cave and found steps at its upper end; so they descended and came to an
under-ground chamber, an hundred cubits long by forty wide and an
hundred high. In the midst stood a throne of gold, whereon lay a man of
huge bulk, filling the whole length and breadth of the throne. He was
covered with jewels and raiment gold-and-silver-wrought, and at his head
was a tablet of gold bearing an inscription. So they took the tablet and
carried it off, together with as many bars of gold and silver and so
forth as they could bear away. And men also relate the tale of
-----
Footnote 165:
The Bresl. Edit. (vii. 171-174) entitles this tale, “Story of Shaddád
bin Ad and the City of Iram the Columned;” but it relates chiefly the
building by the King of the First Adites who, being promised a future
Paradise by Prophet Húd, impiously said that he would lay out one in
this world. It also quotes Ka’ab al-Ahbár as an authority for
declaring that the tale is in the “Pentateuch of Moses.” Iram was in
al-Yaman near Adan (our Aden) a square of ten parasangs (or leagues
each = 18,000 feet) every way; the walls were of red (baked) brick 500
cubits high and 20 broad, with four gates of corresponding grandeur.
It contained 300,000 Kasr (palaces) each with a thousand pillars of
gold-bound jasper, etc. (whence its title). The whole was finished in
five hundred years; and, when Shaddad prepared to enter it, the “Cry
of Wrath” from the Angel of Death slew him and all his many. It is
mentioned in the Koran (chapt. lxxxix. 6-7) as “Irem adorned with
lofty buildings (or pillars).” But Ibn Khaldun declares that
commentators have embroidered the passage; Iram being the name of a
powerful clan of the ancient Adites and “imád” being a tent-pole:
hence “Iram with the numerous tents or tent-poles.” Al-Bayzawi tells
the story of Abdullah ibn Kilabah (D’Herbelot’s Colabah). At Aden I
met an Arab who had seen the mysterious city on the borders of
Al-Ahkáf, the waste of deep sands, west of Hadramaut; and probably he
had, the mirage or sun-reek taking its place. Compare with this tale
“The City of Brass” (Night dlxv.).
Footnote 166:
The biblical “Sheba,” named from the great-grandson of Joctan; whence
the Queen (Bilkis) visited Solomon. It was destroyed by the Flood of
Márib.
Footnote 167:
The full title of the Holy City is “Madinat al-Nabi” = the City of the
Prophet; of old Yasrib (Yathrib) the Iatrippa of the Greeks
(Pilgrimage, ii. 119). The reader will remember that there are two
“Yasribs;” that of lesser note being near Hujr in the
Yamámah-province.
Footnote 168:
“Ka’ab of the Scribes,” a well-known traditionist and religious poet
who died (A.H. 32) in the Caliphate of Osman. He was a Jew who
islamised; hence his name (Ahbár, plur. of Hibr, a Jewish scribe,
doctor of science, etc. Jarrett’s El-Siyuti, p. 123). He must not be
confounded with another Ka’ab al-Ahbár the Poet of the (first)
Cloak-poem or “Burdah,” a noble Arab who was a distant cousin of
Mohammed, and whose tomb at Hums (Emesa) is a place of pious
visitation. According to the best authorities (no Christian being
allowed to see them) the cloak given to the bard by Mohammed is still
preserved together with the Khirkah or Sanjak Sherif (“Holy Coat” or
Banner, the national oriflamme) at Stambul in the Upper Seraglio
(Pilgrimage, i. 213). Many authors repeat this story of Mu’awiyah, the
Caliph, and Ka’ab of the Burdah, but it is an evident anachronism, the
poet having been dead nine years before the ruler’s accession (A.H.
41).
Footnote 169:
Koran, lxxxix. 6-7.
Footnote 170:
Arab. “Kahramán” from Pers., braves, heroes.
Footnote 171:
The Deity in the East, is as whimsical a despot as any of his
“shadows” or “viceregents.” In the text Shaddád is killed for mere
jealousy—a base passion utterly unworthy of a godhead; but one to
which Allah was greatly addicted.
