and they had a great contest on this point. He, at length, solemnly
protested that he would not touch any of the gold, unless the
gardener retained half for his share, to which he with some
difficulty consented; and they divided the jars, twenty-five to each.
The division being made, “My son,” said the gardener, “this is
not enough; we must now devise some plan for embarking these riches
on the vessel, and taking them with you so secretly as not to give
any suspicion of them, otherwise you might run a risk of losing
them. There are no olives in the Isle of Ebony, and those, which are
taken from here, are in great request. As you know I have a good
provision of those I have gathered from my own garden, you must take
the fifty jars, and fill them half way with the gold dust, and the
other half with olives up to the top, and we will have them taken to
the ship, when you yourself embark.
Camaralzaman adopted this advice, and employed himself the rest of
the day in filling and arranging the fifty jars; and as he feared
that he might lose the talisman of the princess Badoura by wearing
it constantly on his arm, he had the precaution to put it in one of
these jars, on which he set a mark to know it again. When he had
completed his work, and the jars were ready for removal, as night
was approaching, he went home with the gardener, and entering into
conversation with him, related the battle of the two birds, and the
circumstances attending this adventure, by which he had recovered
the talisman of the princess Badoura; the gardener was not less
surprised than rejoiced at this account, for his sake.
Whether it was on account of his great age, or that he had taken too
much exercise on that day, the gardener passed a bad night; his
illness increased on the following day, and on the third morning he
found himself still worse. As soon as it was day, the captain of the
vessel himself, together with some of his seamen, came and knocked
at the garden gate. Camaralzaman opened it, and they inquired for
the passenger who was to embark on board their vessel. “I am
he,” replied the prince: “the gardener, who took my passage, is
ill and cannot speak to you; however, pray come in and take away
these jars of olives, together with my baggage, and I will follow
you as soon as I have taken my leave of him.”
The seamen carried away his jars and baggage, and on leaving
Camaralzaman desired him to follow them immediately; “The wind is
fair,” added the captain, “and I only wait for you to set
sail.”
As soon as the captain and seamen were gone, Camaralzaman returned
to the gardener to bid him farewell, and thank him for all the good
offices he had received from him; but he found him at the point of
death, and he had scarcely obtained from him the profession of his
faith, according to the custom of good mussulmen, on the article of
death, than he saw him expire.
The prince being under the necessity of embarking immediately, used
the utmost diligence in performing the last duties to the deceased.
He washed the body, wrapped it in the sepulchral clothes, and having
dug a grave in the garden, for as Mahometans were barely tolerated
in the city of idolaters, they had no public cemetery, and buried it
himself, which employed him till the close of the day. He then set
out, without losing any more time, to embark; and to use great
dispatch, he took the key of the garden with him, intending to
deliver it to the proprietor; or, if he could not accomplish that,
to give it to some trusty person, in the presence of witnesses, to
remit it to him. But when he arrived at the harbour, he was informed
that the ship had weighed anchor some time, and it was already out
of sight. They added, that it had waited for him three full hours
before it set sail.
As you may suppose, Sire, Camaralzaman was vexed and distressed to
the utmost degree, at finding himself obliged to remain in a
country, where he had no motive for wishing to form any
acquaintance, and to wait another year before the opportunity he had
just lost, would again present itself. What mortified him still more
was, that he had parted with the talisman of the princess Badoura,
which he now gave up for lost. He had no other method to pursue, but
to return to the garden he had left, to rent it of the landlord to
whom it belonged, and to continue the cultivation of it, while he
deplored his misfortune. As he could not support the fatigue of all
the labour it required, he hired a boy to assist him; and that he
might not lose the other share of the treasure, which came to him by
the death of the gardener, who had died without heirs, he put the
gold dust into fifty other jars, and covered them with olives as he
had done before, that he might take them with him, when the time
came for him to embark.
While prince Camaralzaman was beginning another year of pain,
sorrow, and impatience, the vessel continued its voyage with a
favorable wind, and arrived without any misfortune al the capital of
the Isle of Ebony.
As the palace was on the sea-shore, the new king, or rather the
princess Badoura, who perceived the vessel, while sailing into port,
with all its flags flying, inquired what ship it was, and was told,
that it came every year from the city of idolaters at that season,
and that it was in general laden with very rich merchandize.
The princess, who in the midst of all the state and splendor that
surrounded her, had her mind constantly occupied with the idea of
Camaralzaman, conceived, that he might have embarked on board that
vessel, and the thought occurred to her of going to meet him when he
landed, not intending to make herself known to him, for she was
convinced he would not recognise her, but to observe him, and take
the measures she thought most proper for their mutual discovery.
Under pretence therefore of inspecting the merchandize, and even of
being the first to see and to choose the most valuable for herself,
she ordered a horse to be brought her. She went to the harbour,
accompanied by several officers, who happened to be with her, and
she arrived at the moment that the captain came on shore. She
desired him to come to her, and inquired of him from whence he had
sailed, how long he had been at sea, what good or unfortunate
incidents he had met with during his voyage, if he had amongst his
passengers any stranger of distinction, and above all with what his
vessel was laden.
The captain gave satisfactory answers to all these questions; as for
the passengers, he assured her there were none besides the
merchants, who were accustomed to trade thither, and that they
brought very rich stuffs from different countries, linens of the
finest texture, painted as well as plain, precious stones, musk,
ambergris, camphor, civet, spices, medicinal drugs, olives, and
several other articles.
The princess Badoura happened to be passionately fond of olives. She
had no sooner heard them mentioned, than she said to the captain,
“I will take all you have on board; order them to be unladen
immediately, that I may make the bargain for them. As for the other
merchandize, you will inform the owners to bring me the most
beautiful and valuable of their goods, before they show them to any
one.”
“Sire,” replied the captain, who took her for the king of the
Isle of Ebony, which in fact she was, in her feigned character,
“there are fifty large jars of olives, but they belong to a
merchant, who remained behind. I had informed him of my departure,
and even waited for him some time. But as I found he did not come,
and that his delay prevented my profiting by a favorable wind, I
lost all patience, and set sail.”--“Let them be put ashore
nevertheless,” replied the princess, “this shall not prevent our
making the bargain.”
The captain sent his boat to the ship, and it soon returned,
bringing the jars of olives. The princess inquired what the value of
the fifty jars might be in the Isle of Ebony; “Sire,” replied
the captain, “the merchant is very poor; your majesty will confer
a great obligation on him by giving him a thousand pieces of
silver.”--“That he may be perfectly satisfied,” said the
princess, “and in consideration of his great poverty, you shall
have a thousand pieces of gold counted out to you, which you will
take care to give him.” She gave orders for the payment of this
sum, and after she had desired the jars to be taken away, she
returned to the palace.
As night approached, the princess Badoura retired to the interior
palace, and went to the apartment of the princess Haiatalnefous,
where she had the fifty jars of olives brought to her. She had
opened one to taste them, and to eat of them herself; and poured
some into a dish, when, conceive her astonishment, at finding the
olives mixed with gold dust. “What a wonderful adventure!”
exclaimed she. She immediately ordered the other jars to be opened,
and emptied in her presence by the women of Haiatalnefous, and her
surprise increased, as she perceived that the olives in each jar
were mixed with the gold dust. But when that was emptied in which
Camaralzaman had deposited the talisman, her emotions on seeing it
were so strong, that she was quite overcome, and fainted away.
The princess Haiatalnefous and her women ran to her assistance, and
by throwing water on her face, at length brought her to herself.
When she had recovered her senses, she took up the talisman, and
kissed it several times; but as she did not choose to say any thing
before the princess’s women, who were ignorant of her disguise,
and as it was time to retire to rest, she dismissed them.
