I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, * As though the
hearing of his name I would decline;
And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; * Yet would my
soul within outflow in foods of brine:
Beauty's own prophet, he is all a miracle * Of heavenly grace,
and greatest shows his face for sign.[FN#201]
To prayer Bilбl-like cries that Mole upon his cheek * To ward
from pearly brow all eyes of ill design:[FN#202]
The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel * But after
Faith I can't at once turn Infidel.'
We were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings, and
the beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went on to
sing and to recite one after another, till ten had so done; when the
Lady Dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, chanted these
couplets,
'I swear by swayings of that form so fair, * Aye from thy parting
fiery
Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, * O bright as fullest
moon in blackest air!
Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne'er will cease * In light of
wine-cup all thy charms declare,
Amid the roses which with varied hues * Are to the myrtle-
bush[FN#203] a mere despair.'
When she had finished her verse I took the lute from her hands and,
playing a quaint and not vulgar prelude sang the following verses,
'Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; * Myself amid
thy thralls I willingly confess:
O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, * Pray that I
'scape those arrows shot with all thy stress!
Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire * Thy cheek hath
married, which for marvel I profess:
Thou art Sa'нr in heart of me and eke Na'нm;[FN#204] * Thou agro-
dolce, eke heart's sweetest bitterness.'
When she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then,
dismissing her slave women, she brought me to a most goodly place,
where they had spread us a bed of various colours. She did off her
clothes and I had a lover's privacy of her and found her a pearl
unpierced and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and never in my
born days spent I a more delicious night."—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed bin Ali
the Jeweller continued: "So I went in unto the Lady Dunya, daughter of
Yahya bin Khбlid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl unthridden and
a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and repeated these couplets,
'O Night here stay! I want no morning light; * My lover's face to
me is lamp and light:[FN#205]
As ring of ring-dove round his necks my arm; * And made my palm
his mouth-veil, and, twas right.
This be the crown of bliss, and ne'er we'll cease * To clip, nor
care to be in other plight.'
And I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and home,
till one day she said to me, 'O light of my eyes, O my lord Mohammed, I
have determined to go to the Hammam to day; so sit thou on this couch
and rise not from thy place, till I return to thee.' 'I hear and I
obey,' answered I, and she made me swear to this; after which she took
her women and went off to the bath. But by Allah, O my brothers, she
had not reached the head of the street ere the door opened and in came
an old woman, who said to me, 'O my lord Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah
biddeth thee to her, for she hath heard of thy fine manners and
accomplishments and skill in singing.' I answered, 'By Allah, I will
not rise from my place till the Lady Dunya come back.' Rejoined the old
woman, 'O my lord, do not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her
so as to make her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return
to thy place.' So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of
the Lady Zubaydah and, when I entered her presence she said to me, 'O
light of the eye, art thou the Lady Dunya's beloved?' 'I am thy
Mameluke, thy chattel,' replied I. Quoth she, 'Sooth spake he who
reported thee possessed of beauty and grace and good breeding and every
fine quality; indeed, thou surpassest all praise and all report. But
now sing to me, that I may hear thee.' Quoth I, 'Hearkening and
obedience;' so she brought me a lute, and I sang to it these couplets,
'The hapless lover's heart is of his wooing weary grown, * And
hand of sickness wasted him till naught but skin and bone
Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, *
But that same lover whose beloved cloth in the litters wone:
To Allah's charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents *
Whom my heart loves, albe my glance on her may ne'er be
thrown.
Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows;
* Yea sweet whatever cloth or saith to lover loved one!'
When I had finished my song she said to me, 'Allah assain thy body and
thy voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and
singing. But now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady Dunya come
back, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee.' Then I kissed the
ground before her and the old woman forewent me till I reached the door
whence I came. So I entered and, going up to the couch, found that my
wife had come back from the bath and was lying asleep there. Seeing
this I sat down at her feet and rubbed them; whereupon she opened her
eyes and seeing me, drew up both her feet and gave me a kick that threw
me off the couch,[FN#206] saying, 'O traitor, thou hast been false to
thine oath and hast perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou
wouldst not rise from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and
go to the Lady Zubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I
would pull down her palace over her head!' Then said she to her black
slave, 'O Sawбb, arise and strike off this lying traitor's head, for we
have no further need of him.' So the slave came up to me and, tearing a
strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes[FN#207] and would have
struck off my head;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed the
Jeweller continued: "So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip
from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck off my
head, but all her women, great and small, rose and came up to her and
said to her, 'O our lady, this is not the first who hath erred: indeed,
he knew not thy humour and hath done thee no offence deserving death.'
