the time draws nigh:
O thou who makest morn with light of brow, ✿ And with loosed brow-locks
night in lift to stye!
Thine idol-aspect made of me thy slave, ✿ Tempting as temptedst me in
days gone by:
'Tis just my liver fry with hottest love: ✿ Who worship fire for God
must fire aby:
Thou sellest like of me for worthless price; ✿ If thou must sell, ask
high of those who buy.
When Amjad heard these her words he said to her, "Wilt thou come to my
lodging or shall I go with thee to thine?" So she hung her head in shame
to the ground and repeated the words of Him whose Name be exalted, "Men
shall have the pre-eminence above women, because of those advantages
wherein Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the other."[387] Upon
this, Amjad took the hint——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Amjad took the
woman's hint and understood that she wished to go with him whither he
was going; he felt himself bounden to find a place wherein to receive
her, but was ashamed to carry her to the house of his host, the tailor.
So he walked on and she walked after him, and the two ceased not walking
from street to street and place to place, till she was tired and said to
him, "O my lord, where is thy house?" Answered he, "Before us a little
way." Then he turned aside into a handsome by-street, followed by the
young woman, and walked on till he came to the end, when he found it was
no thoroughfare and exclaimed, "There is no Majesty and there is no
Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Then raising his eyes, he
saw, at the upper end of the lane a great door with two stone benches;
but it was locked. So Amjad sat down on one of the benches and she on
the other; and she said to him, "O my lord, wherefore waitest thou?" He
bowed his head awhile to the ground then raised it and answered, "I am
awaiting my Mameluke who hath the key; for I bade him make me ready meat
and drink and flowers, to deck the wine-service against my return from
the bath." But he said to himself, "Haply the time will be tedious to
her and she will go about her business, leaving me here, when I will
wend my own way." However, as soon as she was weary of long waiting, she
said, "O my lord, thy Mameluke delayeth; and here are we sitting in the
street;" and she arose and took a stone and went up to the lock. Said
Amjad, "Be not in haste, but have patience till the servant come."
However, she hearkened not to him, but smote the wooden bolt with the
stone and broke it in half, whereupon the door opened. Quoth he, "What
possessed thee to do this deed?" Quoth she, "Pooh, pooh, my lord! what
matter it? Is not the house thy house and thy place?" He said, "There
was no need to break the bolt." Then the damsel entered, to the
confusion of Amjad, who knew not what to do for fear of the people of
the house; but she said to him, "Why dost thou not enter, O light of
mine eyes and core of my heart?" Replied he, "I hear and obey; but my
servant tarrieth long and I know not if he have done aught of what I
bade him and specially enjoined upon him, or not." Hereupon he entered,
sore in fear of the people of the house, and found himself in a handsome
saloon with four daïs'd recesses, each facing other, and containing
closets and raised seats, all bespread with stuffs of silk and brocade;
and in the midst was a jetting fountain of costly fashion, on whose
margin rested a covered tray of meats, with a leather tablecloth hanging
up and gem-encrusted dishes, full of fruits and sweet-scented flowers.
Hard by stood drinking vessels and a candlestick with a single
wax-candle therein; and the place was full of precious stuffs and was
ranged with chests and stools, and on each seat lay a parcel of clothes
upon which was a purse full of monies, gold and silver. The floor was
paved with marble and the house bore witness in every part to its
owner's fortune. When Amjad saw all this, he was confounded at his case
and said to himself, "I am a lost man! Verily we are Allah's and to
Allah we are returning!" As for the damsel, when she sighted the place
she rejoiced indeed with a joy nothing could exceed, and said to him,
"By Allah, O my lord, thy servant hath not failed of his duty; for see,
he hath swept the place and cooked the meat and set on the fruit; and
indeed I come at the best of times." But he paid no heed to her, his
heart being taken up with fear of the house-folk; and she said, "Fie, O
my lord, O my heart! What aileth thee to stand thus?" Then she sighed;
and, giving him a buss which sounded like the cracking of a walnut,
said, "O my lord, an thou have made an appointment with other than with
me, I will gird my middle and serve her and thee." Amjad laughed from a
heart full of rage and wrath and came forwards and sat down, panting and
saying to himself, "Alack, mine ill death and doom when the owner of the
place shall return!" Then she seated herself by him and fell to toying
and laughing, whilst Amjad sat careful and frowning, thinking a thousand
thoughts and communing with himself, "Assuredly the master of the house
cannot but come, and then what shall I say to him? he needs must kill me
and my life will be lost thus foolishly." Presently she rose and,
tucking up her sleeves, took a tray of food on which she laid the cloth
and then set it before Amjad and began to eat, saying, "Eat, O my lord."
So he came forward and ate; but the food was not pleasant to him; on the
contrary he ceased not to look towards the door, till the damsel had
eaten her fill, when she took away the tray of the meats and, setting on
the dessert, fell to eating of the dried fruits. Then she brought the
wine-service and opening the jar, filled a cup and handed it to Amjad,
who took it from her hand saying to himself, "Ah, ah! and well-away,
when the master of the house cometh and seeth me!"; and he kept his eyes
fixed on the threshold, even with cup in hand. While he was in this
case, lo! in came the master of the house, who was a white slave, one of
the chief men of the city, being Master of the Horse[388] to the King.
He had fitted up this saloon for his pleasures, that he might make merry
therein and be private with whom he would, and he had that day bidden a
youth whom he loved and had made this entertainment for him. Now the
name of this slave was Bahádur,[389] and he was open of hand, generous,
munificent and fain of alms-giving and charitable works.——And Shahzarad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Bahadur, the
Master of the Horse and the owner of the house, came to the door of the
saloon and found it open, he entered slowly and softly and looking in,
with head advanced and outstretched neck, saw Amjad and the girl sitting
before the dish of fruit and the wine-jar in front of them. Now Amjad at
that moment had the cup in his hand and his face turned to the door; and
when his glance met Bahadur's eyes his hue turned pale yellow and his
side-muscles quivered, so seeing his trouble Bahadur signed to him with
his finger on his lips, as much as to say, "Be silent and come hither to
me." Whereupon he set down the cup and rose and the damsel cried,
"Whither away?" He shook his head and, signing to her that he wished to
make water, went out into the passage barefoot. Now when he saw Bahadur
he knew him for the master of the house; so he hastened to him and,
kissing his hands, said to him, "Allah upon thee, O my lord, ere thou do
me a hurt, hear what I have to say." Then he told him who he was from
first to last and acquainted him with what caused him to quit his native
land and royal state, and how he had not entered his house of his free
will, but that it was the girl who had broken the lock-bolt and done all
this.[390] When Bahadur heard his story and knew that he was a King's
son, he felt for him and, taking compassion on him, said, "Hearken to
me, O Amjad, and do what I bid thee and I will guarantee thy safety from
that thou fearest; but, if thou cross me, I will kill thee." Amjad
replied, "Command me as thou wilt: I will not gainsay thee in aught; no,
never, for I am the freedman of thy bounty." Rejoined Bahadur, "Then go
back forthwith into the saloon, sit down in thy place and be at peace
and at thine ease; I will presently come in to thee, and when thou seest
me (remember my name is Bahadur) do thou revile me and rail at me,
saying:—What made thee tarry till so late? And accept no excuse from me;
nay, so far from it, rise and beat me; and, if thou spare me, I will do
away thy life. Enter now and make merry and whatsoever thou seekest of
me at this time I will bring thee forthwith; and do thou spend this
night as thou wilt and on the morrow wend thy way. This I do in honour
of thy strangerhood, for I love the stranger and hold myself bounden to
do him devoir." So Amjad kissed his hand, and, returning to the saloon
with his face clad in its natural white and red, at once said to the
damsel, "O my mistress, thy presence hath gladdened this thine own place
and ours is indeed a blessed night." Quoth the girl, "Verily I see a
wonderful change in thee, that thou now welcomest me so cordially!" So
Amjad answered, "By Allah, O my lady, methought my servant Bahadur had
robbed me of some necklaces of jewels, worth ten thousand dinars each;
however, when I went out but now in concern for this, I sought for them
and found them in their place. I know not why the slave tarrieth so long
and needs must I punish him for it." She was satisfied with his answer,
and they sported and drank and made merry and ceased not to be so till
near sundown, when Bahadur came in to them, having changed his clothes
and girt his middle and put on shoes, such as are worn of Mamelukes. He
