Part 7

At this discourse, the fair slave, who, according to her usual custom, had hearkened to the king with downcast eyes, and had given him cause to believe, not only that she was dumb, but that she never had laughed in her life, began to look up and smile a little. The king of Persia perceived it with a surprise that made him break forth into an exclamation of joy; and no longer doubting but that she was going to speak, he waited for that happy moment with an eagerness and attention that cannot be easily expressed.

At last, the fair slave, breaking her long silence, thus addressed herself to the king: Sir, said she, I have so many things to say to your majesty, that, having once broke silence, I know not where to begin. However, in the first place, I think myself obliged in duty to thank your majesty for all the favours and honours you have been pleased to confer upon me, and to implore the gods to bless and prosper you, to prevent the wicked designs and intentions of your enemies, and that they would not suffer you to die after hearing me speak, but grant you a long and happy reign. After this, sir, I cannot give you a greater satisfaction than acquainting you with my being with child; and I wish, as you do, it may be a son. Had it never been my fortune to have been breeding, I was resolved (I beg your majesty to pardon the sincerity of my intention) never to have loved you, as well as to have kept an eternal silence; but now I love and respect you as I ought to do.

The king of Persia, ravished to hear the fair slave not only speak, but at the same time tell him news in which he was so nearly concerned, embraced her tenderly: Shining light of my eyes, said he, it is impossible for me to receive a greater joy than what you have now given me: you have spoken to me, and declared your being with child; so that I am fully satisfied in myself, that after these two signal occasions of joy, I ought to expect no other.

The king of Persia, in the transport of joy he was in, said no more to the fair slave. He left her; but after such a manner as made her perceive his intention was speedily to return; and being willing that the occasion of his joy should be made public, he declared it to his officers, and sent in all haste for the grand vizier. As soon as he came, he ordered him to distribute a thousand pieces of gold among the holy men of his religion, who had made vows of poverty; as also among the hospitals and the poor, by way of returning thanks to Heaven; and his will was obeyed, by the direction of that minister.

After the king of Persia had given this order, he came 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 entertain me some other time, since I am desirous to know of you several things of a much greater consequence. However, in the mean time, tell me, I beseech you, my dearest charmer, 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, ate and drank with me, and every night lay with me? I shall pass by your not speaking; but how you could carry yourself after such an indifferent manner, that I could never discover whether you were sensible of what I said to you, or no, I must confess it 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, this fair person replied, 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 from my mother, my brother, my friends, and my acquaintance, are not 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 unsupportable to every one, who is not wholly destitute of sense and reason, 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 or domineered over, but still remains free and unconfined, depending on itself alone, and your majesty has found an example 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 mournful resolution of procuring their own deaths a thousand ways, rather than survive it, and wear out a wretched life in shameful slavery.

Madam, replied the king, I am now convinced of the truth of what you say; but till this moment I was of opinion, that a person beautiful, well-shaped, with a great deal of wit and good sense, such as yourself, whom her rigorous stars had destined to be a slave, ought to think herself very happy in meeting with a king for her master.

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

The king of Persia, astonished at this discourse, said, Madam, 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. Ah! 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.

Sir, said the fair slave, my name is Gulnare 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, 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, an enemy to our repose, 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 a steep inaccessible place, with a few trusty officers, who were so generous as not to 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. While this affair was in agitation, one day taking me into his closet, Sister, said he, the events of the least undertakings in this world are always dubious. As, for my own part, I am willing to die in the attempt I design to make to re-establish myself in my kingdom; and I shall be less concerned for my own disgrace, than for what may possibly happen to you; and therefore to prevent it, and to secure you from whatever accident may befall you, I would fain see you married first. But in the miserable condition that our affairs are 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 resolve to be of 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, considering the beauty you are mistress of, but would be proud of your accepting of their crown.

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 sides, 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 of it, 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 follow the advice I so little expected from you.

My brother, who was still earnest for the marriage, endeavoured to make me believe that there were kings of the earth who were no ways inferior to those of the sea. This put me again into a violent passion, which occasioned him to speak several bitter reflecting things that nettled me to the quick. At last he left me, as much dissatisfied with myself as he could possibly be; and in this peevish mood, I gave a spring from the bottom of the sea, directly up to the island of the moon.

Notwithstanding the violent discontent that made me cast myself upon that island, I lived pretty easy in a by-corner of it, where I retired for conveniency and safety. But, alas! this happiness lasted not long; for, in spite of all my endeavours to lie concealed in my beloved obscurity, a certain person of distinction and figure, attended by his servants, surprised me sleeping, and carried me to his own house. He made violent love to me, and omitted nothing which he thought might reasonably induce me to make a return to his passion. When he saw that fair means would prevail nothing upon me, he attempted to make use of force; but I soon made him repent of his insolence. So at last, finding that there was nothing to be done with me, he resolved to part with me, which he did to that very merchant who brought me hither and sold me to your majesty. He was a very prudent, courteous, obliging person; and during the whole journey, which was somewhat tedious, he never gave me the least reason to complain of his usage.

As for your majesty, sir, 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; give me leave to tell you plainly, sir, that I was positively resolved not to have lived with you: I would have thrown myself into the sea, out of this very window, where your majesty first saw me when you came into this apartment; and I would have gone in search after my mother, my brother, and the rest of my relations. I still 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, I shall take care what I do. Should I tell my mother or my brother that I have been a slave, even to a king as mighty as you are, they would never believe it, but would for ever upbraid me with the crime I have committed against my honour, since it was a voluntary act of my own. However, sir, be it a prince or a princess that I 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 of your alliance.

It was after this manner that the princess Gulnare finished her story she had been telling the king of Persia. My charming and adorable princess, cried he, what wonders have I heard! and what an ample subject have you afforded my curiosity, of asking a thousand questions concerning those strange and unheard-of things which you have related to me! But, in the first place, I ought to thank you for your goodness and patience in making a trial of the truth and constancy of my passion. I must confess, 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. What! did I say princess? 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. Tomorrow 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 both my queen and lawful wife. This should have been done long ago, 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 for ever, and never to place my affection on any other.

However, I am pleased with myself for having, in the mean time, paid you all the respect and civility I ought, that is due to your merit; and therefore, madam, I beseech you to inform me in a more particular manner, of the kingdoms 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 pleasant tale or fable: however, 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, madam, which puzzles me a little, therefore I must beg the favour of you to explain it; that is, I cannot comprehend how it is possible for you to move, breathe, and walk up and down in the water, without being drowned. There are but few amongst us who have the art of staying under water; but they would surely perish there, if after a certain space of time, which is according to their skill, and constitution of their bodies, they did not come up again.

Sir, replied the queen Gulnare, I shall take a great deal of pleasure in satisfying the king of Persia in any thing that lies in my power. You must know, then, that we can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon the dry land; and can breathe in the water as well as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it is absolutely necessary for 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 your upper world, we have no occasion of drying them. Our vulgar language is the same in which the writing upon the seal of the great prophet Solomon, the son of David, was engraven.

I must not forget to tell you, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing in the sea; for we can open and shut our eyes when we please, without any manner of inconveniency; and as we have generally a very quick, piercing sight, so we can discern any object as clearly in the deepest part of the sea, as upon land. We have also a succession there of day and night; the moon affords us her light, and even the planets and the stars appear very visible to us. I have already spoken of their kingdoms; but as the sea is a great deal larger than the earth, so there are a greater number of them, and of vaster extent. They are divided into provinces, and in every province there are several great cities, well peopled; and, 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. There are some of them of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, mother-of-pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones, are more plentiful there than with you. I say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever was seen upon the earth would not be valuable amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them.

As we have a marvellous and almost incredible agility of transporting ourselves whither we please in the twinkling of an eye, so we have no occasion for any coaches or horses: not but that every king has his stables, and his breed of sea-horses; but they seldom make use of them, but upon public feasts and rejoicing days. After they have been well managed, they set riders upon their backs, who show their skill and dexterity in the art of riding: others are put to chariots of mother-of-pearl, adorned with an infinite number of shells of all sorts, of the liveliest colours in the world. These chariots are open; and in the middle there is a throne on which the king sits, and exposes 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 coachman to guide them. I pass over a thousand other particulars relating to these sea-countries, full of wonder and curiosity, which would be very entertaining to your majesty; but I believe, sir, you will be pleased I should defer it, 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, sir, since my safe delivery is a thing which equally concerns us both, with your majesty’s permission, I think it proper to send for my mother and my cousins to assist at my labour; at the same time to desire 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 that 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 proud to pay their respects to you; and I dare say you will be extremely pleased to see them.

Madam, said the king of Persia, you are mistress, and so 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 make some preparation for their reception, and go myself in person to meet them.

Sir, replied the queen Gulnare, there is no need of any of these ceremonies; they will be here in a moment: and if your majesty will be pleased but to 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 gone into the closet, the queen Gulnare ordered one of her women to bring her a perfuming-pan, with a little fire in it. After that, she bade her retire, and shut the door. When she was alone, she took a little piece of aloes out of a box, and put it into the perfuming-pan. As soon as she saw the smoke arise, she repeated some mystical words, utterly unknown to the king of Persia, who observed with great attention what she was doing. She had no sooner ended her charm, than the sea began to be disturbed. The closet that 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.

In short, the sea opened at some distance; presently there appeared a tall handsome young man, with whiskers of a sea-green colour; a little behind him, a lady well in years, but of a stately majestic air, attended by five young ladies, nothing inferior in beauty to queen Gulnare.

The 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, not walking, but carried, as it were, upon the surface of the waves. When they came to the brink of the sea, they nimbly, one after another, leaped in at the window, from whence the queen Gulnare was retired, to make room for them. The king Saleh, the queen her mother, and the rest of her relations, embraced her tenderly, with tears in their eyes, upon their first entrance.

After the queen Gulnare had received them with all the honour imaginable, and placed them upon a sofa, the queen her mother addressed herself to her after a very tender manner. 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 than I. Your leaving us, without acquainting any body with it, put us into an 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 the discourse that passed between your brother and you, of which he afterwards informed me. The advice he gave you seemed very advantageous to him at that time, for settling you handsomely in the world; and was then very suitable to the posture of our affairs. However, if you had not approved of his proposals, you ought not to have been so much alarmed; and give me leave to tell you, you took the thing quite otherwise than you ought to have done. But no more of this discourse, which serves only to renew the occasion of our sorrows and complaints, that we and you ought to bury for ever in oblivion. Give us now a relation of all that has happened to you since you left us, and also an account of the present circumstances you are in; but especially let us know if you are pleased and contented.

The queen Gulnare immediately threw herself at her mother’s feet, and after rising up and kissing her hand, said, Madam, I own I have been guilty of a very great crime, and I shall be indebted to your goodness for the pardon which I hope you will be 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 some certain things: I have experienced it myself; and the only thing I had an abhorrence to, either justly, or by the malice of my stars, has happened to me here. She began to relate the whole story of what had befallen her since her quitting 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, cried the king her brother, you have been mightily wronged in having so many affronts offered you; 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, and taken from the proud usurper that was once master of it.

The king of Persia, who heard these killing words from the closet where he stood, was in the utmost confusion imaginable. Ah! said he to himself, I am ruined and undone; and if my queen, my angel, leaves me, I shall surely die, for it is impossible for me to live without her: and will they be so barbarous as to deprive me of her? But the queen Gulnare soon put him out of his fears, and eased the sorrow of his heart.