Who never hath done evil,* Doing good for sole delight? When tried the sons of worldli-* ness they mostly work upright.”
Quoth Ibrahim, “Now when I heard these couplets, I withdrew my woman’s veil from my head and cried out, with my loudest voice, ‘Allah is Most Great! By Allah, the Commander of the Faithful pardoneth me!’ Quoth he, ‘No harm shall come to thee, O uncle;’ and I rejoined, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, my sin is too sore for me to excuse it and thy mercy is too much for me to speak thanks for it.’ And I chanted these couplets to a lively motive,
‘Who made all graces all collected He * In Adam’s loins, our Seventh Imam, for thee,[FN#160]
Thou hast the hearts of men with reverence filled, * Enguarding all with heart-humility
Rebelled I never by delusion whelmed * For object other than thy clemency ;[FN#161]
And thou hast pardoned me whose like was ne’er * Pardoned before, though no man pled my plea:
Hast pitied little ones like Kata’s[FN#162] young, * And mother’s yearning heart a son to see.’
Quoth Maamun, ‘I say, following our lord Joseph (on whom and on our Prophet be blessing and peace!) let there be no reproach cast on you this day. Allah forgiveth you; for He is the most merciful of those who show mercy.[FN#163] Indeed I pardon thee, and restore to thee thy goods and lands, O uncle, and no harm shall befall thee.’ So I offered up devout prayers for him and repeated these couplets,
‘Thou hast restored my wealth sans greed, and ere * So didst, thou deignedest my blood to spare:
Then if I shed my blood and wealth, to gain * Thy grace, till even shoon from foot I tear,
Twere but repaying what thou lentest me, * And what unloaned no man to blame would care:
Were I ungrateful for thy lavish boons, * Baser than thou’rt beneficent I were!’
Then Al-Maamun showed me honour and favour and said to me, ‘O uncle, Abu Ishak and Al-Abbas counselled me to put thee to death.’ So I answered, ‘And they both counselled thee right, O Commander of the Faithful, but thou hast done after thine own nature and hast put away what I feared with what I hoped.’ Rejoined Al Maamun, ‘O uncle, thou didst extinguish my rancour with the modesty of thine excuse, and I have pardoned thee without making thee drink the bitterness of obligation to intercessors.’ Then he prostrated himself in prayer a long while, after which he raised his head and said to me, ‘O uncle, knowest thou why I prostrated myself?’ Answered I, ‘Haply thou didst this in thanksgiving to Allah, for that He hath given thee the mastery over thine enemy.’ He replied, ‘Such was not my design, but rather to thank Allah for having inspired me to pardon thee and for having cleared my mind towards thee. Now tell me thy tale.’ So I told him all that had befallen me with the barber, the trooper and his wife and with my freed-woman who had betrayed me. So he summoned the freed-woman, who was in her house, expecting the reward to be sent to her, and when she came before him he said to her, ‘What moved thee to deal thus with thy lord?’ Quoth she, ‘Lust of money.’ Asked the Caliph ‘Hast thou a child or a husband?’; and she answered ‘No;’ whereupon he bade them give her an hundred stripes with a whip and imprisoned her for life. Then he sent for the trooper and his wife and the barber-surgeon and asked the soldier what had moved him to do thus. ‘Lust of money,’ quoth he; whereupon quoth the Caliph, ‘It befitteth thee to be a barber-cupper,'[FN#164] and committed him to one whom he charged to place him in a barber-cupper’s shop, where he might learn the craft. But he showed honour to the trooper’s wife and lodged her in his palace, saying, ‘This is a woman of sound sense and fit for matters of moment.’ Then said he to the barber-cupper, ‘Verily, thou hast shown worth and generosity which call for extraordinary honour.’ So he commanded the trooper’s house and all that was therein to be given him and bestowed on him a dress of honour and in addition fifteen thousand dinars to be paid annually. And men tell the following tale concerning
THE CITY OF MANY COLUMNED IRAM AND ABDULLAH SON OF ABI KILABAH.[FN#165]
It is related that Abdullah bin Abi Kilabah went forth in quest of a she-camel which had strayed from him; and, as he was wandering in the deserts of Al-Yaman and the district of Saba,[FN#166] behold, he came upon a great city girt by a vast castle around which were palaces and pavilions that rose high into middle air. He made for the place thinking to find there folk of whom he might ask concerning his she-camel; but, when he reached it, he found it desolate, without a living soul in it. So (quoth he) “I alighted and, hobbling my dromedary,”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Abi Kilabah continued, “I dismounted and hobbling my dromedary, and composing my mind, entered into the city. Now when I came to the castle, I found it had two vast gates (never in the world was seen their like for size height) inlaid with all manner of jewels and jacinths, white and red, yellow and green. Beholding this I marvelled with great marvel and thought the case mighty wondrous; then entering the citadel in a flutter of fear and dazed with surprise and affright, I found it long and wide, about equalling Al-Medinah[FN#167] in point of size; and therein were lofty palaces laid out in pavilions all built of gold and silver and inlaid with many-coloured jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and pearls. And the door-leaves in the pavilions were like those of the castle for beauty; and their floors were strewn with great pearls and balls, no smaller than hazel nuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron. Now when I came within the heart of the city and saw therein no created beings of the Sons of Adam I was near swooning and dying for fear. Moreover, I looked down from the great roofs of the pavilion-chambers and their balconies and saw rivers running under them; and in the main streets were fruit-laden trees and tall palms; and the manner of their building was one brick of gold and one of silver. So I said in myself, ‘Doubtless this is the Paradise promised for the world to come.’ Then I loaded me with the jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as I could carry and returned to my own country, where I told the folk what I had seen. After a time the news reached Mu’awiyah, son of Abu Sufyan, who was then Caliph in Al-Hijaz; so he wrote to his lieutenant in San’a of Al-Yaman to send for the teller of the story and question him of the truth of the case. Accordingly the lieutenant summoned me and questioned me of my adventure and of all appertaining to it; and I told him what I had seen, whereupon he despatched me to Mu’awiyah, before whom I repeated the story of the strange sights; but he would not credit it. So I brought out to him some of the pearls and balls of musk and ambergris and saffron, in which latter there was still some sweet savour; but the pearls were grown yellow and had lost pearly colour.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah son of Abu Kilabah continued, “But the pearls were grown yellow and had lost pearly colour. Now Mu’awiyah wondered at this and, sending for Ka’ab al-Ahbar[FN#168] said to him, ‘O Ka’ab, I have sent for thee to ascertain the truth of a certain matter and hope that thou wilt be able to certify me thereof.’ Asked Ka’ab, ‘What is it, O Commander of the Faithful?’; and Mu’awiyah answered, ‘Wottest thou of any city founded by man which is builded of gold and silver, the pillars whereof are of chrysolite and rubies and its gravel pearls and balls of musk and ambergris and saffron?’ He replied, ‘Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, this is ‘Iram with pillars decked and dight, the like of which was never made in the lands,'[FN#169] and the builder was Shaddad son of Ad the Greater.’ Quoth the Caliph, ‘Tell us something of its history,’ and Ka’ab said, ‘Ad the Greater[FN#170] had two sons, Shadid and Shaddad who, when their father died, ruled conjointly in his stead, and there was no King of the Kings of the earth but was subject to them. After awhile Shadid died and his brother Shaddad reigned over the earth alone. Now he was fond of reading in antique books; and, happening upon the description of the world to come and of Paradise, with its pavilions and galleries and trees and fruits and so forth, his soul moved him to build the like thereof in this world, after the fashion aforesaid. Now under his hand were an hundred thousand Kings, each ruling over an hundred thousand chiefs, commanding each an hundred thousand warriors; so he called these all before him and said to them, ‘I find in ancient books and annals a description of Paradise, as it is to be in the next world, and I desire to build me its like in this world. Go ye forth therefore to the goodliest tract on earth and the most spacious and build me there a city of gold and silver, whose gravel shall be chrysolite and rubies and pearls; and for support of its vaults make pillars of jasper. Fill it with palaces, whereon ye shall set galleries and balconies and plant its lanes and thoroughfares with all manner trees bearing yellow-ripe fruits and make rivers to run through it in channels of gold and silver.’ Whereat said one and all, ‘How are we able to do this thing thou hast commanded, and whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls whereof thou speakest?’ Quoth he, ‘What! weet ye not that the Kings of the world are subject to me and under my hand and that none therein dare gainsay my word?’ Answered they, ‘Yes, we know that.'”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lieges answered, “Yes, we know that;” whereupon the King rejoined, “Fare ye then to the mines of chrysolites and rubies and pearls and gold and silver and collect their produce and gather together all of value that is in the world and spare no pains and leave naught; and take also for me such of these things as be in men’s hands and let nothing escape you: be diligent and beware of disobedience.” And thereupon he wrote letters to all the Kings of the world and bade them gather together whatso of these things was in their subjects’ hands, and get them to the mines of precious stones and metals, and bring forth all that was therein, even from the abysses of the seas. This they accomplished in the space of 20 years, for the number of rulers then reigning over the earth was three hundred and sixty Kings, and Shaddad presently assembled from all lands and countries architects and engineers and men of art and labourers and handicraftsmen, who dispersed over the world and explored all the wastes and words and tracts and holds. At last they came to an uninhabited spot, a vast and fair open plain clear of sand-hills and mountains, with founts flushing and rivers rushing, and they said, “This is the manner of place the King commanded us to seek and ordered us to find.” So they busied themselves in building the city even as bade them Shaddad, King of the whole earth in its length and breadth; leading the fountains in channels and laying the foundations after the prescribed fashion. Moreover, all the Kings of earth’s several-reigns sent thither jewels and precious stones and pearls large and small and carnelian and refined gold and virgin silver upon camels by land, and in great ships over the waters, and there came to the builders’ hands of all these materials so great a quantity as may neither be told nor counted nor conceived. So they laboured at the work three hundred years; and, when they had brought it to end, they went to King Shaddad and acquainted him therewith. Then said he, “Depart and make thereon an impregnable castle, rising and towering high in air, and build around it a thousand pavilions, each upon a thousand columns of chrysolite and ruby and vaulted with gold, that in each pavilion a Wazir may dwell.” So they returned forthwith and did this in other twenty years; after which they again presented themselves before King Shaddad and informed him of the accomplishment of his will. Then he commanded his Wazirs, who were a thousand in number, and his Chief Officers and such of his troops and others as he put trust in, to prepare for departure and removal to Many-columned Iram, in the suite and at the stirrup of Shaddad, son of Ad, King of the World; and he bade also such as he would of his women and his Harim and of his handmaids and eunuchs make them ready for the journey. They spent twenty years in preparing for departure, at the end of which time Shaddad set out with his host.–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaddad bin Ad fared forth, he and his host, rejoicing in the attainment of his desire till there remained but one day’s journey between him and Iram of the Pillars. Then Allah sent down on him and on the stubborn unbelievers with him a mighty rushing sound from the Heavens of His power, which destroyed them all with its vehement clamour, and neither Shaddad nor any of his company set eyes on the city.[FN#171] Moreover, Allah blotted out the road which led to the city, and it stands in its stead unchanged until the Resurrection Day and the Hour of Judgement.” So Mu’awiyah wondered greatly at Ka’ab al-Ahbar’s story and said to him, “Hath any mortal ever made his way to that city?” He replied, “Yes; one of the companions of Mohammed (on whom be blessing and peace!) reached it, doubtless and forsure after the same fashion as this man here seated.” “And (quoth Al-Sha’abi[FN#172]) it is related, on the authority of learned men of Himyar in Al-Yaman that Shaddad, when destroyed with all his host by the sound, was succeeded in his Kingship by his son Shaddad the Less, whom he left vice-regent in Hazramaut[FN#173] and Saba, when he and his marched upon Many-columned Iram. Now as soon as he heard of his father’s death on the road, he caused his body to be brought back from the desert to Hazramaut and bade them hew him out a tomb in a cave, where he laid the body on a throne of gold and threw over the corpse threescore and ten robes of cloth of gold, purfled with precious stones. Lastly at his sire’s head he set up a tablet of gold whereon were graven these verses,
‘Take warning O proud, * And in length o’ life vain! I’m Shaddad son of Ad, * Of the forts castellain; Lord of pillars and power,* Lord of tried might and main, Whom all earth-sons obeyed* For my mischief and bane And who held East and West* In mine awfullest reign. He preached me salvation * Whom God did assain,[FN#174] But we crossed him and asked * ‘Can no refuge be ta’en?’ When a Cry on us cried * From th’ horizon plain, And we fell on the field * Like the harvested grain, And the Fixt Day await * We, in earth’s bosom lain!'”
Al-Sa’alibi also relateth, “It chanced that two men once entered this cave and found steps at its upper end; so they descended and came to an underground chamber, an hundred cubits long by forty wide and an hundred high. In the midst stood a throne of gold, whereon lay a man of huge bulk, filling the whole length and breadth of the throne. He was covered with jewels and raiment gold-and-silver wrought, and at his head was a tablet of gold bearing an inscription. So they took the tablet and carried it off, together with as many bars of gold and silver and so forth as they could bear away.” And men also relate the tale of
ISAAC OF MOSUL.
Quoth Isaac of Mosul,[FN#175] “I went out one night from Al Maamun’s presence, on my way to my house; and, being taken with a pressing need to make water, I turned aside into a by-street and stood in the middle fearing lest something might hurt me, if I squatted against a wall.[FN#176] Presently, I espied something hanging down from one of the houses; so I felt it to find out what it might be and found that it was a great four-handled basket,[FN#177] covered with brocade. Said I to myself, ‘There must be some reason for this,’ and knew not what to think; then drunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, and behold, the people of the house pulled me up, thinking me to be the person they expected. Now when I came to the top of the wall; lo! four damsels were there, who said to me, ‘Descend and welcome and joy to thee!’ Then one of them went before me with a wax candle and brought me down into a mansion, wherein were furnished sitting- chambers, whose like I had never seen save in the palace of the Caliphate. So I sat down and, after a while, the curtains were suddenly drawn from one side of the room and, behold, in came damsels walking in procession and hending hand lighted flambeaux of wax and censers full of Sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young lady as she were the rising full moon. So I stood up to her and she said, ‘Welcome to thee for a visitor!’ and then she made me sit down again and asked me how I came thither. Quoth I, ‘I was returning home from the house of an intimate friend and went astray in the dark; then, being taken in the street with an urgent call to make water, I turned aside into this lane, where I found a basket let down. The strong wine which I had drunk led me to seat myself in it and it was drawn up with me into this house, and this is my story.’ She rejoined, ‘No harm shall befall thee, and I hope thou wilt have cause to praise the issue of thine adventure.’ Then she added, ‘But what is thy condition?’ I said, ‘A merchant in the Baghdad bazar’ and she, ‘Canst thou repeat any verses?’ ‘Some small matter,’ quoth I. Quoth she ‘Then call a few to mind and let us hear some of them.’ But I said, ‘A visitor is bashful and timid; do thou begin.’ ‘True,’ replied she and recited some verses of the poets, past and present, choosing their choicest pieces; and I listened not knowing whether more to marvel at her beauty and loveliness or at the charm of her style of declamation. Then said she, ‘Is that bashfulness of thine gone?’ and I said, ‘Yes, by Allah!’ so she rejoined, ‘Then, if thou wilt, recite us somewhat.’ So I repeated to her a number of poems by old writers, and she applauded, saying, ‘By Allah, I did not think to find such culture among the trade folk, the sons of the bazar!’ Then she called for food” Whereupon quoth Shahrazad’s sister Dunyazad, “How pleasant is this tale and enjoyable and sweet to the ear and sound to the sense!” But she answered, “And what is this story compared with that which thou shalt hear on the morrow’s night, if I be alive and the King deign spare me!” Then Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eightieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul continued, “Then the damsel called for food and, when it was served to her, she fell to eating it and setting it before me; and the sitting room was full of all manner sweet-scented flowers and rare fruits, such as are never found save in Kings’ houses. Presently, she called for wine and drank a cup, after which she filled another and gave it to me, saying, ‘Now is the time for converse and story-telling.’ So I bethought myself and began to say, ‘It hath reached me that such and such things happened and there was a man who said so and so,’ till I had told her a number of pleasing tales and adventures with which she was delighted and cried, ”Tis marvellous that a merchant should bear in memory such store of stories like these, for they are fit for Kings.’ Quoth I, ‘I had a neighbour who used to consort with Kings and carouse with them; so, when he was at leisure, I visited his house and he hath often told me what thou hast heard.’ Thereupon she exclaimed ‘By my life, but thou hast a good memory!’ So we continued to converse thus, and as often as I was silent, she would begin, till in this way we passed the most part of the night, whilst the burning aloes-wood diffused its fragrance and I was in such case that if Al-Maamun had suspected it, he would have flown like a bird with longing for it. Then said she to me, ‘Verily, thou art one of the most pleasant of men, polished, passing well-bred and polite; but there lacketh one thing.’ ‘What is that?’ asked I, and she answered, If thou only knew how to sing verses to the lute!’ I answered, ‘I was passionately fond of this art aforetime, but finding I had no taste for it, I abandoned it, though at times my heart yearneth after it. Indeed, I should love to sing somewhat well at this moment and fulfil my night’s enjoyment.’ Then said she, ‘Meseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute to be brought?’ and I, ‘It is thine to decide, if thou wilt so far favour me, and to thee be the thanks.’ So she called for a lute and sang a song in a voice whose like I never heard, both for sweetness of tone and skill in playing, and perfection of art. Then said she, Knowest thou who composed this air and whose are the words of this song?'”No,” answered I; and she said, The words are so and so’s and the air is Isaac’s.’ I asked ‘And hath Isaac then (may I be thy sacrifice!) such a talent?’ She replied, ‘Bravo![FN#178] Bravo, Isaac! indeed, he excelleth in this art.’ I rejoined, ‘Glory be to Allah who hath given this man what he hath vouchsafed unto none other!’ Then she said ‘And how would it be, an thou heard this song from himself?’ This wise we went on till break of day dawn, when there came to her an old woman, as she were her nurse, and said to her, ‘Verily, the time is come.’ So she rose in haste and said to me, ‘Keep what hath passed between us to thyself; for such meetings are in confidence;'”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel whispered, “‘Keep what hath passed between us to thyself, for such meetings are in confidence;’ and I replied, ‘May I be thy ransom! I needed no charge to this.’ Then I took leave of her and she sent a handmaid to show me the way and open the house door; so I went forth and returned to my own place, where I prayed the morning prayer and slept. Now after a time there came to me a messenger from Al-Maamun, so I went to him and passed the day in his company. And when the night fell I called to mind my yesternight’s pleasure, a thing from which none but an ignoramus would abstain, and betook myself to the street, where I found the basket, and seating myself therein, was drawn up to the place in which I had passed the previous night. When the lady saw me, she said, ‘Indeed, thou hast been assiduous;’ and I answered, ‘Meseemeth rather that I am neglectful.’ Then we fell to discoursing and passed the night as before in general-conversation and reciting verses and telling rare tales, each in turn, till daybreak, when I wended me home; and I prayed the dawn prayer and slept. Presently there came to me a messenger from Al-Maamun; so I went to him and spent my day with him till nightfall, when the Commander of the Faithful said to me, ‘I conjure thee to sit here, whilst I go out for a want and come back.’ As soon as the Caliph was gone, and quite gone, my thoughts began to tempt and try me and, calling to mind my late delight, I recked little what might befal me from the Prince of True Believers. So I sprang up and turning my back upon the sitting-room, ran to the street aforesaid, where I sat down in the basket and was drawn up as before. When the lady saw me, she said, ‘I begin to think thou art a sincere friend to us.’ Quoth I, ‘Yea, by Allah!’ and quoth she, ‘Hast thou made our house thine abiding-place?’ I replied, ‘May I be thy ransom! A guest claimeth guest right for three days and if I return after this, ye are free to spill my blood.’ Then we passed the night as before; and when the time of departure drew near, I bethought me that Al Maamun would assuredly question me nor would ever be content save with a full explanation: so I said to her, ‘I see thee to be of those who delight in singing. Now I have a cousin, the son of my father’s brother, who is fairer than I in face and higher of rank and better of breeding; and he is the most intimate of Allah’s creatures with Isaac.’ Quoth she, ‘Art thou a parasite[FN#179] and an importunate one?’ Quoth I, ‘It is for thee to decide in this matter;’ and she, ‘If thy cousin be as thou hast described him, it would not mislike us to make acquaintance with him.’ Then, as the time was come, I left her and returned to my house, but hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph’s runners came down on me and carried me before him by main force and roughly enough.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul continued, “And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph’s runners came down upon me and carried me before him by main force and roughly enough. I found him seated on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me, ‘O Isaac, art thou a traitor to thine allegiance?’ replied I, ‘No, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!’ and he rejoined, ‘What hast thou then to say? tell me the whole truth;’ and I, ‘Yes, I will, but in private.’ So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a distance, and I told him the case, adding, ‘I promised her to bring thee,’ and he said, ‘Thou didst well.’ Then we spent the day in our usual-pleasures, but Al-Maamun’s heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the appointed time come, when we set out. As we went along, I cautioned him, saying, ‘Look that thou call me not by my name before her; and I will demean myself like thine attendant.’ And having agreed upon this, we fared forth till we came to the place, where we found two baskets hanging ready. So we sat down in them and were drawn up to the usual-place, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. Now when Al Maamun saw her, he was amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she began to entertain him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine and we fell to drinking she paying him special attention and he repaying her in kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses,
‘My lover came in at the close of night, * I rose till he sat and remained upright;
And said ‘Sweet heart, hast thou come this hour? * Nor feared on the watch and ward to ‘light:’
Quoth he ‘The lover had cause to fear, * But Love deprived him of wits and fright.’
And when she ended her song she said to me, ‘And is thy cousin also a merchant?’ I answered, ‘Yes,’ and she said, ‘Indeed, ye resemble each other nearly.’ But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints,[FN#180] he grew merry with wine and called out, saying, ‘Ho, Isaac!’ And I replied, ‘Labbayk, Adsum, O Commander of the Faithful,’ whereupon quoth he, ‘Sing me this air.’ Now when the young lady learned that he was the Caliph, she withdrew to another place and disappeared; and, as I had made an end of my song, Al-Maamun said to me, ‘See who is the master of this house’, whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, ‘It belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.'[FN#181] ‘Fetch him to me,’ said the Caliph. So she went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to whom said Al-Maamun ‘Hast thou a daughter?’ He said, ‘Yes, and her name is Khadijah.’ Asked the Caliph, ‘Is she married?’ Answered Hasan, ‘No, by Allah!’ Said Al-Maamun, Then I ask her of thee in marriage.’ Replied her father, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, she is thy handmaid and at thy commandment.’ Quoth Al-Maamun, ‘I take her to wife at a present settlement of thirty thousand dinars, which thou shalt receive this very morning, and, when the money has been paid thee, do thou bring her to us this night.’ And Hasan answered, ‘I hear and I obey.’ Thereupon we went forth and the Caliph said to me, ‘O Isaac, tell this story to no one.’ So I kept it secret till Al-Maamun’s death. Surely never did man’s life gather such pleasures as were mine these four days’ time, whenas I companied with Al-Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah, never saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever set eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her in lively wit and pleasant speech! And Allah is All knowing. But amongst stories is that of
THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.
During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were making circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was crowded, behold, a man laid hold of the covering of the Ka’abah[FN#182] and cried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, ‘I beseech thee, O Allah, that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that I may know her!’ A company of the pilgrims heard him and seized him and carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after a sufficiency of blows; and, said they, ‘O Emir, we found this fellow in the Holy Places, saying thus and thus.’ So the Emir commanded to hang him; but he cried, ‘O Emir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!), hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.’ Quoth the Emir, ‘Tell thy tale forthright.’ ‘Know then, O Emir,’ quoth the man, ‘that I am a sweep who works in the sheep- slaughterhouses and carries off the blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came to pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people running away and one of them said to me, ‘Enter this alley, lest haply they slay thee.’ Quoth I, ‘What aileth the folk running away?’ and one of the eunuchs, who were passing, said to me, ‘This is the Harim[FN#183] of one of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people out of her way and beat them all, without respect to persons.’ So I turned aside with the donkey'”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the man, “So I turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of the crowd; and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands, followed by nigh thirty women slaves, and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and grace and amorous languor, and all were attending upon her. Now when she came to the mouth of the passage where I stood, she turned right and left and, calling one of the Castratos, whispered in his ear; and behold, he came up to me and laid hold of me, whilst another eunuch took my ass and made off with it. And when the spectators fled, the first eunuch bound me with a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what to do; and the people followed us and cried out, saying, ‘This is not allowed of Allah! What hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes?’ and praying the eunuchs, ‘Have pity on him and let him go, so Allah have pity on you!’ And I the while said in my mind, ‘Doubtless the eunuchry seized me, because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it sickened her. Belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!’ So I continued walking on behind them, till they stopped at the door of a great house; and, entering before me, brought me into a big hall–I know not how I shall describe its magnificence–furnished with the finest furniture. And the women also entered the hall; and I bound and held by the eunuch and saying to myself, ‘Doubtless they will torture me here till I die and none know of my death.’ However, after a while, they carried me into a neat bath-room leading out of the hall; and as I sat there, behold, in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me and said to me, ‘Strip off thy rags and tatters.’ So I pulled off my threadbare clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet whilst another scrubbed my head and a third shampooed my body. When they had made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel of clothes and said to me, ‘Put these on’; and I answered, ‘By Allah, I know not how!’ So they came up to me and dressed me, laughing together at me the while; after which they brought casting-bottles full of rose-water, and sprinkled me therewith. Then I went out with them into another saloon; by Allah, I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth of paintings and furniture therein; and entering it, I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the sweep continued, “When I entered that saloon I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan, with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels. When she saw me she rose to me and called me; so I went up to her and she seated me by her side. Then she bade her slave-girls bring food, and they brought all manner of rich meats, such as I never saw in all my life; I do not even know the names of the dishes, much less their nature. So I ate my fill and when the dishes had been taken away and we had washed our hands, she called for fruits which came without stay or delay and ordered me eat of them; and when we had ended eating she bade one of the waiting-women bring the wine furniture. So they set on flagons of divers kinds of wine and burned perfumes in all the censers, what while a damsel like the moon rose and served us with wine to the sound of the smitten strings; and I drank, and the lady drank, till we were seized with wine and the whole time I doubted not but that all this was an illusion of sleep. Presently, she signed to one of the damsels to spread us a bed in such a place, which being done, she rose and took me by the hand and led me thither, and lay down and I lay with her till the morning, and as often as I pressed her to my breast I smelt the delicious fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and could not think otherwise but that I was in Paradise or in the vain phantasies of a dream. Now when it was day, she asked me where I lodged and I told her, ‘In such a place;’ whereupon she gave me leave to depart, handing to me a kerchief worked with gold and silver and containing somewhat tied in it, and took leave of me, saying, ‘Go to the bath with this.’ I rejoiced and said to myself, ‘If there be but five coppers here, it will buy me this day my morning meal.’ Then I left her, as though I were leaving Paradise, and returned to my poor crib where I opened the kerchief and found in it fifty miskals of gold. So I buried them in the ground and, buying two farthings’ worth of bread and ‘kitchen,'[FN#184] seated me at the door and broke my fast; after which I sat pondering my case and continued so doing till the time of afternoon, prayer, when lo! a slave-girl accosted me saying, ‘My mistress calleth for thee.’ I followed her to the house aforesaid and, after asking permission, she carried me into the lady, before whom I kissed the ground, and she commanded me to sit and called for meat and wine as on the previous day; after which I again lay with her all night. On the morrow, she gave me a second kerchief, with other fifty dinars therein, and I took it and going home, buried this also. In such pleasant condition I continued eight days running, going in to her at the hour of afternoon prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth night, as I lay with her, behold, one of her slave-girls came running in and said to me, ‘Arise, go up into yonder closet.’ So I rose and went into the closet, which was over the gate, and presently I heard a great clamour and tramp of horse; and, looking out of the window which gave on the street in front of the house, I saw a young man as he were the rising moon on the night of fulness come riding up attended by a number of servants and soldiers who were about him on foot. He alighted at the door and entering the saloon found the lady seated on the couch; so he kissed the ground between her hands then came up to her and kissed her hands; but she would not speak to him. However, he continued patiently to humble himself, and soothe her and speak her fair, till he made his peace with her, and they lay together that night.”–And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the scavenger continued, “Now when her husband had made his peace with the young lady, he lay with her that night; and next morning, the soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode away; whereupon she drew near to me and said, ‘Sawst thou yonder man?’ I answered, ‘Yes;’ and she said, ‘He is my husband, and I will tell thee what befell me with him. It came to pass one day that we were sitting, he and I, in the garden within the house, and behold, he rose from my side and was absent a long while, till I grew tired of waiting and said to myself: Most like, he is in the privy. So I arose and went to the water-closet, but not finding him there, went down to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl; and when I enquired for him, she showed him to me lying with one of the cookmaids. Hereupon, I swore a great oath that I assuredly would do adultery with the foulest and filthiest man in Baghdad; and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee, I had been four days going round about the city in quest of one who should answer to this description, but found none fouler nor filthier than thy good self. So I took thee and there passed between us that which Allah fore ordained to us; and now I am quit of my oath.’ Then she added, ‘If, however, my husband return yet again to the cookmaid and lie with her, I will restore thee to thy lost place in my favours.’ Now when I heard these words from her lips, what while she pierced my heart with the shafts of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were chafed sore with weeping, and I repeated the saying of the poet,
‘Grant me the kiss of that left hand ten times; * And learn it hath than right hand higher grade;[FN#185] For ’tis but little since that same left hand * Washed off Sir Reverence when ablution made.’
Then she made them give me other fifty dinars (making in all four hundred gold pieces I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went out from her and came hither, that I might pray Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) to make her husband return to the cookmaid, that haply I might be again admitted to her favours.’ When the Emir of the pilgrims heard the man’s story, he set him free and said to the bystanders, ‘Allah upon you, pray for him, for indeed he is excusable.'” And men also tell the tale of
THE MOCK CALIPH.
It is related that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was one night restless with extreme restlessness, so he summoned his Wazir Ja’afar the Barmecide, and said to him, “My breast is straitened and I have a desire to divert myself to-night by walking about the streets of Baghdad and looking into folks’ affairs; but with this precaution that we disguise ourselves in merchants’ gear, so none shall know us.” He answered, “Hearkening and obedience.” They rose at once and doffing the rich raiment they wore, donned merchants’ habits and sallied forth three in number, the Caliph, Ja’afar and Masrur the sworder. Then they walked from place to place, till they came to the Tigris and saw an old man sitting in a boat; so they went up to him and saluting him, said, “O Shaykh, we desire thee of thy kindness and favour to carry us a- pleasuring down the river, in this thy boat, and take this dinar to thy hire.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they said to the old man, “We desire thee to carry us a-pleasuring in this thy boat and take this dinar;” he answered, “Who may go a- pleasuring on the Tigris? The Caliph Harun al-Rashid every night cometh down Tigris stream in his state-barge[FN#186] and with him one crying aloud: ‘Ho, ye people all, great and small, gentle and simple, men and boys, whoso is found in a boat on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head or hang him to the mast of his craft!’ And ye had well nigh met him; for here cometh his carrack.” But the Caliph and Ja’afar said, “O Shaykh, take these two dinars, and run us under one of yonder arches, that we may hide there till the Caliph’s barge have passed.” The old man replied, “Hand over your gold and rely we on Allah, the Almighty!” So he took the two dinars and embarked them in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them awhile, when behold, the barge came down the river in mid-stream, with lighted flambeaux and cressets flaming therein. Quoth the old man, “Did not I tell you that the Caliph passed along the river every night?”; and ceased not muttering, “O Protector, remove not the veils of Thy protection!” Then he ran the boat under an arch and threw a piece of black cloth over the Caliph and his companions, who looked out from under the covering and saw, in the bows of the barge, a man holding in hand a cresset of red gold which he fed with Sumatran lign-aloes and the figure was clad in a robe of red satin, with a narrow turband of Mosul shape round on his head, and over one of his shoulders hung a sleeved cloak[FN#187] of cramoisy satin, and on the other was a green silk bag full of the aloes-wood, with which he fed the cresset by way of firewood. And they sighted in the stern another man, clad like the first and bearing a like cresset, and in the barge were two hundred white slaves, standing ranged to the right and left; and in the middle a throne of red gold, whereon sat a handsome young man, like the moon, clad in a dress of black, embroidered with yellow gold. Before him they beheld a man, as he were the Wazir Ja’afar, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were Masrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; besides a score of cup-companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and said, “O Ja’afar,” and the Minister replied, “At thy service, O Prince of True Believers.” Then quoth the Caliph, “Belike this is one of my sons, Al Amin or Al-Maamun.” Then he examined the young man who sat on the throne and finding him perfect in beauty and loveliness and stature and symmetric grace, said to Ja’afar, “Verily, this young man abateth nor jot nor tittle of the state of the Caliphate! See, there standeth before him one as he were thyself, O Ja’afar; yonder eunuch who standeth at his head is as he were Masrur and those courtiers as they were my own. By Allah, O Ja’afar, my reason is confounded and I am filled with amazement this matter!”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph saw this spectacle his reason was confounded and he cried, “By Allah, I am filled with amazement at this matter!” and Ja’afar replied, “And I also, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful.” Then the barge passed on and disappeared from sight whereupon the boatman pushed out again into the stream, saying, “Praised be Allah for safety, since none hath fallen in with us!” Quoth the Caliph, “O old man, doth the Caliph come down the Tigris-river every night?” The boatman answered, “Yes, O my lord; and on such wise hath he done every night this year past.” “O Shaykh,” rejoined Al-Rashid, “we wish thee of thy favour to await us here to-morrow night and we will give thee five golden dinars, for we are stranger folk, lodging in the quarter Al-Khandak, and we have a mind to divert ourselves.” Said the oldster, “With joy and good will!” Then the Caliph and Ja’afar and Masrur left the boatman and returned to the palace; where they doffed their merchants’ habits and, donning their apparel of state, sat down each in his several-stead; and came the Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains and Officers, and the Divan assembled and was crowded as of custom. But when day ended and all the folk had dispersed and wended each his own way, the Caliph said to his Wazir, “Rise, O Ja’afar, let us go and amuse ourselves by looking on the second Caliph.” At this, Ja’afar and Masrur laughed, and the three, donning merchants’ habits, went forth by a secret pastern and made their way through the city, in great glee, till they came to the Tigris, where they found the graybeard sitting and awaiting them. They embarked with him in the boat and hardly had they sat down before up came the mock Caliph’s barge; and, when they looked at it attentively, they saw therein two hundred Mamelukes other than those of the previous night, while the link- bearers cried aloud as of wont. Quoth the Caliph, “O Wazir, had I heard tell of this, I had not believed it; but I have seen it with my own sight.” Then said he to the boatman, “Take, O Shaykh’ these ten dinars and row us along abreast of them, for they are in the light and we in the shade, and we can see them and amuse ourselves by looking on them, but they cannot see us.” So the man took the money and pushing off ran abreast of them in the shadow of the barge,–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid said to the old man, “Take these ten dinars and row us abreast of them;” to which he replied, “I hear and I obey.” And he fared with them and ceased not going in the blackness of the barge, till they came amongst the gardens that lay alongside of them and sighted a large walled enclosure; and presently, the barge cast anchor before a postern door, where they saw servants standing with a she mule saddled and bridled. Here the mock Caliph landed and, mounting the mule, rode away with his courtiers and his cup-companions preceded by the cresset-bearers crying aloud, and followed by his household which busied itself in his service. Then Harun al-Rashid, Ja’afar and Masrur landed also and, making their way through the press of servants, walked on before them. Presently, the cresset-bearers espied them and seeing three persons in merchants’ habits, and strangers to the country, took offense at them; so they pointed them out and brought them before the other Caliph, who looked at them and asked, “How came ye to this place and who brought you at this tide?” They answered, “O our lord, we are foreign merchants and far from our homes, who arrived here this day and were out a- walking to-night, and behold, ye came up and these men laid hands on us and brought us to thy presence; and this is all our story.” Quoth the mock Caliph, “Since ye be stranger folk no harm shall befall you; but had ye been of Baghdad, I had struck off your heads.” Then he turned to his Wazir and said to him, “Take these men with thee; for they are our guests to-night.” “To hear is to obey, O our lord,” answered he; and they companied him till they came to a lofty and splendid palace set upon the firmest base; no Sultan possesseth such a place; rising from the dusty mould and upon the merges of the clouds laying hold. Its door was of Indian teak-wood inlaid with gold that glowed; and through it one passed into a royal-hall in whose midst was a jetting fount girt by a raised estrade. It was provided with carpets and cushions of brocade and small pillows and long settees and hanging curtains; it was furnished with a splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the tongue, and upon the door were written these two couplets,
“A Palace whereon be blessings and praise! * Which with all their beauty have robed the Days:
Where marvels and miracle-sights abound, * And to write its honours the pen affrays.”
The false Caliph entered with his company, and sat down on a throne of gold set with jewels and covered with a prayer carpet of yellow silk; whilst the boon-companions took their seats and the sword bearer of high works stood before him. Then the tables were laid and they ate; after which the dishes were removed and they washed their hands and the wine-service was set on with flagons and bowls in due order. The cup went round till it came to the Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who refused the draught, and the mock Caliph said to Ja’afar, “What mattereth thy friend that he drinketh not?” He replied, “O my lord, indeed ’tis a long while he hath drunk naught of this.” Quoth the sham Caliph, “I have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine,[FN#188] that will suit thy companion.” So he bade them bring the cider which they did forthright; when the false Caliph, coming up to Harun al-Rashid, said to him, “As often as it cometh to thy turn drink thou of this.” Then they continued to drink and make merry and pass the cup till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their wits;–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the false Caliph and his co sitters sat at their cups and gave not over drinking till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their wits; and Harun al-Rashid said to the Minister, “O Ja’afar, by Allah, we have no such vessels as these. Would to Heaven I knew what manner of man this youth is!” But while they were talking privily the young man cast a glance upon them and seeing the Wazir whisper the Caliph said, “‘Tis rude to whisper.” He replied, “No rudeness was meant: this my friend did but say to me, ‘Verily I have travelled in most countries and have caroused with the greatest of Kings and I have companied with noble captains; yet never saw I a goodlier ordering than this entertainment nor passed a more delightful night; save that the people of Baghdad are wont to say, Wine without music often leaves you sick.'”When the second Caliph heard this, he smiled pleasantly and struck with a rod he had in his hand a round gong;[FN#189] and behold, a door opened and out came a eunuch, bearing a chair of ivory, inlaid with gold glittering fiery red and followed by a damsel of passing beauty and loveliness, symmetry and grace. He set down the chair and the damsel seated herself on it, as she were the sun shining sheen in a sky serene. In her hand she had a lute of Hindu make, which she laid in her lap and bent down over it as a mother bendeth over her little one, and sang to it, after a prelude in four-and-twenty modes, amazing all wits. Then she returned to the first mode and to a lively measure chanted these couplets,
“Love’s tongue within my heart speaks plain to thee, * Telling thee clearly I am fain of thee
Witness the fevers of a tortured heart, * And ulcered eyelid tear-flood rains for thee
God’s fate o’ertaketh all created things! * I knew not love till learnt Love’s pain of thee.”
Now when the mock Caliph heard these lines sung by the damsel, he cried with a great cry and rent his raiment to the very skirt, whereupon they let down a curtain over him and brought him a fresh robe, handsomer than the first. He put it on and sat as before, till the cup came round to him, when he struck the gong a second time and lo! a door opened and out of it came a eunuch with a chair of gold, followed by a damsel fairer than the first, bearing a lute, such as would strike the envious mute. She sat down on the chair and sang to her instrument these two couplets,
“How patient bide, with love in sprite of me, * And tears in tempest[FN#190] blinding sight of me? By Allah, life has no delight of me! * How gladden heart whose core is blight of me?”
No sooner had the youth heard this poetry than he cried out with a loud cry and rent his raiment to the skirt: whereupon they let down the curtain over him and brought him another suit of clothes. He put it on and, sitting up as before, fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup came round to him, when he smote once more upon the gong and out came a eunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel fairer than she who forewent her. So she sat down on the chair, with a lute in her hand, and sang thereto these couplets,
“Cease ye this farness; ‘bate this pride of you, * To whom my heart clings, by life-tide of you!
Have ruth on hapless, mourning, lover-wretch, * Desire-full, pining, passion-tried of you:
Sickness hath wasted him, whose ecstasy * Prays Heaven it may be satisfied of you:
Oh fullest moons[FN#191] that dwell in deepest heart! * How can I think of aught by side of you?”
Now when the young man heard these couplets, he cried out with a great cry and rent his raiment, whereupon they let fall the curtain over him and brought him other robes. Then he returned to his former case with his boon-companions and the bowl went round as before, till the cup came to him, when he struck the gong a fourth time and the door opening, out came a page-boy bearing a chair followed by a damsel. He set the chair for her and she sat down thereon and taking the lute, tuned it and sang to it these couplets,
“When shall disunion and estrangement end? * When shall my bygone joys again be kenned?
Yesterday we were joined in same abode; * Conversing heedless of each envious friend:[FN#192]
Trickt us that traitor Time, disjoined our lot * And our waste home to desert fate condemned:
Wouldst have me, Grumbler! from my dearling fly? * I find my vitals blame will not perpend:
Cease thou to censure; leave me to repine; * My mind e’er findeth thoughts that pleasure lend.
O Lords[FN#193] of me who brake our troth and plight, * Deem not to lose your hold of heart and sprite!”
When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried out with a loud outcry and rent his raiment,–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
She said, When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried with a loud outcry and rent his raiment and fell to the ground fainting; whereupon they would have let down the curtain over him, as of custom; but its cords stuck fast and Harun al-Rashid, after considering him carefully, saw on his body the marks of beating with palm-rods and said to Ja’afar, “By Allah, he is a handsome youth, but a foul thief!” “Whence knowest thou that, O Commander of the Faithful?” asked Ja’afar, and the Caliph answered, “Sawest thou not the whip-scars on his ribs?” Then they let fall the curtain over him and brought him a fresh dress, which he put on and sat up as before with his courtiers and cup- companions. Presently he saw the Caliph and Ja’afar whispering together and said to them, “What is the matter, fair sirs?” Quoth Ja’afar, “O my lord, all is well,[FN#194] save that this my comrade, who (as is not unknown to thee) is of the merchant company and hath visited all the great cities and countries of the world and hath consorted with kings and men of highest consideration, saith to me: ‘Verily, that which our lord the Caliph hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant, never saw I any do the like doings in any country; for he hath rent such and such dresses, each worth a thousand dinars and this is surely excessive unthriftiness.'” Replied the second Caliph, “Ho thou, the money is my money and the stuff my stuff, and this is by way of largesse to my suite and servants; for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my cup-companions here present, and I assign to them with each suit of clothes the sum of five hundred dinars.” The Wazir Ja’afar replied, “Well is whatso thou doest, O our lord,” and recited these two couplets,
“Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house, * And to mankind thou dost thy wealth expose:
If an the virtues ever close their doors, * That hand would be a key the lock to unclose.”
Now when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister Ja’afar, he ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a dress of honour. Then the cup went round among them and the wine was sweet to them; but, after a while quoth the Caliph to Ja’afar, “Ask him of the marks on his sides, that we may see what he will say by way of reply.” Answered Ja’afar, “Softly, O my lord, be not hasty and soothe thy mind, for patience is more becoming.” Rejoined the Caliph, “By the life of my head and by the revered tomb of Al Abbas,[FN#195] except thou ask him, I will assuredly stop thy breath!” With this the young man turned towards the Minister and said to him, “What aileth thee and thy friend to be whispering together? Tell me what is the matter with you.” “It is nothing save good,” replied Ja’afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, “I conjure thee, by Allah, tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case.” Answered the Wazir “O my lord, verily this one here saw on thy sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, saying, ‘How came the Caliph to be beaten?’; and he would fain know the cause of this.” Now when the youth heard this, he smiled and said, “Know ye that my story is wondrous and my case marvellous; were it graven with needles on the eye corners, it would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned.” And he sighed and repeated these couplets,
“Strange is my story, passing prodigy; * By Love I swear, my ways wax strait on me!
An ye desire to hear me, listen, and * Let all in this assembly silent be.
Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep, * Nor lies my speech; ’tis truest verity.
I’m slain[FN#196] by longing and by ardent love; * My slayer’s the pearl of fair virginity.
She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade, * And bowed eyebrows shoot her archery
My heart assures me our Imam is here, * This age’s Caliph, old nobility:
Your second, Ja’afar highs, is his Wazir; * A Sahib,[FN#197] Sahib-son of high degree:
The third is called Masrur who wields the sword: * Now, if in words of mine some truth you see
I have won every wish by this event * Which fills my heart with joy and gladdest greet”
When they heard these words Ja’afar swore to him an ambiguous oath that they were not those he named, whereupon he laughed and said: “Know, O my lords, that I am not the Commander of the Faithful and that I do but style myself thus, to win my will of the sons of the city. My true name is Mohammed Ali, son of Ali the Jeweller, and my father was one of the notables of Baghdad, who left me great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites and other jewels, besides messuages and lands, Hammam-baths and brickeries, orchards and flower- gardens. Now as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my eunuchs and dependents, behold, there came up a young lady, mounted on a she-mule and attended by three damsels like moons. Riding up to my shop she alighted and seated herself by my side and said ‘Art thou Mohammed the Jeweller?’ Replied I, ‘Even so! I am he, thy Mameluke, thy chattel.’ She asked, ‘Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?’ and I answered, ‘O my lady, I will show thee what I have; and lay all before thee and, if any please thee, it will be of thy slave’s good luck; if they please thee not, of his ill fortune.’ Now I had by me an hundred necklaces and showed them all to her; but none of them pleased her and she said, ‘I want a better than those I have seen.’ I had a small necklace which my father had bought at an hundred thousand dinars and whose like was not to be found with any of the great kings; so I said to her, ‘O my lady, I have yet one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels, the like of which none possesseth, great or small. Said she, Show it to me,’ so I showed it to her, and she said, ‘This is what I wanted and what I have wished for all my life;’ adding, ‘What is its price?’ Quoth I, ‘It cost my father an hundred thousand dinars;’ and she said, ‘I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy profit.’ I answered, ‘O my lady, the necklace and its owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee.’ But she rejoined, ‘Needs must thou have the profit, and I am still most grateful to thee.’ Then she rose without stay or delay; and, mounting the mule in haste, said to me, ‘O my lord, in Allah’s name, favour us with thy company to receive the money; for this thy day with us is white as milk.'[FN#198] So I shut the shop and accompanied her, in all security, till we came to a house, on which were manifest the signs of wealth and rank; for its door was wrought with gold and silver and ultramarine, and thereon were written these two couplets,
‘Hole, thou mansion! woe ne’er enter thee; * Nor be thine owner e’er misused of Fate
Excellent mansion to all guests art thou, * When other mansions to the guest are strait.’
The young lady dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit down on the bench at the gate, till the money-changer should arrive. So I sat awhile, when behold, a damsel came out to me and said, ‘O my lord, enter the vestibule; for it is a dishonour that thou shouldst sit at the gate.’ Thereupon I arose and entered the vestibule and sat down on the settle there, and, as I sat, lo! another damsel came out and said to me, ‘O my lord my mistress biddeth thee enter and sit down at the door of the saloon, to receive thy money.’ I entered and sat down, nor had I sat a moment when behold, a curtain of silk which concealed a throne of gold was drawn aside, and I saw seated thereon the lady who had made the purchase, and round her neck she wore the necklace which looked pale and wan by the side of a face as it were the rounded moon; At her sight, my wit was troubled and my mind confounded, by reason of her exceeding beauty and loveliness, but when she saw me she rose from her throne and coming close up to me, said, ‘O light of mine eyes, is every handsome one like thee pitiless to his mistress?’ I answered, ‘O my lady, beauty, all of it, is in thee and is but one of thy hidden charms.’ And she rejoined, ‘O Jeweller, know that I love thee and can hardly credit that I have brought thee hither.’ Then she bent towards me and I kissed her and she kissed me and, as she caressed me, drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jeweller continued: “Then she bent towards me and kissed and caressed me; and, as she caressed me, drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me. Now she knew by my condition that I had a mind to enjoy her; so she said to me, ‘O my lord, wouldst thou foregather with me unlawfully? By Allah, may he not live who would do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure in talk unclean! I am a maid, a virgin whom no man hath approached, nor am I unknown in the city. Knowest thou who I am?’ Quoth I, ‘No, by Allah, O my lady!’; and quoth she, ‘I am the Lady Dunya, daughter of Yahya bin Khalid the Barmecide and sister of Ja’afar, Wazir to the Caliph.’ Now as I heard this, I drew back from her, saying, ‘O my lady, it is no fault of mine if I have been over- bold with thee; it was thou didst encourage me to aspire to thy love, by giving me access to thee.’ She answered, ‘No harm shall befal-thee, and needs must thou attain thy desire in the only way pleasing to Allah. I am my own mistress and the Kazi shall act as my guardian in consenting to the marriage contract; for it is my will that I be to thee wife and thou be to me man.’ Then she sent for the Kazi and the witnesses and busied herself with making ready; and, when they came, she said to them, ‘Mohammed Ali, bin Ali the Jeweller, seeketh me in wedlock and hath given me the necklace to my marriage-settlement; and I accept and consent.’ So they wrote out the contract of marriage between us; and ere I went in to her the servants brought the wine-furniture and the cups passed round after the fairest fashion and the goodliest ordering; and, when the wine mounted to our heads, she ordered a damsel, a lute-player,[FN#199] to sing. So she took the lute and sang to a pleasing and stirring motive these couplets,
‘He comes; and fawn and branch and moon delight these eyne * Fie[FN#200] on his heart who sleeps o’ nights without repine Pair youth, for whom Heaven willed to quench in cheek one light, * And left another light on other cheek bright li’en: I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, * As though the hearing of his name I would decline;
And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; * Yet would my soul within outflow in foods of brine: Beauty’s own prophet, he is all a miracle * Of heavenly grace, and greatest shows his face for sign.[FN#201] To prayer Bilal-like cries that Mole upon his cheek * To ward from pearly brow all eyes of ill design:[FN#202] The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel * But after Faith I can’t at once turn Infidel.’
We were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings, and the beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went on to sing and to recite one after another, till ten had so done; when the Lady Dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, chanted these couplets,
‘I swear by swayings of that form so fair, * Aye from thy parting fiery
Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, * O bright as fullest moon in blackest air!
Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne’er will cease * In light of wine-cup all thy charms declare,
Amid the roses which with varied hues * Are to the myrtle- bush[FN#203] a mere despair.’
When she had finished her verse I took the lute from her hands and, playing a quaint and not vulgar prelude sang the following verses,
‘Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; * Myself amid thy thralls I willingly confess:
O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, * Pray that I ‘scape those arrows shot with all thy stress! Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire * Thy cheek hath married, which for marvel I profess:
Thou art Sa’ir in heart of me and eke Na’im;[FN#204] * Thou agro- dolce, eke heart’s sweetest bitterness.’
When she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then, dismissing her slave women, she brought me to a most goodly place, where they had spread us a bed of various colours. She did off her clothes and I had a lover’s privacy of her and found her a pearl unpierced and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and never in my born days spent I a more delicious night.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller continued: “So I went in unto the Lady Dunya, daughter of Yahya bin Khalid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl unthridden and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and repeated these couplets,
‘O Night here stay! I want no morning light; * My lover’s face to me is lamp and light:[FN#205]
As ring of ring-dove round his necks my arm; * And made my palm his mouth-veil, and, twas right.
This be the crown of bliss, and ne’er we’ll cease * To clip, nor care to be in other plight.’
And I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and home, till one day she said to me, ‘O light of my eyes, O my lord Mohammed, I have determined to go to the Hammam to day; so sit thou on this couch and rise not from thy place, till I return to thee.’ ‘I hear and I obey,’ answered I, and she made me swear to this; after which she took her women and went off to the bath. But by Allah, O my brothers, she had not reached the head of the street ere the door opened and in came an old woman, who said to me, ‘O my lord Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah biddeth thee to her, for she hath heard of thy fine manners and accomplishments and skill in singing.’ I answered, ‘By Allah, I will not rise from my place till the Lady Dunya come back.’ Rejoined the old woman, ‘O my lord, do not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her so as to make her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return to thy place.’ So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of the Lady Zubaydah and, when I entered her presence she said to me, ‘O light of the eye, art thou the Lady Dunya’s beloved?’ ‘I am thy Mameluke, thy chattel,’ replied I. Quoth she, ‘Sooth spake he who reported thee possessed of beauty and grace and good breeding and every fine quality; indeed, thou surpassest all praise and all report. But now sing to me, that I may hear thee.’ Quoth I, ‘Hearkening and obedience;’ so she brought me a lute, and I sang to it these couplets,
‘The hapless lover’s heart is of his wooing weary grown, * And hand of sickness wasted him till naught but skin and bone Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, * But that same lover whose beloved cloth in the litters wone: To Allah’s charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents * Whom my heart loves, albe my glance on her may ne’er be thrown.
Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows; * Yea sweet whatever cloth or saith to lover loved one!’
When I had finished my song she said to me, ‘Allah assain thy body and thy voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and singing. But now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady Dunya come back, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee.’ Then I kissed the ground before her and the old woman forewent me till I reached the door whence I came. So I entered and, going up to the couch, found that my wife had come back from the bath and was lying asleep there. Seeing this I sat down at her feet and rubbed them; whereupon she opened her eyes and seeing me, drew up both her feet and gave me a kick that threw me off the couch,[FN#206] saying, ‘O traitor, thou hast been false to thine oath and hast perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou wouldst not rise from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the Lady Zubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I would pull down her palace over her head!’ Then said she to her black slave, ‘O Sawab, arise and strike off this lying traitor’s head, for we have no further need of him.’ So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes[FN#207] and would have struck off my head;”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed the Jeweller continued: “So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck off my head, but all her women, great and small, rose and came up to her and said to her, ‘O our lady, this is not the first who hath erred: indeed, he knew not thy humour and hath done thee no offence deserving death.’ Replied she, ‘By Allah, I must needs set my mark on him.’ And she bade them bash me; so they beat me on my ribs and the marks ye saw are the scars of that fustigation. Then she ordered them to cast me out, and they carried me to a distance from the house and threw me down like a log. After a time I rose and dragged myself little by little to my own place, where I sent for a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he comforted me and did his best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I went to the Hammam and, as my pains and sickness had left me, I repaired to my shop and took and sold all that was therein. With the proceeds, I bought me four hundred white slaves, such as no King ever got together, and caused two hundred of them to ride out with me every day. Then I made me yonder barge whereon I spent five thousand gold pieces; and styled myself Caliph and appointed each of my servants to the charge of some one of the Caliph’s officers and clad him in official habit. Moreover, I made proclamation, ‘Whoso goeth a-pleasuring on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head, without ruth or delay;’ and on such wise have I done this whole year past, during which time I have heard no news of the lady neither happened upon any trace of her.” Then wept he copiously and repeated these couplets,
“By Allah! while the days endure ne’er shall forget her I, * Nor draw to any nigh save those who draw her to me nigh Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me, * Laud to her All-creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high, She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain * And ceaseth not my heart to yearn her mystery[FN#208] to espy.”
Now when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man’s story and knew the passion and transport and love lowe that afflicted him, he was moved to compassion and wonder and said, “Glory be to Allah, who hath appointed to every effect a cause!” Then they craved the young man’s permission to depart; which being granted, they took leave of him, the Caliph purposing to do him justice meet, and him with the utmost munificence entreat; and they returned to the palace of the Caliphate, where they changed clothes for others befitting their state and sat down, whilst Masrur the Sworder of High Justice stood before them. After awhile, quoth the Caliph to Ja’afar, “O Wazir, bring me the young man’–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Caliph to his Minister, “Bring me the young man with whom we were last night.” “I hear and obey,” answered Ja’afar and, going to the youth, saluted him, saying, “Obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid.” So he returned with him to the palace, in great anxiety by reason of the summons; and, going in to the King, kissed ground before him; and offered up a prayer for the endurance of his glory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his desires, for the continuance of his beneficence and for the cessation of evil and punishment; ordering his speech as best he might and ending by saying, “Peace be on thee, O Prince of True Believers and Protector of the folk of the Faith!” Then he repeated these two couplets,
“Kiss thou his fingers which no fingers are; * Keys of our daily bread those fingers ken:
And praise his actions which no actions are, * But precious necklaces round necks of men.”
So the Caliph smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on him with the eye of favour; then he bade him draw near and sit down before him and said to him, “O Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to tell me what befel thee last night, for it was strange and passing strange.” Quoth the youth, “Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful, give me the kerchief of immunity, that my dread may be appeased and my heart eased.” Replied the Caliph, “I promise thee safety from fear and woes.” So the young man told him his story from first to last, whereby the Caliph knew him to be a lover and severed from his beloved and said to him, “Desirest thou that I restore her to thee?” “This were of the bounty of the Commander of the Faithful,” answered the youth and repeated these two couplets.
“Ne’er cease thy gate be Ka’abah to mankind; * Long may its threshold dust man’s brow beseem!
That o’er all countries it may be proclaimed, * This is the Place and thou art Ibrahim.”[FN#209]
Thereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, “O Ja’afar, bring me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir Yahya bin Khalid!” “I hear and I obey,” answered he and fetched her without let or delay. Now when she stood before the Caliph he said to her, “Doss thou know who this is?”; and she replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, how should women have knowledge of men?”[FN#210] So the Caliph smiled and said, “O Dunya this is thy beloved, Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller. We are acquainted with his case, for we have heard the whole story from beginning to end, and have apprehended its inward and its outward; and it is no more hidden from me, for all it was kept in secrecy.” Replied she, “O Commander of the Faithful, this was written in the Book of Destiny; I crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for the wrong I have wrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour.” At this the Caliph laughed and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed the marriage-contract between the Lady Dunya and her husband, Mohammed Ali son of the Jeweller, whereby there betided them, both her and him the utmost felicity, and to their enviers mortification and misery. Moreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of his boon-companions, and they abode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And men also relate the pleasant tale of
ALI THE PERSIAN.
It is said that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, being restless one night, sent for his Wazir and said to him, “O Ja’afar, I am sore wakeful and heavy-hearted this night, and I desire of thee what may solace my spirit and cause my breast to broaden with amuse meet.” Quoth Ja’afar, “O Commander of the Faithful, I have a friend, by name Ali the Persian, who hath store of tales and plea sent stories, such as lighten the heart and make care depart.” Quoth the Caliph, “Fetch him to me,” and quoth Ja’afar, “Hearkening and obedience;” and, going out from before him, sent to seek Ali the Persian and when he came said to him, “Answer the summons of the Commander of the Faithful.” “To hear is to obey,” answered Ali;–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian replied, “To hear is to obey;” and at once followed the Wazir into the presence of the Caliph who bade him be seated and said to him, “O Ali, my heart is heavy within me this night and it hath come to my ear that thou hast great store of tales and anecdotes; so I desire of thee that thou let me hear what will relieve my despondency and brighten my melancholy.” Said he, “O Commander of the Faithful, shall I tell thee what I have seen with my eyes or what I have heard with my ears?” He replied, “An thou have seen aught worth the telling, let me hear that.” Replied Ali: “Hearkening and obedience. Know thou, O Commander of the Faithful, that some years ago I left this my native city of Baghdad on a journey, having with me a lad who carried a light leathern bag. Presently we came to a certain city, where, as I was buying and selling, behold, a rascally Kurd fell on me and seized my wallet perforce, saying, ‘This is my bag, and all which is in it is my property.’ Thereupon, I cried aloud ‘Ho Moslems,[FN#211] one and all, deliver me from the hand of the vilest of oppressors!’ But the folk said, ‘Come, both of you, to the Kazi and abide ye by his judgment with joint consent.’ So I agreed to submit myself to such decision and we both presented ourselves before the Kazi, who said, ‘What bringeth you hither and what is your case and your quarrel?’ Quoth I, ‘We are men at difference, who appeal to thee and make complaint and submit ourselves to thy judgment.’ Asked the Kazi, ‘Which of you is the complainant?’; so the Kurd came forward[FN#212] and said, ‘Allah preserve our lord the Kazi! Verily, this bag is my bag and all that is in it is my swag. It was lost from me and I found it with this man mine enemy.’ The Kazi asked, ‘When didst thou lose it?’; and the Kurd answered, ‘But yesterday, and I passed a sleepless night by reason of its loss.’ ‘An it be thy bag,’ quoth the Kazi, ‘tell me what is in it.’ Quoth the Kurd, ‘There were in my bag two silver styles for eye-powder and antimony for the eyes and a kerchief for the hands, wherein I had laid two gilt cups and two candlesticks. Moreover it contained two tents and two platters and two spoons and a cushion and two leather rugs and two ewers and a brass tray and two basins and a cooking-pot and two water- jars and a ladle and a sacking-needle and a she-cat and two bitches and a wooden trencher and two sacks and two saddles and a gown and two fur pelisses and a cow and two calves and a she-goat and two sheep and an ewe and two lambs and two green pavilions and a camel and two she-camels and a lioness and two lions and a she-bear and two jackals and a mattress and two sofas and an upper chamber and two saloons and a portico and two sitting-rooms and a kitchen with two doors and a company of Kurds who will bear witness that the bag is my bag.’ Then said the Kazi to me, ‘And thou, sirrah, what sayest thou?’ So I came forward, O Commander of the Faithful (and indeed the Kurd’s speech had bewildered me) and said, ‘Allah advance our lord the Kazi! Verily, there was naught in this my wallet, save a little ruined tenement and another without a door and a dog house and a boys’ school and youths playing dice and tents and tent-ropes and the cities of Bassorah and Baghdad and the palace of Shaddad bin Ad and an ironsmith’s forge and a fishing-net and cudgels and pickets and girls and boys and a thousand pimps who will testify that the bag is my bag.’ Now when the Kurd heard my words, he wept and wailed and said, ‘O my lord the Kazi, this my bag is known and what is in it is a matter of renown; for in this bag there be castles and citadels and cranes and beasts of prey and men playing chess and draughts. Furthermore, in this my bag is a brood-mare and two colts and a stallion and two blood-steeds and two long lances; and it containeth eke a lion and two hares and a city and two villages and a whore and two sharking panders and an hermaphrodite and two gallows birds and a blind man and two wights with good sight and a limping cripple and two lameters and a Christian ecclesiastic and two deacons and a patriarch and two monks and a Kazi and two assessors, who will be evidence that the bag is my bag.’ Quoth the Kazi to me, ‘And what sayst thou, O Ali?’ So, O Commander of the Faithful, being filled with rage, I came forward and said, ‘Allah keep our lord the Kazi!'”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian continued: “So being filled with rage, O Commander of the Faithful, I came forward and said, ‘Allah keep our lord the Kazi I had in this my wallet a coat of mail and a broadsword and armouries and a thousand fighting rams and a sheep-fold with its pasturage and a thousand barking dogs and gardens and vines and flowers and sweet smelling herbs and figs and apples and statues and pictures and flagons and goblets and fair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts and tumult and clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success, which were robbers, and a company of daybreak-raiders with swords and spears and bows and arrows and true friends and dear ones and Intimates and comrades and men imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a drum and flutes and flags and banners and boys and girls and brides (in all their wedding bravery), and singing-girls and five Abyssinian women and three Hindi maidens and four damsels of Al-Medinah and a score of Greek girls and eighty Kurdish dames and seventy Georgian ladies and Tigris and Euphrates and a fowling net and a flint and steel and Many-columned Iram and a thousand rogues and pimps and horse-courses and stables and mosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter and a plank and a nail and a black slave with his flageolet and a captain and a caravan leader and towns and cities and an hundred thousand dinars and Cufa and Anbar[FN#213] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty storehouses for victuals and Gaza and Askalon and from Damietta to Al-Sawan[FN#214]; and the palace of Kisra Anushirwan and the kingdom of Solomon and from Wadi Nu’uman to the land of Khorasan and Balkh and Ispahan and from India to the Sudan. Therein also (may Allah prolong the life of our lord the Kazi!) are doublets and cloths and a thousand sharp razors to shave off the Kazi’s beard, except he fear my resentment and adjudge the bag to be my bag.’ Now when the Kazi heard what I and the Kurd avouched, he was confounded and said, ‘I see ye twain be none other than two pestilent fellows, atheistical-villains who make sport of Kazis and magistrates and stand not in fear of reproach. Never did tongue tell nor ear hear aught more extraordinary than that which ye pretend. By Allah, from China to Shajarat Umm Ghaylan, nor from Fars to Sudan nor from Wadi Nu’uman to Khorasan, was ever heard the like of what ye avouch or credited the like of what ye affirm. Say, fellows, be this bag a bottomless sea or the Day of Resurrection that shall gather together the just and unjust?’ Then the Kazi bade them open the bag; so I opened it and behold, there was in it bread and a lemon and cheese and olives. So I threw the bag down before the Kurd and ganged my gait.” Now when the Caliph heard this tale from Ali the Persian, he laughed till he fell on his back and made him a handsome present.[FN#215] And men also relate a
TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.
It is said that Ja’afar the Barmecide was one night carousing with Al Rashid, who said, “O Ja’afar, it hath reached me that thou hast bought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long sought her for she is passing fair; and my heart is taken up with love of her, so do thou sell her to me.” He replied, “I will not sell her, O Commander of the Faithful.” Quoth he, “Then give her to me.” Quoth the other, “Nor will I give her.” Then Al-Rashid exclaimed, “Be Zubaydah triply divorced an thou shall not either sell or give her to me!” Then Ja’afar exclaimed, “Be my wife triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!” After awhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of having fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device to extricate themselves. Then said Al-Rashid, “None can help us in this strait but Abu Yusuf.”[FN#216] So they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the night; and when the messenger reached him, he arose in alarm, saying to himself, “I should not be sent for at this tide and time, save by reason of some question of moment to Al-Islam.” So he went out in haste and mounted his she-mule, saying to his servant, “Take the mule’s nose-bag with thee; it may be she hath not finished her feed; and when we come to the Caliph’s palace, put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left of her fodder, during the last of the night.” And the man replied, “I hear and obey.” Now when the Imam was admitted to the presence, Al-Rashid rose to receive him and seated him on the couch beside himself (where he was wont to seat none save the Kazi), and said to him, “We have not sent for thee at this untimely time and tide save to advise us upon a grave matter, which is such and such and wherewith we know not how to deal.” And he expounded to him the case. Abu Yusuf answered, “O Commander of the Faithful, this is the easiest of things.” Then he turned to Ja’afar and said, “O Ja’afar, sell half of her to the Commander of the Faithful and give him the other half; so shall ye both be quit of your oaths.” The Caliph was delighted with this and both did as he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid, “Bring me the girl at once,”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid commanded, “Bring me the girl at once, for I long for her exceedingly.” So they brought her and the Caliph said to Abu Yusuf, I have a mind to have her forthright, for I cannot bear to abstain from her during the prescribed period of purification; now how is this to be done?” Abu Yusuf replied, “Bring me one of thine own male slaves who hath never been manumitted.” So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said, “Give me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before consummation; and thus shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her before purification.” This second expedient pleased the Caliph yet more than the first; he sent for the Mameluke and, whenas he came, said to the Kazi “I authorise thee to marry her to him.” So the Imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who accepted it, and performed the ceremony; after which he said to the slave, “Divorce her, and thou shalt have an hundred dinars.” But he replied, “I won’t do this;” and the Imam went on to increase his offer, and the slave to refuse till he bid him a thousand dinars. Then the man asked him, “Doth it rest with me to divorce her, or with thee or with the Commander of the Faithful?” He answered, “It is in thy hand.” “Then by Allah,” quoth the slave, “I will never do it; no, never!” Hearing these words the Caliph was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam, “What is to be done, O Abu Yusuf?” Replied he, “Be not concerned, O Commander of the Faithful; the thing is easy. Make this slave the damsel’s chattel.” Quoth Al-Rashid, “I give him to her;” and the Imam said to the girl, “Say: I accept.” So she said, I accept;” whereon quoth Abu Yusuf, “I pronounce separation from bed and board and divorce between them, for that he hath become her property, and so the marriage is annulled.” With this, Al-Rashid rose to his feet and exclaimed, “It is the like of thee that shall be Kazi in my time.” Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before Abu Yusuf, to whom he said, “Hast thou wherein to put this?” The Imam bethought him of the mule’s nose-bag; so he sent for it and, filling it with gold, took it and went home. And on the morrow, he said to his friends, “There is no easier nor shorter road to the goods of this world and the next, than that of religious learning; for, see, I have gotten all this money by answering two or three questions.” So consider thou, O polite reader,[FN#217] the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it compriseth divers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of Ja’afar to Al Rashid, and the wisdom of the Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the excellent learning of Abu Yusuf, may Almighty Allah have mercy on their souls one and all! And they also tell the
TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.
When Khalid bin Abdallah al-Kasri[FN#218] was Emir of Bassorah, there came to him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty bearing and perfumed attire; whose aspect expressed good breeding, abundant wit and dignity of the gravest. They brought him before the Governor, who asked what it was and they replied, “This fellow is a thief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling-house.” Whereupon Khalid looked at him and was pleased with his well-favouredness and elegant aspect; so he said to the others, “Loose him,” and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. He replied, “Verily the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said.” Quoth Khalid, “And what moved thee to this and thou so noble of port and comely of mien?” Quoth the other “The lust after worldly goods, and the ordinance of Allah (extolled exalted be He!).” Rejoined Khalid, “Be thy mother bereaved of thee![FN#219] Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?” Answered the young man, “O Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what Almighty Allah hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and, ‘God is not unjust towards mankind.'”[FN#220] So Khalid was silent awhile considering the matter then he bade the young man draw near him and said, “Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me, for I cannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some story that is other than one of theft; and if so tell it me.” Replied the youth “O Emir, imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy presence; for I have no tale to tell save that verily I entered these folks’ house and stole what I could lay hands on and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me before thee.” Then Khalid bade clap him in gaol and commended a crier to cry throughout Bassorah, “O yes! O yes! Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one, the thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present to- morrow morning at such a place!” Now when the young man found himself in prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and with tears streaming from his eyes extemporized these couplets,
“When Khalid menaced off to strike my hand * If I refuse to tell him of her case;
Quoth I, ‘Far, far fro’ me that I should tell * A love, which ever shall my heart engrace;
Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed * To me were easier than to shame her face.'”
The warders heard him and went and told Khalid who, when it was dark night, sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found him clever and well-bred, intelligent, lively and a pleasant companion; so he ordered him food and he ate. Then after an hour’s talk said Khalid, “I know indeed thou hast a story to tell that is no thief’s; so when the Kazi shall come to-morrow morning and shall question thee about this robbery, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the pain and penalty of cutting off thy hand; for the Apostle (whom Allah bless and keep!) saith, ‘In cases of doubt, eschew punishment.'” Then he sent him back to prison,–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid, after conversing with the youth, sent him back to prison, where he passed the night. And when morning dawned the folk assembled to see his hand cut off, nor was there a soul in Bassorah, man or woman, but was present to look upon the punishment of that handsome youth. Then Khalid mounted in company of the notables of the city and others; and, summoning all four Kazis, sent for the young man, who came hobbling and stumbling in his fetters. There was none saw him but wept over him and the women all lifted up their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then the Kazi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, “These folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar[FN#221]?” Replied he, “Nay, I stole that and more.” “Peradventure,” rejoined the Kazi “thou art partner with the folk in some of the goods?” Quoth the young man; “Not so: it was all theirs, and I had no right in it.” At this the Khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the face with his whip, applying to his own case this couplet,
“Man wills his wish to him accorded be; * But Allah naught accords save what He wills.”
Then he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew forth his knife and taking the prisoner’s hand set the blade to it, when, behold, a damsel pressed through the crowd of women, clad in tattered clothes,[FN#222] and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she unveiled and showed a face like the moon whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them and a violent scene. But she cried out her loudest, saying, “I conjure thee, by Allah, O Emir, hasten not to cut off this man’s hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!” So saying, she gave him a scroll, and Khalid took it and opened it and read therein these couplets,
“Ah Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, * And these bowed eye-lashes sent shaft that caused his grief: Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, * Wedded to burning love of ills hath no relief:
He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while * Deeming this better than disgrace of lover fief:
Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine * Whose noble nature falsely calls himself a thief!”
When Khalid had read these lines he withdrew himself from the people and summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him that the young man was her lover and she his mistress; and that thinking to visit her he came to the dwelling of her people and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his coming. Her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household stuff and made himself appear a robber to cover his mistress’s honour. “Now when they saw him they seized him (continued she), crying:–A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he might spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.” Khalid answered, “He is indeed worthy to have his desire;” and, calling the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl’s father and bespoke him, saying, “O Shaykh, we thought to carry out the law of mutilation in the case of this young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!) hath preserved us from this, and I now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhams, for that he would have given his hand for the preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and for the sparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him.” Rejoined the old man, “O Emir, thou hast my consent.” So Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful; after which he said to the young man, “I give thee to wife the damsel, such an one here present, with her own permission and her father’s consent; and her wedding settlement shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhams.” “I accept this marriage at thy hands,” replied the youth; and Khalid bade them carry the money on brass trays in procession to the young man’s house, whilst the people dispersed, fully satisfied. “And surely (quoth he who tells the tale[FN#223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began with tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy.” And in contrast of this story is this piteous tale of
JA’AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN SELLER.
When Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja’afar the Barmecide[FN#224] he commended that all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the folk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in a distant word, used every year to bring to the aforesaid Ja’afar an ode[FN#225] in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand dinars; and the Badawi took them and, returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and, finding that Ja’afar had been crucified, betook himself to the place where his body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore weeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his ode and fell asleep. Presently Ja’afar the Barmecide appeared to him in a vision and said, “Verily thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest; but go to Bassorah and ask for a man there whose name is such and such, one of the merchants of the town, and say to him, ‘Ja’afar, the Barmecide, saluteth thee and biddeth thee give me a thousand dinars, by the token of the bean.'” Now when the wild Arab awoke, he repaired to Bassorah, where he sought out the merchant and found him and repeated to him what Ja’afar had said in the dream; whereupon he wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the world. Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made his stay pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured guest; and when he was minded to depart he gave him a thousand and five hundred dinars, saying, “The thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand gold pieces.” Now when the Arab was about to take leave, he said to the merchant, “Allah upon thee, tell me the story of the bean, that I may know the origin of all this.” He answered: “In the early part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[FN#226] about the streets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one raw and rainy day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather; now shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder with goose-skin to look upon. But it chanced that Ja’afar that day was seated with his officers and his concubines, in an upper chamber overlooking the street when his eyes fell on me; so he took pity on my case and, sending one of his dependents to fetch me to him, said as soon as he saw me, ‘Sell thy beans to my people.’ So I began to mete out the beans with a measure I had by me; and each who took a measure of beans filled the measure with gold pieces till all my store was gone and my basket was clean empty. Then I gathered together the gold I had gotten, and Ja’afar said to me, ‘Hast thou any beans left?’ ‘I know not,’ answered I, and then sought in the basket, but found only one bean. So Ja’afar took from me the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the other to one of his concubines, saying, ‘For how much wilt thou buy this half bean?’ She replied, ‘For the tale of all this gold twice-told;’ whereat I was confounded and said to myself, ‘This is impossible.’ But, as I stood wondering, behold, she gave an order to one of her hand-maids and the girl brought me the sum of the collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja’afar, ‘And I will buy the half I have by me for double the sum of the whole,’ presently adding, ‘Now take the price of thy bean.’ And he gave an order to one of his servants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and I took it and went my ways. Then I betook myself to Bassorah, where I traded with the monies and Allah prospered me amply, to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee every year a thousand dinars of the bounty of Ja’afar, it will in no wise injure me. Consider then the munificence of Ja’afar’s nature and how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of Allah Almighty be upon him! And men also recount the tale of
ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.
It is told that Harun al-Rashid was sitting one day on the throne of the Caliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchry, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner of other gems and jewels, such as money might not buy; and, bussing the ground between his hands, said, “O Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Whereupon quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How pleasant is thy tale and profitable; and how sweet is thy speech and how delectable!” “And where is this,” replied Shahrazad, “compared with what I shall tell you next night an I live and the King grant me leave!” Thereupon quoth the King to himself, “By Allah, I will not slay her until I hear the end of her tale.”
When it was the Three Hundredth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad, “favour us, O my sister, with thy tale,” and she replied, ‘With joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;” whereupon the King said, “Tell thy tale, O Shahrazad.” So she pursued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth said to the Caliph, “The Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee and saith to thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this crown, which lacketh a great jewel for its dome-top; and she hath made search among her treasures, but cannot find a jewel of size to suit her mind.” Quoth the Caliph to his Chamberlains and Viceregents, Make search for a great jewel, such as Zubaydah desireth.” So they sought, but found nothing befitting her and told the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat, exclaimed, “How am I Caliph and King of the Kings of the earth and cannot find so small a matter as a jewel? Woe to you! Ask of the merchants.” So they enquired of the traders, who replied, “Our lord the Caliph will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of Bassorah, by name Abu Mohammed highs Lazybones.” Thereupon they acquainted the Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja’afar send a note to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, Governor of Bassorah, commanding him to equip Abu Mohammed Lazybones and bring him into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful. The Minister accordingly wrote a note to that effect and despatched it by Masrur, who set out forthright for the city of Bassorah, and went in to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who rejoiced in him and treated him with the high-most honour. Then Masrur read him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid, to which he replied, “I hear and I obey,” and forthwith despatched him, with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed’s house. When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and Masrur said to him, “Tell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful summoneth thee.” The servant went in and told his master, who came out and found Masrur, the Caliph’s Chamberlain, and a company of the Governor’s men at the door. So he kissed ground before Masrur and said, “I hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but first enter ye my house.” They replied, “We cannot do that, save in haste; even as the Prince of True Believers commanded us, for he awaiteth thy coming.” But he said, “Have patience with me a little, till I set my affairs in order.” So after much pressure and abundant persuasion, they entered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with curtains of azure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu Mohammed Lazybones bade one of his servants carry Masrur to the private Hammam. Now this bath was in the house and Masrur found its walls and floors of rare and precious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. Then the servants served Masrur and his company with the perfection of service; and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad them in robes of honour, brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after leaving the bath Masrur and his men went in to Abu Mohammed Lazybones and found him seated in his upper chamber; and over his head hung curtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the pavilion was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. Now the owner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth covering a settee inlaid with stones of price; and, when he saw Masrur, he went forward to meet him and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for the food-trays; so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he exclaimed, “By Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!” For indeed the trays contained every manner of meat all served in dishes of gilded porcelain.[FN#227] “So we ate and drank and made merry till the end of the day (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each and every of us five thousand dinars, and on the morrow he clad us in dresses of honour of green and gold and entreated us with the utmost worship.” Then said Masrur to him, “We can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph’s displeasure.” Answered Abu Mohammed Lazybones, “O my lord, have patience with us till the morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with you.” So they tarried with him that day and slept the night; and next morning Abu Mohammed’s servants saddled him a she mule with selle and trappings of gold, set with all manner of pearls and stones of price; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, “I wonder, when Abu Mohammed shall present himself in such equipage, if the Caliph will ask him how he came by all this wealth.” Thereupon they took leave of Al-Zubaydi and, setting out from Bassorah, fared on, without ceasing to fare till they reached Baghdad-city and presented themselves before the Caliph, who bade Abu Mohammed be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in courtly phrase, saying, “O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with me an humble offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious permission to produce it?” Al-Rashid replied, “There is no harm in that,”[FN#228] whereupon Abu Mohammed bade his men bring in a chest, from which he took a number of rarities, and amongst the rest, trees of gold with leaves of white emeraid,[FN#229] and fruits of pigeon blood rubies and topazes and new pearls and bright. And as the Caliph was struck with admiration he fetched a second chest and brought out of it a tent of brocade, crowned with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers and other precious stones; its poles were of freshly cut Hindi aloes-wood, and its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were depicted all manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled with precious stones, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and balasses and every kind of precious metal. Now when Al-Rashid saw these things, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and Abu Mohammed Lazybones said to him, “O Commander of the Faithful, deem not that I have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting anything; but I knew myself to be but a man of the people and that such things befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion, something of what I can do.” Al-Rashid replied, “Do what thou wilt, that we may see.” “To hear is to obey,” said Abu Mohammed and, moving his lips, beckoned the palace battlements,[FN#230] whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their place. Presently he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him closets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo! the voices of birds answered him from within. The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel at this and said to him, “How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and they tell me that thy father was a cupper serving in a public Hammam, who left thee nothing?” Whereupon he answered, “Listen to my story” And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and First Night,