Various - "The International Monthly Magazine Volume V to No II"

Huguette Bertrand - "Entre la chair et l'ame, poesie"

Lewis Madison Terman - "The Measurement of Intelligence"

Benjamin Disraeli - "The Young Duke"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

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




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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
slave-girl went on telling the jeweller, "'I was dazed for joy to
see her, after having lost all hopes of finding her alive. When I
came up to her, she bade me give the man who had brought her
thither a thousand gold pieces; and we carried her in, I and the
two maids, and laid her on her bed; where she passed that night
in a sorely troubled state; and, when morning dawned, I forbade
the women and eunuchs to go in to her, or even to draw near her
for the whole of that day; but on the next she revived and
somewhat recovered and I found her as if she had come out of her
grave. I sprinkled rose-water upon her face and changed her
clothes and washed her hands and feet; nor did I cease to coax
her, till I brought her to eat a little and drink some wine,
though she had no mind to any such matter. As soon as she had
breathed the fresh air and strength began to return to her, I
took to upbraiding her, saying, 'O my lady, consider and have
pity on thyself; thou seest what hath betided us: surely, enough
and more than enough of evil hath befallen thee; for indeed thou
hast been nigh upon death. She said, 'By Allah, O good damsel, in
sooth death were easier to me than what hath betided me; for it
seemed as though I should be slain and no power could save me.
When the robbers took us from the jeweller's house they asked me,
Who mayest thou be? and hearing my answer, 'I am a singing girl,
they believed me. Then they turned to Ali bin Bakkar and made
enquiries about him, 'And who art thou and what is thy
condition?; whereto he replied, 'I am of the common kind. So they
took us and carried us along, without our resisting, to their
abode; and we hurried on with them for excess of fear; but when
they had us set down with them in the house, they looked hard at
me and seeing the clothes I wore and my necklaces and jewellery,
believed not my account of myself and said to me, 'Of a truth
these necklaces belong to no singing-girl; so be soothfast and
tell us the truth of thy case. I returned them no answer
whatever, saying in my mind, 'Now will they slay me for the sake
of my apparel and ornaments; and I spoke not a word. Then the
villains turned to Ali bin Bakkar, asking, 'And thou, who art
thou and whence art thou? for thy semblance seemeth not as that
of the common kind. But he was silent and we ceased not to keep
our counsel and to weep, till Allah softened the rogues' hearts
to pity and they said to us, 'Who is the owner of the house
wherein we were?' We answered, 'Such an one, the jeweller;
whereupon quoth one of them, 'I know him right well and I wot the
other house where he liveth and I will engage to bring him to you
this very hour. Then they agreed to set me in a place by myself
and Ali bin Bakkar in a place by himself, and said to us, 'Be at
rest ye twain and fear not lest your secret be divulged; ye are
safe from us. Meanwhile their comrade went away and returned with
the jeweller, who made known to them our case, and we joined
company with him; after which a man of the band fetched a barque,
wherein they embarked us all three and, rowing us over the river,
landed us with scant ceremony on the opposite bank and went their
ways. Thereupon up came a horse-patrol and asked us who we were;
so I spoke with the Captain of the watch and said to him, 'I am
Shams al-Nahar, the Caliph's favourite; I had drunken strong wine
and went out to visit certain of my acquaintance of the wives of
the Wazirs, when yonder rogues came upon me and laid hold of me
and brought me to this place; but when they saw you, they fled as
fast as they could. I met these men with them: so do thou escort
me and them to a place of safety and I will requite thee as I am
well able to do. When the Captain of the watch heard my speech,
he knew me and alighting, mounted me on his horse; and in like
manner did two of his men with Ali bin Bakkar. So I spoke to her'
(continued the handmaid) 'and blamed her doings, and bade her
beware, and said to her, 'O my lady, have some care for thy
life!' But she was angered at my words and cried out at me;
