Part 8

Brother, said she, and smiled, what I have just now heard, gives me a greater proof than ever I had of the sincerity of your friendship for me; but as heretofore I could not brook your proposing a match between me and a prince of the earth, so 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 an engagement between a slave and her master; if that were all, 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 woman and her husband, who has never given her the least reason to complain or be discontented: besides, he is a king, wise, temperate, religious, and just, and has given me the most essential demonstrations of his love that possibly he could. 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; and I am to sit with him in the council: besides, I am breeding; and if Heaven shall be pleased to favour me with a son, that shall be another motive to engage my affections to him the more. So, 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 I do, 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 and alliance I have made, which will be an equal honour to the kings of both the sea and earth. I ask a thousand pardons for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep to partake of it; and I return you thanks for the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation.

Sister, replied king Saleh, the proposition 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 to let you see what a particular love and honour I had for you, and that nothing in the world was so dear to me as your welfare and 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 me of the king of Persia your husband, and the many 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 immediately to her daughter, said, My dear, I am very glad to hear you are pleased; and I have nothing else to add to what your brother has already said to you. I should have been the first that would have condemned you, if you had not expressed all the gratitude you were capable of for a monarch that loves you so passionately, and has done such mighty things to oblige 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 was resolved within himself to give her all the outward proofs of it, after the most sensible manner he possibly could.

While the king was entertaining himself with a pleasure that cannot easily be imagined, the queen Gulnare clapped her hands aloud, 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 consider, that, without ever asking leave, they were got into the palace of a mighty king, who had never seen or heard of them, and were all of the same opinion, that it would be a great piece of rudeness and incivility to eat at his table without him. This reflection raised a blush in their faces, and their eyes glowing with the concern they were in, they breathed nothing but flames at their mouths and nostrils.

This unexpected sight put the king of Persia, who was perfectly ignorant of the cause of it, into a most dreadful consternation. The queen Gulnare fancying that his majesty might be a little surprised at it, and finding her relations desirous of the honour of seeing him, rose from her seat, and told them she would be back in a moment. She went directly to the closet, and by her presence recovered the king of Persia from his surprise: Sir, said she, I doubt not but that your majesty is well pleased with the acknowledgment I have lately made of the many favours that I am still indebted to your goodness for. It was wholly in my power to have complied with my relations, who would fain have persuaded me to have forsaken you, and gone back with them into their dominions; but alas! I am not capable of being guilty of such ingratitude as I should have condemned in another. Ah! my queen, cried the king of Persia, speak no more of your obligations to me, for indeed you have none; it is I that am your debtor so much, that I am afraid I shall never be able to repay, or return you thanks equal to the favour you have done me; for I never thought it possible you could have loved me so tenderly as you do, and as you have made it appear to me, after the most signal manner in the world. Ah! sir, replied the queen Gulnare, could I do less than I have done? I rather fear I have not done enough, considering all the honours and favours that your majesty has heaped upon me; and it is impossible for me to remain insensible of your passion, after so many convincing proofs as you have given me. But let us drop this, and give me leave to assure you of the sincere friendship that the queen my mother, and the king my brother, are pleased to honour you with; they earnestly desire to see you, and tell you themselves. I intended to have discoursed with them a little before I introduced them to your majesty, and accordingly I have ordered a banquet for them; but they are very impatient to pay their respects to you, and therefore I desire your majesty would be pleased to walk in, and honour them with your presence.

Madam, said the king of Persia, I should be very glad to salute persons that have the honour to be so nearly related to you; but I am afraid of the flames that they breathe at their mouths and nostrils. Sir, replied the queen, laughing, you need not in the least be afraid of those flames, which are nothing but a sign of their unwillingness to eat in your palace without your honouring them with your presence, and eating with them.

The king of Persia taking heart at these words, went into his chamber with his queen Gulnare. She presented him to the queen her mother, to the king her brother, and to her other relations, who instantly threw themselves at his feet, with their faces to the ground. The king of Persia ran to them, and lifting them up, embraced them one after another after a very tender manner. After they were all seated, king Saleh began his speech: Sir, said he to the king of Persia, we are at a loss for words to express our joy, to think that the queen my sister, after all her hardships and affronts, should have the happiness of falling under the protection of so powerful a monarch as your majesty. We can assure you, sir, she is not unworthy of the high honour that you have been pleased to raise her to; and we have always had so much love and tenderness for her, that we could never think of parting with her, even to the most puissant princes of the sea, who have often demanded her in marriage before she came of age: but Heaven has reserved her for you, sir; and we have no better way of returning thanks for the favour it has done her, than beseeching it to grant your majesty a long and happy life with her, and to crown your days with content and satisfaction.

