The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume III Part 17

A Nature Kohl'd[FN#252] eye thou hast that witcheth far and wide; From pure platonic love[FN#253] of it deliverance none I trow!

Those glances, fell as plundering Turk, to heart such havoc deal As never havocked scymitar made keenest at the curve.

On me thou layest load of love the heaviest while I feel So feeble grown that under weight of chemisette I swerve.

My love for thee as wottest well is habit, and my lowe Is nature; to all others false is all the love I tender:

Now were my heart but like to s.h.i.+ne I never would say No; Only my wasted form is like thy waist so gracious slender:

Out on him who in Beauty's robe for moon like charms hath fame, And who is claimed by mouth of men as marvel of his tribe!

'Of man what manner may he be' (ask they who flyte and blame) 'For whom thy heart is so distressed?' I only cry 'Describe!'

Oh stone-entempered heart of him! learn of his yielding grace And bending form to show me grace and yielding to consent.

Oh my Prince Beautiful, thou hast an Overseer in place[FN#254]

Who irketh me, and eke a Groom whose wrong cloth ne'er relent.

Indeed he lieth who hath said that all of loveliness Was pent in Joseph: in thy charms there's many and many a Joe!

The Genii dread me when I stand and face to face address; But meeting thee my fluttering heart its shame and terror show.

I take aversion semblance and I turn from thee in fright, But more aversion I a.s.sume, more love from me dost claim;

That hair of jetty black! That brow e'er raying radiant light!

Those eyne wherein white jostles black![FN#255] That dearling dainty frame!"

When Dahnash heard the poesy which Maymunah spake in praise of her beloved, he joyed with exceeding joy and marvelled with excessive wonderment.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say

When it was the One Hundred and Eighty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Ifrit Dahnash heard the poesy which Maymunah spake in praise of her beloved, he shook for exceeding joy and said, "Thou hast celebrated thy beloved in song and thou hast indeed done well in praise of him whom thou lovest! And there is no help for it but that I also in my turn do my best to enfame my mistress, and recite somewhat in her honour." Then the Ifrit went up to the Lady Budur; and' kissing her between the eyes, looked at Maymunah and at his beloved Princess and recited the following verses, albeit he had no skill in poesy,

"Love for my fair they chide in angry way; *

Unjust for ignorance, yea unjustest they!

Ah lavish favours on the love mad, whom *

Taste of thy wrath and parting woe shall slay: In sooth for love I'm wet with railing tears, *

That rail mine eyelids blood thou mightest say: No marvel what I bear for love, 'tis marvel *

That any know my "me" while thou'rt away: Unlawful were our union did I doubt *

Thy love, or heart incline to other May."

And eke these words:--

"I feed eyes on their stead by the valley's side, *

And I'm slain and my slaver[FN#256] aside hath tried: Grief-wine have I drunken, and down my cheeks *

Dance tears to the song of the camel-guide: For union-blessing I strive though sure, *

In Budur and Su'ad all my bliss shall bide:[FN#257]

Wot I not which of three gave me most to 'plain, *

So hear them numbered ere thou decide: Those Sworders her eyne, that Lancer her fig- *

-ure, or ring-mail'd Locks which her forehead hide.

Quoth she (and I ask of her what so wights *

Or abide in towns or in desert ride[FN#258] ) To me, 'In thy heart I dwell, look there!' *

Quoth I, 'Where's my heart ah where? ah where?'"

When Maymunah heard these lines from the Ifrit, she said, "Thou hast done well, O Dahnas.h.!.+ But say thou which of the two is the handsomer?" And he answered, "My mistress Budur is handsomer than thy beloved!" Cried Maymunah, "Thou liest, O accursed. Nay, my beloved is more beautiful than s.h.i.+ne!" But Dahnash persisted, "Mine is the fairer." And they ceased not to wrangle and challenge each other's words till Maymunah cried out at Dahnash and would have laid violent hands on him, but he humbled himself to her and, softening his speech, said, "Let not the truth be a grief to thee, and cease we this talk, for all we say is to testify in favour of our lovers; rather let each of us withdraw the claim and seek we one who shall judge fairly between us which of the two be fairer; and by his sentence we will abide." "I agree to this," answered she and smote the earth with her foot, whereupon there came out of it an Ifrit blind of an eye, humpbacked and scurvy-skinned, with eye-orbits slit up and down his face.[FN#259] On his head were seven horns and four locks of hair fell to his heels; his hands were pitchfork-like and his legs mast-like and he had nails as the claws of a lion, and feet as the hoofs of the wild a.s.s.[FN#260] When that If rit rose out of the earth and sighted Maymunah, he kissed the ground before her and, standing with his hands clasped behind him, said, "What is thy will, O my mistress, O daughter of my King?"[FN#261] She replied, "O Kashkash, I would have thee judge between me and this accursed Dahnash." And she made known to him the matter, from first to last, whereupon the Ifrit Kashkash looked at the face of the youth and then at the face of the girl; and saw them lying asleep, embraced, each with an arm under the other's neck, alike in beauty and loveliness and equal in grace and goodliness. The Marid gazed long upon them, marvelling at their seemlihead; and, after carefully observing the twain, he turned to Maymunah and Dahnash, and reseated these couplets.

"Go, visit her thou lovest, and regard not The words detractors utter, envious churls Can never favour love. Oh! sure the Merciful Ne'er made a thing more fair to look upon, Than two fond lovers in each others' arms, Speaking their pa.s.sion in a mute embrace.

When heart has turned to heart, the fools would part them Strike idly on cold steel. So when thou'st found One purely, wholly s.h.i.+ne, accept her true heart, And live for her alone. Oh! thou that blamest The love-struck for their love, give o'er thy talk, How canst thou minister to a mind diseased?"[FN#262]

Then he turned again to Maymunah and Dahnash and said to them, "By Allah, if you will have the truth, I tell you fairly the twain be equal in beauty, and loveliness and perfect grace and goodliness, nor can I make any difference between them on account of their being man and woman. But I have another thought which is that we wake each of them in turn, without the knowledge of the other, and whichever is the more enamoured shall be held inferior in seemlihead and comeliness." Quoth Maymunah, "Right is this recking," and quoth Dahnash, "I consent to this." Then Dahnash changed himself to the form of a flea and bit Kamar al-Zaman, whereupon he started from sleep in a fright.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Eighty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Dahnash changed himself to the form of a flea and bit Kamar al-Zaman who started from sleep in a fright and rubbed the bitten part, his neck, and scratched it hard because of the smart. Then turning sideways, he found lying by him something whose breath was sweeter than musk and whose skin was softer than cream. Hereat marvelled he with great marvel and he sat up and looked at what lay beside him; when he saw it to be a young lady like an union pearl, or a s.h.i.+ning sun, or a dome seen from afar on a well built wall; for she was five feet tall, with a shape like the letter Alif[FN#263], bosomed high and rosy checked; even as saith of her the poet,

"Four things which ne'er conjoin, unless it be *

To storm my vitals and to shed my blood: Brow white as day and tresses black as night *

Cheeks rosy red and lips which smiles o'erflood."

And also quoth another,

"A Moon she rises, Willow wand she waves, *

Breathes Ambergris, and gazes, a Gazelle: Meseems that sorrow woes my heart and wins *

And, when she wendeth hastes therein to dwell!"

And when Kamar al-Zaman saw the Lady Budur, daughter of King Ghayur, and her beauty and comeliness, she was sleeping clad in a s.h.i.+ft of Venetian silk, without her petticoat-trousers, and wore on her head a kerchief embroidered with gold and set with stones of price: her ears were hung with twin earrings which shone like constellations and round her neck was a collar of union pearls, of size unique, past the competence of any King. When he saw this, his reason was confounded and natural heat began to stir in him; Allah awoke in him the desire of coition and he said to himself, "Whatso Allah willeth, that shall be, and what He willeth not shall never be!" So saying, he put out his hand and, turning her over, loosed the collar of her chemise; then arose before his sight her bosom, with its b.r.e.a.s.t.s like double globes of ivory; whereat his inclination for her redoubled and he desired her with exceeding hot desire, He would have awakened her but she would not awake, for Dahnash had made her sleep heavy; so he shook her and moved her, saying, "O my beloved, awake and look on me; I am Kamar al-Zaman." But she awoke not, neither moved her head; where-upon he considered her case for a long hour and said to himself, "If I guess aright, this is the damsel to whom my father would have married me and these three years past I have refused her; but Inshallah!--G.o.d willing--as soon as it is dawn, I will say to him, 'Marry me to her, that I may enjoy her.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al- Zaman said to himself, "By Allah, when I see dawn I will say to my sire, 'Marry me to her that I may enjoy her'; nor will I let half the day pa.s.s ere I possess her and take my fill of her beauty and loveliness." Then he bent over Budur to buss her, whereat the Jinniyah Maymunah trembled and was abashed and Dahnash, the Ifrit, was like to fly for joy. But, as Kamar al- Zaman was about to kiss her upon the mouth, he was ashamed before Allah and turned away his head and averted his face, saying to his heart, "Have patience." Then he took thought awhile and said, "I will be patient; haply my father when he was wroth with me and sent me to this jail, may have brought my young lady and made her lie by my side to try me with her, and may have charged her not to be readily awakened when I would arouse her, and may have said to her, 'Whatever thing Kamar al-Zaman do to thee, make me ware thereof'; or belike my sire standeth hidden in some stead whence (being himself unseen) he can see all I do with this young lady; and to morrow he will scold me and cry, 'How cometh it that thou sayest, I have no mind to marry; and yet thou didst kiss and embrace yonder damsel?' So I will withhold myself lest I be ashamed before my sire; and the right and proper thing to do is not to touch her at this present, nor even to look upon her, except to take from her somewhat which shall serve as a token to me and a memorial of her; that some sign endure between me and her." Then Kamar al-Zaman raised the young lady's hand and took from her little finger a seal-ring worth an immense amount of money, for that its bezel was a precious jewel and around it were graven these couplets,

"Count not that I your promises forgot, *

Despite the length of your delinquencies Be generous, O my lord, to me inclining; *

Haply your mouth and cheeks these lips may kiss: By Allah, ne'er will I relinquish you *

Albe you will transgress love's boundaries."

Then Kamar al-Zaman took the seal-ring from the little finger of Queen Budur and set it on his own; then, turning his back to her, went to sleep.[FN#264] When Maymunah the Jinniyah saw this, she was glad and said to Dahnash and Kashkash, "Saw ye how my beloved Kamar al-Zaman bore himself chastely towards this young lady?

Verily, this was of the perfection of his good gifts; for observe you twain how he looked on her and noted her beauty and loveliness, and yet embraced her not neither kissed her nor put his hand to her, but turned his back and slept." Answered they, "Even so!" Thereupon Maymunah changed herself into a flea and entering into the raiment of Budur, the loved of Dahnash, crept up her calf and came upon her thigh and, reaching a place some four carats[FN#265] below her navel, there bit her. Thereupon she opened her eyes and sitting up in bed, saw a youth lying beside her and breathing heavily in his sleep, the loveliest of Almighty Allah's creatures, with eyes that put to shame the fairest Houris of Heaven; and a mouth like Solomon's seal, whose water was sweeter to the taste and more efficacious than a theriack, and lips the colour of coral-stone, and cheeks like the blood red anemone, even as saith one, describing him in these couplets,

"My mind's withdrawn from Zaynab and Nawar[FN#266] *

By rosy cheeks that growth of myrtle bear; I love a fawn, a tunic-vested boy, *

And leave the love of bracelet-wearing Fair: My mate in hall and closet is unlike *

Her that I play with, as at home we pair.

Oh thou, who blam'st my flight from Hind and Zaynab, *

The cause is clear as dawn uplighting air!

Would'st have me fare[FN#267] a slave, the thrall of thrall, *

Cribbed, pent, confined behind the bar and wall?"