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

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad
and As'ad heard this story from Bahram the Magian who had become
a Moslem, they marvelled with extreme marvel and thus passed that
night; and when the next morning dawned, they mounted and riding
to the palace, sought an audience of the King who granted it and
received them with high honour. Now as they were sitting together
talking, of a sudden they heard the towns folk crying aloud and
shouting to one another and calling for help; and the Chamberlain
came in to the King and said to him, "Some King hath encamped
before the city, he and his host, with arms and weapons
displayed, and we know not their object and aim." The King took
counsel with his Wazir Amjad and his brother As'ad; and Amjad
said, "I will go out to him and learn the cause of his coming."
So he took horse and, riding forth from the city, repaired to the
stranger's camp, where he found the King and with him a mighty
many and mounted Mamelukes. When the guards saw him, they knew
him for an envoy from the King of the city; so they took him and
brought him before their Sultan. Then Amjad kissed the ground
before him; but lo! the King was a Queen, who was veiled with a
mouth-veil, and she said to Amjad, "Know that I have no design on
this your city and that I am come hither only in quest of a
beardless slave of mine, whom if I find with you, I will do you
no harm, but if I find him not, then shall there befall sore
onslaught between me and you." Asked Amjad, "O Queen, what like
is thy slave and what is his story and what may be his name?"
Said she, "His name is As'ad and my name is Marjanah, and this
slave came to my town in company of Bahram, a Magian, who refused
to sell him to me; so I took him by force, but his master fell
upon him by night and bore him away by stealth and he is of such
and such a favour." When Amjad heard that, he knew it was indeed
his brother As'ad whom she sought and said to her, "O Queen of
the age, Alhamdolillah, praised be Allah, who hath brought us
relief! Verily this slave whom thou seekest is my brother." Then
he told her their story and all that had befallen them in the
land of exile, and acquainted her with the cause of their
departure from the Islands of Ebony, whereat she marvelled and
rejoiced to have found As'ad. So she bestowed a dress of honour
upon Amjad and he returned forthright to the King and told him
what had passed, at which they all rejoiced and the King went
forth with Amjad and As'ad to meet Queen Marjanah. When they were
admitted to her presence and sat down to converse with her and
were thus pleasantly engaged, behold, a dust cloud rose and flew
and grew, till it walled the view. And after a while it lifted
and showed beneath it an army dight for victory, in numbers like
the swelling sea, armed and armoured cap-a-pie who, making for
the city, encompassed it around as the ring encompasseth the
little finger;[FN#21] and a bared brand was in every hand. When
Amjad and As'ad saw this, they exclaimed, "Verily to Allah we
belong and to Him we shall return! What is this mighty host?
Doubtless, these are enemies, and except we agree with this Queen
Marjanah to fight them, they will take the town from us and slay
us. There is no resource for us but to go out to them and see who
they are." So Amjad arose and took horse and passed through the
city gate to Queen Marjanah's camp; but when he reached the
approaching army he found it to be that of his grand sire, King
Ghayur, father of his mother Queen Budur.--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad
reached the approaching host, he found it to be that of his
grandsire, Lord of the Isles and the Seas and the Seven Castles;
and when he went into the presence, he kissed the ground between
his hands and delivered to him the message. Quoth the King, "My
name is King Ghayur and I come wayfaring in quest of my daughter
Budur whom fortune hath taken from me, for she left me and
returned not to me, nor have I heard any tidings of her or of her
husband Kamar al-Zaman. Have ye any news of them?" When Amjad
heard this, he hung his head towards the ground for a while in
thought till he felt assured that this King was none other than
his grandfather, his mother's father; where upon he raised his
head and, kissing ground before him, told him that he was the son
of his daughter Budur; on hearing which Ghayur threw himself upon
