Then Nur al-Din walked on along the sea-shore and turned rig_The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night

till he saw folk gathered together on the beach and heard them say, “O

Moslems, there remaineth no honour to Alexandria-city, since the Franks

enter it and snatch away those who are therein and return to their own

land, at their leisure[547] nor pursued of any of the Moslems or

fighters for the Faith!” Quoth Nur al-Din to them, “What is to do?”; and

quoth they, “O my son, one of the ships of the Franks, full of armed

men, came down but now upon the port and carried off a ship which was

moored here, with her that was therein, and made unmolested for their

own land.” Nur al-Din fell down a-swoon, on hearing these words; and

when he recovered they questioned him of his case and he told them all

that had befallen him first and last; whereupon they all took to

reviling him and railing at him, saying, “Why couldst thou not bring her

up into the town without mantilla and muffler?” And all and each of the

folk gave him some grievous word, berating him with sharp speech, and

shooting at him some shaft of reproach, albeit one said, “Let him be;

that which hath befallen him sufficeth him,” till he again fell down in

a fainting-fit. And behold, at this moment, up came the old druggist,

who, seeing the folk gathered together, drew near to learn what was the

matter and found Nur al-Din lying a-swoon in their midst. So he sat down

at his head and arousing him, said to him as soon as he recovered, “O my

son, what is this case in which I see thee?” Nur al-Din said, “O uncle,

I had brought back in a barque my lost slave-girl from her father’s

city, suffering patiently all I suffered of perils and hardships; and

when I came with her to this port, I made the vessel fast to the shore

and leaving her therein, repaired to thy dwelling and took of thy

consort what was needful for her, that I might bring her up into the

town; but the Franks came and capturing barque and damsel made off

unhindered, and returned to their own land.” Now when the Shaykh, the

druggist, heard this, the light in his eyes became night and he grieved

with sore grieving for Nur al-Din and said to him, “O my son, why didst

thou not bring her out of the ship into the city without mantilla? But

speech availeth not at this season; so rise, O my son, and come up with

me to the city; haply Allah will vouchsafe thee a girl fairer than she,

who shall console thee for her. Alhamdolillah—praised be Allah—who hath

not made thee lose aught by her! Nay, thou hast gained by her. And

bethink thee, O my son, that Union and Disunion are in the hands of the

Most High King.” Replied Nur al-Din, “By Allah, O uncle, I can never be

consoled for her loss nor will I ever leave seeking her, though on her

account I drink the cup of death!” Rejoined the druggist, “O my son, and

what art thou minded to do?” Quoth Nur al-Din, “I am minded to return to

the land of the Franks[548] and enter the city of France and emperil

myself there; come what may, loss of life or gain of life.” Quoth the

druggist, “O my son, there is an old saw:—Not always doth the crock

escape the shock; and if they did thee no hurt the first time, belike

they will slay thee this time, more by token that they know thee now

with full knowledge.” Quoth Nur al-Din, “O my uncle, let me set out and

be slain for the love of her straightway and not die of despair for her

loss by slow torments.” Now as Fate determined there was then a ship in

port ready to sail, for its passengers had made an end of their

affairs[549] and the sailors had pulled up the mooring-stakes, when Nur

al-Din embarked in her. So they shook out their canvas and relying on

the Compassionate, put out to sea and sailed many days, with fair wind

and weather, till behold, they fell in with certain of the Frank

cruisers, which were scouring those waters and seizing upon all ships

they saw, in their fear for the King’s daughter from the Moslem

corsairs: and as often as they made prize of a Moslem ship, they carried

all her people to the King of France, who put them to death in

fulfilment of the vow he had vowed on account of his daughter Miriam.

So, seeing the ship wherein was Nur al-Din they boarded her and taking

him and the rest of the company prisoners, to the number of an hundred

Moslems, carried them to the King and set them between his hands. He

bade cut their throats. Accordingly they slaughtered them all forthwith,

one after another, till there was none left but Nur al-Din, whom the

headsman had left to the last, in pity of his tender age and slender

shape. When the King saw him, he knew him right well and said to him,

“Art thou not Nur al-Din, who was with us before?” Said he, “I was never

with thee; and my name is not Nur al-Din, but Ibrahim.” Rejoined the

King; “Thou liest, thou art Nur al-Din, he whom I gave to the ancient

dame the Prioress, to help her in the service of the church.” But Nur

al-Din replied, “O my lord, my name is Ibrahim.” Quoth the King, “Wait a

while,” and bade his knights fetch the old woman forthright, saying,

“When she cometh and seeth thee, she will know an thou be Nur al-Din or

not.” At this juncture, behold, in came the one-eyed Wazir who had

married the Princess and kissing the earth before the King said to him,

“Know, O King, that the palace is finished; and thou knowest now I vowed

to the Messiah that, when I had made an end of building it, I would cut

thirty Moslems’ throats before its doors; wherefore I am come to take

them of thee, that I may sacrifice them and so fulfil my vow to the

Messiah. They shall be at my charge, by way of loan, and whenas there

come prisoners to my hands, I will give thee other thirty in lieu of

them.” Replied the King, “By the virtue of the Messiah and the Faith

which is no liar, I have but this one captive left!” And he pointed to

Nur al-Din, saying, “Take him and slaughter him at this very moment and

the rest I will send thee, when there come to my hands other prisoners

of the Moslems.” Thereupon the one-eyed Wazir arose and took Nur al-Din

and carried him to his palace, thinking to slaughter him on the

threshold of the gate; but the painters said to him, “O my lord, we have

two days’ painting yet to do: so bear with us and delay to cut the

throat of this captive, till we have made an end of our work; haply by

that time the rest of the thirty will come, so thou mayst despatch them

all at one bout and accomplish thy vow in a single day.” Thereupon the

Wazir bade imprison Nur al-Din——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day

and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir

bade imprison Nur al-Din, they carried him to the stables and left him

there in chains, hungering and thirsting and making moan for himself;

for indeed he saw death face to face. Now it fortuned, by the ordinance

of Destiny and foreordained Fate, that the King had two stallions, own

brothers,[550] such as the Chosroe Kings might sigh in vain to possess

themselves of one of them; they were called Sábik and Láhik[551] and one

of them was pure silvern white while the other was black as the darksome

night. And all the Kings of the isles had said, “Whoso stealeth us one

of these stallions, we will give him all he seeketh of red gold and

pearls and gems;” but none could avail to steal them. Now one of them

fell sick of a jaundice and there came a whiteness over his eyes[552];

whereupon the King gathered together all the farriers in the city to

treat him; but they all failed of his cure. Presently the Wazir came

into the King; and finding him troubled because of the horse, thought to

do away his concern and said to him, “O King, give me the stallion and I

will cure him.” The King consented and caused carry the horse to the

stable wherein Nur al-Din lay chained; but, when he missed his brother,

he cried out with an exceeding great cry and neighed, so that he

affrighted all the folk. The Wazir, seeing that he did thus but because

he was parted from his brother, went to tell the King, who said, “If

this, which is but a beast, cannot brook to be parted from his brother,

how should it be with those that have reason?” And he bade his grooms

take the other horse and put him with his brother in the Wazir’s

stables, saying, “Tell the Minister that the two stallions be a gift

from me to him, for the sake of my daughter Miriam.” Nur al-Din was

lying in the stable, chained and shackled, when they brought in the two

stallions and he saw that one of them had a film over his eyes. Now he

had some knowledge of horses and of the doctoring of their diseases; so

he said to himself, “This by Allah is my opportunity! I will go to the

Wazir and lie to him, saying, “I will heal thee this horse:” then will I

do with him somewhat that shall destroy his eyes, and he will slay me

and I shall be at rest from this woe-full life.” So he waited till the

Wazir entered the stable, to look upon the steed, and said to him, “O my

lord, what will be my due, an I heal this horse, and make his eyes whole

again?” Replied the Wazir, “As my head liveth, an thou cure him, I will

spare thy life and give thee leave to crave a boon of me!” And Nur

al-Din said, “O my lord, bid my hands be unbound!” So the Wazir bade

unbind him and he rose and taking virgin glass,[553] brayed it and mixed

it with unslaked lime and a menstruum of onion-juice. Then he applied

the whole to the horse’s eyes and bound them up, saying in himself, “Now

will his eyes be put out and they will slay me and I shall be at rest

from this woe-full life.” Then he passed the night with a heart free

from the uncertainty[554] of cark and care, humbling himself to Allah

the Most High and saying, “O Lord, in Thy knowledge is that which

dispenseth with asking and craving!” Now when the morning morrowed and

the sun shone, the Wazir came to the stable and, loosing the bandage

from the horse’s eyes considered them and found them finer than before,

by the ordinance of the King who openeth evermore. So he said to Nur

al-Din, “O Moslem, never in the world saw I the like of thee for the

excellence of thy knowledge. By the virtue of the Messiah and the Faith

which is no liar, thou makest me with wonder to admire, for all the

farriers of our land have failed to heal this horse!” Then he went up to

Nur al-Din and, doing off his shackles with his own hand, clad him in a

costly dress and made him his master of the Horse; and he appointed him

stipends and allowances and lodged him in a story over the stables. So

Nur al-Din abode awhile, eating and drinking and making merry and

bidding and forbidding those who tended the horses; and whoso neglected

or failed to fodder those tied up in the stable wherein was his service,

he would throw down and beat with grievous beating and lay him by the

legs in bilboes of iron. Furthermore, he used every day to descend and

visit the stallions and rub them down with his own hand, by reason of

that which he knew of their value in the Wazir’s eyes and his love for

them; wherefore the Minister rejoiced in him with joy exceeding and his

breast broadened and he was right glad, unknowing what was to be the

issue of his case. Now in the new palace, which the one-eyed Wazir had

bought for the Princess Miriam, was a lattice-window overlooking his old

house and the flat wherein Nur al-Din lodged. The Wazir had a daughter,

a virgin of extreme loveliness, as she were a fleeing gazelle or a

bending branchlet, and it chanced that she sat one day at the lattice

aforesaid and behold, she heard Nur al-Din singing and solacing himself

under his sorrows by improvising these verses:—

O my Censor who wakest a-morn to see ✿ The joys of life and its jubilee!

Had the fangs of Destiny bitten thee ✿ In such bitter case thou hadst

pled this plea:—