commencing with part of the third night, and ending with part of the ninth.

the story of the fisherman.

there was a certain fisherman, advanced in age, who had a wife and three children; and though he was in indigent circumstances, it was his custom to cast his net, every day, no more than four times. one day he went forth at the hour of noon to the shore of the sea, and put down his basket, and cast his net, and waited until it was motionless in the water, when he drew together its strings, and found it to be heavy: he pulled, but could not draw it up: so he took the end of the cord, and knocked a stake into the shore, and tied the cord to it. he then stripped himself, and dived round the net, and continued to pull until he drew it out: whereupon he rejoiced, and put on his clothes; but when he came to examine the net, he found in it the carcass of an ass. at the sight of this he mourned, and70 exclaimed, there is no strength nor power but in god, the high, the great! this is a strange piece of fortune!—and he repeated the following verse:—

o thou who occupiest thyself in the darkness of night, and in peril! spare thy trouble; for the support of providence is not obtained by toil!1

he then disencumbered his net of the dead ass, and wrung it out; after which he spread it, and descended into the sea, and—exclaiming, in the name of god!—cast it again, and waited till it had sunk and was still, when he pulled it, and found it more heavy and more difficult to raise than on the former occasion. he therefore concluded that it was full of fish: so he tied it, and stripped, and plunged and dived, and pulled until he raised it, and drew it upon the shore; when he found in it only a large jar, full of sand and mud; on seeing which, he was troubled in his heart, and repeated the following words of the poet:—

o angry fate, forbear! or, if thou wilt not forbear, relent!

neither favour from fortune do i gain, nor profit from the work of my hands,

i came forth to seek my sustenance, but have found it to be exhausted.

how many of the ignorant are in splendour! and how many of the wise, in obscurity!

so saying, he threw aside the jar, and wrung out and cleansed his net; and, begging the forgiveness of god for his impatience, returned to the sea the third time, and threw the net, and waited till it had sunk and was motionless: he then drew it out, and found in it a quantity of broken jars and pots.

upon this, he raised his head towards heaven, and said, o god, thou knowest that i cast not my net more than four times; and i have now cast it three times! then—exclaiming, in the name of god!—he cast the net again into the sea, and waited till it was still; when he attempted to draw it up, but could not, for it clung to the bottom. and he exclaimed, there is no strength nor power but in god!—and stripped himself again, and dived round the net, and pulled it until he raised it upon the shore; when he opened it, and found in it a bottle2 of brass, filled with something, and having its mouth closed with a stopper of lead, bearing the impression of the seal of our lord suleymán.3 at the sight of this, the fisherman was rejoiced, and said, this i will sell in the copper-market; for it is worth ten pieces of gold. he then shook it, and found it to be heavy, and said, i must open it, and see what is in it, and store it in my bag; and then i will sell the bottle in the copper-market. so he took out a knife, and picked71 at the lead until he extracted it from the bottle. he then laid the bottle on the ground, and shook it, that its contents might pour out; but there came forth from it nothing but smoke, which ascended towards the sky, and spread over the face of the earth; at which he wondered excessively. and after a little while, the smoke collected together, and was condensed, and then became agitated, and was converted into an 'efreet, whose head was in the clouds, while his feet rested upon the ground:4 his head was like a dome: his hands were like winnowing forks;5 and his legs, like masts: his mouth resembled a cavern: his teeth were like stones; his nostrils, like trumpets;6 and his eyes, like lamps; and he had dishevelled and dust-coloured hair.

72

the 'efreet liberated from the bottle

when the fisherman beheld this 'efreet, the muscles of his sides quivered, his teeth were locked together, his spittle dried up, and he saw not his way. the 'efreet, as soon as he perceived him, exclaimed, there is no deity but god: suleymán is the prophet of god. o prophet of god, slay me not; for i will never again oppose thee in word, or rebel against thee in deed!—o márid,7 said the fisherman, dost thou say, suleymán is the prophet of god? suleymán hath been dead a thousand and eight hundred years; and we are now in the end of time. what is thy history, and what is thy tale, and what was the cause of thy entering this bottle? when the márid heard these words of the fisherman, he said, there is no deity but god! receive news, o fisherman!—of what, said the fisherman, dost thou give me news? he answered, of thy being instantly put to a most cruel death. the fisherman exclaimed, thou deservest, for this news, o master of the 'efreets, the withdrawal of protection from thee, o thou remote!8 wherefore wouldst thou kill me? and what requires thy killing me, when i have liberated thee from the bottle, and rescued thee from the bottom of the sea, and brought thee up upon the dry land?—the 'efreet answered, choose what kind of death thou wilt die, and in what manner thou shalt be killed.—what is my offence, said the fisherman, that this should be my recompense from thee? the 'efreet replied, hear my story, o fisherman.—tell it then, said the fisherman, and be short in thy words; for my soul hath sunk down to my feet.

know then, said he, that i am one of the heretical jinn: i rebelled against suleymán the son of dáood: i and ?akhr the jinnee;9 and he sent to me his wezeer, á?af the son of barkhiyà, who came upon me forcibly, and took me to him in bonds, and placed me before him: and when suleymán saw me, he offered up a prayer for protection against me, and exhorted me to embrace the faith, and to submit to his authority; but i refused; upon which he called for this bottle, and confined me in it, and closed it upon me with the leaden stopper, which he stamped with the most great name: he then gave orders to the jinn, who carried me away, and threw me into the midst of the sea. there i remained a hundred years; and i said in my heart, whosoever shall liberate me, i will enrich him for ever:—but the hundred years passed over me, and no one liberated me: and i entered upon another hundred years; and i said, whosoever shall liberate me, i will open to him the treasures of the earth;—but no one did so: and four hundred years more passed over me, and i said,73 whosoever shall liberate me, i will perform for him three wants:—but still no one liberated me. i then fell into a violent rage, and said within myself, whosoever shall liberate me now, i will kill him; and only suffer him to choose in what manner he will die. and lo, now thou hast liberated me, and i have given thee thy choice of the manner in which thou wilt die.

the fisherman enclosing the 'efreet in the bottle

when the fisherman had heard the story of the 'efreet, he exclaimed, o allah! that i should not have liberated thee but in such a time as this! then said he to the 'efreet, pardon me, and kill me not, and so may god pardon thee; and destroy me not, lest god give power over thee to one who will destroy thee. the márid answered, i must positively kill thee; therefore choose by what manner of death thou wilt die. the fisherman then felt assured of his death; but he again implored the 'efreet, saying, pardon me by way of gratitude for my liberating thee.—why, answered the 'efreet, i am not going to kill thee but for that very reason, because thou hast liberated me.—o sheykh of the 'efreets, said the fisherman, do i act kindly towards thee, and dost thou recompense me with baseness? but the proverb lieth not that saith,—

we did good to them, and they returned us the contrary; and such, by my life, is the conduct of the wicked.

thus he who acteth kindly to the undeserving is recompensed in the same manner as the aider of umm-'ámir.10

the 'efreet, when he heard these words, answered by saying, covet not life, for thy death is unavoidable. then said the fisherman within himself, this is a jinnee, and i am a man; and god hath given me sound reason; therefore, i will now plot his destruction with my art and reason, like as he hath plotted with his cunning and perfidy. so he said to the 'efreet, hast thou determined to kill me? he answered, yes. then said he, by the most great name engraved upon the seal of suleymán, i will ask thee one question; and wilt thou answer it to me truly? on hearing the mention of the most great name, the 'efreet was agitated, and trembled, and replied, yes; ask, and be brief. the fisherman then said, how wast thou in this bottle? it will not contain thy hand or thy foot; how then can it contain thy whole body?—dost thou not believe that i was in it? said the 'efreet. the fisherman answered, i will never believe thee until i see thee in it. upon this, the 'efreet shook, and became converted again into smoke, which rose to the sky, and then became condensed, and entered the bottle by little and little, until it was all enclosed; when the fisherman74 hastily snatched the sealed leaden stopper, and, having replaced it in the mouth of the bottle, called out to the 'efreet, and said, choose in what manner of death thou wilt die. i will assuredly throw thee here into the sea, and build me a house on this spot; and whosoever shall come here, i will prevent his fishing in this place, and will say to him, here is an 'efreet, who, to any person that liberates him, will propose various kinds of death, and then give him his choice of one of them. on hearing these words of the fisherman, the 'efreet endeavoured to escape; but could not, finding himself restrained by the impression of the seal of suleymán, and thus imprisoned by the fisherman as the vilest and filthiest and least of 'efreets. the fisherman then took the bottle to the brink of the sea. the 'efreet exclaimed, nay! nay!—to which the fisherman answered, yea, without fail! yea, without fail! the márid then addressing him with a soft voice and humble manner, said, what dost thou intend to do with me, o fisherman? he answered, i will throw thee into the sea; and if thou hast been there a thousand and eight hundred years, i will make thee to remain there until the hour of judgment. did i not say to thee, spare me, and so may god spare thee; and destroy me not, lest god destroy thee? but thou didst reject my petition, and wouldest nothing but75 treachery; therefore god hath caused thee to fall into my hand, and i have betrayed thee.—open to me, said the 'efreet, that i may confer benefits upon thee. the fisherman replied, thou liest, thou accursed! i and thou are like the wezeer of king yoonán11 and the sage doobán.12—what, said the 'efreet, was the case of the wezeer of king yoonán and the sage doobán, and what is their story? the fisherman answered as follows:—

the story of king yoonán and the sage doobán.

know, o 'efreet, that there was, in former times, in the country of the persians,13 a monarch who was called king yoonán, possessing great treasures and numerous forces, valiant, and having troops of every description; but he was afflicted with leprosy, which the physicians and sages had failed to remove; neither their potions, nor powders, nor ointments were of any benefit to him; and none of the physicians was able to cure him. at length there arrived at the city of this king a great sage, stricken in years, who was called the sage doobán: he was acquainted with ancient greek, persian, modern greek, arabic, and syriac books, and with medicine and astrology, both with respect to their scientific principles and the rules of their practical applications for good and evil; as well as the properties of plants, dried and fresh, the injurious and the useful: he was versed in the wisdom of the philosophers, and embraced a knowledge of all the medical and other sciences.

after this sage had arrived in the city, and remained in it a few days, he heard of the case of the king, of the leprosy with which god had afflicted him, and that the physicians and men of science had failed to cure him. in consequence of this information, he passed the next night in deep study; and when the morning came, and diffused its light, and the sun saluted the ornament of the good,14 he attired himself in the richest of his apparel, and presented himself before the king. having kissed the ground before him, and offered up a prayer for the continuance of his power and happiness, and greeted him in the best manner he was able, he informed him who he was, and said, o king, i have heard of the disease which hath attacked thy person, and that many of the physicians are unacquainted with the means of removing it; and i will cure thee without giving thee to drink any potion, or anointing thee with ointment. when king yoonán heard76 his words, he wondered, and said to him, how wilt thou do this? by allah, if thou cure me, i will enrich thee and thy children's children, and i will heap favours upon thee, and whatever thou shalt desire shall be thine, and thou shalt be my companion and my friend.—he then bestowed upon him a robe of honour,15 and other presents, and said to him, wilt thou cure me of this disease without potion or ointment? he answered, yes; i will cure thee without any discomfort to thy person. and the king was extremely astonished, and said, o sage, at what time, and on what day, shall that which thou hast proposed to me be done? hasten it, o my son.—he answered, i hear and obey.

he then went out from the presence of the king, and hired a house, in which he deposited his books, and medicines, and drugs. having done this, he selected certain of his medicines and drugs, and made a goff-stick, with a hollow handle, into which he introduced them; after which he made a ball for it, skilfully adapted; and on the following day, after he had finished these, he went again to the king, and kissed the ground before him, and directed him to repair to the horse-course, and to play with the ball and goff-stick. the king, attended by his emeers and chamberlains and wezeers, went thither, and, as soon as he arrived there, the sage doobán presented himself before him, and handed to him the goff-stick, saying, take this goff-stick, and grasp it thus, and ride along the horse-course, and strike the ball with it with all thy force, until the palm of thy hand and thy whole body become moist with perspiration, when the medicine will penetrate into thy hand, and pervade thy whole body; and when thou hast done this, and the medicine remains in thee, return to77 thy palace, and enter the bath,16 and wash thyself, and sleep: then shalt thou find thyself cured: and peace be on thee. so king yoonán took the goff-stick from the sage, and grasped it in his hand, and mounted his horse; and the ball was thrown before him, and he urged his horse after it until he overtook it, when he struck it with all his force; and when he had continued this exercise as long as was necessary, and bathed and slept, he looked upon his skin, and not a vestige of the leprosy remained: it was clear as white silver. upon this he rejoiced exceedingly; his heart was dilated, and he was full of happiness.

