The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3

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When it was the One Hundred and Sixty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams
al-Nahar thus addressed the jeweller, "Rest is gained only by
work and success is gendered only by help of the generous. Now I
have acquainted thee with our affair and it is in thy hand to
expose us or to shield us; I say no more, because thy generosity
requireth naught. Thou knowest that this my handmaiden keepeth my
counsel and therefore occupieth high place in my favour; and I
have selected her to transact my affairs of importance. So let
none be worthier in thy sight than she and acquaint her with
thine affair; and be of good cheer, for on her account thou art
safe from all fear, and there is no place shut upon thee but she
shall open it to thee. She shall bring thee my messages to Ali
bin Bakkar and thou shalt be our intermediary." So saying, she
rose, scarcely able to rise, and fared forth, the jeweller faring
before her to the door of her house, after which he returned and
sat down again in his place, having seen of her beauty and heard
of her speech what dazzled him and dazed his wit, and having
witnessed of her grace and courtesy what bewitched his sprite. He
sat musing on her perfections till his mind waxed tranquil, when
he called for food and ate enough to keep soul and body together.
Then he changed his clothes and went out; and, repairing to the
house of the youth Ali bin Bakkar, knocked at the door. The
servants hastened to admit him and walked before him till they
had brought him to their master, whom he found strown upon his
bed. Now when he saw the jeweller, he said to him, "Thou hast
tarried long from me, and that hath heaped care upon my care."
Then he dismissed his servants and bade the doors be shut; after
which he said to the jeweller, "By Allah, O my brother, I have
not closed my eyes since the day I saw thee last; for the
slave-girl came to me yesterday with a sealed letter from her
mistress Shams al-Nahar;" and went on to tell him all that had
passed with her, adding, "By the Lord, I am indeed perplexed
concerning mine affair and my patience faileth me: for Abu
al-Hasan was a comforter who cheered me because he knew the
slave-girl." When the jeweller heard his words, he laughed; and
Ali said, "Why dost thou laugh at my words, thou on whose coming
I congratulated myself and to whom I looked for provision against
the shifts of fortune?" Then he sighed and wept and repeated
these couplets,[FN#210]

"Full many laugh at tears they see me shed *
Who had shed tears an bore they what I bore;
None feeleth pity for th' afflicted's woe, *
Save one as anxious and in woe galore:
My passion, yearning, sighing, thought, repine *
Are for me cornered in my heart's deep core:
He made a home there which he never quits, *
Yet rare our meetings, not as heretofore:
No friend to stablish in his place I see; *
No intimate but only he and --he."

Now when the jeweller heard these lines and understood their
significance, he wept also and told him all that had passed
betwixt himself and the slave-girl and her mistress since he left
him. And Ali bin Bakkar gave ear to his speech, and at every word
he heard his colour shifted from white to red and his body grew
now stronger and then weaker till the tale came to an end, when
he wept and said, "O my brother, I am a lost man in any case:
would mine end were nigh, that I might be at rest from all this!
But I beg thee, of thy favour, to be my helper and comforter in
all my affairs till Allah fulfil whatso be His will; and I will
not gainsay thee with a single word." Quoth the jeweller,
"Nothing will quench thy fire save union with her whom thou
lovest; and the meeting must be in other than this perilous
place. Better it were in a house of mine where the girl and her
mistress met me; which place she chose for herself, to the intent
that ye twain may there meet and complain each to other of what
you have suffered from the pangs of love." Quoth Ali bin Bakkar,
"O good Sir, do as thou wilt and with Allah be thy reward!; and
what thou deemest is right do it forthright: but be not long in
doing it, lest I perish of this anguish." "So I abode with him
(said the jeweller) that night conversing with him till the
morning morrowed,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Sixty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
jeweller continued:--"So I abode with him that night conversing
with him till the morning morrowed, when I prayed the
dawn-prayers and, going out from him, returned to my house.
