fisherman, and said to him, "Friend, cannot you bring me four
more such fish?" The fisherman replied, "If your majesty will be
pleased to allow me three days, I will do it." Having obtained
his time, he went to the lake immediately, and at the first
throwing in of his net, he caught four fish, and brought them
directly to the sultan; who was so much the more rejoiced, as he
did not expect them so soon, and ordered him four hundred pieces
of gold. As soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to
be carried into his closet, with all that was necessary for
frying them; and having shut himself up with the vizier, the
minister gutted them, put them into the pan, and when they were
fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of
the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came out
a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with
a great green staff in his hand. He advanced towards the pan, and
touching one of the fish with his staff, said with a terrible
voice, "Fish, are you in your duty?" At these words, the fish
raised up their heads, and answered, "Yes, yes; we are: if you
reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you
fly, we overcome, and are content."
The fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw
the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced the fish to a
coal. Having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again
into the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it
did before.
"After what I have seen," said the sultan to the vizier, "it will
not be possible for me to be easy: these fish, without doubt,
signify something extraordinary." He sent for the fisherman, and
when he came, said to him, "Fisherman, the fish you have brought
us, make me very uneasy; where did you catch them?" "Sir,"
answered he, "I fished for them in a lake situated betwixt four
hills, beyond the mountain that we see from hence." "Knowst thou
not that lake?" said the sultan to the vizier. "No," replied the
vizier. "I never so much as heard of it, although I have for
sixty years hunted beyond that mountain." The sultan asked the
fisherman, how far the lake might be from the palace? The
fisherman answered, it was not above three hours journey; upon
this assurance, the sultan commanded all his court to take horse,
and the fisherman served them for a guide. They all ascended the
mountain, and at the foot of it they saw, to their great
surprise, a vast plain, that nobody had observed till then, and
at last they came to the lake, which they found to be situated
betwixt four hills as the fisherman had described. The water was
so transparent, that they observed all the fish to be like those
which the fisherman had brought to the palace.
The sultan stood upon the bank of the lake, and after beholding
the fish with admiration, demanded of his courtiers, if it were
possible they had never seen this lake, which was within so short
a distance of the town. They all answered, that they had never so
much as heard of it.
"Since you all agree that you never heard of it, and as I am no
less astonished than you are, at this novelty, I am resolved not
to return to my palace till I learn how this lake came here, and
why all the fish in it are of four colours." Having spoken thus,
he ordered his court to encamp; and immediately his pavilion and
the tents of his household were planted upon the banks of the
lake.
When night came, the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke
to the grand vizier thus: "Vizier, my mind is uneasy: this lake
transported hither; the black that appeared to us in my closet,
and the fish that we heard speak; all these things so much excite
my curiosity, that I cannot resist my impatient desire to have it
satisfied. To this end, I am resolved to withdraw alone from the
camp, and I order you to keep my absence secret: stay in my
pavilion, and to-morrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers
come to attend my levee, send them away, and tell them, that I am
somewhat indisposed, and wish to be alone; and the following days
tell them the same thing, till I return."
The grand vizier endeavoured to divert the sultan from this
design; he represented to him the danger to which he might be
exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain: but it
was to no purpose; the sultan was resolved. He put on a suit fit
for walking, and took his cimeter; and as soon as he found that
all was quiet in the camp, went out alone, and passed over one of
the hills without much difficulty; he found the descent still
more easy, and when he came to the plain, walked on till the sun
arose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a
vast building. He rejoiced at the sight, in hopes of receiving
there the information he sought. When he drew near, he found it
was a magnificent palace, or rather a strong castle, of black
polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as glass.
Being highly pleased that he had so speedily met with something
worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle,
and considered it with attention.
