I went forth one day, purposing to make a journey, and fell in
with a man whose wont it was to stop the way. When he came up
with me, he offered to slay me and I said to him, "I have nothing
with me whereby thou mayst profit." Quoth he, "My profit shall be
the taking of thy life." "What is the cause of this?" asked I.
"Hath there been feud between us aforetime?" And he answered,
"No; but needs must I slay thee." Therewithal I fled from him to
the river-side; but he overtook me and casting me to the ground,
sat down on my breast. So I sought help of the Sheikh El
Hejjaj[FN#156] and said to him, "Protect me from this oppressor!"
And indeed he had drawn a knife, wherewith to cut my throat,
when, behold, there came a great crocodile forth of the river and
snatching him up from off my breast, plunged with him into the
water, with the knife still in his hand; whilst I abode extolling
the perfection of God the Most High and rendering thanks for my
preservation to Him who had delivered me from the hand of that
oppressor.'
ABDALLAH BEN NAFI AND THE KING'S SON OF
CASHGHAR.[FN#157]
There abode once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in
the city of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace, the Khalif Haroun er
Reshid, and he had boon-companions and story-tellers, to
entertain him by night Among his boon-companions was a man called
Abdallah ben Nan, who was high in favour with him and dear unto
him, so that he was not forgetful of him a single hour. Now it
befell, by the ordinance of destiny, that it became manifest to
Abdallah that he was grown of little account with the Khalif and
that he paid no heed unto him; nor, if he absented himself, did
he enquire concerning him, as had been his wont. This was
grievous to Abdallah and he said in himself, "Verily, the heart
of the Commander of the Faithful and his fashions are changed
towards me and nevermore shall I get of him that cordiality
wherewith he was wont to entreat me." And this was distressful to
him and concern waxed upon him, so that he recited the following
verses:
If, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite
Afflict a man, then exile sure were better for the wight.
So get thee gone, then, from a house wherein thou art abased And
let not severance from friends lie heavy on thy spright.
Crude amber[FN#158] in its native land unheeded goes, but, when
It comes abroad, upon the necks to raise it men delight.
Kohl[FN#159] in its native country, too, is but a kind of stone;
Cast out and thrown upon the ways, it lies unvalued quite;
But, when from home it fares, forthright all glory it attains And
'twixt the eyelid and the eye incontinent 'tis dight.
Then he could brook this no longer; so he went forth from the
dominions of the Commander of the Faithful, under pretence of
visiting certain of his kinsmen, and took with him servant nor
companion, neither acquainted any with his intent, but betook
himself to the road and fared on into the desert and the
sandwastes, knowing not whither he went. After awhile, he fell in
with travellers intending for the land of Hind [and journeyed
with them]. When he came thither, he lighted down [in a city of
the cities of the land and took up his abode] in one of the
lodging-places; and there he abode a while of days, tasting not
food neither solacing himself with the delight of sleep; nor was
this for lack of dirhems or dinars, but for that his mind was
occupied with musing upon [the reverses of] destiny and bemoaning
himself for that the revolving sphere had turned against him and
the days had decreed unto him the disfavour of our lord the
Imam.[FN#160]
On this wise he abode a space of days, after which he made
himself at home in the land and took to himself comrades and got
him friends galore, with whom he addressed himself to diversion
and good cheer. Moreover, he went a-pleasuring with his friends
and their hearts were solaced [by his company] and he entertained
them with stories and civilities[FN#161] and diverted them with
pleasant verses and told them abundance of histories and
anecdotes. Presently, the report of him reached King Jemhour,
lord of Cashghar of Hind, and great was his desire [for his
company]. So he went in quest of him and Abdallah repaired to his
court and going in to him, kissed the earth before him. Jemhour
welcomed him and entreated him with kindness and bade commit him
to the guest-house, where he abode three days, at the end of
which time the king sent [to him] a chamberlain of his
chamberlains and let bring him to his presence. When he came
before him, he greeted him [with the usual compliment], and the
interpreter accosted him, saying, "King Jemhour hath heard of thy
report, that thou art a goodly boon-companion and an eloquent
story-teller, and he would have thee company with him by night
and entertain him with that which thou knowest of anecdotes and
pleasant stories and verses." And he made answer with "Hearkening
and obedience."
(Quoth Abdallah ben Nan) So I became his boon-companion and
entertained him by night [with stories and the like]; and this
pleased him to the utmost and he took me into especial favour and
bestowed on me dresses of honour and assigned me a separate
lodging; brief, he was everywise bountiful to me and could not
brook to be parted from me a single hour. So I abode with him a
while of time and every night I caroused with him [and
entertained him], till the most part of the night was past; and
when drowsiness overcame him, he would rise [and betake himself]
to his sleeping-place, saying to me, "Forsake not my service for
that of another than I and hold not aloof from my presence." And
I made answer with "Hearkening and obedience."
Now the king had a son, a pleasant child, called the Amir
Mohammed, who was comely of youth and sweet of speech; he had
read in books and studied histories and above all things in the
world he loved the telling and hearing of verses and stories and
anecdotes. He was dear to his father King Jemhour, for that he
had none other son than he on life, and indeed he had reared him
in the lap of fondness and he was gifted with the utterest of
beauty and grace and brightness and perfection. Moreover, he had
learnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner instruments of
music and he was used to [carouse and] company with friends and
brethren. Now it was of his wont that, when the king rose to go
to his sleeping-chamber, he would sit in his place and seek of me
that I should entertain him with stories and verses and pleasant
anecdotes; and on this wise I abode with them a great while in
all cheer and delight, and the prince still loved me with an
exceeding great love and entreated me with the utmost kindness.
It befell one day that the king's son came to me, after his
father had withdrawn, and said to me, "Harkye, Ibn Nafil" "At thy
service, O my lord," answered I; and he said, "I would have thee
tell me an extraordinary story and a rare matter, that thou hast
never related either to me or to my father Jemhour." "O my lord,"
rejoined I, "what story is this that thou desirest of me and of
what kind shall it be of the kinds?" Quoth he, "It matters little
what it is, so it be a goodly story, whether it befell of old
days or in these times." "O my lord," said I, "I know many
stories of various kinds; so whether of the kinds preferrest
thou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of the Jinn?" "It
is well," answered he; "if thou have seen aught with thine eyes
and heard it with thine ears, [tell it me."Then he bethought
himself] and said to me, "I conjure thee by my life, tell me a
story of the stories of the Jinn and that which thou hast heard
and seen of them!" "O my son," replied I, "indeed thou conjurest
[me] by a mighty conjuration; so [hearken and thou shalt] hear
the goodliest of stories, ay, and the most extraordinary of them
and the pleasantest and rarest." Quoth the prince, "Say on, for I
am attentive to thy speech." And I said, "Know, then, O my son,
that
STORY OF THE DAMSEL TUHFET EL CULOUB AND
THE KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID.
The Vicar of the Lord of the Worlds[FN#162] Haroun er Reshid had
a boon-companion of the number of his boon-companions, by name
Ishac ben Ibrahim en Nedim el Mausili,[FN#163] who was the most
accomplished of the folk of his time in the art of smiting upon
the lute; and of the Commander of the Faithful's love for him, he
assigned him a palace of the choicest of his palaces, wherein he
was wont to instruct slave-girls in the arts of lute-playing and
singing. If any slave-girl became, by his instruction,
accomplished in the craft, he carried her before the Khalif, who
bade her play upon the lute; and if she pleased him, he would
order her to the harem; else would he restore her to Ishac's
palace.
One day, the Commander of the Faithful's breast was straitened;
so he sent after his Vizier Jaafer the Barmecide and Ishac the
boon-companion and Mesrour the eunuch, the swordsman of his
vengeance; and when they came, he changed his raiment and
disguised himself, whilst Jaafer [and Ishac] and Mesrour and El
Fezll[FN#164] and Younus[FN#165] (who were also present) did the
like. Then he went out, he and they, by the privy gate, to the
Tigris and taking boat, fared on till they came to near Et
Taf,[FN#166] when they landed and walked till they came to the
gate of the thoroughfare street.[FN#167] Here there met them an
old man, comely of hoariness and of a venerable and dignified
bearing, pleasing[FN#168] of aspect and apparel. He kissed the
earth before Ishac el Mausili (for that be knew but him of the
company, the Khalif being disguised, and deemed the others
certain of his friends) and said to him, 'O my lord, there is
presently with me a slave-girl, a lutanist, never saw eyes the
like of her nor the like of her grace, and indeed I was on my way
to pay my respects to thee and give thee to know of her; but
Allah, of His favour, hath spared me the trouble. So now I desire
to show her to thee, and if she be to thy liking, well and good:
else I will sell her.' Quoth Ishac, 'Go before me to thy barrack,
till I come to thee and see her.'
The old man kissed his hand and went away; whereupon quoth Er
Reshid to him, 'O Ishac, who is yonder man and what is his
occasion?' 'O my lord,' answered the other, 'this is a man called
Said the Slave-dealer, and he it is who buyeth us slave-girls and
mamelukes.[FN#169] He avoucheth that with him is a fair
[slave-girl, a] lutanist, whom he hath withheld from sale, for
that he could not fairly sell her till he had shown her to me.'
'Let us go to him,' said the Khalif,'so we may look on her, by
way of diversion, and see what is in the slave-dealer's barrack
of slave-girls.' And Ishac answered, 'Commandment belongeth to
God and to the Commander of the Faithful.' Then he went on before
them and they followed in his track till they came to the
slave-dealer's barrack and found it high of building and spacious
of continence, with sleeping-cells and chambers therein, after
the number of the slave-girls, and folk sitting upon the benches.
Ishac entered, he and his company, and seating themselves in the
place of honour, amused themselves by looking on the slave-girls
and mamelukes and watching how they were sold, till the sale came
to an end, when some of the folk went away and other some sat.
Then said the slave-dealer, 'Let none sit with us except him who
buyeth by the thousand [dinars] and upwards.' So those who were
present withdrew and there remained none but Er Reshid and his
company; whereupon the slave-dealer called the damsel, after he
had caused set her a chair of fawwak,[FN#170] furnished with
Greek brocade, and it was as she were the sun shining in the
clear sky. When she entered, she saluted and sitting down, took
the lute and smote upon it, after she had touched its strings and
tuned it, so that all present were amazed. Then she sang thereto
the following verses:
Wind of the East, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones
dwell, I pray, The fullest of greetings bear to them from
me, their lover, and say
That I am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love
And eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye.
O ye who have withered my heart and marred my hearing and my
sight, Desire and transport for your sake wax on me night
and day.
My heart with yearning is ever torn and tortured without cease,
Nor can my lids lay hold on sleep, that Sees from them away.
'Well done, O damsel!' cried Ishac. 'By Allah, this is a fair
hour!' Whereupon she rose and kissed his hand, saying, 'O my
lord, the hands stand still in thy presence and the tongues at
thy sight, and the eloquent before thee are dumb; but thou art
the looser of the veil.'[FN#171] Then she clung to him and said,
'Stand.' So he stood and said to her, 'Who art thou and what is
thy need?' She raised a corner of the veil, and he beheld a
damsel as she were the rising full moon or the glancing
lightning, with two side locks of hair that fell down to her
anklets. She kissed his hand and said to him, 'O my lord, know
that I have been in this barrack these five months, during which
time I have been withheld[FN#172] from sale till thou shouldst be
present [and see me]; and yonder slave-dealer still made thy
coming a pretext to me[FN#173] and forbade me, for all I sought
of him night and day that he should cause thee come hither and
vouchsafe me thy presence and bring me and thee together.' Quoth
Ishac, 'Say what thou wouldst have.' And she answered, 'I beseech
thee, by God the Most High, that thou buy me, so I may be with
thee, by way of service.' 'Is that thy desire?' asked he, and she
replied, ' Yes.'
So Ishac returned to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'Harkye,
Gaffer Said!*' 'At thy service, O my lord,' answered the old man;
and Ishac said, 'In the corridor is a cell and therein a damsel
pale of colour. What is her price in money and how much dost thou
ask for her?, Quoth the slave-dealer, 'She whom thou mentionest
is called Tuhfet el Hemca.'[FN#174] 'What is the meaning of El
Hemca?' asked Ishac, and the old man replied, 'Her price hath
been paid down an hundred times and she still saith, "Show me him
who desireth to buy me;" and when I show her to him, she saith,
"This fellow is not to my liking; he hath in him such and such a
default." And in every one who would fain buy her she allegeth
some default or other, so that none careth now to buy her and
none seeketh her, for fear lest she discover some default in
him.' Quoth Ishac, 'She seeketh presently to sell herself; so go
thou to her and enquire of her and see her price and send her to
the palace.' 'O my lord,' answered Said, 'her price is an hundred
dinars, though, were she whole of this paleness that is upon her
face, she would be worth a thousand; but folly and pallor have
diminished her value; and behold, I will go to her and consult
her of this.' So he betook himself to her, and said to her, 'Wilt
thou be sold to Ishac ben Ibrahim el Mausili?' 'Yes,' answered
she, and he said, 'Leave frowardness,[FN#175] for to whom doth it
happen to be in the house of Ishac the boon-companion?'[FN#176]
Then Ishac went forth of the barrack and overtook Er Reshid [who
had foregone him]; and they walked till they came to their
[landing-]place, where they embarked in the boat and fared on to
Theghr el Khanekah.[FN#177] As for the slave-dealer, he sent the
damsel to the house of Ishac en Nedim, whose slave-girls took her
and carried her to the bath. Then each damsel gave her somewhat
of her apparel and they decked her with earrings and bracelets,
so that she redoubled in beauty and became as she were the moon
on the night of its full. When Ishac returned home from the
Khalifs palace, Tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hand; and he
saw that which the slave-girls had done with her and thanked them
therefor and said to them, 'Let her be in the house of
instruction and bring her instruments of music, and if she be apt
unto singing, teach her; and may God the Most High vouchsafe her
health and weal!' So there passed over her three months, what
while she abode with him in the house of instruction, and they
brought her the instruments of music. Moreover, as time went on,
she was vouchsafed health and soundness and her beauty waxed many
times greater than before and her pallor was changed to white and
red, so that she became a ravishment to all who looked on her.
One day, Ishac let bring all who were with him of slave-girls
from the house of instruction and carried them up to Er Reshid's
palace, leaving none in his house save Tuhfeh and a cookmaid; for
that he bethought him not of Tuhfeh, nor did she occur to his
mind, and none of the damsels remembered him of her. When she saw
that the house was empty of the slave-girls, she took the lute
(now she was unique in her time in smiting upon the lute, nor had
she her like in the world, no, not Ishac himself, nor any other)
and sang thereto the following verses:
Whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, It winneth not
of fortune the wish it holdeth dear.
Him with my life I'd ransom whose rigours waste away My frame and
cause me languish; yet, if he would but hear,
It rests with him to heal me; and I (a soul he hath Must suffer
that which irks it), go saying, in my fear
Of spies, "How long, O scoffer, wilt mock at my despair, As
'twere God had created nought else whereat to jeer?"
Now Ishac had returned to his house upon an occasion that
presented itself to him; and when he entered the vestibule, he
heard a sound of singing, the like whereof he had never heard in
the world, for that it was [soft] as the breeze and
richer[FN#178] than almond oil.[FN#179] So the delight of it gat
hold of him and joyance overcame him, and he fell down aswoon in
the vestibule, Tuhfeh heard the noise of steps and laying the
lute from her hand, went out to see what was to do. She found her
lord Ishac lying aswoon in the vestibule; so she took him up and
strained him to her bosom, saying, 'I conjure thee in God's name,
O my lord, tell me, hath aught befallen thee?' When he heard her
voice, he recovered from his swoon and said to her, 'Who art
thou? ' Quoth she, 'I am thy slave-girl Tuhfeh.' And he said to
her, 'Art thou indeed Tuhfeh?' 'Yes,' answered she; and he, 'By
Allah, I had forgotten thee and remembered thee not till now!'
Then he looked at her and said, 'Indeed, thy case is altered and
thy pallor is grown changed to rosiness and thou hast redoubled
in beauty and lovesomeness. But was it thou who was singing but
now?' And she was troubled and affrighted and answered, 'Even I,
O my lord.'
Then Ishac seized upon her hand and carrying her into the house,
said to her, 'Take the lute and sing; for never saw I nor heard
thy like in smiting upon the lute; no, not even myself!' 'O my
lord,' answered she, 'thou makest mock of me. Who am I that thou
shouldst say all this to me? Indeed, this is but of thy
kindness.' 'Nay, by Allah,' exclaimed he, 'I said but the truth
to thee and I am none of those on whom pretence imposeth. These
three months hath nature not moved thee to take the lute and sing
thereto, and this is nought but an extraordinary thing. But all
this cometh of strength in the craft and self-restraint.' Then he
bade her sing; and she said, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she
took the lute and tightening its strings, smote thereon a number
of airs, so that she confounded Ishac's wit and he was like to
fly for delight. Then she returned to the first mode and sang
thereto the following verses:
Still by your ruined camp a dweller I abide; Ne'er will I change
nor e'er shall distance us divide.
Far though you dwell, I'll ne'er your neighbourhood forget, O
friends, whose lovers still for you are stupefied.
Your image midst mine eye sits nor forsakes me aye; Ye are my
moons in gloom of night and shadowtide.
Still, as my transports wax, grows restlessness on me And woes
have ta'en the place of love-delight denied.
When she had made an end of her song and laid down the lute,
Ishac looked fixedly on her, then took her hand and offered to
kiss it; but she snatched it from him and said to him, 'Allah, O
my lord, do not that!' Quoth he, 'Be silent. By Allah, I had said
that there was not in the world the like of me; but now I have
found my dinar[FN#180] in the craft but a danic,[FN#181] "for
thou art, beyond comparison or approximation or reckoning, more
excellent of skill than I! This very day will I carry thee up to
the Commander of the Faithful Haroun er Reshid, and whenas his
glance lighteth on thee, thou wilt become a princess of
womankind. So, Allah, Allah upon thee, O my lady, whenas thou
becomest of the household of the Commander of the Faithful, do
not thou forget me!' And she replied, saying, 'Allah, O my lord,
thou art the source of my fortunes and in thee is my heart
fortified.' So he took her hand and made a covenant with her of
this and she swore to him that she would not forget him.
Then said he to her, 'By Allah, thou art the desire of the
Commander of the Faithful![FN#182] So take the lute and sing a
song that thou shalt sing to the Khalif, whenas thou goest in to
him.' So she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following
verses:
His love on him took pity and wept for his dismay: Of those that
him did visit she was, as sick he lay.
She let him taste her honey and wine[FN#183] before his death:
This was his last of victual until the Judgment Day.
Ishac stared at her and seizing her hand, said to her, 'Know that
I am bound by an oath that, when the singing of a damsel pleaseth
me, she shall not make an end of her song but before the
Commander of the Faithful. But now tell me, how came it that thou
abodest with the slave-dealer five months and wast not sold to
any, and thou of this skill, more by token that the price set on
thee was no great matter?'
She laughed and answered, 'O my lord, my story is a strange one
and my case extraordinary. Know that I belonged aforetime to a
Mughrebi merchant, who bought me, when I was three years old, and
there were in his house many slave-girls and eunuchs; but I was
the dearest to him of them all. So he kept me with him and used
not to call me but "daughterling," and indeed I am presently a
clean maid. Now there was with him a damsel, a lutanist, and she
reared me and taught me the craft, even as thou seest. Then was
my master admitted to the mercy of God the Most High[FN#184] and
his sons divided his good. I fell to the lot of one of them; but
it was only a little while ere he had squandered all his
substance and there was left him no tittle of money. So I left
the lute, fearing lest I should fall into the hand of a man who
knew not my worth, for that I was assured that needs must my
master sell me; and indeed it was but a few days ere he carried
me forth to the barrack of the slave-merchant who buyeth
slave-girls and showeth them to the Commander of the Faithful.
Now I desired to learn the craft; so I refused to be sold to
other than thou, till God (extolled be His perfection and exalted
be He!) vouchsafed me my desire of thy presence; whereupon I came
out to thee, whenas I heard of thy coming, and besought thee to
buy me. Thou healedst my heart and boughtedst me; and since I
entered thy house, O my lord, I have not taken up the lute till
now; but to-day, whenas I was quit of the slave-girls, [I took
it]; and my purpose in this was that I might see if my hand were
changed[FN#185] or no. As I was singing, I heard a step in the
vestibule; so I laid the lute from my hand and going forth to see
what was to do, found thee, O my lord, on this wise.'
Quoth Ishac, 'Indeed, this was of thy fair fortune. By Allah, I
know not that which thou knowest in this craft!' Then he arose
and going to a chest, brought out therefrom striped clothes of
great price, netted with jewels and great pearls, and said to
her, 'In the name of God, don these, O my lady Tuhfeh.' So she
arose and donned those clothes and veiled herself and went up
[with Ishac] to the palace of the Khalifate, where he made her
stand without, whilst he himself went in to the Commander of the
Faithful (with whom was Jaafer the Barmecide) and kissing the
earth before him, said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I
have brought thee a damsel, never saw eyes her like for
excellence in singing and touching the lute; and her name is
Tuhfeh."[FN#186] 'And where,' asked Er Reshed, 'is this Tuhfeh,
who hath not her like in the world?' Quoth Ishac, 'Yonder she
stands, O Commander of the Faithful;' and he acquainted the
Khalif with her case from first to last. Then said Er Reshid, 'It
is a marvel to hear thee praise a slave-girl after this fashion.
Admit her, so we may see her, for that the morning may not be
hidden.'
Accordingly, Ishac bade admit her; so she entered, and when her
eyes fell upon the Commander of the Faithful, she kissed the
earth before him and said, 'Peace be upon thee, O Commander of
the Faithful and asylum of the people of the faith and reviver of
justice among all creatures! May God make plain the treading of
thy feet and vouchsafe thee enjoyment of that which He hath
bestowed on thee and make Paradise thy harbourage and the fire
that of thine enemies!' Quoth Er Reshid, 'And on thee be peace, O
damsel! Sit.' So she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she
took the lute and tightening its strings, played thereon in many
modes, so that the Commander of the Faithful and Jaafer were
confounded and like to fly for delight. Then she returned to the
first mode and sang the following verses:
By Him whom I worship, indeed, I swear, O thou that mine eye dost
fill, By Him in whose honour the pilgrims throng and fare to
Arafat's hill,
Though over me be the tombstone laid, if ever thou call on me,
Though rotten my bone should be, thy voice I'll answer, come
what will.
I crave none other than thou for friend, beloved of my heart; So
trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty
still.
Er Reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing
and her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities
and rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of
that which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch
and sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, 'Thou
hast done well, O Tuhfeh. By Allah, thou art indeed a
gift'[FN#187] Then he turned to Ishac and said to him, 'Thou
dealtest not equitably, O Ishac, in the description of this
damsel,[FN#188] neither settest out all that she compriseth of
goodliness and skill; for that, by Allah, she is incomparably
more skilful than thou; and I know of this craft that which none
knoweth other than I!' 'By Allah,' exclaimed Jaafer, 'thou sayst
sooth, O my lord, O Commander of the Faithful. Indeed, this
damsel hath done away my wit' Quoth Ishac, 'By Allah, O Commander
of the Faithful, I had said that there was not on the face of the
earth one who knew the craft of the lute like myself; but, when I
heard her, my skill became nothing worth in mine eyes.'
Then said the Khalif to her, 'Repeat thy playing, O Tuhfeh.' So
she repeated it and he said to her, 'Well done!' Moreover, he
said to Ishac, 'Thou hast indeed brought me that which is
extraordinary and worth in mine eyes the empire of the earth.'
Then he turned to Mesrour the eunuch and said to him, 'Carry
Tuhfeh to the lodging of honour.'[FN#189] Accordingly, she went
away with Mesrour and the Khalif looked at her clothes and seeing
her clad in raiment of choice, said to Ishac, 'O Ishac, whence
hath she these clothes?' 'O my lord, answered he, 'these are
somewhat of thy bounties and thy largesse, and they are a gift to
her from me. By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, the world,
all of it, were little in comparison with her!' Then the Khalif
turned to the Vizier Jaafer and said to him, 'Give Ishac fifty
thousand dirhems and a dress of honour of the apparel of choice.'
'Hearkening and obedience,' replied Jaafer and gave him that
which the Khalif ordered him.
As for Er Reshid, he shut himself up with Tuhfeh that night and
found her a clean maid and rejoiced in her; and she took high
rank in his heart, so that he could not endure from her a single
hour and committed to her the keys of the affairs of the realm,
for that which he saw in her of good breeding and wit and
modesty. Moreover, he gave her fifty slave-girls and two hundred
thousand dinars and clothes and trinkets and jewels and precious
stones, worth the kingdom of Egypt; and of the excess of his love
for her, he would not entrust her to any of the slave-girls or
eunuchs; but, whenas he went out from her, he locked the door
upon her and took the key with him, against he should return to
her, forbidding the damsels to go in to her, of his fear lest
they should slay her or practise on her with knife or poison; and
on this wise he abode awhile.
One day as she sang before the Commander of the Faithful, he was
moved to exceeding delight, so that he took her and offered to
kiss her hand; but she drew it away from him and smote upon her
lute and broke it and wept Er Reshid wiped away her tears and
said, 'O desire of the heart, what is it maketh thee weep? May
God not cause an eye of thine to weep!' 'O my lord,' answered
she, 'what am I that thou shouldst kiss my hand? Wilt thou have
God punish me for this and that my term should come to an end and
my felicity pass away? For this is what none ever attained unto.'
Quoth he, 'Well said, O Tuhfeh. Know that thy rank in my esteem
is mighty and for that which wondered me of what I saw of thee, I
offered to do this, but I will not return unto the like thereof;
so be of good heart and cheerful eye, for I have no desire for
other than thyself and will not die but in the love of thee, and
thou to me art queen and mistress, to the exclusion of all
humankind.' Therewith she fell to kissing his feet; and this her
fashion pleased him, so that his love for her redoubled and he
became unable to brook an hour's severance from her.
