Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp Part 13

[Footnote 334: Lit. "near and far," the great being near to the king's dignity, and the small far from it.]

[Footnote 335: Lit. "before" (cuddam).]

[Footnote 336: Lit. "thou art not of its measure or proportion" (kedd).]

[Footnote 337: Ijreker ti bi 'l hhecc. Burton. "thou hast reminded me aright."]

[Footnote 338: Night DXLIV.]

[Footnote 339: Kiyas, a mistake for akyas, pl. of keis, a purse.]

[Footnote 340: Lit. "So, an thou wilt, burden thy mind (i.e. give thyself the trouble, kellifi khatiraki,) and with us [is] a China dish; rise and come to me with it." Kellifi (fem.) khatiraki is an idiomatic expression equivalent to the French, "donnez-vous (or prenez) la peine"

and must be taken in connection with what follows, i.e. give yourself the trouble to rise and bring me, etc. (prenez la peine de vous lever et de m'apporter, etc.). Burton, "Whereupon, an-thou please, compose thy mind. We have in our house a bowl of china porcelain: so arise thou and fetch it."]

[Footnote 341: Lit. "were not equal to one quarter of a carat," i.e. a ninety-sixth part, "carat" being here used in its technical sense of a twenty-fourth part of anything.]

[Footnote 342: Kellifi khatiraki (prenez la peine) as before. Burton, "Compose thy thoughts."]

[Footnote 343: Night DXLV.]

[Footnote 344: Elladhi hu alan ca'm bi maashina. Burton, "Ere this thou hast learned, O mother mine, that the Lamp which we possess hath become to us a stable income."]

[Footnote 345: Or "pay attention" (diri balek); see ante, pp. 78 and 81.

{see FN#220 and FN#228}]

[Footnote 346: Minhu. Burton translates, "for that 'tis of him," and says, in a note, "Here the MS. text is defective, the allusion is, I suppose, to the Slave of the Lamp." I confess I do not see the defect of which he speaks. Alaeddin of course refers to the lamp and reminds his mother that the prosperity they enjoy "is (i.e. arises) from it."]

[Footnote 347: Lit. "completed," "fully const.i.tuted."]

[Footnote 348: The att.i.tude implied in the word mutekettif and obligatory in presence of a superior, i.e. that of a schoolboy in cla.s.s.]

[Footnote 349: Or "complainants," "claimants."]

[Footnote 350: Fi teriketihi, apparently meaning "in its turn." Burton, "Who (i.e. the Sultan) delivered sentence after his wonted way."]

[Footnote 351: Night DXLVI.]

[Footnote 352: Illezemet. Burton, "she determined."]

[Footnote 353: Lit. "the Divan;" but the door of the presence-chamber is meant, as appears by the sequel.]

[Footnote 354: Burton, "and when it was shut, she would go to make sure thereof."]

[Footnote 355: Muddeh jumah. Burton, "the whole month."]

[Footnote 356: Burton, "come forward."]

[Footnote 357: Burton, "levee days"]

[Footnote 358: Izar. Burton, "mantilla."]

[Footnote 359: Here the copyist, by the mistaken addition of fe (so), transfers the "forthright" to the Vizier's action of submission to the Sultan's order.]

[Footnote 360: Night DXLVII.]

[Footnote 361: I have arranged this pa.s.sage a little, to make it read intelligibly. In the original it runs thus, "Alaeddin's mother, whenas she took a wont and became every Divan-day going and standing in the Divan before the Sultan, withal that she was dejected, wearying exceedingly, but for Alaeddin's sake, her son, she used to make light of all weariness."]

[Footnote 361: Aman; i.e. promise or a.s.surance of indemnity, permission to speak freely, without fear of consequences.]

[Footnote 362: Aman in secondary sense of "protection" or "safeguard."]

[Footnote 363: i.e. I pardon thee, under G.o.d, ("then I" being understood). The right of pardon residing with G.o.d, the pious Muslim can only say, "G.o.d pardon thee first and then I pardon thee."]

[Footnote 364: Burton, "shun the streets."]

[Footnote 365: Arad. Burton, "felt an uncontrollable longing."]

[Footnote 366: Or "food (aish, bread) hath not been pleasant (or had any savour) for him."]

[Footnote 367: Seadetuk, lit. "thy felicity;" this and jenabuk (lit.

"thy side"), "thine excellence" or "thy highness," and hhedsretuk "thy highness," (lit. "thy presence") are the t.i.tles commonly given to kings in Arabic-speaking countries, although hhedsretuk is strictly applicable only to the Prophet and other high spiritual dignitaries. They are often, but erroneously, rendered "thy majesty"; a t.i.tle which does not exist in the East and which is, as is well known to students of history, of comparatively recent use in Europe.]

[Footnote 368: Lit, "having regard to his clemency, he took to laughing and asked her." Burton, "He regarded her with kindness, and laughing cloud, asked her."]

[Footnote 369: Surreh, lit. purse and by extension, as here, anything tied up in bag-shape.]

[Footnote 370: Night DXLVIII.]

[Footnote 371: Lit. "Be clement unto me, Thy Grace promised me."]

[Footnote 372: Lit. "Forbearance (hhilm, clemency, longanimity, delay in requiting an evil-doer) is inc.u.mbent from thine exalted highness unto (ila) three months."]

[Footnote 373: Aatsem melik, an ungrammatical construction of common occurrence in the present MS., properly aatsemu 'l mulouk.]

[Footnote 374: Syn. "his clemency required."]

[Footnote 375: i.e. shall be reserved for him alone.]

[Footnote 376: i.e. the marriage trousseau.]

[Footnote 377: Lit. "Except that, O my son, the Vizier bespoke him a privy word (kelam sirriyy) ere he promised me; then, after the Vizier bespoke him a word privily (sirran), he promised me to (ila) three months."]

[Footnote 378: Lit. an ill presence (mehhdser sau). This expression has occurred before in the Nights, where I have, in deference to the authority of the late M. Dozy (the greatest Arabic scholar since Silvestre de Sacy) translated it "a compend of ill," reading the second word as pointed with dsemmeh (i.e. sou, evil, sub.) instead of with fetheh (i.e. sau, evil, adj.), although in such a case the strict rules of Arabic grammar require sou to be preceded by the definite article (i.e. mehhdseru's sou). However, the context and the construction of the phrase, in which the present example of the expression occurs, seem to show that it is not here used in this sense.]

[Footnote 379: Night DXLIX.]

[Footnote 380: Lit. (as before) "promised her to" (ila).]