The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume VIII Part 18

"Welcome[FN#392] the Fig! To us it comes * Ordered in handsome plates they bring: Likest a Surfah[FN#393]-cloth we draw * To shape of bag without a ring."

And how well saith a third,

"Give me the Fig sweet-flavoured, beauty-clad, * Whose inner beauties rival outer sheen: And when it fruits thou tastest it to find * Chamomile's scent and Sugar's saccharine: And eke it favoureth on platters poured * Puff-b.a.l.l.s of silken thread and sendal green."

And how excellent is the saying of one of them,

"Quoth they (and I had trained my taste thereto * Nor cared for other fruits whereby they swore), 'Why lovest so the Fig?' whereto quoth I * 'Some men love Fig and others Sycamore.[FN#394]'"

And are yet goodlier those of another,

"Pleaseth me more the fig than every fruit * When ripe and hanging from the sheeny bough; Like Devotee who, when the clouds pour rain, * Sheds tears and Allah's power doth avow."

And in that garth were also pears of various kinds Sinatic,[FN#395] Aleppine and Grecian growing in cl.u.s.ters and alone, parcel green and parcel golden.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the merchants' sons went down into the garth they saw therein all the fruits we mentioned and found pears Sinatic, Aleppine and Grecian of every hue, which here cl.u.s.tering there single grew, parcel green and parcel yellow to the gazer a marvel-view, as saith of them the poet,

"With thee that Pear agree, whose hue a-morn * Is hue of hapless lover yellow pale; Like virgin cloistered strait in strong Harim * Whose face like racing steed outstrips the veil."

And Sultani[FN#396] peaches of shades varied, yellow and red, whereof saith the poet,

"Like Peach in vergier growing * And sheen of Andam[FN#397]

showing: Whose b.a.l.l.s of yellow gold * Are dyed with blood-gouts flowing."

There were also green almonds of pa.s.sing sweetness, resembling the cabbage[FN#398] of the palm-tree, with their kernels within three tunics lurking of the Munificent King's handiworking, even as is said of them,

"Three coats yon freshest form endue * G.o.d's work of varied shape and hue: Hardness surrounds it night and day; * Prisoning without a sin to rue."

And as well saith another,

"Seest not that Almond plucked by hand * Of man from bough where wont to dwell: Peeling it shows the heart within * As union-pearl in oyster- sh.e.l.l."

And as saith a third better than he,

"How good is Almond green I view! * The smallest fills the hand of you: Its nap is as the down upon * The cheeks where yet no beardlet grew: Its kernels in the sh.e.l.l are seen, * Or bachelors or married two, As pearls they were of lucent white * Cased and lapped in Jasper's hue."

And as saith yet another and saith well,

"Mine eyes ne'er looked on aught the Almond like * For charms, when blossoms[FN#399] in the Prime show bright: Its head to h.o.a.riness of age inclines * The while its cheek by youth's fresh down is dight."

And jujube-plums of various colours, grown in cl.u.s.ters and alone whereof saith one, describing them,

"Look at the Lote-tree, note on boughs arrayed * Like goodly apricots on reed-strown floor,[FN#400]

Their morning-hue to viewer's eye is like * Cascavels[FN#401]

cast of purest golden ore."

And as saith another and saith right well,

"The Jujube-tree each Day * Robeth in bright array.

As though each pome thereon * Would self to sight display.

Like falcon-bell of gold * Swinging from every spray."

And in that garth grew blood oranges, as they were the Khaulanjan,[FN#402] whereof quoth the enamoured poet,[FN#403]

"Red fruits that fill the hand, and shine with sheen * Of fire, albe the scarf-skin's white as snow.

'Tis marvel snow on fire doth never melt * And, stranger still, ne'er burns this living lowe!"

And quoth another and quoth well,

"And trees of Orange fruiting ferly fair * To those who straitest have their charms surveyed; Like cheeks of women who their forms have decked * For holiday in robes of gold brocade."

And yet another as well,

"Like are the Orange-hills[FN#404] when Zephyr breathes * Swaying the boughs and spray with airy grace, Her cheeks that glow with lovely light when met * At greeting- tide by cheeks of other face."

And a fourth as fairly,

"And fairest Fawn, we said to him 'Portray * This garth and oranges thine eyes survey:'

And he, 'Your garden favoureth my face * Who gathereth orange gathereth fire alway.'"

In that garden too grew citrons, in colour as virgin gold, hanging down from on high and dangling among the branches, as they were ingots of growing gold;[FN#405] and saith thereof the 'namoured poet,

"Hast seen a Citron-copse so weighed adown * Thou fearest bending roll their fruit on mould; And seemed, when Zephyr pa.s.sed athwart the tree * Its branches hung with bells of purest gold?"

And shaddocks,[FN#406] that among their boughs hung laden as though each were the breast of a gazelle-like maiden, contenting the most longing wight, as saith of them the poet and saith aright,

"And Shaddock mid the garden-paths, on bough * Freshest like fairest damsel met my sight; And to the blowing of the breeze it bent * Like golden ball to bat of chrysolite."

And the lime sweet of scent, which resembleth a hen's egg, but its yellowness ornamenteth its ripe fruit, and its fragrance hearteneth him who plucketh it, as saith the poet who singeth it,

"Seest not the Lemon, when it taketh form, * Catch rays of light and all to gaze constrain; Like egg of pullet which the huckster's hand * Adorneth dyeing with the saffron-stain?"

Moreover in this garden were all manner of other fruits and sweet-scented herbs and plants and fragrant flowers, such as jessamine and henna and water-lilies[FN#407] and spikenard[FN#408] and roses of every kind and plantain[FN#409]

and myrtle and so forth; and indeed it was without compare, seeming as it were a piece of Paradise to whoso beheld it. If a sick man entered it, he came forth from it like a raging lion, and tongue availeth not to its description, by reason of that which was therein of wonders and rarities which are not found but in Heaven: and how should it be otherwise when its doorkeeper's name was Rizman? Though widely different were the stations of those twain! Now when the sons of the merchants had walked about gazing at the garden after taking their pleasure therein, they say down in one of its pavilions and seated Nur al-Din in their midst.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,

She resume, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of the merchants sat down in the pavilion they seated Nur al-Din in their midst on a rug of gold-purfled leather of Al-Taif,[FN#410] leaning on a pillow[FN#411] of minever, stuffed with ostrich down. And they gave him a fan of ostrich feathers, whereon were written these two couplets,

"A fan whose breath is fraught with fragrant scent; * Minding of happy days and times forspent, Wafting at every time its perfumed air * O'er face of n.o.ble youth on honour bent."

Then they laid by their turbands and outer clothes and sat talking and chatting and inducing one another to discourse, while they all kept their eyes fixed on Nur al-Din and gazed on his beauteous form. After the sitting had lasted an hour or so, up came a slave with a tray on his head, wherein were platters of china and crystal containing viands of all sorts (for one of the youths had so charged his people before coming to the garden); and the meats were of whatever walketh earth or wingeth air or swimmeth waters, such as Kata-grouse and fat quails and pigeon-poults and mutton and chickens and the delicatest fish.

So, the tray being sat before them, they fell to and ate their fill; and when they had made an end of eating, they rose from meat and washed their hands with pure water and musk-scented soap, and dried them with napery embroidered in silk and bugles; but to Nur al-Din they brought a napkin laced with red gold whereon he wiped his hands. Then coffee[FN#412] was served up and each drank what he would, after which they sat talking, till presently the garden-keeper who was young went away and returning with a basket full of roses, said to them, "What say ye, O my masters, to flowers?" Quoth one of them, "There is no harm in them,[FN#413] especially roses, which are not to be resisted."

Answered the gardener, "'Tis well, but it is of our wont not to give roses but in exchange for pleasant converse; so whoever would take aught thereof, let him recite some verses suitable to the situation." Now they were ten sons of merchants of whom one said, "Agreed: give me thereof and I will recite thee somewhat of verse apt to the case." Accordingly the gardener gave him a bunch of roses[FN#414] which he took and at once improvised these three couplets,

"The Rose in highest stead I rate * For that her charms ne'er satiate; All fragrant flow'rs be troops to her * Their general of high estate: Where she is not they boast and vaunt; * But, when she comes, they stint their prate."