Footnote 172:
Some traditionist; but whether Sha’abi, Shi’abi or Shu’abi we cannot
decide.
Footnote 173:
The Hazarmaveth of Genesis (x. 26) in South Eastern Arabia. Its people
are the Adramitæ (mod. Hazrami) of Ptolemy who places in their land
the Arabiæ Emporium, as Pliny does his Massola. They border upon the
Homeritæ or men of Himyar, often mentioned in The Nights. Hazramaut is
still practically unknown to us, despite the excursions of many
travellers; and the hard nature of the people, the Swiss of Arabia,
offers peculiar obstacles to exploration.
Footnote 174:
_i.e._ the prophet Hud generally identified (?) with Heber. He was
commissioned (Koran, chapt. vii.) to preach Al-Islam to his tribe the
Adites who worshipped four goddesses, Sákiyah (the rain-giver),
Rázikah (food-giver), Háfizah (the saviouress) and Sálimah (who healed
sickness). As has been seen he failed, so it was useless to send him.
ISAAC OF MOSUL.
Quoth Isaac of Mosul:[175]—I went out one night from Al-Maamun’s
presence, on my way to my house; and, being taken with a pressing need
to make water, I turned aside into a by-street and stood in the middle
fearing lest something might hurt me, if I squatted against a wall.[176]
Presently, I espied something hanging down from one of the houses; so I
felt it to find out what it might be and found that it was a great
four-handled basket,[177] covered with brocade. Said I to myself, “There
must be some reason for this,” and knew not what to think; then
drunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, and behold, the people
of the house pulled me up, thinking me to be the person they expected.
Now when I came to the top of the wall; lo! four damsels were there, who
said to me, “Descend and welcome and joy to thee!” Then one of them went
before me with a wax candle and brought me down into a mansion, wherein
were furnished sitting-chambers, whose like I had never seen save in the
palace of the Caliphate. So I sat down and after a while, the curtains
were suddenly drawn from one side of the room and, behold, in came
damsels walking in procession and hending in hand lighted flambeaux of
wax and censers full of Sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young
lady as she were the rising full moon. So I stood up to her and she
said, “Welcome to thee for a visitor!” and then she made me sit down
again and asked me how I came thither. Quoth I, “I was returning home
from the house of an intimate friend and went astray in the dark; then,
being taken in the street with an urgent call to make water, I turned
aside into this lane, where I found a basket let down. The strong wine
which I had drunk led me to seat myself in it and it was drawn up with
me into this house, and this is my story.” She rejoined, “No harm shall
befal thee, and I hope thou wilt have cause to praise the issue of thine
adventure.” Then she added, “But what is thy condition?” I said, “A
merchant in the Baghdad bazar” and she, “Canst thou repeat any verses?”
“Some small matter,” quoth I. Quoth she “Then call a few to mind and let
us hear some of them.” But I said, “A visitor is bashful and timid; do
thou begin.” “True,” replied she and recited some verses of the poets,
past and present, choosing their choicest pieces; and I listened not
knowing whether more to marvel at her beauty and loveliness or at the
charm of her style of declamation. Then said she, “Is that bashfulness
of thine gone?” and I said, “Yes, by Allah!” so she rejoined, “Then, if
thou wilt, recite us somewhat.” So I repeated to her a number of poems
by old writers, and she applauded, saying, “By Allah, I did not think to
find such culture among the trade folk, the sons of the bazar!” Then she
called for food——Whereupon quoth Shahrazad’s sister Dunyazad, “How
pleasant is this tale and enjoyable and sweet to the ear and sound to
the sense!” But she answered, “And what is this story compared with that
which thou shalt hear on the morrow’s night, if I be alive and the King
deign spare me!” Then Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eightieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul
continued:—Then the damsel called for food and, when it was served to
her, she fell to eating it and setting it before me; and the
sitting-room was full of all manner sweet-scented flowers and rare
fruits, such as are never found save in Kings’ houses. Presently, she
called for wine and drank a cup, after which she filled another and gave
it to me, saying, “Now is the time for converse and story-telling.” So I
bethought myself and began to say, “It hath reached me that such and
such things happened; and there was a man who said so and so,” till I
had told her a number of pleasing tales and adventures with which she
was delighted and cried, “’Tis marvellous that a merchant should bear in
memory such store of stories like these, for they are fit for Kings.”
Quoth I, “I had a neighbour who used to consort with Kings and carouse
with them; so, when he was at leisure, I visited his house and he hath
often told me what thou hast heard.” Thereupon she exclaimed “By my
life, but thou hast a good memory!” So we continued to converse thus,
and as often as I was silent, she would begin, till in this way we
passed the most part of the night, whilst the burning aloes-wood
diffused its fragrance and I was in such case that if Al-Maamun had
suspected it, he would have flown like a bird with longing for it. Then
said she to me, “Verily, thou art one of the most pleasant of men,
polished, passing well bred and polite; but there lacketh one thing.”
“What is that?” asked I, and she answered, “If thou only knew how to
sing verses to the lute!” I answered, “I was passionately fond of this
art aforetime, but finding I had no taste for it, I abandoned it, though
at times my heart yearneth after it. Indeed, I should love to sing
somewhat well at this moment and fulfil my night’s enjoyment.” Then she,
“Meseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute to be brought?” and I, “It
is thine to decide, if thou wilt so far favour me, and to thee be the
thanks.” So she called for a lute and sang a song in a voice whose like
I never heard, both for sweetness of tone and skill in playing, and
perfection of art. Then said she, “Knowest thou who composed this air
and whose are the words of this song?” “No,” answered I; and she said,
“The words are so and so’s and the air is Isaac’s.” I asked, “And hath
Isaac then (may I be thy sacrifice!) such a talent?” She replied,
“Bravo![178] Bravo, Isaac! indeed, he excelleth in this art.” I
rejoined, “Glory be to Allah who hath given this man what he hath
vouchsafed unto none other!” Then she said, “And how would it be, an
thou heard this song from himself?” This wise we went on till break of
day-dawn, when there came to her an old woman, as she were her nurse,
and said to her, “Verily, the time is come.” So she rose in haste and
said to me, “Keep what hath passed between us to thyself; for such
meetings are in confidence;”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
whispered, “Keep what hath passed between us to thyself, for such
meetings are in confidence;” and I replied, “May I be thy ransom! I
needed no charge to this.” Then I took leave of her and she sent a
handmaid to show me the way and open the house door; so I went forth and
returned to my own place, where I prayed the morning prayer and slept.
Now after a time there came to me a messenger from Al-Maamun, so I went
to him and passed the day in his company. And when the night fell I
called to mind my yesternight’s pleasure, a thing from which none but an
ignoramus would abstain, and betook myself to the street, where I found
the basket, and seating myself therein, was drawn up to the place in
which I had passed the previous night. When the lady saw me, she said,
“Indeed, thou hast been assiduous;” and I answered, “Meseemeth rather
that I am neglectful.” Then we fell to discoursing and passed the night
as before in general conversation and reciting verses and telling rare
tales, each in turn, till daybreak, when I wended me home; and I prayed
the dawn-prayer and slept. Presently there came to me a messenger from
Al-Maamun; so I went to him and spent my day with him till nightfall,
when the Commander of the Faithful said to me, “I conjure thee to sit
here, whilst I go out for a want and come back.” As soon as the Caliph
was gone, and quite gone, my thoughts began to tempt and try me and,
calling to mind my late delight, I recked little what might befal me
from the Prince of True Believers. So I sprang up and turning my back
upon the sitting-room, ran to the street aforesaid, where I sat down in
the basket and was drawn up as before. When the lady saw me, she said,
“I begin to think thou art a sincere friend to us.” Quoth I, “Yea, by
Allah!” and quoth she, “Hast thou made our house thine abiding-place?” I
replied, “May I be thy ransom! A guest claimeth guest-right for three
days and if I return after this, ye are free to spill my blood.” Then we
passed the night as before; and when the time of departure drew near, I
bethought me that Al-Maamun would assuredly question me nor would ever
be content save with a full explanation: so I said to her, “I see thee
to be of those who delight in singing. Now I have a cousin, the son of
my father’s brother, who is fairer than I in face and higher of rank and
better of breeding; and he is the most intimate of Allah’s creatures
with Isaac.” Quoth she, “Art thou a parasite[179] and an importunate
one?” Quoth I, “It is for thee to decide in this matter;” and she, “If
thy cousin be as thou hast described him, it would not mislike us to
make acquaintance with him.” Then, as the time was come, I left her and
returned to my house, but hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph’s
runners came down on me and carried me before him by main force and
roughly enough.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul
continued:—And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph’s runners
came down upon me and carried me before him by main force and roughly
enough. I found him seated on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me,
“O Isaac, art thou a traitor to thine allegiance?” replied I, “No, by
Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!” and he rejoined, “What hast thou
then to say? tell me the whole truth;” and I, “Yes, I will, but in
private.” So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a distance,
and I told him the case, adding, “I promised her to bring thee,” and he
said, “Thou didst well.” Then we spent the day in our usual pleasures,
but Al-Maamun’s heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the
appointed time come, when we set out. As we went along, I cautioned him,
saying, “Look that thou call me not by my name before her; and I will
demean myself like thine attendant.” And having agreed upon this, we
fared forth till we came to the place, where we found two baskets
hanging ready. So we sat down in them and were drawn up to the usual
place, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. Now when Al-Maamun
saw her, he was amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she began to
entertain him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine
and we fell to drinking, she paying him special attention and he
repaying her in kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses:—
My lover came in at the close of night, ✿ I rose till he sat and
remained upright;
And said “Sweet heart, hast thou come this hour? ✿ Nor feared on the
watch and ward to ‘light:”
Quoth he “The lover _had_ cause to fear, ✿ But Love deprived him of wits
and fright.”
And when she ended her song she said to me, “And is thy cousin also a
merchant?” I answered, “Yes,” and she said, “Indeed, ye resemble each
other nearly.” But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints,[180] he grew
merry with wine and called out, saying, “Ho, Isaac!” And I replied,
“Labbayk’, Adsum, O Commander of the Faithful,” whereupon quoth he,
“Sing me this air.” Now when the young lady learned that he was the
Caliph, she withdrew to another place and disappeared; and, as I had
made an end of my song Al-Maamun said to me, “See who is the master of
this house”; whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, “It
belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.”[181] “Fetch him to me,” said the Caliph. So
she went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to whom said
Al-Maamun “Hast thou a daughter?” He said, “Yes, and her name is
Khadijah.” Asked the Caliph, “Is she married?” Answered Hasan, “No, by
Allah!” Said Al-Maamun, “Then I ask her of thee in marriage.” Replied
her father, “O Commander of the Faithful, she is thy handmaid and at thy
commandment.” Quoth Al-Maamun, “I take her to wife at a present
settlement of thirty thousand dinars, which thou shalt receive this very
morning; and, when the money has been paid thee, do thou bring her to us
this night.” And Hasan answered, “I hear and I obey.” Thereupon we went
forth and the Caliph said to me, “O Isaac, tell this story to no one.”
So I kept it secret till Al-Maamun’s death. Surely never did man’s life
gather such pleasures as were mine these four days’ time, whenas I
companied with Al-Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah,
never saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever
set eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her in
lively wit and pleasant speech! And Allah is All-knowing. But amongst
stories is that of
-----
Footnote 175:
Son of Ibrahim al-Mosili, a musician poet and favourite with the
Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Maamun. He made his name immortal by
being the first who reduced Arab harmony to systematic rules; and he
wrote a biography of musicians referred to by Al-Hariri in the Séance
of Singar.
Footnote 176:
This must not be confounded with the “pissing against the wall” of 1
Kings, xiv. 10, where watering against a wall denotes a man as opposed
to a woman.
Footnote 177:
Arab. “Zambíl” or “Zimbíl,” a limp basket made of plaited palm-leaves
and generally two handled. It is used for many purposes, from carrying
poultry to carrying earth.
Footnote 178:
Here we have again the Syriac “Bakhkh^{un} Bakhkh^{un}” = well done!
It is the Pers. Áferín and means “all praise be to him.”
Footnote 179:
Arab. “A Tufayli?” So the Arab. Prov. (ii. 838) “More intrusive than
Tufayl” (prob. the P.N. of a notorious spunger). The Badawin call
“Wárish” a man who sits down to meat unbidden and to drink Wághil; but
townsfolk apply the latter to the “Wárish.”
Footnote 180:
Arab. “Artál” = rotoli, pounds; and
A pint is a pound
All the world round;
except in highly civilised lands where the pint has a curious power of
shrinking.
Footnote 181:
One of Al-Maamun’s Wazirs. The Caliph married his daughter whose true
name was Búrán; but this tale of girl’s freak and courtship was
invented (?) by Ishak. For the splendour of the wedding and the
munificence of the Minister see Lane, ii. 350-352.
THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.
During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were
making circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was
crowded, behold, a man laid hold of the covering of the Ka’abah[182] and
cried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, “I beseech thee, O
Allah, that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that I may
know her!” A company of the pilgrims heard him and seized him and
carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after a sufficiency of blows;
and, said they, “O Emir, we found this fellow in the Holy Places, saying
thus and thus.” So the Emir commanded to hang him; but he cried, “O
Emir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and
preserve!), hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.” Quoth the
Emir, “Tell thy tale forthright.” Know then, O Emir, quoth the man, that
I am a sweep who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the
blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came
to pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people
running away and one of them said to me, “Enter this alley, lest haply
they slay thee.” Quoth I, “What aileth the folk running away?” and one
of the eunuchs, who were passing, said to me, “This is the Harim[183] of
one of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people out of her way and
beat them all, without respect to persons.” So I turned aside with the
donkey——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the man:—So
I turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of
the crowd; and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands,
followed by nigh thirty women slaves, and amongst them a lady as she
were a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and grace and
amorous languor, and all were attending upon her. Now when she came to
the mouth of the passage where I stood, she turned right and left and,
calling one of the Castratos, whispered in his ear; and behold, he came
up to me and laid hold of me, whilst another eunuch took my ass and made
off with it. And when the spectators fled, the first eunuch bound me
with a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what to do; and the
people followed us and cried out, saying, “This is not allowed of Allah!
What hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes?”
and praying the eunuchs, “Have pity on him and let him go, so Allah have
pity on you!” And I the while said in my mind, “Doubtless the eunuchry
seized me, because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it
sickened her. Belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!”
So I continued walking on behind them, till they stopped at the door of
a great house; and, entering before me, brought me into a big hall—I
know not how I shall describe its magnificence—furnished with the finest
furniture. And the women also entered the hall; and I bound and held by
the eunuch and saying to myself, “Doubtless they will torture me here
till I die and none know of my death.” However, after a while, they
carried me into a neat bath-room leading out of the hall; and as I sat
there, behold, in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me
and said to me, “Strip off thy rags and tatters.” So I pulled off my
threadbare clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet
whilst another scrubbed my head and a third shampooed my body. When they
had made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel of clothes and
said to me, “Put these on”; and I answered, “By Allah, I know not how!”
So they came up to me and dressed me, laughing together at me the while;
after which they brought casting-bottles full of rose-water, and
sprinkled me therewith. Then I went out with them into another saloon;
by Allah, I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth of
paintings and furniture therein; and entering it, I saw a person seated
on a couch of Indian rattan——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,