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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Now his son Ali Shar grieved for him with sore grief and mourned
him with the ceremonies usual among men of note; nor did he cease
to weep the loss of his father till his mother died also, not
long afterwards, when he did with her as he had done with his
sire. Then he sat in the shop, selling and buying and consorting
with none of Almighty Allah's creatures, in accordance with his
father's injunction. This wise he continued to do for a year, at
the end of which time there came in to him by craft certain
whoreson fellows and consorted with him, till he turned after
their example to lewdness and swerved from the way of
righteousness, drinking wine in flowing bowls and frequenting
fair women night and day; for he said to himself, "Of a truth my
father amassed this wealth for me, and if I spend it not, to whom
shall I leave it? By Allah, I will not do save as saith the poet,

'An through the whole of life * Thou gett'st and gain'st for
self;
Say, when shalt thou enjoy * Thy gains and gotten pelf?'"

And Ali Shar ceased not to waste his wealth all whiles of the day
and all watches of the night, till he had made away with the
whole of his riches and abode in pauper case and troubled at
heart. So he sold his shop and lands and so forth, and after this
he sold the clothes off his body, leaving himself but one suit;
and, as drunkenness quitted him and thoughtfulness came to him,
he fell into grief and sore care. One day, when he had sat from
day-break to mid-afternoon without breaking his fast, he said in
his mind, "I will go round to those on whom I spent my monies:
perchance one of them will feed me this day." So he went the
round of them all; but, as often as he knocked at any one's door
of them, the man denied himself and hid from him, till his
stomach ached with hunger. Then he betook himself to the bazar of
the merchants,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Tenth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar
feeling his stomach ache with hunger, betook himself to the
merchants' bazar where he found a crowd of people assembled in
ring, and said to himself, "I wonder what causeth these folk to
crowd together thus? By Allah, I will not budge hence till I see
what is within yonder ring!" So he made his way into the ring and
found therein a damsel exposed for sale who was five feet
tall,[FN#262] beautifully proportioned, rosy of cheek and high of
breast; and who surpassed all the people of her time in beauty
and loveliness and elegance and grace; even as saith one,
describing her,

"As she willed she was made, and in such a way that when * She
was cast in Nature's mould neither short nor long was she:
Beauty woke to fall in love with the beauties of her form, *
Where combine with all her coyness her pride and pudency:
The full moon is her face[FN#263]and the branchlet is her shape,
* And the musk-pod is her scent--what like her can there be?
'Tis as though she were moulded from water of the pearl, * And in
every lovely limblet another moon we see!"

And her name was Zumurrud--the Smaragdine. So when Ali Shar saw
her, he marvelled at her beauty and grace and said, "By Allah, I
will not stir hence till I see how much this girl fetcheth, and
know who buyeth her!" So he took standing-place amongst the
merchants, and they thought he had a mind to buy her, knowing the
wealth he had inherited from his parents. Then the broker stood
at the damsel's head and said, "Ho, merchants! Ho, ye men of
money! Who will open the gate of biddings for this damsel, the
mistress of moons, the union pearl, Zumurrud the curtain-maker,
the sought of the seeker and the delight of the desirous? Open
the biddings' door and on the opener be nor blame nor reproach
for evermore." Thereupon quoth one merchant, "Mine for five
hundred dinars;" "And ten," quoth another. "Six hundred," cried
an old man named Rashid al-Din, blue of eye[FN#264] and foul of
face. "And ten," cried another. "I bid a thousand," rejoined
Rashid al-Din; whereupon the rival merchants were tongue-tied,
and held their peace and the broker took counsel with the girl's
owner, who said, "I have sworn not to sell her save to whom she
shall choose: so consult her." Thereupon the broker went up to
Zumurrud and said to her, "O mistress of moons this merchant hath
a mind to buy thee." She looked at Rashid al-Din and finding him
as we have said, replied, "I will not be sold to a gray-beard,
whom decrepitude hath brought to such evil plight. Allah inspired
his saying who saith,

'I craved of her a kiss one day; but soon as she beheld * My
hoary hairs, though I my luxuries and wealth display'd;
She proudly turned away from me, showed shoulders, cried aloud:--
* 'No! no! by Him, whose hest mankind from nothingness hath
made
For hoary head and grizzled chin I've no especial-love: * What!
stuff my mouth with cotton[FN#265] ere in sepulchre I'm
laid?'"

