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 Ninety-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King
Shahriman also passed that night with them in the excess of his
joy for his son's recovery. And when the next morning dawned, and
the King had gone away and the two young men were left alone,
Kamar al-Zaman told his story from beginning to end to Marzawan
who said, "In very sooth I know her with whom thou didst
foregather; her name is the Princess Budur and she is daughter to
King Ghayur." Then he related to him all that had passed with the
Princess from first to last and acquainted him with the excessive
love she bore him, saying, "All that befel thee with thy father
hath befallen her with hers, and thou art without doubt her
beloved, even as she is shine; so brace up thy resolution and
take heart, for I will bring thee to her and unite you both anon
and deal with you even as saith the poet,

"Albe to lover adverse be his love, *
And show aversion howso may he care;
Yet will I manage that their persons[FN#294] meet, *
E'en as the pivot of a scissor pair."

And he ceased not to comfort and solace and encourage Kamar al-
Zaman and urged him to eat and drink till he ate food and drank
wine, and life returned to him and he was saved from his ill
case; and Marzawan cheered him and diverted him with talk and
songs and stories, and in good time he became free of his
disorder and stood up and sought to go to the Hammam.[FN#295] So
Marzawan took him by the hand and both went to the bath, where
they washed their bodies and made them clean.--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundredth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar
al-Zaman, son of King Shahriman, went to the Hammam, his father
in his joy at this event freed the prisoners, and presented
splendid dresses to his grandees and bestowed large alm-gifts
upon the poor and bade decorate the city seven days. Then quoth
Marzawan to Kamar al-Zaman, "Know, O my lord, that I came not
from the Lady Budur save for this purpose, and the object of my
journey was to deliver her from her present case; and it
remaineth for us only to devise how we may get to her, since thy
father cannot brook the thought of parting from thee. So it is my
counsel that to-morrow thou ask his leave to go abroad hunting.
Then do thou take with thee a pair of saddle-bags full of money
and mount a swift steed, and lead a spare horse, and I will do
the like, and say to thy sire, 'I have a mind to divert myself
with hunting the desert and to see the open country and there to
pass one night.' Suffer not any servant to follow us, for as soon
as we reach the open country, we will go our ways." Kamar al-
Zaman rejoiced in this plan with great joy and cried, "It is
good." Then he stiffened his back and, going in to his father,
sought his leave and spoke as he had been taught, and the King
consented to his going forth a-hunting and said, "O my son,
blessed be the day that restoreth thee to health! I will not
gainsay thee in this; but pass not more than one night in the
desert and return to me on the morrow; for thou knowest that life
is not good to me without thee, and indeed I can hardly believe
thee to be wholly recovered from what thou hadst,[FN#296] because
thou art to me as he of whom quoth the poet,

'Albe by me I had through day and night *
Solomon's carpet and the Chosroes' might,
Both were in value less than wing of gnat, *
Unless these eyne could hold thee aye in sight.'"[FN#297]

Then the King equipped his son Kamar al-Zaman and Marzawan for
the excursion, bidding make ready for them four horses, together
with a dromedary to carry the money and a camel to bear the water
and belly timber; and Kamar al-Zaman forbade any of his
attendants to follow him. His father farewelled him and pressed
him to his breast and kissed him, saying, "I ask thee in the name
of Allah, be not absent from me more than one night, wherein
sleep will be unlawful to me, for I am even as saith the poet,

'Thou present, in the Heaven of heavens I dwell; *
Bearing shine absence is of hells my Hell:
Pledged be for thee my soul! If love for thee *
Be crime, my crime is of the fellest fell.
Does love-lowe burn thy heart as burns it mine, *
Doomed night and day Gehenna-fire to smell?'"

