shortly after. We were forced to submit to seeing another of our
comrades roasted, but at last we revenged ourselves on the brutish giant
in the following manner. After he had finished his supper he lay down on
his back and fell asleep. As soon as we heard him snore, according to
his custom, nine of the boldest among us, and myself, took each of us a
spit, and putting the points of them into the fire till they were
burning hot, we thrust them into his eye all at once and blinded him.
The pain made him break out into a frightful yell: he started up, and
stretched out his hands, in order to sacrifice some of us to his rage:
but we ran to such places as he could not reach; and after having sought
for us in vain, he groped for the gate and went out, howling in agony.
"We quitted the palace after the giant and came to the shore, where we
had left our rafts, and put them immediately to sea. We waited till day,
in order to get upon them in case the giant should come toward us with
any guide of his own species; but we hoped if he did not appear by
sunrise, and gave over his howling, which we still heard, that he would
prove to be dead; and if that happened, we resolved to stay in that
island, and not to risk our lives upon the rafts. But day had scarcely
appeared when we perceived our cruel enemy, accompanied with two others
almost of the same size, leading him; and a great number more coming
before him at a quick pace.
"We did not hesitate to take to our rafts, and put to sea with all the
speed we could. The giants, who perceived this, took up great stones,
and running to the shore, entered the water up to the middle, and threw
so exactly that they sunk all the rafts but that I was upon; and all my
companions, except the two with me, were drowned. We rowed with all our
might, and escaped the giants, but when we got out to sea we were
exposed to the mercy of the waves and winds, and spent that night and
the following day under the most painful uncertainty as to our fate; but
next morning we had the good fortune to be thrown upon an island, where
we landed with much joy. We found excellent fruit, which afforded us
great relief and recruited our strength.
"At night we went to sleep on the sea shore; but were awakened by the
noise of a serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made
a rustling noise as he wound himself along. It swallowed up one of my
comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries, and the efforts he made to
extricate himself from it; dashing him several times against the ground,
it crushed him, and we could hear it gnaw and tear the poor wretch's
bones, though we had fled to a considerable distance.
"As we walked about, when day returned, we saw a tall tree, upon which
we designed to pass the following night, for our security; and having
satisfied our hunger with fruit, we mounted it before the dusk had
fallen. Shortly after, the serpent came hissing to the foot of the tree;
raised itself up against the trunk of it, and meeting with my comrade,
who sat lower than I, swallowed him at once, and went off.
"I remained upon the tree till it was day, and then came down, more like
a dead man than one alive, expecting the same fate as my two companions.
This filled me with horror, and I advanced some steps to throw myself
into the sea; but I withstood this dictate of despair, and submitted
myself to the will of God.
"In the meantime I collected a great quantity of small wood, brambles,
and dry thorns, and making them up into faggots, made a wide circle with
them round the tree, and also tied some of them to the branches over my
head. Having done this, when the evening came I shut myself up within
this circle, feeling that I had neglected nothing which could preserve
me from the cruel destiny with which I was threatened. The serpent
failed not to come at the usual hour, and went round the tree, seeking
for an opportunity to devour me, but was prevented by the rampart I had
made; so that he lay till day, like a cat watching in vain for a mouse
that has fortunately reached a place of safety. When day appeared he
retired, but I dared not to leave my fort until the sun arose.
"I felt so much fatigued by the labour to which it had put me, and
suffered so much from the serpent's poisonous breath, that death seemed
more eligible to me than the horrors of such a state. I came down from
the tree, and was going to throw myself into the sea, when God took
compassion on me and I perceived a ship at a considerable distance. I
called as loud as I could, and taking the linen from my turban,
displayed it, that they might observe me. This had the desired effect;
the crew perceived me, and the captain sent his boat for me. As soon as
I came on board, the merchants and seamen flocked about me, to know how
I came into that desert island; and after I had related to them all that
had befallen me, the oldest among them said that they had often heard of
the giants that dwelt in that island, that they were cannibals; and as
to the serpents, they added, that there were abundance of them that hid
themselves by day, and came abroad by night. After having testified
their joy at my escaping so many dangers, they brought me the best of
their provisions; and the captain, seeing that I was in rags, was so
generous as to give me one of his own suits. We continued at sea for
some time, touched at several islands, and at last landed at that of
Salabat, where sandal wood is obtained, which is of great use in
medicine. We entered the port, and came to anchor. The merchants began
to unload their goods, in order to sell or exchange them. In the
meantime, the captain came to me and said: 'Brother, I have here some
goods that belonged to a merchant, who sailed some time on board this
ship, and he being dead, I design to dispose of them for the benefit of
his heirs.' The bales he spoke of lay on the deck, and showing them to
me, he said: 'There are the goods; I hope you will take care to sell
them, and you shall have factorage.' I thanked him for thus affording me
an opportunity of employing myself, because I hated to be idle.
"The clerk of the ship took an account of all the bales, with the names
of the merchants to whom they belonged, and when he asked the captain in
whose name he should enter those he had given me the charge of, 'Enter
them,' said the captain, 'in the name of Sinbad.' I could not hear
myself named without some emotion; and looking steadfastly on the
captain, I knew him to be the person who, in my second voyage, had left
me in the island where I fell asleep.
"I was not surprised that he, believing me to be dead, did not recognise
me. 'Captain,' said I, 'was the merchant's name, to whom those bales
belonged, Sinbad?' 'Yes,' replied he, 'that was his name; he came from
Bagdad, and embarked on board my ship at Bussorah.' 'You believe him,
then, to be dead?' said I. 'Certainly,' answered he. 'No, captain,'
resumed I; 'look at me, and you may know that I am Sinbad.'
"The captain, having considered me attentively, recognised me. 'God be
praised,' said he, embracing me, 'I rejoice that fortune has rectified
my fault. There are your goods, which I always took care to preserve.' I
took them from him, and made him the acknowledgments to which he was
entitled.
"From the isle of Salabat, we went to another, where I furnished myself
with cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. As we sailed from this island,
we saw a tortoise twenty cubits in length and breadth. We observed also
an amphibious animal like a cow, which gave milk; its skin is so hard,
that they usually make bucklers of it.
"In short, after a long voyage I arrived at Bussorah, and from thence
returned to Bagdad, with so much wealth that I knew not its extent. I
gave a great deal to the poor, and bought another considerable estate in
addition to what I had already."
[Illustration]
_Having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and
fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder._
Thus Sinbad finished the history of his third voyage; gave another
hundred sequins to Hindbad, and invited him to dinner again the next day
to hear the story of his fourth series of adventures.
THE FOURTH VOYAGE
"The pleasures which I enjoyed after my third voyage had not charms
sufficient to divert me from another. My passion for trade, and my love
of novelty, again prevailed. I therefore settled my affairs, and having
provided a stock of goods fit for the traffic I designed to engage in, I
set out on my journey. I took the route of Persia, travelled over
several provinces, and then arrived at a port, where I embarked. We
hoisted our sails, and touched at several ports of the continent, and
then put out to sea; when we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of
wind, as obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other
necessary precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. But all
was in vain; our endeavours had no effect, the sails were split in a
thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; several of the merchants and
seamen were drowned, and the cargo was lost.
"I had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and mariners, to
get upon some planks, and we were carried by the current to an island
which lay before us. There we found fruit and spring water, which
preserved our lives. We stayed all night near the place where we had
been cast ashore and next morning, as soon as the sun was up, advancing
into the island, saw some houses, which we approached. As soon as we
drew near, we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who seized
us and carried us to their respective habitations.
"I, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place; here they made
us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they made signs to us to
eat. My comrades, not taking notice that the blacks ate none of it
themselves, thought only of satisfying their hunger, and ate with
greediness. But I, suspecting some trick, would not so much as taste it,
which happened well for me; for in a little time after, I perceived my
companions had lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they
knew not what they said.
"The negroes fed us afterward with rice, prepared with oil of
cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate of it
greedily. I also partook of it, but very sparingly. They gave us that
herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses, that we might not
be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us; and they supplied us with
rice to fatten us; for, being cannibals, their design was to eat us as
soon as we grew fat. This accordingly happened, for they devoured my
comrades, who were not sensible of their condition; but my senses being
entire, you may easily guess that instead of growing fat I grew leaner
every day. The fear of death under which I laboured caused me to fall
into a languishing distemper, which proved my safety; for the negroes,
having eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, and sick, deferred
my death.
"Meanwhile I had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice was taken of
what I did, and this gave me an opportunity one day to get at a distance
from the houses and to make my escape. An old man, who saw me and
suspected my design, called to me as loud as he could to return; but I
redoubled my speed, and quickly got out of sight. At that time there was
none but the old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to
return till night, which was usual with them. Therefore, being sure that
they could not arrive in time enough to pursue me, I went on till night,
when I stopped to rest a little, and to eat some of the provisions I had
secured; but I speedily set forward again, and travelled seven days,
avoiding those places which seemed to be inhabited, and lived for the
most part upon cocoa-nuts, which served me both for meat and drink. On
the eighth day I came near the sea, and saw some white people like
myself, gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place.
This I took to be a good omen, and went to them without any scruple.
They came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and asked me in Arabic who
I was, and whence I came. I was overjoyed to hear them speak in my own
language, and satisfied their curiosity by giving them an account of my
shipwreck, and how I fell into the hands of the negroes. 'Those
negroes,' replied they, 'eat men, and by what miracle did you escape
their cruelty?' I related to them the circumstances I have just
mentioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised.
"I stayed with them till they had gathered their quantity of pepper, and
then sailed with them to the island from whence they had come. They
presented me to their king, who was a good prince. He had the patience
to hear the relation of my adventures; and he afterward gave me clothes,
and commanded care to be taken of me.
"The island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything, and the
capital a place of great trade. This agreeable retreat was very
comfortable to me, after my misfortunes, and the kindness of this
generous prince completed my satisfaction. In a word, there was not a
person more in favour with him than myself; and consequently every man
in court and city sought to oblige me; so that in a very little time I
was looked upon rather as a native than a stranger.
"I observed one thing which to me appeared very extraordinary. All the
people, the king himself not excepted, rode their horses without bridle
or stirrups. This made me one day take the liberty to ask the king how
it came to pass. His Majesty answered, that I talked to him of things
which nobody knew the use of in his dominions.
"I went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model for making the
stock of a saddle. When that was done, I covered it myself with velvet
and leather, and embroidered it with gold. I afterward went to a smith,
who made me a bit, according to the pattern I showed him, and also some
stirrups. When I had all things completed, I presented them to the king,
and put them upon one of his horses. His Majesty mounted immediately,
and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction by
large presents.
"As I paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to me one day:
'Sinbad, I love thee and I have one thing to demand of thee, which thou
must grant.' 'Sir,' answered I, 'there is nothing but I will do, as a
mark of my obedience to your Majesty.' 'I have a mind thou shouldst
marry,' replied he, 'that so thou mayest stay in my dominions, and think
no more of thy own country.' I durst not resist the prince's will, and
he gave me one of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich.
The ceremonies of marriage being over, I went and dwelt with my wife,
and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. I was not,
however, satisfied with my banishment, therefore designed to make my
escape the first opportunity, and to return to Bagdad.
"At this time the wife of one of my neighbours fell sick, and died. I
went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding him absorbed
in sorrow, I said to him as soon as I saw him: 'God preserve you and
grant you a long life.' 'Alas!' replied he, 'how do you think I should
obtain the favour you wish me? I have not above an hour to live.'
'Pray,' said I, 'do not entertain such a melancholy thought; I hope I
shall enjoy your company many years.' 'I wish you,' he replied, 'a long
life; but my days are at an end, for I must be buried this day with my
wife. This is a law which our ancestors established in this island, and
it is always observed. The living husband is interred with the dead
wife, and the living wife with the dead husband. Nothing can save me;
every one must submit to this law.'
"While he was giving me an account of this barbarous custom, the very
relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred, friends, and neighbours
came in a body to assist at the funeral. They dressed the corpse of the
woman in her richest apparel, and all her jewels, as if it had been her
wedding day; then they placed her in an open coffin, and began their
march to the place of burial, the husband walking at the head of the
company. They proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached
the place of their destination, they took up a large stone, which
covered the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the corpse with all its
apparel and jewels. Then the husband embracing his kindred and friends,
suffered himself, without resistance, to be put into another open coffin
with a pot of water, and seven small loaves, and was let down in the
same manner. The ceremony being over, the aperture was again covered
with the stone, and the company returned.
"It is needless for me to tell you that I was a melancholy spectator of
this funeral, while the rest were scarcely moved, the custom was to them
so familiar. I could not forbear communicating to the king my sentiment
respecting the practice: 'Sir,' I said, 'I cannot but feel astonished at
the strange usage observed in this country, of burying the living with
the dead. I have been a great traveller, and seen many countries, but
never heard of so cruel a law.' 'What do you mean, Sinbad?' replied the
king: 'it is a common law. I shall be interred with the queen, my wife,
if she die first.' 'But, sir,' said I, 'may I presume to ask your
Majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law?' 'Without doubt,'
returned the king; 'they are not exempted, if they be married in this
island.'
"I returned home much depressed by this answer; for the fear of my
wife's dying first and that I should be interred alive with her,
occasioned me very uneasy reflections. But there was no remedy; I must
have patience, and submit to the will of God. I trembled, however, at
every little indisposition of my wife, and, alas! in a little time my
fears were realised, for she fell sick and died.
"The king and all his court expressed their wish to honour the funeral
with their presence, and the most considerable people of the city did
the same. When all was ready for the ceremony, the corpse was put into a
coffin with all her jewels and her most magnificent apparel. The
procession began, and as second actor in this doleful tragedy, I went
next the corpse, with my eyes full of tears, bewailing my deplorable
fate. Before we reached the mountain, I made an attempt to affect the
minds of the spectators: I addressed myself to the king first, and then
to all those that were round me; bowing before them to the earth, and
kissing the border of their garments, I prayed them to have compassion
upon me. 'Consider,' said I, 'that I am a stranger, and ought not to be
subject to this rigorous law, and that I have another wife and children
in my own country.' Although I spoke in the most pathetic manner, no one
was moved by my address; on the contrary, they ridiculed my dread of
death as cowardly, made haste to let my wife's corpse into the pit, and
lowered me down the next moment in an open coffin with a vessel full of
water and seven loaves.
"As I approached the bottom, I discovered by the aid of the little light
that came from above the nature of this subterranean place; it seemed an
endless cavern, and might be about fifty fathoms deep.
"Instead of losing my courage and calling death to my assistance in that
miserable condition, however, I felt still an inclination to live, and
to do all I could to prolong my days. I went groping about, for the
bread and water that was in my coffin, and took some of it. Though the
darkness of the cave was so great that I could not distinguish day and
night, yet I always found my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be
more spacious than it had appeared to be at first. I lived for some days
upon my bread and water, which being all spent, I at last prepared for
death.
"I was offering up my last devotions when I heard something tread, and
breathing or panting as it walked. I advanced toward that side from
whence I heard the noise, and on my approach the creature puffed and
blew harder, as if running away from me. I followed the noise, and the
thing seemed to stop sometimes, but always fled and blew as I
approached. I pursued it for a considerable time, till at last I
perceived a light, resembling a star; I went on, sometimes lost sight of
it, but always found it again, and at last discovered that it came
through a hole in the rock, large enough to admit a man.
"Upon this, I stopped some time to rest, being much fatigued with the
rapidity of my progress: afterward coming up to the hole, I got through,
and found myself upon the seashore. I leave you to guess the excess of
my joy: it was such that I could scarcely persuade myself that the whole
was not a dream.
"But when I was recovered from my surprise, and convinced of the reality
of my escape, I perceived what I had followed to be a creature which
came out of the sea, and was accustomed to enter the cavern when the
tides were high.
"I examined the mountain, and found it to be situated betwixt the sea
and the town, but without any passage to or communication with the
latter; the rocks on the sea side being high and perpendicularly steep.
I prostrated myself on the shore to thank God for this mercy, and
afterward entered the cave again to fetch bread and water, which I ate
by daylight with a better appetite than I had done since my interment in
the dark cavern.
"I returned thither a second time, and groped among the coffins for all
the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold bracelets, and rich stuffs I could
find; these I brought to the shore, and tying them up neatly into
bales, I laid them together upon the beach, waiting till some ship might
appear.
"After two or three days, I perceived a ship just come out of the
harbour, making for the place where I was. I made a sign with the linen
of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as I could. They heard me,
and sent a boat to bring me on board, when they asked by what misfortune
I came thither; I told them that I had suffered shipwreck two days
before, and made shift to get ashore with the goods they saw. It was
fortunate for me that these people did not consider the place where I
was, nor inquire into the probability of what I told them; but without
hesitation took me on board. When I came to the ship, the captain was so
well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up with his own
affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended shipwreck upon
trust, and generously refused some jewels which I offered him.
"We passed by several islands, and among others that called the isle of
Bells, about ten days' sail from Serendib, and six from that of Kela,
where we landed. This island produces lead mines, Indian canes, and
excellent camphire.
"The King of the isle of Kela is very rich and powerful, and the isle of
Bells, which is about two days' journey in extent, is also subject to
him. The inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh.
After we had finished our traffic in that island, we put to sea again,
and touched at several other ports; at last I arrived happily at Bagdad
with infinite riches. Out of gratitude to God for His mercies, I
contributed liberally toward the support of several mosques, and the
subsistence of the poor, and gave myself up to the society of my kindred
and friends, enjoying myself with them in festivities and amusements."
Here Sinbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage. He made a new
present of one hundred sequins to Hindbad, whom he requested to return
with the rest next day at the same hour to dine with him, and hear the
story of his fifth voyage. Hindbad and the other guests took their leave
and retired. Next morning when they all met, they sat down at table, and
when dinner was over, Sinbad began the relation of his fifth voyage as
follows:
THE FIFTH VOYAGE
"All the troubles and calamities I had undergone," said he, "could not
cure me of my inclination to make new voyages. I therefore bought goods,
departed with them for the best seaport; and that I might not be obliged
to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, I remained
there till one was built on purpose. When the ship was ready, I went on
board with my goods: but not having enough to load her, I agreed to take
with me several merchants of different nations with their merchandise.
"We sailed with the first fair wind, and after a long navigation, the
first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of
a roc, equal in size to that I formerly mentioned. There was a young roc
in it just ready to be hatched, and its bill had begun to appear. The
merchants whom I had taken on board, and who landed with me, broke the
egg with hatchets, pulled out the young roc, piecemeal, and roasted it.
I had earnestly entreated them not to meddle with the egg, but they
would not listen to me.
"Scarcely had they finished their repast, when there appeared in the air
at a considerable distance from us two great clouds. The captain whom I
had hired to navigate my ship, said they were the male and female roc
that belonged to the young one and pressed us to re-embark with all
speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us.
We hastened on board, and set sail with all possible expedition.