Part 61

After the king of Persia had given this order, he returned to the fair slave again. Madam, said he, pardon me for leaving you so abruptly, since you have been the occasion of it; but I hope you will indulge me with some conversation, since I am desirous to know of you several things of much greater consequence. Tell me, my dearest soul, what were the powerful reasons that induced you to persist in that obstinate silence for a whole year together, though every day you saw me, heard me talk to you, eat and drank with me, and every night lay with me? I shall pass by your not speaking; but how you could carry yourself so as that I could never discover whether you were sensible of what I said to you or no, I confess, surpasses my understanding; and I cannot yet comprehend how you could contain yourself so long; therefore I must conclude the occasion of it to be very extraordinary.

To satisfy the king of Persia’s curiosity, replied this fair person, think whether or no to be a slave, far from my own country, without any hopes of ever seeing it again, --to have a heart torn with grief, for being separated for ever from my mother, my brother, my friends, and my acquaintance, --are not these sufficient reasons for my keeping a silence your majesty has thought so strange and unaccountable? The love of our native country is as natural to us as that of our parents; and the loss of liberty is insupportable to every one who is not wholly destitute of common sense, and knows how to set a value on it. The body indeed may be enslaved, and under the subjection of a master, who has the power and authority in his hands; but the will can never be conquered, but remains free and unconfined, depending on itself alone, as your majesty has found an instance of it in me: and it is a wonder that I have not followed the example of abundance of unfortunate wretches, whom the loss of liberty has reduced to the melancholy resolution of procuring their own deaths a thousand ways, by a liberty which cannot be taken from them.

Madam, replied the king, I am convinced of the truth of what you say; but till this moment I was of opinion, that a person beautiful, well-shaped, of good understanding, like yourself, whom her evil destiny had condemned to be a slave, ought to think herself very happy in meeting with a king for her master.

Sire, replied the fair slave, whatever the slave is, as I have already observed to your majesty, there is no king on earth can tyrannize over her will. But when you speak of a slave mistress of charms enough to captivate a monarch, and induce him to love her; if she is of a rank infinitely below him, I am of your opinion, she ought to think herself happy in her misfortunes: but what happiness can it be, when she considers herself only as a slave, torn from a parent’s arms, and perhaps from those of a lover, her passion for whom death only can extinguish? But when this very slave is in nothing inferior to the king that bought her, your majesty shall then judge yourself of the rigour of her destiny, her misery, and her sorrow, and to what desperate attempts the anguish of despair may drive her.

The king of Persia, astonished at this discourse, Madam, said he, can it be possible that you are of royal blood, as by your words you seem to intimate? Explain the whole secret to me, I beseech you, and no longer augment my impatience. Let me instantly know who are the happy parents of so great a prodigy of beauty; who are your brothers, your sisters, and your relations; but, above all, what your name is.

Sire, said the fair slave, my name is Gulnare [89] of the Sea; and my father, who is now dead, was one of the most potent monarchs of the ocean. When he died, he left his kingdom to a brother of mine, named Saleh, [90] and to the queen my mother, who is also a princess, the daughter of another puissant monarch of the sea. We enjoyed a profound peace and tranquillity through the whole Kingdom, till a neighbouring prince, envious of our happiness, invaded our dominions with a mighty army; and penetrating as far as our capital, made himself master of it: and we had but just time enough to save ourselves in an impenetrable and inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers who did not forsake us in our distress.

In this retreat, my brother was not negligent in contriving all manner of ways to drive the unjust invader from our dominions. One day taking me into his closet, Sister, said he, the events of the smallest undertakings are always dubious. As for my own part, I may fail in the attempt I design to make to recover my kingdom; and I shall be less concerned for my own disgrace, than what may possibly happen to you. To prevent it, and to secure you from all accident, I would fain see you married first: but in the miserable condition of our affairs at present, I see no probability of matching you to any of the princes of the sea; and therefore I should be very glad if you would concur with my opinion, and think of marrying to some of the princes of the earth. I am ready to contribute all that lies in my power towards it; and I am certain there is not one of them, however powerful, but, considering the beauty you are mistress of, would be proud of sharing his crown with you.

At this discourse of my brother’s, I fell into a violent passion. Brother, said I, you know that I am descended, as well as you, by both father and mother’s side, from the kings and queens of the sea, without any mixture of alliance with those of the earth; therefore I do not design to marry below myself, any more than they did; and I took an oath to that effect as soon as I had understanding to inquire into the nobleness and antiquity of our family. The condition to which we are reduced shall never oblige me to alter my resolution; and if you perish in the execution of your design, I am prepared to fall with you, rather than to follow the advice I so little expected from you.

My brother, who was still earnest for the marriage, however improper for me, endeavoured to make me believe, that there were kings of the earth who were nowise inferior to those of the sea. This put me into a more violent passion, which occasioned him to say several bitter reflecting things, that nettled me to the quick. He left me, as much dissatisfied with myself as he could possibly be with me; and in this peevish mood I gave a spring from the bottom of the sea, up to the island of the moon.

Notwithstanding the violent discontent that made me cast myself upon that island, I lived content in retirement. But in spite of all my precautions, a person of distinction, attended by his servants, surprised me sleeping, and carried me to his own house. He expressed much love to me, and omitted nothing which he thought might induce me to make a return to his passion. When he saw that fair means would not prevail upon me, he attempted to make use of force; but I soon made him repent of his insolence. So at last he resolved to sell me; which he did to that very merchant who brought me hither and sold me to your majesty. He was a very prudent, courteous, humane person; and during the whole of the long journey, never gave me the least reason to complain.

As for your majesty, continued the princess Gulnare, if you had not shown me all the respect you have hitherto paid, (for which I am extremely obliged to your goodness,) and given me such undeniable marks of your affection, that I could no longer doubt of it; if you had not immediately sent away your women, I hesitate not to tell you plainly, that I should not have remained with you. I would have thrown myself into the sea out of this very window, where you accosted me when you first came into this apartment, and I would have gone in search of my mother, my brother, and the rest of my relations. I should have persisted in that design, and I would infallibly have put it in execution, if after a certain time I had found myself deceived in the hopes of being with child; but now, in the condition I am in, all I could say to my mother or brother, would never convince them that I have been a slave to a king like your majesty. They would never believe it, but would for ever upbraid me with the crime I have voluntarily committed against my honour. However, sire, be it a prince or princess that I shall bring into the world, it will be a pledge to engage me never to be parted from your majesty; and therefore I hope you will no longer look upon me as a slave, but as a princess worthy your alliance.

After this manner the princess Gulnare discovered herself to the king of Persia, and finished her story. My charming, my adorable princess, cried he, what wonders have I heard! and what ample matter for my curiosity to ask a thousand questions concerning those strange and unheard-of things which you have related to me! But first, I ought to thank you for your goodness and patience in making trial of the truth and constancy of my passion. I thought it impossible for me to love you more than I did; but since I know you to be so great a princess, I love you a thousand times more. Princess! did I say? Madam, you are no longer so, but you are my queen --the queen of Persia; and by that title you shall soon be proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom. To-morrow the ceremony shall be performed in my capital, with a pomp and magnificence that was never yet beheld; which will plainly show that you are my queen and my lawful wife. This should long ago have been done, had you sooner convinced me of my error; for from the first moment of my seeing you. I have been of the same opinion as now, to love you always, and never to place my affections on any other.

But that I may satisfy myself, and pay you all the respect that is your due, I beseech you, madam, to inform me more particularly of the kingdom and people of the sea, which are altogether unknown to me. I have heard much talk, indeed, of the inhabitants of the sea, but I always looked upon it as nothing but a tale or fable; but, by what you have told me, I am convinced there is nothing more true; and I have a very good proof of it in your own person, who are one of them, and are pleased to condescend to be my wife; which is an honour no other inhabitant on the earth can boast of besides myself. There is one thing yet which puzzles me; therefore I must beg the favour of you to explain it; that is, I cannot comprehend how it is possible for you to live or move in the water without being drowned. There are very few amongst us who have the art of staying under water; and they would surely perish, if, after a certain time, according to their activity and strength, they did not come up again.

Sire, replied the queen Gulnare, I shall with pleasure satisfy the king of Persia. We can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon land; and we can breathe in the water as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it absolutely contributes to the preservation of our lives. What is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our clothes; so that when we have a mind to visit the earth, we have no occasion to dry them. Our common language is the same with that of the writing engraved upon the seal of the great prophet Solomon, the son of David.