He then advanced towards the gate, which had two leaves, one of
them open; though he might immediately have entered, yet he
thought it best to knock. This he did at first softly, and waited
for some time; but seeing no one, and supposing he had not been
heard, he knocked harder the second time, and after that he
knocked again and again, but no one yet appearing, he was
exceedingly surprised; for he could not think that a castle in
such repair was without inhabitants. "If there be no one in it,"
said he to himself, "I have nothing to fear; and if it be
inhabited, I have wherewith to defend myself."
At last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cried,
"Is there no one here to receive a stranger, who comes in for
some refreshment as he passes by?" He repeated the same words two
or three times; but though he spoke very loud, he was not
answered. The silence increased his astonishment: he came into a
spacious court, and looked on every side for inhabitants, but
discovered none.
The sultan entered the grand halls, which were hung with silk
tapestry, the alcoves and sofas were covered with stuffs of
Mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of India, mixed
with gold and silver. He came afterwards into a superb saloon, in
the middle of which was a fountain, with a lion of massy gold at
each angle: water issued from the mouths of the four lions; and
as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls, resembling a jet d'eau,
which springing from the middle of the fountain, rose nearly to
the top of a cupola painted in Arabesque.
The castle, on three sides, was encompassed by a garden, with
parterres of flowers, shrubbery, and whatever could concur to
embellish it; and to complete the beauty of the place, an
infinite number of birds filled the air with their harmonious
notes, and always remained there, nets being spread over the
garden, and fastened to the palace to confine them. The sultan
walked from apartment to apartment, where he found every thing
rich and magnificent. Being tired with walking, he sat down in a
verandah or arcade closet, which had a view over the garden,
reflecting what he had already seen, and then beheld: when
suddenly he heard the voice of one complaining, in lamentable
tones. He listened with attention, and heard distinctly these
words: "O fortune! thou who wouldst not suffer me longer to enjoy
a happy lot, forbear to persecute me, and by a speedy death put
an end to my sorrows. Alas! is it possible that I am still alive,
after so many torments as I have suffered!"
The sultan rose up, advanced toward the place whence he heard the
voice; and coming to the door of a great hall, opened it, and saw
a handsome young man, richly habited, seated upon a throne raised
a little above the ground. Melancholy was painted on his
countenance. The sultan drew near, and saluted him; the young man
returned his salutation by an inclination of his head, not being
able to rise, at the same time saying, "My lord, I should rise to
receive you; but am hindered by sad necessity, and therefore hope
you will not be offended." "My lord," replied the sultan, "I am
much obliged to you for having so good an opinion of me: as to
the reason of your not rising, whatever your apology be, I
heartily accept it. Being drawn hither by your complaints, and
afflicted by your grief, I come to offer you my help; would to
God that it lay in my power to ease you of your trouble! I would
do my utmost to effect it. I flatter myself that you will relate
to me the history of your misfortunes; but inform me first of the
meaning of the lake near the palace, where the fish are of four
colours? whose this castle is? how you came to be here? and why
you are alone?"
Instead of answering these questions, the young man began to weep
bitterly. "How inconstant is
fortune!" cried he; "she takes pleasure to pull down those she
had raised. Where are they who enjoy quietly the happiness which
they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and serene?"
The sultan, moved with compassion to see him in such a condition,
prayed him to relate the cause of his excessive grief. "Alas! my
lord," replied the young man, "how is it possible but I should
grieve, and my eyes be inexhaustible fountains of tears?" At
these words, lifting up his robe, he shewed the sultan that he
was a man only from the head to the girdle, and that the other
half of his body was black marble.
The sultan was much surprised, when he saw the deplorable
condition of the young man. "That which you shew me," said he,
"while it fills me with horror, excites my curiosity, so that I
am impatient to hear your history, which, no doubt, must be
extraordinary, and I am persuaded that the lake and the fish make
some part of it; therefore I conjure you to relate it. You will
find some comfort in so doing, since it is certain, that the
unfortunate find relief in making known their distress." "I will
not refuse your request," replied the young man, "though I cannot
comply without renewing my grief. But I give you notice before
hand, to prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for
things which surpass all that the imagination can conceive."
The History of the Young King of the Black Isles.
You must know that my father, named Mahmoud, was king of this
country. This is the kingdom of the Black Isles, which takes its
name from the four small neighbouring mountains; for these
mountains were formerly isles: the capital where the king my
father resided was situated on the spot now occupied by the lake
you have seen. The sequel of my history will inform you of those
changes.
The king my father died when he was seventy years of age; I had
no sooner succeeded him, than I married, and the lady I chose to
share the royal dignity with me, was my cousin. I had so much
reason to be satisfied with her affection, and, on my part, loved
her with so much tenderness, that nothing could surpass the
harmony and pleasure of our union. This lasted five years, at the
end of which time, I perceived the queen, my cousin, ceased to
delight in my attentions.
One day, after dinner, while she was at the bath, I found myself
inclined to repose and lay down upon a sofa. Two of her ladies,
who were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head,
and the other at my feet, with fans in their hands to moderate
the heat, and to prevent the flies from disturbing me. They
thought I was asleep, and spoke in whispers; but as I only closed
my eyes, I heard all their conversation.
One of them said to the other, "Is not the queen wrong, not to
love so amiable a prince?" "Certainly," replied the other; "I do
not understand the reason, neither can I conceive why she goes
out every night, and leaves him alone!" "Is it possible that he
does not perceive it?" "Alas!" said the first, "how should he?
she mixes every evening in his liquor, the juice of a certain
herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night, that she has time
to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear, she comes
and lies down by him again, and wakes him by the smell of
something she puts under his nostrils."
You may guess, my lord, how much I was surprised at this
conversation, and with what sentiments it inspired me; yet,
whatever emotion it excited, I had sufficient self-command to
dissemble, and feigned to awake without having heard a word.
The queen returned from the bath, we supped together and she
presented me with a cup full of such water as I was accustomed to
drink; but instead of putting it to my mouth, I went to a window
that was open, and threw out the water so quickly, that she did
not perceive it, and returned.
We went to bed together, and soon after, believing that I was
asleep, she got up with so little precaution, that she said loud
enough for me to hear her distinctly, "Sleep on, and may you
never wake again!" She dressed herself, and went out of the
chamber.
As soon as the queen my wife was gone, I dressed myself in haste,
took my cimeter, and followed her so quickly, that I soon heard
the sound of her feet before me, and then walked softly after
her, for fear of being heard. She passed through several gates,
which opened upon her pronouncing some magical words, and the
last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. I
stopt at this gate, that she might not perceive me, as she passed
along a parterre; then looking after her as far as the darkness
of the night permitted, I saw her enter a little wood, whose
walks were guarded by thick palisadoes. I went thither by another
way, and concealing myself behind the palisadoes of a long walk,
I saw her walking there with a man.
I did not fail to lend the most attentive ear to their discourse,
and heard her address herself thus to her gallant: "I do not
deserve to be reproached by you for want of diligence. You well
know the reason; but if all the proofs of affection I have
already given you be not sufficient to convince you of my
sincerity, I am ready to give you others more decisive: you need
but command me, you know my power; I will, if you desire it,
before sun-rise convert this great city, and this superb palace,
into frightful ruins, inhabited only by wolves, owls, and ravens.
If you would have me transport all the stones of those walls so
solidly built, beyond mount Caucasus, or the bounds of the
habitable world, speak but the word, and all shall be changed."
As the queen finished these words she and her lover came to the
end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me. I
had already drawn my cimeter, and her lover being next me, I
struck him on the neck, and brought him to the ground. I
concluded I had killed him, and therefore retired speedily
without making myself known to the queen, whom I chose to spare,
because she was my kinswoman.
The wound I had given her lover was mortal; but by her
enchantments she preserved him in an existence in which he could
not be said to be either dead or alive. As I crossed the garden
to return to the palace, I heard the queen loudly lamenting, and
judging by her cries how much she was grieved, I was pleased that
I had spared her life.
As soon as I had reached my apartment, I went to bed, and being
satisfied with having punished the villain who had injured me,
fell asleep; and when I awoke next morning, found the queen
lying. I cannot tell you whether she slept or not; but I arose,
went to my closet, and dressed myself. I afterwards held my
council. At my return, the queen, clad in mourning, her hair
dishevelled, and part of it torn off, presented herself before
me, and said; "I come to beg your majesty not to be surprised to
see me in this condition. My heavy affliction is occasioned by
intelligence of three distressing events which I have just
received." "Alas! what are they, madam?" said I. "The death of
the queen my dear mother," she replied, "that of the king my
father killed in battle, and of one of my brothers, who has
fallen down a precipice."
I was not displeased that she used this pretext to conceal the
true cause of her grief, and I concluded she had not suspected me
of being the author of her lover's death. "Madam," said I, "so
far from blaming, I assure you I heartily commiserate your
sorrow. I should feel surprise if you were insensible to such
heavy calamities: weep on; your tears are so many proofs of your
tenderness; but I hope that time and reflection will moderate
your grief."
She retired into her apartment, where, giving herself wholly up
to sorrow, she spent a whole year in mourning and lamentation. At
the end of that period, she begged permission to erect a burying
place for herself, within the bounds of the palace, where she
would continue, she told me, to the end of her days: I consented,
and she built a stately edifice, crowned by a cupola, which may
be seen from hence, and called it the Palace of Tears. When it
was finished, she caused her lover to be conveyed thither, from
the place to which she had caused him to be carried the night I
wounded him: she had hitherto prevented his dying, by potions
which she had administered to him; and she continued to convey
them to him herself every day after he came to the Palace of
Tears.
Yet, with all her enchantments, she could not cure him; he was
not only unable to walk or support himself, but had also lost the
use of his speech, and exhibited no sign of life except in his
looks. Though the queen had no other consolation but to see him,
and to say to him all that her senseless passion could inspire,
yet every day she made him two long visits. I was well apprised
of this, but pretended ignorance.
One day my curiosity induced me to go to the Palace of Tears, to
observe how the princess employed herself, and from a place where
she could not see me, I heard her thus address her lover: "I am
afflicted to the highest degree to behold you in this condition;
I am as sensible as yourself of the tormenting pain you endure;
but, dear soul, I am continually speaking to you, and you do not
answer me: how long will you remain silent? Speak only one word:
alas! the sweetest moments of my life are these I spend here in
partaking of your grief. I cannot live at a distance from you,
and would prefer the pleasure of having you always before me, to
the empire of the universe."
At these words, which were several times interrupted by her sighs
and sobs, I lost all patience: and discovering myself, came up to
her, and said, "Madam, you have wept enough, it is time to give
over this sorrow, which dishonours both; you have too much
forgotten what you owe to me and to yourself." "Sire," said she,
"if you have any kindness or compassion for me left, I beseech
you to put no restraint upon me; allow me to indulge my grief,
which it is impossible for time to assuage."
When I perceived that my remonstrance, instead of restoring her
to a sense of duty, served only to increase her anguish, I gave
over and retired. She continued every day to visit her lover, and
for two whole years abandoned herself to grief and despair.
I went a second time to the Palace of Tears, while she was there.
I concealed myself again, and heard her thus address her lover:
"It is now three years since you spoke one word to me; you answer
not the proofs I give you of my love by my sighs and
lamentations. Is it from insensibility, or contempt? O tomb! hast
thou destroyed that excess of affection which he bare me? Hast
thou closed those eyes that evinced so much love, and were all my
delight? No, no, this I cannot think. Tell me rather, by what
miracle thou becamest the depositary of the rarest treasure the
world ever contained."
I must confess, my lord, I was enraged at these expressions; for,
in truth, this beloved, this adored mortal, was by no means what
you would imagine him to have been. He was a black Indian, one of
the original natives of this country. I was so enraged at the
language addressed to him, that I discovered myself, and
apostrophising the tomb in my turn; I cried, "O tomb! why dost
not thou swallow up that monster so revolting to human nature, or
rather why dost not thou swallow up both the lover and his
mistress?"
