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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'Now, an of women ask ye, I reply:--*
In their affairs I'm versed a doctor rare!
When man's head grizzles and his money dwindles, *
In their affections he hath naught for share.'

And another said:--

'Rebel against women and so shalt thou serve Allah the more; *
The youth who gives women the rein must forfeit all hope to
soar.
They'll baulk him when seeking the strange device, Excelsior, *
Tho' waste he a thousand of years in the study of science
and lore.' "

And when he had ended his verses he continued, "O my father,
wedlock is a thing whereto I will never consent; no, not though I
drink the cup of death." When Sultan Shahriman heard these words
from his son, light became darkness in his sight and he grieved
thereat with great grief.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Seventy-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King
Shahriman heard these words from his son, the light became
darkness in his sight and he grieved over his son's lack of
obedience to his directions in the matter of marriage; yet, for
the great love he bore him, he was unwilling to repeat his wishes
and was not wroth with him, but caressed him and spake him fair
and showed him all manner of kindness such as tendeth to induce
affection. All this, and Kamar al-Zaman increased daily in beauty
and loveliness and amorous grace; and the King bore with him for
a whole year till he became perfect in eloquence and elegant wit.
All men were ravished with his charms; and every breeze that blew
bore the tidings of his gracious favour; his fair sight was a
seduction to the loving and a garden of delight to the longing,
for he was honey-sweet of speech and the sheen of his face shamed
the full moon; he was a model of symmetry and blandishment and
engaging ways; his shape was as the willow-wand or the rattan-
cane and his cheeks might take the place of rose or red anemone.
He was, in fine the pink of perfection, even as the poet hath
said of him,

"He came and cried they, 'Now be Allah blest! *
Praise Him that clad that soul in so fair vest!'
He's King of Beauty where the beauteous be; *
All are his Ryots,[FN#225] all obey his hest:
His lip-dew's sweeter than the virgin honey; *
His teeth are pearls in double row close press:
All charms are congregate in him alone, *
And deals his loveliness to man unrest.
Beauty wrote on those cheeks for worlds to see *
'I testify there is none good but He.'"[FN#226]

When the year came to an end, the King called his son to him and
said, "O my son, wilt thou not hearken to me?" Whereupon Kamar
al-Zaman fell down for respect and shame before his sire and
replied, "O my father, how should I not hearken to thee, seeing
that Allah commandeth me to obey thee and not gain-say thee?"
Rejoined King Shahriman, "O my son, know that I desire to marry
thee and rejoice in thee whilst yet I live, and make thee King
over my realm, before my death." When the Prince heard his sire
pronounce these words he bowed his head awhile, then raised it
and said, "O my father, this is a thing which I will never do;
no, not though I drink the cup of death! I know of a surety that
the Almighty hath made obedience to thee a duty in religion; but,
Allah upon thee! press me not in this matter of marriage, nor
fancy that I will ever marry my life long; for that I have read
the books both of the ancients and the moderns, and have come to
know all the mischiefs and miseries which have befallen them
through women and their endless artifices. And how excellent is
the saying of the poet,

'He whom the randy motts entrap *
Shall never see deliverance!
Though build he forts a thousand-fold, *
Whose mighty strength lead-plates enhance,[FN#227]
Their force shall be of no avail; *
These fortresses have not a chance!
Women aye deal in treachery *
To far and near o'er earth's expanse
With fingers dipt in Henna-blood *
And locks in braids that mad the glance;
And eyelids painted o'er with Kohl *
They gar us drink of dire mischance.'

And how excellently saith another,

'Women, for all the chastity they claim, *
Are offal cast by kites where'er they list:
This night their talk and secret charms are shine, *
That night another joyeth calf and wrist:
Like inn, whence after night thou far'st at dawn, *
And lodges other wight thou hast not wist.'"[FN#228]

Now when King Shahriman heard these his son's words and learnt
the import of his verses and poetical quotations, he made no
answer, of his excessive love for him, but redoubled in
graciousness and kindness to him. He at once broke up the
audience and, as soon as the seance was over, he summoned his
Minister and taking him apart, said to him, "O thou the Wazir!
tell me how I shall deal with my son in the matter of marriage."-
-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted stay.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
summoned his Minister; and, taking him apart, said to him, "O
thou the Wazir, tell me what I shall do with my son in the matter
of marriage. Of a truth I took counsel with thee thereon and thou
didst counsel me to marry him, before making him King. I have
spoken with him of wedlock time after time and he still gainsaid
me; so do thou, O Wazir, forthright advise me what to do."
Answered the Minister, "O King, wait another year and, if after
that thou be minded to speak to him on the matter of marriage,
speak not to him privily, but address him on a day of state, when
all the Emirs and Wazirs are present with the whole of the army
standing before thee. And when all are in crowd then send for thy
son, Kamar al-Zaman, and summon him; and, when he cometh, broach
to him the matter of marriage before the Wazirs and Grandees and
Officers of state and Captains; for he will surely be bashful and
daunted by their presence and will not dare to oppose thy will."
Now when King Shahriman heard his Wazir's words, he rejoiced with
exceeding joy, seeing success in the project, and bestowed on him
a splendid robe of honour. Then he took patience with his son
another year, whilst, with every day that passed over him, Kamar
al-Zaman increased in beauty and loveliness, and elegance and
perfect grace, till he was nigh twenty years old. Indeed Allah
had clad him in the cloak of comeliness and had crowned him with
the crown of completion: his eye-glance was more bewitching than
Harut and Marut[FN#229] and the play of his luring looks more
misleading than Taghut;[FN#230] and his cheeks shone like the
dawn rosy-red and his eyelashes stormed the keen-edged blade: the
whiteness of his brow resembled the moon shining bright, and the
blackness of his locks was as the murky night; and his waist was
more slender than the gossamer[FN#231] and his back parts than
two sand heaps bulkier, making a Babel of the heart with their
softness; but his waist complained of the weight of his hips and
loins; and his charms ravished all mankind, even as one of the
poets saith in these couplets,

"By his eyelash tendril curled, by his slender waist I swear,
By the dart his witchery feathers, fatal hurtling through the
air;
By the just roundness of his shape, by his glances bright and
keen
By the swart limping of his locks, and his fair forehead shining
sheen;
By his eyebrows which deny that she who looks on them should
sleep,
Which now commanding, now forbidding, o'er me high dominion keep;
By the roses of his cheek, his face as fresh as myrtle wreath
His tulip lips, and those pure pearls that hold the places of his
teeth;
By his noble form, which rises featly turned in even swell
To where upon his jutting chest two young pomegranates seem to
dwell
By his supple moving hips, his taper waist, the silky skin,
By all he robbed Perfection of, and holds enchained his form
within;
By his tongue of steadfastness, his nature true, and excellent,
By the greatness of his rank, his noble birth, and high descent,
Musk from my love her savour steals, who musk exhales from every
limb
And all the airs ambergris breathes are but the Zephyr's blow
o'er him.
The sun, methinks, the broad bright sun, as low before my love
should quail
As would my love himself transcend the paltry paring of his
nail!"[FN#232]