Answered Kamar al-Zaman, "O my father, Inshallah, I will lie
abroad but one night!" Then he took leave of him, and he and
Marzawan mounted and leading the spare horses, the dromedary with
the money and the camel with the water and victual, turned their
faces towards the open country;--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawning day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and First Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-
Zaman and Marzawan fared forth and turned their faces towards the
open country; and they travelled from the first of the day till
nightfall, when they halted and ate and drank and fed their
beasts and rested awhile; after which they again took horse and
ceased not journeying for three days, and on the fourth they came
to a spacious tract wherein was a thicket. They alighted in it
and Marzawan, taking the camel and one of the horses, slaughtered
them and cut off their flesh and stripped their bones. Then he
doffed from Kamar al-Zaman his shirt and trousers which he
smeared with the horse's blood and he took the Prince's coat
which he tore to shreds and befouled with gore; and he cast them
down in the fork of the road. Then they ate and drank and
mounting set forward again; and, when Kamar al- Zaman asked why
this was done, and said, "What is this O my brother, and how
shall it profit us?"; Marzawan replied, "Know that thy father,
when we have outstayed the second night after the night for which
we had his leave, and yet we return not, will mount and follow in
our track till he come hither; and, when he happeneth upon this
blood which I have spilt and he seeth thy shirt and trousers rent
and gore-fouled, he will fancy that some accident befel thee from
bandits or wild-beasts, so he will give up hope of thee and
return to his city, and by this device we shall win our wishes."
Quoth Kamar al-Zaman, "By Allah, this be indeed a rare device!
Thou hast done right well.''[FN#298] Then the two fared on days
and nights and all that while Kamar al-Zaman did naught but
complain when he found himself alone, and he ceased not weeping
till they drew near their journeys end, when he rejoiced and
repeated these verses,

"Wilt tyrant play with truest friend who thinks of thee each
hour, * And after showing love-desire betray indifference?
May I forfeit every favour if in love I falsed thee, *
If thee I left, abandon me by way of recompense:
But I've been guilty of no crime such harshness to deserve, *
And if I aught offended thee I bring my penitence;
Of Fortune's wonders one it is thou hast abandoned me, *
But Fortune never wearieth of showing wonderments."

When he had made an end of his verses, Marzawan said to him,
"Look! these be King Ghayur's Islands;" whereat Kamar al-Zaman
joyed with exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done,
and kissed him between the eyes and strained him--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Marzawan said "Look! these be the Islands of King Ghayur;" Kamar
al-Zaman joyed with exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had
done and kissed him between the eyes and strained him to his
bosom. And after reaching the Islands and entering the city they
took up their lodging in a khan, where they rested three days
from the fatigues of their wayfare; after which Marzawan carried
Kamar al-Zaman to the bath and, clothing him in merchant's gear,
provided him with a geomantic tablet of gold,[FN#299] with a set
of astrological instruments and with an astrolabe of silver,
plated with gold. Then he said to him, "Arise, O my lord, and
take thy stand under the walls of the King's palace and cry out,
'I am the ready Reckoner; I am the Scrivener; I am he who weeteth
the Sought and the Seeker; I am the finished man of Science; I am
the Astrologer accomplished in experience! Where then is he that
seeketh?' As soon as the King heareth this, he will send after
thee and carry thee in to his daughter the Princess Budur, thy
lover; but when about going in to her do thou say to him, 'Grant
me three days' delay, and if she recover, give her to me to wife;
and if not, deal with me as thou dealest with those who forewent
me.' He will assuredly agree to this, so as soon as thou art
alone with her, discover thyself to her; and when she seeth thee,
she will recover strength and her madness will cease from her and
she will be made whole in one night. Then do thou give her to eat
and drink. and her father, rejoicing in her recovery, will marry
thee to her and share his kingdom with thee; for he hath imposed
on himself this condition and so peace be upon thee." Now when
Kamar al-Zaman heard these words he exclaimed, "May I never lack
thy benefits!", and, taking the set of instruments aforesaid,
sallied forth from the caravanserai in the dress of his order. He
walked on till he stood under the walls of King Ghayur's palace,
where he began to cry out, saying, "I am the Scribe, I am the
ready Reckoner, I am he who knoweth the Sought and the Seeker; I
am he who openeth the Volume and summeth up the Sums;[FN#300] who
Dreams can expound whereby the sought is found! Where then is the
seeker?" Now when the city people heard this, they flocked to
him, for it was long since they had seen Scribe or Astrologer,
and they stood round him and, looking upon him, they saw one in
the prime of beauty and grace and perfect elegance, and they
marvelled at his loveliness, and his fine stature and symmetry.
Presently one of them accosted him and said, "Allah upon thee, O
thou fair and young, with the eloquent tongue! incur not this
affray; nor throw thy life away in thine ambition to marry the
Princess Budur. Only cast shine eyes upon yonder heads hung up;
all their owners have lost their lives in this same venture." Yet
Kamar al-Zaman paid no heed to them, but cried out at the top of
his voice, saying, "I am the Doctor, the Scrivener! I am the
Astrologer, the Calculator!" And all the townsfolk forbade him
from this, but he regarded them not at all, saying in his mind,
"None knoweth desire save whoso suffereth it." Then he began
again to cry his loudest, shouting, "I am the Scrivener, I am the
Astrologer!"--And Shahrazad per ceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-
Zaman in no wise heeded the words of the citizens, but continued
to cry out, "I am the Calculator! I am the Astrologer!" Thereupon
all the townsfolk were wroth with him and said to him, "Thou art
nothing but an imbecile, silly, self-willed lad! Have pity on
shine own youth and tender years and beauty and loveliness." But
he cried all the more, "I am the Astrologer, I am the Calculator!
Is there any one that seeketh?" As he was thus crying and the
people forbidding him, behold, King Ghayur heard his voice and
the clamour of the lieges and said to his Wazir, "Go down and
bring me yon Astrologer." So the Wazir, went down in haste, and
taking Kamar al-Zaman from the midst of the crowd led him up to
the King; and when in the presence he kissed the ground and began
versifying,

"Eight glories meet, all, all conjoined in thee, *
Whereby may Fortune aye thy servant be:
Lere, lordliness, grace, generosity; *
Plain words, deep meaning, honour, victory!"

When the King looked upon him, he seated him by his side and said
to him, "By Allah, O my son, an thou be not an astrologer,
venture not thy life nor comply with my condition; for I have
bound myself that whoso goeth in to my daughter and healeth her
not of that which hath befallen her I will strike off his head;
but whoso healeth her him I will marry to her. So let not thy
beauty and loveliness delude thee: for, by Allah! and again, by
Allah! If thou cure her not, I will assuredly cut off thy head."
And Kamar al-Zaman replied, "This is thy right; and I consent,
for I wot of this ere came I hither." Then King Ghayur took the
Kazis to witness against him and delivered him to the eunuch,
saying, "Carry this one to the Lady Budur." So the eunuch took
him by the hand and led him along the passage; but Kamar al-Zaman
outstripped him and pushed on before, whilst the eunuch ran after
him, saying, "Woe to thee! Hasten not to shine own ruin: never
yet saw I astrologer so eager for his proper destruction; but
thou weetest not what calamities are before thee." Thereupon
Kamar al-Zaman turned away his face from the eunuch,--And Shah
razed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
eunuch thus addressed Kamar al-Zaman, "Patience, and no indecent
hurry!"; the Prince turned away his face and began repeating
these couplets,

"A Sage, I feel a fool before thy charms; *
Distraught, I wot not what the words I say:
If say I 'Sun,' away thou dost not pass *
From eyes of me, while suns go down with day:
Thou hast completed Beauty, in whose praise *
Speech-makers fail, and talkers lose their way."

Then the eunuch stationed Kamar al-Zaman behind the curtain of
the Princess's door and the Prince said to him, "Which of the two
ways will please thee more, treat and cure thy lady from here or
go in and heal her within the curtain?" The eunuch marvelled at
his words and answered, "An thou heal her from here it were
better proof of thy skill." Upon this Kamar al-Zaman sat down
behind the curtain and, taking out ink case, pen and paper, wrote
the following: "This is the writ of one whom passion swayeth,*
and whom longing waylayeth * and wakeful misery slayeth * one who
despaireth of living * and looketh for naught but dying * with
whose mourning heart * nor comforter nor helper taketh part * One
whose sleepless eyes * none succoureth from anxieties * whose day
is passed in fire * and his night in torturing desire * whose
body is wasted for much emaciation * and no messenger from his
beloved bringeth him consolation." And after this he indited the
following couplets,

"I write with heart devoted to thy thought, *
And eyelids chafed by tears of blood they bled;
And body clad, by loving pine and pain, *
In shirt of leanness, and worn down to thread,
To thee complain I of Love's tormentry, *
Which ousted hapless Patience from her stead:
A toi! show favour and some mercy deign, *
For Passion's cruel hands my vitals shred."

