beautiful Saracen lady an apartment, and caused the child to be carefully
educated. The lady was sensible of the king’s goodness to her, and
expressed as much gratitude as he could desire. She had at first appeared
very uneasy and impatient, on account that her husband did not reclaim
her; but by degrees she shook off that uneasiness: the respect my father
paid her dispelled her impatience; and I am of opinion she would at last
have blamed fortune more for restoring her to her kindred than she did
for removing her from them.
In the mean time, the lady’s son grew up; he was very handsome; and not
wanting wit, found the way to please the king my father, who had a great
kindness for him. All the courtiers perceived it, and guessed that young
man might in the end be my husband. Upon this conceit, and looking on him
already as heir to the crown, they made their court to him, and every man
endeavoured to gain his favour. He soon saw into their designs, grew
conceited of himself, and, forgetting the distance there was between our
conditions, flattered himself with the hopes that my father was fond
enough of him to prefer him before all the princes in the world. Nay, he
went farther; for the king not answering his expectation, in offering me
to him as soon as he could have wished, he had the boldness to ask me of
him. Whatsoever punishment his insolence deserved, my father was
satisfied with telling him that he had other thoughts in relation to me,
and showed him no farther dislike. The youth was incensed at this
refusal; the vain fellow resented the contempt, as if he had asked some
maid of indifferent extraction, or as if his birth had been equal to
mine. Nor was he so satisfied; but resolved to be revenged on the king;
and, with unparalleled ingratitude, conspired against him. In short, he
murdered him, and caused himself to be proclaimed king of Deryabar, by a
great number of malcontents whom he supported. The first thing he did,
after ridding himself of my father, was to come into my apartment with a
great train of the conspirators. His design was, either to take my life
or oblige me to marry him. While he was busy murdering my father, the
grand vizier, who had been always loyal to his master, came to carry me
away from the palace, and secured me in a friend’s house, till a vessel
he had provided was ready to sail. I then left the island, attended only
by a governess and that generous minister, who chose rather to follow his
master’s daughter, and to partake of her misfortunes, than to submit to a
tyrant.
The grand vizier designed to carry me to the courts of the neighbouring
kings, to implore their assistance, and excite them to revenge my
father’s death; but Heaven did not give me a blessing to that resolution
we thought so just. When we had been but a few days at sea, there arose
such a furious storm, that, in spite of all the mariners’ art, our
vessel, carried away by the violence of the winds and waves, was dashed
in pieces against a rock. I will not spend time in describing our
shipwreck. I can but faintly represent to you how my governess, the grand
vizier, and all that attended me, were swallowed up by the sea. The dread
I was seized with did not permit me to observe the horror of our
condition. In fine, I lost my senses; and whether I was thrown upon the
coast upon any part of the wreck of our ship, or whether Heaven, which
reserved me for other misfortunes, wrought a miracle in my deliverance, I
found myself on shore when my senses returned to me.
Misfortunes very often make us forget our duty: instead of returning
thanks to God for so singular a mercy shown me, I only lifted up my eyes
to heaven, to complain because I had been saved. I was so far from
bewailing the vizier and my governess, that I envied their fate; and, my
dreadful imaginations by degrees prevailing above my reason, I resolved
to cast myself into the sea. I was upon the point of doing so, when I
heard behind me a great noise of men and horses. I looked about to see
what it might be, and spied several armed horsemen, among whom was one
mounted on an Arabian horse. He had on a garment embroidered with silver,
a girdle set with precious stones, and a crown of gold on his head.
Though his habit had not convinced me that he was the chief of the
company, I should have judged it by the air of grandeur which appeared in
his person. He was a young man extraordinarily finely shaped, and
perfectly beautiful. Being surprised to see a young lady alone in that
place, he sent some of his officers to ask who I was. All my answer was
weeping. The shore being covered with the wreck of our ship, they
concluded some vessel had been cast away there, and that I was certainly
some person that had saved my life. This conjecture, and my inconsolable
condition, excited the curiosity of those officers, who began to ask me a
thousand questions, with assurances that their king was a generous
prince, and that I should receive all comfort in his court.
The king, impatient to know who I was, grew weary of expecting the return
of his officers, and drew near to me. He gazed on me very earnestly, and,
observing that I did not give over weeping and afflicting myself, without
being able to return an answer to their questions, he forbade them
troubling me any more; and, directing his discourse to me, said, Madam, I
conjure you to moderate your excessive affliction. Though Heaven in its
wrath has laid this calamity upon you, yet it does not behove you to
despair. I beseech you, show more courage: fortune, which has hitherto
persecuted you, is inconstant, and may soon change. I dare assure you,
that, if your misfortunes are capable of receiving any comfort, you shall
find it in my dominions. My palace is at your service: you shall live
with the queen my mother, who will endeavour by her kindness to ease your
affliction. I know not as yet who you are; but I find I am already
concerned for you.
I thanked the young king for his great goodness towards me, accepted of
the obliging offers he made me; and, to convince him that I was not
unworthy of him, told him my condition. I described to him the insolence
of the young Saracen, and found it needless to do any more than barely to
recount my misfortunes, to excite compassion in him, and all his officers
who heard me. When I had done speaking, the prince began again, assuring
me that he was highly concerned at my misfortune. Then he conducted me to
his palace, and presented me to the queen his mother, to whom I was
obliged again to repeat my misfortunes, and to renew my tears. The queen
seemed very sensible of my troubles, and took an extraordinary liking to
me. On the other hand the king her son fell desperately in love with me,
and soon offered me his person and his crown. I was still so entirely
taken up with the thoughts of my calamities, that the prince, though so
lovely a person, did not make so great an impression on me as he might
have done at another time. However, gratitude prevailing on me, I did not
refuse to make him happy; and our wedding was kept with all imaginable
grandeur.
At the time when all the people were taken up with the celebration of
their sovereign’s nuptials, a neighbouring prince, who was his enemy,
made a descent by night on the island with a great number of troops. That
formidable enemy was the king Zanguebar: he surprised those people, and
cut to pieces all the king my husband’s subjects. We two escaped very
narrowly, for he had already entered the palace with some of his
followers; but we found means to slip away, and got to the sea-coast,
where we entered a fishing-boat we had the good fortune to meet with. Two
days we were driven about by the winds, without knowing what would become
of us. The third day, we spied a vessel making towards us with all her
sails aboard. We rejoiced at first, believing it had been a merchant-ship
which might take us aboard; but were more astonished than I can express,
when, as it drew near, we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the
deck. Being come up to us, five or six of them leaped into our boat,
seized us, bound the prince, and conveyed us into their ship, where they
immediately took off my veil. Instead of casting lots, every one of them
claimed the preference, and me as his right. The controversy grew hot,
and they came to blows about me, and fought like so many madmen. The deck
was soon covered with dead bodies; and, in short, they were all killed
but one, who, being left sole possessor of me, said, You are mine; I will
carry you to Grand Cairo, to deliver you to a friend of mine, to whom I
have promised a beautiful slave. But who, added he, looking upon the king
my husband, is that man? What relation is he to you? Are you allied by
blood or love? Sir, answered I, he is my husband. If so, replied the
pirate, in pity I must rid myself of him; it would be too great an
affliction to him to see you in my friend’s arms. Having spoken these
words, he took up the unhappy prince, who was bound, and threw him into
the sea, notwithstanding all my endeavours to hinder him.
I shrieked in a dreadful manner at the sight of that cruel action, and
had certainly cast myself headlong into the sea, had not the pirate held
me. He plainly saw that was my design, and therefore bound me fast to the
main-mast, and then hoisting sail, made towards the land, and there got
ashore. He unbound and led me to a little town, where he bought camels,
tents, and slaves, and then set out for Grand Cairo; designing, as he
still said, to present me to his friend, according to his promise.
