Khorasani thus pursued his tale:—So I said to the jeweller, “Give her
the necklace and set down the price to me.” Then she took it and went
away; but I followed her, till she came to the Tigris and boarded a boat
there, whereupon I signed with my hand to the ground, as who should say,
“I kiss it before thee.” She went off laughing, and I stood watching
her, till I saw her land and enter a palace, which when I considered, I
knew it for the palace of the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil. So I turned back, O
Commander of the Faithful, with all the cares in the world fallen on my
heart, for she had of me three thousand dinars, and I said to myself,
“She hath taken my wealth and ravished my wit, and peradventure I shall
lose my life for her love.” Then I returned home and told my mother all
that had befallen me, and she said, “O my son, beware how thou have to
do with her after this, or thou art lost.” When I went to my shop, my
factor in the drug-market, who was a very old man, came to me and said,
“O my lord, how is it that I see thee changed in case and showing marks
of chagrin? Tell me what aileth thee.” So I told him all that had
befallen me with her and he said, “O my son, this is indeed one of the
handmaidens of the palace of the Commander of the Faithful and haply she
is the Caliph’s favourite concubine: so do thou reckon the money as
spent for the sake of Almighty Allah[354] and occupy thyself no more
with her. An she come again, beware lest she have to do with thee and
tell me of this, that I may devise thee some device lest perdition
betide thee.” Then he fared forth and left me with a flame of fire in my
heart. At the end of the month behold, she came again and I rejoiced in
her with exceeding joy. Quoth she, “What ailed thee to follow me?”; and
quoth I, “Excess of passion that is in my heart urged me to this,” and I
wept before her. She wept for ruth of me and said, “By Allah, there is
not in thy heart aught of love-longing but in my heart is more! Yet how
shall I do? By Allah, I have no resource save to see thee thus once a
month.” Then she gave me a bill saying, “Carry this to such an one of
such a trade who is my agent and take of him what is named therein.” But
I replied, “I have no need of money; be my wealth and my life thy
sacrifice!” Quoth she, “I will right soon contrive thee a means of
access to me, whatever trouble it cost me.” Then she farewelled me and
fared forth, whilst I repaired to the old druggist and told him what had
passed. He went with me to the palace of Al-Mutawakkil which I knew for
that which the damsel had entered; but the Shaykh was at a loss for a
device. Presently he espied a tailor sitting with his prentices at work
in his shop, opposite the lattice giving upon the river bank and said to
me, “Yonder is one by whom thou shalt win thy wish; but first tear thy
pocket and go to him and bid him sew it up. When he hath done this, give
him ten dinars.” “I hear and obey,” answered I and taking with me two
pieces[355] of Greek brocade, went to the tailor and bade him make of
them four suits, two with long-sleeved coats and two without. When he
had finished cutting them out and sewing them, I gave him to his hire
much more than of wont, and he put out his hand to me with the clothes;
but I said, “Take them for thyself and for those who are with thee.” And
I fell to sitting with him and sitting long: I also bespoke of him other
clothes and said to him, “Hang them out in front of thy shop, so the
folk may see them and buy them.” He did as I bade him, and whoso came
forth of the Caliph’s palace and aught of the clothes pleased him, I
made him a present thereof, even to the doorkeeper. One day of the days
the tailor said to me, “O my son, I would have thee tell me the truth of
thy case; for thou hast bespoken of me an hundred costly suits, each
worth a mint of money, and hast given the most of them to the folk. This
is no merchant’s fashion, for a merchant calleth an account for every
dirham, and what can be the sum of thy capital that thou givest these
gifts and what thy gain every year? Tell me the truth of thy case, that
I may assist thee to thy desire;” presently adding, “I conjure thee by
Allah, tell me, art thou not in love?” “Yes,” replied I; and he said,
“With whom?” Quoth I, “With one of the handmaids of the Caliph’s
palace;” and quoth he, “Allah put them to shame! How long shall they
seduce the folk? Knowest thou her name?” Said I, “No;” and said he,
“Describe her to me.” So I described her to him and he cried, “Out on
it! This is the lutanist of the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil and his pet
concubine. But she hath a Mameluke[356] and do thou make friends with
him; it may be he shall become the means of thy having access to her.”