So King Shahriman, having accepted the counsel of his Wazir,
waited for another year and a great festival,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shahriman
having accepted the counsel of his Wazir, waited for another year
and a great festival, a day of state when the audience hall was
filled with his Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees of his reign and
Officers of State and Captains of might and main. Thereupon he
sent for his son Kamar al-Zaman who came, and kissing the ground
before him three times, stood in presence of his sire with his
hands behind his back the right grasping the left.[FN#233] Then
said the King to him, "Know O my son, that I have not sent for
thee on this occasion and summoned thee to appear before this
assembly and all these officers of estate here awaiting our
orders save and except that I may lay a commandment on thee,
wherein do thou not disobey me; and my commandment is that thou
marry, for I am minded to wed thee to a King's daughter and
rejoice in thee ere I die." When the Prince heard this much from
his royal sire, he bowed his head groundwards awhile, then
raising it towards his father and being moved thereto at that
time by youthful folly and boyish ignorance, replied, "But for
myself I will never marry; no, not though I drink the cup of
death! As for thee, thou art great in age and small of wit: hast
thou not, twice ere this day and before this occasion, questioned
me of the matter of marriage and I refused my consent? Indeed
thou dotest and are not fit to govern a flock of sheep!" So
saying Kamar al-Zaman unclasped his hands from behind his back
and tucked up his sleeves above his elbows before his father,
being in a fit of fury; moreover, he added many words to his
sire, knowing not what he said in the trouble of his spirits. The
King was confounded and ashamed, for that this befel in the
presence of his grandees and soldier-officers assembled on a high
festival and a state occasion; but presently the majesty of
Kingship took him, and he cried out at his son and made him
tremble. Then he called to the guards standing before him and
said, "Seize him!' So they came forward and laid hands on him
and, binding him, brought him before his sire, who bade them
pinion his elbows behind his back and in this guise make him
stand before the presence. And the Prince bowed down his head
for fear and apprehension, and his brow and face were beaded and
spangled with sweat; and shame and confusion troubled him sorely.
Thereupon his father abused him and reviled him and cried, "Woe
to thee, thou son of adultery and nursling of
abomination![FN#234] How durst thou answer me on this wise
before my captains and soldiers? But hitherto none hath chastised
thee,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King
Shahriman cried out to his son Kamar al-Zaman, "How durst thou
answer me on this wise before my captains and soldiers? But
hitherto none hath chastised thee. Knowest thou not that this
deed thou hast done were a disgrace to him had it been done by
the meanest of my subjects?" And the King commanded his Mamelukes
to loose his elbow bonds and imprison him in one of the bastions
of the citadel. So they took the Prince and thrust him into an
old tower, wherein there was a dilapidated saloon and in its
middle a ruined well, after having first swept it and cleansed
its floor-flags and set therein a couch on which they laid a
mattress, a leathern rug and a cushion; and then they brought a
great lanthorn and a wax candle, for that place was dark, even by
day. And lastly the Mamelukes led Kamar al-Zaman thither, and
stationed an eunuch at the door. And when all this was done, the
Prince threw himself on the couch, sad-spirited, and heavy-
hearted; blaming himself and repenting of his injurious conduct
to his father, whenas repentance availed him naught, and saying,
"Allah curse marriage and marriageable and married women, the
traitresses all! Would I had hearkened to my father and accepted
a wife! Had I so done it had been better for me than this jail."
This is how it fared with him; but as regards King Shahri man, he
remained seated on his throne all through the day until sundown;
then he took the Minister apart and said to him "Know thou, O
Wazir, that thou and thou only west the cause of all this that
hath come to pass between me and my son by the advice thou west
pleased to devise; and so what dost thou counsel me to do now?"
Answered he, "O King, leave thy son in limbo for the space of
fifteen days: then summon him to thy presence and bid him wed;
and assuredly he shall not gainsay thee again."--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir,
said to King Shahriman, "Leave thy son in limbo for the space of
fifteen days; then summon him to thy presence and bid him wed;
and assuredly he shall not gainsay thee again." The King accepted
the Wazir's opinion and lay down to sleep that night troubled at
heart concerning his son; for he loved him with dearest love
because he had no other child but this; and it was his wont every
night not to sleep, save after placing his arm under his son's
neck. So he passed that night in trouble and unease on the Prince
's account, tossing from side to side, as he were laid on coals
of Artemisia-wood[FN#235]: for he was overcome with doubts and
fears and sleep visited him not all that livelong night; but his
eyes ran over with tears and he began repeating, ;

"While slanderers slumber, longsome is my night; *
Suffice thee a heart so sad in parting-plight;
I say, while night in care slow moments by, *
'What! no return for thee, fair morning light?'"

And the saying of another,

"When saw I Pleiad-stars his glance escape *
And Pole star draught of sleep upon him pour;
And the Bier-daughters[FN#236] wend in mourning dight, *
I knew that morning was for him no more!"

Such was the case with King Shahriman; but as regards Kamar al-
Zaman, when the night came upon him the eunuch set the lanthorn
before him and lighting the wax-candle, placed it in the
candlestick; then brought him somewhat of food. The Prince ate a
little and continually reproached himself for his unseemly
treatment of his father, saying to himself, "O my soul, knowest
thou not that a son of Adam is the hostage of his tongue, and
that a man's tongue is what casteth him into deadly perils?" Then
his eyes ran over with tears and he bewailed that which he had
done, from anguished vitals and aching heart, repenting him with
exceeding repentance of the wrong wherewith he had wronged his
father and repeating,

"Fair youth shall die by stumbling of the tongue: *
Stumble of foot works not man's life such wrong:
The slip of lip shall oft smite off the head, *
While slip of foot shall never harm one long."

