CHAPTER II.

COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE THIRD NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE

NINTH.

THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN.

There was a certain fisherman, advanced in age, who had a wife and three

children; and though he was in indigent circumstances, it was his custom

to cast his net, every day, no more than four times. One day he went

forth at the hour of noon to the shore of the sea, and put down his

basket, and cast his net, and waited until it was motionless in the

water, when he drew together its strings, and found it to be heavy: he

pulled, but could not draw it up: so he took the end of the cord, and

knocked a stake into the shore, and tied the cord to it. He then

stripped himself, and dived round the net, and continued to pull until

he drew it out: whereupon he rejoiced, and put on his clothes; but when

he came to examine the net, he found in it the carcass of an ass. At the

sight of this he mourned, and exclaimed, There is no strength nor power

but in God, the High, the Great! This is a strange piece of

fortune!--And he repeated the following verse:--

O thou who occupiest thyself in the darkness of night, and in peril!

Spare thy trouble; for the support of Providence is not obtained

by toil![II_1]

He then disencumbered his net of the dead ass, and wrung it out; after

which he spread it, and descended into the sea, and--exclaiming, In the

name of God!--cast it again, and waited till it had sunk and was still,

when he pulled it, and found it more heavy and more difficult to raise

than on the former occasion. He therefore concluded that it was full of

fish: so he tied it, and stripped, and plunged and dived, and pulled

until he raised it, and drew it upon the shore; when he found in it only

a large jar, full of sand and mud; on seeing which, he was troubled in

his heart, and repeated the following words of the poet:--

O angry fate, forbear! or, if thou wilt not forbear, relent!

Neither favour from fortune do I gain, nor profit from the work

of my hands,

I came forth to seek my sustenance, but have found it to be exhausted.

How many of the ignorant are in splendour! and how many of the wise,

in obscurity!

So saying, he threw aside the jar, and wrung out and cleansed his net;

and, begging the forgiveness of God for his impatience, returned to the

sea the third time, and threw the net, and waited till it had sunk and

was motionless: he then drew it out, and found in it a quantity of

broken jars and pots.

Upon this, he raised his head towards heaven, and said, O God, Thou

knowest that I cast not my net more than four times; and I have now cast

it three times! Then--exclaiming, In the name of God!--he cast the net

again into the sea, and waited till it was still; when he attempted to

draw it up, but could not, for it clung to the bottom. And he exclaimed,

There is no strength nor power but in God!--and stripped himself again,

and dived round the net, and pulled it until he raised it upon the

shore; when he opened it, and found in it a bottle[II_2] of brass,

filled with something, and having its mouth closed with a stopper of

lead, bearing the impression of the seal of our lord Suleymán.[II_3]

At the sight of this, the fisherman was rejoiced, and said, This I

will sell in the copper-market; for it is worth ten pieces of gold.

He then shook it, and found it to be heavy, and said, I must open it,

and see what is in it, and store it in my bag; and then I will

sell the bottle in the copper-market. So he took out a knife, and

picked at the lead until he extracted it from the bottle. He then laid

the bottle on the ground, and shook it, that its contents might pour

out; but there came forth from it nothing but smoke, which ascended

towards the sky, and spread over the face of the earth; at which he

wondered excessively. And after a little while, the smoke collected

together, and was condensed, and then became agitated, and was converted

into an 'Efreet, whose head was in the clouds, while his feet rested

upon the ground:[II_4] his head was like a dome: his hands were

like winnowing forks;[II_5] and his legs, like masts: his mouth

resembled a cavern: his teeth were like stones; his nostrils, like

trumpets;[II_6] and his eyes, like lamps; and he had dishevelled

and dust-coloured hair.

[Illustration]

When the fisherman beheld this 'Efreet, the muscles of his sides

quivered, his teeth were locked together, his spittle dried up, and he

saw not his way. The 'Efreet, as soon as he perceived him, exclaimed,

There is no deity but God: Suleymán is the Prophet of God. O Prophet of

God, slay me not; for I will never again oppose thee in word, or rebel

against thee in deed!--O Márid,[II_7] said the fisherman, dost thou say,

Suleymán is the Prophet of God? Suleymán hath been dead a thousand and

eight hundred years; and we are now in the end of time. What is thy

history, and what is thy tale, and what was the cause of thy entering

this bottle? When the Márid heard these words of the fisherman, he said,

There is no deity but God! Receive news, O fisherman!--Of what, said the

fisherman, dost thou give me news? He answered, Of thy being instantly

put to a most cruel death. The fisherman exclaimed, Thou deservest, for

this news, O master of the 'Efreets, the withdrawal of protection from

thee, O thou remote![II_8] Wherefore wouldst thou kill me? and what

requires thy killing me, when I have liberated thee from the bottle, and

rescued thee from the bottom of the sea, and brought thee up upon the

dry land?--The 'Efreet answered, Choose what kind of death thou wilt

die, and in what manner thou shalt be killed.--What is my offence, said

the fisherman, that this should be my recompense from thee? The 'Efreet

replied, Hear my story, O fisherman.--Tell it then, said the fisherman,

and be short in thy words; for my soul hath sunk down to my feet.

Know then, said he, that I am one of the heretical Jinn: I rebelled

against Suleymán the son of Dáood: I and Ṣakhr the Jinnee;[II_9]

and he sent to me his Wezeer, Áṣaf the son of Barkhiyà, who came upon me

forcibly, and took me to him in bonds, and placed me before him: and

when Suleymán saw me, he offered up a prayer for protection against me,

and exhorted me to embrace the faith, and to submit to his authority;

but I refused; upon which he called for this bottle, and confined me in

it, and closed it upon me with the leaden stopper, which he stamped with

the Most Great Name: he then gave orders to the Jinn, who carried me

away, and threw me into the midst of the sea. There I remained a hundred

years; and I said in my heart, Whosoever shall liberate me, I will

enrich him for ever:--but the hundred years passed over me, and no one

liberated me: and I entered upon another hundred years; and I said,

Whosoever shall liberate me, I will open to him the treasures of the

earth;--but no one did so: and four hundred years more passed over me,

and I said, Whosoever shall liberate me, I will perform for him three

wants:--but still no one liberated me. I then fell into a violent rage,

and said within myself, Whosoever shall liberate me now, I will kill

him; and only suffer him to choose in what manner he will die. And lo,

now thou hast liberated me, and I have given thee thy choice of the

manner in which thou wilt die.

When the fisherman had heard the story of the 'Efreet, he exclaimed, O

Allah! that I should not have liberated thee but in such a time as this!

Then said he to the 'Efreet, Pardon me, and kill me not, and so may God

pardon thee; and destroy me not, lest God give power over thee to one

who will destroy thee. The Márid answered, I must positively kill thee;

therefore choose by what manner of death thou wilt die. The fisherman

then felt assured of his death; but he again implored the 'Efreet,

saying, Pardon me by way of gratitude for my liberating thee.--Why,

answered the 'Efreet, I am not going to kill thee but for that very

reason, because thou hast liberated me.--O Sheykh of the 'Efreets, said

the fisherman, do I act kindly towards thee, and dost thou recompense me

with baseness? But the proverb lieth not that saith,--

We did good to them, and they returned us the contrary; and such,

by my life, is the conduct of the wicked.

Thus he who acteth kindly to the undeserving is recompensed in

the same manner as the aider of Umm-'Ámir.[II_10]

[Illustration]

The 'Efreet, when he heard these words, answered by saying, Covet not

life, for thy death is unavoidable. Then said the fisherman within

himself, This is a Jinnee, and I am a man; and God hath given me sound

reason; therefore, I will now plot his destruction with my art and

reason, like as he hath plotted with his cunning and perfidy. So he said

to the 'Efreet, Hast thou determined to kill me? He answered, Yes. Then

said he, By the Most Great Name engraved upon the seal of Suleymán, I

will ask thee one question; and wilt thou answer it to me truly? On

hearing the mention of the Most Great Name, the 'Efreet was agitated,

and trembled, and replied, Yes; ask, and be brief. The fisherman then

said, How wast thou in this bottle? It will not contain thy hand or thy

foot; how then can it contain thy whole body?--Dost thou not believe

that I was in it? said the 'Efreet. The fisherman answered, I will never

believe thee until I see thee in it. Upon this, the 'Efreet shook, and

became converted again into smoke, which rose to the sky, and then

became condensed, and entered the bottle by little and little, until it

was all enclosed; when the fisherman hastily snatched the sealed leaden

stopper, and, having replaced it in the mouth of the bottle, called out

to the 'Efreet, and said, Choose in what manner of death thou wilt die.

I will assuredly throw thee here into the sea, and build me a house on

this spot; and whosoever shall come here, I will prevent his fishing in

this place, and will say to him, Here is an 'Efreet, who, to any person

that liberates him, will propose various kinds of death, and then give

him his choice of one of them. On hearing these words of the fisherman,

the 'Efreet endeavoured to escape; but could not, finding himself

restrained by the impression of the seal of Suleymán, and thus

imprisoned by the fisherman as the vilest and filthiest and least of

'Efreets. The fisherman then took the bottle to the brink of the sea.

The 'Efreet exclaimed, Nay! nay!--to which the fisherman answered, Yea,

without fail! yea, without fail! The Márid then addressing him with a

soft voice and humble manner, said, What dost thou intend to do with me,

O fisherman? He answered, I will throw thee into the sea; and if thou

hast been there a thousand and eight hundred years, I will make thee to

remain there until the hour of judgment. Did I not say to thee, Spare

me, and so may God spare thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy

thee? But thou didst reject my petition, and wouldest nothing but

treachery; therefore God hath caused thee to fall into my hand, and I

have betrayed thee.--Open to me, said the 'Efreet, that I may confer

benefits upon thee. The fisherman replied, Thou liest, thou accursed! I

and thou are like the Wezeer of King Yoonán[II_11] and the sage

Doobán.[II_12]--What, said the 'Efreet, was the case of the Wezeer of

King Yoonán and the sage Doobán, and what is their story? The fisherman

answered as follows:--

THE STORY OF KING YOONÁN AND THE SAGE DOOBÁN.

Know, O 'Efreet, that there was, in former times, in the country of the

Persians,[II_13] a monarch who was called King Yoonán, possessing great

treasures and numerous forces, valiant, and having troops of every

description; but he was afflicted with leprosy, which the physicians and

sages had failed to remove; neither their potions, nor powders, nor

ointments were of any benefit to him; and none of the physicians was

able to cure him. At length there arrived at the city of this king a

great sage, stricken in years, who was called the sage Doobán: he was

acquainted with ancient Greek, Persian, modern Greek, Arabic, and Syriac

books, and with medicine and astrology, both with respect to their

scientific principles and the rules of their practical applications for

good and evil; as well as the properties of plants, dried and fresh,

the injurious and the useful: he was versed in the wisdom of the

philosophers, and embraced a knowledge of all the medical and other

sciences.

After this sage had arrived in the city, and remained in it a few days,

he heard of the case of the King, of the leprosy with which God had

afflicted him, and that the physicians and men of science had failed to

cure him. In consequence of this information, he passed the next night

in deep study; and when the morning came, and diffused its light, and

the sun saluted the Ornament of the Good,[II_14] he attired himself in

the richest of his apparel, and presented himself before the King.

Having kissed the ground before him, and offered up a prayer for the

continuance of his power and happiness, and greeted him in the best

manner he was able, he informed him who he was, and said, O King, I have

heard of the disease which hath attacked thy person, and that many of

the physicians are unacquainted with the means of removing it; and I

will cure thee without giving thee to drink any potion, or anointing

thee with ointment. When King Yoonán heard his words, he wondered, and

said to him, How wilt thou do this? By Allah, if thou cure me, I will

enrich thee and thy children's children, and I will heap favours upon

thee, and whatever thou shalt desire shall be thine, and thou shalt be

my companion and my friend.--He then bestowed upon him a robe of

honour,[II_15] and other presents, and said to him, Wilt thou cure me of

this disease without potion or ointment? He answered, Yes; I will cure

thee without any discomfort to thy person. And the King was extremely

astonished, and said, O Sage, at what time, and on what day, shall that

which thou hast proposed to me be done? Hasten it, O my Son.--He

answered, I hear and obey.

[Illustration]

He then went out from the presence of the King, and hired a house, in

which he deposited his books, and medicines, and drugs. Having done

this, he selected certain of his medicines and drugs, and made a

goff-stick, with a hollow handle, into which he introduced them; after

which he made a ball for it, skilfully adapted; and on the following

day, after he had finished these, he went again to the King, and kissed

the ground before him, and directed him to repair to the horse-course,

and to play with the ball and goff-stick. The King, attended by his

Emeers and Chamberlains and Wezeers, went thither, and, as soon as he

arrived there, the sage Doobán presented himself before him, and handed

to him the goff-stick, saying, Take this goff-stick, and grasp it thus,

and ride along the horse-course, and strike the ball with it with all

thy force, until the palm of thy hand and thy whole body become moist

with perspiration, when the medicine will penetrate into thy hand, and

pervade thy whole body; and when thou hast done this, and the medicine

remains in thee, return to thy palace, and enter the bath,[II_16] and

wash thyself, and sleep: then shalt thou find thyself cured: and peace

be on thee. So King Yoonán took the goff-stick from the sage, and

grasped it in his hand, and mounted his horse; and the ball was thrown

before him, and he urged his horse after it until he overtook it, when

he struck it with all his force; and when he had continued this exercise

as long as was necessary, and bathed and slept, he looked upon his skin,

and not a vestige of the leprosy remained: it was clear as white silver.

Upon this he rejoiced exceedingly; his heart was dilated, and he was

full of happiness.

On the following morning he entered the council-chamber, and sat upon

his throne; and the Chamberlains and great officers of his court came

before him. The sage Doobán also presented himself; and when the King

saw him, he rose to him in haste, and seated him by his side. Services

of food were then spread before them, and the sage ate with the King,

and remained as his guest all the day;[II_17] and when the night

approached, the King gave him two thousand pieces of gold, besides

dresses of honour and other presents, and mounted him on his own horse,

and so the sage returned to his house.[II_18] And the King was

astonished at his skill; saying, This man hath cured me by an external

process, without anointing me with ointment: by Allah, this is

consummate science; and it is incumbent on me to bestow favours and

honours upon him, and to make him my companion and familiar friend as

long as I live. He passed the night happy and joyful on account of his

recovery, and when he arose, he went forth again, and sat upon his

throne; the officers of his court standing before him, and the Emeers

and Wezeers sitting on his right hand and on his left; and he called for

the sage Doobán, who came, and kissed the ground before him; and the

King rose, and seated him by his side, and ate with him, and greeted him

with compliments: he bestowed upon him again a robe of honour and other

presents, and, after conversing with him till the approach of night,

gave orders that five other robes of honour should be given to him, and

a thousand pieces of gold; and the sage departed, and returned to his

house.

[Illustration]

Again, when the next morning came, the King went as usual to his

council-chamber, and the Emeers and Wezeers and Chamberlains surrounded

him. Now there was, among his Wezeers, one of ill aspect, and of evil

star;[II_19] sordid, avaricious, and of an envious and malicious

disposition; and when he saw that the King had made the sage Doobán his

friend, and bestowed upon him these favours, he envied him this

distinction, and meditated evil against him; agreeably with the adage

which saith, There is no one void of envy;[II_20]--and another, which

saith, Tyranny lurketh in the soul: power manifesteth it, and weakness

concealeth it. So he approached the King, and kissed the ground before

him, and said, O King of the age, thou art he whose goodness extendeth

to all men, and I have an important piece of advice to give thee: if I

were to conceal it from thee, I should be a base-born wretch: therefore,

if thou order me to impart it, I will do so. The King, disturbed by

these words of the Wezeer, said, What is thy advice? He answered, O

glorious King, it hath been said, by the ancients, He who looketh not to

results, fortune will not attend him:--now I have seen the King in a way

that is not right; since he hath bestowed favours upon his enemy, and

upon him who desireth the downfall of his dominion: he hath treated him

with kindness, and honoured him with the highest honours, and admitted

him to the closest intimacy: I therefore fear, for the King, the

consequence of this conduct.--At this the King was troubled, and his

countenance changed; and he said, Who is he whom thou regardest as mine

enemy, and to whom I shew kindness? He replied, O King, if thou hast

been asleep, awake! I allude to the sage Doobán.--The King said, He is

my intimate companion, and the dearest of men in my estimation; for he

restored me by a thing that I merely held in my hand, and cured me of my

disease which the physicians were unable to remove, and there is not now

to be found one like to him in the whole world, from west to east.

Wherefore, then, dost thou utter these words against him? I will, from

this day, appoint him a regular salary and maintenance, and give him

every month a thousand pieces of gold; and if I gave him a share of my

kingdom it were but a small thing to do unto him. I do not think that

thou hast said this from any other motive than that of envy. If I did

what thou desirest, I should repent after it, as the man repented who

killed his parrot.[II_21]

[Illustration]

THE STORY OF THE HUSBAND AND THE PARROT.

There was a certain merchant, of an excessively jealous disposition,

having a wife endowed with perfect beauty, who had prevented him from

leaving his home; but an event happened which obliged him to make a

journey; and when he found his doing so to be indispensable, he went to

the market in which birds were sold, and bought a parrot, which he

placed in his house to act as a spy, that, on his return, she might

inform him of what passed during his absence; for this parrot was

cunning and intelligent, and remembered whatever she heard.[II_22] So,

when he had made his journey, and accomplished his business, he

returned, and caused the parrot to be brought to him, and asked her

respecting the conduct of his wife. She answered, Thy wife has a lover,

who visited her every night during thy absence:--and when the man heard

this, he fell into a violent rage, and went to his wife, and gave her a

severe beating.

The woman imagined that one of the female slaves had informed him of

what had passed between her and her paramour during his absence: she

therefore called them together, and made them swear; and they all swore

that they had not told their master anything of the matter; but

confessed that they had heard the parrot relate to him what had passed.

Having thus established, on the testimony of the slaves, the fact of the

parrot's having informed her husband of her intrigue, she ordered one of

these slaves to grind with a hand-mill under the cage, another to

sprinkle water from above, and a third to move a mirror from side to

side, during the next night on which her husband was absent; and on the

following morning, when the man returned from an entertainment at which

he had been present, and inquired again of the parrot what had passed

that night during his absence, the bird answered, O my master, I could

neither see nor hear anything, on account of the excessive darkness, and

thunder, and lightning, and rain. Now this happened during summer: so he

said to her, What strange words are these? It is now summer, when

nothing of what thou hast described ever happens.--The parrot, however,

swore by Allah the Great that what she had said was true; and that it

had so happened: upon which the man, not understanding the case, nor

knowing the plot, became violently enraged, and took out the bird from

the cage, and threw her down upon the ground with such violence that he

killed her.

But after some days, one of his female slaves informed him of the truth;

yet he would not believe it, until he saw his wife's paramour going out

from his house; when he drew his sword,[II_23] and slew the traitor by

a blow on the back of his neck: so also did he to his treacherous wife;

and thus both of them went, laden with the sin which they had committed,

to the fire; and the merchant discovered that the parrot had informed

him truly of what she had seen; and he mourned grievously for her loss.

When the Wezeer heard these words of King Yoonán, he said, O King of

great dignity, what hath this crafty sage--this man from whom nought but

mischief proceedeth--done unto me, that I should be his enemy, and speak

evil of him, and plot with thee to destroy him? I have informed thee

respecting him in compassion for thee, and in fear of his despoiling

thee of thy happiness; and if my words be not true, destroy me, as the

Wezeer of Es-Sindibád was destroyed.--The King asked, How was that? And

the Wezeer thus answered:--

THE STORY OF THE ENVIOUS WEZEER AND THE PRINCE AND THE GHOOLEH.

The King above mentioned had a son who was ardently fond of the

chase;[II_24] and he had a Wezeer whom he charged to be always with this

son wherever he went. One day the son went forth to hunt, and his

father's Wezeer was with him; and as they rode together, they saw a

great wild beast; upon which the Wezeer exclaimed to the Prince, Away

after this wild beast! The King's son pursued it until he was out of the

sight of his attendants, and the beast also escaped from before his eyes

in the desert; and while the Prince wandered in perplexity, not knowing

whither to direct his course, he met in his way a damsel, who was

weeping. He said to her, Who art thou?--and she answered, I am a

daughter of one of the kings of India; I was in the desert, and slumber

overtook me, and I fell from my horse in a state of insensibility, and

being thus separated from my attendants, I lost my way. The Prince, on

hearing this, pitied her forlorn state, and placed her behind him on his

horse; and as they proceeded, they passed by a ruin,[II_25] and the

damsel said to him, O my master, I would alight here for a little while.

The Prince therefore lifted her from his horse at this ruin; but she

delayed so long to return, that he wondered wherefore she had loitered

so, and entering after her, without her knowledge, perceived that she

was a Ghooleh,[II_26] and heard her say, My children, I have brought you

to-day a fat young man:--on which they exclaimed, Bring him in to us, O

mother! that we may fill our stomachs with his flesh. When the Prince

heard their words, he felt assured of destruction; the muscles of his

sides quivered, and fear overcame him, and he retreated. The Ghooleh

then came forth, and, seeing that he appeared alarmed and fearful, and

that he was trembling, said to him, Wherefore dost thou fear? He

answered, I have an enemy of whom I am in fear. The Ghooleh said, Thou

assertest thyself to be the son of the King. He replied, Yes.--Then,

said she, wherefore dost thou not give some money to thine enemy, and so

conciliate him? He answered, He will not be appeased with money, nor

with anything but life; and therefore do I fear him: I am an injured

man. She then said to him, If thou be an injured man, as thou affirmest,

beg aid of God against thine oppressor, and He will avert from thee his

mischievous design, and that of every other person whom thou fearest.

Upon this, therefore, the Prince raised his head towards heaven, and

said, O thou who answerest the distressed when he prayeth to Thee, and

dispellest evil, assist me, and cause mine enemy to depart from me; for

Thou art able to do whatsoever Thou wilt!--and the Ghooleh no sooner

heard his prayer, than she departed from him. The Prince then returned

to his father, and informed him of the conduct of the Wezeer; upon which

the King gave orders that the minister should be put to death.

[Illustration]

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF KING YOONÁN AND THE SAGE DOOBÁN.

And thou, O King, continued the Wezeer of King Yoonán, if thou trust in

this sage, he will kill thee in the foulest manner. If thou continue to

bestow favours upon him, and to make him thine intimate companion, he

will plot thy destruction. Dost thou not see that he hath cured thee of

the disease by external means, by a thing that thou heldest in thy hand?

Therefore thou art not secure against his killing thee by a thing that

thou shalt hold in the same manner.--King Yoonán answered, Thou hast

spoken truth: the case is as thou hast said, O faithful Wezeer: it is

probable that this sage came as a spy to accomplish my death; and if he

cured me by a thing I held in my hand, he may destroy me by a thing that

I may smell: what then, O Wezeer, shall be done respecting him? The

Wezeer answered, Send to him immediately, and desire him to come hither;

and when he is come, strike off his head, and so shalt thou avert from

thee his evil design, and be secure from him. Betray him before he

betray thee.--The King said, Thou hast spoken right.

Immediately, therefore, he sent for the sage, who came, full of joy, not

knowing what the Compassionate[II_27] had decreed against him, and

addressed the King with these words of the poet:--

If I fail any day to render thee due thanks, tell me for whom I have

composed my verse and prose.

Thou hast loaded me with favours unsolicited, bestowed without delay

on thy part, or excuse.

How then should I abstain from praising thee as thou deservest,

and lauding thee both with my heart and voice?

Nay, I will thank thee for thy benefits conferred upon me: they are

light upon my tongue, though weighty to my back.

Knowest thou, said the King, wherefore I have summoned thee? The sage

answered, None knoweth what is secret but God, whose name be exalted!

Then said the King, I have summoned thee that I may take away thy life.

The sage, in the utmost astonishment at this announcement, said, O King,

wherefore wouldst thou kill me, and what offence hath been committed by

me? The King answered, It hath been told me that thou art a spy, and

that thou hast come hither to kill me: but I will prevent thee by

killing thee first:--and so saying, he called out to the executioner,

Strike off the head of this traitor, and relieve me from his

wickedness,--Spare me, said the sage, and so may God spare thee; and

destroy me not, lest God destroy thee.--And he repeated these words

several times, like as I did, O 'Efreet; but thou wouldst not let me go,

desiring to destroy me.

[Illustration]

King Yoonán then said to the sage Doobán, I shall not be secure unless

I kill thee; for thou curedst me by a thing that I held in my hand, and

I have no security against thy killing me by a thing that I may smell,

or by some other means.--O King, said the sage, is this my recompense

from thee? Dost thou return evil for good?--The King answered, Thou must

be slain without delay. When the sage, therefore, was convinced that the

King intended to put him to death, and that his fate was inevitable, he

lamented the benefit that he had done to the undeserving. The

executioner then advanced, and bandaged his eyes, and, having drawn his

sword, said, Give permission. Upon this the sage wept, and said again,

Spare me, and so may God spare thee; and destroy me not, lest God

destroy thee! Wouldst thou return me the recompense of the

crocodile?--What, said the King, is the story of the crocodile? The sage

answered, I cannot relate it while in this condition;[II_28] but I

conjure thee by Allah to spare me, and so may He spare thee. And he wept

bitterly. Then one of the chief officers of the King arose, and said, O

King, give up to me the blood of this sage; for we have not seen him

commit any offence against thee; nor have we seen him do aught but cure

thee of thy disease, which wearied the other physicians and sages. The

King answered, Ye know not the reason wherefore I would kill the sage:

it is this, that if I suffered him to live, I should myself inevitably

perish; for he who cured me of the disease under which I suffered by a

thing that I held in my hand, may kill me by a thing that I may smell;

and I fear that he would do so, and would receive an appointment on

account of it; seeing that it is probable he is a spy who hath come

hither to kill me; I must therefore kill him, and then shall I feel

myself safe.--The sage then said again, Spare me, and so may God spare

thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy thee.

But he now felt certain, O 'Efreet, that the King would put him to

death, and that there was no escape for him; so he said, O King, if my

death is indispensable, grant me some respite, that I may return to my

house, and acquit myself of my duties, and give directions to my family

and neighbours to bury me, and dispose of my medical books; and among my

books is one of most especial value, which I offer as a present to thee,

that thou mayest treasure it in thy library.--And what, said the King,

is this book? He answered, It contains things not to be enumerated; and

the smallest of the secret virtues that it possesses is this; that, when

thou hast cut off my head, if thou open this book, and count three

leaves, and then read three lines on the page to the left, the head will

speak to thee, and answer whatever thou shalt ask. At this the King was

excessively astonished, and shook with delight, and said to him, O Sage,

when I have cut off thy head will it speak? He answered, Yes, O King;

and this is a wonderful thing.

The King then sent him in the custody of guards; and the sage descended

to his house, and settled all his affairs on that day; and on the

following day he went up to the court: and the Emeers and Wezeers, and

Chamberlains and Deputies, and all the great officers of the state, went

thither also: and the court resembled a flower-garden.[II_29] And when

the sage had entered, he presented himself before the King, bearing an

old book, and a small pot containing a powder: and he sat down, and

said, Bring me a tray. So they brought him one; and he poured out the

powder into it, and spread it. He then said, O King, take this book, and

do nothing with it until thou hast cut off my head; and when thou hast

done so, place it upon this tray, and order some one to press it down

upon the powder; and when this is done, the blood will be stanched: then

open the book. As soon as the sage had said this, the King gave orders

to strike off his head; and it was done. The King then opened the book,

and found that its leaves were stuck together; so he put his finger to

his mouth, and moistened it with his spittle, and opened the first leaf,

and the second, and the third; but the leaves were not opened without

difficulty. He opened six leaves, and looked at them; but found upon

them no writing. So he said, O Sage, there is nothing written in it. The

head of the sage answered, Turn over more leaves. The King did so; and

in a little while, the poison penetrated into his system; for the book

was poisoned; and the King fell back, and cried out, The poison hath

penetrated into me!--and upon this, the head of the sage Doobán repeated

these verses:--

They made use of their power, and used it tyrannically; and soon

it became as though it never had existed.

Had they acted equitably, they had experienced equity; but they

oppressed; wherefore fortune oppressed them with calamities

and trials.

Then did the case itself announce to them, This is the reward of

your conduct, and fortune is blameless.

And when the head of the sage Doobán had uttered these words, the King

immediately fell down dead.[II_30]

[Illustration]

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN.

Now, O 'Efreet, continued the fisherman, know that if King Yoonán had

spared the sage Doobán, God had spared him; but he refused, and desired

his destruction; therefore God destroyed him: and thou, O 'Efreet, if

thou hadst spared me, God had spared thee, and I had spared thee; but

thou desiredst my death; therefore will I put thee to death imprisoned

in this bottle, and will throw thee here into the sea. The Márid, upon

this, cried out, and said, I conjure thee by Allah, O fisherman, that

thou do it not: spare me in generosity, and be not angry with me for

what I did; but if I have done evil, do thou good, according to the

proverb,--O thou benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that

he hath done is sufficient for him:--do not therefore as Umámeh did to

'Átikeh.--And what, said the fisherman, was their case? The 'Efreet

answered, This is not a time for telling stories, when I am in this

prison; but when thou liberatest me, I will relate to thee their

case.[II_31] The fisherman said, Thou must be thrown into the sea, and

there shall be no way of escape for thee from it; for I endeavoured to

propitiate thee, and humbled myself before thee, yet thou wouldest

nothing but my destruction, though I had committed no offence to deserve

it, and had done no evil to thee whatever, but only good, delivering

thee from thy confinement; and when thou didst thus unto me, I perceived

that thou wast radically corrupt: and I would have thee know, that my

motive for throwing thee into this sea, is, that I may acquaint with thy

story every one that shall take thee out, and caution him against thee,

that he may cast thee in again: thus shalt thou remain in this sea to

the end of time, and experience varieties of torment.--The 'Efreet then

said, Liberate me, for this is an opportunity for thee to display

humanity; and I vow to thee that I will never do thee harm; but, on the

contrary, will do thee a service that shall enrich thee for ever.

Upon this the fisherman accepted his covenant that he would not hurt

him, but that he would do him good; and when he had bound him by oaths

and vows, and made him swear by the Most Great Name of God, he opened to

him; and the smoke ascended until it had all come forth, and then

collected together, and became, as before, an 'Efreet of hideous form.

The 'Efreet then kicked the bottle into the sea. When the fisherman saw

him do this, he made sure of destruction, and said, This is no sign of

good:--but afterwards he fortified his heart, and said, O 'Efreet, God,

whose name be exalted, hath said, Perform the covenant, for the covenant

shall be inquired into:[II_32]--and thou has covenanted with me, and

sworn that thou wilt not act treacherously towards me; therefore, if

thou so act, God will recompense thee; for He is jealous; He respiteth,

but suffereth not to escape; and remember that I said to thee as said

the sage Doobán to King Yoonán, Spare me, and so may God spare thee.

The 'Efreet laughed, and, walking on before him, said, O fisherman,

follow me. The fisherman did so, not believing in his escape, until they

had quitted the neighbourhood of the city, and ascended a mountain, and

descended into a wide desert tract, in the midst of which was a lake of

water. Here the 'Efreet stopped, and ordered the fisherman to cast his

net and take some fish; and the fisherman, looking into the lake, saw in

it fish of different colours, white and red and blue and yellow; at

which he was astonished; and he cast his net, and drew it in, and found

in it four fish, each fish of a different colour from the others, at the

sight of which he rejoiced. The 'Efreet then said to him, Take them to

the Sulṭán,[II_33] and present them to him, and he will give thee

what will enrich thee; and for the sake of God accept my excuse, for, at

present, I know no other way of rewarding thee, having been in the sea a

thousand and eight hundred years, and not seen the surface of the earth

until now: but take not fish from the lake more than once each day: and

now I commend thee to the care of God.--Having thus said, he struck the

earth with his feet, and it clove asunder, and swallowed him.

[Illustration]

The fisherman then went back to the city, wondering at all that had

befallen him with the 'Efreet, and carried the fish to his house; and he

took an earthen bowl, and, having filled it with water, put the fish

into it; and they struggled in the water: and when he had done this, he

placed the bowl upon his head, and repaired to the King's palace, as the

'Efreet had commanded him, and, going up unto the King, presented to him

the fish; and the King was excessively astonished at them, for he had

never seen any like them in the course of his life; and he said, Give

these fish to the slave cook-maid. This maid had been sent as a present

to him by the King of the Greeks, three days before; and he had not yet

tried her skill. The Wezeer, therefore, ordered her to fry the fish, and

said to her, O maid, the King saith unto thee, I have not reserved my

tear but for the time of my difficulty:--to-day, then, gratify us by a

specimen of thy excellent cookery, for a person hath brought these fish

as a present to the Sulṭán. After having thus charged her, the Wezeer

returned, and the King ordered him to give the fisherman four hundred

pieces of gold: so the Wezeer gave them to him; and he took them in his

lap, and returned to his home and his wife, joyful and happy, and bought

what was needful for his family.

[Illustration]

Such were the events that befell the fisherman: now we must relate what

happened to the maid.--She took the fish, and cleaned them, and arranged

them in the frying-pan, and left them until one side was cooked, when

she turned them upon the other side; and lo, the wall of the kitchen

clove asunder, and there came forth from it a damsel of tall stature,

smooth-cheeked, of perfect form, with eyes adorned with

koḥl,[II_34] beautiful in countenance, and with heavy, swelling

hips; wearing a koofeeyeh[II_35] interwoven with blue silk; with

rings in her ears, and bracelets on her wrists, and rings set with

precious jewels on her fingers; and in her hand was a rod of Indian

cane: and she dipped the end of the rod in the frying-pan, and said, O

fish, are ye remaining faithful to your covenant? At the sight of this,

the cook-maid fainted. The damsel then repeated the same words a second

and a third time; after which the fish raised their heads from the

frying-pan, and answered, Yes, yes. They then repeated the following

verse:--

If thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou

forsake, we verily do the same.

And upon this the damsel overturned the frying-pan, and departed by the

way she had entered, and the wall of the kitchen closed up again. The

cook-maid then arose, and beheld the four fish burnt like charcoal; and

she exclaimed, In his first encounter his staff broke!--and as she sat

reproaching herself, she beheld the Wezeer standing at her head; and he

said to her, Bring the fish to the Sulṭán:--and she wept, and informed

him of what had happened.[II_36]

[Illustration]

The Wezeer was astonished at her words, and exclaimed, This is indeed a

wonderful event;--and he sent for the fisherman, and when he was

brought, he said to him, O fisherman, thou must bring to us four fish

like those which thou broughtest before. The fisherman accordingly went

forth to the lake, and threw his net, and when he had drawn it in he

found in it four fish as before; and he took them to the Wezeer, who

went with them to the maid, and said to her, Rise, and fry them in my

presence, that I may witness this occurrence. The maid, therefore,

prepared the fish, and put them in the frying-pan, and they had remained

but a little while, when the wall clove asunder, and the damsel

appeared, clad as before, and holding the rod; and she dipped the end of

the rod in the frying-pan, and said, O fish, O fish, are ye remaining

faithful to your old covenant? Upon which they raised their heads, and

answered as before; and the damsel overturned the frying-pan with the

rod, and returned by the way she had entered, and the wall closed up

again.

The Wezeer then said, This is an event which cannot be concealed from

the King:--so he went to him, and informed him of what had happened in

his presence; and the King said, I must see this with my own eyes. He

sent, therefore, to the fisherman, and commanded him to bring four fish

like the former; granting him a delay of three days. And the fisherman

repaired to the lake, and brought the fish thence to the King, who

ordered again that four hundred pieces of gold should be given to him;

and then, turning to the Wezeer, said to him, Cook the fish thyself here

before me. The Wezeer answered, I hear and obey. He brought the

frying-pan, and, after he had cleaned the fish, threw them into it; and

as soon as he had turned them, the wall clove asunder, and there came

forth from it a negro, in size like a bull, or like one of the tribe of

'Ád,[II_37] having in his hand a branch of a green tree; and he said,

with a clear but terrifying voice, O fish, O fish, are ye remaining

faithful to your old covenant? Upon which they raised their heads, and

answered as before, Yes, yes:

If thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou

forsake, we verily do the same.

The black then approached the frying-pan, and overturned it with the

branch, and the fish became like charcoal, and he went away as he had

come.

When he had thus disappeared from before their eyes, the King said, This

is an event respecting which it is impossible to keep silence, and there

must, undoubtedly, be some strange circumstance connected with these

fish. He then ordered that the fisherman should be brought before him,

and when he had come, he said to him, Whence came these fish? The

fisherman answered, From a lake between four mountains behind this

mountain which is without thy city. The King said to him, How many days'

journey[II_38] distant? He answered, O our lord the Sulṭán, a

journey of half-an-hour. And the Sulṭán was astonished, and ordered his

troops to go out immediately with him and the fisherman, who began to

curse the 'Efreet. They proceeded until they had ascended the mountain,

and descended into a wide desert tract which they had never before seen

in their whole lives; and the Sulṭán and all the troops wondered at the

sight of this desert, which was between four mountains, and at the fish,

which were of four colours, red and white and yellow and blue. The King

paused in astonishment, and said to the troops, and to the other

attendants who were with him, Hath any one of you before seen this lake

in this place? They all answered, No. Then said the King, By Allah, I

will not enter my city, nor will I sit upon my throne, until I know the

true history of this lake, and of its fish. And upon this he ordered

his people to encamp around these mountains; and they did so. He then

called for the Wezeer, who was a well-informed, sensible, prudent, and

learned man; and when he had presented himself before him, he said to

him, I desire to do a thing with which I will acquaint thee; and it is

this:--I have resolved to depart alone this night, to seek for

information respecting this lake and its fish: therefore, sit thou at

the door of my pavilion, and say to the Emeers and Wezeers and

Chamberlains, The Sulṭán is sick, and hath commanded me not to allow any

person to go in unto him:--and acquaint no one with my intention.

The Wezeer was unable to oppose his design; so the King disguised

himself, and slung on his sword, and withdrew himself from the midst of

his troops. He journeyed the whole of the night, until the morning, and

proceeded until the heat became oppressive to him: he then paused to

rest; after which he again proceeded the remainder of the day and the

second night until the morning, when there appeared before him, in the

distance, something black, at the sight of which he rejoiced, and said,

Perhaps I shall there find some person who will inform me of the history

of the lake and its fish. And when he approached this black object, he

found it to be a palace built of black stones, and overlaid with iron;

and one of the leaves of its doors was open, and the other shut. The

King was glad, and he stood at the door, and knocked gently, but heard

no answer; he knocked a second and a third time, but again heard no

answer: then he knocked a fourth time, and with violence; but no one

answered. So he said, It is doubtless empty:--and he took courage, and

entered from the door into the passage, and cried out, saying, O

inhabitants of the palace, I am a stranger and a traveller! have ye any

provision? And he repeated these words a second and a third time; but

heard no answer. And upon this he fortified his heart, and emboldened

himself, and proceeded from the passage into the midst of the palace;

but he found no one there, and only saw that it was furnished, and that

there was, in the centre of it, a fountain with four lions of red gold,

which poured forth the water from their mouths, like pearls and jewels:

around this were birds; and over the top of the palace was extended a

net which prevented their flying out. At the sight of these objects he

was astonished, and he was grieved that he saw no person there whom he

could ask for information respecting the lake, and the fish, and the

mountains, and the palace. He then sat down between the doors,[II_39]

reflecting upon these things; and as he thus sat, he heard a voice of

lamentation from a sorrowful heart, chanting these verses:--

O fortune, thou pitiest me not, nor releasest me! See my heart is

straitened between affliction and peril!

Will not you [O my wife] have compassion on the mighty whom love

hath abased, and the wealthy who is reduced to indigence?

We were jealous even of the zephyr which passed over you: but when

the divine decree is issued, the eye becometh blind!

What resource hath the archer when, in the hour of conflict,

he desireth to discharge the arrow, but findeth his bow-string

broken.

And when troubles are multiplied upon the noble-minded, where shall

he find refuge from fate and from destiny?[II_40]

When the Sulṭán heard this lamentation, he sprang upon his feet, and,

seeking the direction whence it proceeded, found a curtain suspended

before the door of a chamber; and he raised it, and beheld behind it a

young man sitting on a couch raised to the height of a cubit from the

floor. He was a handsome youth, well-shaped, and of eloquent speech,

with shining forehead, and rosy cheek, marked with a mole resembling

ambergris. The King was rejoiced at seeing him, and saluted him; and the

young man (who remained sitting, and was clad with a vest of silk,

embroidered with gold, but who exhibited traces of grief) returned his

salutation, and said to him, O my master, excuse my not rising.--O

youth! said the King, inform me respecting the lake, and its fish of

various colours, and respecting this palace, and the reason of thy being

alone in it, and of thy lamentation. When the young man heard these

words, tears trickled down his cheeks, and he wept bitterly.[II_41]

And the King was astonished, and said to him, What causeth thee to weep,

O youth? He answered, How can I refrain from weeping, when this is my

state?--and so saying, he stretched forth his hand, and lifted up the

skirts of his clothing; and lo, half of him, from his waist to the soles

of his feet, was stone; and from his waist to the hair of his head, he

was like other men. He then said, Know, O King, that the story of the

fish is extraordinary; if it were engraved upon the intellect, it would

be a lesson to him who would be admonished:--and he related as

follows:--

[Illustration]

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLANDS.

My father was king of the city which was here situate: his name was

Maḥmood, and he was lord of the Black Islands, and of the four

mountains. After a reign of seventy years, he died, and I succeeded to

his throne; whereupon I took as my wife the daughter of my uncle; and

she loved me excessively, so that when I absented myself from her, she

would neither eat nor drink till she saw me again. She remained under my

protection five years. After this, she went one day to the bath; and I

had commanded the cook to prepare the supper, and entered this palace,

and slept in my usual place.[II_42] I had ordered two maids to fan

me;[II_43] and one of them sat at my head, and the other at my feet; but

I was restless, because my wife was not with me; and I could not sleep.

My eyes were closed, but my spirit was awake; and I heard the maid at my

head say to her at my feet, O Mes'oodeh,[II_44] verily our lord is

unfortunate in his youth, and what a pity is it that it should be passed

with our depraved, wicked mistress!--Perdition to unfaithful wives!

replied the other: but (added she) such a person as our lord, so endowed

by nature, is not suited to this profligate woman, who passes every

night absent from his bed.--Verily, rejoined she at my head, our lord is

careless in not making any inquiry respecting her.--Wo to thee! said the

other: hath our lord any knowledge of her conduct, or doth she leave him

to his choice? Nay, on the contrary, she contriveth to defraud him by

means of the cup of wine[II_45] which he drinketh every night before he

sleepeth, putting benj[II_46] into it; in consequence of which he

sleepeth so soundly that he knoweth not what happeneth, nor whither she

goeth, nor what she doeth; for, after she hath given him the wine to

drink, she dresseth herself, and goeth out from him, and is absent until

daybreak, when she returneth to him, and burneth a perfume under his

nose, upon which he awaketh from his sleep.

[Illustration]

When I heard this conversation of the maids, the light became darkness

before my face, and I was hardly conscious of the approach of night,

when my cousin returned from the bath. The table was prepared, and we

ate, and sat a while drinking our wine as usual. I then called for the

wine which I was accustomed to drink before I lay down to sleep, and she

handed to me the cup; but I turned away, and, pretending to drink it as

I was wont to do, poured it into my bosom, and immediately lay down:

upon which she said, Sleep on; I wish that thou wouldst never wake

again! By Allah, I abhor thee, and abhor thy person, and my soul is

weary of thy company!--She then arose, and attired herself in the most

magnificent of her apparel, and, having perfumed herself, and slung on a

sword, opened the door of the palace, and went out. I got up

immediately, and followed her until she had quitted the palace, and

passed through the streets of the city, and arrived at the city-gates,

when she pronounced some words that I understood not; whereupon the

locks fell off, and the gates opened, and she went out, I still

following her, without her knowledge. Thence she proceeded to a space

among the mounds,[II_47] and arrived at a strong edifice, in which

was a ḳubbeh[II_48] constructed of mud, with a door, which she

entered. I then climbed upon the roof of the ḳubbeh, and, looking down

upon her through an aperture, saw that she was visiting a black slave,

whose large lips, one of which overlapped the other, gathered up the

sand from the pebbly floor, while he lay, in a filthy and wet condition,

upon a few stalks of sugar-cane.

She kissed the ground before this slave; and he raised his head towards

her, and said, Wo to thee! Wherefore hast thou remained away until this

hour? The other blacks have been here drinking wine, and each of them

has gone away with his mistress; and I refused to drink on thy

account.--She answered, O my master, and beloved of my heart, knowest

thou not that I am married to my cousin, and that I abhor every man who

resembles him, and hate myself while I am in his company? If I did not

fear to displease thee, I would reduce the city to ruins, so that the

owl and the raven should cry in it, and would transport its stones

beyond Mount Ḳáf.[II_49]--Thou liest, thou infamous woman, replied

the slave; and I swear by the generosity of the blacks (and if I speak

not truth, may our valour be as the valour of the whites), that if thou

loiter as thou hast now done till this hour, I will no longer give thee

my company, nor approach thy person, thou faithless one! Dost thou

inconvenience me for the sake of thine own pleasure, thou filthy wretch,

and vilest of the whites?--When I heard (continued the King) their

words, and witnessed what passed between them, the world became dark

before my face, and I knew not where I was.--My cousin still stood

weeping, and abasing herself before him, and said, O my beloved, and

treasure of my heart, there remaineth to me none but thee for whom I

care, and if thou cast me off, alas for me! O my beloved! O light of

mine eye!--Thus she continued to weep, and to humble herself before him,

until he became pacified towards her; upon which she rejoiced, and

arose, and, having disrobed herself, said to him, O my master, hast

thou here anything that thy maid may eat? He answered, Uncover the

dough-pan; it contains some cooked rats' bones:[II_50] eat of them,

and pick them; and take this earthen pot: thou wilt find in it some

booẓah[II_51] to drink. So she arose, and ate and drank, and washed

her hands; after which she lay down by the side of the slave, upon the

stalks of sugar-cane, and covered herself with his tattered clothes and

rags.

[Illustration]

When I saw her do this, I became unconscious of my existence, and,

descending from the roof of the ḳubbeh, entered, and took the sword from

the side of my cousin, with the intention of killing them both. I struck

the slave upon his neck, and thought that he was killed; but the blow,

which I gave with the view of severing his head, only cut the gullet and

skin and flesh; and when I thought that I had killed him, he uttered a

loud snore, upon which my cousin started up, and as soon as I had gone,

took the sword, and returned it to its scabbard, and came back to the

city and to the palace, and lay down again in my bed, in which she

remained until the morning.

On the following day, I observed that my cousin had cut off her hair,

and put on the apparel of mourning;[II_52] and she said to me, O my

cousin, blame me not for what I do; for I have received news that my

mother is dead, and that my father hath been slain in a holy war, and

that one of my two brothers hath died of a poisonous sting, and the

other by the fall of a house: it is natural, therefore, that I should

weep and mourn. On hearing these words, I abstained from upbraiding her,

and said, Do what seemeth fit to thee; for I will not oppose thee.

Accordingly, she continued mourning and weeping and wailing a whole

year; after which she said to me, I have a desire to build for myself,

in thy palace, a tomb, with a ḳubbeh, that I may repair thither alone to

mourn, and I will call it the House of Lamentations.[II_53] I

replied, Do what thou seest fit. So she built for herself a house for

mourning, with a ḳubbeh in the middle of it, like the tomb of a

saint;[II_54] after which she removed thither the slave, and there

she lodged him. He was in a state of excessive weakness, and unable to

render her any service, though he drank wine; and from the day on which

I had wounded him, he had never spoken; yet he remained alive, because

the appointed term of his life had not expired. My cousin every day

visited him in this tomb early and late, to weep and mourn over him, and

took to him wine to drink, and boiled meats; and thus she continued to

do, morning and evening, until the expiration of the second year, while

I patiently suffered her, till one day, I entered her apartment

unawares, and found her weeping, and slapping her face, and repeating

these verses:--

I have lost my existence among mankind since your absence;

for my heart loveth none but you.

Take my body, then, in mercy, to the place where you are laid;

and there bury me by your side:

And if, at my grave, you utter my name, the moaning of my bones

shall answer to your call.

As soon as she had finished the recitation of these verses, I said to

her, holding my drawn sword in my hand, This is the language of those

faithless women who renounce the ties of affinity, and regard not lawful

fellowship!--and I was about to strike her with the sword, and had

lifted up my arm to do so, when she rose--for she knew that it was I who

had wounded the slave--and, standing before me, pronounced some words

which I understood not, and said, May God, by means of my enchantment,

make thee to be half of stone, and half of the substance of

man!--whereupon I became as thou seest, unable to move, neither dead nor

alive; and when I had been reduced to this state, she enchanted the city

and its markets and fields. The inhabitants of our city were of four

classes; Muslims, and Christians, and Jews, and Magians; and she

transformed them into fish: the white are the Muslims; the red, the

Magians; the blue, the Christians; and the yellow, the Jews.[II_55] She

transformed, also, the four islands into four mountains, and placed them

around the lake; and from that time she has continued every day to

torture me, inflicting upon me a hundred lashes with a leathern whip,

until the blood flows from my wounds; after which she puts on my upper

half a vest of hair-cloth, beneath these garments.--Having said thus,

the young man wept, and ejaculating the following verses:--

Give me patience, O Allah, to bear what Thou decreest! I will be

patient, if so I may obtain thine approval.

I am straitened, indeed, by the calamity that hath befallen me:

but the Family of the favoured Prophet shall intercede

for me![II_56]

Upon this, the King, looking towards the young man, said to him, O

youth, thou hast increased my anxiety. And where (he added) is this

woman?--The young man answered, She is in the tomb where the slave is

lying, in the ḳubbeh; and every day, before she visits him, she strips

me of my clothing, and inflicts upon me a hundred lashes with the whip,

while I weep and cry out, unable to move so as to repulse her. After

thus torturing me, she repairs early to the slave, with the wine and

boiled meat.--By Allah, O youth, said the King, I will do thee an act of

kindness for which I shall be remembered, and a favour which historians

shall record in a biography after me.

He then sat and conversed with him until the approach of night, upon

which he arose, and waited till the first dawn of day, when he took off

his clothes, and slung on his sword, and went to the place where the

slave lay. After remarking the candles and lamps, and perfumes and

ointments, he approached the slave, and with a blow of his sword slew

him: he then carried him on his back, and threw him into a well which he

found in the palace, and, returning to the ḳubbeh, clad himself with the

slave's clothes, and lay down with the drawn sword by his side. Soon

after, the vile enchantress went to her cousin, and, having pulled off

his clothes, took the whip, and beat him, while he cried, Ah! it is

enough for me to be in this state! Have pity on me then!--Didst thou

shew pity to me, she exclaimed, and didst thou spare my lover?--She then

put on him the hair-cloth vest and his outer garments, and repaired to

the slave with a cup of wine, and a bowl of boiled meat. Entering the

tomb, she wept and wailed, exclaiming, O my master, answer me! O my

master, speak to me!--and poured forth her lamentation in the words of

this verse:--

How long shall this aversion and harshness continue? Sufficient

is the evil which my passion hath brought upon me![II_57]

Then, weeping as before, she exclaimed again, O my master, answer me,

and speak to me! Upon this the King, speaking in a low voice, and

adapting his tongue to the pronunciation of the blacks, ejaculated, Ah!

Ah! there is no strength nor power but in God! On hearing these words,

she screamed with joy, and fell down in a swoon; and when she recovered,

she exclaimed, Possibly my master is restored to health! The King, again

lowering his voice, as if from weakness, replied, Thou profligate

wretch, thou deservest not that I should address thee.--Wherefore? said

she. He answered, Because all the day long thou tormentest thy husband,

while he calleth out, and imploreth the aid of God, so that thou hast

prevented my sleeping from the commencement of darkness until morning:

thy husband hath not ceased to humble himself, and to imprecate

vengeance upon thee, till he hath distracted me; and had it not been for

this, I had recovered my strength: this it is which hath prevented my

answering thee.--Then, with thy permission, she replied, I will liberate

him from his present sufferings.--Liberate him, said the King, and give

us ease.

[Illustration]

She replied, I hear and obey;--and immediately arose, and went out from

the ḳubbeh to the palace, and, taking a cup, filled it with water, and

pronounced certain words over it, upon which it began to boil like a

cauldron. She then sprinkled some of it upon her cousin, saying, By

virtue of what I have uttered, be changed from thy present state to that

in which thou wast at first!--and instantly he shook, and stood upon his

feet, rejoicing in his liberation, and exclaimed, I testify that there

is no deity but God, and that Moḥammad is God's Apostle; God bless and

save him! She then said to him, Depart, and return not hither, or I will

kill thee:--and she cried out in his face: so he departed from before

her, and she returned to the ḳubbeh, and said, O my master, come forth

to me that I may behold thee. He replied, with a weak voice, What hast

thou done? Thou hast relieved me from the branch, but hast not relieved

me from the root.--O my beloved, she said, and what is the root? He

answered, The people of this city, and of the four islands: every night,

at the middle hour, the fish raise their heads, and imprecate vengeance

upon me and upon thee; and this is the cause that preventeth the return

of vigour to my body; therefore, liberate them, and come, and take my

hand, and raise me; for vigour hath already in part returned to me.

[Illustration]

On hearing these words of the King, whom she imagined to be the slave,

she said to him with joy, O my master, on my head and my eye! In the

name of Allah![II_58]--and she sprang up, full of happiness, and

hastened to the lake, where, taking a little of its water, she

pronounced over it some unintelligible words, whereupon the fish became

agitated, and raised their heads, and immediately became converted into

men as before. Thus was the enchantment removed from the inhabitants of

the city, and the city became repeopled, and the market-streets

re-erected, and every one returned to his occupation: the mountains also

became changed into islands as they were at the first. The enchantress

then returned immediately to the King, whom she still imagined to be the

slave, and said to him, O my beloved, stretch forth thy honoured hand,

that I may kiss it.--Approach me, said the King in a low voice. So she

drew near to him; and he, having his keen-edged sword ready in his hand,

thrust it into her bosom, and the point protruded from her back: he then

struck her again, and clove her in twain, and went forth.

He found the young man who had been enchanted waiting his return, and

congratulated him on his safety; and the young prince kissed his hand,

and thanked him. The King then said to him, Wilt thou remain in thy

city, or come with me to my capital?--O King of the age, said the young

man, dost thou know the distance that is between thee and thy city? The

King answered, Two days and a half.--O King, replied the young man, if

thou hast been asleep, awake: between thee and thy city is a distance of

a year's journey to him who travelleth with diligence; and thou camest

in two days and a half only because the city was enchanted: but, O King,

I will never quit thee for the twinkling of an eye. The King rejoiced at

his words, and said, Praise be to God, who hath in his beneficence given

thee to me: thou art my son; for during my whole life, I have never been

blest with a son:--and they embraced each other, and rejoiced

exceedingly. They then went together into the palace, where the King who

had been enchanted informed the officers of his court that he was about

to perform the holy pilgrimage: so they prepared for him everything that

he required; and he departed with the Sulṭán; his heart burning with

reflections upon his city, because he had been deprived of the sight of

it for the space of a year.

He set forth, accompanied by fifty memlooks,[II_59] and provided

with presents, and they continued their journey night and day for a

whole year, after which they drew near to the city of the Sulṭán, and

the Wezeer and the troops, who had lost all hope of his return, came

forth to meet him. The troops, approaching him, kissed the ground before

him, and congratulated him on his safe return; and he entered the city,

and sat upon the throne. He then acquainted the Wezeer with all that had

happened to the young King; on hearing which, the Wezeer congratulated

the latter, also, on his safety; and when all things were restored to

order, the Sulṭán bestowed presents upon a number of his subjects, and

said to the Wezeer, Bring to me the fisherman who presented to me the

fish. So he sent to this fisherman, who had been the cause of the

restoration of the inhabitants of the enchanted city, and brought him;

and the King invested him with a dress of honour, and inquired of him

respecting his circumstances, and whether he had any children. The

fisherman informed him that he had a son and two daughters; and the

King, on hearing this, took as his wife one of the daughters, and the

young prince married the other.[II_60] The King also conferred upon the

son the office of treasurer. He then sent the Wezeer to the city of the

young prince, the capital of the Black Islands, and invested him with

its sovereignty, despatching with him the fifty memlooks who had

accompanied him thence, with numerous robes of honour to all the Emeers:

and the Wezeer kissed his hands, and set forth on his journey; while the

Sulṭán and the young prince remained. And as to the fisherman, he became

the wealthiest of the people of his age; and his daughters continued to

be the wives of the Kings until they died.

But this (added Shahrazád) is not more wonderful than what happened to

the porter.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

NOTES TO CHAPTER SECOND.

NOTE 1. The sentiment expressed in this verse is one which is often

heard from the mouth of a Muslim; but generally when, his toil is ended,

and its result seen; though not unfrequently as an excuse for indolence.

NOTE 2. The bottle is here described (by the term "ḳumḳum") as of a kind

commonly used for sprinkling rose-water, &c., having a spherical or wide

body, with a long and narrow neck. I remember seeing a gilt brass bottle

of this kind, of very beautiful workmanship, for which nearly as much as

ten pieces of gold was demanded.

NOTE 3. The seal of Suleymán, or Solomon, has twice been mentioned in

former notes; in No. 21 of the notes appended to the Introduction, and

in No. 15 of those to the first chapter.

NOTE 4. It is necessary to remark, that this and many other descriptions

in the present work are not designed to be understood in their literal

sense. The reader will often be required to make some allowance for

Oriental hyperbole, and to distinguish between expressions characterised

by this figure, and such as are purely accordant with Eastern grandeur

and magnificence, or with Muslim superstition.

NOTE 5. The end of the winnowing-fork bears a rude resemblance to a

gigantic hand; having several long prongs of wood.

NOTE 6. Instead of "ibreeḳ" (a ewer), in the Cairo edition, I read

"abwáḳ" (trumpets), as in other editions.

NOTE 7. This appellation has been mentioned in a former note, as

signifying an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class.

NOTE 8. It is a rule observed in decent society, by the Arabs, to avoid,

as much as possible, the mention of opprobrious epithets, lest any

person present should imagine such epithets to be addressed insidiously

to himself. For this reason, when any malediction or offensive language

is repeated in a story, it is usual with them to designate the object of

such language by this term, which signifies both remote or absent from

the person or persons in whose presence the words are repeated, and

remote from virtue or good. In the present instance, "remote" is an

epithet substituted by Shahrazád for some other of a gross nature, from

respect to the king to whom she is relating the story.

NOTE 9. I read "Ṣakhr el-Jinnee" for "Ṣakhr el-Jinn."--Ṣakhr was an evil

Jinnee, and a terrible enemy of Solomon. His last act of treachery to

that monarch, and his fate, are thus related by commentators on the

Ḳur-án.--Solomon having, through negligence, suffered one of his women

to practise idolatry under his roof, God saw fit to punish him. It was

the custom of this King, on certain occasions, "to intrust his signet,

on which his kingdom depended, with a concubine of his, named

El-Emeeneh. One day, therefore, when she had the ring in her custody, a

devil [or evil Jinnee], named Ṣakhr, came to her in the shape of

Solomon, and received the ring from her; by virtue of which he became

possessed of the kingdom, and sat on the throne in the shape which he

had borrowed, making what alterations in the law he pleased. Solomon, in

the meantime, being changed in his outward appearance, and known to none

of his subjects, was obliged to wander about, and beg alms for his

subsistence; till at length, after the space of forty days, which was

the time the image had been worshipped in his house, the devil flew

away, and threw the signet into the sea. The signet was immediately

swallowed by a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found

the ring in its belly; and having by this means recovered the kingdom,

he took Ṣakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the

Lake of Tiberias."[150]

NOTE 10. "Umm-'Ámir" is an appellation of the hyena. It is scarcely

necessary to mention, that the proverb here quoted is said to have

originated from the fact of a man's having been devoured by a hyena whom

he had aided against an enemy.

NOTE 11. In some copies, the personage here mentioned is called "Melik

el-Yoonán," that is, "King of Ancient Greece," or--"of the Ancient

Greeks." I have followed the Cairo edition, and that of the first two

hundred nights, printed at Calcutta, in which "Yoonán" is used as the

King's proper name. See also Note 13.

NOTE 12. This is the name of the sage in most copies; but in the Cairo

edition he is called "Rooyán."

NOTE 13. In the Calcutta edition, the king is merely said to have

reigned "in the country of the Persians," as in my translation; but in

the Cairo edition, he is said to have been "in the _city_ of the

Persians, and the country of Roomán;" which may perhaps mean (though

this is hardly allowable) the [eastern] Roman, or later Greek, empire;

an unnecessary contradiction. (See Note 22 to Chapter x.) It is

obviously more agreeable with the story to regard him as a Persian King.

NOTE 14. "The Ornament of the Good," or--"of the Comely," is an

appellation of the Arabian prophet, who is related to have said, "The

sun never riseth until it hath saluted me." "The sun's saluting the

Ornament of the Good," or "Comely," is, therefore, a phrase not

unfrequently used by Muslims merely to signify its rising.

NOTE 15.--_On the Rewards of Men of Literature and Science._ It has long

been a common custom of Eastern princes to bestow dresses of honour upon

men of literature and science, as well as upon their great officers and

other servants. These dresses were of different kinds for persons of

different classes or professions. The most usual kind was an ample coat.

With dresses of this description were often given gold-embroidered

turbans; and sometimes, to Emeers (or great military officers),

neck-rings or collars (called ṭóḳs), some of which were set with jewels;

as also, bracelets, and swords ornamented with precious stones, &c.; and

to Wezeers, instead of the ṭóḳ, a necklace of jewels.[151]--The

following striking record will convey an idea of the magnificence of

some of these dresses of honour; or, in other words, of the liberality

of a Muslim prince, and, at the same time, of the very precarious nature

of his favour. A person, chancing to look at a register kept by one of

the officers of Hároon Er-Rasheed, saw in it the following entry:--"Four

hundred thousand pieces of gold, the price of a dress of honour for

Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà, the Wezeer."--A few days after, he saw beneath

this written,--"Ten ḳeeráṭs, the price of naphtha and reeds, for burning

the body of Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà."[152]--The ḳeeráṭ of Baghdád was

the twentieth part of a deenár, or piece of gold.

Arab princes and other great men have generally been famous for highly

respecting, and liberally rewarding, men of literature and science, and

especially poets. El-Mamoon and many others are well known to us for

their patronage of the learned. Er-Rasheed carried his condescension to

them so far as to pour the water on the hands of a blind man,

Aboo-Mo'áwiyeh, one of the most learned persons of his time, previously

to his eating with him, to shew his respect for science.[153] An

anecdote of a Khaleefeh ordering the mouth of a learned man to be filled

with jewels, I have related in a former note. To cram the mouth with

sugar or sweetmeats for a polite or eloquent speech, or piece of poetry,

has been more commonly done; but the usual presents to learned men were,

and are, dresses of honour and sums of money. Ibn-'Obeyd El-Bakhteree,

an illustrious poet and traditionist, who flourished in the reign of

El-Musta'een, is said to have received so many presents, that, after his

death, there were found, among the property which he left, a hundred

complete suits of dress, two hundred shirts, and five hundred

turbans.[154] A thousand pieces of gold were often given, and sometimes

ten, twenty, or thirty, thousand, and even more, for a few verses; nay,

for a single couplet.

The prodigality of Arab princes to men of learning may be exemplified by

the following anecdote:--Ḥammád, surnamed Er-Ráwiyeh, or the famous

reciter, having attached himself to the Khaleefeh El-Weleed, the son of

'Abd-el-Melik, and shewn a contrary feeling towards his brother Hishám,

on the accession of the latter fled to El-Koofeh. While there, a letter

arrived from Hishám, commanding his presence at Damascus: it was

addressed to the governor, who, being ordered to treat him with honour,

gave him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and despatched

him with the Khaleefeh's messenger. On his arrival at Damascus, he was

conducted before Hishám, whom he found in a splendid saloon, seated

under a pavilion of red silk, surmounted by a dome of yellow brocade,

attended by two female slaves of beauty unsurpassed, each holding a

crystal ewer of wine. His admission during the presence of members of

the King's ḥareem, the reader will remark as a very unusual and high

honour: the mention of the wine may also surprise him; but this is a

subject upon which much may be said, and which will be considered on a

future occasion. After Ḥammád had given the salutation, and the

Khaleefeh had returned it, the latter told him that he had sent for him

to ask respecting a couplet of which he (the Khaleefeh) could only

remember that it ended with the word "ibreeḳ," which signifies "a ewer."

The reciter reflected a while, and the lines occurred to his mind, and

he repeated them. Hishám cried out, in delight, that the lines were

those he meant; drank a cup of wine, and desired one of the female

slaves to hand a cup to Ḥammád. She did so; and the draught, he says,

deprived him of one-third of his reason. The Khaleefeh desired him to

repeat the lines again, and drank a second cup; and Ḥammád was deprived

of another third of his reason in the same manner; and said, "O Prince

of the Faithful, two-thirds of my reason have departed from me." Hishám

laughed, and desired him to ask what he would before the remaining third

should have gone; and the reciter said, "One of these two female

slaves." The Khaleefeh laughed again, and said, "Nay, but both of them

are thine, and all that is upon them, and all that they possess, and,

beside them, fifty thousand pieces of gold."--"I kissed the ground

before him," says Ḥammád, "and drank a third cup, and was unconscious of

what happened after: I did not awake till the close of the night, when I

found myself in a handsome house, surrounded by lighted candles, and the

two female slaves were putting in order my clothes and other things: so

I took possession of the property, and departed, the happiest of the

creatures of God."[155]

A whimsical story is told of a king, who denied to poets those rewards

to which usage had almost given them a claim. This king, whose name is

not recorded, had the faculty of retaining in his memory an ode after

having only once heard it; and he had a memlook who could repeat an ode

that he had twice heard, and a female slave who could repeat one that

she had heard thrice. Whenever a poet came to compliment him with a

panegyrical ode, the King used to promise him that, if he found his

verses to be his original composition, he would give him a sum of money

equal in weight to what they were written upon. The poet, consenting,

would recite his ode; and the King would say, "It is not new; for I have

known it some years;" and would repeat it as he had heard it; after

which he would add, "And this memlook also retains it in his memory;"

and would order the memlook to repeat it; which, having heard it twice,

from the poet and the king, he would do. The King would then say to the

poet, "I have also a female slave who can repeat it;" and on his

ordering her to do so, stationed behind the curtains, she would repeat

what she had thus thrice heard: so the poet would go away empty-handed.

The famous poet El-Aṣma'ee, having heard of this proceeding, and

guessing the trick, determined upon outwitting the King; and accordingly

composed an ode made up of very difficult words; but this was not his

only preparative measure; another will be presently explained; and a

third was, to assume the dress of a Bedawee, that he might not be known,

covering his face, the eyes only excepted, with a lithám (a piece of

drapery) in accordance with a custom of Arabs of the desert. Thus

disguised, he went to the palace, and, having asked permission, entered,

and saluted the King, who said to him, "Whence art thou, O brother of

the Arabs, and what dost thou desire?" The poet answered, "May God

increase the power of the King! I am a poet of such a tribe, and have

composed an ode in praise of our lord the Sulṭán."--"O brother of the

Arabs," said the King, "hast thou heard of our condition?"--"No,"

answered the poet; "and what is it, O King of the age?"--"It is,"

replied the King, "that if the ode be not thine, we give thee no reward;

and if it be thine, we give thee the weight in money of what it is

written upon."--"How," said El-Aṣma'ee, "should I assume to myself that

which belongs to another, and knowing, too, that lying before kings is

one of the basest of actions? But I agree to this condition, O our lord

the Sulṭán." So he repeated his ode. The King, perplexed, and unable to

remember any of it, made a sign to the memlook--but he had retained

nothing; and called to the female slave, but she also was unable to

repeat a word. "O brother of the Arabs," said he, "thou hast spoken

truth, and the ode is thine without doubt: I have never heard it before:

produce, therefore, what it is written upon, and we will give thee its

weight in money, as we have promised."--"Wilt thou," said the poet,

"send one of the attendants to carry it?"--"To carry what?" asked the

King; "is it not upon a paper here in thy possession?"--"No, O our lord

the Sulṭán," replied the poet; "at the time I composed it I could not

procure a piece of paper upon which to write it, and could find nothing

but a fragment of a marble column left me by my father; so I engraved it

upon this; and it lies in the court of the palace." He had brought it,

wrapped up, on the back of a camel. The King, to fulfil his promise, was

obliged to exhaust his treasury; and to prevent a repetition of this

trick (of which he afterwards discovered El-Aṣma'ee to have been the

author), in future rewarded the poets according to the usual custom of

kings.[156]

The following case is also related as an exception to the common custom

of great men, with regard to the bestowal of rewards on poets:--"A poet

praised a governor in some verses, and the latter ordered an ass's

barda'ah (or stuffed saddle) and girth to be given to him. The poet went

away with them on his shoulder; and, being asked what he had got,

answered, 'I have praised our honoured lord in the best of my verses,

and he hath bestowed on me some of the most magnificent articles of his

apparel.'"[157]

NOTE 16.--_On the Bath._ The ḥammám, or bath, is a favourite resort of

both men and women of all classes among the Muslims who can afford the

trifling expense which it requires; and (it is said) not only of human

beings, but also of evil genii; on which account, as well as on that of

decency, several precepts respecting it have been dictated by Moḥammad.

It is frequented for the purpose of performing certain ablutions

required by the religion, or by a regard for cleanliness, and for its

salutary effects, and for mere luxury.

The following description of a public bath will convey a sufficient

notion of those in private houses, which are on a smaller scale, and

generally consist of only two or three chambers. The public bath

comprises several apartments, with mosaic or tesselated pavements,

composed of white and black marble, and pieces of fine red tile, and

sometimes other materials. The inner apartments are covered with domes,

having a number of small, round, glazed apertures, for the admission of

light. The first apartment is the meslakh, or disrobing room, which has,

in the centre, a fountain of cold water, and, next the walls, wide

benches or platforms, encased with marble. These are furnished with

mattresses and cushions for the higher and middle classes, and with mats

for the poorer sort. The inner division of the building, in the more

regularly planned baths, occupies nearly a square: the central and chief

portion of it is the principal apartment, or ḥarárah, which generally

has the form of a cross. In its centre is a fountain of hot water,

rising from a base encased with marble, which serves as a seat. One of

the angles of the square is occupied by the beyt-owwal, or antechamber

of the ḥarárah: in another, is the fire over which is the boiler; and

each of the other two angles is generally occupied by two small

chambers: in one of these is a tank filled with warm water, which pours

down from a spout in the dome: in the other are two taps, side by side;

one of hot, and the other of cold water, with a small trough beneath,

before which is a seat. The inner apartments are heated by the steam

which rises from the fountain and tanks, and by the contiguity of the

fire; but the beyt-owwal is not so hot as the ḥarárah, being separated

from it by a door. In cold weather, the bather undresses in the former,

which has two or three raised seats, like those of the meslakh.

With a pair of wooden clogs to his feet, and having a large napkin round

his loins, and generally a second wound round his head like a turban, a

third over his chest, and a fourth covering his back, he enters the

ḥarárah, the heat of which causes him immediately to perspire profusely.

An attendant of the bath removes from him all the napkins excepting the

first; and proceeds to crack the joints of his fingers and toes, &c.,

and several of the vertebræ of the back and neck; kneads his flesh; and

rubs the soles of his feet with a coarse earthen rasp, and his limbs and

body with a woollen bag which covers his hand as a glove; after which,

the bather, if he please, plunges into one of the tanks. He is then

thoroughly washed with soap and water, and fibres of the palm-tree, and

shaved, if he wish it, in one of the small chambers which contain the

taps of hot and cold water; and returns to the beyt-owwal. Here he

generally reclines upon a mattress, and takes some light refreshment,

while one of the attendants rubs the soles of his feet, and kneads the

flesh of his body and limbs, previously to his resuming his dress. It is

a common custom, now, to take a pipe and a cup of coffee during this

period of rest.

The women are especially fond of the bath, and often have entertainments

there; taking with them fruits, sweetmeats, &c., and sometimes hiring

female singers to accompany them. An hour or more is occupied by the

process of plaiting the hair, and applying the depilatory, &c.; and,

generally, an equal time is passed in the enjoyment of rest, or

recreation, or refreshment. All necessary decorum is observed on these

occasions by most females; but women of the lower orders are often seen

in the bath without any covering. Some baths are appropriated solely to

men; others, only to women; and others, again, to men during the

forenoon, and in the afternoon to women. When the bath is appropriated

to women, a napkin, or some other piece of drapery, is suspended over

the door, to warn men from entering.

Before the time of Moḥammad, there were no public baths in Arabia; and

he was so prejudiced against them, for the reasons already alluded to,

that he at first forbade both men and women from entering them:

afterwards, however, he permitted men to do so, if for the sake of

cleanliness, on the condition of their having a cloth round the waist;

and women also on account of sickness, child-birth, &c., provided they

had not convenient places for bathing in their houses. But,

notwithstanding this license, it is held to be a characteristic of a

virtuous woman, not to go to a bath even with her husband's permission:

for the Prophet said, "Whatever woman enters a bath, the devil is with

her." As the bath is a resort of the Jinn, prayer should not be

performed in it, nor the Ḳur-án recited. The Prophet said, "All the

earth is given to me as a place of prayer, and as pure, except the

burial-ground and the bath."[158] Hence also, when a person is about to

enter a bath, he should offer up an ejaculatory prayer for protection

against evil spirits; and should place his left foot first over the

threshold.--Infidels have often been obliged to distinguish themselves

in the bath, by hanging a signet to the neck, or wearing anklets, &c.,

lest they should receive those marks of respect which should be paid

only to believers.[159]

NOTE 17.--_On Meals, and the Manner of Eating._ The King (with the sage

as his guest) is here described as eating in the presence of his court,

agreeably with a common custom of Eastern princes and other great men in

the present day; the simple manner in which the meal is served and eaten

occasioning but a slight interruption.

The Muslim takes a light breakfast after the morning-prayers, and dinner

after the noon-prayers; or a single meal instead of these two, before

noon. His principal meal is supper, which is taken after the prayers of

sunset. A man of rank or wealth, when he has no guest, generally eats

alone; his children eat after him, or with his wife or wives. In all his

repasts he is moderate with regard to the quantity which he eats,

however numerous the dishes.

In the times to which most of the tales in the present work relate, it

appears that the dishes were sometimes, I believe generally, placed upon

a round embroidered cloth spread on the floor, and sometimes on a tray,

which was either laid on the floor or upon a small stand or stool. The

last is the mode now always followed in the houses of the higher and

middle classes of the Arabs. The table is usually placed upon a round

cloth, spread in the middle of the floor, or in a corner, next two of

the deewáns, or low seats which generally extend along three sides of

the room. It is composed of a large round tray of silver, or of tinned

copper, or of brass, supported by a stool, commonly about fifteen or

sixteen inches high, made of wood, and generally inlaid with

mother-of-pearl and ebony or other wood, or tortoise-shell, &c. When

there are numerous guests, two or more such tables are prepared. The

dishes are of silver, or of tinned copper, or of china. Several of these

are placed upon the tray; and around them are disposed some round, flat

cakes of bread, with spoons of box-wood, ebony, or other material, and,

usually, two or three limes, cut in halves, to be squeezed over certain

of the dishes. When these preparations have been made, each person who

is to partake of the repast receives a napkin; and a servant pours water

over his hands. A basin and ewer of either of the metals first mentioned

are employed for this purpose; the former has a cover with a receptacle

for a piece of soap in its centre, and with numerous perforations

through which the water runs during the act of washing, so that it is

not seen when the basin is brought from one person to another. It is

indispensably requisite to wash at least the right hand before eating

with the fingers anything but dry food; and the mouth, also, is often

rinsed, the water being taken up into it from the right hand. The

company sit upon the floor, or upon cushions, or some of them on the

deewán, either cross-legged, or with the right knee raised:[160] they

retain the napkins before mentioned; or a long napkin, sufficient to

surround the tray, is placed upon their knees; and each person, before

he begins to eat, says, "In the name of God," or "In the name of God,

the Compassionate, the Merciful." The master of the house begins first:

if he did not so, some persons would suspect that the food was poisoned.

The thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve instead of knives and

forks; and it is the usual custom for a person to help himself to a

portion of the contents of a dish by drawing it towards the edge, or

taking it from the edge, with a morsel of bread, which he eats with it:

when he takes too large a portion for a single mouthful, he generally

places it on his cake of bread. He takes from any dish that pleases him;

and sometimes a host hands a delicate morsel with his fingers to one of

his guests. It is not allowable to touch food with the left hand (as it

is used for unclean purposes), excepting in a few cases, when both hands

are required to divide a joint.

Among the more common dishes are the following:--lamb or mutton cut into

small pieces, and stewed with various vegetables, and sometimes with

peaches, apricots, or jujubes, and sugar; cucumbers or small gourds, or

the fruit of the black or white egg-plant, stuffed with rice and minced

meat, &c.; vine-leaves or pieces of lettuce-leaf or cabbage-leaf,

enclosing a similar composition; small morsels of lamb or mutton,

roasted on skewers, and called "kebáb;" fowls simply roasted or boiled,

or boned, and stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts, crumbled bread, and

parsley; and various kinds of pastry, and other sweets. The repast is

frequently commenced with soup; and is generally ended with boiled rice,

mixed with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper; or after

this, is served a water-melon or other fruit, or a bowl of a sweet drink

composed of water with raisins, and sometimes other kinds of fruit,

boiled in it, and then sugar, and with a little rose-water added to it

when cool. The meat, having generally little fat, is cooked with

clarified butter, and is so thoroughly done that it is easily divided

with the fingers.

A whole lamb, stuffed in the same manner as the fowls above mentioned,

is not a very uncommon dish; but one more extraordinary, of which

'Abd-El-Laṭeef gives an account[161] as one of the most remarkable that

he had seen in Egypt, I am tempted to describe. It was an enormous pie,

composed in the following manner:--Thirty pounds of fine flour being

kneaded with five pounds and a half of oil of sesame, and divided into

two equal portions, one of these was spread upon a round tray of copper,

about four spans in diameter. Upon this were placed three lambs, stuffed

with pounded meat fried with oil of sesame and ground pistachio-nuts,

and various hot aromatics, such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mastic,

coriander-seed, cumin-seed, cardamom, nut [or nutmeg?], &c. These were

then sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk; and upon the lambs,

and in the remaining spaces, were placed twenty fowls, twenty chickens,

and fifty smaller birds; some of which were baked, and stuffed with

eggs; some, stuffed with meat; and some, fried with the juice of sour

grapes, or that of limes, or some similar acid. To the above were added

a number of small pies; some filled with meat, and others with sugar and

sweetmeats; and sometimes, the meat of another lamb, cut into small

pieces, and some fried cheese. The whole being piled up in the form of a

dome, some rose-water infused with musk and aloes-wood was sprinkled

upon it; and the other half of the paste first mentioned was spread

over, so as to close the whole: it was then baked, wiped with a sponge,

and again sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk.--A dish still

more extraordinary will be described in a note on public Royal feasts.

With respect to clean and unclean meats, the Muslim is subject to nearly

the same laws as the Jew. Swine's flesh, and blood, are especially

forbidden to him; but camel's flesh is allowed. The latter, however,

being of a coarse nature, is never eaten when any other meat can be

obtained, excepting by persons of the lower classes, and by Arabs of the

desert. Of fish, almost every kind is eaten (excepting shell-fish),

usually fried in oil: of game, little; partly in consequence of frequent

doubt whether it have been lawfully killed. The diet consists, in a

great measure, of vegetables, and includes a large variety of pastry. A

very common kind of pastry is a pancake, which is made very thin, and

folded over several times like a napkin; it is saturated with butter,

and generally sweetened with honey or sugar; as is also another common

kind, which somewhat resembles vermicelli.

The usual beverage at meals is water, which is drunk from cooling,

porous, earthen bottles, or from cups of brass or other metal: but in

the houses of the wealthy, sherbet is sometimes served instead of this,

in covered glass cups, each of which contains about three quarters of a

pint. The sherbet is composed of water made very sweet with sugar, or

with a hard conserve of violets or roses or mulberries, &c. After every

time that a person drinks, he says, "Praise be to God;" and each person

of the company says to him, "May it be productive of enjoyment:" to

which he replies, "May God cause thee to have enjoyment." The Arabs

drink little or no water during a meal, but generally take a large

draught immediately after. The repast is quickly finished; and each

person, as soon as he has done, says, "Praise be to God," or "Praise be

to God, the Lord of all creatures." He then washes, in the same manner

as before, but more thoroughly; well lathering his beard, and rinsing

his mouth.

NOTE 18. This mode of shewing honour to a meritorious individual, or

distinguished guest, which is at least as ancient as the time of

Ahasuerus,[162] is still observed in Muslim countries.

NOTE 19. The influence of the stars upon the dispositions and fortunes

of mankind is firmly believed by the generality of Muslims, and is often

a matter of consideration previously to the uniting of two persons in

marriage; though the absurdity of such an opinion is declared in their

law.

NOTE 20.--_On the Distribution of Virtues and Vices among Mankind._ I

have heard Arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the

envy that exists among all mankind collectively; but I have not seen any

written authority for this. Ibn-'Abbás assigns nine-tenths of the

intrigue or artifice that exists in the world to the Copts; nine-tenths

of the perfidy, to the Jews; nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the

Maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness, to the Turks; and nine-tenths

of the bravery, to the Arabs. According to Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, reason and

sedition are most peculiar to Syria; plenty and degradation, to Egypt;

and misery and health, to the Desert. In another account, faith and

modesty are said to be most peculiar to El-Yemen; fortitude and

sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to El-'Eráḳ;

wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the

Desert.--Of women, it is said, by Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, that the best in the

world (excepting those of the tribe of Ḳureysh mentioned by the Prophet)

are those of El-Baṣrah; and the worst in the world, those of

Egypt.[163]

NOTE 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonán is made to say, "I should

repent after it, as King Sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"--and

thus is introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the

Husband and the Parrot; the former story describing a king as having,

under an erroneous idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking

poison. The latter story I insert in preference, according to the

Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of

Breslau.

NOTE 22.--_On Miraculously-gifted Birds._ An Arab historian would make

it to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot

are not nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to

display. He mentions a parrot which recited the Soorat Yá-Seen (or 36th

chapter of the Ḳur-án); and a raven which recited the Soorat es-Sijdeh

(or 32nd chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostration

(or verse which should be recited with prostration), would perform that

action, and say, "My body prostrateth itself to Thee, and my heart

confideth in Thee." But these are not the most remarkable cases of the

kind. He affirms that there was a parrot in Cairo which recited the

Ḳur-án from beginning to end. The Báshà, he says, desiring to try its

talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the Ḳur-án in its presence,

and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another, with the view of

leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the result, the

parrot corrected him![164]

NOTE 23. But a few years ago, it was a common custom for an Arab

merchant or shopkeeper of the higher class to wear a sword; and this not

only during a journey, but also during his ordinary walks or rides. I

have seen many persons of this description so armed, and with a pair of

pistols stuck in the girdle; though seldom excepting in the former case.

A dagger or case-knife is a weapon now more commonly worn by such

persons, both at home and abroad.

NOTE 24.--_On Hunting and Hawking._ Hunting and hawking, which were

common and favourite diversions of the Arabs, and especially of their

kings and other great men, have now fallen into comparative disuse among

this people. They are, however, still frequently practised by the

Persians, and in a manner the same as they are generally described in

the present work. Sir John Malcolm was informed that these sports were

nowhere found in greater perfection than in the neighbourhood of

Aboo-Shahr, where he witnessed and took part in them: I shall,

therefore, here avail myself of his observations on this subject.

"The huntsmen," he says, "proceed to a large plain, or rather desert,

near the sea-side: they have hawks and greyhounds; the former carried in

the usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the latter led in a leash

by a horseman, generally the same who carries the hawk. When the

antelope is seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible; but the

animal, the moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems

swifter than the wind: the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having

slipped the dogs. If it is a single deer, they at the same time fly the

hawks; but if a herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular

antelope. The hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the

deer, at whose head they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a

violence that knocks it over. [They are commonly described as pecking at

the poor creature's eyes until they blind it.] At all events, they

confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a degree that

the dogs can come up with it; and, in an instant, men, horses, dogs, and

hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united efforts

have been combined. The part of the chase that surprised me most, was

the extraordinary combination of the hawks and the dogs, which

throughout seemed to look to each other for aid. This, I was told, was

the result of long and skilful training.--The antelope is supposed to be

the fleetest quadruped on earth; and the rapidity of the first burst of

the chase I have described is astonishing. The run seldom exceeds three

or four miles, and often is not half so much. A fawn is an easy victory;

the doe often runs a good chase; and the buck is seldom taken. The Arabs

are, indeed, afraid to fly their hawks at the latter, as these fine

birds, in pouncing, frequently impale themselves on its sharp

horns.--The hawks used in this sport are of a species that I have never

seen in any other country. This breed, which is called Cherkh, is not

large, but of great beauty and symmetry.

"Another mode of running down the antelope is practised here, and still

more in the interior of Persia. Persons of the highest rank lead their

own greyhounds in a long silken leash, which passes through the collar,

and is ready to slip the moment the huntsman chooses. The well-trained

dog goes alongside the horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed,

and in all kinds of country. When a herd of antelopes is seen, a

consultation is held, and the most experienced determine the point

towards which they are to be driven. The field (as an English sportsman

would term it) then disperse, and, while some drive the herd in the

desired direction, those with the dogs take their post on the same line,

at the distance of about a mile from each other; one of the worst dogs

is then slipped at the herd, and from the moment he singles out an

antelope the whole body are in motion. The object of the horsemen who

have greyhounds is to intercept its course, and to slip fresh dogs, in

succession, at the fatigued animal. In rare instances, the second dog

kills. It is generally the third or fourth; and even these, when the

deer is strong, and the ground favourable, often fail. This sport, which

is very exhilarating, was the delight of the late King of Persia, Ághà

Moḥammad Khán, whose taste is inherited by the present sovereign.

"The novelty of these amusements interested me, and I was pleased, on

accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from Aboo-Shahr,

to see a species of hawking peculiar, I believe, to the sandy plains of

Persia, on which the Ḥobárà, a noble species of bustard, is found on

almost bare plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub called

'geetuck.' When we went in quest of them, we had a party of about

twenty, all well mounted. Two kinds of hawks are necessary for this

sport; the first, the Cherkh (the same which is flown at the antelope),

attacks them on the ground, but will not follow them on the wing; for

this reason, the 'Bhyree,' a hawk well known in India, is flown the

moment the Ḥobárà rises.--As we rode along in an extended line, the men

who carried the Cherkhs every now and then unhooded and held them up,

that they might look over the plain. The first Ḥobárà we found afforded

us a proof of the astonishing quickness of sight of one of the hawks: he

fluttered to be loose, and the man who held him gave him a whoop as he

threw him off his hand, and set off at full speed. We all did the same.

At first we only saw our hawk skimming over the plain, but soon

perceived, at a distance of more than a mile, the beautiful speckled

Ḥobárà, with his head erect and wings outspread, running forward to meet

his adversary. The Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces, which were

either evaded or repelled by the beak or wings of the Ḥobárà, which at

last found an opportunity of rising, when a Bhyree was instantly flown,

and the whole party were again at full gallop. We had a flight of more

than a mile, when the Ḥobárà alighted, and was killed by another Cherkh,

who attacked him on the ground. This bird weighed ten pounds. We killed

several others, but were not always successful, having seen our hawks

twice completely beaten, during the two days we followed this fine

sport."[165]

The hunting of the wild ass is another sport of the Persians and Arabs,

but one of a more difficult nature. This animal is found in Syria, and

in the Nubian deserts, as well as in Arabia and Persia. The more common

kinds of game are gazelles, or antelopes, hares, partridges, the species

of grouse called "ḳaṭà," quails, wild geese, ducks, &c. Against all of

these, the hawk is generally employed, but assisted in the capture of

gazelles and hares by dogs. The usual arms of the sportsmen, in the

times to which the present work relates, were the bow and arrow, the

cross-bow, the spear, the sword, and the mace. When the game is struck

down, but not killed, by any weapon, its throat is immediately cut. If

merely stunned, and then left to die, its flesh is unlawful food. Some

other laws respecting the killing of game have been mentioned in a

former note; but one has been there omitted which is worthy of remark,

though it is often disregarded; it is, that hunting is allowable only

for the purpose of procuring food, or to obtain the skin of an animal,

or for the sake of destroying ferocious and dangerous beasts. Amusement

is certainly, in general, the main object of the Muslim huntsman, but he

does not, with this view, endeavour to prolong the chase; on the

contrary, he strives to take the game as quickly as possible; for this

purpose, nets are often employed, and the hunting party, forming what is

called the circle of the chase (ḥalḳat eṣ-ṣeyd), surround the spot in

which the game is found.

"On the eastern frontiers of Syria," says Burckhardt, "are several

places allotted for the hunting of gazelles: these places are called

'masiade' [more properly, 'maṣyedehs']. An open space in the plain, of

about one mile and a half square, is enclosed on three sides by a wall

of loose stones, too high for the gazelles to leap over. In different

parts of this wall, gaps are purposely left, and near each gap a deep

ditch is made on the outside. The enclosed space is situated near some

rivulet or spring to which, in summer, the gazelles resort. When the

hunting is to begin, many peasants assemble, and watch till they see a

herd of gazelles advancing from a distance towards the enclosure, into

which they drive them: the gazelles, frightened by the shouts of these

people, and the discharge of fire-arms, endeavour to leap over the wall,

but can only effect this at the gaps, where they fall into the ditch

outside, and are easily taken, sometimes by hundreds. The chief of the

herd always leaps first: the others follow him one by one. The gazelles

thus taken are immediately killed, and their flesh is sold to the Arabs

and neighbouring Felláḥs."[166]

NOTE 25. In the Cairo edition, the word "jezeereh" (an island) is

erroneously put for "kharábeh" (a ruin).

NOTE 26. "Ghooleh" is the feminine of "Ghool." The Ghool is a fabulous

being, of which some account has been given in No. 21 of the notes to

the Introduction.

NOTE 27. This epithet of the Deity appears to be used in preference to

others in this instance, in order to imply that God always decrees what

is best for a virtuous man, even when the reverse would seem to us to be

the case. He is here described as appointing that the sage should die a

violent death; but this death, being unmerited, raised him, according to

Mohammadan notions, to the rank of a martyr.

In the edition from which my translation is chiefly made, four poetical

quotations are here inserted on the subject of fate, and the inutility

of anxious forebodings. The first of these is as follows:--

"O thou who fearest thy fate, be at ease; commit thine affairs

unto Him who spread out the earth.

For what is predestined cannot be cancelled; and thou art secure

from every thing that is not predestined."

NOTE 28.--_The Fable of the Crocodile._ Perhaps the reader may desire to

know what is the story which the sage Doobán declined to relate; I will

therefore supply the omission as well as my memory will allow me. I have

heard this fable differently told by different persons; and it is

sometimes spun out to a considerable length; but the principal points of

it are these:--A crocodile, having crawled far from the Nile, over a

desert tract, found his strength so exhausted by fatigue and thirst,

that he despaired of being able to return to the river. While he was in

this unhappy state, an Arab with his camel approached him, proceeding in

the desired direction; and he appealed to his compassion, entreating

that he would bind him on the back of the camel, and so convey him to

the Nile, and promising that he would afterwards, in return for this

favour, carry him across to the opposite bank. The Arab answered, that

he feared the crocodile would, as soon as he was unbound, turn upon him,

and devour him; but the monster swore so solemnly that he would

gratefully requite the service he requested, that the man was induced to

consent; and, making his camel lie down, bound the crocodile firmly upon

his back, and brought him to the bank of the river. No sooner, however,

was the horrid creature liberated, than, in spite of his vows, he opened

his hideous jaws to destroy his benefactor, who, though he eluded this

danger, was unable to rescue his camel. At this moment a fox drew near

them. The man, accosting this cunning animal, related his tale; and the

crocodile urged in his own excuse, that the man had spitefully bound him

on the back of the camel in such a manner that he had almost killed him.

The fox replied that he could quickly pursue and capture the man, but

that he must act fairly, and first see the whole transaction repeated

before him. The crocodile, assenting, and submitting to have a noose

thrown over his jaws, was again bound on the back of the camel, and

taken to the place whence he was brought; and as soon as this was done,

the man, by the direction of the fox, holding with one hand the halter

of his camel, with the other cut the ropes which secured his burden, and

hasted away with his beast, leaving the ungrateful and treacherous

monster in the same hopeless state in which he had found him.

NOTE 29. This comparison is perfectly just. My first visit to Egypt was

not too late for me to witness such a scene as that which is here

alluded to; but now, throughout the Turkish dominions, the officers of

government are obliged, more or less, to assimilate their style of dress

to that which commonly prevails in Europe; gaudy colours are out of

fashion among them, and silk embroidery is generally preferred to gold:

in Egypt, however, the dress worn by this class of persons has not been

so much altered as in Turkey, still retaining an Oriental character,

though wanting the shawl which was wound round the red cap, and formed

the turban; while the dress worn by other classes has undergone no

change. [This note still applies to the inhabitants of Egypt, with the

exception of the Turks, who have very generally adopted the modern

Turkish, or semi-European dress.--ED.]

NOTE 30. This story of the head speaking after it was cut off is not

without a parallel in the writings of Arab historians. The head of

Sa'eed, the son of Jubeyr, is said to have uttered the words, "There is

no deity but God," after it had been severed from his body by order of

El-Ḥajjáj, who is related to have killed a hundred and twenty thousand

persons of note, besides those whom he slew in war.

NOTE 31. I do not remember to have read or heard the story of Umámeh and

'Átikeh, who, as their names import, were two females.

NOTE 32. The words here quoted are part of the 36th verse of the 17th

chapter of the Ḳur-án.

NOTE 33. The title of "Sulṭán" is higher than that of "Melik" (or King):

a Sulṭán, properly speaking, being a monarch who has kings or viceroys

under his authority.

NOTE 34.--_On_ Koḥl, _and the mode of applying it_. Koḥl is a black

powder, with which most of the Arab, and many other, women blacken the

edges of the eyelids. The most common kind is the smoke-black which is

produced by burning a kind of frankincense. An inferior kind is the

smoke-black produced by burning the shells of almonds. These are

believed to be beneficial to the eyes; but are generally used merely for

the sake of ornament. Among other kinds which are particularly employed

for their beneficial effect upon the eye are several ores of lead,

reduced to a fine powder. Antimony is said to have been, in former

times, the most esteemed kind of koḥl. The powder is applied by means of

a small probe of wood, ivory, or silver, the end of which is moistened,

and then dipped in the powder, and drawn along the edges of the

eyelids.[167]

NOTE 35. The Koofeeyeh is described in a great Arabic Lexicon (Táj

el-'Aroos) as "a thing worn on the head; so called because of its

roundness:" and this is the only description of it that I have been able

to find. I was told in Cairo, that "koofeeyeh" is the correct

appellation of the head-kerchief commonly called "keffeeyeh:" but this

is a mistake. The latter is a square kerchief, which is worn on the

head, measuring about a yard in each direction, and of various colours,

generally a dull, brownish red, bright green, and yellow, composing

broad and narrow stripes, and having a deep fringe of strings and

tassels along two opposite edges. The most common kind is entirely of

cotton; another, of cotton interwoven with silk; and a third, of silk

interwoven with gold. It is now chiefly worn by the Wahhábees and

several tribes of Bedawees; but the former wear only the first kind, as

they hold articles of dress composed wholly or partly of silk or gold to

be unlawful. In former times it was in common use among the inhabitants

of the towns. It is mostly worn by men, and is doubled diagonally, and

placed over the cap in such a manner that the two corners which are

folded together hang down the back; and the other two corners, in front.

A piece of woollen rope, or a strip of rag, or a turban, is generally

wound round it; and the corners, or those only which usually hang down

in front, are sometimes turned up, and tucked within the upper edge of

the turban. The inhabitants of the towns usually wear the turban over

the keffeeyeh. Burckhardt, who calls this head-kerchief "keffie,"

mentions, that the Bedawees of Mekkeh and El-Yemen tie over it, instead

of the woollen rope which is used by the Northern Bedawees, "a circle

made of wax, tar, and butter, strongly kneaded together: this," he adds,

"is pressed down to the middle of the head, and looks like the airy

crown of a saint. It is about the thickness of a finger; and they take

it off very frequently to press it between their hands, so that its

shape may be preserved."[168] The better kinds of keffeeyeh above

mentioned are worn by some of the Turks, but not in the Arab manner;

being wound tight round the cap.

NOTE 36.--_Anecdote of a Miraculous Fish._ This story of the miraculous

fish reminds me of one of a similar kind which is related as authentic.

A certain just judge of the Israelites, in the time of Solomon, had a

wife who, every time that she brought him his food, used to ejaculate a

prayer that disgrace might befall every unfaithful wife. One day, this

woman having placed before her husband a fried fish, and repeated her

usual ejaculation, the fish leaped from the dish, and fell upon the

floor. This happened three times; and, in consequence of a suspicion

expressed by a devotee, who was consulted respecting the meaning of this

strange event, the judge discovered that a supposed maid, whom he had

purchased as a slave, was a disguised man.[169]

NOTE 37. This comparison is not intended to be understood in its literal

sense, for the smallest of the tribe of 'Ád is said to have been sixty

cubits high: the largest, a hundred! The tribe of 'Ád were a race of

ancient Arabs, who, according to the Ḳur-án and Arab historians, were

destroyed by a suffocating wind, for their infidelity, after their

rejection of the admonitions of the prophet Hood.

NOTE 38. The Arabs generally calculate distances by time. The average

distance of a day's journey is from twenty to twenty-five miles; the

former being the usual rate of caravan-travelling.

NOTE 39.--_On the Privacy of Arab Dwellings._ In a palace, or large

house, there is generally a wide bench of stone, or a wooden couch,

within the outer door, for the accommodation of the door-keeper and

other servants. The entrance-passage leads to an open court, and, for

the sake of preventing persons at the entrance, or a little within it,

from seeing into the court, it usually has two turnings. We may,

therefore, understand the motive of the King in seating himself in the

place here described to have been a desire that he might not, if

discovered, be supposed to be prying impertinently into the interior of

the palace. Respect for the privacy of another's house is a point that

is deemed of so much importance that it is insisted upon in the Ḳur-án,

in these words:--"O ye who have become believers, enter not any houses,

besides your own houses, until ye shall have asked leave, and saluted

their inhabitants; this will be better for you: peradventure ye will be

admonished. And if ye find not in them any person, enter them not, until

leave be granted you; and if it be said unto you, Return, then do ye

return; this will be more decent for you; and God knoweth what ye do.

But it shall be no crime in you that ye enter uninhabited houses wherein

ye may find a convenience."[170] When a visiter finds the door open, and

no servant below, he usually claps his hands as a signal for some

person to come to him; striking the palm of his left hand with the

fingers of the right: and even when leave has been granted him to enter,

it is customary for him, when he has to ascend to an upper apartment, to

repeat several times some ejaculation, such as "Permission!" or, "O

Protector!" (that is, "O protecting God!"), as he goes up, in order that

any female of the family, who may chance to be in the way, may have

notice of his approach, and either retire or veil herself. Sometimes the

servant who precedes him does this in his stead.

NOTE 40. These verses are translated from the Calcutta edition of the

first two hundred nights, as more apposite than those which are inserted

in their place in the edition of Cairo.

NOTE 41. That the reader may not form wrong conceptions of the

characters of many persons portrayed in this work, it is necessary to

observe, that weeping is not regarded by the Arabs as an evidence of an

effeminate disposition, or inconsistent with even a heroic mind; though

the Muslims in general are remarkable for the calmness with which they

endure the heaviest afflictions.

NOTE 42. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to mention, that it is a common

custom of the Orientals, as of other natives of warm climates, to take a

nap in the afternoon. A tradesman is not unfrequently seen enjoying this

luxury in his shop, and seldom, excepting in this case, is it considered

allowable to wake a person.

NOTE 43.--_Description of Arab Fans._ The kind of fan most commonly used

by the Arabs has the form of a small flag. The flap, which is about six

or seven inches in width, and somewhat more in length, is composed of

split palm-leaves of various colours, or some plain and others coloured,

neatly plaited or woven together. The handle is a piece of palm-stick,

about twice the length of the flap. This fan is used by men as well as

women, and for the double purpose of moderating the heat and repelling

the flies, which, in warm weather, are excessively annoying. It is more

effective than the ordinary European fan, and requires less exertion.

Arabian fans of the kind here described, brought from Mekkeh to Cairo as

articles of merchandise, may be purchased in the latter city for a sum

less than a penny each; they are mostly made in the Ḥejáz. Another

kind of fan, generally composed of black ostrich-feathers, of large

dimensions, and ornamented with a small piece of looking-glass on the

lower part of the front, is often used by the Arabs. A kind of fly-whisk

made of palm-leaves is also in very general use. A servant or slave is

often employed to wave it over the master or mistress during a meal or

an afternoon nap.

NOTE 44. Mes'oodeh is the feminine of Mes'ood, a name before explained,

as signifying "happy," or "made happy."

NOTE 45. The word which I have here rendered "wine" namely, "sharáb" is

applied to any drink, and particularly to a sweet beverage; but, in the

present case, the context shews that its signification is that which I

have given it. The description of a carousal in the next chapter will

present a more fit occasion for my considering at large the custom of

drinking wine as existing among the Arabs.

NOTE 46.--_On the Use of Hemp to induce Intoxication._ The name of

"benj," or "beng," is now, and, I believe, generally, given to henbane;

but El-Ḳazweenee states that the leaves of the garden hemp (ḳinneb

bustánee, or shahdánaj,) are the benj which, when eaten, disorders the

reason. This is an important confirmation of De Sacy's opinion

respecting the derivation of the appellation of "Assassins" from

Ḥashshásheen (hemp-eaters, or persons who intoxicate themselves with

hemp); as the sect which we call "Assassins" are expressly said by the

Arabs to have made frequent use of benj.[171] To this subject I shall

have occasion to revert. I need only add here, that the custom of using

benj, and other narcotics, for purposes similar to that described in

this tale, is said to be not very unfrequently practised in the present

day; but as many Arab husbands are extremely suspicious of the character

of women in general, perhaps there is but little ground for this

assertion.

NOTE 47. Most Eastern cities and towns are partly or wholly surrounded

by mounds of rubbish, close to the walls; and upon these mounds are

thrown the carcasses of camels, horses, and other beasts, to be devoured

by dogs and vultures. Immense mounds of this unsightly description

entirely surrounded the city of Cairo; but those which extended along

its western side, and, in a great measure, screened it from the view of

persons approaching from the Nile, have lately been removed by order of

the present Báshà of Egypt. [This note was written in the year 1838, in

the time of Moḥammad 'Alee.--ED.]

NOTE 48. "Ḳubbeh" generally signifies either a dome or a cupola, or a

building or apartment surmounted by a dome. In the present instance it

is to be understood in the latter sense. It is also applied to a closet,

and to a tent.

NOTE 49. "Ḳáf" is generally to be understood, as it is in the present

case; to signify the chain of mountains believed, by the Muslims, to

encircle our earth, as mentioned in a former note. It is also the name

of the chain of Caucasus, and hence it has been supposed that the fable

respecting the mountains before mentioned, originated from an early idea

that the chain of Caucasus was the limit of the habitable earth; but it

is possible that the latter mountains may have derived their name from

an imaginary resemblance to the former.

NOTE 50. Rats, though unlawful food to the Muslim, are occasionally

eaten by many of the peasants of the province of Lower Egypt called

El-Boḥeyreh, on the west of the western branch of the Nile. The

extraordinary abundance of these animals, and mice, throughout Egypt,

gave rise to an absurd fable, which is related by Diodorus Siculus[172]

as a matter worthy of serious consideration:--that these creatures are

generated from the alluvial soil deposited by the Nile. The inundation

drives many of them from the fields to the houses and deserts, and

destroys the rest; but soon after the waters have subsided, vast numbers

of them are seen again, taking refuge in the deep clefts of the parched

soil.

NOTE 51.--_On the Beverage called_ Booẓah. Booẓah, or boozeh, is a

favourite beverage of the boatmen, and other persons of the lower class,

in Egypt; and more especially of the Nubians and negroes; as it was,

according to Herodotus[173] and other writers, of the ancient Egyptians.

It is an intoxicating liquor, a kind of beer, most commonly prepared

from barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to

ferment. It is also prepared from wheat and from millet in the same

manner. The account of Herodotus has been confirmed by the discovery of

large jars, containing the dregs of the barley-beer in ancient tombs at

Thebes.

NOTE 52.--_On the Apparel, &c., of Mourning._ The wearing of mourning

appears to have been a custom of both sexes among the Arabs in earlier

times, for the black clothing which distinguished the 'Abbásee

Khaleefehs and their officers was originally assumed in testimony of

grief for the death of the Imám Ibráheem Ibn-Moḥammad. It has, however,

ceased to be worn by men, as indicating a want of resignation to the

decrees of Providence, and is only assumed by women on the occasion of

the death of a husband or near relation, and not for an elderly person.

In the former cases they dye their shirts, head-veils, face-veils, and

handkerchiefs, of a blue or almost black colour, with indigo; and

sometimes, with the same dye, stain their hands and arms as high as the

elbows, and smear the walls of their apartments. They generally abstain

from wearing any article of dress of a bright colour, leave their hair

unbraided, and deck themselves with few or no ornaments. They also cease

to make use of perfumes, koḥl, and ḥennà; and often turn upside-down the

carpets, mats, cushions, and coverings of the deewáns.

NOTE 53. "Houses of Lamentations," erected in burial-grounds for the

accommodation of ladies on the occasions of their visiting the tombs of

their relations, have been mentioned in a former note respecting the two

grand annual festivals.

NOTE 54. The kind of tomb here alluded to is generally a square building

crowned by a dome.

NOTE 55. This passage deserves particular notice, as being one of those

which assist us to form some opinion respecting the period when the

present work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or

compiled or remodelled. It is the same in all the copies of the original

work that I have seen, and bears strong evidence of having been written

subsequently to the commencement of the eighth century of the Flight, or

fourteenth of our era, at which period, it appears, the Christians and

Jews were first compelled to distinguish themselves by wearing,

respectively, blue and yellow turbans, in accordance with an order

issued by the Sultán of Egypt, Moḥammad Ibn-Kala-oon.[174] Thus the

white turban became peculiar to the Muslims.--An eminent German critic

has been unfortunate in selecting the incident of the four fish as

affording an argument in favour of his opinion that the Tales of a

Thousand and One Nights are of Indian origin, on the mere ground that

the same word (_varna_) is used in Sanscrit to signify both "colour" and

"caste."

NOTE 56. The Muslims often implore the intercession of their prophet,

and of various members of his family and other holy persons, though

their ordinary prayers are addressed solely to God. The regard which

they pay to their reputed saints, both living and deceased, as

mediators, is one of the heresies which the Wahhábees most vehemently

condemn.

NOTE 57. This verse, translated from my usual prototype, the Cairo

edition, is there followed by another, which I omit as being inapposite.

NOTE 58. In the first of the notes to the Introduction, I have mentioned

that it is a general custom of the Muslims to repeat this phrase, "In

the name of God!" on commencing every lawful action that is of any

importance; it is, therefore, here employed, as it is in many similar

cases, to express a readiness to do what is commanded or requested; and

is equivalent to saying, "I this instant begin to execute thy orders."

NOTE 59. The condition and offices of memlooks, who are male white

slaves, have been mentioned in the thirteenth note to the first chapter.

NOTE 60. Eastern histories present numerous instances of marriages as

unequal as those here related; the reader, therefore, must not regard

this part of the story as inconsistent.

[Illustration]

[150] Sale's Korán, note to chap. xxxviii.

[151] El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ;" chapter entitled "Khizánet

el-Kisawát."

[152] Fakhr-ed-Deen, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i.

p. 32 of the Arabic text, 2nd ed.

[153] Idem, p. 4 of the Arabic text.

[154] D'Herbelot, art. "Bokhteri."

[155] Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the seventh (MS. in my

possession).

[156] Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the eighth.

[157] Idem, chapter the seventh.

[158] A recent traveller has questioned Mr. Lane's authority,

in the "Modern Egyptians," for the remark that Muslims should

not pray in the bath. A reference to any well-known collection

of traditions of the Prophet will, however, prove, by many

sayings besides that quoted above, that Mr. Lane is in this

matter strictly accurate.--ED.

[159] Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, &c., section the seventh.

[160] A pious Muslim generally sits at his meals with the right

knee raised, after the example of the Prophet, who adopted this

custom in order to avoid too comfortable a posture in eating,

as tempting to unnecessary gratification.--ED.

[161] Pp. 180--182, ed. Oxon. 1800.

[162] See Esther vi. 8 and 9.

[163] El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ," and El-Is-ḥáḳee.

[164] El-Is-ḥáḳee; reign of the Khaleefeh El-Musta'een, the son

of El-Moạtaṣim.

[165] Sketches of Persia, vol. i. ch. v. [Mr. Lane has written

some of the Oriental words in this extract according to his own

mode.--ED.]

[166] Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. pp. 220 et

seq. 8vo. ed.

[167] A more full account of this custom is given in my work on

the Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ch. l.

[168] Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. p. 232, 8vo.

ed.

[169] Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáïd en-Niswán.

[170] Ch. xxiv. vv. 27-29.

[171] See "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii., close of chap,

ix.--Since this was written, I have found that El-Idreesee

applies the term "Ḥasheesheeyeh," which is exactly synonymous

with "Ḥashshásheen," to the "Assassins:" this, therefore,

decides the question.

[172] Lib. i. cap. 10.

[173] Lib. ii. cap. 77.

[174] El-Maḳreezee and El-Is-ḥáḳee.