Abrizah said, "I desire at once to leave this place secretly, so that
none shall know of me but thou; and return to my father and my mother,
for when flesh stinketh, there is naught for it but its own folk and
Allah shall do with me e'en as He will." "O Princess," Marjanah replied,
"what thou wouldest do is well." Then she made matters ready and kept
her secret and waited for some days till the King went out to chase and
hunt, and his son Sharrkan betook himself to certain of the fortresses
to sojourn there awhile. Then said she to Marjanah, "I wish to set out
this night, but how shall I do against my destiny? For already I feel
the pangs of labour and child-birth, and if I abide other four or five
days, I shall be brought to bed here, and I shall be unable to travel to
my country. But this is what was written on my forehead." Then she
considered awhile, and said to Marjanah, "Look us out a man who will go
with us and serve us by the way, for I have no strength to bear arms."
"By Allah, O my lady," replied Marjanah, "I know none but a black slave
called Al-Ghazban,[222] who is one of the slaves of King Omar bin
al-Nu'uman; he is a valiant wight, and he keepeth guard at our palace
gate. The King appointed him to attend us, and indeed we have
overwhelmed him with our favours; so, look ye, I will go out and speak
with him of this matter, and promise him some monies and tell him that,
if he have a mind to tarry with us, I will marry him to whom he will. He
told me before to-day that he had been a highwayman; so if he consent to
us we shall win our wish and reach to our own land." She rejoined, "Call
him, that I may talk with him;" whereupon Marjanah fared forth and said
to the slave, "O Ghazban, Allah prosper thee, so thou fall in with what
my lady saith to thee!" Then she took him by the hand and brought him to
the Princess, whose hands he kissed, but as she beheld him, her heart
took fright at him. "However," she said to herself, "of a truth, Need
giveth the law;" and she approached to speak with him, yet her heart
started away from him. Presently she said, "O Ghazban, say me, wilt thou
help me against the perfidies of Fortune and conceal my secret if I
discover it to thee?" When the slave saw her, his heart was taken by
storm and he fell in love with her forthright and could not but reply,
"O my mistress, whatsoever thou biddest me do, I will not depart
therefrom." Quoth she, "I would have thee take me at this hour and take
this my handmaid and saddle us two camels and two of the King's horses
and set on each horse a saddle-bag of goods and somewhat of provaunt,
and go with us to our own country; where, if thou desire to abide with
us, I will marry thee to her thou shalt choose of my handmaidens; or, if
thou prefer return to thine own land, we will marry thee and give thee
whatso thou desirest after thou hast taken of money what shall satisfy
thee." When Al-Ghazban heard this, he rejoiced with great joy and
replied, "O my lady, I will serve both of you with mine eyes and will go
at once and saddle the horses." Then he went away gladsome and saying to
himself, "I shall get my will of them; and if they will not yield to me,
I will kill them both and take their riches." But he kept this his
intent to himself, and presently returned with two camels and three head
of horses, one of which he rode, and Princess Abrizah made Marjanah
mount the second, she mounting the third, albeit she was in labour-pains
and possessed not her soul for anguish. And the slave ceased not
travelling with them night and day through the passes of the mountains,
till there remained but a single march between them and their own
country; when the travail pangs came upon Abrizah and she could no
longer resist; so she said to Al-Ghazban, "Set me down, for the pains of
labour are upon me;" and cried to Marjanah, "Do thou alight and sit by
me and deliver me" Then Marjanah dismounted from her horse, and
Al-Ghazban did in like sort, and they made fast the bridles and helped
the Princess to dismount, for she was aswoon from excess of anguish.
When Al-Ghazban saw her on the ground, Satan entered into him and he
drew his falchion and brandishing it in her face, said, "O my lady,
vouchsafe me thy favours." Hearing these words she turned to him and
said, "It remaineth for me only that I yield me to negro slaves, after
having refused Kings and Braves!"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Fifty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Princess Abrizah
said to the black slave Al-Ghazban, "It remaineth for me only that I
yield me to negro slaves, after having refused Kings and Braves!" And
she was wroth with him and cried, "Woe to thee! what words are these
thou sayest? Out on thee, and talk not thus in my presence and know that
I will never consent to what thou sayest, though I drink the cup of
death. Wait till I have cast my burden and am delivered of the
after-birth, and then, if thou be able thereto, do with me as thou wilt;
but, an thou leave not lewd talk at this time, assuredly I will slay
myself with my own hand and quit the world and be at peace from all
this." And she began reciting extempore[223]:—
O spare me, thou Ghazban, indeed enow for me ✿ Are heavy strokes
of time, mischance and misery!
Whoredom my Lord forfends to all humanity; ✿ Quoth He, "Who breaks
my bidding Hell for home shall see!"
And if thou leave not suing me to whoredom's way ✿ Against
th' Almighty's choicest gift, my chastity,
Upon my tribesmen I with might and main will call ✿ And gather
all, however far or near they be;
And with Yamáni blade were I in pieces hewn, ✿ Ne'er shall he sight
my face who makes for villeiny,
The face of free-born come of noble folk and brave; ✿ What then can
be to me the seed of whoreson slave?
[Illustration]
When Ghazban heard these lines he was wroth exceedingly; his eyes
reddened with blood and his face became a dusty-grey[224]; his nostrils
swelled, his lips protruded and the repulsiveness of his aspect
redoubled. And he repeated these couplets:—
Ho thou, Abrizah, mercy! leave me not for I ✿ Of thy love
and Yamáni[225] glance the victim lie
My heart is cut to pieces by thy cruelty, ✿ My body wasted and
my patience done to die:
From glances ravishing all hearts with witchery ✿ Reason far flies,
the while desire to thee draws nigh;
Though at thy call should armies fill the face of earth ✿ E'en now
I'd win my wish and worlds in arms defy!
When Abrizah heard these words, she wept with sore weeping and said to
him, "Woe to thee, O Ghazban! How dareth the like of thee to address me
such demand, O base-born and obscene-bred? Dost thou deem all folk are
alike?" When the vile slave heard this from her, he waxt more enraged
and his eyes grew redder: and he came up to her and smiting her with the
sword on her neck wounded her to the death. Then he drove her horse
before him with the treasure and made off with himself to the mountains.
Such was the case with Al-Ghazban; but as regards Abrizah, she gave
birth to a son, like the moon, and Marjanah took the babe and did him
the necessary offices and laid him by his mother's side; and lo and
behold! the child fastened to its mother's breast and she dying.[226]
When Marjanah saw this, she cried out with a grievous cry and rent her
raiment and cast dust on her head and buffeted her cheeks till blood
flowed, saying, "Alas, my mistress! Alas, the pity of it! Thou art dead
by the hand of a worthless black slave, after all thy knightly prowess!"
And she ceased not weeping when suddenly a great cloud of dust arose and
walled the horizon[227]; but, after awhile, it lifted and discovered a
numerous conquering host. Now this was the army of King Hardub, Princess
Abrizah's father, and the cause of his coming was that when he heard of
his daughter and her handmaids having fled to Baghdad, and that they
were with King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, he had come forth, leading those
with him, to seek tidings of her from travellers who might have seen her
with the King. When he had gone a single day's march from his capital,
he espied three horsemen afar off and made towards them, intending to
ask whence they came and seek news of his daughter. Now these three whom
he saw at a distance were his daughter and Marjanah and the slave
Al-Ghazban; and he made for them to push enquiry. Seeing this the
villain blackamoor feared for himself; so he killed Abrizah and fled for
his life. When they came up, King Hardub saw his daughter lying dead and
Marjanah weeping over her, and he threw himself from his steed and fell
fainting to the ground. All the riders of his company, the Emirs and
Wazirs, took foot and forthright pitched their tents on the mountain and
set up for the King a great pavilion, domed and circular, without which
stood the grandees of the realm. When Marjanah saw her master, she at
once recognized him and her tears redoubled; and, when he came to
himself, he questioned her and she told him all that had passed and
said, "Of a truth he that hath slain thy daughter is a black slave
belonging to King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, and she informed him how
Sharrkan's father had dealt with the Princess." When King Hardub heard
this, the world grew black in his sight and he wept with sore weeping.
Then he called for a litter and, therein laying his dead daughter,
returned to Cæsarea and carried her into the palace, where he went in to
his mother, Zat al-Dawahi, and said to that Lady of Calamities, "Shall
the Moslems deal thus with my girl? Verily King Omar bin al-Nu'uman
despoiled her of her honour by force, and after this, one of his black
slaves slew her. By the truth of the Messiah, I will assuredly take
blood-revenge for my daughter and clear away from mine honour the stain
of shame; else will I kill myself with mine own hand!" And he wept
passing sore. Quoth his mother, "None other than Marjanah killed thy
daughter, for she hated her in secret;" and she continued to her son,
"Fret not for taking the blood-wit of thy daughter, for, by the truth of
the Messiah, I will not turn back from King Omar bin al-Nu'uman till I
have slain him and his sons; and of a very truth I will do with him a
deed, passing the power of Sage and Knight, whereof the chroniclers
shall tell chronicles in all countries and in every place: but needs
must thou do my bidding in all I shall direct, for whoso be firmly set
on the object of his desire shall surely compass his desire." "By the
virtue of the Messiah," replied he, "I will not cross thee in aught thou
shalt say." Then quoth she, "Bring me a number of handmaids,
high-bosomed virgins, and summon the wise men of the age and let them
teach them philosophy and the rules of behaviour before Kings, and the
art of conversation and making verses; and let them talk with them of
all manner science and edifying knowledge. And the sages must be
Moslems, that they may teach them the language and traditions of the
Arabs, together with the history of the Caliphs and the ancient annals
of the Kings of Al-Islam; and if we persevere in this for four years'
space, we shall gain our case. So possess thy soul in patience and wait;
for one of the Arabs saith:—If we take man-bote after years forty the
time were short to ye. When we have taught the girls these things, we
shall be able to work our will with our foe, for he doteth on women and
he hath three hundred and sixty concubines, whereto are now added an
hundred of the flowers of thy handmaidens who were with thy daughter,
she that hath found mercy.[228] As soon as I have made an end of their
education, as described to thee, I will take them and set out with them
in person." When King Hardub heard his mother's words, he rejoiced and
arose and kissed her head; and at once despatched messengers and
couriers to lands sundry and manifold to fetch him Moslem sages. They
obeyed his commands and fared to far countries and thence brought him
the sages and the doctors he sought. When these came into presence, he
honoured them with notable honours and bestowed dresses on them and
appointed to them stipends and allowances and promised them much money
whenas they should have taught the damsels. Then he committed the
handmaidens to their hands——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Fifty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sages and
the doctors stood in presence of King Hardub, he honoured them with
notable honours and committed the handmaidens to their hands, enjoining
that these be instructed in all manner of knowledge, philosophy and
polite accomplishments; and they set themselves to do his bidding. Such
was the case with King Hardub; but as for King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, when
he returned from coursing and hunting and entered his palace, he sought
Princess Abrizah but found her not, nor any one knew of her nor could
any give him news of her. This was grievous to him and he said, "How
could the lady leave the palace unknown of any? Had my kingdom been at
stake in this case, it were in perilous condition there being none to
govern it! I will never again go to sport and hunt till I have stationed
at the gates those who shall keep good guard over them!" And he was sore
vexed and his breast was straitened for the loss of Princess Abrizah.
Hereupon behold, his son Sharrkan returned from his journey; and the
father told him what had happened, and informed him how the lady had
fled, whilst he was chasing and hunting, whereat he grieved with
exceeding grief. Then King Omar took to visiting his children every day
and making much of them and brought them learned men and doctors to
teach them, appointing for them stipends. When Sharrkan saw this, he
raged with exceeding rage and envied thereupon his brother and sister
till the signs of chagrin appeared in his face and he ceased not to
languish by reason of this matter: so one day his father said to him,
"Why do I see thee grown weak in body and yellow of face?" "O my
father," replied Sharrkan, "every time I see thee fondle my brother and
sister and make much of them, jealousy seizeth on me, and I fear lest it
grow on me till I slay them and thou slay me in return. And this is the
reason of my weakness of body and change of complexion. But now I crave
of thy favour that thou give me one of thy castles outlying the rest,
that I may abide there the remnant of my life, for as the sayer of
bywords saith:—Absence from my friend is better and fitter for me; and,
Whatso eye doth not perceive, that garreth not heart to grieve." And he
bowed his head towards the ground. When King Omar bin al-Nu'uman heard
his words and knew the cause of his ailment and of his being broken
down, he soothed his heart and said to him, "O my son, I grant thee this
and I have not in my reign a greater than the Castle of Damascus, and
the government of it is thine from this time." Thereupon he forthright
summoned his secretaries of state and bade them write Sharrkan's patent
of investiture to the viceroyalty of Damascus of Syria. And when they
had written it, he equipped him and sent with him the Wazir Dandan, and
invested him with the rule and government and gave him instructions as
to policy and regulations; and took leave of him, and the grandees and
officers of state did likewise, and he set out with his host. When he
arrived at Damascus, the townspeople beat the drums and blew the
trumpets and decorated the city and came out to meet him in great state;
whilst all the notables and grandees paced in procession, and those who
stood to the right of the throne walked on his right flank, and the
others to the left. Thus far concerning Sharrkan; but as regards his
father, Omar bin al-Nu'uman, soon after the departure of his son, the
children's tutors and governors presented themselves before him and said
to him, "O our lord, thy children have now learnt knowledge and they are
completely versed in the rules of manners and the etiquette of
ceremony." The King rejoiced thereat with exceeding joy and conferred
bountiful largesse upon the learned men, seeing Zau al-Makan grown up
and flourishing and skilled in horsemanship. This Prince had reached the
age of fourteen and he occupied himself with piety and prayers, loving
the poor, the Olema and the Koran-students, so that all the people of
Baghdad loved him, men and women. One day, the procession of the
Mahmil[229] of Irák passed round Baghdad before its departure for the
pilgrimage to Meccah and visitation of the tomb of the Prophet (whom
Allah bless and preserve!). When Zau al-Makan saw the Mahmil procession
he was seized with longing desire to become a pilgrim,[230] so he went
in to his sire and said, "I come to ask thy leave to make the
pilgrimage." But his father forbade him saying, "Wait till next year and
I will go and thou too." When the Prince saw that the matter was
postponed, he betook himself to his sister Nuzhat al-Zaman, whom he
found standing at prayer. As soon as she had ended her devotions he said
to her, "I am dying with desire of pilgrimage to the Holy House of Allah
at Meccah and to visit the tomb of the Prophet, upon whom be peace! I
asked my father's leave, but he forbade me that, so I mean to take
privily somewhat of money and set out on the pilgrimage without his
knowledge." "Allah upon thee," exclaimed she, "take me with thee and
deprive me not of visitation to the tomb of the Prophet, whom Allah
bless and keep!" And he answered, "As soon as it is dark night, do thou
come forth from this place, without telling any." Accordingly, when it
was the middle of the night she arose and took somewhat of money and
donned a man's habit; and she ceased not walking to the palace-gate,
where she found Zau al-Makan with camels ready for marching. So he
mounted and mounted her; and the two fared on till they were in the
midst of the Iraki[231] pilgrim-party, and they ceased not marching and
Allah wrote safety for them, till they entered Meccah the Holy and stood
upon Arafat and performed the pilgrimage-rites. Then they made a
visitation to the tomb of the Prophet (whom Allah bless and assain!) and
thought to return with the pilgrims to their native land. But Zau
al-Makan said to his sister, "O my sister, it is in my mind to visit the
Holy House,[232] Jerusalem, and Abraham the Friend of Allah[233] (on
whom be peace!)." "I also desire so to do," replied she. So they agreed
upon this and he fared forth and took passage for himself and her and
they made ready and set out in the ship with a company of Jerusalem
palmers. That very night the sister fell sick of an aguish chill, and
was grievously ill, but presently recovered, after which the brother
also sickened. She tended him during his malady and they ceased not
wayfaring till they arrived at Jerusalem, but the fever increased on him
and he grew weaker and weaker. They alighted at a Khan and there hired a
lodging; but Zau al-Makan's sickness ceased not to increase on him, till
he was wasted with leanness and became delirious. At this, his sister
was greatly afflicted and exclaimed, "There is no Majesty and there is
no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This is the decree of
Allah!" They sojourned in that place awhile, his weakness ever
increasing and she attending him and buying necessaries for him and for
herself, till all the money she had was expended and she became so poor
that she had not so much as a dirham left. Then she sent a servant of
the Khan to the bazar with some of her clothes, and he sold them and she
spent the price upon her brother; then sold she something more and she
ceased not selling all she had, piece by piece, till nothing was left
but an old rug. Whereupon she wept and exclaimed, "Verily is Allah the
Orderer of the past and the future!" Presently her brother said to her,
"O my sister, I feel recovery drawing near and my heart longeth for a
little roast meat." "By Allah! O my brother," replied she, "I have no
face to beg; but to-morrow I will enter some rich man's house and serve
him and earn somewhat for our living." Then she bethought herself awhile
and said, "Of a truth 'tis hard for me to leave thee and thou in this
state, but I must despite myself!" He rejoined, "Allah forbid! Thou wilt
be put to shame; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah!" And he wept and she wept too. Then she said, "O my brother, we
are strangers who have dwelt here a full year, but none hath yet knocked
at our door. Shall we then die of hunger? I know no resource but that I
go out and do service and earn somewhat to keep us alive, till thou
recover from thy sickness, when we will travel back to our native land."
She sat weeping awhile and he wept too, propped upon his elbow. Then
Nuzhat al-Zaman arose and, veiling her head with a bit of camlet,[234]
which had been of the cameleer's clothes and which the owner had
forgotten and left with them; she kissed the head of her brother and
embraced him and went forth from him, weeping and knowing not whither
she should wend. And she stinted not going and her brother Zau al-Makan
awaiting her return till the supper-time; but she came not, and he
watched for her till the morning morrowed but still she returned not;
and this endured till two days went by. He was greatly troubled thereat
and his heart fluttered for her, and hunger was sore upon him. At last
he left the chamber and, calling the servant of the caravanserai, said,
"I wish thee to bear me to the bazar." So he carried him to the
market-street and laid him down there; and the people of Jerusalem
gathered round him and were moved to tears seeing his condition. He
signed to them begging for somewhat to eat; so they brought him some
money from certain of the merchants who were in the bazar, and bought
food and fed him therewith; after which they carried him to a shop,
where they spread him a mat of palm-leaves and set an ewer of water at
his head. When night fell, all the folk went away, sore concerned for
him and, in the middle of the night, he called to mind his sister and
his sickness redoubled on him, so that he abstained from eating and
drinking and became insensible to the world around him. Then the
bazar-people arose and took for him from the merchants thirty-seven
dirhams, and hiring a camel, said to the driver, "Carry this sick man to
Damascus and leave him in the hospital; haply he may be cured and
recover health." "On my head be it!" replied the camel-man; but he said
to himself, "How shall I take this sick man to Damascus, and he nigh
upon death?" So he carried him away to a place and hid with him till the
night, when he threw him down on the ash-heap near the fire-hole of a
Hammam and went his way. When morning dawned the Stoker[235] of the bath
came to his work and, finding Zau al-Makan cast on his back, exclaimed,
"Why did they not throw their dead body any where but here?" So saying,
he gave him a kick and he moved; whereupon quoth the Fireman, "Some one
of you who hath eaten a bit of Hashish and hath thrown himself down in
whatso place it be!" Then he looked at his face and saw his hairless
cheeks and his grace and comeliness; so he took pity on him and knew
that he was sick and a stranger in the land. And he cried, "There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! verily, I have sinned
against this youth, for indeed the Prophet (whom Allah bless and keep!)
enjoineth honour to the stranger, more especially when the stranger is
sick." Then he carried him home and went in with him to his wife and
bade her tend him. So she spread him a sleeping-rug and set a cushion
under his head, then warmed water for him and washed therewith his hands
and feet and face. Meanwhile, the Stoker went to the market and bought
some rose-water and sugar, and sprinkled Zau al-Makan's face with the
water and gave him to drink of the sherbet. Then he fetched a clean
shirt and put it on him. With this, Zau al-Makan sniffed the zephyr of
health and recovery returned to him; and he sat up and leant against the
pillow. Hereat the Fireman rejoiced and exclaimed, "Praise be to Allah
for the welfare of this youth! O Allah, I beseech Thee by Thy knowledge
of hidden things, that Thou make the salvation of this youth to be at my
hands!"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Fifty-fourth Night,