There was a sultan who had peaceably filled the throne of India many
years, and had the satisfaction in his old age to have three sons,
the worthy imitators of his virtues, who, with the princess his
niece, were the ornaments of his court. The eldest of the princes
was called Houssain, the second Ali, the youngest Ahmed, and the
princess his niece Nouronnihar. [104]
The princess Nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of
the sultan, to whom the sultan in his lifetime allowed a
considerable revenue. But that prince had not been married long
before he died, and left the princess very young. The sultan, in
consideration of the brotherly love and friendship that had always
subsisted between them, besides a great attachment to his person,
took upon himself the care of his daughter’s education, and
brought her up in his palace with the three princes; where her
singular beauty and personal accomplishments, joined to a lively wit
and irreproachable virtue, distinguished her among all the
princesses of her time.
The sultan, her uncle, proposed to marry her when she arrived at a
proper age, and to contract an alliance with some neighbouring
prince by that means; and was thinking seriously on that affair,
when he perceived that the three princes his sons loved her
passionately. He was very much concerned, but his grief did not
proceed from a consideration that their passion prevented his
forming the alliance he designed, but the difficulty he foresaw to
make them agree, and that the two youngest should consent to yield
her up to their elder brother. He spoke to each of them apart; and
after having remonstrated on the impossibility of one princess being
the wife of three persons, and the troubles they would create if
they persisted in their passion, he did all he could to persuade
them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favour of one of
them; or to desist from their pretensions, and to think of other
matches, which he left them free liberty to choose, and suffer her
to be married to a foreign prince. But as he found them obstinate,
he sent for them altogether, and said to them, Children, since for
your good and quiet I have not been able to persuade you no longer
to aspire to marry the princess your cousin; and as I have no
inclination to make use of my authority, to give her to one
preferable before the other two, I fancy I have thought of a proper
expedient which will please you all, and preserve the union among
you, if you will but hear me, and follow my advice. I think it would
not be amiss, if every one travelled separately into different
countries, so that you might not meet each other: and as you know I
am very curious, and delight in every thing that is rare and
singular, I promise my niece in marriage to him that shall bring me
the most extraordinary rarity; so that as chance may lead you to
form your own judgment of the singularity of the things which you
bring, by the comparison you make of them, you will have no
difficulty to do yourselves justice by yielding the preference to
him who has deserved it; and for the expense of travelling, I will
give each of you a sum agreeable to your birth, and the purchase of
the rarity you shall go in search after; which shall not be laid out
in an equipage and attendants, which by discovering who you are,
would not only deprive you of the liberty to acquit yourselves of
the inquiry you go about, but prevent your observing those things
which merit your attention, and may be most useful to you.
As the three princes were always submissive and obedient to the
sultan’s will, and each flattered himself fortune might prove
favourable to him, and give him the possession of the princess
Nouronnihar, they all consented to it. The sultan gave them the
money he promised them; and that very day they issued orders for the
preparations for their travels, and took leave of the sultan, that
they might be ready to set out early next morning. They all went out
at the same gate of the city, each dressed like a merchant, attended
by a trusty officer, dressed like a slave, and all well mounted and
equipped. They went the first day’s journey together, and slept at
the first inn, where the road divided into three different tracks.
At night when they were at supper together, they all agreed to
travel for a year, and to make that inn their rendezvous; and that
the first that came should wait for the rest; that as they had all
three taken leave together of the sultan, they might all return
together. The next morning by break of day, after they had embraced
and wished each other reciprocally good success, they mounted their
horses, and took each a different road.
Prince Houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders of the
extent, strength, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of Bisnagar,
bent his course towards the Indian coast; and, after three months’
travelling, joining himself to different caravans, sometimes over
deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes through populous and
fertile countries, arrived at Bisnagar, the capital of the kingdom
of that name, and the residence of its king. He lodged at a khan
appointed for foreign merchants, and having learnt that there were
four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts kept their
shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather the
king’s palace, on a large extent of ground, as the centre of the
city, and surrounded with three courts, and each gate distant two
leagues from the other, he went to one of these quarters the next
day.
Prince Houssain could not view this quarter without admiration. It
was large, and divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded
from the sun, and yet very light. The shops were all of the same
size and proportion; and all that dealt in the same sort of goods,
as well as all the artists, lived in one street.
The multitude of shops stocked with all kinds of merchandises, such
as the finest linens from several parts of India, some painted in
the most lively colours, and representing men, landscapes, trees,
and flowers; silks and brocades, from Persia, China, and other
places; porcelain from Japan and China; foot carpets of all sizes;
surprised him so much, that he knew not how to believe his own eyes;
but when he came to the shops of the goldsmiths and jewellers, (for
those two trades were exercised by the same merchants,) he was in a
kind of ecstasy, to behold such prodigious quantities of wrought
gold and silver, and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls,
diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones exposed to
sale. But if he was amazed at seeing so many riches in one place, he
was much more surprised when he came to judge of the wealth of the
whole kingdom, by considering, that except the bramins, and
ministers of the idols, who profess a life retired from worldly
vanity, there was not an Indian man or woman, through the extent of
that kingdom, but wore necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments about
their legs and feet, made of pearls, and other precious stones,
which appeared with the greater lustre, as they were blacks, which
colour admirably set off their brilliancy.
Another thing prince Houssain particularly admired, was the great
number of rose sellers, who crowded the streets; for the Indians are
so great lovers of that flower, that not one will stir without a
nosegay of them in his hand, or a garland of them on his head; and
the merchants keep them in pots in the shops, so that the air of the
whole quarter, however large, is perfectly perfumed.
After prince Houssain had run through that quarter, street by
street, his thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen, he
was very much tired; which a merchant perceiving, civilly invited
him to sit down in his shop. He accepted his offer; but had not been
seated long before he saw a crier pass by with a piece of carpet on
his arm, about six feet square, and cry it at thirty purses. The
prince called to the crier, and asked to see the carpeting, which
seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not only for the
size of it, but the meanness of the stuff. When he had examined it
well, he told the crier, that he could not comprehend how so small a
piece of carpeting, and of so indifferent an appearance, could be
set at so high a price.
The crier, who took him for a merchant, replied, Sir, if this price
seems so extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when I
tell you I have orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part
with it under. Certainly, answered prince Houssain, it must have
something very extraordinary in it, which I know nothing of. You
have guessed it, sir, replied the crier, and will own it when you
come to know, that whoever sits on this piece of carpeting may be
transported in an instant wherever he desires to be, without being
stopped by any obstacle. [105]
At this discourse of the crier, the prince of the Indies,
considering that the principal motive of his travel was to carry the
sultan his father home some singular rarity, thought that he could
not meet with any which would give more satisfaction. If the
carpeting, said he to the crier, has the virtue you assign it, I
shall not think it too much; but shall make you a present besides.
Sir, replied the crier, I have told you the truth; and it will be an
easy matter to convince you of it, as soon as you have made the
bargain for forty purses, on condition I show you the experiment.
But as I suppose you have not so much with you, and to receive them
I must go with you to the khan where you lodge, with the leave of
the master of the shop, we will go into the back shop, and I will
spread the carpeting; and when we have both sat down, and you have
formed the wish to be transported into your apartment at the khan,
if we are not transported thither it shall be no bargain, and you
shall be at your liberty. As to your present, as I am paid for my
trouble by the seller, I shall receive it as a favour, and be very
much obliged to you for it.
On the credit of the crier, the prince accepted the conditions, and
concluded the bargain; and having obtained the master’s leave,
they went into his back-shop: they both sat down on the carpeting;
and as soon as the prince formed his wish to be transported into his
apartment at the khan, he presently found himself and the crier
there in the same situation; and as he wanted not a more sufficient
proof of the virtue of the carpeting, he counted to the crier forty
purses of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself.
In this manner prince Houssain became the possessor of the
carpeting, and was overjoyed that at his arrival at Bisnagar he had
found so rare a piece, which he never doubted would gain the
possession of Nouronnihar. In short, he looked upon it as an
impossible thing for the princes, his younger brothers, to meet with
any thing to be compared with it. It was in his power, by sitting on
this carpeting, to be at the place of rendezvous that very day; but
as he was obliged to stay there for his brothers, as they had
agreed, and as he was curious to see the king of Bisnagar and his
court, and to inform himself of the strength, laws, customs, and
religion of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode there, and
to spend some months in satisfying his curiosity.
It was a custom of the king of Bisnagar to give all strange
merchants access to his person once a week; and by that title prince
Houssain, who would not be known, saw him often: and as this prince
was handsome, witty, and extremely polite, he easily distinguished
himself among the merchants, and was preferred before them all by
the sultan, who addressed himself to him, to be informed of the
person of the sultan of the Indies, and of the government, strength,
and riches of his dominions.
The rest of his time the prince spent in seeing what was most
remarkable in and about the city; and among those things which were
most worthy of admiration, he visited a temple of idols, remarkable
for being built all of brass. It was ten cubits square, and fifteen
high; and the greatest ornament to it was an idol of the height of a
man, of massy gold; its eyes were two rubies, set so artificially,
that it seemed to look at those who looked at it, on which side
soever they turned: besides this, there was another not less
curious, in a village, in the midst of a plain of about ten acres,
which was a delicious garden full of roses and the choicest flowers,
surrounded with a small wall breast high, to keep the cattle out. In
the midst of this plain was raised a terrace, a man’s height, so
nicely paved, that the whole pavement seemed to be but one single
stone. A temple was erected in the middle of this terrace, with a
dome about fifty cubits high, which might be seen for several
leagues round. It was thirty cubits long, and twenty broad, built of
red marble, highly polished. The inside of the dome was adorned with
three rows of fine paintings, in good taste; and there was not a
place in the whole temple but what was embellished with paintings,
basso relievos, and figures of idols from top to bottom.
Every night and morning there were superstitious ceremonies
performed in this temple, which were always succeeded by sports,
concerts of music, dancing, singing, and feasts. The ministers of
the temple, and the inhabitants of the place, had nothing to subsist
on but the offerings of pilgrims, who came in crowds from the most
distant parts of the kingdom to perform their vows.
Prince Houssain was also spectator of a solemn feast, which was
celebrated every year at the court of Bisnagar, at which all the
governors of provinces, commanders of fortified places, all
governors and judges of towns, and the bramins most celebrated for
their learning, were obliged to be present; and some lived so far
off that they were four months in coming. This assembly, composed of
such innumerable multitudes of Indians, met in a plain of vast
extent, was a glorious sight, as far as the eye could reach. In the
centre of this plain was a square of great length and breadth,
closed on one side by a large scaffolding of nine stories, supported
by forty pillars, raised for the king and his court, and those
strangers he admitted to audience once a week; within it was adorned
and furnished magnificently; and on the outside were painted fine
landscapes, wherein all sorts of beasts, birds, and insects, even
flies and gnats, were drawn very naturally. Other scaffolds of at
least four or five stories, and painted almost all alike, formed the
other three sides. But what was more particular in these scaffolds,
they could turn them, and make them change their situation and
decorations every hour.
