"Blessed be Almighty God, who hath done me so much good. His mercies
are without end, nor are they shortened or hindered by the sins of
men." The niece, hearkening very attentively to these words of her
uncle, and finding more sense in them than there was wont to be in his
talk, at least since he had fallen ill, asked him, "What is that you
say, sir; has anything fresh happened? What mercies are these or what
sins of men?"--"The mercies, niece," answered Don Quixote, "are those
that heaven has this moment vouchsafed to me, which, as I said, my
sins do not prevent. My judgment is now free and clear, and the murky
clouds of ignorance removed, which my painful and continual reading of
those detestable books of knight-errantry cast over me. Now I perceive
their nonsense and deceit, and am only sorry the discovery happens so
late, when I want time to make some amends by reading others that
would enlighten my soul. I find, niece, that I am at the point of
death; and I would meet it in such a manner as to show that my life
has not been so evil as to leave me the character of a madman. Send,
my dear, for my good friends the curate, the bachelor Samson Carrasco,
and Master Nicholas the barber, for I wish to confess and make my
will." But this trouble the niece was saved by the entrance of the
three. Don Quixote had scarcely seen them when he said, "Largess, good
gentlemen, for I am no longer Don Quixote de la Mancha, but Alonso
Quixano, the same whom my behavior gave the surname of Good. I am now
an enemy to Amadis de Gaul and all the endless crowd of his
descendants; all the profane stories of knight-errantry are now
hateful to me. I have a sense of my folly and the danger I have run by
having read them; and now, through heaven's mercy and my own
experience, I abhor them." When the three heard this, they concluded
without doubt some new frenzy had possessed him, and Samson said to
him, "Now, Signor Don Quixote, when we have just had news that the
Lady Dulcinea is disenchanted, do you come out with this? and now we
are upon the point of turning shepherds, to spend our lives singing
like princes, do you wish to make yourself a hermit? Peace, on your
life; come to yourself and leave idle tales."
"Those which hitherto have been true, to my prejudice," replied Don
Quixote, "my death, with the assistance of heaven, shall turn to my
advantage. I perceive, sirs, that I am dying with all speed. Put aside
jests, and fetch me a confessor to confess me, and a scrivener to draw
up my will, for in such straits as this a man must not play with his
soul; and I beg that whilst Master Curate confesses me a scrivener may
be fetched."
They stared at one another, wondering at Don Quixote's words, and
though in doubt they were inclined to believe him. And one of the
signs by which they conjectured that he would die was his having
changed so quickly from a madman to a sane person; for to the words
already said he added many others so well spoken, so Christian, and so
connected that they came, withal, to lose their doubts and to believe
that he was sane. The curate made all the people leave the room, and
stayed alone with him and confessed him. The bachelor went for the
scrivener, and presently returned with him and with Sancho Panza, who,
being informed by the bachelor in what state his master was, and
finding the housekeeper and the niece in tears, began to make wry
faces and fall a-crying. The confession was ended and the curate came
out saying, "Certainly about to die and certainly in his senses is
Alonso Quixano the Good; we had best go in, that he may make his
will." These tidings were a terrible blow to the swollen eyes of the
housekeeper, the niece, and Sancho Panza, his good squire, so that it
made the tears burst out of their eyes, and a thousand profound sighs
from their hearts; for indeed, as on some occasion has been observed,
whilst Don Quixote was plain Alonso Quixano the Good, and whilst he
was Don Quixote de la Mancha, he was ever of pleasant humor and
agreeable behavior, and therefore he was beloved not only by his
family, but by every one that knew him.
The scrivener, with the rest, went in, and after he had made the
preamble of the will, and Don Quixote had disposed of his soul with
all those Christian circumstances that are requisite, he came to the
legacies, and said:--
"Item, it is my will that of certain moneys that Sancho Panza (whom in
my madness I made my squire) holds, inasmuch as there have been
between him and me certain accounts, both payments and receipts, there
shall be no charge made, nor account demanded of him; but that if any
shall remain over after he has paid himself what I owe him, the
residue shall be his; it can be but small, and may it do him much
good. And if, when I was mad, I was a party to making him governor of
the island, I would now, in my right senses, give him the government
of a kingdom, were it in my power, for the simplicity of his
disposition and the fidelity of his character deserve it." And turning
to Sancho he said, "Pardon me, my friend, that I have given thee
occasion to appear mad like myself, making thee fall into the error in
which I fell that there have been and are knights-errant in the
world."--"Woe's me!" replied Sancho, all in tears, "do not die, dear
master, but take my counsel, and live on a many years; the maddest
thing a man can do in this life is to let himself die without any more
ado, without being killed by anybody or finished by any other hands
but those of melancholy. See you do not be slothful, but get up from
this bed, and let us be off to the fields in our shepherd's clothing,
as we had agreed. Who knows but behind some bush we may find the Lady
Donna Dulcinea disenchanted, as fine a sight as there is to be seen?