And beneath his lines he wrote these cadenced sentences, "The
heart's pain is removed * by union with the beloved * and whomso
his lover paineth * only Allah assaineth! * If we or you have
wrought deceit * may the deceiver win defeat! * There is naught
goodlier than a lover who keeps faith * with the beloved who
works him scathe." Then, by way of subscription, he wrote, "From
the distracted and despairing man * whom love and longing trepan
* from the lover under passion's ban * the prisoner of transport
and distraction * from this Kamar al-Zaman * son of Shahriman *
to the peerless one * of the fair Houris the pearl-union * to the
Lady Budur * daughter of King Al Ghayur * Know thou that by night
I am sleepless * and by day in distress * consumed with
increasing wasting and pain * and longing and love unfain *
abounding in sighs * with tear flooded eyes * by passion captive
ta'en * of Desire the slain * with heart seared by the parting of
us twain * the debtor of longing bane, of sickness cup-companion
* I am the sleepless one, who never closeth eye * the slave of
love, whose tears run never dry * for the fire of my heart is
still burning * and never hidden is the flame of my yearning."
Then on the margin Kamar al-Zaman wrote this admired verse,

"Salem from graces hoarded by my Lord *
To her, who holds my heart and soul in hoard!"

And also these,

"Pray'ee grant me some words from your lips, belike *
Such mercy may comfort and cool these eyne:
From the stress of my love and my pine for you, *
I make light of what makes me despised, indign:
Allah guard a folk whose abode was far, *
And whose secret I kept in the holiest shrine:
Now Fortune in kindness hath favoured me *
Thrown on threshold dust of this love o' mine:
By me bedded I looked on Budur, whose sun *
The moon of my fortunes hath made to shine."

Then, having affixed his seal-ring to the missive, he wrote these
couplets in the place of address,

"Ask of my writ what wrote my pen in dole, *
And hear my tale of misery from this scroll;
My hand is writing while my tears down flow, *
And to the paper 'plains my longing soul:
My tears cease not to roll upon this sheet, *
And if they stopped I'd cause blood-gouts to roll."

And at the end he added this other verse,

"I've sent the ring from off thy finger bore *
I when we met, now deign my ring restore!"

Then Kamar al-Zaman set the Lady Budur's ring inside the letter
and sealed it and gave it to the eunuch, who took it and went in
with it to his mistress.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-
Zaman, after setting the seal-ring inside the epistle, gave it to
the eunuch who took it and went in with it to his mistress; and,
when the Lady Budur opened it, she found therein her own very
ring. Then she read the paper and when she understood its purport
and knew that it was from her beloved, and that he in person
stood behind the curtain, her reason began to fly and her breast
swelled for joy and rose high; and she repeated these couplets,

"Long, long have I bewailed the sev'rance of our loves, *
With tears that from my lids streamed down like burning
rain;
And vowed that, if the days deign reunite us two, *
My lips should never speak of severance again:
Joy hath o'erwhelmed me so that, for the very stress *
Of that which gladdens me to weeping I am fain.
Tears are become to you a habit, O my eyes, *
So that ye weep as well for gladness as for pain.''[FN#301]

And having finished her verse, the Lady Budur stood up forthwith
and, firmly setting her feet to the wall, strained with all her
might upon the collar of iron, till she brake it from her neck
and snapped the chains. Then going forth from behind the curtain
she threw herself on Kamar al-Zaman and kissed him on the mouth,
like a pigeon feeding its young.[FN#302] And she embraced him
with all the stress of her love and longing and said to him, "O
my lord do I wake or sleep and hath the Almighty indeed
vouchsafe] us reunion after disunion? Laud be to Allah who hath
our loves repaired, even after we despaired!" Now when the eunuch
saw her in this case, he went off running to King Ghayur and,
kissing the ground before him, said, "O my lord, know that this
Astrologer is indeed the Shaykh of all astrologers, who are fools
to him, all of them; for verily he hath cured thy daughter while
standing behind the curtain and without going in to her." Quoth
the King, "Look well to it, is this news true?" Answered the
eunuch, "O my lord, rise and come and see for thyself how she
hath found strength to break the iron chains and is come forth to
the Astrologer, kissing and embracing him." Thereupon the King
arose and went in to his daughter who, when she saw him, stood up
in haste and covered her head,[FN#303] and recited these two
couplets,

"The toothstick love I not; for when I say, *
'Siwak,'[FN#304] I miss thee, for it sounds 'Siwa-ka'.
The caper-tree I love; for when I say, *
'Arak'[FN#305] it sounds I look on thee, 'Ara-ka.'"

Thereupon the King was so transported for joy at her recovery
that he felt like to fly and kissed her between the eyes, for he
loved her with dearest love; then, turning to Kamar al-Zaman, he
asked him who he was, and said, "What countryman art thou?" So
the Prince told him his name and rank, and informed him that he
was the son of King Shahriman, and presently related to him the
whole story from beginning to end; and acquainted him with what
happened between himself and the Lady Budur; and how he had taken
her seal-ring from her finger and had placed it on his own;
whereat Ghayur marvelled and said, "Verily your story deserveth
in books to be chronicled, and when you are dead and gone age
after age be read." Then he summoned Kazis and witnesses
forthright and married the Lady Budur to Prince Kamar al-Zaman;
after which he bade decorate the city seven days long. So they
spread the tables with all manner of meats, whilst the drums beat
and the criers anounced the glad tidings, and all the troops
donned their richest clothes; and they illuminated the city and
held high festival. Then Kamar al-Zaman went in to the Lady Budur
and the King rejoiced in her recovery and in her marriage; and
praised Allah for that He had made her to fall in love with a
goodly youth of the sons of Kings. So they unveiled her and
displayed the bride before the bridegroom; and both were the
living likeness of each other in beauty and comeliness and grace
and love-allurement. Then Kamar al-Zaman lay with her that night
and took his will of her, whilst she in like manner fulfilled her
desire of him and enjoyed his charms and grace; and they slept in
each other's arms till the morning. On the morrow, the King made
a wedding-feast to which he gathered all comers from the Islands
of the Inner and Outer Seas, and he spread the tables with
choicest viands nor ceased the banquetting for a whole month. Now
when Kamar al-Zaman had thus fulfilled his will and attained his
inmost desire, and whenas he had tarried awhile with the Princess
Budur, he bethought him of his father, King Shahriman, and saw
him in a dream, saying, "O my son, is it thus thou dealest with
me?" and recited in the vision these two couplets,

"Indeed to watch the darkness-moon he blighted me, *
And to star-gaze through longsome night he plighted me:
Easy, my heart! for haply he'll unite with thee; *
And patience, Sprite! with whatso ills he dight to thee."

Now after seeing his father in the dream and hearing his re
preaches, Kamar al-Zaman awoke in the morning, afflicted and
troubled, whereupon the Lady Budur questioned him and he told her
what he had seen.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar
al-Zaman acquainted the Lady Budur with what he had seen in his
dream, she and he went in to her sire and, telling him what had
passed, besought his leave to travel. He gave the Prince the
permission he sought; but the Princess said, "O my father, I
cannot bear to be parted from him." Quoth Ghayur, her sire, "Then
go thou with him," and gave her leave to be absent a whole
twelvemonth and afterwards to visit him in every year once; so
she kissed his hand and Kamar al-Zaman did the like. Thereupon
King Ghayur proceeded to equip his daughter and her bridegroom
for the journey, and furnished them with outfit and appointments
for the march; and brought out of his stables horses marked with
his own brand, blood-dromedaries[FN#306] which can journey ten
days without water, and prepared a litter for his daughter,
besides loading mules and camels with victual; moreover, he gave
them slaves and eunuchs to serve them and all manner of
travellinggear; and on the day of departure, when King Ghayur
took leave of Kamar al-Zaman, he bestowed on him ten splendid
suits of cloth of gold embroidered with stones of price, together
with ten riding horses and ten she-camels, and a treasury of
money;[FN#307] and he charged him to love and cherish his
daughter the Lady Budur. Then the King accompanied them to the
farthest limits of his Islands where, going in to his daughter
Budur in the litter, he kissed her and strained her to his bosom,
weeping and repeating,

"O thou who wooest Severance, easy fare! *
For love-embrace belongs to lover-friend:
Fare softly! Fortune's nature falsehood is, *
And parting shall love's every meeting end."

Then leaving his daughter, he went to her husband and bade him
farewell and kissed him; after which he parted from them and,
giving the order for the march he returned to his capital with
his troops. The Prince and Princess and their suite fared on
without stopping through the first day and the second and the
third and the fourth, nor did they cease faring for a whole month
till they came to a spacious champaign, abounding in pasturage,
where they pitched their tents; and they ate and drank and
rested, and the Princess Budur lay down to sleep. Presently,
Kamar al-Zaman went in to her and found her lying asleep clad in
a shift of apricot-coloured silk that showed all and everything;
and on her head was a coif of gold-cloth embroidered with pearls
and jewels. The breeze raised her shift which laid bare her navel
and showed her breasts and displayed a stomach whiter than snow,
each one of whose dimples would contain an ounce of benzoin-
ointment.[FN#308] At this sight, his love and longing redoubled,
and he began reating,

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