Full text of "A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entitled The book of the thousand nights and a night"

FROM-THE- LIBRARY-OF
TR1NITYCOLLEGETORONTO

TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE"

(Puris ornnia pura)

Arab Proverb*

'Niuna cor rot ta mente intese mai sanamente parole."

"Decameron " conclutum*

'Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucrctia librum

Sed coram Bru to. Brute I recede, leget. "

Martial*

* Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,

Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes. "

RABELAIS,

"The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-On*
Stones makes ui regret that we possess only a comparatively small
part of tfaese tmlj enchanting fictions. "

CJUCHTON'S "History of Arab**.

TO THE BOOK OF THE

Ntgftts auto a Nt

WITH NOTES ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND EXPLANATORY

VOLUME VI.

RICHARD F. BURTON

PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Shammar Edition

Limited to one thousand numbered sets,
of which this is

PRINTED IN U. S. A,

89034

CONTENTS OF THE SIXTH VOLUME

PAGE

1. THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE ,

2. THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKANI OR THE CALIPH

HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAUGHTER OF KING
KISRA 39

3- THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND THE KING'S

SON S7

NOTE TO THE LINGUIST-DAME . . . . . . .112

4. THE TALE OF THE WARLOCK AND THE YOUNG COOK OF

BAGHDAD 1 19

5. THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF THE COCK AND THE FOX . 143

6. HISTORY OF WHAT BEFEL THE FOWL WITH THE FOWLER 151

7. THE TALE OF ATTAF 165

THE TALE OF ATTAF BY ALEXANDER J. COTHEAL . . .197

8. HISTORY OF PRINCE HABIB AND WHAT BEFEL HIM

WITH THE LADY DURRAT AL-GHAWWAS .... 223

INDEX TO THE TALES AND PROPER NAMES . , v . 377

Contents.

&ppetrtrix HE.

ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF THE NOTES (ANTHROPOLOGICAL,

Ac.) 289

&ppentrfx

NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOL. VI. OF

SUPPLEMENTAL NIGHTS. BY W. F. KIRBY . . .351

x IF.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. BY W. F. KIRBY . 356

THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE BOOK AND ITS REVIEWERS

REVIEWED 385

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ......... 455

THE TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.

THIS volume has been entitled "THE NEW ARABIAN
NIGHTS," a name now hackneyed because applied to its
contents as far back as 1819 in Henry Weber's "Tales of
the East," (Edinburgh, Ballantyne).

The original MS. was brought to France by Al-Kahin Diyuni-
sius Shawi'sh, a Syrian priest of the Congregation of St. Basil,
whose name has been Frenchified to Don Dennis (or Denys)
Chavis. He was a student at the European College of Al-<Xadfs
Ithanasius (St. Athanasius) in Rumiyahthe Grand (Constantinople)
and was summoned by the Minister of State, Baron de Breteuil.
to Paris, where he presently became " Teacher of the Arabic
Tongue at the College of the Sultdn, King of Fransd in Barfs
(Paris) the Great." He undertook (probably to supply the loss of
Galland's ivth MS. volume) a continuation of The Nights (proper),
and wrote with his own hand the last two leaves of the third tome,
which ends with three instead of four couplets : thus he com-
pleted Kamar al-Zamdn (Night cclxxxi.-cccxxix.) and the follow*
ing tales :

The History of the Sleeper and the Waker (Nights cccxxx.-ccclxxix.).

The History of Warlock and the Cook (ccclxxx.-cd.)-

The History of the Prisoner in the Bima'rista'n or Madhouse (cd.-cdxxvii.).

The History of Ghanim the Thrall o' Love (cdxxviii.-cdlxxiv.).

The History of Zayn al-Asndm and the King of the Jdnn (cdlxxv.-cdxci.).

The History of Alaeddin (cdxcii.-dlxix.), and

The History of Ten Wazirs (dlxx.).

The copy breaks off at folio 320, r in the middle of Night dcxxxi.,
VOL. VI. B

ii Supplemental Nights.

and the date (given at the end of Night cdxxvii., folio 139) is
Shubat (February), A.D. 1787. This is the MS. numbered
Supplement Arabe, No. 1716.

In Paris, Dom Chavis forgathered with M. Cazotte, a litterateur
of the category " light," an ingtnieux ^crivain^ distinguished for
" gaiety, delicacy, wit and Attic elegance," and favorably known
for (inter alia) his poem " Olivier," his " Diable Amoureux,"
"The Lord Impromptu," and a travesty of The Nights 'called
"The Thousand and One Fopperies." The two agreed to
collaborate, the Syrian translating the Arabic into French,
and the Parisian metamorphosing the manner and matter to
" the style and taste of the day " ; that is to say, working up
an exaggerated imitation, a caricature, of Galland. The work
appeared, according to Mr. A. G. Ellis, of the British Museum, who
kindly sent me these notes, in Le Cabinet \ des F&s, f ou \ Collection
choisie \ des Contes des Fe*es y \ et autres contes merveilleux, \ ornh de
figures. | Tome trente-huitieme (quarante-unieme). \ A Geneve* \
chez Barde, Manget et Compagnie, \ Imprimeurs-Libraires. \ Et se
trouve a Paris \ Rue et Hdtel Serpente. \ 1788-89, 8 1 \ . The half-
title is Les Veillie'es Persanes, and' on the second title-page is Les
Veillie'es \ du \ Sultan Schahriar, avec \ la Sultane Scheherazade ; \
Histoires incroyables, amusantes, et morales , | traduites de I'Arabepar
M. Cazotte et \ D. Chavis. Faisant suite aux mille et une Nuits. \
Orne'es de 12 belles gravures. \ Tome premier (quatrieme) \ d
Geneve, \ chez Barde, Manget et Comp* \ 1793. This 8vo. 2 bears the
abridged title, La Suite des mille et une Nuits, Contes Arabes,
traduits par Dom Chavis et M. Cazotte. The work was printed
with illustrations at Geneva and in Paris, MDCCLXXXViii., and
formed the last four volumes (xxxviii.-xli.) of the great Recueil,
the Cabinet des Fe*es, published at Geneva from A.D. 1788 to 1793.

1 Tome xli - is <>atcil789, the other three, 1788, to include them in the " Cabinet. 1
3 The titles of all the vols. are dated alike, 1793, the actual date of printing.

The Translators Foreword. \\\

1. The Robber-Caliph; or, adventures of Haroun-Alraschid, with the Princess

of Persia and the fair Zutulbe. 1

2. The Power of Destiny ; or, Story of the Journey of Giafar to Damascus,

comprehending the Adventures of Chebib (Habib) and his family.
3 The Story of Halechalb (All Chelebf) and the Unknown Lady ; or, the
Bimaristan.

4. The Idiot ; or, Story of Xailoun.*

5. The Adventures of Simustafa (= " Sf " for Sfdf " Mustafa ") and the Princess

Ilsatilsone (Lizzat al-Lustin = Delight of Tongues ?).

6. Adventures of Alibengiad, Sultan of Herat, and of the False Birds o

Paradise.

7. History of Sankarib and his two Viziers.

8. History of the Family of the Schebandad (Shah-bandar = Consul) of

Surat.

9. The Lover of the Stars : or, Abil Hasan's Story.

10. History of Captain Tranchemont and his Brave Companions : Debil

Hasen's Story.

11. The Dream of Valid Hasan.

1 This name is not in the Arabic text, and I have vainly puzzled my brains about its
derivation or meaning.

2 This P. N. is, I presume, a corruption of "Shawalan" one falling short. The
wife " Oitba " is evidently " Otb " or " UtfcL

iv Supplemental Nights.

12-23. Story of Bohetzad and his Ten Viziers (with eleven subsidiary tales).

24. Story of Habib and Dorathal-Goase (= Durrat al-Ghawwds the Pearl of the

Diver) ; or, the Arabian Knight.

25. Story of Illabousatrous (?) of Schal-Goase, and of Camarilzarr.an.

26. Story of the Lady of the Beautiful Tresses.

27. The History of Habib and Dorathal-Goase ; or, the Arabian Knight

continued.

28. History of Maugraby (Al-Maghrabi = the Moor) ; or, the Magician.

29. History of Halaiaddin ('Ala al-Din, Alaeddin, Aladdin), Prince of Persia.

30. History of Yemaladdin (Jamdl al-Din), Prince of Great Katay.

31. History of Baha-Ildur, Prince of Cinigae.

32. History of Badrildinn (Badr al-Dfn), Prince of Tartary.

33. History of the Amours of Maugraby with Auhata al-Kawakik (= Ukht al-

Kawakib, Sister of the Planets), daughter of the King of Egypt.

34. History of the Birth of Maugraby.

Of these thirty-four only five (MS. iv., vi., vii., xxvii. and xxxii.)
have not been found in the original Arabic.

Public opinion was highly favourable to the "Suite" when first
issued. Orientalism was at that time new to Europe, and the
general was startled by its novelties, e.g. by "Women wearing
drawers and trousers like their husbands, and men arrayed in loose
robes like their wives, yet at the same time cherishing, as so many
goats, each a venerable length of beard." (Heron's Preface.) They
found its "phaenomena so remote from the customs and manners
of Europe, that, when exhibited as entering into the ordinary
system of human affairs, they could not fail to confer a consider-
able share of amusive novelty on the characters and events with
which they were connected." (Ditto, Preface.) Jonathan Scott
roundly pronounced the continuation a forgery. Dr. Patrick
Russell (History of Aleppo, voL i. 385) had no good opinion of
it, and Caussin de Perceval (pre, vol. viii., p. 40-46) declared the
version Jloignte du gofit Orientate; yet he re-translated the tales
from the original Arabic (Continues, Paris, 1806), and in this he
was followed by Gauttier, while Southey borrowed the idea of his

1 See my Supplemental volume i. pp. 55-151, " The Ten Wazirs ; or, the History of
King Azadbakht and his Son."

The Translators Foreword.

" beautiful romance, Thalaba the Destroyer, now in Lethe from the
" History of Maughraby." Mr. A. G. Ellis considers these tales as
good as the old " Arabian Nights/' and my friend Mr. W. F. Kirby,
(Appendix to The Nights, vol. x. p. 476), quite agrees with him
that Chavis and Cazotte's Continuation is well worthy of republi-
cation in its entirety. It remained for the Edinburgh Review,
in one of those ignorant and scurrilous articles with which it
periodically outrages truth and good taste (No. 535, July, 1886),
to state, " Cazotte published his Suite des Mille et une Nuits, a
barefaced forgery, in 1785." A barefaced forgery! when the
original of twenty-eight tales out of thirty-four are perfectly well
known, and when sundry of these appear in MSS. of " The
Thousand Nights and 'a Night."

The following is a list of the Tales (widely differing from those
of Chavis and Cazotte) which appeared in the version of Caussin

de Perceval.

VOLUME VIII.

1. Nouvelles aventures du calife Haroun Alraschid ; ou histoire de la petite

fille de Chosroes Anouschirvan.

(Gauttier, Histoire du Khalyfe de Baghdad : vol. vii. 1 17.)

2. Le Bimaristan, ou histoire du jeune Marchand de Bagdad et de la dame

inconnue.

3. Le me*de*cin et le jeune traiteur de Bagdad.

4. Histoire du Sage Hicar.

(Gauttier, Histoire du Sage Heycar, vii. 313).

5. Histoire du roi Azadbakht, ou des dix Visirs.

7-
8.

9-
10.
n.

12.

marchand devenu malheureux.

imprudent et de ses deux enfants.
d' Abousaber, ou de 1'homme patient,
du prince Behezad.

roi Dadbin, ou de la vertueuse Aroua.

Bakhtzeman.

Khadidan.

vi Supplemental Nights.

13. Histoire du roi Beherkerd.

14. ,, Ilanschah et d'Abouteman.

15. ,, Ibrahim et de son fils.
1 6. Soleiman-schah.

1 7. de 1'esclave sauve* du supplice.

VOLUME IX.

1 8. Attaf ou 1'homme

(Gauttier, Histoire de 1'habitant de Damas ; vii. 234.)

19. Histoire du Prince Habib et de Dorrat Algoase.

20. roi Sapor, souverain des ties Bellour ; de Camar Alzemann,
fille du gdnie Alatrous, et Dorrat Algoase.

(Gauttier, vii. 64.)
21 Histoire de Naama et de Naam.

22. d'Alaeddin.

23. d'Abou Mohammed Alkeslan.

24. d'Aly Mohammed le joaillier, ou du faux calife.

I need hardly offer any observations upon these tales, as they
have been discussed in the preceding pages.

By an error of the late M. Reinaud (for which see p. 39 Histoire
d' 'Ala al-Din by M. H. Zotenberg, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale,
MDCCCLXXXVIII,) the MS. Supplement Arabe, No. 1716, in the
writing of Dom Chavis has been confounded with No. 1723, which
is not written by the Syrian priest but which contains the originals
of the Cazotte Continuation as noted by M. C. de Perceval (Les
Mille et une Nuits, etc., vol. viii. PreT. p. 17, et seqq.).
It is labelled Histoires tiroes la plupart des Mille et une
Nuits | Supplement Arabe \ Volume de 742 pages. The thick
quarto measures centimetres 2oJ long by 16 wide ; the binding
is apparently Italian and the paper is European, but the filegrane
or water-mark, which is of three varieties, a coronet, a lozenge-
shaped bunch of circles and a nondescript, may be Venetian or
French. It contains 765 pages, paginated after European fashion,
but the last eleven leaves are left blank reducing the number
written to 742 ; and the terminal note, containing the date, is on
the last leaf. Each page numbers 15 lines and each leaf has its
catchword (mot de rappel). It is not ordered by " karras " or

The Translator } s Foreword,

vii

quires ; but is written upon 48 sets of 4 double leaves. The text
is in a fair Syrian hand, but not so flowing as that of No. 1716,
by Shaw/sh himself, which the well-known Arabist, Baron de
Slane, described as Bonne ecriture orientate de la fin du X VIII*
Siecle. The colophon conceals or omits the name of the scribe,
but records the dates of incept Kamin II d . (the Syrian winter-
month January) A.D. 1772 ; and of conclusion Naysan (April) of
the same year. It has head-lines disposed rectq and verso, e.g~. $

Haykar AI-Hakfm,

and parentheses in the text after European fashion with an
imperfect list at the beginning. A complete index is furnished
at the end. The following are the order and pagination of the
fourteen stones :

1. The King of Persia and his Ten Wazirs . pp. i to 63-

2. Say of the Sage Haykar . . . . 140

3. History of King Sabur and the Three Wise

Men 183

4. The Daughter of Kisra the King (Al Bundu-

kani) 217

5. The Caliph and the Three Kalandars . . 266

6. Julndr the Sea-born 396

7. The Duenna, the Linguist-dame and the-

King's Son 476

8. The Tale of the Warlock and the young Cook

of Baghdad SS

9. The Man in the Bfmaristan or Madhouse . 538

10. The Tale of AttaT the Syrian . . $88

11. The History of Sultan Habfb and Durrat

al-Ghawwas 628

12. The Caliph and the Fisherman ... 686

13. The Cock and the Fox ^ . 7*8

14. The Fowl-let and the Fowler' . . . 7^5 to 739 (finis)

Upon these tales I would be permitted to offer a few observa-
tions. No. I. begins with a Christian formula : " In the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost " (Ruhu'l-Kudus) ;
and it is not translated, because it is a mere replica of the Ten

viii Supplemental Nights.

Wazirs (Suppl. vol. i. 55-151). The second, containing "The
Sage Haykar," which is famous in folk-lore throughout the East,
begins with the orthodox Moslem " Bismillah," etc. " King
Sapor is prefaced by a Christian form which to the Trinitarian
formula adds, " Allah being One " : this, again, is not translated,
because it repeats the " Ebony Horse " (vol. v, i). No. iv., which
opens with the Bismillah, is found in the Sabbagh MS. of The
Nights (see Suppl. vol. iii.) as the Histoire de Haroun al-Raschid
et de la descendante de Ckosroes. Albondoqani (Nights Ixx.-lxxvii.).
No. v., which also has the Moslem invocation, is followed by
the " Caliph and the Three Kalandars," where, after the fashion of
this our MS., the episodes (vol. i., 104-1 30), are taken bodily from
" The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad " (i. 82), and are con-
verted into a separate History. No. vi. has no title to be trans*
lated, being a replica of the long sea-tale" in vol. vii., 264. Nos.
vii., viii., ix., x. and xi. lack initiatory invocation betraying
Christian or Moslem provenance. No. viii. is the History of
Sf Mustafa and of Shaykh Shahdb al-Dfn in the Turkish Tales :
it also occurs in the Sabbagh MS. (Nights ccclxxxvi.-cdviii). The
Bfmaristan (No. ix.), alias Ali Chalabi (Halechalbe*), has already
appeared in my Suppl. vol. iv. 49. No. xii., " The Caliph and the
Fisherman, " makes Harun al-Rashid the hero of the tale in " The
Fisherman and the Jinni " (vol. i. 38) ; it calls the ensorcelled
King of the Black Islands Mahmud, and his witch of a wife Sitt
al-Mulvik, and it also introduces into the Court of the Great
Caliph Hasan Shumdn and Ahmad al-Danaf, the prominent
personages in "The Rogueries of DaHlah" (vol. vii. 144) and its
sister tale (vii. 172). The two last Histbries, which are ingenious
enough, also lack initial formulae.

Dr. Russell (the historian of Aleppo) brought back with him a
miscellaneous collection comprising

Al-Bundukani, or the Robber Caliph ;
The Power of Destiny (Attaf the Syrian) ;

The Translator's Foreword. ix

Ali Chelebi, or the Bimaristan ;
King Sankharib and the Sage Haykar ;
Bohetzad (Azddbakht) and the Ten Wazirs ; and, lastly,
Habib, or the Arabian Knight.

The Encyclopedia Britannica (ixth edit, of MDCCCLXXVl), which
omits the name of Professor Galland, one -of the marking Orien-
talists in his own day, has not ignored Jacques Cazotte, remarkable
for chequered life and noble death. Born in 1720, at Dijon, where
his father was Chancellor for the Province of Burgundy, he studied
with the Jesuits at home; and, having passed through the finishing
process in Paris, he was introduced to public life by the Adminis-
tration de la Marine. He showed early taste for poetry as well as
prose, and composed songs, tales, and an opera the " Thousand
and one Fopperies." His physique is described as a tall figure,
with regular features, expressive blue eyes, and fine hair, which he
wore long. At twenty-seven he became a commissary in the office
and was presently sent as Comptroller to the Windward Islands,
including the French Colony Martinique, which then as flow
was famous for successful woman-kind. At these head quarters, he
became intimate with Pere Lavalette, Superior of the S. J. Mission,
and he passed some years of a pleasant and not unintellectual
career. Returning to Paris on leave of absence he fell in with a
country-woman and an old family friend, Madame La Poissonnier,
who had been appointed head nurse to the Duke of Burgundy ;
and, as the child in her charge required lulling to sleep, Cazotte
composed the favourite romances (ballads) , Tout au beau milieu
des Ardennes , and Commere II faut chauffer le lit. These scherzi,
however, brought him more note than profit, and soon afterwards
he returned to Martinique.

During his second term of service Cazotte wrote his heroic-comic
poem, the Roman d'Olivier, in twelve cantos, afterwards printed
in Paris (2 vols. 8vo, 1765) ; and it was held a novel and singular
composition. When the English first attacked (in 1759) Saint

x Supplemental Nights.

Pierre of Martinique, afterwards captured by Rodney in 1762, the
sprightly litterateur showed abundant courage and conduct, but
over-exertion injured his health, and he was again driven from his
post by sickness. He learned, on landing in France, that his
brother, whilome Vicar-General to M. de Choiseul, Bishop of
Chalons-sur-Marne, had died and left him a fair estate, Pierry,
near Epernay ; he therefore resigned his appointment and retired
with the title " Commissary-General to the Marine." But presently
he lost 50,000 e*cus the whole fruit of his economies by the specu-r
latidns of Pere Lavalette to whose hands he had entrusted his estates,
negroes, and effects at Martinique. These had been sold and the
cheques had been forwarded to the owner : the S. J., however,
refused to honour them. Hence the scandal of a law-suit in which
Cazotte showed much delicacy and regard for the feelings of his
former tutors.

Meanwhile Cazotte had married Elizabeth Roignon, daughter
to the Chief Justice of Martinique ; he returned to the Parisian world
with some e'clat and he became an universal favourite on account
of his happy wit and humour, his bonhomie, his perfect frankness,
and his hearty amiability. The vogue of " Olivier " induced him to
follow it up with Le Diable Amoureux, a continuation or rather
parody of Voltaire's Guerre civile de Geneve : this work was so
skilfully carried out that it completely deceived the world ; and it
was followed by sundry minor pieces which were greedily read.
Unlike the esprits forts of his age, he became after a gay youth-
tide an ardent Christian ; he made the Gospel his rule of life ;
and he sturdily defended his religious opinions ; he had also the
moral courage to enter the lists with M. de Voltaire, then the idol-
in-chief of the classes and the masses.

In later life Cazotte met Dom Chavis, who was translating into a
curious jargon (Arabo-Franco-Italian) certain Oriental tales ; and,
although he was nearing the Psalmist's age-term of man, he
agreed to " collaborate." The Frenchman used to take the pen

The Translator's Foreword. xi

at midnight when returning from " social pleasures/' and work till
4-5 a.m. As he had prodigious facility and spontaneity he finished
his part of the task in two winters. Some of the tales in the suite,
especially that of " Maugraby," are attributed wholly to his inven-
tion ; and, as a rule, his aim and object were to diffuse his spiritual
ideas and to write treatises on moral perfection under the form of
novelle.

Cazotte, after a well-spent and honourable life, had reason to
expect with calmness " the evening and ending of a fine day."
But this was not to be, the Great Revolution had burst like a hurri-
cane over the land, and he was doomed to die a hero's death. His
character was too candid, and his disposition too honest, for times
which suggested concealment. He had become one of the Illumi-
nati, and La Harpe ascribed to him the celebrated prophecy which
described the minutest events of the Great Revolution. A Royalist
pur sang, he freely expressed his sentiments to his old friend Ponteau,
then Secretary of the Civil List. His letters came to light shortly
after the terrible day, August 10, 1792 : he was summarily arrested
at Pierry and brought to Paris, where he was thrown into prison.
On Sept. 3, when violence again waxed rampant, he was attacked
by the patriot-assassins, and was saved only by the devotion of his
daughter Elizabeth, who threw herself upon the old man crying,
" You shall not reach my father's heart before piercing mine.'*
The courage of the noble pair commanded the admiration of the
ruffians, and they were carried home in triumph.

For a few weeks the family remained unmolested, but in those
days " Providence " slept and Fortune did not favour the brave.
The Municipality presently decreed a second arrest, and the vener-
able litterateur, aged seventy-two, was sent before the revolutionary
tribunal appointed to deal with the pretended offences of August
IO. He was subjected to an interrogatory of thirty-six hours,
during which his serenity and presence of mind never abandoned
him and impressed even his accusers. But he was condemned to

xii Supplemental Nights.

die for the all-sufficient reason : " It is not enough to be a good
son, a good husband, a good father, one must also prove oneself a
good citizen/' He spent his last hours with his confessor, wrote
to his wife and children, praying his family not to beweep
him, not to forget him, and never to offend against their God ; and
this missive, with a lock of his hair for his beloved daughter, he
finally entrusted to the ghostly father. Upon the scaffold he
turned to the crowd and cried, " I die as I have lived, truthful and
faithful to my God and my King." His venerable head, crowned
with the white honours of age, fell on Sept. 25, 1792.

Gazette printed many works, some of great length, as the
(Euvres Morales, which filled 7 vols. 8vo. in the complete edition of
1817 ; and the biographers give a long list of publications, besides
those above-mentioned, romantic, ethical, and spiritual, in verse and
in prose. But he wrote mainly for his own pleasure, he never
sought fame, and consequently his reputation never equalled his
merit. His name, however, still smells sweet, passing sweet,
amid the corruption and the frantic fury of his day and the memory
of the witty, genial, and virtuous litterateur still blossoms in the
dust,

During my visit to Paris in early 1887, M. Hermann Zotenberg
was kind enough to show me the MS., No. 1723, containing
the original tales of the " New Arabian Nights." As my health
did not allow me sufficient length of stay to complete my transla-
tion, Professor Houdas (for whom, see Appendix, p. 10, Suppl.
vol. iii.) kindly consented to copy the excerpts required, and to
explain the words and phrases which a deficiency of dictionaries
and vocabularies at an outlandish port-town rendered unintelligible
to me.

In translating a MS., which has never been collated or corrected
and which abounds in errors of omission and commission, I have
been guided by one consideration only, which is, that my first and
chiefest duty to the reader is to make my book readable at the

The Translator's Foreword.

Xlll

same time that it lays before him the whole matter which the text
offered or ought to have offered. Hence I have not hesitated
when necessary to change the order of the sentences, to delete
tautological words and phrases, to suppress descriptions which are
needlessly re-iterated, and in places to supply the connecting links
without which the chain of narrative is weakened or broken.
These are liberties which must be allowed, unless the translator's
object be to produce a, mutilated version of a mutilation.

Here also I must express my cordial gratitude to Mr. Alexander
j. Cotheal, Consul-General for Nicaragua, in New York. This
distinguished Arabist not only sent to me across the seas his
MS. containing, inter alia, " The Tale of Attaf," he also undertook
to translate it for my collection upon my distinct assurance that its
many novelties of treatment deserved an especial version. Mr.
W. F, Kirby has again conferred upon my readers an important
service by his storiological notes. Lastly, Dr. Steingass has
lent me, as before, his valuable aid in concluding as be did in
commencing this series, and on putting the colophon to

Folume

THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT.

RICHARD F. BURTON.

UNITED SERVICE CLUB,
August ist, 1888.

I INSCRIBE THIS FINAL VOLUME
TO

THE MANY EXCELLENT FRIENDS

WHO LENT ME THEIR VALUABLE AID IN COPYING AND ANNOTATING

SEfjousanto jaifits an* a

THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE.

THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE. lf

tf)e nnme of &llaf), tfje OTompasstonattng, tfje Compassionate,
tf)e Eternal <&ne, tjje termless, t!je timeless, anfc of |^im afoance
foe afoaft. gnir jere foe begin (fottfi tjje assistance of
antr f^is fair furtherance) to incite tfie &torp of f^agfear fte
tje $f)i!osopf)er, tfie OTa^'r of gbanfejjarib 2 tfte Sbobran, ana of tfie
son of t&e fofse man's sister Jiafcan 3 tfie Jpool

THEY relate that during the days of SankhdHb the King, lord
of Astir 4 and Naynawah 5 there was a Sage 3 Haykdr hight, Grand
Wazir of that Sovran and his chief secretary, and he was a
grandee of abundant opulence and ampliest livelihood : ware was

1 MS. pp. 140-182. Gauttier, vol. ii., pp. 313-353, Histoire du sage Heycar trans-
lated by M. Agoub: Weber, " History of Sinkarib and his two Viziers" (vol. ii. 53):
the " Vizier " is therein called Hicar.

2 This form of the P. N. is preferred by Prof. R. Hoerning in his " Prisma des
Sanherib," etc. Leipsic, 1878. The etymology is "Sin akhi-irib" = Sini (Lunus,
or the Moon -God) increaseth brethren. The canon of Ptolemy fixes his acces-
sion at B.C. 702, the first year of Elibus or Belibus. For his victories over Babylonia,
Palestine, Judaea, and Egypt see any " Dictionary of the Bible," and Byron for the
marvellous and puerile legend

The Assyrian came down as a wolf on the fold,

which made him lose in one night 185,000 men, smitten by the " Angel of the Lord '*
(2 Kings xix. 35). Seated upon his throne before Lachish he is represented by a bas-
relief as a truly noble and kingly figure.

3 I presume that the author hereby means a "fool," Pers. na"da"n. But in Assyrian)
story Nadan was = Nathan, King of the people of Pukudu, the Pekod of Jeremiah (i. 21}
and other prophets.

4 In text always {{ Atur," the scriptural " Asshur " = Assyria, biblically derived
from Asshur, son of Shem (Gen. x. 22), who was worshipped as the proto-deity. The
capital was Niniveh. Weber has "Nineveh and Thor," showing the spelling of his
MS. According to the Arabs, "Ashur" had four sons; Iran (father of the Furs =
Persians, the Kurd, or Ghozzi, the Daylams, and the Khazar), Nabit, Jarmuk, and
Basil. Ibn Khaldun (iii. 413), in his " Universal History," opposes this opinion of Ibn
Sa'id.

6 i.e. "Fish-town" or "town of Nin" = Ninus, the founder. In mod. days " Nay-
nawah " was the name of a port on the east bank of the Tigris j and moderns have
unearthed the old city at Koyunjik, Nabi Yunas, and the Tall (mound of) Nimrud.

4 Supplemental Nights.

he and wise, a philosopher, and endowed with lore and rede and
experience. Now he had interwedded with threescore wives, for
each and every of which he had builded in his palace her own
bower ; natheless he had not a boy to tend, and was he sore of
sorrow therefor. So one day he gathered together the experts,
astrologers and wizards, and related to them his case and com-
plained of the condition caused by his barrenness. They made
answer to him, " Get thee within and do sacrifice to the Godheads
and enquire of them and implore their favour when haply shall
they vouchsafe unto thee boon of babe." He did whatso they bade
and set corbans and victims before the images and craved their
assistance, humbling himself with prayer and petition ; withal they
vouchsafed to him never a word of reply. So he fared forth in
distress and disappointment and went his ways all disheartened.
Then he returned in his humiliation to Almighty Allah 1 and
confided his secret unto Him and called for succour in the burning
of his heart, and cried with a loud voice saying " O God of
Heaven and Earth, O Creator of all creatures, I beg Thee to
vouchsafe unto me a son wherewith I may console my old age and
who may become my heir, after being present at my death and
closing my eyes and burying my body." Hereat came a Voice
from Heaven which said, " Inasmuch as at first thou trustedst in
graven images and offeredst to them victims, so shalt thou remain
childless, lacking sons and daughters. However, get thee up and
take to thee Naddn, thy sister's child ; and, after taking this nephew
to son, do thou inform him with thy learning and thy good breeding
and thy sagesse, and demise to him that he inherit of thee after
thy decease/' Hereupon the Sage adopted his nephew Nadan,
who was then young in years and a suckling, that he might teach
him and train him ; so he entrusted him to eight wet-nurses and

1 The surroundings, suggest Jehovah, the tribal deity of the Jews. The old version
says, " Hicar was a native of the country of Haram (Harrdn), and had brought from
thence the knowledge of the true God ; impelled, however, by an irresistible decree, etc*

The Say of Haykat the Sage.

dry-nurses for feeding and rearing, and they brought him up on
diet the choicest with delicatest nurture and clothed him with
sendal and escarlate 1 and dresses dyed with Alkermes, 2 and his
sitting was upon shag-piled rugs of silk. But when Nadan grew
great and walked and shot up even as the lofty Cedar 3 of Lebanon,
his uncle taught him deportment and writing and reading 4 and
philosophy and the omne scibile. Now after a few days Sankharib
the King looked upon Haykar and saw how that he had waxed
an old old man, so quoth he to him, " Ho thou excellent com-
panion, 5 the generous, the ingenious, the judicious, the sagacious,
the Sage, my Secretary and my Minister and the Concealer of my
secrets and the Councillor of my kingdom, seeing how so it be
that thou art aged and well shotten in years and nigh unto thy
death and decease, so tell me 6 who shall stand in my service
after thy demise ? " Made answer Haykar, " O my lord the King,

1 i.e. a woollen cloth dyed red. Hence Pyrard (i. 244) has " red scarlet," and (vol. ii.)
' violet scarlet"; Froissart (xvth centy.) has "white scarlet," and Marot (xvith) has
" green scarlet." The word seems to be French of xiith century, but is uncertain :
Littre proposes Galaticus, but admits the want of an intermediate form. Piers
Plowman, and Chaucer use " cillatun," which suggests Pers. " Sakalat," or " Sakla-
tun," whence Mr. Skeat would derive "scarlet." This note is from the voyage of
F. Pyrard, etc. London. Hakluyts, M.dccc.lxxxvii. ; and the editor quotes Colonel
Yule's M. Polo (ii. chapt. 58) and his " Discursive Glossary s. v. Sucl&t?'

2 i.e. " Al-Kirm," Arab, and Pers. = a worm, as in Kirmsin (see Supplem. vol. i.
59) ; the coccus ilids y vulg. called cochineal.

8 Arab. '< Arz," from the Heb. Arz or Razah (/ raz = to vibrate), the rootKe'S/oos
(cedrus conifera], the Assyrian " Erimu of Lebanon," of which mention is so often
made. The old controversy as to whether " Razah " = cedar or fir, might easily have
been settled if the disputants had known that the modern Syrians still preserve the word
for the clump called " The Cedars " on the seaward slope of the Libanus.

4 We should say < reading and writing," but the greater difficulty of deciphering the
skeleton eastern characters places reading in the more honourable place. They say of a
very learned man, " He readethi it off (readily) as one drinketh water."

5 Arab. "Al-Sahib al-jayyid." ["Jayyid" is, by the measure "Fay'il," derived
from the root "Jaud," to excel, like " Kayyis, from"Kaus" (see Suppl vol. iv.,
p. 350), " Mayyit " from " Maut," " Sayyid " from " Saud." The form was originally
Jaywid ;" then the Waw became assimilated to the preceding Jd, on account of the
following Kasrah, and this assimilation or " Idgham " is indicated by Tashdid. As from
41 Kayyis" the diminutive- "Kuwayyis" is formed, so "Jayyid" forms the Tasghfr,
Juwayyid," which, amongst the Druzes, has the specific meaning of " deeply versed in
religious matters." ST.]

" Kul," vulg. for " Kul" ; a form constant in this MS.

6 Supplemental Nights

may thy head live for ever and aye ! that same shall be this
Nadan, son to my sister, whom I have taken to myself as mine own
child and have reared him and have taught him my learning and
my experience, all thereof." " Bring him to the presence," quoth
the King, " and set him between my hands, that I look upon him ;
and, if I find him fitting, I will stablish him in thy stead. Then
do thou wend thy ways and off-go from office that thou take thy
rest and tend thine old age, living the lave of thy life in the fairest
of honour." Hereupon Haykar hied him home and carried his
nephew Nadan before the King, who considered him and was
pleased with the higlimost of pleasure and, rejoicing in him,
presently asked the uncle, " Be this thine adopted son, O
Haykar ? I pray Allah preserve him ; and, even as thou
servedst my sire Sarhadun 1 before me, even so shall this thy
son do me suite and service and fulfil my affairs and my
needs and my works, to the end that I may honour him and
advance him for the sake of thee." Thereat Haykar prostrated
himself before the presence and said, " May thy head live, O my
lord, for evermore ! I desire of thee to extend the wings of thy
spirit over him for that he is my son, and do thou be clement to
his errings, so that he may serve thee as besitteth." The King
forthwith made oath that he would stablish the youth amongst
the highmost of his friends and the most worshipful of his
familiars and that he should abide with him in all respect
and reverence. So Haykar kissed the royal hands and blessed his
lord ; then, taking with him Nadan his nephew, he seated him in
privacy and fell to teaching him by night as well as by day, that
he might fill him with wisdom and learning rather than with meat

1 Gauttier "Sarkhadom," the great usurper Sargon, a contemporary of Merodach
Baladan of Babylon and of Sabaco 1st of Ethiopia, B.C. 721-702 : one of the greatest
Assyrian Kings, whose place has been determined to be between Shalmaneser and his
son, the celebrated Sennacherib, who succeeded him. The name also resembles the
biblical Ezar-haddon (Asaridanus), who, however, was the son of Sennacherib, and
occupied the throne of Babylon in B.C. 680.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 7

and drink ; and he would address him in these terms. 1 " O dear
my son, 2 if a word come to thine ears, suffer it to die within thy~
heart nor ever disclose it unto other, lest haply it become a live
coal 3 to burn up thy tongue and breed pain in thy body and clothe
thee in shame and gar thee despised of God and man. O dear my
son, an thou hear a report reveal it not, and if thou behold a thing
relate it not. O dear my son, make easy thine address unto thine
hearers, and be not hasty in return of reply. O dear my son, desire
not formal beauty which fadeth and vadeth while fair report
endureth unto infinity. O dear my son, be not deceived by a
woman immodest of speech lest her snares waylay thee 4 and in
her springes thou become a prey and thou die by ignominious
death. O dear my son, hanker not after a woman adulterated by
art, such as clothes and cosmetics, who is of nature bold and
immodest, and beware lest thou obey her and give her aught that
is not thine and entrust to her even that which is in thy hand, for
she will robe thee in sin and Allah shall become wroth with thee.
O dear my son, be not like unto the almond-tree 5 which leafeth
earlier than every growth and withal is ever of the latest to fruit ;
but strive to resemble the mulberry-tree which beareth food the
first of all growths and is the last of any to put forth her foliage. 6

1 Gauttier, pp. 317-319, has greatly amplified and modified these words of wisdom.

2 In text " Ya Bunayya " = lit. " O my little son," a term of special fondness.

3 Arab. 4 f Jamrah," a word of doubtful origin, but applied to a tribe strong enough to
be self-dependent. The "Jamarat of the Arabs" were three, Banii Numayr, Banu
Haris (who afterwards confederated with Mashfj) and Banii Dabbah (who joined the
Rikab), and at last Nomayr remained alone. Hence they said of it :

"Nomayr the jamrah (also "a live coal") of Arabs are; * And ne'er cease they to,

burn in 'fiery war."
See Chenery's Al-Hariri, pp. 343-428.

4 In the Arab. <l Ta'arkalak," which M. Houdas renders " qu'elle nt U reiienne dans

5 A lieu commun in the East. It is the Heb. " Shaked " and the fruit is the " Loz "
(Arab. Lauz) = Atnygdalus communis* which the Jews looked upon as the harbinger of
spring and which, at certain feasts, they still carry to the synagogue, as representing the
palm branches of the Temple.

6 The mulberry-tree in Italy will bear leaves till the end of October and the foliage
is bright as any spring verdure.

8 Supplemental Nights.

O dear my son, bow thy head before thine inferior and soften
thine utterance and be courteous and tread in the paths of piety,
and shun impudence and louden not thy voice whenas thou
speakest or laughest ; for, were a house to be builded by volume of
sound, the ass would edify many a mansion every day. 1 O dear
my son, the transport of stones with a man of wisdom is better
than the drinking of wine with one blamed for folly. O dear my
son, rather pour out thy wine upon the tombs of the pious than
drain it with those who give offence by their insolence. O dear my
son, cleave to the sage that is Allah-fearing and strive to resemble
him, and approach not the fool lest thou become like unto him
and learn his foolish ways. O dear my son, whenas thou affectest
a friend or a familiar, make trial of him and then company with him,
and without such test nor praise him nor divulge thy thoughts unto
one who is other than wise. O dear my son, as long as thy boot is
upon thy leg and foot, walk therewith over the thorns and tread a
way for thy sons and thy sons' sons ; and build thee a boat ere the
sea break into billows and breakers and drown thee before thou
find an ark of safety. O dear my son, when the richard eateth a
snake, folks shall say that 'tis of his subtilty ; but when a pauper
feedeth upon it, the world shall declare 'tis of his poverty. O dear
my son, be content with thy grade and thy good, nor covet aught
of thy fellow. O dear my son, be not neighbourly with the ignorant
nor do thou break with him bread, and joy not in the annoy of
those about thee and when thy foe shall maltreat thee meet him
with beneficence. O dear my son, fear the man who feareth not
Allah and hold him in hate. O dear my son, the fool shall fall
when he trippeth ; but the wise man when he stumbleth shall not
tumble, and if he come to the ground he shall rise up quickly, and
when he sickeneth he shall readily heal himself, whereas to the
malady of the ignorant and the stupid there is no remedy. O dear

1 Gauttier omits this: fas pott, I suppose.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 9

my son, when a man lesser than thyself shall accost thee, prevent him
in standing respectfully before him, and if he suffice thee not the
Lord shall suffice thee in his stead. O dear my son, spare not blows
to thy child, 1 for the beating of the boy is like manuring to the
garden and binding to the purse-mouth and tethering to the cattle
and locking to the door. O dear my son, withhold thy child from
wickedness, and discipline him ere he wax great and become con-
tumacious to thee, thus belittling thee amongst thine equals and
lowering thy head upon the highways and in the assemblies, and
thou be described as an aider in his wrongous works. O dear
my son, let no word escape thy lips without consulting thy heart ;
nor stand up between two adversaries, for out of converse with the
wicked cometh enmity, and from enmity is bred battle, and from
battle ariseth slaughter, when thy testimony shall be required ;
nay, do thou fly therefrom and be at rest. O dear my son, stand
not up against one stronger than thyself; but possess thy soul
in patience and long-suffering and forbearance and pacing the
paths of piety, for than this naught is more excellent. O dear my
son, exult not over the death of thy enemy by cause that after a
little while thou shalt become his neighbour. O dear my son, turn
thou a deaf ear to whoso jeereth thee, and honour him and forego
him with the salam-salutation. O dear my son, whenas the water
shall stand still in stream and the bird shall fly sky-high and the
black raven shall whiten and myrrh shall wax honey-sweet, then
will the ignorant and the fool comprehend and converse. O dear

1 The barbarous sentiment is Biblical inspired, "Me that spareth Ills rod hateth his
son " (Prov. xiii. 24), and " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul
spare for his crying" (Prov. xix. 18). Compare the Arab equivalent, " The green stick
is of the trees of Paradise " (Pilgrimage i. 151). But the neater form of the saw was left
to uninspired writers j witness "Spare the rod and spoil the child," which appears in
Ray's proverbs, and is immortalised by Hudibras :
Love is a boy by poets styled,
Then spare the rod and spoil the child, (ii. I, 843).

It is to the eternal credit of John Locke, the philosopher, that in an age of general
brutality he had the moral courage, to declare, " Beating is the worst and therefore the
last means to be used in the correction of children."

1 Supplemental Nights.

my son, an thou would be wise restrain thy tongue from leasing
and thy hand from thieving and thine eyes from evil glancing ;
and then, and then only, shalt thou be called a sage. O dear my
son, suffer the wise man strike thee with his staff rather than the
fool anoint thee with his sweetest unguent. 1 O dear my son, be thou
humble in thy years of youth, that thou may be honoured in thine
old age. O dear my son, stand not up against a man in office and
puissance nor against a river in its violence, and haste not in matters
of marriage ; for, an this bring weal, folk will not appraise thee and
if ill they will abuse thee and curse thee. O dear my son, company
with one who hath his hand fulfilled and well-furnishtand associate
not with any whose hand is fist-like and famisht. O dear my son,
there be four things without stability : a king and no army, 2 a
Wazir in difficulty for lack of rede ; amongst the folks villany and
over the lieges tyranny. Four things also may not be hidden ; to
wit, the sage and the fool, the richard and the pauper." 3 Now when
Haykar had made an end of these injunctions and instances addrest
to Nadan his nephew, he fondly deemed in mind that the youth
would bear in memory all his charges, and he wist not that the
clean contrary thereof to him would become manifest After this
the older Minister sat in peace at home and committed to the
younger all his moneys and his negro slaves and his concubines ;
his horses and camels, his flocks and herds, and all other such
whereof he was seised. Also bidding and forbiddal were left in the
youth's hand and he was promoted and preferred by the monarch

1 Arab. "Dahn" (oi! 4 ointment) which may also mean "soft sawder."

2 Aucun rot ne pent gouverner sans armce et on ne peut avoir une armle sans argent.,
For a treatise on this subject see the " Chronique de Tabari," ii. 340.

3 M. Agoub, in Gauttier (vi. 321) remarks of these prosings, "Ces maximes qui ne
seraient pas indignes, pour la plupart, des beaux temps de la philosophic grecque, appar-
tiennent toutes au texte arabe ; je n'ai fait que les disposer dans un ordre plus raethodique.
J'ai dti aussi supprimer quelques unes, soil parce qu'elles n'offraient que des preceptes
<Tune morale banale, soit que traduites eji fra^ais, elles eussen: pu paraftre bizarres a des
lecteurs europeens. Ce que je dis ici, s* applique egalement a eel les qui terminent it-
conte et qui pourraient fournir le sujet de plusieurs fables." One would say that the
translator is the author's natural enemy.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ i

like his maternal uncle and even more, whilst the ex-Wazir took
his rest in retirement, nor was it his habit to visit the King save
once after a while, when he would fare forth to salute him with the
salam and forthwith return home. But when Nadan made sure of
all commandment being in his own hand, he jeered in public at his
uncle and raised his nose at him and fell to blaming him whenever
he made act of presence and would say, " Verily Haykar is in age
and dotage and no more he wotteth one thing from other thing."
Furthermore he fell to beating th? negro slaves and the hand-
maidens, and to vending the steeds and dromedaries and applied
him wilfully to waste all that appertained to his uncle who, when
he saw this lack of ruth for the chattels and the household, incon-
tinently drove him ignominiously from his place. Moreover he sent
to apprize the King thereof; to wit, that he would assuredly 1
resume all his belongings and provision ; and his liege, summoning
Nadan, said to him, " So long as Haykar shall be in life, let none
lord it over his household or meddle with his fortune." On this
wise the youth's hand was stayed from his uncle and from all his
good and he ceased to go in to him and come out from him, and
even to accost him with the salam. Presently Haykar repented of
the pains and the trouble he had taken with Nadan and he became
perplext exceedingly. Now the youth had a younger brother,
Naudan 2 hight, so Haykar adopted him in lieu of the other and
tendered him and honoured him with highmost honour and com-
mitted to him all his possessions and created him comptroller of his
household and of his affairs. But when the elder brother beheld
what had betided him, he was seized with envy and jealousy and
he fell to complaining before all who questioned him, deriding his
benefactor ; and he would say, " Verily my maternal uncle hath

1 Arab. " Amnial," now vulgarly written with initial Hamzah, a favourite expression
in Egypt and meaning ' Verily," " I believe you, my boy," and so forth. But " 'Ammal ''
with the Ayn may also mean " he intended," or " he was about to."

2 In Gauttier the name is Ebnazadan, but the Arab, text has " Naudan," which I take
to be the Persian * New of knowledge " as opp. to Nadan, the " unknowing."

12 Supplemental Nights.

driven me from his doors and hath preferred my brother before me ;
but, an Almighty Allah empower me, I will indeed cast him into
doom of death." Hereat he fell to brooding over the ruin of his
relative, and after a long while he went, one day of the days, and
wrote a letter to Akhyash Abna Shah, 1 physician to the King of
Persia and ' Ajam or Barbaria-land, and the following were its con-
tents. " All salams that befit and greetings that are meet from part
of Sankharib, King of Assyria and Niniveh, and from his Wazir
and Secretary Haykar unto thee, O glorious monarch, and saluta-
tions be betwixt me and thee. And forthright, when this missive
shall have reached thee, do thou arise in haste and come to meet
me and let our trysting-place be the Buk'at Nisrin, the lowland of
the Eglantine 2 of Assyria and Niniveh, that I may commit to
thee the kingdom sans fight or fray." Furthermore he wrote a
second letter in Haykar's name to Pharaoh, 3 lord of Misraim,*
with this purport : 5 " Greetings between me and thee, O mighty

1 In Chavis (Weber ii. 58) and Gauttier (p. 323) Akis, roide Perse. The second name
maybe "Shah of the Ebna" or Persian incolae of Al-Yaman ; aristocratie Persane
naturalist Arabe (Al-Mas'udi, iv. 188, etc.)

2 i.e. the Lowland of the Eglantine or Narcissus ; Nisrin is also in dictionaries an
island where amber abounds. There is a shade of difference between Buk'ah and Bale' ah.
The former which is the correcter form = a patch of ground, a plain (hence the Buka'a
= Ccelesyria), while Bak'ah = a hollow where water collects. In Chavis we find "the
plain of flarrim " and in Gauttier la plains de Baschrin ; and the appointment was " for
the first of the month Niram " (Naysan).

3 ' Pharaoh," which Hebrew Holy Writ left so vague and unsatisfactory, has become
with the Arabs " Fir'aun," the dynastic name of Egyptian kings, as Kisra (Chosroes) of
the Persians, Tobba of the Himyarites, Kaysar (Caesar) of the Romans, Jalut (Goliath) of
the Phoenicians, Fagbfur of the Chinese, Khakdn of the Tartars, Adfonsh (Alfonso) of
the Spanish, and Aguetfd of the Berbers. Ibn Khaldun iv. 572.

4 "Mizr" in Assyrian = " Musur," in Heb. "Misraim" (the dual Misrs, whose
duality permeated all their polity), and in Arab " Misr," the O. Egypt. " Ha kahi
PtaV' (the Land of the great God, Ptah), and the Coptic '* Td-mera " = the Land of the
Nile flood, ignoring, I may add, all tradition of a Noachian or general deluge.

s The simplicity of old Assyrian correspondence is here well preserved, as we may
see by comparing those letters with the cuneiform inscriptions, etc., by S. Abden Smith
(Pfeiffer, Leipsic, 1887). One of them begins thus, "The will of the King to Sin-
tabni-Uzur. Salutation from me to thee. May it be well with thee. Regarding Sin-
sarra-utzur whom thou has sent to me, how is thy report P " etc. We find such expres-
sions as " May the great Gods, lovers of thy reign, preserve thee an hundred years; "
also " Peace to the King, my lord," etc.

Tke Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 3

potentate; and do thou straightway, on receipt of this epistle,
arise and march upon the Buk'at Nisrin to the end that I make
over to thee the kingdom without battle or slaughter." Now
Nadan's handwriting was the likest to that of his mother's brother.
Then he folded the two missives and sealed them with Haykar's
signet and cast them into the royal palace, after which he went
and indited a letter in the King's name to his uncle, saying : " All
salutations to my Wazir and Secretary and Concealer of my
secret, Haykar ; and do thou forthright on receipt of this present
levy thy host and all that be under thee with arms and armour
complete, and march them to meet me on fifth-day 1 at the Buk'at
Nisrin. Moreover, when thou see me approach thee make thy
many prepare for mimic onset as they were my adversaries and
offer me sham fight ; for that messengers from Pharaoh, King
of Egypt, have been sent to espy the strength of our armies.
Accordingly, let them stand in fear of us, for that they be our foes
and our haters." Presently, sealing this epistle, he sent it to
Haykar by one of the royal pages and himself carrying the other
letters he had addressed to the Persian and the Egyptian, he laid
them before the King and read them aloud and showed their seals.
But when Sankharib heard their contents he marvelled with mighty
great marvel and raged with exceeding rage and cried out, saying,
" What is it I have done unto Haykar that he should write such a
writ to mine adversaries ? Is this my reward for all the benefits
I have lavished upon Haykar ? " The other replied, " Be not
grieved, O King, and sorrow not, nor be thou an-angered : rather
let us fare on the morrow to the Buk'at Nisrin and look into the
matter, whether it be fact or falsehood." So when Thursday came,
Nadan arose, and taking the King and his Wazirsand army-officers
marched them over the wastes to the Lowland of the Eglantine,

1 Arab. " Yaum al-Khamfs." For the week-days see vol. vi. 190, and fort
notice, Al-Mas'udi, iiL 422-23.

14 Supplemental Nights.

and arrived there Sankharib, the Sovran, looked upon Haykar and
saw his host aligned in battle against himself. And when the
ex-Minister beheld his King approaching, he bade his host stir for
battle and prepare to smite the opposing ranks ; to wit, those of
his liege lord, even as he had been .commanded by royal rescript,
nor did he ken what manner of pit had been digged for him by
Nadan. But seeing this sight the monarch was agitated and
consterned and raged with mighty great wrath. Then quoth
Nadan, " Seest thou, O King, what this sorry fellow hath done ?
But chafe not, neither be thou sorrowful, but rather do thou retire
to thy palace, 'whither I will presently bring to thee Haykar
pinioned and bearing chains ; and I will readily and without
trouble fend off from thee thy foe." So when Sankharib hied him
home in sore anger with that which his ancient Minister had done,
Nadan went to his uncle and said, " Indeed the King hath rejoiced
with exceeding joy, and thanketh thee for acting as he bade thee,
and now he hath despatched me to order that thy men be bidden
to wend their ways, and that thou present thyself before him
pinioned and fettered to the end that thou be seen in such plight
of the envoys sent by Pharaoh concerning whom and whose master
our Monarch standeth in fear." "To hear is to obey!" replied
Haykar, and forthwith let pinion his arms and fetter his legs ;
then, taking with him Nadan, his nephew, he repaired to the
presence, where he found the King perusing the other forgecf
letter also sealed with the ministerial signet. When he entered
the throne-room he prostrated himself, falling to the ground upon
his face, and the Sovran said to him " O Haykar, my Viceregent
and Secretary and Concealer of my secret and Councillor of my
kingdom, say me, what have I wrought thee of wrong that thou
shouldst requite me with such hideous deed ? " So saying he
showed him the two papers written in the handwriting and sealed
with the seal of the accused who, when he looked upon them,
trembled in every limb, and his tongue was knotted for a while,

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 5

nor could he find power to speak a word, and he was reft of all
his reason and of his knowledge. Wherefor he bowed his brow
groundwards and held his peace. Buf when the King beheld this
his condition, he bade them slay him by smiting his neck without
the city, and Nadan cried aloud, " O Haykar, O blackavice, what
could have profited thee such trick and treason that thou do a
deed like this by thy King ? " * Now the name of the Sworder
was Abu Sumayk the Pauper, 2 and the monarch bade him strike
the neck of Haykar in front of the Minister's housedoor and place
his head at a distance of an hundred ells from his body. 3 Hearing
this Haykar fell prone before the King and cried, " Live thou, O
my lord the King, for ever and aye ! An thou desire my death
be it as thou wilt and well I wot that I am not in default and that
the evil-doer exacteth according to his ill-nature. 4 Yet I hope
from my lord the King and from his benevolence that he suffer the
Sworder make over my corpse to my menials for burial, and so
shall thy slave be thy sacrifice." Hereat the Monarch commanded
the Headsman do as he was desired, and the man, accompanied
by the royal pages, took Haykar, whom they had stripped of his
outer raiment, and led him away to execution. But when he was
certified of coming death, he sent tidings thereof to his wife,
Shaghaftini 1 hight, adding, " Do thou forthright come forth to
meet me escorted by a thousand maiden girls, whom thou shalt
habit in escarlate and sendal, that they -may keen over me ere I
perish ; moreover dispread for the Headsman and his varlets a table
of food and bring an abundance of good wine that they may drink

1 In the text " Kal " (al-Rawi), " the Reciter saith" which formula I omit here and
elsewhere.

2 i.e. " The Father of the little Fish," in Gauttier (vii. 329) " Abou Som&ka."

3 By way of insult ; as I have before noticed.

* He had now learned that Nadan had ruined him.

5 The wife (in p. 155, " Ashghaftini ") is called "Thou hast enamoured me " from
the root "Shaghaf" = violent love, joy, grief. Chavis has Zefagnie : Gauttier sup-
presses the name, which is not pretty. In the old version she is made aunt (father's
sister) to Sankharib.

1 6 Supplemental Nights.

and make merry." 1 Haykar's wife presently obeyed his orders for
she also was ware and wise, sharp-witted, experienced and a
compendium of accomplishments and knowledge. Now when the
guards 2 and the Sworder and his varlets came to Haykar's door,
they found the tables laid out with wine and sumptuous viands ;
so they fell to eating and drinking till they had their sufficiency
and returned thanks to the housemaster. 3 Thereupon Haykar led
the Headsman aside into privacy and said to him, " O Abu
Sumayk, 4 what while Sarhadun the King, sire of Sankharib the
King, determined to slay thee, I took thee and hid thee in a place
unknown to any until the Sovran sent for thee. Moreover I cooled
his temper every day till he was pleased to summon thee, and when
at last I set thee in his presence he rejoiced in thee. Therefore do
thou likewise at this moment bear in mind the benefits I wrought
thee, and well I wot that the King will repent him for my sake
and will be wroth with exceeding wrath for my slaughter, seeing
that I be guiltless ; so when thou shalt bring me alive before him
thy degree shall become of the highest. For know thou that
Nadan my nephew hath betrayed me and devised for me this ill
device ; and I repeat that doubtless my lord will presently rue my
ruin. Learn, too, that beneath the threshold of my mansion lieth
a souterrain whereof no man is ware : so do thou conceal me
therein with the connivance of my spouse Shaghaftini. Also I
have in my prison a slave which meriteth doom of death : 5 so
bring him forth and robe him in my robes ; then bid the varlets

1 The old version attributes all this device to " Zefagnie ; " thus injuring the unity and
the interest of the tale.

2 Arab. "Jund" plur. " Junud," a term mostly applied to regular troops under the
Government, as opposed to soldiers who took service with the Amirs or great barons a
state of things still enduring in n on -British India.

3 Who thus makes a " Ma'adabah " = wake or funeral feast before his death. See
vol. viii. 231.

i\*. " Father of the Fishlet," in the old version " Yapousmek " (Ya Abu Sumayk I)
6 In Chavis he becomes " an old slave, a magician, stained with the greatest crimes,
who has the air and figure of Hicar."

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 7

(they being drunken with wine) do him die, nor shall they know
whom they have slain. And lastly command them to remove his
head an hundred cubits from his body and commit the corpse unto
my chattels that they inter it. So shalt thou store up with me this
rich treasure of goodly deeds." Hereupon the Sworder did as he
was bidden by his ancient benefactor, and he and his men repairing
to the presence said, " Live thy head, O King, for ever and aye ! " l
And after this Shaghaftini, the wife of Haykar, brought meat and
drink to her husband down in the Matamor, 2 and every Friday she
would provide him with a sufficiency for the following week without
the weeting of anyone. Presently the report was spread and
published and bruited abroad throughout Assyria and Niniveh
how Haykar the Sage had been done to die and slain by his
Sovran ; and the lieges of all those regions, one and all, keened 3
for- him aloud and shed tears and said, " Alas for thee, O Haykar,
and alack for the loss of thy lore and thy knowledge ! Woe be to
us for thee and for thy experience ! Where now remaineth to find
thy like ? where now shall one intelligent, understanding and
righteous of rede resemble thee and stand in thy stead?"
Presently the King fell to regretting the fate of Haykar whereof
repentance availed him naught : so he summoned Nadan and said
to him, " Fare forth and take with thee all thy friends to keen and
make ceremonious wailings for thy maternal uncle Haykar and
mourn, according to custom, in honour of him and his memory."
But Nadan, the fool, the ignorant,, the hard of heart, going forth
the presence to show sorrow at his uncle's house, would neither
mourn nor weep nor keen ; nay, in lieu thereof he gathered
together lewd fellows and fornicators who fell to feasting and

1 A formula which announces the death of his supposed enemy.

2 Arab. " Matmurah " = Sarddbah (i. 340), a silo for storing grain, an underground cell

3 See text "Nhu" from t/ "Nauh" = ceremonious keening for the dead. The
general, term for the wail is "Walwalah" or "WilwaV (an onomatopoy) and for the
public wailing-woman Naddabah."

VOL. VI. *

1 8 Supplemental Nights.

carousing. After this he took to himself the concubines and slaves
belonging to his uncle, whom he would scourge and bastinado with
painful beating; nor had he any shame before the wife of his
adopted father who had entreated him as her son ; but solicited
her sinfully to lie with him. _ On the other hand Haykar, who
lay perdu in his Silo, ever praised Allah the Compassionate, 1 and
returned thanks unto Him for saving his life and was constant in
gratitude and instant in prayer and in humbling himself before
God. At times after due intervals the Sworder would call upon
him to do him honour due and procure him pleasure, after which
he would pray for his release and forthright gang his gait. Now
r/hen the bruit spread abroad over all the lands how that
Haykar the Wise had been done to die, the rulers everywhere
rejoiced, exulting in the distress of King Sankharib who sorely
regretted the loss of his Sage. Presently, awaiting the fittest

A-

season, the Monarch of Misraim arose and wrote a writ to
the Sovran of Assyria and Niniveh of the following tenor :
"After salams that befit and salutations that be meet and
congratulation and veneration complete wherewith I fain
distinguish my beloved brother Sankharib the King, I would
have thee know that I am about to build a bower in the air
between firmament and terra firma ; and I desire thee on thy
part to send me a man which is wise, a tried and an experienced,
that he may help me to edify the same : also that he make answer
to all the problems and profound questions I shall propose, other-
wise thou shalt deposit with me the taxes in kind 2 of Assyria and
Nineveh and their money-tributes for three years." Then he made
an end of his writ and, sealing it with his signet-ring, sent it to its

1 Here we find the Doric form "Rahtim" for <f Rahfm," or it may simply be the
intensive and emphatic form, as " Nazflr " = one who looks intently for " Na*zir," a
looker.

2 In the old version "a tenth part of the revenues." The "Kasfm" of the text is
an unusual word which M. Houdas would render revenues en nature^ as opposed to
KhiraJ, revenues en argent. I translate it by " tax tribute."

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 19

destination. But when the missive reached Sankharib, he took it
and read it, he and his Wazirs and the Lords of his land ; and all
stood perplext thereat and sore confounded ; whilst the King
waxed furious with excessive fury, and he was distraught as to
what he should do and how he should act. Anon, however, he
gathered together all the Shaykhs and Elders and the Olema and
doctors of law and the physicists and philosophers and the
charmers l and the astrologers and all such persons which were in
his realm, and he let read the epistle of Pharaoh in their presence.
Then he asked them, saying, " Who amongst you shall repair to
the court of Pharaoh, lord of Misraim, and reply to his interro-
gations ? " But they cried, " O our lord the King, do thou know
there be no one who can loose the knot of these difficulties save
only thy Wazir Haykar ; and now that none shall offer an answer
save Nadan, the son of his sister, whom he hath informed with all
his subtil ty and his science. Therefore, do thou summon him and
haply he shall unravel for thee a tangled skein so hard to untwist."
Sankharib did as they advised, and when Nadan appeared in the
presence said to him, " Look thou upon this writ and comprehend
its contents." But when the youth read it he said to the Sovran,
"O my lord the King, leave alone this folk for they point to
impossibilities : what man can base a bower upon air between
heaven and earth ? " As soon as King Sankharib heard these words.
of Nadan, he cried out with a mighty outcry and a violent ; then,,
stepping down from his throne, he sat upon ashes 2 and fell to
beweeping and bewailing the loss of Haykar and crying, " Alas,,
for me and woe worth the day for thee, O Caretaker of my capital:
and Councillor of my kingdom ! Where shall I find one like

1 In text "'Azzamin," i.e. men who recite "'Azm," mostly Koranic versets which
avert evil.

3 This may either be figurative or literal upon the ashes where the fire had
been ; even as the father of Sayf al-Muliik sat upon the floor of his audience-hall
(vol. vii. 314).

ao Supplemental Nights.

unto thee, O Haykar? Harrow now for me, O Haykar, Oh
Saviour of my secret and Manifester of my moot-points,
where now shall I fare to find thee? Woe is me for sake
of thee whom I slew and destroyed at the word of a silly
boy ! To him indeed who could bring Haykar before me or who
could give me the glad tidings of Haykar being on life, I would
give the half of my good ; nay, the moiety of my realm. But
whence can this come ? Ah me, O Haykar ; happy was he who
looked upon thee in life that he might take his sufficiency of thy
semblance and fortify himself 1 therefrom. Oh my sorrow for thee
to all time ! Oh my regret and remorse for thee and for slaying
thee in haste and for not delaying thy death till I had considered
the consequence of such misdeed." And the King persisted in
weeping and wailing night and day on such wise. But when the
Sworder 2 beheld the passion of his lord and his yearning and his
calling upon Haykar, he came to the presence and prostrated
himself and said, " O my lord, bid thy varlets strike off my head !"
Quoth the Monarch, " Woe to thee, what be thy sin ? " and quoth
the Headsman, " O my lord, what slave ever contrarieth the
command of his master let the same be slain, and I verily have
broken thy behest." The King continued, " Fie upon thee, 3 O
Abu Sumayk, wherein hast thou gainsaid me ? " and the other
rejoined, " O my lord, thou badest me slay the Sage Haykar ; but
well I wotted that right soon indeed thou wouldst regret the death
of him, and the more so for that he was a wronged man ; accord-
ingly I fared forth from thee and hid him in a place unbeknown
to any and I slew one of his slaves in his stead. And at this moment
Haykar is alive and well ; and if thou bid me, I will bring him

1 In text " Ya'tadir "from v/ 'Adr=heavy rain, boldness. But in this MS. the dots
are often omitted and the word may be Ya'tazir=find excuse.

* In the old version the wife is made to disclose the secret of her husband being alive
again a change for the worse.

Here Wayha-r. and before Wayla-k": see vols. v. 258; vii. 127 and
iii. 82.

The Say of Haykar the Sage.

before thee when, if thou be so minded, do thou put me to death,
otherwise grant me immunity." Cried the King, " Fie upon thee,

Abu Sumayk, how durst thou at such time make mock of me,

1 being thy lord ? " but the Sworder replied, " By thy life and the
life of thy head, O my lord, I swear that Haykar is alive and in
good case ! " Now when the Monarch heard these words from the
Sworder and was certified by him of the matter, he flew for very
gladness and he was like to fall a-swoon for the violence of his joy.
So he bade forthright Haykar be brought to him and exclaimed to
the Sworder, " O thou righteous slave an this thy say be soothfast,
I am resolved to enrich thee and raise thy degree amongst all my
companions ; " and so saying and rejoicing mightily he com-
manded the Sworder set Haykar in the presence. The man
fared to the Minister's house forthright, and opening the souterrain
went downstairs to the tenant whom he found sitting and praising
Allah and rendering to Him thanksgivings ; so he cried out and
said, " O Haykar, the blessedest of bliss hath come to thee, and
do thou go forth and gladden thy heart ! " Haykar replied, " And
what is to do ? " whereat the man told him the whole tale, first
and last, of what had befallen his lord at the hands of Pharaoh ;
then, taking him, led him to the presence. But when Sankharib
considered him, he found him as one clean wasted by want ; his
hair had grown long like the pelts of wild beasts and his nails
were as vulture's claws and his members were meagre for the
length of time spent by him in duresse and darkness, and the dust
had settled upon him and changed his colour which had faded
and waxed of ashen hue. So his lord mourned for his plight and,
rising up in honour, kissed him and embraced him and wept over
him saying, " Alhamdolillah laud to the Lord who hath restored
thee to me on life after death ! " Then he fell to soothing his
sorrows and consoled him, praying pardon of him the while ;
and after bestowing robes of honour upon the Sworder and giving
him due guerdon and lavishing upon him abundant good, he

22 Supplemental Nights.

busied himself about the recovery of Haykar, who said, " O my
lord the King, may thy head live for ever and aye! All this
wrong which befel me is the work of the adulterines, and I reared
me a palm-tree against which I might prop me, but it bent and
brought me to the ground : now, however, O my lord and master,
that thou hast deigned summon me before thee, may all passion
pass away and dolour depart from thee !" " Blessed and exalted be
Allah," rejoined Sankharib, " who hath had ruth upon thee, and
who, seeing and knowing thee to be a wronged man, hath saved
thee and preserved thee from slaughter. 1 Now, however, do thou
repair to the Hammam and let shave thy head and pare thy nails
and change thy clothes ; after which sit at home in ease for forty
days' space that thy health be restored and thy condition be righted
and the hue of health return to thy face ; and then (but not till
then) do thou appear before me." Hereupon the King invested
him with sumptuous robes, and Haykar, having offered thanks to
his liege lord, fared homewards in joyaunce and gladness frequently
ejaculating, " Subhdna 'llahu ta'ala God Almighty be glorified ! ' y
and right happy were his household and his friends and all who
learned that he was still on life. Then did he as the King had
bidden him and enjoyed his rest for two-score days, after which
he donned his finest dress and took horse, followed and preceded
by his slaves, all happy and exulting, and rode to Court, while
Nadan the nephew, seeing what had befallen, was seized with sore
fear and affright and became perplexed and unknowing what to
do. Now, when Haykar went in and salamed to the King, his
lord seated him by his side and said, " O my beloved Haykar, look
upon this writ which was sent to me by the King of Misraim after
hearing of thy execution ; and in very deed they ; to wit he and
his, have conquered and chastised and routed most of the folk of

1 The King, after the fashion of Eastern despots, never blames his own culpable folly
and hastiness : this was decreed to him and to his victim by Destiny.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 23

our realm, compelling them to fly for refuge Egyptwards in fear of
the tax-tribute which they have demanded of us." So the
Minister took the missive and, after reading and comprehending
the sum of its contents, quoth he to the King, " Be not wroth, O
rny lord : I will repair in person to Egypt and will return a full
and sufficient reply to Pharaoh, and I will explain to him his
propositions and will bring thee from him all the tax-tribute he
demandeth of thee : moreover, I will restore all the lieges he hath
caused fly this country and I will humiliate every foe of thee by
aidance of Almighty Allah and by the blessings of thy Majesty/'
Now when the Sovran heard this answer, he rejoiced and his
heart was gladdened ; whereupon he gifted Haykar with a generous
hand and once more gave immense wealth to the Sworder.
Presently the Minister said, " Grant me a delay of forty days that
I ponder this matter and devise a sufficient device." As soon as
Sankharib granted him the required permission he returned home-
wards and, summoning his huntsmen, bade them catch for him two
vigorous young vultures ; l and, when these were brought, he sent
for those who twist ropes and commanded them make two cords
of cotton each measuring two thousand ells. He also bade bring
him carpenters and ordered them to build for him two coffers of
large size, and as soon as his bidding was done he chose out two
little lads, one hight Binuhal and the other Tabshalim. 2 Then
every day he would let slaughter a pair of lambs and therewith
feed the children and the vultures, and he mounted those upon
the back of these, binding them tight, and also making fast the

1 The older version reads " Roc'* and informs us that "it is a prodigious bird, found
in the deserts of Africa : it will bear two hundred pounds weight ; and many we of
opinion -that the idea of this bird is visionary." In Weber ii. 63, this is the device of
" Zafagnie," who accompanies her husband to Egypt.

2 This name appears to be a corruption. The sound, however, bears a suspicious
resemblance to " Dabshalim (a name most proper for such a Prince, to wit, meaning in
their tongue a mighty King)," who appears in chapt. i. of the " Fables of Pilpay "
(Bidpai = Bidyapati = Lord of Lore?) " Dabshalimat" = theDabshalims, was the dynastic
title of the Kings of Somanath (Somnauth) in Western India.

24 Supplemental Nights.

cords to the legs of the fowls. He would then allow the birds to
rise little by little, prolonging the flight every day to the extent
of ten cubits, the better to teach and to train them ; and they
learnt their task so well that in a short time they would rise to
the full length of the tethers till they soared in the fields of air
with the boys on their backs, after which he would let hale them
down. And when he saw them perfect in this process, he taught
the lads to utter loud shouts what while they reached the
full length of the cords and to cry out," Send us stones and mud 1
and slaked lime that we may build a bower for King Pharaoh,
inasmuch as we now stand here all the day idle ! " And Haykar
ceased not to accustom them and to instruct them until they
became dexterous in such doings as they could be. Then he
quitted them and presenting himself before King Sankharib said,
" O my lord, the work is completed even as thou couldst desire ;
but do thou arise and come with me that I may show thee the
marvel." Thereupon the King and his courtiers accompanied
Haykar to a wide open space outside the city whither he sent for
the vultures and the lads ; and after binding the cords he loosed
them to soar as high as the lanyards allowed in the firmament-plain,
when they fell to outcrying as he had taught them. And lastly he
haled them in and restored them to their steads. Hereat the King
wondered, as did all his suite, with extreme wonderment, and
kissing his Minister between his eyes, robed him in an honour-
able robe and said to him, " Go forth in safety, O my beloved,

1 Arab. Tin " = clay, mud, which would be used with the Tob (adobe, sun-dried
brick) forming the walls of Egypt and Assyria. M. G. Maspero, in his excellent booklet
" L'Archeologie Egyptienne," (p, 7. Paris, Quantin, 1887,) illustrates this ancient
industry which endures with all its gear to the present day. The average measured
o m 22 X o m II X o m 14; the larger was o m 38 X o m 18 X o m 14, with intermediate
sizes. These formed the cores of temple walls, and, being revetted with granite, syenite,
alabastet and other stones, made a grand show ; but when the outer coat was removed
they were presently weathered to the external semblance of mud-piles. Such was
mostly the condition of the ruins of grand Bubastis (" Pi-Pasht ") hod. Zagazig, where
excavations are still being pushed on.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 25

and boast of my realm, to the land of Egypt 1 and answer the
propositions of Pharaoh and master him by the power of Almighty
Allah ; " and with these words farewelled him k \ Accordingly
Haykar took his troops and guards, together with the lads and the
vultures, and he fared forth intending for Fgypt where on arrival
he at once made for the royal Palace. And when the folk of the
capital understood that Sankharib the King had commissioned a
man of his notables to bespeak their Sovran the Pharaoh, they
entered and apprized their liege lord who sent a party of his
familiars summoning him to the presence. Presently Haykar the
Sage entered unto Pharaoh ; and after prostration as befitteth
before royalty said, " O my lord, Sankharib the King greeteth
|thee with many salutations and salams ; and hath sent me single-
handed sans other of his slave's, to the end that I answer thy
question and fulfil whatso thou requirest, and I am commanded to
supply everything thou needest ; 'especially inasmuch as thou hast
sent to the Monarch my master for the loan of a man who can
!build thee a bower between firmament and terra firma ; and I, by
'the good aidance of Allah Almighty and of thine august mag-
nanimity, will edify that same for thee even as thou desirest and
requirest. But this shall be upon the condition stablished con-
cerning the tax-tribute of Misraim for three years, seeing that the
consent of the Kings be their fullest securities. An thou vanquish
me and my hand fall short and I fail to answer thee, then shall my
liege lord send thee the tax-tribute whereof thou speakest ; but if
I bring thee all thou needest, then shalt thou forward to my lord
the tax-tribute thou hast mentioned and of him demanded."
Pharaoh, hearing these words, marvelled and was perplexed at the
eloquence of his tongue and the sweetness of his speech and pre-
sently exclaimed, " O man, what may be thy name ?" The other

1 The old version has " Masser, Grand Cairo (in the days of the Pharaohs !) ; so
called from having been built by Misraim, the son of Cham."

26 Supplemental Nights.

replied, " Thy slave is hight Abikam j 1 and I am an emmet of the
emmets under Sankharib the King." Asked Pharaoh, " Had not
thy lord one more dignified of degree than thou,that he send unto
me an ant to answer me and converse with me ? " and Haykar
answered, " I humbly hope of the Almighty that I may satisfy all
which is in thy heart, my lord ; for that Allah is with the weak-
ling the more to astound the strongling." Hereat Pharaoh gave
orders to set apart for Abikam his guest an apartment, also for
the guards and all that were with him and provide them with
rations and fodder of meat and drink, and whatso was appro-
priate to their reception as properest might be. And after the usual
three days of guest-rite 2 the King of Egypt donned his robes
of brightest escarlate ; and, having taken seat upon his throne,
each and every Grandee and Wazir (who were habited in the
same hue) standing with crossed arms and feet joined, 3 he sent a
summons to produce before him Haykar, now Abikam hight,'
Accordingly he entered and prostrated in the King's presence
and stood up to receive the royal behest, when Pharaoh after a
long delay asked him, " Abikam, whom do I resemble and what
may these my Lords and Ministers represent?"' Hereto the envoy
answered saying, " O my lord, thou favourest Bel the idol 4 and thy
chieftains favour the servitors thereof!" Then quoth the King,
"Now do thou depart and I desire thee on the morrow come

1 In Chavis, " Abicam, a Chaldaean astrologer ;" in Gauttier " Abimacam."

7 In Al-Harirf (p. 409) we read, " Hospitality is three days ;" and a Hadfs of the
Prophet confirms the liberal practice of The Ignorance : " The entertainment of a
guest is three days, and the viaticum ("Jaizah ") is a day and a night, and whatso
exceedeth is an alms-gift." On the first day is shown largeness and courtesy ; on the
second and third the stranger is treated after the usual custom of the household, and
then he is provided with rations for a day and a night. See Lane : A. Nights, i. 486 ;
also The Nights, vol. i. 3.

3 i.e. Not standing astraddle, or in other such indecorous attitude.

* Chavjs, " Bilelsanam, the oracle of Bel, the chief God of the Assyrian :" Gauttier
Une 'dole Bit. Bel (or Ba'al or Belus, the Phoenician and Canaanite head-god; may here
represent Hobal the biggest idol in the Meccan Pantheon, which used to be borne
on raids and expeditions to give plunder a religious significance. Tabari iii. 17..
Evidently the author holds it to be an idol.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 27

again." Accordingly Abikam, which was Haykar, retired as he
was ordered, and on the next day he presented himself before
Pharaoh and after prostrating stood between his hands. The
King was habited in a red coat of various tincts and his mighty
men were garbed in white, and presently he enquired saying, " O
Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these my Lords and
Ministers represent ? " He replied, " O my lord, thou art like
unto the sun and thy nobles are like the rays thereof ! " Then
quoth the King, " Do thou retire to thy quarters and to-morrow
come hither again/' So the other fared forth and Pharaoh com-
manded and charged his head men to don pure white, himself
doing the same ; and, having taken seat upon his throne, he bade
Abikam be brought into the presence and when he appeared asked
him, " Whom do I resemble, and what may these my Grandees
represent ? " He replied, " O my lord, thou favourest the moon
and thy servitors and guards favour the stars and planets and con-
stellations." Then quoth the King, " Go thou until the morrow
when do thou come hither again ;" after which he commanded his
Magnates to don dresses of divers colours and different tincts
whilst he wore a robe of ruddy velvet. Anon he seated him upon
his throne and summoned Abikam, who entered the presence and
prostrated and stood up before him. The King for a fourth time
asked him, " O Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these
my guards represent ? " and he answered, " O my lord, thou art
like the auspicious month Naysdn ! , and thy guards and grandees
are like the white chamomile 2 and his bloom." Hearing these
words Pharaoh rejoiced with extreme joy and said, " O Abikam,
thou hast compared me first with Bel the idol, secondly with the
sun and thirdly with the moon and lastly with the auspicious

1 The Syro-solar month = April ; much celebrated by poets and ficttonists : rain
falling at such time into shells becomes pearls and upon serpents poison.

2 The text has " Baybunah," prop. Babunaj in Arab., and in Pers. " Babuk," oar
"Babiinak' = the white camomile-flower. See vol. Hi. 58.

28 Supplemental Nights.

month Naysan, and my lords with the chamomile and his flower.
But say me now unto what likenest thou Sankharib thy lord, and
what favour his Grandees ? " Haykar made answer, " Heaven for-
fend I mention my liege lord the while thou sittest on thy throne ;
but rise to thy feet, and I will inform thee what my Master repre-
senteth and what his court most resembleth." Pharaoh, struck with
astonishment at such heat of tongue and valiancy of speech, arose
from his seat and stood facing Haykar and presently said, " Now
tell me that I may learn what thy lord resembleth and what his
Grandees represent." The other made reply, " My lord resembleth
the God of Heaven, and his lords represent the Lightning and
Thunder. An it be his will the winds do blow and the rains do
fall ; and, when he deign order, the leven playeth and the thunder
roareth and at his behest the sun would refuse light and the moon
and stars stand still in their several courses. But he may also
command the storm-wind to arise and downpours to deluge when
Naysan would be as one who beateth the bough 1 and who scat-
tereth abroad the blooms of the chamomile." Pharaoh hearing
these words wondered with extreme wonderment, then raging with
excessive rage he cried, " O man, tell me the real truth and let me
know who thou art in very sooth." " I am Haykar/ 1 quoth the
other, " Chief Secretary and especial to Sankharib the King ; also
his Wazir and Councillor of his kingdom and Keeper of his
secret." " Thou statest fact, O Sage," quoth Pharaoh, " and
this thy say is veridical : yet have we heard that Haykar is dead
indeed, withal here art thou alive and alert." The Minister
replied, "Yea, verily that was the case, but Alhamdolillah
Glory to God, who knoweth all hidden things, my master had in
very deed doomed me die believing the reports of certain traitors,

1 "Khabata"="He (the camel) pawed the ground." The prim. sig. is to beat,
secondly, U is applied to a purblind camel which beats or strikes the ground and so
stumbles, or to him who bashes a tree for its leaves ; and lastly to him who gets alms
by begging. See Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 447.

The Say of Haykarthe Sage.

but my Lord preserved me and well done to him who relieth
upon the Almighty ! " Then quoth Pharaoh, " Go forth and
on the morrow do thou return hither and say me somewhat
no man hath ever heard, nor I nor my Grandees nor any of
the folk in my kingdom and my capital." Accordingly Haykar
hied him home and penned a .paper wherein he said as follows :
" From Sankharib, King of Assyria and Naynawah, to Pharaoh
King of Misraim : Peace be upon thee, O my brother ! As well
thou wottest, brother needeth brother and the Kings require the
aidance of other Kings and my hope from thee is that thou wilt
lend l me the loan of nine hundred-weight 2 of gold which I require
to expend on the pay and allowances due to certain of my soldiery
wherewith to provide for them the necessaries of life." After this
he folded the writ and despatched it by a messenger on the next
day to Pharaoh, who perused it and was perplext and exclaimed,
"Verily and indeed never till now have I heard a saying like
unto this at all, nor hath anyone ever spoken 8 to me after such
fashion!" Haykar replied, " Tis fact, and 'tis well an thou
own thee debtor of such sum to my lord the King." Pharaoh
accepted this resolving of his proposition and said, " O Haykar,

'tis the like of thee who suiteth the service of the Kings, and

i
blessed be Allah who perfected thee in wisdom and adorned thee

with philosophy 4 and knowledge. And now remaineth to us only
one need of thee ; to wit, that thou build us a bower between
firmament and terra firma." Haykar replied, " Hearkening and

1 Arab. Karz"= moneys lent in interest and without fixed term of payment, as
opp. to "Dayn."

2 In text "KintaV'=a quintal, 98 to 99 Ibs. avoir. : in round numbers a cwt. a
hundred weight: see vol. ii. 233. The old version explains it by "A golden coin,
equivalent to three hundred livres French (?)." About the value of the Kintar of
gold, doctors differ. Some value it at 40 ounces, others make it a leathern bag con-
taining 1,080 to 1,100 dinars, and others 100 rotls (Ibs.) of precious metal; while
Al-Makrizi relates that Mohammed the Apostle declared, "The Kintar of gold is
twelve hundred ounces." Baron de Slane (Ibn Khaldun, i. 210) computes IOO Kinta"r*
= I million of francs.

3 In the text " wa 1 ahad tafawwaha fina."

4 Arab. " Falsafah" = philosophy : see vols. v. 234 and vii. 145,

30 Supplemental Nights.

obeying! I will edify it for thee e'en as thou wishest and
thou choosest ; but do thou get ready for me gypsum lime
and ashlar-stone and brick-clay and handicraftsmen, while I
also bring architects and master masons and they shall erect
for thee whatso thou requirest." So King Pharaoh gat ready
all this and fared forth with his folk to a spacious plain without
the city whither Haykar and his pages had carried the boys
and the vultures ; and with the Sovran went all the great men of
his kingdom and his host in full tale that they might look upon
the wonder which the Envoy of Assyria was about to work. But
when they reached the place appointed, Haykar brought out of
their boxes the vultures and making fast the lads to their backs
bound the cords to the legs of the birds and let them loose,
when they soared firmament-wards till they were poised between
heaven and earth. Hereat the lads fell to crying aloud, " Send up
to us the stones and the mud and the slaked lime that we may
build a bower for King Pharaoh, forasmuch as here we stand the
whole day idle." At this were agitated all present, and they
marvelled and became perplext ; and not less wondered the King
and the Grandees his lieges, while Haykar and his pages fell
to buffeting the handicraftsmen and to shouting at the royal
guards, saying, "Provide the workmen with that they want,
nor hinder them from their work ! " Whereupon cried Pharaoh,
" O Haykar, art thou Jinn-mad ? Who is ever able to convey
aught of these matters to so far a height ? " But he replied to the
King, " O my lord, how shall we build a bower in the lift on other
wise ? And were the King my master here he would have edified
two such edifices in a single day." Hearing this quoth Pharaoh to
him, " Hie thee, O Haykar, to thy quarters, and for the present
take thy rest, seeing that we have been admonished anent the
building of the bower ; but come thou to me on the morrow."
Accordingly, Haykar fared to his lodging, and betimes on the
next day presented himself before Pharaoh, who said to him,

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 3 1

" O Haykar, what of the stallion of thy lord which, when he
neigheth in Assyria and Nineveh, his voice is heard by our .mares
in this place so that they miscarry ? 1 " Hereat Haykar left the
King and faring to his place took a tabby-cat and tying her up
fell to flogging her with a sore flogging until all the Egyptians
heard her outcries and reported the matter to the Sovran. So
Pharaoh sent to fetch him and asked, " O Haykar, for what
cause didst thou scourge this cat and beat her with such beating,
she being none other but a dumb beast 2 ? " He replied, " O my
lord the King, she hath done by me a wrongous deed and she
hath amply merited this whipping and these stripes." The King
asked, "And what may be this deed she did ?" whereto Haykar
made answer, " Verily my master Sankharib the King had given
me a beautiful cock who had a mighty fine voice and a strong,
and he knew the hours of darkness and announced them. But
as he was in my mansion this mischief-making tabby fared there
and fell upon him last night and tare off his head ; and for this
cause when she returned to me I took to punishing her with
such blows and stripes.'* Pharaoh rejoined, " O Haykar, indeed
I see thou art old and doting ! Between Misraim and Nineveh
lie eight hundred and sixty parasangs ; so how could this cat have
covered them in one night and have torn off thy chanticleer's
head and have returned by morning to Egypt?" He replied,
"O my lord, seeing that between Egypt and Assyria is such
interval how then can the neighing of my lord the King's stallion
reach unto Nile-land and be heard by your mares so that here
they miscarry ? " When Pharaoh had pondered these words, he

1 In the text " Fa-yatrahuna," masc. for fern.

2 The writer probably remembered that the cat was a sacred animal amongst the
Egyptians : see Herod., ii. 66, and Diod. Sic., who tells us (vol. i. p. 94) of a Roman
put to death under Ptolemy Auletes for accidentally killing one of these holy beasts. The
artists of Bubastis, whose ruins are now for the first time being scientifically explored,
modelled the animal in bronze with an admirable art akin to nature.

32 Supplemental Nights.

knew that the envoy had returned him a full and sufficient
reply, so quoth he, " O Haykar, 'tis my desire that thou make
for me two ropes of sand ; " and quoth the other, " Do thou
prescribe that they bring me a cord from thy stores that I twist
one like it." So when they had done as he bade, Haykar fared
forth arear of the palace and dug two round borings equal to the
thickness of the cord ; then he collected sand from the river-bed
and placed it therein, so that when the sun arose and entered into
the cylinder, the sand appeared in the sunlight like unto ropes. 1
Thereupon quoth he to Pharaoh, " Command thy slaves take up
these ropes and I will twist thee as many of them as thou wiliest."
Quoth Pharaoh, " O Haykar, we have before our eyes a millstone
which is broken ; and I require of thee that thou sew up the rent."
Accordingly the Envoy looked about him and, seeing there another
stone, said to Pharaoh, " O my lord, here am I a stranger man nor
have I with me aught of darning-gear ; but I would have thee
bid thy confidants amongst the cobblers to provide me out of this
other stone with shoemaker's awls and needles and scissors
wherewith I may sew up for thee the breach in yon millstone. 1 '
Hereat Pharaoh the King fell a-laughing, he and his Grandees,
and cried, "Blessed be Allah, who hath vouchsafed to thee all
this penetration and knowledge ; " then, seeing that the Envoy
had answered all his questions and had resolved his propositions

1 M. Houdas explains this miswritten passage, Quand k soldi fut Uvt et qu'il ptnttra
farces ouvertures (lis.abkhdsk, trou de fl&te)) il rtpandit (^ not JSJ) le sable dans ces
cylindres formts par la lumtire du soleil. It is not very intelligible. I understand that
the Sage went behind the Palace and drove through a mound or heap of earth a narrow
hole bearing east west, which he partially filled up with sand ; and so when the sun rose
the beams fell upon it and made it resemble a newly made cord of white flax. M. Agoub
(in Gauttier, vol. vi. 341) shirks, as he is wont to do, the whole difficulty. [The idea
seems to me to be, and I believe this is also the meaning of M. Houdas, that Haykar
produced streaks of light in an otherwise dark room by boring holes in the back wall,
and scattered the sand over them, so that, while passing through the rays of the sun, it
assumed the appearance of ropes. Hence he says mockingly to Pharaoh, " Have
these ropes taken up, and each time you please I will twist thee the like of them"
reading " Aftilu," 1st p. aor. instead of " Ifdl," 2nd imper. -ST.]

The Say of Haykar the Sage.

he forthright confessed that he was conquered and he bade them
collect the tax-tribute of three years and present it to him
together with the loan concerning which Haykar had written
and he robed him with robes of honour, him and his guards and
his pages ; and supplied him with viaticum, victual and moneys
for the road, and said to him, " Fare thee in safety, O honour of
thy lord and boast of thy liege : who like unto thee shall be
found as a Councillor for the Kings and the Sultans ? And do
thou present my salam to thy master Sankharib the Sovran
saying : Excuse us for that which we forwarded to thee, as the
Kings are satisfied with a scanting of such acknowledgment.'* l
Haykar accepted from him all this ; then, kissing ground before
him, said, " I desire of thee, O my lord, an order that not a man
of Assyria and Nineveh remain with thee in the land of Egypt
but fare forth it with me homewards." ^Hereupon. Pharaoh sent
a herald to make proclamation of all whereof Haykar had spoken
to him, after which the envoy farewelled the King and set out
on his march intending for the realm of Assyria and Nineveh
and bearing with him of treasures and moneys a mighty matter.
When the tidings of his approach came to the ears of Sankharib,
the King rode forth to meet his Minister, rejoicing in him with
joy exceeding and received him lovingly and kissed him, and cried,
" Well come and welcome and fair welcome to my sire and the
glory of my realm and the vaunt of my kingdom : do thou require
of me whatso thou wantest and choosest, even didst thou covet
one-half of my good and of my government." The Minister
replied, " Live, O King, for ever ; and if thou would gift me
bestow thy boons upon Abu Sumayk, the Sworder, whose wise
delay, furthered by the will of Allah Almighty, quickened me
with a second life," " In thine honour, O my beloved," quoth

1 Gauttier (vi. 347), Get prtsens tie sontpas dignes de lui; mats ptu de chose content*
Its rots.

VOL. VI. <3

34 Supplemental Nights.

the King, I will do him honour ;" and presently he fell to
questioning his envoy concerning what had befallen him from
Pharaoh and how the Lord of the Misraim had presented him with
the tax-tribute and moneys and gifts and honourable robes ; and
lastly, he asked anent the instances and secrets which ended the
mission. So Haykar related all that had betided, whereat
Sankharib rejoiced with mighty great joy ; and, when the converse
was concluded, the King said to him, " O Haykar, take unto thee
everything thou wishest and wantest of all this, for 'tis in the
grasp of thy hand." Haykar answered, Live, O King, for ever
and aye ; naught do I require save thy safety and the permanency
of thy rule : what shall I do with moneys and such like ? But
an thou deign largesse me with aught, make over to me in free
gift Nadan, my sister's son, that I requite him for that he wrought
with me : and I would that thou grant me his blood and make
it lawfully my very own." Sankharib replied. "Take him, for
I have given to thee that same." So Haykar led his nephew
to his home l and bound his hands in bonds and fettered his
feet with heavy chains ; then he beat him with a severe bastinado
and a torturing upon his soles and calves, his back, his belly and
his armpits ; after which bashing he cast him into a black hole
adjoining the jakes. He also made Binuhal guardian over him
and bade hrm be supplied day by day with a scone of bread
and a little water ; and whenever the uncle went in to or came
forth from the nephew he would revile Nadan and of his
wisdom would say to him, " O dear my son, I wrought with thee
all manner of good and kindly works and thou didst return me

1 Haykar is a Sage who follows the religion of nature, "-Love thy friends and hate
thy foes." Gauttier (vii. 349) embroiders all this with Christian and French sentiment
V intention stcrete de Hey car etait de sauver la vie a Fingrat qui avail conspirt centre
la sienne. Jl voulait pour toute vengeance, le mettre desormais dans F impossibility de
nuire et Vabandonner ensuite a ses rewords, persuade que le remords rfest pas le moindre
thdtiment du coupable. True nonsense this when talking of a character born bad : its
only remorse is not to have done worse than bad.

The Say of Haykarthe Sage,

therefor evil and treason and death. O dear my son, 'tis said
in saws : Whoso heareth not through his ears, through the nape
of his neck shall he hear." l Hereat quoth Nadan, " O my uncle,
what reason hast thou to be wroth with me ? " and quoth Haykar,
" For that I raised thee to worship and honour and made thee
great after rearing thee with the best of rearing and I educated
thee so thou mightest become mine heir in lore and contrivance
and in worldly good. But thou soughtest my ruin and destruc-
tion and thou desiredst for me doom of death ; however, the
Lord, knowing me to be a wronged man, delivered me from thy
mischief, for God hearteneth the broken heart and abaseth the
envious and the vain-glorious. O dear my son, 2 thou hast been
as the scorpion who when she striketh her sting 3 upon brass
would pierce it. O dear my son, thou hast resembled the
Sajalmah-bird 4 when netted in net who, when she cannot save
herself alive, she prayeth the partridges to cast themselves into
perdition with her, O dear my son, thou hast been as the cur
who, when suffering cold entereth the potter's house to warm him-
self at the kiln, and when warmed barketh at the folk on such
wise that they must beat him and cast him out, lest after barking
he bite them. O dear my son, thou hast done even as the hog
who entered the Hammam in company with the great ; but after
coming out he saw a stinking fosse a-flowing 5 and went and
therein wallowed. O dear my son, thou hast become like the
old and rank he-goat who when he goeth in leadeth his friends
and familiars to the slaughter-house and cannot by any means
come off safe or with his own life or with their lives. O dear
my son, a hand which worketh not neither plougheth, and withal

1 Striking the nape being the Moslem equivalent for " boxing ears."
a With this formula compare Chaucer, " The Manciple's Tale."

* In the text " Zrmdkt-ha," which is unintelligible, although the sense be clear.

* A bird unknown to the dictionaries, apparently a species of hawk.

* In the text " Jurah Sydn" for "Jurah SayyaV'

36 Supplemental Nights.

is greedy and over-nimble shall be cut off from its armpit.
O dear my son, thou hast imitated the tree whom men hew
down, head and branch, when she said : Had not that in your
hands been of me, 1 indeed ye would not have availed to my
felling. O dear my son, thou hast acted as did the she-cat
to whom they said : Renounce robbing that we make thee
collars of gold and feed thee with sugar and almond cake !
But she replied : As for me, my craft is that of my father
and my mother, nor can I ever forget it. O dear my son, thou
art as a dragon mounted upon a bramble-bush, and the two
a-middlemost a stream, which when the wolf saw he cried :
A mischief on a mischief and let one more mischievous counsel
the twain of them. O dear my son, with delicate food I fed thee
and thou didst not fodder me with the driest of bread ; and
of sugar and the finest wines I gave thee to drink, while thou
grudgedst to me a sup of cold water. O dear my son, I taught
thee and tendered thee with the tenderest of tending and garred
thee grow like the lofty cedar of Lebanon, but thou didst incrimi-
nate me and confine me in fetters by thine evil courses. 2 O dear
my son, I nourished a, hope that thou wouldst build me a strong
tower wherein I might find refuge from mine adversary and foil
my foes ; but thou hast been to me as a burier, a grave-digger,
who would thrust me into the bowels of the earth : however, my
Lord had mercy upon me. O dear my son, I willed thee well and
thou rewardedst me with ill-will and foul deed ; wherefore, 'tis
now my intent to pluck out thine eyes and hack away thy tongue
and strike off thy head with the sword-edge and then make thee
meat for the wolves ; and so exact retaliation from thine abomin-
able actions." Hereupon Nadan made answer and said to Haykar
his uncle, " Do with me whatso thy goodness would do and then

1 The tree having furnished the axe-helve.

3 M. Houdas translates Tu as mtdit de moi et tu nfas accablc de Us mtchancettc.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 37

condone thou to me all my crimes, for who is there can offend like
me and can condone like thee ? And now I pray thee take me
into thy service and suffer me to slave in thy house and groom thy
horses, even to sweeping away their dung, and herd thy hogs ; for
verily I am the evil-doer and thou art the beneficent ; I am the
sinner and thou art the pardoner." " O dear my son," rejoined
Haykar, " Thou favourest the tree which, albe planted by the side
of many waters, was barren of dates and her owner purposed to
hew her down, when she said : Remove me unto another stead
where if I fruit not then fell me. But he rejoined : Being upon
the water-edge thou gavest ne'er a date, so how shalt thou bear
fruit being in other site ?. O dear my son, better the senility of the
eagle than the juvenility of the raven. O dear my son, they said to
the wolf: Avoid the sheep lest haply the dust they raise in flight
may do thee a damage ; but Lupus made answer : Verily their dust
is a powder good for the eyes. O dear my son, they brought the
wolf to school that he might learn to read ; but, when quoth they
to him : Say A, B, C, D, 1 quoth he, Lamb, Sheep, Kid, Goat, 1
even as within my belly. O dear my son, they set the ass's head
beside a tray of meats, but he slipped down and fell to rolling upon
his back, for his nature (like that of others) may never be changed.
O dear my son, his say is stablished who said : When thou hast
begotten a child assume him to be thy son, and when thou hast
reared a son assume him to be a slave. 3 O dear my son, whoso
doeth good, good shall be his lot ; and whoso worketh evil, evil shall
befal him ; for that the Lord compensateth mankind according to
conduct. O dear my son, wherewith shall I bespeak thee beyond
this my speech ? and verily Allah knoweth concealed things and

In text f Alif, b, la", s," the latter written with a Sin instead of aTha, showing
vulgar use which extends from Alexandria to Meccah.

2 So in French, deriding the difference between written and spoken English, Ecrivtt
Salmonassar, prononcez crocodile.

3 Because he owes thee more than a debt of life.

3 8 Supplemental Nights.

wotteth all secret and hidden works and ways and He shall requite

thee and order and ordain between me and thee and shall

recompense thee with that thou deservest." Now when Nadan

heard these words from his uncle Haykar, his body began to swell

and become like a blown-up bag and his members waxed puffy,

his legs and calves and his sides were distended, then his belly

split asunder and burst till his bowels gushed forth and his and

(which was destruction) came upon him ; so he perished and fared

to Jahannam-fire and the dwelling-place dire. Even so it is

said in books : " Whoever diggeth for his brother a pit shall

himself fall into it and whoso setteth up a snare for his

neighbour shall be snared therein." And this

much know we anent the Say of Haykar

the Sage, and magnification be to

Allah for ever and ever

AMEN.

TMT. 1

" Tammat = She (the tale) is finished-

THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKANI.
OR.

THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE
DAUGHTER OF KING KISRA.

THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKAN1

OR,

THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE
DAUGHTER OF KING KISRA.

t&e name of ailaft tljc ^Compassionating, t&e Compassionate,
foe fiere in&ite, bg tfte afoance of t&e gUmfgfjtg an& |^fe fut&erance, tfje
of tje (Ztalfpfj f^arun al-Basfjfo an& of tfje Daug&ter of
t&e

IT is related (but Allah is all-knowing of His secrets and ail-
kenning in whatso hath passed and preceded and preterlapsed of
the annals of folk), 2 that the Caliph (by whom I mean Harun al-
Rashid) was sitting on the throne of his kingdom one chance day
of the days which happened to be the fete of 'Arafdt 5 And as
he chanced to glance at Ja'afar the Barmaid, he said to him, "O
Wazir, I desire to disguise myself and go down from my palace
into the streets and wander about the highways of Baghdad that I

1 MSS. pp 217-265. Seethe "Arabian Tales," translated by Robert Heron (Edinburgh
.DCC.XCII.), where it is, "The Robber-Caliph; or Adventures of Haroun Alraschid,

with the Princess of Persia, and the fair Zutulb6," vol. i. pp. 2-69. Gauttier, Histoire
du Khalyfe de Baghdad, vol. vii. pp. 117-150.

2 In text " Ahadfs," esp. referred to the sayings of Mohammed, and these are divided
into two great sections, the "Ahadfs al-Nabawf," or the actual words pronounced by
the Apostle ; and the " Ahadis al- Kudus," or the sentences attributed to the Archangel
Gabriel.

a Heron has "the Festival of Haraphat," adding a power of nonsense. This is the'
day of the sermon, when the pilgrims sleep at Muzdalifah (Pilgrimage iii. 265). Kusayy,
an ancestor of the Apostle, was the first to prepare a public supper at this oratory, and
the custom was kept up by Harun al-Rashid, Zubaydah and Sha'ab, mother of the
Caliph al-Muktadir (Tabari ii. 368). Alms are obligatory on the two great Tds or
festivals, al-Fitr which ends the Ramazdn fast and al-Kurban during the annual
Pilgrimage. The dole must consist of at least a " Sd'" = 7 Ibs. in grain, dates, &c.

42 Supplemental Nights.

may give alms to the mesquin and miserable and solace myself
with a sight of the folk : so do thou hie with me nor let any know
of our faring forth." " With love and good will," quoth Ja'afar.
So his lord arose and passed from the audience-room into the inner
palace where the two donned disguise and made small their sleeves
and breasts 1 and issued forth to circle about the thoroughfares of
Baghdad and her market-streets, distributing charity to the poor
and the paupers, until the last of the day. And whilst so doing,
the Commander of the Faithful chanced to espy a woman seated
at the head of a highway who had extended the hand of beggary,
showing at the same time her wrist and crying, " Give me some-
what for the sake of Allah Almighty ! " Hereat he considered her
nicely and saw that her palm and her wrist were like whitest
crystal and yet more brilliant in brightness. So he wondered
thereat, and presently pulling a dinar from his breast-pocket he
handed it to Ja'afar and said, " Bestow it upon yonder woman. 1 *
The Minister took the ducat and leaving his lord went up to her
and placed it in her palm ; and, when she closed her fingers there-
upon, she felt that the coin was bigger than a copper or a silverling,
so she looked thereat and saw that it was of gold. Hereupon she
called after Ja'afar who had passed onwards, saying, " Ho, thou
fair youth ! " and when he came back to her she continued, " The
dinar wherewith thou hast gifted me, is it for Allah's sake or for
other service ? " Said he, " Tis not from me, nay 'twas given by
yonder Youth who sent it through me." " Ask him," she rejoined,
" and tell me what may be his purport." Ja'afar hied him back
to the Caliph and reported her words, whereat his lord commanded
him, " Go back and say thou to her 'tis for Almighty Allah's sake."
The Minister did his master's bidding when she replied, " His
reward be upon the Almighty." Then the Wazir returned and

1 i.e. habited themselves in the garments of little people: so to ' enlarge the
turband" is to assume the rank of an 'Alim or learned man. "Jayb," the breast of a
coat is afterwards used in the sense of a pocket.

The History of Al-Bundukani.

reported the woman's prayer to the Commander of the Faithful,
who cried, " Hie thee to her and enquire an she be married or
virginal ; and, if she be unwedded, do thou ask her -an she be
willing to wive with me." 1 So Ja'afar fared to her and questioned
her, whereat she answered, " A spinster." Quoth he, " The Youth
who sent the dinar to thee desireth to mate with thee ;" and quoth
she, " An he can pay me my dower and my money down, 2 1 will
become his bride." Hereat Ja'afar said in his thought, " Whence
can the Prince of True Believers find her dower and her money
down ? Doubtless we shall have to ask a loan for him ;" 3 and
presently he enquired of her what might be the Amount of both.
Replied she, "As for the pin-money, this shall be the annual
revenue of Ispahdn, and the income of Khordsdn-city shall form
the settlement.'' So Ja'afar wagged his head and going back to
the Commander of the Faithful repeated her terms ; wherewith
Harun was satisfied and bespake him, " Hie thee to her and
say : He hath accepted this "and thou hast professed thyself
contented. Hearing his words she rejoined, " What be. his worth,
yonder man, and how may he attain unto such sum ? " and he
retorted, " Of a truth he is the Commander of the Faithful, Harun
al-Rashid." When this reply reached her ears she veiled her hands
and feet crying, " To Allah be laud and gratitude ;" adding to Ja'afar,
" An he be the Prince of True Believers, I am satisfied therewith,"
Accordingly the Wazir returned to the Caliph and reported her
consent, whereafter the twain repaired homewards and the Caliph
despatched to her a duenna and a train of handmaidens who went
and bore her to the Hammam within the palace and bathed her.
Then they brought her out and robed her in sumptuous raiment,

1 Either the Caliph was persuaded that the white wrist was a " promise of better things
above and below," or he proposed marriage as a mere freak, intelligible enough when
divorce costs only two words.

2 In text "Nakdf " = the actual as opposed to the contingent dowry : see vols. vu.
126; ix. 32.

* This is said in irony.

44 Supplemental Nights.

uch as becometh the women of the Kings, and ornaments and
jewellery and what not : after which they led her to a fine apart-
ment which was set apart and private for her wherein also were
meat and drink and furniture, arras 1 and curtains and all necessaries
of such sort. In fine they fared to the Caliph and apprized him
of what they had done and he presently gave command to summon
the four Kazis who wrote her marriage-lines. When it was night
he paid her the first visit and taking seat opposite her he asked,
" Daughter of whom mayst thou be amongst the folk that thou
demandedst of me this dower ? " " Allah advance in honour the
Commander of the Faithful," answered she ; " verily thy handmaid is
of the seed of Kisra Anushirwan ; but the shifts of time and tide
brought me down and low down." Replied he, " They relate that
thine ancestor, the Chosroe, wronged his lieges with mighty sore
wronging ; " * and she rejoined, " Wherefor and because of such
tyranny over the folk hath his seed come to beg their bread at the
highway-heads. 1 ' Quoth he, " They also make mention of him
that in after-times he did justice to such degree that he decided
causes between birds and beasts ; " and quoth she, " Wherefor hath
Allah exalted his posterity from the highway-head and hath made
them Harfm to the Prince of True Believers." Hearing this the
Caliph was wroth with mighty great wrath 8 and sware that he
would not go in unto her for a full told year, and arising forthright
went forth from her. But when the twelvemonth had passed and
the fte-day of Arafat came round again, the Commander of the
Faithful donned disguise and taking with him Ja'afar and Masrur
the Eunuch, strolled out to wander about the streets of Baghdad and

1 In text " Bashdkhfn " plur. of " Bashkhdnah :" see Suppl. vols. i. 165 j iii. 121.

* In Heron he becomes " Kassera-Abocheroan." Anushirwan (in full Anushfn-
rawdn = sweet of soul) is popularly supposed to have begun his rule badly after the
fashion of Eastern despots, and presently to have become the] justest of monarchy
Nothing of this, however, is found in Tabari (ii. 159).

8 He was indignant because twitted with having married a beggar*maid like good
King Cophetua. In Heron he is " moved by so sensible a reply."

The History of Al-Bundukani.

her highways. And as they walked along, the Caliph looked about
him and beheld a booth wherein a man was turning out Katffah-
cakes 1 and he was pleased to admire his dexterity to such degree
that, returning to the Palace, he sent him one of his Eunuchs
with the message, " The Prince of True Believers requireth of thee
an hundred pancakes, and let each one of them, when filled and
folded, fit into the hollow of a man's hand." So the Castrato
went and gave the order as we have related and paid the price
and, when the pastrycook had made his requirement, he carried it
away to the presence. Then the Caliph took seat and bade bring
sugar and pistachios and all other such needs wherewith he fell
to stuffing the pancakes with his own hands and placing in each
and every a golden dinar. When this was done he despatched
the same Eunuch to Kisra's daughter with the message, " This
night the Commander of the Faithful proposeth to visit thee, the
year of his oath having expired, and he sendeth to thee saying :
What is it thy heart coveteth that he may forward it to thee ? " The
Castrato set forth upon this errand and received for all reply, " Say
him my heart desireth naught, for that all I require is with me, nor
is there aught of deficiency." Accordingly, he returned and repeated
her words to the Caliph who bade him fare forth again to her and
say the same to her a second time, whenas she, " Let him send me
a thousand dinars and a duenna in whom he confideth, so that I
may disguise myself and go down with her and distribute gold to
the mean and the mesquin." Presently back came the slave bear-
ing this reply, whereat the Caliph ordered the moneys be sent to
her and the woman required ; and the twain, Princess and duenna,
went forth and threaded the lanes of Baghdad and her great
throughfares whilst the young lady distributed her charity to the
Fakirs and the paupers. But when all the gold with her had

1 Plur. " Kataif/' a kind of pancake made of flour and sugar (or honey) and ofl or
butter.

46 Supplemental Nights.

been expended and naught of it remained, they turned homewards
making for the Palace ; and, the day being sultry, drowthiness
befel the young lady. So she said to her companion, " O mother
mine, I am athirst and want a draught of water to drink ; " and
said the other, " We will call aloud to the Water-carrier 1 who shall
give thee thy need." Replied the Princess, " Drinking from the
Waterman's jar will not be pleasant to my heart ; nor will I touch
it, for 'tis like the whore 2 whereinto some man goeth every hour :
let the draught of water be from a private house and suffer that it
be given by way of kindness." Hereupon the old woman looked
in front of her and saw a grand gateway with a door of sandal-
wood over which a lamp hung by a silken cord 3 and a curtain was
drawn across it and it had two benches of marble, the whole under
the charge of a goodly concierge. Then quoth she, " From this
house I will ask a drink for thee." So the two women went
forward and stood before the door and the duenna advancing
rapped a light rap with the ring, when behold, the entrance was
opened and came forth a young man in youthful favour fair and
robed in raiments pure and rare and said, " Tis well ! "_ Hereat the
governante addressed him, " O my son, indeed this my daughter is
athirst and I crave of thy kindness that thou give her a draught of
v later, seeing that she will not drink from the Water-carrier." He
replied, " With love and goodwill ; " and going within brought out
what was required and handed the cup to the old woman. She
took it and passed it on to her mistress and the young lady turning
her face to the wall raised her veil and drank her sufficiency with-
out showing a single feature. 4 After this she returned the cup to

1 Arab. " Sakkd " = a water-carrier, generally a bad lot. Of the " Sakkd Sharbah,"
who supplies water to passengers in the streets, there is an illustration in Lane ; M.E.
chapt. xiv.

2 In the text " Kahbah " an ugly word = our whore (/.*. hired woman) : it is fright-
fully common in every-day speech. See vol. ii. 70.

3 Arab. "Siba"k" usually = a leash (for falconry, etc.).

4 I have emphasised this detail which subsequently becomes a leading incideai.

The History of Al-Bundukani. tf

the old woman who took it and handed it back to the young man
saying, " Allah requite thee with all of weal, O my son ! " whereto he
replied, " Health to you and healing ! " * And the two went their
way and returned to the Palace and entered therein. On such
wise fared it with these twain ; but as regards the Caliph, when he
had finished filling the pancakes, he ranged them in a large charger
of porcelain ; then, summoning the Eunuch he said to him, " Take
up this and carry it to the daughter of Kisra and say her:
Here be the sweetmeats of peace, and let her know that I will night
with her this night." The Castrato did his lord's bidding ; and
carrying the charger to the Princess's apartment handed it to the
duenna and delivered the message, whereupon she blessed and
prayed for the Commander of the Faithful and the slave departed*
Now he was angry and disappointed for that he could not eat one
pancake of them all because they had become big by stuffing and
he feared that if he touched any thereof its place would show void.
Presently it so befel that the young lady said to the old woman,
her governante, " Do thou take up this charger and carry it to the
youth who gave us the draught of water with the intent that he
may not claim an obligation or have aught to desire of us."
Accordingly, the ancient dame took the charger and walked off
with it. But on her way she longed for a Katifah and put forth
her hand to one and took it up when she saw that it left in the line
of pancakes a gap big as a man's palm. Hereat she feared to
touch it and replaced it saying, " 'Twill be known that I carried
off one of them/'' Then after returning the pancake to its place,
she passed on with the charger to the door of that young ma*
whom she suddenly sighted as he sat at the gateway. She saluted
him with the salam which he returned, and then said she, " O my
son, the young lady who drank the water hath sent thee all these

1 Usual formulae when a respectable person is seen drinking : the same politeness was
also in use throughout the civilised parts of mediaeval Europe. See the word '* Hanian "
(vol. ii. 5), which at Meccah and elsewhere is pronounced also " Haniyyan."

48 Supplemental Nights.

cates in acknowledgment for the draught thou gavest her to drain."
Said he, " Set it down on the door-bench ; " and, when she did his
bidding, he expressed his thanks to her and she ganged her gait.
Now as the youth still sat there, the Watchman of the Ward
suddenly stood before him blessing him and saying, " O my lord,
this be Arafat-day and to-night will be the Eve of the Td, or
Greater Festival ; so I hope from the beneficence of my master the
Chamberlain and Emir Alaeddin (whom Allah Almighty keep and
preserve !) that he will deign order me a largesse befitting the Fete
wherewith I may buy sweetmeats for my wife and children." The
other replied, " Take this charger and wend thy ways therewith ; "
so the Watchman kissed his hand and carrying it off went home
and showed it to his wife. But she cried, " O thou miserable, 1
whence gottest thou this charger : hast thou wilfully stolen it or
suddenly snatched it ? " 2 Replied her mate, " This be the pro-
perty of the Emir Alaeddin, the Chamberlain (whom Allah pre-
serve !), and he gave it to me as an alms-gift ; so come hither all
of you that we eat, for the pancakes look toothsome." Rejoined
his wife, " Art thou Jinn-mad ? Up with thee and sell the charger
and cates, for the worth must be some thirty to forty dirhams which
we will lay out for the benefit of the little ones." He retorted,
" O woman, suffer us eat of this food wherewith the Almighty would
feed us ; " but she fell to wailing and crying out, " We will not
taste thereof while the children lack caps and slippers." 8 And
she prevailed over him with her opinion, for indeed women are

1 In text "Yd Ta'is," a favourite expression in this MS. Page 612 (MS.) has
*' Ta'ish," a clerical error, and in page 97 we have " Y& Ta'asat-nd " = O our misery !

2 As might a " picker up of unconsidered trifles."

3 In text " Akba' wa Zarabil." I had supposed the first to be the Pers. Kaba = a
short coat or tunic, with the Arab. 'Ayn (ihe second is the common corruption for
"Zarabfn" = slaves' shoes, slippers : see vol. x. i), but M. Hondas translates Ni calottts
ni ca/efons, and for the former word here and in MS. p. 227 he reads " 'Arakiyah" =
skull-cap: see vol. i. 215. [" Akba' is the pi. of "Rub'," which latter occurs infra,
p. 227 of the Ar. MS., and means, in popular language, any part of a garment covering
the head, as the hood of a Burnus or the top-piece of a Kalansuwah ; also a skull-cap,
usually called " 'Araqiyah." ST.]

The History of Al-Bundukani. 49

mostly the prevailers. So taking up the charger he fared with it
to the market-place and gave it for sale to a broker, and the man
began crying, " Who will buy this charger with whatso is thereon ? "
Hereat up came the Shaykh of the Bazar who bid forty dirhams
therefor, and a second merchant raised its price to eighty, when a
third hent it in hand and turning it about espied graven upon the
edge, " Made by commandment of Harun al-Rashid, Commander
of the Faithful." Hereat the trader's wits fled him and he cried
to the broker, " Hast thou a will to work for my hanging in this
matter of the charger ? " Quoth the other, " What may be the
meaning of these words ? " and quoth the merchant, " This charger
is the property of the Prince of True Believers." The broker,
dying of dread, took the charger and repaired therewith to the
Palace of the Caliphate where he craved leave to enter ; and, when
this was accorded, he went in and kissed ground before the pre-
sence and blessed the Commander of the Faithful and lastly
showed to him the charger. But when the Caliph looked at it and
considered it carefully, he recognized it with its contents, and he
waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and said in himself, " When I
make aught for the eating of my household, shall it be sent out
and hawked about for sale ? " adding to the broker, " Who gave
thee this charger ? " " O my lord, 'twas the Watchman of one of
the wards," replied he ; and Harun rejoined, " Bring him to me
hither." So they fared forth and fetched him bound in cords and
saying in his mind, " The whore would not suffer us eat of that was
in the charger and enjoy its sweetness, so this happened which
hath happened to us ; we have eaten naught and have fallen into
misfortune." But when they set him between the hands of the.
Caliph the latter asked him, " Where haddest thou yon charger ?
say me sooth or I will smite thy neck ! " The Watchman
answered, " Allah prolong the life of our liege lord ! verily as
regards this charger it was given to me by the Lord Alaeddin,
the junior Chamberlain." Hereat the Prince of True Believers
VOL. VI. D

$O Supplemental Nights.

redoubled in rage and cried, " Bring me that Emir with his
turband in tatters, and drag him along on his face and plunder
his home." Accordingly the magnates fared forth with their
pages ; and, reaching the house, knocked at the door, when the
owner came out and, seeing the officials, asked, " What is to do ? "
"'Tis against thee," replied some of the Grandees, whereto the
Chamberlain rejoined, "Hearkening and obeying Allah and
then the Commander of the Faithful!" After this they bore
him to the Palace of the Caliphate and an Emir of them put
forth his hand to the Chamberlain's coat and tare it and rent his
turband adown his neck saying, " O Alaeddin, 1 this is the behest
of the Prince of True Believers who hath enjoined that we do
with thee on such wise and we despoil thy house : yet there is
bread and salt between us albe we must do as we are bidden, for
obedience to royal behest is of the ways of good breeding."
Then they carried him into the presence of the Caliph and he,
after he was made to stand between the Sovran's hands, kissed
ground and blessed Harun and said, " Allah give aidance to our
liege lord and have him in His holy keeping : what may be the
offence of thine humble slave that he hath merited such treat-
ment as this ? " Harun raised his head and asked, " Say me,,
knowest thou yon fellow ? " and the other looked and seeing the
guardian of the gates corded and pinioned made answer, " Yes
indeed, I know him and he is the Watchman of our ward." The
Caliph resumed, "Whence came to thee this charger?" and the
Chamberlain replied, " Let the Commander of the Faithful (to
whom Almighty Allah vouchsafe furtherance !) learn that I was
sitting at home when there rapped a rap at the door ; and I, going

1 Heron dubs him " Hazeb (Hajib) Yamaleddin." In text "'Alai al-Dfn ;" and in
not a few places it is familiarly abbreviated to " 'AH " (p. 228, etc.). For the various
forms of writing the name see Suppl. vol. iii. 51. The author might have told us the
young,Chamberlain's name Arabic* earlier in the tale ; but it is the Rawi's practice to
begin with the vague and to end in specification. I have not, however, followed his
example here or elsewhere.

The History of Al-BundukanL 5 1

forth to open, beheld an ancient dame who said to me : O my
son, this my daughter is athirst and I beg thee of thy bounty to
give her a draught of water for she will not take drink from the
public Sakka. So I brought them out their requirement and they
satisfied themselves and went their ways. After an hour or so I
came forth and took seat by my house-door when behold, up came
the old woman bearing in hand yon charger and said : O my
son, the person to whom thou suppliedest drink hath sent this to
thee in requital for that thou gavest her of water inasmuch as
she is unwilling to be under an obligation. Quoth I : Set it
down ; when she placed it upon the edge of the Mastabah-bench
and left me. Thereupon suddenly came up this Watchman and
craved from me the Sweetmeat of the Festival, whereto I
answered : Do thou take this charger and its contents (whereof
by the bye I had not tasted aught); and he did so and departed.
This is all I know and The Peace." Now when the Commander
of the Faithful heard this from the Chamberlain, his heart was
gladdened and he enquired, " O Alaeddin, what time the young
lady drank the draught of water didst thou see her face or not ? "
and the Chamberlain replied in haste, " O Prince of True Believers,
indeed I did see it." Hereat Harun was wroth with exceeding
wrath and bade summon the daughter of Kisra and when she
came bade the twain be beheaded saying, "Thou farest forth
to do alms-deeds, and thou durst display thy features to this
fellow when thou drankest water at his hand ! " Hereat she
turned her towards Alaeddin and replied, " Thou see my face !'
Nay, this is but a lie that may work my death." He rejoined,,
" The Reed-pen wrote what 'twas bidden write I 1 I designed to
say: Verily I beheld naught of her and my tongue ran as it
did the sooner to end our appointed life-term." Then having set
the twain upon the rug of blood the Sworder bound their hands

1 t'.. Destiny so willed it. For the Pen and the Preserved Tablet see vol. v. 322*

$2 Supplemental Nights.

and tearing off a strip from their skirts bandaged their eyes,
whereafter he walked around them and said, " By leave of the
Commander of the Faithful ; " and Harun cried, " Smite ! " Then
the Headsman paced around them a second time saying, "By
leave of the Commander of the Faithful," and Harun again cried,
" Smite ! " But when the executioner did in like manner for the
third and last time 1 quoth he to Alaeddin, " Hast thou haply in
heart aught of regret or requirement that I may fulfil it to thee ?
Ask of me anything save release, ere the Commander of the
Faithful say the word and forthright thy head fall before thy
feet?" "I desire," quoth the Chamberlain, "that thou unbind
this bandage from mine eyes so may I look one latest look at the
world and at my friends, after which do thou work thy will."
The Sworder granted this and Alaeddin glanced first to the right
where he saw none to aidance dight, and then to the left where
he found all favour reft ; and the spectators each and every hung
their heads groundwards for awe of the Caliph, nor did any take
upon himself to utter a kindly word. Whereupon the Chamberlain
cried out his loudest saying, "A counsel, O Commander of the
Faithful ! " and Harun regarding him asked, " What is it thou
counsellest ? " "A respite of three days' space," rejoined the
condemned, " when thou shalt see a marvel, indeed a miracle of
miracles ;" and the Caliph retorted, " After the third day, an I see
not as thou sayest I will assuredly smite thy neck ; " and bade
them bear him back to gaol. But when the appointed term
ended, the Caliph sprang up and in his impatience to see what
would befal him donned a dress distinctive of his new calling, 2
and thrusting his feet into coarse shoon and high of heel 8 and

1 This was the custom not only with- Harun as Mr. Heron thinks, but at the Courts of
the Caliphs generally.

2 In text " Ghiyar," Arab. any piece of dress or uniform which distinguishes a
class, as the soldiery : in Pers. = a strip of yellow cloth worn by the Jews subject to th
Shah.

3 Arab. "Zarbul taki," the latter meaning "high-heeled." Perhaps it may signify

The History of Al-BundukanL 53

binding about his brows a honey-coloured turband 1 he hent in
hand a pellet-bow 2 and slung its case over his shoulders : he also
took gold in pouch and thus equipped he left the palace. Then,
as he roamed about the lanes of Baghdad and her highways,
giving alms and saying in his mind, " Haply may I sight the
wonder which the Chamberlain Alaeddin announced to me," it
befel about mid-forenoon (and he still walking) that behold, a man
came forth from the Kaysariyah 3 or chief mart of the merchants
crying aloud, " This be a marvel, nay a miracle of miracles." So
the Caliph questioned him saying, "What be this wonder tho.u
hast seen ? " and he answered, " Within yon Kaysariyah is a
woman who reciteth the Koran even as it was brought down, 4
and albeit she have not ceased declaiming from the hour of the
dawn-prayer until this time, yet hath none given her a single
dirham : no, nor even one mite ; 5 and what strangeness can be
stranger than this I tell thee ? " The Caliph, hearing his words

also " fenestrated, or open-worked like a window." So "poules" or windows cut in
the upper leathers of his shoes. Chaucer, The Miller's Tale.

1 " Mayzar," in Pers. = a turband : in Arab. "Miizar" = a girdle j a waistcloth.

2 Arab. " Kaus al-Bunduk" (or Banduk) a pellet-bow, the Italian arcobugio, the
English arquebuse; for which see vol. i. 10. Usually the "Kfs" is the Giberne or
pellet-bag ; but here it is the bow-cover. Gauttier notes (vii. 131) : Bondouk signifie
en Arabe harquebuse, Albondoukani signifie I'arquebusier ; c'ttait comme on le voit t le
mot d'ordre du Khalyfe. He supposes, then, that firelocks were known in the days of
Harun al-Rashid (A.D. 786-809). Al-Bundukdni = the cross-bow man, or rather the
man of the pellet-bow was, according to the Rawf, the name by which the Caliph was
known in this disguise. Al-Zahir Baybars al-Bundukdarf, the fourth Baharite Soldan
(A.D. 1260-77) was so entitled because he had been a slave to a Bundukddr,.an officer
who may be called the Grand Master of Artillery. In Chavis and Cazotte the Caliph
arms himself with a spear, takes a bow and arrow (instead of the pellet-bow that named
him), disguises his complexion, dyes beard and eye-brows, dons a large coarse
turband, a buff waistcoat with a broad leathern belt, a short robe of common stuff and
half- boots of strong coarse leather, and thus "assumes the garb of an Arab from the
desert." (!)

3 See vol. i. 266.

4 i.e. by the Archangel Gabriel.

5 Arab. " Habbah" = a grain (of barley, etc.) an obolus, a mite : it is also used for a
gold bead in the shape of a cube forming part of the Egyptian woman's headdress (Lane
M.E., Appendix A). As a weight it is the 48th of a dirham) the third of a kirat (carat)
or Iff of an English grain, avoir.

54 Supplemental Nights.

entered the mart wherein he descried an ancient dame sitting and
reciting the Koran and she had well nigh reached the end thereof.
He was charmed with the beauty of her lecture and stood there
until she had finished it and had blessed the by-standers, but when
he glanced round he saw nobody give her aught. So he thrust
his hand into his pouch saying in his mind, " Whatso 1 of coin
remaineth in purse shall go to this woman." And he designed to
gift her with the gold when suddenly the old dame sprang from
her seat and going to a merchant's shop took seat beside the man
and said to him, " O my son, dost thou accept of a fair young
lady?" Said he, "Yea, verily," and she continued, "Up with
thee and come that I show thee a thing whose like thou hast
never seen." Now when the Caliph heard her words he said to
himself, " Look at yon foul old crone who playeth bawd when I
held her to be a devotee, a holy woman. Indeed I will not give
her aught until I see what work is wrought by these twain." The
trader then followed the old woman to her home wherein both,
youth and crone, entered and the Caliph who pursued them also
went in privily and took his station at a stead whence he could
see without being seen. 2 Then lo and behold ! the old trot called
to her daughter who came forth from the bower wherein she was,
and the Caliph looking at this young lady owned that he had
never sighted amongst his women aught fairer than this, a model
of beauty and loveliness and brilliancy and perfect face and
stature of symmetric grace. Her eyes were black and their
sleepy lids and lashes were kohl'd with Babylonian witchery, and
her eyebrows were as bows ready to shoot the shafts of her killing

1 In text " Mahmd " = as often as = kullu-ml This is the eleventh question of
the twelve in Al-Hariri, Ass. xxiv., and the sixth of Ass. xxxvi. The former runs,
41 What is the noun (kullu-ma) which gives no sense except by the addition thereto of
two words, or the shortening thereof to two letters (i.e. md) ; and in the first case there
is adhesion and in the second compulsion ? " (Chenery, pp. 246-253).

2 In Chavis and Cazotte he looks through the \ney-kole which an Eastern key does not
permit, the holes being in the bolt. See Index, Suppl. vol. v.

The History of Al-Bundukan

glances, and her nose was like unto the scymitar's edge, and her
mouth for magical might resembled the signet-ring of Sulayman
(upon whom be The Peace !), and her lips were carnelians twain,
and her teeth union pearls and her mouth-dews sweeter than
honey and more cooling than the limpid fount ; with breasts
strutting from her bosom in pomegranate-like rondure and waist
delicate and hips of heavy weight, and stomach soft to the touch
as sendal with plait upon plait, and she was one that excited the
sprite and exalted man's sight even as said a certain poet in song
of her like :

Breeze-wavd branch, full moon o' murk or sun of undurn sheeny bright, o

Which is she hight who all the three hath might to place in pauper

plight, ah !
Where on the bending branch alight with grace of stature like to hers

Tho J be the branch by Zephyr deckt and in its ornaments bedight, ah !
And how can fellowed be her brow with fullest moon that lights the darks

When sun must borrow morning light from that fair forehead dazzling

bright, ah !
Were set in scales the fairest fair and balanced with a long compare o Their

boasts, thou haddest over-weight for beauty and their charms were

light, ah 1

Now when he considered her straitly, she captured the whole of
his heart. But the young lady had not upon her clothes enough
for concealment, and here and there her body showed bare ; so
when she came forth and espied the young man standing by the
old woman she withdrew into her bower and said to her mother,
" Allah requite 1 thee for that thou hast done. How can it be
allowed thee by the Almighty to set me in this state before a
stranger ? " " Hold thy peace," said her parent ; " man is allowed
to look, and if he have any art or part in the object looked at 'tis
well ; but thereafter if he look without its being his lot, then

1 In text 4< Kdbal-ki," which I suspect to be a clerical error for " Katal-ki"= Allah
Strike thee dead. See vol. iv. 264, 265. [One of the meanings of "Mukabalah," die
third form of "kabila," is " requital," "retaliation." The words in 'the text could
therefore be translated : "may God requite thee." ST.]

56 Supplemental Nights.

twere unlawful. This youth hath gazed upon thee, and if he
prove to have a portion in thee let him take it, otherwise he may
wend his ways, nor is there a flaw in aught of legal observance."
Hereat the Caliph's heart was cheered, for he knew that the ancient
dame meant to marry the maid. Anon quoth the old mother to
the merchant, " Hast thou seen her ? " and quoth he, " Yes."
" Did she please thee ?" asked the crone, and he answered " Yea
verily," adding, " How much may be her actual marriage-settle-
ment and her contingent dower ? " She replied, " The- first shall
consist of four thousand dinars and the second shall be the same."
" This be overmuch," rejoined the youth," and more than all my
good ; to wit, four thousand gold pieces, the gift of which will
send me forth to beg ; but do thou take of me a thousand dinars,
and upon me be the arraying of the house and the maiden's
ra-iment for another thousand ; so will I do business and trade
with the remainder." But the crone sware to him by Allah the
Almighty, 1 that an the four thousand failed of a single gold piece
he should never see of the damsel a single hair. He replied, " I
have no power thereto and good day to both of you ; " and he
made for the door, but the Caliph forewent him to the street and
standing in a corner suffered him to pass and gang his gait. After
this Harun went back to the old woman, and entering salam'd to
her and she, returning his salutation, asked him, " What dost thou
want and what may be thy wish ? " He answered, " The young
trader who went forth hence sent me to say that he hath no intent
to wed," and she rejoined, " On this mind the man hied away from
us." Then quoth the Caliph, " I will marry the maid, and by me
te all thou canst desire of gold and what not." She retorted, " O
Robber, 2 all I see upon thee is not worth two hundred dirhams :
whence then canst thou procure four thousand dinars ? " Quoth

1 In Chavis and Cazotte she swears "by the name of God which is written on oiur
Great Prophet's forehead."
8 Arab. " Y Luss " ; for this word = the Gr. Aflorfc see Suppl. vol. iv. index.

The History of Al-Bundukani. 57

he, " Hast thou grapes to sell, or wishest thou only to breed a
quarrel between me and the vineyard-keeper ? " * and quoth she,
"Doubtless I have and hold the grapes." "Then, I possess all
thou canst desire," said he, and said she, " Then, we will wed thee
when thou shalt have weighed out the gold." The Caliph cried,
" I accept ; " and anon entering the lodging he took seat at the
head of the chamber and in its place of honour, and said to the
house-mistress, " Go thou to Kazf Such-an-one and tell him that
Al-Bundukdni requireth him." " O Robber," said she, " will the
Kazi be content to come at thy bidding ? " The Commander of
the Faithful laughed at these words and said,*" Do thou go with-
out danger and bid him bring his ink-case and pens and paper." So,
she went off saying to herself, " Verily, an the Judge accompany
me, this my son-in-law must be a Captain of Robbers." 3 But when
at last she arrived at the Kazi's mansion she saw him sitting in
the middle of the room and surrounded by doctors of divinity and
a host of learned wights : so she feared to enter, and fell to looking
in through the doorway and she dreaded to fare farther and stepped
backwards ; withal she kept saying, " How shall I go home with-,
out speaking a word to the Kazi ? " and the thought would hearten
her heart, so she would return to the entrance and thrust in her
head and then withdraw it. On such wise she had done many a
time when the Kazi, catching sight of her, bade one of his
messengers bring her within ; so the man went to her and said,

1 " Al-Ndtur," the keeper, esp. of a vineyard, a word naturalized in Persian. The
Caliph asks, Is this a bona" fide affair and hast 'thou the power to settle the matter
definitely ? M. Houdas translates as Les raisins sont-ils a tot, ou bien es-tu settlement la
gardienne de la vigne ? [The verb za"raba, 3rd form, followed by the accusative, means
44 to join one in partnership." The sense of the passage seems therefore to be : Dost
thou own grapes thyself, or art thou (" tuzaribf," 2 fern, sing.) in partnership with the
vineyard-keeper. The word may be chosen because it admits of another interpretation,
the double entendre of which might be kept up in English by using the expression
* 4 sleeping M partnership. Perhaps, however, "tuz&ribf" means here simply : "Dost
thou play the part of." ST.]

* The innuendo is intelligible and I may draw attention to the humorous skill with
which the mother-in-law's character is drawn.

58 Supplemental Nights.

" Bespeak the Kazi ! " So she went in full of affright and salanVd
to the Judge who, returning her salutation, asked her, " What is
thy want, O woman ? " She answered, " There is a young man
in my house who desireth that thou .corne to him ; " whereat he
rejoined, " And who may be this youth that I in person should
hie to him ; and what may be his name ? " She replied, " He
pretendeth to the name of Al-Bundukani the Arbalestrier '' (which
was a by-name of the Caliph kept concealed from the folk but
well known to all officials). Hereat the Kazi sprang to his feet
without stay or delay and said to her, " O my lady, do thou forego
me/' whilst all present asked him," O our lord, whither away ?" and
he, answering them " A need hath suddenly occurred," went forth.
Then quoth the crone in her mind, " Hapless the Kazi who is a
pleasant person, haply this son-in-law of mine hath given him to
drink of clotted gore 1 by night in some place or other and the
poor man hath yet a fear of him ; otherwise what is the worth of
this Robber that the Judge should hie to his house ? " When they
reached the door, the Kazi bade the ancient dame precede him ; 2
so she went in and called to him and he on entering saw the Caliph
seated at the head of the chamber. He would have kissed ground
but Harun signed to him silence with a wink ; so he made his
salam and sat him down saying, " 'Tis well, 3 O my lord, what may
be thy want?" The Prince of True Believers replied, " I desire
thou marry me to the daughter of this ancient dame, so do thou
write out the writ." Hereupon the Judge asked the assent of the
old woman and of her daughter ; and, when they both granted it,
he enquired, " What may be the amount of the dower ? " The
mother replied, " Four thousand dinars of gold and the like sum

1 In text "Askd-hu 'alakah"=gave him a good sound drubbing ('alakah), as a
robber would apply to a Judge had he the power.

3 Lest he happen to meet an unveiled woman on the stairs ; the usual precaution is
to cry " Dastur ! " by your leave (Persian).

' Arab. " Khayr " a word of good omen.

The History of Al-Bundukani.

In ready coin." " Dost thou accept ? " quoth the Kazi to the
Caliph, and quoth he, " Yes." Accordingly, the Judge wrote out
the writ upon the skirt of his Farajiyah-robe for in his agitation
he had forgotten to bring paper, and he set down the name of the
Sovran and his father and his grandfather without question for
that he knew them well ; after which he enquired of the old
woman her daughter's name 1 and that of her sire and grandsire.
She wailed and cried, " Why and wherefore ? 2 Oh miserable that
we are ! Had her father been living how would this Robber have
availed to stand at our door, much less to marry here ? but 'twas
Death that did with us this deed." "Allah bless the wrpnged," 3
quoth the Kazi and busied himself with writing out the writ ; but
whatever question he put to the crone, she wailed in reply and
buffeted her cheeks, whilst the Judge wagged his head and his
heart was like to burst and the Caliph laughed long and loud.
And when the writ was written and finished, the writer cut off from
the skirt of his gown according to the measure of the writing and
gave it to Harun ; then he rose up to fare forth but he was ashamed
to wear a robe in rags, so he stripped it off and said to the old
woman, "O my mother, present this to anyone deserving it."
And so saying he left the house. Hereupon quoth the old woman
to the Caliph, " Dost thou not pay unto the Kazi his fee for
coming to thee in person and writing the writ upon his robe which
he was obliged to throw away ? " " Let him go," said the Caliph,
" I will not give him aught." Cried she, "And why ? Oh, how
greedy are these robbers ! the man came to us in hopes of gain
and we have stripped him instead of robing him." Harun laughed
again, then he arose and said to her, " I now hie me home to fetch

1 In Chavis and Gazette the mother gives her daughter's name as Zutulbt (?) and her
own Lelamain (?).

2 In text " Waliyah " or " Waliya"h " =and why?

3 The " Wronged " (Al-Mazlum) refers to the Caliph who was being abased and to
his coming career as a son-in-law. Gauttier, who translates the tale very perfunctorily,
has Dieu protege les malheureux et les orphdins (vii, 133).

60 Supplemental Nights.

thee the gold and the stuffs wherewith to clothe my bride/' and
the crone cried out, " O Robber, whence shalt thou find cloth and
coin ? unhappy some one whom thou designest to seize and deprive
of his daily bread and reduce to poverty and penury ! " The
Commander of the Faithful held his peace and went forth intend-
ing for his Palace, where he donned the royal robes and taking seat
upon his throne bade summon marble-cutters and carpenters and
plasterers and house-painters. Then, as they came to the presence
and kissed ground and blessed him and prayed for the permanence
of his empire, he had them thrown and bade administer to them a
bastinado of two hundred sticks a head. 1 And when they prayed
for mercy and said to him, " O our lord, the Commander of the
Faithful, what be our crime?" he said to the artizans, "The
hall such-and-such in the Darb-al-Zdji, 2 do ye wot it well ? " They
replied, "Yes," and he resumed, "I desire that ye fare thither
forthright and ye repair the walls with marble-slabs and should
mid-afternoon come on and ye leave unfinished a place as big as a
man's palm, I will hack off your hands and place them in lieu
thereof." ' O Prince of True Believers," asked they, " how shall we
do seeing that we have no marble ? '' 3 He answered, " Take it from
the government stores 4 and collect each and every stone-cutter in
Baghdad. But do you all bear in mind that, if the household enquire
who sent you, ye must reply, Thy son-in-law ; and should they
demand, What is his craft, say, We ken not ; and when they require

1 This again is intended to show the masterful nature of the Caliph, and would be as
much admired by the average coffee-house audience as it would stir the bile of the free
and independent Briton.

3 The "Street of the Copperas-maker": the name, as usual, does not appear till
further on in the tale.

3 In text " Rukhdm "= marble or alabaster, here used for building material: so
* Murakhkhim "= a marble-cutter, means simply a stone-mason. I may here note the
rediscovery of the porphyry quarries in Middle Egypt, and the gypsum a little inland of
Ras Gharib to the West of the Suez Gulf. Both were much used by the old Egyptians*
and we may now fairly expect to rediscover the lost sites, about Tunis and elsewhere in
Northern Africa, whence Rosso anttco and other fine stones were quarried.

4 Arab. " Al- Hisil " also meaning the taxes, the revenue.

Tke History of Al-Bundukani.

to know his name declare it to be Al-Bundukani. And whoso of you
shall speak aught beyond this him will I crucify. " So the master-
mason went forth and gathered together the stone-cutters and
took marble and ashlar from the stores and set the material on
the backs of beasts with all other needs and he repaired to the
hall, 1 and entered with his company. Hereat the old woman asked
" What is 't ye want ? " " We would slab the floors and walls of
this dwelling with marble ! " " And who was it sent you ? "
" Thy son-in-law ! " " And what may be his business ? " " We
know not." " Then what is his name ? " " Al-Bundukani," they
replied. So she said to herself, " He is naught but a Robber and
Captain of thieves." Then the masons divided and marked out
the ground, and each found that each and every had to pave and
slab a surface of a cubit or. less. Such was their case ; but as
concerneth the Caliph, he turned him to the chief Carpenter, and
looking at him keenly said, " Go thou likewise and assemble all
thy fellows in the capital : then do thou repair to the dwelling
of Such-an-one and make the doors and so forth, in fact every-
thing needed of carpentry and joinery, taking thee all the requi-
sites from the public warehouses j nor let the afternoon come on
ere thou shalt have finished, and if all be not done I will strike
thy neck." He also charged them even as he had charged the
marble-cutters never to divulge his dignity or even his name
other than Al-Bundukani. So the chief Carpenter went and,
gathering his craftsmen, took planks and nails and all his needs,
after which they repaired to the lodging and entered, and setting
up their scaffoldings 2 fell to work while the head man marked off
a task for each hand. But the crone was consterned and cried to
the men, " And why ? Who hath sent you ? " " Thy son-in-law ! "
" And what may be his trade ? " " We know not." " Then what

1 In text " Ka'ah = a saloon: see vols. i. 85 ; i. 292 ; and vii. 167.
* In the sing. " Sikalah."

62 Supplemental Nights.

may be his name ? " " Al-Bundukani." So they pushed on their
work, each urging his fellow, whilst the old woman well-nigh waxed
Jinn-mad, 1 and said to herself, " This my son-in-law, the Robber,
is naught save a viceroy of the Jann; and all this is of their fear,
so that none dareth or deemeth it safe to disclose the craft or
even the name of him, so much do they hold him in awe." Lastly,
the Caliph bade the plasterers and house-painters call a meeting
of their brother-craftsmen and go to the government stores and
thence take all their requirements of quicklime and hemp 2 and so
forth ; and lastly, charging them as he had charged the others
who forewent them, he said, " As soon as the Izan of mid-after-
noon prayer shall be cried, if any one of you. shall have left in
the lodging work unwrought, be it only the size of a man's palm,
I will hack off his hand and set it upon the unfinished stead."
Accordingly, they kissed ground and fared forth carrying with
them all their requirements ; and, repairing to the tenement,
entered therein and slaked their lime and set up their ladders,
and four or five artificers fell to working at every wall whilst the
house-painters followed them. But when the ancient dame beheld
this, her wits were wildered and she was utterly bedazed : so said
she to her daughter, " This son-in-law of mine is none save one
whose word is heard, and folk abide in awe of him ; otherwise who
could work all this work in a single day whenas none other than
himself could have wrought the same within a twelvemonth?
But pity 'tis he be a Bobber." Anon she went to the plasterers
and said, "Who was it sent you ? " "Thy son-in-law !" "And
what may be his trade ? " " We know not." " Then what is his
name?" "Al-Bundukani." After this she passed on to the
house-painters and asked the same question and receiving the same

1 The Jinn here was Curiosity, said to be a familiar of the sex feminine, but certainly
not less intimate with " the opposite."

2 In text "Kinnab" which M. Houdas translates ttoupe que Fonfac au bout (fun
roseau pour blanchir les murs.

The History of Al-Bundukani. 63

reply, quoth she to one of them, " I demand of thee, by God the
Great, O my son, why thou wilt not disclose to me concerning my
son-in-law his name and his craft ? " Thereupon quoth the wight
addressed, " No man hath power to speak out, otherwise his life is
lost ; " and she repeated to herself, " Indeed he is none but a
mighty Robber, for that the Moslems one and all dread him and
his mischief." 1 Now when mid-afternoon came, the artizans
had done the whole of their work ; so they donned their outer
dresses and went forth intending for the Commander of the Faith-
ful, Harun the Orthodox. And when they entered all kissed
ground and said, " Under the good auspices of our lord the Prince
of True Believers we have wroughten the work of the house." So
he bestowed robes of honour upon them and gave them gifts that
contented them, after which they fared forth about their business.
Then the Caliph summoned Hammdls or porters and set in their
crates articles of furniture such as carpets and counterpanes and
sofa-cushions and hangings of arras and prayer-rugs, besides gear
of brass and all such necessaries for the household ; and to this he
added two baskets containing body-raiment and kimcob or gold
cloth and stuffs inworked and studded with gems ; also jewellery
and precious stones, pearls and what not : nor did he forget a
coffer containing the eight thousand pieces of gold. 2 Then he
sent them upon their errand, saying, " Take up all this and bear
it to such a house in the Darb al-Zaji and make it over to the
ancient dame who owneth the hall ; and when she asketh, Who
was it sent you ? do ye answer, Thy son-in-law ; and should she
enquire, What is his craft ? respond, We know it not ; and should
she demand the name, declare Al-Bundukani." Accordingly the
porters fared forth, and reaching the tenement rapped at the door,
when the old woman came out and cried, " Who knocketh here ? "

1 Impossible here not to see a sly hit at the Caliph and the Caliphate.

2 The writer has omitted this incident which occurs in Chavis and Cazotte.

64 Supplemental Nights.

and they replied, " Open and take what we have brought of cloth
and clothes and so forth." But when she looked upon the loads
she wailed and cried, " Indeed ye have wandered from the way:
whence could all this prosperity have befallen us ? return with it
to the owner thereof." They asked her, " Is not this hall that
which was builded this day ? " And when she answered, " Yes,"
quoth they, " Then 'twas hither thy son-in-law sent us." With
these words they went in and set down whatso was with them,
but the old woman wailed and cried aloud, " 'Tis not for us : ye
have wandered from your way.'' " It is for you, indeed," they
rejoined, "and thy son-in-law saith : Adorn your dwelling
and don the stuffs and dress therewith whomso you choose :
as for him, he hath much business yet will he come to you
what time the folk sleep." " Yes, indeed," quoth she to herself,
" Robbers never do come save by night." And when the Hammals
went their ways the old woman fared forth to her neighbours and
summoned them to assist her in ranging the furniture and vaiselle y 1
so they gathered together and entered ; and, when they beheld
what had befallen, their eyes were dazed and dazzled by seeing
the restoration of the hall and by the stuffs and vases therein. So
they asked her, " Whence earnest thou by all this, and who set for
thee this dwelling in such condition and at what time ? Yester-
day 'twas a ruin and showed neither marble nor whitewash nor
stencilling. Cart it not be that we are sleeping and haply that
we see a dream-house ? " She replied, " No vision is this, but
evidence of eye-sight : and what work ye behold was wrought by
my son-in-law during this one day and to-day also he sent me
these stuffs and other matters whereon ye look." " And who may
be thy son-in-law ? " asked they, " and when didst thou wed thy
daughter while we wotted naught thereof? " Answered she, " To-
day all this happened ; " and they rejoined, " And what may be

1 In the text, "Samd" = carpets and pots and pans.

The History of Al-Bundukani. 65

the "bridegroom's calling ? haply he is a mighty merchant or an
Emir/' " Nor merchant nor Emir," quoth she, " but a Robber and
the Head and Captain of Bandits ! " Hereat the women were
startled and cried, " Allah upon thee, do thou charge him anent us
that he plunder not aught from our houses, seeing that we have
a claim of neighbourhood and gossipry upon you." " Never fear,"
she replied, <f he is not wont to take aught of neighbours albeit
he be a Viceregent of the Jann." So their hearts were heartened,
and they fell to ordering the furniture and decorations ; and,
when they had ended the ordinance of the house, they applied
themselves to dressing the bride ; and they brought her a
tirewoman and robed her in the finest robes and raiment and
prepared her and adorned her with the choicest ornaments.
And while they did thus behold, up came other porters carry-
ing crates of meat, such as pigeon-poults and poultry, Katds, 1

1 The Kata grouse (Tetrao alchata seu arenarius of Linn.) has often been noticed by
me in Pilg. i. 226, (where my indexer called it "sand goose") and in The Nights
(vols. i. 131 ; iv. III). De Sacy (Chrestom. Arab. iii. pp. 416, 507-509) offers agood
literary account of 4t : of course he cannot speak from personal experience. He begins
with the Ajaib al-Makhliikat by Al-Kazwini (ob. A.H. 6;4=A.D. 1274) who tells us
that the bird builds in the desert a very small nest (whence the Hadis, " Whoso shall build
to Allah a mosque, be it only the bigness of a Kata's nest, the Lord shall edify for him
a palace in Paradise"); that it abandons its eggs which are sometimes buried in sand,
and presently returns to them (hence the saying, "A better guide than the Kata");
that it watches at night (?) and that it frequents highways to reconnoitre travellers (??),
an interpretation confirmed by the Persian translator. Its short and graceful steps
gave rise to the saying, " She hath the gait of a Katd," and makes De Sacy con-
found the bird with the Pers. Kahu or Kabk-i-dari (partridge of the valley) which
is simply the francolin, the Ital. francolino, a perdix. The latter in Arab, is
" Durraj " (Al-Mas'udi, vii. 347) : see an affecting story connected with it in the
Suppl. Nights, ii. 59-62). In the xxiii d Ass. of Al-Hariri the sagacity of the Kata
is alluded to, "I crossed rocky places, to which the Kata would not find its
way." See also Ass. viii. But Mr. Chenery repeats a mistake when he says (p. 339)
that the bird is " never found save where there is good pasturage and water : " it

xunts the wildest parts of Sind and Arabia, although it seldoms strays further than
60 miles from water which it must drink every evening. I have never shot the
Katd since he saved my party from a death by thirst on a return-ride from Harar
(First Footsteps in E. Africa, p. 388). The bird is very swift with a skurrying flight
a frightened pigeon ; and it comes to water regularly about dusk when it is
easily" potted."

VOL. VI. B

66 Supplemental Nights.

and quails, 1 lambs and butcher's meat, clarified butter and
other cooking material, with all manner of edibles and deli-
cacies such as sugar and Halwd-confections and the like
thereof. The Hammals then said to the household, "Take ye

this which your son-in-law hath sent to you saying : Do

ye eat and feed your neighbours and whomso ye please."
Quoth the old woman, "I ask you, for Allah's sake, to let me
know what may be my son-in-law's craft and his name;" and
quoth they, " His name is Al-Bundukani, but what his business
may be we know not;" and so saying they went their ways.
Hereupon exclaimed certain of the women who were present,
" By the Apostle, he is naught but a robber ; " while others who
had claims upon the old housemistress cried, " Be whatever may
be, before the man who can do after this fashion all the folk in
Baghdad are helpless." Presently they served the provision and
all ate their sufficiency; then they removed the trays and set
on others loaded with the confections which they also enjoyed;
and at last after dividing the orts amongst the neighbours they
reserved some of the best of meats and sweetmeats for the bride-
groom's supper. In due time a report was bruited about the
quarter that the old woman had wedded her daughter with a
robber who had enriched them with what booty he had brought
them. And these tidings spread from folk to folk till they
reached the young merchant of whom mention hath been made,
the same who had sought the maiden to wife and who had not
wedded her because refused by her mother. Also he was told that
the damsel had been married to a robber who had rebuilt the hall
with marble, and the plasterers and painters and carpenters and
joiners had wrought therein works which astounded the beholders ;
moreover that the bridegroom had sent them of stuffs and jewellery

1 In text " Samman" for " Samman" : Dozy gives the form " Summun" (Houdas).
The literary name is "Salwa*"

The History of Al-Bundukani. 67

a matter beyond count or compute. Hearing this report he found
the matter grievous on him and the fire of envy flamed in his heart
and he said to himself, " Naught remaineth to me except that I
wend me to the Waif 1 and tempt him with promises and thereby
work the ruin of this robber and take the damsel to myself." With
these words he rose up sans stay or delay and, going to the Chief
of Police related to him all that occurred and promised him a
muchel of money saying, " Whatso thou wantest can be gotten
from this robber inasmuch as he owneth good galore." The Wali
rejoiced and replied, " Be patient until after supper-tide when the
thief shall have returned home and we will go and catch him and
thou shalt carry away the young lady." So the trader blessed him
and took himself off and waited at home until it was supper-time
and the streets were void of folk, Presently Nazuk 2 the Wali
mounted horse with four hundred headsmen and smiters of the
sword, link-boys and low fellows, 3 bearing cressets and paper-
lanthorns under four head constables and rode to the house of the
old woman. Now all the gossips had departed to their abodes and
were dispersed, nor did one of them remain behind ; but the house-
hold had lighted wax candles and was expecting the bridegroom
with bolted doors when behold, the Chief of Police came up and
finding all shut bade his men knock with an easy rap. This was
heard by those within the hall and the ancient dame sprang up and
went to the entrance, whence she espied gleams of light athwart
the door-chinks and when she looked out of the window she saw
the Wali and his merry men crowding the street till the way was

1 For Wali (at one time a Civil Governor and in other ages a Master of Police) see
vol. i. 259.

Prob. a corruption of the Pers. " Ndzuk," adj. delicate, nice.

3 In text "Jaftawat" which is I presume the Arab. plur. of the Turk. "Chifut" a
Jew, a mean fellow. M. Houdas refers to Dozy s.v. *' Jaftah." [The Turkish word
referred to by Dozy is "Chifte" from the Persian "Juft" = a pair, any two things
coupled together. " Mashd'ilfyah jaftdwdt wa fanusfn" in the text would therefore be
" (cresset-) bearers of double torches and lanterns," where the plural fanusfn is remark-
able as a vulgarism, instead of the Dictionary form " Fawdnis." ST.]

68 Supplemental Nights.

cut. Now the Chief had a lieutenant Shamamah 1 hight, which
was a meeting-place of ill manners and morals ; for naught was
dearer to him save the straitening of a Moslem, nor was there
upon his body a single hair which affected or aided the veiling of
Allah. 2 Brief he was, even as the poet said :

Whoreson and child of thousand pagans twain ; o Son of the Road to lasting

sin and bane ;
The Lord of .Ruth ne'er grew him e'en a hair o Was not with this or that of

contact fain 1 3

Now this man, who was standing beside the Chief of Police, seized
the opportunity of saying, " O Emir, what booteth our standing
idle in this stead ? Better 'twere that we break down the door and
rush in upon them and snatch what we want and loot all the stuffs
in the house." Hereat came forward another lieutenant who was
called Hasan 4 the Handsome for that his face was fair and his
works were fairer and he was a meeting-place of fairest deeds ;
and the same was wont to stand at the Wall's door as a Symbol of
ruth to mankind. So he came forward and said, " O Emir, this
were not the rede which is right and yonder man's words lack
good counsel, seeing that none hath complained against this folk
and we know not an the accused be a thief or not : furthermore
we fear consequences for that haply this merchant speaketh with
an object, they having forbidden his marrying the girl : do not
therefore cast thyself into that shall harm thee, but rather let us
enquire anent the matter openly and publicly ; and should it prove
to be as reported, then the Emir's opinion shall prevail." All this

1 So in Chavis and Cazotte: Gauttier and Heron prefer (vol. i. 38) "Chamama."
They add, ' That daemon incarnate gave out himself that Satan was his father and the
devil Camos (?) his brother." The Arab word is connected with the ^ shamma = he
smelt and suggests the policeman smoking plots.

2 i.e. concealing the secret sins of the people. This sketch of the cad policeman will
find many an original in the London force, if the small householder speak the truth.

3 Qui n'ait un point de contact avec rune de ces categories (Houdas).

4 In the old translations "TheHazen" (Khazin = treasurer ?) which wholly abolishes
the double entendre.

The History of Al-BundukanL 69

took place while the old woman heard from behind the door whatso
they said, Hereat she dried up with dread and affright and going
within acquainted her daughter with what had occurred and
ended with, " The Wali still is standing at the door." The young
lady was sore terrified and said to her mother, " Do thou bar 1 the
entrance till Allah haply deign bring us comfort." So the old
woman fared forth and bolted and barred it yet more straitly ; and
when they knocked a second time she acknowledged the rap by
" Who is at the door ? " and the lieutenant Shamamah replied to
her and said, " O ill-omened old woman, O accomplice of robbers,
knowest thou not that he who rappeth is the Master of Police and
his young men ? So open to us forthright." Quoth she, " We be
Harims and ne'er a man with us, therefore we will not open to
any ; " and quoth he, " Open, or we will break it down." The old
woman made no reply but returning to her daughter within said
to her, " Now look at this Robber and how from the first of this
night we have been humbled for his sake : yet had he fallen into
this trap his life had been taken, and would Heaven he may not
come now and be made prisoner by them. Ah me ! Were thy
father on life the Wali never had availed to take station at our
house-door or the door of any other." " Such be our lot," replied
the girl, and she went to the casement that she might espy what
was doing. This is how it fared with them ; but as concerneth the
Caliph, when the folk had finished crowding the streets he disguised
himself and hending in hand his pellet-bow and slinging his sword
over his shoulder he went forth intending for his bride. But when
reaching the head of the street he saw lanthorns and stir of crowd 2 :
so he approached to look and he espied the Wali and his men with
the merchant standing by the Chief's side together with the
lieutenants, all save one shouting, " Break down the door and rush
in and seize the old woman : then let us question her with torture

1 In text " Darbisi al-bdb " from the Persian, " Dar bastan "=to tie up, to shut.
* In text " Chaush" for " Ghaushah"= noise, row.

70 Supplemental Nights,

until she confess where be her Robber of a son-in-law." But
Hasan the fourth officer dissuaded them saying, " O good folk, do
ye fear Almighty Allah and be not over hasty, saving that hurry
is of old Harry. These be all women without a man in the house ;
so startle them not ; and peradventure the son-in-law ye seek
may be no thief and so we fall into an affair wherefrom we may
not escape without trouble the most troublous." Thereupon
Shamamah came up and cried out, " O Hasan, it ill becometh
thee to stand at the Wali's door : better 'twere for thee to sit on
the witness-bench; for none should be gate-keepers to a head
policeman save they who have abandoned good deeds and who
devour ordure 1 and who ape the evil practices of the populace."
All this and the Caliph overheard the fellow's words and said to
himself, " 'Tis well ! I will indeed gladden thee, O Accurst."
Then he turned and espied a street which was no thoroughfare,
and one of its houses at the upper end adjoined the tenement
wherein was his bride; so he went up to it and behold, its gateway
showed a curtain drawn across and a lamp hung up and an Eunuch
sitting upon the door-bench. Now this was the mansion of a
certain noble who was lord over a thousand of his peers and his
name was the Emir Yunas 2 : he was an angry man and a violent ;
and on the day when he had not bastinado'd some wight he would
not break his fast and loathed his meat for the stress of his ill-
stomach. But when the Eunuch saw the Caliph he cried out at
him and sprang up to strike him exclaiming, " Woe to thee ! art
thou Jinn-mad ? Whither going?" But the Commander of the
Faithful shouted at him saying, " Ho ! thou ill-omened slave ! "
and the chattel in his awe of the Caliphate fancied that the roar
was of a lion about to rend him and he ran off and entered the
presence of his owner quivering with terror. " Woe to thee ! " said

1 " Akkal bula'hu " i.e. commit all manner of abominations. "To eat skite " is to
talk or act foolishly.
z In the old translations "Ilamir Youmis."

The History of Al-Bundukani. 71

his master ; " what hath befallen thee ? " and* he, " O my lord, the
while I was sitting at the gate suddenly a man passed up the street
and entered the house-door ; and, when I would have beaten him,
he cried at me with a terrible voice saying : Ho, thou ill-omened
slave ! So I fled from him in affright and came hither to thee."
Now when the Emir Yunas heard his words, he raged with such
excessive rage that his soul was like to leave his body and he cried
out saying, ' Since the man addressed thee as ' ill-omened slave,'
and thou art my chattel, I therefore am servile and of evil-omen.
But indeed I will show him his solace ! " He then sprang to his
feet and hent in hand a file-wrought mace 1 studded with fourteen
spikes, wherewith had he smitten a hill he had shivered it ; and
then he went forth into the street muttering, " I ill-omened ! " 2
But the Caliph seeing him recognised him straitway and cried,
" Yunas ! " whereat the Emir knew him by his voice, and casting
the mace from his hand kissed ground and said " 'Tis well, O
Commander of the Faithful ! " Harun replied, " Woe to thee,
dog ! whilst thou art the Chief of the Emirs shall this Wali, of
men the meanest, come upon thy neighbours and oppress them
and terrify them (these being women and without a man in th
house), and yet thou holdest thy peace and sittest in ease at home
nor goest out to him and ejectest him by the foulest of ejections ? "
Presently the other replied, " O Prince of True Believers, but for
the dread of thee lest thou say: This be the warder of the
watch, why hast thou exceeded with him ?, I would have made
for him a night of the fulsomest, for him and for those with him.
But an the Caliph command I will forthright break them all to bits
nor leave amongst them a sound man ; for what's the worth of this
Wali and all his varlets ? " " First admit us to thy mansion,"

1 In text " Dabbus bazdaghani," which I have translated as if from the Pers. " Baz-
dagh " = a file. But it may be a clerical error for " Bardawani," the well-known city in
Hindostan whose iron was famous.

"Nahs" means something more than ill-omened, something flasty, foul, uncanny :
see vol. i. 301.

72 Supplemental Nights.

quoth the Commander of the Faithful ; so they passed in and the
housemaster would have seated his visitor for the guest-rite but he
refused all offers and only said, " Come up with us to the terrace-
roof." Accordingly they ascended and found that between it and
the dwelling of the bride was but a narrow lane ; whereupon quoth
the Caliph, " O Yunas, I would find a place whence I can look
down upon these women." " There is no other way," quoth the
other, " save herefrom ; and, if thou desire, I will fetch thee a
ladder 1 and plant it in such wise that thou canst pass across."
"Do so," rejoined the other, and the Emir bringing a ladder
disposed it after bridge fashion that the Caliph crossed over the
lane to the house on the other side. Then quoth he, (< Go sit thee
in thy stead, and when I want thee I will call." Yunas did as he
was bidden and remained on the watch for his lord's summons.
But the Prince of True Believers walked over the terrace-roof with
the lightest tread and not audible, lest his footsteps frighten the
inmates, till he came to the parapet 2 and looking adown therefrom
upon the hall he saw a site like the Garden of Paradise which had
been newly pranked and painted, whilst the lighted wax-candles
and candelabra showed the young lady, the bride, sitting upon her
bedstead adorned with gems and jewellery. She was like a Sun
shedding sheen in sky serene, or a full moon at the fullest seen,
with brow flower-bright and eyes black and white and beauty-spots
fresh as greenth to the sight ; brief she was as one of whom the
poet saith :

She's a wonder ! her like none in universe see, o For beauty and graces and

softest blee :
That fairest of blossoms she blooms on earth o Than gardens the sheeniest

sheenier she :
And soft is the rose of her cheek to the touch o 'Twixt apple's and Eglantine's

lenity,

1 In Chavis, Heron and Co. there are two ladders to scale the garden wall and
descend upon the hov.se-terrace which apparently they do not understand to be the roof.
8 Arab. " Al-Kafi'ah" = garde-fou> rebord (Tune icrrassc (Houdas).

The History of Al-BundukanL

And the forelock-falls on the brow of her o Death-doom to the World and the

Faith decree ;
And she shames the branchlet of Basil when o She paces the Garden so fair

and free.
An water doubted her soft sweet gait o She had glided with water o'er

greenery :
When she walketh the world like the Hiir al-Ayn l o By the tongue of looks

to her friends say we :
" O Seeker, an soughtest the heart of me o Heart of other thou never hadst

sought for thee :
O lover, an filled thee my love thou ne'er o 'Mid lovers hadst dealt me such

tyranny.
Praise Him who made her an idol for man o And glory to Him who to her

quoth " BE!"

The Caliph was astonishment-struck at what he sighted of her
beauty and loveliness whilst her mother stood before her saying,
" O my child, how shall be our case with these tyrants, 2 especially
we being women and sans other recourse save Allah Almighty ?
Would Heaven I wot whence came to us this Robber who, had
thy sire been on life, would have been far from able to stand at the
door. But this is the doom of Destiny upon us by God's will."
Replied the young lady, " O mother mine, and how long wilt thou
put me to shame for this young man and call him ' Robber/ this
whom the Almighty hath made my portion ; and haply had he
been a good man and no thief he had been given to some other ? 3

1 Our vulgar "Hburi": see vols. i. 90: iii. 233. There are many meanings of
Hawar ; one defines it as intense darkness of the black of the eye and corresponding
whiteness ; another that it is all which appears of the eye (as in the gazelle) meaning
that the blackness is so large as to exclude the whiteness ; whilst a third defines *' Haura "
as a woman beautiful in the " Mahajir " (parts below and around the eyes which show
when the face is veiled), and a fourth as one whose whiteness of eye appears in contrast
with the black of the Kohl-powder. See Chenery's Al-Hariri, pp. 3$4-55

2 Arab. " Zalamah " = tyrants, oppressors (police and employe's) : see vols. i. 273* an d
vi. 214.

3 In text " Kunna nu'tfhu li-ahad " = we should have given him to someone ; which
makes very poor sense- [The whole passage runs ; " Hazd allazl kasam allah bi-hi
fa-lau kana rajul jayyid ghayr luss kunnd nu'ti-hu li-ahad," which I would translate ;
This is he concerning whom Allah decreed (that he should be my portion, swearing ;)
"and if he were a good man and no thief, we would have bestowed him on someone"
In " kasama " the three ideas of decreeing, giving as a share, and binding one's self by
oath are blended together. If it should appear out of place to introduce Divinity itself

74 Supplemental Nights.

However he is my lot, and lauds to the Lord and gratitude for
that He hath bestowed and made my portion." When the ancient
dame heard these words she pursued, " I hope to Heaven, O my
daughter, that thy portion may not come hither this night, other-
wise sore I fear they will seize him and do him a harm and well-
away for his lost youthtide ! " All this took place between mother
and daughter whilst the Caliph stood upon the terrace-roof
listening to their say and presently he picked up a pebble the size
of a vetchling J and, setting it between his thumb and forefinger,
jerked it at the wax candle which burned before the young lady
and extinguished the light. " Who put out yon taper ? " cried the
old woman, " and left the others afire ? " and so saying she
rose and lighted it again. But Harun took aim at that same and
jerking another pebble once more extinguished it and made her
exclaim, " Ah me ! what can have put out this also ? " and when
the quenching and quickening were repeated for the third time she
cried with a loud voice saying, " Assuredly the air must have
waxed very draughty and gusty ; so whenever I light a candle the
breeze bloweth it out." Hereat laughed the young lady and
putting forth her hand to the taper would have lit it a third time

as speaking in this context, we must not forget that the person spoken of is no less
illustrious individual than Harun al-Rashid, and that a decidedly satirical and humorous
vein runs through the whole tale. Moreover, I doubt that " li-ahad" could be used as
equivalent for <4 li-ghayri," " to some other than myself," while it frequently occurs in
the emphatic sense of '< one who is somebody, a person of consequence." The damsel
and her mother, on the other hand allude repeatedly to the state of utter helplessness, in
which they find themselves in default of their natural protector, and which has reduced
them from an exalted station to the condition of nobodies. I speak, of course, here as
elsewhere, "under correction." ST.]

1 In text " Hmsh." The Diets, give Himmas and Himmis, forms never heard, and
Forsk. (Flora ^Egypt.- Arab. p. Ixxi.) " Homos," also unknown. The vulg. pron. is
" Hummus " or as Lane (M.E. chapt. v.) has it " Hommus " (chick-peas). The word
applies to the pea, while " Malan " is the plant in pod. It is the cicer arietinum con-
cerning which a classical tale is told. " Cicero (pron. Kikero) was a poor scholar in the
University of Athens, wherewith his enemies in Rome used to reproach him, and as he
passed through the streets would call out ' O Cicer, Cicer, O,' a word still used in
Cambridge, and answers to a Servitor in Oxford." Quaint this approximation between
" Cicer" the vetch and " Sizar " which comes from "size" = rations, the Oxford
"battel."

The History of Al-Bundukani.

when behold, her finger was struck by a pebble and her wits fled

her head. But as the mother turned towards the terrace-wall the

first glance showed to her sight her son-in-law there sitting, so she

cried to her daughter, " O my child, behold thy bridegroom whence

he cometh unto thee, but robbers arrive not save by the roof, and

had he not been a housebreaker he would have entered by the

door. However Alhamdolillah that he hath chosen the way of

our terrace, otherwise they had captured him ; " presently adding

" Woe to thee, O miserable, fly hence or the watch at the door 1

shall seize thee and we women shall not avail to release thee after

thou fallest into their hands ; nor will any have ruth upon thee ;

nay, they will cut off at least one of thine extremities. So save

thyself and vanish so as not to lapse into the grip of the patrol."

But hearing these her words he laughed and said to her, " Do thou

open to me the terrace-wicket that I come down to you and see

how to act with these dogs and dog-sons." She replied, " Woe to

thee, O miserable, deemest thou these be like unto that poor Kazi

who snipped his gown in fear of thee : he who now standeth at

the door is Nazuk Wali and hast thou authority over him also ? "

He repeated, " Open to me that I may come down, otherwise I

will break in the door ; " so she unbolted the terrace-wicket and

he descended the stairs and entered the hall where he took seat

beside his bride and said, " I am an-hungered : what have ye by

way of food ? " The ancient dame cried, " And what food shall go

down grateful to thy stomach and pleasant when the police are at

the door ? " and he replied, " Bring me what ye have and fear not/'

So she arose and served up to him whatso remained of meat and

sweetmeat and he fell to morselling 1 them with mouthfuls and

soothing them with soft words till they had their sufficiency of

victual, after which she, the mother-in-law, removed the tray.

Meanwhile the Chief of Police and his varlets stood shouting at

Arab. " Yulakkimu," from " Lukmah" = a mouthful ; see vols. i. 266; vii. 367.

76 Supplemental Nights.

the door and saying, " Open to us otherwise we will break in."
Presently quoth the Caliph to the old trot, " Take this seal-ring and
go thou forth to them and place it in the Wali's hands. An he
ask thee, Who is the owner of this signet ? answer thou, Here is
he with me ; and if he enquire of thee, What doth he wish and
what may he want ? do thou reply, He requireth a ladder of four
rungs, and its gear, not forgetting a bundle of rods j 1 also do thou,
O man, enter with four of thy lieutenants and see what else he
demandeth." When the ancient dame heard this from him she
exclaimed, " And doth the Wali also dread thee or fear this seal-
ring ? My only fear is that they may now seize me and throw me
and beat me with a bastinado so painful that it will be the death
of me, and they hearken not to a word of mine, nor suffer thee to
avail me aught." Rejoined the Caliph, " Be not alarmed, he shall
not be able to gainsay my word ;" and she, " An the Wali fear thee
and give ear to thee, then will I gird my loins and suffer thee to
teach me something of thy craft even were it that of robbing
slaves' shoon." " Go forth without affright," said he laughing at
her words, whereupon she took the seal-ring and went as far as
behind the door and no farther, muttering to herself, " I will not
open it wholly but only a little so as to give them the signet ; then
if they hearken to what saith this Robber 'tis well, otherwise I will
keep the bolt fastened as it was." Presently she went forward and
addressed the watch saying, "What is it ye want?" and Shamamah
cried in reply, " O ill-omened old baggage, O rider of the jar, 2 O
consorter of thieves, we want the robber who is in thy house that
we may take him and strike off his hand and his foot ; and thou
shalt see what we will do with thee after that." She shrank from
his words, but presently she heartened her heart and said to him,
" Amongst you is there any who can read a whit ? " " Yes," said

1 Arab. "Jarazat Kuzba"n" (plur. of "Kazib," see vol. ii. 66) = long and slender
sticks.

2 .*. a witch ; see vol. viii. 131.

The History of Al-Bundukani.

the Wall, and she rejoined, " Take thou this seal-ring and see what
be graven thereupon and what may be its owner's name."
" Almighty Allah curse him," cried the lieutenant Shamamah,
presently adding to the Wali, " O Emir, as soon as the old crone
shall come forth I will throw her and flog her with a sore flogging ;
then let us enter the door and slay her and harry the house and
seize the robber ; after which I will inspect the signet and find out
its owner and who sendeth it ; then, if this be one of whom we
stand in shame we will say, Indeed we read not its graving before
the command was somewhat rashly carried out. On this wise
none may avail to molest us or thee." Hereupon he drew near the
door and cried to her, " Show me that thou hast, and perhaps the
sending it may save thee/' So she opened one leaf of the door
sufficient to thrust out her hand and gave him the ring which he
took and passed to the Chief of Police. But when the Wall had
considered and read the name engraved (which was that of the
Commander of the Faithful Harun the Orthodox), his colour waxed
wan and his limbs quaked with fear. " What is to do with thee ? "
asked Shamamah, and the other answered, "Take and look!"
The man hent the ring in hand and coming forward to the light
read what was on it and understood that it was the signet of the
Vicar of Allah. So a colick * attacked his entrails and he would
have spoken but he could stammer only " Bf, Bf, Bf " 2 whereupon
quoth the Master of Police, " The rods 'of Allah are descending
ipon us, O accurst, O son of a sire accurst : all this is of thy dirty
dealing and thy greed of gain : but do thou address thy creditor 8
and save thyself alive." Hereat quoth Shamamah, " O my lady,
what dost thou require ? " and quoth she to herself, " Indeed I arn

1 So in the phrase " Otbah hath the colic/' first said concerning Otbah b. Rabf'a by
Jahl when the former advised not marching upon Badr to attack Mohammed.
Tabari, vol. ii. 491.

8 Compare the French Brr ! "

3 i.e. to whom thou owest a debt of apology or excuse, "Gharfm"=e debtor or
creditor.

/8 Supplemental Nigkts.

rejoiced for that they dread my son-in-law ; " and presently she
spoke aloud to him and said, " The lord of the seal-ring demandeth
of thee a ladder of four rungs, a bundle of rods and cords and a
bag containing the required gear, 1 also that the Wali and his four
lieutenants go within to him." He replied, " O my lady chief of
this household, and where is he the owner of the signet ? " " Here
is he seated in the hall," she replied and the Wali rejoined, " What
was it he said to thee ? " She then repeated the command about
the Wali and the men and the bag, whereat he asked again con-
cerning the whereabouts of the signet-owner and declared the gear
to be ready, while all of them bepiddled their bag-trousers with
fear. 2 Then the Wali and his four lieutenants, amongst whom was
Shamamah the Accurst, entered the house, and the Caliph com-
manded lieutenant Hasan (knowing him for a kindly man of
goodly ways and loath to injure his neighbour as proved by his
opposing the harshness of Shamamah), saying, " Hie thee, O
Hasan, and summon forthright Yunas the Emir of a thousand ! "
So this lord came in all haste 8 and was bidden to bastinado the
Wali and Shamamah which he did with such good will that
the nails fell from their toes ; after which they were carried off
and thrown into gaol. Then the Caliph largessed lieutenant
Hasan ; and, appointing him on the spo Chief of Police, dismissed
the watch to their barracks. And when the street was cleared
the old woman returning to the Harem said to her son-in-law,
laughing the while, " There be none in this world to fellow thee as
the Prince of Robbers I The Wali dreadeth thee and the Kazi
dreadeth thee and all dread thee, whilst I gird my loins in thy
service and become a she-robber amongst the women even as thou
art a Robber amongst men, and indeed so saith the old saw : The

1 Arab. ' Jurdb al-'uddah," /.*. the manacles, fetters, etc.

* The following three sentences are taken from the margin of (MS.) p. 257, and
evidently belong to this place.
3 In text " Bghb " evidently for " Baght" or preferably " Baghtatan."

The History of Al-Bundukanil 79

slave is fashioned of his lord's clay and the son after the features
of his sire. Had this Wali, at his first coming, let break down
the door and had his men rushed in upon us and thou not present,
what would have been our case with them ? But now to Allah be
laud and gratitude ! " The Caliph hearing these words laughed,
and taking seat beside his bride, who rejoiced in him, asked his
.mother-in-law, " Say me, didst ever see a Robber who bore him
on this wise with the Wali and his men ? " and answered she,
" Never, by the life of thee, but may Allah Almighty reprehend
the Caliph for that he did by us and punish him for wronging
us, otherwise who was it forwarded thee to us, O Robber ? "
Quoth the Commander of the Faithful in his mind) " How have
I wronged this ill-omened old woman that she curseth me ? " and
presently he asked her, " And wherein hath the Caliph done
thee an injury ? " She replied, " And what hath the Caliph
left us of livelihood and so forth when he marauded our man^
sion and seized all our seisins ? Even this hall was part
of the plunder and they laid it waste after taking from it all
they could of marble and joinery and what-not ; and they left
us paupers, as thou sawest, without aught wherewith to veil us
and naught to eat. So had it not been that Almighty Allah
favoured us with thyself, O Robber, we had been of the destroyed
by famine and so forth." " And wherefore did the Caliph plunder
you?" asked he, "And what was the cause of his so doing?"
She answered, 1 " My son was a Chamberlain of the Commander of
the Faithful, and one day as he was sitting in this our home
two women asked him for a draught of water which he gave to
them. Presently the elder brought him a porcelain charger full of
pancakes with the tidings that it had been sent as a return gift
from the young lady her companion who had drunk from his

1 This is a twice-told tale whose telling I have lightened a little without omitting any
Important detail. Gauttier reduces the ending of the history to less than five pages.

So Supplemental Nights.

hand ; and he replied, Set it down and wend thy ways, which
she did. Presently as my son sat outside his door, the Watchman
came up to offer blessings on the occasion of the Greater Festival
and he gave him the charger and the man fared forth ; but ere an
hour had sped, folk came who marauded our mansion, and seizing
my son, carried him before the Caliph, who demanded of him how
the charger had come to his hands. He told him what I have told
thee, and the Commander of the Faithful asked him : Say me
sawest thou aught of the charms of the young lady ? Now my son
had on his lips to say No, but his tongue foreran him and he
stammered out, Yes, I espied her face, without really having
seen her at all, for that when drinking she had turned to the wall.
The Caliph hearing this hapless reply summoned the lady and
bade smite both their necks, but in honour of the Festival-eve he
had them carried off to prison. Such be then the reason of the
wrong by the Caliph wrought, and except for this injustice
and his seizure of my son, O Robber, it had been long ere thou
hadst wedded my daughter." When the Prince of True Believers
heard the words of her, he said in his mind, " Verily I have
oppressed these unhappies ! " and he presently asked her, " What
wilt thou say if I cause the Caliph to free thy son from gaol and
robe him and return his fiefs to him and promote him in the
Chamberlain's office and return him to thee this very night ? "
Hereat the old woman laughed and made answer, "Hold thy
peace ! This one is no Chief of Police that he fear thee and thou
work on him whatso thou wiliest : this one is the Prince of True
Believers Harun al-Rashid, whose behest is heard both in Orient
and in Occident, the lord of hosts and armies, one at whose gate the
lowest menial is higher in degree than the Wali. Be not therefore
beguiled by whatso thou hast done, nor count the Caliph as one of
these lest thou cast thyself into doom of destruction, and there be
an end of thy affair, while we unfortunates abide without a man in
the house, and my son fail of being righted by him who wronged

The History of Al-Bundukani.

him." But when the Commander of the Faithful heard these
words, his eyes brimmed with tears for ruth of her ; then, rising
without stay or delay, he would have fared forth when the old
woman and the young lady hung about his neck crying, " We
adjure thee, by Almighty Allah, that thon draw back from this
business, for that we fear greatly on thy account." But he replied,
" There is no help therefor," and he made oath that perforce he
must go. Then he fared for the Palace of his kingship, and seating
himself upon the throne bade summon the Emirs and Wazirs and
Chamberlains, who flocked into the presence and kissed ground
and prayed for him saying, " 'Tis well, Inshallah ! and what may
be the reason for calling us together at this time o' night ? " Said
he, " I have been pondering the affair of Alaeddin the Emir, the
Chamberlain, how I seized him wrongfully and jailed him, yet
amongst you all was not a single one to intercede for him or to
cheer him with your companionship. 1 ' They bussed ground and
replied, " Verily we were awe-struck by the majesty of the Prince
of True Believers ; but now at this hour we implore of the Com-
mander of the Faithful his mercy upon his slave and chattel;" and
so saying, they bared their heads and kissing the floor did humble
obeisance. He replied, " I have accepted l your intercession on
his account, and I have vouchsafed to him pardon ; so hie ye to
him and robe him with a sumptuous robe and bring him to me."
They did the bidding of their lord and led the youth to the presence
where he kissed ground and prayed for the permanence of the
Caliph's rule ; and the Sovran accepting this clothed him in a coat
whereon plates of gold were hammered 2 and binding round his
head a turband of fine gauze with richly embroidered ends made
him Chief Lord of the Right 3 and said to him, " Hie thee now to

1 The normal idiom for "I accept."

* In text "Khila't dakk al-Matrakah," which I have rendered literally : it seems to
signify an especial kind of brocade.

* The Court of Baghdad was, like the Urdu (Horde or Court) of the " Grand Mogul,"

VOL. VI, F

82 Supplemental Nights.

thy home ! " Accordingly he blessed the Prince and went forth
accompanied by all the Emirs who rode their blood-steeds, and
the Knights fared with him and escorted him in procession, with
kettledrums and clarions, till they reached his mansion. Here his
mother and his sister heard the hubbub of the multitude and the
crash of the kettledrums and were asking, " What is to do ? "
when the bearers of glad tidings forewent the folk and knocked at
the door saying, " We require of you the sweetmeats of good news,
for the Caliph hath shown grace to Alaeddin the Chamberlain and
hath increased his fiefs besides making him Chief Lord of the
Right." Hearing this they rejoiced with joy exceeding and gave
to the messengers what satisfied them, and while they were thus,
behold, Alaeddin the son of the house arrived and entered therein.
His mother and sister sprang up and saluted him throwing their
arms round his neck and weeping for stress of gladness. Presently
he sat down and fell to recounting to them what had befallen
him ; but chancing to look around he saw that the house had
changed condition and had been renovated ; so he said, " O my
mother, the time of my absence hath been short and when was
this lodging made new ? " She replied, " O my ?on, what day thou
wast seized, they plundered our abode even to tearing up the slabs
and the doors, nor did they leave us aught worth a single dirham:
indeed we passed three days without breaking our fast upon aught
of victual." Hearing this from her quoth he, " But whence cometh
all this to you, these stuffs and vessels and who was it rebuilded
this house in a space so short ? Or haply is all this I see in the
lands of dreams ? " But quoth she, " Nay, 'tis no vision but an
absolute reality and 'twas all done by my son-in-law in a single
day." " And who may be my new brother-in-law ? " he enquired,
" and when didst thou give away my sister, and who married her

organised after the ordinance of an army in the field, with its centre, the Sovran, and two
wings right and left, each with its own Wazir for Commander, and its vanguard and
rearguard.

The History of Al-Bundukani. 83

without my leave ? " l " Hold thy peace, O my son," rejoined she ,
" but for him we had died of want and hunger ! " " And what
may be his calling ? " the Emir asked, and she answered, " A
Robber ! " But when her son heard this he was like to choke with
anger and he cried, " What degree hath this robber that he become
my brother-in-law ? Now by the tomb of my forbears I will
assuredly smite his neck." " Cast away from thee such wild talk/'
cried she, " for the mischief of another is greater than thy mischief,
withal naught thereof availed him 2 with a man who wrought all
thou seest in half a day." Then she related to her son what had
befallen the Kazi and the Wali from the man and how he had
bastinado^ the police, showing him as he spoke the blood
which had poured from their bodies upon the floor for excess of
flogging ; and she continued, " Presently I complained to him
of my case, how the Commander of the Faithful had seized thee
and imprisoned thee when he said to me : At this very moment
I fare to the Caliph and cause him to free thy son and suffer him
to return home ; also to robe him and to increase his fiefs ; where-
upon he went from us and after an hour, lo and behold ! thou
appearedst ; so but for him we had never seen thee any more."
When her son heard these words, his wits were bewildered and he
was confounded at his case, so he asked her, " What may this man
be styled and what may be his name ? " She answered, " We are
ignorant an he have any name or not, for however much we
enquired of the marble-cutters and master artificers and handi-
craftsmen, they told us only that his bye-name 8 is Al-Bundukani

1 Being the only son he had a voice in the disposal of his sister. The mother was the
Kabirah = head of the household, in Marocco Al-Sidah = Madame mere ; but she
could not interfere single-handed in affairs concerning the family. See Pilgrimage,
vol. iii. 198. Throughout Al-Islam in default of a father the eldest brother gives away
the sisters, and if there be no brother this is done by the nearest male relation on the
41 sword " side. The mother has no authority in such matters nor indeed has anyone
on the "spindle" side.

2 Alluding to the Wali and his men.

8 Arab. " Kunyah " (the pop. mispronunciation of " Kinyah ") is not used here with
strict correctness. It is a fore-name or bye-name generally taken from the favourite son,

84 Supplemental Nights.

without letting us know any other. Moreover on like wise when
he sent me to fetch the Kazi he bade me tell him that Al-
Bundukani had summoned him." Now when the Emir Alaeddin
heard her name Al-Bundukani he knew that it was the Com-
mander of the Faithful, nor could he prevent himself springing
to his feet and kissing ground seven times ; but as his mother
beheld this she laughed and cried, " O thou brawler, 1 'tis as if he
had met thee in the street and had given thee to drink a draught
of clotted blood, one beyond the common ! 2 What of thy brave
words when anon thou saidst : I will smite his neck ? " " And
dost thou know" quoth he, "who may be the person thou so
callest ? " and quoth she, " Who may he be ? " " The Commander
of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid in person/' cried her
son, " and what other could have done with the Kazi and the Wall
and the rest what he did ? " When she heard these words, she
dried up with dread and cried, " O my son, set me in a place of
safety, 3 for he will suffer me no longer to cumber the face of earth
by reason of my often speaking at him ; nor did I ever cease to
address him as ' Robber.' " Now whilst they were speaking behold,
came up the Commander of the Faithful, whereat Alaeddin arose
and kissed ground and blessed him, but the ancient dame took to
flight and hid her in a closet. The Caliph seated himself, then he

Abu (father of) being prefixed. When names are written in full it begins the string, f.g.,
Abu Mohammed (forename), Kasim (true name), ibn Ali (father's name), ibn Mohammed
(grandfather's), ibn Osman (great-grandfather), Al- Hariri ( = the Silkman from the craft
of the family), Al-Basri (of Bassorah). There is also the " Lakab " (sobriquet), e.g.
Al-Bundukdnl or Badi'u '1-Zamdn (Rarity of the Age), which may be placed either before
or after the " Kunyah " when the latter is used alone. Chenery (Al- Hariri, p. 315)
confines the "Kunyah" to forenames beginning with Abu; but it also applies to those
formed with Umm (mother), Ibn (son), Bint (daughter), Akh (brother) and Ukht (sister).
See vol iv. 287. It is considered friendly and graceful to address a Moslem by this
bye-name. Caudent praenomine molles Auriculae.

1 In text " Ya Kawaki," which M. Houdas translates " piailUnr," remarking that
here it would be = poule mouilUe.

2 'Alakah kharijah" = an extraordinary drubbing.

3 In text " Ij'alnf ft kll," the latter word being probably, as M. Houdas suggests, A
clerical error for " Kal-a" or " Kilda " = safety, protection.

The History of Al-Bundukam. 85

looked around and, not seeing his mother-in-law, said to the
Chamberlain, " And where may be thy parent ? " <( She dreadeth,"
replied Alaeddin, " and standeth in awe of the Caliph's majesty; "
but Harun rejoined, " There is no harm for her." Then he bade
her be summoned whereat she appeared and kissed ground and
prayed for the permanency of his kingship, and he said to her,
" Erewhiles thou girdest thy waist to aid me in stealing slaves' shoon
and now thou fliest from thy teacher ? " She blushed for shame and
exclaimed, " Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful," and Harun
al-Rashid J replied, " May Allah pardon the Past." Presently he
sent for the Princess, the daughter of the Chosroe and, summoning
the Kazi, forthright divorced her and gave her in marriage to
Alaeddin, his Chamberlain. Hereupon were spread bride-feasts
which gathered together all the Lords of the Empire and the
Grandees of Baghdad, and tables and trays of food were laid out
during three successive days for the mesquin and the miserable.
The visit of entrance was paid by the two bridegrooms on a single
night when both went in unto their wives and took their joy of
them, and made perfect their lives with the liveliest enjoyment.
And ever after they passed the fairest of days till such time as
came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies
and all passed away and died. So praise be to the Ever-Living
who dieth not !

Such is the tale which came down to us

in completion and perfection,

and glory be to God, the

Lord of the three Worlds.

AMEN.

1 I am surprised that so learned and practical an Arabist as the Baron de Slane in his
Fr. translation of Ibji Khaldun should render le surnom (TEr-Rechid (b prudent), for
"The Rightly Directed," 'the Orthodox (vol. ii. 237), when (ibid. p. 259) he properly
translates " Al-Khulafd al-rashidia " by Les Calife* qui marchent dans la vote droiU.

THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND
THE KING'S SON.

fjere begin, 1 fottf) tlje afoance of gtllai) ^Imtgfitg anb tnfctte
t!je ^fetors of tfje ^Tarjumanaf) 2 anfc tfje Hafnamanat) 3 anfc tfce
goung man, tf)e S&tng's &on, an& fojatso Japped betfoeen tjjem of
controbetsg anfc of contention anfc interrogation on barious matters.

IT is related (but Allah is All-knowing anent what passed and
preceded us of the histories belonging to bygone peoples) that there
reigned in a city of Roum 4 a King of high degree and exalted dignity,
a lord of power and puissance. But this Sovran was issue-less, so he
ceased not to implore Allah Almighty that boon of babe might be
vouchsafed to him and presently the Lord had pity upon him and
deigned grant him a man-child. He bade tend the young Prince
with tenderest tending, and caused him to be taught every branch
of knowledge, and the divine precepts of wisdom and morals and
manners ; nor di'd there remain aught of profitable learning wherein

1 MSS'. pp. 476-504. This tale is laid down on the same lines as "Abu al-Husn
and his Slave-girl Tawaddud," vol. vi. 189. It is carefully avoided by Scott, C de
Perceval, Gauttier, etc.

8 Lit. an interpreter woman ; the word is the fem. of Tarjumdn, a dragoman whom
Mr. Curtis calls a Drag o' men ; see vol. i. 100. It has changed wonderfully on its way
from its ' * Semitic '* home to Europe which has naturalised it as Drogman , Truchman
and Dolmetsch.

3 For this word of many senses, see vols. i. 231 ; ix. 221. M. Caussin de Perceval
(viii. 16) quoting d'Herbelot (s.v.), notes that the Abbasides thus entitled the chief
guardian of the Harem.

* See vols. iv. 100, viii. 268. In his Introduction (p. 22) to the Assemblies of Al-
Hariri Chenery says, " This prosperity had now passed away, for God had brought the
people of Rum (so the Arabs call the Byzantines, whom Abu Zayd here confounds with
the Franks) on the land," etc. The confusion is not Abu Zayd's : " Rumi " in Marocco
and other archaic parts of the Moslem world is still synonymous with our " European."

90 Supplemental Nights*

the Youth was not instructed ; and upon this education the King
expended a mint of money. Now after the Youth grew up Time
rounded upon the Sovran his sire and his case was laid bare and
he was perplext as to himself and he wotted not whatso he should
ever do. Presently his son took heart to direct him aright, and
asked, " O my father, say me, wilt thou give ear to that wherewith
I would bespeak thee ? " " Speak out," quoth the King, " that is
with thee of fair rede ; " and quoth the youth, " Rise, O my sire,
that we depart this city ere any be ware of our wending : so shall
we find rest and issue from the straits of indigence now closing
around us. In this place there is no return of livelihood to us and
poverty hath emaciated us and we are set in the sorriest of con-
ditions than which naught can be sorrier." " O my child," quoth
his sire in reply, f< admirable is this advice wherewith thou hast
advised us, O my son, pious and dutiful ; and be the affair now
upon Allah and upon thee." Hereupon the Youth gat all ready
and arising one night took his father and mother without any
being cognisant ; and the three, entrusting themselves to the care
of Allah Almighty, wandered forth from home. And they ceased
not wandering over the wilds and the wolds till at last they saw
upon their way large city and a mighty fine ; so they entered it
and made for a place whereat they alighted. Presently the young
Prince arose and went forth to stroll about the streets and take
his solace ; and whilst he walked about he asked concerning the
city and who was its Sovran. They gave him tidings thereof
saying, " This be the capital of a Sultan, equitable and high in
honour amongst the Kings." Hereupon returning to his father
and mother, quoth he to them, " I desire to sell you as slaves to
this Sultan, 1 and what say ye ? " Quoth they, " We have com-

1 This obedience to children is common in Eastern folk-lore : see Suppl. vol. i. 212,
in which the royal father orders his son to sell him. The underlying idea is that the
parents find their offspring too clever for them ; not, as in the " New World," that Youth
is entitled to take precedence and command of Age.

The Linguist-dame, the Duenna and the Kings Son. 91

mitted our case to Almighty Allah and then to thee, O our
son ; so do whatso thou wishest and judgest good." Hereat the
Prince, repairing to the Palace, craved leave to enter to the King
and, having obtained such permission, made his obeisance in the
presence. Now when the Sultan looked upon him he saw that his
visitor was of the sons of the great, so he asked him, " What be
thy need, Ho thou the Youth ? " and the other made answer,
" O my lord, thy slave is a merchant man and with me is a male
captive, handy of handicraft, Godfearing and pious and a pattern
of honesty and honour in perfect degree : I have also a bonds-
woman goodly in graciousness and of civility complete in all thou.
canst command of bondswomen ; these I desire to vend, O my lord
to thy Highness, and if thou wouldst buy them of thy servant they
are between thy hands and at thy disposal, and we all three are
thy chattels." When the King heard these pleasant words spoken
by the Youth, he said to him, " And where are they ? Bring them
hither that I behold them ; and, if they be such as thou informest
me, I will bid them be bought of thee ! " Hereupon the Prince
fared forth and informed .his parents of this offer and said to them,
" Rise up with me that I vend you and take from this Sultan your
price wherewith I will pass into foreign parts and win me wealth
enough to redeem and free you on my return hither. And the
rest we will expend upon our case," " O our son/' said they, " do
with us- whatso thou wishest" Anon, 1 the parents arose and
prepared to accompany him and the Youth took them and led
them into the presence of that Sultan where they made their
obeisance, and the King at first sight of them marvelled with
extreme marvel and said to them, " Are ye twain slaves to this

young mail ? M Said they, " Yes, O our lord ; " whereupon he

turned to the Youth and asked him, " What be the price thou
requirest for these two ? " " O my lord," replied he, " give me to

1 In text " Fa min tumma ' for " thumma "-^-then, alors.

92 Supplemental Nights.

the price of this man slave, a mare saddled and bridled and perfect
in weapons and furniture ; ] and, as for this bondswoman, I desire
thou make over to me as her value, a suit of clothes, the choicest
and completest." Accordingly the Sultan bade pay him all his
requirement, over and above which he largessed him with an
hundred dinars ; and the Youth, after obtaining his demand and
receiving such tokens of the royal liberality, kissed the King's
hands and farewelled his father and mother. Then he applied
himself to travel, seeking prosperity from Allah and all unknowing
whither he should wend. And whilst he was faring upon his
wayfare he was met by a horseman of the horsemen, 2 and they
both exchanged salutations and welcomings, when the stranger
was highly pleased at the politeness of the King's son and the
elegance of his expressions. Presently, pulling from his pocket a
sealed letter wrapt in a kerchief he passed it over to the Youth,
saying, " In very sooth, O my brother, affection for thee hath
befallen my heart by reason of the goodliness of thy manners and
elegance of thine address and the sweetness of thy language ; and
now I desire to work thy weal by means of this missive." " And
what of welfare may that be ? '' asked the Prince, whereto the
horseman answered, " Take with thee this letter and forthwith upon
arriving at the Court of the King whither thou art wending, hand
to him this same ; so shalt thou obtain from him gain abundant
and mighty great good and thou shalt abide with him in degree of
highmost honour. This paper (gifted to me by my teacher) hath
already brought me ample livelihood and prodigious profit, and
I have bestowed it upon thee by reason of thine elegance and good
breeding and thy courteousness in showing me respect." Hereat
the Youth, the son of the King, answered him, " Allah requite
thee with weal and grant thou gain thy wish ; " and so saying

1 Such as the headstall and hobbles, the cords and chains for binding captives, and the
.. ace and sword hanging to the saddle-bow.
8 *.*. not a well-known or distinguished horseman, but a chance rider.

The Linguist-dame , the Duenna and the King's Son. 93

accepted the letter of that horseman with honest heart and

honourable intent, meditating in his mind, " Inshallah ta'alel an

it be the will of God the Greatest I shall have good fortune to my

lot by the blessing of this epistle ; then will I fare and set free my

father and my mother," So the Prince resumed his route and he

exulted in himself especially at having secured the writ, by means

whereof he was promised abundant weal. Presently, it chanced

that he became drowthy with excessive drowth that waxed right

sore upon him and he saw upon his path no water to drink ; and

by the tortures of thirst he was like to lose his life. So he turned

round and looked at the mare he bestrode and found her covered

with a foam of sweat wholly unlike her wonted way. Hereat

dismounting he brought out the wrapper wherein the letter was

enrolled and loosing it he mopped up therewith his animal's

sweat and squeezing it into a cup he had by him drank it off

and found to his joy that he was somewhat comforted. Then,

of his extreme satisfaction with the letter, he said to himself,

" Would Heaven I knew that which is within, and how the profit

which the horseman promised should accrue to me therefrom.

So let me open it and see its contents that my heart may be

satisfied and my soul be joyed." Then he did as he devised

and perused its purport and he mastered its meaning and the

secret committed to it, which he found as follows : " O my

lord, do thou straightway on the arrival of him who beareth

these presents slay him, nor leave him one moment on life ;

because this Youth came to me and I entreated him with

honour the high most that could be of all honouring, as a return

for which this traitor of the salt, this reprobate betrayed me in a

daughter that was by me. I feared to do him dead lest I

come to shame amongst the folk and endure disgrace, I and my

tribe, wherefore I have forwarded him to thy Highness that thou

mayest torture him with torments of varied art and end his affair

and slaughter him, thus saving us from the shame which befel us

94 Supplemental Nights.

at the hands of this reprobate traitor." ! Now when the young
Prince read this writ and comprehended its contents, he suspected
that it was not written concerning him and he took thought in
himself, saying, u Would Heaven I knew what I can have done by
this horseman who thus seeketh diligently to destroy my life, for
that this one had with him no daughter, he being alone and

1 These " letters of Mutalammis," as Arabs term our Litterae Bellerophontese, or
" Uriah's letters," are a lieu commun in the East and the Prince was in luck when he
opened and read the epistle here given by mistake to the wrong man. Mutalammis, a poet
of The Ignorance, had this sobriquet (the *' -frequent asker," or, as we should say, the
Solicitor- General), his name being Jarfr bin 'Abd al-Masih. He was uncle to Tarafah of
the Mu'allakah or prize-poem, a type of the witty dissolute bard of the jovial period
before Al-Islam arose to cloud and dull man's life. One day as he was playing with other
children Mutalammis was reciting a panegyric upon his favourite camel, which ran :

I mount a he-camel, dark-red and firm-fleshed ; or a she-camel of Himyar, fleet of foot
and driving the pebbles with her crushing hooves.

"See the he-camel turned to a she," cried the boy, and the phrase became proverbial
to express inelegant transition (Arab. Prov. ii. 246). The uncle bade his nephew put
out his tongue and seeing it dark-coloured said, " That black tongue will be thy ruin !"
Tarafah, who was presently entitled Ibn al-'Ishrin (the son of twenty years), grew
up a model reprobate who cared nothing save for three things, 4( to drink the dark-red
wine foaming as the water mixeth with it, to urge into the fight a broad-backed steed,
and to while away the dull day with a young beauty." His apology for wilful waste is
highly poetic :

I see that the grave of the careful, the hoarder, differeth not from the grave of the

debauched, the spendthrift :
A hillock of earth covers this and that, with a few flat stones laid together thereon.

See the whole piece in Chenery's Al-Hariri (p. 360), from which this note is borrowed.
At last uncle and nephew fled from ruin to the Court of 'Amru bin Munzfr III., King of
Hira, who in the tale of Al-Mutalammis and his wife Umaymah (The Nights, vol. v. 74)
is called Al-Nu'uman bin Munzir but is better known as 'Amru bin Hind (his mother).
The King who was a ferocious personage nicknamed Al-Muharrik or the Burner because
he had thrown into the fire ninety-nine men and one woman of the Tamim tribe in
accordance with a vow of vengeance he had taken to slaughter a full century, made the
two strangers boon-companions to his boorish brother Kabiis. Tarafah, offended because
kept at the tent-door whilst the master drank wine within, bitterly lampooned him together
with 'Abd Amru a friend of the King; and when this was reported his death was
determined upon. Amru, the King, seeing the anxiety of the two poets to quit his Court,
offered them letters of introduction to Abu Kdrib, Governor of Al-Hajar (Bahrayn) under
the Persian King and they were accepted. The uncle caused his letter to be read by
a youth, and finding that it was an order for his execution destroyed it and fled to
Syria ; but the nephew was buried alive. Amru, the King, was afterwards slain by the
poet-warrior, Amru bin Kulthum, also of the " Mu'allakdt," for an insult offered
to his mother by Hind : hence the proverb," Quicker to slay than 'Amru bin Kulsum""
(A.P. ii. 233).

The Linguist-dame, the Duenna and the Kings Son. 95

wending his way without any other save himself; and I made
acquaintance with him nor passed there between us a word which
was unworthy or unmeet. Now this affair must needs have one of
two faces ; to wit, the first, that such mishap really did happen to
him from some youth who favoureth me and when he saw the
likeness he gave me the letter ; or, on the second count, this must
be a trial and a test sent to me from Almighty Allah, and praise
be to God the Great who inspired me to open this missive. At
any rate I thank the Most Highest and laud Him for His
warding off the distress and calamity descending upon me and
wherefrom He delivered me." Then the young Prince ceased not
wending over the wildest of wolds until he came to a mighty
grand city which he entered ; and, hiring himself a lodging in a
Khan, 1 dismounted thereat ; then, having tethered his mare and
fed her with a sufficiency of fodder, he fared forth to walk about
the thoroughfares. Suddenly he was met by an ancient dame
who considered him and noted him for a handsome youth and
an elegant, tall of stature and with the signs of prosperity showing
manifest between his eyes. Hereat he accosted her and questioned
her of the city-folk and their circumstances, whereto the old
woman made reply with the following purport, " Here in our city
iigneth a King of exalted dignity and he hath a daughter fair
of favour, indeed the loveliest of the folk of her time. Now
she hath taken upon herself never to intermarry with any of
mankind unless it be one who can overcome her with instances
and arguments and can return a sufficient reply to all her questions ;
and this is upon condition that, should he come off vanquisher
he shall become her mate, but if vanquished she will cut off his
head, and on such wise hath she done with ninety-and-nine men
of the noblest blood, as sons of the Kings and sundry others.
Furthermore, she hath a towering castle founded upon the heights

1 See vols. i. 192; iii. 14; these correspond with the "Stathmoi," Stationes,
Mansioues or Castia of Herodotus, Terps. cap. 53, and Xenophon An. i. 2, 10.

96 Supplemental Nights.

that overfrown the whole of this city whence she can descry
all who pass under its walls. As soon as the young Prince
heard these words from the old woman his heart was occupied
with the love of the King's daughter and he passed that night
as it were to him the longsomest of nights, nor would he believe
that the next morn had morrowed. But when dawned the day
and anon showed its sheen and shone, he arose without. Jet or
stay and after saddling his mare mounted her and turned towards
the palace belonging to the King's daughter ; and presently reach-
ing it, took his station at the gateway. Hereat all those present
considered him and asked him saying, "What be the cause of
thy. standing hereabouts ? " whereto he answered, " I desire speech
with the Princess." But when they heard these words, all fell
to addressing him with kindly words and courteous and dissuading
him from his desire and saying, " Ho thou beautiful youngling !
fear 1 Allah and pity thyself and have ruth upon thy youth ;
nor dare seek converse with this Princess, for that she hath slain
fourscore and nineteen men of the nobles and sons of the kings
and for thee sore we fear that thou shalt complete the century."
The Prince, however, would not hear a word from them nor heed
their rede ; neither would he be warned by the talk of others
than they ; nay he persisted in standing at the Palace gateway.
And presently he asked admission to go in to the King's daughter ;
but this was refused by the Princess, who contented herself with
sending forth to him her Tarjumdnah, her Linguist-dame, to
bespeak him and say, " Ho thou fair youth ! art thou ready and
longing to affront dangers and difficulties ? " He replied, " I am."
"Then," quoth she, "hie thee to the King the father of this
Princess and show thyself and acquaint him with thine affair and
thine aim, after which do thou bear witness against thyself in

1 In text " Ittika" viiith of \/ waka: the form "Takwa" is generally used =
fearing God, whereby one guards oneself from sin in this life and from retribution in
the world to come.

The Linguist-dame, the Duenna and the King's Son.^ 97

presence of the Kazi that an thou conquer his daughter in her
propositions and she fail of replying to a query of thine thou shalt
become her mate ; whereas if she vanquish thee she shall lawfully
cut off thy head, 1 even as she hath decapitated so many before
thy time. And when this is done come thou back to us." The
Prince forthright fared for the monarch and did as he was bidden ;
then he returned to the Linguist-dame and reported all his pro-
ceedings before the King and eke the Kazi. After this he was
led in to the presence of the Princess and with him was the
afore-mentioned Tarjumanah who brought him a cushion of silk
for the greater comfort of his sitting ; and the two fell to
questioning and resolving queries and problems in full sight
of a large attendance. Began the Tarjumanah, interpreting the
words of her lady who was present, " Ho thou the Youth ! my
mistress saith to thee, Do thou inform me concerning an ambulant
moving sepulchre whose inmate is alive." He answered and
said, " The moving sepulchre is the whale that swallowed Jonas
(upon whom be the choicest of Salams ! 2 ), and the Prophet was
quick in the whale's belly." She pursued, " Tell me concerning
two combatants who fight each other but not with hands or feet,
and who withal never say a say or speak a speech." He answered
saying, " The bull and the buffalo who encounter each other by

This series of puzzling questions and clever replies is still as favourite a mental
tercise in the Fast as it was in middle-aged Europe. The riddle or conundrum
in, as far as we know, with the Sphinx, through whose mouth the Greeks spoke :
>thing less likely than that the grave and mysterious Scribes of Egypt should ascribe
aught so puerile to the awful emblem of royal majesty Abu Haul, the Father of
Fright. Josephus relates how Solomon propounded enigmas to Hiram of Tyre which
lone but Abdimus, son of the captive Abdaemon, could answer. The Tale of Tawaddud
)ffers fair specimens of such exercises, which were not disdained by the most learned
of Arabian writers. See Al-Hariri's Ass. xxiv. which proposes twelve enigmas involving
abstruse and technical points of Arabic, such as : (j) " What be the word, which as ye
/ill is a particle beloved, or the name of that which compriseth the slender- waisted
rilch camel?" Na'am = " Yes" or " cattle," the latter word containing the Harf,
or slender camel. Chenery, p. 246.

2 For the sundry meanings and significance of " Saldm," here = Heaven's btewing,
vols. ii. 24, vi. 232.
VOL. VI. G

98 Supplemental Nights.

ramming with horns. 1 ' She continued, " Point out to me a tract
of earth which saw not the sun save for a single time and since
that never." He answered saying, " This be the sole of the Red
Sea when Moses the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace !) smote
it with his rod and clove it asunder so that the Children of Israel
crossed over it on dry ground, which was never seen but only
once." 1 She resumed, " Relate to me anent that which drank
water during its life-time and ate meat after its death ? " He
answered saying, " This be the Rod 2 of Moses the Prophet (upon

1 This is the nursery version of the Exodus, old as Josephus and St. Jerome, and
completely changed by the light of modern learning. The Children of Israel quitted
their homes about Memphis (as if a large horde of half-nomadic shepherds would be
suffered in the richest and most crowded home of Egypt). They marched by the Wady
Musi that debouches upon the Gulf of Suez a short way below the port now temporarily
ruined by its own folly and the ill-will of M, de Lesseps; and they made the " Sea of
Sedge " (Suez Gulf) through the valley bounded by what is still called Jabal ' Atdkah,
the Mountain of Deliverance, and its parallel range, Abu Durayj (of small steps). Here
the waters were opened and the host passed over to the "Wells of Moses," erstwhile
a popular picnic place on the Arabian side ; but according to one local legend (for
which see my Pilgrimage, i. 294-97) they crossed the sea north of Tur, the spot being still
called " Birkat Far'aun "= Pharaoh's Pool. Such also is the modern legend amongst
the Arabs, who learned their lesson from the Christians (not from the Jews) in the days
when the Copts and the Greeks (ivth century) invented "Mount Sinai." And the
reader will do well to remember that the native annalists of Ancient Egypt, which
conscientiously relate all her defeats and subjugations by the Ethiopians, Persians, etc.,
utterly ignore the very name of Hebrew, Sons of Israel, etc.

I cannot conceal my astonishment at finding a specialist journal like the "Quarterly
Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund" (Oct., 1887), admitting such a paper as
that entitled "The Exode," by R. F. Hutchinson, M.D. For this writer the labours
of the last half- century are non- existing. Job is still the "oldest book" in the world.
The Rev. Charles Forster's absurdity, " Israel in the wilderness " .gives valuable
assistance. Goshen is Mr. Chester's Tell Fakus (not, however, far wrong in this) instead
of the long depression by the Copts still called "Gesem" or "Gesemeh," the frontier-
land through which the middle course of the Suez Canal runs. " Succoth," tabernacles,
is confounded with the Arab. "Sakf" = a roof. Letopolis, the "key of the Exode,"
and identified with the site where Babylon (Old Cairo) was afterwards built, is placed
on the right instead of the left bank of the Nile. " Bahr Kulzum "is the " Sea of the
Swallowing-up," in lieu of The Closing. El-Tih, "the wandering," is identified with
Wady Musa to the 'west of the Suez Gulf. And so forth. What could the able Editor
have been doing P

Students of this still disputed question will consult "The Shrine of Saft el-Henneh
and the Land ofGoschen," by Edouard Naville, fifth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration
Fund. Published by order of the Committee. London, Triibner, 1837.

* Eastern fable runs wild upon this subject, and indeed a large volume could be written
upon the birth, life and death of Moses* and Aaron's rods. There is a host of legends

The Linguist- dame ', tJie Duenna and the Kings Son. 99

whom be The Peace !) which, when a living branch * struck water
from its living root and died only when severed from the parent
tree. Now Almighty Allah cast it upon the land of Egypt by
the hand of Moses, what time this Prophet drowned Pharaoh and
his host 2 and therewith clove the Red Sea, after which that Rod
became a dragon and swallowed up the wands of all the Magicians
of Misraim." Asked she, " Give me tidings of a thing which is
not of mankind nor of the Jann-kind, neither of the beasts nor
of the birds ? " He answered saying, " This whereof thou speakest
is that mentioned by Solomon, to wit the Louse, 3 and secondly
the Ant." She enquired, " Tell me to what end Almighty Allah

concerning the place where the former was cut and whence it descended to the Prophet
whose shepherd's staff was the glorification of his pastoral life (the rod being its symbol)
and of his future career as a ruler (and flogger) of men. In Exodus (viii. 3-10), when a
miracle was required of the brothers, Aaron's rod became a "serpent" (A.V.) or, as some
prefer, a "crocodile," an animal worshipped by certain of the Egyptians; and when
the King's magicians followed suit it swallowed up all others. Its next exploit was
to turn the Nile and other waters of Egypt into blood (Exod. vii. 17). The third
wonder was worked by Moses' staff, the dividing of the Red Sea (read the Sea of Sedge
or papyrus, which could never have grown in the brine of the Sue? Gulf) according to
the command, "Lift thou up thy rod and stretch out thine hand over the sea," etc.
(Exod. xiv. 15). The fourth adventure was when the rod, wherewith Moses smote the
river, struck two blows on the rock in Horeb and caused water to come out of it
(Numb. xxi. 8). Lastly the- rod (this time again Aaron's) "budded and brought forth
buds and bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds" (Numb, xvii.,7); thus becoming a
testimony against the rebels : hence it was set in the Holiest of the Tabernacles (Heb.
ix. 14) as a lasting memorial. I have described (Pilgrim, i. 301) the mark of Moses' rod
at the little Hammam behind the old Phoenician colony of Tur, in the miscalled
" Sinaitic " Peninsula : it is large enough to act mainmast for a ship. The end of the
rod or rods is unknown : it died when its work was done, and like many other things,
holy and unholy, which would be priceless, e.g., the true Cross or Pilate's sword, it
remains only as a memory around which a host of grotesque superstitions have grouped
themselves.

1 In this word " Hayy " the Arab, and Heb. have the advantage of our English : it
dneans either serpent or living, alive.

2 It is nowhere said in Hebrew Holy Writ that "Pharaoh," whoever he may have
"been, was drowned in the "Red Sea."

8 Arab. " Kami." The Koranic legend of the Ant has, I repeat, been charmingly
commented upon by Edwin Arnold in "Solomon and the Ant" (p. i., Pearls of the
Faith). It seems to be a Talmudic exaggeration of the implied praise in Prov. vi 6 and
xxx. 25, "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer'*
which, by the by, proves that the Wise King could be caught tripping in his natural
history, and that they did not know everything down Judee.

I CO Supplemental Nights.

created the creation and for what aim of wisdom did He quicken
this creation and for what object did He cause death to be
followed by resurrection and resurrection by the rendering men's
accounts?" He answered saying, " God created all creatures
that they might witness His handicraft, and he did them die
that they might behold his absolute dominion and He requickened
them to the end that they learn His All-Might, and He decreed
their rendering account that they might consider His wisdom and
His justice." She questioned him saying, " Tell me concerning
three, of whom my first was not born of father and mother and
yet died ; and my second was begotten of sire and born of
woman yet died not, and my third was born of father and mother
yet died not by human death ? " He answered saying, " The first
were Adam and Eve, 1 the second was Elias 2 the Prophet and the
third was Lot's wife who died not the death of the general, for
that she was turned into a pillar of salt." Quoth she, " Relate
to me concerning one who in this world had two names ? " and
he answered saying, " This be Jacob, sire of the Twelve Tribes, to
whom Allah vouchsafed the title of Israel, which is Man with El
or God." 3 She said, " Inform me concerning the Nakus, or the
Gong, 4 who was the inventor thereof and . at what time was it

1 Is, according to the Moslems, was so far like Adam (Koran iii. 52) that he was not
begotten in the normal way: in fact his was a miraculous conception. See vol. v. 238.

3 For Elias, Elijah, or Khizr, a marvellous legendary figure, see vols. iv. 175 ; v. 384.
The worship of Helios (Apollo) is not extinct in mod. Greece where it survives under the
name of Elias. So Dionysus has become St. Dionysius ; Bacchus the Drunken, St.
George ; and Artemis St. Artemides the healer of childhood.

3 Gesenius interprets it "Soldier of God" ; the bye -name given to Jacob presently
became the national name of the Twelve Tribes collectively ; then it narrowed to the
tribe of Judah ; afterwards it became = laymen as opposed to Levites, etc., and in these
days it is a polite synonym for Jew. When you want anything from any of the (self-) Chosen
People you speak of him as an Israelite ; when he wants anything of you, you call him
a Jew, or a damned Jew, as the case may be.

* I am not aware that there is any general history of the bell, beginning with th
rattle, the gong and other primitive forms of the article ; but the subject seems worthy
of a monograph. In Hebrew Writ the bell first appears in Exod. xxviii. 33 as a
fringe to the Ephod of the High Priest that its tinkling might save him from intruding
unwarned into the bodily presence of the tribal God, Jehovah.

I
I

The Linguist-dame, tfo Duenna and the King's Son. IOI

first struck in this world?" He answered saying, "The Gong
was invented by Noah, who first smote upon it in the Ark."
And after this she stinted not to question him nor he to ree her
riddles until evening fell, when quoth the King's daughter to the
Linguist-dame, " Say thou to the young man that he may now
depart, and let him come to me betimes next morning when, if
I conquer him, I will give him drink of the cup his fellows
drained ; and, should he vanquish me, I will become his wife.
Then the Tarjumanah delivered her message word for word, and
the Youth went forth from the Princess with fire aflame in his
heart and spent the longest of nights hardly believing that the
morn would morrow. But when day broke and the dawn came
with its sheen and shone upon all mankind, he arose from his
sleep and fared with the first light to the palace where the King's
daughter bade the Linguist-dame introduce him, and when he
came in Ordered him be seated. As soon as he had taken seat
she gave her commands to the Tarjumanah, who said, " My lady
directeth thee to inform her what may be the tree bearing a
dozen boughs, each clothed with thirty leaves and these of two
colours, one half white and the other moiety black ? " He answered
saying, " Now that tree is the year, and its twelve branches are
the dozen months, while the thirty leaves upon each of these
are the thirty white days and the thirty black nights." Hereat
quoth she, " Tell me, what tree was it bore many a bough and
manifold leaves which presently became flesh and blood ?" He
answered saying, " This was the Rod of Moses the Prophet (upon
whom be The Peace !) which was at first a tree but which after
cutting became a serpent with flesh and blood." Continued she,
"Inform me what became of Moses' Rod and Noah's Ark, and
where now be they ? " He answered saying, " They are at this
tide sunken in the Lake of Tabariyyah, 1 and both, at the end of

4 Gennesaret (Chinnereth, Cinneroth), where, according to some Moslems, the
Solomon was buried.

IO2 Supplemental Nights.

time will be brought out by a man hight Al-Ndsiri. 1 " She pur-
sued, " Acquaint me with spun yarn, whence did it originate and
who was it first practised spinning the same ? " He answered,
saying, " Almighty Allah from the beginning of mankind ordered
the Archangel Gabriel to visit Eve and say to her : Spin for thyself
and for Adam waistcloths wherewith ye may veil your persons." 2
She enquired, " Tell me concerning the Asdffr, 8 and why they were
so called, and who first named them with such name ? M He
answered saying, " There was in the days of Moses the Prophet
(upon whom be The Peace !) a fowl called Ffr, and in the time of
Solomon the King (upon whom be The Peace !) all the birds paid
him obedience, even as did all the beasts, and albeit each and
every created thing was subject to the Prophet, withal this Ffr
would not show submission : so the Wise King sent a body
of birds to bring him into the presence, but he refused to present
himself. Presently they returned to the Prophet who asked them,
Where be Ffr ? and they answered, O our lord, 'Asd Ffr, 4 whence
that name hath clung to the fowls." She resumed, " Inform me
of the two Stationaries and the two Moveables and the two

1 I cannot explain this legend.

8 So the old English rhyme, produced for quite another purpose by Sir John Bull in
"Wat Tyler's Rebellion" (Hume, Hist, of Eng., vol. i. chapt. 17) J

" When Adam dolve and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman ? "

A variant occurs in a MS. of the xvth century, Brit. Museum :

" Now bethink the gentleman,

How Adam dalf and Eve span.
And the German form is :

So Adam reutte (reute) and Eva span
Wer was da ein Eddelman (Edelman )?"

8 Plur. of " 'Usfur " = a bird, a sparrow. The etymology is characteristically Oriental
and Mediaeval, reminding us of Dan Chaucer's meaning of Cecilia "Heaven's lily"
(Susan) or " Way for the blind " (Csecus) or " Thoughts of Holiness " and Ka = lasting
industry; or, " Heaven and Leos" (people), so fhat she might be named the people's
heaven (The Second Nonne's Tale).

* i.e. " Fir is rebellious."

The Linguist-dame, the Duenna and the Kings Son. 103

Conjoineds and the two Disjoineds by jealousy and the twain
which be eternal Foes." He answered saying, " Now the two
Stationaries be Heaven and Earth and the two Moveables are the
Sun and the Mopn ; the two Conjoineds are Night and Day and
the two Disjoineds by jealousy are the Soul and the Body and the
two Hostiles are Death and Life." 1 On this wise the Linguist-
dame ceased not to question him and he to reply solving all her
problems until eve closed in. Then she bade him go forth that
night and on the next day come again to her. Accordingly, the
young Prince returned to his Khan and no sooner had he made
sure that the morn had morrowed than he resolved to see if that
day would bring him aught better than had come to him before.
So arising betimes he made for the palace of the King's daughter
and was received and introduced by the Tarjumanah who
seated him as was her wont and presently she began, saying,
" My lady biddeth thee inform her of a thing which an a
man do that same 'tis unlawful ; and if a man do not that same
'tis also unlawful." He answered, saying, " I will : this be the
prayer 2 of a drunken man which is in either case illegal." Quoth
she, " Tell me how far is the interval between Heaven and
Earth ? " and he answered saying, " That bridged over by the
prayer of Moses the Prophet 3 (upon him be The Peace !) whom
Allah Almighty saved and preserved." She said, " And how far
is it betwixt East and West ? " whereto he answered saying, " The
space of a day and the course of the Sun wending from Orient
unto Occident." Then she asked, " Let me know what was the
habit 4 of Adam in Paradise ? " and he answered saying, " Adam's

1 Both of which, I may note, are not things but states, modes or conditions of things
See vol. ix. 78.

2 "Salat"= the formal ceremonious prayer. I have noticed (vol. iv. 60) the sundry
technical meanings of the term Salat, from Allah = Mercy ; from Angel-kind = inter-
cession and pardon, and from mankind = a blessing.

* Possibly "A prayer of Moses, the man of God," the title of the "highly apociypnal
Psalm xc.

* Arab. "Libas" = clothes in general.

IO4 Supplemental Nights.

habit in Eden was his flowing hair," 1 She continued, " Tell me
of Abraham the Friend (upon whom be The Peace !) how was
it that Allah chose him out and called him 'Friend'?" 2 He
answered saying, " Verily the Lord determined to tempt and to
test him albeit he kenned right clearly that the Prophet was free
of will yet fully capable of enduring the trial ; natheless, He
resolved to do on this wise that he might stablish before men the
truth of His servant's trust in the Almighty and the fairness of
his faith and the purity of his purpose. So the Lord bade him
offer to Him his son Is'hak 3 as a Corban or Sacrifice ; and of the
truth of his trust he took his child and would have slain him as a
victim. But when he drew his knife with the purpose of slaughter-
ing the youth he was thus addressed by the Most Highest
Creator : Now indeed well I wot that thou gatherest 4 me and
keepest my covenant : so take thou yonder ram and slay it as a
victim in the stead of Is'hak. And after this he entituled him
' Friend.' " She pursued, " Inform me touching the sons of
Israel how many were they at the time of the going forth from
Egypt?" He answered, saying, "When they marched out of

1 In text j&> Zafar= victory. It may also be "Zifr "= alluding to the horny matter
which, according to Moslem tradition, covered the bodies of "our first parents" and of
which after the "original sin " nothing remained but the nails of their ringers and toes.
It was only when this disappeared that they became conscious of their nudity. So says
M. Houdas; but I prefer to consider the word as a clerical error for ^ Zafar= plaited
hair.

8 According to Al-Mas'udi (i. 86, quoting Koran xxi. 52), Abraham had already
received of Allah spiritual direction or divine grace ("Rushdu 'llah" or " Al-Huda")
which made him sinless. In this opinion of the Imamship, says my friend Prof. A.
Sprenger, the historian is more fatalistic than most Sunnfs.

8 Modern Moslems are all agreed in making Ishmael and not Isaac the hero of this
history: see my Pilgrimage (vol. iii. 306). But it was not always so. Al-Mas'udi
(vol. ii. 146) quotes the lines of a Persian poet in A. H. 290 (=A. D. 902) which
expressly say "Is'haku kana'l-Zabfh" = Isaac was the victim, and the historian refers
to this in sundry places. Yet the general idea is that Ishmael succeeded his father (as
eldest son) and was succeeded by Isaac ; and hence the bitter family feud between the
Eastern Jews and the Arab Gentiles.

4 In text " Tajnf " = lit . thou pluckest (the fruit of good deeds). M. Houdas translates
Tit rfcueilles, mot <i mot tu cucilles.

The Linguist-dame , the Duenna and the King's Son. 105

Misraim-land they numbered six hundred thousand fighting 1 men
besides women and children." She continued, " Do thou point out
to me, some place on earth which is higher than the Heavens ; "
and he answered saying, " This is Jerusalem 2 the Exalted and she
standeth far above the Firmament." Then the Youth turning to
the Linguist-dame, said, " O my lady, long and longsome hath
been the exposition of that which is between us, and were thy
iady to ask me for all time questions such as these and the like of
them, I by the All-might of Allah shall return a full and sufficient
answer to one and all. But, in lieu of so doing, I desire of thy
mistress the Princess to ask of her one question and only one ;
and, if she satisfy me of the significance I claim therefor, let her
give me to drain the cup of my foregoers whom she overcame and
slew ; and if she fail in the attempt she shall own herself conquered

and become my wife and The Peace ! " 3 Now this was said in

the presence of a mighty host there present, the great of them as
well as the small thereof; so the Tarjumdnah answered willy-
nilly, " Say, O Youth, whatso is the will of thee and speak out
that which is in the mind of thee." He rejoined, " Tell thy lady
that she deign enlighten me concerning a man who was in this
condition. He was born and brought up in the highest of
prosperity but Time turned upon him and Poverty mishandled
him ; 4 so he mounted his father and clothed him with his mother 5
and he fared forth to seek comfort and happiness at the hand of
Allah Almighty. Anon Death met him on the way and Doom
bore him upon his head and his courser saved him from destruc-

1 See note at the end of this tale.

* Amongst the Jews the Temple of Jerusalem was a facsimile of the original built by
Jehovah in the lowest heaven or that of the Moon. For the same idea (doubtless a
derivation from the Talmud) amongst the Moslems concerning the heavenly Ka'abah
called Bayt al-Ma'mur (the Populated House) see my Pilgrimage iii. 186, et seq.

3 i.e. there is an end of the matter.

4 In text Massa-hu '1 Fakr " = poverty touched him.

6 He had sold his father for a horse, etc., and his mother for a fine dress-

io6 Supplemental Nights.

tion whenas he drank water which came neither from the sky nor
from the ground. Now see thou who may be that man and do
thou give me answer concerning him." 1 But when the Princess
heard this question, she was confused with exceeding confusion
touching the reply to be replied in presence of a posse of the
people, and she was posed and puzzled and perplext to escape the
difficulty and naught availed her save addressing the Tarjumanah
and saying, " Do thou bid this Youth wend his ways and remove
himself until the morrow." The Linguist-dame did as she was
bidden, adding, " And on the morrow (Inshallah !) there shall be
naught save weal ; " and the Prince went forth leaving the folk
aghast at the question he had urged upon the King's daughter.
But as soon as he left her the young lady commanded the Tarju-
mdnah to let slaughter somewhat of the most toothsome poultry
and to prepare them for food as her mistress might direct her ;
together with dainty meats and delicate sweetmeats and the finest
fruits fresh and dried and all manner of other eatables and drink-
ables, and lastly to take a skin-bottle rilled with good old wine.
Then she changed her usual garb and donned the most sumptuous
dress of all her gear ; and, taking her Duenna and favourite hand-
maiden with a few of her women for comitive, she repaired to the
quarters of the Youth, the King's son ; and the time of her visit
was the night-tide. Presently, reaching the Khan she said to her
guardian, " Go thou in to him alone whilst I hide me somewhere
behind the door and do thou sit between his hands ; " after which
she taught the old woman all she desired her do of dissimulation
and artifice. The slave obeyed her mistress and going in accosted

1 This enigma is in the style of Samson's (Judges xrv. 12) of which we complain that
the unfortunate Philistines did not possess the sole clue which could lead to the
solution ; and here anyone with a modicum of common sense would have answered,
"Thou art the man I " The riddles with which the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon must
have been simply hard questions somewhat like those in the text ; and the relator wisely
refuses to record them.

The Linguist-dame -, the Duenna and the King's Son. 107

the young man with the salam ; and, seating herself before him,
said, " Ho thou the Youth ! Verily there is here a lovely damsel,
delightsome and perfect of qualities, whose peer is not in her age,
and well nigh able is she to make the sun fare backwards 1 and to
illumine the universe in lieu thereof. Now when thou wast wont
to visit us in the apartment of the Princess, this maiden looked
upon thee and found thee a fair youth ; so her heart loved thee
with excessive love and desired thee with exceeding desire and to
such degree that she insisted upon accompanying me and she hath
now taken station at thy door longing to enter. So do thou grant
her permission that she come in and appear in thy presence and
then retire to some privacy where she may stand in thy service,
a slave to thy will." 2 The Prince replied, " Whoso seeketh us let
enter with weal and welfare, and well come and welcome and fair
welcome to each and every of such guests." Hereat the Princess
went in as did all those who were with her, and presently after
taking seat they brought out and set before the Youth their whole
store of edibles and potables and the party fell to eating and drink-
ing and converse, exchanging happy sayings blended with wit and
disport and laughter, while the Princess made it her especial task
to toy with her host deeming that he knew her not to be the King's
daughter. He also stinted not to take his pleasure with her ; and
on this wise they feasted and caroused and enjoyed themselves
and were cheered and the converse between them was delightful.
The Duenna, however, kept plying the Prince with wine, mere and
pure, until she had made him drunken and his carousal had so
mastered him that he required her of her person : however she
refused herself and questioned him of the enigma wherewith he
had overcome her mistress ; whilst he, for stress of drunkenness,
was incapacitated by stammering to explain her aught thereof.

' We should say "To eclipse the sun.
8 A very intelligible offer.

io8 Supplemental Nights.

Hereupon the Princess, having doffed her upper dress, propped
herself sideways upon a divan cushion and stretched herself at full
length and the Youth for the warmth of his delight in her and his
desire to her anon recovering his speech explained to her the reply
to his riddle. The King's daughter then joyed with mighty great
joy as though she had won the world universal j 1 and, springing
to her feet incontinently, of her extreme gladness she would not
delay to finish her disport with her wooer ; but ere the morning
morrowed she departed and entered her palace. Now in so doing
she clean forgot her outer robes and the wine-service and what
remained of meat and drink. The Youth had been overcome with
sleep and after slumbering he awoke at dawn when he looked
round and saw none of the company about him : withal he
recognised the princely garments which were of the most
sumptuous and costly, robes of brocade and sendal and such-
like, together with jewels and adornments ; and scattered about lay
sundry articles of the wine-service and fragments of the food they
had brought with them. And from these signs of things forgotten
he learnt that the King's daughter had visited him in person and
he was certified that she had beguiled him with her wiles until she
had wrung from him the reply to his question. So as soon as it
was morning-tide he arose and went, as was his wont, to the
Princess's palace where he was met by the Tarjumanah who said
to him, " O Youth, is it thy pleasure that my lady expound to
thee her explanation of the enigma yesterday proposed by thee ? '*
" I will tell the very truth," answered he ; " and relate to thee what
befel me since I saw you last, and 'twas this. When I left you
there came to me a lovely bird, delightsome and perfect of charms,
and I indeed entertained her with uttermost honour and worship ;

1 Arab. " Bi Asri-hi," lit. "rope and all ;" metaphorically used = altogether, entirely:
the idea is borrowed from the giving or selling of a beast with its thong, baiter,
chain, etc.

Tlie Linguist-Dcme> the Duenna and the King's Son. 109

we ate and we drank together, but at night she shook her feathers
and flew away from me. And if she deny this I will produce
her plumage before her father -and all present." Now when the
Sovran, the sire of the Princess, heard these words concerning his
daughter, to wit, that the youth had conquered her in her conten-
tion and that she had fared to his quarters to the end that she
might wring from him an explanation of the riddle which she was
unable to ree or reply thereto, he would do naught else save to
summon the Cohen 1 and the Lords of his land and the Grandees
of his realm and the Notables of his kith and kin. And when the
Priest and all made act of presence, he told them the whole tale
first and last ; namely, the conditions to the Youth conditioned,
that if overcome by his daughter and unable to answer her
questions he should be let drain the cup of destruction like his
fellows, and if he overcame her he should claim her to wife.
Furthermore he declared that the Youth had answered, with full
and sufficient answer, all he had been asked without doubt or
hesitation ; while at last he had proposed to her an enigma which
she had been powerless to solve; and in this matter he had
vanquished her twice (he having answered her and she having
failed to answer him) " For which reason," concluded the King,
" 'tis only right that he marry her ; even as was the condition
between them twain ; and it becometh our first duty to adjudge
their contention and decide their case according to covenant and
he being doubtless the conqueror to bid write his writ of marriage
with her. But what say ye?" They replied, "This is the
Tightest of redes ; moreover the Youth, a fair and a pleasant,
becometh her well and she likewise besitteth him ; and their lot
is a wondrous." So they bade write the marriage writ and the

1 In the text "Kahin," a Cohen, a Jewish Priest, a soothsayer: see Al-Kahanah,
vol. r. 28. In Heb. Kahana=he ministered (priests' offices or other business) and Cohen
-=a priest either of the true God or of false gods.

HO Supplemental Nights.

Cohen, arising forthright, pronounced the union auspicious and
began blessing and praying for the pair and all present. In
due time the Prince went in to her and consummated the
marriage according to the custom stablished by Allah and His
Holy Law ; and thereafter he related to his bride all that had
betided him, from beginning to end, especially how he had sold
his parents to one of the Kings. Now when she heard these
words, she had ruth upon his case and soothed his spirit saying
to him, " Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes clear and cool
of tear." Then, after a little while the Princess bestowed upon
her bridegroom a mint of money that he might fare forth and
free his father and his mother. Accordingly the Prince, accepting
her largesse, sought the King to whom he had pledged his parents
(and they were still with him in all weal and welfare) and going
in to him made his salam and kissed ground and told him the
whole tale of the past and the conditions of death or marriage
he had made with the King's daughter and of his wedding her
after overcoming her in contention. So the monarch honoured
him with honour galore than which naught could be more ; and,
when the Prince paid him over the moneys, he asked, u What be
these dirhams ? " " The price of my parents thou paidest to me,"
answered the other. But the King exclaimed, " I gave thee not
to the value of thy father and mother moneys of such amount as
this sum. I only largessed thee with a mare and a suit of clothes
which was not defraying a debt but presenting thee with a present
and thereby honouring thee with due honour. Then Alhamdolillah
laud be to the Lord, who preserved thee and enabled thee to
win thy wish, and now arise and take thy parents and return
in safety to thy bride." The Prince hereupon thanked him and
praised Allah for the royal guerdon and favours and the fair treat-
ment wherewith he had been entreated ; after which he craved
leave to receive his parents in charge and wend his ways. And
when permission was granted to him, he wished all good wishes

The Linguist-Dame > the Duenna and the King's Son. 1 1 1

to the King and taking his father and his mother in weal and
welfare he went his ways with them, in joy and gladness and
gratitude for all blessings and benefits by Allah upon him bestowed,
till he had returned to his bride. Here he found that his father-
in-law had deceased during his absence, so he took seat in lieu of
him upon the throne of the kingdom ; and he and his consort,
during all the days of their life in this world, ceased not eating and
drinking in health and well-being and eating and drinking in joy
and happiness and bidding and forbidding until they quitted this
mundane scene to the safeguard of the Lord God. And here
endeth and is perfected the history of the Youth, the King's son,
and the sale of his parents and his falling into the springes of the
Princess who insisted upon proposing problems to all her wooers
with the condition that if they did not reply she would do them
drain the cup of destruction and on this wise had slain a many
of men ; and, in fine, how she was worsted by > and she fell to
the lot of this youth whom Allah gifted with understanding to
ree all her riddles and who had confounded her with
his question whereto she availed not to reply;
so she was contented to marry him and he,
when his father-in-law died
succeeded to the kingdom
which he ruled
so well.

1 This ending with its resumt of contents is somewhat hars ligne, yet despite its" vaio
repetition I think it advisable to translate it

12 Supplemental Nights.

NOTE TO P. 105.

The M6$a (Moses) of the Moslems is borrowed from Jewish sources, the Pentateuch
and especially the Talmud, with a trifle of Gnosticism which, hinted at in the Koran
(chapt. xviii), is developed by later writers, making him the " external " man, while Khizr,
the Green prophet, is the internal. But they utterly ignore Manetho whose account of the
Jewish legislator (Josephus against Apion, i. cc. 26, 27) shows the other or Egyptian part.
Moses, by name Osarsiph = Osiris-Sapi, Osiris of the underworld, which some translate
rich (Osii) in food (Siph, Seph, or Zef ) was nicknamedMosheh from the Heb. Mashah =
to draw out, because drawn from the water l (or rather from the Koptic Mo = water
ushe = saved). He became a priest at An or On (Heliopolis), after studying the learning
of the Egyptians. Presently he was chosen chief by the " lepers and other uncleau
persons " who had been permitted by King Amenophis to occupy the city Avaris lately
left desolate by the" Shepherd Kings.'-' Osarsiph ordained the polity and laws of his
followers, forbidding them to worship the Egyptian gods and enjoining them to slay and
sacrifice the sacred animals. They were joined by the "unclean of the Egyptians" and
by their kinsmen of the Shepherds, and treated the inhabitants with a barbarity more
execrable than that of the latter, setting fire to cities and villages, casting the Egyptian
priests and prophets out of their country, and compelling Amenophis to fall back upon
Ethiopia. After some years of disorder Sethos (also called Harnesses from his father
Rampses) son of Amenophis came down with the King from Ethiopia leading great united
forces, and, " encountering the Shepherds and the unclean people, they defeated them
and slew multitudes of them, and pursued the remainder to the borders of Syria." Jose-
phus relates this account of Manetho, which is apparently truthful, with great indignation.
For the prevalence of leprosy we have the authority of the Hebrews themselves, and
Pliny (xxvi. 2) speaking of Rubor ^Egyptus, evidently white leprosy ending in the black,
assures us that it was " natural to the ./Egyptians, '* adding a very improbable detail,
namely that the kings cured it by balnea; (baths) of human blood.

Schiller (in " Die Sendung Moses") argues that the mission of the Jewish lawgiver,
KS adopted son (the real son?) of Pharaoh's daughter, became "learned in all the
wisdom of the Egyptians," by receiving the priestly education of the royal princes, and
that he had advanced from grade to grade in the religious mysteries, even to the highest,
in which the great truth of the One Supreme, the omniscient, omnipotent God was im-
parted, as the sublime acme of all human knowledge, thus attributing to Moses before
his flight into Midian, an almost modern conception of an essentially anthropomorphous
Deity.

1 " And 'she called his name Moses, and she said because from the water I drew him "
(Exod. ii. 10). So in Copt. .UUUOYC6 = walcr son > JUieC- waters, X1OY6"! =

taken from or JHOYAgl = delivered from.

* The Pharaoh of the Exodus is popularly supposed by Moslems to have treated
his leprosy with baths of babes' blood, the babes being of the Banu Israil. The
word "Pharaoh" is not without its etymological difficulties. In Josephus i"Tjn9
= III OVpO = the King. Others suggest Jll pA = the sun, which has little
weight. Ra", the sun (without article) generally follows the name of the king who is also
termed Cl DA. = son of Ra, ergo not Ra. Harding follows Brugsch Poslu\, who
proposes " Per'ao "= great house, sublime Porte.

The Linguist-Dame, the Duenna and the King's Son. \ 1 3

Further, that his conscious mission when he returned to Egypt was not merely the
deliverance of his people from the Egyptian yoke, but the revelation to them of this
great conception, and so the elevation of that host of slaves to the position of a nation, to
whose every member the highest mystery of religion should be known and whose insti-
tutions should be based upon it. It is remarkable that Schiller should have accepted the
fables of Manetho as history, that he should not have suspected the fact that the Egyptian
priest wrote from motives of personal spite and jealousy, and with the object of poisoning
the mind of Ptolemy against the learned Jews with whom he stood on terms of personal
friendship. Thus he not only accepts the story that the Hebrews were expelled from
Egypt because of the almost universal spread of leprosy among them, but explains at
length why that loathsome and horrible disease should have so prevailed. Stfll Schiller**
essay, written with his own charming eloquence, is n magnificent eulogy of the founder
of the Hebrew nation

Goethe (" Israel in der Wiiste ") on the other hand, with curious ingenuity, turns every
thing to the prejudice of the " headstrong man " Moses, save that he does grant him a vivid
sentiment of. justice. He makes him both by nature and education a grand, strong man,
but brutal (roh} withal. His killing the Egyptian is a secret murder ; "his dauntless fist
gains him the favour of a Midianitish priest -prince .... under the pretence of .\
general festival, gold and silver dishes are swindled (by the Jews under Moses's instiga-
tion) from their neighbours, and at the moment when the Egyptians believe the Israelites
tc be occupied in harmless feastings, a reversed Sicilian vesper is executed ; the stranger

rders the native, the guest the host ; and, with a horrible cunning, only the first-born are

destroyed to the end that, in a land where the first-born enjoyed such superior rights,
the selfishness of the younger sons might come into play, and instant punishment be
avoided by hasty flight. The artifice succeeds, the assassins are thrust out instead of
being chastised." (Quoted from pp. 99-100 "The Hebrews and the Red Sea," by
Alexander W. Thayer ; Andover, Warren F. Draper, 1883). With respect to the census
of the Exodus, my friend Mr. Thayer, who has long and conscientiously studied the
subject, kindly supplied me with the following notes and permitted their publication.

TRIESTE, October u, 1887,

MY DEAR SIR RICMAKJ,

The points in the views presented by me in our conversation upon the
Hebrews and their Exodus, of which you requested a written exposition, are, condensed,
these:

Assuming that the Hebrew records, as we have them, are in the main true, i.e.
historic, a careful search must reveal some one topic concerning which all the passages
relating to it agree at least substantially. Such a topic is the genealogies, precisely that
which Philippsohn the great Jewish Rabbi, Dr. Robinson, of the Palestine researches,
and all the Jewish and Christian commentators I know no exception with one accord
reject ! Look at these two columns, A. being the passages containing the genealogies,
B. the passages on which the rejection of them is based :

1. Genesis xxiv. 32, to xxv. 25 (Births of

Jacob's sons).

2. xxxv. 23-26 (Recapitulation of the

above).

3. xlvi. 8-27 (List of Jacob and his sons

when they came into Egypt).

VOL. VI.

1. Gen. xv. 13.

2. Ex. xii. 40, 41.

3. Acts vii. 6.

These three give the 400 and the 430 ytttrs
of the supposed bondage of tht Bene
Jacob, but are offset by Gen. xv. 16

114

Supplemental Nights.

(four generations) and Gal. iii. if
(Paul's understanding of the 430
years).

The story of Joseph, beginning Gen.
xxxvii. 2, gives us the dates in his
life; viz., 17 when sold, 30 when
he becomes Prime Minister, 40
when his father joins him.

I Chron. vi. 1-15 (Lineage of Ezra's
brother Jehozadak, abounding in
repetitions and worthless).

4. Ex. vi. 14-27 (Lineage of Aaron and

Moses).

5. Numb, xxxvi. 1-2 (Lineage of Zelo-

phehad).

6. Josh. vii. 17-18 (Lineage of Achan).

7. Ruthiv. 18-22 (ditto of David).

8. I Chron. ii. 9-15 (ditto).

9. Mat. i. 2-6 (ditto).

10. Luke iii. 32-37 (ditto).

11. Ezra vii. 1-5 (ditto of Ezra).
The lists of Princes, heads of tribes, the

spies, the commission to divide
conquered Palestine contain names
that can be traced back, and all
coincide with the above.

1. As between the two, the column A. is in my opinion more trustworthy than B.

2. By all the genealogies of the Davidian line we have Judah No. j, Solomon No. 12.
By Ezra's genealogy of his own family we have Levi No. I, and Azariah (Solomon's
High Priest) No. 12. They agree perfectly*

3. If there were 400 years of Hebrew (Bene Jacob) slavery between the death of
Joseph and the Exodus, there were 400 80 = 320, between Joseph's death and the
birth of Moses. If this was so there is no truth in the accounts of Moses and Aaron
being the great-grandchildren of Levi (Levi, Kohath, Amram, Aaron and Moses) . In
fact, if Dr. Robinson be correct in saying that at least six generations are wanting in the
genealogies of David (to fill the 400 years) the same must be lacking in all the early
genealogies. Reductio ad absurdum !

4. Jacob, a young man, we will say of 40, is sent to Laban for a wife. He remains
in Padan Aram twenty years (Gen. xxxi. 38), where all his sons except Benjamin were
born, that is, before he was 60. At 30 he joined Joseph in Egypt (Gen. xlvii. 9). Joseph,
therefore, born in Padan Aram was now, instead of 40, over 70 years old ! That this is so,
is certain. In Judah's exquisite pleadings (Gen. xliv. 18-34) he speaks of Benjamin as
" the child of Jacob's old age," "a little one," and seven times he calls him "the
lad." Benjamin is some years younger than Joseph, but when the migration into Egypt
takes place a few weeks after Judah's speech Benjamin comes as father of ten sons
(Geh. xlvi. 21), but here Bene Benjamin is used in its broad sense of "descendants,"
for in I Chron. vii. 6-12 we find that the " Bene " were sons, grandsons and ^^/-grand-
sons. To hold that Joseph at 40 had a younger brother who was a greatgrandfather,
is, of course, utterly absurd.

5. According to Gen. xv. 18, the Exodus was to take place in the fourth generation
born in Egypt, as I understand it.

Born in Egypt :

Levi (father of)
Kohath

1. Amram

2. Aaron

3. Eleazar

4. Phinee's

Judah (father

Pharez

Hezron

1. Ram

2. Amminadab

3. Nahshon
4 Salma

A conspicuous character in Numbers (xiii. 6, *; xiv. 24, etc.) is Caleb. In the first
chapter of Judges Caleb still appears, and Othniel, the son of his younger brother Kenaz

The Linguist-Dame, the Duenna and the Kings Son. 115

is the first of the so-called Judges (Jud. iii. 9;. This also disposes of the 400 years and
confirms the view that the Exodus took place in the fourth generation born in Egypt.
Other similar proofs may be omitted these are amply sufficient.

6. What, then, was the origin of the notion of the 400 yeare of Hebrew slavery P

If the Egyptian inscriptions and papyri prove anything, it is this : that from the
subjugation of Palestine by one of the Thotmes down to the great invasion of the hordes
from Asia Minor in the reign of Rameses III., that country had never ceased to be a
Pharaonic province ; that during these four or five centuries every attempt to throw off
the yok had been crushed and its Semitic peoples deported to Egypt as slaves ; that
multitudes of them joined in the Exodus under Moses, and became incorporated with the
Hebrews under the constitution and code adopted at Horeb (= Sinai? or Jebel Ardif?)
These people became " Seed of Abraham,*' " Children of Israel," by adoption, to which
I have no doubt, Paul refers in the "adoption" of Romans viii. 15-23; ix. 4; Gal.
iv. 5 ; Eph. i. 5. In the lapse of ages this distinction between Bene Israel and Bene
Jacob was forgotten, and therefore the very uncritical Masorites in their edition of the
Old Testament " confounded the confusion " in this matter. With the disappearance of
the 400 years and of the supposed two or three centuries covered by the book of Judges,
the genealogies stand as facts. The mistake in the case of the Judges is in supposing
them to have been consecutive, when, in fact, as the subjugations by neighbouring
peoples were local and extended only over one or two tribes, half a dozen of them
may have been contemporaneous.

7. Aaron and Moses were by their father Amram, greatgrandchildern of Levi by
their mother's his grandchildren (Ex. vi. 20). Joseph lived to see his own greatgrand-
children. Moses must have been born before Joseph's death.

8. There is one point determined in which the Hebrew and the Egyptian chronologers
coincide. It is the invasion of Judea by Shishak of Egypt in the fifth year of Rehoboam,
son of Solomon (i Kings xiv. 25). Supposing the Egyptian chronology from the time of
Minephtah II. to be in the main correct, as given by Brugsch and others, the thirteen
generations, Judah Rehoboam, allowing three to a century, take us back to just that
Minephtah. In his reign, according to Brugsch, that Pharaoh sent breadstuffs to the
Chittim in " the time of famine." The Hebrew records and traditions connect Joseph's
prime ministry with a famine. By the genealogies it could have been only this in the
time of Minephtah.

9. The Bene Jacob were but temporary sojourners in Goshen and always intended to
return to Canaan. They were independent and had the right to do so. See what
Joseph says in Gen. i. 24-25. But before this design was executed came the great
irruption of the Northern hordes, which broke .the power of the Chittim and Philistia
and devastated or depopulated all Palestine, in the time of Ramses III. Here was an
opportunity for the Bene Jacob to enlarge their plans and to devise the conquest and:
possession of Palestine. According to Josephus, supported by Stephen (Acts vii. 22),,
Moses was a man " mighty in works " a man of military fame. The only reasonable
way of understanding the beginning of the Exodus story, is to suppose, that, in the
weakened condition of Ramses III., the Hebrew princes began to intrigue with the
enslaved Semites the Ruthenu of the Egyptian inscriptions and this being discovered
by the Pharaoh, Moses was compelled to fly. Meantime the intrigues were continued and
when the time for action came, under one of Ramses' weak successors, Moses was recalled
and took command.

10. This prepares us for the second query, which you proposed, that is as to the
numbers who joined in the Exodus.

The Masoretic text, from which the English version of the Hebrew records is made,
gives the result of the census at Sinai (= Horeb) as being 603,550 men, "twenty years

Supplemental Nights.

old and upwards, that were able to go forth to war in Israel "the tribe of Levi not
included. On this basis it has been generally stated, that the number of the Bene Israel
at the Exodus was three millions. Of late I find that two millions is the accepted
number. The absurdity of even this aggregate is manifest. How could such a vast
multitude be subsisted? How kept in order? How compelled to observe sanitary
regulations ? Moreover, in the then enfeebled state of Egypt, why should 603,550 armed
men not have marched out without ceremony ? Why ask permission to go to celebrate a
sacrifice to their God ?

But there is another series of objections to these two millions, which I have never
seen stated or even hinted, to which I pray your attention.

The area of Palestine differs little from that of the three American States,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the most densely peopled of the Union,
containing -by the last census a population of somewhat less than two and a half
millions.

By the second Hebrew census (Numb, xxvi.) taken just before the death of Moses,
the army was 601,730; from which the inference has always been drawn, that at least
2,000,000, in the aggregate, Levites 23,000 males still excepted, entered and possessed
the conquered territories.

Take now one of the late maps of Palestine and mark upon it the boundaries of the
tribes as given in the book of Joshua. This second census gives the number of each
tribal army to be inserted in each tribal territory Reuben, 43,750; Judah, 76,500;
Benjamin, 45,600, etc., etc. By Josh. xii. the land was then divided between some
40 petty kings and peoples, 31 of whom are named as having been subjected. If, now,
Joshua's army numbered over 600,000, why was not the conquest made complete?
Massachusetts, Rhode Island -and Connecticut are divided into 27 counties. Suppose,
now, that these counties were each a separate and independent little kingdom dependent
upon itself, for defence, what resistance could be made to an army of 600,000 men, all ot
them grown up during forty years of life in a camp, and in the full vigour of manhood ?
And yet Joshua was unable to complete his conquest ! Again, the first subjugation of a
part of the newly-conquered territory as noted in the book of Judges, was Judah and
Simeon by a king of Edom. 1 If Judah could put an army into the field of 76,500, and
Simeon 22,500, their subjugation by a king of Edom is incredible, and the story absurd.
Next comes King Eglon of Moab and subjugates the tribes of Reuben and Gad, east of
the Dead Sea and the Jordan. And yet Reuben has an army of over 43,000, and Gad
45,000. And so on.

Accepting the statement that Moses led over 600,000 men *' able to go to war " out
of Egypt, and Joshua an equal number to the conquest of Canaan, the story of the
Exodus, of that conquest and of the subsequent subjugations of various tribes by the
neighbouring kings are all nonsense; the books of Joshua and Judges are incredible.
The difficulty is fully met and overcome, if we suppose the number to have been
exaggerated, as it would be by adding a cypher to the right of a line of Arabic numerals,
by which 60,000 is made 600,000 ; the 76,500 warriors of Judah are reduced to 7,650,
and so on.

With an army of 60,000 only, and an aggregate of half a million of people led out of
Egypt, all the history becomes instantly rational and trustworthy.

There remains one more bubble to be exploded.

Look at these figures, in which a quadruple increase at least 25 per centum too
great is granted. 1

1 Graetz (Geschichte i. note 7) proves that " Aram," in the Hebrew text (Judges iii. 8)
should be " Edom."

2 I give a quadruple increase, at least 25 per centum more than the genealogies
warrant.

The Linguist-Dame, the Duenna and the King's Son. 117

1st Generation, the Patriarchs, in number
2nd do. Kohath, Pharez, etc. .
3rd do. Amram, Hezron, etc. .
4th do. Aaron and Moses

Aggregate
Minus 25 per cent, for deaths, children, etc.

Actual number of Bene Jacob

48
192
768

1,020
255

765

But Jacob and his sons brought with them herdsmen, shepherds, servants, etc.
Bunsen puts the number of all, masters and men, at less than 2,000.

Let the proportion in this case be one able-bodied man in four persons, and
the increase triple.

1st Generation 500

2nd do. 1,500

3rd do 4,500

4th do. 13,500

Minus 25 per centum as above

Add the real Bene Jacob
Aggregate

29,000

21,750
765

22,515

Were these people, while Joseph is still alive, the subjects of slavery as described in
Ex. i. ? Did they build Pithom and Ramses, store-cities?

The number is sufficient to lead in the great enterprise and to control the mixed
multitude which was at Sinai, adopted as " Bene Israel" " Seed of Abraham," and
divided among and incorporated with the tribes ; but not sufficient to warrant the
supposition that with so small a force the Hebrew leaders could for a moment have
entertained the project of conquering Palestine.

A word more on the statement in Ex. i. n : "And they-built for Pharaoh store-
cities, Pithom and Ramses." All Egyptologists agree that these cities were built by
Ramses II., or certainly not later than his reign. If the Hebrew genealogies are
authentic) this was long before the coming of Jacob and his sons into Egypt.

(Signed)

A. W. THAYER.

THE TALE OF THE WARLOCK AND THE
YOUNG COOK OF BAGHDAD-

THE TALE OF THE WARLOCK AND THE
YOUNG COOK OF BAGHDAD.

foe begin foit& tfje afoance of glllal) ^Imtgfjtr?, tjje 2Fale of
tfje ffitarlod nnfc t&e IJoung <oofc of

IT is related (and Allah is All-knowing !) of a certain man which
was a Warlock, that Destiny drave him from town to town until
at last he entered Baghdad-city and dismounted at a Khin of the
Khans where he spent the night of arrival. Then, rising betimes

1 MS. pp. 505-537. This story is found in the "Turkish Tales" by Petis de la
Croix who translated one fourth of the "Forty Wazirs" by an author self-termed
" Shaykh Zadeh." It is called the " History of Chec Chahabeddin " (Shaykh Shihab

It is called the " History of Chec Chahabeddin"
al-Din), and it has a religious significance proving that the Apostle did really and
personally make the "Mi'raj" (ascent to Heaven) and returned whilst his couch was
still warm and his upset gugglet had not run dry. The tale is probably borrowed
from Saint Paul who (2 Cor. xii. 4), was " caught up into Paradise," which in those
days was a kind of region that roofed the earth. The Shaykh in question began by
showing the Voltairean Sultan of Egypt certain specious miracles, such as a phantom
army (in our tale two lions), Cairo reduced to ashes, the Nile in flood and a Garden of
Irem, where before lay a desert. He then called for a tub, stripped the King to a zone
girding his loins and made him dip his head into the water. Then came the adven-
tures as in the following tale. When after a moment's space these ended, the infuriated
Sultan gave orders to behead the Shaykh, who also plunged his head into the tub ; but
the Wizard divined the ill-intent by " Muk&hafah" (thought-reading) ; and by "Al-
Ghayb 'an al-Absdr " (invisibility) levanted to Damascus. The reader will do well to
compare the older account with the "First Vizir's Story" (p. 17) in Mr. Gibb's
" History of the Forty Vizirs," etc. As this scholar remarks* the Mi'raj, with all its
wealth of wild fable, is simply alluded to in a detached verset of the Koran (xvii, i)
which runs : [I declare] " The glory of Him who transported His servant by night from the
Sacred Temple (of Meccah) to the Remote Temple (of Jerusalem), whose precincts we
have blessed, that we might show him of our signs." After this comes an allusion to
Moses (v. 2); Mr.. Gibb observes (p. 22) that this lengthening out of the seconds was a
favourite with "Dervishes, as he has shown in " The Story of Jewad ;'* and suggests
that the effect might have been produced by some drug like Hashish. I object to Mr.
Gibb's use of the word " Houri " (ibid. p. 24) without warning the reader that it is
an irregular formation, masculine withal, for ' Hurfyah " and that the Pers. " Huri/*
from which the Turks borrowed their blunder, properly means "One Hiir."

122 Supplemental Nights.

next morning, he walked about the highways and wandered around
the lanes and he stinted not passing from market-street to market-
street, solacing himself with a sight of many places, till he reached
the Long Bazar, whence he could descry the whole site of the city.
Now he narrowly considered the land, and, lo and behold ! it was
a capital sans peer amongst the cities, wherethrough coursed the
Dajlah River blended with the River Furat 1 and over the united
stream were thrown seven bridges of boats ; all these were bound
one to other for the folk to pass over on their several pursuits,
especially for the pleasure-seekers who fared forth to the palm-
orchards and the vergiers abounding in fruits while the birds were
hymning Allah, the Sole, the All-conquering. Now one day as this
Warlock was amusing himself amongst the markets he passed
by the shop of a Cook before whom were set for sale dressed
meats of all kinds and colours ; 2 and, looking at the youth, he saw
that he was rising fourteen and beautiful as the moon on the
fourteenth night ; and he was elegant and habited in a habit as it
had just come from the tailor's hand for its purity and excellent fit,
and one had said that he (the artisan) had laboured hard thereat, for
the sheen of it shimmered like unto silver. 3 Then the Warlock
considering the face of this Cook saw his colour wan as the hue of
metal leaves 4 and he was lean of limb ; 5 so he took station facing
him and said to him, " The Peace be upon thee, O my brother,"
and said the other in reply, " And upon thee be The Peace and
the ruth of Allah and His blessings : so well come to thee and

1 For the Dajlah (Tigris) and Furdt (Euphrates) see vols. viii. 150 ; ix. 17. The
topothesia is worse than Shakspearean. In Weber's Edit, of the " New Arabian
Nights" (Adventures of Simoustapha, etc.), the rivers are called "Ilfara" and
"Aggiala."

8 In text " Alwan," for which see .vol. vii. 135.-

3 [The word which is here translated with : " and one had said that he had laboured
hard thereat" (walawi'yh ?) seems scarcely to bear out this meaning. I would read it
" wa'1-Aw'iyah" plur. of wi'a"), rendering accordingly : ' and the vessels (in which the
aforesaid meats were set out) shimmered like unto silver for their cleanliness. ST.]

4 In text ' Al-Wahwah."

In text, " Mutasa'lik" for " Mutasa'lik" = like a "sa'luk.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 123

welcome and fair welcome. Honour me, O my lord, by suffering me
to serve thee with the noonday meal." Hereat the Wizard entered
the shop and the Kitchener took up two or three platters white
as the whitest silver ; and, turning over into each one a different
kind of meat set them between the hands of the stranger who said
to him, " Seat thee, O my son." And when his bidding was
obeyed he added, " I see thee ailing and thy complexion is yellow
exceedingly : what be this hath affected thee and what is thy dis-
order and what limb of thy limbs paineth thee and is it long since
thou art in such case ? " Now when the Cook heard this say he
drew a sigh of regret from the depths of his heart and the soles of
his feet and quoth he weeping, " Allah upon thee, O my lord,
remind me not of that hath bedded me !" But quoth the other
" Tell me what may be thy disease and whereof dost thou com-
plain ; nor conceal from me thy pain ; for that I am a physician
and by aidance of Allah an experienced ; and I have a medicine
for thy malady." Hereat the youth fell to moaning and groaning
and presently replied, " In very sooth, O my lord, I have nor pain
nor complaint, save that I am a lover." The Warlock asked, " Art
thou indeed a lover ? " whereto the Cook make answer, " And not
only a lover but a lover parted from his beloved." " On whom
hangeth thy heart, say me ? " continued the Mediciner and the
youth replied, " Leave me for the nonce till such time as I am quit
of my business, and return to me about mid-afternoon, that I may
inform thee of mine affair and acquaint thee with the case I am
in." The Warlock rejoined, " Arise now to thy work lest it be
miswrought by loitering ;" and so saying he ate whatso of meats
had been served up to him and fared forth to thread the Bazars of
Baghdad and solace himself by seeing the city. But when it was
the hour of Al-'Asr the mid-afternoon prayer he went back to
the Cook and found that by this time he had wrought all his work,
and as soon as the youth sighted him he rejoiced in him and his
spirits were cheered and he said in his mind, " Haply joy shall

124 Supplemental Nights.

come to me from the healing hand of this Mediciner ;" so he shut
his shop and taking with him his customer hied him to his own
home. Now this young Kitchener was of amplest means which he
had inherited from either parent ; so as soon as they entered his
quarters he served up food and the two ate and drank and were
gladdened and comforted. After this quoth the guest to his host ;
" Now relate to me the manner of thy story and what is the cause
of thy disorder ? " " O my lord," quoth the youth, " I must inform
thee that the Caliph Al-Mu'tazid bi'llah, 1 the Commander of the
Faithful, hath a daughter fair of favour, and gracious of gesture ;
beautiful, delightsome and dainty of waist and flank, a maiden in
whom all the signs and signals of loveliness are present, and the
tout ensemble is independent of description : seer never saw her
like and relator never related of aught that eveneth her in stature
and seemlihead and graceful bearing of head. Now albeit a store
of suitors galore, the grandees and the Kings, asked her from the
Caliph, her sire refused to part with her, nor gave her neither
would he give her to any one thereof. And every Friday when
fare the folk to the Mosques that they pray the prayers of
meeting-day, all the merchants and men who buy and sell and the
very artisans and what not, leave their shops and warehouses 2 and
taverns 3 unbolted and wide open and flock to congregational devo-
tions. And at such time this rare maiden cometh down from her
palace and solaceth herself with beholding the Bazars and anon
she entereth the Hammam and batheth therein and straightway
goeth forth and fareth homewards. But one Friday said I to

* For this "high-spirited Prince and noble-minded lord " see vol. be. 229.
8 In text " Bisata-hum " = their carpets.

* In text "Hawanft," plur. of "Hanut" = the shop or vault of a vintner, pop.
derived from the Persian Khaneh ; but it appears to be another form of oyU Heb.
JTO! Syr., J^QJL^ In Jer. xxvii, 16, where the A. V. has "When Jeremiah was

entered into the dungeon and into the cabins" read "underground vaults," cells or
cellars where wine was sold. " Hanut " also means either the vintner or the vintner's
shop. The derivation from ^ because it ruins man's property and wounds his honour
is they? d'tsprit of a moralising grammarian. Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 377.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 125

myself, " I will not go to the Mosque, for I would fain look upon
her with a single look ;" and when prayer-time came and the folk
flocked to the fane for divine service, I hid myself within my shop.
Presently that august damsel appeared with a comitive of forty
handmaidens all as full moons newly risen and each fairer than
her fellows, while she amiddlemost rained light upon them as she
were the irradiating sun ; and the bondswomen would have kept
her from sight by thronging around her and they carried her
skirts by means of bent rods 1 golden and silvern. I looked at
her but one look when straightway my heart fell in love to her
burning as a live coal and from mine eyes tears railed and until
now I am still in that same yearning, and what yearning!" And
so saying the youth cried out with an outcry whereby his soul was
like to leave his body. " Is this case still thy case ? " asked the
Warlock, and the youth answered, " Yes, O my lord ;" when the
other enquired, "An I bring thee and her together what wilt
thou give me ? " and the young Cook replied, " My money and my
life which shall be between thy hands ! " Hereupon quoth the
Mediciner, " Up with thee and bring me a phial of metal and
seven needles and a piece of fresh Lign-aloes ; 2 also a bit of
cooked meat, 3 and somewhat of sealing-clay and the shoulder-
blade of a sheep together with felt and sendal of seven kinds."
The youth fared forth and did his bidding, when the Sage took

1 In the Arab. " Jawdkin," plur. of Arab. Jaukan for Pers. Chaugan, a crooked stick,
a club, a bat used for the Persian form of golf played on horseback Polo.

2 The text reads "Liyah," and lower down twice with the article "Al-Liyah"
(double La"m). I therefore suspect that " Liyyah," equivalent with "Luwwah," is
intended, which both mean Aloes- wood as used for fumigation (yutabakhkharu bi-hi).
For the next ingredient I would read "Kit'ah humrab," a small quantity of red
brickdust, a commodity, to which, I do not know with what foundation, wonderful
medicinal powers are or were ascribed. This interpretation seems to me the more
preferable, as it presently appears that the last-named articles had to go into the phial,
the mentiyn of which would otherwise be to no purpose and which I take to have
been finally sealed up with the sealing clay. The whole description is exceedingly
loose, and evidently sorely corrupted, so I think every attempt at elucidation may be
acceptable. ST.]

3 " Wa Kfta'h hamrah," which M. Houdas renders un mortem d* viand* c*&.

126 Supplemental Nights.

the shoulder-blades and wrote upon them Koranic versets and
adjurations which would please the Lord of the Heavens and,
wrapping them in felt, swathed them with silken stuff of sevenfold
sorts. Then, taking the phial he thrust the seven needles into the
green Lign-aloes and set it in the cooked meat which he made fast
with the sealing-clay. Lastly he conjured over these objects with a
Conjuration 1 which was, " I have knocked, I have knocked at the
hall doors of Earth to summon the Jann, and the Jann have
knocked for the Jdnn against the Shaytan." Hereat appeared to
me the son of Al bin Imrdn 2 with a snake and baldrick'd with a
basilisk and cried : Who be this trader and son of a slave-girl
who hath knocked at the ground for us this evening ? Then do
thou, O youth, reply : I am a lover and of age youthful and my
love is to a young lady ; and unto your gramarye I have had
recourse, O folk of manliness and generosity and masterful deeds :
so work ye with me and confirm mine affair and aid me in this
matter. See ye not how Such-an-one, daughter of Such-an-one,
oppression and wrong to me hath done, nor is she with me in
affection 33 she was anon ? They shall answer thee : Let it be,
as is said, in the tail ; 3 then do thou set the objects upon a fire

1 This is a specimen of the Islamised Mantra called in Sanskrit Stambhana and intended
to procure illicit intercourse. Herklots has printed a variety of formulae which are
popular throughout southern India : even in theMaldive Islands we find such "Fandita"
(z.e. Panditya, the learned Science) and Mr. Bell (Journ., Ceylon Br. R. A. S. vii. 109)
gives the following specimen, " Write the name of the beloved ; pluck a bud of the screw-
pine (here a palette de moutori); sharpen a new knife ; on one side of the bud write the Surat
al-Badr (chapter of Power, No. xxi., thus using the word of Allah for Satan's purpose) j
on the other side write Vajahata ; make an image out of the bud ; indite particulars of the
horoscope ; copy from beginning to end the Surat" al-Rahmdn (the Compassionating,
No. xlviii.) ; tie the image in five places with coir left-hand-twisted (*,*. widdershins or
4 against the sun ') ; cut the throat of a blood-sucker (lizard) ; smear its blood on the
image ; place it in a loft : dry it for three days ; then take it and enter the sea. If you
go in knee-deep the woman will send you a message ; if you go in to the waist she will
visit you. (The Voyage of Francois Pyrard, etc., p. 179.) I hold all these charms to
be mere instruments for concentrating and intensifying the brain action called Will,
whic. is and which presently will be recognised as the chief motor-power. See Suppl.
vol. iii.

2 Probably the name of some Prince of the Jinns.

3 In text " Kama zukira fl Dayli-h" = arrangt-toi defafon & fattiindre (Houdas).

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 127

exceeding fierce and recite then over them : This be the business ;
and were Such-an-one, daughter of Such-an-one, within the well of
Kdshdn 1 or in the city Ispahan or in the towns of men who with
cloaks buttoned tight and ever ready good-fame to blight, 2 let her
come forth and seek union with the beloved. Whereto she will reply :
Thou art the lord and I am the bondswoman." Now the youth
abode marvelling at such marvel-forms and the Warlock having
repeated to him these words three times, turned to him and said,
" Arise to thy feet and perfume and fumigate thy person and don
thy choicest dress and dispread thy bed, for at this very hour thou
shalt see thy mistress by thy side." And so saying the Sage cast
out of hand the shoulder-blades and set the phial upon the fire.
Thereupon the youth arose without stay or delay and bringing a
bundle of raiment the rarest, he spread it and habited himself, doing
whatso the Wizard had bidden him ; withal could he not believe
that his mistress would appear. However ere a scanty space of
time had elapsed, lo and behold ! the young lady bearing her bed-
ding 3 and still sleeping passed through the house-door and she was
bright and beautiful as the easting sun. But when the youth the
Cook sighted her, he was perplext and his wits took flight with his
sense and he cried aloud saying, " This be naught save a wondrous
matter ! " " And the same," cjuoth the Sage, " is that requiredst
thou." Quoth the Cook, " And thou, O my lord, art of the
Hallows of Allah," and kissed his hand and thanked him for his
kindly deed. " Up with thee and take thy pleasure," cried the
Warlock ; so the lover crept under the coverlet into the bed and
he threw his arms round the fair one and kissed her between the
eyes ; after which he bussed her on the mouth. She sensed a
sensation in herself and straightway awaking opened her eyes and

1 Proverbial for its depth : Kdshln is the name of sundry cities ; here one in the Jiba"!
Or Irdk 'Ajami Persian Mesopotamia.

8 Doubtless meaning Christians.

* The Sage had summoned her by the preceding spell which the Princess obeyed
involuntarily.

128 Supplemental Nights.

beheld a youth embracing her, so she asked him, " Ho thou, who
art thou ? " Answered he, " One by thine eyes a captive ta'en and
of thy love the slain and of none save thyself the fain." Hereat
she looked at him with a look which her heart for love- longing
struck and again asked him, " O my beloved ; say me then, who
art thou, a being of man-kind or of Jann-kind ?" whereto he
answered, "I am human and of the most honourable." She
resumed, " Then who was it brought me hither to thee ? " and he
responded, " The Angels and the Spirits, the Jinns and the Jann."
" Then I swear thee, O my dearling," quoth she, " that thou bid
them bear me hither to thine arms every night," and quoth he,
" Hearkening and obeying, O my lady, and for me also this be the
bourne of all wishes." Then, each having kissed other, they slept
in mutual embrace until dawn. But when the morning morrowed
and showed its sheen and shone, behold, the Warlock appeared
and, calling the youth who came to him with a smiling face, said
to him, " How was it with thy soul this night ? " * and both lovers
cried, " We were in the Garden of Paradise together with the Hur
and Ghilman : 2 Allah requite thee for us with all weal." Then
they passed into the Hammam and when they had bathed, the
youth said, " O my lord, what shall we do with the young lady
and how shall she hie to her household and what shall be the case
of me without her ? " " Feel no grief," said the other, " and quit
all care of anything : e'en as she came so shall she go ; nor shall
any of Almighty Allah's creatures know aught of her." Hereat
the Sage dismissed her by the means which conveyed her, nor did
she cease to bear her bedding with her every night and to visit
the youth .with all joyance and delight. Now after a few weeks had
gone by, this young lady happening to be upon the terrace-roof of
her palace in company with her mother, turned her back to the

1 i.e. last night ; see vol. iii. 249.

2 In text "Wuldn"= "Ghilmn"s the boys of Paradise; for whom and theii
feminine counterparts the Hur (Al-Ayn) see rols. i. 90, 211 ; iii. 233.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 129

sun, and when the heat struck her between the shoulders her belly
swelled ; so her parent asked her, " O ihy daughter, what hast thoti
that thou juttest out after this wise ?" " I wot naught thereof,"
answered she; so the mother put forth her hand to the belly
of her child and found her pregnant ; whereupon she screamed and
buffeted her face and asked, " Whence did this befal thee ? " The
women-attendants all heard her cries and running up to her
enquired, " What hath caused thee, O our lady, such case as this ? "
whereto she replied, " I would bespeak the Caliph." So the
women sought him and said, " O our lord, thou art wanted by our
lady ; " and he did their bidding and went to his wife, but at first
sight he noted the condition of his daughter and asked her, " What
is to do with thee and what hath brought on thee such calamity ? M
Hereupon the Princess told him how it was with her and he
exclaimed as he heard it, " O my daughter, I am the Caliph and
Commander of the Faithful, and thou hast been sought to wife of
me by the Kings of the earth one and all, but thou didst not accept
them as connections and now thou doest such deed as this! I
swear the most binding of oaths and I vow by the tombs of my
sires and my grandsires, an thou say me sooth thou shalt be saved ;
but unless thou tell me truth concerning whatso befel thee and
from whom came this affair and the quality of the man's intention
thee-wards, I will slaughter thee and under earth I will sepulchre
thee." Now when the Princess heard from her father's mouth
these words and had pondered this swear he had sworn she
replied, rt O my sire, albeit lying may save yet is truth-telling the
more saving side. Verily, O my father, 'tis some time before this
day that my bed beareth me up every night and carrieth me to a
house of the houses wherein dwelleth a youth, a model of beauty
and loveliness, who causeth every seer to languish ; and he beddeth
with me and sleepeth by my side until dawn, when my couch
uplifteth me and returneth with me to the Palace : nor wot I the
manner of my going and the mode of my coming is alike unknown
VOL. VI, I

1 30 Supplemental Nights.

to me." The Caliph hearing these her words marvelled at this her
tale with exceeding marvel and fell into the uttermost of wonder-
ment, but bethinking him of his Wazir, a man of penetrative wit,
sagacious, astute, argute exceedingly, he summoned him to the
presence and acquainted him as soon as he came with this affair
and what had befallen his daughter ; to wit, how she was borne
away in her bed without knowing whither or aught else. Quoth
the Minister after taking thought for a full-told hour, " O Caliph of
the Time and the Age, I have a device by whose virtue I do opine
we shall arrive at the stead whither wendeth the Princess ; " and
quoth the Caliph, " What may be this device of thine ? " " Bid
bring me a bag ; " rejoined the Wazir, " which I will let fill with
millet ; " * so they brought him one and he after stuffing the same
with grain set it upon the girl's bed and close to her where lay her
head, leaving the mouth open to the intent that when during the
coming night her couch might be carried away, the millet in going
and returning might be shed upon the path. " Allah bless thee,
Ho thou the Wazir ! " cried the Caliph : " this device of thine is
passing good and fair fall it for a sleight than which naught can be
slyer and good luck to it for a proof than which naught can be
better proven." Now as soon as it was even-tide, the couch was
carried off as had happened every night and the grain was strown
broadcast upon the path, like a stream, from the gateway of the
Palace to the door of the young Cook's lodging, wherein the
Princess nighted as was her wont until dawn of day. And when
morn appeared the Sage came and carried off with him the youth
to the Hammam where he found privacy and said to him, " O my
son, an thou ask me aught touching thy mistress's kith and kin, I

1 Arab. " Dukhn " = Holcus dochna, a well-known grain, a congener of the Zurrah
or Durrah = Holcus Sativus, Forsk. cxxiii. The incident is not new.. In " Das blaue
Licht/ a Mecklenburg tale given by Grimm, the King's daughter who is borne through
the air to the soldier's room is told by her father to fill her pocket with peas and make
a hole therein ; but the sole result was that the pigeons had a rare feast. See SuppU
vol. Ui. 570.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Coek of Baghdad. 131

bid thee know that they have indeed discovered her condition and
against thee they have devised a device." Exclaimed the youth,
" Verily we are Allah's and unto Him are we returning ! What
may be thy rede in this affair ? An they slay me I shall be a
martyr on Allah's path ; 1 but do thou wend thy ways and save
thyself and may the Almighty requite thee with all of welfare ;
thee, through whom mine every wish I have won, and the whole
of my designs I have fulfilled ; after which let them do with me as
they desire." The Warlock replied, " O my son, grieve not neither
fear, for naught shall befal thee of harm, and I purpose to show
thee marvels and miracles wroughten upon them." When the
youth heard these words his spirits were cheered, and joying with
joy exceeding he replied, " Almighty Allah reward thee for me
with fullest welfare ! " Then the twain went forth the Hammam
and hied them home. But as soon as morning morrowed, the
Wazir repaired to the Caliph; and, both going to the Princess
together, found her in her bower and the bag upon her bed clean
empty of millet, at sight of which the Minister exclaimed, " Now
indeed we have caught our debtor. Up with us and to horse, O
Caliph of the Age, and sum and substance of the Time and the
Tide, and follow we the millet and track its trail." The Com-
mander of the Faithful forthright gave orders to mount, and the
twain, escorted by their host, rode forth on the traces of the grain
till they drew near the house, when the youth heard the jingle and
jangle 2 of horses' tramp and the wrangle and cangle of men's out-
cries. Upon this said the Cook to the Warlock, " Here they draw
near to seize me, O my lord, what is there now for me to do ? " and
said the other, " Rise and fill me an ewer with water ; then mount
therewith to the terrace-roof and pour the contents round and
about the house, after which come down to me.'" The youth did

1 *.#. a martyr of love. See vols. iii. 21 1 ; iv. 205.

2 In the text " Ka'ka' "; hence the higher parts of Meccah, inhabited by the Jurham
tribe, was called " Jabal Ka'ka' an," from their clashing arms (Pilgrimage ui. 191).

132

Supplemental Nights.

his bidding, and meanwhile the Caliph and the Wazir and the
soldiery had approached the house when, lo and behold ! the
site had become an island amiddlemost a main dashing with
clashing billows. 1 But when the Commander of the Faithful
sighted this sea, he was perplexed with mighty great perplexity
and enquired of the Wazir, " At what time did such great water
appear in this place ? " The Minister replied, " I never knew that
here was any stream, albe well I wot that the Tigris river floweth
amiddlemost the capital ; but this is a magical current." So say-
ing he bade the soldiery urge their horses into the water sans fear,
and every one drave as he had directed until all who entered lost
their lives and a many of men where drowned. Hereupon cried
the Prince of True Believers, " O Wazir, we are about to destroy
our host and to fare with them ! " and cried the other, " How shall
we act, O Caliph of the Age ? Haply our first, nay our best way,
is to ask help of those within the house and grant to them
indemnity while they exchange words with us and we see anon
what will come of their affair." " Do as beseemeth thee," answered
the Prince of True Believers ; whereupon the Minister com-
manded his men to cry aloud upon the household and they sued
for help during a length of time. But the Sage, hearing their
shouts, said to the youth, " Arise and go up to the terrace and say
to the Caliph of the Age : Thou art in safety ; turn away thy
steps hence and presently we will meet thy Highness in health and
weal ; otherwise 2 thy daughter shall be lost and thine army shall
be destroyed, and thou, O Commander of the Faithful, wilt depart
and return as one outdriven. Do thou wend thy ways : this be
not the mode of meeting us and in such manner there is no

1 This was the work of the form of magic popularly known as Simiyd= fascination, for
which see vol. i. 305, 332. It is supposed to pass away after a period of three days, and
mesmerists will find no difficulty in recognising a common effect upon "Odylic sensi-
tives."

8 Here supply the MS. with ' ilia."

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 133

management." The Cook did as he was bidden, and when the
twain heard his words, quoth the Wazir to the Caliph, " Verily
these be naught save Magicians, otherwise they must be of the
fulsomest of the Jann, for indeed never heard we nor saw we aught
of this." Hereupon the Prince of True Believers turned his back
upon the place and he sorrowful and strait of breast and dis-
heartened of heart ; so he went down to his Palace and sat there
for a full-told hour when behold, the Warlock and the Cook
appeared before him. But as soon as they stood in the presence
the Caliph cried out, " O Linkman, bring me the head of yonder
youth from between his shoulders ! " Hereupon the Executioner
came forward and tearing a strip off the youth's robe-skirt
bandaged his eyes ; then he walked thrice round about him
brandishing his blade over the victim's head and lastly cried,
" O Caliph of the Age, shall I make away with this youth ? "
Answered the Caliph, " Yes, after thou shalt have striken off his
head." Hearing this the Sworder raised his hand and smote,
when suddenly his grip was turned backwards upon a familiar
of his who stood beside him, and it lighted upon his neck
with such force that his head flew off and fell at the Caliph's
feet. The King and the Wazir were perplexed at this affair,
and the former cried out, " What be this ? Art gone blind, O
Bhang-eater, that thy stroke hath missed the mark and thou
hast not known thy familiar from this youth who kneeleth before
thee ? Smite him without delay ! " Hereupon the Linkman again
raised his hand to obey his lord, but the blow fell upon the neck
of his varlet and the head flew off and rolled at the feet of the
Caliph and his Chief Councillor. At this second mishap the wits of
all present were bewildered and the King cried, " What business
is this, O Wazir ? " whereto the other made answer, " O Caliph of
the Time and rare gift of the Age and the Tide, what canst thou
do, O my lord, with such as these ? And whoso availeth to take
away o' nights thy daughter upon her bed and dispread a sea

134

Supplemental. Nights.

around his house, the same also hath power to tear thy kingdom
from thy grasp ; nay more, to practise upon thy life. Now 'tis my
rede that thou rise and kiss the hand of this Sage and sue his pro-
tection, 1 lest he work upon us worse than this. Believe me, 'twere
better for thee, O my lord, to do as I bid thee and thus 'twill be
well for us rather than to rise up as adversaries of this man."
Hearing such words from his Minister, the King bade them raise
the youth from the strip of blood-rug and remove the bandage
from before his eyes, after which he rose to his feet, and, kiss-
ing the Warlock's hand, said to him, " In very sooth we knew
thee not nor were we ware of the measure of thine excellence.
But, O teacher of the Time and sum and substance of revolving
Tide, why hast thou wrought to me on this wise in the matter
of my daughter and destroyed my servants and soldiers ? " " O
Viceregent of Allah upon His Earth," replied the Sage, " I am a
stranger, and having eaten bread and salt with this youth, I formed
friendship and familiarity with him : then, seeing his case which
was sad and his state which was marvellous as it had afflicted him
with sickness, I took compassion upon him ; moreover I designed
to show you all what 1 am and what Almighty Allah hath taught
me of occult knowledge. Hitherto there hath been naught save
weal, and now I desire of thy favour that thou marry thy daughter
to this youth, my familiar, for that she suiteth none other save
himself." Quoth the Caliph, " This proceeding I look upon as the
fittest and it besitteth us that we obey thy bidding." Presently
he robed the youth with a sumptuous robe worth the kingdom of a
King, and commanded him to sit beside the presence and seated
the Sage upon a chair of ebony-wood. Now whilst they were in
converse the Warlock turned round and beheld arear of the Caliph
a hanging of sendal whereupon stood figured lions twain : so he
signed with his hand to these forms which were mighty huge of

1 In text " tatadakhkhal 'alay-h : " see " Dakhil-ak," vol. i. 61.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 135

limb and awesome to look upon, when each put forth his paw upon
his fellow and both roared with roars like unto the bellow of ear-
rending thunder. Hereat all present were perplext in the extreme
and were in admiration at that matter, and especially the Prince
of True Believers who cried, " O Wazir, what seest thou in this
business ? " . The Wazir replied, " O Caliph of the Age, verily
Allah Almighty to thee hath sent this Sage that He 1 might
show thee such marvels as these." Then the Warlock signalled
.with his hand to the lions which shrank till they became as
cats which carried on the combat ; and both Caliph and Wazir
wondered thereat with excessive wonderment. * Anon quoth the
King to the Minister, " Bid the Sage display to us more of his
marvels ; and accordingly the Wazir obeyed his lord's behest, and
the Warlock replied, " To hear is to obey." He then said, " Bring
hither to me a chauldron full of water ; " and when it was brought
he asked the Courtiers, " Which of you would divert himself ?"
"I," quoth the Wazir; when quoth the. Sage, "Do thou rise to.
thy feet and doff thy robes and gird thee with a zone : " whereto
said the other, " Bring me a waistcloth ; " and when it was brought
he did therewith as he was bidden. _ Hereat said the Warlock,
" Seat thee in the centre of the chauldron ; " so he plunged into
the water, but when he would have seated him amiddlemost thereof
as ordered he saw only that he had entered a sea dashing with
surges clashing wherein whoso goeth is lost to view, and whence
whoso cometh is born anew ; and he fell to swimming from side to
side intending to issue forth, while the waves suffered him not to
make the shore. And while he was in this case behold, a billow
of the billows vomited 2 him up from the sea to the strand and he
stood on dry land, when he surveyed his person and suddenly saw
that he -had become a woman with the breasts of a woman and the

1 Or " he " : the verb may also refer to the Sage.
* Arab. " Kazafa"= threw up, etc.

1 36 Supplemental Nights.

solution of continuity like a woman, and long black hair flowing
down to his heels even as a woman's. Then said he to himself,
" O ill-omened diversion ! What have I done with such unlucky
disport that I have looked upon this marvel and wonder of wonder-
ments, only to become a woman. 1 Verily we are Allah's, and unto
Him shall we return ; " adding as he took thought of the matter
and of what Jiad befallen him, "There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great." Presently a
Fisherman approached him and sighting a fair girl said, " This
be none other than a blessed day which Allah hath opened to us
with a beautiful maiden for quarry ; and she is doubtless of the
Daughters of the Deep, whom Allah Almighty hath sent to us
that I may espouse her to my son." Hearing these words said
the transformed to himself, "Now after being a Wazir I have
become a woman and this be for that as tit for tat, 2 and the wight
furthermore desireth to see me married, and as for the Caliph and
the kingdom and the countries, who shall now be able to offer
them counsel ? " But the Fisherman who for his joyance had no
stomach to ply his pursuit, as was his custom, forthwith arose and
taking with him the Daughter of the Deep led her to his house,
and on entering the door cried aloud to his wife, " This day hath
been a lucky for my fishing craft : during all these years it never
befel me to happen upon a Mermaid save on this best-omened of
all the days," adding, " Where is thy son, to whom Allah hath sent
this Daughter of the Daughters of the Main ; and hath made her
his portion and vouchsafed her to his service ? for 'tis my design
to marry them." Replied the woman, " He hath taken the beast*
and hath fared forth to pasture it and plough therewith ; but right

1 This, in the case of the Wazir, was a transformation for the worse: see vol. vii. 294,
for the different kinds of metamorphosis.

3 i.e. my high fortune ending in the lowest.

1 In text " Bakar "=black cattle, whether bull, ox or cow. For ploughing with buU
sec vol. i. 16.

The Tale of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 137

soon will he return." And whilst they were thus conversing the
youth came forward, and the Wazir on sighting him groaned and
cried, " Well-away for me ! this very night I shall become a bride
for this blamed lad J to sleep withal. And if I say to them : What
intent have ye ? Ye are in meanness and misery 2 while I am
Wazir to the Caliph ; they will never believe me for that I have
become a woman, and all thereto appertaining now belongeth to
me. Alack and alas for that I did with mine own self; indeed
what business had I with such diversion ? " Hereupon the fisher-
man called out, " O my son, up with thee and straightway take
this Mermaid and marry her and abate her pucelage and be blessed
with her and enjoy thy joy with her during all the days of thy life-
tide : doubtless, O my child, thou art in all boon fortune, seeing
that what good befel thee never betided any before thee nor will
become the lot of one after thee." So the youth arose and for his
delight hardly believing in his conquest, married her and lay with
her and did away her maidenhead and on that very night she con-
ceived by him. After nine months she bare him issue and the
couple ceased not to be after this fashion till she had become a
mother of seven. But the Wazir, of his stress and excess of the
trouble and the travail he endured, said to himself, " How long shall
last this toil and torment wherewith I am liver-smitten and that
too by mine own consent ? So e'eri will I arise and hie me to this
sea and hurl me thereinto and whatso shall become of me let it
be : haply I may find rest from these torments into which I have
fallen/' And forthright he arose and sought the shore and did as
he had devised, when a wave enveloped him and cast him deep
into the depths and he was like to choke, when suddenly his head
protruded from the chauldron and he was seated as before he had
ducked it. Hereupon he saw the Caliph sitting in state with the

1 In text " Mukrif "=lit. born of a slave father and free mother.
' In text "Antum fi khashin wa bdsh," an error for " khash-mash " = a miserable
condition.

138 Supplemental Nights.

Sage by his side and all the Lords of the land and the Notables of
the commons awaiting the end of his adventure. So he gazed at
them and showed a smiling face J and laughed aloud when the
Prince of True Believers asked him saying, " What hast thou seen,
O Wazir ? " So he repeated to the Sovran all he had sighted and
everything that had come down upon his head, presently adding,
" O Caliph of the Age and the sum and substance of the Time and
the Tide, what be these marvels wrought by this Sage. ? Verily I
have beheld the garths of Paradise 2 with maidens of the Hur and
the youths of Heaven, and wonderments galore unlocked upon by
mankind at all, at all. But, an thou be pleased, O Commander of
the Faithful, to espy these rare spectacles and marvellous conditions
with thine own eyes, deign go down into the water ; so shalt thou
divert thyself with peregrine matters and adventures seld-seen."
The Sultan, delighted at this rede, arose and doffed his dress ;
then, girding his loins with a zone, he entered the chauldron
whereat the Sage cried out to him, " O my lord, sit thee down and
duck thy head." But when this was done the Caliph found him-
self in a bottomless sea and wide-dispread and never at rest by any
manner of means, so he fell to swimming therein, when a huge
breaker threw him high ashore and he walked up the beach
mother-naked save for his zone. So he said in his mind, " Let me
see what hath been wrought with me by the Sage and the Wazir
who have thus practised upon me and have cast me in this place ;
and haply they have married my daughter to the youth, and they
have stolen my kingdom, the Sage becoming Sultan in my stead.
And now let me ask myself, What had I to do with such damned

1 In text "yatbashsh " for "yanbashsha." [Or it may stand for yabtashsb, with
transposition of the "t" of the eighth form, as usual in Egypt. See Spitta-Bey's
Grammar, p. 198. ST.]

"Jananan," which, says M. Houdas is the vulgar form of " Jannatan"= the garden
(of Paradise). The Wazir thus played a trick upon his hearers. [The word in the text
may read " Jinanan," accusative of "Jinan," which is the broken plural of " Jannab,"
along with the regular plural "Jannat," and, like the latter, used for the gardens of
Paradise. ST.]

The TaU of the Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 139

diversion as this ? " But as he brooded over these thoughts and
the like 01 them behold, a bevy of maidens came forwards to fill
their pitchers from a fountain and a pool of sweet water lying
beside the sea ; and sighting him they exclaimed, " Thou, who art
thou ? say sooth be thou of man-kind or rather haply of Jinn-
kind ? " He replied, I am a mortal and of the noblest-born ;
withal I am a stranger in the land and I wot not whither I should
wend." " Of what country art thou ? " asked they, and he
answered, " I am from Baghdad." " Up with thee," quoth one of
the damsels " to yonder knoll, then down to the flat on the further
side, and thou shalt sight a city whose name is 'Oman, 1 where-
into do thou enter." The Caliph did her bidding, and no sooner
had the people seen him stripped than they said one to other,
" This man is a merchant who hath been shipwrecked ; so they
gave him by way of almsgift a Tobe 2 all tattered and torn where-
with he veiled his shame. And after so doing he fell to wandering
about the city for pastime, and while walking about he passed into
a Bazar and there sighted a cook, before whom he stood open-
mouthed (for indeed famine had thinned him), and he bethought
him of what to do, and he knew not how to act. However the
cook at first sight was certified of his being a foreigner, and haply
a shipwrecked mariner so he asked him, " O my brother, why dost
thou not come in and sit thee down, for thou art a stranger and
without means ; so in the way of Allah I would engage thy services
and will pay thee daily two dirhams to provide thee with meat
and drink." Answered the Caliph, " Hearing and obeying," after
which he abode with the cook and served him and stinted not
to serve him for a long time, saying in himself the while, " This
for that is tit for tat ! and after the Caliphate and commandment
and happiness and honour, this day art thou left to lick the platters.

1 For this name of the capital of Eastern Arabia see vols. i. 33 ; vii. 24.

2 " Tobe " is the Anglo -Oriental form of Thaub"= in Arabia a loose robe like a
night-gown. See ii. 206.

I 4 o Supplemental Nights.

What had I to do with such diversion as this ? Withal 'tis fairer
than the spectacle that anyone even my Wazir ever saw and the
more excellent, for that I after being the Caliph of the Age, and
the choice gift of the Time and Tide have now become the hire-
ling of a cook. Would to Heaven I wot the sin which brought
me hereto ? " J Now as he abode with the cook it befel him that
one day he threaded the Jewellers' Bazar; for about that city
was a sea-site whereinto the duckers and divers went down and
whence they brought up pearls and corals and precious stones ;
and as he stood in the market-place, quoth he to himself, " Let me
here become a broker in this market-street and find rest from
my groaning in labour and my licking of platters." As soon as
morning morrowed he did on such wise, when suddenly a merchant
approached him, hending in hand a costly gem whose light
burned like a lamp or rather like a ray of sunshine, and 'twas
worth the tribute of Egypt and Syria. Hereat the Caliph mar-
velled with exceeding marvel, and quoth he to the trader, " Say
me, wilt thou sell this jewel ? " and quoth the other, " Yes." So
the Sultan taking it from him went about with it amongst the
merchants, who seeing and considering it, wondered greatly at its
beauty. Accordingly they bid for it fifty thousand dinars, but
the royal broker ceased not to bear it about and the buyers
to increase their biddings till they offered an hundred thousand
gold pieces. Thereupon the Caliph returned with it to the owner
and accosted him saying, " Wilt thou sell it for the sum named ? "
and when the merchant consented, he continued, " I now go to
receive its price, wherewith I will come back to thee." Then the
broker went up to the buyer and said, " Bring hither its value and
set it in my hand ; but the man asked him, " Where be its
owner ? " and the Caliph answered, " Its owner hath commissioned

1 The good old Mosaic theory of retribution confined to this life, and the belief that
Fate is the fruit of man's actions.

The Tale of tJie Warlock and the Young Cook of Baghdad. 141

me to receive its price, after which he will come and recover the
same from me." However the bidder retorted, "This be not
fitting nor is it according to Holy Law : do thou bring me its
owner ; then come and let him pouch the price, for 'tis he hath
sold it to me and thou art only our agent." Hereupon the Caliph
went forth to seek the proprietor and wandered about a long
while without finding him; after which he again accosted the
purchaser, and said to him, " I am the rightful proprietor : place
the price in my hand." The buyer arose to pay his debt, but
before so doing he considered the jewel and saw that it was a bit
of dark Sandarach j 1 whereat he was sore perplext and cried out
to the Caliph, " O Satan, dost thou palm off false wares, the
market-place of the merchants being under the orders of the
Sultan ? " But when the traders heard these words, they flocked
around the pretended broker and having seized him they pinioned
his elbows and dragged him before the Sovran of that city who,
when they set the prisoner before him, asked, " What be the
offence of this man ? " " O our honoured lord," answered they,
" this wight palmeth off false wares and swindleth the traders in
the royal Bazar." So the King commanded them to hang him,
whereat they charged his neck with chains and bared his head,
and bade the cryer cry, " This be his award and the least of
awards who forgeth counterfeits and who tricketh the merchant-
folk in the market-place of the Sultan." Hereat quoth the Caliph
to himself, " I was not content with platter-licking, which now
appeareth to me a mighty pleasant calling but e'en I must become
a broker and die sus. per coll. This be for that tit for tat ; how-
ever, scant blame to the Time which hath charged me with this
work." Now when they brought him to the hanging-place and
threw the loop around his neck and fell to hoisting him up, as he

1 Arab. " Sandarusah"=red juniper gum (Thuja articulata of Barbary), red arsenic,
realgar, from thePers. Sandar= amber.

142 Supplemental Nights.

rose from the ground his eyes were opened and he found himself
emerging from the chauldron, whilst the Wazir and the Sage and
the youth were sitting and considering him. And the Minister
catching sight of his lord sprang to his feet and kissed ground
before him, and laughed aloud, and the Commander of the Faithful
asked him, " Why this laughter ? " Answered he, " O thou, the
Prince of True Believers and God-guarded Sovran, my laughter
and my gladness are for myself, seeing that I have recovered my
identity after becoming a woman and being wedded to a plough-
man, who eared the ground, and after bearing to him seven babes."
Cried the Caliph, " Woe to thee, O dog, O son of a dog, thou
wast married and rejoicedst in children, whereas I this very
moment from the hanging-place have come down." Then he
informed the Wazir of all that had befallen him and the Minister
did on like guise, whereat all those present laughed consumedly
and marvelled at the words of the Warlock, and his proficiency
in occult knowledge. Then the Kazi and witnesses were sum-
moned with their writing-gear and were bidden draw up the'
.marriage-contract of the young Cook and the Caliph's daughter.
After this the Sage sojourned with the Commander of the
Faithful in highmost degree and most honourable dignity, and
they abode eating and drinking and living the most delectable of
lives and the most enjoyable with all manner of joy and jollity,
till came to them the Destroyer of delights
and the Divider of man's days
and they departed life
one and all.

FINIS.

THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF THE COCK
AND THE FOX.

THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF THE. COCK
AND THE FOX.

f^ia foe begin to fnWte tje pleasant 3%'storg fofncj) tefel
betfoeen t&e (Eocfc anfc tfje Jfox. 1

IT is said that there abode in such a village a man which was a
Shaykh of long standing, one gifted with fair rede and right
understanding. Now he had on his farm a plenty of poultry, male
and female, and these he was wont to breed and to eat of their
eggs and their chickens. But amongst his cocks was a Chanti-
cleer, well advanced of age and wily of wit, who had long fought
with Fortune and who had become wise a'nd ware in worldly
matters and in the turns and shifts of Time. It fortuned one day
that this Cock went forth to wander about the farm-lands pecking
and picking up as he went such grains of wheat and barley and

1 MSS. pp. 718-724. This fable, whose moral is that the biter is often bit, seems
unknown to ^Esop and the compilation which bore his name during the so-called Dark
Ages. It first occurs in the old French metrical Roman de Renart entitled, Si comme
Renart prist Chanticler le Coq (ed. Meon, torn. i. 49). It is then found in the collection
of fables by Marie, a French poetess whose Lais are still extent ; and she declares to
have rendered it de l*Anglois en Roman ; the original being an Anglo-Saxon version of
^Esop by a King whose name is variously written Li rets Alured (Alfred?), or Aunert
(Albert ?), or Henris> or Mires. Although Alfred left no version of ^Esop there is in
MS. a Latin ^Esop containing the same story of an English version by Rex Anglitf
Affrus. Marie's fable is printed in extenso in the Chaucer of Dr, Morris (i. 247} ;
London, Bell and Sons, 1880 ; and sundry lines remind us of the Arabic, e.g. :

Li gupil volt parler en haut,
Et li cocs de sa buche saut,
Sur un haut fust s'est muntea.

And it ends with the excellent moral :

Ceo funt li fol tut le plusur,
Parolent quant deivent taiser,
Teisent quant il deivent parler.,

Lastly the Gentil Cok hight Chanticlere and the Fox, Dan Russel, a more accidented
tale, appear in " The Nonne Preestes Tale," by the Grand Trad"cteur.

VOL. VI. K

146 Supplemental Nights'.

holcus l and sesame and millet as chanced fall in his way ; but,
being careless of himself, he had left the village afar off without
thinking of what he did, and ere he took counsel with himself he
found him amiddlemost the wilderness. So he turned him right-
wards and leftwards but espied nor friend nor familiar, whereat he
stood perplext as to his affair and his breast was straitened and
still he knew not what to do. Now while thus bewildered in his
wits touching his next step, behold, his glance fell upon a Fox *
who was approaching him from afar, whereat he feared and
trembled and was agitated with mighty great agitation. At once
he turned him about and presently espied a high wall arising from
the waste, whereto was no place of ascending for his foe ; so he
spread his wings and flew up and perched upon the coping where
he took his station. Presently the Fox came forward to the foot
of the wall, and, finding no means of climbing it and getting at
the fowl, he raised his head and said, " The Peace be upon thee,
ho thou the soothfast brother and suitable friend ! " But as the
Cock would not turn towards him nor return aught of reply to his
salutation, the Fox resumed, "What is to do with thee, O dear my
brother, that my greeting thou acknowledgest not and to my
words inclinest thee not?" Still the Cock requited not his
courtesy and declined to reply, whereat the Fox resumed,
" Wottest thou not, O my brother, the glad tidings wherewith
I came theewards, with what suitable intelligence and counsel
veridical and information at once sincere and self-evident ? and,
didst know what it is hath come to mine ears, verily thou
hadst embraced me and kissed me on the mouth." But the Cock
feigned absence of mind and ignored him and answered him
naught, but stood with rounded eyes and fixed upon the
far when the Fox resumed, O my brother, the King of the

1 "Dura" in MS. (p. 718) for Zura,"the classical term, or for "Zurrah," pop.
pronounced " Durrah = the Holcus Sativus before noticed, an African as well as
Asiatic growth, now being supplanted by maize and rice.

3 "Sa'alab" or "Tha'lab"; vol. iii. 132.

The Pleasant History of the Cock and the Fox. 147

Beasts which be the Lion and the King of the Birds which be
the Eagle have alighted from a journey upon the meads where
grass is a-growing and by the marge where waters are a-flowing
and blossoms are a-blowing and browsing gazelles are a-to-ing and
a-fro-ing ; and the twain have gathered together all manner of
ferals, lions and hyenas, leopards and lynxes, wild cattle and
antelopes and jackals and even hares, brief, all the wild beasts of
the world ; and they have also collected every kind of bird, eagle
and vulture, crow and raven, 1 wild pigeon and turtle-dove, poultry
and fowls and Katas and quails 2 and other small deer, and these
two liege lords have bidden the herald proclaim, throughout the
tracts of the upland wold and the wild lowland, safety and security
and confraternity and peace with honour and sympathy and
familiar friendship and affection and love amongst wild beasts
and cattle and birds ; also that enmity be done away with and
wrongs be forbidden nor might one trangress against other ; nay,
if any chance to injure his fellow this offence might be for his
scourging a reason, and for his death by tearing to pieces a justi-
fication. The order hath also come forth that all do feed and
browse in one place whichever they please, never venturing to

break the peace but dwelling in all amity and affection and

intimacy one with other. Moreover they have commissioned me>
very me, to overroam the wastes and gladden with good tidings
the peoples of the -wilds and proclaim that one and all without
exception must assemble together, and also that whoso delayeth
or refuseth obedience shall not escape punishment 3 nor let each
and every fail to make act of presence and to kiss hands. And of
thee, O my brother, I especially require that thou descend from

1 In text " Kikan," plur. of " Kik "= des corneilles (Houdas).

.* "Samman" or " Summan," classically ' Salwa."

3 In text " Al-Kawani" = the spears, plur. of " KanaV' [' Al-Kawanl " as plural
of a singular " Kanat " = spear would be, I think, without analogy amongst the plural
formations, and its translation by " punishment " appears somewhat strained. I propose
to read *' al-Ghawani " and to translate "and whoever lags behind of the singing birds
will not be safe " (" la yaslimu," it will not go well with him). In the mouth of the fox

I 4 g Supplemental Nights.

thy high stead in safety and security and satisfaction, and that
henceforward thy heart be not startled nor thy limbs shake for
fear." All this description was described by the Fox to the Cock
who paid no heed to him as though he had never heard the news ;
and he remained silent without return of reply or without so much
as turning to regard him ; nay, he only kept his head raised and
gazed afar. Hereat quoth to him the Fox (for indeed his heart
burned with desire to know how he could seize and devour him),
" O brother mine, why and wherefore dost thou not acknowledge
me by an answer or address to me a word or even turn thy face
towards me who am a Commissioner sent by Leo, Sovran of the
beasts, and Aquila, Sultan of the birds ? Sore I fear lest thou
refuse to accompany me and thus come upon thee censure
exceeding and odium excessive seeing that all are assembled in
the presence and are browsing upon the verdant mead." Then
he added (as Chanticleer regarded him not), "O my brother, I
bespeak thee and thou unheedest me and my speech ; and, if thou
refuse to fare with me, at least let me know what may be thy
reply." Hereupon the Cock inclined towards him and said,
" Sooth hast thou spoken, O^my brother, and well I wot thou be
an Envoy and a Commissioner from our King, and the special
Messenger of him : but my condition is changed by that which
hath befallen me." _" And what calamity, O my brother, hath
betided thee ? " " Dost thou espy what I am at present espying?"
" And what is' it thou espiest ?." *J Verily, I see a dust-cloud
lowering and the Saker-falcons in circles towering ; " and quoth
the Fox (whose heart throbbed with fear), " Look straitly, O my
brother, lest there happen to us a mishap." So Chanticleer gazed
as one distraught for a full-told hour, after which he turned to the
Fox and said, " O my brother, I behold and can distinguish a bird
flying and a dust-trail hieing." " Consider them narrowly, O my

this implies a delicate compliment for the cock, who might feel flattered to be numbered
amongst the same tribe with the nightingale and the thrush. ST.]

The Pleasant History of the Cock and the Fox. 149

brother,'* cried the Fox (whose side-muscles quivered), "lest this
be sign of greyhound ; " and the other replied, " The Truth is
known to Allah alone, yet I seem now to see a something lengthy
of leg, lean of flank, loose of ears, fine of forehand and full of
quarter, and at this moment it draweth near and is well nigh upon
us O fine I " l Now when the Fox heard these words he cried to
the Cock, " O my brother, I must farewell thee ! " and so saying
he arose and committed his legs to the wind and he -had recourse
to the Father of Safety. 2 Seeing this, the Cock also cried, " Why
thus take to flight when thou hast no spoiler thy heart to affright?"
Replied the Fox, "1 have a fear of the Greyhound, O my brother,
for that he is not of my friends or of my familiars ; " and the Cock
rejoined, " Didst thou not tell me thou earnest as Commissioner of
the Kings to these wastes proclaiming a peace and safety amongst
all the beasts and the birds ? " O my brother Chanticleer/'
retorted the other, " this feral, Greyhound hight, was not present
at the time when pacification was proclaimed, nor was his name
announced in the Congress of the beasts ; and I for my part have
no love lost with him, nor between me and him is there aught of
security." So saying the Fox turned forthright to fly, routed with
the foulest of routing, and the Cock escaped the foe by his sleight
and sagacity with perfect safety and security: Now after the Fox
had turned tail and fled from him Chanticleer came down from the
wall and regained his farm, lauding Allah Almighty who had con-
veyed him unharmed to his own place. And here he related unto
his fellows what had befallen him with the Fox
and how he had devised that cunning device
and thereby freed himself from a
strait wherein, but for it,
the foe had torn him
limb by limb.
FINIS.

:^ i t^^t^m

1 In text "yzayn" = Oh, the beautiful beast !

2 In text "Abu Sahih " = (flight to) a sure and safe place.

HISTORY OF WHAT BEFEL THE FOWL-LET
WITH THE FOWLER.

foe fcegfo to Cnto'te tje ?^istorB of fo&at befel tfce
from t

THEY relate (but Allah is All-knowing) that there abode in
Baghdad-city a huntsman-wight in venerie trained aright. Now
one day he went forth to the chase taking with him nets and
springes and other gear he needed and fared to a garden-site with
trees bedight and branches interlaced tight wherein all the fowls
did unite ; and arriving at a tangled copse he planted his trap in
the ground and he looked around for a hiding-place and took seat
therein concealed. Suddenly a Birdie approaching the trap-side
began scraping the earth and, wandering round about it, fell to
saying in himself, " What may this be ? Would Heaven I wot,
for it seemeth naught save a marvellous creation of Allah ! "
Presently he considered the decoy which was half buried in the
ground and salam'd to it from afar to the far and the Trap
returned his salutation, adding thereto, " And the ruth of Allah
and His blessings ; " and presently pursued, " Welcome and fair
welcome to the brother dear and the friend sincere and the com-
panionable fere and the kindly compeer, why stand from me so
far when I desire thou become my neighbour near and I become
of thine intimates the faithful and of thy comrades the truthful ?
So draw thee nigh to me and be of thy safety trustful and prove
thee not of me fearful." Quoth the Fowl-let, " I beseech thee by

1 MS. pp. 725-739-

Supplemental Nights.

Allah, say me who art thou so I may not of thee feel affright and
what be thy bye-name and thy name and to which of the tribes
dost trace thy tree ? " And quoth the Trap, " My name is Hold-
fast 1 and my patronymic is Bindfast and my tribe is hight
the Sons of Fallfast." Replied the Birdie, " Sooth thou sayest ;
for such name is truly thy name and such bye-name is without
question thy bye-name nor is there any doubt of thy tribe being
the noblest of the tribes." The Trap answered him saying,
Alhamdolillah laud to the Lord that me thou hast recognised
and that I be of thy truest friends thou hast acknowledged, for
where shalt thou find a familiar like unto me, a lover soothful and
truthful and my fellow in mind? And indeed I a devotee of
religious bent and from vain gossip and acquaintances and even
kith and kin abstinent ; nor have I any retreat save upon the
heads of hills and in the bellies of dales which be long and deep ;
and from mundane tidings I am the true Holdfast arid in worldly,
joys the real Bindfast." The Fowl replied, " Sooth hast spoken,
O my lord ; and all hail to thee ; how pious and religious and of
morals and manners gracious art thou ? Would to Heaven I
were a single hair upon thy body." Rejoined the Trap, " Thou
in this world art my brother and in the next world my father ;
and the other retorted, " O my brother, fain would I question thee
concerning matters concealed within thy thoughts ;" whereto the
Trap, " Enquire of whatso thou requirest, that I make manifest to
thee what in heart thou desirest ; for I will truly declare to thee
mine every aim and disclose to thee soothly all my case and my
thoughts concealed, nor shall remain unrevealed of mine intent
aught." So the Birdie began, " O my brother, why and wherefore
see I thee on this wise abiding in the dust and dwelling afar from
relations and companeers and thou hast parted from thy family

1 Arab. "Zabit," from the / "Zabt" = keeping in subjection, holding tight, tying.
Hence " Zabtiyah " = a constable and " Zabit " = a Prefect of Police. See vol. i. 259.
The rhyming words are " Rabit " and ' Hdbit."

History of what befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler. 155

and peers and hast departed from the fondness of thy dears ? "
" Hast thou not learned, O my brother," answered the Trap, " that
retirement is permanent heal and farness from folk doth blessings
deal and separation from the world is bodily weal ; and on this
matter hath one of the poets said, and said right well :

Fly folk, in public ne'er appearing, o And men shall name thee man God-
fearing j 1

Nor say I've brother, mate and friend : o Try men with mind still per-
severing :

Yea, few are they as thou couldst wish : o Scorpions they prove when most
endearing. 3

And one of the Sages hath said, " Solitude and not ill associate."
Also quoth they to Al-Bahlul, 3 Why this tarrying of thine amid
the homes of the dead and why this sojourning in a barren stead
and wherefore this farness from kinsmen and mate and lack of
neighbourly love for brother and intimate ? But quoth he, " Woe
to you ! my folk did I dwell amongst them would some day unlove
me and the while I abide far from them will never reprove me ; nor
indeed would they remember my affection nor would they desire my
predilection ; and so satisfied with my solitude am I that an I saw
my family I should start away as in fear of them, and were my
parents quickened anew and longed for my society verily I would
take flight from them." Replied the. Fowl-let, " In good sooth,

1 In text " Rdhib " = monk or lion.

8 The lines are wholly corrupt.

* The "Bahalul" of D'Herbelot. This worthy was a half-witted Sage (like the
lourodivi of Russia and the Irish Omadhaun) who occupies his own place in con-
temporary histories, flourished under Harun al- Rash id and still is famous in Persian
Story. When the Caliph married him perforce and all the ceremonies were duly
performed and he was bedded with the bride, he applied his ear to her privities and
forthwith ran away with the utmost speed and alarm. They brought him back and
questioned him concerning his conduct when he made answer, " If you had only heard
what it said to me you would have done likewise." In the text his conduct is selfish
and ignoble as that of Honorius

" Who strove to merit heaven by making earth a helL"

And he shows himself heartless and unhuman as the wretched St. Alexius of the
Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), a warning of the intense selfishness solemnly and
logically inculcated by Christianity. See vol. v. 150.

,56 Supplemental Nights.

O my brother, truth thou hast pronounced in all by thee announced
and the best of rede did from thee proceed ; but tell me, prithee,
anent that cord about thy middle wound and despite thine ex-
pending efforts that abound why thou art neither a-standing nor
a-sitting on ground ? " To him replied the Trap, O my brother,
learn that I spend every night of every month in prayer, during
which exercise whenever sleep would seize me I tighten this cord
about my waist and drive slumber from my eyes and become
therefrom the more wide-awake for my orisons. Know thou also
that Allah (be He glorified and magnified !) affectioneth his ser-
vants when devout are they, and stand in worship alway, ever
digrit to pray and praise Him by night and by day ; and who turn
on their sides loving the Lord to obey in desire and dismay and
doling their good away. And quoth Allah (be He glorified and
magnified !) : And for scanty while of the night they take not
gentle rest and at rising morn His pardon they obtest and their
Lord granteth unto them their request/ 1 And wottest thou not,
O my brother, what said the poet ?

These busy are with worldly gear o Those of their moneys proud appear :
But some be rich by God's approof o Praise Him o' nights with love

sincere :

Their Guardian's eye regards them aye o Praying, confessing sins to clear :
They wot nor worship aught but Him o And hail His name with love and

fear."

Therewith quoth the Fowl-let ; " Sooth hast thou said, O my
brother, in each word by thee sped and right eloquently was
announced all by thee pronounced ; however (I am thy pro-
tected !), do thou tell me why I see thee one half buried in earth
and the other half above ground ? " And quoth the Trap, " For
the reason that I thereby resemble the dead and in life I am
shunning the pernicious lusts of the flesh ; and Almighty Allah
(be He glorified and magnified !) said in His August Volume :

1 Koran, ch. li. v. 17.

History of what befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler. 157

' From earth have We created you and unto her We will return
you and from her will We draw you forth a second time.'" 1
Replied the Birdie, " The truth thou hast told in whatso thou
dost unfold, but why do I see thee so bent of back ? '" and rejoined
tne Trap, " Learn, O my brother, that the cause for this bowing
of my back is my frequent standing in prayer by day and my
upstanding by night in the service of the King, the Clement, the
One, the Prepotent, tne Glorious, the Omnipotent ; and verily
upon this matter right well the poet hath spoken :

None save the pious Youth gains boon of Paradise o (To whom the Lord doth

pardon crime and sin and vice),
Whose back by constant prayer through murk o* night is bent o And longs to

merit Heaven in sore and painful guise.
Hail to the slave who ever would his lord obey o And who by death is saved

when he obedient dies*"

The Fowl-let continued, " O my brother, of truth the token is that
whereof thou hast spoken and I have understood thee and am
certified of thy sooth. But yet, I see upon thee a robe 2 of hair ! "
and the Trap rejoined, " O my brother, knowest thou not of hair
and wool that they be the wear of the pious and the religious,
whereof one of the poets hath spoken in these words :

Folk who in fear of long accompt 3 for naught of worldly care o Hail to them !

haply garb of wool they'll change for silken wear :
In life for provaunt shall suffice them salt and barley-bread o Who seek

th' Almighty Lord and bow the head in sedulous pray'r."

The Birdie resumed, "In very deed thy speech the sooth doth
teach ; but say me what be this staff 4 thou hendest in hand ? "
Replied the Trap, " O my brother, know that I have become an

1 Koran xx. 57 : it is the famous "Td-Ha" " whose first 14-16 verses are said to have
converted the hard-headed Omar. In the text the citation is garbled and imperfect.
Intext"Mas'h."

* " Hisdban tawil " = a long punishment.

* The rod of Moses (see pp. 98-99; is the great prototype in Al-Islam of the staff or
walking-stick, hence it became a common symbol of dignity and it also served to
administer ready chastisement, e.g. in the hands of austere Caliph Omar.

1 58 Supplemental Nights.

olden man well shotten in years and my strength is minished,
wherefor I have taken me a staff that I may prop me thereon and
that it aid my endeavour when a-fasting." The Fowl-let pursued,
" Thy speech is true, O my brother, and thou speakest as due, yet
would I ask thee of a matter nor refuse me information thereanent :
tell me why and wherefore this plenty of grain scattered all about
thee ? " The Trap answered, " Indeed the merchants and men of
wealth bring to me this victual that I may bestow it in charity
upon the Fakir and the famisht ; " and the Birdie rejoined, " O my
brother, I also am an-hungered ; so dost thou enjoin me to eat
thereof? " " Thou art my companion," cried the Trap, " so upon
me such injunction is a bounden duty," presently adding, "Be so
kind, O my brother, and haste thee hither and eat." Hereat the
Fowl-let flew down from off his tree and approaching little by
little (with a heart beating for fear of the Trap) picked up a few
grains which lay beside it until he came to the corn set in the loop
of the springe. Hereupon he pecked at it with one peck nor had
he gained aught of good therefrom ere the Trap came down heavily
upon him and entangled his neck and held him fast. Hereupon
he was seized with a fit of sore affright and he cried out " Zfk !
zfk ! " and " Mfk ! mfk ! * Verily I have fallen into wreak and am
betrayed by friendly freke and oh, the excess of my trouble and
tweak, Zfk ! Zfk ! O Thou who kennest my case, do Thou enable
me escape to seek, and save me from these straits unique and be
Thou ruthful to me the meek ! " Thereupon quoth to him the
Trap, " Thou criest out Zik ! Zik ! and hast fallen into straits
unique and hast strayed from the way didst seek, O Miscreant and
Zindfk, 2 and naught shall avail thee at this present or brother or
friend veridique or familiar freke. Now understand and thy pleasure
seek! I have deceived thee with a deceit and thou lentest ear

1 An onomatopy like "Couic, Couic." For Maksah," read " Fa-sa"ha " == and
cried out.

* "Zindik" = Atheist, Agnostic: see vols. v. 230; viii. 27.

History of what befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler. \ 59

and lustedst." Replied the Bird, " I am one whom desire hath
cast down and ignorance hath seduced and inordinate greed, one
for whose neck the collar of destruction is fitted and I have fallen
along with those who lowest fall ! " Hereupon the Fowler came
up with his knife to slaughter the Fowl-let and began saying,
" How many a birdie have we taken in all ease for desire of its
meat that we may dress their heads with rice or in Harisah 1 or
fried in pan and eat thereof pleasurably myself or feed therewith
great men and grandees. Also 'tis on us incumbent to feed privily
upon half the bodies and the other half shall be for our guests
whilst I will take the wings to set before my family and kinsmen
as the most excellent of gifts." 2 Hearing these words the Bird
fell to speaking and saying : i

" O Birder, my mother's in misery o And blind with weeping my loss is she.
I suffice not thy guest nor can serve for gift : o Have ruth and compassion and

set me free !
With my parents I'll bless thee and then will I * Fly a-morn and at e'en-tide

return to thee."

Presently resumed he, " Seest thou not how my meat be mean and
my maw be lean ; nor verily can I stand thee in stead of cate nor
thy hunger satiate : so fear Allah and set me at liberty then shall
the Almighty requite thee with an abundant requital." But the*
Fowler far from heeding his words, made him over to his son
saying, " O my child, take this bird and faring homewards
slaughter him and of him cook for us a cumin-ragout and a lemon-
stew, a mess flavoured with verjuice and a second of mushrooms
and a third with pomegranate seeds and a fourth of clotted curd 3

1 " Harisah " = meat-pudding. In Al-Hariri (Ass. xix.) where he enumerates the
several kinds of dishes with their metonomies it is called the " Mother of Strengthening "
(or Restoration) because it contains wheat "the Strengthener " (as opposed to barley
and holcus). So the "Mother of Hospitality" is the Sikbaj, the Persian Sikba", so
entitled because it is the principal dish set before guests and was held to be royal food.
(Chenery, pp. 218, 457). For the latter see infra.

2 This passage in the MS. (p. 733) is apparently corrupt. I have done my best to
make sense of it.

3 In text "Kamburisiyah."

l6b Supplemental Nights.

cooked with Summdk, 1 and a fine fry and eke conserves of pears 2
and quinces and apples and apricots hight the rose-water and
vermicelli 8 and Sikbaj ; 4 and meat dressed with the six leaves and
a porridge 5 and a rice-milk, and an 'Ajfjfyah 6 and fried flesh in
strips and Kabdbs and meat-olives, and dishes the like of these.
Also do thou make of his guts strings for bows and of his gullet a
conduit for the terrace-roof and of his skin a tray-cloth and of his
plumage cushions and pillows." Now when the Fowl-let heard
these words (and he was still in the Fowler's hand), he laughed a
laugh of sorrow and cried, "Woe to thee, O Birder whither be
wended thy wits and thine understanding? Art Jinn-mad or
wine-drunken ? Art age-foolish or asleep ? Art heavy-minded or
remiss in thought ? Indeed had I been that long-necked bird the
'Ankd, daughter of Life, or were I the she-camel of Sdlih to be, or
the ram of Isaac the sacrificed, or the loquent calf of Al-Sdmiri 1

1 In the Diets, a plant with acid flavour, dried, pounded and peppered over meat.

* In text "Najas"=: a pear.

"Tutmajiyah," for * Tutmaj."

* "Sikbaj "a marinated stew like "Zirbajah" (vol. iii. 278): Khusrau Parwez,
according to the historians, was the first for whom it was. cooked and none ate of it
without his permission. See retro.

* Kishk = ground wheat, oatmeal or arley-flour eaten with soure sheep's milk and
often with meat.

* So in text : I suspect for " > Ajinniyah " = a dish of dough.

* The Golden Calf is alluded to in many Koranic passages, e.g. Surah ii. (the
Cow) 48; vii. (Al-Aarai) 146; S. liv. (Worn n) 152 j but especially in S. xx. (Ti
Ha) 90, where Samiri is expressly mentioned. Most Christian commentators translate
this by " Samaritan" and unjustly note it as "a grievous ignorance of history on the part
of Mohammed." But the word is mysterious and not explained. R. Jehuda (followed
by Geiger) says upon the text (Exod. xxxii. 24), "The calf came forth lowing and the
Israelites beheld it ;" also that "Samael entered into it and lowed in order to mislead
Israel (Pirke R. Eliezer, 45). Many Moslems identify Samiri with Micha
(Judges xvii.), who is said to have assisted in making the calf (Raschi, Sanhedr. cii. 2 ;
Hottinger, Hist. Orient, p. 84). Selden (de Diis Syr. Syn. I cap. 4) supposes that
Samiri is Aaron himself, the Shomeir or keeper of Israel during the absence of Moses.

Rodwell (Koran, 2nd Edit. p. 90) who cleaves to the " Samaritan" theory, writes,

t is probable (?) that the name and Us application, in the present instance, is to be

1 to the old national feud between the Jews and the Samaritans "of which

[ohammed, living amongst the Jews, would be at least as well informed as any modern

European. He quotes De Sacy (Chrest..i. 189) who states that Abu Rayhan Mohammed

Birum represents the Samaritans as being nicknamed (not Al-limsahsit as Mr. Rodwell

History of what lefel the Fowl-let with the Fowler.

161

or even a buffalo fattened daintily all this by thee mentioned had
never come from me." Hereat he fell to improvising and saying :

" The Ruthful forbiddeth the eating of me o And His Grace doth grace me

with clemency :
A Camel am I whom they overload o And the Birder is daft when my flesh

seeth he :
From Solomon's breed, O my God I have hope : o If he kill me the Ruthful

his drowning 1 decree."

Then quoth the Fowl to the Fowler, " An thou design to slaughter
me in thy greed even as thou hast described, verily I shall avail thee
naught, but an thou work my weal and set me free I will show thee
somewhat shall profit thee and further the fortunes of thy sons' sons
and thy latest descendants." " What is that direction thou wouldst
deal to me ? " asked the Fowler, and answered the Fowl-let, " I will
teach a trio of words all-wise and will discover to thee in this earth
a Hoard wherewith thou and thy seed and posterity shall ever be
satisfied and shall ever pray for the lengthening of my years.
Moreover I will point out to thee a pair of Falcons ashen-grey,
big of body and burly of bulk, who are to me true friends and
whom thou didst leave in the gardens untrapped." Asked the
Birder, " And what be the three words which so savour of
wisdom ? " and answered the other, " O Fowler, the three words
of wisdom are : Bemourn not what is the past nor at the future
rejoice too fast nor believe aught save that whereon thy glance is
cast. But as regards the Hoard and the two Falcons, when thou

has it, but) " Li. Mesas" or '* Ld Mesdsiyah "= the people who say '* no touch" (fa.
touch me not, from Surah xx. 97); and Juynboll, Chron. Sam. p. 113 (Leid. 1848).
Josephus (Ant. xii. cap. i) also mentions a colony of Samaritans settled in Egypt by
Ptolemy Lagus, some of whose descendants inhabited Cairo as late as temp. Scaliger (De
Emend. Temp. vii. 622). Sale notices a similar survival on one of the islands of the
Red Sea. In these days the Samaritans or, as their enemies call them, the Cuthim
("men from Cutha," Cushites), in physical semblance typical Jews, are found only at
Nablus where the colony has been reduced by intermarriage of cousins and the consequent
greater number of male births to about 120 souls* They are, like the Shi' ah Moslems v
careful to guard against ceremonial pollution : hence the epithet **Noli me tangere."
1 Alluding to the " Sayyad," lit.=a fisherman.

VOL. VI. L.

162 Supplemental Nights.

shalt have released me I will point them out to thee and right soon
to thee shall be shown the sooth of whatso I have said to thee."
Hereat the Birder's heart became well affected towards the Birdie
for his joy anent the Treasure and the Falcons ; and the device of
the captive deceived the Capturer and cut short his wits so that he
at once released the prey. Forthright the Fowl-let flew forth the
Fowler's palm in huge delight at having saved his life from death ;
then, after preening his plume and spreading his pinions and
his wings, he laughed until he was like to fall earthwards in a
fainting-fit. Anon he began to gaze right and left, long breaths
a-drawing and increase of gladness ever a-showing; whereupon
quoth the Birder, " O Father of Flight, O thou The Wind night !
what saidst thou to me anent pointing out the two Falcons ashen-
grey and who were the comrades thou leftest in the gardens?"
Quoth the Birdie in reply, " Alack and alas ! never saw I thy
like for an ass nor aught than thyself meaner of capacity nor
mightier of imbecility ; for indeed thou earnest in thy head light-
ness and in thy wits slackness. O Scant of sense, when sawest
thou ever a sparrow company with a Falcon, much less with
two Falcons ? So short is thine understanding that I have
escaped thy hand by devising the simplest device which my
nous and knowledge suggested." Hereat he began to improvise
and repeat :

* When Fortune easy was, from duty ' didst forbear o Nor from that malady a

hast safety or repair :
Then blame thyself nor. cast on other wight 3 the fault o And lacking all excuse

to death of misery fare ! "

Then resumed the Fowl-let, " Woe to thee, O mean and mesquin,
thou wottedst not that which thou hast lost in me, for indeed baulked
is thy bent and foiled is thy fortune and near to thee is poverty

1 IB text "Al-Zahr."
* "AjdaV
8 Intext"Al-MatiyaV'

History of what befel the Fowl-let with the. Fowler. 163

and nigh to' thee is obscurity. Hadst thou when taking me cut my
throat and cloven my crop thou hadst found therein a jewel the
weight of an ounce which I picked up and swallowed from the
treasury of Kisra Anushirwan the King.'* But when the Birder
heard the Birdie's words he scattered dust upon his head and
buffeted his face and plucked out his beard and rent his raiment,
and at last slipped down a-swooningto the ground. And presently
recovering his senses he looked towards his late captive and cried,
" O Father of Flight, O thou The Wind hight, say me is there any
return for thee me-wards, where thou shalt with me abide, and thee.
within the apple of mine eye will I hide, and after all this toil and
turmoil I will perfume and fumigate thee with ambergris and with
Comorin lign-aloes, and I will bring thee sugar for food and nuts
of the pine * and with me thou shalt tarry in highmost degree ? "
Replied the Birdie, "O miserable, past is that which passed ; I
mean, suffice me not thy fraud and thy flattering falsehood. And
laud to the Lord, O thou meanest of men, how soon hast thou
forgotten the three charges wherewith I charged thee ! And how
short are thy wits seeing that the whole of me weighteth not ten
drachms 2 and how then can I bear in crop a jewel weighing an
ounce ? How far from thee is subtilty and how speedily hast thou
forgotten mine injunctions wherewith I enjoined thee saying :
Believe not aught save that whereon thine eye is cast nor regret
and bemourn the past nor at what cometh rejoice too fast. These
words of wisdom are clean gone from thy memory, and hadst thou
been nimble of wits thou hadst slaughtered me forthright.: however,
Alhamdolillah Glory to God, who caused me not to savour the
whittle's sharp edge, and I thank my Lord for my escape and for
the loosing of my prosperity from the trap of trouble." Now when
the Birder heard these words of the Birdie he repented and regretted

1 In text " Sinaubar," which may also mean pistachio-tree.

2 i.e. 475 to 478 Eng. grains avoir., less than the Ukiyyah or Wukiyyah = ounce = $71*5
to 576 grains. Vol. ix. 2l6.

164 Supplemental Nights.

his folly, and he cried, " O my sorrow for what failed me of the
slaughter of this volatile, and as he sank on the ground he sang: l

41 brave was the boon which I held in my right * ; Yet, O Maker of man, 'twas

in self-despight.
Had my lot and my luck been of opulence, * .This emptiness never had proved

my plight."

Hereupon the Fowl-let fareweHed the Fowler and took flight until
he reached his home and household, where he seated him and
recited all that had befallen him with the Birder, to wit, how the
man had captured him, and how he had escaped by sleight, and he
fell to improvising :

* l I charged you, O brood of my nestlings, and said, * Ware yon Wady, nor seek

to draw near a stead
Where sitteth a man who with trap and with stakes * Entrapped me, drew knife

and would do me dead.
And he longed to destroy me, O children, but I * Was saved by the Lord and

to you was sped."

And here endeth the History of the

Fowl-let and the Fowler

entire and complete.

1 Not more absurd than an operatic hero singing while he dies.

TALE OF ATTAF.

THE TALE OF ATTAF.
fo* begin to fom'te anto fatrfte tfic SDale of a man of Sbgtfa,

THEY relate (but Allah is All-knowing of His unknown and All-,
cognisant of what forewent in the annals of folk and the wonders
of yore, and of times long gone before !) that in the city of Shdm 2
'there dwelt of old a man Attaf hight, who rivalled Hatim of Tayy 3
in his generosity and his guest-love and in his self-control as to
manners and morals. Now he lived in the years when the Caliph
Harun al-Rashid was reigning in Baghdad-city, and it happened
on a day of the days that this Commander of the Faithful awoke
morne and melancholic, and right straitened was his breast. So
he arose, and taking Ja'afar the Barmecide and Masrur the Eunuch
passed with them into the place where his treasures were stored.
Presently quoth he to the Wazir, " Ja'afar, open to me this
door that I may solace me with the sight, and my breast may
be broadened and haply be gladdened by such spectacle*" The

1 MS. pp. 588-627. In Gauttter's edit. vii. (234-256), it appears as Histoire de
T Habitant de Damas. His advertisement in the beginning of vol. vii. tells us that it
has been printed in previous edits., but greatly improved in his : however that may be,
the performance is below contempt. In Heron it becomes The PO WER OF DESTINY,
or Story of the Journey of Giafar to Damascus, comprehending the adventures of Chebib
and his Family (vol. i. pp. 69-175).

2 Damascus-city (for which see the tale of Nur al-Din AH and his Son, The Nights
vol. i. 239-240) derives its name from Dimishk who wassonofBatir,i. Mdlik, i. Arphaxed,
i. Shdm, i. Nuh (Noah) ; or son of Nimrod, son of Canaan. Sham = Syria (and its capital)
the land on the left, as opposed to Al-Yaman the land on the right of one looking East,
is noticed in vol i. 55. In Mr. Cotheal's MS. Damascus is entitled "Shdm" because
it is the "Shdmat" cheek-mole (beauty-spot) of Allah upon earth. "Jalak" the
older name of the "Smile of the Prophet," is also noted : see vol. ii. loo.

3 Hdtim Of the Tayy-tribe, proverbial for liberality. See vols. iv. 95, and vii. 350.

l<58 Supplemental Nights.

Minister did the bidding of his lord, who, finding a room full of
books, put forth his hand, and taking up one of the volumes,
opened and read. Then he fell to weeping thrice, and thrice to
laughing aloud, 1 whereat the Wazir considered him and cried, " O
King of the Age, how is it I espy thee reading and weeping and
laughing at one and the same moment when none so act save
madmen and maniacs ? " 2 And having spoken on this wise he held
his peace ; but the Prince of True Believers turned himwards and
cried, " O dog of the sons of Bermak, I see thee going beyond
thy degree and quitting the company of sensible men, and thou
speakest vainly making me a madman in saying : None laugh and
cry at one and the same time save maniacs ? " With these words
the Caliph restored the volume to its place in the Treasury and
bade lock the door, after which the three returned to the Divan.
Here the Commander of the Faithful regarded Ja'afar and
exclaimed, " Go thou forth from before me and address me not
again nor seat thee upon the Wazirial seat until thou answer
thine own question and thou return me a reply concerning that
which is writ and aligned in yonder book I was reading, to the end
thou learn why I wept and wherefore I laught at one and the same
hour. And he cried at him in anger saying, " Off and away with
thee, nor face me again save with the answer, else will I slay thee

1 Jn Mr. Cotheal's MS. the Caliph first laughs until he falls backwards, and then
after reading further, weeps until his beard is bathed.

2 Heron inserts into his text, " It proved to be the Giaffer, famous throughout all Arabia,"
and informs us (?) in a foot-note that it is "ascribed to a prince of the Barmecide race,
an ancestor of the Grand Vizier Giafar." The word " Jafr " is supposed to mean a skin
(camel's or dog's), prepared as parchment for writing ; and Al-Jafr, the book here in
question, is described as a cabalistic prognostication of all that will ever happen to the
Moslems. The authorship is attributed to Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet. There are
many legendary tales concerning its contents ; however, all are mere inventions as the
book is supposed to be kept in the Prophet's family, nor will it be fully explained until
the Mahdi or Forerunner of Doomsday shall interpret its difficulties. The vulgar Moslems
of India are apt to confuse Al-Jafr with Ja'afar bin Tayya"r, the Jinni who is often
quoted in talismans (see Herklots, pp. 109-257). D'Herbelot gives the sum of what
Is generally known about the "Jafr " (wa Jami'a) under the articles "Ali " and " Gefr u
Giamc."

The Tale of Attaf . 169

with the foulest of slaughter/' Accordingly Ja'afar fared forth and
hardly could he see with his eyes, and he kept saying to himself,
" Indeed I have fallen with a sore fall ; foul befal it for a fall ; how
fulsome it is ! " Then he fared homewards where he encountered
face to face his father Yahyd the Bermaki, who was issuing from the
mansion and he recounted to him the tale, whereat his parent said,
"Go at once, abide not here, but turn thee Damascus-wards until shall
terminate this decline of fortune and this disjunction of favour, and
at the ending thereof thou shalt see wonders therein." * Ja'afar
replied," Not until I shall have laid a charge upon my Harfm ;" 2 but
Yahya cried, "Enter not these doors, hie thee at once to Al-Sham, for
even so 'tis determined by Destiny." Accordingly the Wazir gave
ear to his sire, and taking a bag containing one thousand dinars
and slinging on his sword farewelled him ; then, mounting a
she-mule, alone and unattended by slave or page, he rode off and
he ceased not riding for ten days full-told until he arrived at the
Marj 3 or mead of Damascus. Now it so fortuned that on that
same day Attaf, 4 a fair youth and a well-known of the " Smile of
the Prophet," and one of the noblest and most generous of her
sons had pitched tents and had spread a banquet outside the city,
where chancing to sight Ja'afar mounted on his beast, he knew him
to be a wayfarer passing by, and said to his slaves, " Call to me
yonder man ! " They did his bidding and the stranger rode up to
the party of friends, and dismounting from his mule saluted them
with the salam which they all returned. Then they sat for a while 5

1 The father (whom Heron calls " Hichia Barmaki ") spoke not at random, but guessed
that the Caliph had been reading the book Al-Jafr.

2 Heron calls Ja'afar's wife " Fatm " from the French.

* This is the open grassy space on the left bank of the Baradah River, first sighted by
travellers coming from Bayrut. See vol. i. 234, where it is called Al-Hasa* = the Plain
of Pebbles.

4 Heron names him Chebib (Hablb) also " Xakem Tai-Chebib " = Ha"tim Tayy
Habib.

6 The scene is described at full length in the Cotheal MS. with much poetry sung by
a fair slave-girl and others.

Supplemental Nights.

after which Attaf arose and led Ja'afar to his house companied by
all the company which was there and they paced into a spacious
open hall and seated themselves in converse for an hour full-told.
Anon the slaves brought them a table spread with the evening
meal and bearing more than ten several manners of meat. So
they ate and were cheered, and after the guests had washed hands,
the eunuchs and attendants brought in candles of honey-coloured
wax that shed a brilliant light, and presently the musicians came
in band and performed a right royal partition while the servants
served up conserves for dessert. So they ate, and when they had
eaten their sufficiency they l drank coffee ; and finally, at their
ease and in their own good time, all the guests arose and made
obeisance and fared homewards. Then Attaf and Ja'afar sat at
table for an hour or so, during which the host offered his guest an
hundred greetings, saying, "All kinds of blessings have descended!
from Heaven upon our heads. Tell me, how was it thou honouredst
us, and what was the cause of thy coming and of thy favouring us
with thy footsteps ? " 2 So Ja'afar disclosed to him his name and
office 8 and told him the reasons of his ride to Damascus from
the beginning to the end full and detailed, whereto Attaf rejoined,
" Tarry with me an thou please a decade of years ; and grieve not'
at all, for thy Worship is owner of this place." After this the
eunuchs came in and spread for Ja'afar bedding delicately wrought
at the head of the hall and its honour-stead, and disposed other
sleeping-gear alongside thereof, which seeing the Wazir said to him-
self, " Haply my host is a bachelor, that they would spread his bed
by my side ; however, I will venture the question." Accordingly he
addressed his host saying, " O Attaf, art thou single or married ? "*

1 Again showing the date of the tale to be modern. See my Terminal Essay, p. 90.

8 This might serve even in these days to ask a worshipful guest why he came, and what
Was his business it is the address of a well-bred man to a stranger of whose rank and
station he is ignorant. The vulgar would simply say, " Who art thou, and what is thy
native country?'*

* In Heron the host learns everything by the book Al-Jafr.

* In text Muzawwa " which the Egyptian pronounces " Mugawwaz."

The Tale of Attaf.

171

" I am married, O my lord," quoth the other, whereat Ja'afar
resumed, "Wherefore dost thou not go within and lie with thy
Harim ?" " O my lord/' replied Attaf," the Harim is not about to
take flight, and it would be naught but disgraceful to me were I
to leave a visitor like thyself, a man by all revered, to sleep alone
while I fare to-night with my Harim and rise betimes to enter the
Hammam. 1 In me such action would I deem be want of courtesy
and failure in honouring a magnifico like thine Honour In very
sooth, O my lord, so long as thy presence deign favour this house
I will not sleep within my Harem until I farewell thy Worship, and
thou depart in peace and safety to thine own place." " This be a
marvellous matter," quoth Ja'afar to himself, " and perad venture
he so doeth the more to make much of me." So they lay
together that night and when morning morrowed they arose and
fared to the Baths whither Attaf had sent for the use of his
guest a suit of magnificent clothes, and caused Ja'afar don it
before leaving the Hammam. Then finding the horses at the
door, they mounted and repaired to the Lady's Tomb, 2 and spent
a day worthy to be numbered in men's lives. Nor did they
cease visiting place after place by day and sleeping in the same
stead by night, in the way we have described, for the space of
four morfths, after which time the soul of the Wazir Ja'afar waxed
sad and sorry, and one chance day of the days, he sat him down
and wept. Seeing him in tears Attaf asked him, saying, " Allah
fend from thee all affliction, O my lord ! why dost thou weep and
wherefore art thou grieved ? An thou be heavy of heart why not
relate to me what hath oppressed thee ? " Answered Ja'afar,
"O my brother, I find my breast sore straitened and I would

1 Which would be necessary after car. cop. with his women.

8 In text ' Kabr al-Sitt," wherein the Sitt Zaynab, aunt to Mohammed, is supposed
to He buried. Here the cultivation begins about half a mile's ride from the Bab-al-
Shdghur or S. Western gate of the city. It is mentioned by Baedeker (p. 439), and
ignored by Murray, whose editor, Mr. Missionary Porter, prefers to administer the usual
dainty dish of " hashed Bible."

Supplemental Nights.

fain stroll about the streets of Damascus and solace me with,
seeing the Cathedral-mosque of the Ommiades. 1 " And who, O
my lord," responded the other, " would hinder thee therefrom ?
Do thou deign wander whither thou wilt and take thy solace, so
may thy spirits be gladdened and thy breast be broadened.
Herein is none to let or stay thee at all, at all." Hearing these
words Ja'afar arose to fare forth, when quoth his host, " O my
lord, shall they saddle thee a hackney ? " but the other replied,
" O my friend, I would not be mounted for that the man on horse-
back may not divert himself by seeing the folk ; nay the folk
enjoy themselves by looking upon him." Quoth Attaf, " At
least delay thee a while that I may supply thee with spending
money to bestow upon the folk ; and then fare forth and walk
about to thy content and solace thyself with seeing whatso thou
wilt ; so mayest thou be satisfied and no more be sorrowed."
Accordingly, Ja'afar took from Attaf a purse of three hundred
dinars and left the house gladly as one who issueth from durance
vile, and he turned into the city and began a-wandering about the
streets of Damascus and enjoying the spectacle ; and at last he
entered the Jami' al-Amawi where he prayed the usual prayers.
After this he< -esumed his strolling about pleasant places until he
came to a narrow street and found a bench formed of stone 2 set
in the ground. Hereon he took seat to rest a while, and he
looked about, when behold, fronting him were latticed windows
wherein stood cases planted with sweet-smelling herbs. 3 And
hardly had he looked before those casements were opened and

1 Arab. " Jdrni' al-Amawl" : for this Mosque, one of the Wonders of the Moslem
World, consult any Guide Book to Damascus. See Suppl. vol. iv. Night cccxlii. In
Heron it becomes the " Giamah Illamoue," one of the three most famous mosques in the
world.

a M. Houdas translates "Tarz," " Mdrkaz" or "Mirkaa" by Une pttrrt *n forme
dt dame, instrument qui sert b enf oncer Its pavis ( = our "beeUV')j ^trt^dire en
forme dt borne.

* For thi$ " window-gardening," att ancient practice in th East, s<* vOL i. 301.

The Tale of Attaf. 173

suddenly appeared thereat a young lady, 1 a model of comeliness
and loveliness and fair figure and symmetrical grace, whose
charms would amate all who upon her gaze, and she began
watering her plants. Ja'afar cast upon her a single glance and
was sore hurt by her beauty and brilliancy ; but she, after looking
upon the lattices and watering the herbs to the extent they
required turned her round and gazed adown the street where she
caught a sight of Ja'afar sitting and earnestly eyeing her. So she
barred the windows and disappeared. But the Minister lingered
on the bench hoping and expecting that haply the casement would
open a second time and allow him another look at her ; and as
often as he would have risen up his' nature said to him, " Sit thee
down/' And he stinted not so doing till evening came on, when
he arose and returned to the house of Attaf, whom he found
standing at the gateway to await him, and presently his host ex-
claimed, " Tis well, O my lord ! during all this delay indeed my
thoughts have gone with thee for that I have long been expecting
thy return." " 'Tis such a while since I walked abroad," answered
Ja'afar, " that I had needs look about me and console my soul,
wherefor I lingered and loitered," Then they entered the house
and sat down, when the eunuchs served up on trays the evening
meal, and the Minister drew near to eat thereof but was wholly
unable, so he cast from his hand the spoon and arose. Hereat
quoth his host, " Why, my lord, canst thou not eat ? " " Be-
cause this day's noon-meal hath been heavy to me and hindereth
my supping ; but 'tis no matter ! " quoth the other. And when
the hour for sleep came Ja'afar retired to rest ; but in his excite-
ment by the beauty of that young lady he could not close eye, for
her charms had mastered the greater part of his sense and had

1 Heron calls her "Negemet-il-Souper" = Najmat al-Sabah = Constellation of Morn.
In the Cotheal MS. she uses very harsh language to the stranger, "O Bull (i.e. O
stupid), this be not thy house nor yet the house of thy sire ; " etc. "go forth to the
curse of God and get thee to Hell," c.

J74 Supplemental Nights.

snared his senses as much as might be ; nor could he do aught
save groan and cry, ' Ah miserable me ! who shall enjoy thy
presence, O full Moon of the Age and who shall look upon that
comeliness and loveliness ? " And he ceased not being feverish
and to twist and turn upon his couch until late morning, and he
was as one lost * with love ; but as soon as it was the undurn-
hour Attaf came in to him and said, " How is thy health ? My
thoughts have been settled on thee : and I see that thy slumber
hath lasted until between dawn and midday : indeed I deem that
thou hast lain awake o'night and hast not slept until so near
the mid-forenoon." " O my brother, I have no Kayf," 2 replied
Ja'afar. So the host forthwith sent a white slave to summon a
physician, and the man did his bidding 1 , and after a short delay
brought one who was the preventer 3 of. his day. And when
ushered into Ja'afar's room he addressed the sick man, " There
is no harm to thee and boon of health befal thee : 4 say me what
aileth thee ? " " All is excitement 5 with me," answered the other,
whereat the Leach putting forth his fingers felt the wrist of his
patient, when he found the pulsations pulsing strong and the
intermissions intermitting regularly. 6 Noting this he was ashamed
to declare before his face, " Thou art in love ! " so he kept
silence and presently said to Attaf, " I will write thee a recipe
containing all that is required by the case." " Write ! " said the
host, and the Physician sat down to indite his prescription, when

1 In text ^{^ which I read jt

For "Kayf " = joy, the pleasure of living, see my Pilgrimage !. 12-13.

8 In text " 'Ayyik," or " 'Ayyuk " = a hinderer (of disease) from the ^ 'Ayk or 'Aufe,
whence also 'Ayyuk=Capella, a bright star proverbial for its altitude, as in the Turk,
saw " to give praise to the 'Ayyiik " = skies.

4 Auspicious formulae. The Cotheal MS. calls the physician " Dabdihkan."

In text "Kullu Shayyin 11 mu'as'as" ; the latter from |/ "'As'as"= to complicate
a matter.

A sign that he diagnosed a moral not a bodily disorder. We often find in The
Nights, the doctor or the old woman distinguishing a love-fit by the pulse or similar
obscure symptoms, as in the case of Seleucus, Stratonice and her step-son Antiochus
which seems to be the arch-type of these anecdotes.

The Tale of Attaf.

'75

behold, a white slave came in and said to his lord, " Thy Harim
requireth thee." So the host arose and retired to learn what was
wanted of him in the women's apartments, and when his wife
saw him she asked, " O my lord, what is thy pleasure that we
cook for dinner and supper?" "Whatsoever may be wanted,"
he rejoined and went his ways, for since Ja'afar had been guested
in his house Attaf had not once entered the inner rooms according
as he had before declared to the Minister. Now the Physician
during the host's visit to the Harem had written out the prescrip-
tion and had placed it under the pillow of the patient, and as he
was leaving the house he came suddenly upon the housemaster on
return to the men's apartment, and Attaf asked him, " Hast thou
written thy prescription ? " " Yes," answered the Leach, " I
have written it and set it under his head." Thereupon the host
pulled out a piastre J and therewith fee'd the physician ; after
which he went up to Ja'afar's couch and drew the paper from
under his pillow and read it and saw therein written, 2 " O Attaf,
verily thy guest is a lover, so do thou look for her he loveth and
for his state purvey and make not overmuch delay." So the host
addressed his guest, saying, " Thou art now become one of us :
why then hide from me thy case and conceal from me thy con-
dition ? This Doctor, than whom is none keener or cleverer in
Damascus, hath learned all that befel thee." Hereupon he pro-
duced the paper and showed it to Ja'afar, who took It and read it
with a smile ; then he cried, " This Physician is a master leach
and his saying is soothfast. Know that on the day when I went
forth from thee and sauntered about the streets and lanes, there
befel me a matter which I never had thought to have betided me ;
no, never ; and I know not what shall become of me for that, O
my brother Attaf, my case is one involving life-loss." And he

1 Arab. "Kirsh," before explained : in Harun's day, = 3 francs.

2 In the Cotheal MS. the recipe occupies a whole page of ludicrous items, e.g. Let
him take three Miskals of pure " Union-with-the-lover," etc.

176 Supplemental Nights.

told him all that had happened to himself ; how when seated upon
the bench a lattice had been unclosed afront of him and he had
seen a young lady, the loveliest of her time, who had thrown it
open and had come forward to water her window-garden ; adding,
" Now my heart was upst Jrred by love to her, and she had suddenly
withdrawn after looking down the street and closed the casement
as soon as she had seen a stranger gazing upon her. Again and
again I was minded to rise and retire but desire for her kept me
seated in the hope that haply she would again throw open the
lattice and allow me the favour of another glimpse, so could I see
her a second time. However, inasmuch as sne did not show till
evening came on I arose and repaired hither, but of my exceeding
agitation for the ardour of love to her I was powerless to touch
meat or drink, and my sleep was broken by the excess of desire
for her which had homed in my hearth And now, O my brother
Attaf, I have made known to thee whatso betided me." When
the host heard these words, he was certified that the house
whereof Ja'afar spoke was his house and the lattice his own lattice
and the lovely and lovesome young lady his wife the daughter of
his paternal uncle, so he said in his thought, "There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great. Verily we are Allah's and unto Him shall we return ! "
But presently he regained himself in the nobility of his nature,
and he continued, " O Ja'afar, thine intent is pure for that the
dame thoii sawest yesterday was divorced by her husband ; and
I will straightway fare to her father and bespeak him to the end
that none may lay hand upon her ; and then will I return and
let thee ken all concerning her." So saying he arose and went
at once to his cousin-wife * who greeted him and kissing his hand
said to him " Is thy guest a-going? " Said he, " By no means :
the cause of my coming to thee is not his going, the reason

1 In the Cotheal MS. Attaf seeks his paternal uncle and father-in-law with the infor-
mation that he is going to the Pilgrimage and Visitation.

The Tale of Attaf. 177

thereof is my design of sending thee to the home of thy people,
for that thy father anon met me in the market-street and declared
to me that thy mother is dying of a colick, and said to me :
Go send her daughter without delay so that she may see her
parent alive and meet her once more." Accordingly the young wife
arose ; and, hardly knowing how she moved for tears at such tidings,
she took her slave-girls with her and repairing to her home rapped
at the door, and her mother who opened to her cried on seeing
her, " May this thy coming (Inshallah !) be well, O my daughter,
but how is it thou comest thus unexpected ? " " Inshallah ! "
said the wife, " thou art at rest from the colick ?" and the mother
rejoined, " Who told thee I was colicky ? but pass thou within."
So she entered the court and her father, Abdullah Chelebi hight, 1
hearing her footstep from an inner room, asked, " What is there
to do ? " " Thou mettest anon/' replied his daughter, " Attaf thy
son-in-law in the Bazar and didst tell him that my mother was
sore afflicted with a colick. "Hearing this he exclaimed, " This day
I went not once to the market-street nor have I seen a soul I" Now
they had not ceased conversing ere the door was rapped ; and as
the slave girls opened it, they saw porters laden with the young
lady's gear and garments and they led the men into the court
where the father asked them, " Who sent these stuffs ?" " Attaf/ 1
they replied, and setting down their loads within went their way.
Then the father turned to his daughter and said to her, " What
deed hast done that my son-in-law bade take up thy gear and
have it sent after thee ?" And the mother said to him, " Hold thy
peace and speak not such speech lest the honour of the house be
blamed and shamed." And as they were talking, behold, up came
Attaf companied by a party of friends when his father-in-law
asked him, " Wherefore hast thou done on this wise ? " " To-day,"

1 Called in the old translation or rather adaptation " Scheffander-Haswm " or
simply " Scheffander " = Shahbandar Hasan, for which see vol. iv. 29. In the
Cotheal MS. (p. 33) he becomes the " Emir Omar, and theBasha of Damascus " (p. 39).

VOL. VI. M

Supplemental Nights.

answered he, " there came from me a wrongous oath : on account
of my inclination to thy daughter my heart is 4ark as night
whereas her good name is whiter than my turband and ever
bright. 1 Furthermore an occasion befel and this oath fell from my
mouth and I bade her be the owner of herself. 2 And now will I
beweep the past and straightway set her free." So saying he
wrote a writ of repudiation and returning to Ja'afar said, u From
early dawn I have wearied myself 8 for thy sake and have so acted
that no man can lay hand upon her. And at last thou mayst now
enjoy life and go to the gardens and the Hammams and take thy
pleasure until the days of her widowhood 4 be gone by." Replied
Ja'afar, " Allah quicken thee for what thou wroughtest of kindness
to me/' and Attaf rejoined, " Find for thyself something thou
requirest, O my brother." 5 " Then he fell to taking him every day
amongst the crowd of pleasure-seekers and solacing him with a
show of joyous spectacles 6 till the term of divorce had sped, when
he said to the Wazir, " O Ja'afar^ I would counsel thee with an
especial counsel." " And what may it be, O my brother ? " quoth

1 The passage is exceedingly misspelt. "Ammo" min Mayli Binti-ka shashi Ana
Aswadu" (for Shashi M. Houdas reads "Jashi" = my heart) Wa Tana (read
" Thana," reputation) Binti-ka abyazu min Shiishf."

2 One of the formulae of divorce.

8 In text " Muabalat min Shaani-ka." M. Houdas reads the first word "Muzabal "
s= zubldn, wearied, flaccid, weak.

4 For " Al-'iddah," in the case of a divorcee three lunar months, for a widow four
months and ten days and for a pregnant woman, the interval until her delivery, see
vols. iii. 292 ; vi. 256 j and x. 43 : also Lane (M.E.) chap. iii.

5 In text " Alfi (4th form of ' Lafw '} Hajatan," the reading is that of M. ^Houdas ; and
the meaning would be " what dost thou want (in the way of amusement) ? I am at thy
disposal."

6 Heron has here interpolated an adventure with a Bazar-cook and another with a
Confectioner : both discover Ja'afar also by a copy of the "Giaffer" (Al-Jafr). These
again are followed by an episode with a fisherman who draws in a miraculous draught by
pronouncing the letters "Gim. Bi. Ouaow " (waw = J. B. W.) i.e. Ja'afar, Barmecide,
Wazir ; and discovers the Minister by a geomantic table. Then three Darvishes meet
and discourse anent the virtues of "Chebib" (*.*. Attaf); and lastly come two blind
men, the elder named Benphises, whose wife having studied occultism and the Dom-
Daniel of Tunis, discovers Ja'afar. All this is to marshal the series of marvels and
wonders upon wonders predicted to Ja'afar by his father when commanding him to visit
Damascus ; and I have neither space nor inclination to notice their enormous absurdities.

Tks Tale of Attaf.

179

the other ; and quoth he, " Know, O my lord, that many of the
folk have found the likeness between thy Honour and Ja'afar the
Barmecide, wherefore must I fain act on this wise. I will bring
thee a troop of ten Mamelukes and four servants on horseback,
with whom do thou fare privily and by night forth the city and
presently transmit to me tidings from outside the walls that thou
the Grand Wazir, Ja'afar the Barmecide, art recalled to court and
bound thither from Egypt upon business ordered by the Sultan.
Hereat the Governor of Damascus, 'Abd al-Malik bin Marwdn 1
and the Grandees of Syria will flock forth to meet and greet thee
with fetes and feasts, after which do thou send for the young lady's
sire and of him ask her to wife. Then I will summon the Kazi
and witnesses and will write out without stay or delay the marriage-
writ with a dower of a thousand dinars the while thou makest
ready for wayfare, and if thou journey to Horns or to Hamah
do thou alight at whatso place ever pleaseth thee. Also I will
provide thee of spending-money as much as thy soul can desire
and supply to thee raiment and gear, horses and bat -animals, tents
and pavilions of the cheap and of the dear, all thou canst require.
So what sayest thou concerning this counsel ? " " Fair fall it for
the best of rede which hath no peer," replied Ja'afar. Hereupon
Attaf arose and gathering his men about his guest sent him forth
the city when the Minister wrote a writ and despatched it by
twenty horsemen with a trader to inform the Governor of Syria
that Ja'afar the Barmecide was passing that way and was
about to visit Damascus on the especial service of the Sultan.

So the Kapujf 2 entered Damascus and read out the Wazirial

1 This Governor must not be confounded with the virtuous and parsimonious Caliph
of the same name the tentn of the series (reign A.D. 692-705) who before ruling
Studied theology at Al-Medinah and won the sobriquet of "Mosque-pigeon." After
his accession he closed the Koran saying, "Here you and I part," and busied himself
wholly with mundane matters. The Cotheal MS. mentions only the " Nabob "
(Naib = lieutenant) of Syria.

2 " Kapu" (written and pronounced Kapi in Turk.) is a door, a house or a govern-
ment efiice and Kapuji = a porter ; Kapuji-bashi = head porter ; also a chamberlain

i8o Supplemental Nights.

letter 1 announcing Ja'afar's return from Egypt. Hereat the Governor
arose and after sending a present of provisions 2 without the walls
bade pitch the tents, and the Grandees of Syria rode forth to meet
the Minister, and the Headmen of the Province set out to greet
him, and he entered with all honour and consideration. It was
indeed a day fit to be numbered among the days of a man's life,
a day of general joyance for those present, and they read the
Farmdn and they offered the food and the forage to the Chamber-
lain and thus it became known to one and all of the folk that a
writ of pardon had come to Ja'afar's hands and on this wise the
bruit went abroad, far and near, and the Grandees brought him all
manner of presents. After this Ja'afar sent to summon the young
lady's father and as soon as he appeared in his presence, said
to him, " Thy daughter hath been divorced ?" and said the other
" Yes ; she is at home with me." Quoth the Minister, " I would
fain take her to wife ; " and quoth the father, " Here am I ready
to send her as thy handmaid." The Governor of Sham added,
" I will assume charge of the dowry," and the damsel's father
rejoined, " It hath already come to hand." 3 Hereat they sum-
moned the Kazi and wrote out the writ of Ja'afar's marriage ; and,
having ended the ceremony, they distributed meat and drink to
the poor in honour of the wedding, and Abd al-Malik bin Marwan
said to Ja'afar, " Deign, O my lord, come hither with me and
become my guest, and I will set apart for thee a place wherein
thou canst consummate thy marriage." But the other replied,
" Nay, I may not do so ; I am sent on public affairs by the Com-
mander of the Faithful and I purpose setting off with my bride
and marching without further delay." The Grandees of Syria

in Arab. " Ittjib"; and Kapii Katkhdd&i (pron. Kapi-Kyayasi) = the agent which every
Governor is obliged to keep at Constantinople.

1 In text "Al-buyiirdi," clerical error for "Buyfauldi" (pron. Buyiiruldu) = the
written order of a Governor.

f "Al-Yamaklak" = vivers, provaunt j from theT. "Yamak" a food, a med.

1 Meaning that he waived his right to it.

The Tale of Attaf. i8f

spent that night until morning without any being able to snatch
a moment of sleep, and as soon as dawned the day Ja'afar sent
to summon his father-in-law and said, " On the morrow I design
setting forth, and I desire that my bride be ready for the road ; "
whereto replied the other, " Upon my head be it and my eyes ! "
Then Abdullah Chelebi fared homewards and said to his daughter,
" O my child, Attaf hath divorced thee from bed and from board,
whereas Sultan Ja'afar the Bermaki hath taken thee to wife, and
on Allah is the repairing of our broken fortunes and the forti-
fying of our hearts." And she held her peace for displeasure
by cause that she loved Attaf on account of the blood-tie and
his exceeding great generosity. But on the next day Ja'afar
sent a message to her sire informing him that the march would
begin about mid-afternoon and that he wished him to make all
ready, so the father did accordingly ; and when Attaf heard
thereof he sent supplies and spending-money. 1 At the time
appointed the Minister took horse escorted by the Governor and
the Grandees, and they brought out the mule-litter 2 wherein was
the bride, and the procession rode onwards until they had reached
the Dome of the Birds, 3 whereat the Minister bade them return
home and they obeyed him and farewelled him. But on the ride
back they all met Attaf coming from the city, and he reined in
his horse and saluted the Governor and exchanged salams withtf
his companions, who said to him, " Now at the very time we are
going in thou comest out." Attaf made answer, " I wotted not
that he would set forth this day, but as soon as I was certified
that he had mounted I sent to summon his escort and came forth

In text " Zawa"dah " (gen. ' Azwdd " or * Azwi'dah ") = provisions, viaticum.

8 In text " Takhtrawiin " ; see vols. ii. 180; v. 175. In the Cotheal MS. it is a
"Haudaj " = camel-litter (vol. viii. 235).

3 ' Kubbat al-'Asaffr," now represented by the " Khan al-As4fir," on the road from
Damascus to Palmyra, about four hours' ride from and to the N. East of the Bdb Tumi
or N. Eastern gate. The name is found in Baedeker (p. 541). In the C. MS. it becomes
the " Thantyyat al-'UkaV' = th Vulture's Pass.

1 82 Supplemental Nights.

a-following him." * To this the Governor replied, " Go catch them
up at the Dome of the Birds, where they are now halting."
Attaf followed this counsel and reaching the place alighted from
his mare, and approaching Ja'afar embraced him and cried,
" Laud to the Lord, O brother mine, who returneth thee to thy
home with fortunes repaired and heart fortified ; " and said the
Minister, " O Attaf, Allah place it in my power to requite thee ;
but cease thou not to write me and apprise me of thy tidings ;
and for the nonce I order thee to return hence and not to lie the
night save in thine own house." And his host did his bidding
whilst the cousin-wife hearing his voice thrust her head out of the
litter and looked upon him with flowing tears, understanding the
length to which his generosity had carried him. So fared it with
Attaf and his affair ; but now give ear to what befel him from
Abd al-Malik bin Marwan. As they hied them home one who
hated the generous man asked the Governor, " Wottest thou the
wherefore he went forth to farewell his quondam guest at so
late a time as this ? " " Why so ? " answered the other ; and the
detractor continued, " Ja'afar hath tarried four months as a guest
in his household, and disguised so that none save the host knew
him, and now Attaf fared not forth for his sake but because of the
woman." " What woman ? " enquired the Governor, and the
other replied, " His whilom wife, whom he divorced for the sake
of his stranger, and married her to him ; so this day he followeth
to enjoin him once more concerning the Government of Syria
which perchance is promised to him. And 'tis better that thou
breakfast upon him ere he sup upon thee." The other enquired,
"And whose daughter is she, is not her sire Abdullah Chelebi ? 2 "
Whereto the man answered, " Yes, O my lord, and I repeat that
she was put away to the intent that Ja'afar might espouse her."

1 Meaning that AttaF had not the heart to see his cousin- wife leave her home."
3 Written in Turkish fashion with the Jim ( j ) and three dots instead of one. This
Persian letter is still preserved in the Arabic alphabets of Marocco, Algiers, etc.

The Tale of Attaf . 183

When the Governor heard these words, he was wroth with wrath
galore than which naught could be more, and he hid his anger
from Attaf for a while of time until he had devised a device to
compass his destruction. At last, one day of the days he bade cast
the corpse of a murthered man into his enemy's garden and after
the body was found by spies he had sent to discover the slayer,
he summoned Attaf and asked him, " Who murthered yon man
within thy grounds ? " Replied the other, " 'Twas I slew him."
"And why didst slay him ?" cried the Governor, "and what harm
hath he wrought thee ? " But the generous one- replied, " O my
lord, I have confessed to the slaughter of this man in order that
I and only I may be mulcted in his- blood-wite lest the neighbours
say : By reason of Attaf s garden we have been condemned to
pay his fine." Quoth Abd al-Malik, " Why should I want to take
mulcts from the folk ? Nay ; I would command according to
Holy Law and even as Allah hath ordered, ' A life for a life.'
He then turned for testimony to those present and asked them,
"What said this man?'* and they answered," He said: I slew
him." " Is the accused in his right mind or Jinn-mad * ? " pur-
sued the Governor ; and they said, " In his senses." Then quoth
the Governor to the Mufti, " O Efendi, deliver me thine official
decision according to that thou heardest from the accused's
mouth ; " and the Judge pronounced and indited his sentence
upon the criminal according to his confession. Hereupon the
Governor gave order for his slaves to plunder the house and
bastinado the owner ; then he called for the headsman, but the
Notables interfered and cried, " Give him a delay, for thou hast

1 In Arab. "Jinn" = spirit or energy of a man, which here corresponds with the
Heb. "Aub"; so in the Hamdsah the poet says, "My Jinn have not fled j my life is
not blunted ; my birds never drooped for fear," where, say commentators, the Arabs
compare an energetic man with a Jinnf or Shaytan. So the Prophet declared of Omar,
"I never saw such an 'Abkari amongst men," 'Abkar, in Yamamah, like Yabrin
and Wabar near Al-Yaman, being a desolate region, the home of wicked races destroyed
by Allah and now haunted by gruesome hosts of non-human nature. Chenery,
pp. 478-9.

184 Supplemental Nights.

no right to slay him without further evidence ; and better send
him to gaol." Now all Damascus was agitated and excited by
this affair, which came upon the folk so suddenly and unforeseen.
And Attaf s friends * and familiars came down upon the Governor
and went about spreading abroad that the generous man had not
spoken such words save in fear lest his neighbours be molested
and be mulcted for a murther which they never committed, and
that he was wholly innocent of such crime. So Abd al-Malik
bin Marwan summoned them and said, " An ye plead that
the accused is Jinn-mad this were folly, for he is the prince
of intelligent men : I was resolved to let him live until the
morrow; but I have been thwarted and this very night I will
send and have him strangled." Hereupon he returned him to
prison and ordered the gaoler to do him die before day might
break. But the man waxed wroth with exceeding wrath to hear
the doom devised for Attaf and having visited him in prison
said to him, " Verily the Governor is determined to slay thee for
he was not satisfied with the intercession made for thee by the
folk or even with taking the legal blood-wite." Hereat Attaf wept
and cried, " Allah (be He magnified and glorified !) hath assigned
unto every death a cause. I desired but to do good amongst the
garden folk and prevent their being fined ; and now this bene-
volence hath become the reason of my ruin." Then, after much
'say and said ' the gaoler spake as follows,." Why talk after such
fashion ? I am resolved to set thee free and to ransom thee with
my life ; and at this very moment I will strike off thy chains and
deliver thee from him. But do thou arise and tear my face and
pluck out my beard and rend my raiment ; then, after thrusting a
gag 2 into my mouth wend thy ways and save thy life and leave
me to bear all blame." 3 Quoth Attaf, Allah requite thee for

1 In the C. MS. it is an Emir of the Emirs.
8 Arab. " Tabah : " see vol. ii. 814.

s This excellent episode is omitted in the C. MS. where Attaf simply breaks gaol and
reaching Aleppo joins a caravan to Baghdad ,

The Tale of Attaf. 185

me with every weal ! " Accordingly the gaoler did as he had
undertaken and his prisoner went forth unhurt and at once followed
the road to Baghdad. So far concerning him ; but now hear thou
what befel the Governor of Syria, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.
He took patience till midnight, when he arose and fared
accompanied by the headsman to the gaol that he might witness
the strangling of Attaf ; but lo and behold ! he found the prison-
door wide open and the keeper in sore sorrow with his raiment all
rent to rags and his beard plucked out and his face scratched and
the blood trickling from his four sides and his case was the
miserablest of cases So they removed the gag from his mouth
and the Governor asked him, " Who did with thee on this wise ? "
and the man answereti, " O my lord, yesternight, about the middle
thereof, a gang of vagabonds and ne'er-do-wells as they were 'I frits
of our lord Sulayman (upon whom be The Peace!), not one of
whom I recognised, came upon me and ere I was ware of them
they broke down the prison door and killed me ; ! and when I
would have cried aloud and shouted for aid they placed yonder
gag in my mouth, then they wounded me and shredded my dress
and left me in the state thou seest. Moreover they took Attaf
after breaking his chains and said to him: Go and lay thy
complaint before the Sultan." Now those who accompanied
the Governor said, " This be a gaoler and the son of a gaoler,
nor during all his days hath anyone charged him with letting a
prisoner out of hand. " Quoth Abd al-Malik to the wounded man
" Hie thee to thy house and stay there ; " whereat he straightway
arose and went his ways. After this the Governor took horse, he
and his escort ; and all rode off to search for Attaf during a term
of four days and some of them dug and dug deep down while the
others returned after a bootless errand, and reported that they
had failed to find him. Such was the case with the Governor of

In text " Katalu-ni " : see vols. v. 5 ; vi- .171.

1 86 Supplemental Nights.

Syria ; and now give ear to the adventure of Attaf. He left not
wayfaring until but a single stage remained between him and
Baghdad when robbers came upon him and stripped him of all his
clothes, so that he was compelled to enter the capital in foulest
condition, naked even as his mother bare him. And after some
charitable wight had thrown an old robe about him and bound his
head with a clout (and his unshorn hair fell over his eyes) 1 he fell
to asking for the mansion of the Wazir Ja'afar and the folk guided
him thereto. But when he would have entered the attendants
suffered him not ; so he stood at that gate till an old man joined
him. Attaf enquired of him saying, " Hast thou with thee, O
Shaykh, an ink-case and pens and paper ? " and the other replied,
" I have ; but what is thy need thereof ? tell me, so may I write
for thee." "I will write myself," rejoined Attaf; and when the
old man handed to him the gear, he took seat and indited an
address to Ja'afar informing him of all that passed from first to
last, and especially of his own foul plight." 2 Presently he returned
the ink-case and reed pens to the Shaykh ; and, going up to the
gate, asked those standing about the doors, " Will ye not admit for
me this missive and place it in the hand of his Highness, Ja'afar
the Bermaki, the Wazir ? " " Give it here," said they, and one of
them took it with the intent of handing it to the Minister when
suddenly the cannon roared ; 3 the palace was in a hubbub and each
and everyone cried, " What is to do ? " Hereat many voices replied,
" The Sultan, who hath been favoured with a man-child, biddeth
decorate the city for seven days " Hereat the attendant, who had

1 In the C. MS. he enters a mosque and finds a Ja'idi (vagabond) who opens his bag
and draws out a loaf, a roast fowl, lemons, olives, cucumbers and date-cake, which suggest
to Attaf, who had not eaten such things for a month, "the table of Isa bin Maryam."
For the rest see Mr. Cotheal's version.

8 The C. MS. gives the short note in full.

8 In text "al-Towab," Arab. plur. of the Persian and Turk. "Top." We hardly
expected to find ordnance in the age of Harun al-Rashid, although according to Miltoa
they date before the days of Adam.

The Tale of A ttaf. 1 87

charged himself with the letter, threw it in that confusion from his
hand and Attaf was led to gaol as a vagrant. Anon Ja'afar took
horse and, after letting read the Sultan's rescript about the city-
decorations, gave command that all the prisoners be released,
Attaf amongst the number. As he issued forth the gaol he beheld
all the streets adorned with flags and tapestry, and when
evening approached eating-cloths and trays of food were set
and all fell-to, while sundry said to Attaf who was in pauper
plight, " Come and eat thou ; " for it was a popular feast. 1
And affairs went on after this same fashion and the bands made
music and cannon was fired until ended the week of decoration
during which the folk ceased not to-ing and fro-ing. As evening
evened Attaf entered a cathedral-mosque and prayed the night-
prayers when he was accosted by the eunuchs who cried, " Arise
and gang thy gait, that we may close the mosque-door, O Attaf,"
for his name had become known. He replied, " O man. the Apostle
of Allah saith, * Whoso striveth for good is as the doer thereof and
the doer is of the people of Paradise : ' so suffer me to sleep here
in some corner ; " but quoth the other, " Up with thee and be off:
yesterday they stole me a bit of matting and to-night I will bolt
the door nor allow any to sleep here. And indeed the Apostle of
Allah (whom the Almighty save and assain !) hath 'forbidden sleep
o' nights in the mosques." Attaf had no competence to persuade
the Castrate by placing himself under his protection, albeit he
prayed him sore saying, " I am a stranger in the city nor have
I knowledge of any, so do thou permit me here to pass this
one night and no more." But as he was again refused he
went forth into the thoroughfares where the street dogs barked at
him, and thence he trudged on to the market where the watchmen
and warders cried out at him, till at last he entered a ruinous

J M. Houdas would read for " Alhy Tys "in the text "Tuba Tays" a general feast;
Tuha= cooked meat and " Tays " = myriads of.

1 83 Supplemental Nights.

house where he stumbled when walking and fell over something
which proved to be a youth lately murthered, and in tripping
he fell upon his face and his garments were bewrayed and crimsoned
with blood. And as he stood in doubt as to what must be done
the Wali and the watch, who were going round the town by night,
met him face to face ; and as soon as they saw him all rushed at
him in a body and seizing him bore him to the gaol. Here we
leave speaking of him ; and now return we to Ja'afar and what
befel him. After he had set out from Damascus and sent back
Attaf from the Dome of the Birds he said in his mind, " Thou art
about to consummate marriage with a damsel and to travel until
thou shalt reach Baghdad, so meanwhile up and take thee an ewer
of water and make the Wuzu and pray." However, as he pur-
posed that evening to go in unto the wife of Attaf, controversy
forewent compliments 1 and the tent-pitchers, who were sent on
to the next station set up the pavilion of the bride and the other
tents. Ja'afar took patience until every eye however wakeful
waxed sleep-full, at which time he rose up and went in to Attaf 's
wife who, the moment she saw him enter, covered her face with
her hands as from a stranger. " The Peace be upon thee !" said
he and said she, " With thee also be The Peace and the ruth of
Allah and His blessings." Then he continued, " O daughter of
my father's brother 2 why hast thou placed thy hand upon thy face ?
in the lawful there be naught of shameful." " True, O my lord,"
she replied, " but Modesty is a part of Religion. If to one the like
of thee it be a light matter that the man who guested thee and
served thee with his coin and his case be treated on this wise and
thou have the heart to take his mate from him, then am I but a
slave between thy hands." " Art thou the divorced wife of Attaf ? "
asked Ja'afar, and she answered, " I am." Quoth he, " And why

1 M. Houdas translates Its injures devanclrcnt Us compliments > an idiom = he did
not succeed in his design.
"Cousin" being more polite than "wife" : see vols. vi. 145, ix. 225.

The Tale of AttaJ. 189

did thy husband on such wise ? " and quoth she, " The while I
stood watering plants at the window, thy Highness deigned look
upon me and thou toldest thy love to Attaf, who forthright put
me away and made me wife to thy Worship. And this is where-
fore I conceal from thee my face." Ja'afar cried, " Thou art now
unlawful to him and licit to me ; but presently thou shalt become
illicit to me and legitimate to thy husband : so from this time
forth thou art dearer and more honourable to me than my eyes
and my mother and my sister. But for the moment thy return to
Damascus is not possible for fear of foolish tongues lest they prattle
and say : Attaf went forth to farewell Ja'afar, and his wife lay the
night with the former, and thus have the back-bones had a single
lappet. 1 However I will bear thee to Baghdad where I willstablish
thee in a spacious and well furnished lodging with ten slave girls
and eunuchs to serve thee ; and, as long as thou abide with me, I
will give thee 2 every day five golden ducats and every month a
suit of sumptuous clothes. Moreover everything in thy lodging
shall be thine ; and whatever gifts and offerings be made to thee
they shall be thy property, for the folk will fancy thee to be my
bride and will entertain thee and escort thee to the Hammams and
present thee with sumptuous dresses. After this fashion thou shalt
pass thy days in joyance and thou shalt abide with me in highmost
honour and esteem and worship till what time we see that can be
done. So from this moment forth 8 throw away all fear and hereafter
be happy in heart and high in spirits, for that now thou standest
me in stead of mother and sister and here naught shall befal thee
save weal. And now my first desire to thee which burned in my
soul hath been quenched and exchanged for brotherly love yet

1 Les verttbres ont fait bourreUty says M. Houdas who adds that "Shakban" is the
end of a cloth, gown, or cloak, which is thrown over the shoulders and serves, like the
" Jayb" in front, to carry small parcels, herbs, etc.

* In the local Min jargon, the language of Fellahs, Addfki" = I will give thee.

5 In text " Min al-'An wa sa'idan ; " lit = from this moment upwards.

Supplemental Nights.

stronger than what forewent it." So Attafs wife rejoiced with
exceeding joy ; and, as they pursued their journey, Ja'afar ceased
not to clothe her in the finest of clothes, so that men might honour
her as the Wazir's Consort ; and ever to entreat her with yet
increasing deference. This endured until they entered Baghdad-
city where the attendants bore her Takhtrawdn into the Minister's
Harem and an apartment was set apart for her even as he had
promised, and she was provided with a monthly allowance of a
thousand dinars and all the comforts and conveniences and
pleasures whereof he had bespoken her ; nor did he ever allow his
olden flame for her to flare up again, and he never went near
her ; but sent messengers to promise her a speedy reunion with
her mate. Such was the case of Ja'afar and Attafs wife ; and
now give ear to what befel and betided the Minister during his
first reception by his liege lord who had sorely regretted his
departure and was desolated by the loss of him. As soon as he
presented himself before the Caliph, who rejoiced with exceeding
joy and returned his salute and his deprecation of evil, 1 the Com-
mander of the Faithful asked him, " Where was the bourne of this
thy wayfare ? " and he answered, ** Damascus." "And where didst
alight ? " " In the house of one Attaf hight," rejoined Ja'afar,
who recounted all that his host had done with him from the
beginning to the end. The Prince of True Believers took patience,
until he had told his story and then cried to his Treasurer
saying, " Hie thee hence and open the Treasury and bring me forth
a certain book." And when this was done he continued, " Hand
that volume to Ja'afar." Now when the Minister took it and read
it he found written therein all that had occurred between Attaf
and himself and he left not reading till he came to the time when
the twain, host and guest, had parted and each had farewelled other
and Attaf had fared homewards. Hereupon the Caliph cried to

1 " Tarajjum " taking refuge from Satan the Stoned (Rajfm). See vol. iv. 242.

The Tale of Attaf. 19!

him, " Close the book at what place it completeth the recital of
thy bidding adieu to Attaf and of his returning to his own place,
so shalt thou understand how it was I said to thee : Near me not
until thou bring that which is contained in this volume." Then the
Commander of the Faithful restored the book to the Treasurer
saying, " Take this and set it H the bibliotheca ; " then, turning to
Ja'afar he observed, "Verily Almighty Allah (be He glorified
and magnified !) hath deigned show thee whatso I read therein
until I fell a-weeping and a-laughing at one and the same time.
So now do thou retire and hie thee home." Ja'afar did his
bidding and reassumed the office of Wazir after fairer fashion
than he was before. And now return we to the purport of our
story as regardeth the designs of Attaf and what befel him when
they took him out of gaol. They at once led him to the Kazi
who began by questioning him, saying, "Woe to thee, didst thou
murther this tUshimf ? " * Replied he, "Yes, I did!" "And
why killedst thou him ? " " I found him in yonder ruin and, I
struck him advisedly and slew him ! " " Art thou in thy right
senses ? " " Yea, verily." " What may be thy name ? " " I am
hight Attaf." Now when the Judge heard this confession, which
was thrice repeated, he wrote a writ to the Mufti and acquainted
him with the contention : and the divine after delivering his
decision produced a book and therein indited the prods-verbal.
Then he sent notice thereof to Ja'afar the Wazir for official order
to carry out the sentence and the Minister took the document and
affixing his seal and signature thereto gave order for the execution.
So they bore Attaf away and led him to the gallows-foot whither
he was followed by a world of folk in number as the dust ; and,
as they set him under the tree Ja'afar the Wazir, who was riding
by with his suite at the time, suddenly espied a crowd going forth
the city. Thereupon he summoned the Sobashf 2 who came up to

1 i.e. a descendant of Al-Hdshim, great-grandfather of the Prophet. See ix. 24.

2 In text "Shobasi," for "Sobashi" which M. Houdas translates/;^/ du Palais.

10,2 Supplemental Nights.

him and kissed his knee. " What is the object of this gathering
of folk who be manifold as the dust and what do they want?"
quoth the Wazir; and quoth the officer, " We are wending to hang 1
a Syrian who hath murthered a youth of Sharif family." " And
who may be this Syrian ? " asked the Wazir, and the other
answered, " One hight Attaf." But when Ja'afar heard the word
Attaf he cried out with a mighty loud outcry and said, " Hither
with him." So after loosing the noose from his neck they set him
before the Wazir who regarding him at once recognised his
whilome host albeit he was in the meanest of conditions, so he
sprang up and threw himself upon him and he in turn threw him-
self upon his sometime guest. 2 " What condition be this ? " quoth
Ja'afar as soon as he could speak, and quoth Attaf, " This cometh
of my acquaintance with thee which hath brought me to such
pass " Hereupon the twain swooned clean away and fell down
fainting on the floor, and when they came to themselves and could
rise to their feet Ja'afar the Wazir sent his friend Attaf to the
Hammam with a sumptuous suit of clothes which he donned as he
came out. Then the attendants led him to the Wazirial mansion
where both took seat and they drank wine and ate the early meal 3
and after their cofifee they sat together in converse. And when
they had rested and were cheered, Ja'afar said, " Do thou acquaint
me with all that betided thee from the time we took leave each of
other until this day and date." So Attaf fell to telling him how
he had been entreated by Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, Governor 6f
Syria ; how he had been thrown into prison and how his enemy
came thither by night with intent to strangle him ; also how the
gaoler deviced a devise to save him from slaughter and how he

1 In the C. MS. Attafs head was to be cut off.

* In the C. MS. the anagnorisis is much more detailed. Ja'afar asks Attaf if he
knew a Damascus-man Attaf htght and so forth ; and lastly an old man comes forward
and confesses to have slain the Sharif or Hishlmi.

They drink before the meal, as is still the custom in Syria and Egypt. See
rol. vii. 132

The Tale of Attaf. 193

had fled nor ceased flight till he drew near Baghdad when

robbers had stripped him ; how he had lost an opportunity of

seeing the Wazir because the city had been decorated ; and,

lastly, what had happened to him through being driven from the

Cathedral-mosque ; brief, he recounted all from commencement to

conclusion. Hereupon the Minister loaded him with benefits and

presently gave orders to renew the marriage-ceremony between

man and wife ; and she seeing her husband led in to pay her the

first visit lost her senses, and her wits flew from her head and she

cried aloud, "Would Heaven I wot if this be on wake or the

imbroglio of dreams ! " So she started like one frightened and a

moment after she threw herself upon her husband and cried, " Say

me, do I view thee in vision or really in the flesh ? " whereto he

replied, " In the world of sense and no sweven is this." Then he

took seat beside her and related to her all that had befallen him of

hardships and horrors till he was taken from under the Hairibee ;

and she on her part recounted how she had dwelt under Ja'afar's

roof, eating well and drinking well and dressing well and in

honour and worship the highmost that might be. And the joy

of this couple on reunion was perfect. But as for Ja'afar when the

morning morrowed, he arose and fared for the Palace ; then",

entering the presence, he narrated to the Caliph all that had

befallen Attaf, art and part ; and the Commander of the Faithful

rejoined, " Indeed this adventure is the most wondrous that can

be, and the most marvellous that ever came to pass." Presently

he called to the Treasurer and bade him bring the book a second

time from the Treasury, and when it was brought the Prince of

True Believers took it, and handing it to Ja'afar, said to him, " Open

and read." So he perused the whole tale of Attaf with himself

the while his liege lord again wept and laughed at the same

moment and said, " In very deed, all things strange and rare are

written and laid up amongst the treasuries of the Kings; and

therefor I cried at thee in my wrath and forbade thee my presence

VOL. VI. N

194 Supplemental Nights.

until thou couldst answer the question, What is there in this
volume ? and thou couldst comprehend the cause of my tears and
my smiles. Then thou wentest from before me and wast driven
by doom of Destiny until befel thee with Attaf that which did
befal ; and in fine thou returnedst with the reply I required.' Then
the Caliph enrobed Ja'afar with a sumptuous honour-robe and
said to the attendants, " Bring hither to me Attaf." So they went
out and brought him before the Prince of True Believers ; and the
Syrian standing between his hands blessed the Sovran and prayed
for his honour and glory in permanence of prosperity and felicity.
Hereat quoth the Caliph, " O Attaf, ask whatso thou wishest ! "
and quoth the generous man, " O King of the Age, I pray only
thy pardon for Abd al-Malik bin Marwan." " For that he harmed
thee ? " asked Harun al-Rashid, and Attaf answered, " O my lord,
the transgression came not from him, but from Him who caused
him work my wrong ; and I have freely pardoned him. Also do
thou, O my lord, write a Farmdn with thine own hand certifying
that I have sold to the gaoler, and have received from him
the price thereof, all my slaves and estates in fullest tale and
most complete. Moreover deign thou appoint him inspector over
the Governor of Syria 1 and forward to him a signet-ring by way
of sign that no petition which doth not bear that seal shall be
accepted or even shall be heard and lastly transmit all this with
a Chamberlain unto Damascus." Now all the citizens of Syria
were expecting some ill-turn from the part of Attaf, and with this
grievous thought they were engrossed, when suddenly tidings from

1 Gauttier (vii. 256), illustrating the sudden rise of low-caste and uneducated men to
high degree, quotes a contemporary celebrity, the famous Mirza Mohammed Husayn
Khan who, originally a Bakkdl or greengrocer, was made premier of Fath Ali Shah's
brilliant court, the last bright flash of Iranian splendour and autocracy. But Iran is a
land upon which Nature has inscribed " Resurgam " ; and despite her present abnormal
position between two vast overshadowing empiresBritish India and Russia in Asia
she has still a part to play in history. And I may again note that Al-Islam is based
upon the fundamental idea of a Republic which is, all (free) men are equal, and the
lowest may aspire to the highest dignity.

The Tale of Attaf. 195

Baghdad were bruited abroad ; to wit, that a Kapuji was coming
on Attaf's business. Hereat the folk feared with exceeding great
affright and fell to saying, " Gone is the head of Abd al-Malik bin
Marwan, and gone all who could say aught in his defence." And
when the arrival of the Chamberlain was announced all fared
forth to meet and greet him, and he entered on a day of flocking
and crowding, 1 which might be truly numbered amongst the days
and lives of men. And presently he produced the writ of
indemnity, and pardon may not be procured save by one duly
empowered to pardon. Then he sent for the gaoler and committed
to him the goods and chattels of Attaf, together with the signet
and the appointment of supervisor over the Governor of Syria with
an especial Farman that no order be valid unless sealed with the
superior's seal. Nor was Abd al-Malik bin Marwan less rejoiced
that the adventure had ended so well for him when he saw the
Kapuji returning Baghdad-wards that he might report all con-
cerning his mission. But as for Attaf, his friend Ja'afar bestowed
upon him seigniories and presented him with
property and moneys exceeding tenfold
what he had whilome owned
and made him more
prosperous than he

had ever
been aforetime.

In text " 'Arararami. '

NOTE ON THE TALE OF ATTAF.

Mr. Alexander J. Cotheal, of New York, a correspondent who already on
sundry occasions has rendered me able aid and advice, was kind enough to send
me his copy of the Tale of Attaf (the " C. MS. " of the foregoing pages). It
is a small 410 of pp. 334, size 5! by 8 inches, with many of the leaves injured and
repaired ; and written in a variety of handwritings, here a mere scribble, there
regular and legible as printed Arabic. A fly-leaf inserted into the Arabic binding
contains in cursive hand the title, U A Book embracing many Tales of the Tales of
the Kings and named ' Stories from the Thousand Nights and a Night.' " Ar1
a note at the end supplies the date ; "And the finish thereof was on Fifth Day
(Thursday), Qth from the beginning of the auspicious month Rabi'a 2nd, in the
year 1096 of the Hijrah of the Apostle, upon whom be the choicest of blessings
and the fullest of greetings ; and Allah prospereth what he pleaseth, 1 and
praise be to God the One." Thus (A.H. 1096 = A.D. 1685) the volume is up-
wards of 200 years old. It was bought by Mr. Cotheal many years ago with
other matters among the effects of a deceased American missionary who had
brought it from Syria.

The "Tale of Attaf" occupies pp. 1050, and the end is abrupt. The treat-
ment of the " Novel'' contrasts curiously with that of the Chavis MS. which
forms my text, and whose directness and simplicity give it a European and
even classical character. It is an excellent study of the liberties allowed to
themselves by Eastern editors and scribes. In the Cotheal MS. the tone is
distinctly literary, abounding in verse (sometimes repeated from other portions
of The Nights), and in Saj'a or Cadence which the copyist sometimes denotes
by marks in red ink. The wife ot Attaf is a much sterner and more important
personage than in my text : she throws water upon her admirer as he gazes
upon her from the street, and when compelled to marry him by her father, she
" gives him a bit of her mind " as forcibly and stingmgly as if she were of
" Anglo-Saxon " blood ; e.g. *' An thou have in thee aught of manliness and
generosity thou wilt divorce me even as he did." Sundry episodes like that of
the brutal Eunuch at Ja'afar's door, and the Vagabond in the Mosque are also
introduced ; but upon this point I need say no more, as Mr. Cotheal shatl now
speak for himself.

"Wa'Hahu '1-Muwaffiku '1-Mu'fn" = God prospereth and directeth, a formula
oitea prefixed or suffixed to a book.

THK TALE OF ATTAF

ALEXANDER J. COTHEAL.

THE TALE OF ATTAR

'STORY OF ATTAF THE GENEROUS, AND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM WITH
THE WAZIR J A' AFAR WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A YOUNG LADY NOT
KNOWING HER TO BE THE COUSIN-WIFE OF ATTAF WHO, IN HIS
GENEROSITY DIVORCED HER AND MARRIED HER TO HIM. THE NAIB
OF DAMASCUS BEING JEALOUS OF ATTAF'S INTIMACY WITH /A' AFAR
IMPRISONS HIM FOR TREASON AND PILLAGES HIS PROPERTY. ESCAPE
OF ATTAF FROM PRISON AND HIS FLIGHT TO BAGHDAD WHERE HE
ARRIVES IN A BEGGARLY CONDITION, AND BEING ACCUSED OF
ASSASSINATION IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH, BUT BEING RELEASED HE
GOES TO JA'AFAR WHO RECOGNISES HIM AND IS REWARDED BY
HIM AND THE CALIPH. HIS WIFE fS RESTORED TO HIM AND AFTER
A WHILE THEY ARE SENT HOME TO DAMASCUS OF WHICH HE IS
APPOINTED WALI IN PLACE OF THE NAIB WHO IS CONDEMNED TO
DEATH, BUT IS AFTERWARDS EXILED.

fin tfje name of &ott, tf)* jftmiful, tfje Compassionate to fofjom foe crp

for f)tlp.

THEY say God is omniscient, knowing the past and the future, and we learn from
the histories of the peoples that there was in ancient times and bygone seasons
(and God knows best !) a Caliph of the Caliphs of the orthodox and he was
Harun er-Rashid who one night became very restless and from the drowsiness
that came upon him he sat down upon the bed and dressed himself in sleeping-
clothes ; then it was that he called to his service Mesrur the sword-bearer of
grace who came immediately into his presence and said to him, O Mesrur, the
night is very oppressive and I wish thee to dispel my uneasiness. Then Mesrur
said to him, O Commander of the Faithful, arise now and go to the terrace-
roof of the palace and look upon the canopy of heaven and upon the twinkling
stars and the brightness of the moon, while listening to the music of the
rippling screams and the creaking norias as they are spoken of by the poet
who said:

A Noria that discharges by the spouts of her tears resembles the actions of a distracted

lover :
She is the lover of her branches (sweeps or levers) by the magic in her heart until she

laughs :
She complains and the tears run from her eyes, she rises in the morning to find herself

weeping and complaining.

2oo Supplemental Nights.

Then he said, O Commander of the Faithful, the streams also are thus mentioned
by one of them :

My favorite is a damsel dispensing drink, and my recreation is a running stream ;
A damsel whose eyes are a garden of Paradise, and a garden whose springs make a
running brook.

Then again said Harun er-Rashid, O Mesrur, such is not my wish, and Mesrur
replied, O Commander of the Faithful, in thy palace are three hundred and
sixty damsels, they are thy concubines and thy slaves, and they are as if they
were rising moons and beautiful gazelles, and in elegant robes they are dressed
like the flowers. Walk around in the midst of the palaces and from thy hiding-
place see each of them enter by herself in her own apartment admiring her
beauty and her magnificent dresses, all showing their joy and mirth since they
will not know of thee ; then listen to their singing and their playing and their
joyous company in their apartments and perhaps you'll attach yourself to one
of them who'll play with thee, keep thee awake and be thy cup-companion,
dispelling what may remain of thy restlessness. But he replied, O Mesrur, bring
to me my cousin Ja'afar the Barmeky immediately. So he answered, Hearing
is obedience. Then Mesrur went out to the house of Ja'afar and said to him,
Come to the Commander of the Faithful, and he answered, To hear is to
obey. Then Ja'afar dressed himself and went with Mesrur to the Caliph and
kissing the ground before him he said, May it be good ! O Commander of the
Faithful. It is not other than good, he answered, but I am wearied this night
with a great weariness and I sent for you to divert me so that my unrest may
be dissipated. Then Ja'afar said, Let's get up, O Commander of the Faithful,
and we'll go out into the garden of the palace and listen to the warbling ol
the birds and smell of the odours of the flowers, and the cool zephyr with its
gentle breath will pass over us, dispelling our uneasiness and gladdening
the heart. The Rawi says that Ja'afar was very familiar with the Caliph by
reason of the endearment between them. Then the Caliph _arose and with
Ja'afar and Mesrur went to the garden. The Caliph began to be thoughtful
and asked about the trees and the qualities of the flowers and the fruits and the
nature of their colours, and as the Caliph took pleasure in that, he walked around
for an hour and then passed over to the palaces and houses, going from place to
place, from quarter to quarter, and from market to market ; and, whilst they
were going on, they stopped before a book-shop and the Caliph opened a
book-case and began to turn over the books one by one, and taking one in his
hand opened it, began to read in it, and then suddenly laughed until he fell upon
his back. He read in it again and wept until his beard was wet with the falling
tears, and wrapping up the book he put it in his sleeve when Ja'afar said, O
Commander of the Faithful and Lord of the two worlds, what was it that made
thee laugh and then weep at the same time? 3/Vhen the Caliph heard that
he was angered and cried out at him in the^midst of his rage, O dog of a
Barmeky, what an impertinence on thy part about what concerns thee not*

The Tale of Attaf. 201

why meddle with what thou hast not lost. You've taken upon yourself to be
annoying and conceited, you have passed beyond your place and it only
remained for you to brave the Caliph. By my fathers and grandfathers, if
thou dost not bring me someone who can tell me about the contents of this
book from the first page to the last, I'll strike thy neck and show thee what it
is that has made me laugh and cry. When Ja'afar heard these words and
saw his passion he said, O Commander of the Faithful, I have committed a
fault : sin is for the like of me and forgiveness for the like of your Highness ;
to which the Caliph answered, I have made oath, thou must bring that person
to explain the book or I'll strike thy neck this very hour. Then Ja'afar said, O
Commander of the Faithful, God created the heavens and the two worlds in six
days and if it had pleased Him He could have created them in one single hour,
but He did so for an instruction to his worshippers that one should not fault
with another but be patient ; then, O Lord, be thou patient with thy servant if
it be for three days only ; and the Caliph replied to him, If thou bringest not
to me him whom I have mentioned I will slay thee with the most horrible of
deaths. At this Ja'afar said, I depart on thy mission ; thereupon Ja'afar went
home with a sorrowful heart to his father Yahya and his brother El-Fadl to
take leave of them and weep. Then they said, to him, What is thy trouble ? so
he told them of what had occurred between him and the Caliph and of the
condition laid upon him of execution if not complied with in three days, for
doubtless the Caliph seeks my death ; he who strikes against a point, 'twill
pierce his hand, and he that struggles with a lion will be killed; but as to
myself I can no longer remain with him for that would be the greatest of
dangers for me and for thee, O my father, and for thee, O my brother. I now
set out to travel and I wish to go far away from his eye. The preservation of
life is not esteemed and is of little value : distance is the best preservative for
our necks as is said by the poet :

Save your life if menaced by evil (danger), and leave the house to complain of the

builder :
You'll find a land upon a land, but not another life for your own life.

