al-Jamal caught sight of Sayf al-Muluk as he wandered about the garden,
that glance of eyes cost her a thousand sighs, and she turned to Daulat
Khatun and said to her (and indeed the wine sported with her senses), “O
my sister, who is that young man I see in the garden, distraught,
love-abying, disappointed, sighing?” Quoth the other, “Dost thou give me
leave to bring him hither, that we may look on him?”; and quoth the
other, “An thou can avail to bring him, bring him.” So Daulat Khatun
called to him, saying, “O King’s son, come up to us and bring us thy
beauty and thy loveliness!” Sayf al-Muluk recognised her voice and came
up into the pavilion; but no sooner had he set eyes on Badi’a al-Jamal,
than he fell down in a swoon; whereupon Daulat Khatun sprinkled on him a
little rose-water and he revived. Then he rose and kissed ground before
Badi’a al-Jamal who was amazed at his beauty and loveliness; and Daulat
Khatun said to her, “Know, O Princess, that this is Sayf al-Muluk, whose
hand saved me by the ordinance of Allah Almighty and he it is who hath
borne all manner burthens on thine account: wherefore I would have thee
look upon him with favour.” Hearing this Badi’a al-Jamal laughed and
said, “And who keepeth faith, that this youth should do so? For there is
no true love in men.” Cried Sayf al-Muluk, “O Princess, never shall lack
of faith be in me, and all men are not created alike.” And he wept
before her and recited these verses:—
O thou, Badí’a ’l-Jamál, show thou some clemency ✿ To one those lovely
eyes opprest with witchery!
By rights of beauteous hues and tints thy cheeks combine ✿ Of snowy
white and glowing red anemone,
Punish not with disdain one who is sorely sick ✿ By long, long parting
waste hath waxed this frame of me:
This is my wish, my will, the end of my desire, ✿ And Union is my hope
an haply this may be!
Then he wept with violent weeping; and love and longing got the mastery
over him and he greeted her with these couplets:—
Peace be to you from lover’s wasted love, ✿ All noble hearts to noble
favour show:
Peace be to you! Ne’er fail your form my dreams; ✿ Nor hall nor chamber
the fair sight forego!
Of you I’m jealous: none may name your name: ✿ Lovers to lovers aye
should bend thee low:
So cut not off your grace from him who loves ✿ While sickness wastes and
sorrows overthrow.
I watch the flowery stars which frighten me; ✿ While cark and care mine
every night foreslow.
Nor Patience bides with me nor plan appears: ✿ What shall I say when
questioned of my foe?
God’s peace be with you in the hour of need, ✿ Peace sent by lover
patient bearing woe!
Then for the excess of his desire and ecstasy he repeated these couplets
also:—
If I to aught save you, O lords of me, incline; ✿ Ne’er may I win of you
my wish, my sole design!
Who doth comprise all loveliness save only you? ✿ Who makes the Doomsday
dawn e’en now before these eyne?
Far be it Love find any rest, for I am one ✿ Who lost for love of you
this heart, these vitals mine.
When he had made an end of his verses, he wept with sore weeping and she
said to him, “O Prince, I fear to grant myself wholly to thee lest I
find in thee nor fondness nor affection; for oftentimes man’s fidelity
is small and his perfidy is great and thou knowest how the lord Solomon,
son of David (on whom be the Peace!), took Bilkis to his love but,
whenas he saw another fairer than she, turned from her thereto.” Sayf
al-Muluk replied, “O my eye and O my soul, Allah hath not made all men
alike, and I, Inshallah, will keep my troth and die beneath thy feet.
Soon shalt thou see what I will do in accordance with my words, and for
whatso I say Allah is my warrant.” Quoth Badi’a al-Jamal, “Sit and be of
good heart and swear to me by the right of thy Faith and let us covenant
together that each will not be false to other; and whichever of us
breaketh faith may Almighty Allah punish!” At these words he sat down
and set his hand in her hand and they sware each to other that neither
of them would ever prefer to the other any one, either of man or of the
Jann. Then they embraced for a whole hour and wept for excess of their
joy, whilst passion overcame Sayf al-Muluk and he recited these
couplets:—
I weep for longing love’s own ardency ✿ To her who claims the heart and
soul of me.
