COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH.  
THE STORY OF THE THREE APPLES, &c.1
 
One night, after the adventure above described, the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed said to Ja?far, his Wezeer, We will go down to-night into the city, and inquire respecting the affairs of those who are at present in authority, and him against whom any one shall complain we will displace. Ja?far replied, I hear and obey:—and when the Khaleefeh had gone forth with him and Mesroor, and they had passed through several of the market-streets, they proceeded along a lane, and saw there an old man, with a net and basket upon his head, and a staff in his hand, walking at his leisure, and reciting these verses:223—
 
They say to me, Thou shinest among mankind, by thy knowledge, like the moonlight night:
But I answer, Abstain from thus addressing me, since there is no knowledge without power:
For if they would pawn me, and my knowledge with me, and all my papers and inkhorn too,
For one day's food, they would never find the pledge accepted to the day of judgment.
As for the poor, and his condition, and his whole life, how full of trouble!
In the summer he fails to earn his food, and in winter he warms himself over the fire-pot.2
The dogs follow him wherever he goes, and any reviler, and he cannot repel him.
If he states his case, and proves himself wronged, the judge will not admit his plea.
Such, then, being the poor man's life, his fittest place is in the burial-ground.3
The Khaleefeh, when he heard his recitation, said to Ja?far, Observe this poor man, and consider these verses; for they indicate his necessity. Then approaching the man, he said to him, O sheykh, what is thine occupation?—O my master, answered the old man, I am a fisherman, and have a family to maintain, and I went forth from my house at noon, and have remained until now, but God hath allotted me nothing wherewith to obtain food for my household; therefore I have hated myself, and wished for death.—Wilt thou, said the Khaleefeh, return with us to the river, and station thyself on the bank of the Tigris, and cast thy net for my luck? If thou wilt do so I will purchase of thee whatever cometh up for a hundred pieces of gold.—The fisherman rejoiced when he heard these words, and said, On my head be your commands: I will return with you.—So he went again to the river, and cast his net, and, having waited till it sank, drew the cords, and dragged back the net, and there came up in it a chest, locked and heavy. When the Khaleefeh saw it, he felt its weight, and found it to be heavy; and he gave a hundred pieces of gold to the fisherman, who went away, while Mesroor, assisted by Ja?far, took up the chest, and conveyed it, in company with the Khaleefeh, to the palace, where they lighted the candles, and placed the chest before the Khaleefeh. Ja?far and Mesroor then broke it open, and they found in it a basket of palm-leaves sewed up with red worsted; and they cut the threads, and saw within it a piece of carpet, and, lifting up this, they found beneath it an izár,4 and when they had taken up the izár they discovered under it a damsel like molten silver, killed, and cut in pieces.
 
When the Khaleefeh beheld this, tears ran down his cheeks, and, looking towards Ja?far, he exclaimed, O dog of Wezeers, shall people be murdered in my time, and be thrown into the river, and become224 burdens upon my responsibility? By Allah, I must retaliate for this damsel upon him who killed her, and put him to death!—Then said he to Ja?far, By the truth of my descent from the Khaleefehs of the sons of El-'Abbás, if thou do not bring to me him who killed this woman, that I may avenge her upon him, I will crucify thee at the gate of my palace, together with forty of thy kinsmen!5 And the Khaleefeh was enraged.—Grant me, said Ja?far, a delay of three days.—I grant thee the delay, replied the Khaleefeh. Ja?far then went forth from his presence, and took his route through the city, sorrowful, and saying within himself, How shall I discover him who killed this damsel, that I may take him before the Khaleefeh? And if I take to him any other person, he will become a weight upon my conscience. I know not what to do.—For three days he remained in his house, and on the fourth day the Khaleefeh sent to summon him, and, when he had presented himself before him, said to him, Where is the murderer of the damsel?—O Prince of the Faithful, answered Ja?far, am I acquainted with things hidden from the senses, that I should know who is her murderer? The Khaleefeh, incensed at this answer, gave orders to crucify him at the gate of his palace, and commanded a crier to proclaim through the streets of Baghdád, Whosoever desireth to amuse himself by seeing the crucifixion of Ja?far El-Barmekee, the Wezeer of the Khaleefeh, and the crucifixion of his kinsmen, at the gate of the Khaleefeh's palace, let him come forth and amuse himself.—So the people came forth from every quarter to see the crucifixion of Ja?far and his kinsmen; and they knew not the cause of this. The Khaleefeh then gave orders to set up the crosses; and they did so, and placed the Wezeer and his kinsmen beneath, to crucify them, and were awaiting the Khaleefeh's permission, while the people wept for Ja?far and his relatives.
 
But while they were thus waiting, a handsome and neatly-dressed young man came forward quickly through the crowd, and, approaching the Wezeer, said to him, Safety to thee from this predicament, O chief of Emeers, and refuge of the poor! It was I who killed the woman whom ye found in the chest: kill me therefore for her, and retaliate her death upon me.—When Ja?far heard these words, he rejoiced for his own deliverance, and grieved for the young man: but while he was speaking to him, lo, an old sheykh pressed hastily through the crowd to him and the young man, and, having saluted them, said, O Wezeer, believe not the words of this young man, for no one killed the damsel but myself; therefore retaliate her death upon225 me. The young man, however, said, O Wezeer, this is an old man, imbecile through age; he knoweth not what he saith: it was I who killed her; avenge her therefore upon me.—O my son, said the sheykh, thou art young, and wilt find pleasure in the world; and I am old, and satiated with the world: I will be a ransom for thee and for the Wezeer and his kinsmen; and no one killed the damsel but myself: by Allah, therefore, hasten to retaliate upon me.
 
On witnessing this scene, the Wezeer was astonished; and he took the young man and the sheykh to the Khaleefeh, and said, O Prince of the Faithful, the murderer of the damsel hath come.—Where is he? said the Khaleefeh. This young man, answered Ja?far, saith, I am the murderer;—and this sheykh accuseth him of falsehood, and saith, Nay, but I am the murderer.—The Khaleefeh, looking towards the sheykh and the young man, said, Which of you killed this damsel? The young man answered, No one killed her but myself:—and the sheykh said also, No one killed her but myself. The Khaleefeh therefore said to Ja?far, Take them both and crucify them.—If the murderer be one, replied Ja?far, to kill the other would be unjust. The young man then said, By Him who raised the heavens and spread out the earth, it was I who killed the damsel:—and he gave an account of the manner of his killing her, and described what the Khaleefeh had found. The Khaleefeh therefore was convinced that the young man was he who had killed the damsel; and he was astonished, and said, What was the cause of thy killing this damsel unjustly, and of thy confessing the murder without being beaten,6 and thy saying, Retaliate her death upon me? The young man answered as follows:—
 
The Young Man presenting the Apples to his Wife
Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that this damsel was my wife, and the daughter of my uncle: this sheykh was her father, and is my uncle. I married her when she was a virgin, and God blessed me with three male children by her; and she loved me and served me, and I saw in her no evil. At the commencement of this month she was attacked by a severe illness, and I brought to her the physicians, who attended her until her health returned to her; and I desired them to send her to the bath; but she said to me, I want something before I enter the bath, for I have a longing for it.—What is it? said I. She answered, I have a longing for an apple, to smell it, and take a bite from it. So I went out immediately into the city, and searched for the apple, and would have bought it had its price been a piece of gold: but I could not find one. I passed the next night full of226 thought, and when the morning came I quitted my house again and went about to all the gardens, one after another; yet I found none in them. There met me, however, an old gardener, of whom I inquired for the apple, and he said to me, O my son, this is a rare thing, and not to be found here, nor anywhere except in the garden of the Prince of the Faithful at El-Ba?rah, and preserved there for the Khaleefeh. I returned therefore to my wife, and my love for her so constrained me that I prepared myself and journeyed fifteen days, by night and day, in going and returning, and brought her three apples which I purchased of the gardener at El-Ba?rah for three pieces of gold; and, going in, I handed them to her; but she was not pleased by them,227 and left them by her side. She was then suffering from a violent fever, and she continued ill during a period of ten days.
 
After this she recovered her health, and I went out and repaired to my shop, and sat there to sell and buy;7 and while I was thus occupied, at mid-day there passed by me a black slave, having in his hand an apple, with which he was playing: so I said to him, Whence didst thou get this apple, for I would procure one like it?—Upon which he laughed, and answered, I got it from my sweetheart: I had been absent, and came, and found her ill, and she had three apples; and she said to me, My unsuspecting husband journeyed to El-Ba?rah for them, and bought them for three pieces of gold:—and I took this apple from her.—When I heard the words of the slave, O Prince of the Faithful, the world became black before my face, and I shut up my shop, and returned to my house, deprived of my reason by excessive rage. I found not the third apple, and said to her, Where is the apple? She answered, I know not whither it is gone. I was convinced thus that the slave had spoken the truth, and I arose, and took a knife, and throwing myself upon her bosom, plunged the knife into her: I then cut off her head and limbs, and put them in the basket in haste, and covered them with the izár, over which I laid a piece of carpet: then I put the basket in the chest, and, having locked this, conveyed it on my mule, and threw it with my own hands into the Tigris.8
 
And now, continued the young man, I conjure thee by Allah, O Prince of the Faithful, to hasten my death in retaliation for her murder, as I dread, otherwise, her appeal for vengeance upon me on the day of resurrection:9 for when I had thrown her into the Tigris without the knowledge of any one, I returned to my house, and found my eldest boy crying, though he knew not what I had done to his mother: so I said to him, What maketh thee cry?—and he answered, I took one of the apples that my mother had, and went down with it into the street to play with my brothers, and a tall black slave snatched it from me, and said to me, Whence came this to thee? I answered him, My father made a journey for it, and brought it from El-Ba?rah, for the sake of my mother; for she is sick: he bought three apples for three pieces of gold:—but he took it from me and beat me, and went away with it; and I am afraid that my mother may beat me on account of the apple.—When I heard my son's story, I discovered that the slave had forged a lie against the daughter of my uncle, and found that she had been killed unjustly; and as I was weeping228 bitterly for what I had done, this sheykh, my uncle and her father, came to me, and I informed him of the event; and he seated himself by me, and wept. We wept until midnight, and continued our mourning for her five days, ceasing not to the present day to bewail her death. By the honour of thine ancestors, therefore, hasten my death, to retaliate her murder upon me.
 
The Khaleefeh wondered at the young man's story, and said, By Allah, I will not put to death any but the wicked slave; for the young man is excusable. Then looking towards Ja?far, he said to him, Bring before me this wicked slave who hath been the cause of the catastrophe; or, if thou bring him not, thou shalt be put to death in his stead. So the Wezeer departed weeping, and saying, Whence shall I bring him? Not every time that the jar is struck doth it escape being broken! I have no stratagem to employ in this affair: but He who delivered me in the first case may deliver me in the second. By Allah, I will not go out from my house for three days; and the Truth, whose perfection be extolled, will do what He willeth!—So he remained in his house three days, and on the fourth day he caused the ?á?ee to be brought, and made his testamentary arrangements; and as he was bidding farewell to his children, and weeping, lo, the messenger of the Khaleefeh came and said to him, The Prince of the Faithful is in a most violent rage, and hath sent me to thee; and he hath sworn that this day shall not pass until thou art put to death if thou do not bring to him the slave.
 
On hearing this, Ja?far wept, and his children wept with him; and when he had bidden them all farewell except his youngest daughter, he approached her for the same purpose. He loved her more than all his other children; and he pressed her to his bosom, and wept at the thought of his separation from her; but, in doing this, he felt something round in her pocket, and said to her, What is in thy pocket? She answered, O my father, it is an apple; our slave Rey?an10 brought it, and I have had it four days; he would not give it me until he had received from me two pieces of gold.—At this mention of the slave and the apple, Ja?far rejoiced, and exclaimed, O ready Dispeller of trouble!11—and immediately he ordered that the slave should be brought before him. He was therefore brought in, and he said to him, Whence came this apple?—O my master, he answered, I went out five days ago, and, entering one of the by-streets of the city, I saw some children playing, and one of them had this apple: and I snatched it from him, and beat him; and he cried, and229 said, That belongs to my mother, and she is sick: she wanted my father to bring her an apple, and he made a journey to El-Ba?rah, and brought back for her three apples which he bought for three pieces of gold; and I took this to play with it:—then he cried again; but, paying no regard to him, I took it away and brought it hither; and my little mistress bought it of me for two pieces of gold.—When he heard this story, Ja?far was filled with wonder at discovering that this distressing event, and the murder of the damsel, had been occasioned by his slave; and he took the slave and went with him to the Khaleefeh, who ordered that the story should be committed to writing, and published.
 
The Wezeer finding the Apple
Ja?far then said to him, Wonder not, O Prince of the Faithful, at his tale, for it is not more extraordinary than the story of the Wezeer230 Noor-ed-Deen, and Shems-ed-Deen, his brother.—What story, said the Khaleefeh, can be more wonderful than this?—O Prince of the Faithful, replied Ja?far, I will not relate it to thee unless on the condition that thou exempt my slave from the punishment of death. The Khaleefeh said, I give thee his blood:—and Ja?far, thereupon, commenced the relation of the story as follows:—
 
THE STORY OF NOOR-ED-DEEN AND HIS SON, AND OF SHEMS-ED-DEEN AND HIS DAUGHTER.
 
Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that there was, in Cairo,12 a Sul?án,13 just and beneficent, who had a wise and well-informed Wezeer, possessing a knowledge of the affairs of the world, and of the art of government. This minister was an aged man, and he had two sons, like two moons: the name of the elder was Shems-ed-Deen, and that of the younger, Noor-ed-Deen;14 and the latter was more distinguished than the former by handsomeness and comeliness: there was no one in his day more handsome, so that the fame of his charms spread through the neighbouring regions, and some of the inhabitants of those parts travelled to his country merely to obtain a sight of him. And it came to pass that their father died, and the Sul?án mourned for him, and, turning his regards towards the two sons, took them into his favour, invested them with robes of honour, and said to them, Ye two are instated in your father's office:—at which they rejoiced, and kissed the ground before him. They observed the ceremonies of mourning15 for their father during a period of a whole month, and entered upon the office of Wezeers, each of them discharging the duties of this station for a week at a time; and whenever the Sul?án had a desire to go forth on a journey, he took one of them with him.
 
Now it happened, one night, that the Sul?án purposed commencing a journey on the following morning; and it was the turn of the elder Wezeer to accompany him; and as the two brothers were conversing together that night, the elder said, O my brother, it is my wish that we should both marry on one night.—Do, O my brother, as thou desirest, answered the younger; and I will comply with that which thou shalt say. So they agreed to do this. The elder then said to his brother, If God so decree that we obtain the betrothal of two maidens, and accomplish our marriage on the same night, and they231 give birth to children on the same day, and God will that thy wife have a son, and my wife have a daughter, we will marry them to each other, for they will be cousins.—And what, O my brother, said Noor-ed-Deen, wilt thou require of my son as the dowry of thy daughter? He answered, I will require of thy son, as the dowry of my daughter, three thousand pieces of gold, and three gardens, and three farms; for if the young man make any other contract than this, it will not be proper. But when Noor-ed-Deen heard this proposal, he exclaimed, What is this dowry that thou imposest upon my son? Dost thou not know that we are two brothers, and that we are both Wezeers, of one dignity? It were incumbent on thee to offer thy daughter to my son as a free gift, without any dowry; for thou knowest that the male is more honourable than the female, and my child is a male, and by him shall our memory be preserved: not by thy daughter.—What sayest thou of her? asked his brother.—That our memory will not be preserved by her among the nobles, answered Noor-ed-Deen. But thou desirest, added he, to act with me according to the opinion of him who saith, If thou desire to drive away a person who would buy, demand of him a high price.—I see thee, replied Shems-ed-Deen, to have committed a fault, in making thy son more honourable than my daughter: thou art doubtless deficient in judgment, and destitute of good disposition, seeing that thou mentionest the partnership in the office of Wezeer, when I admitted thee not to share it with me excepting in my pity for thee, and that thou mightest assist me: but talk as thou wilt: since thou hast said this, by Allah, I will not marry my daughter to thy son, though thou offer me her weight in gold.—On hearing these words of his brother, Noor-ed-Deen was enraged, and said, I will not marry my son to thy daughter.—I will not accept him as a husband for her, replied Shems-ed-Deen; and if I were not purposing a journey, I would do to thee deeds that should serve as warnings to others: however, when I return, God will do what He willeth.—When Noor-ed-Deen heard this, he was full of anger, and became unconscious of existence: but he concealed his feelings; and each of the two brothers passed the night apart from the other; and in the morning the Sul?án set out on his journey, and, crossing over to the island,16 proceeded towards the Pyramids, accompanied by the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen.
 
Noor-ed-Deen passed that night in a state of the utmost rage; and when the morning came he arose, and, having performed the morning-prayers, went to his closet and took out from it a pair of small saddle-bags, which he filled with gold; and as he reflected upon the words of232 his brother, and the contempt which he had shewn him, and the pride that he had manifested towards him, he repeated these verses:—
 
Travel. Thou wilt find a friend in the place of him thou leavest; and fatigue thyself; for by labour are the sweets of life obtained.
To a man of intelligence and education there is no glory in a constant residence: therefore quit thy native place, and go abroad.
I have observed that the stagnation of water corrupteth it; if it floweth, it becometh sweet; but otherwise, it doth not.
If the full moon never set, the eye of the contemplative would not on every occasion pay regard to it:
The lions, if they left not the forest, would capture no prey; and the arrow, if it quitted not the bow, would not strike the mark:
The grains of gold upon their native bed are regarded as mere dust; and the aloes-wood, where it groweth, is a kind of firewood:
If exported, it becometh an object of high demand; but if not, it attaineth no kind of distinction.
He then ordered one of his young men to saddle for him a dapple mule, tall, and of quick pace; and he did so, placing upon her a saddle adorned with gold, with stirrups of Indian steel, and housings of the velvet of I?pahán; and she resembled a bride displayed before her husband. He ordered him also to place upon her a carpet of silk, and a prayer-carpet,17 and to put the saddle-bags beneath the latter; and when this was done, he said to the young man and the slaves, I have a desire to take a ride for my amusement outside the city, towards the province of ?alyoob, and shall be absent three nights; and let none of you follow me, for my heart is contracted.
 
