would never break: so, as soon as it was day, I rose and girding
on my sword, mounted my steed and set my lance in rest. Then I
rode out to hunt, and as I went along, a company of men accosted
me and asked me whither I went. I told them, and they said, 'We
will bear thee company.' So we all fared on together, and
presently we saw an ostrich and gave chase; but it evaded us and
spreading its wings, fled before us and drew us on after it, till
it brought us to a desert, wherein there was neither grass nor
water, nor was aught to be heard there save the hissing of
serpents, the wailing of Jinn and the howling of ghouls. Here we
lost sight of the ostrich, nor could we tell whether it had flown
up into the sky or sunk into the ground. Then we turned our
horses' heads and thought to go back; but found that our return
would be toilsome and dangerous at that time of exceeding heat;
for the heat was grievous to us, so that we were sore athirst and
our horses stood still. So we made sure of death; but as we were
in this case, we espied a spacious meadow afar off, wherein were
gazelles frisking. There was a tent pitched and by the tent-side
a horse tethered and a spear stuck in the earth, whose head
glittered in the sun. When we saw this, our hearts revived, after
we had despaired, and we turned our horses' heads towards the
meadow and rode on, till we came to a spring, where we alighted
and drank and watered our beasts. Then I was seized with a frenzy
of curiosity and went up to the door of the tent, where I saw a
young man like the new moon, without hair on his cheeks, and on
his right hand a slender damsel, as she were a willow wand. No
sooner did I set eyes on the girl, than love of her got hold upon
my heart and I saluted the young man, who returned my greeting.
Then said I to him, 'O brother of the Arabs, tell me who thou art
and what is this damsel to thee?' With this, he bent down his
head awhile, then raised it and replied, 'Tell me first who thou
art and what are these horsemen with thee.' 'I am Hemmad, son of
El Fezari,' answered I, 'the renowned cavalier, who is reckoned
as five hundred horse among the Arabs. We went forth this morning
to hunt and were overcome by thirst; so I came to the door of
this tent, thinking to get of thee a draught of water.' When he
heard this, he turned to the fair maiden and said to her, 'Bring
this man water and what there is of food.' So she went in,
trailing her skirts, whilst her feet stumbled in her long hair
and the golden bangles tinkled on her ankles, and returned after
a little, bearing in her right hand a silver vessel of cold water
and in her left a bowl full of milk and dates and flesh of wild
cattle. But, of the excess of my passion for her, I could take of
her nor meat nor drink, and I recited to her the following
verses, applying them to her:
The dye of the henna upon her hand doth show, As 'twere a raven
new lighted on fresh-fall'n snow;
And see the full moon and the sun beside her face, This dim and
the other fearful for shame and woe.
Then, after I had eaten and drunk, I said to the youth, 'O chief
of the Arabs, I have told thee truly who and what I am, and now I
would fain have thee do the like by me and tell me the truth of
thy case.' 'As for this damsel,' replied he, 'she is my sister.'
Quoth I, 'It is my desire that thou give her to me to wife of
free will: else will I slay thee and take her by force.' With
this, he bowed his head awhile, then raised his eyes to me and
answered, 'Thou sayest sooth in avouching thyself a renowned
cavalier and a famous champion and the lion of the desert; but if
ye all attack me treacherously and slay me and take my sister by
force, it will be a stain upon your honour. If ye be, as thou
sayest, cavaliers that are counted among the champions and fear
not the shock of battle, give me time to don my armour and gird
on my sword and set my lance in rest and mount my horse. Then
will we go forth into the field and fight; and if I conquer you,
I will kill you, every man of you; and if you overcome me and
slay me, this damsel my sister is thine.' 'This is but just,'
answered I, 'and we oppose it not.' Then I turned my horse's
head, mad for love of the damsel, and rode back to my companions,
to whom I set forth her beauty and grace, as also the comeliness
of the young man and his valour and strength of soul and how he
avouched himself a match for a thousand horse. Moreover, I
described to them the tent and all the riches and rarities it
contained and said to them, 'Be sure that this youth would not
have taken up his abode alone in this desert place, were he not a
man of great prowess: so I propose that whoso slays him shall
take his sister.' And they agreed to this. Then we armed
ourselves and mounting, rode to the tent, where we found the
young man armed and mounted; but his sister ran up to him, with
her veil drenched with tears, and laying hold of his stirrup,
cried out, saying, 'Alas!' and 'Woe worth the day!' in her fear
for her brother, and recited the following verses:
To God above I make my moan of sorrow and affright. Mayhap, the
empyrean's Lord will smite them with dismay.
They fain would kill thee, brother mine, with malice
aforethought, Though never cause of anger was nor fault
forewent the fray.
Yet for a champion art thou known among the men of war, The
doughtiest knight that East or West goes camping by the way.
Thou wilt thy sister's honour guard, whose might is small, for
thou Her brother art and she for thee unto the Lord doth
pray
Let not the foe possess my soul nor seize on me perforce And work
their cruel will on me, without my yea or nay.
By God His truth, I'll never live in any land where thou Art not
albeit all the goods of plenty it display!
But I will slay myself for love and yearning for thy sake And in
the darksome tomb I'll make my bed upon the clay.
When he heard her words, he wept sore and turning his horse's
head towards her, made answer with the following verses:
Stand by and see the wondrous deeds that I will do this day,
Whenas we meet and I on them rain blows in the mellay.
E'en though the lion of the war, the captain of the host, The
stoutest champion of them all, spur out into the fray,
I'll deal a Thaalebiyan[FN#159] blow at him and in his heart I'll
let my spear, even to the shaft, its thirst for blood allay.
If I defend thee not from all that seek thee, sister mine, May I
be slaughtered and my corse given to the birds of prey!
Ay, I will battle for thy sake, with all the might I may, And
books shall story after me the marvels of this day.
Then said he, 'O my sister, give ear to what I shall enjoin on
thee.' And she answered, 'I hear and obey.' Quoth he, 'If I fall,
let none possess thee;' and she buffeted her face and said, 'God
forbid, O my brother, that I should see thee laid low and yield
myself to thine enemies!' With this he put out his hand to her
and drew aside her veil, whereupon her face shone forth, like the
sun from out clouds. Then he kissed her between the eyes and bade
her farewell; after which he turned to us and said, 'Ho,
cavaliers! Come ye as guests or are you minded to cut and thrust?
If ye come as guests, rejoice in hospitality; and if ye covet the
shining moon,[FN#160] come out against me, one by one, and
fight.' Then came out to him a sturdy horseman, and the young man
said to him, 'Tell me thy name and thy father's name, for I have
sworn to fight with none whose name and whose father's name tally
with mine and my father's, and if it be thus with thee, I will
give thee up the girl.' 'My name is Bilal,'[FN#161] answered the
other; and the young man repeated the following verses:
Thou liest when thou talkest of "benefits"; for lo, Thou comest
with mischief and malice and woe!
So, an thou be doughty, heed well what I say: I'm he who the
braver in the battle lays low
With a keen-cutting sword, like the horn of the moon; So look
(and beware) for a hill-shaking blow!
Then they ran at one another, and the youth smote his adversary
in the breast, that the lance-head issued from his back. With
this, another came out, and the youth repeated the following
verses:
O dog, that art noisome of stench and of sight, What is there of
worth that to come by is light?
'Tis only the lion, of race and of might Right noble, recks
little of life in the fight.
Nor was it long before he left him also drowned in his blood and
cried out, 'Who will come out to me?' So a third horseman pricked
out, reciting the following verses:
I come to thee, with a fire in my breast that blazes free, And
call on my comrades all to the fight to follow me.
Though thou hast slain the chiefs of the Arabs, yet, perdie, Thou
shalt not 'scape this day from those that follow thee!
When the youth heard this, he answered him, saying:
Thou com'st, like theright evil fiend that thou art, With a lie
on thy lips and a fraud at thy heart;
This day shalt thou taste of a death-dealing dart And a spear
that shall rid thee of life with its smart.
Then he smote him on the breast, that the spear-point issued
from his back, and cried out, saying, 'Will another come out?' So
a fourth came out and the youth asked him his name. He replied,
'My name is Hilal.'[FN#162] And the youth repeated these verses:
Thou err'st, that wouldst plunge in my sea of affray And thinkest
to daunt me with lies and dismay.
Lo, I, to whose chant thou hast hearkened this day, Thy soul, ere
thou know'st it, will ravish away!
Then they drove at one another and exchanged blows; but the
youth's stroke forewent that of his adversary and slew him: and
thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him. When I
saw my comrades slain, I said in myself, 'If I fight with him, I
shall not be able to withstand him, and if I flee, I shall become
a byword among the Arabs.' However, the youth gave me no time to
think, but ran at me and laying hold of me, dragged me from my
saddle. I swooned away and he raised his sword to cut off my
head; but I clung to his skirts and he lifted me in his hand, as
I were a sparrow [in the clutches of a hawk]. When the maiden saw
this, she rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him,
kissed him between the eyes. Then he delivered me to her, saying,
'Take him and entreat him well, for he is come under our rule.'
