The Tale of Attaf.
Here we begin to write and invite the Tale of a man of Syria,
Attaf hight.[FN#310]
They relate (but Allah is All-knowing of His unknown and
All-cognisant of what forewent in the annals of folk and the
wonders of yore, and of times long gone before!) that in the city
of Sham[FN#311] there dwelt of old a man Attáf hight, who
rivalled Hátim of Tayy[FN#312] in his generosity and his
guest-love and in his self-control as to manners and morals. Now
he lived in the years when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid was
reigning in Baghdad-city, and it happened on a day of the days
that this Commander of the Faithful awoke morne and melancholic,
and right straitened was his breast. So he arose, and taking
Ja'afar the Barmecide and Mastur the Eunuch passed with them into
the place where his treasures were stored. Presently quoth he to
the Wazir, "O Ja'araf, open to me this door that I may solace me
with the sight, and my breast may be broadened and haply be
gladdened by such spectacle." The Minister did the bidding of
his lord, who, finding a room full of books, put forth his hand,
and taking up one of the volumes, opened and read. Thenhe fell
to weeping thrice, and thrice to laughing aloud,[FN#313] whereat
the Wazir considered him and cried, "O King of the Age, how is it
I espy thee reading and weeping and laughing at one and the same
moment when none so act save madmen and maniacs?"[FN#314] And
having spoken on this wise he held his peace; but the Prince of
True Believers turned himwards and cried, "O dog of the sons of
Bermak, I see thee going beyond thy degree and quitting the
company of sensible men, and thou speakest vainly making me a
madman in saying, 'None laugh and cry at one and the same time
save maniacs?'" With these words the Caliph restored the volume
to its place in the Treasury and bade lock the door, after which
the three returned to the Divan. Here the Commander of the
Faithful regarded Ja'afar and exclaimed, "Go thou forth from
before me and address me not again nor seat thee upon the
Wazirial seat until thou answer thine own question and thou
return me a reply concerning that which is writ and aligned in
yonder book I was reading, to the end thou learn why I wept and
wherefore I laught at one and the same hour." And he cried at
him in anger saying, "Off and away with thee, nor face me again
save with the answer, else will I slay thee with the foulest of
slaughter." Accordingly Ja'afar fared forth and hardly could he
see with his eyes, and he kept saying to himself, "Indeed I have
fallen with a sore fall; foul befal it for a fall; how fulsome it
is!" Then he fared homewards where he encountered face to face
his father Yahyá the Bermaki, who was issuing from the mansion
and he recounted to him the tale, whereat his parent said, "Go at
once, abide not here, but turn thee Damascus-wards until shall
terminate this decline of fortune and this disjunciton of favour,
and at the ending thereof thou shalt see wonders
therein."[FN#315] Ja'afar replied, "Not until I shall have laid
a charge upon my Harím;"[FN#316] but Yahya cried, "Enter not
these doors, hie thee at once to Al-Shám, for even so 'tis
determined by Destiny." Accordingly the Wazir gave ear to his
sire, and taking a bag containing one thousand dinars and
slinging on his sword farewelled him; then, mounting a she-mule,
alone and unattended by slave or page, he rode off and he ceased
not riding for ten days full-told until he arrived at the
Marj[FN#317] or mead of Damascus. Now it so fortuned that on
that same day Attaf,[FN#318] a fair youth and a well-known of the
"Smile of the Prophet," and one of the noblest and most generous
of her sons, had pitched tents and had spread a banquet outside
the city, where chancing to sight Ja'afar mounted on his beast,
he knew him to be a wayfarer passing by, and said to his slaves,
"Call to me yonder man!" They did his bidding and the stranger
rode up to the party of friends, and dismounting from his mule
saluted them with the salam which they all returned. Then they
sat for a while[FN#319] after which Attaf arose and led Ja'afar
to his house companied by all the company which was there and
they paced into a spacious open hall and seated themselves in
converse for an hour full-told. Anon the slaves brought them to
a table spread with the evening meal and bearing more than ten
several manners of meat. So they ate and were cheered, and after
the guests had washed hands, the eunuchs and attendants brought
in candles of honey-coloured wax that shed a brilliant light, and
presently the musicians came in band and performed a right royal
partition while the servants served up conserves for dessert. So
they ate, and when they had eaten their sufficiency they drank
coffee;[FN#320] and finally, at their ease and in their own good
time, all the guests arose and made obeisance and fared
homewards. Then Attaf and Ja'afar sat at table for an hour or
so, during which the host offered his guest an hundred greetings,
saying, "All kinds of blessings have descended from Heaven upon
our heads. Tell me, how was it thou honouredst us, and what was
the cause of thy coming and of thy favouring us with thy
footsteps?"[FN#321] So Ja'afar disclosed to him his name and
office[FN#322] and told him the reasons of his ride to Damascus
from the beginning to the end full and detailed, whereto Attaf
rejoined, "Tarry with me an thou please a decade of years; and
grieve not at all, for thy Worship is owner of this place."
After this the eunuchs came in and spread for Ja'afar bedding
delicately wrought at the head of the hall and its honour-stead,
and disposed other sleeping-gear alongside thereof, which seeing
the Wazir said to himself, "Haply my host is a bachelor, that
they would spread his bed to my side; however, I will venture the
question." Accordingly he addressed his host saying, "O Attaf,
art thou single or married?"[FN#323] "I am married, O my lord,"
quoth the other, whereat Ja'afar resumed, "Wherefore dost thou
not go within and lie with thy Harím?" "O my lord," replied
Attaf, "the Harím is not about to take flight, and it would be
naught but disgraceful to me were I to leave a visitor like
thyself, a man by all revered, to sleep alone while I fare
to-night with my Harím and rise betimes to enter the
Hammam.[FN#324] In me such action would I deem be want of
courtesy and failure in honouring a magnifico like thine Honour.
