Dinarzade awaked the sultaness next night as usual, and prayed her
to continue the history of the first calender. Schahriar having also
signified to the sultaness, that it would be very pleasing to him,
she resumed the thread of her discourse as follows:
Madam, said the calender to Zobeide, I could get nothing farther
from him, but was obliged to take leave of him. As I returned to my
uncle’s palace, the vapours of the wine got up into my head;
however, I got to my apartment, and went to bed. Next morning, when
I awaked, I began to reflect upon what had happened the night
before; and after recollecting all the circumstances of such a
singular adventure, I fancied it was nothing but a dream. Full of
these thoughts, I sent to see if the prince, my cousin, was ready to
receive a visit from me; but when they brought word back that he did
not lie in his own lodgings that night, they knew not what was
become of him, and were in much trouble about it, I conceived that
the strange event of the tomb was but too true. I was sensibly
afflicted at it; and stealing away privately from my people, I went
to the public burying-place, where there was a vast number of tombs
like that which I had seen. I spent the day in viewing them one
after another, but could not find that I sought for, and thus I
spent four days successively in vain.
You must know, that all this while the king my uncle was absent, and
had been hunting for several days; and I grew weary of staying for
him, and having prayed his ministers to make my apology to him at
his return, I left his palace, and set out towards my father’s
court, from which I had never been so long absent before. I left the
ministers of the king my uncle in great trouble, to think what was
become of the prince my cousin: but because of the oath I had made
to keep his secret, I durst not tell them of any thing that I had
seen or knew, in order to make them easy.
I arrived at my father’s capital, the usual place of his
residence, where, contrary to custom, I found a great guard at the
gate of the palace, who surrounded me as I entered. I asked the
reason, and the commanding officer replied, Prince, the army has
proclaimed the grand vizier king, instead of your father, who is
dead, and I take you prisoner in the name of the new king. At these
words the guards laid hold of me, and carried me before the tyrant.
I leave you to judge, madam, how much I was surprised and grieved.
This rebel vizier had long entertained a mortal hatred against me,
for this reason: when I was a stripling, I loved to shoot in a
cross-bow; and being one day upon the terrace of the palace with my
bow, a bird happening to come by, I shot, but missed him, and the
ball by misfortune hit the vizier, who was taking the air upon the
terrace of his own house, and put out one of his eyes. As soon as I
understood it, I not only sent to make my excuses to him, but did it
in person: yet he always resented it, and, as opportunity offered,
made me sensible of it: but now, madam, that he had me in his power,
he expressed his resentment in a very barbarous manner; for he came
to me like a madman, as soon as ever he saw me, and thrusting his
finger into my right eye, pulled it out himself; and so, madam, I
became blind of one eye.
But the usurper’s cruelty did not stop here; he ordered me to be
shut up in a box, and commanded the executioner to carry me into the
country, to cut off my head, and leave me to be devoured by the
birds of prey. The executioner and another man carried me thus shut
up on horseback into the country, in order to execute the
usurper’s barbarous sentence; but by my prayers and tears, I moved
the executioner’s compassion. Go, said he to me, get you speedily
out of the kingdom, and take heed of ever returning to it, otherwise
you will certainly meet your own ruin, and be the cause of mine. I
thanked him for the favour he did me; and as soon as I was left
alone, I comforted myself for the loss of my eye, by considering
that I had very narrowly escaped much greater danger.
Being in such a condition, I could not travel far at a time: I
retired to remote places while it was day, and travelled as far by
night as my strength would allow me. At last I arrived in the
dominions of the king my uncle, and came to his capital.
I gave him a long detail of the tragical cause of my return, and of
the sad condition he saw me in. Alas! cried he, was it not enough
for me to have lost my son, but must I have news also of the death
of a brother I loved so dearly, and see you also reduced to this
deplorable condition? He told me how uneasy he was, that he could
hear nothing of his son, notwithstanding all the diligence and
inquiry he could make. At these words the unfortunate father burst
out into tears, and was so much afflicted, that, pitying his grief,
it was impossible for me to keep the secret any longer; so that,
notwithstanding my oath to the prince my cousin, I told the king his
father all that I knew.
His majesty listened to me with some sort of comfort; and when I had
done, Nephew, said he, what you tell me gives me some hope. I knew
that my son ordered that tomb to be built, and I can guess pretty
near at the place; and with the idea you still have of it, I fancy
we shall find it; but since he ordered it to be built privately, and
you took your oath to keep his secret, I am of opinion that we ought
to go in quest of it alone, without saying any thing. But he had
another reason for keeping the matter secret, which he did not then
tell me, and an important reason it was, as you will perceive by the
sequel of my discourse.
We disguised ourselves, and went out by a door of the garden which
opened into the field, and soon found what we sought for. I knew the
tomb, and was the more rejoiced at it, because I had formerly sought
it a long time in vain. We entered, and found the iron trap pulled
down upon the entrance of the staircase; we had much ado to raise
it, because the prince had fastened it on the inside with the water
and plaster formerly mentioned, but at last we did get it up.
The king my uncle descended first, I followed, and we went down
about fifty steps. When we came to the foot of the stairs, we found
a sort of ante-chamber, full of a thick smoke, of an ill scent,
which obscured the lamp that gave a very faint light.
From this ante-chamber we came into another, very large, supported
by great columns, and lighted by several branched candlesticks.
There was a cistern in the middle, and provisions of several sorts
standing on one side of it; but we were very much surprised to see
nobody. Before us there appeared an high sofa, which we mounted by
several steps, and over this, there appeared a very large bed, with
the curtains drawn close. The king went up, and opening the
curtains, perceived the prince his son and the lady in bed together,
but burnt and changed to a coal, as if they had been thrown into a
great fire, and taken out again before they were consumed.
But what surprised me most of all was, that though this spectacle
filled me with horror, the king my uncle, instead of testifying his
sorrow to see the prince his son in such a frightful condition, spit
on his face, and said to him with a disdainful air, ‘This is the
punishment of this world, but that of the other will last to
eternity;’ and not content with this, he pulled off his sandal,
and gave his son a great blow on the cheek with it.
But, sir, said Scheherazade, it is day. I am sorry your majesty’s
time will not allow you to hear me farther. This story appearing
very strange to the sultan, he got up resolved to hear the rest of
it next night.