king yoonán playing at goff

on the following morning he entered the council-chamber, and sat upon his throne; and the chamberlains and great officers of his court came before him. the sage doobán also presented himself; and when the king saw him, he rose to him in haste, and seated him by his side. services of food were then spread before them, and the sage ate with the king, and remained as his guest all the day;17 and when the night approached, the king gave him two thousand pieces of gold, besides dresses of honour and other presents, and mounted him on his own horse, and so the sage returned to his house.18 and the king was astonished at his skill; saying, this man hath cured me by an external process, without anointing me with ointment: by allah, this is consummate science; and it is incumbent on me to bestow favours and honours upon him, and to make him my companion and familiar friend as long as i live. he passed the night happy and joyful on account of his recovery, and when he arose, he went forth again, and sat upon his throne; the officers of his court standing before him, and the emeers and wezeers sitting on his right hand and on his left; and he called for the sage doobán, who came, and kissed the ground before him; and the king rose, and seated him by his side, and ate with him, and greeted him with compliments: he bestowed upon him again a robe of honour and other presents, and, after conversing with him till the approach of night, gave orders that five other robes of honour should be given to him, and a thousand pieces of gold; and the sage departed, and returned to his house.

doobán in his dress of honour

again, when the next morning came, the king went as usual to his council-chamber, and the emeers and wezeers and chamberlains surrounded him. now there was, among his wezeers, one of ill aspect, and of evil star;19 sordid, avaricious, and of an envious and malicious disposition; and when he saw that the king had made the sage doobán his friend, and bestowed upon him these favours, he78 envied him this distinction, and meditated evil against him; agreeably with the adage which saith, there is no one void of envy;20—and another, which saith, tyranny lurketh in the soul: power manifesteth it, and weakness concealeth it. so he approached the king, and kissed the ground before him, and said, o king of the age, thou art he whose goodness extendeth to all men, and i have an important piece of advice to give thee: if i were to conceal it from thee, i should be a base-born wretch: therefore, if thou order me to impart it, i will do so. the king, disturbed by these words of the wezeer, said, what is thy advice? he answered, o glorious king, it hath been said, by the ancients, he who looketh not to results, fortune will not attend him:—now i have seen the king in a way that is not right; since he hath bestowed favours upon his enemy, and upon him who desireth the downfall of his dominion: he hath treated him with kindness, and honoured him with the highest honours, and admitted him to the79 closest intimacy: i therefore fear, for the king, the consequence of this conduct.—at this the king was troubled, and his countenance changed; and he said, who is he whom thou regardest as mine enemy, and to whom i shew kindness? he replied, o king, if thou hast been asleep, awake! i allude to the sage doobán.—the king said, he is my intimate companion, and the dearest of men in my estimation; for he restored me by a thing that i merely held in my hand, and cured me of my disease which the physicians were unable to remove, and there is not now to be found one like to him in the whole world, from west to east. wherefore, then, dost thou utter these words against him? i will, from this day, appoint him a regular salary and maintenance, and give him every month a thousand pieces of gold; and if i gave him a share of my kingdom it were but a small thing to do unto him. i do not think that thou hast said this from any other motive than that of envy. if i did what thou desirest, i should repent after it, as the man repented who killed his parrot.21

the intelligent parrot

the story of the husband and the parrot.

there was a certain merchant, of an excessively jealous disposition, having a wife endowed with perfect beauty, who had prevented him from leaving his home; but an event happened which obliged him to make a journey; and when he found his doing so to be indispensable, he went to the market in which birds were sold, and bought a parrot, which he placed in his house to act as a spy, that, on his return, she might inform him of what passed during his absence; for80 this parrot was cunning and intelligent, and remembered whatever she heard.22 so, when he had made his journey, and accomplished his business, he returned, and caused the parrot to be brought to him, and asked her respecting the conduct of his wife. she answered, thy wife has a lover, who visited her every night during thy absence:—and when the man heard this, he fell into a violent rage, and went to his wife, and gave her a severe beating.

the woman imagined that one of the female slaves had informed him of what had passed between her and her paramour during his absence: she therefore called them together, and made them swear; and they all swore that they had not told their master anything of the matter; but confessed that they had heard the parrot relate to him what had passed. having thus established, on the testimony of the slaves, the fact of the parrot's having informed her husband of her intrigue, she ordered one of these slaves to grind with a hand-mill under the cage, another to sprinkle water from above, and a third to move a mirror from side to side, during the next night on which her husband was absent; and on the following morning, when the man returned from an entertainment at which he had been present, and inquired again of the parrot what had passed that night during his absence, the bird answered, o my master, i could neither see nor hear anything, on account of the excessive darkness, and thunder, and lightning, and rain. now this happened during summer: so he said to her, what strange words are these? it is now summer, when nothing of what thou hast described ever happens.—the parrot, however, swore by allah the great that what she had said was true; and that it had so happened: upon which the man, not understanding the case, nor knowing the plot, became violently enraged, and took out the bird from the cage, and threw her down upon the ground with such violence that he killed her.

but after some days, one of his female slaves informed him of the truth; yet he would not believe it, until he saw his wife's paramour going out from his house; when he drew his sword,23 and slew the traitor by a blow on the back of his neck: so also did he to his treacherous wife; and thus both of them went, laden with the sin which they had committed, to the fire; and the merchant discovered that the parrot had informed him truly of what she had seen; and he mourned grievously for her loss.

when the wezeer heard these words of king yoonán, he said, o king of great dignity, what hath this crafty sage—this man from81 whom nought but mischief proceedeth—done unto me, that i should be his enemy, and speak evil of him, and plot with thee to destroy him? i have informed thee respecting him in compassion for thee, and in fear of his despoiling thee of thy happiness; and if my words be not true, destroy me, as the wezeer of es-sindibád was destroyed.—the king asked, how was that? and the wezeer thus answered:—

the story of the envious wezeer and the prince and the ghooleh.

the king above mentioned had a son who was ardently fond of the chase;24 and he had a wezeer whom he charged to be always with this son wherever he went. one day the son went forth to hunt, and his father's wezeer was with him; and as they rode together, they saw a great wild beast; upon which the wezeer exclaimed to the prince, away after this wild beast! the king's son pursued it until he was out of the sight of his attendants, and the beast also escaped from before his eyes in the desert; and while the prince wandered in perplexity, not knowing whither to direct his course, he met in his way a damsel, who was weeping. he said to her, who art thou?—and she answered, i am a daughter of one of the kings of india; i was in the desert, and slumber overtook me, and i fell from my horse in a state of insensibility, and being thus separated from my attendants, i lost my way. the prince, on hearing this, pitied her forlorn state, and placed her behind him on his horse; and as they proceeded, they passed by a ruin,25 and the damsel said to him, o my master, i would alight here for a little while. the prince therefore lifted her from his horse at this ruin; but she delayed so long to return, that he wondered wherefore she had loitered so, and entering after her, without her knowledge, perceived that she was a ghooleh,26 and heard her say, my children, i have brought you to-day a fat young man:—on which they exclaimed, bring him in to us, o mother! that we may fill our stomachs with his flesh. when the prince heard their words, he felt assured of destruction; the muscles of his sides quivered, and fear overcame him, and he retreated. the ghooleh then came forth, and, seeing that he appeared alarmed and fearful, and that he was trembling, said to him, wherefore dost thou fear? he answered, i have an enemy of whom i am in fear. the ghooleh said, thou assertest thyself to be the son of the king. he replied, yes.—then, said she, wherefore dost thou not82 give some money to thine enemy, and so conciliate him? he answered, he will not be appeased with money, nor with anything but life; and therefore do i fear him: i am an injured man. she then said to him, if thou be an injured man, as thou affirmest, beg aid of god against thine oppressor, and he will avert from thee his mischievous design, and that of every other person whom thou fearest. upon this, therefore, the prince raised his head towards heaven, and said, o thou who answerest the distressed when he prayeth to thee, and dispellest evil, assist me, and cause mine enemy to depart from me; for thou art able to do whatsoever thou wilt!—and the ghooleh no sooner heard his prayer, than she departed from him. the prince then returned to his father, and informed him of the conduct of the wezeer; upon which the king gave orders that the minister should be put to death.83

the prince meeting the ghooleh

continuation of the story of king yoonán and the sage doobán.

and thou, o king, continued the wezeer of king yoonán, if thou trust in this sage, he will kill thee in the foulest manner. if thou continue to bestow favours upon him, and to make him thine intimate companion, he will plot thy destruction. dost thou not see that he hath cured thee of the disease by external means, by a thing that thou heldest in thy hand? therefore thou art not secure against his killing thee by a thing that thou shalt hold in the same manner.—king yoonán answered, thou hast spoken truth: the case is as thou hast said, o faithful wezeer: it is probable that this sage came as a spy to accomplish my death; and if he cured me by a thing i held in my hand, he may destroy me by a thing that i may smell: what then, o wezeer, shall be done respecting him? the wezeer answered, send to him immediately, and desire him to come hither; and when he is come, strike off his head, and so shalt thou avert from thee his evil design, and be secure from him. betray him before he betray thee.—the king said, thou hast spoken right.

immediately, therefore, he sent for the sage, who came, full of joy, not knowing what the compassionate27 had decreed against him, and addressed the king with these words of the poet:—

if i fail any day to render thee due thanks, tell me for whom i have composed my verse and prose.

thou hast loaded me with favours unsolicited, bestowed without delay on thy part, or excuse.

how then should i abstain from praising thee as thou deservest, and lauding thee both with my heart and voice?

nay, i will thank thee for thy benefits conferred upon me: they are light upon my tongue, though weighty to my back.

knowest thou, said the king, wherefore i have summoned thee? the sage answered, none knoweth what is secret but god, whose name be exalted! then said the king, i have summoned thee that i may take away thy life. the sage, in the utmost astonishment at this announcement, said, o king, wherefore wouldst thou kill me, and what offence hath been committed by me? the king answered, it hath been told me that thou art a spy, and that thou hast come hither to kill me: but i will prevent thee by killing thee first:—and so saying, he called out to the executioner, strike off the head of this traitor, and relieve me from his wickedness,—spare me, said the sage, and so may84 god spare thee; and destroy me not, lest god destroy thee.—and he repeated these words several times, like as i did, o 'efreet; but thou wouldst not let me go, desiring to destroy me.

doobán and the executioner

king yoonán then said to the sage doobán, i shall not be secure unless i kill thee; for thou curedst me by a thing that i held in my hand, and i have no security against thy killing me by a thing that i may smell, or by some other means.—o king, said the sage, is this my recompense from thee? dost thou return evil for good?—the king answered, thou must be slain without delay. when the sage, therefore, was convinced that the king intended to put him to death, and that his fate was inevitable, he lamented the benefit that he had done to the undeserving. the executioner then advanced, and bandaged his eyes, and, having drawn his sword, said, give permission. upon this the sage wept, and said again, spare me, and so may god spare thee; and destroy me not, lest god destroy thee! wouldst thou return me the recompense of the crocodile?—what, said the king, is the story of the crocodile? the sage answered, i cannot relate it while in this condition;28 but i conjure thee by allah to spare me, and so may he spare thee. and he wept bitterly. then one of the chief officers of the king arose, and said, o king, give up to me the blood of this sage; for we have not seen him commit any offence against thee; nor have we seen him do aught but cure thee of thy disease, which wearied the other physicians and sages. the king answered, ye know not the reason wherefore i would kill the sage: it is this, that if i suffered him to live, i should myself inevitably perish; for he who cured me of the disease under which i suffered by a thing that i held in my85 hand, may kill me by a thing that i may smell; and i fear that he would do so, and would receive an appointment on account of it; seeing that it is probable he is a spy who hath come hither to kill me; i must therefore kill him, and then shall i feel myself safe.—the sage then said again, spare me, and so may god spare thee; and destroy me not, lest god destroy thee.

but he now felt certain, o 'efreet, that the king would put him to death, and that there was no escape for him; so he said, o king, if my death is indispensable, grant me some respite, that i may return to my house, and acquit myself of my duties, and give directions to my family and neighbours to bury me, and dispose of my medical books; and among my books is one of most especial value, which i offer as a present to thee, that thou mayest treasure it in thy library.—and what, said the king, is this book? he answered, it contains things not to be enumerated; and the smallest of the secret virtues that it possesses is this; that, when thou hast cut off my head, if thou open this book, and count three leaves, and then read three lines on the page to the left, the head will speak to thee, and answer whatever thou shalt ask. at this the king was excessively astonished, and shook with delight, and said to him, o sage, when i have cut off thy head will it speak? he answered, yes, o king; and this is a wonderful thing.

