a great traveller. He was foster-brother to the Princess; when they
were children she had been to him as his own sister; and the two loved
each other tenderly. So on the day when he returned from his travels he
went to the palace to get tidings of the Princess, and there over the
gates were ranged the heads of the forty wise men. This surprised him
greatly, and when on inquiring into the matter he learned the cause,
he heard also of the unhappy state into which the Princess had fallen.
The news troubled him far more deeply than the death of forty wise men
who had been found foolish, but, unwilling to trust to the judgment of
others in such a case, being himself also well skilled in medicine, he
besought his mother to obtain for him an interview with the Princess.
This was a difficult matter, for the door of the chamber was strictly
guarded, and no one had access to it except the nurse herself. So
urgent, however, was her son's entreaty, that at last she consented and
set about finding the means. To this end she said to the eunuch who was
on guard at the door, 'You know well my devotion to the Princess, and
my desire to do anything that may alleviate her affliction, therefore
I am come to ask you for a favour. I have a daughter whom my mistress
from her earliest childhood, when I nursed them together, has ever
regarded with the tenderest affection. She has lately married, and
the Princess, hearing of this event, has expressed a wish to see her.
Allow this to be; and do not doubt that Heaven will reward you for your
goodness.'
The eunuch readily consented in spite of the strictness of his orders.
'Let her come at night,' he said, 'or bring her yourself, after the
King has retired: then the door shall be open and no one need know of
it.'
Accordingly, the next night, the nurse disguised Marzavan in woman's
attire, and taking his hand in hers led him to the palace. The eunuch
let them pass without suspicion; but as soon as they were in the
Princess's presence, and the door shut behind them, the nurse said,
'O mistress, I have brought gladness to you to-night; for this is no
woman but my son Marzavan, who, having returned from his travels,
wished greatly to see you.' No sooner did the Princess hear the name
of Marzavan than she sprang joyfully forward, the full length of her
chain, and being held back by it, she stretched her hands toward him,
crying, 'O brother, come to me!' When Marzavan beheld her in that
unhappy plight, then for weeping he could not look at her, but turned
away his head and covered his eyes. Then said Badoura, 'Dost thou also
think that I am mad like the rest of them? Nay, hear my story and be
undeceived, for it is true.'
Then she told Marzavan everything; and he, perceiving that she was
in love, doubted no longer, for he knew that such passion and such a
desire for beauty could arise neither out of madness nor of a dream.
So when she besought his aid, he pondered deeply what he might do, and
then said, 'O sister, have patience yet a little while, and I will go
search through the world for thy missing friend. Be assured that if he
lives I will find him.' Then they embraced as brother and sister in
full affection; and Marzavan departed.
The next day he set out once more upon his travels, and continued
to journey from city to city, and island to island for the space of
some months. At first, wherever he went, he heard men speaking of the
beauty of the Princess Badoura and of the strange malady that afflicted
her; but presently, as he changed from country to country, her name
ceased to be upon men's lips, and he heard instead of one by name
Camaralzaman, a prince of the Islands of Khaledan, who for three years
had suffered from a grievous affliction of body and a desolation of
spirit to which there seemed no remedy.
Marzavan did not delay when he heard that story; but inquiring for the
nearest route he took ship and sailed from the city of Torf, where
these tidings had first reached him, to the islands of Khaledan, a
whole month's voyage; and all the way he was glad so that his heart
sang. But on the day when the ship approached the dominions of
Shahzaman, there arose a great storm which broke the mast and carried
away the sail and capsized the vessel.
Marzavan, thrown overboard with the rest, was caught by a strong
current and carried shorewards; and as fate would have it, since the
destiny of all are in the hands of the Most High, the current bore
him toward that part of the coast where stood the palace of the King;
and there at that time, in the pavilion looking toward the sea, sat
Shahzaman attended by his Vizier; and the head of Camaralzaman lay upon
his lap; and a eunuch was whisking the flies from him.
The Vizier, looking out from the terrace, saw in the water below him
the shipwrecked Marzavan, tossed this way and that and unable to land;
so his heart was moved with pity and he came running to the King and
crying, 'Permit me, O my lord, to open the gates of the court and put
forth my hand to save yonder man who is now drowning. For since a just
action is never without reward, it may be he shall bring us good.'
Shahzaman replied, 'Thou art the cause of all our trouble, and I doubt
not that coming by thy hand this drowning man will bring us more. Yet
I cannot forbid thee to save his life: only be sure that he comes not
near us to spy upon my son in his affliction and report it to others.
If he do, his head and thine shall be forfeit.'
So the Vizier ran, and opening the gates of the court leaned down, and
caught Marzavan by the hair and drew him up to dry land. And Marzavan
came forth from the sea all lost to consciousness, his stomach filled
with water and his eyes protruding. The Vizier waited till his spirit
had returned to him; then he took from him his clothes and clad him in
others and put on his head the turban of an attendant and said to him,
'Now, as I have saved thy life, do my bidding and save mine also. Cast
down thine eyes, speak not, look not into any chamber as we go, but
follow closely where I lead lest worse befall thee.'
Then said Marzavan, 'What is this peril that I am not to see?'
The Vizier answered, 'It is the King's son, who is sorely afflicted for
the loss of a fair damsel that came to him but once and is gone again,
none knows where. That is the story, and on pain of death all who hear
it must believe it.' And the Vizier sighed heavily, for at this time
life was hard to him and belief difficult.
When the half-drowned Marzavan heard that, his heart went up like a
singing bird, and he skipt at the Vizier's heels like a squirrel. And
when they came by the chamber where Camaralzaman was lying, with the
King seated beside him, then Marzavan turned swiftly and went in and
stood before him; and no sooner had he seen the Prince than, with an
exclamation of joy, he cried: 'Extolled be the perfection of him who
hath given beauty its pair! Lo, the eyes are hers, the complexion is
hers, the lips and the cheeks are hers!'
At these words the knees of the Vizier went from under him, and he
prayed succour of death: but on the heart of Camaralzaman there
descended a coolness and a refreshment, and turning his tongue in his
mouth, he signalled with his hand to Shahzaman to make the young man
sit down.
The King seeing the look of joy upon his son's face easily forgave the
intrusion which had earned death; and having placed Marzavan in the
seat at the Prince's side, he bade him recount his history and whence
and why he came.
So Marzavan told of the country from which he had come and of its King
and people, and of all the events of his journey, but of the real
cause which had brought him he said nothing. And the Prince listened
and waited, for he saw that something was concealed: and all the
while, since hope had returned to him, his countenance grew bright and
his strength of body increased. So presently he made a sign for his
father to raise him to a sitting posture; and the King, full of joy,
lifted him, and placed cushions behind him and under him. Thus after
three years of lying down did Camaralzaman sit up. So after a while
Shahzaman, seeing how by the conversation of Marzavan the Prince was
restored to health, went away and left them; and the Vizier departed
also.
Then, seeing that they were alone, Marzavan spoke low in the ear of
Camaralzaman saying, 'O Prince, thy sorrow is at an end; for she whom
thou lovest is the Princess Badoura, daughter of the King of China and
my own foster-sister: and I am come through the world seeking thee
because of my devotion to her, who, for love of thee, now lieth in
chains. All that hath happened unto thee with thy father hath happened
to her also with her father, yea, and worse things also.' So he went on
and told him all.
Now when Camaralzaman had heard the story of the Princess, and of her
sufferings and constancy, and of all the useless cures for her malady
that had been tried, his heart was divided in its joy by an overflowing
of sorrow, even as a rich country is divided and broken by a stream
when it floods its banks; and he said to Marzavan, 'Alas! how may I
bring her the true cure, seeing that we dwell in such different parts
of the world, and my father will not suffer me to be out of his sight
even for one day?'
Marzavan answered, 'For thy health's sake he will allow thee that
one, and it shall suffice. For to-morrow thou shalt say to him, "Let
me go out into the hills for a day and a night, that I may hunt and
recover my strength," and surely he shall not deny it to thee. And
when thou hast found that for which thou art in search, I know that
thou wilt return to him. But we will take with us two spare horses and
saddlebags, with money sufficient for our journey, and when we have
started upon our way I will provide, so that we may not be pursued and
overtaken.'
