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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"Gone is my strength, told is my tale of days *
And, lookye! I am left as thou dost see:
In honour's day most honoured wont to be, *
And win the race from all my company
Would Heaven before my death I might behold *
My son in seat of empire sit for me
And rush upon his foes, to take his wreak *
With sway of sword and lance lunged gallantly:
In this world and the next I am undone, *
Except the Lord vouchsafe me clemency."

When he had ended repeating these verses, he laid his head on his
pillow and closed his eyes and slept. Then saw he in his sleep
one who said to him, "Rejoice, for thy son shall fill the lands
with justest sway; and he shall rule them and him shall the
lieges obey."; Then he awoke from his dream gladdened by the good
tidings he had seen, and after a few days, Death smote him, and
because of his dying great grief fell on the people of Baghdad,
and simple and gentle mourned for him. But Time passed over him,
as though he had never been[FN#63] and Kanmakan's estate was
changed; for the people of Baghdad set him aside and put him and
his family in a place apart. Now when his mother saw this, she
fell into the sorriest of plights and said, "There is no help but
that I go to the Grand Chamberlain, and I must hope for the
aidance of the Subtle, the All-Wise!" Then she rose from her
place and betook herself to the house of the Chamberlain who was
now become Sultan, and she found him sitting upon his carpet. So
she went in to his wife, Nuzhat al-Zaman, and wept with sore
weeping and said unto her, "Verily the dead hath no friend! May
Allah never bring you to want as long as your age and the years
endure, and may you cease not to rule justly over rich and poor.
Thine ears have heard and thine eyes have seen all that was ours
of kingship and honour and dignity and wealth and fair fortune of
life and condition; and now Time hath turned upon us, and fate
and the world have betrayed us and wrought in hostile way with
us, wherefore I come to thee craving thy favours, I from whom
favours were craved: for when a man dieth, women and maidens are
brought to despisal." And she repeated these couplets,

"Suffice thee Death such marvels can enhance, *
And severed lives make lasting severance:
Man's days are marvels, and their stations are *
But water-pits[FN#64] of misery and mischance.
Naught wrings my heart save loss of noble friends, *
Girt round by rings of hard, harsh circumstance."

When Nuzhat al-Zaman heard these words, she remembered her
brother, Zau al-Makan, and his son Kanmakan, and, making her draw
near to her and showing her honour, she said, "Verily at this
moment, by Allah, I am grown rich and thou art poor; now by the
Lord! we did not cease to seek thee out, but we feared to wound
thy heart lest thou shouldest fancy our gifts to thee an alms
gift. Withal, whatso weal we now enjoy is from thee and thy
husband; so our house is thy house and our place thy place, and
thine is all our wealth and what goods we have belong to thee."
Then she robed her in sumptuous robes and set apart for her a
place in the Palace adjoining her own; and they abode therein,
she and her son, in all delight of life. And Nuzhat al-Zaman
clothed him also in Kings' raiment and gave to them both especial
handmaids for their service. After a little, she related to her
husband the sad case of the widow of her brother, Zau al-Makan,
whereat his eyes filled with tears and he said, "Wouldest thou
see the world after thee, look thou upon the world after other
than thyself. Then entreat her honourably and enrich her
poverty."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.

When It was the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat
Al-Zaman related to her husband the sad case of the widow of her
brother, Zau al-Makan, the Chamberlain said, "Entreat her
honourably and enrich her poverty." Thus far concerning Nuzhat
al-Zaman and her consort and the relict of Zau al-Makan; but as
regards Kanmakan and his cousin Kuzia Fakan, they grew up and
flourished till they waxed like unto two fruit-laden boughs or
two shining moons; and they reached the age of fifteen. And she
was indeed the fairest of maids who are modestly veiled, lovely
faced with smooth cheeks graced, and slender waist on heavy hips
based; and her shape was the shaft's thin line and her lips were
sweeter than old wine and the nectar of her mouth as it were the
fountain Salsabil[FN#65]; even as saith the poet in these two
couplets describing one like her,

"As though ptisane of wine on her lips honey dew *
Dropt from the ripened grapes her mouth in clusters grew
And, when her frame thou doublest, and low bends her vine, *
Praise her Creator's might no creature ever knew."

Of a truth Allah had united in her every charm: her shape would
shame the branch of waving tree and the rose before her cheeks
craved lenity; and the honey dew of her lips of wine made jeer,
however old and clear, and she gladdened heart and beholder with
joyous cheer, even as saith of her the poet,

"Goodly of gifts is she, and charm those perfect eyes, *
With lashes shaming Kohl and all the fair ones Kohl'd[FN#66]
And from those eyne the glances pierce the lover's heart, *
Like sword in Mir al-Muminina Ali's hold."

And (the relator continueth) as for Kanmakan, he became unique in
loveliness and excelling in perfection no less; none could even
him in qualities as in seemliness and the sheen of velour between
his eyes was espied, testifying for him while against him it
never testified. The hardest hearts inclined to his side; his
eyelids bore lashes black as by Kohl; and he was of surpassing
worth in body and soul. And when the down of lips and cheeks
began to sprout bards and poets sang for him far and near,

"Appeared not my excuse till hair had clothed his cheek, *
And gloom o'ercrept that side-face (sight to stagger!)
A fawn, when eyes would batten on his charms, *
Each glance deals thrust like point of Khanjar-dagger."

And saith another,

"His lovers' souls have drawn upon his cheek *
An ant that perfected its rosy light:
I marvel at such martyrs Laza-pent *
Who yet with greeny robes of Heaven are dight.''[FN#67]

Now it chanced one holiday, that Kuzia Fakan fared forth to make
festival with certain kindred of the court, and she went
surrounded by her handmaids. And indeed beauty encompassed her,
the roses of her cheeks dealt envy to their mole; from out her
smiling lips levee flashed white, gleaming like the
chamomile[FN#68]; and Kanmakan began to turn about her and devour
her with his sight, for she was the moon of resplendent light.
Then he took heart and giving his tongue a start began to
improvise,

"When shall the disappointed heart be healed of severance, *
And lips of Union smile at ceasing of our hard mischance?
Would Heaven I knew shall come some night, and with it surely
bring * Meeting with friend who like myself endureth
sufferance."[FN#69]

When Kuzia Fakan heard these couplets, she showed vexation and
disapproval and, putting on a haughty and angry air, said to him,
"Dost thou name me in thy verse, to shame me amongst folk? By
Allah, if thou turn not from this talk, I will assuredly complain
of thee to the Grand Chamberlain, Sultan of Khorasan and Baghdad
and lord of justice and equity; that disgrace and punishment may
befal thee!" Kanmakan made no reply for anger but he returned to
Baghdad; and Kuzia Fakan also returned to her palace and
complained of her cousin to her mother, who said to her, "O my
daughter, haply he meant thee no harm, and is he aught but an
orphan? Withal, he said nought of reproach to thee; so beware
thou tell none of this, lest perchance it come to e Sultan's ears
and he cut short his life and blot out his name and make it even
as yesterday, whose memory hath passed away." However, Kanmakan's
love for Kuzia Fakan spread abroad in Baghdad, so that the women
talked of it. Moreover, his breast became straitened and his
patience waned and he knew not what to do, yet he could not hide
his condition from the world. Then longed he to give vent to the
pangs he endured, by reason of the lowe of separation; but he
feared her rebuke and her wrath; so he began improvising,

"Now is my dread to incur reproaches, which *
Disturb her temper and her mind obscure,
Patient I'll bear them; e'en as generous youth his case to
cure.'' * Beareth the burn of brand his case to
cure."[FN#70]

And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.

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

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Grand Chamberlain became Sultan they named him King Sasan; and
after he had assumed the throne he governed the people in
righteous way. Now as he was giving audience one day, Kanmakan's
verses came to his knowledge. Thereupon he repented him of the
past and going in to his wife Nuzhat al-Zaman, said to her,
"Verily, to join Halfah grass and fire,[FN#71] is the greatest of
risks, and man may not be trusted with woman, so long as eye
glanceth and eyelid quivereth. Now thy brother's son, Kanmakan,
is come to man's estate and it behoveth us to forbid him access
to the rooms where anklets trinkle, and it is yet more needful to
forbid thy daughter the company of men, for the like of her
should be kept in the Harim." Replied she, "Thou sayest sooth, O
wise King!" Next day came Kanmakan according to his wont; and,
going in to his aunt saluted her. She returned his salutation
and said to him, "O my son! I have some what to say to thee
which I would fain leave unsaid; yet I must tell it thee despite
my inclination." Quoth he, "Speak;" and quoth she, Know then that
thy sire the Chamberlain, the father of Kuzia Fakan, hath heard
of the verses thou madest anent her, and hath ordered that she be
kept in the Harim and out of thy reach; if therefore, O my son,
thou want anything from us, I will send it to thee from behind
the door; and thou shalt not look upon Kuzia Fakan nor shalt thou
return hither from this day forth." When he heard this he arose
and withdrew with out speaking a single word; and, betaking
himself to his mother related what his aunt had said. She
observed, "This all cometh of thine overtalking. Thou knowest
that the news of thy passion for Kuzia Fakan is noised abroad and
the tattle hath spread everywhere how thou eatest their food and
thereafter thou courtest their daughter." Rejoined he, "And who
should have her but I? She is the daughter of my father's
brother and I have the best of rights to her." Retorted his
mother, "These are idle words. Be silent, lest haply thy talk
come to King Sasan's ears and it prove the cause of thy losing
her and the reason of thy ruin and increase of thine affliction.
They have not sent us any supper to-night and we shall die an
hungered; and were we in any land but this, we were already dead
of famine or of shame for begging our bread." When Kanmakan heard
these words from his mother, his regrets redoubled; his eyes ran
over with tears and he complained and began improvising,

"Minish this blame I ever bear from you: *
My heart loves her to whom all love is due:
Ask not from me of patience jot or little, *
Divorce of Patience by God's House! I rue:
What blamers preach of patience I unheed; *
Here am I, love path firmly to pursue!
Indeed they bar me access to my love, *
Here am I by God's ruth no ill I sue!
Good sooth my bones, whenas they hear thy name, *
Quail as birds quailed when Nisus o'er them flew:[FN#72]
Ah! say to them who blame my love that I *
Will love that face fair cousin till I die."

And when he had ended his verses he said to his mother, "I have
no longer a place in my aunt's house nor among these people, but
I will go forth from the palace and abide in the corners of the
city." So he and his mother left the court; and, having sought an
abode in the neighbourhood of the poorer sort, there settled; but
she used to go from time to time to King Sasan's palace and
thence take daily bread for herself and her son. As this went on
Kuzia Fakan took her aside one day and said to her, "Alas, O my
naunty, how is it with thy son?" Replied she, "O my daughter,
sooth to say, he is tearful-eyed and heavy hearted, being fallen
into the net of thy love." And she repeated to her the couplets
he had made; whereupon Kuzia Fakan wept and said, "By Allah! I
rebuked him not for his words, nor for ill-will to him, but
because I feared for him the malice of foes. Indeed my passion
for him is double that he feeleth for me; my tongue may not
describe my yearning for him; and were it not for the extravagant
wilfulness of his words and the wanderings of his wit, my father
had not cut off from him favours that besit, nor had decreed unto
him exclusion and prohibition as fit. However, man's days bring
nought but change, and patience in all case is most becoming:
peradventure He who ordained our severance will vouchsafe us
reunion!" And she began versifying in these two couplets,

"O son of mine uncle! same sorrow I bear, *
And suffer the like of thy cark and thy care
Yet hide I from man what I suffer for pine; *
Hide it too, and such secret to man never bare!"

When his mother heard this from her, she thanked her and blessed
her: then she left her and acquainted her son with what she had
said; whereupon his desire for her increased and he took heart,
being eased of his despair and the turmoil of his love and care.
And he said, "By Allah, I desire none but her!"; and he began
improvising,

"Leave this blame, I will list to no flout of my foe! *
I divulged a secret was told me to keep:
He is lost to my sight for whose union I yearn, *
And I watch all the while he can slumber and sleep."

So the days and nights went by whilst Kanmakan lay tossing upon
coals of fire,[FN#73] till he reached the age of seventeen; and
his beauty had waxt perfect and his wits were at their brightest.
One night, as he lay awake, he communed with himself and said,
"Why should I keep silence till I waste away and see not my
lover? Fault have I none save poverty; so, by Allah, I am
resolved to remove me from this region and wander over the wild
and the word; for my position in this city is a torture and I
have no friend nor lover therein to comfort me; wherefore I am
determined to distract myself by absence from my native land till
I die and take my rest after this shame and tribulation." And he
began to improvise and recited these couplets,

"Albeit my vitals quiver 'neath this ban; *
Before the foe myself I'll ne'er unman!
So pardon me, my vitals are a writ *
Whose superscription are my tears that ran:
Heigh ho! my cousin seemeth Houri may *
Come down to earth by reason of Rizwan:
'Scapes not the dreadful sword lunge of her look *
Who dares the glancing of those eyne to scan:
O'er Allah's wide spread world I'll roam and roam, *
And from such exile win what bread I can
Yes, o'er broad earth I'll roam and save my soul, *
All but her absence bear ing like a man
With gladsome heart I'll haunt the field of fight, *
And meet the bravest Brave in battle van!"

So Kanmakan fared forth from the palace barefoot and he walked in
a short sleeved gown, wearing on his head a skull cap of
felt[FN#74] seven years old and carrying a scone three days
stale, and in the deep glooms of night betook himself to the
portal of al-Arij of Baghdad. Here he waited for the gate being
opened and when it was opened, he was the first to pass through
it; and he went out at random and wandered about the wastes night
and day. When the dark hours came, his mother sought him but
found him not; whereupon the world waxt strait upon her for all
that it was great and wide, and she took no delight in aught of
weal it supplied. She looked for him a first day and a second
day and a third day till ten days were past, but no news of him
reached her. Then her breast became contracted and she shrieked
and shrilled, saying, "O my son! O my darling! thou hast
revived my regrets. Sufficed not what I endured, but thou must
depart from my home? After thee I care not for food nor joy in
sleep, and naught but tears and mourning are left me. O my son,
from what land shall I call thee? And what town hath given thee
refuge?" Then her sobs burst out, and she began repeating these
couplets,

"Well learnt we, since you left, our grief and sorrow to
sustain, * While bows of severance shot their shafts in
many a railing rain:
They left me, after girthing on their selles of corduwayne *
To fight the very pangs of death while spanned they sandy
plain:
Mysterious through the nightly gloom there came the moan of
dove; * A ring dove, and replied I, 'Cease thy plaint, how
durst complain?'
If, by my life, her heart, like mine, were full of pain and
pine * She had not decks her neck with ring nor sole with
ruddy stain.[FN#75]
Fled is mine own familiar friend, bequeathing me a store *
Of parting pang and absence ache to suffer evermore."

Then she abstained from food and drink and gave herself up to
excessive tear shedding and lamentation. Her grief became public
property far and wide and all the people of the town and country
side wept with her and cried, "Where is thine eye, O Zau al-
Makan?" And they bewailed the rigours of Time, saying, "Would
Heaven we knew what hath befallen Kanmakan that he fled his
native town, and chased himself from the place where his father
used to fill all in hungry case and do justice and grace?" And
his mother redoubled her weeping and wailing till the news of
Kanmakan's departure came to King Sasan.--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Fortieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that came to
King Sasan the tidings of the departure of Kanmakan, through the
Chief Emirs who said to him, "Verily he is the son of our Sovran
and the seed of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman and it hath reached us
that he hath exiled himself from the land." When King Sasan heard
these words, he was wroth with them and ordered one of them to be
hanged by way of silencing him, whereat the fear of him fell upon
the hearts of all the other Grandees and they dared not speak one
word. Then he called to mind all the kindness that Zau al-Makan
had done him, and how he had charged him with the care of his
son; wherefore he grieved for Kanmakan and said, "Needs must I
have search made for him in all countries." So he summoned
Tarkash and bade him choose an hundred horse and wend with them
in quest of the Prince. Accordingly he went out and was absent
ten days, after which he returned and said, "I can learn no
tidings of him and have hit on no trace of him, nor can any tell
me aught of him." Upon this King Sasan repented him of that which
he had done by the Prince; whilst his mother abode in unrest
continual nor would patience come at her call: and thus passed
over her twenty days in heaviness all. This is how it fared with
these; but as regards Kanmakan, when he left Baghdad, he went
forth perplexed about his case and knowing not whither he should
go: so he fared on alone through the desert for three days and
saw neither footman nor horseman; withal, his sleep fled and his
wakefulness redoubled, for he pined after his people and his
homestead. He ate of the herbs of the earth and drank of its
flowing waters and siesta'd under its trees at hours of noontide
heats, till he turned from that road to another way and,
following it other three days, came on the fourth to a land of
green leas, dyed with the hues of plants and trees and with
sloping valley sides made to please, abounding with the fruits of
the earth. It had drunken of the cups of the cloud, to the sound
of thunders rolling loud and the song of the turtle-dove gently
sough'd, till its hill slopes were brightly verdant and its
fields were sweetly fragrant. Then Kanmakan recalled his
father's city Baghdad, and for excess of emotion he broke out
into verse,

"I roam, and roaming hope I to return; *
Yet of returning see not how or when:
I went for love of one I could not win, *
Nor way of 'scaping ills that pressed could ken."

When he ended his recital he wept, but presently he wiped away
his tears and ate of the fruits of the earth enough for his
present need. Then he made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the
ordained prayers which he had neglected all this time; and he sat
resting in that place through the livelong day. When night came
he slept and ceased not sleeping till midnight, when he awoke and
heard a human voice declaiming these couplets,

"What's life to me, unless I see the pearly sheen *
Of teeth I love, and sight that glorious mien?
Pray for her Bishops who in convents reign, *
Vying to bow before that heavenly queen.
And Death is lighter than the loved one's wrath, *
Whose phantom haunts me seen in every scene:
O joy of cup companions, when they meet, *
And loved and lover o'er each other lean!
E'en more in time of spring, the lord of flowers, *
When fragrant is the world with bloom and green:
Drainer of vine-juice! up wi' thee, for now *
Earth is a Heaven where sweet waters flow.[FN#76]"

When Kanmakan heard these distichs his sorrows surged up; his
tears ran down his cheeks like freshets and flames of fire darted
into his heart. So he rose to see who it was that spake these
words, but saw none for the thickness of the gloom; whereupon
passion increased on him and he was frightened and restlessness
possessed him. He descended from his place to the sole of the
valley and walked along the banks of the stream, till he heard
the same voice sighing heavy sighs and reciting these couplets,

"Tho' 'tis thy wont to hide thy love perforce, *
Yet weep on day of parting and divorce!
Twixt me and my dear love were plighted vows; *
Pledge of reunion, fonder intercourse:
With joy inspires my heart and deals it rest *
Zephyr, whose coolness doth desire enforce.
O Sa'ada,[FN#77] thinks of me that anklet wearer? *
Or parting broke she troth without remorse?
And say! shall nights foregather us, and we *
Of suffered hardships tell in soft discourse?
Quoth she, 'Thou'rt daft for us and fey'; quoth I, *
' 'Sain thee! how many a friend hast turned to corse!'
If taste mine eyes sweet sleep while she's away, *
Allah with loss of her these eyne accurse.
O wounds in vitals mine! for cure they lack *
Union and dewy lips' sweet theriack."[FN#78]

When Kanmakan heard this verse again spoken by the same voice yet
saw no one, he knew that the speaker was a lover like unto
himself, debarred from union with her who loved him; and he said
to himself, "'Twere fitting that this man should lay his head to
my head and become my comrade in this my strangerhood."[FN#79]
Then he hailed the speaker and cried out to him, saying, "O thou
who farest in sombrest night, draw near to me and tell me thy
tale haply thou shalt find me one who will succour thee in thy
sufferings." And when the owner of the voice heard these words,
he cried out, "O thou that respondest to my complaint and
wouldest hear my history, who art thou amongst the knights? Art
thou human or Jinni? Answer me speedily ere thy death draw near
for I have wandered in this desert some twenty days and have seen
no one nor heard any voice but thy voice." At these words
Kanmakan said to himself, "This one's case is like my case, for
I, even I, have wandered twenty days, nor during my wayfare have
I seen man or heard voice:" and he added, "I will make him no
answer till day arise." So he was silent, and the voice again
called out to him, saying, "O thou that callest, if thou be of
the Jinn fare in peace and, if thou be man, stay awhile till the
day break stark and the night flee with the dark." The speaker
abode in his place and Kanmakan did likewise and the twain in
reciting verses never failed, and wept tears that railed till the
light of day began loom and the night departed with its gloom.
Then Kanmakan looked at the other and found him to be of the
Badawi Arabs, a youth in the flower of his age; clad in worn
clothes and bearing in baldrick a rusty sword which he kept
sheathed, and the signs of love longing were apparent on him. He
went up to him and accosted him and saluted him, and the Badawi
returned the salute and greeted him with courteous wishes for his
long life, but somewhat despised him, seeing his tender years and
his condition, which was that of a pauper. So he said to him, "O
youth, of what tribe art thou and to whom art thou kin among the
Arabs; and what is thy history that thou goest by night, after
the fashion of knights? Indeed thou spakest to me in the dark
words such as are spoken of none but doughty cavaliers and lion-
like warriors; and now I hold thy life in hand. But I have
compassion on thee by reason of thy green years; so I will make
thee my companion and thou shalt go with me, to do me service."
When Kanmakan heard him speak these unseemly words, after showing
him such skill in verse, he knew that he despised him and would
presume with him; therefore he answered him with soft and well-
chosen speech, saying, "O Chief of the Arabs, leave my tenderness
of age and tell me why thou wanderest by night in the desert
reciting verses. Thou talkest, I see, of my serving thee; who
then art thou and what moved thee to talk this wise?" Answered
he, "Hark ye, boy! I am Sabbah, son of Rammah bin Humam.[FN#80]
My people are of the Arabs of Syria and I have a cousin, Najmah
highs, who to all that look on her brings delight. And when my
father died I was brought up in the house of his brother, the
father of Najmah; but as soon I grew up and my uncle's daughter
became a woman, they secluded her from me and me from her, seeing
that I was poor and without money in pouch. Then the Chiefs of
the Arabs and the heads of the tribes rebuked her sire, and he
was abashed before them and consented to give me my cousin, but
upon condition that I should bring him as her dower fifty head of
horses and fifty dromedaries which travel ten days[FN#81] without
a halt and fifty camels laden with wheat and a like number laden
with barley, together with ten black slaves and ten handmaids.
Thus the weight he set upon me was beyond my power to bear; for
he exacted more than the marriage settlement as by law
established. So here am I, travelling from Syria to Irak, and I
have passed twenty days with out seeing other than thyself; yet I
mean to go to Baghdad that I may ascertain what merchant men of
wealth and importance start thence. Then will I fare forth in
their track and loot their goods, and I will slay their escort
and drive off their camels with their loads. But what manner of
man art thou?" Replied Kanmakan, "Thy case is like unto my case,
save that my evil is more grievous than thine ill; for my cousin
is a King's daughter and the dowry of which thou hast spoken
would not content her people, nor would they be satisfied with
the like of that from me." Quoth Sabbah, "Surely thou art a fool
or thy wits for excess of passion are gathering wool! How can
thy cousin be a King's daughter? Thou hast no sign of royal rank
on thee, for thou art but a mendicant." Re joined Kanmakan, "O
Chief of the Arabs, let not this my case seem strange to thee;
for what happened, happened;[FN#82] and if thou desire proof of
me, I am Kanmakan, son of King Zau al-Makan, son of King Omar bin
al-Nu'uman Lord of Baghdad and the realm Khorasan; and Fortune
banned me with her tyrant ban, for my father died and my
Sultanate was taken by King Sasan. So I fled forth from Baghdad
secretly, lest I be seen of any man, and have wandered twenty
days without any but thyself to scan. So now I have discovered
to thee my case, and my story is as thy story and my need as thy
need." When Sabbab heard this, he cried out, "O my joy, I have
attained my desire! I will have no loot this day but thy self;
for since thou art of the seed of Kings and hast come out in
beggar's garb, there is no help but thy people will seek thee;
and, if they find thee in any one's power, they will ransom thee
with monies galore. So show me thy back, O my lad, and walk
before me." Answered Kanmakan, "O brother of the Arabs, act not
on this wise, for my people will not buy me with silver nor with
gold, not even with a copper dirham; and I am a poor man, having
with me neither much nor little, so cease then to be upon this
track and take me to thy comrade. Fare we forth for the land of
Irak and wander over the world, so haply we may win dower and
marriage portion, and we may seek and enjoy our cousins' kisses
and embraces when we come back." Hearing this, Sabbah waxed
angry; his arrogance and fury redoubled and he said, "Woe to
thee! Dost thou bandy words with me, O vilest of dogs that be?
Turn thee thy back, or I will come down on thee with clack!"
Kanmakan smiled and answered, "Why should I turn my back for
thee? Is there no justice in thee? Dost thou not fear to bring
blame upon the Arab men by driving a man like myself captive, in
shame and disdain, before thou hast proved him on the plain, to
know if he be a warrior or of cowardly strain?" Upon this Sabbah
laughed and replied, "By Allah, a wonder! Thou art a boy in
years told, but in talk thou art old. These words should come
from none but a champion doughty and bold: what wantest thou of
justice?" Quoth Kanmakan, "If thou wilt have me thy captive, to
wend with thee and serve thee, throw down thine arms and put off
thine outer gear and come on and wrestle with me; and whichever
of us throw his opponent shall have his will of him and make him
his boy." Then Sabbah laughed and said, "I think this waste of
breath de noteth the nearness of thy death." Then he arose and
threw down his weapon and, tucking up his skirt, drew near unto
Kanmakan who also drew near and they gripped each other. But the
Badawi found that the other had the better of him and weighed him
down as the quintal downweighs the diner; and he looked at his
legs firmly planted on the ground, and saw that they were as two
minarets[FN#83] strongly based, or two tent-poles in earth
encased, or two mountains which may not he displaced. So he
acknowledged himself to be a failure and repented of having come
to wrestle with him, saying in himself, "Would I had slain him
with my weapon!" Then Kanmakan took hold of him and mastering
him, shook him till the Badawi thought his bowels would burst in
his belly, and he broke out, "Hold thy hand, O boy!" He heeded
not his words, but shook him again and, lifting him from the
ground, made with him towards the stream, that he might throw him
therein: where upon the Badawi roared out, saying, "O thou
valiant man, what wilt thou do with me?"[FN#84] Quoth he, "I mean
to throw thee into this stream: it will bear thee to the Tigris.
The Tigris will bring thee to the river Isa and the Isa will
carry thee to the Euphrates, and the Euphrates will land thee in
shine own country; so thy tribe shall see thee and know thy manly
cheer and how thy passion be sincere." Then Sabbah cried aloud
and said, "O Champion of the desert lair, do not with me what
deed the wicked dare but let me go, by the life of thy cousin,
the jewel of the fair!" Hearing this, Kanmakan set him on the
ground, but when he found him self at liberty, he ran to his
sword and targe and taking them up stood plotting in himself
treachery and sudden assault on his adversary.[FN#85] The Prince
kenned his intent in his eye and said to him, "I con what is in
thy heart, now thou hast hold of thy sword and thy targe. Thou
hast neither length of hand nor trick of wrestling, but thou
thinkest that, wert thou on thy mare and couldst wheel about the
plain, and ply me with thy skene, I had long ago been slain. But
I will give thee thy requite, so there may be left in thy heart
no despite; now give me the targe and fall on me with thy
whinger; either thou shalt kill me or I shall kill thee." "Here
it is," answered Sabbah and, throwing him the targe, bared his
brand and rushed at him sword in hand; Kanmakan hent the buckler
in his right and began to fend himself with it, whilst Sabbah
struck at him, saying at each stroke, "This is the finishing
blow!" But it fell harmless enow, for Kanmakan took all on his
buckler and it was waste work, though he did not reply lacking
the wherewithal to strike and Sabbah ceased not to smite at him
with his sabre, till his arm was weary. When his opponent saw
this, he rushed upon him and, hugging him in his arms, shook him
and threw him to the ground. Then he turned him over on his face
and pinioned his elbows behind him with the baldrick of his
sword, and began to drag him by the feet and to make for the
river. Thereupon cried Sabbah, "What wilt thou do with me, O
youth, and cavalier of the age and brave of the plain where
battles rage?" Answered he, "Did I not tell thee that it was my
intent to send thee by the river to thy kin and to thy tribe,
that thy heart be not troubled for them nor their hearts be
troubled for thee, and lest thou miss thy cousin's bride-feast!"
At this Sabbah shrieked aloud and wept and screaming said, "Do
not thus, O champion of the time's braves! Let me go and make me
one of thy slaves!" And he wept and wailed and began reciting
these verses,

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