She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Manar al-Sana was about to set out upon the journey, behold, a chamberlain of the King, her sire, came in to her and kissing the ground before her, said, “O Princess, the Supreme King, thy father saluteth thee and biddeth thee to him.” So she rose and accompanied the chamberlain to learn what was required by her father, who seated her by his side on the couch, and said to her, “O my daughter, know that I have this night had a dream which maketh me fear for thee and that long sorrow will betide thee from this thy journey.” Quoth she, “How so, O my father, and what didst thou see in thy dream?” and quoth he, “I dreamt that I entered a hidden hoard, wherein was great store of monies, of jewels, of jacinths and of other riches; but ’twas as if naught pleased me of all this treasure and jewelry save seven bezels, which were the finest things there. I chose out one of the seven jewels, for it was the smallest, finest and most lustrous of them and its water pleased me; so I took it in my hand-palm and fared forth of the treasury. When I came without the door, I opened my hand, rejoicing, and turned over the jewel, when, behold, there swooped down on me out of the welkin a strange bird from a far land (for it was not of the birds of our country) and, snatching it from my hand, returned with it whence it came.155 Whereupon sorrow and concern and sore vexation overcame me and my exceeding chagrin so troubled me that I awoke, mourning and lamenting for the loss of the jewel. At once on awaking I summoned the interpreters and expounders of dreams and declared to them my dream,156 and they said to me: ‘Thou hast seven daughters, the youngest of whom thou wilt lose, and she will be taken from thee perforce, without thy will.’ Now thou, O my girl, art the youngest and dearest of my daughters and the most affectionate of them to me, and look’ye thou art about to journey to thy sister, and I know not what may befal thee from her; so go thou not; but return to thy palace.” But when the Princess heard her father’s words, her heart fluttered and she feared for her children and bent earthwards her head awhile: then she raised it and said to her sire, “O King, Queen Nur al-Huda hath made ready for me an entertainment and awaiteth my coming to her, hour by hour. These four years she hath not seen me and if I delay to visit her, she will be wroth with me. The utmost of my stay with her shall be a month and then I will return to thee. Besides, who is the mortal who can travel our land and make his way to the Islands of Wak? Who can gain access to the White Country and the Black Mountain and come to the Land of Camphor and the Castle of Crystal, and how shall he traverse the Island of Birds and the Wady of Wild Beasts and the Valley of the Jann and enter our Islands? If any stranger came hither, he would be drowned in the seas of destruction: so be of good cheer and eyes without a tear anent my journey; for none may avail to tread our earth.” And she ceased not to persuade him, till he deigned give her leave to depart.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Princess ceased not to persuade him till he deigned give her leave to depart, and bade a thousand horse escort her to the river and abide there, till she entered her sister’s city and palace and returned to them, when they should take her and carry her back to him. Moreover, he charged her tarry with her sister but two days and return to him in haste; and she answered, “Hearing and obedience.” Then rising up she went forth and he with her and farewelled her. Now his words had sunken deep into her heart and she feared for her children; but it availeth not to fortify herself by any device against the onset of Destiny. So she set out and fared on diligently three days, till she came to the river and pitched her tents on its bank. Then she crossed the stream, with some of her counsellors, pages and suite and, going up to the city and the palace, went in to Queen Nur al-Huda, with whom she found her children who ran to her weeping and crying out, “O our father!” At this, the tears railed from her eyes and she wept; then she strained them to her bosom, saying, “What! Have you seen your sire at this time? Would the hour had never been, in which I left him! If I knew him to be in the house of the world, I would carry you to him.” Then she bemoaned herself and her husband and her children weeping and reciting these couplets,
“My friends, despight this distance and this cruelty,
I pine
for you, incline to you where’er you be.
My glance for ever turns toward your hearth and home
And mourns
my heart the bygone days you woned with me,
How many a night foregathered we withouten fear
One loving, other faithful ever, fain and free!”
When her sister saw her fold her children to her bosom, saying, “’Tis I who have done thus with myself and my children and have ruined my own house!” she saluted her not, but said to her, “O whore, whence haddest thou these children? Say, hast thou married unbeknown to thy sire or hast thou committed fornication?157 An thou have played the piece, it behoveth thou be exemplarily punished; and if thou have married sans our knowledge, why didst thou abandon thy husband and separate thy sons from thy sire and bring them hither?”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
157 Amongst Moslems bastardy is a sore offence and a love-child is exceedingly rare. The girl is not only carefully guarded but she also guards herself knowing that otherwise she will not find a husband. Hence seduction is all but unknown. The wife is equally well guarded and lacks opportunities hence adultery is found difficult except in books. Of the Ibn (or Walad) Harám (bastard as opposed to the Ibn Halál) the proverb says, “This child is not thine, so the madder he be the more is thy glee!” Yet strange to say public prostitution has never been wholly abolished in Al–Islam. Al–Mas’údi tells us that in Arabia were public prostitutes’(Bagháyá), even before the days of the Apostle, who affected certain quarters as in our day the Tartúshah of Alexandria and the Hosh Bardak of Cairo. Here says Herr Carlo Landberg (p. 57, Syrian Proverbs) “Elles parlent une langue toute à elle.” So pretentious and dogmatic a writer as the author of Proverbes et Dictons de la Province de Syrie, ought surely to have known that the Hosh Bardak is the head-quarters of the Cairene Gypsies. This author, who seems to write in order to learn, reminds me of an acute Oxonian undergraduate of my day who, when advised to take a “coach,” became a “coach” himself.
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Nur al-Huda, the Queen, to her sister Manar al-Sana, the Princess, “An thou have married sans our knowledge, why didst thou abandon thy husband and separate thy sons from their sire and bring them to our land? Thou hast hidden thy children from us. Thinkest thou we know not of this? Allah Almighty, He who is cognisant of the concealed, hath made known to us thy case and revealed thy condition and bared thy nakedness.” Then she bade her guards seize her and pinion her elbows and shackle her with shackles of iron. So they did as she commanded and she beat her with a grievous beating, so that her skin was torn, and hanged her up by the hair; after which she cast her in prison and wrote the King her father a writ acquainting him with her case and saying, “There hath appeared in our land a man, a mortal, by name Hasan, and our sister Manar al-Sana avoucheth that she is lawfully married to him and bare him two sons, whom she hath hidden from us and thee; nor did she discover aught of herself till there came to us this man and informed us that he wedded her and she tarried with him a long while; after which she took her children and departed, without his knowledge, bidding as she went his mother tell her son, whenas longing began to rack to come to her in the Islands of Wak. So we laid hands on the man and sent the old woman Shawahi to fetch her and her offspring, enjoining her to bring us the children in advance of her. And she did so, whilst Manar al-Sana equipped herself and set out to visit me. When the boys were brought to me and ere the mother came, I sent for Hasan the mortal who claimeth her to wife, and he on entering and at first sight knew them and they knew him; whereby was I certified that the children were indeed his children and that she was his wife and I learned that the man’s story was true and he was not to blame, but that the reproach and the infamy rested with my sister. Now I feared the rending of our honour-veil before the folk of our Isles; so when this wanton, this traitress, came in to me, I was incensed against her and cast her into prison and bastinado’d her grievously and hanged her up by the hair. Behold, I have acquainted thee with her case and it is thine to command, and whatso thou orderest us that we will do. Thou knowest that in this affair is dishonour and disgrace to our name and to thine, and haply the islanders will hear of it, and we shall become amongst them a byword; wherefore it befitteth thou return us an answer with all speed.” Then she delivered the letter to a courier and he carried it to the King, who, when he read it, was wroth with exceeding wrath with his daughter Manar al-Sana and wrote to Nur al-Huda, saying, “I commit her case to thee and give thee command over her life; so, if the matter be as thou sayest, kill her without consulting me.” When the Queen had received and read her father’s letter, she sent for Manar al-Sana and they set before her the prisoner drowned in her blood and pinioned with her hair, shackled with heavy iron shackles and clad in hair-cloth; and they made her stand in the presence abject and abashed. When she saw herself in this condition of passing humiliation and exceeding abjection, she called to mind her former high estate and wept with sore weeping and recited these two couplets,
“O Lord my foes are fain to slay me in despight
Nor deem I
anywise to find escape by flight:
I have recourse to Thee t’ annul what they have done;
Thou art
th’ asylum, Lord, of fearful suppliant wight.”