We had been several days upon the road, when, as we were crossing this
plain yesterday, we spied the black who inhabited this castle. At a
distance, we took him for a tower; and, when near us, could scarce
believe him to be a man. He drew his vast scimitar, and summoned the
pirate to yield himself up a prisoner, with all his slaves, and the lady
he was conducting. The pirate was daring; and, being seconded by all his
slaves, who promised to stand by him, he attacked the black. The fight
lasted a considerable time; but at length the pirate fell under the
enemy’s deadly blows, as did all his slaves, who chose rather to die than
forsake him. The black then conducted me to the castle, whither he also
brought the pirate’s body, which he did eat that night for his supper.
After that inhuman meal, perceiving that I ceased not weeping, he said to
me, Young lady, prepare to satisfy my desires, rather than continue thus
to afflict yourself. Make a virtue of necessity, and comply: I give you
till to-morrow to consider. Let me then find you comforted for all your
misfortunes, and overjoyed for having been reserved for my bed. Having
spoken these words, he conducted me to a chamber, and went to bed in his
own, after locking up all the castle-doors. He opened them this morning,
and presently locked them again, to pursue some travellers he perceived
at a distance; but it is likely they made their escape, since he was
coming alone, and without any booty, when you attacked him.
As soon as the princess had put an end to the recital of her adventures,
Codadad declared to her that he was highly concerned at her misfortunes.
But, madam, added he, it shall be your own fault if you do not live at
ease for the future: the king of Harran’s sons offer you a safe retreat
in the court of the king their father; be pleased to accept of it. You
will be there cherished by that prince, and respected by all other
persons; and, if you do not disdain the person of your deliverer, permit
me to make you a present of it, and to marry you before all these
princes: let them be witnesses to our contract. The princess consented to
it, and the marriage was concluded that very day in the castle, where
they found all sorts of provisions. The kitchens were full of flesh and
other eatables, which the black used to feed on when he was weary of
feeding on human bodies. There was also a variety of fruits, very
excellent in their kinds, and, to complete their satisfaction, abundance
of delicious wine and other liquors.
They all sat down to table; and, after having eaten and drunk
plentifully, they took along with them the rest of the provisions, and
set out for the king of Harran’s court. They travelled several days,
encamping in the pleasantest places they could find; and they were within
one day’s journey of Harran, when, having halted, and drunk all their
wine, as being under no longer concern to make it hold out, Codadad
directed his discourse to all his company thus: Princes, I have too long
concealed from you who I am. Behold your brother Codadad! I have received
my being, as well as you, of the king of Harran. The prince of Samaria
has bred me, and the princess Pirouze is my mother. Madam, added he,
applying himself to the princess of Deryabar, do you also forgive me, for
having concealed my birth from you. Perhaps, by discovering it sooner, I
might have prevented some disagreeable reflections which may have been
occasioned by a match you may have thought unequal. No, sir, answered the
princess; the opinion I at first conceived of you heightened every
moment, and you did not stand in need of the extraction you now discover,
to make me happy.
The princes congratulated Codadad on his birth, and expressed much
satisfaction at the knowledge of it: but, in reality, instead of
rejoicing, their hatred for so amiable a brother was redoubled. They met
together at night in a by-place, whilst Codadad and the princess his wife
lay fast asleep in their tent. Those ungrateful, envious brothers,
forgetting that, had it not been for the brave son of Pirouze, they must
have been devoured by the black, agreed among themselves to murder him.
We have no other course to choose, said one of those wicked brethren; for
the moment our father shall come to understand that this stranger he is
already so fond of is our brother, and that he alone has been able to
destroy a giant whom we could not all of us together conquer, he will
bestow all his favour and a thousand praises on him, and declare him his
heir, in spite of all his brothers, who will be obliged to obey and fall
down before him. Besides these, he added many other words, which made
such an impression on their jealous minds, that they immediately repaired
to Codadad, then fast asleep, stabbed him in a thousand places, and
leaving him for dead in the arms of the princess of Deryabar, proceeded
on their journey for the city of Harran, where they arrived the next day.
The king their father conceived the greater joy at their return, because
he had despaired of ever seeing them. He asked what had been the occasion
of their stay; but they took care not to acquaint him with it, making no
mention either of the black or of Codadad; and only said, that, being
curious to see the country, they had spent some time in the neighbouring
cities.
In the mean time Codadad lay in his tent, drowned in his own blood, and
little differing from a dead man, with the princess his wife, who seemed
to be in no much better condition than he. She rent the air with her
dismal shrieks, tore her hair, and, bathing her husband’s body with her
tears, Alas! Codadad, my dear Codadad, cried she, is it you whom I behold
just departing this life? What cruel hands have put you into this
condition? May I believe these are your brothers who have treated you so
unmercifully? No, they are rather devils, who have taken those shapes to
murder you. O barbarous wretches! whosoever you are, how could you make
so ungrateful a return for the service he has done you? But why should I
complain of your brothers, unfortunate Codadad! I alone am to blame for
your death. You would tack your fate upon mine; and all the ill fortune
that attends me since I left my father’s palace has fallen upon you. O
Heaven! which has condemned me to lead a wandering life and full of
calamities, if you will not permit me to have a consort, why do you
permit me to find any? Behold, you have now robbed me of two, just as I
began to be endeared to them.
By these, and other moving expressions, the unhappy princess of Deryabar
vented her sorrow, fixing her eyes on the deplorable Codadad, who could
not hear her. But Codadad was not dead; and his consort, observing that
he still breathed, ran to a large open town she spied in the plain, to
inquire for a surgeon. She was showed one, who went immediately with her:
but when they came to the tent, they could not find Codadad, which made
them conclude he had been dragged away by some wild beast to devour him.
The princess renewed her complaints and lamentations in a most dismal
manner. The surgeon took compassion; and, being unwilling to leave her in
that miserable condition, proposed to her to return to the town, offering
her his house and service.
She suffered herself to be prevailed on. The surgeon conducted her to his
house, and, without knowing as yet who she was, treated her with all
imaginable courtesy and respect. He used all his rhetoric to comfort her;
but it was in vain to think of removing her sorrow, which was rather
heightened than diminished. Madam, said he to her one day, be pleased to
recount to me your misfortunes; tell your country and your condition:
perhaps I may give you some advice, when I am acquainted with all the
circumstances of your calamity. You do nothing but afflict yourself,
without considering that remedies may be found for the most desperate
diseases.
The surgeon’s words were so efficacious, that they wrought on the
princess, who recounted to him all her adventures; and when she had done,
the surgeon directed his discourse to her, saying, Madam, since this is
the posture of affairs, give me leave to tell you, that you ought not
thus to give way to your sorrow; you ought rather to arm yourself with
resolution, and to perform what the name and the duty of a wife require
of you. You are obliged to revenge your husband: if you please I will
wait on you as your squire: let us go to the king of Harran’s court; he
is a good and just prince: you need only represent to him, in a lively
manner, how prince Codadad has been treated by his brothers: I am fully
persuaded he will do you justice. I submit to your reasons, answered the
princess: it is my duty to endeavour to revenge Codadad; and since you
are so obliging and generous as to offer to bear me company, I am ready
to set out. No sooner had she fixed this resolution, than the surgeon
ordered two camels to be made ready, on which the princess and he
mounted, and repaired to Harran.
They alighted at the first caravansary they found; and inquiring of the
host what news at court, It is, said he, in very great confusion. The
king had a son, who lived a long time with him as a stranger, and none
can tell what is become of that young prince. One of the king’s wives,
called Pirouze, is his mother; she has made all possible inquiry, but to
no purpose. All men are concerned at the loss of that prince, because he
was very deserving. The king has forty-nine other sons, all of them born
of several mothers; but not one of them has worth enough to comfort the
king for the death of Codadad: I say his death, because it is impossible
he should be alive, since no news have been heard of him, notwithstanding
so much search has been made after him.
The surgeon, having heard this account from the host, concluded that the
best course the princess of Deryabar could take, was to wait upon
Pirouze: but that method was not without some danger, and required much
precaution; for it was to be feared, that if the king of Harran’s sons
should happen to hear of the arrival of their sister-in-law, and her
design, they might cause her to be conveyed away before she could speak
to Codadad’s mother. The surgeon weighed all these particulars, and
considered what risk he might run himself; and therefore, that he might
manage the affair with discretion, he desired the princess to stay in the
caravansary, whilst he went to the palace to observe which might be the
safest way to conduct her to Pirouze.
He went accordingly into the city, and was walking towards the palace,
like one led only by curiosity to see the court, when he spied a lady
mounted on a mule richly accoutred. She was followed by several ladies
mounted on mules, with a great number of guards and black slaves. All the
people made a lane to see her pass along, and saluted her, prostrating
themselves on the ground. The surgeon paid her the same respect, and then
asked a calendar, who happened to stand by him, whether that lady was one
of the king’s wives. Yes, brother, answered the calendar, she is one of
the king’s wives, and the most honoured and beloved by the people,
because she is mother to prince Codadad, of whom I suppose you have
heard.
The surgeon asked no more questions, but followed Pirouze to a mosque,
into which she went to distribute alms, and assist at the public prayers
the king had ordered to be made for the safe return of Codadad. The
people, who were highly concerned for that young prince, ran in crowds to
join their vows to the prayers of the priests, so that the mosque was
quite full. The surgeon broke through the throng, and advanced as far as
Pirouze’s guards. He staid out the prayers; and when that princess went
out, he stepped up to one of her slaves, and whispered him in his ear,
saying, Brother, I have a secret of moment to impart to the princess
Pirouze; may not I, by your means, be brought into her apartment? If that
secret, answered the slave, be relating to prince Codadad, I dare promise
you shall have audience of her this very day; but if it concerns not him,
it is needless for you to endeavour to be introduced to her; for her
thoughts are all upon her son, and she will not hear talk of any other
subject. It is only about that dear son, replied the surgeon, that I
would discourse to her. If so, said the slave, you need only follow us to
the palace, and you shall soon speak to her.
Accordingly, as soon as Pirouze was returned to her apartment, that slave
acquainted her that a person unknown had some important affair to
communicate to her, and that it related to prince Codadad. No sooner had
he uttered these words, than Pirouze expressed her impatience to see that
stranger. The slave immediately conducted him into the princess’s closet,
who ordered all her women to withdraw, except two, from whom she
concealed nothing. As soon as she saw the surgeon, she asked him abruptly
what news he had to tell her of Codadad. Madam, answered the surgeon,
after having prostrated himself on the ground, I have a long account to
give you, and such as will be very surprising. Then he told her all the
particulars of what had passed between Codadad and his brothers, which
she listened to with an eager attention; but when he came to speak of the
murder, that tender mother swooned away on her sofa, as if she had been
herself stabbed like her son. Her two women used proper means, and soon
brought her to herself. The surgeon continued his relation; and when he
had ended it, Pirouze said to him, Go back to the princess of Deryabar,
and assure her from me that the king shall soon own her for his
daughter-in-law; and as for yourself, be assured that your service shall
be well rewarded.
When the surgeon was gone, Pirouze remained on the sofa in such a state
of affliction as is not easy to imagine; and, relenting at the thoughts
of Codadad, O! my son, said she, I must never then expect to see you
more! Alas! when I gave you leave to depart from Samaria, and you took
leave of me, I did not imagine that so unfortunate a death had awaited
you at such a distance from me. Unfortunate Codadad! why did you leave
me? It is true, you would not have acquired so much renown; but you had
been still alive, and had not cost your mother so many tears. Whilst she
uttered these words, she wept bitterly, and her two confidants, moved by
her sorrow, mixed their tears with hers.
Whilst they were all three in that affliction, the king came into the
closet, and seeing them in that condition, asked Pirouze whether she had
received any bad news concerning Codadad. Alas! sir, said she, all is
over; my son has lost his life; and, to add to my sorrow, I cannot pay
him the funeral rites; for, in all appearance, the wild beasts have
devoured him. Then she told him all that she had heard from the surgeon,
and did not fail to express herself fully at the inhuman manner in which
Codadad had been murdered by his brothers.