CHAPTER IV.

COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH.

THE STORY OF THE THREE APPLES, &c.[IV_1]

One night, after the adventure above described, the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed said to Jaạfar, his Wezeer, We will go down to-night into the city, and inquire respecting the affairs of those who are at present in authority, and him against whom any one shall complain we will displace. Jaạfar replied, I hear and obey:--and when the Khaleefeh had gone forth with him and Mesroor, and they had passed through several of the market-streets, they proceeded along a lane, and saw there an old man, with a net and basket upon his head, and a staff in his hand, walking at his leisure, and reciting these verses:--

They say to me, Thou shinest among mankind, by thy knowledge, like the moonlight night: But I answer, Abstain from thus addressing me, since there is no knowledge without power: For if they would pawn me, and my knowledge with me, and all my papers and inkhorn too, For one day's food, they would never find the pledge accepted to the day of judgment. As for the poor, and his condition, and his whole life, how full of trouble! In the summer he fails to earn his food, and in winter he warms himself over the fire-pot.[IV_2] The dogs follow him wherever he goes, and any reviler, and he cannot repel him. If he states his case, and proves himself wronged, the judge will not admit his plea. Such, then, being the poor man's life, his fittest place is in the burial-ground.[IV_3]

The Khaleefeh, when he heard his recitation, said to Jaạfar, Observe this poor man, and consider these verses; for they indicate his necessity. Then approaching the man, he said to him, O sheykh, what is thine occupation?--O my master, answered the old man, I am a fisherman, and have a family to maintain, and I went forth from my house at noon, and have remained until now, but God hath allotted me nothing wherewith to obtain food for my household; therefore I have hated myself, and wished for death.--Wilt thou, said the Khaleefeh, return with us to the river, and station thyself on the bank of the Tigris, and cast thy net for my luck? If thou wilt do so I will purchase of thee whatever cometh up for a hundred pieces of gold.--The fisherman rejoiced when he heard these words, and said, On my head be your commands: I will return with you.--So he went again to the river, and cast his net, and, having waited till it sank, drew the cords, and dragged back the net, and there came up in it a chest, locked and heavy. When the Khaleefeh saw it, he felt its weight, and found it to be heavy; and he gave a hundred pieces of gold to the fisherman, who went away, while Mesroor, assisted by Jaạfar, took up the chest, and conveyed it, in company with the Khaleefeh, to the palace, where they lighted the candles, and placed the chest before the Khaleefeh. Jaạfar and Mesroor then broke it open, and they found in it a basket of palm-leaves sewed up with red worsted; and they cut the threads, and saw within it a piece of carpet, and, lifting up this, they found beneath it an izár,[IV_4] and when they had taken up the izár they discovered under it a damsel like molten silver, killed, and cut in pieces.

When the Khaleefeh beheld this, tears ran down his cheeks, and, looking towards Jaạfar, he exclaimed, O dog of Wezeers, shall people be murdered in my time, and be thrown into the river, and become burdens upon my responsibility? By Allah, I must retaliate for this damsel upon him who killed her, and put him to death!--Then said he to Jaạfar, By the truth of my descent from the Khaleefehs of the sons of El-'Abbás, if thou do not bring to me him who killed this woman, that I may avenge her upon him, I will crucify thee at the gate of my palace, together with forty of thy kinsmen![IV_5] And the Khaleefeh was enraged.--Grant me, said Jaạfar, a delay of three days.--I grant thee the delay, replied the Khaleefeh. Jaạfar then went forth from his presence, and took his route through the city, sorrowful, and saying within himself, How shall I discover him who killed this damsel, that I may take him before the Khaleefeh? And if I take to him any other person, he will become a weight upon my conscience. I know not what to do.--For three days he remained in his house, and on the fourth day the Khaleefeh sent to summon him, and, when he had presented himself before him, said to him, Where is the murderer of the damsel?--O Prince of the Faithful, answered Jaạfar, am I acquainted with things hidden from the senses, that I should know who is her murderer? The Khaleefeh, incensed at this answer, gave orders to crucify him at the gate of his palace, and commanded a crier to proclaim through the streets of Baghdád, Whosoever desireth to amuse himself by seeing the crucifixion of Jaạfar El-Barmekee, the Wezeer of the Khaleefeh, and the crucifixion of his kinsmen, at the gate of the Khaleefeh's palace, let him come forth and amuse himself.--So the people came forth from every quarter to see the crucifixion of Jaạfar and his kinsmen; and they knew not the cause of this. The Khaleefeh then gave orders to set up the crosses; and they did so, and placed the Wezeer and his kinsmen beneath, to crucify them, and were awaiting the Khaleefeh's permission, while the people wept for Jaạfar and his relatives.

But while they were thus waiting, a handsome and neatly-dressed young man came forward quickly through the crowd, and, approaching the Wezeer, said to him, Safety to thee from this predicament, O chief of Emeers, and refuge of the poor! It was I who killed the woman whom ye found in the chest: kill me therefore for her, and retaliate her death upon me.--When Jaạfar heard these words, he rejoiced for his own deliverance, and grieved for the young man: but while he was speaking to him, lo, an old sheykh pressed hastily through the crowd to him and the young man, and, having saluted them, said, O Wezeer, believe not the words of this young man, for no one killed the damsel but myself; therefore retaliate her death upon me. The young man, however, said, O Wezeer, this is an old man, imbecile through age; he knoweth not what he saith: it was I who killed her; avenge her therefore upon me.--O my son, said the sheykh, thou art young, and wilt find pleasure in the world; and I am old, and satiated with the world: I will be a ransom for thee and for the Wezeer and his kinsmen; and no one killed the damsel but myself: by Allah, therefore, hasten to retaliate upon me.

On witnessing this scene, the Wezeer was astonished; and he took the young man and the sheykh to the Khaleefeh, and said, O Prince of the Faithful, the murderer of the damsel hath come.--Where is he? said the Khaleefeh. This young man, answered Jaạfar, saith, I am the murderer;--and this sheykh accuseth him of falsehood, and saith, Nay, but _I_ am the murderer.--The Khaleefeh, looking towards the sheykh and the young man, said, Which of you killed this damsel? The young man answered, No one killed her but myself:--and the sheykh said also, No one killed her but myself. The Khaleefeh therefore said to Jaạfar, Take them both and crucify them.--If the murderer be one, replied Jaạfar, to kill the other would be unjust. The young man then said, By Him who raised the heavens and spread out the earth, it was I who killed the damsel:--and he gave an account of the manner of his killing her, and described what the Khaleefeh had found. The Khaleefeh therefore was convinced that the young man was he who had killed the damsel; and he was astonished, and said, What was the cause of thy killing this damsel unjustly, and of thy confessing the murder without being beaten,[IV_6] and thy saying, Retaliate her death upon me? The young man answered as follows:--

Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that this damsel was my wife, and the daughter of my uncle: this sheykh was her father, and is my uncle. I married her when she was a virgin, and God blessed me with three male children by her; and she loved me and served me, and I saw in her no evil. At the commencement of this month she was attacked by a severe illness, and I brought to her the physicians, who attended her until her health returned to her; and I desired them to send her to the bath; but she said to me, I want something before I enter the bath, for I have a longing for it.--What is it? said I. She answered, I have a longing for an apple, to smell it, and take a bite from it. So I went out immediately into the city, and searched for the apple, and would have bought it had its price been a piece of gold: but I could not find one. I passed the next night full of thought, and when the morning came I quitted my house again and went about to all the gardens, one after another; yet I found none in them. There met me, however, an old gardener, of whom I inquired for the apple, and he said to me, O my son, this is a rare thing, and not to be found here, nor anywhere except in the garden of the Prince of the Faithful at El-Baṣrah, and preserved there for the Khaleefeh. I returned therefore to my wife, and my love for her so constrained me that I prepared myself and journeyed fifteen days, by night and day, in going and returning, and brought her three apples which I purchased of the gardener at El-Baṣrah for three pieces of gold; and, going in, I handed them to her; but she was not pleased by them, and left them by her side. She was then suffering from a violent fever, and she continued ill during a period of ten days.

After this she recovered her health, and I went out and repaired to my shop, and sat there to sell and buy; and while I was thus occupied, at mid-day there passed by me a black slave, having in his hand an apple, with which he was playing: so I said to him, Whence didst thou get this apple, for I would procure one like it?--Upon which he laughed, and answered, I got it from my sweetheart: I had been absent, and came, and found her ill, and she had three apples; and she said to me, My unsuspecting husband journeyed to El-Baṣrah for them, and bought them for three pieces of gold:--and I took this apple from her.--When I heard the words of the slave, O Prince of the Faithful, the world became black before my face, and I shut up my shop, and returned to my house, deprived of my reason by excessive rage. I found not the third apple, and said to her, Where is the apple? She answered, I know not whither it is gone. I was convinced thus that the slave had spoken the truth, and I arose, and took a knife, and throwing myself upon her bosom, plunged the knife into her: I then cut off her head and limbs, and put them in the basket in haste, and covered them with the izár, over which I laid a piece of carpet: then I put the basket in the chest, and, having locked this, conveyed it on my mule, and threw it with my own hands into the Tigris.[IV_8]

And now, continued the young man, I conjure thee by Allah, O Prince of the Faithful, to hasten my death in retaliation for her murder, as I dread, otherwise, her appeal for vengeance upon me on the day of resurrection:[IV_9] for when I had thrown her into the Tigris without the knowledge of any one, I returned to my house, and found my eldest boy crying, though he knew not what I had done to his mother: so I said to him, What maketh thee cry?--and he answered, I took one of the apples that my mother had, and went down with it into the street to play with my brothers, and a tall black slave snatched it from me, and said to me, Whence came this to thee? I answered him, My father made a journey for it, and brought it from El-Baṣrah, for the sake of my mother; for she is sick: he bought three apples for three pieces of gold:--but he took it from me and beat me, and went away with it; and I am afraid that my mother may beat me on account of the apple.--When I heard my son's story, I discovered that the slave had forged a lie against the daughter of my uncle, and found that she had been killed unjustly; and as I was weeping bitterly for what I had done, this sheykh, my uncle and her father, came to me, and I informed him of the event; and he seated himself by me, and wept. We wept until midnight, and continued our mourning for her five days, ceasing not to the present day to bewail her death. By the honour of thine ancestors, therefore, hasten my death, to retaliate her murder upon me.

The Khaleefeh wondered at the young man's story, and said, By Allah, I will not put to death any but the wicked slave; for the young man is excusable. Then looking towards Jaạfar, he said to him, Bring before me this wicked slave who hath been the cause of the catastrophe; or, if thou bring him not, thou shalt be put to death in his stead. So the Wezeer departed weeping, and saying, Whence shall I bring him? Not every time that the jar is struck doth it escape being broken! I have no stratagem to employ in this affair: but He who delivered me in the first case may deliver me in the second. By Allah, I will not go out from my house for three days; and the Truth, whose perfection be extolled, will do what He willeth!--So he remained in his house three days, and on the fourth day he caused the Ḳáḍee to be brought, and made his testamentary arrangements; and as he was bidding farewell to his children, and weeping, lo, the messenger of the Khaleefeh came and said to him, The Prince of the Faithful is in a most violent rage, and hath sent me to thee; and he hath sworn that this day shall not pass until thou art put to death if thou do not bring to him the slave.

