went on telling the jeweller, "I was dazed for joy to see her, after
having lost all hopes of finding her alive. When I came up to her, she
bade me give the man who had brought her thither a thousand gold pieces;
and we carried her in, I and the two maids, and laid her on her bed;
where she passed that night in a sorely troubled state; and, when
morning dawned, I forbade the women and eunuchs to go in to her, or even
to draw near her for the whole of that day; but on the next she revived
and somewhat recovered and I found her as if she had come out of her
grave. I sprinkled rose-water upon her face and changed her clothes and
washed her hands and feet; nor did I cease to coax her, till I brought
her to eat a little and drink some wine, though she had no mind to any
such matter. As soon as she had breathed the fresh air and strength
began to return to her, I took to upbraiding her, saying:—O my lady,
consider and have pity on thyself; thou seest what hath betided us:
surely, enough and more than enough of evil hath befallen thee; for
indeed thou hast been nigh upon death. She said:—By Allah, O good
damsel, in sooth death were easier to me than what hath betided me; for
it seemed as though I should be slain and no power could save me. When
the robbers took us from the jeweller's house they asked me, Who mayst
thou be? and hearing my answer:—I am a singing girl, they believed me.
Then they turned to Ali bin Bakkar and made enquiries about him:—And who
art thou and what is thy condition?; whereto he replied:—I am of the
common kind. So they took us and carried us along, without our
resisting, to their abode; and we hurried on with them for excess of
fear; but when they had us set down with them in the house, they looked
hard at me and seeing the clothes I wore and my necklaces and jewellery,
believed not my account of myself and said to me:—Of a truth these
necklaces belong to no singing-girl; so be soothfast and tell us the
truth of thy case. I returned them no answer whatever, saying in my
mind:—Now will they slay me for the sake of my apparel and ornaments;
and I spoke not a word. Then the villains turned to Ali bin Bakkar,
asking:—And thou, who art thou and whence art thou? for thy semblance
seemeth not as that of the common kind. But he was silent and we ceased
not to keep our counsel and to weep, till Allah softened the rogues'
hearts to pity and they said to us:—Who is the owner of the house
wherein ye were? We answered:—Such an one, the jeweller; whereupon quoth
one of them:—I know him right well and I wot the other house where he
liveth and I will engage to bring him to you this very hour. Then they
agreed to set me in a place by myself and Ali bin Bakkar in a place by
himself, and said to us:—Be at rest ye twain and fear not lest your
secret be divulged; ye are safe from us. Meanwhile their comrade went
away and returned with the jeweller, who made known to them our case,
and we joined company with him; after which a man of the band fetched a
barque, wherein they embarked us all three and, rowing us over the
river, landed us with scant ceremony on the opposite bank and went their
ways. Thereupon up came a horse-patrol and asked us who we were; so I
spoke with the Captain of the watch and said to him:—I am Shams
al-Nahar, the Caliph's favourite; I had drunken strong wine and went out
to visit certain of my acquaintance of the wives of the Wazirs, when
yonder rogues came upon me and laid hold of me and brought me to this
place; but when they saw you, they fled as fast as they could. I met
these men with them; so do thou escort me and them to a place of safety
and I will requite thee as I am well able to do. When the Captain of the
watch heard my speech, he knew me and alighting, mounted me on his
horse; and in like manner did two of his men with Ali bin Bakkar. So I
spoke to her (continued the handmaid) and blamed her doings, and bade
her beware, and said to her:—O my lady, have some care for thy life! But
she was angered at my words and cried out at me; accordingly I left her
and came forth in quest of thee, but found thee not and dared not go to
the house of Ali bin Bakkar; so stood watching for thee, that I might
ask thee of him and wot how it goes with him. And I pray thee, of thy
favour, to take of me some money, for thou hast doubtless borrowed from
thy friends part of the gear and as it is lost, it behoveth thee to make
it good with folk." I replied, "To hear is to obey! go on;" and I walked
with her till we drew near my house, when she said to me, "Wait here
till I come back to thee."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
slave-girl had addressed the jeweller, "Wait here till I come back to
thee!" she went away and presently returned with the money, which she
put (continued the jeweller) into my hand, saying, "O my master, in what
place shall we meet?" Quoth I, "I will start and go to my house at once
and suffer hard things for thy sake and contrive how thou mayst win
