The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 15

Restore to my eyelids the sleep which hath been ravished; and inform me of my reason, whither it hath fled.

I discovered, when I took up my abode with love, that slumber had become an enemy to my eyes.

They said, We saw thee to be one of the upright; what, then, hath seduced thee? I answered, Seek the cause from his glance.

Verily I excuse him for the shedding of my blood, admitting that I urged him to the deed by vexation.

He cast his sun-like image upon the mirror of my mind, and its reflection kindled a flame in my vitals.[III_34]

When the portress[III_35] had heard this song, she exclaimed, Allah approve thee!--and she rent her clothes, and fell upon the floor in a swoon; and when her bosom was thus uncovered, the Khaleefeh saw upon her the marks of beating, as if from mi?ra'ahs[III_36] and whips; at which he was greatly surprised. The cateress[III_37] immediately arose, sprinkled water upon her face, and brought her another dress, which she put on. The Khaleefeh then said to Ja?far, Seest thou not this woman, and the marks of beating upon her? I cannot keep silence respecting this affair, nor be at rest, until I know the truth of the history of this damsel, and that of these two b.i.t.c.hes. But Ja?far replied, O our lord, they have made a covenant with us that we shall not speak excepting of that which concerneth us, lest we hear that which will not please us.--The cateress then took the lute again, and, placing it against her bosom, touched the chords with the ends of her fingers, and thus sang to it:--

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If of love we complain, what shall we say? Or consuming through desire, how can we escape?

Or if we send a messenger to interpret for us, he cannot convey the lover's complaint.

Or if we would be patient, short were our existence after the loss of those we love.

Nought remaineth to us but grief and mourning, and tears streaming down our cheeks.

O you who are absent from my sight, but constantly dwelling within my heart!

Have you kept your faith to an impa.s.sioned lover, who, while time endureth, will never change?

Or, in absence, have you forgotten that lover who, on your account, is wasting away?

When the day of judgment shall bring us together, I will beg of our Lord a protractive trial.[III_38]

On hearing these verses of the cateress, the portress again rent her clothes, and cried out, and fell upon the floor in a swoon; and the cateress, as before, put on her another dress, after she had sprinkled some water upon her face.[III_39]

The mendicants, when they witnessed this scene, said, Would that we had never entered this house, but rather had pa.s.sed the night upon the mounds;[III_40] for our night hath been rendered foul by an event that breaketh the back! The Khaleefeh, looking towards them, then said, Wherefore is it so with you? They answered, Our hearts are troubled by this occurrence.--Are ye not, he asked, of this house?--No, they answered; nor did we imagine that this house belonged to any but the man who is sitting with you:--upon which the porter said, Verily, I have never seen this place before this night; and I would that I had pa.s.sed the night upon the mounds rather than here. They then observed, one to another, We are seven men, and they are but three women; we will, therefore, ask them of their history; and if they answer us not willingly they shall do it in spite of themselves:--and they all agreed to this, excepting Ja?far, who said, This is not a right determination; leave them to themselves, for we are their guests, and they made a covenant with us which we should fulfil: there remaineth but little of the night, and each of us shall soon go his way. Then, winking to the Khaleefeh, he said, There remaineth but an hour; and to-morrow we will bring them before thee, and thou shalt ask them their story. But the Khaleefeh refused to do so, and said, I have not patience to wait so long for their history.--Words followed words, and at last they said, Who shall put the question to them?--and one answered, The porter.

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The ladies then said to them, O people, of what are ye talking?--whereupon the porter approached the mistress of the house, and said to her, O my mistress, I ask thee, and conjure thee by Allah, to tell us the story of the two b.i.t.c.hes, and for what reason thou didst beat them, and then didst weep, and kiss them, and that thou acquaint us with the cause of thy sister's having been beaten with mi?ra'ahs: that is our question, and peace be on you.--Is this true that he saith of you? inquired the lady, of the other men; and they all answered, Yes,--excepting Ja?far, who was silent. When the lady heard their answer, she said, Verily, O our guests, ye have wronged us excessively; for we made a covenant with you beforehand, that he who should speak of that which concerned him not should hear that which would not please him. Is it not enough that we have admitted you into our house, and fed you with our provisions? But it is not so much your fault as the fault of her who introduced you to us.--She then tucked up her sleeve above her wrist, and struck the floor three times, saying, Come ye quickly!--and immediately the door of a closet opened, and there came forth from it seven black slaves, each having in his hand a drawn sword. The lady said to them, Tie behind them the hands of these men of many words, and bind each of them to another:--and they did so, and said, O virtuous lady, dost thou permit us to strike off their heads? She answered, Give them a short respite, until I shall have inquired of them their histories, before ye behead them.--By Allah, O my mistress, exclaimed the porter, kill me not for the offence of others: for they have all transgressed and committed an offence, excepting me. Verily our night had been pleasant if we had been preserved from these mendicants, whose presence is enough to convert a well-peopled city into a heap of ruins!--He then repeated this couplet:--

How good is it to pardon one able to resist! and how much more so, one who is helpless!

For the sake of the friendship that subsisted between us, destroy not one for the crime of another!

On hearing these words of the porter, the lady laughed after her anger.

Then approaching the men, she said, Acquaint me with your histories, for there remaineth of your lives no more than an hour. Were ye not persons of honourable and high condition, or governors,[III_41] I would hasten your recompense.--The Khaleefeh said to Ja?far, Wo to thee, O Ja?far! make known to her who we are; otherwise she will kill us.--It were what we deserve, replied he.--Jesting, said the Khaleefeh, is not befitting in a time for seriousness: each has its proper occasion.--The lady then approached the mendicants, and said to them, Are ye brothers?

They answered, No, indeed; we are only poor foreigners.[III_42] She said then to one of them, Wast thou born blind of one eye?--No, verily, he answered; but a wonderful event happened to me when my eye was destroyed, and the story of it, if engraved on the understanding, would serve as a lesson to him who would be admonished. She asked the second and the third also; and they answered her as the first; adding, Each of us is from a different country, and our history is wonderful and extraordinary. The lady then looked towards them and said, Each of you shall relate his story, and the cause of his coming to our abode, and then stroke his head,[III_43] and go his way.

The first who advanced was the porter, who said, O my mistress, I am a porter; and this cateress loaded me, and brought me hither, and what hath happened to me here in your company ye know. This is my story; and peace be on you.--Stroke thy head, then, said she, and go:--but he replied, By Allah, I will not go until I shall have heard the story of my companions.--The first mendicant then advanced, and related as follows:--

THE STORY OF THE FIRST ROYAL MENDICANT.

Know, O my mistress, that the cause of my having shaved my beard, and of the loss of my eye was this:--My father was a King, and he had a brother who was also a King, and who resided in another capital. It happened that my mother gave birth to me on the same day on which the son of my uncle was born; and years and days pa.s.sed away until we attained to manhood. Now, it was my custom, some years, to visit my uncle, and to remain with him several months; and on one of these occasions my cousin paid me great honour; he slaughtered sheep for me, and strained the wine for me, and we sat down to drink; and when the wine had affected us, he said to me, O son of my uncle, I have need of thine a.s.sistance in an affair of interest to me, and I beg that thou wilt not oppose me in that which I desire to do. I replied, I am altogether at thy service:--and he made me swear to him by great oaths, and, rising immediately, absented himself for a little while, and then returned, followed by a woman decked with ornaments, and perfumed, and wearing a dress of extraordinary value. He looked towards me, while the woman stood behind him, and said, Take this woman, and go before me to the burial-ground which is in such a place:--and he described it to me, and I knew it. He then added, Enter the burial-ground, and there wait for me.

I could not oppose him, nor refuse to comply with his request, on account of the oaths which I had sworn to him; so I took the woman, and went with her to the burial-ground; and when we had sat there a short time, my cousin came, bearing a basin of water, and a bag containing some plaster, and a small adze. Going to a tomb in the midst of the burial-ground, he took the adze, and disunited the stones, which he placed on one side; he then dug up the earth with the adze, and uncovered a flat stone, of the size of a small door, under which there appeared a vaulted staircase. Having done this he made a sign to the woman, and said to her, Do according to thy choice:--whereupon she descended the stairs. He then looked towards me, and said, O son of my uncle, complete thy kindness when I have descended into this place, by replacing the trap-door and the earth above it as they were before: then, this plaster which is in the bag, and this water which is in the basin, do thou knead together, and plaster the stones of the tomb as they were, so that no man may know it, and say, This hath been lately opened, but its interior is old:--for, during the s.p.a.ce of a whole year I have been preparing this, and no one knew it but G.o.d: this is what I would have thee do. He then said to me, May G.o.d never deprive thy friends of thy presence, O son of my uncle!--and, having uttered these words, he descended the stairs.

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When he had disappeared from before my eyes, I replaced the trap-door, and busied myself with doing as he had ordered me, until the tomb was restored to the state in which it was at first; after which I returned to the palace of my uncle, who was then absent on a hunting excursion. I slept that night, and when the morning came, I reflected upon what had occurred between me and my cousin, and repented of what I had done for him, when repentance was of no avail. I then went out to the burial-ground, and searched for the tomb; but could not discover it. I ceased not in my search until the approach of night; and, not finding the way to it, returned again to the palace; and I neither ate nor drank: my heart was troubled respecting my cousin, since I knew not what had become of him; and I fell into excessive grief. I pa.s.sed the night sorrowful until the morning, and went again to the burial-ground, reflecting upon the action of my cousin, and repenting of my compliance with his request; and I searched among all the tombs; but discovered not that for which I looked. Thus I persevered in my search seven days without success.[III_44]

My trouble continued and increased until I was almost mad; and I found no relief but in departing, and returning to my father; but on my arrival at his capital, a party at the city-gate sprang upon me and bound me. I was struck with the utmost astonishment, considering that I was the son of the Sul?an of the city, and that these were the servants of my father and of myself: excessive fear of them overcame me, and I said within myself, What hath happened to my father? I asked, of those who had bound me, the cause of this conduct; but they returned me no answer, till after a while, when one of them, who had been my servant, said to me, Fortune hath betrayed thy father, the troops have been false to him, and the Wezeer hath killed him; and we were lying in wait to take thee.--They took me, and I was as one dead, by reason of this news which I had heard respecting my father; and I stood before the Wezeer who had killed my father.

Now, there was an old enmity subsisting between me and him; and the cause of it was this:--I was fond of shooting with the cross-bow; and it happened, one day, that as I was standing on the roof of my palace, a bird alighted on the roof of the palace of the Wezeer, who was standing there at the time, and I aimed at the bird; but the bullet missed it, and struck the eye of the Wezeer, and knocked it out, in accordance with the appointment of fate and destiny, as the poet hath said:--

We trod the steps appointed for us: and the man whose steps are appointed must tread them.

He whose death is decreed to take place in one land will not die in any land but that.

When I had thus put out the eye of the Wezeer, he could say nothing, because my father was King of the city. This was the cause of the enmity between him and me: and when I stood before him, with my hands bound behind me, he gave the order to strike off my head. I said to him, Wouldst thou kill me for no offence?--What offence, he exclaimed, could be greater than this?--and he pointed to the place of the eye which was put out. I did that, said I, unintentionally. He replied, If thou didst it unintentionally, I will do the same to thee purposely:--and immediately he said, Bring him forward to me:--and, when they had done so, he thrust his finger into my left eye, and pulled it out. Thus I became deprived of one eye, as ye see me. He then bound me firmly, and placed me in a chest, and said to the executioner, Take this fellow, and draw thy sword, and convey him without the city; then put him to death, and let the wild beasts devour him.

Accordingly, he went forth with me from the city, and, having taken me out from the chest, bound hand and foot, was about to bandage my eye, and kill me; whereupon I wept, and exclaimed,--

How many brothers have I taken as armour! and such they were; but to guard my enemies.

I thought they would be as piercing arrows: and such they were; but to enter my heart!

The executioner, who had served my father in the same capacity, and to whom I had shewn kindnesses, said, on hearing these verses, O my master, what can I do, being a slave under command?--but presently he added, Depart with thy life, and return not to this country, lest thou perish, and cause me to perish with thee. The poet saith,--

Flee with thy life if thou fearest oppression, and leave the house to tell its builder's fate.

Thou wilt find, for the land that thou quittest, another: but no soul wilt thou find to replace thine own.

As soon as he had thus said, I kissed his hands, and believed not in my safety until I had fled from his presence. The loss of my eye appeared light to me when I considered my escape from death; and I journeyed to my uncle's capital, and, presenting myself before him, informed him of what had befallen my father, and of the manner in which I had lost my eye: upon which he wept bitterly, and said, Thou hast added to my trouble and my grief; for thy cousin hath been lost for some days, and I know not what hath happened to him, nor can any one give me information respecting him. Then he wept again, until he became insensible; and when he recovered, he said, O my son, the loss of thine eye is better than the loss of thy life.

Upon this I could no longer keep silence respecting his son, my cousin; so I informed him of all that happened to him; and on hearing this news he rejoiced exceedingly, and said, Shew me the tomb.--By Allah, O my uncle, I replied, I know not where it is; for I went afterwards several times to search for it, and could not recognise its place. We, however, went together to the burial-ground, and, looking to the right and left, I discovered it; and both I and my uncle rejoiced. I then entered the tomb with him, and when we had removed the earth, and lifted up the trap-door, we descended fifty steps, and, arriving at the bottom of the stairs, there issued forth upon us a smoke which blinded our eyes; whereupon my uncle p.r.o.nounced those words which relieve from fear him who uttereth them,--There is no strength nor power but in G.o.d, the High, the Great!--After this, we proceeded, and found ourselves in a saloon, filled with flour and grain, and various eatables; and we saw there a curtain suspended over a couch, upon which my uncle looked, and found there his son and the woman who had descended with him, lying side by side, and converted into black charcoal, as if they had been thrown into a pit of fire. And when he beheld this spectacle, he spat in his son's face, and exclaimed, This is what thou deservest, O thou wretch! This is the punishment of the present world, and there remaineth the punishment of the other world, which will be more severe and lasting!--and he struck him with his shoes. Astonished at this action, and grieved for my cousin, seeing him and the damsel thus converted into charcoal, I said, By Allah, O my uncle, moderate the trouble of thy heart, for my mind is perplexed by that which hath happened to thy son, and by thinking how it hath come to pa.s.s that he and the damsel are converted into black charcoal. Dost thou not deem it enough for him to be in this state, that thou beatest him with thy shoes?

O son of my brother, he replied, this my son was, from his early years, inflamed with love for his foster-sister,[III_45] and I used to forbid him from entertaining this pa.s.sion for her, and to say within myself, They are now children, but when they grow older a base act will be committed by them:--and, indeed, I heard that such had been the case, but I believed it not. I, however, reprimanded him severely, and said to him, Beware of so foul an action, which none before thee hath committed, nor will any commit after thee: otherwise we shall suffer disgrace and disparagement among the Kings until we die, and our history will spread abroad with the caravans: have a care for thyself that such an action proceed not from thee; for I should be incensed against thee, and kill thee. I then separated him from her, and her from him: but the vile woman loved him excessively; the Devil got possession of them both; and when my son saw that I had separated him, he secretly made this place beneath the earth, and, having conveyed hither the provisions which thou seest, took advantage of my inadvertence when I had gone out to hunt, and came hither: but the Truth[III_46] (whose perfection be extolled, and whose name be exalted!) was jealously vigilant over them, and consumed them by fire; and the punishment of the world to come will be more severe and lasting.--He then wept, and I wept with him; and he said to me, Thou art my son in his stead.--I remained a while reflecting upon the world and its vicissitudes, upon the murder of my father by the Wezeer, and his usurping his throne, and the loss of my eye, and the strange events which had happened to my cousin, and I wept again.

We then ascended, and, having replaced the trap-door and the earth above it, and restored the tomb to its former state, returned to our abode; but scarcely had we seated ourselves when we heard the sounds of drums and trumpets, warriours galloped about, and the air was filled with dust raised by the horses' hoofs. Our minds were perplexed, not knowing what had happened, and the King, asking the news, was answered, The Wezeer of thy brother hath slain him and his soldiers and guards, and come with his army to a.s.sault the city unawares; and the inhabitants, being unable to withstand, have submitted to him:--whereupon I said within myself, If I fall into his hand, he will slay me.--Griefs overwhelmed me, and I thought of the calamities which had befallen my father and my mother, and knew not what to do; for if I appeared, the people of the city would know me, and the troops of my father would hasten to kill and destroy me. I knew no way of escape but to shave off my beard:[III_47] so I shaved it, and, having changed my clothes, departed from the city, and came hither, to this abode of peace, in the hope that some person would introduce me to the Prince of the Faithful, the Khaleefeh of the Lord of all creatures, that I might relate to him my story, and all that had befallen me. I arrived in this city this night; and as I stood perplexed, not knowing whither to direct my steps, I saw this mendicant, and saluted him, and said, I am a stranger. He replied, And I, too, am a stranger:--and while we were thus addressing each other, our companion, this third person, came up to us, and saluting us, said, I am a stranger. We replied, And we, also, are strangers. So we walked on together, and darkness overtook us, and destiny directed us unto your abode.--This was the cause of the shaving of my beard, and of the loss of my eye.

The lady then said to him, Stroke my head, and depart:--but he replied, I will not depart until I have heard the stories of the others. And they wondered at his tale; and the Khaleefeh said to Ja?far, Verily I have never known the like of that which hath happened to this mendicant.

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The second mendicant then advanced, and, having kissed the ground, said,--

THE STORY OF THE SECOND ROYAL MENDICANT.

O my mistress, I was not born with only one eye; but my story is wonderful, and, if written, would serve as a lesson to him who would be admonished. I am a King, and son of a King: I read the ?uran according to the seven readings,[III_48] and perused various works under the tuition of different learned professors of their subjects: I studied the science of the stars,[III_49] and the writings of the poets, and made myself a proficient in all the sciences; so that I surpa.s.sed the people of my age. My hand-writing[III_50] was extolled among all the scribes, my fame spread among all countries, and my history among all Kings; and the King of India, hearing of me, requested my father to allow me to visit him, sending him various gifts and curious presents, such as were suitable to Kings. My father, therefore, prepared for me six ships, and we proceeded by sea for the s.p.a.ce of a whole month, after which we came to land; and, having disembarked some horses which we had with us in the ship, we loaded ten camels with presents, and commenced our journey; but soon there appeared a cloud of dust, which rose and spread until it filled the air before us, and, after a while, cleared a little, and discovered to us, in the midst of it, sixty horseman like fierce lions whom we perceived to be Arab highwaymen; and when they saw us, that we were a small company with ten loads of presents for the King of India, they galloped towards us, pointing their spears at us. We made signs to them with our fingers, and said, We are amba.s.sadors to the honoured King of India; therefore do us no injury:--but they replied, We are not in his territories, nor under his government. They slew certain of the young men, and the rest fled. I also fled, after I had received a severe wound; the Arabs being employed, without further regard to us, in taking possession of the treasure and presents which we had with us.

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I proceeded without knowing whither to direct my course, reduced from a mighty to an abject state, and journeyed till I arrived at the summit of a mountain, where I took shelter in a cavern until the next morning. I then resumed my journey, and arrived at a flourishing city: the winter, with its cold, had pa.s.sed away, and the spring had come, with its flowers; and I rejoiced at my arrival there, being wearied with my journey, anxious and pallid. My condition being thus changed, I knew not whither to bend my steps; and, turning to a tailor sitting in his shop, I saluted him, and he returned my salutation, and welcomed me, and wished me joy, asking me the reason of my having come thither. I acquainted him, therefore, with what had befallen me from first to last, and he was grieved for me, and said, O young man, reveal not thy case, for I fear what the King of this city might do to thee, since he is the greatest of thy father's enemies, and hath a debt of blood against him.

He then placed some food and drink before me, and we ate together, and I conversed with him till night, when he lodged me in a place by his shop, and brought me a bed and coverlet; and, after I had remained with him three days, he said to me, Dost thou not know any trade by which to make gain?[III_51] I answered, I am acquainted with the law, a student of sciences, a writer, and an arithmetician.--Thy occupation, he said, is profitless in our country: there is no one in our city acquainted with science or writing, but only with getting money. Verily, I replied, I know nothing but what I have told thee.--Gird thyself, then, said he, and take an axe and a rope, and cut firewood in the desert, and so obtain thy subsistence until G.o.d dispel thy affliction; but acquaint no one with thy history, else they will kill thee. He then bought for me an axe and a rope, and sent me with a party of wood-cutters, giving them a charge respecting me. Accordingly, I went forth with them, and, cut some wood, and brought back a load upon my head, and sold it for half a piece of gold, part of which I expended in food, laying by the remainder.

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Thus I continued for the s.p.a.ce of a year, after which I went one day into the desert, according to my custom, to cut firewood; and, finding there a tract with abundance of wood, I entered it, and came to a tree, around which I dug; and as I was removing the earth from its roots, the axe struck against a ring of bra.s.s; and I cleared away the earth from it, and found that it was affixed to a trap-door of wood, which I immediately removed. Beneath it appeared a staircase, which I descended; and at the bottom of this I entered a door, and beheld a palace, strongly constructed, where I found a lady, like a pearl of high price, whose aspect banished from the heart all anxiety and grief and affliction. At the sight of her I prostrated myself in adoration of her Creator for the fairness and beauty which He had displayed in her person; and she, looking towards me, said, Art thou a man or a Jinnee? I answered her, I am a man.--And who, she asked, hath brought thee to this place, in which I have lived five and twenty years without ever seeing a human being?--Her words sounded sweetly to me, and I answered her, O my mistress, G.o.d hath brought me to thy abode, and I hope will put an end to my anxiety and grief:--and I related to her my story from beginning to end. She was grieved at my case, and wept, and said, I also will acquaint thee with my story. Know that I am the daughter of the King of the further parts of India, the lord of the Ebony Island. My father had married me to the son of my uncle; but on the night of my bridal festivities, an 'Efreet namad Jarjarees, the son of Rejmoos, the son of Iblees, carried me off, and, soaring with me through the air, alighted in this place, to which he conveyed all things necessary for me, such as ornaments, and garments, and linen, and furniture, and food, and drink; and once in every ten days he cometh to me, and spendeth a night here;[III_52] and he hath appointed with me, that, in case of my wanting any thing by night or day, I should touch with my hand these two lines which are inscribed upon the ?ubbeh,[III_53] and as soon as I remove my hand I see him before me. Four days have now pa.s.sed since he was last with me, and there remain, therefore, six days before he will come again; wilt thou then remain with me five days, and depart one day before his visit?--I answered, Yes; rejoicing at the proposal; and she arose, and taking me by the hand, conducted me through an arched door to a small and elegant bath, where I took off my clothes, while she seated herself upon a mattress. After this, she seated me by her side, and brought me some sherbet of sugar infused with musk,[III_54] and handed it to me to drink: she then placed some food before me, and after we had eaten and conversed together, she said to me, Sleep, and rest thyself; for thou art fatigued.

I slept, O my mistress, and forgot all that had befallen me; and when I awoke, I found her rubbing my feet;[III_55] upon which I called to her, and we sat down again and conversed a while; and she said to me, By Allah, I was straitened in my heart, living here alone, without any person to talk with me, five and twenty years. Praise be to G.o.d who hath sent thee to me.--I thanked her for her kind expressions; and love of her took possession of my heart, and my anxiety and grief fled away. We then sat down to drink together; and I remained by her side all the night, delighted with her company, for I had never seen her like in my whole life; and in the morning, when we were both full of joy, I said to her, Shall I take thee up from this subterranean place, and release thee from the Jinnee? But she laughed, and replied, Be content, and hold thy peace; for, of every ten days, one day shall be for the 'Efreet, and nine for thee. I persisted, however, being overcome with pa.s.sion: and said, I will this instant demolish this ?ubbeh upon which the inscription is engraved, and let the 'Efreet come, that I may slay him: for I am predestined to kill 'Efreets. She entreated me to refrain; but, paying no attention to her words, I kicked the ?ubbeh with violence; upon which she exclaimed, The 'Efreet hath arrived! Did I not caution thee against this? Verily thou hast brought a calamity upon me; but save thyself, and ascend by the way that thou camest.

In the excess of my fear I forgot my sandals and my axe, and when I had ascended two steps, turning round to look for them, I saw that the ground had opened, and there rose from it an 'Efreet of hideous aspect, who said, Wherefore is this disturbance with which thou hast alarmed me, and what misfortune hath befallen thee? She answered, No misfortune hath happened to me, excepting that my heart was contracted, and I desired to drink some wine to dilate it, and, rising to perform my purpose, I fell against the ?ubbeh.--Thou liest, vile woman, he exclaimed;--and, looking about the palace to the right and left, he saw the sandals and axe; and said to her, These are the property of none but a man. Who hath visited thee?--I have not seen them, she answered, until this instant: probably they caught to thee.--This language, said he, is absurd, and will have no effect upon me, thou shameless woman!--and, so saying, he stripped her of her clothing, and tied her down, with her arms and legs extended, to four stakes, and began to beat her, urging her to confess what had happened.