till he reached the foot of the stairs, whence he dragged himself to his
own chamber; then he entered and shutting the door, lay sick eating not
nor drinking and drowned in the sea of his solitude. He spent the night
thus, weeping and bemoaning himself, till the morning, and when it
morrowed he repeated these couplets:—
The birds took flight at eve and winged their way; ✿ And sinless he who
died of Love’s death-blow.
I’ll keep my love-tale secret while I can ✿ But, an desire prevail, its
needs must show:
Night brought me nightly vision, bright as dawn; ✿ While nights of my
desire lack morning-glow.
I mourn for them[61] while they heart-freest sleep ✿ And winds of love
on me their plaything blow:
Free I bestow my tears, my wealth, my heart ✿ My wit, my sprite:—most
gain who most bestow!
The worst of woes and banes is enmity ✿ Beautiful maidens deal us to our
woe.
Favour they say’s forbidden to the fair ✿ And shedding lovers’ blood
their laws allow;
That naught can love-sicks do but lavish soul, ✿ And stake in love-play
life on single throw:[62]
I cry in longing ardour for my love: ✿ Lover can only weep and wail
Love-lowe.
When the sun rose he opened the door, went forth of the chamber and
mounted to the stead where he was before: then he sat down facing the
pavilion and awaited the return of the birds till nightfall; but they
returned not; wherefore he wept till he fell to the ground in a
fainting-fit. When he came to after his swoon, he dragged himself down
the stairs to his chamber; and indeed, the darkness was come and
straitened upon him was the whole world and he ceased not to weep and
wail himself through the livelong night, till the day broke and the sun
rained over hill and dale its rays serene. He ate not nor drank nor
slept, nor was there any rest for him; but by day he was distracted and
by night distressed, with sleeplessness delirious and drunken with
melancholy thought and excess of love-longing. And he repeated the
verses of the love-distraught poet:—
O thou who shamest sun in morning sheen ✿ The branch confounding, yet
with nescience blest;
Would Heaven I wot an Time shall bring return ✿ And quench the fires
which flame unmanifest,—
Bring us together in a close embrace, ✿ Thy cheek upon my cheek, thy
breast abreast!
Who saith, In Love dwells sweetness? when in Love ✿ Are bitterer days
than Aloë’s[63] bitterest.
——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan the
goldsmith felt love redouble upon him, he recited those lines; and, as
he abode thus in the stress of his love-distraction, alone and finding
none to cheer him with company, behold, there arose a dust-cloud from
the desert, wherefore he ran down and hid himself knowing that the
Princesses who owned the castle had returned. Before long, the troops
halted and dismounted round the palace and the seven damsels alighted
and entering, put off their arms and armour of war. As for the youngest,
she stayed not to doff her weapons and gear, but went straight to
Hasan’s chamber, where finding him not, she sought for him, till she
lighted on him in one of the sleeping closets hidden, feeble and thin,
with shrunken body and wasted bones and indeed his colour was changed
and his eyes sunken in his face for lack of food and drink and for much
weeping, by reason of his love and longing for the young lady. When she
saw him in this plight, she was confounded and lost her wits; but
presently she questioned him of his case and what had befallen him,
saying, “Tell me what aileth thee, O my brother, that I may contrive to
do away thine affliction, and I will be thy ransom!”[64] Whereupon he
wept with sore weeping and by way of reply he began reciting:—
Lover, when parted from the thing he loves, ✿ Has naught save weary woe
and bane to bear.
Inside is sickness, outside living lowe, ✿ His first is fancy and his
last despair.
When his sister heard this, she marvelled at his eloquence and loquent
speech and his readiness at answering her in verse and said to him, “O
my brother, when didst thou fall into this thy case and what hath
betided thee, that I find thee speaking in song and shedding tears that
throng? Allah upon thee, O my brother, and by the honest love which is
between us, tell me what aileth thee and discover to me thy secret, nor
conceal from me aught of that which hath befallen thee in our absence;
for my breast is straitened and my life is troubled because of thee.” He
sighed and railed tears like rain, after which he said, “I fear, O my
sister, if I tell thee, that thou wilt not aid me to win my wish but
wilt leave me to die wretchedly in mine anguish.” She replied, “No, by
Allah, O my brother, I will not abandon thee, though it cost me my
life!” So he told her all that had befallen him, and that the cause of
his distress and affliction was the passion he had conceived for the
young lady whom he had seen when he opened the forbidden door; and how
he had not tasted meat nor drink for ten days past. Then he wept with
sore weeping and recited these couplets:—
Restore my heart as ’twas within my breast, ✿ Let mine eyes sleep again,
then fly fro’ me.
Deem ye the nights have had the might to change ✿ Love’s vow? Who
changeth may he never be!
His sister wept for his weeping and was moved to ruth for his case and
pitied his strangerhood; so she said to him, “O my brother, be of good
cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear, for I will venture being and
risk existence to content thee and devise thee a device wherewith,
though it cost me my dear life and all I hold dear, thou mayst get
possession of her and accomplish thy desire, if such be the will of
Allah Almighty. But I charge thee, O my brother, keep the matter secret
from my sisterhood and discover not thy case to any one of them, lest my
life be lost with thy life. An they question thee of opening the
forbidden door, reply to them:—I opened it not; no, never; but I was
troubled at heart for your absence and by my loneliness here and
yearning for you.”[65] And he answered, “Yes: this is the right rede.”
So he kissed her head and his heart was comforted and his bosom
broadened. He had been nigh upon death for excess of affright, for he
had gone in fear of her by reason of his having opened the door; but now
his life and soul returned to him. Then he sought of her somewhat of
food and after serving it she left him, and went in to her sisters,
weeping and mourning for him. They questioned her of her case and she
told them how she was heavy at heart for her brother, because he was
sick and for ten days no food had found way into his stomach. So they
asked the cause of his sickness and she answered, “The reason was our
severance from him and our leaving him desolate; for these days we have
been absent from him were longer to him than a thousand years and scant
blame to him, seeing he is a stranger, and solitary and we left him
alone, with none to company with him or hearten his heart; more by token
that he is but a youth and may be he called to mind his family and his
mother, who is a woman in years, and bethought him that she weepeth for
him all whiles of the day and watches of the night, ever mourning his
loss; and we used to solace him with our society and divert him from
thinking of her.” When her sisters heard these words they wept in the
stress of their distress for him and said, “Wa’lláhi—’fore Allah, he is
not to blame!” Then they went out to the army and dismissed it, after
which they went in to Hasan and saluted him with the salam. When they
saw his charms changed with yellow colour and shrunken body, they wept
for very pity and sat by his side and comforted him and cheered him with
converse, relating to him all they had seen by the way of wonders and
rarities and what had befallen the bridegroom with the bride. They abode
with him thus a whole month, tendering him and caressing him with words
sweeter than syrup; but every day sickness was added to his sickness,
which when they saw, they bewept him with sore weeping, and the youngest
wept even more than the rest. At the end of this time, the Princesses
having made up their minds to ride forth a-hunting and a-birding invited
their sister to accompany them but she said, “By Allah, O my sisters, I
cannot go forth with you, whilst my brother is in this plight, nor
indeed till he be restored to health and there cease from him that which
is with him of affliction. Rather will I sit with him and comfort him.”
They thanked her for her kindness and said to her, “Allah will requite
thee all thou dost with this stranger.” Then they left her with him in
the palace and rode forth taking with them twenty days’ victual;——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Princesses
mounted and rode forth a-hunting and a-birding, after leaving in the
palace their youngest sister sitting by Hasan’s side; and as soon as the
damsel knew that they had covered a long distance from home, she went in
to him and said, “O my brother, come, show me the place where thou
sawest the maidens.” He rejoiced in her words, making sure of winning
his wish, and replied, “Bismillah! On my head!” Then he essayed to rise
and show her the place, but could not walk; so she took him up in her
arms, holding him to her bosom between her breasts; and, opening the
staircase-door, carried him to the top of the palace, and he showed her
the pavilion where he had seen the girls and the basin of water, wherein
they had bathed. Then she said to him, “Set forth to me, O my brother,
their case and how they came.” So he described to her whatso he had seen
of them and especially the girl of whom he was enamoured; but hearing
these words she knew her and her cheeks paled and her case changed.
Quoth he, “O my sister, what aileth thee to wax wan and be troubled?”;
and quoth she, “O my brother, know thou that this young lady is the
daughter of a Sovran of the Jann, of one of the most puissant of their
Kings and her father had dominion over men and Jinn and wizards and
cohens and tribal chiefs and guards and countries and cities and islands
galore and hath immense wealth in store. Our father is a Viceroy and one
of his vassals and none can avail against him, for the multitude of his
many and the extent of his empire and the muchness of his monies. He
hath assigned to his offspring, the daughters thou sawest, a tract of
country, a whole year’s journey in length and breadth, a region girt
about with a great river and a deep; and thereto none may attain, nor
man nor Jann. He hath an army of women, smiters with swords and lungers
with lances, five-and-twenty thousand in number, each of whom, whenas
she mounteth steed and donneth battle-gear, eveneth a thousand knights
of the bravest. Moreover, he hath seven daughters, who in valour and
prowess equal and even excel their sisters,[66] and he hath made the
eldest of them, the damsel whom thou sawest,[67] queen over the country
aforesaid and who is the wisest of her sisters and in valour and
horsemanship and craft and skill and magic excels all the folk of her
dominions. The girls who companied with her are the ladies of her court
and guards and grandees of her empire, and the plumed skins wherewith
they fly are the handiwork of enchanters of the Jann. Now an thou
wouldst get possession of this queen and wed this jewel seld-seen and
enjoy her beauty and loveliness and grace, do thou pay heed to my words
and keep them in thy memory. They resort to this place on the first day
of every month; and thou must take seat here and watch for them; and
when thou seest them coming hide thee near the pavilion sitting where
thou mayst see them, without being seen of them, and beware, again
beware lest thou show thyself, or we shall all lose our lives. When they
doff their dress note which is the feather-suit of her whom thou lovest
and take it, and it only, for this it is that carrieth her to her
country, and when thou hast mastered it, thou hast mastered her. And
beware lest she wile thee, saying:—O thou who hast robbed my raiment,
restore it to me, because here am I in thine hands and at thy mercy!
For, an thou give it her, she will kill thee and break down over us
palace and pavilion and slay our sire: know, then, thy case and how thou
shalt act. When her companions see that her feather-suit is stolen, they
will take flight and leave her to thee, and beware lest thou show
thyself to them, but wait till they have flown away and she despaireth
of them: whereupon do thou go in to her and hale her by the hair of her
head[68] and drag her to thee; which being done, she will be at thy
mercy. And I rede thee discover not to her that thou hast taken the
feather-suit, but keep it with care; for, so long as thou hast it in
hold, she is thy prisoner and in thy power, seeing that she cannot fly
to her country save with it. And lastly carry her down to thy chamber
where she will be thine.” When Hasan heard her words his heart became at
ease, his trouble ceased and affliction left him; so he rose to his feet
and kissing his sister’s head, went down from the terrace with her into
the palace, where they slept that night. He medicined himself till
morning morrowed; and when the sun rose, he sprang up and opened the
staircase-door and ascending to the flat roof sat there till supper-tide
when his sister brought him up somewhat of meat and drink and a change
of clothes and he slept. And thus they continued doing, day by day until
the end of the month. When he saw the new moon, he rejoiced and began to
watch for the birds, and while he was thus, behold, up they came, like
lightning. As soon as he espied them, he hid himself where he could
watch them, unwatched by them, and they lighted down one and all of
them, and putting off their clothes, descended into the basin. All this
took place near the stead where Hasan lay concealed, and as soon as he
caught sight of the girl he loved, he arose and crept under cover,
little by little, towards the dresses, and Allah veiled him so that none
marked his approach for they were laughing and playing with one another,
till he laid hand on the dress. Now when they had made an end of their
diversion, they came forth of the basin and each of them slipped on her
feather-suit. But the damsel he loved sought for her plumage that she
might put it on, but found it not; whereupon she shrieked and beat her
cheeks and rent her raiment. Her sisterhood[69] came to her and asked
what ailed her, and she told them that her feather-suit was missing;
wherefore they wept and shrieked and buffeted their faces: and they were
confounded, wotting not the cause of this, and knew not what to do.
Presently the night overtook them and they feared to abide with her lest
that which had befallen her should befal them also; so they farewelled
her and flying away left her alone upon the terrace-roof of the palace,
by the pavilion basin.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
[Illustration]
Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan had
carried off the girls plumery, she sought it but found it not and her
sisterhood flew away leaving her alone. When they were out of sight,
Hasan gave ear to her and heard her say, “O who hast taken my dress and
stripped me, I beseech thee to restore it to me and cover my shame, so
may Allah never make thee taste of my tribulation!” But when Hasan heard
her speak thus, with speech sweeter than syrup, his love for her
redoubled, passion got the mastery of his reason and he had not patience
to endure from her. So springing up from his hiding-place, he rushed
upon her and laying hold of her by the hair dragged her to him and
carried her down to the basement of the palace and set her in his own
chamber, where he threw over her a silken cloak[70] and left her weeping
and biting her hands. Then he shut the door upon her and going to his
sister, informed her how he had made prize of his lover and carried her
to his sleeping-closet, “And there,” quoth he, “she is now sitting,
weeping and biting her hands.” When his Sister heard this, she rose
forthright and betook herself to the chamber, where she found the
captive weeping and mourning. So she kissed ground before her and
saluted her with the salam and the young lady said to her, “O King’s
daughter, do folk like you do such foul deed with the daughters of
Kings? Thou knowest that my father is a mighty Sovran and that all the
liege lords of the Jinn stand in awe of him and fear his majesty: for
that there are with him magicians and sages and Cohens and Satans and
Marids, such as none may cope withal, and under his hand are folk whose
number none knoweth save Allah. How then doth it become you, O daughters
of Kings, to harbour mortal men with you and disclose to them our case
and yours? Else how should this man, a stranger, come at us?” Hasan’s
sister made reply, “O King’s daughter, in very sooth this human is
perfect in nobleness and purposeth thee no villainy; but he loveth thee,
and women were not made save for men. Did he not love thee, he had not
fallen sick for thy sake and well-nigh given up the ghost for desire of
thee.” And she told her the whole tale how Hasan had seen her bathing in
the basin with her attendants, and fallen in love with her, and none had
pleased him but she, for the rest were all her handmaids, and none had
availed to put forth a hand to her. When the Princess heard this, she
despaired of deliverance and presently Hasan’s sister went forth and
brought her a costly dress, wherein she robed her. Then she set before
her somewhat of meat and drink and ate with her and heartened her heart
and soothed her sorrows. And she ceased not to speak her fair with soft
and pleasant words, saying, “Have pity on him who saw thee once and
became as one slain by thy love;” and continued to console her and
caress her, quoting fair says and pleasant instances. But she wept till
daybreak, when her trouble subsided and she left shedding tears, knowing
that she had fallen into the net and that there was no deliverance for
her. Then said she to Hasan’s sister, “O King’s daughter, with this my
strangerhood and severance from my country and sisterhood which Allah
wrote upon my brow, patience becometh me to support what my Lord hath
foreordained.” Therewith the youngest Princess assigned her a chamber in
the palace, than which there was none goodlier and ceased not to sit
with her and console her and solace her heart, till she was satisfied
with her lot and her bosom was broadened and she laughed and there
ceased from her what trouble and oppression possessed her, by reason of
her separation from her people and country and sisterhood and parents.
Thereupon Hasan’s sister repaired to him, and said, “Arise, go in to her
in her chamber and kiss her hands and feet.[71]” So he went in to her
and did this and bussed her between the eyes, saying, “O Princess of
fair ones and life of sprites and beholder’s delight, be easy of heart,
for I took thee only that I might be thy bondsman till the Day of Doom,
and this my sister will be thy servant; for I, O my lady, desire naught
but to take thee to wife, after the law of Allah and the practice of His
Apostle, and whenas thou wilt, I will journey with thee to my country
and carry thee to Baghdad-city and abide with thee there: moreover, I
will buy thee handmaidens and negro chattels; and I have a mother, of
the best of women, who will do thee service. There is no goodlier land
than our land; everything therein is better than elsewhere and its folk
are a pleasant people and bright of face.” Now as he bespake her thus
and strave to comfort her, what while she answered him not a syllable,
lo! there came a knocking at the palace-gate. So Hasan went out to see
who was at the door and found there the six Princesses, who had returned
from hunting and birding, whereat he rejoiced and went to meet them and
welcomed them. They wished him safety and health and he wished them the
like; after which they dismounted and going each to her chamber doffed
their soiled clothes and donned fine linen. Then they came forth and
demanded the game, for they had taken a store of gazelles and wild cows,
hares and lions, hyænas, and others; so their suite brought out some
thereof for butchering, keeping the rest by them in the palace, and
Hasan girt himself and fell to slaughtering for them in due form,[72]
whilst they sported and made merry, joying with great joy to see him
standing amongst them hale and hearty once more. When they had made an
end of slaughtering, they sat down and addressed themselves to get ready
somewhat for breaking their fast, and Hasan, coming up to the eldest
Princess, kissed her head and on like wise did he with the rest, one
after other. Whereupon said they to him, “Indeed, thou humblest thyself
to us passing measure, O our brother, and we marvel at the excess of the
affection thou showest us. But Allah forfend that thou shouldst do this
thing, which it behoveth us rather to do with thee, seeing thou art a
man and therefor worthier than we, who are of the Jinn.[73]” Thereupon
his eyes brimmed with tears and he wept sore; so they said to him, “What
causeth thee to weep? Indeed, thou troublest our pleasant lives with thy
weeping this day. ’Twould seem thou longest after thy mother and native
land. An things be so, we will equip thee and carry thee to thy home and
thy friends.” He replied, “By Allah, I desire not to part from you!”
Then they asked, “Which of us hath vexed thee, that thou art thus
troubled?” But he was ashamed to say, “Naught troubleth me save love of
the damsel,” lest they should deny and disavow him: so he was silent and
would tell them nothing of his case. Then his sister came forward and
said to them, “He hath caught a bird from the air and would have you
help him to tame her.” Whereupon they all turned to him and cried, “We
are at thy service every one of us and whatsoever thou seekest that will
we do: but tell us thy tale and conceal from us naught of thy case.” So
he said to his sister, “Do thou tell them, for I am ashamed before them
nor can I face them with these words.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Ninety-first Night,