a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it, it is not possible
for ships to get off when once they approach within a certain
distance. If they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the
wind and the current impel them; and if they come into it when a
land-wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out
again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a
calm, so that the force of the current carries them ashore: and
what completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility of
ascending the mountain, or of escaping by sea.
We continued upon the shore in a state of despair, and expected
death every day. At first we divided our provisions as equally as
we could, and thus every one lived a longer or shorter time,
according to his temperance, and the use he made of his
provisions.
Those who died first were interred by the survivors, and I paid
the last duty to all my companions: nor are you to wonder at
this; for besides that I husbanded the provision that fell to my
share better than they, I had some of my own which I did not
share with my comrades; yet when I buried the last, I had so
little remaining, that I thought I could not long survive: I dug
a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was no one
left to inter me. I must confess to you at the same time, that
while I was thus employed, I could not but reproach myself as the
cause of my own ruin, and repented that I had ever undertaken
this last voyage. Nor did I stop at reflections only, but had
well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with
my teeth.
But it pleased God once more to take compassion on me, and put it
in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the
great cavern. Considering its probable course with great
attention, I said to myself, "This river, which runs thus under
ground, must somewhere have an issue. If I make a raft, and leave
myself to the current, it will convey me to some inhabited
country, or I shall perish. If I be drowned, I lose nothing, but
only change one kind of death for another; and if I get out of
this fatal place, I shall not only avoid the sad fate of my
comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself.
Who knows but fortune waits, upon my getting off this dangerous
shelf, to compensate my shipwreck with usury."
I immediately went to work upon large pieces of timber and
cables, for I had choice of them, and tied them together so
strongly, that I soon made a very solid raft. When I had
finished, I loaded it with some bulses of rubies, emeralds,
ambergris, rock-crystal, and bales of rich stuffs. Having
balanced my cargo exactly, and fastened it well to the raft, I
went on board with two oars that I had made, and leaving it to
the course of the river, resigned myself to the will of God.
As soon as I entered the cavern, I lost all light, and the stream
carried me I knew not whither. Thus I floated some days in
perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low, that it very
nearly touched my head, which made me cautious afterwards to
avoid the like danger. All this while I ate nothing but what was
just necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding my
frugality, all my provisions were spent. Then a pleasing stupor
seized upon me. I cannot tell how long it continued; but when I
revived, I was surprised to find myself in an extensive plain on
the brink of a river, where my raft was tied, amidst a great
number of negroes. I got up as soon as I saw them, and saluted
them. They spoke to me, but I did not understand their language.
I was so transported with joy, that I knew not whether I was
asleep or awake; but being persuaded that I was not asleep, I
recited the following words in Arabic aloud: "Call upon the
Almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself
about any thing else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep,
God will change thy bad fortune into good."
One of the blacks, who understood Arabic, hearing me speak thus,
came towards me, and said, "Brother, be not surprised to see us,
we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to
water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which
comes out of the neighbouring mountain. We observed something
floating upon the water, went to see what it was, and, perceiving
your raft, one of us swam into the river, and brought it thither,
where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. Pray
tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you
venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come?" "I
begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then I
would satisfy their curiosity. They gave me several sorts of
food, and when I had satisfied my hunger, I related all that had
befallen me, which they listened to with attentive surprise. As
soon as I had finished, they told me, by the person who spoke
Arabic and interpreted to them what I said, that it was one of
the most wonderful stories they had ever heard, and that I must
go along with them, and tell it their king myself; it being too
extraordinary to be related by any other than the person to whom
the events had happened. I assured them that I was ready to do
whatever they pleased."
They immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little
time; and having helped me to mount, some of them walked before
to shew the way, while the rest took my raft and cargo and
followed.
We marched till we came to the capital of Serendib, for it was in
that island I had landed. The blacks presented me to their king;
I approached his throne, and saluted him as I used to do the
kings of the Indies; that is to say, I prostrated myself at his
feet. The prince ordered me to rise, received me with an obliging
air, and made me sit down near him. He first asked me my name,
and I answered, "People call me Sinbad the voyager, because of
the many voyages I have undertaken, and I am a citizen of
Bagdad." "But," resumed he, "how came you into my dominions, and
from whence came you last?"
I concealed nothing from the king; I related to him all that I
have told you, and his majesty was so surprised and pleased, that
he commanded my adventures to be written in letters of gold, and
laid up in the archives of his kingdom. At last my raft was
brought in, and the bales opened in his presence; he admired the
quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris, but, above all, the
rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that
equalled them.
Observing that he looked on my jewels with pleasure, and viewed
the most remarkable among them one after another, I fell
prostrate at his feet, and took the liberty to say to him, "Sir,
not only my person is at your majesty's service, but the cargo of
the raft, and I would beg of you to dispose of it as your own."
He answered me with a smile, "Sinbad, I will take care not to
covet any thing of yours, or to take any thing from you that God
has given you; far from lessening your wealth, I design to
augment it, and will not let you quit my dominions without marks
of my liberality." All the answer I returned were prayers for the
prosperity of that nobly minded prince, and commendations of his
generosity and bounty. He charged one of his officers to take
care of me, and ordered people to serve me at his own expence.
The officer was very faithful in the execution of his commission,
and caused all the goods to be carried to the lodgings provided
for me.
I went every day at a set hour to make my court to the king, and
spent the rest of my time in viewing the city, and what was most
worthy of notice.
The isle of Serendib is situated just under the equinoctial line;
so that the days and nights there are always of twelve hours
each, and the island is eighty parasangs in length, and as many
in breadth.
The capital stands at the end of a fine valley, in the middle of
the island, encompassed by mountains the highest in the world.
They are seen three days' sail off at sea. Rubies and several
sorts of minerals abound, and the rocks are for the most part
composed of a metalline stone made use of to cut and polish other
precious stones. All kinds of rare plants and trees grow there,
especially cedars and cocoa-nut. There is also a pearl-fishing in
the mouth of its principal river; and in some of its valleys are
found diamonds. I made, by way of devotion, a pilgrimage to the
place where Adam was confined after his banishment from Paradise,
and had the curiosity to go to the top of the mountain.
When I returned to the city, I prayed the king to allow me to
return to my own country, and he granted me permission in the
most obliging and most honourable manner. He would needs force a
rich present upon me; and when I went to take my leave of him, he
gave me one much more considerable, and at the same time charged
me with a letter for the commander of the faithful, our
sovereign, saying to me, "I pray you give this present from me,
and this letter to the caliph, and assure him of my friendship."
I took the present and letter in a very respectful manner, and
promised his majesty punctually to execute the commission with
which he was pleased to honour me. Before I embarked, this prince
sent for the captain and the merchants who were to go with me,
and ordered them to treat me with all possible respect.
The letter from the king of Serendib was written on the skin of a
certain animal of great value, because of its being so scarce,
and of a yellowish colour. The characters of this letter were of
azure, and the contents as follows:
"The king of the Indies, before whom march one hundred elephants,
who lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand
rubies, and who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns
enriched with diamonds, to caliph Haroon al Rusheed.
"Though the present we send you be inconsiderable, receive it
however as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the hearty
friendship which we bear for you, and of which we are willing to
give you proof. We desire the same part in your friendship,
considering that we believe it to be our merit, being of the same
dignity with yourself. We conjure you this in quality of a
brother. Adieu."
The present consisted first, of one single ruby made into a cup,
about half a foot high, an inch thick, and filled with round
pearls of half a drachm each. 2. The skin of a serpent, whose
scales were as large as an ordinary piece of gold, and had the
virtue to preserve from sickness those who lay upon it. 3. Fifty
thousand drachms of the best wood of aloes, with thirty grains of
camphire as big as pistachios. 4. A female slave of ravishing
beauty, whose apparel was all covered over with jewels.
The ship set sail, and after a very successful navigation we
landed at Bussorah, and from thence I went to Bagdad, where the
first thing I did was to acquit myself of my commission.
Scheherazade stopped, because day appeared, and next night
proceeded thus.
I took the king of Serendib's letter, and went to present myself
at the gate of the commander of the faithful, followed by the
beautiful slave, and such of my own family as carried the
presents. I stated the reason of my coming, and was immediately
conducted to the throne of the caliph. I made my reverence, and,
after a short speech, gave him the letter and present. When he
had read what the king of Serendib wrote to him, he asked me, if
that prince were really so rich and potent as he represented
himself in his letter? I prostrated myself a second time, and
rising again, said, "Commander of the faithful, I can assure your
majesty he doth not exceed the truth. I bear him witness. Nothing
is more worthy of admiration than the magnificence of his palace.
When the prince appears in public, he has a throne fixed on the
back of an elephant, and marches betwixt two ranks of his
ministers, favourites, and other people of his court; before him,
upon the same elephant, an officer carries a golden lance in his
hand; and behind the throne there is another, who stands upright,
with a column of gold, on the top of which is an emerald half a
foot long, and an inch thick; before him march a guard of one
thousand men, clad in cloth of gold and silk, and mounted on
elephants richly caparisoned.
"While the king is on his march, the officer, who is before him on the
same elephant, cries from time to time, with a loud voice, 'Behold the
great monarch, the potent and redoubtable sultan of the Indies, whose
palace is covered with one hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses
twenty thousand crowns of diamonds. Behold the monarch greater than
Solomon, and the powerful Maha-raja.' After he has pronounced those
words, the officer behind the throne cries in his turn, 'This monarch,
so great and so powerful, must die, must die, must die.' And the
officer before replies, 'Praise be to him who lives for ever.'
"Farther, the king of Serendib is so just, that there are no
judges in his dominions. His people have no need of them. They
understand and observe justice rigidly of themselves."
The caliph was much pleased with my account. "The wisdom of that
king," said he, "appears in his letter, and after what you tell
me, I must confess, that his wisdom is worthy of his people, and
his people deserve so wise a prince." Having spoken thus, he
dismissed me, and sent me home with a rich present.
Sinbad left off, and his company retired, Hindbad having first
received one hundred sequins; and next day they returned to hear
the relation of his seventh and last voyage.
The Seventh and Last Voyage.
Being returned from my sixth voyage, said Sinbad, I absolutely
laid aside all thoughts of travelling; for, besides that my age
now required rest, I was resolved no more to expose myself to
such risks as I had encountered; so that I thought of nothing but
to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. One day as I was
treating my friends, one of my servants came and told me that an
officer of the caliph's enquired for me. I rose from table, and
went to him. "The caliph," he said, "has sent me to tell you,
that he must speak with you." I followed the officer to the
palace, where being presented to the caliph, I saluted him by
prostrating myself at his feet. "Sinbad," said he to me, "I stand
in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present to
the king of Serendib. It is but just I should return his
civility."
This command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder.
"Commander of the faithful," I replied, "I am ready to do
whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but I beseech
you most humbly to consider what I have undergone. I have also
made a vow never to go out of Bagdad." Hence I took occasion to
give him a full and particular account of all my adventures,
which he had the patience to hear out.
As soon as I had finished, "I confess," said he, "that the things
you tell me are very extraordinary, yet you must for my sake
undertake this voyage which I propose to you. You will only have
to go to the isle of Serendib, and deliver the commission which I
give you. After that you are at liberty to return. But you must
go; for you know it would not comport with my dignity, to be
indebted to the king of that island." Perceiving that the caliph
insisted upon my compliance, I submitted, and told him that I was
willing to obey. He was very well pleased, and ordered me one
thousand sequins for the expences of my journey.
I prepared for my departure in a few days, and as soon as the
caliph's letter and present were delivered to me, I went to
Bussorah, where I embarked, and had a very happy voyage. Having
arrived at the isle of Serendib, I acquainted the king's
ministers with my commission, and prayed them to get me speedy
audience. They did so, and I was conducted to the palace in an
honourable manner, where I saluted the king by prostration,
according to custom. That prince knew me immediately, and
testified very great joy at seeing me. "Sinbad," said he, "you
are welcome; I have many times thought of you since you departed;
I bless the day on which we see one another once more." I made my
compliment to him, and after having thanked him for his kindness,
delivered the caliph's letter and present, which he received with
all imaginable satisfaction.
The caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, valued
at one thousand sequins; fifty robes of rich stuff, a hundred of
white cloth, the finest of Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria; a vessel
of agate broader than deep, an inch thick, and half a foot wide,
the bottom of which represented in bass relief a man with one
knee on the ground, who held bow and an arrow, ready to discharge
at a lion. He sent him also a rich tablet, which, according to
tradition, belonged to the great Solomon. The caliph's letter was
as follows:
"Greeting, in the name of the sovereign guide of the right way,
from the dependent on God, Haroon al Rusheed, whom God hath set
in the place of vicegerent to his prophet, after his ancestors of
happy memory, to the potent and esteemed Raja of Serendib.
"We received your letter with joy, and send you this from our
imperial residence, the garden of superior wits. We hope when you
look upon it, you will perceive our good intention and be pleased
with it. Adieu."
The king of Serendib was highly gratified that the caliph
answered his friendship. A little time after this audience, I
solicited leave to depart, and had much difficulty to obtain it.
I procured it however at last, and the king, when he dismissed
me, made me a very considerable present. I embarked immediately
to return to Bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there
so speedily as I had hoped. God ordered it otherwise.
Three or four days after my departure, we were attacked by
corsairs, who easily seized upon our ship, because it was no
vessel of force. Some of the crew offered resistance, which cost
them their lives. But for myself and the rest, who were not so
imprudent, the corsairs saved us on purpose to make slaves of us.
We were all stripped, and instead of our own clothes, they gave
us sorry rags, and carried us into a remote island, where they
sold us.
I fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who, as soon as he
bought me, carried me to his house, treated me well, and clad me
handsomely for a slave. Some days after, not knowing who I was,
he asked me if I understood any trade? I answered, that I was no
mechanic, but a merchant, and that the corsairs, who sold me, had
robbed me of all I possessed. "But tell me," replied he, "can you
shoot with a bow?" I answered, that the bow was one of my
exercises in my youth. He gave me a bow and arrows, and, taking
me behind him upon an elephant, carried me to a thick forest some
leagues from the town. We penetrated a great way into the wood,
and when he thought fit to stop, he bade me alight; then shewing
me a great tree, "Climb up that," said he, "and shoot at the
elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious
number of them in this forest, and if any of them fall, come and
give me notice." Having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and
returned to the town, and I continued upon the tree all night.
I saw no elephant during that time, but next morning, as soon as
the sun was up, I perceived a great number. I shot several arrows
among them, and at last one of the elephants fell, when the rest
retired immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my
patron with my booty. When I had informed him, he gave me a good
meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. We went
afterwards together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the
elephant; my patron designing to return when it was rotten, and
take his teeth to trade with.
I continued this employment for two months, and killed an
elephant every day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and
sometimes upon another. One morning, as I looked for the
elephants, I perceived with extreme amazement, that, instead of
passing by me across the forest as usual, they stopped, and came
to me with a horrible noise, in such number that the plain was
covered, and shook under them. They encompassed the tree in which
I was concealed, with their trunks extended, and all fixed their
eyes upon. At this alarming spectacle I continued immoveable, and
was so much terrified, that my bow and arrows fell out of my
hand.
My fears were not without cause; for after the elephants had
stared upon me some time, one of the largest of them put his
trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and threw it on
the ground; I fell with the tree, and the elephant taking me up
with his trunk, laid me on his back, where I sat more like one
dead than alive, with my quiver on my shoulder. He put himself
afterwards at the head of the rest, who followed him in troops,
carried me a considerable way, then laid me down on the ground,
and retired with all his companions. Conceive, if you can, the
condition I was in: I thought myself in a dream. After having
lain some time, and seeing the elephants gone, I got up, and
found I was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered with the
bones and teeth of elephants. I confess to you, that this object
furnished me with abundance of reflections. I admired the
instinct of those animals; I doubted not but that was their
burying place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to
tell me that I should forbear to persecute them, since I did it
only for their teeth. I did not stay on the hill, but turned
towards the city, and, after having travelled a day and a night,
I came to my patron. I met no elephant in my way, which made me
think they had retired farther into the forest, to leave me at
liberty to come back to the hill without any obstacle.
As soon as my patron saw me; "Ah, poor Sinbad," exclaimed he, "I
was in great trouble to know what was become of you. I have been
at the forest, where I found a tree newly pulled up, and a bow
and arrows on the ground, and after having sought for you in
vain, I despaired of ever, seeing you more. Pray tell me what
befell you, and by what good chance thou art still alive." I
satisfied his curiosity, and going both of us next morning to the
hill, he found to his great joy that what I had told him was
true. We loaded the elephant which had carried us with as many
teeth as he could bear; and when we were returned, "Brother,"
said my patron, "for I will treat you no more as my slave, after
having made such a discovery as will enrich me, God bless you
with all happiness and prosperity. I declare before him, that I
give you your liberty. I concealed from you what I am now going
to tell you.
"The elephants of our forest have every year killed us a great
many slaves, whom we sent to seek ivory. For all the cautions we
could give them, those crafty animals destroyed them one time or
other. God has delivered you from their fury, and has bestowed
that favour upon you only. It is a sign that he loves you, and
has some use for your service in the world. You have procured me
incredible wealth. Formerly we could not procure ivory but by
exposing the lives of our slaves, and now our whole city is
enriched by your means. Do not think I pretend to have rewarded
you by giving you your liberty, I will also give you considerable
riches. I could engage all our city to contribute towards making
your fortune, but I will have the glory of doing it myself."
To this obliging declaration I replied, "Patron, God preserve
you. Your giving me my liberty is enough to discharge what you
owe me, and I desire no other reward for the service I had the
good fortune to do to you and your city, but leave to return to
my own country." "Very well," said he, "the monsoon will in a
little time bring ships for ivory. I will then send you home, and
give you wherewith to bear your charges." I thanked him again for
my liberty and his good intentions towards me. I staid with him
expecting the monsoon; and during that time, we made so many
journeys to the hill, that we filled all our warehouses with
ivory. The other merchants, who traded in it, did the same, for
it could not be long concealed from them.
The ships arrived at last, and my patron, himself having made
choice of the ship wherein I was to embark, loaded half of it
with ivory on my account, laid in provisions in abundance for my
passage, and besides obliged me to accept a present of some
curiosities of the country of great value. After I had returned
him a thousand thanks for all his favours, I went aboard. We set
sail, and as the adventure which procured me this liberty was
very extraordinary, I had it continually in my thoughts.