The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume IX Part 13

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Fazil continued, "As they were thus, behold, Sa'idah alighted with me in the midst of the galleon and when my brothers saw me, they embraced me and rejoiced in me, saying, 'O our brother, how hast thou fared in that which befel thee? Indeed our hearts have been occupied with thee.' Quoth Sa'idah, 'Had ye any heart- yearnings for him or had ye loved him, ye had not cast him into the sea; but choose ye now what death ye will die.' Then she seized on them and would have slain them; but they cried out, saying, 'In thy safeguard, O our brother!' Thereupon I interceded and said to her, 'I claim of thine honour not to kill my brothers.' Quoth she, 'There is no help but that I slay them, for they are traitors.' But I ceased not to speak her fair and conciliate her till she said, 'To content thee, I will not kill them, but I will enchant them.' So saying, she brought out a cup and filling it with sea-water, p.r.o.nounced over it words that might not be understood; then saying, 'Quit this human shape for the shape of a dog;' she sprinkled them with the water, and immediately they were transmewed into dogs, as thou seest them, O Vicar of Allah." Whereupon he turned to the dogs and said to them, "Have I spoken the truth, O my brothers?" And they bowed their heads, as they would say, "Thou hast spoken sooth." At this he continued, "Then she said to those who were in the galleon, 'Know ye that Abdullah bin Fazil here present is become my brother and I shall visit him once or twice every day: so, whoso of you crosseth him or gainsayeth his bidding or doth him hurt with hand or tongue, I will do with him even as I have done with these two traitors and bespell him to a dog, and he shall end his days in that form, nor shall he find deliverance.' And they all said to her, 'O our lady, we are his slaves and his servants every one of us and will not disobey him in aught.' Moreover, she said to me, 'When thou comest to Ba.s.sorah, examine all thy property and if there lack aught thereof, tell me and I will bring it to thee, in whose hands and in what place soever it may be, and will change him who took it into a dog. When thou hast magazined thy goods, clap a collar[FN#533] of wood on the neck of each of these two traitors and tie them to the leg of a couch and shut them up by themselves. Moreover, every night, at midnight, do thou go down to them and beat each of them a bout till he swoon away; and if thou suffer a single night to pa.s.s without beating them, I will come to thee and drub thee a sound drubbing, after which I will drub them.' And I answered, 'To hear is to obey.' Then said she, 'Tie them up with ropes till thou come to Ba.s.sorah.' So I tied a rope about each dog's neck and lashed them to the mast, and she went her way. On the morrow we entered Ba.s.sorah and the merchants came out to meet me and saluted me, and no one of them enquired of my brothers. But they looked at the dogs and said to me, 'Ho, such and such,[FN#534] what wilt thou do with these two dogs thou hast brought with thee?' Quoth I, 'I reared them on this voyage and have brought them home with me.' And they laughed at them, knowing not that they were my brothers. When I reached my house, I put the twain in a closet and busied myself all that night with the unpacking and disposition of the bales of stuffs and jewels. Moreover, the merchants were with me being minded to offer me the salam; wherefore I was occupied with them and forgot to beat the dogs or chain them up. Then without doing them aught of hurt, I lay down to sleep, but suddenly and unexpectedly there came to me the Red King's daughter Sa'idah and said to me, 'Did I not bid thee clap chains on their necks and give each of them a bout of beating?'

So saying, she seized me and pulling out a whip, flogged me till I fainted away, after which she went to the place where my brothers were and with the same scourge beat them both till they came nigh upon death. Then said she to me, 'Beat each of them a like bout every night, and if thou let a night pa.s.s without doing this, I will beat thee;' and I replied, 'O my lady, to-morrow I will put chains on their necks, and next night I will beat them nor will I leave them one night unbeaten.' And she charged me strictly to beat them and disappeared. When the morning morrowed it being no light matter for me to put fetters of iron on their necks, I went to a goldsmith and bade him make them collars and chains of gold. He did this and I put the collars on their necks and chained them up, as she bade me; and next night I beat them both in mine own despite. This befel in the Caliphate of Al- Mahdi,[FN#535] third of the sons of Al-Abbas, and I commended myself to him by sending him presents, so he invested me with the government and made me viceroy of Ba.s.sorah. On this wise I abode some time and after a while I said to myself, 'Haply her wrath is grown cool;' and left them a night unbeaten, whereupon she came to me and beat me a bout whose burning I shall never forget long as I live. So, from that time to this, I have never left them a single night unbeaten during the reign of Al-Mahdi; and when he deceased and thou camest to the succession, thou sentest to me, confirming me in the government of Ba.s.sorah. These twelve years past have I beaten them every night, in mine own despite, and after I have beaten them, I excuse myself to them and comfort them and give them to eat and drink; and they have remained shut up, nor did any of the creatures of Allah know of them, till thou sentest to me Abu Ishak the boon-companion, on account of the tribute, and he discovered my secret and returning to thee, acquainted thee therewith. Then thou sentest him back to fetch me and them; so I answered with 'Hearkening and obedience,' and brought them before thee, whereupon thou questionedst me and I told thee the truth of the case; and this is my history." The Caliph marvelled at the case of the two dogs and said to Abdullah, "Hast thou at this present forgiven thy two brothers the wrong they did thee, yea or nay?" He replied, "O my lord, may Allah forgive them and acquit them of responsibility in this world and the next! Indeed, 'tis I who stand in need of their forgiveness, for that these twelve years past I have beaten them a grievous bout every night!" Rejoined the Caliph, "O Abdullah, Inshallah, I will endeavour for their release and that they may become men again, as they were before, and I will make peace between thee and them; so shall you live the rest of your lives as brothers loving one another; and like as thou hast forgiven them, so shall they forgive thee. But now take them and go down with them to thy lodging and this night beat them not, and to- morrow there shall be naught save weal." Quoth Abdullah, "O my lord, as thy head liveth, if I leave them one night unbeaten, Sa'idah will come to me and beat me, and I have no body to brook beating." Quoth the Caliph, "Fear not, for I will give thee a writing under my hand.[FN#536] An she come to thee, do thou give her the paper and if, when she has read it, she spare thee, the favour will be hers; but, if she obey not my bidding, commit thy business to Allah and let her beat thee a bout and suppose that thou hast forgotten to beat them for one night and that she beateth thee because of that: and if it fall out thus and she thwart me, as sure as I am Commander of the Faithful, I will be even with her." Then he wrote her a letter on a piece of paper, two fingers broad, and sealing it with his signet-ring, gave it to Abdullah, saying, "O Abdullah, if Sa'idah come, say to her, 'The Caliph, King of mankind, hath commanded me to leave beating them and hath written me this letter for thee; and he saluteth thee with the salam.' Then give her the warrant and fear no harm." After which he exacted of him an oath and a solemn pledge that he would not beat them. So Abdullah took the dogs and carried them to his lodging, saying to himself, "I wonder what the Caliph will do with the daughter of the Sovran of the Jinn, if she cross him and trounce me to-night! But I will bear with a bout of beating for once and leave my brothers at rest this night, though for their sake I suffer torture." Then he bethought himself awhile, and his reason said to him, "Did not the Caliph rely on some great support, he had never forbidden me from beating them." So he entered his lodging and doffed the collars from the dogs' necks, saying, "I put my trust in Allah," and fell to comforting them and saying, "No harm shall befal you; for the Caliph, fifth[FN#537] of the sons of Al-Abbas, hath pledged himself for your deliverance and I have forgiven you. An it please Allah the Most High, the time is come and ye shall be delivered this blessed night; so rejoice ye in the prospect of peace and gladness." when they heard these words, they fell to whining with the whining of dogs,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Fazil said to his brothers, "Rejoice ye in the prospect of comfort and gladness." And when they heard his words they fell to whining with the whining of dogs, and rubbed their jowls against his feet, as if blessing him and humbling themselves before him.

He mourned over them and took to stroking their backs till supper time; and when they set on the trays he bade the dogs sit. So they sat down and ate with him from the tray, whilst his officers stood gaping and marvelling at his eating with dogs and all said, "Is he mad or are his wits gone wrong? How can the Viceroy of Ba.s.sorah city, he who is greater than a Wazir, eat with dogs?

Knoweth he not that the dog is unclean?[FN#538]" And they stared at the dogs, as they ate with him as servants eat with their lords,[FN#539] knowing not that they were his brothers; nor did they cease staring at them, till they had made an end of eating, when Abdullah washed his hands and the dogs also put out their paws and washed; whereupon all who were present began to laugh at them and to marvel, saying, one to other, "Never in our lives saw we dogs eat and wash their paws after eating!" Then the dogs sat down on the divans beside Abdullah, nor dared any ask him of this; and thus the case lasted till midnight, when he dismissed the attendants and lay down to sleep and the dogs with him, each on a couch; whereupon the servants said one to other, "Verily, he hath lain down to sleep and the two dogs are lying with him."

Quoth another, "Since he hath eaten with the dogs from the same tray, there is no harm in their sleeping with him; and this is naught save the fashion of madmen." Moreover, they ate not anything of the food which remained in the tray, saying, "'Tis unclean." Such was their case; but as for Abdullah, ere he could think, the earth clave asunder and out rose Sa'idah, who said to him, "O Abdullah, why hast thou not beaten them this night and why hast thou undone the collars from their necks? Hast thou acted on this wise perversely and in mockery of my commandment?

But I will at once beat thee and spell thee into a dog like them." He replied, "O my lady, I conjure thee by the graving upon the seal-ring of Solomon David-son (on the twain be peace!) have patience with me till I tell thee my cause and after do with me what thou wilt." Quoth she, "Say on," and quoth he, "The reason of my not punishing them is only this. The King of mankind, the Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, ordered me not to beat them this night and took of me oaths and covenants to that effect; and he saluteth thee with the salam and hath committed to me a mandate under his own hand, which he bade me give thee. So I obeyed his order for to obey the Commander of the Faithful is obligatory; and here is the mandate. Take it and read it and after work thy will." She replied "Hither with it!" So he gave her the letter and she opened it and read as follows, "In the name of Allah, the Compa.s.sionating, the Compa.s.sionate! From the King of mankind, Harun al-Rashid, to the daughter of the Red King, Sa'idah! But, after. Verily, this man hath forgiven his brothers and hath waived his claim against them, and we have enjoined them to reconciliation. Now, when reconciliation ruleth, retribution is remitted, and if you of the Jinn contradict us in our commandments, we will contrary you in yours and traverse your ordinances; but, an ye obey our bidding and further our orders, we will indeed do the like with yours. Wherefore I bid thee hurt them no hurt, and if thou believe in Allah and in His Apostle, it behoveth thee to obey and us to command.[FN#540] So an thou spare them, I will requite thee with that whereto my Lord shall enable me; and the token of obedience is that thou remove thine enchantment from these two men, so they may come before me to- morrow, free. But an thou release them not, I will release them in thy despite, by the aid of Almighty Allah." When she had read the letter, she said, "O Abdullah, I will do nought till I go to my sire and show him the mandate of the monarch of mankind and return to thee with the answer in haste." So saying, she signed with her hand to the earth, which clave open and she disappeared therein, whilst Abdullah's heart was like to fly for joy and he said, "Allah advance the Commander of the Faithful!" As for Sa'idah, she went in to her father; and, acquainting him with that which had pa.s.sed, gave him the Caliph's letter, which he kissed and laid on his head. Then he read it and understanding its contents said, "O my daughter, verily, the ordinance of the monarch of mankind obligeth us and his commandments are effectual over us, nor can we disobey him: so go thou and release the two men forth-with and say to them, 'Ye are freed by the intercession of the monarch of mankind.' For, should he be wroth with us, he would destroy us to the last of us; so do not thou impose on us that which we are unable." Quoth she "O my father, if the monarch of mankind were wroth with us, what could he do with us?"; and quoth her sire, "He hath power over us for several reasons. In the first place, he is a man and hath thus pre-eminence over us[FN#541]; secondly he is the Vicar of Allah; and thirdly, he is constant in praying the dawn-prayer of two bows[FN#542]; therefore were all the tribes of the Jinn a.s.sembled together against him from the Seven Worlds they could do him no hurt. But he, should he be wroth with us would pray the dawn-prayer of two bows and cry out upon us one cry, when we should all present ourselves before him obediently and be before him as sheep before the butcher. If he would, he could command us to quit our abiding-places for a desert country wherein we might not endure to sojourn; and if he desired to destroy us, he would bid us destroy ourselves, whereupon we should destroy one another.

wherefore we may not disobey his bidding for, if we did this, he would consume us with fire nor could we flee from before him to any asylum. Thus is it with every True Believer who is persistent in praying the dawn-prayer of two bows; his commandment is effectual over us: so be not thou the means of our destruction, because of two mortals, but go forthright and release them, ere the anger of the Commander of the Faithful fall upon us." So she returned to Abdullah and acquainted him with her father's words, saying, "Kiss for us the hands of the Prince of True Believers and seek his approval for us." Then she brought out the ta.s.se and filling it with water, conjured over it and uttered words which might not be understood; after which she sprinkled the dogs with the water saying, "Quit the form of dogs and return to the shape of men!" Whereupon they became men as before and the spell of the enchantment was loosed from them. Quoth they, "I testify that there is no G.o.d but the G.o.d and I testify that Mohammed is the Apostle of G.o.d!" Then they fell on their brother's feet and hands, kissing them and beseeching his forgiveness: but he said, "Do ye forgive me;" and they both repented with sincere repentance, saying, "Verily, the d.a.m.ned Devil lured us and covetise deluded us: but our Lord hath requited us after our deserts, and forgiveness is of the signs of the n.o.ble." And they went on to supplicate their brother and weep and profess repentance for that which had befallen him from them[FN#543].

Then quoth he to them, "What did ye with my wife whom I brought from the City of Stone?" Quoth they, "When Satan tempted us and we cast thee into the sea, there arose strife between us, each saying, I will have her to wife. Now when she heard these words and beheld our contention, she knew that we had thrown thee into the sea; so she came up from the cabin and said to us, 'Contend not because of me, for I will not belong to either of you. My husband is gone into the sea and I will follow him.' So saying, she cast herself overboard and died." Exclaimed Abdullah, "In very sooth she died a martyr[FN#544]! But there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Then he wept for her with sore weeping and said to his brothers, "It was not well of you to do this deed and bereave me of my wife."

They answered, "Indeed, we have sinned, but our Lord hath requited us our misdeed and this was a thing which Allah decreed unto us, ere He created us." And he accepted their excuse; but Sa'idah said to him, "Have they done all these things to thee and wilt thou forgive them?" He replied, "O my sister, whoso hath power[FN#545] and spareth, for Allah's reward he prepareth." Then said she, "Be on thy guard against them, for they are traitors;"

and fare-welled him and fared forth.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah, when Sa'idah warned him and blessed him and went her ways, pa.s.sed the rest of the night with his brothers and on the morrow, he sent them to the Hammam and clad each of them, on his coming forth, in a suit worth a h.o.a.rd of money. Then he called for the tray of food and they set it before him and he ate, he and his brothers. When his attendants saw the twain and knew them for his brothers they saluted them and said to him, "O our lord, Allah give thee joy of thy reunion with thy dear brothers! Where have they been this while?" He replied, "It was they whom ye saw in the guise of dogs; praise be to Allah who hath delivered them from prison and grievous torment!" Then he carried them to the Divan of the Caliph and kissing ground before Al-Rashid wished him continuance of honour and fortune and surcease of evil and enmity. Quoth the Caliph, "Welcome, O Emir Abdullah! Tell me what hath befallen thee." And quoth he, "O Commander of the Faithful (whose power Allah increase!) when I carried my brothers home to my lodging, my heart was at rest concerning them, because thou hadst pledged thyself to their release and I said in myself, 'Kings fail not to attain aught for which they strain, inasmuch as the divine favour aideth them.' So I took off the collars from their necks, putting my trust in Allah, and ate with them from the same tray, which when my suite saw, they made light of my wit and said each to other, 'He is surely mad! How can the governor of Ba.s.sorah who is greater than the Wazir, eat with dogs?' Then they threw away what was in the tray, saying, 'We will not eat the dogs' orts.' And they went on to befool my reason, whilst I heard their words, but returned them no reply because of their unknowing that the dogs were my brothers. When the hour of sleep came, I sent them away and addressed myself to sleep; but, ere I was ware, the earth clave in sunder and out came Sa'idah, the Red King's daughter, enraged against me, with eyes like fire." And he went on to relate to the Caliph all what had pa.s.sed between him and her and her father and how she had transmewed his brothers from canine to human form, adding, "And here they are before thee, O Commander of the Faithful!" The Caliph looked at them and seeing two young men like moons, said, "Allah requite thee for me with good, O Abdullah, for that thou hast acquainted me with an advantage[FN#546] I knew not! Henceforth, Inshallah, I will never leave to pray these two-bow orisons before the breaking of the dawn, what while I live." Then he reproved Abdullah's brothers for their past transgressions against him and they excused themselves before the Caliph, who said, "Join hands[FN#547] and forgive one another and Allah pardon what is past!" Upon which he turned to Abdullah and said to him, "O Abdullah, make thy brothers thine a.s.sistants and be careful of them." Then he charged them to be obedient to their brother and bade them return to Ba.s.sorah after he had bestowed on them abundant largesse. So they went down from the Caliph's Divan whilst he rejoiced in this advantage he had obtained by the action aforesaid, to wit, persistence in praying two inclinations before dawn, and exclaimed, "He spake truth who said, 'The misfortune of one tribe fortuneth another tribe.'"[FN#548] On this wise befel it to them from the Caliph; but as regards Abdullah, he left Baghdad carrying with him his brothers in all honour and dignity and increase of quality, and fared on till they drew near Ba.s.sorah, when the notables and chief men of the place came out to meet them and after decorating the city brought them thereinto with a procession which had not its match and all the folk shouted out blessings on Abdullah as he scattered amongst them silver and gold. None, however, took heed to his brothers; wherefore jealousy and envy entered their hearts, for all he entreated them tenderly as one tenders an ophthalmic eye; but the more he cherished them, the more they redoubled in hatred and envy of him: and indeed it is said on the subject,

"I'd win good will of every one, but whoso envies me * Will not be won on any wise and makes mine office hard: How gain the gree of envious wight who coveteth my good, * When naught will satisfy him save to see my good go marr'd?"

Then he gave each a concubine that had not her like, and eunuchs and servants and slaves white and black, of each kind forty. He also gave each of them fifty steeds all thoroughbreds and they got them guards and followers; and he a.s.signed to them revenues and appointed them solde and stipends and made them his a.s.sistants, saying to them, "O my brothers, I and you are equal and there is no distinction between me and you twain,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah a.s.signed stipends to his brothers and made them his a.s.sistants, saying, "O my brothers, I and you are equal and there is no distinction between me and you twain, and after Allah and the Caliph, the commandment is mine and yours. So rule you at Ba.s.sorah in my absence and in my presence, and your commandments shall be effectual; but look that ye fear Allah in your ordinances and beware of oppression, which if it endure depopulateth; and apply yourselves to justice, for justice, if it be prolonged, peopleth a land. Oppress not the True Believers, or they will curse you and ill report of you will reach the Caliph, wherefore dishonour will betide both me and you. Go not therefore about to violence any, but whatso ye greed for of the goods of the folk, take it from my goods, over and above that whereof ye have need; for 'tis not unknown to you what is handed down in the Koran of prohibition versets on the subject of oppression and Allah-gifted is he who said these couplets,

'Oppression ambusheth in sprite of man * Whom naught withholdeth save the lack of might: The sage shall ne'er apply his wits to aught * Until befitting time direct his sight: The tongue of wisdom woneth in the heart; * And in his mouth the tongue of foolish wight.

Who at occasion's call lacks power to rise * Is slain by feeblest who would glut his spite.

A man may hide his blood and breed, but aye * His deeds on darkest hiddens cast a light.

Wights of ill strain with ancestry as vile * Have lips which never spake one word aright: And who committeth case to hands of fool * In folly proveth self as fond and light; And who his secret tells to folk at large * Shall rouse his foes to work him worst despight.

Suffice the generous what regards his lot * Nor meddles he with aught regards him not'"

And he went on to admonish his brothers and bid them to equity and forbid them from tyranny, doubting not but they would love him the better for his boon of good counsel[FN#549] and he relied upon them and honoured them with the utmost honour; but notwithstanding all his generosity to them, they only waxed in envy and hatred of him, till, one day, the two being together alone, quoth Nasir to Mansur, "O my brother, how long shall we be mere subjects of our brother Abdullah, and he in this estate of lordship and worship? After being a merchant, he is become an Emir, and from being little, he is grown great: but we, we grow not great nor is there aught of respect or degree left us; for, behold, he laugheth at us and maketh us his a.s.sistants! What is the meaning of this? Is it not that we are his servants and under his subjection? But, long as he abideth in good case, our rank will never be raised nor shall we be aught of repute; wherefore we shall not fulfil our wish, except we slay him and win to his wealth, nor will it be possible to get his gear save after his death. So, when we have slain him, we shall become lords and will take all that is in his treasuries of gems and things of price and divide them between us. Then will we send the Caliph a present and demand of him the government of Cufah, and thou shalt be governor of Cufah and I of Ba.s.sorah. Thus each of us shall have formal estate and condition, but we shall never effect this, except we put him out of the world!" Answered Mansur, "Thou sayest sooth, but how shall we do to kill him?" Quoth Nasir, "We will make an entertainment in the house of one of us and invite him thereto and serve him with the uttermost service. Then will we sit through the night with him in talk and tell him tales and jests and rare stories till his heart melteth with sitting up when we will spread him a bed, that he may lie down to sleep.

When he is asleep, we will kneel upon him and throttle him and throw him into the river; and on the morrow, we will say, 'His sister the Jinniyah came to him, as he sat chatting with us, and said to him, 'O thou sc.u.m of mankind, who art thou that thou shouldst complain of me to the Commander of the Faithful? Deemest thou that we dread him? As he is a King, so we too are Kings, and if he mend not his manners in our regard we will do him die by the foulest of deaths. But meantime I will slay thee, that we may see what the hand of the Prince of True Believers availeth to do.' So saying, she caught him up and clave the earth and disappeared with him which when we saw, we swooned away. Then we revived and we reck not what is become of him.' And saying this we will send to the Caliph and tell him the case and he will invest us with the government in his room. After awhile, we will send him a sumptuous present and seek of him the government of Cufah, and one of us shall abide in Ba.s.sorah and the other in Cufah. So shall the land be pleasant to us and we will be down upon the True Believers and win our wishes." And quoth Mansur, "Thou counsellest well, O my brother," and they agreed upon the murther. So Nasir made an entertainment and said to Abdullah, "O my brother, verily I am thy brother, and I would have thee hearten my heart thou and my brother Mansur and eat of my banquet in my house, so I may boast of thee and that it may be said, The Emir Abdullah hath eaten of his brother Nasir's guest meal; when my heart will be solaced by this best of boons." Abdullah replied, "So be it, O my brother; there is no distinction between me and thee and thy house is my house; but since thou invitest me, none refuseth hospitality save the churl." Then he turned to Mansur and said to him, "Wilt thou go with me to thy brother Nasir's house and we will eat of his feast and heal his heart?"

Replied Mansur, "As thy head liveth, O my brother, I will not go with thee, unless thou swear to me that, after thou comest forth of brother Nasir's house, thou wilt enter my house and eat of my banquet! Is Nasir thy brother and am not I thy brother? So, even as thou heartenest his heart, do thou hearten mine." Answered Abdullah, "There is no harm in that: with love and gladly gree!

When I come out from Nasir's house, I will enter thine, for thou art my brother even as he." So he kissed his hand and going forth of the Divan, made ready his feast. On the morrow, Abdullah took horse and repaired, with his brother Mansur and a company of his officers, to Nasir's house, where they sat down, he and Mansur and his many. Then Nasir set the trays before them and welcomed them; so they ate and drank and sat in mirth and merriment; after which the trays and the platters were removed and they washed their hands. They pa.s.sed the day in feasting and wine-drinking and diversion and delight till night-fall, when they supped and prayed the sundown prayers, and the night orisons; after which they sat conversing and carousing, and Nasir and Mansur fell to telling stories whilst Abdullah hearkened. Now they three were alone in the pavilion, the rest of the company being in another place, and they ceased not to tell quips and tales and rare adventures and anecdotes, till Abdullah's heart was dissolved within him for watching and sleep overcame him.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abdullah was a-wearied with watching and wanted to sleep, they also lay beside him on another couch and waited till he wasdrowned in slumber and when they were certified thereof they arose and knelt upon him: whereupon he awoke and seeing them kneeling on his breast, said to them, "What is this, O my brothers?" Cried they, "We are no brothers of thine, nor do we know thee unmannerly that thou art! Thy death is become better than thy life." Then they gripped him by the throat and throttled him, till he lost his senses and abode without motion; so that they deemed him dead. Now the pavilion wherein they were overlooked the river; so they cast him into the water; but, when he fell, Allah sent to his aid a dolphin[FN#550] who was accustomed to come under that pavilion because the kitchen had a window that gave upon the stream; and, as often as they slaughtered any beast there, it was their wont to throw the refuse into the river and the dolphin came and picked it up from the surface of the water; wherefore he ever resorted to the place. That day they had cast out much offal by reason of the banquet; so the dolphin ate more than of wont and gained strength. Hearing the splash of Abdullah's fall, he hastened to the spot, where he saw a son of Adam and Allah guided him so that he took the man on his back and crossing the current made with him for the other bank, where he cast his burthen ash.o.r.e. Now the place where the dolphin cast up Abdullah was a well-beaten highway, and presently up came a caravan and finding him lying on the river bank, said, "Here is a drowned man, whom the river hath cast up;" and the travellers gathered around to gaze at the corpse. The Shaykh of the caravan was a man of worth, skilled in all sciences and versed in the mystery of medicine and, withal, sound of judgment: so he said to them, "O folk, what is the news?" They answered, "Here is a drowned man;" whereupon he went up to Abdullah and examining him, said to them, "O folk, there is life yet in this young man, who is a person of condition and of the sons of the great, bred in honour and fortune, and Inshallah there is still hope of him." Then he took him and clothing him in dry clothes warmed him before the fire; after which he nursed him and tended him three days' march till he revived; but he was pa.s.sing feeble by reason of the shock, and the chief of the caravan proceeded to medicine him with such simples as he knew, what while they ceased not faring on till they had travelled thirty days' journey from Ba.s.sorah and came to a city in the land of the Persians, by name 'Auj.[FN#551] Here they alighted at a Khan and spread Abdullah a bed, where he lay groaning all night and troubling the folk with his groans. And when morning morrowed the concierge of the Khan came to the chief of the caravan and said to him, "What is this sick man thou hast with thee? Verily, he disturbeth us." Quoth the chief, "I found him by the way, on the river-bank and well nigh drowned; and I have tended him, but to no effect, for he recovereth not." Said the porter, "Show him to the Shaykhah[FN#552] Rajihah." "Who is this Religious?" asked the chief of the caravan, and the door-keeper answered, "There is with us a holy woman, a clean maid and a comely, called Rajihah, to whom they present whoso hath any ailment; and he pa.s.seth a single night in her house and awaketh on the morrow, whole and ailing nothing." Quoth the chief, "Direct me to her;" quoth the porter, "Take up thy sick man." So he and took up Abdullah and the doorkeeper forewent him, till he came to a hermitage, where he saw folk entering with many an ex voto offering and other folk coming forth, rejoicing. The porter went in, till he came to the curtain,[FN#553] and said, "Permission, O Shaykhah Rajihah! Take this sick man." Said she, "Bring him within the curtain;" and the porter said to Abdullah, "Enter." So he entered and looking upon the holy woman, saw her to be his wife whom he had brought from the City of Stone. And when he knew her she also knew him and saluted him and he returned her salam. Then said he, "Who brought thee hither?"; and she answered, "When I saw that thy brothers had cast thee away and were contending concerning me, I threw myself into the sea; but my Shaykh Al-Khizr Abu al-'Abbas took me up and brought me to this hermitage, where he gave me leave to heal the sick and bade cry in the city, 'Whoso hath any ailment, let him repair to the Shaykhah Rajihah;' and he also said to me, 'Tarry in this hermitage till the time betide, and thy husband shall come to thee here.' So all the sick used to flock to me and I rubbed them and shampoo'd them and they awoke on the morrow whole and sound; whereby the report of me became noised abroad among the folk, and they brought me votive gifts, so that I have with me abundant wealth. And now I live here in high honour and worship, and all the people of these parts seek my prayers." Then she rubbed him and by the ordinance of Allah the Most High, he became whole. Now Al-Khizr used to come to her every Friday night, and it chanced that the day of Abdullah's coming was a Thursday.[FN#554] Accordingly, when the night darkened he and she sat, after a supper of the richest meats, awaiting the coming of Al-Khizr, who made his appearance anon and carrying them forth of the hermitage, set them down in Abdullah's palace at Ba.s.sorah, where he left them and went his way. As soon as it was day, Abdullah examined the palace and knew it for his own; then, hearing the folk clamouring without, he looked forth of the lattice and saw his brothers crucified, each on his own cross.

Now the reason of this was as ensueth. When they had thrown him into the Tigris, the twain arose on the morrow, weeping and saying, "Our brother! the Jinniyah hath carried off our brother!"

Then they made ready a present and sent it to the Caliph, acquainting him with these tidings and suing from him the government of Ba.s.sorah. He sent for them and questioned them and they told him the false tale we have recounted, whereupon he was exceeding wroth.[FN#555] So that night he prayed a two-bow prayer before daybreak, as of his wont, and called upon the tribes of the Jinn, who came before him subject-wise, and he questioned them of Abdullah: when they sware to him that none of them had done him aught of hurt and said, "We know not what is become of him." Then came Sa'idah, daughter of the Red King, and acquainted the Caliph with the truth of Abdullah's case, and he dismissed the Jinn. On the morrow, he subjected Nasir and Mansur to the bastinado till they confessed, one against other: whereupon the Caliph was enraged with them and cried, "Carry them to Ba.s.sorah and crucify them there before Abdullah's palace." Such was their case; but as regards Abdullah, when he saw his brothers crucified, he commanded to bury them, then took horse and repairing to Baghdad, acquainted the Caliph with that which his brothers had done with him, from first to last and told him how he had recovered his wife; whereat Al-Rashid marvelled and summoning the Kazi and the witnesses, bade draw up the marriage- contract between Abdullah and the damsel whom he had brought from the City of Stone. So he went in to her and woned with her at Ba.s.sorah till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies; and extolled be the perfection of the Living, who dieth not! Moreover, O auspicious King, I have heard a tale anent

End of Volume 9.

Arabian Nights, Volume 9 Footnotes

[FN#1] Arab. "Wa la rajma ghaybin:" lit. = without stone-throwing (conjecture) of one latent.

[FN#2] i.e. saying Bismillah, etc. See vol. v. 206.

[FN#3] Where he was to await her.

[FN#4] As a rule, amongst Moslems the rider salutes the man on foot and the latter those who sit. The saying in the text suggests the Christian byword anent Mohammed and the Mountain, which is, I need hardly say, utterly unknown to Mahommedans.

[FN#5] The story-teller does not remember that "the city-folk trust to the locking of the gates" (dccclx.x.xix.); and forgets to tell us that the Princess took the keys from the Wazir whom she had hocussed. In a carefully corrected Arabic Edition of The Nights, a book much wanted, the texts which are now in a mutilated state would be supplied with these details.

[FN#6] Which probably would not be the last administered to him by the Amazonian young person, who after her mate feared to approach the dead blackamoor must have known him to be cowardly as Cairenes generally are. Moreover, he had no shame in his poltroonery like the recreant Fellah-soldiers, in the wretched Sawakin campaign against the n.o.ble Sudani negroids, who excused their running away by saying, "We are Egyptians" i.e. too good men and Moslems to lose our lives as becomes you Franks and dog-Christians. Yet under Mohammed Ali the Great, Fellah-soldiers conquered the "colligated" Arabs (Pilgrimage iii. 48) of Al-Asir (Ophir) at Bissel and in Wahhabi-land and put the Turks to flight at the battle of n.a.z.ib, and the late General Johnmus a.s.sured me that he saved his command, the Ottoman cavalry in Syria, by always manoeuvring to refuse a pitched battle. But Mohammed Ali knew his men. He never failed to shoot a runaway, and all his officers, even the lieutenants, were Turks or Albanians. Sa'id Pasha was the first to appoint Fellah-officers and under their command the Egyptian soldier, one of the best in the East, at once became the worst. We have at last found the right way to make them fight, by officering them with Englishmen, but we must not neglect the shooting process whenever they dare to turn tail.

[FN#7] "Al-walhan" (as it should be printed in previous places, instead of Al-walahan) is certainly not a P.N. in this place.

[FN#8] Arab. "Kundur," Pers. and Arab. manna, mastich, frankincense, the latter being here meant.

[FN#9] So Emma takes the lead and hides her lover under her cloak during their flight to the place where they intended to lie concealed. In both cases the women are the men.

[FN#10] Or "Bartut," in which we recognise the German Berthold.

[FN#11] i.e. Head of Killaut which makes, from the Muhit, "the name of a son of the sons of the Jinn and the Satans."

[FN#12] i.e. attacked her after a new fashion: see vol. i. 136.

[FN#13] i.e. Weevil's dung; hence Suez = Suways the little weevil, or "little Sus" from the Maroccan town: see The Mines of Midian p. 74 for a note on the name. Near Gibraltar is a fuimara called Guadalajara i.e. Wady al-Khara, of dung. "Bartus" is evidently formed "on the weight" of "Bartut;" and his metonym is a caricature, a chaff fit for Fellahe.

[FN#14] Arab. "Al-Din al-a'raj," the perverted or falsified Faith, Christianity having been made obsolete and abolished by the Mission of Mohammed, even as Christianity claims to have superseded the Mosaic and Noachian dispensations. Moslems are perfectly logical in their deductions, but logic and truth do not always go together.

[FN#15] The "Breaker of Wind" (faswah - a fizzle, a silent crepitus) "son of Children's dung."

[FN#16] Arab. "Amma laka an 'alayk" lit. = either to thee (be the gain) or upon thee (be the loss). This truly Arabic idiom is varied in many ways.

[FN#17] In addition to what was noted in vol. iii. 100 and viii.

51, I may observe that in the "Masnavi" the "Baghdad of Nulliquity" is opposed to the Ubiquity of the World. The popular derivation is Bagh (the idol-G.o.d, the slav "Bog") and dad a gift, he gave (Persian). It is also called Al-Zaura = a bow, from the bend of the Tigris where it was built.

[FN#18] Arab. "Jawasis" plur. of Jasus lit. the spies.

[FN#19] The Caliph could not "see" her "sweetness of speech"; so we must understand that he addressed her and found out that she was fluent of tongue. But this idiomatic use of the word "see" is also found in the languages of Southern Europe: so Camoens (Lus.

1. ii.), "Ouvi * * * vereis" lit. = "hark, you shall see" which sounds Hibernian.