saluted and kissed the ground; then held his hands behind him and stood,
with his head hanging down, as one who confesseth to a fault. So Amjad
looked at him with angry eyes and asked, "Why hast thou tarried till
now, O most pestilent of slaves?" Answered Bahadur, "O my lord, I was
busy washing my clothes and knew not of thy being here; for our
appointed time was nightfall and not day-tide." But Amjad cried out at
him, saying, "Thou liest, O vilest of slaves! By Allah, I must needs
beat thee." So he rose and, throwing Bahadur prone on the ground, took a
stick and beat him gently; but the damsel sprang up and, snatching the
stick from his hand, came down upon Bahadur so lustily, that in extreme
pain the tears ran from his eyes and he ground his teeth together and
called out for succour; whilst Amjad cried out to the girl "Don't"; and
she cried out, "Let me satisfy my anger upon him!" till at last he
pulled the stick out of her hand and pushed her away. So Bahadur rose
and, wiping away his tears from his cheeks, waited upon them the while;
after which he swept the hall and lighted the lamps; but as often as he
went in and out, the lady abused him and cursed him till Amjad was wroth
with her and said, "For Almighty Allah's sake leave my Mameluke; he is
not used to this." Then they sat and ceased not eating and drinking (and
Bahadur waiting upon them) till midnight when, being weary with service
and beating, he fell asleep in the midst of the hall and snored and
snorted; whereupon the damsel, who was drunken with wine, said to Amjad,
"Arise, take the sword hanging yonder and cut me off this slave's head;
and, if thou do it not, I will be the death of thee!" "What possesseth
thee to slay my slave?" asked Amjad; and she answered, "Our joyaunce
will not be complete but by his death. If thou wilt not kill him, I will
do it myself." Quoth Amjad, "By Allah's rights to thee, do not this
thing!" Quoth she, "It must perforce be;" and, taking down the sword,
drew it and made at Badahur to kill him; but Amjad said in his mind,
"This man hath entreated us courteously and sheltered us and done us
kindness and made himself my slave: shall we requite him by slaughtering
him? This shall never be!" Then he said to the woman, "If my Mameluke
must be killed, better I should kill him than thou." So saying, he took
the sword from her and, raising his hand, smote her on the neck and made
her head fly from her body. It fell upon Bahadur who awoke and sat up
and opened his eyes, when he saw Amjad standing by him and in his hand
the sword dyed with blood, and the damsel lying dead. He enquired what
had passed, and Amjad told him all she had said, adding, "Nothing would
satisfy her but she must slay thee; and this is her reward." Then
Bahadur rose and, kissing the Prince's hand, said to him, "Would to
Heaven thou hadst spared her! but now there is nothing for it but to rid
us of her without stay or delay, before the day break." Then he girded
his loins and took the body, wrapped it in an Abá-cloak and, laying it
in a large basket of palm-leaves, he shouldered it saying, "Thou art a
stranger here and knowest no one: so sit thou in this place and await my
return till daybreak. If I come back to thee, I will assuredly do thee
great good service and use my endeavours to have news of thy brother;
but if by sunrise I return not, know that all is over with me; and peace
be on thee, and the house and all it containeth of stuffs and money are
thine." Then he fared forth from the saloon bearing the basket; and,
threading the streets, he made for the salt sea, thinking to throw it
therein: but as he drew near the shore, he turned and saw that the Chief
of Police and his officers had ranged themselves around him; and, on
recognising him, they wondered and opened the basket, wherein they found
the slain woman. So they seized him and laid him in bilboes all that
night till the morning, when they carried him and the basket, as it was,
to the King and reported the case. The King was sore enraged when he
looked upon the slain and said to Bahadur, "Woe to thee! Thou art always
so doing; thou killest folk and castest them into the sea and takest
their goods. How many murders hast thou done ere this?" Thereupon
