thus addressed the jeweller, "Rest is gained only by work and success is
gendered only by help of the generous. Now I have acquainted thee with
our affair and it is in thy hand to expose us or to shield us; I say no
more, because thy generosity requireth naught. Thou knowest that this my
handmaiden keepeth my counsel and therefore occupieth high place in my
favour; and I have selected her to transact my affairs of importance. So
let none be worthier in thy sight than she and acquaint her with thine
affair; and be of good cheer, for on her account thou art safe from all
fear, and there is no place shut upon thee but she shall open it to
thee. She shall bring thee my messages to Ali bin Bakkar and thou shalt
be our intermediary." So saying, she rose, scarcely able to rise, and
fared forth, the jeweller faring before her to the door of her house,
after which he returned and sat down again in his place, having seen of
her beauty and heard of her speech what dazzled him and dazed his wit,
and having witnessed of her grace and courtesy what bewitched his
sprite. He sat musing on her perfections till his mind waxed tranquil,
when he called for food and ate enough to keep soul and body together.
Then he changed his clothes and went out; and, repairing to the house of
the youth Ali bin Bakkar, knocked at the door. The servants hastened to
admit him and walked before him till they had brought him to their
master, whom he found strown upon his bed. Now when he saw the jeweller,
he said to him, "Thou hast tarried long from me, and that hath heaped
care upon my care." Then he dismissed his servants and bade the doors be
shut; after which he said to the jeweller, "By Allah, O my brother, I
have not closed my eyes since the day I saw thee last; for the
slave-girl came to me yesterday with a sealed letter from her mistress
Shams al-Nahar;" and went on to tell him all that had passed with her,
adding, "By the Lord, I am indeed perplexed concerning mine affair and
my patience faileth me: for Abu al-Hasan was a comforter who cheered me
because he knew the slave-girl." When the jeweller heard his words, he
laughed; and Ali said, "Why dost thou laugh at my words, thou on whose
coming I congratulated myself and to whom I looked for provision against
the shifts of fortune?" Then he sighed and wept and repeated these
couplets:[210]—
Full many laugh at tears they see me shed ✿ Who had shed tears an bore
they what I bore;
None feeleth pity for th' afflicted's woe, ✿ Save one as anxious and in
woe galore:
My passion, yearning, sighing, thought, repine ✿ Are for me cornered in
my heart's deep core:
He made a home there which he never quits, ✿ Yet rare our meetings, not
as heretofore:
No friend to stablish in his place I see; ✿ No intimate but only he
and——he.
Now when the jeweller heard these lines and understood their
significance, he wept also and told him all that had passed betwixt
himself and the slave-girl and her mistress since he left him. And Ali
bin Bakkar gave ear to his speech, and at every word he heard his colour
shifted from white to red and his body grew now stronger and then weaker
till the tale came to an end, when he wept and said, "O my brother, I am
a lost man in any case: would mine end were nigh, that I might be at
rest from all this! But I beg thee, of thy favour, to be my helper and
comforter in all my affairs till Allah fulfil whatso be His will; and I
will not gainsay thee with a single word." Quoth the jeweller, "Nothing
will quench thy fire save union with her whom thou lovest; and the
meeting must be in other than this perilous place. Better it were in a
house of mine where the girl and her mistress met me; which place she
chose for herself, to the intent that ye twain may there meet and
complain each to other of what you have suffered from the pangs of
love." Quoth Ali bin Bakkar, "O good Sir, do as thou wilt and with Allah
be thy reward!; and what thou deemest is right do it forthright: but be
not long in doing it, lest I perish of this anguish." So I abode with
him (said the jeweller) that night conversing with him till the morning
morrowed,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller
continued:—So I abode with him that night conversing with him till the
morning morrowed, when I prayed the dawn-prayers and, going out from
him, returned to my house. Hardly had I settled down when the damsel
came up and saluted me; and I returned her salutation and told her what
had passed between myself and Ali bin Bakkar, and she said, "Know that
the Caliph hath left us and there is no one in our place and it is safer
for us and better." Replied I, "Sooth thou sayest; yet is it not like my
other house which is both fitter and surer for us;" and the slave-girl
rejoined, "Be it as thou seest fit. I am now going to my lady and will
tell her what thou sayest and acquaint her with all thou hast
mentioned." So she went away and sought her mistress and laid the
project before her, and presently returned and said to me, "It is to be
as thou sayest: so make us ready the place and expect us." Then she took
out of her breast-pocket a purse of dinars and gave this message, "My
lady saluteth thee and saith to thee:—Take this and provide therewith
what the case requireth." But I swore that I would accept naught of it;
so she took the purse and returning to her mistress, told her, "He would
not receive the money, but gave it back to me." "No matter," answered
Shams al-Nahar. As soon as the slave-girl was gone (continued the
jeweller), I arose and betook myself to my other house and transported
thither all that was needful, by way of vessels and furniture and rich
carpets; and I did not forget china vases and cups of glass and gold and
silver; and I made ready meat and drink required for the occasion. When
the damsel came and saw what I had done, it pleased her and she bade me
fetch Ali bin Bakkar; but I said, "None shall bring him save thou."
Accordingly she went to him and brought him back perfectly dressed and
looking his best. I met him and greeted him and then seated him upon a
divan befitting his condition, and set before him sweet-scented flowers
in vases of china and vari-coloured glass.[211] Then I set on a tray of
many-tinted meats such as broaden the breast with their sight, and sat
talking with him and diverting him, whilst the slave-girl went away and
was absent till after sundown-prayers, when she returned with Shams
al-Nahar, attended by two maids and none else. Now as soon as she saw
Ali bin Bakkar and he saw her, he rose and embraced her, and she on her
side embraced him and both fell in a fit to the ground. They lay for a
whole hour insensible; then, coming to themselves, they began mutually
to complain of the pains of separation. Thereupon they drew near to each
other and sat talking charmingly, softly, tenderly; after which they
somewhat perfumed themselves and fell to thanking me for what I had done
for them. Quoth I, "Have ye a mind for food?" "Yes," quoth they. So I
set before them a small matter of food and they ate till they were
satisfied and then washed their hands; after which I led them to another
sitting-room and brought them wine. So they drank and drank deep and
inclined to each other; and presently Shams al-Nahar said to me, "O my
master, complete thy kindness by bringing us a lute or other instrument
of mirth and music that the measure of our joy may be fully filled." I
replied, "On my head and eyes!" and rising brought her a lute, which she
took and tuned; then laying it in her lap she touched it with a masterly
touch, at once exciting to sadness and changing sorrow to gladness;
after which she sang these two couplets:—
My sleeplessness would show I love to bide on wake; ✿ And would my
leanness prove that sickness is my make:
And tear-floods course adown the cheeks they only scald; ✿ Would I knew
union shall disunion overtake!
Then she went on to sing the choicest and most affecting poesy to many
and various modes, till our senses were bewitched and the very room
danced with excess of delight and surprise at her sweet singing; and
neither thought nor reason was left in us. When we had sat awhile and
the cup had gone round amongst us, the damsel took the lute and sang to
a lively measure these couplets:—
My love a meeting promised me and kept it faithfully, ✿ One night as
many I shall count in number and degree:
O Night of joyance Fate vouchsafed to faithful lovers tway, ✿ Uncaring
for the railer loon and all his company!
My lover lay the Night with me and clipt me with his right, ✿ While I
with left embraced him, a-faint for ecstasy;
And hugged him to my breast and sucked the sweet wine of his lips, ✿
Full savouring the honey-draught the honey-man sold to me.
Whilst we were thus drowned in the sea of gladness (continued the
jeweller) behold, there came in to us a little maid trembling and said,
"O my lady, look how you may go away for the folk have found you out and
have surrounded the house; and we know not the cause of this!" When I
heard her words, I arose startled and lo! in rushed a slave-girl who
cried, "Calamity hath come upon you." At the same moment the door was
burst open and there rushed in upon us ten men masked in kerchiefs with
hangers in their hands and swords by their sides, and as many more
behind them. When I saw this, the world was straitened on me for all its
wideness, and I looked to the door but saw no issue; so I sprang from
the terrace into the house of one of my neighbours and there hid myself.
