Part 40

In fact, as they looked towards the court, they saw Schemselnihar’s confidant coming towards them, followed by ten black women, who with much difficulty carried a throne of massy silver, curiously wrought, which they set down before them at a certain distance; after which the black slaves retired behind the trees, to the entrance of a walk. After this came twenty handsome ladies, richly apparelled, in uniform dress; they advanced in two rows, each singing, and playing upon instruments which they held in their hands, and placed themselves on each side of the throne.

All these things kept the prince of Persia and Ebn Thaher in so much the greater expectation, that they were curious to know how they would end. They then saw come out at the same gate from whence the ten black women came, ten other ladies, equally handsome and well-dressed, who halted there a few moments, expecting the favourite, who came out last, and placed herself in the midst of them.

Schemselnihar was easily distinguished from the rest by her fine shape and majestic air, as well as by a sort of mantle, of a very fine stuff of gold and sky-blue, fastened to her shoulders, over her other apparel, which was the most handsome, most magnificent, and best contrived, that could be imagined.

The pearls, rubies, and diamonds, which adorned her, were well disposed; not many in number, but well chosen, and of inestimable value. She came forward, with a majesty resembling the sun in its course amidst the clouds, which receive his splendour without hiding his lustre, and sat down upon the silver throne that had been brought for her.

As soon as the prince of Persia saw Schemselnihar, he could not take his eyes off her. We cease inquiring, said he to Ebn Thaher, after what we seek, when once we see it; and there is no doubt left, when once the truth appears. Do you see this charming beauty? She is the cause of all my sufferings, which I bless, and will never forbear to bless, however severe and lasting. At the sight of this object I am not my own master; my soul is disturbed, and rebels, and seems disposed to leave me. Go then, my soul, I allow thee; but let it be for the welfare and preservation of this weak body. It is you, cruel Ebn Thaher, who are the cause of this disorder. You thought to do me a great pleasure in bringing me hither, and I perceive I am only come to complete my ruin. Pardon me, said he, interrupting himself; I am mistaken: I would come, and can blame nobody but myself; --and at these words he burst into tears. I am glad, said Ebn Thaher, that you do me justice. When I told you at first that Schemselnihar was the caliph’s chief favourite, I did it on purpose to prevent that fatal passion which you please yourself with entertaining in your breast. All that you see here ought to disengage you, and you are to think of nothing but of acknowledging the honour which Schemselnihar has done you, by ordering me to bring you with me. Recall then your wandering reason, and prepare to appear before her as good breeding requires. See, there she comes. Were we to begin again, I would take other measures; but since the thing is done, I pray God we may not have cause to repent it. All I have now to say to you is, that love is a traitor, who may involve you in difficulties from which you will never be able to extricate yourself.

Ebn Thaher had no time to say more, because Schemselnihar came; and sitting down upon her throne, saluted them both by bowing her head; but she fixed her eyes on the prince of Persia, and they spoke to one another in a silent language, intermixed with sighs, by which, in a few moments, they spoke more than they could have done by words in a great deal of time. The more Schemselnihar looked upon the prince, the more she found by his looks to confirm her in the opinion that he was in love with her; and being thus persuaded of his passion, thought herself the happiest woman in the world. At last, she turned her eyes from him to command the women, who began to sing first, to come near; they rose, and as they advanced, the black woman, who came out of the walk into which they had retired, brought their seats, and set them near the window, in the front of the dome, where Ebn Thaher and the prince of Persia stood, and their seats were so disposed, that with the favourite’s throne, and the women on each side of her, they formed a semicircle before them.

The women, who were sitting before she came, resumed their places, with the permission of Schemselnihar, who ordered them by a sign. That charming favourite chose one of those women to sing; who, after she had spent some moments in tuning her lute, sung a song, the meaning whereof was, that when two lovers entirely loved one another with boundless affection, their hearts though in two bodies were united; and when any thing opposed their desires, could say, with tears in their eyes, If we love, because we find one another amiable, ought we to be blamed for this? Let destiny bear the blame.

Schemselnihar discovered so well by her eyes and gestures that those words were applicable to herself and the prince of Persia, that he could not contain himself, he arose, and advancing to a balustrade, which he leaned upon, obliged one of the companions of the woman who had just done singing to observe him. As she was near him, Attend to me, said he to her, and do me the favour to accompany with your lute a song which you shall hear forthwith. Then he sung with an air so tender and passionate, as perfectly expressed the violence of his love. As soon as he had done, Schemselnihar following his example, said to one of the women, Attend to me likewise, and accompany my voice. At the same time she sung after such a manner, as did farther pierce the heart of the prince of Persia, who answered by a new air, more passionate than the former.

Those two lovers having declared their mutual affection by their songs, Schemselnihar yielded to the force of hers; she arose from her throne in transport, and advanced towards the door of the hall. The prince, who perceived her design, rose up immediately, and went to meet her in all haste. They met at the door, where they took one another by the hand, and embraced with so much passion, that they fainted and would have fallen, if the women who followed Schemselnihar had not hindered them. They supported them, and carried them to a sofa, where they were brought to themselves again by throwing odoriferous water upon their faces, and by giving them something to smell to.

When they came to themselves, the first thing that Schemselnihar did was to look about, and not seeing Ebn Thaher, she asked, with eagerness, where he was. He had withdrawn out of respect, whilst her women were engaged in recovering her, and dreaded, not without reason, that some disagreeable consequence might follow what he had seen; but as soon as he heard Schemselnihar ask for him, he came forward and presented himself before her.

Schemselnihar was very well pleased to see Ebn Thaher, and expressed her joy in these obliging terms: Ebn Thaher, I know not how to return the great obligations you have put upon me; without you, I should never have seen the prince of Persia, nor have loved the most amiable person in the world; assure yourself I shall not be ungrateful, and that my gratitude, if possible, shall be equal to the obligation. Ebn Thaher answered this compliment by a low bow, and wished the favourite the accomplishment of all her desires.

Schemselnihar, turning towards the prince of Persia, who sat by her, and looking upon him with some sort of confusion after what had passed betwixt them, said to him, Sir, I am very well assured you love me; and how great soever your love may be to me, you need not doubt but mine is as great towards you. But let us not flatter ourselves; for, notwithstanding this conformity of our sentiments, I see nothing for you and me but trouble, impatience, and tormenting grief. There is no other remedy for our evils but to love one another constantly, to refer ourselves to the disposal of heaven, and to wait its determination of our destiny. Madam, replied the prince of Persia, you will do me the greatest injustice, if you doubt for a moment the continuance of my love. It is so united to my soul, that I can justly say it makes the best part of it, and that I shall persevere in it after death. Pains, torments, obstacles, nothing shall be capable of hindering my loving you. Speaking these words, he shed tears in abundance, and Schemselnihar was not able to restrain hers.

Ebn Thaher took this opportunity to speak to the favourite: Madam, said he, allow me to represent to you, that, instead of melting into tears, you ought to rejoice that you are now together. I understand not this grief. What will it be when you are obliged to part? But why do I talk of that? We have been a long while here, and you know, madam, it is time for us to be going. Ah! how cruel are you! replied Schemselnihar. You, who know the cause of my tears, have you no pity for my unfortunate condition? Oh! sad fatality! what have I done, to be subject to the severe law, of not being able to enjoy the only person I love?

Persuaded as she was, that Ebn Thaher spoke to her only out of friendship, she did not take amiss what he said to her, but made a proper use of it. She made a sign to the slave, her confidant, who immediately went out, and in a little time brought a collation of fruits upon a small silver table, which she set down betwixt her mistress and the prince of Persia. Schemselnihar took some of the best, and presented to the prince, praying him to eat it for her sake; he took it, and put to his mouth that part which she touched; and then he presented some to her, which she took, and ate in the same manner. She did not forget to invite Ebn Thaher to eat with them; but he, thinking himself not safe in that place, and wishing himself at home, ate only out of complaisance. After the collation was taken away, they brought a silver basin, with water in a vessel of gold, and washed together; they afterwards returned to their places, and three of the ten black women brought each a cup of rock crystal full of exquisite wine, upon a golden salver, which they set down before Schemselnihar, the prince of Persia, and Ebn Thaher. That they might be more private, Schemselnihar kept with her only ten black women, with ten others, who began to sing and play upon instruments; and after she had sent away all the rest, she took up one of the cups, and holding it in her hand, sung some tender words, which one of her women accompanied with her lute. When she had done, she drank, and afterwards took up one of the other cups, and presented it to the prince, praying him to drink for love of her, as she had drank for love of him. He received the cup with a transport of love and joy; but before he drank, he sung also a song, which another woman accompanied with an instrument; and as he sang, the tears fell from his eyes in such abundance, that he could not forbear expressing in his song, that he knew not whether he was going to drink the wine she had presented to him, or his own tears. Schemselnihar, at last, presented the third cup to Ebn Thaher, who thanked her for her kindness, and for the honour she did him.

After this, she took a lute from one of her women, and sung to it in such a passionate manner, that she seemed to be transported out of herself, and the prince of Persia stood with his eyes fixed upon her, as if he had been enchanted. As these things passed, her trusty slave came in a great fright, and addressing herself to her mistress, said, Madam Mesrour, and two other officers, with several eunuchs that attend them, are at the gate, and want to speak with you from the caliph. When the prince of Persia and Ebn Thaher heard these words, they changed colour, and began to tremble, as if they had been undone; but Schemselnihar, who perceived it, recovered their courage by a sigh.

After Schemselnihar had quieted the fears of the prince of Persia and Ebn Thaher, she ordered the slave, her confidant, to go and converse with Mesrour, and the two other officers, till she had put herself in a condition to receive them, and could send her to introduce them. Immediately, she ordered all the windows of the saloon to be shut, and the painted cloth on the side of the garden to be let down; and after having assured the prince and Ebn Thaher, that they might continue there without any fear, she went out at the great gate leading to the garden, and shut it upon them; but whatever assurance she had given them of their being safe, they were desperately afraid all the while they were there.

As soon as Schemselnihar was in the garden with the woman that had followed her, she ordered all the seats, which served the women who played on the instruments, to be set near the window, where the prince of Persia, and Ebn Thaher heard them; and having got things in order, she sat down upon her silver throne; then she sent notice to the slave, her confidant, to bring in the chief of the eunuchs, and his two subaltern officers with him.

They appeared, followed by twenty black eunuchs, all handsomely clothed, with scimitars by their sides, and gold belts of four inches broad. As soon as they perceived the favourite Schemselnihar at a distance, they made her a profound reverence, which she returned them from her throne. When they came near, she got up and went to meet Mesrour, who came first; she asked what news he brought. He answered, Madam, the commander of the faithful has sent me to signify, that he cannot live longer without seeing you; he designs to come and see you to-night, and I come beforehand to give you notice, that you may be ready to receive him. He hopes, madam, that you will receive him with as much pleasure as he feels impatience to see you.

Upon this discourse of Mesrour, the favourite Schemselnihar prostrated herself to the ground, as a mark of that submission with which she received the caliph’s order. When she rose up again, she said, Pray tell the commander of the faithful, that I shall always reckon it my glory to execute his majesty’s commands, and that his slave will do her utmost to receive him with all the respect that is due to him. At the same time she ordered the slave, her confidant, to tell the black women appointed for that service to get the palace ready to receive the caliph; and dismissing the chief of the eunuchs, said to him, You see it requires some time to get all things ready; therefore I entreat you to curb his majesty’s impatience, that, when he arrives, he may not find things out of order.

The chief of the eunuchs and his retinue being gone, Schemselnihar returned to the saloon, extremely concerned at the necessity she was under of sending back the prince of Persia sooner than she thought to have done. She came up to him again with tears in her eyes, which heightened Ebn Thaher’s fear, who thought it no good omen. Madam, said the prince to her, I perceive you are come to tell me that we must part: if there be nothing more to dread, I hope heaven will give me the patience which is necessary to support your absence. Alas! my dear heart, my dear soul, replied the too tender Schemselnihar, how happy do I think you, and how unhappy do I think myself, when I compare your lot with my sad destiny! No doubt you will suffer by my absence, but that is all, and you may comfort yourself with hopes of seeing me again; but as for me, just heaven! what a terrible trial am I brought to! I must not only be deprived of the sight of the only person whom I love, but I must be tormented with the sight of one whom you have made hateful to me. --Will not the arrival of the caliph put me in mind of your departure? And how can I, when I am taken up with thinking on your dear image, express to that prince the joy which he always observed in my eyes, whenever he came to see me? I shall have my mind perplexed when I speak to him, and the least complaisance which I show to his love will stab me to the heart like a dagger. Can I relish his kind words and caresses? --Think, prince, to what torments I shall be exposed when I can see you no more! Her tears and sighs hindered her from going on, and the prince of Persia would have replied to her, but his own grief, and that of his mistress, deprived him of the power of speech.

Ebn Thaher, who only wished to get out of the palace, was obliged to comfort them, and to exhort them to have patience; but the trusty slave interrupted them: Madam, said she to Schemselnihar, you have no time to lose; the eunuchs begin to arrive, and you know the caliph will be here immediately. O Heaven! how cruel is this separation! cried the favourite: Make haste, said she, to the confidant, carry them both to the gallery which looks into the garden on the one side, and to the Tigris on the other: and when the night grows dark, let them out by the back gate, that they may retire with safety. Having spoken thus, she tenderly embraced the prince of Persia, without being able to say one word more, and went to meet the caliph in such disorder as cannot well be imagined.

In the mean time the trusty slave carried the prince and Ebn Thaher to the gallery, as Schemselnihar had appointed: and having brought them in, left them there, and shut the door upon them, after having assured them that they had nothing to fear, and that she would come for them when it was time.

When Schemselnihar’s trusty slave left the prince of Persia and Ebn Thaher, they forgot she had assured them that they needed not to be afraid: they examined the gallery, and were seized with extreme fear, because they knew no means of escape if the caliph or any of his officers should happen to come there.

A great light, which came all of a sudden from the side of the garden through the lattices, caused them to approach them to see from whence it came. It was occasioned by a hundred flambeaux of white wax, carried by as many young eunuchs; these were followed by more than a hundred others, who guarded the ladies of the caliph’s palace, clothed and armed with scimitars, in the same manner as those I spoke of before; and the caliph came after them, betwixt Mesrour their captain on his right, and Vassif their second officer on his left hand.

Schemselnihar waited for the caliph at the entry of a walk, accompanied with twenty women, all of surprising beauty, adorned with necklaces and ear-rings of large diamonds, and others which covered their heads entirely: they sung and played on their instruments, and formed a charming concert. The favourite no sooner saw the prince appear, but she advanced, and prostrated herself at his feet; and while she was doing this, Prince of Persia, said she within herself, if your sad eyes witness what I do, judge of my hard lot; if I was humbling myself so before you, my heart would feel no reluctance.

The caliph was delighted to see Schemselnihar. Rise, madam, said he to her: come near: I am angry with myself that I should have deprived myself so long of the pleasure of seeing you. As he spoke thus, he took her by the hand, and, with many tender expressions, went and sat down upon the silver throne which Schemselnihar caused to be brought for him, and she sat down upon a seat before him; and the twenty women made a circle round them upon other seats, while the young eunuchs, who carried flambeaux, dispersed themselves at a certain distance from one another, that the caliph might enjoy the cool of the evening the better.

When the caliph sat down, he looked round him, and beheld with great satisfaction the garden illuminated with a great many other lights, besides those flambeaux which the young eunuchs held: but taking notice that the saloon was shut, was astonished thereat, and demanded the reason. It was done on purpose to surprise him; for he had no sooner spoken, but all the windows flew open at once, he saw it illuminated within and without, in a much better manner than ever he had seen it before. Charming Schemselnihar, cried he, at this sight, I understand you: you would have me to know there are as fine nights as days. After what I have seen, I cannot deny it.

Let us return to the prince of Persia and Ebn Thaher, whom we left in the gallery. Ebn Thaher could not enough admire all that he saw: I am not very young, said he, and I have seen great entertainments in my time; but I do not think any thing can be seen so surprising and magnificent. All that is said of enchanted palaces does not come up to the prodigious spectacles we now see. What riches and magnificence united!

The prince of Persia was not at all moved with those objects which so delighted Ebn Thaher; he could look on nothing but Schemselnihar, and the presence of the caliph threw him into an inconceivable grief. Dear Ebn Thaher, said he, would to God I had my mind as much at liberty to attend to those objects of admiration as you! But, alas! I am in quite a different situation; all those objects serve only to increase my torment. Can I see the caliph familiar with the object of my love, and not die of grief? Must such a passionate love as mine be disturbed with so potent a rival? O heavens! How cruel and strange is my destiny! It is but a moment since I esteemed myself the most fortunate lover in the world, and at this instant I feel a death-stroke to my heart. I cannot resist it, my dear Ebn Thaher; my patience is exhausted, my disorder overwhelms me, and my courage fails. While he was speaking those words, he saw something pass in the garden, which obliged him to keep silence, and to turn all his attention that way.

The caliph had ordered one of the women who was near him, to play upon her lute and she began to sing; the words that she sung were very passionate, and the caliph, persuaded that she sung thus by order of Schemselnihar, who had frequently entertained him with the like testimonies of her affections, interpreted them in his own favour. But this was not now Schemselnihar’s meaning; she applied it to her dear Ali Ebn Becar, and was so sensibly touched with grief, to have before her an object whose presence she could no longer enjoy, that she fainted and fell backwards upon her seat, which having no arms to support her, she must have fallen down, had not some of the women given her timely assistance, taken her up, and carried her into the saloon.

Ebn Thaher, who was in the gallery, being surprised at this accident, turned towards the prince of Persia; but, instead of seeing him stand and look through the window as before, he was extremely amazed to see him lying at his feet motionless. This convinced him of the violence of that prince’s passion for Schemselnihar, and he admired that strange effect of sympathy, which put him into a mortal fear, because of the place they were in. He did all he could to recover the prince, but in vain. Ebn Thaher was in this perplexity, when Schemselnihar’s confidant opened the gallery door, and came in out of breath, as one who knew not where she was. Come speedily, cried she, that I may let you out: all is in confusion here, and I fear this will be the last of our days. --Ah! how would you have us go? replied Ebn Thaher, with a mournful voice; come near, I pray you, and see what a condition the prince of Persia is in. When the slave saw him in a swoon, she ran in all haste for water, and returned in an instant.