Now as we were talking, behold, out walked the servant in question from
the palace, as he were a moon on the fourteenth night; and, seeing that
I had before me the clothes which the tailor had made me, and they were
of brocade of all colours, he began to look at them and examine them.
Then he came up to me and I rose and saluted him. He asked, “Who art
thou?” and I answered, “I am a man of the merchants.” Quoth he, “Wilt
thou sell these clothes?”; and quoth I, “Yes.” So he chose out five of
them and said to me, “How much these five?” Said I, “They are a present
to thee from me in earnest of friendship between me and thee.” At this
he rejoiced and I went home and fetching a suit embroidered with jewels
and jacinths, worth three thousand dinars, returned therewith and gave
it to him. He accepted it and carrying me into a room within the palace,
said to me, “What is thy name among the merchants?” Said I, “I am a man
of them.[357]” He continued, “Verily I misdoubt me of thine affair.” I
asked, “Why so?” and he answered, “Because thou hast bestowed on me a
costly gift and won my heart therewith, and I make certain that thou art
Abu al-Hasan of Khorasan the Shroff.” With this I fell a-weeping, O
Prince of True Believers; and he said to me, “Why dost thou weep? By
Allah, she for whom thou weepest is yet more longingly in love with thee
than thou with her! And indeed her case with thee is notorious among all
the palace women. But what wouldst thou have?” Quoth I, “I would have
thee succour me in my calamity.” So he appointed me for the morrow and I
returned home. As soon as I rose next morning, I betook myself to him
and waited in his chamber till he came in and said to me, “Know that
yesternight when, after having made an end of her service by the Caliph,
she returned to her apartment, I related to her all that had passed
between me and thee and she is minded to foregather with thee. So stay
with me till the end of the day.” Accordingly I stayed with him till
dark, when the Mameluke brought me a shirt of gold-inwoven stuff and a
suit of the Caliph’s apparel and clothing me therein, incensed me[358]
and I became like the Commander of the Faithful. Then he brought me to a
gallery with rows of rooms on either side and said to me, “These are the
lodgings of the Chief of the slave-girls; and when thou passest along
the gallery, do thou lay at each door a bean, for ’tis the custom of the
Caliph to do this every night——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Mameluke
said to Abu Hasan, “When thou passest along the gallery set down at each
door a bean for ’tis the custom of the Caliph so to do, till thou come
to the second passage on thy right hand, when thou wilt see a door with
a marble threshold.[359] Touch it with thy hand or, an thou wilt, count
the doors which are so many, and enter the one whose marks are thus and
thus. There thy mistress will see thee and take thee in with her. As for
thy coming forth, verily Allah will make it easy to me, though I carry
thee out in a chest.” Then he left me and returned, whilst I went on,
counting the doors and laying at each a bean. When I had reached the
middle of the gallery, I heard a great clatter and saw the light of
flambeaux coming towards me. As the light drew near me, I looked at it
and behold, the Caliph himself, came surrounded by the slave-girls
carrying waxen lights, and I heard one of the women[360] say to another,
“O my sister, have we two Caliphs? Verily, the Caliph whose perfumes and
essences I smelt, hath already passed by my room and he hath laid the
bean at my door, as his wont; and now I see the light of his flambeaux,
and here he cometh with them.” Replied the other, “Indeed this is a
wondrous thing, for disguise himself in the Caliph’s habit none would
dare.” Then the light drew near me, whilst I trembled in every limb; and
up came an eunuch, crying out to the concubines and saying, “Hither!”