One day he went forth to the chase and left Tuhfeh in her
pavilion. As she sat looking upon a book, with a candlestick of
gold before her, wherein was a perfumed candle, behold, a
musk-apple fell down before her from the top of the
saloon.[FN#190] So she looked up and beheld the Lady Zubeideh
bint el Casim,[FN#191] who saluted her and acquainted her with
herself, whereupon Tuhfeh rose to her feet and said, 'O my lady,
were I not of the number of the upstarts, I had daily sought thy
service; so do not thou bereave me of thine august
visits.'[FN#192] The Lady Zubeideh called down blessings upon her
and answered, 'By the life of the Commander of the Faithful, I
knew this of thee, and but that it is not of my wont to go forth
of my place, I had come out to do my service to thee.' Then said
she to her, 'Know, O Tuhfeh, that the Commander of the Faithful
hath forsaken all his concubines and favourites on thine account,
even to myself. Yea, me also hath he deserted on this wise, and I
am not content to be as one of the concubines; yet hath he made
me of them and forsaken me, and I am come to thee, so thou mayst
beseech him to come to me, though it be but once a month, that I
may not be the like of the handmaids and concubines nor be evened
with the slave-girls; and this is my occasion with thee.'
'Hearkening and obedience,' answered Tuhfeh. 'By Allah, O my
lady, I would well that he might be with thee a whole month and
with me but one night, so thy heart might be comforted, for that
I am one of thy handmaids and thou art my lady in every event.'
The Lady Zubeideh thanked her for this and taking leave of her,
returned to her palace.
When the Khalif returned from the chase, he betook himself to
Tuhfeh's pavilion and bringing out the key, opened the door and
went in to her. She rose to receive him and kissed his hand, and
he took her to his breast and seated her on his knee. Then food
was brought to them and they ate and washed their hands; after
which she took the lute and sang, till Er Reshid was moved to
sleep. When she was ware of this, she left singing and told him
her adventure with the Lady Zubeideh, saying, 'O Commander of the
Faithful, I would have thee do me a favour and heal my heart and
accept my intercession and reject not my word, but go forthright
to the Lady Zubeideh's lodging.' Now this talk befell after he
had stripped himself naked and she also had put off her clothes;
and he said, 'Thou shouldst have named this before we stripped
ourselves naked.' But she answered, saying, ' O Commander of the
Faithful, I did this not but in accordance with the saying of the
poet in the following verses:
All intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, Save
Tuhfeh's, daughter of Merjan, for that, in very deed,
The intercessor who to thee herself presenteth veiled Is not her
like who naked comes with thee to intercede.'
When the Khalif heard this, her speech pleased him and he
strained her to his bosom. Then he went forth from her and locked
the door upon her, as before; whereupon she took the book and sat
looking in it awhile. Presently, she laid it down and taking the
lute, tightened its strings. Then she smote thereon, after a
wondrous fashion, such as would have moved inanimate things [to
delight], and fell to singing marvellous melodies and chanting
the following verses:
Rail not at the vicissitudes of Fate, For Fortune still spites
those who her berate.
Be patient under its calamities, For all things have an issue
soon or late.
How many a mirth-exciting joy amid The raiment of ill chances
lies in wait!
How often, too, hath gladness come to light Whence nought but
dole thou didst anticipate!
Then she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, comely of
hoariness, venerable of aspect, who was dancing on apt and goodly
wise, a dance the like whereof none might avail unto. So she
sought refuge with God the Most High from Satan the
Stoned[FN#193] and said, 'I will not give over what I am about,
for that which God decreeth, He carrieth into execution.'
Accordingly, she went on singing till the old man came up to her
and kissed the earth before her, saying, 'Well done, O Queen of
the East and the West! May the world be not bereaved of thee! By
Allah, indeed thou art perfect of qualities and ingredients, O
Tuhfet es Sudour![FN#194] Dost thou know me?' 'Nay, by Allah,'
answered she; 'but methinks thou art of the Jinn.' Quoth he,
'Thou sayst sooth; I am the Sheikh Aboultawaif[FN#195] Iblis, and
I come to thee every night, and with me thy sister Kemeriyeh, for
that she loveth thee and sweareth not but by thy life; and her
life is not pleasant to her, except she come to thee and see
thee, what while thou seest her not. As for me, I come to thee
upon an affair, wherein thou shall find thine advantage and
whereby thou shalt rise to high rank with the kings of the Jinn
and rule them, even as thou rulest mankind; [and to that end I
would have thee come with me and be present at the festival of my
son's circumcision;[FN#196]] for that the Jinn are agreed upon
the manifestation of thine affair.' And she answered, 'In the
name of God.'
So she gave him the lute and he forewent her, till he came to the
house of easance, and behold, therein was a door and a stairway.
When Tuhfeh saw this, her reason fled; but Iblis cheered her with
discourse. Then he descended the stair and she followed him to
the bottom thereof, where she found a passage and they fared on
therein, till they came to a horse standing, Teady saddled and
bridled and accoutred. Quoth Iblis, '[Mount], in the name of God,
O my lady Tuhfeh;' and he held the stirrup for her. So she
mounted and the horse shook under her and putting forth wings,
flew up with her, whilst the old man flew by her side; whereat
she was affrighted and clung to the pummel of the saddle; nor was
it but an hour ere they came to a fair green meadow,
fresh-flowered as if the soil thereof were a goodly robe,
embroidered with all manner colours.
Midmost that meadow was a palace soaring high into the air, with
battlements of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, and a
two-leaved gate; and in the gateway thereof were much people of
the chiefs of the Jinn, clad in sumptuous apparel. When they saw
the old man, they all cried out, saying, 'The Lady Tuhfeh is
come!' And as soon as she reached the palace-gate, they came all
and dismounting her from the horse's back, carried her into the
palace and fell to kissing her hands. When she entered, she
beheld a palace whereof never saw eyes the like; for therein were
four estrades, one facing other, and its walls were of gold and
its ceilings of silver. It was lofty of building, wide of
continence, and those who beheld it would be puzzled to describe
it. At the upper end of the hall stood a throne of red gold, set
with pearls and jewels, unto which led up five steps of silver,
and on the right thereof and on its left were many chairs of gold
and silver; and over the dais was a curtain let down, gold and
silver wrought and broidered with pearls and jewels.
The old man carried Tuhfeh up [to the dais and seated her] on a
chair of gold beside the throne, whilst she was amazed at that
which she saw in that place and magnified her Lord (extolled be
His perfection and exalted be He!) and hallowed Him. Then the
kings of the Jinn came up to the throne and seated themselves
thereon; and they were in the semblance of mortals, excepting two
of them, who were in the semblance of the Jinn, with eyes slit
endlong and jutting horns and projecting tusks. After this there
came up a young lady, fair of favour and pleasant of parts; the
light of her face outshone that of the flambeaux, and about her
were other three women, than whom there were no fairer on the
face of the earth. They saluted Tuhfeh and she rose to them and
kissed the earth before them; whereupon they embraced her and sat
down on the chairs aforesaid.
Now the four women who thus accosted Tuhfeh were the princess
Kemeriyeh, daughter of King Es Shisban, and her sisters; and
Kemeriyeh loved Tuhfeh with an exceeding love. So, when she came
up to her, she fell to kissing and embracing her, and Iblis said,
'Fair befall you! Take me between you.' At this Tuhfeh laughed
and Kemeriyeh said, 'O my sister, I love thee and doubtless
hearts have their evidences,[FN#197] for, since I saw thee, I
have loved thee.' 'By Allah,' replied Tuhfeh, 'hearts have
deeps,[FN#198] and thou, by Allah, art dear to me and I am thy
handmaid.' Kemeriyeh thanked her for this and said to her, 'These
are the wives of the kings of the Jinn: salute them. This is
Queen Jemreh,[FN#199] that is Queen Wekhimeh and this other is
Queen Sherareh, and they come not but for thee.' So Tuhfeh rose
to her feet and kissed their hands, and the three queens kissed
her and welcomed her and entreated her with the utmost honour.
Then they brought trays and tables and amongst the rest a platter
of red gold, inlaid with pearls and jewels; its margents were of
gold and emerald, and thereon were graven the following verses:
For the uses of food I was fashioned and made; The hands of the
noble me wrought and inlaid.
My maker reserved me for generous men And the niggard and
sland'rer to use me forebade.
So eat what I offer in surety and be The Lord of all things with
thanks- giving repaid!
So they ate and Tuhfeh looked at the two kings, who had not
changed their favour and said to Kemeriyeh, 'O my lady, what is
yonder wild beast and that other like unto him? By Allah, mine
eye brooketh not the sight of them.' Kemeriyeh laughed and
answered, 'O my sister, that is my father Es Shisban and the
other is Meimoun the Sworder; and of the pride of their souls and
their arrogance, they consented not to change their [natural]
fashion. Indeed, all whom thou seest here are, by nature, like
unto them in fashion; but, on thine account, they have changed
their favour, for fear lest thou be disquieted and for the
comforting of thy mind, so thou mightest make friends with them
and be at thine ease.' 'O my lady,' quoth Tuhfeh, 'indeed I
cannot look at them. How frightful is yonder Meimoun, with his
[one] eye! Mine eye cannot brook the sight of him, and indeed I
am fearful of him.' Kemeriyeh laughed at her speech, and Tuhfeh
said, 'By Allah, O my lady, I cannot fill my eye with
them!'[FN#200] Then said her father Es Shisban to her, 'What is
this laughing?' So she bespoke him in a tongue none understood
but they [two] and acquainted him with that which Tuhfeh had
said; whereat he laughed a prodigious laugh, as it were the
pealing thunder.
Then they ate and the tables were removed and they washed their
hands; after which Iblis the Accursed came up to Tuhfeh and said
to her, 'O my lady Tuhfeh, thou gladdenest the place and with thy
presence enlightenest and embellishest it; but now fain would
these kings hear somewhat of thy singing, for the night hath
spread its wings for departure and there abideth thereof but a
little.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the
lute and touching its strings on rare wise, played thereon after
a wondrous fashion, so that it seemed to those who were present
as if the palace stirred with them for the music. Then she fell
a-singing and chanted the following verses:
Peace on you, people of my troth! With peace I do you greet. Said
ye not truly, aforetime, that we should live and meet?
Ah, then will I begin on you with chiding than the breeze More
soft, ay pleasanter than clear cold water and more sweet.
Indeed, mine eyelids still with tears are ulcered and to you My
bowels yearn to be made whole of all their pain and heat.
Parting hath sundered us, belov'd; indeed, I stood in dread Of
this, whilst yet our happiness in union was complete.
To God of all the woes I've borne I plain me, for I pine For
longing and lament, and Him for solace I entreat
The kings of the Jinn were moved to delight by that fair singing
and fluent speech and praised Tuhfeh; and Queen Kemeriyeh rose to
her and embraced her and kissed her between the eyes, saying, 'By
Allah, it is good, O my sister and solace of mine eyes and
darling of my heart!' Then said she, 'I conjure thee by Allah,
give us more of this lovely singing.' And Tuhfeh answered with
'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the lute and playing
thereon after a different fashion from the former one, sang the
following verses:
Oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me With hopes of
thine enjoyment in all security.
Sure God shall yet, in pity, reknit our severed lives, Even as He
did afflict me with loneness after thee.
Thou whose desire possesseth my soul, the love of whom Hold on my
reins hath gotten and will not let me free,
Compared with thine enjoyment, the hardest things are light To
win and all things distant draw near and easy be.
God to a tristful lover be light! A man of wit, Yet perishing for
yearning and body-worn is he.
Were I cut off, beloved, from hope of thy return, Slumber,
indeed, for ever my wakeful lids would flee.
For nought of worldly fortune I weep! my only joy In seeing thee
consisteth and in thy seeing me.
At this the accursed Iblis was moved to delight and put his
finger to his arse, whilst Meimoun danced and said, 'O Tuhfet es
Sudour, soften the mode;[FN#201] for, as delight, entereth into
my heart, it bewildereth my vital spirits.' So she took the lute
and changing the mode, played a third air; then she returned to
the first and sang the following verses:
The billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore; I sink and all
in vain for succour I implore.
Ye've drowned me in the sea of love for you; my heart Denies to
be consoled for those whom I adore.
Think not that I forget our trothplight after you. Nay; God to me
decreed remembrance heretofore.[FN#202]
Love to its victim clings without relent, and he Of torments and
unease complaineth evermore.
The kings and all those who were present rejoiced in this with an
exceeding delight and the accursed Iblis came up to Tuhfeh and
kissing her hand, said to her, 'There abideth but little of the
night; so do thou tarry with us till the morrow, when we will
apply ourselves to the wedding[FN#203] and the circumcision.'
Then all the Jinn went away, whereupon Tuhfeh rose to her feet
and Iblis said, 'Go ye up with Tuhfeh to the garden for the rest
of the night.' So Kemeriyeh took her and carried her into the
garden. Now this garden contained all manner birds, nightingale
and mocking-bird and ringdove and curlew[FN#204] and other than
these of all the kinds, and therein were all kinds of fruits. Its
channels[FN#205] were of gold and silver and the water thereof,
as it broke forth of its conduits, was like unto fleeing
serpents' bellies, and indeed it was as it were the Garden of
Eden.[FN#206]
When Tuhfeh beheld this, she called to mind her lord and wept
sore and said, 'I beseech God the Most High to vouchsafe me
speedy deliverance, so I may return to my palace and that my high
estate and queendom and glory and be reunited with my lord and
master Er Reshid.' Then she walked in that garden and saw in its
midst a dome of white marble, raised on columns of black teak and
hung with curtains embroidered with pearls and jewels.
Amiddleward this pavilion was a fountain, inlaid with all manner
jacinths, and thereon a statue of gold, and [beside it] a little
door. She opened the door and found herself in a long passage; so
she followed it and behold, a bath lined with all kinds of
precious marbles and floored with a mosaic of pearls and jewels.
Therein were four cisterns of alabaster, one facing other, and
the ceiling of the bath was of glass coloured with all manner
colours, such as confounded the understanding of the folk of
understanding and amazed the wit.
Tuhfeh entered the bath, after she had put off her clothes, and
behold, the basin thereof was overlaid with gold set with pearls
and red rubies and green emeralds and other jewels; so she
extolled the perfection of God the Most High and hallowed Him for
the magnificence of that which she saw of the attributes of that
bath. Then she made her ablutions in that basin and pronouncing
the Magnification of Prohibition,[FN#207] prayed the morning
prayer and what else had escaped her of prayers;[FN#208] after
which she went out and walked in that garden among jessamine and
lavender and roses and camomile and gillyflowers and thyme and
violets and sweet basil, till she came to the door of the
pavilion aforesaid and sat down therein, pondering that which
should betide Er Reshid after her, whenas he should come to her
pavilion and find her not. She abode sunken in the sea of her
solicitude, till presently sleep took her and she slept
Presently she felt a breath upon her face; whereupon she awoke
and found Queen Kemeriyeh kissing her, and with her her three
sisters, Queen Jemreh, Queen Wekhimeh and Queen Sherareh. So she
arose and kissed their hands and rejoiced in them with the utmost
joy and they abode, she and they, in talk and converse, what
while she related to them her history, from the time of her
purchase by the Mughrebi to that of her coming to the
slave-dealers' barrack, where she besought Ishac en Nedim to buy
her, and how she won to Er Reshid, till the moment when Iblis
came to her and brought her to them. They gave not over talking
till the sun declined and turned pale and the season of sundown
drew near and the day departed, whereupon Tuhfeh was instant in
supplication to God the Most High, on the occasion of the prayer
of sundown, that He would reunite her with her lord Er Reshid.
After this, she abode with the four queens, till they arose and
entered the palace, where she found the candles lit and ranged in
candlesticks of gold and silver and censing-vessels of gold and
silver, filled with aloes-wood and ambergris, and there were the
kings of the Jinn sitting. So she saluted them, kissing the earth
before them and doing them worship; and they rejoiced in her and
in her sight. Then she ascended [the estrade] and sat down upon
her chair, whilst King Es Shisban and King El Muzfir and Queen
Louloueh and [other] the kings of the Jinn sat on chairs, and
they brought tables of choice, spread with all manner meats
befitting kings. They ate their fill; after which the tables were
removed and they washed their hands and wiped them with napkins.
Then they brought the wine-service and set on bowls and cups and
flagons and hanaps of gold and silver and beakers of crystal and
gold; and they poured out the wines and filled the flagons.
Then Iblis took the cup and signed to Tuhfeh to sing; and she
said, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the lute and tuning
it, sang the following verses:
Drink ever, O lovers, I rede you, of wine And praise his desert
who for yearning doth pine,
Where lavender, myrtle, narcissus entwine, With all sweet-scented
herbs, round the juice of the vine.
So Iblis the Accursed drank and said, 'Well done, O desire of
hearts! but thou owest me yet another song.' Then he filled the
cup and signed to her to sing. Quoth she, 'Hearkening and
obedience,' and sang the following verses:
Ye know I'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment,
Yet ye torment me, for to you 'tis pleasing to torment.
Between mine eyes and wake ye have your dwelling-place, and thus
My tears flow on unceasingly, my sighs know no relent.
How long shall I for justice sue to you, whilst, with desire For
aid, ye war on me and still on slaying me are bent!
To me your rigour love-delight, your distance nearness is; Ay,
your injustice equity, and eke your wrath consent.
Accuse me falsely, cruelly entreat me; still ye are My heart's
beloved, at whose hands no rigour I resent.
All who were present were delighted and the sitting-chamber shook
with mirth, and Iblis said, 'Well done, O Tuhfet es Sudour!' Then
they gave not over wine-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry
and tambourining and piping till the night waned and the dawn
drew near; and indeed exceeding delight entered into them. The
most of them in mirth was the Sheikh Iblis, and for the excess of
that which betided him of delight, he put off all that was upon
him of coloured clothes and cast them over Tuhfeh, and among the
rest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths, worth ten
thousand dinars. Then he kissed the earth and danced and put his
finger to his arse and taking his beard in his hand, said to her,
'Sing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance,
and no blame shall betide thee for this.' So she improvised and
sang the following verses:
Beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be My saying
of a knave, his fashion and degree?
I rede thee vaunt thee not of praise from us, for lo! Even as a
docktailed cur thou art esteemed of me.
By Allah, without fail, to-morrow thou shalt see Me with
ox-leather dress and drub the nape of thee!
All those who were present laughed at her mockery of Iblis and
marvelled at the goodliness of her observation[FN#209] and her
readiness in improvising verses; whilst the Sheikh himself
rejoiced and said to her, 'O Tuhfet es Sudour, the night is gone;
so arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-morrow all shall be
well.' Then all the kings of the Jinn departed, together with
those who were present of guards, and Tuhfeh abode alone,
pondering the affair of Er Reshid and bethinking her of how it
was with him, after her, and of that which had betided him for
her loss, till the dawn gleamed, when she arose and walked in the
palace. Presently she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and
found herself in a garden goodlier than the first, never saw eyes
a fairer than it. When she beheld this garden, delight moved her
and she called to mind her lord Er Reshid and wept sore, saying,
'I crave of the bounty of God the Most High that my return to him
and to my palace and my home may be near at hand!'
Then she walked in the garden till she came to a pavilion, lofty
of building and wide of continence, never saw mortal nor heard of
a goodlier than it [So she entered] and found herself in a long
corridor, which led to a bath goodlier than that whereof it hath
been spoken, and the cisterns thereof were full of rose-water
mingled with musk. Quoth Tuhfeh, 'Extolled be the perfection of
God! Indeed, this[FN#210] is none other than a mighty king.' Then
she put off her clothes and washed her body and made her
ablution, after the fullest fashion,[FN#211] and prayed that
which was due from her of prayer from the evening [of the
previous day].[FN#212] When the sun rose upon the gate of the
garden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was
therein of all manner flowers and streams, and heard the voices
of its birds, she marvelled at what she saw of the surpassing
goodliness of its ordinance and the beauty of its disposition and
sat meditating the affair of Er Reshid and pondering what was
come of him after her. Her tears ran down upon her cheek and the
zephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till she felt a
breath on her cheek, whereupon she awoke in affright and found
Queen Kemeriyeh kissing her face, and with her her sisters, who
said to her, 'Arise, for the sun hath set.'
So she arose and making the ablution, prayed that which behoved
her of prayers[FN#213] and accompanied the four queens to the
palace, where she saw the candles lighted and the kings sitting.
She saluted them and seated herself upon her couch; and behold,
King Es Shisban had changed his favour, for all the pride of his
soul. Then came up Iblis (whom God curse!) and Tuhfeh rose to him
and kissed his hands. He in turn kissed her hand and called down
blessings on her and said, 'How deemest thou? Is [not] this place
pleasant, for all its loneliness and desolation?' Quoth she,
'None may be desolate in this place;' and he said, 'Know that no
mortal dare tread [the soil of] this place.' But she answered, 'I
have dared and trodden it, and this is of the number of thy
favours.' Then they brought tables and meats and viands and
fruits and sweetmeats and what not else, to the description
whereof mortal man availeth not, and they ate till they had
enough; after which the tables were removed and the trays and
platters[FN#214] set on, and they ranged the bottles and flagons
and vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and
sweet-scented flowers.
The first to take the cup was Iblis the Accursed, who said, 'O
Tuhfet es Sudour, sing over my cup.' So she took the lute and
touching it, sang the following verses:
Awaken, O ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here By what's
vouchsafed of fortune fair and life untroubled, clear.
Drink of the first-run wine, that shows as very flame it were,
When from the pitcher 'tis outpoured, or ere the day appear.
O skinker of the vine-juice, let the cup 'twixt us go round, For
in its drinking is my hope and all I hold most dear.
What is the pleasance of the world, except it be to see My lady's
face, to drink of wine and ditties still to hear?
So Iblis drank off his cup, and when he had made an end of his
draught, he waved his hand to Tuhfeh, and putting off that which
was upon him of clothes, delivered them to her. Amongst them was
a suit worth ten thousand dinars and a tray full of jewels worth
a great sum of money. Then he filled again and gave the cup to
his son Es Shisban, who took it from his hand and kissing it,
stood up and sat down again. Now there was before him a tray of
roses; so he said to her 'O Tuhfeh sing upon these roses.'
Hearkening and obedience,' answered she and sang the following
verses:
O'er all the fragrant flowers that be I have the prefrence aye,
For that I come but once a year, and but a little stay.
And high is my repute, for that I wounded aforetime My
lord,[FN#215] whom God made best of all the treaders of the
clay.
So Es Shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, 'Well done,
O desire of hearts!' And he bestowed on her that which was upon
him, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great pearls
and rubies and broidered with precious stones, and a tray wherein
were fifty thousand dinars. Then Meimoun the Sworder took the cup
and fell to gazing intently upon Tuhfeh. Now there was in his
hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, 'Sing upon this
pomegranate-flower, O queen of men and Jinn; for indeed thou hast
dominion over all hearts.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and obedience;'
and she improvised and sang the following verses:
The zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, And as with falling
fire 'twas clad anew;
And to the birds' descant in the foredawns, From out the boughs
it flowered forth and grew,
Till in a robe of sandal green 'twas clad And veil that blended
rose and flame[FN#216] in hue.
Meinsoun drank off his cup and said to her, 'Well done, O perfect
of attributes!' Then he signed to her and was absent awhile,
after which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an
hundred thousand dinars, [which he gave to Tuhfeh]. So Kemeriyeh
arose and bade her slave-girl open the closet behind her, wherein
she laid all that wealth. Then she delivered the key to Tuhfeh,
saying, 'All that cometh to thee of riches, lay thou in this
closet that is by thy side, and after the festival, it shall be
carried to thy palace on the heads of the Jinn.' Tuhfeh kissed
her hand, and another king, by name Munir, took the cup and
filling it, said to her, 'O fair one, sing to me over my cup upon
the jasmine.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered she and
improvised the following verses:
It is as the jasmine, when it I espy, As it glitters and gleams
midst its boughs, were a sky
Of beryl, all glowing with beauty, wherein Thick stars of pure
silver shine forth to the eye.
Munir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand
dinars, whereat Kemeriyeh rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed
Tuhfeh on her face and said to her, 'May the world not be
bereaved of thee, O thou who lordest it over the hearts of Jinn
and mortals!' Then she returned to her place and the Sheikh Iblis
arose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which
he said to Tuhfeh, 'Indeed, thou embellishest my festival, O thou
who hast commandment over men and Jinn and rejoicest their hearts
with thy loveliness and the excellence of thy faithfulness to thy
lord. All that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy
palace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at
hand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont' Tuhfeh
turned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head
on the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which
she arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and
prayed. Then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the
affair of her lord Er Reshid and that which had betided him after
her and wept sore.
Presently, she heard a blowing behind her; so she turned and
behold, a head without a body and with eyes slit endlong; it was
of the bigness of an elephant's head and bigger and had a mouth
as it were an oven and projecting tusks, as they were grapnels,
and hair that trailed upon the earth. So Tuhfeh said, 'I take
refuge with God from Satan the Stoned!' and recited the Two
Amulets;[FN#217] what while the head drew near her and said to
her, 'Peace be upon thee, O princess of Jinn and men and unique
pearl of her age and her time! May God still continue thee on
life, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy
lord the Imam!'[FN#218] 'And upon thee be peace,' answered she,
'O thou whose like I have not seen among the Jinn!' Quoth the
head, 'We are a people who avail not to change their favours and
we are called ghouls. The folk summon us to their presence, but
we may not present ourselves before them [without leave]. As for
me, I have gotten leave of the Sheikh Aboultawaif to present
myself before thee and I desire of thy favour that thou sing me a
song, so I may go to thy palace and question its haunters[FN#219]
concerning the plight of thy lord after thee and return to thee;
and know, O Tuhfet es Sudour, that between thee and thy lord is a
distance of fifty years' journey to the diligent traveller.'
'Indeed,' rejoined Tuhfeh, 'thou grievest me [for him] between
whom and me is fifty years' journey. And the head said to her,
'Be of good heart and cheerful eye, for the kings of the Jinn
will restore thee to him in less than the twinkling of an eye.'
Quoth she,' I will sing thee an hundred songs, so thou wilt bring
me news of my lord and that which hath befallen him after me.'
And the head answered, saying, 'Do thou favour me and sing me a
song, so I may go to thy lord and bring thee news of him, for
that I desire, before I go, to hear thy voice, so haply my
thirst[FN#220] may be quenched.' So she took the lute and tuning
it, sang the following verses:
They have departed; but the steads yet full of them remain: Yea,
they have left me, but my heart of them doth not complain.
My heart bereavement of my friends forebode; may God of them The
dwellings not bereave, but send them timely home again!
Though they their journey's goal, alas I have hidden, in their
track Still will I follow on until the very planets wane.
Ye sleep; by Allah, sleep comes not to ease my weary lids; But
from mine eyes, since ye have passed away, the blood doth
rain.
The railers for your loss pretend that I should patient be:
'Away!' I answer them: ' 'tis I, not you, that feel the
pain.'
What had it irked them, had they'd ta'en farewell of him they've
left Lone, whilst estrangement's fires within his entrails
rage amain?
Great in delight, beloved mine, your presence is with me; Yet
greater still the miseries of parting and its bane.
Ye are the pleasaunce of my soul; or present though you be Or
absent from me, still my heart and thought with you remain.
The head wept exceeding sore and said, 'O my lady, indeed thou
hast solaced my heart, and I have nought but my life; so take
it.' Quoth she, 'An I but knew that thou wouldst bring me news of
my lord Er Reshid, it were liefer to me than the empery of the
world.' And the head answered her, saying, 'It shall be done as
thou desirest.' Then it disappeared and returning to her at the
last of the night, said, 'Know, O my lady, that I have been to
thy palace and have questioned one of the haunters thereof of the
case of the Commander of the Faithful and that which befell him
after thee; and he said, "When the Commander of the Faithful came
to Tuhfeh's lodging and found her not and saw no sign of her, he
buffeted his face and head and rent his clothes. Now there was in
thy lodging the eunuch, the chief of thy household, and he cried
out at him, saying, 'Bring me Jaafer the Barmecide and his father
and brother forthright.' The eunuch went out, confounded in his
wit for fear of the Commander of the Faithful, and whenas he came
to Jaafer, he said to him, 'Come to the Commander of the
Faithful, thou and thy father and brother.' So they arose in
haste and betaking themselves to the Khalif's presence, said to
him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, what is to do?' Quoth he,
'There is that to do which overpasseth description. Know that I
locked the door and taking the key with me, betook myself to the
daughter of mine uncle, with whom I lay the night; but, when I
arose in the morning and came and opened the door, I found no
sign of Tuhfeh.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' rejoined Jaafer,
'have patience, for that the damsel hath been snatched away, and
needs must she return, seeing she took the lute with her, and it
is her [own] lute. The Jinn have assuredly carried her off and we
trust in God the Most High that she will return.' Quoth the
Khalif, ' This[FN#221] is a thing that may nowise be' And he
abode in her lodging, eating not neither drinking, what while the
Barmecides besought him to go forth to the folk; and he weepeth
and abideth on this wise till she shall return." This, then, is
that which hath betided him after thee.'
When Tuhfeh heard this, it was grievous to her and she wept sore;
whereupon quoth the head to her, 'The relief of God the Most High
is near at hand; but now let me hear somewhat of thy speech.' So
she took the lute and sang three songs, weeping the while. 'By
Allah,' said the head, 'thou hast been bountiful to me, may God
be with thee!' Then it disappeared and the season of sundown
came. So she arose [and betook herself] to her place [in the
hall]; whereupon the candles rose up from under the earth and
kindled themselves. Then the kings of the Jinn appeared and
saluted her and kissed her hands and she saluted them. Presently,
up came Kemeriyeh and her three sisters and saluted Tuhfeh and
sat down; whereupon the tables were brought and they ate. Then
the tables were removed and there came the wine-tray and the
drinking-service. So Tuhfeh took the lute and one of the three
queens filled the cup and signed to Tuhfeh [to sing]. Now she had
in her hand a violet; so Tuhfeh sang the following verses:
Behold, I am clad in a robe of leaves green And a garment of
honour of ultramarine.
Though little, with beauty myself I've adorned; So the flowers
are my subjects and I am their queen.
If the rose be entitled the pride of the morn, Before me nor
after she wins it, I ween.
The queen drank off her cup and bestowed on Tuhfeh a dress of
cloth-of-pearl, fringed with red rubies, worth twenty thousand
dinars, and a tray wherein were ten thousand dinars.
All this while Meimoun's eye was upon her and presently he said
to her, 'Harkye, Tuhfeh! Sing to me.' But Queen Zelzeleh cried
out at him and said, 'Desist, O Meimoun. Thou sufferest not
Tuhfeh to pay heed unto us.' Quoth he, 'I will have her sing to
me.' And words waxed between them and Queen Zelzeleh cried out at
him. Then she shook and became like unto the Jinn and taking in
her hand a mace of stone, said to him, 'Out on thee! What art
thou that thou shouldst bespeak us thus? By Allah, but for the
king's worship and my fear of troubling the session and the
festival and the mind of the Sheikh Iblis, I would assuredly beat
the folly out of thy head!' When Meimoun heard these her words,
he rose, with the fire issuing from his eyes, and said, 'O
daughter of Imlac, what art thou that thou shouldst outrage me
with the like of this talk?' 'Out on thee, O dog of the Jinn,'
replied she, 'knowest thou not thy place?' So saying, she ran at
him and offered to strike him with the mace, but the Sheikh Iblis
arose and casting his turban on the ground, said, 'Out on thee, O
Meimoun! Thou still dost with us on this wise. Wheresoever thou
art present, thou troubleth our life! Canst thou not hold thy
peace till thou goest forth of the festival and this
bride-feast[FN#222] be accomplished? When the circumcision is at
an end and ye all return to your dwelling-places, then do as thou
wilt. Out on thee, O Meimoun! Knowest thou not that Imlac is of
the chiefs of the Jinn? But for my worship, thou shouldst have
seen what would have betided thee of humiliation and punishment;
but by reason of the festival none may speak. Indeed thou
exceedest: knowest thou not that her sister Wekhimeh is doughtier
than any of the Jinn? Learn to know thyself: hast thou no regard
for thy life?'
Meimoun was silent and Iblis turned to Tuhfeh and said to her,
'Sing to the kings of the Jinn this day and to-night until the
morrow, when the boy will be circumcised and each shall return to
his own place.' So she took the lute and Kemeriyeh said to her,
(now she had in her hand a cedrat), 'O my sister, sing to me on
this cedrat.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' replied Tuhfeh, and
improvising, sang the following verses:
My fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, Whose beauty amazeth
all those that behold.
My juice among kings is still drunken for wine And a present am I
betwixt friends, young and old.
At this Queen Kemeriyeh was moved to exceeding delight and drank
off her cup, saying, 'Well done, O queen of hearts!' Moreover,
she took off a surcoat of blue brocade, fringed with red rubies,
and a necklace of white jewels, worth an hundred thousand dinars,
and gave them to Tuhfeh. Then she passed the cup to her sister
Zelzeleh, who had in her hand sweet basil, and she said to
Tuhfeh, 'Sing to me on this sweet basil.' 'Hearkening and
obedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following
verses:
The crown of the flow'rets am I, in the chamber of wine, And
Allah makes mention of me 'mongst the pleasures divine; Yea, ease
and sweet basil and peace, the righteous are told, In Eternity's
Garden of sweets shall to bless them combine.[FN#223] Where,
then, is the worth that in aught with my worth can compare And
where is the rank in men's eyes can be likened to mine?
Thereat Queen Zelzeleh was moved to exceeding delight and bidding
her treasuress bring a basket, wherein were fifty pairs of
bracelets and the like number of earrings, all of gold, set with
jewels of price, the like whereof nor men nor Jinn possessed, and
an hundred robes of coloured brocade and an hundred thousand
dinars, gave the whole to Tuhfeh. Then she passed the cup to her
sister Sherareh, who had in her hand a stalk of narcissus; so she
took it from her and turning to Tuhfeh, said to her, 'O Tuhfeh,
sing to me on this.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered she and
improvised and sang the following verses:
Most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow I; Amongst the
fragrant flow'rets there's none with me can vie.
The eyes of lovely women are likened unto me; Indeed, amongst the
gardens I open many an eye.
When she had made an end of her song, Sherareh was moved to
exceeding delight and drinking off her cup, said to her, 'Well
done, O gift of hearts!' Then she ordered her an hundred dresses
of brocade and an hundred thousand dinars and passed the cup to
Queen Wekhimeh. Now she had in her hand somewhat of blood-red
anemone; so she took the cup from her sister and turning to
Tuhfeh, said to her, 'O Tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' Quoth she,
'I hear and obey,' and improvised the following verses:
The Merciful dyed me with that which I wear Of hues with whose
goodliness none may compare.
The earth is my birth-place, indeed; but my place Of abidance is
still in the cheeks of the fair.
Therewith Wekhimeh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking
off the cup, ordered her twenty dresses of Greek brocade and a
tray, wherein were thirty thousand dinars. Then she gave the cup
to Queen Shuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, who took it and said,
'O my lady Tuhfeh, sing to me on the gillyflower.' Quoth she
'Hearkening and obedience,' and improvised the following verses:
The season of my presence is never at an end 'Mongst all their
time in gladness and solacement who spend,
Whenas the folk assemble for birling at the wine, Whether in
morning's splendour or when night's shades descend.
The pitcher then of goblets filled full and brimming o'er With
limpid wine we plunder, that pass from friend to friend.
Queen Shuaaeh was moved to exceeding delight and emptying her
cup, gave Tuhfeh an hundred thousand dinars. Then arose Iblis
(may God curse him!) and said, 'Verily, the dawn gleameth.'
Whereupon the folk arose and disappeared, all of them, and there
abode not one of them save Tuhfeh, who went forth to the garden
and entering the bath, made her ablutions and prayed that which
had escaped her of prayers. Then she sat down and when the sun
rose, behold, there came up to her near an hundred thousand green
birds; the branches of the trees were filled with their
multitudes and they warbled in various voices, whilst Tuhfeh
marvelled at their fashion. Presently, up came eunuchs, bearing a
throne of gold, set with pearls and jewels and jacinths white and
red and having four steps of gold, together with many carpets of
silk and brocade and Egyptian cloth of silk welted with gold.
These latter they spread amiddleward the garden and setting up
the throne thereon, perfumed the place with virgin musk and aloes
and ambergris.
After that, there appeared a queen, never saw eyes a goodlier
than she nor than her attributes; she was clad in rich raiment,
embroidered with pearls and jewels, and on her head was a crown
set with various kinds of pearls and jewels. About her were five
hundred slave-girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons,
screening her, right and left, and she among them as she were the
moon on the night of its full, for that she was the most of them
in majesty and dignity. She gave not over walking, till she came
to Tuhfeh, whom she found gazing on her in amazement; and when
the latter saw her turn to her, she rose to her, standing on her
feet, and saluted her and kissed the earth before her.
The queen rejoiced in her and putting out her hand to her, drew
her to herself and seated her by her side on the couch; whereupon
Tuhfeh kissed her hands and the queen said to her, 'Know, O
Tuhfeh, that all that thou treadest of these belong not to any of
the Jinn,[FN#224] for that I am the queen of them all and the
Sheikh Aboultawaif Iblis sought my permission[FN#225] and prayed
me to be present at the circumcision of his son. So I sent to
him, in my stead, a slave-girl of my slave-girls, to wit,
Shuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, who is vice-queen of my
kingdom. When she was present at the wedding and saw thee and
heard thy singing, she sent to me, giving me to know of thee and
setting forth to me thine elegance and pleasantness and the
goodliness of thy breeding and thy singing. So I am come to thee,
for that which I have heard of thy charms, and this shall bring
thee great worship in the eyes of all the Jinn.'[FN#226]
Tuhfeh arose and kissed the earth and the queen thanked her for
this and bade her sit. So she sat down and the queen called for
food; whereupon they brought a table of gold, inlaid with pearls
and jacinths and jewels and spread with various kinds of birds
and meats of divers hues, and the queen said, 'O Tuhfeh, in the
name of God, let us eat bread and salt together, thou and I.' So
Tuhfeh came forward and ate of those meats and tasted somewhat
the like whereof she had never eaten, no, nor aught more
delicious than it, what while the slave-girls stood compassing
about the table and she sat conversing and laughing with the
queen. Then said the latter, 'O my sister, a slave-girl told me
of thee that thou saidst, "How loathly is yonder genie Meimoun!
There is no eating [in his presence]."'[FN#227] 'By Allah, O my
lady,' answered Tuhfeh, 'I cannot brook the sight of him,[FN#228]
and indeed I am fearful of him.' When the queen heard this, she
laughed, till she fell backward, and said, 'O my sister, by the
virtue of the inscription upon the seal-ring of Solomon, prophet
of God, I am queen over all the Jinn, and none dare so much as
look on thee a glance of the eye.' And Tuhfeh kissed her hand.
Then the tables were removed and they sat talking.
Presently up came the kings of the Jinn from every side and
kissed the earth before the queen and stood in her service; and
she thanked them for this, but stirred not for one of them. Then
came the Sheikh Aboultawaif Iblis (God curse him!) and kissed the
earth before her, saying, 'O my lady, may I not be bereft of
these steps!'[FN#229] O Sheikh Aboultawalf,' answered she, 'it
behoveth thee to thank the bounty of the Lady Tuhfeh, who was the
cause of my coming.' 'True,' answered he and kissed the earth.
Then the queen fared on [towards the palace] and there [arose
and] alighted upon the trees an hundred thousand birds of various
colours. Quoth Tuhfeh, 'How many are these birds!' And Queen
Wekhimeh said to her, 'Know, O my sister, that this queen is
called Queen Es Shuhba and that she is queen over all the Jinn
from East to West. These birds that thou seest are of her troops,
and except they came in this shape, the earth would not contain
them. Indeed, they came forth with her and are present with her
presence at this circumcision. She will give thee after the
measure of that which hath betided thee[FN#230] from the first of
the festival to the last thereof; and indeed she honoureth us all
with her presence.'
Then the queen entered the palace and sat down on the throne of
the circumcision[FN#231] at the upper end of the hall, whereupon
Tuhfeh took the lute and pressing it to her bosom, touched its
strings on such wise that the wits of all present were bewildered
and the Sheikh Iblis said to her, 'O my lady Tuhfeh, I conjure
thee, by the life of this worshipful queen, sing for me and
praise thyself, and gainsay me not.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and
obedience; yet, but for the adjuration by which thou conjurest
me, I had not done this. Doth any praise himself? What manner of
thing is this?' Then she improvised and sang the following
verses:
In every rejoicing a boon[FN#232] midst the singers and minstrels
am I;
The folk witness bear of my worth and none can my virtues deny.
My virtues 'mongst men are extolled and my glory and station rank
high.
Her verses pleased the kings of the Jinn and they said, 'By
Allah, thou sayst sooth!' Then she rose to her feet, with the
lute in her hand, and played and sang, whilst the Jinn and the
Sheikh Aboultawaif danced. Then the latter came up to her and
gave her a carbuncle he had taken from the hidden treasure of
Japhet, son of Noah (on whom be peace), and which was worth the
kingdom of the world; its light was as the light of the sun and
he said to her, 'Take this and glorify thyself withal
over[FN#233] the people of the world.' She kissed his hand and
rejoiced in the jewel and said, 'By Allah, this beseemeth none
but the Commander of the Faithful.'
Now the dancing of Iblis pleased Queen Es Shuhba and she said to
him, 'By Allah, this is a goodly dancing!' He thanked her for
this and said to Tuhfeh, 'O Tuhfeh, there is not on the face of
the earth a skilfuller than Ishac en Nedim; but thou art more
skilful than he. Indeed, I have been present with him many a time
and have shown him passages[FN#234] on the lute, and there have
betided me such and such things with him.[FN#235] Indeed, the
story of my dealings with him is a long one and this is no time
to repeat it; but now I would fain show thee a passage on the
lute, whereby thou shall be exalted over all the folk.' Quoth she
to him, 'Do what seemeth good to thee.' So he took the lute and
played thereon on wondrous wise, with rare divisions and
extraordinary modulations, and showed her a passage she knew not;
and this was liefer to her than all that she had gotten. Then she
took the lute from him and playing thereon, [sang and] presently
returned to the passage that he had shown her; and he said, 'By
Allah, thou singest better than I!' As for Tuhfeh, it was made
manifest to her that her former usance[FN#236] was all of it
wrong and that what she had learnt from the Sheikh Aboultawaif
Iblis was the origin and foundation [of all perfection] in the
art. So she rejoiced in that which she had gotten of [new skill
in] touching the lute far more than in all that had fallen to her
lot of wealth and raiment and kissed the Sheikh's hand.
Then said Queen Es Shuhba, 'By Allah, O Sheikh, my sister Tuhfeh
is indeed unique among the folk of her time, and I hear that she
singeth upon all sweet- scented flowers.' 'Yes, O my lady,'
answered Iblis, 'and I am in the utterest of wonderment thereat.
But there remaineth somewhat of sweet-scented flowers, that she
hath not besung, such as the myrtle and the tuberose and the
jessamine and the moss-rose and the like.' Then he signed to her
to sing upon the rest of the flowers, that Queen Es Shuhba might
hear, and she said, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the
lute and played thereon in many modes, then returned to the first
mode and sang the following verses:
One of the host am I of lovers sad and sere For waiting long
drawn out and expectation drear.
My patience underneath the loss of friends and folk With pallor's
sorry garb hath clad me, comrades dear.
Abasement, misery and heart-break after those I suffer who
endured before me many a year.
All through the day its light and when the night grows dark, My
grief forsakes me not, no, nor my heavy cheer.
My tears flow still, nor aye of bitterness I'm quit, Bewildered
as I am betwixten hope and fear.
Therewithal Queen Es Shuhba was moved to exceeding delight and
said, 'Well done, O queen of delight! None can avail to describe
thee. Sing to us on the apple,' Quoth Tuhfeh, 'Hearkening and
obedience.' Then she improvised and sang the following verses:
Endowed with amorous grace past any else am I; Graceful of shape
and lithe and pleasing to the eye.
The hands of noble folk do tend me publicly; With waters clear
and sweet my thirsting tongue they ply.
My clothes of sendal are, my veil of the sun's light, The very
handiwork of God the Lord Most High.
Whenas my sisters dear forsake me, grieved that they Must leave
their native place and far away must hie,
The nobles' hands, for that my place I must forsake, Do solace me
with beds, whereon at ease I lie.
Lo! in the garden-ways, the place of ease and cheer, Still, like
the moon at full, my light thou mayst espy.
Queen Es Shubha rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and
said, 'Well done! By Allah, there is none surpasseth thee.'
Tuhfeh kissed the earth, then returned to her place and
improvised on the tuberose, saying:
My flower a marvel on your heads doth show, Yet homeless[FN#237]
am I in your land, I trow.
Make drink your usance in my company And flout the time that
languishing doth go.
Camphor itself to me doth testify And in my presence owns me
white as snow.
So make me in your morning a delight And set me in your houses,
high and low;
So shall we quaff the cups in ease and cheer, In endless joyance,
quit of care and woe.
At this Queen Es Shuhba was stirred to exceeding delight and
said, 'Well done, O queen of delight! By Allah, I know not how I
shall do to render thee thy due! May God the Most High grant us
to enjoy thy long continuance [on life]!' Then she strained her
to her breast and kissed her on the cheek; whereupon quoth Iblis
(on whom be malison!), 'Indeed, this is an exceeding honour!'
Quoth the queen, 'Know that this lady Tuhfeh is my sister and
that her commandment is my commandment and her forbiddance my
forbiddance. So hearken all to her word and obey her
commandment.' Therewithal the kings rose all and kissed the earth
before Tuhfeh, who rejoiced in this. Moreover, Queen Es Shuhba
put off on her a suit adorned with pearls and jewels and
jacinths, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and wrote her on a
sheet of paper a patent in her own hand, appointing her her
deputy. So Tuhfeh rose and kissed the earth before the queen, who
said to her, 'Sing to us, of thy favour, concerning the rest of
the sweet-scented flowers and herbs, so I may hear thy singing
and divert myself with witnessing thy skill.' 'Hearkening and
obedience, O lady mine,' answered Tuhfeh and taking the lute,
improvised the following verses:
Midst colours, my colour excelleth in light And I would every eye
of my charms might have sight.
My place is the place of the fillet and pearls And the fair are
most featly with jasmine bedight,
How bright and how goodly my lustre appears! Yea, my wreaths are
like girdles of silver so white.
Then she changed the measure and improvised the following:
I'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed; When the loved
one calls, I keep the tryst agreed.
My favours I deny not all the year; Though cessation be desired,
I nothing heed.
I'm the keeper of the promise and the troth, And my gathering is
eath, without impede.
Then she changed the measure and the mode [and played] so that
she amazed the wits of those who were present, and Queen Es
Shuhba was moved to mirth and said, 'Well done, O queen of
delight!' Then she returned to the first mode and improvised the
following verses on the water-lily:
I fear to be seen in the air, Without my consent, unaware;
So I stretch out my root neath the flood And my branches turn
back to it there.
Therewithal Queen Es Shuhba was moved to delight and said, 'Well
done, O Tuhfeh! Let me have more of thy singing.' So she smote
the lute and changing the mode, improvised the following verses
on the moss-rose:
Look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, Midmost its leafage,
covered all with green.
Tis gazed at for its slender swaying shape And cherished for its
symmetry and sheen.
Lovely with longing for its love's embrace, The fear of his
estrangement makes it lean.
Then she changed the measure and the mode and sang the following
verses:
O thou that questionest the lily of its scent, Give ear unto my
words and verses thereanent.
Th' Amir (quoth it) am I whose charms are still desired; Absent
or present, all in loving me consent.
When she had made an end of her song, Queen Es Shuhba arose and
said, 'Never heard I from any the like of this.' And she drew
Tuhfeh to her and fell to kissing her. Then she took leave of her
and flew away; and all the birds took flight with her, so that
they walled the world; whilst the rest of the kings tarried
behind.
When it was the fourth night, there came the boy whom they were
minded to circumcise, adorned with jewels such as never saw eye
nor heard ear of, and amongst the rest a crown of gold, set with
pearls and jewels, the worth whereof was an hundred thousand
dinars. He sat down upon the throne and Tuhfeh sang to him, till
the surgeon came and they circumcised him, in the presence of all
the kings, who showered on him great store of jewels and jacinths
and gold. Queen Kemeriyeh bade the servants gather up all this
and lay it in Tuhfeh's closet, and it was [as much in value as]
all that had fallen to her, from the first of the festival to the
last thereof. Moreover, the Sheikh Iblis (whom God curse!)
bestowed upon Tuhfeh the crown worn by the boy and gave the
latter another, whereat her reason fled. Then the Jinn departed,
in order of rank, whilst Iblis took leave of them, band by band.
Whilst the Sheikh was thus occupied with taking leave of the
kings, Meimoun sought his opportunity, whenas he saw the place
empty, and taking up Tuhfeh on his shoulders, soared up with her
to the confines of the sky and flew away with her. Presently,
Iblis came to look for Tuhfeh and see what she purposed, but
found her not and saw the slave-girls buffeting their faces; so
he said to them, 'Out on ye! What is to do?' 'O our lord,'
answered they, 'Meimoun hath snatched up Tuhfeh and flown away
with her.' When Iblis heard this, he gave a cry, to which the
earth trembled, and said, 'What is to be done? Out on ye! Shall
he carry off Tuhfeh from my very palace and outrage mine honour?
Doubtless, this Meimoun hath lost his wits.' Then he cried out a
second time, that the earth quaked therefor, and rose up into the
air.
The news came to the rest of the kings; so they [flew after him
and] overtaking him, found him full of trouble and fear, with
fire issuing from his nostrils, and said to him, 'O Sheikh
Aboultawaif, what is to do?' Quoth he, 'Know that Meimoun hath
carried off Tuhfeh from my palace and outraged mine honour.' When
they heard this, they said, 'There is no power and no virtue but
in God the Most High, the Supreme! By Allah, he hath ventured
upon a grave matter and indeed he destroyeth himself and his
people!' Then the Sheikh Iblis gave not over flying till he fell
in with the tribes of the Jinn, and there gathered themselves
together unto him much people, none may tell the tale of them
save God the Most High. So they came to the Fortress of Copper
and the Citadel of Lead,[FN#238] and the people of the
strongholds saw the tribes of the Jinn issuing from every steep
mountain-pass and said, 'What is to do?' Then Iblis went in to
King Es Shisban and acquainted him with that which had befallen,
whereupon quoth he, 'May God destroy Meimoun and his folk! He
thinketh to possess Tuhfeh, and she is become queen of the Jinn!
But have patience till we contrive that which befitteth in the
matter of Tuhfeh.' Quoth Iblis, 'And what befitteth it to do?'
And Es Shisban said, *We will fall upon him and slay him and his
people with the sword.'
Then said the Sheikh Iblis, 'We were best acquaint Queen
Kemeriyeh and Queen Zelzeleh and Queen Sherareh and Queen
Wekhimeh; and when they are assembled, God shall ordain [that
which He deemeth] good in the matter of her release.' 'It is well
seen of thee,' answered Es Shisban and despatched to Queen
Kemeriyeh an Afrit called Selheb, who came to her palace and
found her asleep; so he aroused her and she said, 'What is to do,
O Selheb?' 'O my lady,' answered he, 'come to the succour of thy
sister Tuhfeh, for that Meimoun hath carried her off and outraged
thine honour and that of the Sheikh Iblis.' Quoth she, 'What
sayest thou?' And she sat up and cried out with a great cry. And
indeed she feared for Tuhfeh and said, 'By Allah, indeed she used
to say that he looked upon her and prolonged the looking on her;
but ill is that to which his soul hath prompted him.' Then she
arose in haste and mounting a she-devil of her devils, said to
her, 'Fly.' So she flew off and alighted with her in the palace
of her sister Sherareh, whereupon she sent for her sisters
Zelzeleh and Wekhimeh and acquainted them with the news, saying,
'Know that Meimoun hath snatched up Tuhfeh and flown off with her
swiftlier than the blinding lightning.'
[Then they all flew off in haste and] lighting down in the place
where were their father Es Shisban and their grandfather the
Sheikh Aboultawaif, found the folk on the sorriest of plights.
When their grandfather Iblis saw them, he rose to them and wept,
and they all wept for Tuhfeh. Then said Iblis to them, 'Yonder
dog hath outraged mine honour and taken Tuhfeh, and I doubt not
but that she is like to perish [of concern] for herself and her
lord Er Reshid and saying "All that they said and did[FN#239] was
false."' Quoth Kemeriyeh, 'O grandfather mine, there is nothing
left for it but [to use] stratagem and contrivance for her
deliverance, for that she is dearer to me than everything; and
know that yonder accursed one, whenas he is ware of your coming
upon him, will know that he hath no power to cope with you, he
who is the least and meanest [of the Jinn]; but we fear that,
when he is assured of defeat, he will kill Tuhfeh; wherefore
nothing will serve but that we contrive for her deliverance; else
will she perish.' 'And what hast thou in mind of device?' asked
he; and she answered, 'Let us take him with fair means, and if he
obey, [all will be well]; else will we practise stratagem against
him; and look thou not to other than myself for her deliverance.'
Quoth Iblis, 'The affair is thine; contrive what thou wilt, for
that Tuhfeh is thy sister and thy solicitude for her is more
effectual than [that of] any.'
So Kemeriyeh cried out to an Afrit of the Afrits and a calamity
of the calamities,[FN#240] by name El Ased et Teyyar,[FN#241] and
said to him, 'Go with my message to the Crescent Mountain, the
abiding-place of Meimoun the Sworder, and enter in to him and
salute him in my name and say to him, "How canst thou be assured
for thyself, O Meimoun?[FN#242] Couldst thou find none on whom to
vent thy drunken humour and whom to maltreat save Tuhfeh, more by
token that she is a queen? But thou art excused, for that thou
didst this not but of thine intoxication, and the Shekh
Aboultawaif pardoneth thee, for that thou wast drunken. Indeed,
thou hast outraged his honour; but now restore her to her palace,
for that she hath done well and favoured us and done us service,
and thou knowest that she is presently our queen. Belike she may
bespeak Queen Es Shuhba, whereupon the matter will be aggravated
and that wherein there is no good will betide. Indeed, thou wilt
get no tittle of profit [from this thine enterprise]; verily, I
give thee good counsel, and so peace be on thee!"'
'Hearkening and obedience,' answered El Ased and flew till he
came to the Crescent Mountain, when he sought audience of
Meimoun, who bade admit him. So he entered and kissing the earth
before him, gave him Queen Kemeriyeh's message, which when he
heard he said to the Afrit, 'Return whence thou comest and say to
thy mistress, "Be silent and thou wilt do wisely." Else will I
come and seize upon her and make her serve Tuhfeh; and if the
kings of the Jinn assemble together against me and I be overcome
of them, I will not leave her to scent the wind of this world and
she shall be neither mine nor theirs, for that she is presently
my soul[FN#243] from between my ribs; and how shall any part with
his soul?' When the Afrit heard Meimoun's words, he said to him,
'By Allah, O Meimoun, thou hast lost thy wits, that thou speakest
these words of my mistress, and thou one of her servants!'
Whereupon Meimoun cried out and said to him, 'Out on thee, O dog
of the Jinn! Wilt thou bespeak the like of me with these words?'
Then, he bade those who were about him smite El Ased, but he took
flight and soaring into the air, betook himself to his mistress
and told her that which had passed; and she said, 'Thou hast done
well, O cavalier.'
Then she turned to her father and said to him, 'Give ear unto
that which I shall say to thee.' Quoth he, 'Say on;' and she
said, 'Take thy troops and go to him, for that, when he heareth
this, he in his turn will levy his troops and come forth to thee;
wherepon do thou give him battle and prolong the fighting with
him and make a show to him of weakness and giving way. Meantime,
I will practise a device for winning to Tuhfeh and delivering
her, what while he is occupied with you in battle; and when my
messenger cometh to thee and giveth thee to know that I have
gotten possession of Tuhfeh and that she is with me, do thou
return upon Meimoun forthright and destroy him, him and his
hosts, and take him prisoner. But, if my device succeed not with
him and we avail not to deliver Tuhfeh, he will assuredly go
about to slay her, without recourse, and regret for her will
abide in our hearts.' Quoth Iblis, 'This is the right counsel,'
and let call among the troops to departure, whereupon an hundred
thousand cavaliers, doughty men of war, joined themselves to him
and set out for Meimoun's country.
As for Queen Kemeriyeh, she flew off to the palace of her sister
Wekhimeh and told her what Meimoun had done and how [he avouched
that], whenas he saw defeat [near at hand], he would slay Tuhfeh;
'and indeed,' added she, 'he is resolved upon this; else had he
not dared to commit this outrage. So do thou contrive the affair
as thou deemest well, for thou hast no superior in judgment.'
Then they sent for Queen Zelzeleh and Queen Sherareh and sat down
to take counsel, one with another, of that which they should do
in the matter. Then said Wekhimeh, 'We were best fit out a ship
in this island [wherein is my palace] and embark therein, in the
guise of mortals, and fare on till we come to a little island,
that lieth over against Meimoun's palace. There will we [take up
our abode and] sit drinking and smiting the lute and singing. Now
Tuhfeh will of a surety be sitting looking upon the sea, and
needs must she see us and come down to us, whereupon we will take
her by force and she will be under our hands, so that none shall
avail more to molest her on any wise. Or, if Meimoun be gone
forth to do battle with the Jinn, we will storm his stronghold
and take Tuhfeh and raze his palace and put to death all who are
therein. When he hears of this, his heart will be rent in sunder
and we will send to let our father know, whereupon he will return
upon him with his troops and he will be destroyed and we shall be
quit of him.' And they answered her, saying, 'This is a good
counsel.' Then they bade fit out a ship from behind the
mountain,[FN#244] and it was fitted out in less than the
twinkling of an eye. So they launched it on the sea and embarking
therein, together with four thousand Afrits, set out, intending
for Meimoun's palace. Moreover, they bade other five thousand
Afrits betake themselves to the island under the Crescent
Mountain and lie in wait for them there.
Meanwhile, the Sheikh Aboultawaif Iblis and his son Es Shisban
set out, as we have said, with their troops, who were of the
doughtiest of the Jinn and the most accomplished of them in
valour and horsemanship, [and fared on till they drew near the
Crescent Mountain], When the news of their approach reached
Meimoun, he cried out with a great cry to the troops, who were
twenty thousand horse, [and bade them make ready for departure].
Then he went in to Tuhfeh and kissing her, said to her, 'Know
that thou art presently my life of the world, and indeed the Jinn
are gathered together to wage war on me on thine account. If I am
vouchsafed the victory over them and am preserved alive, I will
set all the kings of the Jinn under thy feet and thou shall
become queen of the world.' But she shook her head and wept; and
he said, 'Weep not, for, by the virtue of the mighty inscription
engraven on the seal-ring of Solomon, thou shall never again see
the land of men! Can any one part with his life? So give ear unto
that which I say; else will I kill thee.' And she was silent.
Then he sent for his daughter, whose name was Jemreh, and when
she came, he said to her, 'Harkye, Jemreh! Know that I am going
to [meet] the clans of Es Shisban and Queen Kemeriyeh and the
kings of the Jinn. If I am vouchsafed the victory over them, to
Allah be the praise and thou shall have of me largesse; but, if
thou see or hear that I am worsted and any come to thee with news
of me [to this effect], hasten to slay Tuhfeh, so she may fall
neither to me nor to them.' Then he took leave of her and
mounted, saying, 'When this cometh about, pass over to the
Crescent Mountain and take up thine abode there, and await what
shall befall me and what I shall say to thee.' And Jemreh
answered with 'Hearkening and obedience.'
When Tuhfeh heard this, she fell to weeping and wailing and said,
'By Allah, nought irketh me save separation from my lord Er
Reshid; but, when I am dead, let the world be ruined after me.'
And she doubted not in herself but that she was lost without
recourse. Then Meimoun set forth with his army and departed in
quest of the hosts [of the Jinn], leaving none in the palace save
his daughter Jemreh and Tuhfeh and an Afrit who was dear unto
him. They fared on till they met with the army of Es Shisban; and
when the two hosts came face to face, they fell upon each other
and fought a passing sore battle. After awhile, Es Shisban's
troops began to give back, and when Meimoun saw them do thus, he
despised them and made sure of victory over them.
Meanwhile, Queen Kemeriyeh and her company sailed on, without
ceasing, till they came under the palace wherein was Tuhfeh, to
wit, that of Meimoun the Sworder; and by the ordinance of
destiny, Tuhfeh herself was then sitting on the belvedere of the
palace, pondering the affair of Haroun er Reshid and her own and
that which had befallen her and weeping for that she was doomed
to slaughter. She saw the ship and what was therein of those whom
we have named, and they in mortal guise, and said, 'Alas, my
sorrow for yonder ship and the mortals that be therein!' As for
Kemeriyeh and her company, when they drew near the palace, they
strained their eyes and seeing Tuhfeh sitting, said, 'Yonder sits
Tuhfeh. May God not bereave [us] of her!' Then they moored their
ship and making for the island, that lay over against the palace,
spread carpets and sat eating and drinking; whereupon quoth
Tuhfeh, 'Welcome and fair welcome to yonder faces! These are my
kinswomen and I conjure thee by Allah, O Jemreh, that thou let me
down to them, so I may sit with them awhile and make friends with
them and return.' Quoth Jemreh, 'I may on no wise do that.' And
Tuhfeh wept. Then the folk brought out wine and drank, what while
Kemeriyeh took the lute and sang the following verses:
By Allah, but that I trusted that I should meet you again, Your
camel-leader to parting had summoned you in vain!
Parting afar hath borne you, but longing still is fain To bring
you near; meseemeth mine eye doth you contain.
When Tuhfeh heard this, she gave a great cry, that the folk heard
her and Kemeriyeh said, 'Relief is at hand.' Then she looked out
to them and called to them, saying, 'O daughters of mine uncle, I
am a lonely maid, an exile from folk and country. So, for the
love of God the Most High, repeat that song!' So Kemeriyeh
repeated it and Tuhfeh swooned away. When she came to herself,
she said to Jemreh, 'By the virtue of the Apostle of God (whom
may He bless and preserve!) except thou suffer me go down to them
and look on them and sit with them awhile, [I swear] I will cast
myself down from this palace, for that I am weary of my life and
know that I am slain without recourse; wherefore I will slay
myself, ere thou pass sentence upon me.' And she was instant with
her in asking.
When Jemreh heard her words, she knew that, if she let her not
down, she would assuredly destroy herself. So she said to her, 'O
Tuhfeh, between thee and them are a thousand fathoms; but I will
bring them up to thee.' 'Nay,' answered Tuhfeh, 'needs must I go
down to them and take my pleasance in the island and look upon
the sea anear; then will we return, thou and I; for that, if thou
bring them up to us, they will be affrighted and there will
betide them neither easance nor gladness. As for me, I do but
wish to be with them, that they may cheer me with their company
neither give over their merrymaking, so haply I may make merry
with them, and indeed I swear that needs must I go down to them;
else will I cast myself upon them.' And she cajoled Jemreh and
kissed her hands, till she said, 'Arise and I will set thee down
beside them.'
Then she took Tuhfeh under her armpit and flying up, swiftlier
than the blinding lightning, set her down with Kemeriyeh and her
company; whereupon she went up to them and accosted them, saying,
'Fear not, no harm shall betide you; for I am a mortal, like unto
you, and I would fain look on you and talk with you and hear your
singing.' So they welcomed her and abode in their place, whilst
Jemreh sat down beside them and fell a-snuffing their odours and
saying, 'I smell the scent of the Jinn! I wonder whence [it
cometh!'] Then said Wekhimeh to her sister Kemeriyeh, 'Yonder
filthy one [smelleth us] and presently she will take to flight;
so what is this remissness concerning her?'[FN#245] Thereupon
Kemeriyeh put out a hand,[FN#246] as it were a camel's
neck,[FN#247] and dealt Jemreh a buffet on the head, that made it
fly from her body and cast it into the sea. Then said she, 'God
is most great!' And they uncovered their faces, whereupon Tuhfeh
knew them and said to them, 'Protection!'
Queen Kemeriyeh embraced her, as also did Queen Zelzeleh and
Queen Wekhimeh and Queen Sherareh, and the former said to her,
'Rejoice in assured deliverance, for there abideth no harm for
thee; but this is no time for talk.' Then they cried out,
whereupon up came the Afrits ambushed in the island, with swords
and maces in their hands, and taking up Tuhfeh, flew with her to
the palace and made themselves masters thereof, whilst the Afrit
aforesaid, who was dear to Meimoun and whose name was Dukhan,
fled like an arrow and stayed not in his flight till he carne to
Meimoun and found him engaged in sore battle with the Jinn. When
his lord saw him, he cried out at him, saying, 'Out on thee! Whom
hast thou left in the palace?' And Dukhan answered, saying, 'And
who abideth in the palace? Thy beloved Tuhfeh they have taken and
Jemreh is slain and they have gotten possession of the palace,
all of it.' With this Meimoun buffeted his face and head and
said, 'Out on it for a calamity!' And he cried aloud. Now
Kemeriyeh had sent to her father and acquainted him with the
news, whereat the raven of parting croaked for them. So, when
Meimoun saw that which had betided him, (and indeed the Jinn
smote upon him and the wings of death overspread his host,) he
planted the butt of his spear in the earth and turning the point
thereof to his heart, urged his charger upon it and pressed upon
it with his breast, till the point came forth, gleaming, from his
back.
Meanwhile the messenger had reached the opposite camp with the
news of Tuhfeh's deliverance, whereat the Sheikh Aboultawaif
rejoiced and bestowed on the bringer of good tidings a sumptuous
dress of honour and made him commander over a company of the
Jinn. Then they fell upon Meimoun's troops and destroyed them to
the last man; and when they came to Meimoun, they found that he
had slain himself and was even as we have said. Presently
Kemeriyeh and her sister [Wekhimeh] came up to their grandfather
and told him what they had done; whereupon he came to Tuhfeh and
saluted her and gave her joy of her deliverance. Then he
delivered Meimoun's palace to Selheb and took all the former's
riches and gave them to Tuhfeh, whilst the troops encamped upon
the Crescent Mountain. Moreover, the Sheikh Aboultawaif said to
Tuhfeh, 'Blame me not,' and she kissed his hands. As they were
thus engaged, there appeared to them the tribes of the Jinn, as
they were clouds, and Queen Es Shuhba flying in their van, with a
drawn sword in her hand.
When she came in sight of the folk, they kissed the earth before
her and she said to them, 'Tell me what hath betided Queen Tuhfeh
from yonder dog Meimoun and why did ye not send to me and tell
me?' Quoth they, 'And who was this dog that we should send to
thee, on his account? Indeed, he was the least and meanest [of
the Jinn].' Then they told her what Kemeriyeh and her sisters had
done and how they had practised upon Meimoun and delivered Tuhfeh
from his hand, fearing lest he should slay her, whenas he found
himself discomfited; and she said, 'By Allah, the accursed one
was wont to prolong his looking upon her!' And Tuhfeh fell to
kissing Queen Es Shuhba's hand, whilst the latter strained her to
her bosom and kissed her, saying, 'Trouble is past; so rejoice in
assurance of relief.'
Then they arose and went up to the palace, whereupon the trays of
food were brought and they ate and drank; after which quoth Queen
Es Shuhba, 'O Tuhfeh, sing to us, by way of thankoffering for thy
deliverance, and favour us with that which shall solace our
minds, for that indeed my mind hath been occupied with thee.'
Quoth Tuhfeh 'Hearkening and obedience, O my lady.' So she
improvised and sang the following verses:
Wind of the East, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones
dwell, I pray, The fullest of greetings bear to them from
me, their lover, and say
That I am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love
And eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye.
Therewithal Queen Es Shuhba rejoiced and all who were present
rejoiced also and admired her speech and fell to kissing her; and
when she had made an end of her song, Queen Kemeriyeh said to
her, 'O my sister, ere thou go to thy palace, I would fain bring
thee to look upon El Anca, daughter of Behram Gour, whom El Anca,
daughter of the wind, carried off, and her beauty; for that there
is not her match on the face of the earth.' And Queen Es Shuhba
said, 'O Kemeriyeh, I [also] have a mind to see her.' Quoth
Kemeriyeh, 'I saw her three years agone; but my sister Wekhimeh
seeth her at all times, for that she is near unto her, and she
saith that there is not in the world a fairer than she. Indeed,
this Queen El Anca is become a byword for loveliness and proverbs
are made upon her beauty and grace' And Wekhimeh said, 'By the
mighty inscription [on the seal-ring of Solomon], there is not
her like in the world!' Then said Queen Es Shuhba, 'If it needs
must be and the affair is as ye say, I will take Tuhfeh and go
with her [to El Anca], so she may see her.'
So they all arose and repaired to El Anca, who abode in the
Mountain Caf.[FN#248] When she saw them, she rose to them and
saluted them, saying, 'O my ladies, may I not be bereaved of
you!' Quoth Wekhimeh to her, 'Who is like unto thee, O Anca?
Behold, Queen Es Shuhba is come to thee.' So El Anca kissed the
queen's feet and lodged them in her palace; whereupon Tuhfeh came
up to her and fell to kissing her and saying, 'Never saw I a
goodlier than this favour.' Then she set before them somewhat of
food and they ate and washed their hands; after which Tuhfeh took
the lute and played excellent well; and El Anca also played, and
they fell to improvising verses in turns, whilst Tuhfeh embraced
El Anca every moment. Quoth Es Shuhba, 'O my sister, each kiss is
worth a thousand dinars;' and Tuhfeh answered, 'Indeed, a
thousand dinars were little for it.' Whereat El Anca laughed and
on the morrow they took leave of her and went away to Meimoun's
palace.[FN#249]
Here Queen Es Shuhba bade them farewell and taking her troops,
returned to her palace, whilst the kings also went away to their
abodes and the Sheikh Aboultawaif addressed himself to divert
Tuhfeh till nightfall, when he mounted her on the back of one of
the Afrits and bade other thirty gather together all that she had
gotten of treasure and raiment and jewels and dresses of honour.
[Then they flew off,] whilst Iblis went with her, and in less
than the twinkling of an eye he set her down in her
sleeping-chamber. Then he and those who were with him took leave
of her and went away. When Tuhfeh found herself in her own
chamber and on her couch, her reason fled for joy and it seemed
to her as if she had never stirred thence. Then she took the lute
and tuned it and touched it on wondrous wise and improvised
verses and sang.
The eunuch heard the smiting of the lute within the chamber and
said, 'By Allah, that is my lady Tuhfeh's touch!' So he arose and
went, as he were a madman, falling down and rising up, till he
came to the eunuch on guard at the door at the Commander of the
Faithful and found him sitting. When the latter saw him, and he
like a madman, falling down and rising up, he said to him, 'What
aileth thee and what bringeth thee hither at this hour?' Quoth
the other, 'Wilt thou not make haste and awaken the Commander of
the Faithful?' And he fell to crying out at him; whereupon the
Khalif awoke and heard them bandying words together and Tuhfeh's
servant saying to the other, 'Out on thee! Awaken the Commander
of the Faithful in haste.' So he said, 'O Sewab, what aileth
thee?' And the chief eunuch answered, saying, 'O our lord, the
eunuch of Tuhfeh's lodging hath taken leave of his wits and
saith, "Awaken the Commander of the Faithful in haste!"' Then
said Er Reshid to one of the slave-girls, 'See what is to do.'
So she hastened to admit the eunuch, who entered; and when he saw
the Commander of the Faithful, he saluted not neither kissed the
earth, but said, 'Quick, quick! Arise in haste! My lady Tuhfeh
sitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. Come to her in
haste and see all that I say to thee! Hasten! She sitteth [in her
chamber].' The Khalif was amazed at his speech and said to him,
'What sayst thou?' 'Didst thou not hear the first of the speech?'
replied the eunuch. 'Tuhfeh sitteth in the sleeping-chamber,
singing and playing the lute. Come thy quickliest! Hasten!' So Er
Reshid arose and donned his clothes; but he credited not the
eunuch's words and said to him, 'Out on thee! What is this thou
sayst? Hast thou not seen this in a dream?' 'By Allah,' answered
the eunuch, 'I know not what thou sayest, and I was not asleep.'
Quoth Er Reshid, 'If thy speech be true, it shall be for thy good
luck, for I will enfranchise thee and give thee a thousand
dinars; but, if it be untrue and thou have seen this in sleep, I
will crucify thee.' And the eunuch said in himself, 'O
Protector,[FN#250] let me not have seen this in Sleep!' Then he
left the Khalif and going to the chamber-door, heard the sound of
singing and lute-playing; whereupon he returned to Er Reshid and
said to him, 'Go and hearken and see who is asleep.'
When Er Reshid drew near the door of the chamber, he heard the
sound of the lute and Tuhfeh's voice singing; whereat he could
not restrain his reason and was like to swoon away for excess of
joy. Then he pulled out the key, but could not bring his hand to
open the door. However, after awhile, he took heart and applying
himself, opened the door and entered, saying, 'Methinks this is
none other than a dream or an illusion of sleep.' When Tuhfeh saw
him, she rose and coming to meet him, strained him to her bosom;
and he cried out with a cry, wherein his soul was like to depart,
and fell down in a swoon. She strained him to her bosom and
sprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, and washed his
face, till he came to himself, as he were a drunken man, for the
excess of his joy in Tuhfeh's return to him, after he had
despaired of her.
Then she took the lute and smote thereon, after the fashion she
had learnt from the Sheikh Iblis, so that Er Reshid's wit was
dazed for excess of delight and his understanding was confounded
for joy; after which she improvised and sang the following
verses:
My heart will never credit that I am far from thee; In it thou
art, nor ever the soul can absent be.
Or if to me "I'm absent" thou sayest, "'Tis a lie," My heart
replies, bewildered 'twixt doubt and certainty.
When she had made an end of her verses, Er Reshid said to her, 'O
Tuhfeh, thine absence was extraordinary, but thy presence[FN#251]
is yet more extraordinary.' 'By Allah, O my lord,' answered she,
'thou sayst sooth.' And she took his hand and said to him, 'See
what I have brought with me.' So he looked and saw riches such as
neither words could describe nor registers avail to set out,
pearls and jewels and jacinths and precious stones and great
pearls and magnificent dresses of honour, adorned with pearls and
jewels and embroidered with red gold. Moreover, she showed him
that which Queen Es Shuhba had bestowed on her of those carpets,
which she had brought with her, and that her throne, the like
whereof neither Chosroes nor Cassar possessed, and those tables
inlaid with pearls and jewels and those vessels, that amazed all
who looked on them, and the crown, that was on the head of the
circumcised boy, and those dresses of honour, which Queen Es
Shuhba and the Sheikh Aboultawaif had put off upon her, and the
trays wherein were those riches; brief, she showed him treasures
the like whereof he had never in his life set eyes on and which
the tongue availeth not to describe and whereat all who looked
thereon were amazed.
Er Reshid was like to lose his wits for amazement at this sight
and was confounded at this that he beheld and witnessed. Then
said he to Tuhfeh, 'Come, tell me thy story from first to last,
[and let me know all that hath betided thee,] as if I had been
present' She answered with 'Hearkening and obedience,' and fell
to telling him [all that had betided her] first and last, from
the time when she first saw the Sheikh Aboultawaif, how he took
her and descended with her through the side of the draught-house;
and she told him of the horse she had ridden, till she came to
the meadow aforesaid and described it to him, together with the
palace and that which was therein of furniture, and related to
him how the Jinn rejoiced in her and that which she had seen of
the kings of them, men and women, and of Queen Kemeriyeh and her
sisters and Queen Shuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, and Queen Es
Shuhba, Queen of Queens, and King Es Shisban, and that which each
one of them had bestowed upon her. Moreover, she told him the
story of Meimoun the Sworder and described to him his loathly
favour, which he had not consented to change, and related to him
that which befell her from the kings of the Jinn, men and women,
and the coming of the Queen of Queens, Es Shuhba, and how she had
loved her and appointed her her vice-queen and how she was thus
become ruler over all the kings of the Jinn; and she showed him
the patent of investiture that Queen Es Shuhba had written her
and told him that which had betided her with the Ghoul-head,
whenas it appeared to her in the garden, and how she had
despatched it to her palace, beseeching it to bring her news of
the Commander of the Faithful and that which had betided him
after her. Then she described to him the gardens, wherein she had
taken her pleasure, and the baths inlaid with pearls and jewels
and told him that which had befallen Meimoun the Sworder, whenas
he carried her off, and how he had slain himself; brief, she told
him all that she had seen of wonders and rarities and that which
she had beheld of all kinds and colours among the Jinn.
Then she told him the story of Anca, daughter of Behram Gour,
with Anca, daughter of the wind, and described to him her
dwelling-place and her island, whereupon quoth Er Reshid, 'O
Tuhfet es Sedr,[FN#252] tell me of El Anca, daughter of Behram
Gour; is she of the Jinn or of mankind or of the birds? For this
long time have I desired to find one who should tell me of her.'
'It is well, O Commander of the Faithful,' answered Tuhfeh. 'I
asked the queen of this and she acquainted me with her case and
told me who built her the palace.' Quoth Er Reshid, 'I conjure
thee by Allah, tell it me.' And Tuhfeh answered, 'It is well,'
and proceeded to tell him. And indeed he was amazed at that which
he heard from her and what she told him and at that which she had
brought back of jewels and jacinths of various colours and
preciots stones of many kinds, such as amazed the beholder and
confounded thought and mind. As for this, it was the means of the
enrichment of the Barmecides and the Abbasicles, and they abode
in their delight.
Then the Khalif went forth and bade decorate the city: [so they
decorated it] and the drums of glad tidings were beaten. Moreover
they made banquets to the people and the tables were spread seven
days. And Tuhfeh and the Commander of the Faithful ceased not to
be in the most delightsome of life and the most prosperous
thereof till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the
Sunderer of Companies; and thu is all that hath come down to as
of their story."
Calcutta (1814-18) Text.