? Thou knowestnone can stir from his place, except the guards seize him.So go thou to thy mistress and if thou hear any one recitingagain, whether it be near or far, it will be I or someone whom I shall know, and thou shalt not know of him butby me.” Then he kissed the eunuch’s head and spoke himfair, till he went away; but he made a circuit and returningsecretly, came and hid himself behind the stoker, fearingto go back to his mistress empty-handed. As soon as hewas gone, the stoker aroused Zoulmekan and said to him,“Awake and sit up, that I may tell thee what has happened.”So Zoulmekan sat up, and the stoker told himwhat had passed, and he answered, “Let me alone; I willtake no heed of this and I care for none, for I am near myown country.” Quoth the stoker, “Why wilt thou obeythine own inclinations and the promptings of the devil?If thou fearest no one, I fear for thee and myself; so Godon thee, recite no more verses, till thou come to thine owncountry! Indeed, I had not thought thee so self-willed.Dost thou not know that this lady is the wife of theChamberlain and is minded to chide thee for disturbingher. Belike, she is ill or restless for fatigue, and this is thesecond time she hath sent the eunuch to look for thee.”However, Zoulmekan paid no heed to him, but cried out athird time and repeated the following verses:
The carping tribe I needs must flee; Their railing chafes my misery.
They blame and chide at me nor know They do but fan the flame in me.
“She is consoled,” they say. And I, “Can one consoled for country be?”
Quoth they, “How beautiful she is!” And I, “How dear-belov’d is she!”
“How high her rank!” say they; and I, “How base is my humility!”
Now God forfend I leave to love, Deep though I drink of agony!
Nor will I heed the railing race, Who carp at me for loving thee.
Hardly had he made an end of these verses when theeunuch, who had heard him from his hiding, came up tohim; whereupon the stoker fled and stood afar off, to see what passed between them. Then said the eunuch toZoulmekan, “Peace be on thee, O my lord!” Night lxxiv.“And onthee be peace,” replied Zoulmekan, “and the mercy ofGod and His blessing!” “O my lord,” continued theeunuch, “this is the third time I have sought thee thisnight, for my mistress bids thee to her.” Quoth Zoulmekan,“Whence comes this bitch that seeks for me?May God curse her and her husband too!” And he beganto revile the eunuch, who could make him no answer, becausehis mistress had charged him to do Zoulmekan noviolence nor bring him, save of his free will, and if hewould not come, to give him the thousand dinars. So hebegan to speak him fair and say to him, “O my lord, takethis (purse) and go with me. We will do thee no unrightnor wrong thee in aught; but we would have thee bendthy gracious steps with me to my mistress, to speak withher and return in peace and safety; and thou shalt havea handsome present.” When Zoulmekan heard this, hearose and went with the eunuch, stepping over the sleepingfolk, whilst the stoker followed them at a distance,saying to himself, “Alas, the pity of his youth! To-morrowthey will hang him. How base it will be of him, if he sayit was I who bade him recite the verses!” And he drewnear to them and stood, watching them, without theirknowledge, till they came to Nuzhet ez Zeman’s tent, whenthe eunuch went in to her and said, “O my lady, I havebrought thee him whom thou soughtest, and he is a youth,fair of face and bearing the marks of gentle breeding.”When she heard this, her heart fluttered and she said,“Let him recite some verses, that I may hear him nearat hand, and after ask him his name and extraction.” Sothe eunuch went out to Zoulmekan and said to him, “Recitewhat verses thou knowest, for my lady is here hardby, listening to thee, and after I will ask thee of thy nameand extraction and condition.” “Willingly,” replied he; “but as for my name, it is blotted out and my trace amongmen is passed away and my body wasted. I have a story,the beginning of which is not known nor can the end ofit be described, and behold, I am even as one who hathexceeded in drinking wine, till he hath lost the masteryof himself and is afflicted with distempers and wandersfrom his right mind, being perplexed about his case anddrowned in the sea of melancholy.” When Nuzhet ezZeman heard this, she broke out into loud weeping andsobbing and said to the eunuch, “Ask him if he have losta beloved one, such as his father or mother.” The eunuchdid as she bade him, and Zoulmekan replied, “Yes, I havelost all whom I loved: but the dearest of all to me wasmy sister, from whom Fate hath parted me.” When Nuzhetez Zeman heard this, she exclaimed, “May God the MostHigh reunite him with those he loves!” Night lxxv.Then said she tothe eunuch, “Tell him to let me hear somewhat on thesubject of his separation from his people and his country.”The eunuch did so, and Zoulmekan sighed heavily andrepeated the following verses:
Ah, would that I knew they were ware Of the worth of the heart they have won!
Would I knew through what passes they fare, From what quarter they look on the sun!
Are they living, I wonder, or dead? Can it be that their life’s race is run?
Ah, the lover is ever distraught And his life for misgivings undone!
And also these:
I vow, if e’er the place shall bless my longing sight, Wherein my sister dwells, the age’s dear delight,[65]
I’ll take my fill of life and all the sweets of peace, Midst trees and flowing streams and maidens fair and bright
The lute’s enchanting tones shall soothe me to repose, What while I quaff full cups of wine like living light
And honeyed dews of love suck from the deep-red lips Of lovelings sleepy-eyed, with tresses black as night.
When he had finished, Nuzhet ez Zeman lifted up acorner of the curtain of the litter and looked at him. Assoon as her eyes fell on him, she knew him for certain andcried out, “O my brother! O Zoulmekan!” He looked ather and knew her and cried out, “O my sister! O Nuzhetez Zeman!” Then she threw herself upon him, and hereceived her in his arms, and they both fell down in aswoon. When the eunuch saw this, he wondered andthrowing over them somewhat to cover them, waited tillthey should recover. After awhile, they came to themselves,and Nuzhet ez Zeman rejoiced exceedingly. Griefand anxiety left her and joys flocked upon her and sherepeated the following verses:
Fate swore ’twould never cease to plague my life and make me rue. Thou hast not kept thine oath, O Fate; so look thou penance do.
Gladness is come and my belov’d is here to succour me; So rise unto the summoner of joys, and quickly too.
I had no faith in Paradise of olden time, until I won the nectar of its streams from lips of damask hue.
When Zoulmekan heard this, he pressed his sister to hisbreast, whilst, for the excess of his joy, the tears streamedfrom his eyes and he repeated the following verses:
Long time have I bewailed the severance of our loves, With tears that from my lids streamed down like burning rain,
And vowed that, if the days should reunite us two, My lips should never speak of severance again.
Joy hath o’erwhelmed me so, that, for the very stress Of that which gladdens me, to weeping I am fain.
Tears are become to you a habit, O my eyes, So that ye weep alike for gladness and for pain.
They sat awhile at the door of the litter, conversing, tillshe said to him, “Come with me into the litter and tellme all that has befallen thee, and I will do the like.” Sothey entered and Zoulmekan said, “Do thou begin.” Accordingly,she told him all that had happened to her since their separation and said, “Praised be God who hathvouchsafed thee to me and ordained that, even as we leftour father together, so we shall return to him together!Now tell me how it has fared with thee since I left thee.”So he told her all that had befallen him and how God hadsent the stoker to him, and how he had journeyed withhim and spent his money on him and tended him nightand day. She praised the stoker for this, and Zoulmekanadded, “Indeed, O my sister, the man hath dealt with mein such benevolent wise as would not a lover with hismistress or a father with his son, for that he fasted andgave me to eat, and went afoot, whilst he made me ride;and I owe my life to him.” “God willing,” said she, “wewill requite him for all this, according to our power.”Then she called the eunuch, who came and kissed Zoulmekan’shand, and she said, “Take thy reward for gladtidings, O face of good omen! It was thy hand reunitedme with my brother; so the purse I gave thee and itscontents are thine. But now go to thy master and bringhim quickly to me.” The eunuch rejoiced and goingto the Chamberlain, summoned him to his mistress. Accordingly,he came in to his wife and finding Zoulmekanwith her, asked who he was. So she told him all thathad befallen them, first and last, and added, “Know, OChamberlain, that thou hast gotten no slave-girl to wifebut the daughter of King Omar ben Ennuman: for I amNuzhet ez Zeman, and this is my brother Zoulmekan.”When the Chamberlain heard her story, he knew it forthe manifest truth and was certified that he was becomeKing Omar ben Ennuman’s son-in-law and said to himself,“I shall surely be made governor of some province.”Then he went up to Zoulmekan and gave him joy of hissafety and re-union with his sister, and bade his servantsforthwith make him ready a tent and one of the best ofhis own horses to ride. Then said Nuzhet ez Zeman, “We are now near my country and I would fain be alonewith my brother, that we may enjoy one another’s companyand take our fill of each other, before we reachBaghdad; for we have been long parted.” “Be it asthou wilt,” replied the Chamberlain and going forth, sentthem wax candles and various kinds of sweetmeats, togetherwith three costly suits of clothes for Zoulmekan.Then he returned to the litter, and Nuzhet ez Zeman saidto him, “Bid the eunuch find the stoker and give him ahorse to ride and provide him a tray of food morning andevening, and let him be forbidden to leave us.” TheChamberlain called the eunuch and charged him accordingly;so he took his pages with him and went out insearch of the stoker, whom he found at the tail of thecaravan, saddling his ass and preparing for flight. Thetears were running down his cheeks, out of fear for himselfand grief for his separation from Zoulmekan, and he wassaying to himself, “Indeed, I warned him for the love ofGod, but he would not listen to me. O that I knew whatis become of him!” Before he had done speaking, theeunuch came up and stood behind him, whilst the pagessurrounded him. Night lxxvi.The stoker turned and seeing the eunuchand the pages round him, changed colour and trembled inevery nerve for affright, exclaiming, “Verily, he knows notthe value of the good offices I have done him! I believehe has denounced me to the eunuch and made me anaccomplice in his offence.” Then the eunuch cried outat him, saying, “Who was it recited the verses? Liar thatthou art, why didst thou tell me that thou knewest not whoit was, when it was thy companion? But now I will notleave thee till we come to Baghdad, and what betides thycomrade shall betide thee.” Quoth the stoker, “Verily,what I feared has fallen on me.” And he repeated thefollowing verse:
’Tis e’en as I feared it would be: We are God’s and to Him return we.
Then said the eunuch to the pages, “Take him off theass.” So they took him off the ass and setting him ona horse, carried him along with the caravan, surrounded bythe pages, to whom said the eunuch, “If a hair of him bemissing, it shall be the worse for you.” But he bade themprivily treat him with consideration and not humiliate him.When the stoker saw himself in this case, he gave himselfup for lost and turning to the eunuch, said to him, “Ochief, I am neither this youth’s brother nor anywise akinto him; but I was a stoker in a bath and found him lyingasleep on the fuel-heap.” Then the caravan fared on andthe stoker wept and imagined a thousand things in himself,whilst the eunuch walked by his side and told him nothing,but said to him, “You disturbed our mistress by recitingverses, thou and the lad: but have no fear for thyself.”This he said, laughing at him the while in himself. Whenthe caravan halted, they brought them food, and he andthe eunuch ate from one dish. Then the eunuch let bringa gugglet of sherbet of sugar and after drinking himself,gave it to the stoker, who drank; but all the while histears ceased not flowing, out of fear for himself and grieffor his separation from Zoulmekan and for what had befallenthem in their strangerhood. So they travelled onwith the caravan, whilst the Chamberlain now rode by thedoor of his wife’s litter, in attendance on Zoulmekan andthe princess, and now gave an eye to the stoker, and Nuzhetez Zeman and her brother occupied themselves with converseand mutual condolence; and so they did till theycame within three days’ journey of Baghdad. Here theyalighted at eventide and rested till the morning, whenthey woke and were about to load the beasts, when behold,there appeared afar off a great cloud of dust, that obscuredthe air, till it became as dark as night. Thereupon theChamberlain cried out to them to stay their preparationsfor departure, and mounting with his officers, rode forward in the direction of the dust-cloud. When they drew nearit, they perceived under it a numerous army, like the full-flowingsea, with drums and flags and standards and horsemenand footmen. The Chamberlain marvelled at this:and when the troops saw him, there came forth fromamongst them a troop of five hundred horse, who fellupon him and his suite and surrounded them, five forone; whereupon said he to them, “What is the matterand what are these troops, that ye use us thus?” “Whoart thou?” asked they. “Whence comest thou and whitherart thou bound?” And he answered, “I am the Chamberlainof the Viceroy of Damascus, King Sherkan, son ofKing Omar ben Ennuman, lord of Baghdad and of theland of Khorassan, and I bring tribute and presents fromhim to his father in Baghdad.” When the horsemen heardspeak of King Omar, they let their kerchiefs fall over theirfaces and wept, saying, “Alas! King Omar is dead, andhe died poisoned. But fare ye on,—no harm shall befallyou,—and join his Grand Vizier Dendan.” When theChamberlain heard this, he wept sore and exclaimed,“Alas, our disappointment in this our journey!” Thenhe and his suite rode on, weeping, till they reached themain body of the army and sought access to the VizierDendan, who called a halt and causing his pavilion to bepitched, sat down on a couch therein and commanded toadmit the Chamberlain. Then he bade him be seated andquestioned him; and he replied that he was the Viceroy’sChamberlain of Damascus and was bound to King Omarwith presents and the tribute of Syria. The Vizier weptat the mention of King Omar’s name and said, “KingOmar is dead by poison, and the folk fell out amongstthemselves as to whom they should make king after him,so that they were like to come to blows on this account;but the notables and grandees interposed and restoredpeace, and the people agreed to refer the matter to the decision of the four Cadis, who adjudged that we shouldgo to Damascus and fetch thence the late king’s sonSherkan and make him king over his father’s realm. Someof them would have chosen his second son Zoulmekan,were it not that he and his sister Nuzhet ez Zeman setout five years ago for Mecca, and none knows what is becomeof them.” When the Chamberlain heard this, heknew that his wife had told him the truth and grieved sorefor the death of King Omar, what while he was greatlyrejoiced, especially at the arrival of Zoulmekan, for thathe would now become King of Baghdad in his father’sroom. Night lxxvii.So he turned to the Vizier and said to him, “Verily,your affair is a wonder of wonders! Know, O chiefVizier, that here, where you have encountered me, Godgiveth you rest from fatigue and bringeth you that youdesire after the easiest of fashions, in that He restoreth toyou Zoulmekan and his sister Nuzhet ez Zeman, wherebythe matter is settled and made easy.” When the Vizierheard this, he rejoiced greatly and said, “O Chamberlain,tell me their story and the reason of their having been solong absent.” So he repeated to him the whole story andtold him that Nuzhet ez Zeman was his wife. As soon ashe had made an end of his tale, the Vizier sent for theamirs and viziers and grandees and acquainted them withthe matter; whereat they rejoiced greatly and wonderedat the happy chance. Then they went in to the Chamberlainand did their service to him, kissing the earth beforehim; and the Vizier Dendan also rose and stood beforehim, in token of respect. After this the Chamberlain helda great council, and he and the Vizier sat upon a throne,whilst all the amirs and officers of state took their placesbefore them, according to their several ranks. Then theydissolved sugar in rose-water and drank, after which theamirs sat down to hold council and bade the rest mountand ride forward leisurely, till they should make an end of their deliberations and overtake them. So the officerskissed the earth before them and mounting, rode onward,preceded by the standards of war. When the amirs hadfinished their conference, they mounted and rejoined thetroops; and the Chamberlain said to the Vizier Dendan,“I think it well to ride on before you, that I may notifyZoulmekan of your coming and choice of him as Sultanover the head of his brother Sherkan, and that I maymake him ready a place befitting his dignity.” “It iswell thought,” answered the Vizier. Then the Chamberlainrose and Dendan also rose, to do him honour, andbrought him presents, which he conjured him to accept.On like wise did all the amirs and officers of state, callingdown blessings on him and saying to him, “Mayhap thouwill make mention of our case to King Zoulmekan andspeak to him to continue us in our dignities.” TheChamberlain promised what they asked and the VizierDendan sent with him tents and bade the tent-pitchersset them up at a day’s journey from the city. Then theChamberlain mounted and rode forward, full of joy andsaying in himself, “How blessed is this journey!” Andindeed his wife was exalted in his eyes, she and her brotherZoulmekan. They made all haste, till they reached a placedistant a day’s journey from Baghdad, where he called ahalt and bade his men alight and make ready a sittingplace for the Sultan Zoulmekan, whilst he rode forwardwith his pages and alighting at a distance from Nuzhet ezZeman’s litter, commanded the eunuchs to ask the princess’sleave to admit him. They did so and she gaveleave; whereupon he went in to her and her brother andtold them of the death of their father, King Omar benEnnuman, and how the heads of the people had madeZoulmekan king over them in his stead; and he gave themjoy of the kingdom. When they heard this, they bothwept for their father and asked the manner of his death. “The news rests with the Vizier Dendan,” replied theChamberlain, “who will be here to-morrow with all thetroops; and it only remains for thee, O prince, to do whatthey counsel, since they have chosen thee King; for ifthou do not this, they will crown another, and thou canstnot be sure of thyself with another king. Haply he will killthee, or discord may befall between you and the kingdompass out of your hands.” Zoulmekan bowed his headawhile, then raised it and said, “I accept;” for indeedhe saw that the Chamberlain had counselled him rightlyand that there was no refusing; “but, O uncle, how shallI do with my brother Sherkan?” “O my son,” repliedthe Chamberlain, “thy brother will be Sultan of Damascus,and thou Sultan of Baghdad; so gird up thy resolutionand prepare to do what befits thy case.” Then he presentedhim with a suit of royal raiment and a dagger ofstate, that the Vizier Dendan had brought with him, andleaving him, returned to the tent-pitchers and bade themchoose out a spot of rising ground and pitch thereon aspacious and splendid pavilion, wherein the Sultan mightsit to receive the amirs and grandees. Then he orderedthe cooks to make ready rich food and serve it up and thewater-carriers to set up the water-troughs. They did ashe bade them and presently there arose a cloud of dustand spread till it obscured the horizon. After awhile, thebreeze dispersed it, Night lxxviii.and there appeared under it the armyof Baghdad and Khorassan, led by the Vizier Dendan, allrejoicing in the accession of Zoulmekan. Now Zoulmekanhad donned the royal robes and girt himself with the swordof state: so the Chamberlain brought him a steed and hemounted, surrounded by the rest of the company on foot,and rode between the tents, till he came to the royalpavilion, where he entered and sat down, with the royaldagger across his thighs, whilst the Chamberlain stood inattendance on him and his servants stationed themselves in the vestibule of the pavilion, with drawn swords in theirhands. Presently, up came the troops and sought admissionto the King’s presence; so the Chamberlain went into Zoulmekan and asked his leave, whereupon he badeadmit them, ten by ten. Accordingly, the Chamberlainwent out to them and acquainted them with the King’sorders, to which they replied, “We hear and obey.” Thenhe took ten of them and carried them, through the vestibule,into the presence of the Sultan, whom when theysaw, they were awed; but he received them with theutmost kindness and promised them all good. So theygave him joy of his safe return and invoked God’s blessingupon him, after which they took the oath of fealty to him,and kissing the earth before him, withdrew. Then otherten entered and he received them in the same manner;and they ceased not to enter, ten by ten, till none wasleft but the Vizier Dendan. So he went in and kissed theearth before Zoulmekan, who rose to meet him, saying,“Welcome, O noble Vizier and father! Verily, thine actsare those of a precious counsellor, and judgment and foresightare in the hands of the Subtle, the All Wise.” Thenhe commanded the Chamberlain to go out and cause thetables to be spread at once and bid the troops thereto.So they came and ate and drank. Moreover, he badeDendan call a ten days’ halt of the army, that he mightbe private with him and learn from him the manner ofhis father’s death. Accordingly, the Vizier went forth andtransmitted the King’s wishes to the troops, who receivedhis commands with submission and wished him eternityof glory. Moreover, he gave them leave to divert themselvesand ordered that none of the lords in waiting shouldgo in to the King for his service for the space of three days.Then Zoulmekan waited till nightfall, when he went in tohis sister Nuzhet ez Zeman and said to her, “Dost thouknow the fashion of my father’s death or not?” “I have no knowledge of it,” replied she, and drew a silken curtainbefore herself, whilst Zoulmekan seated himself withoutthe curtain and sending for the Vizier, bade him relate tohim in detail the manner of King Omar’s death. “Knowthen, O King,” replied Dendan, “that King Omar benEnnuman, when he returned to Baghdad from his huntingexcursion, enquired for thee and thy sister, but could notfind you and knew that you had gone on the pilgrimage,whereat he was greatly concerned and angered, and hisbreast was contracted. He abode thus a whole year, seekingnews of you from all who came and went, but nonecould give him any tidings of you. At the end of thistime, as we were one day in attendance upon him, therecame to us an old woman, as she were a devotee, accompaniedby five damsels, high-bosomed maids, like moons,endowed with such beauty and grace as the tongue fails todescribe; and to crown their perfections, they knew theKoran by heart and were versed in various kinds of learningand in the histories of bygone peoples. The oldwoman sought an audience of the King, and he badeadmit her; whereupon she entered and kissed the groundbefore him. Now I was then sitting by his side, and he,seeing in her the signs of devoutness and asceticism, madeher draw near and sit down by him. So she sat down andsaid to him, ‘Know, O King, that with me are five damsels,whose like no king possesses, for they are endowed withbeauty and grace and wit. They know the Koran and thetraditions and are skilled in all manner of learning and inthe history of bygone peoples. They are here before thee,at thy disposal; for it is by proof that folk are prized ordisdained.’ Thy late father looked at the damsels andtheir favour pleased him; so he said to them, Night lxxix.‘Let eachof you tell me something of what she knows of the historyof bygone folk and peoples of times past.’ Thereuponone of them came forward and kissing the earth before him, spoke as follows, ‘Know, O King, that it behovesthe man of good breeding to eschew impertinence andadorn himself with excellencies, observing the Divine preceptsand shunning mortal sins; and to this he shouldapply himself with the assiduity of one who, if he straytherefrom, is lost; for the foundation of good breedingis virtuous behaviour. Know that the chief reason of existenceis the endeavour after life everlasting and the rightway thereto is the service of God: so it behoves thee todeal righteously with the people; and swerve not from thisrubrick, for the mightier folk are in dignity, the more needthey have of prudence and foresight; and indeed kingsneed this more than common folk, for the general castthemselves into affairs, without taking thought to the issueof them. Be thou prodigal both of thyself and thy treasurein the way of God and know that, if an enemy dispute withthee, thou mayst litigate with him and refute him with proofand ward thyself against him; but as for thy friend, thereis none can judge between thee and him but righteousnessand fair-dealing. Wherefore, choose thy friend for thyself,after thou hast proved him. If he be a man of religion,let him be zealous in observing the external letter of theLaw and versed in its inner meaning, as far as may be:and if he be a man of the world, let him be free-born,sincere, neither ignorant nor perverse, for the ignorantman is such that even his parents might well flee fromhim, and a liar cannot be a true friend, for the word“friend”[66] is derived from “truth,”[67] that emanates fromthe bottom of the heart; and how can this be the case,when falsehood is manifest upon the tongue? Know,therefore, that the observance of the Law profits him whopractises it: so love thy brother, if he be after this fashion,and do not cast him off, even if thou see in him that whichthou mislikest; for a friend is not like a wife whom one can divorce and take again; but his heart is like glass:once broken, it cannot be mended. And God bless himwho says:
Be careful not to hurt men’s hearts nor work them aught of dole, For hard it is to bring again a once estrangéd soul;
And hearts, indeed, whose loves in twain by discord have been rent Are like a broken glass, whose breach may never be made whole.
The wise say (continued she), “The best of friends is hewho is the most assiduous in good counsel, the best ofactions is that which is fairest in its result, and the bestof praise is (not) that which is in the mouths of men.” Itis said also, “It behoves not the believer to neglect tothank God, especially for two favours, health and reason.”Again, “He who honoureth himself, his lust is a lightmatter to him, and he who makes much of small troubles,God afflicts him with great ones: he who obeys his owninclination neglects his duties and he who listens to theslanderer loses the true friend. He who thinks well ofthee, do thou fulfil his thought of thee. He who exceedsin contention sins, and he who does not beware of unrightis not safe from the sword.”
Now will I tell thee somewhat of the duties of judges.Know, O King, that no judgment serves the cause of justiceexcept it be given after deliberation, and it behoves thejudge to treat all people alike, to the intent that the richand noble may not be encouraged to oppression nor thepoor and weak despair of justice. He should extract prooffrom him who complains and impose an oath upon himwho denies; and compromise is lawful between Muslims,except it be a compromise sanctioning an unlawful or forbiddinga lawful thing. If he have done aught during theday, of which he is doubtful, the judge should reconsiderit and apply his discernment to elucidating it, that (if hehave erred) he may revert to the right, for to do justice is areligious obligation and to return to that which is right is better than perseverance in error. Then he should studythe precedents and the law of the case and do equal justicebetween the suitors, fixing his eye upon the truth andcommitting his affair to God, to whom belong might andmajesty. Let him require proof of the complainant, and ifhe adduce it, let him put the defendant to his oath; forthis is the ordinance of God. He should receive the testimonyof competent Muslim witnesses, one against another,for God the Most High hath commanded judges to judgeby externals, He Himself taking charge of the secret things.It behoves the judge also to avoid giving judgment, whilstsuffering from stress of pain or hunger, and that in hisdecisions between the folk he seek to please God, for hewhose intent is pure and who is at peace with his conscience,God shall guarantee him against what is betweenhim and the people. Quoth Ez Zuhri,[68] “There are threethings, which if they be found in a Cadi, he should bedeposed; namely, if he honour the base, love praise andfear dismissal.” It is related that Omar ben Abdulazizonce deposed a Cadi, who asked him why he had done so.“It has come to my knowledge,” replied Omar, “thatthy speech is greater than thy condition.” It is said alsothat Iskender[69] said to his Cadi, “I have invested theewith this function and committed to thee in it my souland my honour and manhood; so do thou guard it withthy soul and thine understanding.” To his cook he said,“Thou art the governor of my body; so look thou tenderit.” To his secretary he said, “Thou art the controller ofmy wit: so do thou watch over me in what thou writestfor me.”’
Night lxxx.With this the first damsel retired and a second one cameforward and kissing the earth seven times before the King thy father, spoke as follows: ‘The sage Lucman[70] said to hisson, “There are three men whom thou shalt not know, butin three several cases; thou shalt not know the merciful manbut in time of anger, nor the brave man but in time of warnor thy friend but when thou hast need of him.” It is saidthat the oppressor shall repent, though the people praisehim, and that the oppressed is safe, though the peopleblame him. Quoth God the Most High,[71] “Think not thatthose who rejoice in their deeds and love to be praised forthat which they have not done, shall escape punishment;indeed there is reserved for them a grievous punishment.”Quoth Mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation),“Works are according to intentions, and to each man isattributed that which he intends.” He saith also, “Thereis a part of the human body, which being whole, all therest is whole, and which being corrupt, the whole body iscorrupt; it is the heart. And indeed the heart is the mostmarvellous part of man, since it is that which ordereth hiswhole affair; if covetise stir in it, desire destroys him, andif affliction master it, anguish slays him: if anger rage init, danger is sore upon him, and if it be blest with contentment,he is safe from discontent; if fear overtake it, heis filled with mourning, and if calamity smite it, afflictionbetideth him. If a man gain wealth, his heart is peradventurediverted thereby from the remembrance of hisLord, and if poverty afflict him, his heart is distracted bycare, or if disquietude waste his heart, weakness reduceshim to impotence. So, in any case, there is nothing willprofit him but that he be mindful of God and occupy himselfwith gaining his living and securing his place inParadise.” It was asked of a certain wise man, “Who isthe most ill-conditioned of men?” “He,” replied the sage, “whose lusts master his manhood and whose mind exceedsin the pursuit of objects of high emprise, so that his knowledgeincreases and his excuse diminishes; and how excellentis what the poet says:
The freest of all men from need of the arrogant meddler am I, The fool who’s unguided of God and judges the folk all awry;
For wealth and good gifts are a loan and each man at last shall be clad As it were in a mantle, with that which hid in his bosom doth lie.
If thou enter on aught by a door that is other than right, thou wilt err; But the right door will dead thee aright, for sure, if thou enter there by.”
As for anecdotes of devotees (continued the maiden),quoth Hisham ben Besher, “I said to Omar ben Ubeid,‘What is true devoutness?’ and he answered, ‘The Prophet(whom God bless and preserve) hath expounded it, whenhe says, “The devout is he who takes thought to deathand calamity and prefers that which is eternal to thatwhich passes away, who counts not the morrow as of hisdays, but reckons himself among the dead.”’” And itis related that Abou Dherr[72] used to say, “Poverty isdearer to me than riches and sickness than health.” Quothone of the listeners, “May God have mercy on AbouDherr! For my part, I say, ‘He who puts his trust inthe goodness of the election of God the Most High shouldbe content with that condition of which the Almightyhath made choice for him.’” Quoth one of the Companions(of the Prophet), “Ibn Ali Aqfa[73] prayed withus the morning-prayer one day. When he had done,he read the seventy-fourth chapter (of the Koran), beginning,‘O thou that coverest thyself!’ till he came to whereGod says, ‘When the trumpet is blown,’ and fell downdead.” It is said that Thabit el Benani wept till he well-nigh lost his eyes. They brought him a man to tend him,who said to him, “I will cure thee, provided thou do mybidding.” “In what respect?” asked Thabit. “In thatthou leave weeping,” replied the physician. “What is theuse of my eyes,” rejoined Thabit, “if they do not weep?”Night lxxxi.Said a man to Mohammed ibn Abdallah, “Exhort me.”“I exhort thee,” replied he, “to be an abstinent possessorin this world and a greedy slave in the next.” “How so?”asked the other; and Mohammed said, “The abstinentman in this world possesses both this world and the worldto come.” Quoth Ghauth ben Abdallah, “There were twobrothers among the people of Israel, one of whom said tothe other, ‘What is the worst thing thou hast done?’ ‘Oneday,’ answered the other, ‘I came upon a nest of youngbirds; so I took out one and threw it back into the nest;but the others drew apart from it. This is the worst thingI ever did; so now tell me what is the worst thing thouhast ever done.’ ‘When I betake myself to prayer,’ rejoinedthe first, ‘I am fearful to have done so only for the sake ofthe reward. This is the worst thing I have done.’ Nowtheir father heard what they said and exclaimed, ‘O myGod, if they speak the truth, take them to Thyself!’ Quothone of the wise men, ‘Verily these were of the most virtuousof children.’” Quoth Said ben Jubeir,[74] “I was oncein company with Fuzaleh ibn Ubeid and said to him, ‘Giveme some good counsel.’ ‘Bear in mind these two things,’replied he. ‘Attribute no partner to God, and do no hurtto any of His creatures.’ And he repeated the followingverses:
Be as thou wilt and banish dread and care, For God is bountiful and debonair;
So of two things, the doing hurt to men And giving God a partner, thou beware.”
And how well saith the poet:
If thou neglect with pious works for death to furnish thee And after meet with one equipped with store of piety,
Thou wilt, when all too late, repent that thou wert not like him And didst not for the other world make ready as did he.’
Then the second damsel withdrew and a third came forwardand spoke as follows. ‘Indeed, the chapter of pietyis a very wide one; but I will mention what occurs to methereof, concerning pious men of old time. Quoth a certainholy man, “I rejoice in death, though I am not assuredof ease therein, save that I know death interposes betweena man and his works; so I hope for multiplication of goodworks and cessation of evil ones.” Itaa es Selemi, whenhe had made an end of an exhortation, was wont to trembleand weep sore. It was asked him why he did this and hereplied, “I purpose (or am about) to enter upon a gravematter, and it is the standing up before God the MostHigh, to do in accordance with my exhortation.” In likemanner Zein el Aabidin[75] was wont to tremble when herose to pray. Being asked the reason of this, he replied,“Do ye not know before whom I stand and to whom Iaddress myself?” It is said that there lived near Sufyaneth Thauri[76] a blind man who, when the month of Ramazancame, went out with the folk to pray, but remained silentand hung back (in repeating the prayers). Said Sufyan,“On the Day of Resurrection, he shall come with the people of theKoran[77] and they will be distinguished fromtheir fellows by excess of honour.” Quoth Sufyan, “Werethe soul stablished in the heart as it befits, it would flyaway, for joy and longing for Paradise and grief and fear of hell-fire.” It is related also of Sufyan that he said, “Tolook upon the face of a tyrant is a sin.”’