Hardly had I settled down when the damsel came up and saluted me;
and I returned her salutation and told her what had passed
between myself and Ali bin Bakkar, and she said, 'Know that the
Caliph hath left us and there is no one in our place and it is
safer for us and better.' Replied I, 'Sooth thou sayest; yet is
it not like my other house which is both fitter and surer for
us;' and the slave-girl rejoined 'Be it as thou seest fit. I am
now going to my lady and will tell her what thou sayest and
acquaint her with all thou hast mentioned.' So she went away and
sought her mistress and laid the project before her, and
presently returned and said to me, 'It is to be as thou sayest:
so make us ready the place and expect us.' Then she took out of
her breast-pocket a purse of dinars and gave this message, 'My
lady saluteth thee and saith to thee, 'Take this and provide
therewith what the case requireth.' But I swore that I would
accept naught of it; so she took the purse and returning to her
mistress, told her, 'He would not receive the money, but gave it
back to me.' 'No matter,' answered Shams al-Nahar. As soon as the
slave-girl was gone" (continued the jeweller), "I arose and
betook myself to my other house and transported thither all that
was needful, by way of vessels and furniture and rich carpets;
and I did not forget china vases and cups of glass and gold and
silver; and I made ready meat and drink required for the
occasion. When the damsel came and saw what I had done, it
pleased her and she bade me fetch Ali bin Bakkar; but I said,
'None shall bring him save thou.' Accordingly she went to him and
brought him back perfectly dressed and looking his best. I met
him and greeted him and then seated him upon a divan befitting
his condition, and set before him sweet-scented flowers in vases
of china and vari-coloured glass.[FN#211] Then I set on a tray of
many-tinted meats such as broaden the breast with their sight,
and sat talking with him and diverting him, whilst the slave-girl
went away and was absent till after sundown-prayers, when she
returned with Shams al-Nahar, attended by two maids and none
else. Now as soon as she saw Ali bin Bakkar and he saw her, he
rose and embraced her, and she on her side embraced him and both
fell in a fit to the ground. They lay for a whole hour
insensible; then, coming to themselves, they began mutually to
complain of the pains of separation. Thereupon they drew near to
each other and sat talking charmingly, softly, tenderly; after
which they somewhat perfumed themselves and fell to thanking me
for what I had done for them. Quoth I, 'Have ye a mind for food?'
'Yes,' quoth they. So I set before them a small matter of food
and they ate till they were satisfied and then washed their
hands; after which I led them to another sitting-room and brought
them wine. So they drank and drank deep and inclined to each
other; and presently Shams al-Nahar said to me, 'O my master,
complete thy kindness by bringing us a lute or other instrument
of mirth and music that the measure of our joy may be fully
filled.' I replied, 'On my head and eyes!' and rising brought her
a lute, which she took and tuned; then laying it in her lap she
touched it with a masterly touch, at once exciting to sadness and
changing sorrow to gladness; after which she sang these two
couplets,

'My sleeplessness would show I love to bide on wake; *
And would my leanness prove that sickness is my make:
And tear-floods course adown the cheeks they only scald; *
Would I knew union shall disunion overtake!'

Then she went on to sing the choicest and most affecting poesy to
many and various modes, till our senses were bewitched and the
very room danced with excess of delight and surprise at her sweet
singing; and neither thought nor reason was left in us. When we
had sat awhile and the cup had gone round amongst us, the damsel
took the lute and sang to a lively measure these couplets,

'My love a meeting promised me and kept it faithfully, *
One night as many I shall count in number and degree:
O Night of joyance Fate vouchsafed to faithful lovers tway, *
Uncaring for the railer loon and all his company!
My lover lay the Night with me and clipt me with his right, *
While I with left embraced him, a-faint for ecstasy;
And hugged him to my breast and sucked the sweet wine of his
lips, * Full savouring the honey-draught the honey-man sold
to me.'

Whilst we were thus drowned in the sea of gladness" (continued
the jeweller) "behold, there came in to us a little maid
trembling and said, 'O my lady, look how you may go away for the
folk have found you out and have surrounded the house; and we
know not the cause of this!' When I heard her words, I arose
startled and lo! in rushed a slave-girl who cried, 'Calamity hath
come upon you.' At the same moment the door was burst open and
there rushed in upon us ten men masked in kerchiefs with hangers
in their hands and swords by their sides, and as many more behind
them. When I saw this, the world was straitened on me for all its
wideness, and I looked to the door but saw no issue; so I sprang
from the terrace into the house of one of my neighbours and there
hid myself. Thence I found that folk had entered my lodgings and
were making a mighty hubbub; and I concluded that the Caliph had
got wind of us and had sent his Chief of the Watch to seize us
and bring us before him. So I abode confounded and ceased not
remaining in my place, without any possibility of quitting it
till midnight. And presently the house-master arose, for he had
heard me moving, and he feared with exceeding great fear of me;
so he came forth from his room with drawn brand in hand and made
at me, saying, 'Who is this in my house?' Quoth I, 'I am thy
neighbour the jeweller;' and he knew me and retired. Then he
fetched a light and coming up to me, said, 'O my brother, indeed
that which hath befallen thee this night is no light matter to
me.' I replied, 'O my brother, tell me who was in my house and
entered it breaking in my door; for I fled to thee not knowing
what was to do.' He answered, 'Of a truth the robbers who
attacked our neighbours yesterday and slew such an one and took
his goods, saw thee on the same day bringing furniture into this
house; so they broke in upon thee and stole thy goods and slew
thy guests.' Then we arose" (pursued the jeweller), "I and he,
and repaired to my house, which we found empty without a stick
remaining in it; so I was confounded at the case and said to
myself, 'As for the gear I care naught about its loss, albeit I
borrowed part of the stuff from my friends and it hath come to
grief; yet is there no harm in that, for they know my excuse in
the plunder of my property and the pillage of my place. But as
for Ali bin Bakkar and the Caliph's favourite concubine, I fear
lest their case get bruited abroad and this cause the loss of my
life.' So I turned to my neighbour and said to him, 'Thou art my
brother and my neighbour and wilt cover my nakedness; what then
dost thou advise me to do?' The man answered, 'What I counsel
thee to do is to keep quiet and wait; for they who entered thy
house and took thy goods have murdered the best men of a party
from the palace of the Caliphate and have killed not a few of the
watchmen: the government officers and guards are now in quest of
them on every road and haply they will hit upon them, whereby thy
wish will come about without effort of thine.'" The jeweller
hearing these words returned to his other house, that wherein he
dwelt,--and Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
jeweller heard these words he returned to his other house wherein
he dwelt, and said to himself, "Indeed this that hath befallen me
is what Abu al-Hasan feared and from which he fled to Bassorah.
And now I have fallen into it." Presently the pillage of his
pleasure-house was noised abroad among the folk, and they came to
him from all sides and places, some exulting in his misfortune
and others excusing him and condoling with his sorrow; whilst he
bewailed himself to them and for grief neither ate meat nor drank
drink. And as he sat, repenting him of what he had done, behold
one of his servants came in to him and said, "There is a person
at the door who asketh for thee; and I know him not." The
jeweller went forth to him and saluted him who was a stranger;
and the man whispered to him, "I have somewhat to say between our
two selves." Thereupon he brought him in and asked him, "What
hast thou to tell me?" Quoth the man, "Come with me to thine
other house;" and the jeweller enquired, "Dost thou then know my
other house?" Replied the other, "I know all about thee and I
know that also whereby Allah will dispel thy dolours." "So I said
to myself" (continued the jeweller) "'I will go with him whither
he will;' and went out and walked on till we came to my second
house; and when the man saw it he said to me, 'It is without door
or doorkeeper, and we cannot possibly sit in it; so come thou
with me to another place.' Then the man continued passing from
stead to stead (and I with him) till night overtook us. Yet I put
no question to him of the matter in hand and we ceased not to
walk on, till we reached the open country. He kept saying,
'Follow me,' and quickened his pace to a trot, whilst I trotted
after him heartening my heart to go on, until we reached the
river, where he took boat with me, and the boatman rowed us over
to the other bank. Then he landed from the boat and I landed
after him: and he took my hand and led me to a street which I had
never entered in all my days, nor do I know in what quarter it
was. Presently the man stopped at the door of a house, and
opening it entered and made me enter with him; after which he
locked the door with an iron padlock,[FN#212] and led me along
the vestibule, till he brought me in the presence of ten men who
were as though they were one and the same man; they being
brothers. We saluted them" (continued the jeweller) "and they
returned our greeting and bade us be seated; so we sat down. Now
I was like to die for excess of weariness; but they brought me
rose-water and sprinkled it on my face; after which they gave me
a sherbet to drink and set before me food whereof some of them
ate with me. Quoth I to myself, 'Were there aught harmful in the
food, they would not eat with me.' So I ate, and when we had
washed our hands, each of us returned to his place. Then they
asked me, 'Dost thou know us?' and I answered, 'No! nor in my
life have I ever seen you; nay, I know not even him who brought
me hither.' Said they, 'Tell us thy tidings and lie not at all.'
Replied I, 'Know then that my case is wondrous and my affair
marvellous; but wot ye anything about me?' They rejoined, 'Yes!
it was we took thy goods yesternight and carried off thy friend
and her who was singing to him.' Quoth I, 'Allah let down His
veil over you! Where be my friend and she who was singing to
him?' They pointed with their hands to one side and replied,
'Yonder, but, by Allah, O our brother, the secret of their case
is known to none save to thee, for from the time we brought the
twain hither up to this day, we have not looked upon them nor
questioned them of their condition, seeing them to be persons of
rank and dignity. Now this and this only it was that hindered our
killing them: so tell us the truth of their case and thou shalt
be assured of thy safety and of theirs.' When I heard this"
(continued the jeweller) "I almost died of fright and horror, and
I said to them, 'Know ye, O my brethren, that if generosity were
lost, it would not be found save with you; and had I a secret
which I feared to reveal, none but your breasts would conceal
it.' And I went on exaggerating their praises in this fashion,
till I saw that frankness and readiness to speak out would profit
me more than concealing facts; so I told them all that had
betided me to the very end of the tale. When they heard it, they
said, 'And is this young man Ali Bakkar-son and this lady Shams
al-Nahar?' I replied, 'Yes.' Now this was grievous to them and
they rose and made their excuses to the two and then they said to
me, 'Of what we took from thy house part is spent, but here is
what is left of it.' So speaking, they gave me back most of my
goods and they engaged to return them to their places in my
house, and to restore me the rest as soon as they could. My heart
was set at ease till they split into two parties, one with me and
the other against me; and we fared forth from that house and such
was my case. But as regards Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al-Nahar;
they were well-nigh dying for excess of fear, when I went up to
them and saluting them, asked, 'What happened to the damsel and
the two maids, and where be they gone?', and they answered only,
'We know nothing of them.' Then we walked on and stinted not till
we came to the river-bank where the barque lay; and we all
boarded it, for it was the same which had brought me over on the
day before. The boatman rowed us to the other side; but hardly
had we landed and taken seat on the bank to rest, when a troop of
horse swooped down on us like eagles and surrounded us on all
sides and places, whereupon the robbers with us sprang up in
haste like vultures, and the boat put back for them and took them
in and the boatman pushed off into mid-stream, leaving us on the
river bank, unable to move or to stand still. Then the chief
horseman said to us, 'Whence be ye!'; and we were perplexed for
an answer, but I said" (continued the jeweller), "'Those ye saw
with us are rogues; we know them not. As for us, we are singers,
and they intended taking us to sing for them, nor could we get
free of them, save by subtlety and soft words; so on this
occasion they let us go, their works being such as you have
seen.' But they looked at Shams al-Nahar and Ali bin Bakkar and
said to me, 'Thou hast not spoken sooth but, if thy tale be true,
tell us who ye are and whence ye are; and what be your place and
in what quarter you dwell.' I knew not what to answer them, but
Shams al-Nahar sprang up and approaching the Captain of the
horsemen spoke with him privily, whereupon he dismounted from his
steed and, setting her on horse-back, took the bridle and began
to lead his beast. And two of his men did the like with the
youth, Ali bin Bakkar, and it was the same with myself. The
Commandant of the troop ceased not faring on with us, till they
reached a certain part of the river bank, when he sang out in
some barbarous jargon[FN#213] and there came to us a number of
men with two boats. Then the Captain embarked us in one of them
(and he with us) whilst the rest of his men put off in the other,
and rowed on with us till we arrived at the palace of the
Caliphate where Shams al-Nahar landed. And all the while we
endured the agonies of death for excess of fear, and they ceased
not faring till they came to a place whence there was a way to
our quarter. Here we landed and walked on, escorted by some of
the horsemen, till we came to Ali bin Bakkar's house; and when we
entered it, our escort took leave of us and went their way. We
abode there, unable to stir from the place and not knowing the
difference between morning and evening; and in such case we
continued till the dawn of the next day. And when it was again
nightfall, I came to myself and saw Ali bin Bakkar and the women
and men of his household weeping over him, for he was stretched
out without sense or motion. Some of them came to me and
thoroughly arousing me said, 'Tell us what hath befallen our son
and say how came he in this plight?' Replied I, 'O folk, hearken
to me!'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
jeweller answered them, "'O folk, hearken to my words and give me
no trouble and annoyance! but be patient and he will come to and
tell you his tale for himself.' And I was hard upon them and made
them afraid of a scandal between me and them, but as we were
thus, behold, Ali bin Bakkar moved on his carpet-bed, whereat his
friends rejoiced and the stranger folk withdrew from him; but his
people forbade me to go away. Then they sprinkled rose-water on
his face and he presently revived and sensed the air; whereupon
they questioned him of his case, and he essayed to answer them
but his tongue could not speak forthright and he signed to them
to let me go home. So they let me go, and I went forth hardly
crediting my escape and returned to my own house, supported by
two men. When my people saw me thus, they rose up and set to
shrieking and slapping their faces; but I signed to them with my
hand to be silent and they were silent. Then the two men went
their way and I threw myself down on my bed, where I lay the rest
of the night and awoke not till the forenoon, when I found my
people gathered round me and saying, 'What calamity befel thee,
and what evil with its mischief did fell thee?' Quoth I 'Bring me
somewhat to drink.' So they brought me drink, and I drank of it
what I would and said to them, 'What happened, happened.'
Thereupon they went away and I made my excuses to my friends, and
asked if any of the goods that had been stolen from my other
house had been returned. They answered, 'Yes! some of them have
come back; by token that a man entered and threw them down within
the doorway and we saw him not.' So I comforted myself and abode
in my place two days, unable to rise and leave it; and presently
I took courage and went to the bath, for I was worn out with
fatigue and troubled in mind for Ali bin Bakkar and Shams
al-Nahar, because I had no news of them all this time and could
neither get to Ali's house nor, out of fear for my life, take my
rest in mine own. And I repented to Almighty Allah of what I had
done and praised Him for my safety. Presently my fancy suggested
to me to go to such and such a place and see the folk and solace
myself; so I went on foot to the cloth-market and sat awhile with
a friend of mine there. When I rose to go, I saw a woman standing
over against me; so I looked at her, and lo! it was Shams
al-Nahar's slave-girl. When I saw her, the world grew dark in my
eyes and I hurried on. She followed me, but I was seized with
affright and fled from her, and whenever I looked at her, a
trembling came upon me whilst she pursued me, saying. 'Stop, that
I may tell thee somewhat!' But I heeded her not and never ceased
walking till I reached a mosque, and she entered after me. I
prayed a two-bow prayer, after which I turned to her and,
sighing, said, 'What cost thou want?' She asked me how I did, and
I told her all that had befallen myself and Ali bin Bakkar and
besought her for news of herself. She answered, 'Know that when I
saw the robbers break open thy door and rush in, I was in sore
terror, for I doubted not but that they were the Caliph's
officers and would seize me and my mistress and we should perish
forthwith: so we fled over the roofs, I and the maids; and,
casting ourselves down from a high place, came upon some people
with whom we took refuge; and they received us and brought us to
the palace of the Caliphate, where we arrived in the sorriest of
plights. We concealed our case and abode on coals of fire till
nightfall, when I opened the river-gate and, calling the boatman
who had carried us the night before, said to him, 'I know not
what is become of my mistress; so take me in the boat, that we
may go seek her on the river: haply I shall chance on some news
of her. Accordingly he took me into the boat and went about with
me and ceased not wending till midnight, when I spied a barque
making towards the water gate, with one man rowing and another
standing up and a woman lying prostrate between them twain. And
they rowed on till they reached the shore when the woman landed,
and I looked at her, and behold, it was Shams al-Nahar. Thereupon
I got out and joined her, dazed for joy to see her after having
lost all hopes of finding her alive.'" --And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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