Labe’s transforming and imprisoning her son, to follow her close, and
bade her, in her hurly-burly, to take no other care than to go and seize
the cage, and bring it to her. She did as she was ordered, and queen
Gulnare was no sooner in the possession of the cage, than she opened it,
and took the owl out, saying, after she had sprinkled a little water upon
him, My dear son, quit that foreign form which has been given thee, and
resume thy natural one of a man. In a moment queen Gulnare no more saw
the hideous owl, but king Beder her son instead of him. She immediately
embraced him with that excess of joy which is better expressed by actions
than words. She could not find in her heart to let him go; and, if he had
not been in a manner torn from her by queen Farasche, who had a mind to
embrace him in her turn, for aught I know, they might not have parted
till now, so great queen Gulnare’s affection was for him. After the queen
his grandmother had done with him, he was likewise embraced by the king
his uncle, and the princesses his relations.
The next care queen Gulnare had, was to look out for old Abdallah, to
whom she had been obliged for the recovery of the king of Persia; and
who, being brought to her, she said to him, My obligations to you, sir,
have been so great, that there is nothing within my power but I will
freely do for you as a token of my acknowledgment. Do but satisfy me in
what I can serve you; and you shall see I will immediately set about it.
Great queen, replied Abdallah, if the lady next to your majesty will but
consent to the marriage I offer her, and the king of Persia will give me
leave to reside at his court, I will spend the remainder of my days in
his service. The queen turned towards the lady; and, finding by her
modesty that she was not against the match proposed, she caused them to
join hands, and the king of Persia and she took care of their fortune.
This marriage occasioned the king of Persia to speak thus, addressing
himself to the queen: Madam, I am heartily glad of this match which your
majesty has just now made: there remains one more, which I desire you to
think of. Queen Gulnare did not at first comprehend what marriage he
meant; but, after a little considering, she said, Of yours do you mean,
son? I consent to it with all my heart. Then, turning about, and looking
on her brother’s sea-attendants, and the genies, who were still present,
she said, Go you, and traverse both the sea and land, to find out the
most lovely and amiable princess, worthy of the king my son, and come and
bring us word.
Madam, replied king Beder, it is to no purpose for them to take all that
pains. You have, no doubt, heard that I have already given my heart to
the princess of Samarcand, upon the bare relation of her beauty. I have
seen her, and do not repent of the present I then made her. In a word,
neither earth nor sea, in my opinion, can furnish a princess any thing
like her. It is true, upon declaring my love to her, she used me after a
rate that would have extinguished any flame less fierce than mine: but I
hold her excused; for, after a rigorous treatment, and imprisoning the
king her father, which I was in some measure the cause of, how could she
use me more civilly? But, it may be, the king of Samarcand may have
changed his resolution; and his daughter, the princess, may consent to
love me, when she sees her father has agreed to it.
Son, replied queen Gulnare, if only the princess Giahaure can make you
happy in this world, I shall not make it my business to oppose you. The
king your uncle need only have the king of Samarcand brought, and we
shall see whether he be still of the same untractable temper.
How strictly soever the king of Samarcand had been kept during his
captivity, by king Saleh’s orders, yet he always had great respect shown
him, and was become very familiar with the officers that guarded him. In
order to bring him, king Saleh caused a chafing dish of coals to be
brought, into which he threw a certain composition, uttering at the same
time some mysterious words. As soon as the smoke began to arise, the
palace shook, and immediately the king of Samarcand, with king Saleh’s
officers, appeared. The king of Persia cast himself at the king of
Samarcand’s feet; and then, rising upon one knee, he said, It is no
longer king Saleh that demands of your majesty the honour of your
alliance for the king of Persia: it is the king of Persia himself that
humbly begs that boon; and I persuade myself your majesty will never
persist in being the cause of the death of a king, who can no longer live
than he is in the possession of the adorable princess Giahaure.
The king of Samarcand did not long suffer the king of Persia to remain on
his knee; he took him up, and embracing him, said, I should be very sorry
to have contributed in the least towards the death of a monarch who is so
worthy to live. If it be true that so precious a life cannot be
preserved, without being in possession of my daughter, live, sir, and
live happy; she is yours. She has always hitherto been obedient to my
will, and I cannot think she will now oppose it. Speaking these words, he
ordered one of the officers that king Saleh had assigned him, to go and
look for the princess Giahaure, and bring her to him immediately.
The princess continued all this while where the king of Persia had left
her. The officer brought her with her women to attend her. The king of
Samarcand embraced her, and said, Daughter, I have provided a husband for
you: it is the king of Persia you see there, the most accomplished
monarch at this juncture in the universe. The preference he has given you
to all other princesses obliges us both to make him suitable
acknowledgments.
Sir, replied the princess Giahaure, your majesty well knows I have never
presumed to disobey your will in any thing: I shall be always ready to
obey you; and I hope the king of Persia will please to forget the ill
treatment I gave him, and consider it was duty, not inclination, that
forced me to it.
The nuptials were celebrated in the palace of the city of enchantments,
with so much the greater solemnity, as all the lovers of the magic queen,
who resumed their pristine forms as soon as ever that queen ceased to
live, assisted at them, and came to pay their acknowledgments to the king
of Persia, queen Gulnare, and king Saleh. They were all either sons of
kings, or princes of extraordinary merit.
King Saleh at length conducted the king of Samarcand to his dominions,
and put him once again in possession of them. The king of Persia, having
what he most desired, returned to his capital with queen Giahaure, queen
Gulnare, queen Farasche, and the princesses; and queen Farasche and the
princesses continued there, till such time as king Saleh came to
re-conduct them to his kingdom under the waves of the sea.
THE STORY OF
GANEM, SON TO ABOU AYOUB, AND KNOWN BY THE SURNAME OF LOVE’S SLAVE.
There was formerly a merchant at Damascus, who had, by care and industry,
acquired great wealth, on which he lived in a very honourable manner. His
name was Abou Ayoub, and he had one son and a daughter. The son was at
first called Ganem, but afterwards had the surname of Love’s Slave. He
was graceful as to his person, and the excellent natural qualities of his
mind had been improved by able masters his father had taken care to
provide him. The daughter’s name was Alcolomb, signifying ravisher of
hearts, because her beauty was so accomplished, that whosoever saw her
could not but love her.
Abou Ayoub died, and left immense riches: an hundred loads of brocades,
and other silks that lay in his warehouse, were the least part of it. The
loads were ready made up, and on every bale was written, in large
characters, “For Bagdad.”
Mohammed, the son of Soliman, surnamed Zinebi, reigned at that time in
Damascus, the capital of Syria. His kinsman Haroun Alraschid, whose
residence was at Bagdad, had bestowed this kingdom on him as tributary to
him.
Soon after the death of Abou Ayoub, Ganem, discoursing with his mother
about their private affairs, among the rest, concerning the bales of
merchandise that lay in the warehouse, asked her the meaning of what was
written upon each bale. My son, answered his mother, your father used to
travel sometimes into one province and sometimes into another, and it was
customary with him, before he set out, to write the name of the city he
designed to repair to on every bale. He had provided all things to take a
journey to Bagdad, and was upon the point of setting forwards, when
death——She had not the power to proceed any farther; the lively
remembrance of the loss of her husband would not permit her to say any
more, and drew from her a shower of tears.
Ganem could not see his mother so sensibly affected without relenting.
Thus they continued some time in silence; but at length he recovered
himself; and, as soon as he found his mother calm enough to listen to
him, he directed his discourse to her, and said: Since my father designed
these goods for Bagdad, and is no longer in being to put his design in
execution, I will prepare myself to perform that journey; and I am of
opinion, it will be proper for me to expedite my departure, for fear
those commodities should perish, or, at least, that we lose the
opportunity of selling them to the best advantage.
Abou Ayoub’s widow, who tenderly loved her son, was much surprised at
this resolution; and replied, My dear child, I cannot but commend you for
designing to follow your father’s example; but consider that you are too
young, inexperienced, and altogether a stranger to the toils of
travelling. Besides, can you think of leaving me, and by that means add
to that sorrow with which I am already oppressed? Is it not better to
sell those goods to the merchants of Damascus, and to take up with a
moderate profit, than to expose yourself to the danger of perishing?
It was in vain for her to oppose Ganem’s resolution by the strongest
arguments, for they had no weight with him. An inclination to travel, and
to accomplish himself by a thorough knowledge of the affairs of the
world, urged him on to set out, and prevailed above all his mother’s
remonstrances, her entreaties, and even her tears. He went away to the
market where the slaves are sold, and bought such as were able of body,
hired one hundred camels, and, having furnished all other necessaries, he
entered upon his journey, with five or six merchants of Damascus, who
were going to trade at Bagdad.
Those merchants, attended by all their slaves, and accompanied by several
other travellers, made up such a considerable caravan, that they had no
occasion to fear the Bedouins, that is, the Arabs who make it their only
profession to range the country, and to attack and plunder the caravans
which are not strong enough to repulse them. Thus they had no other
difficulty to encounter than the usual fatigues of a long journey, which
were easily forgot when they saw the city of Bagdad, where they arrived
in safety.
They went to alight at the most magnificent and most resorted khan in the
city; but Ganem, who had a mind to be lodged conveniently, and by
himself, took no apartment there. He only left his goods in a warehouse
for their greater security, and hired a very fine house in the
neighbourhood, richly furnished; having a garden, which was very
delightful, on account of the many water-works and shady groves that were
in it.
Some days after this young merchant had been settled in his house, and
perfectly recovered of the fatigue of his journey, he dressed himself
genteelly, and repaired to the public place where the merchants meet to
buy and sell their commodities, with a slave following him, carrying a
parcel of fine stuffs and silks.
The merchants received Ganem very courteously, and their syndic, or
chief, to whom he first made application, bought all his parcel at the
price set down in the ticket annexed to every piece of stuff. Ganem
continued his trade so successfully, that he daily sold all the goods he
exposed.
He had no more left than one bale, which he had caused to be carried from
the warehouse to his own house, and then went to the public rendezvous,
where he found all the shops shut. This seemed somewhat extraordinary to
him; and, having asked the cause of it, was told, that one of the prime
merchants, whom he knew, was dead, and that all his brother traders were
gone to his funeral.
Ganem inquired after the mosque where the ceremony was to be performed,
and whence the body was to be conducted to the grave; and having been
told it, sent back his slaves with the goods, and walked towards the
mosque. He got thither before the prayers were ended, which were said in
a hall hung with black satin. The corpse was taken up and followed by the
kindred, the merchants, and Ganem, to the place of burial, which was at a
great distance without the city. It was a stone structure, like a dome,
purposely built to receive the bodies of all the family of the deceased,
and, being very small, they had pitched tents all about it, that all the
company might be sheltered during the ceremony. The monument was opened,
and the corpse laid into it, after which it was shut up again. Then the
iman, and other ministers of the mosque, sat down in a ring on carpets,
in the largest tent, and said the rest of the prayers. They also read the
chapters of the Alcoran appointed for the burial of the dead. The kindred
and merchants sat round in the same manner behind the ministers.
It was near night before the whole was ended. Ganem, who had not expected
such a long ceremony, began to be uneasy; and was the more so, when he
saw meat served up in memory of the deceased, according to the custom of
Bagdad. He was also told that the tents had been set up, not only against
the heat of the sun, but also against the evening dew, because they
should not return to the city before the next morning. These words
perplexed Ganem: I am a stranger, said he to himself, and have the
reputation of being a rich merchant: thieves may take this opportunity of
my absence, and go rob my house: my very slaves may be tempted to make
their advantage of so convenient a time; they may run away with all the
gold I have received for my goods; and whither shall I look for them? His
head being full of these thoughts, he ate a few mouthfuls hastily, and
dexterously slipped away from the company.
He made all possible haste to gain time; but, as it often happens, the
more a man puts on, the less he advances: he mistook his way, and went
astray in the dark; so that it was near midnight when he came to the
city-gate; and, to add to this misfortune, that was shut. That
disappointment was a fresh affliction to him; and he was obliged to think
of finding some convenient place to pass the rest of the night in, and
wait till the gate was opened. He went into a burial-place, so very
spacious, that it reached from the city to the very place he was come
from. He advanced to a parcel of pretty high walls, which enclosed a
small field, being the peculiar burying-place of a family, and in which
there was a palm-tree. There was an infinite number of other particular
burial-places, the doors whereof they did not take much care to shut
fast. Ganem, finding that this burial-place was open, went into it, and
put to the door after him. He lay down on the grass, and did all he could
to sleep; but the uneasiness he was under, for being absent from home,
would not permit him. He got up; and, after having passed by the door
several times, as he walked forwards and backwards, he opened it, without
knowing why he did so, and immediately perceived a light at a distance,
which seemed to come towards him. He was startled at that sight, put to
the door, which had nothing to make it fast but a latch, and got up as
fast as he could to the top of the palm-tree, looking upon that as the
safest retreat under his present apprehensions. No sooner was he got up,
than, by the help of the light which had frightened him, he plainly
perceived three men, whom, by their habit, he knew to be slaves, come
into the burial-place. One of them went foremost with a lantern, and the
two others followed him, being loaded with a chest, between five and six
feet long, which they carried on their shoulders. They laid it down, and
then one of the three slaves said to his comrades, Brothers, if you will
be advised by me, we will leave the chest here, and return to the city.
No, no, replied another, that is not the way of doing what we were
ordered by our mistress; we may have cause to repent our not doing as we
were commanded: let us bury the chest, since we are so enjoined to do.
The two other slaves complied with him; so they began to break ground
with the tools they had brought for that purpose. When they had made a
deep trench, they put the chest into it, and covered it with the earth
they had taken out; then departed, and returned home.
Ganem, who, from the top of the palm-tree, had heard every word the
slaves had spoken, could not tell what to think of that adventure. He
concluded that chest must needs contain something of value, and that the
person to whom it belonged had some particular reasons for causing it to
be buried in that church-yard. He resolved immediately to satisfy his
curiosity, came down from the palm-tree, his fear being gone with the
slaves, and fell to work upon the pit, plying his hands and feet so well,
that in a short time he discovered the chest, but found it secured with a
great padlock. This new obstacle to the satisfying of his curiosity was
no small mortification to him: yet he would not be discouraged; but the
day beginning then to appear, he saw several great pebbles about the
burial-place: he picked out one, with which he easily knocked off the
padlock, and then, with much impatience, opened the chest. Ganem was
strangely surprised, when, instead of finding money in it, he discovered
a young lady of incomparable beauty. Her fresh and rosy complexion, and
her gentle regular breathing, satisfied him that she was alive; but he
could not conceive, why, if she were only asleep, she had not awaked at
the noise he made in forcing off the padlock. Her habit was so costly,
with bracelets and pendants of diamonds, and a necklace of true pearl,
and so large, that he made not the least doubt of her being one of the
prime ladies about the court. At the sight of so beautiful an object, not
only natural inclination to relieve persons in danger, but also something
more powerful, which Ganem could not then give an account of, prevailed
on him to afford that young beauty all the assistance he was able.
[Illustration p170: Drawn by R. Westall R.A. Engraved by Chas. Heath.]
He first shut the gate of the burial-place, which the slaves had left
open, then returning, took the lady in his arms out of the chest, and
laid her on the soft earth he had thrown off the chest. As soon as the
lady was laid down, and had the benefit of the open air, she sneezed; and
having made a motion in turning her head there came from her mouth a
liquor, which seemed to have been offensive to her stomach; then opening
and rubbing her eyes, she, with such a voice as charmed Ganem, whom she
did not see, cried out, Zohorob Bostan, Schragrom Matglon, Cassabos
Soucear, Nouron Nihar, Nagmatos Sobi, Nour Hatos Zoman, why do you not
answer? where are you? Those were the names of six female slaves that
used to wait on her, and signified, Flower of the Garden, Branch of
Coral, Sugar Cane, Light of the Day, Morning Star, and Delight of the
Season. She called them, and wondered that nobody answered; but at length
looking about, and perceiving she was in a burial-place, she was in a
mighty fright. How now, cried she, much louder than before, is this the
resurrection of the dead? Is the day of judgment come? What a wonderful
change is this from night to morning!
Ganem did not think fit to leave the lady any longer in that confusion,
but immediately appeared before her with all possible respect; and, in
the most courteous manner, said, Madam, I am scarce able to express my
joy, for having happened to be here to do you the service I have done,
and for being present to offer you all the assistance you shall stand in
need of, under your present circumstances.
In order to persuade the lady to repose all her confidence in him, he, in
the first place, told her who he was, and what accident it was that had
brought him into that place. Next, he acquainted her with the coming of
the three slaves, and how they had buried the chest. The lady, who had
covered her face with her veil as soon as Ganem appeared, was
extraordinarily sensible of the obligations she owed him. I return thanks
to God, said she, for having sent so worthy a person as you are to
deliver me from death; but, since you have begun so charitable a work, I
conjure you not to leave it imperfect. Let me beg of you to go into the
city, and provide a muleteer to come with his mule, and carry me to your
house in the chest; for, should I go in with you on foot, my dress being
different from that of the city-ladies, some one might happen to take
notice of it, and follow me, which it highly concerns me to prevent. When
I shall be in your house, I will give you an account of myself; and, in
the mean time, be assured that you have not obliged an ungrateful person.
Before the young merchant left the lady, he drew the chest out of the
pit, which he filled up with the earth, laid her again in the chest, and
shut it in such a manner, that it did not look as if the padlock had been
forced off; but, for fear of stifling her, he put it not quite close,
leaving room for the air to get in. Going out of the burial-place, he
drew the door after him; and the city-gate being then open, soon found
what he sought for. He returned with speed to the burial-place, and
helped the muleteer to lay the chest across his mule; telling him, to
remove all causes of suspicion, that he came to that place the night
before, with another muleteer, who, being in haste to return home, had
laid down the chest in the burial-place.
Ganem, who had minded nothing but his business since his arrival at
Bagdad, was still unacquainted with the power of love, and now felt the
first sallies of it. It had not been in his power to look upon the young
lady without being disturbed; and the uneasiness he felt, following the
muleteer at a distance, and the fear lest any accident might happen by
the way that should deprive him of his conquest, taught him to unravel
his intricate thoughts. It was an extraordinary satisfaction to him,
when, being arrived safe at home, he saw the chest unloaded. He dismissed
the muleteer; and having caused a slave to shut the doors of his house,
he opened the chest, helped the lady out, gave her his hand, and
conducted her to his apartment, lamenting how much she must have endured
in that close confinement. If I have suffered, said she, I have
satisfaction enough in what you have done me, and in the pleasure of
seeing myself out of danger.
Though Ganem’s apartment was very richly furnished, the lady did not so
much regard that, as she did the handsome presence and engaging mien of
her deliverer, whose politeness and obliging behaviour highly heightened
her gratitude. She sat down on a sofa; and, to begin to give the merchant
to understand how sensible she was of the service done her, she took off
her veil. Ganem, on his part, was sensible of the favour so lovely a lady
did in uncovering herself, or rather felt he had already a most violent
passion for her. Whatsoever obligations she owed him, he thought himself
more than requited by so singular a favour.
The lady dived into Ganem’s thoughts, yet was not at all surprised,
because he appeared very full of respect. He, judging she might have
occasion to eat, and not willing to trust any but himself with the care
of entertaining so charming a guest, went out with a slave to an
eating-house to give directions for a treat. From thence he went to a
fruit-seller, where he chose the finest and most excellent fruit; buying
also the choicest wine, and some of the same bread that was eaten at the
caliph’s table.