accordingly I left her and came forth in quest of thee, but found
thee not and dared not go to the house of Ali bin Bakkar; so
stood watching for thee, that I might ask thee of him and wot how
it goes with him. And I pray thee, of thy favour, to take of me
some money, for thou hast doubtless borrowed from thy friends
part of the gear and as it is lost, it behoveth thee to make it
good with folk.' I replied, 'To hear is to obey! go on;' and I
walked with her till we drew near my house, when she said to me,
'Wait here till I come back to thee.'"--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
slave-girl had addressed the jeweller, "'Wait here till I come
back to thee!' she went away and presently returned with the
money, which she put" (continued the jeweller) "into my hand,
saying, 'O my master, in what place shall we meet?' Quoth I, 'I
will start and go to my house at once and suffer hard things for
thy sake and contrive how thou mayst win access to him, for such
access is difficult at this present.' Said she, 'Let me know some
spot, where I shall come to thee,' and I answered, 'In my other
house, I will go thither forthright and have the doors mended and
the place made safe again, and henceforth we will meet there.'
Then she took leave of me and went her way, whilst I carried the
money home, and counting it, found it five thousand dinars. So I
gave my people some of it and to all who had lent me aught I made
good their loss, after which I arose and took my servants and
repaired to my other house whence the things had been stolen; and
I brought builders and carpenters and masons who restored it to
its former state. Moreover, I placed my negress-slave there and
forgot the mishaps which had befallen me. Then I fared forth and
repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's house and, when I reached it, his
slave-servants accosted me, saying, 'Our lord calleth for thee
night and day, and hath promised to free whichever of us bringeth
thee to him; so they have been wandering about in quest of thee
everywhere but knew not in what part to find thee. Our master is
by way of recovering strength, but at times he reviveth and at
times he relapseth; and whenever he reviveth he nameth thee, and
saith, 'Needs must ye bring him to me, though but for the
twinkling of an eye;' and then he sinketh back into his torpor.'
Accordingly" (continued the jeweller) "I accompanied the slave
and went in to Ali bin Bakkar; and, finding him unable to speak,
sat down at his head, whereupon he opened his eyes and seeing me,
wept and said, 'Welcome and well come!' I raised him and making
him sit up, strained him to my bosom, and he said, 'Know, O my
brother, that, from the hour I took to my bed, I have not sat up
till now: praise to Allah that I see thee again!' And I ceased
not to prop him and support him until I made him stand on his
feet and walk a few steps, after which I changed his clothes and
he drank some wine: but all this he did for my satisfaction.
Then, seeing him somewhat restored, I told him what had befallen
me with the slave-girl (none else hearing me), and said to him,
'Take heart and be of good courage, I know what thou sufferest.'
He smiled and I added, 'Verily nothing shall betide thee save
what shall rejoice thee and medicine thee.' Thereupon he called
for food, which being brought, he signed to his pages, and they
withdrew. Then quoth he to me, 'O my brother, hast thou seen what
hath befallen me?'; and he made excuses to me and asked how I had
fared all that while. I told him everything that had befallen me,
from beginning to end, whereat he wondered and calling his
servants, said, 'Bring me such and such things.' They brought in
fine carpets and hangings and, besides that, vessels of gold and
silver, more than I had lost, and he gave them all to me; so I
sent them to my house and abode with him that night. When the day
began to yellow, he said to me, 'Know thou that as to all things
there is an end, so the end of love is either death or
accomplishment of desire. I am nearer unto death, would I had
died ere this befel!; and had not Allah favoured us, we had been
found out and put to shame. And now I know not what shall deliver
me from this my strait, and were it not that I fear Allah, I
would hasten my own death; for know, O my brother, that I am like
bird in cage and that my life is of a surety perished, choked by
the distresses which have befallen me; yet hath it a period
stablished firm and an appointed term.' And he wept and groaned
and began repeating,

