"Before setting out on the expedition from which we are now returning,
Ahmed and I consulted long as to the countries we should visit, and
what sort of goods it would be most profitable to bring back with us.
We at length agreed to journey through Egypt into the central parts of
Africa, and bring from thence some of those large and rare specimens of
precious stones of which we had often heard. And we did not doubt if
we could secure some of these that we should be able to dispose of them
to such advantage at the Court of the Caliph as at one stroke to make
our fortune.
"Having agreed upon this plan we purchased and took with us such
articles of merchandize as we judged would sell to the best advantage
in Egypt. In fact, on arriving at Cairo, we remained some time doing a
very profitable trade.
"At length, when the proper time of year came round for commencing our
journey into the interior, we provided ourselves with the articles most
likely to find favour with the natives, and after two months, during
which we travelled very slowly, and suffered many hardships, we reached
the country of a great nation or tribe of Ethiopians, at whose chief
town, Daarkol, we halted awhile, and did some trade by barter, but not
much, the people possessing few things of any value to us except small
quantities of gold dust.
"What we sought of them most eagerly was information concerning that
tribe of whom we had heard, in whose country were found the diamonds,
rubies, sapphires, and other precious stones, to obtain which was the
object of our journey.
"That tribe lived, it appeared, still several hundreds of miles further
up the country, but what annoyed us much more was the information that
they would exchange their precious stones for nothing else than ivory,
of the exact value of which they were very well acquainted.
"This altogether extinguished the hope with which we had started of
making our fortunes by importing to Bagdad splendid specimens of
various precious stones. For when we considered the vast expense of
procuring large quantities of tusks, the difficulty of getting slaves
to carry them up the country, and of feeding those slaves on so long a
journey, together with the danger of being robbed of such cumbersome
and valuable property by some of the many wild tribes through whose
territories we must pass, we were fain to conclude that we must needs
abandon that part of our enterprise.
"As we were one day sitting in a very gloomy mood discussing this
matter, an African merchant with whom we had become acquainted, and who
happened to be passing, saluted us; and we, having invited him to be
seated with us, 'What,' he asked, 'is that which you cannot do? for as
I came up I heard you pronounce these words: "No, it is not possible to
do it."'
"With that I explained to him, without mentioning particularly the
country of the precious stones, that Ahmed and myself had intended to
proceed still further into the interior to trade with the people, but
many of them, as we were now informed, exchanged only against ivory.
And it appeared to us impossible to do any profitable trade if we must
convey such a heavy and valuable commodity as ivory over long distances.
"The African merchant, when he heard this, smiled, and asked, 'What
would you give now to anyone who should get you out of this difficulty?'
"I answered that, as it was a difficulty which we had often discussed,
but could see no way out of, and as it threatened to make our journey
into Africa comparatively unprofitable, we should be very willing to
give any man who could render us effectual assistance a hundred pieces
of gold for his trouble.
"'No,' said he, 'you offer too little. I can myself most effectually
aid you, but I must have five hundred pieces of gold.'
"We protested that we could not give so much, that we had it not, that
it would ruin us; in short, all the pleas that merchants, as you knew,
advance when they are chaffering with each other. But after several
days, seeing that the African merchant stood quite firm and would abate
nothing from his price, we agreed to give him the five hundred pieces
of gold for the secret he was to discover to us, namely, of how we
should provide ourselves with ivory for trading with the tribes, no
matter how far up the country they might be situated.
"We having on our part produced five bags containing one hundred gold
pieces in each, which we counted out to him, he produced and gave to us
in return five small jars, each containing about two quarts of a seed
about twice as large as a bean.
"'Take these,' said he, 'with you; they are small and not heavy to
carry. And when you are come near to the country of that people with
whom you wish to trade, select a piece of land about two or three acres
in extent, and plant these seeds singly and about ten feet apart. In
about a month great tubers will be observed swelling out of the ground
which by the end of the second month will have increased to hemispheres
four or five feet in diameter. From each of these bulbs or tubers as a
base great projections will be thrown out, which in five or six weeks
will attain the size and appearance exactly of huge tusks of the finest
ivory. Cutting these, and stacking them for a short time to dry, you
will then be provided with what appears to be a splendid lot of tusks
not far from the place where you require them. And should you
experience any difficulty in transporting them, you may apply for
labourers from the tribe you are about to visit, on the plea that your
carriers who have brought them so far have deserted and gone back.'
