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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'Indeed I'll bear my love for thee with firmest soul, * Until
from thee to me shall come a messenger.

'Look'ye, O Ibn Mansur, I will write thee an answer, that he may
give thee what he promised thee.' And I answered, 'Allah requite
thee with good!' So she called out to a handmaid, 'Bring inkcase
and paper,' and wrote these couplets,

'How comes it I fulfilled my vow the while that vow broke you? *
And, seen me lean to equity, iniquity wrought you?
'Twas you initiated wrongous dealing and despite: * You were the
treachetour and treason came from only you!
I never ceased to cherish mid the sons of men my troth, * And
keep your honour brightest bright and swear by name of you
Until I saw with eyes of me what evil you had done; * Until I
heard with ears of me what foul report spread you.
Shall I bring low my proper worth while raising yours so high? *
By Allah had you me eke I had honoured you!
But now uprooting severance I will fain console my heart, * And
wring my fingers clean of you for evermore to part!'

Quoth I, 'By Allah, O my lady, between him and death there is but
the reading of this letter!' So I tore it in pieces and said to
her, 'Write him other than these lines.' 'I hear and obey
answered she and wrote the following couplets,

'Indeed I am consoled now and sleep without a tear, * And all
that happened slandering tongues have whispered in mine ear:
My heart obeyed my hest and soon forgot thy memory, * And learnt
mine eyelids 'twas the best to live in severance sheer:
He lied who said that severance is a bitterer thing than gall: *
It never disappointed me, like wine I find it cheer:
I learnt to hate all news of thee, e'en mention of thy name, *
And turn away and look thereon with loathing pure and mere:
Lookye! I cast thee out of heart and far from vitals mine; * Then
let the slanderer wot this truth and see I am sincere.'

Quoth I, 'By Allah, O my lady, when he shall read these verses,
his soul will depart his body!' Quoth she, 'O Ibn Mansur, is
passion indeed come to such a pass with him that thou sayest this
saying?' Quoth I, 'Had I said more than this verily it were but
the truth: but mercy is of the nature of the noble.' Now when she
heard this her eyes brimmed over with tears and she wrote him a
note, I swear by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, there is
none in thy Chancery could write the like of it; and therein were
these couplets,

'How long shall I thy coyness and thy great aversion see? * Thou
hast satisfied my censurers and pleased their enmity:
I did amiss and wot it not; so deign to tell me now * Whatso they
told thee, haply 'twas the merest calumny.
I wish to welcome thee, dear love, even as welcome I * Sleep to
these eyes and eyelids in the place of sleep to be.
And since 'tis thou hast made me drain th' unmixed cup of love, *
If me thou see with wine bemused heap not thy blame on me!'

And when she had written the missive,--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Budur
had written the missive, she sealed it and gave it to me; and I
said, 'O my lady, in good sooth this thy letter will make the
sick man whole and ease the thirsting soul.' Then I took it and
went from her, when she called me back and said to me, 'O son of
Mansur, say to him: 'She will be thy guest this night.' At this I
joyed with exceeding great joy and carried the letter to Jubayr,
whom I found with his eyes fixed intently on the door, expecting
the reply and as soon as I gave him the letter and he opened and
read it and understood it, he uttered a great cry and fell down
in a fainting fit. When he came to himself, he said to me, 'O Ibn
Mansur, did she indeed write this note with her hand and feel it
with her fingers?' Answered I, 'O my lord, do folk write with
their feet?' And by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I had not
done speaking these words, when we heard the tinkle-tinkle of her
anklets in the vestibule and she entered. And seeing her he
sprang to his feet as though nothing pained or ailed him and
embraced her like the letter L embraceth the letter A;[FN#345]
and the infirmity, that erst would not depart at once left
him.[FN#346] Then he sat down, but she abode standing and I said
to her, 'O my lady, why dost thou not sit?' Said she, 'O Ibn
Mansur, save on a condition that is between us, I will not sit.'
I asked, 'And what is that?'; and she answered, 'None may know
lovers' secrets,' and putting her mouth to Jubayr's ear whispered
to him; where upon he replied, 'I hear and I obey.' Then he rose
and said somewhat in a whisper to one of his slaves, who went out
and returned in a little while with a Kazi and two witnesses.
Thereupon Jubayr stood up and taking a bag containing an hundred
thousand dinars, said, O Kazi, marry me to this young lady and
write this sum to her marriage-settlement.' Quoth the Kazi to
her, 'Say thou, I consent to this.' 'I consent to this,' quoth
she, whereupon he drew up the contract of marriage and she opened
the bag; and, taking out a handful of gold, gave it to the Kazi
and the witnesses and handed the rest to Jubayr. Thereupon the
Kazi and the witnesses withdrew, and I sat with them, in mirth
and merriment, till the most part of the night was past, when I
said in my mind, 'These are lovers and they have been this long
while separated. I will now arise and go sleep in some place afar
from them and leave them to their privacy, one with other.' So I
rose, but she caught hold of my skirts, saying, 'What thinkest
thou to do?' 'Nothing but so and so,' answered I; upon which she
rejoined, 'Sit thee down; and when we would be rid of thee, we
will send thee away.' So I sat down with them till near daybreak,
when she said to me, 'O Ibn Mansur, go to yonder chamber; for we
have furnished it for thee and it is thy sleeping-place.'
Thereupon I arose and went thither and slept till morning, when a
page brought me basin and ewer, and I made the ablution and
prayed the dawn-prayer. Then I sat down and presently, behold,
Jubayr and his beloved came out of the bath in the house, and I
saw them both wringing their locks.[FN#347] So I wished them good
morning and gave them joy of their safety and reunion, saying to
Jubayr, 'That which began with constraint and conditions hath
ended in cordial-contentment.' He answered, 'Thou sayest well,
and indeed thou deservest thy honorarium;' and he called his
treasurer, and said, 'Bring hither three thousand dinars.' So he
brought a purse containing the gold pieces and Jubayr gave it to
me, saying, 'Favour us by accepting this.' But I replied, 'I will
not accept it till thou tell me the manner of the transfer of
love from her to thee, after so huge an aversion.' Quoth he,
'Hearkening and obedience! Know that we have a festival-called
New Year's day,[FN#348] when all the people fare forth and
take boat and go a-pleasuring on the river. So I went out with my
comrades, and saw a skiff, wherein were ten damsels like moons
and amongst them, the Lady Budur lute in hand. She preluded in
eleven modes, then, returning to the first, sang these two
couplets,