Now when the broker heard her words he said, "By Allah, thou art
excusable, and thy price is ten thousand gold pieces!" So he told
her owner that she would not accept of old man Rashid al-Din, and
he said, "Consult her concerning another." Thereupon a second man
came forward and said, "Be she mine for what price was offered by
the oldster she would have none of;" but she looked at him and
seeing that his beard was dyed, said "What be this fashion lewd
and base and the blackening of the hoary face?" And she made a
great show of wonderment and repeated these couplets,

"Showed me Sir Such-an-one a sight and what a frightful sight! *
A neck by Allah, only made for slipper-sole to smite[FN#266]
A beard the meetest racing ground where gnats and lice contend, *
A brow fit only for the ropes thy temples chafe and
bite.[FN#267]
O thou enravish" by my cheek and beauties of my form, * Why so
translate thyself to youth and think I deem it right?
Dyeing disgracefully that white of reverend aged hairs, * And
hiding for foul purposes their venerable white!
Thou goest with one beard and comest back with quite another, *
Like Punch-and-Judy man who works the Chinese shades by
night.[FN#268]

And how well saith another'

Quoth she, 'I see thee dye thy hoariness:'[FN#269] * 'To hide, O
ears and eyes! from thee,' quoth I:
She roared with laugh and said, 'Right funny this; * Thou art so
lying e'en

Now when the broker heard her verse he exclaimed, "By Allah thou
hast spoken sooth!" The merchant asked what she said: so the
broker repeated the verses to him; and he knew that she was in
the right while he was wrong and desisted from buying her. Then
another came forward and said, "Ask her if she will be mine at
the same price;" but, when he did so, she looked at him and
seeing that he had but one eye, said, "This man is one-eyed; and
it is of such as he that the poet saith,[FN#270]

'Consort not with the Cyclops e'en a day; * Beware his falsehood
and his mischief fly:
Had this monocular a jot of good, * Allah had ne'er brought
blindness to his eye!'"

Then said the broker, pointing to another bidder, "Wilt thou be
sold to this man?" She looked at him and seeing that he was short
of stature[FN#271] and had a beard that reached to his navel,
cried, "This is he of whom the poet speaketh,

'I have a friend who hath a beard * Allah to useless length
unroll'd:
'Tis like a certain[FN#272] winter night, * Longsome and
darksome, drear and cold.'"

Said the broker, "O my lady, look who pleaseth thee of these that
are present, and point him out, that I may sell thee to him." So
she looked round the ring of merchants, examining one by one
their physiognomies, till her glance fell on Ali Shar,--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Eleventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
girl's glance fell on Ali Shar, she cast at him a look with
longing eyes, which cost her a thousand sighs, and her heart was
taken with him; for that he was of favour passing fair and
pleasanter than zephyr or northern air; and she said, "O broker,
I will be sold to none but to this my lord, owner of the handsome
face and slender form whom the poet thus describeth,

'Displaying that fair face * The tempted they assailed
Who, had they wished me safe * That lovely face had veiled!'

For none shall own me but he, because his cheek is smooth and the
water of his mouth sweet as Salsabil;[FN#273] his spittle is a
cure for the sick and his charms daze and dazzle poet and proser,
even as saith one of him,

'His honey dew of lips is wine; his breath * Musk and those
teeth, smile shown, are camphor's hue:
Rizwan[FN#274] hath turned him out o' doors, for fear * The
Houris lapse from virtue at the view
Men blame his bearing for its pride, but when * In pride the full
moon sails, excuse is due.'

Lord of the curling locks and rose red cheeks and ravishing look
of whom saith the poet,

'The fawn-like one a meeting promised me * And eye expectant
waxed and heart unstirred:
His eyelids bade me hold his word as true; * But, in their
languish,[FN#275] can he keep his word?'

And as saith another,

'Quoth they, 'Black letters on his cheek are writ! * How canst
thou love him and a side-beard see?'
Quoth I, 'Cease blame and cut your chiding short; * If those be
letters 'tis a forgery:'
Gather his charms all growths of Eden garth * Whereto those
Kausar[FN#276]-lips bear testimony.'"

When the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of
Ali Shar, he marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the
brightness of her beauty; but her owner said to him, "Marvel not
at her splendour which shameth the noonday sun, nor that her
memory is stored with the choicest verses of the poets; for
besides this, she can repeat the glorious Koran, according to the
seven readings,[FN#277] and the august Traditions, after
ascription and authentic transmission; and she writeth the seven
modes of handwriting[FN#278] and she knoweth more learning and
knowledge than the most learned. Moreover, her hands are better
than gold and silver; for she maketh silken curtains and selleth
them for fifty gold pieces each; and it taketh her but eight days
to make a curtain." Exclaimed the broker, "O happy the man who
hath her in his house and maketh her of his choicest treasures!";
and her owner said to him, "Sell her to whom she will." So the
broker went up to Ali Shar and, kissing his hands, said to him,
"O my lord, buy thou this damsel, for she hath made choice of
thee."[FN#279] Then he set forth to him all her charms and
accomplishments, and added, "I give thee joy if thou buy her, for
this be a gift from Him who is no niggard of His giving."
Whereupon Ali bowed his head groundwards awhile, laughing at
himself and secretly saying, "Up to this hour I have not broken
my fast; yet I am ashamed before the merchants to own that I have
no money wherewith to buy her." The damsel, seeing him hang down
his head, said to the broker, "Take my hand and lead me to him,
that I may show my beauty to him and tempt him to buy me; for I
will not be sold to any but to him." So the broker took her hand
and stationed her before Ali Shar, saying, "What is thy good
pleasure, O my lord?" But he made him no answer, and the girl
said to him, "O my lord and darling of my heart, what aileth thee
that thou wilt not bid for me? Buy me for what thou wilt and I
will bring thee good fortune." So he raised his eyes to her and
said, "Is buying perforce? Thou art dear at a thousand dinars."
Said she, "Then buy me, O my lord, for nine hundred." He cried,
"No," and she rejoined, "Then for eight hundred;" and though he
again said, "Nay," she ceased not to abate the price, till she
came to an hundred dinars. Quoth he, "I have not by me a full
hundred." So she laughed and asked, "How much dost thou lack of
an hundred?" He answered, "By Allah, I have neither an hundred
dinars, nor any other sum; for I own neither white coin nor red
cash, neither dinar nor dirham. So look out thou for another and
a better customer." And when she knew that he had nothing, she
said to him, "Take me by the hand and carry me aside into a by-
lane, as if thou wouldst examine me privily." He did so and she
drew from her bosom a purse containing a thousand dinars, which
she gave him, saying, "Pay down nine hundred to my price and let
the hundred remain with thee by way of provision." He did as she
bid him and, buying her for nine hundred dinars, paid down the
price from her own purse and carried her to his house. When she
entered it, she found a dreary desolate saloon without carpets or
vessels; so she gave him other thousand dinars, saying, "Go to
the bazar and buy three hundred dinars' worth of furniture and
vessels for the house and three dinars' worth of meat and
drink."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Twelfth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that quoth the
slave-girl, "Bring us meat and drink for three dinars,
furthermore a piece of silk, the size of a curtain, and bring
golden and silvern thread and sewing silk of seven colours." Thus
he did, and she furnished the house and they sat down to eat and
drink; after which they went to bed and took their pleasure one
of the other. And they lay the night embraced behind the curtain
and were even as saith the poet,[FN#280]

"Cleave fast to her thou lovestand let the envious rail amain,
For calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain.
Lo, whilst I slept, in dreams I saw thee lying by my side And,
from thy lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did
drain.
Yea, true and certain all I saw is, as I will avouch, And 'spite
the envier, thereto I surely will attain.
There is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon, Than
when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain.
Each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight,
Whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks
enchain
Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But
on cold iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain.
Thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, Canst thou
assain a heart diseased or heal-a cankered brain?
If in thy time thou kind but one to love thee and be true, I rede
thee cast the world away and with that one remain."

So they lay together till the morning and love for the other
waxed firmly fixed in the heart of each. And on rising, Zumurrud
took the curtain and embroidered it with coloured silks and
purpled it with silver and gold thread and she added thereto a
border depicting round about it all manner of birds and beasts;
nor is there in the world a feral but she wrought his semblance.
This she worked in eight days, till she had made an end of it,
when she trimmed it and glazed and ironed it and gave it to her
lord, saying, "Carry it to the bazar and sell it to one of the
merchants at fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a
passer-by, as this would cause a separation between me and thee,
for we have foes who are not unthoughtful of us." "I hear and I
obey," answered he and, repairing to the bazar, sold the curtain
to a merchant, as she bade him; after which he bought a piece of
silk for another curtain and gold and silver and silken thread as
before and what they needed of food, and brought all this to her,
giving her the rest of the money. Now every eight days she made a
curtain, which he sold for fifty dinars, and on this wise passed
a whole year. At the end of that time, he went as usual to the
bazar with a curtain, which he gave to the broker; and there came
up to him a Nazarene who bid him sixty dinars for it; but he
refused, and the Christian continued bidding higher and higher,
till he came to an hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten
ducats. So the man returned to Ali Shar and told him of the
proffered price and urged him to accept the offer and sell the
article at the Nazarene's valuation, saying, "O my lord, be not
afraid of this Christian for that he can do thee no hurt." The
merchants also were urgent with him; so he sold the curtain to
the Christian, albeit his heart misgave him; and, taking the
money, set off to return home. Presently, as he walked, he found
the Christian walking behind him; so he said to him, "O
Nazarene,[FN#281] why dost thou follow in my footsteps?" Answered
the other "O my lord, I want a something at the end of the
street, Allah never bring thee to want!"; but Ali Shar had barely
reached his place before the Christian overtook him; so he said
to him, "O accursed, what aileth thee to follow me wherever I
go?" Replied the other, "O my lord, give me a draught of water,
for I am athirst; and with Allah be thy reward!"[FN#282] Quoth
Ali Shar to himself, "Verily, this man is an Infidel who payeth
tribute and claimeth our protection[FN#283] and he asketh me for
a draught of water; by Allah, I will not baulk him!"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Thirteenth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Ali
Shar to himself, "This man is a tributary Unbeliever and he asked
me for a draught of water; by Allah, I will not baulk him!" So he
entered the house and took a gugglet of water; but the slave-girl
Zumurrud saw him and said to him, "O my love, hast thou sold the
curtain?" He replied, "Yes;" and she asked, "To a merchant or to
a passer-by? for my heart presageth a parting." And he answered,
"To whom but to a merchant?" Thereupon she rejoined, "Tell me the
truth of the case, that I may order my affair; and why take the
gugglet of water?" And he, To give the broker to drink," upon
which she exclaimed, There is no Majesty and there is no Might
save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!"; and she repeated these
two couplets,[FN#284]

"O thou who seekest separation, act leisurely, and let not the
embrace of the beloved deceive thee!
Act leisurely; for the nature of fortune is treacherous, and the
end of every union is disjunction.

Then he took the gugglet and, going out, found the Christian
within the vestibule and said to him, "How comest thou here and
how darest thou, O dog, enter my house without my leave?"
Answered he, "O my lord, there is no difference between the door
and the vestibule, and I never intended to stir hence, save to go
out; and my thanks are due to thee for thy kindness and favour,
thy bounty and generosity." Then he took the mug and emptying it,
returned it to Ali Shar, who received it and waited for him to
rise up and to go; but he did not move. So Ali said to him, "Why
dost thou not rise and wend thy way?"; and he answered, "O my
lord, be not of those who do a kindness and then make it a
reproach, nor of those of whom saith the poet,[FN#285]

'They're gone who when thou stoodest at their door * Would for
thy wants so generously cater:
But stand at door of churls who followed them, * They'd make high
favour of a draught of water!'"

And he continued, "O my lord, I have drunk, and now I would have
thee give me to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but
a bit of bread or a biscuit with an onion." Replied Ali Shar,
"Begone, without more chaffer and chatter; there is nothing in
the house." He persisted, "O my lord, if there be nothing in the
house, take these hundred dinars and bring us something from the
market, if but a single scone, that bread and salt may pass
between us."[FN#286] With this, quoth Ali Shar to himself, "This
Christian is surely mad; I will take his hundred dinars and bring
him somewhat worth a couple of dirhams and laugh at him." And the
Nazarene added, "O my lord, I want but a small matter to stay my
hunger, were it but a dry scone and an onion; for the best food
is that which doeth away appetite, not rich viands; and how well
saith the poet,

'Hunger is sated with a bone-dry scone, * How is it then[FN#287]
in woes of want I wone?
Death is all-justest, lacking aught regard * For Caliph-king and
beggar woe-begone.'"

Then quoth Ali Shar, "Wait here, while I lock the saloon and
fetch thee somewhat from the market;" and quoth the Christian,
"To hear is to obey." So Ali Shar shut up the saloon and, locking
the door with a padlock, put the key in his pocket: after which
he went to market and bought fried cheese and virgin honey and
bananas[FN#288] and bread, with which he returned to the house.
Now when the Christian saw the provision, he said, "O my lord,
this is overmuch; 'tis enough for half a score of men and I am
alone; but belike thou wilt eat with me." Replied Ali, "Eat by
thyself, I am full;" and the Christian rejoined, "O my lord, the
wise say, Whoso eateth not with his guest is a son of a whore."
Now when Ali Shar heard these words from the Nazarene, he sat
down and ate a little with him, after which he would have held
his hand;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Fourteenth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar
sat down and ate a little with him, after which he would have
held his hand; but the Nazarene privily took a banana and peeled
it; then, splitting it in twain, put into one half concentrated
Bhang, mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would over throw an
elephant; and he dipped it in the honey and gave it to Ali Shar,
saying, "O my lord, by the truth of thy religion, I adjure thee
to take this." So Ali Shar, being ashamed to make him forsworn,
took it and swallowed it; but hardly had it settled well in his
stomach, when his head forwent both his feet and he was as though
he had been a year asleep. As soon as the Nazarene saw this, rose
to his feet as he had been a scald wolf or a cat-o'-mount[FN#289]
at bay and, taking the saloon key, left Ali Shar prostrate and
ran off to rejoin his brother. And the cause of his so doing was
that the Nazarene's brother was the same decrepit old man who
purposed to buy Zumurrud for a thousand dinars, but she would
none of him and jeered him in verse. He was an Unbeliever
inwardly, though a Moslem outwardly, and had called himself
Rashid al-Din;[FN#290] and when Zumurrud mocked him and would not
accept of him, he complained to his brother the aforesaid
Christian who played this sleight to take her from her master Ali
Shar; whereupon his brother, Barsum by name said to him, "Fret
not thyself about the business, for I will make shift to seize
her for thee, without expending either diner or dirham. Now he
was a skilful wizard, crafty and wicked; so he watched his time
and ceased not his practices till he played Ali Shar the trick
before related; then, taking the key, he went to his brother and
acquainted him with what had passed. Thereupon Rashid al-Din
mounted his she mule and repaired with his brother and his
servants to the house of Ali Shar, taking with him a purse of a
thousand dinars, wherewith to bribe the Chief of Police, should
he meet him. He opened the saloon door and the men who were with
him rushed in upon Zumurrud and forcibly seized her, threatening
her with death, if she spoke, but they left the place as it was
and took nothing therefrom. Lastly they left Ali Shar lying in
the vestibule after they had shut the door on him and laid the
saloon key by his side. Then the Christian carried the girl to
his own house and setting her amongst his handmaids and
concubines, said to her, "O strumpet, I am the old man whom thou
didst reject and lampoon; but now I have thee, without paying
diner or dirham." Replied she (and her eyes streamed with tears),
"Allah requite thee, O wicked old man, for sundering me and my
lord!" He rejoined, "Wanton minx and whore that thou art, thou
shalt see how I will punish thee! By the truth of the Messiah and
the Virgin, except thou obey me and embrace my faith, I will
torture thee with all manner of torture!" She replied, "By Allah,
though thou cut my flesh to bits I will not forswear the faith of
Al-Islam! It may be Almighty Allah will bring me speedy relief,
for He cloth even as He is fief, and the wise say: 'Better body
to scathe than a flaw in faith.'" Thereupon the old man called
his eunuchs and women, saying, "Throw her down!" So they threw
her down and he ceased not to beat her with grievous beating,
whilst she cried for help and no help came; then she no longer
implored aid but fell to saying, "Allah is my sufficiency, and He
is indeed all-sufficient!" till her groans ceased and her breath
failed her and she fell into a fainting-fit. Now when his heart
was soothed by bashing her, he said to the eunuchs, "Drag her
forth by the feet and cast her down in the kitchen, and give her
nothing to eat." And after quietly sleeping that night, on the
morrow the accursed old man sent for her and beat her again,
after which he bade the Castrato return her to her place. When
the burning of the blows had cooled, she said, "There is no god
but the God and Mohammed is the Apostle of God! Allah is my
sufficiency and excellent is my Guardian!" And she called for
succour upon our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!)--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.

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