Then wept she grievously, till she fell down in a swoon, and presently coming to herself, repeated these two couplets,158
“Troubles familiar with my heart are grown and I with them,
Erst shunning; for the generous are sociable still.
Not one mere kind alone of woe doth lieger with me lie;
Praised
be God! There are with me thousands of kinds of ill.”
And also these,
“Oft times Mischance shall straiten noble breast
With grief,
whence issue is for Him to shape:
But when the meshes straitest, tightest, seem
They loose, though deemed I ne’er to find escape.”
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
158 These lines occur in vol. vii. p. 340. I quote Mr. Payne.
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Queen Nur al-Huda ordered into the presence her sister Princess Manar al-Sana, they set her between her hands and she, pinioned as she was recited the verses aforesaid. Then the Queen159 sent for a ladder of wood and made the eunuchs lay her on her back, with her arms spread out and bind her with cords thereto; after which she bared her head and wound her hair about the ladder-rungs and indeed all pity for her was rooted out from her heart. When Manar al-Sana saw herself in this state of abjection and humiliation, she cried out and wept; but none succoured her. Then said she to the Queen, “O my sister, how is thy heart hardened against me? Hast thou no mercy on me nor pity on these little children?” But her words only hardened her sister’s heart and she insulted her, saying, “O Wanton! O harlot! Allah have no ruth on whoso sueth for thee! How should I have compassion on thee, O traitress?” Replied Manar al-Sana who lay stretched on the ladder, “I appeal from thee to the Lord of the Heavens, concerning that wherewith thou revilest me and whereof I am innocent! By Allah, I have done no whoredom, but am lawfully married to him, and my Lord knoweth an I speak sooth or not! Indeed, my heart is wroth with thee, by reason of thine excessive hardheartedness against me! How canst thou cast at me the charge of harlotry, without knowledge? But my Lord will deliver me from thee and if that whoredom whereof thou accusest me be true, may He presently punish me for it!” Quoth Nur al-Huda after a few moments of reflection “How durst thou bespeak me thus?” and rose and beat her till she fainted away;160 whereupon they sprinkled water on her face till she revived; and in truth her charms were wasted for excess of beating and the straitness of her bonds and the sore insults she had suffered. Then she recited these two couplets,
“If aught I’ve sinned in sinful way,
Or done ill deed and gone
astray,
The past repent I and I come
To you and for your pardon pray!”
When Nur al-Huda heard these lines, her wrath redoubled and she said to her, “Wilt speak before me in verse, O whore, and seek to excuse thyself for the mortal sins thou hast sinned? ’Twas my desire that thou shouldst return to thy husband, that I might witness thy wickedness and matchless brazenfacedness; for thou gloriest in thy lewdness and wantonness and mortal heinousness.” Then she called for a palm-stick and, whenas they brought the Jaríd, she arose and baring arms to elbows, beat her sister from head to foot; after which she called for a whip of plaited thongs, wherewith if one smote an elephant, he would start off at full speed, and came down therewith on her back and her stomach and every part of her body, till she fainted. When the old woman Shawahi saw this, she fled forth from the Queen’s presence, weeping and cursing her; but Nur al-Huda cried out to her eunuchs, saying, “Fetch her to me!” So they ran after her and seizing her, brought her back to the Queen, who bade throw her on the ground and making them lay hold of her, rose and took the whip, with which she beat her, till she swooned away, when she said to her waiting-women, “Drag this ill-omened beldam forth on her face and put her out.” And they did as she bade them. So far concerning them; but as regards Hasan, he walked on beside the river, in the direction of the desert, distracted, troubled, and despairing of life; and indeed he was dazed and knew not night from day for stress of affliction. He ceased not faring on thus, till he came to a tree whereto he saw a scroll hanging: so he took it and found written thereon these couplets,
“When in thy mother’s womb thou wast,
I cast thy case the
bestest best;
And turned her heart to thee, so she
Fosterèd thee on fondest breast.
We will suffice thee in whate’er
Shall cause thee trouble or
unrest;
We’ll aid thee in thine enterprise
So rise and bow to our
behest.”
When he had ended reading this scroll, he made sure of deliverance from trouble and of winning reunion with those he loved. Then he walked forward a few steps and found himself alone in a wild and perilous wold wherein there was none to company with him; upon which his heart sank within him for horror and loneliness and his side-muscles trembled, for that fearsome place, and he recited these couplets,
“O Zephyr of Morn, an thou pass where the dear ones dwell,
Bear greeting of lover who ever in love-longing wones!
And tell them I’m pledged to yearning and pawned to pine
And
the might of my passion all passion of lovers unthrones.
Their sympathies haply shall breathe in a Breeze like thee
And
quicken forthright this framework of rotting bones.”161
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
159 She shows all the semi-maniacal rancour of a good woman, or rather a woman who has not broken the eleventh commandment, “Thou shalt not be found out,” against an erring sister who has been discovered. In the East also these unco’gúid dames have had, and too often have, the power to carry into effect the cruelty and diabolical malignity which in London and Paris must vent itself in scan. mag. and anonymous letters.
160 These faintings and trances are as common in the Romances of Chivalry e.g. Amadis of Gaul, where they unlace the garments to give more liberty, pour cold water on the face and bathe the temples and pulses with diluted vinegar (for rose water) exactly as they do in The Nights.
161 So Hafiz, “Bád-i-Sabá chu bugzarí” etc.
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan read the scroll he was certified of deliverance from his trouble and made sure of winning reunion with those he loved. Then he walked forward a couple of steps and stopped finding himself alone in a wild and perilous wold wherein was none to company with him, so he wept sore and recited the verses before mentioned. Then he walked on a few steps farther beside the river, till he came upon two little boys of the sons of the sorcerers, before whom lay a rod of copper graven with talismans, and beside it a skull-cap162 of leather, made of three gores and wroughten in steel with names and characts. The cap and rod were upon the ground and the boys were disputing and beating each other, till the blood ran down between them; whilst each cried, “None shall take the wand but I.” So Hasan interposed and parted them, saying, “What is the cause of your contention?” and they replied, “O uncle, be thou judge of our case, for Allah the Most High hath surely sent thee to do justice between us.” Quoth Hasan, “Tell me your case, and I will judge between you;” and quoth one of them, “We twain are brothers-german and our sire was a mighty magician, who dwelt in a cave on yonder mountain. He died and left us this cap and rod; and my brother saith, ‘None shall have the rod but I,’ whilst I say the like; so be thou judge between us and deliver us each from other.” Hasan asked, “What is the difference between the rod and the cap and what is their value? The rod appears to be worth six coppers163 and the cap three;” whereto they answered, “Thou knowest not their properties.” “And what are their properties?” “Each of them hath a wonderful secret virtue, wherefore the rod is worth the revenue of all the Islands of Wak and their provinces and dependencies, and the cap the like!” “By Allah, O my sons, discover to me their secret virtues.” So they said, “O uncle, they are extraordinary; for our father wrought an hundred and thirty and five years at their contrivance, till he brought them to perfection and ingrafted them with secret attributes which might serve him extraordinary services and engraved them after the likeness of the revolving sphere, and by their aid he dissolved all spells; and when he had made an end of their fashion, Death, which all needs must suffer, overtook him. Now the hidden virtue of the cap is, that whoso setteth it on his head is concealed from all folks’ eyes, nor can any see him, whilst it remaineth on his head; and that of the rod is that whoso owneth it hath authority over seven tribes of the Jinn, who all serve the order and ordinance of the rod; and whenever he who possesseth it smiteth therewith on the ground, their Kings come to do him homage, and all the Jinn are at his service.” Now when Hasan heard these words, he bowed his head groundwards awhile, then said in himself, “By Allah, I shall conquer every foe by means of this rod and cap, Inshallah! and I am worthier of them both than these two boys. So I will go about forthright to get them from the twain by craft, that I may use them to free myself and my wife and children from yonder tyrannical Queen, and then we will depart from this dismal stead, whence there is no deliverance for mortal man nor flight. Doubtless, Allah caused me not to fall in with these two lads, but that I might get the rod and cap from them.” Then he raised his head and said to the two boys, “If ye would have me decide the case, I will make trial of you and see what each of you deserveth. He who overcometh his brother shall have the rod and he who faileth shall have the cap.” They replied,”‘O uncle, we depute thee to make trial of us and do thou decide between us as thou deems fit.” Hasan asked, “Will ye hearken to me and have regard to my words?”; and they answered, “Yes.” Then said he, “I will take a stone and throw it and he who outrunneth his brother thereto and picketh it up shall take the rod, and the other who is outraced shall take the cap.” And they said, “We accept and consent to this thy proposal.” Then Hasan took a stone and threw it with his might, so that it disappeared from sight. The two boys ran under and after it and when they were at a distance, he donned the cap and hending the rod in hand, removed from his place that he might prove the truth of that which the boys had said, with regard to their scant properties. The younger outran the elder and coming first to the stone, took it and returned with it to the place where they had left Hasan, but found no signs of him. So he called to his brother, saying, “Where is the man who was to be umpire between us?” Quoth the other, “I espy him not neither wot I whether he hath flown up to heaven above or sunk into earth beneath.” Then they sought for him, but saw him not, though all the while he was standing in his stead hard by them. So they abused each other, saying, “Rod and Cap are both gone; they are neither mine nor thine: and indeed our father warned us of this very thing; but we forgot whatso he said.” Then they retraced their steps and Hasan also entered the city, wearing the cap and bearing the rod; and none saw him. Now when he was thus certified of the truth of their speech, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and making the palace, went up into the lodging of Shawahi, who saw him not, because of the cap. Then he walked up to a shelf164 over her head upon which were vessels of glass and chinaware, and shook it with his hand, so that what was thereon fell to the ground. The old woman cried out and beat her face; then she rose and restored the fallen things to their places,165 saying in herself, “By Allah, methinks Queen Nur al-Huda hath sent a Satan to torment me, and he hath tricked me this trick! I beg Allah Almighty, deliver me from her and preserve me from her wrath, for, O Lord, if she deal thus abominably with her half-sister, beating and hanging her, dear as she is to her sire, how will she do with a stranger like myself, against whom she is incensed?”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
162 Arab. “Takiyah.” See vol. i. 224 and for the Tarn–Kappe vol. iv. p. 176. In the Sinthásana Dwatrinsati (vulgo. Singhásan Battísí), or Thirty-two Tales of a Throne, we find a bag always full of gold, a bottomless purse; earth which rubbed on the forehead overcomes all; a rod which during the first watch of the night furnishes jewelled ornaments; in the second a beautiful girl; in the third invisibility, and in the fourth a deadly foe or death; a flower-garland which renders the possessor invisible and an unfading lotus-flower which produces a diamond every day.
163 Arab. “Judad,” plur. of Jadíd, lit.= new coin, ergo applied to those old and obsolete; 10 Judad were= one nusf or half dirham.
164 Arab. “Raff,” a shelf proper, running round the room about 7–7½ feet from the ground. During my day it was the fashion in Damascus to range in line along the Raff splendid porcelain bowls brought by the Caravans in olden days from China, whilst on the table were placed French and English specimens of white and gold “china” worth perhaps a franc each.
165 Lane supposes that the glass and china-ware had fallen upon the divan running round the walls under the Raff and were not broken.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the ancient Lady of Calamities cried, “When Queen Nur al-Huda doeth such misdeed to her sister, what will she do to a stranger like myself, against whom she is incensed?” Then said she, “I conjure thee, O devil, by the Most Compassionate, the Bountiful-great, the High of Estate, of Dominion Elate who man and Jinn did create, and by the writing upon the seal of Solomon David-son (on both be the Peace!) speak to me and answer me;” Quoth Hasan, “I am no devil; I am Hasan, the afflicted, the distraught.” Then he raised the cap from his head and appeared to the old woman, who knew him and taking him apart, said to him, “What is come to thy reason, that thou returnest hither? Go hide thee; for, if this wicked woman have tormented thy wife with such torments, and she her sister, what will she do, an she light on thee?” Then she told him all that had befallen his spouse and that wherein she was of travail and torment and tribulation, and straitly described all the pains she endured adding, “And indeed the Queen repenteth her of having let thee go and hath sent one after thee, promising him an hundred-weight of gold and my rank in her service; and she hath sworn that, if he bring thee back, she will do thee and thy wife and children dead.” And she shed tears and discovered to Hasan what the Queen had done with herself, whereat he wept and said, “O my lady, how shall I do to escape from this land and deliver myself and my wife and children from this tyrannical Queen and how devise to return with them in safety to my own country?” Replied the old woman, “Woe to thee! Save thyself.” Quoth he, “There is no help but I deliver her and my children from the Queen perforce and in her despite;” and quoth Shawahi, “How canst thou forcibly rescue them from her? Go and hide thyself, O my son, till Allah Almighty empower thee.” Then Hasan showed her the rod and the cap, whereat she rejoiced with joy exceeding and cried, “Glory be to Him who quickeneth the bones, though they be rotten! By Allah, O my son, thou and thy wife were but of lost folk; now, however, thou art saved, thou and thy wife and children! For I know the rod and I know its maker, who was my Shaykh in the science of Gramarye. He was a mighty magician and spent an hundred and thirty and five years working at this rod and cap, till he brought them to perfection, when Death the Inevitable overtook him. And I have heard him say to his two boys, ‘O my sons, these two things are not of your lot, for there will come a stranger from a far country, who will take them from you by force, and ye shall not know how he taketh them.’ Said they, ‘O our father, tell us how he will avail to take them.’ But he answered, ‘I wot not.’ And O my son,” added she, “how availedst thou to take them?” So he told her how he had taken them from the two boys, whereat she rejoiced and said, “O my son, since thou hast gotten the whereby to free thy wife and children, give ear to what I shall say to thee. For me there is no woning with this wicked woman, after the foul fashion in which she durst use me; so I am minded to depart from her to the caves of the Magicians and there abide with them until I die. But do thou, O my son, don the cap and hend the rod in hand and enter the place where thy wife and children are. Unbind her bonds and smite the earth with the rod saying, ‘Be ye present, O servants of these names!’ whereupon the servants of the rod will appear; and if there present himself one of the Chiefs of the Tribes, command him whatso thou shalt wish and will.” So he farewelled her and went forth, donning the cap and hending the rod, and entered the place where his wife was. He found her well-nigh lifeless, bound to the ladder by her hair, tearful-eyed and woeful-hearted, in the sorriest of plights, knowing no way to deliver herself. Her children were playing under the ladder, whilst she looked at them and wept for them and herself, because of the barbarities and sore treatings and bitter penalties which had befallen her; and he heard her repeat these couplets166,
“There remained not aught save a fluttering, breath and an eye
whose owner is confounded.
And a desirous lover whose bowels are burned with fire
notwithstanding which she is silent.
The exulting foe pitieth her at the sight of her. Alas for her
whom the exulting foe pitieth!”
When Hasan saw her in this state of torment and misery and ignominy and infamy, he wept till he fainted; and when he recovered he saw his children playing and their mother aswoon for excess of pain; so he took the cap from his head and the children saw him and cried out, “O our father!” Then he covered his head again and the Princess came to herself, hearing their cry, but saw only her children weeping and shrieking, “O our father!” When she heard them name their sire and weep, her heart was broken and her vitals rent asunder and she said to them, “What maketh you in mind of your father at this time?” And she wept sore and cried out, from a bursten liver and an aching bosom, “Where are ye and where is your father?” Then she recalled the days of her union with Hasan and what had befallen her since her desertion of him and wept with sore weeping till her cheeks were seared and furrowed and her face was drowned in a briny flood. Her tears ran down and wetted the ground and she had not a hand loose to wipe them from her cheeks, whilst the flies fed their fill on her skin, and she found no helper but weeping and no solace but improvising verses. Then she repeated these couplets,
“I call to mind the parting-day that rent our loves in twain,
When, as I turned away, the tears in very streams did rain.
The cameleer urged on his beasts with them, what while I found
Nor strength nor fortitude, nor did my heart with me remain.
Yea, back I turned, unknowing of the road nor might shake off The
trance of grief and longing love that numbed my heart and
brain;
And worst of all betided me, on my return, was one Who came to
me, in lowly guise, to glory in my pain.
Since the belovèd’s gone, O soul, forswear the sweet of life Nor
covet its continuance, for, wanting him, ’twere vain.
List, O my friend, unto the tale of love, and God forbid That I
should speak and that thy heart to hearken should not deign!
As ’twere El Asmaï himself, of passion I discourse Fancies rare
and marvellous, linked in an endless chain.”167
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
She continued, When Hasan went in to his wife he saw his children and heard her repeating the verses afore mentioned.168 Then she turned right and left, seeking the cause of her children’s crying out, “O our father!” but saw no one and marvelled that her sons should name their sire at that time and call upon him. But when Hasan heard her verses, he wept till he swooned away and the tears railed down his cheeks like rain. Then he drew near the children and raised the cap from his head unseen of his wife, whereupon they saw him and they knew him and cried out, saying, “O our father!” Their mother fell a-weeping again, when she heard them name their sire’s name and said, “There is no avoiding the doom which Almighty Allah hath decreed!” adding, “O Strange! What garreth them think of their father at this time and call upon him, albeit it is not of their wont?” Then she wept and recited these couplets,
“The land of lamping moon is bare and drear;
O eyne of me pour
forth the brimming tear!
They marched: how shall I now be patient?
That I nor heart nor
patience own I swear!
O ye, who marched yet bide in heart of me,
Will you, O lords of
me, return to that we were?
What harm if they return and I enjoy
Meeting, and they had ruth
on tears of care?
Upon the parting-day they dimmed these eyne,
For sad surprise,
and lit the flames that flare.
Sore longed I for their stay, but Fortune stayed
Longings and turned my hope to mere despair.
Return to us (O love!) by Allah, deign!
Enow of tears have flowed for absence-bane.”
Then Hasan could no longer contain himself, but took the cap from his head; whereupon his wife saw him and recognising him screamed a scream which startled all in the palace, and said to him, “How camest thou hither? From the sky hast thou dropped or through the earth hast thou come up?” And her eyes brimmed with tears and Hasan also wept. Quoth she, “O man, this be no time for tears or blame. Fate hath had its course and the sight was blinded and the Pen hath run with what was ordained of Allah when Time was begun: so, Allah upon thee, whencesoever thou comest, go hide, lest any espy thee and tell my sister and she do thee and me die!” Answered he, “O my lady and lady of all Queens, I have adventured myself and come hither, and either I will die or I will deliver thee from this strait and travel with thee and my children to my country, despite the nose of this thy wickedest sister.” But as she heard his words she smiled and for awhile fell to shaking her head and said, “Far, O my fife, far is it from the power of any except Allah Almighty to deliver me from this my strait! Save thyself by flight and wend thy ways and cast not thyself into destruction; for she hath conquering hosts none may withstand. Given that thou tookest me and wentest forth, how canst thou make thy country and escape from these islands and the perils of these awesome places? Verily, thou hast seen on thy way hither, the wonders, the marvels, the dangers and the terrors of the road, such as none may escape, not even one of the rebel Jinns. Depart, therefore, forthright and add not cark to my cark and care to my care, neither do thou pretend to rescue me from this my plight; for who shall carry me to thy country through all these vales and thirsty wolds and fatal steads?” Rejoined Hasan, “By thy life, O light of mine eyes, I will not depart this place nor fare but with thee!” Quoth she, “O man! How canst thou avail unto this thing and what manner of man art thou? Thou knowest not what thou sayest! None can escape from these realms, even had he command over Jinns, Ifrits, magicians, chiefs of tribes and Marids. Save thyself and leave me; perchance Allah will bring about good after ill.” Answered Hasan, “O lady of fair ones, I came not save to deliver thee with this rod and with this cap.” And he told her what had befallen him with the two boys; but, whilst he was speaking, behold, up came the Queen and heard their speech. Now when he was ware of her, he donned the cap and was hidden from sight, and she entered and said to the Princess, “O wanton, who is he with whom thou wast talking?” Answered Manar al-Sanar, “Who is with me that should talk with me, except these children?” Then the Quee took the whip and beat her, whilst Hasan stood by and looked on, nor did she leave beating her till she fainted; whereupon she bade transport her to another place. So they loosed her and carried her to another chamber whilst Hasan followed unseen. There they cast her down, senseless, and stood gazing upon her, till she revived and recited these couplets,169
“I have sorrowed on account of our disunion with a sorrow that
made the tears to overflow from my eyelids;
And I vowed that if Fortune reunite us, I would never again
mention our separation;
And I would say to the envious, Die ye with regret; By Allah I
have now attained my desire!
Joy hath overwhelmed me to such a degree that by its excess it
hath made me weep.
O eye, how hath weeping become thy habit? Thou weepest in joy as
well, as in sorrows.”
When she ceased her verse the slave-girls went out from her and Hasan took off the cap; whereupon his wife said to him, “See, O man, all this befel me not save by reason of my having rebelled against thee and transgressed thy commandment and gone forth without thy leave.170 So, Allah upon thee blame me not for my sins and know that women never wot a man’s worth till they have lost him. Indeed, I have offended and done evil; but I crave pardon of Allah Almighty for whatso I did, and if He reunite us, I will never again gainsay thee in aught, no, never!”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan’s wife besought pardon of him saying, “Blame me not for my sin; and indeed I crave mercy of Allah Almighty.” Quoth Hasan (and indeed his heart ached for her), “’Twas not thou that wast in fault; nay, the fault was mine and mine only, for I fared forth and left thee with one who knew not thy rank, neither thy worth nor thy degree. But know, O beloved of my heart and fruit of my vitals and light of mine eyes, that Allah (blessed be He!) hath ordained to me power of releasing thee; so, say me, wouldst thou have me carry thee to thy father’s home, there to accomplish what Allah decreeth unto thee, or wilt thou forthright depart with me to mine own country, now that relief is come to thee?” Quoth she, “Who can deliver me save the Lord of the Heavens? Go to thy motherland and put away from thee false hope; for thou knowest not the perils of these parts which, an thou obey me not, soon shalt thou sight.” And she improvised these couplets,
“On me and with me bides thy volunty;
Why then such anger such
despite to me?
Whate’er befel us Heaven forbid that love
Fade for long time or
e’er forgotten be!
Ceased not the spy to haunt our sides, till seen
Our love estranged and then estranged was he:
In truth I trusted to fair thoughts of thine
Though spake the wicked spy maliciously.
We’ll keep the secret ‘twixt us twain and bold
Although the
brand of blame unsheathed we see.
The livelong day in longing love I spend
Hoping acceptance-message from my friend.”
Then wept she and her children, and the handmaidens heard them: so they came in to them and found them weeping, but saw not Hasan with them; wherefore they wept for ruth of them and damned Queen Nur al-Huda. Then Hasan took patience till night came on and her guards had gone to their sleeping-places, when he arose and girded his waist; then went up to her and, loosing her, kissed her on the head and between the eyes and pressed her to his bosom, saying, “How long have we wearied for our mother-land and for reunion there! Is this our meeting in sleep, or on wake?” Then he took up the elder boy and she took up the younger and they went forth the palace; and Allah veiled them with the veil of His protection, so that they came safe to the outer gate which closed the entrance to the Queen’s Serraglio. But finding it locked from without, Hasan said, “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!” With this they despaired of escape and Hasan beat hand upon hand, saying, “O Dispeller of dolours! Indeed, I had bethought me of every thing and considered its conclusion but this; and now, when it is daybreak, they will take us, and what device have we in this case?” And he recited the following two couplets,171
“Thou madest fair thy thought of Fate, whenas the days were fair,
And fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might
bring.
The nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wast deceived by
them, For in the peace of night is born full many a
troublous thing.”
Then Hasan wept and his wife wept for his weeping and for the abasement she had suffered and the cruelties of Time and Fortune,
“Baulks me my Fate as tho’ she were my foe;
Each day she
showeth me new cark and care:
Fate, when I aim at good, brings clear reverse,
And lets foul morrow wait on day that’s fair.”
And also these,
“Irks me my Fate and clean unknows that I
Of my high worth her
shifts and shafts despise.
She nights parading what ill-will she works:
I night parading Patience to her eyes.”
Then his wife said to him, “By Allah, there is no relief for us but to kill ourselves and be at rest from this great and weary travail; else we shall suffer grievous torment on the morrow.” At this moment, behold, they heard a voice from without the door say, “By Allah, O my lady Manar al-Sana, I will not open to thee and thy husband Hasan, except ye obey me in whatso I shall say to you!” When they heard these words they were silent for excess of fright and would have returned whence they came; when lo! the voice spake again saying, “What aileth you both to be silent and answer me not?” Therewith they knew the speaker for the old woman Shawahi, Lady of Calamities, and said to her, “Whatsoever thou biddest us, that will we do; but first open the door to us; this being no time for talk.” Replied she, “By Allah, I will not open to you until ye both swear to me that you will take me with you and not leave me with yonder whore: so, whatever befalleth you shall befal me and if ye escape, I shall escape, and if ye perish, I shall perish: for yonder abominable woman, tribade172 that she is! entreateth me with indignity and still tormenteth me on your account; and thou, O my daughter, knowest my worth.” Now recognising her they trusted in her and sware to her an oath such as contented her, whereupon she opened the door to them and they fared forth and found her riding on a Greek jar of red earthenware with a rope of palm-fibres about its neck,173 which rolled under her and ran faster than a Najdi colt, and she came up to them, and said, “Follow me and fear naught, for I know forty modes of magic by the least of which I could make this city a dashing sea, swollen with clashing billows, and ensorcel each damsel therein to a fish, and all before dawn. But I was not able to work aught of my mischief, for fear of the King her father and of regard to her sisters, for that they are formidable, by reason of their many guards and tribesmen and servants. However, soon will I show you wonders of my skill in witchcraft; and now let us on, relying upon the blessing of Allah and His good aid.” Now Hasan and his wife rejoiced in this, making sure of escape, —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
171 These lines occur in vol. i. 25: so I quote Mr. Payne.
172 Arab. “Musáhikah;” the more usual term for a Tribade is “Sahíkah” from “Sahk” in the sense of rubbing: both also are applied to onanists and masturbators of the gender feminine.
173 i.e. by way of halter. This jar is like the cask in Auerbach’s Keller; and has already been used by witches; Night dlxxxvii. vol. vi. 158.
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan and his wife, accompanied by the ancient dame Shawahi, fared forth from the palace, they made sure of deliverance and they walked on till they came without the city, when he fortified his heart and, smiting the earth with the rod, cried, “Ho, ye servants of these names, appear to me and acquaint me with your conditions!” Thereupon the earth clave asunder and out came ten174 Ifrits, with their feet in the bowels of the earth and their heads in the clouds. They kissed the earth three times before Hasan and said as with one voice, “Adsumus! Here are we at thy service, O our lord and ruler over us! What dost thou bid us do? For we hear and obey thy commandment. An thou wilt, we will dry thee up seas and remove mountains from their places.” So Hasan rejoiced in their words and at their speedy answer to his evocation then taking courage and bracing up his resolution, he said to them, “Who are ye and what be your names and your races, and to what tribes and clans and companies appertain ye?” They kissed the earth once more and answered as with one voice, saying, “We are seven Kings, each ruling over seven tribes of the Jinn of all conditions, and Satans and Marids, flyers and divers, dwellers in mountains and wastes and wolds and haunters of the seas: so bid us do whatso thou wilt; for we are thy servants and thy slaves, and whoso possesseth this rod hath dominion over an our necks and we owe him obedience.” Now when Hasan heard this, he rejoiced with joy exceeding, as did his wife and the old woman, and presently he said to the Kings of the Jinn, “I desire of you that ye show me your tribes and hosts and guards.” “O our lord,” answered they, “if we show thee our tribes, we fear for thee and these who are with thee, for their name is legion and they are various in form and fashion, figure and favour. Some of us are heads sans bodies and others bodies sans heads, and others again are in the likeness of wild beasts and ravening lions. However, if this be thy will, there is no help but we first show thee those of us who are like unto wild beasts. But, O our lord, what wouldst thou of us at this present?” Quoth Hasan, “I would have you carry me forthwith to the city of Baghdad, me and my wife and this honest woman.” But, hearing his words they hung down their heads and were silent, whereupon Hasan asked them, “Why do ye not reply?” And they answered as with one voice, “O our lord and ruler over us, we are of the covenant of Solomon son of David (on the twain be Peace!) and he sware us in that we would bear none of the sons of Adam on our backs; since which time we have borne no mortal on back or shoulder: but we will straightway harness thee horses of the Jinn, that shall carry thee and thy company to thy country.” Hasan enquired, “How far are we from Baghdad?” and they, “Seven years’ journey for a diligent horseman.” Hasan marvelled at this and said to them, “Then how came I hither in less than a year?”; and they said, “Allah softened to thee the hearts of His pious servants else hadst thou never come to this country nor hadst thou set eyes on these regions; no, never! For the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who mounted thee on the elephant and the magical horse, traversed with thee, in ten days, three years’ journey for a well-girt rider, and the Ifrit Dahnash, to whom the Shaykh committed thee, carried thee a three years’ march in a day and a night; all which was of the blessing of Allah Almighty, for that the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh is of the seed of Asaf bin Barkhiyá175 and knoweth the Most Great name of Allah. 176 Moreover, from Baghdad to the palace of the damsels is a year’s journey, and this maketh up the seven years.” When Hasan heard this, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and cried, “Glory be to God, Facilitator of the hard, Fortifier of the weak heart, Approximator of the far and Humbler of every froward tyrant, Who hath eased us of every accident and carried me to these countries and subjected to me these creatures and reunited me with my wife and children! I know not whether I am asleep or awake or if I be sober or drunken!” Then he turned to the Jinn and asked, “When ye have mounted me upon your steeds, in how many days will they bring us to Baghdad?”; and they answered, “They will carry you thither under the year, but not till after ye have endured terrible perils and hardships and horrors and ye have traversed thirsty Wadys and frightful wastes and horrible steads without number; and we cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from the people of these islands,”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jann said to Hasan, “We cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from this Islandry, nor from the mischief of the Supreme King and his enchanters and warlocks. It may be they will overcome us and take you from us and we fall into affliction with them, and all to whom the tidings shall come after this will say to us: ‘Ye are wrong-doers! How could ye go against the Supreme King and carry a mortal out of his dominions, and eke the King’s daughter with him?’ adding, ‘Wert thou alone with us the thing were light; but He who conveyed thee hither is capable to carry thee back to thy country and reunite thee with thine own people forthright and in readiest plight. So take heart and put thy trust in Allah and fear not; for we are at thy service, to convey thee to thy country.” Hasan thanked them therefor and said, “Allah requite you with good! but now make haste with the horses;” they replied, “We hear and we obey,” and struck the ground with their feet, whereupon it opened and they disappeared within it and were absent awhile, after which they suddenly reappeared with three horses, saddled and bridled, and on each saddle-bow a pair of saddle-bags, with a leathern bottle of water in one pocket and the other full of provaunt. So Hasan mounted one steed and took a child before him, whilst his wife mounted a second and took the other child before her. Then the old woman alighted from the jar and bestrode the third horse and they rode on, without ceasing, all night. At break of day, they turned aside from the road and made for the mountain, whilst their tongues ceased not to name Allah. Then they fared on under the highland all that day, till Hasan caught sight of a black object afar as it were a tall column of smoke a-twisting skywards; so he recited somewhat of the Koran and Holy Writ, and sought refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned. The black thing grew plainer as they drew near, and when hard by it, they saw that it was an Ifrit, with a head like a huge dome and tusks like grapnels and jaws like a lane and nostrils like ewers and ears like leathern targes and mouth like a cave and teeth like pillars of stone and hands like winnowing forks and legs like masts: his head was in the cloud and his feet in the bowels of the earth had plowed. Whenas Hasan gazed upon him he bowed himself and kissed the ground before him, saying, “O Hasan, have no fear of me; for I am the chief of the dwellers in this land, which is the first of the Isles of Wak, and I am a Moslem and an adorer of the One God. I have heard of you and your coming and when I knew of your case, I desired to depart from the land of the magicians to another land, void of inhabitants and far from men and Jinn, that I might dwell there alone and worship Allah till my fated end came upon me. So I wish to accompany you and be your guide, till ye fare forth of the Wak Islands; and I will not appear save at night; and do ye hearten your hearts on my account; for I am a Moslem, even as ye are Moslems.” When Hasan heard the Ifrit’s words, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and made sure of deliverance; and he said to him, “Allah requite thee weal! Go with us relying upon the blessing of Allah!” So the Ifrit forewent them and they followed, talking and making merry, for their hearts were pleased and their breasts were eased and Hasan fell to telling his wife all that had befallen him and all the hardships he had undergone, whilst she excused herself to him and told him, in turn, all she had seen and suffered. They ceased not faring all that night.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased not faring all that night and the horses bore them like the blinding leven, and when the day rose all put their hands to the saddle-bags and took forth provaunt which they ate and water which they drank. Then they sped diligently on their way, preceded by the Ifrit, who turned aside with them from the beaten track into another road, till then untrodden, along the seashores and they ceased not faring on, without stopping, across Wadys and wolds a whole month, till on the thirty-first day there arose before them a dust-cloud, that walled the world and darkened the day; and when Hasan saw this, he was confused and turned pale; and more so when a frightful crying and clamour struck their ears. There, upon the old woman said to him, “O my son, this is the army of the Wak Islands, that hath overtaken us; and presently they will lay violent hands on us.” Hasan asked, “What shall I do, O my mother?”; and she answered, “Strike the earth with the rod.” He did so whereupon the Seven Kings presented themselves and saluted him with the salam, kissing ground before him and saying, “Fear not neither grieve.” Hasan rejoiced at these words and answered them, saying, “Well said, O Princes of the Jinn and the Ifrits! This is your time!” Quoth they, “Get ye up to the mountain-top, thou and thy wife and children and she who is with thee and leave us to deal with them, for we know that you all are in the right and they in the wrong and Allah will aid us against them.” So Hasan and his wife and children and the old woman dismounted and dismissing the horses, ascended the flank of the mountain.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan with his wife, his children and the ancient dame ascended the mountain-flank after they had dismissed the coursers. Presently, up came Queen Nur al-Huda, with the troops right and left, and the captains went round about among the host and ranged them rank by rank in battle array. Then the hosts charged down upon each other and clashed together the twain with a mighty strain, the brave pressed on amain and the coward to fly was fain and the Jinn cast flames of fire from their mouths, whilst the smoke of them rose up to the confines of the sky and the two armies appeared and disappeared. The champions fought and heads flew from trunks and the blood ran in rills; nor did brand leave to play and blood to flow and battle fire to flow, till the murk o’ night came, when the two hosts drew apart and, alighting from their steeds rested upon the field by the fires they had kindled. Therewith the Seven Kings went up to Hasan and kissed the earth before him. He pressed forwards to meet them and thanked them and prayed Allah to give them the victory and asked them how they had fared with the Queen’s troops. Quoth they, “They will not withstand us more than three days, for we had the better of them to-day, taking some two thousand of them prisoners and slaying of them much folk whose compt may not be told. So be of good cheer and broad of breast.” Then they farewelled him and went down to look after the safety of their troops; and they ceased not to keep up the fires till the morning rose with its sheen and shone, when the fighting-men mounted their horses of noble strain and smote one another with thin-edged skean and with brawn of bill they thrust amain nor did they cease that day battle to darraign. Moreover, they passed the night on horseback clashing together like dashing seas; raged among them the fires of war and they stinted not from battle and jar, till the armies of Wak were defeated and their power broken and their courage quelled; their feet slipped and whither they fled soever defeat was before them; wherefore they turned tail and of flight began to avail: but the most part of them were slain and their Queen and her chief officers and the grandees of her realm were captive ta’en. When the morning morrowed, the Seven Kings presented themselves before Hasan and set for him a throne of alabaster inlaid with pearls and jewels, and he sat down thereon. They also set thereby a throne of ivory, plated with glittering gold, for the Princess Manar al-Sana and another for the ancient dame Shawahi Zat al-Dawahi. Then they brought before them the prisoners and among the rest, Queen Nur al-Huda with elbows pinioned and feet fettered, whom when Shawahi saw, she said to her, “Thy recompense, O harlot, O tyrant, shall be that two bitches be starved and two mares stinted of water, till they be athirst: then shalt thou be bound to the mares’ tails and these driven to the river, with the bitches following thee that they may rend thy skin; and after, thy flesh shall be cut off and given them to eat. How couldst thou do with thy sister such deed, O strumpet, seeing that she was lawfully married, after the ordinance of Allah and of His Apostle? For there is no monkery in Al–Islam and marriage is one of the institutions of the Apostles (on whom be the Peace!)177 nor were women created but for men.” Then Hasan commanded to put all the captives to the sword and the old woman cried out, saying, “Slay them all and spare none178!” But, when Princess Manar al-Sana saw her sister in this plight, a bondswoman and in fetters, she wept over her and said, “O my sister, who is this hath conquered us and made us captives in our own country?” Quoth Nur al-Huda, “Verily, this is a mighty matter. Indeed this man Hasan hath gotten the mastery over us and Allah hath given him dominion over us and over all our realm and he hath overcome us, us and the Kings of the Jinn.” And quoth her sister, “Indeed, Allah aided him not against you nor did he overcome you nor capture you save by means of this cap and rod.” So Nur al-Huda was certified and assured that he had conquered her by means thereof and humbled herself to her sister, till she was moved to ruth for her and said to her husband, “What wilt thou do with my sister? Behold, she is in thy hands and she hath done thee no misdeed that thou shouldest punish her.” Replied Hasan, “Her torturing of thee was misdeed enow.” But she answered, saying, “She hath excuse for all she did with me. As for thee, thou hast set my father’s heart on fire for the loss of me, and what will be his case, if he lose my sister also?” And he said to her, “’Tis thine to decide; do whatso thou wilt.” So she bade loose her sister and the rest of the captives, and they did her bidding. Then she went up to Queen Nur al-Huda and embraced her, and they wept together a long while; after which quoth the Queen, “O my sister, bear me not malice for that I did with thee;” and quoth Manar al-Sana, “O my sister, this was foreordained to me by Fate.” Then they sat on the couch talking and Manar al-Sana made peace between the old woman and her sister, after the goodliest fashion, and their hearts were set at ease. Thereupon Hasan dismissed the servants of the rod thanking them for the succour which they had afforded him against his foes, and Manar al-Sana related to her sister all that had befallen her with Hasan her husband and every thing he had suffered for her sake, saying, “O my sister, since he hath done these deeds and is possessed of this might and Allah Almighty hath gifted him with such exceeding prowess, that he hath entered our country and beaten thine army and taken thee prisoner and defied our father, the Supreme King, who hath dominion over all the Princes of the Jinn, it behoveth us to fail not of what is due to him.” Replied Nur al-Huda, “By Allah, O my sister, thou sayest sooth in whatso thou tellest me of the marvels which this man hath seen and suffered; and none may fail of respect to him. But was all this on thine account, O my sister?”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
176 Arab. “Ism al-A’azam,” the Ineffable Name, a superstition evidently derived from the Talmudic fancies of the Jews concerning their tribal god, Yah or Yahvah.
177 The tradition is that Mohámmed asked Akáf al-Wadá‘ah “Hast a wife?”; and when answered in the negative, “Then thou appertainest to the brotherhood of Satans! An thou wilt be one of the Christian monks then company therewithal; but an thou be of us, know that it is our custom to marry!”
178 The old woman, in the East as in the West, being the most vindictive of her kind. I have noted (Pilgrimage iii. 70) that a Badawi will sometimes though in shame take the blood-wit; but that if it be offered to an old woman she will dash it to the ground and clutch her knife and fiercely swear by Allah that she will not eat her son’s blood.
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Princess Manar al-Sana repeated to her sister these praises of Hasan, the other replied, “By Allah, this man can claim all respect more by token of his generosity. But was all this on thine account?” “Yes,” answered Manar al-Sana, and they passed the night in converse till the morning morrowed and the sun rose and they were minded to depart. So they farewelled one another and Manar al-Sana gave God-speed to the ancient dame after the reconciling her with Queen Nur al-Huda. Thereupon Hasan smote the earth with the rod and its servants the Jinn appeared and saluted him, saying, “Praised be Allah, who hath set thy soul at rest! Command us what thou wilt, and we will do it for thee in less than the twinking of an eye.” He thanked them for their saying and said to them “Allah requite you with good! Saddle me two steeds of the best.” So they brought him forthwith two saddled coursers, one of which he mounted, taking his elder son before him, and his wife rode the other, taking the younger son in front of her. Then the Queen and the old woman also backed horse and departed, Hasan and his wife following the right and Nur al-Huda and Shawahi the left hand road. The spouses fared on with their children, without stopping, for a whole month, till they drew in sight of a city, which they found compassed about with trees and streams and, making the trees, dismounted beneath them thinking to rest there. As they sat talking, behold, they saw many horsemen coming towards them, whereupon Hasan rose and going to meet them, saw that it was King Hassun, lord of the Land of Camphor and Castle of Crystal, with his attendants. So Hasan went up to the King and kissed his hands and saluted him; and when Hassun saw him, he dismounted and seating himself with Hasan upon carpets under the trees returned his salam and gave him joy of his safety and rejoiced in him with exceeding joy, saying to him, “O Hasan, tell me all that hath befallen thee, first and last.” So he told him all of that, whereupon the King marvelled and said to him, “O my son, none ever reached the Islands of Wak and returned thence but thou, and indeed thy case is wondrous; but Alhamdolillah—praised be God—for safety!” Then he mounted and bade Hasan ride with his wife and children into the city, where he lodged them in the guest-house of his palace; and they abode with him three days, eating and drinking in mirth and merriment, after which Hasan sought Hassun’s leave to depart to his own country and the King granted it. Accordingly they took horse and the King rode with them ten days, after which he farewelled them and turned back, whilst Hasan and his wife and children fared on a whole month, at the end of which time they came to a great cavern, whose floor was of brass. Quoth Hasan to his wife, “Kennest thou yonder cave?”; and quoth she, “No.” Said he, “Therein dwelleth a Shaykh, Abu al-Ruwaysh hight, to whom I am greatly beholden, for that he was the means of my becoming acquainted with King Hassun.” Then he went on to tell her all that had passed between him and Abu al-Ruwaysh, and as he was thus engaged, behold, the Shaykh himself issued from the cavernmouth. When Hasan saw him, he dismounted from his steed and kissed his hands, and the old man saluted him and gave him joy of his safety and rejoiced in him. Then he carried him into the antre and sat down with him, whilst Hasan related to him what had befallen him in the Islands of Wak; whereat the Elder marvelled with exceeding marvel and said, “O Hasan, how didst thou deliver thy wife and children?” So he told them the tale of the cap and the rod, hearing which he wondered and said, “O Hasan, O my son, but for this rod and the cap, thou hadst never delivered thy wife and children.” And he replied, “Even so, O my lord.” As they were talking, there came a knocking at the door and Abu al-Ruwaysh went out and found Abd al-Kaddus mounted on his elephant. So he saluted him and brought him into the cavern, where he embraced Hasan and congratulated him on his safety, rejoicing greatly in his return. Then said Abu al-Ruwaysh to Hasan, “Tell the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus all that hath befallen thee, O Hasan.” He repeated to him every thing that had passed, first and last, till he came to the tale of the rod and cap,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan began relating to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus and Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh (who sat chattting in the cave) all that had passed, first and last, till he came to the tale of the rod and cap; where, upon quoth Abd al-Kaddus, “O my son, thou hast delivered thy wife and thy children and hast no further need of the two. Now we were the means of thy winning to the Islands of Wak, and I have done thee kindness for the sake of my nieces, the daughters of my brother; wherefore I beg thee, of thy bounty and favour, to give me the rod and the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh the cap.” When Hasan heard this, he hung down his head, being ashamed to reply, “I will not give them to you,” and said in his mind, “Indeed these two Shaykhs have done me great kindness and were the means of my winning to the Islands of Wak, and but for them I had never made the place, nor delivered my children, nor had I gotten me this rod and cap.” So he raised his head and answered, “Yes, I will give them to you: but, O my lords, I fear lest the Supreme King, my wife’s father, come upon me with his commando and combat with me in my own country, and I be unable to repel them, for want of the rod and the cap.” Replied Abd al-Kaddus, “Fear not, O my son; we will continually succour thee and keep watch and ward for thee in this place; and whosoever shall come against thee from thy wife’s father or any other, him we will fend off from thee; wherefore be thou of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear, and hearten thy heart and broaden thy breast and feel naught whatsoever of fear, for no harm shall come to thee.” When Hasan heard this he was abashed and gave the cap to Abu al-Ruwaysh, saying to Abd al-Kaddus, “Accompany me to my own country and I will give thee the rod.” At this the two elders rejoiced with exceeding joy and made him ready riches and treasures which beggar all description. He abode with them three days, at the end of which he set out again and the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus made ready to depart with him. So he and his wife mounted their beasts and Abd al-Kaddus whistled, when, behold, a mighty big elephant trotted up with fore hand and feet on amble from the heart of the desert and he took it and mounted it. Then they farewelled Abu al-Ruwaysh who disappeared within his cavern; and they fared on across country, traversing the land in its length and breadth wherever Abd al-Kaddus guided them by a short cut and an easy way, till they drew near the land of the Princesses; whereupon Hasan rejoiced at finding himself once more near his mother, and praised Allah for his safe return and reunion with his wife and children after so many hardships and perils; and thanked Him for His favours and bounties, reciting these couplets,
“Haply shall Allah deign us twain unite
And lockt in strict
embrace we’ll hail the light:
And wonders that befel me I’ll recount,
And all I suffered from
the Severance-blight:
And fain I’ll cure mine eyes by viewing you
For ever yearned my
heart to see your sight:
I hid a tale for you my heart within
Which when we meet o’ morn
I’ll fain recite:
I’ll blame you for the deeds by you were done
But while blame
endeth love shall stay in site.”
Hardly had he made an end of these verses, when he looked and behold, there rose to view the Green Dome179 and the jetting Fount and the Emerald Palace, and the Mountain of Clouds showed to them from afar; whereupon quoth Abd al-Kaddus, “Rejoice, O Hasan, in good tidings: to-night shalt thou be the guest of my nieces!” At this he joyed with exceeding joy and as also did his wife, and they alighted at the domed pavilion, where they took their rest180 and ate and drank; after which they mounted horse again and rode on till they came upon the palace. As they drew near, the Princesses who were daughters of the King, brother to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, came forth to meet them and saluted them and their uncle who said to them, “O daughters of my brother, behold, I have accomplished the need of this your brother Hasan and have helped him to regain his wife and children.” So they embraced him and gave him joy of his return in safety and health and of his reunion with his wife and children, and it was a day of festival181 with them. Then came forward Hasan’s sister, the youngest Princess, and embraced him, weeping with sore weeping, whilst he also wept for his long desolation: after which she complained to him of that which she had suffered for the pangs of separation and weariness of spirit in his absence and recited these two couplets,
“After thy faring never chanced I’spy
A shape, but did thy form
therein descry:
Nor closed mine eyes in sleep but thee I saw,
E’en as though
dwelling ‘twixt the lid and eye.”
When she had made an end of her verses, she rejoiced with joy exceeding and Hasan said to her, “O my sister, I thank none in this matter save thyself over all thy sisters, and may Allah Almighty vouchsafe thee aidance and countenance!” Then he related to her all that had past in his journey, from first to last, and all that he had undergone, telling her what had betided him with his wife’s sister and how he had delivered his wife and wees and he also described to her all that he had seen of marvels and grievous perils, even to how Queen Nur al-Huda would have slain him and his spouse and children and none saved them from her but the Lord the Most High. Moreover, he related to her the adventure of the cap and the rod and how Abd al-Kaddus and Abu al-Ruwaysh had asked for them and he had not agreed to give them to the twain save for her sake; wherefore she thanked him and blessed him wishing him long life; and he cried, “By Allah, I shall never forget all the kindness thou hast done me from incept to conclusion.”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
179 Neither dome nor fount etc. are mentioned before, the normal inadvertency.
180 In Eastern travel the rest comes before the eating and drinking.
181 Arab. “‘Id” (pron.‘Eed) which I have said (vol. i. 42, 317) is applied to the two great annual festivals, the “Fête of Sacrifice,” and the “Break–Fast.” The word denotes restoration to favour and Moslems explain as the day on which Adam (and Eve) who had been expelled from Paradise for disobedience was re-established (Uída) by the relenting of Allah. But the name doubtless dates amongst Arabs from days long before they had heard of the “Lord Nomenclator.”
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan foregathered with the Princesses, he related to his sister all that he had endured and said to her, “Never will I forget what thou hast done for me from incept to conclusion.” Then she turned to his wife Manar al-Sana and embraced her and pressed her children to her breast, saying to her, “O daughter of the Supreme King, was there no pity in thy bosom, that thou partedst him and his children and settedst his heart on fire for them? Say me, didst thou desire by this deed that he should die?” The Princess laughed and answered, “Thus was it ordained of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and whoso beguileth folk, him shall Allah begule.”182 Then they set on somewhat of meat and drink, and they all ate and drank and made merry. They abode thus ten days in feast and festival, mirth and merry-making, at the end of which time Hasan prepared to continue his journey. So his sister rose and made him ready riches and rarities, such as defy description. Then she strained him to her bosom, because of leavetaking, and threw her arms round his neck whilst he recited on her account these couplets,
“The solace of lovers is naught but far,
And parting is naught
save grief singular:
And ill-will and absence are naught but woe,
And the victims of
Love naught but martyrs are;
And how tedious is night to the loving wight
From his true love
parted ‘neath evening star!
His tears course over his cheeks and so
He cries, ‘O tears be
there more to flow?’”
With this Hasan gave the rod to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who joyed therein with exceeding joy and thanking him and securing it mounted and returned to his own place. Then Hasan took horse with his wife and children and departed from the Palace of the Princesses, who went forth183 with him, to farewell him. Then they turned back and Hasan fared on, over wild and wold, two months and ten days, till he came to the city of Baghdad, the House of Peace, and repairing to his home by the private postern which gave upon the open country, knocked at the door. Now his mother, for long absence, had forsworn sleep and given herself to mourning and weeping and wailing, till she fell sick and ate no meat, neither took delight in slumber but shed tears night and day. She ceased not to call upon her son’s name albeit she despaired of his returning to her; and as he stood at the door, he heard her weeping and reciting these couplets,
“By Allah, heal, O my lords, the unwhole
Of wasted frame and
heart worn with dole:
An you grant her a meeting ’tis but your grace
Shall whelm in
the boons of the friend her soul:
I despair not of Union the Lord can grant
And to weal of meeting our woes control!”
When she had ended her verses, she heard her son’s voice at the door, calling out, “O mother, mother ah! fortune hath been kind and hath vouchsafed our reunion!” Hearing his cry she knew his voice and went to the door, between belief and misbelief; but, when she opened it she saw him standing there and with him his wife and children; so she shrieked aloud, for excess of joy, and fell to the earth in a fainting-fit. Hasan ceased not soothing her, till she recovered and embraced him; then she wept with joy, and presently she called his slaves and servants and bade them carry all his baggage into the house.184 So they brought in every one of the loads, and his wife and children entered also, whereupon Hasan’s mother went up to the Princess and kissed her head and bussed her feet, saying, “O daughter of the Supreme King, if I have failed of thy due, behold, I crave pardon of Almighty Allah.” Then she turned to Hasan and said to him, “O my son, what was the cause of this long strangerhood?” He related to her all his adventures from beginning to end; and when she heard tell of all that had befallen him, she cried a great cry and fell down a-fainting at the very mention of his mishaps. He solaced her, till she came to herself and said, “By Allah, O my son, thou hast done unwisely in parting with the rod and the cap for, hadst thou kept them with the care due to them, thou wert master of the whole earth, in its breadth and length; but praised be Allah, for thy safety, O my son, and that of thy wife and children!” They passed the night in all pleasance and happiness, and on the morrow Hasan changed his clothes and donning a suit of the richest apparel, went down into the bazar and bought black slaves and slave-girls and the richest stuffs and ornaments and furniture such as carpets and costly vessels and all manner other precious things, whose like is not found with Kings. Moreover, he purchased houses and gardens and estates and so forth and abode with his wife and his children and his mother, eating and drinking and pleasuring: nor did they cease from all joy of life and its solace till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies. And Glory be to Him who hath dominion over the Seen and the Unseen,185 who is the Living, the Eternal, Who dieth not at all! And men also recount the adventures of
182 Alluding to Hasan seizing her feather dress and so taking her to wife.
183 Arab. “Kharajú”=they (masc.) went forth, a vulgarism for “Kharajna” (fem.)
184 Note the notable housewife who, at a moment when youth would forget everything, looks to the main chance.
185 Arab. “Al–Malakút” (not “Malkút” as in Freytag) a Sufi term for the world of Spirits (De Lacy Christ, Ar. i. 451). Amongst Eastern Christians it is vulgarly used in the fem. and means the Kingdom of Heaven, also the preaching of the Gospel.
Last updated on Thu Mar 30 16:01:10 2006 for eBooks@Adelaide.