Then the third damsel retired and a fourth came forward,who said, ‘I will treat of sundry traditions of piousmen. It is related that Bishr el Hafi[78] said, “I once heardKhalid say, ‘Beware of secret hypocrisy.’ Quoth I, ‘Whatis secret hypocrisy?’ He answered, ‘When one of you, inpraying, prolongs his inclinations and prostrations till acause of impurity[79] come upon him.’” Quoth one of thesages, “The doing of good works expiates evil deeds.”Quoth Ibrahim ben Adhem,[80] “I sought assiduously of Bishrel Hafi that he should acquaint me with some of the theologicalmysteries; but he said, ‘O my son, it behoves us notto teach this knowledge to every one; of every hundred,five, even as the poor-rate upon money.’ I thought hisanswer excellent, and when I went to pray, I saw Bishrpraying: so I stood behind him, inclining myself in prayer,till the Muezzin made his call. Then rose a man of poorappearance and said, ‘O folk, beware of truth, when it ishurtful, for there is no harm in beneficial falsehood, and incompulsion is no choice: speech profits not in the absenceof good qualities nor is there any hurt in silence, when theyexist.’ Presently I saw Bishr drop a danic[81] so I pickedit up and exchanged it for a dirhem, which I gave him.‘I will not take it,’ said he. Quoth I, ‘It is a fair exchange;’but he answered, ‘I cannot barter the riches ofthe world to come for those of this world.’” It is reportedalso that Bishr’s sister once went to Ahmed ben Hembel[82]and said to him, Night lxxxii.“O Imam of the Faith, we are a family that work for our living by day and spin thread by night; andoftentimes, the cressets of the watch of Baghdad pass byand we on the roof spinning by their light. Is this forbiddento us?” “Who art thou?” asked Ahmed. “I amthe sister of Bishr el Hafi,” replied she. “O household ofBishr,” rejoined the Imam, “I shall never cease to quafffull draughts of piety and continence from your hearts.”Quoth one of the learned, “When God wills well to anyman, he opens upon him the gate of action.” Malik ibnDinar,[83] when he passed through the bazaar and saw aughtthat he wished for, was wont to say, “O soul, take patience,for I will not accord to thee what thou desirest.” He saidalso (may God accept of him), “The salvation of the soullies in resistance to its desires and its ruin in submissionto them.” Quoth Mensour ben Ammar,[84] “I set out oneyear on the pilgrimage and was making for Mecca by wayof Cufa, when, one overcast night, I heard a voice cryingout from the womb of the night and saying, ‘O my God,by Thy power and Thy glory, I meant not by my disobedienceto transgress against Thee, for indeed I am notignorant of Thee; but my fault is one Thou didst fore-ordainto me from all eternity; so do Thou pardon memy sin, for indeed I disobeyed Thee of my ignorance!’When he had made an end of his prayer, he recitedaloud the verse, ‘O ye who believe, keep yourselves andyour households from the fire whose fuel is men andstones!’[85] Then I heard a fall, but knew not what it wasand passed on. On the morrow, as we went our way, wefell in with a funeral train, followed by an old woman,whose strength had left her. I questioned her of the dead,and she replied, ‘This is the funeral of a man who passedby us yesterday, whilst my son was standing at prayer. The latter recited a verse from the Book of God the MostHigh, when behold the man’s gall-bladder burst and hefell dead.’”’
Therewith the fourth damsel retired and the fifth, comingforward, spoke as follows: ‘I also will repeat what occursto me in the way of devotional anecdotes. Meslemeh benDinar used to say, “The making sound the secret thoughtscovers sins, both great and small, and when the believeris resolved to leave sinning, help comes to him.” Also,“Every piece of good fortune, that does not draw onenearer to God, is a calamity, for a little of thisworld distracts from a great deal of the world to come and a greatdeal of the first makes thee forget the whole of the latter.”It was asked of Abou Hazim,[86] “Who is the most fortunateof men?” “He who spends his life in the service of God,”replied he. “And who is the most foolish of mankind?”asked the other. “He who sells his part in the world tocome for the worldly goods of others,” answered AbouHazim. It is reported that Moses (on whom be peace),when he came to the waters of Midian, exclaimed, “O myLord, indeed I am in need of that which Thou sendestdown to me of good!” And he asked of his Lord andnot of his folk. There came two damsels and he drewwater for them and gave not precedence to the shepherds.When they returned to their father Jethro (on whom bepeace!) they told him, and he said to one of them, “Haply,he is hungry: go back to him and bid him hither.” Soshe covered her face and returning to Moses, said to him,“My father bids thee to him, that he may reward thee forhaving drawn water for us.” Moses was averse to this andunwilling to follow her. Now she was a woman large inthe buttocks, and the wind blowing upon her gown, discoveredthis; which when Moses saw, he lowered his eyesand said to her, “Do thou walk behind me.” So she followed him, till he came to Jethro’s house, where the eveningmeal was ready. Night lxxxiii.“O Moses,” said Jethro, “I desireto reward thee for having drawn water for them.” But heanswered, “I am of a people who sell nothing of thefashion of the next world for earthly gold and silver.”“O youth,” rejoined Jethro, “nevertheless thou art myguest, and it is my wont and that of my fathers to dohonour to the guest by setting food before him.” SoMoses sat down and ate. Then Jethro hired Moses foreight pilgrimages, that is to say, eight years, and appointedto him for hire the hand of his daughter, and Moses’ serviceto him was to stand for her dowry. As says the HolyWrit of him (quoth Jethro), “I am minded to marry theeto one of these my daughters, on condition that thou serveme eight years, and if thou serve out the ten, it will be ofthine own will, for I do not wish to press hardly onthee.”[87] A certain man once said to one of his friends,“Thou hast made me desolate, for that I have not seenthee this long while.” Quoth the other, “I have been distractedfrom thee by Ibn Shihab; dost thou know him?”“Yes,” replied the first; “he hath been my neighbour thesethirty years, but I have never spoken to him.” “Indeed,”rejoined his friend, “thou forgettest God in forgetting thyneighbour! If thou lovedst God, thou wouldst love thyneighbour. Knowst thou not that a neighbour has a claimupon his neighbour, even as the right of kindred?” QuothHudheifeh, “We entered Mecca with Ibrahim ben Adhem,[88]and whilst making the prescribed circuits about the Kaabeh,we met with Shekic the Balkhi. Quoth Ibrahim to Shekic,‘What is your fashion in your country?’ ‘When we arevouchsafed [food],’ replied he, ‘we eat, and when we sufferhunger, we take patience.’ ‘This is the fashion of the dogs of Balkh,’ rejoined Ibrahim. ‘But we, when we areblest with plenty, we do honour to God, and when we sufferfamine, we praise Him.’ And Shekic seated himself beforeIbrahim and said to him, ‘Thou art my master.’” QuothMohammed ben Amran, “A man once asked of Hatim elAsemm,[89] ‘What maketh thee to trust in God?’ ‘Twothings,’ replied he, ‘I know that what God has appointedfor my daily bread shall be eaten by none but myself; so myheart is at rest as to that; and I know that I was not createdwithout God’s knowledge and am abashed before Him.’”’
Then the fifth damsel retired and the old woman cameforward and kissing the earth before thy father nine times,spoke as follows: ‘Thou hast heard, O King, what theseall have said on the subject of piety; and I will followtheir example in relating what I have heard of the famousmen of times past. It is said that the Imam es Shafi[90]divided the night into three portions, the first for study,the second for sleep and the third for prayer. The ImamAbou Henifeh[90] was wont also to pass half the night inprayer. One day a man pointed him out to another, as hepassed, and said, “Yonder man watches the whole night.”Quoth Abou Henifeh, “When I heard this, I was abashedbefore God, to hear myself praised for what was not in me;so, after this, I used to watch the whole night.” Er Rebyarelates that Es Shafi used to recite the whole Koran seventytimes over during the month of Ramazan, and that inprayer. Quoth Es Shafi (may God accept of him!), “Forten years I never ate my fill of barley-bread, for satietyhardens the heart and deadens the wit and induces sleepand enfeebles one from standing up (to pray).” It is reportedof Abdallah ben Mohammed es Sekra that he said, “I was once talking with Omar, and he said to me, ‘Neversaw I a more God-fearing or eloquent man than Mohammedben Idris es Shafi. I went out one day with ElHarith ben Lebib es Suffar, who was a disciple of ElMuzeni[91] and had a fine voice, and he read the saying ofthe Most High, “On that day, they shall not speak norshall it be permitted to them to excuse themselves.”’[92] Isaw Es Shafi’s colour change; his skin shuddered, and hewas violently moved and fell down senseless. When herevived, he said, ‘I seek refuge with God from the steadof the liars and the fate of the negligent! O my God,the hearts of the wise abase themselves before Thee. Omy God, of Thy goodness, accord to me the remission ofmy sins, adorn me with Thy protection and pardon memy shortcomings, by the magnanimity of Thine essence!’Then I rose and went away.” Quoth one of the pious,“When I entered Baghdad, Es Shafi was there. I satdown on the river-bank, to make the ablution beforeprayer; and as I was thus occupied, there came up onewho said to me, ‘O youth, make thine ablution well andGod will make it well for thee in this world and the worldto come.’ I turned and saw a man, with a company ofpeople after him. So I hastened to finish my ablutionsand followed him. Presently, he turned and said to me,‘Dost thou want aught?’ ‘Yes,’ answered I; ‘I desirethat thou teach me somewhat of that which God the MostHigh hath taught thee.’ ‘Know, then,’ said he, ‘that hewho believes in God the Most High shall be saved andhe who is jealous of his faith shall be delivered from destruction,and he who practises abstinence in this world,his eyes shall be solaced on the morrow (of death). ShallI tell thee any more?’ ‘Assuredly,’ replied I. ‘Abstain from the things of this world,’ continued he, ‘and be greedyof the good of the world to come. Be sincere and faithfulin all thy dealings, and thou shalt be saved with the elect.’Then he went on and I asked about him and was told thathe was the Imam es Shafi.” Es Shafi was wont to say, “Iwould have the folk profit by this wisdom (of mine), oncondition that none of it be attributed to me.” Night lxxxiv.Also, “Inever disputed with any one, but I would that God theMost High should give him the knowledge of the Truthand aid him to expound it; nor did I ever dispute withany, but for the showing forth of the Truth, and I reckednot whether God should manifest it by my lips or his.”He said also (may God accept of him!), “If thou fear togrow conceited of thy learning, bethink thee Whose gracethou seekest and what good it is thou yearnest after andwhat punishment thou dreadest.” It was told to AbouHenifeh that the Commander of the Faithful Abou Jaafer elMensour had named him Cadi and ordered him a presentof ten thousand dirhems; but he would not accept of this;and when the day came on which the money was to bepaid, he prayed the morning-prayer, then covered his headwith his cloak and spoke not. When the Khalif’s messengercame with the money, he went in to the Imam andaccosted him, but he would not speak to him. Quoth themessenger, “This money is lawfully thine.” “I know thatit is lawfully mine,” replied the Imam; “but I abhor thatthe love of tyrants should take hold upon my heart.”“Canst thou not go in to them and guard thyself fromloving them?” asked the other. “Can I look to enterthe sea, without wetting my clothes?” answered AbouHenifeh. Another of Es Shafi’s sayings is as follows:
O soul, if thou be fain to do as I shall say, Thou shalt be free from need and great of grace for aye.
Put far away from thee ambitions and desires, For lo, how oft a wish to death hath led the way!
Among the sayings of Sufyan eth Thauri, with whichhe admonished Ali ben el Hassan es Selemi was the following,“Look that thou practise sincerity and beware offalsehood and treachery and hypocrisy and presumptionfor God annuls good works with either of these things.Borrow not but of Him who is merciful to His debtorsand let thy comrade be one who will cause thee to abstainfrom the world. Let the thought of death be ever presentwith thee and be constant in asking pardon of God andbeseeching of Him peace for what remains of thy life.Give loyal counsel to every true-believer, when he asksthee concerning the things of his faith, and bewareof betraying a believer, for he who betrays a believer betraysGod and His apostle. Avoid dissension and litigation andleave that which awakens doubt in thee, betaking thyselfrather to those things that will not disquiet thee; so shaltthou be at peace. Enjoin that which is just and forbidthat which is evil, so shalt thou be beloved of God. Makefair thine inner man, and God shall make fair thine outerman. Accept the excuse of him who excuses himself tothee and hate none of the true-believers. Draw near untothose that reject thee and forgive those that oppress thee;so shalt thou be the companion of the prophets. Committhine affair to God, both in public and in private, and fearHim with the fear of one who knows that he must die andbe raised again to stand before the Almighty, rememberingthat thou art destined for one of two dwellings, eitherParadise the glorious or the flaming fire.”’ Having spokenthus, the old woman sat down beside the damsels.
When the late King thy father heard their discourse, heknew that they were the most accomplished of the peopleof their time and seeing their beauty and grace and thegreatness of their learning, he showed them all favour.Moreover, he turned to the old woman and entreated herwith honour, setting apart for her and her damsels the palace that had been the lodging of the princess Abrizeh,to which he let carry all that they needed of the best.Here they abode ten days, and whenever the King visitedthem, he found the old woman absorbed in prayer, watchingby night and fasting by day; wherefore love of her tookhold upon his heart and he said to me, ‘O Vizier, verilythis old woman is a pious soul, and reverence for her isstrong in my heart.’ On the eleventh day, the King visitedher, that he might pay her the price of the five damsels;but she said to him, ‘O King, know that the price of thesepasses the competence of men, for I seek for them neithergold nor silver nor jewels, be it little or much.’ The Kingwondered at this and said, ‘O my lady, what is their price?’‘I will not sell them to thee,’ replied she, ‘save on conditionthat thou fast a whole month, watching by nightand fasting by day for the love of God the Most High:but if thou wilt do this, they are thine, to use as thoupleasest.’ The King wondered at the perfectness of herpiety and devotion and abnegation and she was magnifiedin his eyes, and he said, ‘May God make this pious oldwoman to profit us!’ So he agreed to her proposal, andshe said to him, ‘I will help thee with my prayers.’ Thenshe called for a gugglet of water and muttered over itwords in an unknown language and abode awhile, speakingover it things that we understood not. Then she coveredit with a cloth and sealing it up, gave it to the King, saying,‘When thou has fasted ten days, break thy fast onthe eleventh night with what is in this cup, for it will rootout the love of the world from thy heart and fill it withlight and faith. As for me, I purpose to go out to-morrowto visit my brethren of the invisible world, for I yearn afterthem, and I will return to thee when the ten days are past.’So the King took the gugglet and setting it apart in acloset of his palace, locked the door and put the key inhis pocket. Next day, the old woman departed and the King entered upon his fast. Night lxxxv.When he had accomplishedthe first ten days thereof, he opened the gugglet and drankwhat was therein and found it cordial to his stomach.Within the next ten days, the old woman returned, bringingsweetmeats wrapped in a green leaf, like no leaf ofa tree. She went in to the King and saluted him; andwhen he saw her he rose to meet her, saying, ‘Welcome,O pious lady!’ ‘O King,’ said she, ‘the spirits salute thee,for I told them of thee, and they rejoiced in thee and havesent thee this cake, which is of the sweetmeats of the otherworld. Do thou break thy fast on it at the end of the day.’The King rejoiced greatly at this and exclaimed, ‘Praisedbe God who hath given me brethren of the invisible world!’And he thanked the old woman and kissed her handsand entreated her and the damsels with exceeding honour.Then he fasted till twenty days were past, at the end ofwhich time the old woman came to him and said, ‘Know,O King, that I told the spirits of the love that is betweenthee and me and how I had left the damsels with thee,and they were glad that the damsels should belong to aKing like thee; for they were wont, when they saw them,to be strenuous in offering up effectual prayer on theirbehalf. So I would fain carry them to the spirits, thatthey may benefit by their favours, and they shall surely notreturn to thee without some treasure of the treasures of theearth, that thou, after the completion of thy fast, maystoccupy thyself with their dress and help thyself to thefulfilment of thy wishes with that which they shall bringthee.’ The King thanked her and said, ‘But that I fearto cross thee, I would not accept the treasure or aughtelse: but when wilt thou set out with them?’ ‘On theseven-and-twentieth night,’ replied she; ‘and I will bringthem back to thee at the end of the month, by which timethou wilt have accomplished thy fast and they will havehad their courses and be free from impurity. Then they shall become thine and be at thy disposal. By Allah, eachone of them is worth many times thy kingdom!’ ‘I knowit, O pious lady,’ replied the King. Then said the oldwoman, ‘If there be any one in thy palace who is dearto thee, thou wouldst do well to send her with me, thatshe may find solace and seek a blessing of the spirits.’Night lxxxvi.Quoth the King, ‘I have a Greek slave called Sufiyeh, bywhom God hath vouchsafed me two children, a son anda daughter: but they were lost years ago. Take her withthee, that she may get the spirits’ blessing: it may be theywill pray God for her, that her children may be restoredto her.’ ‘It is well,’ replied the old woman; for indeedthis was what she most desired. The King gave not overfasting till the seven-and-twentieth night, when the oldwoman said to him, ‘O my son, I am about to go to thespirits; so bring me Sufiyeh.’ Accordingly, he sent forher and delivered her to the old woman, who placed herwith the other damsels. Then she went in to her chamberand bringing out a sealed cup, presented it to the King,saying, ‘On the thirtieth day, do thou go to the bath andwhen thou comest out, enter one of the closets in thypalace and drink the liquor that is in this cup. Then sleep,and thou shalt attain what thou seekest, and peace be onthee!’ The King was glad and thanked her and kissedher hands. Quoth she, ‘I commend thee to God;’ and hesaid, ‘When shall I see thee again, O pious lady? IndeedI love not to part with thee.’ Then she called downblessings on him and departed with the five damsels andthe Princess Sufiyeh; whilst the King fasted other threedays, till the end of the month, when he went to the bathand coming out, shut himself up in a closet, commandingthat none should go in to him. Then he drank what wasin the cup and lay down to sleep. We sat awaiting himtill the end of the day, but he did not come out and wesaid, ‘Belike he is tired with the bath and with watching by night and fasting by day, and sleepeth.’ So we waitedtill next day; but still he did not come out. Then westood at the closet-door and cried aloud, so haply he mightawake and ask what was the matter. But nothing came ofthis: so at last we lifted the door off its hinges and goingin, found the King dead, with his flesh torn into stripsand his bones broken in pieces. When we saw him in thiscase, it was grievous to us, and we took up the cup andfound in its cover a piece of paper, on which was writtenthe following, ‘He who does evil leaves no regrets behindhim. This is the reward of him who plays the traitor withkings’ daughters and debauches them: and we make knownto all who happen upon this scroll that Sherkan, when hecame to our country, debauched our Princess Abrizeh; nordid this suffice him, but he must take her from us and bringher to you. Then he [Omar ben Ennuman] [debauchedher and] sent her away, in company of a black slave, whoslew her and we found her lying dead in the desert. Thisis none of kings’ fashion, and he who did this is requitedwith nought but his deserts. So do ye suspect none ofhaving killed him, for none slew him but the cunningwitch, whose name is Dhat ed Dewahi. And behold, Ihave taken the King’s wife Sufiyeh and have carried herto her father King Afridoun of Constantinople. Moreover,we will assuredly make war upon you and kill you and takeyour land from you, and ye shall be cut off even to thelast man, nor shall there be left of you a living soul, no,nor a blower of the fire, except he serve the Cross and theGirdle.’ When we read this, we knew that the old womanhad cheated us and carried out her plot against us: so wecried out and buffeted our faces and wept sore. However,weeping availed us nothing and the troops fell out as towhom they should make Sultan. Some would have theeand others thy brother Sherkan; and we ceased not towrangle about this for the space of a month, at the end of which time certain of us drew together and agreed torepair to thy brother Sherkan. So we set out and journeyedon till we fell in with thee: and this is the mannerof the death of King Omar ben Ennuman.”
When the Vizier had made an end of his story, Zoulmekanand his sister wept, and the Chamberlain wept also.Then said the latter to Zoulmekan, “O King, weepingwill profit thee nothing; nor will aught avail thee but thatthou fortify thy heart and strengthen thy resolution andstablish thy power; for verily he is not dead who leavesthe like of thee behind him.” So Zoulmekan gave overweeping and causing his throne to be set up without thepavilion, commanded the army to pass in review beforehim. Then he sat down on the throne, with the Chamberlainby his side and all the arm-bearers behind him, whilstthe Vizier Dendan and the rest of the amirs and grandeesstood before him, each in his several room. Then saidZoulmekan to Dendan, “Acquaint me with the particularsof my father’s treasures.” Dendan answered, “I hear andobey,” and gave him to know the amount and nature ofthe late King’s treasure and what was in the treasury ofmoney and jewels and other precious things. So Zoulmekangave largesse to the army and bestowed a sumptuousdress of honour on the Vizier Dendan, saying, “I confirmthee in thine office.” Whereupon Dendan kissed the earthbefore him and wished him long life. Then he bestoweddresses of honour on the amirs, after which he turned tothe Chamberlain and said, “Bring out before us the tributeof Damascus, that is with thee.” So he laid before himthe chests of money and jewels and rarities, and he tookthem and divided them all amongst the troops, till therewas nothing left. Night lxxxvii.And the amirs kissed the ground beforehim and wished him long life, saying, “Never saw we aking, who gave the like of these gifts.” Then they allwent away to their own tents, and when it was morning, Zoulmekan gave orders for departure. So they set out andjourneyed for three days, till on the fourth day they drewnear to Baghdad. When they entered the city, they foundit decorated, and King Zoulmekan went up to his father’spalace and sat down on the throne, whilst the amirs ofthe army and the Vizier Dendan and the Chamberlain ofDamascus stood before him. Then he bade his privatesecretary write a letter to his brother Sherkan, acquaintinghim with all that had passed and adding, “As soon asthou hast read this letter, make ready thine affair and joinus with thine army, that we may make war upon the infidelsand take vengeance on them for our father and wipe outthe stain upon our honour.” Then he folded the letterand sealed it and said to Dendan, “None shall carry thisletter but thou; and I would have thee speak my brotherfair and say to him, ‘If thou have a mind to thy father’skingdom, it is thine, and thy brother shall be Viceroy forthee in Damascus; for to this effect am I instructed byhim.’” So the Vizier went out from before him and proceededto make ready for his journey. Then Zoulmekanset apart a magnificent house for the stoker and furnishedit with sumptuous furniture and lodged him therein. Oneday, he went out a-hunting and as he was returning toBaghdad, one of the amirs presented him with horses offine breeds and damsels whose beauty beggars description.One of the damsels pleased him: so he went in to her andlay with her, and she conceived by him forthright. Afterawhile, the Vizier Dendan returned from Damascus, bringinghim news of his brother Sherkan and that he was thenon his way to him, and said to him, “Thou wouldst dowell to go out to meet him.” Zoulmekan replied, “I hearand obey;” and riding forth with his grandees a day’sjourney from Baghdad, pitched his tents and halted toawait the coming of his brother. Next morning, the armyof Syria appeared, with King Sherkan in its midst, a bold cavalier, a fierce lion and a warrior against whom nonemight make head. As the squadrons drew nigh and thedust-clouds neared and the troops came up with bannersflying, Zoulmekan and his attendants rode forward to meetSherkan; and when the King saw his brother, he wouldhave dismounted, but Sherkan conjured him not to do soand himself set foot to the ground and walked towardshim. As soon as he reached Zoulmekan, the latter threwhimself upon him, and they embraced and wept and condoledwith one another. Then they mounted and rodeonward, they and their troops, till they reached Baghdad,where they alighted and went up to the royal palace andpassed the night there. Next morning, Zoulmekan wentforth and bade proclaim a holy war and summon the troopsfrom all parts. They abode a whole month, awaiting thecoming of the levies, whilst the folk poured in from allparts of the kingdom, and every one who came they entreatedwith honour and munificence and promised himall manner of good. Then Sherkan said to Zoulmekan,“O my brother, tell me thy history.” So he told him allthat had befallen him, first and last, including the benevolentdealing of the stoker with him. “Hast thou requitedhim his kindness to thee?” asked Sherkan. “Not yet,”replied Zoulmekan, “but, God willing, I will surely do so,as soon as I return from this expedition and am at leisureto attend to him.” Night lxxxviii.Therewith, Sherkan was certified thathis sister Nuzhet ez Zeman had told him the truth; buthe concealed what had passed between them and contentedhimself with sending his salutation to her by her husbandthe Chamberlain. She returned his greeting in the samefashion, calling down blessings on him and enquiring afterher daughter Kuzia Fekan, to which he replied that thechild was well and in all health and safety. Then he wentto his brother to take counsel with him for departure; andZoulmekan said, “O my brother, we will set out as soon as the army is complete and the Arabs have come in fromall parts.” So he bade make ready the wheat and otherprovisions and munitions of war and went in to his wife,who was now five months gone with child; and he putunder her hand mathematicians and astrologers, to whomhe appointed stipends and allowances. Then, three monthsafter the arrival of the army of Syria, as soon as the troopswere all assembled and the Arabs had come in, he setout, at the head of his troops, with his brother Sherkanon his right and his brother-in-law the Chamberlain onhis left hand. The name of the general of the army of theMedes was Rustem and that of the general of the armyof the Turks Behram. So the squadrons broke up andmarched forward and the companies and battalions filedpast in battle array, till the whole army was in motion.They ceased not to fare on for the space of a month;halting three days a week to rest, by reason of the greatnessof the host, till they came to the country of theGreeks; and as they drew near, the people of the villagesand hamlets took fright at them and fled to Constantinople.
To return to Dhat ed Dewahi. As soon as she reachedher own country and felt herself in safety, she said to herson, King Herdoub, “Be consoled; for I have avengedthy daughter Abrizeh and killed King Omar ben Ennumanand brought back the Princess Sufiyeh. So now let us goto the King of Constantinople and carry him back hisdaughter and tell him what has happened, that he may beon his guard and prepare his forces and that we may dothe like; for I know that the Muslims will not delay toattack us.” “Let us wait till they draw near our country,”replied Herdoub, “that we may make us ready meantimeand assemble our power.” Accordingly they fell to levyingtheir forces and preparing for war, so that by the time thenews of the Muslims’ advance reached them, they wereready for defence. Then King Herdoub and his mother set out for Constantinople, and King Afridoun, hearing of thearrival of the King of the Greeks, came forth to meet himand asked how it was with him and the cause of his visit.So Herdoub acquainted him with the doing; of his motherDhat ed Dewahi, how she had slain the Muslim king andrecovered the Princess Sufiyeh and that the Muslims hadassembled their forces and were on their way to attackthem, wherefore it behoved that they two should joinpowers and meet them. King Afridoun rejoiced in therecovery of his daughter and the death of King Omar andsent to all countries, to seek succour and acquaint thefolk with the reason of the slaying of King Omar. So theChristian troops flocked to him from all quarters, and beforethree months were past, the army of the Greeks wascomplete, besides which there joined themselves to himthe French and Germans and Ragusans and Genoese andVenetians and all the hosts of the Pale Faces and warriorsfrom all the lands of the Franks, and the earth was straitenedon them by reason of their multitude. Then Afridounthe Great King commanded to depart; so they set out fromConstantinople and ceased not to defile through the cityfor the space of ten days. They fared on till they reacheda spacious valley, hard by the salt sea, where they haltedthree days; and on the fourth day, they were about toset out again, when news came to them of the approachof the army of Islam and the defenders of the faith ofthe Best of Men.[93] So they halted other three days, andon the seventh day, they espied a great cloud of dustwhich spread till it covered the whole country; nor wasan hour of the day past before the dust lifted and meltedaway into the air, and its darkness was pierced and dispersedby the starry sheen of lance-points and spear-headsand the flashing of sword-blades. Presently, there appearedthe banners of Islam and the Mohammedan ensigns and the mailed horsemen surged forward, like the letting looseof the billows of the sea, clad in cuirasses as they wereclouds girdled about moons. Thereupon the Christianhorsemen rode forward and the two hosts met, like twoseas clashing together, and eyes fell upon eyes. The firstto spur into the fight was the Vizier Dendan, with the armyof Syria, thirty thousand cavaliers, followed by Rustem,the general of the Medes, and Behram, the general of theTurks, with other twenty thousand horse, behind whomcame the men of the sea-coast, sheathed in glittering mailas they were full moons passing through a night of clouds.Then the Christian host called upon Jesus and Mary andthe defiled Cross, and fell upon the Vizier Dendan and thearmy of Syria. Now this was in pursuance of a stratagemdevised by Dhat ed Dewahi; for, before his departure,King Afridoun had gone in to her and said, “It is thouhast brought this great stress on us; so do thou advise mehow I shall do and what plan I shall follow.” “O greatKing and mighty priest,” replied she, “I will teach theea shift, which would baffle Iblis himself, though he shouldcall to his aid against it all his grisly hosts. Night lxxxix.It is that yousend fifty thousand men in ships to the Mountain of Smokeand there let them land and stir not till the standards ofIslam come upon you, when do you up and at them. Thenlet the troops from the seaward sally out upon the Muslimsand take them in rear, whilst you confront them from thelandward. So not one of them shall escape, and our stressshall cease and abiding peace enure to us.” Her counselcommended itself to King Afridoun and he replied, “It iswell; thy counsel shall be followed, O princess of cunningold women and recourse of kings warring for their blood-revenge!”So when the army of Islam came upon themin that valley, of a sudden the flames began to run amongthe tents and the swords to play upon men’s bodies. Thencame up the army of Baghdad and Khorassan, six score thousand horse, with Zoulmekan at their head. When thehost of the infidels that lay by the sea saw them, they cameout and followed in their steps, and Zoulmekan, seeing this,cried out to his men, saying, “Turn back to the infidels,O people of the Chosen Prophet, and fall upon those whodeny and transgress the authority of the Compassionate, theMerciful!” So they turned and fought with the Christians,and Sherkan came up with another wing of the Muslimarmy, near six score thousand men, whilst the infidelsnumbered nigh upon sixteen hundred thousand. When theMuslims mingled in the mellay, their hearts werestrengthened and they cried out, saying, “God hathpromised to succour us and abandon the infidels!” Andthey clashed together with swords and spears. As forSherkan, he made himself a passage through the ranksand raged among the masses of the foe, fighting so fiercea battle that it would have made children grow grey forfear; nor did he leave to tourney among the infidels andwork havoc upon them with the keen-edged scimitar,shouting, “God is most great!” till he drove them backto the brink of the sea. Then the strength of the foefailed and God gave the victory to the faith of Submission,[94]and they fought, drunken without wine, till they slew ofthe infidels forty and five thousand in that encounter,whilst of the Muslims but three thousand and five hundredfell. Moreover, the Lion of the Faith, King Sherkan, andhis brother Zoulmekan slept not that night, but occupiedthemselves with looking to the wounded and hearteningtheir men with assurance of victory and salvation andpromise of a recompense in the world to come.
Meanwhile King Afridoun assembled the captains of hishost and said to them, “Verily, we had accomplished ourintent and had solaced our hearts, but for our over-confidencein our numbers: it was that which undid us.” But Dhat ed Dewahi said to them, “Assuredly nought shallprofit you, except ye seek the favour of the Messiah andput your trust in the True Faith; for by the virtue of theMessiah, the whole strength of the Muslims lies in thatdevil, King Sherkan!” “To-morrow,” said Afridoun, “Iwill draw out in battle array and send out against themthe famous cavalier, Luca ben Shemlout; for if KingSherkan come out to joust with him, he will slay him andthe other champions of the Muslims, till not one is left;and I purpose this night to sacre you all by fumigationwith the Holy Incense.” When the amirs heard this, theykissed the earth before him. Now the incense in questionwas the excrement of the Chief Patriarch, which wassought for with such instance and so highly valued, thatthe high priests of the Greeks used to mix it with muskand ambergris and send it to all the countries of theChristians in silken sachets; and kings would pay athousand dinars for every drachm of it, for they soughtit to perfume brides withal and the chief of them werewont to use a little of it in ointment for the eyes and as aremedy in sickness and colic. But the priests used to mixtheir own excrement with it, for that the excrement of theChief Patriarch could not suffice for half a score countries.Night xc.So, as soon as the day broke and the morning appeared withits lights and shone, the horsemen ran to arms, and KingAfridoun summoned the chief of his knights and noblesand invested them with dresses of honour. Then he madethe sign of the cross on their foreheads and incensed themwith the incense aforesaid; after which he called for Lucaben Shemlout, surnamed the Sword of the Messiah, andafter incensing him and rubbing his palate with the holy excrement,daubed and smeared his cheeks and anointed hismoustaches with the remainder. Now there was no stouterchampion in the land of the Greeks than this accursedLuca, nor any doughtier at bowshot or smiting with swords or thrusting with spears in the mellay; but he was foul offavour, for his face was as the face of a jackass, his shapethat of an ape and his look as the look of a malignantserpent, and the being near unto him was more grievousthan parting from the beloved. Moreover, he was black asnight and his breath was fetid as that of the lion; he wascrooked as a bow and grim-visaged as the pard, and hewas branded with the mark of the infidels. He kissedAfridoun’s feet and the King said to him, “It is my wishthat thou go out against Sherkan, King of Damascus, andhasten to deliver us from this affliction.” Quoth Luca, “Ihear and obey.” And the King made the sign of the crosson his forehead and felt assured of speedy help fromheaven, whilst Luca went out and mounted a sorrel horse.Now he was clad in a red tunic and a hauberk of gold setwith jewels and bore a three-barbed spear, as he were Iblisthe accursed on the day of marshalling his hosts to battle.Then he rode forward, he and his troop of infidels, as theywere driving to the Fire, preceded by a herald, cryingaloud in the Arabic tongue and saying, “Ho, followers ofMohammed, let none of you come out to-day but yourchampion Sherkan, the Sword of Islam, lord of Damascusof Syria!” Hardly had he made an end of speaking, whenthere arose a mighty tumult in the plain, all the peopleheard its voice, that called to mind the Day of Weeping.The cowards trembled and all necks turned towards thesound, and behold, it was King Sherkan. For, when Zoulmekansaw that accursed infidel spur out into the plain,he turned to Sherkan and said to him, “Of a surety theyseek for thee.” “Should it be so,” replied Sherkan, “itwere pleasing to me.” So when they heard the herald,they knew Luca to be the champion of the Greeks. Nowhe was one of the greatest of villains, one who made heartsto ache, and had sworn to clear the land of the Muslims;and indeed the Medes and Turks and Kurds feared his mischief. So Sherkan drove at him like an angry lion,mounted on a courser like a wild gazelle, and coming nighto him, shook his javelin in his hand, as it were a dartingviper, and recited the following verses:
I have a sorrel horse, right swift and eath to guide, Shall give thee of its might what thou mayst ill abide.
Ay, and a limber spear I have, full keen of point, As ’twere the dam of deaths upon its shaft did ride;
And eke a trenchant sword of Ind, which when I draw, Thou’dst deem that levins flashed and darted far and wide,
Luca understood not what he said nor did he apprehendthe vehemence of the verse; but he smote his forehead withhis hand, in honour of the cross drawn thereon, and kissedit, then ran at Sherkan with lance pointed at him. Whenhe came within spear-shot, he threw the javelin into theair, till it was lost to sight, and catching it with the otherhand, as do the jugglers, hurled it at Sherkan. It sped fromhis hand, like a shooting star, and the people clamouredand feared for Sherkan: but as it drew near him, he putout his hand and caught it in full flight, to the amazementof the beholders. Then he shook it, till it was well-nighbroken, and hurled it up into the air, till it disappearedfrom sight. As it descended, he caught it again, in lessthan the twinkling of an eye, and cried out from thebottom of his heart, saying, “By the virtue of Him whocreated the seven heavens, I will make this accursed fellowthe byword of the world!” Then he hurled the javelin atLuca ben Shemlout, who thought to do as Sherkan haddone and catch it in mid-flight; but Sherkan made hasteand sped another dart at him, which smote him on theforehead amiddleward the sign of the cross, and Godhurried his soul to the Fire and the Ill Stead.[95] Whenthe infidels saw Luca fall dead, they buffeted their faces, crying, “Alas!” and “Woe worth the day!” and called foraid upon the priests of the monasteries, saying, “Whereare the crosses?” Night xci.So the monks offered up prayers and theChristians all drew together against Sherkan and brandishingtheir swords and lances, rushed forward to the attack.Army met army and men’s breasts fell under the hoofs ofthe horses, whilst the sword and the spear ruled and armsand wrists grew weak and it was as if the horses had beenmade without legs; nor did the herald of war cease to callto battle, till all arms were weary and the day departedand the night came with the darkness. So the two hostsdrew apart whilst every warrior staggered like a drunkenman, for stress of war and much thrusting and smiting,and the ground was hidden with the slain; sore were thewounds and the hurt knew not by whom he died. ThenSherkan joined his brother and the Chamberlain and theVizier Dendan and said to them, “Verily God hath openeda door for the destruction of the infidels, praised be theLord of the Two Worlds!” “Let us never cease to praiseGod,” replied Zoulmekan, “for that He hath dispelledtrouble from the Arabs and the Persians. Indeed the folk,generation after generation, shall tell of thy prowess againstthe accursed Luca, the falsifier of the Evangel,[96] of thycatching the javelin in mid-flight and smiting the enemyof God among men; and thy report shall endure until theend of time.” Then said Sherkan, “Harkye, O grandChamberlain and doughty captain!” “At thy service,” answeredhe. Quoth Sherkan, “Take the Vizier Dendan andtwenty thousand men and lead them, by a forced march,seven parasangs towards the sea, till ye come near theshore, at two parasangs’ distance from the foe. Then hide in the hollows of the ground, till ye hear the tumult of theinfidels disembarking from the ships; and when the swordshave begun to play between us and them and ye see ourtroops falling back, as if defeated, and all the infidels followingthem, as well those in front as those from the seawardand the tents, do ye lie in wait for them: and as soon asye see the standard with the words, ‘There is nogod but God, and Mohammed is His Apostle!’ up withthe green banner and fall on their rear, shouting, ‘God ismost great!’ and do your endeavour, that they may notinterpose between the retreating army and the sea.” TheChamberlain agreed to this, and he and the Vizier Dendantook twenty thousand men and set out at once, even asSherkan had commanded. As soon as it was morningthe troops donned their armour and drawing their swords,set their spears in rest and sprang to horse. Then theChristians drew out in battle array upon the hills andplains and the priests cried out and all heads were uncovered.Moreover, those who were in the ships hoistedthe cross at their mast-heads and making from all sidestowards the shore, landed their horses and addressed themto the fray, whilst the swords glittered and the javelinsglanced like levies against the cuirasses. So they all joinedbattle and the mill-wheels of death rushed round over footmenand horsemen: heads flew from bodies and tonguesgrew mute and eyes dim; gall-bladders burst and skullswere cloven in sunder and wrists shorn in twain; whilst thehorses plashed in pools of blood and men gripped eachother by the beards. The host of Islam called out, “Peaceand blessing on the Prince of Mankind and glory and praisein the highest to the Compassionate One!” whilst the infidelsshouted, “Glory to the Cross and the Girdle and theVine-juice and the Presser and the Priests and the Monksand the Festival of Palms and the Metropolitan!” Presently,Zoulmekan and Sherkan held back and their troops gave way and feigned to retreat before the infidels, who pursuedthem, deeming them routed, and made ready to cut andthrust. Then the host of the Muslims began to chant thefirst verses of the Chapter of the Cow,[97] whilst the slainwere trampled under the hoofs of the horses and theheralds of the Greeks cried out, “Ho, servants of theMessiah! Ho, people of the True Faith! Ho, followersof the Pope! Verily the divine grace shines upon you, forsee, the hosts of Islam incline to flee! So turn ye not yourbacks to them, but let your swords bite on their necks andhold not your hands from them, else are ye outcasts fromthe Messiah, son of Mary, who spoke even in the cradle!”Thereupon Afridoun thought that the infidels were victorious,knowing not that this was but a stratagem of theMuslims, and sent to King Herdoub, to give him the gladtidings of success, adding, “It was nought but the excrementof the Arch-Patriarch that availed us, in that thefragrance of it exhaled from the beards and moustaches ofthe servants of the Cross near and far; and I swear, by theMiracles of the Messiah and by the Waters of Baptism, thatI will not leave upon the earth a single defender of Islam!”[98]Night xcii.So the messenger betook himself to King Herdoub whilstthe infidels called to each other saying, “Let us take ourwreak for Luca!” and King Herdoub cried out, “Vengeancefor Abrizeh!” With this, King Zoulmekan cried out to hismen, saying, “Ho, servants of the Requiting King, up andsmite the children of blasphemy and disobedience withthe white of the sword and the brown of the spear!” Sothe Muslims turned upon the infidels and plied them withthe keen-edged scimitar, whilst their herald cried aloud,“Up, ye lovers of the chosen prophet and at the enemies of the Faith! Now is the time for those, who hope forsalvation on the Day of Fear, to win the favour of theBountiful, the Forgiving One, for verily Paradise is underthe shadow of swords!” So Sherkan and his men fellupon the infidels and cut off their retreat and tourneyedamong the ranks, when lo, a cavalier of goodly presenceopened a passage through the army of the Greeks andcircled hither and thither amongst them, cutting andthrusting and covering the ground with heads and bodies,so that the infidels feared him and their necks bent underhis blows. He was girt with two swords, that of his glancesand a scimitar, and armed with two lances, one of cane andthe other the straightness of his shape; over his shouldersflowed down his hair, whose beauty might have stood himin stead of many warriors, even as says the poet:
Flowing hair, as I deem, is not fair to the sight, Except it be spread, on the day of the fight,
O’er a youth with a spear that he giveth to drink Of the blood of full many a beard-bearing knight.
Or as says another:
I turned to him, what while he girt his faulchion on, and said, “Surely, the sabres of thy looks should stand thee in sword’s stead.”
Quoth he, “The sabres of my looks I keep for those who love, My sword for those who have no wit of passion’s goodlihead.”
When Sherkan saw him, he said to him, “Ho, championof the champions! I conjure thee, by the Koran and theattributes of the Compassionate One, tell me who thouart: for verily by thy deeds this day thou hast pleased theRequiting King, whom one thing distracts not from another,in that thou hast discomfited the children of impiety anddisbelief.” Quoth the horseman, “Thou art he who sworestbrotherhood to me but yesterday: how quickly thou hastforgotten me!” Then he uncovered his face, so that whatwas hidden of his beauty was disclosed, and lo, it was none other than Zoulmekan! When Sherkan knew his brother,he rejoiced in him, except that he feared for him from thethrong of adversaries and the onslaught of the champions;and this for two reasons, the first, his tender age and exposureto the evil eye, and the second, that his life wasthe mainstay of the empire. So he said to him, “O King,thou adventurest thy life, and indeed I am in fear for theefrom the foe; so join thy horse to mine, and thou wouldstdo well not to hazard thyself forth of these squadrons, thatwe may shoot at the enemy with thine unerring shaft.”Quoth Zoulmekan, “I wish to equal thee in battle and I willnot spare myself before thee in fight.” Then the host ofIslam rushed upon the infidels and encompassing them onall sides, waged a right holy war on them and broke thepower of the children of impiety and pride and corruption.King Herdoub sighed when he saw the evil case that hadfallen on the Greeks, and they turned their backs and addressedthemselves to flight, making for the ships, whenlo, there came out upon them from the sea-shore a newarmy, led by the Vizier Dendan, him who was wont tomake the champions bite the dust, and the Chamberlainof Syria, with twenty thousand doughty cavaliers, and fellupon their rear with sword and spear, whilst the army ofIslam pressed them in front and flank. Then some of theMuslims turned against those that were in the ships andrained perditions on them, till they threw themselves intothe sea, and they slew of them much people, more than ahundred thousand knights, nor did one of their championsescape, great or small. Moreover, they took their ships,with all the baggage and treasure therein, and the Muslimsgot that day booty, the like of which was never gotten oftime past; nor did ever ear hear of such a battle. Buttwenty of the ships escaped, and amongst the booty werefifty thousand horses, besides treasure and spoil past countor reckoning, whereat the Muslims rejoiced with an exceeding joy and thanked God for the aid and protectionHe had vouchsafed them.
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Meanwhile, the news reached Constantinople that KingAfridoun had gotten the victory over the Muslims, andDhat ed Dewahi said, “I know that my son King Herdoubis no runagate and that he has nought to fear from thehosts of Islam, but will bring the whole world to theNazarene faith.” Then she commanded the city to bedecorated, and the people held high festival and drankwines, knowing not what God had decreed to them. Whilstthey were in the midst of their rejoicings, behold, the ravenof affliction croaked against them and up came the twentyships of fugitives, amongst them the King of Cæsarea.King Afridoun met them on the sea-shore, and they toldhim all that had befallen them, weeping sore and lamenting,whereupon rejoicing was turned into dismay, and KingAfridoun was filled with consternation and knew that therewas no repairing their mischance. The women gatheredtogether to make moan and lament: and the city was filledwith mourning; all hearts failed, whilst the hired mournerscried aloud and weeping and wailing arose on all sides.When King Herdoub met King Afridoun, he told him thetruth of the case and how the flight of the Muslims wasbut a stratagem and said to him, “Look not to see any ofthe troops, save those that have already reached thee.”When Afridoun heard this, he fell down in a swoonwith his nose under his feet; and as soon as he revivedhe exclaimed, “Surely the Messiah was wroth with thearmy, that he delivered them thus into the hands of theMuslims!” Then came the Arch-Patriarch sadly to KingAfridoun who said to him, “O our father, destruction hathovertaken our army and the Messiah hath punished us.”“Grieve not nor be concerned,” replied the Patriarch; “forit cannot be but that one of you has sinned against theMessiah, and all have been punished for his sin; but now we will read prayers for you in the churches, that theMohammedan hosts may be repelled from you.” Afterthis, Dhat ed Dewahi came to Afridoun and said to him,“O King, verily the Muslims are many, and we shall neverprevail against them, save by wile: wherefore I purpose towork upon them by stratagem and repair to the army ofIslam; haply I may be able to carry out my intent againsttheir leader and slay their champion, even as I slew hisfather. If I succeed, not one of them shall return to hisnative land, for all their strength lies in him; but I wishto have some Christians of Syria, such as go out from timeto time to sell their goods, to help me in carrying out myplan.” “Be it so, whenas thou wilt,” replied the King.So she bade fetch a hundred men, natives of Nejran inSyria, and said to them, “Ye have heard what has befallenthe Christians with the Muslims?” “Yes,” replied they;and the King said, “This woman has devoted herself tothe Messiah and purposes to go forth with you, disguisedas Mohammedans, to work out a device, which shall profitus and hinder the Muslim host from us: so if ye also arewilling to devote yourselves to Christ, I will give you aquintal of gold. Those of you who escape shall have themoney, and those of you who are slain Christ will reward.”“O King,” replied they, “we devote ourselves to theMessiah, and we will be thy sacrifice.” Then the oldwoman took drugs and simples and boiled them in water,till the black essence of them was extracted. She waitedtill it was cold, then dipped the end of a handkerchieftherein [and coloured her face therewith]. Moreover sheput on, over her clothes, a long gaberdine with an embroideredborder and taking in her hand a rosary, wentin to King Afridoun, who knew her not nor did any of hiscompanions know her, till she discovered herself to them,when they all praised her for her cunning and her sonrejoiced and said, “May the Messiah never fail thee!” Then she took with her the Syrian Christians, and set out forthe army of Baghdad. Night xciii.Now this accursed old woman was awitch of the witches, past mistress in sorcery and deception,knavish, crafty, debauched and perfidious, with foul breath,red eyelids, sallow cheeks, pale face, bleared eyes, mangybody, grizzled hair, humped back, withered complexion andrunning nostrils. She had studied the scriptures of Islamand made the pilgrimage to the Holy House of God,[99] tocome to the knowledge of the Mohammedan ordinancesand the doctrines of the Koran; and she had professedJudaïsm in Jerusalem two years’ space, that she mightperfect herself in the magical arts of men and Jinn; sothat she was a plague of plagues and a calamity of calamities,utterly depraved and having no religion. Now thechief reason of her sojourn with her son, King Herdoub,was on account of the maidens at his court: for she wasgiven to tribadism and could not exist without it: so ifany damsel pleased her, she was wont to teach her the artand rub saffron on her, till she fainted away for excess ofpleasure. Whoso obeyed her, she used to favour and makeinterest for her with her son; and whoso repelled her, shewould contrive to destroy. This was known to Merjanehand Rihaneh and Utriyeh, the handmaids of Abrizeh, andthe princess loathed the old woman and abhorred to lie withher because of the ill smell from her armpits and the stenchof her wind, more fetid than carrion, and the roughness ofher body, coarser than palm fibre. She was wont to bribethose who served her desires with jewels and instruction;but Abrizeh held aloof from her and sought refuge with theAll-Wise, the Omniscient; for well does the poet say:
O thou that abasest thyself to those that are rich and great And lordest it with disdain o’er those of low estate,
Thou that thinkest to gild thy baseness by gathering gold, The scenting of aught that’s foul skills not its stench to abate!
To continue. As soon as Dhat ed Dewahi had departed,her son went in to Afridoun and said to him, “O King, wehave no need of the Chief Patriarch nor of his prayers, butwill act according to my mother’s counsel and await whatshe will do of her craft without end with the Muslim host,for they are on the march hither with all their strengthand will quickly be with us.” When King Afridoun heardthis, terror took hold upon his heart and he wrote lettersforthright to all the countries of the Christians, saying, “Itbehoves none of the followers of the Messiah or soldiersof the Cross to hold back, especially the folk of the citadelsand strong places: but let them all come to us foot andhorse and women and children, for the Muslim hostsalready tread our soil. So hasten, hasten, ere what we fearcome to pass.”
Now Dhat ed Dewahi had clad her companions in thehabit of Muslim merchants and had provided herself witha hundred mules laden with stuffs of Antioch, such as gold-wovensatin and royal brocade and so forth, and with aletter from King Afridoun to the following effect: “Theseare merchants from the land of Syria, who have been withus: so it behoves none to do them let or hindrance nortake tithe of them, till they reach their own country andthe place of their security, for by merchants a countryflourishes and grows rich, and these are no men of warnor evil-doers.” So, as soon as she came without the city,she said to them, “O folk, I wish to work out a plot forthe destruction of the Muslims.” “O princess,” repliedthey, “command us what thou wilt; we are at thy disposal,and may the Messiah prosper thy dealing!” Thenshe donned a gown of fine white wool and rubbing herforehead, till she made a great mark (as of a scar), anointedit with an ointment of her own fashion, so that it shonegreatly. Now she was lean-bodied and hollow-eyed, andshe bound her legs tightly round with cords just above her feet, till she drew near the Muslim camp, when sheunwound them, leaving the marks of the cords deeplyembedded in the flesh. Then she anointed the weals withdragon’s blood and bade her companions beat her severelyand lay her in a chest. “How can we beat thee,” repliedthey, “who art our sovereign lady and mother of thesupreme King?” Quoth she, “We blame not nor reproachhim who goeth to the jakes, and in time of necessity,forbidden things become lawful. When ye have laid mein the chest, set it on the back of one of the mules andpass on with it and the other goods through the Muslimcamp, crying aloud the profession of the Faith of Unity.[100]If any hinder you, give up the mules and their lading andbetake yourself to their king Zoulmekan and cast yourselveson his protection, saying, ‘We were in the countryof the infidels and they took nothing from us, but wroteus a passport, that none should hinder us: so why do yeseize upon our goods? See, here is the letter of the Kingof the Greeks, commanding that none shall do us let orhindrance.’ If he say to you, ‘What profit had ye of yourcommerce in the land of the Greeks?’ answer him, ‘Weprofited in that it was given us to accomplish the deliveranceof a pious man, who had lain nigh fifteen years ina dungeon under the earth, crying out for help, yet nonehelped him. On the contrary, the infidels tortured himnight and day. We knew not of this: but after we hadsojourned awhile in Constantinople, having sold our goodsand bought others in their stead, we made ready to set outand return to our native land. We spent the night beforeour departure, conversing about our journey, and when theday broke, we saw a figure painted upon the wall; andbehold, as we drew nigh it, it moved and said, “O Muslims,is there amongst you one who is minded to gain the favourof the Lord of the two worlds?” “How so?” asked we. “Know,” replied the figure, “that God hath made me speakto you, to the intent that your belief may be fortifiedand that your faith may inspire you and that you may goforth of the country of the infidels and repair to the campof the Muslims. where ye shall find the Sword of the CompassionateOne, the Champion of the Age, King Sherkan,him by whom He shall conquer Constantinople and destroythe followers of the Christian heresy. On the third day ofyour journey, you will come to [a town, in which stands]a hermitage known as the hermitage of Metronhena. Makefor it with a pure intent and do your utmost endeavour tocome into the hermitage, for therein is a true believer fromJerusalem, by name Abdallah, one of the holiest of men,whom God hath blessed with supernatural powers, suchas dispel doubts and obscurity. Him certain of themonks seized by fraud and shut in an underground dungeon,where he has lain many a year. So, if ye desire togain the favour of the Lord of the Faithful, ye cannotaccomplish a more acceptable work than the deliveranceof this holy man.” Night xciv.When we heard what the figure said,we knew that this holy man was indeed of the chiefest ofthe devotees and heart-whole servants of God; so we setout and after three days’ journey, came in sight of the town,and making for it, passed the day in buying and selling, asis the wont of merchants. As soon as the day had departedand the night was come with the darkness, we repaired tothe hermitage, wherein was the dungeon, and presentlyheard the holy man chant some verses of the Koran andrepeat the following lines:
I strive with my heart, for anguish that’s well-nigh cleft in twain, And there ebbs and flows in my bosom a flooding sea of pain.
Indeed, there is no deliv’rance, and death is near at hand; Yet death than long affliction were kinder and more fain.
O lightning, if thou visit my native land and folk, If for the fair ones’ lustre thine own red brilliance wane.
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Carry my salutation to those I love and say, I lie in a far Greek dungeon and cry for help in vain.
How can I win to join them, since that the ways with wars Are blocked and the gate of succour is barred with many a chain?’
When once ye have brought me into the Muslim camp,”added the old woman, “I know how I will make shift tobeguile them and slay them all, even to the last man.”When the Christians heard what she said, they kissed herhands and laid her in a chest, after they had beaten hergrievously, in obedience to her commands, seeing it to beincumbent on them to do her bidding in this, then madefor the Muslim camp.
Meanwhile, the Muslims sat down to converse with eachother, after they had made an end of the battle and thepillage, and Zoulmekan said to his brother, “Verily, Godhath given us the victory, because of our just dealing andconcord amongst ourselves; wherefore, O Sherkan, do thoucontinue to obey my commandment, in submission to God(to whom belong might and majesty), for I mean to slayten kings and fifty thousand of the Greeks, in revenge formy father, and enter Constantinople.” “My life be thyransom against death!” replied Sherkan. “Needs mustI follow forth the Holy War, though I tarry many a yearin the infidels’ country. But, O my brother, I have inDamascus a daughter called Kuzia Fekan, who is one ofthe marvels of the time, and I love her heartily.” “AndI also,” said Zoulmekan, “have left my wife with child andnear her time, nor do I know what God will vouchsafe meby her. But, O my brother, promise me that, if she bringme a son, thou wilt grant me thy daughter for my son andpledge me thy faith thereon.” “With all my heart,” repliedSherkan and put out his hand to his brother, saying,“If thou be blessed with a son, I will give him my daughterKuzia Fekan to wife.” At this Zoulmekan rejoiced, andthey fell to giving each other joy of the victory, whilst the Vizier Dendan also congratulated them and said to them,“Know, O Kings, that God hath given us the victory, forthat we have devoted ourselves to Him (to whom belongmight and majesty) and have left our homes and families:and it is my counsel that we follow up the foe and pressupon them and harass them; it may be God shall bringus to our desire and we shall destroy our enemies. If itplease you, do ye embark in the ships and sail upon thesea, whilst we fare forward by land and bear the brunt ofthe battle.” And he ceased not to urge them to action,repeating the following verses:
The goodliest of delights it is one’s foes to slay And on the backs of steeds the spoil to bear away.
Oft comes a messenger with promise of a friend, And the friend comes himself without a trysting-day.
And these also:
As I live, I will make of war my mother and the spear My brother and the sword my father, and for fere
I will take each shag-haired warrior that meets death with a smile, As if to die in battle were e’en his wish most dear!
“Glory be to God,” continued he, “Who hath vouchsafedus His almighty aid and hath given us spoil of silver andfine gold!” Then Zoulmekan commanded to depart; andthe army set out and fared on, by forced marches, towardsConstantinople, till they came to a wide and bloomingchampaign, full of all things fair, with wild cattle friskingand gazelles passing to and fro. Now they had traversedgreat deserts and had been six days cut off from water,when they drew near this meadow and saw therein waterswelling and trees laden with ripe fruits and the land as itwere Paradise; it had donned its adornments and deckeditself.[101] The branches of its trees swayed gently to andfro, drunken with the new wine of the dew, and thereinwere conjoined the fresh sweetness of the fountains of Paradise and the soft breathings of the zephyr. Mindand eye were confounded with its beauty, even as saysthe poet:
Look on the verdant smiling mead, with flowers and herbs beseen, As ’twere the Spring thereon had spread a mantle all of green.
If thou behold it with the eye of sense alone, thou’lt see Nought but as ’twere a lake wherein the water waves, I ween:
But with thy mind’s eye look; thou’lt see a glory in the trees And lo’ amidst the boughs above, the waving banners’ sheen!
Or as another says:
The river’s a cheek that the sun has rosy made; For ringlets it borrows the cassia’s creeping shade.
The water makes anklets of silver about the legs Of the boughs, and the flowers for crowns o’er all are laid.
When Zoulmekan saw this champaign, with its thick-leavedtrees and its blooming flowers and warbling birds,he turned to his brother Sherkan and said to him, “Omy brother, verily Damascus hath not in it the like ofthis place. We will abide here three days, that wemay rest ourselves and that the troops may regain strengthand their souls be fortified to encounter the accursedinfidels.” So they halted and pitched their camp there.Presently, they heard a noise of voices afar, and Zoulmekanenquiring the cause thereof, was told that acaravan of Syrian merchants had halted there to restand that the Muslim troops had come on them andhad haply seized some of their goods, that they hadbrought from the country of the infidels. After awhile,up came the merchants, crying out and appealing tothe King for redress. So Zoulmekan bade bring thembefore him, and they said to him, “O King, we havebeen in the country of the infidels and they spoiled usof nothing: why then do our brothers the Muslims despoilus of our goods, and that in their own country?When we saw your troops, we went up to them, thinking no evil, and they robbed us of what we had with us.”Then they brought out to him the letter of the King ofConstantinople, and Sherkan took it and reading it, saidto them, “We will restore you what has been taken fromyou; but it behoved you not to carry merchandise tothe country of the infidels.” “O our lord,” replied they,“of a truth, God moved us to go thither, that we mightwin what never champion won the like of, no, not eventhou in all thy battles.” “What was it that ye won?”asked Sherkan. “O King,” replied they, “we will nottell thee, except in private; for if this thing be noisedamong the folk, it may come to the ears of the King ofConstantinople, and this will be the cause of our ruin andof the ruin of all Muslims that resort to the land of theGreeks.” (Now they had hidden the chest wherein wasDhat ed Dewahi.) So Zoulmekan and his brother broughtthem to a private place, where they repeated to him thestory of the devotee, even as the old woman had lessonedthem, and wept till they made the two kings weep. Night xcv.TherewithalSherkan’s heart yearned to the devotee and he wasmoved to pity for him and zeal for the service of God theMost High. So he said to the Syrians, “Did ye rescuethe holy man or is he still in the hermitage?” Quoththey, “We delivered him and slew the hermit, fearing forourselves; after which we made haste to fly, for fear ofdeath; but a trusty man told us that in this hermitage arequintals of gold and silver and jewels.” Then they fetchedthe chest and brought out the accursed old woman, as shewere a cassia[102] pod, for excess of blackness and leanness,and laden with fetters and shackles. When Zoulmekanand the bystanders saw her, they took her for a man of thedower of God’s servants and the most excellent of devotees,more by token of the shining of her forehead forthe ointment with which she had anointed it. So Zoulmekan and Sherkan wept sore and kissed her hands andfeet, sobbing aloud: but she signed to them and said,“Give over weeping and hear my words.” So they leftweeping, in obedience to her, and she said, “Know thatI was content to accept what my Lord did unto me, knowingthat the affliction that befell me was a trial from Him(to whom belong might and majesty); since that for himwho is not patient under trial and affliction there is nocoming to the delights of Paradise. I had indeed besoughtHim that I might return to my native land, yet not forimpatience of the sufferings decreed to me, but that Imight die under the hoofs of the horses of the warriors ofthe Faith, who, being slain in battle, live again withoutsuffering death;”[103] and she repeated the following couplets:
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The fortress[104] is Sinaï’s self and the fire of war burns free, And thou art Moses and this the time appointed to thee.
Throw down thy rod, for lo, it shall swallow up all they make! And fear not; I trow the ropes of the folk no serpents be.[105]
Read thou the lines of the foe for chapters,[106] the day of the fight, And let thy sword mark on their necks the verses, what while they flee.