In very sooth, O my lord, so long as thy presence deign favour
this house I will not sleep within my Harem until I farewell thy
Worship and thou depart in peace and safety to thine own place."
"This be a marvellous matter," quoth Ja'afar to himself, "and
peradventure be so doeth the more to make much of me." So they
lay together that night and when morning morrowed they arose and
fared to the Baths whither Attaf had sent for the use of his
guest a suit of magnificent clothes, and caused Ja'afar don it
before leaving the Hammam. Then finding the horses at the door,
they mounted and repaired to the Lady's Tomb,[FN#325] and spent a
day worthy to be numbered in men's lives. Nor did they cease
visiting place after place by day and sleeping in the same stead
by night, in the way we have described, for the space of four
months, after which time the soul of the Wazir Ja'afar waxed sad
and sorry, and one chance day of the days, he sat him down and
wept. Seeing him in tears Attaf asked him, saying, "Allah fend
from thee all affliction, O my lord! why dost thou weep and
wherefore art thou grieved? An thou be heavy of heart why not
relate to me what hath oppressed thee?" Answered Ja'afar, "O my
brother, I find my breast sore straitened and I would fain stroll
about the streets of Damascus and solace me from seeing the
Cathedral-mosque of the Ommiades."[FN#326] "And who, O my lord,"
responded the other, "would hinder thee therefrom? Do thou deign
wander whither thou wilt and take thy solace, so may thy spirits
be gladdened and thy breast be broadened. Herein is none to let
or stay thee at all, at all." Hearing these words Ja'afar arose
to fare forth, when quoth his host, "O my lord, shall they saddle
thee a hackney?" but the other replied, "O my friend, I would not
be mounted for that the man on horseback may not divert himself
by seeing the folk; nay the folk enjoy themselves by looking upon
him." Quoth Attaf, "At least delay thee a while that I may
supply thee with spending money to bestow upon the folk; and then
fare forth and walk about to thy content and solace thyself with
seeing whatso thou wilt; so mayest thou be satisfied and no more
be sorrowed." Accordingly, Ja'afar took from Attaf a purse of
three hundred dinars and left the house gladly as one who issueth
from durance vile, and he turned into the city and began
a-wandering about the streets of Damascus and enjoying the
spectacle; and at last he entered the Jámi' al-Amawi where he
prayed the usual prayers. After this he resumed his strolling
about pleasant places until he came to a narrow street and found
a bench formed of stone[FN#327] set in the ground. Hereon he
took seat to rest a while, and he looked about, when behold,
fronting him were latticed windows wherein stood cases planted
with sweet-smelling herbs.[FN#328] And hardly had he looked
before those casements were opened and suddenly appeared thereat
a young lady,[FN#329] a model of comeliness and loveliness and
fair figure and symmetrical grace, whose charms would amate all
who upon her gaze, and she began watering her plants. Ja'afar
cast upon her a single glance and was sore hurt by her beauty and
brilliancy; but she, after looking upon the lattices and watering
the herbs to the extent they required turned her round and gazed
adown the street where she caught a sight of Ja'afar sitting and
earnestly eyeing her. So she barred the windows and disappeared.
But the Minister lingered on the bench hoping and expecting that
haply the casement would open a second time and allow him another
look at her; and as often as he would have risen up his nature
said to him, "Sit thee down." And he stinted not so doing till
evening came on, when he arose and returned to the house of
Attaf, whom he found standing at the gateway to await him, and
presently his host exclaimed, "'Tis well, O my lord! during all
this delay indeed my thoughts have gone with thee for that I have
long been expecting thy return." "'Tis such a while since I
walked abroad," answered Ja'afar, "that I had needs look about me
and console my soul, wherefor I lingered and loitered." Then
they entered the house and sat down, when the eunuchs served up
on trays the evening meal, and the Minister drew near to eat
thereof but was wholly unable, so he cast from his hand the spoon
and arose. Hereat quoth his host, "Why, O my lord, canst thou
not eat?" "Because this day's noon-meal hath been heavy to me
and hindereth my supping; but 'tis no matter!" quoth the other.
And when the hour for sleep came Ja'afar retired to rest; but in
his excitement by the beauty of that young lady he could not
close eye, for her charms had mastered the greater part of his
sense and had snared his senses as much as might be; nor could he
do aught save groan and cry, "Ah miserable me! who shall enjoy
thy presence, O full Moon of the Age and who shall look upon that
comeliness and loveliness?" And he ceased not being feverish and
to twist and turn upon his couch until late morning, and he was
as one lost with love; but as soon as it was the undurn-hour
Attaf came in to him and said, "How is thy health? My thoughts
have been settled on thee: and I see that thy slumber hath lasted
until between dawn and midday: indeed I deem that thou hast lain
awake o' night and hast not slept until so near the midforenoon."
"O my brother, I have no Kayf,"[FN#330] replied Ja'afar. So the
host forthwith sent a white slave to summon a physician, and the
man did his bidding, and after a short delay brought one who was
the preventer[FN#331] of his day. And when ushered into
Ja'afar's room he addressed the sick man, "There is no harm to
thee and boon of health befal thee;[FN#332] say me what aileth
thee?" "All is excitement[FN#333] with me," answered the other,
whereat the Leach putting forth his fingers felt the wrist of his
patient, when he found the pulsations pulsing strong and the
intermissions intermitting regularly.[FN#334] Nothing this he was
ashamed to declare before his face, "Thou art in love!" so he
kept silence and presently said to Attaf, "I will write thee a
recipe containing all that is required by the case." "Write!"
said the host, and the Physician sat down to indite his
prescription, when behold, a white slave came in and said to his
lord, "Thy Harim requireth thee." So the host arose and retired
to learn what was requireth of him in the women's apartments, and
when his wife saw him she asked, "O my lord, what is thy pleasure
that we cook for dinner and supper?" "Whatsoever may be wanted,"
he rejoined and went his ways, for since Ja'afar had been guested
in his house Attaf had not once entered the inner rooms according
as he had before declared to the Minister. Now the Physician
during the host's visit to the Harem had written out the
prescription and had placed it under the pillow of the patient,
and as he was leaving the house he came suddenly upon the
housemaster on return to the men's apartment, and Attaf asked
him, "Hast thou written thy perscription?" "Yes," answered the
Leach, "I have written it and set it under his head." Thereupon
the host pulled out a piastre[FN#335] and therewith fee'd the
physician; after which he went up to Ja'afar's couch and drew the
paper from under his pillow and read it and saw therein
written,[FN#336] "O Attaf, verily thy guest is a lover, so do
thou look for her he loveth and for his state purvey and make not
overmuch delay." So the host addressed his guest, saying, "Thou
art now become one of us: why then hide from me thy case and
conceal from me thy condition? This Doctor, than whom is none
keener or cleverer in Damascus, hath learned all that befel
thee." Hereupon he produced the paper and showed it to Ja'afar,
who took it and read it with a smile; then he cried, "This
Physician is a master leach and his saying is soothfast. Know
that on the day when I went forth from thee and sauntered about
the streets and lanes, there befel me a matter which I never had
thought to have betided me; no, never; and I know not what shall
become of me for that, O my brother, Attaf, my case is one
involving life-loss." And he told him all that had happened to
himself; how when seated upon the bench a lattice had been
unclosed afront of him and he had seen a young lady, the
loveliest of her time, who had thrown it open and had come
forward to water her window-garden; adding, "Now my heart was
upstirred by love to her, and she had suddenly withdrawn after
looking down the street and closed the casement as soon as she
had seen a stranger gazing upon her. Again and again I was
minded to rise and retire, but desire for her kept me seated in
the hope that haply she would again throw open the lattice and
allow me the favour of another glimpse, so could I see her a
second time. However, inasmuch as she did not show till evening
came on I arose and repaired hither, but of my exceeding
agitation for the ardour of love to her I was powerless to touch
meat or drink, and my sleep was broken by the excess of desire
for her which had homed in my heart. And now, O my brother
Attaf, I have made known to thee whatso betided me." When the
host heard these words, he was certified that the house whereof
Ja'afar spoke was his house and the lattice his own lattice and
the lovely and lovesome young lady his wife the daughter of his
paternal uncle, so he said in his thought, "There is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great.
Verily we were Allah's and unto Him shall we return!" But
presently he rgained himself in the nobility of his nature, and
he continued, "O Ja'afar, thine intent is pure for that the dame
thou sawest yesterday was divorced by her husband; and I will
straightway fare to her father and bespeak him to the end that
none may lay hand upon her; and then will I return and let thee
ken all concerning her." So saying he arose and went at once to
his cousin-wife[FN#337] who greeted him and kissing his hand said
to him, "Is thy guest a-going?" Said he, "By no means; the cause
of my coming to thee is not his going, the reason thereof is my
design of sending thee to the home of thy people, for that thy
father anon met me in the market-street and declared to me that
thy mother is dying of a colick, and said to me, 'Go send her
daughter without delay so that she may see her parent alive and
meet her once more.'" Accordingly the young wife arose; and,
hardly knowing how she moved for tears at such tidings, she took
her slave-girls with her and repairing to her home rapped at the
door, and her mother who opened to her cried on seeing her, "May
this thy coming (Inshallah!) be well, O my daughter, but how is
it thou comest thus unexpected?" "Inshallah!" said the wife,
"thou art at rest from the colick?" and the mother rejoined, "Who
told thee I was colicky? but pass thou within." So she entered
the court and her father, Abdullah Chelebi hight,[FN#338] hearing
her footstep from an inner room, asked, "What is there to do?"
"Thou mettest anon," replied his daughter, "Attaf thy son-in-law
in the Bazar and didst tell him that my mother was sore afflicted
with a colick." Hearing this he exclaimed, "This day I went not
once to the market-street nor have I seen a soul!" Now they had
not ceased conversing ere the door was rapped; and as the slave
girls opened it, they saw porters laden with the young lady's
gear and garments and they led the men into the court where the
father asked them, "Who sent these stuffs?" "Attaf," they
replied, and setting down their loads within went their way.
