but I will amply satisfy your curiosity if you will meet me here
to-morrow alone at the same hour. I have a few things to tell you
which will astonish you, and which--let me add--concern you not a
little."
I promised to return alone to the same spot the following day, and
took care to keep my word. The eunuch was there, and coming up to me,
proposed that we should leave the palace and seek some place better
adapted for conversation. We accordingly went out into the city, and
after traversing several streets, stopped at last at the door of a
good-sized house, of which he had the key. We entered, and I observed
suites of apartments magnificently furnished, delicious carpets and
luxurious sofas, whilst through the windows I perceived a garden
beautifully laid out, with a delightful piece of water in the middle,
bordered with variegated marble.
"My lord Aswad," said the eunuch, "I trust the house pleases you."
"I am delighted with it," I replied.
"I am glad to hear you say so," he returned, "for I yesterday took it,
just as you see it, for _you_. You will next want slaves to wait on
you. I will go and purchase some whilst you take a bath."
So saying, he conducted me to a chamber, where I found baths all
ready.
"In Heaven's name," I exclaimed, "tell me for what purpose you have
brought me here, and what the news is you have promised to tell me."
"At the proper time and place," he rejoined, "you shall learn all; for
the present be content to know that your lot is materially changed
since I met you, and that I have my orders for every thing I am
doing."
As he spoke, he assisted me to undress--a process which did not take
long--I entered the bath and the eunuch left me, enjoining patience.
All this mystery furnished ample food for conjecture, but I wearied
myself fruitlessly in endeavouring to fathom it. Schapour left me a
long time in the bath, and my patience was beginning to be exhausted,
when he returned, followed by four slaves, two of whom carried towels
and garments, and the others all sorts of provisions.
"I beg your pardon, my lord," said he, "I am extremely sorry I have
kept you waiting so long."
At the same time the slaves placed their bundles on the sofas and
proceeded to wait on me: they rubbed me with towels of the finest
texture, and then dressed me in rich garments, with a magnificent robe
and turban.
"What on earth is all this to end in?" said I to myself; "and by whose
orders can it be that this eunuch treats me in such a manner?"
My impatience to be enlightened became so lively that I could not
conceal it. Schapour soon perceived it, and said:
"It is with the deepest regret that I see you so restless and uneasy,
but I cannot yet relieve you. Even supposing I had not been expressly
forbidden to say a word, or even supposing that I betrayed my trust,
and told you every thing I am now concealing from you, I should not
succeed in tranquillizing you in the least; anxieties still more
harassing would take the place of those which now worry you--you must
wait till night, and you shall then learn all you desire to know."
Though I would not but augur well from what the eunuch said, yet it
was impossible to help being for the rest of the day in a state of
cruel suspense. I really believe that the expectation of evil causes
less real suffering than that of some great pleasure. The night
however came at last, and the slaves proceeded to light up the whole
house, and particularly the principal apartment, with wax candles. In
this apartment I took my seat with Schapour, who, to assuage my
impatience, kept saying to me, "They will be here in a moment--have
but a little more patience." At last we heard knocking at the door,
the eunuch went himself to open it, and returned with a lady whom,
the moment she raised her veil, I recognized as Cale-Cairi. My
surprise was extreme, for I believed her to be at Schiras.
"My lord Aswad," said she, "however astonished you may be to see me,
you will be much more so when you hear the story I have to tell you."
At these words Schapour and the slaves quitted the apartment, leaving
me alone with Cale-Cairi; we both sat down on the same sofa, and she
commenced her narration as follows:
"You recollect well, my lord, that night on which Zelica made herself
known to you, nor can you yet have forgotten the promise she made you
on leaving. The following day I asked her whether she had come to any
resolution what course to pursue in the matter; I represented to her
the absurdity of a princess of her rank dreaming of exposing herself
to disgrace and death for the sake of a mere page; in short, I used
every effort to overcome her passion; and you may well pardon me for
doing so, as all my reasoning served but to strengthen her attachment.
When I saw I was utterly unable to prevail with her, 'Madam,' I said
at length, 'I cannot contemplate without shuddering the danger into
which you are rushing, but since no consideration seems powerful
enough to detach you from your lover, we must endeavour to contrive
some plan for you to meet without endangering either your life or his.
I have thought of one which would doubtless be gratifying to your
affection, but it seems to me so daring that I hardly like to propose
it.'
"'Let me hear it at once, Cale-Cairi,' said the princess; 'whatever it
may be, pray do not keep it from me.'
"'If you put it in practice,' replied I, 'you must make up your mind
to quit the court and live as though you had been born to the humblest
lot in life. You must renounce all the honours of your rank. Do you
love Aswad sufficiently to make so great a sacrifice?'
"'_Do_ I love him?' returned she, drawing a deep sigh. 'Ah! the very
humblest lot with him would please me far more than all the pomp and
luxury with which I am now surrounded. Only point out to me what I can
do in order to enjoy his society without constraint and without
impropriety, and I am ready to do it without a moment's hesitation.'
"'Well, madam,' I replied, 'since I perceive it is useless to
endeavour to overcome your attachment, I will do all in my power to
favour it. I am acquainted with the properties of a herb of singular
power. One leaf of it placed in your ear will in an hour bring on so
lethargic a sleep that you will appear quite dead; they will then
perform the funeral rites, and carry you to your tomb, from which at
nightfall I can easily release you--'"
Here I interrupted Cale-Cairi, "Great Heavens!" I exclaimed, "is it
possible that the princess Zelica did not die after all--what then has
become of her?--"
"My lord," said Cale-Cairi, "she is still alive. But pray listen
patiently to my story, and you will learn all that you desire to know.
My mistress," she continued, "threw herself into my arms with joy, so
clever did my plan appear to her; presently, however, she began to
perceive many difficulties connected with the rites and observances
usual at funerals. I removed all her doubts, and thus we set about the
execution of our plan.
"Zelica complained of a terrible pain in her head, and went to bed.
The next morning I spread a report that she was dangerously ill; the
royal physician was sent for; it was no difficult matter to deceive
him. He sent some remedies which of course were never taken. From day
to day the princess's illness increased; and as soon as, in my
judgment, her last moments ought to approach, I placed in her ear a
leaf of the herb I have mentioned. I immediately after ran to the
shah, and told him the princess had but a few moments to live, and
desired anxiously to speak to him. He came to her at once, and,
observing that, as the herb began its work, her face changed rapidly,
he was deeply moved, and began to weep.
"'My lord,' said his daughter, in faint accents, 'I implore you, by
the love you have always borne me, to order my last wishes to be
carried out to the letter. My wish is, that when I am dead, no one but
Cale-Cairi shall be permitted to wash my body, and that none of my
other slaves shall share that honour with her. I also beg that none
but she shall watch my tomb the first night, that no tears but hers
shall fall on it, and that her prayers alone shall ascend to the
prophet, to avert from me the assaults of evil spirits.'
"Shah Tahmaspe promised his daughter that I alone should perform for
her these last sad duties.
"'But this is not all, my lord,' continued she; 'I also implore you to
give Cale-Cairi her liberty the moment I am no more, and to give her,
with her freedom, presents worthy of yourself and of the affection she
has always evinced towards me.'
"'My child,' replied the shah, 'make yourself perfectly easy on all
the matters you have commended to my notice; should it be my
misfortune to lose you, I swear that your favourite slave, loaded with
presents, shall be at liberty to go whither she pleases.'
"He had hardly done speaking when the herb completed its work. Zelica
lost all consciousness, and her father, supposing her to be dead,
retired to his own apartments in deep grief. He gave orders that I
alone should wash and embalm the body, which I pretended to do, and
then wrapping it in a white cloth, laid it in the coffin. The princess
was then carried in great pomp to the tomb, where by the shah's
express orders I was left alone for the first night. I made a careful
survey all round, to assure myself that no one was on the watch, and,
not having discovered any one, I roused my mistress at once from her
sleep in the coffin, made her put on a dress and veil I had concealed
under my own, and we both repaired to a spot where Schapour was in
waiting. The faithful eunuch conducted the princess to a small house
which he had taken, and I returned to the tomb to pass the remainder
of the night. I made up a bundle to represent the corpse, covered it
with the same cloth in which I had previously wrapped Zelica, and
placed it in the coffin. The next morning the princess's other slaves
came to take my place, which I took care not to leave without
previously indulging in all the expressions of inconsolable grief
usual on such occasions. A faithful account of this exhibition of woe
was duly carried to the king's ear, who was induced by it to make me
presents far beyond what he had determined on. He ordered me ten
thousand sequins out of his treasury, and granted me permission, the
moment I asked it, to quit the court and carry with me the eunuch
Schapour. I immediately proceeded to join my mistress, and
congratulate her on the complete success of our stratagem. Next day we
sent the eunuch to the royal apartments with a note asking you to come
and see me. But one of your attendants told him you were ill, and
could see no one. Three days after we sent him again; he brought back
word that you had left the palace, and that no one knew what had
become of you. We caused search to be made for you all through the
city; Schapour left nothing undone in order to discover you; and when
at last we gave up the search in despair and left Schiras, we took the
road to the Indus, because we thought it just possible that you might
have turned your steps in that direction;--and, stopping at every town
on our route, we set on foot the most careful inquiries, which
nevertheless proved entirely useless.
"One day, on our road from one city to another, though we were
travelling with a caravan, a vast horde of robbers surrounded us, and,
in spite of a vigorous defence, swept down the merchants and plundered
their goods. Of us, of course, they soon made themselves masters,
robbed us of our money and jewels, carried us to Candahar, and sold us
to a slave merchant of their acquaintance. This merchant had no sooner
secured Zelica, than he resolved to show her to the king of Candahar.
Firouzshah was charmed the moment he saw her, and asked her whence she
came. She told him Ormus was her native place, and answered the
prince's other inquiries in a similar manner. In the end he purchased
us, and placed us in the palace of his wives, where the handsomest
apartments were assigned to us. Passionately though she is loved by
the king of Candahar, she cannot, nevertheless, forget you; and,
though he sighs at her feet, he has never succeeded in obtaining the
slightest proof of any return of attachment. No one ever saw any thing
like the joy she exhibited yesterday when Schapour informed her he had
met with you. She was quite beside herself all the rest of the day.
She ordered Schapour instantly to engage a furnished house for you, to
conduct you there to-day, and to suffer you to want for nothing. I am
now here by her orders to inform you of the several things I have
communicated, and to prepare you to see her in the course of to-morrow
night. We shall leave the palace unobserved, and let ourselves in here
by a small door in the garden wall, of which we have had a key made
for us." As she uttered these last words the favourite slave of the
princess of Persia rose and quitted the apartment, in order to return
to her mistress, and Schapour accompanied her.
I could do nothing all that night but think of Zelica, my love for
whom seemed to return with tenfold ardour. Sleep never approached my
eyelids, and the following day seemed a century. At last, as I almost
began to think I should fall a victim to the agonies of suspense, I
heard a knocking at the door; my slaves ran to open it, and the next
moment I saw my princess entering the room. How shall I describe the
feelings which her presence excited in me! and for her part what was
her delight to see me once more! I threw myself at her feet and for
some time could do nothing but embrace them without uttering a
syllable. At length she forced me to rise, and seating me next her on
the sofa, "Aswad," said she, "I render thanks to Heaven for reuniting
us; let us now hope that the goodness of Providence will not stop
here, but will remove the new obstacle which hinders our union. In
expectation of the arrival of that happy hour we will live here in
contentment; and if circumstances prevent our meeting unconstrainedly,
we can at least enjoy the consolation of hearing daily news of each
other, as well as of occasional secret interviews." In such
conversation we passed the greater part of the night. Next day, in
spite of the happy thoughts which now filled my mind, I did not forget
the fakir in whose company I had come to Candahar; and picturing to
myself his uneasiness at not knowing where I was, I determined to go
and find him out. I met him by accident in the street and we embraced
each other.
"My friend," said I, "I was on my way to your caravansary to inform
you of what has happened to me, and to set your mind at ease. No doubt
I have occasioned you some uneasiness."
"That is true enough," replied he; "I was in no small trouble about
you. But what a change! What clothes are these you appear in? You seem
to have been in luck. Whilst I was worrying myself about what had
become of you, you were passing your time, as it seems to me,
pleasantly enough."
"I confess it, my dear friend," replied I; "and I can assure you,
moreover, that I am a thousand times happier than it is possible for
you to conceive. I want you not only to be witness of my good fortune,
but to profit by it as well. Quit your caravansary and come and live
with me."
So saying, I led him to my house and showed him all over it. He
admired the rooms and the furniture amazingly, and every now and then
would exclaim, "O Heaven! what has Aswad done more than other men to
deserve such an accumulation of good fortune?"
"What, now, fakir," asked I, "do you view my happy condition with
chagrin? It seems to me that my good fortune is positively annoying to
you."
"On the contrary," returned he, "it affords me the liveliest
satisfaction; so far from envying my friends' happiness, I am never so
happy as when I see them flourishing."
As he concluded this speech he embraced me ardently, the better to
persuade me of the sincerity of his words. I believed him sincere, and
acting towards him myself in the most perfect good faith, betrayed
myself without the least mistrust into the hands of the most envious,
the most cowardly, and the most treacherous of men.
In this way we continued to live for some time. Schapour or Cale-Cairi
brought me daily intelligence of my beloved princess, and an
occasional stolen interview elevated me to the seventh heaven of
happiness. The fakir expressed the liveliest interest in the progress
of my attachment, and I confided to him, as to my bosom friend, every
particular of my life.
One day, as I was reposing on a sofa and dreaming of Zelica, I was
aroused by a great noise in my house. I rose in order to ascertain the
cause, and to my great dismay, found that it was occasioned by a body
of Firouzshah's own guards.
"Follow me," said the officer in command; "our orders are to conduct
you to the palace."
"What crime have I committed?" asked I; "of what am I accused?"
"We have not been informed," replied the officer; "our orders are
merely to carry you before the king; we know nothing about the cause:
but I may tell you for your comfort, that if you are innocent you have
nothing whatever to fear, for you have to do with a prince of the
strictest justice, who never lightly condemns any one who is brought
before him. He requires the most convincing proofs before he will pass
an adverse sentence; but it is true at the same time that he punishes
the guilty with the utmost rigour, so that, if you are guilty, I pity
you."
There was no help for it; I was obliged to follow the officer. On my
way to the palace I said to myself, "Firouzshah has no doubt
discovered my correspondence with Zelica; but how can he have learned
it?" As we crossed the court-yard of the palace I observed that four
gibbets had been erected there. I made a shrewd guess at their
destination, and apprehended that this kind of death was the least
part of the punishment I had to expect from the wrath of Firouzshah. I
raised my eyes to heaven and prayed that at least the princess of
Persia might be saved from this. We entered the palace; the officer
who had charge of me conducted me into the king's apartment. That
prince was there, attended only by his grand vizir and the fakir. The
moment I perceived my treacherous friend I saw that I had been
betrayed.
"It is you, then," said Firouzshah to me, "who has secret interviews
with my favourite. Wretch! you must be bold indeed to dare to trifle
with me! Speak, and reply exactly and truly to my questions:--When you
came to Candahar, were you not told that I was a severe punisher of
criminals?"
I replied that I was informed of it.
"Well," he continued, "since you knew that, why have you committed the
greatest of all crimes?"
"Sire," I answered, "may your majesty's days last for ever. You know
that love gives courage to the dove: a man possessed by a violent
passion fears nothing: I am ready to be a victim to your just wrath;
and as to any tortures that may be reserved for me I shall not
complain of your severity, provided you grant a pardon to your
favourite. Alas! she was living peacefully in your palace before I
came here, and would soon have been contented with rendering a great
king happy, while gradually forgetting an unfortunate lover whom she
never thought to see again. Knowing that I was in this city, her
former attachment returned. It was I that separated her from your
affection, and your punishment should fall on me alone."
While I was thus speaking, Zelica, who had been sent for by the king's
order, entered the apartment, followed by Schapour and Cale-Cairi, and
hearing the last words I uttered, ran forward and threw herself at the
feet of Firouzshah.
"Great prince!" she exclaimed, "forgive this young man: it is on your
guilty slave, who has betrayed you, that your vengeance ought to
fall."
"Traitors that you both are!" exclaimed the king "expect no favour
either of you: die! both of you. This ungrateful woman only implores
my kindness in behalf of the rash man who has offended me; while his
sensibilities are only alive to the loss of her whom he loves; both of
them thus parading in my very sight their amorous madness; what
insolence! Vizir!" he cried, turning to his minister, "let them be led
away to execution. Hang them up on gibbets, and after their death, let
their carcasses be thrown to the dogs and the vultures."
The officers were leading us away, when I resolved on one more
desperate effort to save the princess.
"Stop, sire!" I shouted at the top of my voice, "take care what you
do, and do not treat with ignominy the daughter of a king! Let your
jealousy even in its fury have respect to the august blood from which
she has sprung!"
At these words Firouzshah appeared thunderstruck, and then addressing
Zelica, he inquired, "Who then is the prince who is your father?"
The princess looked at me with a proud countenance, and said:
"Alas! Aswad, where was your discretion? how is it that you have told
what I wished to conceal, if it were possible, even from myself? I
should have had the consolation in death of knowing that my rank was
a secret, but in disclosing it, you have overwhelmed me with shame.
Learn then who I am," she continued, addressing herself to Firouzshah;
"the slave whom you have condemned to an infamous death is the
daughter of shah Tahmaspe!" She then related her whole story, without
omitting the slightest circumstance.
When she had concluded her recital, which increased the king's
astonishment, she said to him, "Now I have revealed a secret which it
was my intention to bury in my own breast, and which nothing but the
indiscretion of my lover could have wrung from me. After this
confession, which I make with extreme humiliation, I beg that you will
instantly give orders for my immediate execution. This is the only
favour I now ask of your majesty."
"Madam," replied the king, "I revoke the order for your death: I have
too great a love for justice not to honour your faithfulness: what you
have told me makes me look upon you in a different light; I have no
complaint to make against you, and I set you at liberty. Live for
Aswad, and may the happy Aswad live for you! Schapour also and your
friend have life and liberty granted to them. Go, most faithful
lovers, and may you pass the rest of your days in the enjoyment of
each other's society, and may nothing interrupt the course of your
happiness. As for you, traitor," he continued, turning to the fakir,
"you shall be punished for your treason, for your base and envious
heart, which could not endure to see the happiness of your friend, and
led you to deliver him up yourself to my vengeance. Miserable wretch!
You shall yourself be the victim of my jealousy!"
While this villain was being led to the gallows, Zelica and I threw
ourselves at the feet of the king of Candahar, and bathed them with
tears of gratitude and joy. We assured him that we should ever retain
a grateful sense of his generous goodness. And at length we left his
palace, accompanied by Schapour and Cale-Cairi, with the intention of
taking up our lodging at a caravansary. We were just about to enter,
when an officer sent by the king accosted us. "I come," he said, "from
my master, Firouzshah, to offer you a lodging: the grand vizir will
lend you a house of his, situated at the gates of the city, where you
will be very commodiously lodged. I will be your conductor thither, if
you will allow me, and will take the trouble to follow me." We
accompanied him, and soon arrived at a house of imposing appearance,
and elegant architecture: the interior corresponded to the outside
appearance. Every thing was magnificent, and in good taste. There were
more than twenty slaves, who told us that their master had desired
them to supply us with every thing that we wanted, and to treat us as
they would himself all the time that we remained in the house.
Here my marriage with the princess was duly celebrated, though with
the strictest privacy. Two days after we received a visit from the
grand vizir, who brought an immense quantity of presents from the
king. There were bales of silk and cloth of India, with twenty purses,
each containing a thousand sequins of gold. As we did not feel
ourselves quite at our ease in a house which was not our own, and as
the king's bounty enabled us to go elsewhere, we joined ourselves to a
great caravan of merchants, who were proceeding to Bagdad, where we
arrived without encountering any disaster.