Then her eyes ran over with tears and her forehead shonelike gleaming light, and Sherkan rose and kissed her handand caused food to be set before her: but she refused it,saying, “I have not broken my fast (till sunset) for fifteenyears; and how should I do so now, whenas my Lord hathbeen bountiful to me in delivering me from the captivityof the infidels and doing away from me that which wasmore grievous than the fiery torment? I will wait till sundown.” So at nightfall Sherkan and Zoulmekan came toher with food and said, “Eat, O pious man.” But shesaid, “This is no time for eating; it is the hour for doingmy service to the Requiting King.” Then she took upher station in the prayer-niche and stood praying till thenight was spent; and she ceased not to do thus for threedays and nights, sitting not but at the time of salutation.[107]When Zoulmekan saw this her behaviour, belief in hertook firm hold upon his heart and he said to Sherkan,“Cause a tent of perfumed leather to be pitched for thisholy man and appoint a servant to wait upon him.” Onthe fourth day, she called for food; so they brought herall kinds of meats that could allure the sense or delightthe eye; but of all this she ate but one cake of bread withsalt. Then she turned again to her fast, and when thenight came, she rose anew to pray: and Sherkan said toZoulmekan, “Verily, this man carries renunciation of theworld to the utmost extreme, and were it not for this holywar, I would join myself to him and worship God in hisservice, till I came before His presence. And now I wouldfain enter his tent and talk with him awhile.” “And I also,”said Zoulmekan. “To-morrow we sally forth against Constantinople,and we shall find no time like the present.”“And I also,” said the Vizier Dendan, “desire to see thisholy man; haply he will pray for me that I may find mydeath in this holy war and come to the presence of my Lord,for I am weary of the world.” So as soon as night haddarkened on them, they repaired to the tent of the witchDhat et Dewahi and finding her standing praying, fella-weeping, for pity of her: but she paid no heed to themtill the night was half spent, when she ended her devotionsby pronouncing the salutation (to the guardian angels).Then she turned to them and greeted them, saying, “Wherefore come ye?” “O holy man,” said they, “didstthou not hear us weeping round thee?” “To him whostands before God,” replied she, “there remains nor sightnor hearing for the things of this world.” Quoth they,“We would have thee tell us the manner of thy captivityand offer up prayer for us this night, for that will profit usmore than the possession of Constantinople.” “By Allah,”answered she, “were ye not the leaders of the Muslims, Iwould not tell you aught of this; for I complain not but toGod alone. However, to you I will relate the circumstanceof my captivity. Know, then, that I was in Jerusalem withcertain saints and ecstatics, and did not magnify myselfamong them, for that God had endowed me with humilityand abnegation, till one night I chanced to go down tothe lake and walked upon the water. There withal thereentered into me pride, whence I know not, and I said tomyself, ‘Who can walk upon the water, like unto me?’And from that time my heart became hardened and Godafflicted me with the love of travel. So I journeyed tothe land of the Greeks and visited it in every part during awhole year, leaving no place but I worshipped God therein.When I came to the place (where the Syrians found me)I ascended the mountain and saw there a hermitage, inhabitedby a monk called Metrouhena. When he saw me,he came out to me and kissed my hands and feet, saying,‘Verily, I have seen thee, since thou camest into the landof the Greeks, and thou hast filled me with longing for theland of Islam.’ Then he took my hand and carrying meinto the hermitage, brought me to a dark place, where hetook me unawares and locking the door on me, left methere forty days, without meat or drink; for it was his intentto kill me by starvation. One day it chanced thata knight called Decianus came to the hermitage, accompaniedby ten squires and his daughter Temathil, a girl ofincomparable beauty. The monk told them of me, and Decianus said, ‘Bring him out, for surely there is not abird’s meal of flesh left on him.’ So they opened the doorof the dungeon and found me standing erect in the niche,praying and reciting the Koran and glorifying God andhumbling myself to Him. When they saw this, the monkexclaimed, ‘This man is indeed a sorcerer of the sorcerers!’Then they all came in on me, and Decianus and his companybeat me grievously, till I desired death and reproachedmyself, saying, ‘This is the reward of him who glorifieshimself and takes credit for that which God hath bestowedupon him, beyond his own competence! For, indeed, Omy soul, pride and arrogance have crept into thee. Dostthou not know that pride angers the Lord and hardens theheart and brings men to the fire?’ Then they laid me infetters and returned me to my place, which was a dungeonunder the earth. Every three days, they threw me downa cake of barley-bread and a draught of water; and everymonth or two, came Decianus to the hermitage, with hisdaughter Temathil, who is now grown up, for when I firstsaw her, she was nine years old, and I abode fifteen yearsin the dungeon, so that she must be now four-and-twentyyears of age. There is not in our land nor in the land ofthe Greeks a fairer than she, and her father feared lest theKing (of Constantinople) should take her from him; forshe had vowed herself to the service of the Messiah androde with Decianus in the habit of a cavalier, so that nonewho saw her knew her for a woman. In this hermitageher father had laid up his treasures, for all who had aughtof price were wont to deposit it there, and I saw there allmanner of gold and silver and jewels and precious vesselsand rarities, none may keep count of them save God theMost High. Ye are more worthy of these riches than theinfidels; so do ye lay hands on that which is in the hermitageand divide it among the Muslims, and especiallyamong those who wage the holy war. When these merchants came to Constantinople and sold their merchandise,the image on the wall spoke to them, by God’s specialgrace to me; so they made for the hermitage and torturedMetrouhena, after the most grievous fashion, and draggedhim by the beard, till he showed them where I was, whenthey took me and fled for fear of death. To-morrow,Temathil will visit the hermitage as of wont, and her fatherand his squires will come after her, to protect her: so, anye would be witness of these things, take me with you andI will deliver to you the treasure and the riches of theknight Decianus, that are stored up in that mountain; forI saw them bring out vessels of gold and silver to drinkin and heard a damsel of their company sing to them inArabic. Alas, that so sweet a voice should not be busiedin reciting the Koran! So, an ye will, I will bring you tothe hermitage and ye shall hide there, against the comingof Decianus and his daughter. Then take her, for she isonly fit for the king of the age, Sherkan, or for King Zoulmekan.”When they heard her words, they all rejoiced,with the exception of the Vizier Dendan, who put no faithin her story, for her words took no hold on his reason andhe was confounded at her discourse and signs of doubtand disbelief appeared in his face; but he feared to speakwith her, for awe of the King. Then she said, “I fearlest Decianus come and seeing the troops encamped here,be afraid to enter the hermitage.” So Zoulmekan resolvedto despatch the army towards Constantinople and said, “Imean to take a hundred horse and many mules and makefor the mountain, where we will load the mules with thetreasure.” Then he sent for the Chamberlain and for thecaptains of the Turks and Medes and said to them, “Assoon as it is day, do ye strike camp and set out for Constantinople.Thou, O Chamberlain, shall fill my place incouncil and command, and thou, O Rustem, shalt be mybrother’s deputy in battle. Let none know that we are not with you, and after three days we will rejoin you.” Thenhe chose out a hundred of the stoutest cavaliers, and heand Sherkan and Dendan set out for the hermitage, withmules and chests for the transport of the treasure. Night xcvi.Assoon as it was morning, the Chamberlain gave the signalfor departure, and the troops set out, thinking that the twoKings and the Vizier were with them. Now the Syriansthat were with Dhat ed Dewahi had taken their departureprivily, after they had gone in to her and kissed her handsand feet and gotten her leave and taken her orders. Thenshe waited till it was dark night and going in to Zoulmekanand his companions, said to them, “Come, let us set outfor the mountain, and take with you a few men.” Theyobeyed her and left five horsemen at the foot of the mountain,whilst the rest rode on before Dhat ed Dewahi, towhom new strength seemed given for excess of joy, so thatZoulmekan said to his companions, “Glory be to God whosustains this holy man, whose like we never saw!” Nowshe had written a letter to the King of Constantinople anddespatched it by a carrier-pigeon, acquainting him withwhat had passed and adding, “Do thou send me ten thousandhorsemen of the stoutest of the Greeks and let themcome stealthily along the foot of the mountains, lest theMuslim host get sight of them, to the hermitage and hidethemselves there, till I come to them with the MuslimKing and his brother, for I have inveigled them and willbring them thither, together with the Vizier Dendan anda hundred horse, no more, that I may deliver to them thecrosses that are in the hermitage. I am resolved to slaythe monk Metrouhena, since my scheme cannot be carriedout but at the cost of his life. If my plot work well, notone of the Muslims shall return to his own country, no,not a living soul nor a blower of the fire; and Metrouhenashall be a sacrifice for the followers of the Christianfaith and the servants of the Cross, and praise be to the Messiah, first and last!” When this letter reached Constantinople,the keeper of the pigeons carried it to KingAfridoun, who read it and forthwith equipped ten thousandcavaliers with horses and dromedaries and mules and victualand bade them repair to the hermitage and hide there;and they did as he commanded them. Meanwhile, whenZoulmekan and his companions reached the hermitage,they entered and met the monk Metrouhena, who came outto see who they were; whereupon quoth Dhat ed Dewahi,“Slay this accursed fellow.” So they fell on him with theirswords and made him drink the cup of death. Then theaccursed old woman carried them to the place of offerings[108]and brought out to them treasures and precious things,more than she had promised them, which they laid inchests and loaded the mules therewith. As for Temathiland her father, they came not, for fear of the Muslims, andZoulmekan tarried there, awaiting her, the whole of thatday and two more, till Sherkan said to him, “By Allah, Iam troubled at heart for the army of Islam, for I know notwhat is come of them.” “And I also am concernedfor them,” replied Zoulmekan. “We have come by a greattreasure and I do not believe that Temathil or any one elsewill come to the hermitage, after that which has befallenthe host of the Christians. So we should do well to contentourselves with what God has given us and depart; andhaply He will help us break open Constantinople.” So theycame down from the mountain, for Dhat ed Dewahi darednot gainsay them, for fear of betraying herself, and rodeon till they reached the head of a defile, in which the oldwoman had laid an ambush for them with the ten thousandhorse. As soon as the latter saw them, they made atthem from all sides, couching their lances and baring theirsabres, whilst they shouted the watchword of their infidelfaith and set the arrows of their mischief to the strings. When Zoulmekan saw them, he was ware that they werea mighty host and said, “Who can have given these troopsadvice of us?” “O my brother,” replied Sherkan, “this isno time for talking, but for smiting with swords and shootingwith arrows; so gird up your courage and strengthenyour hearts, for this pass is like a street with two gates:though, by the virtue of the Lord of the Arabs and thePersians, were not the place so strait, I would bring themto nought, though they were a hundred thousand men!”“Had we known this,” said Zoulmekan, “we would havebrought with us five thousand horse.” “If we had tenthousand,” rejoined the Vizier, “they would avail us nothingin this narrow place: but God will succour us againstthem. I know this defile and its straitness, and there aremany places of refuge in it; for I have been here on anexpedition with King Omar ben Ennuman, what while welaid siege to Constantinople. We camped in this place,and there is here water colder than snow. So come, letus win out of this pass ere the infidels increase on us andget the start of us to the mountain-top, that they may hurldown rocks upon us and we be powerless to come at them.”So they hurried on, to get out of the defile: but Dhat edDewahi looked at them and said, “What is it ye fear, yewho have vowed yourselves to God the Most High, towork His will? By Allah, I was imprisoned undergroundfor fifteen years, yet never gainsaid I God in aught He didwith me! Fight ye in the way of God; whoso of ye iskilled, Paradise shall be his abode, and whoso kills, hisendeavour shall be for his glory.” When they heard herwords, their concern and anxiety ceased from them andthey stood firm, awaiting the onset of the infidels, who fellon them from all sides, whilst the swords played upon theirnecks and the cup of death went round amongst them.The Muslims fought right valiantly for the service of Godand wrought upon His enemies with stroke of sword and push of pike; whilst Zoulmekan smote upon the men andmade the champions bite the dust and their heads fly fromtheir bodies, five by five and ten by ten, till he had done todeath a number of them past count. Presently, he lookedat the old woman and saw her waving her sword andheartening them, and all who feared fled to her for shelter;but (in secret) she was beckoning to the infidels to killSherkan. So troop after troop rushed on him to slay him:but each troop he charged and drove back, with the swordin their loins; and indeed he thought it was the holyman’s blessing that gave him the victory over them andsaid in himself, “Verily God looks on this holy man witheyes of favour and strengthens my prowess against theinfidels with the purity of his intent: for I see that theyfear me and cannot stand against me, but every one whoattacks me turns tail and flees.” So they battled the restof the day, and when the night fell, the Muslims tookrefuge in a cave, being hard pressed and weary with stressof battle; and five-and-forty of them were slain that day byrocks that the infidels rolled down on them. When theywere gathered together, they sought the devotee, but couldfind no trace of him. This was grievous to them and theysaid, “Belike, he hath died a martyr.” Quoth Sherkan,“I saw him heartening the men with divine instances andsacring them with verses of the Koran.” Whilst they weretalking, behold, the accursed old woman stood before them,with the head of the captain of the ten thousand horse, anoble knight, a fierce champion and an obstinate devil, inher hand. Now one of the Turks had slain him with anarrow, and God hurried his soul to the fire: and when theinfidels saw what the Muslim had done with their leader,they all fell on him and hewed him in pieces with theirswords, and God hastened with his soul to Paradise. Thenthe old woman cut off the knight’s head and carrying itto Sherkan and Zoulmekan and the Vizier, threw it at their feet; whereupon Sherkan exclaimed, “Praised be God thatwe see thee in safety, O holy man and devout champion ofthe Faith!” “O my son,” replied she, “I have sought amartyr’s death this day, throwing myself midmost the hostof the infidels, but they feared me. When ye separated,a holy jealousy seized me for you; so I rushed on theknight their captain, though he was reckoned a match fora thousand horse, and smote him and severed his headfrom his body. Not one of the infidels could come nearme; Night xcvii.so I took his head and have brought it to you, thatyou may be heartened in the holy strife and work out thewill of the Lord of the Faithful with your swords. Andnow I will leave you to strive against the infidels, whilstI go to your army, though they be at the gates of Constantinople,and return with twenty thousand horse to destroythese unbelievers.” Quoth Sherkan, “How wilt thouwin to them, O holy man, seeing that the valley is blockedup by the infidels on all sides?” “God will veil me fromtheir eyes,” replied she, “and they shall not see me; norif any saw me, would he dare to attack me, for I shall beabsorbed in God and He will fend off His enemies fromme.” “Thou sayst sooth, O holy man,” rejoined Sherkan,“for indeed I have been witness of this; so, if thou canstset out at the first of the night, it will be the better for us.”“I will set out forthright,” replied she; “and, an thou wilt,thou shalt go with me, and none shall see thee. If thybrother also have a mind to go, we will take him, but noneelse; for the shadow of a saint can cover but two.” “Asfor me,” said Sherkan, “I will not leave my comrades;but, if my brother please, he will do well to go with theeand win free of this strait; for he is the stronghold of theMuslims and the sword of the Lord of the two worlds;and if it be his pleasure, let him take with him the VizierDendan, or whom else he may choose, and send us tenthousand horse to succour us against these villains.” So they agreed to this and Dhat ed Dewahi said, “Wait tillI go on before you and look if the infidels be asleep orawake.” Quoth they, “We will go with thee and trust ouraffair to God.” “If I do your bidding,” replied she, “donot blame me, but blame yourselves; for it is my counselthat you wait till I have spied you out the state of thecase.” Then said Sherkan, “Go and return quickly, forwe shall be awaiting thee.” So she went out and Sherkanturned to his brother and said, “Were not this holy mana miracle-worker, he had never slain yonder doughtyknight. This is a sufficient measure of his power, andindeed the strength of the infidels is broken by the slayingof their leader, for he was a fierce warrior and a stubborndevil.” Whilst they were thus devising of the power ofthe devotee, behold, the cursed old woman returned andpromised them victory over the unbelievers; whereuponthey thanked her, and she said, “Where is the king of theage Zoulmekan?” “Here am I,” replied he. “Take thyVizier,” said she, “and follow me, that we may win out toConstantinople.” Now she had acquainted the infidelswith the cheat she had put on the Muslims, and they rejoicedmightily and said, “We shall not be content till wehave slain their king in return for the death of our general;for we had no stouter cavalier than he; but when thoubringest him to us, we will carry him to King Afridoun.”Then she went out with Zoulmekan and Dendan andwalked on before them, saying, “Fare on with the blessingof the Most High God!” They did as she bade them, forthe arrow of fate and destiny had fallen on them, and sheled them on, through the midst of the Christian camp, tillthey came to the narrow pass aforesaid. Whilst the enemywatched them, but did them no hindrance; for the oldwoman had enjoined this on them. When Zoulmekan andDendan saw that the infidels did them no hindrance, theVizier exclaimed, “By Allah, this is one of the holy man’s miracles! Without doubt he is of the elect.” “By Allah,”said Zoulmekan, “I think the infidels must be blind, forwe see them, and they see us not.” Whilst they were thuspraising the holy man and recounting his virtues, behold,the infidels fell upon them from all sides and seized them,saying, “Is there any one else with you, that we may seizeupon him?” Quoth Dendan, “See ye not yon other manthat is before us?” “By the Messiah and the Monks andthe Primate and the Metropolitan,” replied they, “we seenone but you!” And Zoulmekan said, “By Allah, this isa chastisement decreed to us by God!” Night xcviii.Then the Christianslaid shackles on their feet and set men to guard themduring the night, whilst Dhat ed Dewahi fared on and disappearedfrom their sight. So they fell to lamenting andsaid, “Verily, the gainsaying of pious men leads to greaterstress than this, and we are punished by the strait intowhich we have fallen.”
Meanwhile, Sherkan passed the night in the cavern withhis companions, and when the day broke, he arose andprayed the morning-prayer. Then he and his men madeready to do battle with the infidels, and he encouragedthem and promised them all good. Then they sallied outagainst the Christians, who cried out to them from afar assoon as they saw them, saying, “O Muslims, we have takenyour Sultan and your Vizier that has the ordering of youraffairs; and except ye leave fighting us, we will slay you tothe last man, but if ye yield to us, we will take you to ourking, who will make peace with you, on condition that youleave our country and return to your own land and do usno harm, and we will do you no harm. If you accept, itwill be well for you; but if you refuse, you have nothingto hope for but death. So now we have told you, and thisis our last word to you.” When Sherkan heard this andwas certified of the captivity of his brother and the VizierDendan, he was greatly troubled and wept; his strength failed him and he made sure of death, saying inwardly, “Iwonder what was the cause of their capture? Did theyfail of respect to the holy man or disobey him, or what?”Then they rushed upon the unbelievers and slew greatplenty of them. The valiant, that day, was known fromthe faint-hearted, and the swords and spears were dyedwith blood; for the infidels flocked on them from all sides,as flies flock to wine; but Sherkan and his men ceased notto wage the fight of those who fear not death nor let ithinder them from the pursuit of victory, till the valley ranwith blood and the earth was full of the slain. So foughtthey on till nightfall, when the two parties separated, eachto his own place, and the Muslims returned to the grotto,where both victory and loss were manifest to them, andthere was no dependence for them but on God and thesword. That day there had been slain of them five-and-thirtymen of the chief amirs, and they had put to thesword thousands of the infidels, both horse and foot.When Sherkan saw this, the case was grievous to him,and he said to his comrades, “What shall we do?” “Thatwhich God wills,” replied they. On the morning of thesecond day, Sherkan said to the remnant of his troop, “Ifye go forth to fight, not one of you will remain alive andwe have but little food and water left; so meseems yewould do better to draw your swords and stand at the doorof the cavern, to hinder any from entering. Peradventurethe holy man may have traversed the Christian host, withoutbeing seen of the unbelievers, and may win to Constantinopleand return with ten thousand horse, to succourus against the infidels.” “This is the better course,”replied they, “and there is no doubt of its expediency.”So they went out and held the opening of the grotto,standing in its sides; and every one of the infidels whosought to come in, they slew. Thus did they fend off theenemy from the door of the cavern and make head against all their assaults, Night xcix.till the day departed and the night camewith the shadows, by which time King Sherkan had butfive-and-twenty men left. Then said the Christians toeach other, “When shall these battles have an end? Weare weary of fighting the Muslims.” And one of themsaid, “Up and let us fall on them, for there be but five-and-twentyand of them left. If we cannot prevail on them tofight, let us light a fire upon them; and if they submitand yield themselves up, we will take them prisoners: elsewe will leave them to serve as fuel to the fire, so that theyshall become a warning to men of understanding. Maythe Messiah not have mercy on their fathers and may thesojourn of the Christians be no abiding-place for them!”So they repaired to the cavern and heaping up faggots inthe door-way, set fire to them. Thereupon, Sherkan andhis companions made sure of death and yielded themselvesup. The unbelievers thought to kill them, but the knighttheir captain said to those who counselled this, “It is fornone but King Afridoun to kill them, that he may quenchthereby his thirst for vengeance; wherefore it behoves usto keep them prisoners till the morrow, when we willjourney with them to Constantinople and deliver them toKing Afridoun, who shall deal with them as he pleases.”“This is the right course,” replied they; and he commandedto pinion the prisoners and set guards over them. Then,as soon as it was dark, the infidels gave themselvesup to feasting and merry-making and called for wine anddrank, till they all fell backward. Presently, Sherkanturned to his brother Zoulmekan and said to him, “O mybrother, how shall we get free?” “By Allah,” repliedZoulmekan, “I know not; for we are here like birds ina cage.” At this Sherkan was angry and sighed for excessof wrath and stretched himself, till his bonds broke;whereupon he went up to the captain of the guard andtaking from his bosom the keys of the fetters, freed Zoulmekan and Dendan and the rest of the prisoners. Thensaid he, “Let us slay three of these infidels and don theirclothes, we three; so shall we be disguised as Greeks andpass through them without their knowing us, and win outto our army.” “This is no safe counsel,” replied Zoulmekan,“for if we kill them, I fear some of their comradesmay hear their groans and the enemy he roused upon usand kill us. It were better to make our way out of thepass.” So they agreed upon this and set out. When theyhad left the head of the defile a little way behind, they sawhorses picketed and their riders sleeping by them: andSherkan said to his brother, “Let us each take one ofthese steeds.” So they took five-and-twenty horses, onefor each man, and mounted and rode on till they were outof reach, whilst God sent sleep upon the infidels for asecret purpose of His own. Meanwhile, Sherkan gatheredas many swords and spears as he could from the sleepersand faring on after his comrades, found them awaitinghim, on coals of fire on his account, and said to them,“Have no fear, since God protects us. I have that topropose, which meseems will advantage us.” “What isit?” asked they, and he said, “It is that we all climb tothe mountain-top and cry out with one voice, ‘God is mostgreat! The army of Islam is upon you! God is mostgreat!’ If we do this, their company will surely be dissolved,for they are too drunken to find out the trick, butwill think that the Muslim troops have encompassed themon all sides and have become mingled with them; so theywill fall on one another with their swords, in the confusionof drunkenness and sleep, and we will cleave them insunder with their own brands and the sword will go roundamongst them till the morning.” “This plan is not good,”replied Zoulmekan. “We should do better to make ourway to our army and keep silence; for, if we cry out, ‘Godis most great!’ they will wake and fall on us, and not one of us will escape.” “By Allah,” rejoined Sherkan, “thoughthey be roused on us, I desire urgently that ye fall in withmy plan, for nothing but good can come of it.” So theyagreed and ascending the mountain, shouted out, “God ismost great!” And the hills and trees and stones criedout with them, “God is most great!” for the fear of theAlmighty. Night c.When the unbelievers heard this, they startedup from sleep and did on their armour, crying out to oneanother and saying, “By the Messiah, the enemy is uponus.” Then they fell on each other and slew of their ownmen more than any knows save God the Most High. Assoon as it was day, they sought for the captives, but foundthem not, and their captains said, “It was the prisonerswho did this; so up and hasten after them, till ye overtakethem, when we will make them quaff the cup of punishment;and let not trouble nor panic possess you.” Sothey sprang to horse and rode after the fugitives, nor wasit long before they overtook them and surrounded them.When Zoulmekan saw this, he was seized with terror andsaid to his brother, “What I feared is come upon us, andnow it only remains for us to fight for the faith.” ButSherkan held his peace. Then Zoulmekan and his companionsrushed down from the hill-top, crying out, “Godis most great!” and addressed themselves to fight andsell their lives in the service of the Lord of the Faithful,when, behold, they heard many voices crying out, “Thereis no god but God! God is most great! Peace and salvationupon the Bringer of Glad Tidings, the Admonisher ofMankind!”[109] So they turned towards the sound and sawa company of Muslims pricking towards them, whereupontheir courage revived and Sherkan ran at the Christians,crying out, “There is no god but God! God is mostgreat!” so that the earth shook as with an earthquakeand the unbelievers broke asunder and fled into the mountains, whither the Muslims followed them with sword andspear and made their heads fly from their bodies, till theday departed and the night came with the darkness. Thenthe Muslims drew together and passed the night rejoicing;and when the day broke and the morning arose with itslight and shone, they saw Behram, the captain of theMedes, and Rustem, the captain of the Turks, advancingto join them, with twenty thousand cavaliers, as they werefierce lions. As soon as they saw Zoulmekan, the chiefsdismounted and saluting him, kissed the earth before him;and he said to them, “Rejoice ye in the glad news of thevictory of the Muslims and the discomfiture of the unbelievers!”Then they gave each other joy of their deliveranceand of the greatness of the reward that awaitedthem in the world to come.
Now the manner of the coming of the succours was asfollows. When Behram and Rustem and the Chamberlaincame in sight of Constantinople, with the Muslim army,they saw that the Christians had manned the walls andtowers and set all their strengths in order of defence, forthat they knew of the approach of the host of Islam, throughthe craft and perfidy of the old woman Dhat ed Dewahi. So,when they heard the clash of arms and tramp of horse-hoofsand saw the Mohammedan standards and the ensigns ofthe Faith of the Unity of God emerging from the dust-cloudsand heard the voices of the Muslims chanting the Koranaloud and glorifying the Compassionate One, and the armyof Islam drew near, as it were the swollen sea, for the multitudeof footmen and horsemen and women and children,they poured forth like a flight of locusts or the streamingof water from the rain-clouds; and the captain of the Turkssaid to the captain of the Medes, “O Amir, of a truth, weare in jeopardy from the multitude of the foe on the walls.Look at yonder forts and at the folk like the tempestuoussea with its clashing billows. Indeed the infidels out-number us a hundred times and we cannot be sure but thatsome spy may inform them that we are without a leader.Verily, we are in peril from these enemies, whose numbermay not be told and whose extent is limitless, especiallyin the absence of King Zoulmekan and his brother Sherkanand the illustrious Vizier Dendan. If they know of this,they will be emboldened to attack us in their absence andwill cut off us to the last man; not one of us will escapealive. So it is my counsel that we each take ten thousandhorse and repair to the hermitage of Metrouhena andthe Meadow of Meloukhna in quest of our brothers andour chiefs. If thou follow my counsel, it may be we shallbe the cause of their deliverance, in case they be hardpressed by the infidels; and if not, no blame will rest onme. But, if we go, it were well that we return quickly, forsuspicion is part of prudence.” The other fell in withhis counsel; so they chose twenty thousand horse and setout for the hermitage by cross roads.
To return to Dhat ed Dewahi. As soon as she haddelivered Zoulmekan and his companions into the handsof the infidels, she mounted a swift horse, saying to theChristians, “I mean to rejoin the Muslim army beforeConstantinople and contrive for their destruction; for Iwill tell them that their chiefs are dead, and when theyhear this, their alliance will be dissolved and their confederationbroken up and their host dispersed. Then willI go to King Afridoun and my son King Herdoub, andthey will sally forth on them with their troops and destroythem, nor leave one of them alive.” So she mounted andfared on across country all that night, and at daybreak,she sighted the army of Behram and Rustem advancingtowards her. So she turned aside into a wayside copse andalighting there, hid her horse among the trees, saying toherself, “Belike they are returning, routed, from the assaultof Constantinople.” However, as she drew near, she saw that their standards were not reversed and knew that theywere not retreating because of defeat, but that they fearedfor their king and their chiefs. When she was assured ofthis, she hastened up to them, running at the top of herspeed, like a stubborn Satan as she was, and cried out,“Hasten, O soldiers of the Merciful One, hasten to theholy war against the hosts of Satan!” When Behram sawher, he dismounted and kissing the earth before her, said,“What is behind thee, O friend of God?”[110] “Do not askof evil case and sore disasters,” answered she. “Knowthat, when our comrades had taken the treasure from thehermitage and were on their way back to Constantinople,there came out on them a great host and a fierce of unbelievers.”And she repeated to them the story, in suchwise as to fill them with trouble and terror, and added,“The most of them are dead, and there are but five-and-twentyleft.” “O holy man,” said Behram, “when didstthou leave them?” “But last night,” replied she. “Glorybe to God,” exclaimed he, “Who hath rolled up the distancefor thee like a carpet, so that thou hast sped thus, walkingupon thy feet and leant upon a palm-tree staff! But thouart one of the friends of God, that fly like birds, whenpossessed by the stress of His commandment!” Then hemounted his horse, perplexed and confounded for thatwhich he had heard from the lying old beldam and saying,“There is no power and no virtue but in God the MostHigh! Verily our labour is lost and our hearts are heavywithin us, for our king is a prisoner and those who arewith him!” Then they fared on in haste and stayed notthe whole of that day and night, till at daybreak theyreached the head of the pass and heard Zoulmekan andSherkan shouting, “There is no god but God! God is mostgreat!” Whereupon they drove at the unbelievers andoverwhelmed them, as the torrent overwhelms the plains, shouting out their war-cries, till the stoutest championswere affrighted and the mountains were cloven by thenoise. On the morrow, they foregathered with Zoulmekan,and each recognised the other as has been before set out.Then they kissed the earth before the King and his brotherSherkan, and the latter told them all that had befallen himand his men in the grotto, whereat they marvelled andsaid, “Hasten back with us to Constantinople, for we leftour companions there, and our hearts are with them.” Sothey made haste to depart, commending themselves to theSubtle, the All-wise; and Zoulmekan exhorted the Muslimsto steadfastness, reciting the following verses:
To thee be the praise, O Thou that meritest thanks and praise! And mayest Thou never cease to succour me all my days!
I grew up in exile, but Thou, my God, wast ever my friend. ’Twas Thou didst decree me success and broughtest me forth of the maze.
Thou hast given me lordship and wealth and fortune and girded my midst With the falchion of valour and wreathed my forehead with victory’s bays.
Thou hast shadowed me under Thy wings and made me to prosper amain And hast graced me with favours untold, of Thy bounties abounding always:
Thou hast saved me from all that I feared, by the counsel of him whom I trust, The Vizier and chief of the chiefs, the hero and pride of our days.
By Thy favour we fell on the Greeks and smote them with sword and with spear; But again to the fight they returned, in garments blood-red for affrays.
So I feigned to be routed and flee and give back from the fight; then I turned On the toe, as the fierce lion turns on the hunters, that find him at gaze.
I left them laid low on the plain, as ’twere they were drunken with wine, Not the wine that is pressed from the grape, but that of death’s cup of amaze;
Whilst their ships all fell under our hand and ours was the empery grown: From the East to the West, sea and shore, we were lords of the lands and the ways.
Then there came to our camp the recluse, the saint, whose miraculous power Is blazoned in desert and town, wherever the sun sheds its rays.
He joined us, his vengeance to wreak on all that believe not in God. Indeed, it is known to the folk what came of our strife and our frays.
They slew of us some, but they woke on the morrow in Paradise, Each lodged in a palace on high, whereunder a river strays.
When Zoulmekan had made an end of reciting theseverses, his brother Sherkan gave him joy of his safety andpraise for that he had done; Night ci.after which they set out byforced marches to rejoin their army.
Meanwhile, Dhat ed Dewahi, after she had spoken withRustem and Behram, returned to the coppice, where shetook her horse and mounting, sped on, till she drew nearthe host of the Muslims that lay leaguer before Constantinople,when she lighted down from her steed and led it tothe Chamberlain’s pavilion. When he saw her, he signedto her with his hand and said, “Welcome, O pious recluse!”Then he questioned her of what had befallen,and she repeated to him her disquieting and deludingreport, saying, “Indeed I fear for the Amirs Rustem andBehram, for that I met them on the way and sent themand their following to the King and his companions. Theyare but twenty thousand horse, and the unbelievers aremore in number than they; so I would now have theesend of the rest of thy troops in haste to their succour,lest they be slain to the last man.” And she said to them,“Hasten! Hasten!” When the Chamberlain and the Muslimsheard these her words, their hearts sank within themand they wept; but she said to them, “Ask aid of Godand be patient under this affliction, taking example bythose that have been before you of the people of Islam,for God hath prepared Paradise, with its palaces, for thosewho die martyrs; and needs must all die, but death is mostpraiseworthy, when it comes in fighting for the Faith.”When the Chamberlain heard this speech of the accursedold woman, he called for the Amir Behram’s brother, acavalier named Terkash, and choosing out for him ten thousand intrepid veterans, bade him set out at once. Sohe departed forthright and marched all that day and thenext night, till he neared the Muslims. When the daydawned, Sherkan saw the dust of them and feared for hiscompanions, saying, “If these troops that are nearing us beMuslims, our victory is assured; but if they be Christians,there is no gainsaying the decrees of Fate.” Then heturned to his brother Zoulmekan and said to him, “Fearnot, for I will ransom thee with my life from destruction.If these be Muslim troops then were it an increase ofGod’s favours; but if they be our foes, there is nothing forit but to fight them. Yet do I long to see the holy man onceagain before I die, so he may pray for me that I may notdie except a martyr.” Whilst he was thus speaking, behold,there appeared the banners with the words, “Thereis no god but God and Mohammed is His Apostle” inscribedon them, and he cried out to the new-comers,saying, “How is it with the Muslims?” “They are inweal and safety,” replied they; “and we come not hitherbut out of concern for you.” Then the chief of the succoursdismounted and kissing the earth before Sherkan, said, “Omy lord, the Sultan and the Vizier Dendan and Rustemand my brother Behram, are they all in safety?” “Theyare all well,” answered the prince; “but who brought theetidings of us?” “It was the holy man,” said Terkash.“He told us that he had met my brother Behram andRustem and had sent them to you and also that the infidelshad encompassed you and were more in number than you;yet meseems the case is the contrary of this and that youare victorious.” “And how did the holy man reach you?”asked Sherkan. “Walking on his feet,” replied the Amir;“and he had compassed, in the space of a single day andnight, ten days’ journey for a diligent horseman.” “Verily,he is a friend of God,” said Sherkan; “but where is henow?” Quoth Terkash, “We left him with our troops, the people of Faith, encouraging them to do battlewith the infidels and rebels.” Therewith Sherkan was gladand thanked God for their own deliverance and that of theholy man and commended the dead to the mercy of Godsaying, “This was written in the Book of Fate.” Then theyset out for Constantinople by forced marches, and whilstthey were on the road thither, behold, a cloud of dustarose before them and spread till the prospect was hiddenand the day darkened by it. Sherkan looked at it andsaid, “Verily, I fear lest this be the infidels who haverouted the army of Islam, for that this dust covers thecountry and blots out the two horizons.” Presently thereappeared midmost the dust a pillar of darkness and cametowards them, blacker than the blackness of (evil) fortuneand more dreadful than the terrors of the Day of Judgment.Horse and foot hastened up to look at it and know itsmeaning, when, behold, they saw it to be the recluse aforesaid;so they crowded round him to kiss his hands, andhe cried out, “O people of the best of men,[111] the lamp ofthe darkness, the infidels have overcome the Muslims bycraft, for they fell upon them in their tents, whilst theydeemed themselves in safety, and made a sore slaughterof them; so hasten to the aid of the believers in the unityof God and deliver them from those that deny Him!”When Sherkan heard this, his heart was sore troubled andhe alighted from his horse, in amazement, and kissed therecluse’s hands and feet. In like wise did his brotherZoulmekan and the rest of the troops, except the VizierDendan, who dismounted not, but said, “By Allah, myheart revolts from this devotee, for I never knew aughtbut evil come of these that make a show of devotion toreligion. Leave him and hasten to rejoin your comradesfor this fellow is of those that are outcast from the gate ofthe mercy of the Lord of the Two Worlds! How often have I come out to war with King Omar ben Ennumanand trodden the earth of these lands!” “Put away fromthee this foul thought,” said Sherkan. “Hast thou notseen this holy man excite the faithful to battle, reckingnought of spears and swords? Wherefore, slander himnot, for slander is blameworthy and the flesh of pious folkis poisoned. Look how he encourages us to battle, anddid not God love him, He had not rolled up the distancefor him (like a carpet), after He had aforetime cast himinto grievous torment?” Then Sherkan let bring a Nubianmule for her riding and said to her, “Mount, pious man,God-fearing and holy!” But she refused, feigning self-denial,that she might attain her end: and they knew notthat the pretended devotee was such an one as he of whomthe poet says:
He prayeth and fasteth amain for an end that he hath in view. When once he has gained his end, fasting and prayer, adieu!
So she walked among the horsemen and the footmen,like a crafty fox meditating an assault, and began to uplifther voice, chanting the Koran aloud and celebratingthe praises of the Compassionate One. Then they pressedforward till they reached the Mohammedan camp, whereSherkan found the Muslims in a state of confusion and theChamberlain upon the brink of retreat, whilst the swordwrought havoc among the faithful, good and bad. Night cii.Nowthe cause of this weakness among the Muslims was thatthe accursed old woman Dhat ed Dewahi, when she sawthat Behram and Rustem had set forward with their troopsto join Sherkan and Zoulmekan, repaired to the camp ofthe Muslims before Constantinople and wrought upon theChamberlain to despatch the Amir Terkash, as hath beenbefore set out, to the further succour of the princes, purposingin this to divide the Muslim forces and weakenthem. Then she left them and going to the walls of Constantinople,called with a loud voice on the knights of the Greeks, saying, “Throw me down a cord that I may tiethereto this letter, which do ye carry to King Afridounand my son King Herdoub, that they may read it and doas is written therein.” So they let down a string and shetied thereto a letter, to the following purport, “From thechiefest of calamities and the greatest of afflictions,[112] Dhated Dewahi, to King Afridoun. Know that I have contriveda device for the destruction of the Muslims, so restyou quiet. I made their Sultan and the Vizier Dendanprisoners and returned to their camp and acquainted themtherewith, whereupon their power was broken and theirstrength weakened. Moreover, I have wrought on themto send ten thousand men under the Amir Terkash to thesuccour of the captives, and there be now but few men leftwith the besiegers. Wherefore, it is my counsel that yesally forth, with all your power, whilst it is yet day, andfall on them in their tents and slay them to the last manfor the Messiah looks down upon you and the Virginfavours you; and I hope that the Messiah will not forgetthis that I have done.” When this letter came to KingAfridoun, he rejoiced greatly and sending at once for KingHerdoub, read the letter to him, whereat he was exceedingglad and said, “See the craft of my mother; verily it dispenseswith swords, and her aspect stands in stead of theterrors of the Day of Fear.” “May the Messiah not bereaveus of her,” rejoined Afridoun, “nor deprive her of her craftand knavery!” Then he gave orders for the sally, and thenews was noised abroad in the city. So the Christiantroops and soldiers of the Cross drew their keen sabresand sallied forth of the city, shouting out their impiouswar-cries and blaspheming the Lord of all creatures. Whenthe Chamberlain saw them, he said, “Behold, the Christians are upon us, whilst the most part of our troops aregone to the succour of King Zoulmekan! They surelyknow of the absence of our Sultan and most like they willattack us.” Therewith he waxed angry and cried out, “Ho,soldiers of Islam and defenders of the True Faith, if youflee, you are lost, and if you stand fast, you will conquer!Know that courage lies in endurance and that no case isso desperate but that God is able to bring about its relief.May He bless you and look upon you with eyes of compassion!”Then the Muslims cried out, “God is mostgreat!” and the believers in the Divine Unity shoutedthe profession of the Faith and the two hosts joined battle.The mill-wheels of war whirled round, with cutting andthrusting; the swords and spears played and the plainsand valleys were filled with blood. The priests and monksprayed aloud, girding on their girdles and uplifting thecrosses, whilst the Muslims shouted out the praises of theRequiting King and chanted verses of the Koran. Thehosts of the Compassionate God fought against the legionsof Satan and heads flew from bodies, what while the goodangels hovered above the people of the Chosen Prophet,nor did the sword cease to play, till the day departed andthe night came with the shadows. Now the unbelievershad encompassed the Muslims and made sure of overcomingthe host of the True Faith with the dawn, deemingnot that they could escape destruction. As soon as it waslight, the Chamberlain mounted, he and his men, trustingthat God would help them, and the two armies came togetherand joined battle. The fight raged all along theline and heads flew from bodies, whilst the brave stoodfast and the faint-hearted turned their backs and fled; andthe Judge of death judged and gave sentence, so that thechampions fell from their saddles and the meadows wereheaped with the slain. Then the Muslims began to giveback and the Greeks took possession of some of their tents; whereupon the Muslims were about to break andretreat, when behold, up came Sherkan, with the rest oftheir troops and the standards of the believers in theUnity of God, and fell upon the infidels, followed byZoulmekan and the Vizier Dendan and the Amirs Behramand Rustem and Terkash. When the Christians saw this,they lost their senses and their reason fled, and the dust-cloudsrose till they covered the country, whilst the truebelievers joined their pious comrades. Then Sherkanaccosted the Chamberlain and praised him for his steadfastness,and he in turn gave him joy of his timely succour.Therewith the Muslims rejoiced and their hearts werefortified; so they rushed upon the foe and devoted themselvesto God, in the battle for the Faith. When theinfidels saw the Mohammedan standards and read thereonthe words proclaiming the Unity of God, they shriekedaloud and said, “Woe!” and “Ruin!” and besoughtsuccour of the priests and monks. Moreover they fell tocalling upon Jesus and Mary and the abhorrent Cross andstayed their hands from the battle, whilst King Afridounwent up to King Herdoub (to consult with him), for thetwo kings stood one at the head of each wing. Now therewas with them also a famous cavalier named Lawiya, whowas in command of the centre, and the infidels drew outin battle-array; but indeed they were full of alarm anddisquiet. Meanwhile, the Muslims arrayed their forcesand Sherkan came to his brother Zoulmekan and said tohim, “O king of the age, doubtless they mean to joust,and that is also what we desire; but it is my wish to setin our van-ward battle the stoutest-hearted of our men;for wise ordering is the half of life.” “As thou wilt, Oman of good counsel,” replied the Sultan. “It is mywish,” added Sherkan, “to be myself in the centre of theline, with the Vizier Dendan on my left and thee on myright, whilst Behram and Rustem command the right and left wing; and thou, O mighty King, shalt be under thestandards and the ensigns, for that thou art our stay andupon thee, after God, is our dependence, and we will allbe thy ransom from aught that can harm thee.” Zoulmekanthanked him and the battle-cries arose and thesabres were drawn, when, behold, there came forth acavalier from the Grecian ranks; and as he drew near,they saw that he was mounted on a slow-paced mule,fleeing with her master from the shock of swords. Herhousings were of white silk, surmounted by a carpet ofCashmere stuff, and on her back sat a grey-bearded oldman of comely and reverend aspect, clad in a gown of whitewool. He spurred her on till he came to the Muslims,to whom said he, “I am an ambassador to you, and allan ambassador has to do is to deliver his message; sogive me a safe conduct and the right of speech, that Imay do my errand to you.” “Thou art in safety,” repliedSherkan; “fear neither stroke of sword nor thrust of lance.”Thereupon the old man dismounted and taking the crossfrom his neck, (laid it) before the Sultan and carried himselfhumbly to him, after the fashion of one who hopes forfair treatment. Then said the Muslims to him, “What isthy news?” He answered, “I am an ambassador fromKing Afridoun, whom I counselled to avert the destructionof all these manly bodies and images of the Compassionate;and it seemed good to him to stop the sheddingof blood and limit the strife to the encounter of twohorsemen in battle; so he agreed to this and says to you,‘Verily, I will ransom my troops with my life; so let theMuslim king do likewise and ransom his army with hislife. If he kill me, there will be no stability left in thearmy of the Greeks, and if I kill him, it will be the likewith the Muslims.’” When Sherkan heard this, he said,“O monk, we agree to this, for it is just; and behold I willjoust: with him, for I am champion of the Muslims, even as he of the Christians; and if he slay me, he will havegained the victory and there will remain for the Muslimarmy nothing but flight. So return to him, O monk, andtell him that the combat shall be for to-morrow, seeingthat to-day we are weary with our journey; but after restthere shall be neither reproach nor blame.” So the monkreturned, rejoicing, to King Afridoun and King Herdouband told them what Sherkan had said, whereat Afridounwas exceeding glad and lightened of anxiety and troubleand said in himself, “No doubt but this Sherkan is thehardest hitter of them with the sword and the dourestat push of pike; and when I have slain him, their heartswill fail them and their strength will be broken.” NowDhat ed Dewahi had written to King Afridoun of this andtold him that Sherkan was a cavalier of cavaliers and achampion of champions and had warned him against him;but Afridoun was a stalwart cavalier, who fought in manya fashion; he could hurl stones and javelins and smite withthe iron mace and feared not the doughtiest of prowess inthe dint of war. So when he heard from the monk thatSherkan agreed to joust, he well-nigh lost his reason forstress of joy, for that he had confidence in himself anddeemed that none could stand against him. Then theinfidels passed the night in joy and merry-making andwine-drinking, and as soon as it was day, the two armiesdrew out in battle array, with their brown spears and whiteswords. Presently, they saw a cavalier prick out into theplain, mounted on a stout and swift charger equipped forwar: he was of great stature and was clad in a cuirassof steel made for stress of battle. On his breast hewore a jewelled mirror and in his hand he bore a keenscimitar and a lance of khelenj wood[113] of curious Frankishworkmanship. He uncovered his face and cried out, saying,“Whoso knoweth me hath enough of me, and whoso knoweth me not shall see who I am. I am Afridounhe who is overborne by the blessing of Shewahi Dhated Dewahi.” Before he had made an end of speaking,Sherkan, the champion of the Muslims, spurred out tomeet him, mounted on a sorrel horse worth a thousand[dinars] of red gold, with housings embroidered in pearlsand jewels, and girt with a sword of watered Indiansteel, that shore through necks and made hard ventureseasy. He drove his charger between the two armies,whilst the horsemen all gazed on him, and cried outto Afridoun, saying, “Out on thee, O accursed one, dostthou think me as one of the horsemen thou hast met,that cannot stand against thee in the mellay?” Then theyrushed upon one another and came together like twomountains crashing or two seas breaking each againsteach. So they advanced and retreated and drew togetherand parted and ceased not to joust and battle with strokeof sword and thrust of spear, whilst the two armies lookedon. Some said, “Afridoun will conquer,” and other some,“Sherkan;” and they stayed not their hands from thebattle, till the clamour of the bystanders subsided andthe dust-clouds rose and the day waned and the sun beganto grow pale. Then King Afridoun cried out to Sherkan,saying, “By the virtue of the Messiah and the True Faith,thou art a doughty horseman and a stalwart fighting man,but thou art guileful and thy nature is not that of the free-bornand meseemeth thy fashion is other than praiseworthynor is thy fighting that of a prince; for see, thy peopleeven thee with slaves[114] and bring thee out a charger otherthan thine, that thou mayst (mount him and) return to thebattle. But by the virtue of the Messiah, thy fightingfatigues me and I am weary of cutting and thrusting withthee; and if thou wert purposed to do battle with me to-night thou wouldst not change aught of thy harness northy horse till thou hadst shown the cavaliers thy valourand skill in fight.” When Sherkan heard him say that hisown folk evened him with slaves, he was angry and turnedtowards his men, meaning to sign to them and bid themnot prepare him change of armour or horse, when, behold,Afridoun shook his javelin in the air and hurled it atSherkan. Now, when the latter turned, he found nonebehind him and knew that this was a trick of the accursedinfidel; so he wheeled round in haste and seeing the javelincoming at him, swerved from it, till his head was level withthe pommel of his saddle. The javelin grazed his breastand pierced the skin, for Sherkan was high-bosomed: sohe gave one cry and swooned away. Then the accursedAfridoun was glad, thinking that he had slain him, andcalled to the Christians to rejoice, whereat the infidelswere encouraged and the true believers wept. When Zoulmekansaw his brother reeling from side to side in hissaddle, so that he had well-nigh fallen, he sent cavaliers tohis succour; whereupon the infidels drove at the Muslimsand the two hosts joined battle, whilst the keen Yemenblades played among them. The first to reach Sherkanwere Dendan and Rustem and Behram, who found him onthe point of falling off his horse; so they stayed him inhis saddle and carried him to Zoulmekan; Night ciii.then givinghim in charge to his servants, returned to the battle. Thenthe strife redoubled and the weapons clashed, and therewas nought to be heard but the roar of the battle nor tobe seen but blood flowing and necks bending beneath theblows; nor did the swords cease to play on men’s necksnor the strife to rage more and more, till the most part ofthe night was past and the two hosts were weary of battle.So they called a truce and each army returned to its tents,whilst all the infidels repaired to King Afridoun and kissedthe earth before him, and the priests and monks wished him joy of his victory over Sherkan. Then he went upinto Constantinople and sat down upon his throne; andKing Herdoub came to him and said, “May the Messiahstrengthen thine arm and cease never to be thy helper andhearken to the prayers of my pious mother on thy behalf!Know that the Muslims can make no stand, now they havelost Sherkan.” “To-morrow,” replied Afridoun, “shall endthe war, for I will seek out Zoulmekan and slay him, andtheir army shall turn tail and take to flight.”
Meanwhile, Zoulmekan returned to his tent thinkingof nothing but his brother, and going in to the latter’spavilion, found him in evil plight; whereat he was soretroubled and sent for the Vizier Dendan and the AmirsBehram and Rustem, that he might take counsel withthem. When they entered, they were all of accord tosummon the physicians to treat Sherkan, and they weptand said, “The age will not lightly afford his like!”They watched by him all that night, and towards morningthere came to them the pretended recluse, weeping. WhenZoulmekan saw her, he rose to receive her; and she strokedSherkan’s wound with her hand, chanting somewhat of theKoran and repeating some of the signs of the CompassionateOne. Then she kept watch over him till the day, whenhe came to himself and opening his eyes, moved his tonguein his mouth and spoke. At this Zoulmekan rejoiced, saying,“Verily the blessing of the holy man hath taken effecton him!” And Sherkan said, “Praised be God for recovery;indeed, I am well now. Yonder accursed oneplayed me false, and but that I swerved aside quicklierthan lightning, the javelin had pierced me through andthrough. So praised be God for my safety! How is itwith the Muslims?” “They weep for thee,” answeredZoulmekan. Quoth Sherkan, “I am well and in goodcase; but where is the holy man?” Now she was sittingby him and said, “At thy head.” So he turned to her and kissed her hand; and she said, “O my son, it behovesthee to arm thyself with patience, and God shall makegreat thy reward; for the guerdon is measured by thatwhich has been endured.” Quoth Sherkan, “Pray for me,”and she did so. As soon as it was morning and the dayarose and shone, the Muslims sallied out into the field,and the Christians made ready to cut and thrust. Thenthe host of the Muslims advanced and offered battle; andZoulmekan and Afridoun made ready to tilt at one another.But when Zoulmekan sallied out into the field, there camewith him Dendan and Behram and the Chamberlain, saying,“We will be thy sacrifice.” “By the Holy Houseand the Well Zemzem and the Stead of Abraham,”[115] exclaimedhe, “I will not be hindered from going forthagainst these barbarians!” So he rode out into the fieldand played with sword and spear, till both armies wondered;then he rushed upon the right wing of the Greek army andslew two knights and in like manner dealt he with the leftwing. Then he stayed his steed in the midst of the fieldand cried out, “Where is Afridoun, that I may make himdrink the cup of humiliation?” But King Herdoub conjuredAfridoun not to budge from the field, saying, “OKing, it was thy turn yesterday: to-day it is mine. I recknot of his prowess.” So he pricked out towards Zoulmekan,with a sabre in his hand and under him a jet blackhorse, swift as he were Abjer, he that was Antar’s horse,even as says the poet:
He vies with the glance of the eye on a swift-footed steed, That fares as it had a mind to outstrip Fate.
The hue of his hide is the blackest of all things black, Like night, when the shadows shroud it in sable state.
The sound of his neighing troubles the hearts of men, As it were thunder that echoes in heaven’s gate.
If he run a race with the wind, he leads the way, Nor can the lightning outstrip him, early or late.
Then each rushed upon the other, guarding himself fromhis blows and showing the rare qualities that were in himand the wonders of his prowess; and they fell to advancingand retreating and ceased not to flee and return to theattack and wheel hither and thither, till the breasts of thebystanders were straitened (for anxiety) and they wereweary of waiting for the event. At last, Zoulmekan criedout and rushing upon Herdoub, King of Cæsarea, dealthim such a blow that he shore his head from his body andmade an end of him. When the infidels saw this, they allrushed at Zoulmekan, who met them in mid-field, and theyfell to cutting and thrusting, till the blood ran in streams.Then the Muslims cried out, “God is most great;” and“There is no god but God;” and invoked blessings onthe Giver of Good Tidings, the Admonisher of Mankind,[116]and there befell a great battle. But God sent help to thefaithful and confusion to the infidels. The Vizier Dendanshouted, “Avenge King Omar ben Ennuman and his sonSherkan!” and baring his head, cried out to the Turks.Now there were beside him more than twenty thousandhorse, who all charged with him as one man, and the unbelieversfound nothing for it but flight. So they turnedtheir backs to flee, whilst the keen sabres wrought havocamongst them and the Muslims slew of them that daymore than fifty thousand cavaliers and took more thanthat: and much people also were slain at the going in ofthe gates, by reason of the greatness of the crowd, whilstthe Christians mounted the walls, fearing an assault. Thenthe Muslims returned to their tents, fortified and victorious,and King Zoulmekan went in to his brother, whom hefound in the most joyous case. So he returned thanksto the Bountiful, the Exalted One and gave Sherkan joyof his deliverance. Night civ.“Verily,” answered he, “we are allunder the benediction of this holy and God-fearing man, nor would you have been victorious, but for his effectualprayers; for all day he hath never ceased to invoke victoryon the Muslims. I found strength return to me, when Iheard you cry, ‘God is most great!’ for then I knew youhad gotten the better of your enemies. But now tell me,O my brother, what befell thee.” So he told him all thathad passed, how he had slain the accursed Herdoub andhe had gone to the malediction of God; and Sherkanpraised his prowess. When Dhat ed Dewahi heard tellof her son’s death, the blood fled from her face and hereyes ran over with streaming tears; however, she kept hercounsel and feigned to the Muslims that she was glad andwept for excess of joy: but she said in herself, “By thevirtue of the Messiah, there remains no profit of my life,if I make not his heart bleed for his brother Sherkan, evenas he has made mine bleed for King Herdoub, the mainstayof the Christian faith and the hosts of the Cross!”
The Vizier Dendan and Zoulmekan and the Chamberlainabode with Sherkan, till they had dressed his wound andanointed it; after which they gave him medicines and hebegan to recover his strength; whereat they were exceedingglad and told the troops, who rejoiced greatly, saying,“To-morrow he will ride with us and take part in thesiege.” Then said Sherkan to them, “You have foughtall day and are weary, and it behoves that you return toyour tents and sleep and not watch.” So they went awayall to their tents and there remained none with Sherkanbut Dhat ed Dewahi and a few servants. He talked withher awhile, then lay down to rest, he and his servants, andsoon sleep overcame them all and they were as dead men.But the old woman abode awake and looking at Sherkan,saw that he was drowned in sleep. So she sprang to herfeet, as she were a bald she-bear or a speckled snake, anddrew from her girdle a poisoned knife, that would havemelted a rock if laid thereon; then going up to Sherkan, she drew the knife across his throat and cut off his head.After this, she went up to the sleeping servants and cut offtheir heads also, lest they should awake. Then she leftthe tent and made for the Sultan’s pavilion, but findingthe guards awake, turned to that of the Vizier. He wasreading the Koran and seeing her, said, “Welcome, O holyman!” When she heard this, her heart trembled and shesaid, “The reason of my coming hither at this time is thatI heard the voice of a friend of God and am going tohim.” Then she went away, but the Vizier said to himself,“By Allah, I will follow the holy man to-night!” So herose and went after her: but the accursed old woman heardhis footsteps and knew that he was following her: whereforeshe feared discovery and said in herself, “Except I put himoff with some trick, he will discover me.” So she turnedand said to him from afar, “Harkye, Vizier, I am goingafter this saint, that I may know who he is; and after I willask his leave for thee to join him. Then I will come backand tell thee; for I fear to let thee accompany me, withouthis leave, lest he take umbrage at seeing thee with me.”When the Vizier heard this, he was abashed and knew notwhat to answer; so he left her and returning to his tent,would have slept; but sleep was not favourable to him andthe world was straitened upon him. So he rose and wentout, saying in himself, “I will go talk with Sherkan till themorning.” But when he came to Sherkan’s tent, he foundthe blood running like a rivulet and saw the servants lyingdead. At this he gave a cry that aroused all who wereasleep, and they hastened to him and seeing the bloodstreaming, set up a clamour of weeping and lamentation.The noise awoke the Sultan, who enquired what was thematter, and they said to him, “Sherkan and his servantsare murdered.” So he rose in haste and entering the tent,saw his brother’s headless trunk and the Vizier by itshrieking aloud. At this sight, he swooned away and all the troops stood round him, weeping and crying aloud, tillhe came to himself, when he looked at Sherkan and weptsore, whilst all who were present did the like. Then saidZoulmekan, “Know ye who did this, and how is it I seenot the recluse, him who hath put away the things of theworld?” Quoth the Vizier, “And who should have beenthe cause of this our affliction, save that devotee of Satan?By Allah, my heart shrank from him from the first, becauseI know that all who profess to be absorbed in the thingsof the faith are corrupt and treacherous!” And he toldthe King how he would have followed the devotee, but heforbade him; whereupon the folk broke out into weepingand lamentation and besought Him who is ever near athand, Him who answereth prayer, to cause the false recluse,who denied His evidences, to fall into their hands.Night cv.Then they laid Sherkan out and buried him in the mountainaforesaid, mourning over his renowned virtues, afterwhich they looked for the opening of the city-gate; but itopened not and none appeared to them on the walls;whereat they wondered exceedingly, and King Zoulmekansaid, “By Allah, I will not turn back from them, thoughI tarry here years and years, till I take my wreak of mybrother Sherkan and lay Constantinople in ruins and slaythe King of the Nazarenes, even if death overcome me andI be at rest from this sorry world!” Then he brought outthe treasure he had taken from the hermitage of Metrouhenaand mustering the troops, divided it amongst them,nor was there one of them but he gave him what contentedhim. Moreover, he called together three hundred horse ofevery division and said to them, “Do ye send succours toyour family, for I am resolved to camp here, till I havetaken my revenge for my brother Sherkan, even if I die inthis place.” Then he summoned couriers and gave themletters and charged them to do the soldiers’ errands totheir families and let them know that they were safe and in good heart, but that they were encamped before Constantinople,resolved either to destroy it or perish, andthat, though they should abide there months and years,they would not depart thence till they had taken the city.Moreover, he bade Dendan write to his sister Nuzhet ezZeman, acquainting her with what had befallen them andwith their situation and commending his child to her care,since that, when he went out to war, his wife was near herdelivery and must needs by that time have been broughtto bed; and if she had given birth to a son, he chargedthe messengers to hasten their return and bring him thenews. Then he gave them money and they set out atonce, and all the people came out to take leave of themand entrust them with the money and the messages theywished to send to their families. After they had departed,Zoulmekan turned to the Vizier and commanded him topush forward with the army against the city walls. So thetroops advanced, but found none on the walls, whereatthey marvelled and Zoulmekan was troubled.
To return to Dhat ed Dewahi. As soon as she had slainSherkan, she hastened to the walls of Constantinople andcalled out in the Greek tongue to the guards, to throw herdown a rope. Quoth they, “Who art thou?” and she said,“I am the princess Dhat ed Dewahi.” They knew her andthrew her down a rope, to which she tied herself, and theydrew her up into the city. Then she went in to KingAfridoun and said to him, “What is this I hear from theMuslims? They say that my son King Herdoub is slain.”He answered, “It is true;” and when she heard this, sheshrieked out and wept so grievously, that she made Afridounand all who were present weep also. Then she told theKing how she had slain Sherkan and thirty of his servants,whereat he rejoiced and thanked her and kissed her handsand exhorted her to resignation for the loss of her son.“By the Messiah,” said she, “I will not rest content with killing one of the Muslim dogs in revenge for my son, aking of the kings of the age! But I will assuredly makeshift to kill the Sultan Zoulmekan and the Vizier Dendanand the Chamberlain and Rustem and Behram and tenthousand cavaliers of the army of Islam to boot; for itshall never be that my son’s head be paid with the blood-witof Sherkan’s head only.” Then said she to Afridoun,“It is my wish that mourning be made for my son Herdouband that the girdle be cut and the crosses broken.” “Dowhat thou wilt,” replied Afridoun; “I will not gainsay theein aught. And if thou prolong thy mourning, it were alittle thing; for though the Muslims beleaguer us yearsand years, they will never compass their will of us nor getaught of us but trouble and weariness.” Then she tookink-horn and paper and wrote the following letter: “ShewahaDhat ed Dewahi to the host of the Muslims. Knowthat I entered your country and duped your nobles andslew your king Omar ben Ennuman in the midst of hispalace. Moreover, I slew, in the battle of the mountainpass and of the grotto, many of your men, and the lastI killed were Sherkan and his servants. And if fortunefavour me and Satan obey me, I will assuredly kill yourSultan and the Vizier Dendan, for I am she who came toyou in the disguise of a recluse and ye were the dupes ofmy tricks and devices. Wherefore, if you be minded tobe in safety, depart at once; and if you covet your owndestruction, abide where you are; for though ye abidehere years and years, ye shall not come by your desire ofus; and so peace be on you.” Then she devoted threedays to mourning for her son King Herdoub, and on thefourth day, she called a knight and bade him make theletter fast to an arrow and shoot it into the Muslim camp;after which she entered the church and gave herself up toweeping and lamentation for the loss of her son, sayingto him who took the kingship after him, “Nothing will serve me but I must kill Zoulmekan and all the princes ofIslam.”
Meanwhile, the Muslims passed three days in concernand anxiety, and on the fourth day, they saw a knight onthe wall, holding a bow and about to shoot an arrow towhich was fastened a letter. So they waited till he hadshot, and the King bade the Vizier Dendan take the letterand read it. He did so, and when Zoulmekan heard itspurport, his eyes filled with tears and he shrieked foranguish at the old woman’s perfidy, and Dendan said,“By Allah, my heart shrank from her!” “How couldthis traitress impose upon us twice?” exclaimed Zoulmekan.“By Allah, I will not depart hence till I fill herkaze with molten lead and set her in a cage, as men dobirds, then bind her with her hair and crucify her at thegate of Constantinople.” Then he addressed himself againto the leaguer of the city, promising his men that, if itshould be taken, he would divide its treasures equallyamong them. After this, he bethought him of his brotherand wept sore; and his tears ceased not to flow, till hisbody was wasted with grief, as it were a bodkin. But theVizier Dendan came in to him and said, “Take comfortand be consoled; thy brother died not but because hishour was come, and there is no profit in this mourning.How well says the poet:
That which is not to be shall by no means be brought To pass, and that which is to be shall come, unsought,
Even at the time ordained: but he that knoweth not The truth is still deceived and finds his hopes grown nought.
Wherefore do thou leave this weeping and lamentationand strengthen thy heart to bear arms.” “O Vizier,” repliedZoulmekan, “my heart is heavy for the death of mybrother and father and our absence from our native land,and my mind is concerned for my subjects.” Thereuponthe Vizier and the bystanders wept; but they ceased not from the leaguer of Constantinople, till, after awhile, newsarrived from Baghdad, by one of the Amirs, that theSultan’s wife had given birth to a son and that the princessNuzhet ez Zeman had named him Kanmakan. Moreover,his sister wrote to him that the boy bid fair to bea prodigy and that she had commanded the priests andpreachers to pray for them from the pulpits; also, thatthey were all well and had been blessed with abundantrains and that his comrade the stoker was in the enjoymentof all prosperity, with slaves and servants to attendupon him; but that he was still ignorant of what hadbefallen him. Zoulmekan rejoiced greatly at this newsand said to the Vizier Dendan, “Now is my hope fulfilledand my back strengthened, in that I have been vouchsafeda son. Night cvi.Wherefore I am minded to leave mourning and letmake recitations of the Koran over my brother’s tomb anddo almsdeeds on his account.” Quoth the Vizier, “It iswell.” Then he caused tents to be pitched over hisbrother’s tomb and they gathered together such of thetroops as could repeat the Koran. Some fell to recitingthe Koran, whilst others chanted the litanies of the praiseof God, and thus they did till the morning, when Zoulmekanwent up to the tomb of his brother Sherkan andshedding copious tears, repeated the following verses:
They bore him forth, whilst all who went behind him wept and cried Such cries as Moses gave, when God broke down the mountain side,
Till to a tomb they came, whose grave seemed dug in all men’s hearts By whom the unity of God is held and glorified.
I had not thought, or ere they bore thee forth upon the bier, To see my joy upon the hands of men uplifted ride;
Nor, till they laid thee in the grave, could I have ever deemed That stars could leave their place in heaven and in the dark earth hide.
Is the indweller of the tomb the hostage of a pit, In which, for that his face is there, splendour and light abide?
Lo, praise has ta’en upon itself to bring him back to life; Now that his body’s hid, his fame’s shown forth and magnified.
When he had made an end of reciting these verses, hewept and all the troops wept with him; then he threwhimself on the tomb, wild with grief, and the Vizier repeatedthe words of the poet:
That which fleets past thou hast left and won what endureth for aye, And even as thou are the folk, that were and have passed away;
And yet it was not of thy will that thou quittedst this house of the world; For here hadst thou joy and delight of all that befell in thy day.
How oft hast thou proven thyself a succour and shield from the foe, When the arrows and javelins of war flew thick in the midst of the fray!
I see that this world’s but a cheat and a vanity after all, And ever to seek out the Truth all creatures desire and essay!
The Lord of the Empyrean vouchsafe thee in heaven to dwell And the Guide assign thee therein a goodly sojourn, I pray!
I bid thee adieu with a sigh and I see, for the loss of thee, The East and the West o’ershadowed with mourning and dismay.
When the Vizier had finished, he wept sore, and thetears fell from his eyes, like a network of pearls. Thencame forward one of Sherkan’s boon-companions, weepingtill his eyes resembled rivers, and recalled the dead man’snoble qualities, reciting the following cinquains:
Where be thy giving, alas! and the hand of thy bounty fled? They lie in the earth, and my body is wasted for drearihead.
O guide of the camel-litters,[117] (may God still gladden thy stead!) My tears on my cheeks have written, in characters of red,
That which would both rejoice thee and fill thee with pain and dread!
By Allah, ’twixt me and my heart, not a word of thee is said Nor doth the thought of thy grace and thy glory pass through my head,
But that mine eyes are wounded by dint of the tears I shed! Yea, if to rest on another my glance be ever led,
May my lids be drawn in slumber by longing for the dead!
Then Zoulmekan and Dendan wept sore and the wholearmy lamented aloud; after which they all withdrew to their tents, and Zoulmekan turned to Dendan and tookcounsel with him concerning the conduct of the war. Onthis wise they passed days and nights, what while Zoulmekanwas weighed down with grief and concern, till atlast he said to the Vizier, “I have a mind to hear storiesof adventures and chronicles of kings and tales of folkoppressed of love, so haply God may make this to solacethe heavy anxiety that is on my heart and do away fromme weeping and lamentation.” “O King,” replied Dendan,“if nought but hearing pleasant tales of bygone kings andpeoples and stories of folk oppressed of love and so forthcan dispel thy trouble, the thing is easy, for I had no otherbusiness, in the lifetime of thy late father, than to tell himstories and repeat verses to him; so, this very night, I willtell thee a story of a lover and his beloved, which shalllighten thy heart.” When Zoulmekan heard this, his heartyearned after that which the Vizier promised him and hedid nothing but watch for the coming of the night, thathe might hear what he had to tell. So, no sooner had thenight closed in, than he bade light the lamps and thecandles and bring all that was needful of meat and drinkand perfumes and what not and sending for Dendan,Rustem, Behram, Terkash and the Grand Chamberlain,turned to the Vizier and said, “O Vizier, behold, the nightis come and hath let down its veils over us, and we desirethat thou tell us that which thou didst promise us.” “Withall my heart,” replied the Vizier. Night cvii.“Know, O august King,that I have heard tell a story of a lover and a loved oneand of the discourse between them and of the rare andpleasant things that befell them, a story such as does awaycare from the heart and dispels sorrow like unto that ofthe patriarch Jacob: and it is as follows:
- Story of Taj el Mulouk and the Princess Dunya.
[story resumed]
When the Vizier had made an end of the story of Tajel Mulouk and the Princess Dunya, Zoulmekan said tohim, “Of a truth, it is the like of thee who lighten themourning heart and are worthy to be the companions ofkings and to guide their policy in the right way.”
Meanwhile, they ceased not from the leaguer of Constantinople;and there they lay four whole years, till theyyearned after their native land and the troops murmured, being weary of siege and vigil and stress of war by nightand by day. Then King Zoulmekan summoned Rustemand Behram and Terkash and bespoke them thus, “Knowthat all these years we have lain here and have not comeby our intent and have gotten us but increase of troubleand concern; for indeed we came, thinking to take ourwreak for King Omar ben Ennuman and behold, mybrother Sherkan was slain; so is our sorrow grown twosorrows and our affliction two afflictions. All this came ofthe old woman Dhat ed Dewahi, for it was she who slewthe Sultan in his kingdom and carried off his wife, thePrincess Sufiyeh; nor did this suffice her, but she mustput another cheat on us and slay my brother Sherkan:and indeed I have bound myself and sworn by the mostsolemn oaths to avenge them of her. What say ye?Ponder my words and answer me.” With this, they bowedtheir heads and answered, “It is for the Vizier Dendan todecide.” So the Vizier came forward and said, “O Kingof the age, it avails us nothing to tarry here, and it ismy counsel that we strike camp and return to our owncountry, there to abide awhile and after return and fallupon the worshippers of idols.” “This is a good counsel,”replied the King; “for indeed the folk weary for a sightof their families, and I also am troubled with yearningafter my son Kanmakan and my brother’s daughter KuziaFekan, for she is in Damascus and I know not how it iswith her.” So he bade the herald call the retreat afterthree days, whereupon the troops rejoiced and blessed theVizier Dendan. Then they fell to preparing for the homewardmarch and on the fourth day, they beat the drumsand unfurled the banners and the army set forth, theVizier in the van and the King riding in the mid-battle,with the Great Chamberlain by his side, and journeyednight and day, till they reached Baghdad. The folkrejoiced in their return, and care and hardship ceased from them, whilst those who had stayed at home cameforth to meet those who had been so long absent andeach amir betook him to his own house. As for Zoulmekan,he went up to the palace and went into his sonKanmakan, who had now reached the age of seven andused to go down [into the tilting-ground] and ride. Assoon as the King was rested of his journey, he entered thebath with his son, and returning, seated himself on hischair of estate, whilst the Vizier Dendan took up hisstation before him and the amirs and grandees of therealm entered and stood in attendance upon him. Thenhe called for his comrade the stoker, who had befriendedhim in his strangerhood; and when he came, the Kingrose to do him honour and made him sit by his own side.Now he had acquainted the Vizier with all the kindnessand fair service that the stoker had done him; so theVizier and all the amirs made much of him. Thestoker had waxed fat and burly with rest and goodliving, so that his neck was like an elephant’s neckand his face like a porpoise’s belly. Moreover, he wasgrown dull of wit, for that he had never stirred fromhis place; so at the first he knew not the King by hisaspect. But Zoulmekan came up to him smilingly andsaluted him after the friendliest fashion, saying, “Howhast thou made haste to forget me!” So the stokerroused himself and looking steadfastly on Zoulmekanknew him: whereupon he sprang to his feet and exclaimed.“O my friend, who hath made thee Sultan?” Zoulmekanlaughed at him and the Vizier, coming up to him, expoundedthe whole story to him and said, “He was thybrother and thy friend; and now he is King of the landand needs must thou get great good of him. So I counselthee, if he say to thee, ‘Ask a boon of me,’ ask not but forsome great thing; for thou art very dear to him.” Quoththe stoker, “I fear lest, if I ask of him aught, he may not choose to grant it or may not be able thereto.” “Have nocare,” answered the Vizier; “whatsoever thou asketh, hewill give thee.” “By Allah,” rejoined the stoker, “I mustask of him a thing that is in my thought! Every night Idream of it and implore God to vouchsafe it to me.” “Takeheart,” said the Vizier. “By Allah, if thou askedst of himthe government of Damascus, in the room of his brotherhe would surely give it thee.” With this, the stoker roseto his feet and Zoulmekan signed to him to sit; but herefused, saying, “God forfend! The days are gone byof my sitting in thy presence.” “Not so,” answered theSultan; “they endure even now. Thou wert the causethat I am now alive, and by Allah, what thing soever thouaskest of me, I will give it to thee! But ask thou first ofGod, and then of me.” “O my lord,” said the stoker, “Ifear . . . . .” “Fear not,” quoth the Sultan. “I fear,”continued he, “to ask aught and that thou shouldst refuseit to me.” At this the King laughed and replied, “Ifthou askedst of me the half of my kingdom, I would shareit with thee: so ask what thou wilt and leave talking.”“I fear . . . ,” repeated the stoker. “Do not fear,” saidthe King. “I fear,” went on the stoker, “lest I ask athing and thou be not able thereto.” With this, the Sultanwaxed wroth and said, “Ask what thou wilt.” Then saidthe stoker, “I ask, first of God and then of thee, that thouwrite me a patent of mastership over all the stokers inJerusalem.” The Sultan and all who were present laughedand Zoulmekan said, “Ask somewhat other than this.”“O my lord,” replied the stoker, “said I not I feared thouwouldst not choose to grant me what I should ask or benot able thereto?” Therewith the Vizier nudged himonce and twice and thrice, and every time he began, “Iask of thee . . .” Quoth the Sultan, “Ask and be speedy.”So he said, “I beseech thee to make me captain of thescavengers in Jerusalem or Damascus.” Then all those who were present laughed, till they fell backward, and theVizier beat him. So he turned to the Vizier and said tohim, “What art thou that thou shouldst beat me? It isno fault of mine: didst thou not bid me ask some considerablething? Let me go to my own country.” With this,the Sultan knew that he was jesting and took patiencewith him awhile; then turned to him and said, “O mybrother, ask of me some considerable thing, befitting ourdignity.” So the stoker said, “O King of the age, I askfirst of God and then of thee, that thou make me Viceroyof Damascus in the room of thy brother.” “God granteththee this,” answered the King. So the stoker kissed theground before him, and he bade set him a chair in hisrank and put on him a viceroy’s habit. Then he wrotehim a patent of investiture and sealing it with his own seal,said to the Vizier, “None shall go with him but thou;and when thou returnest, do thou bring with thee mybrother’s daughter, Kuzia Fekan.” “I hear and obey,”answered the Vizier and taking the stoker, went downwith him and made ready for the journey. Then the Kingappointed the stoker servants and officers and gave him anew litter and princely equipage and said to the amirs,“Whoso loves me, let him honour this man and give hima handsome present.” So they brought him every one hisgift, according to his competence; and the King namedhim Ziblcan,[118] and conferred on him the surname of honourof El Mujahid.[119] As soon as the new Viceroy’s gear wasready, he went up with the Vizier to the King, to takeleave of him and ask his permission to depart. The Kingrose to him and embracing him, exhorted him to do justiceamong his subjects and deal fairly with them and badehim make ready for war against the infidels after two years.Then they took leave of each other and King Ziblcan, surnamed El Mujahid, set out on his journey, after theamirs had brought him slaves and servants, even to fivethousand in number, who rode after him. The GrandChamberlain also took horse, as did Behram, captain ofthe Medes, and Rustem, captain of the Persians, andTerkash, captain of the Arabs, and rode with him threedays’ journey, to do him honour and take their leaves ofhim. Then they returned to Baghdad and the SultanZiblcan and the Vizier Dendan fared on, with their company,till they drew near Damascus. Now news was comeupon the wings of birds, to the notables of Damascus thatKing Zoulmekan had made Sultan over Damascus a Sultancalled Ziblcan el Mujahid; so when he reached the city,he found it decorated in his honour, and all the folkcame out to gaze on him. He entered Damascus in greatstate and went up to the citadel, where he sat down uponhis chair of estate, whilst the Vizier Dendan stood inattendance on him, to acquaint him with the ranks andstations of the amirs. Then the grandees came in to himand kissed hands and called down blessings on him. Hereceived them graciously and bestowed on them gifts anddresses of honour; after which he opened the treasuriesand gave largesse to the troops, great and small. Thenhe governed and did justice and proceeded to equip thelady Kuzia Fekan, daughter of King Sherkan, appointingher a litter of silken stuff. Moreover, he furnished theVizier Dendan also for the return journey and would havemade him a gift of money, but he refused, saying, “Thouart near the time of the tryst with the King, and haplythou wilt have need of money, or we may send to seek ofthee funds for the Holy War or what not.” When theVizier was ready, the Viceroy brought Kuzia Fekan to himand made her mount the litter, giving her ten damsels todo her service. Moreover, he mounted, to bid the Vizierfarewell, and they set forward, whilst Ziblcan returned to Damascus and busied himself in ordering the affairs of hisgovernment and making ready his harness of war, againstsuch time as King Zoulmekan should send to him therefor.Meanwhile the Vizier and his company fared forwardby easy stages, till they came, after a month’s travel, toRuhbeh[120] and thence pushed on, till they drew near Baghdad.Then he despatched messengers, to inform King Zoulmekanof his arrival; and he, when he heard this, took horseand rode out to meet him. The Vizier would have dismountedto receive him, but the King conjured him not todo so and spurred his steed, till he came up to him. Thenhe questioned him of Ziblcan, whereto the Vizier repliedthat he was well and that he had brought with him hisbrother’s daughter, Kuzia Fekan. At this the King rejoicedand said to Dendan, “Go thou and rest thee of the fatigueof the journey, and after three days come to me again.”“With all my heart,” replied the Vizier and betook himselfto his own house, whilst the King went up to hispalace and went in to his brother’s daughter, who wasthen a girl of eight years old. When he saw her, he rejoicedin her and sorrowed sore for her father. Then he letmake for her clothes and gave her splendid jewels and ornamentsand bade lodge her with his son Kanmakan in oneplace. So they both grew up, the brightest and bravest ofthe people of their time; but Kuzia Fekan grew up possessedof good sense and understanding and knowledge ofthe issues of events, whilst Kanmakan grew up generousand freehanded, taking no thought to the issue of aught.Now Kuzia Fekan used to ride a-horseback and fare forthwith her cousin into the open plain and range at largewith him in the desert; and they both learnt to smite withswords and thrust with spears. So they grew up, till eachof them attained the age of twelve, when King Zoulmekan,having completed his preparations and provisions for the Holy War, summoned the Vizier Dendan and saidto him, “Know that I am minded to do a thing, which Iwill discover to thee, and do thou with speed return me ananswer thereon.” “What is that, O King of the age?”asked the Vizier. “I am resolved,” said the King, “tomake my son Kanmakan king and rejoice in him in mylifetime and do battle before him, till death overcome me.What deemest thou of this?” The Vizier kissed the earthbefore the King and replied, “O King and Sultan, lord ofthe age and the time, this that is in thy mind is indeedgood, save that it is now no time to carry it out, for tworeasons: the first, that thy son Kanmakan is yet of tenderage; and the second, that it is of wont that he who makeshis son king in his lifetime, lives but a little thereafterward.”“Know, O Vizier,” rejoined the King, “that we willmake the Grand Chamberlain guardian over him, for heis art and part of us and he married my sister, so thathe is to me as a brother.” Quoth the Vizier, “Do whatseemeth good to thee: we will obey thine orders.” Thenthe King sent for the Grand Chamberlain and the grandeesof the kingdom and said to them, “Ye know that this myson Kanmakan is the first cavalier of the age and that hehath no peer in jousting and martial exercises; and nowI appoint him to be Sultan over you in my stead and Imake his uncle, the Grand Chamberlain, guardian overhim.” “O King of the age,” replied the Chamberlain, “Iam but an offset of thy bounty.” And the King said, “OChamberlain, verily this my son Kanmakan and my nieceKuzia Fekan are brothers’ children; so I marry them oneto the other and I call those present to witness thereof.”Then he made over to his son such treasures as beggardescription and going in to his sister Nuzhet ez Zemantold her what he had done, whereat she rejoiced greatlyand said, “Verily, they are both my children. May Godpreserve thee to them many a year!” “O my sister,” replied he, “I have accomplished that which was in myheart of the world and I have no fear for my son: yet itwere well that thou shouldst have a watchful eye to himand to his mother.” And he went on to commend to theChamberlain and Nuzhet ez Zeman his son and niece andwife. Thus did he nights and days till he [fell sick and]deeming surely that he should drink the cup of death,took to his bed and abode thus a whole year, whilst theChamberlain took upon himself the ordering of the peopleand the realm. At the end of this time, the King summonedhis son Kanmakan and the Vizier Dendan and saidto the former, “O my son, this Vizier shall be thy father,when I am dead; for know that I am about to leave thistransitory house of life for that which is eternal. Andindeed I have fulfilled my lust of this world; yet thereremaineth in my heart one regret, which may God dispelat thy hands!” “What regret is that, O my father?” askedhis son. “O my son,” answered Zoulmekan, “it is thatI die without having avenged thy grandfather Omar benEnnuman and thine uncle Sherkan on an old woman whomthey call Dhat ed Dewahi; but, so God grant thee aid, donot thou fail to take thy wreak on her and to wipe out thedisgrace we have suffered at the hands of the infidels.Beware of the old woman’s craft and do as the Vizier shallcounsel thee; for that he from of old time hath been thepillar of our realm.” And his son assented to what hesaid. Then the King’s eyes ran over with tears and hissickness redoubled on him, nor did it leave to press soreupon him four whole years, during which time his brother-in-lawthe Chamberlain held sway over the country, judgingand commanding and forbidding, to the contentment ofthe people and the nobles, and all the land prayed forhim[121] what while Zoulmekan was occupied with his malady.As for Kanmakan, he had no thought but of riding and tilting with spears and shooting with arrows, and thus alsodid his cousin Kuzia Fekan; for they were wont to goforth at the first of the day and return at nightfall, whenshe would go in to her mother and he to his, to find hersitting weeping by his father’s bed. Then he would tendhis father till daybreak, when he would go forth again withhis cousin, according to their wont. Now Zoulmekan’ssufferings were long upon him and he wept and recitedthese verses:
My strength is past away, my tale of days is told And I, alas! am left even as thou dost behold.
In honour’s day, the first amongst my folk was I, And in the race for fame the foremost and most bold.
Would that before my death I might but see my son The empery in my stead over the people hold
And rush upon his foes and take on them his wreak, At push of sword and pike, in fury uncontrolled.
Lo, I’m a man fordone, in this world and the next, Except my spright of God be solaced and consoled!
When he had made an end of repeating these verseshe laid his head on his pillow and his eyes closed and heslept. In his sleep he saw one who said to him, “Rejoicefor thy son shall fill the lands with justice and have themastery over them and men shall obey him.” Then heawoke gladdened by this happy omen that he had seen,and after a few days, death smote him, whereat great grieffell on the people of Baghdad, and gentle and simplemourned for him. But time passed over him, as if hehad never been, and Kanmakan’s estate was changed; forthe people of Baghdad set him aside and put him and hisfamily in a place apart. When his mother saw this, shefell into the sorriest of plights and said, “Needs must I goto the Grand Chamberlain, and I hope for the favour ofthe Subtle, the All-Wise One!” Then she betook herselfto the house of the Chamberlain, who was now becomeSultan, and found him sitting upon his couch. So she went in to his wife Nuzhet ez Zeman and wept sore andsaid, “Verily, the dead have no friends. May God neverbring you to need and may you cease not to rule justlyover rich and poor many days and years! Thine earshave heard and thine eyes have seen all that was oursaforetime of kingship and honour and dignity and wealthand goodliness of life and condition; and now fortunehath turned upon us, and fate and the time have played usfalse and wrought hostilely with us; wherefore I come tothee, craving thy bounties, I that have been used to conferfavours; for when a man dies, women and girls are broughtlow after him.” And she repeated the following verses:
Let it suffice thee that Death is the worker of wonders and know That the lives which are gone from our sight will never return to us mo’.
The days of the life of mankind are nothing but journeys, I wot, whose watering-places for aye are mixed with misfortune and woe.
Yet nothing afflicteth my heart like the loss of the good and the great, Whom the stresses of adverse events have compassed about and laid low.
When Nuzhet ez Zeman heard this, she remembered herbrother Zoulmekan and his son Kanmakan and making herdraw near to her, said to her, “By Allah, I am now richand thou poor, and by Allah, we did not leave to seek theeout, but that we feared to wound thy heart, lest thoushouldst deem our gifts to thee an alms. Of a truth, allthe good that we now enjoy is from thee and thy husband:so our house is thy house and our place thy place, and allthat we have of wealth and goods is thine.” Then sheclad her richly and appointed her a lodging in the palace,adjoining her own; and she and her son abode therein inall delight of life. Him also did Nuzhet ez Zeman clothein kings’ raiment and gave them handmaids to do themservice. After a little, she told her husband of her brother’swidow, whereat his eyes filled with tears and he said,“Wouldst thou see the world after thee, look upon the world after another than thyself. Night cxxxviii.Entertain her honourablyand enrich her poverty.”
Meanwhile, Kanmakan and Kuzia Fekan grew up andflourished, like unto two fruit-laden saplings or two shiningmoons, till they reached the age of fifteen. As for thegirl, she was indeed the fairest of the cloistered maids,with lovely face and smooth cheeks, slender waist, heavyhips and arrowy shape, lips sweeter than old wine andspittle as it were the fountain Selsebil of Paradise, even assaith the poet, describing her:
From her mouth’s honeyed dew, meseems, the first-pressed wine is drawn And on her sweetest lips the grapes, from which it’s crushed, are grown;
And when thou makest her to bend, its vines sway in her shape. Blesséd be He who fashioned her and may not be made known!
For indeed God had united in her every attribute ofbeauty: her shape put to shame the willow-wand and therose sought grace before her cheeks; the water of hermouth made mock of clear wine, and she gladdened heartand eyes, even as saith of her the poet:
Goodly and glorious she is, and perfect in every charm. Her eyelashes put to shame kohl and the users of kohl.
Even as a sword in the hand of Ali, the Vicar of God, So is the glance of her eye to a lover’s heart and soul.
As for Kanmakan, he was no less accomplished in graceand excelling in perfection; there was none could matchwith him in beauty and qualities, and valour shone frombetween his liquid black eyes, testifying for him and notagainst him. The hardest hearts inclined to him; andwhen the tender down of his lips and cheeks began tosprout, many were the poems made in his honour: as forexample quoth one:
Unshown was my excuse, till on his cheek the hair Grew and the darkness crept, bewildered, here and there.
A fawn, when eyes of men are fixed upon his charms, His glances straight on them a trenchant poniard bare.
And another:
His lovers’ souls have woven upon his cheek, I ween, A net the blood has painted with all its ruddy sheen.
Oh, how at them I marvel! They’re martyrs; yet they dwell In fire, and for their raiment, they’re clad in sendal green.[122]
It chanced, one festival day, that Kuzia Fekan went out,surrounded by her handmaids, to visit certain kindred ofthe court; and indeed beauty encompassed her; the roseof her cheek vied with the mole thereon, her teeth flashedfrom her smiling lips, like the petals of the camomileflower, and she was as the resplendent moon. Hercousin Kanmakan began to turn about her and devourher with his eyes. Then he took courage and giving looseto his tongue, repeated the following verses:
When shall the mourning heart be healed of anger and disdain? When, rigour ceasing, shall the lips of union smile again?
Would God I knew if I shall lie, some night, within the arms Of a belovéd, in whose heart is somewhat of my pain!
When she heard this, she was angry and putting on ahaughty air, said to him, “Hast thou a mind to shame meamong the folk, that thou speakest thus of me in thy verse?By Allah, except thou leave this talk, I will assuredly complainof thee to the Grand Chamberlain, Sultan of Baghdadand Khorassan and lord of justice and equity, whereby disgraceand punishment will fall on thee?” To this Kanmakanmade no reply, but returned to Baghdad: and Kuzia Fekanalso returned home and complained of her cousin to hermother, who said to her, “O my daughter, belike he meantthee no ill, and is he not an orphan? Indeed, he saidnought that implied reproach to thee; so look thou tellnone of this, lest it come to the Sultan’s ears and he cutshort his life and blot out his name and make it even asyesterday, whose remembrance hath passed away.” However, Kanmakan’s case was not hidden from the people, andhis love for Kuzia Fekan became known in Baghdad, so thatthe women talked of it. Moreover, his heart became contractedand his patience waned and he knew not what to do.Then longed he to give vent to the anguish he endured, byreason of the pangs of separation; but he feared her angerand her rebuke: so he recited the following verses:
What though I be fearful, anon, of her wrath, Whose humour serene is grown troubled and dour,
I bear it with patience, as he who is sick Endureth a caut’ry in hopes of a cure.
Night cxxxix.His verses came one day to the knowledge of KingSasan (for so had they named the Grand Chamberlain,on his assumption of the Sultanate), as he sat on histhrone, and he was told of the love the prince bore toKuzia Fekan; whereat he was sore vexed, and going in tohis wife Nuzhet ez Zeman, said to her, “Verily, to bringtogether fire and dry grass is of the greatest of risks; andmen may not be trusted with women, so long as eyescast furtive glances and eyelids quiver. Now thy nephewKanmakan is come to man’s estate and it behoves us toforbid him access to the harem; nor is it less needfulthat thy daughter be kept from the company of men,for the like of her should be cloistered.” “Thou sayestsooth, O wise King,” answered she. Next day cameKanmakan, according to his wont, and going in to hisaunt, saluted her. She returned his greeting and said tohim, “O my son, I have somewhat to say to thee, thatI would fain leave unsaid; yet must I tell it thee, in myown despite.” “Speak,” said he. “Know then,” rejoinedshe, “that thine uncle the Chamberlain, the father ofKuzia Fekan, has heard of thy love for her and the versesthou madest of her and has ordered that she be kept fromthee; wherefore, if thou have occasion for aught from us,I will send it to thee from behind the door, and thou shalt not look upon Kuzia Fekan nor return hither from thisday forth.” When he heard this, he withdrew, withoutspeaking a word, and betook himself to his mother, towhom he related what his aunt had said to him. Quothshe, “This all comes of thy much talk. Thou knowestthat the news of thy passion for Kuzia Fekan is noisedabroad everywhere and how thou eatest their victual andmakest love to their daughter.” “And who should haveher but I?” replied the prince. “She is the daughterof my father’s brother and I have the best of rights to her.”“These are idle words,” rejoined his mother. “Be silent,lest thy talk come to King Sasan’s ears and it prove thecause of thy losing her and of thy ruin and increase ofaffliction. They have not sent us the evening meal to-nightand we shall die of want; and were we in any land otherthan this, we were already dead of the pangs of hunger orthe humiliation of begging our bread.” When Kanmakanheard his mother’s words, his anguish redoubled; his eyesran over with tears and he sobbed and complained andrepeated the following verses:
Give o’er this unrelenting blame, that never lets me be! My heart loves her to whom it’s thrall and may not struggle free.
Look not to me for any jot of patience, for I swear By God His house, my patience all is clean divorced from me!
Blamers to prudence me exhort; I heed them not, for I In my avouchment am sincere of love and constancy.
They hinder me by very force from visiting my dear, Though, by the Merciful, nor rogue am I nor debauchee!
Indeed, my bones, whenas they hear the mention of her name, Do quake and tremble even as birds from sparrow-hawks that flee.
O daughter of my uncle, say to him who chides at love, That I, by Allah, am distraught with love-longing for thee.
And he said to his mother, “I can dwell no longer inmy aunt’s house nor among these people, but will go forthand abide in the corners of the city.” So he and hismother left the palace and took up their abode in one of the quarters of the poorer sort: and she used to go fromtime to time to King Sasan’s palace and take thence foodfor her own and her son’s subsistence. One day, KuziaFekan took her aside and said to her, “Alas, my aunt,how is it with thy son?” “O my daughter,” replied she,“sooth to say, he is tearful-eyed and mournful-hearted,being fallen into the snare of thy love.” And she repeatedto her the verses he had made; whereupon Kuzia Fekanwept and said, “By Allah, I rebuked not him for his wordsof ill-will or dislike to him, but because I feared themalice of enemies for him. Indeed, my passion for himis double that he feels for me; words fail to set out myyearning for him; and were it not for the extravagancesof his tongue and the wanderings of his wit, my father hadnot cut off his favours from him nor decreed unto him exclusionand prohibition. However, man’s fortune is noughtbut change, and patience in every case is most becoming;peradventure He who ordained our severance will vouchsafeus reunion!” And she repeated the following:
O son of mine uncle, the like of thine anguish I suffer, the like of thy passion I feel;
Yet hide I from men what I suffer for longing, And shouldst thou not also thy passion conceal?
When his mother heard this, she thanked her andblessed her: then she left her and returning to her son,told him what his mistress had said; whereupon his desirefor her increased. But he took heart, being eased of hisdespair, and the turmoil of his spirits was quelled. Andhe said, “By Allah, I desire none but her!” And herepeated the following verses:
Give over thy chiding; I’ll hearken no whit to the flouts of my foes: Indeed I’ve discovered my secret that nought should have made me disclose;
And she, whose enjoyment I hoped for, alack! is far distant from me; Mine eyes watch the hours of the dark, whilst she passes the night in repose.
So the days and nights went by, whilst Kanmakan laytossing upon coals of fire, till he reached the age ofseventeen: and indeed his beauty was now come to perfectionand his wit had ripened. One night, as he layawake, he communed with himself and said, “Why shouldI keep silence, till I consume away, and see not my love?My only fault is poverty: so, by Allah, I will go out fromthis land and wander afar in the plains and valleys; formy condition in this city is one of misery and I have nofriend nor lover in it to comfort me; wherefore I will distractmyself by absence from my native land, till I die andam at peace from abasement and tribulation.” And herepeated the following verses:
Though my soul weary for distress and flutter fast for woe, Yet of its nature was it ne’er to buckle to a foe.
Excuse me; for indeed my heart is like a book, whereof The superscription’s nought but tears, that aye unceasing flow.
Behold my cousin, how she seems a maid of Paradise, A houri come, by Rizwan’s grace, to visit us below!
Who seeks the glances of her eyes and dares the scathing stroke Of their bright swords, shall hardly ’scape their swift and deadly blow.
Lo, I will wander o’er the world, to free my heart from bale And compensation for its loss upon my soul bestow!
Yea, I will range the fields of war and tilt against the brave And o’er the champions will I ride roughshod and lay them low.
Then will I come back, glad at heart and rich in goods and store, Driving the herds and flocks as spoil before me, as I go.
So he went out in the darkness of the night, barefoot,wearing a short-sleeved tunic and a skull-cap of felt sevenyears old and carrying a cake of dry bread, three daysstale, and betook himself to the gate El Arij of Baghdad.Here he waited till the gate opened, when he was the firstto go forth; and he went out at random and wanderedin the deserts day and night. When the night came, hismother sought him, but found him not, whereupon theworld, for all its wideness, was straitened upon her and she took no delight in aught of its good. She looked for hima first day and a second and a third, till ten days werepast, but no news of him reached her. Then her breastbecame contracted and she shrieked and lamented, saying,“O my son, O my delight, thou hast revived my sorrows!Did not what I endured suffice, but thou must depart fromthe place of my abiding? After thee, I care not for foodnor delight in sleep, and but tears and mourning are leftme. O my son, from what land shall I call thee? Whatcountry hath given thee refuge?” And her sobs burst up,and she repeated the following verses:
We know that, since you went away, by grief and pain we’re tried. The bows of severance on us full many a shaft have plied.
They girt their saddles on and ’gainst the agonies of death Left me to strive alone, whilst they across the sand-wastes tried.
Deep in the darkness of the night a ring-dove called to me, Complaining of her case; but I, “Give o’er thy plaint,” replied.
For, by thy life, an if her heart were full of dole, like mine, She had not put a collar on nor yet her feet had dyed.
My cherished friend is gone and I for lack of him endure All manner sorrows which with me for ever will abide.
Then she abstained from food and drink and gaveherself up to weeping and lamentation. Her grief becameknown and all the people of the town and country weptwith her and said, “Where is thine eye, O Zoulmekan?”And they bewailed the rigour of fate, saying, “What canhave befallen him, that he left his native town and fledfrom the place where his father used to fill the hungryand do justice and mercy?” And his mother redoubledher tears and lamentations, Night cxl.till the news of Kanmakan’sdeparture came to King Sasan through the chief amirs,who said to him, “Verily, he is the son of our (late) Kingand the grandson of King Omar ben Ennuman and wehear that he hath exiled himself from the country.” WhenKing Sasan heard these words, he was wroth with themand ordered one of them to be hanged, whereat the fear of him fell upon the hearts of the rest and they dared notspeak one word. Then he called to mind all the kindnessthat Zoulmekan had done him and how he had commendedhis son to his care; wherefore he grieved for Kanmakanand said, “Needs must I have search made for him inall countries.” So he summoned Terkash and bade himchoose a hundred horse and go in quest of the prince.Accordingly he went out and was absent ten days, afterwhich he returned and said, “I can learn no tidings of himand have come on no trace of him, nor can any tell meaught of him.” With this, King Sasan repented him ofthat which he had done with Kanmakan; whilst his motherabode without peace or comfort, nor would patience comeat her call: and thus twenty heavy days passed over her.
To return to Kanmakan. When he left Baghdad, hewent forth, perplexed about his case and knowing notwhither he should go: so he fared on alone into thedesert for the space of three days and saw neither footmannor horseman. Sleep deserted him and his wakefulnessredoubled, for he pined for his people and hiscountry. So he wandered on, eating of the herbs of theearth and drinking of its waters and resting under itstrees at the hour of the noontide heats, till he came toanother road, into which he turned and following it otherthree days, came to a land of green fields and smilingvalleys, abounding in the fruits of the earth. It had drunkenof the beakers of the clouds, to the sound of the voices ofthe turtle and the ring-dove, till its hill-sides were enamelledwith verdure and its fields were fragrant. At this sight,Kanmakan recalled his father’s city Baghdad, and for excessof emotion repeated the following verses:
I wander on, in hope I may return Some day, yet know not when that day shall be.
What drove me forth was that I found no means To fend awe, the ills that pressed on me.
Then he wept, but presently wiped away his tears andate of the fruits of the earth. Then he made his ablutionsand prayed the ordained prayers that he had neglectedall this time; after which he sat in that place, resting, thewhole day. When the night came, he lay down and slepttill midnight, when he awoke and heard a man’s voicerepeating the following verses:
Life unto me is worthless, except I see the shine Of the flashing teeth of my mistress and eke her face divine.
The bishops in the convents pray for her day and night And in the mosques the imams fall prone before her shrine.
Death’s easier than the rigours of a beloved one, Whose image never cheers me, whenas I lie and pine.
O joy of boon-companions, when they together be And lover and belovéd in one embrace entwine!
Still more so in the season of Spring, with all its flowers, What time the world is fragrant with blossoms sweet and fine.
Up, drinker of the vine-juice, and forth, for seest thou not Earth gilt with blooms and waters all welling forth like wine?
When Kanmakan heard this, it revived his sorrows; histears ran down his cheeks like rivers and flames of fireraged in his heart. He rose to see who it was that spoke,but saw none, for the thickness of the dark; whereuponpassion increased on him and he was alarmed and restlessnesspossessed him. So he descended to the bottomof the valley and followed the banks of the stream, till heheard one sighing heavily, and the same voice recited thefollowed verses:
Though thou have used to dissemble the love in thy heart for fear, Give on the day of parting, free course to sob and tear.
’Twixt me and my beloved were vows of love and troth; So cease I for her never to long and wish her near.
My heart is full of longing; the zephyr, when it blows, To many a thought of passion stirs up my heavy cheer.
Doth she o’ the anklets hold me in mind, whilst far away, Though between me and Saada were solemn vows and dear?
Shall the nights e’er unite us, the nights of dear delight, And shall we tell our suff’rings, each in the other’s ear?
“Thou seduced by passion for us,” quoth she, and I, “God keep Thy lovers all! How many have fallen to thy spear?”
If mine eyes taste the pleasance of sleep, while she’s afar, May God deny their vision her beauties many a year!
O the wound in mine entrails! I see no cure for it Save love-delight and kisses from crimson lips and clear.
When Kanmakan heard this, yet saw no one, he knewthat the speaker was a lover like unto himself, debarredthe company of her whom he loved; and he said to himself,“It were fitting that this man should lay his head tomine and become my comrade in this my strangerhood.”Then he hailed the speaker and cried out to him, saying,“O thou that goest in the sombre night, draw near to meand tell me thy history. Haply thou shalt find in me onewho will succour thee in thine affliction.” “O thou thatanswerest my complaint and wouldst know my history,”rejoined the other, “who art thou amongst the cavaliers?Art thou a man or a genie? Answer me speedily ere thydeath draw near, for these twenty days have I wandered inthis desert and have seen no one nor heard any voice butthine.” When Kanmakan heard this, he said to himself,“His case is like unto mine, for I also have wanderedtwenty days in the desert and have seen none nor heardany voice: but I will make him no answer till the day.”So he was silent and the other called out to him, saying,“O thou that callest, if thou be of the Jinn, go in peace,and if thou be a man, stay awhile, till the day break andthe night flee with the dark.” So they abode each in hisown place, reciting verses and weeping with abundanttears, till the light of day appeared and the night departedwith the darkness. Then Kanmakan looked at the otherand found him a youth of the Bedouin Arabs, clad in wornclothes and girt with a rusty sword, and the signs ofpassion were apparent on him. So he went up to him andaccosting him, saluted him. The Bedouin returned thesalute and greeted him courteously, but made little account of him, for what he saw of his tender years and his condition,which was that of a poor man. So he said to him,“O youth, of what tribe art thou and to whom art thoukin among the Arabs? What is thy history and whereforegoest thou by night, after the fashion of champions?Indeed, thou spokest to me in the night words such as arespoken of none but magnanimous cavaliers and lionheartedwarriors; and now thy life is in my hand. But Ihave compassion on thee by reason of thy tender age; soI will make thee my companion, and thou shalt go withme, to do me service.” When Kanmakan heard himspeak thus unseemly, after what he had shown him ofskill in verse, he knew that he despised him and thoughtto presume with him; so he answered him with soft anddulcet speech, saying, “O chief of the Arabs, leave mytenderness of age and tell me thy story and why thouwanderest by night in the desert, reciting verses. Thoutalkest of my serving thee; who then art thou and whatmoved thee to speak thus?” “Harkye, boy!” answeredthe Bedouin, “I am Subbah, son of Remmah ben Hummam.My people are of the Arabs of Syria, and I have acousin called Nejmeh, who brings delight to all that lookon her. My father died, and I was brought up in thehouse of my uncle, the father of Nejmeh; but when Igrew up and my cousin became a woman, they excludedher from me and me from her, seeing that I was poor andof little estate. However, the chiefs of the Arabs and theheads of the tribes went in to her father and rebuked him,and he was abashed before them and consented to give mehis daughter, but upon condition that I should bring himas her dower fifty head of horses and fifty dromedariesand fifty camels laden with wheat and a like numberladen with barley, together with ten male and ten femaleslaves. The dowry he imposed upon me was beyond mycompetence; for he exacted more than the due marriage portion. So now I am travelling from Syria to Irak,having passed twenty days without seeing other than thyself,and I mean to go to Baghdad, that I may note whatrich and considerable merchants start thence. Then Iwill go out in their track and seize their goods, for I willkill their men and drive off their camels with their loads.But what manner of man art thou?” “Thy case is likeunto mine,” replied Kanmakan; “save that my complaintis more grievous than thine; for my cousin is a king’sdaughter, and the dowry of which thou hast spoken wouldnot content her family, nor would they be satisfied withthe like of that from me.” “Surely,” said Subbah, “thouart mad or light-headed for excess of passion! How canthy cousin be a king’s daughter? Thou hast no sign ofprincely rank on thee, for thou art but a mendicant.”“O chief of the Arabs,” rejoined Kanmakan, “marvelnot at my case, for it is due to the shifts of fortune; andif thou desire proof of me, behold, I am Kanmakan, sonof King Zoulmekan, son of King Omar ben Ennuman, lordof Baghdad and Khorassan, and fortune hath played thetyrant with me; for my father died and (my uncle) KingSasan took the Sultanate. So I fled forth from Baghdad,secretly, lest any should see me, and have wandered twentydays, without seeing any but thyself. So now I have discoveredto thee my case, and my history is as thy historyand my need as thy need.” When Subbah heard this,he cried out and said, “O joy! I have attained mydesire! I will have no booty this day but thyself; for,since thou art of the lineage of kings and hast come outin the habit of a beggar, it cannot be but thy people willseek thee, and if they find thee in any one’s hand, theywill ransom thee with much treasure. So put thy handsbehind thee, O my lad, and walk before me.” “Softly, Obrother of the Arabs,” answered Kanmakan; “my peoplewill not ransom me with silver nor with gold, no, not with a brass dirhem; and I am a poor man, having with meneither much nor little: so leave this behaviour with meand take me to comrade. Let us go forth of the land ofIrak and wander over the world, so haply we may windower and marriage-portion and enjoy our cousins’ embraces.”When Subbah heard this, he was angry; hisarrogance and heat redoubled and he said, “Out on thee,O vilest of dogs! Dost thou bandy words with me? Turnthy back, or I will chastise thee.” At this Kanmakansmiled and answered, “Why should I turn my back forthee? Is there no equity in thee? Dost thou not fear tobring reproach upon the Arabs by driving a man likemyself captive, in dishonour and humiliation, before thouhast proved him in the field, to know if he be a warrioror a coward?” The Bedouin laughed and replied, “ByAllah, I wonder at thee! Thou art a boy in years, butold in talk. These words should come from none but adoughty champion: what wantest thou of equity?” “Ifthou wilt have me be thy captive, to serve thee,” saidKanmakan, “throw down thine arms and put off thineupper clothes and wrestle with me; and whichever of usthrows the other shall have his will of him and make himhis servant.” The other laughed and said, “I think thymuch talk denotes the nearness of thy death.” Then hethrew down his sword and tucking up his skirt, drew nearunto Kanmakan, and they gripped each other. But theBedouin found that Kanmakan had the better of him andoutweighed him, as the quintal outweighs the dinar; andhe looked at his legs and saw that they were as firmlyplanted as two well-builded minarets or two tent-polesdriven into the ground or two immovable mountains. Sohe knew that he himself was not able to cope with himand repented of having come to wrestle with him, sayingin himself, “Would I had fallen on him with my weapons!”Then Kanmakan took hold of him and mastering him, shook him, till he thought his guts would burst in his bellyand roared out, “Hold thy hand, O boy!” He heededhim not, but shook him again, and lifting him from theground, made with him towards the stream, that he mightthrow him therein: whereupon the Bedouin cried out,saying, “O valiant man, what wilt thou do with me?”Quoth Kanmakan, “I mean to throw thee into this stream:it will carry thee to the Tigris. The Tigris will bring theeto the river Isa and the Isa to the Euphrates, and theEuphrates will bear thee to thine own country; so thypeople will see thee and know thy manlihead and thesincerity of thy passion.” When Subbah heard this, hecried out and said, “O champion of the desert, do notwith me the deed of the wicked, but let me go, by the lifeof thy cousin, the jewel of the fair!” With this, Kanmakanset him down; and when he found himself at liberty,he ran to his sword and buckler and taking them up,stood plotting in himself treachery and a sudden attack onKanmakan. The latter read his intent in his eye and saidto him, “I know what is in thy mind, now thou hast holdof thy sword and buckler. Thou hast neither strengthnor skill for wrestling, but thou thinkest that, wert thou onhorseback and couldst wheel about and ply me with thysword, I had been slain long ago. But I will give theethy will, so there may be no despite left in thy heart.Give me the buckler and fall on me with thy sword; eitherI shall kill thee or thou me.” “Here it is,” answeredSubbah and throwing him the shield, drew his sword andrushed at him. Kanmakan took the buckler in his righthand and began to fend himself with it, whilst Subbahstruck at him with the sword, saying at each stroke, “Thisis the finishing one!” But Kanmakan received all hisblows on his buckler and they fell harmless, though hedid not strike back again, having no weapon of offence;and Subbah ceased not to smite at him, till his arm was weary. When the prince saw this, he rushed at him andseizing him in his arms, shook him and threw him to theground. Then he turned him over on his face and bindinghis arms behind him with the hangers of his sword,began to drag him by the feet towards the river: whereuponcried Subbah, “What wilt thou do with me, O youthand cavalier of the age and hero of the field?” “DidI not tell thee,” answered Kanmakan, “that it was myintent to send thee by the river to thy people and thy tribe,lest their hearts be troubled for thee and thou miss thycousin’s bride-feast?” At this, Subbah shrieked aloudand wept and said, “Do not thus, O champion of thetime! Let me go and make me one of thy servants.”And he wept and wailed and recited the following verses:
An outcast from my folk (how long my exile lasts!) am I. Would God I knew if I in this my strangerhood shall die!
I perish, and my folk know not the place where I am slain; I fall in exile, far away from her for whom I sigh.
Kanmakan had compassion on him and said to him,“Make a covenant with me and swear to be a true comradeto me and to bear me company whithersoever I maygo.” “It is well,” replied Subbah and took the requiredoath. So Kanmakan loosed him, and he rose and wouldhave kissed the prince’s hand; but he forbade him. Thenthe Bedouin opened his wallet and taking out three barley-cakes,laid them before Kanmakan, and they both satdown on the bank of the stream to eat. When they haddone eating, they made the ablution and prayed, afterwhich they sat talking of what had befallen each of themfrom his people and the shifts of fortune. Then saidKanmakan, “Whither dost thou now intend?” “I purpose,”replied Subbah, “to repair to Baghdad, thy nativetown, and abide there, till God vouchsafe me the marriage-portion.”“Up then,” rejoined the other, “and to theroad! I abide here.” So the Bedouin took leave of him and set out for Baghdad, whilst Kanmakan remainedbehind, saying to himself, “O my soul, how shall I returnpoor and needy? By Allah, I will not go back empty-handed,and if God please, I will assuredly work mydeliverance!” Then he went to the stream and made hisablutions and prayed to his Lord, laying his brow in thedust and saying, “O my God, Thou that makest the dewto fall and feedest the worm in the rock, vouchsafe me,I beseech Thee, my livelihood, of Thy power and thegraciousness of Thy compassion!” Then he pronouncedthe salutation that closes prayer and sat, turning right andleft and knowing not which way to take. Presently, hesaw, making towards him, a horseman whose back wasbowed and who let the reins droop. He sat still and afterawhile the horseman came up to him, when, behold, hewas at the last gasp and made sure of death, for he wasgrievously wounded. The tears streamed down his cheeks,like water from the mouths of skins, and he said toKanmakan, “O chief of the Arabs, take me to friend,whilst I live, for thou wilt not find my like, and give mea little water, harmful though the drinking of water be toa wounded man, especially whilst the blood is flowing andthe life with it. If I live, I will give thee what shall healthy distress and thy poverty; and if I die, mayst thou beblessed for thy good intent!” Now this horseman hadunder him a stallion of the most generous breed, with legslike shafts of marble, the tongue fails to describe it; andwhen Kanmakan looked at it, he was seized with longingadmiration and said in himself, “Verily, the like of thisstallion is not to be found in our time.” Then he helpedthe rider to alight and entreated him friendly and gave hima little water to drink; after which he waited till he wasrested and said to him, “Who has dealt thus with thee?”“I will tell thee the truth of the case,” answered thewounded man. “I am a horse-thief and all my life I have occupied myself with stealing and snatching horses, nightand day, and my name is Ghessan, surnamed the plagueof all stables and horses. I heard tell of this stallion, thathe was with King Afridoun in the land of the Greeks,where they had named him El Catoul and surnamed himEl Mejnoun. So I journeyed to Constantinople on hisaccount, and whilst I was watching my opportunity to getat him, there came out an old woman, much consideredamong the Greeks and whose word is law with them,a past mistress in all manner of trickery, by name ShewahiDhat ed Dewahi. She had with her this stallion and tenslaves, no more, to attend on her and it, and was boundfor Baghdad, there to sue for peace and pardon from KingSasan. So I went out in their track, thinking to get thehorse, and ceased not to follow them, but was unable toget at the stallion, by reason of the strict guard kept bythe slaves, till they reached this country and I feared lestthey should enter the city of Baghdad. As I was castingabout to steal the horse, behold, a great cloud of dustarose and covered the prospect. Presently it opened anddisclosed fifty horsemen, banded together to waylay merchantsand led by a captain by name Kehrdash, likea raging lion, yea, in battle a lion that lays heroes flateven as a carpet. Night cxli.They bore down on the old woman andher company, shouting and surrounding them, nor wasit long before they bound her and the ten slaves and madeoff with their captives and the horse, rejoicing. WhenI saw this, I said to myself, ‘My toil is wasted and I havenot attained my desire.’ However, I waited to see how theaffair would result, and when the old woman found herselfa captive, she wept and said to Kehrdash, ‘O doughtychampion and invincible warrior, what wilt thou do withan old woman and slaves, now thou hast thy will of thehorse?’ And she beguiled him with soft words andpromises that she would send him horses and cattle, till he released her and her slaves. Then he went his way, heand his comrades, and I followed them to this country,watching my opportunity, till at last I succeeded in stealingthe horse, whereupon I mounted him and drawing a whipfrom my wallet, struck him with it. When the robbersheard this, they came out on me and surrounded me on allsides and shot arrows and cast spears at me, whilst I stuckfast on the horse’s back and he defended me with hishoofs, till at last he shot out with me from amongst them,like an arrow from the bow or a shooting star, after I hadgotten a grievous wound in the press of the battle. Sincethat time, I have passed three days in the saddle, withouttasting food or sleep, so that my strength is wastedand the world is become of no account to me. But thouhast dealt kindly with me and hast had pity on me:and I see thee naked of body and sorrowful of aspect;yet are the marks of gentle breeding manifest on thee.So tell me, what and whence art thou and whither artthou bound?” “My name is Kanmakan,” answered theprince, “son of King Zoulmekan, son of King Omar benEnnuman. My father died, and a base man seized thethrone after his death and became king over great andsmall.” Then he told him all his story from first to last;and the thief said to him, (and indeed he had compassionon him), “By Allah, thou art a man of great account andexceeding nobility and thou shalt surely win to high estateand become the first cavalier of thy time! If thou canstlift me into the saddle and mount behind me and bringme to my country, thou shalt have honour in this worldand a reward on the Day of calling of men one to another;[123]for I have no strength left to hold myself in the saddle;and if I die by the way, the steed is thine; for thou artworthier of it than any other.” “By Allah,” said Kanmakan,“if I could carry thee on my shoulders or share my life with thee, I would do so, without the horse! For I amof those that love to do good and succour the afflicted.So make ready to set out and put thy trust in the Subtle,the All-Wise.” And he would have lifted him on to thehorse and set forward, trusting in God the Succourable.But the robber said, “Wait for me a little.” Then he closedhis eyes and opening his hands, said, “I testify that thereis no god but God and that Mohammed is the Apostle ofGod! O Glorious One, pardon me my mortal sin, for nonecan pardon mortal sins save Thou!” And he made readyfor death and recited the following verses:
I’ve ranged through all countries, oppressing mankind, And in drinking of wine I have wasted my days.
I’ve waded through torrents, the horses to steal And I’ve used with my guile the high places to raze.
My case is right grievous and great is my guilt, And Catoul, alas! is the end of my ways.
I hoped of this horse I should get my desire; But vain was my journey and vain my essays.
All my life I have stolen the steeds, and my death Was decreed of the Lord of all power and all praise.
So, in fine, for the good of the stranger, the poor, The orphan, I’ve wearied in toils and affrays.
When he had finished, he closed his eyes and openedhis mouth; then giving one sob, he departed this life.Kanmakan rose and dug a grave and laid him in theearth. Then he went up to the stallion and kissed it andwiped its face and rejoiced with an exceeding joy, saying,“None has the like of this horse, no, not even KingSasan.” So much for Kanmakan.
Meanwhile, news came to King Sasan that the VizierDendan and half the army had thrown off their allegianceto him and sworn that they would have no king but Kanmakanand the Vizier had bound the troops by a solemncovenant and had gone with them to the islands of Indiaand Ethiopia, where he had gathered together a host like the swollen sea, none could tell its van from its rear.Moreover, he was resolved to make for Baghdad andpossess himself of the kingdom and slay all who shouldlet him, having sworn not to return the sword of war toits sheath, till he had set Kanmakan on the throne. Whenthis news came to Sasan, he was drowned in the sea ofmelancholy, knowing that the whole state had turnedagainst him, great and small, and trouble and anxietywere sore on him. So he opened his treasuries and distributedthat which was therein among his officers andprayed for Kanmakan’s return, that he might draw hisheart to him with fair usage and bounty and make himcommander of those troops that remained faithful to him,hoping thus to prop his [falling] power. The news ofthis reached Kanmakan by the merchants; so he returnedin haste to Baghdad, riding on the aforesaid stallion, andthe news of his coming reached King Sasan, as he satperplexed upon his throne; whereupon he despatched allthe troops and head-men of Baghdad to meet him. Soall who were in Baghdad went out to meet the Princeand escorted him to the palace and kissed the threshold,whilst the damsels and eunuchs went in to his mother andgave her the good tidings of his return. She came to himand kissed him between the eyes, but he said to her, “Omy mother, let me go to my uncle King Sasan, who hathoverwhelmed us with favours and benefits.” Then he repairedto the palace, whilst all the people marvelled at thebeauty of the stallion and said, “No king is like unto thisman.” So he went in to King Sasan, who rose to receivehim; and Kanmakan saluted him and kissing his hands,offered him the horse as a present. The King bade himwelcome, saying, “Welcome and fair welcome to my sonKanmakan! By Allah, the world hath been straitened onme by reason of thine absence, but praised be God forthy safety!” And Kanmakan called down blessings on him. Then the King looked at the stallion and knowingit for the very horse, Catoul by name, that he had seen insuch and such a year, whilst at the leaguer of Constantinoplewith King Zoulmekan, said to Kanmakan, “Ifthy father could have come by this horse, he would havebought him with a thousand chargers of price: but nowlet the honour return to thee who deservest it. We acceptthe steed and return it to thee as a gift, for thou hastmore right to it than any man alive, being the prince ofcavaliers.” Then he bade bring forth for him dressesof honour and led horses and appointed him the chieflodging in the palace, giving him much money and showinghim the utmost honour, for that he feared the issue ofthe Vizier Dendan’s doings. At this Kanmakan rejoicedand despondency and humiliation ceased from him. Thenhe went to his house and said to his mother, “O mymother, how is it with my cousin?” “By Allah, O my son,”answered she, “my concern for thine absence hath distractedme from any other, even to thy beloved; especiallyas she was the cause of thine exile and separation fromme.” Then he complained to her of his sufferings, saying,“O my mother, go to her and speak with her; haply shewill favour me with a sight of her and dispel my anguish.”“O my son,” replied his mother, “idle desires abase thenecks of men; so put away from thee this thought thatwill but lead to vexation; for I will not go to her norcarry her such a message.” Thereupon he told her whathe had heard from the horse-thief concerning Dhat edDewahi, how she was then in their land, on her way toBaghdad, and added, “It was she who slew my uncle andgrandfather, and needs must I avenge them and wipe outour reproach.” Then he left her and repaired to an oldwoman, by name Saadaneh, a cunning, perfidious and perniciousbeldam, past mistress in all kinds of trickery anddeceit. To her he complained of what he suffered for love of his cousin Kuzia Fekan and begged her to go to herand implore her favour for him. “I hear and obey,”answered the old woman and betaking herself to KuziaFekan’s palace, interceded with her in his favour. Thenshe returned to him and said, “Thy cousin salutes theeand will visit thee this night at the middle hour.” Night cxlii.At thishe rejoiced and sat down to await the fulfilment of hiscousin’s promise. At the appointed hour she came to him,wrapped in a veil of black silk, and aroused him fromsleep, saying, “How canst thou pretend to love me, whenthou art sleeping, heart-free, after the goodliest fashion?”So he awoke and said, “O desire of my heart, by Allah,I slept not but hoping that thine image might visit me indreams!” Then she chid him tenderly and repeated thefollowing verses:
Wert thou indeed a lover true and leal, Thou hadst not suffered slumber on thee creep.
O thou who feign’st to walk the ways of love, The watch of passion and desire to keep,
Son of my uncle, sure the eyes of those Who’re love-distraught know not the taste of sleep.
When he heard his cousin’s words, he was abashedbefore her and rose and excused himself. Then theyembraced and complained to each other of the anguishof separation; and thus they did, till the dawn broke andthe day flowered forth over the lands; when she rose todepart. At this, Kanmakan wept and sighed and repeatedthe following verses:
She came to me, after her pride had driven me to despair, She in whose lips the teeth as the pearls of her necklace were.
I kissed her a thousand times and clipped her close in my arms And lay all night with my cheek pressed close to the cheek of the fair;
Till the day, that must sever our loves, as ’twere the blade of a sword That flashes forth of its sheath, gleamed out on us unaware.
Then she took leave of him and returned to her palace. Now she let certain of her damsels into her secret, andone of them told the King, who went in to Kuzia Fekanand drawing his sabre upon her, would have slain her:but her mother Nuzhet ez Zeman entered and said to him,“By Allah, do her no hurt, lest it be noised among thefolk and thou become a reproach among the kings of theage! Thou knowest that Kanmakan is no base-bornwretch, but a man of honour and nobility, who would notdo aught that could shame him, and she was reared withhim. So take patience and be not hasty; for verily thereport is spread abroad, among the people of the palaceand all the folk of the city, how the Vizier Dendan hathlevied troops from all countries and is on his way hitherto make Kanmakan king.” “By Allah,” said the King,“needs must I cast him into a calamity, such that neitherearth shall bear him nor sky shadow him! I did butspeak him fair and entreat him with favour, because of mysubjects and officers, lest they should turn to him; butthou shalt see what will betide.” Then he left her andwent out to order the affairs of the kingdom.
Next day, Kanmakan came in to his mother and said toher, “O my mother, I am resolved to go forth a-raidingin quest of booty. I will waylay caravans and seizehorses and flocks and slaves black and white, and as soonas my store is waxed great and my case is bettered, I willdemand my cousin Kuzia Fekan in marriage of my uncle.”“O my son,” replied she, “of a truth the goods of menare not as a wastril camel, ready to thy hand; but betweenthee and them are sword-strokes and lance-thrusts andmen that eat wild beasts and lay waste countries and snarelions and trap lynxes.” Quoth he, “God forbid that Ishould turn from my purpose, till I have attained mydesire!” Then he despatched the old woman to KuziaFekan, to tell her that he was about to set out in quest ofa dowry befitting her, saying, “Thou must without fail bring me an answer from her.” “I hear and obey,”repled the old woman and going forth, presently returnedwith Kuzia Fekan’s answer, which was that she wouldcome to him at midnight. So he abode awake till onehalf of the night was past, when disquietude got hold onhim, and before he was aware, she came in to him, saying,“My life be thy ransom from wakefulness!” And hesprang up to receive her, exclaiming, “O desire of myheart, my life be thy ransom from all things evil!” Thenhe acquainted her with his intent, and she wept; buthe said, “Weep not, O my cousin; for I beseech Himwho decreed our separation to vouchsafe us reunion andfelicity.” Then Kanmakan went in to his mother andtook leave of her, after which he girt on his sword anddonned turban and chin-band and mounting his horseCatoul, rode through the streets of Baghdad, till he reachedthe gate of the city. Here he found his comrade Subbahben Remmah going out, who, seeing him, ran to his stirrupand saluted him. He returned his greeting, and Subbahsaid to him, “O my brother, how camest thou by thissteed and sword and clothes, whilst I up to now havegotten nothing but my sword and target?” Quoth Kanmakan,“The hunter returns not but with game after themeasure of his intent. A little after thy departure, fortunecame to me: so now wilt thou go with me and work thineintent in my company and journey with me in this desert?”“By the Lord of the Kaabeh,” replied Subbah, “from thistime forth I will call thee nought but ‘My lord!’” Thenhe ran on before the horse with his sword hanging fromhis neck and his budget between his shoulder-blades, andthey pushed on into the desert four days’ space, eating ofthe gazelles they caught and drinking of the water of thesprings. On the fifth day, they came in sight of a highhill, at whose foot was a Spring encampment and a runningstream. The knolls and hollows were filled with camels and oxen and sheep and horses, and little childrenplayed about the cattle-folds. When Kanmakan saw this,he was right glad and his breast was filled with joy; so headdressed himself to battle, that he might take the camelsand the cattle, and said to Subbah, “Come, let us fall uponthis good, whose owners have left it unguarded, and dobattle for it with near and far, so haply it may fall to ourlot and we will share it between us.” “O my lord,”replied Subbah, “verily they to whom these herds belongare much people, and among them are doughty horsemenand footmen. If we cast ourselves into this great danger,neither of us will return to his people; but we shall bothbe cut off utterly and leave our cousins desolate.” WhenKanmakan heard this, he laughed and knew that he wasa coward: so he left him and rode down the hill, intenton rapine, shouting and chanting aloud the followingverses:
O the house of En Numan is mickle of might! We’re the champions with swords on the squadrons that smite!
When the fury of battle flames high in our hearts, We’re aye to be found in the front of the fight.
The poor man amongst us may slumber secure Nor see the foul favour of want or upright.
I hope for the succour of Him in whose hand Is the Kingdom, the Maker of body and spright.
Then he rushed upon the cattle, like a camel in heat,and drove them all, oxen and sheep and horses andcamels, before him. Therewith the slaves ran at him withtheir bright swords and their long lances; and at theirhead was a Turkish horseman, a stout champion, doughtyin battle and onset and skilled to wield the tawny spearand the white sabre. He drove at Kanmakan, saying,“Out on thee! Knewest thou to whom these cattle belong,thou hadst not done this thing! Know that they are thegood of the Greek band, the champions of the sea andthe Circassian troop, and they are a hundred cavaliers, all stern warriors, who have forsworn the commandment ofall kings. There has been stolen from them a steed ofgreat price, and they have vowed not to return hence, butwith it.” When Kanmakan heard these words, he criedout, saying, “O losers, this that I bestride is the steeditself, after which ye seek and for whose sake ye would dobattle with me! So come out against me, all of you atonce, and do your dourest!” So saying, he cried outbetween Catoul’s ears and he ran at them, as he werea ghoul. Then Kanmakan drove at the Turk and smotehim and overthrew him and let out his life; after which heturned upon a second and a third and a fourth and bereftthem also of life. When the slaves saw this, they wereafraid of him, and he cried out and said to them, “Ho,sons of whores, drive out the cattle and the horses, orI will dye my spear in your blood!” So they untetheredthe cattle and began to drive them out, and Subbah camedown to Kanmakan, crying out with a loud voice andrejoicing greatly; when, behold, there arose a cloud ofdust and grew till it covered the prospect, and there appearedunder it a hundred cavaliers, like fierce lions. Withthis Subbah fled up on to the hill, that he might gaze uponthe fight in safety, saying, “I am no warrior but in sportand jest.” Then the hundred cavaliers made towardsKanmakan from all sides, and one of them accosted him,saying, “Whither goest thou with this good?” “I havemade prize of them,” replied he, “and am carrying themaway; and I forbid you from them, for know that he whois before you is a terrible lion and an illustrious championand a sword that cuts wherever it turns!” When thehorseman heard this, he looked at Kanmakan and sawthat he was a cavalier as he were a strong lion, whilst hisface was as the full moon rising on its fourteenth night,and valour shone from between his eyes. Now this horsemanwas the chief of the hundred horse, and his name was Kehrdash; and what he saw in Kanmakan of the perfectionof martial grace, together with surpassing beauty andcomeliness, reminded him of a mistress of his, by nameFatin. Now this Fatin was one of the fairest of women inface, for God had given her beauty and grace and charmsand noble qualities of all kinds, such as the tongue failsto describe. Moreover, the cavaliers of the tribe fearedher prowess and the champions of the land stood in aweof her, and she had sworn that she would not marry norgive any possession of her, except he should conquer her,saying to her father, “None shall approach me, except hemaster me in the field and the stead of war.” Kehrdashwas one of her suitors, and when the news reached him ofthe vow she had taken, he thought scorn to fight with agirl, fearing reproach; and one of his friends said to him,“Thou art accomplished in beauty and manly qualities;so if thou contend with her, even though she be strongerthan thou, thou must needs overcome her, for when shesees thy beauty and grace, she will be discomfited beforethee, seeing that women by nature incline unto men, asis not unknown to thee.” Nevertheless he refused andwould not contend with her, albeit indeed she loved him,for what she had heard of his beauty and valour: and heceased not to abstain from her thus, till he met withKanmakan, as hath been set down. Now he took theprince for his beloved Fatin and was afraid; so he wentup to him and said, “Out on thee, O Fatin! Thou comestto show me thy prowess; but now alight from thy steed,that I may talk with thee, for I have driven off these cattleand waylaid horsemen and champions, all for the sake ofthy beauty and grace, which are without peer. So nowthou shalt marry me, that kings’ daughters may wait onthee, and thou shalt become queen of these countries.”When Kanmakan heard this, the fires of wrath flamed upin him and he cried out, saying, “Out on thee, O dog of the barbarians! Leave thy raving of Fatin and come tocutting and thrusting, for eftsoon thou shalt lie in thedust.” So saying, he began to wheel about him and offerbattle. Then Kehrdash observed him more closely andsaw that he was indeed a doughty knight and a stalwartchampion; and the error of his thought was manifest tohim, whenas he saw the tender down that adorned hischeeks, as it were myrtles springing from the heart ofa red rose. And he feared his onslaught and said tothose that were with him, “Out on you! Let one of youattack him and show him the keen sword and the quiveringspear; for know that for a company to do battle with oneman is foul shame, even though he be a doughty man ofwar and an invincible champion.” With this, there ranat Kanmakan a lion-like horseman, mounted on a blackhorse with white feet and a star on his forehead, thebigness of a dirhem, astounding sight and wit, as he wereAbjer, that was Antar’s steed: even as saith of him thepoet:
See, where the stallion yonder comes, that with a fierce delight Drives to the battle, mingling earth with heaven in his might.
Meseems, the morning smote his brow and to avenge himself Thereon, he plunges straight and deep into its heart of light.
He rushed upon Kanmakan, who met him in mid-career,and they wheeled about awhile in the dint of battle,exchanging blows such as confound the wit and dim thesight, till Kanmakan took the other at vantage and smotehim a swashing blow, that shore through turban and ironskull-cap and reached his head, and he fell from his saddle,as a camel falls, when he rolls over. Then a second cameout to him and a third and a fourth and a fifth, and he didwith them all as he had done with the first. Thereuponthe rest rushed upon him, all at once, for indeed they werewild with rage and concern; but it was not long before hehad transfixed them all with the point of his lance. When Kehrdash saw his feats of arms, he knew that he was stoutof heart and concluded that he was the phœnix of thechampions and heroes of the age: so he feared death andsaid to Kanmakan, “I give thee thy life and pardon theethe blood of my comrades, for I have compassion on theeby reason of thy fair youth. So take what thou wilt of thecattle and go thy ways, for life is better for thee [thandeath].” “Thou lackest not of the generosity of thenoble,”[124] replied Kanmakan; “but leave this talk and fleefor thy life and reck not of blame nor think to get backthe booty; but take the straight path for thine own safety.”When Kehrdash heard this, he waxed exceeding wroth andhis anger moved him to that which was the cause of hisdeath; so he said to Kanmakan, “Out on thee! Knewestthou who I am, thou wouldst not talk thus in the openfield. I am the doughty lion known as Kehrdash, he whodespoils great kings and waylays all the travellers andseizes the merchants’ goods. Yonder steed under thee iswhat I am seeking and I call upon thee to tell me howthou camest by it.” “Know,” replied Kanmakan, “thatthis steed was being carried to my uncle King Sasan inthe company of a certain old woman, attended by tenslaves, when thou fellest upon her and tookest the horsefrom her; and I have a debt of blood against this oldwoman for the sake of my grandfather King Omar benEnnuman and my uncle King Sherkan.” “Out on thee!”said Kehrdash. “Who is thy father, O thou that hast no(known) mother?” “Know,” answered the prince, “thatI am Kanmakan, son of Zoulmekan, son of Omar benEnnuman.” Quoth Kehrdash, “Thy perfection cannot bedenied, nor yet the union in thee of martial virtue andcomeliness: but go in peace, for thy father showed usfavour and bounty.” “By Allah, O vile wretch,” rejoinedKanmakan, “I will not so far honour thee as to overcome thee in the open field!” At this the Bedouin was wrothand they drove at one another, shouting aloud, whilst theirhorses pricked up their ears and raised their tails. Theyclashed together with such a dint, that it seemed to eachas if the heavens were split in sunder, and strove like twobutting rams, smiting one another with thick-comingspear-strokes. Presently, Kehrdash aimed a blow at Kanmakan;but he evaded it and turning upon the brigand,smote him in the breast, that the head of the spear issuedfrom his back. Then he collected the horses and cattleand cried out to the slaves, saying, “Up and drive themoff briskly!” With this down came Subbah and accostingKanmakan, said to him, “Thou hast quitted thee rightwell, O hero of the age! I prayed God for thee and Heheard my prayer.” Then he cut off Kehrdash’s head andKanmakan laughed and said, “Out on thee, Subbah! Ithought thee a man of valour.” Quoth the Bedouin,“Forget not thy slave in the division of the spoil, so haplyI may win therewith to marry my cousin Nejmeh.” “Thoushalt surely have a share in it,” answered Kanmakan,“but now keep watch over the booty and the slaves.”Then they set out and journeyed night and day till theydrew near Baghdad, and all the troops heard of Kanmakanand saw the booty and the brigand’s head on the point ofSubbah’s spear. Moreover, the merchants knew Kehrdash’shead and rejoiced, for he was a noted highwayman,saying, “Allah hath rid mankind of him!” And theymarvelled at his death and called down blessings on hisslayer. Then all the people of Baghdad came to Kanmakan,seeking to know what had befallen him, and he toldthem what had passed, whereupon they were taken withawe of him and all the champions and men of war fearedhim. After this, he drove his spoil to the palace andplanting the spear, on which was Kehrdash’s head, beforethe gate, gave largesse to the people of camels and horses so that they loved him and all hearts inclined to him.Then he took Subbah and lodged him in a spaciousdwelling, giving him part of the booty; after which hewent in to his mother and told her all that had befallenhim. Meanwhile the news of him reached the King, whorose and shutting himself up with his chief officers, said tothem, “I wish to reveal to you my secret and acquaintyou with the truth of my case. Know that Kanmakanwill be the cause of our expulsion from the kingdom; forhe has slain Kehrdash, albeit he had with him the tribesof the Turks and the Kurds, and our affair with him willassuredly result in our destruction, seeing that the mostpart of our troops are his kinsmen and ye know what theVizier Dendan hath done; how he refuses to recognizeme, after all the favours I have done him, and is become atraitor to his faith. Indeed, it has come to my knowledgethat he hath levied an army in the provinces and goethabout to make Kanmakan king, for that the kingdom washis father’s and his grandfather’s before him, and he willsurely slay me without mercy.” When they heard this,they replied, “O King, verily he[125] is unequal to this, anddid we not know him to have been reared by thee, not oneof us would take thought to him. We are at thy commandment;if thou wilt have us slay him, we will do so,and if thou wilt have him kept at a distance, we will chasehim away.” When King Sasan heard this, he said, “Verily,it were wise to slay him: but needs must ye take an oathof it.” So they all pledged themselves to kill him, to theintent that, when the Vizier Dendan came and heard ofhis death, his might should be weakened and fail of thatwhich he designed to do. When they had made this compactwith him, the King bestowed great gifts upon themand dismissing them, retired to his own apartments. Nowthe troops refused their service, awaiting what should befall, for they saw that the most part of the army waswith the Vizier Dendan. Presently, the news of thesethings came to Kuzia Fekan and caused her much concern;so that she sent for the old woman, who was wontto carry messages between her and her cousin, and badeher go to him and warn him of the plot against his life.Accordingly, she repaired to Kanmakan and gave him theprincess’s message, to which he replied, “Bear my cousinmy salutation and say to her, ‘The earth is God’s (towhom belong might and majesty), and He maketh whomHe willeth of His servants to inherit it. How excellent isthe saying of the poet:
The kingship is God’s alone, and him who would fain fulfil His wishes He driveth away and maketh him rue for his ill.
Had I or another than I a handsbreadth of earth to my own, The Godship were sundered in twain and two were the Power and the Will.’”
The old woman returned to Kuzia Fekan with Kanmakan’sreply and told her that he abode in the city.Meanwhile, King Sasan awaited his going forth fromBaghdad, that he might send after him and kill him; till,one day, it befell that Kanmakan went out to hunt,accompanied by Subbah, who would not leave him day ornight. He caught ten gazelles and among them one thathad soft black eyes and turned right and left; so he lether go, and Subbah said to him, “Why didst thou let hergo?” Kanmakan laughed and set the others free also,saying, “It behoves us, of humanity, to release gazellesthat have young, and this one only turned from side toside, to look for her young ones: so I let her go andreleased the others in her honour.” Quoth Subbah, “Dothou release me, that I may go to my people.” At thisKanmakan laughed and smote him on the breast with thebutt of his spear, and he fell to the ground, writhing likea serpent. Whilst they were thus occupied, they saw acloud of dust and heard the tramp of horse; and presently there appeared a troop of armed cavaliers. Now KingSasan had heard of Kanmakan’s going out and sendingfor an Amir of the Medes, called Jami, and twenty men,had given them money and bidden them slay Kanmakan.So, when they drew near the prince, they rushed at himand he met them in mid-career and killed them all, to thelast man. Meanwhile the King took horse and riding outto meet his men, found them all slain, whereat he wonderedand turned back; but the people of the city laid hands onhim and bound him straitly. As for Kanmakan, he leftthat place behind him and rode onward with Subbah. Ashe went, he saw a youth sitting at the door of a housein his road and saluted him. The youth returned hisgreeting and going into the house, brought out twoplatters, one full of milk and the other of brewis swimmingin (clarified) butter, which he set before Kanmakan,saying, “Favour me by eating of my victual.” But herefused and the young man said to him, “What ails thee,O man, that thou wilt not eat?” “I have a vow uponme,” replied the prince. “What is the cause of thy vow?”asked the youth, and Kanmakan answered, “Know thatKing Sasan seized upon my kingdom wrongfully andoppressively, albeit it was my father’s and my grandfather’sbefore me; yet he laid hands upon the throne byforce, after my father’s death, and took no count of me,for that I was of tender years. So I have bound myselfby a vow to eat no man’s victual, till I have eased myheart of my enemy.” “Rejoice,” rejoined the youth, “forGod hath fulfilled thy vow. Know that he is in prison andmethinks he will soon die.” “In what house is he imprisoned?”asked Kanmakan. “In yonder high pavilion,”answered the other. The prince looked and saw the folkentering and buffeting Sasan, who was suffering the agoniesof death. So he went up to the pavilion and noted whatwas therein; after which he returned to his place and sitting down to meat, ate what sufficed him and put therest in his budget. Then he waited till it was dark night.And the youth, whose guest he was, slept; when he roseand repaired to the pavilion in which Sasan was confined.Now about it were dogs, guarding it, and one of them ranat him; so he took out of his wallet a piece of meat andthrew it to him. He ceased not to do thus, till he came tothe pavilion and making his way to the place where Sasanwas, laid his hand upon his head; whereupon he said ina loud voice, “Who art thou?” “I am Kanmakan,”replied the prince, “whom thou wentest about to kill;but God made thee fall into the evil thyself hadst devised.Did it not suffice thee to take my kingdom and that of myfather, but thou must go about to kill me?” And Sasanswore a vain oath that he had not plotted his death andthat the report was untrue. So Kanmakan forgave himand said to him, “Follow me.” Quoth he, “I cannotwalk a single step for weakness.” “If the case be thus,”replied Kanmakan, “we will get us two horses and rideforth and seek the open country.” So they took horseand rode till daybreak, when they prayed the morning-prayerand fared on till they came to a garden, wherethey sat down and talked awhile. Then Kanmakan roseand said to Sasan, “Is there aught of bitterness left in thyheart against me?” “No, by Allah!” replied Sasan. Sothey agreed to return to Baghdad and Subbah the Bedouinsaid, “I will go on before you, to give the folk notice ofyour coming.” Then he rode on in advance, acquaintingmen and women with the news; so all the people cameout to meet Kanmakan with tabrets and flutes; and KuziaFekan also came out, like the full moon shining in all hersplendour in the thick darkness of the night. Kanmakanmet her, and their hearts yearned each to each and theirbodies longed one for the other. There was no talk amongthe people of the time but of Kanmakan; for the cavaliers bore witness of him that he was the most valiant of thefolk of the age and said, “It is not just that other than heshould be King over us; but the throne of his grandfathershall revert to him as it was.” Meanwhile King Sasanwent in to his wife Nuzhet ez Zeman, who said to him,“I hear that the folk talk of nothing but Kanmakan andattribute to him such qualities as beggar description.”“Hearing is not like seeing,” replied the King; “I haveseen him, but have noted in him not one of the attributesof perfection. Not all that is heard is said; but the folkape one another in extolling and cherishing him, and Godmakes his praise to run on the lips of men, so that thereincline to him the hearts of the people of Baghdad andof the perfidious traitor the Vizier Dendan, who has leviedtroops from all countries and arrogates to himself theright of naming a king of the country and chooses thatit shall be under the hand of a worthless orphan.” “Whatthen dost thou purpose to do?” asked Nuzhet ez Zeman.“I mean to kill him,” replied the King, “that the Viziermay be baulked of his intent and return to his allegianceto me, seeing nothing for it but my service.” Quoth she,“Perfidy is a foul thing with strangers, and how muchmore with kinsfolk? Thou wouldst do better to marryhim to thy daughter Kuzia Fekan and give heed to whatwas said of old time:
If Fate set over thee a man, though thou than he Be worthier and this be grievous unto thee,
Yield him the honour due to his estate; thou’lt find He will advantage thee, though near or far thou be.
Speak not thy thought of him; else wilt thou be of those Who of their own accord the way of weal do flee.
Many in the harem oft are brighter than the bride; But time is on her side, and opportunity.”
When Sasan heard this, he rose in anger and said toher, “Were it not that to kill thee would bring disgrace and reproach on me, I would take off thy head with mysword and make an end of thee.” Quoth she, “I did butjest with thee.” And rose and kissed his head and hands,saying, “Thou art right, and we will cast about for somemeans to kill him.” When he heard this, he was glad andsaid, “Make haste and contrive some device to relieve meof my affliction; for I am at my wit’s end.” Said she, “Iwill make shift to do away his life for thee.” “How so?”asked he; and she answered, “By means of our femaleslave Bakoun.” Now this Bakoun was past mistress in allkinds of knavery and was one of the most pernicious ofold women, in whose religion it was not lawful to abstainfrom wickedness; she had brought up Kanmakan andKuzia Fekan, and the former had her in so great affection,that he was wont to sleep at her feet. So when KingSasan heard his wife name her, he said, “This is a goodcounsel,” and sending for the old woman, told her what hadpassed and bade go about to kill Kanmakan, promising herall good. “O my lord,” replied she, “thy commandmentshall be done: but I would have thee give me a daggerthat has been tempered in water of death,[126] that I maydespatch him the quicklier for thee.” “So be it,” saidSasan and gave her a knife that would well-nigh foregodestiny. Now this woman had heard stories and versesand committed to memory great store of witty traits andanecdotes: so she took the dagger and went out, consideringhow she should compass Kanmakan’s destruction.Then she repaired to the prince, whom she found sittingawaiting [the coming of a messenger with] his cousin’stryst; so that night his thought was taken up with KuziaFekan and the fires of love for her raged in his heart.Bakoun went in to him, saying, “The time of union is athand and the days of separation are over and gone.”When he heard this, he said, “How is it with Kuzia Fekan?” And she answered, “Know that she is distraughtfor love of thee.” At this he rose and taking offhis [upper] clothes, put them on her and promised her allgood. Then said she, “Know that I mean to pass thisnight with thee, that I may repeat to thee what talk I haveheard and divert thee with tales of many a slave of love,whom passion hath made sick.” Quoth he, “Tell me astory, that will gladden my heart and dispel my cares.”“With all my heart,” answered she and sitting down besidehim, with the dagger under her clothes, began thus, “Thepleasantest thing I ever heard was as follows:
- Bakoun’s Story of the Hashish-Eater.
[story resumed]
When Kanmakan heard this story, he laughed till hefell backward and said to Bakoun, “O my nurse, this isindeed a rare story; I never heard its like. Hast thou anymore?” “Yes,” answered she and went on to tell himdiverting stories and laughable anecdotes, till sleep overcamehim. Then she sat by him till the most part of thenight was past, when she said to herself, “It is time toprofit by the occasion.” So she unsheathed the daggerand drawing near to Kanmakan, was about to slaughterhim, when, behold, in came his mother. When Bakounsaw her, she rose to meet her, and fear got hold on herand she fell a-trembling, as if she had the ague. Theprincess mother marvelled to see her thus and aroused herson, who awoke and found her sitting at his head. Nowthe reason of her coming was that Kuzia Fekan heard ofthe plot to kill Kanmakan and said to his mother, “Owife of my uncle, go to thy son, ere that wicked baggage Bakoun kill him.” And she told her what hadpassed, from beginning to end. So she rose at once andstayed not for aught, till she came to her son’s lodgings,just as Bakoun was about to slay him. When he awoke,he said to his mother, “O my mother, indeed thou comestat a good time, for my nurse Bakoun has been with methis night.” Then he turned to Bakoun and said to her,“My life on thee, knowest thou any story better thanthose thou hast told me?” “What I have told thee,” answeredshe, “is nothing to what I will tell thee; but thatmust be for another time.” Then she rose to go, hardlybelieving that she should escape with her life, for sheperceived of her cunning that his mother knew what wastoward; and he said, “Go in peace.” So she went herway, and his mother said to him, “O my son, blessed bethis night, wherein God the Most High hath delivered theefrom this accursed woman!” “How so?” asked he, andshe told him the whole story. “O my mother,” said he,“whoso is fated to live finds no slayer; nor, though he beslain, will he die; but now it were wise that we departfrom amongst these enemies and let God do what Hewill.” So, as soon as it was day, he left the city and joinedthe Vizier Dendan, and certain things befell between KingSasan and Nuzhet ez Zeman, which caused her also toleave the city and join herself to Kanmakan and Dendan,as did likewise such of the King’s officers as inclined totheir party. Then they took counsel together what theyshould do and agreed to make an expedition into the landof the Greeks and take their revenge for the death of KingOmar ben Ennuman and his son Sherkan. So they set outwith this intent and after adventures which it were tediousto set out, but the drift of which will appear from whatfollows, they fell into the hands of Rumzan, King of theGreeks. Next morning, King Rumzan caused Dendan andKanmakan and their company to be brought before him and seating them at his side, bade spread the tables offood. So they ate and drank and took heart of grace, afterhaving made sure of death, for that, when they were summonedto the King’s presence, they said to one another,“He has not sent for us but to put us to death.” Thensaid the King, “I have had a dream, which I related tothe monks and they said, ‘None can expound it to theebut the Vizier Dendan.’” “And what didst thou see in thydream, O King of the age?” asked Dendan. “I dreamt,”answered the King, “that I was in a pit, as it were a blackwell, where meseemed folk were tormenting me; and Iwould have risen, but fell on my feet and could not getout of the pit. Then I turned and saw on the ground agirdle of gold and put out my hand to take it; but whenI raised it from the ground, I saw it was two girdles. SoI girt my middle with them, and behold, they became onegirdle; and this, O Vizier, is my dream and what I saw insleep.” “O our lord the Sultan,” said Dendan, “this thydream denotes that thou hast a brother or a brother’s sonor an uncle’s son or other near kinsman of thy flesh andblood [of whom thou knowest not].” When the King heardthis, he looked at Kanmakan and Dendan and Nuzhet ezZeman and Kuzia Fekan and the rest of the captives andsaid in himself, “If I cut off these people’s heads, theirtroops will lose heart for the loss of their chiefs and Ishall be able to return speedily to my realm, lest thekingdom pass out of my hands.” So he called the headsmanand bade him strike off Kanmakan’s head, whenbehold, up came Rumzan’s nurse and said to him, “Oaugust King, what wilt thou do?” Quoth he, “I mean toput these captives to death and throw their heads amongtheir troops; after which I will fall upon them, I and all mymen, and kill all we may and put the rest to the rout; sowill this be the end of the war and I shall return speedilyto my kingdom, ere aught befall among my subjects.” When the nurse heard this, she came up to him and saidin the Frank tongue, “How canst thou slay thine ownbrother’s son and thy sister and thy sister’s daughter?”When he heard this, he was exceeding angry and said toher, “O accursed woman, didst thou not tell me that mymother was murdered and that my father died by poison?Didst thou not give me a jewel and say to me, ‘This jewelwas thy father’s’? Why didst thou not tell me the truth?”“All that I told thee is true,” replied she: “but thy caseand my own are wonderful and thine and my history extraordinary.My name is Merjaneh and thy mother’s namewas Abrizeh. She was gifted with such beauty and graceand valour that proverbs were made of her, and herprowess was renowned among men of war. Thy fatherwas King Omar ben Ennuman, lord of Baghdad andKhorassan. He sent his son Sherkan on an expedition,in company with this very Vizier Dendan; and Sherkanthy brother separated himself from the troops and fell inwith thy mother Queen Abrizeh, in a privy garden of herpalace, whither we had resorted to wrestle, she andI and her other damsels. He came on us by chance and wrestledwith thy mother, who overcame him by the splendour ofher beauty and her valour. Then she entertained him fivedays in her palace, till the news of this came to her father,by the old woman Shewahi, surnamed Dhat ed Dewahi,whereupon she embraced Islam at Sherkan’s hands andhe carried her by stealth to Baghdad, and with her myselfand Rihaneh and other twenty damsels. When we cameto thy father’s presence, he fell in love with thy motherand going in to her one night, foregathered with her, andshe became with child by him of thee. Now thy motherhad three jewels, which she gave to thy father, and he gaveone of them to his daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman, anotherto thy brother Zoulmekan and the third to thy brotherSherkan. This last thy mother took from Sherkan, and I kept it for thee. When the time of the princess’s deliverydrew near, she yearned after her own people and discoveredher secret to me; so I went privily to a blackslave called Ghezban and telling him our case, bribed himto go with us. Accordingly, he took us and fled forth thecity with us by stealth towards the land of the Greeks, tillwe came to a desert place on the borders of our owncountry. Here the pangs of labour came upon thy mother,and the slave, being moved by lust, sought of her ashameful thing; whereat she cried out loudly and was soreaffrighted at him. In the excess of her alarm, she gavebirth to thee at once, and at this moment there arose, inthe direction of our country, a cloud of dust which spreadtill it covered the plain. At this sight, the slave feared forhis life; so, in his rage, he smote Queen Abrizeh with hissword and slew her, then, mounting his horse, went his way.Presently, the dust lifted and discovered thy grandfather,King Herdoub, who, seeing thy mother his daughter deadon the ground, was sorely troubled and questioned me ofthe manner of her death and why she had left her father’skingdom. So I told him all that had happened, first andlast; and this is the cause of the feud between the peopleof the land of the Greeks and the people of Baghdad.Then we took up thy dead mother and buried her; and Itook thee and reared thee, and hung this jewel about thyneck. But, when thou camest to man’s estate, I dared notacquaint thee with the truth of the matter, lest it shouldstir up a war of revenge between you. Moreover, thygrandfather had enjoined me to secrecy, and I could notgainsay the commandment of thy mother’s father, Herdoub,King of the Greeks. This, then, is why I forbore to tellthee that thy father was King Omar ben Ennuman; but,when thou camest to the throne, I told thee [what thouknowest]; and the rest I could not reveal to thee till thismoment. So now, O King of the age, I have discovered to thee my secret and have acquainted thee with all thatI know of the matter; and thou knowest best what isin thy mind.” When Nuzhet ez Zeman heard what theKing’s nurse said, she cried out, saying, “This KingRumzan is my brother by my father King Omar ben Ennuman,and his mother was the Princess Abrizeh, daughterof Herdoub, King of the Greeks; and I know this damselMerjaneh right well.” With this, trouble and perplexitygot hold upon Rumzan and he caused Nuzhet ez Zemanto be brought up to him forthright. When he lookedupon her, blood drew to blood and he questioned herof his history. So she told me all she knew, and herstory tallied with that of his nurse; whereupon he wasassured that he was indeed of the people of Irak and thatKing Omar ben Ennuman was his father. So he causedhis sister to be unbound, and she came up to him andkissed his hands, whilst her eyes ran over with tears. Hewept also to see her weeping, and brotherly love enteredinto him and his heart yearned to his brother’s son Kanmakan.So he sprang to his feet and taking the swordfrom the headsman’s hands, bade bring the captives up tohim. At this, they made sure of death; but he cut theirbonds with the sword and said to Merjaneh, “Explain thematter to them, even as thou hast explained it to me.”“O King,” replied she, “know that this old man is theVizier Dendan and he is the best of witnesses to my story,seeing that he knows the truth of the case.” Then sheturned to the captives and repeated the whole story tothem and to the princes of the Greeks and the Franks whowere present with them, and they all confirmed her words.When she had finished, chancing to look at Kanmakan,she saw on his neck the fellow jewel to that which shehad hung round King Rumzan’s neck, whereupon she gavesuch a cry, that the whole palace rang again, and said tothe King, “Know, O my son, that now my certainty is still more assured, for the jewel that is about the neck ofyonder captive is the fellow to that I hung to thy neck, andthis is indeed thy brother’s son Kanmakan.” Then sheturned to Kanmakan and said to him, “O King of theage, let me see that jewel.” So he took it from his neckand gave it to her. Then she asked Nuzhet ez Zeman ofthe third jewel and she gave it to her, whereupon shedelivered the two to King Rumzan, and the truth of thematter was made manifest to him and he was assured thathe was indeed Prince Kanmakan’s uncle and that hisfather was King Omar ben Ennuman. So he rose at onceand going up to the Vizier Dendan, embraced him; thenhe embraced Prince Kanmakan, and they cried aloud forvery gladness. The joyful news was blazed abroad andthey beat the drums and cymbals, whilst the flutes soundedand the people held high festival. The army of Irak andSyria heard the clamour of rejoicing among the Greeks;so they mounted, all of them, and King Ziblcan also tookhorse, saying in himself, “What can be the cause of thisclamour and rejoicing in the army of the Franks?” Thenthe Muslim troops made ready for fight and advancinginto the field, drew out in battle array. Presently, KingRumzan turned and seeing the army deployed in battalia,enquired the reason and was told the state of the case;so he bade Kuzia Fekan return at once to the Muslimtroops and acquaint them with the accord that had betidedand how it was come to light that he was Kanmakan’suncle. So she set out, putting away from her sorrows andtroubles, and stayed not till she came to King Ziblcan,whom she found tearful-eyed, fearing for the captivechiefs and princes. She saluted him and told him all thathad passed, whereat the Muslims’ grief was turned togladness. Then he and all his officers took horse andfollowed the princess to the pavilion of King Rumzan,whom they found sitting with his nephew, Prince Kanmakan. Now they had taken counsel with the Vizier Dendanconcerning King Ziblcan and had agreed to commit to hischarge the city of Damascus of Syria and leave him kingover it as before, whilst themselves entered Irak. Accordingly,they confirmed him in the viceroyalty of Damascusand bade him set out at once for his government, so hedeparted with his troops and they rode with him a partof the way, to bid him farewell. Then they returned andgave orders for departure, whereupon the two armiesunited and King Rumzan and his nephew set out, surroundedby their nobles and grandees. And indeed Kanmakanrejoiced in his uncle King Rumzan and calleddown blessings on the nurse Merjaneh, who had madethem known to each other; but the two Kings said to oneanother, “Our hearts will never be at rest nor our wrathappeased, till we have taken our wreak of the old womanShewahi, surnamed Dhat ed Dewahi, and wiped out theblot upon our honour.” So they fared on till they drewnear Baghdad, and Sasan, hearing of their approach, cameout to meet them and kissed the hand of the King of theGreeks, who bestowed on him a dress of honour. ThenKing Rumzan sat down on the throne and seated hisnephew at his side, who said to him, “O my uncle, thiskingdom befits none but thee.” “God forbid,” repliedRumzan, “that I should supplant thee in thy kingdom!”So the Vizier Dendan counselled them to share the thronebetween them, ruling each one day in turn, and theyagreed to this. Night cxliv.Then they made feasts and offered sacrificesand held high festival, whilst King Kanmakan spenthis nights with his cousin Kuzia Fekan; and they abodethus awhile.
One day, as the two Kings sat, rejoicing in the happyending of their troubles, they saw a cloud of dust ariseand up came a merchant, who ran to them, shrieking andcrying out for succour. “O Kings of the age,” said he, “how comes it that I was in safety in the country of theinfidels and am plundered in your realm, what though itbe a land of peace and justice?” King Rumzan questionedhim of his case, and he replied, “I am a merchant, whohave been nigh a score of years absent from my nativeland, travelling in far countries; and I have a patent ofexemption from Damascus, which the late Viceroy KingSherkan wrote me, for that I had made him gift ofa slave-girl. Now I was returning to Irak, having withme a hundred loads of rarities of Ind; but, as I drew nearBaghdad, the seat of your sovereignty and the abiding-placeof your peace and your justice, there came out uponme Bedouins and Kurds banded together from all parts,who slew my men and robbed me of all my goods. Thisis what hath befallen me.” Then he wept and bemoanedhimself before the two Kings, who took compassion onhim and swore that they would sally out upon the thieves.So they set out with a hundred horse, each reckoned worththousands of men, and the merchant went before them, toguide them in the right way. They fared on all that dayand the following night till daybreak, when they came toa valley abounding in streams and trees. Here they foundthe bandits dispersed about the valley, having divided thetreasure between them; but there was yet some of it left.So they fell upon them and surrounded them on all sides,nor was it long before they made prize of them all, to thenumber of near three hundred horsemen, banded togetherof the scourings of the Arabs. They bound them all, andtaking what they could find of the merchant’s goods,returned to Baghdad, where the two Kings sat down uponone throne and passing the prisoners in review beforethem, questioned them of their condition and their chiefs.So they pointed out to them three men and said, “Theseare our only chiefs, and it was they who gathered ustogether from all parts and countries.” The Kings bade lay on these three and set the rest free, after takingfrom them all the goods in their possession and givingthem to the merchant, who examined them and found thata fourth of his stock was missing. The two Kings engagedto make good his loss, whereupon he pulled out twoletters, one in the handwriting of Sherkan and the otherin that of Nuzhet ez Zeman; for this was the very merchantwho had bought Nuzhet ez Zeman of the Bedouin, as hathbeen before set forth. Kanmakan examined the lettersand recognized the handwriting of his uncle Sherkan andhis aunt Nuzhet ez Zeman; then (for that he knew thelatter’s history) he went in to her with that which shehad written and told her the merchant’s story. She knewher own handwriting and recognizing the merchant, despatchedto him guest-gifts (of victual and what not) andcommended him to her brother and nephew, who orderedhim gifts of money and slaves and servants to wait on him,besides which the princess sent him a hundred thousanddirhems in money and fifty loads of merchandise, togetherwith other rich presents. Then she sent for him andmade herself known to him, whereat he rejoiced greatlyand kissed her hands, giving her joy of her safety andunion with her brother and thanking her for her bounty:and he said to her, “By Allah, a good deed is not lostupon thee!” Then she withdrew to her own apartmentand the merchant sojourned with them three days, afterwhich he took leave of them and set out to return toDamascus. After this, the two Kings sent for the threerobber-chiefs and questioned them of their condition,whereupon one of them came forward and said, “Knowthat I am a Bedouin, who use to lie in wait, by the way,to steal children and virgin girls and sell them to merchants;and this I did for many a year until these latterdays, when Satan incited me to join these two gallows-birdsin gathering together all the riff-raff of the Arabs and other peoples, that we might waylay merchants andplunder caravans.” Said the two Kings, “Tell us therarest of the adventures that have befallen thee in kidnappingchildren and girls.” “O Kings of the age,” repliedhe, “the strangest thing that ever happened to me was asfollows. Two-and-twenty years ago, being at Jerusalem,I saw a girl come out of the khan, who was possessed ofbeauty and grace, albeit she was but a servant and wasclad in worn clothes, with a piece of camel-cloth onher head; so I entrapped her by guile and setting her ona camel, made off with her into the desert, thinking tocarry her to my own people and there set her to pasturethe camels and collect their dung (for fuel); but shewept so sore, that after beating her soundly, I carriedher to Damascus, where a merchant saw her and beingastounded at her beauty and accomplishments, bid memore and more for her, till at last I sold her to him fora hundred thousand dinars. I heard after that he clothedher handsomely and presented her to the Viceroy ofDamascus, who gave him for her her price thrice told;and this, by my life, was but little for such a damsel!This, O Kings of the age, is the strangest thing that everbefell me.” The two Kings wondered at his story; but,when Nuzhet ez Zeman heard it, the light in her facebecame darkness, and she cried out and said to herbrother, “Sure, this is the very Bedouin who kidnappedme in Jerusalem!” And she told them all that she hadendured from him in her strangerhood of hardship andblows and hunger and humiliation, adding, “And now itis lawful to me to slay him.” So saying, she seizeda sword and made at him; but he cried out and said,“O Kings of the age, let her not kill me, till I have toldyou the rare adventures that have betided me.” AndKanmakan said to her, “O my aunt, let him tell hisstory, and after do with him as thou wilt.” So she held her hand and the Kings said to him, “Now let us hearthy story.” “O Kings of the age,” said he, “if I tell youa rare story, will you pardon me?” “Yes,” answeredthey. Then said the Bedouin, “know that
- Hemmad the Bedouin’s Story.
[story resumed]
When Nuzet ez Zeman heard these words of theBedouin, the light in her eyes was changed to darkness,Night cxlv.and she rose and drawing the sword, smote him amiddlewardthe shoulder-blades, that the point issued from histhroat. The bystanders said to her, “Why hast thoumade haste to slay him?” And she answered, “Praisedbe God who hath granted me to avenge myself with myown hand!” And she bade the slaves drag the body outby the feet and cast it to the dogs. Then they turned tothe second prisoner, who was a black slave, and said tohim, “What is thy name? Tell us the truth of thy case.”“My name is Ghezban,” answered he and told them whathad passed between himself and the princess Abrizeh andhow he had slain her and fled. Hardly had he made anend of his story, when King Rumzan struck off his headwith his sabre, saying, “Praised be God that gave me life!I have avenged my mother with my own hand.” Then herepeated to them what his nurse Merjaneh had told himof this same Ghezban; after which they turned to thethird prisoner and said to him, “Tell us who thou art andspeak the truth.” Now this was the very camel-driver,whom the people of Jerusalem hired to carry Zoulmekanto the hospital at Damascus; but he threw him down on the fuel-heap and went his way. So he told them how hehad dealt with Zoulmekan, whereupon Kanmakan tookhis sword forthright and cut off his head, saying, “Praisedbe God who hath given me life, that I might requite thistraitor what he did with my father, for I have heard thisvery story from King Zoulmekan himself!” Then theysaid to each other “It remains only for us to take ourwreak of the old woman Shewahi, yclept Dhat ed Dewahi,for that she is the prime cause of all these troubles. Whowill deliver her into our hands, that we may avenge ourselvesupon her and wipe out our dishonour?” AndKing Rumzan said, “Needs must we bring her hither.”So he wrote a letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid oldwoman, giving her to know that he had subdued thekingdoms of Damascus and Mosul and Irak and hadbroken up the host of the Muslims and captured theirprinces and adding, “I desire thee of all urgency to cometo me without delay, bringing with thee the princessSufiyeh, daughter of King Afridoun, and whom thou wiltof the Nazarene chiefs, but no troops; for the countryis quiet and under our hand.” And he despatched theletter to her, which when she read, she rejoiced greatlyand forthwith equipping herself and Sufiyeh, set out withtheir attendants and journeyed, without stopping, till theydrew near Baghdad. Then she sent a messenger toacquaint the King of her arrival, whereupon quoth Rumzan,“We should do well to don the habit of the Franks andgo out to meet the old woman, to the intent that we maybe assured against her craft and perfidy.” So they cladthemselves in Frankish apparel, and when Kuzia Fekansaw them, she exclaimed, “By the Lord of Worship, didI not know you, I should take you to be indeed Franks!”Then they sallied forth, with a thousand horse, to meetthe old woman, and King Rumzan rode on before them.As soon as his eyes met hers, he dismounted and walked towards her, and she, recognizing him, dismounted alsoand embraced him; but he pressed her ribs with hishands, till he well-nigh broke them. Quoth she, “Whatis this, O my son?” But before she had done speaking,up came Kanmakan and Dendan, and the horsemen withthem cried out at the women and slaves and took them allprisoners. Then the two Kings returned to Baghdad, withtheir captives, and Rumzan bade decorate the city threedays long, at the end of which time they brought out the oldwoman, with a tall red bonnet of palm-leaves on her head,diademed with asses’ dung, and preceded by a herald,proclaiming aloud, “This is the reward of those who presumeto lay hands on kings and kings’ sons!” Then theycrucified her on one of the gates of Baghdad; and hercompanions, seeing what befell her, all embraced the faithof Islam. As for Kanmakan and his uncle Rumzan andhis aunt Nuzhet ez Zeman, they marvelled at the wonderfulevents that had betided them and bade the scribes setthem down orderly in books, that those who came aftermight read. Then they all abode in the enjoyment of allthe delights and comforts of life, till there overtook themthe Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies;and this is all that hath come down to us of the dealingsof fortune with King Omar ben Ennuman and his sonsSherkan and Zoulmekan and his son’s son Kanmakan andhis daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman and her daughter KuziaFekan.
- ↑A.H. 65–86.
- ↑i.e. none could approach him in the heat of fight.
- ↑Sophia.
- ↑Apparently Palestine (in this case).
- ↑i.e. man of might and munificence.
- ↑About £35,000.
- ↑Dhai ed Dewahi.
- ↑i.e. sperma hominis.
- ↑ 9.09.19.2Apparently the names of noted wrestlers.
- ↑A phrase of frequent occurrence in the Koran, meaning “your femaleslaves” or “the women ye have captured in war.”
- ↑ Quoth he (Solomon), “O chiefs, which of you will bring me herthrone?” (i.e. that of Belkis, queen of Sheba) . . . . . . . “I,” said anAfrit of the Jinn, “will bring it thee, ere thou canst rise from thy stead,for I am able thereto and faithful!”—Koran xxvii. 38, 39.
- ↑One of the fountains of Paradise.
- ↑Kutheiyir ibn Ali Juma, a well-known poet of the seventh andeighth centuries at Medina. He was celebrated for his love of Azzeh,in whose honour most of his poems were written. The writer (orcopyist) of this tale has committed an anachronism in introducing theseverses, as Kutheiyir was a contemporary of the Khalif Abdulmelik benMerwan before whose time Sherkan and his father (both imaginarycharacters) are stated( see supra, p. 1) to have lived; but the wholenarrative is full of the grossest anachronisms, too numerous, indeed,to notice.
- ↑Jemil ben Mamer, another celebrated Arabian poet and lover, afriend and contemporary of Kutheiyir.
- ↑ A person who dies for love is esteemed a martyr by theArabs.
- ↑ I suspect these verses to have been introduced in error by somecopyist. They appear utterly meaningless in this context.
- ↑The bishop.
- ↑Apparently referring in jest to her speech to him see supra, p. 27),“Thou art beaten in everything.”
- ↑ He likens the glance of her eye to the blade of a Yemen sword,—acomparison of frequent occurrence in Arabic poetry.
- ↑Mehmil. A decorated framework or litter borne by a camel, sent asan emblem of royalty with the caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, by way ofhonour to the occasion and to the sacred object of the pilgrimage, muchas great people send their empty carriages to attend the funeral of aperson for whose memory they wish to show their respect. The introductionof the Mehmil here is another of the many anachronisms of thestory, as the custom is said not to have come into use till a much laterperiod.
- ↑Mecca.
- ↑Medina.
- ↑ 23.023.1Oriental substitutes for soap.
- ↑i.e., death.
- ↑Apparently the Bedouin was angry with the merchant for praisingthe girl to her face and perhaps also alarmed at finding that he hadkidnapped a young lady of consequence, where he only thought to havemade prize of a pretty wench of humble condition and friendless.
- ↑Delight of the age.
- ↑Affliction (or wrath) of the age.
- ↑For fuel.
- ↑i.e. “God will open on me another gate (or means) of making myliving.” A common formula, meaning, “It is not enough.”
- ↑Or state problems.
- ↑One of the four great Muslim sects or schools of theology, taking itsname from the Imam es Shafi (see post, p. 131, note).
- ↑Second of the Abbasside Khalifs, A.H. 136–158.
- ↑The second Khalif after Mohammed (A.H. 13–23) and the mostrenowned for piety and just government of all the borders of the office,except perhaps his descendant Omar ben Abdulaziz (A.H. 99–102).
- ↑As a reward (in the next world) for good deeds.
- ↑The fourth Khalif.
- ↑The word rendered “good breeding” may also be translated “politeaccomplishments” or “mental discipline” and has a great number ofother meanings.
- ↑Sixth Khalif and founder of the Ommiade dynasty (A.H. 41–60).
- ↑One of the most notable men of the day, chief of the great tribe ofthe Benou Temim. He was a contemporary of the Prophet and washeld in much esteem by Muawiyeh.
- ↑Surname of Ahnaf.
- ↑Governor of Bassora and other places under the first four Khalifs.
- ↑Ziad ben Abou Sufyan, illegitimate brother of the Khalif Muawiyeh,afterwards governor of Bassora, Cufa and the Hejaz.
- ↑Because it might have been taken to mean, “inhabitants of hell.”
- ↑i.e. death.
- ↑A battle fought near Medina, A.D. 625, in which Mohammed wasdefeated by the Meccans under Abou Sufyan.
- ↑One of Mohammed’s widows and Omar’s own daughter.
- ↑A well-known man of letters and theologian of the seventh andeighth centuries.
- ↑i.e. to prepare himself by good works, etc., for the world to come.
- ↑A celebrated Cufan theologian of the eighth century.
- ↑i.e. for the next world.
- ↑The eighth Khalif of the Ommiade dynasty, a rival in piety andsingle-mindedness of Omar ben Khettab.
- ↑The descendants of Umeyyeh and kinsmen of the reigning house.
- ↑The second, fifth, sixth and seventh Khalifs of the Ommiade dynasty.
- ↑The mother of Omar ben Abdulaziz was a granddaughter of Omarben Khettab.
- ↑Brother of Omar’s successor, Yezid II.
- ↑This passage apparently belongs to the previous account of Omar’sdeath-bed; but I have left it as it stands in the text, as it would bea hopeless task to endeavour to restore this chaos of insipid anecdoteand devotional commonplace to anything like symmetry.
- ↑Lit. with (or by) neither book (i.e. Koran) nor Sunneh (i.e. theTraditions of the Prophet).
- ↑Chief of the tribe of Temim and one of the most elegant orators ofthe eighth century.
- ↑Surnamed Eth Thekefi, Governor of Yemen and Irak: also a well-knownorator, but a most cruel and fantastic tyrant.
- ↑Tenth Khalif of the Ommiade dynasty (A.D. 723–742).
- ↑i.e. slave-girl.
- ↑i.e. It was decreed, so it was.
- ↑Nuzhet ez Zeman.
- ↑Nuzhet ez Zeman.
- ↑Zoulmekan.
- ↑Nuzhet ez Zeman.
- ↑Sedic.
- ↑Sidc.
- ↑Mohammed Ibn Shihab ez Zuhri, a celebrated Traditionist andjurisconsult of Medina in the seventh and eighth centuries.
- ↑Alexander.
- ↑The celebrated fabulist, said to have been a black slave of the timeof David, but supposed by some to be identical with Æsop.
- ↑Koran iii. 185.
- ↑One of the Companions of the Prophet.
- ↑One of the contemporaries of Mohammed and a noted Traditionist(or repeater of the sayings of the Prophet) at Cufa in the seventh century.
- ↑A noted Traditionist and expounder of the Koran in the first centuryof the Muslim era. He was a black and a native of Cufa.
- ↑Son of the martyr Hussein and grandson of the Khalif Ali.
- ↑A very eminent doctor of the law and Traditionist of the eighthcentury. He was a native of Cufa and was regarded as one of the greatexemplars of the true believers.
- ↑i.e. those who love and obey the precepts of the Koran.
- ↑i.e. Barefoot. A native of Merv and a famous ascetic of the eighthand ninth centuries.
- ↑Necessitating a fresh ablution, before the prayer can be ended.
- ↑Another noted ascetic of the time.
- ↑About a penny.
- ↑A well-known legist and devotee of the eighth and ninth centuriesat Baghdad, founder of one of the four great orthodox Muslim schools.
- ↑A famous theologian and devotee of the eighth century at Bassora.
- ↑A noted preacher and Traditionist of Khorassan in the ninth century.
- ↑Koran lxvi. 6.
- ↑A Traditionist of Medina. who flourished in the eighth century.
- ↑This paragraph is part extract from and part paraphrase of theKoran xxviii. 22–27.
- ↑A well-known pietist of the eighth century.
- ↑Abou Hatim el Asemm (the Deaf), a famous Balkhi theologian of the ninth century.
- ↑ 90.090.1Two of the most famous theologians of the second century of theHegira and the founders of two of the four great Mohammedan schools.
- ↑Ismail ibn Yehya el Muzeni, a famous Egyptian doctor of the law,a pupil of Es Shafi and Imam of the Shafiyite school in the ninth century.
- ↑Koran lxxvii. 35, 36.
- ↑Mohammed.
- ↑Islam.
- ↑“In Hell shall they (the unbelievers) burn, and ill shall be (their)stead.”—Koran, xiv. 34.
- ↑Mohammed pretended that his coming had been foretold in theGospels and that the Christians had falsified the passage (John xvi. 7)promising the advent of the Comforter (παράκλητος) by substituting thelatter word for περικλυτός, glorious, renowned, praised, i.e. Mohammed.
- ↑The second chapter of the Koran, beginning, “This is the Book, etc.”
- ↑It appears by what follows that Afridoun, supposing the victory tobe gained, returned to Constantinople immediately after sending thismessage and left the command of the army to King Herdoub.
- ↑At Mecca.
- ↑i.e. There is no god but God.
- ↑Koran, x. 25.
- ↑Cassia fistularis, a kind of carob.
- ↑“say not of those who are slain in the way (service) of God thatthey are dead; nay, they are living.”—Koran, ii. 149.
- ↑ Apparently Constantinople.
- ↑ This verse alludes to the garbled version of the miracle of Aaron’srod given in the Koran, which attributes the act to Moses and makes theEgyptian sorcerers throw down ropes, to which by their art they givethe appearance of serpents.
- ↑i.e. of the Koran.
- ↑A certain formula, invoking peace on the Prophet and all men,recurring at the end of the five daily prayers and pronounced sitting.
- ↑ex voto.
- ↑i.e. Mohammed.
- ↑i.e. “What news bringest thou, O saint?”
- ↑i.e. Mohammed.
- ↑These epithets are often applied by the Arabs, in a complimentarysense, to anyone who works great havoc among his enemies by hisprowess and cunning.
- ↑See Vol. I. p. 135, note.
- ↑i.e. Deal with thee as if thou wert slave-born and therefore not usedto knightly fashions nor able to endure stress of battle.
- ↑A chapel so called in the Temple at Mecca.
- ↑i.e. Mohammed.
- ↑i.e. protector of the women that ride therein.
- ↑Zibl means “dung” or “sweepings.” Can (Khan) means “chief.”
- ↑i.e. Him who fights for the Faith.
- ↑A town on the Euphrates, on the borders of Syria and Mesopotamia.
- ↑i.e. recognized him as king by naming him in the public prayers.
- ↑i.e. the silky whiskers, which it is common, in poetry, to call green likening them to newly-sprouted herbage.
- ↑i.e. the Day of Judgment.
- ↑Ironical.
- ↑i.e. Kanmakan.
- ↑Meaning, apparently, poisoned.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
This work was published before January 1, 1924, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
This work was published before January 1, 1924, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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