About the latter end of the following night, Dinarzade addressed
herself to the sultaness thus: Dear sister, I pray, until day
appear, which will be very soon, be pleased to relate some of the
fine stories you have read. --I would willingly, said Schahriar,
hear the story of the third calender. --Sir, replied Scheherazade,
you shall be obeyed. The third calender, perceiving it was his turn
to speak, addressed his speech as the rest had done, to Zobeide, and
began in this manner:
The History of the Third Calender, a King’s Son.
My story, most honourable lady, very much differs from what you have
heard already. The two princes that spoke before me have each lost
an eye by the pure effects of their destiny, but mine I lost through
my own fault, and by hastening to seek my own misfortune, as you
shall hear by the sequel of the story. My name is Agib, and I am the
son of a king who was called Cassib. After his death I took
possession of his dominions, and resided in the same city where he
lived before. The city is situated on the sea-coast, has one of the
finest and safest harbours in the world, an arsenal capable of
fitting out for sea one hundred and fifty men of war that are always
ready, and fifty merchantmen, and light frigates, and pleasure-boats
besides. My kingdom is composed of several fine provinces upon the
main land, besides a number of spacious islands, every one of which
lies almost in sight of my capital city.
The first thing I did was to visit the provinces. I afterwards
caused my whole fleet to be fitted out and manned, and went to my
islands to gain the hearts of my subjects by my presence, and to
confirm them in their loyalty; and some time after I returned, I
went thither again. These voyages giving me some taste for
navigation, I took so much pleasure in it, that I resolved to make
some discoveries beyond my islands; to which end I caused only ten
ships to be fitted out, embarked on board them, and set sail.
Our voyage was very successful for forty days together: but on the
forty-first night the wind became contrary, and withal so
boisterous, that we were near being lost in the storm. About break
of day the wind grew calm, the clouds dispersed, and the sun having
brought back fair weather, we came close to an island, where we
remained two days to take in fresh provisions; after which we put
off again to sea. After ten days’ sail, we were in hopes of seeing
land; for the tempests we had gone through had so much abated my
curiosity, that I gave orders to steer back to my own coast; but I
perceived at the same time, that my pilot knew not where we were.
Upon the tenth day, a seaman being sent to look out for land from
the main-mast head, gave notice that on starboard and larboard he
could see nothing but the sky and the sea, which bounded the
horizon; but just before us, upon the stern, he saw a great
blackness.
The pilot changed colour at this relation; and, throwing his turban
on the deck with one hand, and beating his breast with the other,
cried, Oh, sir! we are all lost! not one of us will escape! and,
with all my skill, it is not in my power to prevent it. --Having
spoke thus, he fell to crying like a man who foresaw unavoidable
ruin: his despair put the whole ship’s crew in fear. I asked him
what reason he had thus to despair? He told me the tempest, which he
had outlived, had brought us so far out of our course, that
to-morrow about noon we should come near to that black place, which
is nothing else but the black mountain, that is, a mine of adamant,
which at this very minute draws all your fleet towards it, by virtue
of the iron and the nails that are in your ships; and when we come
to-morrow at a certain distance, the strength of the adamant will
have such a force, that all the nails will be drawn out of the sides
and bottoms of the ships, and fasten to the mountain; so that your
vessel will fall to pieces, and sink to the bottom: and as the
adamant has a virtue to draw all iron to it, whereby its attraction
becomes stronger, this mountain on the side of the sea is covered
over with nails, drawn out of an infinite number of vessels that
have perished by it; and this preserves and augments its virtue at
the same time.
This mountain, continued the pilot, is very rugged: on the top of it
there is a dome of fine brass, supported by pillars of the same; and
upon the top of that dome there stands a horse of the same metal,
with a rider on his back, who has a plate of lead fixed to his
breast, upon which some talismanic characters are engraven. Sir, the
tradition is, that this statue is the chief cause that so many ships
and men have been lost and sunk in this place, and that it will ever
continue to be fatal to all those who have the misfortune to come
near to it, until it shall be thrown down.
The pilot, having ended his discourse, began to weep afresh, and all
the rest of the ship’s company did the like. I had no other
thought but that my days were there to have an end. In the mean
time, every one began to provide for his own safety, and to that end
took all imaginable precautions; and, being uncertain of the event,
they all made one another their heirs, by virtue of a will, for the
benefit of those that should happen to be saved.
The next morning we perceived the black mountain very plain, and the
idea we had conceived of it made it appear more frightful than it
was. About noon we were come so near, that we found what the pilot
had foretold to be true; for we saw all the nails and iron about the
ships fly towards the mountain, where they fixed, by the violence of
the attraction, with a horrible noise: the ships split asunder, and
sunk into the sea, which was so deep about the place, that we could
not sound it. All my people were drowned; but God had mercy on me,
and permitted me to save myself by means of a plank, which the wind
drove ashore just at the foot of the mountain. I did not receive the
least hurt; and my good fortune brought me to a landing place, where
there were steps that went up to the top of the mountain.
Scheherazade would have gone on with her story, but day appearing,
she was obliged to keep silence. The sultan was convinced by this
beginning that the sultaness had not deceived him; and therefore we
are not to wonder that he did not order her to die that day.