And sore’s my sorrow parted long from you, ✿ And short’s my arm to reach
the prize I see;
And mourning grief for what my patience marred ✿ To blamer’s eye
unveiled my secresy;
And waxed strait that whilome was so wide ✿ Patience nor force remains
nor power to dree.
Would Heaven I knew if God will ever deign to join ✿ Our lives, and from
our cark and care and grief set free!
After this mutual troth-plighting, Sayf al-Muluk arose and walked in the
garden and Badi’a al-Jamal arose also and went forth also afoot followed
by a slave-girl bearing somewhat of food and a flask[454] of wine. The
Princess sat down and the damsel set the meat and wine before her: nor
remained they long ere they were joined by Sayf al-Muluk, who was
received with greeting and the two embraced and sat them down.——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that having provided
food and wine, Badi’a al-Jamal met Sayf al-Muluk with greetings, and the
twain having embraced and kissed sat them down awhile to eat and drink.
Then said she to him, “O King’s son, thou must now go to the garden of
Iram, where dwelleth my grandmother, and seek her consent to our
marriage. My slave-girl Marjánah will convey thee thither and as thou
farest therein thou wilt see a great pavilion of red satin, lined with
green silk. Enter the pavilion heartening thyself and thou wilt see
inside it an ancient dame sitting on a couch of red gold set with pearls
and jewels. Salute her with respect and courtesy; then look at the foot
of the couch, where thou wilt descry a pair of sandals[455] of cloth
interwoven with bars of gold, embroidered with jewels. Take them and
kiss them and lay them on thy head[456]; then put them under thy right
armpit and stand before the old woman, in silence and with thy head
bowed down. If she ask thee, Who art thou and how camest thou hither and
who led thee to this land? And why hast thou taken up the sandals? make
her no answer, but abide silent till Marjanah enter, when she will speak
with her and seek to win her approof for thee and cause her look on thee
with consent; so haply Allah Almighty may incline her heart to thee and
she may grant thee thy wish.” Then she called the handmaid Marjanah
hight and said to her, “As thou lovest me, do my errand this day and be
not neglectful therein! An thou accomplish it, thou shalt be a free
woman for the sake of Allah Almighty, and I will deal honourably by thee
with gifts and there shall be none dearer to me than thou, nor will I
discover my secrets to any save thee. So, by my love for thee, fulfil
this my need and be not slothful therein.” Replied Marjanah, “O my lady
and light of mine eyes, tell me what is it thou requirest of me, that I
may accomplish it with both mine eyes.” Badi’a rejoined, “Take this
mortal on thy shoulders and bear him to the bloom-garden of Iram and the
pavilion of my grandmother, my father’s mother, and be careful of his
safety. When thou hast brought him into her presence and seest him take
the slippers and do them homage, and hearest her ask him, saying:—Whence
art thou and by what road art come and who led thee to this land, and
why hast thou taken up the sandals and what is thy need that I give heed
to it? do thou come forward in haste and salute her with the salam and
say to her:—O my lady, I am she who brought him hither and he is the
King’s son of Egypt.[457] ’Tis he who went to the High-builded Castle
and slew the son of the Blue King and delivered the Princess Daulat
Khatun from the Castle of Japhet son of Noah and brought her back safe
to her father: and I have brought him to thee, that he may give thee the
glad tidings of her safety: so deign thou be gracious to him. Then do
thou say to her:—Allah upon thee! is not this young man handsome, O my
lady? She will reply, Yes; and do rejoin:—O my lady, indeed he is
complete in honour and manhood and valour and he is lord and King of
Egypt and compriseth all praiseworthy qualities. An she ask thee, What
is his need? do thou make answer, My lady saluteth thee and saith to
thee, how long shall she sit at home, a maid and unmarried? Indeed, the
time is longsome upon her for she is as a magazine wherein wheat is
heaped up.[458] What then is thine intent in leaving her without a mate
and why dost thou not marry her in thy life-tide and that of her mother,
like other girls? If she say, How shall we do to marry her? An she have
any one in mind, let her tell us of him, and we will do her will as far
as may be! do thou make answer, O my lady, thy daughter saith to thee,
“Ye were minded aforetime to marry me to Solomon (on whom be peace!) and
portrayed him my portrait on a tunic. But he had no lot in me; so he
sent the tunic to the King of Egypt and he gave it to his son, who saw
my portrait figured thereon and fell in love with me; wherefore he left
his father and mother’s realm and turning away from the world and whatso
is therein, went forth at a venture, a wanderer, love-distraught, and
hath borne the utmost hardships and honors for my sake of me.” Now thou
seest his beauty and loveliness, and thy daughter’s heart is enamoured
of him; so, if ye have a mind to marry her, marry her to this young man
and forbid her not from him for he is young and passing comely and King
of Egypt, nor wilt thou find a goodlier than he; and if ye will not give
her to him, she will slay herself and marry none neither man nor Jinn.”
“And,” continued Badi’a al-Jamal, “Look thou, O Marjanah, _ma mie_,[459]
how thou mayst do with my grandmother, to win her consent, and beguile
her with soft words, so haply she may do my desire.” Quoth the damsel,
“O my lady, upon my head and eyes will I serve thee and do what shall
content thee.” Then she took Sayf al-Muluk on her shoulders and said to
him, “O King’s son, shut thine eyes.” He did so and she flew up with him
into the welkin; and after awhile she said to him, “O King’s son, open
thine eyes.” He opened them and found himself in a garden, which was
none other than the garden of Iram; and she showed him the pavilion and
said, “O Sayf al-Muluk, enter therein!” Thereupon he pronounced the name
of Allah Almighty and entering cast a look upon the garden, when he saw
the old Queen sitting on the couch, attended by her waiting women. So he
drew near her with courtesy and reverence and taking the sandals bussed
them and did as Badi’a al-Jamal had enjoined him. Quoth the ancient
dame, “Who art thou and what is thy country; whence comest thou and who
brought thee hither and what may be thy wish? Wherefore dost thou take
the sandals and kiss them and when didst thou ask of me a favour which I
did not grant?” With this in came Marjanah[460] and saluting her
reverently and worshipfully, repeated to her what Badi’a al-Jamal had
told her; which when the old Queen heard, she cried out at her and was
wroth with her and said, “How shall there be accord between man and
Jinn?”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
-----
Footnote 349:
Arab. “Munádamah,” = conversation over the cup (Lane), used somewhat
in the sense of “Musámarah” = talks by moonlight.
Footnote 350:
Arab. “Kursi,” a word of many meanings; here it would allude to the
square crate-like seat of palm-fronds used by the Ráwi or public
reciter of tales when he is not pacing about the coffee-house.
Footnote 351:
Von Hammer remarks that this is precisely the sum paid in Egypt for a
MS. copy of The Nights.
Footnote 352:
Arab. “Samar,” the origin of Musámarah, which see, vol. iv. 237.
Footnote 353:
The pomp and circumstance, with which the tale is introduced to the
reader showing the importance attached to it. Lane, most injudiciously
I think, transfers the Proemium to a note in chapt. xxiv., thus
converting an Arabian Night into an Arabian Note.
Footnote 354:
’Asim = defending (honour) or defended, son of Safwán = clear, cold
(dry). Trébutien ii. 126, has Safran.
Footnote 355:
Fáris = the rider, the Knight, son of Sálih = the righteous, the
pious, the just.
Footnote 356:
In sign of the deepest dejection, when a man would signify that he can
fall no lower.
Footnote 357:
Arab. Yá Khawand (in Bresl. Edit. vol. iv. 191) and fem. form
Khawandah (p. 20) from Pers. Kháwand or Kháwandagár = superior, lord,
master; Khudáwand is still used in popular as in classical Persian,
and is universally understood in Hindostan.
Footnote 358:
The Biblical Sheba, whence came the Queen of many Hebrew fables.
Footnote 359:
These would be the interjections of the writer or story-teller. The
Mac. Edit. is here a sketch which must be filled up by the Bresl.
Edit. vol. iv. 189–318: “Tale of King Asim and his son Sayf al-Mulúk
with Badí’a al-Jamál.”
Footnote 360:
The oath by the Seal-ring of Solomon was the Stygian “swear” in
Fairy-land. The signet consisted of four jewels, presented by as many
angels, representing the Winds, the Birds, Earth (including sea) and
Spirits, and the gems were inscribed with as many sentences (1) To
Allah belong Majesty and Might; (2) All created things praise the
Lord; (3) Heaven and Earth are Allah’s slaves and (4) There is no god
but _the_ God and Mohammed is His messenger. For Sakhr and his theft
of the signet see Dr. Weil’s, “The Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud.”
Footnote 361:
Trébutien (ii. 128) remarks, “Cet Assaf peut être celui auquel David
adresse plusieurs de ses psaumes, et que nos interprètes disent avoir
été son maître de chapelle” (from Biblioth. Orient).
Footnote 362:
Mermen, monsters, beasts, etc.
Footnote 363:
This is in accordance with Eastern etiquette; the guest must be fed
before his errand is asked. The Porte, in the days of its pride,
managed in this way sorely to insult the Ambassadors of the most
powerful European kingdoms and the first French Republic had the
honour of abating the barbarians’ nuisance. So the old Scottish
Highlanders never asked the name or clan of a chance guest, lest he
prove a foe before he had eaten their food.
Footnote 364:
In Bresl. Edit. (301) Kháfiyah: in Mac. Kháinah, the perfidy.
Footnote 365:
So in the Mac. Edit., in the Bresl. only one “Kabá” or Kaftan; but
from the sequel it seems to be a clerical error.
Footnote 366:
Arab. “Su’ubán” (Thu’ubán) popularly translated “basilisk.” The
Egyptians suppose that when this serpent forms ring round the Ibn ’Irs
(weasel or ichneumon) the latter emits a peculiar air which causes the
reptile to burst.
Footnote 367:
_i.e._ that prophesied by Solomon.
Footnote 368:
Arab. “Takliyah” from kaly, a fry: Lane’s Shaykh explained it as
“onions cooked in clarified butter, after which they are put upon
other cooked food.” The mention of onions points to Egypt as the
origin of this tale and certainly not to Arabia, where the
strong-smelling root is hated.
Footnote 369:
Von Hammer quotes the case of the Grand Vizier Yúsuf throwing his own
pelisse over the shoulders of the Aleppine Merchant who brought him
the news of the death of his enemy, Jazzár Pasha.
Footnote 370:
This peculiar style of generosity was also the custom in contemporary
Europe.
Footnote 371:
Khátún, which follows the name (_e.g._ Hurmat Khatun), in India
corresponds with the male title Khan, taken by the Pathán Moslems
(_e.g._ Pír Khán). Khánum is the affix to the Moghul or Tartar
nobility, the men assuming a double designation _e.g._ Mirza Abdallah
Beg. See Oriental collections (Ouseley’s) vol. i. 97.
Footnote 372:
Lit. “Whatso thou wouldest do that do!” a contrast with our European
laconism.
Footnote 373:
These are booths built against and outside the walls, made of
palm-fronds and light materials.
Footnote 374:
Von Hammer in Trébutien (ii. 135) says, “Such rejoicings are still
customary at Constantinople, under the name of Donánmá, not only when
the Sultanas are _enceintes_, but also when they are brought to bed.
In 1803 the rumour of the pregnancy of a Sultana, being falsely
spread, involved all the Ministers in useless expenses to prepare for
a Donánmá which never took place.” Lane justly remarks upon this
passage that the title Sultán precedes while the feminine Sultánah
follows the name.
Footnote 375:
These words (Bresl. Edit.) would be spoken in jest, a grim joke
enough, but showing the elation of the King’s spirits.
Footnote 376:
A signal like a gong: the Mac. Edit. reads “Tákah,” = in at the
window.
Footnote 377:
Sayf al-Mulúk = “Sword (Egyptian Sif, Arab. Sayf, Gr. ξίφος) of the
Kings”; and he must not be called tout bonnement Sayf. Sái’d = the
forearm.