Whereupon they turned aside to one of the chambers and entered. Then
they came out again and walked on till they came to the chamber of my
mistress and I heard the Caliph say, “Whose chamber is this?” They
answered, “This is the chamber of Shajarat al-Durr.” And he said, “Call
her.” So they called her and she came out and kissed the feet of the
Caliph, who said to her, “Wilt thou drink to-night?” Quoth she, “But for
thy presence and the looking on thine auspicious countenance, I would
not drink, for I incline not to wine this night.” Then quoth the
Commander of the Faithful to the eunuch, “Bid the treasurer give her
such necklace;” and he commanded to enter her chamber. So the waxen
lights entered before him and he followed them into the apartment. At
the same moment, behold, there came up a damsel, the lustre of whose
face outshone that of the flambeau in her hand, and drawing near she
said, “Who is this?” Then she laid hold of me and carrying me into one
of the chambers, said to me, “Who art thou?” I kissed the ground before
her saying, “I implore thee by Allah, O my lady, spare my blood and have
ruth on me and commend thyself unto Allah by saving my life!”; and I
wept for fear of death. Quoth she, “Doubtless, thou art a robber;” and
quoth I, “No, by Allah, I am no robber. Seest thou on me the signs of
thieves?” Said she, “Tell me the truth of thy case and I will put thee
in safety.” So I said, “I am a silly lover and an ignorant, whom passion
and my folly have moved to do as thou seest, so that I am fallen into
this slough of despond.” Thereat cried she, “Abide here till I come back
to thee;” and going forth she presently returned with some of her
handmaid’s clothes wherein she clad me and bade me follow her; so I
followed her till she came to her apartment and commanded me to enter. I
went in and she led me to a couch, whereon was a mighty fine carpet, and
said, “Sit down here: no harm shall befal thee. Art thou not Abu
al-Hasan Ali the Khorasani, the Shroff?” I answered, “Yes,” and she
rejoined, “Allah spare thy blood given thou speak truth! An thou be a
robber, thou art lost, more by token that thou art dressed in the
Caliph’s habit and incensed with his scents. But, an thou be indeed Abu
al-Hasan, thou art safe and no hurt shall happen to thee, for that thou
art the friend of Shajarat al-Durr, who is my sister and ceaseth never
to name thee and tell us how she took of thee money, yet wast thou not
chagrined, and how thou didst follow her to the river bank and madest
sign as thou wouldst kiss the earth in her honour; and her heart is yet
more aflame for thee than is thine for her. But how camest thou hither?
Was it by her order or without it? She hath indeed imperilled thy
life[361]. But what seekest thou in this assignation with her?” I
replied, “By Allah, O my lady, ’tis I who have imperilled my own life,
and my aim in foregathering with her is but to look on her and hear her
pretty speech.” She said, “Thou hast spoken well;” and I added, “O my
lady, Allah is my witness when I declare that my soul prompteth me to no
offence against her honour.” Cried she, “In this intent may Allah
deliver thee! Indeed compassion for thee hath gotten hold upon my
heart.” Then she called her handmaid and said to her, “Go to Shajarat
al-Durr and say to her:—Thy sister saluteth thee and biddeth thee to
her; so favour her by coming to her this night, according to thy custom,
for her breast is straitened.” The slave-girl went out and presently
returning, told her mistress that Shajarat al-Durr said, “May Allah
bless me with thy long life and make me thy ransom! By Allah, hadst thou
bidden me to other than this, I had not hesitated; but the Caliph’s
migraine constraineth me and thou knowest my rank with him.” But the
other said to her damsel, “Return to her and say:—Needs must thou come
to my mistress upon a private matter between thee and her!” So the girl
went out again and presently returned with the damsel, whose face shone
like the full moon. Her sister met her and embraced her; then said she,
“Ho, Abu al-Hasan, come forth to her and kiss her hands!” Now I was in a
closet within the apartment; so I walked out, O Commander of the
Faithful, and when my mistress saw me, she threw herself upon me and
strained me to her bosom, saying, “How camest thou in the Caliph’s
clothes and his ornaments and perfumes? Tell me what hath befallen
thee.” So I related to her all that had befallen me and what I had
suffered for affright and so forth; and she said, “Grievous to me is
what thou hast endured for my sake and praised be Allah who hath caused
the issue to be safety, and the fulfilment of safety is in thy entering
my lodging and that of my sister.” Then she carried me to her own
apartment, saying to her sister, “I have covenanted with him that I will
not be united to him unlawfully; but, as he hath risked himself and
incurred these perils, I will be earth for his treading and dust to his
sandals!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the damsel
to her sister, “I have covenanted with him that I will not be united to
him unlawfully; but, as he hath risked himself and incurred these
perils, I will be earth for his treading and dust to his sandals!”