So she took hold of the collars of my coat-of-arms and led me
away by them as one would lead a dog. Then she did off her
brother's armour and clad him in a robe, after which she brought
him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down, and said to him, 'May
God whiten thine honour and make thee to be as a provision
against the shifts of fortune!' And he answered her with the
following verses:
My sister said, (who saw my lustrous forehead blaze Midmost the
war, as shine the sun's meridian rays)
"God bless thee for a brave, to whom, when he falls on, The
desert lions bow in terror and amaze!"
"Question the men of war," I answered her, "of me, Whenas the
champions flee before my flashing gaze.
I am the world-renowned for fortune and for might, Whose prowess
I uplift to what a height of praise!
O Hemmad, thou hast roused a lion, who shall show Thee death that
comes as swift as vipers in the ways."
When I heard what he said, I was perplexed about my affair, and
considering my condition and how I was become a captive, I was
lessened in my own esteem. Then I looked at the damsel and said
to myself, 'It is she who is the cause of all this trouble;' and
I fell a-marvelling at her beauty and grace, till the tears
streamed from my eyes and I recited the following verses:
Reproach me not, O friend, nor chide me for the past, For I will
pay no heed to chiding and dispraise.
Lo, I am clean distraught for one, whom when I saw, Fate in my
breast forthright the love of her did raise.
Her brother was my foe and rival in her love, A man of mickle
might and dreadful in affrays.
Then the maiden set food before her brother, and he bade me eat
with him, whereat I rejoiced and felt assured of my life. When he
had made an end of eating, she brought him a flagon of wine and
he drank, till the fumes of the wine mounted to his head and his
face flushed. Then he turned to me and said, 'Harkye, Hemmad,
dost thou know me?' 'By thy life,' answered I, 'I am rich in
nought but ignorance!' Said he, 'I am Ibad ben Temim ben
Thaalebeh, and indeed God giveth thee thy liberty and spareth
thee confusion.' Then he drank to my health and gave me a cup of
wine and I drank it off. Then he filled me a second and a third
and a fourth, and I drank them all; and he made merry with me and
took an oath of me that I would never betray him. So I swore to
him a thousand oaths that I would never deal perfidiously with
him, but would be a friend and a helper to him.
Then he bade his sister bring me ten dresses of silk; so she
brought them and laid them on me, and this gown I have on my body
is one of them. Moreover, he made her bring one of the best of
the riding camels, laden with stuffs and victual, and a sorrel
horse, and gave the whole to me. I abode with them three days,
eating and drinking, and what he gave me is with me to this day.
At the end of this time, he said to me, 'O Hemmad, O my brother,
I would fain sleep awhile and rest myself. I trust myself to
thee; but if thou see horsemen making hither, fear not, for they
are of the Beni Thaalebeh, seeking to wage war on me.' Then he
laid his sword under his head and slept; and when he was drowned
in slumber, the devil prompted me to kill him; so I rose, and
drawing the sword from under his head, dealt him a blow that
severed his head from his body. His sister heard what I had done,
and rushing out from within the tent, threw herself on his body,
tearing her clothes and repeating the following verses:
Carry the tidings to the folk, the saddest news can be; But man
from God His ordinance no whither hath to flee.
Now art thou slaughtered, brother mine, laid prostrate on the
earth, Thou whose bright face was as the round of the full
moon to see.
Indeed, an evil day it was, the day thou mettest them, And after
many a fight, thy spear is shivered, woe is me!
No rider, now that thou art dead, in horses shall delight Nor
evermore shall woman bear a male to match with thee.
Hemmad this day hath played thee false and foully done to death;
Unto his oath and plighted faith a traitor base is he.
He deemeth thus to have his will and compass his desire; But
Satan lieth to his dupes in all he doth decree.
When she had ended, she turned to me and said, 'O man of accursed
lineage, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay him,
whenas he purposed to send thee back to thy country with gifts
and victual and it was his intent also to marry thee to me at the
first of the month?' Then she drew a sword she had with her, and
planting it in the ground, with the point set to her breast,
threw herself thereon and pressed upon it, till the blade issued
from her back and she fell to the ground, dead. I mourned for her
and wept and repented when repentance availed me nothing. Then I
went in haste to the tent and taking whatever was light of
carriage and great of worth, went my way: but in my haste and
fear, I took no heed of my (dead) comrades, nor did I bury the
maiden and the youth. This, then, is my story, and it is still
more extraordinary than that of the serving-maid I kidnapped in
Jerusalem."
When Nuzet ez Zeman heard these words of the Bedouin, the light
in her eyes was changed to darkness, and she rose and drawing the
sword, smote him amiddleward the shoulder-blades, that the point
issued from his throat. The bystanders said to her, "Why hast
thou made haste to slay him?" And she answered, "Praised be God
who hath granted me to avenge myself with my own hand!" And she
bade the slaves drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the
dogs. Then they turned to the second prisoner, who was a black
slave, and said to him, "What is thy name? Tell us the truth of
thy case." "My name is Ghezban," answered he and told them what
had passed between himself and the princess Abrizeh and how he
had slain her and fled. Hardly had he made an end of his story,
when King Rumzan struck off his head with his sabre, saying,
"Praised be God that gave me life! I have avenged my mother with
my own hand." Then he repeated to them what his nurse Merjaneh
had told him of this same Ghezban; after which they turned to the
third prisoner and said to him, "Tell us who thou art and speak
the truth." Now this was the very camel-driver, whom the people
of Jerusalem hired to carry Zoulmekan to the hospital at
Damascus; but he threw him down on the fuel-heap and went his
way. So he told them how he had dealt with Zoulmekan, whereupon
Kanmakan took his sword forthright and cut off his head, saying,
"Praised be God who hath given me life, that I might requite this
traitor what he did with my father, for I have heard this very
story from King Zoulmekan himself!" Then they said to each other
"It remains only for us to take our wreak of the old woman
Shewahi, yclept Dhat ed Dewahi, for that she is the prime cause
of all these troubles. Who will deliver her into our hands, that
we may avenge ourselves upon her and wipe out our dishonour?" And
King Rumzan said, "Needs must we bring her hither." So he wrote a
letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid old woman, giving her to
know that he had subdued the kingdoms of Damascus and Mosul and
Irak and had broken up the host of the Muslims and captured their
princes and adding, "I desire thee of all urgency to come to me
without delay, bringing with thee the princess Sufiyeh, daughter
of King Afridoun, and whom thou wilt of the Nazarene chiefs, but
no troops; for the country is quiet and under our hand." And he
despatched the letter to her, which when she read, she rejoiced
greatly and forthwith equipping herself and Sufiyeh, set out with
their attendants and journeyed, without stopping, till they drew
near Baghdad. Then she sent a messenger to acquaint the King of
her arrival, whereupon quoth Rumzan, "We should do well to don
the habit of the Franks and go out to meet the old woman, to the
intent that we may be assured against her craft and perfidy." So
they clad themselves in Frankish apparel, and when Kuzia Fekan
saw them, she exclaimed, "By the Lord of Worship, did I not know
you, I should take you to be indeed Franks!" Then they sallied
forth, with a thousand horse, to meet the old woman, and King
Rumzan rode on before them. As soon as his eyes met hers, he
dismounted and walked towards her, and she, recognizing him,
dismounted also and embraced him; but he pressed her ribs with
his hands, till he well-nigh broke them. Quoth she, "What is
this, O my son?" But before she had done speaking, up came
Kanmakan and Dendan, and the horsemen with them cried out at the
women and slaves and took them all prisoners. Then the two Kings
returned to Baghdad, with their captives, and Rumzan bade
decorate the city three days long, at the end of which time they
brought out the old woman, with a tall red bonnet of palm-leaves
on her head, diademed with asses' dung, and preceded by a herald,
proclaiming aloud, "This is the reward of those who presume to
lay hands on kings and kings' sons!" Then they crucified her on
one of the gates of Baghdad; and her companions, seeing what
befell her, all embraced the faith of Islam. As for Kanmakan and
his uncle Rumzan and his aunt Nuzhet ez Zeman, they marvelled at
the wonderful events that had betided them and bade the scribes
set them down orderly in books, that those who came after might
read. Then they all abode in the enjoyment of all the delights
and comforts of life, till there overtook them the Destroyer of
Delights and the Sunderer of Companies; and this is all that hath
come down to us of the dealings of fortune with King Omar ben
Ennuman and his sons Sherkan and Zoulmekan and his son's son
Kanmakan and his daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman and her daughter Kuzia
Fekan.
END of VOL. II.
Notes to Volume 2.
[FN#1] A.H. 65-86.
[FN#2] i.e. none could approach him in the heat of fight.
[FN#3] Sophia.
[FN#4] Apparently Palestine (in this case).
[FN#5] i.e. man of might and munificence.
[FN#6] About £35,000.
[FN#7] Dhai ed Dewahi.
[FN#8] i.e. sperma hominis.
[FN#9] Apparently the names of noted wrestlers.
[FN#10] A phrase of frequent occurrence in the Koran, meaning
"your female slaves" or "the women ye have captured in war."
[FN#11] Quoth he (Solomon), "O chiefs, which of you will bring me
her throne?" (i.e. that of Belkis, queen of Sheba) ......."I,"
said an Afrit of the Jinn, "will bring it thee, ere thou canst
rise from thy stead, for I am able thereto and faithful!"--Koran
xxvii. 38, 39.
[FN#12] One of the fountains of Paradise.
[FN#13] Kutheiyir ibn Ali Juma, a well-known poet of the seventh
and eighth centuries at Medina. He was celebrated for his love of
Azzeh, in whose honour most of his poems were written. The writer
(or copyist) of this tale has committed an anachronism in
introducing these verses, as Kutheiyir was a contemporary of the
Khalif Abdulmelik ben Merwan before whose time Sherkan and his
father (both imaginary characters) are stated( see supra, p. 1
{Vol. 2, FN#1}) to have lived; but the whole narrative is full of
the grossest anachronisms, too numerous, indeed, to notice.
[FN#14] Jemil ben Mamer, another celebrated Arabian poet and
lover, a friend and contemporary of Kutheiyir.
[FN#15] A person who dies for love is esteemed a martyr by the
Arabs.
[FN#16] I suspect these verses to have been introduced in error
by some copyist. They appear utterly meaningless in this context.
[FN#17] The bishop.
[FN#18] Apparently referring in jest to her speech to him see
supra, p. 27 {see text, Vol. 2, after FN#17}, "Thou art beaten
in everything."
[FN#19] He likens the glance of her eye to the blade of a Yemen
sword,--a comparison of frequent occurrence in Arabic poetry.
[FN#20] Mehmil. A decorated framework or litter borne by a camel,
sent as an emblem of royalty with the caravan of pilgrims to
Mecca, by way of honour to the occasion and to the sacred object
of the pilgrimage, much as great people send their empty
carriages to attend the funeral of a person for whose memory they
wish to show their respect. The introduction of the Mehmil here
is another of the many anachronisms of the story, as the custom
is said not to here come into use till a much later period.
[FN#21] Mecca.
[FN#22] Medina.
[FN#23] Oriental substitutes for soap.
[FN#24] i.e., death.
[FN#25] Apparently the Bedouin was angry with the merchant for
praising the girl to her face and perhaps also alarmed at finding
that he had kidnapped a young lady of consequence, where he only
thought to have made prize of a pretty wench of humble condition
and friendless.
[FN#26] Delight of the age.
[FN#27] Affliction (or wrath) of the age.
[FN#28] For fuel.
[FN#29] "God will open on me another gate (or means) of making my
living." A common formula, meaning, "It is not enough."
[FN#30] Or state problems.
[FN#31] One of the four great Muslim sects or schools of
theology, taking its name from the Imam es Shafi (see post, p.
131, note). {see Vol. 2 FN#89}
[FN#32] Second of the Abbasside Khalifs, A.H. 136-158.
[FN#33] The second Khalif after Mohammed (A.H. 13-23) and the
most renowned for piety and just government of all the borders of
the office, except perhaps his descendant Omar ben Abdulaziz
(A.H. 99-102).
[FN#34] As a reward (in the next world) for good deeds.
[FN#35] The fourth Khalif.
[FN#36] The word rendered "good breeding" may also be translated
"polite accomplishments" or "mental discipline" and has a great
number of other meanings.
[FN#37] Sixth Khalif and founder of the Ommiade dynasty (A.H. 41
60).
[FN#38] One of the most notable men of the day, chief of the
great tribe of the Benou Temim. He was a contemporary of the
Prophet and was held in much esteem by Muawiyeh.
[FN#39] Surname of Ahnaf.
[FN#40] Governor of Bassora and other places under the first four
Khalifs.
[FN#41] Ziad teen Abou Sufyan, illegitimate brother of the Khalif
Muawiyeh, afterwards governor of Bassora Cufa and the Hejaz.
[FN#42] Because it might have been taken to mean, "inhabitants of
hell."
[FN#43] i.e. death.
[FN#44] A battle fought near Medina, A.D. 625, in which Mohammed
was defeated by the Meccans under Abou Sufyan.
[FN#45] One of Mohammed's widows and Omar's own daughter.
[FN#46] A well-known man of letters and theologian of the seventh
and eighth centuries.
[FN#47] i.e. to prepare himself by good works, etc., for the
world to come.
[FN#48] A celebrated Cufan theologian of the eighth century.
[FN#49] i.e. for the next world.