out with his escort and crossed the desert country between Syria and
Egypt, where the Governor came out to meet him and entreated him and his
company with high honour whilst they tarried with him. Then he gave them
a guide to bring them to the Sa’íd or Upper Egypt, where the Emir Musa
had his abiding-place; and when the son of Nusayr heard of Talib’s
coming, he went forth to meet him and rejoiced in him. Talib gave him
the Caliph’s letter, and he took it reverently and, laying it on his
head, cried, “I hear and I obey the Prince of the Faithful.” Then he
deemed it best to assemble his chief officers and when all were present
he acquainted them with the contents of the Caliph’s letter and sought
counsel of them how he should act. “O Emir,” answered they, “if thou
seek one who shall guide thee to the place summon the Shaykh ‘Abd
al-Samad, ibn ‘Abd al-Kuddús, al-Samúdí;[110] for he is a man of varied
knowledge, who hath travelled much and knoweth by experience all the
seas and wastes and wolds and countries of the world and the inhabitants
and wonders thereof; wherefore send thou for him and he will surely
guide thee to thy desire.” So Musa sent for him, and behold, he was a
very ancient man shot in years and broken down with lapse of days. The
Emir saluted him and said, “O Shaykh Abd al-Samad, our lord the
Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, hath commanded me
thus and thus. I have small knowledge of the land wherein is that which
the Caliph desireth; but it is told me that thou knowest it well and the
ways thither. Wilt thou, therefore, go with me and help me to accomplish
the Caliph’s need? So it please Allah the Most High, thy trouble and
travail shall not go waste.” Replied the Shaykh, “I hear and obey the
bidding of the Commander of the Faithful; but know, O Emir, that the
road thither is long and difficult and the ways few.” “How far is it?”
asked Musa, and the Shaykh answered, “It is a journey of two years and
some months going and the like returning; and the way is full of
hardships and terrors and things wondrous and marvellous. Now thou art a
champion of the Faith[111] and our country is hard by that of the enemy;
and peradventure the Nazarenes may come out upon us in thine absence;
wherefore it behoveth thee to leave one to rule thy government in thy
stead.” “It is well,” answered the Emir and appointed his son Hárún
Governor during his absence, requiring the troops to take the oath of
fealty to him and bidding them obey him in all he should command. And
they heard his words and promised obedience. Now this Harun was a man of
great prowess and a renowned warrior and a doughty knight, and the
Shaykh Abd al-Samad feigned to him that the place they sought was
distant but four months’ journey along the shore of the sea, with
camping-places all the way, adjoining one another, and grass and
springs, adding, “Allah will assuredly make the matter easy to us
through thy blessing, O Lieutenant of the Commander of the Faithful!”
Quoth the Emir Musa, “Knowest thou if any of the Kings have trodden this
land before us?”; and quoth the Shaykh, “Yes, it belonged aforetime to
Darius the Greek, King of Alexandria.” But he said to Musa privily, “O
Emir, take with thee a thousand camels laden with victual and store of
gugglets.”[112] The Emir asked, “And what shall we do with these?”; and
the Shaykh answered, “On our way is the desert of Kayrawán or Cyrene,
the which is a vast wold four days’ journey long, and lacketh water; nor
therein doth sound of voice ever sound nor is soul at any time to be
seen. Moreover, there bloweth the Simoon[113] and other hot winds called
Al-Juwayb, which dry up the water-skins; but if the water be in
gugglets, no harm can come to it.” “Right,” said Musa and sending to
Alexandria, let bring thence great plenty of gugglets. Then he took with
him his Wazir and two thousand cavalry, clad in mail cap-à-pie and set
out, without other to guide them but Abd al-Samad who forewent them,
riding on his hackney. The party fared on diligently, now passing
through inhabited lands, then ruins and anon traversing frightful wolds
and thirsty wastes and then mountains which spired high in air; nor did
they leave journeying a whole year’s space till, one morning, when the
day broke, after they had travelled all night, behold, the Shaykh found
himself in a land he knew not and said, “There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” Quoth the Emir,
“What is to do, O Shaykh?”; and he answered, saying, “By the Lord of the
Ka’abah, we have wandered from our road!” “How cometh that?” asked Musa,
and Abd al-Samad replied, “The stars were overclouded and I could not
guide myself by them.” “Where on God’s earth are we now?” asked the
Emir, and the Shaykh answered, “I know not; for I never set eyes on this
land till this moment.” Said Musa, “Guide us back to the place where we
went astray”; but the other, “I know it no more.” Then Musa, “Let us
push on; haply Allah will guide us to it or direct us aright of His
power.” So they fared on till the hour of noon-prayer, when they came to
a fair champaign, and wide and level and smooth as it were the sea when
calm, and presently there appeared to them, on the horizon some great
thing, high and black, in whose midst was as it were smoke rising to the
confines of the sky. They made for this, and stayed not in their course
till they drew near thereto, when, lo! it was a high castle, firm of
foundations and great and gruesome, as it were a towering mountain,
builded all of black stone, with frowning crenelles and a door of
gleaming China steel, that dazzled the eyes and dazed the wits. Round
about it were a thousand steps and that which appeared afar off as it
were smoke was a central dome of lead an hundred cubits high. When the
Emir saw this, he marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel and how this
place was void of inhabitants; and the Shaykh, after he had certified
himself thereof, said, “There is no god but _the_ God and Mohammed is
the Apostle of God!” Quoth Musa, “I hear thee praise the Lord and hallow
Him, and meseemeth thou rejoicest.” “O Emir,” answered Abd al-Samad,
“Rejoice, for Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath delivered us from
the frightful wolds and thirsty wastes.” “How knowest thou that?” said
Musa, and the other, “I know it for that my father told me of my
grandfather that he said:—We were once journeying in this land and,
straying from the road, we came to this palace and thence to the City of
Brass; between which and the place thou seekest is two full months’
travel; but thou must take to the sea-shore and leave it not, for there
be watering-places and wells and camping-grounds established by King Zú
al-Karnayn Iskandar who, when he went to the conquest of Mauritania,
found by the way thirsty deserts and wastes and wilds and dug therein
water-pits and built cisterns.” Quoth Musa, “Allah rejoice thee with
good news!” and quoth the Shaykh, “Come, let us go look upon yonder
palace and its marvels, for it is an admonition to whoso will be
admonished.” So the Emir went up to the palace, with the Shaykh and his
officers, and coming to the gate, found it open. Now this gate was
builded with lofty columns and porticoes whose walls and ceilings were
inlaid with gold and silver and precious stones; and there led up to it
flights of steps, among which were two wide stairs of coloured marble,
never was seen their like; and over the doorway was a tablet whereon
were graven letters of gold in the old ancient Ionian character. “O
Emir,” asked the Shaykh, “shall I read?”; and Musa answered, “Read and
God bless thee!; for all that betideth us in this journey dependeth upon
thy blessing.” So the Shaykh, who was a very learned man and versed in
all tongues and characters, went up to the tablet and read whatso was
thereon and it was verse like this:—
The signs that here their mighty works portray ✿ Warn us that all must
tread the self-same way:
O thou who standest in this stead to hear ✿ Tidings of folk, whose power
hath passed for aye,
Enter this palace-gate and ask the news ✿ Of greatness fallen into dust
and clay:
Death has destroyed them and dispersed their might ✿ And in the dust
they lost their rich display;
As had they only set their burdens down ✿ To rest awhile, and then had
rode away.
When the Emir Musa heard these couplets, he wept till he lost his senses
and said, “There is no god but _the_ God, the Living, the Eternal, who
ceaseth not!” Then he entered the palace and was confounded at its
beauty and the goodliness of its construction. He diverted himself
awhile by viewing the pictures and images therein, till he came to
another door, over which also were written verses, and said to the
Shaykh, “Come read me these!” So he advanced and read as follows:—
Under these domes how many a company ✿ Halted of old and fared withouten
stay:
See thou what might displays on other wights ✿ Time with his shifts
which could such lords waylay:
They shared together what they gatherèd ✿ And left their joys and fared
to Death-decay:
What joys they joyed! what food they ate! and now ✿ In dust they’re
eaten, for the worm a prey.
At this the Emir Musa wept bitter tears; and the world waxed yellow
before his eyes and he said, “Verily, we were created for a mighty
matter!”[114] Then they proceeded to explore the palace and found it
desert and void of living thing, its courts desolate and dwelling-places
waste laid. In the midst stood a lofty pavilion with a dome rising high
in air, and about it were four hundred tombs, builded of yellow marble.
The Emir drew near unto these and behold, amongst them was a great tomb,
wide and long; and at its head stood a tablet of white marble, whereon
were graven these couplets:—
How oft have I fought! and how many have slain! ✿ How much have I
witnessed of blessing and bane!
How much have I eaten! how much have I drunk! ✿ How oft have I hearkened
to singing-girl’s strain!
How much have I bidden! how oft have forbid! ✿ How many a castle and
castellain
I have sieged and have searched, and the cloistered maids ✿ In the
depths of its walls for my captives were ta’en!
But of ignorance sinned I to win me the meeds ✿ Which won provèd naught
and brought nothing of gain:
Then reckon thy reck’ning, O man, and be wise ✿ Ere the goblet of death
and of doom thou shalt drain;
For yet but a little the dust on thy head ✿ They shall strew, and thy
life shall go down to the dead.
The Emir and his companions wept; then, drawing near unto the pavilion,
they saw that it had eight doors of sandal-wood, studded with nails of
gold and stars of silver and inlaid with all manner precious stones. On
the first door were written these verses:—
What I left, I left it not for nobility of soul, ✿ But through sentence
and decree that to every man are dight.
What while I lived happy, with a temper haught and high, ✿ My
hoarding-place defending like a lion in the fight,
I took no rest, and greed of gain forbad me give a grain ✿ Of
mustard-seed to save from the fires of Hell my sprite,
Until stricken on a day, as with arrow, by decree ✿ Of the Maker, the
Fashioner, the Lord of Might and Right.
When my death was appointed, my life I could not keep ✿ By the many of
my stratagems, my cunning and my sleight:
My troops I had collected availed me not, and none ✿ Of my friends and
of my neighbours had power to mend my plight:
Through my life I was wearied in journeying to death ✿ In stress or in
solace, in joyance or despight:
So when money-bags are bloated, and dinar unto dinar ✿ Thou addest, all
may leave thee with fleeting of the night:
And the driver of a camel and the digger of a grave[115] ✿ Are what
thine heirs shall bring ere the morning dawneth bright:
And on Judgment Day alone shalt thou stand before thy Lord, ✿ Overladen
with thy sins and thy crimes and thine affright:
Let the world not seduce thee with lurings, but behold ✿ What measure to
thy family and neighbours it hath doled.
When Musa heard these verses, he wept with such weeping that he swooned
away; then, coming to himself, he entered the pavilion and saw therein a
long tomb, awesome to look upon, whereon was a tablet of China steel and
Shaykh Abd al-Samad drew near it and read this inscription: “In the name
of Everlasting Allah, the Never-beginning, the Never-ending; in the name
of Allah who begetteth not nor is He begot and unto whom the like is
not; in the name of Allah the Lord of Majesty and Might; in the name of
the Living One who to death is never dight!”——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaykh Abd
al-Samad, having read the aforesaid, also found the following:—O thou
who comest to this place, take warning by that which thou seest of the
accidents of Time and the vicissitudes of Fortune and be not deluded by
the world and its pomps and vanities and fallacies and falsehoods and
vain allurements, for that it is flattering, deceitful and treacherous,
and the things thereof are but a loan to us which it will borrow back
from all borrowers. It is like unto the dreams of the dreamer and the
sleep-visions of the sleeper or as the mirage of the desert, which the
thirsty take for water;[116] and Satan maketh it fair for men even unto
death. These are the ways of the world; wherefore put not thou thy trust
therein neither incline thereto, for it bewrayeth him who leaneth upon
it and who committeth himself thereunto in his affairs. Fall not thou
into its snares neither take hold upon its skirts, but be warned by my
example. I possessed four thousand bay horses and a haughty palace, and
I had to wife a thousand daughters of kings, high-bosomed maids, as they
were moons: I was blessed with a thousand sons as they were fierce
lions, and I abode a thousand years, glad of heart and mind, and I
amassed treasures beyond the competence of all the Kings of the regions
of the earth, deeming that delight would still endure to me. But there
fell on me unawares the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of
societies, the Desolator of domiciles and the Spoiler of inhabited
spots, the Murtherer of great and small, babes and children and mothers,
he who hath no ruth on the poor for his poverty, or feareth the King for
all his bidding or forbidding. Verily, we abode safe and secure in this
palace, till there descended upon us the judgement of the Lord of the
Three Worlds, Lord of the Heavens, and Lord of the Earths, the vengeance
of the Manifest Truth[117] overtook us, when there died of us every day
two, till a great company of us had perished. When I saw that
destruction had entered our dwellings and had homed with us and in the
sea of deaths had drowned us, I summoned a writer and bade him indite
these verses and instances and admonitions, the which I let grave, with
rule and compass, on these doors and tablets and tombs. Now I had an
army of a thousand thousand bridles, men of warrior mien with forearms
strong and keen, armed with spears and mail-coats sheen and swords that
gleam; so I bade them don their long-hanging hauberks and gird on their
biting blades and mount their high-mettled steeds and level their
dreadful lances; and whenas there fell on us the doom of the Lord of
heaven and earth, I said to them, “Ho, all ye soldiers and troopers, can
ye avail to ward off that which is fallen on me from the Omnipotent
King?” But troopers and soldiers availed not unto this and said, “How
shall we battle with Him to whom no chamberlain barreth access, the Lord
of the door which hath no doorkeeper?” Then quoth I to them, “Bring me
my treasures.” Now I had in my treasuries a thousand cisterns in each of
which were a thousand quintals[118] of red gold and the like of white
silver, besides pearls and jewels of all kinds and other things of
price, beyond the attainment of the kings of the earth. So they did that
and when they had laid all the treasure in my presence, I said to them,
“Can ye ransom me with all this treasure or buy me one day of life
therewith?” But they could not! So they resigned themselves to
fore-ordained Fate and fortune and I submitted to the judgement of
Allah, enduring patiently that which he decreed unto me of affliction,
till He took my soul and made me to dwell in my grave. And if thou ask
of my name, I am Kúsh, the son of Shaddád son of Ád the Greater. And
upon the tablets were engraved these lines:—
An thou wouldst know my name, whose day is done ✿ With shifts of time
and changes ‘neath the sun,
Know I am Shaddád’s son, who ruled mankind ✿ And o’er all earth upheld
dominion!
All stubborn peoples abject were to me; ✿ And Shám to Cairo and to
Adnanwone;[119]
I reigned in glory conquering many kings; ✿ And peoples feared my
mischief every one.
Yea, tribes and armies in my hand I saw; ✿ The world all dreaded me,
both friends and fone.
When I took horse, I viewed my numbered troops, ✿ Bridles on neighing
steeds a million.
And I had wealth that none could tell or count, ✿ Against misfortune
treasuring all I won;
Fain had I bought my life with all my wealth, ✿ And for a moment’s space
my death to shun;
But God would naught save what His purpose willed; ✿ So from my brethren
cut I ‘bode alone:
And Death, that sunders man, exchanged my lot ✿ To pauper hut from
grandeur’s mansion,
When found I all mine actions gone and past ✿ Wherefor I’m pledged[120]
and by my sin undone.
Then fear, O man, who by a brink dost range, ✿ The turns of Fortune and
the chance of Change.
The Emir Musa was hurt to his heart and loathed his life for what he saw
of the slaughtering-places of the folk; and, as they went about the
highways and bye-ways of the palace, viewing its sitting-chambers and
pleasaunces, behold they came upon a table of yellow onyx, upborne on
four feet of juniper-wood,[121] and thereon these words graven:—“At this
table have eaten a thousand kings blind of the right eye and a thousand
blind of the left and yet other thousand sound of both eyes, all of whom
have departed the world and have taken up their sojourn in the tombs and
the catacombs.” All this the Emir wrote down and left the palace,
carrying off with him naught save the table aforesaid. Then he fared on
with his host three days’ space, under the guidance of the Shaykh Abd
al-Samad, till they came to a high hill, whereon stood a horseman of
brass. In his hand he held a lance with a broad head, in brightness like
blinding leven, whereon was graven:—“O thou that comest unto me, if thou
know not the way to the City of Brass, rub the hand of this rider and he
will turn round and presently stop. Then take the direction whereto he
faceth and fare fearless, for it will bring thee, without hardship, to
the city aforesaid.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Emir Musa
rubbed the horseman’s hand he revolved like the dazzling lightning, and
stopped facing in a direction other than that wherein they were
journeying. So they took the road to which he pointed (which was the
right way) and, finding it a beaten track, fared on through their days
and nights till they had covered a wide tract of country. Then they came
upon a pillar of black stone like a furnace-chimney wherein was one
sunken up to his armpits. He had two great wings and four arms, two of
them like the arms of the sons of Adam and other two as they were lion’s
paws, with claws of iron, and he was black and tall and frightful of
aspect, with hair like horses’ tails and eyes like blazing coals, slit
upright in his face. Moreover, he had in the middle of his forehead a
third eye, as it were that of a lynx, from which flew sparks of fire,
and he cried out saying, “Glory to my Lord, who hath adjudged unto me
this grievous torment and sore punishment until the Day of Doom!” When
the folk saw him, they lost their reason for affright and turned to
flee; so the Emir Musa asked the Shaykh Abd al-Samad, “What is this?”;
and he answered, “I know not.” Whereupon quoth Musa, “Draw near and
question him of his condition; haply he will discover to thee his case.”
“Allah assain thee, Emir! Indeed, I am afraid of him;” replied the
Shaykh; but the Emir rejoined, saying, “Fear not; he is hindered from
thee and from all others by that wherein he is.” So Abd al-Samad drew
near to the pillar and said to him which was therein, “O creature, what
is thy name and what art thou and how camest thou here in this fashion?”
“I am an Ifrit of the Jinn,” replied he, “by name Dáhish, son of
Al-A’amash,[122] and am confined here by the All-might, prisoned here by
the Providence and punished by the judgement of Allah, till it pleases
Him, to whom belong Might and Majesty, to release me.” Then said Musa,
“Ask him why he is in durance of this column?” So the Shaykh asked him
of this, and the Ifrit replied, saying:—Verily my tale is wondrous and
my case marvellous, and it is this. One of the sons of Iblis had an idol
of red carnelian, whereof I was guardian, and there served it a King of
the Kings of the sea, a Prince of puissant power and prow of prowess,
over-ruling a thousand thousand warriors of the Jann who smote with
swords before him and answered his summons in time of need. All these
were under my commandment and obeyed my behest, being each and every
rebels against Solomon, son of David, on whom be peace! And I used to
enter the belly of the idol and thence bid and forbid them. Now this
King’s daughter loved the idol and was frequent in prostration to it and
assiduous in its service; and she was the fairest woman of her day,
accomplished in beauty and loveliness, elegance and grace. She was
described unto Solomon and he sent to her father, saying, “Give me thy
daughter to wife and break thine idol of carnelian and testify saying,
There is no god but _the_ God and Solomon is the Prophet of Allah!, an
thou do this, our due shall be thy due and thy debt shall be our debt
but, if thou refuse, make ready to answer the summons of the Lord and
don thy grave-gear, for I will come upon thee with an irresistible host,
which shall fill the waste places of earth and make thee as yesterday
that is passed away and hath no return for aye.” When this message
reached the King, he waxed insolent and rebellious, pride-full and
contumacious and he cried to his Wazirs, “What say ye of this? Know ye
that Solomon son of David hath sent requiring me to give him my daughter
to wife, and break my idol of carnelian and enter his faith!” And they
replied, “O mighty King, how shall Solomon do thus with thee? Even could
he come at thee in the midst of this vast ocean, he could not prevail
against thee, for the Marids of the Jann will fight on thy side and thou
wilt ask succour of thine idol whom thou servest, and he will help thee
and give thee victory over him. So thou wouldst do well to consult on
this matter thy Lord,” (meaning the idol aforesaid) “and hear what he
saith. If he say, Fight him, fight him, and if not, not.” So the King
went in without stay or delay to his idol and offered up sacrifices and
slaughtered victims; after which he fell down before him, prostrate and
weeping, and repeated these verses:—
“O my Lord, well I weet thy puissant hand: ✿ Sulaymán would break thee
and see thee bann’d.
O my Lord, to crave succour here I stand ✿ Command and I bow to thy high
command!”
Then I (continued the Ifrit addressing the Shaykh and those about him),
of my ignorance and want of wit and recklessness of the commandment of
Solomon and lack of knowledge anent his power, entered the belly of the
idol and made answer as follows:—
“As for me, of him I feel naught affright; ✿ For my lore and my wisdom
are infinite:
If he wish for warfare I’ll show him fight ✿ And out of his body I’ll
tear his sprite!”
When the King heard my boastful reply, he hardened his heart and
resolved to wage war upon the Prophet and to offer him battle; wherefore
he beat the messenger with a grievous beating and returned a foul answer
to Solomon, threatening him and saying, “Of a truth, thy soul hath
suggested to thee a vain thing; dost thou menace me with mendacious
words? But gird thyself for battle; for, an thou come not to me, I will
assuredly come to thee.” So the messenger returned to Solomon and told
him all that had passed and whatso had befallen him, which when the
Prophet heard, he raged like Doomsday and addressed himself to the fray
and levied armies of men and Jann and birds and reptiles. He commanded
his Wazir Al-Dimiryát, King of the Jann, to gather together the Marids
of the Jinn from all parts, and he collected for him six hundred
thousand thousand of devils.[123] Moreover, by his order, his Wazir Ásaf
bin Barkhiyá levied him an army of men, to the number of a thousand
thousand or more. These all he furnished with arms and armour and
mounting, with his host, upon his carpet, look flight through air, while
the beasts fared under him and the birds flew overhead, till he lighted
down on the island of the refractory King and encompassed it about,
filling earth with his hosts.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-first Night,