“Princess,” said she to Haiatalnefous, as soon as they were
alone, “after what I have related to you of my adventures you no
doubt guessed, that it was on beholding this talisman that I
fainted. It is mine, and the fatal cause of the separation that has
taken place between my beloved husband, prince Camaralzaman, and
myself. It was the occasion of an event so painful for both, and I
am certain it will be the means of our speedy re-union.”
The next morning, as soon as day had appeared, the princess Badoura
sent for the captain of the vessel. When he was come, she said to
him, “I beg you to give me a more satisfactory account of the
merchant, to whom the olives belonged, that I bought yesterday. I
think you told me, that you left him behind in the city of
idolaters; can you inform me what was his occupation there?”
“Sire,” replied the captain, “I can acquaint your majesty with
it, as I know it for certain. I had agreed about his passage with a
gardener, who was extremely old, and he told me that I should find
him in his garden, the situation of which he pointed out to me,
where he worked under him; this made me say to your majesty, that he
was poor. I went to this very garden to seek him, and tell him that
I was going to embark, and spoke to him myself.”
“If this be the case,” said the princess, “you must set sail
again to-day, and return to the city of idolaters, to search for
this young gardener, and bring him here, for he is my debtor; if you
refuse, I declare that I will confiscate not only all the goods
which belong to you, and those of the merchants you have on board,
but will also make your life and that of the merchants responsible
for it. At this moment, they are going by my command to place the
seal on the magazines where they are deposited, and which shall not
be taken off until you have delivered into my hands the young man I
require. This is what I had to say to you. Go, and obey my orders.”
The captain had nothing to reply to this command, the non-execution
of which was to involve him and the merchants in so severe a
punishment. He imparted it to them, and they were no less anxious
than himself for the immediate departure of the vessel: he stored it
with water and provisions for the voyage, which was done with so
much expedition, that he set sail on that very day.
The ship had a very good voyage, and the captain managed so well, as
to arrive by night at the city of idolaters. When he was as near
land as he thought necessary, he did not cast anchor, but while the
vessel lay to, he got into his boat, and rowed to shore at a spot a
little distance from the harbour, from whence he went to the garden
of Camaralzaman, accompanied by six of his most resolute seamen.
The prince was not asleep; his separation from the beautiful
princess of China overwhelmed him as usual with affliction, and he
detested and cursed the moment when he had suffered himself to be
tempted by curiosity even to touch, much more to examine her girdle.
He passed, in this manner, the hours which should have been
dedicated to repose, when he heard a knocking at the gate of the
garden. He went half dressed to open it, and he had scarcely
presented himself, when the captain and sailors, without speaking a
word, seized and conducted him by main force to the boat, and took
him to the ship, which set sail again as soon as they had
re-embarked.
Camaralzaman, who had till then preserved a profound silence, as
well as the captain and seamen, now asked the captain, whose
features he recollected, what reason he had for dragging him away
with so much violence. “Are you not a debtor to the king of the
Island of Ebony?” inquired the captain in his turn. “I a debtor
to the king of the Island of Ebony!” exclaimed Camaralzaman, with
amazement, “I do not know him, I never had any dealings with him,
nor even ever set my foot in his dominions.”--“You must know
that matter better than I can,” replied the captain, “but you
will speak to him yourself; however, remain here quietly, and have
patience.”
The vessel had as successful a voyage in conducting Camaralzaman to
the Isle of Ebony, as it had experienced in going for him to the
city of idolaters. Although night had closed when they got into
port, the captain nevertheless did not delay going on shore to take
prince Camaralzaman to the palace, where he requested to be
presented to the king.
The princess Badoura, who had already retired into the inner palace,
was no sooner informed of his return, and of the arrival of
Camaralzaman, than she went out to speak to him. As soon as she had
cast her eyes on her beloved prince, for whom she had shed so many
tears since their separation, she instantly recognised him, even in
his labourer’s dress. As for the prince, who trembled in the
presence of a king, as he believed him to be, to whom he was to
answer for an imaginary debt; he had not the least idea that he was
then in her presence, whom he desired so ardently to rejoin. Had the
princess followed her inclinations, she would have run to him, and
discovered herself by her tender embraces; but she restrained her
emotions, as she thought it for the interest of both that she should
continue to sustain the character of king for some time longer,
before she made herself known. She contented herself with
recommending him particularly to the care of an officer, who was
present, charging him to be attentive, and treat him well until the
following day.
When the princess Badoura had ordered every thing that related to
prince Camaralzaman, she turned towards the captain, to recompence
him for the important service he had rendered her, by desiring
another officer to go immediately and take off the seal which had
been placed on his merchandise, as well as that of the merchants,
and dismissed him with a present of a rich and precious diamond,
which fully repaid him the expence of the second voyage. She told
him also, that he might keep the thousand pieces of gold, which had
been paid for the jars of olives, and that she should know how to
settle the matter with the merchant he had just brought her.
She at length returned to the apartment of the princess of the Isle
of Ebony, to whom she related the subject of her joy; begging her
nevertheless not to disclose the secret, and entrusting her with the
measures she thought it necessary to adopt, before she discovered
herself to prince Camaralzaman, or acknowledged who he himself was.
“There is,” added she, “so great a distance between the rank
of a great prince as he is, and that of a gardener, that there might
be some danger attending his passing from one of the lowest degrees
of the people to the very highest, however justice might demand such
an act.” Far from being faithless to her promise, the princess of
the Isle of Ebony concurred with her in the design she had formed.
She even assured her, that she would contribute all in her power to
forward it, if she would inform her of what she wished her to do.
The next day the princess of China, under the name, habit, and
authority of king of the Isle of Ebony, after taking care to have
prince Camaralzaman conducted to the bath very early in the morning,
and dressed in the robe of an emir, or governor of a province,
introduced him into the council, where he attracted the attention of
all the nobles, who were present, by his elegant and majestic air,
and well-formed person.
The princess Badoura herself was charmed to see him again, as
amiable as he had so often appeared to her; and she felt additional
interest in extolling him to the council. After he had taken his
place in the rank of emirs, according to her directions: “My
lords,” said she, addressing the other emirs, “Camaralzaman,
whom I this day present to you as your colleague, is not unworthy of
the situation he occupies amongst you. I have had sufficient
experience of his worth in my travels, to be able to answer for him;
and I can assure you, that he will make himself known to, and
admired by you, as much for his valour, and a thousand other good
and amiable qualities, as by the superior greatness of his mind.
Camaralzaman was extremely surprised, when he heard the king of the
Isle of Ebony, whom he little suspected to be a woman, much less his
adored princess, call him by his name; and assure the assembly that
he knew him, when he was himself convinced, that he had never met
him in any place: he was still more astonished at the unexpected
praise the king bestowed on him.
This praise, however, although pronounced by royal lips, did not
disconcert him; he received it with a modesty that proved he
deserved it, but that it did not excite his vanity. He prostrated
himself before the throne of the king, and when he arose, he said,
“Sire, I cannot find words to express my thanks to your majesty
for the great honor you have conferred on me, much less for all your
kindness. I will exert myself, to the utmost of my abilities, to
deserve both the one and the other.”
When he left the council, the prince was conducted by an officer to
a large mansion, which the princess Badoura had already ordered to
be furnished, and prepared for his reception. He there found
officers and servants ready to receive his commands, and a stable
filled with very fine horses; the whole suited to the dignity of an
emir, which had just been conferred on him; and when he went into
his closet, his steward presented him with a coffer full of gold for
his expenses. The less he was able to guess from what quarter this
good fortune came, the greater was his surprise and admiration: but
he never entertained the least suspicion that it was his own
princess who was the cause of the whole.
At the end of two or three days, the princess Badoura, to afford
Camaralzaman more frequent access to her person, as well as to raise
him to higher distinction, bestowed on him the office of grand
treasurer, which had become vacant. He acquitted himself in this new
office with so much integrity, at the same time conferring
obligations on every one, that he acquired not only the friendship
of all the nobles about the court, but also won the hearts of the
common people by his rectitude and generosity.
Camaralzaman would have been the happiest of men, to find himself in
such high favour with a king, who, as he supposed, was an entire
stranger to him, and thus to obtain the esteem of every one, which
daily increased, had he possessed his princess also. But in the
midst of all his splendour he never ceased lamenting her loss, and
that he could gain no information respecting her in a country, where
he concluded she must have passed some time, since he had been
separated from her by an accident, so unfortunate for both. He might
have suspected something, if the princess Badoura had retained the
name of Camaralzaman, which she assumed with his dress. But when she
ascended the throne, she changed it for that of Armanos, in
compliment to the former king, her father-in-law. So that she was
now known only by the name of King Armanos the younger, and there
were only a few courtiers who remembered the name of Camaralzaman,
which she bore on her first arrival at the Island of Ebony.
Camaralzaman had not yet had sufficient intercourse with them to
learn this circumstance; but he might in the end have been informed
of it.
As the princess Badoura feared that it might so happen; and as she
wished Camaralzaman to be indebted to her only for the discovery,
she resolved at length to put an end to her own torments, and to
those she well knew he suffered. In fact, she had remarked, that
whenever she conversed with him on the affairs relating to his
office, he frequently heaved deep sighs, which could only be silent
addresses to her. She herself lived in a state of constant
restraint, which she was determined to put a period to without
further delay. Besides which, the friendship of the nobles, the zeal
and affection of the people, every thing contributed to persuade her
that the crown of the Island of Ebony might be placed on his head
without any obstacle.
The princess Badoura had no sooner formed this resolution, in
concert with the princess Haiatalnefous, than she spoke to prince
Camaralzaman, in private, on the same day: “Camaralzaman,” said
she, “I wish to converse with you on an affair, which will require
some discussion, and on which I want your advice. As I think I
cannot do it more conveniently than at night, come to me this
evening; tell your people not to wait for you, and I will provide
you with a bed.”
Camaralzaman did not fail to repair to the palace at the hour
appointed by the princess. She took him with her into the inner
palace, and having told the chief of the eunuchs, who was preparing
to follow her, that she did not require his attendance, and that he
had only to keep the door fastened, she conducted him into a
different apartment from that of the princess Haiatalnefous, in
which she was accustomed to sleep.
When the prince and princess were in a chamber, which contained a
bed, and had fastened the door, the princess took the talisman out
of a little box, and presented it to Camaralzaman: “It is not long
since an astrologer gave me this talisman,” said she, “and as I
know you to be well informed in every science, you perhaps can tell
me its peculiar properties.” Camaralzaman took the talisman, and
approached a light, to examine it. He no sooner recognised it, than,
with a degree of surprise which delighted the princess, he
exclaimed, “Ah, sire, your majesty asks me the properties of this
talisman? Alas! its properties are such, as to make me die with
grief and sadness, if I do not shortly find the most charming and
amiable princess that was ever beheld under heaven, to whom this
talisman belonged, and which was the cause of my losing her. The
adventure was of so singular a nature, that the recital of it would
excite your majesty’s compassion for a husband and a lover so
unfortunate as I am, if you would have the patience to listen to
it.”
“You will relate it to me some other time,” replied the
princess, “but I am very happy,” added she, “to tell you, that
I know something concerning it: wait for me here, I will return in a
moment.”
Saying this, the princess went into a closet, where she took off the
royal turban, and having in a few minutes put on a woman’s dress,
together with the girdle she wore on the day of their separation,
she returned to the chamber where she had left the prince.
Camaralzaman instantly knew his dear princess. He ran to her, and
embracing her with the utmost tenderness, “Ah,” cried he, “how
much I am obliged to the king for having surprised me so
agreeably.”--“Do not expect to see the king again,” replied
the princess, embracing him in her turn, and with tears in her eyes,
“in me you behold the king: sit down, that I may explain to you
this enigma.”