On hearing this, Jaạfar wept, and his children wept with him; and when he had bidden them all farewell except his youngest daughter, he approached her for the same purpose. He loved her more than all his other children; and he pressed her to his bosom, and wept at the thought of his separation from her; but, in doing this, he felt something round in her pocket, and said to her, What is in thy pocket? She answered, O my father, it is an apple; our slave Reyḥan[IV_10] brought it, and I have had it four days; he would not give it me until he had received from me two pieces of gold.--At this mention of the slave and the apple, Jaạfar rejoiced, and exclaimed, O ready Dispeller of trouble![IV_11]--and immediately he ordered that the slave should be brought before him. He was therefore brought in, and he said to him, Whence came this apple?--O my master, he answered, I went out five days ago, and, entering one of the by-streets of the city, I saw some children playing, and one of them had this apple: and I snatched it from him, and beat him; and he cried, and said, That belongs to my mother, and she is sick: she wanted my father to bring her an apple, and he made a journey to El-Baṣrah, and brought back for her three apples which he bought for three pieces of gold; and I took this to play with it:--then he cried again; but, paying no regard to him, I took it away and brought it hither; and my little mistress bought it of me for two pieces of gold.--When he heard this story, Jaạfar was filled with wonder at discovering that this distressing event, and the murder of the damsel, had been occasioned by his slave; and he took the slave and went with him to the Khaleefeh, who ordered that the story should be committed to writing, and published.

Jaạfar then said to him, Wonder not, O Prince of the Faithful, at his tale, for it is not more extraordinary than the story of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, and Shems-ed-Deen, his brother.--What story, said the Khaleefeh, can be more wonderful than this?--O Prince of the Faithful, replied Jaạfar, I will not relate it to thee unless on the condition that thou exempt my slave from the punishment of death. The Khaleefeh said, I give thee his blood:--and Jaạfar, thereupon, commenced the relation of the story as follows:--

THE STORY OF NOOR-ED-DEEN AND HIS SON, AND OF SHEMS-ED-DEEN AND HIS DAUGHTER.

Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that there was, in Cairo,[IV_12] a Sulṭán,[IV_13] just and beneficent, who had a wise and well-informed Wezeer, possessing a knowledge of the affairs of the world, and of the art of government. This minister was an aged man, and he had two sons, like two moons: the name of the elder was Shems-ed-Deen, and that of the younger, Noor-ed-Deen;[IV_14] and the latter was more distinguished than the former by handsomeness and comeliness: there was no one in his day more handsome, so that the fame of his charms spread through the neighbouring regions, and some of the inhabitants of those parts travelled to his country merely to obtain a sight of him. And it came to pass that their father died, and the Sulṭán mourned for him, and, turning his regards towards the two sons, took them into his favour, invested them with robes of honour, and said to them, Ye two are instated in your father's office:--at which they rejoiced, and kissed the ground before him. They observed the ceremonies of mourning[IV_15] for their father during a period of a whole month, and entered upon the office of Wezeers, each of them discharging the duties of this station for a week at a time; and whenever the Sulṭán had a desire to go forth on a journey, he took one of them with him.

Now it happened, one night, that the Sulṭán purposed commencing a journey on the following morning; and it was the turn of the elder Wezeer to accompany him; and as the two brothers were conversing together that night, the elder said, O my brother, it is my wish that we should both marry on one night.--Do, O my brother, as thou desirest, answered the younger; and I will comply with that which thou shalt say. So they agreed to do this. The elder then said to his brother, If God so decree that we obtain the betrothal of two maidens, and accomplish our marriage on the same night, and they give birth to children on the same day, and God will that thy wife have a son, and my wife have a daughter, we will marry them to each other, for they will be cousins.--And what, O my brother, said Noor-ed-Deen, wilt thou require of my son as the dowry of thy daughter? He answered, I will require of thy son, as the dowry of my daughter, three thousand pieces of gold, and three gardens, and three farms; for if the young man make any other contract than this, it will not be proper. But when Noor-ed-Deen heard this proposal, he exclaimed, What is this dowry that thou imposest upon my son? Dost thou not know that we are two brothers, and that we are both Wezeers, of one dignity? It were incumbent on thee to offer thy daughter to my son as a free gift, without any dowry; for thou knowest that the male is more honourable than the female, and my child is a male, and by him shall our memory be preserved: not by thy daughter.--What sayest thou of her? asked his brother.--That our memory will not be preserved by her among the nobles, answered Noor-ed-Deen. But thou desirest, added he, to act with me according to the opinion of him who saith, If thou desire to drive away a person who would buy, demand of him a high price.--I see thee, replied Shems-ed-Deen, to have committed a fault, in making thy son more honourable than my daughter: thou art doubtless deficient in judgment, and destitute of good disposition, seeing that thou mentionest the partnership in the office of Wezeer, when I admitted thee not to share it with me excepting in my pity for thee, and that thou mightest assist me: but talk as thou wilt: since thou hast said this, by Allah, I will not marry my daughter to thy son, though thou offer me her weight in gold.--On hearing these words of his brother, Noor-ed-Deen was enraged, and said, I will not marry my son to thy daughter.--I will not accept him as a husband for her, replied Shems-ed-Deen; and if I were not purposing a journey, I would do to thee deeds that should serve as warnings to others: however, when I return, God will do what He willeth.--When Noor-ed-Deen heard this, he was full of anger, and became unconscious of existence: but he concealed his feelings; and each of the two brothers passed the night apart from the other; and in the morning the Sulṭán set out on his journey, and, crossing over to the island,[IV_16] proceeded towards the Pyramids, accompanied by the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen.

Noor-ed-Deen passed that night in a state of the utmost rage; and when the morning came he arose, and, having performed the morning-prayers, went to his closet and took out from it a pair of small saddle-bags, which he filled with gold; and as he reflected upon the words of his brother, and the contempt which he had shewn him, and the pride that he had manifested towards him, he repeated these verses:--

Travel. Thou wilt find a friend in the place of him thou leavest; and fatigue thyself; for by labour are the sweets of life obtained. To a man of intelligence and education there is no glory in a constant residence: therefore quit thy native place, and go abroad. I have observed that the stagnation of water corrupteth it; if it floweth, it becometh sweet; but otherwise, it doth not. If the full moon never set, the eye of the contemplative would not on every occasion pay regard to it: The lions, if they left not the forest, would capture no prey; and the arrow, if it quitted not the bow, would not strike the mark: The grains of gold upon their native bed are regarded as mere dust; and the aloes-wood, where it groweth, is a kind of firewood: If exported, it becometh an object of high demand; but if not, it attaineth no kind of distinction.

He then ordered one of his young men to saddle for him a dapple mule, tall, and of quick pace; and he did so, placing upon her a saddle adorned with gold, with stirrups of Indian steel, and housings of the velvet of Iṣpahán; and she resembled a bride displayed before her husband. He ordered him also to place upon her a carpet of silk, and a prayer-carpet,[IV_17] and to put the saddle-bags beneath the latter; and when this was done, he said to the young man and the slaves, I have a desire to take a ride for my amusement outside the city, towards the province of Ḳalyoob, and shall be absent three nights; and let none of you follow me, for my heart is contracted.

Having thus said, he mounted his mule in haste, and, taking with him a small supply of food, departed from the city, turning his face towards the open country. The hour of noon overtook him not until he entered the city of Bilbeys, where he alighted to repose himself and rest his mule, and ate; after which he took from this place what he required for himself, and some provender for his mule, and, having placed these provisions upon her, went forth again into the plain, and before noon on the second following day, he entered Jerusalem.[IV_18] Here he alighted again, and rested himself and his beast, and ate: he then placed his saddle-bags under his head, and spread his carpet, and slept, still overcome by anger. He passed the night in this place; and in the morning he remounted, and he continued to urge on his mule until he arrived at Aleppo,[IV_19] where he alighted at a Ḳhán, and remained three days to give rest to himself and his mule, and to enjoy the air of the place: which having done, he determined to prosecute his journey, and mounted his mule, and went forth. He knew not whither to direct his course; but travelled on until he arrived at the city of El-Baṣrah; and scarcely was he aware that the night had overtaken him, when he alighted there at a Khán, where he took off the saddle-bags from the mule, and spread the prayer-carpet, committing the mule, with her equipage, to the care of the door-keeper, and ordering him to walk her about a little.

The door-keeper did so; and it happened that the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, sitting at a window of his palace, saw the mule, and, observing her costly equipage, thought that she must belong to some Wezeer or King; and as he attentively regarded her he was surprised, and said to one of his pages, Bring before me that door-keeper. So the page went and brought him; and the door-keeper, approaching, kissed the ground before him. The Wezeer, who was an aged person, then said to this man, Who is the owner of this mule, and what is his appearance?--O my lord, answered the door-keeper, her owner is a young man of elegant person, of the sons of the merchants, and of a dignified and grave aspect. On hearing this, the Wezeer arose, and, mounting his horse,[IV_20] went to the Khán, and introduced himself to the young man, who, as soon as he saw him approaching, rose to meet him, and embraced him. The Wezeer, after he had alighted from his horse, saluted him and welcomed him, and, seating him by his side, said to him, Whence, O my son, hast thou come; and for what purpose?--O my lord, answered Noor-ed-Deen, I have come from the city of Cairo: my father was Wezeer there; and he hath departed to receive the mercy of God;--and he informed him of all that had happened to him from first to last, adding, I have determined that I will not return until I shall have seen all the cities and countries of the world.--O my son, replied the Wezeer, obey not the suggestions of thy mind, lest thou expose thyself to destruction; for the countries are waste, and I fear on thy account the issues of fortune. So saying, he ordered that the saddle-bags should be placed again on the mule, together with the carpet of silk and the prayer-carpet, and took Noor-ed-Deen with him to his house, where he lodged him in an elegant apartment, and treated him with honour and kindness; and, conceiving a strong affection for him, said to him, O my son, I have become an old man, and I have no male child; God, however, hath blessed me with a daughter who resembleth thee in comeliness, and I have rejected many persons who have been her suitors: but now, love for thee hath entered my heart; wilt thou then take my daughter as thy hand-maid to serve thee, and be her husband? If thou consent to this, I will go up to the Sulṭán of El-Baṣrah, and will say to him, This is the son of my brother;--and I will introduce thee to him, that I may make thee Wezeer in my place, and I will remain in my house; for I am now aged.--Noor-ed-Deen, on hearing this proposal of the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, hung down his head, and then answered, I hear and obey.

The Wezeer rejoiced at his assent, and ordered his servants to prepare for him a repast, and to decorate the great saloon[IV_21] which was furnished for the reception of the chiefs of the Emeers. He then called together his friends, and invited the great officers of the state, and the merchants of El-Baṣrah; and when they had come into his presence, he said to them, I had a brother who was Wezeer in the land of Egypt, and God blessed him with two sons; and me, as ye know, He hath blessed with a daughter: now my brother enjoined me to marry my daughter to one of his sons, and I consented to do so; and when she attained a fit age for marriage, he sent to me one of his sons, who is this young man here present. As soon, therefore, as he had come, I desired to perform the marriage-contract between him and my daughter, and that he should introduce himself to her here in my house.--Excellently hast thou done! they replied. They then drank sherbet of sugar, and the pages sprinkled rose-water upon them, and they departed: after which, the Wezeer ordered his servants to conduct Noor-en-Deen to the bath, and gave him a suit of his best clothes,[IV_22] and sent to him the napkins and cups and perfuming-vessels, and everything else that he required. So when he came out from the bath, he put on the suit of clothes, and appeared like the full moon; and he mounted his mule, and, returning to the palace, alighted and presented himself before the Wezeer, and kissed his hand: and the Wezeer welcomed him, saying, Arise, and introduce thyself this night to thy wife; and to-morrow I will go up with thee to the Sulṭán, and I pray that God may bless thee with every kind of happiness. Noor-ed-Deen therefore arose, and went to his wife, the daughter of the Wezeer.--Thus did it happen to Noor-ed-Deen.

As to his brother, he continued a while journeying with the Sulṭán, and when he returned, and found not his brother, he inquired of the servants respecting him, and they answered, On the day of thy departure with the Sulṭán, he mounted his mule, caparisoned as for a procession of state, and said, I am going towards the province of Ḳalyoob, and shall be absent a day or two days; for my heart is contracted; therefore let none of you follow me:--and from the day on which he went forth, to the present day, we have heard no tidings of him. Upon this the heart of Shems-ed-Deen was troubled at the separation of his brother, and he grieved excessively for his loss, saying within himself, The cause of this is nothing else than my having spoken harshly to him in my conversation on the night before my departure with the Sulṭán; and probably his mind was disturbed, and he went on a journey: I must therefore send after him. He then went up and related this event to the Sulṭán, who wrote letters and sent them to his vicegerents in all the provinces: but Noor-ed-Deen had traversed distant regions during the absence of his brother with the Sulṭán: therefore the messengers, when they had gone with the letters, returned without having obtained any information respecting him. So Shems-ed-Deen despaired of his brother, and said, I have enraged my brother by what I said to him concerning the marriage of the children. Would that I had not done so! This was not occasioned but by my want of sense and judgment!--And soon after this, he demanded in marriage the daughter of one of the merchants of Cairo, and performed the marriage-contract between himself and her, and introduced himself to her: and it happened that the night when this event took place was the same night on which Noor-ed-Deen introduced himself to his wife, the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah: this being in accordance with the will of God, whose name be exalted, that He might execute his decree upon his creatures.

The event was as they both had said: for it came to pass that the two wives conceived by them: the wife of Shems-ed-Deen, the Wezeer, of Egypt, gave birth to a daughter, than whom there was not seen, in that country, one more beautiful; and the wife of Noor-ed-Deen gave birth to a son, one more beautiful than whom was not seen in his time: as the poet hath said:--

If beauty came to be compared with him, it would hang down its head in shame; Or if it were said, O beauty, hast thou seen the like?--it would answer, The equal of this I have not.

So they named him Ḥasan;[IV_23] and on the seventh day after his birth, they made entertainments and spread repasts such as were fit for the sons of Kings[IV_24] after which the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah took with him Noor-ed-Deen, and went up with him to the Sulṭán; and when he came into his presence he kissed the ground before him; and Noor-ed-Deen, being eloquent in tongue, and firm of heart, and comely in person and in actions, recited these words of the poet:--

This is he whose justice extendeth to all men, and who hath overrun and subdued every region. Be thankful for his benefits; for they are not mere benefits; but they are strings of jewels on the necks of his people; And kiss his fingers; for they are not mere fingers; but they are the keys of the supplies of Providence.

The Sulṭán treated them both with honour, and, having thanked Noor-ed-Deen for his address, said to his Wezeer, Who is this young man? The Wezeer therefore related to him his story from beginning to end, and added, This is the son of my brother.--How is it, said the Sulṭán, that he is the son of thy brother, and we have not before heard of him? The Wezeer answered, O our lord the Sulṭán, I had a brother who was Wezeer in the land of Egypt, and he died, leaving two sons: the elder succeeded to his father's office, as Wezeer, and this his younger son came to me; and I swore that I would not marry my daughter to any but him: so, when he came, I married him to her. He is a young man, and I am now aged; my hearing is impaired, and my judgment faileth: it is my wish, therefore, that our lord the Sulṭán would instate him in my office, seeing that he is the son of my brother and the husband of my daughter, and a person worthy of the dignity of Wezeer; for he is endowed with knowledge and judgment.--The Sulṭán, upon this, looked towards him, and, being pleased with him, approved of the advice of the Wezeer that he should promote him to that office; so he bestowed it upon him, and ordered that a magnificent dress of honour should be given to him, and one of the best of the mules upon which he was himself accustomed to ride, allotting him also supplies and salaries; and Noor-ed-Deen kissed the hand of the Sulṭán, and descended with his father-in-law to their house, both in high delight, and saying, Verily the birth of this child is fortunate. On the following day Noor-ed-Deen went again to the King, and kissed the ground, and the Sulṭán ordered him to sit in the place of the Wezeer: so he sat, and occupied himself with the affairs of his office, and examined the cases of the people, and their suits, according to the custom of Wezeers: and the Sulṭán, observing him, was surprised at his conduct, and the acuteness of his understanding, and his good judgment. He attentively considered his qualities, and loved him, and advanced him in his favour: and when the court was dissolved, Noor-ed-Deen returned to his house, and related what had passed to his father-in-law, who was rejoiced at hearing it.

The old Wezeer ceased not to superintend the rearing of the child, who was named Ḥasan, for many days, while Noor-ed-Deen was constantly occupied with the affairs of his office, so that he left not the Sulṭán by day nor by night; and the King increased his salaries and supplies until his circumstances became ample: he had ships which made voyages under his orders with merchandise and other things, and he founded numerous estates, and made water-wheels[IV_25] and gardens. Thus did he until his son Ḥasan was four years of age, when the old Wezeer, the father of his wife, died; and he conveyed his corpse with great pomp, and decently deposited it in the earth. He then turned his thoughts towards the education of his son; and when the child had gained strength, he brought him a tutor to teach him in his own house, charging him to instruct him and educate him well; and the tutor did so, and taught him various useful sciences, after he had passed some years in learning the Ḳur-án. Ḥasan meanwhile increased in loveliness and beauty, and elegance of person. The tutor continued to educate him in his father's palace; and from the time that he arrived at adolescence he went not out of the Wezeer's palace, until his father took him one day, and, having clad him in one of the richest of his dresses, mounted him on one of his best mules, and conducted him to the Sulṭán, and introduced him. When the King beheld Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen,[IV_26] the son of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, he was astonished at his beauty; and the people, when he passed by them for the first time, going up with his father to the King, were amazed at his surpassing beauty and loveliness, and elegance of person. The Sulṭán, as soon as he saw him, loved him, and bestowed marks of favour upon him, and said to his father, O Wezeer, thou must bring him with thee every day. The Wezeer answered, I hear and obey;--and returned with his son to his abode; and he continued every day to go up with him to the Sulṭán until the youth attained the age of fifteen years.

His father, the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, then fell sick, and called him into his presence, and said to him, O my son, know that this world is a perishable abode, and the world to come is an everlasting abode. I wish to give thee some precepts, and do thou understand what I am about to say to thee, and incline thy heart to it.--And he began to counsel him respecting the proper mode of conducting himself in society, and the due management of his affairs; and when he had done so, he reflected upon his brother and his native place and country, and wept at the thought of his separation from those he loved; his tears flowing: and he said, O my son, hear my words. I have a brother[IV_27] in Cairo, and I quitted him and departed against his will.--He then took a piece of paper,[IV_28] and wrote upon it all that had happened to him from first to last, together with the date of his marriage and introduction to the daughter of the Wezeer, and the date of his arrival at El-Baṣrah and his interview with its Wezeer; and, having added some strict admonition, he said to his son, Keep this charge, for the paper on which it is written containeth an account of thine origin and thy rank and lineage; and if any evil accident befall thee, repair to Cairo, and inquire for thine uncle, and salute him, and inform him that I died in a strange land, ardently desiring that I could see him. Therefore Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen took the paper, and, having folded it, and wrapped it in a piece of waxed cloth,[IV_29] sewed it between the lining and the outer cloth of his cap,[IV_30] and wept for his father, that he should be parted from him in his youth.

Noor-ed-Deen then said to his son,[IV_31] I charge thee that thou be not familiar with any one; for in retirement is security. Divinely gifted was the poet who said,--

There is none in thy time whose friendship thou shouldst covet; nor any intimate who, when fortune is treacherous, will be faithful. Live then apart, and rely upon no man: I have given thee, in these words, good advice, and sufficient.

Accustom thyself to taciturnity: occupy thyself with thine own affairs, and use not many words: for the poet saith,--

Taciturnity is an ornament, and in silence is security: therefore, when thou speakest, be not loquacious: For if thou repent once of thy silence, thou wilt assuredly repent many times of thy speech.

Beware of drinking wine; for it is the source of every kind of mischief. The poet[IV_32] saith on this subject,--

I have abandoned wine and those who drink it; and have become the friend of such as condemn it. Wine leadeth astray from the path of rectitude, and openeth the doors to evil.

Hate no man, and oppress none; for oppression is base. The poet saith,--

Oppress not if thou hast the power to do so; for oppression will eventually bring thee repentance: Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call for vengeance upon thee; and the eye of God sleepeth not.

Despise thy wealth, but not thyself: yet bestow not wealth save upon him who deserveth it. If thou keep it, it will keep thee; but if thou squander it, it will ruin thee; and then wilt thou need the assistance of the least of mankind. It hath been said by the poet,--

When my wealth faileth, no friend assisteth me; but when it aboundeth, all men are my friends. How many enemies for the sake of wealth have consorted with me! And my companion, in the time of want, hath abandoned me!

In this manner he continued to admonish his son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen until his spirit departed. The house became a scene of mourning, and the Sulṭán and all the Emeers grieved for him; and they buried him. They continued their mourning during a period of two months, and the son of Noor-ed-Deen rode not out nor went to the court nor presented himself before the Sulṭán; and the King instated one of the Chamberlains in his place, and appointed a new Wezeer in the place of his father, and ordered this Wezeer to put seals upon all the houses of Noor-ed-Deen, and upon his wealth and all his buildings and other possessions.[IV_33] So the new Wezeer went with the Chamberlains to the house of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, to seal its door and to arrest his son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, and bring him before the Sulṭán, that he might do to him what his judgment required. But there was among the troops one of the memlooks of the deceased Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen; and he could not endure that the son of his master should be thus treated: he therefore repaired to Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, whom he found with downcast head and mourning heart, on account of the death of his father, and acquainted him with what had passed. Ḥasan asked him, Will the execution of the order be delayed long enough for me to enter my house,[IV_34] and take somewhat of my worldly possessions by which to obtain support during my exile? But the memlook answered, Save thyself:--and when Ḥasan heard these words, he covered his head with the skirt of his robe, and, going forth on foot, fled of the city: and he heard the people saying, The Sulṭán hath sent the new Wezeer to the house of the deceased Wezeer, to seal his wealth and other possessions, and to arrest his son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, and bring him before him that he may put him to death:--and the people were mourning for him on account of his beauty and loveliness. So when he heard what they said, he took a course that he had not intended, and, not knowing whither to go, walked on until destiny urged him to the tomb of his father.

Entering the burial-ground, he bent his way among the tombs until he seated himself at that of his father, where he removed his skirt from over his head. And as he was sitting there, a Jew of El-Baṣrah approached, and said to him, Wherefore, O my master, do I see thee thus changed? He answered, I was just now sleeping, and I beheld my father reproaching me for having failed to visit his tomb: wherefore I rose in alarm, fearing that the day would pass without my visiting it, and so the occurrence would distress me. The Jew then said to him, O my master, thy father despatched some vessels with merchandise, and some of them have returned; and it is my wish to purchase of thee the cargo of every vessel that hath arrived for a thousand pieces of gold;--and so saying, he took out a purse filled with gold, and counted out from it a thousand pieces, which he paid to Ḥasan the son of the Wezeer, and said to him, Write me a paper, and seal it. So Ḥasan took a paper, and wrote upon it, The writer of this paper, Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, hath sold to the Jew such a one the whole cargo of every one of his father's vessels that hath returned from her voyage, for a thousand pieces of gold, and hath received the price in advance. And after he had taken a copy[IV_35] of it, the Jew went away with the paper; and Ḥasan wept, reflecting upon his former state of dignity and favour. At length the night closed in upon him, and sleep overtook him, and he remained asleep at his father's tomb until the moon rose when his head rolled from the tomb, and he lay and slept on his back, his face shining in the moonlight.

Now the burial-ground was inhabited by believing Jinn; and a Jinneeyeh, coming forth, saw the face of Ḥasan as he lay asleep, and when she beheld him, was surprised at his beauty and loveliness, and exclaimed, Extolled be Allah's perfection! This youth is like none but the virgins of paradise!--She then soared into the air, to perform her accustomed circuits, and saw an 'Efreet on his flight. She saluted him, and he returned her salutation; and she said to him, Whence comest thou? He answered from Cairo:--and she said to him, Wilt thou go with me to behold the beauty of the youth who is sleeping in the burial-ground? He replied, Yes. So they went together; and when they had descended into the burial-ground, she said to him, Hast thou seen in the course of thy life a person like this?--And the 'Efreet looked upon him, and exclaimed, Extolled be the perfection of Him unto whom none is to be compared! But, O my sister, he added, if thou desire, I will relate to thee what I have seen.--Tell me, she replied: so he said, I have seen a person resembling this youth in the land of Egypt; and that person is the daughter of the Wezeer. The King had heard of her, and demanded her of her father, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen, in marriage; but he answered him, O our lord the Sulṭán, accept my excuse, and pity my grief; for thou knowest that my brother Noor-ed-Deen departed from us, and we know not where he is; and that he shared with me the office of Wezeer; and the cause of his departure was this, that I was sitting conversing with him on the subject of marriage, and he was angry with me, and in anger went away:--and he related to the King all that had passed between them; adding, This was the cause of his indignation, and I have been under an oath that I will not marry my daughter to any but the son of my brother from the day that her mother gave birth to her; and that was about fifteen years ago: and lately I heard that my brother had married the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, and obtained a son by her; and I will not marry my daughter to any but him, in honour of my brother. After I had heard this, I recorded the date of my marriage, and of my wife's conception, and of the birth of this daughter: she is intended for the son of her uncle; and of other maidens there are plenty.--But when the Sulṭán heard these words of the Wezeer, he was violently enraged, and said, How is it that such a one as myself demandeth in marriage a daughter from one like thee, and thou withholdest her from him, and excusest thyself by an absurd pretext? By my head, I will not marry her but to one of less consideration than myself, in scorn of thy pride!--And the King had a humpbacked groom, with a hump before and a hump behind; and he ordered him to be brought, and affianced him to the daughter of the Wezeer, commanding that he should introduce himself to her this night, and be conducted in pompous procession. I left him in the midst of the memlooks of the Sulṭán, who were surrounding him with lighted candles in their hands, laughing at him and mocking him, at the door of the bath, while the daughter of the Wezeer was sitting weeping in the midst of the dye-women[IV_36] and tire-women.[IV_37] She resembles more than any other person this youth. They have prohibited her father from going to her; and I have never seen, O my sister, a more ugly wretch than this humpback: but as to the maiden, she is more beautiful than this youth.

To this story of the 'Efreet, the Jinneeyeh answered, Thou liest; for this youth is the most beautiful of the people of his age. But the 'Efreet replied, By Allah, O my sister, the maiden is more beautiful than he: however, none but he is suited to her; for they resemble each other, and probably are brother and sister, or cousins; and how will she be thrown away upon this humpback! She therefore said to him, O my brother, let us place ourselves beneath him and lift him up and take him to the maiden of whom thou speakest, and see which of the two is more beautiful. The 'Efreet answered, I hear and obey: this proposal is right, and there can be no better determination than this which thou hast chosen; therefore I will carry him. So he lifted him up, and soared into the sky, and the Jinneeyeh flew by his side until he descended with him in the city of Cairo, where he placed him upon a maṣṭabah,[IV_38] and roused him from his sleep.[IV_39]

When, therefore, he awoke, and found that he was not at his father's tomb in the land of El-Baṣrah, he looked to the right and left, and perceived that he was in a city that was not El-Baṣrah, and would have cried out, but the 'Efreet winked to him, and, lighting for him a candle, said to him, Know that I have brought thee hither, and I desire to do thee a service for the sake of God: take, therefore, this candle, and go with it to yonder bath, and mix with the people there, and proceed with them until thou arrivest at the saloon of the bride; then go before, and enter the saloon, and fear no one; and when thou hast entered, station thyself on the right of the humpbacked bridegroom; and whenever the tire-women and singing-women and dye-women come to thee, put thy hand into thy pocket: thou wilt find it full of gold, and do thou take it by the handful and throw it to them; and imagine not that thou wilt put thy hand in and not find it filled with gold: give therefore to every one who cometh to thee by the handful, and fear nothing; but rely upon Him who created thee; for this will not be through thine own strength or power, but through the strength of God, and his power.

On hearing these words of the 'Efreet, Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen said, What is this event, and what manner of kindness is this? And he went with his candle to the bath, where he found the humpback mounted on his horse; and he joined himself to the party, in the same garb in which he had arrived, and with the same comely appearance; being attired with a ṭarboosh[IV_40] and turban, and a farajeeyeh[IV_41] interwoven with gold. He proceeded with the pompous train, and every time that the singing-women stopped for the people to give them money, he put his hand into his pocket, and found it filled with gold, and took it by the handful and threw it into the tambourine,[IV_42] for the singing-women and tire-women, filling the tambourine with pieces of gold: and the singing-women were amazed, and the people wondered at his beauty and loveliness. Thus he continued to do until they arrived at the house of the Wezeer, when the chamberlains drove back the people, and prevented their entrance; but the singing-women and tire-women said, By Allah, we will not enter unless this youth enter with us, for he hath overwhelmed us with his favours, and the bride shall not be displayed unless he be present:--and upon this they entered with him into the saloon of the festivity, and seated him, in spite of the humpbacked bridegroom. All the ladies of the Emeers and Wezeers and Chamberlains were ranged in two rows, each lady holding a large lighted candle, and having her head-veil drawn across the lower part of her face: thus they stood in two rows, to the right and the left, from the foot of the couch of the bride to the upper end of the leewán that adjoined the chamber from which the bride was to come forth. And when the ladies beheld Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen and his beauty and loveliness, his face shining like the crescent of the moon, the hearts of all of them inclined to him, and the female singers said to all the women who were present, Know that this charming youth hath given us nothing but red gold; therefore fail not to serve him properly, and obey him in whatever he shall say. The women crowded round him to gaze at his charms, and their minds were overpowered by astonishment at his beauty, and each of them wished that she might be in his bosom for a year or a month or an hour: they removed the veils from their faces, and their hearts were perplexed, and they said, Joy to the person to whom this youth belongeth, or to the person over whom he is lord! Then they imprecated evil upon the humpbacked groom and him who was the cause of his marriage to that lovely maiden; and every time that they prayed for blessings upon Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, they imprecated misfortunes upon the humpback.

The singing-women then beat the tambourines, and the tire-women approached with the daughter of the Wezeer in the midst of them. They had perfumed her with sweet scents and essences, and clad her, and adorned her hair and neck with various ornaments, decking her with garments such as were worn by the ancient monarchs of Persia. Among these was a loose gown embroidered with red gold, presenting the forms of wild beasts and birds, hanging down over her other clothes; and round her neck was a necklace worth thousands, composed of jewels such as neither a King of El-Yemen nor a Cæsar ever collected: she was like the moon shining in its fourteenth night, and when she approached she resembled a Ḥooreeyeh.[IV_43] Extolled be the perfection of him who created her so splendid a being! The women encompassed her, and appeared like stars; she, in the midst of them, being as the moon when the clouds have withdrawn from before it. Meanwhile, Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen remained sitting, with the company gazing at him; and as the bride approached with a dignified and graceful gait, the humpbacked groom rose to her, to kiss her; but she turned aside from him, and went and stood before Ḥasan, the son of her uncle. The company laughed at this; and when they beheld her turn towards Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, and saw him put his hand into his pocket and take out handfuls of gold and throw it into the tambourine of the singing-women, they were delighted, and said, We wish that this bride were thine:--and he smiled. All this time the humpbacked groom was alone, looking like an ape; and every time that they lighted his candle it went out again, and he was confounded, and remained sitting in the dark, full of secret indignation, with all the company surrounding him, while the lighted candles presented an appearance of beauty that was most admirable, so that every person of reflection was amazed at their splendour. But as to the bride, she raised her hands towards heaven, and said, O Allah, make this to be my husband, and relieve me from this humpbacked groom!--The tire-women then proceeded to display the bride in different dresses, to the seventh suit, before Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Baṣrah, the humpbacked groom remaining alone; and when they had finished this ceremony they gave permission to the company to depart: so all who were present at the festivity, both women and children, went out, except Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen and the humpbacked groom; after which the tire-women conducted the bride to an inner chamber, to take off her ornaments and outer robes, and to prepare her for the bridegroom's visit.

Upon this, the humpbacked groom approached Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, and said to him, O my master, thou hast made us happy by thy company this night, and overwhelmed us with thy favours; but now wherefore dost thou not rise and go to thy house without thy being ejected? He answered, In the name of Allah;--and rose, and went out from the door: but the 'Efreet met him, and said unto him, Stay, O Bedr-ed-Deen; and when the humpback retires into the private closet, enter thou and seat thyself in the bride-chamber; and when the bride cometh, say to her, I am thy husband; and the King had not recourse to this stratagem from any other motive than his fearing for thee the effect of the eye;[IV_44] and this whom thou hast seen is one of our grooms:--then approach her, and uncover her face, and fear no evil from any one.

While Bedr-ed-Deen was thus conversing with the 'Efreet, lo, the groom entered the closet, and seated himself; and immediately the 'Efreet rose before him, from the trough of water that was in the closet,[IV_45] in the form of a mouse, and cried Zeek!--What brought thee here? said the humpback. The mouse then increased in size, and became like a cat; and then increased, and became a dog, and cried, 'Owh! 'Owh! At the sight of this the groom was terrified, and exclaimed, Get away, thou unlucky![IV_46] The dog, however, still increased and swelled until it became an ass, and brayed in his face, crying, Háḳ! Háḳ!--upon which the groom, in terror, cried out, Come to my aid, O people of the house! But lo, the ass increased, and became like a buffalo, and, stopping up the place before him, spoke with the speech of a son of Adam, and said, Wo be to thee, O humpback! O filthiest of grooms! Upon this the groom was seized with a colick, and seated himself upon the slabs, and his teeth knocked together. The 'Efreet then said to him, Hath the earth become narrow to thee, that thou wouldst marry none but my mistress? But the groom was silent. Return me an answer, said the 'Efreet, or I will make thine abode to be in the dust!--By Allah, then answered the groom, I am not in fault; for they compelled me, and I knew not that she had a lover among the buffaloes; but now I repent before Allah and before thee. Then the 'Efreet said, I swear by Allah that if thou depart now from this place, or utter a word before the sun hath risen, I will slay thee: and when the sun hath risen go thy way, and never return to this house. And he seized the humpbacked groom, and, placing his head upside down upon the slabs, and his feet upwards, said to him, Remain here, and I will watch thee until sunrise.--Thus did it happen to the humpback.

Now, as to Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Baṣrah, he left the humpback and the 'Efreet contending together, and, entering the house, seated himself in the bride-chamber; and lo, the bride approached, accompanied by an old woman, who stopped at the door of the chamber, and said, O Aboo-Shiháb,[IV_47] rise, and take thy bride; and I commend thee to the care of Allah. Then the old woman went away, and the bride, whose name was Sitt-el-Ḥosn,[IV_48] advanced to the upper end of the chamber. Her heart was broken, and she said within herself, By Allah, I will not suffer him to caress me though my spirit depart from me! But when she had proceeded to the upper end of the chamber, she beheld Bedr-ed-Deen, and said, My beloved, until this hour art thou remaining? I had said within myself, perhaps thou and the humpbacked groom are to share me between you.--What, said he, should give the groom access to thee, and wherefore should he be my partner in the possession of thee?--Who, then, she asked, is my husband? Thou or he?--O my mistress, answered Bedr-ed-Deen, we did not this for any other purpose than to make a jest of him, and that we might laugh at him; for when the tire-women and the singing-women and thy family beheld thine admirable beauty, they feared for us the effect of the eye, and thy father hired him for ten pieces of gold, in order that he might divert from us the eye; and now he hath departed. When Sitt-el-Ḥosn heard these words of Bedr-ed-Deen, she smiled, and uttered a gentle laugh, and said, By Allah, thou hast extinguished my fire! Take me then, I conjure thee, and press me to thy bosom.--And they embraced each other.

Not long after this, the 'Efreet said to the Jinneeyeh, Arise, and place thyself beneath the youth, and let us convey him back, lest the morning overtake us; for the time is near. So she advanced towards him, and, placing herself beneath his skirt, as he lay asleep, took him up, and flew away with him, in the state in which she found him, clad only in his shirt, and pursued her flight with the 'Efreet by her side. But God gave permission to some angels to cast at the 'Efreet a shooting-star of fire, and he was burnt. The Jinneeyeh, however, escaped unhurt, and deposited Bedr-ed-Deen in the place over which the shooting-star had burnt the 'Efreet. She would not pass beyond it, fearing for his safety; and as destiny had appointed, this place was Damascus: so she placed him by one of the gates of this city, and flew away.

When daylight therefore came, and the gates were opened, the people, coming forth, beheld a beautiful youth clad in his shirt, and with a cotton skull-cap without a turban. In consequence of his having been so long wakeful, he was now immersed in sleep; and when the people saw him, some said, Would that he had waited till he had put on his clothes!--another said, Objects of pity are the children of men of condition! Probably this youth hath just come forth from his drinking-place, on account of some business, and intoxication hath overcome him, and he hath wandered from the place to which he would go until he arrived at the gate of the city, and, finding it locked, hath slept here.--They had expressed various opinions respecting him, and were wondering at his case, when Bedr-ed-Deen awoke. Perceiving that he was at the gate of a city, and surrounded by men, he was astonished, and said, Where am I, O good people; and what is the cause of your assembling around me, and what hath befallen me among you? They answered, We saw thee at the call to morning-prayer lying at this gate asleep; and we know nothing more of thy case. Where wast thou sleeping this last night?--By Allah, O people, he replied, I was sleeping this last night in Cairo.--On hearing this, one of them said, Dost thou eat ḥasheesh?[IV_49] Another said, Thou art mad. How couldst thou be passing the night in Cairo, and be sleeping in the morning at the city of Damascus?--He said to them, By Allah, O good people, I will tell you no falsehood: I was last night in the land of Egypt, and the day before I was at El-Baṣrah. One of them said, This is a wonderful thing! Another said, This youth is mad. And they clapped their hands at him, and, conversing together, said, Alas, for his youth! By Allah, there is no denying his madness!--They then said to him, Return to thy reason. But he replied, I was yesterday a bridegroom in the land of Egypt.--Probably thou hast dreamt, said they, and hast seen this of which thou speakest in thy sleep. And Ḥasan was confounded, and said, By Allah, this was not a dream: and where is the humpbacked groom who was sitting with us, and the purse of gold that I had? And where are my clothes and my drawers?--He then rose, and entered the city, and proceeded through its great thoroughfare-streets and market-streets; and the people crowded round him and paraded him: so he entered the shop of a cook. Now this cook was a robber,[IV_50] whom God had caused to repent of his unlawful actions, and he had opened a cook's shop; and all the people of Damascus feared him on account of his boldness; therefore, when they saw that the youth had entered this shop, they left him, being afraid.

When the cook beheld Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, and observed his beauty and comeliness, love for him entered his heart, and he said to him, Whence art thou, O young man? Relate to me thy story; for thou art become dearer to me than my soul.--So he related to him all that had happened, from beginning to end: and the cook said to him, O my master Bedr-ed-Deen, know that this is a wonderful event and an extraordinary story; but, O my son, conceal thy case until God dispel thy trouble, and remain with me in this place; and as I have not a son, I will adopt thee as such. Bedr-ed-Deen replied, Let it be as thou desirest, O uncle. And immediately the cook went out to the mart, and bought for Bedr-ed-Deen costly clothes, and put them on him: he then went to the Ḳáḍee, and made a declaration that he was his adopted son:[IV_51] so Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen became known throughout the city of Damascus as the son of the cook; and he sat with him in the shop to receive the money, and in this situation he remained.

Now as to Sitt-el-Ḥosn, when daybreak came and she awoke, she found not Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen remaining with her, and, imagining that he would soon return, she sat a while expecting him; and lo, her father came in to her, troubled at that which had befallen him from the Sulṭán, and at his having married his daughter by force to one of his servants, the humpbacked groom; and he said within himself, I will kill this girl if she have suffered the wretch to caress her. So he advanced to the bride-chamber, and, stopping at the door, said, O Sitt-el-Ḥosn! She answered, Well, O my master!--and came forth to him, walking with a vacillating gait, through joy, and kissed the ground before him; and her countenance beamed with increased splendour in consequence of her union with that gazelle. When her father, therefore, saw her in this state, he exclaimed to her, O thou base creature! art thou delighted with this groom? On hearing these words of her father, Sitt-el-Ḥosn smiled, and replied, By Allah, it is enough that thou hast done, and that the people laugh at me, and put me on an equality with this groom, who is not, in my estimation, of the value of a paring of one of my finger-nails; but as to my husband--by Allah, I never in the course of my life passed a night more delightful than that which I have just passed in his company: therefore jest not with me by mentioning that humpback.--When her father heard what she said he was filled with rage; his eyes glared so that little appeared of them but the white, and he said to her, Wo to thee! What are these words that thou sayest? Verily the humpbacked groom hath passed the night with thee!--I conjure thee by Allah, she rejoined, that thou mention him not. May Allah reject him, and reject his father! Continue not then to mock me by mentioning him; for the groom was only hired for ten pieces of gold, and he took his hire and departed; and I came and entered the bride-chamber, and beheld my husband seated, after the singing-women had displayed me before him; and he threw them red gold until he had enriched the poor who were present. I have reclined upon the bosom of my gentle-hearted husband, with the black eyes and the joined eyebrows.--When her father heard this, the light became darkness before his face, and he exclaimed to her, O thou abandoned one! What is this that thou sayest? Where is thy reason?--O my father, she replied, thou hast broken my heart in pieces! Wherefore dost thou pay no attention? This of whom I spake is my husband, and he hath retired to his private closet.

So her father went thither, in a state of astonishment, and, entering the closet, found the humpbacked groom with his head upon the slabs and his feet turned upwards; and the Wezeer was confounded at the sight, and said, Is not this the humpback?--and he spoke to him; but the humpback returned no answer, thinking that it was the 'Efreet who addressed him. The Wezeer, therefore, cried out at him with a loud voice, and said to him, Speak, or I will cut off thy head with this sword! Upon which the humpback exclaimed, By Allah, O sheykh of the 'Efreets, from the time that thou placedst me here I have not raised my head: I conjure thee therefore that thou shew favour to me!--The Wezeer, on hearing the humpback thus address him, said to him, What sayest thou? I am the father of the bride, and I am not an 'Efreet.--Then said the humpback, My life is not in thy hand, nor art thou able to take my soul; so go thy way before he come to thee who hath treated me in this manner. Ye would not marry me to any but the mistress of buffaloes and the mistress of 'Efreets! May Allah, then, confound him who married me to her, and confound him who was the cause of it!--Then did the humpbacked groom address the Wezeer, the father of the bride, again, saying, Allah confound him who was the cause of this!--Rise, said the Wezeer, and depart from this place.--Am I mad, he replied, that I should go with thee without the permission of the 'Efreet? For he said to me, When the sun shall have risen go thy way.--Hath the sun then risen or not? For I cannot depart from my place until the sun hath risen.--Upon this the Wezeer said to him, Who brought thee to this place? He answered, I came hither yesterday, and a dust rose from the midst of the water, and cried out, and increased in bulk until it became of the size of a buffalo, and said to me words that entered my ear. Leave me, therefore, and go. Allah confound the bride and him who married me to her!--The Wezeer then approached him, and dragged him forth, and he went out running, doubting whether the sun had risen, and went up to the Sulṭán, and informed him of that which had happened to him with the 'Efreet.

But as to the Wezeer, the father of the bride, he returned with his reason perplexed respecting the case of his daughter, and said to her, O my daughter, reveal to me thy story. She replied, The elegant person before whom I was displayed remained with me; and if thou believe me not, see this is his turban, twisted just as it was, upon the chair,[IV_52] and his drawers are under the bed, and in them is something wrapped up: I know not what it is. So, when her father heard this, he entered the bride-chamber, and found the turban of Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of his brother; and taking it up, he turned it over, and said, This is such a turban as is worn by Wezeers, except that it is of the Móṣilee[IV_53] kind. He then observed an amulet sewed in his red cloth cap; and he unsewed it; and he took the drawers, and found the purse containing the thousand pieces of gold, and, opening this, he discovered in it a paper, which, when he had read it he saw to be a copy of the Jew's contract, with the name of Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen the son of Noor-ed-Deen of Cairo; and he found also the thousand pieces of gold. But when he read the paper he cried aloud and fell down in a swoon; and as soon as he recovered, and understood the case, he was astonished, and exclaimed, There is no deity but God, who is able to do whatsoever He willeth! Then said he, O my daughter, knowest thou who hath become thy husband? She answered, No.--He is the son of my brother, said he, and the son of thine uncle; and these thousand pieces of gold are thy dowry. Extolled be the perfection of God! Would that I knew how this event hath happened!--Then he opened the amulet that was sewed up, and found in it a paper written by the hand of his brother Noor-ed-Deen of Cairo, the father of Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen: and when he beheld the hand-writing of his brother he repeated this couplet:--

I behold their footsteps, and melt with desire, and pour forth my tears upon the places they have trodden, Begging of Him who hath afflicted me by their separation, that He will bless me some day by a reunion.

So saying, he read the paper, and found in it the date of his marriage to the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, and that of his first introduction to her, and a record of his age at the time of his death, and the date of the birth of his son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen; and he wondered, and shook with delight; and, comparing what had happened to his brother with the events that had happened to himself, he found that they corresponded exactly: his marriage and the marriage of his brother agreed in date, and their first visits to their respective wives in like manner; as also the birth of Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of his brother, and the birth of his daughter Sitt-el-Ḥosn. He took the two papers, and, going up with them to the Sulṭán, he acquainted him with all that had happened from the first of the case to the last; and the King was astonished, and ordered that the case should be immediately recorded. The Wezeer then remained in expectation of the son of his brother; but he met with no tidings of him: so he said, By Allah, I will do a deed that none hath done before me:--and he took an ink-case and a pen, and wrote an inventory of the furniture of the house, describing the money-chest as having been in such a place, and a certain curtain in such another place, and everything in the house in like manner; and he folded up the paper, and ordered that all the furniture should be stored up; and he took the turban with its ṭarboosh, and also the farajeeyeh and the purse, and kept them himself.

After this, in due time, the daughter of the Wezeer gave birth to a son like the moon, resembling his father in beauty and symmetry and splendour and loveliness. They received him from his mother, and blackened the edges of his eyes with koḥl,[IV_54] and delivered him to the nurses, and named him 'Ajeeb.[IV_55] His day was as a month; and his month, as a year;[IV_56] and when seven years had passed over him, his grandfather committed him to a schoolmaster, whom he charged to educate him with great care. He continued at the school four years, and used to fight with his schoolfellows, and abuse them, saying to them, Who among you is like me? I am the son of the Wezeer of Cairo.--So the boys went together to complain to the monitor of that which they suffered from 'Ajeeb; and the monitor said to them, I will teach you something to say to him when he cometh, and he shall repent of his coming to the school; and it is this: to-morrow, when he is come, seat yourselves around him, and say to one another, By Allah, none shall play with us at this game excepting him who shall tell us the name of his mother and that of his father; and he who knoweth not the name of his mother and that of his father is illegitimate; therefore he shall not play with us. Accordingly, on the following morning they came to the school, and 'Ajeeb was there; and the boys surrounded him, and said as the monitor had directed them, and they all agreed to the proposal; and one said, My name is Májid, and my mother is 'Alawee, and my father is 'Ezz-ed-Deen:--then another said after the same manner, and another, and so on, until the turn came to 'Ajeeb; and he said to them, My name is 'Ajeeb, and my mother is Sitt-el-Ḥosn, and my father is Shems-ed-Deen, the Wezeer of Cairo:--and they said to him, By Allah, the Wezeer is not thy father. 'Ajeeb replied, the Wezeer is my father indeed:--and upon this the boys laughed at him, and clapped their hands at him, saying, Thou knowest not who is thy father: get away from us, therefore; for none shall play with us excepting him who knoweth the name of his father:--and immediately the boys dispersed from around him, and made a jest of him. In consequence of this treatment his heart became contracted, and he was almost choked with crying; and the monitor said to him, Dost thou really consider as thy father him who is thy grandfather, the Wezeer, the father of thy mother Sitt-el-Ḥosn? Thy father thou knowest not, nor do we know him; for the Sulṭán married her to the humpbacked groom, and the Jinn came and prevented him: so, if thou know not thy father, they will regard thee among them as illegitimate. Dost thou not see that the son of the woman who is coveted as a wife knoweth his father? The Wezeer of Cairo is thy grandfather; and as to thy father, we know him not, nor dost thou: return therefore to thy reason.

Upon this, 'Ajeeb went immediately to his mother, Sitt-el-Ḥosn, and complained to her, and wept; and his weeping prevented his speaking: and when his mother heard his complaint and his crying, her heart was inflamed for him, and she said to him, O my son, what maketh thee weep? Tell me thy story.--So he told her what he had heard from the boys and from the monitor, and said to her, O my mother, who is my father? She answered him, Thy father is the Wezeer of Cairo. But he said, He is not my father: tell me not, therefore, what is false; for the Wezeer is thy father; not mine: who then is my father? If thou do not tell me truly; I will kill myself with this dagger.--And when his mother heard the mention of his father, she wept at the allusion to the son of her uncle, and remembering the amiable qualities of Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Baṣrah, and what had happened to herself and him, she recited an ode commencing thus:--

They excited love in my heart, and departed; and far distant hath their abode become! Reason forsook me when they withdrew, and sleep and patience abandoned me.

And she wept and cried out, and her son did the same; and lo, the Wezeer entered. His heart burned within him when he beheld their state, and he said to them, What causeth you to weep? She acquainted him therefore with the treatment that her son had experienced from the other boys of the school; and he, also, wept, and called to mind what had happened to his brother and himself and his daughter, and he knew not the mystery of the case. Then suddenly he arose, and, going up to the council-chamber, presented himself before the King, and related to him the story, begging his permission to travel eastwards to the city of El-Baṣrah, that he might make inquiries respecting the son of his brother; and requesting also of the Sulṭán that he would write letters for him to all the countries through which he might pass, that, if he found the son of his brother in any place, he might take him away. And he wept before the Sulṭán, and the heart of the King was moved with compassion for him, and he wrote for him letters to all the regions and countries; upon which the Wezeer rejoiced, and, having offered up a prayer for the Sulṭán, took leave of him.

He descended immediately and prepared for the journey, and, taking with him all that he required, together with his daughter and her son 'Ajeeb, travelled the first day and the second and the third, and proceeded until he arrived at the city of Damascus, and beheld it with its trees and streams celebrated by the poets. He alighted in the open space called Meydán el-Ḥaṣbà; and, when he had pitched his tents, said to his servants, We will take rest here two days. So the servants entered the city to gratify their various desires; one to sell, another to buy, a third to enter the bath, and a fourth to visit the mosque of the Benee-Umeiyeh, which hath not in the world its equal. 'Ajeeb also entered the city, accompanied by his eunuch, in order to amuse themselves; and the eunuch walked behind 'Ajeeb, having in his hand a whip that would strike down a camel. And when the people of Damascus beheld 'Ajeeb, and his elegance of form and perfect beauty, and observed him to be endowed with admirable loveliness, and with kindness of manner, more bland than the northern zephyr, sweeter than limpid water to the thirsty, and more pleasant than health to the diseased, they followed him, running after him in crowds; and some sat waiting in the streets to see him pass. Thus did they until the slave, as destiny had ordained, stopped before the shop of 'Ajeeb's father, Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, in which the cook who had acknowledged him as his adopted son in the presence of the Ḳáḍees and witnesses had established him; and this cook had died, and left him all his property, together with his shop.[IV_57]

When the slave stopped there on this day, the servants also stopped with him: and Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen beheld his son, and was charmed with him, observing his extreme beauty: his soul yearned towards him with natural sympathy, and his heart clung to him. He had just prepared a conserve of pomegranate-grains, sweetened with sugar; and the affection divinely inspired increased in him; so he called out in ecstasy, and said, O my master, O thou who hast captivated my heart and soul, and to whom my affections are drawn by sympathy! wilt thou come in to me and refresh my heart and eat of my food? And when he had said this, his eyes overflowed with involuntary tears, and he reflected upon his past experience and his condition at the present time. When 'Ajeeb heard the address of his father, his heart was in like manner drawn towards him by sympathy, and he looked towards the eunuch, and said to him, Verily my heart is moved with sympathy for this cook: he seemeth to have parted with a son: come in with us, therefore, that we may refresh his heart and eat his offering of hospitality: perhaps God, through our so doing, may accomplish our union with our father. But the eunuch replied, By Allah, O my master, it is not proper. How should we, who are of the family of the Wezeer, eat in the shop of a cook? I will, however, drive away the people from thee, lest they see thee: otherwise it will be impossible for thee to enter the shop. On hearing the reply of the eunuch, Bedr-ed-Deen was surprised, and, looking towards him, while his tears flowed down his cheeks, said to him, Verily my heart loveth him.--Let us hear no more of these words, said the eunuch:--and he desired the youth not to enter: but the father of 'Ajeeb cast his eyes upon the eunuch, and said, Great sir, wherefore wilt thou not refresh my heart and come in to me? O thou who resemblest black dust, but whose heart is white! O thou who hast been described in such and such terms of praise!--so that the eunuch laughed, and said, What wouldst thou say? Speak, and be brief.--And Bedr-ed-Deen recited this couplet:--

Were it not for his accomplishments and admirable faithfulness, he had not been invested with authority in the abode of Kings. What an excellent guardian for the ḥareem is he! On account of his beauty the angels of heaven wait upon him!

This address pleased the eunuch so much that he took the hand of 'Ajeeb, and entered the cook's shop; and Bedr-ed-Deen ladled out a saucerful of conserve of pomegranate-grains prepared with almonds and sugar, and the slave and the youth ate together; Bedr-ed-Deen saying to them, Ye have delighted me by your company: eat, and may it benefit you! 'Ajeeb then said to his father, Sit down and eat with us; and perhaps God will unite us to him whom we desire. And Bedr-ed-Deen said, O my son, hast thou been afflicted in thy tender years by the separation of those whom thou lovest?--Yes, O uncle, answered 'Ajeeb: my heart is inflamed by the absence of one of those who are dear to me: the friend who hath withdrawn himself from me is my father, and I and my grandfather have come abroad to search for him through the world; and how do I sigh for my union with him!--And he wept bitterly; and his father, moved by his tears, wept with him, reflecting upon his own desolate state, separated from those he loved, deprived of his father, and far removed from his mother; and the eunuch was moved with compassion for him.

They all ate together until they were satisfied; after which, the youth and the slave arose, and quitted the shop of Bedr-ed-Deen, who felt as if his soul had departed from his body and gone with them. He could not endure their absence for the twinkling of an eye; so he shut up his shop and followed them, though ignorant that the youth was his son, and walked quickly until he came up to them before they had gone out from the great gate; whereupon the eunuch, looking back at him, said, What dost thou want, O cook? Bedr-ed-Deen answered, When ye departed from me, I felt as if my soul had quitted my body, and, having some business in the suburb, I was desirous of accompanying you to transact my business, and, after that, to return. But the eunuch was angry, and said to 'Ajeeb, Verily this repast was unlucky: respectful treatment hath become incumbent on us; and see, he is following us from place to place. 'Ajeeb therefore looked round, and, seeing the cook, was enraged, and his face became red; but he said to the eunuch, Suffer him to walk in the public road of the Muslims; but when we shall have turned from it to our tents, if he do the same, and we know that he is following us, we will drive him back. And he hung down his head and went on, with the eunuch behind him. Bedr-ed-Deen, however, followed them to the Meydán el-Ḥaṣbà, and when they had drawn near to the tents they looked back and saw him behind them; and 'Ajeeb was angry, fearing that the eunuch might inform his grandfather, and lest it should be said that he had entered the cook's shop, and that the cook had followed him. He looked at him till his eyes met the eye of his father, who had become as a body without a soul; and he fancied that his eye bore an expression of deceit, and that he was perhaps a knave: so his anger increased, and he took up a stone, and threw it at his father, and the stone struck him on the forehead, and wounded him, and he fell down in a swoon, the blood flowing over his face. 'Ajeeb went on with the eunuch to the tents; and Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, when he recovered his senses, wiped off the blood, and, having cut off a piece of linen from his turban, bound up his head with it, blaming himself, and saying, I wronged the youth when I shut up my shop and followed him, so he thought I was a deceiver. He then returned to his shop, and occupied himself with the sale of his meats; and he yearned with desire for his mother, who was at El-Baṣrah.

The Wezeer, his uncle, remained at Damascus three days, and then departed to Ḥemṣ, and, having entered this town, proceeded thence, inquiring at every place where he halted in his journey until he had arrived at Márideen and El-Mósil and Diyár Bekr. He continued his journey until he arrived at the city of El-Baṣrah, and when he had entered it and taken up his quarters, he went and presented himself before the Sulṭán, who received him with respect and honour, and inquired the reason of his coming: so he acquainted him with his story, and informed him that the Wezeer 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen was his brother. The Sulṭán ejaculated, God have mercy upon him![IV_58]--and said, O Ṣáḥeb,[IV_59] he was my Wezeer, and I loved him much: he died twelve years[IV_60] ago, and left a son; but we have lost him, and have heard no tidings of him: his mother, however, is with us, for she is the daughter of my old Wezeer. On hearing from the King that the mother of his nephew was alive, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen rejoiced, and said, I am desirous of having an interview with her. And the King gave him immediate permission to visit her at his brother's house: so he went thither, and kissed the threshold, and, entering an open court, found a door over-arched with hard stone inlaid with various kinds of marble of every colour; and he walked along by the walls of the house, and as he cast his eyes around upon them he observed the name of his brother Noor-ed-Deen inscribed on them in characters of gold; and he went to the name, and kissed it, and wept. He then advanced to the saloon of his brother's wife, the mother of Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Baṣrah. During the absence of her son she had given herself up to weeping and wailing night and day; and after she had long suffered from his separation she made for her son a tomb of marble in the midst of the saloon, where she wept for him night and day, sleeping nowhere but by this tomb. And when Shems-ed-Deen arrived at her apartment he heard her voice apostrophizing the tomb; and while she was thus occupied he entered and saluted her, and informed her that he was her husband's brother, acquainting her with what had passed, and revealing to her the particulars of the story. He told her that her son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen had passed a whole night with his daughter, and disappeared in the morning, and that his daughter had borne him a son, whom he had brought with him: and when she heard this news of her son, and that he was perhaps still living, and beheld her husband's brother, she fell at his feet and kissed them, addressing him with this couplet:--

Divinely is he inspired who acquainteth me with their approach; for he hath brought information most delightful to be heard. If he would be satisfied with that which is cast off,[IV_61] I would give him a heart rent in pieces at the hour of valediction.

The Wezeer then sent to bring 'Ajeeb; and when he came, his grandmother rose to him, and embraced him, and wept; but Shems-ed-Deen said to her, This is not a time for weeping, but rather a time for preparing thyself to accompany us on our return to the land of Egypt: and perhaps God may unite us with thy son, my nephew. She replied, I hear and obey:--and, arising immediately, collected all her property and treasures, and her female slaves, and forthwith prepared herself: after which the Wezeer, Shems-ed-Deen, went up again to the Sulṭán of El-Baṣrah, and took leave of him; and the King sent with him presents and rarities for the Sulṭán of Egypt.

The Wezeer departed without delay, accompanied by his brother's wife, and continued his journey until he arrived at the city of Damascus, where he alighted again, and encamped, and said to his attendants, We will remain at Damascus a week, to buy, for the Sulṭán, presents and rarities. 'Ajeeb then said to the eunuch, Boy,[IV_62] I long for a little diversion: arise, therefore, and let us go to the market of Damascus, and see what is going on there, and what hath happened to that cook whose confection we ate and whose head we broke, notwithstanding he had treated us with kindness: we acted ill towards him. The eunuch replied, I hear and obey:--and 'Ajeeb went forth with him from the tents, the tie of blood inciting him to visit his father and they entered the city, and proceeded to the shop of the cook, whom they found standing there. It was then near the time of afternoon-prayers; and it happened that he had again just prepared a confection of pomegranate-grains; and when they drew near to him, the heart of 'Ajeeb yearned towards him when he saw him, and he perceived the scar occasioned by the stone that he had thrown. He said to him, Peace be on thee! Know that my heart is with thee.--And when Bedr-ed-Deen beheld him, his affections were engrossed by him, and his heart throbbed with emotion towards him, and he hung down his head, desiring to adapt his tongue to speech, and unable to do so: but presently he raised his head, and, looking towards the youth in an humble and abject manner, recited these verses:--

I wished for my beloved; but when I beheld him I was confounded and possessed neither tongue nor eye. I hung down my head in honour and reverence, and would have hidden what I felt; but it would not be concealed. I had prepared a volume of expostulation; but when we met I remembered not a word.

He then said to them, Refresh ye my heart, and eat of my food; for, by Allah, as soon as I beheld thee, my heart yearned towards thee, and I had not followed thee unless I had been deprived of my reason.--By Allah, replied 'Ajeeb, thou dost indeed love us, and we ate a morsel with thee; but after it thou keptest close behind us and wouldst have disgraced us: we will not eat again with thee, therefore, but on the condition of thy swearing that thou wilt not follow us; and otherwise we will not come to thee again henceforth; for we are staying at this city a week, in order that my grandfather may procure presents for the King.--I bind myself, said Bedr-ed-Deen, to do as ye desire. So 'Ajeeb entered the shop with the eunuch, and Bedr-ed-Deen placed before them a saucer filled with the confection of pomegranate-grains; upon which 'Ajeeb said to him, Eat with us; and may God dispel our affliction:--and Bedr-ed-Deen was delighted, and he ate with them; but he turned not his eyes from the youth; for his heart and all his faculties were captivated by him. 'Ajeeb, observing this, said to him, Knowest thou not that I told thee thou wast a rude doter? Enough of this: continue not to gaze at my face.--Bedr-ed-Deen, therefore, apologized to him, and began to put morsels into the mouth of 'Ajeeb, and then did the same to the eunuch. Afterwards he poured the water upon their hands, and when they had washed he loosed a napkin of silk from his waist and wiped them with it. He next sprinkled rose-water upon them from a bottle that was in his shop, and went out, and returned with two cups of sherbet prepared with rose-water infused with musk, and, placing these before them, he said, Complete your kindness. So 'Ajeeb took a cup and drank; and Bedr-ed-Deen handed the other to the eunuch; and both drank until their stomachs were full, and gratified their appetites to a degree beyond their usual habit.

They then departed, and hastened back to the tents, and 'Ajeeb went in to his grandmother, the mother of his father Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen; and she kissed him, and said, Where hast thou been? He answered, In the city. And she arose, and brought him a saucer of confection of pomegranate-grains, which happened to be somewhat deficient in sweetness; and she said to the eunuch, Sit down with thy master. The eunuch said within himself, By Allah, we have no appetite. He, however, seated himself, and 'Ajeeb did the same, though satiated with what he had eaten and drunk, and dipped a morsel of bread in the confection, and ate it; but it seemed to him insipid, on account of his being thus cloyed, and he loathed it, and said, What is this nasty dish?--O my child, said his grandmother, dost thou find fault with my cookery? It was I who prepared it; and, except thy father, Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen, there is none who can cook it as well as myself.--By Allah, O my mistress, replied 'Ajeeb, This thy dish is not well prepared: we have just now seen in the city a cook who had prepared a confection of pomegranate-grains, but its odour was such as to dilate the heart, and the confection itself, such as to excite appetite in one already satiated: as to thine, in comparison with his, it is good for nothing.

His grandmother, on hearing this, fell into a violent rage, and turning towards the eunuch, said to him, Wo to thee! Hast thou corrupted my child? Thou hast taken him into the shops of the cooks!--The eunuch feared, and denied, saying, We did not enter the shop, but only passed by it:--but 'Ajeeb said, By Allah, we entered and ate, and what we ate was better than this mess of thine. And upon this his grandmother arose, and informed her husband's brother, and incensed him against the eunuch. The slave was therefore brought before the Wezeer, and he said to him, Wherefore didst thou take my child into the cook's shop? The eunuch, fearing, said again, We did not enter.--Nay, said 'Ajeeb, we did enter, and ate of a confection of pomegranate-grains until we were satiated, and the cook gave us to drink sherbet with ice and sugar. The Wezeer's anger with the eunuch now increased, and he asked him again; but still he denied. Then said the Wezeer, If thine assertion be true, sit down and eat before us. The eunuch therefore advanced, and would have eaten; but he could not; and he threw down the morsel that was in his hand, and said, O my master, I am satiated since yesterday. And by this the Wezeer knew that he had eaten in the shop of the cook: so he ordered the female slaves to throw him down upon the ground, and they did so, and he gave him a severe beating, while the slave cried for mercy, but still saying, I am satiated since yesterday! The Wezeer then interrupted the beating, and said to him, Declare the truth. And at length the eunuch said, Know that we did enter the shop of the cook while he was cooking pomegranate-grains, and he ladled out for us some of the confection, and, by Allah, I never in my life ate any like it, or any more detestable than this which is before us.

The mother of Bedr-ed-Deen, enraged at this, said, Thou shalt go to this cook and bring us a saucerful of his confection and shew it to thy master, that he may say which of the two is the better and the more delicious.--Well, replied the eunuch: and immediately she gave him a saucer, and half a piece of gold; and he went to the shop, and said to the cook, We have laid a wager respecting thy confection at the tent of our master; for there is a mess of pomegranate-grains cooked by the family: give us, therefore, for this half-piece of gold, and apply thyself to prepare it perfectly; for we have received an excruciating beating on account of thy cookery. Laughing at these words, Bedr-ed-Deen replied, By Allah, none excelleth in the preparation of this confection except myself and my mother, and she is now in a distant country. And he ladled out as much as filled the saucer, and perfected it by the addition of some musk and rose-water. The eunuch then hastened back with it to the family; and the mother of Ḥasan took it, and, tasting its delicious flavour, immediately knew who had prepared it, and shrieked, and fell down in a swoon. The Wezeer was amazed at the event; and they sprinkled some rose-water upon her, and when she recovered she said, If my son be yet in the world, no one but he cooked this confection: he is my son Ḥasan Bedr-ed-Deen without doubt: for none but he can prepare this, except myself, and it was I who taught him to do it.

When the Wezeer heard these words, he rejoiced exceedingly, and exclaimed, Oh, how I long to behold my brother's son! Will fortune, indeed, unite us with him? But I look not for our union from any but God, whose name be exalted!--And he instantly arose, and called out to his male attendants, saying, Let twenty men of you go to the shop of the cook, and demolish it, and bind his hands behind him with his turban, and drag him hither by force, but without any injury to his person. They replied, Well. The Wezeer then rode immediately to the palace, and, presenting himself before the Viceroy of Damascus, shewed him the contents of the letters which he had brought from the Sulṭán; and the Viceroy, after kissing them, put them to his head, and said, Who is thine offender? He answered, A man who is by trade a cook. And instantly the Viceroy ordered his Chamberlains to repair to his shop; and they went thither; but found it demolished, and everything that had been in it broken; for when the Wezeer went to the palace, his servants did as he had commanded them. They were then waiting his return from the palace; and Bedr-ed-Deen was saying within himself, What can they have discovered in the confection, that such an event as this should have befallen me? And when the Wezeer returned from the Viceroy, and had received his permission to take his offender and to depart with him, he entered the encampment, and called for the cook. They brought him, therefore, with his hands bound behind him with his turban; and when he saw his uncle he wept bitterly, and said, O my master, what crime have ye found in me? The Wezeer said to him, Art thou he who cooked the confection of pomegranate-grains? He answered, Yes: and have ye found in it anything that requires one's head to be struck off? This, replied the Wezeer, is the smallest part of thy recompense.--Wilt thou not, said Bedr-ed-Deen, acquaint me with my crime? The Wezeer answered, Yea, immediately. And forthwith he called out to the young men, saying, Bring the camels!

They then took Bedr-ed-Deen, and put him in a chest, and, having locked him up in it, commenced their journey, and continued on their way till the approach of night, when they halted and ate, and, taking out Bedr-ed-Deen, fed him; after which they put him again into the chest, and in like manner proceeded to another station. Here also they took him out; and the Wezeer said to him, Art thou he who cooked the confection of pomegranate grains? He answered, Yes, O my master. And the Wezeer said, Shackle his feet. And they did so, and restored him to the chest. They then continued their journey to Cairo; and when they arrived at the quarter called Er-Reydáneeyeh,[IV_63] the Wezeer commanded to take out Bedr-ed-Deen again from the chest, and to bring a carpenter, to whom he said, Make, for this man, a cross.[IV_64]--What, said Bedr-ed-Deen, dost thou mean to do with it? The Wezeer answered, I will crucify thee upon it, and nail thee to it, and then parade thee about the city.--Wherefore, demanded Bedr-ed-Deen, wilt thou treat me thus?--The Wezeer replied, For thy faulty preparation of the confection of pomegranate-grains, because thou madest it deficient in pepper.--Because of its deficiency in pepper, exclaimed Bedr-ed-Deen, wilt thou do all this to me? Art thou not satisfied with having thus imprisoned me, and fed me every day with only one meal?--The Wezeer answered, For its deficiency in pepper, thy recompense shall be nothing less than death. And Bedr-ed-Deen was amazed, and bewailed his lot, and remained a while absorbed in reflection. The Wezeer, therefore, said to him, Of what art thou thinking? He answered, Of imbecile minds, such as thine; for if thou wert a man of sense thou wouldst not have treated me in this manner on account of the deficiency of pepper.--It is incumbent on us, replied the Wezeer, to punish thee, that thou mayest not do the like again:--to which Bedr-ed-Deen rejoined, The least of the things thou hast done to me were a sufficient punishment. The Wezeer, however, said, Thy death is unavoidable.--All this conversation took place while the carpenter was preparing the cross; and Bedr-ed-Deen was looking on.

Thus they both continued until the approach of night, when Bedr-ed-Deen's uncle took him and put him again into the chest, saying, To-morrow shall be thy crucifixion. He then waited until he perceived that he was asleep; upon which he remounted, and, with the chest borne before him, entered the city, and repaired to his house: and when he had arrived there he said to his daughter Sitt-el-Ḥosn, Praise be to God who hath restored to thee the son of thine uncle! Arise, and furnish the house as it was on the night of the bridal display.--She therefore ordered her female slaves to do so; and they arose, and lighted the candles; and the Wezeer brought out the paper upon which he had written his inventory of the furniture of the house, and read it, and ordered them to put every thing in its place, so that the beholder would not doubt that this was the very night of the bridal display. He directed them to put Bedr-ed-Deen's turban in the place where its owner had deposited it, and in like manner the trousers, and the purse which was beneath the mattress, and ordered his daughter to adorn herself as she was on the bridal night, and to enter the bride-chamber; saying to her, When the son of thine uncle comes into thy chamber, say to him, Thou hast loitered since thou withdrewest from me this night:--and request him to return and converse with thee till day.--Having thus arranged everything, the Wezeer took out Bedr-ed-Deen from the chest, removed the shackles from his feet, and stripped him of his outer clothes, leaving him in his shirt.

All this was done while he was asleep, unconscious of what was passing; and when he awoke, and found himself in an illuminated vestibule, he said, within himself, Am I bewildered by dreams, or am I awake? Then rising, he advanced a little way to an inner door, and looked, and lo, he was in the house in which the bride had been displayed, and he beheld the bride-chamber and the couch and his turban and clothes. Confounded at the sight of these things, he took one step forwards and another backwards, thinking, Am I asleep or awake? And he began to wipe his forehead, and exclaimed in his astonishment,

By Allah, this is the dwelling of the bride who was here displayed before me: and yet I was just now in a chest. And while he was addressing himself, behold Sitt-el-Ḥosn lifted up the corner of the musquito curtain, and said, O my master, wilt thou not come in? for thou hast loitered since thou withdrewest from me this night. When he heard these words he looked at her face, and laughed, and said, Verily, these appearances are bewildering illusions of a dream! Then entering, he sighed; and as he reflected upon what had happened to him, he was perplexed at his situation, and his case seemed involved in obscurity. Looking at his turban and trousers, and the purse containing the thousand pieces of gold, he exclaimed, Allah is all-knowing!--but it seemeth to me that I am bewildered by dreams!--And he was confounded in the excess of his astonishment. Upon this, therefore, Sitt-el-Ḥosn said to him, Wherefore do I behold thee thus astonished and perplexed? Thou wast not so in the commencement of the night.--And he laughed, and asked her, How many years have I been absent from thee?--Allah preserve thee! she exclaimed. The name of Allah encompass thee![IV_65] Thou hast only withdrawn to yonder apartment. What hath passed in thy mind?--On hearing this he smiled, and replied, Thou hast spoken truth; but when I withdrew from thee, sleep overcame me, and I dreamt that I was a cook in Damascus, and that I lived there twelve years;[IV_66] and I thought that a youth of the sons of the great came to me, accompanied by a eunuch,--and he proceeded to relate what had happened to him in consequence of this youth's visit: then drawing his hand over his forehead, he felt the scar occasioned by the blow, and exclaimed, By Allah, O my mistress, it seemeth as though it were true; for he struck me with a stone upon my forehead, and cut it open: it seemeth, therefore, as though this had really happened when I was awake: but probably this dream occurred when we were both asleep. I imagined in my dream that I was transported to Damascus, without ṭarboosh or turban or trousers, and that I followed the occupation of a cook.--And again, for a while, he remained utterly confounded. He then said, By Allah, I imagined that I made a confection of pomegranate-grains containing but little pepper. Verily I must have been asleep, and in my sleep have seen all this.--I conjure thee by Allah, said Sitt-el-Ḥosn, tell me what more thou sawest? And he related to her the whole; and added, If I had not awaked, they would have crucified me upon a wooden cross.--On account of what? said she. He answered, On account of the deficiency of pepper in the confection of pomegranate-grains; and I imagined that they demolished my shop, and broke all my vessels, and put me in a chest, and brought the carpenter to make a cross of wood; for they intended to crucify me upon it. Praise be to God, therefore, who caused all this to occur to me in sleep, and caused it not to happen to me when I was awake!--Sitt-el-Ḥosn, laughing at his words, pressed him to her bosom, and he in like manner embraced her. Then reflecting again, he said, By Allah, it seems as if it had happened when I was awake; and I knew not the reason, nor the truth of the case.--And he composed himself to sleep, perplexed with his case, and sometimes saying, I saw it in my sleep,--and other times, I experienced it awake.

Thus he continued until the morning, when his uncle, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen, came in to him, and saluted him; and Bedr-ed-Deen, as soon as he beheld him, exclaimed, I conjure thee by Allah, tell me art not thou he who gave orders to bind my hands behind me, and to nail up my shop, on account of the confection of pomegranate-grains, because it was deficient in pepper? The Wezeer answered, Know, O my son, that the truth hath appeared, and what was hidden hath been manifested. Thou art the son of my brother; and I did not this but to know if thou wert he who visited my daughter on that night. I was not convinced of this until I saw that thou knewest the house, and thy turban and trousers and gold, and the two papers; namely, the one which thou wrotest, and that which thy father, my brother, wrote: for I had never seen thee before, and therefore knew thee not; and as to thy mother, I have brought her with me from El-Baṣrah.--Having thus said, he threw himself upon him, and wept; and Bedr-ed-Deen, full of astonishment at his uncle's words, embraced him, and in like manner wept from excess of joy. The Wezeer then said to him, O my son, the cause of all this was what passed between me and thy father. And he related to him the circumstances of their case, and the cause of his father's departure to El-Baṣrah; after which he sent for 'Ajeeb; and when the father of the youth saw him, he exclaimed, This is he who threw the stone at me.--This, said the Wezeer, is thy son. And Bedr-ed-Deen cast himself upon him, and recited the following verses:--

Long have I wept on account of our disunion; the tears overflowing from my eyelids; And I vowed that if Providence should bring us together, I would never again mention our separation. Joy hath overcome me to such a degree that by its excess it hath made me weep. O eye, thou hast become so accustomed to tears that thou weepest from happiness as from grief.[IV_67]

And when he had uttered these words, his mother, beholding him, threw herself upon him, and repeated this couplet:--

Fortune made a vow to torment me incessantly; but thine oath hath proved false, O Fortune; therefore expiate it.[IV_63] Happiness hath arrived, and the beloved is come to my relief: repair then to the messenger of festivity, and hasten.

She afterwards related to him everything that had happened to her; and he also acquainted her with all that he had suffered; and they offered up thanks to God for their union. The Wezeer then went up to the Sulṭán, and informed him of these occurrences; and the King was astonished, and ordered that a statement of them should be inserted in the records, to be preserved to future ages. And the Wezeer resided with his brother's son, and his own daughter and her son, and with the wife of his brother; and all of them passed their lives in the enjoyment of the utmost happiness until they were visited by the terminator of delights, and the separator of companions.[IV_69]

Such, O Prince of the Faithful, said Jaạfar, were the events that happened to the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen and his brother Noor-ed-Deen.--By Allah, exclaimed the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed, this story is wonderful! And he gave one of his own concubines to the young man who had killed his wife, and appointed him a regular maintenance; and the young man became one of his companions at the table.

NOTES TO CHAPTER FOURTH.

NOTE 1. From the close of Chapter iii., the order of the tales in this translation (agreeably with the Cairo edition) differs from that which is followed in the old version.

NOTE 2. This alludes to the poor man's want of sufficient clothing; for, in the climate of Baghdád, a person who is not very scantily clad is in little need of a fire to warm himself.

NOTE 3. My sheykh has remarked, in a marginal note, that these verses would be appropriate only from the mouth of a learned man complaining of the unprofitableness of his science with respect to procuring him money; but perhaps, in writing this, he was actuated by a somewhat over-zealous regard for the honour of his own profession; for, when a poor man has acquired a little knowledge, his neighbours are apt to flatter him.

NOTE 4. The "izár" has been described in the second note to Chapter iii.

NOTE 5. Literally, "the sons of thine uncle;" but the meaning is, "thy kinsmen."

NOTE 6.--_On Bastinading._ In Arabian, and some other Eastern, countries, it is a common custom, when a person is accused of a crime before a magistrate, and denies his guilt, to bastinade him, in order to induce him to confess; and even witnesses, sometimes, are treated in the same manner. The beating is usually inflicted with a kurbáj (a thong or whip of hippopotamus' hide hammered into a round form) or with a stick, and generally on the soles of the feet. For this purpose the feet are confined by a chain or rope attached at each end to a staff, which is turned round to tighten it. This is called a "falaḳah." Two persons (one on each side) strike alternately; and the punishment is often continued until the sufferer becomes insensible, and even longer.

NOTE 7.--_Of Sales by Auction._ In many of the sooḳs (market-streets, or bázárs) in Arabian cities, auctions are held on stated days, once or more frequently in every week. They are conducted by brokers (delláls), hired either by private persons or by shopkeepers. These brokers carry the goods up and down the street, announcing the sums bidden, with cries of "ḥaráj," &c.; and the shopkeepers, as well as others, purchase of them.

NOTE 8. I have before mentioned, that this horrid mode of punishing a woman suspected of incontinence is not unfrequently practised among the Arabs. Many similar cases have been mentioned to me in Egypt as having occurred in that country in the present age; and often the murder is committed by the father or a brother of the woman, as her relations are considered as more disgraced than the husband by her crime. The present tale is probably founded on some particular occurrence of this kind. One is related as having happened in the reign of the Khaleefeh El-Moạtaḍid. In this case, some limbs of the murdered woman, in two leathern bags, were brought up from the bed of the Tigris in the net of a fisherman.[276] [Such barbarity, however, is contrary to law, as is stated in two former notes.--ED.]

NOTE 9.--_Of the Retaliation of Injuries on the Day of Resurrection._ The "examination being past, and every one's works weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will follow according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made to him for the injuries which he hath suffered. And since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be, by taking away a proportionable part of the good works of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, 'Lord, we have given to every one his due, and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of an ant,' God will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into Paradise; but if, on the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, God will order that an equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to Hell laden with both."[277]

NOTE 10. "Reyḥán" is a common proper name of men, now commonly given to slaves; and the name of the sweet basil in particular (also called "reeḥán") and of sweet-smelling plants in general. It also signifies "any favour of God," "the supplies necessary for subsistence," "a son," &c.

NOTE 11. This ejaculation is addressed to God.

NOTE 12. In the original, "Miṣr," _vulg._, "Maṣr." This is the name which the Arabs give to Egypt, and which they have also given to its successive capitals, or seats of government, Memphis, Egyptian Babylon, El-Fusṭáṭ, and El-Ḳáhireh, or Cairo. It is here applied to Cairo, as will be shewn by the following note, and by the sequel of the tale, though this city was not founded until long after the reign of Hároon Er-Rasheed. I may here remark, that I have not found the name of "Miṣr" applied to Cairo in any Arabic work anterior to the conquest of Egypt by the 'Osmánlee Turks, which happened in the year of the Flight 923 (A.D. 1517). El-Fusṭáṭ retained this appellation in the time of Es-Suyooṭee, who died in the year of the Flight 911, but it ceased to do so before the time of El-Is-ḥáḳee, who brought down his history to the month of Ramaḍán, 1032 (A.D. 1623). It is probable, therefore, that the name of "Misr"[typo Miṣr] was transferred to Cairo on the occasion of the conquest by the Turks. I must not assert, that this observation alone enables us to form a decided judgment as to the period when this work was composed, as it may be objected that copyists have perhaps substituted "Miṣr" for "El-Ḳáhireh;" but I persue the inquiry in the next note.

NOTE 13.--_On several Evidences of the Period when this Work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or compiled or remodelled._ The tale here presents another anachronism. The title of "Sulṭán," as a prefix, was first borne by Maḥmood Ibn-Sabuktekeen, in the year of the Flight 393, just two hundred years after the death of Hároon Er-Rasheed; and there was no Sulṭán of Egypt until the year of the Flight 567 of a little later; the first being the famous Ṣaláḥ-ed-Deen, or Saladin.

I have now given several data upon which to found a reasonable opinion as to the age when these tales, in the states in which they are known to us, were composed or compiled or remodelled. First, in Note 55 to