Certainly, replied the king of Persia, Heaven reserved her purely for me, as you were pleased to observe; and I love her with so tender and violent a passion, that it is plain I never loved any woman till I saw her. Oh! how I am blessed and transported with her charms! and I cannot sufficiently thank either the queen her mother, or you, prince, or your whole family, for the matchless generosity with which you have consented to receive me into so glorious an alliance as yours. At the end of these words, he invited them to take part of the collation, and he and his queen sat down at his table with them. After the collation was over, the king of Persia entertained them with discourse till it was very late; and when they thought it convenient to retire, he waited upon them himself to the several apartments he had ordered to be prepared for them.

The king of Persia treated his illustrious guests for a great many days together; during which time, he omitted nothing that might show his court in its greatest splendour and magnificence, and insensibly prevailed with them to stay there till the queen was brought to bed. When the time of her lying-in drew near, he gave particular orders to get every thing in readiness that was necessary upon such an occasion. At last there was a son born, to the great joy of the queen his mother, who, as soon as he was dressed in swaddling-clothes, which were very rich and costly, went and presented him to the king.

The king of Persia received the present with a joy easier to be imagined than expressed. The young prince being of a beautiful countenance, and all over charms, he thought no name so proper for him as that of Beder, which, in the Arabian language, signifies the Full Moon. By way of thanks to Heaven, he was very liberal in his alms to the poor, and caused the prison-doors to be set open, and gave all the prisoners of both sexes their liberty. He distributed vast sums among the priests and the holy men of his religion. He also gave large donatives to his courtiers, besides a great deal that was thrown amongst the people; and, by a proclamation, ordered several rejoicing days to be kept publicly through the whole city.

One day after the queen’s up-sitting, as the king of Persia, queen Gulnare herself, the queen her mother, king Saleh her brother, and the princesses their relations, were discoursing together in her majesty’s bed-chamber, the nurse chanced to come in with the young prince Beder in her arms. King Saleh no sooner saw him, than he ran to embrace him, and taking him in his arms, fell a kissing and caressing him after a mighty rate. He took several turns with him about the room, dancing and dandling him about, when all of a sudden, through a transport of joy, the window being open, he leaped out, and plunged with him into the sea.

The king of Persia, who expected no such sight, set up a hideous cry, verily believing he should either see the dear prince his son no more, or that he should see him drowned; nay, he was like to give up the ghost amidst his so great grief and affliction. Sir, quoth queen Gulnare, with a quiet and undisturbed countenance, (the better to comfort him,) let your majesty fear nothing; the young prince is my son as well as yours, and I do not love him less than you do. You see I am not alarmed at the loss of him; neither in truth ought I to be so. In short, he runs no risk, and you will soon see the king his uncle appear with him again, who will return him to you safe and sound. Although he be born of your blood as well as mine, he will not fail to have the same advantage his uncle and I have, of living equally in the sea and upon the land. The queen his mother, and the princesses his relations, confirmed the same thing: yet all was no great consolation to the king; he could not possibly recover from his fright till he saw prince Beder appear again as before.

The sea at length became troubled, when immediately king Saleh arose, with the young prince in his arms, and dancing and dandling him about, re-entered at the same window he went out at. The king of Persia, overjoyed to see prince Beder again, became as calm as before he lost sight of him. Then king Saleh said, Sir, was not your majesty in a great fright, when you first saw me plunge into the sea with the prince my nephew? Alas! prince, answered the king of Persia, I cannot express my concern: I thought him lost from that very moment, and you now restore life to me by bringing him again. I thought as much, replied king Saleh, though you had not the least reason to apprehend any danger; for before I plunged into the sea with him, I pronounced certain mysterious words over him, which were engraven on the seal of the great Solomon the Son of David. We practise the like in relation to all those children that are born in the regions at the bottom of the sea, by virtue whereof they receive the same privileges that we have over those people who inhabit the earth. Now, from what your majesty has observed, you may easily see what advantage your son prince Beder has acquired on the part of his mother queen Gulnare my sister; for as long as he lives, and as often as he pleases, it shall be free for him to plunge into the sea, and traverse the vast empires it contains at its bottom.

Having so spoken, king Saleh, who had restored prince Beder to his nurse’s arms, opened a box he had fetched from his palace in that little time he had disappeared, which was filled with three hundred diamonds, as large as pigeons’ eggs; a like number of rubies, of extraordinary size; as many emerald wands, of half a foot long; and with thirty strings of necklaces of pearl, consisting each of ten pieces. Sir, said he to the king of Persia, presenting him with this box, when I was first summoned by the queen my sister, I knew not what part of the earth she was in, or that she had the honour to be married to so great a monarch as I now find; wherefore I came empty-handed: but now I understand how much we have been both obliged to your majesty, I beg you therefore to accept of this small token of gratitude, in acknowledgment of the many particular favours you have been pleased to do us, and whereof I am not less sensible than she.

It cannot be imagined how greatly the king of Persia was surprised at the sight of so much riches enclosed in so little compass. What! prince, cried he, do you call so inestimable a present a small token of your gratitude, when you never have been indebted to me? I declare you have never been in the least obliged to me, neither you nor the queen your mother; I esteem myself but too happy in the consent you have been pleased to give to the alliance I have contracted with you. Madam, continued he, turning to Gulnare, the king your brother has put me into the greatest confusion in the world; and I would beg of him to retain his present, were it not that I fear to disoblige him. Do you therefore endeavour to obtain his leave, that I may be dispensed with on this occasion.

Sir, replied king Saleh, I am not at all surprised that your majesty thinks this present so extraordinary: I know you are not accustomed upon earth to see such and so many fine stones; but if you knew, as I do, the mines from whence these jewels were taken, and that it is in my power to heap up a treasure, much larger than those, of all the things of the earth, you would, it may be, wonder I should have the boldness to make you a present of so small a value. I beseech you therefore not to regard it in that respect, but on account of the sincere friendship I am obliged to offer to you, which I hope you will not give me the mortification to refuse. These engaging expressions obliged the king of Persia to accept the present, for which he returned many thanks, both to king Saleh and the queen his mother.

A few days after, king Saleh gave the king of Persia to understand that the queen his mother, the princesses his relations, and himself could have no greater pleasure than to spend their whole lives at his court; but that having been absent from their own kingdom for some time, where their presence was absolutely necessary, they begged of him not to take it ill, if they took leave of him and queen Gulnare. The king of Persia assured them he was very sorry that it was not in his power to come and visit them in their dominions; but added, As I am verily persuaded you will not forget queen Gulnare, but come and see her now and then, I hope I shall have the honour to kiss your hands again many times before I die.

Many tears were shed on both sides upon their separation. King Saleh departed first; but the queen his mother, and the princesses his relations, were fain to force themselves, in a manner, from the embraces of queen Gulnare, who could not prevail with herself to let them go. This royal company were no sooner out of sight, than the king of Persia said to queen Gulnare, Madam, I should have looked upon that person as one who would have imposed on my credulity in the grossest manner, that had pretended to palm those wonders upon me for true, which I myself have been an eye-witness of from the time I have been honoured with your illustrious family at my court: but I cannot escape conviction of this kind; and shall remember it as long as I live, and be always ready to bless Heaven for directing you to me, rather than to any other prince.

Young prince Beder was brought up and educated in the palace, under the care of the king and queen of Persia, who both saw him grow and increase in beauty, to their great satisfaction. He gave them yet greater pleasure as he advanced in years, by his continued sprightliness, by his agreeable ways in whatever he did, and by the justness and vivacity of his wit in whatever he said; and they were the more sensible of this satisfaction, by reason king Saleh his uncle, the queen his grandmother, and the princesses his relations, came from time to time to take part of it.

He was easily taught to read and write, and was instructed with the same facility in all the sciences that became a prince of his rank.

When he arrived at fifteen, he acquitted himself of all his exercises with infinitely better address, and good grace, than any of his masters. He was withal very wise and prudent. The king, who had almost from his cradle discovered in him virtues so necessary for a monarch, and who moreover began to perceive the infirmities of old age coming upon himself, would not stay till death gave him the possession of his throne, but purposed to resign it to him immediately. He had no great difficulty to make his council consent to it; and the people heard this resolution with so much the more joy, as they conceived prince Beder worthy to govern them. In a word, as the king had not for a long time appeared in public, they had all the opportunity in the world to observe he had not that disdainful, proud, and crabbed air, which most princes, who look upon all below them with scorn and contempt, have. They saw, on the contrary, he treated all mankind with that goodness which invited them to approach him, that he heard favourably all who had any thing to say to him; that he answered every body with a goodness that was peculiar to him; and that he refused nobody any thing that had the least appearance of reasonableness.

The day for the ceremony was appointed, when in the midst of the whole assembly, which was then more numerous than ordinary, the king of Persia, then sitting on his throne, came down from it, took the crown off his head, put it on that of prince Beder; and having seated him in his place, kissed his hand, as a token that he resigned his authority to him: after which, he ranged himself among the crowd of viziers and emirs.

Hereupon the viziers, emirs, and other principal officers, came immediately and threw themselves at the new king’s feet, taking each the oath of fidelity, according to their degrees. Then the grand vizier made a report of divers important matters; on which the young king gave judgment with that admirable prudence and sagacity that surprised all the council. He next turned out divers governors convicted of mal-administration, and put others in their room; which he did with that wonderful and just discernment as excited the acclamations of every body, which were so much the more honourable, as flattery had no share in them. He at length left the council, accompanied by the late king his father, and went to wait on his mother queen Gulnare, at her apartment. The queen no sooner saw him coming with the crown upon his head, than she ran to embrace him with a great deal of tenderness, wishing him a long and prosperous reign.

The first year of his reign, king Beder acquitted himself of all his royal functions with great assiduity. Above all, he took care to instruct himself in affairs of state, and all that might any way contribute towards the happiness of his people. Next year, having left the administration to his council, under the direction of the old king his father, he went out of his capital city, under pretence of diverting himself with hunting; but his real intention was to visit all the provinces of his kingdom, that he might reform all abuses there, establish good order and discipline every where, and deprive all ill-minded princes, his neighbours, of any opportunities of attempting any thing against the security and tranquillity of his subjects, by appearing and showing himself seasonably on his frontiers.

No less than a whole year sufficed this young king to put in practice a purpose so worthy of him. Soon after his return, the old king his father fell so dangerously ill, that he knew at first he should never recover. He waited for his last moment with great tranquillity, and his only care was to recommend to the ministers and other lords of his son’s court to persist in the fidelity they had sworn to him; insomuch that there was not one but willingly renewed his oath as freely as at first. He died at length, to the great grief of king Beder and queen Gulnare, who caused his corpse to be carried to a stately mausoleum, worthy of his rank and dignity.

When the funeral obsequies were ended, king Beder found no difficulty to comply with that ancient custom in Persia to mourn for the dead a whole month, and not to be seen by any body during all that time. He had mourned the death of his father his whole life, had he hearkened to his excessive affliction, and had it been permitted to so great a prince as he was to amuse himself after that manner. During this interval, the queen, mother to queen Gulnare, and king Saleh, together with the princesses their relations, arrived at the Persian court, and shared in great part of their affliction, before they proposed any consolation.

Though the month was expired, the king could not prevail on himself to give admittance to the grand vizier and the other lords of his court, who all besought him to lay aside his mourning habit, to show himself to his subjects, and take upon him the administration of affairs as before.

He showed so great unwillingness to their request, that the grand vizier took upon him to speak in the following manner: Sir, it would be needless to represent to your majesty that it belongs only to women to persist in perpetual mourning. We doubt not but you are sufficiently convinced of that, and that it is not your intention to follow their example. Neither our tears nor yours are capable of restoring life to the good king your father, though we should lament all our days. He has undergone the common fate of all men, which nobody can resist. Yet we cannot say absolutely that he is dead, since we see him reviving in the person of your sacred majesty. He did not himself doubt, when he was dying, but he should revive in you, and to your majesty it belongs to show that he was not deceived.