The Pyramids
Having thus said, he mounted his mule in haste, and, taking with him a small supply of food, departed from the city, turning his face towards the open country. The hour of noon overtook him not until233 he entered the city of Bilbeys, where he alighted to repose himself and rest his mule, and ate; after which he took from this place what he required for himself, and some provender for his mule, and, having placed these provisions upon her, went forth again into the plain, and before noon on the second following day, he entered Jerusalem.18 Here he alighted again, and rested himself and his beast, and ate: he then placed his saddle-bags under his head, and spread his carpet, and slept, still overcome by anger. He passed the night in this place; and in the morning he remounted, and he continued to urge on his mule until he arrived at Aleppo,19 where he alighted at a ?hán, and remained three days to give rest to himself and his mule, and to enjoy the air of the place: which having done, he determined to prosecute 234his journey, and mounted his mule, and went forth. He knew not whither to direct his course; but travelled on until he arrived at the city of El-Ba?rah; and scarcely was he aware that the night had overtaken him, when he alighted there at a Khán, where he took off the saddle-bags from the mule, and spread the prayer-carpet, committing the mule, with her equipage, to the care of the door-keeper, and ordering him to walk her about a little.
 
The Mule of Noor-ed-Deen
The door-keeper did so; and it happened that the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah, sitting at a window of his palace, saw the mule, and, observing her costly equipage, thought that she must belong to some Wezeer or King; and as he attentively regarded her he was surprised, and said to one of his pages, Bring before me that door-keeper. So the page went and brought him; and the door-keeper, approaching, kissed the ground before him. The Wezeer, who was an aged person, then said to this man, Who is the owner of this mule, and what is his appearance?—O my lord, answered the door-keeper, her owner is a young man of elegant person, of the sons of the merchants, and of a dignified and grave aspect. On hearing this, the Wezeer arose, and, mounting his horse,20 went to the Khán, and introduced himself to the young man, who, as soon as he saw him approaching, rose to meet him, and embraced him. The Wezeer, after he had alighted from his horse, saluted him and welcomed him, and, seating him by his side, said to him, Whence, O my son, hast thou come; and for what purpose?—O my lord, answered Noor-ed-Deen, I have come from the city of Cairo: my father was Wezeer there; and he hath departed to receive the mercy of God;—and he informed him of all that had happened to him from first to last, adding, I have determined that I will not return until I shall have seen all the cities and countries of the world.—O my son, replied the Wezeer, obey not the suggestions of thy mind, lest thou expose thyself to destruction; for the countries are waste, and I fear on thy account the issues of fortune. So saying, he ordered that the saddle-bags should be placed again on the mule, together with the carpet of silk and the prayer-carpet, and took Noor-ed-Deen with him to his house, where he lodged him in an elegant apartment, and treated him with honour and kindness; and, conceiving a strong affection for him, said to him, O my son, I have become an old man, and I have no male child; God, however, hath blessed me with a daughter who resembleth thee in comeliness, and I have rejected many persons who have been her suitors: but now, love for thee hath entered my heart; wilt thou then take my daughter as thy hand-maid to serve thee, and235 be her husband? If thou consent to this, I will go up to the Sul?án of El-Ba?rah, and will say to him, This is the son of my brother;—and I will introduce thee to him, that I may make thee Wezeer in my place, and I will remain in my house; for I am now aged.—Noor-ed-Deen, on hearing this proposal of the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah, hung down his head, and then answered, I hear and obey.
 
Noor-ed-Deen after the Bath
The Wezeer rejoiced at his assent, and ordered his servants to prepare for him a repast, and to decorate the great saloon21 which was furnished for the reception of the chiefs of the Emeers. He then called together his friends, and invited the great officers of the state, and the merchants of El-Ba?rah; and when they had come into his presence, he said to them, I had a brother who was Wezeer in the land of Egypt, and God blessed him with two sons; and me, as ye know, He hath blessed with a daughter: now my brother enjoined me to marry my daughter to one of his sons, and I consented to do so; and when she attained a fit age for marriage, he sent to me one of his sons, who is this young man here present. As soon, therefore, as he had come, I desired to perform the marriage-contract between him and my daughter, and that he should introduce himself to her here in my house.—Excellently hast thou done! they replied. They then drank sherbet of sugar, and the pages sprinkled rose-water upon them, and they departed: after which, the Wezeer ordered his servants to conduct Noor-en-Deen to the bath, and gave him a suit of his best clothes,22 and sent to him the napkins and cups and perfuming-vessels, and everything else that he required. So when he came out from the bath, he put on the suit of clothes, and appeared like the full moon; and he mounted his mule, and, returning to the palace, alighted and presented himself before the Wezeer, and kissed his hand: and the Wezeer welcomed him, saying, Arise, and introduce thyself this night to thy236 wife; and to-morrow I will go up with thee to the Sul?án, and I pray that God may bless thee with every kind of happiness. Noor-ed-Deen therefore arose, and went to his wife, the daughter of the Wezeer.—Thus did it happen to Noor-ed-Deen.
 
As to his brother, he continued a while journeying with the Sul?án, and when he returned, and found not his brother, he inquired of the servants respecting him, and they answered, On the day of thy departure with the Sul?án, he mounted his mule, caparisoned as for a procession of state, and said, I am going towards the province of ?alyoob, and shall be absent a day or two days; for my heart is contracted; therefore let none of you follow me:—and from the day on which he went forth, to the present day, we have heard no tidings of him. Upon this the heart of Shems-ed-Deen was troubled at the separation of his brother, and he grieved excessively for his loss, saying within himself, The cause of this is nothing else than my having spoken harshly to him in my conversation on the night before my departure with the Sul?án; and probably his mind was disturbed, and he went on a journey: I must therefore send after him. He then went up and related this event to the Sul?án, who wrote letters and sent them to his vicegerents in all the provinces: but Noor-ed-Deen had traversed distant regions during the absence of his brother with the Sul?án: therefore the messengers, when they had gone with the letters, returned without having obtained any information respecting him. So Shems-ed-Deen despaired of his brother, and said, I have enraged my brother by what I said to him concerning the marriage of the children. Would that I had not done so! This was not occasioned but by my want of sense and judgment!—And soon after this, he demanded in marriage the daughter of one of the merchants of Cairo, and performed the marriage-contract between himself and her, and introduced himself to her: and it happened that the night when this event took place was the same night on which Noor-ed-Deen introduced himself to his wife, the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah: this being in accordance with the will of God, whose name be exalted, that He might execute his decree upon his creatures.
 
The event was as they both had said: for it came to pass that the two wives conceived by them: the wife of Shems-ed-Deen, the Wezeer, of Egypt, gave birth to a daughter, than whom there was not seen, in that country, one more beautiful; and the wife of Noor-ed-Deen gave birth to a son, one more beautiful than whom was not seen in his time: as the poet hath said:237—
 
If beauty came to be compared with him, it would hang down its head in shame;
Or if it were said, O beauty, hast thou seen the like?—it would answer, The equal of this I have not.
So they named him ?asan;23 and on the seventh day after his birth, they made entertainments and spread repasts such as were fit for the sons of Kings24 after which the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah took with him Noor-ed-Deen, and went up with him to the Sul?án; and when he came into his presence he kissed the ground before him; and Noor-ed-Deen, being eloquent in tongue, and firm of heart, and comely in person and in actions, recited these words of the poet:—
 
This is he whose justice extendeth to all men, and who hath overrun and subdued every region.
Be thankful for his benefits; for they are not mere benefits; but they are strings of jewels on the necks of his people;
And kiss his fingers; for they are not mere fingers; but they are the keys of the supplies of Providence.
The Sul?án treated them both with honour, and, having thanked Noor-ed-Deen for his address, said to his Wezeer, Who is this young man? The Wezeer therefore related to him his story from beginning to end, and added, This is the son of my brother.—How is it, said the Sul?án, that he is the son of thy brother, and we have not before heard of him? The Wezeer answered, O our lord the Sul?án, I had a brother who was Wezeer in the land of Egypt, and he died, leaving two sons: the elder succeeded to his father's office, as Wezeer, and this his younger son came to me; and I swore that I would not marry my daughter to any but him: so, when he came, I married him to her. He is a young man, and I am now aged; my hearing is impaired, and my judgment faileth: it is my wish, therefore, that our lord the Sul?án would instate him in my office, seeing that he is the son of my brother and the husband of my daughter, and a person worthy of the dignity of Wezeer; for he is endowed with knowledge and judgment.—The Sul?án, upon this, looked towards him, and, being pleased with him, approved of the advice of the Wezeer that he should promote him to that office; so he bestowed it upon him, and ordered that a magnificent dress of honour should be given to him, and one of the best of the mules upon which he was himself accustomed to ride, allotting him also supplies and salaries; and Noor-ed-Deen kissed the hand of the Sul?án, and descended with his father-in-law to their house, both in high delight, and saying, Verily the birth of this child is fortunate. On the following day Noor-ed-Deen went again to the King, and kissed the ground, and the Sul?án ordered him to sit in the place of238 the Wezeer: so he sat, and occupied himself with the affairs of his office, and examined the cases of the people, and their suits, according to the custom of Wezeers: and the Sul?án, observing him, was surprised at his conduct, and the acuteness of his understanding, and his good judgment. He attentively considered his qualities, and loved him, and advanced him in his favour: and when the court was dissolved, Noor-ed-Deen returned to his house, and related what had passed to his father-in-law, who was rejoiced at hearing it.
 
The Old Wezeer instructing his Grandchild
The old Wezeer ceased not to superintend the rearing of the child, who was named ?asan, for many days, while Noor-ed-Deen was constantly occupied with the affairs of his office, so that he left not the Sul?án by day nor by night; and the King increased his salaries and supplies until his circumstances became ample: he had ships which made voyages under his orders with merchandise and other things, and he founded numerous estates, and made water-wheels25 and gardens. Thus did he until his son ?asan was four years of age, when the old Wezeer, the father of his wife, died; and he conveyed his corpse with great pomp, and decently deposited it in the earth. He then turned his thoughts towards the education of his son; and when the child had gained strength, he brought him a tutor to teach him in his own house, charging him to instruct him and educate him well; and the tutor did so, and taught him various useful sciences, after he had passed some years in learning the ?ur-án. ?asan meanwhile increased in loveliness and beauty, and elegance of person. The tutor continued239 to educate him in his father's palace; and from the time that he arrived at adolescence he went not out of the Wezeer's palace, until his father took him one day, and, having clad him in one of the richest of his dresses, mounted him on one of his best mules, and conducted him to the Sul?án, and introduced him. When the King beheld ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen,26 the son of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, he was astonished at his beauty; and the people, when he passed by them for the first time, going up with his father to the King, were amazed at his surpassing beauty and loveliness, and elegance of person. The Sul?án, as soon as he saw him, loved him, and bestowed marks of favour upon him, and said to his father, O Wezeer, thou must bring him with thee every day. The Wezeer answered, I hear and obey;—and returned with his son to his abode; and he continued every day to go up with him to the Sul?án until the youth attained the age of fifteen years.
 
His father, the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, then fell sick, and called him into his presence, and said to him, O my son, know that this world is a perishable abode, and the world to come is an everlasting abode. I wish to give thee some precepts, and do thou understand what I am about to say to thee, and incline thy heart to it.—And he began to counsel him respecting the proper mode of conducting himself in society, and the due management of his affairs; and when he had done so, he reflected upon his brother and his native place and country, and wept at the thought of his separation from those he loved; his tears flowing: and he said, O my son, hear my words. I have a brother27 in Cairo, and I quitted him and departed against his will.—He then took a piece of paper,28 and wrote upon it all that had happened to him from first to last, together with the date of his marriage and introduction to the daughter of the Wezeer, and the date of his arrival at El-Ba?rah and his interview with its Wezeer; and, having added some strict admonition, he said to his son, Keep this charge, for the paper on which it is written containeth an account of thine origin and thy rank and lineage; and if any evil accident befall thee, repair to Cairo, and inquire for thine uncle, and salute him, and inform him that I died in a strange land, ardently desiring that I could see him. Therefore ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen took the paper, and, having folded it, and wrapped it in a piece of waxed cloth,29 sewed it between the lining and the outer cloth of his cap,30 and wept for his father, that he should be parted from him in his youth.
 
Noor-ed-Deen then said to his son,31 I charge thee that thou be240 not familiar with any one; for in retirement is security. Divinely gifted was the poet who said,—
 
There is none in thy time whose friendship thou shouldst covet; nor any intimate who, when fortune is treacherous, will be faithful.
Live then apart, and rely upon no man: I have given thee, in these words, good advice, and sufficient.
Accustom thyself to taciturnity: occupy thyself with thine own affairs, and use not many words: for the poet saith,—
 
Taciturnity is an ornament, and in silence is security: therefore, when thou speakest, be not loquacious:
For if thou repent once of thy silence, thou wilt assuredly repent many times of thy speech.
Beware of drinking wine; for it is the source of every kind of mischief. The poet32 saith on this subject,—
 
I have abandoned wine and those who drink it; and have become the friend of such as condemn it.
Wine leadeth astray from the path of rectitude, and openeth the doors to evil.
Hate no man, and oppress none; for oppression is base. The poet saith,—
 
Oppress not if thou hast the power to do so; for oppression will eventually bring thee repentance:
Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call for vengeance upon thee; and the eye of God sleepeth not.
Despise thy wealth, but not thyself: yet bestow not wealth save upon him who deserveth it. If thou keep it, it will keep thee; but if thou squander it, it will ruin thee; and then wilt thou need the assistance of the least of mankind. It hath been said by the poet,—
 
When my wealth faileth, no friend assisteth me; but when it aboundeth, all men are my friends.
How many enemies for the sake of wealth have consorted with me! And my companion, in the time of want, hath abandoned me!
In this manner he continued to admonish his son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen until his spirit departed. The house became a scene of mourning, and the Sul?án and all the Emeers grieved for him; and they buried him. They continued their mourning during a period of two months, and the son of Noor-ed-Deen rode not out nor went to the court nor presented himself before the Sul?án; and the King instated one of the Chamberlains in his place, and appointed a new Wezeer in the place of his father, and ordered this Wezeer to put seals upon all the houses of Noor-ed-Deen, and upon his wealth and all his buildings and other possessions.33 So the new Wezeer went with the Chamber241lains to the house of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, to seal its door and to arrest his son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, and bring him before the Sul?án, that he might do to him what his judgment required. But there was among the troops one of the memlooks of the deceased Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen; and he could not endure that the son of his master should be thus treated: he therefore repaired to ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, whom he found with downcast head and mourning heart, on account of the death of his father, and acquainted him with what had passed. ?asan asked him, Will the execution of the order be delayed long enough for me to enter my house,34 and take somewhat of my worldly possessions by which to obtain support during my exile? But the memlook answered, Save thyself:—and when ?asan heard these words, he covered his head with the skirt of his robe, and, going forth on foot, fled of the city: and he heard the people saying, The Sul?án hath sent the new Wezeer to the house of the deceased Wezeer, to seal his wealth and other possessions, and to arrest his son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, and bring him before him that he may put him to death:—and the people were mourning for him on account of his beauty and loveliness. So when he heard what they said, he took a course that he had not intended, and, not knowing whither to go, walked on until destiny urged him to the tomb of his father.
 
Noor-ed-Deen and his Son
Entering the burial-ground, he bent his way among the tombs until he seated himself at that of his father, where he removed his skirt from over his head. And as he was sitting there, a Jew of El-Ba?rah approached, and said to him, Wherefore, O my master, do I see thee thus changed? He answered, I was just now sleeping, and I beheld my father reproaching me for having failed to visit his tomb:242 wherefore I rose in alarm, fearing that the day would pass without my visiting it, and so the occurrence would distress me. The Jew then said to him, O my master, thy father despatched some vessels with merchandise, and some of them have returned; and it is my wish to purchase of thee the cargo of every vessel that hath arrived for a thousand pieces of gold;—and so saying, he took out a purse filled with gold, and counted out from it a thousand pieces, which he paid to ?asan the son of the Wezeer, and said to him, Write me a paper, and seal it. So ?asan took a paper, and wrote upon it, The writer of this paper, ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of the Wezeer Noor-ed-Deen, hath sold to the Jew such a one the whole cargo of every one of his father's vessels that hath returned from her voyage, for a thousand pieces of gold, and hath received the price in advance. And after he had taken a copy35 of it, the Jew went away with the paper; and ?asan wept, reflecting upon his former state of dignity and favour. At length the night closed in upon him, and sleep overtook him, and he remained asleep at his father's tomb until the moon rose when his head rolled from the tomb, and he lay and slept on his back, his face shining in the moonlight.
 
Bedr-ed-Deen at his Father's Tomb
Now the burial-ground was inhabited by believing Jinn; and a Jinneeyeh, coming forth, saw the face of ?asan as he lay asleep, and when she beheld him, was surprised at his beauty and loveliness, and exclaimed, Extolled be Allah's perfection! This youth is like none but the virgins of paradise!—She then soared into the air, to perform her accustomed circuits, and saw an 'Efreet on his flight. She saluted him, and he returned her salutation; and she said to him, Whence comest thou? He answered from Cairo:—and she said to him, Wilt thou go with me to behold the beauty of the youth who is sleeping in the burial-ground? He replied, Yes. So they went together; and when they had descended into the burial-ground, she said to him, Hast thou seen in the course of thy life a person like this?—And the 'Efreet looked upon him, and exclaimed, Extolled be the perfection of Him unto whom none is to be compared! But, O my sister, he added, if thou desire, I will relate to thee what I have seen.—Tell me, she replied: so he said, I have seen a person resembling this youth in the land of Egypt; and that person is the daughter of the Wezeer. The King had heard of her, and demanded her of her father, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen, in marriage; but he answered him, O our lord the Sul?án, accept my excuse, and pity my grief; for thou knowest that my brother Noor-ed-Deen departed from us, and we know not243 where he is; and that he shared with me the office of Wezeer; and the cause of his departure was this, that I was sitting conversing with him on the subject of marriage, and he was angry with me, and in anger went away:—and he related to the King all that had passed between them; adding, This was the cause of his indignation, and I have been under an oath that I will not marry my daughter to any but the son of my brother from the day that her mother gave birth to her; and that was about fifteen years ago: and lately I heard that my brother had married the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah, and obtained a son by her; and I will not marry my daughter to any but him, in honour of my brother. After I had heard this, I recorded the244 date of my marriage, and of my wife's conception, and of the birth of this daughter: she is intended for the son of her uncle; and of other maidens there are plenty.—But when the Sul?án heard these words of the Wezeer, he was violently enraged, and said, How is it that such a one as myself demandeth in marriage a daughter from one like thee, and thou withholdest her from him, and excusest thyself by an absurd pretext? By my head, I will not marry her but to one of less consideration than myself, in scorn of thy pride!—And the King had a humpbacked groom, with a hump before and a hump behind; and he ordered him to be brought, and affianced him to the daughter of the Wezeer, commanding that he should introduce himself to her this night, and be conducted in pompous procession. I left him in the midst of the memlooks of the Sul?án, who were surrounding him with lighted candles in their hands, laughing at him and mocking him, at the door of the bath, while the daughter of the Wezeer was sitting weeping in the midst of the dye-women36 and tire-women.37 She resembles more than any other person this youth. They have prohibited her father from going to her; and I have never seen, O my sister, a more ugly wretch than this humpback: but as to the maiden, she is more beautiful than this youth.
 
To this story of the 'Efreet, the Jinneeyeh answered, Thou liest; for this youth is the most beautiful of the people of his age. But the 'Efreet replied, By Allah, O my sister, the maiden is more beautiful than he: however, none but he is suited to her; for they resemble each other, and probably are brother and sister, or cousins; and how will she be thrown away upon this humpback! She therefore said to him, O my brother, let us place ourselves beneath him and lift him up and take him to the maiden of whom thou speakest, and see which of the two is more beautiful. The 'Efreet answered, I hear and obey: this proposal is right, and there can be no better determination than this which thou hast chosen; therefore I will carry him. So he lifted him up, and soared into the sky, and the Jinneeyeh flew by his side until he descended with him in the city of Cairo, where he placed him upon a ma??abah,38 and roused him from his sleep.39
 
When, therefore, he awoke, and found that he was not at his father's tomb in the land of El-Ba?rah, he looked to the right and left, and perceived that he was in a city that was not El-Ba?rah, and would have cried out, but the 'Efreet winked to him, and, lighting for him a candle, said to him, Know that I have brought thee hither, and I desire to do thee a service for the sake of God: take, therefore, this245 candle, and go with it to yonder bath, and mix with the people there, and proceed with them until thou arrivest at the saloon of the bride; then go before, and enter the saloon, and fear no one; and when thou hast entered, station thyself on the right of the humpbacked bridegroom; and whenever the tire-women and singing-women and dye-women come to thee, put thy hand into thy pocket: thou wilt find it full of gold, and do thou take it by the handful and throw it to them; and imagine not that thou wilt put thy hand in and not find it filled with gold: give therefore to every one who cometh to thee by the handful, and fear nothing; but rely upon Him who created thee; for this will not be through thine own strength or power, but through the strength of God, and his power.
 
The 'Efreet, attended by the Jinneeyeh, carrying off Bedr-ed-Deen
On hearing these words of the 'Efreet, ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen said, What is this event, and what manner of kindness is this? And he went with his candle to the bath, where he found the humpback mounted on his horse; and he joined himself to the party, in the246 same garb in which he had arrived, and with the same comely appearance; being attired with a ?arboosh40 and turban, and a farajeeyeh41 interwoven with gold. He proceeded with the pompous train, and every time that the singing-women stopped for the people to give them money, he put his hand into his pocket, and found it filled with gold, and took it by the handful and threw it into the tambourine,42 for the singing-women and tire-women, filling the tambourine with pieces of gold: and the singing-women were amazed, and the people wondered at his beauty and loveliness. Thus he continued to do until they arrived at the house of the Wezeer, when the chamberlains drove back the people, and prevented their entrance; but the singing-women and tire-women said, By Allah, we will not enter unless this youth enter with us, for he hath overwhelmed us with his favours, and the bride shall not be displayed unless he be present:—and upon this they entered with him into the saloon of the festivity, and seated him, in spite of the humpbacked bridegroom. All the ladies of the Emeers and Wezeers and Chamberlains were ranged in two rows, each lady holding a large lighted candle, and having her head-veil drawn across the lower part of her face: thus they stood in two rows, to the right and the left, from the foot of the couch of the bride to the upper end of the leewán that adjoined the chamber from which the bride was to come forth. And when the ladies beheld ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen and his beauty and loveliness, his face shining like the crescent of the moon, the hearts of all of them inclined to him, and the female singers said to all the women who were present, Know that this charming youth hath given us nothing but red gold; therefore fail not to serve him properly, and obey him in whatever he shall say. The women crowded round him to gaze at his charms, and their minds were overpowered by astonishment at his beauty, and each of them wished that she might be in his bosom for a year or a month or an hour: they removed the veils from their faces, and their hearts were perplexed, and they said, Joy to the person to whom this youth belongeth, or to the person over whom he is lord! Then they imprecated evil upon the humpbacked groom and him who was the cause of his marriage to that lovely maiden; and every time that they prayed for blessings upon ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, they imprecated misfortunes upon the humpback.
 
The singing-women then beat the tambourines, and the tire-women approached with the daughter of the Wezeer in the midst of them. They had perfumed her with sweet scents and essences, and clad her, and adorned her hair and neck with various ornaments,247 decking her with garments such as were worn by the ancient monarchs of Persia. Among these was a loose gown embroidered with red gold, presenting the forms of wild beasts and birds, hanging down over her other clothes; and round her neck was a necklace worth thousands, composed of jewels such as neither a King of El-Yemen nor a C?sar ever collected: she was like the moon shining in its fourteenth night, and when she approached she resembled a ?ooreeyeh.43 Extolled be the perfection of him who created her so splendid a being! The women encompassed her, and appeared like stars; she, in the midst of them, being as the moon when the clouds have withdrawn from before it. Meanwhile, ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen remained sitting, with the company gazing at him; and as the bride approached with a dignified and graceful gait, the humpbacked groom rose to her, to kiss her; but she turned aside from him, and went and stood before ?asan, the son of her uncle. The company laughed at this; and when they beheld her turn towards ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, and saw him put his hand into his pocket and take out handfuls of gold and throw it into the tambourine of the singing-women, they were delighted, and said, We wish that this bride were thine:—and he smiled. All this time the humpbacked groom was alone, looking like an ape; and every time that they lighted his candle it went out again, and he was confounded, and remained sitting in the dark, full of secret indignation, with all the company surrounding him, while the lighted candles presented an appearance of beauty that was most admirable, so that every person of reflection was amazed at their splendour. But as to the bride, she raised her hands towards heaven, and said, O Allah, make this to be my husband, and relieve me from this humpbacked groom!—The tire-women then proceeded to display the bride in different dresses, to the seventh suit, before ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Ba?rah, the humpbacked groom remaining alone; and when they had finished this ceremony they gave permission to the company to depart: so all who were present at the festivity, both women and children, went out, except ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen and the humpbacked groom; after which the tire-women conducted the bride to an inner chamber, to take off her ornaments and outer robes, and to prepare her for the bridegroom's visit.
 
Upon this, the humpbacked groom approached ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, and said to him, O my master, thou hast made us happy by thy company this night, and overwhelmed us with thy favours; but now wherefore dost thou not rise and go to thy house without thy being248 ejected? He answered, In the name of Allah;—and rose, and went out from the door: but the 'Efreet met him, and said unto him, Stay, O Bedr-ed-Deen; and when the humpback retires into the private closet, enter thou and seat thyself in the bride-chamber; and when the bride cometh, say to her, I am thy husband; and the King had not recourse to this stratagem from any other motive than his fearing for thee the effect of the eye;44 and this whom thou hast seen is one of our grooms:—then approach her, and uncover her face, and fear no evil from any one.
 
While Bedr-ed-Deen was thus conversing with the 'Efreet, lo, the groom entered the closet, and seated himself; and immediately the 'Efreet rose before him, from the trough of water that was in the closet,45 in the form of a mouse, and  Transformations Transformations cried Zeek!—What brought thee here? said the humpback. The mouse then increased in size, and became like a cat; and then increased, and became a dog, and cried, 'Owh! 'Owh! At the sight of this the groom was terrified, and exclaimed, Get away, thou unlucky!46 The dog, however, still increased and swelled until it became an ass, and brayed in his face, crying, Há?! Há?!—upon which the groom, in terror, cried out, Come to my aid, O people of the house! But lo, the ass increased, and became like a buffalo, and, stopping up the place before him, spoke with the speech of a son of Adam, and said, Wo be to thee, O humpback! O filthiest of grooms! Upon this the groom was seized with a colick, and seated himself upon the slabs, and his teeth knocked together. The 'Efreet then said to him. Hath the earth become narrow to thee, that thou wouldst marry none but my mistress? But the  Transformations groom was silent.249 Return me an answer, said the 'Efreet, or I will make thine abode to be in the dust!—By Allah, then answered the groom, I am not in fault; for they compelled me, and I knew not that she had a lover among the buffaloes; but now I repent before Allah and before thee. Then the 'Efreet said, I swear by Allah that if thou depart now from this place, or utter a  Bedr-ed-Deen and his Bride word before the sun hath risen, I will slay thee: and when the sun hath risen go thy way, and never return to this house. And he seized the humpbacked groom, and, placing his head upside down upon the slabs, and his feet upwards, said to him, Remain here, and I will watch thee until sunrise.—Thus did it happen to the humpback.
 
Now, as to ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Ba?rah, he left the humpback and the 'Efreet contending together, and, entering the house, seated himself in the bride-chamber; and lo, the bride approached, accompanied by an old woman, who stopped at the door of the chamber, and said, O Aboo-Shiháb,47 rise, and take thy bride; and I commend thee to the care of Allah. Then the old woman went away, and the bride, whose name was Sitt-el-?osn,48 advanced to the upper end of the chamber. Her heart was broken, and she said within herself, By Allah, I will not suffer him to caress me though my spirit depart from me! But when she had proceeded to the upper end of the chamber, she beheld Bedr-ed-Deen, and said, My beloved, until this hour art thou remaining? I had said within myself, perhaps thou and the humpbacked groom are to share me between you.—What, said he, should give250 the groom access to thee, and wherefore should he be my partner in the possession of thee?—Who, then, she asked, is my husband? Thou or he?—O my mistress, answered Bedr-ed-Deen, we did not this for any other purpose than to make a jest of him, and that we might laugh at him; for when the tire-women and the singing-women and thy family beheld thine admirable beauty, they feared for us the effect of the eye, and thy father hired him for ten pieces of gold, in order that he might divert from us the eye; and now he hath departed. When Sitt-el-?osn heard these words of Bedr-ed-Deen, she smiled, and uttered a gentle laugh, and said, By Allah, thou hast extinguished my fire! Take me then, I conjure thee, and press me to thy bosom.—And they embraced each other.
 
Not long after this, the 'Efreet said to the Jinneeyeh, Arise, and place thyself beneath the youth, and let us convey him back, lest the morning overtake us; for the time is near. So she advanced towards him, and, placing herself beneath his skirt, as he lay asleep, took him up, and flew away with him, in the state in which she found him, clad only in his shirt, and pursued her flight with the 'Efreet by her side. But God gave permission to some angels to cast at the 'Efreet a shooting-star of fire, and he was burnt. The Jinneeyeh, however, escaped unhurt, and deposited Bedr-ed-Deen in the place over which the shooting-star had burnt the 'Efreet. She would not pass beyond it, fearing for his safety; and as destiny had appointed, this place was Damascus: so she placed him by one of the gates of this city, and flew away.
 
Gate of Damascus
When daylight therefore came, and the gates were opened, the people, coming forth, beheld a beautiful youth clad in his shirt, and with a cotton skull-cap without a turban. In consequence of his having been so long wakeful, he was now immersed in sleep; and when the people saw him, some said, Would that he had waited till he had put on his clothes!—another said, Objects of pity are the children of men of condition! Probably this youth hath just come forth from his drinking-place, on account of some business, and intoxication hath overcome him, and he hath wandered from the place to which he would go until he arrived at the gate of the city, and, finding it locked, hath slept here.—They had expressed various opinions respecting him, and were wondering at his case, when Bedr-ed-Deen awoke. Perceiving that he was at the gate of a city, and surrounded by men, he was astonished, and said, Where am I, O good people; and what is the cause of your assembling around me, and what hath befallen me251 among you? They answered, We saw thee at the call to morning-prayer lying at this gate asleep; and we know nothing more of thy case. Where wast thou sleeping this last night?—By Allah, O people, he replied, I was sleeping this last night in Cairo.—On hearing this, one of them said, Dost thou eat ?asheesh?49 Another said, Thou art mad. How couldst thou be passing the night in Cairo, and be sleeping in the morning at the city of Damascus?—He said to them, By Allah, O good people, I will tell you no falsehood: I was last night in the land of Egypt, and the day before I was at El-Ba?rah. One of them said, This is a wonderful thing! Another said, This youth is mad. And they clapped their hands at him, and, conversing together, said, Alas, for his youth! By Allah, there is no denying his madness!—They then said to him, Return to thy reason. But he replied, I was yesterday a bridegroom in the land of Egypt.—Probably thou hast dreamt, said they, and hast seen this of which thou speakest252 in thy sleep. And ?asan was confounded, and said, By Allah, this was not a dream: and where is the humpbacked groom who was sitting with us, and the purse of gold that I had? And where are my clothes and my drawers?—He then rose, and entered the city, and proceeded through its great thoroughfare-streets and market-streets; and the people crowded round him and paraded him: so he entered the shop of a cook. Now this cook was a robber,50 whom God had caused to repent of his unlawful actions, and he had opened a cook's shop; and all the people of Damascus feared him on account of his boldness; therefore, when they saw that the youth had entered this shop, they left him, being afraid.
 
When the cook beheld ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, and observed his beauty and comeliness, love for him entered his heart, and he said to him, Whence art thou, O young man? Relate to me thy story; for thou art become dearer to me than my soul.—So he related to him all that had happened, from beginning to end: and the cook said to him, O my master Bedr-ed-Deen, know that this is a wonderful event and an extraordinary story; but, O my son, conceal thy case until God dispel thy trouble, and remain with me in this place; and as I have not a son, I will adopt thee as such. Bedr-ed-Deen replied, Let it be as thou desirest, O uncle. And immediately the cook went out to the mart, and bought for Bedr-ed-Deen costly clothes, and put them on him: he then went to the ?á?ee, and made a declaration that he was his adopted son:51 so ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen became known throughout the city of Damascus as the son of the cook; and he sat with him in the shop to receive the money, and in this situation he remained.
 
Now as to Sitt-el-?osn, when daybreak came and she awoke, she found not ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen remaining with her, and, imagining that he would soon return, she sat a while expecting him; and lo, her father came in to her, troubled at that which had befallen him from the Sul?án, and at his having married his daughter by force to one of his servants, the humpbacked groom; and he said within himself, I will kill this girl if she have suffered the wretch to caress her. So he advanced to the bride-chamber, and, stopping at the door, said, O Sitt-el-?osn! She answered, Well, O my master!—and came forth to him, walking with a vacillating gait, through joy, and kissed the ground before him; and her countenance beamed with increased splendour in consequence of her union with that gazelle. When her father, therefore, saw her in this state, he exclaimed to her, O thou base creature! art thou delighted with this groom? On hearing these253 words of her father, Sitt-el-?osn smiled, and replied, By Allah, it is enough that thou hast done, and that the people laugh at me, and put me on an equality with this groom, who is not, in my estimation, of the value of a paring of one of my finger-nails; but as to my husband—by Allah, I never in the course of my life passed a night more delightful than that which I have just passed in his company: therefore jest not with me by mentioning that humpback.—When her father heard what she said he was filled with rage; his eyes glared so that little appeared of them but the white, and he said to her, Wo to thee! What are these words that thou sayest? Verily the humpbacked groom hath passed the night with thee!—I conjure thee by Allah, she rejoined, that thou mention him not. May Allah reject him, and reject his father! Continue not then to mock me by mentioning him; for the groom was only hired for ten pieces of gold, and he took his hire and departed; and I came and entered the bride-chamber, and beheld my husband seated, after the singing-women had displayed me before him; and he threw them red gold until he had enriched the poor who were present. I have reclined upon the bosom of my gentle-hearted husband, with the black eyes and the joined eyebrows.—When her father heard this, the light became darkness before his face, and he exclaimed to her, O thou abandoned one! What is this that thou sayest? Where is thy reason?—O my father, she replied, thou hast broken my heart in pieces! Wherefore dost thou pay no attention? This of whom I spake is my husband, and he hath retired to his private closet.
 
So her father went thither, in a state of astonishment, and, entering the closet, found the humpbacked groom with his head upon the slabs and his feet turned upwards; and the Wezeer was confounded at the sight, and said, Is not this the humpback?—and he spoke to him; but the humpback returned no answer, thinking that it was the 'Efreet who addressed him. The Wezeer, therefore, cried out at him with a loud voice, and said to him, Speak, or I will cut off thy head with this sword! Upon which the humpback exclaimed, By Allah, O sheykh of the 'Efreets, from the time that thou placedst me here I have not raised my head: I conjure thee therefore that thou shew favour to me!—The Wezeer, on hearing the humpback thus address him, said to him, What sayest thou? I am the father of the bride, and I am not an 'Efreet.—Then said the humpback, My life is not in thy hand, nor art thou able to take my soul; so go thy way before he come to thee who hath treated me in this manner. Ye would not marry me254 to any but the mistress of buffaloes and the mistress of 'Efreets! May Allah, then, confound him who married me to her, and confound him who was the cause of it!—Then did the humpbacked groom address the Wezeer, the father of the bride, again, saying, Allah confound him who was the cause of this!—Rise, said the Wezeer, and depart from this place.—Am I mad, he replied, that I should go with thee without the permission of the 'Efreet? For he said to me, When the sun shall have risen go thy way.—Hath the sun then risen or not? For I cannot depart from my place until the sun hath risen.—Upon this the Wezeer said to him, Who brought thee to this place? He answered, I came hither yesterday, and a dust rose from the midst of the water, and cried out, and increased in bulk until it became of the size of a buffalo, and said to me words that entered my ear. Leave me, therefore, and go. Allah confound the bride and him who married me to her!—The Wezeer then approached him, and dragged him forth, and he went out running, doubting whether the sun had risen, and went up to the Sul?án, and informed him of that which had happened to him with the 'Efreet.
 
But as to the Wezeer, the father of the bride, he returned with his reason perplexed respecting the case of his daughter, and said to her, O my daughter, reveal to me thy story. She replied, The elegant person before whom I was displayed remained with me; and if thou believe me not, see this is his turban, twisted just as it was, upon the chair,52 and his drawers are under the bed, and in them is something wrapped up: I know not what it is. So, when her father heard this, he entered the bride-chamber, and found the turban of ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of his brother; and taking it up, he turned it over, and said, This is such a turban as is worn by Wezeers, except that it is of the Mó?ilee53 kind. He then observed an amulet sewed in his red cloth cap; and he unsewed it; and he took the drawers, and found the purse containing the thousand pieces of gold, and, opening this, he discovered in it a paper, which, when he had read it he saw to be a copy of the Jew's contract, with the name of ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen the son of Noor-ed-Deen of Cairo; and he found also the thousand pieces of gold. But when he read the paper he cried aloud and fell down in a swoon; and as soon as he recovered, and understood the case, he was astonished, and exclaimed, There is no deity but God, who is able to do whatsoever He willeth! Then said he, O my daughter, knowest thou who hath become thy husband? She answered, No.—He is the son of my brother, said he, and the son of255 thine uncle; and these thousand pieces of gold are thy dowry. Extolled be the perfection of God! Would that I knew how this event hath happened!—Then he opened the amulet that was sewed up, and found in it a paper written by the hand of his brother Noor-ed-Deen of Cairo, the father of ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen: and when he beheld the hand-writing of his brother he repeated this couplet:—
 
I behold their footsteps, and melt with desire, and pour forth my tears upon the places they have trodden,
Begging of Him who hath afflicted me by their separation, that He will bless me some day by a reunion.
The Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen recovering from a Swoon
So saying, he read the paper, and found in it the date of his marriage to the daughter of the Wezeer of El-Ba?rah, and that of his first introduction to her, and a record of his age at the time of his death, and the date of the birth of his son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen; and he wondered, and shook with delight; and, comparing what had happened to his brother with the events that had happened to himself, he found that they corresponded exactly: his marriage and the marriage of his brother agreed in date, and their first visits to their respective wives in like manner; as also the birth of Bedr-ed-Deen, the son of his brother, and the birth of his daughter Sitt-el-?osn. He took the two papers, and, going up with them to the Sul?án, he acquainted him with all that had happened from the first of the case to the last; and the King was astonished, and ordered that the case should be immediately recorded. The Wezeer then remained in expectation of the son of his brother; but he met with no tidings of him: so he said, By Allah, I256 will do a deed that none hath done before me:—and he took an ink-case and a pen, and wrote an inventory of the furniture of the house, describing the money-chest as having been in such a place, and a certain curtain in such another place, and everything in the house in like manner; and he folded up the paper, and ordered that all the furniture should be stored up; and he took the turban with its ?arboosh, and also the farajeeyeh and the purse, and kept them himself.
 
After this, in due time, the daughter of the Wezeer gave birth to a son like the moon, resembling his father in beauty and symmetry and splendour and loveliness. They received him from his mother, and blackened the edges of his eyes with ko?l,54 and delivered him to the nurses, and named him 'Ajeeb.55 His day was as a month; and his month, as a year;56 and when seven years had passed over him, his grandfather committed him to a schoolmaster, whom he charged to educate him with great care. He continued at the school four years, and used to fight with his schoolfellows, and abuse them, saying to them, Who among you is like me? I am the son of the Wezeer of Cairo.—So the boys went together to complain to the monitor of that which they suffered from 'Ajeeb; and the monitor said to them, I will teach you something to say to him when he cometh, and he shall repent of his coming to the school; and it is this: to-morrow, when he is come, seat yourselves around him, and say to one another, By Allah, none shall play with us at this game excepting him who shall tell us the name of his mother and that of his father; and he who knoweth not the name of his mother and that of his father is illegitimate; therefore he shall not play with us. Accordingly, on the following morning they came to the school, and 'Ajeeb was there; and the boys surrounded him, and said as the monitor had directed them, and they all agreed to the proposal; and one said, My name is Májid, and my mother is 'Alawee, and my father is 'Ezz-ed-Deen:—then another said after the same manner, and another, and so on, until the turn came to 'Ajeeb; and he said to them, My name is 'Ajeeb, and my mother is Sitt-el-?osn, and my father is Shems-ed-Deen, the Wezeer of Cairo:—and they said to him, By Allah, the Wezeer is not thy father. 'Ajeeb replied, the Wezeer is my father indeed:—and upon this the boys laughed at him, and clapped their hands at him, saying, Thou knowest not who is thy father: get away from us, therefore; for none shall play with us excepting him who knoweth the name of his father:—and immediately the boys dispersed from around257 him, and made a jest of him. In consequence of this treatment his heart became contracted, and he was almost choked with crying; and the monitor said to him, Dost thou really consider as thy father him who is thy grandfather, the Wezeer, the father of thy mother Sitt-el-?osn? Thy father thou knowest not, nor do we know him; for the Sul?án married her to the humpbacked groom, and the Jinn came and prevented him: so, if thou know not thy father, they will regard thee among them as illegitimate. Dost thou not see that the son of the woman who is coveted as a wife knoweth his father? The Wezeer of Cairo is thy grandfather; and as to thy father, we know him not, nor dost thou: return therefore to thy reason.
 
The School
Upon this, 'Ajeeb went immediately to his mother, Sitt-el-?osn, and complained to her, and wept; and his weeping prevented his speaking: and when his mother heard his complaint and his crying, her heart was inflamed for him, and she said to him, O my son, what maketh thee weep? Tell me thy story.—So he told her what he had heard from the boys and from the monitor, and said to her, O my mother, who is my father? She answered him, Thy father is the Wezeer of Cairo. But he said, He is not my father: tell me not, therefore, what is false; for the Wezeer is thy father; not mine: who then is my father? If thou do not tell me truly; I will kill myself with this dagger.—And when his mother heard the mention of his father, she wept at the allusion to the son of her uncle, and remembering the amiable qualities of ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Ba?rah, and258 what had happened to herself and him, she recited an ode commencing thus:—
 
They excited love in my heart, and departed; and far distant hath their abode become!
Reason forsook me when they withdrew, and sleep and patience abandoned me.
And she wept and cried out, and her son did the same; and lo, the Wezeer entered. His heart burned within him when he beheld their state, and he said to them, What causeth you to weep? She acquainted him therefore with the treatment that her son had experienced from the other boys of the school; and he, also, wept, and called to mind what had happened to his brother and himself and his daughter, and he knew not the mystery of the case. Then suddenly he arose, and, going up to the council-chamber, presented himself before the King, and related to him the story, begging his permission to travel eastwards to the city of El-Ba?rah, that he might make inquiries respecting the son of his brother; and requesting also of the Sul?án that he would write letters for him to all the countries through which he might pass, that, if he found the son of his brother in any place, he might take him away. And he wept before the Sul?án, and the heart of the King was moved with compassion for him, and he wrote for him letters to all the regions and countries; upon which the Wezeer rejoiced, and, having offered up a prayer for the Sul?án, took leave of him.
 
He descended immediately and prepared for the journey, and, taking with him all that he required, together with his daughter and her son 'Ajeeb, travelled the first day and the second and the third, and proceeded until he arrived at the city of Damascus, and beheld it with its trees and streams celebrated by the poets. He alighted in the open space called Meydán el-?a?bà; and, when he had pitched his tents, said to his servants, We will take rest here two days. So the servants entered the city to gratify their various desires; one to sell, another to buy, a third to enter the bath, and a fourth to visit the mosque of the Benee-Umeiyeh, which hath not in the world its equal. 'Ajeeb also entered the city, accompanied by his eunuch, in order to amuse themselves; and the eunuch walked behind 'Ajeeb, having in his hand a whip that would strike down a camel. And when the people of Damascus beheld 'Ajeeb, and his elegance of form and perfect beauty, and observed him to be endowed with admirable loveliness, and with kindness of manner, more bland than the northern259 zephyr, sweeter than limpid water to the thirsty, and more pleasant than health to the diseased, they followed him, running after him in crowds; and some sat waiting in the streets to see him pass. Thus did they until the slave, as destiny had ordained, stopped before the shop of 'Ajeeb's father, ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, in which the cook who had acknowledged him as his adopted son in the presence of the ?á?ees and witnesses had established him; and this cook had died, and left him all his property, together with his shop.57
 
When the slave stopped there on this day, the servants also stopped with him: and ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen beheld his son, and was charmed with him, observing his extreme beauty: his soul yearned towards him with natural sympathy, and his heart clung to him. He had just prepared a conserve of pomegranate-grains, sweetened with sugar; and the affection divinely inspired increased in him; so he called out in ecstasy, and said, O my master, O thou who hast captivated my heart and soul, and to whom my affections are drawn by sympathy! wilt thou come in to me and refresh my heart and eat of my food? And when he had said this, his eyes overflowed with involuntary tears, and he reflected upon his past experience and his condition at the present time. When 'Ajeeb heard the address of his father, his heart was in like manner drawn towards him by sympathy, and he looked towards the eunuch, and said to him, Verily my heart is moved with sympathy for this cook: he seemeth to have parted with a son: come in with us, therefore, that we may refresh his heart and eat his offering of hospitality: perhaps God, through our so doing, may accomplish our union with our father. But the eunuch replied, By Allah, O my master, it is not proper. How should we, who are of the family of the Wezeer, eat in the shop of a cook? I will, however, drive away the people from thee, lest they see thee: otherwise it will be impossible for thee to enter the shop. On hearing the reply of the eunuch, Bedr-ed-Deen was surprised, and, looking towards him, while his tears flowed down his cheeks, said to him, Verily my heart loveth him.—Let us hear no more of these words, said the eunuch:—and he desired the youth not to enter: but the father of 'Ajeeb cast his eyes upon the eunuch, and said, Great sir, wherefore wilt thou not refresh my heart and come in to me? O thou who resemblest black dust, but whose heart is white! O thou who hast been described in such and such terms of praise!—so that the eunuch laughed, and said, What wouldst thou say? Speak, and be brief.—And Bedr-ed-Deen recited this couplet:260—
 
Were it not for his accomplishments and admirable faithfulness, he had not been invested with authority in the abode of Kings.
What an excellent guardian for the ?areem is he! On account of his beauty the angels of heaven wait upon him!
This address pleased the eunuch so much that he took the hand of 'Ajeeb, and entered the cook's shop; and Bedr-ed-Deen ladled out a saucerful of conserve of pomegranate-grains prepared with almonds and sugar, and the slave and the youth ate together; Bedr-ed-Deen saying to them, Ye have delighted me by your company: eat, and may it benefit you! 'Ajeeb then said to his father, Sit down and eat with us; and perhaps God will unite us to him whom we desire. And Bedr-ed-Deen said, O my son, hast thou been afflicted in thy tender years by the separation of those whom thou lovest?—Yes, O uncle, answered 'Ajeeb: my heart is inflamed by the absence of one of those who are dear to me: the friend who hath withdrawn himself from me is my father, and I and my grandfather have come abroad to search for him through the world; and how do I sigh for my union with him!—And he wept bitterly; and his father, moved by his tears, wept with him, reflecting upon his own desolate state, separated from those he loved, deprived of his father, and far removed from his mother; and the eunuch was moved with compassion for him.
 
Damascus
261
 
They all ate together until they were satisfied; after which, the youth and the slave arose, and quitted the shop of Bedr-ed-Deen, who felt as if his soul had departed from his body and gone with them. He could not endure their absence for the twinkling of an eye; so he shut up his shop and followed them, though ignorant that the youth was his son, and walked quickly until he came up to them before they had gone out from the great gate; whereupon the eunuch, looking back at him, said, What dost thou want, O cook? Bedr-ed-Deen answered, When ye departed from me, I felt as if my soul had quitted my body, and, having some business in the suburb, I was desirous of accompanying you to transact my business, and, after that, to return. But the eunuch was angry, and said to 'Ajeeb, Verily this repast was unlucky: respectful treatment hath become incumbent on us; and see, he is following us from place to place. 'Ajeeb therefore looked round, and, seeing the cook, was enraged, and his face became red; but he said to the eunuch, Suffer him to walk in the public road of the Muslims; but when we shall have turned from it to our tents, if he do the same, and we know that he is following us, we will drive him back. And he hung down his head and went on, with the eunuch behind him. Bedr-ed-Deen, however, followed them to the Meydán el-?a?bà, and when they had drawn near to the tents they looked back and saw him behind them; and 'Ajeeb was angry, fearing that the eunuch might inform his grandfather, and lest it should be said that he had entered the cook's shop, and that the cook had followed him. He looked at him till his eyes met the eye of his father, who had become as a body without a soul; and he fancied that his eye bore an expression of deceit, and that he was perhaps a knave: so his anger increased, and he took up a stone, and threw it at his father, and the stone struck him on the forehead, and wounded him, and he fell down in a swoon, the blood flowing over his face. 'Ajeeb went on with the eunuch to the tents; and ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, when he recovered his senses, wiped off the blood, and, having cut off a piece of linen from his turban, bound up his head with it, blaming himself, and saying, I wronged the youth when I shut up my shop and followed him, so he thought I was a deceiver. He then returned to his shop, and occupied himself with the sale of his meats; and he yearned with desire for his mother, who was at El-Ba?rah.
 
The Wezeer, his uncle, remained at Damascus three days, and then departed to ?em?, and, having entered this town, proceeded thence, inquiring at every place where he halted in his journey until he had262 arrived at Márideen and El-Mósil and Diyár Bekr. He continued his journey until he arrived at the city of El-Ba?rah, and when he had entered it and taken up his quarters, he went and presented himself before the Sul?án, who received him with respect and honour, and inquired the reason of his coming: so he acquainted him with his story, and informed him that the Wezeer 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen was his brother. The Sul?án ejaculated, God have mercy upon him!58—and said, O ?á?eb,59 he was my Wezeer, and I loved him much: he died twelve years60 ago, and left a son; but we have lost him, and have heard no tidings of him: his mother, however, is with us, for she is the daughter of my old Wezeer. On hearing from the King that the mother of his nephew was alive, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen rejoiced, and said, I am desirous of having an interview with her. And the King gave him immediate permission to visit her at his brother's house: so he went thither, and kissed the threshold, and, entering an open court, found a door over-arched with hard stone inlaid with various kinds of marble of every colour; and he walked along by the walls of the house, and as he cast his eyes around upon them he observed the name of his brother Noor-ed-Deen inscribed on them in characters of gold; and he went to the name, and kissed it, and wept. He then advanced to the saloon of his brother's wife, the mother of ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen of El-Ba?rah. During the absence of her son she had given herself up to weeping and wailing night and day; and after she had long suffered from his separation she made for her son a tomb of marble in the midst of the saloon, where she wept for him night and day, sleeping nowhere but by this tomb. And when Shems-ed-Deen arrived at her apartment he heard her voice apostrophizing the tomb; and while she was thus occupied he entered and saluted her, and informed her that he was her husband's brother, acquainting her with what had passed, and revealing to her the particulars of the story. He told her that her son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen had passed a whole night with his daughter, and disappeared in the morning, and that his daughter had borne him a son, whom he had brought with him: and when she heard this news of her son, and that he was perhaps still living, and beheld her husband's brother, she fell at his feet and kissed them, addressing him with this couplet:—
 
Divinely is he inspired who acquainteth me with their approach; for he hath brought information most delightful to be heard.
If he would be satisfied with that which is cast off,61 I would give him a heart rent in pieces at the hour of valediction.
263
The Wezeer then sent to bring 'Ajeeb; and when he came, his grandmother rose to him, and embraced him, and wept; but Shems-ed-Deen said to her, This is not a time for weeping, but rather a time for preparing thyself to accompany us on our return to the land of Egypt: and perhaps God may unite us with thy son, my nephew. She replied, I hear and obey:—and, arising immediately, collected all her property and treasures, and her female slaves, and forthwith prepared herself: after which the Wezeer, Shems-ed-Deen, went up again to the Sul?án of El-Ba?rah, and took leave of him; and the King sent with him presents and rarities for the Sul?án of Egypt.
 
The Widow of Noor-ed-Deen kissing the feet of his Brother
The Wezeer departed without delay, accompanied by his brother's wife, and continued his journey until he arrived at the city of Damascus, where he alighted again, and encamped, and said to his attendants, We will remain at Damascus a week, to buy, for the Sul?án, presents and rarities. 'Ajeeb then said to the eunuch, Boy,62 I long for a little diversion: arise, therefore, and let us go to the market of Damascus, and see what is going on there, and what hath happened to that cook whose confection we ate and whose head we broke, notwithstanding he had treated us with kindness: we acted ill towards him. The eunuch replied, I hear and obey:—and 'Ajeeb went forth with him from the tents, the tie of blood inciting him to visit his father and they entered the city, and proceeded to the shop of the cook, whom they found standing there. It was then near the time of264 afternoon-prayers; and it happened that he had again just prepared a confection of pomegranate-grains; and when they drew near to him, the heart of 'Ajeeb yearned towards him when he saw him, and he perceived the scar occasioned by the stone that he had thrown. He said to him, Peace be on thee! Know that my heart is with thee.—And when Bedr-ed-Deen beheld him, his affections were engrossed by him, and his heart throbbed with emotion towards him, and he hung down his head, desiring to adapt his tongue to speech, and unable to do so: but presently he raised his head, and, looking towards the youth in an humble and abject manner, recited these verses:—
 
I wished for my beloved; but when I beheld him I was confounded and possessed neither tongue nor eye.
I hung down my head in honour and reverence, and would have hidden what I felt; but it would not be concealed.
I had prepared a volume of expostulation; but when we met I remembered not a word.
He then said to them, Refresh ye my heart, and eat of my food; for, by Allah, as soon as I beheld thee, my heart yearned towards thee, and I had not followed thee unless I had been deprived of my reason.—By Allah, replied 'Ajeeb, thou dost indeed love us, and we ate a morsel with thee; but after it thou keptest close behind us and wouldst have disgraced us: we will not eat again with thee, therefore, but on the condition of thy swearing that thou wilt not follow us; and otherwise we will not come to thee again henceforth; for we are staying at this city a week, in order that my grandfather may procure presents for the King.—I bind myself, said Bedr-ed-Deen, to do as ye desire. So 'Ajeeb entered the shop with the eunuch, and Bedr-ed-Deen placed before them a saucer filled with the confection of pomegranate-grains; upon which 'Ajeeb said to him, Eat with us; and may God dispel our affliction:—and Bedr-ed-Deen was delighted, and he ate with them; but he turned not his eyes from the youth; for his heart and all his faculties were captivated by him. 'Ajeeb, observing this, said to him, Knowest thou not that I told thee thou wast a rude doter? Enough of this: continue not to gaze at my face.—Bedr-ed-Deen, therefore, apologized to him, and began to put morsels into the mouth of 'Ajeeb, and then did the same to the eunuch. Afterwards he poured the water upon their hands, and when they had washed he loosed a napkin of silk from his waist and wiped them with it. He next sprinkled rose-water upon them from a bottle that was in his shop, and went out, and returned with two cups of sherbet prepared with rose-water265 infused with musk, and, placing these before them, he said, Complete your kindness. So 'Ajeeb took a cup and drank; and Bedr-ed-Deen handed the other to the eunuch; and both drank until their stomachs were full, and gratified their appetites to a degree beyond their usual habit.
 
Bedr-ed-Deen waiting upon his Son and the Eunuch
They then departed, and hastened back to the tents, and 'Ajeeb went in to his grandmother, the mother of his father ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen; and she kissed him, and said, Where hast thou been? He answered, In the city. And she arose, and brought him a saucer of confection of pomegranate-grains, which happened to be somewhat deficient in sweetness; and she said to the eunuch, Sit down with thy master. The eunuch said within himself, By Allah, we have no appetite. He, however, seated himself, and 'Ajeeb did the same, though satiated with what he had eaten and drunk, and dipped a morsel of bread in the confection, and ate it; but it seemed to him insipid, on account of his being thus cloyed, and he loathed it, and said, What is this nasty dish?—O my child, said his grandmother, dost thou find fault with my cookery? It was I who prepared it; and, except thy father, ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen, there is none who can cook it as well as myself.—By Allah, O my mistress, replied 'Ajeeb, This thy dish is not well prepared: we have just now seen in the city a cook who had prepared a confection of pomegranate-grains, but its odour was such as to dilate the heart, and the confection itself, such as to excite appetite in one already satiated: as to thine, in comparison with his, it is good for nothing.
 
His grandmother, on hearing this, fell into a violent rage, and turning towards the eunuch, said to him, Wo to thee! Hast thou corrupted my child? Thou hast taken him into the shops of the266 cooks!—The eunuch feared, and denied, saying, We did not enter the shop, but only passed by it:—but 'Ajeeb said, By Allah, we entered and ate, and what we ate was better than this mess of thine. And upon this his grandmother arose, and informed her husband's brother, and incensed him against the eunuch. The slave was therefore brought before the Wezeer, and he said to him, Wherefore didst thou take my child into the cook's shop? The eunuch, fearing, said again, We did not enter.—Nay, said 'Ajeeb, we did enter, and ate of a confection of pomegranate-grains until we were satiated, and the cook gave us to drink sherbet with ice and sugar. The Wezeer's anger with the eunuch now increased, and he asked him again; but still he denied. Then said the Wezeer, If thine assertion be true, sit down and eat before us. The eunuch therefore advanced, and would have eaten; but he could not; and he threw down the morsel that was in his hand, and said, O my master, I am satiated since yesterday. And by this the Wezeer knew that he had eaten in the shop of the cook: so he ordered the female slaves to throw him down upon the ground, and they did so, and he gave him a severe beating, while the slave cried for mercy, but still saying, I am satiated since yesterday! The Wezeer then interrupted the beating, and said to him, Declare the truth. And at length the eunuch said, Know that we did enter the shop of the cook while he was cooking pomegranate-grains, and he ladled out for us some of the confection, and, by Allah, I never in my life ate any like it, or any more detestable than this which is before us.
 
The mother of Bedr-ed-Deen, enraged at this, said, Thou shalt go to this cook and bring us a saucerful of his confection and shew it to thy master, that he may say which of the two is the better and the more delicious.—Well, replied the eunuch: and immediately she gave him a saucer, and half a piece of gold; and he went to the shop, and said to the cook, We have laid a wager respecting thy confection at the tent of our master; for there is a mess of pomegranate-grains cooked by the family: give us, therefore, for this half-piece of gold, and apply thyself to prepare it perfectly; for we have received an excruciating beating on account of thy cookery. Laughing at these words, Bedr-ed-Deen replied, By Allah, none excelleth in the preparation of this confection except myself and my mother, and she is now in a distant country. And he ladled out as much as filled the saucer, and perfected it by the addition of some musk and rose-water. The eunuch then hastened back with it to the family; and the mother of ?asan took it, and, tasting its delicious flavour, immediately knew267 who had prepared it, and shrieked, and fell down in a swoon. The Wezeer was amazed at the event; and they sprinkled some rose-water upon her, and when she recovered she said, If my son be yet in the world, no one but he cooked this confection: he is my son ?asan Bedr-ed-Deen without doubt: for none but he can prepare this, except myself, and it was I who taught him to do it.
 
Bedr-ed-Deen bound
When the Wezeer heard these words, he rejoiced exceedingly, and exclaimed, Oh, how I long to behold my brother's son! Will fortune, indeed, unite us with him? But I look not for our union from any but God, whose name be exalted!—And he instantly arose, and called out to his male attendants, saying, Let twenty men of you go to the shop of the cook, and demolish it, and bind his hands behind him with his turban, and drag him hither by force, but without any injury to his person. They replied, Well. The Wezeer then rode immediately to the palace, and, presenting himself before the Viceroy of Damascus, shewed him the contents of the letters which he had brought from the Sul?án; and the Viceroy, after kissing them, put them to his head, and said, Who is thine offender? He answered, A man who is by trade a cook. And instantly the Viceroy ordered his Chamberlains to repair to his shop; and they went thither; but found it demolished, and everything that had been in it broken; for when the Wezeer went to the palace, his servants did as he had commanded them. They268 were then waiting his return from the palace; and Bedr-ed-Deen was saying within himself, What can they have discovered in the confection, that such an event as this should have befallen me? And when the Wezeer returned from the Viceroy, and had received his permission to take his offender and to depart with him, he entered the encampment, and called for the cook. They brought him, therefore, with his hands bound behind him with his turban; and when he saw his uncle he wept bitterly, and said, O my master, what crime have ye found in me? The Wezeer said to him, Art thou he who cooked the confection of pomegranate-grains? He answered, Yes: and have ye found in it anything that requires one's head to be struck off? This, replied the Wezeer, is the smallest part of thy recompense.—Wilt thou not, said Bedr-ed-Deen, acquaint me with my crime? The Wezeer answered, Yea, immediately. And forthwith he called out to the young men, saying, Bring the camels!
 
They then took Bedr-ed-Deen, and put him in a chest, and, having locked him up in it, commenced their journey, and continued on their way till the approach of night, when they halted and ate, and, taking out Bedr-ed-Deen, fed him; after which they put him again into the chest, and in like manner proceeded to another station. Here also they took him out; and the Wezeer said to him, Art thou he who cooked the confection of pomegranate grains? He answered, Yes, O my master. And the Wezeer said, Shackle his feet. And they did so, and restored him to the chest. They then continued their journey to Cairo; and when they arrived at the quarter called Er-Reydáneeyeh,63 the Wezeer commanded to take out Bedr-ed-Deen again from the chest, and to bring a carpenter, to whom he said, Make, for this man, a cross.64—What, said Bedr-ed-Deen, dost thou mean to do with it? The Wezeer answered, I will crucify thee upon it, and nail thee to it, and then parade thee about the city.—Wherefore, demanded Bedr-ed-Deen, wilt thou treat me thus?—The Wezeer replied, For thy faulty preparation of the confection of pomegranate-grains, because thou madest it deficient in pepper.—Because of its deficiency in pepper, exclaimed Bedr-ed-Deen, wilt thou do all this to me? Art thou not satisfied with having thus imprisoned me, and fed me every day with only one meal?—The Wezeer answered, For its deficiency in pepper, thy recompense shall be nothing less than death. And Bedr-ed-Deen was amazed, and bewailed his lot, and remained a while absorbed in reflection. The Wezeer, therefore, said to him, Of what art thou thinking? He answered, Of imbecile minds, such as thine; for if269 thou wert a man of sense thou wouldst not have treated me in this manner on account of the deficiency of pepper.—It is incumbent on us, replied the Wezeer, to punish thee, that thou mayest not do the like again:—to which Bedr-ed-Deen rejoined, The least of the things thou hast done to me were a sufficient punishment. The Wezeer, however, said, Thy death is unavoidable.—All this conversation took place while the carpenter was preparing the cross; and Bedr-ed-Deen was looking on.
 
Thus they both continued until the approach of night, when Bedr-ed-Deen's uncle took him and put him again into the chest, saying, To-morrow shall be thy crucifixion. He then waited until he perceived that he was asleep; upon which he remounted, and, with the chest borne before him, entered the city, and repaired to his house: and when he had arrived there he said to his daughter Sitt-el-?osn, Praise be to God who hath restored to thee the son of thine uncle! Arise, and furnish the house as it was on the night of the bridal display.—She therefore ordered her female slaves to do so; and they arose, and lighted the candles; and the Wezeer brought out the paper upon which he had written his inventory of the furniture of the house, and read it, and ordered them to put every thing in its place, so that the beholder would not doubt that this was the very night of the bridal display. He directed them to put Bedr-ed-Deen's turban in the place where its owner had deposited it, and in like manner the trousers, and the purse which was beneath the mattress, and ordered his daughter to adorn herself as she was on the bridal night, and to enter the bride-chamber; saying to her, When the son of thine uncle comes into thy chamber, say to him, Thou hast loitered since thou withdrewest from me this night:—and request him to return and converse with thee till day.—Having thus arranged everything, the Wezeer took out Bedr-ed-Deen from the chest, removed the shackles from his feet, and stripped him of his outer clothes, leaving him in his shirt.
 
All this was done while he was asleep, unconscious of what was passing; and when he awoke, and found himself in an illuminated vestibule, he said, within himself, Am I bewildered by dreams, or am I awake? Then rising, he advanced a little way to an inner door, and looked, and lo, he was in the house in which the bride had been displayed, and he beheld the bride-chamber and the couch and his turban and clothes. Confounded at the sight of these things, he took one step forwards and another backwards, thinking, Am I asleep or awake? And he began to wipe his forehead, and exclaimed in his astonishment,270
 
Bedr-ed-Deen's perplexity
By Allah, this is the dwelling of the bride who was here displayed before me: and yet I was just now in a chest. And while he was addressing himself, behold Sitt-el-?osn lifted up the corner of the musquito curtain, and said, O my master, wilt thou not come in? for thou hast loitered since thou withdrewest from me this night. When he heard these words he looked at her face, and laughed, and said, Verily, these appearances are bewildering illusions of a dream! Then entering, he sighed; and as he reflected upon what had happened to him, he was perplexed at his situation, and his case seemed involved in obscurity. Looking at his turban and trousers, and the purse containing the thousand pieces of gold, he exclaimed, Allah is all-knowing!—but it seemeth to me that I am bewildered by dreams!—And he was confounded in the excess of his astonishment. Upon this, therefore, Sitt-el-?osn said to him, Wherefore do I behold thee thus astonished and perplexed? Thou wast not so in the commencement of the night.—And he laughed, and asked her, How many years have I been absent from thee?—Allah preserve thee! she exclaimed. The name of Allah encompass thee!65 Thou hast only withdrawn to yonder apartment. What hath passed in thy mind?—On hearing this he smiled, and replied, Thou hast spoken truth; but when I withdrew from thee, sleep overcame me, and I dreamt that I was a cook in Damascus, and that I lived there twelve years;66 and I thought271 that a youth of the sons of the great came to me, accompanied by a eunuch,—and he proceeded to relate what had happened to him in consequence of this youth's visit: then drawing his hand over his forehead, he felt the scar occasioned by the blow, and exclaimed, By Allah, O my mistress, it seemeth as though it were true; for he struck me with a stone upon my forehead, and cut it open: it seemeth, therefore, as though this had really happened when I was awake: but probably this dream occurred when we were both asleep. I imagined in my dream that I was transported to Damascus, without ?arboosh or turban or trousers, and that I followed the occupation of a cook.—And again, for a while, he remained utterly confounded. He then said, By Allah, I imagined that I made a confection of pomegranate-grains containing but little pepper. Verily I must have been asleep, and in my sleep have seen all this.—I conjure thee by Allah, said Sitt-el-?osn, tell me what more thou sawest? And he related to her the whole; and added, If I had not awaked, they would have crucified me upon a wooden cross.—On account of what? said she. He answered, On account of the deficiency of pepper in the confection of pomegranate-grains; and I imagined that they demolished my shop, and broke all my vessels, and put me in a chest, and brought the carpenter to make a cross of wood; for they intended to crucify me upon it. Praise be to God, therefore, who caused all this to occur to me in sleep, and caused it not to happen to me when I was awake!—Sitt-el-?osn, laughing at his words, pressed him to her bosom, and he in like manner embraced her. Then reflecting again, he said, By Allah, it seems as if it had happened when I was awake; and I knew not the reason, nor the truth of the case.—And he composed himself to sleep, perplexed with his case, and sometimes saying, I saw it in my sleep,—and other times, I experienced it awake.
 
Thus he continued until the morning, when his uncle, the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen, came in to him, and saluted him; and Bedr-ed-Deen, as soon as he beheld him, exclaimed, I conjure thee by Allah, tell me art not thou he who gave orders to bind my hands behind me, and to nail up my shop, on account of the confection of pomegranate-grains, because it was deficient in pepper? The Wezeer answered, Know, O my son, that the truth hath appeared, and what was hidden hath been manifested. Thou art the son of my brother; and I did not this but to know if thou wert he who visited my daughter on that night. I was not convinced of this until I saw that thou knewest the house, and thy turban and trousers and gold, and the two papers; namely,272 the one which thou wrotest, and that which thy father, my brother, wrote: for I had never seen thee before, and therefore knew thee not; and as to thy mother, I have brought her with me from El-Ba?rah.—Having thus said, he threw himself upon him, and wept; and Bedr-ed-Deen, full of astonishment at his uncle's words, embraced him, and in like manner wept from excess of joy. The Wezeer then said to him, O my son, the cause of all this was what passed between me and thy father. And he related to him the circumstances of their case, and the cause of his father's departure to El-Ba?rah; after which he sent for 'Ajeeb; and when the father of the youth saw him, he exclaimed, This is he who threw the stone at me.—This, said the Wezeer, is thy son. And Bedr-ed-Deen cast himself upon him, and recited the following verses:—
 
Long have I wept on account of our disunion; the tears overflowing from my eyelids;
And I vowed that if Providence should bring us together, I would never again mention our separation.
Joy hath overcome me to such a degree that by its excess it hath made me weep.
O eye, thou hast become so accustomed to tears that thou weepest from happiness as from grief.67
And when he had uttered these words, his mother, beholding him, threw herself upon him, and repeated this couplet:—
 
Fortune made a vow to torment me incessantly; but thine oath hath proved false, O Fortune; therefore expiate it.68
Happiness hath arrived, and the beloved is come to my relief: repair then to the messenger of festivity, and hasten.
She afterwards related to him everything that had happened to her; and he also acquainted her with all that he had suffered; and they offered up thanks to God for their union. The Wezeer then went up to the Sul?án, and informed him of these occurrences; and the King was astonished, and ordered that a statement of them should be inserted in the records, to be preserved to future ages. And the Wezeer resided with his brother's son, and his own daughter and her son, and with the wife of his brother; and all of them passed their lives in the enjoyment of the utmost happiness until they were visited by the terminator of delights, and the separator of companions.69
 
Such, O Prince of the Faithful, said Ja?far, were the events that happened to the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen and his brother Noor-ed-Deen.—By Allah, exclaimed the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed, this story is wonderful! And he gave one of his own concubines to the young man who had killed his wife, and appointed him a regular maintenance; and the young man became one of his companions at the table.273
 
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter IV.--The Old Fisherman
NOTES TO CHAPTER FOURTH.
 
Note 1. From the close of Chapter iii., the order of the tales in this translation (agreeably with the Cairo edition) differs from that which is followed in the old version.
 
Note 2. This alludes to the poor man's want of sufficient clothing; for, in the climate of Baghdád, a person who is not very scantily clad is in little need of a fire to warm himself.
 
Note 3. My sheykh has remarked, in a marginal note, that these verses would be appropriate only from the mouth of a learned man complaining of the unprofitableness of his science with respect to procuring him money; but perhaps, in writing this, he was actuated by a somewhat over-zealous regard for the honour of his own profession; for, when a poor man has acquired a little knowledge, his neighbours are apt to flatter him.
 
Note 4. The "izár" has been described in the second note to Chapter iii.
 
Note 5. Literally, "the sons of thine uncle;" but the meaning is, "thy kinsmen."
 
Note 6.—On Bastinading. In Arabian, and some other Eastern, countries, it is a common custom, when a person is accused of a crime before a magistrate, and denies his guilt, to bastinade him, in order to induce him to confess; and even witnesses, sometimes, are treated in the same manner. The beating is usually inflicted with a kurbáj (a thong or whip of hippopotamus' hide hammered into a round form) or with a stick, and generally on the soles of the feet. For this purpose the feet are confined by a chain or rope attached at each end to a staff, which is turned round to tighten it. This is called a "fala?ah." Two persons (one on each side) strike alternately; and the punishment is often continued until the sufferer becomes insensible, and even longer.
 
Note 7.—Of Sales by Auction. In many of the soo?s (market-streets, or bázárs) in Arabian cities, auctions are held on stated days, once or more frequently in every week. They are conducted by brokers (delláls), hired either by private persons or by shopkeepers. These brokers carry the goods up and down the street, announcing the sums bidden, with cries of "?aráj," &c.; and the shopkeepers, as well as others, purchase of them.
 
Note 8. I have before mentioned, that this horrid mode of punishing a woman suspected of incontinence is not unfrequently practised among the Arabs. Many274 similar cases have been mentioned to me in Egypt as having occurred in that country in the present age; and often the murder is committed by the father or a brother of the woman, as her relations are considered as more disgraced than the husband by her crime. The present tale is probably founded on some particular occurrence of this kind. One is related as having happened in the reign of the Khaleefeh El-Mo?ta?id. In this case, some limbs of the murdered woman, in two leathern bags, were brought up from the bed of the Tigris in the net of a fisherman.276 [Such barbarity, however, is contrary to law, as is stated in two former notes.—Ed.]
 
Note 9.—Of the Retaliation of Injuries on the Day of Resurrection. The "examination being past, and every one's works weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will follow according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made to him for the injuries which he hath suffered. And since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be, by taking away a proportionable part of the good works of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, 'Lord, we have given to every one his due, and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of an ant,' God will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into Paradise; but if, on the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, God will order that an equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to Hell laden with both."277
 
Note 10. "Rey?án" is a common proper name of men, now commonly given to slaves; and the name of the sweet basil in particular (also called "ree?án") and of sweet-smelling plants in general. It also signifies "any favour of God," "the supplies necessary for subsistence," "a son," &c.
 
Note 11. This ejaculation is addressed to God.
 
Note 12. In the original, "Mi?r," vulg., "Ma?r." This is the name which the Arabs give to Egypt, and which they have also given to its successive capitals, or seats of government, Memphis, Egyptian Babylon, El-Fus?á?, and El-?áhireh, or Cairo. It is here applied to Cairo, as will be shewn by the following note, and by the sequel of the tale, though this city was not founded until long after the reign of Hároon Er-Rasheed. I may here remark, that I have not found the name of "Mi?r" applied to Cairo in any Arabic work anterior to the conquest of Egypt by the 'Osmánlee Turks, which happened in the year of the Flight 923 (A.D. 1517). El-Fus?á? retained this appellation in the time of Es-Suyoo?ee, who died in the year of the Flight 911, but it ceased to do so before the time of El-Is-?á?ee, who brought down his history to the month of Rama?án, 1032 (A.D. 1623). It is probable, therefore, that the name of "Misr"[typo Mi?r] was transferred to Cairo on the occasion of the conquest by the Turks. I must not assert, that this observation alone enables us to form a decided judgment as to the period when this work was composed, as it may be objected that copyists have perhaps substituted "Mi?r" for "El-?áhireh;" but I persue the inquiry in the next note.
 
Note 13.—On several Evidences of the Period when this Work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or compiled or remodelled. The tale here presents another anachronism. The title of "Sul?án," as a prefix, was first borne by Ma?mood Ibn-Sabuktekeen, in the year of the Flight 393, just two hundred years after the death of Hároon Er-Rasheed; and there was no Sul?án of Egypt until the year of the Flight 567 of a little later; the first being the famous ?alá?-ed-Deen, or Saladin.
 
I have now given several data upon which to found a reasonable opinion as to the 275age when these tales, in the states in which they are known to us, were composed or compiled or remodelled. First, in Note 55 to Chapter ii., I have shewn that a fiction in one of the tales is framed in accordance with the distinction of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, by the colours of their turbans, which mode of distinction originated in the beginning of the eighth century of the Flight. Secondly, in the present note, I have mentioned a fact which affords some reason for inferring that there had been a long series of Sul?áns in Egypt before the age of the writer or writers. In the third place, I must remark, that all the events described in this work are said to have happened in ages which, with respect to that of the writer or writers, were ancient, being related to an ancient king; from which I think we may infer its age to have been at least two centuries posterior to the period mentioned in the first of these data. Fourthly, in Note 22 to Chapter iii., I have shewn that the state of manners and morals described in many of these tales agrees, in a most important point of view, with the manners and morals of the Arabs at the commencement of the tenth century of the Flight. This I regard as an argument of great weight, and especially satisfactory as agreeing with the inference just before drawn. Fifthly, from what I have stated in the note immediately preceding, I incline to the opinion that few of the copies of this work now known to us, if any, were written until after the conquest of Egypt by the Turks, in the year 1517 of our era. This opinion, it should be remarked, respects especially the early portion of the work, which is the least likely to have been interpolated, as later parts evidently have been. At the last-mentioned period, a native of Cairo (in which city I believe the principal portion of the work to have been written) might, if about forty years of age, retain a sufficient recollection of the later Memlook Sul?áns and of their ministers to describe his kings and courts without the necessity of consulting the writings of historians; deriving his knowledge of early times not from the perusal of any regular record, but only from traditions or from works like the present.—I should have delayed the insertion of the foregoing remarks, had I not considered it a point of some importance to suggest to the reader, as early as possible, that the manners and customs, and in general even the dresses and dwellings, described in most of the present tales, are those of a very late period. The lax state of morals which appears to have prevailed among the Arabs in the time of the writer or writers probably continued at least until the period when coffee became a common beverage, about the middle of the tenth century of the Flight (or near the middle of the sixteenth century of our era), and perhaps considerably later, until some years after the introduction of tobacco into the East. The researches of Von Hammer have satisfactorily shewn that the Thousand and One Nights, in the states in which it is known to us, is based upon a very old work, in Persian; an Arabic translation of which bore a similar, or perhaps the same, title as that which we are considering; but I believe the last to be, in its best features, a very late production.
 
Note 14. "Shems-ed-Deen" signifies "the Sun of the Religion;" and "Noor-ed-Deen," "the Light of the Religion."
 
Note 15.—Customs observed after a Death. Though the men, in Arabian countries, make no change in their dress in indication of mourning, they observe other customs after the death of a relation. By the term here used in the original for "mourning" ("'azá," the primary signification of which is "consolation" or "condolence"), an allusion is made to receiving the visits of condoling friends. On the night immediately following the burial, several persons are employed to perform recitations of portions of the ?ur-án, &c. The most remarkable of these ceremonies consists in repeating thrice one thousand times, "There is no deity but God:" one of the performers having a string of a thousand large beads by means of which to count these repetitions. Some persons are also hired to perform a recitation of the whole of the ?ur-án in the afternoon or evening of the first Thursday after the funeral, and often on other days; and the merit of these and the former religious acts is transferred to the soul of the de276ceased.—These customs I have fully described in my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. ch. xv.
 
Note 16. The island here alluded to is that called "Er-Ró?ah," or "The Garden."
 
Note 17. The prayer-carpet, which resembles a wide hearth-rug, is seldom used as a covering for the saddle except when the rider is a person of the learned profession. It is probably mentioned here to shew that Noor-ed-Deen was an officer of the pen, which was generally the case with the Wezeers of the Sul?áns of Egypt.
 
Note 18. Jerusalem is called in the original, and by the modern Arabs, "El-?uds," which signifies "Holiness."
 
Note 19. The Arabic name of Aleppo is "?alab."
 
Note 20. An Arab of rank is seldom seen on foot outside the threshold of his own house, unless it be merely to cross the street.
 
Note 21. The decoration here alluded to consists in furnishing the apartment with costly carpets, handsome cushions, rich coverings for the deewáns, and coloured lamps, &c.
 
Note 22. This, to some readers, may appear odd: it should therefore be explained that most articles of Arab clothing are equally suitable to young and old, thin and stout.
 
Note 23. "?asan" signifies "Beautiful" or "Handsome."
 
Note 24.—On Infancy and Education. I may avoid an unnecessary multiplication of notes on the same, or nearly the same, subject, by availing myself of this occasion to insert here the following illustrations of numerous passages, in the preceding and subsequent tales, relating to infancy and education.
 
In few cases are the Mohammadans so much fettered by the directions of their Prophet and other religious institutors as in the rearing and educating of their children. In matters of the most trivial nature, religious precedents direct their management of the young. One of the first duties is, to wrap the new-born child in clean white linen, or in linen of some other colour; but not yellow. After this, some person [not a female] should pronounce the adán278 in the ear of the infant, because the Prophet did so in the ear of El-?asan when Fátimeh gave birth to him; or he should pronounce the adán in the right ear, and the i?ameh (which is nearly the same) in the left.279
 
It was formerly a custom of many of the Arabs, and perhaps is still among some, for the father to give a feast to his friends on seven successive days after the birth of a son; but that of a daughter was observed with less rejoicing. The general modern custom is, to give an entertainment only on the seventh day, which is called "Yóm es-Suboo?." On this occasion, the mother, having left her bed, receives her guests; the child is exhibited to them; and they give presents of gold or silver coins, which are generally used to decorate the infant's head-dress. The father entertains his friends in the evening.
 
On this day, or on the fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, or thirty-fifth day after the birth, several religious ceremonies are required to be performed; but they are most approved if observed on the seventh day. One of these is the naming. I believe, however, that it is a more common custom to give the name almost immediately after the birth, or about three hours after. Astrologers were often consulted on this occasion; but the following directions are given on higher authority, and are generally 277observed.—"The father should give his son a good name, ... not a name of self-praise, as Rasheed [Orthodox], Emeen [Faithful], &c.... The prophet said, 'The names most approved by God are 'Abd-Allah [Servant of God] and 'Abd-Er-Ra?mán [Servant of the Compassionate], and such like.' He also said, 'Give my name, but do not distinguish by my surname of relationship:' but this precept, they say, respects his own life-time, ... because he was addressed, 'O Abu-l-?ásim!' and now it is not disapproved; but some disapprove of uniting the name and surname, so as to call a person Mohammad and Abu-l-?ásim. And if a son be called by the name of a prophet it is not allowable to abuse or vilify him, unless the person so named be facing his reproacher, who should say, 'Thou' [without mentioning his name]: and a child named Mo?ammad or A?mad should be [especially] honoured.... The Prophet said, 'There is no people holding a consultation at which there is present one whose name is Mo?ammad or A?mad, but God blesseth all that assembly:' and again he said, 'Whoever nameth his child by my name, or by that of any of my children or my companions, from affection to me or to them, God (whose name be exalted!) will give him in Paradise what eye hath not seen nor ear heard.' And a son should not be named King of kings, or Lord of lords; nor should a man take a surname of relationship from the name of the eldest of his children; nor take any such surname before a child is born to him."280—The custom of naming children after prophets, or after relations or companions of Mo?ammad, is very common. No ceremony is observed on account of the naming.
 
On the same day, however, two practices which I am about to mention are prescribed to be observed; though, as far as my observations and inquiries allow me to judge, they are generally neglected by the modern Muslims. The first of these is a sacrifice. The victim is called 'a?ee?ah. It should be a ram or goat; or two such animals should be sacrificed for a son, and one for a daughter. This rite is regarded by Ibn-?ambal as absolutely obligatory: he said, "If a father sacrifice not for his son, and he [the son] die, that son will not intercede for him on the day of judgment." The founders of the three other principal sects regard it in different and less important lights, though Mohammad slew an 'a?ee?ah for himself after his prophetic mission. The person should say, on slaying the victim, "O God, verily this a?ee[.]kah is a ransom for my son such a one; its blood for his blood, and its flesh for his flesh, and its bone for his bone, and its skin for his skin, and its hair for his hair. O God, make it a ransom for my son from Hell-fire." A bone of the victim should not be broken.281 The midwife should receive a leg of it. It should be cooked without previously cutting off any portion of it; and part of it should be given in alms.—After this should be performed the other ceremony above alluded to, which is this. It is a sunneh ordinance, incumbent on the father, to shave, or cause to be shaved, the head of his child, and to give, in alms to the poor, the weight of the hair in gold or silver. This should also be done for a proselyte.282 On the subsequent occasions of shaving the head of a male child (for the head of the male is frequently shaven), a tuft of hair is generally left on the crown, and commonly, for several years, another also over the forehead.
 
Circumcision is most approved if performed on the same day:283 but the observance of this rite is generally delayed until the child has attained the age of five or six years, and sometimes several years later. I shall therefore delay mentioning the ceremonies with which it is celebrated.
 
The Muslims rightly regard a child as a trust committed by God to its parents, who, they hold, are responsible for the manner in which they bring it up, and will be examined on this subject on the day of judgment. But they further venture to say, that "the first who will lay hold of a man on the day of judgment will be his wife and 278children, who [if he have been deficient in his duty to them] will present themselves before God, and say, 'O our Lord, take for us our due from him; for he taught us not that of which we were ignorant, and he fed us with forbidden food, and we knew not:' and their due will be taken from him."284 By this is meant, that a certain proportion of the good works which the man may have done, and his children and wife neglected, will be set down to their account; or that a similar proportion of their evil works will be transferred to his account.
 
The mother is enjoined by the law to give suck to her child two full years, unless she have her husband's consent to shorten the period, or to employ another nurse. "For suckling the child, a virtuous woman, who eateth only what is lawful, should be chosen; for the unlawful [food] will manifest its evil in the child: as the Prophet ... said, 'Giving suck altereth the tempers.' But it is recommended by the sunneh that the mother herself suckle the child; for it is said in a tradition, 'There is nothing better for a child than its mother's milk.' 'If thou wouldst try,' it is added,'whether a child be of an ingenuous disposition in its infancy, or not, order a woman who is not its mother to suckle it after its mother has done so; and if it drink of the milk of the woman who is not its mother, it is not of an ingenuous disposition.'"285
 
Children, being regarded by Muslim parents as enviable blessings, are, to them, objects of the most anxious solicitude. To guard them from the supposed influence of the envious or evil eye, they have recourse to various expedients. When they are taken abroad, they are usually clad in the most slovenly manner, and left unwashed, or even purposely smeared with dirt; and as a further precaution, a fantastic cap is often put upon the child's head, or its head-dress is decorated with one or more coins, a feather, a gay tassel, or a written charm or two sewed up in leather or encased in gold or silver, or some other appendage to attract the eye, that so the infant itself may pass unnoticed. If a person express his admiration of another's child otherwise than by some pious ejaculation, as, for instance, by praising its Creator (with the exclamation of "Sub?ána-lláh!" or, "Má sháa-lláh!" &c.) or invoking a blessing on the Prophet, he fills the mind of the parent with apprehension; and recourse is had to some superstitious ceremony to counteract the dreaded influence of his envious glance. The children of the poor are less exposed to this imaginary danger from their unattractive appearance: they generally have little clothing, or none whatever, and are extremely dirty. It is partly with the view of protecting them from the evil eye, that those of the rich are so long confined to the ?areem: there they are petted and pampered for several years; at least until they are of age to go to school; but most of them are instructed at home.
 
The children of the Muslims are taught to shew to their fathers a degree of respect which might be deemed incompatible with the existence of a tender mutual affection; but I believe that this is not the case. The child greets the father in the morning by kissing his hand, and then usually stands before him in a respectful attitude, with the left hand covered by the right, to receive any order or to await his permission to depart; but after the respectful kiss, is often taken on the lap. After the period of infancy, the well-bred son seldom sits in the presence of his father; but during that period he is generally allowed much familiarity. A Syrian merchant, who was one of my near neighbours in Cairo, had a child of exquisite beauty, commonly supposed to be his daughter, whom, though he was a most bigoted Muslim, he daily took with him from his private house to his shop. The child followed him, seated upon an ass, before a black slave; and, until about six years old, was dressed like most young ladies, but without a face-veil. The father then thinking that the appearance of taking about with him a daughter of that age was scandalous, dressed his pet as a boy, and told his friends that the female attire had been employed as a protection against the evil eye; girls being less coveted than boys. This indeed is sometimes done; and it is possible that such might have been the case in this instance; but I was led to believe that it 279was not so. A year after, I left Cairo: while I remained there, I continued to see the child pass my house as before; but always in boy's clothing.
 
It is not surprising that the natives of Arabian countries, where a very trifling expense is required to rear the young, should be generally desirous of a numerous offspring. A motive of self-interest conduces forcibly to cherish this feeling in a wife, for she is commonly esteemed by her husband in proportion to her fruitfulness; and a man is seldom willing to divorce a wife, or to sell a slave, who has borne him a child. A similar feeling also induces in both parents a desire to obtain offspring, and renders them at the same time resigned to the loss of such of their children as die in tender age. This feeling arises from their belief of certain services, of greater moment than the richest blessings this world can bestow, which children who die in infancy are to render to their parents. The Prophet is related to have said, "The infant children [of the Muslims] shall assemble at the scene of judgment on the day of the general resurrection, when all creatures shall appear for the reckoning, and it will be said to the angels, 'Go ye with these into Paradise:' and they will halt at the gate of Paradise, and it will be said to them, 'Welcome to the offspring of the Muslims! enter ye Paradise: there is no reckoning to be made with you:' and they will reply, 'Yea, and our fathers and our mothers:' but the guardians of Paradise will say, 'Verily your fathers and your mothers are not with you because they have committed faults and sins for which they must be reckoned with and inquired of.' Then they will shriek and cry at the gate of Paradise with a great cry; and God (whose name be exalted!) and who is all-knowing respecting them will say, 'What is this cry?' It will be answered, 'O our Lord, the children of the Muslims say, We will not enter Paradise but with our fathers and our mothers.' Whereupon God (whose name be exalted!) will say 'Pass among them all, and take the hands of your parents, and introduce them into Paradise.'" The children who are to have this power are such as are born of believers, and die without having attained to the knowledge of sin; and according to one tradition, one such child will introduce his parents into Paradise. [Such infants only are to enter Paradise; for, of the children who die in infancy, those of believers alone are they who would believe if they grew to years of discretion.] On the same authority it is said, "When a child of the servant [of God] dies, God (whose name be exalted!) saith to the angels, 'Have ye taken the child of my servant?' They answer, 'Yea.' He saith, 'Have ye taken the child of his heart?' They reply, 'Yea.' He asketh them, 'What did my servant say?' They answer, 'He praised thee, and said, Verily to God we belong, and verily unto Him we return!' Then God will say, 'Build for my servant a house in Paradise, and name it the House of Praise.'" To these traditions, which I find related as proofs of the advantages of marriage, the following anecdote, which is of a similar nature, is added. A certain man, who would not take a wife, awoke one day from his sleep, and demanded to be married, saying, as his reason, "I dreamt that the resurrection had taken place, and that I was among the beings collected at the scene of judgment, but was suffering a thirst that stopped up the passage of my stomach; and lo, there were youths passing through the assembly, having in their hands ewers of silver, and cups of gold, and giving drink to one person after another; so I stretched forth my hand to one of them, and said, 'Give me to drink; for thirst overpowereth me:' but they answered, 'Thou hast no child among us: we give drink only to our fathers.' I asked them, 'Who are ye?' They replied, 'We are the deceased infant children of the Muslims.'"286 Especial rewards in heaven are promised to mothers. "When a woman conceives by her husband," said the Prophet, "she is called in heaven a martyr [i.e. she is ranked as a martyr in dignity]; and her labour in child-bed, and her care for her children, protect her from Hell-fire.'"287
 
"When the child begins to speak, the father should teach him first the kelimeh [or profession of faith], 'There is no deity but God: [Mo?ammad is God's apostle:]'—he 280should dictate this to him seven times. Then he should instruct him to say, 'Wherefore, exalted be God, the King, the Truth! There is no deity but He, the Lord of the honourable throne."288 He should teach him also the Throne-verse,289 and the closing words of the ?ashr, 'He is God, beside whom there is no deity, the King, the Holy,'" &c.290
 
As soon as a son is old enough, his father should teach him the most important rules of decent behaviour: placing some food before him, he should order him to take it with the right hand (the left being employed for unclean purposes), and to say, on commencing, "In the name of God;" to eat what is next to him, and not to hurry, nor spill any of the food upon his person or dress. He should teach him that it is disgusting to eat much. He should particularly condemn to him the love of gold and silver, and caution him against covetousness as he would against serpents and scorpions; and forbid his spitting in an assembly, and committing any similar breach of good manners, talking much, turning his back upon another, standing in an indolent attitude, and speaking ill of any person to another. He should keep him from bad companions, teach him the ?ur-án and all requisite divine and prophetic ordinances, and instruct him in the arts of swimming and archery, and in some virtuous trade; for trade is a security from poverty. He should also command him to endure patiently the chastisements of his teacher. In one tradition it is said, "When a boy attains the age of six years he should be disciplined; and when he attains to nine years he should be put in a separate bed; and when he attains to ten years he should be beaten for [neglecting] prayer:" in another tradition, "Order your children to pray at seven [years], and beat them for [neglecting] it at ten, and put them in separate beds."291
 
Circumcision, which has before been mentioned, is generally performed before the boy is submitted to the instruction of the schoolmaster.292 Previously to the performance of this rite, he is, if belonging to the higher or middle rank of society, usually paraded about the neighbourhood of his parents' dwelling, gaily attired, chiefly with female habits and ornaments, but with a boy's turban on his head, mounted on a horse, preceded by musicians, and followed by a group of his female relations and friends. This ceremony is observed by the great with much pomp and with sumptuous feasts. El-Jabartee mentions a fête celebrated on the occasion of the circumcision of a son of the ?á?ee of Cairo, in the year of the Flight 1179 (A.D. 1766), when the grandees and chief merchants and 'ulamà of the city sent him such abundance of presents that the magazines of his mansion were filled with rice and butter and honey and sugar; the great hall, with coffee; and the middle of the court, with firewood: the public were amused for many days by players and performers of various kinds; and when the youth was paraded through the streets he was attended by numerous memlooks with their richly-caparisoned horses and splendid arms and armour and military band, and by a number of other youths who, from compliment to him, were circumcised afterwards with him. This latter custom is usual on such occasions; and so also is the sending of presents, such as those above mentioned, by friends, acquaintances, and tradespeople.' At a fête of this kind, when the Khaleefeh El-Mu?tedir circumcised five of his sons, the money that was scattered in presents amounted to six hundred thousand pieces of gold, or about ￡300,000. Many orphans were also circumcised on the same day, and were presented with clothes and pieces of gold.293 The Khaleefeh above mentioned was famous for his magnificence, a proof of which I have given in a former note. At the more approved entertainments which are given in celebration of a circumcision, a recital of the whole of the ?ur-án, or a zikr, is performed: at some others, male or 281female public dancers perform in the court of the house, or in the street before the door.
 
Few of the children of the Arabs receive much instruction in literature, and still fewer are taught even the rudiments of any of the higher sciences; but there are numerous schools in their towns, and one at least in almost every moderately large village. The former are mostly attached to mosques and other public buildings, and, together with those buildings, endowed by princes or other men of rank, or wealthy tradesmen. In these, the children are instructed either gratis or for a very trifling weekly payment, which all parents, except those in indigent circumstances, can easily afford. The schoolmaster generally teaches nothing more than to read, and to recite by heart the whole of the ?ur-án. After committing to memory the first chapter of the sacred volume, the boy learns the rest in the inverse order of their arrangement, as they generally decrease in length. Writing and arithmetic are usually taught by another master; and grammar, rhetoric, versification, logic, the interpretation of the ?ur-án, and the whole system of religion and law, with all other knowledge deemed useful, which seldom includes the mere elements of mathematics, are attained by studying at a collegiate mosque, and at no expense; for the professors receive no pay either from the students, who are mostly of the poorer classes, or from the funds of the mosque.
 
The wealthy often employ for their sons a private tutor; and, when he has taught them to read, and to recite the ?ur-án, engage for them a writing-master, and then send them to the college. But among this class, polite literature is more considered than any other branch of knowledge, after religion. Such an acquaintance with the works of some of their favourite poets as enables a man to quote them occasionally in society, is regarded by the Arabs as essential to a son who is to mix in genteel company; and to this acquirement is often added some skill in the art of versification, which is rendered peculiarly easy by the copiousness of the Arabic language, and by its system of inflection. These characteristics of their noble tongue (which are remarkably exhibited by the custom, common among the Arabs, of preserving the same rhyme throughout a whole poem), while on the one hand they have given an admirable freedom to the compositions of men of true poetic genius, have on the other hand mainly contributed to the degradation of Arabic poetry. To an Arab of some little learning it is almost as easy to speak in verse as in prose; and hence he often intersperses his prose writings, and not unfrequently his conversation, with indifferent verses, of which the chief merit often consists in puns, or in an ingenious use of several words nearly the same in sound, but differing in sense. To a reader unacquainted with the Arabic language it is necessary to explain this custom; otherwise he would imagine that the author of the present work is merely indulging in a dramatic licence inconsistent with a true delineation of manners, when he makes a person suddenly change the style of his speech from prose to verse, and then revert to the former.
 
One more duty of a father to a son I should here mention: it is, to procure for him a wife as soon as he has arrived at a proper age. This age is decided by some to be twenty years; though many young men marry at an earlier period. It is said, "When a son has attained the age of twenty years, his father, if able, should marry him, and then take his hand, and say, 'I have disciplined thee, and taught thee, and married thee: I now seek refuge with God from thy mischief in the present world and the next.'" To enforce this duty, the following tradition is urged: "When a son attains to the age of puberty, and his father does not marry him, and yet is able to do so, if the youth commit an improper act in consequence, the sin of it is between the two,"—or, as in another report,—"on the father."294 The same is held to be the case with respect to a daughter who has attained the age of twelve years.295
 
The female children of the Arabs are seldom taught even to read. Though they are 282admissible at the daily schools in which the boys are instructed, very few parents allow them the benefit of this privilege; preferring, if they give them any instruction of a literary kind, to employ a sheykhah (or learned woman) to teach them at home. She instructs them in the forms of prayer, and teaches them to repeat by heart a few chapters of the ?ur-án; very rarely the whole book. Parents are indeed recommended to withhold from their daughters some portions of the ?ur-án; to "teach them the Soorat en-Noor [or 24th chapter], and keep from them the Soorat-Yoosuf [12th chapter]; on account of the story of Zeleekhà and Yoosuf in the latter, and the prohibitions and threats and mention of punishments contained in the former."296
 
Needlework is not so rarely, but yet not generally, taught to Arab girls: the spindle frequently employs those of the poorer classes; and some of them learn to weave. The daughters of persons of the middle and higher ranks are often instructed in the art of embroidery, and in other ornamental work, which are taught in schools and in private houses. Singing, and playing upon the lute, which were formerly not uncommon female accomplishments among the wealthy Arabs, are now almost exclusively confined, like dancing, to professional performers and a few of the slaves in the ?areems of the great: it is very seldom now that any musical instrument is seen in the hand of an Arab lady, except a kind of drum called darabukkeh, and a ?ár (or tambourine), which are found in many ?areems, and are beaten with the fingers.297 Some care, however, is bestowed by the ladies in teaching their daughters what they consider an elegant gait and carriage, as well as various alluring and voluptuous arts with which to increase the attachment of their future husbands.
 
Note 25.—Water-wheels. The water-wheels here mentioned are machines commonly used for the purpose of irrigating fields and gardens. They are generally turned by a pair of cows or bulls. They raise the water from a river or well in a series of earthen pots attached to cords which pass over a vertical wheel, and pour it into a trough, from which it flows in narrow channels through the space of ground to be irrigated. A cogged vertical wheel is attached to the same axis as the former; and this, and consequently the other also, are turned by means of a larger, horizontal, cogged wheel. The ground is divided into hollow squares, or furrows, into each of which in succession the water is admitted.
 
Note 26. "Bedr-ed-Deen" signifies "the Full Moon of the Religion."
 
Note 27. I have here omitted the name of Shems-ed-Deen, and his office; as ?asan's knowledge of them would render the sequel of the story too improbable even to an Arab.
 
Note 28. In the original, this paper is here said to have been written by ?asan in accordance with the dictation of his father; but afterwards it is said to have been written by the latter; and this is more consistent with the rest of the tale.
 
Note 29. Papers of importance are often wrapped in waxed cloth to preserve them from wet, which would efface the writing, as the Arab ink is chiefly composed of smoke-black and gum and water.
 
Note 30. In the original, the cap is not here mentioned; but it is afterwards.
 
Note 31. This paragraph and the verses interspersed in it are translated from the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights.
 
Note 32. The poet here alluded to is El-Mutanebbee.
 
Note 33. It is a common custom of Eastern kings and governors to avail themselves of any pretext for seizing upon the property of a deceased officer who has accumulated much wealth.
 
283
 
Note 34. It is implied that he was sitting at the door, or in the court, of his house.
 
Note 35. His taking a copy is mentioned afterwards in the original; but not in this place.
 
Note 36. I have designated by the appellation of "dye-women" (from want-of a better) those females who are employed to apply the ?ennà, which imparts a deep orange-red dye, to the nails or tips of the fingers, the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, &c. Some Arab ladies, especially on such an occasion as that here described, are ornamented with this dye in a more fanciful manner. The woman who applies it is called in Arabic "muna??isheh."
 
Note 37. The chief office of the tire-woman (in Arabic, "máshi?áh") is to comb and plait the hair. She attends the ladies in the bath; and hence is also called "belláneh."
 
Note 38. A "ma??abah" is a bench of stone or brick, generally between two and three feet in height, and about the same in width, built against the front of a shop, and sometimes along the front of a private house. [See Note 22 to Chapter i.—Ed.]
 
Note 39.—On Marriage. Previously to the perusal of the first description of a nuptial fête that occurs in this work, the reader may perhaps desire some introductory information, which I shall here endeavour to convey in such a manner as to make the present note serve to illustrate many future allusions in these pages, and not merely the foregoing tale.
 
Marriage is regarded by the Muslims in general as a positive duty; and to neglect it, without a sufficient excuse, subjects a man to severe reproach. "When a servant [of God]," said the Prophet, "marries, verily he perfects half his religion."298 He once asked a man, "Art thou married?" The man answered, "No." "And art thou," said he, "sound and healthy?" The answer was, "Yes." "Then," said Mo?ammad, "thou art one of the brothers of the devils; for the most wicked among you are the unmarried; and the most vile among your dead are the unmarried; moreover the married are those who are acquitted of filthy conversation; and by Him in whose hand is my soul, the devil hath not a weapon more effective against the virtuous, both men and women, than the neglect of marriage."299 Some remarks on this subject, and on the advantages of marriage, have been made in a preceding note on infancy and education.
 
The number of wives whom a Muslim may have at the same time is four. He may marry free women, or take concubine slaves, or have of both these classes. It is the opinion of most persons, I believe, among the more strictly religious, that a man may not have more than four women, whether they be wives alone, or concubine slaves alone, or of both classes together; but the practice of some of the Companions of the Prophet, who cannot be accused of violating his precepts, affords a strong argument to the contrary. 'Alee, it is said, "was the most devout of the Companions; but he had four wives and seventeen concubines besides, and married, after Fá?imeh (may God be well pleased with her!), among all that he married and divorced, more than two hundred women: and sometimes he included four wives in one contract, and sometimes divorced four at one time, taking other four in their stead."300 This may perhaps be an exaggerated statement: but it is certain that the custom of keeping an unlimited number of concubines was common among wealthy Muslims in the first century of the Mohammadan era, and has so continued. The famous author of the work above quoted urges the example of Solomon to prove that the possession of numerous concubines is not inconsistent with piety and good morals; not considering that God made but one wife for Adam.
 
It has been mentioned in the first of the notes to this work, that a Muslim may 284divorce his wife twice, and each time take her back. This he may do, even against her wish, during a fixed period, which cannot extend beyond three months, unless she be enceinte, in which latter case she must wait until the birth of her child before she will be at liberty to contract a new marriage. During this period the husband is obliged to maintain her. If he divorce her a third time, or by a triple sentence, he cannot take her again unless with her own consent, and by a new contract, and after another marriage has been consummated between her and another husband, and this husband also has divorced her.
 
It is not a common custom, especially among the middle ranks, for an Arab to have more than one wife at the same time; but there are few of middle age who have not had several different wives at different periods, tempted to change by the facility of divorce. The case of 'Alee has been mentioned above. Mugheyreh Ibn-She?beh married eighty women in the course of his life;301 and several more remarkable instances of the love of change are recorded by Arab writers: the most extraordinary case of this kind that I have met with was that of Mo?ammad Ibn-E?-?eiyib, the Dyer, of Baghdád, who died in the year of the Flight 423, aged eighty-five years; of whom it is related, on most respectable authority, that he married more than nine hundred women!302—Supposing, therefore, that he married his first wife when he was fifteen years of age, he must have had, on the average, nearly thirteen wives per annum. The women, in general, cannot of course marry so many successive husbands, not only because a woman cannot have more than one husband at a time, but also because she cannot divorce her husband. There have been, however, many instances of Arab women who have married a surprising number of men in rapid succession. Among these may be mentioned Umm-Khárijeh, who gave occasion to a proverb on this subject. This woman, who was of the tribe of Bejeeleh, in El-Yemen, married upwards of forty husbands; and her son Khárijeh knew not who was his father. She used to contract a marriage in the quickest possible manner: a man saying to her, "Khi?bun" (betrothal), she replied, "Nik-?un" (marriage), and thus became his lawful wife. She had a very numerous progeny; several tribes originating from her.303
 
For the choice of a wife, a man generally relies on his mother, or some other near female relation, or a professional female betrother (who is called "khá?ibeh"); for there are many women who perform this office for hire. The law allows him to see the face of the female whom he proposes to marry, previously to his making the contract; but in the present day this liberty is seldom obtained, except among the lower orders. Unless in this case, a man is not allowed to see unveiled any woman but his own wife or slave, and those women to whom the law prohibits his uniting himself in marriage: nay, according to some, he is not allowed to "see" his own niece unveiled, though he may not marry her. It should be added, that a slave may lawfully see the face of his own mistress; but this privilege is seldom granted in the present day to any slave but a eunuch. An infringement of the law above mentioned is held to be extremely sinful in both parties: "The curse of God," said the Prophet, "is on the seer and the seen:" yet it is very often disregarded in the case of women of the lower orders.
 
A man is forbidden, by the ?ur-án304 and the Sunneh, to marry his mother, or other ascendant; daughter, or other descendant; his sister, or half-sister; the sister of his father or mother or other ascendant; his niece, or any of her descendants; his foster-mother who has suckled him five times in the course of the first two years, or a woman related to him by milk in any of the degrees which would preclude his marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity; the mother of his wife, even if he has not consummated his marriage with this wife; the daughter of his wife, if he has consummated his marriage with the latter (but if he has not done so, and this wife 285is divorced from him, or dead, he may marry her daughter); his father's wife, and his son's wife; and to have at the same time two wives who are sisters, or aunt and niece: he is forbidden also to marry his unemancipated slave, or another man's slave if he has already a free wife; and to marry any woman but one of his own faith, or a Christian, or a Jewess. A Mohammadan woman, however, may only marry a man of her own faith. An unlawful intercourse with any woman prevents a man from marrying any of her relations who would be forbidden to him if she were his wife.
 
The reader has already seen that a cousin (the daughter of a paternal uncle) is often chosen as a wife, on account of the tie of blood, which is likely to attach her more strongly to her husband, or on account of an affection conceived in early years. Parity of rank is generally much regarded; and a man is often unable to obtain as his wife the daughter of one of a different profession or trade, unless an inferior; or a younger daughter when an elder remains unmarried. A girl is often married at the age of twelve years, and sometimes at ten, or even nine: the usual period is between twelve and sixteen years. At the age of thirteen or fourteen she may be a mother. The young men marry a few years later.
 
The most important requisite in a wife is religion. The Prophet said, "A virtuous wife is better than the world and all that it contains." "A virtuous wife," said Lu?mán, "is like a crown on the head of a king; and a wicked wife is like a heavy burden on the back of an old man." Among the other chief requisites are agreeableness of temper, and beauty of form (undiminished by any defect or irregularity of features or members), moderation in the amount of dowry required, and good birth. It is said, "if thou marry not a virgin, [which is most desirable,] marry a divorced woman, and not a widow; for the divorced woman will respect thy words when thou sayest, 'If there were any good in thee thou hadst not been divorced;' whereas the widow will say, 'May God have mercy on such a one! he hath left me to one unsuited to me.'" But according to another selfish maxim, the woman most to be avoided is she who is divorced from a man by whom she has had a child; for her heart is with him, and she is an enemy to the man who marries her after.305—Modesty is a requisite upon which too much stress cannot be laid; but this, to an English reader, requires some explanation. 'Alee asked his wife Fá?imeh, "Who is the best of women?" She answered, "She who sees not men, and whom they see not."306 Modesty, therefore, in the opinion of the Muslims, is most eminently shown by a woman's concealing her person, and restraining her eyes, from men. "The best rank of men [in a mosque]," said the Prophet, "is the front; and the best rank of women is the rear:"307 that is, those most distant from the men: but better than even these are the women who pray at home.308—Fruitfulness is also a desirable qualification to be considered in the choice of a wife: "it may be known in maidens," says the Prophet, "from their relations; because, generally speaking, kindred are similar in disposition, &c."309 Lastly, contentment is to be enumerated among the requisites. It is said, on the same authority, "Verily the best of women are those that are most content with little."310 To obtain a contented and submissive wife, many men make their selection from among the classes inferior to them in rank. Others, with a similar view, prefer a concubine slave in the place of a wife.
 
The consent of a girl not arrived at the age of puberty is not required: her father, or, if he is dead, her nearest adult male relation, or a guardian appointed by will or by the ?á?ee, acts as her wekeel, or deputy, to effect the marriage-contract for her. If of age, she appoints her own deputy. A dowry is required to legalize the marriage; and the least dowry allowed by the law is ten dirhems, or drachms of silver; about five shillings of our money. Mo?ammad married certain of his wives for a dowry of ten dirhems 286and the household necessaries, which were a handmill to grind the corn, a water-jar, and a pillow of skin or leather stuffed with the fibres of the palm-tree, which are called "leef:" but some he married for a dowry of five hundred dirhems.311 With the increase of wealth and luxury, dowries have increased in amount; but, to our ideas, they are still trifling; a sum equivalent to about twenty pounds sterling being a common dowry among Arabs of the middle classes for a virgin, and half or a third or quarter of that sum for a divorced woman or a widow. Two-thirds of the sum is usually paid before making the contract, and the remaining portion held in reserve to be paid to the woman in case of her divorce or in case of the husband's death. The father or guardian of a girl under age receives the former portion of her dowry; but it is considered as her property, and he generally expends it, with an additional sum from his own purse, in the purchase of necessary furniture, dress, &c., for her, which the husband can never take from her against her own wish.
 
The marriage-contract is generally, in the present day, merely verbal; but sometimes a certificate is written, and sealed by the ?á?ee. The most approved or propitious period for this act is the month of Showwál: the most unpropitious, Mo?arram. The only persons whose presence is required to perform it are the bridegroom (or his deputy), the bride's deputy (who is the betrother), two male witnesses, if such can be easily procured, and the ?á?ee or a schoolmaster or some other person to recite a khu?beh, which consists of a few words in praise of God, a form of blessing on the Prophet, and some passages of the ?ur-án, respecting marriage. They all recite the Fát'?ah (or opening chapter of the ?ur-án), after which the bridegroom pays the money. The latter and the bride's deputy then seat themselves on the ground, face to face, and grasp each other's right hand, raising the thumbs, and pressing them against each other. Previously to the khu?beh, the person who recites this formula places a handkerchief over the two joined hands; and after the khu?beh he dictates to the two contracting parties what they are to say. The betrother generally uses the following or a similar form of words: "I betroth to thee my daughter [or her for whom I act as deputy] such a one [naming the bride], the virgin, [or the adult virgin, &c.,] for a dowry of such an amount." The bridegroom answers, "I accept from thee her betrothal to myself." This is all that is absolutely necessary; but the address and reply are usually repeated a second and third time, and are often expressed in fuller forms of words. The contract is concluded with the recital of the Fát'?ah by all persons present.
 
This betrothal, or marriage-contract, is often performed several years before the consummation, when the two parties are yet children; or during the infancy of the girl; but generally not more than about eight or ten days before the former event. The household furniture and dress prepared for the bride are sent by her family to the bridegroom's house, usually conveyed by a train of camels, two or three or more days before she is conducted thither.
 
The feasts and processions which are now to be mentioned are only observed in the case of a virgin bride; a widow or divorced woman being remarried in a private manner. I describe them chiefly in accordance with the usages of Cairo, which appear to me most agreeable, in general, with the descriptions and allusions in the present work.—The period most commonly approved for the consummation of marriage is the eve of Friday, or that of Monday. Previously to this event, the bridegroom once or twice or more frequently gives a feast to his friends; and for several nights, his house and the houses of his near neighbours are usually illuminated by numerous clusters of lamps, or by lanterns, suspended in front of them; some, to cords drawn across the street. To these or other cords are also suspended small flags, or square pieces of silk, each of two different colours, generally red and green. Some say that the feast or feasts should be given on the occasion of the contract; others, on the consummation; others, again, on both these occasions.312 The usual custom of the people of Cairo is to give a feast on 287the night immediately preceding that of the consummation, and another on the latter night; but some commence their feasts earlier. Respecting marriage-feasts, the Prophet said, "The first day's feast is an incumbent duty; and the second day's, a sunneh ordinance; and the third day's, for ostentation and notoriety:" and he forbade eating at the feast of the ostentatious.313 It is a positive duty to accept an invitation to a marriage-feast or other lawful entertainment; but the guest is not obliged to eat.314 The persons invited, and all intimate friends, generally send presents of provisions of some kind a day or two before. The Prophet taught that marriage-feasts should be frugal: the best that he gave was with one goat.315 He approved of demonstrations of joy at the celebration of a marriage with songs, and, according to one tradition, by the beating of deffs (or tambourines); but in another tradition the latter practice is condemned.316 The preferable mode of entertaining the guests is by the performance of a zikr.
 
The bride is conducted to the bridegroom's house in the afternoon immediately preceding the night of consummation. On the day next preceding that on which she is conducted thither, she goes to the public bath, accompanied by a number of her female relations and friends. The procession generally pursues a circuitous route, for the sake of greater display; and on leaving the house, turns to the right. In Cairo, the bride walks under a canopy of silk borne by four men, with one of her near female relations on each side of her. Young unmarried girls walk before her; these are preceded by the married ladies; and the procession is headed and closed by a few musicians with drums and hautboys. The bride wears a kind of pasteboard crown, or cap; and is completely veiled from the view of spectators by a Kashmeer shawl placed over her crown and whole person; but some handsome ornaments of the head are attached externally. The other women are dressed in the best of their walking-attire. In the case, however, of a bride of high rank, or of wealth, and often in the case of one belonging to a family of the middle class, the ladies ride upon high-saddled asses, without music or canopy; and the bride is only distinguished by a Kashmeer shawl instead of the usual black silk covering; one or more eunuchs sometimes riding at the head. In the bath, after the ordinary operations of washing, &c., a feast is made, and the party are often entertained by female singers. Having returned in the same manner to her home, the bride's friends there partake of a similar entertainment with her. Her hands and feet are then stained with ?ennà, and her eyes ornamented with ko?l; and her friends give her small presents of money, and take their leave. "It is a sunneh ordinance that the bride wash her feet in a clean vessel, and sprinkle the water in the corners of the chamber, that a blessing may result from this. She should also brighten her face, and put on the best of her apparel, and adorn her eyes with ko?l, and stain [her hands and feet] with ?ennà [as above mentioned]; and she should abstain, during the first week, from eating anything that contains mustard, and from vinegar, and sour apples."317
 
The bride is conducted to the house of the bridegroom (on the following day) in the same manner as to the bath, or with more pomp. In Cairo, the bridal processions of persons of very high rank are conducted with singular display. The train is usually headed by buffoons and musicians, and a water-carrier loaded with a goat's-skin filled with sand and water, of very great weight, which is often borne for many hours before, as well as during, the procession, merely to amuse the spectators by this feat of strength. Then follow (interrupted by groups of male or female dancers, jugglers, &c.) numerous decorated open waggons, or cars, each of which contains several members of some particular trade or art engaged in their ordinary occupations, or one such person with attendants: in one, for instance, a ?ahwejee (or ?ahvejee), with his assistants and pots 288and cups and fire, making coffee for the spectators: in a second, makers of sweetmeats: in a third, makers of pancakes (fa?eerehs): in a fourth, silk-lace manufacturers: in a fifth, a silk-weaver, with his loom: in a sixth, tinners of copper vessels, at their work: in a seventh, white-washers, whitening over and over again a wall: in short, almost every manufacture, &c., has its representatives in a different waggon. El-Jabartee describes a procession of this kind in which there were upwards of seventy parties of different trades and arts, each party in a separate waggon, besides buffoons, wrestlers, dancers, and others; followed by various officers, the eunuchs of the bride's family, ladies of the ?areem with their attendants, then the bride, in a European carriage, a troop of memlooks clad in armour, and a Turkish band of music. It was a procession of which the like had not before been seen.318
 
The bride and her party, having arrived at the house, sit down to a repast. The bridegroom does not yet see her. He has already been to the bath, and at nightfall he goes in procession with a number of his friends to a mosque, to perform the night-prayers; he is accompanied by musicians and singers, or by chanters of lyric odes in praise of the Prophet; and by men bearing cressets (poles with cylindrical frames of iron at the top filled with flaming wood); and on his return, most of his other attendants bear lighted wax candles, and bunches of flowers.
 
Returned to his house, he leaves his friends in a lower apartment, and goes up to the bride, whom he finds seated, with a shawl thrown over her head, so as to conceal her face completely, and attended by one or two females. The latter he induces to retire, by means of a small present. He then gives a present of money to the bride, as "the price of uncovering the face," and having removed the covering (saying, as he does so, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful"), he beholds her, generally, for the first time. On the occasion of this first visit, which is called the "dukhool," or "dukhleh," he is recommended "to perfume himself, and to sprinkle some sugar and almonds on the head of the bride and on that of each woman with her; this practice being established by existing usage and by traditions: also, when he approaches her, he should perform the prayers of two rek'ahs; and she should do the same if able: then he should take hold of the hair over her forehead, and say, 'O God, bless me in my wife, and bless my wife in me! O God, bestow upon me [offspring] by her, and bestow upon her [offspring] by me! O God, unite us, as Thou hast united, happily; and separate us, when Thou separatest, happily!'"319
 
Note 40. The ?arboosh is a woollen skull-cap, of a deep blood-red colour, having a tassel of dark blue silk attached to the crown. It is now worn by most Arabs of the higher and middle classes, and by many others, except in Arabia, where it is not so common. Round it is wound the muslin or shawl which forms the turban. Within it is worn a cotton cap. The Turks call it "fes," and "fés."
 
Note 41. The farajeeyeh is a loose robe or coat, now generally made of cloth, with full and long sleeves extending a little beyond the extremities of the fingers and without any slit. It is worn chiefly by persons of the learned professions.
 
Note 42. This is the usual mode in which money is collected for the singing-women in the present day.
 
Note 43. "?ooreeyeh" is the appellation commonly given by the Arabs to a virgin of Paradise, by French and English writers, termed "Houri;" which term, in Arabic, converts a female into a male, but is agreeable with the Persian equivalent of the Arabic "?ooreeyeh."
 
Note 44.—On the Evil Eye. Some remarks on the "evil eye" have been made in a former note (No. 24 in the present series), with respect to children, and the means of counteracting its supposed influence; but I mention this subject again partly with the 289view of suggesting to the reader the necessity of bearing it in mind, as it explains many usages described, or alluded to, in this work, which would otherwise appear unaccountable. He may remember a well-known line of Virgil—
 
"Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos,"
which, like many other allusions in works of ancient authors, shews how long and how extensively this superstition has been entertained. How deeply it is rooted in the minds of Arabs, even the most religious and learned, may be inferred from this saying of their Prophet: "The eye has a complete influence; because verily, if there were a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant eye."320 Hence he permitted charms (which he disallowed in almost every other case) to be employed for the purpose of counteracting its influence.321 The following observation, selected from several of a similar nature in my work on the Modern Egyptians, aptly illustrates the passage to which this note immediately refers. "It is a custom among the higher and middle classes in Cairo, on the occasion of a marriage, to hang chandeliers in the street before the bridegroom's house; and it often happens that a crowd is collected to see a very large and handsome chandelier suspended: in this case, it is a common practice to divert the attention of the spectators by throwing down and breaking a large jar, or by some other artifice, lest an envious eye should cause the chandelier to fall."
 
Note 45. The closet here alluded to, being one in which ablution is performed, always contains a small trough of water, or a ewer.
 
Note 46. This epithet, "unlucky," is often applied to an 'Efreet. I have frequently heard it thus used by Arabs.
 
Note 47. "Aboo-Shiháb" (literally, Father of a Shooting Star) is a nickname often given to a devil, and is so employed because devils, or evil jinnees, are sometimes destroyed by shooting stars hurled at them by angels; an instance of which occurs in the tale under consideration.
 
Note 48. "Sitt-el-?osn" signifies "the Lady of Beauty."
 
Note 49. "?asheesh" is the intoxicating hemp, which has been mentioned in former notes.
 
Note 50. Thus in the Breslau edition, and in the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights; but in the edition of Cairo, the cook is merely termed a prodigal.
 
Note 51.—On Adoption. The Mohammadan law allows the adoption of sons, provided that the person to be adopted consents to the act, if of age to judge for himself; also, that he has been deprived of his parents by death or other means; and that there be such a difference of age between the two parties as might subsist between a natural father and his son. The adopted son enjoys the same right of inheritance as the natural son; but the adoptive father is not prevented by this act from marrying any relation of his adopted son.
 
Note 52. In the houses of Arabs of the more wealthy classes, there is usually a chair upon which the turban is placed at night. It is of a large size, but slight make; the bottom and back being generally of cane-work; and sometimes it has a kind of canopy constructed over it. The turban, when placed upon it, is covered with a kerchief of thick silk stuff, often embroidered or interwoven with gold thread.
 
Note 53. "Mó?ilee" may be understood as meaning either "of the fashion of El-Mó?il," or "of muslin:" but the former, according to my sheykh, is the signification here intended. I think there is nothing peculiar in the common modern turban of El-Mó?il.
 
Note 54. This is done under the idea that it strengthens the infant's eyes.
 
Note 55. "'Ajeeb" signifies "Wonderful."
 
Note 56. The meaning of this is, that he grew in a day as other children in a month; and in a month, as others in a year.
 
290
 
Note 57. The death of the cook is mentioned in the edition of Breslau; but not in that of Cairo.
 
Note 58. This ejaculation is generally uttered at the mention of a deceased Muslim.
 
Note 59. "?á?eb" is a title given to Wezeers, as mentioned in Note 8 to the Introduction.
 
Note 60. In the original, fifteen. The age of 'Ajeeb has been shewn to have been little more than eleven at this period; therefore I have substituted twelve for fifteen. In page 243 I have made a similar correction, substituting fifteen for eighteen.
 
Note 61. This alludes to a custom common in the East,—that of giving a present of a dress, or some article of clothing, to a person who has brought good news.
 
Note 62. The term "boy" is not used here to imply that the eunuch was a youth; but in the sense in which it is often employed by us; as synonymous with "servant."
 
Note 63. "Er-Reydáneeyeh" is the name of a tract on the north of Cairo, where travellers arriving from Syria generally halted. In the original, by errors in the diacritical points, this name is converted into "Ez-Zebedáneeyeh."
 
Note 64. The word which I translate "a cross," literally signifies "an effigy;" but I suppose this term to be employed merely because a cross bears a rude resemblance to a man with extended arms.
 
Note 65. "The name of Allah encompass thee!" (or, literally, "—be around thee!") is an ejaculation often used, especially by women, agreeing exactly with the expression in the first verse of the twentieth Psalm,—"The name of the God of Jacob defend thee!"—the "name" of God here signifying his power. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Proverbs xviii. 10.)
 
Note 66. Here, for a reason given above, I have substituted "twelve" for "ten."
 
Note 67. In the original, the last of these verses is here omitted, but my sheykh has supplied it in the margin of my copy, and it occurs afterwards, in the 75th night, in which the preceding verses, with some slight variations, are repeated.
 
Note 68.—On the Expiation of Oaths. The law clearly allows expiation for an inconsiderate oath, and, according to vulgar opinion, for the violation of a deliberate oath.322 The expiation consists in once feeding or clothing ten poor men, liberating a Muslim slave or captive, or fasting three days. An unintentional oath requires no expiation; but the swearing to a falsehood can only be expiated by deep repentance.
 
Note 69. Hole observes (page 222), that "the discovery of Bedreddin in the Arabian Nights by the tarts he had made, bears internal evidence of having been copied from Nella Raja's detection by the same means:" and he refers to Kindersley's "Specimens of Indian Literature."