who seemed to have had some suspicion of my intention, while his
head was turned away, instantly put his hand into the bag, and
missing the purse, he gave me such a blow, that I fell to the
ground. They, who saw this violent attack, directly began to take my
part; some seized the bridle of his horse to stop him, and asked him
what he meant by thus knocking me down; and how he durst thus ill
treat a mussulman. ‘What business is this of yours?’ he answered
in an angry tone.--‘I know what I am about; he is a thief.’ At
these words I got up; when, on seeing me, every one took my part,
and said he asserted a falsehood; for it was very improbable, that a
young man of my appearance and manner could be guilty of so infamous
an action as he laid to my charge. In short, they kept persisting in
my innocence; and while they were holding his horse, in order to
favour my escape, unfortunately for me one of the officers of the
police came by, accompanied by some of his men. He came up to us,
and inquired what had happened.--Every one immediately accused the
man on horseback with having used me ill, under the pretence that I
had robbed him.
“The officer of the police, however, was by no means satisfied
with this account. He asked the gentleman on horseback, if he
suspected any one besides me of having robbed him. The latter
replied in the negative; and informed the officer of the reasons
which he had for believing that he was not mistaken in his
suspicions. After having attentively listened to him, the officer
ordered his attendants to arrest and search me. They instantly
obeyed; and one of them discovering the purse, held it publicly up
to view. This disgrace was too much for me to bear, and I fainted
away. The officer of the police then desired them to bring the purse
to him.
“As soon as the officer had taken the purse, he asked the man on
horseback, if that was his, and how much money there was in it? The
latter immediately knew it to be the same which had been taken from
him; and assured the officer there were twenty sequins in it. The
judge instantly opened it, and finding exactly that sum in it, he
returned it. After this he ordered me before him:--‘Young man,’
said he, ‘confess the truth; acknowledge that it was you who stole
the purse; and do not wait till I order you to the torture, to make
you confess.’ Holding down my head, I reflected within myself,
that if I denied the fact, as the purse was found upon me, they
could only consider it as a falsehood and an evasion; to avoid
therefore being doubly punished, both as a liar and a thief, I
raised my head, and acknowledged that I had taken it. I had no
sooner made this confession, than the officer, having first taken
down the evidence, ordered my right hand to be cut off. This
sentence was executed upon the spot, and excited the compassion of
all the spectators: and I observed the accuser himself was not less
affected than the rest. The judge indeed wished to punish me still
farther by cutting off one of my feet, but I begged the person, from
whom I had taken the purse, to intercede for me with the judge to
omit that part of the sentence; he did so, and obtained his request.
The officer was no sooner gone on, than the injured person came up
to me.--‘I am convinced,’ said he to me, and at the same time
offered the purse, ‘that necessity alone compelled you to commit
so disgraceful an action, and one so unworthy a young man of your
appearance. Here is this fatal purse, take it; and I am truly sorry
for the misfortune it has occasioned you.’ Having said this, he
left me; and as I was very weak and faint from the quantity of blood
I had lost, some people, who lived in that neighbourhood, were so
kind and compassionate as to take me home with them, and give me a
glass of wine. They also dressed my arm, and put my hand, which had
been cut off, in a piece of linen cloth, and I fastened it to my
girdle.
“When I had got back to the khan of Mesrour, I did not find that
assistance there which I stood so much in need of. It was, however,
I thought, hazarding a great deal to go and present myself to the
young lady.--‘She will not,’ said I to myself, ‘wish to see me
any more, when she shall have been informed of the infamous action I
have been guilty of.’ I nevertheless determined to pursue this
plan; and as soon as the crowd, who had followed me, were dispersed,
I went by the most unfrequented streets to her house. When I
arrived, I found myself so weak and worn out from pain and fatigue,
that I instantly threw myself on a sofa; taking care to keep my
right arm under my robe, as I was anxious she should not see the
state in which it was.
“In the mean time, the lady, being informed of my arrival, and
that I seemed very ill, came to me in the greatest haste, and seeing
me pale and faint, ‘My dear soul,’ she cried, ‘what is the
matter with you?’ I dissembled the real cause, and in answer told
her, that I had a most violent head-ache, which very much tormented
me. At this she appeared much afflicted.--‘Sit down,’ she
replied, for I had risen to receive her, ‘and tell me how this has
happened to you. You were very well the last time I had the pleasure
of seeing you here. There is surely something else, which you
conceal from me. Tell me, I beg of you, what it is.’ As I remained
silent, instead of answering her, the tears fell from my eyes.--‘I
cannot comprehend,’ added she, ‘what can possibly cause you so
much affliction.--Have I unintentionally given you any cause? Do you
come to tell me you no longer love me?’--‘It is not that,
madam,’ I replied, ‘and even a suspicion of the sort augments my
misery still more.’
“I could not make up my mind to discover the true cause of my
illness to her. When the evening approached, supper was served up.
She entreated me to eat, but as I could only make use of my left
hand, I requested her to excuse me, saying, I had no
appetite.--‘It would return,’ said she, if you would unfold to
me what you so obstinately conceal. Your dislike doubtless arises
from the pain you suffer by remaining silent.’--‘Alas, madam,’
I replied, ‘it is very necessary for me to make that
determination, and to adhere to it.’ I had no sooner said this,
than she poured me out a glass of wine, and presenting it to me,
‘Drink this,’ she replied, ‘it will give you both strength and
courage.’ I then held out my left hand, and took the glass.
“I had no sooner received the glass than my tears flowed afresh,
and my sighs increased.--‘Why do you lament and sigh so
bitterly?’ said the lady to me. ‘Why do you take the glass in
your left hand rather than your right?’--‘Alas, madam,’ I
replied, ‘excuse me, I entreat you; for I have a swelling on my
right hand.’--‘Show me this tumour,’ said she, ‘and I will
open it for you.’ I still excused myself by saying it was not yet
in a state proper for that operation; I then drank all the contents
of the glass, which was a very large one. The strength of the wine,
joined to my fatigue, and the low state in which I was, soon made me
very drowsy, and I fell into a profound sleep, that lasted till the
next morning.
“While I was in this state, the lady wishing to know what accident
had happened to my right hand, lifted up my robe, which concealed
it, and saw, as you may conjecture, with the greatest astonishment,
that it was cut off, and that I had got it with me, wrapped up in a
linen cloth. She had now no difficulty in comprehending why I so
strongly resisted all the entreaties she made me; and she passed the
night in thinking of the disgrace that had happened to me; not
doubting but that my love for her had been the cause of it.
“When I awoke the next morning, I perceived by her countenance
that she was very much afflicted. She did not, however, utter a word
to me on the subject, that she might not give me any pain. She
desired some thick jelly made from chickens, that she had ordered on
purpose for me, to be served up. She obliged me both to eat and
drink, in order, as she said, to recruit my strength, of which I had
so much need. I then wished to take my leave of her, but she took
hold of my robe and detained me.--‘I will not suffer you,’ she
said, ‘to go from hence; for although you will not tell me so, I
am persuaded that I am the cause of the misfortune which has
happened to you. The poignant grief which I feel will not suffer me
to live long; but before I die, I must execute a design which I
meditate in your favour.’ Having said this, she ordered some of
her people to go for an officer of justice, and some witnesses, and
made him draw up a bequest of all her fortune to me. Having then
dismissed them, after paying them handsomely for their trouble, she
opened a large chest, where all the purses that I had ever brought
her since the commencement of our connection had been placed.
‘There they all are,’ said she to me, ‘just as you left them;
I have not touched one of them. Here is the key, take it, for they
belong to you.’ I thanked her for her kindness and
generosity.--‘I do not,’ added she, ‘reckon this as any thing
in comparison with what I intend to do for you. Nor shall I be
satisfied till I die, to prove to you how much I love you.’ I
conjured her, by every tie of love, to give up so dreadful a
resolution; but I was unable to divert her thoughts from it; the
sorrow and chagrin she felt at seeing me so maimed, brought on a
serious illness, which at the end of five or six weeks terminated in
her death.
“After mourning for her loss as much as became me, I took
possession of all her fortune, and every thing, which, as she had
informed me, belonged to her; and the sesamè, which you sold for
me, was part of her property.”
When the young man of Bagdad had finished his relation, he added,
“What you have now heard ought to be a sufficient excuse for my
having eaten in your company with my left hand. I am much obliged to
you for the trouble you have taken on my account. I cannot enough
applaud your fidelity and probity; and as I have, thank God, a very
plentiful fortune, although I have expended a great deal, I must
beg, that you will accept as a present the small sum for which you
sold the sesamè, and which you now are in my debt for. I have
besides another proposal to make to you. Being unable to remain with
any comfort or satisfaction to myself at Cairo, after the melancholy
accident I have mentioned, I am resolved to leave it, and never to
return again. If you like to accompany me, we will trade in common
together, and we will divide the profits we make into equal
shares.”
When the young man of Bagdad (said the Christian merchant) had
concluded his history, I said to him, “I return you, sir, my most
grateful thanks for the present you have done me the favour to make
me; and with respect to the proposal of travelling with you, I
accept it with all my heart; and assure you, that your interest will
be always as much my concern as my own.”
We fixed a day for our departure, and when it came we began our
journey. We passed through Syria and Mesopotamia; we travelled over
Persia, and after visiting for some time many cities, we at length
came, Sire, to your capital. After some little time, the young man
informed me, that he was very desirous, and, in fact, had taken the
resolution of going back into Persia, and of settling there. We then
made up our accounts, and separated, perfectly satisfied with each
other. He departed, and I remained in this city, where I have the
honour of being employed in the service of your majesty. This is the
history which I had to recount to you, and does it not seem to your
majesty much more surprising than that of the little hunchback?
The sultan of Casgar was very angry with the Christian merchant.
“Thou art very bold and impudent,” said he to the merchant,
“to dare to make a comparison between the recital of a history so
trifling and unworthy my attention with that of my hunchback. Dost
thou flatter thyself, that thou canst persuade me that the stale
adventures of a young debauchee are more wonderful than those of my
buffoon? I will in truth hang all four of you to revenge his
death.”
At these words the terrified purveyor threw himself at the
sultan’s feet: “Sire,” he cried, “I entreat your majesty to
suspend your just wrath, and to listen to me; and if the narrative I
shall have the honour to lay before your majesty, shall seem to you
more interesting than that of little hunchback, that you will do us
the favour to extend your pardon to us all.”--“Speak,” said
the sultan, “I grant thy request.” The purveyor then began as
follows:
THE STORY
TOLD BY THE PURVEYOR OF THE SULTAN OF CASGAR.
I was yesterday, Sire, invited by a man of great respectability and
fortune to the wedding of one of his daughters. I did not fail to be
at his house by the appointed hour, and found a large company
composed of the best inhabitants of the city, and of various
professions. When the ceremony was over, the feast, which was very
magnificent, was served up. We sat down to table, and each person
eat what was most agreeable to his taste. Amongst other things,
there was a dish dressed with garlic, which was so very excellent,
that every one was anxious to get a little of it. We could not,
however, but remark, that one of the guests did not seem desirous of
eating any of it, although the dish stood directly before him. We
invited him to help himself to some, as we did; but he requested us
not to press him to eat any.--“I shall be very careful,” said
he, “how I touch a ragout dressed with garlic. I have not yet
forgotten what was the consequence of it to me the last time I
tasted one.” We then requested him to inform us what had been the
cause of such an aversion for garlic, as he seemed to have. The
master of the house, however, called out, without giving him time to
answer our inquiries, “Is it thus you honour my table? This ragout
is delicious; do not, therefore, pretend not to eat of it; you must
do me that favour like the rest of the company.”--“Sir,”
replied his guest, who was a merchant of Bagdad, “do not suppose
that I act thus out of any notions of false delicacy. I certainly
will obey your commands, if you insist upon it: but it must only be
on condition, that after eating of it you will permit me to wash my
hands forty times with alkali, forty times with the ashes of the
same plant from which that is procured, and as many times with soap.
I hope you will not take my mode of procedure ill, but it is in
consequence of an oath I have taken, and which I do not wish to
break, never to eat a ragout with garlic, but on those conditions.”
As the master of the house would not dispense with the merchant’s
eating some of the ragout, he ordered his servants to get some
basons ready, containing a solution of alkali, ashes of the same
plant, and soap, that the merchant might wash himself as often as he
pleased. After having given these orders, he said to the merchant,
“Come then, now do as we do, and eat; neither the alkali, the
ashes of the plant, nor the soap shall be deficient.”
Although the merchant was enraged at this sort of violence that was
done to him, he put out his hand, and took a small quantity of the
ragout, which he put to his mouth with fear and trembling, and eat
with a repugnance which very much astonished us all. But what we
remarked with still greater surprise was, that he had only four
fingers, and no thumb, and till this moment no person had noticed
this circumstance, although he had eaten of several other dishes.
The master of the house then spoke, “You seem to have lost your
thumb,” said he, “how did such an accident happen? There must
probably have been some singular circumstances connected with the
occasion of it; and you will afford this company a great pleasure,
if you will relate them.”
“Sir,” replied the guest, “it is not only on my right hand
that I have no thumb, my left is also in the same state. He held out
his left hand at the same time, that we might be convinced he spoke
the truth. “Nor is this all,” he added, “I have lost the great
toe from each of my feet. I have been maimed in this manner through
a most unheard of adventure, and which, if you will have the
patience to listen to it, I have no objection to relate; and I think
it will not excite your astonishment more than it will your
compassion. First of all, however, permit me to wash my hands.”
Having said this, he got up from table, and after washing his hands
one hundred and twenty times, he sat down again, and related his
history in the following terms:
“You must know, gentlemen, that my father lived at Bagdad, during
the reign of the caliph Haroun Alraschid, where I also was born; and
he was reckoned one of the richest merchants in that city. But as he
was a man very fond of pleasure, and one who loved dissipation of
every sort, he very much neglected his affairs, and instead
therefore of inheriting a large fortune at his death, I encountered
great difficulties, and was obliged to make use of the greatest
economy to pay the debts he left behind him. With great attention,
however, and care, I at last discharged them all, and my small
fortune then began to assume a favorable appearance.
“One morning, when I was opening my shop, a lady, mounted upon a
mule, accompanied by a eunuch, and followed by two slaves, passed
close to my door, and stopped. The eunuch directly assisted her to
alight, by taking hold of her hand; he then said to her, ‘I am
afraid, madam, you have arrived too soon; you see, there is no one
yet come to the bezestein. If you had believed what I said, you
would not have had the trouble of waiting.’ She looked every where
about, and finding that there was, in fact, no other shop open but
mine, she came up, and saluting me, requested permission to sit down
in it, till the other merchants were arrived. I returned such an
answer as became me.
“When the lady had entered my shop, and sat down, as she observed
there was no one to be seen in the bezestein, except the eunuch and
myself, she took off her veil, in order to enjoy the air. I had
never seen any one before so beautiful, and to see, and to be
passionately in love, were with me one and the same thing. I kept my
eyes constantly fixed upon her, and I thought she looked as if my
attention was not unpleasing to her, for she gave me full
opportunity, during the whole time, of beholding her; and she did
not put down her veil, till the fear of any one’s approach obliged
her.
“After she had adjusted her dress, as it was before, she informed
me that she was come with the intention of looking at some of the
finest and richest kinds of stuff, which she described to me; and
inquired, whether I had any such. ‘Alas, madam,’ I said, ‘I am
but a young merchant, who have not long begun business, and am not
yet sufficiently rich to trade so largely; and it is a great
mortification to me to have none of the things for which you come
into the bezestein. But to save you the trouble of going from shop
to shop, I will, as soon as the merchants come, if you please, go
and get whatever you wish from them. They will tell me exactly the
lowest price, and you will thus be enabled, without having the
trouble of seeking any farther, to execute all your commissions.’
To this she consented, and I entered into conversation with her,
which lasted a long time, as I made her believe, that those
merchants who had the stuffs she wanted were not yet come.
“I was not less charmed with her wit and understanding than I had
been with her person; I was, however, at last compelled to deprive
myself of the pleasure of her conversation, and I went to inquire
for the stuffs she wanted. When she had fixed upon those she wished
to have, I informed her, that they came to five thousand drachms of
silver. I then made them up into a parcel, and gave them to the
eunuch, who put them under his arm. She immediately got up, and
after taking leave of me, she went away. I followed her with my eyes
till she was got to the gate of the bezestein, nor did I leave off
gazing at her till she mounted her mule.
“The lady was no sooner out of sight, than I recollected, that my
love had caused me to be guilty of a great fault. It had indeed so
wholly engrossed my attention, that I not only omitted taking the
money for the goods, but had even neglected to inquire who she was,
and where she lived. This led me immediately to reflect, that I was
accountable for a very large sum of money to several merchants, who
would not perhaps have the patience to wait. I then went and excused
myself to them, in the best way I could, telling them I knew the
lady very well. I returned home as much in love as ever, although
very much embarrassed by the idea of so heavy a debt.
“I requested my creditors to wait eight days for their money,
which they agreed to do. On the eighth morning they did not fail to
come and request payment; but I again begged them to grant me the
favor of a little farther delay, in which they had the goodness to
acquiesce; but on the very next morning I saw the lady coming along
on the same mule, with the same number of persons attending her, and
exactly at the same hour as at first.
“She came directly to my shop. ‘I have made you wait,’ she
said, ‘a little for your money, on account of the stuffs which I
had the other day; but I have at last brought it you. Carry it to a
money-changer, and see that it is all good, and the right sum.’
The eunuch, who had the money, went with me to a money-changer’s;
the sum was exactly correct, and all good silver. After this, I had
the happiness of a long conversation with the lady, till all the
shops in the bezestein were open. Although we conversed only upon
common topics, she nevertheless gave a certain turn to whatever she
said, that threw a grace and novelty over the whole discourse, and
convinced me I was not mistaken, when, from the first time I saw
her, I thought that she possessed much wit and good sense.
“As soon as the merchants were come, and had opened their shops, I
took what I was indebted to each of those from whom I had purchased
the stuffs on credit, and I had now no difficulty in getting others
from them, which the lady had desired to see. I carried back with me
as many as came to a thousand pieces of gold, all of which she took
away with her, not only without paying for them, but without saying
a word on the subject, or even informing me who she was, or where
she lived. What astonished me the most was, that she ran no risk,
and hazarded nothing, while I remained without the least security,
and without any chance of being indemnified in case I should not see
her again. ‘She has paid me, it is true,’ I said to myself, ‘a
very large sum of money; but she has left me with a debt which is
much more considerable. Is it possible she can intend to cheat me,
and has thus, by paying me for the first quantity, only enticed me
on to my more certain ruin? The merchants themselves do not know
her, and depend only upon me for payment.’
“My love was not so powerful as to prevent me from making these
distressing reflections. My fears kept increasing from day to day
for one entire month, which passed on without my having any
intelligence whatever of the lady. The merchants, at last, began to
grow very impatient, and in order to satisfy them, I was going to
sell off every thing I had; when, one morning, I saw her coming
exactly with the same attendants as before. ‘Take your weights,’
she said to me, ‘and weigh the gold I have brought you.’ These
few words put an end to all my fears, and redoubled my love.
“Before she began to count out the gold, she addressed several
questions to me: and, among other things, she asked me if I were
married. I told her I was not, nor ever had been. Giving then the
gold to the eunuch, she said to him, ‘Come, let us have your
assistance to settle our affairs.’ The eunuch could not help
smiling, and taking me aside, he made me weigh the gold. While I was
thus employed, the eunuch whispered in my ear as follows: ‘I have
only to look at you, to be perfectly convinced you are desperately
in love with my mistress; and I am only surprised that you have not
sufficient courage to discover your passion to her. She loves you,
if possible, to a still greater excess. Don’t suppose that she is
in want of any of your stuffs; she only comes here, because you have
inspired her with the most violent passion, and this was the reason
of her asking you whether you were married. You have only to make
known your sentiments by speech, and if you wish it, she will not
stop short even of marrying you.’--‘It is true,’ I replied to
the eunuch, ‘that I felt the sensations of love arise in my breast
the very first moment I beheld your lady, but I never thought of
aspiring to the hope of having pleased her. I am wholly her own, and
shall not fail to remember the good office you have done me.’
“As soon as I had finished weighing the gold, and while I was
putting it back into the bag, the eunuch went to the lady and said,
that I was very well satisfied. This was the particular expression
they had agreed upon between themselves. The lady, who was seated,
immediately got up, and went away, telling me first, that she would
send back the eunuch, and that I must do exactly as he directed.