Part 9

King Beder could no longer oppose such pressing instances. He laid aside his mourning habit that very moment; and after he had resumed the royal ornaments, he began to provide for the necessities of his subjects with the same assiduity as before his father’s death. He acquitted himself with universal approbation; and, as he was exact in maintaining his predecessor’s ordinances, the people perceived no alteration in their sovereign.

King Saleh, who was returned to his dominions in the sea, with the queen his mother and the princesses, no sooner saw that king Beder had resumed the government, than he came alone to visit him; and king Beder and queen Gulnare were overjoyed to see him. One day, as they rose from table, they fell to discoursing of several matters. King Saleh fell insensibly on the praises of the king his nephew, and the queen his sister, how glad he was to see him govern so prudently, which had acquired him so great reputation, not only among his neighbours, but more remote princes. King Beder, who could not bear to hear himself so well spoken of, and not being willing to interrupt the king his uncle, through good manners turned on one side, and seemed to be asleep, leaning his head against a cushion that was behind him.

From these commendations, which regarded only the wonderful conduct and surprising wit of king Beder, king Saleh came to speak of the perfections of his body, which he extolled after a mighty rate, as having nothing equal to them, either upon the earth, or the kingdoms under the waters, which he was well acquainted with.

Sister, said he in an ecstasy, so beautiful as he is, and of such excellent endowments, I wonder you have not thought of marrying him ere this: if I mistake not, he is at present in his twentieth year, and at that age no prince ought to be suffered to be without a wife. I will think of a match for him myself, since you will not, and marry him to some princess of our lower world, that may be worthy of him.

Brother, replied queen Gulnare, you call to my remembrance a thing, I must own, I have never thought of to this very moment. As he never discovered any inclination for marriage, I never thought of mentioning it to him; and I am glad you have now spoken of it to me. I like your proposing one of your princesses; and I desire you to name one who may be beautiful and well accomplished, that the king my son may be obliged to love her.

I know one that will be proper, replied king Saleh, softly; but before I will tell you who she is, let us see if the king my nephew sleeps or not, and I will tell you afterwards why it is necessary we should take that precaution. Queen Gulnare then looked upon her son, and thought she had no reason to doubt but he was profoundly asleep, (king Beder nevertheless, very far from sleeping, redoubled his attention, as being unwilling to lose any thing the king his uncle said upon that subject.) There is no necessity for your speaking so low, said the queen to the king her brother; you may speak out with all freedom, without fear of being heard.

It is by no means proper, replied king Saleh, that the king my nephew should as yet have any knowledge of what I am going to say. Love, you know, sometimes enters the ear; and it is not necessary he should love this lady I am about to name, after that sort: in short, I see many difficulties to surmount in this case, not on the lady’s part, as I hope, but on that of her father. I need only mention to you the princess Giahaure[2], and the king of Samarcand.

How, brother, replied queen Gulnare, is not the princess Giahaure yet married? I remember to have seen her a little before I left your palace; she was then about eighteen months old, and surprisingly beautiful, and must needs be the wonder of the world, if her charms have increased equal with her years. The few years she is older than the king my son, ought not to hinder our doing our utmost to bring the match about. Let me know but the difficulties that are to be surmounted, and I will warrant we will do well enough.

Sister, replied king Saleh, the greatest difficulty is, that the king of Samarcand is insupportably vain, looking upon all others as his inferiors: it is not likely we shall easily get him to enter into this alliance. For my part, I will go to him in person, and demand the princess his daughter of him; and in case he refuses her, will address ourselves elsewhere, where we shall be like to be more favourably heard. For this reason, as you may perceive, added he, it is not proper for the king my nephew to know any thing of our design, lest he should fall in love with the princess Giahaure, and we afterwards not be able to obtain her for him. They discoursed a little longer upon this point, and before they parted, agreed that king Saleh should forthwith return to his own dominions, and demand the princess Giahaure of the king of Samarcand, her father, for the king of Persia, his nephew.

This done, queen Gulnare and king Saleh, who verily believed king Beder asleep, agreed to wake him; and he dissembled the matter so well, that he seemed to wake from a profound sleep. He had nevertheless heard every word they said; and the character they gave of the princess Giahaure had inflamed his heart with an unknown passion. He had conceived so bright an idea of her beauty, that he could not sleep a wink all night, but remained under continual inquietudes.

Next day king Saleh would needs take leave of queen Gulnare and the king his nephew. The young king, who knew the king his uncle would not have departed so soon, but to go and promote his happiness, blushed when he heard him mention his departure. His passion was become so violent, it would not suffer him to wait so long for the sight of his mistress as would suffice to accomplish the marriage. He more than once resolved to desire his uncle to bring her away with him; but as he did not care to let the queen his mother understand he knew any thing of what had passed, he desired him only to stay with him a day or two, that they might hunt together, intending to make use of that occasion to discover his mind to him.

