The young man addressed as Murad, and who wore a frank and jovial
expression of countenance, began as follows:
"It gives me much pleasure to relate to this good company those
vicissitudes and misfortunes which have earned for me the designation
of 'The Unfortunate Merchant,' because we shall then be favoured with
an account of the history of our host, who has lately been known as
'The Fortunate Merchant.' His good fortune and his great wealth are
indeed surprising, and are no more due to the inheritance bequeathed to
him by his ancestors than my poverty is owing to what was bequeathed to
me by mine. So far is that from being the case, that on the death of
my father, who was one of the leading merchants of Bagdad, I found
myself the possessor of an immense fortune. It was so large and I was
so young and inexperienced that I imagined that it could never be
exhausted. I bought a grand house, with fine rooms and wide gardens.
Ah! my dear Abou Hassan, this very house where we now are was the
house. I fitted it with all kinds of handsome and luxurious furniture.
I bought slaves to wait on me, and in my harem; ah! gentlemen, in our
dreams we picture nothing better. The Caliph himself might have envied
me.
"Well, gentlemen, for two years I lived like a Sultan. I denied myself
nothing, and never gave one thought to the expense. At length, one day
after completing the sale of a large quantity of merchandize, which had
been stored in his warehouses by my father, I was induced to consider
the state of my affairs, and I found that in these two years I had
expended the half of my fortune.
"This caused me to reflect seriously on my situation and mode of life.
At this rate, what with women, wine, and gambling, I should soon have
nothing left.
"I determined to reform. I sold a number of my slaves; I reduced my
establishment; I became very economical; I gave my little wine parties,
as some of you may remember, only once a week instead of every evening.
"But, besides effecting these little alterations, what I principally
did was this: I divided my remaining fortune into two equal parts.
With the one half I proposed to embark in trade, while I retained the
other half to live upon and to provide against accidents.
"Well, the money I devoted to trade I invested in such sorts of
merchandize as I judged to be most suitable, and shipping them in a
vessel bound for Egypt, I sent with them a letter to an old friend of
my father, a merchant living there, asking him to dispose of the goods
to the best advantage, and forward to me in return, by the same vessel,
such kinds of produce as he thought would prove most saleable in Bagdad.
"Six months passed and I had no tidings of my venture. A year elapsed,
and still I heard nothing of it. But, in fine, and not to weary you,
having written by another vessel to inquire of my friend, I learnt at
length that my goods had arrived safely and had been sold to realize a
considerable profit, and that other goods had been shipped to me in
return, but the vessel bringing them has never more been heard of, and
whether she foundered or was captured by pirates I know not.
"Thus I had spent and lost three-quarters of the fortune left to me by
my father, and the remaining fourth was rapidly diminishing under the
pressure of current expenses.
"It was at this time, when walking along one day very moodily and in
ill-humour, lamenting my extravagance and losses, and cogitating how I
might with the small remainder of my capital retrieve my position, that
I was accosted by a Seyed Hajji.
"'Sir,' said he, 'I have for many months past often observed you as you
walked this way, and during all that time your countenance has been
unclouded and merry, but the past few days a great change has come over
you, and you walk with downcast eyes, melancholy and preoccupied. If
you will tell me what is the trouble that has befallen you, perhaps it
may be in my power to render you some assistance.'
"'Holy pilgrim,' said I, laughing, for I was amused by the man's
impertinent curiosity respecting my affairs, 'the trouble that has
befallen me is very serious, being no other than the loss of the
greater part of my fortune. If you can show me the way of so employing
the remainder as to regain what is lost, you are indeed the prince of
Hajjis, and such an one as a man can expect to meet with but seldom.'
"'My son,' said he, 'I pardon your incredulity, which is very natural.
But you should reflect that youth knows less than age; and moreover,
that a man like myself who has three times made the pilgrimage to the
Holy Cities and to the Tomb of the Prophet, may have learnt some
secrets which are hidden from those who have remained at home, and who
have spent their time in dissipation and drinking.'
"'Holy pilgrim,' I answered, somewhat abashed, 'what you say is very
true. Therefore, if you know of any magic or charm by which a man who
is nearly ruined may retrieve his fortune, I pray you to disclose it.'
"'Gently, my son,' said the Hajji, 'the impulsiveness of youth hurries
you too fast. I can tell you no more here in the open bazaar; but come
to my house and you shall hear of a way of getting gold which will
fairly astonish you.'
"I went, therefore, with the old man, and after passing through the
worst part of the town, and along many narrow and dirty lanes, we came
at length to a mean and ruinous hovel, into which the Hajji entered.
"When I looked round and saw the extreme poverty of the place, I could
not help observing to my companion, that for one possessed of a
marvellous method of getting gold, this lodging appeared somewhat
unsuitable.
"'Do not,' said he, 'jump hastily to conclusions. Listen patiently to
what I have to tell you, and this and much else will be explained.'
"Then taking a small flask from a shelf, he held it up before me, and
exclaimed, 'Behold the magic water of wealth, by means of which palaces
and slaves, and fair ladies, and all that man longs for may be
obtained!'
"Then, in a more sober tone, he continued, 'Look, my son, the virtue of
the water contained in this flask is such that any metal steeped in it
is quickly converted into gold. Of this,' he said, 'I will give you
speedy proof.' And so saying, he took a small piece of lead about two
ounces in weight, and holding the flask which contained only a small
quantity of liquid, at an angle, he slipped the lead in carefully, and
setting the flask in a corner and covering it with a cloth to, exclude
the light, he left it thus for about ten minutes, to allow the liquid
to permeate the mass, and effect the marvellous transformation.
"Then uncovering the flask, he showed that the liquid had entirely
disappeared, and in place of the lump of lead was a lump of pure gold
of equal magnitude.
"I was, of course, greatly delighted with this easy process of
converting lead into gold, and I demanded eagerly of the Hajji how much
of this liquid he possessed, and what he demanded for it.
"'My son,' said he, smiling, 'you are truly very simple. If I had
plenty of this magic water, why should I live in the poor place in
which you find me? Or why, if I had it, should I part with it for less
than its weight in gold--which, indeed, is less than the worth of it?
No; I have never had more than what was contained in this one small
flask, and the last drop of that I have, as you see, now made use of.
But although I have no more of the water, I have a secret of almost
equal value. I know where the water came from, and whence it may be
obtained. It springs from the bowels of the earth, in a sterile and
uninhabited country more than a hundred days' journey from Bagdad. To
get there will be both difficult and costly, as one must pass through
the territory of a race of Infidels whom one must bribe freely in order
to ensure one's safety. The question is, Dare you attempt it, and will
you furnish the money for the enterprise?'
"I reflected some time on this proposition, and, finally, seeing no
better way of recruiting my shattered fortune, I determined to
accompany the Hajji to the country of the fountain of the water of gold.
"In order to raise the funds necessary for this expedition, I sold all
that I had; the remainder of my merchandize, my slaves, my furniture,
and my house. By this means I obtained a sum amounting to four
thousand pieces of gold; and, taking with us only a few camels laden
with water-skins to hold the magic water, and two slaves bought by the
Hajji, we set out on our journey.
"For three days we pursued our way without incident, and on the evening
of the third day after partaking of a good meal and some wine we had
brought with us, which the Hajji, owing to his sacred character, would
not touch, I laid down under some trees near which our horses and
camels were picketed, and slept very soundly. So long did I sleep that
when I awoke the sun was high in the heaven. The day was very hot, and
the place was very quiet; for looking round I could see nothing of my
Seyed Hajji, of the slaves, the horses, or the camels. All had
disappeared, and with them had gone my money also.
"Thus, by the will of Allah, was I reduced to the utmost poverty.
"I made my way back to Bagdad slowly and suffering much hardship. But,
thanks to the goodness of Allah, and to my friend Abou Hassan and some
others, I lack neither good fellowship nor good living, and although I
am styled the unfortunate merchant, I contrive to laugh and be merry in
spite of fate, and shall listen with pleasure and without envy to the
very different career of Abou Hassan, the fortunate merchant, and our
munificent host."