'Fire is cooler than fires in my breast, * Rock is softer than
heart of my lord
Marvel I that he's formed to hold * In water soft frame heart
rock-hard!'

Said I to her, 'Repeat the couplets and the air!' But she would
not:'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Jubayr
continued, 'So cried I to her, Repeat the couplets and the air!'
But she would not; whereupon I bade the boatmen pelt her with
oranges, and they pelted her till we feared her boat would
founder Then she went her way, and this is how the love was
transferred from her heart to mine.' So I wished them joy of
their union and, taking the purse with its contents, I returned
to Baghdad." Now when the Caliph heard Ibn Mansur's story his
heart was lightened and the restlessness and oppression from
which he suffered forsook him. And they also tell the tale of

THE MAN OF AI-YAMAN AND HIS SIX SlAVE-GIRLS.

The Caliph Al-Maamun was sitting one day in his palace,
surrounded by his Lords of the realm and Officers of state, and
there were present also before him all his poets and cup-
companions amongst the rest one named Mohammed of Bassorah.
Presently the Caliph turned and said to him, "O Mohammed, I wish
thee forthwith to tell me something that I have never before
heard." He replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, dost thou wish
me to tell thee a thing I have heard with my ears or a thing I
have seen with my eyes?" Quoth Al-Maamun, "Tell me whichever is
the rarer; so Mohammed al-Basri began: "Know, then, O Commander
of the Faithful that there lived once upon a time wealthy man,
who was a native of Al-Yaman;but he emigrated from his native
land and came to this city of Baghdad, whose sojourn so pleased
him that he transported hither his family and possessions. Now he
had six slave-girls, like moons one and all; the first white, the
second brown, the third fat, the fourth lean, the fifth yellow
and the sixth lamp-black; and all six were comely of countenance
and perfect in accomplishments and skilled in the arts of singing
and playing upon musical-instruments. Now it so chanced that, one
day, he sent for the girls and called for meat and wine; and they
ate and drank and were mirthful and made merry Then he filled the
cup and, taking it in his hand, said to the blonde girl, 'O new
moon face, let us hear somewhat of thy pleasant songs.' So she
took the lute and tuning it, made music thereon with such sweet
melody that the place danced with glee; after which she played a
lively measure and sang these couplets,

'I have a friend, whose form is fixed within mine eyes,[FN#349] *
Whose name deep buried in my very vitals lies:
Whenas remembers him my mind all heart am I, * And when on him my
gaze is turned I am all eyes.
My censor saith, 'Forswear, forget, the love of him,' * 'Whatso
is not to be, how shall's be?' My reply is.
Quoth I, 'O Censor mine, go forth from me, avaunt! * And make not
light of that on humans heavy lies.'

Hereat their master rejoiced and, drinking off his cup, gave the
damsels to drink, after which he said to the berry-brown girl, 'O
brasier-light[FN#350] and joy of the sprite, let us hear thy
lovely voice, whereby all that hearken are ravished with
delight.' So she took the lute and thereon made harmony till the
place was moved to glee; then, captivating all hearts with her
graceful swaying, she sang these couplets,

'I swear by that fair face's life, I'll love but thee * Till
death us part, nor other love but thine I'll see:
O full moon, with thy loveliness mantilla'd o'er, * The loveliest
of our earth beneath thy banner be:
Thou, who surpassest all the fair in pleasantness * May Allah,
Lord of worlds, be everywhere with thee!'

The master rejoiced and drank off his cup and gave the girls to
drink; after which he filled again; and, taking the goblet in his
hand, signed to the fat girl and bade her sing and play a
different motive. So she took the lute and striking a grief-
dispelling measure, sang these couplets,

'An thou but deign consent, O wish to heart affied! * I care not
wrath and rage to all mankind betide.
And if thou show that fairest face which gives me life, * I reck
not an dimimshed heads the Kings go hide.
I seek thy favours only from this 'versal-world: * O thou in whom
all beauty cloth firm-fixt abide!'

The man rejoiced and, emptying his cup, gave the girls to drink.
Then he signed to the thin girl and said to her, 'O Houri of
Paradise, feed thou our ears with sweet words and sounds.' So she
took the lute; and, tuning it, preluded and sang these two
couplets,

'Say me, on Allah's path[FN#351] hast death not dealt to me, *
Turning from me while I to thee turn patiently:
Say me, is there no judge of Love to judge us twain, * And do me
justice wronged, mine enemy, by thee?'

Their lord rejoiced and, emptying the cup, gave the girls to
drink. Then filling another he signed to the yellow girl and said
to her, O sun of the day, let us hear some nice verses.' So she
took the lute and, preluding after the goodliest fashion, sang
these couplets,

'I have a lover and when drawing him, * He draws on me a sword-
blade glancing grim:
Allah avenge some little of his wrongs, * Who holds my heart yet
wreaks o erbearing whim
Oft though I say, 'Renounce him, heart!' yet heart * Will to none
other turn excepting him.
He is my wish and will of all men, but * Fate's envious hand to
me's aye grudging him.'

The master rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then
he filled the cup and taking it in hand, signed to the black
girl, saying, 'O pupil of the eye, let us have a taste of thy
quality, though it be but two words.' So she took the lute and
tuning it and tightening the strings, preluded in various modes,
then returned to the first and sang to a lively air these
couplets,

'Ho ye, mine eyes, let prodigal-tears go free; * This ecstasy
would see my being unbe:[FN#352]
All ecstasies I dreefor sake of friend * I fondle, maugre
enviers' jealousy:
Censors forbid me from his rosy cheek, * Yet e'er inclines my
heart to rosery:
Cups of pure wine, time was, went circuiting * In joy, what time
the lute sang melody,
While kept his troth the friend who madded me, * Yet made me
rising star of bliss to see:
But--with Time, turned he not by sin of mine; * Than such a turn
can aught more bitter be?
Upon his cheek there grows and glows a rose, * Nay two, whereof
grant Allah one to me!
An were prostration[FN#353] by our law allowed * To aught but
Allah, at his feet I had bowed.'

Thereupon rose the six girls and, kissing the ground before their
lord, said to him, 'Do thou justice between us, O our lord!' So
he looked at their beauty and loveliness and the contrast of
their colours and praised Almighty Allah and glorified Him. Then
said he, 'There is none of you but hath learnt the Koran by
heart, and mastered the musical-art and is versed in the
chronicles' of yore and the doings of peoples which have gone
before; so it is my desire that each one of you rise and,
pointing finger at her opposite, praise herself and dispraise her
co-concubine; that is to: say, let the blonde point to the
brunette, the plump to the slenderer and the yellow to the black
girl; after which the rivals, each in her turn, shall do the like
with the former; and be this illustrated with citations from Holy
Writ and somewhat of anecdotes and,; verse, so as to show forth
your fine breeding and elegance of your pleading.' And they
answered him, 'We hear and we obey!;"--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
handmaids answered the man of Al-Yaman, "'We hear and we obey!'
Accordingly the blonde rose first and, pointing at the black
girl, said to her: 'Out on thee, blackamoor! It is told by
tradition that whiteness saith, 'I am the shining light, I am the
rising moon of the fourteenth night. My hue is patent and my brow
is resplendent and of my beauty quoth the poet,'

'White girl with softly rounded polished cheeks * As if a pearl
concealed by Beauty's boon:
Her stature Alif-like;[FN#354] her smile like Mim[FN#355] * And
o'er her eyes two brows that bend like Nun.[FN#356]
'Tis as her glance were arrow, and her brows * Bows ever bent to
shoot Death-dart eftsoon:
If cheek and shape thou view, there shalt thou find * Rose,
myrtle, basil and Narcissus wone.
Men wont in gardens plant and set the branch, * How many garths
thy stature-branch cloth own!'

'So my colour is like the hale and healthy day and the newly
culled orange spray and the star of sparkling ray;[FN#357] and
indeed quoth Almighty Allah, in His precious Book, to his prophet
Moses (on whom be peace!), Put thy hand into thy bosom; it shall
come forth white, without hurt.'[FN#358] And again He saith, But
they whose faces shall become white, shall be in the mercy of
Allah; therein shall they remain forever.'[FN#359] My colour is a
sign, a miracle, and my loveliness supreme and my beauty a term
extreme. It is on the like of me that raiment showeth fair and
fine and to the like of me that hearts incline. Moreover, in
whiteness are many excellences; for instance, the snow falleth
white from heaven, and it is traditional-that the beautifullest
of a colours white. The Moslems also glory in white turbands, but
I should be tedious, were I to tell all that may be told in
praise of white; little and enough is better than too much of
unfilling stuff. So now I will begin with thy dispraise, O black,
O colour of ink and blacksmith's dust, thou whose face is like
the raven which bringeth about the parting of lovers. Verily, the
poet saith in praise of white and blame of black,

'Seest not that pearls are prized for milky hue, * But with a
dirham buy we coals in load?
And while white faces enter Paradise, * Black faces crowd
Gehenna's black abode.'

And indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the
authority of devout men, that Noah (on whom be peace!) was
sleeping one day, with his sons Cham and Shem seated at his head,
when a wind sprang up and, lifting his clothes, uncovered his
nakedness; whereat Cham looked and laughed and did not cover him:
but Shem arose and covered him. Presently, their sire awoke and
learning, what had been done by his sons, blessed Shem and cursed
Cham. So Shem's face was whitened and from him sprang the
prophets and the orthodox Caliphs and Kings; whilst Cham's face
was blackened and he fled forth to the land of Abyssinia, and of
his lineage came the blacks.[FN#360] All people are of one mind
in affirming the lack of understanding of the blacks, even as
saith the adage, 'How shall one find a black with a mind?' Quoth
her master, 'Sit thee down, thou hast given us sufficient and
even excess.' Thereupon he signed to the negress, who rose and,
pointing her finger at the blonde, said: Dost thou not know that
in the Koran sent down to His prophet and apostle, is transmitted
the saying of God the Most High, 'By the night when it covereth
all things with darkness; by the day when it shineth
forth!'[FN#361] If the night were not the more illustrious,
verily Allah had not sworn by it nor had given it precedence of
the day. And indeed all men of wit and wisdom accept this.
Knowest thou not that black is the ornament of youth and that,
when hoariness descendeth upon the head, delights pass away and
the hour of death draweth in sight? Were not black the most
illustrious of things, Allah had not set it in the core of the
heart[FN#362] and the pupil of the eye; and how excellent is the
saying of the poet,

'I love not black girls but because they show * Youth's colour,
tinct of eye and heartcore's hue;
Nor are in error who unlove the white, * And hoary hairs and
winding-sheet eschew.'

And that said of another,

'Black[FN#363] girls, not white, are they * All worthy love I
see:
Black girls wear dark-brown lips;[FN#364] * Whites, blotch of
leprosy.'

And of a third,

'Black girls in acts are white, and 'tis as though * Like eyes,
with purest shine and sheen they show;
If I go daft for her, be not amazed; * Black bile[FN#365] drives
melancholic-mad we know
'Tis as my colour were the noon of night; * For all no moon it
be, its splendours glow.

Moreover, is the foregathering of lovers good but in the night?
Let this quality and profit suffice thee. What protecteth lovers
from spies and censors like the blackness of night's darkness;
and what causeth them to fear discovery like the whiteness of the
dawn's brightness? So, how many claims to honour are there not in
blackness and how excellent is the saying of the poet,

'I visit them, and night-black lendeth aid to me * Seconding
love, but dawn-white is mine enemy.'

And that of another,

'How many a night I've passed with the beloved of me, * While
gloom with dusky tresses veiled our desires:
But when the morn-light showed it caused me sad affright; * And I
to Morning said, 'Who worship light are liars!'[FN#366]

And saith a third,

'He came to see me, hiding neath the skirt of night, * Hasting
his steps as wended he in cautious plight.
I rose and spread my cheek upon his path like rug, * Abject, and
trailed my skirt to hide it from his sight;
But rose the crescent moon and strave its best to show * The
world our loves like nail-slice raying radiant
light:[FN#367]
Then what befel befel: I need not aught describe; * But think thy
best, and ask me naught of wrong or right.
Meet not thy lover save at night for fear of slander * The Sun's
a tittle-tattler and the Moon's a pander.'

And a fifth,

'I love not white girls blown with fat who puff and pant; * The
maid for me is young brunette embonpoint-scant.
I'd rather ride a colt that's darn upon the day * Of race, and
set my friends upon the elephant.'

And a sixth,

My lover came to me one night, * And clips we both with fond
embrace;
And lay together till we saw * The morning come with swiftest
pace.
Now I pray Allah and my Lord * To reunite us of His grace
And make night last me long as he * Lies in the arms that tightly
lace.'

Were I to set forth all the praises of blackness, my tale would
be tedious; but little and enough is better than too much of
unfilling stuff. As for thee, O blonde, thy colour is that of
leprosy and thine embrace is suffocation;[FN#368] and it is of
report that hoar-frost and icy cold[FN#369] are in Gehenna for
the torment of the wicked. Again, of things black and excellent
is ink, wherewith is written Allah's word; and were it not for
black ambergris and black musk, there would be no perfumes to
carry to Kings. How many glories I may not mention dwell in
blackness, and how well saith the poet,

'Seest not that musk, the nut brown musk, e'er claims the highest
price * Whilst for a load of whitest lime none more than
dirham bids?
And while white speck upon the eye deforms the loveliest youth, *
Black eyes discharge the sharpest shafts in lashes from
their lids.'

Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she
sat down and he signed to the fat girl, who rose"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the man of
Al-Yaman, the master of the handmaids, signed to the fat girl who
rose and, pointing her finger at the slim girl, bared her calves
and wrists and uncovered her stomach, showing its dimples and the
plump rondure of her navel. Then she donned a shift of fine
stuff, that exposed her whole body, and said: 'Praised be Allah
who created me, for that He beautified my face and made me fat
and fair of the fattest and fairest; and likened me to branches
laden with fruit, and bestowed upon me abounding beauty and
brightness: and praised be He no less, for that He hath given me
the precedence and honoured me, when He mentioneth me in His holy
Book! Quoth the Most High, 'And he brought a fatted
calf.'[FN#370] And He hath made me like unto a vergier full of
peaches and pomegranates. In very sooth even as the townsfolk
long for fat birds and eat of them and love not lean birds, so do
the sons of Adam desire fat meat and eat of it. How many vauntful
attributes are there not in fatness, and how well saith the poet,

'Farewell thy love, for see, the Cafilah's[FN#371] on the move: *
O man, canst bear to say adieu and leave thy love?
'Tis as her going were to seek her neighbour's tent, * The gait
of fat fair maid, whom hearts shall all approve.'

Sawest thou ever one stand before a flesher's stall but sought of
him fat flesh? The wise say, 'Joyance is in three things, eating
meat and riding meat and putting meat into meat.'[FN#372] As for
thee, O thin one, thy calves are like the shanks of sparrows or
the pokers of furnaces; and thou art a cruciform plank of a piece
of flesh poor and rank; there is naught in thee to gladden the
heart; even as saith the poet,

'With Allah take I refuge from whatever driveth me * To bed with
one like footrasp[FN#373] or the roughest ropery:
In every limb she hath a horn that butteth me whene'er * I fain
would rest, so morn and eve I wend me wearily.'

Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she
sat down and he signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were
a willow-wand, or a rattan-frond or a stalk of sweet basil, and
said: 'Praised be Allah who created me and beautified me and made
my embraces the end of all desire and likened me to the branch,
whereto all hearts incline. If I rise, I rise lightly; if I sit,
I sit prettily; I am nimble-witted at a jest and merrier-souled
than mirth itself. Never heard I one describe his mistress,
saying, 'My beloved is the bigness of an elephant or like a
mountain long and broad;' but rather, 'My lady hath a slender
waist and a slim shape.'[FN#374] Furthermore a little food
filleth me and a little water quencheth my thirst; my sport is
agile and my habit active; for I am sprightlier than the sparrow
and lighter-skipping than the starling. My favours are the
longing of the lover and the delight of the desirer; for I am
goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful as the bending
willow-wand or the rattan-cane[FN#375] or the stalk of the basil-
plant; nor is there any can compare with me in loveliness, even
as saith one of me,

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