Bahadur hung his head——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bahadur hung down
his head groundwards before the King, who cried out at him, saying, "Woe
to thee! Who killed this girl?" He replied, "O my lord! I killed her,
and there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great!"[391] So the King in his anger, commanded to hang
him; and the hangman went down with him by the King's commandment, and
the Chief of Police accompanied him with a crier who called upon all the
folk to witness the execution of Bahadur, the King's Master of the
Horse; and on this wise they paraded him through the main streets and
the market-streets. This is how it fared with Bahadur; but as regards
Amjad, he awaited his host's return till the day broke and the sun rose,
and when he saw that he came not, he exclaimed, "There is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Would I knew
what is become of him?" And, as he sat musing behold, he heard the crier
proclaiming Bahadur's sentence and bidding the people to see the
spectacle of his hanging at mid-day; whereat he wept and exclaimed,
"Verily, we are Allah's and to Him we are returning! He meaneth to
sacrifice himself unjustly for my sake, when I it was who slew her. By
Allah, this shall never be!" Then he went from the saloon and, shutting
the door after him, hurriedly threaded the streets till he overtook
Bahadur, when he stood before the Chief of Police and said to him, "O my
lord, put not Bahadur to death, for he is innocent. By Allah, none
killed her but I." Now when the Captain of Police heard these words, he
took them both and, carrying them before the King, acquainted him with
what Amjad had said; whereupon he looked at the Prince and asked him,
"Didst thou kill the damsel?" He answered, "Yes" and the King said,
"Tell me why thou killedst her, and speak the truth." Replied Amjad, "O
King, it is indeed a marvellous event and a wondrous matter that hath
befallen me: were it graven with needles on the eye-corners, it would
serve as a warner to whoso would be warned!" Then he told him his whole
story and informed him of all that had befallen him and his brother,
first and last; whereat the King was much startled and surprised and
said to him, "Know that now I find thee to be excusable; but list, O
youth! Wilt thou be my Wazír?" "Hearkening and obedience," answered
Amjad; whereupon the King bestowed magnificent dresses of honour on him
and Bahadur and gave him a handsome house, with eunuchs and officers and
all things needful, appointing him stipends and allowances and bidding
him make search for his brother As'ad. So Amjad sat down in the seat of
the Wazirate and governed and did justice and invested and deposed and
took and gave. Moreover, he sent out a crier to cry his brother
throughout the city, and for many days made proclamation in the main
streets and market-streets, but heard no news of As'ad nor happened on
any trace of him. Such was his case; but as regards his brother, the
Magi ceased not to torture As'ad night and day and eve and morn for a
whole year's space, till their festival drew near, when the old man
Bahram[392] made ready for the voyage and fitted out a ship for
himself.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Bahram, the
Magian, having fitted out a ship for the voyage, took As'ad and put him
in a chest which he locked and had it transported on board. Now it so
came to pass that, at the very time of shipping it, Amjad was standing
to divert himself by looking upon the sea; and when he saw the men
carrying the gear and shipping it, his heart throbbed and he called to
his pages to bring him his beast. Then, mounting with a company of his
officers, he rode down to the sea-side and halted before the Magian's
ship, which he commanded his men to board and search. They did his
bidding, and boarded the vessel and rummaged in every part, but found
nothing; so they returned and told Amjad, who mounted again and rode
back. But he felt troubled in mind; and when he reached his place and
entered his palace, he cast his eyes on the wall and saw written thereon
two lines which were these couplets:——
"My friends! if ye are banisht from mine eyes, ✿ From heart and mind ye
ne'er go wandering:
But ye have left me in my woe, and rob ✿ Rest from my eyelids while ye
are slumbering."
