I took the king of Serendib’s letter, continued Sindbad, and went
to present myself at the gate of the commander of the faithful,
followed by the beautiful slave, and such of my own family as
carried the presents. I gave an account of the reason of my coming,
and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. I made my
reverence by prostration, and after a short speech, gave him the
letter and present. When he had read what the king of Serendib wrote
to him, he asked me if that prince was really so rich and potent as
he had said in his letter? I prostrated myself a second time, and
rising again, Commander of the faithful, said I, I can assure your
majesty he doth not exceed the truth on that head. I am witness of
it. There is nothing more capable of raising a man’s admiration
than the magnificence of his palace. When the prince appears in
public, he has a throne fixed on the back of an elephant, and
marches betwixt two ranks of his ministers, favourites, and other
people of his court; before him, upon the same elephant, an officer
carries a golden lance in his hand; and behind the throne there is
another, who stands upright, with a column of gold, on the top of
which there is an emerald half a foot long, and an inch thick;
before him march a guard of a thousand men, clad in cloth of gold
and silk, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned.
While the king is on his march, the officer who is before him on the
same elephant, cries, from time to time, with a loud voice, Behold
the great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the Indies,
whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, and who
possesses twenty thousand crowns of diamonds. Behold the crowned
monarch greater than the great Solima [49] and the great Mihrage.
[50] After he had pronounced those words, the officer behind the
throne cries in his turn, This monarch, so great and so powerful,
must die, must die, must die. And the officer before replies, Praise
be to him who lives for ever.
Farther, the king of Serendib is so just, that there are no judges
in his dominions. His people have no need of them. They understand
and observe justice exactly of themselves.
The caliph was much pleased with my discourse. The wisdom of that
king, said he, appears in his letter, and after what you tell me, I
must confess, that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and his
people deserve so wise a prince. Having spoken thus, he dismissed
me, and sent me home with a rich present.
Sindbad left off speaking, and his company retired, Hindbad having
first received a hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear
the relation of his seventh and last voyage, as follows:
The seventh and last Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.
Being returned from my sixth voyage, I absolutely laid aside all
thoughts of travelling any farther; for, beside that my years now
required rest, I was resolved no more to expose myself to such risk
as I had run; so that I thought of nothing but to pass the rest of
my days in quiet. One day as I was treating a parcel of my friends,
one of my servants came, and told me, that an officer of the caliph
asked for me. I rose from the table and went to him. The caliph,
said he, has sent me to tell you, that he must speak with you. I
followed the officer to the palace, where being presented to the
caliph, I saluted him, by prostrating myself at his feet. Sindbad,
said he to me, I stand in need of you; you must do me the service to
carry my answer and present to the king of Serendib. It is but just
I should return his civility.
This command of the caliph to me was like a clap of thunder.
Commander of the faithful, replied I, I am ready to do whatever your
majesty shall think fit to command me; but I beseech you most humbly
to consider what I have undergone. I have also made a vow never to
go out of Bagdad. Hence, I took occasion to give him a large and
particular account of all my adventures, which he had the patience
to hear out.
As soon as I had finished, I confess, said he, that the things you
tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must, for my sake, undertake
this voyage which I propose to you. You have nothing to do but to go
to the isle of Serendib, and deliver the commission which I give
you. After that you are at liberty to return. But you must go; for
you know it would be indecent, and not suitable to my dignity, to be
indebted to the king of that island. Perceiving that the caliph
insisted upon it, I submitted, and told him that I was willing to
obey. He was very well pleased at it, and ordered me a thousand
sequins for the charge of my journey.
I prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the
caliph’s letter and present were delivered to me, I went to
Balsora, where I embarked, and had a very happy voyage. I arrived at
the isle of Serendib, where I acquainted the king’s ministers with
my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy audience. They did
so, and I was conducted to the palace in an honourable manner, where
I saluted the king by prostration, according to custom. That prince
knew me immediately, and testified very great joy to see me. O
Sindbad, said he, you are welcome; I swear to you I have many times
thought of you since you went hence; I bless the day upon which we
see one another once more. I made my compliment to him, and after
having thanked him for his kindness to me, I delivered the
caliph’s letter and present, which he received with all imaginable
satisfaction.
The caliph’s present was a complete set of cloth of gold, valued
at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred other
of white cloth, the finest of Cairo, Suez, Cusa, [51] and
Alexandria; [52] a royal crimson bed, and a second of another
fashion; a vessel of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and
half a foot wide, the bottom of which represented in bas-relief a
man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and an arrow, ready
to let fly at a lion. He sent him also a rich table, which,
according to tradition, belonged to the great Solomon. The
caliph’s letter was as follows:
‘Greeting in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way, to
the potent and happy sultan, from Abdallah Haroun Alraschid, whom
God hath set in the place of honour, after his ancestors of happy
memory:
‘We received your letter with joy, and send you this from the
council of our port; the garden of superior wits. We hope, when you
look upon it, you will find our good intention, and be pleased with
it. Adieu.’
The king of Serendib was highly pleased that the caliph answered his
friendship. A little time after this audience, I solicited leave to
depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it. I obtained it however
at last, and the king, when he dismissed me, made me a very
considerable present. I embarked immediately to return to Bagdad,
but had not the good fortune to arrive there as I hoped. God ordered
it otherwise.
Three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by corsairs,
who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no vessel of force.
Some of the crew offered resistance, which cost them their lives.
But for me and the rest, who were not so imprudent, the corsairs
saved us, on purpose to make slaves of us.
Day beginning to appear, Scheherazade was obliged to keep silence,
but next night resumed the story thus: