The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 43

NOTE 27. See Note 18 to Chapter vi.

NOTE 28, By Ghanim's ?areem, we are here to understand his mother and sister; the term "?areem" being often used to signify a man's female relations residing in his house.

NOTE 29. It is implied that she visited the sheykhs (by which are here meant the devotees) to request the aid of their prayers; and gave alms for the sake (or in the name) of Ghanim in order to propitiate Providence in his favour.

NOTE 30.--_On the Charitable Disposition of the Arabs._ Some remarks which I have made on this subject with reference to the Egyptians, in a former work, are equally applicable to the Arabs in general.

"Benevolence and charity to the poor are virtues which the Egyptians possess in an eminent degree, and which are instilled into their hearts by religion; but from their own profession it appears that they are as much excited to the giving of alms by the expectation of enjoying corresponding rewards in heaven, as by pity for the distresses of their fellow-creatures, or a disinterested wish to do the will of G.o.d. It may be attributed, in some measure, to the charitable disposition of the inhabitants, that beggars are so numerous in Cairo. The many handsome Sebeels, or public fountains (buildings erected and endowed for the gratuitous supply of water to pa.s.sengers), which are seen in this city, and the more humble structures of the same kind in the villages and fields, are monuments of the same virtue."[355] So also the numerous Khans for the reception of travellers, in countries occupied by the Arabs, bear testimony to the charity of this people.

NOTE 31. This is often said by an Arab to a person against whom he knows or fears himself to have committed an offence. The most urgent reason for doing so may be seen by reverting to No. 9 of the notes to Chapter iv.

NOTE 32. This compliment has occasioned, in the old version, an error of the most serious kind, by its having been understood in its literal sense. Ghanim is made to propose that the Khaleefeh should take his sister as one of his favourites (_i. e._ concubines); which, as she was a free woman, would be a crime of the foulest nature.

NOTE 33. We are to understand this sum of money as being Fitneh's dowry.--Here it may be mentioned, that the Khaleefeh, by marrying Fitneh, severely punished Zubeydeh: for he thus gave her a wife, instead of a concubine, as a rival.

NOTE 34.--_On the Pa.s.sion of Love among the Arabs._ A few remarks on this subject may be inserted to justify the picture of love presented in the foregoing tale. That sensual pa.s.sion is most prevalent among the Arabs cannot be doubted; but I think it unjust to suppose them generally incapable of a purer feeling, worthy, if constancy be a sufficient test, of being termed true love. That they are not so, appears evident to almost every person who mixes with them in familiar society; for such a person must have opportunities of being acquainted with many Arabs sincerely attached to wives whose personal charms have long vanished, and who have neither wealth nor influence of their own, nor wealthy nor influential relations, to induce their husbands to refrain from divorcing them. It very often happens, too, that an Arab is sincerely attached to a wife possessed, even in the best portion of her age, of few charms; and that the lasting favourite among two or more wives is not the most handsome. This opinion, I am sorry to observe, is at variance, as far as the Arabs of the _towns_ are concerned, with that entertained by one of the most intelligent and experienced of modern travellers, who long resided among this people,--the justly-celebrated Burckhardt:[356] but it is confirmed by numerous facts related by respectable Arab authors (and therefore not regarded by them as of an incredible nature), as well as by cases which have fallen under my own observation. The tale of Leyla and Mejnoon, "the Juliet and Romeo of Arabia," is too well known to be here repeated; but among many other anecdotes of strong and constant love, the following may be inserted:--

The Khaleefeh Yezeed the son of 'Abd-El-Melik, it is said, had two female slaves; one of whom was named ?abbabeh, and the other, Selameh; to the former of whom he was most ardently attached: he had purchased her for a hundred thousand dirhems; and the other, for ten thousand. In the company of these two females he sometimes shut himself up for three months together, utterly neglecting the affairs of his people. At length, being reproved for this conduct by his brother Meslemeh, he promised to return to his duty: but the two slaves diverted him from his purpose; and on the following morning, excited by their songs and caresses, and by wine, he became frantic with pleasure, and danced and sang like a madman, till a fatal accident put a stop to his joy: ?abbabeh, eating a pomegranate, was choked by one of the grains, and immediately died. The grief of Yezeed was so poignant that he would not quit the corpse, but continued to kiss and fondle it until it became putrid. Being then admonished by his attendants that proper respect required its burial, he consented to commit it to the earth: after five days, however, his desire again to behold the object of his love induced him to open the grave, and though the corpse had become hideous, he declared that it was lovely as ever in his eyes. At the earnest request of Meslemeh, he ordered the grave to be closed again; but he was unable to exist when deprived of the sight of the remains of her who was at the same time his slave and his mistress: he threw himself upon his bed, speechless; and after lingering seventeen nights, expired, and was buried by the side of ?abbabeh. "May G.o.d," says the narrator, "have mercy on them both!"[357]

In the same work from which the above is taken, it is related that Haroon Er-Rasheed, visiting Suleyman the son of Aboo-Ja?far, one of his chief officers, saw with him a female slave, named ?a'eefeh, of excessive beauty, and being smitten by her charms, demanded her as a present. His request was granted; but Suleyman from grief at the loss of his mistress, fell sick; and during his illness was heard to exclaim,--

"I appeal unto G.o.d against the affliction which He hath sent upon me through the Khaleefeh.

The world heareth of his justice; but he is a tyrant in the affair of ?a'eefeh.[358]

Love of her is fixed in my heart as ink upon the surface of paper."

Er-Rasheed, being informed of his complaint, restored to him his mistress, and, with her, his peace of mind.--This anecdote is given as a proof of strong love; but perhaps may not be thought much to the purpose. The following, from the same work, is more apt.

During the hottest hour of an excessively sultry day, the Khaleefeh Mo'awiyeh the son of Aboo-Sufyan was sitting in a chamber which was open on each side to allow free pa.s.sage to the air, when he beheld a barefooted Bedawee approaching him. Wondering what could induce this man to brave the scorching heat, he declared to his attendants that, if he were come to demand of him any favour or aid or act of justice, his request should be granted. The Bedawee addressed him, in verse, with a pathetic appeal for justice against the tyranny of Marwan the son of El-?akam (afterwards Khaleefeh, Mo'awiyeh's fourth successor), by whom he had been forcibly deprived of his beloved wife, named So?da. The Khaleefeh requiring a more particular account of his case, he related the following facts. He had a wife, the daughter of his paternal uncle, excessively beloved by him, and he possessed a number of camels, which enabled him to live in comfort; but a year of terrible drought deprived him of his property, and reduced him to utter want: his friends deserted him, and his wife was taken away from him by her father. To seek redress, he repaired to Marwan, the Governor of his district, at El-Medeeneh, who, having summoned the father of his wife, and herself, was so smitten by the beauty of the woman that he determined to obtain her for himself in marriage; to accomplish which, he threw the husband into prison, and offered the father of the woman a thousand deenars and ten thousand dirhems for his consent to his marriage with her, promising to compel her actual husband to divorce her; and this latter object, having obtained the father's approval, he gained by severely torturing the unfortunate Bedawee. It would have been vain for the woman to attempt resistance; and so she became the wife of Marwan.--The oppressed Bedawee, having related these circ.u.mstances, fell down in a swoon, and lay on the floor senseless, coiled up like a dead snake. As soon as he recovered, the Khaleefeh wrote a poetical epistle to Marwan, severely reproaching him for his baseness, and commanding him, on pain of death, to divorce the woman and send her with his messenger. She was accordingly divorced and sent, with an answer composed in the same measure and rhyme, a.s.suring the Khaleefeh that the sight of So?da would convince him that her charms were irresistible; and this proved too true. Mo'awiyeh himself no sooner saw her than he coveted the possession of her, and offered to give the Bedawee, if he would resign her to him, three virgins from among his female slaves, together with a thousand deenars, and an ample annual pension. The Bedawee shrieked with dismay, as though he had received his death-blow; and indignantly rejected the offer. The Khaleefeh then said to him, "Thou confessest that thou hast divorced her, and Marwan has married her and acknowledged that he has divorced her: we will therefore give her her choice: if she desire any other than thee as her husband we will marry her to him, and if she prefer thee we will restore her to thee." She however preferred the dest.i.tute Bedawee, and the Khaleefeh gave her up to him, with a present of ten thousand dirhems.

Numerous instances of unreasonable love are recorded in the writings of Arabs. It is related that a man fell in love with a female from seeing the impression of her hand upon a wall; and being unable to obtain possession of her, died. Many men are said, to have conceived a violent pa.s.sion for females seen in dreams: others, again, to have been thus affected merely by the ear. An author relates his having been acquainted with an accomplished schoolmaster who lost his heart from hearing a man sing the praises of a woman named Umm-'Amr, and two days after, shut himself up in his house to mourn for her death, in consequence of his hearing the same man sing,--

"The a.s.s went away with Umm-'Amr; and she returned not, nor did the a.s.s return."[359]

But a few anecdotes may be considered as rare exceptions to a general rule. I think, however, that strong evidences of the existence of true love among all cla.s.ses of the Arabs are afforded by their very numerous tales of fiction descriptive of this pa.s.sion.

[354] Marginal note by my sheykh.

[355] Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ch. xiii.

[356] I may suffer in public estimation for my differing in opinion from this accomplished traveller and most estimable man; but I cannot, on that account, abstain from the expression of my dissent. Our difference, I think, may be thus explained. He conformed, in a great degree, to the habits of the Arabs; but not to such an extent as I consider necessary to obtain from them that confidence in his sympathy which would induce them to lay open to him their character; and when a man is often treated with coldness and reserve, I doubt whether the people from whom he experiences such treatment can be judged by him with strict impartiality. To be received on terms of equality by Arabs of the more polished cla.s.ses, an undeviating observance of their code of etiquette is absolutely indispensable: but Burckhardt, I have been a.s.sured, often violated this code, by practices harmless enough to our notions, and probably, also, in the opinion of the Arabs of the Desert, but extremely offensive to the people who enjoyed the least share of his esteem: his most intimate acquaintances in Cairo generally refused, in speaking of him, to designate him by the t.i.tle of "sheykh" which he had adopted; and yet the heaviest charge that I heard brought against him was his frequent habit of _whistling_!--This fact has been mentioned, as corroborating an observation of the same kind, by Mr. Urquhart ("Spirit of the East," vol. i. pp. 417 and 418), all of whose opinions relating to the East, expressed in the work here referred to, and especially those regarding the characteristics of the Eastern _mind_, are ent.i.tled to the highest respect.

[A very remarkable instance, confirming Mr. Lane's opinion of the existence of true love among the Arabs, occurred during my residence with him in Cairo. The wife of a man of good birth, and holding a high position in that city, was accused of carrying on an intrigue while visiting the tombs of her relations. Her family claimed her in accordance with the law, and threatened to put her to death, as the law would undoubtedly have justified them in doing, if the case were proved against her. Her husband was much attached to her--she was his first and only wife--and he believed, with reason, that the accusation was false: at the same time he knew that she would in all likelihood find it impossible to clear herself in a court of law, where justice is only accidentally awarded, and had good cause to fear that her male relations would put her to death without a hearing. He therefore adopted the extraordinary expedient of taking her secretly to the house of a married European gentleman of his acquaintance. There she remained concealed for some time, her husband visiting her daily, and shewing the most perfect confidence in his friend; while the latter was almost confined to one room, never venturing into the ?areem without calling "Permission!" at every few steps. In the mean time, the indignation of the lady's friends cooled, and the affair was cleared up. She has since lived in perfect happiness with her husband.

To any one familiar with Eastern customs and modes of thought, a stronger proof of sincere love could scarcely be given, than that a man should thus set aside the strongest prejudices of his nation to save the honour, and perhaps the life, of his wife, disbelieving a report which, from its plausibility, might have been accepted without hesitation. The facilities afforded by the visits to the cemeteries are notorious, and the state of morals among the women of Egypt unfortunately makes their defence difficult in a suspicious case.--ED.]

[357] Kitab el-'Onwan fee Mekad en-Niswan (MS. in my possession).

[358] This word slightly varied (changed to ?a'eefih) bears another meaning; namely, "his weak one:" the final vowel being suppressed by the rule of wa?f.

[359] Kitab el-'Onwan, &c.

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CHAPTER VIII.

COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH NIGHT,[VIII_1] AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVENTH.

THE STORY OF TaJ-EL-MULOOK AND THE LADY DUNYa.

There was, in former times, a city behind the mountains of I?pahan, called El-Medeeneh el-Kha?ra,[VIII_2] and in it resided a King called the King Suleyman. He was a person of liberality and beneficence, and justice and integrity, and of a generous and obliging disposition: travellers repaired to him from every quarter, and his fame spread throughout all the regions and countries; and he reigned a long time in glory and security; but he was dest.i.tute of children and of wives.

He had a Wezeer who nearly resembled him in his qualities, in liberality and other endowments; and it came to pa.s.s that he sent to this Wezeer one day, and having summoned him into his presence, said to him, O Wezeer, my heart is contracted, and my patience is overcome, and my strength is impaired, because I have neither a wife nor a child: this is not the usual way of Kings who rule over lords and poor men; for they rejoice in leaving children, and multiplying by them the number of their posterity; and the Prophet (G.o.d bless and save him!) hath said, Intermarry, and beget offspring, that ye may increase in number; for I shall contend for your superiority with the other nations on the day of resurrection.--What, then, is thy counsel, O Wezeer? Point out to me what is advisable.--But when the Wezeer heard these words, tears poured from his eyes, and he replied, Far be it from me, O King of the age, that I should speak of that which belongeth unto the Compa.s.sionate to decide![VIII_3] Dost thou desire that I should enter the fire of h.e.l.l, through the anger of the Almighty King?--Know, O Wezeer, rejoined his sovereign, that, if the King purchase a female slave whose rank and lineage are unknown, he will not be acquainted with her ign.o.ble origin that he may abstain from her, or the n.o.bility of her extraction that he may make her his companion: so, if he do this, she may perhaps bear him a son who may be a hypocrite, a tyrant, a shedder of blood; and she may resemble a marshy land, the produce of which is worthless, and attaineth no excellence: her child may be obnoxious to the indignation of his Lord, not doing what He commandeth him, nor refraining from that which He forbiddeth him to do. I will never, therefore, be the means of such an event by purchasing a female slave. I desire, rather, that thou demand in marriage for me one of the daughters of the Kings, whose lineage is known, and whose loveliness is celebrated. If, then, thou wilt point out to me one of good birth and of religion among the daughters of the Muslim Kings, I will demand her as my wife, and marry her in the presence of witnesses, that I may thereby obtain the approval of the Lord of mankind.--The Wezeer replied, Verily G.o.d hath accomplished thy want and given thee thy desire.--How so? asked the King.--Know, O King, answered the Wezeer, that it hath been told me that the King Zahr Shah, the sovereign of El-Ar? el-Bey?a,[VIII_4] hath a daughter of astonis.h.i.+ng loveliness, whom words cannot describe, whose equal existeth not in this age, for she is endowed with the most perfect beauty and symmetry, with black eye, and long hair, and slender waist, and large hips; when she approacheth she seduceth, and when she turneth her back she killeth, ravis.h.i.+ng the heart and the eye. It is my opinion, therefore, O King, that thou shouldst send to her father an intelligent messenger, well-informed, and experienced in the course of events, that he may courteously ask her in marriage for thee of her father; for she hath no equal in the distant parts of the earth, nor in the near; so shalt thou enjoy her lovely face, and the Glorious King shall approve thy conduct; since it hath been handed down from the Prophet (G.o.d bless and save him!) that he said, There is no monkery in El-Islam.

Upon this, the King was perfectly delighted, his bosom expanded with joy, and anxiety and grief departed from him; and, addressing his Wezeer, he said to him, Know, O Wezeer, that no one shall go on this business but thou, on account of thy consummate wisdom and politeness: depart, therefore, to thy house, and accomplish what thou hast to do, and prepare thyself by the morrow, and demand for me in marriage this damsel with whom thou hast caused my heart to be engrossed, and return not to me without her. The Wezeer replied, I hear and obey:--and he went to his house, and gave orders to bring presents suitable to Kings, consisting of costly jewels and precious rarities, such as were light to carry and of great value, together with Arab horses, and Davidean coats of mail,[VIII_5] and chests of wealth such as language would fail to describe. These they placed upon the mules and camels, and the Wezeer departed, accompanied by a hundred memlooks and a hundred male black slaves and a hundred female slaves, and the flags and banners were unfurled over his head. The King charged him to return soon; and after his departure, the King Suleyman Shah burned with desire, and became engrossed with love of the damsel night and day. Meanwhile, the Wezeer, by night and by day traversed the deserts and wastes until there remained between him and the city to which he was repairing one day's journey, when he alighted at the bank of a river, and, having summoned one of his chief officers, ordered him to go quickly to the King Zahr Shah, and to acquaint him with his approach. He answered, I hear and obey:--and went quickly to the city; and when he arrived there, it happened that the King Zahr Shah was sitting in one of the places of recreation before the gate of the city, and, seeing him as he entered, knew him to be a stranger, and summoned him before him. So when the messenger came to him, he informed him of the approach of the Wezeer of the supreme King Suleyman Shah, the King of El-Ar? el-Kha?ra and of the mountains of I?pahan; and the King Zahr Shah rejoiced, and welcomed the messenger, and, having conducted him to his palace, said to him, Where didst thou part from the Wezeer? He answered, I parted from him in the morning at the bank of such a river, and to-morrow he will arrive and visit thee: may G.o.d continue his favours unto thee, and show mercy unto thy parents![VIII_6] Zahr Shah then ordered one of his wezeers to take with him the greater number of his chief officers and chamberlains and lieutenants and the lords of his court, and to go forth with them to meet him, in honour of the King Suleyman Shah; for his dominion extended through the land.

In the mean time, the Wezeer of Suleyman Shah remained where he had halted until midnight, and then proceeded towards the city; and when the morning gleamed, and the sun shone upon the hills and the lowlands, suddenly the Wezeer of the King Zahr Shah, and his chamberlains and the lords of his court and the chief officers of his kingdom, approached and joined him at the distance of some leagues from the city. So the Wezeer of Suleyman Shah felt sure of the accomplishment of his business, and saluted those who met him; and the latter preceded him until they arrived at the palace of the King, and pa.s.sed in before him through the entrance to the seventh vestibule. This was the place which no one entered on horseback; for it was near to the King; therefore here the Wezeer alighted, and he proceeded on foot until he came to a lofty saloon, at the upper end of which was a couch of alabaster set with pearls and jewels, having four legs of elephants' tusks, and upon it was a mattress covered with green satin embroidered with red gold, and over it was a canopy adorned with pearls and jewels. Upon this couch sat the King Zahr Shah, and the lords of his court stood in attendance upon him.

And when the Wezeer went in unto him, and stood before him, he composed his heart, and gave liberty to his tongue, and, displaying the oratory of wezeers, and uttering the language of the eloquent, addressed the King with courtesy of manner, and recited a series of complimentary verses; and when he had finished, the King caused him to draw near, treated him with the utmost respect, and, seating him by his side, smiled in his face, and honoured him with a gracious reply. After this, the attendants brought forward the table in that saloon, and they ate until they were satisfied, when the attendants removed the table, and every one who was present went forth, except the chief officers. When the Wezeer, therefore, saw that they had quitted the hall, he rose and stood on his feet, and, complimenting the King, kissed the ground before him, and said, O great King, and dignified sovereign, I have come unto thee and visited thee on an affair productive of peace and prosperity and happiness unto thee; and it is this: I have come to thee as an amba.s.sador to desire in marriage thy daughter, the distinguished by rank and lineage, from the King Suleyman Shah, who is endowed with justice and integrity, and graciousness and beneficence, the King of El-Ar? el-Kha?ra and of the mountains of I?pahan, and he hath sent unto thee many presents and numerous rarities, desiring thine alliance. Dost thou then wish the same of him?--He then stood silent, waiting for the answer; and when the King Zahr Shah heard these words, he rose upon his feet, and modestly kissed the ground; and the persons who were present wondered at the King's condescension to the amba.s.sador, and their minds were amazed. The King then offered up praises unto Him who is possessed of glory and honour, and said, still standing, O exalted Wezeer, and ill.u.s.trious lord, hear what I say: we are, unto the King Suleyman Shah, among the number of his subjects, and shall be enn.o.bled by his affinity: we covet this distinction; and my daughter is one of his handmaids. This is my greatest desire; that he may be a means of support to me, and my reliance.--And he summoned the ?a?ees and witnesses, and they bore witness that the King Suleyman Shah had appointed his Wezeer as his deputy to effect the marriage, and the King Zahr Shah joyfully officiated for his daughter in performing the contract; so the ?a?ees concluded the marriage-contract, and offered up a prayer for the happiness and prosperity of both parties: after which, the Wezeer arose, and produced the presents and precious rarities, and all the gifts that he had brought, and offered the whole to the King Zahr Shah.

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The King then occupied himself in fitting out his daughter, and in honourably entertaining the Wezeer; and he feasted at his banquets the great and the abject, and continued the festivity for a period of two months, omitting in it nothing that would rejoice the heart and the eye.[VIII_7] And when everything that the bride required was completed, the King gave orders to carry forth the tents, and they were pitched outside the city. They packed the stuffs in the chests, and made ready the Greek and Turkish female slaves; and the King provided the bride with precious treasures and costly jewels, and made for her a litter[VIII_8] of red gold adorned with pearls and jewels, appropriating to her use ten mules for the journey. The litter appeared like a private chamber, and its occupant like one of the beautiful ?ooreeyehs,[VIII_9] her canopy resembling one of the pavilions of Paradise. They packed up the treasures and wealth, and placed them upon the mules and camels, and the King Zahr Shah went with them to the distance of three leagues, and then bade farewell to his daughter and the Wezeer and his attendants, and returned home in joy and safety.

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The Wezeer proceeded with the King's daughter, and continued his days'

journeys and his route over the wastes, travelling with diligence by night and day, until there remained between him and his country a journey of three days; whereupon he sent forward a messenger to the King Suleyman Shah to inform him of the approach of the bride. So the messenger hasted in his journey till he arrived in the presence of the King, and acquainted him with the approach of the bride; and the King was rejoiced, and bestowed a robe of honour upon the messenger, and ordered his troops to go forth in grand procession to meet the bride and her attendants with honour, desiring them to equip themselves in the gayest manner, and to unfurl the standards over their heads. And they complied with his commands; and a crier proclaimed through the city, that no curtained damsel nor honoured lady nor infirm old woman should fail to go forth to meet the bride. So they all went forth to meet her, and the chief among them accompanied her to serve her. They decided together to conduct her towards night to the King's palace, and the chief officers of the court agreed to decorate the streets, and to stand while the bride pa.s.sed by them with the eunuchs and female slaves before her, she herself being clad in the dress which her father gave her. And when she approached, the troops surrounded her, ranged on the right and left, and the litter advanced with her until it drew near to the palace; and there was no one who did not come forth to see it: the drums were beaten, and the spears brandished, and the trumpets sounded, and sweet odours were diffused around, and the standards flapped, and the horses raced with each other, until they arrived at the gate of the palace, when the pages advanced with the litter to the entrance of the ?areem: the palace was illuminated by its splendour, and its walls shone with the l.u.s.tre of its ornaments; and at night the eunuchs opened the doors of the inner apartment, and stood surrounding the chief entrance. The bride then came forward among the female slaves, like the moon among the stars, or the chief pearl among the minor pearls of the string, and she entered the apartment, where they had placed for her a couch of alabaster set with pearls and jewels. Upon this she seated herself, and the King came in to visit her, and G.o.d inspired his heart with love for her, so that his disquietude and trouble ceased.

He remained with her about a month, after which he went forth and sat upon his throne, and administered justice to his subjects; and towards daybreak on the morning after the expiration of the ninth month, his wife gave birth to a male child of an auspicious appearance. When the King heard of it, he rejoiced exceedingly, and gave a large sum of money to the bearer of the good tidings; and in his joy he went to the child, and kissed him between the eyes, wondering at his surpa.s.sing beauty. The midwives took him, and blackened the edges of his eyelids with ko?l;[VIII_10] and they named him Taj-el-Mulook Kharan.[VIII_11]

He was nourished on the bosom of indulgence, and reared in the lap of prosperity, and days and years pa.s.sed until he attained the age of seven years; whereupon the King Suleyman Shah summoned the men of learning and science, and ordered them to instruct his son in writing and science and polite literature, and they continued to do so for some years, until he had learnt what was requisite; and when he was acquainted with all that the King desired, he caused him to be brought from the professors and teachers, and engaged for him a master to instruct him in horsemans.h.i.+p, who continued to teach him until his pupil was fourteen years of age.

Whenever the youth went forth on any business, every one who beheld him was ravished by his beauty, so that they composed verses in his praise, and even the women of virtue were overcome by love for him, through the surpa.s.sing beauty with which he was endowed. And when he had attained the age of eighteen years, the grey down appeared upon a mole on his red cheek, while another mole, like a globule of ambergris, added to these charms, and he captivated the minds and eyes of his beholders. His comeliness increased as he became a man, and he had companions and friends, and every one who enjoyed access to him wished that Taj-el-Mulook might be Sul?an after the death of his father, and that he might himself be one of his emeers.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

Now Taj-el-Mulook became addicted to hunting, and would not desist from it for a single hour. His father, the King, used to forbid him this pursuit, fearing, on his account, the perils of the desert and the wild beasts; but he would not receive his warnings. And it came to pa.s.s that he said to his servants, Take with you provender for ten days. And they complied with his order; and when he went forth with his followers to the chase, they proceeded over the desert, and continued their course for four days, until they came in sight of a verdant tract, where they beheld wild beasts ranging at large, and trees with ripe fruit, and springs gus.h.i.+ng forth; so he said to his followers, Set here the nets, and enlarge their circle, and our place of meeting shall be at the extremity of the circle, at such a spot. They therefore obeyed his commands: they set the nets, and enlarged their circle, and there collected within them an abundance and a variety of wild beasts and gazelles, in such numbers that the wild beasts cried out in fear of them, and threw themselves in the faces of the horses in their attempts to escape. So he urged the dogs and the lynxes[VIII_12] and the hawks at them; and they shot the wild beasts with arrows, striking them in mortal places, and they arrived not at the further extremity of the circle without having taken, of the wild beasts, a great number; the rest having fled away. Taj-el-Mulook then alighted at some water, and, having caused the game to be brought before him, divided it: he appropriated to his father, Suleyman Shah, the best of the beasts, and despatched the portion to him; and some he distributed among the officers of his court.

They pa.s.sed the night at that place; and in the morning there approached them a great caravan, comprising black slaves and servants and merchants. The caravan halted at the water and the verdant tract; and when Taj-el-Mulook beheld them, he said to one of his companions, Bring me an account of these people, and ask them wherefore they have halted in this place. And when the messenger went to them, he said to them, Inform us who ye are, and return an answer quickly. So they replied, We are merchants, and have halted here for the sake of rest, for the next station is distant from us; and we have halted in this place because we here enjoy tranquillity under the protection of the King Suleyman Shah and his son; for we know that every one who alighteth in his dominions is in safety and peace; and we have some precious stuffs which we have brought on account of his son Taj-el-Mulook. The messenger, therefore, returned to the King's son, and acquainted him with the truth of the matter, informing him of what he had heard from the merchants; and the King's son said, If they have anything which they have brought on my account, I will not enter the city nor remove from this place until I cause it to be displayed before me. He then mounted his horse, and proceeded, his memlooks following him, until he drew near to the caravan; and the merchants rose to him, and greeted him with prayers for the divine aid and favour, and the continuance of his glory and his excellencies. A tent of red satin embroidered with pearls and jewels was pitched for him, and they spread for him, over a carpet of silk, a royal carpet, the upper end of which was adorned with emeralds: and Taj-el-Mulook seated himself, and the memlooks stood waiting upon him; and he sent to the merchants, commanding them to bring everything that they had with them. So they approached him with their merchandise, and he caused all of it to be displayed before him, and took of it what suited him, and gave them the price.