the king then sent him in the custody of guards; and the sage descended to his house, and settled all his affairs on that day; and on the following day he went up to the court: and the emeers and wezeers, and chamberlains and deputies, and all the great officers of the state, went thither also: and the court resembled a flower-garden.29 and when the sage had entered, he presented himself before the king, bearing an old book, and a small pot containing a powder: and he sat down, and said, bring me a tray. so they brought him one; and he poured out the powder into it, and spread it. he then said, o king, take this book, and do nothing with it until thou hast cut off my head; and when thou hast done so, place it upon this tray, and order some one to press it down upon the powder; and when this is done, the blood will be stanched: then open the book. as soon as the sage had said this, the king gave orders to strike off his head; and it was done. the king then opened the book, and found that its leaves were stuck together; so he put his finger to his mouth, and moistened it with his spittle, and opened the first leaf, and the second, and the third; but the leaves were not opened without difficulty. he86 opened six leaves, and looked at them; but found upon them no writing. so he said, o sage, there is nothing written in it. the head of the sage answered, turn over more leaves. the king did so; and in a little while, the poison penetrated into his system; for the book was poisoned; and the king fell back, and cried out, the poison hath penetrated into me!—and upon this, the head of the sage doobán repeated these verses:—

they made use of their power, and used it tyrannically; and soon it became as though it never had existed.

had they acted equitably, they had experienced equity; but they oppressed; wherefore fortune oppressed them with calamities and trials.

then did the case itself announce to them, this is the reward of your conduct, and fortune is blameless.

and when the head of the sage doobán had uttered these words, the king immediately fell down dead.30

the death of king yoonán

continuation of the story of the fisherman.

now, o 'efreet, continued the fisherman, know that if king yoonán had spared the sage doobán, god had spared him; but he refused, and desired his destruction; therefore god destroyed him: and thou, o 'efreet, if thou hadst spared me, god had spared thee, and i had spared thee; but thou desiredst my death; therefore will i put thee to death imprisoned in this bottle, and will throw thee here into the sea. the márid, upon this, cried out, and said, i conjure thee by allah, o fisherman, that thou do it not: spare me in generosity, and be not angry with me for what i did; but if i have done evil, do thou87 good, according to the proverb,—o thou benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that he hath done is sufficient for him:—do not therefore as umámeh did to 'átikeh.—and what, said the fisherman, was their case? the 'efreet answered, this is not a time for telling stories, when i am in this prison; but when thou liberatest me, i will relate to thee their case.31 the fisherman said, thou must be thrown into the sea, and there shall be no way of escape for thee from it; for i endeavoured to propitiate thee, and humbled myself before thee, yet thou wouldest nothing but my destruction, though i had committed no offence to deserve it, and had done no evil to thee whatever, but only good, delivering thee from thy confinement; and when thou didst thus unto me, i perceived that thou wast radically corrupt: and i would have thee know, that my motive for throwing thee into this sea, is, that i may acquaint with thy story every one that shall take thee out, and caution him against thee, that he may cast thee in again: thus shalt thou remain in this sea to the end of time, and experience varieties of torment.—the 'efreet then said, liberate me, for this is an opportunity for thee to display humanity; and i vow to thee that i will never do thee harm; but, on the contrary, will do thee a service that shall enrich thee for ever.

upon this the fisherman accepted his covenant that he would not hurt him, but that he would do him good; and when he had bound him by oaths and vows, and made him swear by the most great name of god, he opened to him; and the smoke ascended until it had all come forth, and then collected together, and became, as before, an 'efreet of hideous form. the 'efreet then kicked the bottle into the sea. when the fisherman saw him do this, he made sure of destruction, and said, this is no sign of good:—but afterwards he fortified his heart, and said, o 'efreet, god, whose name be exalted, hath said, perform the covenant, for the covenant shall be inquired into:32—and thou has covenanted with me, and sworn that thou wilt not act treacherously towards me; therefore, if thou so act, god will recompense thee; for he is jealous; he respiteth, but suffereth not to escape; and remember that i said to thee as said the sage doobán to king yoonán, spare me, and so may god spare thee.

the 'efreet laughed, and, walking on before him, said, o fisherman, follow me. the fisherman did so, not believing in his escape, until they had quitted the neighbourhood of the city, and ascended a mountain, and descended into a wide desert tract, in the midst of which was a lake of water. here the 'efreet stopped, and ordered88 the fisherman to cast his net and take some fish; and the fisherman, looking into the lake, saw in it fish of different colours, white and red and blue and yellow; at which he was astonished; and he cast his net, and drew it in, and found in it four fish, each fish of a different colour from the others, at the sight of which he rejoiced. the 'efreet then said to him, take them to the sul?án,33 and present them to him, and he will give thee what will enrich thee; and for the sake of god accept my excuse, for, at present, i know no other way of rewarding thee, having been in the sea a thousand and eight hundred years, and not seen the surface of the earth until now: but take not fish from the lake more than once each day: and now i commend thee to the care of god.—having thus said, he struck the earth with his feet, and it clove asunder, and swallowed him.

the fish of four colours

the fisherman then went back to the city, wondering at all that had befallen him with the 'efreet, and carried the fish to his house; and he took an earthen bowl, and, having filled it with water, put the fish into it; and they struggled in the water: and when he had done this, he placed the bowl upon his head, and repaired to the king's palace, as the 'efreet had commanded him, and, going up unto the king, presented to him the fish; and the king was excessively astonished at them, for he had never seen any like them in the course of his life; and he said, give these fish to the slave cook-maid. this maid had been sent as a present to him by the king of the greeks, three days before; and he had not yet tried her skill. the wezeer, therefore, ordered her to fry the fish, and said to her, o maid, the king saith unto thee, i have not reserved my tear but for the time of my difficulty:—to-day, then, gratify us by a specimen of thy excellent cookery, for a person hath brought these fish as a present to the sul?án. after having thus charged her, the wezeer returned, and the king ordered him to give the fisherman four hundred pieces of89 gold: so the wezeer gave them to him; and he took them in his lap, and returned to his home and his wife, joyful and happy, and bought what was needful for his family.

the fisherman shewing the fish to the sul?án

such were the events that befell the fisherman: now we must relate what happened to the maid.—she took the fish, and cleaned them, and arranged them in the frying-pan, and left them until one side was cooked, when she turned them upon the other side; and lo, the wall of the kitchen clove asunder, and there came forth from it a damsel of tall stature, smooth-cheeked, of perfect form, with eyes adorned with ko?l,34 beautiful in countenance, and with heavy, swelling hips; wearing a koofeeyeh35 interwoven with blue silk; with rings in her ears, and bracelets on her wrists, and rings set with precious jewels on her fingers; and in her hand was a rod of indian cane: and she dipped the end of the rod in the frying-pan, and said, o fish, are ye remaining faithful to your covenant? at the sight of this, the cook-maid fainted. the damsel then repeated the same words a second and a third time; after which the fish raised their heads from the frying-pan, and answered, yes, yes. they then repeated the following verse:—

if thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou forsake, we verily do the same.

and upon this the damsel overturned the frying-pan, and departed by the way she had entered, and the wall of the kitchen closed up again. the cook-maid then arose, and beheld the four fish burnt like charcoal; and she exclaimed, in his first encounter his staff broke!—and as she sat reproaching herself, she beheld the wezeer standing at her head; and he said to her, bring the fish to the sul?án:—and she wept, and informed him of what had happened.3690

the cook-maid dressing the fish

the wezeer was astonished at her words, and exclaimed, this is indeed a wonderful event;—and he sent for the fisherman, and when he was brought, he said to him, o fisherman, thou must bring to us four fish like those which thou broughtest before. the fisherman accordingly went forth to the lake, and threw his net, and when he had drawn it in he found in it four fish as before; and he took them to the wezeer, who went with them to the maid, and said to her, rise, and fry them in my presence, that i may witness this occurrence. the maid, therefore, prepared the fish, and put them in the frying-pan, and they had remained but a little while, when the wall clove asunder, and the damsel appeared, clad as before, and holding the rod; and she dipped the end of the rod in the frying-pan, and said, o fish, o fish, are ye remaining faithful to your old covenant? upon which they raised their heads, and answered as before; and the damsel overturned the frying-pan with the rod, and returned by the way she had entered, and the wall closed up again.

the wezeer then said, this is an event which cannot be concealed91 from the king:—so he went to him, and informed him of what had happened in his presence; and the king said, i must see this with my own eyes. he sent, therefore, to the fisherman, and commanded him to bring four fish like the former; granting him a delay of three days. and the fisherman repaired to the lake, and brought the fish thence to the king, who ordered again that four hundred pieces of gold should be given to him; and then, turning to the wezeer, said to him, cook the fish thyself here before me. the wezeer answered, i hear and obey. he brought the frying-pan, and, after he had cleaned the fish, threw them into it; and as soon as he had turned them, the wall clove asunder, and there came forth from it a negro, in size like a bull, or like one of the tribe of 'ád,37 having in his hand a branch of a green tree; and he said, with a clear but terrifying voice, o fish, o fish, are ye remaining faithful to your old covenant? upon which they raised their heads, and answered as before, yes, yes:

if thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou forsake, we verily do the same.

the black then approached the frying-pan, and overturned it with the branch, and the fish became like charcoal, and he went away as he had come.

when he had thus disappeared from before their eyes, the king said, this is an event respecting which it is impossible to keep silence, and there must, undoubtedly, be some strange circumstance connected with these fish. he then ordered that the fisherman should be brought before him, and when he had come, he said to him, whence came these fish? the fisherman answered, from a lake between four mountains behind this mountain which is without thy city. the king said to him, how many days' journey38 distant? he answered, o our lord the sul?án, a journey of half-an-hour. and the sul?án was astonished, and ordered his troops to go out immediately with him and the fisherman, who began to curse the 'efreet. they proceeded until they had ascended the mountain, and descended into a wide desert tract which they had never before seen in their whole lives; and the sul?án and all the troops wondered at the sight of this desert, which was between four mountains, and at the fish, which were of four colours, red and white and yellow and blue. the king paused in astonishment, and said to the troops, and to the other attendants who were with him, hath any one of you before seen this lake in this place? they all answered, no. then said the king, by allah, i will not enter my city, nor will i sit upon my throne, until i know the true history of92 this lake, and of its fish. and upon this he ordered his people to encamp around these mountains; and they did so. he then called for the wezeer, who was a well-informed, sensible, prudent, and learned man; and when he had presented himself before him, he said to him, i desire to do a thing with which i will acquaint thee; and it is this:—i have resolved to depart alone this night, to seek for information respecting this lake and its fish: therefore, sit thou at the door of my pavilion, and say to the emeers and wezeers and chamberlains, the sul?án is sick, and hath commanded me not to allow any person to go in unto him:—and acquaint no one with my intention.

the black palace

the wezeer was unable to oppose his design; so the king disguised himself, and slung on his sword, and withdrew himself from the midst of his troops. he journeyed the whole of the night, until the morning, and proceeded until the heat became oppressive to him: he then paused to rest; after which he again proceeded the remainder of the day and the second night until the morning, when there appeared before him, in the distance, something black, at the sight of which he rejoiced, and said, perhaps i shall there find some person who will inform me of the history of the lake and its fish. and when he approached this black object, he found it to be a palace built of black stones, and overlaid with iron; and one of the leaves of its doors was open, and the other shut. the king was glad, and he stood at the door, and knocked gently, but heard no answer; he knocked a second and a third time, but again heard no answer: then he knocked a fourth time, and with violence; but no one answered. so he said, it is doubtless empty:—and he took courage, and entered from the door into the passage, and cried out, saying, o inhabitants of the palace, i am a stranger and a traveller! have ye any provision? and he repeated these words a second and a third time; but heard no answer.93 and upon this he fortified his heart, and emboldened himself, and proceeded from the passage into the midst of the palace; but he found no one there, and only saw that it was furnished, and that there was, in the centre of it, a fountain with four lions of red gold, which poured forth the water from their mouths, like pearls and jewels: around this were birds; and over the top of the palace was extended a net which prevented their flying out. at the sight of these objects he was astonished, and he was grieved that he saw no person there whom he could ask for information respecting the lake, and the fish, and the mountains, and the palace. he then sat down between the doors,39 reflecting upon these things; and as he thus sat, he heard a voice of lamentation from a sorrowful heart, chanting these verses:—

o fortune, thou pitiest me not, nor releasest me! see my heart is straitened between affliction and peril!

will not you [o my wife] have compassion on the mighty whom love hath abased, and the wealthy who is reduced to indigence?

we were jealous even of the zephyr which passed over you: but when the divine decree is issued, the eye becometh blind!

what resource hath the archer when, in the hour of conflict, he desireth to discharge the arrow, but findeth his bow-string broken.

and when troubles are multiplied upon the noble-minded, where shall he find refuge from fate and from destiny?40

when the sul?án heard this lamentation, he sprang upon his feet, and, seeking the direction whence it proceeded, found a curtain suspended before the door of a chamber; and he raised it, and beheld behind it a young man sitting on a couch raised to the height of a cubit from the floor. he was a handsome youth, well-shaped, and of eloquent speech, with shining forehead, and rosy cheek, marked with a mole resembling ambergris. the king was rejoiced at seeing him, and saluted him; and the young man (who remained sitting, and was clad with a vest of silk, embroidered with gold, but who exhibited traces of grief) returned his salutation, and said to him, o my master, excuse my not rising.—o youth! said the king, inform me respecting the lake, and its fish of various colours, and respecting this palace, and the reason of thy being alone in it, and of thy lamentation. when the young man heard these words, tears trickled down his cheeks, and he wept bitterly.41 and the king was astonished, and said to him, what causeth thee to weep, o youth? he answered, how can i refrain from weeping, when this is my state?—and so saying, he stretched forth his hand, and lifted up the skirts of his clothing; and lo, half of him, from his waist to the soles of his feet, was stone; and from94 his waist to the hair of his head, he was like other men. he then said, know, o king, that the story of the fish is extraordinary; if it were engraved upon the intellect, it would be a lesson to him who would be admonished:—and he related as follows:—

the sultán discovering the young king of the black islands

the story of the young king of the black islands.

my father was king of the city which was here situate: his name was ma?mood, and he was lord of the black islands, and of the four mountains. after a reign of seventy years, he died, and i succeeded to his throne; whereupon i took as my wife the daughter of my uncle; and she loved me excessively, so that when i absented myself from her, she would neither eat nor drink till she saw me again. she remained under my protection five years. after this, she went one day to the bath; and i had commanded the cook to prepare the supper, and entered this palace, and slept in my usual place.42 i had ordered two maids to fan me;43 and one of them sat at my head, and the other at my feet; but i was restless, because my wife was not with me; and i could not sleep. my eyes were closed, but my spirit95 was awake; and i heard the maid at my head say to her at my feet, o mes'oodeh,44 verily our lord is unfortunate in his youth, and what a pity is it that it should be passed with our depraved, wicked mistress!—perdition to unfaithful wives! replied the other: but (added she) such a person as our lord, so endowed by nature, is not suited to this profligate woman, who passes every night absent from his bed.—verily, rejoined she at my head, our lord is careless in not making any inquiry respecting her.—wo to thee! said the other: hath our lord any knowledge of her conduct, or doth she leave him to his choice? nay, on the contrary, she contriveth to defraud him by means of the cup of wine45 which he drinketh every night before he sleepeth, putting benj46 into it; in consequence of which he sleepeth so soundly that he knoweth not what happeneth, nor whither she goeth, nor what she doeth; for, after she hath given him the wine to drink, she dresseth herself, and goeth out from him, and is absent until daybreak, when she returneth to him, and burneth a perfume under his nose, upon which he awaketh from his sleep.

the young king on his bed, attended by two maids

when i heard this conversation of the maids, the light became darkness before my face, and i was hardly conscious of the approach of night, when my cousin returned from the bath. the table was prepared, and we ate, and sat a while drinking our wine as usual. i then called for the wine which i was accustomed to drink before i lay down to sleep, and she handed to me the cup; but i turned away, and, pretending to drink it as i was wont to do, poured it into my bosom, and immediately lay down: upon which she said, sleep on; i wish96 that thou wouldst never wake again! by allah, i abhor thee, and abhor thy person, and my soul is weary of thy company!—she then arose, and attired herself in the most magnificent of her apparel, and, having perfumed herself, and slung on a sword, opened the door of the palace, and went out. i got up immediately, and followed her until she had quitted the palace, and passed through the streets of the city, and arrived at the city-gates, when she pronounced some words that i understood not; whereupon the locks fell off, and the gates opened, and she went out, i still following her, without her knowledge. thence she proceeded to a space among the mounds,47 and arrived at a strong edifice, in which was a ?ubbeh48 constructed of mud, with a door, which she entered. i then climbed upon the roof of the ?ubbeh, and, looking down upon her through an aperture, saw that she was visiting a black slave, whose large lips, one of which overlapped the other, gathered up the sand from the pebbly floor, while he lay, in a filthy and wet condition, upon a few stalks of sugar-cane.

she kissed the ground before this slave; and he raised his head towards her, and said, wo to thee! wherefore hast thou remained away until this hour? the other blacks have been here drinking wine, and each of them has gone away with his mistress; and i refused to drink on thy account.—she answered, o my master, and beloved of my heart, knowest thou not that i am married to my cousin, and that i abhor every man who resembles him, and hate myself while i am in his company? if i did not fear to displease thee, i would reduce the city to ruins, so that the owl and the raven should cry in it, and would transport its stones beyond mount ?áf.49—thou liest, thou infamous woman, replied the slave; and i swear by the generosity of the blacks (and if i speak not truth, may our valour be as the valour of the whites), that if thou loiter as thou hast now done till this hour, i will no longer give thee my company, nor approach thy person, thou faithless one! dost thou inconvenience me for the sake of thine own pleasure, thou filthy wretch, and vilest of the whites?—when i heard (continued the king) their words, and witnessed what passed between them, the world became dark before my face, and i knew not where i was.—my cousin still stood weeping, and abasing herself before him, and said, o my beloved, and treasure of my heart, there remaineth to me none but thee for whom i care, and if thou cast me off, alas for me! o my beloved! o light of mine eye!—thus she continued to weep, and to humble herself before him, until he became pacified towards her; upon which she rejoiced, and arose, and, having dis97robed herself, said to him, o my master, hast thou here anything that thy maid may eat? he answered, uncover the dough-pan; it contains some cooked rats' bones:50 eat of them, and pick them; and take this earthen pot: thou wilt find in it some boo?ah51 to drink. so she arose, and ate and drank, and washed her hands; after which she lay down by the side of the slave, upon the stalks of sugar-cane, and covered herself with his tattered clothes and rags.

the black slave wounded by the young king

when i saw her do this, i became unconscious of my existence, and, descending from the roof of the ?ubbeh, entered, and took the sword from the side of my cousin, with the intention of killing them both. i struck the slave upon his neck, and thought that he was killed; but the blow, which i gave with the view of severing his head, only cut the gullet and skin and flesh; and when i thought that i had killed him, he uttered a loud snore, upon which my cousin started up, and as soon as i had gone, took the sword, and returned it to its98 scabbard, and came back to the city and to the palace, and lay down again in my bed, in which she remained until the morning.

on the following day, i observed that my cousin had cut off her hair, and put on the apparel of mourning;52 and she said to me, o my cousin, blame me not for what i do; for i have received news that my mother is dead, and that my father hath been slain in a holy war, and that one of my two brothers hath died of a poisonous sting, and the other by the fall of a house: it is natural, therefore, that i should weep and mourn. on hearing these words, i abstained from upbraiding her, and said, do what seemeth fit to thee; for i will not oppose thee. accordingly, she continued mourning and weeping and wailing a whole year; after which she said to me, i have a desire to build for myself, in thy palace, a tomb, with a ?ubbeh, that i may repair thither alone to mourn, and i will call it the house of lamentations.53 i replied, do what thou seest fit. so she built for herself a house for mourning, with a ?ubbeh in the middle of it, like the tomb of a saint;54 after which she removed thither the slave, and there she lodged him. he was in a state of excessive weakness, and unable to render her any service, though he drank wine; and from the day on which i had wounded him, he had never spoken; yet he remained alive, because the appointed term of his life had not expired. my cousin every day visited him in this tomb early and late, to weep and mourn over him, and took to him wine to drink, and boiled meats; and thus she continued to do, morning and evening, until the expiration of the second year, while i patiently suffered her, till one day, i entered her apartment unawares, and found her weeping, and slapping her face, and repeating these verses:—

i have lost my existence among mankind since your absence; for my heart loveth none but you.

take my body, then, in mercy, to the place where you are laid; and there bury me by your side:

and if, at my grave, you utter my name, the moaning of my bones shall answer to your call.

as soon as she had finished the recitation of these verses, i said to her, holding my drawn sword in my hand, this is the language of those faithless women who renounce the ties of affinity, and regard not lawful fellowship!—and i was about to strike her with the sword, and had lifted up my arm to do so, when she rose—for she knew that it was i who had wounded the slave—and, standing before me, pronounced some words which i understood not, and said, may god, by means of my enchantment, make thee to be half of stone, and half of99 the substance of man!—whereupon i became as thou seest, unable to move, neither dead nor alive; and when i had been reduced to this state, she enchanted the city and its markets and fields. the inhabitants of our city were of four classes; muslims, and christians, and jews, and magians; and she transformed them into fish: the white are the muslims; the red, the magians; the blue, the christians; and the yellow, the jews.55 she transformed, also, the four islands into four mountains, and placed them around the lake; and from that time she has continued every day to torture me, inflicting upon me a hundred lashes with a leathern whip, until the blood flows from my wounds; after which she puts on my upper half a vest of hair-cloth, beneath these garments.—having said thus, the young man wept, and ejaculating the following verses:—

give me patience, o allah, to bear what thou decreest! i will be patient, if so i may obtain thine approval.

i am straitened, indeed, by the calamity that hath befallen me: but the family of the favoured prophet shall intercede for me!56

upon this, the king, looking towards the young man, said to him, o youth, thou hast increased my anxiety. and where (he added) is this woman?—the young man answered, she is in the tomb where the slave is lying, in the ?ubbeh; and every day, before she visits him, she strips me of my clothing, and inflicts upon me a hundred lashes with the whip, while i weep and cry out, unable to move so as to repulse her. after thus torturing me, she repairs early to the slave, with the wine and boiled meat.—by allah, o youth, said the king, i will do thee an act of kindness for which i shall be remembered, and a favour which historians shall record in a biography after me.

the kubbeh, or tomb

he then sat and conversed with him until the approach of night, upon which he arose, and waited till the first dawn of day, when he took off his clothes, and slung on his sword, and went to the place where the slave lay. after remarking the candles and lamps, and perfumes and ointments, he approached the slave, and with a blow of his sword slew him: he then carried him on his back, and threw him into a well which he found in the palace, and, returning to the ?ubbeh, clad himself with the slave's clothes, and lay down with the drawn sword by his side. soon after, the vile enchantress went to her cousin, and, having pulled off his clothes, took the whip, and beat him, while he cried, ah! it is enough for me to be in this state! have pity on me then!—didst thou shew pity to me, she exclaimed, and didst thou100 spare my lover?—she then put on him the hair-cloth vest and his outer garments, and repaired to the slave with a cup of wine, and a bowl of boiled meat. entering the tomb, she wept and wailed, exclaiming, o my master, answer me! o my master, speak to me!—and poured forth her lamentation in the words of this verse:—

how long shall this aversion and harshness continue? sufficient is the evil which my passion hath brought upon me!57

then, weeping as before, she exclaimed again, o my master, answer me, and speak to me! upon this the king, speaking in a low voice, and adapting his tongue to the pronunciation of the blacks, ejaculated, ah! ah! there is no strength nor power but in god! on hearing these words, she screamed with joy, and fell down in a swoon; and when she recovered, she exclaimed, possibly my master is restored to health! the king, again lowering his voice, as if from weakness, replied, thou profligate wretch, thou deservest not that i should address thee.—wherefore? said she. he answered, because all the day long thou tormentest thy husband, while he calleth out, and imploreth the aid of god, so that thou hast prevented my sleeping from the commencement of darkness until morning: thy husband hath not ceased to humble himself, and to imprecate vengeance upon thee, till he hath distracted me; and had it not been for this, i had recovered my strength: this it is which hath prevented my answering thee.—then, with thy permission, she replied, i will liberate him from his present sufferings.—liberate him, said the king, and give us ease.

she replied, i hear and obey;—and immediately arose, and went out from the ?ubbeh to the palace, and, taking a cup, filled it with water, and pronounced certain words over it, upon which it began to boil like a cauldron. she then sprinkled some of it upon her cousin, saying, by virtue of what i have uttered, be changed from thy present state to that in which thou wast at first!—and instantly he shook, and stood upon his feet, rejoicing in his liberation, and exclaimed, i testify101 that there is no deity but god, and that mo?ammad is god's apostle; god bless and save him! she then said to him, depart, and return not hither, or i will kill thee:—and she cried out in his face: so he departed from before her, and she returned to the ?ubbeh, and said, o my master, come forth to me that i may behold thee. he replied, with a weak voice, what hast thou done? thou hast relieved me from the branch, but hast not relieved me from the root.—o my beloved, she said, and what is the root? he answered, the people of this city, and of the four islands: every night, at the middle hour, the fish raise their heads, and imprecate vengeance upon me and upon thee; and this is the cause that preventeth the return of vigour to my body; therefore, liberate them, and come, and take my hand, and raise me; for vigour hath already in part returned to me.

on hearing these words of the king, whom she imagined to be the slave, she said to him with joy, o my master, on my head and my eye! in the name of allah!58—and she sprang up, full of happiness, and hastened to the lake, where, taking a little of its water, she pronounced over it some unintelligible words, whereupon the fish became agitated, and raised their heads, and immediately became converted into men as before. thus was the enchantment removed from the inhabitants of the city, and the city became repeopled, and the market-streets re-erected, and every one returned to his occupation: the mountains also became changed into islands as they were at the102 first. the enchantress then returned immediately to the king, whom she still imagined to be the slave, and said to him, o my beloved, stretch forth thy honoured hand, that i may kiss it.—approach me, said the king in a low voice. so she drew near to him; and he, having his keen-edged sword ready in his hand, thrust it into her bosom, and the point protruded from her back: he then struck her again, and clove her in twain, and went forth.

the sultán killing the enchantress

he found the young man who had been enchanted waiting his return, and congratulated him on his safety; and the young prince kissed his hand, and thanked him. the king then said to him, wilt thou remain in thy city, or come with me to my capital?—o king of the age, said the young man, dost thou know the distance that is between thee and thy city? the king answered, two days and a half.—o king, replied the young man, if thou hast been asleep, awake: between thee and thy city is a distance of a year's journey to him who travelleth with diligence; and thou camest in two days and a half only because the city was enchanted: but, o king, i will never quit thee for the twinkling of an eye. the king rejoiced at his words, and said, praise be to god, who hath in his beneficence given thee to me: thou art my son; for during my whole life, i have never been blest with a son:—and they embraced each other, and rejoiced exceedingly. they then went together into the palace, where the king who had been enchanted informed the officers of his court that he was about to perform the holy pilgrimage: so they prepared for him everything that he required; and he departed with the sul?án; his heart burning with reflections upon his city, because he had been deprived of the sight of it for the space of a year.

he set forth, accompanied by fifty memlooks,59 and provided with presents, and they continued their journey night and day for a whole year, after which they drew near to the city of the sul?án, and the wezeer and the troops, who had lost all hope of his return, came forth to meet him. the troops, approaching him, kissed the ground before him, and congratulated him on his safe return; and he entered the city, and sat upon the throne. he then acquainted the wezeer with all that had happened to the young king; on hearing which, the wezeer congratulated the latter, also, on his safety; and when all things were restored to order, the sul?án bestowed presents upon a number of his subjects, and said to the wezeer, bring to me the fisherman who presented to me the fish. so he sent to this fisherman, who had been the cause of the restoration of the inhabitants of the enchanted city,103 and brought him; and the king invested him with a dress of honour, and inquired of him respecting his circumstances, and whether he had any children. the fisherman informed him that he had a son and two daughters; and the king, on hearing this, took as his wife one of the daughters, and the young prince married the other.60 the king also conferred upon the son the office of treasurer. he then sent the wezeer to the city of the young prince, the capital of the black islands, and invested him with its sovereignty, despatching with him the fifty memlooks who had accompanied him thence, with numerous robes of honour to all the emeers: and the wezeer kissed his hands, and set forth on his journey; while the sul?án and the young prince remained. and as to the fisherman, he became the wealthiest of the people of his age; and his daughters continued to be the wives of the kings until they died.

but this (added shahrazád) is not more wonderful than what happened to the porter.

tail-piece to chapter ii.--the journey home

104

head-piece to notes to chapter ii.--the fisherman and the dead ass

notes to chapter second.

note 1. the sentiment expressed in this verse is one which is often heard from the mouth of a muslim; but generally when, his toil is ended, and its result seen; though not unfrequently as an excuse for indolence.

note 2. the bottle is here described (by the term "?um?um") as of a kind commonly used for sprinkling rose-water, &c., having a spherical or wide body, with a long and narrow neck. i remember seeing a gilt brass bottle of this kind, of very beautiful workmanship, for which nearly as much as ten pieces of gold was demanded.

note 3. the seal of suleymán, or solomon, has twice been mentioned in former notes; in no. 21 of the notes appended to the introduction, and in no. 15 of those to the first chapter.

note 4. it is necessary to remark, that this and many other descriptions in the present work are not designed to be understood in their literal sense. the reader will often be required to make some allowance for oriental hyperbole, and to distinguish between expressions characterised by this figure, and such as are purely accordant with eastern grandeur and magnificence, or with muslim superstition.

note 5. the end of the winnowing-fork bears a rude resemblance to a gigantic hand; having several long prongs of wood.

note 6. instead of "ibree?" (a ewer), in the cairo edition, i read "abwá?" (trumpets), as in other editions.

note 7. this appellation has been mentioned in a former note, as signifying an evil jinnee of the most powerful class.

note 8. it is a rule observed in decent society, by the arabs, to avoid, as much as possible, the mention of opprobrious epithets, lest any person present should imagine such epithets to be addressed insidiously to himself. for this reason, when any malediction or offensive language is repeated in a story, it is usual with them to designate the object of such language by this term, which signifies both remote or absent from the person or persons in whose presence the words are repeated, and remote from virtue or good. in the present instance, "remote" is an epithet substituted by shahrazád for some other of a gross nature, from respect to the king to whom she is relating the story.

note 9. i read "?akhr el-jinnee" for "?akhr el-jinn."—?akhr was an evil jinnee, and a terrible enemy of solomon. his last act of treachery to that monarch, and105 his fate, are thus related by commentators on the ?ur-án.—solomon having, through negligence, suffered one of his women to practise idolatry under his roof, god saw fit to punish him. it was the custom of this king, on certain occasions, "to intrust his signet, on which his kingdom depended, with a concubine of his, named el-emeeneh. one day, therefore, when she had the ring in her custody, a devil [or evil jinnee], named ?akhr, came to her in the shape of solomon, and received the ring from her; by virtue of which he became possessed of the kingdom, and sat on the throne in the shape which he had borrowed, making what alterations in the law he pleased. solomon, in the meantime, being changed in his outward appearance, and known to none of his subjects, was obliged to wander about, and beg alms for his subsistence; till at length, after the space of forty days, which was the time the image had been worshipped in his house, the devil flew away, and threw the signet into the sea. the signet was immediately swallowed by a fish, which being taken and given to solomon, he found the ring in its belly; and having by this means recovered the kingdom, he took ?akhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the lake of tiberias."150

note 10. "umm-'ámir" is an appellation of the hyena. it is scarcely necessary to mention, that the proverb here quoted is said to have originated from the fact of a man's having been devoured by a hyena whom he had aided against an enemy.

note 11. in some copies, the personage here mentioned is called "melik el-yoonán," that is, "king of ancient greece," or—"of the ancient greeks." i have followed the cairo edition, and that of the first two hundred nights, printed at calcutta, in which "yoonán" is used as the king's proper name. see also note 13.

note 12. this is the name of the sage in most copies; but in the cairo edition he is called "rooyán."

note 13. in the calcutta edition, the king is merely said to have reigned "in the country of the persians," as in my translation; but in the cairo edition, he is said to have been "in the city of the persians, and the country of roomán;" which may perhaps mean (though this is hardly allowable) the [eastern] roman, or later greek, empire; an unnecessary contradiction. (see note 22 to chapter x.) it is obviously more agreeable with the story to regard him as a persian king.

note 14. "the ornament of the good," or—"of the comely," is an appellation of the arabian prophet, who is related to have said, "the sun never riseth until it hath saluted me." "the sun's saluting the ornament of the good," or "comely," is, therefore, a phrase not unfrequently used by muslims merely to signify its rising.

note 15.—on the rewards of men of literature and science. it has long been a common custom of eastern princes to bestow dresses of honour upon men of literature and science, as well as upon their great officers and other servants. these dresses were of different kinds for persons of different classes or professions. the most usual kind was an ample coat. with dresses of this description were often given gold-embroidered turbans; and sometimes, to emeers (or great military officers), neck-rings or collars (called ?ó?s), some of which were set with jewels; as also, bracelets, and swords ornamented with precious stones, &c.; and to wezeers, instead of the ?ó?, a necklace of jewels.151—the following striking record will convey an idea of the magnificence of some of these dresses of honour; or, in other words, of the liberality of a muslim prince, and, at the same time, of the very precarious nature of his favour. a person, chancing to look at a register kept by one of the officers of hároon er-rasheed, saw in it the following entry:—"four hundred thousand pieces of gold, the price of a dress of honour for ja?far, the son of ya?yà, the wezeer."—a few days after, he saw beneath this written,—"ten ?eerá?s, the price of naphtha and reeds, for burning the body of 106ja?far, the son of ya?yà."152—the ?eerá? of baghdád was the twentieth part of a deenár, or piece of gold.

arab princes and other great men have generally been famous for highly respecting, and liberally rewarding, men of literature and science, and especially poets. el-mamoon and many others are well known to us for their patronage of the learned. er-rasheed carried his condescension to them so far as to pour the water on the hands of a blind man, aboo-mo'áwiyeh, one of the most learned persons of his time, previously to his eating with him, to shew his respect for science.153 an anecdote of a khaleefeh ordering the mouth of a learned man to be filled with jewels, i have related in a former note. to cram the mouth with sugar or sweetmeats for a polite or eloquent speech, or piece of poetry, has been more commonly done; but the usual presents to learned men were, and are, dresses of honour and sums of money. ibn-'obeyd el-bakhteree, an illustrious poet and traditionist, who flourished in the reign of el-musta'een, is said to have received so many presents, that, after his death, there were found, among the property which he left, a hundred complete suits of dress, two hundred shirts, and five hundred turbans.154 a thousand pieces of gold were often given, and sometimes ten, twenty, or thirty, thousand, and even more, for a few verses; nay, for a single couplet.

the prodigality of arab princes to men of learning may be exemplified by the following anecdote:—?ammád, surnamed er-ráwiyeh, or the famous reciter, having attached himself to the khaleefeh el-weleed, the son of 'abd-el-melik, and shewn a contrary feeling towards his brother hishám, on the accession of the latter fled to el-koofeh. while there, a letter arrived from hishám, commanding his presence at damascus: it was addressed to the governor, who, being ordered to treat him with honour, gave him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and despatched him with the khaleefeh's messenger. on his arrival at damascus, he was conducted before hishám, whom he found in a splendid saloon, seated under a pavilion of red silk, surmounted by a dome of yellow brocade, attended by two female slaves of beauty unsurpassed, each holding a crystal ewer of wine. his admission during the presence of members of the king's ?areem, the reader will remark as a very unusual and high honour: the mention of the wine may also surprise him; but this is a subject upon which much may be said, and which will be considered on a future occasion. after ?ammád had given the salutation, and the khaleefeh had returned it, the latter told him that he had sent for him to ask respecting a couplet of which he (the khaleefeh) could only remember that it ended with the word "ibree?," which signifies "a ewer." the reciter reflected a while, and the lines occurred to his mind, and he repeated them. hishám cried out, in delight, that the lines were those he meant; drank a cup of wine, and desired one of the female slaves to hand a cup to ?ammád. she did so; and the draught, he says, deprived him of one-third of his reason. the khaleefeh desired him to repeat the lines again, and drank a second cup; and ?ammád was deprived of another third of his reason in the same manner; and said, "o prince of the faithful, two-thirds of my reason have departed from me." hishám laughed, and desired him to ask what he would before the remaining third should have gone; and the reciter said, "one of these two female slaves." the khaleefeh laughed again, and said, "nay, but both of them are thine, and all that is upon them, and all that they possess, and, beside them, fifty thousand pieces of gold."—"i kissed the ground before him," says ?ammád, "and drank a third cup, and was unconscious of what happened after: i did not awake till the close of the night, when i found myself in a handsome house, surrounded by lighted candles, and the two female slaves were putting in order my clothes and other things: so i took possession of the property, and departed, the happiest of the creatures of god."155