I had scarcely uttered these words, when the queen, who sat by
the black, rose up like a fury. "Miscreant!" said she "thou art
the cause of my grief; do not think I am ignorant of this, I have
dissembled too long. It was thy barbarous hand that brought the
objets of my fondness into this lamentable condition; and thou
hast the cruelty to come and insult a despairing lover." "Yes,"
said I, in a rage, "it was I that chastised that monster,
according to his desert; I ought to have treated thee in the same
manner; I now repent that I did not; thou hast too long abused my
goodness." As I spoke these words, I drew out my cimeter, and
lifted up my hand to punish her; but regarding me stedfastly, she
said with a jeering smile, "Moderate thy anger." At the same
time, she pronounced words I did not understand; and afterwards
added, "By virtue of my enchantments, I command thee to become
half marble and half man." Immediately, my lord, I became what
you see, a dead man among the living, and a living man among the
dead.
After the cruel sorceress, unworthy of the name of queen, had
metamorphosed me thus, and brought me into this hall, by another
enchantment she destroyed my capital, which was very flourishing
and populous; she annihilated the houses, the public places and
markets, and reduced the site of the whole to the lake and desert
plain you have seen; the fishes of four colours in the lake are
the four kinds of inhabitants of different religions, which the
city contained. The white are the Moosulmauns; the red, the
Persians, who worship fire; the blue, the Christians and the
yellow, the Jews. The four little hills were the four islands
that gave name to this kingdom. I learned all this from the
enchantress, who, to add to my affliction, related to me these
effects of her rage. But this is not all; her revenge not being
satisfied with the destruction of my dominions, and the
metamorphosis of my person, she comes every day, and gives me
over my naked shoulders a hundred lashes with a whip until I am
covered with blood. When she has finished this part of my
punishment, she throws over me a coarse stuff of goat's hair, and
over that this robe of brocade, not to honour, but to mock me.
When he came to this part of the narrative, the young king could
not restrain his tears; and the sultan was himself so affected by
the relation, that he could not find utterance for any words of
consolation. Shortly after, the young king, lifting up his eyes
to heaven, exclaimed, "Mighty creator of all things, I submit
myself to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence: I
endure my calamities with patience, since it is thy will things
should be as they are; but I hope thy infinite goodness will
ultimately reward me."
The sultan, greatly moved by the recital of this affecting story,
and anxious to avenge the sufferings of the unfortunate prince,
said to him, "Inform me whither this perfidious sorceress
retires, and where may be found her vile paramour, who is
entombed before his death." "My lord," replied the prince, "her
lover, as I have already told you, is lodged in the Palace of
Tears, in a superb tomb constructed in the form of a dome: this
palace joins the castle on the side in which the gate is placed.
As to the queen, I cannot tell you precisely whither she retires,
but every day at sun-rise she goes to visit her paramour, after
having executed her bloody vengeance upon me; and you see I am
not in a condition to defend myself. She carries to him the
potion with which she had hitherto prevented his dying, and
always complains of his never having spoken to her since he was
wounded."
"Prince," said the sultan, "your condition can never be
sufficiently deplored: no one can be more sensibly affected by
your misfortunes than I am. Never did any thing so extraordinary
befall any man, and those who write your history will have the
advantage of relating what surpasses all that has hitherto been
recorded. One thing only is wanting; the revenge to which you are
entitled, and I will omit nothing in my power to effect it."
In his subsequent conversation with the young prince, the sultan
told him who he was, and for what purpose he had entered the
castle; and afterwards informed him of a mode of revenge which he
had devised. They agreed upon the measures they were to take for
accomplishing their design, but deferred the execution of it till
the following day. In the mean time, the night being far spent,
the sultan took some rest; but the young prince passed the night
as usual, without sleep, having never slept since he was
enchanted, still indulging some hopes of being speedily delivered
from his misery.