I must not forget to tell you further, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing in the sea; for we can open our eyes without any inconvenience; and as we have quick, piercing sight, we can discern any object as clearly in the deepest part of the sea, as upon land. We have also there a succession of day and night, the moon affords us her light, and even the planets and the stars appear visible to us. I have already spoken of our kingdoms; but as the sea is much more spacious than the earth, so there are a greater number of them, and of greater extent. They are divided into provinces; and in each province there are several great cities, well peopled. In short, there are an infinite number of nations, differing in manners and customs, as well as upon the earth.

The palaces of the kings and princes are very sumptuous and magnificent. Some of them are of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, with which the sea abounds, mother-of-pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones, are more plentiful there than on earth. I say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever was seen upon earth, would not be valued amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them.

As we have a marvellous and incredible agility to transport ourselves whither we please in the twinkling of an eye, we have no occasion for any carriages or riding-horses; not but the king has his stables, and his stud of sea-horses; but they are seldom made use of, except upon public feasts, or rejoicing days. Some, after they have trained them, take delight in riding them, and show their skill and dexterity in races; others put them to chariots of mother-of-pearl, adorned with an infinite number of shells of all sorts, of the liveliest colours. These chariots are open; and in the middle there is a throne upon which the king sits, and shows himself to the public view of his subjects. The horses are trained up to draw by themselves; so that there is no occasion for a charioteer to guide them. I pass over a thousand other curious particulars relating to these marine countries, which would be very entertaining to your majesty; but you must permit me to defer it to future leisure, to speak of something of much greater consequence; which is, that the method of delivering, and the way of managing the women of the sea in their lying-in, is quite different from those of the women of the earth; and I am afraid to trust myself in the hands of the midwives of this country: therefore since my safe delivery equally concerns us both, with your majesty’s permission, I think it proper for greater security, to send for my mother and my cousins, to assist at my labour; at the same time to desire the king my brother’s company, to whom I have a great desire to be reconciled. They will be very glad to see me again, after I have related my story to them, and when they understand I am wife to the mighty king of Persia. I beseech your majesty to give me leave to send for them: I am sure they will be happy to pay their respects to you; and I venture to say you will be extremely pleased to see them.

Madam, replied the king of Persia, you are mistress; do whatever you please; I will endeavour to receive them with all the honours they deserve. But I would fain know how you would acquaint them with what you desire, and when they will arrive, that I may give orders to make preparation for their reception, and go myself in person to meet them. Sire, replied the queen Gulnare, there is no need of these ceremonies; they will be here in a moment; and if your majesty will but step into the closet, and look through the lattice, you shall see the manner of their arrival.

As soon as the king of Persia was in the closet, queen Gulnare ordered one of her women to bring her a fire-pan with a little fire. After that she bid her retire and shut the door. When she was alone, she took a piece of aloes out of a box, and put it into the fire-pan. As soon as she saw the smoke rise, she repeated some words unknown to the king of Persia, who observed with great attention all that she did. She had no sooner ended, but the sea began to be disturbed. The closet the king was in was so contrived, that looking through the lattice on the same side with the windows that faced the sea, he could plainly perceive it.

At length the sea opened at some distance; and presently there arose out of it a tall, handsome young man, with whiskers of a sea-green colour; a little behind him, a lady, advanced in years, but of a majestic air, attended by five young ladies, nothing inferior in beauty to the queen Gulnare.

Queen Gulnare immediately came to one of the windows, and saw the king her brother, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, who at the same time perceived her also. The company came forward, borne, as it were, upon the surface of the waves. When they came to the edge, they nimbly, one after another, sprung to the window, from whence the queen Gulnare had retired to make room for them. King Saleh, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, embraced her tenderly, with tears in their eyes, on their first entrance.

After queen Gulnare had received them with all imaginable honour, and made them sit down upon a sofa, the queen her mother addressed herself to her: Daughter, said she, I am overjoyed to see you again after so long an absence; and I am confident that your brother and your relations are no less so. Your leaving us without acquainting any body with it, involved us in inexpressible concern; and it is impossible to tell you how many tears we have shed upon that account. We know of no other reason that could induce you to take such a surprising resolution, but what your brother told us of the conversation that passed between him and you. The advice he gave you seemed to him at that time very advantageous for settling you handsomely in the world, and very suitable to the then posture of our affairs. If you had not approved of his proposal, you ought not to have been so much alarmed; and, give me leave to tell you, you took the thing in a quite different light from what you ought to have done. But no more of this discourse; it serves only to renew the occasion of our sorrow and complaint, which we and you ought to bury for ever in oblivion: give us now an account of all that has happened to you since we saw you last, and of your present situation; but especially let us know if you are satisfied.

Queen Gulnare immediately threw herself at her mother’s feet; and after rising and kissing her hand, Madam, said she, I own I have been guilty of a very great fault, and I am indebted to your goodness for the pardon which you are pleased to grant me. What I am going to say, in obedience to your commands, will soon convince you, that it is very often in vain for us to have an aversion for certain measures, I have myself experienced, that the only thing I had an abhorrence to, is just that to which my destiny has led me. She related the whole of what had befallen her since she quitted the sea in a violent passion for the earth. As soon as she had made an end, and had acquainted them with her having been sold to the king of Persia, in whose palace she was at present; Sister, said the king her brother, you have been very much to blame to suffer so many indignities, but you can blame nobody but yourself; you have it in your power now to free yourself; and I cannot but admire your patience, that you could endure so long a slavery. Rise, and return with us into my kingdom, that I have reconquered from the proud usurper who had made himself master of it.

The king of Persia, who heard these words from the closet where he stood, was in the utmost alarm. Ah! said he to himself. I am ruined; and if my queen, my Gulnare, hearkens to this advice, and leaves me, I shall surely die; for it is impossible for me to live without her, and they want to deprive me of her. Queen Gulnare soon put him out of his fears.

Brother, said she smiling, what I have just now heard gives me a greater proof than ever I had of the sincerity of your friendship for me: I could not brook your proposing to me a match with a prince of the earth; now I can scarce forbear being angry with you for advising me to break the engagement I have made with the most puissant and most renowned monarch in the world. I do not speak here of any engagement between a slave and her master; it would be easy to return the ten thousand pieces of gold that I cost him; but I speak now of a contract between a wife and a husband, and a wife who has not the least reason to complain. He is a religious, wise, and temperate king, and has given me the most essential demonstrations of his love. What can be a greater instance of the violence of his passion, than sending away all his women (of which he had a great number) immediately upon my arrival, and confining himself only to me? I am now his wife, and he has lately declared me queen of Persia, to share with him in his councils; besides, I am pregnant, and if Heaven permits me to give him a son, that will be another motive to engage my affections to him the more.

So that, brother, continued the queen Gulnare, instead of following your advice, you see I have all the reason in the world, not only to love the king of Persia as passionately as he loves me, but also to live and die with him, more out of gratitude than duty. I hope then neither my mother, nor you, nor any of my cousins, will disapprove of the resolution or the alliance I have made, which will be an equal honour to the kings of the sea and earth. Excuse me for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep, to communicate it to you, and for the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation.

Sister, replied king Saleh, the proposal I made you of going back with us into my kingdom, upon the recital of your adventures, (which I could not hear without concern,) was only to let you see how much we all love you, and how much I in particular honour you, and that nothing in the world is so dear to me as your happiness. Upon the same account then, for my own part, I cannot condemn a resolution so reasonable and so worthy of yourself, after what you have told us of the king of Persia, your husband, and the great obligations you have to him; and I am persuaded that the queen our mother will be of the same opinion.

The queen confirmed what her son had just spoken, and addressing herself to queen Gulnare, said, I am very glad to hear you are pleased; and I have nothing else to add to what your brother has just said to you. I should have been the first to have condemned you, if you had not expressed all the gratitude you owe to a monarch that loves you so passionately, and has done such great things for you.

As the king of Persia, who was still in the closet, had been extremely concerned for fear of losing his beloved queen, so now he was transported with joy at her resolution never to forsake him; and having no room to doubt of her love after so open a declaration, he began to love her more than ever, and resolved to express his gratitude in every possible way.

While the king was indulging incredible pleasure, queen Gulnare clapped her hands, and presently in came some of her slaves, whom she had ordered to bring in a collation; as soon as it was served up, she invited the queen her mother, the king her brother, and her cousins, to sit down and take part of it. They began to reflect, that without asking leave, they were got into the palace of a mighty king, who had never seen nor heard of them, and that it would be a great piece of rudeness to eat at his table without him. This reflection raised a blush in their faces, and in their emotion their eyes glowing like fire, they breathed flames at their mouths and nostrils.