The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 42

Ja?far replied, I hear and obey;--and he went forth with his attendants, the Walee also accompanying him, and they proceeded until they arrived at Ghanim's house. Ghanim had just before gone out and brought a pot of meat, and was about to stretch forth his hand to eat of it with ?oot-el-?uloob, when she looked out, and found that the house was beset on all sides, and the Wezeer and the Walee and the officers of violence and the memlooks with drawn swords were surrounding it as the black surrounds the pupil of the eye; and upon this she knew that tidings of her situation had reached the ears of the Khaleefeh her lord, and she made sure of destruction; her countenance became pale, and her beauty changed, and, looking towards Ghanim, she said to him, O my beloved, save thyself!--How shall I do, said he, and whither shall I flee, when my wealth and means of subsistence are in this house? But she answered, Delay not, lest thou perish, and thy wealth also be lost.--O my mistress, and light of mine eye, rejoined he, how can I contrive to go forth when they are surrounding the house?--Fear not, she answered:--and she pulled off his clothes, and clad him in worn-out, ragged garments, and, taking the pot that had contained the meat, placed it upon his head, and put in it a little bread and a saucer of meat, and said to him, Go forth by the help of this stratagem, and thou hast nothing to fear with respect to me, for I know what I am able to do with the Khaleefeh. When Ghanim, therefore, heard the words of ?oot-el-?uloob, and the advice which she gave him, he went forth through the midst of them, bearing the pot, and Providence protected him so that he escaped from the snares and injuries which menaced him, by the blessing of his good conscience.

And when the Wezeer Ja?far arrived at the house, he dismounted from his horse, and entered, and looked at ?oot-el-?uloob, who had adorned herself, and filled a chest with gold and ornaments and jewels and rarities, such as were light to carry and of great value; and when Ja?far came in to her, she rose upon her feet, and kissed the ground before him, saying to him, O my master, the Pen hath written what G.o.d hath decreed.[VII_24] But Ja?far, when he beheld her situation, replied, By Allah, O my mistress, he gave me no order but to arrest Ghanim the son of Eiyoob. And she said, Know that he hath packed up some bales of merchandise, and gone with them to Damascus, and I know nothing more than this; and I request thee to take care of this chest for me, and to convey it to the palace of the Prince of the Faithful. So Ja?far answered, I hear and obey:--and he took the chest, and gave orders that it should be conveyed, together with ?oot-el-?uloob, to the palace of the Khaleefeh, treating her with honour and respect. This took place after they had plundered the house of Ghanim; and they went to the Khaleefeh, and Ja?far related to him all that had happened; whereupon the Khaleefeh appointed to ?oot-el-?uloob a dark chamber, and there lodged her, commissioning an old woman to serve her; for he imagined that Ghanim had acted dishonestly towards her.

He then wrote a letter to the Emeer Mo?ammad the son of Suleyman Ez-Zeynee, who was viceroy of Damascus, containing as follows:--As soon as this letter cometh to thy hands, thou shalt arrest Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, and send him unto me.--So when the mandate was brought to him, he kissed it, and put it upon his head, and caused it to be proclaimed through the market-street, Whosoever desireth to plunder, let him repair to the house of Ghanim the son of Eiyoob. And they came to the house, and found that the mother of Ghanim, and his sister, had made for them a tomb, and sat by it weeping; and they laid hold upon them, and plundered the house, and the mother and sister knew not the cause: and when they brought them before the Sul?an,[VII_25] he inquired of them respecting Ghanim the son of Eiyoob; and they answered him, For the s.p.a.ce of a year we have obtained no tidings of him.--And they restored them to their place.[VII_26]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

In the mean time, Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love, when his wealth had been seized, was perplexed, and began to weep for himself so as to break his heart. He walked on, and ceased not on his way to the close of day, suffering from excessive hunger and fatigue, until he arrived at a village, where he entered a mosque, and seated himself upon a round mat,[VII_27] and he leaned his back against one of the walls of the building, and then threw himself down, under the influence of extreme hunger and weariness. There he remained until the morning, his heart palpitating from want of food; vermin attacked his body, his breath became fetid, and he was altogether changed; and the people of that village, coming to perform the morning-prayers, found him lying there sick through want of food, yet exhibiting evident traces of former affluence; and when they approached him, they found him cold and hungry. They clad him, therefore, with an old garment having ragged sleeves, and said to him, Whence art thou, O stranger, and what is the cause of thine infirmity? And Ghanim opened his eyes and looked at them and wept; but he returned them no answer.

Then one of them, knowing the violence of his hunger, went and brought him a saucer of honey and two cakes of bread, and he ate, while they sat around him until the sun rose, when they departed to their several occupations.--In this state he remained among them for a month, and his infirmity and disease increased; so the people, commiserating him, consulted together respecting his case, and agreed to transport him to the hospital at Baghdad.

Now while they were thus conversing, lo, two women, beggars, came in to him; and they were his mother and sister; and when he beheld them, he gave them the bread that was at his head, and they slept by him the next night; but he knew them not. And on the following day, the people of the village came to him, bringing a camel, and said to its owner, Convey this sick person on the camel, and when thou hast arrived at Baghdad, put him down at the door of the hospital: perhaps he may recover his health, and thou wilt receive a recompense. He answered them, I hear and obey. So they brought forth Ghanim the son of Eiyoob from the mosque, and placed him, with the round mat upon which he was sleeping, on the camel; and his mother and sister came to look at him among the other people; but they knew him not. Then observing him attentively, they said, Verily he resembleth our Ghanim! Can he be this sick person or not?--But as to Ghanim, he awoke not until he was mounted on the camel, and he began to weep and moan; and the people of the village saw his mother and sister weeping for him, though they did not know him. Then his mother and sister journeyed onwards to Baghdad, while the camel-driver also proceeded without stopping until he had deposited Ghanim at the door of the hospital, when he took his camel, and returned.

Ghanim remained lying there until the morning; and when the people began to pa.s.s along the street, they beheld him. He had become so emaciated that his form resembled that of a toothpick, and the people ceased not to gaze at him until the Sheykh of the market came and repelled them from him, and said, I will gain Paradise by means of this poor person; for if they take him into the hospital they will kill him in one day. He then ordered his young men to carry him, and they conveyed him to his house, where he spread for him a new bed, and put for him a new cus.h.i.+on, and said to his wife, Serve him faithfully. She replied, On the head:--and she tucked up her sleeves, and, having heated for him some water, washed his hands and feet and body, and clothed him in a vest of one of her female slaves. She then gave him to drink a cup of wine, and sprinkled rose-water upon him: so he recovered his senses; and he remembered his beloved, ?oot-el-?uloob, and his anguish increased.--Thus did it happen to Ghanim.

Now as to ?oot-el-?uloob,--when the Khaleefeh, incensed against her, had lodged her in the dark chamber, she remained there in the same state for eighty days; and it happened that the Khaleefeh pa.s.sed one day by that place, and heard her reciting verses; and when she had finished her recitation of them, she exclaimed, O my beloved! O Ghanim! How kind art thou, and how chaste is thy disposition! Thou hast acted with kindness unto him who hath injured thee, and hast guarded the honour of him who hath violated thine, and hast protected his ?areem and he hath enslaved both thee and thy family; but thou wilt a.s.suredly stand, with the Prince of the Faithful, before a Just Judge, and thou wilt obtain justice against him on the day when the judge shall be G.o.d; and the witnesses, the angels!--And when the Khaleefeh heard her words, and understood her complaint, he knew that she was injured; and he entered his palace, and sent the eunuch to her, and when she came before him she hung down her head, with weeping eye, and sorrowful heart; and he said to her, O ?oot-el-?uloob, I see that thou complainest of my oppression, and accusest me of tyranny, and thinkest that I have injured him who hath acted kindly unto me. Who then is he who hath guarded my honour and I have violated his; and who hath protected my ?areem and I have enslaved his?[VII_28]--She answered him, Ghanim the son of Eiyoob; for he hath not attempted any dishonest action towards me, by thy beneficence, O Prince of the Faithful!--Upon this the Khaleefeh exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in G.o.d!--and then added, O ?oot-el-?uloob, desire of me what thou wilt, and I will grant thy wish. So she replied, I desire of thee my beloved, Ghanim the son of Eiyoob. And when he heard her words, he said, I will cause him to be brought hither, if it be the will of G.o.d, in honour.--O Prince of the Faithful, she rejoined, when thou shalt have caused him to be brought, wilt thou present me to him?

He answered, When I have had him brought, I will present thee to him, the present of a generous man who will not revoke his gift. So she said, O Prince of the Faithful, permit me to search about for him: perhaps G.o.d may unite me with him. And he replied, Do as thou wilt.

Upon this she rejoiced, and went forth, taking with her a thousand pieces of gold and visited the sheykhs, and gave alms for the sake of Ghanim:[VII_29] and on the following day she went to the market of the merchants, and gave to the chief of the market some money, saying to him, Bestow it in alms upon the strangers. Then again, in the following week, she went forth, taking with her a thousand pieces of gold, and, entering the market of the goldsmiths and jewellers, summoned the chief of the market, and he came, and she gave him the thousand pieces of gold, and said to him, Bestow it in alms upon the strangers: whereupon the chief, who was the Sheykh of the market before mentioned, looked at her, and said to her, Wilt thou go with me to my house, to look at a young stranger there, and see how elegant he is, and how perfectly charming? For it is probable that he is Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love.--But the chief had no knowledge of him, and imagined that he was a poor person involved in debt, whose wealth had been taken from him, or a lover parted from his beloved. And when she heard his words, her heart beat, and her affections were engrossed by him, and she answered, Send with me some one to conduct me to thy house.

So he sent with her a young boy, who conducted her to the house where the stranger was lodged, and she thanked him for doing so; and when she entered the house, and saluted the chief's wife, the latter arose, and kissed the ground before her; for she knew her. Then ?oot-el-?uloob said to her, Where is the sick person who is with you? And she wept, and answered, Here he is, O my mistress: but he is of a respectable family, and exhibiteth traces of former affluence. And ?oot-el-?uloob looked towards the bed upon which he was lying, and, regarding him narrowly, beheld him as though he were Ghanim himself; but his condition was changed, and he had become so emaciated that he resembled a toothpick, and the truth of his case was disguised from her, so that she did not discover him to be the person whom she sought; but she was moved with compa.s.sion for him, and she wept, and exclaimed, Verily, strangers are objects of pity, though they be emeers in their own countries! She then ordered for him supplies of wine and medicines, and sat at his head a while, and mounted, and returned to her palace; and she continued to go forth to every market for the purpose of searching for Ghanim.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Soon after, the chief of the market brought the mother of Ghanim, and his sister Fitneh, and went with them to ?oot-el-?uloob, and said to her, O most charitable lady, there have entered our city this day a woman and a girl of respectable origin, bearing evident traces of former affluence, but they are clad in garments of hair-cloth, and each of them hath a wallet hung to her neck, and their eyes are weeping, and their hearts sorrowful: so I have brought them unto thee, that thou mayest give them refuge, and preserve them from the disgrace of beggary; for they are not persons suited to ask alms of the sordid; and if it please G.o.d, we shall enter Paradise by their means.--By Allah, O my master, she replied, thou hast made me long to behold them! Where are they?

Order them to come in.--So, upon this, Fitneh and her mother came in to ?oot-el-?uloob, who, when she saw them, and observed that they were both distinguished by beauty, wept for them, and said, By Allah, they are persons of an affluent family, and traces of wealth are conspicuous in their appearance.--O my mistress, replied the chief of the market, we love the poor and indigent for the sake of future recompense;[VII_30]

and probably the extortioners have oppressed these two persons, and plundered them of their wealth, and ruined their houses. Then these two females wept violently, and, remembering Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love, their wailing increased, and ?oot-el-?uloob wept with them; and the mother of Ghanim exclaimed, We pray G.o.d to unite us with him whom we seek, and he is my son Ghanim the son of Eiyoob.

When ?oot-el-?uloob, therefore, heard these words, she knew that this woman was the mother of her beloved, and that the other was his sister, and she wept until she fell down in a swoon; and when she recovered, she approached them, and said to them, Ye have nothing to fear; for this day is the first of your prosperity, and the last of your adversity: therefore grieve not. She then ordered the chief of the market to take them to his house, and to let his wife conduct them into the bath, and attire them in handsome clothing, and take care of them, and treat them with the utmost honour; and she gave him a sum of money.

Then, on the following day, ?oot-el-?uloob mounted and went again to the house of the chief of the market, and went in to visit his wife, who rose to her, and kissed the ground before her, and thanked her for her charity; and she saw that his wife had conducted the mother of Ghanim, and his sister, to the bath, and taken off their former clothes, and that the traces of their original affluence had become more conspicuous in consequence; and she sat a while conversing with them; after which she asked the wife of the chief of the market respecting the sick person who was with her. She answered, He is in the same state. And ?oot-el-?uloob said, Arise, and let us look at him and visit him. So they both arose, with Ghanim's mother and sister, and went in to him, and seated themselves by him; and when Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love, heard one of them mention ?oot-el-?uloob, emaciated as he was in body and limbs, his soul returned to him, and he raised his head from the pillow, and called out, O ?oot-el-?uloob! She looked at him, therefore, and knew him, and cried, saying, Yes, O my beloved! He then said to her, Draw near to me. And she asked him, Art thou Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love? He answered her, Yes: I am he. And upon this, she fell down in a swoon; and when his sister and his mother heard their words, they cried out, Oh, our joy!--and in like manner fainted. And when they recovered, ?oot-el-?uloob said to Ghanim, Praise be to G.o.d who hath united us with thee and with thy mother and sister! Then, approaching him, she related to him all that had happened to her with the Khaleefeh, adding, I said to him, I have declared to thee the truth, O Prince of the Faithful:--and he believed my words, and approved thee; and he is now desiring to see thee. And she said to him, The Khaleefeh hath given me to thee:--whereupon he was filled with the utmost joy: and ?oot-el-?uloob said to them all, Quit not this place until I come again.

She then arose immediately, and departed to her palace, and removed thence the chest that she had brought from Ghanim's house, and took forth from it some pieces of gold, which she gave to the chief of the market, saying to him, Take these pieces of gold, and buy for each of them four complete suits of dress of the best kinds of stuff, and twenty handkerchiefs, and whatever else they require. And after this, she conducted them to the bath, and gave orders to wash them, and prepared for them boiled meats, and infusion of galangal, and apple-water, after they had come forth from the bath and dressed themselves. For three days she remained with them, feeding them with fowls and with boiled meats, and giving them sherbet of refined sugar to drink; and after the three days their spirits returned to them. Then she conducted them again to the bath, and they came forth, and she changed their clothes, and, leaving them in the house of the chief of the market, went to the Khaleefeh, and kissed the ground before him, and related to him the story, telling him that her master, Ghanim the son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love, had come, and that his mother and sister also had arrived. When the Khaleefeh, therefore, heard these words of ?oot-el-?uloob, he said to the eunuchs, Bring hither to me Ghanim. And Ja?far went down with them to bring him: but ?oot-el-?uloob had gone before him; and she went in unto Ghanim, and said to him, The Khaleefeh hath sent to thee to bring thee before him: have a care then to display eloquence of tongue, and firmness of heart, and sweetness of speech. And she attired him in a magnificent dress, and gave him pieces of gold in abundance, saying to him, Bestow plentifully upon the domestics of the Khaleefeh as thou goest in to him. And lo, Ja?far approached him, mounted upon his mule, and Ghanim advanced to meet him, and greeted him with a prayer for long life, kissing the ground before him.

The planet of his prosperity had appeared, and the star of his glory had risen aloft, and Ja?far took him, and they proceeded until they entered into the presence of the Prince of the Faithful; and when Ghanim came before him, he looked towards the wezeers and emeers and chamberlains and lieutenants and the other officers of the court, and the warriours, and, being eloquent of tongue, firm of heart, delicate in the style of his language, and pleasing in the allusions it conveyed, he hung down his head towards the ground, and then looked towards the Khaleefeh, and addressed him in a series of complimentary verses. And when he had finished his recitation, the Khaleefeh was delighted with the graces of his person, and pleased with the eloquence of his tongue and the sweetness of his speech; and he said to him, Approach me. He therefore approached him, and the Khaleefeh said to him, Explain to me thy tale, and acquaint me with the truth of thy history. So Ghanim sat, and related to the Khaleefeh all that had happened to him from beginning to end; and when the Khaleefeh knew that he spoke truth, he bestowed upon him a dress of honour, and admitted him into his favour, and said to him, Acquit me of responsibility.[VII_31] And he did so, and said to him, O Prince of the Faithful, the slave and all that his hands possess belong to his master:--and the Khaleefeh rejoiced. He then gave orders to appropriate a palace to him exclusively, and appointed him abundant pensions and allowances, and removed to him his mother and his sister. And the Khaleefeh, hearing that his sister Fitneh was, in beauty (as her name imported), a temptation, demanded her of him in marriage.

Ghanim therefore replied, She is thy handmaid,[VII_32] and I am thy memlook. And the Khaleefeh thanked him, and gave him a hundred thousand pieces of gold,[VII_33] and summoned the ?a?ee and witnesses, and they performed the marriage-contract. Then he and Ghanim visited their wives on the same day, the Khaleefeh going to Fitneh, and Ghanim the son of Eiyoob to ?oot-el-?uloob; and on the following morning, the Khaleefeh ordered that all that had happened to Ghanim, from first to last, should be committed to writing and inserted in the records, that his posterity might consider it, and wonder at the disposals of destiny, and commit their affairs unto the Creator of the night and the day.[VII_34]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

NOTES TO CHAPTER SEVENTH.

NOTE 1. Damascus is afterwards mentioned in the original as the abode of this merchant's family; but not here.

NOTE 2. "Ghanim" signifies "a taker of spoil," "a fortunate acquirer of anything;" and "Eiyoob" is the name which _we_ call "Job."

NOTE 3. "Fitneh" signifies "temptation," "seduction," "disturbance," &c.

NOTE 4. By the term "loads" we are always to understand "camel-loads,"

unless it is otherwise expressed. A camel-load is generally about three hundred-weights.

NOTE 5. Or vesicles of musk. In the original, "nawafe?" is put for "nawafij."

NOTE 6. A great recompense in the world to come is to be the lot of him who takes part in a funeral-procession.

NOTE 7. The ablution was necessary to qualify Ghanim for joining in the prayer over the dead.

NOTE 8. "?awab" signifies "rect.i.tude."

NOTE 9. "Kafoor" is the Arabic for "camphor." Instances of antiphrasis in the names given to black slaves are very common.

NOTE 10. "Bakheet" signifies "fortunate," from "bakht" ("fortune"), a word borrowed from the Persian.

NOTE 11. I am not sure that this is to be understood as a jest; for I have been a.s.sured, by a slave-dealer and other persons in Cairo, that sometimes slaves brought to that city are found to be cannibals; and that a proof lately occurred there; an infant having been eaten by its black nurse. I was also told that these cannibals are generally distinguished by an elongation of the os coccygis; or in other words, that they have tails!

NOTE 12. The story here alluded to is inserted in the original; but, being extremely objectionable, and too short and simple to be abridged, I have been compelled to omit it altogether.

NOTE 13. This story is not in the old version; but I think the reader will consider it worthy of insertion in the present series, as an amusing ill.u.s.tration of the customs which are often observed by the Arabs on the occasion of the death of the master of a family. I can bear testimony to the general correctness of the picture which it presents; or rather state, that the greatest of the extravagances which it describes are not unfrequently practised in the present day.

NOTE 14. As the Arab women are much more reluctant to uncover the upper and back part of the head than they are to shew the face, before strange men, such a scene as that which is here described is very seldom witnessed; but I have seen not so unfrequently a woman with her face uncovered, and besmeared with mud, on her receiving the news of the sudden death of a near relation.

NOTE 15. This, to some readers, may require explanation. To free a slave who has no means of providing for himself, and not to grant him any means to do so, is almost the heaviest punishment that can be inflicted upon him; and to do this, unless for a heinous crime, is considered disgraceful.

NOTE 16. This is not just; for as soon as the slave is emanc.i.p.ated he is legally free, without doubt: but it is inserted in the tale as a jest.[354]

NOTE 17. See Note 46 to Chapter ii.--This mode of disposing of a rival in the ?areem is said to have been not very unfrequently adopted.

NOTE 18. I suspect that the original presents here an error, which I have endeavoured to correct.--The names which the lady e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.es are to be understood as those of female slaves, her attendants.

"Zahr-el-Bustan" signifies "Flower of the Garden;" "?abee?ah,"

"Beautiful;" "Shejeret-ed-Durr," "Tree of Pearls" (this is the vulgar mode of p.r.o.nouncing "Shejer-ed-Durr," which was the name of the wife of the Sul?an E?-?ale? Nejm-ed-Deen, afterwards Queen of Egypt); "Noor-el-Huda," "Light of Day," or "Light of Guidance;"

"Nejmet-e?-?ub?," "Star of the Morning;" "Nuzheh," "Delight;" "?ulweh,"

"Sweet;" and "?areefeh," "Elegant."

NOTE 19. From this point, to the relation of the stratagem employed by Zubeydeh, I omit much that is unsuitable for insertion in the translation, as approaching to licentiousness.

NOTE 20. Perhaps it is unnecessary to mention, that "the Prophet's Uncle" here alluded to was El-'Abbas; and that the "descendant" was Haroon Er-Rasheed.

NOTE 21. "?oot-el-?uloob" signifies "Food (or Sustenance) of Hearts."

NOTE 22. As black, which was the distinguis.h.i.+ng colour of the banners and dress of the 'Abbasee Khaleefehs, was originally a.s.sumed in token of mourning for such of their relations as were victims of the Umawees, it may have continued for a long time to be used for a similar purpose: but the modern colour of mourning among the Arabs is blue; and it is remarkable that the term which properly signifies "black" is commonly applied by them to dark blue.--On the subject of mourning, see Note 52 to Chapter ii.

NOTE 23. "Kheyzuran" and "?a?eeb" signify respectively, "a Cane"

(particularly "Indian Cane"), and "a Rod," or "a long and slender Branch."

NOTE 24. See note 85 to Chapter iii.

NOTE 25. By "the Sul?an" is meant the Viceroy of Damascus, though the t.i.tle is improperly used in this sense.

NOTE 26. The account of the disgusting treatment of Ghanim's mother and sister, which follows in this place in the old version, is not in either of the copies of the original which I possess, containing this tale.

Hence, and as it is extremely inconsistent with Arab customs and feelings, I have little doubt of its being an interpolation by some ignorant copyist.