commencing with part of the twenty-fourth night, and ending with part of the thirty-second.

the story of the humpback.

there was, in ancient times, in the city of el-ba?rah,1 a tailor who enjoyed an ample income, and was fond of sport and merriment. he was in the habit of going out occasionally with his wife, that they might amuse themselves with strange and diverting scenes; and one day they went forth in the afternoon,2 and, returning home in the evening, met a humpbacked man, whose aspect was such as to excite laughter in the angry, and to dispel anxiety and grief: so they approached him to enjoy the pleasure of gazing at him, and invited him to return with them to their house, and to join with them in a carousal that night.

he assented to their proposal; and after he had gone with them292 to the house, the tailor went out to the market; night having then approached. he bought some dried fish, and bread and limes and sweetmeat, and, returning with them, placed the fish before the humpback and they sat down to eat; and the tailor's wife took a large piece of fish, and crammed the humpback with it, and, closing his mouth with her hand, said, by allah, thou shalt not swallow it but by gulping it at once, and i will not give thee time to chew it. he therefore swallowed it; but it contained a large and sharp bone, which stuck across in his throat, his destiny having so determined, and he expired. the tailor exclaimed, there is no strength nor power but in god the high, the great! alas, that this poor creature should not have died but in this manner by our hands!—wherefore this idling? exclaimed the woman.—and what can i do? asked her husband.—arise she answered, and take him in thy bosom, and cover him with a silk napkin: i will go out first and do thou follow me, this very night and say, this is my son, and this is his mother; and we are going to convey him to the physician, that he may give him some medicine.

no sooner had the tailor heard these words than he arose, and took the humpback in his bosom. his wife, accompanying him, exclaimed, o my child! may allah preserve thee! where is the part in which thou feelest pain; and where hath this small-pox attacked thee?—so every one who saw them said, they are conveying a child smitten with the small-pox. thus they proceeded, inquiring as they went, for the abode of the physician; and the people directed them to the house of a physician who was a jew; and they knocked at the door, and there came down to them a black slave-girl, who opened the door, and beheld a man carrying (as she imagined) a child, and attended by its mother; and she said, what is your business?—we have a child here answered the tailor's wife, and we want the physician to see him: take, then, this quarter of a piece of gold, and give it to thy master, and let him come down and see my son; for he is ill. the girl, therefore, went up, and the tailor's wife, entering the vestibule, said to her husband, leave the humpback here, and let us take ourselves away. and the tailor, accordingly, set him up against the wall, and went out with his wife.

the slave-girl, meanwhile, went in to the jew, and said to him, below, in the house, is a sick person, with a woman and a man: and they have given me a quarter of a piece of gold for thee, that thou mayest prescribe for them what may suit his case. and when the293 jew saw the quarter of a piece of gold, he rejoiced, and, rising in haste, went down in the dark; and in doing so, his foot struck against the lifeless humpback. o ezra! he exclaimed—o heavens and the ten commandments! o aaron, and joshua son of nun! it seemeth that i have stumbled against this sick person, and he hath fallen down the stairs and died! and how shall i go forth with one killed from my house? o ezra's ass!3—he then raised him, and took him up from the court of the house to his wife, and acquainted her with the accident.—and why sittest thou here idle? said she; for if thou remain thus until daybreak our lives will be lost: let me and thee, then, take him up to the terrace, and throw him into the house of our neighbour the muslim; for he is the steward of the sul?án's kitchen, and often do the cats come to his house, and eat of the food which they find there;4 as do the mice too: and if he remain there for a night, the dogs will come down to him from the terraces and eat him up entirely.5 so the jew and his wife went up, carrying the humpback, and let him down by his hands and feet to the pavement; placing him against the wall; which having done, they descended.

not long had the humpback been thus deposited when the steward returned to his house, and opened the door, and, going up with a lighted candle in his hand, found a son of adam standing in the corner next the kitchen; upon which he exclaimed, what is this? by allah, the thief that hath stolen our goods is none other than a son of adam, who taketh what he findeth of flesh or grease, even though i keep it concealed from the cats and the dogs; and if i killed all the cats and dogs of the quarter it would be of no use; for he cometh down from the terraces!—and so saying, he took up a great mallet, and struck him with it, and then, drawing close to him, gave him a second blow with it upon the chest, when the humpback fell down, and he found that he was dead; whereupon he grieved, and said, there is no strength nor power but in god! and he feared for himself, and exclaimed, curse upon the grease and the flesh, and upon this night, in which the destiny of this man hath been accomplished by my hand! then, looking upon him, and perceiving that he was a humpback, he said, is it not enough that thou art humpbacked, but must thou also be a robber, and steal the flesh and the grease? o protector, cover me with thy gracious shelter!—and he lifted him upon his shoulders, and descended, and went forth from his house, towards the close of the night, and stopped not until he had conveyed him to the commencement of the market-street, where he placed him294 upon his feet by the side of a shop at the entrance of a lane, and there left him and retired.

soon after, there came a christian, the sul?án's broker, who, in a state of intoxication, had come forth to visit the bath; and he advanced, staggering, until he drew near to the humpback, when he turned his eyes, and beheld one standing by him. now some persons had snatched off his turban early in the night,6 and when he saw the humpback standing there, he concluded that he intended to do the same; so he clenched his fist, and struck him on the neck. down fell the humpback upon the ground, and the christian called out to the watchman of the market,7 while, still in the excess of his intoxication, he continued beating the humpback, and attempting to throttle him. as he was thus employed, the watchman came, and, finding the christian kneeling upon the muslim8 and beating him, said, arise, and quit him! he arose, therefore, and the watchman, approaching the humpback, saw that he was dead, and exclaimed, how is it that the christian dareth to kill the muslim? then seizing the christian, he bound his hands behind him, and took him to the house of the wálee;9 the christian saying within himself, o heavens! o virgin! how have i killed this man? and how quickly did he die from a blow of the hand!—intoxication had departed, and reflection had come.

the humpback and the christian passed the remainder of the night in the house of the wálee, and the wálee ordered the executioner to proclaim the christian's crime, and he set up a gallows, and stationed him beneath it. the executioner then came, and threw the rope round his neck, and was about to hang him, when the sul?án's steward pushed through the crowd, seeing the christian standing beneath the gallows, and the people made way for him, and he said to the executioner, do it not; for it was i who killed him.—wherefore didst thou kill him? said the wálee. he answered, i went into my house last night, and saw that he had descended from the terrace and stolen my goods; so i struck him with a mallet upon his chest, and he died, and i carried him out, and conveyed him to the market-street, where i set him up in such a place, at the entrance of such a lane. is it not enough for me to have killed a muslim, that a christian should be killed on my account? hang, then, none but me.—the wálee, therefore, when he heard these words, liberated the christian broker, and said to the executioner, hang this man, on the ground of his confession. and he took off the rope from the neck of the christian, and295 put it round the neck of the steward, and, having stationed him beneath the gallows, was about to hang him, when the jewish physician pushed through the crowd, and called out to the executioner, saying to him, do it not; for none killed him but i; and the case was this: he came to my house to be cured of a disease, and as i descended to him i struck against him with my foot, and he died: kill not the steward, therefore; but kill me. so the wálee gave orders to hang the jewish physician; and the executioner took off the rope from the steward's neck, and put it round the neck of the jew. but, lo, the tailor came, and, forcing his way among the people, said to the executioner, do it not; for none killed him but i; and it happened thus: i was out amusing myself during the day, and as i was returning at the commencement of the night, i met this humpback in a state of intoxication, with a tambourine, and singing merrily; and i stopped to divert myself by looking at him, and took him to my house. i then bought some fish, and we sat down to eat, and my wife took a piece of fish and a morsel of bread, and crammed them into his mouth, and he was choked, and instantly died. then i and my wife took him to the house of the jew, and the girl came down and opened the door, and while she went up to her master, i set up the humpback by the stairs, and went away with my wife: so, when the jew came down and stumbled against him, he thought that he had killed him.—and he said to the jew, is this true? he answered, yes. the tailor, then, looking towards the wálee, said to him, liberate the jew, and hang me. and when the wálee heard this he was astonished at the case of the humpback, and said, verily this is an event that should be recorded in books! and he said to the executioner, liberate the jew, and hang the tailor on account of his own confession. so the executioner led him forward, saying, dost thou put forward this and take back that; and shall we not hang one? and he put the rope round the neck of the tailor.

now the humpback was the sul?án's buffoon, and the sul?án could not bear him to be out of his sight; and when the humpback had got drunk, and been absent that night and the next day until noon, the king inquired respecting him of some of his attendants, and they answered him, o our lord, the wálee hath taken him forth dead, and gave orders to hang the person who killed him, and there came a second and a third person, each saying, none killed him but i:—and describing to the wálee the cause of his killing him. when the king, therefore, heard this, he called out to the chamberlain, and said to him,296 go down to the wálee, and bring them all hither before me. so the chamberlain went down, and found that the executioner had almost put to death the tailor, and he called out to him, saying, do it not:—and informed the wálee that the case had been reported to the king. and he took him, and the humpback borne with him, and the tailor and the jew and the christian and the steward, and went up with them all to the king; and when the wálee came into the presence of the king, he kissed the ground, and related to him all that had happened. and the king was astonished, and was moved with merriment, at hearing this tale; and he commanded that it should be written in letters of gold. he then said to those who were present, have ye ever heard anything like the story of this humpback? and upon this the christian advanced, and said, o king of the age, if thou permit me i will relate to thee an event that hath occurred to me more wonderful and strange and exciting than the story of the humpback.—tell us then thy story, said the king. and the christian related as follows:—

the humpback dead

297

báb en-nasr (from a sketch by mr. e.w. lane), &c.

the story told by the christian broker.

know, o king of the age, that i came to this country with merchandise, and destiny stayed me among your people. i was born in cairo, and am one of its copts, and there i was brought up. my father was a broker; and when i had attained to manhood, he died, and i succeeded to his business; and as i was sitting one day, lo, a young man of most handsome aspect, and clad in a dress of the richest description, came to me, riding upon an ass, and, when he saw me, saluted me; whereupon i rose to him, to pay him honour, and he produced a handkerchief containing some sesame, and said, what is the value of an ardebb10 of this? i answered him, a hundred pieces of silver. and he said to me, take the carriers and the measurers, and repair to the khán of el-jáwalee11 in the district of báb en-na?r:12 there wilt thou find me. and he left me and went his way, after having given me the handkerchief with the sample of the sesame. so i went about to the purchasers; and the price of each ardebb amounted to a hundred and twenty pieces of silver; and i took with me four carriers, and went to him. i found him waiting my arrival; and when he saw me he rose and opened a magazine, and we measured its contents, and the whole amounted to fifty ardebbs. the young man then said, thou shalt have, for every ardebb, ten pieces of silver as brokerage; and do thou receive the price and keep it in thy care: the whole sum will be five thousand; and thy share of it, five hundred: so there will remain for me four thousand and five hundred; and when i shall have finished the sale of the goods contained in my store-rooms, i will298 come to thee and receive it. i replied, it shall be as thou desirest. and i kissed his hand, and left him. thus there accrued to me, on that day, a thousand pieces of silver, besides my brokerage.13

he was absent from me a month, at the expiration of which he came and said to me, where is the money? i answered, here it is, ready. and he said, keep it until i come to thee to receive it. and i remained expecting him; but he was absent from me another month; after which he came again, and said, where is the money? whereupon i arose and saluted him, and said to him, wilt thou eat something with us? he, however, declined, and said, keep the money until i shall have gone and returned to receive it from thee. he then departed; and i arose, and prepared for him the money, and sat expecting him; but again he absented himself from me for a month, and then came and said, after this day i will receive it from thee. and he departed, and i made ready the money for him as before, and sat waiting his return. again, however, he remained a month absent from me, and i said within myself, verily this young man is endowed with consummate liberality! after the month he came, attired in rich clothing, and resembling the full moon, appearing as if he had just come out of the bath, with red cheek and fair forehead, and a mole like a globule of ambergris. when i beheld him i kissed his hand, and invoked a blessing upon him, and said to him, o my master, wilt thou not take thy money?—have patience with me, he answered, until i shall have transacted all my affairs, after which i will receive it from thee. and so saying, he departed; and i said within myself, by allah, when he cometh i will entertain him as a guest, on account of the profit which i have derived from his money; for great wealth hath accrued to me from it.

at the close of the year he returned, clad in a dress richer than the former; and i swore to him that he should alight to be my guest.—on the condition, he replied, that thou expend nothing of my money that is in thy possession. i said, well:—and, having seated him, prepared what was requisite of meats and drinks and other provisions, and placed them before him, saying, in the name of allah! and he drew near to the table, and put forth his left hand, and thus ate with me: so i was surprised at him;14 and when we had finished he washed his hand, and i gave him a napkin with which to wipe it. we then sat down to converse, and i said, o my master dispel a trouble from my mind. wherefore didst thou eat with thy left hand? probably something paineth thee in thy right hand?—on hearing299 these words, he stretched forth his arm from his sleeve,15 and behold, it was maimed—an arm without a hand! and i wondered at this; but he said to me, wonder not; nor say in thy heart that i ate with thee with my left hand from a motive of self-conceit; for rather to be wondered at is the cause of the cutting off of my right hand. and what, said i, was the cause of it? he answered, thus:—

know that i am from baghdád: my father was one of the chief people of that city; and when i had attained the age of manhood, i heard the wanderers and travellers and merchants conversing respecting the land of egypt, and their words remained in my heart until my father died, when i took large sums of money, and prepared merchandise consisting of the stuffs of baghdád and of el-mó?il, and similar precious goods, and, having packed them up, journeyed from baghdád; and god decreed me safety until i entered this your city. and so saying, he wept, and repeated these verses:—

the blear-eyed escapeth a pit into which the clear-sighted falleth;

and the ignorant, an expression by which the shrewd sage is ruined.

the believer can scarce earn his food, while the impious infidel is favoured.

what art or act can a man devise? it is what the almighty appointeth!

i entered cairo, continued the young man, and deposited the stuffs in the khán of mesroor,16 and, having unbound my packages and put them in the magazines, gave to the servant some money to buy for us something to eat, after which i slept a little; and when i arose, i went to beyn el-?a?reyn.17 i then returned, and passed the night; and in the morning following, i opened a bale of stuff, and said within myself, i will arise and go through some of the market-streets, and see the state of the mart. so i took some stuff, and made some of my servants carry it, and proceeded until i arrived at the ?eysáreeyeh of jahárkas,18 where the brokers came to me, having heard of my arrival, and took from me the stuff, and cried it about for sale; but the price bidden amounted not to the prime cost. and upon this the sheykh of the brokers said to me, o my master, i know a plan by which thou mayest profit; and it is this: that thou do as other merchants, and sell thy merchandise upon credit for a certain period, employing a scrivener and a witness and a money-changer, and receive a portion of the profits every thursday and monday; so shalt thou make of every piece of silver two; and besides that, thou wilt be able to enjoy the amusements afforded by egypt and its nile.—the advice is judicious, i replied: and accordingly i took the brokers with me to the khán, and they conveyed the stuffs to the ?eysáreeyeh, where i sold it to the merchants, writing a bond in their names, which i committed to300 the money-changer, and taking from him a corresponding bond. i then returned to the khán, and remained there some days; and every day i took for my breakfast a cup of wine, and had mutton and sweetmeats prepared for me, until the month in which i became entitled to the receipt of the profits, when i seated myself every thursday and monday at the shops of the merchants, and the money-changer went with the scrivener and brought me the money.

money-changer and scrivener, &c.

thus did i until one day i went to the bath and returned to the khán, and, entering my lodging, took for my breakfast a cup of wine, and then slept; and when i awoke i ate a fowl,19 and perfumed myself with essence, and repaired to the shop of a merchant named bedr-ed-deen the gardener,20 who, when he saw me, welcomed me, and conversed with me a while in his shop; and as we were thus engaged, lo, a female came and seated herself by my side. she wore a headkerchief inclined on one side, and the odours of sweet perfumes were diffused from her, and she captivated my reason by her beauty and loveliness as she raised her izár and i beheld her black eyes. she saluted bedr-ed-deen, and he returned her salutation, and stood conversing with her; and when i heard her speech, love for her took entire possession of my heart. she then said to bedr-ed-deen, hast thou a piece of stuff woven with pure gold thread? and he produced to her a piece; and she said, may i take it and go, and then send thee the price? but he answered, it is impossible, o my mistress; for this is the owner of the stuff, and i owe him a portion of the profit.—wo to thee! said she: it is my custom to take of thee each piece of stuff for a considerable sum of money, giving thee a gain beyond thy wish, and then to send thee the price.—yes, he rejoined; but i am in absolute301 want of the price this day. and upon this she took the piece and threw it back to him upon his breast, saying, verily your class knows not how to respect any person's rank! and she arose, and turned away. i felt then as if my soul went with her, and, rising upon my feet, i said to her, o my mistress, kindly bestow a look upon me, and retrace thine honoured steps. and she returned, and smiled and said, for thy sake i return. and she sat opposite me upon the seat of the shop; and i said to bedr-ed-deen, what is the price that thou hast agreed to give for this piece. he answered, eleven hundred pieces of silver. and i said to him, thy profit shall be a hundred pieces of silver: give me then a paper, and i will write for thee the price upon it. i then took the piece of stuff from him, and wrote him the paper with my own hand, and gave the piece of stuff to the lady, saying to her, take it and go; and if thou wilt, bring the price to me in the market; or, if thou wilt, it shall be my present to thee. she replied, god recompense thee, and bless thee with my property, and make thee my husband; and may god accept this prayer!—o my mistress, said i, let this piece of stuff be thine, and another like it, and permit me to see thy face. and upon this she raised her veil; and when i beheld her face, the sight drew from me a thousand sighs, and my heart was entangled by her love, so that i no longer remained master of my reason. she then lowered the veil again, and took the piece of stuff, saying, o my master, leave me not desolate. so she departed, while i continued sitting in the market-street until past the hour of afternoon-prayer, with wandering mind, overpowered by love. in the excess of my passion, before i rose i asked the merchant respecting her; and he answered me, she is a rich lady, the daughter of a deceased emeer, who left her great property.

i then took leave of him, and returned to the khán, and the supper was placed before me; but, reflecting upon her, i could eat nothing. i laid myself down to rest; but sleep came not to me, and i remained awake until the morning, when i arose and put on a suit of clothing different from that which i had worn the day before; and, having drunk a cup of wine, and eaten a few morsels as my breakfast, repaired again to the shop of the merchant, and saluted him, and sat down with him. the lady soon came, wearing a dress more rich than the former, and attended by a slave-girl; and she seated herself, and saluted me instead of bedr-ed-deen, and said, with an eloquent tongue which i had never heard surpassed in softness or sweetness, send with me some one to receive the twelve hundred pieces of silver, the price302 of the piece of stuff.—wherefore, said i, this haste? she replied, may we never lose thee! and she handed to me the price; and i sat conversing with her, and made a sign to her, which she understood, intimating my wish to visit her: whereupon she rose in haste, expressing displeasure at my hint. my heart clung to her, and i followed in the direction of her steps through the market-street; and lo, a slave-girl came to me, and said, o my master, answer the summons of my mistress. wondering at this, i said, no one here knoweth me.—how soon, she rejoined, hast thou forgotten her! my mistress is she who was to-day at the shop of the merchant bedr-ed-deen.—so i went with her until we arrived at the money-changer's;21 and when her mistress, who was there, beheld me, she drew me to her side, and said, o my beloved, thou hast wounded my heart, and love of thee hath taken possession of it; and from the time that i first saw thee, neither sleep nor food nor drink hath been pleasant to me. i replied, and more than that do i feel; and the state in which i am needs no complaint to testify it.—then shall i visit thee, o my beloved, she asked, or wilt thou come to me? for our marriage must be a secret.22—i am a stranger, i answered, and have no place of reception but the khán; therefore, if thou wilt kindly permit me to go to thine abode the pleasure will be perfect.—well, she replied; but to-night is the eve of friday, and let nothing be done till to-morrow, when, after thou hast joined in the prayers, do thou mount thine ass, and inquire for the ?abbáneeyeh;23 and when thou hast arrived there, ask for the house called the ?á'ah24 of barakát the na?eeb,25 known by the surname of aboo-shámeh; for there do i reside; and delay not; for i shall be anxiously expecting thee.

on hearing this i rejoiced exceedingly, and we parted; and i returned to the khán in which i lodged. i passed the whole night sleepless, and was scarcely sure that the daybreak had appeared when i rose and changed my clothes, and, having perfumed myself with essences and sweet scents, took with me fifty pieces of gold in a handkerchief, and walked from the khán of mesroor to báb zuweyleh,26 where i mounted an ass, and said to its owner, go with me to the ?abbáneeyeh. and in less than the twinkling of an eye he set off, and soon he stopped at a by-street called darb el-muna??iree, when i said to him, enter the street, and inquire for the ?á'ah of the na?eeb. he was absent but a little while, and, returning, said, alight.—walk on before me, said i, to the ?á'ah. and he went on until he had led me to the house; whereupon i said to him, to-morrow303 come to me hither to convey me back.—in the name of allah, he replied: and i handed to him a quarter of a piece of gold, and he took it and departed. i then knocked at the door, and there came forth to me two young virgins in whom the forms of womanhood had just developed themselves, resembling two moons, and they said, enter; for our mistress is expecting thee, and she hath not slept last night from her excessive love for thee. i entered an upper saloon with seven doors: around it were latticed windows looking upon a garden in which were fruits of every kind, and running streams and singing birds: it was plastered with imperial gypsum, in which a man might see his face reflected:27 its roof was ornamented with gilding, and surrounded by inscriptions in letters of gold upon a ground of ultramarine: it comprised a variety of beauties, and shone in the eyes of beholders: the pavement was of coloured marbles, having in the midst of it a fountain, with four snakes of red gold casting forth water from their mouths like pearls and jewels at the corners of the pool;28 and it was furnished with carpets of coloured silk, and mattresses.

saloon

having entered, i seated myself; and scarcely had i done so when the lady approached me. she wore a crown set with pearls and jewels;29 her hands and feet were stained with ?ennà; and her bosom was ornamented with gold. as soon as she beheld me she smiled in my face, and embraced me, saying, is it true that thou hast come to me, or is this a dream?—i am thy slave, i answered; and she said, thou art welcome. verily, from the time when i first saw thee, neither sleep hath been sweet to me, nor hath food been pleasant!—in such case have i been, i replied;—and we sat down to converse; but i hung down my head towards the ground, in bashfulness; and304 not long had i thus remained when a repast was placed before me, consisting of the most exquisite dishes, as fricandoes and hashes and stuffed fowls. i ate with her until we were satisfied; when they brought the basin and ewer, and i washed my hands; after which we perfumed ourselves with rose-water infused with musk, and sat down again to converse: expressing to each other our mutual passion; and her love took such possession of me that all the wealth i possessed seemed worthless in comparison. in this manner we continued to enjoy ourselves until, night approaching, the female slaves brought supper and wine, a complete service; and we drank until midnight. never in my life had i passed such a night. and when morning came, i arose, and, having thrown to her the handkerchief containing the pieces of gold,30 i took leave of her and went out; but as i did so she wept, and said, o my master, when shall i see again this lovely face? i answered her, i will be with thee at the commencement of the night. and when i went forth, i found the owner of the ass, who had brought me the day before, waiting for me at the door; and i mounted, and returned with him to the khán of mesroor, where i alighted, and gave to him half a piece of gold, saying to him, come hither at sunset. he replied, on the head be thy command.

i entered the khán, and ate my breakfast, and then went forth to collect the price of my stuffs; after which i returned. i had prepared for my wife a roasted lamb, and purchased some sweetmeat and i now called the porter, described to him the house, and gave him his hire. having done this, i occupied myself again with my business until sunset, when the owner of the ass came, and i took fifty pieces of gold, and put them into a handkerchief. entering the house, i found that they had wiped the marble and polished the vessels of copper and brass, and filled the lamps and lighted the candles, and dished the supper and strained the wine; and when my wife saw me, she threw her arms around my neck, and said, thou hast made me desolate by thine absence! the tables were then placed before us, and we ate until we were satisfied, and the slave-girls took away the first table, and placed before us the wine; and we sat drinking, and eating of the dried fruits, and making merry, until midnight. we then slept until morning, when i arose and handed her the fifty pieces of gold as before, and left her.

thus i continued to do for a long time, until i passed the night and awoke possessing not a piece of silver nor one of gold; and i said within myself, this is the work of the devil! and i repeated these verses:305—

poverty causeth the lustre of a man to grow dim, like the yellowness of the setting sun.

when absent, he is not remembered among mankind; and when present, he shareth not their pleasures.

in the market-streets he shunneth notice; and in desert places he poureth forth his tears.

by allah! a man, among his own relations, when afflicted with poverty, is as a stranger!

interior of báb zuweyleh (from a sketch by m. coste)

with these reflections i walked forth into beyn el-?a?reyn, and proceeded thence to báb zuweyleh, where i found the people crowding together, so that the gate was stopped up by their number; and, as destiny willed, i saw there a trooper, and, unintentionally pressing against him, my hand came in contact with his pocket, and i felt it, and found that it contained a purse; and i caught hold of the purse, and took it from his pocket. but the trooper felt that his pocket was lightened, and, putting his hand into it, found nothing; upon which he looked aside at me, and raised his hand with the mace,31 and struck me upon my head. i fell to the ground, and the people surrounded us, and seized the bridle of the trooper's horse, saying, on account of the crowd dost thou strike this young man such a blow? but he called out to them and said, this is a robber! on hearing this i feared. the people around me said, this is a comely young man, and hath taken nothing. while some, however, believed this, others disbelieved; and after many words, the people dragged me along, desiring to liberate me: but, as it was predestined, there came at this moment the wálee and other magistrates entering the gate, and, seeing the people surrounding me and the trooper, the wálee said, what is the news? the trooper answered, by allah, o emeer, this is a robber: i had in my pocket a blue purse containing twenty pieces of gold; and he took it while i was pressed by the crowd.—was any one with thee? asked the wálee. the trooper answered, no. and the wálee called out to the chief of his servants, saying, seize him and search him. so he seized me; and protection was withdrawn from me; and the wálee said to him, strip him of all that is upon him. and when he did so, they found the purse in my clothes: and the wálee, taking it, counted the money, and found it to be twenty pieces of gold, as the trooper had said; whereupon he was enraged, and called out to his attendants, saying, bring him forward. they, therefore, brought me before him, and he said to me, o young man, tell the truth. didst thou steal this purse?—and i hung down my head towards the ground, saying within myself, if i answer that i did not steal it, it will be useless, for he hath produced it from my clothes; and if i say, i stole306 it, i fall into trouble. i then raised my head, and said, yes, i took it. and when the wálee heard these words, he wondered, and called witnesses, who presented themselves, and gave their testimony to my confession.—all this took place at báb zuweyleh.—the wálee then ordered the executioner to cut off my hand; and he cut off my right hand;32 but the heart of the trooper was moved with compassion for me, and he interceded for me that i should not be killed:33 so the wálee left me and departed. the people however continued around me, and gave me to drink a cup of wine; and the trooper gave me the purse, saying, thou art a comely youth, and it is not fit that thou shouldst be a thief. and i took it from him, and addressed him with these verses:—

by allah! good sir, i was not a robber; nor was i a thief, o, best of mankind!

but fortune's vicissitudes overthrew me suddenly, and anxiety and trouble and poverty overpowered me.

i cast it not; but it was the deity who cast an arrow that threw down the kingly diadem from my head.34

307

the trooper then left me and departed, after having given me the purse, and i went my way; but first i wrapped my hand in a piece of rag,35 and put it in my bosom. my condition thus altered, and my countenance pallid in consequence of my sufferings, i walked to the ?á'ah, and, in a disordered state of mind, threw myself upon the bed. my wife, seeing my complexion thus changed, said to me, what hath pained thee, and wherefore do i see thee thus altered? i answered her, my head acheth, and i am not well. and on hearing this she was vexed, and became ill on my account, and said, burn not my heart, o my master! sit up, and raise thy head, and tell me what hath happened to thee this day; for i read a tale in thy face.—abstain from speaking to me, i replied. and she wept, and said, it seemeth that thou art tired of us; for i see thee to be conducting thyself in a manner contrary to thy usual habit. then she wept again, and continued addressing me, though i made her no reply, until the approach of night, when she placed some food before me; but i abstained from it, fearing that she should see me eat with my left hand, and said, i have no desire to eat at present. she then said again, tell me what hath happened to thee this day, and wherefore i see thee anxious and broken-hearted. i answered, i will presently tell thee at my leisure. and she put the wine towards me, saying, take it; for it will dispel thine anxiety; and thou must drink, and tell me thy story. i replied, therefore, if it must be so, give me to drink with thy hand. and she filled a cup and drank it; and then filled it again and handed it to me, and i took it from her with my left hand, and, while tears ran from my eyes, i repeated these verses:—

when god willeth an event to befall a man who is endowed with reason and hearing and sight,

he deafeneth his ears, and blindeth his heart, and draweth his reason from him as a hair.36

till, having fulfilled his purpose against him, he restoreth him his reason that he may be admonished.37

having thus said, i wept again; and when she saw me do so, she uttered a loud cry, and said, what is the reason of thy weeping? thou hast burned my heart! and wherefore didst thou take the cup with thy left hand?—i answered her, i have a boil upon my right hand.—then put it forth, said she, that i may open it for thee.—it is not yet, i replied, the proper time for opening it; and continue not to ask me; for i will not put it forth at present. i then drank the contents of the cup, and she continued to hand me the wine until intoxi308cation overcame me, and i fell asleep in the place where i was sitting; upon which she discovered that my right arm was without a hand, and, searching me, saw the purse containing the gold.

grief, such as none else experienceth, overcame her at the sight; and she suffered incessant torment on my account until the morning, when i awoke, and found that she had prepared for me a dish composed of four boiled fowls, which she placed before me. she then gave me to drink a cup of wine; and i ate and drank, and put down the purse, and was about to depart; but she said, whither wouldst thou go? i answered, to such a place, to dispel somewhat of the anxiety which oppresseth my heart.—go not, said she; but rather sit down again. so i sat down, and she said to me, hath thy love of me become so excessive that thou hast expended all thy wealth upon me, and lost thy hand? i take thee, then, as witness against me, and god also is witness, that i will never desert thee; and thou shalt see the truth of my words.—immediately, therefore, she sent for witnesses, who came; and she said to them, write my contract of marriage to this young man, and bear witness that i have received the dowry. and they did as she desired them; after which she said, bear witness that all my property which is in this chest, and all my memlooks and female slaves, belong to this young man. accordingly, they declared themselves witnesses of her declaration, and i accepted the property, and they departed after they had received their fees. she then took me by my hand, and, having led me to a closet, opened a large chest, and said to me, see what is contained in this chest. i looked, therefore; and lo, it was full of handkerchiefs; and she said, this is thy property; which i have received from thee: for every time that thou gavest me a handkerchief containing fifty pieces of gold, i wrapped it up, and threw it into this chest: take, then, thy property; for god hath restored it to thee, and thou art now of high estate. fate hath afflicted thee on my account so that thou hast lost thy right hand, and i am unable to compensate thee: if i should sacrifice my life, it would be but a small thing, and thy generosity would still have surpassed mine.—she then added, now take possession of thy property. so i received it; and she transferred the contents of her chest to mine, adding her property to mine which i had given her. my heart rejoiced, my anxiety ceased, and i approached and kissed her, and made myself merry by drinking with her; after which she said again, thou hast sacrificed all thy wealth and thy hand through love of me, and how can i compensate thee? by allah, if i gave my life for love of thee,309 it were but a small thing, and i should not do justice to thy claims upon me.—she then wrote a deed of gift transferring to me all her apparel, and her ornaments of gold and jewels, and her houses and other possessions; and she passed that night in grief on my account, having heard my relation of the accident that had befallen me.

thus we remained less than a month, during which time she became more and more infirm and disordered; and she endured no more than fifty days before she was numbered among the people of the other world. so i prepared her funeral, and deposited her body in the earth, and having caused recitations of the ?ur-án to be performed for her, and given a considerable sum of money in alms for her sake, returned from the tomb. i found that she had possessed abundant wealth, and houses and lands, and among her property were the store-rooms of sesame of which i sold to thee the contents of one; and i was not prevented from settling with thee during this period but by my being busied in selling the remainder, the price of which i have not yet entirely received. now i desire of thee that thou wilt not oppose me in that which i am about to say to thee; since i have eaten of thy food: i give thee the price of the sesame, which is in thy hands.—this which i have told thee was the cause of my eating with my left hand.

i replied, thou hast treated me with kindness and generosity:—and he then said, thou must travel with me to my country; for i have bought merchandise of cairo and alexandria. wilt thou accompany me?—i answered, yes;—and promised him that i would be ready by the first day of the following month. so i sold all that i possessed, and, having bought merchandise with the produce, travelled with the young man to this thy country, where he sold his merchandise and bought other in its stead, after which he returned to the land of egypt: but it was my lot to remain here, and to experience that which hath befallen me this night during my absence from my native country.—now is not this, o king of the age, more wonderful than the story of the humpback?

the king replied, ye must be hanged, all of you!—and upon this, the sul?án's steward advanced towards the king, and said, if thou permit me, i will relate to thee a story that i happened to hear just before i found this humpback; and if it be more wonderful than the events relating to him, wilt thou grant us our lives?—the king answered, tell thy story:—and he began thus:310—

head-piece to the story told by the sultán's steward

the story told by the sul?án's steward.

i was last night with a party who celebrated a recitation of the ?ur-án,38 for which purpose they had assembled the professors of religion and law; and when these reciters had accomplished their task, the servants spread a repast, comprising among other dishes a zirbájeh.39 we approached, therefore, to eat of the zirbájeh; but one of the company drew back, and refused to partake of it: we conjured him; yet he swore that he would not eat of it: and we pressed him again; but he said, press me not; for i have suffered enough from eating of this dish. and when we had finished, we said to him, by allah, tell us the reason of thine abstaining from eating of this zirbájeh. he replied, because i cannot eat of it unless i wash my hands forty times with kali, and forty times with cyperus, and forty times with soap; altogether, a hundred and twenty times. and upon this, the giver of the entertainment ordered his servants, and they brought water and the other things which this man required: so he washed his hands as he had described, and advanced, though with disgust, and, having seated himself, stretched forth his hand as one in fear, and put it into the zirbájeh, and began to eat, while we regarded him with the utmost wonder. his hand trembled, and when he put it forth, we saw that his thumb was cut off, and that he ate with his four fingers: we therefore said to him, we conjure thee, by allah, to tell us how was thy thumb maimed: was it thus created by god, or hath some accident happened to it?—o my brothers, he answered, not only have i lost this thumb, but also the thumb of the other hand; and each of my311 feet is in like manner deprived of the great toe: but see ye:—and, so saying, he uncovered the stump of the thumb of his other hand, and we found it like the right; and so also his feet, destitute of the great toes. at the sight of this, our wonder increased, and we said to him, we are impatient to hear thy story, and thine account of the cause of the amputation of thy thumbs and great toes, and the reason of thy washing thy hands a hundred and twenty times. so he said,—

know that my father was a great merchant, the chief of the merchants of the city of baghdád in the time of the khaleefeh hároon er-rasheed; but he was ardently addicted to the drinking of wine, and hearing the lute; and when he died, he left nothing. i buried him, and caused recitations of the ?ur-án to be performed for him, and, after i had mourned for him days and nights, i opened his shop, and found that he had left in it but few goods, and that his debts were many: however, i induced his creditors to wait, and calmed their minds, and betook myself to selling and buying from week to week, and so paying the creditors.40

thus i continued to do for a considerable period, until i had discharged all the debts and increased my capital; and as i was sitting one day, i beheld a young lady, than whom my eye had never beheld any more beautiful, decked with magnificent ornaments and apparel, riding on a mule, with a slave before her and a slave behind her; and she stopped the mule at the entrance of the market-street, and entered, followed by a eunuch, who said to her, o my mistress, enter, but inform no one who thou art, lest thou open the fire of indignation upon us. the eunuch then further cautioned her; and when she looked at the shops of the merchants, she found none more handsome than mine; so, when she arrived before me, with the eunuch following her, she sat down upon the seat of my shop, and saluted me; and i never heard speech more charming than hers, or words more sweet, she then drew aside the veil from her face, and i directed at her a glance which drew from me a sigh; my heart was captivated by her love, and i continued repeatedly gazing at her face, and recited these two verses:—

say to the beauty in the dove-coloured veil, death would indeed be welcome to relieve me from thy torment.

favour me with a visit, that so i may live. see, i stretch forth my hand to accept thy liberality.

and when she had heard my recitation of them, she answered thus:312—

may i lose my heart if it cease to love you! for verily my heart loveth none but you.

if my eye regard any charms but yours, may the sight of you never rejoice it after absence!

she then said to me, o youth, hast thou any handsome stuffs?—o my mistress, i answered, thy slave is a poor man; but wait until the other merchants open their shops, and then i will bring thee what thou desirest. so i conversed with her, drowned in the sea of her love, and bewildered by my passion for her, until the merchants had opened their shops, when i arose, and procured all that she wanted, and the price of these stuffs was five thousand pieces of silver: and she handed them all to the eunuch, who took them; after which, they both went out from the market-street, and the slaves brought to her the mule, and she mounted, without telling me whence she was, and i was ashamed to mention the subject to her: consequently, i became answerable for the price to the merchants, incurring a debt of five thousand pieces of silver.

i went home, intoxicated with her love, and they placed before me the supper, and i ate a morsel; but reflections upon her beauty and loveliness prevented my eating more. i desired to sleep, but sleep came not to me; and in this condition i remained for a week. the merchants demanded of me their money; but i prevailed upon them to wait another week; and after this week, the lady came again, riding upon a mule, and attended by a eunuch and two other slaves; and, having saluted me, said, o my master, we have been tardy in bringing to thee the price of the stuffs: bring now the money-changer, and receive it.41 so the money-changer came, and the eunuch gave him the money, and i took it, and sat conversing with her until the market was replenished, and the merchants opened their shops, when she said to me, procure for me such and such things. accordingly, i procured for her what she desired of the merchants, and she took the goods and departed without saying anything to me respecting the price. when she had gone, therefore, i repented of what i had done; for i had procured for her what she demanded for the price of a thousand pieces of gold; and as soon as she had disappeared from my sight, i said within myself, what kind of love is this? she hath brought me five thousand pieces of silver, and taken goods for a thousand pieces of gold!—i feared that the result would be my bankruptcy, and the loss of the property of others, and said, the merchants know none but me, and this woman is no other than a cheat, who hath imposed upon me313 by her beauty and loveliness: seeing me to be young, she hath laughed at me, and i asked her not where was her residence.

arrival of the lady on the mule

i remained in a state of perplexity, and her absence was prolonged more than a month. meanwhile the merchants demanded of me their money, and so pressed me that i offered my possessions for sale, and was on the brink of ruin; but as i was sitting absorbed in reflection, suddenly she alighted at the gate of the market-street, and came in to me. as soon as i beheld her, my solicitude ceased, and i forgot the trouble which i had suffered. she approached, and addressed me with her agreeable conversation, and said, produce the scales, and weigh thy money:—and she gave me the price of the goods which she had taken, with a surplus; after which, she amused herself by talking with me, and i almost died with joy and happiness. she then said to me, hast thou a wife? i answered, no: for i am not acquainted with any woman:—and wept. so she asked me, what causeth thee to weep? and i answered, a thought that hath come into my mind:—and, taking some pieces of gold, gave them to the eunuch, requesting him to grant me his mediation in the affair; upon which he laughed, and said, she is in love with thee more than thou art with her, and hath no want of the stuffs, but hath done this only from her love of thee: propose to her, therefore, what thou wilt; for she will314 not oppose thee in that which thou wilt say. now she observed me giving the pieces of gold to the eunuch, and returned, and resumed her seat; and i said to her, shew favour to thy slave, and pardon me for that which i am about to say. i then acquainted her with the feelings of my heart, and my declaration pleased her, and she consented to my proposal, saying, this eunuch will come with my letter; and do thou what he shall tell thee;—and she arose, and departed.

i went to the merchants, and delivered to them their money, and all profited except myself; for when she left me i mourned for the interruption of our intercourse, and i slept not during the whole of the next night: but a few days after, her eunuch came to me, and i received him with honour, and asked him respecting his mistress. he answered, she is sick:—and i said to him, disclose to me her history. he replied, the lady zubeydeh, the wife of hároon er-rasheed, brought up this damsel, and she is one of her slaves: she had desired of her mistress to be allowed the liberty of going out and returning at pleasure, and the latter gave her permission: she continued, therefore, to do so until she became a chief confident; after which, she spoke of thee to her mistress, and begged that she would marry her to thee: but her mistress said, i will not do it until i see this young man, and if he have a desire for thee, i will marry thee to him. we therefore wish to introduce thee immediately into the palace; and if thou enter without any one's having knowledge of thy presence, thou wilt succeed in accomplishing thy marriage with her; but if thy plot be discovered, thy head will be struck off. what, then, sayest thou?—i answered, good: i will go with thee, and await the event that shall befall me there.—as soon, then, as this next night shall have closed in, said the eunuch, repair to the mosque which the lady zubeydeh hath built on the bank of the tigris, and there say thy prayers, and pass the night.42—most willingly, i replied.

accordingly, when the time of nightfall arrived, i went to the mosque, and said my prayers there, and passed the night; and as soon as the morning began to dawn, i saw two eunuchs approaching in a small boat, conveying some empty chests, which they brought into the mosque. one of them then departed, and the other remained; and i looked attentively at him, and lo, it was he who had been our intermediary: and soon after, the damsel, my companion, came up to us. i rose to her when she approached, and embraced her; and she kissed me, and wept: and after we had conversed together for a little while, she took me and placed me in a chest, and locked it upon me.43 the slaves then brought a quantity of stuffs, and filled with them the other315 chests, which they locked, and conveyed, together with the chest in which i was enclosed, to the boat, accompanied by the damsel; and having embarked them, they plied the oars, and proceeded to the palace of the honoured lady zubeydeh. the intoxication of love now ceased in me, and reflection came in its place: i repented of what i had done, and prayed god to deliver me from my dangerous predicament.

mosque on the bank of the tigris

meanwhile, they arrived at the gate of the khaleefeh, where they landed, and took out all the chests, and conveyed them into the palace: but the chief of the door-keepers, who had been asleep when they arrived, was awoke by the sounds of their voices, and cried out to the damsel, saying, the chests must be opened, that i may see what is in them:—and he arose, and placed his hand upon the chest in which i was hidden. my reason abandoned me, my heart almost burst from my body, and my limbs trembled; but the damsel said, these are the chests of the lady zubeydeh, and if thou open them and turn them over, she will be incensed against thee, and we shall all perish. they contain nothing but clothes dyed of various colours, except this chest upon which thou hast put thy hand, in which there are also some bottles filled with the water of zemzem,44 and if any of the water run out upon the clothes it will spoil their colours. now i have advised thee, and it is for thee to decide: so do what thou wilt.—when he heard, therefore, these words, he said to her, take the chests, and pass on:—and the eunuchs immediately took them up, and, with the damsel, conveyed them into the palace: but in an instant, i heard a person crying out, and saying, the khaleefeh! the khaleefeh!

i was bereft of my reason, and seized with a colick from excessive fear; i almost died, and my limbs were affected with a violent shaking. the khaleefeh cried out to the damsel, saying to her, what are these chests? she answered, o my lord (may god exalt thy dominion!), these chests contain clothes of my mistress zubeydeh.—open them,316 said the khaleefeh, that i may see the clothes.—when i heard this, i felt sure of my destruction. the damsel could not disobey his command; but she replied, o prince of the faithful, there is nothing in these chests but clothes of the lady zubeydeh, and she hath commanded me not to open them to any one. the khaleefeh, however, said, the chests must be opened, all of them, that i may see their contents:—and immediately he called out to the eunuchs to bring them before him. i therefore felt certain that i was on the point of destruction. they then brought before him chest after chest, and opened each to him, and he examined the contents; and when they brought forward the chest in which i was enclosed, i bade adieu to life, and prepared myself for death; but as the eunuchs were about to open it, the damsel said, o prince of the faithful, verily this chest containeth things especially appertaining to women; and it is proper, therefore, that it should be opened before the lady zubeydeh:—and when the khaleefeh heard her words, he ordered the eunuchs to convey all the chests into the interior of the palace. the damsel then hastened, and ordered two eunuchs to carry away the chest in which i was hidden, and they took it to an inner chamber, and went their way: whereupon she quickly opened it, and made a sign to me to come out: so i did as she desired, and entered a closet that was before me, and she locked the door upon me, and closed the chest: and when the eunuchs had brought in all the chests, and had gone back, she opened the door of the closet, and said, thou hast nothing to fear! may god refresh thine eye! come forth now, and go up with me, that thou mayest have the happiness of kissing the ground before the lady zubeydeh.

i therefore went with her, and beheld twenty other female slaves, high-bosomed virgins, and among them was the lady zubeydeh, who was scarcely able to walk from the weight of the robes and ornaments with which she was decked. as she approached, the female slaves dispersed from around her, and i advanced to her, and kissed the ground before her. she made a sign to me to sit down: so i seated myself before her; and she began to ask me questions respecting my condition and lineage; to all of which i gave such answers that she was pleased, and said, by allah, the care which we have bestowed on the education of this damsel hath not been in vain. she then said to me, know that this damsel is esteemed by us as though she were really our child, and she is a trust committed to thy care by god. upon this, therefore, i again kissed the ground before her, well pleased to marry the damsel; after which, she commanded me to remain with them ten days. accordingly, i continued with them during this317 period; but i knew nothing meanwhile of the damsel; certain of the maids only bringing me my dinner and supper, as my servants. after this, however, the lady zubeydeh asked permission of her husband, the prince of the faithful, to marry her maid, and he granted her request, and ordered that ten thousand pieces of gold should be given to her.

displaying of the bride

the lady zubeydeh, therefore, sent for the ?á?ee and witnesses, and they wrote my contract of marriage to the damsel; and the maids then prepared sweetmeats and exquisite dishes, and distributed them in all the apartments. thus they continued to do for a period of ten more days; and after the twenty days had passed, they conducted the damsel into the bath, preparatively to my being introduced to her as her husband. they then brought to me a repast comprising a basin of zirbájeh sweetened with sugar, perfumed with rose-water infused with musk, and containing different kinds of fricandoed fowls and a variety of other ingredients, such as astonished the mind; and, by allah, when this repast was brought, i instantly commenced upon the zirbájeh, and ate of it as much as satisfied me, and wiped my hand, but forgot to wash it. i remained sitting until it became dark; when the maids lighted the candles, and the singing-girls approached with the tambourines, and they continued to display the bride, and to give presents of gold, until she had perambulated the whole of the palace; after which, they brought her to me, and disrobed her; and as soon as i was left alone with her, i threw my arms around her neck,318 scarcely believing in our union: but as i did so, she perceived the smell of the zirbájeh from my hand, and immediately uttered a loud cry: whereupon the female slaves ran in to her from every quarter.

i was violently agitated, not knowing what was the matter; and the slaves who had come in said to her, what hath happened to thee, o our sister?—take away from me, she exclaimed to them, this madman, whom i imagined to be a man of sense!—what indication of my insanity hath appeared to thee? i asked. thou madman, said she, wherefore hast thou eaten of the zirbájeh, and not washed thy hand? by allah, i will not accept thee for thy want of sense, and thy disgusting conduct!—and so saying, she took from her side a whip,45 and beat me with it upon my back until i became insensible from the number of the stripes. she then said to the other maids, take him to the magistrate of the city police, that he may cut off his hand with which he ate the zirbájeh without washing it afterwards. on hearing this, i exclaimed, there is no strength nor power but in god! wilt thou cut off my hand on account of my eating a zirbájeh and neglecting to wash it?—and the maids who were present entreated her, saying to her, o our sister, be not angry with him for what he hath done this time. but she replied, by allah, i must cut off something from his extremities! and immediately she departed, and was absent from me ten days: after which, she came again, and said to me, o thou black-faced! am i not worthy of thee? how didst thou dare to eat the zirbájeh and not wash thy hand?—and she called to the maids, who bound my hands behind me, and she took a sharp razor, and cut off both my thumbs and both my great toes, as ye see, o companions; and i swooned away. she then sprinkled upon my wounds some powder, by means of which the blood was stanched; and i said, i will not eat of a zirbájeh as long as i live unless i wash my hands forty times with kali and forty times with cyperus and forty times with soap:—and she exacted of me an oath that i would not eat of this dish unless i washed my hands as i have described to you. therefore, when this zirbájeh was brought, my colour changed, and i said within myself, this was the cause of the cutting off of my thumbs and great toes:—so, when ye compelled me, i said, i must fulfil the oath which i have sworn.

i then said to him (continued the sul?án's steward), and what happened to thee after that? he answered, when i had thus sworn to her, she was appeased, and i was admitted into her favour; and we lived happily together for a considerable time: after which she said, the people of the khaleefeh's palace know not that thou hast resided319 here with me, and no strange man beside thee hath entered it; nor didst thou enter but through the assistance of the lady zubeydeh. she then gave me fifty thousand pieces of gold, and said to me, take these pieces of gold, and go forth and buy for us a spacious house. so i went forth, and purchased a handsome and spacious house, and removed thither all the riches that she possessed, and all that she had treasured up, and her dresses and rarities.—this was the cause of the amputation of my thumbs and great toes.—so we ate (said the sul?án's steward), and departed; and after this, the accident with the humpback happened to me: this is all my story; and peace be on thee.

the king said, this is not more pleasant than the story of the humpback: nay, the story of the humpback is more pleasant than this; and ye must all of you be crucified.—the jew, however, then came forward, and, having kissed the ground, said, o king of the age, i will relate to thee a story more wonderful than that of the humpback:—and the king said, relate thy story. so he commenced thus:—

320

portrait of the jew

head-piece to the story told by the jewish physician

the story told by the jewish physician.

the most wonderful of the events that happened to me in my younger days was this:—i was residing in damascus, where i learnt and practised my art; and while i was thus occupied, one day there came to me a memlook from the house of the governor of the city: so i went forth with him, and accompanied him to the abode of the governor. i entered, and beheld, at the upper end of a saloon, a couch of alabaster overlaid with plates of gold, upon which was reclining a sick man: he was young; and a person more comely had not been seen in his age. seating myself at his head, i ejaculated a prayer for his restoration;46 and he made a sign to me with his eye. i then said to him, o my master, stretch forth to me thy hand:—whereupon he put forth to me his left hand; and i was surprised at this, and said within myself, what self-conceit! i felt his pulse, however, and wrote a prescription for him, and continued to visit him for a period of ten days, until he recovered his strength; when he entered the bath, and washed himself, and came forth: and the governor conferred upon me a handsome dress of honour, and appointed me superintendent of the hospital of damascus.47 but when i went with him into the bath, which they had cleared of all other visitors for us alone, and the servants had brought the clothes, and taken away those which he had pulled off within, i perceived that his right hand had been cruelly amputated; at the sight of which i wondered, and grieved for him; and looking at his skin, i observed321 upon him marks of beating with mi?ra'ahs, which caused me to wonder more. the young man then turned towards me, and said, o doctor of the age, wonder not at my case; for i will relate to thee my story when we have gone out from the bath:—and when we had gone forth, and arrived at the house, and had eaten some food, and rested, he said to me, hast thou a desire to divert thyself in the supper-room? i answered, yes:—and immediately he ordered the slaves to take up thither the furniture, and to roast a lamb and bring us some fruit. so the slaves did as he commanded them: and when they had brought the fruit, and we had eaten, i said to him, relate to me thy story:—and he replied, o doctor of the age, listen to the relation of the events which have befallen me.

know that i am of the children of el-mó?il. my paternal grandfather died leaving ten male children, one of whom was my father: he was the eldest of them; and they all grew up and married; and my father was blest with me; but none of his nine brothers was blest with children. so i grew up among my uncles, who delighted in me exceedingly; and when i had attained to manhood, i was one day with my father in the chief mosque of el-mó?il. the day was friday; and we performed the congregational prayers, and all the people went out, except my father and my uncles, who sat conversing together respecting the wonders of various countries, and the strange sights of different cities, until they mentioned egypt; when one of my uncles said, the travellers assert, that there is not on the face of the earth a more agreeable country than egypt with its nile:48—and my father added, he who hath not seen cairo hath not seen the world: its soil is gold; its nile is a wonder; its women are like the black-eyed virgins of paradise; its houses are palaces; and its air is temperate; its odour surpassing that of aloes-wood, and cheering the heart: and how can cairo be otherwise when it is the metropolis of the world?49 did ye see its gardens in the evening (he continued), with the shade obliquely extending over them, ye would behold a wonder, and yield with ecstasy to their attractions.50

when i heard these descriptions of egypt, my mind became wholly engaged by reflections upon that country; and after they had departed to their homes, i passed the night sleepless from my excessive longing towards it, and neither food nor drink was pleasant to me. a few days after, my uncles prepared to journey thither, and i wept before my father that i might go with them, so that he prepared a stock of merchandise for me, and i departed in their company; but he said to322 them, suffer him not to enter egypt, but leave him at damascus, that he may there sell his merchandise.

aleppo

i took leave of my father, and we set forth from el-mó?il, and continued our journey until we arrived at aleppo, where we remained some days; after which we proceeded thence until we came to damascus; and we beheld it to be a city with trees and rivers and fruits and birds, as though it were a paradise, containing fruits of every kind. we took lodgings in one of the kháns, and my uncles remained there until they had sold and bought; and they also sold my merchandise, gaining, for every piece of silver, five, so that i rejoiced at my profit. my uncles then left me, and repaired to egypt, and i remained, and took up my abode in a handsome ?á'ah, such as the tongue cannot describe; the monthly rent of which was two pieces of gold.51

here i indulged myself with eating and drinking, squandering away the money that was in my possession; and as i was sitting one day at the door of the ?á'ah, a damsel approached me, attired in clothing of the richest description, such as i had never seen surpassed in costliness, and i invited her to come in; whereupon, without hesitation, she entered; and i was delighted at her compliance, and closed the door upon us both. she then uncovered her face, and took off her izár, and i found her to be so surprisingly beautiful that love for her took possession of my heart: so i went and brought a repast consisting of the most delicious viands and fruit and everything else that was323 requisite for her entertainment, and we ate and sported together; after which, we drank till we were intoxicated, and fell asleep, and so we remained until the morning, when i handed her ten pieces of gold; but she swore that she would not accept them from me, and said, expect me again, o my beloved, after three days: at the hour of sunset i will be with thee: and do thou prepare for us, with these pieces of gold, a repast similar to this which we have just enjoyed. she then gave me ten pieces of gold, and took leave of me, and departed, taking my reason with her. and after the three days had expired, she came again, decked with embroidered stuffs and ornaments and other attire more magnificent than those which she wore on the former occasion. i had prepared for her what was required previously to her arrival; so we now ate and drank and fell asleep as before; and in the morning she gave me again ten pieces of gold, promising to return to me after three more days. i therefore made ready what was requisite, and after the three days she came attired in a dress still more magnificent than the first and second, and said to me, o my master, am i beautiful?—yea, verily, i answered.—wilt thou give me leave, she rejoined, to bring with me a damsel more beautiful than myself, and younger than i, that she may sport with us, and we may make merry with her? for she hath requested that she may accompany me, and pass the night in frolicking with us.—and so saying, she gave me twenty pieces of gold, desiring me to prepare a more plentiful repast, on account of the lady who was to come with her; after which, she bade me farewell, and departed.

accordingly, on the fourth day, i procured what was requisite, as usual, and soon after sunset she came, accompanied by a female wrapped in an izár, and they entered, and seated themselves. i was rejoiced, and i lighted the candles, and welcomed them with joy and exultation. they then took off their outer garments, and when the new damsel uncovered her face, i perceived that she was like the full moon: i had never beheld a person more beautiful. i arose immediately, and placed before them the food and drink, and we ate and drank, while i continued caressing the new damsel, and filling the wine-cup for her, and drinking with her: but the first lady was affected with a secret jealousy.—by allah, she said, verily this girl is beautiful! is she not more charming than i?—yea, indeed, i answered.—soon after this, i fell asleep, and when i awoke in the morning, i found my hand defiled with blood, and, opening my eyes, perceived that the sun had risen; so i attempted to rouse the damsel,324 my new companion, whereupon her head rolled from her body. the other damsel was gone, and i concluded, therefore, that she had done this from her jealousy; and after reflecting a while, i arose, and took off my clothes, and dug a hole in the ?á'ah, in which i deposited the murdered damsel, afterwards covering her remains with earth, and replacing the marble pavement as it was before. i then dressed myself again, and, taking the remainder of my money, went forth, and repaired to the owner of the ?á'ah, and paid him a year's rent, saying to him, i am about to journey to my uncles in egypt.

so i departed to egypt, where i met with my uncles, and they were rejoiced to see me. i found that they had concluded the sale of their merchandise, and they said to me, what is the cause of thy coming? i answered, i had a longing desire to be with you, and feared that my money would not suffice me.—for a year i remained with them, enjoying the pleasures of egypt and its nile; and i dipped my hand into the residue of my money, and expended it prodigally in eating and drinking until near the time of my uncles' departure, when i fled from them: so they said, probably, he hath gone before us, and returned to damascus:—and they departed. i then came forth from my concealment, and remained in cairo three years, squandering away my money until scarcely any of it remained: but meanwhile i sent every year the rent of the ?á'ah at damascus to its owner: and after the three years my heart became contracted, for nothing remained in my possession but the rent for the year.

i therefore journeyed back to damascus, and alighted at the ?á'ah. the owner was rejoiced to see me, and i entered it, and cleansed it of the blood of the murdered damsel, and, removing a cushion, i found, beneath this, the necklace that she had worn that night. i took it up and examined it, and wept a while. after this i remained in the house two days, and on the third day i entered the bath, and changed my clothes. i now had no money left; and i went one day to the market, where (the devil suggesting it to me, in order to accomplish the purpose of destiny) i handed the necklace of jewels to a broker; and he rose to me, and seated me by his side: then having waited until the market was replenished, he took it, and announced it for sale secretly, without my knowledge. the price bidden for it amounted to two thousand pieces of gold; but he came to me and said, this necklace is of brass, of the counterfeit manufacture of the franks, and its price hath amounted to a thousand pieces of silver. i answered him, yes; we had made it for a woman, merely to laugh at her, and my wife325 has inherited it, and we desire to sell it: go, therefore, and receive the thousand pieces of silver. now when the broker heard this, he perceived that the affair was suspicious, and went and gave the necklace to the chief of the market, who took it to the wálee, and said to him, this necklace was stolen from me, and we have found the thief, clad in the dress of the sons of the merchants. and before i knew what had happened, the officers had surrounded me, and they took me to the wálee, who questioned me respecting the necklace. i told him, therefore, the same story that i had told to the broker; but he laughed, and said, this is not the truth:—and instantly his people stripped me of my outer clothing, and beat me with mi?ra'ahs all over my body, until, through the torture that i suffered from the blows, i said, i stole it;—reflecting that it was better i should say i stole it, than confess that its owner was murdered in my abode; for then they would kill me to avenge her: and as soon as i had said so, they cut off my hand, and scalded the stump with boiling oil,52 and i swooned away. they then gave me to drink some wine, by swallowing which i recovered my senses; and i took my amputated hand, and returned to the ?á'ah; but its owner said to me, since this hath happened to thee, leave the ?á'ah, and look for another abode; for thou art accused of an unlawful act.—o my master, i replied, give me two or three days' delay that i may seek for a lodging:—and he assented to this, and departed and left me. so i remained alone, and sat weeping, and saying, how can i return to my family with my hand cut off? he who cut it off knoweth not that i am innocent: perhaps, then, god will bring about some event for my relief.

the arrest

i sat weeping violently; and when the owner of the ?á'ah had326 departed from me, excessive grief overcame me, and i was sick for two days; and on the third day, suddenly the owner of the ?á'ah came to me, with some officers of the police, and the chief of the market, and accused me again of stealing the necklace. so i went out to them, and said, what is the news?—whereupon, without granting me a moment's delay, they bound my arms behind me, and put a chain around my neck, saying to me, the necklace which was in thy possession hath proved to be the property of the governor of damascus, its wezeer and its ruler: it hath been lost from the governor's house for a period of three years, and with it was his daughter.—when i heard these words from them, my limbs trembled, and i said within myself, they will kill me! my death is inevitable! by allah, i must relate my story to the governor; and if he please he will kill me, or if he please he will pardon me.—and when we arrived at the governor's abode, and they had placed me before him, and he beheld me, he said, is this he who stole the necklace and went out to sell it? verily ye have cut off his hand wrongfully.—he then ordered that the chief of the market should be imprisoned, and said to him, give to this person the compensatory fine for his hand,53 or i will hang thee and seize all thy property. and he called out to his attendants, who took him and dragged him away.

i was now left with the governor alone, after they had, by his permission, loosed the chain from my neck, and untied the cords which bound my arms; and the governor, looking towards me, said to me, o my son, tell me thy story, and speak truth. how did this necklace come into thy possession?—so i replied, o my lord, i will tell thee the truth:—and i related to him all that had happened to me with the first damsel, and how she had brought to me the second, and murdered her from jealousy; on hearing which, he shook his head, and covered his face with his handkerchief, and wept. then looking towards me, he said, know, o my son, that the elder damsel was my daughter: i kept her closely; and when she had attained a fit age for marriage, i sent her to the son of her uncle in cairo; but he died, and she returned to me, having learnt habits of profligacy from the inhabitants of that city:54 so she visited thee four times; and on the fourth occasion, she brought to thee her younger sister. they were sisters by the same mother, and much attached to each other; and when the event which thou hast related occurred to the elder, she imparted her secret to her sister, who asked my permission to go out with her; after which the elder returned alone; and when i questioned her re327specting her sister, i found her weeping for her, and she answered, i know no tidings of her:—but she afterwards informed her mother, secretly, of the murder which she had committed; and her mother privately related the affair to me; and she continued to weep for her incessantly, saying, by allah, i will not cease to weep for her until i die. thy account, o my son, is true; for i knew the affair before thou toldest it me. see then, o my son, what hath happened: and now i request of thee that thou wilt not oppose me in that which i am about to say; and it is this:—i desire to marry thee to my youngest daughter; for she is not of the same mother as they were:55 she is a virgin, and i will receive from thee no dowry, but will assign to you both an allowance; and thou shalt be to me as an own son.—i replied, let it be as thou desirest, o my master. how could i expect to attain unto such happiness?—the governor then sent immediately a courier to bring the property which my father had left me (for he had died since my departure from him), and now i am living in the utmost affluence.

i wondered, said the jew, at his history; and after i had remained with him three days, he gave me a large sum of money; and i left him, to set forth on a journey; and, arriving in this your country, my residence here pleased me, and i experienced this which hath happened to me with the humpback.

the king, when he had heard this story, said, this is not more wonderful than the story of the humpback, and ye must all of you be hanged, and especially the tailor, who is the source of all the mischief. but he afterwards added, o tailor, if thou tell me a story more wonderful than that of the humpback, i will forgive you your offences. so the tailor advanced, and said,—

the lady confessing her crime

328

head-piece to the story told by the tailor

the story told by the tailor.

know, o king of the age, that what hath happened to me is more wonderful than the events which have happened to all the others. before i met the humpback, i was, early in the morning, at an entertainment given to certain tradesmen of my acquaintance, consisting of tailors and linen-drapers and carpenters and others; and when the sun had risen, the repast was brought for us to eat; and lo, the master of the house came in to us, accompanied by a strange and handsome young man, of the inhabitants of baghdád. he was attired in clothes of the handsomest description, and was a most comely person, except that he was lame; and as soon as he had entered and saluted us, we rose to him; but when he was about to seat himself, he observed among us a man who was a barber, whereupon he refused to sit down, and desired to depart from us. we and the master of the house, however, prevented him, and urged him to seat himself; and the host conjured him, saying, what is the reason of thy entering, and then immediately departing?—by allah, o my master, replied he, offer me no opposition; for the cause of my departure is this barber, who is sitting with you. and when the host heard this, he was exceedingly surprised, and said, how is it that the heart of this young man, who is from baghdád, is troubled by the presence of this barber? we329 then looked towards him, and said, relate to us the cause of thy displeasure against this barber; and the young man replied, o company, a surprising adventure happened to me with this barber in baghdád, my city; and he was the cause of my lameness, and of the breaking of my leg; and i have sworn that i will not sit in any place where he is present, nor dwell in any town where he resides: i quitted baghdád and took up my abode in this city, and i will not pass the next night without departing from it.—upon this, we said to him, we conjure thee, by allah, to relate to us thy adventure with him.—and the countenance of the barber turned pale when he heard us make this request. the young man then said,—

know, o good people, that my father was one of the chief merchants of baghdád; and god (whose name be exalted!) blessed him with no son but myself; and when i grew up, and had attained to manhood, my father was admitted to the mercy of god, leaving me wealth and servants and other dependants; whereupon i began to attire myself in clothes of the handsomest description, and to feed upon the most delicious meats. now god (whose perfection be extolled!) made me to be a hater of women; and so i continued, until, one day, i was walking through the streets of baghdád, when a party of them stopped my way: i therefore fled from them, and, entering a by-street which was not a thoroughfare, i reclined upon a ma??abah at its further extremity. here i had been seated but a short time when, lo, a window opposite the place where i sat was opened, and there looked out from it a damsel like the full moon, such as i had never in my life beheld. she had some flowers, which she was watering, beneath the window; and she looked to the right and left, and then shut the window, and disappeared from before me. fire had been shot into my heart, and my mind was absorbed by her; my hatred of women was turned into love, and i continued sitting in the same place until sunset, in a state of distraction from the violence of my passion, when, lo, the ?á?ee of the city came riding along, with slaves before him and servants behind him, and alighted, and entered the house from which the damsel had looked out: so i knew that he must be her father.

i then returned to my house, sorrowful; and fell upon my bed, full of anxious thoughts; and my female slaves came in to me, and seated themselves around me, not knowing what was the matter with me; and i acquainted them not with my case, nor returned any answers to their questions; and my disorder increased. the neigh330bours, therefore, came to cheer me with their visits; and among those who visited me was an old woman, who, as soon as she saw me, discovered my state; whereupon she seated herself at my head, and, addressing me in a kind manner, said, o my son, tell me what hath happened to thee? so i related to her my story, and she said, o my son, this is the daughter of the ?á?ee of baghdád, and she is kept in close confinement: the place where thou sawest her is her apartment, and her father occupies a large saloon below, leaving her alone; and often do i visit her: thou canst obtain an interview with her only through me: so brace up thy nerves. when i heard, therefore, what she said, i took courage, and fortified my heart; and my family rejoiced that day. i rose up firm in limb, and hoping for complete restoration; and the old woman departed; but she returned with her countenance changed, and said, o my son, ask not what she did when i told her of thy case; for she said, if thou abstain not, o ill-omened old woman, from this discourse, i will treat thee as thou deservest:—but i must go to her a second time.

young man sitting on a mastabah

on hearing this, my disorder increased: after some days, however, the old woman came again, and said, o my son, i desire of thee a reward for good tidings. my soul returned to my body at these words, and i replied, thou shalt receive from me everything that thou canst wish. she then said, i went yesterday to the damsel, and when she beheld me with broken heart and weeping eye, she said to me, o my aunt, wherefore do i see thee with contracted heart?—and when331 she had thus said, i wept, and answered, o my daughter and mistress, i came to thee yesterday from visiting a youth who loveth thee, and he is at the point of death on thy account:—and, her heart being moved with compassion, she asked, who is this youth of whom thou speakest? i answered, he is my son, and the child that is dear to my soul: he saw thee at the window some days ago, while thou wast watering thy flowers; and when he beheld thy face, he became distracted with love for thee: i informed him of the conversation that i had with thee the first time; upon which his disorder increased, and he took to his pillow: he is now dying, and there is no doubt of his fate.—and upon this, her countenance became pale, and she said, is this all on my account?—yea, by allah, i answered; and what dost thou order me to do?—go to him, said she; convey to him my salutation, and tell him that my love is greater than his; and on friday next, before the congregational prayers, let him come hither: i will give orders to open the door to him, and to bring him up to me, and i will have a short interview with him, and he shall return before my father comes back from the prayers.

when i heard these words of the old woman, the anguish which i had suffered ceased; my heart was set at rest, and i gave her the suit of clothes which i was then wearing, and she departed, saying to me, cheer up thy heart. i replied, i have no longer any pain. the people of my house, and my friends, communicated, one to another, the good news of my restoration to health, and i remained thus until the friday, when the old woman came in to me, and asked me respecting my state: so i informed her that i was happy and well. i then dressed and perfumed myself, and sat waiting for the people to go to prayers, that i might repair to the damsel; but the old woman said to me, thou hast yet more than ample time, and if thou go to the bath and shave, especially for the sake of obliterating the traces of thy disorder, it will be more becoming.—it is a judicious piece of advice, replied i; but i will shave my head first, and then go into the bath.

the barber and the young man

so i sent for a barber to shave my head, saying to the boy, go to the market, and bring me a barber, one who is a man of sense, little inclined to impertinence, that he may not make my head ache by his chattering. and the boy went, and brought this sheykh, who, on entering, saluted me; and when i had returned his salutation, he said to me, may god dispel thy grief and thine anxiety, and misfortunes and sorrows! i responded, may god accept thy prayer! he then said, be cheerful, o my master, for health hath returned to thee.332 dost thou desire to be shaved or to be bled?—for it hath been handed down, on the authority of ibn-'abbás,56 that the prophet said, whoso shorteneth his hair on friday, god will avert from him seventy diseases;—and it hath been handed down also, on the same authority, that the prophet said, whoso is cupped on friday will not be secure from the loss of sight and from frequent disease.—abstain, said i, from this useless discourse, and come immediately, shave my head, for i am weak. and he arose, and, stretching forth his hand, took out a handkerchief, and opened it; and lo, there was in it an astrolabe, consisting of seven plates;57 and he took it, and went into the middle of the court, where he raised his head towards the sun, and looked for a considerable time; after which he said to me, know that there have passed, of this our day, which is friday, and which is the tenth of ?afar,58 of the year 26359 of the flight of the prophet,—upon whom be the most excellent of blessings and peace!—and the ascendant star of which, according to the required rules of the science of computation, is the planet mars,—seven degrees60 and six minutes; and it happeneth that mercury hath come in conjunction with that planet; and this indicateth that the shaving of hair is now a most excellent operation: and it hath indicated to me, also, that thou desirest to confer a benefit upon a person: and fortunate is he!—but after that, there is an an333nouncement that presenteth itself to me respecting a matter which i will not mention to thee.

by allah, i exclaimed, thou hast wearied me, and dissipated my mind, and augured against me, when i required thee only to shave my head: arise, then, and shave it; and prolong not thy discourse to me. but he replied, by allah, if thou knewest the truth of the case, thou wouldst demand of me a further explication; and i counsel thee to do this day as i direct thee, according to the calculations deduced from the stars: it is thy duty to praise god, and not to oppose me; for i am one who giveth thee good advice, and who regardeth thee with compassion: i would that i were in thy service for a whole year, that thou mightest do me justice; and i desire not any pay from thee for so doing.—when i heard this, i said to him, verily thou art killing me this day, and there is no escape for me.—o my master, he replied, i am he whom the people call e?-?ámit,61 on account of the paucity of my speech, by which i am distinguished above my brothers; for my eldest brother is named el-ba?boo?;62 and the second, el-heddár; and the third, ba?ba?; and the fourth is named el-kooz el-a?wánee; and the fifth, el-feshshár; and the sixth is named sha?áli?; and the seventh brother is named e?-?ámit; and he is myself.

now when this barber thus overwhelmed me with his talk, i felt as if my gall-bladder had burst, and said to the boy, give him a quarter of a piece of gold, and let him depart from me for the sake of allah: for i have no need to shave my head. but the barber on hearing what i said to the boy, exclaimed, what is this that thou hast said, o my lord? by allah, i will accept from thee no pay unless i serve thee; and serve thee i must; for to do so is incumbent on me, and to perform what thou requirest; and i care not if i receive from thee no money. if thou knowest not my worth, i know thine; and thy father—may allah have mercy upon him!—treated us with beneficence; for he was a man of generosity. by allah, thy father sent for me one day, like this blessed day, and when i went to him, he had a number of his friends with him, and he said to me, take some blood from me. so i took the astrolabe, and observed the altitude for him, and found the ascendant of the hour to be of evil omen, and that the letting of blood would be attended with trouble: i therefore acquainted him with this, and he conformed to my wish, and waited until the arrival of the approved hour, when i took the blood from him. he did not oppose me; but, on the contrary, thanked me; and in like334 manner all the company present thanked me; and thy father gave me a hundred pieces of gold for services similar to the letting of blood.—may god, said i, shew no mercy to my father for knowing such a man as thou!—and the barber laughed, and exclaimed, there is no deity but god! mo?ammad is god's apostle! extolled be the perfection of him who changeth others, but is not changed! i did not imagine thee to be otherwise than a man of sense; but thou hast talked nonsense in consequence of thine illness. god hath mentioned, in his excellent book, those who restrain their anger, and who forgive men:63—but thou art excused in every case. i am unacquainted, however, with the cause of thy haste; and thou knowest that thy father used to do nothing without consulting me; and it hath been said, that the person to whom one applies for advice should be trusted: now thou wilt find no one better acquainted with the affairs of the world than myself, and i am standing on my feet to serve thee. i am not displeased with thee, and how then art thou displeased with me? but i will have patience with thee on account of the favours which i have received from thy father.—by allah, said i, thou hast wearied me with thy discourse, and overcome me with thy speech! i desire that thou shave my head and depart from me.

i gave vent to my rage; and would have risen, even if he had wetted my head, when he said, i knew that displeasure with me had overcome thee; but i will not be angry with thee, for thy sense is weak, and thou art a youth: a short time ago i used to carry thee on my shoulder,64 and take thee to the school.—upon this, i said to him, o my brother, i conjure thee by allah, depart from me that i may perform my business, and go thou thy way. then i rent my clothes; and when he saw me do this, he took the razor, and sharpened it, and continued to do so until my soul almost parted from my body; then advancing to my head, he shaved a small portion of it; after which he raised his hand, and said, o my lord, haste is from the devil;—and he repeated this couplet:—

deliberate, and haste not to accomplish thy desire; and be merciful, so shalt thou meet with one merciful:

for there is no hand but god's hand is above it;65 nor oppressor that shall not meet with an oppressor.

o my lord (he then continued), i do not imagine that thou knowest my condition in society; for my hand lighteth upon the heads of kings and emeers and wezeers and sages and learned men; and of such a one as myself hath the poet said,335—

the trades altogether are like a necklace, and this barber is the chief pearl of the strings.

he excelleth all that are endowed with skill, and under his hands are the heads of kings.

—leave, said i, that which doth not concern thee! thou hast contracted my heart, and troubled my mind.—i fancy that thou art in haste, he rejoined. i replied, yes! yes! yes!—proceed slowly, said he; for verily haste is from the devil, and it giveth occasion to repentance and disappointment; and he upon whom be blessing and peace66 hath said, the best of affairs is that which is commenced with deliberation:—and, by allah, i am in doubt as to thine affair: i wish, therefore, that thou wouldst make known to me what thou art hasting to do; and may it be good; for i fear it is otherwise.

there now remained, to the appointed time, three hours; and he threw the razor from his hand in anger, and, taking the astrolabe, went again to observe the sun; then after he had waited a long time, he returned, saying, there remain, to the hour of prayer, three hours, neither more nor less. for the sake of allah, said i, be silent; for thou hast crumbled my liver!—and thereupon, he took the razor, and sharpened it as he had done the first time, and shaved another portion of my head. then stopping again, he said, i am in anxiety on account of thy hurry: if thou wouldst acquaint me with the cause of it, it would be better for thee; for thou knowest that thy father used to do nothing without consulting me.

i perceived now that i could not avoid his importunity, and said within myself, the time of prayer is almost come, and i desire to go before the people come out from the service: if i delay a little longer, i know not how to gain admission to her. i therefore said to him, be quick, and cease from this chattering and impertinence; for i desire to repair to an entertainment with my friends. but when he heard the mention of the entertainment, he exclaimed, the day is a blessed day for me! i yesterday conjured a party of my intimate friends to come and feast with me, and forgot to prepare for them anything to eat; and now i have remembered it. alas for the disgrace that i shall experience from them!—so i said to him, be in no anxiety on this account, since thou hast been told that i am going to-day to an entertainment; for all the food and drink that is in my house shall be thine if thou use expedition in my affair, and quickly finish shaving my head.—may god recompense thee with every blessing! he replied: describe to me what thou hast for my guests, that i may know it. i have, said i, five dishes of meat, and ten fowls fricandoed, 336 and a roasted lamb.—cause them to be brought before me, he said, that i may see them. so i had them brought to him, and he exclaimed, divinely art thou gifted! how generous is thy soul! but the incense and perfumes are wanting.—i brought him, therefore, a box containing nedd67 and aloes-wood and ambergris and musk, worth fifty pieces of gold.—the time had now become contracted, like my own heart; so i said to him, receive this, and shave the whole of my head, by the existence of mo?ammad, god bless and save him! but he replied, by allah, i will not take it until i see all that it contains.—i therefore ordered the boy, and he opened the box to him; whereupon the barber threw down the astrolabe from his hand, and, seating himself upon the ground, turned over the perfumes and incense and aloes-wood in the box until my soul almost quitted my body.

the barber and servants with dishes

he then advanced, and took the razor, and shaved another small portion of my head; after which he said, by allah, o my son, i know not whether i should thank thee or thank thy father; for my entertainment to-day is entirely derived from thy bounty and kindness, and i have no one among my visiters deserving of it; for my guests are, zeytoon the bath-keeper, and ?alee? the wheat-seller, and 'owkal the bean-seller, and 'akresheh the grocer, and ?omeyd the dustman, and 'akárish the milk-seller, and each of these hath a peculiar dance which he performeth, and peculiar verses which he reciteth; and the best of their qualities is, that they are like thy servant, the memlook who is before thee; and i, thy slave, know neither loquacity nor impertinence. as to the bath-keeper, he saith, if i go not to the feast, it cometh to my house!—and as to the dustman, he is witty, and full of frolick: often doth he dance, and say, news, with my wife, is not kept in a chest!—and each of my friends hath jests that another337 hath not: but the description is not like the actual observation. if thou choose, therefore, to come to us, it will be more pleasant both to thee and to us: relinquish, then, thy visit to thy friends of whom thou hast told us that thou desirest to go to them; for the traces of disease are yet upon thee, and probably thou art going to a people of many words, who will talk of that which concerneth them not; or probably there will be among them one impertinent person; and thy soul is already disquieted by disease.—i replied, if it be the will of god, that shall be on some other day:—but he said, it will be more proper that thou first join my party of friends, that thou mayest enjoy their conviviality, and delight thyself with their salt. act in accordance with the saying of the poet:—

defer not a pleasure when it can be had; for fortune often destroyeth our plans.

upon this i laughed from a heart laden with anger, and said to him, do what i require, that i may go in the care of god, whose name be exalted! and do thou go to thy friends, for they are waiting thine arrival. he replied, i desire nothing but to introduce thee into the society of these people; for verily they are of the sons of that class among which is no impertinent person; and if thou didst but behold them once, thou wouldst leave all thine own companions.—may god, said i, give thee abundant joy with them, and i must bring them together here some day.—if that be thy wish, he rejoined, and thou wilt first attend the entertainment of thy friends this day, wait until i take this present with which thou hast honoured me, and place it before my friends, that they may eat and drink without waiting for me, and then i will return to thee, and go with thee to thy companions; for there is no false delicacy between me and my companions that should prevent my leaving them: so i will return to thee quickly, and repair with thee whithersoever thou goest.—upon this i exclaimed, there is no strength nor power but in god, the high, the great! go thou to thy companions, and delight thy heart with them, and leave me to repair to mine, and to remain with them this day, for they are waiting my arrival.—but he said, i will not leave thee to go alone.—the place to which i am going, said i, none can enter except myself.—i suppose then, he rejoined, that thou hast an appointment to-day with some female: otherwise, thou wouldst take me with thee; for i am more deserving than all other men, and will assist thee to attain what thou desirest. i fear that thou art going to visit some strange woman, and that thy life will be lost; for in this city of baghdád no338 one can do anything of this kind, especially on such a day as this; seeing that the wálee of baghdád is a terrible, sharp sword.—wo to thee, o wicked old man! i exclaimed, what are these words with which thou addressest me?—and upon this, he kept a long silence.

the time of prayer had now arrived, and the time of the khu?beh68 was near, when he had finished shaving my head: so i said to him, go with this food and drink to thy friends, and i will wait for thee until thou return, and thou shalt accompany me:—and i continued my endeavours to deceive him, that he might go away; but he said to me, verily thou art deceiving me, and wilt go alone, and precipitate thyself into a calamity from which there will be no escape for thee: by allah! by allah! then, quit not this spot until i return to thee and accompany thee, that i may know what will be the result of thine affair.—i replied, well: prolong not thine absence from me. and he took the food and drink and other things which i had given him, but intrusted them to a porter to convey them to his abode, and concealed himself in one of the by-streets. i then immediately arose. the mu?ddins on the menárehs had chanted the selám of friday;69 and i put on my clothes, and went forth alone, and, arriving at the by-street, stopped at the door of the house where i had seen the damsel: and lo, the barber was behind me, and i knew it not. i found the door open, and entered; and immediately the master of the house returned from the prayers, and entered the saloon, and closed the door; and i said within myself, how did this devil discover me?

now it happened, just at this time, for the fulfilment of god's purpose to rend the veil of protection before me, that a female slave belonging to the master of the house committed some offence, in consequence of which he beat her, and she cried out; whereupon a male slave came in to him to liberate her; but he beat him also, and he likewise cried out; and the barber concluded that he was beating me; so he cried, and rent his clothes, and sprinkled dust upon his head, shrieking, and calling for assistance. he was surrounded by people, and said to them, my master hath been killed in the house of the ?á?ee! then running to my house, crying out all the while, and with a crowd behind him, he gave the news to my family; and i knew not what he had done when they approached, crying, alas for our master!—the barber all the while being before them, with his clothes rent, and a number of the people of the city with them. they continued shrieking, the barber shrieking at their head, and all of them exclaiming, alas for our slain!—thus they advanced to the house in339 which i was confined; and when the ?á?ee heard of this occurrence, the event troubled him, and he arose, and opened the door, and seeing a great crowd, he was confounded, and said, o people, what is the news? the servants replied, thou hast killed our master.—o people, rejoined he, what hath your master done unto me that i should kill him; and wherefore do i see this barber before you?—thou hast just now beaten him with mi?ra'ahs, said the barber; and i heard his cries.—what hath he done that i should kill him? repeated the ?á?ee. and whence, he added, came he; and whither would he go?—be not an old man of malevolence, exclaimed the barber; for i know the story, and the reason of his entering thy house, and the truth of the whole affair: thy daughter is in love with him, and he is in love with her; and thou hast discovered that he had entered thy house, and hast ordered thy young men, and they have beaten him. by allah, none shall decide between us and thee except the khaleefeh; or thou shalt bring forth to us our master that his family may take him; and oblige me not to enter and take him forth from you: haste then thyself to produce him.

the barber rending his clothes

upon this, the ?á?ee was withheld from speaking, and became utterly abashed before the people: but presently he said to the barber, if thou speak truth, enter thyself, and bring him forth. so the barber advanced, and entered the house; and when i saw him do so, i sought for a way to escape; but i found no place of refuge except a large chest which i observed in the same apartment in which i then340 was: i therefore entered this, and shut down the lid, and held in my breath. immediately after, the barber ran into the saloon, and, without looking in any other direction than that in which i had concealed myself, came thither: then turning his eyes to the right and left, and seeing nothing but the chest, he raised it upon his head; whereupon my reason forsook me. he quickly descended with it; and i, being now certain that he would not quit me, opened the chest, and threw myself upon the ground. my leg was broken by the fall; and when i came to the door of the house, i found a multitude of people: i had never seen such a crowd as was there collected on that day; so i began to scatter gold among them, to divert them; and while they were busied in picking it up, i hastened through the by-streets of baghdád, followed by this barber; and wherever i entered, he entered after me, crying, they would have plunged me into affliction on account of my master! praise be to god who aided me against them, and delivered my master from their hands! thou continuedst, o my master, to be excited by haste for the accomplishment of thine evil design until thou broughtest upon thyself this event; and if god had not blessed thee with me, thou hadst not escaped from this calamity into which thou hast fallen; and they might have involved thee in a calamity from which thou wouldst never have escaped. beg, therefore, of god, that i may live for thy sake, to liberate thee in future. by allah, thou hast almost destroyed me by thine evil design, desiring to go alone: but we will not be angry with thee for thine ignorance, for thou art endowed with little sense, and of a hasty disposition.—art thou not satisfied, replied i, with that which thou hast done, but wilt thou run after me through the market-streets?—and i desired for death to liberate me from him; but found it not; and in the excess of my rage i ran from him, and, entering a shop in the midst of the market, implored the protection of its owner; and he drove away the barber from me.

i then seated myself in a magazine belonging to him, and said within myself, i cannot now rid myself of this barber; but he will be with me night and day, and i cannot endure the sight of his face. so i immediately summoned witnesses, and wrote a document, dividing my property among my family, and appointing a guardian over them, and i ordered him to sell the house and all the immoveable possessions, charging him with the care of the old and young, and set forth at once on a journey in order to escape from this wretch. i then arrived in your country, where i took up my abode, and have remained a341 considerable time; and when ye invited me, and i came unto you, i saw this vile wretch among you, seated at the upper end of the room. how, then, can my heart be at ease, or my sitting in your company be pleasant to me, with this fellow, who hath brought these events upon me, and been the cause of the breaking of my leg?

the young man still persevered in his refusal to remain with us; and when we had heard his story, we said to the barber, is this true which the young man hath said of thee?—by allah, he answered, it was through my intelligence that i acted thus towards him; and had i not done so, he had perished: myself only was the cause of his escape; and it was through the goodness of god, by my means, that he was afflicted by the breaking of his leg instead of being punished by the loss of his life. were i a person of many words, i had not done him this kindness; and now i will relate to you an event that happened to me, that ye may believe me to be a man of few words, and less of an impertinent than my brothers; and it was this:—

portrait of the barber

342

head-piece to the barber's story of himself

the barber's story of himself

i was living in baghdád, in the reign of the prince of the faithful el-munta?ir bi-lláh,70 who loved the poor and indigent, and associated with the learned and virtuous; and it happened, one day, that he was incensed against ten persons, in consequence of which, he ordered the chief magistrate of baghdád to bring them to him in a boat. i saw them, and i said within myself, these persons have assembled for nothing but an entertainment, and, i suppose, will pass their day in this boat eating and drinking; and none shall be their companion but myself:71—so i embarked, and mixed myself among them; and when they had landed on the opposite bank, the guards of the wálee came with chains, and put them upon their necks, and put a chain upon my neck also.—now this, o people, is it not a proof of my generosity, and of my paucity of speech? for i determined not to speak.—they took us, therefore, all together, in chains, and placed us before el-munta?ir bi-lláh, the prince of the faithful; whereupon he gave orders to strike off the heads of the ten; and the executioner struck off the heads of the ten, and i remained. the khaleefeh then turning his eyes, and beholding me, said to the executioner, wherefore dost thou not strike off the heads of all the ten? he answered, i have beheaded every one of the ten.—i do not think, rejoined the khaleefeh, that thou hast beheaded more than nine; and this who is before me is the tenth. but the executioner replied, by thy beneficence, they are ten.—count them, said the khaleefeh. and they counted them; and lo, they were ten. the khaleefeh then looked343 towards me, and said, what hath induced thee to be silent on this occasion; and how hast thou become included among the men of blood?—and when i heard the address of the prince of the faithful, i said to him, know, o prince of the faithful, that i am the sheykh e?-?ámit (the silent): i possess, of science, a large stock; and as to the gravity of my understanding, and the quickness of my apprehension, and the paucity of my speech, they are unbounded: my trade is that of a barber; and yesterday, early in the morning, i saw these ten men proceeding to the boat; whereupon i mixed myself with them, and embarked with them, thinking that they had met together for an entertainment; but soon it appeared that they were criminals; and the guards came to them, and put chains upon their necks, and upon my neck also they put a chain; and from the excess of my generosity i was silent, and spoke not: my speech was not heard on that occasion, on account of the excess of my generosity; and they proceeded with us until they stationed us before thee, and thou gavest the order to strike off the heads of the ten, and i remained before the executioner, and acquainted you not with my case. was not this great generosity which compelled me to accompany them to slaughter? but throughout my life i have acted in this excellent manner.

when the khaleefeh heard my words, and knew that i was of a very generous character, and of few words, and not inclined to impertinence as this young man, whom i delivered from horrors, asserteth, he said, hast thou brothers? i answered, yes: six.—and are thy six brothers, said he, like thyself, distinguished by science and knowledge, and paucity of speech? i answered, they lived not so as to be like me: thou hast disparaged me by thy supposition, o prince of the faithful, and it is not proper that thou shouldst compare my brothers to me; for through the abundance of their speech, and the smallness of their generous qualities, each of them experienced a defect: the first was lame; the second, deprived of many of his teeth; the third, blind; the fourth, one-eyed; the fifth, cropped of his ears; and the sixth had both his lips cut off:72 and think not, o prince of the faithful, that i am a man of many words: nay, i must prove to thee that i am of a more generous character than they; and each of them met with a particular adventure, in consequence of which he experienced a defect: if thou please, i will relate their stories to thee.344

head-piece to the barber's story of his first brother.--the motto, 'how different is to-night from yesterday!'

the barber's story of his first brother.

know, o prince of the faithful, that the first (who was named el-ba?boo?) was the lame one. he practised the art of a tailor in baghdád, and used to sew in a shop which he hired of a man possessing great wealth, who lived over the shop, and who had, in the lower part of his house, a mill. and as my lame brother was sitting in his shop one day, sewing, he raised his head, and saw a woman like the rising full moon, at a projecting window of the house, looking at the people passing by; and as soon as he beheld her, his heart was entangled by her love. he passed that day gazing at her, and neglecting his occupation, until the evening; and on the following morning he opened his shop, and sat down to sew; but every time that he sewed a stitch, he looked towards the window; and in this state he continued, sewing nothing sufficient to earn a piece of silver.73

on the third day he seated himself again in his place, looking towards the woman; and she saw him, and, perceiving that he had become enslaved by her love, laughed in his face, and he, in like manner, laughed in her face. she then disappeared from before him, and sent to him her slave-girl, with a wrapper containing a piece of red flowered silk; and the girl, coming to him, said to him, my mistress saluteth thee, and desireth thee to cut out for her, with the hand of skill, a shirt of this piece, and to sew it beautifully. so he answered, i hear and obey:—and he cut out for her the shirt, and finished the sewing of it on that day; and on the following day the345 slave-girl came to him again; and said to him, my mistress saluteth thee, and saith to thee, how didst thou pass last night?—for she tasted not sleep, from her passion for thee.—she then placed before him a piece of yellow satin, and said to him, my mistress desireth thee to cut out for her, of this piece, two pairs of trousers, and to make them this day. he replied, i hear and obey. salute her with abundant salutations, and say to her, thy slave is submissive to thine order, and command him to do whatsoever thou wilt.—he then busied himself with the cutting out, and used all diligence in sewing the two pairs of trousers; and presently the woman looked out at him from the window, and saluted him by a sign, now casting down her eyes, and now smiling in his face, so that he imagined he should soon obtain possession of her. after this, she disappeared from before him, and the slave-girl came to him; so he delivered to her the two pairs of trousers, and she took them and departed: and when the night came, he threw himself upon his bed, and remained turning himself over in restlessness until the morning.

on the following day, the master of the house came to my brother, bringing some linen, and said to him, cut out and make this into shirts for me. he replied, i hear and obey:—and ceased not from his work until he had cut out twenty shirts by the time of nightfall, without having tasted food. the man then said to him, how much is thy hire for this?—but my brother answered not; and the damsel made a sign to him that he should receive nothing, though he was absolutely in want of a single copper coin. for three days he continued scarcely eating or drinking anything, in his diligence to accomplish his work, and when he had finished it, he went to deliver the shirts.

now the young woman had acquainted her husband with the state of my brother's mind, but my brother knew not this; and she planned with her husband to employ him in sewing without remuneration, and moreover to amuse themselves by laughing at him: so, when he had finished all the work that they gave him, they contrived a plot against him, and married him to their slave-girl; and on the night when he desired to introduce himself to her, they said to him, pass this night in the mill, and to-morrow thou shalt enjoy happiness. my brother, therefore, thinking that their intention was good, passed the night in the mill alone. meanwhile, the husband of the young woman went to the miller, and instigated him by signs to make my brother turn the mill. the miller, accordingly, went in to him at midnight, and began to exclaim, verily this bull is lazy, while there is a great quantity of346 wheat, and the owners of the flour are demanding it: i will therefore yoke him in the mill, that he may finish the grinding of the flour:—and so saying, he yoked my brother, and thus he kept him until near morning, when the owner of the house came, and saw him yoked in the mill, and the miller flogging him with the whip; and he left him, and retired. after this, the slave-girl to whom he had been contracted in marriage came to him early in the morning, and, having unbound him from the mill, said to him, both i and my mistress have been distressed by this which hath befallen thee, and we have participated in the burden of thy sorrow. but he had no tongue wherewith to answer her, by reason of the severity of the flogging. he then returned to his house; and lo, the sheykh who had performed the marriage-contract came and saluted him, saying, may god prolong thy life! may thy marriage be blessed!—may god not preserve the liar! returned my brother: thou thousandfold villain! by allah, i went only to turn the mill in the place of the bull until the morning.—tell me thy story, said the sheykh:—and my brother told him what had happened to him: upon which the sheykh said, thy star agreeth not with hers: but if thou desire that i should change for thee the mode of the contract, i will change it for another better than it, that thy star may agree with hers.74—see then, replied my brother, if thou hast any other contrivance to employ.

my brother then left him, and repaired again to his shop, hoping that somebody might give him some work, with the profit of which he might obtain his food; and lo, the slave-girl came to him. she had conspired with her mistress to play him this trick, and said to him, verily, my mistress is longing for thee, and she hath gone up to look at thy face from the window. and my brother had scarcely heard these words when she looked out at him from the window, and, weeping, said, wherefore hast thou cut short the intercourse between us and thee? but he returned her no answer: so she swore to him that all that had happened to him in the mill was not with her consent; and when my brother beheld her beauty and loveliness, the troubles that had befallen him became effaced from his memory, and he accepted her excuse, and rejoiced at the sight of her. he saluted her, therefore, and conversed with her, and then sat a while at his work; after which the slave-girl came to him, and said, my mistress saluteth thee, and informeth thee that her husband hath determined to pass this next night in the house of one of his intimate friends; wherefore, when he hath gone thither, do thou come to her.—now the husband347 of the young woman had said to her, how shall we contrive when he cometh to thee that i may take him and drag him before the wálee? she replied, let me then play him a trick, and involve him in a disgrace for which he shall be paraded throughout this city as an example to others:—and my brother knew nothing of the craftiness of women. accordingly, at the approach of evening, the slave-girl came to him, and, taking him by the hand, returned with him to her mistress, who said to him, verily, o my master, i have been longing for thee.—hasten then, said he, to give me a kiss, first of all. and his words were not finished, when the young woman's husband came in from his neighbour's house, and, seizing my brother, exclaimed to him, by allah, i will not loose thee but in the presence of the chief magistrate of the police. my brother humbled himself before him; but, without listening to him, he took him to the house of the wálee, who flogged him with whips, and mounted him upon a camel, and conveyed him through the streets of the city, the people crying out, this is the recompense of him who breaketh into the ?areems of others!—and he fell from the camel, and his leg broke: so he became lame. the wálee then banished him from the city; and he went forth, not knowing whither to turn his steps: but i, though enraged, overtook him, and brought him back; and i have taken upon myself to provide him with meat and drink unto the present day.

the khaleefeh laughed at my story, and exclaimed, thou hast spoken well:—but i replied, i will not accept this honour until thou hast listened to me while i relate to thee what happened to the rest of my brothers; and think me not a man of many words.—tell me, said the khaleefeh, what happened to all thy brothers, and grace my ears with these nice particulars: i beg thee to employ exuberance of diction in thy relation of these pleasant tales.

tail-piece to the same

348

head-piece to the barber's story of his second brother

the barber's story of his second brother.

so i said, know, o prince of the faithful, that my second brother, whose name was el-heddár,75 was going one day to transact some business, when an old woman met him, and said to him, o man, stop a little, that i may propose to thee a thing, which, if it please thee, thou shalt do for me. my brother, therefore, stopped; and she said to him, i will guide thee to a thing, and rightly direct thee to it, on the condition that thy words be not many. so he said, communicate what thou hast to tell me:—and she proceeded thus:—what sayest thou of a handsome house, with running water, and fruit and wine, and a beautiful face to behold, and a smooth cheek to kiss, and an elegant form to embrace; and to enjoy all these pleasures without interruption? now, if thou wilt act agreeably with the condition that i have imposed upon thee, thou wilt see prosperity.—when my brother had heard her words, he said to her, o my mistress, how is it that thou hast sought me out in preference to all the rest of the creation for this affair; and what is there in me that hath pleased thee? she replied, did i not say to thee that thou must not be a person of many words? be silent then, and come with me.

the old woman then went her way, my brother following her, eager to enjoy the pleasures which she had described to him, until they had entered a spacious house, when she went up with him to an upper story, and my brother perceived that he was in a beautiful palace, in349 which he beheld four damsels, than whom none more lovely had ever been seen, singing with voices that would charm a heart as insensible as stone. one of these damsels drank a cup of wine; and my brother said to her, may it be attended with health and vigour!—and advanced to wait upon her; but she prevented his doing so, giving him to drink a cup of wine; and as soon as he had drunk it, she slapped him on his neck. when he found that she treated him thus, he went out from the chamber in anger, and with many words; but the old woman, following him, made a sign to him with her eye that he should return: so he returned, and seated himself, without speaking; and upon this, the damsel slapped him again upon the back of his neck until he became senseless; after which, recovering, he withdrew again. the old woman, however, overtook him, and said to him, wait a little, and thou shalt attain thy wish.—how many times, said he, shall i wait a little before i attain it? the old woman answered, when she hath become exhilarated with wine thou shalt obtain her favour. he therefore returned to his place, and resumed his seat. all the four damsels then arose, and the old woman directed them to divest my brother of his outer clothes, and to sprinkle some rose-water upon his face; and when they had done so, the most beautiful one among them said to him, may allah exalt thee to honour! thou hast entered my abode, and if thou have patience to submit to my requisitions, thou wilt attain thy wish.—o my mistress, he replied, i am thy slave, and under thy authority.—know then, said she, that i am devotedly fond of frolic, and he who complieth with my demands will obtain my favour. then she ordered the other damsels to sing; and they sang so that their hearers were in an ecstasy; after which the chief lady said to one of the other damsels, take thy master, and do what is required, and bring him back to me immediately.

accordingly, she took him away, ignorant of that which she was about to do; and the old woman came to him, and said, be patient; for there remaineth but little to do. he then turned towards the damsel, and the old woman said to him, be patient: thou hast almost succeeded, and there remaineth but one thing, which is, to shave thy beard.—how, said he, shall i do that which will disgrace me among the people? the old woman answered, she desireth this only to make thee like a beardless youth, that there may be nothing on thy face to prick her; for her heart is affected with a violent love for thee. be patient, therefore, and thou shalt attain thy desire.—so my brother patiently submitted to the damsel's directions: his beard was shaven,350 and he was shorn also of his eyebrows and mustaches, and his face was painted red, before the damsel took him back to the chief lady, who, when she saw him, was at first frightened at him, and then laughed until she fell backwards, and exclaimed, o my master, thou hast gained me by these proofs of thine amiable manners! she then conjured him by her life to arise and dance; and he did so; and there was not a single cushion in the chamber that she did not throw at him. in like manner also the other damsels threw at him various things, such as oranges, and limes, and citrons, until he fell down senseless from the pelting, while they slapped him incessantly upon the back of his neck, and cast things in his face. but at length the old woman said to him, now thou hast attained thy wish. know that there remaineth to thee no more beating, nor doth there remain for thee to do more than one thing, namely, this: it is her custom, when she is under the influence of wine, to suffer no one to come near her until she hath taken off her outer clothes; thou, being prepared in the like manner, must run after her, and she will run before thee as though she were flying from thee; but cease not to follow her from place to place until thou overtake her. he arose, therefore, and did so: the lady ran before, and as he followed her, she passed from chamber to chamber, and he still ran after her. at last he heard her utter a slight sound as she ran before him, and, continuing his pursuit, he suddenly found himself in the midst of the street.

this street was in the market of the leather-sellers, who were then crying skins for sale; and when the people there collected saw him in this condition, almost naked, with shaven beard and eyebrows and mustaches, and with his face painted red, they shouted at him, and raised a loud laugh, and some of them beat him with the skins until he became insensible. they then placed him upon an ass, and conducted him to the wálee, who exclaimed, what is this?—they answered, this descended upon us from the house of the wezeer, in this condition. and the wálee inflicted upon him a hundred lashes, and banished him from the city: but i went out after him, and brought him back privately into the city, and allotted him a maintenance. had it not been for my generous disposition, i had not borne with such a person.351

head-piece to the barber's story of his third brother

the barber's story of his third brother.

as to my third brother (the blind man, ba?ba?), who was also surnamed ?uffeh,76 fate and destiny impelled him one day to a large house, and he knocked at the door, hoping that its master would answer him, and that he might beg of him a trifle. the owner called out, who is at the door?—but my brother answered not; and then heard him call with a loud voice, who is this? still, however, he returned him no answer; and he heard the sounds of his footsteps approaching until he came to the door and opened it, when he said to him, what dost thou desire? my brother answered, something for the sake of god, whose name be exalted!—art thou blind? said the man; and my brother answered, yes.—then give me thy hand rejoined the master of the house;—so my brother stretched forth to him his hand, and the man took him into the house, and led him up from stair-case to stair-case until he had ascended to the highest platform of the roof: my brother thinking that he was going to give him some food or money: and when he had arrived at this highest terrace, of his house, the owner said, what dost thou desire, o blind man!—i desire something, he answered again, for the sake of god, whose name be exalted!—may god, replied the man, open to thee some other way!—what is this! exclaimed my brother: couldst thou not tell me so when i was below?—thou vilest of the vile! retorted the other: why didst thou not ask of me something for the sake of god when352 thou heardest my voice the first time, when thou wast knocking at the door?—what then, said my brother, dost thou mean to do to me?—the man of the house answered, i have nothing to give thee.—then take me down the stairs, said my brother. the man replied, the way is before thee. so my brother made his way to the stairs, and continued descending until there remained, between him and the door, twenty steps, when his foot slipped and he fell, and, rolling down, broke his head.77

he went forth, not knowing whither to direct his steps, and presently there met him two blind men, his companions, who said to him, what hath happened to thee this day? my brother, therefore, related to them the event that had just befallen him: and then said to them, o my brothers, i desire to take a portion of the money now in our possession, to expend it upon myself.—now the owner of the house which he had just before entered had followed him to acquaint himself with his proceedings, and without my brother's knowledge he walked behind him until the latter entered his abode; when he went in after him, still unknown. my brother then sat waiting for his companions; and when they came in to him, he said to them, shut the door, and search the room, lest any stranger have followed us. when the intruder, therefore, heard what he said, he arose, and clung to a rope that was attached to the ceiling; and the blind men went feeling about the whole of the chamber, and, finding no one, returned and seated themselves by my brother, and brought forth their money, and counted it; and lo, it was more than ten thousand pieces of silver. having done this, they laid it in a corner of the room, and each of them took of the surplus of that sum as much as he wanted, and they buried the ten thousand pieces of silver in the earth; after which, they placed before themselves some food, and sat eating; but my brother heard the sound of a stranger by his side, and said to his friends, is there a stranger among us? then stretching forth his hand, it grasped the hand of the intruder; whereupon he cried out to his companions, saying, here is a stranger!—and they fell upon him with blows until they were tired, when they shouted out, o muslims!78 a thief hath come in upon us, and desireth to take our property!—and immediately a number of persons collected around them.

upon this, the stranger whom they accused of being a thief shut his eyes, feigned to be blind like themselves, so that no one who saw him doubted him to be so; and shouted, o muslims! i demand protection of allah and the sul?án! i demand protection of allah and353 the wálee! i demand protection of allah and the emeer! for i have important information to give to the emeer!—and before they could collect their thoughts, the officers of the wálee surrounded them and took them all, including my brother, and conducted them before their master. the wálee said, what is your story?—and the stranger replied, hear my words, o wálee; the truth of our case will not become known to thee but by means of beating;79 and if thou wilt, begin by beating me before my companions. the wálee therefore said, throw down this man, and flog him with whips:—and accordingly they threw him down and flogged him; and when the stripes tortured him, he opened one of his eyes; and after they had continued the flogging a little longer, he opened his other eye; upon which the wálee exclaimed, what meaneth this conduct, o thou villain?—grant me indemnity, replied the man, and i will acquaint thee:—and the wálee having granted his request, he said, we four pretend that we are blind, and, intruding among other people, enter their houses, and see their women, and employ stratagems to corrupt them, and to obtain money from them. we have acquired, by these means, vast gain, amounting to ten thousand pieces of silver; and i said to my companions, give me my due, two thousand and five hundred; and they rose against me and beat me, and took my property. i beg protection, therefore, of allah and of thee; and thou art more deserving of my share than they. if thou desire to know the truth of that which i have said, flog each of them more than thou hast flogged me, and he will open his eyes.

so the wálee immediately gave orders to flog them, and the first of them who suffered was my brother. they continued beating him until he almost died; when the wálee said to them, o ye scoundrels! do ye deny the gracious gift of god, feigning yourselves to be blind? my brother exclaimed, alláh! alláh! alláh! there is none among us who seeth!—they then threw him down again, and ceased not to beat him until he became insensible, when the wálee said, leave him until he shall have recovered, and then give him a third flogging:—and in the meantime, he gave orders to flog his companions, to give each of them more than three hundred stripes; while the seeing man said to them, open your eyes, or they will flog you again after this time. then addressing himself to the wálee, he said, send with me some person to bring thee the property; for these men will not open their eyes, fearing to be disgraced before the spectators. and the wálee sent with him a man, who brought him the money; and he took it,354 and gave to the informer, out of it, two thousand and five hundred pieces of silver, according to the share which he claimed, in spite of the others (retaining the rest), and banished from the city my brother and the two other men; but i went forth, o prince of the faithful, and, having overtaken my brother, asked him respecting his sufferings; and he acquainted me with that which i have related unto thee. i then brought him back secretly into the city, and allotted him a supply of food and drink as long as he lived.

the khaleefeh laughed at my story, and said, give him a present, and let him go:—but i replied, i will receive nothing until i have declared to the prince of the faithful what happened to the rest of my brothers, and made it manifest to him that i am a man of few words:—whereupon the khaleefeh said, crack our ears, then, with thy ridiculous stories, and continue to us thy disclosure of vices and misdeeds. so i proceeded thus:—

tail-piece to the same

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head-piece to the barber's story of his fourth brother

the barber's story of his fourth brother.

my fourth brother, o prince of the faithful, was the one-eyed (named el-kooz el-a?wánee): he was a butcher in baghdád, and both sold meat and reared lambs; and the great and the rich had recourse to him to purchase of him their meat; so that he amassed great wealth, and became possessor of cattle and houses. thus he continued to prosper for a long time; and as he was in his shop, one day, there accosted him an old man with a long beard, who handed to him some money, saying, give me some meat for it. so he took the money, and gave him the meat; and when the old man had gone away, my brother looked at the money which he had payed him, and, seeing that it was of a brilliant whiteness, put it aside by itself. this old man continued to repair to him during a period of five months, and my brother always threw his money into a chest by itself; after which period he desired to take it out for the purpose of buying some sheep; but on opening the chest, he found all the contents converted into white paper, clipped round; and he slapped his face, and cried out; whereupon a number of people collected around him, and he related to them his story, at which they were astonished.

he then went again, as usual, into his shop, and, having killed a ram, and hung it up within the shop, he cut off some of the meat, and suspended it outside, saying within himself, perhaps now this old man will come again, and if so, i will seize him:—and very soon after, the old man approached with his money; upon which my brother arose, and, laying hold upon him, began to cry out, o muslims, come to my356 aid, and hear what this scoundrel hath done unto me! but when the old man heard his words, he said to him, which will be more agreeable to thee—that thou abstain from disgracing me, or that i disgrace thee, before the people?—for what wilt thou disgrace me? said my brother. the old man answered, for thy selling human flesh for mutton.—thou liest, thou accursed! exclaimed my brother.—none is accursed, rejoined the old man, but he who hath a man suspended in his shop. my brother said, if it be as thou hast asserted, my property and blood shall be lawful to thee:—and immediately the old man exclaimed, o ye people here assembled! verily this butcher slaughtereth human beings, and selleth their flesh for mutton; and if ye desire to know the truth of my assertion, enter his shop! so the people rushed upon his shop, and beheld the ram converted into a man, hung up; and they laid hold upon my brother, crying out against him, thou infidel! thou scoundrel!—and those who had been his dearest friends turned upon him and beat him; and the old man gave him a blow upon his eye, and knocked it out. the people then carried the carcass, and took with them my brother, to the chief magistrate of the police; and the old man said to him, o emeer, this man slaughtereth human beings, and selleth their flesh for mutton; and we have therefore brought him to thee: arise, then, and perform the requisition of god, whose might and glory be extolled! upon this, the magistrate thrust back my brother from him, and, refusing to listen to what he would have said, ordered that five hundred blows of a staff should be inflicted upon him, and took all his property. had it not been for the great amount of his wealth, he had put him to death.80 he then banished him from the city.

my brother, therefore, went forth in a state of distraction, not knowing what course to pursue; but he journeyed onwards until he arrived at a great city, where he thought fit to settle as a shoemaker: so he opened a shop, and sat there working for his subsistence. and one day he went forth on some business, and, hearing the neighing of horses, he inquired respecting the cause, and was told that the king was going forth to hunt; whereupon he went to amuse himself with the sight of the procession: but the king happening to look on one side, his eye met that of my brother, and immediately he hung down his head, and exclaimed, i seek refuge with god from the evil of this day! he then turned aside the bridle of his horse, and rode back, and all his troops returned with him; after which, he ordered his pages to run after my brother, and to beat him; and they did so,357 giving him so severe a beating that he almost died; and he knew not the cause. he returned to his abode in a miserable plight, and afterwards went and related his misfortune to one of the king's attendants, who laughed at the recital until he fell backwards, and said to him, o my brother, the king cannot endure the sight of a one-eyed person, and especially when the defect is that of the left eye;81 for in this case, he faileth not to put the person to death.

when my brother heard these words, he determined to fly from that city; and forthwith departed from it, and repaired to another city, where there was no king. here he remained a long time; and after this, as he was meditating upon his adventure in the former city, he went out one day to amuse himself, and heard again the neighing of horses behind him; upon which he exclaimed, the decree of god hath come to pass! and ran away, seeking for a place in which to conceal himself; but he found none, until, continuing his search, he saw a door set up as a barricade: so he pushed this, and it fell down; and, entering the doorway, he beheld a long passage, into which he advanced. suddenly, however, two men laid hold upon him, and exclaimed, praise be to god who hath enabled us to take thee, o thou enemy of god! for these three nights thou hast suffered us to enjoy neither quiet nor sleep, and we have found no repose: nay, thou hast given us a foretaste of death!—o men, said my brother, what hath happened unto you? they answered, thou keepest a watch upon us, and desirest to disgrace us, and to disgrace the master of the house! is it not enough for thee that thou hast reduced him to poverty, thou and thy companions? produce now the knife wherewith thou threatenest us every night.—and so saying, they searched him, and found upon his waist the knife with which he cut the shoe-leather.—o men, he exclaimed, fear god in your treatment of me, and know that my story is wonderful. they said, what then is thy story? so he related it to them, in the hope that they would liberate him: but they believed not what he said; and, instead of shewing him any regard, they beat him, and tore his clothes; whereupon, his body becoming exposed to their view, they discovered upon his sides the marks of beating with mi?ra'ahs, and exclaimed, o wretch! these scars bear testimony to thy guilt. they then conducted him before the wálee, while he said within himself, i am undone for my transgressions, and none can deliver me but god, whose name be exalted! and when he was brought before the wálee, the magistrate said to him, o thou scoundrel! nothing but a heinous crime hath occasioned thy having been358 beaten with mi?ra'ahs:—and he caused a hundred lashes to be inflicted upon him; after which, they mounted him upon a camel, and proclaimed before him, this is the recompense of him who breaketh into men's houses!—but i had already heard of his misfortunes, and gone forth, and found him; and i accompanied him about the city while they were making this proclamation, until they left him; when i took him, and brought him back secretly into baghdád, and apportioned him a daily allowance of food and drink.

tail-piece to the same

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head-piece to the barber's story of his fifth brother.--the motto, 'the emulous desire of increase employeth you until ye visit the graves.' (?ur-án, ch. cii. vv. 1 and 2.)

the barber's story of his fifth brother.82

my fifth brother (el-feshshár83) was cropped of his ears, o prince of the faithful. he was a pauper, who begged alms by night, and subsisted upon what he thus acquired by day: and our father was a very old man, and he fell sick and died, leaving to us seven hundred pieces of silver, of which each of us took his portion; namely, a hundred pieces. now my fifth brother, when he had received his share, was perplexed, not knowing what to do with it; but while he was in this state, it occurred to his mind to buy with it all kinds of articles of glass, and to sell them and make profit; so he bought glass with his hundred pieces of silver, and put it in a large tray, and sat upon an elevated place, to sell it, leaning his back against a wall. and as he sat, he meditated, and said within himself, verily my whole stock consisteth of this glass: i will sell it for two hundred pieces of silver; and with the two hundred i will buy other glass, which i will sell for four hundred; and thus i will continue buying and selling until i have acquired great wealth. then with this i will purchase all kinds of merchandise and essences and jewels, and so obtain vast gain. after that, i will buy a handsome house, and memlooks, and horses, and gilded saddles; and i will eat and drink; and i will not leave in the city a single female singer but i will have her brought to my house that i may hear her songs.—all this he calculated with the tray of360 glass lying before him.—then, said he, i will send all the female betrothers to seek in marriage for me the daughters of kings and wezeers; and i will demand as my wife the daughter of the chief wezeer;84 for i have heard that she is endowed with perfect beauty and surprising loveliness: and i will give as her dowry a thousand the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother pieces of gold. if her father consent, my wish is attained; and if he consent not, i will take her by force, in spite of him: and when i have come back to my house, i will buy ten young eunuchs, and i will purchase the apparel of kings and sul?áns, and cause to be made for me a saddle of gold set with jewels: after which361 i will ride every day upon a horse, the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother with slaves behind me and before me,85 and go about through the streets and markets to amuse myself, while the people will salute me and pray for me.86 then i will pay a visit to the wezeer, who is the father of the maiden, with memlooks behind me and before me, and on my right hand and on my left; and when he seeth me, he will rise to me, in humility, and seat me in his own place; and he himself will sit down below me,87 because i am his son-in-law. i will then order one of the servants to bring a purse containing the pieces of gold which compose the dowry; and he will place it before the wezeer; and i will add to it another purse, that he may know my manly spirit and excessive generosity, and that the world is contemptible in my eye: and when he addresseth me with ten words, i will answer him with two. and i will return to my house; and when any person cometh to me from the house of the wezeer, i will clothe him with a rich dress: but if any come with a present, i will return it: i will certainly not accept it.88 then, on the night of the bridal display, i will attire myself in the most magnificent of my dresses, and sit upon a mattress covered with silk; and when my wife cometh to me, like the full moon, decked with her ornaments and apparel, i will command her to stand before me as stands the timid and the abject; and i will not look at her, on account of the haughtiness of my spirit and the gravity of my wisdom; so that the maids will say, o our master and our lord, may we be thy sacrifice! this thy wife, or rather thy handmaid, awaiteth thy kind regard, and is standing before thee: then graciously bestow on her one glance; for the posture hath become painful to her.89—upon this, i will362 the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the reverie of the barber's fifth brother raise my head, and look at her with one glance, and again incline my head downwards; and thus i will do until the ceremony of displaying her is finished; whereupon they will conduct her to the sleeping-chamber; and i will rise from my place, and go to another apartment, and put on my night-dress, and go to the chamber in which she is sitting, where i will seat myself upon the deewán; but i will not look towards her. the tire-women will urge me to approach her; but i will not hear their words, and will order some of the attendants to bring a purse containing five hundred pieces of gold for them, and command them to retire from the chamber.90 and when they have gone, i will seat myself by the side of the bride; but with averted countenance, that she may say, verily this is a man of a haughty spirit. then her mother will come to me, and will kiss my hands, and say to me, o my master, look upon thy handmaid with the eye of mercy; for she is submissively standing before thee. but i will return her no answer. and she will kiss my feet, again and again, and will say, o my master, my daughter is young, and hath seen no man but thee; and if she experience from thee repugnance, her heart will break: incline to her, therefore, and speak to her, and calm her mind. and upon this i will look at her through the corner of my eye, and command her to remain standing before me, that she may taste the savour of humiliation, and know that i am the sul?án of the age. then her mother will say to me, o my master, this is thy handmaid: have compassion upon her, and be gracious to her:—and she will order her to fill a cup with wine, and to put it to my mouth. so her daughter will say, o my lord, i conjure thee by allah that thou reject not the cup from thy slave; for verily i am thy slave.363 but i will make her no reply; and she will the reverie of the barber's fifth brother the result urge me to take it, and will say, it must be drunk:—and will put it to my mouth: and upon this, i will shake my hand in her face, and spurn her with my foot, and do thus.—so saying, he kicked the tray of glass, which, being upon a place elevated above the ground, fell, and all that was in it broke: there escaped nothing: and he cried out and said, all this is the result of my pride! and he slapped his face, and tore his clothes; the passengers gazing at him, while he wept, and exclaimed, ah! o my grief!

364

the people were now repairing to perform the friday-prayers; and some merely cast their eyes at him, while others noticed him not: but while he was in this state, deprived of his whole property, and weeping without intermission, a female approached him, on her way to attend the friday-prayers: she was of admirable loveliness; the odour of musk was diffused from her; under her was a mule with a stuffed saddle covered with gold-embroidered silk; and with her was a number of servants; and when she saw the broken glass, and my brother's state and his tears, she was moved with pity for him, and asked respecting his case. she was answered, he had a tray of glass, by the sale of which to obtain his subsistence and it is broken, and he is afflicted as thou seest:—and upon this, she called to one of the servants, saying, give what thou hast with thee to this poor man. so he gave him a purse, and he took it, and when he had opened it, he found in it five hundred pieces of gold, whereupon he almost died from excessive joy, and offered up prayers for his benefactress.

he returned to his house a rich man, and sat reflecting, and lo, a person knocked at the door: he rose, therefore, and opened it; and beheld an old woman whom he knew not, and she said to him, o my son, know that the time of prayer hath almost expired, and i am not prepared by ablution; wherefore i beg that thou wilt admit me into thy house, that i may perform it. he replied, i hear and obey;—and, retiring within, gave her permission to enter; his mind still wandering from joy on account of the gold; and when she had finished the ablution, she approached the spot where he was sitting, and there performed the prayers of two rek'ahs. she then offered up a supplication for my brother; and he thanked her, and offered her two pieces of gold; but when she saw this, she exclaimed, extolled be god's perfection! verily i wonder at the person who fell in love with thee in thy beggarly condition! take back thy money from me, and if thou want it not, return it to her who gave it thee when thy glass broke.—o my mother, said he, how can i contrive to obtain access to her? she answered, o my son, she hath an affection for thee; but she is the wife of an affluent man; take then with thee all thy money, and when thou art with her be not deficient in courteousness and agreeable words; so shalt thou obtain of her favours and her wealth whatever thou shalt desire. my brother, therefore, took all the gold, and arose and went with the old woman, hardly believing what she had told him; and she proceeded, and my brother behind her, until they arrived at a great door, at which she knocked; whereupon a greek damsel365 came and opened the door, and the old woman entered, ordering my brother to do the same. he did so, and found himself in a large house, where he beheld a great furnished chamber, with curtains hung in it; and, seating himself there, he put down the gold before him, and placed his turban on his knees;91 and scarcely had he done so, when there came to him a damsel, the like of whom had never been seen, attired in most magnificent apparel. my brother stood up at her approach; and when she beheld him, she laughed in his face, and rejoiced at his visit: then going to the door, she locked it; after which she returned to my brother, and took his hand, and both of them went together into a private chamber, carpeted with various kinds of silk, where my brother sat down, and she seated herself by his side, and toyed with him for a considerable time. she then rose, saying to him, move not from this place until i return to thee;—and was absent from him for a short period;—and as my brother was waiting for her, there came in to him a black slave, of gigantic stature, with a drawn sword, the brightness of which dazzled the sight; and he exclaimed to my brother. wo to thee! who brought thee to this place? thou vilest of men! thou misbegotten wretch, and nursling of impurity!—my brother was unable to make any reply; his tongue was instantly tied; and the slave laid hold upon him, and stripped him, and struck him more than eighty blows with the flat of his sword, until he fell sprawling upon the floor; when he retired from him, concluding that he was dead, and uttered a great cry, so that the earth trembled, and the place resounded at his voice, saying, where is el-melee?ah?92—upon which a girl came to him, holding a handsome tray containing salt; and with this she forthwith stuffed the flesh-wounds with which my brother's skin was gashed until they gaped open; but he moved not, fearing the slave would discover that he was alive, and kill him. the girl then went away, and the slave uttered another cry, like the first, whereupon the old woman came to my brother, and, dragging him by the feet to a deep and dark vault, threw him into it upon a heap of slain.93 in this place he remained for two whole days; and god (whose perfection be extolled!) made the salt to be the means of preserving his life, by stanching the flow of blood from his veins; so, when he found that he had strength sufficient to move, he arose, and, opening a shutter in the wall, emerged from the place of the slain; and god (to whom be ascribed all might and glory!) granted him his protection. he therefore proceeded in the darkness, and concealed himself in the passage until the morning, when366 the old woman went forth to seek another victim, and my brother, going out after her, without her knowledge, returned to his house.

the second misfortune of the barber's fifth brother

he now occupied himself with the treatment of his wounds until he was restored; and continued to watch for the old woman, and constantly saw her taking men, one after another, and conducting them to the same house. but he uttered not a word on the subject; and when his health returned, and his strength was completely renewed, he took a piece of rag, and made of it a purse, which he filled with pieces of glass: he then tied it to his waist, and disguised himself so that no one would know him, in the dress of a foreigner; and, taking a sword, placed it within his clothes; and as soon as he saw the old woman, he said to her, in the dialect of a foreigner, old woman, hast thou a pair of scales fit for weighing nine hundred pieces of gold? the old woman answered, i have a young son, a money-changer, and he hath all kinds of scales; therefore accompany me to him before he go forth from his abode, that he may weigh for thee thy gold. so my brother said, walk on before me:—and she went, and my brother followed her until she arrived at the door, and knocked; upon which the girl came out, and laughed in his face; and the old woman said to her, i have brought you to-day some fat meat. the girl then took my367 brother's hand, and conducted him into the house (the same which he had entered before), and after she had sat with him a short time, she rose, saying to him, quit not this place until i return to thee:—and she retired; and my brother had remained not long after when the slave came to him with the drawn sword, and said to him, rise, thou unlucky! so my brother rose, and, as the slave walked before him, he put his hand to the sword which was concealed beneath his clothes, and struck the slave with it, and cut off his head; after which he dragged him by his feet to the vault, and called out, where is el-melee?ah? the slave-girl, therefore, came, having in her hand the tray containing the salt; but when she saw my brother with the sword in his hand, she turned back and fled: my brother, however, overtook her, and struck off her head. he then called out, where is the old woman?—and she came; and he said to her, dost thou know me, o malevolent hag? she answered, no, o my lord.—i am, said he, the man who had the pieces of gold, and in whose house thou performedst the ablution and prayedst; after which, devising a stratagem against me, thou betrayedst me into this place.—the old woman exclaimed, fear god in thy treatment of me!—but my brother, turning towards her, struck her with the sword, and clove her in twain. he then went to search for the chief damsel, and when she saw him, her reason fled, and she implored his pardon; whereupon he granted her his pardon, and said to her, what occasioned thy falling into the hands of this black? she answered, i was a slave to one of the merchants, and this old woman used to visit me; and one day she said to me, we are celebrating a festivity, the like of which no one hath seen, and i have a desire that thou shouldst witness it. i replied, i hear and obey:—and arose, and clad myself in the best of my attire, and, taking with me a purse containing a hundred pieces of gold,94 proceeded with her until she entered this house, when suddenly this black took me, and i have continued with him in this state three years, through the stratagem of the old witch.—my brother then said to her, is there any property of his in the house?—abundance, she answered; and if thou canst remove it, do so:—and upon this, he arose and went with her, when she opened to him chests filled with purses, at the sight of which he was confounded; and she said to him, go now, and leave me here, and bring some person to remove the property. so he went out, and, having hired ten men, returned; but on his arrival at the door, he found it open, and saw neither the damsel nor the purses; he found, however, some little money remaining, and the stuffs. he368 discovered, therefore, that she had eluded him; and he took the money that remained, and, opening the closets, took all the stuffs which they contained, leaving nothing in the house.

he passed the next night full of happiness; but when the morning came, he found at the door twenty soldiers, and on his going forth to them, they laid hold upon him, saying, the wálee summoneth thee. so they took him, and conducted him to the wálee, who, when he saw him, said to him, whence obtainedst thou these stuffs?—grant me indemnity, said my brother:—and the wálee gave him the handkerchief of indemnity;95 and my brother related to him all that had befallen him with the old woman from first to last, and the flight of the damsel; adding,—and of that which i have taken, take thou what thou wilt; but leave me wherewith to procure my food. the wálee thereupon demanded the whole of the money and the stuffs; but fearing that the sul?án96 might become acquainted with the matter, he retained a portion only, and gave the rest to my brother, saying to him, quit this city, or i will hang thee. my brother replied, i hear and obey:—and went forth to one of the surrounding cities. some robbers, however, came upon him, and stripped and beat him, and cut off his ears; and i, having heard of his situation, went forth to him, taking to him some clothes; and brought him back privily into the city, and supplied him with daily food and drink.

tail-piece to the barber's story of his fifth brother

369

head-piece to the barber's story of his sixth brother

the barber's story of his sixth brother

my sixth brother (sha?áli?), o prince of the faithful, had his lips cut off. he was in a state of extreme poverty, possessing nothing of the goods of this perishable world; and he went forth one day to seek for something with which to stay his departing spirit, and on his way he beheld a handsome house, with a wide and lofty vestibule, at the door of which were servants, commanding and forbidding; whereupon he inquired of one of the persons standing there, who answered, this house belongeth to a man of the sons of the barmekees.97 my brother, therefore, advanced to the door-keepers, and begged them to give him something; and they said, enter the door of the house, and thou wilt obtain what thou desirest of its master. so he entered the vestibule, and proceeded through it a while until he arrived at a mansion of the utmost beauty and elegance, having a garden in the midst of it, unsurpassed in beauty by anything that had ever been seen: its floors were paved with marble, and its curtains were hanging around. he knew not in which direction to go; but advanced to the upper extremity, and there he beheld a man of handsome countenance and beard, who, on seeing my brother, rose to him, and welcomed him, inquiring respecting his circumstances. he accordingly informed him that he was in want; and when the master of the house heard his words, he manifested excessive grief, and, taking hold of his own clothes, rent them, and exclaimed, am i in the city, and thou in it370 hungry? it is a thing that i cannot endure!—then promising him every kind of happiness, he said, thou must stay and partake of my salt. but my brother replied, o my master, i have not patience to wait; for i am in a state of extreme hunger.

upon this, the master of the house called out, boy, bring the basin and ewer!—and he said, o my guest, advance, and wash thy hand. he then performed the same motions as if he were washing his hand; and called to his attendants to bring the table; whereupon they began to come and go as though they were preparing it; after which the master of the house took my brother, and sat down with him at this imaginary table, and proceeded to move his hands and lips as if he were eating; saying to my brother, eat, and be not ashamed, for thou art hungry, and i know how thou art suffering from the violence of thy hunger. my brother, therefore, made the same motions, as if he also were eating, while his host said to him, eat, and observe this bread and its whiteness. to this, my brother at first made no reply; but observed in his own mind, verily this is a man who loveth to jest with others:—so he said to him, o my master, in my life i have never seen bread more beautifully white than this, or any of sweeter taste:—on which the host rejoined, this was made by a female slave of mine whom i purchased for five hundred pieces of gold. he then called out, boy, bring to us the sikbáj,98 the like of which is not found among the dishes of kings!—and, addressing my brother, he said, eat, o my guest; for thou art hungry, vehemently so, and in absolute want of food. so my brother began to twist about his mouth, and to chew, as in eating. the master of the house now proceeded to demand different kinds of viands, one after another; and, though nothing was brought, he continued ordering my brother to eat. next he called out, boy, place before us the chickens stuffed with pistachio-nuts:—and said to his guest, eat of that which thou hast never tasted the like.—o my master, replied my brother, verily this dish hath not its equal in sweetness of flavour:—and the host, thereupon, began to put his hand to my brother's mouth as though he were feeding him with morsels; and proceeded to enumerate to him the various different kinds of viands, and to describe their several excellencies; while his hunger so increased that he longed for a cake of barley-bread. the master of the house then said to him, hast thou tasted anything more delicious than the spices in these dishes?—no, o my master, answered my brother.—eat more then, resumed the host; and be not ashamed.—i have eaten enough of the meats, replied the guest. so the man371 of the house called to his attendants to bring the sweets; and they moved their hands about in the air as if they were bringing them; whereupon the host said to my brother, eat of this dish; for it is excellent; and of these ?a?á?f,99 by my life! and take this one before the sirup runs from it.—may i never be deprived of thee, o my master! exclaimed my brother, proceeding to inquire of him respecting the abundance of musk in the ?a?á?f.—this, answered the host, is my usual custom in my house: they always put for me, in each of the ?a?á?f, a mith?ál100 of musk, and half a mith?ál of ambergris.—all this time my brother was moving his head and mouth, and rolling about his tongue between his cheeks, as if he were enjoying the sweets. after this, the master of the house called out to his attendants, bring the dried fruits!—and again they moved about their hands in the air as though they were doing what he ordered; when he said to my brother, eat of these almonds, and of these walnuts, and of these raisins;—and so on; enumerating the various kinds of dried fruits; and added again, eat, and be not ashamed.—o my master, replied my brother, i have had enough, and have not power to eat anything more:—but the host rejoined, if thou desire, o my guest, to eat more, and to delight thyself with extraordinary dainties, by allah! by allah! remain not hungry.

my brother now reflected upon his situation, and upon the manner in which this man was jesting with him, and said within himself, by allah, i will do to him a deed that shall make him repent before god of these actions! the man of the house next said to his attendants, bring us the wine:—and, as before, they made the same motions with their hands in the air as if they were doing what he commanded; after which he pretended to hand to my brother a cup, saying, take this cup, for it will delight thee:—and his guest replied, o my master, this is of thy bounty:—and he acted with his hand as though he were drinking it.—hath it pleased thee? said the host.—o my master, answered my brother, i have never seen anything more delicious than this wine.—drink then, rejoined the master of the house, and may it be attended with benefit and health:—and he himself pretended to drink, and to hand a second cup to my brother, who, after he had affected to drink it, feigned himself intoxicated, and, taking his host unawares, raised his hand until the whiteness of his arm-pit appeared, and struck him such a slap upon his neck that the chamber rang at the blow; and this he followed by a second blow; whereupon the man exclaimed, what is this, thou vilest of the creation?—o my master,372 answered my brother, i am thy slave, whom thou hast graciously admitted into thine abode, and thou hast fed him with thy provisions, and treated him with old wine, and he hath become intoxicated, and committed an outrage upon thee; but thou art of too exalted dignity to be angry with him for his ignorance.

when the master of the house heard these words of my brother, he uttered a loud laugh, and said to him, verily for a long time have i made game of men, and jested with all persons accustomed to joking and rudeness, but i have not seen among them any who could endure this trick, nor any who had sagacity to conform to all my actions, except thee: now, therefore, i pardon thee; and be thou my companion in reality, and never relinquish me. he then gave orders to bring a number of the dishes above mentioned, and he and my brother ate together to satisfaction; after which they removed to the drinking-chamber, where female slaves like so many moons sang all kinds of melodies, and played on all kinds of musical instruments. there they drank until intoxication overcame them: the master of the house treated my brother as a familiar friend, became greatly attached to him, and clad him with a costly dress; and on the following morning they resumed their feasting and drinking. thus they continued to live for a period of twenty years: the man then died, and the sul?án101 seized upon his property, and took possession of it.

my brother, upon this, went forth from the city, a fugitive; and upon his way, a party of arabs102 came upon him. they made him a captive; and the man who captured him tortured him with beating, and said to him, by allah, purchase thyself of me by wealth, or i will kill thee:—but my brother, weeping, replied, by allah, i possess nothing, o sheykh of the arabs; nor do i know the means of obtaining any property: i am thy captive; i have fallen into thy hands, and do with me what thou wilt. and immediately the tyrannical bedawee drew forth from his girdle a broad-bladed knife (such as, if plunged into the neck of a camel, would cut it across from one jugular vein to the other), and, taking it in his right hand, approached my poor brother, and cut off with it his lips; still urging his demand.—now this bedawee had a handsome wife, who, when he was absent, used to manifest a strong affection for my brother; though he observed a proper decorum towards her, fearing god (whose name be exalted!); and it happened, one day, that she had called him, and seated him with her; but while they were together, lo, her husband came in upon them; and when he beheld my brother, he373 exclaimed, wo to thee, thou base wretch! dost thou desire now to corrupt my wife?—then drawing his knife, he inflicted upon him another cruel wound; after which he mounted him upon a camel, and, having cast him upon a mountain, left him there, and went his way. some travellers, however, passed by him, and when they discovered him, they gave him food and drink, and acquainted me with his case: so i went forth to him, and conveyed him back into the city, and allotted him a sufficient maintenance.

the barber's sixth brother taken by bedawees

now i have come unto thee, o prince of the faithful, continued the barber, and feared to return to my house without relating to thee these facts; for to neglect doing so had been an error. thus thou hast seen that, although having six brothers, i am of a more upright character than they.—but when the prince of the faithful had heard my story, and all that i had related to him respecting my brothers, he laughed, and said, thou hast spoken truth, o ?ámit (o silent man); thou art a person of few words, and devoid of impertinence; now, however, depart from this city, and take up thine abode in another. so he banished me from baghdád; and i journeyed through various countries, and traversed many regions, until i heard of his death, and of the succession of another khaleefeh; when, returning to my city, i met with this young man, unto whom i did the best of deeds, and who, had it not been for me, had been slain: yet he hath accused me of that which is not in my character; for all that he hath related of me, with respect to impertinence, and loquacity, and dulness, and want of taste, is false, o people.374

continuation of the story told by the tailor.

the tailor then proceeded thus:—when we heard the story of the barber, and were convinced of his impertinence and loquacity, and that the young man had been treated unjustly by him, we seized hold upon him, and put him in confinement, and, seating ourselves to keep watch over him, ate and drank; and the feast was finished in the most agreeable manner. we remained sitting together until the call to afternoon-prayers, when i went forth, and returned to my house; but my wife looked angrily at me, and said, thou hast been all the day enjoying thy pleasure while i have been sitting at home sorrowful; now if thou go not forth with me and amuse me for the remainder of the day, thy refusal will be the cause of my separation from thee. so i took her and went out with her, and we amused ourselves until nightfall, when, returning home, we met this humpback, full of drink, and repeating verses; upon which i invited him to come home with us, and he consented. i then went forth to buy some fried fish, and having bought it and returned, we sat down to eat; and my wife took a morsel of bread and a piece of fish, and put them into his mouth, and choked him, so that he died; whereupon i took him up, and contrived to throw him into the house of this physician, and he contrived to throw him into the house of the steward, and the steward contrived to throw him in the way of the broker.—this is the story of what happened to me yesterday. is it not more wonderful than that of the humpback?

continuation of the story of the humpback.

when the king had heard this story, he ordered certain of his chamberlains to go with the tailor, and to bring the barber; saying to them, his presence is indispensable, that i may hear his talk, and it may be the cause of the deliverance of you all: then we will bury this humpback decently in the earth, for he hath been dead since yesterday; and we will make him a monument around his grave, since he hath been the occasion of our acquaintance with these wonderful stories.

the chamberlains and the tailor soon came back, after having gone to the place of confinement and brought the barber, whom they placed before the king; and when the king beheld him, he saw him to be an old man, passed his ninetieth year, of dark countenance, and white beard and eyebrows, with small ears, and long nose, and a haughty aspect. the king laughed at the sight of him, and said to375 him, o silent man, i desire that thou relate to me somewhat of thy stories.—o king of the age, replied the barber, what is the occasion of the presence of this christian and this jew and this muslim, and this humpback lying dead among you; and what is the reason of this assembly?—wherefore dost thou ask this? said the king. the barber answered, i ask it in order that the king may know me to be no impertinent person, nor one who meddleth with that which doth not concern him, and that i am free from the loquacity of which they accuse me: for i am fortunate in my characteristic appellation, since they have surnamed me e?-?ámit; and, as the poet hath said,—

seldom hast thou seen a person honoured with a surname, but thou wilt find, if thou search, that his character is expressed by it.

the king therefore said, explain to the barber the case of this humpback, and what happened to him yesterday evening, and explain to him also what the christian hath related, and the jew and the steward and the tailor. so they repeated to him the stories of all these persons.

the barber, thereupon, shook his head, saying, by allah, this is a wonderful thing! uncover this humpback, that i may examine him.—and they did so. he then seated himself at his head, and, taking it up, placed it upon his lap, and looked at his face, and laughed so violently that he fell backwards, exclaiming, for every death there is a cause; and the death of this humpback is most wonderful: it is worthy of being registered in the records, that posterity may be instructed by this event!—the king, astonished at his words, said, o ?ámit, explain to us the reason of thy saying this.—o king, replied the barber, by thy beneficence, life is yet in the humpback! he then drew forth from his bosom a pot containing some ointment, and with this he anointed the neck of the humpback; after which he covered it up until it perspired; when he took forth an iron forceps, and put it down his throat, and extracted the piece of fish with its bone, and all the people saw them. the humpback now sprang upon his feet, and sneezed, and, recovering his consciousness, drew his hands over his face, and exclaimed, there is no deity but god! mo?ammad is god's apostle! god bless and save him!—and all who were present were astonished at the sight, and the king laughed until he became insensible; as did also the other spectators. the king exclaimed, by allah, this accident is wonderful! i have never witnessed anything more strange!—and added, o muslims! o assembly of soldiers! have ye ever in the course of your lives seen any376 one die and after that come to life? but had not god blessed him with this barber, the humpback had been to-day numbered among the people of the other world; for the barber hath been the means of restoring him to life.—they replied, this is indeed a wonderful thing!

the king then gave orders to record this event; and when they had done so, he placed the record in the royal library; and he bestowed dresses of honour upon the jew and the christian and the steward; upon each of them, a costly dress: the tailor he appointed to be his own tailor, granting him regular allowances, and reconciling him and the humpback with each other: the humpback he honoured with a rich and beautiful dress, and with similar allowances, and appointed him his cup-companion; and upon the barber also he conferred the like favours, rewarding him with a costly dress of honour, regular allowances, and a fixed salary, and appointing him state-barber, and his own cup-companion: so they all lived in the utmost happiness and comfort until they were visited by the terminator of delights and the separator of friends.

tail-piece to the story of the humpback

377

head-piece to notes to chapter v.

notes to chapter fifth.

note 1. as the story of the humpback is one of the best in this collection, and purely arab, i have been glad to find, in the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, authority for deviating here from my usual standard copy, by substituting "el-ba?rah" for a city of china. the breslau edition, in the opening of the story, lays the scene at "el-ba?rah and ?aj?ár." by the latter, i suppose káshghar to be meant.

note 2. in my original, they are said to have gone out early in the morning; but this is contradicted by the sequel.

note 3. the appeal to ezra's ass, which alludes to a tradition believed by the muslims, as it is mentioned in the ?ur-án, is omitted in the cairo edition. the story is this:—'ozeyr, or ezra, "riding on an ass by the ruins of jerusalem, after it had been destroyed by the chaldeans, doubted in his mind by what means god could raise the city and its inhabitants again; whereupon god caused him to die, and he remained in that condition a hundred years; at the end of which, god restored him to life, and he found a basket of figs and a cruise of wine that he had with him, not in the least spoiled or corrupted; but his ass was dead, the bones only remaining; and these, while the prophet looked on, were raised and clothed with flesh, becoming an ass again, which, being inspired with life, began immediately to bray."323

note 4. most arab cities abound with cats, which are much favoured by the inhabitants. these animals are often seen leaping across from the terrace of one house to that of another on the opposite side of a narrow street; and often has my kitchen in cairo been robbed by them. they are said to contribute greatly to the spreading of the plague.

note 5. occurrences of this kind are said to have often happened in arab towns, where dogs, though esteemed unclean by the muslims, are, like cats, generally very numerous. few of them have masters; but they compose distinct tribes; those of each tribe confining themselves to a particular quarter or district of the town, and suffering no strange dog to intrude among them and share with them in the offal thrown out from the butchers' shops and from private houses; or prowling about the mounds of rubbish in the environs, and, like the vultures, feeding upon the carcasses of camels, asses, and other beasts, thrown out by the inhabitants. i was once told that the 378master of an english merchant-vessel, having fallen asleep in a state of intoxication on the shore of the harbour of alexandria, at night, was devoured by dogs.

note 6. the snatching of turbans by night is still a frequent practice of arab rogues, and one which is often very lucrative; many a turban being composed of a costly kashmeer shawl wound round a ?arboosh, which latter alone is worth eight or nine shillings, or more, and some also having money or other valuables secreted in them.

note 7. watchmen are generally employed to guard by night the soo?s, or market-streets, and other districts, in arab towns. those in cairo carry a nebboot, or long staff, but no lantern. their usual cries are of a religious nature; as, "i extol the perfection of the living king, who sleepeth not nor dieth!" when they see a passenger approaching, they call out to him, "attest the unity of god!" or merely, "attest the unity!" and the reply is, "there is no deity but god!" it is supposed that a person bound on any unlawful undertaking would not dare to utter these words.

note 8. at the period when this work was composed, the christians were distinguished from the muslims by a black or blue turban, and this was wound in a peculiar manner.

note 9.—on the title and office of wálee. "wálee" is the title given to the chief magistrate of the police, and was so employed in the time of el-ma?reezee, instead of the older appellation of "?á?eb esh-shur?ah." the same officer was also called "mutawellee." it was the duty of this magistrate to perambulate the streets at night, attended by a body of his officers, including an executioner; for he often inflicted capital punishment on criminals immediately after their detection. he was invested with a degree of despotic power, and often put to death persons accused of capital crimes without the formalities required by the law. it was also his duty to superintend the infliction of the punishments of criminals legally condemned. an officer was employed to perform the nightly rounds in el-medeeneh in the reign of aboo-bekr; but it appears that the first regular guard for this purpose was appointed in the reign of 'othmán.324

note 10. the ardebb, thus commonly pronounced, but properly written irdebb, varies in different places. in cairo it is very nearly equivalent to five english bushels.

note 11. in the original, this building is called the khán of el-jawálee; but it evidently should be —— of el-jáwalee; and the error is to be attributed to a copyist. the khán of el-jáwalee is mentioned by el-ma?reezee,325 as being situate at a short distance within the present gate called báb en-na?r, and by the site of the older gate so called; and as existing in his time, in the former half of the ninth century of the flight. [el-ma?reezee also informs us, in his account of the medreseh el-jáwaleeyeh, that el-jáwalee's full name was 'alam-ed-deen senjer, and that he was originally a memlook of one jáwalee (whence his surname), an emeer of el-melik e?-?áhir beybars. he died in the year of the flight 745.—ed.]

note 12. báb en-na?r (the gate of victory, or —— of aid) is the name of the easternmost of the northern gates of cairo. it was built in the reign of the khaleefeh el-mustan?ir, in the year of the flight 480 (a. d. 1087-8).

note 13. the words "besides my brokerage," i have inserted as necessary to make the account correct.

note 14. it has been shewn in a former note that the arabs consider it indecorous to eat with the left hand.

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note 15. as it is held impolite to shew the hands, unless unavoidably, in the presence of a person of rank, the sleeve of the cloth coat, or that of the silk vest which is worn beneath it, is made sufficiently long to extend a little beyond the ends of the fingers; and so also, in general, is the sleeve of the shirt worn by persons of the lower orders.

note 16. this building is first called, in the cairo edition, the khán of suroor; and afterwards, —— of mesroor: the latter is the appellation given to it in the edition of breslau; and is the correct name. the khán of mesroor is mentioned by el-ma?reezee,326 as situate at the southern extremity of beyn el-?a?reyn (respecting which see the next note), adjacent to the site of the great palace of the khaleefehs. there were two kháns of this name near each other. el-ma?reezee says, that, in his earlier days, the greater of these, which appears to be that here alluded to, was one of the finest and largest kháns in cairo, in a most flourishing state, the resort of the chief syrian merchants, and the dép?t of their goods; but that latterly it had declined, and some portions of it were ruined.

note 17. beyn el-?a?reyn (which signifies "between the two palaces") is the name still applied to that part of the principal street of cairo which intervenes between the sites of the two famous palaces of the khaleefehs.

note 18. a ?eysáreeyeh is a superior kind of soo?, consisting of ranges of shops facing each other. that which is here mentioned (called in the cairo edition, the ?eysereeyeh of jirjis; in the edition of breslau, the ?eysáreeyeh of jarkash; and in the old english version, erroneously, the circassian bezestein) is the ?eysáreeyeh of jahárkas, which, as i learn from el-ma?reezee,327 was situate near the centre of what constituted the old city, on the east of the principal street. it existed in his time, and was built by the emeer fakhr-ed-deen jahárkas, in the year of the flight 502 (a.d. 1108-9). ibn-khallikán,328 as quoted by el-ma?reezee, says of it, "i have seen a number of merchants who have traversed various countries, and who say, 'we have not seen in any country its equal in beauty and greatness, and compactness of construction.'" he explains also the orthography of the name of "jahárkas," and states that it is persian (chahár-kas), and signifies "four persons."

note 19. the egyptian fowls are much smaller than those of our country, and one is not too much for one man's breakfast. the eggs are usually hatched in ovens.

note 20. the appellation of "the gardener" is here to be understood as a mere surname derived from the occupation of some ancestor of the merchant; it being a common custom of the arabs to retain an appellation of this kind, however humble.

note 21. el-ma?reezee329 mentions a "soo? of the money-changers" as near to the khán of mesroor; and it seems to be the place here alluded to: the word "soo?" being often omitted.

note 22. the lady having offered up a prayer that the young merchant might be her husband, i have taken the liberty of inserting here a slight interpolation, which does not detract from the probability or consistency of the story; but rather the contrary.

note 23.—on one of the passages in this work indicating a very late date. the 380?abbáneeyeh is the name now applied to a portion of a main street, a little to the west of the lake called birket el-feel, in the southern part of cairo. it is evidently thus applied in the passage to which this note relates; but el-ma?reezee, writing in the former half of the ninth century of the flight,330 says, "in this our time, bordering upon it [the birket el-feel] is a garden called by the name of the ?abbáneeyeh, who were a family of darmà the son of 'amr the son of 'owf the son of tha?lebeh the son of ba?l the son of 'amr the son of el-ghóth the son of ?eiyi: so darmà was a minor family of [the tribe of] ?eiyi, and the ?abbáneeyoon [or ?abbáneeyeh—for the terms are synonymous] were a family of darmà; and the people have made a road between the garden of the ?abbáneeyeh and the lake." he proceeds to say, that on the east of the birket el-feel there were gardens; but that houses and streets had been built there.—now, in the work before us, the tract which was a garden in the time of el-ma?reezee is mentioned as occupied by houses and streets. many years must have elapsed since that period before such could have been the case; and surely at least a century before the houses could have presented such an appearance as would lead a writer to imagine them of "ancient times." it may be objected against an argument drawn from this passage, that it is perhaps an interpolation of a copyist; but it agrees with many evidences of a late date, and occurs in at least one other copy (that from which the breslau edition is printed), with only this slight difference—that "?abbáneeyeh," by the erroneous addition of a point beneath the first letter, is converted into "jebbáneeyeh;" and it should be remarked that the latter copy varies considerably in other points from that of cairo. it would imply that cairo was almost as extensive a city at the time when this work was composed or modernized as it is at present; and would account for its being here called mi?r, or ma?r; a name which was retained by el-fus?á? at least as late as the commencement of the tenth century of the flight, and probably until the year 1517 of our era or a little later, as i have remarked in a former note.

note 24. "?á'ah" is a term generally signifying "a lofty saloon;" but also often applied to an elegant house.

note 25. "na?eeb" signifies "a chief," "a leader," &c., and has various applications. in the present instance, the office which it designates is doubtful, but is evidently of high dignity, as na?eeb of the shereefs, the chief, or syndic, of the descendants of the prophet.

note 26. báb zuweyleh (the gate of zuweyleh, or, more properly, of zaweeleh, which is the name of a tribe) is a gate that was built at the same period as báb en-na?r, before mentioned. it marked the southern limit of cairo; but is now in the heart of the metropolis. with two round-fronted towers, each surmounted by a lofty and elegant mád'neh, or menaret, pertaining to the adjoining great mosque of el-mueiyad, it presents a very noble appearance.

note 27. "imperial gypsum" is a name given to the best kind of plaster used in cairo. i have often admired the smoothness of its surface upon the walls of chambers in some of the older houses in that city; but, i need hardly say, never saw any that reflected like a mirror.

note 28. in the cairo edition, "with pearls and jewels at its corners." the 381deficiency i have supplied from the edition of breslau: but i may here remark, that it would have been more proper to describe the snakes as gilt.

note 29.—on the crowns worn by arab ladies. from eastern drawings and descriptions, it appears that the kind of crown here mentioned was generally a circle of jewelled gold (the lower edge of which was straight; and the upper, fancifully heightened to four or more points) surrounding the lower part of a dome-shaped cap with a jewel or some other ornament at the summit. this crown was worn by many arab ladies of high rank or great wealth, probably until about two centuries ago. another kind of crown is now more generally worn, called a "?ur?." this is a round, convex ornament, generally about five inches in diameter, composed of gold set with a profusion of diamonds, of open work, representing roses, leaves, &c. it is sewed upon the top of the ?arboosh; and is worn by most of the ladies of cairo, at least in full dress. an engraving of a crown of this description, and another of one of a more common kind, may be seen in my work on the modern egyptians, vol. ii. appendix a.

note 30. it is a common custom of the arabs to give a present of money tied up in a corner of an embroidered handkerchief.

note 31. the mace is a weapon still used in the east; but not so commonly as it was in former times. there was a petty governor in upper egypt during my first visit to that country, who, in his daily rides, indulged a frequent habit of striking persons with a weapon of this kind, a tolerably-heavy steel mace; but he did it with a happy knack, so as never, i believe, to inflict a dangerous wound, unless intentionally. maces, like other arms of steel, are often tastefully inlaid with arabesque ornaments and inscriptions in gold.

note 32.—on the punishment of theft. the mohammadan law ordains that a person who is adult and of sound mind, if he steals an article of the value of a quarter of a deenár (or piece of gold) from a place to which he has not ordinary or free access, shall lose his right hand; but this punishment is not to be inflicted for stealing a free child, or anything which, in the eye of the law, is of no pecuniary value; as wine, or a musical instrument; and there are some other cases in which the thief is not to be so punished. for the second offence, the left foot is to be cut off; and for the third and subsequent offences, according to the ?anafee code, the culprit is to be punished by a long imprisonment; or, by the sháfe'ee law, for the third offence, he is to lose his left hand; for the fourth, his right foot; and for further offences, he is to be flogged or beaten. the punishment is the same for a woman as for a man.—this law induced a freethinking muslim to ask, "if the hand is worth five hundred deenárs, [this being the fine for depriving a man of that member,] why should it be cut off for a quarter of a deenár?" he was answered, "an honest hand is of great value; but not so is the hand that hath stolen."—amputation for theft is now seldom practised: beating, or some other punishment, is usually inflicted in its stead for the first, second, and third offence; and, frequently, death for the fourth.

note 33. capital punishment in this case would be contrary to the law; but it is often inflicted upon highway-robbers.

note 34. the meaning is, that the doer is god. an allusion is here conveyed to a verse (the 17th) in the soorat el-anfál (the eighth chapter of the ?ur-án)—"thou didst not cast [the gravel into their eyes] when thou didst [seem to] cast [it]; but god cast [it]."331

note 35. the honour that is due to the human body requires that any portion disunited from it be decently deposited in the earth.

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note 36. as a hair, for instance, is drawn from paste.332

note 37. these verses are founded on a tradition of the prophet.333

note 38. on khatmehs, or recitations of the whole of the ?ur-án at private festivities. the most approved and common mode of entertaining guests at modern private festivities among the arabs is by a khatmeh, which is the recitation of the whole of the ?ur-án. three or more persons of the inferior class of the professors of religion and law, who are called fa?eehs (vulgarly, fi?ees), are usually hired for this purpose. schoolmasters, and students of the collegiate mosques who devote themselves to religion and law, are the persons most commonly thus employed. their mode of recitation is a peculiar kind of chanting,334 which, when well executed, i found very agreeable, at least for an hour or so: but the guests seldom have to listen to the chanting of the whole of the ?ur-án: the reciters usually accomplish the greater portion of their task, in a somewhat hurried manner, before the guests have assembled, each of them chanting, in turn, a certain portion, as a thirtieth part of the whole (called a "juz"), or half of one of these sections (a "?ezb"), or, more commonly, a quarter (rub?). afterwards they chant more leisurely, and in a more musical manner; but still by turns.—these recitations of the whole of the ?ur-án are performed on various festive occasions, but are most usual after a death; the merit of the performance being transferred to the soul of the deceased.

note 39. the mess termed "zirbájeh," by some called "zurbájeh," from the persian "zeerbáj," is a kind of spoon-meat. some of its ingredients are described in the sequel of the present story.

note 40.—on atonements and other services for the dead. as filial piety is a general characteristic of the arabs, and various services are believed by them to atone for the minor sins of the deceased, and thus to diminish his misery, or to increase his happiness, it is natural, and not uncommon, for a son to act in the manner here related. recitations of the ?ur-án are performed for the dead, to whom the merit of these works is transferred, and a sacrifice is often offered at the tomb after the burial; the flesh of the victim being distributed to the poor. but a more important service for the deceased is the payment of his debts; for it is affirmed by the prophet, that even martyrdom will not atone for a debt unpaid.

note 41. a money-changer is very frequently employed to examine the money which a purchaser offers; and if it be old, to weigh it. the money-changers are mostly jews and christians.

note 42. some mosques (as the azhar, for instance, the principal mosque of cairo) remain open all night; and many houseless persons sleep in them, upon the matting which covers the paved floor. men are also often seen, at other times, but not at the hours of prayer, lounging, eating, or working, in the mosques; such practices not being deemed inconsistent with the high respect which the muslims pay to these buildings.

note 43. the remainder of this paragraph, and the whole of the next two paragraphs, being omitted in the edition of cairo, i translate from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of breslau; but almost entirely from the former.

note 44. the water of the well of zemzem, in the temple of mekkeh, is believed to possess miraculous virtues, and is therefore brought away in bottles or flasks by many of the pilgrims, to be used when occasion may require as medicine, or to be sprinkled 383on grave-linen. a bottle of it is a common and acceptable present from a pilgrim, and a guest is sometimes treated with a sip of this holy water.

note 45. a whip is sometimes used in the ?areem of a great man; and its being attached to the waist of the damsel here mentioned marks her authority. it is generally formed of a strip of hippopotamus' hide, hammered into a round shape; and this kind is called a "kurbáj." i believe it is seldom used in the ?areem with severity; but usually for intimidation. [i once saw some of the ladies of názlee khánim (thus vulgarly pronounced for názloo khánum) struck with a kurbáj, for too curiously looking in at the window of an apartment in that lady's palace, in which i and some friends happened to be, and which overlooked the private garden. they were speedily driven away by two or three black eunuchs, who appeared to use their heavy whips indiscriminately and severely; their excuse for this conduct undoubtedly being, that these ladies were guilty of a great impropriety in thus shewing themselves to men; for when riding abroad, it is usual for passengers in the streets to turn their faces to the wall on the approach of the women of a great man's household. moreover, the ?areem of názlee khánim was well known to be ruled with an iron hand, and its mistress herself to have acquired the character of her brutal husband, mo?ammad bey, the defterdár, whose cruelties are mentioned in the "modern egyptians."—ed.]

note 46. it is a universal custom of the arabs, on visiting the sick, to say, "may our lord restore thee!" or, "no evil befall thee!" &c.

note 47. the first hospital built by a muslim was that of damascus, founded by el-weleed the son of 'abd-el-melik, in the eighty-eighth year of the flight (a. d. 706-7). the arabs would deprive st. ephrem syrus of the honour of having been the author of the first institution of this kind; one of their historians ascribing it to an early pharaoh, named mená?iyoosh; another, to hippocrates.335

note 48. the remainder of the paragraph is translated from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights.

note 49. "the metropolis of the world," or literally, "the mother of the world" ("umm ed-dunyà"), is a title given to several cities, as well as to cairo, by their respective inhabitants. this passage, therefore, and others of a similar kind, in which even foreigners are made to rank egypt and cairo as superior to every other country and city, strongly favour the opinion that some of its tales were written, or altered, by an egyptian.

note 50. a more ample eulogium upon egypt and the nile, but abounding with such gross errors that i could not confidently offer a translation, is found in the breslau edition. it agrees better with the old translation; which, however, in this place, presents considerable unauthorized amplifications, and some misconceptions: "birket el-?abash" (for instance), the name of a lake on the south of cairo, being mistaken for ethiopia.

note 51. for this monthly rent (or about a guinea of our money), a large and handsome house may be hired at the present day in cairo.

note 52. after the amputation of the hand for theft, the stump is usually plunged in boiling pitch or tar, or oil, to stanch the blood.

note 53.—on retaliation and fines for wounds and mutilations. retaliation for intentional wounds and mutilations is allowed by the mohammadan law, like as for murder; "eye for eye," &c.:336 but a fine may be accepted instead, which the law allows also for unintentional injuries. the fine for a member that is single (as the nose) is the whole price of blood, as for homicide; namely a thousand deenárs (about 500l.) from 384him who possesses gold; or, from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand dirhems (about 300l.); for a member of which there are two, and not more (as a hand), half the price of blood; for one of which there are ten (a finger or toe), a tenth of the price of blood: but the fine of a man for maiming or wounding a woman is half of that for the same injury to a man; and that of a free person for injuring a slave varies according to the value of the slave. the fine for depriving a man of any of his five senses, or dangerously wounding him, or grievously disfiguring him for life, is the whole price of blood.

note 54. see no. 20 of the notes to chapter ii.—"the women of egypt have the character of being the most licentious in their feelings of all females who lay any claim to be considered as members of a civilized nation; and this character is freely bestowed upon them by their countrymen, even in conversation with foreigners."337—in the work from which the above passage is quoted, i have expatiated upon this subject more than i need do in the present case.

note 55. the arabs are generally of opinion that the innate dispositions of a child are inherited more from the mother than from the father. they believe that a daughter commonly resembles, in good or evil qualities, her mother; and a son, his maternal uncle. hence they often address a man, "yá ?eiyib el-khál!"—"o thou who hast a good maternal uncle!"

note 56. 'abd-allah ibn-'abbás was one of the most learned of the companions of his cousin mo?ammad, and one of the most celebrated of the relaters of his sayings and actions. he has received the titles of "interpreter of the ?ur-án" and "sul?án of commentators." he died in the year of the flight 68. his father, 'abbás, the son of 'abd-el-mu??alib, was paternal uncle of mo?ammad, and ancestor of the 'abbásee khaleefehs.

note 57.—on the astrolabe. the astrolabe is more commonly used by the arabs than any other instrument for astronomical observations. it is generally between four and six inches in diameter. it consists of a circular plate with a graduated rim, within which fit several thinner plates, and of a limb, moving on a pivot in the centre, with two sights. the plates are engraved with complicated diagrams, &c., for various calculations. the instrument is held by a ring, or by a loop of cord attached to the ring, during an observation; and thus its own weight answers the same purpose as the plumb-line of the quadrant (which the arabs sometimes use in its stead); the position of the moveable limb with the sights marking the required altitude.

note 58. ?afar is the second mouth of the mohammadan year.

note 59. as different copies vary here as to the date, i have taken the liberty of putting 263 instead of 763 or 653, in order to avoid a glaring anachronism. it is probable, however, that the last of these is the author's date, as it is found both in the old translation, and in the breslau edition. the date in the cairo edition is 763.

note 60. a degree is four minutes; it would have been more proper, therefore, to have said, eight degrees and two minutes, than seven degrees and six minutes.

note 61. "e?-?ámit" signifies "the silent."

note 62. this and the two following names, or rather, surnames, convey the same meaning. ba?boo?, heddár, and ba?ba? (here, in my original, erroneously written ya?ya?), signify "chatterer." "el-kooz el-a?wánee" (not to be mistaken for "—— —— aswánee," with a soft s) seems to imply that the person thus named was always like a mug, with open mouth, and insensible as flint to rebuke. the two remaining names are different in different copies: "sha?áli?" is perhaps put erroneously for some other word, as "shi?á?," "discord."

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note 63. ?ur-án, ch. iii. v. 128.

note 64. the arabs generally carry their young children in this manner, seated astride upon the shoulder.

note 65. this expression is borrowed from the ?ur-án, ch. xlviii. v. 10. the meaning is, "there is no power of man, but god's power is superior to it."

note 66. the prophet (mo?ammad) is always alluded to when this form of benediction is used and the name of the person to whom it is applied is not mentioned.

note 67. "nedd" is a perfume composed of ambergris, musk, and aloes wood; or simply ambergris.

note 68. two khu?behs are recited on the occasion of the congregational friday-prayers. it is the first of these which is here alluded to. see the next note.

note 69.—on the congregational friday-prayers. the selám (or salutation) of friday is a form of blessing on the prophet and his family and companions, which is chanted by the mu?ddins from the mád'nehs (or towers) of the congregational mosques half an hour before noon. the worshippers begin to assemble in the mosque as soon as they hear it, and, ranging themselves in rows parallel to, and facing, that side in which is the niche, that marks the direction of mekkeh, each performs, by himself, the prayers of two rek'ahs, which are supererogatory, and then sits in his place while a reader recites part or the whole of the 18th chapter of the ?ur-án. at the call of noon, they all stand up, and each again performs, separately, the prayers of two rek'ahs, ordained by the prophet. a minister, standing at the foot of the pulpit-stairs, then proposes to bless the prophet: and accordingly, a second selám is chanted by one or more other ministers stationed on an elevated platform. after this, the former minister, and the latter after him, repeat the call of noon (which the mu?ddins have before chanted from the mád'nehs); and the former enjoins silence. the chief minister (kha?eeb, or imám,) has already seated himself on the top step or platform of the pulpit. he now rises, and recites a khu?beh of praise to god and exhortation to the congregation; and if in a country or town acquired by arms from unbelievers, he holds a wooden sword, resting its point on the ground.338 each of the congregation next offers up some private supplication; after which, the kha?eeb recites a second khu?beh, which is always the same, or nearly so; part, of a similar nature to the first, but chiefly, prayer for the prophet and his family, &c., and for the general welfare of the muslims. this finished, the kha?eeb or imám descends from the pulpit, and, stationed before the niche, after a form of words339 differing slightly from the call to prayer has been chanted by the ministers on the elevated platform before mentioned, recites the divinely-ordained prayers of friday (two rek'ahs), while the people do the same silently, keeping time with him exactly in the various postures. thus are completed the friday-prayers; but some of the congregation remain, and perform the ordinary divinely-ordained prayers of noon.340

note 70. so in the cairo edition. el-munta?ir bi-lláh was the great-grandson of hároon er-rasheed, and acceded to the throne in the year of the flight 247 (a.d. 861). a slight anachronism, therefore, is here presented, unless we suppose that the 386hero of the story told by the sul?án's steward was an old man at the period of the misfortune of the humpback. the reign of el-munta?ir was somewhat less than six months. the copy from which the old translation was made, and the edition of breslau, date the adventure of the barber, here related, more than three centuries and a half later, in the reign of el-musta?ir bi-lláh.

note 71. the practice of spunging, or the intrusion of strangers at entertainments, has long been very prevalent in arab towns. an instance has been given towards the close of note 22 to chapter iii.

note 72. i have altered the order in which the brothers are described, and omitted two particulars, to agree with the sequel.

note 73. the next paragraph is translated from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights; being omitted in the cairo edition. an equal portion, later, is wanting in the old translation.

note 74.—on augurations with respect to marriage. this passage alludes to an astrological calculation made with the view of determining by what sign of the zodiac the two persons are influenced who contemplate becoming man and wife, and thence ascertaining whether they will agree. this is often done in the present day by adding together the numerical values of the letters composing his or her name and that of the mother, and, if i remember right, subtracting from 12 the whole sum if this is less than 12, or what remains after subtracting, or dividing by, 12. thus is obtained the number of the sign. the twelve signs, commencing with aries, correspond respectively with the elements of fire, earth, air, water, fire, earth, and so on; and if the signs of the two parties indicate the same element, it is inferred that they will agree; but if they indicate different elements, the inference is, that the one will be affected by the other in the same manner as the element of the one is by that of the other: thus, if the element of the man is fire, and that of the woman, water, he will be subject to her rule.

among other calculations of the same kind is the following, which my sheykh has mentioned in a marginal note on this passage, in the copy from which i translate.—the numerical values of the letters composing the name of each of the two parties are added together, and one of these two sums is subtracted from the other: if the remainder is an uneven number, the inference is unfavourable; but if even, the reverse.

in the present instance, the dupe, knowing that there are various modes of divining whether he will be happy with his wife, is made to believe that his fortune depends upon the mode, instead of the result, of the calculation.

note 75. here, in my original, "ba?ba?;" but this, as before mentioned, was the name of the third brother.

note 76. "?uffeh," signifying "a basket of palm-leaves," and "a dry gourd," seems to be here equivalent to "empty-head."

note 77. the blind in egypt are notorious for their impudence.—it is related that moses, while bathing one day in the nile, saw a blind man pass by, and, being moved with pity, prayed that god would restore his sight. his prayer was answered; but as soon as the eyes of the blind man were opened, he seized the clothes of his benefactor, which were lying on the bank, and protested that they were his own. moses, therefore, now prayed that the thief might be struck blind again; and god, answering his prayer, said, o moses, know that i am wiser than thou with respect to my creatures.—this tradition was related to me in cairo.

note 78. it is generally thus that an injured muslim calls others to his aid.

note 79. like the natives of egypt in the period of the roman domination,341 its 387modern inhabitants, and the arabs of other countries (though, i believe, in a less degree), are notorious for their obstinacy in refusing to pay their taxes until they have been severely beaten. they well know that, the more readily they pay, the more will be exacted from them; and are often heard to boast of the number of stripes which they have received before yielding their money. the same obstinacy is generally displayed by an arab accused of any offence; and often, even by a witness: in either case the man fears that, should he tell at once all he can, the judge will try whether the stick or the kurbáj342 will elicit a further confession.

note 80.—on the general corruptness of muslim judges. khi?r bey (whether he was a judge i do not know), conversing one day with his friends on the difficulties experienced in the exercise of judicature, one of the company remarked, "in my opinion, the greatest difficulty that is met with is, when one of the parties is rich, and the other, poor."—"in that case," replied khi?r bey, "i find none; for it is clear that the rich will gain his cause, and the poor will lose: but the great difficulty is, when the two parties are equally rich and powerful. if thou, he continued, being a poor man, have a suit against one who is rich and powerful, beware of applying to the ?á?ee; for he will not fail to condemn thee: my advice is, that thou desist altogether from thy suit, and rather throw thyself at the feet of thine adversary; for thou wilt obtain more justice from him than from the ?á?ee."343—for a justification of the opinion here expressed, see my work on the modern egyptians, vol. i. ch. iv.

note 81.—on good and evil omens. of omens i have already treated, in note 15 to chapter i.: but a few words on this subject must be here added.—it is common to draw a lucky or unlucky omen from the first object seen on going out in the morning; and according as that object is pleasant or the contrary, the person says, "my morning is good," or "——bad." a one-eyed man is regarded as of evil omen; and especially one who is blind of the left eye. many a person is related to have suffered for having an unlucky countenance.

note 82. the portion of this story comprised in the first paragraph having been the subject of a specimen of the present publication, translated from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and printed and distributed when i had not in my possession the copy of the original which i have taken as my general standard, it is here given nearly in the same words: i have only made a few slight additions and alterations derived from a comparison of the two editions. some of the notes inserted in the specimen i omit in this place, as they relate to matters already explained.—hole remarks (in page 223), that this part of the barber's story of his fifth brother is derived "from an indian fable of the remotest antiquity ... found in the heeto-pades of veeshnoo-sarma," in which a brahman "inadvertently breaks his pottery ware ... with a walking-stick ... in the act of suppressing the outrageous jealousy of four beautiful but turbulent wives."

note 83. "el-feshshár" signifies "the foolish talker," or "vain boaster." i have substituted this name for "el-'ashshár," the reading in my original. in the arabic characters, the latter differs from the former in little more than the want of a point, and has no appropriate meaning. it appears that, in most copies of the original, the barber's fifth brother is surnamed "en-neshshár," or "the sawyer," perhaps in allusion to his incessant loquacity: but this, also, in the arabic characters, very nearly resembles "el-feshshár," which i doubt not to be the right name.

note 84. there is nothing very extravagant in this hope of the barber's brother; for in the east, persons frequently rise from very low to very high stations; and it is remarkable that, notwithstanding their usual pride, they generally retain the appellation of the trade or craft which they or their fathers pursued, however ignoble, before 388their elevation. it is common for a great man to distinguish himself by adding to his name the appellation of "the druggist or perfumer," or "the grocer," &c.; and he is not a whit the less respected on this account.

note 85. the eastern grandee rides not at the head or rear of his attendants, but in the midst of them.

note 86. persons distinguished by rank or wealth or learning are saluted by many of the shopkeepers and passengers as they pass through the streets of eastern cities, and often greeted with a short ejaculatory prayer for the continuance of their life and happiness. when a very great man rides through the streets, most of the shopkeepers rise to him, and pay their respect to him by inclining the head, and touching the lips and forehead or turban with the fingers of the right hand.

note 87. see note 12 to chapter iii.

note 88. he could scarcely shew his pride more strongly; for it is an affront to reject a present.

note 89. an arab lady of high rank seldom makes use of her feet but to move from one chamber to another; when she goes abroad, she always rides: to stand for many minutes together is, therefore, fatiguing to her.

note 90. see the close of note 39 to chapter iv.

note 91. this is said either to shew his vulgarity or that the weather was sultry.

note 92. "el-melee?ah" signifies "the beautiful:" it is derived from "mil?" (salt, &c.).

note 93. an occurrence of a similar nature, which happened a few years ago in cairo, was related to me by one of my friends there.—an old woman frequented the tomb of a saint in that city, near the eastern gate called the báb el-ma?roo?, to which many women afflicted with disease or barrenness often resorted to offer up prayers, believing their petitions would be effectual through the saint's intercession; and she was in the habit of enticing ladies from this tomb to the house of her husband, which was near by, under pretence of his serving them with medicines or with charms. the unsuspecting victim, being desired to go thither alone, was conducted by the old woman to an upper room, at the end of which the man was seated; and in walking over the matted floor to approach him, suddenly fell through a trap-door into a place so deep that the fall rendered her senseless. in this state, she was put to death; and as ladies in cairo always wear valuable ornaments and costly clothes, the murderers were sure of obtaining considerable spoil.

note 94. this money, we are to understand, was prepared for the purpose of giving those presents which are customary from a guest at a marriage-festivity; but the mention of a smaller sum would have been more proper. it is given to the singing-women and tire-women who, in great houses, parade the bride through the different apartments, and display her in different rich suits of attire before the bridegroom.

note 95.—on the handkerchief, and signet, of indemnity. sometimes, the handkerchief, and sometimes, the signet, or seal-ring, is given as a pledge of indemnity.—it was a frequent custom of many a chief of the memlooks of egypt (there commonly called "the ghuzz"), to bastinade men in the court of his mansion (when he desired to make a show of strict justice), in order that one of the women of the family, hearing the cries, might drop a handkerchief from a window, and so the punishment might soon cease, in respect for the ?areem, whose protection is often appealed to by offenders.

note 96. the title of "sul?án" is here, and afterwards, given to the khaleefeh; and it has been so employed by a celebrated historian, el-ma?reezee.344

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note 97. so, apparently, in most copies; but in the cairo edition, "of the sons of the kings." it is said to have been a custom of some of the barmekees (the family so renowned for their generosity) to keep open house during the hours of meals, and to allow no one who applied at such times for admission to be repulsed.

note 98. "sikbáj" is a dish composed of meat, wheat-flour, and vinegar.

note 99. "?a?á?f" is a name applied to various kinds of sweet pastry: particularly to a kind of small pancakes, made of a thin paste of fine flour and water, about three inches broad, and a sixth of an inch or less in thickness, baked upon a copper tray over a fire, like kunáfeh (the composition of which is the same), and eaten with honey or sugar: also to cakes composed of fine flour, treacle or honey, and sesame-oil. the sirup mentioned in the same sentence is (as my sheykh states in a marginal note) treacle thickened over the fire.—the proper singular of ?a?á?f, namely, "?a?eefeh," is seldom used; one of these cakes being generally called "fard ?a?á?f." sometimes, it appears, they were perfumed with musk.

note 100. the "mith?ál" is the weight of a deenár, or a dirhem and a half,—in cairo, about 71-1/2 or 72 english grains.

note 101. see above, note 96.

note 102. by "arabs," we are here to understand bedawees, or arabs of the desert, who are termed, by the older writers, "a?ráb," or "a?rábees;" but in my original, as in other late works, "'arab," which was the old appellation of the townspeople and villagers.