If it is that you will die of vexation at being conquered, lay the
blame upon me, and say that through my not girting Rozinante well,
they overthrew him. Especially as you will have seen in your books of
chivalry that it is a common thing for one knight to overthrow
another, and for him who is conquered to-day to be conqueror
to-morrow."--"It is so," said Samson, "and honest Sancho is very much
to the point in these matters."--"Soft and fair, gentlemen," said Don
Quixote; "never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last:
I was mad, and now I am in my senses; I was Don Quixote de la Mancha,
and I am now (as I said before) Alonso Quixano the Good; may my
repentance and my truth restore me to the same esteem you had for me
before; and so let master scrivener go on.
"Item, I bequeath all my estate without reserve to Antonia Quixana, my
niece here present, having first deducted from such of it as is best
in condition what shall be necessary to discharge the bequests that I
have made; and the first payment that she makes I desire to be that of
the salary due to my housekeeper, for the time that she has served me,
with twenty ducats more for a dress. I appoint Master Curate and
Master Bachelor Samson Carrasco, here present, to be my executors.
"Item, it is my will that if my niece Antonia Quixana be inclined to
marry, she marry a man of whom she shall first have evidence that he
does not know what books of chivalry are; and in case it shall appear
that he does know, and nevertheless my niece shall wish to marry him
and does so marry, she is to forfeit all that I have bequeathed to
her, which my executors are empowered to dispose of in pious works, as
they shall think proper.
"Item, I entreat the said gentlemen, my executors, that if by good
fortune they come to know the author who is said to have composed a
story which goes by the title of "The Second Part of the Achievements
of Don Quixote de la Mancha," they most heartily beg his pardon from
me, for being undesignedly the occasion of his writing so many and
such great follies as he has written in it; for I quit this life with
regret for having given him a motive for writing them."
Herewith finished the will, and, falling into a swoon, he lay at full
length in the bed. They were all alarmed, and ran to his assistance;
and for the space of three days that he lived after he had made his
will he fainted continually.
The whole family was in confusion; and yet, for all that, the niece
ate, the housekeeper drank, and Sancho Panza cheered himself; for this
matter of inheriting somewhat effaces or alleviates in the inheritor
the thought of sorrow that it is natural for a dead man to leave
behind.
In short, Don Quixote's last day came, after he had received all the
sacraments, and, by many and weighty arguments, showed his abhorrence
of the books of knight-errantry. The scrivener, who was by, said he
had never read in any book of chivalry of any knight-errant who had
ever died in his bed so quietly and like a good Christian as Don
Quixote, who, amidst the compassion and tears of those who were by,
gave up the ghost, or, to speak plainly, died; which, when the curate
perceived, he desired the scrivener to give him a certificate, how
Alonso Quixano the Good, commonly called Don Quixote de la Mancha, had
departed out of this present life, and died a natural death. This
testimony he desired, to remove opportunity from any other author but
Cid Hamet Benengeli to falsely resuscitate him, and write endless
histories of his adventures.
This was the end of the INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN OF LA MANCHA, whose native
place Cid Hamet has not thought fit precisely to mention, with design
that all the towns and villages in La Mancha should contend amongst
themselves for the honor of adopting and keeping him as their own, as
the seven cities of Greece did for Homer. We omit here the
lamentations of Sancho, of Don Quixote's niece and the housekeeper,
and the new epitaphs upon his tomb; but Samson Carrasco set this upon
it:--
"A valiant gentleman lies here,
So brave that, to his latest breath,
Immortal glory was his care,
And made him triumph over death.
Of small account he held the world,
Whose fears its ridicule belied;
And if he like a madman lived,
At least he like a wise one died."
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP
I
In one of the large and rich cities of China there once lived a tailor
named Mustapha. He was so poor that by the hardest daily labor he
could barely support himself and his family, which consisted only of
his wife and a son.
This son, Aladdin, was a very careless, idle, and disobedient fellow.
He would leave home early in the morning and play all day in the
streets and public places. When he was old enough, his father tried to
teach him the tailor's trade, but Mustapha no sooner turned his back
than the boy was gone for the day. He was frequently punished, but in
vain; and at last the father gave him up as a hopeless idler, and in a
few months died of the grief Aladdin caused him.
The boy, now free from restraint, became worse than ever. Until he was
fifteen, he spent all his time with idle companions, never thinking
how useless a man this would make of him. Playing thus with his evil
mates one day, a stranger passing by stood to observe him.
The stranger was a person known as the African magician. Only two days
before, he had arrived from Africa, his native country; and, seeing in
Aladdin's face something that showed the boy to be well fitted for his
purposes, he had taken pains to learn all that he could find out about
him.
"Child," he said to Aladdin, calling him aside, "was not your father
called Mustapha the tailor?"
"Yes, sir," answered the boy; "but he has been dead a long time."
Then the African magician embraced Aladdin and kissed him, saying with
tears in his eyes, "I am your uncle. I knew you at first sight; you
are so like my dear brother." Then he gave the boy a handful of money,
and said, "Give my love to your mother, and tell her that I will visit
her to-morrow, that I may see where my good brother lived and died."
"You have no uncle," said Aladdin's mother when she had heard his
story. "Neither your father nor I ever had a brother."
Again the next day the magician found Aladdin playing in the streets,
and embraced him as before, and put two pieces of gold into his hand,
saying, "Carry this to your mother. Tell her I shall come to sup with
you to-night; but show me first where you live."
This done, Aladdin ran home with the money, and all day his mother
made ready to receive their guest. Just as they began to fear that he
might not find the house, the African magician knocked at the door,
and came in, bringing wine and fruits of every sort. After words of
greeting to them both, he asked only to be placed where he might face
the sofa on which Mustapha used to sit.
"My poor brother!" he exclaimed. "How unhappy am I, not to have come
soon enough to give you one last embrace!"
Then he told Aladdin's mother how he had left their native land of
China forty years ago, had traveled in many lands, and finally settled
in Africa. The desire had seized him to see his brother and his home
once more, and therefore he had come, alas! too late.
When the widow wept at the thought of her husband, the African
magician turned to Aladdin and asked, "What business do you follow?
Are you of any trade?"
The boy hung his head, and his mother added to his shame by saying,
"Aladdin is an idle fellow. He would not learn his father's trade, and
now will not heed me, but spends his time where you found him, in the
streets. Unless you can persuade him to mend his ways, some day I must
turn him out to shift for himself."
Again the widow wept, and the magician said,--
"This is not well, nephew. But there are many trades beside your
father's. What say you to having a shop, which I will furnish for you
with fine stuffs and linens? Tell me freely."
This seemed an easy life, and Aladdin, who hated work, jumped at the
plan. "Well, then," said the magician, "come with me to-morrow, and,
after clothing you handsomely, we will open the shop."
Soon after supper the stranger took his leave. On the next day he
bought the boy his promised clothes, and entertained him with a
company of merchants at his inn. When he brought Aladdin home to his
mother at night, she called down many blessings on his head for all
his kindness.
Early the next morning the magician came for Aladdin, saying they
would spend that day in the country, and on the next would buy the
shop. So away they walked through the gardens and palaces outside one
of the gates of the city. Each palace seemed more beautiful than the
last, and they had gone far before Aladdin thought the morning half
gone. By the brink of a fountain they rested, and ate the cakes and
fruit which the magician took from his girdle. At the same time he
gave the boy good advice about the company he should keep. On they
went again after their repast, still farther into the country, till
they nearly reached the place, between two mountains, where the
magician intended to do the work that had brought him from Africa to
China.
"We will go no farther now," said he to Aladdin. "I will show you here
some strange things. While I strike a light, gather me all the loose,
dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with."
There was soon a great heap of them, and when they were in a blaze the
magician threw in some incense, and spoke magical words which Aladdin
did not understand.
This was scarcely done when the earth opened just before the magician,
and they both saw a stone with a brass ring fixed in it. Aladdin was
so frightened that he would have run away, but the magician seized him
and gave him a box on the ear that knocked him down.
"What have I done, to be treated so?" cried Aladdin, trembling.
"I am your uncle," was the answer; "I stand in your father's place;
make no replies. But, child," he added, softening, "do not be afraid.
I shall ask nothing but that you obey me promptly, if you would have
the good things I intend for you. Know, then, that under this stone
there is a treasure that will make you richer than the greatest
monarch on earth. No one but yourself may lift this stone or enter the
cave; so you must do instantly whatever I command, for this is a
matter of great importance to both of us."