'Enough of tears hath shed the lover-wight, *
When grief outcast all patience from his sprite:
He hid the secrets which united us, *
But now His eye parts what He did unite!'"

When he had finished his verses, the jeweller said to him, "O my
lord, I now intend returning to my house." He answered, "There be
no harm in that; go and come back to me with news as fast as
possible, for thou seest my case." "So I took leave of him"
(continued the jeweller) "and went home, and hardly had I sat
down, when up came the damsel, choked with long weeping. I asked,
'What is the matter'?; and she answered, 'O my lord, know then
that what we feared hath befallen us; for, when I left thee
yesterday and returned to my lady, I found her in a fury with one
of the two maids who were with us the other night, and she
ordered her to be beaten. The girl was frightened and ran away;
but, as she was leaving the house, one of the door-porters and
guards of the gate met her and took her up and would have sent
her back to her mistress. However, she let fall some hints, which
were a disclosure to him; so he cajoled her and led her on to
talk, and she tattled about our case and let him know of all our
doings. This affair came to the ears of the Caliph, who bade
remove my mistress, Shams al-Nahar, and all her gear to the
palace of the Caliphate; and set over her a guard of twenty
eunuchs. Since then to the present hour he hath not visited her
nor hath given her to know the reason of his action, but I
suspect this to be the cause; wherefore I am in fear for my life
and am sore troubled, O my lord, knowing not what I shall do, nor
with what contrivance I shall order my affair and hers; for she
hath none by her more trusted or more trustworthy than
myself.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
slave-girl thus addressed the jeweller, "'And in very sooth my
lady hath none by her more trusted or more trustworthy in matter
of secrecy than myself. So go thou, O my master, and speed thee
without delay to Ali bin Bakkar; and acquaint him with this, that
he may be on his guard and ward; and, if the affair be
discovered, we will cast about for some means whereby to save our
lives.' On this" (continued the jeweller), "I was seized with
sore trouble and the world grew dark in my sight for the
slave-girl's words; and when she was about to wend, I said to
her, 'What reckest thou and what is to be done?' Quoth she, 'My
counsel is that thou hasten to Ali bin Bakkar, if thou be indeed
his friend and desire to save him; thine be it to carry him this
news at once without aught of stay and delay, or regard for far
and near; and mine be it to sniff about for further news.' Then
she took her leave of me and went away: so I rose and followed
her track and, betaking myself to Ali bin Bakkar, found him
flattering himself with impossible expectations. When he saw me
returning to him so soon, he said, 'I see thou hast come back to
me forthwith and only too soon.' I answered, 'Patience, and cut
short this foolish connection and shake off the pre-occupation
wherein thou art, for there hath befallen that which may bring
about the loss of thy life and good.' Now when he heard this, he
was troubled and strongly moved; and he said to me, 'O my
brother, tell me what hath happened.' Replied I, 'O my lord, know
that such and such things have happened and thou art lost without
recourse, if thou abide in this thy house till the end of the
day.' At this, he was confounded and his soul well-nigh departed
his body, but he recovered himself and said to me, 'What shall I
do, O my brother, and what counsel hast thou to offer.' Answered
I, 'My advice is that thou take what thou canst of thy property
and whom of thy slaves thou trustest, and flee with us to a land
other than this, ere this very day come to an end.' And he said,
'I hear and I obey.' So he rose, confused and dazed like one in
epilepsy, now walking and now falling, and took what came under
his hand. Then he made an excuse to his household and gave them
his last injunctions, after which he loaded three camels and
mounted his beast; and I did likewise. We went forth privily in
disguise and fared on and ceased not our wayfare the rest of that
day and all its night, till nigh upon morning, when we unloaded
and, hobbling our camels, lay down to sleep. But we were worn
with fatigue and we neglected to keep watch, so that there fell
upon us robbers, who stripped us of all we had and slew our
slaves, when these would have beaten them off, leaving us naked
and in the sorriest of plights, after they had taken our money
and lifted our beasts and disappeared. As soon as they were gone,
we arose and walked on till morning dawned, when we came to a
village which we entered, and finding a mosque took refuge
therein for we were naked. So we sat in a corner all that day and
we passed the next night without meat or drink; and at day-break
we prayed our dawn-prayer and sat down again. Presently behold, a
man entered and saluting us prayed a two-bow prayer, after which
he turned to us and said, 'O folk, are ye strangers?' We replied,
'Yes: the bandits waylaid us and stripped us naked, and we came
to this town but know none here with whom we may shelter.' Quoth
he, 'What say ye? will you come home with me?' And" (pursued the
jeweller) "I said to Ali bin Bakkar, 'Up and let us go with him,
and we shall escape two evils; the first, our fear lest some one
who knoweth us enter this mosque and recognise us, so that we
come to disgrace; and the second, that we are strangers and have
no place wherein to lodge.' And he answered helplessly, 'As thou
wilt.' Then the man said to us again, 'O ye poor folk, give ear
unto me and come with me to my place,' and I replied, 'Hearkening
and obedience;' whereupon he pulled off a part of his own clothes
and covered us therewith and made his excuses to us and spoke
kindly to us. Then we arose and accompanied him to his house and
he knocked at the door, whereupon a little slave-boy came out and
opened to us. The host entered and we followed him;[FN#214] when
he called for a bundle of clothes and muslins for turbands, and
gave us each a suit and a piece; so we dressed and turbanded
ourselves and sat us down. Presently, in came a damsel with a
tray of food and set it before us, saying, 'Eat.' We ate some
small matter and she took away the tray: after which we abode
with our host till nightfall, when Ali bin Bakkar sighed and said
to me, 'Know, O my brother, that I am a dying man past hope of
life and I would charge thee with a charge: it is that, when thou
seest me dead, thou go to my parent[FN#215] and tell her of my
decease and bid her come hither that she may be here to receive
the visits of condolence and be present at the washing of my
corpse, and do thou exhort her to bear my loss with patience.'
Then he fell down in a fainting fit and, when he recovered he
heard a damsel singing afar off and making verses as she sang.
Thereupon he addressed himself to give ear to her and hearken to
her voice; and now he was insensible, absent from the world, and
now he came to himself; and anon he wept for grief and mourning
at the love which had befallen him. Presently, he heard the
damsel who was singing repeat these couplets,

'Parting ran up to part from lover-twain *
Free converse, perfect concord, friendship fain:
The Nights with shifting drifted us apart, *
Would heaven I wot if we shall meet again:
How bitter after meeting 'tis to part, *
May lovers ne'er endure so bitter pain!
Death-grip, death-choke, lasts for an hour and ends, *
But parting-tortures aye in heart remain:
Could we but trace where Parting's house is placed, *
We would make Parting eke of parting taste!'

When Ali son of Bakkar heard the damsel's song, he sobbed one sob
and his soul quitted his body. As soon as I saw that he was dead"
(continued the jeweller), "I committed his corpse to the care of
the house-master and said to him 'Know thou, that I am going to
Baghdad, to tell his mother and kinsfolk, that they may come
hither and conduct his burial.' So I betook myself to Baghdad
and, going to my house, changed my clothes; after which I
repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's lodging. Now when his servants saw
me, they came to me and questioned me of him, and I bade them ask
permission for me to go in to his mother. She gave me leave; so I
entered and saluting her, said, 'Verily Allah ordereth the lives
of all creatures by His commandment and when He decreeth aught,
there is no escaping its fulfilment; nor can any soul depart but
by leave of Allah, according to the Writ which affirmeth the
appointed term.'[FN#216] She guessed by these words that her son
was dead and wept with sore weeping, then she said to me, 'Allah
upon thee! tell me, is my son dead?' I could not answer her for
tears and excess of grief, and when she saw me thus, she was
choked with weeping and fell to the ground in a fit. As soon as
she came to herself she said to me, 'Tell me how it was with my
son.' I replied, 'May Allah abundantly compensate thee for his
loss!' and I told her all that had befallen him from beginning to
end. She then asked, 'Did he give thee any charge?'; and I
answered, 'Yes,' and told her what he had said, adding, 'Hasten
to perform his funeral.' When she heard these words, she swooned
away again; and, when she recovered, she addressed herself to do
as I charged her. Then I returned to my house; and as I went
along musing sadly upon the fair gifts of his youth, behold, a
woman caught hold of my hand;"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
jeweller thus continued:--"A woman caught hold of my hand; and I
looked at her and lo! it was the slave-girl who used to come from
Shams al-Nahar, and she seemed broken by grief. When we knew each
other we both wept and ceased not weeping till we reached my
house, and I said to her, 'Knowest thou the news of the youth,
Ali bin Bakkar?' She replied, 'No, by Allah!'; so I told her the
manner of his death and all that had passed, whilst we both wept;
after which quoth I to her, 'How is it with thy mistress?' Quoth
she, 'The Commander of the Faithful would not hear a single word
against her; but, for the great love he bore her, saw all her
actions in a favourable light, and said to her, 'O Shams
al-Nahar, thou art dear to me and I will bear with thee and bring
the noses of thy foes to the grindstone. Then he bade them
furnish her an apartment decorated with gold and a handsome
sleeping-chamber, and she abode with him in all ease of life and
high favour. Now it came to pass that one day, as he sat at wine
according to his custom, with his favourite concubines in
presence, he bade them be seated in their several ranks and made
Shams al-Nahar sit by his side. But her patience had failed and
her disorder had redoubled upon her. Then he bade one of the
damsels sing: so she took a lute and tuning it struck the chords,
and began to sing these verses,

'One craved my love and I gave all he craved of me, *
And tears on cheek betray how 'twas I came to yield:
Tear-drops, meseemeth, are familiar with our case, *
Revealing what I hide, hiding what I revealed:
How can I hope in secret to conceal my love, *
Which stress of passion ever showeth unconcealed:
Death, since I lost my lover, is grown sweet to me; *
Would I knew what their joys when I shall quit the field!

Now when Shams al-Nahar heard these verses sung by the
slave-girl, she could not keep her seat; but fell down in a
fainting-fit whereupon the Caliph cast the cup from his hand and
drew her to him crying out; and the damsels also cried out, and
the Prince of True Believers turned her over and shook her, and
lo and behold! she was dead. The Caliph grieved over her death
with sore grief and bade break all the vessels and
dulcimers[FN#217] and other instruments of mirth and music which
were in the room; then carrying her body to his closet, he abode
with her the rest of the night. When the day broke, he laid her
out and commanded to wash her and shroud her and bury her. And he
mourned for her with sore mourning, and questioned not of her
case nor of what caused her condition. And I beg thee in Allah's
name' (continued the damsel) 'to let me know the day of the
coming of Ali bin Bakkar's funeral procession that I may be
present at his burial.' Quoth I, 'For myself, where thou wilt
thou canst find me; but thou, where art thou to be found, and who
can come at thee where thou art?' She replied, 'On the day of
Shams al-Nahar's death, the Commander of the Faithful freed all
her women, myself among the rest;[FN#218] and I am one of those
now abiding at the tomb in such a place.' So I rose and
accompanied her to the burial-ground and piously visited Shams
al-Nahar's tomb; after which I went my way and ceased not to
await the coming of Ali bin Bakkar's funeral. When it arrived,
the people of Baghdad went forth to meet it and I went forth with
them: and I saw the damsel among the women and she the loudest of
them in lamentation, crying out and wailing with a voice that
rent the vitals and made the heart ache. Never was seen in
Baghdad a finer funeral than his; and we ceased not to follow in
crowds till we reached the cemetery and buried him to the mercy
of Almighty Allah; nor from that time to this have I ceased to
visit the tombs of Ali son of Bakkar and of Shams al-Nahar. This,
then, is their story, and Allah Almighty have mercy upon
them!"[FN#219] And yet is not their tale (continued Shahrazad)
more wonderful than that of King Shahriman. The King asked her
"And what was his tale?"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Seventieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, as regards the






TALE OF KAMAR AL ZAMAN,



That there was in times of yore and in ages long gone before a
King called Shahriman,[FN#220] who was lord of many troops and
guards, and officers, and who reigned over certain islands, known
as the Khalidan Islands,[FN#221] on the borders of the land of
the Persians. But he was stricken in years and his bones were
wasted, without having been blessed with a son, albeit he had
four wives, daughters of Kings, and threescore concubines, with
each of whom he was wont to lie one night in turn.[FN#222] This
preyed upon his mind and disquieted him, so that he complained
thereof to one of his Wazirs, saying, "Verily I fear lest my
kingdom be lost when I die, for that I have no son to succeed
me." The Minister answered, "O King, peradventure Allah shall yet
bring something to pass; so rely upon the Almighty and be instant
in prayer. It is also my counsel that thou spread a banquet and
invite to it the poor and needy, and let them eat of thy food;
and supplicate the Lord to vouchsafe thee a son; for perchance
there may be among thy guests a righteous soul whose prayers find
acceptance; and thereby thou shalt win thy wish." So the King
rose, made the lesser ablution, and prayed a two-bow
prayer,[FN#223] then he cried upon Allah with pure intention;
after which he called his chief wife to bed and lay with her
forthright. By grace of God she conceived and, when her months
were accomplished, she bore a male child, like the moon on the
night of fulness. The King named him Kamar al-Zaman,[FN#224] and
rejoiced in him with extreme joy and bade the city be dressed out
in his honour; so they decorated the streets seven days, whilst
the drums beat and the messengers bore the glad tidings abroad.
Then wet and dry nurses were provided for the boy and he was
reared in splendour and delight, until he reached the age of
fifteen. He grew up of surpassing beauty and seemlihead and
symmetry, and his father loved him so dear that he could not
brook to be parted from him day or night. One day he complained
to a certain of his Ministers anent the excess of his love for
his only child, saying, "O thou the Wazir, of a truth I fear for
my son, Kamar al-Zaman, the shifts and accidents which befal man
and fain would I marry him in my life-time." Answered the Wazir,
"O King, know thou that marriage is one of the most honourable of
moral actions, and thou wouldst indeed do well and right to marry
thy son in thy lifetime, ere thou make him Sultan." On this quoth
the King, "Hither with my son Kamar al-Zaman;" so he came and
bowed his head to the ground in modesty before his sire. "O Kamar
al Zaman," said King Shahriman, "of a truth I desire to marry
thee and rejoice in thee during my lifetime." Replied he, "O my
father, know that I have no lust to marry nor cloth my soul
incline to women; for that concerning their craft and perfidy I
have read many books and heard much talk, even as saith the poet,

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