When he had finished, his father and his brother said to him, Do not do so,
for probably the Caliph will be merciful to you. And Ja'afar answered, Only
good will come of my travel. Then he went to his treasure-room and took out
a purse containing 1,000 dinars, mounted his horse, put on his sword, bade
adieu to his father and brother and set fprth in his time and hour; then, not
taking with him any servants, either slave or boy, he hastened on his journey,
travelling day and night for twenty days until he reached the city of Aleppo
without stopping, passing by Hamah and Horns until he reached Teniydt al-
Igb and arrived at Damascus where he entered the city and saw the Minaret
of the Bride from bottom to top covered with gilded tiles ; and it surrounded
with meadows, irrigated gardens with all kinds of flower.:, fields of myrtle with
mountains of violets and <*her beauties of the gardens. He dwelt upon these

2O2 Supplemental Nights.

charms while listening to the singing of the birds in the trees ; and he saw a
city whose like has never been created in any other country of the world.
Turning then to the right hand and to the left he espied a man standing near
him and said to him, O my brother, what's the name of this city ? and he
answered, O my lord, this city in ancient times was called Jullag the same that
is mentioned by the poet who says :

I am called Jullag and my heart I attach, in me flow the waters, in and out ;
The Garden of Eden upon the earth, birth-place of the fairies :
I will never forget thy beauties, O Damascus, for none but thee will I ever long :
Blessed be the wonders that glitter on thy roofs (expanse).

She was also called Sham (grain of beauty) because she is the Sham of
Cities and the Sham of God on earth. Ja'afar was pleased at the explanation
of the name, and dismounted with the intention of taking a stroll through the
streets, by the great houses and the domes (mosks). Whilst thus engaged in
examining the various places and their beauties, he perceived a tent of silk
brocade called Dibaj, containing carpets, furniture, cushions, silk curtains,
chairs and beds. A young man was sitting upon a mattress, and he was like a
rising moon, like the shining orb in its fourteenth night. He was in an
undress, upon his head a kerchief and on his body a rose-coloured gaberdine ;
and as he sat before him were a company and drinks worthy of Kings. Ja'afar
stopped and began to contemplate the scene, and was pleased with what he
saw of the youth ; then looking further he espied a damsel like unto the sun
in serene firmament who took her lute and played on it while singing :

Evil to whoever have their heart in possession of their lovers, for in obtaining it they

will kill it :
They have abandoned it when they have seen it amorous : when they see it amorous they

abandon it.
Nursling, they pluck it out from the very entrails : O bird, repeat " Nursling they

have plucked thee out !"

They have killed it unjustly : the loved plays the coquette with the humble lover.
The seeker of the effects of love, love am I, brother of love, and sigh
Behold the man stricken by love, though his heart change not they bury it (him ?)

The Rawi said that Ja'afar was pleased and he rejoiced at hearing the song
and all his organs were moved at the voice of the damsel and he said, Wallahy,
it is fine. Then she began again to sing, reciting the following verses :

With these sentiments thou art in love, it is not wonderful that I should love thee :

I stretch out my hand to thee asking for mercy and pity for my humility mayst thou be

charitable ;
My life has passed away soliciting thy consent, but I have not found it in my confidence

to be charitable,
And I have become a slave in consequence of her possession of love my heart is

imprisoned and my tears flow.

The Tale of Attaf. 203

When the poem was finished Ja'afar gave himself up more and more to the
pleasure of hearing and looking at the damsel. The youth, who was reclining,
sat up and calling some of his boys said to them, Don't you see that young
man standing there in iront of us ? They answered, Yes, and he said, He must
be a stranger for I see on him the signs of travel : bring him to me and take
care not to offend him. They answered, With joy and gladness, and went
towards Ja'afar, who, while contemplating the damsel, perceived the boy that
came and who said to him, In the name of God, O my lord, please have the
generosity to come in to our master. Ja'afar came with the boy to the door of
the tent, dismounted from his horse and entered at the moment when the youth
was rising upon his feet, and he stretched out his two hands and saluted Tiim
as if he had always known him, and after he had chanted the prayer to the
envoy (of Allah) he sang :

O my visitor be welcome, them enlivenest us and bringest us our union :
By thy face I live when it appears and I die if it disappears.

Then he said to Ja'afar, Please be seated, my dear sir ; thanks be to God
for your happy arrival ; and he continued his chant after another prayer to
the envoy (of God) :

If we had known of thy arrival we would have covered (thy) heart with the black of

our eyes,
And we would have spread the street with our cheeks that thy coming might have been

between our eyelids.

After that -he arose, kissed the breast of Ja'afar, magnified his power and
said to him, O my Master, this day is a happy one and were it not a fast-day I
would have fasted for thee to render thanks to God. Then came up the
servants to whom he said, Bring us what is ready. They spread the table of
viands and the youth said, O my lord, the Sages say, * If you are invited content
yourself with what's before you, but if you are not invited, stay not and visit
not again ; if we had known that you would arrive to-day we would have
sacrificed the flesh of our bodies and our children.' Ja'afar said, I put out my
hand and I ate until I was satisfied, while he was presenting me with his hand
the delicate morsels and taking pleasure in entertaining me. When we had
finished they brought the ewef and basin, we washed our hands and we passed
into the drinking room where he told the damsel to sing. She took up her
lute, tuned it, and holding it against her breast she began :

A visitor of whom the sight is venerated by all, sweeter than either spirit or hope :

He spreads the darkness of his hair over the morning dawn and the dawn of shame

appeared not ;
And when my lot would kill me I asked his protection, his arrival revived a soul that

death reclaimed :
I've become the slave of the Prince of the Lovers and the dominion of love was of my

making.

2O4 Supplemental Nights.

The Rawi says that Ja'afar was moved with exceeding joy, as was also the
youth, but he did not fail to be fearful on account of his affair with the Caliph,
so that it showed itself in his countenance, and this anxiety was apparent to the
youth who knew that he was anxious, frightened, dreaming and uncertain.
Ja'afar perceived that the youth was ashamed to question him on his position
and the cause of his condition, but the youth said to him, O my lord, listen to
what the Sages have said :

Worry not thyself for things that are to come, drive away your cares by the intoxicating

bowl:

See you not that hands have painted beautiful flowers on the robes of drink ?
Spoils of the vine-branch, lilies and narcissus, and the violet and the striped flower of

N'uman :
If troubles overtake you, lull them to sleep with liquors and flowers and favourites.

Then said he to Ja'afar, Contract not thy breast, and to the damsel, Sing ;
and she sang, and Ja'afar who was delighted with her songs, said Let us not
cease our enjoyment, now in conversation, now in song until the day closes and
night comes with darkness.

The youth ordered the servants to bring up the horses and they presented to
his guest a mare fit for Kings. We mounted (said Ja'afar), and, entering
Damascus, I proceeded to look at the bazars and the streets until we came to
a large square in the middle of which were two mastabas or stone benches
before a high doorway brilliantly illuminated with divers lights, and before a
portiere was suspended a lamp by a golden chain. There were lofty domes
surrounded by beautiful statues, and containing various kinds of birds and
abundance of flowing water, and in their midst was a hall with windows of
silver. He opened it and found it looking upon a garden like that of Paradise
animated by the songs of the birds and the perfumes of the flowers and the
ripple of the brooks. The house, wherein were fountains and birds warbling
their songs understood in every language, was carpeted with silken rugs and
furnished with cushions of Dibaj-brocade. It contained also in great number
costly articles of every kind, it was perfumed with the odours of flowers and
fruits and it contained every other imaginable thing, plates and dishes of
silver and gold, drinking vessels, and a censer for ambergris, powder of aloes
and every sort of dried fruits. Brief, it was a house like that described by the
poet:-

Society became perfectly brilliant in its beauty and shone in the e*clat of its magnificence.

Ja'afar said, When I sat down the youth came to me and asked, From what
Country art thou ? 1 replied, From Basora, soldier by profession, commandant
over a company of men and I used to pay a quit-rent to the Caliph. I became
afraid of him for my life and 1 came away fleeing with downcast face for dread
of him, and I never ceased wandering about the country and in the deserts
until Destiny has brought me to thee. The youth said, A blessed arrival, and

The Tale of Attaf. 205

what may be thy name ? I replied, My name is like thine own. On hearing
my words he smiled, arid said, laughing, O my Lord, Abu '1-Hasan, carry no
trouble in your heart nor contraction of your breast ; then he ordered a service
and they set for us a table with all kinds of delicacies and we ate until satisfied.
After this they took away the table and brought again the ewer and basin and
we washed our hands and then went to the drinking room where there was a
pleasaunce filled with fruits and flowers in perfection. Then he spoke to the
damsel for music and she sang, enchanting both Ja'afar and the youth with
delight at her performances, and the place itself was agitated, and Ja'afar
in the excess of his joy took off his robes and tore them. Then the youth said
to him, Wallahy, may the tearing be the effect of the pleasure and not of
sorrow and waywardness, and may God disperse far from you the bitterness
of your enemies. Then he went to a chest (continued Ja'afar) and took out
from it a complete dress, worth a hundred dinars and putting it upon me said
to the damsel, Change the. tune of thy lute. She did so, and sang the following
verses :

My jealous regard is attached to him and if he regard another I am impatient :
I terminate my demand and my song crying, Thy friendship will last until death in my
heart.

The Rawi said : When she had finished her poetry Ja'afar threw off the last
dress and cried out, and the youth said, May God ameliorate your life and make
its beginning the end. Then he went to the chest and took out a dress better
than the first and put it upon Ja'afar, and the damsel was silent for an hour
during the conversation. The youth said, Listen, O my lord Abu '1-Hasan, to
what people of merit have said of this valley formerly called the Valley of
Rabwat in which we now are and spoken of in the poem, saying :

bounty of our Night in the valley of Rabwat where the gentle zephyr brings in her

perfumes :

It is a valley whose beauty is like that of the necklace : trees and flowers encompass it.

Its fields are carpeted with every variety of flowers and the birds fly around above them ;

"When the trees saw us seated beneath them they dropped upon us their fruits.

We continued to exchange upon the borders of its gardens the flowing bowls of con-
versation and of poesy,

The valley was bountiful and her zephyrs brought to us what the flowers had sent to us.

So when the youth had finished his recitation he turned to the damsel and
told her to sing :

1 consume (.with desire) when I hear from him a discourse whose sweetness is a melting

speech :
My heart palpitates when he sees it, it is not wonderful that the drunken one should

dance :
It has on this earth become my portion, but on this earth I have no chance to obtain to.

Lord ! tell me the fault that I've committed, perhaps I maybe able to correct it.

1 find in thee a heart harder than that of others and the hearts consume my being.

2 o6 Supplemental Nights.

Now when she had finished, Ja'afar in his joy threw off the third dress.'
The youth arose, kissed him on the head, and then took out for him another
suit and put it upon him, for he was the most generous man of his time. Then
he entertained Ja'afar with the news of the day and of the subjects and
anecdotes of the great pieces of poetry and said to him, O my lord, load not
thyself with cares. The Rawi says that they continued living in the same way
for forty days and on the forty-first Ja'afar said to the young man, Know, O my
lord, that I have left my country neither for eating nor for drinking, but to
divert myself and to see the world ; but if God vouchsafe my return to my
country to talk to my people, my neighbours and friends, and they ask me
where I have been and what I have seen, I will tell them of your generosity
and of the great benefactions that you have heaped upon me in your country
of Damascus. I will say that I have sighted this and that, and thus I will
entertain them with what I have espied in Damascus and of its order. The
young man replied, Thou sayest true : and Ja'afar said, I desire to go out and
visit the city, its bazars and its streets, to which the young man answered,
With love and good will, to-morrow morning if it please Allah. That night
Ja'afar slept there and when God brought the day, he rose, went in to the
young man, wished him good morning and said to him, O my lord, thy
promise ! to which he replied, With love and good will ; and, ordering a white
dress for him, he handed him a purse of three hundred dinars saying, Bestow
this in charity and return quick after thou hast made thy visit, and lastly said
to his servants, Bring to your lord a horse to ride. But Ja'afar answered, I da
not wish to have one, for a rider cannot observe the people but the people
observe him. The young man, who was named Attaf, said, O my lord, be it as
thou wishest and desirest ; be not away long on my account for thine absence
gives me pain. Then he gave to Ja'afar a grain of red musk saying, Take this
and keep it in thy hand and if thou go into any place where there is a bad
odour thou wilt take a smell of the musk. Ja'afar the Barmeky (Allah be
merciful to him !) said, After that I left him and set out to walk in the streets
and quarters of Damascus and went on until I came to the Mosk of the
'Omeyyades where I saw a fountain casting the water from its upper part and
falling like serpents in their flight. I sat down under the pulpit ; and as it was
a Friday I heard the preacher and made my Friday prayer and remained
until I made the afternoon prayer when I went to distribute the money I had,
after which I recited these verses :

I see the beauties united in the mosk of Jullag, and around her the meaning of beauty

is explained:
If people converse in the mosks tell them their entrance door is open.

Then I left the mosk and began to promenade the quarters and the streets
until I came before a splendid house, broad in its richness and strong in its
build, having a border of gold astonishing the mind by the beauty of the work,
showing curtains of silk embroidered with gold and in front of the door were

The Tale of A ttaf. 207

two carpeted steps. I sat down upon one of them and Began to think of
myself and of the events that had happened to me and of my ignorance of
what had taken place after my departure. In the midst of my sadness at the
contemplation of my troubles (and the wind blowing upon me) I fell asleep and
I awaked not until a sprinkling of water came down upon me. On opening
my eyes I saw a young woman behind the curtain dressed in a morning gown
and a Sdudi fillet upon her forehead. Her look and eyelids were full of art
and her eyebrows were like the fronts of the wings of light. The Rawi says
she resembled a full moon. When my eyes fell upon her (continued Ja'afar)
and looked at her, that look brought with it a thousand sighs and I arose and
my disposition was changed. The young woman cried at me and I said, I am
your servant, O my lady, and here at thy command, but said she, No labbayka
and no favour for thee ! Is this house thine ? Said I, No my lady, and she
replied, O dog of the streets, this house is not thine, why art thou sitting here?
When Ja'afar heard this he was greatly mortified, but he took courage and
dissimulated, answering, " O my lady, I am resting here only to recite somo
verses which I have composed for thee, then she asked, And what hast thou
said about me ? He continued :

She appeared in a whitish robe with eyelids and glances of wonder,

I said she came out without greeting, with her I'm content to my heart's content.

Blessed be He that clothed thy cheeks with roses, He can create what He wills without

hindrance.
Thy dress like thy lot is as my hand, white, and they are white upon white upon my

white.

When he had finished these verses he said, I have composed others on thine
expression, and recited the following :

Dost thou see through her veil that face appearing how i{ shines, like the moon in

the horizon ?
Its splendour enlightens the shade of her temples and the sun enters into obscurity

by system :
Her forehead eclipses the rose and the apple, and her look and expression enchant

the people ;
It is she that if mortal should see her he'd become victim of love, of the fires of

desire.

On hearing this recitation the young lady said to Ja'afar, Miserable fellow, what
is this discourse which does not belong to the like of thee ? Get up and begone
with the malediction of Allah and the protection of Satan. Ja'afar arose, seized
with a mighty rage in addition to his love ; and in this love for her he departed
and returned to the house of his friend Attaf and saluted him with a pre-
possessed heart. As soon as Attaf saw him he cast himself on his breast and
kissed him between the eyes, saying to him, O my lord, thou hast made me
feel desolate to-day by thine absence. Then Attaf, looking in the face of
Ja'afar and reading in it many words, continued to him, O my lord, I find thy
countenance changed and thy mind broken. Ja'afar answered, O my lord,

2o8 Supplemental Nights.

since I left thee up to the present time I have been suffering with a headache
and a nervous attack for I was sleeping upon my ear. The people in the mosk
recited the afternoon prayer without my knowing it, and now I have a mind to
get an hour's sleep, probably I shall find repose for the body, and what I suffer
will pass off. Accordingly, Attaf went into the house and ordered cushions to
be brought out and a bed to be made for him, Ja'afar then stretched himself
upon it depressed and out of spirits, and covering himself up began to think of
the young lady and of the offensive words she gave him so contrary to usage.
Also he thought of her beauty and the elegance of her stature and perfect
proportions and of what Allah (to whom be praise !) had granted her of
magnificence. He forgot all that happened to him in other days and also his
affair with the Caliph and his people and his friends and his society. Such
was the burden of his thoughts until he was taken with monomania and his
body wasted. Hereupon Attaf sent for doctors, they surrounded him con-
stantly, they employed all their talents for him, but they could find no remedy.
So he remained during a certain time without anyone being able to discover
what was the matter with him. The breast of Attaf became straitened, he
renounced all diversions and pleasures, and Ja'afar getting worse and worse,
his trouble augmented. One day a new doctor arrived, a man of experience in
the art of gallantry, whose name was Dabdihkan. When he came to Ja'afar
and looked at his face and felt his pulse and found everything in its place, no
suffering, no pain, he comprehended that he was in love, so he took a paper
and wrote a prescription and placed it beneath Ja'afar's head. He then said,
Thy remedy is under thy head, I've prescribed a purge, if thou take it thou wilt
get well, fox he was ashamed to tell Attaf his love-sick condition. Presently
the Doctor went away to other patients and Attaf arose and when about
entering to see Ja'afar he heard him recite the following verses :

A doctor came to me one day and took my hand and pulse, when I said to him Let go

my hand, the fire's in my heart
He said, Drink syrup of the rose and mix it well with water of the tongue but tell it not

to anyone :
I said, The syrup of the rose is quits well known to me ; it is the water of the cheek

that breaks my very heart ;
But can it be that I can get the water of the tongue that I may cool the burning fire that

within me dwells ?
The doctor said, Thou art In love, I said Yes to him, and -said he to me, Its remedy is to

have the body here.

Then when Attaf went in to him after the end of the recitation he sat down at
the head of the bed and asked him about his condition and what had been
prescribed for him by the Hakfm. Ja'afar said, O my lord, he wrote for me a
paper which is under the pillow. Attaf put out his hand, took out the paper
and read it and found upon it written : " In the name of God the Curer To
be taken, with the aid and blessing of God, 3 miskals of pure presence of the
beloved unmixed with morsels of absence and fear of being watched : plus,

The Tale of Attaf. 209

3 miskals of a good meeting cleared of any grain of abandonment and rupture :
plus, 2 okes of pure friendship and discretion deprived of the wood of
separation. Then take some extract of the incense of the kiss, the teeth and
the waist, 2 miskals of each ; also take 100 kisses .of pomegranate rubbed and
rounded, of which 50 small ones are to be sugared, 30 pigeon-fashion and 20
after the fashion of little birds. Take of Aleppine twist and sigh of Al-Irq
2 miskals each ; also 2 okes of tongue-sucking, mouth and lip kissing, all to
be pounded and mixed. Then put upon a furnace 3 drams of Egyptian grain
with the addition of the beautiful fold of plumpness, boil it in love-water and
syrup of desire over a fire of wood of pleasure in the retreat of the ardour.
Decant the whole upon a royal dibqy divan and add to it 2 okes of saliva
syrup and drink it fasting during 3 days. Next take for dinner the melon of
desire mixed with embrace-almond and juice of the lemon of concord, and
lastly 3 rolls of thigh-work and enter the bath for the benefit of your health.
And The Peace ! When Attaf had finished the reading of this paper he burst
into a laugh at the prescription and, turning to Ja'afar, he asked him with
whom he was in love and of whom he was enamoured. Ja'afar gave no
answer, he spoke not neither did he commence any discourse, when Attaf said,
O my brother, thou are not my friend, but thou art in my house esteemed as
is the soul in the body. Between me and thee there has been for the last four
months friendship, company, companionship and conversation. Why then
conceal thy situation? For me, I have fear and sorrow on thine account.
Thou art a stranger, thou art not of this capital. I am a son of the city, I can
dispel what thou hast (of trouble) and that of which thou suflferest. By my
life, which belongs to you, by the bread and salt between us, reveal to me thy
secret. And Attaf did not cease to speak thus until Ja'afar yielded and said to
him, It shall no longer be concealed, and I will not blame those who are in love
and are impatient. Then he told his story from beginning to end, what was
said to him by the young lady and what she did with him and lastly he described
the quarter and the place. Now when Attaf heard the words of Ja'afar he
reflected on the description of the house and of the young lady and concluded
that the house was his house and the young lady was his cousin-wife, and said
to himself, There is no power nor strength but in Allah the High, the Great.
We are from God and to Him we return. Then he came to his mind again and
to the generosity of his soul and said to himself, O Attaf! God hath favoured
me and hath made me worthy of doing good and hath sent to me I know not
whence this stranger who hath become bound in friendship with me during all
this time and he hath acquired over me the ties of friendship. His heart hath
become attached to the young woman and his love for her hath reached in him
an imminent point. Since that time he is almost on the verge of annihilation,
in so pitiable a condition and behold, he hopeth from me a good issue from his
trouble. He hath made known to me his situation after having concealed it for
so long a time : if I do not befriend him in his misfortune I should resemble
him who would build upon water and thus would aid him to Annihilate his
VOL, VI, O

2IO Supplemental Nights.

existence. By the magnanimity of my God, I will further him witfi my
property and with my soul. I will divorce my cousin and will marry her to
him and I will not change my character, my generosity nor my resolution. The
Rawi says, that young woman was his wife and his cousin, also a second wife as
he was previously married to another, and she occupied the house, his own house
containing all that he possessed of property and so forth, servants, odalisques
and slaves. There was also his other house which was for his guests, for
drinking and eating and to receive his friends and his company. Of this,
however, he said nothing to his cousin-wife when he came to see her at certain
times. When he heard that Ja'afar was in love with her he could not keep
from saying to him, Be quiet, I take upon myself to dispel thy chagrin, and
soon I shall have news of her, and if she is the daughter of the Naib of
Damascus I will take the proper steps for thee even though I should lose all
my property ; and if she is a slave-girl I will buy her for thee even were her
price such as to take all I possess. Thus he calmed the anguish of Ja'afar the
best way he could ; then he went out from his own house and entered that of
his cousin-wife without making any change in his habits or saying a single
word save to his servants, Go to my uncle's and bring him to me. The boy
then went for the uncle and brought him to Attaf, and when the uncle entered
the nephew arose to receive him, embraced him and made him be seated, and,
after he had been seated awhile, Attaf came to him and said, O my uncle !
there is naught but good ! Know that when God wills good to his servitor he
shows to him the way and my heart inclines to Meccah, to the house of God,
to visit the tomb of Mohammed (for whom be the most noble of prayers and
the most complete of salutations !) I have decided to visit those places this
year and I cannot leave behind me either attachments or debts or obligations ;
nothing in fact that can disturb the mind, for no one can know who will be
the friend of the morrow. Here, then, is the writ of divorce of thy daughter
and of my other wife. Now when his uncle heard that, he was troubled and
exaggerating to himself the matter, he said, O son of my brother, what is it
that impels thee to this ? If thou depart and leave her and be absent as long
as thou wiliest she is yet thy wife and thy dependent which is sufficient. But
Attaf said, O my uncle, what hath been done is done. As soon as the young
wife heard that, the abomination of desolation overcame her, she became
as one in mourning and was upon the point of killing herself, because she
loved her husband by reason of his relationship and his education. But this
was done by Attaf only to please Ja'afar, and for that he was incited by
his duty to do good to his fellow beings. Then Attaf left the house and
said to himself, if I delay this matter it will be bruited abroad, and will
come to the ears of my friend who will be afflicted and will be ashamed to
marry, and what I have done will come to naught. The divorce of Attaf s
second spouse was only out of regard to his cousin-wife, and that there might
not be an impediment to the success of his project. Then Attaf proceeded to
his guest-house and went in to Ja'afar, who when he saw him, asked where he

The Tale of Attaf. 21 f

had been. Attaf replied, Make yourself easy, O my brother, I am now occupied
with your affair, I have sought out the young lady and I know her. She is
divorced from her husband and her 'iddah is not yet expired, so expand your
breast and gladden your soul, for when her obligatory term of waiting shall
be accomplished I will marry her to you. And Attaf ceased not to divert
him by eating and drinking, amusements and shows, song and songstress until
he knew that the 'iddah of his cousin had ended ; then he went to Ja'afar and
said to him, " Know, O my lord, that the father of the young woman thou
sawest is one of my friends, and if I betroth her that would not be proper on
my part and he will say : My friend hath not done well in betrothing my
daughter to a man who is a stranger and whom I know not. He will take
her and carry her to his own country and we shall be separated. Now I
have an idea that has occurred to me, and 'tis to send out for you a tent with
ten mamelukes and four servants upon horses and mules, baggage, stuffs, chests
of dresses, and horses and gilded vehicles. Everything I have mentioned will
be placed outside the city that no one shall know of thee, and I will say that
thou art Ja'afar the Barmeky the Caliph's Wazir. I will go to the Kady and
the Wali and the Naib and I will inform them of thee (as Ja'afar) ; so will they
come out to meet and salute thee. Then thou wilt salute them and tell
them that thou hast come on business of the Caliph. Thou must also say thou
hast heard that Damascus is a very fine city and a hospitable, and add, I will
go in to visit it and if it prove favourable to me I will remain and marry to
establish between myself and its inhabitants relationship and friendship, and
I would like you to seek for me a man of high position and noble origin who
hath a beautiful cousin that I may marry. Attaf then said to Ja'afar, O my
lord, we know one who hath a daughter of noble origin, that man is such-and-
such an one, ask her of him for betrothal and say to him, Here is her dowry,
which is all that thou hast in the chests. Then produce a purse of a thousand
dinars and distribute them among those present, and display the characteristic
of the Barmekys, and take out a piece of silken stuff and order them to draw up.
the marriage contract immediately. If they sign it, declare to them that thou
wilt not enter the city because thou art pressed and thy bride will come to thee.
Should thou do thus, thou wilt accomplish what thou desirest, God willing,
then leave instantly and order that the tents be struck, the camels loaded, and
set out for thine own country in peace. Know that all I shall do for you is.
little for the rights of friendship and devotedness. Ja'afar sprang up to kiss
the hand of Attaf, but was prevented, then he thanked him and praised him
and passed the night with him. The next morning at break of day he arose,
made his ablutions, and having recited his morning prayer, accompanied -his
host to the outside of the city. Attaf ordered a great tent to be pitched and
that everything necessary should be carried to it ; of horses, camels, mules,
slaves, mamelukes, chests containing all kinds of articles for distribution,
and boxes holding purses of gold and silver. He dressed his guest in a
robe worthy a Wazir, and set up for him a throne and sent some slaves to

2 1 2 Supplemental Nights.

the Naib of Damascus to announce the arrival of Ja'afar on business of the
Caliph. As soon as the Naib of Damascus was informed of that, he went ou
accompanied by the notables of the city and of his government and met the
Wazir Ja'afar, and kissing the ground between his hands, said to him, O my
lord, why didst thou not inform me sooner in order that we might be prepared
for thine arrival. Ja'afar said, That was not necessary, may God augment thy
wealth, I have not come but with the intention to visit this city ; I desire to
stay in it for some time and I would also marry in it. I have learned that the
Amfr 'Amr has a daughter of noble descent, I wish thou wouldst cause her to be
brought before thee and that thou betroth her to me. The Naib of Damascus
said, Hearing is obeying. Her husband hath divorced her and desireth to go to
al-Hejaz on the pilgrimage and after her 'iddah hath expired and there remaineth
not any impediment the betrothal can take place. At the proper time the Naib of
Damascus caused to be present the father of the lady and spoke to him of what
the Wazir Ja'afar had said and that he should betroth his daughter, so that
there was nothing more for the father to say than, I hear and I obey. The Rawi
says that Ja'afar ordered to be brought the dress of honour and the gold from the
purses to be thrown out for distribution and commanded the presence of the
Kady and witnesses ; and, when they arrived, he bade them write the marriage
contract. Then he brought forward and presented the ten chests and the ten
purses of gold, the dowry of the bride, and all those present, high and low, and
rich and poor gave him their best wishes and congratulations. After the father
of the lady had taken the dowry he ordered the Kady to draw up the contract
and presented to him a piece of satin ; he also called for sugar-water to drink
and set before them the table of viands, and they ate and washed their
hands. Afterwards they served sweet dishes and fruits ; and when that
was finished and the contract passed, the Naib of Damascus said to the Wazir,
O my lord, I will prepare a house for thy residence and for the reception of
thy wife. Ja'afar said, That cannot be ; I am here on a commission of the
Commander of the Faithful, and I wish to take my wife with me to Baghdad and
only there can I have the bridal ceremonies. The father of the lady said, Enter
unto thy bride and depart when thou wilt. Ja'afar replied, I cannot do that,
but I wish thee to make up the trousseau of thy daughter and have it ready so
as to depart this very day. We only wait, said the father of the bride, for the
Naib of Damascus to retire, to do what the Wazir commands. He answered
With love and good will ; and the lady's father set about getting together the
trousseau and making her ready. He took her out and got her trousseau,
mounted her upon a Hodaj, and when she arrived at Ja'afar's camp her people
made their adieus and departed. When Ja'afar had ridden to some distance
from Damascus and had arrived at Tiniat el 'Iqdb he looked behind him and
perceived in the distance in the direction of Damascus a horseman galloping
towards him ; so he stopped his attendants and when the rider had come near
them Ja'afar looked at him and behold it was Attaf. He had come out after
him and cried, Hasten not, O my brother. And when he came up he embraced

The Tale of Attaf.

2*3

him and said, O my lord, I have found no rest without thee, O my brother Abu
'1-Hasan, it would have been better for me never to have seen thee nor known
thee, for now I cannot support thine absence. Ja'afar thanked him and said to
him, I have not been able to act against what thou hast prescribed for me and
provided, but we pray God to bring near our reunion and never more separate us.
He is Almighty to do what He willeth. After that Ja'afar dismounted and spread
a silken carpet and they sat down together, and Attaf laid a tablecloth with duck,
chicken, sweets and other delicacies, of which they ate.and he brought out dry
fruits and wine. They drank for an hour of the day when they remounted their
horses and Attaf accompanied Ja'afar a way on the journey, when Ja'afar
said to him, Every departer must return, and he pressed him to his breast and
kissed him and said to him, O my brother Abu '1-Hasan, do not interrupt the
sending of thy letters ; but make known to me about thyself, and thy condition
as if I were present with thee. Then they bade each other adieu and each
went on his way. When the young wife noticed that the camels had stopped
on their march as well as their people, she put out her head from the Hodaj
and saw her cousin dismounting with Ja'afar and they eating and drinking
together and then in company to the end of the road where they bade
adieu exchanging a recitation of poetry. So she said, The one, Wallahy
is my cousin Attaf and the other the man whom I saw seated under the
window, and upon whom I sprinkled the water. Doubtless he is the
friend of my cousin. He hath been seized with love for .me, and com-
plaining to my cousin, hath given him a description of me and of my
house ; and the devotedness of his character and the greatness of his soul
must have impelled him to divorce me and' to take steps to marry me to that
man. The Rawi says that Attaf in bidding good-bye to Ja'afar left him joyful
in the possession of the young lady for whom he was on the point of ruin by
his love, and in having made the friendship of Attaf whom he intended to
reward in gratitude for what he had done by him. So glad was he to have
the young wife that everything that had taken place with Er-Rashid had passed
out of his mind. In the meanwhile she was crying and lamenting over what
had happened to her, her separation from her cousin and from her parents
and her country, and bemoaning what she did and what she had been ; and
her scalding tears flowed while she recited these verses :

I weep for these places and these beauties ; blame not the lover if some day he's

insane :
For the places the dear ones inhabit. O praise be to God ! how sweet is their

dwelling !
God protect the past days while with you, my dear friends, and in the same house

may happiness join us !

On finishing this recitation she wept and lamented and recited again :

I'm astonished at living without you, at the troubles that come upon us :
I wish for you. dear absent ones, my wounded heart is still with you.

2 1 4 Supplemental Nights.

Then, still crying and lamenting, she went on :

O you to whom I gave my soul, return ; from you I wish'd to pluck it, but could not

succeed :
Then pity the rest of a life that I've sacrificed for thee, before the hour of death my

last look I will take :
If all of thee be lost astonished I'll not be ; my astonishment would be that his lot

will be to another.

Presently the Wazir Ja'afar coming up to the Hodaj said to the young wife,

mistress of the Hodaj, thou hast killed us. When she heard this address
she called to him with dejection and humility, We ought not to talk to thee for

1 am the cousin-wife of thy friend and companion Attaf, prince of generosity
and devotion. If there be in thee any feeling of the self-denial of a man thou
wilt do for him that which, in his devotion, he hath done for thee. When
Ja'afar heard these words he became troubled and taking in the magnitude of
the situation he said to the young lady, O thou ! thou art then his cousin-wife ?
and said she, Yes ! it is I whom thou sawest on such a day when this and that
took place and thy heart attached itself to me. Thou hast told him all that.
He divorced me, and while waiting for the expiration of my 'iddah diverted thee
that such and such was the cause of all my trouble. Now I have explained to
thee my situation : do thou the action of a man. When Ja'afar heard these
words he uttered a loud cry and said, We are from God and to Him we return.
O thou ! thou art now to me an interdiction and hast become a sacred deposit
until thy return to where it may please thee. Then said Ja'afar to a se'rvant,
Take good care of thy mistress. After which they set forward and travelled on
day and night. Now Er-Rashid, after the departure of Ja'afar, became uneasy
and sorrowful at his absence. He lost patience and was tormented with a great
desire to see him again, while he regretted the conditions he had imposed as
impossible to be complied with and obliging him to the extremity of tramping
about the country like a vagabond, and forcing him to abandon his native land.
He had sent envoys after him to search for him in every place, but he had
never received any news of him, and was cast into great embarrassment by
reason of his absence. He was always waiting to hear of him, and when Ja'afar
had approached Baghdad and he, Er-Rashid, had received the good tidings of
his coming, he went forth to meet him, and as soon as they came together they
embraced each other, and the Caliph became content and joyful. They entered
together into the palace and the Prince of True Believers seating Ja'afar at his
side, said to him, Relate to me thy story where thou hast been during thine
absence and what thou hast come upon. So Ja'afar told him then all that had
happened from the time he left him until the moment of rinding himself between
his hands. Er-Rashid was greatly astonished and said, Wallahy, thou hast made
me sorrowful for thine absence, and hast inspired me with great desire to see
thy friend. My opinion is that thou divorce this young lady and put her on the
road homeward accompanied by someone in whom thou hast confidence. If

The Tale of A ttaf. 2 1 5

thy friend have an enemy he shall be our enemy, and if he have a friend he also
shall be ours ; after which we will make him come to us, and we shall see him
and have the pleasure of hearing him and pass the time with him in joy. Such
a man must not be neglected, we shall learn, by his generosity, bounty and
useful things. Ja' afar answered, To hear is obedience. Then Ja'afar appor-
tioned to the young lady a spacious house and servants and a handsome
enclosure ; and he treated with generosity those who had come with her as
suite and followers. He also sent to her sets of furniture, mattresses and every
thing else she might need, while he never intruded upon her and never saw her.
He sent her his salutation and reassuring words that she should be returned to
her cousin ; and he made her a monthly allowance of a thousand dinars,
besides the cost of her living. So far as to Ja'afar ; but as to Attaf, when he
had bidden adieu to Ja'afar and had returned to his country, those who were
jealous of him took steps to ruin him with the Na'ib of Damascus to whom they
said, O our lord, what is it that hath made thee neglect Attaf? Dost thou not
know that the Wazir was his friend and that he went out after him to bid him
adieu after our people had returned, and accompanied him as far as Katifa, when
Ja'afar said to him, Hast thou need of anything O Attaf ? he said Yes. Of
what ? asked the Wazir, and he answered, That thou send me an imperial
rescript removing the Naib of Damascus. Now this was promised to him, and
the most prudent thing is that thou invite him to breakfast before he takes you
to supper ; success is in the opportunity and the assaulted profiteth by the
assaulter. The Naib of Damascus replied, Thou hast spoken well, bring him to
me immediately. The Rawi says that Attaf was in his own house, ignorant
that anyone owed him grudge when suddenly in the night he was surrounded
and seized by the people of the Naib of Damascus armed with swords and clubs.
They beat him until he was covered with blood, and they dragged him along
until they set him in presence of the Pasha of Damascus who ordered the pillage
of his house and of his slaves and his servants and all his property and they
took everything, his family and his domestics and his goods. Attaf asked, What
is my crime ? and he was answered, O scoundrel, thou art an ignorant fellow of
the rabble, dost dispute with the Naibat of Damascus ? Then the Swordman
was ordered to strike his neck, and the man came forward and, cutting off a
piece of his robe, with it blindfolded his eyes, and was about to strike his
neck when one of the Emirs arose and said, Be not hasty, O my lord, but wait,
for hasle is the whisper of Satan, and the proverb saith : Man gaineth his ends
by patience, and error accompanieth the hasty man. Then he continued, Do
not press the matter of this man ; perhaps he who hath spoken of him lieth
and there is nobody without jealousy ; so have patience, for thou mayest have
to regret the taking of his life unjustly. Do not rest easy upon what may come
to thee on the part of the Wazir Ja'afar, and if he learn what thou hast do by
this man be not sure of thy life on his part. He will admit of no excuse for he
was his friend and companion. When the Naib of Damascus heard that he

2 1 5 Supplemental Nights.

awoke from his slumber and conformed to the words of the Emir. He ordered
that Attaf should be put in prison, enchained and with a padlock upon his neck,
and bade them, after severely tightening the bonds, illtreat him. They dragged
him out, listening neither to his prayers nor his supplications ; and he cried
every night, doing penance to God and praying to Him for deliverance from his
affliction and his misfortune. In that condition he remained for three months.
But one night as he woke up he humiliated himself before God and walked
about his prison, where he saw no one ; then, looking before him, he espied an
opening leading from the prison to the outside of the city. He tried himself
against his chain and succeeded in opening it ; then, taking it from his neck,
he went out from the gaol running at full speed. He concealed himself in a
place, and darkness protected him until the opening of the city gate, when he
went out with the people and hastening his march he arrived at Aleppo and
entered the great mosk. There he saw a crowd of strangers on the point of
departure and Attaf asked them whither they were going, and they answered to
Baghdad. Whereupon he cried, And I with you. They said, Upon the earth
is our weight, but upon Allah is our nourishment. Then they went on their
march until they arrived at Koufa after a travel of twenty days, and then con-
tinued journeying till they came to Baghdad. Here Attaf saw a city of strong
buildings, and very rich in elegant palaces reaching to the clouds, a city con-
taining the learned and the ignorant, and the poor and the rich, and the virtuous
and the evil doer. He entered the city in a miserable dress, rags upon his
shoulders, and upon his head a dirty conical cap, and his hair had become long
and hanging over his eyes and his entire condition was most wretched. He
entered one of the mosks. For two days he had not eaten. He sat down, when
a vagabond entered the mosk and seating himself in front of Attaf threw off
from his shoulder a bag from which he took out bread and a chicken, and
bread again and sweets and an orange, and olive and date-cake and cucumbers.
Attaf looked at the man and at his eating, which was as the table of 'Isa son
of Miriam (upon whom be peace!). For four months he had not had a
sufficient meal and he said to himself, I would like to have a mouthful of this
good cheer and a piece of this bread, and then cried for very hunger. The
fellow looked at him and said, Bravo ! why dost thou squint and do what
strangers do? By the protection of God, if you weep tears enough to fill
the Jaxartes and the Bactrus and the Dajlah and the Euphrates and the
river of Basrah and the stream of Antioch and the Orontes and the Nile of
Egypt and the Salt Sea and the ebb and the flow of the Ocean, I will not let
thee taste a morsel. But, said the buffoon, if thou xvish to eat of chicken and
white bread and lamb and sweets and mutton patties, go thou to the house
of Ja'afar son of Yahya the Barmeky, who hath received hospitality from a
Damascus man named Attaf. He bestoweth charity in honour of him in this
manner, and he neither getteth up nor sitteth down without speaking of him.
Now when Attaf heard these words from the buffoon he looked up to heaven

The Tale of Attaf. 217

and said, O Thou whose attributes are inscrutable, bestow thy benefits upon
thy servant Attaf. Then he recited this couplet :

Confide thy affairs to thy Creator ; set aside thy pains and dismiss thy thoughts.

Then Attaf went to a paper-seller and got from him a piece of paper and
borrowed an inkstand and wrote as follows : From thy brother Attaf whom
God knoweth. Let him who hath possessed the world not flatter himself, he
will some day be cast down and will lose it in his bitter fate. If thou see me
thou wilt not recognise me for my poverty and my misery ; and, because of
the change in situation and the reverses of the times, my soul and body are
reduced by hunger, by the long journey I have made, until at last I have come
to thee. And peace be with thee. Then he folded the paper and returning
the pen-case to its owner asked for the house of Ja'afar, and when it was shown
to him he went there and stood at a distance before it. The doorkeepers saw
him standing, neither commencing nor repeating a word, and nobody spoke to
him, but as he was thus standing embarrassed, an eunuch dressed in a striped
robe and golden belt passed by him. Attaf remained motionless before
him, then went up to him, kissed his hands and said to him, O my lord, the
Apostle of Allah (upon whom be peace and salutation) hath said, The medium
of a good deed is like him who did it, and he who did it belongeth to the
dwellers in heaven. The man said to him, What is thy need ? and said he, I
desire of thy goodness to send in this paper to thy lord and say to him, Thy
brother Attaf is standing at the door. When the servant heard his words he
got into a great and excessive rage so that his eyes swelled in his head and he
asked, O cursed one, thou art then the brother of the Wazir Ja'afar ! and as
he had in his hand a rod with a golden end, he struck Attaf with it in the face
and his blood flowed and he fell full length to the ground in his weakness from
weeping and from receiving the blow. The Rawi says that God hath placed
the instinct of good in the heart of some domestics, even as he hath placed
that of evil in the heart of others. Another of the domestics was raised up
against his companion by good will to Attaf and reproved him for striking the
stranger and was answered, Didst thou not hear, O brother, that he pretended
to be the brother of the Wazir Ja'afar ? and the second one said, O man of evil,
son of evil, slave of evil, O cursed one, O hog ! is Ja'afar one of the prophets ?
is he not a dog of the earth like ourselves ? Men are all brethren, of one
father and one mother, of Adam and of Eve ; and the poet hath said :

Men by comparison all are brethren, their father is Adam their mother is Eve ;

but certain people are preferable to others. Then he came up to Attaf and
made him be seated and wiped off the blood from his face and washed him
and shook off the dust that was upon him and said, O my brother, what is thy
need ? and said he, My need is the sending of this paper to Ja'afar. The ser-
vant took the paper from his hand and going in to Ja'afar the Barmeky found

2 1 8 Supplemental Nights.

there the officers of the Governor and the Barmekys standing at his service on
his right and on his left ; and Ja'afar the Wazir who held in his hand a cup of
wine was reciting poetry and playing and saying, O you all here assembled,
the absent from the eye is not like the present in the heart ; he is my brother
and my friend and my benefactor, Attaf of Damascus, who was continuous in
his generosity and his bounty and his benefactions to me ; who for me divorced
his cousin-wife and gave her to me. He made me presents of horses and
slaves and damsels and stuffs in quantities that I might furnish her dower ;
and, if he had not acted thus, I should certainly have been ruined. He was
my benefactor without knowing who I was, and generous to me without any
idea of profiting by it. The Rawi says that when the good servant heard
these words from his lord he rejoiced and coming forward he kneeled down
before him and presented the paper. When Ja'afar read it he was in a state of
intoxication and not being able to discern what he was doing he fell on his face
to the floor while holding the paper and the glass in his hand, and he was
wounded in the forehead so his blood ran and he fainted and the paper fell
from his grasp. When the servant saw that he hastened to depart fearing the
consequence ; and the Wazir Ja'afar's friends seated their lord and staunched
the blood. They exclaimed, There is no power and strength but in God the
High, the Mighty. Such is the character of servants ; they trouble the life of
kings in their pleasures and annoy them in their humours : Wallahy, the writer
of this paper merits nothing less than to be handed over to the Wall who
shall give him five hundred lashes and put him in prison. Thereupon the
Wazir's doorkeeper went out and asked for the owner of the paper, when Attaf
answered, 'Tis I, O my lord. Then they seized him and sent him to the
Wall and ordered him to give one hundred blows of the stick to the prisoner
and to write upon his chain " for life." Thus they did with Attaf and carried
him to the prison where he remained for two months when a child was born to
Harun er-Rashid, who then ordered that alms should be. distributed, and good
done to all, and bade liberate all that. were in prison and among those that were
set free was Attaf. When he found himself out of gaol, beaten and famished
and naked he looked up to heaven and exclaimed, Thanks be to thee, O Lord,
in every situation, and crying said, It must be for some fault committed by me
in the past, for God had taken me into favour and I have repaid Him in dis-
obedience ; but I pray to Him for pardon for having gone too far in my
debauchery. Then he recited these verses :

O God ! the worshipper doth what he should not do ; he is poor, depending on Thee :
In the pleasures of life he forgetteth himself, in his ignorance, pardon Thou his faults.

Then he cried again and said to himself, What shall I do ? If I set out for my
country I may not reach it ; if I arrive there, there will be no safety for my
life on the part of the Naib, and if I remain here nobody knoweth me among
the beggars and I cannot be for them of any use nor for myself as an aid or an
intermediate. As for me, I had hope in that man, that he would raise me

The Tale of Attaf.

219

from my poverty. The affair hath turned out contrary to my expectations, and
the poet was right when he said :

friend, I've run o'er ihe world west, and east j all that I met with was pain and

fatigue :

I've frequented the men of the age, but never have found e'en a friend grateful not even
to me.

Once more he cried and exclaimed, God give me the grace of patience. After
that he got up and walked away, and entered one of the mosks and staid there
until afternoon. His hunger increased and he said, By Thy mag-nafiimity and
Thy majesty I shall ask nothing of anyone but of Thee. He remained in the
mosk until it became dark when he went out for something, saying to himself,

1 have heard a call from the Prophet (on whom be the blessing and peace of
Allah !) which said, God forbiddeth sleep in the Sanctuary and forbiddeth it to
His worshippers. Then he arose, and went out from the mosk to some distance
when he entered a ruined building after walking an hour, and here he stumbled
in the darkness and fell upon his face. He saw something before him that he
had struck with his foot and felt it move, and this was a lad that had been slain
and a knife was in his side. Attaf rose up from off the body, his clothes
stained with blood ; he stood motionless and embarrassed and while in that
situation the Wali and his policemen stood at the door of the ruin and Attaf
said to them, Come in and search. They entered with their torches and found
the body of the murdered lad and the knife in him and the miserable Attaf
standing at the head with his clothes stained with blood. When a man with a
scarf saw him he arrested him and said to him, O Wretch, 'tis thou killedst
him. Attaf said, Yes. Then said the Wali, Pinion him and take him to prison
until we make our report to the Wazir Ja'afar. If he orders his death we will
execute him. They did as ordered r and the next day the man with the scarf
wrote to the Wazir, We went into a ruin and found there a man who had killed
a lad and we. interrogated him and he confessed that it was he who had done
the deed, what are thine orders ? The Wazir commanded them to put him to
death ; so they took Attaf from the prison to the place of execution and cut
off a piece of his garment and with it bandaged his eyes. The Sworder said
O my lord, shall I strike his neck ? and the Wali said, Strike ! He brandished
the sword which whistled and glittered in the air and was about to strike,
when a cry from behind, Stop thy hand ! was heard, and it was the voice of
the Wazir Ja'afar who was out on a promenade. The Wali went to him and
kissed the earth before him and the Wazir said to him, What is this great
gathering here ? He answered, 'Tis the execution of a young man of Damascus
whom we found yesterday in a ruin ; he had killed a lad of noble blood and we
found the knife wiih him and his clothes spotted with blood. When I said to
him, Is it thou that killedst him ? he replied Yes three times. To-day I sent to
thee my written report and thine Excellency ordered his death, saying, " Let
the sentence of God be executed, and now I have brought him out that his

220 Supplemental Nights.

neck may be struck. Ja'afar said, " Oh, hath a man of Damascus come mttf
our country to find himself in a bad condition ? Wallahy, that shall never be !
Then he ordered that he should be brought to him. The Wazir did not
recognize him, for AttaPs air of ease and comfort had disappeared ; so Ja'afar
said to him, From what country art thou, O young man, and he answered,
I am a man from Damascus. From the city or from the villages ? Wallahy

my lord, from Damascus city where I was born. Ja'afar asked, Didst thou
happen to know there a man named Attaf? I know when thou wast his
friend and he lodged thee in such-and-such a house and thou wentest out to
such-and-such a garden ; and I know when thou didst marry his cousin-wife,

1 know when he bade adieu to thee at Katifa where thou drankest with him.
Ja'afar said, Yes, all that is true, but what became of him after he left me ? He
said, O my Lord, there happened to him this and that and he related to him
everything from the time he quitted him up to the moment of his standing
before him and then recited these verses :

This age, must it make me its victim, and thou at the same time art living : wolves are

seeking to devour me while thou the lion art here.
Every thirsty one that cometh his thirst is quenched by thee : can it be that I thirst

while thou art still our refuge ?

When he had finished the verses he said, O my lord. I am Attaf, and then
recalled all that had taken place between them from first to last. While
he was thus speaking a great cry was heard, and it came from a Sheikh who
was saying, This is not humanity. They looked at the speaker, who was an
old man with trimmed beard dyed with henna, and upon him was a blue
kerchief. When Ja'afar saw him he asked him what was the matter, and he
exclaimed, Take away the young man from under the sword, for there is no
fault in him : he hath killed no one nor doth he know anything of the dead
youth. Nobody but myself is the killer. The Wazir said, Then 'tis thou that
killed him? and he answered, Yes. Why didst thou kill him? hast thou not
the fear of God in killing a Hashimy child ? The old man said, He was my
servant, serving me in the house and working with me at my trade. Every
day he took from me some quarter-pieces of money and went to work for
another man called Shumooshag, and to work with Nagfsh, and with Gasfs,
and with Ghubar, and with Gushfr, and every day working with someone.
They were jealous of my having him. 'Odfs the sweeper and Abu Butrdn
the stoker, and everyone wanted to have him. In vain 1 corrected him, but he
would not abide corrected and ceased not to do thus until I killed him in the
ruin, and I have delivered myself from the torment he gave me. That is my
story. I kept silent until I saw thee when I made myself known at the time
thou savedst the head of this young man from the sword. Here I am standing
before you : strike my neck and take life for life. Pray do no harm to
this young man, for he hath committed no fault. The Wazir said, Neither

The Tale of Aftaf. 221

to thee nor to him. Then he ordered to be brought the parents of the dead
lad and reconciled them with the old man, whom he pardoned. He mounted
Attaf upon a horse and took him to his house ; then he entered the palace of
the Caliph and kissed the earth before him and said, Behold Attaf, he who was
my host at Damascus, and of whom I have related his treatment of me and his
kindness and generosity, and how he preferred me to himself. Er-Rashid said,
Bring him in to me immediately. He presented him to the Caliph in the
miserable state in which he had found him ; and when he entered, he made
his salutations in the best manner and with the most eloquent language,
Er-Rashid answered and said to him. What is this state in which I find you ?
and Attaf wept and made his complaint in these verses :

Troubles, poverty and distant sojourn far away from the dear ones, and a crushing desire

to see them :
The soul is in them, they became like their fellows, thus the enigma remains in the

world ;
While the generous is stricken with misfortune and grief, where's the miser that finds not

good fortune therein ?

When Attaf had finished he conversed with the Caliph about his history and
all his life from beginning to end ; and Er-Rashid cried and suffered at
what had happened to him after the loss of his riches, nor did he cease to weep
with Ja'afar until the close of AttaPs story. The Sheikh who had killed the
lad and had been liberated by Ja'afar came in and Er-Rashid laughed at seeing
him. Then he caused Attaf to be seated and made him repeat his story.
And when Attaf had finished speaking the Caliph looked at Ja'afar and said,
The proverb goeth :

Good for good, to the giver the merit remains ; evil for evil, the doer's most cruel.

Afterwards the Caliph said to Ja'afar, Tell me what thou didst for thy brother
Attaf before he came to thee, and he answered, O Commander of the Faithful,
he came upon me suddenly, and I now prepare for him three millions of gold,
and the like of it in horses, and in slaves, and in boys, and in dresses ; and the
Caliph said, From me the same. Here endeth the last leaf of the writ, but the
Rawi says that two days afterwards Ja'afar restored to his friend Attaf his
beloved cousin-wife, saying to him, I have divorced her and now I deliver over
to thee intact the precious deposit that thou didst place in my hands. Already
hath the order from the Caliph been despatched to Damascus enjoining the
arrest of the Naib, to place him in irons and imprison him until further notice.
Attaf passed several months in Baghdad enjoying the pleasures of the city in
company with his friend Ja'afar and Er-Rashid. He would have liked to have
stayed there all his life, but numerous letters from his relations and his friends
praying him to return to Damascus, he thought it his duty to do so, and asked

222 Supplemental Nights.

leave of the Caliph, who granted it, not without regrets and fears for his future
condition. Er-Rashid appointed him Wali of Damascus and gave him the
imperial rescript ; and a great escort of horses, mules and dromedaries, with
abundant magnificent presents accompanied him as far as Damascus, where
he was received with great pomp. All the city was illuminated as a mark of
joy for the return of Attaf, so loved and respected by all classes of the people,
and above all by the poor who had wept incessantly for him in his absence.
As to the Naib, a second decree of the Caliph ordered his being put to death
for his oppression of the people, but by the generous intercession of Attaf
Er-Rashfd contented himself with commuting the sentence to banishment.
Attaf governed his people many years with justice and prosperity, protector
of his happy subjects and in the enjoyment of the delights and pleasures of
life, until the Angel of Death overtook him and summoned him to Paradise.

HISTORY OF PRINCE HABIB

AND WHAT BEFEI, HIM WITH

THE LADY DURRAT AL-GHAWWAS,

225

HISTORY OF PRINCE HABIB

AND WHAT BEFEL HIM WITH

THE LADY DURRAT AL-GHAWWAS.

foe fcegt'n to mfctte t&e f^tstorg of Sultan f^abtb an& of
fofcat befel Jn'm foi'tf) Buuat

IT is related (but Allah is All-knowing of His unknown and
All-cognisant of what took place and forewent in the annals of
folk !) that there was, in days of yore and in times and tides long
gone before, a tribe of the tribes of the Arabs hight Banu Hilal 3
whose head men were the Emir Hilal and the Emir Salamah. 4
Now this Emir Salamah had well nigh told out his tale of days
without having b