Then the father turned to his daughter and said to her, "What
deed hast done that my son-in-law bade take up thy gear and have
it sent after thee?" And the mother said to him, "Hold thy peace
and speak not such speech lest the honour of the house be blamed
and shamed." And as they were talking, behold, up came Attaf
companied by a party of friends when his father-in-law asked him,
"Wherefore hast thou done on this wise?" "To-day," answered he,
"there came from me a wrongous oath: on account of my inclination
to thy daughter my heart is dark as night whereas her good name
is whiter than my turband and ever bright.[FN#339] Furthermore
an occasion befell and this oath fell from my mouth and I bade
her be the owner of herself.[FN#340] And now will I beweep the
past and straightway set her free." So saying he wrote a writ of
repudiation and returning to Ja'afar said, "From early dawn I
have wearied myself[FN#341] for thy sake and have so acted that
no man can lay hand upon her. And at last thou mayst now enjoy
life and go to the gardens and the Hammams and take thy pleasure
until the days of her widowhood[FN#342] be gone by." Replied
Ja'afar, "Allah quicken thee for what thou wroughtest of kindness
to me," and Attaf rejoined, "Find for thyself something thou
requirest, O my brother."[FN#343] Then he fell to taking him
every day amongst the crowd of pleasure-seekers and solacing him
with a show of joyous spectacles[FN#344] till the term of divorce
had sped, when he said to the Wazir, "O Ja'afar, I would counsel
thee with an especial counsel." "And what may it be, O my
brother?" quoth the other; and quoth he, "Know, O my lord, that
many of the folk have found the likeness between thy Honour and
Ja'afar the Barmecide, wherefore must I fain act on this wise. I
will bring thee a troop of ten Mamelukes and four servants on
horseback, with whom do thou fare privily and by night forth the
city and presently transmit to me tidings from outside the walls
that thou the Grand Wazir, Ja'afar the Barmecide, art recalled to
court and bound thither from Egypt upon business ordered by the
Sultan. Hereat the Governor of Damascus, 'Abd al-Malik bin
Marván[FN#345] and the Grandees of Syria will flock forth to meet
and greet thee with fêtes and feasts, after which do thou send
for the young lady's sire and of him ask her to wife. Then I
will summon the Kazi and witnesses and will write out without
stay or delay the marriage-writ with a dower of a thousand dinars
the while thou makest ready for wayfare, and if thou journey to
Homs or to Hamah do thou alight at whatso place ever pleaseth
thee. Also I will provide thee of spending-money as much as thy
soul can desire and supply to thee raiment and gear, horses and
bat-animals, tents and pavilions of the cheap and of the dear,
all thou canst require. So what sayest thou concerning this
counsel?" "Fair fall it for the best of rede which hath no
peer," replied Ja'afar. Hereupon Attaf arose and gathering his
men about his guest sent him forth the city when the Minister
wrote a write and dispatched it by twenty horsemen with a trader
to inform the Governor of Syria that Ja'afar the Barmecide was
passing that way and was about to visit Damascus on the especial
service of the Sultan. So the Kapújí[FN#346] entered Damascus
and read out the Wazirial letter[FN#347] announcing Ja'afar's
return from Egypt. Hereat the Governor arose and after sending a
present of provisions[FN#348] without the walls bade pitch the
tents, and the Grandees of Syria rode forth to meet the Minister,
and the Headmen of the Province set out to greet him, and he
entered with all honour and consideration. It was indeed a day
fit to be numbered among the days of a man's life, a day of
general joyance for those present, and they read the Farmán and
they offered the food and the forage to the Chamberlain and thus
it became known to one and all of the folk that a writ of pardon
had come to Ja'afar's hands and on this wise the bruit went
abroad, far and near, and the Grandees brought him all manner of
presents. After this Ja'afar sent to summon the young lady's
father and as soon as he appeared in his presence, said to him,
"Thy daughter hath been divorced?" and said the other, "Yes; she
is at home with me." Quoth the Minister, "I would fain take her
to wife;" and quoth the father, "Here am I ready to send her as
thy handmaid." The Governor of Sham added, "I will assume charge
of the dowry," and the damsel's father rejoined, "It hath already
come to hand."[FN#349] Hereat they summoned the Kazi and wrote
out the writ of Ja'afar's marriage; and, having ended the
ceremony, they distributed meat and drink to the poor in honour
of the wedding, and Abd al-Malik bin Marwan said to Ja'afar,
"Deign, O my lord, come hither with me and become my guest, and I
will set apart for thee a place wherein thou canst consummate thy
marriage." But the other replied, "Nay, I may not do so; I am
sent on public affairs by the Commander of the Faithful and I
purpose setting off with my bride and marching without further
delay." The Grandees of Syria spent that night until morning
without any being able to snatch a moment of sleep, and as soon
as dawned the day Ja'afar sent to summon his father-in-law and
said, "On the morrow I design setting forth, and I desire that my
bride be ready for the road;" whereto replied the other, "Upon my
head be it and my eyes!" Then Abdullah Chelebi fared homewards
and said to his daughter, "O my child, Attaf hath divorced thee
from bed and from board, whereas Sultan Ja'afar the Bermaki hath
taken thee to wife, and on Allah is the repairing of our broken
fortunes and the fortifying of our hearts." And she held her
peace for displeasure by cause that she loved Attaf on account of
the blood-tie and his exceeding great generosity. But on the
next day Ja'afar sent a message to her sire informing him that
the march would begin about mid-afternoon and that he wished him
to make all ready, so the father did accordingly; and when Attaf
heard thereof he sent supplies and spending-money.[FN#350] At
the time appointed the Minister took horse escorted by the
Governor and the Grandees, and they brought out the
mule-litter[FN#351] wherein was the bride, and the procession
rode onwards until they had reached the Dome of the
Birds,[FN#352] whereat the Minister bade them return home and
they obeyed him and farewelled him. But on the ride back they
all met Attaf coming from the city, and he reined in his horse
and saluted the Governor and exchanged salams with his
companions, who said to him, "Now at the very time we are going
in thou comest out." Attaf made answer, "I wotted not that he
would set forth this day, but as soon as I was certified that he
had mounted I sent to summon his escort and came forth
a-following him."[FN#353] To this the Governor replied, "Go
catch them up at the Dome of the Birds, where they are now
halting." Attaf followed this counsel and reaching the place
alighted from his mare, and approaching Ja'afar embraced him and
cried, "Laud to the Lord, O brother mine, who returneth thee to
thy home with fortunes repaired and heart fortified;" and said
the Minister, "O Attaf, Allah place it in my power to requite
thee; but cease thou not to write me and apprise me of thy
tidings; and for the nonce I order thee to return hence and not
to lie the night save in thine own house." And his host did his
bidding whilst the cousin-wife hearing his voice thrust her head
out of the litter and looked upon him with flowing tears,
understanding the length to which his generosity had carried him.
So fared it with Attaf and his affair; but now give ear to what
befell him from Abd al-Malik bin Marwan. As they hied them home
one who hated the generous man asked the Governor, "Wottest thou
the wherefore he went forth to farewell his quondam guest at so
late a time as this?" "Why so?" answered the other; and the
detractor continued, "Ja'afar hath tarried four months as a guest
in his household, and disguised so that none save the host knew
him, and now Attaf fared not forth for his sake but because of
the woman." "What woman?" enquired the Governor, and the other
replied, "His whilom wife, whom he divorced for the sake of this
stranger, and married her to him; so this day he followeth to
enjoin him once more concerning the Government of Syria which
perchance is promised to him. And 'tis better that thou
breakfast upon him ere he sup upon thee." The other enquired,
"And whose daughter is she, is not her sire Abdullah
Chelebi?"[FN#354] Whereto the man answered, "Yes, O my lord, and
I repeat that she was put away to the intent that Ja'afar might
espouse her." When the Governor heard these words, he was wroth
with wrath galore than which naught could be more, and he hid his
anger from Attaf for a while of time until he had devised a
device to compass his destruction. At last, one day of the days,
he bade cast the corpse of a murthered man into his enemy's
garden and after the body was found by spies he had sent to
discover the slayer, he summoned Attaf and asked him, "Who
murthered yon man within thy grounds?" Replied the other, "'Twas
I slew him." "And why didst slay him?" cried the Governor, "and
what harm hath he wrought thee?" But the generous one replied,
"O my lord, I have confessed to the slaughter of this man in
order that I and only I may be mulcted in his blood-wite lest the
neighbours say, 'By reason of Attaf's garden we have been
condemned to pay his fine.'" Quoth Abd al-Malik, "Why should I
want to take mulcts from the folk? Nay; I would command
according to the Holy Law and even as Allah hath ordered, 'A life
for a life.'" He then turned for testimony to those present and
asked them, "What said this man?" and they answered, "He said, 'I
slew him.'" "Is the accused in his right mind or
Jinn-mad?"[FN#355] pursued the Governor; and they said, "In his
senses." Then quoth the Governor to the Mufti, "O Efendi,
deliver me thine official decision according to that thou
heardest from the accused's mouth;" and the Judge pronounced and
indited his sentence upon the criminal according to his
confession. Hereupon the Governor gave order for his slaves to
plunder the house and bastinado the owner; then he called for the
headsman, but the Notables interfered and cried, "Give him a
delay, for thou hast no right to slay him without further
evidence; and better send him to gaol." Now all Damascus was
agitated and excited by this affair, which came upon the folk so
suddenly and unforeseen. And Attaf's friends[FN#356] and
familiars came down upon the Governor and went about spreading
abroad that the generous man had not spoken such words save in
fear lest his neighbours be molested and be mulcted for a murther
which they never committed, and that he was wholly innocent of
such crime. So Abd al-Malik bin Marwan summoned them and said,
"An ye plead that the accused is Jinn-mad this were folly, for he
is the prince of intelligent men: I was resolved to let him life
until the morrow; but I have been thwarted and this very night I
will send and have him strangled." Hereupon he returned to
prison and ordered the gaoler to do him die before day might
break. But the man waxed wroth with exceeding wrath to hear the
doom devised for Attaf and having visited him in prison said to
him, "Verily the Governor is determined to slay thee for he was
not satisfied with the intercession made for thee by the folk or
even with taking the legal blood-wite." Hereat Attaf wept and
cried, "Allah (be He magnified and glorified!) hath assigned unto
every death a cause. I desired but to do good amongst the garden
folk and prevent their being fined; and now this benevolence hath
become the reason of my ruin." Then, after much 'say and said,'
the gaoler spoke as follows, "Why talk after such fashion? I am
resolved to set thee free and to ransom thee with my life; and at
this very moment I will strike off thy chains and deliver thee
from him. But do thou arise and tear my face and pluck out my
beard and rend my raiment; then, after thrusting a gag[FN#357]
into my mouth wend thy ways and save thy life and leave me to
bear all blame."[FN#358] Quoth Attaf, "Allah requite thee for me
with every weal!" Accordingly the gaoler did as he had
undertaken and his prisoner went forth unhurt and at once
followed the road to Baghdad. So far concerning him; but now
hear thou what befell the Governor of Syria, Abd al-Malik bin
Marwan. He took patience till midnight, when he arose and fared
accompanied by the headsman to the gaol that he might witness the
strangling of Attaf; but lo and behold! he found the prison door
wide open and the keeper in sore sorrow with his raiment all rent
to rags and his beard plucked out and his face scratched and the
blood trickling from his four sides and his case was the
miserablest of cases. So they removed the gag from his mouth and
the Governor asked him, "Who did with thee on this wise?" and the
man answered, "O my lord, yesternight, about the middle thereof,
a gang of vagabonds and ne'er-do-wells as they were 'Ifrits of
our lord Sulayman (upon whom be The Peace!), not one of whom I
recognized, came upon me and ere I was ware of them they broke
down the prison door and killed me;[FN#359] and when I would have
cried aloud and shouted for aid they placed yonder gag in my
mouth, then they wounded me and shredded my dress and left me in
the state thou seest. Moreover they took Attaf after breaking
his chains and said to him, 'Go and lay thy complaint before the
Sultan.'" Now those who accompanied the Governor said, "This be
a gaoler and the son of a gaoler, nor during all his days hath
anyone charged him with letting a prisoner out of hand." Quoth
Abd al-Malik to the wounded man, "Hie thee to thy house and stay
there;" whereat he straightway arose and went his ways. After
this the Governor took horse, he and his escort; and all rode off
to search for Attaf during a term of four days and some of them
dug and dug deep down while the others returned after a bootless
errand, and reported that they had failed to find him. Such was
the case with the Governor of Syria; and now give ear to the
adventure of Attaf. He left not wayfaring until but a single
stage remained between him and Baghdad when robbers came upon him
and stripped him of all his clothes, so that he was compelled to
enter the capital in foulest condition, naked even as his mother
bare him. And after some charitable wight had thrown an old robe
about him and bound his head with a clout (and his unshorn hair
fell over his eyes)[FN#360] he fell to asking for the mansion of
the Wazir Ja'afar and the folk guided him thereto. But when he
would have entered the attendants suffered him not; so he stood
at the gate till an old man joined him. Attaf enquired of him
saying, "Hast thou with thee, O Shaykh, an ink-case and pens and
paper?" and the other replied, "I have; but what is thy need
thereof? tell me, so may I write for thee." "I will write
myself," rejoined Attaf; and when the old man handed to him the
gear, he took seat and indeed an address to Ja'afar informing him
of all that passed from first to last, and especially of his own
foul plight.[FN#361] Presently he returned the ink-case and reed
pens to the Shaykh; and, going up to the gate, asked those
standing about the doors, "Will ye not admit for me this missive
and place it in the hand of his Highness, Ja'afar the Bermaki,
the Wazir?" "Give it here," said they, and one of them took it
with the intent of handing it to the Minister when suddenly the
cannon roared;[FN#362] the palace was in a hubbub and each and
everyone cried, "What is to do?" Hereat many voices replied,
"The Sultan, who hath been favoured with a man-child, who had
charged himself with the letter, threw it in that confusion from
his hand and Attaf was led to gaol as a vagrant. Anon Ja'afar
took horse and, after letting read the Sultan's rescript about
the city-decorations, gave command that all the prisoners be
released, Attaf amongst the number. As he issued forth the gaol
he beheld all the streets adorned with flags and tapestry, and
when evening approached eating-cloths and trays of food were set
and all fell-in, while sundry said to Attaf who was in pauper
plight, "Come and eat thou;" for it was a popular feast.[FN#363]
And affairs went on after this same fashion and the bands made
music and cannon was fired until ended the week of decoration
during which the folk ceased not to-ing and fro-ing. As evening
evened Attaf entered a cathedral-mosque and prayed the
night-prayers when he was accosted by the eunchs who cried,
"Arise and gang this gait, that we may close the mosque-door, O
Attaf," for his name had become known. He replied, "O man, the
Apostle of Allah saith, 'Whoso striveth for good is as the doer
thereof and the doer is of the people of Paradise:' so suffer me
to sleep here in some corner;" but quoth the other, "Up with thee
and be off: yesterday they stole me a bit of matting and to-night
I will bolt the door nor allow any to sleep here. And indeed the
Apostle of Allah (whom the Almighty save and assain!) hath
forbidden sleep o' nights in the mosques." Attaf had no
competence to persuade the Castrato by placing himself under his
protection, albeit he prayed him sore saying, "I am a stranger in
the city nor have I knowledge of any, so do thou permit me here
to pass this one night and no more." But as he was again refused
he went forth into the thoroughfares where the street dogs barked
at him, and thence he trudged on to the market where the watchmen
and warders cried out at him, till at last he entered a ruinous
house where he stumbled when walking and fell over something
which proved to be a youth lately murthered, and in tripping he
fell upon his face and his garments were bewrayed and crimsoned
with blood. And as he stood in doubt as to what must be done the
Wali and the watch, who were going round the town by night, met
him face to face; and as soon as they saw him all rushed at him
in a body and seizing him bore him to the gaol. Here we leave
speaking of him; and now return we to Ja'afar and what befel him.
After he had set out from Damascus and sent back Attaf from the
Dome of the Birds he said in his mind, "Thou art about to
consummate marriage with a damsel and to travel until thou shalt
reach Baghdad, so meanwhile up and take thee an ewer of water and
make the Wuzú and pray." However, as he purposed that evening to
go in unto the wife of Attaf, controversy forewent
compliments[FN#364] and the tent-pitchers, who were sent on to
the next station to set up the pavilion of the bride and the
other tents. Ja'afar took patience until every eye however
wakeful waxed sleep-full, at which time he rose up and went in to
Attaf's wife who, the moment she saw him enter, covered her face
with her hands as from a stranger. "The Peace be upon thee!"
said he and said she, "With thee also be The Peace and the ruth
of Allah and His blessings." Then he continued, "O daughter of
my father's brother[FN#365] why hast thou placed thy hand upon
thy face? in the lawful there be naught of shameful." "True, O
my lord," she replied, "but Modesty is a part of Religion. If to
one the like of thee it be a light matter that the man who
guested thee and served thee with his coin and his case be
treated on this wise and thou have the heart to take his mate
from him, then am I but a slave between thy hands." "Art thou
the divorced wife of Attaf?" asked Ja'afar, and she answered, "I
am." Quoth he, "And why did thy husband on such wise?" and quoth
she, "The while I stood watering plants at the window, thy
Highness deigned look upon me and thou toldest thy love to Attaf,
who forthright put me away and made me wife to thy Worship. And
this is wherefore I conceal from thee my face." Ja'afar cried,
"Thou art now unlawful to him and licit to me; but presently thou
shalt become illicit to me and legitimate to thy husband; so from
this time forth thou art dearer and more honorable to me than my
eyes and my mother and my sister. But for the moment thy return
to Damascus is not possible for fear of foolish tongues lest they
prattle and say, 'Attaf went forth to farewell Ja'afar, and his
wife lay the night with the former, and thus have the back-bones
had a single lappet.'[FN#366] However I will bear thee to
Baghdad where I will stablish thee in a spacious and well
furnished lodging with ten slave girls and eunuchs to serve thee;
and, as long as thou abide with me, I will give thee[FN#367]
every day five golden ducats and every month a suit of sumptuous
clothes. Moreover everything in thy lodging shall be thine; and
whatever gifts and offerings be made to thee they shall be thy
property, for the folk will fancy thee to be my bride and will
entertain thee and escort thee to the Hammams and present thee
with sumptuous dresses. After this fashion thou shalt pass thy
days in joyance and thou shalt abide with me in highmost honour
and esteem and worship till what time we see that can be done.
So from this moment forth[FN#368] throw away all fear and
hereafter be happy in heart and high in spirits, for that now
thou standest me in stead of mother and sister and here naught
shall befall thee save weal. And now my first desire to thee
which burned in my soul hath been quenched and exchanged for
brotherly love yet stronger than what forewent it." So Attaf's
wife rejoiced with exceeding joy; and, as they pursued their
journey, Ja'afar ceased not to clothe her in the finest of
clothes, so that men might honour her as the Wazir's Consort; and
ever to entreat her with yet increasing deference. This endured
until they entered Baghdad-city where the attendants bore her
Takhtrawan into the Minister's Harem and an apartment was set
apart for her even as he had promised, and she was provided with
a monthly allowance of a thousand dianrs and all the comforts and
conveniences and pleasures whereof he had bespoken her; nor did
he ever allow his olden flame for her to flare up again, and he
never went near her, but sent messengers to promise her a speedy
reunion with her mate. Such was the case of Ja'afar and Attaf's
wife; and now give ear to what befell and betided the Minister
during his first reception by his liege lord who had sorely
regretted his departure and was desolated by the loss of him. As
soon as he presented himself before the Caliph, who rejoiced with
exceeding joy and returned his salute and his deprecation of
evil,[FN#369] the Commander of the Faithful asked him, "Where was
the bourne of this thy wayfare?" and he answered, "Damascus."
"And where didst alight?" "In the house of one Attaf hight,"
rejoined Ja'afar, who recounted all that his host had done with
him from the beginning to the end. The Prince of True Believers
took patience, until he had told his story and then cried to his
Treasurer saying, "Hie thee hence and open the Treasury and bring
me forth a certain book." And when this was done he continued,
"Hand that volume to Ja'afar." Now when the Minister took it and
read it he found written therein all that had occurred between
Attaf and himself and he left not reading till he came to the
time when the twain, host and guest, had parted and each had
farewel'ed other and Attaf had fared homewards. Hereupon the
Caliph cried to him, "Close the book at what place it completeth
the recital of thy bidding adieu to Attaf and of his returning to
his own place, so shalt thou understand how it was I said to
thee, 'Near me not until thou bring that which is contained in
this volume.'" Then the Commander of the Faithful restored the
book to the Treasurer saying, "Take this and set it in the
bibliotheca;" then, turning to Ja'afar he observed, "Verily
Almighty Allah (be He glorified and magnified!) hath deigned show
thee whatso I read therein until I fell a-weeping and a-laughing
at one and the same time. So now do thou retire and hie thee
home." Ja'afar did his bidding and reassumed the office of Wazir
after fairer fashion than he was before. And now return we to
the purport of our story as regardeth the designs of Attaf and
what befel him when they took him out of gaol. They at once led
him to the Kazi who began by questioning him, saying, "Woe to
thee, didst thou murther this Háshimi?"[FN#370] Replied he,
"Yes, I did!" "And why killedst thou him?" "I found him in
yonder ruin, and I struck him advisedly and slew him!" "Art thou
in thy right senses?" "Yea, verily." "What may be thy name?"
"I am hight Attaf." Now when the Judge heard this confession,
which was thrice repeated, he wrote a writ to the Mufti and
acquainted him with the contention; and the divine after
delivering his decision produced a book and therein indited the
procès-verbal. Then he sent notice thereof to Ja'afar the Wair
for official order to carry out the sentence and the Minister
took the document and affixing his seal and signature thereto
gave the order for the execution. So they bore Attaf away and
led him to the gallows-foot whither he was followed by a world of
folk in number as the dust; and, as they set him under the tree
Ja'afar the Wazir, who was riding by with his suite at the time,
suddenly espied a crowd going forth the city. Thereupon he
summoned the Sobáshí[FN#371] who came up to him and kissed his
knee. "What is the object of this gathering of folk who be
manifold as the dust and what do they want?" quoth the Wazir; and
quoth the officer, "We are wending to hang[FN#372] a Syrian who
hath murthered a youth of Sharif family." "And who may be this
Syrian?" asked the Wazir, and the other answered, "One hight
Attaf." But when Ja'afar heard the word Attaf he cried out with
a mighty loud outcry and said, "Hither with him." So after
loosing the noose from his neck they set him before the Wazir who
regarding him at once recognized his whilome host albeit he was
in the meanest of conditions, so he sprang up and threw himself
upon him and he in turn threw himself upon his sometime
quest.[FN#373] "What condition be this?" quoth Ja'afar as soon
as he could speak, and quoth Attaf, "This cometh of my
acquaintance with thee which hath brought me to such pass."
Hereupon the twain swooned clean away and fell down fainting on
the floor, and when they came to themselves and could rise to
their feet Ja'afar the Wazir sent his friend Attaf to the Hammam
with a sumptuous suit of clothes which he donned as he came out.
Then the attendants led him to the Wazirial mansion where both
took seat and drank wine and ate the early meal[FN#374] and after
their coffee they sat together in converse. And when they had
rested and were cheered, Ja'afar said, "Do thou acquaint me with
all that betided thee from the time we took leave each of other
until this day and date." So Attaf fell to telling him how he
had been entreated by Abdal-Malik bin Marwan, Governor of Syria;
how he had been thrown into prison and how his enemy came thither
by night with intent to strangle him; also how the gaoler devised
a device to save him from slaughter and how he had fled nor
ceased flight till he drew near Baghdad when robbers had stripped
him; how he had lost an opportunity of seeing the Wazir because
the city had been decorated; and, lastly, what had happened to
him through being driven from the Cathedral-mosque; brief, he
recounted all from commencement to conclusion. Hereupon the
Minister loaded him with benefits and presently gave orders to
renew the marriage-ceremony between man and wife; and she seeing
her husband led in to pay her the first visit lost her senses,
and her wits flew from her head and she cried aloud, "Would
Heaven I wot if this be on wake or the imbroglio of dreams!" So
she started like one frightened and a moment after she threw
herself upon her husband and cried, "Say me, do I view thee in
vision or really in the flesh?" whereto he replied, "In the world
of sense and no sweven is this." Then he took seat beside her
and related to her all that had befallen him of hardships and
horrors till he was taken from under the Hairibee; and she on her
part recounted how she had dwelt under Ja'afar's roof, eating
well and drinking well and dressing well and in honour and
worship the highmost that might be. And the joy of this couple
on reunion was perfect. But as for Ja'afar when the morning
morrowed, he arose and fared for the Palace; then, entering the
presence, he narrated to the Caliph all that had befallen Attaf,
art and part; and the Commander of the Faithful rejoined, "Indeed
this adventure is the most wondrous that can be, and the most
marvelous that ever came to pass." Presently he called to the
Treasurer and bade him bring the book a second time from the
Treasury, and when it was brought the Prince of True Believers
took it, and handing it to Ja'afar, said to him, "Open and read."
So he perused the whole tale of Attaf with himself the while his
liege lord again wept and laughed at the same moment and said,
"In very deed, all things strange and rare are written and laid
up amongst the treasuries of the Kings; and therefor I cried at
thee in my wrath and forbade thee my presence until thou couldst
answer the question, What is there is this volume? and thou
couldst comprehend the cause of my tears and my smiles. Then
thou wentest from before me and wast driven by doom of Destiny
until befel thee with Attaf that which did befal; and in fine
thou returnedst with the reply I required." Then the Caliph
enrobed Ja'afar with a sumptuous honour-robe and said to the
attendants, "Bring hither to me Attaf." So they went out and
brought him before the Prince of True Believers; and the Syrian
standing between his hands blessed the Sovran and prayed for his
honour and glory in permanence of prosperity and felicity.
Hereat quoth the Caliph, "O Attaf ask what thou wishest!" and
quoth the generous man, "O King of the Age, I pray only thy
pardon for Abd al-Malik bin Marwan." "For that he harmed htee?"
asked Harun al-Rashid, and Attaf answered, "O my lord, the
transgression came not from him, but from Him who caused him work
my wrong; and I have freely pardoned him. Also do thou, O my
lord, write a Farmán with thine own hand certifying that I have
sold to the gaoler, and have received from the price thereof, all
my slaves and estates in fullest tale and most complete.
Moreover deign thou appoint him inspector over the Governor of
Syria[FN#375] and forward to him a signet-ring by way of sign
that no petition which doth not bear that seal shall be accepted
or even shall be heard and lastly transmit all this with a
Chamberlain unto Damascus." Now all the citizens of Syria were
expecting some ill-turn from the part of Attaf, and with this
grievous thought they were engrossed, when suddenly tidings from
Baghdad were bruited abroad; to wit, that a Kapuji was coming on
Attaf's business. Hereat the folk feared with exceeding great
affright and fell to saying, "Gone is the head of Abd al-Malik
bin Marwan, and gone all who could say aught in his defence."
And when the arrival of the Chamberlain was announced all fared
forth to meet and greet him, and he entered on a day of flocking
and crowding,[FN#376] which might be truly numbered amongst the
days and lives of men. And presently he produced the writ of
indemnity, and pardon may not be procured save by one duly
empowered to pardon. Then he sent for the gaoler and committed
to him the goods and chattels of Attaf, together with the signet
and the appointment of supervisor over the Governor of Syria with
an especial Farman that no order be valid unless sealed with the
superior's seal. Nor was Abd al-Malik bin Marwan less rejoiced
that the adventure had ended so well for him when he saw the
Kapuji returning Baghdad-wards that he might report all
concerning his mission. But as for Attaf, his friend Ja'afar
bestowed upon him seigniories and presented him with property and
moneys exceeding tenfold what he had whilome owned and made him
more prosperous than he had ever been aforetime.