The Project Gutenberg EBook of Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp, by John Payne This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp Author: John Payne Release Date: March 23, 2009 [EBook #5100] Last Updated: February 7, 2013 Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALAEDDIN AND THE ENCHANTED LAMP *** Produced by JC Byers, and David Widger
To
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, K.C.M.G.,
H.B.M. CONSUL, TRIESTE.
My Dear Burton,
I give myself the pleasure of placing your name in the forefront
of another and final volume of my translation of the Thousand and
One Nights, which, if it have brought me no other good, has at
least been the means of procuring me your friendship.
Believe me,
Yours always,
John Payne.
Twelve years this day,—a day of winter, dreary
With drifting snows, when all the world seemed dead
To Spring and hope,—it is since, worn and weary
Of doubt within and strife without, I fled
From the mean workday miseries of existence,
From spites that slander and from hates that lie,
Into the dreamland of the Orient distance
Under the splendours of the Syrian sky,
And in the enchanted realms of Eastern story,
Far from the lovelessness of modern times,
Garnered the rainbow-remnants of old glory
That linger yet in those ancestral climes;
And now, the tong task done, the journey over,
From that far home of immemorial calms,
Where, as a mirage, on the sky-marge hover
The desert and its oases of palms,
Lingering, I turn me back, with eyes reverted
To this stepmother world of daily life,
As one by some long pleasant dream deserted,
That wakes anew to dull unlovely strife:
Yet, if non' other weal the quest have wrought me.
The long beloved labour now at end,
This gift of gifts the untravelled East hath brought me,
The knowledge of a new and valued friend.
5th Feb. 1889.
II.
The first MS. commences precisely where the third volume of Galland's MS.
ends, to wit, (see my Terminal essay, p. 265, note1) with the 281st Night,
in the middle of the story of Camaralzaman 4and contains,
(inter alia) besides the continuation of this latter (which ends with
Night CCCXXIX), the stories of the Sleeper Awakened (Nights CCCXXX-CCCC),
Ganem (Nights CCCCXXVIII-CCCCLXX1V), Zeyn Alasnam (Nights
CCCCLXXV-CCCCXCI), Aladdin (Nights CCCCXCII-DLXIX) and three others not
found in Galland's version. The MS. ends in the middle of the 631st night
with the well-known Story of King Bekhtzad (Azadbekht) and his son or the
Ten Viziers, (which will be found translated in my﹃Tales from the
Arabic,﹄Vol. I. pp. 61 et seq.) and contains, immediately after Night
CCCCXXVII and before the story of Ganem, a note in Arabic, of which the
following is a translation:
"The fourth volume of the wonders and marvels of the stories of the
Thousand Nights and One Night was finished by the hand of the humblest of
His' servants in the habit of a minister of religion (Kahin, lit. a
diviner, Cohen), the [Christian] priest Dionysius Shawish, a scion (selil)
of the College of the Romans (Greeks, Europeans or Franks, er Roum), by
name St. Athanasius, in Rome the Greatest 5(or Greater,
utsma, fem. of aatsem, qu re Constantinople?) on the seven-and-twentieth
of the month Shubat (February) of the year one thousand seven hundred
fourscore and seven, [he being] then teacher of the Arabic tongue in the
Library of the Sultan, King of France, at Paris the Greatest."
From this somewhat incoherent note we may assume that the MS. was written
in the course of the year 1787 by the notorious Syrian ecclesiastic Dom
Denis Chavis, the accomplice of Cazotte in the extraordinary literary
atrocity shortly afterward perpetrated by the latter under the name of a
sequel or continuation of the Thousand and One Nights 6(v. Cabinet
des Fees, vols. xxxviii—xli), 7and in all
probability (cf. the mention in the above note of the first part, i.e.
Nights CCLXXXI-CCCCXXVII, as the fourth volume) to supply the place of
Galland's missing fourth volume for the Bibliotheque Royale; but there. is
nothing, except a general similarity of style and the occurrence in the
former of the rest of Camaralzaman and (though not in the same order) of
four of the tales supposed to have been contained in the latter, to show
that Dom Chavis made his copy from a text identical with that used by the
French savant. In the notes to his edition of the Arabic text of Aladdin,
M. Zotenberg gives a number of extracts from this MS., from which it
appears that it is written in a very vulgar modern Syrian style and
abounds in grammatical errors, inconsistencies and incoherences of every
description, to say nothing of the fact that the Syrian ecclesiastic
seems, with the characteristic want of taste and presumption which might
be expected from the joint-author of "Les Veillees Persanes," to have, to
a considerable extent, garbled the original text by the introduction of
modern European phrases and turns of speech a la Galland. For the rest,
the MS. contains no note or other indication, on which we can found any
opinion as to the source from which the transcriber (or arranger) drew his
materials; but it can hardly be doubted, from internal evidence, that he
had the command of some genuine text of the Nights, similar to, if not
identical with, that of Galland, which he probably "arranged" to suit his
own (and his century's) distorted ideas of literary fitness. The discovery
of the interpolated tales contained in this MS. (which has thus presumably
lain unnoticed for a whole century, under, as one may say, the very noses
of the many students of Arabic literature who would have rejoiced in such
a find) has, by a curious freak of fortune, been delayed until our own day
in consequence of a singular mistake made by a former conservator of the
Paris Bibliotheque, the well-known Orientalist, M. Reinaud, who, in
drawing up the Catalogue of the Arabic MSS. in the collection described
(or rather misdescribed) it under the following heading:
"Supplement Arabe 1716. Thousand and One Nights, 3rd and 4th parts. This
volume begins with Night CCLXXXII and ends with Night DCXXXI. A copy in
the handwriting of Chavis. It is from this copy and in accordance with the
instructions (d'apres la indications) of this Syrian monk that Cazotte
composed (redigea) the Sequel to the Thousand and One Nights, Cabinet des
Fees, xxxvii et xl (should be tt. xxxviii-xli)."
It is of course evident that M. Reinaud had never read the MS. in question
nor that numbered 1723 in the Supplement Arabe, or he would at once have
recognized that the latter, though not in the handwriting of the Syrian
ecclesiastic, was that which served for the production of the "Sequel" in
question; but, superficial as was the mistake, it sufficed to prevent the
examination by students of the MS. No. 1716 and so retarded the discovery
of the Arabic originals of Aladdin and its fellows till the acquisition
(some two years ago) by the Bibliotheque Nationale of another (and
complete) MS. of the Thousand and One Nights, which appears to have
belonged to the celebrated Orientalist M. Caussin de Perceval, although
the latter could not have been acquainted with it at the time (1806) he
published his well-known edition and continuation of Galland's
translation, in the eighth and ninth volumes of which, by the by, he gives
a correct version of the tales so fearfully garbled by Chavis and Cazotte
in their so-called translation as well nigh to defy recognition and to
cause Orientalists in general to deny the possibility of their having been
derived from an Oriental source until the discovery of the actual Arabic
originals so barbarously maltreated 8
This MS. is in the handwriting of of Sebbagh, the well-known Syrian
collaborator of Silvestre de Sacy, and is supposed to have been copied by
him at Paris between the years 1805 and 1810 for some European Orientalist
(probably de Perceval himself) from a Baghdad MS. of the early part of the
18th century, of which it professes to be an exact reproduction, as
appears from a terminal note, of which the following is a translation:
"And the finishing of it was in the first tenth (decade) of Jumada the
Latter [in the] year one thousand one hundred and fifteen of the Hegira
(October, 1703) in the handwriting of the neediest of the faithful 9
unto God 10
the Most High, Ahmed ibn Mohammed et Teradi, in the city of Baghdad, and
he the Shafiy by sect and the Mosuli by birth and the Baghdadi by sojourn,
and indeed he wrote it for himself and set upon it his seal, and God bless
and keep our lord Mohammed and his companions! Kebikej 11
(ter)."
This MS. contains the three "interpolated" tales aforesaid, i.e. the
Sleeper Awakened (Nights CCCXXXVII-LXXXVI), Zeyn Alasnam (Nights
CCCCXCVII-DXIII) and Aladdin (Nights DXIV-XCI), the last two bearing
traces of a Syrian origin, especially Aladdin, which is written in a much
commoner and looser style than Zeyn Alasnam. The two tales are evidently
the work of different authors, Zeyn Alasnam being incomparably superior in
style and correctness to Aladdin, which is defaced by all kinds of
vulgarisms and solecisms and seems, moreover, to have been less correctly
copied than the other. Nevertheless, the Sebbagh text is in every respect
preferable to that of Shawish (which appears to abound in faults and
errors of every kind, general and particular,) and M. Zotenberg has,
therefore, exercised a wise discretion in selecting the former for
publication.
III.
Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of M. Zorenberg's long and interesting
introduction is a series of extracts from the (as yet unpublished) MS.
Diary regularly kept by Galland, the last four volumes (1708-15) of which
are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale. These extracts effectually
settle the question of the origin of the interpolated tales, as will be
seen from the following abstract.
On the 25th March, 1709, Galland records having that day made the
acquaintance of a Maronite scholar, by name Youhenna Diab, 12
who had been brought from Aleppo to Paris by Paul Lucas, the celebrated
traveller, and with whom he evidently at once broached the question of the
Nights, 13
probably complaining to him of the difficulty (or rather impossibility) of
obtaining a perfect copy of the work; whereupon Hanna (as he always calls
him) appears to have volunteered to help him to fill the lacune by
furnishing him with suitable Oriental stories for translation in the same
style as those already rendered by him and then and there (says Galland)
﹃told me some very fine Arabian tales, which he promised to put into
writing for me.﹄There is no fresh entry on the subject till May 5
following, when (says Galland)﹃The Maronite Hanna finished telling me the
tale of the Lamp.﹄14
Hanna appears to have remained in Paris till the autumn of the year 1709
and during his stay, Galland's Diary records the communication by him to
the French savant of the following stories, afterwards included in the
ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth volumes of the latter's translation,
(as well as of several others which he probably intended to translate, had
he lived,) 15
i.e. (May 10, 1709) "Babe Abdalla" and "Sidi Nouman," (May 13, 1709)﹃The
Enchanted Horse,﹄(May 22, 1709) "Prince Ahmed and Pari Banou," (May 25,
1709) "The Two Sisters who envied their younger Sister," (May 27, 1709)
"All Baba and the Forty Thieves," (May 29, 1709) "Cogia Hassan Alhabbal"
and (May 31, 1709) "Ali Cogia." The Maronite seems to have left for the
East in October, 1709, (Galland says under date October 25, "Received this
evening a letter from Hanna, who writes me from Marseilles, under date the
17th, in Arabic, to the effect that he had arrived there in good health,")
but not without having at least in part fulfilled his promise to put in
writing the tales communicated by him to Galland, as appears by the entry
of November 3, 1710, "Began yesterday to read the Arabian story of the
Lamp, which had been written me in Arabic more than a year ago by the
Maronite of Damascus 16whom M. Lucas brought with him,
with a view to putting it into French. Finished reading it this morning.
Here is the title of this tale, 'Story of Aladdin, son of a tailor, and
that which befell him with an African Magician on account of (or through)
a lamp.'" (The Diary adds that he began that evening to put his
translation into writing and finished it in the course of the ensuing
fortnight.) And that of January 10, 1711, "Finished the translation of the
tenth volume of the 1001 Nights after the Arabic text which I had from the
hand (de la main) of Hanna or Jean Dipi, 17whom M.
Lucas brought to France on his return from his last journey in the
Levant." The only other entry bearing upon the question is that of August
24, 1711, in which Galland says, "Being quit of my labours upon the
translation etc. of the Koran, I read a part of the Arabian Tales which
the Maronite Hanna had told me and which I had summarily reduced to
writing, to see which of them I should select to make up the eleventh
volume of the Thousand and One Nights."
From these entries it appears beyond question that Galland received from
the Maronite Hanna, in the Spring and Summer of 1709, the Arabic text of
the stories of Aladdin, Baba Abdalla, Sidi Nouman and Cogia Hassan
Alhabbal, i.e. the whole of the tales included in his ninth and tenth
volumes (with the exception of The Sleeper Awakened, of which he does not
speak) and that he composed the five remaining tales contained in his
eleventh and twelfth volumes (i.e. Ali Baba, Ali Cogia, The Enchanted
Horse, Prince Ahmed and Pari Banou and The Two Sisters who envied their
younger Sister,) upon the details thereof taken down from Hanna's lips and
by the aid of copious summaries made at the time. These entries in
Galland's diary dispose, therefore, of the question of the origin of the
"interpolated" tales, with the exception (1) of The Sleeper Awakened (with
which we need not, for the present, concern ourselves farther) and (2) of
Nos. 1 and 2a and b, i.e. Zeyn Alasnam, Codadad and his brothers and The
Princess of Deryabar (forming, with Ganem, his eighth volume), as to which
Galland, as I pointed out in my terminal essay (p. 264), cautions us, in a
prefatory note to his ninth volume, that these two stories form no part of
the Thousand and One Nights and that they had been inserted and printed
without the cognizance of the translator, who was unaware of the trick
that had been played him till after the actual publication of the volume,
adding that care would be taken to expunge the intrusive tales from the
second edition (which, however, was never done, Galland dying before the
republication and it being probably found that the stranger tales had
taken too firm a hold upon public favour to be sacrificed, as originally
proposed); and the invaluable Diary supplies the necessary supplemental
information as to their origin. "M. Petis de la Croix," says Galland under
date of January 17, 1710, "Professor and King's Reader of the Arabic
tongue, who did me the honour to visit me this morning, was extremely
surprised to see two of the Turkish 18Tales of
his translation printed in the eighth volume of the 1001 Nights, which I
showed him, and that this should have been done without his
participation."
Petis de la Croix, a well-known Orientalist and traveller of the time,
published in the course of the same year (1710) the first volume of a
collection of Oriental stories, similar in form and character to the 1001
Nights, but divided into "Days" instead of "Nights" and called﹃The
Thousand and One Days, Persian Tales,﹄the preface to which (ascribed to
Cazotte) alleges him to have translated the tales from a Persian work
called Hezar [o] Yek Roz, i.e. "The Thousand and One Days," the MS. of
which had in 1675 been communicated to the translator by a friend of his,
by name Mukhlis, (Cazotte styles him "the celebrated Dervish Mocles, chief
of the Soufis of Ispahan") during his sojourn in the Persian capital. The
preface goes on to state that Mukhlis had, in his youth, translated into
Persian certain Indian plays, which had been translated into all the
Oriental languages and of which a Turkish version existed in the
Bibliotheque Royale, under the title of Alfaraga Badal-Schidda (i.e. El
Ferej bad esh Shiddeh), which signified "Joy after Affliction"; but that,
wishing to give his work an original air, he converted the aforesaid plays
into tales. Cazotte's story of the Indian plays savours somewhat of the
cock and the bull and it is probable that the Hezar o Yek Roz (which is
not, to my knowledge, extant) was not derived from so recondite a source,
but was itself either the original of the well-known Turkish collection or
(perhaps) a translation of the latter. At all events, Zeyn Alasnam,
Codadad and the Princess of Deryabar occur in a copy (cited by M.
Zotenberg), belonging to the Bibliotheque Nationale, of El Ferej bad esh
Shidded (of which they form the eighth, ninth and sixth stories
respectively) and in a practically identical form, except that in
Galland's vol. viii. the two latter stories are fused into one. Sir
William Ouseley is said to have brought from Persia a MS. copy of a
portion of the Hezar o Yek Roz which he describes as agreeing with the
French version, but, in the absence of documentary proof and in view of
the fact that, notwithstanding the unauthorized incorporation of three of
the tales of his original with Galland's Vol. viii, the published version
of the Thousand and One Days is apparently complete and shows no trace of
the omission, I am inclined to suspect Petis de la Croix of having
invented the division into Days, in order to imitate (and profit by the
popularity of) his fellow savant's version of the Thousand and One Nights.
Galland's publisher was doubtless also that of Petis de la Croix and in
the latter capacity had in hand a portion of the MS. of the 1001 Days,
from which, no doubt weary of waiting till Galland (who was now come to
the end of his genuine Arabic MS. of the 1001 Nights and was accordingly
at a standstill, till he met with Hanna,) should have procured fresh
material to complete the copy for his eighth volume, of which Ganem only
was then ready for publication, he seems to have selected (apparently on
his own responsibility, but, it must be admitted, with considerable taste
and judgment,) the three tales in question from the MS. of the 1001 Days,
to fill up the lacune. It does not appear whether he found Codadad and the
Princess of Deryabar arranged as one story ready to his hand or himself
performed (or procured to be performed) the process of fusion, which, in
any case, was executed by no unskilful hand. Be this as it may, Galland
was naturally excessively annoyed at the publisher's unceremonious
proceeding, so much so indeed as for a time to contemplate renouncing the
publication of the rest of the work, to spare himself (as he says in his
Diary, under date of Dec. 12, 1709) similar annoyances (mortifications) to
that which the printing of the eighth volume had caused him. Indeed, the
effect of this incident was to induce him, not only to change his
publisher, but to delay the publication of the next volume (which, as we
learn from the Diary, was ready for the press at the end of November or
the beginning of December, 1709) for a whole year, at the end of which
time (Diary, November 21, 1710) he made arrangements with a new (and
presumably more trustworthy) publisher, M. Florentin de Laune, for the
printing of Vol. ix.
IV.
Notwithstanding the discovery, as above set out, of three of the doubtful
tales, Zeyn Alasnam, Aladdin and The Sleeper Awakened, in two MSS. (one at
least undoubtedly authentic) of the Thousand Nights and One Night, I am
more than ever of opinion that none of the eleven "interpolated" stories
properly belongs to the original work, that is to say, to the collection
as first put into definite form somewhere about the fourteenth century. 19
"The Sleeper Awakened" was identified by the late Mr. Lane as a historical
anecdote given by the historian El Ishaki, who wrote in the first quarter
of the seventeenth century, and the frequent mention of coffee in both
MSS. of Aladdin justifies us in attributing the composition of the story
to (at earliest) the sixteenth century, whilst the modern vulgarisms in
which they abound point to a still later date. Zeyn Alasnam (in the
Sebbagh MS. at least) is written in a much purer and more scholarly style
than Aladdin, but its pre-existence in El Ferej bad esh Shiddeh (even if
we treat as apocryphal Petis de la Croix's account of the Hezar o Yek Roz)
is sufficient, in the absence of contrary evidence, to justify us in
refusing to consider it as belonging to the Thousand Nights and One Night
proper. As shown by Galland's own experience, complete copies of the
genuine work were rarely to be met with, collections of "silly stories"
(as the Oriental savant, who inclines to regard nothing in the way of
literature save theology, grammar and poetry, would style them), being
generally considered by the Arab bibliographer undeserving of record or
preservation, and the fragmentary copies which existed were mostly in the
hands of professional story-tellers, who were extremely unwilling to part
with them, looking upon them as their stock in trade, and were in the
habit of incorporating with the genuine text all kinds of stories and
anecdotes from other sources, to fill the place of the missing portions of
the original work. This process of addition and incorporation, which has
been in progress ever since the first collection of the Nights into one
distinct work and is doubtless still going on in Oriental countries,
(especially such as are least in contact with European influence,) may
account for the heterogeneous character of the various modern MSS. of the
Nights and for the immense difference which exists between the several
texts, as well in actual contents as in the details and diction of such
stories as are common to all. The Tunis MS. of the 1001 Nights (which is
preserved in the Breslau University Library and which formed the principal
foundation of Habicht's Edition of the Arabic text) affords a striking
example of this process, which we are here enabled to see in
mid-operation, the greater part of the tales of which it consists having
not yet been adapted to the framework of the Nights. It is dated A.H. 1144
(A.D. 1732) and of the ten volumes of which it consists, i, ii (Nights I—CCL)
and x (Nights DCCCLXXXV-MI) are alone divided into Nights, the division of
the remaining seven volumes (i.e. iii—ix, containing, inter alia,
the Story of the Sleeper Awakened) being the work of the German editor. It
is my belief, therefore, that the three "interpolated" tales identified as
forming part of the Baghdad MS. of 1703 are comparatively modern stories
added to the genuine text by Rawis (story-tellers) or professional writers
employed by them, and I see no reason to doubt that we shall yet discover
the Arabic text of the remaining eight, either in Hanna's version (as
written down for Galland) or in some as yet unexamined MS. of the Nights
or other work of like character.
V.
M. Zotenberg has, with great judgment, taken as his standard for
publication the text of Aladdin given by the Sebbagh MS., inasmuch as the
Shawish MS. (besides being, as appears from the extracts given. 20
far inferior both in style and general correctness,) is shown by the
editor to be full of modern European phrases and turns of speech and to
present so many suspicious peculiarities that it would be difficult,
having regard, moreover, to the doubtful character and reputation of the
Syrian monkish adventurer who styled himself Dom Denis Chavis, to resist
the conviction that his MS. was a forgery, i.e. professedly a copy of a
genuine Arabic text, but in reality only a translation or paraphrase in
that language of Galland's version,—were it not that the Baghdad MS.
(dated before the commencement, in 1704, of Galland's publication and
transcribed by a man—Mikhail Sebbagh—whose reputation, as a
collaborator of Silvestre de Sacy and other distinguished Orientalists, is
a sufficient voucher for the authenticity of the copy in the Bibliotheque
Nationale,) contains a text essentially identical with that of Shawish.
Moreover, it is evident, from a comparison with Galland's rendering and
making allowance for the latter's system of translation, that the Arabic
version of Aladdin given him by Hanna must either have been derived from
the Baghdad text or from some other practically identical source, and it
is therefore probable that Shawish, having apparently been employed to
make up the missing portion of Galland's Arabic text and not having the
Hanna MS. at his command, had (with the execrable taste and want of
literary morality which distinguished Cazotte's monkish coadjutor)
endeavoured to bring his available text up to what he considered the
requisite standard by modernizing and Gallicizing its wording and (in
particular) introducing numerous European phrases and turns of speech in
imitation of the French translator. The whole question is, of course, as
yet a matter of more or less probable hypothesis, and so it must remain
until further discoveries and especially until the reappearance of
Galland's missing text, which I am convinced must exist in some shape or
other and cannot much longer, in the face of the revived interest awakened
in the matter and the systematic process of investigation now likely to be
employed, elude research.
M. Zotenberg's publication having been confined to the text of Aladdin, I
have to thank my friend Sir R. F. Burton for the loan of his MS. copy of
Zeyn Alasnam, (the Arabic text of which still remains unpublished) as
transcribed by M. Houdas from the Sebbagh MS.
Accordingly, after a few days, the queen gave birth to a male child, extolled be the perfection of Him who created him surpassing in grace and goodliness! His father named him Zein ul Asnam, and he was as say of him certain of his praisers 29 in verse: 30 He shows and "Now Allah be blessed!" men say: "Extol we his Maker and Fashioner aye! The king of the fair 31 this is, sure, one and all; Ay, his thralls, every one, and his liegemen are they."The boy grew and flourished till he came to the age of five 32 years, when his father the Sultan assigned him a governor skilled and versed in all sciences and philosophies, and he proceeded to teach him till he excelled in all manner of knowledge and became a young man. 33 Then the Sultan bade bring him before himself, and assembling all the grandees of his realm and the chiefs of his subjects, proceeded to admonish him before them, saying to him,﹃O my son Zein ul Asnam, behold, I am grown stricken in years and am presently sick; and belike this sickness will be the last of my life in this world and thou shalt sit in my stead; [wherefore I desire to admonish thee]. Beware, O my son, lest thou oppress any or turn a deaf ear to the complaining of the poor; but do thou justify the oppressed after the measure of thy might. And look thou believe not all that shall be said to thee by the great ones of the people, but trust thou still for the most part to the voice of the common folk; for the great will deceive thee, seeing they seek that which befitteth themselves, not that which befitteth the subject.﹄Then, after a few days, the Sultan's sickness redoubled on him and he accomplished his term and died; and as for his son Zein ul Asnam, he arose and donning the raiment of woe, [mourned] for his father the space of six days. On the seventh day he arose and going forth to the Divan, sat down on the throne of the sultanate and held a court, wherein was a great assemblage of the folk, 34 and the viziers came forward and the grandees of the realm and condoled with him for his father and called down blessings upon him and gave him joy of the kingship and the sultanate, beseeching God to grant him continuance of glory and prosperity without end. When 35 Zein ul Asnam saw himself in this great might and wealth, and he young in years, he inclined unto prodigality and to the converse of springalds like himself and fell to squandering vast sums upon his pleasures and left governance and concern for his subjects. The queen his mother proceeded to admonish him and to forbid him from his ill fashions, bidding him leave that manner of life and apply himself governance and administration and the ordinance of the realm, lest the folk reject him and rise up against him and expel 36hira; but he would hear not a word from her and abode in his ignorance and folly. At this the people murmured, for that the grandees of the realm put out their hands unto oppression, whenas they saw the king's lack of concern for his subjects; so they rose up in rebellion against Zein ul Asnam and would have laid violent hands upon him, had not the queen his mother been a woman of wit and judgment and address, and the people loved her; so she appeased the folk and promised them good. Then she called her son Zein ul Asnam to her and said to him, "See, O my son; said I not to thee that thou wouldest lose thy kingship and eke thy life, an thou persistedst in this thine ignorance and folly, in that thou givest the ordinance of the sultanate into the hands of raw youths and eschewest the old and wastest thy substance and that of the realm, squandering it all upon lewdness and the lust of thy soul?" Zein ul Asnam hearkened to his mother's rede and going out forthright to the Divan, committed the manage of the realm into the hands of certain old men of understanding and experience; save that he did this only after Bassora had been ruined, inasmuch as he turned not from his folly till he had spent and squandered all the treasures of the sultanate and was become exceeding poor. Then he betook himself to repentance and to sorrowing over that which he had done, 37so that he lost the solace of sleep and eschewed meat and drink, till one night of the nights,—and indeed he had spent it in mourning and lamentation and melancholy thought until the last of the night,—his eyes closed for a little and there appeared to him in his sleep a venerable old man, who said to him,﹃O Zein ul Asnam, grieve not, for that nought followeth after grief save relief from stress, and an thou desire to be delivered from this thine affliction, arise and betake thee to Cairo, where thou wilt find treasuries of wealth which shall stand thee in stead of that thou hast squandered, ay, and twofold the sum thereof.﹄When he awoke from his sleep, he acquainted his mother with all that he had seen in his dream, and she fell to laughing at him; but he said to her,﹃Laugh not, for needs must I journey to Cairo.﹄"O my son," answered she,﹃put not thy trust in dreams, for that they are all vain fancies and lying imaginations.﹄And he said to her, "Nay, my dream was a true one and the man whom I saw is of the Friends of God 38and his speech is very sooth." Accordingly, he left the sultanate and going forth a-journeying one night of the nights, took the road to Egypt [and fared on] days and nights till he came to the city of Cairo. So he entered it and saw it a great and magnificent city; then, being perished for weariness, he took shelter in one of its mosques. When he had rested awhile, he went forth and bought him somewhat to eat; and after he had eaten, he fell asleep in the mosque, of the excess of his weariness, nor had he slept but a little when the old man appeared to him in his sleep and said to him, "O Zein ul Assam, 39 thou hast done as I said to thee, and indeed I made proof of thee, that I might see an thou wert valiant or not; but now I know thee, inasmuch as thou hast put faith in my rede and hast done according thereto. So now return to thine own city and I will make thee a king rich after such a measure that neither before thee nor after thee shall [any] of the kings be like unto thee." So Zein ul Asnam arose from his sleep and said, "In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful! What is this old man who hath wearier me, so that I came to Cairo, 40and I trusted in him and deemed of him that he was the Prophet (whom God bless and keep) or one of the pious Friends of God? But there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme. By Allah. I did well in that I acquainted none with my sallying forth neither related my dream unto any! 41 Indeed. I believed in this old man and meseemed by that which appeared to me, he was none of mankind, 42extolled be His perfection and magnified be He who [alone] knoweth the truth! By Allah, I will leave trusting in this old man [neither will I comply with him] in that which he would have me do!" Accordingly, he lay [the rest of] that night [in the mosque] and at daybreak he arose and mounting his courser, set out on his return to Bassora, [the seat of] his kingship, where, after a few days, he arrived and went in that same night to his mother, who asked him if aught had befallen him of that which the old man had promised him. He acquainted her with that which he had seen [in his sleep] and she fell to condoling with him and comforting him, saying,﹃Grieve not, O my son, for, an God the Most High have appointed thee aught of [good] fortune, thou wilt attain thereto without either travail or toil; but I would have thee be understanding and discreet and leave these things which have brought thee to poverty, O my son, and eschew singing-wenches and the commerce of youths and women; all this is for the baser sort, not for kings' sons like thee.﹄And he swore to her that he would never more gainsay her commandment, but would observe all that she should say to him and would turn his mind to the governance and the kingship and leave that wherefrom she forbade him. Then he slept that night and what while he was on sleep, the old man appeared to him and said to him, "O Zein ul Asnam, O valiant one, whenas thou arisest from thy sleep this day, I will accomplish my promise to thee; wherefore take thou a pickaxe and go to the palace of thy father Such-an-one 43in such a place and dig there in the earth and thou wilt find that which shall enrich thee." When Zein ul Asnam awoke from his sleep, he hastened to his mother, rejoicing, and acquainted her with his dream; whereupon she fell again to laughing at him and said to him,﹃O my son, indeed this old man laugheth at thee, nought else; wherefore do thou turn thy thought from him.﹄But he said to her,﹃Nay, mother mine, indeed he is soothfast and lieth not; for that, in the first of his dealing, he tried me and now his intent is to accomplish unto me his promise.﹄"In any case," rejoined she, "the thing is not toilsome; 44so do that which thou wilt, even as he said to thee, and make proof of the matter, and God willing, thou shalt 45 return to me rejoicing; but methinketh thou wilt return to me and say, 'Thou saidst sooth, O my mother, in thy rede."' The prince accordingly took a pickaxe and going down to the palace where his father was buried, fell a-delving in the earth; nor had he dug long when, behold, there appeared to him a ring fixed in a slab of marble. He raised the slab and seeing a stair, descended thereby and found a great vault, all builded with columns of marble and alabaster; then, proceeding innerward, he found within the vault a hall which ravished the wit, and therein eight jars of green jasper; 46and he said,﹃What be these jars and what is in them?﹄So 47he went up and uncovering them, found them all full of old gold; 48whereupon he took a little in his hand and going to his mother, gave her thereof and said to her, "Thou seest, O my mother." She marvelled at this thing and said to him,﹃Beware, O my son, lest thou squander it, like as thou squanderedst other than this.﹄And he swore to her, saying,﹃Be not concerned, O my mother, and let not thy heart be other than easy on my account, for I would fain have thee also content with me.﹄49 Then she arose and went with him, and they descended into the vault and entered the [underground] hall, 50where she beheld that which ravished the wit and saw the jars of gold. What while they diverted themselves with gazing upon these latter, behold, they espied a little jar of fine jade; so Zein ul Asnam opened it and found in it a golden key. Whereupon quoth his mother to him,﹃O my son, needs must there be a door here which this key will open.﹄Accordingly they sought in all parts of the vault and the hall, so they might see an there were a door or what not else to be found there, and presently espied a bolted lock, to which they knew that this must be the key. So Zein ul Asnam went up and putting the key in the lock, turned it and opened a door which admitted them into a second hall, 51more magnificent than the first; and it was all full of a light which dazzled the sight, yet was there no flambeau kindled therein, no, nor any window 52 there, whereat they marvelled and looking farther, saw eight images of jewels, each one piece, and that of noble jewels, pure and precious. Zein ul Asnam was amazed at this and said to his mother,﹃How came my father by these things?﹄And they fell to looking and considering, till presently the queen espied a curtain of silk, whereon were these words written: "O my son, marvel not at these great riches, whereto I have won by dint of sore travail; but know that there existeth also another image whose worth is more than that of these [eight] images twenty times told. Wherefore, an thou wouldst come thereby, get thee to Cairo, where thou wilt find a slave of mine, by name Mubarek, who will take thee and bring thee in company 53with the ninth image. When thou enterest Cairo, the first man whom thou encounterest will direct thee to Mubarek's house, for he is known in all Egypt." 54When Zein ul Asnam read this inscription, he said, "O my mother, it is my wish to journey to Cairo, so I may make search for the ninth image. Tell me, how deemest thou of my dream? Was it true or was it not? Wilt thou still say 55 to me, 'These be idle tales'? But I, O my mother, needs must I journey to Cairo." "O my son," answered the queen, "since thou art under the safeguard of the Apostle of God 56(whom God bless and keep), go thou in peace, and I [and] thy Vizier, we will govern the realm in thine absence, against thou shalt return." So Zein ul Asnam went forth and equipping himself [for travel, set out] and journeyed till he came to Cairo, where he enquired for Mubarek's house and the folk said to him,﹃O my lord, this is a man than whom there is none richer in [all Cairo]; no, nor is there a more abounding than he in bounty and beneficence, and his house is [still] open to the stranger.﹄So they directed him thither and he went till he came to the house and knocked at the door; whereupon there came out to him one of Mubarek's slaves and 57 opening the door, said to him, "Who art thou and what wiliest thou?" Quoth Zein ul Asnam,﹃I am a stranger, a man from a far country, and I heard tell of your lord, Mubarek, and how he is renowned for hospitality and beneficence; so I came to him, that I may be a guest with him.﹄The slave entered and told his lord Mubarek; then returned and said to Zein ul Asnam, "O my lord, blessing hath descended upon us in thy coming. 58 Enter, for my lord Mubarek awaiteth thee." So Zein ul Asnam entered into a courtyard, exceeding spacious and all [full] of trees and waters, and the slave brought him into the pavilion 59where Mubarek sat. When he entered, the latter arose forthright and coming to meet him, received him with cordiality and said to him,﹃Blessing hath descended upon us and this night is the most auspicious of nights in thy coming to us! But who art thou, O youth, and whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?﹄The prince answered him, saying,﹃I am Zein ul Asnam and I seek Mubarek, slave to the Sultan of Bassora, who died a year agone and whose son I am.﹄"What sayst thou?" cried Mubarek.﹃Art thou the king's son of Bassora?﹄"Yea, verily," replied Zein ul Asnam;﹃I am his son.﹄Quoth Mubarek,﹃Nay, my lord the king of Bassora left no son; but what is thine age, O youth?﹄"About twenty years," replied Zein ul Asnam. "And thou," added he,﹃how long is it since thou wentest out from my father's house?﹄"I went out eighteen years agone," answered Mubarek. ﹃But, O my son Zein ul Asnam, by what token canst thou certify me that thou art the son of my lord the king of Bassora?﹄Quoth Zein ul Asnam, "Thou knowest that my father builded under his palace a vault and therein [a hall in which] he set forty 60jars of fine jade and filled them with ancient gold; 61and within this hall he made a second hall, wherein he placed eight images of precious stones, each wroughten of a single jewel and seated upon a throne of virgin gold. 62 Moreover, he wrote upon a curtain of silk there and I read the writ, whereby I found that he bade me come to thee, saying that thou wouldst acquaint me of the ninth image and where it is, the which, said he, was worth the eight, all of them." When Mubarek heard these words, he threw himself at Zein ul Asnam's feet and fell to kissing them and saying,﹃Pardon me, O my lord! Verily, thou art the son of my lord.﹄Then said he to the prince,﹃O my lord, I make to-day a banquet unto all the chief men of Cairo and I would fain have thy highness honour me [with thy presence] thereat.﹄And Zein ul Asnam said, "With all my heart." 63So Mubarek arose and foregoing Zein ul Asnam, brought him into the saloon, which was full of the chief men of Cairo, assembled therein. There he sat down and seating the prince in the place of honour, called for the evening-meal. So they laid the tables and Mubarek stood to serve Zein ul Asnam, with his hands clasped behind him 64 and whiles seated upon his knees [and heels]. 65The notables of Cairo marvelled at this, how Mubarek, the chiefest of them, should serve the youth, and 66were sore amazed thereat, knowing not [who or] whence he was. But, after they had eaten and drunken and supped and were of good cheer, Mubarek turned to the company and said to them,﹃O folk, marvel not that I serve this youth with all worship and assiduity, for that he is the son of my lord the Sultan of Bassora, whose slave I was, for that he bought me with his money and died without setting me free; wherefore it behoveth me serve my lord, and all that my hand possesseth of monies and gear is his, nor is anywhit thereof mine.﹄When the notables of Cairo heard this speech, they arose to Zein ul Asnam and did him exceeding great worship and saluted him with all reverence and prayed for him; 67and he said,﹃O company, I am before your presence and ye are witnesses [of that which I am about to do.﹄Then, turning to his host,] "O Mubarek, [quoth he,] thou art free and all that is with thee of monies and gear appertaining unto us shall henceforth be thine and thou art altogether acquitted thereof 68 and of every part thereof. Moreover, do thou ask of me whatsoever thou desirest by way of boon, 69for that I will nowise gainsay thee in aught thou mayst seek." 70Thereupon Mubarek arose and kissed the prince's hand and thanked him, saying, "O my lord, I will nought of thee save that thou be well; for indeed the wealth that I have is exceeding abundant upon me." So Zein ul Asnam abode with Mubarek four days and every day the chief men of Cairo came to salute him, whenas it reached them that this was Mubarek's lord, the Sultan of Bassora; then, after he was rested, he said to his host, "O Mubarek, indeed the time is long upon me;" 71 and Mubarek said to him, "Thou must know, O my lord, that this whereof thou art come in quest is a hard 72matter, nay, even unto danger of death, and I know not if thy fortitude may suffice thee for the achievement thereof." 73﹃Know, O Mubarek,﹄rejoined Zein ul Asnam, "that wealth [is gotten] by blood 74 and there betideth a man nought except by the will and foreordinance of the Creator (to whom belong might and majesty ); so do thou take heart and concern not thyself on my account." Accordingly Mubarek forthright commended his slaves equip them for travel; so they made all ready and taking horse, journeyed days and nights in the foulest of deserts, 75 witnessing daily things and matters which confounded their wits,—things such as never in their time had they seen,—until they drew near the place [of their destination]; whereupon they lighted down from their steeds and Mubarek bade the slaves and servants abide there, saying to them, "Keep watch over the beasts of burden and the horses till we return to you." Then the twain set out together afoot and Mubarek said to Zein ul Asnam, ﹃O my lord, now behoveth fortitude, for that thou art in the land of the image whereof thou comest in quest.﹄And they gave not over walking till they drew near a great lake and a wide, whereupon quoth Mubarek to Zein ul Asnam,﹃Know, O my lord, that there will presently come to us a little boat, bearing a blue flag and builded all with planks of sandal and Comorin aloes-wood of price; and [thereanent] I have a charge to give thee, which it behoveth thee observe.﹄"What is this charge?" asked the prince and Mubarek said to him, "In this boat thou wilt see a boatman, 76 but his make is monstrous; 77wherefore be thou ware and again, I say, beware lest thou speak aught, for that he will incontinent drown us; and know that this place appertaineth to the King of the Jinn and that all thou seest is their handiwork." Then 78they came to the lake and behold, a little boat with planks of sandal and Comorin aloes-wood and in it a boatman, whose head was [as] the head of an elephant and the rest of his body [as that of] a wild beast. 79 When he drew near them, he wrapped his trunk about them both and taking them with him into the boat, rowed out with them to the midst of the lake, then fared on with them 80till he brought them to the other shore, where they landed and walking on, saw there trees of ambergris 81 and aloes and sandal-wood and cloves and jessamine, 82full-grown and laden with ripe fruits and flowers 83whose fragrance dilated the breast and cheered the spright; and there [they heard] the voices of the birds twittering their various notes and ravishing the wit with their warblings. So Mubarek turned to Zein ul Asnam and said to him, "How deemest thou of this place, O my lord?" And the prince answered him, saying, "Methinketh, O Mubarek, this is the paradise which the Prophet (whom God bless and keep) promised us withal." Then they fared on till they came to a magnificent palace, builded all with stones of emerald and rubies, and its doors were of sheer gold. Before it was a bridge, the length whereof was an hundred and fifty cubits and its breadth fifty cubits, and it was [wroughten] of the rib of a fish; whilst at the other end of the bridge were many warriors 84 of the Jinn, gruesome and terrible of aspect, and all of them bore in their hands javelins of steel that flashed in the sun like winter lightning. 85 Quoth Zein ul Asnam to Mubarek, "This is a thing that taketh the wits;" and Mubarek said to him, "It behoveth us abide in our place neither fare forward, lest a mischance betide us. O God, [vouchsafe us] safety!" Therewith he brought out of his pocket four pieces of yellow silken stuff and girded himself with one thereof; the second he laid on his shoulders and gave Zein ul Asnam other two pieces, with which he girded himself [and covered his shoulders] on like wise. Moreover, he spread before each of them a sash of white silk and bringing forth of his pocket precious stones and perfumes, such as ambergris and aloes-wood, (set them on the edges thereof) 86 after which they sat down, each on his sash, and Mubarek taught Zein ul Asnam these words, which he should say to the King of the Jinn, to wit:﹃O my lord King of the Jinn, we are in thy safeguard.﹄And Zein ul Asnam said to him, "And I will instantly conjure him that he accept of us." Then said Mubarek,﹃O my lord, by Allah, I am exceeding fearful. But now hearken; an he be minded to accept of us without hurt, he will come to us in the semblance of a man accomplished in grace and goodliness; but, an he have no mind to us, he will come to us in a gruesome and a frightful aspect. An thou see him surpassing in beauty, arise forthright and salute him, but beware lest thou overpass thy sash.﹄And Zein ul Asnam said to him, "Hearkening and obedience." "And be this thy salutation to him," continued Mubarek; "thou shalt say, 'O King of the Jinn and lord of the earth, my father, the Sultan of Bassora, the angel of death hath removed, as indeed is not hidden from thee. Now Thy Grace was still wont to take my father under thy protection, and I come to thee likewise to put myself under thy safeguard, even as did he.' Moreover, 87O my lord Zein ul Asnam," added he, "an the King of the Jinn receive us with a cheerful favour, he will without fail ask thee and say to thee, 'Seek of me that which thou wiliest and thou shalt forthright be given [it].' 88 So do thou seek of him and say to him, 'O my lord, I crave of Thy Grace the ninth image, than which there is not the world a more precious; and indeed Thy Grace promised my father that thou wouldst give it to me."' Having thus taught his lord how he should speak with the King of the Jinn and seek of him the ninth image and how he should make his speech seemly and pleasant, Mubarek fell to conjuring and fumigating and reciting words that might not be understanded; and no great while passed ere the world lightened 89 and rain fell in torrents 90and it thundered and darkness covered the face of the earth; and after this there came a tempestuous wind and a voice like an earthquake of the earthquakes 91 of the Day of Resurrection. When Zein ul Asnam saw these portents, his joints trembled and he was sore affrighted, for that he beheld a thing he had never in all his life seen nor heard. But Mubarek laughed at him and said to him,﹃Fear not, O my lord; this whereat thou art affrighted is that which we seek; nay, it is a presage of good to-us. So take heart and be of good cheer.﹄After this there came a great clearness and serenity and there breathed pure and fragrant breezes; then, presently, behold, there appeared the King of the Jinn in the semblance of a man comely of favour, there was none like unto him in his goodliness, save He who hath no like and to whom belong might and majesty. He looked on Zein ul Asnam and Mubarek with a cheerful, smiling countenance; whereupon the prince arose forthright and proffered him his petition in the words which Mubarek had taught him. The King of the Jinn turned to him, smiling, and said to him, "O Zein ul Asnam, indeed I loved thy father the Sultan of Bassora, and I used, whenassoever he came to me, to give him an image of those which thou hast seen, each wroughten of a single jewel, and thou also shalt stand in thy father's stead with me and shalt find favour in mine eyes, even as did he, ay, and more. Before he died, I caused him write the writ which thou sawest on the curtain of silk and promised him that I would take thee under my protection, even as himself, and would give thee the ninth image, which is more of worth than those which thou hast seen. Now it is my intent to perform the promise which I made to thy father, that I would take thee under my protection, and 92[know that] I was the old man whom thou sawest in thy sleep and it was I bade thee dig in the palace for the vault wherein thou foundest the jars of gold and the images of jewels. I know also wherefore thou art come hither; nay, I am he that was the cause of thy coming, and I will give thee that which thou seekest, albeit I had not given it to thy father; but on condition that thou swear to me a solemn oath and abide me constant thereto, to wit, that thou wilt return and bring me a girl of the age of fifteen years, with whom there shall be none to match in loveliness, and she must be a clean maid, who shall never have lusted after man, nor shall man have lusted after her. Moreover, thou must swear to me that thou wilt keep faith with her, coming, and beware lest thou play me false with her by the way." So Zein ul Asnam swore a solemn oath to him of this and said to him,﹃O my lord, indeed, thou honourest me with this service; but methinketh it will be hard to find a girl like this. Nay, supposing I find a damsel fifteen years of age and beautiful exceedingly, according to Thy Grace's requirement, how shall I know that she hath never in her time lusted after man nor hath man lusted after her?﹄"O Zein ul Asnam," replied the King of the Jinn, "thou art in the right and certain it is that this knowledge is a thing unto which the sons of man may not avail; but I will give thee a mirror of my fashion, and when thou seest a girl and her beauty pleaseth thee and her grace, do thou open this mirror that I shall give thee, and if thou find her image therein clear and bright, thou shalt know forthright that she is pure without default and that all good qualities are in her; so do thou take her for me. If thou find her image in the mirror other than this, to wit, an it be troubled and clothed with uncleanness, know that the girl is sullied and beware of her; but, an thou find one such as she whose qualities I have set out to thee, bring her to me and watch over her [by the way;] yet beware and again I say, beware of treason and bethink thee that, an thou keep not faith with me, thou wilt assuredly lose thy life." So Zein ul Asnam made with him a stable and abiding covenant, the covenant of the sons of kings, that he would keep the plighted faith and never play him false, but 93would bring him the damsel with all continence. Then the King of the Jinn delivered him the mirror and said to him,﹃O my son, take this mirror whereof I bespoke thee, and now depart.﹄Accordingly Zein ul Asnam and Mubarek arose and calling down blessings upon the King, returned upon their steps till they came to the lake, where they sat a little and behold, up came the boat which had brought them and the genie rowing therein, whose head was as 94 the head of an elephant. Now this was by the commandment of the King of the Jinn; so they embarked with the genie and crossed with him to the other shore; after which they returned to Cairo and entering Mubarek's house, abode there awhile till they were rested from the fatigue of the journey. Then Zein ul Asnam turned to Mubarek and said to him,﹃Come, let us go to the city of Baghdad, so we may seek for a girl who shall be according to the requirement of the King of the Jinn.﹄And Mubarek said to him, "O my lord, we are in Cairo, the city of cities and the wonder of the world. 95 I shall without fail find a girl here and it needeth not that we go to a far city." "Thou sayst sooth, O Mubarek," rejoined the prince; "but how shall we set about the matter and how shall we do to come by 96 a girl like this and who shall go seeking her for us?" "O my lord," replied Mubarek, "concern not thyself 97for that, for I have with me here an old woman (upon her, [to speak] figuratively, 98 be the malediction [of God] 99) who is a mistress of wiles and craft and guile and not to be baulked by any hindrance, however great." Then he sent to fetch the old woman and telling her that he wanted a damsel fifteen years old and fair exceedingly, so he might marry her to the son of his lord, promised her largesse galore, an she did her utmost endeavour in the matter; whereupon, "O my lord," answered she,﹃be easy; I will accomplish unto thee thy desire beyond thy wish; for that under my hand are damsels unpeered in grace and goodliness and all of them daughters of men of condition.﹄But, O King of the time, 100 the old woman had no knowledge of the affair of the mirror. Then she arose and went out to go round about in the city and to run along its ways, 101 seeking 102 the girl for Prince Zein ul Asnam, and whenassoever she saw a fair damsel, accomplished in beauty, she proceeded to bring her to Mubarek; but, when he looked at her in the mirror, he would see her image troubled exceedingly and would leave her; so that the old woman brought him all the damsels of Cairo, but there was not found among them one whose image in the mirror was clear; wherefore he bethought him to go to Baghdad, since he found not one in Cairo who pleased him [or] who was a clean maid, like as the King of the Jinn had enjoined him. So he arose and equipping himself, [set out and] journeyed, he and Zein ul Asnam, till they came to the city of Baghdad, where they hired them a magnificent palace amiddleward the city and took up their abode therein. There the chief men of the city used to come to them every day and sat at their table, even to the comer and goer by night and by day. 103 Moreover, when there remained aught from their table, they distributed it to the poor and the afflicted and all the strangers in the mosques 104 would come and eat with them. So the report was noised abroad in the land of their generosity and bounty and they became in high repute and fair fame throughout all Baghdad, nor did any talk but of Zein ul Asnam and his bounty and wealth. Now it chanced that in one of the mosques was an Imam, 105 corrupt, envious and despiteful in the extreme, and his lodging was near the palace wherein Mubatek and Zein ul Asnam had taken up their abode. When he heard of their bounty and generosity and of the goodliness of their repute, envy get hold upon him and jealousy of them, and he fell to bethinking himself how he should do, so he might bring some calamity upon them and despoil them of that their fair fortune, for it is of the wont of envy that it falleth not but upon the rich. So, one day of the days, as he stood in the mosque, after the mid-afternoon prayer, he came forward into the midst of the folk and said,﹃O my brethren, O ye of the True Faith, ye who ascribe unity to God, know that in this our quarter there be two men dwelling, strangers, and most like you are acquainted with them. Now these twain spend and squander wealth galore, passing all measure, and in my belief they are none other than thieves and highwaymen and are come hither with that which they stole from their own country, so they may squander it.