On each side of the square, at some little distance from each other,
were ranged 1000 elephants, sumptuously harnessed, and each having
upon his back a square wooden castle, finely gilt, in which were
musicians and stage-players. The trunks, ears, and bodies of these
elephants were painted with cinnabar and other colours, representing
grotesque figures.
But what prince Houssain most of all admired, as a proof of the
industry, address, and inventive genius of the Indians, was to see
the largest of these elephants stand with his four feet on a post
fixed into the earth, and standing out of it above two feet, playing
and beating time with his trunk to the music. Besides this, he
admired another elephant as big as this, set upon a board, which was
laid across a strong beam about ten feet high, with a great weight
at the other end, which balanced him, while he kept time, by the
motions of his body and trunk, with the music, as well as the other
elephant. The Indians, after having fastened on the counterpoise,
had drawn the other end of the board down to the ground, and made
the elephant get upon it.
Prince Houssain might have made a longer stay in the kingdom and
court of Bisnagar, where he would have been agreeably diverted by a
great variety of other wonders, till the last day of the year,
whereon he and his brothers had appointed to meet. But he was so
well satisfied with what he had seen, and his thoughts ran so much
upon the object of his love, that after his good success in meeting
with this carpeting, the beauty and charms of the princess
Nouronnihar increased every day the violence of his passion, and he
fancied he should be the more easy and happy the nearer he was to
her. After he had satisfied the master of the khan for his
apartment, and told him the hour when he might come for the key,
without telling him how he should go, he shut the door, put the key
on the outside, and spreading the carpeting, he and the officer he
had brought with him sat down on it, and as soon as he had formed
his wish, were transported to the inn at which he and his brothers
were to meet, and where he passed for a merchant till they came.
Prince Ali, prince Houssain’s second brother, who designed to
travel into Persia, in conformity to the intention of the sultan of
the Indies, took that road, having three days after he parted with
his brothers joined a caravan; and after four months travelling,
arrived at Schiraz, which was then the capital of the kingdom of
Persia; and having in the way contracted a friendship with some
merchants, passed for a jeweller, and lodged in the same khan with
them.
The next morning, while the merchants opened their bales of
merchandises, prince Ali, who travelled only for his pleasure, and
had brought nothing but necessaries with him, after he had dressed
himself, took a walk into that quarter of the town where they sold
precious stones, gold and silver works, brocades, silks, fine
linens, and other choice and valuable merchandises, and which was at
Schiraz called the bezestein. It was a spacious and well-built
place, arched over, and the arches supported by large pillars, round
which, as well as along the walls, within and without, were shops.
Prince Ali soon rambled through the bezestein, and with admiration
judged of the riches of the place by the prodigious quantities of
the most precious merchandises that were there exposed to view.
But among all the criers who passed backwards and forwards with
several sorts of goods, offering to sell them, he was not a little
surprised to see one who held in his hand an ivory tube, of about a
foot in length, and about an inch thick, and cried it at thirty
purses. At first he thought the crier mad, and to inform himself,
went to a shop, and said to the merchant, who stood at the door,
Pray, sir, is not that man (pointing to the crier, who cried the
ivory tube at thirty purses) mad? If he is not, I am very much
deceived. Indeed, sir, answered the merchant, he was in his right
senses yesterday; and I can assure you he is one of the ablest
criers we have, and the most employed of any, as being to be
confided in, when any thing valuable is to be sold; and, if he cries
the ivory tube at thirty purses, it must be worth as much, or more,
on some account or other which does not appear. He will come by
presently, and we will call him, and you shall satisfy yourself: in
the mean time, sit down on my sofa, and rest yourself.
Prince Ali accepted of the merchant’s obliging offer, and
presently afterwards the crier passed by. The merchant called him by
his name; and, pointing to the prince, said to him, Tell that
gentleman, who asked me if you were in your right senses, what you
mean by crying that ivory tube, which seems not to be worth much, at
thirty purses. I should be very much amazed myself, if I did not
know you were a sensible man. The crier, addressing himself to
prince Ali, said, Sir, you are not the only person that takes me for
a madman on the account of this tube: you shall judge yourself
whether I am or no, when I have told you its property; and I hope
you will value it at as high a price as those I have showed it to
already, who had as bad an opinion of me as you have.
First, sir, pursued the crier, presenting the ivory tube to the
prince, observe, that this tube is furnished with a glass at both
ends; and consider, that, by looking through one of them, you see
whatever object you wish to behold. I am, said the prince, ready to
make you all proper reparation for the scandal I have thrown on you,
if you will make the truth of what you advance appear; and, as he
had the ivory tube in his hand, after he had looked at the two
glasses, he said, Show me at which of these ends I must look, that I
may be satisfied. The crier presently showed him; and he looked
through, wishing, at the same time, to see the sultan his father,
whom he immediately beheld in perfect health, sitting on his throne,
in the midst of his council. Afterwards, as there was nothing in the
world so dear to him, after the sultan, as the princess Nouronnihar,
he wished to see her; and saw her sitting at her toilet, laughing,
and in a pleasant humour, with her women about her. [106]
Prince Ali wanted no other proof to persuade him that this tube was
the most valuable thing, not only in the city of Schiraz, but in all
the world; and believed that, if he should neglect to purchase it,
he should never meet again with such another rarity. He said to the
crier, I am very sorry that I should have entertained so bad an
opinion of you, but hope to make you amends by buying the tube, for
I should be sorry if any body else had it: so tell me the lowest
price the seller has fixed upon it; and do not give yourself any
farther trouble to hawk it about, but go with me, and I will pay you
the money. The crier assured him, with an oath, that his last orders
were to take no less than forty purses; and, if he disputed the
truth of what he said, he would carry him to his employer. The
prince believed him, took him with him to the khan where he lodged,
told him out the money, and received the tube.
Prince Ali was overjoyed at his bargain; and persuaded himself that,
as his brothers would not be able to meet with any thing so rare and
admirable, the princess Nouronnihar would be the recompense of his
fatigue and trouble. He thought now of only visiting the court of
Persia incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in and about
Schiraz, till the caravan with which he came returned back to the
Indies. He had satisfied his curiosity, when the caravan was ready
to set out. The prince joined them, and arrived happily without any
accident or trouble, otherwise than the length of the journey and
fatigue of travelling, at the place of rendezvous, where he found
prince Houssain, and both waited for prince Ahmed.
Prince Ahmed took the road of Samarcande; and the next day after his
arrival there, went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein;
where he had not walked long, but he heard a crier, who had an
artificial apple in his hand, cry it at five-and-thirty purses. He
stopped the crier, and said to him, Let me see that apple, and tell
me what virtue or extraordinary property it has, to be valued at so
high a rate. Sir, said the crier, giving it into his hand, if you
look at the outside of the apple, it is very inconsiderable; but if
you consider its properties, virtues, and the great use, and benefit
it is of to mankind, you will say it is invaluable, and it is
certain that he who possesses it, is master of a great treasure. It
cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases, whether fever,
pleurisy, plague, or other malignant distempers; and, if the patient
is dying, it will recover him immediately, and restore him to
perfect health: and this is done after the easiest manner in the
world, merely by the patient’s smelling to the apple.
If one may believe you, replied prince Ahmed, the virtues of this
apple are wonderful, and it is indeed invaluable: but what ground
has a plain man like myself, who may wish to become the purchaser,
to be persuaded that there is no disguise nor exaggeration in the
high praises you bestow on it. Sir, replied the crier, the thing is
known and averred by the whole city of Samarcande; but, without
going any farther, ask all these merchants you see here, and hear
what they say; you will find several of them will tell you, they had
not been alive this day if they had not made use of this excellent
remedy; and, that you may the better comprehend what it is, I must
tell you, it is the fruit of the study and experience of a
celebrated philosopher of this city, who applied himself all his
lifetime to the knowledge of the virtues of plants and minerals, and
at last attained to this composition, by which he performed such
surprising cures in this city as will never be forgotten; but died
suddenly himself, before he could apply his own sovereign remedy,
and left his wife and a great many young children behind him in very
indifferent circumstances; who, to support her family, and provide
for her children, has resolved to sell it.
While the crier was telling prince Ahmed the virtues of the
artificial apple, a great many persons came about them, and
confirmed what he said; and one among the rest said he had a friend
dangerously ill, whose life was despaired of, which was a favourable
opportunity to show prince Ahmed the experiment. Upon which prince
Ahmed told the crier, he would give him forty purses if he cured the
sick person by smelling to it.
The crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to prince
Ahmed, Come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple
shall be yours; and I say this with the greater confidence, as it is
an undoubted fact that it will always have the same effect as it
already has had as often as it has been employed to recover from
death so many sick persons whose life was despaired of. In short,
the experiment succeeded; and the prince, after he had counted out
to the crier forty purses, and the other had delivered the apple to
him, waited with the greatest impatience for the first caravan that
should return to the Indies. In the mean time he saw all that was
curious at and about Samarcande, and principally the valley of
Sogda, [107] so called from the river which waters it, and is
reckoned by the Arabians to be one of the four paradises of the
world, for the beauty of its fields and gardens, and the fine
palaces, and for its fertility in fruit of all sorts, and all the
other pleasures enjoyed there in the fine season.
At last prince Ahmed joined himself to the first caravan that
returned to the Indies, and, notwithstanding the inevitable
inconveniences of so long a journey, arrived in perfect health at
the inn where the princes Houssain and Ali waited for him.
Prince Ali, who came there some time before prince Ahmed, asked
prince Houssain, who got thither the first, how long he had been
there; who told him, three months: to which he replied, Then
certainly you have not been very far. I will tell you nothing now,
said prince Houssain, where I have been, but only assure you I was
above three months travelling to the place I went to. But then,
replied prince Ali, you made a short stay there. Indeed, brother,
said prince Houssain, you are mistaken: I resided at one place above
four or five months, and might have stayed longer. Unless you flew
back, replied prince Ali again, I cannot comprehend how you can have
been three months here, as you would make me believe.
I tell you the truth, added prince Houssain, and it is a riddle
which I shall not explain to you till our brother Ahmed comes; when
I will let you know what rarity I have brought home from my travels.