access to him, for such access is difficult at this present." Said she,
"Let me know some spot, where I shall come to thee," and I answered, "In
my other house; I will go thither forthright and have the doors mended
and the place made safe again, and henceforth we will meet there." Then
she took leave of me and went her way, whilst I carried the money home,
and counting it, found it five thousand dinars. So I gave my people some
of it and to all who had lent me aught I made good their loss, after
which I arose and took my servants and repaired to my other house whence
the things had been stolen; and I brought builders and carpenters and
masons who restored it to its former state. Moreover, I placed my
negress-slave there and forgot the mishaps which had befallen me. Then I
fared forth and repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's house and, when I reached
it, his slave-servants accosted me, saying, "Our lord calleth for thee
night and day, and hath promised to free whichever of us bringeth thee
to him; so they have been wandering about in quest of thee everywhere
but knew not in what part to find thee. Our master is by way of
recovering strength, but at times he reviveth and at times he relapseth;
and whenever he reviveth he nameth thee, and saith:—Needs must ye bring
him to me, though but for the twinkling of an eye; and then he sinketh
back into his torpor." Accordingly (continued the jeweller) I
accompanied the slave and went in to Ali bin Bakkar; and, finding him
unable to speak, sat down at his head, whereupon he opened his eyes and
seeing me, wept and said, "Welcome and well come!" I raised him and
making him sit up, strained him to my bosom, and he said, "Know, O my
brother, that, from the hour I took to my bed, I have not sat up till
now: praise to Allah that I see thee again!" And I ceased not to prop
him and support him until I made him stand on his feet and walk a few
steps, after which I changed his clothes and he drank some wine: but all
this he did for my satisfaction. Then, seeing him somewhat restored, I
told him what had befallen me with the slave-girl (none else hearing
me), and said to him, "Take heart and be of good courage, I know what
thou sufferest." He smiled and I added, "Verily nothing shall betide
thee save what shall rejoice thee and medicine thee." Thereupon he
called for food, which being brought, he signed to his pages, and they
withdrew. Then quoth he to me, "O my brother, hast thou seen what hath
befallen me?"; and he made excuses to me and asked how I had fared all
that while. I told him everything that had befallen me, from beginning
to end, whereat he wondered and calling his servants, said, "Bring me
such and such things." They brought in fine carpets and hangings and,
besides that, vessels of gold and silver, more than I had lost, and he
gave them all to me; so I sent them to my house and abode with him that
night. When the day began to yellow, he said to me, "Know thou that as
to all things there is an end, so the end of love is either death or
accomplishment of desire. I am nearer unto death, would I had died ere
this befel!; and had not Allah favoured us, we had been found out and
put to shame. And now I know not what shall deliver me from this my
strait, and were it not that I fear Allah, I would hasten my own death;
for know, O my brother, that I am like bird in cage and that my life is
of a surety perished, choked by the distresses which have befallen me;
yet hath it a period stablished firm and an appointed term." And he wept
and groaned and began repeating:—
Enough of tears hath shed the lover-wight, ✿ When grief outcast all
patience from his sprite:
He hid the secrets which united us, ✿ But now His eye parts what He did
unite!
When he had finished his verses, the jeweller said to him, "O my lord, I
now intend returning to my house." He answered, "There be no harm in
that; go and come back to me with news as fast as possible, for thou
seest my case." So I took leave of him (continued the jeweller) and went
home, and hardly had I sat down, when up came the damsel, choked with
long weeping. I asked, "What is the matter?"; and she answered, "O my
lord, know then that what we feared hath befallen us; for, when I left
thee yesterday and returned to my lady, I found her in a fury with one
of the two maids who were with us the other night, and she ordered her
to be beaten. The girl was frightened and ran away; but, as she was
leaving the house, one of the door-porters and guards of the gate met
her and took her up and would have sent her back to her mistress.
However, she let fall some hints, which were a disclosure to him; so he
cajoled her and led her on to talk, and she tattled about our case and
let him know of all our doings. This affair came to the ears of the
Caliph, who bade remove my mistress, Shams al-Nahar, and all her gear to
the palace of the Caliphate; and set over her a guard of twenty eunuchs.
Since then to the present hour he hath not visited her nor hath given
her to know the reason of his action, but I suspect this to be the
cause; wherefore I am in fear for my life and am sore troubled, O my
lord, knowing not what I shall do, nor with what contrivance I shall
order my affair and hers; for she hath none by her more trusted or more
trustworthy than myself."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the slave-girl
thus addressed the jeweller, "And in very sooth my lady hath none by her
more trusted or more trustworthy in matter of secrecy than myself. So go
thou, O my master, and speed thee without delay to Ali bin Bakkar; and
acquaint him with this, that he may be on his guard and ward; and, if
the affair be discovered, we will cast about for some means whereby to
save our lives." On this (continued the jeweller), I was seized with
sore trouble and the world grew dark in my sight for the slave-girl's
words; and when she was about to wend, I said to her, "What reckest thou
and what is to be done?" Quoth she, "My counsel is that thou hasten to
Ali bin Bakkar, if thou be indeed his friend and desire to save him;
thine be it to carry him this news at once without aught of stay and
delay, or regard for far and near; and mine be it to sniff about for
further news." Then she took her leave of me and went away: so I rose
and followed her track and, betaking myself to Ali bin Bakkar, found him
flattering himself with impossible expectations. When he saw me
returning to him so soon, he said, "I see thou hast come back to me
forthwith and only too soon." I answered, "Patience, and cut short this
foolish connection and shake off the pre-occupation wherein thou art,
for there hath befallen that which may bring about the loss of thy life
and good." Now when he heard this, he was troubled and strongly moved;
and he said to me, "O my brother, tell me what hath happened." Replied
I, "O my lord, know that such and such things have happened and thou art
lost without recourse, if thou abide in this thy house till the end of
the day." At this, he was confounded and his soul well-nigh departed his
body, but he recovered himself and said to me, "What shall I do, O my
brother, and what counsel hast thou to offer?" Answered I, "My advice is
that thou take what thou canst of thy property and whom of thy slaves
thou trustest, and flee with us to a land other than this, ere this very
day come to an end." And he said, "I hear and I obey." So he rose,
confused and dazed like one in epilepsy, now walking and now falling,
and took what came under his hand. Then he made an excuse to his
household and gave them his last injunctions, after which he loaded
three camels and mounted his beast; and I did likewise. We went forth
privily in disguise and fared on and ceased not our wayfare the rest of
that day and all its night, till nigh upon morning, when we unloaded
and, hobbling our camels, lay down to sleep. But we were worn with
fatigue and we neglected to keep watch, so that there fell upon us
robbers, who stripped us of all we had and slew our slaves, when these
would have beaten them off, leaving us naked and in the sorriest of
plights, after they had taken our money and lifted our beasts and
disappeared. As soon as they were gone, we arose and walked on till
morning dawned, when we came to a village which we entered, and finding
a mosque took refuge therein for we were naked. So we sat in a corner
all that day and we passed the next night without meat or drink; and at
daybreak we prayed our dawn-prayer and sat down again. Presently behold,
a man entered and saluting us prayed a two-bow prayer, after which he
turned to us and said, "O folk, are ye strangers?" We replied, "Yes: the
bandits waylaid us and stripped us naked, and we came to this town but
know none here with whom we may shelter." Quoth he, "What say ye? will
you come home with me?" And (pursued the jeweller) I said to Ali bin
Bakkar, "Up and let us go with him, and we shall escape two evils; the
first, our fear lest some one who knoweth us enter this mosque and
recognise us, so that we come to disgrace; and the second, that we are
strangers and have no place wherein to lodge." And he answered
helplessly, "As thou wilt." Then the man said to us again, "O ye poor
folk, give ear unto me and come with me to my place," and I replied,
"Hearkening and obedience;" whereupon he pulled off a part of his own
clothes and covered us therewith and made his excuses to us and spoke
kindly to us. Then we arose and accompanied him to his house and he
knocked at the door, whereupon a little slave-boy came out and opened to
us. The host entered and we followed him;[214] when he called for a
bundle of clothes and muslins for turbands, and gave us each a suit and
a piece; so we dressed and turbanded ourselves and sat us down.
Presently, in came a damsel with a tray of food and set it before us,
saying, "Eat." We ate some small matter and she took away the tray:
after which we abode with our host till nightfall, when Ali bin Bakkar
sighed and said to me, "Know, O my brother, that I am a dying man past
hope of life and I would charge thee with a charge: it is that, when
thou seest me dead, thou go to my parent[215] and tell her of my decease
and bid her come hither that she may be here to receive the visits of
condolence and be present at the washing of my corpse; and do thou
exhort her to bear my loss with patience." Then he fell down in a
fainting fit and, when he recovered he heard a damsel singing afar off
and making verses as she sang. Thereupon he addressed himself to give
ear to her and hearken to her voice; and now he was insensible, absent
from the world, and now he came to himself; and anon he wept for grief
and mourning at the love which had befallen him. Presently, he heard the
damsel who was singing repeat these couplets:—
Parting ran up to part from lover-twain ✿ Free converse, perfect
concord, friendship fain:
The Nights with shifting drifted us apart, ✿ Would heaven I wot if we
shall meet again:
How bitter after meeting 'tis to part, ✿ May lovers ne'er endure so
bitter pain!
Death-grip, death-choke, lasts for an hour and ends, ✿ But
parting-tortures aye in heart remain:
Could we but trace where Parting's house is placed, ✿ We would make
Parting eke of parting taste!
When Ali son of Bakkar heard the damsel's song, he sobbed one sob and
his soul quitted his body. As soon as I saw that he was dead (continued
the jeweller), I committed his corpse to the care of the house-master
and said to him "Know thou, that I am going to Baghdad, to tell his
mother and kinsfolk, that they may come hither and conduct his burial."
So I betook myself to Baghdad and, going to my house, changed my
clothes; after which I repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's lodging. Now when
his servants saw me, they came to me and questioned me of him, and I
bade them ask permission for me to go in to his mother. She gave me
leave; so I entered and saluting her, said, "Verily Allah ordereth the
lives of all creatures by His commandment and when He decreeth aught,
there is no escaping its fulfilment; nor can any soul depart but by
leave of Allah, according to the Writ which affirmeth the appointed
term."[216] She guessed by these words that her son was dead and wept
with sore weeping, then she said to me, "Allah upon thee! tell me, is my
son dead?" I could not answer her for tears and excess of grief, and
when she saw me thus, she was choked with weeping and fell to the ground
in a fit. As soon as she came to herself she said to me, "Tell me how it
was with my son." I replied, "May Allah abundantly compensate thee for
his loss!" and I told her all that had befallen him from beginning to
end. She then asked, "Did he give thee any charge?"; and I answered,
"Yes," and told her what he had said, adding, "Hasten to perform his
funeral." When she heard these words, she swooned away again; and, when
she recovered, she addressed herself to do as I charged her. Then I
returned to my house; and as I went along musing sadly upon the fair
gifts of his youth, behold, a woman caught hold of my hand;——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the jeweller thus
continued:—A woman caught hold of my hand; and I looked at her and lo!
it was the slave-girl who used to come from Shams al-Nahar, and she
seemed broken by grief. When we knew each other we both wept and ceased
not weeping till we reached my house, and I said to her, "Knowest thou
the news of the youth, Ali bin Bakkar?" She replied, "No, by Allah!"; so
I told her the manner of his death and all that had passed, whilst we
both wept; after which quoth I to her, "How is it with thy mistress?"
Quoth she, "The Commander of the Faithful would not hear a single word
against her; but, for the great love he bore her, saw all her actions in
a favourable light, and said to her:—O Shams al-Nahar, thou art dear to
me and I will bear with thee and bring the noses of thy foes to the
grindstone. Then he bade them furnish her an apartment decorated with
gold and a handsome sleeping-chamber, and she abode with him in all ease
of life and high favour. Now it came to pass that one day, as he sat at
wine according to his custom, with his favourite concubines in presence,
he bade them be seated in their several ranks and made Shams al-Nahar
sit by his side. But her patience had failed and her disorder had
redoubled upon her. Then he bade one of the damsels sing: so she took a
lute and tuning it struck the chords, and began to sing these verses:—
One craved my love and I gave all he craved of me, ✿ And tears on cheek
betray how 'twas I came to yield:
Tear-drops, meseemeth, are familiar with our case, ✿ Revealing what I
hide, hiding what I revealed:
How can I hope in secret to conceal my love, ✿ Which stress of passion
ever showeth unconcealed:
Death, since I lost my lover, is grown sweet to me; ✿ Would I knew what
their joys when I shall quit the field!"
Now when Shams al-Nahar heard these verses sung by the slave-girl, she
could not keep her seat; but fell down in a fainting-fit whereupon the
Caliph cast the cup from his hand and drew her to him crying out; and
the damsels also cried out, and the Prince of True Believers turned her
over and shook her, and lo and behold! she was dead. The Caliph grieved
over her death with sore grief and bade break all the vessels and
dulcimers[217] and other instruments of mirth and music which were in
the room; then carrying her body to his closet, he abode with her the
rest of the night. When the day broke, he laid her out and commanded to
wash her and shroud her and bury her. And he mourned for her with sore
mourning, and questioned not of her case nor of what caused her
condition. And I beg thee in Allah's name (continued the damsel) to let
me know the day of the coming of Ali bin Bakkar's funeral procession
that I may be present at his burial." Quoth I, "For myself, where thou
wilt thou canst find me; but thou, where art thou to be found, and who
can come at thee where thou art?" She replied, "On the day of Shams
al-Nahar's death, the Commander of the Faithful freed all her women,
myself among the rest;[218] and I am one of those now abiding at the
tomb in such a place." So I rose and accompanied her to the
burial-ground and piously visited Shams al-Nahar's tomb; after which I
went my way and ceased not to await the coming of Ali bin Bakkar's
funeral. When it arrived, the people of Baghdad went forth to meet it
and I went forth with them; and I saw the damsel among the women and she
the loudest of them in lamentation, crying out and wailing with a voice
that rent the vitals and made the heart ache. Never was seen in Baghdad
a finer funeral than his; and we ceased not to follow in crowds till we
reached the cemetery and buried him to the mercy of Almighty Allah; nor
from that time to this have I ceased to visit the tombs of Ali son of
Bakkar and of Shams al-Nahar. This, then, is their story, and Allah
Almighty have mercy upon them!"[219] And yet is not their tale
(continued Shahrazad) more wonderful than that of King Shahrimán. The
King asked her "And what was his tale?"——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Seventieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, as regards the
-----
Footnote 175:
_i.e._ a descendant, not a Prince.
Footnote 176:
The Arab shop is a kind of hole in the wall and buyers sit upon its
outer edge. (Pilgrimage i. 99).
Footnote 177:
By a similar image the chamæleon is called Abú Kurrat = Father of
coolness; because it is said to have the "coldest" eye of all animals
and insensible to heat and light, since it always looks at the sun.
Footnote 178:
This dividing the hemistich words is characteristic of certain tales;
so I have retained it although inevitably suggesting:—
I left Matilda at the U-
niversity of Gottingen.
Footnote 179:
These naïve offers in Eastern tales mostly come from the true
seducer—Eve. Europe, and England especially, still talks endless
absurdity upon the subject. A man of the world may "seduce" an utterly
innocent (which means an ignorant) girl. But to "seduce" a married
woman! What a farce!
Footnote 180:
Masculine again for feminine: the lines are as full of word-plays,
vulgarly called puns, as Sanskrit verses.
Footnote 181:
The Eastern heroine always has a good appetite and eats well. The
sensible Oriental would infinitely despise that _maladive_ Parisienne
in whom our neighbours delight, and whom I long to send to the
Hospital.
Footnote 182:
_i.e._ her rivals have discovered the secret of her heart.
Footnote 183:
_i.e._ blood as red as wine.
Footnote 184:
The wine-cup (sun-like) shines in thy hand; thy teeth are bright as
the Pleiads and thy face rises like a moon from the darkness of thy
dress-collar.
Footnote 185:
The masculine of Marjánah (Morgiana) "the she coral-branch;" and like
this a name generally given to negroes. We have seen white applied to
a blackamoor by way of metonomy and red is also connected with black
skins by way of fun. A Persian verse says:
"If a black wear red, e'en an ass would grin."
Footnote 186:
Suggesting that she had been sleeping.
Footnote 187:
Arab. "Raushan," a window projecting and latticed: the word is orig.
Persian: so Raushaná (splendour) = Roxana. It appears to me that this
beautiful name gains beauty by being understood.
Footnote 188:
The word means any servant, but here becomes a proper name. "Wasífah"
usually = a concubine.
Footnote 189:
_i.e._ eagerness, desire, love-longing.
Footnote 190:
Arab. "Rind," which may mean willow (oriental), bay or aloes wood:
Al-Asma'i denies that it ever signifies myrtle.
Footnote 191:
These lines occur in Night cxiv: by way of variety I give (with
permission) Mr. Payne's version (iii. 59).
Footnote 192:
Referring to the proverb "Al-Khauf maksúm" = fear (cowardice) is
equally apportioned: _i.e._ If I fear you, you fear me.
Footnote 193:
The fingers of the right band are struck upon the palm of the left.
Footnote 194:
There are intricate rules for "joining" the prayers; but this is
hardly the place for a subject discussed in all religious treatises.
(Pilgrimage iii. 239.)
Footnote 195:
The hands being stained with Henna and perhaps indigo in stripes are
like the ring-rows of chain armour. See Lane's illustration (Mod.
Egypt, chapt. i.)
Footnote 196: