took care to sing every morning at the same spot. Zemroude did not
fail to come to the window; and at length, by the blessing of
Providence, took a fancy to have me. One morning she said to her
female attendants, "I wish that nightingale to be caught; let
birdcatchers be sent for. I love that bird; I doat upon it; let them
try every means to catch it, and bring it to me." The queen's orders
were obeyed; expert birdcatchers were found, who laid traps for me,
and, as I had no desire to escape, because I saw that their only
object in depriving me of my liberty was to make me a slave to my
princess, I allowed myself to be taken. The moment I was brought to
her she took me in her hand, with every symptom of delight. "My
darling," said she, caressing me, "my charming bul-bul, I will be thy
rose; I already feel the greatest tenderness for thee." At these words
she kissed me. I raised my beak softly to her lips. "Ah! the little
rogue," cried she laughing, "he appears to know what I say." At last,
after fondling me, she placed me in a gold filigree cage, which an
eunuch had been sent into the city to buy for me.
Every day as soon as she woke I began my song; and whenever she came
to my cage to caress me or feed me, far from appearing wild, I spread
out my wings, and stretched my beak towards her, to express my joy.
She was surprised to see me so tame in so short a time. Sometimes she
would take me out of the cage, and allow me to fly about her chamber.
I always went to her to receive her caresses, and to lavish mine upon
her; and if any of her slaves wished to take hold of me, I pecked at
them with all my might. By these little insinuating ways I endeared
myself so much to Zemroude, that she often said if by any mishap I
were to die, she should be inconsolable, so strong was her attachment
to me.
Zemroude also had a little dog in her chamber, of which she was very
fond. One day, when the dog and I were alone, it died. Its death
suggested to me the idea of making a third experiment of the secret.
"I will pass into the body of the dog," thought I, "for I wish to see
what effect the death of her nightingale will produce upon the
princess." I cannot tell what suggested the fancy, for I did not
foresee what this new metamorphosis would lead to; but the thought
appeared to me a suggestion of Heaven, and I followed it at all risks.
When Zemroude returned to the room, her first care was to come to my
cage. As soon as she perceived that the nightingale was dead, she
uttered a shriek that brought all her slaves about her. "What ails
you, madam?" said they in terrified accents. "Has any misfortune
happened to you?"
"I am in despair," replied the princess, weeping bitterly; "my
nightingale is dead. My dear bird, my little husband, why art thou
taken from, me so soon? I shall no more hear your sweet notes! I shall
never see you again! What have I done to deserve such punishment from
Heaven?"
All the efforts of her women to console her were in vain. The dervise
had just returned from his murderous expedition, and one of them ran
to acquaint him with the state in which they had found the queen. He
quickly came and told her that the death of a bird ought not to cause
her so much grief; that the loss was not irreparable; that if she was
so fond of nightingales, and wanted another, it was easy to get one.
But all his reasoning was to no purpose, he could make no impression
upon her.
"Cease your endeavours," she exclaimed, "to combat my grief, you will
never overcome it. I know it is a great weakness to mourn so for a
bird, I am as fully persuaded of it as you can be, still I cannot bear
up against the force of the blow that has overwhelmed me. I loved the
little creature; he appeared sensible of the caresses I bestowed on
him, and he returned them in a way that delighted me. If my women
approached him, he exhibited ferocity, or rather disdain; whereas he
always came eagerly on to my hand when I held it out to him. It
appeared as though he felt affection for me, he looked at me in so
tender and languishing a manner, that it almost seemed as though he
was mortified that he had not the power of speech to express his
feelings towards me. I could read it in his eyes. Ah! I shall never
think of him without despair." As she finished speaking her tears
gushed out afresh, and she seemed as if nothing could ever console
her.
I drew a favourable omen from the violence of her grief. I had laid
myself down in a corner of the room, where I heard all that was said
and observed all that passed without their noticing me. I had a
presentiment that the dervise, in order to console the queen, would
avail himself of the secret, and I was not disappointed.
Finding the queen inaccessible to reason, and being deeply enamoured
of her, he was moved by her tears, and instead of persevering in
fruitless arguments, he ordered the queen's slaves to quit the room
and leave him alone with her. "Madam," said he, thinking that no one
overheard him, "since the death of your nightingale causes you so much
sorrow, he must be brought to life. Do not grieve, you shall see him
alive again; I pledge myself to restore him to you; to-morrow morning,
when you wake, you shall hear him sing again, and you shall have the
satisfaction of caressing him."
"I understand you, my lord," said Zemroude; "you look upon me as
crazed, and think that you must humour my sorrow; you would persuade
me that I shall see my nightingale alive to-morrow; to-morrow you
will postpone your miracle till the following day, and so on from one
day to another; by this means you reckon on making me gradually forget
my bird; or, perhaps," pursued she, "you intend to get another put in
his place to deceive me."
"No, my queen," replied the dervise, "no; it is that very bird which
you see stretched out in his cage without life; this very nightingale,
the enviable object of such poignant grief; it is that very bird
himself that shall sing. I will give him new life, and you can again
lavish your caresses upon him. He will better appreciate that delight,
and you shall behold him still more anxious to please you, for it will
be I myself who will be the object of your endearments; every morning
I will myself be his fresh life in order to divert you. I can perform
this miracle," continued he; "it is a secret I possess; if you have
any doubts upon it, or if you are impatient to behold your favourite
reanimated, I will cause him to revive now immediately."
As the princess did not reply, he imagined from her silence that she
was not fully persuaded he could accomplish what he professed; he
seated himself on the sofa, and by virtue of the two cabalistic words
left his body, or rather mine, and entered into that of the
nightingale. The bird began to sing in its cage to the great amazement
of Zemroude. But his song was not destined to continue long; for no
sooner did he begin to warble than I quitted the body of the dog and
hastened to retake my own. At the same time running to the cage, I
dragged the bird out and wrung his neck. "What have you done, my
lord?" cried the princess. "Why have you treated my nightingale thus?
If you did not wish him to live, why did you restore him to life?"
"I thank Heaven!" cried I, without paying any regard to what she said,
so much were my thoughts taken up with the feeling of vengeance which
possessed me at the treacherous conduct of the dervise, "I am
satisfied. I have at length avenged myself on the villain whose
execrable treason deserved a still greater punishment."
If Zemroude was surprised to see her nightingale restored to life, she
was not the less so to hear me utter these words with such fierce
emotion.
"My lord," said she, "whence this violent transport which agitates
you, and what do those words mean which you have just spoken?"
I related to her all that had happened to me, and she could not doubt
that I was truly Al Abbas, because she had heard that the body of the
dervise had been found in the forest, and she was also of course well
acquainted with the order which he had given for destroying all the
deer.
But my poor princess could not recover the shock her sensitive love
had sustained. A few days after she fell ill, and died in my arms,
literally frightened to death by the imminence of the danger from
which she had just been so happily rescued.
After I had bewailed her, and erected a splendid tomb to her memory, I
summoned the prince Amadeddin.
"My cousin," said I, "I have no children, I resign the crown of
Moussul in your favour. I give the kingdom up into your hands. I
renounce the regal dignity, and wish to pass the rest of my days in
repose and privacy." Amadeddin, who really loved me, spared no
arguments to deter me from taking the step I proposed, but I assured
him that nothing could shake my resolution.
"Prince," said I, "my determination is fixed, I resign my rank to you.
Fill the throne of Al Abbas, and may you be more happy than he. Reign
over a people who know your merit, and have already experienced the
blessings of your rule. Disgusted with pomp, I shall retire to distant
climes, and live in privacy; there freed from the cares of state, I
shall mourn over the memory of Zemroude, and recall the happy days we
passed together."
I left Amadeddin upon the throne of Moussul, and, accompanied only by
a few slaves, and carrying an ample supply of riches and jewels, took
the road to Bagdad, where I arrived safely. I immediately repaired to
Mouaffac's house. His wife and he were not a little surprised to see
me, and they were deeply affected when I informed them of the death of
their daughter, whom they had tenderly loved. The recital unlocked the
fountains of my own grief, and I mingled my tears with theirs. I did
not stay long in Bagdad, I joined a caravan of pilgrims going to
Mecca, and after paying my devotions, found, by chance, another
company of pilgrims from Tartary, whom I accompanied to their native
country. We arrived in this city; I found the place agreeable, and
took up my abode here, where I have resided for nearly forty years. I
am thought to be a stranger who was formerly concerned in trade, and
whose time is now passed in study and contemplation. I lead a retired
life, and rarely see strangers. Zemroude is ever present to my
thoughts, and my only consolation consists in dwelling fondly upon her
memory and her virtues.
CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF PRINCE KHALAF AND THE PRINCESS OF CHINA.
Al Abbas, having finished the recital of his adventures, thus
addressed his guests:
"Such is my history. You perceive by my misfortunes and your own, that
human life is but as a reed, ever liable to be bent to the earth by
the bleak blasts of misfortune. I will, however, confess to you that I
have led a happy and quiet life ever since I have been in Jaic; and
that I by no means repent having abdicated the throne of Moussul; for
in the obscurity in which I now live, I have discovered peaceful and
tranquil joys which I never experienced before."
Timurtasch, Elmaze, and Khalaf bestowed a thousand flattering
encomiums upon the son of Ben-Ortoc; the khan admired the resolution
which had caused him to deprive himself of his kingdom, in order to
live in privacy in a country of strangers, where the station which he
had filled in the world was unknown. Elmaze praised the fidelity he
displayed towards Zemroude, and the grief he experienced at her death.
And Khalaf remarked, "My lord, it were to be wished that all men could
display the same constancy in adversity which you have done, under
your misfortunes."
They continued their conversation till it was time to retire. Al Abbas
then summoned his slaves, who brought wax-lights in candlesticks made
of aloe-wood, and conducted the khan, the princess, and her son to a
suite of apartments, where the same simplicity reigned that
characterized the rest of the house. Elmaze and Timurtasch retired to
sleep in a chamber appropriated to themselves, and Khalaf to another.
The following morning their host entered the chamber of his guests as
soon as they were up, and said,
"You are not the only unfortunate persons in the world; I have just
been informed that an ambassador from the sultan of Carisma arrived in
the city last evening; that his master has sent him to Ileuge-Khan, to
beg of him not only to refuse an asylum to the khan of the Nagaeis, his
enemy, but if the khan should endeavour to pass through his dominions,
to arrest him. Indeed, it is reported," pursued Al Abbas, "that the
unfortunate khan, for fear of falling into the hands of the sultan of
Carisma, has left his capital and fled with his family." At this news,
Timurtasch and Khalaf changed colour, and the princess fainted.
The swoon of Elmaze, as well as the evident trouble of the father and
son, instantly caused Al Abbas to suspect that his guests were not
merchants.
"I see," said he, as soon as the princess had recovered her senses,
"that you take a deep interest in the misfortunes of the khan of the
Nagaeis; indeed, if I may be permitted to tell you what I think, I
believe you are yourselves the objects of the sultan of Carisma's
hatred."
"Yes, my lord," replied Timurtasch, "we are, indeed, the victims for
whose immolation he is thirsty. I am the khan of the Nagaeis, you
behold my wife and my son; we should, indeed, be ungrateful, if we did
not discover our position to you, after your generous reception, and
the confidence you have reposed in us. I am encouraged even to hope,
that by your counsels you will aid us to escape from the danger which
threatens us."
"Your situation is most critical," replied the aged king of Moussul;
"I know Ileuge-Khan well, and, as he fears the sultan of Carisma, I
cannot doubt that, to please him, he will search for you every where.
You will not be safe, either in my house or in any other in this city;
the only resource left you, is to leave the country of Jaic as
speedily as possible, cross the river Irtisch, and gain, with the
utmost diligence, the frontiers of the tribe of the Berlas."
This advice pleased Timurtasch, his wife, and son. Al Abbas had three
horses instantly got ready, together with provisions for the journey,
and giving them a purse filled with gold; "Start immediately," said
he, "you have no time to lose, by to-morrow, no doubt, Ileuge-Khan
will cause search to be made for you every where."
They returned their heartfelt thanks to the aged monarch, and then
quitted Jaic, crossed the Irtisch, and joining company with a
camel-driver, who was travelling that way, arrived after several days'
journey in the territories of the tribe of Berlas. They took up their
quarters with the first horde they met, sold their horses, and lived
quietly enough as long as their money lasted; but, as soon as it came
to an end, the misery of the khan recommenced. "Why am I still in the
world?" he began to exclaim. "Would it not have been better to have
awaited my blood-thirsty foe in my own kingdom, and have died
defending my capital, than to drag on a life which is only one
continued scene of misery? It is in vain that we endure our
misfortunes with patience; for, in spite of our submission to its
decrees, Heaven will never restore us to happiness, but leaves us
still the sport of misery."
"My lord," replied Khalaf, "do not despair of our miseries coming to
an end. Heaven, which decrees these events, is preparing for us, I
doubt not, some relief which we cannot foresee. Let us proceed at
once," added he, "to the principal horde of this tribe. I have a
presentiment, that our fortunes will now assume a more favourable
aspect."
They all three proceeded accordingly to the horde with whom the khan
of Berlas resided. They entered a large tent which served as a refuge
for poor strangers. Here they laid themselves down, worn out with
their journey, and at a loss at last to know how to obtain even the
necessaries of life. Khalaf, however, quietly slipt out of the tent,
leaving his father and mother there, and went through the horde,
asking charity of the passers-by. By the evening he had collected a
small sum of money, with which he bought some provisions, and carried
them to his parents. When they learned that their son had actually
solicited charity, they could not refrain from tears. Khalaf himself
was moved by their grief, but cheerfully remarked, nevertheless, "I
confess that nothing we have yet endured has appeared to me more
mortifying than to be reduced to solicit alms; still, as at present I
cannot procure you subsistence by any other means, is it not my duty
to do it, in spite of the mortification it costs me? But," he added,
as though struck with a sudden thought, "there is still another
resource--sell me for a slave, and the money you will receive will
last you a long time."
"What do you say, my son?" cried Timurtasch, when he heard these
words. "Can you propose to us that we should live at the expense of
your liberty? Ah! rather let us endure for ever our present misery.
But if it should come to this, that one of us must be sold, let it be
myself; I do not refuse to bear the yoke of servitude for you both."
"My lord," said Khalaf, "another thought strikes me; to-morrow morning
I will take my station among the porters; some one may chance to
employ me, and we may thus earn a living by my labour." They agreed to
this, and the following day the prince stationed himself among the
porters of the horde, and waited till some one should employ him; but
unfortunately no one wanted him, so that half the day passed and he
had not had a single job. This grieved him deeply. "If I am not more
successful than this," thought he, "how am I to support my father and
mother?"
He grew tired of waiting among the porters on the chance of some
person wanting his services. He went out of the encampment and
strolled into the country, in order to turn over in his mind
undisturbedly the best means of earning a livelihood. He sat down
under a tree, where, after praying Heaven to have pity on his
perplexity, he fell asleep. When he woke he saw near him a falcon of
singular beauty: its head was adorned with a tuft of gaudy feathers,
and from its neck hung a chain of gold filigree-work set with
diamonds, topazes, and rubies. Khalaf, who understood falconry, held
out his fist, and the bird alighted on it. The prince of the Nagaeis
was delighted at the circumstance. "Let us see," said he, "what this
will lead to. This bird, from all appearance, belongs to the sovereign
of the tribe." Nor was he wrong. It was the favourite falcon of
Almguer, khan of Berlas, who had lost it the previous day. His
principal huntsmen were engaged at that moment in searching every
where for it with the greatest diligence and uneasiness, for their
master had threatened them with the severest punishments if they
returned without his bird, which he loved passionately.
Prince Khalaf returned to the encampment with the falcon. As soon as
the people of the horde saw it, they began to cry out, "Ha! here is
the khan's falcon recovered. Blessings on the youth who will make our
prince rejoice by restoring him his bird." And so it turned out, for
when Khalaf arrived at the royal tent, and appeared with the falcon,
the khan, transported with joy, ran to his bird and kissed it a
thousand times. Then addressing the prince of the Nagaeis, he asked him
where he found it. Khalaf related how he had recovered the falcon. The
khan then said to him, "Thou appearest to be a stranger amongst us;
where wast thou born, and what is thy profession?"
"My lord," replied Khalaf, prostrating himself at the khan's feet, "I
am the son of a merchant of Bulgaria, who was possessed of great
wealth. I was travelling with my father and mother in the country of
Jaic, when we were attacked by robbers, who stripped us of every thing
but our lives, and we have found our way to this encampment actually
reduced to beg our bread."
"Young man," replied the khan, "I am glad that it is thou who hast
found my falcon; for I swore to grant to whomsoever should bring me my
bird, whatever two things he might ask; so thou hast but to speak.
Tell me what thou desirest me to grant thee, and doubt not that thou
shalt obtain it." "Since I have permission to ask two things,"
returned Khalaf, "I request in the first place that my father and
mother, who are in the strangers' tent, may have a tent to themselves
in the quarter where your highness resides, and that they may be
supported during the rest of their days at your highness's expense,
and waited on by officers of your highness's household; secondly, I
desire to have one of the best horses in your highness's stables and a
purse full of gold, to enable me to make a journey which I have in
contemplation." "Thy wishes shall be gratified," said Almguer; "thou
shalt bring thy father and mother to me, and from this day forth I
will begin to entertain them as thou desirest; and to-morrow, dressed
in rich attire, and mounted on the best horse in my stables, thou
shalt be at liberty to go wherever it shall please thee. Thy modesty,
the filial love which is imprinted upon thy features, thy youth, thy
noble air, please me; be my guest, come and join my festivities, and
thou shalt listen to an Arabian story-teller, whose knowledge and
imaginative powers instruct and amuse my tribes."
The khan and the son of Timurtasch presently seated themselves at a
table loaded with viands, confectionary, fruit, and flowers; gazelle
venison, red-legged partridges, pheasants, and black cock were
displayed as trophies of the skill of the hunter king. The Arab
stationed near the khan awaited his orders. "Moustapha," said the khan
at length, turning to the Arab, "I have been extolling thy knowledge
and wit to my guest; surpass thyself, and let him see that I have not
exaggerated. He shall give thee a subject; treat it in such a manner
as to deserve his praise."
"I am curious," said the prince, "to hear of China; I ask thee to
instruct me concerning the government of that important kingdom, and
to give me an insight into the manners and customs of its people."
The Arab reflected a moment, and then, prefacing his recital with a
few general remarks, proceeded to depict in glowing colours this
celestial empire, whose civilization dates back to the remotest ages
of the world. He described its extent as equal to one-half of the
habitable globe; its population as so numerous that it might be
counted by hundreds of millions; he spoke of cities, each of which
alone brought a revenue to their crown, which surpassed that of entire
kingdoms; of those gigantic works, the canals, whose extent equalled
the course of the largest rivers, which traversed the vast empire. And
he foretold that a time would come when Tartar warriors should scale
that very wall which the terror of their arms had caused to be built,
and should again reconquer the whole of that wealthy tract. He then
began his story as follows.
THE STORY OF LIN-IN.
A CHINESE TALE.
At Wou-si, a town dependent upon the city of Tchang-tcheou, in the
province of Kiang-nan, there resided a family in the middle sphere of
life. Three brothers composed the family; the name of the eldest was
Lin-in (the jasper); the second Lin-pao (the precious); the youngest
Lin-tchin (the pearl); this last was not yet old enough to marry; the
other two had taken wives to themselves. The wife of the first was
named Wang; the wife of the second Yang; and both possessed every
grace which can constitute the charm of woman.
Lin-pao's engrossing passions were gambling and wine; he evinced no
inclination to good. His wife was of a similar disposition, and
depraved in her conduct; she was very different from her sister-in-law
Wang, who was a pattern of modesty and propriety. So although these
two women lived together on neighbourly terms, there was but little
real sympathy between them.
Wang had a son named Hi-eul, that is to say, "the son of rejoicing."
He was a child of six years old. One day having stopped in the street
with some other children, to look at a great procession in the
neighbourhood, he was lost in the crowd, and in the evening did not
return to the house.
This loss caused the deepest sorrow to his parents. They had handbills
posted up, and there was not a street in which they did not make
inquiries, but all to no purpose; they could gain no intelligence
respecting their darling child. Lin-in was inconsolable; and giving
way to the grief that overwhelmed him, he sought to fly from his home,
where every thing brought back the remembrance of his dear Hi-eul. He
borrowed a sum of money from one of his friends to enable him to carry
on a small trade in the neighbourhood of the city and the adjacent
villages, hoping that in one of these short excursions he might be
able to recover the treasure he had lost.