him and they both fell a weeping.[FN#22] Then said Ghayur,
"Praised be Allah, O my son, for safety, since I have
foregathered with thee," and Amjad told him that his daughter
Budur was safe and sound, and her husband Kamar al-Zaman
likewise, and acquainted him that both abode in a city called the
City of Ebony. Moreover, he related to him how his father, being
wroth with him and his brother, had commended that both be put to
death, but that his treasurer had taken pity on them and let them
go with their lives. Quoth King Ghayur, "I will go back with thee
and thy brother to your father and make your peace with him." So
Amjad kissed the ground before him in huge delight and the King
bestowed a dress of honour upon him, after which he returned,
smiling, to the King of the City of the Magians and told him what
he had learnt from King Ghayur, whereat he wondered with
exceeding wonder. Then he despatched guest-gifts of sheep and
horses and camels and forage and so forth to King Ghayur, and did
the like by Queen Marjanah; and both of them told her what
chanced; whereupon quoth she, "I too will accompany you with my
troops and will do my endeavour to make this peace." Meanwhile
behold, there arose another dust cloud and flew and grew till it
walled the view and blackened the day's bright hue; and under it
they heard shouts and cries and neighing of steeds and beheld
sword glance and the glint of levelled lance. When this new host
drew near the city and saw the two other armies, they beat their
drums and the King of the Magians exclaimed, "This is indeed
naught but a blessed day. Praised be Allah who hath made us of
accord with these two armies; and if it be His will, He shall
give us peace with yon other as well." Then said he to Amjad and
As'ad, "Fare forth and fetch us news of these troops, for they
are a mighty host, never saw I a mightier." So they opened the
city gates, which the King had shut for fear of the beleaguering
armies, and Amjad and As'ad went forth and, coming to the new
host, found that it was indeed a mighty many. But as soon as they
came to it behold, they knew that it was the army of the King of
the Ebony Islands, wherein was their father, King Kamar al-Zaman
in person. Now when they looked upon him, they kissed ground and
wept; but, when he beheld them, he threw himself upon them
weeping, with sore weeping, and strained them to his breast for a
full hour. Then he excused himself to them and told them what
desolation he had suffered for their loss and exile; and they
acquainted him with King Ghayur's arrival, whereupon he mounted
with his chief officers and taking with him his two sons,
proceeded to that King's camp. As they drew near, one of the
Princes rode forward and informed King Ghayur of Kamar al-Zaman's
coming, whereupon he came out to meet him and they joined
company, marvelling at these things and how they had chanced to
foregather in that place. Then the townsfolk made them banquets
of all manner of meats and sweetmeats and presented to them
horses and camels and fodder and other guest-gifts and all that
the troops needed. And while this was doing, behold, yet another
cloud of dust arose and flew till it walled the view, whilst
earth trembled with the tramp of steed and tabors sounded like
stormy winds. After a while, the dust lifted and discovered an
army clad in coats of mail and armed cap-a-pie; but all were in
black garb, and in their midst rode a very old man whose beard
flowed down over his breast and he also was clad in black. When
the King of the city and the city folk saw this great host, he
said to the other Kings, "Praised be Allah by whose omnipotent
command ye are met here, all in one day, and have proved all
known one to the other! But what vast and victorious army is this
which hemmeth in the whole land like a wall?" They answered,
"Have no fear of them; we are three Kings, each with a great
army, and if they be enemies, we will join thee in doing battle
with them, were they three times as many as they now are."
Meanwhile, up came an envoy from the approaching host, making for
the city. So they brought him before Kamar al-Zaman, King Ghayur,
Queen Marjanah and the King of the city; and he kissed the ground
and said, "My liege lord cometh from Persia-land; for many years
ago he lost his son and he is seeking him in all countries. If he
find him with you, well and good; but if he find him not, there
will be war between him and you and he will waste your city."
Rejoined Kamar al-Zaman, "It shall not come to that; but how is
thy master called in Ajam land?" Answered the envoy, "He is
called King Shahriman, lord of the Khalidan Islands; and he hath
levied these troops in the lands traversed by him, whilst seeking
his son." No-vv when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he cried
out with a great cry and fell down in a fainting fit which lasted
a long while; and anon coming to himself he wept bitter tears and
said to Amjad and As'ad, "Go ye, O my sons, with the herald,
salute your grandfather and my father, King Shahriman and give
him glad tidings of me, for he mourneth my loss and even to the
present time he weareth black raiment for my sake." Then he told
the other Kings all that had befallen him in the days of his
youth, at which they wondered and, going down with him from the
city, repaired to his father, whom he saluted, and they embraced
and fell to the ground senseless for excess of joy. And when they
revived after a while, Kamar al-Zaman acquainted his father with
all his adventures and the other Kings saluted Shahriman. Then,
after having married Marjanah to As'ad, they sent her back to her
kingdom, charging her not to cease correspondence with them; so
she took leave and went her way. Moreover they married Amjad to
Bostan, Bahram's daughter, and they all set out for the City of
Ebony. And when they arrived there, Kamar al-Zaman went in to his
father-in-law, King Armanus, and told him all that had befallen
him and how he had found his sons; whereat Armanus rejoiced and
gave him joy of his safe return. Then King Ghayur went in to his
daughter, Queen Budur,[FN#23] and saluted her and quenched his
longing for her company, and they all abode a full month's space
in the City of Ebony; after which the King and his daughter
returned to their own country.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say,

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Ghayur
set out with his daughter and his host for his own land, and they
took with them Amjad and returned home by easy marches. And when
Ghayur was settled again in his kingdom, he made his grandson
King in his stead; and as to Kamar al-Zaman he also made As'ad
king in his room over the capital of the Ebony Islands, with the
consent of his grandfather, King Armanus and set out himself,
with his father, King Shahriman, till the two made the Islands of
Khalidan. Then the lieges decorated the city in their honour and
they ceased not to beat the drums for glad tidings a whole month;
nor did Kamar al-Zaman leave to govern in his father's place,
till there overtook them the Destroyer of delights and the
Sunderer of societies; and Allah knoweth all things! Quoth King
Shahryar, "O Shahrazad, this is indeed a most wonderful tale!"
And she answered, "O King, it is not more wonderful than that of

ALA AL-DIN ABU AL-SHAMAT.[FN#24]

"What is that?" asked he, and she said, It hath reached me that
there lived, in times of yore and years and ages long gone
before, a merchant of Cairo[FN#25] named Shams al-Din, who was of
the best and truest spoken of the traders of the city; and he had
eunuchs and servants and negro-slaves and handmaids and Mame
lukes and great store of money. Moreover, he was Consul[FN#26] of
the Merchants of Cairo and owned a wife, whom he loved and who
loved him; except that he had lived with her forty years, yet had
not been blessed with a son or even a daughter. One day, as he
sat in his shop, he noted that the merchants, each and every, had
a son or two sons or more sitting in their shops like their
sires. Now the day being Friday, he entered the Hammam-bath and
made the total-ablution: after which he came out and took the
barber's glass and looked in it, saying, "I testify that there is
no god but the God and I testify that Mohammed is the Messenger
of God!" Then he considered his beard and, seeing that the white
hairs in it covered the black, bethought himself that hoariness
is the harbinger of death. Now his wife knew the time of his
coming home and had washed and made herself ready for him, so
when he came in to her, she said, "Good evening," but he replied
"I see no good." Then she called to the handmaid, "Spread the
supper-tray;" and when this was done quoth she to her husband
"Sup, O my lord." Quoth he, "I will eat nothing," and pushing the
tray away with his foot, turned his back upon her. She asked,
"Why dost thou thus? and what hath vexed thee?"; and he answered,
"Thou art the cause of my vexation."--And Shahrazed perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,

When it was the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams
al-Din said to his wife, "Thou art the cause of my vexation." She
asked, "Wherefore?" and he answered, "When I opened my shop this
morning, I saw that each and every of the merchants had with him
a son or two sons or more, sitting in their shops like their
fathers; and I said to myself:--He who took thy sire will not
spare thee. Now the night I first visited thee,[FN#27] thou
madest me swear that I would never take a second wife over thee
nor a concubine, Abyssinian or Greek or handmaid of other race;
nor would lie a single night away from thee: and behold, thou art
barren, and having thee is like boring into the rock." Rejoined
she, "Allah is my witness that the fault lies with thee, for that
thy seed is thin." He asked, "And what showeth the man whose
semen is thin?" And she answered, "He cannot get women with
child, nor beget children." Quoth he, "What thickeneth the seed?
tell me and I will buy it: haply, it will thicken mine." Quoth
she, "Enquire for it of the druggists." So he slept with her that
night and arose on the morrow, repenting of having spoken angrily
to her; and she also regretted her cross words. Then he went to
the market and, finding a druggist, saluted him; and when his
salutation was returned said to him, "Say, hast thou with thee a
seed-thickener?" He replied, "I had it, but am out of it: enquire
thou of my neighbour." Then Shams al-Din made the round till he
had asked every one, but they all laughed at him, and presently
he returned to his shop and sat down, sore troubled. Now there
was in the bazar a man who was Deputy Syndic of the brokers and
was given to the use of opium and electuary and green
hashish.[FN#28] He was called Shaykh Mohammed Samsam and being
poor he used to wish Shams al-Din good morrow every day. So he
came to him according to his custom and saluted him. The merchant
returned his salute, but in ill-temper, and the other, seeing him
vexed, said, "O my lord, what hath crossed thee?" Thereupon Shams
al-Din told him all that occurred between himself and his wife,
adding, "These forty years have I been married to her yet hath
she borne me neither son nor daughter; and they say:--The cause
of thy failure to get her with child is the thinness of thy seed;
so I have been seeking a some thing wherewith to thicken my semen
but found it not." Quoth Shaykh Mohammed, "O my lord, I have a
seed-thickener, but what wilt thou say to him who causeth thy
wife to conceive by thee after these forty years have passed?"
Answered the merchant, "If thou do this, I will work thy
weal--and reward thee." "Then give me a dinar," rejoined the
broker, and Shams al-Din said, "Take these two dinars." He took
them and said, "Give me also yonder big bowl of porcelain." So he
gave it to him and the broker betook himself to a hashish-seller,
of whom he bought two ounces of concentrated Roumi opium and
equal-parts of Chinese cubebs, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms,
ginger, white pepper and mountain skink[FN#29]; and, pounding
them all together, boiled them in sweet olive-oil; after which he
added three ounces of male frankincense in fragments and a cupful
of coriander-seed; and, macerating the whole, made it into an
electuary with Roumi bee honey. Then he put the confection in the
bowl and carried it to the merchant, to whom he delivered it,
saying, "Here is the seed-thickener, and the manner of using it
is this. Take of my electuary with a spoon after supping, and
wash it down with a sherbet made of rose conserve; but first sup
off mutton and house pigeon plentifully seasoned and hotly
spiced." So the merchant bought all this and sent the meat and
pigeons to his wife, saying, "Dress them deftly and lay up the
seed-thickener until I want it and call for it." She did his
bidding and, when she served up the meats, he ate the evening
meal, after which he called for the bowl and ate of the
electuary. It pleased him well, so he ate the rest and knew his
wife. That very night she conceived by him and, after three
months, her courses ceased, no blood came from her and she knew
that she was with child. When the days of her pregnancy were
accomplished, the pangs of labour took her and they raised loud
lullilooings and cries of joy. The midwife delivered her with
difficulty, by pronouncing over the boy at his birth the names of
Mohammed and Ali, and said, "Allah is Most Great!"; and she
called in his ear the call to prayer. Then she wrapped him up and
passed him to his mother, who took him and gave him the breast;
and he sucked and was full and slept. The midwife abode with them
three days, till they had made the mothering-cakes of sugared
bread and sweetmeats; and they distributed them on the seventh
day. Then they sprinkled salt against the evil eye and the
merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of her safe
delivery, and said, "Where is Allah's deposit?" So they brought
him a babe of surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the Orderer who
is ever present and, though he was but seven days old, those who
saw him would have deemed him a yearling child. So the merchant
looked on his face and, seeing it like a shining full moon, with
moles on either cheek, said he to his wife, "What hast thou named
him?" Answered she, "If it were a girl I had named her; but this
is a boy, so none shall name him but thou." Now the people of
that time used to name their children by omens; and, whilst the
merchant and his wife were taking counsel of the name, behold,
one said to his friend, "Ho my lord, Ala al-Din!" So the merchant
said, "We will call him Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat."[FN#30] Then he
committed the child to the nurse, and he drank milk two years,
after which they weaned him and he grew up and throve and walked
upon the floor. When he came to seven years old, they put him in
a chamber under a trap-door, for fear of the evil eye, and his
father said, "He shall not come out, till his beard grow." So he
gave him in charge to a handmaid and a blackamoor; the girl
dressed him his meals and the slave carried them to him. Then his
father circumcised him and made him a great feast; after which he
brought him a doctor of the law, who taught him to write and read
and repeat the Koran, and other arts and sciences, till he became
a good scholar and an accomplished. One day it so came to pass
that the slave, after bringing him the tray of food went away and
left the trap door open: so Ala al-Din came forth from the vault
and went in to his mother, with whom was a company of women of
rank. As they sat talking, behold, in came upon them the youth as
he were a white slave drunken[FN#31] for the excess of his
beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their faces and said
to his mother, "Allah requite thee, O such an one! How canst thou
let this strange Mameluke in upon us? Knowest thou not that
modesty is a point of the Faith?" She replied, "Pronounce Allah's
name[FN#32] and cry Bismillah! this is my son, the fruit of my
vitals and the heir of Consul Shams al-Din, the child of the
nurse and the collar and the crust and the crumb."[FN#33] Quoth
they, "Never in our days knew we that thou hadst a son"; and
quoth she, "Verily his father feared for him the evil eye and
reared him in an under-ground chamber;"--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala
al-Din's mother said to her lady-friends, "Verily his father
feared for him the evil eye and reared him in an underground
chamber; and haply the slave forgot to shut the door and he fared
forth; but we did not mean that he should come out, before his
beard was grown." The women gave her joy of him, and the youth
went out from them into the court yard where he seated himself in
the open sitting room; and behold, in came the slaves with his
father's she mule, and he said to them, "Whence cometh this
mule?" Quoth they, "We escorted thy father when riding her to the
shop, and we have brought her back." He asked, "What may be my
father's trade?"; and they answered, "Thy father is Consul of the
merchants in the land of Egypt and Sultan of the Sons of the
Arabs." Then he went in to his mother and said to her, "O my
mother, what is my father's trade?" Said she, "O my son, thy sire
is a merchant and Consul of the merchants in the land of Egypt
and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs. His slaves consult him not
in selling aught whose price is less than one thousand gold
pieces, but merchandise worth him an hundred and less they sell
at their own discretion; nor cloth any merchandise whatever,
little or much, leave the country without passing through his
hands and he disposeth of it as he pleaseth; nor is a bale packed
and sent abroad amongst folk but what is under his disposal. And
"Almighty Allah, O my son, hath given thy father monies past
compt." He rejoined, "O my mother, praised be Allah, that I am
son of the Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs and that my father is
Consul of the merchants! But why, O my mother, do ye put me in
the underground chamber and leave me prisoner there?" Quoth she,
"O my son, we imprisoned thee not save for fear of folks' eyes:
'the evil eye is a truth,'[FN#34] and most of those in their long
homes are its victims." Quoth he, "O my mother, and where is a
refuge-place against Fate? Verily care never made Destiny
forbear; nor is there flight from what is written for every
wight. He who took my grandfather will not spare myself nor my
father; for, though he live to day he shall not live tomorrow.
And when my father dieth and I come forth and say, 'I am Ala
al-Din, son of Shams al-Din the merchant', none of the people
will believe me, but men of years and standing will say, 'In our
lives never saw we a son or a daughter of Shams al-Din.' Then the
public Treasury will come down and take my father's estate, and
Allah have mercy on him who said, 'The noble dieth and his wealth
passeth away, and the meanest of men take his women.' Therefore,
O my mother, speak thou to my father, that he carry me with him
to the bazar and open for me a shop; so may I sit there with my
merchandise, and teach me to buy and sell and take and give."
Answered his mother, "O my son, as soon as thy sire returneth I
will tell him this." So when the merchant came home, he found his
son Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat sitting with his mother and said to
her, "Why hast thou brought him forth of the underground
chamber?" She replied, "O son of my uncle, it was not I that
brought him out; but the servants forgot to shut the door and
left it open; so, as I sat with a company of women of rank,
behold, he came forth and walked in to me." Then she went on to
repeat to him his son's words; so he said, "O my son, to-morrow,
Inshallah! I will take thee with me to the bazar; but, my boy,
sitting in markets and shops demandeth good manners and courteous
carriage in all conditions." Ala al-Din passed the night
rejoicing in his father's promise and, when the morrow came, the
merchant carried him to the Hammam and clad him in a suit worth a
mint of money. As soon as they had broken their fast and drunk
their sherbets, Shams al-Din mounted his she mule and putting his
son upon another, rode to the market, followed by his boy. But
when the market folk saw their Consul making towards them,
foregoing a youth as he were a slice of the full moon on the
fourteenth night, they said, one to other, "See thou yonder boy
behind the Consul of the merchants; verily, we thought well of
him, but he is, like the leek, gray of head and green at
heart."[FN#35] And Shaykh Mohammed Samsam, Deputy Syndic of the
market, the man before mentioned, said to the dealers, "O
merchants, we will not keep the like of him for our Shaykh; no,
never!" Now it was the custom anent the Consul when he came from
his house of a morning and sat down in his shop, for the Deputy
Syndic of the market to go and recite to him and to all the
merchants assembled around him the Fatihah or opening chapter of
the Koran,[FN#36] after which they accosted him one by one and
wished him good morrow and went away, each to his business place.
But when Shams al-Din seated himself in his shop that day as
usual, the traders came not to him as accustomed; so he called
the Deputy and said to him, "Why come not the merchants together
as usual?" Answered Mohammed Samsam, "I know not how to tell thee
these troubles, for they have agreed to depose thee from the
Shaykh ship of the market and to recite the Fatihah to thee no
more." Asked Shams al-Din, "What may be their reason?"; and asked
the Deputy, "What boy is this that sitteth by thy side and thou a
man of years and chief of the merchants? Is this lad a Mameluke
or akin to thy wife? Verily, I think thou lovest him and inclines
lewdly to the boy." Thereupon the Consul cried out at him,
saying, "Silence, Allah curse thee, genus and species! This is my
son." Rejoined the Deputy, "Never in our born days have we seen
thee with a son," and Shams al-Din answered, "When thou gavest me
the seed-thickener, my wife conceived and bare this youth; but I
reared him in a souterrain for fear of the evil eye, nor was it
my purpose that he should come forth, till he could take his
beard in his hand.[FN#37] However, his mother would not agree to
this, and he on his part begged I would stock him a shop and
teach him to sell and buy." So the Deputy Syndic returned to the
other traders and acquainted them with the truth of the case,
whereupon they all arose to accompany him; and, going in a body
to Shams al-Din's shop, stood before him and recited the "Opener"
of the Koran; after which they gave him joy of his son and said
to him, "The Lord prosper root and branch! But even the poorest
of us, when son or daughter is born to him, needs must cook a
pan-full of custard[FN#38] and bid his friends and kith and kin;
yet hast thou not done this." Quoth he, "This I owe you; be our
meeting in the garden."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28