Thence I found that folk had entered my lodgings and were making a
mighty hubbub; and I concluded that the Caliph had got wind of us and
had sent his Chief of the Watch to seize us and bring us before him. So
I abode confounded and ceased not remaining in my place, without any
possibility of quitting it till midnight. And presently the house-master
arose, for he had heard me moving, and he feared with exceeding great
fear of me; so he came forth from his room with drawn brand in hand and
made at me, saying, "Who is this in my house?" Quoth I, "I am thy
neighbour the jeweller;" and he knew me and retired. Then he fetched a
light and coming up to me, said, "O my brother, indeed that which hath
befallen thee this night is no light matter to me." I replied, "O my
brother, tell me who was in my house and entered it breaking in my door;
for I fled to thee not knowing what was to do." He answered, "Of a truth
the robbers who attacked our neighbours yesterday and slew such an one
and took his goods, saw thee on the same day bringing furniture into
this house; so they broke in upon thee and stole thy goods and slew thy
guests." Then we arose (pursued the jeweller), I and he, and repaired to
my house, which we found empty without a stick remaining in it; so I was
confounded at the case and said to myself, "As for the gear I care
naught about its loss, albeit I borrowed part of the stuff from my
friends and it hath come to grief; yet there is no harm in that, for
they know my excuse in the plunder of my property and the pillage of my
place. But as for Ali bin Bakkar and the Caliph's favourite concubine, I
fear lest their case get bruited abroad and this cause the loss of my
life." So I turned to my neighbour and said to him, "Thou art my brother
and my neighbour and wilt cover my nakedness; what then dost thou advise
me to do?" The man answered, "What I counsel thee to do is to keep quiet
and wait; for they who entered thy house and took thy goods have
murdered the best men of a party from the palace of the Caliphate and
have killed not a few of the watchmen: the government officers and
guards are now in quest of them on every road and haply they will hit
upon them, whereby thy wish will come about without effort of thine."
The jeweller hearing these words returned to his other house, that
wherein he dwelt,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the jeweller
heard these words he returned to his other house wherein he dwelt, and
said to himself, "Indeed this that hath befallen me is what Abu al-Hasan
feared and from which he fled to Bassorah. And now I have fallen into
it." Presently the pillage of his pleasure-house was noised abroad among
the folk, and they came to him from all sides and places, some exulting
in his misfortune and others excusing him and condoling with his sorrow;
whilst he bewailed himself to them and for grief neither ate meat nor
drank drink. And as he sat, repenting him of what he had done, behold
one of his servants came in to him and said, "There is a person at the
door who asketh for thee; and I know him not." The jeweller went forth
to him and saluted him who was a stranger; and the man whispered to him,
"I have somewhat to say between our two selves." Thereupon he brought
him in and asked him, "What hast thou to tell me?" Quoth the man, "Come
with me to thine other house;" and the jeweller enquired, "Dost thou
then know my other house?" Replied the other, "I know all about thee and
I know that also whereby Allah will dispel thy dolours." So I said to
myself (continued the jeweller) "I will go with him whither he will;"
and went out and walked on till we came to my second house; and when the
man saw it he said to me, "It is without door or door-keeper, and we
cannot possibly sit in it; so come thou with me to another place." Then
the man continued passing from stead to stead (and I with him) till
night overtook us. Yet I put no question to him of the matter in hand
and we ceased not to walk on, till we reached the open country. He kept
saying, "Follow me," and quickened his pace to a trot, whilst I trotted
after him heartening my heart to go on, until we reached the river,
where he took boat with me, and the boatman rowed us over to the other
bank. Then he landed from the boat and I landed after him; and he took
my hand and led me to a street which I had never entered in all my days,
nor do I know in what quarter it was. Presently the man stopped at the
door of a house, and opening it entered and made me enter with him;
after which he locked the door with an iron padlock,[212] and led me
along the vestibule, till he brought me in the presence of ten men who
were as though they were one and the same man; they being brothers. We
saluted them (continued the jeweller) and they returned our greeting and
bade us be seated; so we sat down. Now I was like to die for excess of
weariness; but they brought me rose-water and sprinkled it on my face;
after which they gave me a sherbet to drink and set before me food
whereof some of them ate with me. Quoth I to myself, "Were there aught
harmful in the food, they would not eat with me." So I ate, and when we
had washed our hands, each of us returned to his place. Then they asked
me, "Dost thou know us?" and I answered, "No! nor in my life have I ever
seen you; nay, I know not even him who brought me hither." Said they,
"Tell us thy tidings and lie not at all." Replied I, "Know then that my
case is wondrous and my affair marvellous; but wot ye anything about
me?" They rejoined, "Yes! it was we took thy goods yesternight and
carried off thy friend and her who was singing to him." Quoth I, "Allah
let down His veil over you! Where be my friend and she who was singing
to him?" They pointed with their hands to one side and replied, "Yonder,
but, by Allah, O our brother, the secret of their case is known to none
save to thee, for from the time we brought the twain hither up to this
day, we have not looked upon them nor questioned them of their
condition, seeing them to be persons of rank and dignity. Now this and
this only it was that hindered our killing them: so tell us the truth of
their case and thou shalt be assured of thy safety and of theirs." When
I heard this (continued the jeweller) I almost died of fright and
horror, and I said to them, "Know ye, O my brethren, that if generosity
were lost, it would not be found save with you; and had I a secret which
I feared to reveal, none but your breasts would conceal it." And I went
on exaggerating their praises in this fashion, till I saw that frankness
and readiness to speak out would profit me more than concealing facts;
so I told them all that had betided me to the very end of the tale. When
they heard it, they said, "And is this young man Ali Bakkar-son and this
lady Shams al-Nahar?" I replied "Yes." Now this was grievous to them and
they rose and made their excuses to the two and then they said to me,
"Of what we took from thy house part is spent, but here is what is left
of it." So speaking, they gave me back most of my goods and they engaged
to return them to their places in my house, and to restore me the rest
as soon as they could. My heart was set at ease till they split into two
parties, one with me and the other against me; and we fared forth from
that house and such was my case. But as regards Ali bin Bakkar and Shams
al-Nahar; they were well-nigh dying for excess of fear, when I went up
to them and saluting them, asked, "What happened to the damsel and the
two maids, and where be they gone?"; and they answered only, "We know
nothing of them." Then we walked on and stinted not till we came to the
river-bank where the barque lay; and we all boarded it, for it was the
same which had brought me over on the day before. The boatman rowed us
to the other side; but hardly had we landed and taken seat on the bank
to rest, when a troop of horse swooped down on us like eagles and
surrounded us on all sides and places, whereupon the robbers with us
sprang up in haste like vultures, and the boat put back for them and
took them in and the boatman pushed off into mid-stream, leaving us on
the river bank, unable to move or to stand still. Then the chief
horseman said to us, "Whence be ye!"; and we were perplexed for an
answer, but I said (continued the jeweller), "Those ye saw with us are
rogues; we know them not. As for us, we are singers, and they intended
taking us to sing for them, nor could we get free of them, save by
subtlety and soft words; so on this occasion they let us go, their works
being such as you have seen." But they looked at Shams al-Nahar and Ali
bin Bakkar and said to me, "Thou hast not spoken sooth but, if thy tale
be true, tell us who ye are and whence ye are; and what be your place
and in what quarter you dwell." I knew not what to answer them, but
Shams al-Nahar sprang up and approaching the Captain of the horsemen
spoke with him privily, whereupon he dismounted from his steed and,
setting her on horseback, took the bridle and began to lead his beast.
And two of his men did the like with the youth, Ali bin Bakkar, and it
was the same with myself. The Commandant of the troop ceased not faring
on with us, till they reached a certain part of the river bank, when he
sang out in some barbarous jargon[213] and there came to us a number of
men with two boats. Then the Captain embarked us in one of them (and he
with us) whilst the rest of his men put off in the other, and rowed on
with us till we arrived at the palace of the Caliphate where Shams
al-Nahar landed. And all the while we endured the agonies of death for
excess of fear, and they ceased not faring till they came to a place
whence there was a way to our quarter. Here we landed and walked on,
escorted by some of the horsemen, till we came to Ali bin Bakkar's
house; and when we entered it, our escort took leave of us and went
their way. We abode there, unable to stir from the place and not knowing
the difference between morning and evening; and in such case we
continued till the dawn of the next day. And when it was again
nightfall, I came to myself and saw Ali bin Bakkar and the women and men
of his household weeping over him, for he was stretched out without
sense or motion. Some of them came to me and thoroughly arousing me
said, "Tell us what hath befallen our son and say how came he in this
plight?" Replied I, "O folk, hearken to me"——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller
answered them, "O folk, hearken to my words and give me no trouble and
annoyance! but be patient and he will come to and tell you his tale for
himself." And I was hard upon them and made them afraid of a scandal
between me and them, but as we were thus, behold, Ali bin Bakkar moved
on his carpet-bed; whereat his friends rejoiced and the stranger folk
withdrew from him; but his people forbade me to go away. Then they
sprinkled rose-water on his face and he presently revived and sensed the
air; whereupon they questioned him of his case, and he essayed to answer
them but his tongue could not speak forthright and he signed to them to
let me go home. So they let me go, and I went forth hardly crediting my
escape and returned to my own house, supported by two men. When my
people saw me thus, they rose up and set to shrieking and slapping their
faces; but I signed to them with my hand to be silent and they were
silent. Then the two men went their way and I threw myself down on my
bed, where I lay the rest of the night and awoke not till the forenoon,
when I found my people gathered round me and saying, "What calamity
befel thee, and what evil with its mischief did fell thee?" Quoth I,
"Bring me somewhat to drink." So they brought me drink, and I drank of
it what I would and said to them, "What happened, happened." Thereupon
they went away and I made my excuses to my friends, and asked if any of
the goods that had been stolen from my other house had been returned.
They answered, "Yes! some of them have come back; by token that a man
entered and threw them down within the doorway and we saw him not." So I
comforted myself and abode in my place two days, unable to rise and
leave it; and presently I took courage and went to the bath, for I was
worn out with fatigue and troubled in mind for Ali bin Bakkar and Shams
al-Nahar, because I had no news of them all this time and could neither
get to Ali's house nor, out of fear for my life, take my rest in mine
own. And I repented to Almighty Allah of what I had done and praised Him
for my safety. Presently my fancy suggested to me to go to such and such
a place and see the folk and solace myself; so I went on foot to the
cloth-market and sat awhile with a friend of mine there. When I rose to
go, I saw a woman standing over against me; so I looked at her, and lo!
it was Shams al-Nahar's slave-girl. When I saw her, the world grew dark
in my eyes and I hurried on. She followed me, but I was seized with
affright and fled from her, and whenever I looked at her, a trembling
came upon me whilst she pursued me, saying, "Stop, that I may tell thee
somewhat!" But I heeded her not and never ceased walking till I reached
a mosque, and she entered after me. I prayed a two-bow prayer, after
which I turned to her and, sighing, said, "What dost thou want?" She
asked me how I did, and I told her all that had befallen myself and Ali
bin Bakkar and besought her for news of herself. She answered, "Know
that when I saw the robbers break open thy door and rush in, I was in
sore terror, for I doubted not but that they were the Caliph's officers
and would seize me and my mistress and we should perish forthwith: so we
fled over the roofs, I and the maids; and, casting ourselves down from a
high place, came upon some people with whom we took refuge; and they
received us and brought us to the palace of the Caliphate, where we
arrived in the sorriest of plights. We concealed our case and abode on
coals of fire till nightfall, when I opened the river-gate and, calling
the boatman who had carried us the night before, said to him:—I know not
what is become of my mistress; so take me in the boat, that we may go
seek her on the river: haply I shall chance on some news of her.
Accordingly he took me into the boat and went about with me and ceased
not wending till midnight, when I spied a barque making towards the
water gate, with one man rowing and another standing up and a woman
lying prostrate between them twain. And they rowed on till they reached
the shore when the woman landed, and I looked at her, and behold, it was
Shams al-Nahar. Thereupon I got out and joined her, dazed for joy to see
her after having lost all hopes of finding her alive."——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,