For your part, I know not what you have got, but believe it to be
some trifle, because I do not perceive that your baggage is
increased. And pray what have you brought? replied prince Ali; for I
can see nothing but an ordinary piece of carpeting, with which you
cover your sofa, and therefore I think I may return your raillery;
and, as you seem to make what you brought a secret, you cannot take
it amiss that I do the same with respect to what I have brought.
I look upon the rarity I have purchased, replied prince Houssain, to
excel all others whatever, and should not make any difficulty to
show it you, and make you agree that it is so, and at the same time
tell you how I came by it, without being in the least apprehensive
that that which you have got is to be preferred to it. But it is
proper that we should stay till our brother Ahmed arrives, that we
may all communicate our good fortune to each other.
Prince Ali would not enter into a dispute with prince Houssain on
the preference he gave his rarity, but was satisfied and persuaded,
that, if his perspective glass was not preferable, it was impossible
it should be inferior to it; and therefore agreed to stay till
prince Ahmed arrived, to produce his purchase.
When prince Ahmed came to his brothers, and they had embraced with
tenderness, and complimented each other on the happiness of meeting
together at the same place they set out from, prince Houssain, as
the elder brother, assumed the discourse, and said to them,
Brothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to entertain ourselves
with the particulars of our travels; let us come to that which is of
the greatest importance for us to know; and, as I do not doubt you
remember the principal motive which engaged us to travel, let us not
conceal from each other the curiosities we have brought home, but
show them, that we may do ourselves justice beforehand, and see to
which of us the sultan our father may give the preference.
To set the example, continued prince Houssain, I will tell you that
the rarity which I have brought from my travels to the kingdom of
Bisnagar, is the carpeting on which I sit, which looks but ordinary,
and makes no show; but, when I have declared its virtues to you, you
will be struck with admiration, and will confess you never heard of
any thing like it. In short, whoever sits on it, as we do, and
desires to be transported to any place, be it ever so far off, is
immediately carried thither. I made the experiment myself before I
paid down the forty purses, which I most readily gave for it; and
when I had fully satisfied my curiosity, at the court of Bisnagar,
and had a mind to return, I made use of no other carriage than this
wonderful carpet for myself and servant, who can tell you how long
we were coming hither. I will show you both the experiment whenever
you please. I expect that you shall tell me whether what you have
brought is to be compared with this carpet.
Here prince Houssain made an end of commending the excellency of his
carpet; and prince Ali, addressing himself to him, said, I must own,
brother, that your carpet is one of the most surprising things
imaginable, if it has, as I do not doubt in the least, that property
you speak of. But you must allow that there may be other things, I
will not say more, but at least as wonderful, in another way; and to
convince you there are, here is an ivory tube, which appears to the
eye no more a rarity than your carpet, and yet merits great
attention; it cost me as much, and I am as well satisfied with my
purchase as you can be with yours; and you will be so just as to own
that I have not been cheated, when you know by experience, that by
looking at one end, you see whatever object you wish to behold. I
would not have you take my word, added prince Ali, presenting the
tube to him; take it, make trial of it yourself.
Prince Houssain took the ivory tube from prince Ali, and clapped
that end to his eye which prince Ali showed him, with an intention
to see the princess Nouronnihar, and to know how she did; when
prince Ali and prince Ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed upon him,
were extremely surprised to see his countenance change on a sudden
in such a manner as expressed an extraordinary surprise and
affliction. Prince Houssain would not give them time to ask what was
the matter, but cried out, Alas! princes, to what purpose have we
undertaken so long and fatiguing journeys, but with the hopes of
being recompensed by the possession of the charming Nouronnihar,
when in a few moments that lovely princess will breathe her last. I
saw her in her bed, surrounded by her women and eunuchs, who were
all in tears, and seem to expect nothing less than to see her give
up the ghost. Take the tube, behold yourselves the miserable state
she is in, and mingle your tears with mine.
Prince Ali took the tube out of prince Houssain’s hand, and after
he had seen the same object with a sensible grief, presented it to
prince Ahmed, who took it, to behold the melancholy sight which so
much concerned them all.
When prince Ahmed had taken the tube out of prince Ali’s hands,
and saw that the princess Nouronnihar’s end was so near, he
addressed himself to his two brothers, and said, Princes, the
princess Nouronnihar, equally the object of our vows, is indeed just
at death’s door; but provided we make haste, and lose no time, we
may preserve her life. Then he took the artificial apple out of his
bosom, and showing it to the princes his brothers, said to them,
This apple which you see here, cost me as much and more than either
the carpet or tube. The opportunity which now presents itself to
show you its wonderful virtue, makes me not regret the forty purses
I gave for it. But, not to keep you longer in suspense, it has the
virtue, if a sick person smells it, though in the last agonies, to
restore him to perfect health immediately. I have made the
experiment, and can show you its wonderful effect on the person of
princess Nouronnihar, if we make all due haste to assist her.
If that is all, replied prince Houssain, we cannot make more
despatch than by transporting ourselves instantly into her chamber
by the means of my carpet. Come, lose no time; sit down on it by me;
it is large enough to hold us all three: but first let us give
orders to our servants to set out immediately, and join us at the
palace.
As soon as the order was given, prince Ali and prince Ahmed went and
sat down by prince Houssain, and as their interest was the same,
they all three framed the same wish, and were transported into the
princess Nouronnihar’s chamber.
The presence of the three princes, who were so little expected,
frightened the princess’s women and eunuchs, who could not
comprehend by what enchantment three men should be among them; for
they did not know them at first; and the eunuchs were ready to fall
upon them, as people who had got into a part of the palace where
they were not allowed to come; but they presently recollected and
found their mistake.
Prince Ahmed no sooner saw himself in Nouronnihar’s chamber, and
perceived that princess dying, but he rose off the tapestry, as did
also the other two princes, and went to the bed-side, and put the
apple under her nose. Some moments after, the princess opened her
eyes, and turned her head from one side to another, looking at the
persons who stood about her; she then rose up in the bed and asked
to be dressed, with the same freedom and recollection as if she had
awaked out of a sound sleep. Her women presently informed her, in a
manner that showed their joy, that she was obliged to the three
princes her cousins, and particularly to prince Ahmed, for the
sudden recovery of her health. She immediately expressed her joy to
see them, and thanked them altogether, and afterwards prince Ahmed
in particular. As she desired to dress, the princes contented
themselves with telling her how great a pleasure it was to them, to
have come soon enough to contribute each in any degree towards
relieving her out of the immediate danger she was in, and what
ardent prayers they had offered for the continuance of her life, and
afterwards they retired.
Whilst the princess was dressing, the princes went to throw
themselves at the sultan their father’s feet, and pay their
respects to him; but when they came before him, they found he had
been previously informed of their unexpected arrival by the chief of
the princess’s eunuchs, and by what means, used by them, the
princess had been perfectly cured. The sultan received and embraced
them with the greatest joy, both for their return and the wonderful
recovery of the princess his niece, whom he loved as if she had been
his own daughter, and who had been given over by the physicians.
After the usual compliments, the princes presented each the rarity
which he had brought: prince Houssain his carpet, which he had taken
care not to leave behind him in the princess’s chamber; prince Ali
his ivory tube, and prince Ahmed the artificial apple; and after
each had commended his present, when they put it into the sultan’s
hands, they begged of him to pronounce their fate, and declare to
which of them he would give the princess Nouronnihar for a wife,
according to his promise.
The sultan of the Indies having kindly heard all that the princes
had to say in favour of their rarities, without interrupting them,
and being well informed of what had happened in relation to the
princess Nouronnihar’s cure, remained some time silent, as if he
was thinking on what answer he should make. At last he broke
silence, and said to them, in terms full of wisdom, I would declare
for one of you, my children, with a great deal of pleasure, if I
could do it with justice; but consider whether I can. It is true,
prince Ahmed, the princess my niece is obliged to your artificial
apple for her cure; but let me ask you, whether you could have been
so serviceable to her, if you had not known by prince Ali’s tube
the danger she was in, and if prince Houssain’s carpet had not
brought you to her so soon? Your tube, prince Ali, informed you and
your brothers that you were likely to lose the princess your cousin,
and so far she is greatly obliged to you.
You must also grant that that knowledge would have been of no
service without the artificial apple and the carpet. And for you,
prince Houssain, the princess would be very ungrateful, if she
should not show her sense of the serviceableness of your carpet,
which was as necessary a means towards producing a cure. But
consider, it would have been of little use, if you had not been
acquainted with the princess’s illness by prince Ali’s tube, and
prince Ahmed had not applied his artificial apple. Therefore, as
neither the carpet, the ivory tube, nor the artificial apple, have
the least preference one before the other, but, on the contrary,
there is a perfect equality, I cannot grant the princess to any one
of you; and the only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the
glory of having equally contributed to restore her to health.
If this be true, added the sultan, you see that I must have recourse
to other means to determine me with certainty in the choice I ought
to make among you; and as there is time enough between this and
night, I will do it to-day. Go, and get each of you a bow and arrow,
and repair to the great plain out of the city, where the horses are
exercised. I will soon come to you; and I declare I will give the
princess Nouronnihar to him that shoots the farthest.
I do not, however, forget to thank you all in general, and each in
particular, for the present you brought me. I have a great many
rarities in my closet already, but nothing that comes up to the
singularity of the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple,
which shall have the first places among them, and shall be preserved
carefully, not only for pure curiosity, but to make an advantageous
use of them upon all occasions.
The three princes had nothing to say against the decision of the
sultan. When they were out of his presence, they each provided
themselves with a bow and arrow, which they delivered to one of
their officers, and went to the plain appointed, followed by a great
concourse of people.
The sultan did not make them wait long for him; and as soon as he
arrived, prince Houssain, as the eldest, took his bow and arrow, and
shot first. Prince Ali shot next and much beyond him; and prince
Ahmed last of all: but it so happened, that nobody could see where
his arrow fell; and notwithstanding all the diligence that was used
by himself and every body else, it was not to be found far or near.
And though it was believed that he shot the farthest, and that he
therefore deserved the princess Nouronnihar, it was however
necessary that his arrow should be found, to make the matter more
evident and certain; and, notwithstanding his remonstrances, the
sultan determined in favour of prince Ali, and gave orders for
preparations to be made for the solemnizing of the nuptials, which
were celebrated a few days after with great magnificence.
Prince Houssain would not honour the feast with his presence; his
passion for the Princess Nouronnihar was so sincere and lively, that
he could scarce support with patience the mortification of seeing
the princess in the arms of prince Ali, who, he said, did not
deserve her better, nor loved her more, than himself. In short, his
grief was so violent and insupportable, that he left the court, and
renounced all right of succession to the crown, to turn dervise, and
put himself under the discipline of a famous scheik, who had gained
a reputation for his exemplary life, and had taken up his abode, and
that of his disciples, whose number was great, in an agreeable
solitude.
Prince Ahmed, urged by the same motive, did not assist at prince Ali
and the princess Nouronnihar’s nuptials, any more than his brother
Houssain, but did not renounce the world as he had done. But as he
could not imagine what could become of his arrow, he stole away from
his attendants, and resolved to search after it, that he might not
have any thing to reproach himself with. With this intent, he went
to the place where the princes Houssain and Ali’s were gathered
up, and going straight forward from thence, looked carefully on both
sides of him. He went so far, that at last he began to think his
labour was in vain; yet he could not help going forwards, till he
came to some steep craggy rocks, which would have obliged him to
return, had he been ever so desirous to proceed. They were situated
in a barren country, about four leagues distant from whence he set
out.
When prince Ahmed came nigh to these rocks, he perceived an arrow,
which he gathered up, looked earnestly at it, and was in the
greatest astonishment to find it was the same he shot. Certainly,
said he to himself, neither I, nor any man living, could shoot an
arrow so far; and finding it laid flat, not sticking into the
ground, he judged that it had rebounded from the rock. There must be
some mystery in this, said he to himself again, and it may be to my
advantage. Perhaps fortune, to make me amends for depriving me of
what I thought the greatest happiness of my life, may have reserved
a greater blessing for my comfort.
As these rocks were full of sharp points and indentures between
them, the prince, full of these thoughts, entered into one of the
cavities, and looking about, cast his eyes on an iron door, which
seemed to have no lock. He feared it was fastened: but pushing
against it, it opened, and discovered an easy descent, but no steps,
which he walked down with his arrow in his hand. At first he thought
he was going into a dark place, but presently a quite different
light succeeded that which he came out of; and entering into a
spacious square, at about fifty or sixty paces distant, he perceived
a magnificent palace, the admirable structure of which he had not
time to look at: for at the same time, a lady of majestic port and
air, and of a beauty to which the richness of her clothes and the
jewels which adorned her person, added no advantage, advanced as far
as the porch, attended by a troop of ladies, of whom it was
difficult to distinguish which was the mistress.
As soon as prince Ahmed perceived the lady, he hastened to pay his
respects; and the lady on her part, seeing him coming, prevented
him. Addressing her discourse to him first, and raising her voice,
she said to him, Come near, prince Ahmed; you are welcome.
It was no small surprise to the prince to hear himself named in a
palace he had never heard of, though so nigh to his father’s
capital, and he could not comprehend how he should be known to a
lady who was a stranger to him. At last he returned the lady’s
compliment, by throwing himself at her feet, and rising up again,
said to her, Madam, I return you a thousand thanks for the assurance
you give me of a welcome to a place where I had reason to believe my
imprudent curiosity had made me penetrate too far. But, madam, may
I, without being guilty of rudeness, presume to ask you by what
adventure you know me? and that you, who live in the same
neighbourhood with me, should be so little known by me? Prince, said
the lady, let us go into the hall; there I will gratify you in your
request more commodiously for us both.
After these words, the lady led prince Ahmed into the hall, the
noble structure of which, and the gold and azure which embellished
the dome, and the inestimable richness of the furniture, appeared so
great a novelty to him, that he could not enough express his
admiration, by crying out that he had never in his life beheld any
thing like it, and believed that nothing was to be compared to it. I
can assure you, replied the lady, that this is but a small part of
my palace, and you will say so when you have seen all the
apartments. Then she sat down on a sofa; and when the prince at her
entreaty had seated himself by her, she said, You are surprised, you
say, that I should know you, and not be known by you; but you will
be no longer surprised when I inform you who I am. You cannot be
ignorant that your religion teaches you to believe that the world is
inhabited by genies as well as men: I am the daughter of one of the
most powerful and distinguished of these genies, and my name is Pari
Banou; therefore you ought not to wonder that I know you, the sultan
your father, the princes your brothers, and the princess
Nouronnihar. I am no stranger to your loves or your travels, of
which I could tell you all the circumstances, since it was I myself
who exposed to sale the artificial apple which you bought at
Samarcande, the carpet which prince Houssain met with at Bisnagar,
and the tube which prince Ali brought from Schiraz. This is
sufficient to let you know that I am not unacquainted with any thing
that relates to you. The only thing I have to add is, that you
seemed to me worthy of a more happy fate than that of possessing the
princess Nouronnihar; and that you might attain to it, I was present
when you drew your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond prince
Houssain’s. I took it in the air, and gave it the necessary
motion, to strike against the rocks near which you found it. It is
in your power to avail yourself of the favourable opportunity which
it presents to make you happy.
As the fairy Pari Banou pronounced these last words with a different
tone, and looked at the same time tenderly upon prince Ahmed, with
downcast eyes and a modest blush on her cheeks, it was not difficult
for the prince to comprehend what happiness she meant. He presently
considered that the princess Nouronnihar could never be his, and
that the fairy Pari Banou excelled her infinitely in beauty,
attractions, agreeableness, transcendant wit, and, as far as he
could conjecture by the magnificence of the palace where she
resided, in immense riches. He blessed the moment that he thought of
seeking after his arrow a second time, and yielding to his
inclination, which drew him towards the new object which had fired
his heart, Madam, replied he, should I, all my life, have had the
happiness of being your slave, and the admirer of the many charms
which ravish my soul, I should think myself the happiest of men.
Pardon me the boldness which inspires me to ask this favour, and do
not refuse to admit into your court a prince who is entirely devoted
to you.
Prince, answered the fairy, as I have been a long time my own
mistress, and have no dependence on my parents’ consent, it is not
as a slave that I would admit you into my court, but as master of my
person, and all that belongs to me, by pledging your faith to me,
and taking me to be your wife. I hope you will not take it amiss
that I anticipate you in making this proposal. I am, as I said,
mistress of my will; and must add, that the same customs are not
observed among fairies as among other ladies, in whom it would not
have been decent to have made such advances: but it is what we do,
and we suppose we confer obligation by it.
Prince Ahmed made no answer to this discourse, but was so penetrated
with gratitude, that he thought he could not express it better than
by coming to kiss the hem of her garment; which she would not give
him time to do, but presented her hand, which he kissed a thousand
times, and kept fast locked in his. Well, prince Ahmed, said she,
will you not pledge your faith to me, as I do mine to you? Yes,
madam, replied the prince, in an ecstasy of joy, what can I do
better, and with greater pleasure? Yes, my sultaness, my queen, I
will give it you with my heart, without the least reserve. Then,
answered the fairy, you are my husband, and I am your wife. Our
marriages are contracted with no other ceremonies, and yet are more
firm and indissoluble than those among men with all their
formalities. But as I suppose, pursued she, that you have eaten
nothing to-day, a slight repast shall be served up for you while
preparations are making for our nuptial feast this evening, and then
I will show you the apartments of my palace, and you shall judge if
this hall is not the smallest part of it.
Some of the fairy’s women who came into the hall with them, and
guessed her intentions, went immediately out, and returned presently
with some excellent meats and wines.
When prince Ahmed had eaten and drank as much as he cared for, the
fairy Pari Banou carried him through all the apartments, where he
saw diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels,
intermixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry, and all kinds of
the most precious marbles; not to mention the richness of the
furniture, which was inestimable; the whole disposed with such
profusion, that the prince, instead of ever having seen any thing
like it, acknowledged that there could not be any thing in the world
that could come up to it. Prince, said the fairy, if you admire my
palace so much, which is indeed very beautiful, what would you say
to the palaces of the chief of our genies, which are much more
beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? I could also charm you with my
garden; but we will leave that till another time. Night draws near,
and it will be time to go to supper.
The next hall which the fairy led the prince into, and where the
cloth was laid for the feast, was the only apartment the prince had
not seen, and it was not in the least inferior to the others. At his
entrance into it, he admired the infinite number of wax candles
perfumed with amber, the multitude of which, instead of being
confused, were placed with so just symmetry, as formed an agreeable
and pleasant sight. A large beaufet was set out with all sorts of
gold plate, so finely wrought, that the workmanship was much more
valuable than the weight of the gold. Several chorusses of beautiful
women richly dressed, and whose voices were ravishing, began a
concert, accompanied with all kinds of the most harmonious
instruments he had ever heard. When they were set down to table, the
fairy Pari Banou took care to help prince Ahmed to the most
delicious meats, which she named as she invited him to eat of them,
and which the prince had never heard of, but found so exquisite and
nice, that he commended them in the highest terms, crying, that the
entertainment which she gave him far surpassed those among men. He
found also the same excellence in the wines, which neither he nor
the fairy tasted of till the dessert was served up, which consisted
of the choicest sweetmeats and fruits.
After the dessert, the fairy Pari Banou and prince Ahmed rose from
the table, which was immediately carried away, and sat on a sofa, at
their ease, with cushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered with
all sorts of large flowers, laid at their backs. Presently after a
great number of genies and fairies danced before them to the door of
the chamber where the nuptial bed was made; and when they came
there, they divided themselves into two rows, to let them pass, and
after that retired, leaving them to go to bed.
The nuptial feast was continued the next day; or rather the days
following the celebration were a continual feast, which the fairy
Pari Banou, who could do it with the utmost ease, knew how to
diversify, by new dishes, new meats, new concerts, new dances, new
shows, and new diversions; which were all so extraordinary, that
prince Ahmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men, could not
have imagined.
The fairy’s intention was not only to give the prince essential
proofs of the sincerity of her love, and the violence of her
passion, by so many ways; but to let him see, that as he had no
pretensions at his father’s court, he could meet with nothing
comparable to the happiness he enjoyed with her, independent of her
beauty and her charms, and to attach him entirely to herself, that
he might never leave her. In this scheme she succeeded so well, that
prince Ahmed’s passion was not in the least diminished by
possession; but increased so much, that if he had been so inclined,
it was not in his power to forbear loving her.
At the end of six months prince Ahmed, who always loved and honoured
the sultan his father, conceived a great desire to know how he did;
and as that desire could not be satisfied without his absenting
himself to go and hear it in person, he mentioned it to the fairy,
and desired she would give him leave.
This discourse alarmed the fairy, and made her fear it was only an
excuse to leave her. She said to him, What disgust can I have given
you to oblige you to ask me this leave? Is it possible you should
have forgotten that you have pledged your faith to me, and that you
no longer love one who is so passionately fond of you? Are not the
proofs I have repeatedly given you of my affection sufficient?