"Well, uncle, what is to be done?" said Aladdin, losing his fear.
"Take hold of the ring and lift up that stone."
"Indeed, uncle, I am not strong enough; you must help me."
"No," said the magician; "if I help you we can do nothing. Lift it
yourself, and it will come easily." Aladdin obeyed, raised the stone
with ease, and laid it on one side.
When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a staircase about three
or four feet deep, leading to a door. "Descend, my son," said the
magician, "and open that door. It will lead you into a palace divided
into three great halls. Before you enter the first, tuck up your robe
with care. Pass through the three halls, but never touch the walls,
even with your clothes. If you do you will die instantly. At the end
of the third hall you will find a door opening into a garden planted
with trees loaded with fine fruit. Walk directly across the garden to
a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in the niche a
lighted lamp. Take it down and put it out. Throw away the wick and
pour out the liquor, which is not oil and will not hurt your clothes;
then put the lamp into your waistband and bring it to me." The
magician then took a ring from his finger and put it on Aladdin's,
saying, "This is a talisman against all evil, so long as you obey me.
Go, therefore, boldly, and we shall both be rich all our lives."
Aladdin descended, found all to be as the magician had said, and
carefully obeyed his orders. When he had put the lamp into his
waistband, he wondered at the beauty of the fruit in the garden,
white, red, green, blue, purple, yellow, and of all other colors, and
gathered some of every sort. The fruits were really precious jewels;
but Aladdin, ignorant of their immense value, would have preferred
figs, grapes, or pomegranates. Nevertheless, he filled two purses his
uncle had given him, besides the skirts of his vest, and crammed his
bosom as full as it would hold.
Then he returned with extreme care, and found the magician anxiously
waiting.
"Pray, uncle," he said, "lend me your hand to help me out."
"Give me the lamp first," replied the magician. "It will be
troublesome to you."
"Indeed, uncle, I cannot now, but I will as soon as I am up."
The magician was bent on taking it at once from his hand, but the boy
was so laden with his fruit that he flatly refused to give it over
before getting out of the cave. This drove the magician into such a
passion that he threw more incense into the fire, spoke two magical
words, and instantly the stone moved back into its place, with the
earth above it, as it had been when they first reached the spot.
Aladdin now saw that he had been deceived by one who was not his
uncle, but a cruel enemy. In truth, this man had learned from his
magic books about the secret and value of the wonderful lamp, which
would make him richer than any earthly ruler if he could but receive
it freely given into his hands by another person. He had chosen
Aladdin for this purpose, and when it failed he set out immediately on
his return to Africa, but avoided the town, that none might ask him
what had become of the boy.
II
Aladdin was indeed in a sorry plight. He called for his uncle, but in
vain. The earth was closed above him, and the palace door at the foot
of the steps. His cries and tears brought him no help. At last he
said, "There is no strength or power but in the great and high God;"
and in joining his hands to pray he rubbed the ring which the magician
had put on his finger. Instantly a genie of frightful aspect appeared
and said, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee. I serve
him who possesses the ring on thy finger,--I and the other slaves of
that ring."
At another time Aladdin would have been frightened at the sight of
such a figure; but his danger gave him courage to say, "Whoever thou
art, deliver me from this place."
He had no sooner spoken these words than he found himself outside the
cave, of which no sign was to be seen on the surface of the earth. He
lost no time in making his way home, where he fainted from weakness,
and afterwards told his mother of his strange adventure. They were
both very bitter against the cruel magician, but this did not prevent
Aladdin from sleeping soundly until late the next morning. As there
was nothing for breakfast, he bethought him of selling the lamp in
order to buy food. "Here it is," said his mother, "but it is very
dirty. If I rub it clean I believe it will bring more."
No sooner had she begun to rub it than a hideous genie of gigantic
size appeared before her, and said in a voice of thunder, "What
wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave
of all those who have the lamp in their hands,--I and the other slaves
of the lamp."
In terror at the sight, Aladdin's mother fainted; but the boy, who had
already seen a genie, said boldly, "I am hungry; bring me something to
eat."
[Illustration: NO SOONER HAD SHE BEGUN TO RUB IT THAN A HIDEOUS GENIE
OF GIGANTIC SIZE APPEARED BEFORE HER AND SAID IN A VOICE OF THUNDER:
"WHAT WOULD'ST THOU HAVE? I AM READY TO OBEY THEE AS THY SLAVE, AND THE
SLAVE OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE THE LAMP IN THEIR HANDS,--I AND THE OTHER
SLAVES OF THE LAMP." IN TERROR AT THE SIGHT ALADDIN'S MOTHER FAINTED,
BUT THE BOY, WHO HAD ALREADY SEEN A GENIE, SAID BOLDLY, "I AM HUNGRY;
BRING ME SOMETHING TO EAT"]
The genie disappeared, and returned in an instant with a large silver
tray, holding twelve covered silver dishes filled with tempting
viands, six large white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of
wine, and two silver cups. All these he placed upon a carpet, and
disappeared before Aladdin's mother had come out of her swoon.
When she was herself again, they satisfied their hunger, and still
there was enough food for the rest of that day and two meals on the
next. This they put aside, and Aladdin's mother made him tell of all
that had passed between him and the genie during her swoon. The simple
woman thought it all a dangerous and wicked business, and begged
Aladdin to sell both the lamp and the ring; but he persuaded her to
let him keep them both, on the condition that she should have nothing
to do with genies again.
When they had eaten all the food left from the feast the genie
brought, Aladdin sold the silver plates one by one to a Jew, who
cheated him by paying but a small part of their value, and yet made
the boy think himself rich. The tray he sold last, and when the money
it brought was spent he rubbed the lamp again, and again the genie
appeared, and provided the mother and son with another feast and other
silver dishes. These kept them in funds for some time longer,
especially as Aladdin had the good fortune to meet with an honest
goldsmith, who paid him the full value of the metal. Aladdin, all the
while, by visiting the shops of merchants, was gaining knowledge of
the world and a desire to improve himself. From the jewelers he came
to know that the fruits he had gathered when he got the lamp were not
merely colored glass, but stones of untold value, the rarest in the
city. This, however, he had the prudence not to tell to any one, even
his mother.
III
One day, as Aladdin was walking about the town, he heard an order
proclaimed that the people should close their shops and houses and
keep within doors while the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, the Sultan's
daughter, should go to the bath and return. Aladdin was filled with an
eager desire to see the face of the princess, and contrived to place
himself behind the door of the bath. When she was a few paces away
from it she removed her veil, and Aladdin saw for a moment one of the
most beautiful faces in the world. When she passed by him he quitted
his hiding-place, and went home thoughtful and grave.
"Are you ill?" asked his mother.
"No," he answered, "but I love the princess more than I can express,
and am resolved that I will ask her in marriage of the Sultan."
His mother thought him mad, but Aladdin said, "I have the slaves of
the lamp and the ring to help me," and then told her for the first
time what riches he possessed in the jewels brought from the
underground palace. "These," he said, "will secure the favor of the
Sultan. You have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it,
and let us see how they will look when we have arranged them according
to their different colors."
Their eyes were dazzled by the splendor of the jewels when they were
arranged in the dish, and Aladdin's mother consented at once to take
them to the Sultan, and ask his daughter's hand for her son.
Early the next morning she wrapped the dish in two fine napkins and
set out for the palace. Though the crowd was great, she made her way
into the divan, or audience hall, and placed herself just before the
Sultan, the Grand Vizier, and other lords who sat beside him. But
there were many cases for him to hear and judge, and her turn did not
come that day. She told Aladdin that she was sure the Sultan saw her,
and that she would try again.
For six days more she carried the jewels to the divan, and stood in
the same place. On the sixth the Sultan, as he was leaving the hall,
said to the Grand Vizier, "For some time I have observed a certain
woman standing near me every day with something wrapped in a napkin.
If she comes again, do not fail to call her, that I may hear what she
has to say."
On the next day, therefore, she was called forward. She bowed her head
till it touched the carpet on the platform of the throne. Then the
Sultan bade her rise and said,--
"Good woman, I have observed you many days. What business brings you
here?"
"Monarch of monarchs," she replied, "I beg you to pardon the boldness
of my petition."
"Well," said the Sultan, "I will forgive you, be it what it may, and
no hurt shall come to you. Speak boldly."
This gave her heart to tell the errand on which her son had sent her.
The Sultan listened without anger till she was done, and then asked
what she had brought tied up in the napkin. She took the china dish,
which she had set down at the foot of the throne, untied it, and
presented it to the Sultan.
His wonder knew no bounds when he looked upon the jewels. Not until he
received the gift from the woman's hands could he find words to say,
"How rich! how beautiful!"