107

a whimsical story is told of a king, who denied to poets those rewards to which usage had almost given them a claim. this king, whose name is not recorded, had the faculty of retaining in his memory an ode after having only once heard it; and he had a memlook who could repeat an ode that he had twice heard, and a female slave who could repeat one that she had heard thrice. whenever a poet came to compliment him with a panegyrical ode, the king used to promise him that, if he found his verses to be his original composition, he would give him a sum of money equal in weight to what they were written upon. the poet, consenting, would recite his ode; and the king would say, "it is not new; for i have known it some years;" and would repeat it as he had heard it; after which he would add, "and this memlook also retains it in his memory;" and would order the memlook to repeat it; which, having heard it twice, from the poet and the king, he would do. the king would then say to the poet, "i have also a female slave who can repeat it;" and on his ordering her to do so, stationed behind the curtains, she would repeat what she had thus thrice heard: so the poet would go away empty-handed. the famous poet el-a?ma'ee, having heard of this proceeding, and guessing the trick, determined upon outwitting the king; and accordingly composed an ode made up of very difficult words; but this was not his only preparative measure; another will be presently explained; and a third was, to assume the dress of a bedawee, that he might not be known, covering his face, the eyes only excepted, with a lithám (a piece of drapery) in accordance with a custom of arabs of the desert. thus disguised, he went to the palace, and, having asked permission, entered, and saluted the king, who said to him, "whence art thou, o brother of the arabs, and what dost thou desire?" the poet answered, "may god increase the power of the king! i am a poet of such a tribe, and have composed an ode in praise of our lord the sul?án."—"o brother of the arabs," said the king, "hast thou heard of our condition?"—"no," answered the poet; "and what is it, o king of the age?"—"it is," replied the king, "that if the ode be not thine, we give thee no reward; and if it be thine, we give thee the weight in money of what it is written upon."—"how," said el-a?ma'ee, "should i assume to myself that which belongs to another, and knowing, too, that lying before kings is one of the basest of actions? but i agree to this condition, o our lord the sul?án." so he repeated his ode. the king, perplexed, and unable to remember any of it, made a sign to the memlook—but he had retained nothing; and called to the female slave, but she also was unable to repeat a word. "o brother of the arabs," said he, "thou hast spoken truth, and the ode is thine without doubt: i have never heard it before: produce, therefore, what it is written upon, and we will give thee its weight in money, as we have promised."—"wilt thou," said the poet, "send one of the attendants to carry it?"—"to carry what?" asked the king; "is it not upon a paper here in thy possession?"—"no, o our lord the sul?án," replied the poet; "at the time i composed it i could not procure a piece of paper upon which to write it, and could find nothing but a fragment of a marble column left me by my father; so i engraved it upon this; and it lies in the court of the palace." he had brought it, wrapped up, on the back of a camel. the king, to fulfil his promise, was obliged to exhaust his treasury; and to prevent a repetition of this trick (of which he afterwards discovered el-a?ma'ee to have been the author), in future rewarded the poets according to the usual custom of kings.156

the following case is also related as an exception to the common custom of great men, with regard to the bestowal of rewards on poets:—"a poet praised a governor in some verses, and the latter ordered an ass's barda'ah (or stuffed saddle) and girth to be given to him. the poet went away with them on his shoulder; and, being asked what he had got, answered, 'i have praised our honoured lord in the best of my verses, and he hath bestowed on me some of the most magnificent articles of his apparel.'"157

note 16.—on the bath. the ?ammám, or bath, is a favourite resort of both men 108and women of all classes among the muslims who can afford the trifling expense which it requires; and (it is said) not only of human beings, but also of evil genii; on which account, as well as on that of decency, several precepts respecting it have been dictated by mo?ammad. it is frequented for the purpose of performing certain ablutions required by the religion, or by a regard for cleanliness, and for its salutary effects, and for mere luxury.

the following description of a public bath will convey a sufficient notion of those in private houses, which are on a smaller scale, and generally consist of only two or three chambers. the public bath comprises several apartments, with mosaic or tesselated pavements, composed of white and black marble, and pieces of fine red tile, and sometimes other materials. the inner apartments are covered with domes, having a number of small, round, glazed apertures, for the admission of light. the first apartment is the meslakh, or disrobing room, which has, in the centre, a fountain of cold water, and, next the walls, wide benches or platforms, encased with marble. these are furnished with mattresses and cushions for the higher and middle classes, and with mats for the poorer sort. the inner division of the building, in the more regularly planned baths, occupies nearly a square: the central and chief portion of it is the principal apartment, or ?arárah, which generally has the form of a cross. in its centre is a fountain of hot water, rising from a base encased with marble, which serves as a seat. one of the angles of the square is occupied by the beyt-owwal, or antechamber of the ?arárah: in another, is the fire over which is the boiler; and each of the other two angles is generally occupied by two small chambers: in one of these is a tank filled with warm water, which pours down from a spout in the dome: in the other are two taps, side by side; one of hot, and the other of cold water, with a small trough beneath, before which is a seat. the inner apartments are heated by the steam which rises from the fountain and tanks, and by the contiguity of the fire; but the beyt-owwal is not so hot as the ?arárah, being separated from it by a door. in cold weather, the bather undresses in the former, which has two or three raised seats, like those of the meslakh.

with a pair of wooden clogs to his feet, and having a large napkin round his loins, and generally a second wound round his head like a turban, a third over his chest, and a fourth covering his back, he enters the ?arárah, the heat of which causes him immediately to perspire profusely. an attendant of the bath removes from him all the napkins excepting the first; and proceeds to crack the joints of his fingers and toes, &c., and several of the vertebr? of the back and neck; kneads his flesh; and rubs the soles of his feet with a coarse earthen rasp, and his limbs and body with a woollen bag which covers his hand as a glove; after which, the bather, if he please, plunges into one of the tanks. he is then thoroughly washed with soap and water, and fibres of the palm-tree, and shaved, if he wish it, in one of the small chambers which contain the taps of hot and cold water; and returns to the beyt-owwal. here he generally reclines upon a mattress, and takes some light refreshment, while one of the attendants rubs the soles of his feet, and kneads the flesh of his body and limbs, previously to his resuming his dress. it is a common custom, now, to take a pipe and a cup of coffee during this period of rest.

the women are especially fond of the bath, and often have entertainments there; taking with them fruits, sweetmeats, &c., and sometimes hiring female singers to accompany them. an hour or more is occupied by the process of plaiting the hair, and applying the depilatory, &c.; and, generally, an equal time is passed in the enjoyment of rest, or recreation, or refreshment. all necessary decorum is observed on these occasions by most females; but women of the lower orders are often seen in the bath without any covering. some baths are appropriated solely to men; others, only to women; and others, again, to men during the forenoon, and in the afternoon to women. when the bath is appropriated to women, a napkin, or some other piece of drapery, is suspended over the door, to warn men from entering.

before the time of mo?ammad, there were no public baths in arabia; and he was so109 prejudiced against them, for the reasons already alluded to, that he at first forbade both men and women from entering them: afterwards, however, he permitted men to do so, if for the sake of cleanliness, on the condition of their having a cloth round the waist; and women also on account of sickness, child-birth, &c., provided they had not convenient places for bathing in their houses. but, notwithstanding this license, it is held to be a characteristic of a virtuous woman, not to go to a bath even with her husband's permission: for the prophet said, "whatever woman enters a bath, the devil is with her." as the bath is a resort of the jinn, prayer should not be performed in it, nor the ?ur-án recited. the prophet said, "all the earth is given to me as a place of prayer, and as pure, except the burial-ground and the bath."158 hence also, when a person is about to enter a bath, he should offer up an ejaculatory prayer for protection against evil spirits; and should place his left foot first over the threshold.—infidels have often been obliged to distinguish themselves in the bath, by hanging a signet to the neck, or wearing anklets, &c., lest they should receive those marks of respect which should be paid only to believers.159

note 17.—on meals, and the manner of eating. the king (with the sage as his guest) is here described as eating in the presence of his court, agreeably with a common custom of eastern princes and other great men in the present day; the simple manner in which the meal is served and eaten occasioning but a slight interruption.

the muslim takes a light breakfast after the morning-prayers, and dinner after the noon-prayers; or a single meal instead of these two, before noon. his principal meal is supper, which is taken after the prayers of sunset. a man of rank or wealth, when he has no guest, generally eats alone; his children eat after him, or with his wife or wives. in all his repasts he is moderate with regard to the quantity which he eats, however numerous the dishes.

in the times to which most of the tales in the present work relate, it appears that the dishes were sometimes, i believe generally, placed upon a round embroidered cloth spread on the floor, and sometimes on a tray, which was either laid on the floor or upon a small stand or stool. the last is the mode now always followed in the houses of the higher and middle classes of the arabs. the table is usually placed upon a round cloth, spread in the middle of the floor, or in a corner, next two of the deewáns, or low seats which generally extend along three sides of the room. it is composed of a large round tray of silver, or of tinned copper, or of brass, supported by a stool, commonly about fifteen or sixteen inches high, made of wood, and generally inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ebony or other wood, or tortoise-shell, &c. when there are numerous guests, two or more such tables are prepared. the dishes are of silver, or of tinned copper, or of china. several of these are placed upon the tray; and around them are disposed some round, flat cakes of bread, with spoons of box-wood, ebony, or other material, and, usually, two or three limes, cut in halves, to be squeezed over certain of the dishes. when these preparations have been made, each person who is to partake of the repast receives a napkin; and a servant pours water over his hands. a basin and ewer of either of the metals first mentioned are employed for this purpose; the former has a cover with a receptacle for a piece of soap in its centre, and with numerous perforations through which the water runs during the act of washing, so that it is not seen when the basin is brought from one person to another. it is indispensably requisite to wash at least the right hand before eating with the fingers anything but dry food; and the mouth, also, is often rinsed, the water being taken up into it from the right hand. the company sit upon the floor, or upon cushions, or some of them on the deewán, 110 either cross-legged, or with the right knee raised:160 they retain the napkins before mentioned; or a long napkin, sufficient to surround the tray, is placed upon their knees; and each person, before he begins to eat, says, "in the name of god," or "in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful." the master of the house begins first: if he did not so, some persons would suspect that the food was poisoned. the thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve instead of knives and forks; and it is the usual custom for a person to help himself to a portion of the contents of a dish by drawing it towards the edge, or taking it from the edge, with a morsel of bread, which he eats with it: when he takes too large a portion for a single mouthful, he generally places it on his cake of bread. he takes from any dish that pleases him; and sometimes a host hands a delicate morsel with his fingers to one of his guests. it is not allowable to touch food with the left hand (as it is used for unclean purposes), excepting in a few cases, when both hands are required to divide a joint.

among the more common dishes are the following:—lamb or mutton cut into small pieces, and stewed with various vegetables, and sometimes with peaches, apricots, or jujubes, and sugar; cucumbers or small gourds, or the fruit of the black or white egg-plant, stuffed with rice and minced meat, &c.; vine-leaves or pieces of lettuce-leaf or cabbage-leaf, enclosing a similar composition; small morsels of lamb or mutton, roasted on skewers, and called "kebáb;" fowls simply roasted or boiled, or boned, and stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts, crumbled bread, and parsley; and various kinds of pastry, and other sweets. the repast is frequently commenced with soup; and is generally ended with boiled rice, mixed with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper; or after this, is served a water-melon or other fruit, or a bowl of a sweet drink composed of water with raisins, and sometimes other kinds of fruit, boiled in it, and then sugar, and with a little rose-water added to it when cool. the meat, having generally little fat, is cooked with clarified butter, and is so thoroughly done that it is easily divided with the fingers.

a whole lamb, stuffed in the same manner as the fowls above mentioned, is not a very uncommon dish; but one more extraordinary, of which 'abd-el-la?eef gives an account161 as one of the most remarkable that he had seen in egypt, i am tempted to describe. it was an enormous pie, composed in the following manner:—thirty pounds of fine flour being kneaded with five pounds and a half of oil of sesame, and divided into two equal portions, one of these was spread upon a round tray of copper, about four spans in diameter. upon this were placed three lambs, stuffed with pounded meat fried with oil of sesame and ground pistachio-nuts, and various hot aromatics, such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mastic, coriander-seed, cumin-seed, cardamom, nut [or nutmeg?], &c. these were then sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk; and upon the lambs, and in the remaining spaces, were placed twenty fowls, twenty chickens, and fifty smaller birds; some of which were baked, and stuffed with eggs; some, stuffed with meat; and some, fried with the juice of sour grapes, or that of limes, or some similar acid. to the above were added a number of small pies; some filled with meat, and others with sugar and sweetmeats; and sometimes, the meat of another lamb, cut into small pieces, and some fried cheese. the whole being piled up in the form of a dome, some rose-water infused with musk and aloes-wood was sprinkled upon it; and the other half of the paste first mentioned was spread over, so as to close the whole: it was then baked, wiped with a sponge, and again sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk.—a dish still more extraordinary will be described in a note on public royal feasts.

with respect to clean and unclean meats, the muslim is subject to nearly the same laws as the jew. swine's flesh, and blood, are especially forbidden to him; but camel's flesh is allowed. the latter, however, being of a coarse nature, is never eaten when any 111 other meat can be obtained, excepting by persons of the lower classes, and by arabs of the desert. of fish, almost every kind is eaten (excepting shell-fish), usually fried in oil: of game, little; partly in consequence of frequent doubt whether it have been lawfully killed. the diet consists, in a great measure, of vegetables, and includes a large variety of pastry. a very common kind of pastry is a pancake, which is made very thin, and folded over several times like a napkin; it is saturated with butter, and generally sweetened with honey or sugar; as is also another common kind, which somewhat resembles vermicelli.

the usual beverage at meals is water, which is drunk from cooling, porous, earthen bottles, or from cups of brass or other metal: but in the houses of the wealthy, sherbet is sometimes served instead of this, in covered glass cups, each of which contains about three quarters of a pint. the sherbet is composed of water made very sweet with sugar, or with a hard conserve of violets or roses or mulberries, &c. after every time that a person drinks, he says, "praise be to god;" and each person of the company says to him, "may it be productive of enjoyment:" to which he replies, "may god cause thee to have enjoyment." the arabs drink little or no water during a meal, but generally take a large draught immediately after. the repast is quickly finished; and each person, as soon as he has done, says, "praise be to god," or "praise be to god, the lord of all creatures." he then washes, in the same manner as before, but more thoroughly; well lathering his beard, and rinsing his mouth.

note 18. this mode of shewing honour to a meritorious individual, or distinguished guest, which is at least as ancient as the time of ahasuerus,162 is still observed in muslim countries.

note 19. the influence of the stars upon the dispositions and fortunes of mankind is firmly believed by the generality of muslims, and is often a matter of consideration previously to the uniting of two persons in marriage; though the absurdity of such an opinion is declared in their law.

note 20.—on the distribution of virtues and vices among mankind. i have heard arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the envy that exists among all mankind collectively; but i have not seen any written authority for this. ibn-'abbás assigns nine-tenths of the intrigue or artifice that exists in the world to the copts; nine-tenths of the perfidy, to the jews; nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness, to the turks; and nine-tenths of the bravery, to the arabs. according to ka?b-el-a?bár, reason and sedition are most peculiar to syria; plenty and degradation, to egypt; and misery and health, to the desert. in another account, faith and modesty are said to be most peculiar to el-yemen; fortitude and sedition, to syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to el-'erá?; wealth and degradation, to egypt; and poverty and misery, to the desert.—of women, it is said, by ka?b-el-a?bár, that the best in the world (excepting those of the tribe of ?ureysh mentioned by the prophet) are those of el-ba?rah; and the worst in the world, those of egypt."163

note 21. in the cairo edition, king yoonán is made to say, "i should repent after it, as king sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"—and thus is introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the husband and the parrot; the former story describing a king as having, under an erroneous idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking poison. the latter story i insert in preference, according to the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of breslau.

note 22.—on miraculously-gifted birds. an arab historian would make it to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot are not nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to display. he mentions a parrot which recited the soorat yá-seen (or 36th chapter of the ?ur-án); and a raven which recited the soorat es-sijdeh (or 32nd chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostra112tion (or verse which should be recited with prostration), would perform that action, and say, "my body prostrateth itself to thee, and my heart confideth in thee." but these are not the most remarkable cases of the kind. he affirms that there was a parrot in cairo which recited the ?ur-án from beginning to end. the báshà, he says, desiring to try its talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the ?ur-án in its presence, and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another, with the view of leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the result, the parrot corrected him!164

note 23. but a few years ago, it was a common custom for an arab merchant or shopkeeper of the higher class to wear a sword; and this not only during a journey, but also during his ordinary walks or rides. i have seen many persons of this description so armed, and with a pair of pistols stuck in the girdle; though seldom excepting in the former case. a dagger or case-knife is a weapon now more commonly worn by such persons, both at home and abroad.

note 24.—on hunting and hawking. hunting and hawking, which were common and favourite diversions of the arabs, and especially of their kings and other great men, have now fallen into comparative disuse among this people. they are, however, still frequently practised by the persians, and in a manner the same as they are generally described in the present work. sir john malcolm was informed that these sports were nowhere found in greater perfection than in the neighbourhood of aboo-shahr, where he witnessed and took part in them: i shall, therefore, here avail myself of his observations on this subject.

"the huntsmen," he says, "proceed to a large plain, or rather desert, near the sea-side: they have hawks and greyhounds; the former carried in the usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the latter led in a leash by a horseman, generally the same who carries the hawk. when the antelope is seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible; but the animal, the moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems swifter than the wind: the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having slipped the dogs. if it is a single deer, they at the same time fly the hawks; but if a herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular antelope. the hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the deer, at whose head they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a violence that knocks it over. [they are commonly described as pecking at the poor creature's eyes until they blind it.] at all events, they confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a degree that the dogs can come up with it; and, in an instant, men, horses, dogs, and hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united efforts have been combined. the part of the chase that surprised me most, was the extraordinary combination of the hawks and the dogs, which throughout seemed to look to each other for aid. this, i was told, was the result of long and skilful training.—the antelope is supposed to be the fleetest quadruped on earth; and the rapidity of the first burst of the chase i have described is astonishing. the run seldom exceeds three or four miles, and often is not half so much. a fawn is an easy victory; the doe often runs a good chase; and the buck is seldom taken. the arabs are, indeed, afraid to fly their hawks at the latter, as these fine birds, in pouncing, frequently impale themselves on its sharp horns.—the hawks used in this sport are of a species that i have never seen in any other country. this breed, which is called cherkh, is not large, but of great beauty and symmetry.

"another mode of running down the antelope is practised here, and still more in the interior of persia. persons of the highest rank lead their own greyhounds in a long silken leash, which passes through the collar, and is ready to slip the moment the huntsman chooses. the well-trained dog goes alongside the horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed, and in all kinds of country. when a herd of antelopes is seen, a consultation is held, and the most experienced determine the point towards which 113 they are to be driven. the field (as an english sportsman would term it) then disperse, and, while some drive the herd in the desired direction, those with the dogs take their post on the same line, at the distance of about a mile from each other; one of the worst dogs is then slipped at the herd, and from the moment he singles out an antelope the whole body are in motion. the object of the horsemen who have greyhounds is to intercept its course, and to slip fresh dogs, in succession, at the fatigued animal. in rare instances, the second dog kills. it is generally the third or fourth; and even these, when the deer is strong, and the ground favourable, often fail. this sport, which is very exhilarating, was the delight of the late king of persia, ághà mo?ammad khán, whose taste is inherited by the present sovereign.

"the novelty of these amusements interested me, and i was pleased, on accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from aboo-shahr, to see a species of hawking peculiar, i believe, to the sandy plains of persia, on which the ?obárà, a noble species of bustard, is found on almost bare plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub called 'geetuck.' when we went in quest of them, we had a party of about twenty, all well mounted. two kinds of hawks are necessary for this sport; the first, the cherkh (the same which is flown at the antelope), attacks them on the ground, but will not follow them on the wing; for this reason, the 'bhyree,' a hawk well known in india, is flown the moment the ?obárà rises.—as we rode along in an extended line, the men who carried the cherkhs every now and then unhooded and held them up, that they might look over the plain. the first ?obárà we found afforded us a proof of the astonishing quickness of sight of one of the hawks: he fluttered to be loose, and the man who held him gave him a whoop as he threw him off his hand, and set off at full speed. we all did the same. at first we only saw our hawk skimming over the plain, but soon perceived, at a distance of more than a mile, the beautiful speckled ?obárà, with his head erect and wings outspread, running forward to meet his adversary. the cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces, which were either evaded or repelled by the beak or wings of the ?obárà, which at last found an opportunity of rising, when a bhyree was instantly flown, and the whole party were again at full gallop. we had a flight of more than a mile, when the ?obárà alighted, and was killed by another cherkh, who attacked him on the ground. this bird weighed ten pounds. we killed several others, but were not always successful, having seen our hawks twice completely beaten, during the two days we followed this fine sport."165

the hunting of the wild ass is another sport of the persians and arabs, but one of a more difficult nature. this animal is found in syria, and in the nubian deserts, as well as in arabia and persia. the more common kinds of game are gazelles, or antelopes, hares, partridges, the species of grouse called "?a?à," quails, wild geese, ducks, &c. against all of these, the hawk is generally employed, but assisted in the capture of gazelles and hares by dogs. the usual arms of the sportsmen, in the times to which the present work relates, were the bow and arrow, the cross-bow, the spear, the sword, and the mace. when the game is struck down, but not killed, by any weapon, its throat is immediately cut. if merely stunned, and then left to die, its flesh is unlawful food. some other laws respecting the killing of game have been mentioned in a former note; but one has been there omitted which is worthy of remark, though it is often disregarded; it is, that hunting is allowable only for the purpose of procuring food, or to obtain the skin of an animal, or for the sake of destroying ferocious and dangerous beasts. amusement is certainly, in general, the main object of the muslim huntsman, but he does not, with this view, endeavour to prolong the chase; on the contrary, he strives to take the game as quickly as possible; for this purpose, nets are often employed, and the hunting party, forming what is called the circle of the chase (?al?at e?-?eyd), surround the spot in which the game is found.

114

"on the eastern frontiers of syria," says burckhardt, "are several places allotted for the hunting of gazelles: these places are called 'masiade' [more properly, 'ma?yedehs']. an open space in the plain, of about one mile and a half square, is enclosed on three sides by a wall of loose stones, too high for the gazelles to leap over. in different parts of this wall, gaps are purposely left, and near each gap a deep ditch is made on the outside. the enclosed space is situated near some rivulet or spring to which, in summer, the gazelles resort. when the hunting is to begin, many peasants assemble, and watch till they see a herd of gazelles advancing from a distance towards the enclosure, into which they drive them: the gazelles, frightened by the shouts of these people, and the discharge of fire-arms, endeavour to leap over the wall, but can only effect this at the gaps, where they fall into the ditch outside, and are easily taken, sometimes by hundreds. the chief of the herd always leaps first: the others follow him one by one. the gazelles thus taken are immediately killed, and their flesh is sold to the arabs and neighbouring fellá?s."166

note 25. in the cairo edition, the word "jezeereh" (an island) is erroneously put for "kharábeh" (a ruin).

note 26. "ghooleh" is the feminine of "ghool." the ghool is a fabulous being, of which some account has been given in no. 21 of the notes to the introduction.

note 27. this epithet of the deity appears to be used in preference to others in this instance, in order to imply that god always decrees what is best for a virtuous man, even when the reverse would seem to us to be the case. he is here described as appointing that the sage should die a violent death; but this death, being unmerited, raised him, according to mohammadan notions, to the rank of a martyr.

in the edition from which my translation is chiefly made, four poetical quotations are here inserted on the subject of fate, and the inutility of anxious forebodings. the first of these is as follows:—

"o thou who fearest thy fate, be at ease; commit thine affairs unto him who spread out the earth.

for what is predestined cannot be cancelled; and thou art secure from every thing that is not predestined."

note 28.—the fable of the crocodile. perhaps the reader may desire to know what is the story which the sage doobán declined to relate; i will therefore supply the omission as well as my memory will allow me. i have heard this fable differently told by different persons; and it is sometimes spun out to a considerable length; but the principal points of it are these:—a crocodile, having crawled far from the nile, over a desert tract, found his strength so exhausted by fatigue and thirst, that he despaired of being able to return to the river. while he was in this unhappy state, an arab with his camel approached him, proceeding in the desired direction; and he appealed to his compassion, entreating that he would bind him on the back of the camel, and so convey him to the nile, and promising that he would afterwards, in return for this favour, carry him across to the opposite bank. the arab answered, that he feared the crocodile would, as soon as he was unbound, turn upon him, and devour him; but the monster swore so solemnly that he would gratefully requite the service he requested, that the man was induced to consent; and, making his camel lie down, bound the crocodile firmly upon his back, and brought him to the bank of the river. no sooner, however, was the horrid creature liberated, than, in spite of his vows, he opened his hideous jaws to destroy his benefactor, who, though he eluded this danger, was unable to rescue his camel. at this moment a fox drew near them. the man, accosting this cunning animal, related his tale; and the crocodile urged in his own excuse, that the man had spitefully bound him on the back of the camel in such a manner that he had almost killed him. the fox replied that he could quickly pursue and capture the man, 115 but that he must act fairly, and first see the whole transaction repeated before him. the crocodile, assenting, and submitting to have a noose thrown over his jaws, was again bound on the back of the camel, and taken to the place whence he was brought; and as soon as this was done, the man, by the direction of the fox, holding with one hand the halter of his camel, with the other cut the ropes which secured his burden, and hasted away with his beast, leaving the ungrateful and treacherous monster in the same hopeless state in which he had found him.

note 29. this comparison is perfectly just. my first visit to egypt was not too late for me to witness such a scene as that which is here alluded to; but now, throughout the turkish dominions, the officers of government are obliged, more or less, to assimilate their style of dress to that which commonly prevails in europe; gaudy colours are out of fashion among them, and silk embroidery is generally preferred to gold: in egypt, however, the dress worn by this class of persons has not been so much altered as in turkey, still retaining an oriental character, though wanting the shawl which was wound round the red cap, and formed the turban; while the dress worn by other classes has undergone no change. [this note still applies to the inhabitants of egypt, with the exception of the turks, who have very generally adopted the modern turkish, or semi-european dress.—ed.]

note 30. this story of the head speaking after it was cut off is not without a parallel in the writings of arab historians. the head of sa'eed, the son of jubeyr, is said to have uttered the words, "there is no deity but god," after it had been severed from his body by order of el-?ajjáj, who is related to have killed a hundred and twenty thousand persons of note, besides those whom he slew in war.

note 31. i do not remember to have read or heard the story of umámeh and 'átikeh, who, as their names import, were two females.

note 32. the words here quoted are part of the 36th verse of the 17th chapter of the ?ur-án.

note 33. the title of "sul?án" is higher than that of "melik" (or king): a sul?án, properly speaking, being a monarch who has kings or viceroys under his authority.

note 34.—on ko?l, and the mode of applying it. ko?l is a black powder, with which most of the arab, and many other, women blacken the edges of the eyelids. the most common kind is the smoke-black which is produced by burning a kind of frankincense. an inferior kind is the smoke-black produced by burning the shells of almonds. these are believed to be beneficial to the eyes; but are generally used merely for the sake of ornament. among other kinds which are particularly employed for their beneficial effect upon the eye are several ores of lead, reduced to a fine powder. antimony is said to have been, in former times, the most esteemed kind of ko?l. the powder is applied by means of a small probe of wood, ivory, or silver, the end of which is moistened, and then dipped in the powder, and drawn along the edges of the eyelids.167

note 35. the koofeeyeh is described in a great arabic lexicon (táj el-'aroos) as "a thing worn on the head; so called because of its roundness:" and this is the only description of it that i have been able to find. i was told in cairo, that "koofeeyeh" is the correct appellation of the head-kerchief commonly called "keffeeyeh:" but this is a mistake. the latter is a square kerchief, which is worn on the head, measuring about a yard in each direction, and of various colours, generally a dull, brownish red, bright green, and yellow, composing broad and narrow stripes, and having a deep fringe of strings and tassels along two opposite edges. the most common kind is entirely of cotton; another, of cotton interwoven with silk; and a third, of silk interwoven with gold. it is now chiefly worn by the wahhábees and several tribes of bedawees; but 116 the former wear only the first kind, as they hold articles of dress composed wholly or partly of silk or gold to be unlawful. in former times it was in common use among the inhabitants of the towns. it is mostly worn by men, and is doubled diagonally, and placed over the cap in such a manner that the two corners which are folded together hang down the back; and the other two corners, in front. a piece of woollen rope, or a strip of rag, or a turban, is generally wound round it; and the corners, or those only which usually hang down in front, are sometimes turned up, and tucked within the upper edge of the turban. the inhabitants of the towns usually wear the turban over the keffeeyeh. burckhardt, who calls this head-kerchief "keffie," mentions, that the bedawees of mekkeh and el-yemen tie over it, instead of the woollen rope which is used by the northern bedawees, "a circle made of wax, tar, and butter, strongly kneaded together: this," he adds, "is pressed down to the middle of the head, and looks like the airy crown of a saint. it is about the thickness of a finger; and they take it off very frequently to press it between their hands, so that its shape may be preserved."168 the better kinds of keffeeyeh above mentioned are worn by some of the turks, but not in the arab manner; being wound tight round the cap.

note 36.—anecdote of a miraculous fish. this story of the miraculous fish reminds me of one of a similar kind which is related as authentic. a certain just judge of the israelites, in the time of solomon, had a wife who, every time that she brought him his food, used to ejaculate a prayer that disgrace might befall every unfaithful wife. one day, this woman having placed before her husband a fried fish, and repeated her usual ejaculation, the fish leaped from the dish, and fell upon the floor. this happened three times; and, in consequence of a suspicion expressed by a devotee, who was consulted respecting the meaning of this strange event, the judge discovered that a supposed maid, whom he had purchased as a slave, was a disguised man.169

note 37. this comparison is not intended to be understood in its literal sense, for the smallest of the tribe of 'ád is said to have been sixty cubits high: the largest, a hundred! the tribe of 'ád were a race of ancient arabs, who, according to the ?ur-án and arab historians, were destroyed by a suffocating wind, for their infidelity, after their rejection of the admonitions of the prophet hood.

note 38. the arabs generally calculate distances by time. the average distance of a day's journey is from twenty to twenty-five miles; the former being the usual rate of caravan-travelling.

note 39.—on the privacy of arab dwellings. in a palace, or large house, there is generally a wide bench of stone, or a wooden couch, within the outer door, for the accommodation of the door-keeper and other servants. the entrance-passage leads to an open court, and, for the sake of preventing persons at the entrance, or a little within it, from seeing into the court, it usually has two turnings. we may, therefore, understand the motive of the king in seating himself in the place here described to have been a desire that he might not, if discovered, be supposed to be prying impertinently into the interior of the palace. respect for the privacy of another's house is a point that is deemed of so much importance that it is insisted upon in the ?ur-án, in these words:—"o ye who have become believers, enter not any houses, besides your own houses, until ye shall have asked leave, and saluted their inhabitants; this will be better for you: peradventure ye will be admonished. and if ye find not in them any person, enter them not, until leave be granted you; and if it be said unto you, return, then do ye return; this will be more decent for you; and god knoweth what ye do. but it shall be no crime in you that ye enter uninhabited houses wherein ye may find a convenience.170 when a visiter finds the door open, and no servant below, he usually claps 117 his hands as a signal for some person to come to him; striking the palm of his left hand with the fingers of the right: and even when leave has been granted him to enter, it is customary for him, when he has to ascend to an upper apartment, to repeat several times some ejaculation, such as "permission!" or, "o protector!" (that is, "o protecting god!"), as he goes up, in order that any female of the family, who may chance to be in the way, may have notice of his approach, and either retire or veil herself. sometimes the servant who precedes him does this in his stead.

note 40. these verses are translated from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, as more apposite than those which are inserted in their place in the edition of cairo.

note 41. that the reader may not form wrong conceptions of the characters of many persons portrayed in this work, it is necessary to observe, that weeping is not regarded by the arabs as an evidence of an effeminate disposition, or inconsistent with even a heroic mind; though the muslims in general are remarkable for the calmness with which they endure the heaviest afflictions.

note 42. it is, perhaps, unnecessary to mention, that it is a common custom of the orientals, as of other natives of warm climates, to take a nap in the afternoon. a tradesman is not unfrequently seen enjoying this luxury in his shop, and seldom, excepting in this case, is it considered allowable to wake a person.

note 43.—description of arab fans. the kind of fan most commonly used by the arabs has the form of a small flag. the flap, which is about six or seven inches in width, and somewhat more in length, is composed of split palm-leaves of various colours, or some plain and others coloured, neatly plaited or woven together. the handle is a piece of palm-stick, about twice the length of the flap. this fan is used by men as well as women, and for the double purpose of moderating the heat and repelling the flies, which, in warm weather, are excessively annoying. it is more effective than the ordinary european fan, and requires less exertion. arabian fans of the kind here described, brought from mekkeh to cairo as articles of merchandise, may be purchased in the latter city for a sum less than a penny each; they are mostly made in the h[.]ejáz. another kind of fan, generally composed of black ostrich-feathers, of large dimensions, and ornamented with a small piece of looking-glass on the lower part of the front, is often used by the arabs. a kind of fly-whisk made of palm-leaves is also in very general use. a servant or slave is often employed to wave it over the master or mistress during a meal or an afternoon nap.

note 44. mes'oodeh is the feminine of mes'ood, a name before explained, as signifying "happy," or "made happy."

note 45. the word which i have here rendered "wine" (namely, "sharáb") is applied to any drink, and particularly to a sweet beverage; but, in the present case, the context shews that its signification is that which i have given it. the description of a carousal in the next chapter will present a more fit occasion for my considering at large the custom of drinking wine as existing among the arabs.

note 46.—on the use of hemp to induce intoxication. the name of "benj," or "beng," is now, and, i believe, generally, given to henbane; but el-?azweenee states that the leaves of the garden hemp (?inneb bustánee, or shahdánaj,) are the benj which, when eaten, disorders the reason. this is an important confirmation of de sacy's opinion respecting the derivation of the appellation of "assassins" from ?ashshásheen (hemp-eaters, or persons who intoxicate themselves with hemp); as the sect which we call "assassins" are expressly said by the arabs to have made frequent use of benj.171 118 to this subject i shall have occasion to revert. i need only add here, that the custom of using benj, and other narcotics, for purposes similar to that described in this tale, is said to be not very unfrequently practised in the present day; but as many arab husbands are extremely suspicious of the character of women in general, perhaps there is but little ground for this assertion.

note 47. most eastern cities and towns are partly or wholly surrounded by mounds of rubbish, close to the walls; and upon these mounds are thrown the carcasses of camels, horses, and other beasts, to be devoured by dogs and vultures. immense mounds of this unsightly description entirely surrounded the city of cairo; but those which extended along its western side, and, in a great measure, screened it from the view of persons approaching from the nile, have lately been removed by order of the present báshà of egypt. [this note was written in the year 1838, in the time of mo?ammad 'alee.—ed.]

note 48. "?ubbeh" generally signifies either a dome or a cupola, or a building or apartment surmounted by a dome. in the present instance it is to be understood in the latter sense. it is also applied to a closet, and to a tent.

note 49. "?áf" is generally to be understood, as it is in the present case; to signify the chain of mountains believed, by the muslims, to encircle our earth, as mentioned in a former note. it is also the name of the chain of caucasus, and hence it has been supposed that the fable respecting the mountains before mentioned, originated from an early idea that the chain of caucasus was the limit of the habitable earth; but it is possible that the latter mountains may have derived their name from an imaginary resemblance to the former.

note 50. rats, though unlawful food to the muslim, are occasionally eaten by many of the peasants of the province of lower egypt called el-bo?eyreh, on the west of the western branch of the nile. the extraordinary abundance of these animals, and mice, throughout egypt, gave rise to an absurd fable, which is related by diodorus siculus172 as a matter worthy of serious consideration:—that these creatures are generated from the alluvial soil deposited by the nile. the inundation drives many of them from the fields to the houses and deserts, and destroys the rest; but soon after the waters have subsided, vast numbers of them are seen again, taking refuge in the deep clefts of the parched soil.

note 51.—on the beverage called boo?ah. boo?ah, or boozeh, is a favourite beverage of the boatmen, and other persons of the lower class, in egypt; and more especially of the nubians and negroes; as it was, according to herodotus173 and other writers, of the ancient egyptians. it is an intoxicating liquor, a kind of beer, most commonly prepared from barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to ferment. it is also prepared from wheat and from millet in the same manner. the account of herodotus has been confirmed by the discovery of large jars, containing the dregs of the barley-beer in ancient tombs at thebes.

note 52.—on the apparel, &c., of mourning. the wearing of mourning appears to have been a custom of both sexes among the arabs in earlier times, for the black clothing which distinguished the 'abbásee khaleefehs and their officers was originally assumed in testimony of grief for the death of the imám ibráheem ibn-mo?ammad. it has, however, ceased to be worn by men, as indicating a want of resignation to the decrees of providence, and is only assumed by women on the occasion of the death of a husband or near relation, and not for an elderly person. in the former cases they dye their shirts, head-veils, face-veils, and handkerchiefs, of a blue or almost black colour, with indigo; and sometimes, with the same dye, stain their hands and arms as high as the elbows, and smear the walls of their apartments. they generally abstain from 119 wearing any article of dress of a bright colour, leave their hair unbraided, and deck themselves with few or no ornaments. they also cease to make use of perfumes, ko?l, and ?ennà; and often turn upside-down the carpets, mats, cushions, and coverings of the deewáns.

note 53. "houses of lamentations," erected in burial-grounds for the accommodation of ladies on the occasions of their visiting the tombs of their relations, have been mentioned in a former note respecting the two grand annual festivals.

note 54. the kind of tomb here alluded to is generally a square building crowned by a dome.

note 55. this passage deserves particular notice, as being one of those which assist us to form some opinion respecting the period when the present work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or compiled or remodelled. it is the same in all the copies of the original work that i have seen, and bears strong evidence of having been written subsequently to the commencement of the eighth century of the flight, or fourteenth of our era, at which period, it appears, the christians and jews were first compelled to distinguish themselves by wearing, respectively, blue and yellow turbans, in accordance with an order issued by the sultán of egypt, mo?ammad ibn-kala-oon.174 thus the white turban became peculiar to the muslims.—an eminent german critic has been unfortunate in selecting the incident of the four fish as affording an argument in favour of his opinion that the tales of a thousand and one nights are of indian origin, on the mere ground that the same word (varna) is used in sanscrit to signify both "colour" and "caste."

note 56. the muslims often implore the intercession of their prophet, and of various members of his family and other holy persons, though their ordinary prayers are addressed solely to god. the regard which they pay to their reputed saints, both living and deceased, as mediators, is one of the heresies which the wahhábees most vehemently condemn.

note 57. this verse, translated from my usual prototype, the cairo edition, is there followed by another, which i omit as being inapposite.

note 58. in the first of the notes to the introduction, i have mentioned that it is a general custom of the muslims to repeat this phrase, "in the name of god!" on commencing every lawful action that is of any importance; it is, therefore, here employed, as it is in many similar cases, to express a readiness to do what is commanded or requested; and is equivalent to saying, "i this instant begin to execute thy orders."

note 59. the condition and offices of memlooks, who are male white slaves, have been mentioned in the thirteenth note to the first chapter.

note 60. eastern histories present numerous instances of marriages as unequal as those here related; the reader, therefore, must not regard this part of the story as inconsistent.