Replied her sister, “In this intent may Allah deliver him!”; and my
mistress rejoined, “Soon shalt thou see how I will do, so I may lawfully
foregather with him and there is no help but that I lavish my heart’s
blood to devise this.” Now as we were in talk, behold, we heard a great
noise and turning, saw the Caliph making for her chamber, so engrossed
was he by the thought of her; whereupon she took me, O Prince of True
Believers and hid me in a souterrain[362] and shut down the trap-door
upon me. Then she went out to meet the Caliph, who entered and sat down,
whilst she stood between his hands to serve him, and commanded to bring
wine. Now the Caliph loved a damsel by name Banjah, who was the mother
of Al-Mu’tazz bi ’llah[363]; but they had fallen out and parted; and in
the pride of her beauty and loveliness she would not make peace with
him, nor would Al-Mutawakkil, for the dignity of the Caliphate and the
kingship, make peace with her neither humble himself to her, albeit his
heart was aflame with passion for her, but sought to solace his mind
from her with her mates among the slave-girls and with going in to them
in their chambers. Now he loved Shajarat al-Durr’s singing: so he bade
her sing, when she took the lute and tuning the strings sang these
verses:—
The world-tricks I admire betwixt me and her; ✿ How, us parted, the
World would to me incline:
I shunned thee till said they, “He knows not Love;” ✿ I sought thee till
said they, “No patience is mine!”
Then, O Love of her, add to my longing each night ✿ And, O Solace, thy
comforts for Doomsday assign!
Soft as silk is her touch and her low sweet voice ✿ Twixt o’er much and
o’er little aye draweth the line:
And eyne whereof Allah said “Be ye!” and they ✿ Became to man’s wit like
the working of wine.
When the Caliph heard these verses, he was pleasured with exceeding
pleasure, and I also, O Commander of the Faithful, was pleasured in my
hiding-place, and but for the bounty of Almighty Allah, I had cried out
and we had been disgraced. Then she sang also these couplets:—
I embrace him, yet after him yearns my soul ✿ For his love, but can
aught than embrace be nigher?
I kiss his lips to assuage my lowe; ✿ But each kiss gars it glow with
more flaming fire;
’Tis as though my vitals aye thirst unquencht ✿ Till I see two souls
mixt in one entire.
The Caliph was delighted and said, “O Shajarat al-Durr, ask a boon of
me.” She replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, I ask of thee my
freedom, for the sake of the reward thou wilt obtain therein.[364]”
Quoth he, “Thou art free for the love of Allah;” whereupon she kissed
ground before him. He resumed, “Take the lute and sing me somewhat on
the subject of my slave-girl, of whom I am enamoured with warmest love:
the folk seek my pleasure and I seek hers.” So she took the lute and
sang these two couplets:—
My charmer who spellest my piety[365] ✿ On all accounts I’ll have thee,
have thee,
Or by humble suit which besitteth Love ✿ Or by force more fitting my
sovranty.
The Caliph admired these verses and said, “Now, take up thy lute and
sing me a song setting out my case with three damsels who hold the reins
of my heart and make rest depart; and they are thyself and that wilful
one and another I will not name, who hath not her like.[366] So she took
the lute and playing a lively measure, sang these couplets:—
Three lovely girls hold my bridle-rein ✿ And in highest stead my heart
over-reign.
I have none to obey amid all mankind ✿ But obeying them I but win
disdain:
This is done through the Kingship of Love, whereby ✿ The best of my
kingship they made their gain.
The Caliph marvelled with exceeding marvel at the aptness of these
verses to his case and his delight inclined him to reconciliation with
the recalcitrant damsel. So he went forth and made for her chamber
whither a slave-girl preceded him and announced to her the coming of the
Caliph. She advanced to meet him and kissed the ground before him; then
she kissed his feet and he was reconciled to her and she was reconciled
to him. Such was the case with the Caliph; but as regards Shajarat
al-Durr, she came to me rejoicing and said, “I am become a free woman by
thy blessed coming! Surely Allah will help me in that which I shall
contrive, so I may foregather with thee in lawful way.” And I said,
“Alhamdolillah!” Now as we were talking, behold her Mameluke-eunuch
entered and we related to him that which had passed, when he said,
“Praised be Allah who hath made the affair to end well, and we implore
the Almighty to crown His favours with thy safe faring forth the
palace!” Presently appeared my mistress’s sister, whose name was Fátir,
and Shajarat al-Durr said to her, “O my sister, how shall we do to bring
him out of the palace in safety; for indeed Allah hath vouchsafed me
manumission and, by the blessing of his coming, I am become a free
woman.” Quoth Fatir, “I see nothing for it but to dress him in woman’s
gear.” So she brought me a suit of women’s clothes and clad me therein;
and I went out forthwith, O Commander of the Faithful; but, when I came
to the midst of the palace, behold, I found the Caliph seated there,
with the eunuchs in attendance upon him. When he saw me, he misdoubted
of me with exceeding doubt, and said to his suite, “Hasten and bring me
yonder handmaiden who is faring forth.” So they brought me back to him
and raised the veil from my face, which when he saw, he knew me and
questioned me of my case. I told him the whole truth, hiding naught, and
when he heard my story, he pondered my case awhile, without stay or
delay, and going into Shajarat al-Durr’s chamber, said to her, “How
couldst thou prefer before me one of the sons of the merchants?” She
kissed ground between his hands and told him her tale from first to
last, in accordance with the truth; and he hearing it had compassion
upon her and his heart relented to her and he excused her by reason of
love and its circumstances. Then he went away and her eunuch came in to
her and said, “Be of good cheer; for, when thy lover was set before the
Caliph, he questioned him and he told him that which thou toldest him,
word by word.” Presently the Caliph returned and calling me before him,
said to me, “What made thee dare to violate the palace of the
Caliphate?” I replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, ’twas my ignorance
and passion and my confidence in thy clemency and generosity that drave
me to this.” And I wept and kissed the ground before him. Then said he,
“I pardon you both,” and bade me be seated. So I sat down and he sent
for the Kazi Ahmad ibn Abi Duwád[367] and married me to her. Then he
commanded to make over all that was hers to me and they displayed her to
me[368] in her lodging. After three days, I went forth and transported
all her goods and gear to my own house; so every thing thou hast seen, O
Commander of the Faithful, in my house and whereof thou misdoubtest, is
of her marriage-equipage. After this, she said to me one day, “Know that
Al-Mutawakkil is a generous man and I fear lest he remember us with ill
mind, or that some one of the envious remind him of us; wherefore I
purpose to do somewhat that may ensure us against this.” Quoth I, “And
what is that?;” and quoth she, “I mean to ask his leave to go the
pilgrimage and repent[369] of singing.” I replied, “Right is this rede
thou redest;” but, as we were talking, behold, in came a messenger from
the Caliph to seek her, for that Al-Mutawakkil loved her singing. So she
went with the officer and did her service to the Caliph, who said to
her, “Sever not thyself from us;”[370] and she answered, “I hear and I
obey.” Now it chanced one day, after this, she went to him, he having
sent for her, as was his wont; but, before I knew, she came back, with
her raiment rent and her eyes full of tears. At this I was alarmed,
misdoubting me that he had commanded to seize upon us, and said, “Verily
we are Allah’s and unto Him shall we return! Is Al-Mutawakkil wroth with
us?” She replied, “Where is Al-Mutawakkil? Indeed Al-Mutawakkil’s rule
is ended and his trace is blotted out!” Cried I, “Tell me what has
happened;” and she, “He was seated behind the curtain, drinking, with
Al-Fath bin Khákán[371] and Sadakah bin Sadakah, when his son
Al-Muntasir fell upon him, with a company of the Turks,[372] and slew
him; and merriment was turned to misery and joy to weeping and wailing
for annoy. So I fled, I and the slave-girl, and Allah saved us.” When I
heard this, O Commander of the Faithful, I arose forthright and went
down stream to Bassorah, where the news reached me of the falling out of
war between Al-Muntasir and Al-Musta’ín bi ’llah;[373] wherefore I was
affrighted and transported my wife and all my wealth to Bassorah. This,
then, is my tale, O Prince of True Believers, nor have I added to or
taken from it a single syllable. So all that thou seest in my house,
bearing the name of thy grandfather Al-Mutawakkil, is of his bounty to
us, and the fount of our fortune is from thy noble sources;[374] for
indeed ye are people of munificence and a mine of beneficence.” The
Caliph marvelled at his story and rejoiced therein with joy exceeding:
and Abu al-Hasan brought forth to him the lady and the children she had
borne him, and they kissed ground before the Caliph, who wondered at
their beauty. Then he called for inkcase and paper and wrote Abu
al-Hasan a patent of exemption from taxes on his lands and houses for
twenty years. Moreover, he rejoiced in him and made him his
cup-companion, till the world parted them and they took up their abode
in the tombs, after having dwelt under palace-domes; and glory be to
Allah, the King Merciful of doom. And they also tell a tale concerning
-----
Footnote 346:
Lane omits this tale because “it is very similar, but inferior in
interest, to the Story told by the Sultan’s Steward.” See vol. i. 278.
Footnote 347:
Sixteenth Abbaside A.H. 279–289 (= A.D. 891–902). “He was comely,
intrepid, of grave exterior, majestic in presence, of considerable
intellectual power and the fiercest of the Caliphs of the House of
Abbas. He once had the courage to attack a lion” (Al-Siyuti). I may
add that he was a good soldier and an excellent administrator, who was
called Saffáh the Second because he refounded the House of Abbas. He
was exceedingly fanatic and died of sensuality, having first kicked
his doctor to death, and he spent his last moments in versifying.
Footnote 348:
Hamdún bin Ismá’íl, called the Kátib or Scribe, was the first of his
family who followed the profession of a Nadím or Cup-companion. His
son Ahmad (who is in the text) was an oral transmitter of poetry and
history. Al-Siyúti (p. 390) and De Slane I. Khall (ii. 304) notice
him.
Footnote 349:
Probably the Caliph had attendants, but the text afterwards speaks of
them as two. Mac. Edit. iv. p. 558, line 2; and a few lines below,
“the Caliph and the man with him.”
Footnote 350:
Arab. “Naysábúr,” the famous town in Khorasan where Omar-i-Khayyám
(whom our people will call Omar Khayyám) was buried and where his tomb
is still a place of pious visitation. A sketch of it has lately
appeared in the illustrated papers. For an affecting tale concerning
the astronomer-poet’s tomb, borrowed from the Nigáristán see the
Preface by the late Mr. Fitzgerald whose admirable excerpts from the
Rubaiyat (101 out of 820 quatrains) have made the poem popular among
all the English-speaking races.
Footnote 351:
Arab. “A-Sharíf anta?” (with the Hamzah-sign of interrogation) = Art
thou a Sharíf (or descendant of the Apostle)?
Footnote 352:
Tenth Abbaside (A.H. 234–247 = 848–861), grandson of Al-Rashid and
born of a slave-concubine. He was famous for his hatred of the Alides
(he destroyed the tomb of Al-Husayn) and claimed the pardon of Allah
for having revised orthodox traditionary doctrines. He compelled the
Christians to wear collars of wood or leather and was assassinated by
five Turks.
Footnote 353:
His father was Al-Mu’ tasim bi’llah (A.H. 218–227 = 833–842) the son
of Al-Rashid by Máridah a slave-concubine of foreign origin. He was
brave and of high spirit, but destitute of education; and his personal
strength was such that he could break a man’s elbow between his
fingers. He imitated the apparatus of Persian kings; and he was called
the “Octonary” because he was the 8th Abbaside; the 8th in descent
from Abbas; the 8th son of Al-Rashid; he began his reign in A.H. 218;
lived 48 years; was born under Scorpio (8th Zodiacal sign); was
victorious in 8 expeditions; slew 8 important foes and left 8 male and
8 female children. For his introducing Turks see vol. iii. 81.
Footnote 354:
_i.e._ as if it were given away in charity.
Footnote 355:
Arab. “Shukkah,” a word much used in the Zanzibar trade where it means
a piece of longcloth one fathom long. See my “Lake Regions of Central
Africa,” vol. i. 147, etc.
Footnote 356:
He is afterwards called in two places “Khádim” = eunuch.
Footnote 357:
A courteous way of saying, “Never mind my name: I wish to keep it
hidden.” The formula is still popular.
Footnote 358:
Arab. “Bakhkharaní” _i.e._ fumigated me with burning aloes-wood,
Calumba or similar material.
Footnote 359:
In sign of honour. The threshold is important amongst Moslems: in one
of the Mameluke Soldans’ sepulchres near Cairo I found a granite slab
bearing the “cartouche” (shield) of Khufu (Cheops) with the four
hieroglyphs hardly effaced.
Footnote 360:
_i.e._ One of the concubines by whose door he had passed.
Footnote 361:
Epistasis without the prostasis, “An she ordered thee so to do:” the
situation justifies the rhetorical figure.
Footnote 362:
Arab. “Sardáb” see vol. i, 340.
Footnote 363:
Thirteenth Abbaside A.H. 252–255 (= 866–869). His mother was a Greek
slave called Kabíhah (Al-Mas’udi and Al-Siyuti); for which “Banjah” is
probably a clerical error. He was exceedingly beautiful and was the
first to ride out with ornaments of gold. But he was impotent in the
hands of the Turks who caused the mob to depose him and kill him—his
death being related in various ways.
Footnote 364:
_i.e._ The reward from Allah for thy good deed.
Footnote 365:
Arab. “Nusk” abstinence from women, a part of the Zahid’s asceticism.
Footnote 366:
Arab. “Munázirah” the verbal noun of which, “Munázarah,” may also mean
“dispute.” The student will distinguish between “Munazarah” and
Munafarah = a contention for precedence in presence of an umpire.
Footnote 367:
The Mac. Edit. gives by mistake “Abú Dáúd”: the Bul. correctly “Abú
Duwád.” He was Kázi al-Kuzát (High Chancellor) under Al-Mu’tasim,
Al-Wasik bi ’llah (Vathek) and Al-Mutawakkil.
Footnote 368:
Arab. “Zaffú” = they led the bride to the bridegroom’s house; but here
used in the sense of displaying her as both were in the palace.
Footnote 369:
_i.e._ renounce the craft which though not sinful (harám) is makrúh or
religiously unpraiseworthy; Mohammed having objected to music and
indeed to the arts in general.
Footnote 370:
Arab. “Lá tankati’í;” do not be too often absent from us. I have
noticed the whimsical resemblance of “Kat’” and our “cut”; and here
the metaphorical sense is almost identical.
Footnote 371:
See Ibn Khallikan ii. 455.
Footnote 372:
The Turkish body-guard. See vol. iii. 81.
Footnote 373: