On my return from my sixth voyage, I absolutely relinquished all
thoughts of ever venturing again on the seas. I was now arrived at
an age which required rest, and besides this I had sworn never more
to expose myself to the perils I had so often experienced: I
prepared therefore to enjoy my life in quiet and repose.
One day, when I was regaling a number of friends, one of my servants
came to tell me, that an officer of the caliph wanted to speak to
me. I got up from table, and went to him. “The caliph,” said he,
“has ordered me to acquaint you that he wishes to see you.” I
followed the officer to the palace, and he presented me to the
prince, whom I saluted, by prostrating myself at his feet.
“Sindbad,” said he, “I am in want of you; you must do me a
service; and go once more to the king of Serendid with my answer and
presents; it is but right that I should make him a proper return for
the civility he has shown me.”
This order of the caliph was a thunderbolt to me. “Commander of
the Faithful,” replied I, “I am ready to execute any thing that
your majesty may desire; but I humbly entreat you to consider, that
I am worn down with the unspeakable fatigues I have undergone; I
have even made a vow never to leave Bagdad.” I then took occasion
to recount the long detail of my adventures, which he had the
patience to listen to attentively. When I had done speaking, “I
confess,” said he, “that these are extraordinary adventures:
nevertheless, they must not prevent your making the voyage I
propose, for my sake; it is only to the island of Serendid; execute
the commission I intrust you with, and then you will be at liberty
to return. But you must go; for you must be sensible, that it would
be highly indecorous, as well as derogatory to my dignity, to be
under obligations to the king of that island.”
As I plainly saw, that the caliph had resolved on my going, I
signified to him, that I was ready to obey his commands. He seemed
much pleased, and ordered me a thousand sequins to pay the expences
of the voyage.
In a few days I was prepared for my departure; and as soon as I had
received the presents of the caliph, together with a letter, written
with his own hand, I set off, and took the rout of Balsora, from
whence I embarked. After a pleasant voyage, I arrived at the island
of Serendid. I immediately acquainted the ministers with the
commission I was come upon, and begged them to procure me an
audience as soon as possible. They did not fail to attend to my
wishes, and conducted me to the palace. I saluted the king by
prostrating myself according to the usual custom.
This prince immediately recollected me, and evinced great joy at my
return. “Welcome, Sindbad,” said he, “I assure you I have
often thought of you since your departure. Blessed be this day in
which I see you again.” I returned the compliment, and after
thanking him for his kindness, I delivered the letter and present of
the caliph, which he received with every mark of satisfaction and
pleasure.
The caliph sent him a complete bed of gold tissue, estimated at a
thousand sequins; fifty robes of a very rich stuff, an hundred more
of white linen, the finest that could be procured from Cairo, Suez,
Cufa, and Alexandria; another bed of crimson, also another of a
different make. A vase of agate, greater in width than in depth, of
the thickness of a finger; on the sides there was sculptured in
bas-relief, a man, kneeling on the ground, and in his hand a bow and
arrow, with which he was going to let fly at a lion: besides these
he sent him a richly ornamented table, which was supposed from
tradition to have belonged to the great Solomon. The letter of the
caliph was written in these terms:
HEALTH IN THE NAME OF THE SOVEREIGN GUIDE OF THE RIGHT ROAD, TO THE
POWERFUL AND HAPPY SULTAN, FROM THE PART OF ABDALLA HAROUN
ALRASCHID, WHOM GOD HAS PLACED ON THE SEAT OF HONOUR, AFTER HIS
ANCESTORS OF HAPPY MEMORY.
“We have received your letter with joy; and we send you this,
emanated from the council of our porte, the garden of superior
minds. We hope, that in casting your eyes over it, you will perceive
our good intention, and think it agreeable. Adieu.”
The king of Serendid was rejoiced to find, that the caliph returned
a testimony of his friendship. Soon after this audience, I requested
another, to take my leave, which I had some difficulty to obtain. At
length I succeeded, and the king, at my departure, ordered me a very
handsome present. I re-embarked immediately, intending to return to
Bagdad; but had not the good fortune to arrive so soon as I
expected, for God had disposed of it otherwise.
Three or four days after we had set sail, we were attacked by
corsairs, who easily made themselves masters of our vessel, as we
were not in a state for defence. Some persons in the ship attempted
to make resistance, but it cost them their lives. I, and all those
who had the prudence not to oppose the intention of the corsairs,
were made slaves. After they had stripped us, and substituted bad
clothes for our own, they bent their course towards a large island
at a very great distance, where they sold us.
I was purchased by a rich merchant, who conducted me to his house,
gave me food to eat, and clothed me as a slave. Some days after, as
he was not well informed who I was, he asked me, if I knew any
trade. I replied that I was not an artisan, but a merchant by
profession, and that the corsairs, who had sold me, had taken from
me all I was possessed of. “But tell me,” said he, “do you
think you could shoot with a bow and arrow?” I replied, that it
had been one of my youthful sports, and that I had not entirely
forgotten how to use it. He then gave me a bow and some arrows, and
making me mount behind him on an elephant, he took me to a vast
forest at the distance of some hours journey from the city. We went
a great way in it, and when he came to a spot where he wished to
stop, he made me alight. Then showing me a large tree, “Get up in
that tree,” said he, “and shoot at the elephants that pass under
it, for there is a prodigious quantity in this forest: if one should
fall, come and acquaint me of it.” Having said this he left me
some provisions, and returned to the city: I remained in the tree on
the watch the whole night.
I did not perceive any during that time, but the next day, as soon
as the sun had arisen, a great number made their appearance. I shot
many arrows at them, and at last one fell. The others immediately
retired, and left me at liberty to go and inform my master of the
success I had met with. To reward me for this good intelligence, he
regaled me with an excellent repast, and praised my address. We then
returned together to the forest, where we dug a pit to bury the
elephant I had killed. It was my master’s intention to let it rot
in the earth, and then to take possession of its teeth for commerce.
I continued this occupation for two months, and not a day passed in
which I did not kill an elephant. I did not always place myself on
the same tree; sometimes I ascended one, sometimes another. One
morning, when I was waiting for some elephants to pass, I perceived,
to my great astonishment, that instead of traversing the forest as
usual, they stopped and came towards me with a terrible noise, and
in such numbers, that the ground was covered with them, and trembled
under their footsteps. They approached the tree where I was placed,
and surrounded it with their trunks extended, having their eyes all
fixed upon me. At this surprising spectacle I remained motionless,
and so agitated by fright that my bow and arrows fell from my hands.
My fears were not groundless. After the elephants had viewed me for
some time, one of the largest twisted his trunk round the body of
the tree, and shook it with so much violence, that he tore it up by
the roots, and threw it on the ground. I fell with the tree; but the
animal took me up with his trunk, and placed me on his shoulders,
where I remained more dead than alive. He put himself at the head of
his companions, who followed him in a troop, and carried me to a
spot where having set me down, he and the rest retired. Conceive my
situation! I thought it a dream. At length having been seated some
time, and seeing no other elephants, I arose, and perceived that I
was on a little hill of some breadth, entirely covered with bones
and teeth of elephants. This sight filled my mind with a variety of
reflections. I admired the instinct of these animals, and did not
doubt, that this was their cemetery or place of burial; and that
they had brought me hither to show it me, that I might desist from
destroying them, as I did it merely for the sake of possessing their
teeth. I did not stay long on the hill, but turned my steps towards
the city, and having walked a day and a night, at last arrived at my
master’s. I did not meet any elephant in my way, which plainly
evinced, that they had entered farther into the forest, to leave me
an unobstructed passage from the hill.
As soon as my master saw me, “Ah! poor Sindbad,” exclaimed he,
“I was in pain to know what could be become of you. I have been to
the forest, and found a tree newly torn up by the roots, and a bow
and arrows on the ground; after having sought you every where in
vain, I despaired of ever seeing you again. Pray relate to me what
has happened to you, and by what happy chance you are still
alive.” I satisfied his curiosity, and the following day, having
accompanied me to the hill, he was, with great joy, convinced of the
truth of my history. We loaded the elephant on which we had come
with as many teeth as he could carry, and when we returned, he thus
addressed me, “Brother, for I will no longer treat you as a slave,
after the discovery you have imparted to me, and which cannot fail
to enrich me, may God pour on you all sorts of blessings and
prosperity! Before him I give you your liberty. I had concealed from
you what I am now going to relate. The elephants of our forest
destroy annually an infinite number of slaves, whom we send in
search of ivory. Whatever advice we give them, they are sure, sooner
or later, to lose their lives by the wiles of these animals. God has
delivered you from their fury, and has conferred this mercy on you
alone. It is a sign that he cherishes you, and that he wants you in
the world to be of use to mankind. You have procured me a surprising
advantage: we have not hitherto been able to get ivory without
risking the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city will be
enriched by your means. Do not suppose, that I think I have
sufficiently recompensed you, by giving you your liberty; I intend
to add to it considerable presents; I might engage the whole city to
join, and make your fortune, but that is an honour I will enjoy
alone.”
To this obliging discourse I replied, “Master, God preserve you;
the liberty you grant me, acquits you of all obligation towards me;
and the only recompense I desire for the service I have had the good
fortune to procure for you, and the inhabitants of your city, is
permission to return to my country.”--“Well,” resumed he,
“the monsoon will soon bring us vessels, which come to be laden
with ivory. I will then send you away, with a sufficiency to pay
your expences home.” I again thanked him for the liberty he had
given me, and for the good will he showed me. I remained with him
till the season for the monsoon, during which we made frequent
excursions to the hill, and filled his magazines with ivory. All the
other merchants in the city did the same, for it did not long remain
a secret.
The ships at length arrived, and my master having chosen that in
which I was to embark, loaded it with ivory, half of which was on my
own account. He did not omit an abundance of provisions for my
voyage, and he obliged me to accept some rare curiosities of that
country besides. After I had thanked him, as much as possible, for
all the obligations he had conferred on me, I embarked. We set sail,
and as the adventure which had procured me liberty was very
extraordinary, it was always on my mind.
We touched at several islands to procure refreshments. Our vessel
having sailed from a port of the Indian Terra Firma, we went there
to land: and, fearful of the dangers of the sea to Balsora, I landed
the ivory, which belonged to me, and resolved to continue my journey
by land. I sold my share of the cargo for a large sum of money, and
purchased a variety of curious things for presents: when I was
equipped, I joined a caravan of merchants. I remained a long time on
the road, and suffered a great deal, but I bore all with patience,
when I reflected, that I had neither tempests nor corsairs,
serpents, nor any other peril, that I had before encountered, to
fear.
All these fatigues being at last concluded, I arrived happily at
Bagdad. I went immediately and presented myself to the caliph, and
gave him an account of my embassy. This prince told me, that my long
absence had occasioned him some uneasiness; but that he always hoped
that God would not forsake me.
When I related the adventure of the elephants, he appeared much
surprised, and would scarcely have believed it, had not my sincerity
been well known to him. He thought this, as well as the other
histories I had detailed to him, so curious, that he ordered one of
his secretaries to write it in letters of gold, to be preserved in
his treasury. I retired well satisfied with the presents and honours
he conferred on me: and then resigned myself entirely to my family,
my relations, and friends.
Sindbad thus concluded the recital of his seventh and last voyage;
and addressing himself to Hindbad, “Well, my friend,” added he,
“have you ever heard of one who has suffered more than I have, or
been in so many trying situations? Is it not just, that after so
many troubles I should enjoy an agreeable and quiet life?” As he
finished these words, Hindbad approaching him, kissed his hand, and
said, “I must confess, sir, that you have encountered frightful
perils; my afflictions are not to be compared with yours. If I feel
them heavily at the time I suffer them, I console myself with the
small profit which they produce. You not only deserve a quiet life,
but are worthy of all the riches you possess; since you make so good
a use of them, and are so generous. May you continue to live happily
till the hour of your death!”
Sindbad ordered him to have another hundred sequins; he admitted him
to his friendship, told him to quit the profession of a porter, and
to continue to eat at his table, for that he should all his life
have reason to remember Sindbad the sailor.