Nouronihar beyond the rocks, where she had again joined her beloved
Gulchenrouz. This Gulchenrouz was the son of Ali Hassan, brother to the
Emir, and the most delicate and lovely creature in the world. Ali
Hassan, who had been absent ten years on a voyage to the unknown seas,
committed at his departure this child, the only survivor of many, to the
care and protection of his brother. Gulchenrouz could write in various
characters with precision, and paint upon vellum the most elegant
arabesques that fancy could devise; his sweet voice accompanied the lute
in the most enchanting manner, and when he sang the loves of Megnoun and
Leileh, or some unfortunate lovers of ancient days, tears insensibly
overflowed the cheeks of his auditors; the verses he composed (for, like
Megnoun, he too was a poet) inspired that unresisting languor so
frequently fatal to the female heart; the women all doted upon him; for
though he had passed his thirteenth year, they still detained him in the
harem; his dancing was light as the gossamer waved by the zephyrs of
spring, but his arms, which twined so gracefully with those of the young
girls in the dance, could neither dart the lance in the chase, nor curb
the steeds that pastured his uncle’s domains. The bow, however, he drew
with a certain aim, and would have excelled his competitors in the race,
could he have broken the ties that bound him to Nouronihar.
The two brothers had mutually engaged their children to each other, and
Nouronihar loved her cousin more than her eyes; both had the same tastes
and amusements, the same long, languishing looks, the same tresses, the
same fair complexions, and when Gulchenrouz appeared in the dress of his
cousin he seemed to be more feminine than even herself. If at any time
he left the harem to visit Fakreddin, it was with all the bashfulness of
a fawn, that consciously ventures from the lair of its dam; he was
however, wanton enough to mock the solemn old grey-beards to whom he was
subject, though sure to be rated without mercy in return; whenever this
happened he would plunge into the recesses of the harem, and sobbing,
take refuge in the arms of Nouronihar, who loved even his faults beyond
the virtues of others.
It fell out this evening that, after leaving the Caliph in the meadow,
she ran with Gulchenrouz over the green sward of the mountain that
sheltered the vale where Fakreddin had chosen to reside. The sun was
dilated on the edge of the horizon; and the young people, whose fancies
were lively and inventive, imagined they beheld in the gorgeous clouds of
the west the domes of Shadukiam and Amberabad, where the Peris have fixed
their abode. Nouronihar, sitting on the slope of the hill, supported on
her knees the perfumed head of Gulchenrouz; the air was calm, and no
sound stirred but the voices of other young girls, who were drawing cool
water from the streams below. The unexpected arrival of the Caliph, and
the splendour that marked his appearance, had already filled with emotion
the ardent soul of Nouronihar; her vanity irresistibly prompted her to
pique the prince’s attention, and this she before took good care to
effect whilst he picked up the jasmine she had thrown upon him. But when
Gulchenrouz asked after the flowers he had culled for her bosom,
Nouronihar was all in confusion; she hastily kissed his forehead, arose
in a flutter, and walked with unequal steps on the border of the
precipice. Night advanced, and the pure gold of the setting sun had
yielded to a sanguine red, the glow of which, like the reflection of a
burning furnace, flushed Nouronihar’s animated countenance. Gulchenrouz,
alarmed at the agitation of his cousin, said to her with a supplicating
accent:
“Let us be gone; the sky looks portentous, the tamarisks tremble more
than common, and the raw wind chills my very heart; come! let us be gone;
’tis a melancholy night!”
Then, taking hold of her hand, he drew it towards the path he besought
her to go. Nouronihar unconsciously followed the attraction, for a
thousand strange imaginations occupied her spirit; she passed the large
round of honeysuckles, her favourite resort, without ever vouchsafing it
a glance, yet Gulchenrouz could not help snatching off a few shoots in
his way, though he ran as if a wild beast were behind.
The young females seeing him approach in such haste, and according to
custom expecting a dance, instantly assembled in a circle, and took each
other by the hand; but Gulchenrouz, coming up out of breath, fell down at
once on the grass. This accident struck with consternation the whole of
this frolicsome party; whilst Nouronihar, half distracted, and overcome,
both by the violence of her exercise and the tumult of her thoughts, sunk
feebly down at his side, cherished his cold hands in her bosom, and
chafed his temples with a fragrant unguent. At length he came to
himself, and, wrapping up his head in the robe of his cousin, entreated
that she would not return to the harem; he was afraid of being snapped at
by Shaban, his tutor, a wrinkled old eunuch of a surly disposition; for
having interrupted the stated walk of Nouronihar, he dreaded lest the
churl should take it amiss. The whole of this sprightly group, sitting
round upon a mossy knoll, began to entertain themselves with various
pastimes, whilst their superintendents the eunuchs were gravely
conversing at a distance. The nurse of the Emir’s daughter, observing
her pupil sit ruminating with her eyes on the ground, endeavoured to
amuse her with diverting tales, to which Gulchenrouz, who had already
forgotten his inquietudes, listened with a breathless attention; he
laughed, he clapped his hands, and passed a hundred little tricks on the
whole of the company, without omitting the eunuchs, whom he provoked to
run after him, in spite of their age and decrepitude.
During these occurrences the moon arose, the wind subsided, and the
evening became so serene and inviting, that a resolution was taken to sup
on the spot. Sutlememe, who excelled in dressing a salad, having filled
large bowls of porcelain with eggs of small birds, curds turned with
citron juice, slices of cucumber, and the inmost leaves of delicate
herbs, handed it round from one to another, and gave each their shares in
a large spoon of Cocknos. Gulchenrouz, nestling as usual in the bosom of
Nouronihar, pouted out his vermilion little lips against the offer of
Sutlememe, and would take it only from the hand of his cousin, on whose
mouth he hung like a bee inebriated with the quintessence of flowers.
One of the eunuchs ran to fetch melons, whilst others were employed in
showering down almonds from the branches that overhung this amiable
party.
In the midst of this festive scene there appeared a light on the top of
the highest mountain, which attracted the notice of every eye; this light
was not less bright than the moon when at full, and might have been taken
for her, had it not been that the moon was already risen. The phenomenon
occasioned a general surprise, and no one could conjecture the cause; it
could not be a fire, for the light was clear and bluish, nor had meteors
ever been seen of that magnitude or splendour. This strange light faded
for a moment, and immediately renewed its brightness; it first appeared
motionless at the foot of the rock, whence it darted in an instant to
sparkle in a thicket of palm-trees; from thence it glided along the
torrent, and at last fixed in a glen that was narrow and dark. The
moment it had taken its direction, Gulchenrouz, whose heart always
trembled at anything sudden or rare, drew Nouronihar by the robe, and
anxiously requested her to return to the harem; the women were
importunate in seconding the entreaty, but the curiosity of the Emir’s
daughter prevailed; she not only refused to go back, but resolved at all
hazards to pursue the appearance. Whilst they were debating what was
best to be done, the light shot forth so dazzling a blaze, that they all
fled away shrieking; Nouronihar followed them a few steps, but, coming to
the turn of a little bye-path, stopped, and went back alone; as she ran
with an alertness peculiar to herself, it was not long before she came to
the place where they had just been supping. The globe of fire now
appeared stationary in the glen, and burned in majestic stillness.
Nouronihar, compressing her hands upon her bosom, hesitated for some
moments to advance; the solitude of her situation was new, the silence of
the night awful, and every object inspired sensations which till then she
never had felt: the affright of Gulchenrouz recurred to her mind, and she
a thousand times turned to go back, but this luminous appearance was
always before her; urged on by an irresistible impulse, she continued to
approach it, in defiance of every obstacle that opposed her progress.
At length she arrived at the opening of the glen; but, instead of coming
up to the light, she found herself surrounded by darkness, excepting that
at a considerable distance a faint spark glimmered by fits. She stopped
a second time; the sound of water-falls mingling their murmurs, the
hollow rustlings amongst the palm-branches, and the funereal screams of
the birds from their rifted trunks, all conspired to fill her with
terror; she imagined every moment that she trod on some venomous reptile;
all the stories of malignant Dives and dismal Gouls thronged into her
memory; but her curiosity was, notwithstanding, more predominant than her
fears; she therefore firmly entered a winding track that led towards the
spark, but, being a stranger to the path, she had not gone far till she
began to repent of her rashness.