Footnote 378:
Arab. Fakíh = a divine, from Fikh = theology, a man versed in law and
divinity _i.e._ (1) the Koran and its interpretation comprehending the
sacred ancient history of the creation and prophets (Chapters iii, iv,
v and vi), (2) the traditions and legends connected with early Moslem
History and (3) some auxiliary sciences as grammar, syntax and
prosody; logic, rhetoric and philosophy. See p. 18 of “El-Mas’údí,’s
Historical Encyclopædia etc.,” by my friend Prof. Aloys Springer,
London 1841. This fine fragment printed by the Oriental Translation
Fund has been left unfinished when the Asiatic Society of Paris has
printed in Eight Vols. 8vo the text and translation of MM. Barbier de
Meynard and Pavet de Courteille. What a national disgrace! And the
same with the mere abridgment of Ibn Batutah by Prof. Lee (Orient. Tr.
Fund 1820) when the French have the fine Edition and translation by
Defrémery and Sanguinetti with index etc. in 4 vols. 8vo 1858–59. But
England is now content to rank in such matters as encouragement of
learning, endowment of research etc., into the basest of kingdoms, and
the contrast of status between the learned Societies of London and of
Paris, Berlin, Vienna or Rome is mortifying to an Englishman—a
national opprobrium.
Footnote 379:
Arab. Maydán al-Fíl prob. for Birkat al-Fíl, the Tank of the Elephant
before-mentioned. Lane quotes Al-Makrizi who in his Khitat informs us
that the lakelet was made about the end of the seventh century (A.
H.), and in the seventeenth year of the eighth century became the site
of stables. The Bresl. Edit. (iv. 214) reads “Maydan al-’Adl,” prob.
for Al-’Ádil the name of the King who laid out the Maydán.
Footnote 380:
Arab. Asháb al-Ziyá’, the latter word mostly signifies estates
consisting, strictly speaking, of land under artificial irrigation.
Footnote 381:
The Bresl. Edit. iv. 215 has “Chawáshiyah” = ’Chiaush, the Turkish
word, written with the Pers. “ch,” a letter which in Arabic is
supplanted by “sh,” everywhere except in Morocco.
Footnote 382:
Arab. “Záwiyah” lit. a corner, a cell. Lane (M. E. chapt. xxiv.)
renders it “a small kiosque,” and translates the famous Zawiyat
al-Umyán (Blind Men’s Angle) near the south-eastern corner of the
Azhar or great Collegiate Mosque of Cairo, “Chapel of the Blind”
(chapt. ix.). In popular parlance it suggests a hermitage.
Footnote 383:
Arab. “Takht,” a Pers. word used as more emphatic than the Arab.
Sarír.
Footnote 384:
This girding the sovereign is found in the hieroglyphs as a
peculiarity of the ancient Kings of Egypt, says Von Hammer referring
readers to Denon.
Footnote 385:
Arab. “Mohr,” which was not amongst the gifts of Solomon in Night
dcclx. The Bresl. Edit. (p. 220) adds “and the bow,” which is also de
trop.
Footnote 386:
Arab. “Batánah,” the ordinary lining opp. to Tazríb, or quilting with
a layer of cotton between two folds of cloth. The idea in the text is
that the unhappy wearer would have to carry his cross (the girl) on
his back.
Footnote 387:
This line has occurred in Night dccxliv. _supra_ p. 280.
Footnote 388:
Arab. “Mu’attik al-Rikáb” _i.e._ who frees those in bondage from the
yoke.
Footnote 389:
In the Mac. Edit. and in Trébutien (ii. 143) the King is here called
Schimakh son of Scharoukh, but elsewhere, Schohiali = Shahyál, in the
Bresl. Edit. Shahál. What the author means by “Son of ’Ád the
Greater,” I cannot divine.
Footnote 390:
Lit. “For he is the man who can avail thereto,” with the meaning given
in the text.
Footnote 391:
Arab. Jazírat, insula or peninsula, vol. i. 2.
Footnote 392:
Probably Canton with which the Arabs were familiar.
Footnote 393:
_i.e._ “Who disappointeth not those who put their trust in Him.”
Footnote 394:
Arab. “Al-Manjaníkát” plur. of manjanik, from Gr. Μάγγανον, Lat.
Manganum (Engl. Mangonel from the dim. Mangonella). Ducange
Glossarium, s.v. The Greek is applied originally to defensive weapons,
then to the artillery of the day, Ballista, catapults, etc. The
kindred Arab. form “Manjanín” is applied chiefly to the Noria or
Persian water-wheel.
Footnote 395:
Faghfúr is the common Moslem title for the Emperors of China; in the
Kamus the first syllable is Zammated (Fugh); in Al-Mas’udi (chapt.
xiv.) we find Baghfúr and in Al-Idrisi Baghbúgh, or Baghbún. In
Al-Asma’i Bagh = god or idol (Pehlewi and Persian); hence according to
some Baghdád (?) and Bághistán a pagoda (?). Sprenger (Al-Mas’údi, p.
327) remarks that Baghfúr is a literal translation of Tien-tse and
quotes Visdelou, “pour mieux faire comprendre de quel ciel ils veulent
parler, ils poussent la généalogie (of the Emperor) plus loin. Ils lui
donnent le ciel pour père, la terre pour mère, le soleil pour frère
aîné et la lune pour sœur aînée.”
Footnote 396:
Arab. “Kayf hálak” = how de doo? the salutation of a Fellah.
Footnote 397:
_i.e._ subject to the Maharajah of Hind.
Footnote 398:
This is not a mistake: I have seen heavy hail in Africa, N. Lat. 4°;
within sight of the Equator.
Footnote 399:
Arab. “Harrákat,” here used in the sense of smaller craft, and
presently for a cock-boat.
Footnote 400:
See vol. i. 138: here by way of variety I quote Mr. Payne.
Footnote 401:
This explains the Arab idea of the “Old Man of the Sea” in Sindbad the
Seaman (vol. vi. 50). He was not a monkey nor an unknown monster; but
an evil Jinni of the most powerful class, yet subject to defeat and
death.
Footnote 402:
These Plinian monsters abound in Persian literature. For a specimen
see Richardson Dissert. p. xlviii.
Footnote 403:
Arab. “Anyáb,” plur. of “Náb” = canine tooth (eye-tooth of man), tusks
of horse and camel etc.
Footnote 404:
Arab. “Kásid,” the Anglo-Indian Cossid. The post is called Baríd from
the Persian “burídah” (cut) because the mules used for the purpose
were dock-tailed. Barid applies equally to the post-mule, the rider
and the distance from one station (Sikkah) to another which varied
from two to six parasangs. The letter-carrier was termed Al-Faránik
from the Pers. Parwánah, a servant. In the Diwán al-Baríd
(Post-office) every letter was entered in a Madraj or list called in
Arabic Al-Askidár from the Persian “Az Kih dárí” = from whom hast thou
it?
Footnote 405:
“Ten years” in the Bresl. Edit. iv. 244.
Footnote 406:
In the Bresl. Edit. (iv. 245) we find “Kalak,” a raft, like those used
upon the Euphrates, and better than the “Fulk,” or ship, of the Mac.
Edit.
Footnote 407:
Arab. Timsah from Coptic (Old Egypt) Emsuh or Msuh. The animal cannot
live in salt-water, a fact which proves that the Crocodile Lakes on
the Suez Canal were in old days fed by Nile-water; and this was
necessarily a Canal.
Footnote 408:
So in the Bresl. Edit. (iv. 245). In the Mac. text “one man,” which
better suits the second crocodile, for the animal can hardly be
expected to take two at a time.
Footnote 409:
He had ample reason to be frightened. The large Cynocephalus is
exceedingly dangerous. When travelling on the Gold Coast with my late
friend Colonel De Ruvignes, we suddenly came in the grey of the
morning upon a herd of these beasts. We dismounted, hobbled our nags
and sat down, sword and revolver in hand. Luckily it was feeding time
for the vicious brutes, which scowled at us but did not attack us.
During my four years’ service on the West African Coast I heard enough
to satisfy me that these powerful beasts often kill men and rape
women; but I could not convince myself that they ever kept the women
as concubines.
Footnote 410:
As we should say in English it is a far cry to Loch Awe: the Hindu
byword is, “Dihlí (Delhi) is a long way off.” See vol. i. 37.
Footnote 411:
Arab. Fútah, a napkin, a waistcloth, the Indian Zones alluded to by
the old Greek travellers.
Footnote 412:
Arab. “Yají (it comes) miat khwánjah”—quite Fellah talk.
Footnote 413: