rejoined to Ala al-Din, “And when they send thee at an early hour a
serjeant of the Ecclesiastical Court, and the Kazi and my father bid
thee divorce me, do thou reply, By what law is it lawful and right that
I should marry at nightfall and divorce in the morning? Then kiss the
Kazi’s hand and give him a present, and in like manner kiss the
Assessors’ hands and give each of them ten gold pieces. So they will all
speak with thee, and if they ask thee, Why dost thou not divorce her and
take the thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes, according to
contract duly contracted? do thou answer, Every hair of her head is
worth a thousand ducats to me and I will never put her away, neither
will I take a suit of clothes nor aught else. And if the Kazi say to
thee, Then pay down the marriage settlement, do thou reply, I am short
of cash at this present; whereupon he and the Assessors will deal in
friendly fashion with thee and allow thee time to pay.” Now whilst they
were talking, behold, the Kazi’s officer knocked at the door; so Ala
al-Din went down and the man said to him, “Come, speak the Efendi,[67]
for thy father-in-law summoneth thee.” So Ala al-Din gave him five
dinars and said to him, “O Summoner, by what law am I bound to marry at
nightfall and divorce next morning?” The serjeant answered, “By no law
of ours at all, at all; and if thou be ignorant of the religious law, I
will act as thine advocate.” Then they went to the divorce-court and the
Kazi said to Ala al-Din, “Why dost thou not put away the woman and take
what falleth to thee by the contract?” Hearing this he went up to the
Kazi; and, kissing his hand, put fifty dinars in it and said, “O our
lord the Kazi, by what law is it lawful and right that I should marry at
nightfall and divorce in the morning in my own despite?” The Kazi
answered, “Divorce on compulsion and by force is sanctioned by no school
of the Moslems.” Then said the young lady’s father, “If thou wilt not
divorce, pay me the ten thousand dinars, her marriage-settlement.” Quoth
Ala al-Din, “Give me a delay of three days;” but the Kazi said, “Three
days is not time enough; he shall give thee ten.” So they agreed to this
and bound him after ten days either to pay the dowry or to divorce her.
And after consenting he left them and taking meat and rice and clarified
butter[68] and what else of food he needed, returned to the house and
told the young woman all that had passed; whereupon she said, “’Twixt
night and day, wonders may display; and Allah bless him for his say:—
Be mild when rage shall come to afflict thy soul; ✿ Be patient when
calamity breeds ire;
Lookye, the Nights are big with child by Time, ✿ Whose pregnancy bears
wondrous things and dire.”
Then she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they two ate
and drank and were merry and mirthful. Presently, Ala al-Din besought
her to let him hear a little music; so she took the lute and played a
melody that had made the hardest stone dance for glee, and the strings
cried out in present ecstacy, “O Loving One!”;[69] after which she
passed from the adagio into the presto and a livelier measure. As they
thus spent their leisure in joy and jollity and mirth and merriment,
behold, there came a knocking at the door and she said to him; “Go see
who is at the door.” So he went down and opened it and finding four
Dervishes standing without, said to them, “What want ye?” They replied,
“O my lord, we are foreign and wandering religious mendicants, the
viands of whose souls are music and dainty verse, and we would fain take
our pleasure with thee this night till morning doth appear, when we will
wend our way, and with Almighty Allah be thy reward; for we adore music
and there is not one of us but knoweth by heart store of odes and songs
and ritornellos.”[70] He answered, “There is one I must consult;” and he
returned and told Zubaydah who said, “Open the door to them.” So he
brought them up and made them sit down and welcomed them; then he
fetched them food, but they would not eat and said, “O our lord, our
meat is to repeat Allah’s name in our hearts and to hear music with our
ears: and bless him who saith:—
Our aim is only converse to enjoy, ✿ And eating joyeth only
cattle-kind.[71]
And just now we heard pleasant music in thy house, but when we entered,
it ceased; and fain would we know whether the player was a slave-girl,
white or black, or a maiden of good family.” He answered, “It was this
my wife,” and told them all that had befallen him, adding, “Verily my
father-in-law hath bound me to pay a marriage settlement of ten thousand
dinars for her, and they have given me ten days’ time.” Said one of the
Dervishes, “Have no care and think of naught but good; for I am Shaykh
of the Convent and have forty Dervishes under my orders. I will
presently collect from them the ten thousand dinars and thou shalt pay
thy father-in-law the wedding settlement. But now bid thy wife make us
music that we may be gladdened and pleasured; for to some folk music is
meat, to others medicine and to others refreshing as a fan.” Now these
four Dervishes were none other than the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, his
Wazir Ja’afar the Barmecide, Abu al-Nowás al-Hasan son of Háni[72] and
Masrur the sworder; and the reason of their coming to the house was that
the Caliph, being heavy at heart, had summoned his Minister and said, “O
Wazir! it is our will to go down to the city and pace its streets, for
my breast is sore straitened.” So they all four donned dervish-dress and
went down and walked about, till they came to that house where, hearing
music, they were minded to know the cause. They spent the night in
joyance and harmony and telling tale after tale until morning dawned,
when the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces under the prayer-carpet and
all taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way. Now when Zubaydah lifted
the carpet she found beneath it the hundred dinars and she said to her
husband, “Take these hundred dinars which I have found under the
prayer-carpet; assuredly the Dervishes when about to leave us laid them
there, without our knowledge.” So Ala al-Din took the money and,
repairing to the market, bought therewith meat and rice and clarified
butter and all they required. And when it was night, he lit the
wax-candles and said to his wife, “The mendicants, it is true, have not
brought the ten thousand dinars which they promised me; but indeed they
are poor men.” As they were talking, behold, the Dervishes knocked at
the door and she said, “Go down and open to them.” So he did her bidding
and bringing them up, said to them, “Have you brought me the ten
thousand dinars you promised me?” They answered, “We have not been able
to collect aught thereof as yet; but fear nothing: Inshallah, to-morrow
we will compound for thee some alchemical cookery. But now bid thy wife
play us her very best pieces and gladden our hearts for we love music.”
So she took her lute and made them such melody that had caused the
hardest rocks to dance with glee; and they passed the night in mirth and
merriment, converse and good cheer, till morn appeared with its sheen
and shone, when the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces under the
prayer-carpet and all, after taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way.
And they ceased not to visit him thus every night for nine nights; and
each morning the Caliph put an hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet,
till the tenth night, when they came not. Now the reason of their
failure to come was that the Caliph had sent to a great merchant, saying
to him, “Bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo,”——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince of True
Believers said to that merchant, “Bring me fifty loads of stuffs such as
come from Cairo, and let each one be worth a thousand dinars, and write
on each bale its price; and bring me also a male Abyssinian slave.” The
merchant did the bidding of the Caliph who committed to the slave a
basin and ewer of gold and other presents, together with the fifty
loads; and wrote a letter to Ala al-Din as from his father Shams al-Din
and said to him, “Take these bales and what else is with them, and go to
such and such a quarter wherein dwelleth the Provost of the merchants
and say:—Where be Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat? till folk direct thee to his
quarter and his house.” So the slave took the letter and the goods and
what else and fared forth on his errand. Such was his case; but as
regards Zubaydah’s cousin and first husband, he went to her father and
said to him, “Come let us go to Ala al-Din and make him divorce the
daughter of my uncle.” So they set out both together and, when they came
to the street in which the house stood, they found fifty he-mules laden
with bales of stuffs, and a blackamoor riding on a she-mule. So they
said to him, “Whose loads are these?” He replied, “They belong to my
lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; for his father equipped him with
merchandise and sent him on a journey to Baghdad-city; but the wild
Arabs came forth against him and took his money and goods and all he
had. So when the ill news reached his father, he despatched me to him
with these loads, in lieu of those he had lost; besides a mule laden
with fifty thousand dinars, a parcel of clothes worth a power of money,
a robe of sables[73] and a basin and ewer of gold.” Whereupon the lady’s
father said, “He whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and I will show thee
his house.” Meanwhile Ala al-Din was sitting at home in huge concern,
when lo! one knocked, at the door and he said, “O Zubaydah, Allah is
all-knowing! but I fear thy father hath sent me an officer from the Kazi
or the Chief of Police.” Quoth she, “Go down and see what it is.” So he
went down; and, opening the door, found his father-in-law, the Provost
of the merchants with an Abyssinian slave, dusky-complexioned and
pleasant of favour, riding on a mule. When the slave saw him he
dismounted and kissed his hands; and Ala al-Din said, “What dost thou
want?” He replied, “I am the slave of my lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat,
son of Shams al-Din, Consul of the merchants for the land of Egypt, who
hath sent me to him with this charge.” Then he gave him the letter and
Ala al-Din opening it found written what followeth:[74]—
Ho thou my letter! when my friend shall see thee, ✿ Kiss thou the ground
and buss his sandal-shoon:
Look thou hie softly and thou hasten not; ✿ My life and rest are in
those hands so boon.
“After hearty salutions and congratulations and high estimation from
Shams al-Din to his son, Abu al-Shamat. Know, O my son, that news hath
reached me of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy monies and
goods; so I send thee herewith fifty loads of Egyptian stuffs, together
with a suit of clothes and a robe of sables and a basin and ewer of
gold. Fear thou no evil and the goods thou hast lost were the ransom of
thy life; so regret them not and may no further grief befal thee. Thy
mother and the people of the house are doing well in health and
happiness and all greet thee with abundant greetings. Moreover, O my
son, it hath reached me that they have married thee, by way of
intermediary, to the lady Zubaydah the Lutist and they have imposed on
thee a marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars; wherefore I send thee
also fifty thousand dinars by the slave Salím.”[75] Now when Ala al-Din
had made an end of reading the letter, he took possession of the loads
and, turning to the Provost, said to him, “O my father-in-law, take the
ten thousand dinars, the marriage-settlement of thy daughter Zubaydah,
and take also the loads of goods and dispose of them, and thine be the
profit; only return me the cost-price.” He answered, “Nay, by Allah, I
will take nothing; and, as for thy wife’s settlement, do thou settle the
matter with her.” Then, after the goods had been brought in, they went
to Zubaydah and she said to her sire, “O my father, whose loads be
these?” He said, “These belong to thy husband, Ala al-Din: his father
hath sent them to him instead of those whereof the wild Arabs spoiled
him. Moreover, he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars with a parcel of
clothes, a robe of sables, a she-mule for riding and a basin and ewer of
gold. As for the marriage-settlement that is for thy recking.” Thereupon
Ala al-Din rose and, opening the money-box, gave her her settlement and
the lady’s cousin said, “O my uncle, let him divorce to me my wife;” but
the old man replied, “This may never be now; for the marriage-tie is in
his hand.” Thereupon the young man went out, sore afflicted and sadly
vexed and, returning home, fell sick, for his heart had received its
death-blow; so he presently died. But as for Ala al-Din, after receiving
his goods he went to the bazar and buying what meats and drinks he
needed, made a banquet as usual against the night, saying to Zubaydah,
“See these lying Dervishes; they promised us and broke their promises.”
Quoth she, “Thou art the son of a Consul of the merchants, yet was thy
hand short of half a dirham; how then should it be with poor Dervishes?”
Quoth he, “Almighty Allah hath enabled us to do without them; but if
they come to us never again will I open the door to them.” She asked,
“Why so, whenas their coming footsteps brought us good luck; and,
moreover, they put an hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet for us
every night? Perforce must thou open the door to them an they come.” So
when day departed with its light and in gloom came night, they lighted
the wax candles and he said to her, “Rise, Zubaydah, make us music;” and
behold, at this moment some one knocked at the door, and she said, “Go
and look who is at the door.” So he went down and opened it and seeing
the Dervishes, said, “Oh, fair welcome to the liars! Come up.”
Accordingly they went up with him and he seated them and brought them
the tray of food; and they ate and drank and became merry and mirthful,
and presently said to him, “O my lord, our hearts have been troubled for
thee: what hath passed between thee and thy father-in-law?” He answered,
“Allah compensated us beyond and above our desire.” Rejoined they, “By
Allah, we were in fear for thee”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Dervishes thus
addressed Ala al-Din, “By Allah, we were in fear for thee and naught
kept us from thee but our lack of cash and coin.” Quoth he, “Speedy
relief hath come to me from my Lord; for my father hath sent me fifty
thousand dinars and fifty loads of stuffs, each load worth a thousand
dinars; besides a riding-mule, a robe of sables, an Abyssinian slave and
a basin and ewer of gold. Moreover, I have made my peace with my
father-in-law and my wife hath become my lawful wife by my paying her
settlement; so laud to Allah for that!” Presently the Caliph rose to do
a necessity; whereupon Ja’afar bent him towards Ala al-Din and said,
“Look to thy manners, for thou art in the presence of the Commander of
the Faithful.” Asked he, “How have I failed in good breeding before the
Commander of the Faithful, and which of you is he?” Quoth Ja’afar, “He
who went out but now to make water is the Commander of the Faithful,
Harun al-Rashid, and I am the Wazir Ja’afar; and this is Masrur the
executioner and this other is Abu Nowas Hasan bin Hani. And now, O Ala
al-Din, use thy reason and bethink thee how many days’ journey it is
between Cairo and Baghdad.” He replied, “Five-and-forty days’ journey;”
and Ja’afar rejoined, “Thy baggage was stolen only ten days ago; so how
could the news have reached thy father, and how could he pack thee up
other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days’ journey in ten
days’ time?” Quoth Ala al-Din, “O my lord and whence then came they?”
“From the Commander of the Faithful,” replied Ja’afar, “of his great
affection for thee.” As they were speaking, lo! the Caliph entered and
Ala al-Din rising, kissed the ground before him and said, “Allah keep
thee, O Prince of the Faithful, and give thee long life; and may the
lieges never lack thy bounty and beneficence!” Replied the Caliph, “O
Ala al-Din, let Zubaydah play us an air, by way of house-warming[76] for
thy deliverance.” Thereupon she played him on the lute so rare a melody
that the very stones shook for glee, and the strings cried out for
present ecstasy, “O Loving One!” They spent the night after the merriest
fashion, and in the morning the Caliph said to Ala al-Din, “Come to the
Divan to-morrow.” He answered, “Hearkening and obedience, O Commander of
the Faithful; so Allah will and thou be well and in good case!” On the
morrow he took ten trays and, putting on each a costly present, went up
with them to the palace; and the Caliph was sitting on the throne when,
behold, Ala al-Din appeared at the door of the Divan, repeating these
two couplets:—
Honour and Glory wait on thee each morn! ✿ Thine enviers’ noses in the
dust be set!
Ne’er cease thy days to be as white as snow; ✿ Thy foeman’s days to be
as black as jet!
“Welcome, O Ala al-Din!” said the Caliph, and he replied, “O Commander
of the Faithful, the Prophet (whom Allah bless and assain!)[77] was wont
to accept presents; and these ten trays, with what is on them, are my
offering to thee.” The Caliph accepted his gift and, ordering him a robe
of honour, made him Provost of the merchants and gave him a seat in the
Divan. And as he was sitting behold, his father-in-law came in and,
seeing Ala al-Din seated in his place and clad in a robe of honour, said
to the Caliph, “O King of the age, why is this man sitting in my place
and wearing this robe of honour?” Quoth the Caliph, “I have made him
Provost of the merchants, for offices are by investiture and not in
perpetuity, and thou art deposed.” Answered the merchant, “Thou hast
done well, O Commander of the Faithful, for he is ours and one of us.
Allah make the best of us the managers of our affairs! How many a little
one hath become great!” Then the Caliph wrote Ala al-Din a Firman[78] of
investiture and gave it to the Governor who gave it to the crier,[79]
and the crier made proclamation in the Divan saying, “None is Provost of
the merchants but Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, and his word is to be heard,
and he must be obeyed with due respect paid, and he meriteth homage and
honour and high degree!” Moreover, when the Divan broke up, the Governor
went down with the crier before Ala al-Din and the crier repeated the
proclamation and they carried Ala al-Din through the thoroughfares of
Baghdad, making proclamation of his dignity. Next day, Ala al-Din opened
a shop for his slave Salim and set him therein, to buy and sell, whilst
he himself rode to the palace and took his place in the Caliph’s
Divan.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din rode to
the palace and took his place in the Caliph’s Divan. Now it came to pass
one day, when he sat in his stead as was his wont, behold, one said to
the Caliph, “O Commander of the Faithful, may thy head survive such an
one the cup-companion!; for he is gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah,
but be thy life prolonged!”[80] Quoth the Caliph, “Where is Ala al-Din
Abu al-Shamat?” So he went up to the Commander of the Faithful, who at
once clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him his
boon-companion; appointing him a monthly pay and allowance of a thousand
dinars. He continued to keep him company till, one day, as he sat in the
Divan, according to his custom attending upon the Caliph, lo and behold!
an Emir came up with sword and shield in hand and said, “O Commander of
the Faithful, may thy head long outlive the Head of the Sixty, for he is
dead this day;” whereupon the Caliph ordered Ala al-Din a dress of
honour and made him Chief of the Sixty, in place of the other who had
neither wife nor son nor daughter. So Ala al-Din laid hands on his
estate and the Caliph said to him, “Bury him in the earth and take all
he hath left of wealth and slaves and handmaids.”[81] Then he shook the
handkerchief[82] and dismissed the Divan, whereupon Ala al-Din went
forth, attended by Ahmad al-Danaf, captain of the right, and Hasan
Shúmán, captain of the left, riding at his either stirrup, each with his
forty men.[83] Presently, he turned to Hasan Shuman and his men and said
to them, “Plead ye for me with the Captain Ahmad al-Danaf that he please
to accept me as his son by covenant before Allah.” And Ahmad assented,
saying, “I and my forty men will go before thee to the Divan every
morning.” Now after this Ala al-Din continued in the Caliph’s service
many days; till one day it chanced that he left the Divan and returning
home, dismissed Ahmad al-Danaf and his men and sat down with his wife
Zubaydah, the lute-player, who lighted the wax candles and went out of
the room upon an occasion. Suddenly he heard a loud shriek; so he rose
up and running in haste to see what was the matter, found that it was
his wife who had cried out. She was lying at full length on the ground
and, when he put his hand to her breast, he found her dead. Now her
father’s house faced that of Ala al-Din, and he, hearing the shriek,
came in and said, “What is the matter, O my lord Ala al-Din?” He
replied, “O my father, may thy head outlive thy daughter Zubaydah! But,
O my father, honour to the dead is burying them.” So when the morning
dawned, they buried her in the earth and her husband and father condoled
with and mutually consoled each other. Thus far concerning her; but as
regards Ala al-Din, he donned mourning dress and declined the Divan,
abiding tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted at home. After a while, the
Caliph said to Ja’afar, “O Wazir, what is the cause of Ala al-Din’s
absence from the Divan?” The Minister answered, “O Commander of the
Faithful, he is in mourning for his wife Zubaydah; and is occupied in
receiving those who come to console him;” and the Caliph said, “It
behoveth us to pay him a visit of condolence.” “I hear and I obey,”
replied Ja’afar. So they took horse, the Caliph and the Minister and a
few attendants, and rode to Ala al-Din’s house and, as he was sitting at
home, behold, the party came in upon him; whereupon he rose to receive
them and kissed the ground before the Caliph, who said to him, “Allah
make good thy loss to thee!” Answered Ala al-Din, “May Allah preserve
thee to us, O Commander of the Faithful!” Then said the Caliph, “O Ala
al-Din, why hast thou absented thyself from the Divan?” And he replied,
“Because of my mourning for my wife, Zubaydah, O Commander of the
Faithful.” The Caliph rejoined, “Put away grief from thee: verily she is
dead and gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah and mourning will avail
thee nothing; no, nothing.” But Ala al-Din said “O Commander of the
Faithful, I shall never leave mourning for her till I die and they bury
me by her side.” Quoth the Caliph, “In Allah is compensation for every
decease, and neither device nor riches can deliver from death; and
divinely gifted was he who said:—
All sons of woman, albe long preserved, ✿ Are borne upon the bulging
bier some day.[84]
How then shall ‘joy man joy or taste delight, ✿ Upon whose cheeks shall
rest the dust and clay?”
When the Caliph had made an end of condoling with him, he charged him
not to absent himself from the Divan and returned to his palace. And Ala
al-Din, after a last sorrowful night, mounted early in the morning and,
riding to the court, kissed the ground before the Commander of the
Faithful who made a movement as if rising from the throne,[85] to greet
and welcome him; and bade him take his appointed place in the Divan,
saying, “O Ala al-Din, thou art my guest to-night.” So presently he
carried him into his serraglio and calling a slave-girl named Kút
al-Kulúb, said to her, “Ala al-Din had a wife called Zubaydah, who used
to sing to him and solace him of cark and care; but she is gone to the
mercy of Almighty Allah, and now I would have thee play him an air upon
the lute,”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-first Night,