Part 49

As soon as the prince came into the king’s presence, he bowed and kissed the ground. The king, who, of all that had hitherto presumptuously exposed their lives on this occasion, had not seen one worthy to cast his eyes upon before, felt real compassion for prince Camaralzaman, on account of the danger he was about to undergo. But as he saw him more deserving than ordinary, he showed him more honour, and made him come and sit by him. Young man, said he, I can hardly believe you, at this age, can have acquired experience enough to dare attempt the cure of my daughter. I wish you may succeed, and would give her to you in marriage with all my heart, with the greatest joy, more willingly than I should have done to others that have offered themselves before you; but I must declare to you, at the same time, with great concern, that if you do not succeed in your attempt, notwithstanding your noble appearance and your youth, you must lose your head.

Sir, replied the prince, I have infinite obligations to your majesty for the honour you design me, and the great goodness you show to a stranger; but I desire your majesty to believe I would not have come from so remote a country as I have done, the name of which, perhaps, may be unknown in your dominions, if I had not been certain of the cure I propose. What would not the world say of my fickleness, if, after so great fatigues and dangers as I have undergone on this account, I should abandon this generous enterprise? Even your majesty would soon lose that esteem you have conceived for me. If I must die, sir, I shall die with the satisfaction of not having lost your esteem after I have merited it. I beseech your majesty, therefore, to keep me no longer impatient to display the certainty of my art, by the proof I am ready to give of it.

Then the king commanded the eunuch, who had the custody of the princess, to introduce prince Camaralzaman into her apartment; but before he would let him go, he reminded him once more that he was at liberty to renounce his design; yet the prince paid no regard, but, with astonishing resolution and eagerness, followed the eunuch.

When they came to a long gallery, at the end of which was the princess’s apartment, the prince, who saw himself so near the object of his wishes, who had occasioned him so many tears, pushed on, and got before the eunuch.

The eunuch, redoubling his pace, with much ado got up with him. Whither away so fast? cried he, taking him by the arm; you cannot get in without me; and it should seem you have a great desire for death, thus to run to it headlong. Not one of all those many astrologers and magicians I have introduced before made such haste as yourself to a place whither I fear you will come but too soon.

Friend, replied the prince, looking earnestly on the eunuch, and continuing his pace, this was because none of the astrologers you speak of were so sure of their art as I am of mine: they were certain, indeed, they should die if they did not succeed, but they had no certainty of their success. On this account they had reason to tremble on approaching the place whither I go, and where I am sure to find my happiness. He had just spoke these words as he was at the door. The eunuch opened it, and introduced him into a great hall, whence was an entrance into the princess’s chamber, divided from it only by a piece of tapestry.

Prince Camaralzaman stopt before he entered, speaking more softly to the eunuch for fear of being heard in the princess’s chamber. To convince you, said he, there is neither presumption, nor whim, nor youthful conceit, in my undertaking, I leave it to your own desire, whether I should cure the princess in your presence, or where we are, without going any farther.

The eunuch was amazed to hear the prince talk to him with such confidence; he left off insulting him, and said seriously to him, It is no matter whether you do it here or there, provided the business is done: cure her how you will, you will get immortal honour by it, not only in this court, but over all the world.

The prince replied, It will be best, then, to cure her without seeing her, that you may be witness of my skill. Notwithstanding my impatience to see a princess of her rank, who is to be my wife, yet, out of respect to you, I will deprive myself of that pleasure for a little while. He was furnished with everything proper for an astrologer to carry about him: taking pen, ink, and paper, out of his pocket, he wrote this billet to the princess:--

Prince Camaralzaman to the Princess of China.

‘Adorable princess!

‘The love-sick prince Camaralzaman will not trouble you with a recital of the inexpressible pains that he has endured ever since that fatal night in which your charms deprived him of the liberty which he resolved to preserve as long as he lived. He only tells you that he devoted his heart to you in your charming slumbers; those importunate slumbers that hindered him from beholding the brightness of your piercing eyes, in spite of all his endeavours to oblige you to open them. He presumed to present you with his ring as a token of his passion; and to take yours in exchange, which he sends in this billet. If you will condescend to return it, as a reciprocal pledge of your love, he will esteem himself the happiest of all lovers. If not, the sentence of death, which your refusal brings him, will be received with the more resignation, because he dies for love of you. He waits in your ante-chamber for your answer.’

When the prince had finished his billet, he folded it up, and enclosed in it the princess’s ring, without letting the eunuch see what he did. When he had sealed it, he gave it to him: There, friend, said he, carry it to your mistress; if it does not cure her as soon as she reads it, and sees what is inclosed in it, I give you leave to tell every body that I am the most ignorant and impudent astrologer that ever was, is, or ever will be.

The eunuch, entering the princess of China’s chamber, gave her the packet he received from prince Camaralzaman. Madam, said he, the boldest astrologer that ever lived, if I am not mistaken, is arrived here, and pretends, that on reading this letter, and seeing what is in it, you will be cured; I wish he may prove neither a liar nor impostor.

The princess Badoura took this billet, and opened it with a great deal of indifference: but when she saw the ring, she had not patience to read it through: she rose hastily, broke the chain that held her by struggling, ran to the door, and opened it. She knew the prince as soon as she saw him, and he knew her: they presently embraced each other tenderly, and without being able to speak for excess of joy: they looked on one another a long time, wondering how they met again after their first interview. The princess’s nurse, who ran to the door with her, made them come into her chamber, where the princess Badoura gave the prince her ring, saying, Take it, I cannot keep it without restoring yours, which I will never part with; neither can it be in better hands.

The eunuch went immediately to tell the king of China what had happened. Sir, said he, all the astrologers and doctors who have hitherto pretended to cure the princess, were fools in comparison of the last. He made use neither of schemes nor conjurations, of perfumes, or any thing else, but cured her without seeing her. Then he told the king how he did it. The monarch was agreeably surprised at the news, and going presently to the princess’s chamber, embraced her: he afterwards embraced the prince, and, taking his hand, joined it to the princess’s. Happy stranger, said the king, whoever you are, I will keep my word, and give you my daughter to wife; though, by what I see in you, it is impossible for me to believe you are really what you appear, and would have me believe you to be.

Prince Camaralzaman thanked the king in the most humble expressions, that he might the better show his gratitude. As for my person, said he, I must own I am not an astrologer, as your majesty very judiciously guessed; I only put on the habit of one, that I might succeed more easily in my ambition to be allied to the most potent monarch in the world. I was born a prince, and the son of a king and of a queen; my name is Camaralzaman; my father is Schahzaman, who now reigns over the islands that are well known by the name of the Islands of the Children of Khaledan. He then told him his history, and how wonderful was the rise of his love; that the princess’s was altogether as marvellous; and that both were confirmed by the exchange of the two rings.

When the prince had done speaking, the king said to him, This history is so extraordinary, it deserves to be known to posterity; I will take care it shall; and the original being deposited in my royal archives, I will spread copies of it abroad, that my own kingdom and the kingdoms around me may know it.

The marriage was solemnized the same day, and the rejoicings for it were universal all over the empire of China. Nor was Marzavan forgotten: the king gave him an honourable post in his court immediately, and a promise of farther advancement.

Prince Camaralzaman and the princess Badoura enjoyed the fulness of their wishes in the sweets of marriage; and the king kept continual feastings for several months, to show his joy on the occasion.

In the midst of these pleasures, prince Camaralzaman dreamt one night, that he saw his father, Schahzaman, on his deathbed, ready to give up the ghost, and heard him speak thus to his attendants: My son, to whom I gave birth; my son, whom I so tenderly loved; whom I bred with so much fondness, so much care, has abandoned me, and is himself the cause of my death. He awoke with a great sigh, which awakened the princess, who asked him the cause of it.

Alas! my love, cried the prince, perhaps in the very moment that I am speaking, the king, my father, is no more. He then acquainted her with his melancholy dream, which occasioned him so much uneasiness. The princess, who studied to please him in every thing, did not immediately inform him she had contrived a way to do it, fearing that the desire to see his father again would make him take less delight in her company in a distant country. She went to her own father that very day, and finding him alone, kissed his hand, and thus addressed herself to him: Sir, I have a favour to beg of your majesty, and I beseech you not to deny me; but that you may not believe I ask it at the solicitation of the prince, my husband, I assure you beforehand, he knows nothing of my asking it of you; it is, that you will give leave for me to go with him and see king Schahzaman, my father-in-law.

Daughter, replied the king, though I shall be very sorry to part with you for so long a time as a journey to a place so distant will take up, yet I cannot disapprove of your resolution; it is worthy of yourself, notwithstanding the fatigue of so long a journey; go, child, I give you leave, but on condition that you stay no longer than a year in king Schahzaman’s court. I hope the king will agree to this, that we shall alternately see, he his son and his daughter-in-law, and I my daughter and my son-in-law.

The princess communicated the king of China’s consent to prince Camaralzaman, who was transported to hear it, and gave her thanks for this new token of her love.

The king of China gave orders for preparations to be made for the journey; and when all things were ready he accompanied the prince and princess several days’ journey on their way; they parted at length with great weeping on all sides; the king embraced them, and having desired the prince to be kind to his daughter, and to love her always with the same passion he now loved her, he left them to proceed on their journey, and to divert himself, hunted all the way as he returned to his capital city.

When prince Camaralzaman and the princess Badoura had dried up their tears, they comforted themselves with the thought how glad king Schahzaman would be to see them, and how they should rejoice to see the king.

They travelled about a month, and at last came to a meadow of great extent, planted at convenient distances with tall trees, forming an agreeable shade. The day being unusually hot, Camaralzaman thought it best to encamp there, and proposed it to Badoura, who, having the same intention, the more readily consented to it. They alighted in one of the finest spots; a tent was presently set up; the princess, rising from the shade under which she sat down, entered it, and the prince ordered his servants to pitch their tents also, while they stayed there, and went himself to give directions. The princess, weary with the fatigues of the journey, bid her women untie her girdle, which they laid down by her; and she falling asleep, her attendants left her by herself.

Prince Camaralzaman having seen all things in order, came to the tent where the princess was sleeping; he entered, and sat down without making any noise, intending to take a nap himself; but observing the princess’s girdle lying by her, he took it up, and looked upon the diamonds and rubies one by one. In doing it, he saw a little purse hanging to it, sewed neatly on the stuff, and tied fast with a riband; he felt it, and found there was something solid in it. Desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse, and took out a cornelian, engraven with unknown figures and characters. This cornelian, said the prince to himself, must be something very valuable, or my princess would not carry it with so much care. It was Badoura’s talisman, [84] which the queen of China had given her daughter as a charm, that would keep her, as she said, from any harm as long as she had it about her.

The prince, the better to look at the talisman, took it out to the light, the tent being dark; and while he was holding it up in his hand, a bird darted down from the air and snatched it away from him.

It would be easy to conceive the concern and grief of prince Camaralzaman, when he saw the bird fly away with the talisman. [85] He was more troubled at it than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by which means his dear princess had lost a treasure that was so precious, and so valued by her.

The bird having got her prize, settled on the ground not far off, with the talisman in her mouth. The prince drew near it, in hopes she would drop it; but as he approached, the bird took wing, and settled again on the ground farther off. Camaralzaman followed her, and the bird having swallowed the talisman, took a farther flight; the prince being very dexterous at a mark, thought to kill her with a stone, and still followed her; the farther she flew, the more eager he grew in pursuing her, keeping her always in view. Thus the bird drew him along from hill to valley, and valley to hill, all day, every step leading him out of the way from the field, where he left his camp, and the princess Badoura; and instead of perching at night on a bush, where he might probably have taken her, she roosted on a high tree, safe from his pursuit. The prince vexed to the heart for taking so much pains to no purpose, thought of returning to the camp; but, said he to himself, which way shall I return? Shall I go down the hills and valleys which I passed over? Shall I wander in darkness? And will my strength bear me out? How durst I appear before my princess without her talisman? Overwhelmed with such thoughts, and tired with the pursuit, sleep came upon him, and he lay down under a tree, where he passed the night.

He awoke the next morning before the bird had left the tree; and as soon as he saw her on the wing, followed her again that whole day, with no better success than he had done the last, eating nothing but herbs and fruits all the way as he went: he did the same for ten days together, pursuing the bird, and keeping her in his eye from morning to night, lying always under the tree where she roosted. On the eleventh day the bird continued flying, and Camaralzaman observing her, he came near a great city. When the bird came to the walls, she flew over them, and the prince saw no more of her: so he despaired of ever recovering the princess Badoura’s talisman.

Camaralzaman, whose grief was beyond expression, went into the city, which was built on the sea side, and had a fine port; he walked up and down the streets without knowing where he was, or where to stop: at last he came to the port, in as great uncertainty as ever what he should do. Walking along the river side, he perceived the gate of a garden open, and an old gardener at work in it; the good man looking up, saw he was a stranger and a Mussulman; so he asked him to come in, and shut the door after him.

Camaralzaman entered, and as the gardener bade him shut the door, demanded of the gardener why he was so cautious. Because, replied the old man. I see you are a stranger newly arrived and a Mussulman; and this city is inhabited for the most part by idolaters, who have a mortal aversion to us Mussulmen, and treat those few of us that are here with great barbarity. I suppose you did not know this; and it is a miracle that you have escaped as you have thus far, these idolators being very apt to fall upon the Mussulmen that are strangers, or to draw them into a snare, unless those strangers are instructed how to beware of them. I bless God who has brought you into a place of safety.

Camaralzaman thanked the honest gardener for his advice, and the security he offered him in his house; he would have said more, but the good man interrupted him, saying, Let us leave complimenting; you are weary, and must want to refresh yourself. Come in, and rest yourself. He conducted him into his little hut; and after the prince had eaten heartily of what he set before him, with a cordiality that charmed him, he requested him to relate how he came there.

Camaralzaman complied with his request; and when he had ended his story, without concealing any part of it, he asked him which was the nearest way to the king his father’s territories; for it is in vain for me to think of finding my princess where I left her, after wandering eleven days from the spot by so extraordinary an adventure. Ah! continued he, how do I know she is alive? and saying thus, he burst into tears. The gardener replied, there was no possibility of his going thither by land, the ways were so difficult, and the journey so long: besides, there was no accommodation for his subsistence; or, if there were, he must necessarily pass through the countries of so many barbarous nations, that he would never reach his father’s. It was a year’s journey from the city where he was to any country inhabited only by Mussulmen; that the quickest passage for him would be to go to the isle of Ebene, whence he might easily transport himself to the isles of the children of Khaledan; that a ship sailed from the port every year to Ebene, and he might take that opportunity of returning to these islands. The ship departed, said he, but a few days ago; if you had come a little sooner, you might have taken your passage in it. If you will wait the year round, when it makes the voyage again, and will stay with me and accept of my house, such as it is, you will be as welcome to it as to your own.

Prince Camaralzaman was glad he had met with such an asylum, in a place where he had no acquaintance nor interest. He accepted the offer, and lived with the gardener till the time came that the ship was to sail to the isle of Ebene. He spent his time in working all day in the garden, and all night in sighs, tears, and complaints, thinking of his dear princess Badoura. We must leave him in this place, to return to the princess, whom we left asleep in her tent.

The Story of the Princess Badoura, after her separation from Prince Camaralzaman.

The princess slept a long time, and when she awoke, wondered that Prince Camaralzaman was not with her; she called her women, and asked them if they knew where he was. They told her they saw him enter the tent but did not see him go out again. While they were talking to her, she took up her girdle, found the little purse open, and that the talisman was gone. She did not doubt but Camaralzaman had taken it to see what it was, and that he would bring it back with him. She waited for him impatiently till night, and could not imagine what made him stay away from her so long.

When it was quite dark, and she could hear nothing of him, she fell into violent grief; she cursed the talisman, and him that made it; and, had not she been restrained by duty, would have cursed the queen her mother, who gave her such a fatal present. She was the more troubled, because she could not imagine how her talisman should have caused the prince’s separation from her: she did not however lose her judgment and came to a courageous resolution, not common with persons of her sex.

She only and her women knew of the prince’s being gone; for his men were reposing or asleep in their tents. The princess, fearing they would betray her, if they had any knowledge of it, moderated her grief, and forbid her women to say or do any thing that might create the least suspicion. She then laid aside her habit, and put on one of Prince Camaralzaman’s, being so like him, that next day, when she came abroad, his men took her for him.

She commanded them to pack up their baggage and begin their march; and when all things were ready, she ordered one of her women to go into her litter, she herself mounting on horseback, and riding by her side.

They travelled several months by land and sea; the princess continuing the journey under the name of Camaralzaman. They took the island of Ebene in their way to the isles of the children of Khaledan. They went to the capital of the island of Ebene, where a king reigned whose name was Armanos. The persons who first landed, giving out that the ship carried prince Camaralzaman, who was returning from a long voyage, and was forced in there by a storm, the news of his arrival was presently carried to court.

King Armanos, accompanied by most of his courtiers, went immediately to wait on the prince, and met the princess just as she was landing, and going to the lodging that had been taken for her. He received her as the son of a king, who was his friend, and with whom he always kept up a good understanding: he conducted her to the palace, where an apartment was prepared for her and all her attendants, though she would fain have excused herself, and have lodged in a private house. He showed her all possible honour, and entertained her three days together with extraordinary magnificence. At the end of this time, King Armanos, understanding that the princess, whom he still took for Prince Camaralzaman, talked of going abroad again to proceed on her voyage, charmed with the air and qualities of such an accomplished prince as he took her to be, he took an opportunity when she was alone, and spoke to her in this manner: You see, prince, that I am old, and cannot hope to live long; and, to my great mortification, I have not a son to whom I may leave my crown. Heaven has only blest me with one daughter, whose beauty cannot be better matched than with a prince of your rank and accomplishments. Instead of going home, stay and take her from my hand, with my crown, which I resign in your favour, and stay with us. It is time for me to rest, after having so long borne it; and nothing could be a greater pleasure to me in my retirement, than to see my people ruled by so worthy a successor to my throne.