“Alas!” said she, “that I were but in those secure and illuminated
apartments where my evenings glided on with Gulchenrouz! Dear child! how
would thy heart flutter with terror wert thou wandering in these wild
solitudes like me!” At the close of this apostrophe she regained her
road, and, coming to steps hewn out in the rock, ascended them
undismayed; the light, which was now gradually enlarging, appeared above
her on the summit of the mountain; at length she distinguished a
plaintive and melodious union of voices, proceeding from a sort of
cavern, that resembled the dirges which are sung over tombs; a sound,
likewise, like that which arises from the filling of baths, at the same
time struck her ear; she continued ascending, and discovered large wax
torches in full blaze planted here and there in the fissures of the rock;
this preparation filled her with fear, whilst the subtle and potent odour
which the torches exhaled caused her to sink almost lifeless at the
entrance of the grot.
Casting her eyes within in this kind of trance, she beheld a large
cistern of gold filled with a water, whose vapour distilled on her face a
dew of the essence of roses; a soft symphony resounded through the grot;
on the sides of the cistern she noticed appendages of royalty, diadems,
and feathers of the heron, all sparkling with carbuncles; whilst her
attention was fixed on this display of magnificence, the music ceased,
and a voice instantly demanded:
“For what monarch were these torches kindled, this bath prepared, and
these habiliments, which belong, not only to the sovereigns of the earth,
but even to the Talismanic Powers?”
To which a second voice answered: “They are for the charming daughter of
the Emir Fakreddin.”
“What,” replied the first, “for that trifler, who consumes her time with
a giddy child, immersed in softness, and who at best can make but an
enervated husband?”
“And can she,” rejoined the other voice, “be amused with such empty
trifles, whilst the Caliph, the sovereign of the world, he who is
destined to enjoy the treasures of the pre-adamite Sultans, a prince six
feet high, and whose eyes pervade the inmost soul of a female, is
inflamed with the love of her. No! she will be wise enough to answer
that passion alone that can aggrandise her glory; no doubt she will, and
despise the puppet of her fancy. Then all the riches this place
contains, as well as the carbuncle of Giamschid, shall be hers.”
“You judge right,” returned the first voice, “and I haste to Istakar to
prepare the palace of subterranean fire for the reception of the bridal
pair.”
The voices ceased, the torches were extinguished, the most entire
darkness succeeded, and Nouronihar, recovering with a start, found
herself reclined on a sofa in the harem of her father. She clapped her
hands, and immediately came together Gulchenrouz and her women, who, in
despair at having lost her, had despatched eunuchs to seek her in every
direction; Shaban appeared with the rest, and began to reprimand her with
an air of consequence:
“Little impertinent,” said he, “whence got you false keys? or are you
beloved of some Genius that hath given you a pick-lock? I will try the
extent of your power; come, to your chamber! through the two skylights;
and expect not the company of Gulchenrouz; be expeditious! I will shut
you up in the double tower.”
At these menaces Nouronihar indignantly raised her head, opened on Shaban
her black eyes, which, since the important dialogue of the enchanted
grot, were considerably enlarged, and said: “Go, speak thus to slaves,
but learn to reverence her who is born to give laws, and subject all to
her power.”
She was proceeding in the same style, but was interrupted by a sudden
exclamation of “The Caliph! The Caliph!” The curtains at once were
thrown open, and the slaves prostrate in double rows, whilst poor little
Gulchenrouz hid himself beneath the elevation of a sofa. At first
appeared a file of black eunuchs, trailing after them long trains of
muslin embroidered with gold, and holding in their hands censers, which
dispensed as they passed the grateful perfume of the wood of aloes; next
marched Bababalouk with a solemn strut, and tossing his head as not
over-pleased at the visit; Vathek came close after, superbly robed; his
gait was unembarrassed and noble, and his presence would have engaged
admiration, though he had not been the sovereign of the world; he
approached Nouronihar with a throbbing heart, and seemed enraptured at
the full effulgence of her radiant eyes, of which he had before caught
but a few glimpses; but she instantly depressed them, and her confusion
augmented her beauty.
Bababalouk, who was a thorough adept in coincidences of this nature, and
knew that the worst game should be played with the best face, immediately
made a signal for all to retire; and no sooner did he perceive beneath
the sofa the little one’s feet, than he drew him forth without ceremony,
set him upon his shoulders, and lavished on him as he went off a thousand
odious caresses; Gulchenrouz cried out, and resisted till his cheeks
became the colour of the blossom of the pomegranate, and the tears that
started into his eyes shot forth a gleam of indignation; he cast a
significant glance at Nouronihar, which the Caliph noticing, asked: “Is
that then your Gulchenrouz?”
“Sovereign of the world?” answered she, “spare my cousin, whose innocence
and gentleness deserve not your anger.”
“Take comfort,” said Vathek, with a smile; “he is in good hands.
Bababalouk is fond of children, and never goes without sweetmeats and
comfits.”
The daughter of Fakreddin was abashed, and suffered Gulchenrouz to be
borne away without adding a word. The tumult of her bosom betrayed her
confusion; and Vathek, becoming still more impassioned, gave a loose to
his frenzy, which had only not subdued the last faint strugglings of
reluctance, when the Emir, suddenly bursting in, threw his face upon the
ground at the feet of the Caliph, and said:
“Commander of the Faithful! abase not yourself to the meanness of your
slave.”
“No, Emir,” replied Vathek; “I raise her to an equality with myself; I
declare her my wife, and the glory of your race shall extend from one
generation to another.”
“Alas! my lord,” said Fakreddin, as he plucked off the honours of his
beard, “cut short the days of your faithful servant, rather than force
him to depart from his word. Nouronihar, as her hands evince, is
solemnly promised to Gulchenrouz, the son of my brother Ali Hassan; they
are united also in heart, their faith is mutually plighted, and affiances
so sacred cannot be broken.”
“What then!” replied the Caliph, bluntly, “would you surrender this
divine beauty to a husband more womanish than herself? and can you
imagine that I will suffer her charms to decay in hands so inefficient
and nerveless? No! she is destined to live out her life within my
embraces: such is my will; retire, and disturb not the time I devote to
the homage of her charms.”
The irritated Emir drew forth his sabre, presented it to Vathek, and
stretching out his neck, said in a firm tone of voice: “Strike your
unhappy host, my lord! he has lived long enough, since he hath seen the
Prophet’s Vicegerent violate the rites of hospitality.”
At his uttering these words Nouronihar, unable to support any longer the
conflict of her passions, sank down in a swoon. Vathek, both terrified
for her life and furious at an opposition to his will, bade Fakreddin
assist his daughter, and withdrew, darting his terrible look at the
unfortunate Emir, who suddenly fell backward, bathed in a sweat cold as
the damp of death.
Gulchenrouz, who had escaped from the hands of Bababalouk, and was that
instant returned, called out for help as loudly as he could, not having
strength to afford it himself. Pale and panting, the poor child
attempted to revive Nouronihar by caresses; and it happened that the
thrilling warmth of his lips restored her to life. Fakreddin beginning
also to recover from the look of the Caliph, with difficulty tottered to
a seat, and after warily casting round his eye to see if this dangerous
prince was gone, sent for Shaban and Sutlememe, and said to them apart:
“My friends! violent evils require as violent remedies; the Caliph has
brought desolation and horror into my family, and how shall we resist his
power? another of his looks will send me to my grave. Fetch then that
narcotic powder which the Dervish brought me from Aracan; a dose of it,
the effect of which will continue three days, must be administered to
each of these children; the Caliph will believe them to be dead, for they
will have all the appearance of death; we shall go as if to inter them in
the cave of Meimoune, at the entrance of the great desert of sand, and
near the cabin of my dwarfs. When all the spectators shall be withdrawn,
you, Shaban, and four select eunuchs, shall convey them to the lake,
where provisions shall be ready to support them a month; for one day
allotted to the surprise this event will occasion, five to the tears, a
fortnight to reflection, and the rest to prepare for renewing his
progress, will, according to my calculation, fill up the whole time that
Vathek will tarry, and I shall then be freed from his intrusion.”
“Your plan,” said Sutlememe, “is a good one, if it can but be effected.
I have remarked that Nouronihar is well able to support the glances of
the Caliph, and that he is far from being sparing of them to her; be
assured, therefore, notwithstanding her fondness for Gulchenrouz, she
will never remain quiet while she knows him to be here, unless we can
persuade her that both herself and Gulchenrouz are really dead, and that
they were conveyed to those rocks for a limited season to expiate the
little faults of which their love was the cause; we will add that we
killed ourselves in despair, and that your dwarfs, whom they never yet
saw, will preach to them delectable sermons. I will engage that
everything shall succeed to the bent of your wishes.”
“Be it so!” said Fakreddin. “I approve your proposal; let us lose not a
moment to give it effect.”
They forthwith hastened to seek for the powder, which, being mixed in a
sherbet, was immediately drank by Gulchenrouz and Nouronihar. Within the
space of an hour both were seized with violent palpitations, and a
general numbness gradually ensued; they arose from the floor, where they
had remained ever since the Caliph’s departure, and, ascending to the
sofa, reclined themselves at full length upon it, clasped in each other’s
embraces.
“Cherish me, my dear Nouronihar!” said Gulchenrouz; “put thy hand upon my
heart, for it feels as if it were frozen. Alas! thou art as cold as
myself! Hath the Caliph murdered us both with his terrible look?”
“I am dying!” cried she in a faltering voice; “press me closer; I am
ready to expire!”
“Let us die then together,” answered the little Gulchenrouz, whilst his
breast laboured with a convulsive sigh; “let me at least breathe forth my
soul on thy lips!” They spoke no more, and became as dead.
Immediately the most piercing cries were heard through the harem, whilst
Shaban and Sutlememe personated with great adroitness the parts of
persons in despair. The Emir, who was sufficiently mortified to be
forced into such untoward expedients, and had now for the first time made
a trial of his powder, was under no necessity of counterfeiting grief.
The slaves, who had flocked together from all quarters, stood motionless
at the spectacle before them; all lights were extinguished save two
lamps, which shed a wan glimmering over the faces of these lovely
flowers, that seemed to be faded in the spring-time of life; funeral
vestments were prepared, their bodies were washed with rose-water, their
beautiful tresses were braided and incensed, and they were wrapped in
simars whiter than alabaster. At the moment that their attendants were
placing two wreaths of their favourite jasmines on their brows, the
Caliph, who had just heard of the tragical catastrophe, arrived; he
looked not less pale and haggard than the Gouls, that wander at night
among graves; forgetful of himself and every one else, he broke through
the midst of the slaves, fell prostrate at the foot of the sofa, beat his
bosom, called himself “atrocious murderer!” and invoked upon his head a
thousand imprecations; with a trembling hand he raised the veil that
covered the countenance of Nouronihar, and, uttering a loud shriek, fell
lifeless on the floor. The chief of the eunuchs dragged him off with
horrible grimaces, and repeated as he went: “Ay, I foresaw she would play
you some ungracious turn!”
No sooner was the Caliph gone than the Emir commanded biers to be
brought, and forbad that any one should enter the harem. Every window
was fastened, all instruments of music were broken, and the Imams began
to recite their prayers; towards the close of this melancholy day Vathek
sobbed in silence, for they had been forced to compose with anodynes his
convulsions of rage and desperation.
At the dawn of the succeeding morning the wide folding doors of the
palace were set open, and the funeral procession moved forward for the
mountain. The wailful cries of “La Ilah illa Allah!” reached to the
Caliph, who was eager to cicatrise himself and attend the ceremonial; nor
could he have been dissuaded, had not his excessive weakness disabled him
from walking; at the few first steps he fell on the ground, and his
people were obliged to lay him on a bed, where he remained many days in
such a state of insensibility, as excited compassion in the Emir himself.
When the procession was arrived at the grot of Meimoune, Shaban and
Sutlememe dismissed the whole of the train, excepting the four
confidential eunuchs who were appointed to remain. After resting some
moments near the biers, which had been left in the open air, they caused
them to be carried to the brink of a small lake, whose banks were
overgrown with a hoary moss; this was the great resort of herons and
storks, which preyed continually on little blue fishes. The dwarfs,
instructed by the Emir, soon repaired thither, and, with the help of the
eunuchs, began to construct cabins of rushes and reeds, a work in which
they had admirable skill; a magazine also was contrived for provisions,
with a small oratory for themselves, and a pyramid of wood neatly piled,
to furnish the necessary fuel, for the air was bleak in the hollows of
the mountains.