Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of the
King was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished all
their arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions of
uniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense of
abasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him that
ruled and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne was
of solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the hall
was lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging in
stateliness down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars were
pillars of porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all of
them with sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence,
odes of the poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and that
solve knotty points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each the
gift of a mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie.
In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spread
abroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, and
shimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. It
was rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fed
underground from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in the
reign of El Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by the
labours of Zak,--a Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of El
Rasoon; but, of a surety, none of earth were like to them in silveriness
and sweet coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary.
Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him his
ministers, and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and black
slaves, and the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And the
King was as a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on his
forehead to darken kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred his
kingly wrath, and awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspirators
and offenders. So when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throne
of cushions where he sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the King
commanded that he should be placed at his side, the place of honour; and
Shagpat was as a moon behind the whiteness of the lathers; even as we
behold moon and sun together in the heavens, was Shagpat by the King.
There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a hum
of rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people that
filled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; but
presently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people!
thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has brought
honour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine a
constellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands and
corners of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I not
castigated barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that no
youth is taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber,
is't not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by and
broken, for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpat
precious.'
While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion at
beholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat and
the King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters and
triumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, and
its King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And I
had this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the adhesion
of that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So commenced
the day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a few hours
defiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!'
At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury;
but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! Probably
we have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us in
Shagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, and
creeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasement
voluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; for
how is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to rise
again freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of the
City of Shagpat!'
Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to the
loins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abased
himself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, and
penitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as when
the sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and the
Viziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of the
guard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcries
and wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated their
bodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned to
bewail himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shrieked
loudest, striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall was
as a pit full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wild
beasts howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, so
that the tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hall
save Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers,
inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there came
a pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in the
intervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered among
themselves, ''Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and the moaning and howling
prevailed again. And again they heard another moan, a deep one, as of the
earth in its throes, and said among themselves, ''Tis that of Bootlbac,
the drumbeater!' and this led off to the howl of Areep, the dervish; and
this was followed by the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; and the waul
of Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier; and the complainings of Dob, the
confectioner; and the groan of Sallap, the broker; and the yell of
Azawool, the builder. There would have been no end to it known; but the
King rose and commenced plucking his beard and his hair,--they likewise
in silence. When he had performed this ceremony a space, the King called,
and a basin of water was brought to him, and handed round by slaves, and
all dipped in it their hands, and renewed their countenances and
re-arranged their limbs; and the Hall brightened with the eye of the
King, and he cried, 'O people, lo, the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis a
deep one; but, by this beard, we'll strike at the root of it, and a blow
of deadliness. Surely we have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance is
ours! How say ye?'
A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleth
that fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed these
words; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth with
this wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your heads be
it to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my Vizier, he
that was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our clemency.'
Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction on
Feshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King.
Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembled
and was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and with
eyeballs goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him,
he contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object,
crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness and horrible
presumption? Truly 'tis said:
“For ruin and the deeds preluding change,
Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range:
But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean,
Satan selects them, for they are unseen.”
And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with the
top of the reptile, and away with him!'
Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blocked
the throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save stagger
imploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of the
throne, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! 'tis
Kadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and lo! a wise
woman has said in my ear, “How if this emissary and instrument of the
Evil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to essay on Shagpat
before the people his science and his malice? for 'tis certain that
Shagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, defended by
them, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of glory and
triumph manifest”: and for this barber, his punishment can afterwards be
looked to, O great King!'
The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them that
had hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought over
it, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. So
release this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.'
This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, and
crowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when he
felt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and wit
returned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'll
yet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I was
to look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is a
mighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackle
to combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in his
mightiness!'
So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and the
King called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile wretch, to
make preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' And the people
murmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, 'Thou'lt essay
this, thou wretch, without a head, let but another minute pass.' So when
Baba Mustapha could delay no longer, he sighed heavily and his trembling
returned, and the power of Shagpat smote him with an invisible hand, so
that he could scarce move; but dread pricked him against dread, and he
advanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and assumed the briskness of the
barber, and was in the act of bending over him to bring the blade into
play, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of the King stood up in the
presence and spake a word that troubled him, and the King rose and
hurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on three sides of
the Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and from these
clouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and plumes; and
he could discern the flashing of their helms and the glistening of
steel-plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the colour went
from the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched pomegranate,
and he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? Awahy! we are beset, and
here's abasement brought on us without self-abasing!' Meantime these
horsemen detached themselves from the main bodies and advanced at a
gallop, wheeling and circling round each other, toward the walls of the
city, and when they were close they lowered their arms and made signs of
amity, and proclaimed their mission and the name of him they served. So
tidings were brought to the King that the Lords of three cities, with
vast retinues, were come, by reason of a warning, to pay homage to
Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor; and these three cities were the cities of
Oolb, and of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these!
Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and
arrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of his
stables, and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded by
the horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the city
walls that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted and
embraced, and bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titles
of Cousin and Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, these
three Kings rode back to the city with the King that was their host, and
the horsemen of the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outside
the walls, making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related to
the three Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been made
on him; and in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting of
thrones for them whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage to
Shagpat, sat by him there on either side. Then the King cried, 'This
likewise owe we to Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's in
him shall defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and of
Gaf, and of Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!'
So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and the
King of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan,
exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince of
barbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head of
me in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand of
this barber will do it!'
And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this fellow I
bastinadoed!'
And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time,
said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To my court he
came, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us all in spite
of our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, and so
thinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and stripes
and lashes!'
Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allah
achieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou!
do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store for
thee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: small
chance of that!'
Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words:
The abyss is worth a leap, however wide,
When life, sweet life, is on the other side.
And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and stepped
forward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall was
breathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its fall,
and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right arm,
hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was buzzing as
a bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a butterfly when 'tis
fluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed at Shagpat within
arm's reach, fearing him, so that the people began to hum with a great
rapture, and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! this monkey
knoweth the fire!'
But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guards
to flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords of
indecision in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash of
desperation; and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the blade
upon the head of Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest,
for suddenly in his head the Identical rose up straight, even to a level
with the roof of that hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of many
fiery colours, and Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like a
ball that reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomed
serpents, sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely,
to see that sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers,
and winked till the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about,
exclaimed, 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So she
called about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!'
Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, she
shrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, male and
female, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! I his
moon!'
Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou had
enough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head of
Shagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruited
abroad, and a great load upon the four winds.'
Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to a
second essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot away
from Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end of
the hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and he
in his despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of his
limbs, was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essay
on the head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous,
light of heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, and
whirled away like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air and
beyond the city walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a great
cry rose from the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the Identical
stood up wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in brilliance,
blinding to look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it waxed in
size and pierced through the roof of the hall, and was a sight to the
streets of the city; and the horsemen camped without the walls beheld it,
and marvelled, and it was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes of the
Desert afar, and the wild Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans of
pilgrimage. Distant cities asked the reason of that appearance, and the
cunning fakir interpreted it, and the fervent dervish expounded from it,
and messengers flew from gate to gate and from land to land in
exultation, and barbers hid their heads, and were friendly with the fox
in his earth, because of that light. So the Identical burned on the head
of Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding splendour of attraction, three
nights and three days; and the fishes of the sea shoaled to the sea's
surface and stared at it, and the fowls of the air congregated about the
fury of the light with screams and mad flutters, till the streets and
mosques and minarets and bright domes and roofs and cupolas of the City
of Shagpat were blackened with scorched feathers of the vulture and the
eagle and the rook and the raven and the hawk, and other birds, sacred
and obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat made manifest to men and the
end of the world by the burning of the Identical three days and three
nights.