﹄Then 106 "O people of Mohammed," added he, "I rede you for God's sake keep yourselves from these tricksters, 107 lest belike the Khalif come presently to know of these two men and ye also fall with them into calamity. Now I have warned you and I wash my hands of your affair, for that I have forewarned and awakened you; so do that which you deem well." And they said to him, all who were present, with one voice, "We will do whatsoever thou wiliest, O Aboubekr!" When the Imam heard this from them, he arose and taking inkhorn and pen and paper, fell to writing a letter to the Commander of the Faithful, setting forth to him [the case] against Zein ul Asnam and Mubarek. Now, as destiny willed it, the latter chanced to be in the mosque among the folk and heard the accursed Imam's discourse and that which he did by way of writing the letter to the Khalif; whereupon he tarried not, but, returning home forthwith, took an hundred diners and made him a parcel of price, all of silken clothes, 108 wherewith he betook himself in haste to Aboubekr's house and knocked at the door. The Imam came out to him and opened the door; and when he saw him, he asked him surlily who he was and what he would; whereupon quoth the other,﹃O my lord the Imam Aboubekr, I am thy slave Mubarek and I come to thee on the part of my lord the Amir Zein ul Asnam. He hath heard of thy learning and of the excellence of thy repute in the city and would fain become acquainted with thee and do that which behoveth unto thee; wherefore he hath presently sent me with these things and this money for thine expenses and hopeth of thee that thou wilt not blame him, inasmuch as this is little for thy worth, but hereafter, God willing, he will not fail of that which is due unto thee.﹄Aboubekr looked at [the coins and] at their impress and yellowness 109 and at the parcel of clothes and said to Mubarek, "O my lord, [I crave] pardon of thy lord the Amir, for that I am presently abashed before him 110 and it irketh me sore that I have not done my duty towards him; 111 but I hope of thee that thou wilt intercede with him on my behalf, so he may of his favour pardon me my default; and (the Creator willing) I will to-morrow do that which behoveth me and will go do my service to him 112 and proffer him the respect which is due from me to him."﹃O my lord Aboubekr,﹄replied Mubarek,﹃the extreme of my lord's desire is to look upon thy worship, so he may be honoured by thy presence and get of thee a blessing.﹄So saying, he kissed the Imam's hand and returned to his lodging. On the morrow, whilst Aboubekr was [engaged] in the Friday prayers at dawn, he stood up amongst the folk, in the midst of the mosque, and said, "O our brethren of the Muslims and people of Mohammed, all of you, verily envy falleth not save upon the rich and the noble and passeth by the poor and those of low estate. Know that of the two stranger men against whom I spoke yesterday one is an Amir, a man of great rank and noble birth, and the case is not as certain of the envious 113 informed me concerning him, to wit, that he was a thief and a robber; for I have enquired into the matter and find that the report lieth. So beware lest any of you missay of the Amir or speak aught of evil against him, such as that which I heard yesterday, or you will cause me and yourselves fall into the gravest of calamities with the Commander of the Faithful; for that a man of high degree like this cannot sojourn in the city of Baghdad without the Khalif's knowledge." On 114 this wise, then, the Imam Aboubekr did away from the minds of the folk the ill thought 115 which he had planted [there] by his speech concerning Zein ul Asnam. Moreover, when he had made an end of the prayers, he returned to his own house and donned his gabardine; then, weightening his skirts and lengthening his sleeves, 116 he went forth and took his way to the prince's house. When he came in to Zein ul Asnam, the latter rose to him and received him with the utmost reverence. Now he was by nature religious, 117 for all he was a youth of tender age; so he proffered the Imam all manner of honour and seating him by his side on a high divan, let bring him coffee with ambergris. Then the servants spread the table for breakfast and they took their sufficiency of meat and drink, and when they had finished, they fell to talking and making merry together. Presently the Imam asked the prince and said to him,﹃O my lord Zein ul Asnam, doth your highness purpose to sojourn long here in Baghdad?﹄"Yea, verily, O our Lord the Imam," answered Zein ul Asnam;﹃my intent is to sojourn here awhile, till such time as my requirement be accomplished.﹄"And what," asked Aboubekr,﹃is the requirement of my lord the Amir? Belike, an I know it, I may avail to further him to his wish, though I sacrifice my life for him.﹄118 And the prince said to him, "I seek a damsel fifteen years of age and fair exceedingly, that I may marry her; but she must be pure and chaste and a clean maid, whom no man hath anywise defiled nor in all her life hath she thought upon a man; 119 and she must be unique in grace and goodliness." "O my lord," rejoined the Imam, "this is a thing exceeding hard to find; but I know a damsel unique in her loveliness and her age is fifteen years. Her father was a Vizier, who resigned office of his own motion, and he abideth presently at home in his palace and is exceeding jealous over his daughter and her bringing up. 120 Methinketh this damsel will suit your Highness's mind, and she will rejoice in an Amir like your Highness, as also will her parents." Quoth Zein ul Asnam, "God willing, this damsel whereof thou speakest will answer my requirement and the accomplishment of our desire shall be at thy hands; 121 but, O our lord the Imam, before all things my wish is to see her, so I may know an she be chaste or not. As for her beauty, I am assured of 122 your worship's sufficiency and am content to trust to your word concerning her loveliness, to wit, that she is surpassing; but, for her chastity, you cannot avail to testify with certitude of her case." "And how," asked the Imam, "can it be possible unto you, O my lord the Amir, to know from her face that she is pure? An this be so, your highness is skilled in physiognomy. However, an your highness will vouchsafe to accompany me, I will carry you to her father's palace and make you known to the latter, and he shall bring her before you." Accordingly, 123 the Imam Aboubekr took Zein ul Asnam and carried him to the Vizier's house; and when they went in to him, the Vizier rose and welcomed the prince, especially when he knew that he was an Amir and understood from the Imam that he wished to marry his daughter. So he let bring the damsel before him, and when she came, he bade her raise the veil from her face. Accordingly she unveiled herself and Zein ul Asnam, looking upon her, was amazed at her grace and goodliness, for that never had he seen one to match with her in beauty; and he said in himself, "I wonder if I shall 124 happen upon one like this damsel, since it is forbidden that she should be mine!" Then he brought out the mirror from his pocket and looked thereon; when, behold, its crystal was clear exceedingly, as it were virgin silver; and he observed her image in the mirror and saw it like a white dove. So he forthright concluded the match and sent for the Cadi and the witnesses, who wrote the writ 125 and enthroned the bride; 126 after which Zein ul Asnam took the Vizier, the bride's father, home with him to his house and sent the young lady jewels of great price. Then they celebrated the wedding and held high festival, never was the like thereof, whilst Zein ul Asnam proceeded to entertain the folk and made them banquets for the space of eight days. Moreover, he honoured Aboubekr the Imam and gave him gifts galore and brought the Vizier, the bride's father, presents and great rarities. Then, the wedding festivities being ended, Mubarek said to Zein ul Asnam, ﹃Come, O my lord, let us set out on our way, lest we waste the time in sloth, now we have found that whereof we were in search.﹄And the prince answered him, saying, "Thou art in the right." So Mubarek arose and fell to equipping them for the journey; moreover, he let make the young lady a camel-litter 127 with a travelling couch, 128 and they set out. But Mubarek knew that Zein ul Asnam was sunken deep in love of the damsel; so he took him and said to him,﹃O my lord Zein ul Asnam, I would fain remind thee to watch over thyself; nay, again I say, have a care and keep the faith which thou plightedst to the King of the Jinn.﹄"O Mubarek," answered the prince, "an thou knewest the transport which possesseth me for the love of this young lady 129 and how I still think of nothing but of taking her to Bassora and going in [to her]!" And Mubarek said to him, "Nay, O my lord; keep thy troth and play not the traitor to thine oath, lest there befall thee a sore calamity and thou lose thy life and the young lady lose hers also. Bethink thee of the oath which thou sworest and let not lust get the mastery over thine understanding, lest thou lose guerdan 130 and honour and life." "O Mubarek," rejoined Zein ul Asnam,﹃keep thou watch over her thyself and let me not see her.﹄So 131 Mubarek fell to keeping watch and ward over the bride in the prince's stead and guarded the latter also, lest he should look on her; and so they journeyed on past the road leading unto Egypt and fared on their way to the Island of the Jinn. When the bride beheld the journey (and indeed it was long upon her) and saw not her husband in all this time since the night of the bridal, she turned to Mubarek and said to him, "God upon thee, O Mubarek, tell me, I conjure thee by the life of thy lord the Amir, are we yet far from the dominions 132 of my bridegroom, the Amir Zein ul Asnam?" And he said to her, "Alack, O my lady, it irketh me for thee and I will discover to thee that which is hidden. To wit, thou deemest that Zein ul Asnam, King of Bassora, is thy bridegroom. Far be it! 133 He is not thy bridegroom. The writing of the writ of his marriage with thee 134 was but a pretext before thy parents and the folk; and now thou art going for a bride to the King of the Jinn, who sought thee from the Amir Zein ul Asnam." When the young lady heard these words, she fell a-weeping and Zein ul Asnam heard her and fell a-weeping also, a sore weeping, of the excess of his love for her. And she said to them, "Is there no pity in you and no clemency and have you no fear of God, that I, a stranger maid, you cast me into a calamity like this? What answer will you give unto God 135 concerning this treason that you have wroughten with me?" But her weeping and her words availed her nothing, and they ceased not to fare on with her till they came to the King of the Jinn, to whom they straightway presented her. When he beheld her, she pleased him and he turned to Zein ul Asnam and said to him. "Verily, the girl whom thou hast brought me is exceeding in beauty and surpassing in loveliness; but the goodliness of thy loyalty and shine overmastering of thyself for my sake is fairer than she in mine eyes. So return now to thy place and the ninth image that thou seekest of me thou shalt find, on thy return, beside the other images; for I will send it to thee by one of my slaves of the Jinn." Accordingly, Zein ul Asnam kissed the King's hand and returned with Mubarek to Cairo; but, when they came thither, he chose not to abide with Mubarek longer than a resting-while, of the excess of his longing and his yearning to see the ninth image. Withal he ceased not from mourning, bethinking him of the young lady and her grace and goodliness; and he fell to lamenting and saying, "Alas for the loss of my delights that were because of thee, O pearl of beauty and loveliness, thou whom I took from thy parents and presented to the King of the Jinn! Alack, the pity of it!" And 136 he chid himself for the deceit and the perfidy which he had practised upon the young lady's parents and how he had brought her to the King of the Jinn. Then he set out and gave not over journeying till he came to Bassora and entering his palace, saluted his mother and told her all that had befallen him; whereupon quoth she to him, "Arise, O my son, so thou mayst 137 see this ninth image, for that I am exceeding rejoiced at its presence with us." So they both descended into the underground hall, wherein were the eight images, and found there a great marvel; to wit, instead of the ninth image, they beheld the young lady, resembling the sun in her loveliness. The prince knew her, when he saw her, and she said to him, ﹃Marvel not to find me here in place of that which thou soughtest; methinketh thou wilt not repent thee an thou take me in the stead of the ninth image.﹄"No, by Allah, oh my beloved!" replied Zein ul Asnam,﹃For that thou art the end of my seeking and I would not exchange thee for all the jewels in the world. Didst thou but know the grief which possessed me for thy separation, thou whom I took from thy parents by fraud and brought thee to the King of the Jinn!﹄138 Scarce had the prince made an end of his speech when they heard a noise of thunder rending the mountains and shaking the earth and fear get hold upon the queen, the mother of Zein ul Asnam, yea, and sore trembling; but, after a little, the King of the Jinn appeared and said to her, "O lady, fear not, it is I who am thy son's protector and I love him with an exceeding love for the love his father bore me. Nay, I am he who appeared to him in his sleep and in this I purposed to try his fortitude, whether or not he might avail to subdue himself for loyalty's sake. Indeed the beauty of this young lady beguiled him and he could not avail to keep his covenant with me so strictly but 139 that he desired her for his bride. However, I know the frailty of human nature and withal I think greatly of him that he guarded her and kept her unsullied and withdrew himself from her; 140 wherefore I accept this his constancy and bestow her on him as a bride. She is the ninth image, which I promised him should be with him, and certes she is fairer than all these images of jewels, inasmuch as her like is rarely found in the world." Then the King of the Jinn turned to Zein ul Asnam and said to him,﹃O Prince Zein ul Asnam, this is thy bride; take her and go in to her, on condition that thou love her and take not unto her a second [wife]; and I warrant thee of the goodliness of her fidelity to-thee-ward.﹄Therewithal he vanished from them and Zein ul Asnam went out, glad and rejoicing in the young lady; 141 and of [the excess of] his love for her he went in to her that night and let celebrate the bridal and hold high festival in all the kingdom. Then he abode upon the throne of his kingship, judging and commanding and forbidding, whilst his bride became queen of Bassora; and after a little his mother died. So he made her funeral obsequies 142 and mourned for her; after which he lived with his bride in all content till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Societies.
Presently, the Sultan's daughter came forth and went round about the
city and its thoroughfares and diverted herself by viewing it; then
she repaired to the bath and when she came thither, she lifted her
face-veil, as she entered; whereupon her face shone out, as it were the
resplendent sun or a precious pearl, and she was as saith of her one of
her describers:
Who sprinkled the kohl of enchantment upon her eyes
And gathered the bloom of the rose from her cheeks, fruit-wise?
And who was it let down the curtained night of her hair
And eke through its glooms made the light of her forehead rise?
When she raised the veil from her face and Alaeddin saw her, he said,
﹃Verily, her fashion glorifieth the Great Creator and extolled be the
perfection of Him who made her and graced her with this beauty and
goodliness!﹄And his back was cloven in sunder, 321 when he
saw her; his thought was confounded and his understanding 322
dazed and the love of her gat hold upon his whole heart; so he turned back
and returning home, went in to his mother, like one distraught. She
bespoke him and he answered her neither yea nor nay; then she brought him
the morning-meal, as he abode on this wise, and said to him, "O my son,
what hath betided thee? Doth there ail thee aught? Tell me what hath
befallen thee, for that, against thy wont, I bespeak thee and thou
answerest me not."
Now Alaeddin had been used to think that women were all like his mother
and he had heard of the beauty of the Lady Bedrulbudour, daughter of the
Sultan, but had not known what beauty and grace were; so he turned to his
mother and said to her, "Leave me;" but she was instant with him to come
and eat. Accordingly, he came forward and ate a little; then, rising, he
threw himself on his bed and lay musing till break of morn; and on this
wise he abode all next day. His mother was perplexed at his case,
unknowing what had befallen him, and bethought herself that belike he was
sick; so she came up to him and questioned him, saying, "O my son, an thou
feel aught of pain or otherwhat, tell me, that I may go fetch thee a
physician, more by token there is presently in the city a physician from
the land of the Arabs, whom the Sultan hath sent to bring hither, and
report saith of him that he is exceeding skilful; so [tell me] if thou art
sick, that I may go and call him to thee."
When 323
Alaeddin heard his mother offer to fetch him the physician, he said to
her,﹃O my mother, I am well and not sick, but I had thought that women
were all like unto thee. However, yesterday, I saw the Lady Bedrulbudour,
the Sultan's daughter, as she went to the bath;﹄and he told her all that
had happened to him, adding, "And most like thou heardest the crier
proclaiming that none should open his shop nor stand in the road, so the
Lady Bedrulbudour might pass to the bath; but I saw her even as she is,
for that, when she came to the door of the bath, she lifted her veil, and
when I noted her favour and viewed that noble form of hers, there befell
me, O my mother, a passion of yearning for love of her and desire of her
324
usurped mine every part; nor can I ever more have ease, except I get her,
and I purpose, therefore, to demand her of the Sultan her father in the
way of law and righteousness."
When Alaeddin's mother heard her son's speech, she thought little of his
wit and said to him, "O my son, the name of God encompass thee! Meseemeth
thou hast lost thy wit; return to thy senses, 325 O my
son, and be not like the madmen!" "Nay, O my mother," replied he,﹃I have
not lost my wits nor am I mad; and this thy speech shall not change that
which is in my mind, nor is rest possible to me except I get the darling
of my heart, the lovely Lady Bedrulbudour. And my intent is to demand her
of her father the Sultan.﹄So she said to him, "O my son, my life upon
thee, speak not thus, lest one hear thee and say of thee that thou art
mad. Put away from thee this extravagance: 326 who
shall undertake an affair like this and demand it of the Sultan? Meknoweth
not how thou wilt do to make this request of the Sultan, and if thou speak
sooth, 327
by whom wilt thou make it?" "O my mother," rejoined Alaeddin, "by whom
[should I make] a request like this, when thou art at hand, and whom have
I trustier 328 than thyself? Wherefore my
intent is that thou shalt make this request for me." "O my son," quoth
she, "God deliver me from this! What, have I lost my wits like thee? Put
away this thought from thy mind and bethink thee who thou art, O my son,—the
son of a tailor, the poorest and least of the tailors in this city, and I
also am thy mother and my folk are exceeding poor; so how wilt thou dare
to demand the Sultan's daughter, whom her father would not vouchsafe to
marry with kings' sons and Sultans, except they were his peers in
puissance and rank and noblesse; nay, were they one degree less than he,
he would not give them his daughter."
Alaeddin 329 waited till his mother had
made an end of her speech and said to her, "O my mother, all that thou
thinkest I know; marry, I know full well that I am the son of poor folk,
nor may all this thy talk anywise avail to move me from my purpose; but I
beseech thee, an I be thy very son and thou love me, do me this kindness;
else wilt thou lose me, for death hasteneth upon me, an I attain not my
wish of the beloved of my heart. In any case, O my mother, I am thy son."
When his mother heard his speech, she wept of her concern for him and said
to him, "Yes, O my son, I am thy mother and thou art my son and the
darling of my heart; 330 I have none other than thee
and the extreme of my desire is to rejoice in thee and marry thee. So, an
thou wilt, I will seek thee a bride of our own rank. But suppose [I do
this], they 331 [will] ask at once an thou
have craft or land or trade or garden, so thou mayst live, and what shall
I answer them. And if I cannot answer poor folk like ourselves, how, O my
son, shall I dare to seek the King's daughter of China, who hath none
before him and none after him? Wherefore do thou ponder this matter in
thine understanding. And who seeketh her? The son of a tailor. 332
Indeed, I know that, an I speak of this, it will but be for the increase
of our ill luck, for that this affair will bring us in great danger with
the Sultan and belike there will be death therein for thee and for me. As
for me, how can I adventure upon this danger and this effrontery?
Moreover, O my son, on what wise shall I demand thee his daughter of the
Sultan and how shall I avail to go in to him? Nay, if they question me,
what shall I answer them? Most like they will deem me a madwoman. And
suppose I gain admission to the presence, what shall I take by way of
offering to the Sultan's highness? It 333 is
true, O my son, that the Sultan is clement and rejecteth none that cometh
to him for protection or craveth a boon of him, for that he is bountiful
and beneficent unto all, great and small; 334 but he
bestoweth his favours upon those who are deserving thereof or who have
done some feat of arms before him or have wrought for the service or
defence of the realm; and thou, O my son, tell me, what hast thou done for
335
the Sultan or the realm, that thou shouldst merit of him this boon? Again,
this that thou cravest is beyond thy condition; 336 so it
cannot be that the king will grant thee that which thou seekest. Moreover,
whoso presenteth himself before the Sultan and craveth favours of him, it
behoveth him take in his hand somewhat that sorteth with the royal
dignity; and as I said to thee, how canst thou presume to present thyself
before the Sultan and seek of him his daughter, without aught thou mayst
proffer him of that which sorteth with his rank?"
"O my mother," replied Alaeddin, "thou speakest justly and deemest that
which is true, 337 and it behoveth me consider
all that whereof thou mindest me; but, O my mother, the love of the
Sultan's daughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, hath entered into the innermost
of my heart; and there can be no rest for me, except I obtain her.
Moreover, thou mindest me of somewhat I had forgotten, and that a thing
which emboldeneth me to seek of him his daughter by thee. Thou sayst, O my
mother, that I have no gift to present to the Sultan, according to the
wont of the folk, whilst in fact I have by me a gift and an offering, the
like whereof methinketh no king ever possessed, no, nor aught to match
therewith; for 338 thou must know, O my mother,
that the fruits, which I brought in the purses 339 from
the treasure and which I deemed glass or crystal, are very jewels,
methinketh all the kings of the world may not compass the least of them,
and I, of my companying with the jewellers, know that they are precious
stones. Wherefore, an thou please, have the goodness to rise and bring me
such a China dish which we have by us, 340 that I
may fill it with these jewels, and thou shalt take it as a present to the
Sultan. By this means I am assured that the thing will be easy to thee,
and do thou stand before the Sultan and seek of him my desire; but, O my
mother, an thou refuse to further me with thine endeavour for the
attainment of my wish of the Lady Bedrulbudour, know that I am a dead man.
Be not concerned for the gift, for these be exceeding precious jewels, and
know, O my mother, that I have gone many a time to the market of the
jewellers and have seen them sell jewels, that had not an hundredth part
341
of the beauty of these of ours, at exceeding high prices such as man's wit
cannot conceive. When, therefore, I saw this, I said [in myself], 'Verily,
the jewels that are with us are exceeding precious.' So now, O my mother,
arise, as I bade thee, and fetch me the China dish whereof I bespoke thee,
that we may range of these jewels therein and see how they show."
Accordingly, she arose and brought the China dish, saying in herself,﹃Let
us see if my son's speech be true concerning these jewels or not.﹄So she
set the dish before Alaeddin and he brought out jewels of all kinds from
the purses and proceeded to range them in the dish till he filled it. When
it was full, his mother looked at the dish, but could not gaze fixedly
thereon, for the radiance of the jewels and their lustre and the excess of
their flashing; so she shut her eyes and her wit was confounded at them;
yet was she not certified that their value was in very deed so great as
her son had said, but bethought her that his speech might be true in that
their like was not found with kings. Then Alaeddin turned to her and said,
"See, O my mother, this is a magnificent present for the Sultan and I am
assured that thou wilt get of him exceeding honour and that he will
receive thee with all consideration. And now, O my mother, there remaineth
to thee no excuse; so be good enough 342 to take
this dish and go with it to the palace."
"O my son," replied she, "true it is that the present is exceedingly
costly and precious and as thou sayest, none hath the like thereof; but
who shall dare to come forward and seek of the Sultan his daughter
Bedrulbudour? Nay, I dare not adventure myself and say to him, 'I want thy
daughter,' whenas he asketh me, 'What wouldst thou?' Marry, O my son,, my
tongue will be tied. And grant that Allah make [the thing] possible and I
take courage and say to him, 'I desire to ally myself to thee by
[marrying] thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour with my son Alaeddin,' they
will straightway deem me mad and will put me out with ignominy and
reproach; nay, I need not tell thee that by this I shall fall into danger
of death, and not I only, but thou also. Withal, O my son, of regard for
thy wish, needs must I take courage and go; but, O my son, if the King
receive me and honour me for the gift's sake and I seek of him that which
thou wilt in 343 the matter of marrying his
daughter and he ask me, after the wont of the folk, what are thy
possessions and thy revenues, what shall I say to him? And most like, O my
son, he will ask me of this ere he ask me of thyself." And Alaeddin said
to her, "Nay, it cannot be that the Sultan will ask this, whenas he seeth
the jewels and their magnificence, and it booteth not to think of a thing
that will not happen. Do thou but rise and seek me his daughter of him and
proffer him these jewels and sit not magnifying the affair in thy thought
beforehand. Moreover, O my mother, thou knowest of the lamp which is with
me and which presently provideth for our livelihood; 344
nay, all that I seek of it it will bring me, and I trust by its means I
shall know how to answer the Sultan, an he ask me of this."
They abode in talk of the matter all that night and when the morning
morrowed, Alaeddin's mother arose and fortified her heart, more by token
that her son expounded to her somewhat of the properties of the lamp and
its uses, in that it would bring them all they sought. But, when he saw
that she heartened herself for that which he set forth to her of its
virtues, he feared lest she should talk of this to the folk, so he said to
her, "O my mother, beware lest thou bespeak any of the lamp and its uses,
for that this is our fortune; be careful 345 and
exceed not in speech thereof to any one, lest we lose it and lose this our
present prosperity, for that it is from it." 346﹃Have
no fear for that, O my son,﹄answered she and rising, took the dish
wherein were the jewels and wrapping it in a fine handkerchief, went forth
betimes, so she might reach the Divan and enter, ere it became crowded.
When she came to the palace, the Divan was not yet assembled 347
and she saw the Vizier and certain of the chiefs of the state entering the
presence-chamber. After a while, the Divan being complete with the Viziers
and the chiefs of the state and officers and Amirs and grandees, the
Sultan appeared and the Viziers and other the officials and notables
ranged themselves before him, whilst he sat down on the throne of his
kingship and all who were present in the Divan stood before him, with
hands clasped behind them, 348 awaiting his commandment to
sit. So he bade them be seated and they all sat down, each in his several
room; then the petitioners 349 presented themselves before
the Sultan and each affair was decided in its course, 350
till the Divan came to an end, when the King rose and entered the palace
and each went his way.
As351
for Alaeddin's mother, having come before all, she found room to enter,
but withal none bespoke her, so he should bring her in before the Sultan;
wherefore she ceased not standing till the Divan broke up and the Sultan
rose and entered the palace and all went their ways. When she saw the
Sultan rise from his throne and enter the harem, she took her way homeward
and returning on her steps, entered her house. Alaeddin, seeing her with
the dish in her hand, knew that most like some mischance had betided her,
but cared not to question her till she entered and setting down the dish,
told him what had passed and finally said to him,﹃God be praised, O my
son, I mustered courage to find myself a place in the Divan, albeit I
could not win to speak with the Sultan to day; but to-morrow, an it please
God the Most High, I will bespeak him. To-day there were many other folk,
like myself, unable to get speech of the Sultan; but be easy, O my son;
to-morrow I will without fail bespeak him on thy behalf, and what happened
not shall happen.﹄When Alaeddin heard his mother's words, he rejoiced
with an exceeding joy, albeit, of the excess of his love and longing for
the Lady Bedrulbudour, he had looked for the matter to be accomplished
then and there; nevertheless, he used patience.
They slept that night and on the morrow Alaeddin's mother arose and went
with the dish to the Sultan's Divan, but found it closed; so she asked the
folk and they said to her, "The Sultan holdeth a Divan but thrice a week;"
wherefore she was compelled 352 to return home. Then she
proceeded to go every day, and whenas she found the Divan open, she would
stand before the door, 353 till it broke up, when she
would return home; and whiles she went and found the Divan closed. 354
On this wise she abode a week's space 355 and the
Sultan saw her at each Divan; so, when she went on the last day [of the
week] and stood, according to her wont, before the Divan, till it was
ended, but could not muster courage to enter 356 or say
aught, the Sultan arose and entering the harem, turned to his chief
Vizier, who was with him, and said to him, "O Vizier, these six or seven
days 357
past I have seen yonder old woman come hither at every Divan and I note
that she still carrieth somewhat under her veil. 358 Hast
thou any knowledge of her, O Vizier, and knowest thou what is her want?"
"O our lord the Sultan," replied the Vizier,﹃verily women are little of
wit; and most like this woman cometh to complain to thee of her husband or
one of her folk,﹄The Sultan was not content with the Vizier's reply, but
bade him, an she came again to the Divan, bring her before him forthright;
359
whereupon the Vizier laid his hand on his head and answered, "Hearkening
and obedience, O our lord the Sultan."
Meanwhile, 360 Alaeddin's mother, albeit she
was grown exceeding weary and dejected, yet made light of all weariness,
for her son's sake, and continued, as of her wont, to go every court-day
and stand in the Divan before the Sultan. 361
Accordingly, one day of the days, she went to the Divan, as of her wont,
and stood before the Sultan; and when he saw her, he called his Vizier and
said to him,﹃Yonder is the woman of whom I bespoke thee yesterday; bring
her now before me, so I may see what her suit is and accomplish unto her
her occasion.﹄So the Vizier arose forthright and let bring Alaeddin's
mother in before the Sultan. When she came into the latter's presence, she
made her obeisance to him and did him reverence, wishing him glory and
continuance and eternity of prosperity and kissing the ground before him.
Then said he to her,﹃O woman, I see thee come every day to the Divan and
thou speakest not of aught. Tell me an thou have a want, that I may
accomplish it unto thee;﹄whereupon she kissed the earth a second time and
called down blessings upon him, then answered, "Ay, O King of the Age, as
thy head liveth, I have indeed a want; but before all things do thou give
me thine assurance, 362 so I may make bold to prefer
my suit to the hearing of our lord the Sultan, for that belike Thy Grace
will find it a strange one."
The Sultan, that he might learn what her suit was and for that he was of
his nature exceeding clement, gave her his assurance and bidding all who
were with him go out forthright, abode alone [with her], he and the Grand
Vizier. Then he turned to her and said, "Tell me thy suit, and the
assurance 363 of God the Most High be upon
thee." Quoth she, "O King of the Age, I wish thy pardon also." And he said
to her, "God pardon thee!" 364 Then said she to him, "O our
lord the Sultan, I have a son, whose name is Alaeddin, and one day of the
days he heard the crier proclaim that none should open his shop nor show
himself in the thoroughfares of the city, 365 for
that the Lady Bedrulbudour, the daughter of our lord the Sultan, was going
to the bath. When my son heard this, he wished to see her; so he hid
himself in a place, whence he might see her well, and this was behind the
door of the bath. Accordingly, when she came up, he saw her and viewed her
well, beyond his wish; and from that time till now, O King of the Age,
life hath not been pleasant to him 366 and he
will e'en have me seek her of Thy Grace, 367 so thou
mayst marry her with him, and I cannot do away this conceit from his wit,
for that the love of her hath gotten possession of his vitals, so that he
saith to me, 'Know, O mother mine, that, except I attain my desire,
assuredly I am a dead man.' Wherefore I crave Thy Grace's clemency and
hope that thou wilt pardon me and my son this effrontery neither be wroth
with us therefor."
When the King heard her story, he fell a-laughing, of his clemency, 368
and asked her, "What is that thou hast with thee and what is that bundle?"
369
Whereupon she, seeing that he was not angered at her words, but laughed,
opened the handkerchief forthright and proffered him the dish of jewels.
When the Sultan saw the jewels (and indeed, whenas she raised the
handkerchief from them, the Divan became as it were all illumined with
lamp-clusters and candlesticks), he was amazed and confounded at their
radiance and fell a-marvelling at their lustre and bigness and beauty; and
370
he said,﹃Never saw I the like of these jewels for beauty and bigness and
perfection, nor methinketh is one of them found in my treasuries.﹄Then he
turned to his Vizier and said to him,﹃How sayst thou, O Vizier? Sawest
thou ever in thy life the like of these magnificent jewels?﹄"Never, O our
lord the Sultan," replied the Vizier,﹃nor, methinketh, is the least of
those which be here found in the treasuries of our lord the King.﹄Quoth
the Sultan, "Doth not he who giveth me these jewels deserve to be
bridegroom to my daughter Bedrulbudour? Marry, by what I see, meseemeth
none is worthier of her than he."
When the Vizier heard the Sultan's words, his tongue was tied for despite
and he was overcome with exceeding chagrin, forasmuch as the King had
promised him that he would marry his daughter to his son; so, after a
little, he said to him, "O King of the age, Thy Grace condescended to
promise me 371 that the Lady Bedrulbudour
should be my son's; wherefore it behoveth thine exalted highness appoint a
delay of three months, 372 and God willing, my son's
present shall be greater than this." The King, for all he knew that this
was a thing whereto the Vizier might not avail, no, nor the greatest King,
373
nevertheless exercised his clemency 374 and
granted him the delay he sought; then, turning to the old woman, he said
to her, "Go to thy son and tell him I give him [my] word that my daughter
shall be in his name; 375 but needs must I take order
for her equipment; 376 wherefore it behoveth him
grant us a delay of three months."
Alaeddin's mother took the answer and thanked the Sultan and prayed for
him, then went forth and fared homeward in haste, flying of her joy, till
she came to the house and entered. Her son saw her laughing-faced and
foreboded good news; more by token that she returned forthright and
tarried not, as on each day past, neither brought back the dish.
Accordingly he asked her and said to her,﹃God willing, O my mother, thou
bringest me good news; the jewels and their value have wrought their work
and thou wilt have found acceptance with the Sultan; yea, he will have
shown thee favour and given ear unto thy suit.﹄So she told him all that
had passed and how the Sultan had received her and had marvelled, both he
and his Vizier, at the size and beauty of the jewels, and how he had
promised her that [quoth she] "his daughter shall be in thy name. But, O
my son, ere he promised me, the Vizier whispered 377 him
somewhat, whereupon he appointed me for three months hence; and I am
fearful lest the Vizier be a man of evil disposition, 378
who will change the King's mind."
When 379
Alaeddin heard his mother's words and how the Sultan had appointed her for
380
three months [thence], his heart was lightened and he rejoiced with an
exceeding joy and said, "Since the Sultan hath promised for 381
three months [hence], true, it 382 is
long, but in any case my joy is great." Then he thanked her for her
kindness and the pains she had taken 383 and
said to her,﹃By Allah, O my mother, it is as I were in a tomb and now
thou hast raised me up therefrom; and I praise God the Most High, for I am
presently certified that there is none richer or happier than I in the
world.﹄Then he waited till two of the three months were past, when his
mother went out one day of the days, at sundown, to buy oil, and saw the
markets closed and the city all decorated and the folk setting candles and
flowers in their windows and saw troops, horse and foot, and mounted
eunuchs drawn up in state, with cressets and lustres burning. At this
wonder took her; 384he went to an oilman's shop
there open and buying oil of him, said to him,﹃[I conjure thee] by thy
life, O uncle, tell me what is toward to-day in this city, that the folk
are making this decoration and the markets [are shut] and the houses all
adorned and the troops drawn up in state?﹄Quoth he,﹃O woman, methinketh
thou art a stranger and art not of this city.﹄"Nay," answered she,﹃but I
am of this city;﹄and he said to her, "Thou art of this city and knowest
not that this is the night of the going in of the Grand Vizier's son to
the Lady Bedrulbudour, the Sultan's daughter? Nay, he is presently in the
bath and yonder Amirs and troops are drawn up awaiting him, against he
come forth, so they may carry him in procession to the palace of the
Sultan's daughter."
When Alaeddin's mother heard this, she was troubled and perplexed in her
wit how she should do to acquaint her son with this woeful news, for that
the poor wretch was counting the hours till the three months should be
ended. So she returned home forthright and going in to Alaeddin, said to
him,﹃O my son, I have news to tell thee, but it irketh me for thy chagrin
therefrom.﹄Quoth he, "Speak; what is the news?" And she said to him, "The
Sultan hath gone from his promise to thee in the matter of his daughter,
the Lady Bedrulbudour, for that this very night the Vizier's son goeth in
to her; and indeed methought at the time, 385 O my
son, the Vizier would change the Sultan's mind, even as I told thee that
he bespoke him privily before me." "How knewest thou this," asked
Alaeddin,﹃that the Vizier's son goeth in this night to the Lady
Bedrulbudour?﹄So she told him all she had seen of the decorations in the
city, whenas she went to buy the oil, and how the eunuchs and chiefs of
the state were drawn up awaiting the Vizier's son, against he should come
forth of the bath, for that this was the night of his going in. When
Alaeddin heard this, he fell into a fever of chagrin; 386
but presently he bethought him of the lamp and rejoiced and said to his
mother, "By thy life, O my mother, methinketh the Vizier's son shall not
rejoice in her, as thou deemest. But now leave us be with this talk and go
lay us the evening-meal, so we may sup; then, when I shall have passed a
while in my chamber, all shall yet be well."
Accordingly, 387 after he had supped, he went
into his chamber and locking the door on himself, fetched the lamp and
rubbed it; whereupon the genie at once appeared to him and said,﹃Seek
what thou wilt, for I am thy slave and the slave of whoso hath in his hand
the lamp, I and all the slaves of the lamp.﹄And Alaeddin said to him,
"Harkye, I sought of the Sultan to marry his daughter, and he appointed me
for 388
three months' time; however, he abode not by his promise, but gave her to
the Vizier's son, and the latter purposeth to go in [to her] this night.
Wherefore I do presently command thee, as thou art a loyal servant of the
lamp, that this night, whenas thou seest the bride and bridegroom abed
together, thou take them up in their bed [and bring them] hither. This is
what I seek of thee." "Hearkening and obedience," answered the genie,﹃and
if thou have a service [to require of me] other than this, command me
whatsoever thou seekest.﹄And Alaeddin said to him,﹃I have no present
requirement save that whereof I have bespoken thee.﹄So the slave
disappeared and Alaeddin returned to finish his supper 389
with his mother.
When he deemed it time for the genie's coming, he arose and entered his
chamber; and after a little, the Marid appeared with the bridal pair in
their bed; whereat Alaeddin rejoiced with exceeding great joy and said to
the slave,﹃Bear this gallowsbird hence and couch him in the house of
easance.﹄390 The genie accordingly took up
the bridegroom and couched him in the draught-house; moreover, ere he left
him, he blew on him a blast wherewith he dried him up, and the Vizier's
son abode in woeful case. Then he returned to Alaeddin and said to him,
"An thou need otherwhat, tell me." And Alaeddin said to him,﹃Return in
the morning, so thou mayst take them [back] to their place.﹄"Hearkening
and obedience," answered the genie and was gone; whereupon Alaeddin arose,—and
indeed he had scarce believed that the thing should succeed with him,—and
when he saw the Lady Bedrulbudour in his house, he entreated her with
respect, albeit he had long burned for love of her, and said to her, "O
princess of the fair, think not that I have brought thee hither to soil
shine honour. God forbid! Nay, it was that I might not let others 391
enjoy thee, for that thy father the Sultan gave me his word upon thee; so
be thou in peace and assurance." As 392 for the
princess, when she found herself in that mean dark; house and heard
Alaeddin's words, fear and trembling get hold upon her and she was
confounded and could return him no answer. Then he arose and putting off
his clothes, placed a sword between himself and her and lay down by her
side in the bed, without treason; 393 it
sufficed him to prevent [the consummation of] her marriage with the
Vizier's son. Nevertheless, the Lady Bedrulbudour passed the sorriest of
nights, never in her life had she known a worse; whilst the Vizier's son
lay in the draught-house and dared not stir for fear of the genie.
When it was morning, the genie presented himself before Alaeddin, without
his rubbing the lamp, and said to him,﹃O my lord, an thou wish aught,
command me withal, so I may do it on my head and eyes.﹄And Alaeddin bade
him go carry the bride and bridegroom to their own place. The genie did
his bidding in the twinkling of an eye and laying the Vizier's son with
the Lady Bedrulbudour, took them up and set them down in their place in
the palace, without their seeing any one; but they were like to die of
fright, when they felt themselves carried from place to place. Hardly had
the genie set them down and gone out when the Sultan came to visit his
daughter; and when the Vizier's son heard the door open, he straightway
sprang out of bed, knowing that none might enter but the Sultan, and
donned his clothes, 394 albeit this irked him sore,
for that he would fain have warmed himself a little, having had no time
[to do so] since he left the draught-house. The 395 Sultan
came in to his daughter and kissing her between the eyes, gave her
good-morrow and asked her of her bridegroom and if she was content with
him; but she returned him no answer and looked at him with a dejected air.
396
He bespoke her several times, but she was silent and answered him not a
word; so he went out from her and going in to the Queen, told her what had
passed between himself and the Lady Bedrulbudour.
The Queen, so she might not leave the Sultan angry with the Lady
Bedrulbudour, said to him,﹃O King of the Age, this is the wont of most
brides, on their wedding-day, to be shamefast and show somewhat of
coyness. So be not vexed with her and after a day or two she will return
to herself and proceed to speak with the folk; but now, O King of the Age,
shame hindereth her from speaking. However, I purpose to go to her and see
her.﹄Accordingly she arose and donning her clothes, repaired to her
daughter's apartment. Then, going up to her, she gave her good-morrow and
kissed her between the eyes; but the Lady Bedrulbudour returned her no
manner of answer and the Queen said in herself,﹃Needs must some strange
thing have befallen her, to trouble her thus.﹄So she asked her, saying,
"O my daughter, what is the cause of this thy behaviour? Tell me what
aileth thee, that I come to thee and give thee good-morrow and thou
returnest me no answer."
The Lady Bedrulbudour raised her head and said to her, "Blame me not, O my
mother; indeed, it behoved me receive thee with all reverence and worship,
since thou honourest me by coming to me; but I beseech thee hear the cause
of this my case and see how this night I have passed hath been for me the
sorriest of nights. Hardly had we lain down, O my mother, when one, whose
fashion I know not, took up the bed and transported us to a place dark,
foul 397
and mean." Then she told her mother the queen all that had betided her
that night and how they had taken her bridegroom, leaving her alone, and
how after a little there came another youth and lay down in the place of
her bridegroom, putting a sword between himself and her;﹃and in the
morning﹄[quoth she] "he who had brought us thither returned and taking us
up, carried us back to our place here: and hardly had he brought us hither
and left us when my father the Sultan entered and I had neither heart nor
tongue to answer him for stress of fright and trembling which possessed
me. And belike my father is vexed with me; wherefore I prithee, O my
mother, tell him the cause of this my case, so he be not wroth with me for
my failure to answer him neither blame me, but excuse me."
When 398
the queen heard the princess's story, she said to her, "O my daughter,
beware of 399 telling this tale before any,
lest they 400 say, 'Verily the Sultan's
daughter hath lost her wits.' Marry, thou diddest well in that thou
acquaintedst not thy father with this; and beware, yea [again I say,]
beware, O my daughter, of telling him thereof." "O my mother," rejoined
the Lady Bedrulbudour,﹃indeed, I bespoke thee in sober earnest and have
not lost my wits; nay, this is what happened to me, and an thou believe it
not from me, ask my bridegroom.﹄Quoth the queen,﹃Rise, O my daughter,
and put away these illusions from thy thought; nay, don thy clothes and
see the rejoicing that is toward in the town on thine account and the
festivities that they celebrate in the kingdom for thy sake and hear the
drums and the singing and look upon the decorations, all in honour of thy
nuptials, O my daughter.﹄Accordingly, she summoned the tirewomen, who
dressed the Lady Bedrulbudour and busked her; whilst the Queen went in to
the Sultan and told him that there had that night betided the princess a
dream and illusions, saying,﹃BIame her not for her failure to answer
thee.﹄Moreover, she sent for the Vizier's son privily and questioned him
of the affair, whether the Lady Bedrulbudour's speech was true or not; but
he, of his fear to lose his bride, lest she should go from his hand, said
to her, "O my lady, I know nothing of that which thou sayest;" wherefore
the queen was certified that there had betided her daughter illusions and
a dream.
The wedding rejoicings continued all that day, with dancing-women and
singing-women, and all the instruments of mirth and minstrelsy were
smitten, whilst the queen and the Vizier and his son were exceeding
assiduous in keeping up the festivities, so the Lady Bedrulbudour should
rejoice and her chagrin be dispelled; nay, they left nought that day of
that which exciteth unto liesse but they did it before her, so she should
leave what was in her mind and be cheered. But all this had no effect on
her and she was silent and thoughtful and confounded at that which had
befallen her that night. True, the Vizier's son had fared worse than she,
for that he was couched in the draught-house; but he belied 401
the matter and put away that tribulation from his thought, of his fear
lest he should lose his bride and his rank, 402 more by
token that all the folk envied him his lot, for the much increase of
honour it brought him, as also for the exceeding beauty and loveliness of
the Lady Bedrulbudour.
As for Alaeddin, he went out that day and saw the rejoicings toward in the
city and the palace and fell a-laughing, especially when he heard the folk
speak of the honour which had betided the Vizier's son and the greatness
of his good luck, in that he was become the Sultan's son-in-law, and the
exceeding pomp used in his marriage and bridal festivities; and he said in
himself, "Ye know not, good simple folk that ye are, 403
what befell him last night, that ye envy him." Then, when the night came
in and it was the season of sleep, Alaeddin arose and entering his
chamber, rubbed the lamp, whereupon the genie appeared to him forthright
and 404
he bade him bring the princess and her bridegroom, as on the past night,
ere the Vizier's son should take her maidenhead. The genie delayed not,
but was absent a little while; and when it was the appointed time, he
returned with the bed and therein the Lady Bedrulbudour and the Vizier's
son. With the latter he did as he had done the past night, to wit, he took
him and couched him in the draught-house, where he deft him parched for
excess of fright and dismay; whilst Alaeddin arose and placing the sword
between himself and the Lady Bedrulbudour, lay down and slept till the
morning, when the genie appeared and restored the twain to their place,
leaving Alaeddin full of joy at [the discomfiture of] the Vizier's son.
When the Sultan arose in the morning, he bethought himself to visit his
daughter Bedrulbudour and see an she should do with him as she had done on
the past day; so, as soon as he awoke from his sleep, he rose and donning
his clothes, went to his daughter's chamber and opened the door. Whereupon
the Vizier's son arose forthright and coming down from the bed, fell to
donning his clothes, with ribs cracking for cold; for that, when the
Sultan entered, it was no great while since the genie had brought them
back. The Sultan went up to his daughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, as she
lay abed, and raising the curtain, gave her good morning and kissed her
between the eyes and asked her how she did. She frowned and returned him
no answer, but looked at him sullenly, as she were in sorry case. He was
wroth with her, for that she made him no answer, and thought that
something had betided her; so he drew the sword and said to her, "What
hath befallen thee? Either thou shalt tell me what aileth thee or I will
do away thy life this very moment. Is this the respect that is due to my
rank and the honour in which thou holdest me, that I bespeak thee and thou
answerest me not a word?"
When the Lady Bedrulbudour knew that her father was angry and saw the
naked sword in his hand, she was like to swoon for fear; 405
so she raised her head and said to him, "Dear 406 my
father, be not wroth with me, neither be thou hasty in thine anger, for
that I am excusable in that which thou hast seen from me. 407
Do but hearken what hath betided me and I am well assured that, whenas
thou hearest my story of that which hath happened to me these two nights
past, thou wilt excuse me and Thy Grace will be moved to compassion upon
me, as I know from thy love for me." 408 Then
she acquainted him with all that had befallen her and said to him,﹃O my
father, an thou believe me not, ask my bridegroom and he will resolve Thy
Grace of everything, albeit I know not what they did with him, when they
took him from my side, nor where they set him.﹄When 409
the Sultan heard his daughter's story, he was sore concerned and his eyes
brimmed with tears; then, sheathing the sword and coming up to her, he
kissed her and said to her,﹃O my daughter, why didst thou not tell me
yesterday, so I might have warded off from thee the torment and affright
which have befallen thee this night? But no matter; arise and put away
from thee this thought, and to-night I will set over thee those who shall
guard thee, so there shall not again befall thee that which befell
yesternight.﹄Then he returned to his pavilion and sent at once for the
Vizier, who came and stood before him, awaiting his commands; and the
Sultan said to him,﹃O Vizier, how deemest thou of this affair? Most like
thy son hath told thee what happened to him and to my daughter.﹄"O King
of the Age," answered the Vizier,﹃I have not seen my son or yesterday or
to-day.﹄Whereupon the Sultan acquainted him with all that his daughter
the Lady Bedrulbudour had told him and said to him,﹃It is now my will
that thou enquire of thy son the truth of the case, for it may be my
daughter knoweth not for fright what happened to her, though methinketh
her tale is all true.﹄So the Vizier arose and sending for his son, asked
him of all that the Sultan had told him, if it were true or not.
Whereupon, "O my father the Vizier," replied the youth, "[God] preserve
the Lady Bedrulbudour from leasing! 410 Indeed,
all she saith is true and these two nights past have been for us the
sorriest of nights, instead of being nights of pleasance and delight.
Marry, that which befell me was yet worse, for that, instead of sleeping
with my bride in bed, I lay in the draught-house, a place dark and
frightful, noisome of smell and accursed, and my ribs were straitened 411
with cold." Brief, he told the Vizier all that had befallen him and
ultimately said to him; "Dear 412 my
father, I beseech thee speak with the Sultan that he release me from this
marriage. True, it is great honour for me to be the Sultan's son-in-law,
more by token that the love of the Lady Bedrulbudour hath gotten
possession of my vitals, but I cannot avail to endure one more night like
the two that are past."
When 413
the Vizier heard his son's words, he grieved and was exceeding chagrined,
for that he had thought to greaten his son and advance him by making him
the King's son-in-law; so he bethought himself and was perplexed anent the
matter and what was to do therein; 414 and
indeed it irked him sore that the marriage should be dissolved, for that
he had long besought 415 the Ten 416 that he
might compass the like of that affair; 417 so he
said to his son,﹃Have patience, O my son, so we may see [how it will be]
to-night, and we will set over you guards to guard you; but do not thou
let slip this great honour, for that it hath fallen to none other than
thyself.﹄Therewith he left him and returning to the Sultan, told him that
the Lady Bedrulbudour's story was true; whereupon quoth the Sultan,﹃Since
the case is thus, we need no wedding-festivities.﹄418 And he
bade forthright break off the rejoicings and the marriage was dissolved.
The folk and the people of the city marvelled at this strange thing,
especially when they saw the Vizier and his son go forth the palace in a
pitiable plight for stress of chagrin and despite, and they fell to
asking,﹃What hath happened and why is the marriage avoided and the
rejoicings broken off?﹄But none knew what was to do save Alaeddin, the
suitor, 419
who laughed in his sleeve. So the marriage was annulled; but the Sultan
had forgotten his promise to Alaeddin's mother and never again bethought
him thereof, neither he nor the Vizier; nor knew they whence came that
which had happened.
Alaeddin waited till the three months had elapsed, after which the Sultan
had promised that he would marry him to his daughter, the Lady
Bedrulbudour, then despatched his mother to the Sultan to require him of
the performance of his promise. So she repaired to the palace and when the
Sultan came to the Divan and saw her standing before him, he remembered
his promise to her, that after three months he would marry his daughter to
her son, and turning to the Vizier, said to him,﹃O Vizier, yonder is the
woman who presented us with the jewels and we gave her our word that after
three months [we would marry our daughter to her son]. Bring her before me
forthright.﹄So the Vizier went and brought Alaeddin's mother before the
Sultan; and when she came into the presence, she made her obeisance to him
and prayed God to vouchsafe him glory and endurance of prosperity. The
Sultan asked her if she had a need, and she said to him,﹃O King of the
Age, the three months are ended, after which thou didst promise me thou
wouldst marry my son Alaeddin to thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour.﹄The
Sultan was perplexed at this her claim, more by token that he saw her in
poor case, as she were the meanest of the folk; but the present which she
had made him was exceeding magnificent [and indeed] beyond price; 420
so he turned to the Vizier and said to him, "How deemest thou? What shall
we do? 421
It is true I gave her my word, but meseemeth they are poor folk and not of
the chiefs of the people."
The 422
Vizier, who was like to die of envy and chagrin for that which had
befallen his son, said in himself,﹃How shall one like this marry the
Sultan's daughter and my son lose this honour?﹄So he said to the Sultan,
423
"O my lord, it is an easy matter to rid ourselves of 424
this vagabond, 425 for that it would not beseem
Thy Grace to give thy daughter to a man like this, of whom it is not known
what he is." Quoth the Sultan, "On what wise shall we rid ourselves of
this man, seeing I have given him my word and a King's word is his bond?"
"O my lord," answered the Vizier, "my counsel is that thou require of him
forty dishes of pure virgin gold, full of jewels, such as she 426
brought thee the other day, 427 and forty slave-girls to bear
the dishes and forty black slaves." "By Allah, O Vizier," rejoined the
Sultan,﹃'thou speakest rightly; for that this is a thing to which he may
not avail and so we shall be rid of him by [fair] means.﹄428
So he said to Alaeddin's mother, "Go and tell thy son that I abide by the
promise which I made him, but an if he avail unto my daughter's dowry; to
wit, I require of him forty dishes of pure gold, which must all be full of
jewels [such as] thou broughtest me [erst], together with forty
slave-girls to carry them and forty male slaves to escort and attend them.
If, then; thy son avail unto this, I will marry him to my daughter."
Alaeddin's mother returned home, shaking her head and saying,﹃Whence
shall my poor son get these dishes of jewels? Supposing, for the jewels
and the dishes, that he return to the treasure and gather the whole from
the trees,—and withal methinketh not it is possible to him; but say
that he fetch them,—whence [shall he get] the slaves and
slave-girls?﹄And she gave not over talking to herself till she reached
the house, where Alaeddin awaited her, and when she came in to him, she
said to him,﹃O my son, said I not to thee, 'Think not to attain to the
Lady Bedrulbudour'? Indeed, this is a thing that is not possible unto folk
like ourselves.﹄Quoth he, "Tell me what is the news." And she said to
him,﹃O my son, the Sultan received me with all courtesy, according to his
wont, and meseemeth he meant fairly by us, but [for] thine accursed enemy
the Vizier; for that, after I had bespoken the Sultan in thy name, even as
thou badest me, reminding him that the term for which he had appointed us
was past and saying to him, 'If Thy Grace would vouchsafe to give
commandment for the marriage of thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour with my
son Alaeddin,'—he turned to the Vizier and spoke to him. The Vizier
replied to him in a whisper and after that the Sultan returned me an
answer.﹄Then she told him what the Sultan required of him and added, "O
my son, he would fain have present answer of thee; but methinketh we have
no answer to give him."
When 429
Alaeddin heard his mother's speech, he laughed and said, "O my mother,
thou sayest we have no answer to make him and deemest the thing exceeding
hard; but now be good enough to rise 430 and
fetch us somewhat to eat, and after we have dined, thou shalt (an it
please the Compassionate) see the answer. The Sultan like thyself,
thinketh he hath sought of me an extraordinary matter, so he may divert me
from the Lady Bedrulbudour; but the fact is that he seeketh a thing less
than I had looked for. But go now and buy us somewhat we may eat and leave
me to fetch thee the answer." Accordingly, she arose and went out to buy
her need from the market, so she might make ready the morning-meal; whilst
Alaeddin entered his chamber and taking the lamp, rubbed it. The genie
immediately appeared to him and said, "Seek what thou wilt, O my lord;"
whereupon quoth Alaeddin,﹃I seek the Sultan's daughter in marriage and he
requireth of me forty dishes of pure gold, each ten pounds in weight and
full of the jewels which be in the garden of the treasure, the forty
dishes to be borne by forty slave girls and each slave-girl to be
accompanied by a male slave; wherefore I will have thee bring me this, all
of it.﹄"Hearkening and obedience, O my lord," replied the genie and
disappearing, was absent awhile, then returned with the forty slave-girls,
each attended by a male slave and bearing on her head a dish of pure gold,
full of precious jewels. So he brought them before Alaeddin and said to
him,﹃Here is that which thou soughtest. Tell me an thou need thing or
service other than this.﹄Quoth Alaeddin, "I need nothing [more]; if I
need aught, I will summon thee and tell thee."
Accordingly, the genie vanished and after a little, Alaeddin's mother
returned and entering the house, saw the slaves and slave-girls; whereat
she marvelled and said,﹃All this is of the Lamp; God continue it unto my
son!﹄Then, before she put off her veil, Alaeddin said to her,﹃O my
mother, this is thy time, ere the Sultan enter his palace [and withdraw]
to his harem. Take him what he seeketh, and that forthright, so he may
know that I can avail unto that which he requireth, ay, and more, and that
he was deluded by the Vizier; albeit he thought to baffle me, he and his
Vizier.﹄Then he arose and opening the house-door, let out the damsels and
the slaves, pair by pair, each damsel with a slave by her side, so that
they filled the street. His mother forewent them and the people of the
quarter, when they saw that rare and magnificent sight, stood looking and
marvelling and gazing upon the faces of the slave-girls and their grace
and goodliness [and their apparel], for that they were clad in clothes all
inwoven with gold and studded with jewels; nay, the least one's clothes of
them were worth thousands. Moreover they looked at the dishes 431
and saw flashing therefrom a radiance that outshone the light of the sun,
albeit each dish was covered with a piece of brocade, gold-inwrought and
studded eke with precious jewels. Alaeddin's 432 mother
fared on and the damsels and slaves followed after her, in all fair
ordinance and disposition, whilst the folk stood to gaze on the beauty of
the slave-girls and extolled the perfection of the Almighty Creator, till
she reached the palace and entered it with them.
When the eunuchs and chamberlains and captains of the guard saw them,
wonder took them and they were breathless for amaze at this sight, the
like whereof they had never in their lives seen, and especially at the
slave girls, each one of whom would ravish the wit of an anchorite.
Withal, the chamberlains and captains of the Sultan's guards were all of
them sons of grandees and Amirs; and they marvelled yet more at the
damsels' costly raiment and the dishes which they bore on their heads and
on which they might not open their eyes, 433 for the
excess of their flashing and radiance. Then the guards 434
entered and told the Sultan, who bade bring them before him forthright
into the Divan. So Alaeddin's mother entered with them and when they came
before the Sultan, they all did obeisance to him with the utmost
courtliness and gravity and invoked on him glory and prosperity; then,
raising the dishes from their heads, they set them down before him and
stood with their hands clasped behind them, after they had removed the
covers.
The Sultan wondered with an exceeding wonderment and was confounded at the
beauty of the girls and their loveliness, which overpassed description;
his wit was bewildered, when he saw the golden dishes, full of jewels that
dazzled the sight, and he was amazed at this marvel, so that he became as
one dumb, unable to speak aught, of the excess of his wonderment; nay, his
wit was the more perplexed, forasmuch as this had all been accomplished in
an hour's time. Then he bade carry the slave-girls and their burdens to
the pavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour; so the damsels took up the dishes
and entered; whereupon Alaeddin's mother came forward and said to the
Sultan,﹃O my lord, this is no great matter for the Lady Bedrulbudour's
exalted rank; nay, she deserveth manifold this.﹄So the Sultan turned to
the Vizier and said to him,﹃How sayst thou, O Vizier? He that can in so
short a time avail unto riches like these, is he not worthy to be the
Sultan's son-in-law and to have his daughter to bride?﹄Now the Vizier
marvelled at the greatness of these riches yet more than the Sultan, but
envy was killing him and waxed on him more and more, when he saw that the
Sultan was content with the bride-gift 435 and the
dowry; withal he could not gainstand the [manifest] truth and say to the
Sultan, "He is not worthy;" so he cast about to work upon him by practice,
that he might hinder him from giving his daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour to
Alaeddin, and accordingly said to him, 436﹃O my
lord, all the treasures of the world were not worth a paring of thy
daughter Bedrulbudour's nails; indeed, Thy Highness overrateth this upon
her.﹄437
When 438
the Sultan heard the Vizier's words, he knew that this his speech arose
from the excess of his envy; so he turned to Alaeddin's mother and said to
her,﹃O woman, go to thy son and tell him that I accept of him the
marriage-gift and abide by my promise to him and that my daughter is his
bride and he my son-in-law; so bid him come hither, that I may make
acquaintance with him. There shall betide him from me nought but all
honour and consideration and this night shall be the beginning of the
bridal festivities. But, as I said to thee, let him come hither to me
without delay.﹄So she returned home swiftlier than the wind, 439
of her haste to bring her son the good news; and she was like to fly for
joy at the thought that her son was to become the Sultan's son-in-law. As
soon as she had taken her leave, the Sultan bade break up the Divan and
entering the Lady Bedrulbudour's pavilion, commanded to bring the damsels
and the dishes before his daughter and himself, so she should see them. So
they brought them and when the Lady Bedrulbudour saw the jewels, she was
amazed and said,﹃Methinketh there is not one of these jewels found in the
treasuries of the world.﹄Then she looked at the damsels and marvelled at
their beauty and grace and knew that this was all from her new bridegroom
and that he had proffered it to her service. So she rejoiced, albeit she
had been sad and sorry for her [whilom] bridegroom the Vizier's son,—she
rejoiced, [I say], with an exceeding joy, when she saw the jewels and the
beauty of the damsels, and was cheered; whilst her father rejoiced
exceedingly in her joy, in that he saw her put off chagrin and dejection.
Then he said to her, "O my daughter Bedrulbudour, doth this please thee?
Indeed, methinketh this thy bridegroom is goodlier 440 than
the Vizier's son, and God willing, O my daughter, thou shalt rejoice with
him abundantly." 441
So much for the Sultan and as for Alaeddin, when his mother came to the
house and entered and he saw her laughing of the excess of her joy, he
foreboded good news and said, "To God Everlasting 442 be
praise! Accomplished is that which I sought." And she said to him, "Glad
tidings, O my son! Let thy heart rejoice and thine eye be solaced in the
attainment of thy desire, for that the Sultan accepteth thine offering, to
wit, the bride gift and the dowry of the Lady Bedrulbudour, and she is thy
bride and this, O my son, is the night of your 443 bridal
and thy going in to the Lady Bedrulbudour. Nay, the Sultan, that he might
certify me of his word, proclaimed thee his son-in-law before the folk and
declared that this should be the wedding-night; but he said to me, 'Let
thy son come hither to me, so I may make acquaintance with him, and I will
receive him with all honour and worship.' And now, O my son, my office 444
is ended, whatsoever remaineth is a matter for thee." 445
Alaeddin kissed his mother's hand and thanked her amain for her kindness;
446
then he arose and entering his chamber, took the lamp and rubbed it;
whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him,﹃Here am I; seek
what thou wilt.﹄Quoth Alaeddin,﹃My will is that thou take me to a bath,
whose like is not in the world, and fetch me a suit of royal raiment and
exceeding costly, such as no king can boast.﹄"Hearkening and obedience,"
replied the Marid and taking him up, brought him intro a bath, never saw
King nor Kisra 447 its like, for it was of
alabaster and agate and full of marvellous limnings that ravished the
sight, and therein was a saloon all embossed with precious jewels. None
was there; but, when Alaeddin entered, there came in to him one of the
Jinn in human semblance and washed him and bathed him to the utmost of the
wish: after 448 which he went forth the bath
to the outer saloon, where he found his clothes taken away and in their
stead a suit of the richest royal apparel. Then sherbets were brought him
and coffee with ambergris and he drank and arose; whereupon there came to
him a troop of slaves and clad him in those 449
sumptuous clothes 450 and he dressed and perfumed
himself with essences and sweet-scented smoke. 451 Now
thou knowest 452 that Alaeddin was the son of a
poor man, a tailor: yet now none had thought it, 453 but had
said, "This is the chiefest of the sons of the kings," extolled be the
perfection of Him who changeth and is not changed!
Then the slave of the lamp came to him and taking him up, set him down in
his house and said to him, "O my lord, dost thou need aught?" "Yes,"
answered Alaeddin; "I will have thee bring me eight-and-forty mamelukes,
454
four-and-twenty to walk before me and four-and-twenty to walk behind me,
with their horses and clothes and arms, and let all that is upon them and
their horses be of stuffs costly and precious exceedingly, such as are not
found in kings' treasuries. Then bring me a stallion fit for the riding of
the Chosroes and be his trappings all of gold, embossed with noble jewels;
and bring me eight-and-forty thousand diners, in each mameluke's hand a
thousand, for that I purpose presently to visit the Sultan; wherefore
delay thou not on me, since I cannot go thither without all that whereof I
have bespoken thee. Bring me also twelve slave-girls, who must be unique
in loveliness and clad in the richest of raiment, so they may attend my
mother to the Sultan's palace, and let each slave-girl have with her a
suit of apparel fit for the wearing of kings' wives." 455
"Hearkening and obedience," replied the genie and disappearing, brought
him in the twinkling of an eye all that he had commanded him withal,
whilst in his hand he held a stallion, whose like is not among the horses
of the Arabs of the Arabs, 456 with housings of the richest
stuffs brocaded with gold; whereupon Alaeddin called his mother forthright
and delivered her the twelve slave-girls and gave her the [twelve] suits,
457
so she might dress herself 458 and go with them to the
Sultan's palace. Then he despatched one of the mamelukes thither, to see
an the Sultan were come forth of the harem or not; so he went and
returning, swiftlier than lightning, said to him,﹃O my lord, the Sultan
awaiteth thee.﹄Accordingly he arose and mounting, [set forth], whilst the
mamelukes rode before him and after him, (extolled be the perfection of
the Lord who created them with 459 that
which clothed them of beauty and grace!), strewing gold upon the folk
before their lord Alaeddin, who overpassed them all of his grace and
goodliness, and ask thou not of kings' sons, 460
extolled be the perfection of the Giver, the Eternal! Now all this was of
the virtue of the wonderful lamp, 461 which
gifted whoso possessed it with goodliness and grace and wealth and wisdom.
The folk marvelled at Alaeddin's bounty and at the excess of his
munificence and were amazed when they saw that which graced him of beauty
and goodliness and his courtliness and dignity; yea, they extolled the
perfection of the Compassionate One for this His noble creature and all of
them great and small 462 called down blessings on him,
albeit they knew him for the son of such an one the tailor; yet none
envied him, but all said, "He is deserving." So 463 he
fared on his way, with the mamelukes before him and behind him, scattering
gold upon the folk, till he came to the palace.
Now the Sultan had summoned to his presence the chiefs of his state and
telling them that he had passed his word for the marriage of his daughter
to Alaeddin, bade them await the latter, commanding them that, when he
came, they should all go out to meet him; moreover, he assembled the amirs
and viziers and chamberlains and guards and captains of the troops and
they were all awaiting Alaeddin at the door of the palace. When he
arrived, he would have dismounted at the door, but there came up to him
one of the Amirs, whom the Sultan had deputed to that office, and said to
him,﹃O my lord, the commandment is that thou enter, riding on thy
charger, so thou mayst alight at the door of the Divan.﹄So they all
forewent him and he entered till they brought him to the door of the
Divan. There sundry of them came forward and held his stirrup, whilst some
supported him on both sides and other some took him by the hand, and so
they dismounted him. Then the Amirs and officers of state forewent him and
brought him into the Divan, till he drew near the Sultan's throne;
whereupon the latter came down forthright from his seat and embracing him,
hindered him from kissing the carpet and seated him beside himself on his
right hand. Alaeddin did that which behoveth and befitteth unto kings of
obeisance and invocation and said to him, "O our lord the Sultan, thy
Grace's munificence hath vouchsafed 464 to
accord me the Lady Bedrulbudour thy daughter, albeit I am unworthy of this
great favour, for that I am of the lowliest of thy slaves; wherefore I
beseech God that He keep and continue thee. Indeed, O King, my tongue
faileth to thank thee [as were behoving] for the greatness of this boon,
overpassing its competence, 465 wherewith thou hast favoured
me, and I beseech Thy Grace to vouchsafe me ground, such as is meet, so I
may build thereon a palace that shall be fit for the Lady Bedrulbudour."
The Sultan was amazed when he saw Alaeddin in this regal array and beheld
his grace and goodliness and the mamelukes standing in attendance upon him
in all their comeliness and fair favour; yea, and his wonderment redoubled
when Alaeddin's mother came up attired in rich and costly raiment, as she
were a queen, and he saw twelve slave-girls in her service, preceding her,
their hands clasped behind their backs, with all worship and observance.
Moreover, he noted Alaeddin's eloquence and the elegance of his speech and
was amazed thereat, he and all who were present with him in the Divan,
whilst fire was kindled in the Vizier's heart for envy of Alaeddin, so
that he was like to die. Then, after the Sultan had heard Alaeddin's
compliment and had seen the greatness of his quality and his modesty and
eloquence, he strained him to his bosom and kissed him, saying, "It irketh
me, O my son, that I have not known thee 466 before
to-day." So, 467 when he saw Alaeddin on this
fashion, he rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and at once bade the
music 468
and the drums 469 strike up; then, rising, he
took him by the hand and carried him into the palace, where the
evening-meal had been made ready and the servants set the tables. There he
sat down and seated Alaeddin on his right hand; whereupon the viziers and
chiefs of the state and the grandees of the realm sat also, each in his
several room, whilst the drums beat and they held high festival in the
palace. 470
The Sultan proceeded to make familiar with Alaeddin and to talk with him,
and Alaeddin answered him with all courtliness and fluency, as he had been
bred in kings' palaces or as he were their constant associate; 471
and the more the talk was prolonged between them, the more gladness and
joy redoubled on the Sultan for that which he heard of the goodliness of
Alaeddin's answers and the sweetness of his speech. Then, when they had
eaten and drunken and the tables were removed, the Sultan bade fetch the
Cadis and the witnesses; so they came and knotted the knot and wrote the
writ [of marriage] between Alaeddin and the Lady Bedrulbudour. Therewith
Alaeddin arose and would have taken leave; but the Sultan laid hold on him
and said to him,﹃Whither away, O my son? The bride-feast is toward and
the bride present; the knot is knotted and the writ written.﹄"O my lord
the king," answered Alaeddin, "I would fain build the Lady Bedrulbudour a
palace, besorting her rank and station, and it may not be that I should go
in to her without this; but, God willing, the building shall, by the
diligent endeavour of thy slave and by Thy Grace's auspice, 472
be right speedily despatched. Indeed, I long for present enjoyment of the
Lady Bedrulbudour; but it behoveth me [first] apply myself to that which
is incumbent on me for her service." 473 Quoth
the Sultan, "O my son, look thyself out the ground which thou deemest apt
to thine end and take it. All is in thy hand; 474, but
here before my palace is a spacious piece of ground, which meseemeth were
best; so, if it please thee, build thou the palace thereon." And Alaeddin
answered him, saying, "Indeed, it is my utmost desire to be near Thy
Grace."
Then he took leave of the Sultan and going forth, mounted and rode, with
his mamelukes before him and behind him, whilst the folk all prayed for
him and said, "By Allah, he is deserving!" till he came to his house and
alighting from his stallion, entered his chamber and rubbed the lamp;
whereupon the genie stood before him and said to him,﹃Seek what thou
wilt, O my lord﹄Quoth Alaeddin,﹃I desire of thee an important service,
to wit, that thou build me with all speed a palace before that of the
Sultan, which shall be marvellous in its building, never saw kings its
like, and be it complete with all its requisites of kingly and magnificent
furniture and so forth.﹄"Hearkening and obedience," replied the genie and
475
disappeared; but, before the dawn broke, he came to Alaeddin and said to
him,﹃O my lord, the palace is finished to the utmost of the wish;
wherefore, an thou wouldst see it, arise forthright and look on it.﹄So
Alaeddin arose and the genie carried him, in the twinkling of an eye, to
the palace, which when he saw, he was amazed at its building, for that all
its stones were of jade and alabaster and porphyry and mosaic. The genie
carried him into a treasury full of all manner of gold and silver and
precious jewels past count or reckoning, price or estimation; then he
brought him into another place, where he saw all the requisites of the
table, platters and spoons and ewers and basins and cups, of gold and
silver, and thence to the kitchen, where he found cooks, 476
with their cooking-gear and utensils, all on like wise of gold and silver.
Moreover, he brought him into a place, which he found full of coffers
overflowing with royal raiment, such as ravished the wit, gold-inwoven
stuffs, Indian and Chinese, and brocades, and he showed him also many
other places, all full of that which beggareth description, till at last
he brought him into a stable, wherein were horses whose like is not found
with the kings of the world; and therewithin he showed him a storehouse,
full of housings and saddles of price, all broidered with pearls and
precious stones and so forth.
Alaeddin was amazed and bewildered at the greatness of these riches,
whereunto the mightiest king in the world might not avail, and all the
work of one night; more by token that the palace was full of slaves and
slave girls such as would bewitch a saint with their loveliness. But the
most marvellous of all was that he saw in the palace an upper hall 477
and 478
a belvedere 479 with four-and-twenty oriels,
all wroughten of emeralds and rubies and other jewels, and of one of these
oriels the lattice-work was by his desire left unfinished, 480
so the Sultan should fail of its completion. When he had viewed the
palace, all of it, he rejoiced and was exceeding glad; then he turned to
the genie and said to him,﹃I desire of thee one thing which is lacking
and whereof I had forgotten to bespeak thee.﹄Quoth the slave,﹃Seek what
thou wilt, O my lord;﹄and Alaeddin said to him,﹃I will have thee bring
me a carpet Of fine brocade, all inwoven with gold, and spread it from my
palace to that of the Sultan, so the Lady Bedrulbudour, whenas she cometh
hither, may walk thereon and not upon the earth.﹄So the genie was absent
a little and returning, said to him,﹃O my lord, that which thou soughtest
of me is here.﹄Therewithal he took him and showed him the carpet, which
ravished the wit, and it was spread from the Sultan's palace to that of
Alaeddin; then taking him up, he set him down in his own house.
It481
was now grown high day; so the Sultan arose from sleep and opening a
window of his pavilion, looked forth and saw buildings 482
before his palace; whereupon he fell to rubbing his eyes and opening them
wide and looking farther, saw a magnificent palace, that bewildered the
wits, and a carpet spread therefrom to his own palace; as on like wise did
the doorkeepers and all who were in the palace, and their wits were
bewildered at the sight. At this juncture the Vizier presented himself and
as he entered, he espied the new palace and the carpet and marvelled also;
so, when he came in to the Sultan, the twain fell to talking of this
strange matter and marvelling, for that they saw a thing which amazed the
beholder and dilated the heart; and they said,﹃Verily, methinketh kings
may not avail unto the building of the like of this palace.﹄Then the
Sultan turned to the Vizier and said to him,﹃How now? Deemest thou
Alaeddin worthy to be bridegroom to my daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour?
Hast thou seen and considered this royal building and all these riches
which man's wit cannot comprehend?﹄The Vizier, of his envy of Alaeddin,
answered him, saying,﹃O King of the Age, indeed this palace and its
building and all these riches may not be but by means of enchantment, for
that no man among men, no, not the mightiest of them in dominion or the
greatest in wealth, might avail to upraise and stablish [the like of] this
building in one night.﹄Quoth the Sultan,﹃I marvel at thee how thou still
deemest evil of Alaeddin; but methinketh it ariseth from thine envy of
him, for that thou wast present when he sought of me a place whereon to
build a palace for my daughter and I accorded him, before thee, [leave to
build] a palace on this ground; and he who brought me, to my daughter's
dower, jewels such that no kings possess one thereof, shall he lack
ableness to build a palace like this?﹄When 483 the
Vizier heard the Sultan's speech and understood that he loved Alaeddin
greatly, his envy of him increased; withal he availed not to do aught
against him, so he was dumb and could make the Sultan no answer.
Meanwhile Alaeddin—seeing that it was high day and that the time was
come when he should go to the palace, for that his wedding-festivities
were toward and the Amirs and Viziers and chiefs of the state were all
with the Sultan, so they might be present at the bridal—arose and
rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him, "O
my lord, seek what thou wilt, for that I am before thee, at thy service."
Quoth Alaeddin,﹃I purpose presently to go to the Sultan's palace, and
to-day is the wedding; wherefore I have occasion for ten thousand diners,
which I will have thee bring me.﹄The slave was absent the twinkling of an
eye and returned to him with the money; whereupon Alaeddin arose and
taking horse, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, rode to the
palace, scattering gold upon the folk, as he passed, so that they were
fulfilled with the love of him and the greatness of his munificence. 484
When he came to the palace and the Amirs and eunuchs and soldiers, who
were standing awaiting him, saw him, they hastened forthright to the
Sultan and told him; whereupon he arose and coming to meet him, embraced
him and kissed him; then he took him by the hand and carried him into the
palace where he sat down and seated him on his right hand.
Now the city was all adorned and the instruments [of music] were smiting
in the palace and the singing-women singing. Then the Sultan trade serve
the morning-meal; so the slaves and mamelukes hastened to spread the table
and it was such as kings might take example by. 485 The
Sultan sat with Alaeddin and the officers of state and the chiefs of the
realm and they ate and drank till they were satisfied; and great was the
rejoicing in the palace and the city. Glad were all the chiefs of the
state and the folk rejoiced in all the realm, whilst there came from far
regions the notables of the provinces and the governors of the cities, so
they might see Alaeddin's wedding and his bride-feast. The Sultan still
marvelled in himself at Alaeddin's mother, how she had come to him in poor
clothes, whilst her son had command of this exceeding wealth; and as for
the folk, who came to the Sultan's palace, to gaze upon the
wedding-festivities, when they saw Alaeddin's palace and the goodliness of
its building, there took them great wonderment how so magnificent a
building had been upreared in one night and they fell all to praying for
Alaeddin and saying, "God prosper him! By Allah, he is deserving. God's
blessing on his days!"
Meanwhile 486 Alaeddin, having made an end
of the morning-meal, arose and taking leave of the Sultan, mounted with
his mamelukes and rode to his palace, so he might prepare for the
reception of his bride, the Lady Bedrulbudour. As he passed, all the folk
cried out to him with one voice, saying,﹃God gladden thee! God increase
thee in glory! God continue thee!﹄And so they brought him home in great
procession, what while he showered gold on them. When he came to his
palace, he alighted and entering, sat down in the Divan, whilst the
mamelukes stood before him with clasped hands. After a little they brought
him sherbets and he gave commandment to his mamelukes and slave-girls and
eunuchs and all who were in his palace that they should make ready to
receive the Lady Bedrulbudour, his bride. Then, when it was the time of
the midafternoon prayer 487 and the air grew cool and the
heat of the sun abated, 488 the Sultan bade the troops and
the Amirs and the Viziers go down to the horse-course. So they all
repaired thither and with them the Sultan himself; whereupon Alaeddin also
arose and mounting with his mamelukes, went down into the plain and showed
his horsemanship; then he fell to playing 489 in the
tilting-ground and there was none could stand before him. Now he was
riding a stallion whose like is not among the horses of the Arabs of the
Arabs 490
and his bride the Lady Bedrulbudour was looking upon him from the window
of her pavilion, and when she saw his grace and goodliness and knightly
prowess, she was overcome with his love and was like to fly for joy in
him. Then, after they had played [some] bouts 491 in the
plain and each had shown what was in him of horsemanship, (but Alaeddin
overpassed them all,) the Sultan went to his palace and Alaeddin on like
wise returned home.
When it was eventide, the chiefs of the state and the Viziers went and
taking Alaeddin, carried him in procession to the Royal Bath, the
Renowned; 492 so he entered and bathed and
perfumed himself, then, coming forth, he donned a suit yet richer than the
first and mounted, whilst the troops rode before him and the Amirs and
Viziers. So they fared on with him in great state, with four of the
Viziers for his sword-bearers, whilst all the troops and people of the
city, both townsfolk and strangers, walked in procession before him,
carrying flambeaux and drums and flutes and instruments of mirth and
music, till they brought him to his palace, when he alighted and entering,
sat down, as did also the Viziers and Amirs who were in his company,
whilst the mamelukes brought sherbets and sweetmeats 493
and gave all who were with him in the procession to drink, albeit they
were a multitude of folk whose number might not be told. Moreover, he gave
commandment unto his mamelukes, and they went out to the door of the
palace and fell to showering gold upon the folk.
Meanwhile, 494 when the Sultan returned from
the horse-course and entered his palace, he bade forthright carry his
daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour in procession to the palace of her
bridegroom Alaeddin. So the troops forthright mounted with the officers of
state, who had been in Alaeddin's procession, and the slave-girls and
eunuchs went out with flambeaux and carried the Lady Bedrulhudour in great
state to her bridegroom's palace, Alaeddin's mother by her side and before
her the women of the Viziers and Amirs and grandees and notables.
Moreover, she had with her eight and-forty slave-girls, whom Alaeddin had
presented to her, in each one's hand a great candle of camphor and
ambergris, set in a candlestick of gold, studded with jewels; and all the
men and women in the palace went out with her and fared on before her,
till they brought her to her bridegroom's palace and carrying her up to
her pavilion, 495 attired her in various robes
496
and displayed her. Then, after they had made an end of displaying her,
they carried her to the pavilion of her groom Alaeddin and he went in to
her. Now his mother was with the Lady Bedrulbudour, and when he came up
and did off her veil, she fell to gazing upon the bride's beauty and grace
and looked at the pavilion, the which was all wroughten 497
of gold and jewels and therein were golden lustres, all embossed with
emeralds and rubies; and she said in herself, "Methought the Sultan's
palace was magnificent; but, for this pavilion 498 alone,
I doubt me the greatest of the Chosroes and the kings never owned its
match; nor, methinketh, might all mankind avail to make the like thereof."
And the Lady Bedrulbudour also fell to looking and marvelling at the
palace 499
and its magnificence. Then the table was laid and they ate and drank and
made merry; and presently there appeared before them fourscore
slave-girls, each with an instrument in her hand of the instruments of
mirth and music. So they plied their finger-tips and touching their
strings, struck up with plaintive airs, till they clove in sunder the
hearts of the listeners, whilst the Lady Bedrulbudour redoubled in
wonderment and said in herself,﹃Never in my life heard I the like of
these songs;﹄so that she forgot to eat and fell to listening. As for
Alaeddin, he proceeded to pour to her the wine and give her to drink with
his own hand, and mirth and good cheer and delight went round among them
and it was a rare night, such as Iskender of the Horns 500
never in his time spent. Then, after they had made an end of eating and
drinking, the tables were removed from before them and Alaeddin arose and
went in to his bride.
When it was the morning, Alaeddin arose and his treasurer brought him a
costly suit of the richest of kings' raiment; so he donned it and sat
down; whereupon coffee was brought him with ambergris and he drank thereof
and called for the horses. Accordingly, they were saddled and he mounted
and rode, with his mamelukes behind him and before him, to the Sultan's
palace. When he reached it and entered, the eunuchs went in and acquainted
the Sultan with his presence; which 501 when he
heard, he arose forthwith and coming to meet Alaeddin, embraced him and
kissing him, as he were his son, seated him on his right hand. Moreover
the Viziers and Amirs and officers of state and grandees of the realm
invoked blessings on him and the Sultan gave him joy 502
and prayed God prosper him. Then he bade lay breakfast; 503
so they laid [it] and they all broke their fast; and after they had eaten
and drunken their sufficiency and had finished and the servants had
removed the tables from before them, Alaeddin turned to the Sultan and
said to him,﹃O my lord, [belike] Thy Grace will vouchsafe to honour me
this day at the morning-meal with the Lady Bedrulbudour, thy precious
daughter, and be Thy Grace's company all thy viziers and the chief
officers of thy state.﹄Quoth the Sultan, (and indeed he rejoiced in him),
"Gladly, 504 O my son," and bidding the
Viziers and officers of state and grandees attend him, arose forthright
and mounted; whereupon Alaeddin and the others mounted also and they all
rode till they came to Alaeddin's palace.
When the Sultan entered the palace and viewed its building and ordinance
and saw its stones, which were of jade and agate, he was amazed 505
and his wit was bewildered at that affluence and wealth and magnificence;
so he turned to the Vizier and said to him,﹃How sayst thou, O Vizier?
Hast thou in all thy days seen aught like this? Are there found with the
greatest of the kings of the world riches and gold and jewels such as
these we see in this palace?﹄"O my lord the King," answered the Vizier,
﹃this is a thing beyond the competence of a king of the sons of Adam, nor
might all the people of the earth together avail to build a palace like
this; nay, there are no craftsmen living able to do work like this, except
it be, as I said to Thy Grace, by might of magic.﹄506 The
Sultan knew that the Vizier, in seeking to convince him that this was not
by might of men, but all of it enchantment, still spoke not but of his
envy of Alaeddin; so he said to him, "Enough, O Vizier; let us have no
more of thy talk. I know the cause which maketh thee speak on this wise."
Then Alaeddin forewent the Sultan till he brought him to the high pavilion
507
and he looked at the belvedere 508 and its
oriols 509
and lattices, 510 all wroughten of emeralds and
rubies and other precious stones, and was amazed and astonied; his wit was
bewildered and he abode perplexed in his thought. Then he fell to going
round about the pavilion and viewing these things that ravished the sight,
till presently he espied the casement 511 which
Alaeddin had purposely left wanting and unfinished. When the Sultan
examined it and saw that it was unfinished, he said,﹃Woe is me for thee,
O casement, that thou art not perfect!﹄Then, turning to the Vizier, he
said to him,﹃Knowest thou the reason of the lack of completion of this
casement and its lattices?﹄"O 512 my
lord," answered the Vizier,﹃methinketh it is because Thy Grace hastened
upon Alaeddin with the wedding and he had no time to complete it.﹄Now
Alaeddin had meanwhile gone in to his bride, the Lady Bedrulbudour, to
acquaint her with the coming of her father the Sultan; and when he
returned, the Sultan said to him, "O my son Alaeddin, what is the reason
that the lattice[-work] of yonder oriel 513 is not
completed?" "O King of the Age," replied Alaeddin, "by reason of the haste
made with the bridal, the craftsmen might not avail to 514
finish it." Quoth the Sultan to him, "It is my wish to finish it myself."
And Alaeddin answered, saying, "God prolong thy glory, O King; so shall
there remain unto thee a remembrance 515 in thy
daughter's palace."
Accordingly the Sultan bade straightway fetch jewellers and goldsmiths and
commanded to give them from the treasury all that they needed of gold and
jewels and [precious] metals; so they came and he bade them do that which
was wanting of the lattice-work of the [unfinished] oriel. 516
Meanwhile, the Lady Bedrulbudour came out to receive her father the
Sultan, and when she came up to him and he saw her smiling-faced he
embraced her and kissed her and taking her [by the hand], went in with her
to her pavilion. So they entered all, for that it was the appointed time
of the morning-meal and they had set one table for the Sultan and the Lady
Bedrulbudour and Alaeddin and another for the Vizier and the officers of
state and grandees of the realm and captains and chamberlains and
deputies. The Sultan sat between his daughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, and
his son-in-law Alaeddin, and when he put his hand to the food and tasted
it, wonder took him at the richness of the meats and the exquisiteness of
their seasonings. 517 Now there stood before them
fourscore damsels, each as it were she said to the full moon,﹃Rise, so I
may sit in thy place;﹄and in each one's hand was an instrument of mirth
and music. So they tuned their instruments and touched their strings and
struck up with plaintive 518 airs that dilated the mourning
heart. 519
The Sultan was cheered and the time was pleasant to him and he rejoiced
and said, "Verily, Kings and Kaisers would fail of 520 this
thing."
Then they fell to eating and drinking and the cup went round among them
till they had taken their sufficiency, when there came sweetmeats 521
and various kinds of fruits and so forth; and these were laid in another
saloon. So they removed thither and took their fill of those dainties;
after which the Sultan arose, that he might see if the work of the
jewellers and goldsmiths likened that of the palace. So he went up to them
and viewed their work and how they wrought and saw that they were far from
availing to do work like that [of the rest] of Alaeddin's palace. 522
Moreover 523 they told him that all they
found in his treasury they had brought and it sufficed not; whereupon he
bade open the Great Treasury and give them what they needed and that, if
it sufficed not, they should take that which Alaeddin had given him. So
they took all the jewels assigned them by the Sultan and wrought with
them, but found that these also sufficed them not, nor might they complete
withal the half of that which lacked of the lattice work of the oriel; 524
whereupon the Sultan bade take all the jewels which should be found with
the Viziers and chiefs of the state; and accordingly they took them all
and wrought therewith; but this also sufficed not.
When it was morning, Alaeddin went up to view the jewelers' work and saw
that they had not completed half the lacking lattice-work; whereupon he
bade them incontinent undo all that they had wrought and restore the
jewels to their owners. Accordingly, they undid it all and sent to the
Sultan that which was his and to the Viziers [and others] that which was
theirs. Then they went to the Sultan and told him that Alaeddin had
commanded them of this; whereupon he asked them,﹃What said he to you and
why would he not have the lattice-work finished and why undid he that
which you had done?﹄And they said to him,﹃O my lord, we know nothing,
save that he bade us undo all that we had done.﹄Whereupon the Sultan
immediately called for the horses and arising, mounted and rode to
Alaeddin's palace.
Meanwhile Alaeddin, after dismissing the goldsmiths and the jewellers,
entered his closet and rubbed the lamp; whereupon the genie forthwith
appeared and said to him, "Seek what thou wilt; thy slave is before thee."
And Alaeddin said to him,﹃It is my will that thou complete the lacking
lattice-work of the oriel.﹄525 "On my head and eyes [be it],"
replied the slave and disappearing, returned after a little and said to
him, "O my lord, that whereof thou commandedst me I have performed." So
Alaeddin went up to the belvedere 526 and
found all its lattices 527 perfect; and whilst he was
viewing them, behold the [chief] eunuch 528 came in
to him and said to him,﹃O my lord, the Sultan cometh to visit thee and is
at the palace-door.﹄So he came down forthright and went to meet the
Sultan, who 529 said to him, when he saw him,
"Wherefore, O my son, hast thou done thus, and why sufferedst thou not the
jewellers complete the lattice-work of the oriel, 530 so
there might not remain a place in thy palace 531
defective?" "O King of the Age," answered Alaeddin, "I left it not
imperfect but of my free will, nor did I lack of ableness to complete it.
However, I could not brook that Thy Grace should honour me [with thy
presence] in a palace 532 wherein there was somewhat
lacking; wherefore, so thou mayst know that it was not for lack of
ableness that I left it uncomplete, 533 let Thy
Grace go up and see the lattice-work of the kiosk, 534 an
there be aught lacking thereto."
The Sultan accordingly went up to the pavilion 535 and
entering the kiosk, 536 viewed it right and left and
saw no manner defect in its lattices, but found them all perfect; whereat
he was astounded and embracing Alaeddin, fell a-kissing him and saying, "O
my son, what is this extraordinary thing? In one night thou dost a work
wherefrom the jewellers would fail in months! By Allah, methinketh thou
hast not thy fellow 537 in the world!" Quoth Alaeddin,
﹃God prolong thy life and perpetuate thy continuance! Thy slave is not
worthy of this praise.﹄"By Allah, O my son," rejoined the Sultan,﹃thou
deservest all praise, in that thou hast done a thing wherefrom [all the]
craftsmen of the world would fail.﹄Then he went down and entering the
pavilion of his daughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, found her rejoicing
exceedingly over this great magnificence wherein she was; and after he had
rested with her awhile, he returned to his palace.
Now Alaeddin used every day to mount and ride through the town, with his
mamelukes behind him and before him, strewing gold upon the people, right
and left, and the folk, stranger and neighbour, near and far, were
fulfilled with the love of him for the excess of his munificence and his
bounty. Moreover he exceeded in benefaction of the poor and the indigent
538
and used himself to distribute his alms to them with his own hand. After
this fashion he won himself great renown in all the realm and the most of
the chiefs of the state and the Amirs used to eat at his table and swore
not but by his precious life. Moreover, he fell to going everywhile 539
to the chase and the horse course and to practicing horsemanship and
archery 540
before the Sultan, whilst the Lady Bedrulbudour redoubled in love of him,
whenassoever she saw him disporting himself a horseback, and thought in
herself that God had wrought exceeding graciously by her in that there had
befallen her what befell with the Vizier's son, so He might keep her for
her true bridegroom Alaeddin. So 541 he went
daily waxing in goodliness of repute and in praise and the love of him
redoubled in the hearts of the common folk and he was magnified in men's
eyes.
Now in those days certain of the Sultan's enemies took horse against him;
so he levied troops to repel them and made Alaeddin chief thereof.
Alaeddin set out with his host and fared on till he drew near the enemy,
whose troops were exceeding many; where upon he drew his sword and fell
upon them and there befell battle and slaughter and sore was the stress of
the mellay; but Alaeddin broke them and routed them and slew the most part
of them. Moreover, he plundered their goods and possessions and gat him
spoil beyond count or reckoning, wherewith he returned in triumph, [having
gained] a great victory, and entered the city, which had adorned itself
for him of its joy in him. The Sultan came out to meet him and give him
joy and embraced him and kissed him, and there was high festival holden in
the kingdom and great rejoicing. Then the Sultan and Alaeddin betook
themselves to the latter's palace; 542
whereupon his bride, the Lady Bedrulbudour, came out to meet him,
rejoicing in him, and kissed him between the eyes, and he went in with her
to her pavilion; 543 whither after a little came
the Sultan and they sat down and the slave-girls brought sherbets. 544
So they drank and the Sultan commanded that all the realm should be
decorated for Alaeddin's victory over the enemy; whilst it became [a
saying] with the commons and the troops and the folk, all of them,﹃Allah
in heaven and Alaeddin on earth.﹄and they loved him yet more, having
regard not only to the excess of his bounty and munificence, but to his
knightly prowess, in that he had done battle for the kingdom and had
routed the enemy.
So much for Alaeddin, and now to return to the Mangrabin enchanter. When
he returned to his country, he abode all this time, bewailing that which
he had endured of toil and stress, so he might compass the lamp, yet had
his travail all been wasted and the morsel had escaped from his hand,
after it had reached his mouth; and he still thought upon all this,
bemoaning himself and reviling Alaeddin of the excess of his anger against
him; and whiles he said in himself,﹃Since yonder whoreson is dead under
the earth, I am content withal and I have hopes of the lamp, that I may
yet achieve it, inasmuch as it is still safeguarded.﹄Then, one day of the
days, he smote the sand and extracting the figures, set them down after
the most approved fashion 545 and adjusted 546
them, so he might see and certify himself of the death of Alaeddin and the
safe keeping of the lamp under the earth; and he looked well into 547
the figures, both mothers and daughters, 548 but saw
not the lamp, whereupon rage overrode him and he smote the sand a second
time, that he might certify himself of Alaeddin's death, but saw him not
in the treasure; whereat he redoubled in wrath, and yet more when it was
certified to him that the lad was alive upon the surface of the earth and
he knew that he had come forth from under the ground and had gotten the
lamp, on account whereof he himself had suffered toil and torment such as
passeth man's power to endure. So he said in himself, "I have suffered
many hardships for the sake of the lamp and have endured fatigues such as
none but I might brook, 549 and now yonder accursed one
taketh it without stress and it is evident 550 [that],
an he have learned the use thereof, there will be none in the world richer
than he."
Then, 551
when he saw and was certified that Alaeddin had come forth from under the
earth and had happened upon the good of the Lamp, 552 he said
in himself, "Needs must I go about to kill him." So he smote the sand once
more and examining its figures, saw that Alaeddin had gotten him exceeding
wealth and had married the Sultan's daughter; whereat he was all afire for
rage and envy and arising then and there, equipped himself for travel and
set out for the land of China. When he came to the city of the sultanate,
553
wherein was Alaeddin, he entered and alighting at one of the khans, heard
the folk talking of nought but the magnificence of Alaeddin's palace;
then, after he was rested from his journey, he changed 554
his clothes and went down to go round about in the thoroughfares of the
city. He passed no folk but they were descanting upon the palace and its
magnificence and talking of Alaeddin's grace and comeliness and his bounty
and munificence and the goodliness of his manners and disposition; so 555
he went up to one of those who were extolling Alaeddin on this wise and
said to him,﹃Prithee, fair youth, who is this whom you describe and
praise?﹄"O man," replied the other,﹃meseemeth thou art a stranger and
comest from afar; but, granting thou art from a far country, hast thou not
heard of the Amir Alaeddin, whose repute, methought, filled the earth, and
of his palace, a wonder of the world, whereof both far and near have
heard? How is it thou hast heard nought of this nor of the name of
Alaeddin, whom Our Lord increase in glory and prosper?﹄Quoth the
Maugrabin,﹃Marry, it is the utmost of my wish to look upon the palace;
so, an thou wouldst do me a kindness, direct me thither, for that I am a
stranger.﹄"Hearkening and obedience," replied the other and going before
him, guided him to Alaeddin's palace.
The Maugrabin fell to examining it and knew that this all of it was the
work of the Lamp; so he said, "Alack! Alack! Needs must I dig a pit for
this accursed one, this tailor's son, who could not come by a night's
supper; but, an destiny enable me, I will send his mother back to spin at
her wheel, like as she did erst, and as for him, it shall cost him 556
his life." Then he returned to the khan in a woeful state of chagrin and
colour and despite, for envy of Alaeddin, and 557 taking
his geomantic instruments, 558 smote his [tablet of] sand, so
he might learn where the lamp was, and found that it was in the palace and
not with Alaeddin; 559 whereat he rejoiced with an
exceeding joy and said, "Now it will be an easy matter for me to bereave
this accursed of his life and I have a way to come at the lamp."
Accordingly he went to a coppersmith and said to him, "Make me so many 560
lamps 561
and take of me their worth in full; 562 but I
will have thee despatch them quickly." "Hearkening and obedience," replied
the smith and falling to work on them, speedily despatched them for him.
When they were finished, the Maugrabin paid him their price, even that
which he sought, and taking the lamps, carried them to the khan, where he
laid them in a basket and fell to going round about in the markets and
thoroughfares of the city and crying out,﹃Ho! who will barter an old lamp
for a new lamp?﹄When the folk heard him crying this, they laughed at him
and said,﹃Certes, this man is mad, since he goeth about, bartering new
lamps for old.﹄Moreover, people 563
followed him and the street-boys caught him up from place to place 564
and laughed at him. However, he fended not himself neither took heed of
this, but ceased not to go round about the city till he came under
Alaeddin's palace, where he fell to crying his loudest, whilst the
children called after him, "Madman! Madman!"
Now as fate willed it, the Lady Bedrulbudour was in the kiosk and hearing
one crying out and the boys calling after him and understanding not what
was toward, bade one of the slave-girls﹃Go see what is this man who
crieth out and what he crieth.﹄So the girl went and looking, saw one
crying out, "Ho, who will barter an old lamp for a new lamp?" with the
boys after him, laughing at him; so she returned and told her mistress,
saying,﹃O my lady, this man crieth, 'Ho! who will barter an old lamp for
a new lamp?' and the boys are following him and laughing at him;﹄and the
Lady Bedrulbudour laughed also at this marvel. Now Alaeddin had forgotten
the lamp in his pavilion, 565 without locking it up in his
treasury [as was his wont], and one of the girls had seen it; so she said
to the princess,﹃O my lady, methinketh I have seen an old lamp in my lord
Alaeddin's pavilion; let us barter it with this man for a new one, so we
may see an his speech be true or leasing.﹄And 566 the
princess said to her, "fetch the lamp whereof thou speakest." Now the Lady
Bedrulbudour had no knowledge of the lamp and its properties, neither knew
she that this it was which had brought Alaeddin her husband to that great
estate, and it was the utmost of her desire to prove and see the wit of
this man who bartered new for old, nor was any one aware of the Maugrabin
enchanter's craft and trickery. So the slave-girl went up into Alaeddin's
pavilion and returned with the lamp to the Lady Bedrulbudour, who bade the
Aga of the eunuchs 567 go down and exchange it for a
new one; so he took it and going down, gave it to the Maugrabin and took
of him a new lamp, with which he returned to the princess, who examined it
and finding it new and real, fell to laughing at the Maugrabin's [lack of]
wit. Meanwhile, when the enchanter had gotten the lamp and knew it for
that of the Treasure, he thrust it forthwith into his sleeve 568
and leaving the rest of the lamps to the folk who were in act to barter of
him, set off running, till he came without the city, and walked about the
waste places, awaiting the coming of the night. Then, when he saw himself
alone in the open country, he brought out the lamp from his sleeve and
rubbed it; whereupon the Marid immediately appeared to him and said, "Here
am I; thy slave [is] before thee. Seek of me what thou wilt." Quoth the
Maugrabin, "My will is that thou take up Alaeddin's palace from its place,
with its inhabitants and all that 569 is
therein and myself also, and set it down in my country of Africa. 570
Thou knowest my town and I will have this palace be thereby among the
gardens." "Hearkening and obedience," replied the Marid.﹃Shut [thine] eye
and open [thine] eye, and thou wilt find thyself in thine own country with
the palace.﹄And immediately this befell in the twinkling of an eye and
the Maugrabin was transported, with Alaeddin's palace and all that was
therein, to the land of Africa.
So much for the enchanter, and now let us return to the Sultan and
Alaeddin. The Sultan, of his love and affection for his daughter the Lady
Bedrulbudour, was wont, every day, when he awoke from his sleep, to open
the window and look at her therefrom; so he arose on the morrow, according
to his wont, and opened his chamber-window, so he might see his daughter;
but 571
when he put out his head and looked for Alaeddin's palace, he beheld
nothing but a place swept [and level], like as it was aforetime, and saw
neither palace nor inhabitants; 572 whereat
amazement clad him and his wit was bewildered and he fell to rubbing his
eyes, so haply they were bleared or dimmed. Then he proceeded to look
closely till at last he was certified that there was neither trace nor
sign left of the palace and knew not what was come of it; whereupon he
redoubled in perplexity and smote hand upon hand and his tears ran down
upon his beard, for that he knew not what had befallen his daughter. So he
sent forthright to fetch the Vizier, who came in to him and seeing him in
that woeful state, said to him,﹃Pardon, O King of the Age (God keep thee
from harm!) why art thou woeful?﹄Quoth the Sultan,﹃Meseemeth thou
knowest not of my affair.﹄And the Vizier said to him,﹃By Allah, O my
lord, I have no knowledge of aught whatsoever.﹄"Then," rejoined the
Sultan, "thou hast not looked towards Alaeddin's palace."﹃Nay, O my
lord,﹄replied the Vizier, "it is yet shut." And the Sultan said to him,
﹃Since thou hast no news of aught, rise and look at it from the window and
see where it is, this palace of Alaeddin's, whereof thou sayest that it is
yet shut.﹄The Vizier arose and looked from the window towards Alaeddin's
palace, but could see nothing, neither palace nor aught else; so his wit
was bewildered and he was amazed and returned to the Sultan, who said to
him,﹃Now knowest thou the cause of my distress and seest Alaeddin his
palace, whereof thou saddest that it was shut.﹄"O King of the Age,"
rejoined the Vizier, "I told Thy Grace aforetime that this palace and
these affairs were all of them [the work of] enchantment."
At this the Sultan was fired with wrath and said to him,﹃Where is
Alaeddin?﹄And he answered, "He is at the chase." Whereupon the Sultan
bade sundry of his eunuchs and officers go straightway fetch him bound and
shackled. So they went till they came to Alaeddin and said to him,﹃O our
lord Alaeddin, blame us not, for that the Sultan hath bidden us carry thee
to him, bound and shackled; wherefore we beseech thee of excusement, for
that we are under a royal commandment and may not gainsay it.﹄When
Alaeddin heard their speech, wonderment took him and his tongue was tied,
for that he knew not the cause; then he turned to the eunuchs and officers
and said, "Prithee, sirs, 573 have you no knowledge of the
cause of this commandment of the Sultan? I know myself guiltless,
forasmuch as I have done no sin against the Sultan nor against his realm."
And they said to him,﹃O our lord, we have no manner of knowledge
thereof.﹄So Alaeddin lighted down from his stallion and said to them,﹃Do
with me that which the Sultan biddeth you, for that his commandment is
upon the head and eyes.﹄Accordingly 574 the
officers shackled him and pinioning him, haled him along in irons and
entered the city with him.
The folk, seeing Alaeddin pinioned and shackled with iron, knew that the
Sultan was minded to cut off his head, and forasmuch as he was
extraordinarily beloved of them, they all gathered together and taking up
arms, came forth their houses and followed the troops, so they might see
what was to do. When the officers came with Alaeddin to the palace, they
entered and told the Sultan, who immediately bade the headsman go and cut
off his head. But the commons, hearing of this his commandment, shut the
gates of the palace and sent to say to the Sultan,﹃This very moment we
will overthrow the palace upon thee and all who are therein, an the least
harm happen to Alaeddin.﹄So the Vizier went and told the Sultan and said
to him, "O King of the Age, all will be over with us forthright; 575
wherefore thou wert best pardon Alaeddin, lest some calamity befall us,
for that the commons love him more than us." Now the headsman had spread
the carpet of blood and seating Alaeddin thereon, had bound his eyes and
gone round him three times, 576 awaiting the King's final
commandment. The Sultan looked at his subjects and seeing them swarming
upon him and climbing up to the palace, that they might overthrow it,
commanded the headsman to hold his hand from Alaeddin and bade the crier
go forth among the people and proclaim that he pardoned Alaeddin and took
him [again] into favour.
When Alaeddin found himself released and saw the Sultan sitting, he went
up to him and said to him, "O my lord, since Thy Grace hath bountifully
vouchsafed me my life, 577 favour me [yet farther] and
tell me the manner of my offence." "O traitor," replied the Sultan,﹃till
[but] now I knew not thine offence;﹄then, turning to the Vizier, he said
to him, "Take him, that he may see from the windows where his palace is."
Accordingly the Vizier took him and Alaeddin looked from the windows in
the direction of his palace and finding the place swept and clear, like as
it was before he built the palace thereon, neither seeing any trace of the
latter, he was amazed and bewildered, unknowing what had happened. When he
returned, the King said to him,﹃What hast thou seen? Where is thy palace
and where is my daughter, my heart's darling and mine only one, than whom
I have none other?﹄And Alaeddin answered him, saying,﹃O King of the Age,
I have no knowledge thereof, neither know I what hath befallen.﹄And the
Sultan said to him,﹃Know, O Alaeddin, that I have pardoned thee, so thou
mayst go and look into this affair and make me search for my daughter; and
do not thou present thyself but with her; nay, an thou bring her not back
to me, as my head liveth, I will cut off thine.﹄"Hearkening and
obedience, O King of the Age," replied Alaeddin.﹃Grant me but forty days'
grace, and an I bring her not after that time, cut off my head and do what
thou wilt.﹄Quoth 578 the Sultan to him,﹃I grant
thee, according to thy request, the space of forty days; but think not to
flee from my hand, for that I will fetch thee back, though thou wert above
the clouds, not to say upon the face of the earth.﹄"O my lord the
Sultan," rejoined Alaeddin, "as I said to Thy Grace, an I bring her not to
thee in this space of time, I will present myself before thee, that thou
mayst cut off my head."
Now the commons and the folk, one and all, when they saw Alaeddin,
rejoiced in him with an exceeding joy and were glad for his deliverance;
but the ignominy which had befallen him and shame and the exultation of
the envious had bowed down his head; so he went forth and fell to going
round about the city, perplexed anent his case and unknowing how all this
had happened. He abode in the city two days in the woefullest of case,
knowing not how he should do to find his palace and the Lady Bedrulbudour,
his bride, what while certain of the folk used to come to him privily with
meat and drink. Then he went forth, wandering in the deserts and knowing
not whitherward he should aim, and ceased not going till he came to a
river; whereupon, his hope being cut off for stress of chagrin that
possessed him, he thought to cast himself into the stream; but, for that
he was a pious Muslim, professing the unity of God, he feared God in
himself and stood on the bank; of the stream to perform the ablution. 579
So he took of the water in his hands and proceeded to rub between his
fingers; and in doing this, his rubbing chanced upon the ring, whereupon a
Marid appeared to him and said to him, "Here am I; thy slave is before
thee. Seek what thou wilt."
When Alaeddin saw the Marid, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said to
him,﹃O slave, I will have thee bring me my palace, with my bride, the
Lady Bedrulbudour, and all that is therein.﹄"O my lord," replied the
Marid,﹃it irketh me sore that what thou seekest of me is a thing unto
which I cannot avail, for that it pertaineth unto the slaves of the Lamp
and I may not adventure upon it.﹄"Then," said Alaeddin,﹃since this is
not possible unto thee, take me and set me down beside my palace, in what
land soever it is.﹄"Hearkening and obedience, O my lord," replied the
Marid and taking him up, set him down, in the twinkling of an eye, beside
his palace in the land of Africa and before his wife's pavilion. By this
time, the night was come; so he looked at his palace and his cares and
sorrows were dispelled from him and he trusted in God, after he had
forsworn hope, that he should see his bride once again. Then he fell to
thinking upon the hidden mercies of God (glorified be His might!) and how
He had vouchsafed 580 him the ring and how his hope
had been cut off, except God had provided him with the slave of the Ring.
So he rejoiced and all chagrin ceased from him; then, for that he had been
four days without sleeping, of the stress of his chagrin and his trouble
and his grief and the excess of his melancholy, he went to the side of the
palace and lay down under a tree; for that, as I have said, the palace was
among the gardens of Africa without the city. 581He582
lay that night under the tree in all ease; but he whose head is in the
headsman's hand sleepeth not anights. 583
However, fatigue and lack of sleep for four days past caused slumber get
the mastery over him; 584 so he slept till break of
morn, when he awoke at the chirp 585 of the
sparrows. He arose and going to a stream there which flowed into the city,
washed his hands and face; then, making the ablution, he prayed the
morning-prayer and after returned and sat under the windows of the Lady
Bedrulbudour's pavilion.
Now the princess, of the excess of her grief for her separation from her
husband and the Sultan her father and of her sore distress at that which
had betided her with the accursed Maugrabin enchanter, used every day to
arise, at the first peep of dawn, 586 and sit
weeping; nay, she slept not anights and forswore meat and drink. Her
handmaid used to go in to her at the time of the Salutation, 587
so she might dress her, and that morning, by the decree of destiny, the
damsel opened the window at that time, thinking to solace her mistress
with the sight of the trees and streams. So she looked out and seeing her
lord Alaeddin sitting under the windows of the pavilion, said to the
princess,﹃O my lady, my lady, here is my lord Alaeddin sitting under the
pavilion!﹄Whereupon the Lady Bedrulbudour arose in haste and looking from
the window, saw Alaeddin, and he raised his head and saw her; so she
saluted him and he her and they were both like to fly for joy. Then said
she to him, "Arise and come in to me by the privy door, for that the
accursed one 588 is not now here;" and she bade
her handmaid go down and open the door. So the damsel went down and opened
to Alaeddin, who arose and entered thereby. His wife, 589
the Lady Bedrulbudour, met him at the door and they embraced and kissed
each other with all joyance, till they fell a-weeping of the excess of
their gladness.
Then they sat down and Alaeddin said to her,﹃O Lady Bedrulbudour, there
is somewhat whereof I would ask thee, before all things. I used to lay an
old copper lamp in such a place in my pavilion...﹄When the princess heard
this, she sighed and answered him, saying,﹃O my beloved, it was that
which was the cause of our falling into this calamity.﹄590
Quoth he, "How came this about?" So she acquainted him with the whole
matter from first to last, telling him how they had bartered the old lamp
for a new one; "and next morning," added she, "we found ourselves in this
country and he who had cozened me and changed the lamp told me that he had
wroughten these tricks upon us of the might of his magic, by means of the
lamp and that he is a Maugrabin from Africa 591 and
that we are now in his native land." When 592 she had
made an end of her story, Alaeddin said to her,﹃Tell me, what does this
accursed one purpose with thee; what saith he to thee and of what doth he
bespeak thee and what is his will of thee?﹄"Every day," answered the
princess,﹃he cometh to me once and no more and seeketh to draw me to his
love, willing me take him in thy stead and forget and renounce thee; nay,
he told me that my father the Sultan had cut off thy head. Moreover, he
useth to say to me of thee that thou art the son of poor folk and that he
was the cause of thine enrichment and seeketh to cajole me with talk, but
never hath he seen of me aught but tears and weeping or heard from me one
soft word.﹄593 Quoth Alaeddin,﹃Tell me where
he layeth the lamp, an thou knowest.﹄And she said, "He still carrieth it
[about him] nor will part with it a moment; nay, when he acquainted me
with that whereof I have told thee, he brought out the lamp from his
sleeve and showed it to me"
When Alaeddin heard this, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and said to
her, "Harkye, Lady Bedrulbudour; it is my present intent to go out and
return in disguise. 594 Marvel thou not at this and
let one of thy slave-girls abide await at the privy door, to open to me
forthright, when she seeth me coming; and I will cast about for a device
whereby I may slay this accursed one." Then he rose and going forth the
[privy] door of his palace, walked on till he encountered a peasant by the
way and said to him, "Harkye, sirrah, take my clothes and give me thine."
The man demurred, but Alaeddin enforced him and taking his clothes from
him, donned them and gave him his own costly apparel. Then he fared on in
the high road till he came to the city and entering, betook himself to the
drug-market, where for two diners he bought of [one of] the druggists two
drachms of rare strong henbane, the son of its minute, 595
and retracing his steps, returned to the palace. When the damsel saw him,
she opened him the privy door and he went in to the Lady Bedrulbudour 596
and said to her, "Harkye, I will have thee dress and tire thyself and put
away melancholy from thee; and when the accursed Maugrabin cometh to thee,
do thou receive him with 'Welcome and fair welcome' and go to meet him
with a smiling face and bid him come sup with thee and profess to him that
thou hast forgotten thy beloved Alaeddin and thy father and that thou
lovest him with an exceeding love. Moreover, do thou seek of him wine, and
that red, 597 and make him a show of all joy
and gladness and drink to his health. 598 Then,
when thou hast filled him two or three cups of wine, 599
[watch] till thou take him off his guard; then put him this powder 600
in the cup and fill it up with wine, and an he drink it, he will
straightway turn over on his back, like a dead man." When the Lady
Bedrulbudour heard Alaeddin's words, she said! to him,﹃This is a thing
exceeding hard on me to do; but it is lawful to slay this accursed, so we
may be delivered from his uncleanness who hath made me rue thy separation
and that of my father.﹄Then Alaeddin ate and drank with his wife that
which stayed his hunger and rising at once, went forth the palace;
whereupon the Lady Bedrulbudour summoned her tirewoman, who busked her and
adorned her, and she rose and donned fine clothes and perfumed herself.
Whilst she was thus engaged, the accursed Maugrabin presented himself and
was exceeding rejoiced to see her on this wise, more by token that she
received him with a smiling face, contrary to her wont; so he redoubled in
distraction for her love and longing for her. Then she took him and
seating him by her side, said to him, "O my beloved, an thou wilt, come
hither to me this night and we will sup together. Enough of mourning; for
that, an I sat grieving a thousand years, what were the profit? Alaeddin
cannot return from the tomb and I have considered and believe 601
that which thou saidst to me yesterday, to wit, that most like my father
the Sultan hath slain him, in the excess of his grief for my loss. Nay,
marvel not at me to-day, that I am changed since yesterday, for that I
have bethought me to take thee to beloved and companion in Alaeddin's
stead, seeing there is left me no man other than thou. Wherefore it is my
hope that thou wilt come to-night, so we may sup together and drink
somewhat of wine with each other, and I will have thee let me taste of the
wine of thy country Africa, for that belike it is better [than ours].
Wine, indeed, I have by me; but it is that of our country, and I desire
exceedingly to taste the wine of your country."
When 602
the Maugrabin saw the love which the Lady Bedrulbudour professed to him
and that she was changed from her whilom plight of grief, he thought that
she had given up her hope of Alaeddin; so he rejoiced greatly and said to
her,﹃O my soul, hearkening and obedience unto all that which thou wiliest
and biddest me withal. I have with me in my house a jar of the wine of our
country, the which I have kept stored these eight years under the earth;
so I go now to fill from it our sufficiency and will return to thee
forthright.﹄Therewithal the Lady Bedrulbudour, that she might beguile him
more and more, said to him,﹃O my beloved, do not thou go thyself and
leave me. Send one of thy servants to fill us from the jar and abide thou
sitting with me, that I may take comfort in thee.﹄"O my lady," answered
he,﹃none knoweth the place of the jar save myself; but I will not keep
thee waiting.﹄603 So saying, he went out and
returned after a little with their sufficiency of wine; and the Lady
Bedrulbudour said to him, "Thou hast been at pains 604 [for
me], and I have put thee to unease, 605 O my
beloved." "Nay," answered he,﹃O [thou that art dear to me as] mine eyes,
I am honoured by thy service.﹄Then she sat down with him at table and
they both fell to eating. Presently, the princess called for drink and the
handmaid immediately filled her the cup; then she filled for the Maugrabin
and the Lady Bedrulbudour proceeded to drink to his life and health, 606
and he also drank to her life and she fell to carousing 607
with him. Now she was unique in eloquence and sweetness of speech and she
proceeded to beguile him and bespeak him with words significant 608
and sweet, so she might entangle him yet straitlier in the toils of her
love. The Maugrabin thought that all this was true 609 and
knew not that the love she professed to him was a snare set for him to
slay him. So he redoubled in desire for her and was like to die for love
of her, when he saw from her that which she showed him of sweetness of
speech and coquetry; 610 his head swam with ecstasy 611
and the world became changed 612 in his eyes.
When they came to the last of the supper and the princess knew that the
wine had gotten the mastery in his head, she said to him, "We have in our
country a custom, meknoweth not if you in this country use it or not."
"And what is this custom?" asked the Maugrabin. "It is," answered she,
﹃that, at the end of supper, each lover taketh the other's cup and
drinketh it.﹄So saying, she took his cup and filling it for herself with
wine, bade the handmaid give him her cup, wherein was wine mingled with
henbane, even as she had taught her how she should do, for that all the
slaves and slave-girls in the palace wished his death and were at one
against him with the Lady Bedrulbudour. So the damsel gave him the cup,
and he, hearing the princess's words and seeing her drink in his cup and
give him to drink in hers, deemed himself Iskender of the Horns, whenas he
saw from her all this love. Then she bent towards him, swaying gracefully
from side to side, and laying her hand on his, said,﹃O my life, here is
thy cup with me and mine is with thee; thus do lovers drink one from
other's cup.﹄Then she kissed 613 his cup
and drinking it off, set it down and came up to him and kissed him on the
cheek; 614
whereat he was like to fly for joy and purposing to do even as she had
done, raised the cup to his mouth and drank it all off, without looking if
there were aught therein or not; but no sooner had he done this than he
turned over on his back, like a dead man, and the cup fell from his hand.
The Lady Bedrulbudour rejoiced at this and the damsels ran, vying with
each other in their haste, 615 and opened the palace-door 616
to Alaeddin, their lord; whereupon he entered and 617 going
up to his wife's pavilion, 618 found her sitting at the table
and the Maugrabin before her, as one slain. So he went up to the princess
and kissed her and thanked her for this [that she had done] and rejoiced
with an exceeding joy. Then said he to her,﹃Get thee now into thine inner
chamber, thou and thy damsels, and leave me alone, so I may consider of
that which I have to do.﹄Accordingly, the Lady Bedrulbudour tarried not,
but entered the inner pavilion, she and her women; whereupon Alaeddin
arose and locked the door on them and going up to the Maugrabin, put his
hand to his sleeve and pulled out the lamp; after which he drew his sword
and cut off the sorcerer's head. Then he rubbed the lamp and the Marid,
its slave, appeared to him and said,﹃Here am I, O my lord; what wiliest
thou?﹄Quoth Alaeddin,﹃I will of thee that thou take up this palace from
this country and carry it to the land of China and set it in the place
where it was erst, before the Sultan's palace.﹄"Hearkening and obedience,
O my lord," replied the Marid [and disappeared], whilst Alaeddin went in
and sat with the Lady Bedrulbudour his bride and embraced her and kissed
her and she him; and they sat talking and making merry, what while the
Marid took up the palace with 619 them
and set it down in its place before the Sultan's palace.
Presently Alaeddin called for food; so the slave-girls set the tray before
him and he sat, he and the Lady Bedrulbudour his wife, and ate and drank
in all joy and gladness till they had taken their sufficiency. Then they
removed to the chamber of wine and carousel, where they sat drinking and
making merry and kissing one another with all eagerness, for that it was
long since they had had easance together; and they ceased not from this
till the sun of wine rose in their heads and sleep took them; whereupon
they arose and lay down on their bed in all rest and delight. In the
morning Alaeddin arose and aroused his wife, whereupon her women came to
her and dressed her and busked her and adorned her; whilst he, on his
part, donned the richest of raiment, 620 and
both were like to fly for joy at their reunion with each other, after
their separation, whilst the Lady Bedrulbudour was especially glad, for
that she looked to see her father that day.
So much for Alaeddin and the Lady Bedrulbudour; and as for the Sultan,
after he had released Alaeddin, he ceased not to mourn for the loss of his
daughter and to sit and weep for her, like a woman, at every time and
tide; for that she was his only one and he had none other than her. And
every day, whenas he arose from his sleep in the morning, he would go
hastily to the window and opening it, look towards the place where
Alaeddin's palace was erst and weep till his eyes were dried up and their
lids ulcered. He arose that day at dawn, according to his wont, and
opening the window, looked out and saw before him a building; so he fell
to rubbing his eyes and looking closelier, was certified that it was
Alaeddin's palace; whereupon he immediately called for the horses.
Accordingly, they saddled them and he went down and mounting, rode to
Alaeddin's palace. When the latter saw him coming, he went down and
meeting him half-way, took him by the hand and carried him up to the
pavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour, his daughter. Now she also longed sore
for her father; so she came down and met him at the stair-foot door, over
against the lower hall; whereupon he embraced her and fell to kissing her
and weeping and on this wise did she also. Then Alaeddin brought them up
to the upper pavilion, 621 where they sat down and the
Sultan proceeded to question the princess of her case and of that which
had befallen her, whilst 622 she acquainted him with all
that had happened to her and said to him, "O my father, I breathed not
till yesterday, when I saw my husband, and he it is who delivered me from
the bondage of a Maugrabin, an accursed sorcerer, methinketh there is not
a filthier than he on the face of the earth; and but for my beloved
Alaeddin, I had not won free of him and thou hadst not seen me all thy
life. Indeed, O my father, there possessed me grief and sore chagrin, not
only for my severance from thee, but also for the loss of my husband, to
whom I shall be beholden all the days of my life, seeing he delivered me
from that accursed enchanter."
Then she went on to acquaint her father with all that had befallen her and
to tell him of the Maugrabin's dealings and what he did with her and how
he feigned himself a lampseller, who bartered new for old. "And when,"
[quoth she];﹃I saw this [seeming] lack of wit in him, I fell to laughing
at him, unknowing his perfidy and his intent; so I took an old lamp that
was in my husband's pavilion and sent it by the eunuch, who exchanged it
with him for a new lamp; and next day, O my father, at daybreak, we found
ourselves in Africa, with the palace and all that was therein; and I knew
not the properties of the lamp which I had exchanged, till my husband
Alaeddin came to us and contrived against the Maugrabin a device whereby
he delivered us from him. Now, except my husband had won to us, it was the
accursed one's intent to go in to me perforce; but Alaeddin, my husband
gave me a powder, the which I put for him in a cup of wine and gave it him
to drink. So he drank it and fell-back as one dead; whereupon my husband
Alaeddin came in to me and meknoweth not how he wrought, so that he
transported us back from the land of Africa to our place here.﹄And
Alaeddin said to the Sultan, "O my lord, when I came up and saw him cast
down like one slain and sleeping for the henbane, I said to the Lady
Bedrulbudour, 'Go in, thou and thy women, to the inner pavilion.' So she
arose and went in, she and her damsels, from that loathsome sight; whilst
I went up to the accursed Maugrabin and putting my hand to his sleeve,
pulled out the lamp, for that the Lady Bedrulbudour had told me he still
carried it there. Then, when I had gotten it, I drew my sword and cut
[off] the accursed's [head] and making use of the lamp, bade its servants
take us up, with the palace and all that was therein, and set us down here
in our place. And if Thy Grace be in doubt of my words, do thou come with
me and see the accursed Maugrabin."
So the King arose and going in with Alaeddin to the pavilion, saw the
Maugrabin [Iying ]: whereupon he bade forthright take the carcase and burn
it and scatter its ashes [to the winds]. Then he embraced Alaeddin and
fell to kissing him and said to him, "Excuse me, O my son, for that I was
going 623
to bereave thee of thy life, through the wickedness of yonder accursed
sorcerer who cast thee into this pit; and indeed, O my son, I was
excusable in that which I did with thee, inasmuch as I saw myself bereft
of my daughter and mine only one, who is dearer to me than my kingdom, and
thou knowest how fathers' hearts yearn upon their children, more by token
that I have but the Lady Bedrulbudour." And he went on to excuse himself
to him and kiss him; and 624 Alaeddin said to him,﹃O Lord
of the Age, thou didst with me nothing contrary to the law and I also was
guiltless of offence; but the thing came all of that vile Maugrabin
enchanter.﹄Then the Sultan bade decorate the city and hold festival and
rejoicings and commanded the crier to cry in the city that that day was a
great festival, wherefore rejoicings should be holden in all the realm
during the space of a month, [to wit,] thirty days' time, for the return
of the Lady Bedrulbudour his daughter and her husband Alaeddin.
This, then, is what befell Alaeddin with the Maugrabin; but Alaeddin, for
all this, was not altogether 625 quit of the accursed
enchanter, withal his body had been burned and given to the winds; for
that the accursed one had a brother viler than he [and yet more skilled]
in magic and geomancy and astrology; [nay, they were even] as saith the
proverb, "A bean and it was cloven in twain;" 626 and
each dwelt in one quarter of the world, so they might fill it 627
with their sorcery and craft and guile. It chanced one day that the
Maugrabin's brother was minded to know how it was with his brother; so he
fetched his sand-board and smote it and extracted its figures; then he
considered them and examining them throughly, found his brother in the
house of the tomb; 628 whereat he mourned and was
certified that he was indeed dead. Then he smote the sand a second time,
so he might learn how and where he died, and found that he had died in the
land of China and by the foulest of deaths and knew that he who slew him
was a youth by name Alaeddin. So he rose at once and equipping himself for
travel, set out and traversed plains and deserts and mountains months and
months, till he came to the land of China [and entering] the city of the
sultanate, wherein was Alaeddin, repaired to the Strangers' Khan, where he
hired him a lodging and rested there a little.
Then he arose to go round about the thoroughfares of the city, that he
might spy him out a means of compassing his fell purpose, the which was to
take vengeance of his brother on Alaeddin. So he entered a coffee-house in
the market, a mighty fine place whither there resorted great plenty of
folk, some to play tables, 629 some draughts 630
and other some chess and what not else. There he sat down and heard those
who sat beside him talk of an old woman, an anchoress, by name Fatimeh,
who still abode in her place without the city, serving [God], and came not
down into the town but two days in the month, avouching her to be
possessed of divine gifts galore. 631 When
the Maugrabin enchanter heard this, he said in himself,﹃Now have I found
that which I sought. An it please God the Most High, I shall achieve my
quest by means of this woman.﹄So 632 he went
up to the folk who were speaking of the devout old woman's supernatural
powers and said to one of them, "O uncle, I hear you talk of the divine
gifts of one she-saint, 633 by name Fatimeh. Who 634
is she and where is her place?" "Wonderful!" cried the man. "What, thou
art in our city and hast not heard of the divine gifts of my Lady 635
Fatimeh? Apparently, good man, 636 thou
art a stranger, since thou hast never chanced to hear of the fasts of this
holy woman and her abhorrence of the world and the goodliness of her
piety." "Ay, my lord," replied the Maugrabin,﹃I am indeed a stranger and
arrived but yesternight in this your town; wherefore I beseech thee tell
me of the divine gifts of this holy woman and where her place is, for that
I have fallen into a calamity and would fain go to her and crave her of
prayer, so haply God (to whom belong might and majesty) may deliver me
from my stress, by means of her intercession.﹄The man accordingly told
him of the divine gifts of the holy woman Fatimeh and her piety and the
excellence of her devotion; then, taking him by the hand, he carried him
without the city and showed him the way to her abiding-place, which was in
a cavern on the top of a little hill; whereupon the Maugrabin thanked him
amain for his kindness and returned to his place in the Khan.
Now, by the decree of destiny, Fatimeh came down on the morrow to the city
and the enchanter, going forth the Khan in the morning, saw the folk
crowding together; so he went up, to see what was toward, and found
Fatimeh standing, whilst every one who had a pain or an ache came to her,
seeking her blessing and soliciting her prayers, and whenas she stroked
him, he was made whole of his ailment. The Maugrabin followed her, till
she returned to her cavern, and waited till nightfall, when he arose and
entering a sherbet-sellers 637 shop, drank a cup of liquor,
638
then went forth the city, intending for the cavern of Fatimeh the recluse.
When he came thither, he entered and saw her sleeping on her back on a
piece of matting; so he went up to her and sitting down 639
on her breast, 640 drew his dagger and cried out
at her; whereupon she awoke and opening her eyes, saw a man, a Maugrabin,
with a drawn dagger, sitting on her breast 641 and
offering to kill her. So she feared and trembled and he said to her,
﹃Harkye, an thou say aught or cry out, I will kill thee on the spot. Arise
now and do all that I shall bid thee.﹄And he swore an oath to her that,
if she did for him that which he should bid her, he would not kill her.
Then he rose from her and she rose also, and he said to her,﹃Give me thy
clothes and take mine.﹄So she gave him her clothes and head-bands and her
kerchief and veil; and he said to her, "Now must thou anoint me, to boot,
with somewhat, so my face may become like unto shine in colour."
Accordingly Fatimeh went within the cavern and bringing out a vial of
ointment, took thereof in her palm and anointed his face withal, whereupon
it became like unto hers in colour. Then she gave him her staff and taught
him how he should walk and how he should do, whenas he went down into the
city; moreover, she put her rosary on his neck and finally giving him the
mirror, said to him, "Look now; thou differest not from me in aught." So
he looked and saw himself as he were Fatimeh herself. 642
Then, when he had gotten his desire, he broke his oath and sought of her a
rope; so she brought him a rope and he took her and strangled her
therewith in the cavern. When she was dead, he dragged her forth and cast
her into a pit therewithout; then, 643
returning to her cavern, he slept there till the day broke, when he arose
and going down into the city, came under Alaeddin's pavilion. 644
The folk gathered about him, believing him to be Fatimeh the Recluse, and
he proceeded to do like as she had been used to do, laying hands on those
in pain and reciting for this one the Fatiheh 645 and for
that a[nother] chapter of the Koran and praying for a third. Then, for the
much crowding upon him and the clamour of the folk, the Lady Bedrulbudour
heard and said to her women,﹃See what is to do and what is the cause of
this noise.﹄So the Ada of the eunuchs went to see what was toward and
returning, said to her,﹃O my lady, this clamour is because of the Lady
Fatimeh. An it please thee bid me fetch her to thee, so thou mayst ask a
blessing of her....﹄And the Lady Bedrulbudour said to him,﹃Go and bring
her to me; marry, this long while past I have still heard of her gifts and
excellences and have yearned to see her, so I may ask a blessing of her,
for that the folk are beyond measure abundant [in talk] of her [646]
virtues.﹄So the Aga went and brought the enchanter, disguised as Fatimeh,
before the Lady Bedrulbudour; whereupon the Maugrabin offered up abundance
of prayers for her, and none misdoubted of him but that he was Fatimeh the
recluse. The princess rose and saluting him, seated him by her side and
said to him, "O my Lady Fatimeh, I will have thee with me alway, that I
may be blessed in thee and eke that I may learn of thee the ways of
God-service and piety and model myself on thee."646
Now this was what the accursed sorcerer aimed at; however, the better to
accomplish his perfidious intent, 647 he
[dissembled and] said to her,﹃O my lady, I am a poor woman sitting in the
desert and it beseemeth not that the like of me should abide in kings'
palaces.﹄Quoth the Lady Bedrulbudour,﹃Have no manner of care, O my lady
Fatimeh; I will give thee a place in my house, where thou shalt do thy
devotions, and none shall ever go in to thee; nay, here shalt thou serve
God better than in thy cavern.﹄And the Maugrabin said to her,﹃Hearkening
and obedience, O my lady; I will not gainsay thy commandment, for that the
speech of princes may not be crossed neither disputed; but I beg of thee
that my eating and drinking and sitting may be in my closet alone [and]
that none may come in upon me. Moreover, I need no rich viands, but every
day do thou favour me and send me by thy handmaid a piece of bread and a
draught of water to my closet; and when I am minded to eat, I will eat in
my closet alone.﹄(Now this the accursed did, of his fear lest his chin
veil should be raised, when he ate, and so his case be exposed and they
know him for a man by his beard and moustaches.) "O my lady Fatimeh,"
rejoined the princess, "be easy; nothing shall betide save that which thou
wiliest; so rise now [and come] with me, that I may show thee the pavilion
648
which I purpose to order for thine inhabitance with us." So 649
saying, she arose and carrying the sorcerer to the place which she had
appointed him wherein to abide, said to him,﹃O my lady Fatimeh, here
shalt thou dwell; this pavilion is in thy name and thou shalt abide
therein in all quiet and ease of privacy.﹄And the Maugrabin thanked her
for her bounty and prayed for her.
Then the Lady Bedrulbudour took him and showed him the belvedere 650
and the kiosk of jewels, with the four-and-twenty oriels, 651
and said to him,﹃How deemest thou, O my Lady Fatimeh, of this wonderful
pavilion?﹄652 "By Allah, O my daughter,"
replied he, "it is indeed marvellous in the extreme, 653
nor methinketh is its like found in the world; nay, it is magnificent
exceedingly; but oh, for one thing which would far increase it in beauty
and adornment!" And the princess said to him,﹃O my Lady Fatimeh, what is
lacking to it and what is this thing which would adorn it? Tell me of it;
I had thought that it was altogether perfect.﹄"O my lady," answered the
sorcerer,﹃that which lacketh to it is the egg of the bird Roc, which
being hung in its dome, there were no like unto this pavilion in all the
world.﹄"What is this bird." asked the princess,﹃and where shall we find
its egg?﹄And the Moor said to her, "O my lady, this is a great bird that
taketh up camels and elephants in its talons and flieth with them, of its
bigness and greatness; it is mostly to be found in the mountain Caf and
the craftsman who builded this palace 654 is able
to bring its egg." Then they left that talk and it was the time of the
morning-meal. So the slave-girls laid the table and the Lady Bedrulbudour
sat down and sought of the accursed sorcerer that he should eat with her;
but he refused and rising, entered the pavilion which she had given him,
whither the slave-girls carried him the morning-meal.
When it was eventide and Alaeddin returned from the chase, the Lady
Bedrulbudour met him and saluted him: whereupon he embraced her and kissed
her and looking in her face, saw that she was somewhat troubled and smiled
not, against her wont. So he said to her,﹃What aileth thee, O my beloved?
Tell me, hath there befallen thee aught to trouble thee?﹄And she answered
him, saying, "There aileth me nothing; but, O my beloved, I had thought
that our palace 655 lacked of nought; however, O
my eyes 656
Alaeddin, were there hung in the dome of the upper pavilion 657
an egg of the bird Roc, there were not its like in the world."﹃And wast
thou concerned anent this?﹄rejoined Alaeddin.﹃This is to me the easiest
of all things; so be easy, for it is enough that thou tell me of that
which thou wishest and I will fetch it thee from the abysses of the world
on the speediest wise.﹄Then 658 after he had comforted the
princess and promised her all she sought, he went straight to his closet
and taking the lamp rubbed it; whereupon the Marid at once appeared and
said to him, "Seek what thou wilt;" and Alaeddin,﹃I will have thee bring
me a Roc's egg and hang it in the dome of the [upper] pavilion.﹄659
When the Marid heard Alaeddin's words, his face frowned and he was wroth
and cried out with a terrible great voice, saying, "O denier of benefits,
doth it not suffice thee that I and all the slaves of the Lamp are at thy
service and wouldst thou eke have me bring thee our liege lady, for thy
pleasure, and hang her in the dome of thy pavilion, to divert thee and thy
wife? By Allah, ye deserve that I should forthright reduce you both to
ashes and scatter you to the winds! But, inasmuch as ye are ignorant, thou
and she, concerning this matter and know not its inward from its outward,
660
I excuse you, for that ye are innocent. As for the guilt, it lieth with
the accursed one, the surviving 661 brother
of the Maugrabin enchanter, who feigneth himself to be Fatimeh the
Recluse; for lo, he hath slain Fatimeh in her cavern and hath donned her
dress and disguised himself after her favour and fashion and is come
hither, seeking thy destruction, so he may take vengeance on thee for his
brother; and he it is who taught thy wife to seek this of thee." 662
Therewith he disappeared, and as for Alaeddin, when he heard this, his wit
fled from his head and his joints trembled at the cry wherewith the Marid
cried out at him; but he took heart and leaving his closet, went in
straightway to his wife and feigned to her that his head irked him, of his
knowledge that Fatimeh was renowned for the secret of healing 663
all aches and pains. When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw him put his hand to
his head and complain of its aching, 664 she
asked him what was the cause and he said,﹃I know not, except that my head
irketh me sore.﹄Accordingly she sent forthwith to fetch Fatimeh, so she
might lay her hand on his head; whereupon quoth Alaeddin,﹃Who is this
Fatimeh?﹄And the princess told him how she had lodged Fatimeh the recluse
with her in the palace. 665
Meanwhile the slave-girls went and fetched the accursed Maugrabin, and
Alaeddin arose to him, feigning ignorance of his case, and saluted him, as
he had been the true Fatimeh. Moreover he kissed the hem of his sleeve and
welcomed him, 666 saying,﹃O my Lady Fatimeh, I
beseech thee do me a kindness, since I know thy usances in the matter of
the healing of pains, for that there hath betided me a sore pain in my
head.﹄The Maugrabin could scarce believe his ears of this speech, 667
for that this was what he sought; so he went up to Alaeddin, as he would
lay his hand on his head, after the fashion of Fatimeh the recluse, and
heal him of his pain. When he drew near-him, he laid one hand on his head
and putting the other under his clothes, drew a dagger, so 668
he might slay him withal. But Alaeddin was watching him and waited till he
had all to-drawn the dagger, when he gripped him by the hand and taking
the knife from him, planted 669 it in his heart.
When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw this, she cried out and said to him,﹃What
hath this holy anchoress done, that thou burthenest thyself with the sore
burden of her blood? Hast thou no fear of God, that thou dost this and
hast slain Fatimeh, who was a holy woman and whose divine gifts were
renowned?﹄Quoth he to her,﹃I have not slain Fatimeh; nay, I have slain
him who slew her; for that this is the brother of the accursed Maugrabin
enchanter, who took thee and by his sorcery transported the palace with
thee to the land of Africa. Yea, this accursed one was his brother and
came to this country and wrought these frauds, slaying Fatimeh and donning
her clothes and coming hither, so he might take vengeance on me for his
brother. Moreover, it was he who taught thee to seek of me a Roc's egg, so
my destruction should ensue thereof; and if thou misdoubt of my word, come
and see whom I have slain.﹄So saying, he did off the Maugrabin's chin
veil and the Lady Bedrulbudour looked and saw a man whose beard covered
his face; whereupon she at once knew the truth and said to Alaeddin,﹃O my
beloved, twice have I cast thee into danger of death;﹄and he said to her,
"O Lady Bedrulbudour, thanks to thine eyes, 670 no harm
[hath betided me thereof; nay,] I accept with all joy everything that
cometh to me through thee." When the princess heard this, she hastened to
embrace him and kissed him, saying, "O my beloved, all this was of my love
for thee and I knew not what I did; 671 nor
indeed am I negligent of thy love." 672
Whereupon Alaeddin kissed her and strained her to his breast and love
redoubled between them.
Presently, in came the Sultan; so they told him of all that had passed
with the Maugrabin enchanter's brother and showed him the latter, as he
lay dead; whereupon he bade burn him and scatter his ashes to the winds.
Thenceforward Alaeddin abode with his wife the Lady Bedrulbudour in all
peace and pleasure and was delivered from all perils. Then, after a while,
the Sultan died and Alaeddin sat down on the throne of the kingdom and
ruled and did justice among the people; and all the folk loved him and he
lived with his wife, the Lady Bedrulbudour, in all cheer and solace and
contentment till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the
Sunderer of Societies.
1......... (9) 5..... (6) 9......... (9) 13...... (6) 2......... (9) 6.... (4) 10........ (8) 14.... (4) 3........ (8) 7....... (7) 11......... (9) 15........ (8) 4....... (7) 8..... (5) 12....... (7) 16..... (5) By the process of elimination we get the following four primaries: Fig. 1 x Fig. 2 x x Fig. 3 x Fig. 4 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x The process of confrontation of the corresponding points of these four figures (according to rule 2) gives the following four secondaries: Fig. 5 x Fig. 6 x Fig. 7 x Fig. 8 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x By confrontation of the points of each secondary with those of its corresponding primary, the following four fresh figures are obtained: Fig. 9 x x Fig. 10 x Fig. 11 x x Fig. 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Fig. 9, confronted with Fig. 10 gives a thirteenth figure x x x x x x x And Fig. 11 confronted with Fig. 12, a fourteenth x x x x x x Figures 13 and 14, similarly treated, yield a fifteenth figure
x x
x
x x
x x
Which, in its turn, confronted with Fig. 1, gives a sixteenth
and last figure, x
x x
x x
x
Completing the scheme, which shows the result of the operation as
follows:
(1) x (2) x x (3) x (4) x x (5) x (6) x (7) x (8) x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x
(9) x x (10) x (11) x x (12) x
x x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x
(13) x (14) x
x x x
x x x x
x x x x
(15) x x
x
x x
x x
(16) x
x x
x x
x]
549 (return)
[ Burton adds here, "in
order that other than I may carry it off."]
550 (return)
[ Min el meloum, lit.
"[it is] of the known (i.e. that which is known)." Burton, "who knoweth an
he wot, etc."]
551 (return)
[ Night DLXXIV.]
552 (return)
[ Sic, meaning of course
that he had discovered its properties and availed himself thereof.]
553 (return)
[ Medinetu 's seltaneh, i
e. the seat of government or capital.]
554 (return)
[ Lit. "donned"
(lebesa).]
555 (return)
[ Here Galland says, "Il
entra dans le lien le plus fameux et le plus frequente par les personnel
de grande distinction, ou l'on s'assembloit pour boire d'une certaine
boisson chance qui luy etoit connue des son premier voyage. Il n'y e-t pas
plust"t pris place qu'on lay versa de cette boisson dans une tasse et
qu'on la luy presenta. En la prenant, comme il prestoit l'oreille...
droite et... gauche, il entendit qu'on s'entretenoit du palais d'Aladdin."
The Chavis MS. says,﹃He entered a coffee-house (kehweh, Syrian for
kehawi), and there used to go in thereto all the notables of the city, and
he heard a company, all of them engaged in (ammalin bi, a very vulgar
expression) talking of the Amir Alaeddin's palace, etc.﹄This (or a
similar text) is evidently the original of Galland's translation of this
episode and it is probable, therefore, that the French translator inserted
the mention "of a certain warm drink"(tea), out of that mistaken desire
for local colouring at all costs which has led so many French authors
(especially those of our own immediate day) astray. The circumstance was
apparently evolved (alla tedesca) from his inner consciousness, as,
although China is a favourite location with the authors of the Nights, we
find no single mention of or allusion to tea in the rest of the work.]
556 (return)
[ Lit. "I will make him
lose."]
557 (return)
[ Night DLXXV.]
558 (return)
[ Lit.﹃Instruments of
astronomy or astrology﹄(tenjim); but tenjim is also used in the sense of
geomancy, in which operation, as before explained, astrology plays an
important part, and the context shows that the word is here intended to
bear this meaning. Again, the implements of a geomancer of the higher
order would include certain astrological instruments, such as an
astrolabe, star-table, etc., necessary, as I have before explained, for
the elucidation of the scheme obtained by the sand-smiting proper.]
559 (return)
[ He had apparently
learned (though the Arabic author omits, with characteristic carelessness,
to tell us so) that Alaeddin was absent a. hunting.]
560 (return)
[ Akemm, vulg. for kemm,
a quantity.]
561 (return)
[ Minareh, lit.
"alight-stand," i.e. either a lamp-stand or a candlestick.]
562 (return)
[ Bi-ziyadeh, which
generally means "in excess, to boot," but is here used in the sense of "in
abundance."]
563 (return)
[ Aalem.]
564 (return)
[ After the wont of "the
natural enemy of mankind' in all ages.]
565 (return)
[ Keszr.]
566 (return)
[ Night DLXXVI.]
567 (return)
[ Aghatu 't tuwashiyeh.]
568 (return)
[ Ubb.]
569 (return)
[ Lit. "who" (men), but
this is probably a mistake for ma (that which).]
570 (return)
[ Ifrikiyeh.]
571 (return)
[ Night DLXXVII.]
572 (return)
[ Ummar. This may,
however, be a mistake (as before, see ante p. 177, note 2 {see FN#482})
for ema'r (buildings).]
573 (return)
[ Lit. "O company" (ya
jema't), a polite formula of address, equivalent to our "Gentlemen."]
574 (return)
[ Night DLXXVIII.]
575 (return)
[ Lit. "the affair (or
commandment, amr) is going to be sealed upon us."]
576 (return)
[ Sic (dara haulahu
thelatheta dauratin); but qu're should it not rather be, "gave three
sweeps or whirls with his sword round his head"? See my﹃Book of the
Thousand Nights and One Night,﹄Vol. VI. p. 355.]
577 (return)
[ Lit.﹃hath been
bountiful unto me;﹄[the matter of] my life.]
578 (return)
[ Night DLXXIX.]
579 (return)
[ Previous to prayer.]
580 (return)
[ Lit. made easy to
(yessera li).]
581 (return)
[ The name of the
province is here applied to an imaginary city.]
582 (return)
[ Night DLXXX.]
583 (return)
[ Lit.﹃who hath a head
with the head-seller or dealer in heads, etc.﹄The word here employed
(rewwas) commonly signifies﹃a man who cooks and sells sheepsheads,
oxheads, etc.﹄M. Zotenberg makes the following note on this passage in.
his edition of Alaeddin; "Rewwas (for raa"s) signifies not only 'he who
sells cooked heads,' but also 'he who makes a business of cooking heads.'
Consequently whoso entrusteth a head to the rewwas is preoccupied and
sleeps not." M. Zotenberg's note is unintelligible, in consequence of his
having neglected to explain that the passage in question is a common
Egyptian proverb, meaning (says Burckhardt),﹃the person whose fortune is
entrusted to the hands of strangers cannot enjoy repose.﹄"The poor," adds
he, "at Cairo buy sheepsheads and for a trifle have them boiled in the
bazaar by persons who are not only cooks, but sellers of sheepsheads, and
are therefore called raa"s, or in the Egyptian dialect rewwas." The
proverb is in the present case evidently meant as a play upon the literal
meaning ("headsman," hence by implication "executioner") of the word
rewwas, although I cannot find an instance of the word being employed in
this sense. It is, however, abundantly evident from the general context
that this is the author's intention in the passage in question, Alaeddin's
head being metaphorically in the hands of (or pledged to) the headsman,
inasmuch as he had engaged to return and suffer decapitation in case he
should not succeed in recovering the princess within forty days.]
584 (return)
[ I suppose the verb
which I render "caused [sleep] get the mastery," to be ghelleba, II of
gheleba, as the only way of making sense of this passage, though this
reading involves some irregularity from a grammatical point of view. This,
however, is no novelty in the present text. Burton, "But whoso weareth
head hard by the headsman may not sleep o'nights save whenas slumber
prevail over him."]
585 (return)
[ Zeczekeh, a word which
exactly renders the sparrow's dawn-cheep.]
586 (return)
[ Lit.﹃From (as Fr. des)
the deep or remote dawn﹄(min el fejri 'l ghemic, Syr. for emic), cf.
Matthew Arnold's "Resignation;" "The cockoo, loud on some high lawn, Is
answered from the depth of dawn.."]
587 (return)
[ The terminal formula of
the dawn-prayer.]
588 (return)
[ i.e. the magician]
589 (return)
[ Lit. "bride''
(arouseh). She is always, to the end of the tale, spoken of as Alaeddin's
"bride," never as his "wife," whilst he, in like manner, is called her
"bridegroom" (arous).]
590 (return)
[ This, at first sight,
appears a contradiction, as we are distinctly told (see ante, p. 207) that
the princess was unaware of the properties of the lamp; but the sequel
shows that she had learned them, in the mean time. from the magician
himself. See post.]
591 (return)
[ Ifrikiyeh.]
592 (return)
[ Night DLXXXI.]
593 (return)
[ Lit.﹃a spit (ric) of
sweet.﹄We may also read reic or reyyic, "the first part of anything"
(especially "the first drop of rain").]
594 (return)
[ Lit. "having changed
the clothes of this my dress."]
595 (return)
[ i.e. taking effect the
moment of its administration.]
596 (return)
[ Night DLXXXII.]
597 (return)
[ Because white wine
would have been visibly troubled by the drug.]
598 (return)
[ Ishebi bi-surrihi (lit.
"drink by his pleasure or gladness;" surr or surour). Burton, "Pledge him
to his secret in a significant draught."]
599 (return)
[ Kasein thelatheh, lit.
two cups three (unusual way of putting it).]
600 (return)
[ Reshoush (for reshash),
"anything sprinkled," i.e. powder or drops. I translate "powder," as I
find no mention in the Nights of the use of this narcotic in a liquid
form.]
601 (return)
[ Takkeltu, lit.﹃I have
conceived in my mind.﹄Sir R. Burton is apparently inclined to read
tallectu by transposition, as he translates, "I depend upon thy say."]
602 (return)
[ Night DLXXXIII.]
603 (return)
[ Lit. "I will not delay
upon thee."]
604 (return)
[ Lit.﹃Thou hast
burdened or incommoded thyself﹄(kellefta khatiraka), see previous note,
p. 120, {see FN#340} on this idiomatic expression.]
605 (return)
[ Ana atebtu mizajaka,
lit. "I have wearied thy temperament."]
606 (return)
[ Lit. "pleasure" (surr),
see ante, p. 223, note 2. {see FN#598}]
607 (return)
[ Or "playing the
boon-companion."]
608 (return)
[ Syn. "equivocal, a
double entente."]
609 (return)
[ Lit. "proceeded from
her in truth."]
610 (return)
[ Tih, lit. pride,
haughtiness, but, by analogy, "coquetry."]
611 (return)
[ Lit. "Gaiety, ecstasy
or intoxication (keif) whirled (dara) in his head."]
612 (return)
[ Lit.﹃not itself
exactly with him﹄(ma hiya bi-eimhi indahu.)]
613 (return)
[ Lit. "turned over"
(kelebet, a clerical error for kebbelel).]
614 (return)
[ Tekeddemet lihi wa
basethu fi kheddihi. Burton, "again she kissed its lip and offered it to
him."]
615 (return)
[ Terakedsou, lit. raced
with one another.]
616 (return)
[ Babu 'sz szeray.]
617 (return)
[ Night DLXXXIV.]
618 (return)
[ Keszr.]
619 (return)
[ Lit. "in" (fi); but fi
is evidently used here in mistake for bi, the two prepositions being
practically interchangeable in modern Arabic of the style of our present
text.]
620 (return)
[ Burton, "his costliest
raiment."]
621 (return)
[ Or chamber (keszr).]
622 (return)
[ Night DLXXXV.]
623 (return)
[ Sic (raihh), a common
vulgarism in this text.]
624 (return)
[ Night DLXXXVI.]
625 (return)
[ Lit. "also" (eidsan).]
626 (return)
[ i.e. the two were as
like as two halves of a bean.]
627 (return)
[ i.e. the world.]
628 (return)
[ Or death (Saturn), the
eighth division of the common astrological figure.]
629 (return)
[ Menkeleh. See my Book
of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol. I. p. 129, note 1. {see Vol. 1
of Payne's Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, FN#41}]
630 (return)
[ Dsameh.]
631 (return)
[ Liha keramat kethireh.
Kerameh (sing. of keramat), properly a favour or mark of grace, a
supernatural gift bestowed by God upon His pious servants, by virtue
whereof they perform miracles, which latter are also by derivation called
keramat. Cf. Acts viii. 28: "Thou hast thought that the gift of God," i.e.
the power of performing miracles, "may be purchased with money."]
632 (return)
[ Night DLXXXVII.]
633 (return)
[ Weliyeh.]
634 (return)
[ Fe-ain (where),
probably a mistranscription for fe-men (who).]
635 (return)
[ Sitti, fem. of Sidi,
"my lord," the common title of a saint among modern Arabic-speaking
peoples.]
636 (return)
[ Lit. "wished the man
increase of his good (istekthera bi-kheirihi, for which idiomatic
expression= "he thanked him," see ante, p. 135, note 3 {see FN#383}), and
thanked his excellence" (favour or kindness, fedsl).]
637 (return)
[ Sherabati. Burton,
"vintner."]
638 (return)
[ Keniz, a word which I
cannot find in any dictionary, but which appears to be the past participle
(in the secondary form for mecnouz, as ketil, slain, for mertoul,) of
keneza, a lost verb of which only the fourth form acneza, he drank from a
cup (kinz), survives, and to mean "something drunk from a cup." Burton,
"wine."]
639 (return)
[ Ca"da. Burton
translates "he mounted," apparently reading szfida for ca"da.]
640 (return)
[ Lit. "belly" (betn);
but that "breast" is meant is shown by the next line, which describes
Fatimeh as finding the enchanter seated on her heart.]
641 (return)
[ Lit. "heart" (kelb).]
642 (return)
[ The text adds here,
"she went not and came not" (la rahet wa la jaet). Burton translates,﹃as
though she had never gone or come﹄and adds, in a note, by way of gloss,
"i.e. as she was in her own home;" but I confess that his explanation
seems to me as obscure as the text.]
643 (return)
[ Night DLXXXVIll.]
644 (return)
[ Keszr.]
645 (return)
[ The first or "opening"
chapter of the Koran.]
646 (return)
[ En nas bi 'l ghewali
kethir an, lit.﹃The folk in (things) precious (or dear or high-priced,
ghewali, pl. of ghalin, also of ghaliyeh, a kind of perfume) are abundant
anent.﹄This is a hopelessly obscure passage, and I can only guess at its
meaning. Bi 'l ghewali may be a clerical error for bi 'l ghalibi,﹃for the
most part, in general,﹄in which case we may read,﹃Folk in general abound
[in talk] anent her virtues;﹄or bi 'l ghewali may perhaps be used in the
sense (of which use, however, I know no instance) of 'in excessive
estimation,' in which latter case the passage might be rendered,﹃Folk
abound in setting a high value on (or extolling) her virtues.﹄Burton
boldly amplifies, "the folk recount her manifestations in many cases of
difficulty."]
647 (return)
[ Lit.﹃That he might
complete his deceit the more.﹄The meaning is that he dissembled his
satisfaction at the princess's proposal and made a show of refusal, so he
might hoodwink her the more effectually.]
648 (return)
[ Keszr.]
649 (return)
[ Night DLXXXIX.]
650 (return)
[ Teyyareh.]
651 (return)
[ Lit.﹃openings for
passage﹄(mejous). See ante, p. 176, note. {see FN#480}]
652 (return)
[ Keszr.]
653 (return)
[ Lit. "an extreme"
(ghayeh).]
654 (return)
[ Szeraya.]
655 (return)
[ Szeraya.]
656 (return)
[ i.e. "O thou that art
dear to me as mine eyes."]
657 (return)
[ Keszr.]
658 (return)
[ Night DLXC.]
659 (return)
[ Keszr.]
660 (return)
[ i.e. its apparent from
its real import.]
661 (return)
[ Mustekim.]
662 (return)
[ Minka. Burton, "of
me."]
663 (return)
[ Lit.﹃for that secret
that she healed.﹄Burton, "for the art and mystery of healing."]
664 (return)
[ Min wejaihi.]
665 (return)
[ Szeraya.]
666 (return)
[ Terehhhheba bihi.]
667 (return)
[ Lit. "believed not
in."]
668 (return)
[ Night DLXCI.]
669 (return)
[ Ghereza (i.q..
gheresa).]
670 (return)
[ Lit.﹃Out of regard to
or respect for thine eyes.﹄(Keramet[an] li-uyouniki), i.e.﹃Thanks to the
favourable influence of thine eyes.﹄When "the eye" is spoken of without
qualification, the "evil eye" is commonly meant; here, however, it is
evident that the reverse is intended.]
671 (return)
[ Lit. "I had no news or
information (ma indi kkeber) [of the matter]."]
672 (return)
[ Lit.﹃neglectful of the
love of thee.﹄This is a difficult passage to translate, owing to its
elliptical form; but the meaning is that the princess wished to assure
Alaeddin that what had happened was not due to any slackening in the
warmth of her affection for him.]
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