"Perceiving now that our African merchant was a proficient in all the
magical arts of his country, we wished to decline his aid, and have
nothing further to do with him; but he flatly refused to restore our
money, and left us not without uttering some threats of vengeance upon
us.
"As we had bought the seeds at so high a price, we carried them with
us, without, however, intending to make use of them; for we thought
that as true believers we ought to shun every product of the accursed
magic of Africa.
"But after some time had elapsed, and when at the end of a long and
difficult journey we approached at last the borders of that country
where the people dwelt who possessed the precious stones, we halted,
and determined at least to plant those seeds, and ascertain whether
they would indeed grow in the wonderful way the African merchant had
told us.
"Selecting, therefore, a suitable piece of ground, we planted the
seeds, setting each singly about ten feet apart every way. And the
ground being damp and marshy, we soon perceived the bulbs showing above
ground, and they grew apace, so that in three or four weeks after their
first appearance they became great semi-spherical projections, like
huge round balls half embedded in the earth. Or they might be compared
to very gigantic onions; and about the end of six or seven weeks after
the seed was sown we had our ground covered with regular rows of them;
and then from the centre of each bulb a slight projection like the tip
of a small horn might be observed to rise. These grew and increased
very rapidly, so that within a few weeks they had attained the imposing
proportions of immense tusks.
"Cutting them and stacking them to dry, by placing ten or a dozen of
them together like sheaves of corn, we found that upon the most careful
inspection they did not in any respect differ in appearance from tusks
of the finest ivory; while their great size and symmetry of form could
seldom be equalled by what may be termed elephant ivory.
"It now became a question whether we should use them for the purpose of
barter to obtain the precious stones. Our first sentiment, as I have
said, was that we, as good Moslems, would have nothing to do with the
productions of the infernal magic of the African. But our interest and
the desire to accomplish the object of our journey by getting the
precious stones finally prevailed. We argued that as we had fairly
bought the seed, and had planted and prepared the vegetable tusks by
our own exertions, therefore we were fairly entitled to make use of
them, and we decided to continue our journey to Behar, the country
inhabited by the tribe which possessed the precious stones.
"When we arrived there we were conducted before Amavaroo, the king of
Behar, to whom we presented ourselves as ivory merchants who had
visited his country desiring to exchange ivory for precious stones.
The king readily gave us permission to barter with his people, the more
especially because we had brought with us as a present for himself two
or three of the tusks, than which he had never beheld any finer. He
was lost in admiration and delighted to obtain such splendid specimens;
and he inquired eagerly where we had left our stock.
"Acting on the suggestion made to us by the African merchant, we said
that it lay about three days' journey behind us. That we had left it
there because our carriers who had brought it so far had deserted; and
we prayed him, therefore, to supply us with carriers to bring it into
his kingdom.
"The trouble always experienced by merchants trading in those regions
in obtaining, and especially in retaining carriers, was so well known
that the king was by no means surprised at our predicament, but ordered
a sufficient number of his people to accompany us and transport our
ivory.
"The most common mode of carriage with these people is to place the
load upon the head and, balancing it there, to walk away merrily under
their burthen. And it is surprising how heavy a load they will thus
carry. But they could not manage to take our tusks in that fashion.
They carried them on their shoulders, four men to a tusk, three near to
the thick or butt end, and one near the point. In this way we brought
all our ivory to Behar, and the tusks were so perfect and exceptional
in size that we could obtain almost any equivalent we pleased for them.
And in fact of such marvellous size and beauty were most of the gems
that we got in exchange that our fortune on our return to Bagdad
threatened to be fabulous, and it seemed evident that it would be
necessary for us to wander over the whole world to the capital of every
great king in order to find purchasers of such superb and unique
specimens.
"As we had presented many of the tusks to the king and his principal
chiefs we had become exceedingly popular--the happy possessors of our
ivory being, no less satisfied with their bargains than we felt with
ours. So that when at the end of two months we wished to depart,
having bartered or given away all our stock, they would not let us go,
but insisted that we should prolong our stay for another month, during
which they feasted and entertained us to the best of their ability.
"Now there was one circumstance concerning our vegetable ivory of which
we were ignorant, viz., that just as it was produced quickly, so it
decayed quickly. Three months had sufficed to raise it from the seed,
and within three months from the time that they came to maturity, the
apparent tusks begin to perish. Black spots and patches appear all
over the surface, and in the course of a few weeks the entire tusk rots
away and is destroyed.
"It thus happened that one morning, towards the end of our three
months' sojourn at Behar, the chiefs who came as usual to our house or
hut to greet us, wore no longer the pleasant and friendly aspect they
were wont to do, but looked surly and fierce. And immediately seizing
and binding us, they carried us before King Amavaroo, who, seated on
the leopard's skin which served him for a throne, was looking as gloomy
and morose as his followers.
"Then men came with the tusks they had received from us, one man
following another with his purchases, and in every tusk the black spots
and patches of decay were beginning to appear. To complete our ruin,
when those tusks which we had presented to Amavaroo were brought into
his presence, they each and all were found to be in a similar
condition. Both the king and his people were very naturally furious.
They took from us and out of our house all the jewels we had obtained,
and gave them back to those who had exchanged them for the worthless
ivory, and then, after holding a very stormy council, they conducted us
with every kind of insult out of their town into the plains beyond.
There, having stripped us naked, they beat us with branches of nettles
and branches of prickly holly, and finally, tying our hands and feet
together, they left us to be scorched by the sun during the day, and to
be devoured by the wild beasts that prowled about at night. Here we
lay all day in a most pitiable plight, and there undoubtedly we should
have perished, had it not been for the gratitude and kindness of a
slave whom, during our stay at Behar, we had many times befriended and
protected, as far as lay in our power, against the tyranny of a very
cruel bully, who was his master. This poor fellow stole away at
sundown, came to us, freed us from our bonds, brought us some of our
own clothes which he had managed to get hold of, and, going with us,
became our guide on the slow and painful course of our journey
northward. He brought us also a small packet of very handsome stones,
which had been dropped by some one during the exciting events of the
morning, and which he had seen and picked up on his way to us.
"This seemed at the time a perfect godsend. There were not many
stones--about a dozen--and they not nearly so large as many of those we
had received in exchange for our ivory. At the same time they were of
the utmost value to us now, as we should be able to dispose of them at
the first place where we might meet with Arab merchants, and we should
thus provide ourselves at least with such things as were absolutely
necessary for our return journey to Bagdad.
"Meanwhile, our progress was slow and our subsistence precarious,
consisting chiefly of such roots, fruits, and insects, as we were able
to discover. In this matter of catering the slave was much more
proficient than we, and proved an invaluable aid to us.
"After many weeks of hardship and danger, we arrived at last in the
neighbourhood of Daarkol, the town in which we had met the African
merchant, from whom we had bought those accursed seeds. As the sun was
intensely hot, and a couple of hours' walking would now bring us into
the town, where we could sell some of the precious stones and relieve
our most urgent necessities, we threw ourselves down under the shelter
of a clump of trees and were soon fast asleep.
"It appears, although we had then no suspicion of such a thing, that
the African merchant, who was a complete villain, had been diligently
watching for our return. He had designed to surprise and overpower us,
and take from us the precious stones we should have obtained for his
fraudulent ivory, he getting thus at a stroke the fruits of the
expedition without undergoing the fatigues, difficulties, and dangers
it necessarily involved.
"Being informed, therefore, by one of his spies of our arrival, he
stole upon us very quietly while we slept, and bringing with him a
party of his slaves, he quickly overpowered us, and binding us hand and
foot, he robbed us of the jewels we had, and that not without horrid
imprecations because there were so few. After which he immediately
departed, leaving us lying under the trees bound and helpless.
"Here we remained for more than two hours. At length, as the day wore
on, and it became cooler, we perceived a party of merchants, with whom
we had been very well acquainted when we were at Daarkol before,
passing along the road which was distant about two or three hundred
yards from the clump of trees where we lay. We shouted as loud as we
could, and they, hearing the shouting, came presently towards us. They
were truly surprised and concerned to find Ahmed and myself, whom they
had known formerly as respectable and well-to-do merchants, lying
bound, dirty, and ragged upon the ground. They freed us, and we told
them of the villainy of the African merchant, and related to them all
that had befallen us, from the time he sold us the seeds, until the
assault he had made upon us and the robbery he had committed that
afternoon. They advised us to lay our case before Lootzee, the king of
that country, who lived in the town of Daarkol; although, as regards
the African merchant, who was well known as a bad character, he would
no doubt by this time have taken refuge in flight.
"This advice was good; but for men so completely destitute, as we now
were, to obtain an audience of the king was no easy matter. Like most
monarchs, he was surrounded by courtiers and state officials, who must
be bribed with considerable presents before they would exert themselves
on behalf of any suitor or complainant, no matter how real his
grievance, or how urgent his case might be. It is quite possible,
therefore, that we might have failed to obtain an audience, had it not
happened, fortunately for us, that King Lootzee was attacked just at
this time by a severe form of fever to which the natives of that part
of Ethiopia are peculiarly liable. Hearing of the king's illness, and
knowing of a certain herb which was a sovereign remedy in that disease,
we procured some of the herb and prepared an infusion of it. We then
borrowed of some merchants of our acquaintance such sums as they would
lend us, and sending this as a present to the Vizier or chief officer
of Lootzee, we asked audience of the king that we might present to him
a medicine of great efficiency in his complaint. The Vizier submitting
our petition to Lootzee, he gave orders to admit the merchant from
Bagdad, and in short, after taking sundry doses of the medicine, the
fever left him, and he was restored to his usual health.
"This cure so much delighted him, that he made us a present of the
horses, mules, and all those things which you see we have with us, and
in addition he gave us a sum of money that we might be enabled to
purchase something to take back to Bagdad, so that we might not, after
all our toil and risk, return altogether empty-handed.
"For a long time we doubted and debated what we should buy. But
hearing one day that there was in the town a Circassian woman slave of
surpassing beauty, who had been captured by some marauders from a
caravan while on her way to Bagdad, we determined to purchase that
slave in the hope of selling her for a great price to Haroun Alraschid,
the Caliph, to whom may Allah be merciful, and for whom she was
destined by those merchants who had been robbed of her."
Now when Haroun Alraschid had heard the story of Abdallah, the Arab
merchant, and had learned that the occupant of the carriage or litter
borne by the slaves was so lovely a creature, and, moreover, was a
slave intended for himself, he would fain have seen her. In his
character as a merchant he offered to buy her, and bid the great price
of five thousand pieces of gold, to be paid immediately they should
arrive in Bagdad. But Abdallah was resolute, and inflexible in his
refusal to part with her, or let her be seen, saying that no man either
had nor yet should see the face of the slave, until she should be
presented in good time to the Caliph himself.
Haroun was sorely tempted to declare himself to be the Caliph, and to
insist on seeing the beautiful captive, but reflecting both that it
would be difficult to convince Abdallah of his rank at that time, and
also being unwilling to lose the pleasure he anticipated in observing
the merchant's astonishment, when he should discover his
fellow-traveller to have been the Caliph, Haroun controlled his natural
impatience, and that all the more readily because they were near their
journey's end.
Leaving Abdallah and Ahmed with the Caliph in their company to continue
their journey, we must return to Bagdad, and to the course of affairs
in that city since the Caliph's disappearance.
Giafer, who had so long, as Grand Vizier, had the administration of the
Empire in his hands, managed for the first month or six weeks to
conduct the affairs of State as usual and with unquestioned authority.
But as week after week passed without tidings from the absent Caliph,
not only did both Giafer and Zobeideh lose hope of his return, but
ominous rumours began to circulate secretly among the Court and the
people, regarding the cause of the Caliph's absence. As a matter of
course, Ibrahim, the next heir according to Moslem usage, was
especially active both in prosecuting inquiries as to the probable fate
of Haroun, and also in concerting measures to effect his own accession
to the throne.
Three months had elapsed since the disappearance of the Caliph, when
one morning at the Grand Vizier's usual state reception of the Ulema
and Emirs of the Empire, Ibrahim, addressing Giafer, said, "Grand
Vizier, three months have now passed since we have had among us the
glorious and august presence of the Commander of the Faithful; tell us,
therefore, where he is, and why he no longer appears to give audience
and render justice to his people?"
At this speech Giafer felt that his hour was come, for he knew that the
prince would not have uttered those words until he had taken measures
to seize upon the throne.
Therefore he answered, "I cannot tell where the Commander of the
Faithful may be at this moment, but may all his subjects remain loyal
to him, and Allah be his shield and preserver, wherever he be!"
Then said Ibrahim, "O Giafer, the blood of your master is upon your
hands, where have you hidden him?" Turning to the guards, who entered
as he clapped his hands, he ordered them to secure the Grand Vizier,
and continued: "If you do not before this time to-morrow bring back
Haroun Alraschid into this hall, I shall know what to think, and as
surely as I am Caliph you shall die."
So saying the prince seated himself upon the royal divan, and forthwith
appointed Hafiz, a favourite of his own, to be Grand Vizier. He next
ordered the new Grand Vizier to put Zobeideh, Haroun's favourite wife,
and Prince Emin, her son, in prison, and declared that on the morrow,
when he judged Giafer, he would also pronounce sentence on the others.
That night the new Caliph spent in feasting and revelry, but Giafer,
and Zobeideh and her son, Prince Emin, likewise spent the hours in
depression and grief, looking forward to death in the morning.
When the day dawned, and the new Caliph, after morning prayers, had
assumed his seat on the Imperial divan, he commanded Giafer to be
brought before him. Then, with a sinister smile, he demanded of the
prisoner, "Where is the most illustrious Caliph Haroun Alraschid? Say,
Giafer, what hast thou done with him?"
To this Giafer replied, "Haroun Alraschid, my master, is in the hand of
God. But where he may be at this moment, I have told you that I do not
know."
"No one can know so well as thou where he is," said Ibrahim, "for did
he not go to Bussora with thee and has never returned? Doubtless thou
hast killed him, and hast hidden his body, otherwise he would be here,
therefore thy life is forfeited," and with that he made a sign to the
mutes, who immediately took Giafer and passed the fatal cord about his
neck.
As they waited with trained docility for the usual sign from the Caliph
to draw tight the silken cord and despatch their victim, a great shout
was heard, and outside the palace acclamations filled the air, and
cries of--"Haroun Alraschid returns! Welcome, Prince of the Faithful!"
Ibrahim hearing these words, after a few moments' hesitation, made the
sign to the mutes, and Giafer's life would have ended, but on the
instant an officer standing by, who owed his position to the Grand
Vizier, cut through the cord with his sword. As he did so, Haroun,
pale with anger and his eyes flashing, entered the door of the
audience-chamber. Ibrahim, pale as ashes, sat on the throne petrified
with terror. As Haroun's eyes fell upon the shrinking prince sitting
on his throne, and on the form of Giafer kneeling with part of the
severed cord still about his neck, the veins stood out upon his
forehead, and rage rendered him speechless. He beckoned to Mesrúr, the
ever faithful, who instantly pulled Ibrahim from his seat, and, taking
him aside into an antechamber, forthwith struck off his head.
That Haroun reinstated Giafer as Grand Vizier, and took Zobeideh and
Prince Emin out of prison, needs hardly be said. That he received
Abdallah and Ahmed very graciously, and that he bought the fair captive
of them at a truly royal price, is not surprising. But it is perhaps
somewhat surprising that all the dangers and hardships he underwent, in
consequence of his capture by the pirates, did not suffice to wean him
altogether from such perilous adventures in the future.
He was of so daring and fearless a temper, however, that it made no
further difference than this, that ever afterwards when he wandered
about in disguise Mesrúr accompanied him as well as the Grand Vizier.
The Caliph and the Blind Fisherman.
One evening Haroun Alraschid sat in a splendid apartment of his palace
in Bagdad. The evening meal was finished, and the slaves had carried
away the magnificent service of gold plate on which it had been served.
The Caliph was gloomy and ill-humoured, and the officers and attendants
in waiting silent, vigilant, and not unapprehensive; for when the brow
of the monarch was clouded none could tell when the storm might burst
forth, nor whom the lightning of his wrath might strike. Before long,
however, and much to their relief, Giafer was sent for, and the Caliph,
rising and signing his officers to leave him, wandered out alone into
the garden of his palace.
Here Giafer on his arrival found him. He was sitting moodily listening
to a concert of vocal music performed by some of the ladies of his
harem, who were posted out of sight and at some little distance in a
small grove. Just as Giafer entered the garden the Caliph clapped his
hands and said to a slave who ran to him, "Go, tell the singers to keep
silence, for I am in no humour to listen to them." Then, perceiving
the Grand Vizier, he said to him, "Giafer, I have sent for thee because
I am restless and pleased with nothing this evening; suggest,
therefore, what I shall do."
Then Giafer replied: "Prince of the Faithful, if you are tired of your
palace and of the gardens and the singing of your women, and if you
care not to view the dancers"--the Caliph shook his head--"nor to
listen to the tales or the poems of Abu 'Atahiyeh----"
"Not this evening, though they are good," said Haroun.
"Then what say you to our sallying forth disguised into Bagdad,"
continued Giafer, "that we may observe what goes forward, and perchance
meet with some adventure that may amuse you?"
"That is what I will do," said Haroun, brightening up at the
suggestion; "come, Giafer, let us put on the garb of merchants and go
out."
In a short time Haroun and Giafer sallied forth, with the faithful
Mesrúr following, also in disguise, not far behind them. They wandered
through the bazaars until they had seen a great part of Bagdad; but
they met with no adventure and saw nothing particularly strange or
noteworthy throughout all their ramble. The Caliph, who had at first
been much more cheerful, began at length to be tired with the walk, and
again in a somewhat ill-humour.
Giafer, noticing this, proposed that they should take a short cut
through the lower and meaner parts of the town, and so return to the
palace.
As with this intent they passed the end of a narrow and steep street
leading up from the river, they observed a man whose figure and
condition at once arrested the Caliph's attention. He was a tall and
handsome man with the upright, dignified bearing of a soldier; he had
regular features, a large hooked nose, and a long black moustache now
turning somewhat grey. His clothes were very old and ragged; over his
left shoulder he carried a net, and in his right hand a bag evidently
containing a few fish. He was obviously a fisherman just returning
home from his work on the river's bank; but what particularly attracted
the Caliph's attention was the fact that the man was blind. In his
left hand he carried a stick with which he touched sometimes the path
and sometimes the walls of the houses as he passed along, as though to
assure himself of his position. And though he was thus evidently
blind, yet he walked forward, not timidly or slowly, but boldly and
steadily, as if he were very well acquainted with his route.
The Caliph at once approached him and entered into conversation. He
asked him whether he, being blind, caught the fish himself, or whether
he was aided by some one else; whether he had good fortune and caught
much, and how many fish he now had in his bag.
To these inquiries the man replied that, although blind, yet he managed
to fish very well, and usually had good fortune in the number of fish
that he caught, but that on this day he had been unlucky, and had only
five fish in his bag. Of these he said he should sell three, and two
he should cook for the supper of himself and his brother.
"And what is the occupation of your brother?" asked the Caliph.
"He, alas!" said the man, "is of no occupation; his back is injured so
that he cannot move from his bed."
"And you fish for the support of both?" said Haroun.
"Of course," replied the man, with grave simplicity.
"Fisherman," said the Caliph, "I will buy your three fish, and, since I
am tired, we will come, I and my friend who is with me, and you shall
cook all the five fish, and we will sup together."
"Sir," said the fisherman, "my poor hovel is not fitted to receive
guests; yet, if you are content to take things in the rough as you will
find them, come and be welcome."
"Fisherman," said Haroun, "soldiers should be able to accommodate
themselves to circumstances, and I am a soldier, as I judge that you
also have been."
"Commander," said the fisherman, "I have, as you suppose, served the
Caliph, whom may Allah preserve and exalt, and in his service I lost my
sight."
"Comrade," said Haroun, "when we have eaten your fish, and you have
rested, you shall relate to us the story of your life, which I doubt
not contains many stirring and noteworthy incidents."
As he was saying this they came to a very mean cottage in the narrow
street, or rather lane, through which they were passing, and the old
fisherman, entering, beckoned them with a sort of dignified politeness
to follow him.
In the cottage, which was lit by the smoky flame of a single small
lamp, they found, lying in a corner of the room on some rags, another
tall, athletic-looking man, who appeared in every respect a very twin
brother of their acquaintance the fisherman, except as regards the
eyes, which were black, bright, and piercing.
"Mohammed," said the fisherman, addressing his brother, "I bring with
me two gentlemen I have met with; they have bought three of the five
fish I have caught, and they will join us in our supper. I smell the
loaves that they are baked upon the hearth, and very quickly I will
prepare and cook the fish."
"Gentlemen," said he, folding an old and tattered cloak and laying it
on the floor, "there is no other divan I can offer you, therefore pray
be seated upon this cloak, and I will hasten to make ready your fish."
The Caliph and Giafer, having seated themselves, conversed with
Mohammed, who appeared to them, from the expression of his features, to
be suffering much pain.
He was unable, he told them, to rise, owing to an injury to his back,
and his brother Suleiman, although blind, not only supported them both
by fishing, but cooked their food and attended to all necessary
household duties.
The Caliph was much touched and interested by these two fine old
fellows, their pitiable plight, their uncomplaining cheerfulness under
such misfortunes, and their brotherly affection.
"Suleiman," he said, "has promised after supper to relate to me your
history; and I desire to hear it," he added, "not simply from motives
of curiosity, but because I hope to be able to help you both and
possibly to set right any wrongs or injustice from which you may have
suffered."
The fish and hot cakes Haroun enjoyed more than all the sumptuous
repasts which were prepared for him at his palace, novelty and fatigue
giving a whet to his appetite. And these being consumed and the frugal
meal finished, he reminded Suleiman of his desire to learn the
particulars of his history.
Suleiman, saying that there was little to tell, but that he was quite
willing to tell that little, began as follows: