"There once lived a young man whose name was Mubarek. He was the only
son of a rich merchant at Bagdad, commonly known as Bereydah abou
Mubarek.
"To the great grief of his father, Mubarek, when he was twenty-three
years of age, developed such a longing to travel and visit those
foreign countries of which he had so often heard from other
merchants--his father's friends--that nothing could persuade him to
remain quietly in Bagdad. Bereydah abou Mubarek, having therefore
furnished his son with such sorts of merchandize as would be most
suitable to trade with in the countries he was about to visit, took
leave of him with much emotion and many injunctions both as to his
personal conduct, and the management of his affairs.
"After passing through several countries most frequently traversed by
caravans belonging to the merchants of this city, and where he saw
nothing but what is familiarly known to all here present, and met with
no adventure I need pause to describe, he set sail in a merchantman,
bound for the coast of India.
"He had not been at sea more than three days when a violent storm
arose, and the force of the hurricane, driving the ship altogether out
of her course, she found herself at length off a coast altogether
unknown to the captain, and in spite of his exertions she was blown in
shore, and became very shortly a total wreck.
"Mubarek, who fortunately succeeded in reaching the land, although with
the loss of all that he possessed, wandered about for some time in a
most forlorn and starving condition. At length, meeting some natives
of the country, he was conducted by them to a large town on the coast,
which was the capital of the kingdom. Here, in a very magnificent
palace situated in the midst of extensive and fragrant gardens, lived
Ahesha the Queen. An idolater, like all her subjects, she was,
although an exceedingly beautiful woman, cruel, vindictive, and a
proficient in all the arts of magic.
"Mubarek, as a stranger, being brought before her, as the laws of that
kingdom required, she immediately fell violently in love with him,
which was the less to be wondered at, inasmuch as he was a young man of
pleasant features, a striking figure, and considerable personal
attractions.
"Ahesha, having commanded the stranger to be led to the bath, and
arrayed in rich robes appropriate to one occupying the position of a
Vizier or Prince, she invited him to join her in partaking of a
sumptuous repast, and afterwards to accompany her in strolling through
the charming gardens which surrounded her palace.
"Mubarek, consoled for the hardship and dangers of the shipwreck and
the loss of his merchandize by so flattering and distinguished a
reception, and by the society of a woman and Queen of so much beauty,
wandered with her alone through the most retired walks of the garden.
"Coming at length to a grassy seat in the cool shade of a spreading
tree, they sat down.
"'Tell me,' said she, 'whether you are capable of loving a woman like
me, as a woman and a Queen should be loved?'
"'I love you,' he replied, 'with all the passion of youth, with all my
soul.'
"'But,' said she, 'a Queen must be loved alone. She cannot consent to
divide the love of a man with any other woman.'
"'My charming and incomparable Queen,' he exclaimed, 'by Allah and the
Prophet of God! there is no woman that can stand beside you. The man
who is so happy as to possess you can want no other woman.'
"Ahesha laughed scornfully, and said, 'What an oath is that which you
use! I laugh at your Allah and his Prophet.'
"Mubarek was a young man of very hot blood and fierce passions, and
being brought up a strict Moslim, he was so much enraged at the Queen's
scoff, that no sooner were the words out of her mouth, than drawing
instantly a jewelled dagger which she wore at her girdle, he plunged it
into her heart.
"Then seeing the Queen lying at his feet with the blood gushing out of
her breast, he repented of his hasty act, but it was too late. He
perceived moreover that should he be discovered in that situation by
the enraged attendants of the beautiful Queen, he would be put to
death, probably with torture. At the same time, he knew neither where
he could find a place of safety nor how he should manage to obtain food
for the support of life in the midst of that city of idolaters.
"Wandering about the extensive gardens and groves surrounding the
palace, and expecting every moment to fall in with some party of the
royal guards who would seize him and take him prisoner, he came at
length, in a very retired part of the woods, to a small cavern or
grotto, and being very tired, he there laid himself down and very soon
fell asleep.
"When he awoke the air was cool and fresh. The stars, still
discernible, were fading in the light of the approaching dawn; and as
he left the grotto he hastened, drawn by an indefinable and insensible
impulse, to seek the place where he had left the body of the heathen
Queen.
"With some difficulty he again found the spot which had been the scene
of the love-making and the sudden tragedy on the previous day. The
body of the Queen was no longer there. It had evidently been
discovered and removed by her people. But precisely where her blood
had streamed out upon the ground a small shrub was growing, which
already bore a great number of bunches or clusters of a small fruit
resembling currants. Feeling very hungry he gathered a quantity of
this fruit and eat it as he walked. To his great surprise,
notwithstanding that he had but just risen from a long rest and sound
sleep, he began to feel excessively drowsy, and selecting a secluded
and shady nook, he lay down and at once again fell asleep.
"He must have slept several hours, as when he recovered consciousness
the sun was high in the heavens. But although it was apparently about
midday he presently noticed that he did not experience any sensation of
heat. It gradually dawned upon him, moreover, that, although perfectly
conscious and able to reason and reflect and to distinguish clearly
everything around him, this state of consciousness was wholly separate
from and disconnected with the body. In fact, looking down he
perceived his body lying stretched upon the grass, and still wrapped
apparently in the total oblivion of the profoundest sleep.
"While he was yet lost in astonishment at the marvel of this strange
condition, a fairy or spirit of the air stood beside him, and
addressing him said--
"'Mubarek, why do you stand thus gazing upon the ground? Say, to what
place shall we go? With so many lovely and charming scenes to which we
can resort, we need not remain fettered to this earth.'
"'Fairy,' answered Mubarek, 'the choice rests with you. Take me with
you wheresoever you will.'
"'Mubarek,' said the fairy, 'look up and tell me which star we shall
visit.'
"Mubarek, looking up, found that the brightness of the noonday sun no
longer obscured his vision, but that the stars also appeared clearly to
him sparkling in all their myriad hosts throughout the heaven.
Selecting modestly one of the smaller stars, a mere point of light
glistening in the distance, he said--
"'We will go there.'
"In a moment, not with the speed of lightning, for the lightning lags
and travels slowly, but in a moment and with the speed of thought, the
swiftest of all travellers known to man, they passed at once through
all the vast immeasurable space which lay between that little world and
this.
"On their arrival, after they had time to look about them and realize
the peculiarities of their novel surroundings, Mubarek perceived that
in this strange world the light was not derived from any one fixed
point, such as our sun, but came in a steady and evenly diffused
brightness from every part of the clear and luminous vault of heaven.
But, notwithstanding that the heat under that cloudless sky and glowing
firmament must have been very great, yet to the inhabitants of that
world, whose bodies are composed of quite other elements than ours and
have a much higher temperature, the atmosphere, hot as it would appear
to us, seems always cool and refreshing.
"At the place where Mubarek and his fairy companion had alighted there
was situated a great and populous city. Its arrangements and
magnificence were such that no city that has ever existed on our earth
could be compared with it. In its wide thoroughfares and ample
squares, planted with fine trees, gay with an infinite variety of
many-tinted flowers, and adorned with lofty and ever-springing
fountains of cool and sparkling liquid, which, as Mubarek afterwards
discovered, was not water but the purest liquid glass, every dwelling
was a palace. In that happy country there were no mean and squalid
houses and no poor people.
"Mubarek and the fairy alighted in one of the noble squares of this
great city, and after they had been standing only a few minutes looking
about them in unfeigned wonder and admiration at all they saw, several
of the inhabitants approached them, and bidding them welcome, offered
to conduct them to the mansion which had been prepared for their
reception.
"'How,' asked Mubarek, 'is it possible that any house can have been
prepared for me, seeing that until this moment I have had no idea or
intention of coming hither?'
"'Let not that surprise you,' said one of those who had addressed them:
'Allah, whose power and beneficence extends to every place, has
ordained that we who are privileged to live in this delightful world,
where it is always light, and where we are never weary and want for
nothing that is necessary for our subsistence, should ever occupy
ourselves with the happy task of preparing, not only all the luxuries
and conveniences which we ourselves may desire, but also fair abodes
for those whom he may from time to time allow to come among us.'
"Saying this, they conducted Mubarek and the fairy to a spacious and
beautiful palace which stood not far from the spot where they were
standing.
"The house, like all those in this city, appeared to be composed of
immense blocks of crystal or translucent marble of many hues. The
great pillars that supported the arches, the massive walls, the
glistening roof with its domes and minarets, all were composed of the
same unique and costly material.
"Entering the hall of the palace through the wide portal, on each side
of which, standing open, were two curiously carved doors of some
substance resembling mother-of-pearl, they passed through the various
apartments of the palace--all large, stately, and furnished handsomely.
"One peculiarity of this building which immediately attracted their
attention was that there were no windows, sufficient of the perpetual
and never-clouded brightness of the heavens passing through the
semi-translucent substance of the walls to afford a subdued and
pleasant light to those within them.
"Mubarek, seating himself, at the invitation of his friendly
conductors, on a couch covered with a fine soft fabric of a kind such
as he had never seen before, expected that the slaves who attended in
this superb palace would shortly appear to do his bidding, and prepare
some kind of refreshment for himself and those who had brought him
thither, and who declared him to be the owner of the place and
themselves to be his guests.
"As, however, after sitting and conversing for some time, no servant
made his appearance, he imagined that perhaps in that country no slave
would dare to present himself even to tender his services without
awaiting the signal from his lord. Mubarek therefore clapped his hands
to summon the attendants. No one appeared, however, and those who sat
with him looked surprised, and said--
"'What is the meaning of that action? Why do you clap your hands?'
"'I wish,' said he, 'to call the slaves, who, no doubt, are in
attendance in some ante-chamber.'
"'What,' asked the others, 'are slaves?'
"'The servants, the attendants,' explained Mubarek, 'those who do the
work of the house, who wait upon us, who cook our food and bring it to
us.'
"'There are,' said the others, smiling, 'no such creatures in this
world. All the inhabitants of these houses, no matter how large or
fine they may be--and all our dwellings are spacious and
magnificent--do whatever work may be necessary, and are ever ready to
exert themselves in the interest both of themselves and of others.
Besides,' the speaker continued, 'we have so many forces and
contrivances, unknown perhaps in the region whence you come, that,
although we have plenty of work, without which we might be dull, we
have no drudgery.'
"'That is all very easy to say,' replied Mubarek, 'but who then kills
the animals you eat, cooks them, and serves your table?'
"'What!' exclaimed the other, in surprise, 'do you kill and devour each
other?'
"'No,' answered Mubarek; 'not each other, but other animals, such as
the camel, the sheep, and the goat.'
"They heard this avowal with almost the same disgust as we should an
avowal of man-eating, and explained that in their world they neither
killed nor ate any living thing.
"'We have,' they said, 'fruits pleasing to the palate and nourishing to
the body. These we gather, each one for himself, and should regard a
man who required some one to gather his food for him very much as you
would regard a man so lazy as to want some one to put it into his mouth
for him.'
"Saying this, they rose, and Mubarek and the fairy with them, and
taking each a plate or dish, every one of which was fashioned out of a
single piece of the same beautiful and many-tinted crystal as composed
the walls of their dwellings, they proceeded to gather in the garden
which surrounded the palace all kinds of fruit.
"This fruit seemed to Mubarek to consist of all sorts of precious
stones--the topaz, the jasper, the onyx, the carbuncle, the emerald,
the ruby, and many others, and having brought their plates filled with
this fruit into the house, these strange people sat down and ate them
with much relish, praising highly their delicious flavour and
nutritious qualities.
"They then replaced the plates, unsoiled by the repast they had
contained, and prepared to show Mubarek and the fairy the beauties of
their marvellous city.
"Instead of mounting on horseback like men, or being carried in litters
like women, these singular beings had but to press a knob or spring on
a pillar standing before the house, and straightway a gentle breeze
arose and carried them smoothly, and swiftly or slowly as they pleased,
whithersoever they desired to go.
"In this easy and pleasant manner they journeyed through the city and
were received by all they met with the most friendly and affectionate
greetings. In every house they entered they were welcomed with frank
cordiality, and at once, without ceremony or embarrassment, fell to
assisting the host in any work at which he might chance to be engaged,
or discussing any topic of interest that might occur to them.
"After paying many of these visits and admiring the extraordinary
richness and variety of architecture, furniture and utensils to be
observed in every one of the dwellings of this happy and intelligent
race, Mubarek said with some astonishment--
"'In all this vast and incomparable city through which you have so long
conducted me, one thing I observe to be lacking. Among all this
multitude of houses, every one of which is well worthy of being styled
a palace, I have not seen, and you have not shown me, a single mosque,
a single building that is,' he explained, 'dedicated to the service of
Allah.'
"'Truly,' said they, looking upon him with amazement, 'some of your
remarks and questions are more surprising to us than anything we can
say or show can appear to you. Is it possible that any people can
build any house that is not to be dedicated to the service of Allah,
and if not, what can be the meaning or necessity of such a building as
you allude to?'
"'Have you, then,' asked Mubarek, 'no religion?'
"'What is that?' said they; 'the word is new to us.'
"'Do you not,' asked Mubarek, 'serve God?'
"'Allah forbid that it should be otherwise,' said they. 'He has
created us and placed us in this world, and what He wills we do. We do
not comprehend your meaning.'
"Perceiving this to be indeed the case, Mubarek did not continue to
speak of religion. With these people to do what they conceived to be
right was part of their life, and to do either less or more was to them
incomprehensible. Their life was their religion, their work was their
prayer, and their enjoyment was their praise.
"Mubarek and the fairy spent a very long period in visiting and viewing
all the beauties and wonders of this strange world. How long a period
they had no means of estimating, since there light is perpetual as on
one bright morning that never knows an end.
"At length, not because they were tired, for weariness is there
unknown, Mubarek determined again to return to the house that had been
given him. He desired to enter upon the regular performance and
enjoyment of the duties of the new existence in this other world. But
they were told that first each might select a wife or partner of his
labours and his pleasures.
"For this purpose a great number of the women were assembled, each more
lovely than the fairest woman man has ever seen, and all clad in such
gauzelike glistening robes as would make the finest fabrics of this
world look coarse and homely.
"In this regard alone, however, are the men in that world stinted.
Each has but one wife. Mubarek found the difficulty great of choosing
only one. Yet, having made his choice, he soon became contented with
his lot. For in that bright world, where illness is unknown and labour
never wearies, woman continues always gay and fresh and pleasant. She
talks as much perhaps as her sisters in less-favoured worlds, but never
learns to scold or grumble or complain.
"The fairy, however, or spirit of the air, who had brought Mubarek
thither, would not accept a house or choose a wife or settle anywhere.
A restless and inconstant being, it preferred to wander forth and view
with never-sated curiosity the ever-varying marvels displayed by other
worlds.
"A long time passed, a time unmarked by any of the changes and small
vicissitudes that we encounter here. No night succeeding day, and
bringing with it unconsciousness and rest. No procession of the
seasons--autumn, winter, spring; but one long summer, whose heat,
instead of seeming oppressive or exhausting, appeared ever cool,
refreshing, and exhilarating, filled with a stream of life, not
fluctuating and intermitting, but constant and untiring.
"Such then was the existence of Mubarek, till one day, happening to
drop and dash in fragments a superb crystal vase which he himself had
fashioned with much delightful labour as a present for his wife, the
old fierce impatience of his native land and race caused him to break
out into fearful imprecations.
"At once, as though on the involuntary rupture of some mysterious spell
or charm, he found himself, with a rapidity equal to that by which he
had mounted to that distant world, transported back to this. He was in
his own body which he had left sleeping on the ground, and in the very
spot at which he had left it sleeping.
"At first he was so dazed and confused by the recollection of all that
he had experienced that he scarce remembered where he was. By and by
becoming more composed, he recognized the danger of remaining in the
grounds of the palace whose Queen he had stabbed, and making his way by
paths as little frequented as he could find to the sea-coast, he beheld
with joy a ship sailing at no great distance from the shore. Making
signals of distress, they put out a small boat and brought him on board.
"The vessel chanced to be one bound for Bussora, whither in due time
Mubarek arrived, and hastening to Bagdad, found his father, now an old
man, and who had long mourned his death, still alive and overjoyed to
again behold his son.
"Bereydah abou Mubarek dying not long after his son's return, Mubarek
succeeded to his father's fortune and his father's house, and lived
quietly and happily in Bagdad during the remainder of his days."
The story of Mubarek being ended, and the company having thanked Abu
'Atahiyeh for having related it to them, the Caliph, in his character
as host, addressed himself to Sidi ibn Thalabi.
"Friend Sidi ibn Thalabi," he said, "none of the good company here
present, excepting only ourselves, has heard the story of the barber
and the camel's-hair brush; will you therefore do us the favour to tell
it?"
"Friend Hamad," replied Sidi ibn Thalabi, "there is, I am persuaded, no
one so churlish as to refuse to do aught that he may be requested to
do, with the object of amusing your guests at this hospitable and
magnificent banquet."
When Sidi ibn Thalabi had concluded the story of the barber and the
camel's-hair brush, many of those present were as anxious as Haroun had
been when he first heard it, to know what had become of the little
brush, and whether Sidi ibn Thalabi had bought it of the barber.
"No, gentlemen," said Sidi ibn Thalabi; "the barber altogether refused
to sell the brush on any terms, or at any price, and declared that he
would never part with it unless the Caliph himself, seated upon his
throne and arrayed in his royal robes, demanded it of him."
While Sidi ibn Thalabi was concluding his tale, the Caliph had observed
that one of the black slaves in attendance was showing all the teeth he
possessed--and a very sound white set they were--in a capacious grin of
enjoyment of the circumstances that were being narrated. Therefore,
taking the little brush, and moistening it in a vase of water that
stood near, he handed it to Giafer, and bid him in a whisper apply it
to the top of the fellow's spine.
Giafer, rising as though to leave the room, stole behind the black
without being noticed by him, so absorbed was he in what was being
said. Quickly passing the brush down the back of the neck, the
African, in his attitude of rapt attention, and with his wide grin of
unfeigned delight, became at once fixed and unchanging, as though he
were an image in black marble.
Then Haroun, turning to Sidi ibn Thalabi, said: "There is one man at
least whom you have delighted; behold the power of the brush!"
"What!" exclaimed Sidi ibn Thalabi, "is the barber present?"
"The barber is not present," said Haroun, "but only the brush."
As he said these words, Giafer, with a low bow, placed the brush again
in his hands.
"Allah, be merciful to us!" exclaimed the astonished Sidi ibn Thalabi.
"Why, it can be no other than the Caliph himself!"
"It is no other," said Haroun, "yet fear nothing; I have forgiven you
any pranks in which you may have indulged in my name, but would have
you discontinue them henceforth; therefore I appoint you Governor of
Syria; the dawn will soon appear, start for your province in the
morning."
Sidi ibn Thalabi having thanked his Majesty for his gracious and
generous gifts, Haroun, turning to Murad Essed, the Unfortunate
Merchant, said:
"This house, once your own, and all it contains, I give to you, and my
treasurer shall to-morrow bring you ten thousand dinars, with which you
may recommence to trade; may you be in the future more cautious and
more lucky."
The guests then departed, and the entertainment of Hamad the Merchant
was at an end.
The Caliph and the Magic Tube.
One day, as Haroun Alraschid sat in one of the apartments of his
palace, which overlooked a great public square of the city, he observed
a large crowd of people surrounding a man, who, sometimes looking
through a small tube he held in his hand, and sometimes addressing the
throngs around him, seemed to attract in a high degree their interest
and attention.
After watching this scene for some little time, the Caliph became
curious to learn what the properties or merits of the tube might be,
and sent therefore to fetch the man into the palace. When he entered,
Haroun saw that he was a fine young man, whose countenance bore a
pleasing expression, while his dress, by its foreign and unusual
character, plainly proclaimed him to be a traveller.
The Caliph demanding of him what might be the peculiarity of that tube
which he had seen him exhibiting to the people, the man replied:
"This tube which I hold in my hand, although it is in appearance a very
common, ordinary tube, possesses, in fact, powers so wonderful, that I
doubt not but that your Majesty will be greatly astonished as I exhibit
them to you.
"Having rendered an important service to a powerful Magician with whom
I became acquainted while I was in India, he presented me with this
tube, and initiated me into the proper manner of using it. By
adjusting it in a particular way, the details of which I am not
permitted to divulge to any one, I am enabled, on looking through the
tube, to observe what is taking place either in distant parts of the
world or even future events which shall take place in remote kingdoms
after the lapse of many ages."
"Almirvan," said the Caliph--"for such is, I am told, your name--if
your magical tube can disclose the distant scenes you speak of, it will
interest me much, and you may expect with full confidence an adequate
reward. But if your tube be in truth but a mystification for the
vulgar, under cover of which you palm off the monstrous and incredible
fictions of your imagination, why, you had better confess to me the
truth at once, and depart, because, should I discover later that it is
so, I will cause your tube to be broken and your head to be removed
from your shoulders."
"Sire," replied Almirvan, "of the truth of that which my magic tube
discloses to me I am fully persuaded, and am very willing to relate to
your Majesty plainly, and without addition or concealment, whatever I
may observe when I look through the tube. And first I must ask your
Majesty to say whether the scene I am to witness is to be distant in
space only, or also in time."
"Almirvan," said the Caliph, "I have already heard so much from the
lips of so many travellers concerning the manners and customs of other,
and even distant, countries, that your magic tube will probably have
little that is new to inform me about them. Therefore, look far into
the future, and tell me what you see; but once more I warn you to be
careful that you add nothing for the purpose of astonishing. I am
tired of hearing of men who walk with their heads under their arms--of
men as tall as trees, or short as pigmies, or other such like
travellers' monstrous stories."
The traveller, after muttering certain words of prayer or incantation,
gazed for some time steadfastly through the tube, and then, as though
describing slowly and with difficulty a scene upon which he was
looking, he said--
"I see distant, far distant, by reason of the countless leagues and
many centuries that intervene, a strange and populous country. The
land is bright and pleasant, and verdant everywhere, for water is
abundant; the white cliffs upon the frontier glisten in the water, the
land is an island of the sea. The inhabitants are unbelievers
evidently, and rude and barbarous, for their women go about with naked
faces, and every man that passes may gaze upon the best of them. The
dress of all, both men and women, is strange and hideous, and one looks
in vain for the well-folded turban, or the decent modest yashmak.
"This odd people have horses, and very good ones, but seldom ride them;
because for the most part they have machines like chariots, made with
wheels and of many various shapes; and in these they sit, and cause the
horses to draw them.
"But stranger than all this, they have a creature of amazing strength
and huge size, which, though larger than an elephant, is swifter than a
bird. On the back of this terrible creature, which is thirty or forty
feet long, and whose stomach is like a fiery furnace, two or three men
will stand without fear, even when it is running at its utmost speed.
Most remarkable of all, they feed the creature from behind."
"What!" exclaimed the Caliph, "is this your travellers' tale?"
"Sire," said Almirvan, "it is truly wonderful, but I describe to you
that only which I behold. At the back of the creature there plainly
appears to be an opening, leading into its fiery stomach, and therein
the men upon its back do place the food of the creature, which appears
to consist of great blocks of black marble."
"Oh, Almirvan, unhappy traveller! what hast thou done that thou
shouldest be tired of thy life?" said the Caliph. "What wouldest thou
have me believe--that in the farthest islands of the sea, or in
remotest ages yet to come, this monster of thine, huger than an
elephant, fleeter than a bird, and swallowing great pieces of stone
from behind, can by any possibility exist?"
"Your Majesty," answered Almirvan, "the people must without doubt be
very skilful magicians. But most assuredly I affirm that I see them
through this tube, doing not only all that I have related to you, but
harnessing the creature to long strings of immense chariots, and
causing it to convey in this way both themselves and their merchandize
from place to place."
"At what speed didst thou say that the creature goes?" asked the Caliph.
"It goes with the speed of the wind," answered Almirvan.
"And therefore the people and their heavy merchandize go also with the
speed of the wind? Is this your truthful tale? Why, every lie
outstrips its predecessor."
"Your Majesty," said Almirvan, "I say but what I see."
"Almirvan," said the Caliph, "what further dost thou see?"
"I see," replied Almirvan, looking again through the magic tube, "many
great and marvellous works erected in all parts of their country by
this indefatigable and patient people. Many bridges spanning every
stream, and others crossing even arms of the sea, and that at such a
height that the largest ships can pass full sail beneath them. Great
cities stud the land like jewels on the scabbard of the Caliph's
scimitar. Fine palaces and noble mosques, or buildings of that
character, abound, but most singular and beautiful of all is a palace
formed entirely of crystal, which stands amid gardens adorned with
fountains, and every facet of whose transparent walls glistens in the
sun. But another circumstance that much attracts my notice is that all
the country is covered with a marvellous network, like a gigantic
spider's web, composed of fine metallic thread. By this means and by
the aid of some incomprehensible magic the people communicate with each
other with lightning-like rapidity, and no matter how great the
distance that may separate them. But, indeed, this is less surprising
than another contrivance that they have, by means of which two men as
far apart as Bussora from Bagdad converse at their ease and by word of
mouth, each evidently hearing the very voice and words of the other."
When the Caliph heard this statement, so astounding, so audacious, he
was filled with rage.
"What!" he exclaimed, "can your magic tube, when it pretends to show us
future times and other nations, invent no more probable and coherent
wonders? What breath shall these men have, and what chests and throats
must they be, if one man standing in Bagdad shall make another at
Bussora hear him?"
"Take from him," said the Caliph to an officer in attendance, "his
magic tube and break it in pieces. As for the fellow himself, let him
be carried three times through the streets of the city mounted upon a
camel and seated with his face to the tail, and let this proclamation
be made by the criers: 'Thus shall it fare with the man who invents
lying tales and wonders, deceiving the people and pretending to magical
power which he does not possess.' After he has been carried three
times round the city in this manner, let him be scourged and beheaded
as a warning to others."
Thus perished miserably Almirvan, the owner of the magic tube. But
whether he lied more than other men, and whether his punishment has
effectually deterred others from following his pernicious example, we
will not attempt to determine.