Replied she, 'By Allah, I must needs set my mark on him.' And she bade
them bash me; so they beat me on my ribs and the marks ye saw are the
scars of that fustigation. Then she ordered them to cast me out, and
they carried me to a distance from the house and threw me down like a
log. After a time I rose and dragged myself little by little to my own
place, where I sent for a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he
comforted me and did his best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I
went to the Hammam and, as my pains and sickness had left me, I
repaired to my shop and took and sold all that was therein. With the
proceeds, I bought me four hundred white slaves, such as no King ever
got together, and caused two hundred of them to ride out with me every
day. Then I made me yonder barge whereon I spent five thousand gold
pieces; and styled myself Caliph and appointed each of my servants to
the charge of some one of the Caliph's officers and clad him in
official habit. Moreover, I made proclamation, 'Whoso goeth
a-pleasuring on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head,
without ruth or delay;' and on such wise have I done this whole year
past, during which time I have heard no news of the lady neither
happened upon any trace of her." Then wept he copiously and repeated
these couplets,
"By Allah! while the days endure ne'er shall forget her I, * Nor
draw to any nigh save those who draw her to me nigh
Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me, * Laud
to her All-creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high,
She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain
* And ceaseth not my heart to yearn her mystery[FN#208] to
espy."
Now when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man's story and knew the
passion and transport and love lowe that afflicted him, he was moved to
compassion and wonder and said, "Glory be to Allah, who hath appointed
to every effect a cause!" Then they craved the young man's permission
to depart; which being granted, they took leave of him, the Caliph
purposing to do him justice meet, and him with the utmost munificence
entreat; and they returned to the palace of the Caliphate, where they
changed clothes for others befitting their state and sat down, whilst
Masrur the Sworder of High Justice stood before them. After awhile,
quoth the Caliph to Ja'afar, "O Wazir, bring me the young man'—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Two hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Caliph
to his Minister, "Bring me the young man with whom we were last night."
"I hear and obey," answered Ja'afar and, going to the youth, saluted
him, saying, "Obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful, the
Caliph Harun al-Rashid." So he returned with him to the palace, in
great anxiety by reason of the summons; and, going in to the King,
kissed ground before him; and offered up a prayer for the endurance of
his glory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his desires, for
the continuance of his beneficence and for the cessation of evil and
punishment; ordering his speech as best he might and ending by saying,
"Peace be on thee, O Prince of True Believers and Protector of the folk
of the Faith!" Then he repeated these two couplets,
"Kiss thou his fingers which no fingers are; * Keys of our daily
bread those fingers ken:
And praise his actions which no actions are, * But precious
necklaces round necks of men."
So the Caliph smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on
him with the eye of favour; then he bade him draw near and sit down
before him and said to him, "O Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to tell me
what befel thee last night, for it was strange and passing strange."
Quoth the youth, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful, give me the
kerchief of immunity, that my dread may be appeased and my heart
eased." Replied the Caliph, "I promise thee safety from fear and woes."
So the young man told him his story from first to last, whereby the
Caliph knew him to be a lover and severed from his beloved and said to
him, "Desirest thou that I restore her to thee?" "This were of the
bounty of the Commander of the Faithful," answered the youth and
repeated these two couplets.
"Ne'er cease thy gate be Ka'abah to mankind; * Long may its
threshold dust man's brow beseem!
That o'er all countries it may be proclaimed, * This is the Place
and thou art Ibrahim."[FN#209]
Thereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, "O
Ja'afar, bring me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir
Yahya bin Khбlid!" "I hear and I obey," answered he and fetched her
without let or delay. Now when she stood before the Caliph he said to
her, "Doss thou know who this is?"; and she replied, "O Commander of
the Faithful, how should women have knowledge of men?"[FN#210] So the
Caliph smiled and said, "O Dunya this is thy beloved, Mohammed bin Ali
the Jeweller. We are acquainted with his case, for we have heard the
whole story from beginning to end, and have apprehended its inward and
its outward; and it is no more hidden from me, for all it was kept in
secrecy." Replied she, "O Commander of the Faithful, this was written
in the Book of Destiny; I crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for
the wrong I have wrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour." At
this the Caliph laughed and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed
the marriage-contract between the Lady Dunya and her husband, Mohammed
Ali son of the Jeweller, whereby there betided them, both her and him
the utmost felicity, and to their enviers mortification and misery.
Moreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of his boon-companions, and they
abode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came to them the
Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And men also
relate the pleasant tale of
ALI THE PERSIAN.
It is said that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, being restless one night,
sent for his Wazir and said to him, "O Ja'afar, I am sore wakeful and
heavy-hearted this night, and I desire of thee what may solace my
spirit and cause my breast to broaden with amuse meet." Quoth Ja'afar,
"O Commander of the Faithful, I have a friend, by name Ali the Persian,
who hath store of tales and plea sent stories, such as lighten the
heart and make care depart." Quoth the Caliph, "Fetch him to me," and
quoth Ja'afar, "Hearkening and obedience;" and, going out from before
him, sent to seek Ali the Persian and when he came said to him, "Answer
the summons of the Commander of the Faithful." "To hear is to obey,"
answered Ali;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian
replied, "To hear is to obey;" and at once followed the Wazir into the
presence of the Caliph who bade him be seated and said to him, "O Ali,
my heart is heavy within me this night and it hath come to my ear that
thou hast great store of tales and anecdotes; so I desire of thee that
thou let me hear what will relieve my despondency and brighten my
melancholy." Said he, "O Commander of the Faithful, shall I tell thee
what I have seen with my eyes or what I have heard with my ears?" He
replied, "An thou have seen aught worth the telling, let me hear that."
Replied Ali: "Hearkening and obedience. Know thou, O Commander of the
Faithful, that some years ago I left this my native city of Baghdad on
a journey, having with me a lad who carried a light leathern bag.
Presently we came to a certain city, where, as I was buying and
selling, behold, a rascally Kurd fell on me and seized my wallet
perforce, saying, 'This is my bag, and all which is in it is my
property.' Thereupon, I cried aloud 'Ho Moslems,[FN#211] one and all,
deliver me from the hand of the vilest of oppressors!' But the folk
said, 'Come, both of you, to the Kazi and abide ye by his judgment with
joint consent.' So I agreed to submit myself to such decision and we
both presented ourselves before the Kazi, who said, 'What bringeth you
hither and what is your case and your quarrel?' Quoth I, 'We are men at
difference, who appeal to thee and make complaint and submit ourselves
to thy judgment.' Asked the Kazi, 'Which of you is the complainant?';
so the Kurd came forward[FN#212] and said, 'Allah preserve our lord the
Kazi! Verily, this bag is my bag and all that is in it is my swag. It
was lost from me and I found it with this man mine enemy.' The Kazi
asked, 'When didst thou lose it?'; and the Kurd answered, 'But
yesterday, and I passed a sleepless night by reason of its loss.' 'An
it be thy bag,' quoth the Kazi, 'tell me what is in it.' Quoth the
Kurd, 'There were in my bag two silver styles for eye-powder and
antimony for the eyes and a kerchief for the hands, wherein I had laid
two gilt cups and two candlesticks. Moreover it contained two tents and
two platters and two spoons and a cushion and two leather rugs and two
ewers and a brass tray and two basins and a cooking-pot and two water-
jars and a ladle and a sacking-needle and a she-cat and two bitches and
a wooden trencher and two sacks and two saddles and a gown and two fur
pelisses and a cow and two calves and a she-goat and two sheep and an
ewe and two lambs and two green pavilions and a camel and two
she-camels and a lioness and two lions and a she-bear and two jackals
and a mattress and two sofas and an upper chamber and two saloons and a
portico and two sitting-rooms and a kitchen with two doors and a
company of Kurds who will bear witness that the bag is my bag.' Then
said the Kazi to me, 'And thou, sirrah, what sayest thou?' So I came
forward, O Commander of the Faithful (and indeed the Kurd's speech had
bewildered me) and said, 'Allah advance our lord the Kazi! Verily,
there was naught in this my wallet, save a little ruined tenement and
another without a door and a dog house and a boys' school and youths
playing dice and tents and tent-ropes and the cities of Bassorah and
Baghdad and the palace of Shaddad bin Ad and an ironsmith's forge and a
fishing-net and cudgels and pickets and girls and boys and a thousand
pimps who will testify that the bag is my bag.' Now when the Kurd heard
my words, he wept and wailed and said, 'O my lord the Kazi, this my bag
is known and what is in it is a matter of renown; for in this bag there
be castles and citadels and cranes and beasts of prey and men playing
chess and draughts. Furthermore, in this my bag is a brood-mare and two
colts and a stallion and two blood-steeds and two long lances; and it
containeth eke a lion and two hares and a city and two villages and a
whore and two sharking panders and an hermaphrodite and two gallows
birds and a blind man and two wights with good sight and a limping
cripple and two lameters and a Christian ecclesiastic and two deacons
and a patriarch and two monks and a Kazi and two assessors, who will be
evidence that the bag is my bag.' Quoth the Kazi to me, 'And what sayst
thou, O Ali?' So, O Commander of the Faithful, being filled with rage,
I came forward and said, 'Allah keep our lord the Kazi!'"—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian
continued: "So being filled with rage, O Commander of the Faithful, I
came forward and said, 'Allah keep our lord the Kazi I had in this my
wallet a coat of mail and a broadsword and armouries and a thousand
fighting rams and a sheep-fold with its pasturage and a thousand
barking dogs and gardens and vines and flowers and sweet smelling herbs
and figs and apples and statues and pictures and flagons and goblets
and fair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts and
tumult and clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success,
which were robbers, and a company of daybreak-raiders with swords and
spears and bows and arrows and true friends and dear ones and Intimates
and comrades and men imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a
drum and flutes and flags and banners and boys and girls and brides (in
all their wedding bravery), and singing-girls and five Abyssinian women
and three Hindi maidens and four damsels of Al-Medinah and a score of
Greek girls and eighty Kurdish dames and seventy Georgian ladies and
Tigris and Euphrates and a fowling net and a flint and steel and
Many-columned Iram and a thousand rogues and pimps and horse-courses
and stables and mosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter and a
plank and a nail and a black slave with his flageolet and a captain and
a caravan leader and towns and cities and an hundred thousand dinars
and Cufa and Anbбr[FN#213] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty
storehouses for victuals and Gaza and Askalon and from Damietta to
Al-Sawбn[FN#214]; and the palace of Kisra Anushirwan and the kingdom of
Solomon and from Wadi Nu'umбn to the land of Khorasбn and Balkh and
Ispahбn and from India to the Sudбn. Therein also (may Allah prolong
the life of our lord the Kazi!) are doublets and cloths and a thousand
sharp razors to shave off the Kazi's beard, except he fear my
resentment and adjudge the bag to be my bag.' Now when the Kazi heard
what I and the Kurd avouched, he was confounded and said, 'I see ye
twain be none other than two pestilent fellows, atheistical-villains
who make sport of Kazis and magistrates and stand not in fear of
reproach. Never did tongue tell nor ear hear aught more extraordinary
than that which ye pretend. By Allah, from China to Shajarat Umm
Ghaylбn, nor from Fars to Sudan nor from Wadi Nu'uman to Khorasan, was
ever heard the like of what ye avouch or credited the like of what ye
affirm. Say, fellows, be this bag a bottomless sea or the Day of
Resurrection that shall gather together the just and unjust?' Then the
Kazi bade them open the bag; so I opened it and behold, there was in it
bread and a lemon and cheese and olives. So I threw the bag down before
the Kurd and ganged my gait." Now when the Caliph heard this tale from
Ali the Persian, he laughed till he fell on his back and made him a
handsome present.[FN#215] And men also relate a
TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.
It is said that Ja'afar the Barmecide was one night carousing with Al
Rashid, who said, "O Ja'afar, it hath reached me that thou hast bought
such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long sought her for she is
passing fair; and my heart is taken up with love of her, so do thou
sell her to me." He replied, "I will not sell her, O Commander of the
Faithful." Quoth he, "Then give her to me." Quoth the other, "Nor will
I give her." Then Al-Rashid exclaimed, "Be Zubaydah triply divorced an
thou shall not either sell or give her to me!" Then Ja'afar exclaimed,
"Be my wife triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!"
After awhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of
having fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device to
extricate themselves. Then said Al-Rashid, "None can help us in this
strait but Abъ Yъsuf."[FN#216] So they sent for him, and this was in
the middle of the night; and when the messenger reached him, he arose
in alarm, saying to himself, "I should not be sent for at this tide and
time, save by reason of some question of moment to Al-Islam." So he
went out in haste and mounted his she-mule, saying to his servant,
"Take the mule's nose-bag with thee; it may be she hath not finished
her feed; and when we come to the Caliph's palace, put the bag on her,
that she may eat what is left of her fodder, during the last of the
night." And the man replied, "I hear and obey." Now when the Imam was
admitted to the presence, Al-Rashid rose to receive him and seated him
on the couch beside himself (where he was wont to seat none save the
Kazi), and said to him, "We have not sent for thee at this untimely
time and tide save to advise us upon a grave matter, which is such and
such and wherewith we know not how to deal." And he expounded to him
the case. Abu Yusuf answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, this is the
easiest of things." Then he turned to Ja'afar and said, "O Ja'afar,
sell half of her to the Commander of the Faithful and give him the
other half; so shall ye both be quit of your oaths." The Caliph was
delighted with this and both did as he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid,
"Bring me the girl at once,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,