Supplemental Nights to The Book of the Thousand and One Nights, Sir Richard Francis Burton [best love novels of all time .txt] 📗

So Iblis the Damned drank and said, “Brave, O desire of hearts!

But thou owest me still another aria.” Then he filled the cup and signed to her to sing. Quoth she, “Hearkening and obedience, and chanted these couplets,

“Ye wot, I am whelmed in despair and despight, Ye dight me blight that delights your sight: Your wone is between my unrest and my eyes; Nor tears to melt you, nor sighs have might.

How oft shall I sue you for justice, and you * With a pining death my dear love requite?

But your harshness is duty, your farness near; * Your hate is Union, your wrath is delight:

Take your fill of reproach as you will: you claim * All my heart, and I reck not of safety or blame.”

All present were delighted and the sitting-chamber was moved like a wave with mirth, and Iblis said, “Brave, O Tohfat al-Sudur!”

Then they left not liquor-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry and tambourining and piping till the night waned and the dawn waxed near; and indeed exceeding delight entered into them. The most of them in mirth was the Shaykh Iblis, and for the stress of that which befel him of joyance, he doffed all that was on him of coloured clothes and cast them over Tohfah, and among the rest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths, worth ten thousand diners. Then he kissed the earth and danced and he thrust his finger up his fundament and hending his beard in hand, said to her, “Sing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance, and no blame shall betide thee for this.” So she improvised and sang these couplets:—

“Barbe of the olden, the one eyed goat! * What words shall thy foulness o’ deed denote?

Be not of our praises so pompous-proud: * Thy worth for a dock-tail dog’s I wot.

By Allah, tomorrow shall see me drub * Thy nape with a cow-hide[FN#189] and dust thy coat!”

All those present laughed at her mockery of Iblis and wondered at the wittiness of her visnomy[FN#190] and her readiness in versifying, whilst the Shaykh himself rejoiced and said to her, “O Tohfat al-Sudur, verily, the night be gone; so arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-orrow there shall be naught save weal.” Then all the kings of the Jinn departed, together with those who were present of guards; and Tohfah abode alone, pondering the case of Al-Rashid and bethinking her of how it went with him after her going, and of what had betided him for her loss, till the dawn lightened, when she arose and walked about the palace. Suddenly she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and found herself in a flower-garden finer than the first—ne’er saw eyes of seer a fairer than it. When she beheld this garth, she was moved to delight and she called to mind her lord Al-Rashid and wept with sore weeping and cried, “I crave of the bounty of Allah Almighty that my return to him and to my palace and to my home may be nearhand!” Then she walked about the parterres till she came to a pavilion, high builded of base and wide of space, never espied mortal nor heard of a grander than it. So she entered and found herself in a long corridor, which led to a Hammam goodlier than that aforetime described, and its cisterns were full of rose water mingled with musk. Quoth Tohfah, “Extolled be Allah! Indeed, this[FN#191] is none other than a mighty great king.” Then she pulled off her clothes and washed her body and made her Ghusl ablution of the whole person[FN#192]

and prayed that which was due from her of prayer from the evening of the previous day.[FN#193] When the sun rose upon the gate of the garden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was therein of all manner blooms and streams, and heard the voices of its birds, she marvelled at what she beheld of the rareness of its ordinance and the beauty of its disposition and sat musing over the case of Al-Rashid and pondering what was come of him after her. Her tears coursed down her cheeks and the Zephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till she suddenly felt a breath on her side-face, whereat she awoke in affright and found Queen Kamariyah kissing her, and she was accompanied by her sisters, who said, “Rise, for the sun hath set.” So Tohfah arose and making the Wuzu-ablution, prayed her due of prayers[FN#194]

and accompanied the four queens to the palace, where she saw the wax candles lighted and the kings sitting. She saluted them with the salam and seated herself upon her couch; and behold, King Al-Shisban had shifted his semblance, for all the pride of his soul.

Then came up Iblis (whom Allah damn!) and Tohfah rose to him and kissed his hands. He also kissed her hand and blessed her and asked, “How deemest thou? Is not this place pleasant, for all its desertedness and desolation?” Answered she, “None may be desolate in this place;” and he cried, “Know that this is a site whose soil no mortal dare tread;” but she rejoined, “I have dared and trodden it, and this is one of thy many favours.” Then they brought tables and dishes and viands and fruits and sweetmeats and other matters, whose description passeth powers of mortal man, and they ate their sufficiency; after which the tables were removed and the dessert-trays and platters set on, and they ranged the bottles and flagons and vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and sweet-scented flowers. The first to raise the bowl was Iblis the Accursed, who said, “O Tohfat al-Sudur, sing over my cup.” So she took the lute and touching it, carolled these couplets,

“Wake ye, Ho sleepers all! and take your joy * Of Time, and boons he deigned to bestow;

Then hail the Wine-bride, drain the wine-ptisane * Which, poured from flagon, flows with flaming glow: O Cup-boy, serve the wine, bring round the red[FN#195] Whose draught gives all we hope for here below: What’s worldly pleasure save my lady’s face, Draughts of pure wine and song of musico?”

So Iblis drained his bowl and, when he had made an end of his draught, waved his hand to Tohfah; then, throwing off that which was upon him of clothes, delivered them to her. The suit would have brought ten thousand diners and with it was a tray full of jewels worth a mint of money. Presently he filled again and gave the cup to his son Al-Shisban, who took it from his hand and kissing it, stood up and sat down again. Now there was before him a tray of roses; so he said to her, “O Tohfah, sing thou somewhat upon these roses.” She replied, “Hearkening and obedience,” and chanted these two couplets,

�It proves my price o’ er all the flowers that I Seek you each year, yet stay but little stound: And high my vaunt I m dyed by my lord Whom Allah made the best e’er trod on ground.[FN#196]”

So Al-Shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, “Brave, O

desire of hearts!” and he bestowed on her that was upon him, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great unions and rubies and purfled with precious gems, and a tray wherein were fifty thousand diners. Then Maymun the Sworder took the cup and began gazing intently upon Tohfah. Now there was in his hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, “Sing thou somewhat, O

queen of mankind and Jinn kind upon this pomegranate-flower; for indeed thou hast dominion over all hearts.” Quoth she, “To hear is to obey;” and she improvised and sang these couplets, “Breathes sweet the zephyr on fair part�rre; * Robing lute in the flamings that fell from air:

And moaned from the boughs with its cooing rhyme * Voice of ringdoves plaining their love and care: The branch dresses in suit of fine sendal green* And in wine-hues borrowed from bloom Gulnare.”[FN#197]

Maymun the Sworder drained his bowl and said to her, “Brave, O

perfection of qualities!” Then he signed to her and was absent awhile, after which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an hundred thousand ducats, which he gave to Tohfah.

Thereupon Kamariyah arose and bade her slavegirl open the closet behind the Songstress, wherein she laid all that wealth; and committed the key to her, saying, “Whatso of riches cometh to thee, lay thou in this closet that is by thy side, and after the festivities, it shall be borne to thy palace on the heads of the Jinn.” Tohfah kissed her hand and another king, by name Mun�r,[FN#198] took the bowl and filling it, said to her, “O

ferry Fair, sing to me over my bowl somewhat upon-the jasmine.”

She replied with, “Hearkening and obedience,” and improvised these couplets,

“‘Twere as though the Jasmine (when self she enrobes On her boughs) cloth display to my wondering eyne; In sky of green beryl, which Beauty enclothes, Star-groups like studs of the silvern mine.”

Munir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand diners, whereat Kamariyah rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed Tohfah on her face and said to her, “Be the world never bereaved of thee, O thou who lordest it over the hearts of Jinn-kind and mankind!” Then she returned to her place and the Shaykh Iblis arose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which the Songstress said, “Verily, thou embellishes” my festivities, O

thou who commandest men and Jinn and rejoices” their hearts with thy loveliness and the beauty[FN#199] of thy faithfulness to thy lord. All that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee in thy palace and placed at thy service; but now the dawn is nearhand; so do thou rise and rest thee according to thy custom.” Tohfah turned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head on the floor and slept till she had gotten her repose; after which she arose and betaking herself to the lakelet, made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed. Then she sat beside the water awhile and meditated the matter of her lord Al-Rashid and that which had betided him after her loss and wept with sore weeping. Presently, she heard a blowing behind her;[FN#200] so she turned and behold, a Head without a body and with eyes slit endlong: it was of the bigness of an elephant’s skull and bigger and ha] a mouth as it were an oven and projecting canines as they were grapnels, and hair which trailed upon the ground. So Tohfah cried, “I take refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned!” and recited the Two Preventives;[FN#201] what while the Head drew near her and said, “Peace be with thee, O Princess of Jinn and men and union-pearl of her age and her time! Allah continue thee on life, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy lord the Imam!”[FN#202] She replied, “And upon thee be Peace; O thou whose like I have not seen among the Jann!” Quoth the Head, “We are a folk who may not change their favours and we are highs Ghuls: mortals summon us to their presence, but we cannot present ourselves before them without leave. As for me, I have gotten leave of the Shaykh Abu al-Tawaif to appear before thee and I desire of thy favour