The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4

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When it was the Three Hundred and Fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that he
continued on this wise: "And we fared on till we fell in with the
folk who had shown me the way to her. So I said to them, 'Point
me out a path which shall lead me to my home,' and they did
accordingly, and brought us a-foot to the sea-shore and set us
aboard a vessel which sailed on before us with a fair wind, till
we reached Bassorah-city. And when we entered the house of my
father-in-law and her people saw my wife, they rejoiced with
exceeding joy. Then I fumigated the vulture with musk and lo! the
Ifrits flocked to me from all sides, saying, 'At thy service what
wilt thou have us do?' So I bade them transport all that was in
the City of Brass of monies and noble metals and stones of price
to my house in Bassorah, which they did; and I then ordered them
to bring me the ape. They brought him before me, abject and
contemptible, and I said to him, 'O accursed, why hast thou dealt
thus perfidiously with me?' Then I com mended the Ifrits to shut
him in a brazen vessel[FN#245] so they put him in a brazen
cucurbite and sealed it with lead. But I abode with my wife in
joy and delight; and now, O Commander of the Faithful, I have
under my hand precious things in such measure and rare jewels and
other treasure and monies on such wise as neither reckoning may
express nor may limits comprise; and, if thou lust after wealth
or aught else, I will command the Jinn at once to do thy desire.
But all this is of the bounty of Almighty Allah." Thereupon the
Commander of the Faithful wondered greatly and bestowed on him
imperial gifts, in exchange for his presents, and entreated him
with the favour he deserved. And men also tell the tale of the

GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE
BARMECIDE WITH MANSUR.

It is told that Harun al-Rashid, in the days before he became
jealous of the Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, Salih
by name, and said to him, "O Salih, go to Mansur[FN#246] and say
to him: 'Thou owest us a thousand thousand dirhams and we require
of thee immediate payment of this amount.' And I command thee, O
Salih, unless he pay it between this hour and sundown, sever his
head from his body and bring it to me." "To hear is to obey,"
answered Salih and, going to Mansur, acquainted him with what the
Caliph had said, whereupon quoth he, "I am a lost man, by Allah;
for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if sold for their
utmost value, would not fetch a price of more than an hundred
thousand dirhams. Whence then, O Salih, shall I get the other
nine hundred thousand?" Salih replied, "Contrive how thou mayst
speedily acquit thyself, else thou art a dead man; for I cannot
grant thee an eye-twinkling of delay after the time appointed me
by the Caliph; nor can I fail of aught which the Prince of True
Believers hath enjoined on me. Hasten, therefore, to devise some
means of saving thyself ere the time expire." Quoth Mansur, "O
Salih, I beg thee of thy favour to bring me to my house, that I
may take leave of my children and family and give my kinsfolk my
last injunctions." Now Salih relateth: "So I went with him to his
house where he fell to bidding his family farewell, and the house
was filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentations and calling
for help on Almighty Allah. Thereupon I said to him, 'I have
bethought me that Allah may haply vouchsafe thee relief at the
hands of the Barmecides. Come, let us go to the house of Yahya
bin Khalid.' So we went to Yahya's house, and Mansur told him his
case, whereat he was sore concerned and bowed him groundwards for
a while, then raising his head, he called his treasurer and said
to him, 'How much have we in our treasury?' 'A matter of five
thousand dirhams,' answered the treasurer, and Yahya bade him
bring them and sent a messenger to his son, Al-Fazl, saying, 'I
am offered for sale a splendid estate which may never be laid
waste; so send me somewhat of money.' Al-Fazl sent him a thousand
thousand dirhams, and he despatched a mes senger with a like
message to his son Ja'afar, saying, 'We have a matter of much
moment and for it we want money;' whereupon Ja'afar at once sent
him a thousand thousand dirhams; nor did Yahya leave sending to
his kinsmen of the Barmecides, till he had collected from them a
great sum of money for Mansur. But Salih and the debtor knew not
of this; and Mansur said to Yahya, 'O my lord, I have laid hold
upon thy skirt, for I know not whither to look for the money but
to thee, in accordance with thy wonted generosity; so discharge
thou the rest of my debt for me and make me thy freed slave.'
Thereupon Yahya hung down his head and wept; then he said to a
page, 'Harkye, boy, the Commander of the Faithful gave our slave-
girl Dananir a jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her
send it to us.' The page went out and presently returned with the
jewel, whereupon quoth Yahya, 'O Mansur, I bought this jewel of
the merchant for the Commander of the Faithful, at a price of two
hundred thousand dinars,[FN#247] and he gave it to our slave-girl
Dananir, the lute-player; and when he sees it with thee, he will
know it and spare thy blood and do thee honour for our sake; and
now, O Mansur, verily thy money is complete.' (Salih continued)
So I took the money and the jewel and carried them to al-Rashid
together with Mansur, but on the way I heard him repeat this
couplet, applying it to his own case,

''Twas not of love that fared my feet to them; * 'Twas that I
feared me lest they shoot their shafts!'

Now when I heard this, I marvelled at his evil nature and his
depravity and mischief-making and his ignoble birth and
provenance and, turning upon him, I said, 'There is none on the
face of the earth better or more righteous than the Barmecides,
nor any baser nor more wrongous than thou; for they bought thee
off from death and delivered thee from destruction, giving thee
what should save thee; yet thou thankest them not nor praises"
them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of the noble; nay,
thou meetest their benevolence with this speech.' Then I went to
Al-Rashid and acquainted him with all that had passed" And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Salih con
tinued: "So I acquainted the Commander of the Faithful with all
that passed and Al-Rashid marvelled at the generosity and
benevolence of Yahya and the vileness and ingratitude of Mansur,
and bade restore the jewel to Yahya, saying, 'Whatso we have
given it befitteth us not to take again.' After that Salih
returned to Yahya and acquainted him with the tale of Mansur and
his ill-conduct; whereupon replied he, 'O Salih, when a man is in
want, sick at heart and sad of thought, he is not to be blamed
for aught that falleth from him; for it cometh not from the
heart;' and on this wise he took to seeking excuse for Mansur.
But Salih wept and exclaimed, 'Never shall the revolving heavens
bring forth into being the like of thee, O Yahya! Alas, and well-
away, that one of such noble nature and generosity should be laid
in the dust!' And he repeated these two couplets,

'Haste to do kindness thou cost intend; * Thou canst not always
on boons expend:
How many from bounty themselves withheld, * Till means of bounty
had come to end!'"

And men tell another tale of the

GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHALID
WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER IN HIS
NAME.

There was between Yahya bin Khalid and Abdullah bin Malik al-
Khuza'i,[FN#248] an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of
the hatred being that Harun al-Rashid loved Abdullah with
exceeding love, so that Yahya and his sons were wont to say that
he had bewitched the Commander of the Faithful. And thus they
abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts, till it fell
out that the Caliph invested Abdullah with the government of
Armenia[FN#249] and despatched him thither. Now soon after he had
settled himself in his seat of government, there came to him one
of the people of Irak, a man of good breeding and excellent parts
and abundant cleverness; but he had lost his money and wasted his
wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so he forged a letter
to Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin Khalid and set out
therewith for Armenia. Now when he came to the Governor's gate,
he gave the letter to one of the Chamberlains, who took it and
carried it to his master. Abdullah opened it and read it and,
considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for
the man, who presented himself before him and called down
blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth
Abdullah to him, "What moved thee to weary thyself on this wise
and bring me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we will
not disappoint thy travail." Replied the other, "Allah prolong
the life of our lord the Wazir! If my coming annoy thee, cast not
about for a pretext to repel me, for Allah's earth is wide and He
who giveth daily bread still liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring
thee from Yahya bin Khalid is true and no forgery." Quoth
Abdullah, "I will write a letter to my agent[FN#250] at Baghdad
and command him enquire concerning this same letter. If it be
true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by thee, I will
bestow on thee the Emirship of one of my cities; or, if thou
prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams,
besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if
the letter prove a forgery, I will order thou be beaten with two
hundred blows of a stick and thy beard be shaven." So Abdullah
bade confine him in a chamber and furnish him therein with all he
needed, till his case should be made manifest. Then he despatched
a letter to his agent at Baghdad, to the following effect: "There
is come to me a man with a letter purporting to be from Yahya bin
Khalid. Now I have my suspicions of this letter: therefore delay
thou not in the matter, but go thyself and look carefully into
the case and let me have an answer with all speed, in order that
we may know what is true and what is untrue." When the letter
reached Baghdad, the agent mounted at once,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent
of Abdullah, son of Malik al-Khuza'i, on receipt of the letter at
Baghdad, mounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin
Khalid, whom he found sitting with his officers and boon-
companions. After the usual salute he gave him the letter and
Yahya read it and said to the agent, "Come back to me tomorrow
for my written answer." Now when the agent had gone away, Yahya
turned to his companions and said, "What doth he deserve who
forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe?" They
answered all and each, saying this and that, and every one
proposing some kind of punishment; but Yahya said, "Ye err in
that ye say and this your counsel is of the baseness of your
spirits and the meanness of your minds. Ye all know the close
favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye weet of what is between
him and us of anger and enmity; and now Almighty Allah hath made
this man the means of reconciliation between us; and hath fitted
him for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the fire of
ire in our hearts, which hath been growing these twenty years;
and by his means our differences shall be adjusted. Wherefore it
behoveth me to requite such man by verifying his assertion and
amending his estate; so I will write him a letter to Abdullah son
of Malik, praying that he may use him with increase of honour and
continue to him his liberality." Now when his companions heard
what he said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at
his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. Then he
called for paper and ink and wrote Abdullah a letter in his own
hand, to the following effect: "In the name of Allah, the
Compassionating' the Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter hath
reached me (Allah give thee long life!) and I am glad to hear of
thy safety and am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and
prosperity. It was thy thought that a certain worthy man had
forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any
message from the same; but the case is not so, for the letter I
myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy
and consideration and the nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt
gratify this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish, and
honour him with the honour he deserveth and bring him to his
desire and make him the special-object of thy favour and
munificence. Whatso thou dost with him, it is to me that thou
dost the kindness, and I am thankful to thee accordingly." Then
he superscribed the letter and after sealing it, delivered it to
the agent, who despatched it to Abdullah. Now when the Governor
read it, he was charmed with its contents, and sending for the
man, said to him, "Whichever of the two promised boons is the
more acceptable to thee that will I give thee." The man replied,
"The money gift were more acceptable to me than aught else,"
whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhams and
ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and other five with
richly ornamented saddles, used in state processions; besides
twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a
proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed
on him a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great
splendour. So when he came thither, he repaired to the door of
Yahya's house, before he went to his own folk, and craved
permission to enter and have audience. The Chamberlain went in to
Yahya and said to him, "O my lord, there is one at the door who
craveth speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth,
courteous in manner, comely of aspect and attended by many
servants." Then Yahya bade admit him; and, when he entered and
kissed the ground before him, Yahya asked him, "Who art thou?" He
answered, "Hear me, O my lord, I am he who was done dead by the
tyranny of fortune, but thou didst raise me to life again from
the grave of calamities and exalt me to the paradise of my
desires. I am the man who forged a letter in thy name and carried
it to Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i." Yahya asked, "How hath he
dealt with thee and what did he give thee?"; and the man
answered, "He hath given me, thanks to thy hand and thy great
liberality and benevolence and to thy comprehensive kindness and
lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing generosity, that which
hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me with his
gifts and favours. And now I have brought all that he gave me and
here it is at thy door; for it is thine to decide and the command
is in thy hand." Rejoined Yahya, "Thou hast done me better
service than I did thee and I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude
and every gift the white hand[FN#251] can give, for that thou
hast changed into love and amity the hate and enmity that were
between me and a man whom I respect and esteem. Wherefore I will
give thee the like of what Abdullah bin Malik gave thee." Then he
ordered him money and horses and chests of apparel, such as
Abdullah had given him; and thus that man's fortune was restored
to him by the munificence of these two generous ones. And folk
also relate the tale of the

CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE
SCHOLAR.

It is said of Al-Maamun that, among the Caliphs of the house of
Abbas, there was none more accomplished in all branches of
knowledge than he. Now on two days in each week, he was wont to
preside at conferences of the learned, when the lawyers and
theologians disputed in his presence, each sitting in his
several-rank and room. One day as he sat thus, there came into
the assembly a stranger, clad in ragged white clothes, who took
seat in an obscure place behind the doctors of the law. Then the
assembly began to speak and debate difficult questions, it being
the custom that the various propositions should be submitted to
each in turn, and that whoso bethought him of some subtle
addition or rare conceit, should make mention of it. So the
question went round till it came to the strange man, who spake in
his turn and made a goodlier answer than any of the doctors'
replies; and the Caliph approved his speech.----And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
Al-Maamun approved his speech and ordered him to come up from
his low place to a high stead. Now when the second question came
to him, he made a still more notable answer, and Al-Maamun
ordered him to be preferred to a yet higher seat; and when the
third question reached him, he made answer more justly and
appropriately than on the two previous occasions, and Al-Maamun
bade him come up and sit near himself. Presently the discussion
ended when water was brought and they washed their hands after
which food was set on and they ate; and the doctors arose and
withdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to depart with them
and, calling him to himself, treated him with especial-favour and
promised him honour and profit. Thereupon they made ready the
seance of wassail; the fair-faced cup-companions came and the
pure wine[FN#252] went round amongst them, till the cup came to
the stranger, who rose to his feet and spake thus, "If the
Commander of the Faithful permit me, I will say one word."
Answered the Caliph, "Say what thou wilt." Quoth the man "Verily
the Exalted Intelligence (whose eminence Allah increase!) knoweth
that his slave was this day, in the august assembly, one of the
unknown folk and of the meanest of the company; and the Commander
of the Faithful raised his rank and brought him near to himself,
little as were the wit and wisdom he displayed, preferring him
above the rest and advancing him to a station and a degree where
to his thought aspired not. But now he is minded to part him from
that small portion of intellect which raised him high from his
lowness and made him great after his littleness. Heaven forfend
and forbid that the Commander of the Faithful should envy his
slave what little he hath of understanding and worth and renown!
Now, if his slave should drink wine, his reason would depart far
from him and ignorance draw near to him and steal-away his good
breeding, so would he revert to that low and contemptible degree,
whence he sprang, and become ridiculous and despicable in the
eyes of the folk. I hope, therefore, that the August
Intelligence, of his power and bounty and royal-generosity and
magnanimity, will not despoil his slave of this jewel." When the
Caliph Al-Maamun heard his speech, he praised him and thanked him
and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high
honour and ordered him a present of an hundred thousand silver
pieces. Moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich
apparel; and in every assembly he was wont to exalt him and show
him favour over all the other doctors of law and religion till he
became the highest of them all in rank. And Allah is All
knowing.[FN#253] Men also tell a tale of

ALI SHAR[FN#254] AND ZUMURRUD.

There lived once in the days of yore and the good old times long
gone before, in the land of Khorasan, a merchant called Majd
al-Din, who had great wealth and many slaves and servants, white
and black, young and old; but he had not been blessed with a
child until he reached the age of threescore, when Almighty Allah
vouchsafed him a son, whom he named Ali Shar. The boy grew up
like the moon on the night of fulness; and when he came to man's
estate and was endowed with all kinds of perfections, his father
fell sick of a death-malady and, calling his son to him, said, "O
my son, the fated hour of my decease is at hand, and I desire to
give thee my last injunctions." He asked, "And what are they, O
my father?"; and he answered, "O my son, I charge thee, be not
over-familiar with any[FN#255] and eschew what leadeth to evil
and mischief. Beware lest thou sit in company with the wicked;
for he is like the blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his
smoke shall bother thee: and how excellent is the saying of the
poet,[FN#256]

'In thy whole world there is not one,
Whose friendship thou may'st count upon,
Nor plighted faith that will stand true,
When times go hard, and hopes are few.
Then live apart and dwell alone,
Nor make a prop of any one,
I've given a gift in that I've said,
Will stand thy friend in every stead:'

And what another saith,

'Men are a hidden malady; * Rely not on the sham in them:
For perfidy and treachery * Thou'lt find, if thou examine them.'

And yet a third saith,

'Converse with men hath scanty weal, except * To while away the
time in chat and prate:
Then shun their intimacy, save it be * To win thee lore, or
better thine estate.'

And a fourth saith,

'If a sharp-witted wight e'er tried mankind, * I've eaten that
which only tasted he:[FN#257]
Their amity proved naught but wile and guile, * Their faith I
found was but hypocrisy.'"

Quoth Ali, "O my father, I have heard thee and I will obey thee
what more shall I do?" Quoth he, "Do good whereas thou art able;
be ever kind and courteous to men and regard as riches every
occasion of doing a good turn; for a design is not always easily
carried out; and how well saith the poet,

"Tis not at every time and tide unstable, * We can do kindly acts
and charitable:
When thou art able hasten thee to act, * Lest thine endeavour
prove anon unable!'"

Said Ali, "I have heard thee and I will obey thee."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth
replied, "I have heard thee and I will obey thee; what more?" And
his sire continued, "Be thou, O my son, mindful of Allah, so
shall He be mindful of thee. Ward thy wealth and waste it not;
for an thou do, thou wilt come to want the least of mankind. Know
that the measure of a man's worth is according to that which his
right hand hendeth: and how well saith the poet,[FN#258]

'When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend, * And when
it waxeth all men friendship show:
How many a foe for wealth became my friend, * Wealth lost, how
many a friend became a foe!'"

Asked Ali, "What more?" And Majd al-Din answered, "O my son, take
counsel of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy
heart's desire. Have compassion on those who are below thee, so
shall those who are above thee have compassion on thee; and
oppress none, lest Allah empower one who shall oppress thee. How
well saith the poet,

'Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, * For man's true
course hides not from minds of two
Man is a mirror which but shows his face, * And by two mirrors he
his back shall view.'

And as saith another,[FN#259]

'Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast,
To gain the purpose that thou hast
And be thou kindly to all men
So kindly thou'lt be called again;
For not a deed the hand can try,
Save 'neath the hand of God on high,
Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny,
Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'

And as saith yet another,[FN#260]

'Tyrannize not, if thou hast the power to do so; for the
tyrannical-is in danger of revenges.
Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call down
curses on thee, and God's eye sleepeth not.'

Beware of wine-bibbing, for drink is the root of all evil: it
doeth away the reason and bringeth to contempt whoso useth it;
and how well saith the poet,

'By Allah, wine shall not disturb me, while my soul * Join body,
nor while speech the words of me explain:
No day will I be thralled to wine-skin cooled by breeze[FN#261] *
Nor choose a friend save those who are of cups unfair.'

This, then, is my charge to thee; bear it before thine eyes, and
Allah stand to thee in my stead." Then he swooned away and kept
silent awhile; and, when he came to himself, he besought pardon
of Allah and pronounced the profession of the Faith, and was
admitted to the mercy of the Almighty. So his son wept and
lamented for him and presently made proper preparation for his
burial; great and small walked in his funeral-procession and
Koran readers recited Holy Writ about his bier; nor did Ali Shar
omit aught of what was due to the dead. Then they prayed over him
and committed him to the dust and wrote these two couplets upon
his tomb,

'Thou west create of dust and cam'st to life, * And learned'st in
eloquence to place thy trust;
Anon, to dust returning, thou becamest * A corpse, as though
ne'er taken from the dust."

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