The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 14, Sir Richard Francis Burton [the false prince series txt] 📗

and served me a sleight, I all the time knowing nothing about her guile. Presently he raised his head and said to me, “By Allah, O my son, I have a daughter but she is helpless.”

Quoth I, “I am content;” and quoth he, “An thou take her to wife after this description, ‘tis on express condition that she be not removed from my house and thou also shalt pay her the first visit and cohabit with her in my home.” I replied, “To hear is to obey;” being confident, O King of the Age, that she was the damsel who had visited my shop and whom I had seen with my own eyes. Thereupon the Shaykh al-Islam married his daughter to me and I said in my mind, “By Allah, is it possible that I am become master of this damsel and shall enjoy to my full her beauty and loveliness?” But when night fell they led me in procession to the chamber of my bride; and when I beheld her I found her as hideous as her father had described her, a deformed cripple. At that moment all manner of cares mounted my back and I was full of fury and groaned with grief from the core of my heart; but I could not say a word, for that I had accepted her to wife of my own free will and had declared myself contented in presence of her sire.

So I took seat silently in a corner of the room and my bride in another, because I could not bring myself to approach her, she being unfit for the carnal company of man and my soul could not accept cohabitation with her. And at dawntide, O my lord the Sultan, I left the house and went to my shop which I opened according to custom and sat down with my head dizzy like one drunken without wine; when lo! there appeared before me the young lady who had caused happen to me that mishap. She came up and salam’d to me but I arose with sullenness and abused her and cried, “Wherefore, O my lady, hast thou put upon me such a piece of work?” She replied, “O miserable,[FN#109] recollect such a day when I brought thee a letter and thou after reading it didst come down from thy shop and didst seize me and didst trounce me and didst drive me away.” I replied, “O my lady, prithee pardon me for I am a true penitent;” and I ceased not to soften her with soothing[FN#110] words and promised her all weal if she would but forgive me. At last she deigned excuse me and said, “There is no harm for thee; and, as I have netted thee, so will I unmesh thee.” I replied, “Allah! Allah![FN#111] O my lady, I am under thy safeguard;” and she rejoined, “Hie thee to the Agh� of the Jan�kilah,[FN#112] the gypsies, give him fifty piastres and say him, ‘We desire thee to furnish us with a father and a mother and cousins and kith and kin, and do thou charge them to say of me, This is our cousin and our blood relation.’ Then let him send them all to the house of the Shaykh al-Islam and repair thither himself together with his followers, a party of drummers and a parcel of pipers. When they enter his house and the Shaykh shall perceive them and exclaim, ‘What’s this we’ve here?’ let the Agha reply, ‘O my lord, we be kinsmen with thy son-in-law and we are come to gladden his marriage with thy daughter and to make merry with him.’ He will exclaim, ‘Is this thy son a gypsey musician?’

and do thou explain, saying, ‘Aye, verily I am a Jankali;’ and he will cry out to thee, ‘O dog, thou art a gypsey and yet durst thou marry the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam?’ Then do thou make answer, ‘O my lord, ‘twas my ambition to be ennobled by thine alliance and I have espoused thy daughter only that the mean name of Jankali may pass away from me and that I may be under the skirt of thy protection.’” Hereat, O my lord the Sultan, I arose without stay and delay and did as the damsel bade me and agreed with the Chiefs of the Gypsies for fifty piastres.[FN#113] On the second day about noon lo and behold! all the Jan�kilah met before the house of the Shaykh al-Islam and they, a tom-toming and a-piping and a-dancing, crowded into the courtyard of the mansion.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O

sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

 

The Three Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth continued:—So the Jan�kilah entered the house of the Shaykh al-Islam all a-drumming and a-dancing. Presently the family came out and asked, “What is to do? And what be this hubbub?” The fellows answered, “We are gypsey-folk and our son is in your house having wedded the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam.” Hearing these words the family went up and reported to its head, and he, rising from his seat, descended to the courtyard which he found full of Jankalis. He enquired of them their need and they told him that the youth, their kinsman, having married the daughter of the house, they were come to make merry at the bride-feast. Quoth the Shaykh, “This indeed be a sore calamity that a gypsey should espouse the daughter of the Shaykh al-Islam. By Allah, I will divorce her from him.” So he sent after me, O our lord the Sultan, and asked me saying, “What is thy breed and what wilt thou take to be off with thyself?” Said I, “A Jankali; and I married thy daughter with one design namely to sink the mean name of a gypsey drummer in the honour of connection and relationship with thee.” He replied, “‘Tis impossible that my daughter can cohabit with thee: so up and divorce her.” I rejoined, “Not so: I will never repudiate her.” Then we fell to quarrelling but the folk interposed between us and arranged that I should receive forty purses[FN#114] for putting her away. And when he paid me the moneys I gave her the divorce and took the coin and went to my shop, rejoicing at having escaped by this contrivance. On the next day, behold, came the damsel who had taught me the sleight and saluted me and wished me good morning. I returned her salam and indeed, O our lord the Sultan, she was a model of beauty and loveliness, stature and symmetrical grace and my heart was enmeshed in her love for the excess of her charms and the limpid flow of her speech and the sweetness of her tongue. So I said to her, “And when this promise?” and said she, “I am the daughter of Such-andsuch, a cook in such a quarter; and do thou go ask me in marriage of him.” So I rose up with all haste and went to her father and prayed that he would give her to me. And presently I wedded her and went in unto her and found her as the full moon of the fourteenth night and was subjugated by her seemlihead. Such, then, is the adventure which befel me; but, O my lord the Sultan, the Story of the Sage Such-an-one and his Scholar is more wonderful and delectable; for indeed ‘tis of the marvels of the age and among the miracles which have been seen by man. Thereupon the Sovran bade him speak, and the Second Lunatic proceeded to recount the

 

Story of the Sage and the Scholar.[FN#115]

 

There was in times of yore and in ages long gone before a learned man who had retired from the world secluding himself in an upper cell of a Cathedral-mosque, and this place he left not for many days save upon the most pressing needs. At last a beautiful boy whose charms were unrivalled in his time went in to him and salam’d to him. The Shaykh returned the salute and welcomed him with the fairest welcome and courteously entreated him seating him beside himself. Then he asked him of his case and whence he came and the boy answered, “O my lord, question me not of aught nor of my worldly matters, for verily I am as one who hath fallen from the heavens upon the earth[FN#116] and my sole object is the honour of tending thee.” The Sage again welcomed him and the boy served him assiduously for a length of time till he was twelve years old. Now on one day of the days[FN#117] the lad heard certain of his fellows saying that the Sultan had a daughter endowed with beauty whose charms were unequalled by all the Princesses of the age. So he fell in love with her by hearsay.—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night, and that was

 

The Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the lad who served the Sage fell in love with the Sultan’s daughter by hearsay. Presently he went in to his master and told him thereof adding, “O my lord, verily the King hath a daughter beautiful and lovesome and my soul longeth to look upon her an it be only a single look.” The Shaykh asked him saying, “Wherefore, O my son?

What have the like of us to do with the daughters of Sovrans or others? We be an order of eremites and selfcontained and we fear the Kings for our own safety.” And the Sage continued to warn the lad against the shifts of Time and to divert him from his intent; but the more words he uttered to warn him and to deter him, the more resolved he became to win his wish, so that he abode continually groaning and weeping. Now this was a grievous matter to the good Shaykh who loved him with an exceeding love passing all bounds; and when he saw him in this condition he exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great.” And his heart was softened and he had ruth upon the case of his scholar and pitied his condition, and at last said to him, “O my son, dost thou truly long to look but a single look at the Sultan’s daughter?” Quoth he, “Yes, O my lord,” and quoth the other, “Come hither