My queen, replied the prince, I am perfectly convinced of your love,
and should be unworthy of it, if I did not testify my gratitude by a
reciprocal love. If you are offended at the leave I asked, I entreat
you to forgive me, and I will make all the reparation I am capable
of. I did not do it with any intention of displeasing you, but from
a motive of respect towards my father, whom I wish to free from the
affliction my so long absence must have overwhelmed him in; which
must be the greater, as I have reason to presume he believes that I
am dead. But since you do not consent that I should go and afford
him that comfort, I will do what you will, and there is nothing in
the world that I am not ready to do to please you.
Prince Ahmed, who did not dissemble, and loved her in his heart as
much as he had assured her by these words, no longer insisted on the
leave he had asked; and the fairy expressed her satisfaction
thereat. But as he could not absolutely abandon the design he had
formed to himself, he frequently took an opportunity to speak to her
of the great qualifications of the sultan his father; and above all,
of his particular tenderness towards him, in hopes he might at
length be able to move her.
As prince Ahmed supposed, the sultan of the Indies, in the midst of
the rejoicings on account of prince Ali’s and princess
Nouronnihar’s nuptials, was sensibly afflicted at the absence of
the other two princes his sons, though it was not long before he was
informed of the resolution prince Houssain had taken to forsake the
world, and the place he had made choice of for his retreat. As a
good father, whose happiness consists in seeing his children about
him, especially when they are deserving of his tenderness, he would
have been better pleased had he stayed at his court, about his
person; but as he could not disapprove of his choice of the state of
perfection in which he had engaged, he supported his absence more
patiently. He made the most diligent search after prince Ahmed, and
despatched couriers to all the provinces of his dominions, with
orders to the governors to stop him, and oblige him to return to
court; but all the pains he took had not the desired success, and
his trouble, instead of diminishing, increased. He would often talk
with his grand vizier about it; and say to him, Vizier, thou knowest
I always loved Ahmed the best of all my sons; and thou art not
insensible of the means I have used to find him out, without
success. My grief is so lively, I shall sink under it, if thou hast
not compassion on me; if thou hast any regard for the preservation
of my life, I conjure thee to assist and advise me.
The grand vizier, no less attached to the person of the sultan, than
zealous to acquit himself well of the administration of the affairs
of state, considering how to give his sovereign some ease, bethought
himself of a sorceress, of whom he had heard wonders, and proposed
to send for her to consult her. The sultan consented, and the grand
vizier, after he had sent for her, introduced her to him himself.
The sultan said to the magician, The affliction I have been in since
the marriage of my son prince Ali to the princess Nouronnihar, my
niece, on account of the absence of prince Ahmed, is so well known,
and so public, that undoubtedly thou canst be no stranger to it. By
thy art and skill canst thou tell me what is become of him? If he is
alive, where he is? What he is doing, and if I may hope ever to see
him again? To this the sorceress made answer, It is impossible, sir,
for me, though ever so skilful in my profession, to answer
immediately the questions your majesty asks me; but if you allow
till to-morrow, I will give an answer. The sultan granted her the
time, and sent her away, with a promise to recompense her well, if
her answer proved according to his desire.
The magician returned the next day, and the grand vizier presented
her a second time to the sultan. Sir, said she, notwithstanding all
the diligence I have used in applying the rules of my art, to obey
your majesty in what you desire to know, I have not been able to
discover any thing more than that prince Ahmed is alive. This is
very certain, and you may depend on it; but as to the place where he
is I cannot find it out.
The sultan of the Indies was obliged to be satisfied with this
answer; which left him in the same uneasiness as before as to the
prince’s fate.
To return to prince Ahmed. He so often entertained the fairy Pari
Banou with talking about the sultan his father, without speaking any
more of his desire to see him, that she fully comprehended what he
meant; and perceiving this restraint he put upon himself, and his
fear of displeasing her after her first refusal, she first inferred
that his love for her was, by the repeated proofs he had given her,
sincere; and then judging by herself the injustice she was guilty of
in opposing a son’s tenderness for his father, and endeavouring to
make him renounce that natural inclination, she resolved to grant
him the leave which she saw he always so ardently desired. One day
she said to him, Prince, the leave you have asked me to go and see
the sultan your father, gave me a just fear that it was only a
pretext to show your inconstancy, and to leave me, and that was the
sole motive for my refusing you; but now I am so fully convinced by
your actions and words, that I can depend on your constancy, and the
steadiness of your love. I change my resolution, and grant you that
leave, upon condition that you will swear to me first, that your
absence shall not be long. You ought not to be concerned at this
condition, as if I asked it out of distrust. I do it only because I
know that it will give you no uneasiness, convinced as I am, as I
have already told you, of the sincerity of your love.
Prince Ahmed would have thrown himself at the fairy’s feet, to
show his gratitude, but she prevented him. My sultaness, said he, I
am sensible of the great favour you grant me, but want words to
return the thanks I wish. Supply this defect, I conjure you, and
whatever you can suggest to yourself, be persuaded I think much
more. You may believe that the oath will give me no uneasiness, and
I take it more willingly, since it is not possible for me to live
without you. I go, but the haste I shall make to return shall show
you, that it is not for fear of being foresworn, but that I follow
my inclination, which is to live with you for ever; and if I am
absent some time with your consent, I shall always avoid the trouble
a too long absence will create me.
Pari Banou was the more charmed with these sentiments of prince
Ahmed, because they removed the suspicions she had entertained of
him, fearing that his earnest desire to go to see the sultan his
father was only a pretext to break his faith with her. --Prince,
said she, go when you please; but first do not take it amiss that I
give you some advice how you shall behave yourself where you are
going. First, I do not think it proper for you to tell the sultan
your father of our marriage, nor of my quality, nor the place where
you are settled. Beg of him to be satisfied with knowing you are
happy, and that you desire no more; and let him know that the sole
end of your visit is to make him easy about your fate.
She appointed twenty horsemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend
him. --When all was ready, prince Ahmed took his leave of the fairy,
embraced her, and renewed his promise to return soon. Then his
horse, which was most finely caparisoned, and was as beautiful a
creature as any in the sultan of the Indies’ stables, was brought
to him, and he mounted him with an extraordinary grace, with great
pleasure to the fairy; and after he had bid her adieu, set forward
on his journey.
As it was not a great way to his father’s capital, prince Ahmed
soon arrived there. The people, glad to see him again, received him
with acclamations of joy, and followed him in crowds to the
sultan’s apartment. --The sultan received and embraced him with
great joy; complaining at the same time, with a fatherly tenderness,
of the affliction his long absence had been to him, which he said
was the more grievous, for that fortune having decided in favour of
prince Ali his brother, he was afraid he might have committed some
act of despair.
Sir, replied prince Ahmed, I leave it to your majesty to consider,
if, after having lost the princess Nouronnihar, who was the only
object of my desires, I could resolve to be a witness of prince
Ali’s happiness. If I had been capable of so unworthy an action,
what would the court and city have thought of my love, or what your
majesty? Love is a passion we cannot throw off when we will; it
rules and governs us, and will not give a true lover time to make
use of his reason. --Your majesty knows, that when I shot my arrow,
the most extraordinary thing that ever befell any body happened to
me, that in so large and level a plain as that where the horses are
exercised, it should not be possible to find my arrow. I lost the
cause, the justice of which was as much due to my love as to that of
the princes my brothers. --Though thus vanquished by the caprice of
fate, I lost no time in vain complaints; but, to satisfy my
perplexed mind, in the adventure which I could not comprehend, I
gave my attendants the slip, and returned back again alone to look
for my arrow. I sought all about the place where prince Houssain’s
and prince Ali’s arrows were found, and where I imagined mine must
have fallen; but all my labour was in vain. I was not discouraged,
but continued my search on the same ground in a direct line, and
looked carefully about where I could guess it might have fallen; and
after this manner had gone above a league, without being able to
meet with any thing like an arrow, when I reflected that it was not
possible that mine should fly so far. I stopped, and asked myself
whether I was in my right senses, to flatter myself with having
strength enough to shoot an arrow so much farther than any of the
greatest heroes in the world were able to do. After I had argued
thus with myself, I was ready to abandon my enterprise; but when I
was on the point of putting my resolution in execution, I found
myself drawn forward almost against my will; and after having gone
four leagues to that part of the plain where it is bounded by rocks,
I perceived an arrow. I ran and took it up, and knew it to be the
same which I had shot, but which had not been found in the time or
place that it should have been. Far from thinking your majesty had
done me any injustice in declaring for my brother prince Ali, I
interpreted what had happened to me quite otherwise, and never
doubted but there was a mystery in it to my advantage; the discovery
of which I ought not to neglect, and which I found out without going
farther from the spot. But as to this mystery, I beg your majesty
will not take it ill that I am silent, and that you will be
satisfied to know from my own mouth that I am happy, and content
with my fate.
In the midst of all my happiness, the only thing that troubled me,
or was capable of disturbing me, was the uneasiness I feared your
majesty was in, upon account of my leaving the court, and your not
knowing what was become of me. I thought it my duty to satisfy you
in this point. This was the only motive which brought me hither; the
only favour I ask of your majesty is to give me leave to come often
and pay you my respects, and inquire after your health.
Son, answered the sultan of the Indies, I cannot refuse you the
leave you ask me, but, I should much rather you would resolve to
stay with me. At least, tell me were I may hear of you, if you
should fail to come, or when I may think your presence necessary.
Sir, replied prince Ahmed, what your majesty asks of me is part of
the mystery I spoke to your majesty of. I beg of you to give me
leave to remain silent on this head; for I shall come so frequently
where my duty calls, that I am afraid I shall sooner be thought
troublesome, than be accused of negligence in my duty, when my
presence may be necessary.
The sultan of the Indies pressed prince Ahmed no more, but said to
him, Son, I penetrate no farther into your secrets, but leave you at
your liberty. I can only tell you, that you could not do me a
greater pleasure than to come, and, by your presence, restore to me
the joy I have not felt for a long time; and that you shall always
be welcome when you come, without interrupting your business or your
pleasure.
Prince Ahmed stayed but three days at the sultan his father’s
court, and the fourth returned to the fairy Pari Banou, who received
him with the greater joy, as she did not expect him so soon. His
diligence made her condemn herself for suspecting his want of
fidelity. She never dissembled in the least, but frankly owned her
weakness to the prince, and asked his pardon. So perfect was the
union of these two lovers, that they had but one will between them.
A month after prince Ahmed’s return from paying a visit to his
father, as the fairy Pari Banou had observed, that since the time
that the prince gave her an account of his journey, and his
conversation with his father, in which he asked his leave to come
and see him from time to time, he had never spoken of the sultan, as
if there had been no such person in the world, whereas before he was
always speaking of him, she thought he forbore on her account; and
therefore took an opportunity to say to him one day, Tell me,
prince, have you forgotten the sultan your father? Do not you
remember the promise you made to go and see him from time to time?
