one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the waking hours of
this our night,” and quoth Shahrazad:——It hath reached me, O King of the
Age, that Zayn al-Asnam fell to chiding himself for the deceit and
treason which he had practised upon the young lady’s parents and for
bringing and offering her to the King of the Jann. Then he set out nor
ceased travelling till such time as he reached Bassorah, when he entered
his palace; and, after saluting his mother, he apprized her of all
things that had befallen him. She replied, “Arise, O my son, that we may
look upon the Ninth Statue, for I rejoice with extreme joy at its being
in our possession.” So both descended into the pavilion where stood the
eight images of precious gems and here they found a mighty marvel. ’Twas
this. In lieu of seeing the Ninth Statue upon the golden throne, they
found seated thereon the young lady whose beauty suggested the sun. Zayn
al-Asnam knew her at first sight and presently she addressed him saying,
“Marvel not for that here thou findest me in place of that wherefor thou
askedst; and I deem that thou shalt not regret nor repent when thou
acceptest me instead of that thou soughtest.” Said he, “No, by Allah, O
life-blood of my heart, verily thou art the end of every wish of me nor
would I exchange thee for all the gems of the universe. Would thou knew
what was the sorrow which surcharged me on account of our separation and
of my reflecting that I took thee from thy parents by fraud and I bore
thee as a present to the King of the Jann. Indeed I had well nigh
determined to forfeit all my profit of the Ninth Statue and to bear thee
away to Bassorah as my own bride, when my comrade and councillor
dissuaded me from so doing lest I bring about my death and thy death.”
Nor had Zayn al-Asnam ended his words ere they heard the roar of
thunderings that would rend a mount and shake the earth, whereat the
Queen-mother was seized with mighty fear and affright. But presently
appeared the King of the Jinns who said to her, “O my lady, fear not!
’Tis I, the protector of thy son whom I fondly affect for the affection
borne to me by his sire. I also am he who manifested myself to him in
his sleep; and my object therein was to make trial of his valiance and
to learn an he could do violence to his passions for the sake of his
promise, or whether the beauty of this lady would so tempt and allure
him that he could not keep his promise to me with due regard.”——And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, tell us
one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the waking hours of
this our night,” and quoth Shahrazad:——It hath reached me, O King of the
Age, that the King of the Jann said to the Queen-mother, “Indeed Zayn
al-Asnam hath not kept faith and covenant with all nicety as regards the
young lady, in that he longed for her to become his wife. However, I am
assured that this lapse befel him from man’s natural and inherent
frailty albeit I repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until
he concealed from her his face. I now accept[61] this man’s valour and
bestow her upon him to wife, for she is the Ninth Statue by me promised
to him and she is fairer than all these jewelled images, the like of her
not being found in the whole world of men save by the rarest of
chances.” Then the King of the Jann turned to the Prince and said to
him, “O Emir Zayn al-Asnam, this is thy bride: take her and enjoy her
upon the one condition that thou love her only nor choose for thyself
another one in addition to her; and I pledge myself that her faith
thee-wards will be of the fairest.” Hereupon the King of the Jann
disappeared and the Prince, gladdened and rejoicing, went forth with the
maiden and for his love and affection to her he paid to her the first
ceremonious visit that same night[62] and he made bride-feasts and
banquets throughout his realm and in due time he formally wedded her and
went in unto her. Then he stablished himself upon the throne of his
kingship and ruled it, bidding and forbidding, and his consort became
Queen of Bassorah. His mother left this life a short while afterwards
and they both mourned and lamented their loss. Lastly he lived with his
wife in all joyance of life till there came to them the Destroyer of
delights and the Separator of societies.——And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day and ceased to say her pleasant[63] say.
THE TALE OF ZAYN AL-ASNAM.
(_TURKISH._)
_NOTE I._
I. The following version has been kindly made for me by Mr. E. J. W.
Gibb, of Glasgow, author of “Ottoman Poems,” the “Story of Jewad,” and
an excellent translation of the “Book of the Forty Wazirs.” It is
alluded to in Vol. i., p. 46, of “Popular Tales and Fictions” (London:
Blackwoods, 1887), etc., etc., by my collaborator, Mr. W. A. Clouston, a
most valuable recueil, with whose dedication he honoured me. I now
proceed to quote from Mr. Gibb’s “Foreword.”
The book from which the following story has been translated was printed
at Constantinople in A.H. 1268; and is entitled _Mukhayyalāt-i Ledun-i
illāhī-i Giridli ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi_. = Phantasms from the Divine
Presence, by ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi of Crete. The printer has given the
following note at the beginning of the volume; it appears to have
occurred in the MS. copy which he had.
“_Phantasms from the Divine Presence, of ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi the
Cretan._ 1211 (= 1796–7).
“In the year aforesaid did the above-named Efendi complete this
book; and at that (same) time he went to Prussia along with an
embassy, and there he passed away. As he was versed in the mystic
and philosophic sciences, and mighty in giving answers, clear and
silencing, on obscure questions in every branch of learning, he
arranged and wrote down, in the form of a special treatise, the
erudite replies which he afforded to the interrogations of certain
distinguished persons among the philosophers of Europe, concerning
the revolving of the spheres, the strata of the elements, and other
matters natural: such (a work was it) that from the perusal thereof
the extent of his learning might have been known unto men of
science. And he had a work on mysticism, entitled Vāridāt, and other
writings (as well). But his heirs knowing not their value, destroyed
and lost them; however, some among them came into the hands of
certain of his friends, who have edited and published them.”
“_Such is written on the back of this book._”
This last line is the printer’s note.
The Author’s Preface may be translated as follows:—
“Rolling up the observances of preamble and cancelling the rules of
entitulation, it is humbly declared that, while for a certain season
turning over the sheets of these pages of revelations and inspirations,
in the college of desire and the library of imagination, a well-worn
book with a lengthy appendix, entitled Khulāsat-al-Khayāl, (compiled)
from the Syriac and Hebrew and other languages laid by in the vault of
oblivion, was seen of my warning-beholding eye. When it had been
entirely perused and its strange matter considered, as they would form
an esoteric scrip, a philosophic volume, such as would cause heedfulness
and consideration, and yield counsel and admonition, like the
·Ibret-Numā of Lami’ī and the Elf Leyle of Asma’ī, certain of the
strange stories and wonderful tales of that book were selected and
separated, and having been arranged, dervish-fashion, in simple style,
were made the adornment of the reed-pen of composition, and offered to
the notice of them of penetration. For all that this book is of the
class of phantasms, still, as it has been written in conformity with the
position of the readers of (these) times, it is of its virtues that its
perusal will of a surety dispel sadness of heart; and when this has been
proved, saying:—
Unworthy though the reed-pen’s labour be,
A blessing may it gain, ‘Azíz! for thee,
I implore that my poor name be raised aloft on the tongues of prayers.”
Then come the three Mukhayyalāt, or Phantasms, each consisting of a
principal story with several subordinate tales.
The First Mukhayyal is largely made up of incidents from the following
stories in the Thousand and One Nights: Kamer-uz-Zemān, Zeyn ul Esnām,
Prince Amjad, and the Enchanted Horse. Here are all woven into one
connected whole, along with a lot about a king of the Jinn and the City
of Jábulqá, and some stories that are new to me.
The Second Mukhayyal I have translated and published under the title of
the “Story of Jewád.”
The Third consists of a number of stories that I have never met before.
The object of the entire work appears to be the exaltation of the
supernatural powers claimed by holy men. I meditate making a complete
translation some day. Meanwhile the following is my version of
_THE TALE OF ZAYN AL-ASNAM._
Then he (‘Abd-us-Samed, King of Serendib or Ceylon) requested the Prince
Asīl, first to go along with him to the harem in order that he might
show him a strange thing. The Prince consented; so they entered through
the harem door, and after crossing the vestibule and hall they came to a
garden at the end of which was the door of a subterranean vault, whither
they went. The door was of hard steel; and the king drew the key thereof
from his pocket and opened it, and they descended by twelve steps into
the interior of the vault. Then they entered a place in the midst
thereof shaped like the cupola of a bath; and the Prince saw that in the
middle of this place was a circular tank, some fifteen cubits round,
wrought and fashioned of Cathayan jasper, and filled to overflowing with
diamonds and emeralds, and spinels and red rubies, the very least of
which were a rarity of the age. And round about the tank were ten
bejewelled stands, on each of which (save one) was set an image, every
one more splendid than the other, and all of pure gold. And they were
adorned with thousands of costly jewels, treasures of the age, such that
all the gems that were in the tank could not have bought those upon one
image. While they were looking at these things, King ‘Abd-us-Samed, with
utmost lowliness, begged the Prince to accept this treasure; but as he
replied, saying, “Let us go forth and think about it,” they went out and
returned to their chamber. Again the King urged the Prince to accept it;
but the latter, turning the conversation into another course, said: “My
King, while the stands be ten, the images are nine; how comes it that
one stand has no image? Have you given it to anyone?” The King replied,
“My Lord, my Prince, it is a wondrous tale.” And as the Prince begged
him to relate it, King ‘Abd-us-Samed thus began to speak:
_THE STORY OF ‘ABD-US-SAMED, KING OF CEYLON._
“I, your slave, Sultan of this Ceylon, am son of the late Murtazá Sháh.
I was twenty years old when I ascended my ancestral throne on the death
of my father, I strove earnestly in the ordinance of the realm, and
wrought manfully and skilfully to perform the duties of kingship. One
night my father came (in a vision) to my side and addressed me, saying,
‘My son, I have a last request to make of thee; but I will not tell it
thee save thou undertake to accomplish it without knowing what it be;
but if thou swear by God to accomplish it, I will declare it to thee.’
As it is beyond doubt that fathers or mothers would not urge their
children to unbecoming deeds, I without hesitation swore to accomplish
it. Then my father took me by the hand and led me to the treasure which
thou hast seen. When I beheld it I abode bewildered at the greatness of
the riches. On that empty stand was a paper in my father’s handwriting;
this I took and read, and these words were inscribed thereon: ‘My son,
in that thou hast undertaken to fulfil it, if thou accomplish not this
my last request, be my two hands upon thy collar. Thou shalt go hence to
Cairo; there in the Roumelia Square, hard by the Erdebíl Fountain, is a
revered personage whom they call the Shaykh Mubarak. He is master of the
secret sciences, and he it is who hath given me all this treasure. Lay
thy face in the dust at his feet, and with uttermost humbleness beg of
him this lacking image; for the image which still remains is worth many
treasures like to this. If thou sit upon my throne without having
procured that image, thou shalt be a rebel against me.’ I marvelled at
these words of my father, and seeing he had heaped up such vast riches,
he should still even after his death be so driven as to urge upon me the
toils of a journey and the many dangers that must attend it, only that
that stand might not remain empty. But as no escape was possible, I
constrainedly determined to set out, and having appointed my vezir
regent, I disguised myself and started for Cairo.
“When I reached Cairo, I went to the aforesaid place, and having
enquired for the Shaykh Mubarak, went up to his door, at which I
knocked. A slave-girl came and opened the door, and taking me in, led me
into the presence of the Shaykh. I saw him to be a man of about
five-and-forty years of age, from whose countenance beamed the rays of
the light of God. I went forward and kissed his feet reverently, whereon
he said, ‘Upon thee be peace, my son ‘Abd-us-Samed; I rejoice for that
thou hast fulfilled the last request of thy father, well done!’ And he
motioned me to be seated. Straightway they brought food, and after I had
eaten and been nobly entreated, he, leaving not to me the need of
declaring my want, said, ‘My son, thy desire will not be withheld; but
thy father rendered me many services ere he gained that treasure, and
until thou likewise have done me a service, thou canst not win to thy
wish. I have a service for thee to perform; if thou be able to perform
it, I will give thee the image that thou seekest. What sayest thou?’ I
replied, ‘Do thou command; whatsoever thy service be, I shall not fail
to strive therein so far as in me lies.’ He answered, ‘Good; but if thou
act contrary to my pleasure, then thou shalt die.’ When I had likewise
undertaken not to act contrary to his pleasure, he continued, ‘Thou
shalt abide three days in Cairo, then thou shalt go forth and wander
from country to country, and from city to city, and from village to
village, until thou find an exceeding fair and pure girl in her
fourteenth or fifteenth year, who, besides being a virgin, has never so
much as longed for the pleasures of love: and thou shalt bring her to me
without ever letting even thy hand touch hers; and I will give thee the
image. But if thou purpose treachery, or to obtain delight by returning
not to me, know that thy death is certain.’ I made answer, ‘I may seek
and find the things visible; but I am not skilled in the secrets of the
heart that I should know that no impure thoughts have ever come into the
mind; this part of the matter is hard.’ Thereon he gave into my hand a
mirror and a purse, and said, ‘When thou hast found a girl answering in
beauty and other such particulars to my description, hold this mirror to
her face, and if it become clouded, she is not the desired one, for her
mind is sullied; but if the mirror remain bright, she is the chaste one
we desire. However, the accomplishment of this matter will require much
outlay, so spend from this purse; with God’s permission it will not
become exhausted.’
“Accordingly, I took the mirror and the purse, and having kissed the
Shaykh’s feet, and bade him farewell, and after resting three days in a
Khan, I set out on the road to Damascus. I wandered through Damascus,
Aleppo, Syria, the islands of the Mediterranean, Constantinople,
Rumelia, Frankland, and many many kingdoms and cities; and although I
found some perfect in beauty, I found none whose chastity could abide
the trial of the mirror. A certain man told me that there were in
Baghdād many beauties perfect in loveliness, and said, ‘If you go
thither, belike you may find the fair one whom you seek.’ So I went to
Baghdād and rented a house in a certain quarter and having taken up my
abode there, began the search. The Imām of the quarter was an old man
named Haji Bekr, who used to come to my house at nights to converse with
me. One night I told him the secret of my heart and said, ‘If thou canst
find a girl such as I wish, that is, such as were acceptable to my
taste, I will give thee ten purses; and from that may be judged how I
shall treat the girl and her relations. But even if, through the favour
of God Most High, she be found, I may not marry her until I have gone
and kissed the feet of my father who is grand Vezir of Egypt. If they
will give me the girl whom I approve with this condition, I will cover
her parents and relations with favours.’ Then the Imām, after pondering
a while, thus made answer, ‘The Khalif has a Vezir named Nāsir, whom he
dismissed from his service, having been displeased at certain of his
actions; this Vezir has for a long time sat in the nook of retirement,
and he has fallen a prey to exceeding poverty and indigence. He has a
daughter named Mihr-i-Dil,[64] who is now in her fourteenth or fifteenth
year. She is well known among the women, who say that her like has never
been created upon earth. If she suit your taste, she may do; if not, it
will be vain to look for another, hoping to find one better than she.’
When I heard these words I put ten florins into the Imām’s hand, saying,
‘Be this shoe-money: go to-morrow to the girl’s father and tell him of
the affair; and if he be willing to give her, bring me word.’
“He came next day and told me that he had spoken to the girl’s father,
that he was willing, and that they were awaiting my going to their
house. So I straightway set out in all haste for the desired quarter,
and reached their abode. After I had met her father and conversed with
him, he took me into another room where his daughter was standing
covered with a veil. Her father went up to her, and when he had raised
the veil from his daughter’s face, I saw that she was a loveling of the
soul, such that not merely was the Shaykh’s description insufficient,
but that never heart or imagination had conceived her like. The glance
of her eyes was a disturber of the world such that with one look it made
my soul like to hell through the fire of love, and maddened me, taking
me out of myself. Forthwith I pulled out the mirror and held it to her
face, and when I saw that there was thereon no trace of dullness, even
as the Shaykh had said, I made sure of her chastity. When I came forth I
kissed her father’s hand and prayed him to accept me to son-in-law, and
he blessed me, saying, ‘There is no refusal; may the Lord of the worlds
grant to both of you life and fortune.’ The Imām, the Mu’ezzin and the
assembly were straightway summoned, and when the marriage-ceremony was
completed, I gave the ten purses I had promised, and also ten thousand
sequins for the wedding expenses, and things proper to women to the
value of two hundred purses, which I had prepared before hand. I took
from the purse to the amount of about two hundred purses, and giving it
to the Imām Efendi, sent him off with it, that they might buy whatsoever
dresses they should wish. And I gave them notice, saying, ‘I may not
tarry longer than a week, then I must set out whither I mean to go; let
them be ready.’
“When I had delivered poor Nāsir and his belongings from all need, I got
ready all things necessary for the journey, and we started on the way to
Egypt. While on the journey, I assisted the maiden in mounting into and
alighting from the litter and as the poor girl thought I was her
husband, she took no heed but disclosed her fair face to me, whereupon
my wit and understanding were ravished, and passion and longing brought
me to such a pass that I would have abandoned wealth and hoard, image
and treasure, nay, even the world itself, but that dread of the Shaykh
and fear for my life held me back from accomplishing my desire; for I
knew that if I touched but so much as her hand with mine, my death was
certain. Accordingly I endured it as I might, and sighed and groaned
night and day. When we were come to within an hour’s journey of Cairo, I
went up to the side of the girl’s litter, and caused her to alight. I
made them pitch a sun-tent in the shade of which we sat down, and then I
laid bare to her the secret that was in my heart, and told her that I
was taking her for the Shaykh; whereupon her wailing and lamentations
ascended to the heavens, and she fainted and became senseless. We placed
her in this plight in the litter; and when we reached the Shaykh’s house
I knocked at the door thereof. Again a slave-girl came and opened the
door and took us in. I caused the girl to alight, and took her into the
presence of the Shaykh, whose feet I kissed. He said, ‘Upon thee be
peace, my son; thy service is accepted and thy endeavour thanked; lo,
manfulness is the name of this. I rejoice exceedingly for that thou has
borne up against the urging of passion in such a case. Thou shalt live
long and reap great good from this service.’ Then he asked for the purse
and the mirror, which I laid before him. He continued, ‘Now, do thou
again abide in Cairo during three days, and then go to thine own country
and thou shalt find the wished for image placed upon the empty stand.’
“Again I kissed his feet and bade him farewell, and after tarrying for
three days in Cairo, returned to my own country. When I arrived there I
foregathered with my mother, and after I had related to her all that had
happened, we hastened together to the buried treasure. We opened the
door, and when we entered we saw upon that oft mentioned stand my
darling, my beloved, Mihr-i-Dil. My senses and understanding forsook me,
and I abode for a while confounded. When she saw me she arose; and there
was a paper in her hand which she presented to me. It was signed with
the Shaykh’s signature, and there was written thereon: ‘My son,
‘Abd-us-Samed, the reason why thy father and myself deemed it good to
subject thee to these trials is this, that having therefore endured toil
and trouble, thou mightest know that a virtuous wife is worth many
treasures such as this, and consider whether it were more desirable to
find upon this stand an image which were worth the world, or better to
find thereon the lovely Mihr-i-Dil. Now thou shalt know the value of the
latter to the end of thy life; and she is thy wedded wife.’
“Now, my lord (Prince Asīl), that is the reason of one of the stands
being empty; the image belonging to that stand is the mistress of our
harem, the mother of Shīve-Zād.”[65]
ALAEDDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP.
Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, how rare is thy tale and delectable!”
whereto quoth Shahrazad, “And what is this compared with that I would
relate to you on the coming night concerning Alaeddin[66] and the
Enchanted Lamp, an this my lord the King leave me on life?” The King
said to himself, “By Allah, I will not slay her until she tell me the
whole tale.”
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad,[67] to Shahrazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than
sleepy, do tell us some of thy pleasant tales;” and quoth she “With love
and good will: I will relate to you the story of
_ALAEDDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP._”
It hath reached me, O King of the Age, that there dwelt in a city of the
cities of China a man which was a tailor, withal a pauper, and he had
one son, Alaeddin hight. Now this boy had been from his babyhood a
ne’er-do-well, a scapegrace; and, when he reached his tenth year, his
father inclined to teach him his own trade; and, for that he was over
indigent to expend money upon his learning other work or craft or
apprenticeship, he took the lad into his shop that he might be taught
tailoring. But, as Alaeddin was a scapegrace and a ne’er-do-well and
wont to play at all times with the gutter boys of the quarter, he would
not sit in the shop for a single day; nay, he would await his father’s
leaving it for some purpose, such as to meet a creditor, when he would
run off at once and fare forth to the gardens with the other scapegraces
and low companions, his fellows. Such was his case; counsel and
castigation were of no avail, nor would he obey either parent in aught
or learn any trade; and presently, for his sadness and sorrowing because
of his son’s vicious indolence, the tailor sickened and died. Alaeddin
continued in his former ill courses and, when his mother saw that her
spouse had deceased, and that her son was a scapegrace and good for
nothing at all[68] she sold the shop and whatso was to be found therein
and fell to spinning cotton yarn. By this toilsome industry she fed
herself and found food for her son Alaeddin the scapegrace who, seeing
himself freed from bearing the severities of his sire, increased in
idleness and low habits; nor would he ever stay at home save at
meal-hours while his miserable wretched mother lived only by what her
hands could spin until the youth had reached his fifteenth year.——And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Fifteenth Night,