Alnaschar, as long as our father lived, was very lazy; instead of
working for his living, he used to go a begging in the evening,
and to live upon what he got the next day. Our father died in a
very old age, and left among us seven hundred drams of silver,
which we equally divided; so that each of us had one hundred to
his share. Alnaschar, who never had so much money before in his
possession, was very much perplexed to know what he should do
with it; he consulted a long time with himself, and at last
resolved to lay it out in glasses, bottles, and other glass-work,
which he bought of a great merchant, He put them all in an open
basket, and chose a very little shop, where he sat with the
basket before him, and his back against the wall, expecting that
somebody would come and buy his ware. In this posture he sat with
his eyes fixed on his basket; and beginning to rave, spoke the
following words loud enough to be heard by a neighbour tailor:
This basket, said he, cost me one hundred drams, which are all I
have in the world; I shall make two hundred of it by retailing my
glass; and of these two hundred drams, which I will again lay out
in glass, I shall make four hundred; and, going on thus, I shall
make at last make four thousand drams; of four thousand I shall
easily make eight thousand; and when I come to ten thousand, I
will leave off selling glass, turn jeweller and trade in
diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of precious stones. Then, when I
am as rich as I can wish, I will buy a fine house, a great
estate, slaves, eunuchs, and horses: I will keep a good house,
make a great figure in the world, and will send for all the
musicians and dancers of both sexes in town. Nor will I stop
here; I will, by the favour of Heaven, go on till I get a hundred
thousand drams; and when I have got so much, I will think myself
as great as a prince, send to demand the grand vizier's daughter
in marriage, and represent to that minister that I have heard
very much of the wonderful beauty, modesty, wit, and all the
other qualities of his daughter; in a word, that I will give him
one thousand pieces of gold the first night we are married; and
if the vizier be so uncivil as to refuse his daughter, which
cannot be, I will go and take her before his face, and carry her
to my house, whether he will or no. As soon as I have married the
grand vizier's daughter, I will buy her ten young black eunuchs,
the handsomest that can be had; I will clothe myself like a
prince, and ride upon a fine horse, with a saddle of rich gold,
and housings of cloth, of gold, elegantly embroidered with
diamonds and pearls. I will march through the city, attended both
before and behind; and I will go to the vizier's palace, in the
view of all sorts of people, who will show me profound reverence.
When I alight at the foot of the vizier's stair-case, I will
ascend it in the presence of all my people, ranged in files on
the right and left; and the grand vizier, receiving me as his
son-in-law, shall give me his right hand, and set me above him,
to do me the more honour. If this comes to pass, as I hope it
will, two of my people shall have each of them a purse of a
thousand pieces of gold, which they shall carry with them. I will
take one, and presenting it to the grand vizier, will tell him,
There are the thousand pieces that I promised the first night of
marriage; and I will offer him the other, and say to him, there
are as many more, to show you that I am a man of my word, and
that I am better than my promise. After such an action as this,
all the world will speak of my generosity, and I will return to
my own house in the same pomp. My wife shall send to compliment
me by some officer, on account of the visit I made to her father:
I will honour the officer with a fine robe, and send him back
with a rich present. If she thinks to send me one, I will not
accept of it, but dismiss the bearer. I will not suffer her to go
out of her apartment, on any account whatever, without giving me
notice; and when I have a mind to go to her apartment, it shall
be in such a manner as to make her respect me. In short, no house
shall be better ordered than mine. I shall be always richly clad.
When I retire with my wife in the evening, I will sit on the
upper hand; I will assume a grave air, without turning my head to
the one side or to the other; I will speak little; and whilst my
wife, as beautiful as the full moon, stands before me in all her
ornaments, will feign as if I did not notice her. The women about
her will say to me, Our dear lord and master, here is your
spouse, your humble servant, before you; she expects you will
caress her, and is very much mortified that you do not so much as
vouchsafe to look upon her: she is wearied with standing so long;
bid her at least sit down. I will give no answer to this
discourse, which will increase their surprise and grief; they
will lay themselves at my feet; and, after they have done so a
considerable time, begging me to relent, I will at last lift up
my head, and give her a careless look. Afterwards I will return
to my former posture; and then will they think that my wife is
not well enough, nor handsome enough dressed, and will take her
to her closet to change her apparel. At the same time I will get
up and put on a more magnificent suit than before: they will
return and hold the discourse with me as before; and I shall have
the pleasure not so much as to look upon my wife, till they have
prayed and entreated as long as they did at first. Thus I will
begin, on the first day of marriage, to teach her what she is to
expect during the rest of her life.
After the ceremonies of the marriage are over, said Alnaschar, I
will take from one of my servants, who shall be about me, a purse
of five hundred pieces of gold, which I will give to the
tire-women, that they may leave me alone with my spouse. "When
they are retired, my wife shall go to bed first, and then I will
lie down beside her, with my back towards her, and will not speak
even one word to her the whole night. The next morning she will
certainly complain of my contempt of her, and of my pride, to her
mother, the grand vizier's wife, which will rejoice me extremely.
Her mother will then wait upon me, respectfully kiss my hands,
and say to me, Sir, (for she will not dare to call me her
son-in-law, for fear of provoking me by such familiarity), I pray
you not to disdain my daughter, by refusing to approach her: I
assure you that her chief study is to please you; and that she
loves you with all her heart. But my mother-in-law might as well
hold her peace; I will not make her the least answer, but keep my
gravity. Then she will prostrate herself at my feet, kiss them,
and say to me, Sir, is it possible that you can suspect my
daughter's chastity? I assure you that I never let her go out of
my sight. You are the first man that ever saw her face; do not,
then, mortify her so much. Do her the favour to look upon her, to
speak to her, and confirm her in her good intentions to satisfy
you in every thing. But nothing of this shall prevail; upon which
my mother-in-law will take a glass of wine, and, putting it into
the hand of her daughter, will say, Go, present him with this
glass of wine yourself; perhaps he will not be so cruel as to
refuse it from so fair a hand. My wife will come with the glass,
and stand trembling before me; and when she finds that I do not
look towards her, and that I continue my disdain, she will say to
me, with tears in her eyes, My heart! my dear soul! my amiable
lord! I conjure you, by the favours which Heaven bestows upon
you, to receive this glass of wine from the hand of your most
humble servant! But I will not look upon her still, nor answer
her. My charming spouse! she will then say, redoubling her tears,
and putting the glass to my mouth, I will never leave off till I
prevail with you to drink! Then, being fatigued with her
entreaties, I will dart a terrible look at her, give her a good
box on the cheek, and such a kick with my foot, as will throw her
quite off the alcove.
My brother was so full of these chimerical visions, that he acted
with his foot as if she had been really before him; and
unfortunately gave such a push against the basket and glasses,
that they were thrown down in the street, and broken in a
thousand pieces.
A tailor, who was his neighbour, and who had heard his
extravagant discourse, fell into a fit of laughter when he saw
the basket fall. O what an unworthy fellow art thou! said he to
my brother; ought you not to be ashamed to abuse thus a young
spouse, who gave you no cause to complain? You must be a very
brutish fellow to despise the tears and charms of such a
beautiful lady! Were I the vizier your father-in-law, I would
order you a hundred lashes with a bull's pizzle, and send you
through the town with your character written on your forehead. My
brother, on this fatal accident, came to himself; and perceiving
that he had brought this misfortune upon himself by his
unsupportable pride, beat his face, tore his clothes, and cried
so loud, that the neighbours came about him; and the people who
were going to their noon-prayers stopped to know what was the
matter. It being on a Friday, a greater number of people was
going to prayers than usual; some of them took pity on Alnaschar,
while others only laughed at his extravagance. In the mean time,
his vanity being dispersed, as well as his glasses, he bitterly
lamented his loss; and a lady of distinction passing by on a mule
with rich caparisons, my brother's condition excited her
compassion; she asked who he was, and what was the matter with
him; they told her that he was a poor man, who had laid out a
little money in buying a basket of glasses, and that the basket
falling, all his glasses were broken. The lady immediately turned
to an eunuch who attended her, and said to him, Give the poor man
what money you have about you. The eunuch obeying, put into my
brother's hand five hundred pieces of gold. Alnaschar was
transported with excess of joy on receiving them; he bestowed a
thousand blessings upon the lady, and shutting up his shop, where
he had no longer occasion to sit, he returned to his house.
Whilst he was seriously reflecting upon his good fortune, he
heard a knocking at the door; but, before he opened it, he
thought it prudent first to inquire who it was; when knowing it
to be a woman by her voice, he instantly admitted her. My son,
said she, I have a favour to beg of you: the hour of prayer is
come; be pleased, therefore, to let me wash myself, that I may be
fit to say my prayers. My brother looked at her, and saw that she
was a woman far advanced in years: though he knew her not, he
granted what she required, and then sat down again, being still
full of his new adventure. He put his gold into a long strait
purse, proper to carry at his girdle. The old woman, in the mean
time, said her prayers, and, when she had done, came to my
brother, and bowed twice to the ground, so low that she almost
touched it with her forehead; then raising herself up, she wished
my brother all manner of happiness, and thanked him for his
civility. Being meanly clad, and very humble to him, he thought
she asked alms, upon which he offered her two pieces of gold. The
old woman stepped back in a sort of surprise, as if my brother
had done her an injury. Heavens! said she, what is the meaning of
this? Is it possible, sir, said she, that you take me for an
impudent beggar? Did you think I came so boldly into your house
to ask alms? Take back your money; I have no need of it, thanks
to Heaven! I belong to a young lady of this city, who is a
charming beauty, and very rich; she does not let me want for any
thing.
My brother was not cunning enough to perceive the craft of the
old woman, who only refused the two pieces of gold that she might
catch more. He asked her if she could not procure him the honour
of seeing her lady. With all my heart, replied she, she will be
very well satisfied to marry, and to put you in possession of her
estate, by making you master of her person. Take up your money,
and follow me. My brother being ravished with his good luck of
finding so great a sum of money, and almost at the same time a
beautiful and rich wife, his eyes were shut to all other
considerations; so that he took his five hundred pieces of gold,
and followed the old woman. She walked before him, and he
followed at a distance, to the gate of a great house, where she
knocked. He came up to her just as a young Greek slave opened the
gate. The old woman made him enter first, went across a court
very well paved, and introduced him into a hall, the furniture of
which confirmed him in the good opinion he had conceived of the
mistress of the house. While the old woman went to acquaint the
lady, he sat down, and, the weather being hot, pulled off his
turban, and laid it by him. He speedily saw the young lady come
in, whose beauty and rich apparel perfectly surprised him. He got
up as soon as he saw her. The lady, with a smiling countenance,
prayed him to sit down again, and placed herself by him. She told
him she was very glad to see him; and, after having spoken some
engaging words, said, We do not sit here at our conveniency.
Come, give me your hand. At these words, she presented her's, and
carried him into an inner chamber, where she entertained him for
some time; then she left him, bidding him stay, and she would be
with him in a moment. He expected her; but, instead of the lady,
came in a great black slave, with a scimitar in his hand; and
looking upon my brother with a terrible aspect, said to him
fiercely, What have you to do here? Alnaschar was so full of fear
at the sight of the slave, that he had no power to answer. The
black stripped him, carried off his gold, and gave him several
cuts with his scimitar. My unhappy brother fell to the ground,
where he lay without motion, though he had still the use of his
senses. The black, thinking him to be dead, asked for salt; the
Greek slave brought him a basin full; they rubbed my brother's
wounds with it; who had so much command of himself,
notwithstanding the intolerable pain it put him to, that he lay
still without showing any sign of life. The black and the Greek
slave having retired, the old woman who drew my brother into the
snare, came and dragged him by the feet to a trap-door, which she
opened, and threw him into a place under ground, among the
corpses of several other people who had been murdered. He
perceived this as soon as he came to himself; for the violence of
his fall had taken away his senses. The salt rubbed into his
wounds preserved his life, and he recovered strength by degrees,
so as to be able to walk. After two days he opened the trap-door
during the night; and, finding a proper place in the court to
hide himself, continued there till break of day, when he saw the
cursed old woman open the gate, and go out to seek another prey.
He staid in the place some time after she went out, that she
might not see him, and then came to me for shelter, when he told
me of his adventures.
In a month he was perfectly cured of his wounds by medicines that
I gave him, and resolved to avenge himself of the old woman who
had put upon him such a barbarous cheat. To this end, he took a
bag, large enough to contain five hundred pieces of gold, and
filled it with pieces of glass.
My brother, continued the barber, one morning fastened the bag of
glass about him, disguised himself like an old woman, and took a
scimitar under his gown. He met the old woman walking through the
town to seek her prey: he went up to her, and, counterfeiting a
woman's voice, said, Cannot you lend me a pair of scales? I am a
woman newly come from Persia, have brought five hundred pieces of
gold with me, and would know if they will hold out according to
your weights. Good woman, answered the old hag, you could not
have applied to a more proper person. Follow me; I will bring you
to my son, who changes money, and will weigh them himself, to
save you the trouble. Let us make haste, for fear he be gone to
his shop. My brother followed her to the house where she carried
him the first time, and the Greek slave opened the door.
The old woman carried my brother to the hall, where she bid him
stay a moment till she called her son. The pretended son came,
and proved to be the villanous black slave. Come, old woman, said
he to my brother, rise and follow me. Having spoken thus, he went
before to bring him to the place where he designed to murder him.
Alnaschar got up, followed him, and, drawing his scimitar, gave
him such a dexterous blow on the neck, as to cut off his head,
which he took in one hand, and dragging the body with the other,
threw them both into the place under ground before mentioned. The
Greek slave, who was accustomed to the trade, came presently with
a basin of salt; but when she saw Alnaschar with the scimitar in
his hand, and without his veil, she laid down the basin, and
fled. But my brother overtaking her, cut off her head also. The
wicked old woman came running at the noise, and my brother
seizing her, said to her, Treacherous wretch! do not you know me?
Alas, sir, answered she, trembling, who are you? I do not
remember that I ever saw you. I am, said he, the person to whose
house you came the other day to wash and say your prayers.
Hypocritical hag! said he, do not you remember it? Then she fell
upon her knees to beg his pardon; but he cut her in four pieces.
There remained only the lady, who knew nothing of what had
passed. He sought her out, and found her in a chamber, where she
was ready to sink when she saw him. She begged her life, which he
generously granted. Madam, said he, how could you live with such
wicked people as I have now so justly revenged myself upon? I
was, said she, wife to an honest merchant; and the cursed old
woman, whose wickedness I did not know, used sometimes to come to
see me. Madam, said she one day, we have a very fine wedding at
our house, which you will be pleased to see, if you give us the
honour of your company. I was persuaded by her, put on my best
apparel, and took with me a hundred pieces of gold. I followed
her; she brought me to this house, where the black has kept me
since by force, and I have been three years here to my very great
sorrow. By the trade which the cursed black followed, replied my
brother, he must have gathered together a vast deal of riches.
There is so much, said she, that you will be made for ever, if
you can carry them off. Follow me, and you shall see them, said
she. Alnaschar followed her to a chamber, where she showed him
several coffers full of gold, which he beheld with admiration.
Go, said she, fetch people enough to carry it all off. My brother
needed not to be bid twice; he went out, but staid only till he
got ten men together, and he brought them with him, and was much
surprised to find the gate open, but more when he found the lady
and the coffers all gone; for she, being more diligent than he,
had carried them all away. However, being resolved not to return
empty-handed, he carried off all the goods he could find in the
house; which were a great deal more than enough to make up the
five hundred pieces of gold of which he was robbed; but, when he
went out of the house, he forgot to shut the gate. The
neighbours, who saw my brother and the porters come and go, went
and acquainted the magistrate with it; for they looked upon my
brother's conduct as suspicious. Alnaschar slept well enough all
night; but next morning, when he came out of his house, twenty of
the magistrate's men seized him. Come along with us, said they;
our master would speak with you. My brother prayed them to have
patience for a moment, and offered them a sum of money to let him
escape; but, instead of listening to him, they bound him, and
forced him to go along with them. They met in the street an old
acquaintance of my brother's, who stopped them a while, and asked
them why they seized my brother, and offered them a considerable
sum to let him escape, and to tell the magistrate that they could
not find him. But this would not do; so he was carried before the
magistrate.
When the officers brought him before the magistrate, he asked him
where he had the goods which he carried home last night? Sir,
replied Alnaschar, I am ready to tell you all the truth; but
allow me first to have recourse to your clemency, and to beg your
promise that nothing shall be done to me. I give it you, said the
magistrate. Then my brother told him the whole story without
disguise, from the time the old woman came into his house to say
her prayers, to the time the lady made her escape, after he had
killed the black, the Greek slave, and the old woman; and as for
what he had carried to his house, he prayed the judge to leave
him part of it for the five hundred pieces of gold that he was
robbed of.
The judge, without promising any thing, sent his officers to
bring all off; and, having put the goods into his own wardrobe,
commanded my brother to quit the town immediately, and never to
return; for he was afraid, if my brother had staid in the city,
he would have found some way to represent this injustice to the
caliph. In the mean time, Alnaschar obeyed without murmuring, and
left that town to go to another. By the way he met with
highwaymen, who stripped him naked; and when the ill news was
brought to me, I carried him a suit, and brought him in secretly
again to the town, where I took the like care of him as I did of
his other brothers.