The day for hunting was set, and king Beder had many opportunities to declare his mind to his uncle; but he had not the courage so much as once to open his mouth to acquaint him with what he designed.

In the midst of the chase, when not only king Saleh but all his attendants had left him, he alighted near a spring; and, having tied his horse to a tree that afforded a very plentiful shade, as did several others along the banks of the rivulet, he laid himself down on the grass, and gave a free course to his tears, which issued forth in great abundance, accompanied with many sobs and sighs. He remained in this condition, overwhelmed with thought, and not speaking so much as one word. King Saleh, in the mean time, missing the king his nephew, and not meeting with any one who could tell tidings of him, began to be much concerned to know what was become of him. He therefore left his company to go in search of him, and at length perceived him at a distance. He had observed the day before, and even more evidently that day, that he was not so merry as he used to be, that he was more pensive than ordinary, and that if he was asked a question, he either answered not at all, or nothing to the purpose: but he never so much as in the least suspected the cause of all this alteration, till he saw him lying in that disconsolate posture; when he immediately guessed he had not only heard what passed between him and the queen Gulnare, but was become passionately in love. He hereupon alighted, at some distance from him, and having tied his horse to a tree, took a compass, and came upon him so softly, that he heard him pronounce the following words:

Adorable princess of the kingdom of Samarcand, cried he out, I have no doubt had but an imperfect sketch of your incomparable beauty; yet I hold you to be preferable to all the princesses in the world in charms, and to excel them as much as the sun does the moon and stars. I would this moment go and offer you my heart, if I but knew where to find you: it belongs to you, dear princess, and nobody shall be the possessor of it but you.

King Saleh would hear no more: he advanced immediately, and discovered himself to king Beder. From what I have understood, nephew, said he, you heard that which the queen your mother and I discoursed the other day of the princess Giahaure. It was not our intention you should have known any thing, and we verily thought you were asleep. My dear uncle, replied king Beder, I heard every word you said, and have sufficiently experienced the effect you foretold; which it was not in your power to prevent. I detained you on purpose to acquaint you with my love before your departure; but the confusion I had to let you know my weakness, if it be any to love so worthy a princess as this seems to be, altogether sealed my mouth. I beseech you then, by the friendship you profess for a prince that has the honour to be so nearly allied to you, that you would pity me, and not delay to procure me the consent of the king of Samarcand, that I may marry his daughter, the adorable Giahaure, with all speed, unless you have a mind to see me die with love before I have the sight of her.

These words of the king of Persia troubled king Saleh very much: he gave him to understand how difficult it was to give him the satisfaction he desired, and that he could not well do it without carrying him along with him; which might be of dangerous consequences, since his presence was so absolutely necessary in his kingdom, that the least absence might occasion his subjects to revolt. He conjured him, therefore, to moderate his passion till such time as he had put things into a better posture; assuring him he would use his utmost diligence to content him, and, when he had brought matters to bear, he would come to acquaint him. But these reasons were not sufficient to satisfy the king of Persia. Cruel uncle, said he, I find you do not love me so much as you pretended, and that you had rather see me die than grant the first request that ever I made you.

I am ready to convince your majesty, replied king Saleh, that I would do any thing to serve you in reason; but as for carrying you along with me, I cannot do that till I have spoken to the queen your mother. What would she say if I should do this? If she consents, I am ready to do all you would have me. You cannot be ignorant, replied the king of Persia, that the queen my mother would never willingly part with me; and therefore this excuse of yours does but yet farther convince me of the hardness of your heart. If you do really love me, as you would have me to believe you do, you must return to your kingdom immediately, and carry me along with you.

King Saleh, finding himself in a manner obliged to yield to his nephew’s importunity, drew a ring off his finger, which was engraved with the same mysterious names of God that were upon Solomon’s seal, that had wrought so many wonders by their virtue. Here, take this ring, said he, put it upon your finger, and fear neither the waters of the sea, nor their depth. The king of Persia took the ring, and when he had put it on his finger, king Saleh said unto him, Follow me; when, at the same time, they both mounted leisurely up into the air, and made towards the sea, which was not far off, whereinto they jointly plunged.

The sea-king was not long in going to his palace with the king of Persia, whom he immediately carried to the queen’s apartment, and presented him to her. The king of Persia kissed the queen his grandmother’s hands, and she embraced him with great demonstrations of joy. I do not ask you how you do, said she to him, I see you are well enough, and I am rejoiced at it; but I desire to know how my daughter and your mother queen Gulnare does. The king of Persia took great care not to let her know he came without her consent; and therefore told her the queen his mother was in perfect health, and had enjoined him to pay her duty to her. Then the queen presented him to the princesses; and while he was in conversation with them, she left him, and went with king Saleh into a closet. He there told her how the king of Persia was fallen in love with the princess Giahaure, upon the bare relation of her beauty; and, contrary to his intention, that he had brought him along with him, without being able to hinder it, and that he was going to concert measures to procure the princess for him in marriage.

Although king Saleh was, to do him justice, perfectly innocent of the king of Persia’s passion, yet the queen could hardly forgive his indiscretion, in mentioning the princess Giahaure before him. Your imprudence is beyond parallel, said she to him: can you think that the king of Samarcand, whose character is so well known, will have greater consideration for you than the many other kings he has refused his daughter to with scorn and contempt? Would you have him send you away with the same confusion he has done them?

Madam, replied king Saleh, I have told you it was contrary to my intention that the king my nephew heard what I related of the beauty of the princess Giahaure to the queen my sister. The fault, if it be one, is already committed; and we must consider what a violent passion he has for this princess, and that he will die with grief and affliction if we do not speedily obtain her for him, with whatever trouble we are to do it. For my part, I shall omit nothing that may contribute to it, since I was, though innocently, the cause of the malady: I will therefore do all that I can to remedy it. I hope, madam, you will approve of my resolution, to go and wait upon the king of Samarcand, with a rich present of precious stones, and demand the princess his daughter of him for the king of Persia, your grandson and my nephew. I have some reason to believe he will not refuse me, nor neglect to ally himself with one of the greatest potentates of the earth.

It were to have been wished, replied the queen, that we had not been under a necessity of making this demand, since the success of our attempt is not so certain as we could desire; but since my grandson’s quiet and content totally depend upon it, I freely give my consent to it. But, above all, I charge you, since you sufficiently know the humour of the king of Samarcand, that you take care to show him due respect, and not in any wise offend him by too presuming a behaviour.

The queen prepared the present herself, composing it of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and strings of pearl; all which she put into a box, very neat and very rich. Next morning, king Saleh took his leave of her majesty and the king of Persia, and departed with a chosen but small troop of officers and other attendants. He soon arrived at the capital and palace of the king of Samarcand, who did not scruple to afford him audience immediately upon his arrival. He rose from his throne as soon as he perceived king Saleh; who, being willing to forget his character for some moments, knowing whom he had to deal with, prostrated himself at his feet, wishing him an accomplishment of whatever he desired. The king of Samarcand immediately stooped to take him up; and, after he had placed him by him on his left-hand, he told him he was welcome, and asked him if there was any thing he could do to serve him.

Sir, answered king Saleh, though I should have no other motive than that of rendering my respects to the most potent and most prudent prince in the world, yet would I endeavour to convince your majesty, though poorly, how much I honour and adore you. Were it possible you could penetrate into my inmost soul, you would soon be convinced of the great veneration I have had for you, and the ardent desire I entertain to pay you my most humble acknowledgments. Having spoken these words, he took the box of jewels from one of his servants, and having opened it, presented it to the king, imploring him to accept of it for his sake.

Prince, replied the king of Samarcand, I hope you do not make me this present without requiring a proportional benefit from me. If there be any thing within the compass of my capacity, you may freely command it, and will do me signal honour in accepting it. Speak, and tell me frankly wherein I can serve you.

I must own ingenuously, replied king Saleh, I have a boon to ask of your majesty; but I shall take care to ask nothing but what is within your power to grant. The thing depends so absolutely on yourself, that it would be to no purpose to require it of any other. I ask it then with all possible earnestness, and I beg of you not to refuse it me. If it be so, replied the king of Samarcand, you have nothing to do but to acquaint me what it is, and you shall see after what manner I can oblige people of desert.

Sir, then said king Saleh, after the confidence your majesty has been pleased to think I have put in your good-will, I will not dissemble any longer, that I came to beg of you to honour our house with your alliance by marriage, and by that means to fortify the good understanding that has always hitherto been between our two crowns.

At these words, the king of Samarcand began to laugh heartily, falling back in his throne against a cushion that supported him; and soon after said, with an injurious and scornful air, to king Saleh; King Saleh, I have always hitherto thought you were a prince of great sense and wisdom; but now I find you just the contrary. Tell me, I beseech you, where was your wit or discretion, when you formed to yourself so great a chimera as you have just now proposed to me? Could you conceive a thought only of aspiring in marriage to so great a princess as my daughter? You ought to have considered better the great distance between us, and not to run the risk of losing in a moment the esteem I always had for your person.

King Saleh was extremely nettled at this affronting answer, and had much ado to restrain his just resentment: however he replied, with greater moderation than could be expected, God reward your majesty according as you deserve. I beg the honour to inform you, I do not demand the princess in marriage for myself: had I done so, your majesty, or the princess, ought to have been so far from being offended, that you might rather have taken it for an honour done to both. Your majesty knows well I am a king of the sea as well as yourself; that the kings my ancestors have no reason to yield in antiquity to any other royal families; and that the kingdom I inherit from them is no less potent and flourishing than it has ever been. If your majesty had not interrupted me, you had soon understood, that the favour I asked of you was not for myself, but for the young king of Persia, my nephew, whose power and grandeur, no less than his personal good qualities, cannot be unknown to you. Every body acknowledges the princess Giahaure to be one of the finest ladies under the heavens; but it is at the same time acknowledged by all, that the young king of Persia, my nephew, is as accomplished as any prince, either upon land or under the water. Thus the favour that is asked being likely to redound both to the honour of your majesty and the princess your daughter, you ought not to delay your consent to an alliance so equal, and which no doubt will be approved by the generality of people. The princess is worthy of the king of Persia, and the king of Persia is no less worthy of her. No king or prince in the world can deny me this.

The king of Samarcand had not let king Saleh go on so long after this rate, had not the rage he put him in deprived him of all power of speech. He was moreover some time longer before he could find his tongue, so much was he transported with passion. At length, however, he broke out into outrageous and injurious expressions, unworthy of a king. Dog, says he aloud, dare you talk to me after this manner, and so much as once to mention my daughter’s name in my presence? Can you think the son of your sister Gulnare worthy to come in competition with my daughter? Who are you? who was your father? who is your sister? and who your nephew? Was not his father a dog, and a son of a dog, like thee? Guards, seize the insolent wretch, and immediately cut off his head.

The few officers that were about the king of Samarcand were immediately going to obey his orders, when king Saleh, who was in the flower of his age, nimble and vigorous, got from them before they could draw their sabres; and, having reached the palace gate, he there found a thousand men of his relations and friends, well armed and equipped, who were but just arrived. The queen his mother having considered the small number of attendants he took with him, and moreover foreseeing the bad reception he would probably have from the king of Samarcand, had sent these troops to protect and defend him, in case of danger. Those of his relations who were at the head of this troop immediately saw how seasonably they were arrived, when they beheld him and his companions come running in great disorder, and a small number of officers at their heels in pursuit of them. My lord, cried out his friends, at the moment he joined them, what is the matter? We are ready to revenge you; you need only command us.

King Saleh related his case to them in as few words as he could; and afterwards putting himself at the head of a large troop, he, whilst some seized on the gates, re-entered the palace as before. The few officers and guards who had pursued him being soon dispersed, he re-entered the king of Samarcand’s apartment, who, being abandoned by his attendants, was soon seized. King Saleh left sufficient guards to secure his person, and then went from apartment to apartment, to search after the princess Giahaure. But that princess, on the first noise of this alarm, had, together with her women, flung herself on the surface of the sea, and escaped to a desert island.

As matters passed thus in the palace of the king of Samarcand, those of king Saleh’s attendants, who had fled at the first menaces of the king, put the queen his mother into a terrible consternation, upon relating the danger her son was in. King Beder, who was by at that time, was the more concerned, in that he looked upon himself as the principal author of all the mischief that might ensue: therefore, not caring to abide the queen’s presence any longer, he, whilst she was giving the necessary orders at that conjuncture, darted himself upwards from the bottom of the sea; and not knowing how to find his way to the kingdom of Persia, he happened to light on the same island where the princess Giahaure had saved herself.

The prince, not a little disturbed in his mind, went and seated himself under the shade of a large tree, surrounded with divers others. Whilst he was endeavouring to recover his temper, he heard one that talked, but was too far off to understand what was said. He arose, and advanced softly towards the place whence the sound came, where, among the branches, he perceived a beauty that dazzled him. Doubtless, said he within himself, stopping, and considering her with great attention, this must be the princess Giahaure, whom fear has obliged to abandon her father’s palace; or, if it be not, she is, at least, one that no less deserves my love and admiration. This said, he moved forward, and discovering himself, approached the princess with a profound reverence. Madam, said he, I can never sufficiently thank Heaven for the favour it has done me, in regaling my eyes this day with so glorious a sight. A greater blessing could not be conferred on me than this opportunity to offer you my most humble services. I beseech you, therefore, madam, to accept them, it being impossible that a lady, under such solitary circumstances, should not want assistance.