For my part, I have not forgotten what you told me at your return,
and put you in mind of it, that you may not be long before you
acquit yourself of your promise for the first time.
Madam, replied prince Ahmed, with the same lively tone as the fairy
spoke to him, as I know I am not guilty of the forgetfulness you
speak of, I rather choose to be thus reproached, however
undeservedly, than expose myself to a refusal, by showing
unseasonably a desire for what it might have given you pain to
grant. Prince, said the fairy, I would not have you in this affair
have so much consideration for me, since it is a month since you
have seen the sultan your father. I think you should not be longer
than a month before you renew your visits. Pay him another visit
to-morrow, and after that, go and see him once a month, without
speaking to me, or waiting for my leave. I readily consent.
Prince Ahmed went the next morning with the same attendants as
before, but much finer, and himself more magnificently mounted,
equipped, and dressed, and was received by the sultan with the same
joy and satisfaction. For several months he constantly paid him
visits, and always in a richer and more brilliant equipage.
At last some viziers, the sultan’s favourites, who judged of
prince Ahmed’s grandeur and power by the figure he made, abused
the liberty the sultan gave them of speaking to him, to make him
jealous of his son. They represented to him that it was but common
prudence to know where the prince had retired, and how he could
afford to live at such a rate, since he had no revenue nor income
assigned him, and that he seemed to come to court only to brave him,
by affecting to show that he wanted nothing of him to live like a
prince, and that it was to be feared he might stir up the people’s
favour, and dethrone him.
The sultan of the Indies was so far from thinking that prince Ahmed
could be capable of so wicked a design, as his favourites would make
him believe, that he said to them, You are mistaken; my son loves
me, and I am the more assured of his tenderness and fidelity, as I
have given him no reason to be disgusted.
Upon these last words, one of the favourites took an opportunity to
say, Your majesty, in the opinion of the most sensible people, could
not have taken a better method than what you have done with the
three princes, respecting their marriage with the princess
Nouronnihar; but who knows whether prince Ahmed has submitted to his
fate with the same resignation as prince Houssain? May not he
imagine that he alone deserved her, and that your majesty, by
leaving that matter to be decided by chance, has done him injustice?
Your majesty may say, added the malicious favourite, that prince
Ahmed has given no sign of dissatisfaction; that our fears are vain;
that we are too easily alarmed, and are to blame to suggest to you
suspicions of this sort, which may, perhaps, be unfounded, against a
prince of your blood. But, sir, pursued the favourite, it may be
also these suspicions may be well grounded. Your majesty is
sensible, that in so nice and important an affair, you cannot be too
much upon your guard, and should take the safest course. Consider,
it is the prince’s business to dissemble, amuse, and deceive you;
and the danger is the greater, as the prince resides not far from
your capital; and if your majesty give but the same attention that
we do, you may observe that every time he comes, he and his
attendants are fresh, and their clothes and their horses’ housings
are clean and bright, as if they were come from the maker’s hands,
and their horses look as if they had only been walked out. These are
sufficient signs that prince Ahmed does not come a great way; so
that we should think ourselves wanting in our duty if we did not
make our humble remonstrances, that, for your own preservation and
the good of your people, you might take such measures as you shall
think fit.
When the favourite had made an end of this long speech, the sultan
said, Be it as it will, I do not believe my son Ahmed is so wicked
as you would persuade me he is; however, I am obliged to you for
your good advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds from a good
intention.
The sultan of the Indies said this, that his favourites might not
know the impressions their discourse had made on his mind. He was,
however, so much alarmed by it, that he resolved to have prince
Ahmed watched, unknown to his grand vizier. For this end, he sent
for the female magician, who was introduced by a private door into
his closet. You told me the truth, said he, when you assured me my
son Ahmed was alive, for which I am obliged to you. You must do me
another pleasure. I have seen him since, and he comes to my court
every month; but I cannot learn from him where he resides, and I did
not wish to force his secret out of him, but believe you are capable
of satisfying my curiosity, without letting him, or any of my court,
know any thing of the matter. You know that at this present time he
is here with me, and is used to go away without taking leave of me,
or any of my court. Go immediately upon the road, and watch him so
well, as to find out where he retires, and bring me word.
The magician left the sultan, and knowing the place where prince
Ahmed found his arrow, went immediately thither, and hid herself
near the rocks, so that nobody could see her.
The next morning prince Ahmed set out by day-break, without taking
leave either of the sultan or any of his court, according to custom.
The magician seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till on
a sudden she lost sight of him and his attendants.
The steepness of the rocks formed an insurmountable barrier to men,
whether on horseback or on foot, so that the magician judged that
there were but two ways; either that the prince retired into some
cavern, or into some place under ground, the abode of genies or
fairies. When she thought the prince and his attendants were out of
sight, and returned into the cavern or subterraneous place she
imagined, she came out of the place where she had hid herself, and
went directly to the hollow way where she had seen them go in. She
entered it, going and returning several times, and proceeding to the
spot where it terminated in many windings, looking carefully about
on all sides. But notwithstanding all her diligence, she could
perceive no opening, nor the iron gate which prince Ahmed
discovered: for this door was to be seen by and opened to none but
men, and only to such men whose presence was agreeable to the fairy
Pari Banou, and not at all to women.
The magician, who saw it was in vain for her to search any farther,
was obliged to be satisfied with the discovery she had made, and
returned to give the sultan an account. When she had told him what
she had done, she added, Your majesty may easily understand, after
what I have had the honour to tell you, it will be no difficult
matter to give you the satisfaction you desire concerning prince
Ahmed’s conduct. I will not tell you now what I think, but choose
to let you know in a way that will not suffer you to doubt of it. To
do this, I only ask time, and that you will have patience, and give
me leave to do it, without inquiring what measures I design to take.
The sultan was very well pleased with the magician’s conduct, and
said to her, Do you as you think fit; I will wait patiently the
event of your promises. And to encourage her, he made her a present
of a diamond of great value, telling her it was only an earnest of
the ample recompense she should receive when she had done him that
important piece of service, which he left to her management.
As prince Ahmed, after he had obtained the fairy Pari Banou’s
leave to go to the sultan of the Indies’ court, never failed once
a month, and the magician knowing the time, went a day or two before
to the foot of the rock, where she lost sight of the prince and his
attendants, and waited there with an intention to execute the
project she had formed.
The next morning prince Ahmed went out as usual at the iron gate,
with the same attendants as before, and passed by the magician, whom
he knew not to be such; and seeing her lie with her head upon the
rock, and complaining as if she was in great pain, he pitied her,
turned his horse about, and went to her, and asked her what was the
matter with her, and what he could do to relieve her.
The artful sorceress, without lifting up her head, looked at the
prince in a manner to increase his compassion, already excited, and
answered in broken words and sighs, as if she could hardly fetch her
breath, that she was going to the city, but in the way thither was
taken with so violent a fever, that her strength failed her, and she
was forced to stop and lie down where he saw her, far from any
habitation, and without any hopes of assistance.
Good woman, replied prince Ahmed, you are not so far from help as
you imagine. I am ready to assist you, and convey you where you
shall not only have all possible care taken of you, but where you
will find a speedy cure; only get up, and let one of my people take
you behind him.
At these words, the magician, who pretended sickness only to know
where the prince lived, what he did, and what was his situation, did
not refuse the charitable offer he made her so freely; and, to show
her acceptance of it rather by her actions than by her words, she
made many affected efforts to get up, pretending that the violence
of her illness prevented her. At the same time, two of the
prince’s attendants alighting off their horses, helped her up, and
set her behind another. They mounted their horses again, and
followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which was
opened by one of his retinue, who rode before. When he came into the
outward court of the fairy’s palace, without dismounting himself,
he sent to tell her he wanted to speak with her.
The fairy Pari Banou came with all imaginable haste, not knowing
what made prince Ahmed return so soon; who, not giving her time to
ask him the reason, said, My princess, I desire you would have
compassion on this good woman, pointing to the magician, who was
taken off the horse by two of his retinue: I found her in the
condition you see her in, and promised her the assistance she stands
in need of. I recommend her to your care, and am persuaded that you,
from inclination, as well as at my request, will not abandon her.
The fairy Pari Banou, who had her eyes fixed upon the pretended sick
woman all the time that the prince was talking to her, ordered two
of her women who followed her to take her from the two men that held
her, and carry her into an apartment of the palace, and take as much
care of her as of herself.
Whilst the two women executed the fairy’s commands, she went up to
prince Ahmed, and whispering him in the ear, said, Prince, I commend
your compassion, which is worthy of you and your birth. I take great
pleasure in gratifying your good intention; but give me leave to
tell you, I am afraid it will be but ill rewarded. This woman is not
so sick as she pretends to be; and I am very much mistaken if she is
not sent hither on purpose to occasion you great trouble. But do not
be concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded
that I will deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid for
you. Go and pursue your journey.
This discourse of the fairy’s did not in the least alarm prince
Ahmed. My princess, said he, as I do not remember I ever did, or
designed to do, any body an injury. I cannot believe any body can
have a thought of doing me one; but if they have, I shall not
forbear doing good, whenever I have an opportunity. So saying, he
took leave of the fairy, and set forward again for his father’s
capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by the
sultan, who constrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the
trouble arising from the suspicions suggested by his favourites.
In the mean time, the two women to whom the fairy Pari Banou had
given her orders carried the magician into a very fine apartment,
richly furnished. First, they set her down upon a sofa, with her
back supported with a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed
on the same sofa before her, the quilt of which was finely
embroidered with silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the
coverlid cloth of gold. When they had put her into bed, (for the old
sorceress pretended that her fever was so violent, she could not
help herself in the least,) one of the women went out, and returned
soon again with a china cup in her hand, full of a certain liquor,
which she presented to the magician, while the other helped her to
sit up. Drink this liquor, said she; it is the water of the fountain
of lions, and a sovereign remedy against all fevers whatsoever. You
will find the effect of it in less than an hour’s time.
The magician, to dissemble the better, took it, after a great deal
of entreaty, as if she was very much averse to take that potion; but
at last she took the china cup, and shaking her head as if she did
great violence to herself, swallowed the liquor. When she was laid
down again, the two women covered her up. Lie quiet, said she who
brought her the china cup, and get a little sleep if you can: we
will leave you, and hope to find you perfectly cured when we come an
hour hence.
The magician, who came not to act a sick part long, but only to
discover prince Ahmed’s retreat, and what made him leave his
father’s court, being fully satisfied in what she wanted to know,
would willingly have declared that the potion had then had its
effects, so great was her desire to return to the sultan, to inform
him of the success of her commission: but as she had been told that
the potion did not operate immediately, she was forced to wait the
women’s return.
The two women came again at the time they said they should, and
found the magician up and dressed, and seated on the sofa; who, when
she saw them open the door of the apartment, cried out, O the
admirable potion! it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told
me it would, and I have waited a long time with impatience, to
desire you to carry me to your charitable mistress, to thank her for
her kindness, for which I shall always be obliged to her, since
being thus cured as by a miracle, I would not lose time, but
prosecute my journey.
The two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after
they had told the magician how glad they were that she was cured so
soon, walked before her, and conducted her through several
apartments, all more superb than that wherein she lay, into a large
hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the palace.
Pari Banou was seated in this hall, on a throne of massy gold,
enriched with diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size,
and attended on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies,
all richly dressed. At the sight of so much majesty, the magician
was not only dazzled, but was so struck, that after she had
prostrated herself before the throne, she could not open her lips to
thank the fairy, as she proposed. However, Pari Banou saved her the
trouble, and said to her, Good woman, I am glad I had an opportunity
to oblige you, and to see you are able to pursue your journey. I
will not detain you; but perhaps you may not be displeased to see my
palace: follow my women, and they will show it you.
The old sorceress, who had not power nor courage to say a word,
prostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that
covered the foot of the throne, and so took her leave, and was
conducted by the two fairies through all the same apartments which
were shown to prince Ahmed at his first arrival there, and at sight
of their uncommon magnificence, she made frequent exclamations. But
what surprised her most of all was, that the two fairies told her,
that all she saw and admired so much was a mere sketch of their
mistress’s grandeur and riches; and that in the extent of her
dominions she had so many palaces that they could not tell the
number of them, all of different plans and architecture, and equally
magnificent and superb. In talking of many other particulars, they
led her at last to the iron gate at which prince Ahmed brought her
in, and after she had taken her leave of them, and thanked them for
their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a good journey.
After the magician had gone a little way, she turned back again to
observe the door and know it again, but all in vain; for, as was
before observed, it was invisible to her and all other women. Except
in this circumstance, she was very well satisfied with executing the
commission she had undertaken, and posted away to the sultan. When
she came to the capital, she went by a great many by-ways to the
private door of the palace. The sultan being informed of her
arrival, sent for her into his apartment, and perceiving a
melancholy hang upon her countenance, he thought she had not
succeeded, and said to her, By your looks I surmise that your
journey has been to no purpose, and that you have not made the
discovery I expected from your diligence. Sir, replied the magician,
your majesty must give me leave to represent to you, that you ought
not to judge by my looks whether or no I have acquitted myself well
in the execution of the commands you were pleased to honour me with;
but by the faithful report I shall make you of all that has happened
to me, and by which you will find that I have not neglected any
thing that could render me worthy of your approbation. The
melancholy you observe in my face proceeds from another cause than
the want of success, which I hope your majesty will have all the
reason in the world to be content with. I do not tell you the cause;
the relation I am going to give will, if you have patience, inform
you of it.
Then the magician related to the sultan of the Indies how she
pretended to be sick, prince Ahmed compassionating her, had her
carried into a subterraneous abode, and presented and recommended
her himself to a fairy of incomparable beauty, desiring her by her
care to restore her health. Then she told him with how much
condescension the fairy presently ordered two fairies that attended
her, to take care of her, and not to leave her till she was
recovered; which great condescension, said she, could proceed from
no other person but from a wife to a husband. Afterwards the old
sorceress failed not to exaggerate on her surprise at the front of
the palace, which she said had not its fellow in the world, while
the two fairies held her by each arm, like a sick person, as she
feigned to be, that could not walk or support herself. She gave a
particular account of the care they took of her, after they had led
her into another apartment; of the potion they made her drink, and
of the quickness of her cure, which she pretended as well as her
sickness, though she doubted not the virtue of the draught; the
majesty of the fairy seated on a throne, brilliant with jewels, the
value of which exceeded all the riches of the kingdom of the Indies,
and all the other riches, beyond computation, contained in that vast
palace.
Here the magician, finishing the relation of the success of her
commission, and continuing her discourse, said, What does your
majesty think of these unheard-of riches of the fairy? Perhaps you
will say, you are struck with admiration, and rejoice at the good
fortune of prince Ahmed your son, who enjoys them in common with the
fairy. For my part, sir, I beg of your majesty to forgive me, if I
take the liberty to remonstrate to you, that I think otherwise, and
that I shudder when I consider the misfortunes which may happen to
you from it. And this is the cause of the melancholy which I could
not so well dissemble, but that you soon perceived it. I would
believe that prince Ahmed, by his own good disposition, is incapable
of undertaking any thing against your majesty; but who can answer
that the fairy, by her attractions and caresses, and the influence
she has already over him, may not inspire him with a dangerous
design of dethroning your majesty, and seizing the crown of the
Indies? This is what your majesty ought to consider as a serious
affair of the utmost importance.
Though the sultan of the Indies was very well persuaded that prince
Ahmed’s natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being
moved at the discourse of the old sorceress, and said, I thank you
for the pains you have taken, and your wholesome caution. I am so
sensible of the great importance it is to me, that I shall take
advice upon it.
He was consulting with his favourites, when he was told of the
magician’s arrival. He ordered her to follow him to them. He
acquainted them with what he had learnt, and communicated to them
also the reason he had to fear the fairy’s influence over the
prince, and asked them what measures they thought most proper to be
taken to prevent so great a misfortune. One of the favourites,
taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said, Your majesty knows
who must be the author of this mischief. In order to prevent it, now
he is in your court, and in your power, you ought not to hesitate to
put him under arrest; I will not say, take away his life, for that
would make too much noise; but make him a close prisoner while he
lives. This advice all the other favourites unanimously applauded.
The magician, who thought it too violent, asked the sultan leave to
speak, which being granted, she said, Sir, I am persuaded the zeal
of your counsellors for your majesty’s interest makes them propose
arresting prince Ahmed: but they will not take it amiss if I offer
to your and their consideration, that if you arrest the prince you
must also detain his retinue. But they are all genies. Do they think
it will be so easy to surprise, seize, and secure their persons?
Will they not disappear, by the property they possess of rendering
themselves invisible, and transport themselves instantly to the
fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered her husband?
And can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? But would it
not be better, if by any other means, which might not make so great
a noise, the sultan could secure himself against any ill designs
prince Ahmed may have against him, and not involve his majesty’s
honour, or any body suspect him of any ill design? If his majesty
has any confidence in my advice, as genies and fairies can do things
impracticable to men, he will pique prince Ahmed’s honour, and
engage him by means of the fairy to procure certain advantages,
under pretence of deriving a great return, --for which he will be
obliged to him. For example, every time your majesty takes the
field, you are obliged to be at a great expense, not only in
pavilions and tents for yourself and army, but likewise in mules and
camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry their baggage. Might
not you engage him to use his interest with the fairy, to procure
you a tent which might be carried in a man’s hand, and which
should be so large as to shelter your whole army.
I need say no more to your majesty. If the prince brings such a
tent, you may make a great many other demands of the same nature, so
that at last he may sink under the difficulties and the
impossibility of executing them, however fertile in means and
inventions the fairy, who has enticed him from you by her
enchantments, may be; so that in time he will be ashamed to appear,
and will be forced to pass the rest of his life with his fairy,
excluded from any commerce with this world; and then your majesty
will have nothing to fear from him, and cannot be reproached with so
detestable an action as the shedding of a son’s blood, or
confining him in a prison for life.
When the magician had finished her speech, the sultan asked his
favourites if they had any thing better to propose; and finding them
all silent, determined to follow the magician’s advice, as the
most reasonable and most agreeable to his mild manner of government.
The next day, when the prince came into his father’s presence, who
was talking with his favourites, and had sat down by him, after a
conversation on different subjects, the sultan addressing himself to
prince Ahmed, said, Son, when you came and dispelled those clouds of
melancholy which your long absence had brought upon me, you made the
place you had chosen for your retreat a mystery to me. I was
satisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that you was content
with your condition, and wished not to penetrate into your secret,
which I found you did not care I should. I know not what reason you
had thus to treat a father, who ever did and still continues to
express what interest he takes in your happiness. I know your good
fortune. I rejoice with you, and very much approve of your conduct
in marrying a fairy so worthy of your love, and so rich and
powerful, as I am informed. Powerful as I am, it was not possible
for me to have procured so great a match for you. Now you are raised
to so high a rank, as to be envied by every body, but a father like
me, I not only desire you to preserve the good understanding we have
lived in hitherto, but that you will use all your credit with your
fairy to obtain for me her assistance, when I may want it. I
therefore will make a trial of your interest this day.
You are not insensible at what a great expense, not to say trouble
to my generals, officers, and myself, every time I take the field,
they provide tents and pavilions, and mules and camels, and other
beasts of burden, to carry them. If you consider the pleasure you
would do me, I am persuaded you could easily procure from her a
pavilion that might be carried in a man’s hand, and which would
extend over my whole army; especially when you let her know it is
for me. Though it may be a difficult thing, she will not refuse you.
All the world, knows fairies are capable of doing most extraordinary
things.
Prince Ahmed never expected that the sultan his father would have
asked such a thing, which at first sight appeared to him so
difficult, not to say impossible. Though he knew not absolutely how
great the power of genies and fairies was, he doubted whether it
extended so far as to furnish such a tent as his father desired.
Moreover he had never asked any thing like it of the fairy Pari
Banou, but was satisfied with the continual proofs she had given him
of her passion, that he forgot nothing to persuade her that his
heart perfectly corresponded without any views of interest, beyond
maintaining himself in her good graces; therefore he was in the
greatest embarrassment what answer to make. At last, he replied, If,
sir, I have concealed from your majesty what happened to me, and
what course I took after the finding my arrow, the reason was, that
I thought it was of no great importance to you to be informed of
them; and though I know not how this mystery has been revealed to
you, I cannot deny but your information is very just. I have married
the fairy you speak of. I love her, and am persuaded she loves me.
But I can say nothing as to the influence your majesty believes I
have over her. It is what I have not yet made an experiment of, nor
thought of, and should be very glad you would dispense with my
undertaking it, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving and being
beloved, with all the disinterestedness I proposed to myself. But
the demand of a father is a command upon every child, who, like me,
thinks it his duty to obey him in every thing. And though it is with
the greatest reluctance imaginable, I will not fail to ask my wife
the favour your majesty desires, but will not promise you to obtain
it; and if I should not have the honour to come again to pay you my
respects, that shall be the sign that I have not had success: but
beforehand, I desire you to forgive me, and consider that you
yourself have reduced me to this extremity.
Son, replied the sultan of the Indies, I should be very sorry that
what I ask of you should give you reason to cause me the grief of
never seeing you more. I find you do not know the power a husband
has over a wife; and yours would show that her love to you was very
indifferent, if she, with the power she has as a fairy, should
refuse you so trifling a request as this I desire you to ask of her
for my sake. Lay aside your fears, which proceed from your believing
yourself not to be loved so well as you love her. Go; only ask her.
You will find the fairy loves you better than you imagine; and
remember, that people, for want of asking, often lose great
advantages. Think with yourself, that as you love her, you could
refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves you, she will not deny
your requests.
All this discourse of the sultan of the Indies could not persuade
prince Ahmed, who would rather he would have asked any thing else,
than to expose him to the hazard of displeasing his dear Pari Banou;
and so great was his vexation, that he left the court two days
sooner than he used to do.
When he returned, the fairy, to whom he always before appeared with
a gay countenance, asked him the cause of the alteration she
perceived in his looks; and finding, that instead of answering her,
he inquired after her health, to avoid satisfying her, she said to
him, I will answer your question when you have answered mine. The
prince declined it a long time, protesting that nothing was the
matter with him; but the more he denied it, the more she pressed
him, and said to him, I cannot bear to see you in this condition:
tell me what makes you so uneasy, that I may remove the cause of it,
whatever it may be; for it must be very extraordinary if it is out
of my power, unless it be the death of the sultan your father; in
that case, time, with all that I will contribute on my part, will
comfort you.
Prince Ahmed could not long withstand the pressing instances of the
fairy. Madam, said he, God prolong the sultan my father’s life,
and bless him to the end of his days. I left him alive, and in
perfect health; therefore that is not the cause of the melancholy
you perceive in me. The sultan is the occasion of it, and I am the
more concerned, because he has imposed upon me the disagreeable
necessity of importuning you. First, you know the care I have taken,
with your approbation, to conceal from him the happiness I have to
see you, to love you, to deserve your favour and love, and to have
received the pledge of your faith, after having pledged my faith
with you. How he has been informed of it I cannot tell.
Here the fairy Pari Banou interrupted prince Ahmed, and said, But I
know. Remember what I told you of the woman who made you believe she
was sick, on whom you took so much compassion. It is she who has
acquainted the sultan your father with what you have taken so much
care to hide from him. I told you she was no more sick than you or
I, and she has made it appear so; for, in short, after the two
women, whom I charged to take care of her, had given her the water
sovereign against all fevers, which, however, she had no occasion
for, she pretended that water had cured her, and was brought to take
her leave of me, that she might go the sooner to give an account of
the success of her undertaking. She was in so much haste, that she
would have gone away without seeing my palace, if I had not, by
bidding my two women show it her, given her to understand that it
was worth her seeing. But go on, and tell me what is the necessity
your father has imposed on you to be so importunate, which I desire
you will be persuaded you can be.
Madam, pursued prince Ahmed, you may have observed that hitherto I
have been content with your love, and have never asked you any other
favour: for what, after the possession of so amiable a wife, can I
desire more? I know how great your power is, but I have taken care
not to make trial of it. Consider then, I conjure you, that it is
not me, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly, as I think,
asks of you a pavilion large enough to shelter him, his court, and
army, from the violence of the weather, when he takes the field, and
which a man may carry in his hand. Once more, remember, it is not I,
but the sultan my father, who asks this favour.
Prince, replied the fairy, smiling, I am sorry that so small a
matter should disturb you, and make you so uneasy as you appeared to
me. I see plainly two things have contributed towards it: one is,
the law you have imposed upon yourself, to be content with loving
me, and being beloved by me, and to deny yourself the liberty of
asking me the least favour that might try my power. The other, I do
not doubt, whatever you may say, was, you thought that what your
father asked of me was out of my power. As to the first, I commend
you for it, and shall love you the better, if possible, for it; and
for the second, I must tell you, that what the sultan you father
asks of me is a trifle; and upon occasions. I can do much more
difficult things. Therefore be easy, and persuaded, that far from
thinking myself importuned, I shall always take a great deal of
pleasure in whatever you can desire me to do for your sake. Then the
fairy sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she said,
Nourgihan, [108] (which was her name,) bring me the largest pavilion
in my treasury. Nourgihan returned presently with a pavilion, which
could not only be held, but concealed in the palm of the hand, when
it was closed, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it prince
Ahmed to look at.
When prince Ahmed saw the pavilion which the fairy called the
largest in her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to banter him,
and his surprise appeared presently in his countenance, which Pari
Banou perceiving, burst out a laughing. What! prince, cried she, do
you think I jest with you? You will see presently that I am in
earnest. Nourgihan, said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out
of prince Ahmed’s hand, go and set it up, that the prince may
judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough.
The treasurer went out immediately with it from the palace, and
carried it to such a distance, that when she had set it up, one end
reached to the palace. The prince, so far from thinking it small,
found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of
the sultan his father, and then said to Pari Banou, I ask my
princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what I have
seen, I believe there is nothing impossible to you. You see, said
the fairy, that the pavilion is larger than your father may have
occasion for; but you are to observe, that it has one property, that
it becomes larger or smaller, according to the army it is to cover,
without applying any hands to it.
The treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first
size, and brought it and put it into the prince’s hands. He took
it, and without staying any longer than till the next day, mounted
his horse, and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his
father.
The sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he asked for was
beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince’s
diligence. He took the tent, and after he had admired its smallness,
his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself when he
had set it up in the great plain before mentioned, and found it
large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring
into the field. Looking upon this circumstance to be a superfluity
that might be troublesome in the use, prince Ahmed told him, that
its size would always be in proportion to his army.
To outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligations to the
prince his son for so noble a present, desiring him to return his
thanks to the fairy Pari Banou; and to show what a value he set on
it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. But
within himself he conceived a greater jealousy than what his
flatterers and the magician had suggested to him; considering that
by the fairy’s assistance, the prince his son might perform things
that were infinitely above his own power notwithstanding his
greatness and riches, therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went
to consult the magician again, who advised him to engage the prince
to bring some of the water of the fountain of lions.
In the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all the
court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he
addressed himself to him in these words: Son, said he, I have
already expressed to you how much I am obliged to you for the
present of the tent you have procured me, which I look upon as the
most valuable thing in my treasury; but you must do one thing more
for me, which will be no less agreeable to me. I am informed that
the fairy your spouse makes use of a certain water, called the water
of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the
most dangerous; and as I am perfectly well persuaded my health is
dear to you, I do not doubt but you will ask her for a bottle of
that water for me, and bring it me, as a sovereign remedy which I
may make use of when I have occasion. Do me this other important
piece of service, and thereby complete the duty of a good son
towards a tender father.
Prince Ahmed, who believed that the sultan his father would have
been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he
had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon
him which might hazard the fairy’s displeasure, was thunderstruck
at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him
of granting him whatever lay in her power. After a long silence, he
said, I beg of your majesty to be assured, that there is nothing I
would not undertake to procure you, which may contribute to the
prolonging of your life, but I could wish it might not be by the
means of my wife. For this reason I dare not promise to bring the
water. All I can do is, to assure you I will ask it of her; but it
will be with as great reluctance as when I asked for the tent.
The next morning prince Ahmed returned to the fairy Pan Banou, and
related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at the
sultan his father’s court, from the giving of the tent, which he
told her he received with the utmost gratitude for the favour she
had done him, to the new request he had charged him to make for him.
And when he had done, he added: But, my princess, I only tell you
this is a plain account of what passed between me and my father. I
leave you to your own pleasure, whether you will gratify or reject
this his new desire. It shall be as you please.
No, no, replied the fairy Pari Banou, I am glad that the sultan of
the Indies knows that you are not indifferent to me. I will satisfy
him, and whatever advice the magician can give him, (for I see that
he hearkens to her) he shall find no fault with you or me. There is
a great deal of wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by
what I am going to tell you. The fountain of lions is situated in
the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is
guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep alternately, while
the other two are awake. But let not that frighten you. I will give
you means to pass by them without any danger.
The fairy Pari Banou was at that time very hard at work with her
needle; and as she had by her several clues of thread, she took up
one, and presenting it to prince Ahmed, said, First take this clue
of thread; I will tell you presently the use of it. In the second
place, you must have two horses; one you must ride yourself, and the
other you must lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four
quarters, that must be killed to-day. In the third place, you must
be provided with a bottle, which I will give you, to bring the water
in. Set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the
iron gate, throw before you the clue of thread, which will roll till
it comes to the gates of the castle. Follow it, and when it stops,
as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. The two that
are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. Be not
frightened, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then
clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. Fill your bottle
without alighting, and then return with the same expedition. The
lions will be so busy eating, they will let you pass by them.
Prince Ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed him by
the fairy, and followed her directions punctually. When he arrived
at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep
among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with
intrepidity, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned as
safe and sound as he went. When he had got a little distance from
the castle gates he turned about, and perceiving two of the lions
coming after him, he drew his sabre, and prepared himself for
defence. But as he went forwards, he saw one of them turned out of
the road at some distance, and showed by his head and tail that he
did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that
the other stayed behind to follow. He therefore put his sword again
into its scabbard. Guarded in this manner, he arrived at the capital
of the Indies: but the lions never left him till they had conducted
him to the gates of the sultan’s palace; after which they returned
the same way they came, though not without frightening all that saw
them, who fled or hid themselves to avoid them, though they walked
gently, and showed no signs of fierceness.
A great many officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted,
and conducted him to the sultan’s apartment who was at that time
conversing with his favourites. He approached the throne, laid the
bottle at the sultan’s feet, and kissed the rich carpet which
covered the footstool, and, rising, said, I have brought you, sir,
the salutary water, which your majesty so much desired to keep among
your other rarities in your treasury; but at the same time wish you
such extraordinary health, as never to have occasion to make use of
it.
After the prince had made an end of his compliment, the sultan
placed him on his right hand, and then said to him, Son, I am very
much obliged to you for this valuable present; as also for the great
danger you have exposed yourself to on my account, which I have been
informed of by the magician, who knows the fountain of lions; but do
me the pleasure, continued he, to inform me by what address, or
rather, by what incredible power, you have been preserved.
Sir, replied prince Ahmed, I have no share in the compliment your
majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my
spouse, and I take no other merit than that of having followed her
good advice. Then he informed the sultan what that advice was by the
relation of this his expedition, and how he had conducted himself.
When he had done, the sultan, who showed outwardly all the
demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous,
retired into an inward apartment, where he sent for the magician.