Commander of the Faithful, that I may not repeat those things which
your majesty has already been informed of by my sister, I will only
mention that my mother, having taken a house to pass her widowhood in
private, first bestowed me in marriage on the heir of one of the
richest men in this city.
I had not been married quite a year before my husband died. I thus
became a widow, and was in possession of all his property, which
amounted to above ninety thousand sequins. When the first six months
of my mourning was over, I caused to be made for me ten different
dresses, of such magnificence that each came to a thousand sequins;
and at the end of the year I began to wear them.
One day, while I was alone, a lady[34] desired to speak to me. I gave
orders that she should be admitted. She was a very old woman. She
saluted me by kissing the ground, and said to me, kneeling, "Dear
lady, the confidence I have in your charity makes me thus bold. I
have an orphan daughter, whose wedding is on this night. She and I are
both strangers, and have no acquaintance in this town, which much
perplexes me. Therefore, most beautiful lady, if you would vouchsafe
to honor the wedding with your presence, we shall be infinitely
obliged, because the family with whom we shall be allied will then
know that we are not regarded here as unworthy and despised persons.
But, alas, madam, if you refuse this request, how great will be our
mortification! We know not where else to apply."
[Footnote 34: For the choice of a wife a man generally relies on his
mother, or some other near relation, or a professional female
betrother (who is called, _khatebeh_), for there are women who perform
this office for hire.--Lane's Notes to the _Arabian Nights_, Vol. I,
iv, p. 285.]
This poor woman's address, which she spoke with tears, moved my
compassion.
"Good woman," said I, "do not afflict yourself; I will grant you the
favor you desire. Tell me whither I must go, and I will meet you as
soon as I am dressed." The old woman was so transported with joy at my
answer that she kissed my feet before I had time to prevent her.
"Compassionate lady," said she, rising, "God will reward the kindness
you have shown to your servants, and make your heart as joyful as you
have made theirs. You need not at present trouble yourself; I will
call for you in the evening."
As soon as she was gone I took the suit I liked best, with a necklace
of large pearls, bracelets, pendants for my ears, and rings set with
the finest and most sparkling diamonds, and prepared to attend the
ceremony.
When the night closed in, the old woman called upon me, with a
countenance full of joy, and said, "Dear lady, the relations of my
son-in-law, who are the principal ladies of the city, are now met
together. You may come when you please; I am ready to conduct you."
We immediately set out; she walked before me, and I was followed by a
number of my women and slaves, richly robed for the occasion. We
stopped in a wide street, newly swept and watered, at a spacious gate
with a lamp, by the light of which I read this inscription, in golden
letters, over the entrance: "This is the continual abode of pleasure
and joy."
The old woman knocked, and the gate was opened immediately.
I was conducted toward the lower end of the court, into a large hall,
where I was received by a young lady of exceeding beauty. She drew
near, and after having embraced me, made me sit down by her upon a
sofa, on which was raised a throne of precious wood set with diamonds.
"Madam," said she, "you are brought hither to assist at a wedding; but
I hope it will be a different wedding from what you expected. I have a
brother, one of the handsomest men in the world. His fate depends
wholly upon you, and he will be the unhappiest of men if you do not
take pity on him. If my prayers, madam, can prevail, I shall join them
with his, and humbly beg you will not refuse the proposal of being his
wife."
After the death of my husband I had not thought of marrying again; but
I had no power to refuse the solicitation of so charming a lady. As
soon as I had given consent by my silence, accompanied with a blush,
the young lady clapped her hands, and immediately a curtain was
withdrawn, from behind which came a young man of so majestic an air,
and so graceful a countenance, that I thought myself happy to have
made such a choice. He sat down by me, and I found from his
conversation that his merits far exceeded the account of him given by
his sister.
When she perceived that we were satisfied with one another, she
clapped her hands a second time, and a cadi[35] with four witnesses,
entered, who wrote and signed our contract of marriage.
[Footnote 35: Marriage among the Mohammedans is an exclusively civil
ceremony; and therefore the cadi, a civil judge, and not an imaun, or
minister of religion, was summoned.]
There was only one condition that my new husband imposed upon me, that
I should not be seen by nor speak to any other man but himself; and he
vowed to me that, if I complied in this respect, I should have no
reason to complain of him. Our marriage was concluded and finished
after this manner; so I became the principal actress in a wedding to
which I had only been invited as a guest.
About a month after our marriage, having occasion for some stuffs, I
asked my husband's permission to go out to buy them, which he granted;
and I took with me the old woman of whom I spoke before, she being one
of the family, and two of my own female slaves.
When we came to the street where the merchants reside, the old woman
said, "Dear mistress, since you want silk stuffs, I must take you to a
young merchant of my acquaintance, who has a great variety; and that
you may not fatigue yourself by running from shop to shop, I can
assure you that you will find in his what no other can furnish." I was
easily persuaded, and we entered a shop belonging to a young merchant.
I sat down, and bade the old woman desire him to show me the finest
silk stuffs he had. The woman desired me to speak myself; but I told
her it was one of the articles of my marriage contract not to speak
to any man but my husband, which I ought to keep.
The merchant showed me several stuffs, of which one pleased me better
than the rest; and I bade her ask the price. He answered the old
woman: "I will not sell it for gold or money; but I will make her a
present of it, if she will give me leave to kiss her cheek."
I ordered the old woman to tell him that he was very rude to propose
such a freedom. But instead of obeying me, she said, "What the
merchant desires of you is no such great matter; you need not speak,
but only present him your cheek."
The stuff pleased me so much that I was foolish enough to take her
advice. The old woman and my slaves stood up, that nobody might see,
and I put up my veil;[36] but instead of kissing me, the merchant bit
me so violently as to draw blood.
[Footnote 36: "No woman, of what rank soever, is permitted to go into
the streets without two muslins; one that covers her face all but her
eyes, and another that hides the whole dress of her head, and hangs
halfway down her back. Their shapes are also wholly concealed by a
thing they call a _ferigee_, which no woman appears without. This has
straight sleeves, that reach to their finger ends, and it laps all
round them, not unlike a riding-hood. In winter it is of cloth, and in
summer, of plain stuff or silk."--Lady M. W. Montague's _Letters_,
Vol. VII, p. 373.]
The pain and my surprise were so great that I fell down in a swoon,
and continued insensible so long that the merchant had time to escape.
When I came to myself I found my cheek covered with blood. The old
woman and my slaves took care to cover it with my veil, and the people
who came about us could not perceive it, but supposed I had only had a
fainting fit.
The old woman who accompanied me being extremely troubled at this
accident, endeavored to comfort me.
"My dear mistress," said she, "I beg your pardon, for I am the cause
of this misfortune, having brought you to this merchant, because he
is my countryman; but I never thought he would be guilty of such a
villainous action. But do not grieve. Let us hasten home, and I will
apply a remedy that shall in three days so perfectly cure you that not
the least mark shall be visible."
The pain had made me so weak that I was scarcely able to walk. But at
last I got home, where I again fainted, as I went into my chamber.
Meanwhile, the old woman applied her remedy. I came to myself, and
went to bed.
My husband came to me at night, and seeing my head bound up, asked me
the reason. I told him I had the headache, which I hoped would have
satisfied him; but he took a candle, and saw my cheek was hurt.
"How comes this wound?" he said.
Though I did not consider myself as guilty of any great offense, yet I
could not think of owning the truth. Besides, to make such an avowal
to a husband, I considered as somewhat indecorous.
I therefore said, "That as I was going, under his permission, to
purchase a silk stuff, a camel,[37] carrying a load of wood, came so
near to me in a narrow street, that one of the sticks grazed my cheek,
but had not done me much hurt."
"If that is the case," said my husband, "to-morrow morning, before
sunrise, the grand vizier Giafar shall be informed of this insolence,
and cause all the camel drivers to be put to death."
"Pray, sir," said I, "let me beg of you to pardon them, for they are
not guilty."
[Footnote 37: The streets of Eastern cities are often so narrow as to
be blocked up with a wide camel load, or to prevent two horsemen
riding abreast. This is the cause of those footmen who run before
great men to prepare the way for them.]
"How, madam," he demanded, "what, then, am I to believe? Speak; for I
am resolved to know the truth from your own mouth."
"Sir," I replied, "I was taken with a giddiness, and fell down, and
that is the whole matter."
At these words my husband lost all patience.
"I have," said he, "too long listened to your tales."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and in came three slaves. "Strike,"
said he; "cut her in two, and then throw her into the Tigris. This is
the punishment I inflict on those to whom I have given my heart, when
they falsify their promise."
I had recourse to entreaties and prayers; but I supplicated in vain,
when the old woman, who had been his nurse, coming in just at that
moment, fell down upon her knees and endeavored to appease his wrath.
"My son," said she, "since I have been your nurse, and brought you up,
let me beg you to consider, 'he who kills shall be killed,' and that
you will stain your reputation and forfeit the esteem of mankind."
She spoke these words in such an affecting manner, accompanied with
tears, that she prevailed upon him at last to abandon his purpose.
"Well, then," said he to his nurse, "for your sake I will spare her
life; but she shall bear about her person some marks to make her
remember her offense."
When he had thus spoken, one of the slaves, by his order, gave me upon
my sides and breast so many blows[38] with a little cane, that he
tore away both skin and flesh, which threw me into a swoon. In this
state he caused the same slaves, the executioners of his will, to
carry me into the house, where the old woman took care of me. I kept
my bed for four months. At last I recovered. The scars which, contrary
to my wish, you saw yesterday, have remained ever since.
[Footnote 38: The Mussulmans are allowed by the Koran to beat their
wives, so long as they do not make a bruise. The husband on this
occasion must have broken the law.
Some such permission was given by an English judge, Sir John Buller;
who declared the stick used must not be thicker than his thumb, from
whence he obtained the sobriquet of "Thumb Buller."]
As soon as I was able to walk and go abroad, I resolved to retire to
the house which was left me by my first husband, but I could not find
the site whereon it stood, as my second husband had caused it to be
leveled with the ground.
Being thus left destitute and helpless, I had recourse to my dear
sister Zobeide. She received me with her accustomed goodness, and
advised me to bear with patience my affliction, from which, she said,
none are free. In confirmation of her remark, she gave me an account
of the loss of the young prince her husband, occasioned by the
jealousy of her two sisters. She told me also by what accident they
were transformed into dogs; and in the last place, after a thousand
testimonials of her love toward me, she introduced me to my youngest
sister, who had likewise taken sanctuary with her after the death of
her mother; and we have continued to live together in the house in
which we received the guests whom your highness found assembled on
your visit last night.
* * * * *
The caliph publicly expressed his admiration of what he had heard, and
inquired of Zobeide, "Madam, did not this fairy whom you delivered,
and who imposed such a rigorous command upon you, tell you where her
place of abode was, or that she would restore your sisters to their
natural shape?"
"Commander of the Faithful," answered Zobeide, "the fairy did leave
with me a bundle of hair, saying that her presence would one day be of
use to me; and then, if I only burned two tufts of this hair, she
would be with me in a moment."
"Madam," demanded the caliph, "where is the bundle of hair?"
She answered, "Ever since that time I have been so careful of it that
I always carry it about me."
Upon which she pulled it out of the case which contained it, and
showed it to him.
"Well, then," said the caliph, "let us bring the fairy hither; you
could not call her in a better time, for I long to see her."
Zobeide having consented, fire was brought in, and she threw the whole
bundle of hair into it. The palace at that instant began to shake, and
the fairy appeared before the caliph in the form of a lady very richly
dressed.
"Commander of the Faithful," said she to the prince, "you see I am
ready to receive your commands. At your wish I will not only restore
these two sisters to their former shape, but I will also cure this
lady of her scars, and tell you who it was that abused her."
The caliph sent for the two dogs from Zobeide's house, and when they
came a glass of water was brought to the fairy by her desire. She
pronounced over it some words, which nobody understood; then, throwing
some part of it upon Amina and the rest upon the dogs, the latter
became two ladies of surprising beauty, and the scars that were upon
Amina disappeared.
After this the fairy said to the caliph, "Commander of the Faithful, I
must now discover to you the unknown husband you inquire after. He is
Prince Amin, your eldest son, who by stratagem brought this lady to
his house, where he married her. As to the blows he caused to be given
her, he is in some measure excusable; for this lady, his spouse, by
the excuses she made, led him to believe she was more in fault than
she really was."
At these words she saluted the caliph, and vanished.
The caliph, much satisfied with the changes that had happened through
his means, acted in such a manner as will perpetuate his memory to all
ages. First, he sent for his son Amin, and told him that he was
informed of his secret marriage and how he had ill-treated Amina upon
a very slight cause. Upon this, the prince, upon his father's
commands, received her again immediately.
After which Haroun al Raschid declared that he would give his own
heart and hand to Zobeide, and offered the other three sisters to the
calenders, sons of sultans, who accepted them for their brides with
much joy. The caliph assigned each of them a magnificent palace in the
city of Bagdad, promoted them to the highest dignities of his empire,
and admitted them to his councils.
The chief cadi of Bagdad being called, with witnesses, he wrote the
contracts of marriage; and the caliph, in promoting by his patronage
the happiness of many persons who had suffered such incredible
calamities, drew a thousand blessings upon himself.