CHAPTER VII.

The Seventh Vizier, on the following day, approached the King, and

having told him that his lenity towards Bakhtyār was made the subject of

public conversation, added many arguments to procure an order for the

execution of that unfortunate young man. The King, changing colour with

anger, sent immediately for the Queen, and asked her advice concerning

Bakhtyār. She declared that he deserved death; in consequence of which

the King ordered his attendants to bring him from the prison. When he

came into the royal presence, he begged for mercy, saying: “My innocence

will appear hereafter; and though your Majesty can easily put to death a

living man, you cannot restore a dead man to life.”—“How,” said the

King, “can you deny your guilt, since the women of the harem all bear

witness against you?”—Bakhtyār replied: “Women, for their own purposes,

often devise falsehoods, and are very expert in artifice and fraud, as

appears from the story of the daughter of the King of `Irāk and her

adventures with the King of Abyssinia, which, if your Majesty permit, I

shall briefly relate.”—Having obtained permission, he began the story as

follows:

STORY OF THE KING OF ABYSSINIA, SHOWING THE ARTIFICE OF WOMEN.

It is related that Abyssinia was once governed by a certain monarch,

whose armies were very numerous, and his treasury well filled; but not

having any enemy to engage him in war, he neglected his troops, and

withheld their pay, so that they were reduced to great distress, and

began to murmur, and at last made their complaints to the Vizier. He,

pitying their situation, promised that he would take measures for their

relief, and desired them to be patient for a little while. He then

considered within himself what steps he should take; and at length,

knowing the King’s inclination to women, and understanding that the

Princess of `Irāk was uncommonly beautiful, he resolved to praise her

charms in such extravagant language before the King, as to induce him to

demand her from her father, who, from his excessive fondness, would not

probably consent to bestow her on him, and thus a war would ensue, in

which case the troops should be employed, and their arrears paid off.

Pleased with the ingenuity of this stratagem, the vizier hastened to the

King, and after conversing for some time on various subjects, he

contrived to mention the King of `Irāk, and immediately described the

beauty of his daughter in such glowing colours, that the King became

enamoured, and consulted the vizier on the means whereby he might hope

to obtain possession of that lovely Princess. The vizier replied, that

the first step was to send ambassadors to the King of `Irāk, soliciting

his daughter in marriage. In consequence of this advice, some able and

discreet persons were despatched as ambassadors to `Irāk. On their

arrival in that country, the King received them courteously; but when

they disclosed the object of their mission he became angry, and declared

that he would not comply with their demand.

The ambassadors returned to Abyssinia, and having reported to the King

the unsuccessful result of their negotiation, he vowed that he would

send an army into `Irāk, and lay that country waste, unless his demands

were complied with.

In consequence of this resolution, he ordered the doors of his treasury

to be thrown open, and caused so much money to be distributed among the

soldiers that they were satisfied. From all quarters the troops

assembled, and zealously prepared for war. On the other hand, the King

of `Irāk levied his forces, and sent them to oppose the Abyssinians, who

invaded his dominions; but he did not lead them to the field himself,

and they were defeated and put to flight. When the account of this

disaster reached the King of `Irāk, he consulted his vizier, and asked

what was next to be done. The vizier candidly declared that he did not

think it necessary to prolong the war on account of a woman, and advised

his Majesty to send ambassadors with overtures of peace, and an offer of

giving the Princess to the King of Abyssinia. This advice the King of

`Irāk followed, although reluctantly. Ambassadors were despatched to the

enemy with offers of peace, and a declaration of the King’s consent to

the marriage of his daughter.

These terms being accepted, the Princess was sent with confidential

attendants to the King of Abyssinia, who retired with her to his own

dominions, where he espoused her; and some time passed away in festivity

and pleasure. But it happened that the King of `Irāk had some years

before given his daughter in marriage to another man, by whom she had a

son; and this boy was now grown up, and accomplished in all sciences,

and such a favourite with the King of `Irāk, that he would never permit

him to be one hour absent from him. The Princess, when obliged to leave

him, felt all the anxiety of a mother, and resolved to devise some

stratagem whereby she might enjoy his society in Abyssinia.

One day the King of Abyssinia, on some occasion, behaved harshly to the

Queen, and spoke disrespectfully of her father. She in return said:

“Your kingdom, it is true, is most fertile and abundant; but my father

possesses such a treasure as no other monarch can boast of—a youth sent

to him by the kindness of Heaven, skilled in every profound science, and

accomplished in every manly exercise; so that he rather seems to be one

of the inhabitants of Paradise than of this earth.” These praises so

excited the curiosity of the King, that he vowed he would bring this boy

to his court, were he even obliged to go himself for him. The Queen

replied: “My father would be like a distracted person were he deprived,

even for an hour, of this boy’s society; but some intelligent person

must be sent to `Irāk in the character of a merchant, and endeavour by

every means to steal him away.”

The King approved of this advice, and chose a person well skilled in

business, who had experienced many reverses of fortune, and seen much of

the world. To this man he promised a reward of a hundred male slaves and

a hundred beautiful damsels, if he should succeed in bringing away this

boy from the King of `Irāk’s court. The man inquired the name of the

boy, which was Farrukhzād, and, disguised as a merchant, set out

immediately for `Irāk.

Having arrived there, he presented various offerings to the King; and

one day found an opportunity of conversing with the boy. At last he

said: “With such accomplishments as you possess, were you in Abyssinia

for one day, you would be rendered master of slaves and damsels, and

riches of every kind.” He then described the delights of that country,

which made such an impression on Farrukhzād, that he became disgusted

with `Irāk, and attached himself to the merchant, and said: “I have

often heard of Abyssinia, and have long wished to enjoy the pleasures

which it yields. The King’s daughter is now in that country, and if I

could contrive to go there, my happiness would be complete. But I know

not how to escape from this place, as the King will not permit me to be

one hour absent from him.”

The merchant gladly undertook to devise some means for the escape of

Farrukhzād; and at last having put him into a chest, and placed him upon

a camel, he contrived one evening to carry him off unnoticed. The next

day the King of `Irāk sent messengers in all directions to seek him.

They inquired of all the caravans and travellers, but could not obtain

any intelligence concerning him. At last the merchant brought him to

Abyssinia, and the King, finding that his accomplishments and talents

had not been over-rated, was much delighted with his society; and as he

had not any child, he bestowed on him a royal robe and crown, a horse, a

sword, and a shield, and adopted him as his son, and brought him into

the harem.

When the Queen beheld Farrukhzād, she wept for joy, embraced him, and

kissed him with all the fondness of a mother. It happened that one of

the servants was a witness, unperceived, of this interview. He

immediately hastened to the King, and represented the transaction in

such a manner as to excite all his jealousy and rage. However, he

resolved to inquire into the matter; but Farrukhzād did not acknowledge

that the Queen was his mother; and when he sent for her she answered his

questions only by her tears. From these circumstances he concluded that

they were guilty; and accordingly he ordered one of his attendants to

take away the young man to a burying-ground without the city, and there

to cut off his head.

The attendant led Farrukhzād away, and was preparing to put the King’s

sentence into execution, but when he looked in the youth’s face, his

heart was moved with compassion, and he said, “It must have been the

woman’s fault, and not his crime;” and he resolved to save him. When he

told Farrukhzād that he would conceal him in his own house, the boy was

delighted, and promised that if ever it was in his power he would reward

him for his kindness. Having taken him to his house, the man waited on

the King, and told him that he had, in obedience to his orders, put

Farrukhzād to death.

After this the King treated his wife with the utmost coldness; and she

sat melancholy, lamenting the absence of her son. It happened that an

old woman beheld the Queen as she sat alone, weeping, in her chamber.

Pitying her situation, she approached, and humbly inquired the occasion

of her grief. The Queen made no reply; but when the old woman promised,

not only to observe the utmost secrecy, if entrusted with the story of

her misfortunes, but to find a remedy for them, she related at length

all that had happened, and disclosed the mystery of Farrukhzād’s birth.

The old woman desired the Queen to comfort herself, and said: “This

night, before the King retires to rest, you must lay yourself down, and

close your eyes, as if asleep; he will then place something, which I

shall give him, on your bosom, and will command you, by the power of the

writing contained in that, to reveal the truth. You must then begin to

speak, and, without any apprehension, repeat all that you have now told

me.”

The old woman, having then found that the King was alone in his

summer-house, presented herself before him, and said: “O King, this

solitary life occasions melancholy and sadness!” The King replied that

it was not solitude which rendered him melancholy, but vexation on

account of the Queen’s infidelity, and the ingratitude of Farrukhzād, on

whom he had heaped so many favours, and whom he had adopted as his own

son. “Yet,” added he, “I am not convinced of his guilt; and since the

day that I caused him to be killed, I have not enjoyed repose, nor am I

certain whether the fault was his or the Queen’s.”

“Let not the King be longer in suspense on this subject,” said the old

woman, “I have a certain talisman, one of the talismans of Solomon,

written in Grecian characters, and in the Syrian language; if your

Majesty will watch an opportunity when the Queen shall be asleep, and

lay it on her breast, and say: ‘O thou that sleepest! by virtue of the

talisman, and of the name of God, which it contains, I conjure thee to

speak to me, and to reveal all the secrets of thy heart,’ she will

immediately begin to speak, and will declare everything that she knows,

both true and false.”

The King, delighted at the hopes of discovering the truth by means of

this talisman, desired the old woman to fetch it. She accordingly went

home, and taking a piece of paper, scrawled on it some unmeaning

characters, folded it up, and tied it with a cord, and sealed it with

wax; then hastened to the King, and desired him to preserve it carefully

till night should afford an opportunity of trying its efficacy.

When it was night, the King watched until he found that the Queen was in

bed; then gently approaching, and believing her to be asleep, he laid

the talisman on her breast, and repeated the words which the old woman

had taught him. The Queen, who had also received her lesson, still

affecting the appearance of one asleep, immediately began to speak, and

related all the circumstances of her story.

On hearing this the King was much affected, and tenderly embraced the

Queen, who started from her bed as if perfectly unconscious of having

revealed the secrets of her breast. He then blamed her for not having

candidly acknowledged the circumstance of Farrukhzād’s birth, who, he

said, should have been considered as his own son.

All that night they passed in mutual condolence, and on the next morning

the King sent for the person to whom he had delivered Farrukhzād, and

desired him to point out the spot where his body lay, that he might

perform the last duty to that unfortunate youth, and ask forgiveness

from his departed spirit. The man replied: “It appears that your Majesty

is ignorant of Farrukhzād’s situation: he is at present in a place of

safety; for although you ordered me to kill him, I ventured to disobey,

and have concealed him in my house, from whence, if you permit, I shall

immediately bring him.” At this information the King was so delighted

that he rewarded the man with a splendid robe, and sent with him several

attendants to bring Farrukhzād to the palace.

On arriving in his presence, Farrukhzād threw himself at the King’s

feet, but he raised him in his arms and asked his forgiveness, and thus

the affair ended in rejoicing and festivity.

* * * * *

“Now,” said Bakhtyār, having concluded his story, “it appears that women

are expert in stratagems; and if Farrukhzād had been put to death,

according to the King’s command, what grief and sorrow would have been

the consequence! To avoid such,” added he, “let not your Majesty be

precipitate in ordering my execution.”

The King resolved to wait another day, and Bakhtyār was sent back to

prison.