At these words the Prince rejoiced greatly, and it all came about even
as Marzavan had planned. For on the morrow the King, rejoicing that his
son's health was so quickly restored, granted him the permission he
sought, saying only, 'Be not absent, my son, longer than one night, for
while thou art away from me I have no joy left.' Camaralzaman answered,
'The night of sorrow will end, then shall I return.' So he took leave
of his father and departed.
[Illustration: Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman.
'The Prince sow the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large
stone.' (p. 75)]
For the whole of that day until the evening Camaralzaman and Marzavan
went in the direction they had chosen, setting their laces for the
open country and the seaport lying beyond. And when it was night they
ate and drank, fed their beasts, and rested for a while; then they
remounted and journeyed on. At daybreak they came to a spacious tract
of forest; there Marzavan took one of the led horses and killed it,
stripping the flesh from its bones; next he took the garments which
Camaralzaman had worn on the previous day, and after tearing them this
way and that daubed them with blood.
Camaralzaman inquired why he did this: and Marzavan answered, 'When we
return not great search will be made for thee, and I doubt not, if it
went far enough, we should be overtaken. But when the searchers come
upon this they will suppose that a wild beast has fallen upon thee and
devoured thee; and that I, fearing the King's wrath, have fled away.
Doubtless the news will bring great sorrow to thy father's heart; but
when thou returnest with thine errand safely accomplished, he shall be
recompensed with joy.'
The Prince sorrowfully commended the plan which Marzavan had devised
for the safety of their enterprise; and so they continued upon their
way unmolested, and after much travelling by land and water, and many
adventures not to be told of here, they arrived at the capital of the
dominions of King Gaiour, where the Princess Badoura lay in captivity.
Marzavan did not take Camaralzaman to his own house, but to a public
khan, where for three days they remained recovering from the fatigues
of their journey. Then, having clothed the Prince in the garb of a
merchant-doctor with all the signs and instruments of his calling,
he conducted him to the gates of the palace; standing before which
Camaralzaman began, on the instructions of Marzavan, to cry in a loud
voice, 'Look at me, for I am learned! Marvel at me, for I am wise! I
am the healer, the calculator, the astrologer; I know the cause of
all maladies and their cure. If any one, be he king or peasant, is in
affliction, let him come to me!'
The people were greatly astonished to hear once more an astrologer so
bold of tongue; and pitying him for his youth and wondering at the
beauty of his form, they pointed to the heads which were over the
palace gates, saying, 'While there is time save thyself; for if the
King hear thee thy head will be joined to those.'
Nevertheless Camaralzaman continued to cry with a loud voice; till at
last the King heard him, and said to his Vizier, 'Go down, and bring
this astrologer in.'
So the Vizier went out and fetched him, and Camaralzaman came and
bowed himself before the King. And when the King looked at him, his
heart also was moved with pity toward the stranger, as the heart of
the people had been, because of his youth and the beauty of his form.
And he said to him, 'My son, comply not with my conditions; for I have
bound myself with an oath, and whoso goes in to visit my daughter but
cannot cure her, his head must I strike off; and of a truth you have
but to look over my palace gate to see that her malady is obstinate.
Nevertheless if you can cure her she is yours, and the half of my
kingdom is yours also.'
Camaralzaman said, 'To those conditions, O King, I am agreed!' Then the
King, sighing heavily, sent for the eunuch and bade him conduct the
astrologer to the apartment of the Princess.
The eunuch led the way; but when they were come to the corridor wherein
Badoura's chamber was situated, so great was the joy of the Prince that
he hastened and went before; and the eunuch called after him, 'Tarry,
good sir, and be not so hasty before the event, for I alone have the
key that shall bring thee to thy death! Never was any other astrologer
in such haste to depart from life as thou.'
'Friend,' answered Camaralzaman, 'they had not such science as I have
to make them glad: for they could not tell what the end would be, but
I know it already, nay, even without entering that door of which thou
hast the key I can cure the Princess of her malady.'
The eunuch, astonished to be met with so much confidence, ceased from
his taunts, and admitted the Prince to the ante-chamber. 'If thou canst
do that,' he said, 'thou art indeed the wonder of the world. Truly were
I only permitted to see such a marvel accomplished, I should account
myself rich.'
Thereupon Camaralzaman seated himself against the curtain which divided
the outer from the inner chamber and wrote the following prescription:
'He whom estrangement hath afflicted is cured when the vow of the
beloved is accomplished; and the heart of exile findeth restoration in
union with that which was lost. Love alone can heal those whom love
hath persecuted.'
Underneath this prescription he added the following words:
'From the distracted, the passionate, the perplexed, the famished with
longing, the captive of transport and ardent desire, Camaralzaman, son
of Shahzaman, King of Khaledan, to the peerless one of her age, the
pre-eminent among Hooris, the Princess Badoura, daughter of Gaiour,
King of the Isles of China and lord of the seven Palaces. Behold the
slave of the ring who, sleepless and inflamed by love, now awaits the
call of his Beloved.'
Then, having enclosed the ring which at their first meeting he had
exchanged for his own, he sealed the missive, and putting it into the
hands of the eunuch bade him carry it to his mistress.
No sooner had the Princess Badoura received the missive and the ring
than she knew at once from whom it came. Whereupon joy overthrew her
reason, and leaping up in a transport of exultation she pressed her
feet against the wall, and breaking the chains which bound her ran
forth and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.
Speechless with joy she kissed him without ceasing; even as a pigeon
when it feeds its young, so upon the lips of Camaralzaman fell the
kisses of the Princess Badoura. Then came the nurse, crying aloud for
gladness to behold the joy of her mistress and the healing of her
malady accomplished; and presently after her came the King. For to him
had run the eunuch in swift haste bringing tidings of the event--how
that without entering her chamber the astrologer had cured her. 'What?'
cried the King, 'can such news be true?' 'O my lord,' answered the
eunuch, 'let thine own eyes look upon her and be blest; for she hath
broken her chains of iron, and coming forth to the astrologer she
falleth upon him and kisseth him, and never will she let him go.'
So Gaiour the King came and found it even as the eunuch had said. Full
of joy to behold so sweet a sight, he embraced first the Princess
and then the Prince, thanking him with tears of gratitude for the
debt which he owed him. And when he inquired further and learned of
Camaralzaman his name, and his true rank, and of the country from which
he came, with all the strange story of his love and the grief of his
separation, then his satisfaction and delight knew no bounds. And so on
that very day the nuptials were celebrated, and word of rejoicing went
forth through the whole of the King's dominions.
[Illustration: Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds.
'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another with
beak and claw.' (p. 90)]
The hearts of Prince Camaralzaman and his bride were now so full of
happiness that for many months they wist not the passing of time, and
waking or sleeping it seemed to them as one day. But while their joy
thus decked itself in the colours of immortality, the Prince one night
had a dream, wherein he beheld his father, Shahzaman, lying as at the
point of death. And in his dream it seemed that he heard him say, 'O
my son, whom in thy grief I so tenderly cherished, wherefore hast thou
acted thus, leaving me in my old age to die alone?'
So sharp was the sting of that dream upon his conscience that, sighing,
the Prince woke; and his wife hearing him made inquiry as to his
grief. 'Alas!' answered Camaralzaman, 'in my happiness with thee I had
forgotten my father.' And thereupon he recounted his dream. So the next
day the Princess Badoura went to her father, and having told him all,
besought leave for Camaralzaman to return for a while to his own land
so that he might comfort his father in his old age.
The King readily granted his daughter's request. Then said Badoura,
'If my husband goes I must go too.' 'Why so?' inquired her father.
'Because,' said she, 'if you separate us there is no power in the world
that shall keep me alive.'
Now the King had learned during the years of his daughter's captivity,
that anything which she said she meant. Therefore with much grief
and reluctance at being so compelled, he granted her request; and
having accorded them permission to be absent for a whole year, he made
preparation for their departure. In order that they might appear at
the court of Shahzaman in the splendour that became their rank, he
presented them with many changes of costly apparel, and having provided
a large train of horses, dromedaries, and attendants, he bade them an
affectionate farewell, and with many tears watched them depart.
For a whole month Camaralzaman and his bride travelled in comfort and
luxury by the route that they had chosen, and greatly was the Prince's
heart rejoiced by the thought of seeing his father once more and
presenting to his eyes the lovely and innocent cause of all their past
affliction. Therefore, early and late they journeyed on, only stopping
to rest at night and during the heat of each day.
And so it chanced that one day, about noon, they came to a spacious
meadow shaded by trees, and there at the Prince's command the tents
were pitched; and the Princess went into her pavilion and lay down to
sleep.
Now when she lay down, the heat being very great, she took off her
outer robe and her girdle. And the Prince, coming in later, saw the
girdle lying, and knotted within its folds a large stone, red as
blood, inscribed with strange characters which, in the darkness of the
tent, he could not read. Being curious, therefore, to see what words
were upon this talisman which the Princess carried so secretly in her
apparel, he unfastened the knot, and taking the knot went forth from
the tent to examine it.
Scarcely had he done so when, with a strange cry, a bird swooped down
from the tree above his head, caught up the stone in its beak, and flew
away with it. Camaralzaman, fearing to lose what, for all he knew,
might be a precious talisman, ran after the bird, throwing up his
arms, shouting and endeavouring in all possible ways to make it let go
the stone. But the bird flew on from tree to tree, and from valley to
valley, never so fast that Camaralzaman could not keep pace with it,
but never coming within his reach, or letting go of the talisman. So
the flight went on and so the chase continued, till several hours had
passed and it began to grow dark. Then the bird, uttering once more its
strange cry, went up to the topmost branch of a high tree and settled
itself to roost.
The pursuit had now led Camaralzaman so far and in so many directions,
that he no longer knew which way to turn. So, commending himself to
Allah, he lay down at the foot of the tree and slept.
In the morning, with a loud rustling of feathers, the bird awakened
him, and still carrying the stone in its beak, sprang out of the tree
and continued its flight. And as Camaralzaman rose and followed, it
presently became apparent that at whatever rate he went, the bird went
too; so when he ran the bird flew fast, and when he could run no more
it waited for him, flying from point to point and never disappearing
from view.
'By Allah!' cried Camaralzaman, 'this is wonderful! This chase will
lead me either to great fortune or to death.' So without giving up he
went on; and thus he followed the bird for ten days, living upon roots
and drinking of the streams that he crossed; and every night he slept
at the foot of some tree while the bird perched in its topmost branches.
Thus on the tenth day he was brought to the outskirts of a large
city. Then, like a flash, the bird flew over it and disappeared; and
Camaralzaman following, footsore and weary, came to the city gates and
passed through. Here for some time he wandered, solitary and without
hope, not knowing what to do nor of whom to seek aid; and coming
presently to the other side of the city, he found there a harbour
with much shipping and merchandise, and people plying their trade and
talking in many languages. And as he walked along the shore, still
uncertain what course to pursue, he came upon an old man working in a
garden of flowers; and when he halted the old man looked up.
The gardener, seeing a stranger at his gate, came forward, and saluting
him in the name of Allah, bade him come in. 'I see by your dress,'
said he, 'that you are a Mussulman, as I also am; and great is your
good fortune to have escaped until now the wrath of the inhabitants,
for they are unbelievers and idolaters, and fierce is their hatred for
those who are of the true faith. Therefore come quickly into my house,
and disguise yourself; else is your life not safe.'
Camaralzaman was thankful to have found a friend in such a moment of
need; and after his host had supplied him with food and drink and made
him rest for a while, then without concealment he confided to him the
whole of his story. Greater than ever had now become his longing to
reach the island of Khaledan, for there not only did he hope to find
his father still alive, but to be re-united with his wife, the Princess
Badoura. Inquiring therefore of the old gardener, he learned that there
were two routes; the longer being for the greater part of the way by
land--a year's journey, and the shorter by sea. 'But if,' said the
gardener, 'you would go by sea, then you must wait for the merchant
ship which sails every year to the Island of Ebony, for through that
country lies your way. Had you but come a few days earlier, you would
have been in time; but now the ship has left the harbour and will not
return for another year. If you decide upon this course, then while you
wait my house is open to you, and if you are willing to share my work
and be my assistant, you shall also have a fair share of the profits.'