Now when he had made an end of eating, he asked for the
wherewithal to wash his hands and when the Mameluke had washed
them clean of the remnants of food, he arose and made the
Wuzu-ablution and prayed the prayers of sundown and nightfall,
conjoining them in one; after which he sat down.--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Prince Kamar al-Zaman had prayed (conjoining them in one) the
prayers of sundown and nightfall, he sat down on the well and
began reciting the Koran, and he repeated "The Cow," the "House
of Imran," and "Y. S.;" "The Compassionate," "Blessed be the
King," "Unity" and "The two Talismans''[FN#237]; and he ended
with blessing and supplication and with saying, "I seek refuge
with Allah from Satan the stoned."[FN#238] Then he lay down upon
his couch which was covered with a mattress of satin from al-
Ma'adin town, the same on both sides and stuffed with the raw
silk of Irak; and under his head was a pillow filled with
ostrich-down And when ready for sleep, he doffed his outer
clothes and drew off his bag-trousers and lay down in a shirt of
delicate stuff smooth as wax; and he donned a head-kerchief of
azure Marazi[FN#239] cloth; and at such time and on this guise
Kamar al-Zaman was like the full-orbed moon, when it riseth on
its fourteenth night. Then, drawing over his head a coverlet of
silk, he fell asleep with the lanthorn burning at his feet and
the wax-candle over his head, and he ceased not sleeping through
the first third of the night, not knowing what lurked for him in
the womb of the Future, and what the Omniscient had decreed for
him. Now, as Fate and Fortune would have it, both tower and
saloon were old and had been many years deserted; and there was
therein a Roman well inhabited by a Jinniyah of the seed of
Iblis[FN#240] the Accursed, by name Maymunah, daughter of Al-
Dimiryat, a renowned King of the Jann.--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the name of
the Jinniyah in question was Maymunah, daughter of Al-Dimiryat; a
renowned King of the Jann. And as Kamar al-Zaman continued
sleeping till the first third of the night, Maymunah came up out
of the Roman well and made for the firmament, thinking to listen
by stealth to the converse of the angels; but when she reached
the mouth of the well, she saw a light shining in the tower,
contrary to custom; and having dwelt there many years without
seeing the like, she said to herself, "Never have I witnessed
aught like this"; and, marvelling much at the matter, determined
that there must be some cause therefor. So she made for the light
and found the eunuch sleeping within the door; and inside she saw
a couch spread, whereon was a human form with the wax-candle
burning at his head and the lanthorn at his feet, and she
wondered to see the light and stole towards it little by little.
Then she folded her wings and stood by the bed and, drawing back
the coverlid, discovered Kamar al-Zaman's face. She was
motionless for a full hour in admiration and wonderment; for the
lustre of his visage outshone that of the candle; his face beamed
like a pearl with light; his eyelids were languorous like those
of the gazelle; the pupils of his eyes were intensely black and
brilliant[FN#241]; his cheeks were rosy red; his eye-brows were
arched like bows and his breath exhaled a scent of musk, even as
saith of him the poet,

"I kissed him: darker grew those pupils,[FN#242] which *
Seduce my soul, and cheeks flushed rosier hue;
O heart, if slanderers dare to deem there be *
His like in chasms, Say 'Bring him hither, you!' "

Now when Maymunah saw him, she pronounced the formula of
praise,[FN#243] and said, "Blessed be Allah, the best of
Creators!"; for she was of the true-believing Jinn; and she stood
awhile gazing on his face, exclaiming and envying the youth his
beauty and loveliness. And she said in herself, "By Allah! I will
do no hurt to him nor let any harm him; nay, from all of evil
will I ransom him, for this fair face deserveth not but that folk
should gaze upon it and for it praise the Lord. Yet how could his
family find it in their hearts to leave him in such desert place
where, if one of our Marids came upon him at this hour, he would
assuredly slay him." Then the Ifritah Maymunah bent over him and
kissed him between the eyes, and presently drew back the sheet
over his face which she covered up; and after this she spread her
wings and soaring into the air, flew upwards. And after rising
high from the circle of the saloon she ceased not winging her way
through air and ascending skywards till she drew near the heaven
of this world, the lowest of the heavens. And behold, she heard
the noisy flapping of wings cleaving the welkin and, directing
herself by the sound, she found when she drew near it that the
noise came from an Ifrit called Dahnash. So she swooped down on
him like a sparrow-hawk and, when he was aware of her and knew
her to be Maymunah, the daughter of the King of the Jinn, he
feared her and his side-muscles quivered; and he implored her
forbearance, saying, I conjure thee by the Most Great and August
Name and by the most noble talisman graven upon the seal-ring of
Solomon, entreat me kindly and harm me not!" When she heard these
words her heart inclined to him and she said, "Verily, thou
conjurest me, O accursed, with a mighty conjuration.
Nevertheless, I will not let thee go, till thou tell me whence
thou comest at this hour." He replied, "O Princess, Know that I
come from the uttermost end of China-land and from among the
Islands, and I will tell thee of a wonderful thing I have seen
this night. If thou kind my words true, let me wend my way and
write me a patent under thy hand and with thy sign manual that I
am thy freedman, so none of the Jinn-hosts, whether of the upper
who fly or of the lower who walk the earth or of those who dive
beneath the waters, do me let or hindrance." Rejoined Maymunah,
"And what is it thou hast seen this night, O liar, O accursed!
Tell me without leasing and think not to escape from my hand with
falses, for I swear to thee by the letters graven upon the bezel
of the seal-ring of Solomon David son (on both of whom be
peace!), except thy speech be true, I will pluck out thy feathers
with mine own hand and strip off thy skin and break thy bones!"
Quoth the Ifrit Dahnash son of Shamhurish[FN#244] the Flyer, "I
accept, O my lady, these conditions."--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Seventy-eight Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Dahnash
spoke thus to Maymunah, "I accept, O my lady, these conditions."
Then he resumed, "Know, O my mistress, that I come to-night from
the Islands of the Inland Sea in the parts of China, which are
the realms of King Ghayur, lord of the Islands and the Seas and
the Seven Palaces. There I saw a daughter of his, than whom Allah
hath made none fairer in her time: I cannot picture her to thee,
for my tongue would fail to describe her with her due of praise;
but I will name to thee a somewhat of her charms by way of
approach. Now her hair is like the nights of disunion and
separation and her face like the days of union and delectation;
and right well hath the poet said when picturing her,

'She dispread the locks from her head one night, *
Showing four fold nights into one night run
And she turned her visage towards the moon, *
And two moons showed at moment one.'

She hath a nose like the edge of the burnished blade and cheeks
like purple wine or anemones blood-red: her lips as coral and
carnelian shine and the water of her mouth is sweeter than old
wine; its taste would quench Hell's fiery pain. Her tongue is
moved by wit of high degree and ready repartee: her breast is a
seduction to all that see it (glory be to Him who fashioned it
and finished it!); and joined thereto are two upper arms smooth
and rounded; even as saith of her the poet Al-Walahan,[FN#245]

'She hath wrists which, did her bangles not contain, *
Would run from out her sleeves in silvern rain.'

She hath breasts like two globes of ivory, from whose brightness
the moons borrow light, and a stomach with little waves as it
were a figured cloth of the finest Egyptian linen made by the
Copts, with creases like folded scrolls, ending in a waist
slender past all power of imagination; based upon back parts like
a hillock of blown sand, that force her to sit when she would
fief stand, and awaken her, when she fain would sleep, even as
saith of her and describeth her the poet,

'She hath those hips conjoined by thread of waist, *
Hips that o'er me and her too tyrannise
My thoughts they daze whene'er I think of them, *
And weigh her down whene'er she would uprise.'[FN#246]

And those back parts are upborne by thighs smooth and round and
by a calf like a column of pearl, and all this reposeth upon two
feet, narrow, slender and pointed like spear-blades,[FN#247] the
handiwork of the Protector and Requiter, I wonder how, of their
littleness, they can sustain what is above them. But I cut short
my praises of her charms fearing lest I be tedious."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.

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