and mother; but now lend ear to what came of the knights who escorted
him. After many days of toil and travail they waxed discontented and
disheartened; and presently taking counsel one with other, they said,
“Come, let us slay this lad and carry off the loads of stuffs and coin
he hath with him; and when we reach our homes and be questioned
concerning him, let us say that he died of the excess of his desire to
Princess Durrat al-Ghawwas.” So they followed this rede, while their
lord wotted naught of the ambush laid for him by his followers. And
having ridden through the day when the night of offence[406] was
dispread, the escort said, “Dismount we in this garden[407] that here we
may take our rest during the dark hours, and when morning shall morrow
we will resume our road.” The Sultan Habib had no mind to oppose them,
so all alighted and in that garden took seat and whatso of victual was
with them produced; after which they ate and drank their sufficiency and
lay down to sleep all of them save their lord, who could not close eye
for excess of love-longing. “O Habib, why and wherefore sleepest thou
not?” they asked, and he answered, “O comrades mine, how shall slumber
come to one yearning for his dearling, and verily I will lie awake nor
enjoy aught repose until such time as I espy the life-blood of my heart,
Durrat al-Ghawwas.” Thereupon they held their peace; and presently they
held council one with other saying, “Who amongst us can supply a dose of
Bhang that we may cast him asleep and his slaughter may be easy to us?”
“I have two Miskáls weight[408] of that same,” quoth one of them, and
the others took it from him and presently, when occasion served, they
put it into a cup of water and presented it to Habib. He hent that cup
in hand and drank off the drugged liquid at a single draught; and
presently the Bhang wrought in his vitals and its fumes mounted to his
head, mastering his senses and causing his brain to whirl round,
whereupon he sank into the depths of unconsciousness. Then quoth his
escort, “As soon as his slumber is soundest and his sleep heaviest we
will arise and slay him and bury him on the spot where he now sleepeth:
then will we return to his father and mother, and tell them that of
love-stress to his beloved and of excessive longing and pining for her
he died.” And upon this deed of treachery all agreed. So when dawned the
day and showed its sheen and shone clear and serene, the knights awoke
and seeing their lord drowned[409] in sleep they arose and sat in
council, and quoth one of them, “Let us cut his throat from ear to
ear;”[410] and quoth another, “Nay, better we dig us a pit the stature
of a man and we will cast him amiddlemost thereof and heap upon him
earth so that he will die, nor shall any know aught about him.” Hearing
this said one of the retinue, whose name was Rabí’a,[411] “But fear you
naught from Almighty Allah and regard ye not the favours wherewith his
father fulfilled you, and remember ye not the bread which ye ate in his
household and from his family? Indeed ’twas but a little while since his
sire chose you out to escort him that his son might take solace with you
instead of himself, and he entrusted unto you his heart’s core, and now
ye are pleased to do him die and thereby destroy the life of his
parents. Furthermore, say me doth your judgment decide that such
ill-work can possibly abide hidden from his father? Now I swear by the
loyalty[412] of the Arabs there will not remain for us a wight or any
who bloweth the fire alight, however mean and slight, who will receive
us after such deed. So do ye at least befriend and protect your
households and your clans and your wives and your children whom ye left
in the tribal domain. But now you design utterly to destroy us, one and
all, and after death affix to our memories the ill-name of traitors, and
cause our women be enslaved and our children enthralled, nor leave one
of us aught to be longed for.” Quoth they jeeringly, “Bring what thou
hast of righteous rede:” so quoth he, “Have you fixed your intent upon
slaying him and robbing his good?” and they answered, “We have.”
However, he objected again and cried, “Come ye and hear from me what it
is I advise you, albeit I will take no part[413] in this matter;”
presently adding, “Established is your resolve in this affair, and ye
wot better than I what you are about to do. But my mind is certified of
this much; do ye not transgress in the matter of his blood and suffer
only his crime be upon you;[414] moreover, if ye desire to lay hands
upon his camels and his moneys and his provisions, then do ye carry them
off and leave him where he lieth; then if he live, ’twere well, and if
he die ’twill be even better and far better.” “Thy rede is right and
righteous,” they replied. Accordingly they seized his steed and his
habergeon and his sword and his gear of battle and combat, and they
carried off all he had of money and means, and placing him naked upon
the bare ground they drove away his camels. Presently asked one of
other, “Whenas we shall reach the tribe what shall we say to his father
and his mother?” “Whatso Rabi’a shall counsel us,” quoth they, and quoth
Rabi’a, “Tell them:—We left not travelling with your son; and, as we
fared along we lost sight of him and we saw him nowhere until we came
upon him a-swoon and lying on the road senseless: then we called to him
by name but he returned no reply, and when we shook him with our hands
behold, he had become a dried-up wand. Then seeing him dead we buried
him and brought back to you his good and his belongings.” “And if they
ask you,” objected one:—In what place did ye bury him and in what land,
and is the spot far or near, what shall ye make answer; also if they say
to you, “Why did ye not bear his corpse with you, what then shall be
your reply?” Rabi’a to this rejoined, “Do you say to them:—Our strength
was weakened and we waxed feeble from burn of heart and want of water,
nor could we bring his remains with us. And if they ask you:—Could ye
not bear him a-back; nay, might ye not have carried him upon one of the
camels? do ye declare that ye could not for two reasons, the first being
that the body was swollen and stinking from the fiery air, and the
second our fear for his father, lest seeing him rotten he could not
endure the sight and his sorrow be increased for that he was an only
child and his sire hath none other.” All the men joined in accepting
this counsel of Rabi’a, and each and every exclaimed, “This indeed is
the rede that is most right.” Then they ceased not wayfaring until they
reached the neighbourhood of the tribe, when they sprang from their
steeds and openly donned black, and they entered the camp showing the
sorest sorrow. Presently they repaired to the father’s tent, grieving
and weeping and shrieking as they went; and when the Emir Salamah saw
them in this case, crowding together with keening and crying for the
departed, he asked them, “Where is he, my son?” and they answered,
“Indeed he is dead.” Right hard upon Salamah was this lie, and his grief
grew the greater, so he scattered dust upon his head and plucked out his
beard and rent his raiment and shrieked aloud saying, “Woe for my son,
ah! Woe for Habib, ah! Woe for the slice of my liver, ah! Woe for my
grief, ah! Woe for the core[415] of my heart, ah!” Thereupon his mother
came forth, and seeing her husband in this case, with dust on his head
and his beard plucked out and his robe-collar[416] rent, and sighting
her son’s steed she shrieked, “Woe is me and well-away for my child,
ah!” and fainted swooning for a full-told hour. Anon when recovered she
said to the knights who had formed the escort, “Woe to you, O men of
evil, where have ye buried my boy?” They replied, “In a far-off land
whose name we wot not, and ’tis wholly waste and tenanted by wild
beasts,” whereat she was afflicted exceedingly. Then the Emir Salamah
and his wife and household and all the tribesmen donned garbs black-hued
and ashes whereupon to sit they strewed, and ungrateful to them was the
taste of food and drink, meat and wine; nor ceased they to beweep their
loss, nor could they comprehend what had befallen their son and what of
ill-lot had descended upon him from Heaven. Such then was the case of
them; but as regards the Sultan Habib, he continued sleeping until the
Bhang ceased to work in his brain, when Allah sent a fresh, cool wind
which entered his nostrils and caused him sneeze, whereby he cast out
the drug and sensed the sun-heat and came to himself. Hereupon he opened
his eyes and sighted a wild and waste land, and he looked in vain for
his companions the knights, and his steed and his sword and his spear
and his coat of mail, and he found himself mother-naked, athirst,
an-hungered. Then he cried out in that Desert of desolation which lay
far and wide before his eyes, and the case waxed heavy upon him, and he
wept and groaned and complained of his case to Allah Almighty, saying,
“O my God and my Lord and my Master, trace my lot an thou hast traced it
upon the Guarded Tablet, for who shall right me save Thyself, O Lord of
Might that is All-might and of Grandeur All-puissant and All-excellent!”
Then he began improvising these verses:—
“Faileth me, O my God, the patience with the pride o’ me; ✿ Life-tie is
broke and drawing nigh I see Death-tide o’ me:
To whom shall injured man complain of injury and wrong ✿ Save to the
Lord (of Lords the Best!) who stands by side o’ me.”
Now whilst the Sultan Habib was ranging with his eye-corners to the
right and to the left behold, he beheld a blackness rising high in air,
and quoth he to himself, “Doubtless this dark object must be a mighty
city or a vast encampment, and I will hie me thither before I be
overheated by the sun-glow and I lose the power of walking and I die of
distress and none shall know my fate.” Then he heartened his heart for
the improvising of such poetry as came to his mind, and he repeated
these verses:—
“Travel, for on the way all goodly things shalt find; ✿ And wake from
sleep and dreams if still to sleep inclined!
Or victory win and rise and raise thee highmost high ✿ And gain, O giddy
pate, the good for which thy soul hath pined;
Or into sorrow thou shalt fall with breast full strait ✿ And ne’er enjoy
the Fame that wooes the gen’rous mind,
Nor is there any shall avail to hinder Fate ✿ Except the Lord of Worlds
who the Two Beings[417] designed.”
And when he had finished his verse, the Sultan Habib walked in the
direction of that blackness nor left walking until he drew near the
ridge; but after he could fare no farther and that walking distressed
him (he never having been broken to travel afoot and barefoot withal),
and his forces waxed feeble and his joints relaxed and his strong will
grew weak and his resolution passed away. But whilst he was perplexed
concerning what he should do, suddenly there alighted between his hands
a snow-white fowl huge as the dome of a Hammám, with shanks like the
trunk of a palm-tree. The Sultan Habib marvelled at the sight of this
Rukh and saying to himself, “Blessed be Allah the Creator!” he advanced
slowly towards it and all unknown to the fowl seized its legs. Presently
the bird put forth its wings (he still hanging on) and flew upwards to
the confines of the sky, when behold, a Voice was heard saying, “O
Habib! O Habib! hold to the bird with straitest hold, else ’twill cast
thee down to earth and thou shalt be dashed to pieces limb from limb!”
Hearing these words he tightened his grasp and the fowl ceased not
flying until it came to that blackness which was the outline of Káf the
mighty mountain, and having set the youth down on the summit it left him
and still flew onwards. Presently a Voice sounded in the sensorium of
the Sultan Habib saying, “Take seat, O Habib; past is that which
conveyed thee hither on thy way to Durrat al-Ghawwas;” and he, when the
words met his ear, aroused himself and arose and, descending the
mountain slope to the skirting plain, saw therein a cave. Hereat quoth
he to himself, “If I enter this antre, haply shall I lose myself, and
perish of hunger and thirst!” He then took thought and reflected, “Now
death must come sooner or later, wherefore will I adventure myself in
this cave.” And as he passed thereinto he heard one crying with a high
voice and a sound so mighty that its volume resounded in his ears. But
right soon the crier appeared in the shape of Al-Abbus, the Governor who
had taught him battle and combat; and, after greeting him with great
joy, the lover recounted his love-adventure to his whilome tutor. The
Jinni bore in his left a scymitar, the work of the Jann and in his right
a cup of water which he handed to his pupil. The draught caused him to
swoon for an hour or so, and when he came to Al-Abbus made him sit up
and bathed him and robed him in the rarest of raiment and brought him a
somewhat of victual and the twain ate and drank together. Then quoth
Habib to Al-Abbus “Knowest thou not that which befel me with Durrat
al-Ghawwas of wondrous matters?” and quoth the other, “And what may that
have been?” whereupon the youth rejoined, “O my brother, Allah be
satisfied with thee for that He willed thou appear to me and direct me
and guide me aright to the dearling of my heart and the cooling of mine
eyes.” “Leave thou such foolish talk,” replied Al-Abbus, “for where art
thou and where is Durrat al-Ghawwas? Indeed between thee and her are
horrors and perils and long tracts of land and seas wondrous, and
adventures marvellous, which would amaze and amate the rending lions,
and spectacles which would turn grey the sucking child or any one of
man’s scions.” Hearing these words Habib clasped his governor to his
breast and kissed him between the eyes, and the Jinni said, “O my
beloved, had I the might to unite thee with her I would do on such wise,
but first ’tis my desire to make thee forgather with thy family in a
moment shorter than an eye-twinkling.” “Had I longed for my own people,”
rejoined Habib, “I should never have left them, nor should I have
endangered my days nor wouldst thou have seen me in this stead; but as
it is I will never return from my wayfaring till such time as my hope
shall have been fulfilled, even although my appointed life-term should
be brought to end, for I have no further need of existence.” To these
words the Jinni made answer, “Learn thou, O Habib, that the cavern
wherein thou art containeth the hoards of our Lord Solomon, David’s son
(upon the twain be The Peace!) and he placed them under my charge and he
forbade me abandon them until such time as he shall permit me, and
furthermore that I let and hinder both mankind and Jinn-kind from
entering the Hoard; and know thou, O Habib, that in this cavern is a
treasure-house and in the Treasury forty closets offsetting to the right
and to the left. Now wouldst thou gaze upon this wealth of pearls and
rubies and precious stones, do thou ere passing through the first door
dig under its threshold, where thou shalt find buried the keys of all
the magazines. Then take the first of them in hand and unlock its door,
after which thou shalt be able to open all the others and look upon the
store of jewels therein. And when thou shalt design to depart the
Treasury thou shalt find a curtain hung up in front of thee and fastened
around it eighty hooks of red gold;[418] and do thou beware how thou
raise the hanging without quilting them all with cotton.” So saying he
gave him a bundle of tree-wool he had by him, and pursued, “O Habib,
when thou shalt have raised the curtain thou wilt discover a door with
two leaves also of red gold, whereupon couplets are inscribed, and as
regards the first distich an thou master the meaning of the names and
the talismans, thou shalt be saved from all terrors and horrors, and if
thou fail to comprehend them thou shalt perish in that Hoard. But after
opening the door close it not with noise nor glance behind thee, and
take all heed, as I fear for thee those charged with the care of the
place[419] and its tapestry. And when thou shalt stand behind the
hanging thou shalt behold a sea clashing with billows dashing, and ’tis
one of the Seven Mains which shall show thee, O Habib, marvels whereat
thou shalt wonder, and whereof relaters shall relate the strangest
relations. Then do thou take thy stand upon the sea-shore whence thou
shalt descry a ship under way and do thou cry aloud to the crew who
shall come to thee and bear thee aboard. After this I wot not what shall
befal thee in this ocean, and such is the end of my say and the last of
my speech, O Habib, and—The Peace!” Hereat the youth joyed with joy
galore than which naught could be more and taking the hand of Al-Abbus
he kissed it and said, “O my brother, thou hast given kindly token in
what thou hast spoken, and Allah requite thee for me with all weal, and
mayest thou be fended from every injurious ill!” Quoth Al-Abbus, “O
Habib, take this scymitar and baldrick thyself therewith, indeed ’twill
enforce thee and hearten thy heart, and don this dress which shall
defend thee from thy foes.” The youth did as he was bidden; then he
farewelled the Jinni and set forth on his way, and he ceased not pacing
forward until he reached the end of the cavern and here he came upon the
door whereof his governor had informed him. So he went to its threshold
and dug thereunder and drew forth a black bag creased and stained by the
lapse of years. This he unclosed and it yielded him a key which he
applied to the lock and it forthwith opened and admitted him into the
Treasury where, for exceeding murk and darkness, he could not see what
he hent in hand. Then quoth he to himself, “What is to do? Haply
Al-Abbus hath compassed my destruction!” And the while he sat on this
wise sunken in thought, behold, he beheld a light gleaming from afar,
and as he advanced its sheen guided him to the curtain whereof he had
been told by the Jinni. But as he looked he saw above it a tablet of
emerald dubbed with pearls and precious stones, while under it lay the
hoard which lighted up the place like the rising sun. So he hastened him
thither and found inscribed upon the tablet the following two couplets:—
“At him I wonder who from woe is free, ✿ And who no joy displays[420]
when safe is he:
And I admire how Time deludes man when ✿ He views the past; but ah
Time’s tyranny.”
[Illustration]