The twelfth night was pretty far advanced, when Dinarzade called,
and says, Sister, you owe us the continuation of the agreeable
history of the Grecian king and the physician Douban. I am very
willing to pay my debt, replies Scheherazade, and resumed the
story as follows.
Sir, the fisherman, speaking always to the genie, whom he kept
shut up in his vessel, went on thus: The physician Douban rose
up, and, after a profound reverence, says to the king, he judged
it meet that his majesty should take horse, and go to the place
where he used to play at the mell. The king did so, and when he
arrived there, the physician came to him with the mell, and says
to him, Sir, exercise yourself with this mell, and strike the
ball with it until you find your hands and your body in a sweat.
When the medicine I have put in the handle of the mell is heated
with your hand, it will penetrate your whole body; and as soon as
you shall sweat, you may leave off the exercise, for then the
medicine will have had its effect. As soon as you are returned to
your palace, go into the bath, and cause yourself to be well
washed and rubbed; then go to bed, and, when you rise to-morrow,
you will find yourself cured.
The king took the mell, and struck the ball, which was returned
by his officers that played with him; he struck it again, and
played so long, till his hand and his whole body were in a sweat,
and then the medicine shut up in the handle of the mell had its
operation, as the physician said. Upon this the king left off
play, returned to his palace, entered the bath, and observed very
exactly what his physician had prescribed him.
He was very well after; and next morning, when he arose, he
perceived, with as much wonder as joy, that his leprosy was
cured, and his body as clean as if he had never been attacked
with that distemper. As soon as he was dressed, he came into the
hall of public audience, where he mounted his throne, and showed
himself to his courtiers, who, longing to know the success of the
new medicine, came thither betimes, and, when they saw the king
perfectly cured, did all of them express a mighty joy for it. The
physician Douban, entering the hall, bowed himself before the
throne wiih his face to the ground. The king, perceiving him,
called him, made him sit down by his side, showed him to the
assembly, and gave him all the commendation he deserved. His
majesty did not stop here; but, as he treated all his court that
day, he made him to eat at his table atone with him. At these
words Scheherazade, perceiving day, broke off her story. Sister,
says Dinarzade, I know not what the conclusion of this story will
be, but I find the beginning very surprising. That which is to
come is yet better, answered the sultaness, and I am certain you
will not deny it, if the sultan gives me leave to make an end of
it to-morrow night. Shahriar consented, and rose very well
satisfied with what he had heard.
The Thirteenth Night.
Dinarzade, willing to keep the sultan in ignorance of her design,
cried out, as if she had started out of her sleep, 0 dear sister,
I have had a troublesome dream, and nothing will sooner make me
forget it than the remainder of the story of the Grecian king and
the doctor Douban. I conjure you, by the love you always bore me,
not to defer it a moment longer. I shall not be wanting, good
sister, to ease your mind; and, if my sovereign will permit me, I
will go on. Schahriar, being charmed with the agreeable manner of
Scheherazade's telling her story, says to her, You will oblige me
no less than Dinarzade, therefore continue.
The Grecian king (says the fisherman to the genie) was not
satisfied with having admitted the physician Douban to his table,
but towards night, when he was about dismissing the company, he
caused him to be clad in a long rich robe, like unto those which
his favourites usually wore in his presence; and, besides that,
he ordered him two thousand sequins. The next day, and the day
following, he was very familiar with him. In short, this prince,
thinking that he could never enough acknowledge the obligations
he lay under to that able physician, bestowed every day new
favours upon him. But this king had a grand vizier that was
avaricious, envious, and naturally capable of all sorts of
mischief; he could not see, without envy, the presents that were
given to the physician, whose other merits had begun to make him
jealous, and therefore he resolved to lessen him in the king's
esteem. To effect this, he went to the king, and told him in
private that he had some advice to give him which was of the
greatest concernment. The king having asked what it was, Sir,
said he, it is very dangerous for a monarch to put confidence in
a man whose fidelity he never tried. Though you heap favours upon
the physician Douban, and show him all the familiarity that may
be, your majesty does not know but he may be a traitor at the
same time, and came on purpose to this court to kill you. From
whom have you this, answered the king, that you dare tell it me?
Consider to whom you speak, and that you advance a thing which I
shall not easily believe. Sir, replied the vizier, I am very well
informed of what I have had the honour to represent to your
majesty, therefore do not let your dangerous confidence grow to a
further height; if your majesty be asleep, be pleased to awake;
for I do once more repeat it, that the physician Douban did not
leave the heart of Greece, his country, nor come hither to settle
himself at your court, but to execute that horrid design which I
have just now hinted to you.
No, no, vizier, replies the king, I am certain that this man,
whom you treat as a villain and a traitor, is one of the best and
most virtuous men in the world; and there is no man I love so
much. You know by what medicine, or rather by what miracle, he
cured me of my leprosy; if he had a design upon my life, why did
he save me? He needed only to have left me to my disease; I could
not have escaped; my life was already half gone; forbear, then,
to fill me with any unjust suspicions. Instead of listening to
you, I tell you, that from this day forward I will give that
great man a pension of a thousand sequins per month for his life;
nay, though I did share with him all my riches and dominions, I
should never pay him enough for what he has done me; I perceive
it to be his virtue that raises your envy; but do not think that
I will be unjustly possessed with prejudice against him; I
remember too well what a vizier said to King Sinbad, his master,
to prevent his putting to death the prince his son. But, sir,
says Scheherazade, day-light appears, which forbids me to go
further.
I am very well pleased that the Grecian king, says Dinarzade, had
so much firmness of spirit as to reject the false accusation of
his vizier. If you commend the firmness of that prince to-day,
says Scheherazade, you will as much condemn his weakness
to-morrow, if the sultan be pleased to allow me time to finish
this story. The sultan, being curious to hear wherein the Grecian
king discovered his weakness, did further delay the death of the
sultaness.
The Fourteenth Night.
An hour before day, Dinarzade awaked her sister, and says to her,
you will certainly be as good as your word, madam, and tell us
out the story of the fisherman. To assist your memory, I will
tell you where you left off; it was where the Grecian king
maintained the innocence of his physician Douban against his
vizier. I remember it, says Scheherazade, and am ready to give
you satisfaction.
Sir, continues she, addressing herself to Schahriar, that which
the Grecian king said about King Sinbad raised the vizier's
curiosity, who says to him, Sir, I pray your majesty to pardon
me, if I have the boldness to demand of you what the vizier of
King Sinbad said to his master to divert him from cutting off the
prince his son. The Grecian king had the complaisance to satisfy
him: That vizier, says he, after having represented to King
Sinbad that he ought to beware lest, on the accusation of a
mother-in-law, he should commit an action which he might
afterwards repent of, told him this story.