And seeing them Amjad thought of his brother and wept. Such was his
case; but as for Bahram, the Magian, he embarked and shouted and bawled
to his crew to make sail in all haste. So they shook out the sails and
departed and ceased not to fare on many days and nights; and, every
other day, Bahram took out As'ad and gave him a bit of bread and made
him drink a sup of water, till they drew near the Mountain of Fire. Then
there came out on them a storm-wind and the sea rose against them, so
that the ship was driven out of her course till she took a wrong line
and fell into strange waters; and, at last they came in sight of a city
builded upon the shore, with a castle whose windows overlooked the main.
Now the ruler of this city was a Queen called Marjánah, and the captain
said to Bahram, "O my lord, we have strayed from our course and come to
the island of Queen Marjanah, who is a devout Moslemah; and, if she know
that we are Magians, she will take our ship and slay us to the last man.
Yet needs must we put in here to rest and refit." Quoth Bahram, "Right
is thy recking, and whatso thou seest fit that will I do!" Said the
ship-master, "If the Queen summon us and question us, how shall we
answer her?"; and Bahram replied, "Let us clothe this Moslem we have
with us in a Mameluke's habit and carry him ashore with us, so that when
the Queen sees him, she will suppose and say, This is a slave. As for me
I will tell her that I am a slave-dealer[393] who buys and sells white
slaves, and that I had with me many but have sold all save this one,
whom I retained to keep my accounts, for he can read and write." And the
captain said, "This device should serve." Presently they reached the
city and slackened sail and cast the anchors; and the ship lay still,
when behold, Queen Marjanah came down to them, attended by her guards
and, halting before the vessel, called out to the captain, who landed
and kissed the ground before her. Quoth she, "What is the lading of this
thy ship and whom hast thou with thee?" Quoth he, "O Queen of the Age, I
have with me a merchant who dealeth in slaves." And she said, "Hither
with him to me"; whereupon Bahram came ashore to her, with As'ad walking
behind him in a slave's habit, and kissed the earth before her. She
asked, "What is thy condition?"; and he answered, "I am a dealer in
chattels." Then she looked at As'ad and, taking him for a Mameluke,
asked him, "What is thy name, O youth?" He answered, "Dost thou ask my
present or my former name?" "Hast thou then two names?" enquired she,
and he replied (and indeed his voice was choked with tears), "Yes; my
name aforetime was Al-As'ad, the most happy, but now it is
Al-Mu'tarr—Miserrimus." Her heart inclined to him and she said, "Canst
thou write?" "Yes," answered he, and she gave him ink-case and reed-pen
and paper and said to him, "Write somewhat that I may see it." So he
wrote these two couplets:—
What can the slave do when pursued by Fate, ✿ O justest Judge! whatever
be his state?[394]
Whom God throws hand-bound in the depths and says, ✿ Beware lest water
should thy body wet?[395]
[Illustration:
A. Lalauze Pinæ et Sc.
]
Now when she read these lines, she had ruth upon him and said to Bahram,
"Sell me this slave." He replied, "O my lady, I cannot sell him, for I
have parted with all the rest and none is left with me but he." Quoth
the Queen, "I must need have him of thee, either by sale or way of
gift." But quoth Bahram, "I will neither sell him nor give him." Whereat
she was wroth and, taking As'ad by the hand, carried him up to the
castle and sent to Bahram, saying, "Except thou set sail and depart our
city this very night, I will seize all thy goods and break up thy ship."
Now when the message reached the Magian, he grieved with sore grief and
cried, "Verily this voyage is on no wise to be commended." Then he arose
and made ready and took all he needed and awaited the coming of the
night to resume his voyage, saying to the sailors, "Provide yourselves
with your things and fill your water-skins, that we may set sail at the
last of the night." So the sailors did their business and awaited the
coming of darkness. Such was their case; but as regards Queen Marjanah,
when she had brought As'ad into the castle, she opened the casements
overlooking the sea and bade her handmaids bring food. They set food
before As'ad and herself and both ate, after which the Queen called for
wine——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,