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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Vathek, by William Beckford, et al
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Vathek
+       An Arabian Tale
+
+
+Author: William Beckford
+
+
+
+Release Date: March 24, 2013  [eBook #42401]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VATHEK***
+
+
+This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                 VATHEK;
+
+
+                             AN ARABIAN TALE,
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                    BY
+
+                          WILLIAM BECKFORD, ESQ.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                   WITH
+
+                     NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                 LONDON:
+                       GEORGE SLATER, 252, STRAND.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                  1849.
+
+
+
+
+MEMOIR.
+BY WILLIAM NORTH.
+
+
+WILLIAM BECKFORD, the author of the following celebrated Eastern tale,
+was born in 1760, and died in the spring of 1844, at the advanced age of
+eighty-four years.  It is to be regretted, that a man of so remarkable a
+character, did not leave the world some record of a life offering points
+of interest different from that of any of his contemporaries, from the
+peculiarly studious retirement and eccentric avocations in which it was
+chiefly passed.  Such a memoir would have formed a curious contrast with
+that of the late M. de Chateaubriand, who, born nearly at the same
+period, outlived but by a few years, the strange Englishman, whose famous
+romance forms a brilliant ornament to French literature, which even Atala
+is unlikely to outlive in the memory of Chateaubriand’s countrymen.  All
+men of genius should write autobiographies.  Such works are inestimable
+lessons to posterity.  As it is, there are few men, of whom it is more
+difficult to compose an elaborate and detailed history than the author of
+“Vathek.”  From such scanty sources as are open to us, the reader must be
+content with a few striking facts and illustrations, which may serve to
+convey some idea of the idiosyncrasy of a man, whose whole life was a
+sort of mystery, even to his personal acquaintances.
+
+His great-great-grandfather was lieutenant-governor and commander of the
+forces in Jamaica; and his grandfather president of the council in the
+same island.  His father, though not a merchant, as has been represented,
+but a large landed proprietor, both in England and the West Indies, was
+lord mayor of London, and distinguished himself in presenting an address
+to the king, George the Third,—by a spirited retort to his majesty,—who
+had the ill-breeding to treat discourteously a deputation which the lord
+mayor headed.  The portraits of Alderman Beckford, and his more
+celebrated son, were painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds.  The former died in
+1770, leaving the subject of this memoir the wealthiest commoner in
+England.
+
+No pains were spared on the education of the young Croesus—the lords
+Chatham and Camden being consulted by his father on that subject.
+Besides Latin and Greek, he spoke five modern languages, and wrote three
+with facility and elegance.  He read Persian and Arabic, designed with
+great skill, and studied the science of music under the great Mozart.
+
+At the age of eighteen he visited Paris, and was introduced to Voltaire.
+“On taking leave of me,” said Beckford, “he placed his hand on my head,
+saying, ‘There, young Englishman, I give you the blessing of a very old
+man.’  Voltaire was a mere skeleton—a bony anatomy.  His countenance I
+shall never forget.”
+
+His first literary production, “Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters,” was
+written at the early age of seventeen.  It would appear, that the old
+housekeeper at Fonthill, was in the habit of edifying visitors to its
+picture gallery by a description of the paintings, mainly derived from
+her own fertile imagination.  This suggested to our author, the humorous
+idea of composing a catalogue of suppositious painters with histories of
+each, equally fanciful and grotesque.  Henceforward, the old housekeeper
+had a printed guide (or rather, mis-guider) to go by, and could discourse
+at large on the merits of Og of Bashan! Waterslouchy of Amsterdam! and
+Herr Sucrewasser of Vienna! their wives and styles!  As for the country
+squires, etc., “they,” Beckford tells us, “took all for gospel.”
+
+“Vathek,”—the superb “Vathek,” which Lord Byron so much admired, and on
+which he so frequently complimented the author,—“Vathek,” the finest of
+Oriental romances, as “Lallah Rookh” is the first of Oriental poems, by
+the pen of a “Frank,” was written and published before our author had
+completed his twentieth year, it having been composed at a _single
+sitting_!  Yes, for three days and two nights did the indefatigable
+author persevere in his task.  He completed it, and a serious illness was
+the result.  What other literary man ever equalled this feat of rapidity
+and genius?
+
+“Vathek” was originally written in French, of which its style is a model.
+The translation which follows, is not by the author himself, though he
+expressed perfect satisfaction with it.  It was originally published in
+1786.  For splendour of description, exquisite humour, and supernatural
+interest and grandeur, it stands without a rival in romance.  In as
+thoroughly Oriental keeping, Hope’s “Anastasius, or Memoirs of a Modern
+Greek,” which Beckford himself highly admired, can alone be compared with
+it.
+
+Much of the description of Vathek’s palace, and even the renowned “Hall
+of Eblis,” was afterwards visibly embodied in the real Fonthill Abbey, of
+which wonders, almost as fabulous, were at one time reported and
+believed.
+
+Fonthill Abbey, which had been destroyed by fire, and re-built during the
+life-time of the elder Beckford, was on account of its bad site
+demolished, and again re-built under the superintendence of our author
+himself, assisted by James Wyatt, Esq., the architect, with a
+magnificence that excited the greatest attention and wonder at the time.
+The total outlay of building Fonthill, including furniture, articles of
+virtu, etc., must have been enormous, not much within the million, as
+estimated by the “Times.”  A writer in the “Athenæum” mentions £400,000
+as the sum.  Beckford informed Mr. Cyrus Redding, that the exact cost of
+building Fonthill was £273,000.
+
+The distinguishing architectural peculiarity of Fonthill Abbey, was a
+lofty tower, 280 feet in height.  This tower was prominently shadowed
+forth in “Vathek,” and shows how strong a hold the idea had upon his
+mind.  Such was his impatience to see Fonthill completed, that he had the
+works continued by torchlight, with relays of workmen.  During the
+progress of the building, the tower caught fire, and was partly
+destroyed.  The owner, however, was present, and enjoyed the magnificent
+burning spectacle.  It was soon restored; but a radical fault in laying
+the foundation, caused it eventually to fall down, and leave Fonthill a
+ruin in the life-time of its founder.
+
+Not so much his extravagant mode of life, which is the common notion, as
+the loss of two large estates in a law suit (the value of which may be
+inferred from the fact, that _fifteen hundred slaves_ were upon them)
+induced our author to quit Fonthill, and offer it and its contents for
+public sale.  There was a general desire to see the interior of the
+palace, in which its lord had lived in a luxurious seclusion, so little
+admired by the curious of the fashionable world.  “He is fortunate,” says
+the “Times” of 1822, “who finds a vacant chair within twenty miles of
+Fonthill; the solitude of a private apartment is a luxury which few can
+hope for.” . . .  “Falstaff himself could not _take his ease_ at this
+moment within a dozen leagues of Fonthill.” . . . “The beds through the
+county are (literally) doing double duty—people who come in from a
+distance during the night must wait to go to bed until others get up in
+the morning.” . . . “Not a farm-house, however humble,—not a cottage near
+Fonthill, but gives shelter to fashion, to beauty, and rank; ostrich
+plumes, which, by their very waving, we can trace back to Piccadilly, are
+seen nodding at a casement window over a depopulated poultry-yard.”
+
+The costly treasures of art and virtu, as well as the furniture of the
+rich mansion, were scattered far and wide; and one of its tables served
+the writer of this memoir to scribble upon, when first stern necessity,
+or yet sterner ambition, urged him to add his mite to the Babel tower of
+literature.  At that table I first read “Vathek.”  I have read it often
+since, and every perusal has increased my admiration.
+
+Nearly fifty years after the publication of “Vathek,” in 1835, Mr.
+Beckford published his “Recollections of an Excursion to the Monasteries
+of Alcobaca and Batalha,” which he had taken in 1795, together with an
+epistolatory record of his observations in Italy, Spain and Portugal,
+between the years 1780 and 1794.  These are marked, as he himself
+intimates, “with the bloom and heyday of youthful spirits and youthful
+confidence, at a period when the older order of things existed with all
+its picturesque pomps and absurdities; when Venice enjoyed her Piombi and
+sub-marine dungeons; Prance her Bastille; the Peninsula her Holy
+Inquisition.”  With none of those subjects, however, are the letters
+occupied—but with delineations of landscape, and the effects of natural
+phenomena.  These literary efforts appear to have exhausted their
+author’s productive powers; in a word, he seems soon to have been
+“used-up,” and then to have discontinued his search after new sensations,
+or to have been content to live without them.
+
+After the sale of Fonthill, our author lived a considerable time in
+Portugal, and hence Lord Byron, who was fond of casting the shadow of his
+own imagination over every object, penned the well-known lines at Cintra:
+
+    “There thou, too, Vathek, England’s wealthiest son,
+       Once formed thy paradise; as not aware
+       Where wanton wealth her mightiest deeds hath done,
+    Meek peace, voluptuous lures, was ever wont to shun.
+
+       Here didst thou dwell; here scenes of pleasure plan,
+       Beneath yon mountain’s ever beauteous brow;
+       But now, as if a thing unblest by man,
+       Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou!
+       Here giant weeds a passage scarce allow
+       To halls deserted; portals gaping wide
+       Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom; how
+       Vain are the pleasaunces on earth supplied,
+    Swept into wrecks anon by time’s ungentle tide.”
+
+These sombre verses contrast strangely with Beckford’s saying to Mr.
+Cyrus Redding, in his seventy-sixth year, “that he had never felt a
+moments’ ennui in his life.”
+
+Beckford was in person scarcely above the middle height, slender, and
+well formed, with features indicating great intellectual power.  He was
+exactly one year younger than Pitt, the companion of his minority.  His
+political principles were popular, though it is recorded, that at a court
+ball on the Queen’s birth-day, in 1782, he, with Miss North, led up a
+country dance.  He sat in parliament, in his early years, both for Wells
+and Hendon, but retired on account of bad health.  This, however, he
+overcame by careful diet and exercise, as testified by his great bodily
+activity almost to the last.  He was a man of most extensive reading, and
+cultivated taste.
+
+The last years of his life were passed at Bath—where he united two houses
+in Lansdown Crescent, by an arch thrown across the street, and containing
+his library, which was well selected, and very extensive.  Not far off,
+he again erected a tower, 180 feet high, of which the following
+description was given at the time of his decease, by a correspondent of
+the Athenæum:—
+
+“Mr. Beckford, at an early period of his residence there, erected a lofty
+tower, in the apartments of which were placed many of his choicest
+paintings and articles of virtu.  Asiatic in its style, with gilded
+lattices and blinds, or curtains, of crimson cloth, its striped ceilings,
+its minaret, and other accessories, conveyed the idea that the being who
+designed the place and endeavoured to carry out the plan, was deeply
+imbued with the spirit of that lonely grandeur and strict solitariness
+which obtains through all countries and among all people of the East.
+The building was surrounded by a high wall, and entrance afforded to the
+garden in which the tower stood, by a door of small dimensions.  The
+garden itself was Eastern in its character.  Though comparatively
+circumscribed in its size, nevertheless were to be found within it,
+solitary walks and deep retiring shades, such as could be supposed
+Vathek, the mournful and the magnificent, loved, and from the bowers of
+which might be expected would suddenly fall upon the ear, sounds of the
+cymbal and the dulcimer.  The building contained several apartments
+crowded with the finest paintings.  At the time I made my inspection the
+walls were crowded with the choicest productions of the easel.  The
+memory falls back upon ineffaceable impressions of Old Franks, Breughel,
+Cuyp, Titian, (a Holy Family), Hondekooter, Polemberg, and a host of
+other painters whose works have immortalized Art.  Ornaments of the most
+exquisite gold fillagree, carvings in ivory and wood, Raphaelesque china,
+goblets formed of gems, others fashioned by the miraculous hands of
+Benvenuto Cellini, filled the many cabinets and _recherché_ receptacles
+created for such things.  The doors of the rooms were of finely polished
+wood—the windows of single sweeps of plate glass—the cornices of gilded
+silver; every part, both within and without, bespeaking the wealth, the
+magnificence, and the taste of him who had built this temple in
+dedication to grandeur, solitariness, and the arts.”
+
+From the summit of this tower, Mr. Beckford, and he alone without a
+telescope,—could behold that other tower of his youthful magnificence,
+Fonthill; on which he loved to gaze, with feelings which it would be
+difficult to describe.  His eyesight was wonderful; he could gaze upon
+the sun like an eagle; and on the day that the great tower at Fonthill
+fell he missed it in the landscape long before the news of the
+catastrophe reached Bath.
+
+In conclusion, we have only to add, that our author, in his life-time,
+had all that wealth can give, and in his grave his memory will retain
+that which no wealth can purchase.  Whatever may have been his errors,
+they have died with him.  His genius yet lives, and “Vathek,” now for the
+first time presented to the public in a popular form, will, whilst
+English literature lasts, never want readers, and, while good taste
+flourishes, admirers.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+THE original of the following story, with some others of a similar kind,
+collected in the east by a man of letters, was communicated to the editor
+above three years ago.  The pleasure he received from the perusal of it
+induced him at that time to transcribe, and since to translate it.  How
+far the copy may be a just representation it becomes not him to
+determine.  He presumes however to hope that if the difficulty of
+accommodating our English idioms to the Arabic, preserving the
+correspondent tones of a diversified narration, and discriminating the
+nicer touches of character through the shades of foreign manners be duly
+considered, a failure in some points will not preclude him from all claim
+to indulgence; especially if those images, sentiments, and passions,
+which being independent of local peculiarities, may be expressed in every
+language, shall be found to retain their native energy in our own.
+
+
+
+
+VATHEK.
+
+
+VATHEK, ninth Caliph {7a} of the race of the Abassides, was the son of
+Motassem, and the grandson of Haroun Al Raschid.  From an early accession
+to the throne, and the talents he possessed to adorn it, his subjects
+were induced to expect that his reign would be long and happy.  His
+figure was pleasing and majestic; but when he was angry, one of his eyes
+became so terrible {7b} that no person could bear to behold it; and the
+wretch upon whom it was fixed instantly fell backward, and sometimes
+expired.  For fear, however, of depopulating his dominions, and making
+his palace desolate, he but rarely gave way to his anger.
+
+Being much addicted to women, and the pleasures of the table, he sought
+by his affability to procure agreeable companions; and he succeeded the
+better, as his generosity was unbounded and his indulgences unrestrained;
+for he was by no means scrupulous: nor did he think, with the Caliph Omar
+Ben Abdalaziz, {8a} that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to
+enjoy Paradise in the next.
+
+He surpassed in magnificence all his predecessors.  The palace of
+Alkoremmi, which his father Motassem had erected on the hill of Pied
+Horses, and which commanded the whole city of Samarah, {8b} was in his
+idea far too scanty: he added, therefore, five wings, or rather other
+palaces, which he destined for the particular gratification of each of
+his senses.
+
+In the first of these were tables continually covered with the most
+exquisite dainties, which were supplied both by night and by day
+according to their constant consumption; whilst the most delicious wines,
+and the choicest cordials, flowed forth from a hundred fountains, that
+were never exhausted.  This palace was called “The Eternal, or
+Unsatiating Banquet.”
+
+The second was styled “The Temple of Melody, or the Nectar of the Soul.”
+It was inhabited by the most skilful musicians and admired poets of the
+time, who not only displayed their talents within, but dispersing in
+bands without, caused every surrounding scene to reverberate their songs,
+which were continually varied in the most delightful succession.
+
+The palace named “The Delight of the Eyes, or the Support of Memory,” was
+one entire enchantment.  Rarities collected from every corner of the
+earth were there found in such profusion as to dazzle and confound, but
+for the order in which they were arranged.  One gallery exhibited the
+pictures of the celebrated Mani; and statues that seemed to be alive.
+Here a well-managed perspective attracted the sight; there, the magic of
+optics agreeably deceived it; whilst the naturalist, on his part,
+exhibited in their several classes the various gifts that heaven had
+bestowed on our globe.  In a word, Vathek omitted nothing in this
+particular that might gratify the curiosity of those who resorted to it,
+although he was not able to satisfy his own; for he was, of all men, the
+most curious.
+
+“The Palace of Perfumes,” which was termed likewise, “The Incentive to
+Pleasure,” consisted of various halls, where the different perfumes which
+the earth produces were kept perpetually burning in censers of gold.
+Flambeaus and aromatic lamps were here lighted in open day; but the too
+powerful effects of this agreeable delirium might be avoided by
+descending into an immense garden, where an assemblage of every fragrant
+flower diffused through the air the purest odours.
+
+The fifth palace, denominated “The Retreat of Joy, or the Dangerous,” was
+frequented by troops of young females, beautiful as the Houris, {9} and
+not less seducing, who never failed to receive with caresses all whom the
+Caliph allowed to approach them; for he was by no means disposed to be
+jealous, as his own women were secluded within the palace he inhabited
+himself.
+
+Notwithstanding the sensuality in which Vathek indulged, he experienced
+no abatement in the love of his people, who thought that a sovereign
+immersed in pleasure was not less tolerable to his subjects than one that
+employed himself in creating them foes.  But the unquiet and impetuous
+disposition of the Caliph would not allow him to rest there: he had
+studied so much for his amusement in the life-time of his father as to
+acquire a great deal of knowledge, though not a sufficiency to satisfy
+himself; for he wished to know everything; even sciences that did not
+exist.  He was fond of engaging in disputes with the learned, but liked
+them not to push their opposition with warmth.  He stopped the mouths of
+those with presents, whose mouths could be stopped; whilst others, whom
+his liberality was unable to subdue, he sent to prison to cool their
+blood; a remedy that often succeeded.
+
+Vathek discovered also a predilection for theological controversy; but it
+was not with the orthodox that he usually held.  By this means he induced
+the zealots to oppose him, and then persecuted them in return; for he
+resolved, at any rate, to have reason on his side.
+
+The great prophet Mahomet, whose vicars the Caliphs are, beheld with
+indignation from his abode in the seventh heaven the irreligious conduct
+of such a vicegerent.
+
+“Let us leave him to himself,” said he to the Genii, {10} who are always
+ready to receive his commands; “let us see to what lengths his folly and
+impiety will carry him; if he run into excess we shall know how to
+chastise him.  Assist him, therefore, to complete the tower which, in
+imitation of Nimrod, he hath begun; not, like that great warrior, to
+escape being drowned, but from the insolent curiosity of penetrating the
+secrets of heaven: he will not divine the fate that awaits him.”
+
+The Genii obeyed; and when the workmen had raised their structure a cubit
+in the day time, two cubits more were added in the night.  The expedition
+with which the fabric arose was not a little flattering to the vanity of
+Vathek.  He fancied that even insensible matter showed forwardness to
+subserve his designs; not considering that the successes of the foolish
+and wicked form the first rod of their chastisement.
+
+His pride arrived at its height when, having ascended, for the first
+time, the eleven thousand stairs of his tower, he cast his eyes below and
+beheld men not larger than pismires; mountains than shells; and cities
+than bee-hives.  The idea which such an elevation inspired of his own
+grandeur completely bewildered him; he was almost ready to adore himself;
+till lifting his eyes upwards, he saw the stars as high above him as they
+appeared when he stood on the surface of the earth.  He consoled himself,
+however, for this transient perception of his littleness with the thought
+of being great in the eyes of the others, and flattered himself that the
+light of his mind would extend beyond the reach of his sight, and
+transfer to the stars the decrees of his destiny.
+
+With this view the inquisitive prince passed most of his nights on the
+summit of his tower, till he became an adept in the mysteries of
+astrology, and imagined that the planets had disclosed to him the most
+marvellous adventures, which were to be accomplished by an extraordinary
+personage, from a country altogether unknown.  Prompted by motives of
+curiosity, he had always been courteous to strangers; but from this
+instant he redoubled his attention, and ordered it to be announced by
+sound of trumpet, through all the streets of Samarah, that no one of his
+subjects, on peril of his displeasure, should either lodge or detain a
+traveller, but forthwith bring him to the palace.
+
+Not long after this proclamation, there arrived in his metropolis, a man
+so hideous that the very guards who arrested him were forced to shut
+their eyes as they led him along.  The Caliph himself appeared startled
+at so horrible a visage; but joy succeeded to this emotion of terror when
+the stranger displayed to his view such rarities as he had never before
+seen, and of which he had no conception.
+
+In reality, nothing was ever so extraordinary as the merchandise this
+stranger produced.  Most of his curiosities, which were not less
+admirable for their workmanship than their splendour, had besides, their
+several virtues described on a parchment fastened to each.  There were
+slippers which enabled the feet to walk; knives that cut without the
+motion of a hand; sabres which dealt the blow at the person they were
+wished to strike; and the whole enriched with gems that were hitherto
+unknown.
+
+The sabres, whose blades emitted a dazzling radiance, fixed more than all
+the Caliph’s attention, who promised himself to decipher at his leisure
+the uncouth characters engraven on their sides.  Without, therefore,
+demanding their price, he ordered all the coined gold to be brought from
+his treasury, and commanded the merchant to take what he pleased.  The
+stranger complied with modesty and silence.
+
+Vathek, imagining that the merchant’s taciturnity was occasioned by the
+awe which his presence inspired, encouraged him to advance, and asked
+him, with an air of condescension, “Who he was? whence he came? and where
+he obtained such beautiful commodities?”
+
+The man, or rather monster, instead of making a reply, thrice rubbed his
+forehead, which, as well as his body, was blacker than ebony; four times
+clapped his paunch, the projection of which was enormous; opened wide his
+huge eyes, which glowed like firebrands; began to laugh with a hideous
+noise, and discovered his long amber coloured teeth bestreaked with
+green.
+
+The Caliph, though a little startled, renewed his enquiries, but without
+being able to procure a reply.  At which, beginning to be ruffled, he
+exclaimed, “knowest thou, varlet, who I am? and at whom thou art aiming
+thy gibes?”  Then addressing his guards, “have ye heard him speak? is he
+dumb?”
+
+“He hath spoken,” they replied, “though but little.”
+
+“Let him speak then again,” said Vathek, “and tell me who he is, from
+whence he came, and where he procured these singular curiosities, or I
+swear, by the ass of Balaam, that I will make him rue his pertinacity.”
+
+This menace was accompanied by the Caliph with one of his angry and
+perilous glances, which the stranger sustained without the slightest
+emotion, although his eyes were fixed on the terrible eye of the prince.
+
+No words can describe the amazement of the courtiers, when they beheld
+this rude merchant withstand the encounter unshocked.  They all fell
+prostrate with their faces on the ground, to avoid the risk of their
+lives, and continued in the same abject posture till the Caliph exclaimed
+in a furious tone:
+
+“Up, cowards! seize the miscreant! see that he be committed to prison,
+and guarded by the best of my soldiers!  Let him, however, retain the
+money I gave him; it is not my intent to take from him his property, I
+only want him to speak.”
+
+No sooner had he uttered these words than the stranger was surrounded,
+pinioned with strong fetters, and hurried away to the prison of the great
+tower, which was encompassed by seven empalements of iron bars, and armed
+with spikes in every direction, longer and sharper than spits.
+
+The Caliph, nevertheless, remained in the most violent agitation.  He sat
+down indeed to eat, but of the three hundred covers that were daily
+placed before him, could taste of no more than thirty-two.
+
+A diet to which he had been so little accustomed, was sufficient of
+itself to prevent him from sleeping, what then must be its effect when
+joined to the anxiety that prayed upon his spirits?  At the first glimpse
+of dawn he hastened to the prison, again to importune this intractable
+stranger; but the rage of Vathek exceeded all bounds on finding the
+prison empty, the gates burst asunder, and his guards lying lifeless
+around him.  In the paroxysm of his passion he fell furiously on the poor
+carcases, and kicked them till evening without intermission.  His
+courtiers and viziers exerted their efforts to soothe his extravagance,
+but finding every expedient ineffectual, they all united in one
+vociferation:
+
+“The Caliph is gone mad! the Caliph is out of his senses!”
+
+This outcry, which was soon resounded through the streets of Samarah, at
+length reached the ears of Carathis, his mother: she flew in the utmost
+consternation to try her ascendency on the mind of her son.  Her tears
+and caresses called off his attention; and he was prevailed upon by her
+entreaties to be brought back to the palace.
+
+Carathis, apprehensive of leaving Vathek to himself, caused him to be put
+to bed; and seating herself by him, endeavoured by her conversation to
+heal and compose him.  Nor could any one have attempted it with better
+success; for the Caliph not only loved her as a mother but respected her
+as a person of superior genius.  It was she who had induced him, being a
+Greek herself, to adopt all the sciences and systems of her country,
+which good Mussulmans hold in such thorough abhorrence.
+
+Judicial astrology was one of those systems in which Carathis was a
+perfect adept.  She began, therefore, with reminding her son of the
+promise which the stars had made him; and intimated an intention of
+consulting them again.
+
+“Alas!” sighed the Caliph, as soon at he could speak, “what a fool have I
+been! not for the kicks bestowed on my guards, who so tamely submitted to
+death, but for never considering that this extraordinary man was the same
+the planets had foretold; whom, instead of ill-treating, I should have
+conciliated by all the arts of persuasion.”
+
+“The past,” said Carathis, “cannot be recalled; but it behoves us to
+think of the future: perhaps you may again see the object you so much
+regret: it is possible the inscriptions on the sabres will afford
+information.  Eat, therefore, and take thy repose, my dear son.  We will
+consider, to-morrow, in what manner to act.”
+
+Vathek yielded to her counsel as well as he could, and arose in the
+morning with a mind more at ease.  The sabres he commanded to be
+instantly brought; and poring upon them through a green glass, that their
+glittering might not dazzle, he set himself in earnest to decipher the
+inscriptions; but his reiterated attempts were all of them nugatory: in
+vain did he beat his head and bite his nails; not a letter of the whole
+was he able to ascertain.  So unlucky a disappointment would have undone
+him again, had not Carathis, by good fortune, entered the apartment.
+
+“Have patience, son!” said she.  “You certainly are possessed of every
+important science, but the knowledge of languages is a trifle, at best;
+and the accomplishment of none but a pedant.  Issue forth a proclamation
+that you will confer such rewards as become your greatness upon any one
+that shall interpret what you do not understand, and what it is beneath
+you to learn.  You will soon find your curiosity gratified.”
+
+“That may be,” said the Caliph; “but in the mean time I shall be horribly
+disgusted by a crowd of smatterers, who will come to the trial as much
+for the pleasure of retailing their jargon as from the hope of gaining
+the reward.  To avoid this evil, it will be proper to add that I will put
+every candidate to death who shall fail to give satisfaction; for, thank
+heaven, I have skill enough to distinguish between one that translates
+and one that invents.”
+
+“Of that I have no doubt,” replied Carathis, “but to put the ignorant to
+death is somewhat severe, and may be productive of dangerous effects.
+Content yourself with commanding their beards to be burnt: beards, in a
+state, are not quite so essential as men.”
+
+The Caliph submitted to the reasons of his mother, and sending for
+Morakanabad, his prime vizier, said:
+
+“Let the common criers proclaim, not only in Samarah, but throughout
+every city in my empire, that whosoever will repair hither, and decipher
+certain characters which appear to be inexplicable, shall experience the
+liberality for which I am renowned; but that all who fail upon trial
+shall have their beards burnt off to the last hair.  Let them add also,
+that I will bestow fifty beautiful slaves, and as many jars of apricots
+from the isle of Kirmith, upon any man that shall bring me intelligence
+of the stranger.”
+
+The subjects of the Caliph, like their sovereign, being great admirers of
+women, and apricots from Kirmith, felt their mouths water at these
+promises, but were totally unable to gratify their hankering, for no one
+knew which way the stranger had gone.
+
+As to the Caliph’s other requisition the result was different: the
+learned, the half-learned, and those who were neither, but fancied
+themselves equal to both, came boldly to hazard their beards, and all
+shamefully lost them.
+
+The exaction of these forfeitures, which found sufficient employment for
+the Eunuchs, gave them such a smell of singed hair as greatly to disgust
+the ladies of the seraglio, and make it necessary that this new
+occupation of their guardians should be transferred into other hands.
+
+At length, however, an old man presented himself, whose beard was a
+cubit-and-a-half longer than any that had appeared before him.  The
+officers of the palace whispered to each other, as they ushered him in:
+
+“What a pity such a beard should be burnt!”
+
+Even the Caliph, when he saw it, concurred with them in opinion; but his
+concern was entirely needless.  This venerable personage read the
+characters with facility, and explained them verbatim, as follows:
+
+“We were made where everything good is made; we are the least of the
+wonders of a place where all is wonderful; and deserving the sight of the
+first potentate on earth.”
+
+“You translate admirably!” cried Vathek.  “I know to what these
+marvellous characters allude.  Let him receive as many robes of honour,
+and thousands of sequins of gold, as he hath spoken words.  I am in some
+measure relieved from the perplexity that embarrassed me!”
+
+Vathek invited the old man to dine, and even to remain some days in the
+palace.  Unluckily for him, he accepted the offer; for the Caliph having
+ordered him next morning to be called, said:
+
+“Read again to me what you have read already; I cannot hear too often the
+promise that is made me, the completion of which I languish to obtain.”
+
+The old man forthwith put on his green spectacles; but they instantly
+dropped from his nose, on perceiving that the characters he had read the
+day preceding, had given place to others of different import.
+
+“What ails you?” asked the Caliph; “and why these symptoms of wonder?”
+
+“Sovereign of the world,” replied the old man, “these sabres hold another
+language to-day, from that they yesterday held.”
+
+“How say you?” returned Vathek.  “But it matters not! tell me, if you
+can, what they mean.”
+
+“It is this, my lord,” rejoined the old man: “‘Woe to the rash mortal who
+seeks to know that of which he should remain ignorant and to undertake
+that which surpasseth his power!’”
+
+“And woe to thee!” cried the Caliph, in a burst of indignation: “to-day
+thou art void of understanding: begone from my presence, they shall burn
+but the half of thy beard, because thou wert yesterday fortunate in
+guessing.  My gifts I never resume.”
+
+The old man, wise enough to perceive he had luckily escaped, considering
+the folly of disclosing so disgusting a truth, immediately withdrew, and
+appeared not again.
+
+But it was not long before Vathek discovered abundant reason to regret
+his precipitation; for though he could not decipher the characters
+himself, yet, by constantly poring upon them, he plainly perceived that
+they every day changed; and unfortunately no other candidate offered to
+explain them.  This perplexing occupation inflamed his blood, dazzled his
+sight, and brought on a giddiness and debility that he could not support.
+He failed not, however, though in so reduced a condition, to be often
+carried to his tower, as he flattered himself that he might there read in
+the stars, which he went to consult, something more congruous to his
+wishes.  But in this his hopes were deluded; for his eyes, dimmed by the
+vapours of his head, began to subserve his curiosity so ill, that he
+beheld nothing but a thick dun cloud, which he took for the most direful
+of omens.
+
+Agitated with so much anxiety, Vathek entirely lost all firmness; a fever
+seized him and his appetite failed.  Instead of being one of the greatest
+eaters, he became as distinguished for drinking.  So insatiable was the
+thirst which tormented him, that his mouth, like a funnel, was always
+open to receive the various liquors that might be poured into it and
+especially cold water, which calmed him more than every other.
+
+This unhappy prince being thus incapacitated for the enjoyment of any
+pleasure, commanded the palaces of the five senses to be shut up;
+forebore to appear in public, either to display his magnificence or
+administer justice; and retired to the inmost apartment of his harem.  As
+he had ever been an indulgent husband, his wives, overwhelmed with grief
+at his deplorable situation, incessantly offered their prayers for his
+health, and unremittingly supplied him with water.
+
+In the mean time, the Princess Carathis, whose affliction no words can
+describe, instead of restraining herself to sobbing and tears, was
+closeted daily with the Vizier Morakanabad, to find out some cure or
+mitigation of the Caliph’s disease.  Under the persuasion that it was
+caused by enchantment, they turned over together leaf by leaf, all the
+books of magic that might point out a remedy; and caused the horrible
+stranger, whom they accused as the enchanter, to be everywhere sought for
+with the strictest diligence.
+
+At the distance of a few miles from Samarah stood a high mountain, whose
+sides were swarded with wild thyme and basil, and its summit overspread
+with so delightful a plain that it might be taken for the Paradise
+destined for the faithful.  Upon it grew a hundred thickets of eglantine
+and other fragrant shrubs; a hundred arbours of roses, jessamine, and
+honeysuckle; as many clumps of orange trees, cedar, and citron; whose
+branches, interwoven with the palm, the pomegranate, and the vine,
+presented every luxury that could regale the eye or the taste.  The
+ground was strewed with violets, harebells, and pansies; in the midst of
+which sprung forth tufts of jonquils, hyacinths, and carnations, with
+every other perfume that impregnates the air.  Four fountains, not less
+clear than deep, and so abundant as to slake the thirst of ten armies,
+seemed purposely placed here to make the scene more resemble the garden
+of Eden, which was watered by the four sacred rivers.  Here the
+nightingale sang the birth of the rose, her well-beloved, and at the same
+time lamented its short-lived beauty; whilst the turtle deplored the loss
+of more substantial pleasures and the wakeful lark hailed the rising
+light that reanimates the whole creation.  Here, more than anywhere, the
+mingled melodies of birds expressed the various passions they inspired;
+as if the exquisite fruits, which they pecked at pleasure, had given them
+a double energy.
+
+To this mountain Vathek was sometimes brought, for the sake of breathing
+a purer air; and especially, to drink at will of the four fountains,
+which were reputed in the highest degree salubrious, and sacred to
+himself.  His attendants were his mother, his wives, and some eunuchs,
+who assiduously employed themselves in filling capacious bowls of rock
+crystal, and emulously presenting them to him.  But it frequently
+happened that his avidity exceeded their zeal; insomuch that he would
+prostrate himself upon the ground to lap up the water, of which he could
+never have enough.
+
+One day when this unhappy prince had been long lying in so debasing a
+posture, a voice, hoarse but strong, thus addressed him:
+
+“Why assumest thou the function of a dog, oh Caliph, so proud of thy
+dignity and power?”
+
+At this apostrophe he raised up his head and beheld the stranger that had
+caused him so much affliction.  Inflamed with anger at the sight, he
+exclaimed:
+
+“Accursed Giaour! {23} what comest thou hither to do? is it not enough to
+have transformed a prince, remarkable for his agility, into one of those
+leather barrels which the Bedouin Arabs carry on their camels when they
+traverse the deserts?  Perceivest thou not that I may perish by drinking
+to excess, no less than by a total abstinence?”
+
+“Drink then this draught,” said the stranger, as he presented to him a
+phial of a red and yellow mixture; “and to satiate the thirst of thy soul
+as well as of thy body, know that I am an Indian, but from a region of
+India which is wholly unknown.”
+
+The Caliph, delighted to see his desires accomplished in part, and
+flattering himself with the hope of obtaining their entire fulfilment,
+without a moment’s hesitation swallowed the potion, and instantaneously
+found his health restored, his thirst appeased, and his limbs as agile as
+ever.
+
+In the transports of his joy, Vathek leaped upon the neck of the
+frightful Indian, and kissed his horrid mouth and hollow cheeks, as
+though they had been the coral lips, and the lilies and roses of his most
+beautiful wives; whilst they, less terrified than jealous at the sight,
+dropped their veils to hide the blush of mortification that suffused
+their foreheads.
+
+Nor would the scene have closed here, had not Carathis, with all the art
+of insinuation, a little repressed the raptures of her son.  Having
+prevailed upon him to return to Samarah, she caused a herald to precede
+him, whom she commanded to proclaim as loudly as possible:
+
+“The wonderful stranger hath appeared again; he hath healed the Caliph;
+he hath spoken! he hath spoken!”
+
+Forthwith all the inhabitants of this vast city quitted their
+habitations, and ran together in crowds to see the procession of Vathek
+and the Indian, whom they now blessed as much as they had before
+execrated, incessantly shouting,
+
+“He hath healed our sovereign; he hath spoken! he hath spoken!”
+
+Nor were these words forgotten in the public festivals, which were
+celebrated the same evening to testify the general joy, for the poets
+applied them as a chorus to all the songs they composed.
+
+The Caliph, in the mean while caused the palaces of the senses to be
+again set open, and as he found himself prompted to visit that of taste,
+in preference to the rest, immediately ordered a splendid entertainment,
+to which his great officers and favourite courtiers were all invited.
+The Indian, who was placed near the prince, seemed to think that as a
+proper acknowledgment of so distinguished a privilege, he could neither
+eat, drink, nor talk too much.  The various dainties were no sooner
+served up than they vanished, to the great mortification of Vathek, who
+piqued himself on being the greatest eater alive, and at this time in
+particular had an excellent appetite.
+
+The rest of the company looked round at each other in amazement, but the
+Indian without appearing to observe it, quaffed large bumpers to the
+health of each of them: sung in a style altogether extravagant; related
+stories at which he laughed immoderately; and poured forth extemporaneous
+verses which would not have been thought bad, but for the strange
+grimaces with which they were uttered.  In a word, his loquacity was
+equal to that of a hundred astrologers; he ate as much as a hundred
+porters, and caroused in proportion.
+
+The Caliph, notwithstanding the table had been thirty times covered,
+found himself incommoded by the voraciousness of his guest, who was now
+considerably declined in the prince’s esteem.  Vathek, however, being
+unwilling to betray the chagrin he could hardly disguise, said in a
+whisper to Bababalouk, {26a} the chief of his eunuchs:
+
+“You see how enormous his performances in every way are; what would be
+the consequence should he get at my wives?  Go! redouble your vigilance,
+and be sure look well to my Circassians, who would be more to his taste
+than all of the rest.”
+
+The bird of the morning had thrice renewed his song, when the hour of the
+divan {26b} sounded.  Vathek, in gratitude to his subjects, having
+promised to attend, immediately arose from table and repaired thither
+leaning upon his vizier, who could scarcely support him, so disordered
+was the poor prince by the wine he had drank, and still more by the
+extravagant vagaries of his boisterous guest.
+
+The viziers, the officers of the crown, and of the law, arranged
+themselves in a semi-circle about their sovereign, and preserved a
+respectful silence, whilst the Indian, who looked as cool as if come from
+a fast, sat down without ceremony on a step of the throne, laughing in
+his sleeve at the indignation with which his temerity had filled the
+spectators.
+
+The Caliph, however, whose ideas were confused and his head embarrassed,
+went on administering justice at hap-hazard, till at length the prime
+vizier {27} perceiving his situation, hit upon a sudden expedient to
+interrupt the audience, and rescue the honour of his master, to whom he
+said in a whisper:
+
+“My lord, the princess Carathis, who hath passed the night in consulting
+the planets, informs you that they portend you evil; and the danger is
+urgent.  Beware, lest this stranger whom you have so lavishly recompensed
+for his magical gewgaws, should make some attempt on your life: his
+liquor, which at first had the appearance of effecting your cure, may be
+no more than a poison of a sudden operation.  Slight not this surmise;
+ask him, at least, of what it was compounded; whence he procured it; and
+mention the sabres, which you seem to have forgotten.”
+
+Vathek, to whom the insolent airs of the stranger became every moment
+less supportable, intimated to his vizier by a wink of acquiescence, that
+he would adopt his advice, and at once turning towards the Indian, said:
+
+“Get up and declare in full divan of what drugs the liquor was compounded
+you enjoined me to take, for it is suspected to be poison; add also the
+explanation I have so earnestly desired concerning the sabres you sold
+me, and thus show your gratitude for the favours heaped on you.”
+
+Having pronounced these words in as moderate a tone as a Caliph well
+could, he waited in silent expectation for an answer; but the Indian,
+still keeping his seat, began to renew his loud shouts of laughter, and
+exhibit the same horrid grimaces he had shown them before, without
+vouchsafing a word in reply.  Vathek, no longer able to brook such
+insolence, immediately kicked him from the steps, instantly descending
+repeated his blow, and persisted with such assiduity, as incited all who
+were present to follow his example.  Every foot was aimed at the Indian,
+and no sooner had any one given him a kick than he felt himself
+constrained to reiterate the stroke.
+
+The stranger afforded them no small entertainment; for being both short
+and plump, he collected himself into a ball and rolled round on all sides
+at the blows of his assailants, who pressed after him wherever he turned,
+with an eagerness beyond conception, whilst their numbers were every
+moment increasing.  The ball, indeed, in passing from one apartment to
+another, drew every person after it that came in its way, insomuch that
+the whole palace was thrown into confusion, and resounded with a
+tremendous clamour.  The women of the harem, amazed at the uproar, flew
+to their blinds to discover the cause, but no sooner did they catch a
+glimpse of the ball than feeling themselves unable to refrain, they broke
+from the clutches of their eunuchs, who to stop their flight pinched them
+till they bled, but in vain; whilst themselves, though trembling with
+terror at the escape of their charge, were as incapable of resisting the
+attraction.
+
+The Indian, after having traversed the halls, galleries, chambers,
+kitchens, gardens, and stables of the palace, at last took his course
+through the courts, whilst the Caliph, pursuing him closer than the rest,
+bestowed as many kicks as he possibly could, yet not without receiving
+now and then one, which his competitors, in their eagerness, designed for
+the ball.
+
+Carathis, Morakanabad, and two or three old viziers whose wisdom had
+hitherto withstood the attraction, wishing to prevent Vathek from
+exposing himself in the presence of his subjects, fell down in his way to
+impede the pursuit, but he, regardless of their obstruction, leaped over
+their heads, and went on as before.  They then ordered the muezzins to
+call the people to prayers, both for the sake of getting them out of the
+way, and of endeavouring by their petitions to avert the calamity; but
+neither of these expedients was a whit more successful.  The sight of
+this fatal ball was alone sufficient to draw after it every beholder.
+The muezzins themselves, though they saw it but at a distance, hastened
+down from their minarets and mixed with the crowd, which continued to
+increase in so surprising a manner, that scarce an inhabitant was left in
+Samarah, except the aged, the sick confined to their beds, and infants at
+the breast, whose nurses could run more nimbly without them.  Even
+Carathis, Morakanabad, and the rest, were all become of the party.
+
+The shrill screams of the females who had broken from their apartments,
+and were unable to extricate themselves from the pressure of the crowd,
+together with those of the eunuchs jostling after them, terrified lest
+their charge should escape from their sight, increased by the execrations
+of husbands urging forward and menacing both, kicks given and received,
+stumblings and overthrows at every step, in a word, the confusion that
+universally prevailed, rendered Samarah like a city taken by storm, and
+devoted to absolute plunder.
+
+At last the cursed Indian, who still preserved his rotundity of figure,
+after passing through all the streets and public places, and leaving them
+empty, rolled onwards to the plain of Catoul, and traversed the valley at
+the foot of the mountain of the four fountains.
+
+As a continual fall of water had excavated an immense gulph in the
+valley, whose opposite side was closed in by a steep acclivity, the
+Caliph and his attendants were apprehensive lest the ball should bound
+into the chasm, and to prevent it, redoubled their efforts, but in vain.
+The Indian persevered in his onward direction, and as had been
+apprehended, glancing from the precipice with the rapidity of lightning,
+was lost in the gulph below.
+
+Vathek would have followed the perfidious Giaour, had not an invisible
+agency arrested his progress.  The multitude that pressed after him were
+at once checked in the same manner, and a calm instantaneously ensued.
+They all gazed at each other with an air of astonishment; and
+notwithstanding that the loss of veils and turbans, together with torn
+habits, and dust blended with sweat, presented a most laughable
+spectacle, there was not one smile to be seen; on the contrary, all with
+looks of confusion and sadness returned in silence to Samarah, and
+retired to their inmost apartments, without ever reflecting that they had
+been impelled by an invisible power into the extravagance for which they
+reproached themselves: for it is but just, that men who so often arrogate
+to their own merit the good of which they are but instruments, should
+attribute to themselves the absurdities which they could not prevent.
+
+The Caliph was the only person that refused to leave the valley.  He
+commanded his tents to be pitched there, and stationed himself on the
+very edge of the precipice, in spite of the representations of Carathis
+and Morakanabad, who pointed out the hazard of its brink giving way, and
+the vicinity to the magician that had so severely tormented him.  Vathek
+derided all their remonstrances; and having ordered a thousand flambeaus
+to be lighted, and directed his attendants to proceed in lighting more,
+lay down on the slippery margin, and attempted, by the help of this
+artificial splendour, to look through that gloom which all the fires of
+the empyrean had been insufficient to pervade.  One while he fancied to
+himself voices arising from the depth of the gulph, at another he seemed
+to distinguish the accents of the Indian, but all was no more than the
+hollow murmur of waters, and the din of the cataracts that rushed from
+steep to steep, down the sides of the mountain.
+
+Having passed the night in this cruel perturbation, the Caliph at
+day-break retired to his tent, where, without taking the least
+sustenance, he continued to doze till the dusk of evening began to come
+on; he then resumed his vigils as before, and persevered in observing
+them for many nights together.  At length, fatigued with so successless
+an employment, he sought relief from change.  To this end he sometimes
+paced with hasty strides across the plain; and as he wildly gazed at the
+stars, reproached them with having deceived him; but lo! on a sudden the
+clear blue sky appeared streaked over with streams of blood, which
+reached from the valley even to the city of Samarah.  As this awful
+phenomenon seemed to touch his tower, Vathek at first thought of
+repairing thither to view it more distinctly, but feeling himself unable
+to advance, and being overcome with apprehension, he muffled up his face
+in his robe.
+
+Terrifying as these prodigies were, this impression upon him was no more
+than momentary, and served only to stimulate his love of the marvellous.
+Instead, therefore, of returning to his palace, he persisted in the
+resolution of abiding where the Indian vanished from his view.  One
+night, however, while he was walking as usual on the plain, the moon and
+the stars at once were eclipsed, and a total darkness ensued.  The earth
+trembled beneath him, and a voice came forth, the voice of the Giaour,
+who in accents more sonorous than thunder, thus addressed him:
+
+“Would’st thou devote thyself to me? adore then the terrestrial
+influences, and abjure Mahomet.  On these conditions I will bring thee to
+the palace of subterranean fire: there shalt thou behold, in immense
+depositories, the treasures which the stars have promised thee, and which
+will be conferred by those intelligences whom thou shalt thus render
+propitious.  It was from thence I brought my sabres; and it is there that
+Soliman Ben Daoud reposes, surrounded by the talismans that control the
+world.”
+
+The astonished Caliph trembled as he answered, yet in a style that showed
+him to be no novice in preternatural adventures:
+
+“Where art thou?  Be present to my eyes; dissipate the gloom that
+perplexes me, and of which I deem thee the cause.  After the many
+flambeaus I have burnt to discover thee, thou mayest at least grant a
+glimpse of thy horrible visage.”
+
+“Abjure then Mahomet,” replied the Indian, “and promise me full proofs of
+thy sincerity; otherwise thou shalt never behold me again.”
+
+The unhappy Caliph, instigated by insatiable curiosity, lavished his
+promises in the utmost profusion.  The sky immediately brightened; and by
+the light of the planets, which seemed almost to blaze, Vathek beheld the
+earth open, and at the extremity of a vast black chasm a portal of ebony,
+before which stood the Indian, still blacker, holding in his hand a
+golden key, that caused the lock to resound.
+
+“How,” cried Vathek, “can I descend to thee, without the certainty of
+breaking my neck?  Come take me, and instantly open the portal.”
+
+“Not so fast,” replied the Indian, “impatient Caliph!  Know that I am
+parched with thirst, and cannot open this door till my thirst be
+thoroughly appeased.  I require the blood of fifty of the most beautiful
+sons of thy viziers and great men, or neither can my thirst nor thy
+curiosity be satisfied.  Return to Samarah; procure for me this necessary
+libation; come back hither; throw it thyself into this chasm; and then
+shalt thou see!”
+
+Having thus spoken, the Indian turned his back on the Caliph, who,
+incited by the suggestion of demons, resolved on the direful sacrifice.
+He now pretended to have regained his tranquillity, and set out for
+Samarah amidst the acclamations of a people who still loved him, and
+forbore not to rejoice when they believed him to have recovered his
+reason.  So successfully did he conceal the emotion of his heart, that
+even Carathis and Morakanabad were equally deceived with the rest.
+Nothing was heard of but festivals and rejoicings.  The ball, which no
+tongue had hitherto ventured to mention, was again brought on the tapis.
+A general laugh went round; though many, still smarting under the hands
+of the surgeon, from the hurts received in that memorable adventure, had
+no great reason for mirth.
+
+The prevalence of this gay humour was not a little grateful to Vathek, as
+perceiving how much it conduced to his project.  He put on the appearance
+of affability to every one; but especially to his viziers, and the
+grandees of his court, whom he failed not to regale with a sumptuous
+banquet, during which he insensibly inclined the conversation to the
+children of his guests.  Having asked, with a good-natured air, who of
+them were blessed with the handsomest boys, every father at once asserted
+the pretensions of his own; and the contest imperceptibly grew so warm,
+that nothing could have with-holden them from coming to blows but their
+profound reverence for the person of the Caliph.  Under the pretence,
+therefore, of reconciling the disputants, Vathek took upon him to decide;
+and with this view commanded the boys to be brought.
+
+It was not long before a troop of these poor children made their
+appearance, all equipped by their fond mothers with such ornaments as
+might give the greatest relief to their beauty, or most advantageously
+display the graces of their age.  But whilst this brilliant assemblage
+attracted the eyes and hearts of every one besides, the Caliph
+scrutinized each in his turn with a malignant avidity that passed for
+attention, and selected from their number the fifty whom he judged the
+Giaour would prefer.
+
+With an equal show of kindness as before, he proposed to celebrate a
+festival on the plain, for the entertainment of his young favourites, who
+he said ought to rejoice still more than all at the restoration of his
+health, on account of the favours he intended for them.
+
+The Caliph’s proposal was received with the greatest delight, and soon
+published through Samarah.  Litters, camels, and horses were prepared.
+Women and children, old men and young—every one placed himself in the
+station he chose.  The cavalcade set forward, attended by all the
+confectioners in the city and its precincts.  The populace, following on
+foot, composed an amazing crowd, and occasioned no little noise.  All was
+joy; nor did any one call to mind what most of them had suffered when
+they first travelled the road they were now passing so gaily.
+
+The evening was serene, the air refreshing, the sky clear, and the
+flowers exhaled their fragrance.  The beams of the declining sun, whose
+mild splendour reposed on the summit of the mountain, shed a glow of
+ruddy light over its green declivity, and the white flocks sporting upon
+it.  No sounds were audible, save the murmurs of the four fountains, and
+the reeds and voices of shepherds, calling to each other from different
+eminences.
+
+The lovely innocents, proceeding to the destined sacrifice, added not a
+little to the hilarity of the scene.  They approached the plain full of
+sportiveness; some coursing butterflies, others culling flowers, or
+picking up the shining little pebbles that attracted their notice.  At
+intervals, they nimbly started from each other, for the sake of being
+caught again, and mutually imparting a thousand caresses.
+
+The dreadful chasm, at whose bottom the portal of ebony was placed, began
+to appear at a distance.  It looked like a black streak that divided the
+plain.  Morakanabad and his companions took it for some work which the
+Caliph had ordered.  Unhappy men! little did they surmise for what it was
+destined.
+
+Vathek, not liking that they should examine it too nearly, stopped the
+procession, and ordered a spacious circle to be formed on this side, at
+some distance from the accursed chasm.  The body-guard of eunuchs was
+detached, to measure out the lists intended for the games, and prepare
+ringles for the lines to keep off the crowd.  The fifty competitors were
+soon stripped, and presented to the admiration of the spectators the
+suppleness and grace of their delicate limbs.  Their eyes sparkled with a
+joy which those of their fond parents reflected.  Every one offered
+wishes for the little candidate nearest his heart, and doubted not of his
+being victorious.  A breathless suspense awaited the contest of these
+amiable and innocent victims.
+
+The Caliph, availing himself of the first moment to retire from the
+crowd, advanced towards the chasm, and there heard, yet not without
+shuddering, the voice of the Indian; who, gnashing his teeth, eagerly
+demanded:
+
+“Where are they?  Where are they? perceivest thou not how my mouth
+waters?”
+
+“Relentless Giaour!” answered Vathek, with emotion, “can nothing content
+thee but the massacre of these lovely victims?  Ah! wert thou to behold
+their beauty, it must certainly move thy compassion.”
+
+“Perdition on thy compassion, babbler!” cried the Indian.  “Give them me!
+instantly give them, or my portal shall be closed against thee for ever!”
+
+“Not so loudly,” replied the Caliph, blushing.
+
+“I understand thee,” returned the Giaour, with the grin of an ogre: “thou
+wantest to summon up more presence of mind.  I will for a moment
+forbear.”
+
+During this exquisite dialogue the games went forward with all alacrity,
+and at length concluded, just as the twilight began to overcast the
+mountains.  Vathek, who was still standing on the edge of the chasm,
+called out with all his might:
+
+“Let my fifty little favourites approach me, separately; and let them
+come in the order of their success.  To the first I will give my diamond
+bracelet; to the second my collar of emeralds; to the third my aigret of
+rubies; to the fourth my girdle of topazes; and to the rest, each a part
+of my dress, even down to my slippers.”
+
+This declaration was received with reiterated acclamations; and all
+extolled the liberality of a prince who would thus strip himself for the
+amusement of his subjects and the encouragement of the rising generation.
+
+The Caliph in the mean while undressed himself by degrees; and raising
+his arm as high as he was able, made each of the prizes glitter in the
+air; but, whilst he delivered it with one hand to the child, who sprang
+forward to receive it, he with the other pushed the poor innocent into
+the gulph, where the Giaour, with a sullen muttering, incessantly
+repeated “More! more!”
+
+This dreadful device was executed with so much dexterity, that the boy
+who was approaching him remained unconscious of the fate of his
+forerunner; and as to the spectators, the shades of evening, together
+with their distance, precluded them from perceiving any object
+distinctly.  Vathek, having in this manner thrown in the last of the
+fifty, and expecting that the Giaour on receiving him would have
+presented the key, already fancied himself as great as Soliman, and
+consequently above being amenable for what he had done; when, to his
+utter amazement, the chasm closed, and the ground became as entire as the
+rest of the plain.
+
+No language could express his rage and despair.  He execrated the perfidy
+of the Indian; loaded him with the most infamous invectives; and stamped
+with his foot as resolving to be heard.  He persisted in this demeanour
+till his strength failed him, and then fell on the earth like one void of
+sense.  His viziers and grandees, who were nearer than the rest, supposed
+him at first to be sitting on the grass at play with their amiable
+children; but at length, prompted by doubt, they advanced towards the
+spot, and found the Caliph alone, who wildly demanded what they wanted.
+
+“Our children! our children!” cried they.
+
+“It is assuredly pleasant,” said he, “to make me accountable for
+accidents.  Your children, while at play, fell from the precipice that
+was here; and I should have experienced their fate had I not been saved
+by a sudden start back.”
+
+At these words, the fathers of the fifty boys cried out aloud: the
+mothers repeated their exclamations an octave higher; whilst the rest,
+without knowing the cause, soon drowned the voices of both, with still
+louder lamentations of their own.
+
+“Our Caliph,” said they, and the report soon circulated, “Our Caliph has
+played us this trick, to gratify his accursed Giaour.  Let us punish him
+for his perfidy! let us avenge ourselves! let us avenge the blood of the
+innocent! let us throw this cruel Prince into the gulph that is near, and
+let his name be mentioned no more!”
+
+At this rumour, and these menaces, Carathis, full of consternation,
+hastened to Morakanabad, and said:
+
+“Vizier, you have lost two beautiful boys, and must necessarily be the
+most afflicted of fathers; but you are virtuous; save your master!”
+
+“I will brave every hazard,” replied the Vizier, “to rescue him from his
+present danger; but afterwards will abandon him to his fate.
+Bababalouk,” continued he, “put yourself at the head of your Eunuchs,
+disperse the mob, and if possible bring back this unhappy Prince to his
+palace.”
+
+Bababalouk and his fraternity, felicitating each other in a low voice on
+their disability of ever being fathers, obeyed the mandate of the Vizier;
+who, seconding their exertions to the utmost of his power, at length
+accomplished his generous enterprise, and retired, as he resolved, to
+lament at his leisure.
+
+No sooner had the Caliph re-entered his palace, than Carathis commanded
+the doors to be fastened; but perceiving the tumult to be still violent,
+and hearing the imprecations which resounded from all quarters, she said
+to her son:
+
+“Whether the populace be right or wrong, it behoves you to provide for
+your safety: let us retire to your own apartment, and from thence,
+through the subterranean passage known only to ourselves, into your
+tower; there, with the assistance of the mutes who never leave it, we may
+be able to make some resistance.  Bababalouk, supposing us to be still in
+the palace, will guard its avenues for his own sake; and we shall soon
+find, without the counsels of that blubberer Morakanabad, what expedient
+may be the best to adopt.”
+
+Vathek, without making the least reply, acquiesced in his mother’s
+proposal, and repeated as he went:
+
+“Nefarious Giaour! where art thou? hast thou not yet devoured those poor
+children? where are thy sabres? thy golden key? thy talismans?”
+
+Carathis, who guessed from these interrogations a part of the truth, had
+no difficulty to apprehend in getting at the whole, as soon as he should
+be a little composed in his tower.  This Princess was so far from being
+influenced by scruples that she was as wicked as woman could be, which is
+not saying a little, for the sex pique themselves on their superiority in
+every competition.  The recital of the Caliph therefore occasioned
+neither terror nor surprise to his mother; she felt no emotion but from
+the promises of the Giaour; and said to her son:
+
+“This Giaour, it must be confessed, is somewhat sanguinary in his taste,
+but the terrestrial powers are always terrible: nevertheless, what the
+one has promised and the others can confer, will prove a sufficient
+indemnification.  No crimes should be thought too dear for such a reward.
+Forbear then to revile the Indian: you have not fulfilled the conditions
+to which his services are annexed.  For instance, is not a sacrifice to
+the subterranean Genii required? and should we not be prepared to offer
+it as soon as the tumult is subsided?  This charge I will take on myself,
+and have no doubt of succeeding by means of your treasures; which, as
+there are now so many others in store, may without fear be exhausted.”
+
+Accordingly, the Princess, who possessed the most consummate skill in the
+art of persuasion, went immediately back through the subterranean
+passage, and presenting herself to the populace from a window of the
+palace, began to harangue them with all the address of which she was
+mistress, whilst Bababalouk showered money from both hands amongst the
+crowd, who by these united means were soon appeased.  Every person
+retired to his home, and Carathis returned to the tower.
+
+Prayer at break of day was announced, when Carathis and Vathek ascended
+the steps which led to the summit of the tower, where they remained for
+some time, though the weather was lowering and wet.  This impending gloom
+corresponded with their malignant dispositions; but when the sun began to
+break through the clouds, they ordered a pavilion to be raised as a
+screen from the intrusion of his beams.  The Caliph, overcome with
+fatigue, sought refreshment from repose, at the same time hoping that
+significant dreams might attend on his slumbers; whilst the indefatigable
+Carathis, followed by a party of her mutes, descended to prepare whatever
+she judged proper for the oblation of the approaching night.
+
+By secret stairs, known only to herself and her son, she first repaired
+to the mysterious recesses in which were deposited the mummies that had
+been brought from the catacombs of the ancient Pharaohs.  Of these she
+ordered several to be taken.  From thence she resorted to a gallery,
+where, under the guard of fifty female negroes, mute, and blind of the
+right eye, were preserved the oil of the most venomous serpents,
+rhinoceros’ horns, and woods of a subtle and penetrating odour, procured
+from the interior of the Indies, together with a thousand other horrible
+rarieties.  This collection had been formed for a purpose like the
+present, by Carathis herself, from a presentiment that she might one day
+enjoy some intercourse with the infernal powers, to whom she had ever
+been passionately attached, and to whose taste she was no stranger.
+
+To familiarize herself the better with the horrors in view, the Princess
+remained in the company of her negresses, who squinted in the most
+amiable manner from the only eye they had, and leered with exquisite
+delight at the skulls and skeletons which Carathis had drawn forth from
+her cabinets, whose key she entrusted to no one; all of them making
+contortions, and uttering a frightful jargon, but very amusing to the
+Princess till at last, being stunned by their gibbering, and suffocated
+by the potency of their exhalations, she was forced to quit the gallery,
+after stripping it of a part of its treasures.
+
+Whilst she was thus occupied, the Caliph, who instead of the visions he
+expected, had acquired in these insubstantial regions a voracious
+appetite, was greatly provoked at the negresses: for, having totally
+forgotten their deafness, he had impatiently asked them for food; and
+seeing them regardless of his demand, he began to cuff, pinch, and push
+them, till Carathis arrived to terminate a scene so indecent, to the
+great content of these miserable creatures, who having been brought up by
+her, understood all her signs, and communicated in the same way their
+thoughts in return.
+
+“Son! what means all this?” said she, panting for breath.  “I thought I
+heard as I came up, the shrieks of a thousand bats, tearing from their
+crannies in the recesses of a cavern, and it was the outcry only of these
+poor mutes, whom you were so unmercifully abusing.  In truth you but ill
+deserve the admirable provision I have brought you.”
+
+“Give it me instantly!” exclaimed the Caliph: “I am perishing for
+hunger!”
+
+“As to that,” answered she, “you must have an excellent stomach if it can
+digest what I have been preparing.”
+
+“Be quick,” replied the Caliph.  “But oh, heavens! what horrors!  What do
+you intend?”
+
+“Come, come,” returned Carathis, “be not so squeamish, but help me to
+arrange every thing properly, and you shall see that what you reject with
+such symptoms of disgust will soon complete your felicity.  Let us get
+ready the pile for the sacrifice of to-night, and think not of eating
+till that is performed.  Know you not that all solemn rites are preceded
+by a rigorous abstinence?”
+
+The Caliph, not daring to object, abandoned himself to grief, and the
+wind that ravaged his entrails, whilst his mother went forward with the
+requisite operations.  Phials of serpents’ oil, mummies, and bones, were
+soon set in order on the balustrade of the tower.  The pile began to
+rise; and in three hours was as many cubits high.  At length, darkness
+approached, and Carathis having stripped herself to her inmost garment,
+clapped her hands in an impulse of ecstasy, and struck light with all her
+force.  The mutes followed her example: but Vathek, extenuated with
+hunger and impatience, was unable to support himself, and fell down in a
+swoon.  The sparks had already kindled the dry wood; the venomous oil
+burst into a thousand blue flames; the mummies, dissolving, emitted a
+thick dun vapour; and the rhinoceros’ horns beginning to consume; all
+together diffused such a stench, that the Caliph, recovering, started
+from his trance and gazed wildly on the scene in full blaze around him.
+The oil gushed forth in a plentitude of streams; and the negresses, who
+supplied it without intermission, united their cries to those of the
+Princess.  At last the fire became so violent, and the flames reflected
+from the polished marble so dazzling, that the Caliph, unable to
+withstand the heat and the blaze, effected his escape, and clambered up
+the imperial standard.
+
+In the mean time, the inhabitants of Samarah, scared at the light which
+shone over the city, arose in haste, ascended their roofs, beheld the
+tower on fire, and hurried half-naked to the square.  Their love to their
+sovereign immediately awoke; and apprehending him in danger of perishing
+in his tower, their whole thoughts were occupied with the means of his
+safety.  Morakanabad flew from his retirement, wiped away his tears, and
+cried out for water like the rest.  Bababalouk, whose olfactory nerves
+were more familiarized to magical odours, readily conjecturing that
+Carathis was engaged in her favourite amusements, strenuously exhorted
+them not to be alarmed.  Him, however, they treated as an old poltroon;
+and forbore not to style him a rascally traitor.  The camels and
+dromedaries were advancing with water, but no one knew by which way to
+enter the tower.  Whilst the populace was obstinate in forcing the doors,
+a violent east wind drove such a volume of flame against them, as at
+first forced them off; but afterwards, rekindled their zeal.  At the same
+time, the stench of the horns and mummies increasing, most of the crowd
+fell backward in a state of suffocation.  Those that kept their feet
+mutually wondered at the cause of the smell, and admonished each other to
+retire.  Morakanabad, more sick than the rest, remained in a piteous
+condition.  Holding his nose with one hand, he persisted in his efforts
+with the other to burst open the doors, and obtain admission.  A hundred
+and forty of the strongest and most resolute at length accomplished their
+purpose.  Having gained the staircase by their violent exertions, they
+attained a great height in a quarter of an hour.
+
+Carathis, alarmed at the signs of her mutes, advanced to the staircase,
+went down a few steps, and heard several voices calling out from below:
+
+“You shall in a moment have water!”
+
+Being rather alert, considering her age, she presently regained the top
+of the tower, and bade her son suspend the sacrifice for some minutes,
+adding:
+
+“We shall soon be enabled to render it more grateful.  Certain dolts of
+your subjects, imagining, no doubt, that we were on fire, have been rash
+enough to break through those doors, which had hitherto remained
+inviolate, for the sake of bringing up water.  They are very kind, you
+must allow, so soon to forget the wrongs you have done them: but that is
+of little moment.  Let us offer them to the Giaour.  Let them come up:
+our mutes, who neither want strength nor experience, will soon despatch
+them, exhausted as they are with fatigue.”
+
+“Be it so,” answered the Caliph, “provided we finish, and I dine.”
+
+In fact, these good people, out of breath from ascending eleven thousand
+stairs in such haste, and chagrined at having spilt, by the way, the
+water they had taken, were no sooner arrived at the top than the blaze of
+the flames and the fumes of the mummies at once overpowered their senses.
+It was a pity! for they beheld not the agreeable smile with which the
+mutes and the negresses adjusted the cord to their necks: these amiable
+personages rejoiced, however, no less at the scene.  Never before had the
+ceremony of strangling been performed with so much facility.  They all
+fell without the least resistance or struggle; so that Vathek, in the
+space of a few moments, found himself surrounded by the dead bodies of
+his most faithful subjects, all of which were thrown on the top of the
+pile.
+
+Carathis, whose presence of mind never forsook her, perceiving that she
+had carcases sufficient to complete her oblation, commanded the chains to
+be stretched across the staircase, and the iron doors barricaded, that no
+more might come up.
+
+No sooner were these orders obeyed, than the tower shook; the dead bodies
+vanished in the flames; which at once changed from a swarthy crimson to a
+bright rose colour.  An ambient vapour emitted the most exquisite
+fragrance; the marble columns rang with harmonious sounds, and the
+liquefied horns diffused a delicious perfume.  Carathis, in transports,
+anticipated the success of her enterprise; whilst the mutes and
+negresses, to whom these sweets had given the cholic, retired to their
+cells grumbling.
+
+Scarcely were they gone, when, instead of the pile, horns, mummies, and
+ashes, the Caliph both saw and felt, with a degree of pleasure which he
+could not express, a table, covered with the most magnificent repast:
+flaggons of wine, and vases of exquisite sherbet, floating on snow.  He
+availed himself, without scruple, of such an entertainment; and had
+already laid hands on a lamb stuffed with pistachios, whilst Carathis was
+privately drawing from a fillagreen urn, a parchment that seemed to be
+endless; and which had escaped the notice of her son.  Totally occupied,
+in gratifying an importunate appetite, he left her to peruse it, without
+interruption; which having finished, she said to him, in an authoritative
+tone,
+
+“Put an end to your gluttony, and hear the splendid promises with which
+you are favoured!”  She then read, as follows:
+
+“Vathek, my well-beloved, thou hast surpassed my hopes: my nostrils have
+been regaled by the savour of thy mummies, thy horns; and, still more, by
+the lives devoted on the pile.  At the full of the moon, cause the bands
+of thy musicians, and thy tymbals, to be heard; depart from thy palace
+surrounded by all the pageants of majesty; thy most faithful slaves, thy
+best beloved wives; thy most magnificent litters; thy richest loaden
+camels; and set forward on thy way to Istakar.  There await I thy coming.
+That is the region of wonders.  There shalt thou receive the diadem of
+Gian Ben Gian, {50} the talismans of Soliman, and the treasures of the
+preadimite Sultans: there shalt thou be solaced with all kinds of
+delight.  But, beware how thou enterest any dwelling on thy route, or
+thou shalt feel the effects of my anger.”
+
+The Caliph, who, notwithstanding his habitual luxury, had never before
+dined with so much satisfaction, gave full scope to the joy of these
+golden tidings, and betook himself to drinking anew.  Carathis, whose
+antipathy to wine was by no means insuperable, failed not to supply a
+reason for every bumper, which they ironically quaffed to the health of
+Mahomet.  This infernal liquor completed their impious temerity, and
+prompted them to utter a profusion of blasphemies.  They gave a loose to
+their wit, at the expense of the ass of Balaam, the dog of the seven
+sleepers, and the other animals admitted into the paradise of Mahomet.
+In this sprightly humour they descended the eleven thousand stairs,
+diverting themselves as they went at the anxious faces they saw on the
+square, through the oilets of the tower, and at length arrived at the
+royal apartments by the subterranean passage.  Bababalouk was parading to
+and fro, and issuing his mandates with great pomp to the eunuchs, who
+were snuffing the lights and painting the eyes of the Circassians.  No
+sooner did he catch sight of the Caliph and his mother than he exclaimed,
+
+“Hah! you have then, I perceive, escaped from the flames; I was not,
+however, altogether out of doubt.”
+
+“Of what moment is it to us what you thought or think?” cried Carathis
+“go, speed, tell Morakanabad that we immediately want him; and take care
+how you stop by the way to make your insipid reflections.”
+
+Morakanabad delayed not to obey the summons, and was received by Vathek
+and his mother with great solemnity.  They told him with an air of
+composure and commiseration that the fire at the top of the tower was
+extinguished, but that it had cost the lives of the brave people who
+sought to assist them.
+
+“Still more misfortunes!” cried Morakanabad with a sigh.  “Ah, commander
+of the faithful, our holy prophet is certainly irritated against us! it
+behoves you to appease him.”
+
+“We will appease him hereafter,” replied the Caliph, with a smile that
+augured nothing of good.  “You will have leisure sufficient for your
+supplications during my absence; for this country is the bane of my
+health.  I am disgusted with the mountain of the Four Fountains, and am
+resolved to go and drink of the stream of Rocnabad. {51}  I long to
+refresh myself in the delightful valleys which it waters.  Do you, with
+the advice of my mother, govern my dominions; and take care to supply
+whatever her experiments may demand; for you well know that our tower
+abounds in materials for the advancement of science.”
+
+The tower but ill suited Morakanabad’s taste.  Immense treasures had been
+lavished upon it, and nothing had he ever seen carried thither but female
+negroes, mutes, and abominable drugs.  Nor did he know well what to think
+of Carathis, who like a chamelion could assume all possible colours.  Her
+cursed eloquence had often driven the poor Mussulman to his last shifts.
+He considered, however, that if she possessed but few good qualities, her
+son had still fewer, and that the alternative, on the whole, would be in
+her favour.  Consoled, therefore, with this reflection, he went in good
+spirits to soothe the populace, and make the proper arrangements for his
+master’s journey.
+
+Vathek, to conciliate the spirits of the subterranean palace, resolved
+that his expedition should be uncommonly splendid.  With this view he
+confiscated on all sides the property of his subjects, whilst his worthy
+mother stripped the seraglios she visited of the gems they contained.
+She collected all the sempstresses and embroiderers of Samarah, and other
+cities, to the distance of sixty leagues, to prepare pavilions,
+palanquins, sofas, canopies, and litters, for the train of the monarch.
+There was not left in Masulipatan a single piece of chintz; and so much
+muslin had been bought up to dress out Bababalouk and the other black
+eunuchs, that there remained not an ell in the whole Irak of Babylon.
+
+During these preparations, Carathis, who never lost sight of her great
+object, which was to obtain favour with the powers of darkness, made
+select parties of the fairest and most delicate ladies of the city; but
+in the midst of their gaiety she contrived to introduce serpents amongst
+them, and to break pots of scorpions under the table.  They all bit to a
+wonder, and Carathis would have left them to bite, were it not that to
+fill up the time, she now and then amused herself in curing their wounds
+with an excellent anodyne of her own invention; for this good princess
+abhorred being indolent.
+
+Vathek, who was not altogether so active as his mother, devoted his time
+to the sole gratification of his senses, in the palaces which were
+severally dedicated to them.  He disgusted himself no more with the divan
+or the mosque.  One half of Samarah followed his example, whilst the
+other lamented the progress of corruption.
+
+In the midst of these transactions, the embassy returned which had been
+sent in pious times to Mecca.  It consisted of the most reverend
+moullahs, {53} who had fulfilled their commission, and brought back one
+of those precious besoms which are used to sweep the sacred caaba; a
+present truly worthy of the greatest potentate on earth!
+
+The Caliph happened at this instant to be engaged in an apartment by no
+means adapted to the reception of embassies, though adorned with a
+certain magnificence, not only to render it agreeable, but also because
+he resorted to it frequently, and staid a considerable time together.
+Whilst occupied in this retreat, he heard the voice of Bababalouk calling
+out from between the door and the tapestry that hung before it:
+
+“Here are the excellent Mahomet Ebn Edris al Shafei, and the seraphic Al
+Mouhadethin, who have brought the besom from Mecca, and with tears of joy
+entreat they may present it to your majesty in person.”
+
+“Let them bring the besom hither, it may be of use,” said Vathek, who was
+still employed, not having quite racked off his wine.
+
+“How!” answered Bababalouk, half aloud and amazed.
+
+“Obey,” replied the Caliph, “for it is my sovereign will; go instantly!
+vanish! for here will I receive the good folk who have thus filled thee
+with joy.”
+
+The eunuch departed muttering, and bade the venerable train attend him.
+A sacred rapture was diffused amongst these reverend old men.  Though
+fatigued with the length of their expedition, they followed Bababalouk
+with an alertness almost miraculous, and felt themselves highly flattered
+as they swept along the stately porticos, that the Caliph would not
+receive them like ambassadors in ordinary, in his hall of audience.  Soon
+reaching the interior of the harem (where, through blinds of persian they
+perceived large soft eyes, dark and blue, that went and came like
+lightning) penetrated with respect and wonder, and full of their
+celestial mission, they advanced in procession towards the small
+corridors that appeared to terminate in nothing, but nevertheless led to
+the cell where the Caliph expected their coming.
+
+“What! is the commander of the faithful sick?” said Ebn Edris al Shafei,
+in a low voice to his companion.
+
+“I rather think he is in his oratory,” answered Al Mouhadethin.
+
+Vathek, who heard the dialogue, cried out “What imports it you how I am
+employed? approach without delay.”
+
+They advanced, and Bababalouk almost sunk with confusion, {55} whilst the
+Caliph, without showing himself, put forth his hand from behind the
+tapestry that hung before the door, and demanded of them the besom.
+
+Having prostrated themselves as well as the corridor would permit, and
+even in a tolerable semi-circle, the venerable Al Shafei, drawing forth
+the besom from the embroidered and perfumed scarfs in which it had been
+enveloped, and secured from the profane gaze of vulgar eyes, arose from
+his associates and advanced with an air of the most awful solemnity
+towards the supposed oratory; but with what astonishment! with what
+horror was he seized!
+
+Vathek, bursting out into a villainous laugh, snatched the besom from his
+trembling hand, and fixing upon it some cobwebs that hung suspended from
+the ceiling, gravely brushed away till not a single one remained.
+
+The old men, overpowered with amazement, were unable to lift their beards
+from the ground; for as Vathek had carelessly left the tapestry between
+them half drawn, they were witnesses to the whole transaction.  Their
+tears gushed forth on the marble.  Al Mouhadethin swooned through
+mortification and fatigue, whilst the Caliph, throwing himself backward
+on his seat, shouted and clapped his hands without mercy.  At last,
+addressing himself to Bababalouk:
+
+“My dear black,” said he, “go, regale these pious poor souls with my good
+wine from Shiraz; and as they can boast of having seen more of my palace
+than any one besides, let them also visit my office courts, and lead them
+out by the back steps that go to my stables.”  Having said this, he threw
+the besom in their face, and went to enjoy the laugh with Carathis.
+
+Bababalouk did all in his power to console the ambassadors, but the two
+most infirm expired on the spot; the rest were carried to their beds,
+from whence, being heart-broken with sorrow and shame, they never arose.
+
+The succeeding night, Vathek, attended by his mother, ascended the tower
+to see if everything were ready for his journey, for he had great faith
+in the influence of the stars.  The planets appeared in their most
+favourable aspects.  The Caliph, to enjoy so flattering a sight, supped
+gaily on the roof, and fancied that he heard, during his repast, loud
+shouts of laughter resound through the sky, in a manner that inspired the
+fullest assurance.
+
+All was in motion at the palace; lights were kept burning through the
+whole of the night; the sound of implements, and of artisans finishing
+their work; the voices of women and their guardians who sung at their
+embroidery; all conspired to interrupt the stillness of nature, and
+infinitely delight the heart of Vathek, who imagined himself going in
+triumph to sit upon the throne of Soliman.
+
+The people were not less satisfied than himself; all assisted to
+accelerate the moment which should rescue them from the wayward caprices
+of so extravagant a master.
+
+The day preceding the departure of this infatuated prince was employed by
+Carathis in repeating to him the decrees of the mysterious parchment,
+which she had thoroughly gotten by heart; and in recommending him not to
+enter the habitation of any one by the way; “for well thou knowest,”
+added she, “how liquorish thy taste is after good dishes and young
+damsels; let me therefore enjoin thee to be content with thy old cooks,
+who are the best in the world; and not to forget that in thy ambulatory
+seraglio there are three dozen pretty faces, which Bababalouk hath not
+yet unveiled.  I, myself, have a great desire to watch over thy conduct,
+and visit the subterranean palace, which no doubt contains whatever can
+interest persons like us.  There is nothing so pleasing as retiring to
+caverns; my taste for dead bodies and everything like mummy is decided;
+and I am confident thou wilt see the most exquisite of their kind.
+Forget me not then, but the moment thou art in possession of the
+talismans which are to open to thee the mineral kingdoms, and the centre
+of the earth itself, fail not to dispatch some trusty genius to take me
+and my cabinet, for the oil of the serpents I have pinched to death will
+be a pretty present to the Giaour, who cannot but be charmed with such
+dainties.”
+
+Scarcely had Carathis ended this edifying discourse, when the sun,
+setting behind the mountain of the Four Fountains, gave place to the
+rising moon.  This planet being that evening at full, appeared of unusual
+beauty and magnitude in the eyes of the women, the eunuchs, and the
+pages, who were all impatient to set forward.  The city re-echoed with
+shouts of joy and flourishing of trumpets.  Nothing was visible but
+plumes nodding on pavilions, and aigrets shining in the mild lustre of
+the moon.  The spacious square resembled an immense parterre, variegated
+with the most stately tulips of the east.
+
+Arrayed in the robes which were only worn at the most distinguished
+ceremonials, and supported by his vizier and Bababalouk, the Caliph
+descended the grand staircase of the tower in the sight of all his
+people.  He could not forbear pausing at intervals to admire the superb
+appearance which everywhere courted his view, whilst the whole multitude,
+even to the camels with their sumptuous burdens, knelt down before him.
+For some time a general stillness prevailed, which nothing happened to
+disturb, but the shrill screams of some eunuchs in the rear.  These
+vigilant guards having remarked certain cages of the ladies swagging
+somewhat awry, and discovered that a few adventurous gallants had
+contrived to get in, soon dislodged the enraptured culprits, and
+consigned them with good commendations, to the surgeons of the serail.
+The majesty of so magnificent a spectacle was not, however, violated by
+incidents like these.  Vathek, meanwhile, saluted the moon with an
+idolatrous air, that neither pleased Morakanabad nor the doctors of the
+law, any more than the viziers and grandees of his court, who were all
+assembled to enjoy the last view of their sovereign.
+
+At length the clarions and trumpets from the top of the tower announced
+the prelude of departure.  Though the instruments were in unison with
+each other, yet a singular dissonance was blended with their sounds.
+This proceeded from Carathis, who was singing her direful orisons to the
+Giaour, whilst the negresses and mutes supplied thorough bass without
+articulating a word.  The good Mussulmans fancied that they heard the
+sullen hum of those nocturnal insects which presage evil, and importuned
+Vathek to beware how he ventured his sacred person.
+
+On a given signal the great standard of the Califat was displayed; twenty
+thousand lances shone around it; and the Caliph, treading royally on the
+cloth of gold which had been spread for his feet, ascended his litter
+amidst the general awe that possessed his subjects.
+
+The expedition commenced with the utmost order, and so entire a silence,
+that even the locusts were heard from the thickets on the plain of
+Catoul.  Gaiety and good humour prevailing, six good leagues were past
+before the dawn; and the morning star was still glittering in the
+firmament when the whole of this numerous train had halted on the banks
+of the Tigris, where they encamped to repose for the rest of the day.
+
+The three days that followed were spent in the same manner, but on the
+fourth the heavens looked angry, lightnings broke forth in frequent
+flashes, re-echoing peals of thunder succeeded, and the trembling
+Circassians clung with all their might to their ugly guardians.  The
+Caliph himself was greatly inclined to take shelter in the large town of
+Gulchissar, the governor of which came forth to meet him, and tendered
+every kind of refreshment the place could supply.  But having examined
+his tablets, he suffered the rain to soak him almost to the bone,
+notwithstanding the importunity of his first favourites.  Though he began
+to regret the palace of the senses, yet he lost not sight of his
+enterprise, and his sanguine expectations confirmed his resolution.  His
+geographers were ordered to attend him, but the weather proved so
+terrible, that these poor people exhibited a lamentable appearance; and
+as no long journeys had been undertaken since the time of Haroun al
+Raschid, their maps of the different countries were in a still worse
+plight than themselves.  Every one was ignorant which way to turn; for
+Vathek, though well versed in the course of the heavens, no longer knew
+his situation on earth.  He thundered even louder than the elements, and
+muttered forth certain hints of the bowstring which were not very
+soothing to literary ears.  Disgusted at the toilsome weariness of the
+way, he determined to cross over the craggy heights, and follow the
+guidance of a peasant, who undertook to bring him, in four days, to
+Rocnabad.  Remonstrances were all to no purpose, his resolution was
+fixed, and an invasion commenced on the province of the goats, who sped
+away in large troops before them.  It was curious to view on these half
+calcined rocks camels richly caparisoned, and pavilions of gold and silk
+waving on their summits, which till then had never been covered, but with
+sapless thistles and fern.
+
+The females and eunuchs uttered shrill wailings at the sight of the
+precipices below them, and the dreary prospects that opened in the vast
+gorges of the mountains.  Before they could reach the ascent of the
+steepest rock night overtook them, and a boisterous tempest arose, which
+having rent the awnings of the palanquins and cages, exposed to the raw
+gusts the poor ladies within, who had never before felt so piercing a
+cold.  The dark clouds that overcast the face of the sky deepened the
+horrors of this disastrous night, insomuch that nothing could be heard
+distinctly but the mewling of pages, and lamentations of sultanas.
+
+To increase the general misfortune, the frightful uproar of wild beasts
+resounded at a distance, and there were soon perceived in the forest they
+were skirting the glaring of eyes which could belong only to devils or
+tigers.  The pioneers, who as well as they could, had marked out a track,
+and a part of the advanced guard were devoured before they had been in
+the least apprised of their danger.  The confusion that prevailed was
+extreme.  Wolves, tigers, and other carnivorous animals, invited by the
+howling of their companions, flocked together from every quarter.  The
+crushing of bones was heard on all sides, and a fearful rush of wings
+over head, for now vultures also began to be of the party.
+
+The terror at length reached the main body of the troops which surrounded
+the monarch and his harem, at the distance of two leagues from the scene.
+Vathek (voluptuously reposed in his capacious litter upon cushions of
+silk, with two little pages beside him, of complexions more fair than the
+enamel of Franguestan, who were occupied in keeping off flies) was
+soundly asleep, and contemplating in his dreams the treasures of Soliman.
+The shrieks, however, of his wives awoke him with a start, and instead of
+the Giaour with his key of gold, he beheld Bababalouk full of
+consternation.
+
+“Sire,” exclaimed this good servant of the most potent of monarchs,
+“misfortune has arrived at its height; wild beasts, who entertain no more
+reverence for your sacred person than for that of a dead ass, have beset
+your camels and their drivers: thirty of the richest laden are already
+become their prey, as well as all your confectioners, your cooks, and
+purveyors, and unless our holy prophet should protect us, we shall have
+all eaten our last meal.”
+
+At the mention of eating, the Caliph lost all patience.  He began to
+bellow, and even beat himself, for there was no seeing in the dark.  The
+rumour every instant increased, and Bababalouk finding no good could be
+done with his master stopped both his ears against the hurly-burly of the
+harem, and called out aloud:
+
+“Come, ladies and brothers! all hands to work! strike light in a moment!
+never shall it be said that the commander of the faithful served to
+regale these infidel brutes.”
+
+Though there wanted not in this bevy of beauties a sufficient number of
+capricious and wayward, yet, on the present occasion they were all
+compliance.  Fires were visible in a twinkling in all their cages.  Ten
+thousand torches were lighted at once.  The Caliph himself seized a large
+one of wax; every person followed his example; and by kindling ropes ends
+dipped in oil and fastened on poles, an amazing blaze was spread.  The
+rocks were covered with the splendour of sunshine.  The trails of sparks
+wafted by the wind, communicated to the dry fern, of which there was
+plenty.  Serpents were observed to crawl forth from their retreats with
+amazement and hissings, whilst the horses snorted, stamped the ground,
+tossed their noses in the air, and plunged about without mercy.
+
+One of the forests of cedar that bordered their way took fire, and the
+branches that overhung the path extending their flames to the muslins and
+chintzes which covered the cages of the ladies, obliged them to jump out
+at the peril of their necks.  Vathek, who vented on the occasion a
+thousand blasphemies, was himself compelled to touch with his sacred feet
+the naked earth.
+
+Never had such an incident happened before.  Full of mortification, shame
+and despondence, and not knowing how to walk, the ladies fell into the
+dirt.
+
+“Must I go on foot,” said one.
+
+“Must I wet my feet,” cried another.
+
+“Must I soil my dress,” asked a third.
+
+“Execrable Bababalouk,” exclaimed all; “Outcast of hell! what hadst thou
+to do with torches?  Better were it to be eaten by tigers than to fall
+into our present condition; we are for ever undone.  Not a porter is
+there in the army, nor a currier of camels but hath seen some part of our
+bodies, and what is worse, our very faces!”
+
+On saying this, the most bashful amongst them hid their foreheads on the
+ground, whilst such as had more boldness flew at Bababalouk, but he, well
+apprised of their humour, and not wanting in shrewdness, betook himself
+to his heels along with his comrades, all dropping their torches and
+striking their tymbals.
+
+It was not less light than in the brightest of the dog-days, and the
+weather was hot in proportion; but how degrading was the spectacle, to
+behold the Caliph bespattered like an ordinary mortal!  As the exercise
+of his faculties seemed to be suspended, one of his Ethiopian wives (for
+he delighted in variety) clasped him in her arms, threw him upon her
+shoulder like a sack of dates, and finding that the fire was hemming them
+in, set off with no small expedition, considering the weight of her
+burden.  The other ladies who had just learned the use of their feet
+followed her; their guards galloped after; and the camel drivers brought
+up the rear as fast as their charge would permit.
+
+They soon reached the spot where the wild beasts had commenced the
+carnage, and which they had too much spirit to leave, notwithstanding the
+approaching tumult, and the luxurious supper they had made.  Bababalouk
+nevertheless seized on a few of the plumpest, which were unable to budge
+from the place, and began to flay them with admirable adroitness.  The
+cavalcade being got so far from the conflagration as that the heat felt
+rather grateful than violent, it was immediately resolved on to halt.
+The tattered chintzes were picked up; the scraps left by the wolves and
+tigers interred; and vengeance was taken on some dozens of vultures that
+were too much glutted to rise on the wing.  The camels which had been
+left unmolested to make sal-ammoniac being numbered, and the ladies once
+more inclosed in their cages, the imperial tent was pitched on the
+levellest ground they could find.
+
+Vathek, reposing upon a matress of down, and tolerably recovered from the
+jolting of the Ethiopian, who, to his feelings seemed the roughest
+trotting jade he had hitherto mounted, called out for something to eat;
+but alas! those delicate cakes which had been baked in silver ovens for
+his royal mouth, those rich manchets, amber comfits, flaggons of Schiraz
+wine, porcelain vases of snow, and grapes from the banks of the Tigris,
+were all irremediably lost; and nothing had Bababalouk to present in
+their stead, but a roasted wolf, vultures à la daube, aromatic herbs of
+the most acrid poignancy, rotten truffles, boiled thistles, and such
+other wild plants as must ulcerate the throat and parch up the tongue.
+Nor was he better provided in the article of drink, for he could procure
+nothing to accompany these irritating viands but a few phials of
+abominable brandy, which had been secreted by the scullions in their
+slippers.
+
+Vathek made wry faces at so savage a repast, and Bababalouk answered them
+with shrugs and contortions.  The Caliph however ate with tolerable
+appetite, and fell into a nap that lasted six hours.  The splendour of
+the sun, reflected from the white cliffs of the mountains in spite of the
+curtains that inclosed him, at length disturbed his repose.  He awoke
+terrified, and stung to the quick by those wormwood-coloured flies which
+emit from their wings a suffocating stench.  The miserable monarch was
+perplexed how to act, though his wits were not idle in seeking
+expedients, whilst Bababalouk lay snoring amidst a swarm of those
+insects, that busily thronged to pay court to his nose.  The little
+pages, famished with hunger, had dropped their fans on the ground, and
+exerted their dying voices in bitter reproaches on the Caliph, who now
+for the first time heard the language of truth.
+
+Thus stimulated, he renewed his imprecations against the Giaour, and
+bestowed upon Mahomet some soothing expressions.
+
+“Where am I?” cried he; “What are these dreadful rocks; these valleys of
+darkness?  Are we arrived at the horrible Kaf? {67a}  Is the Simurgh
+{67b} coming to pluck out my eyes as a punishment for undertaking this
+impious enterprise?”
+
+Having said this, he bellowed like a calf, and turned himself towards an
+outlet in the side of his pavilion.  But alas! what objects occurred to
+his view! on one side a plain of black sand that appeared to be
+unbounded, and on the other perpendicular crags bristled over with those
+abominable thistles which had so severely lacerated his tongue.  He
+fancied, however, that he perceived amongst the brambles and briars some
+gigantic flowers, but was mistaken, for these were only the dangling
+palampores and variegated tatters of his gay retinue.  As there were
+several clefts in the rock from whence water seemed to have flowed,
+Vathek applied his ear with the hope of catching the sound of some latent
+runnel, but could only distinguish the low murmurs of his people, who
+were repining at their journey, and complaining for the want of water.
+
+“To what purpose,” asked they, “have we been brought hither?  Hath our
+Caliph another tower to build? or have the relentless Afrits {67c} whom
+Carathis so much loves, fixed in this place their abode?”
+
+At the name of Carathis, Vathek recollected the tablets he had received
+from his mother, who assured him they were fraught with preternatural
+qualities, and advised him to consult them as emergencies might require.
+Whilst he was engaged in turning them over, he heard a shout of joy, and
+a loud clapping of hands.  The curtains of his pavilion were soon drawn
+back, and he beheld Bababalouk, followed by a troop of his favourites,
+conducting two dwarfs, each a cubit high, who brought between them a
+large basket of melons, oranges, and pomegranites.  They were singing in
+the sweetest tones the words that follow:
+
+“We dwell on the top of these rocks, in a cabin of rushes and canes; the
+eagles envy us our nest; a small spring supplies us with abdest, and we
+daily repeat prayers which the prophet approves.  We love you, O
+commander of the faithful! our master, the good emir Fakreddin, loves you
+also; he reveres in your person the vicegerent of Mahomet.  Little as we
+are, in us he confides; he knows our hearts to be good, as our bodies are
+contemptible, and hath placed us here to aid those who are bewildered on
+these dreary mountains.  Last night, whilst we were occupied within our
+cell in reading the holy koran, a sudden hurricane blew out our lights
+and rocked our habitation.  For two whole hours a palpable darkness
+prevailed: but we heard sounds at a distance which we conjectured to
+proceed from the bells of a cafila, passing over the rocks.  Our ears
+were soon filled with deplorable shrieks, frightful roarings, and the
+sound of tymbals.  Chilled with terror, we concluded that the Deggial
+{68} with his exterminating angels had sent forth their plagues on the
+earth.  In the midst of these melancholy reflections, we perceived flames
+of the deepest red glow in the horizon, and found ourselves in a few
+moments covered with flakes of fire.  Amazed at so strange an appearance,
+we took up the volume dictated by the blessed intelligence, and kneeling
+by the light of the fire that surrounded us, we recited the verse which
+says: ‘Put no trust in any thing but the mercy of heaven; there is no
+help save in the holy prophet; the mountain of Kaf itself may tremble; it
+is the power of Alla only that cannot be moved.’  After having pronounced
+these words, we felt consolation, and our minds were hushed into a sacred
+repose.  Silence ensued, and our ears clearly distinguished a voice in
+the air, saying: ‘Servants of my faithful servant, go down to the happy
+valley of Fakreddin; tell him that an illustrious opportunity now offers
+to satiate the thirst of his hospitable heart.  The commander of true
+believers is this day bewildered amongst these mountains, and stands in
+need of thy aid.’  We obeyed with joy the angelic mission, and our
+master, filled with pious zeal, hath culled with his own hands these
+melons, oranges, and pomegranites.  He is following us with a hundred
+dromedaries laden with the purest waters of his fountains, and is coming
+to kiss the fringe of your consecrated robe, and implore you to enter his
+humble habitation, which, placed amidst these barren wilds, resembles an
+emerald set in lead.”
+
+The dwarfs having ended their address, remained still standing, and with
+hands crossed upon their bosoms, preserved a respectful silence.
+
+Vathek, in the midst of this curious harangue seized the basket, and long
+before it was finished, the fruits had dissolved in his mouth.  As he
+continued to eat, his piety increased, and in the same breath which
+recited his prayers, he called for the koran and sugar.
+
+Such was the state of his mind when the tablets, which were thrown by at
+the approach of the dwarfs, again attracted his eye.  He took them up,
+but was ready to drop on the ground when he beheld, in large red
+characters, these words inscribed by Carathis, which were indeed enough
+to make him tremble.
+
+“Beware of thy old doctors, and their puny messengers of but one cubit
+high; distrust their pious frauds; and instead of eating their melons,
+impale on a spit the bearers of them.  Shouldst thou be such a fool as to
+visit them, the portal of the subterranean palace will be shut in thy
+face, and with such force as shall shake thee asunder; thy body shall be
+spit upon, and bats will engender in thy belly.”
+
+“To what tends this ominous rhapsody?” cries the Caliph; “and must I then
+perish in these deserts with thirst, whilst I may refresh myself in the
+valley of melons and cucumbers?  Accursed be the Giaour with his portal
+of ebony! he hath made me dance attendance too long already.  Besides,
+who shall prescribe laws to me?  I, forsooth, must not enter any one’s
+habitation!  Be it so, but what one can I enter that is not my own.”
+
+Bababalouk, who lost not a syllable of this soliloquy, applauded it with
+all his heart; and the ladies, for the first time, agreed with him in
+opinion.  The dwarfs were entertained, caressed, and seated with great
+ceremony on little cushions of satin.  The symmetry of their persons was
+the subject of criticism; not an inch of them was suffered to pass
+unexamined.  Nick-nacks and dainties were offered in profusion, but all
+were declined with respectful gravity.  They clambered up the sides of
+the Caliph’s seat, and placing themselves each on one of his shoulders,
+began to whisper prayers in his ears.  Their tongues quivered like the
+leaves of a poplar, and the patience of Vathek was almost exhausted, when
+the acclamations of the troops announced the approach of Fakreddin, who
+was come with a hundred old grey-beards, and as many korans and
+dromedaries.  They instantly set about their ablutions, and began to
+repeat the Bismillah.  Vathek, to get rid of these officious monitors,
+followed their example, for his hands were burning.
+
+The good Emir, who was punctiliously religious, and likewise a great
+dealer in compliments, made an harangue five times more prolix and
+insipid than his harbingers had already delivered.  The Caliph, unable
+any longer to refrain, exclaimed:
+
+“For the love of Mahomet, my dear Fakreddin, have done! let us proceed to
+your valley, and enjoy the fruits that heaven hath vouchsafed you.”  The
+hint of proceeding put all into motion.  The venerable attendants of the
+emir set forward somewhat slowly, but Vathek having ordered his little
+pages, in private, to goad on the dromedaries, loud fits of laughter
+broke forth from the cages, for the unwieldy curvetting of these poor
+beasts, and the ridiculous distress of their superannuated riders
+afforded the ladies no small entertainment.
+
+They descended, however, unhurt into the valley, by the large steps which
+the emir had cut in the rock; and already the murmuring of streams and
+the rustling of leaves began to catch their attention.  The cavalcade
+soon entered a path, which was skirted by flowering shrubs, and extended
+to a vast wood of palm-trees whose branches overspread a building of hewn
+stone.  This edifice was crowned with nine domes, and adorned with as
+many portals of bronze, on which was engraven the following inscription:
+
+“This is the asylum of pilgrims, the refuge of travellers, and the
+depository of secrets for all parts of the world.”
+
+Nine pages beautiful as the day, and clothed in robes of Egyptian linen,
+very long and very modest, were standing at each door.  They received the
+whole retinue with an easy and inviting air.  Four of the most amiable
+placed the Caliph on a magnificent taktrevan; four others, somewhat less
+graceful, took charge of Bababalouk, who capered for joy at the snug
+little cabin that fell to his share; the pages that remained, waited on
+the rest of the train.
+
+When every thing masculine was gone out of sight, the gate of a large
+inclosure on the right turned on its harmonious hinges, and a young
+female of a slender form came forth.  Her light brown hair floated in the
+hazy breeze of the twilight.  A troop of young maidens, like the
+Pleiades, attended her on tip-toe.  They hastened to the pavilions that
+contained the sultanas; and the young lady gracefully bending said to
+them:
+
+“Charming princesses, every thing is ready; we have prepared beds for
+your repose, and strewed your apartments with jasamine; no insects will
+keep off slumber from visiting your eyelids; we will dispel them with a
+thousand plumes.  Come then, amiable ladies! refresh your delicate feet
+and your ivory limbs in baths of rose water, and by the light of perfumed
+lamps your servants will amuse you with tales.”
+
+The sultanas accepted with pleasure these obliging offers, and followed
+the young lady to the emir’s harem, where we must for a moment leave them
+and return to the Caliph.
+
+Vathek found himself beneath a vast dome illuminated by a thousand lamps
+of rock crystal, as many vases of the same material filled with excellent
+sherbet sparkled on a large table, where a profusion of viands were
+spread.  Amongst others were sweetbreads stewed in milk of almonds,
+saffron soups, and lamb à la crême, of all of which the Caliph was
+amazingly fond.  He took of each as much as he was able; testified his
+sense of the emir’s friendship by the gaiety of his heart; and made the
+dwarfs dance against their will; for these little devotees durst not
+refuse the commander of the faithful.  At last he spread himself on the
+sofa and slept sounder than he had ever before.
+
+Beneath this dome a general silence prevailed, for there was nothing to
+disturb it but the jaws of Bababalouk, who had untrussed himself to eat
+with greater advantage, being anxious to make amends for his fast in the
+mountains.  As his spirits were too high to admit of his sleeping, and
+not loving to be idle, he proposed with himself to visit the harem, and
+repair to his charge of the ladies, to examine if they had been properly
+lubricated with the balm of Mecca, if their eye-brows and tresses were in
+order, and in a word, to perform all the little offices they might need.
+He sought for a long time together, but without being able to find out
+the door.  He durst not speak aloud for fear of disturbing the Caliph,
+and not a soul was stirring in the precincts of the palace.  He almost
+despaired of effecting his purpose, when a low whispering just reached
+his ear: it came from the dwarfs, who were returned to their old
+occupation, and for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time in their lives
+were reading over the koran.  They very politely invited Bababalouk to be
+of their party, but his head was full of other concerns.  The dwarfs,
+though scandalized at his dissolute morals, directed him to the
+apartments he wanted to find.  His way thither lay through a hundred dark
+corridors, along which he groped as he went, and at last began to catch,
+from the extremity of a passage, the charming gossiping of women, which
+not a little delighted his heart.
+
+“Ah, ah! what not yet asleep?” cried he, and taking long strides as he
+spoke, “did you not suspect me of abjuring my charge?  I stayed but to
+finish what my master had left.”
+
+Two of the black eunuchs on hearing a voice so loud detached a party in
+haste, sabre in hand, to discover the cause, but presently was repeated
+on all sides:
+
+“’Tis only Bababalouk, no one but Bababalouk!”
+
+This circumspect guardian having gone up to a thin veil of carnation
+colour silk that hung before the doorway, distinguished by means of a
+softened splendour that shone through it, an oval bath of dark porphyry
+surrounded by curtains festooned in large folds.  Through the apertures
+between them, as they were not drawn close, groups of young slaves were
+visible, amongst whom Bababalouk perceived his pupils indulgingly
+expanding their arms, as if to embrace the perfumed water, and refresh
+themselves after their fatigues.  The looks of tender languor, their
+confidential whispers, and the enchanting smiles with which they were
+imparted, the exquisite fragrance of the roses, all combined to inspire a
+voluptuousness which even Bababalouk himself was scarce able to
+withstand.
+
+He summoned up, however, his usual solemnity, and in the peremptory tone
+of authority commanded the ladies instantly to leave the bath.  Whilst he
+was issuing these mandates, the young Nouronihar, daughter of the emir,
+who was sprightly as an antelope, and full of wanton gaiety, beckoned one
+of her slaves to let down the great swing, which was suspended to the
+ceiling by cords of silk, and whilst this was doing winked to her
+companions in the bath, who chagrined to be forced from so soothing a
+state of indolence, began to twist it round Bababalouk, and teaze him
+with a thousand vagaries.
+
+When Nouronihar perceived that he was exhausted with fatigue, she
+accosted him with an arch air of respectful concern, and said:
+
+“My lord, it is not by any means decent that the chief eunuch of the
+Caliph our sovereign should thus continue standing, deign but to recline
+your graceful person upon this sofa, which will burst with vexation if it
+have not the honour to receive you.”
+
+Caught by these flattering accents, Bababalouk gallantly replied:
+
+“Delight of the apple of my eye!  I accept the invitation of thy honied
+lips, and to say truth, my senses are dazzled with the radiance that
+beams from thy charms.”
+
+“Repose, then, at your ease,” replied the beauty, and placed him on the
+pretended sofa, which, quicker than lightning, gave way all at once.  The
+rest of the women having aptly conceived her design, sprang naked from
+the bath and plied the swing with such unmerciful jerks, that it swept
+through the whole compass of a very lofty dome, and took from the poor
+victim all power of respiration.  Sometimes his feet rased the surface of
+the water, and at others the skylight almost flattened his nose.  In vain
+did he pierce the air with the cries of a voice that resembled the
+ringing of a cracked basin, for their peals of laughter were still more
+predominant.
+
+Nouronihar in the inebriety of youthful spirits being used only to
+eunuchs of ordinary harems, and having never seen any thing so royal and
+disgusting, was far more diverted than all of the rest.  She began to
+parody some Persian verses, and sung with an accent most demurely
+piquant:
+
+    “O gentle white dove as thou soar’st through the air,
+    Vouchsafe one kind glance on the mate of thy love:
+    Melodious Philomel I am thy rose;
+    Warble some couplet to ravish my heart!”
+
+The sultanas and their slaves stimulated by these pleasantries persevered
+at the swing with such unremitted assiduity, that at length the cord
+which had secured it snapped suddenly asunder, and Bababalouk fell
+floundering like a turtle to the bottom of the bath.  This accident
+occasioned a universal shout.  Twelve little doors till now unobserved
+flew open at once, and the ladies in an instant made their escape, after
+throwing all the towels on his head, and putting out the lights that
+remained.
+
+The deplorable animal, in water to the chin, overwhelmed with darkness,
+and unable to extricate himself from the warp that embarrassed him, was
+still doomed to hear for his further consolation, the fresh bursts of
+merriment his disaster occasioned.  He bustled but in vain to get from
+the bath, for the margin was become so slippery with the oil spilt in
+breaking the lamps, that at every effort he slid back with a plunge,
+which resounded aloud through the hollow of the dome.  These cursed peals
+of laughter at every relapse were redoubled, and he, who thought the
+place infested rather by devils than women, resolved to cease groping,
+and abide in the bath, where he amused himself with soliloquies
+interspersed with imprecations, of which his malicious neighbours,
+reclining on down, suffered not an accent to escape.  In this delectable
+plight the morning surprised him.  The Caliph, wondering at his absence,
+had caused him to be everywhere sought for.  At last he was drawn forth
+almost smothered from the whisp of linen, and wet even to the marrow.
+Limping, and chattering his teeth, he appeared before his master, who
+inquired what was the matter, and how he came soused in so strange a
+pickle.
+
+“And why did you enter this cursed lodge?” answered Bababalouk, gruffly.
+“Ought a monarch like you to visit with his harem the abode of a grey
+bearded emir who knows nothing of life?  And with what gracious damsels
+does the place too abound!  Fancy to yourself how they have soaked me
+like a burnt crust, and made me dance like a jack-pudding the live-long
+night through on their damnable swing.  What an excellent lesson for your
+sultanas to follow, into whom I have instilled such reserve and decorum!”
+
+Vathek, comprehending not a syllable of all this invective, obliged him
+to relate minutely the transaction; but instead of sympathising with the
+miserable sufferer, he laughed immoderately at the device of the swing,
+and the figure of Bababalouk mounting upon it.  The stung eunuch could
+scarcely preserve the semblance of respect.
+
+“Aye, laugh my lord! laugh,” said he, “but I wish this Nouronihar would
+play some trick on you; she is too wicked to spare even majesty itself.”
+
+These words made for the present but a slight impression on the Caliph,
+but they not long after recurred to his mind.
+
+This conversation was cut short by Fakreddin, who came to request that
+Vathek would join in the prayers and ablutions to be solemnized on a
+spacious meadow, watered by innumerable streams.  The Caliph found the
+waters refreshing, but the prayers abominably irksome.  He diverted
+himself however with the multitude of Calenders, {79a} Santons, {79b} and
+Dervises {79c} who were continually coming and going, but especially with
+the Brahmins, {79d} Faquirs, {79e} and other enthusiasts, who had
+travelled from the heart of India, and halted on their way with the emir.
+These latter had each of them some mummery peculiar to himself.  One
+dragged a huge chain where ever he went, another an ourang-outang, whilst
+a third was furnished with scourges, and all performed to a charm.  Some
+clambered up trees, holding one foot in the air; others poised themselves
+over a fire, and without mercy fillipped their noses.  There were some
+amongst them that cherished vermin, which were not ungrateful in
+requiting their caresses.  These rambling fanatics revolted the hearts of
+the Dervises, the Calenders, and Santons; however the vehemence of their
+aversion soon subsided under the hope that the presence of the Caliph
+would cure their folly, and convert them to the Mussulman faith.  But
+alas! how great was their disappointment! for Vathek, instead of
+preaching to them, treated them as buffoons; bade them present his
+compliments to Visnow and Ixhora, and discovered a predilection for a
+squat old man from the Isle of Serendib, who was more ridiculous than any
+of the rest.
+
+“Come,” said he, “for the love of your gods, bestow a few slaps on your
+chops to amuse me.”
+
+The old fellow offended at such an address began loudly to weep; but as
+he betrayed a villainous drivelling in his tears, the Caliph turned his
+back and listened to Bababalouk, who whispered, whilst he held the
+umbrella over him:
+
+“Your majesty should be cautious of this odd assembly, which hath been
+collected I know not for what.  Is it necessary to exhibit such
+spectacles to a mighty potentate, with interludes of talapoins more mangy
+than dogs?  Were I you, I would command a fire to be kindled, and at once
+purge the earth of the emir, his harem, and all his menagery.”
+
+“Tush, dolt,” answered Vathek, “and know that all this infinitely charms
+me.  Nor shall I leave the meadow till I have visited every hive of these
+pious mendicants.”
+
+Where ever the Caliph directed his course, objects of pity were sure to
+swarm round him: the blind, the purblind, smarts without noses, damsels
+without ears, each to extol the munificence of Fakreddin, who, as well as
+his attendant grey-beards, dealt about gratis plasters and cataplasms to
+all that applied.  At noon a superb corps of cripples made its
+appearance; and soon after advanced by platoons on the plain the
+completest association of invalids that had ever been embodied till then.
+The blind went groping with the blind; the lame limped on together; and
+the maimed made gestures to each other with the only arm that remained.
+The sides of a considerable waterfall were crowded by the deaf, amongst
+whom were some from Pegu, with ears uncommonly handsome and large, but
+were still less able to hear than the rest.  Nor were there wanting
+others in abundance with hump backs, wenny necks, and even horns of an
+exquisite polish.
+
+The emir, to aggrandize the solemnity of the festival in honour of his
+illustrious visitant, ordered the turf to be spread on all sides with
+skins and table cloths, upon which were served up for the good mussulmans
+pilaus of every hue, with other orthodox dishes, and by the express order
+of Vathek, who was shamefully tolerant, small plates of abominations for
+regaling the rest.  This prince on seeing so many mouths put in motion
+began to think it time for employing his own.  In spite, therefore, of
+every remonstrance from the chief of his eunuchs, he resolved to have a
+dinner dressed on the spot.  The complaisant emir immediately gave orders
+for a table to be placed in the shade of the willows.  The first service
+consisted of fish, which they drew from a river flowing over sands of
+gold, at the foot of a lofty hill: these were broiled as fast as taken,
+and served up with a sauce of vinegar and small herbs that grew on Mount
+Sinai; for everything with the emir was excellent and pious.
+
+The dessert was not quite set on when the sound of lutes from the hill
+was repeated by the echoes of the neighbouring mountains.  The Caliph
+with an emotion of pleasure and surprise, had no sooner raised up his
+head than a handful of jasamine dropped on his face.  An abundance of
+tittering succeeded this frolic, and instantly appeared through the
+bushes the elegant forms of several young females, skipping and bounding
+like roes.  The fragrance diffused from their hair struck the sense of
+Vathek, who in an ecstasy, suspending his repast, said to Bababalouk:
+
+“Are the Peries {82} come down from their spheres?  Note her in
+particular whose form is so perfect, venturously running on the brink of
+the precipice, and turning back her head as regardless of nothing but the
+graceful flow of her robe.  With what captivating impatience doth she
+contend with the bushes for her veil? Could it be she who threw the
+jasamine at me?”
+
+“Aye, she it was; and you too would she throw from the top of the rock,”
+answered Bababalouk, “for that is my good friend Nouronihar, who so
+kindly lent me her swing.  My dear lord and master,” added he, twisting a
+twig that hung by the rind from a willow, “let me correct her for her
+want of respect: the emir will have no reason to complain, since (bating
+what I owe to his piety) he is much to be censured for keeping a troop of
+girls on the mountains, whose sharp air gives their blood too brisk a
+circulation.”
+
+“Peace, blasphemer!” said the Caliph: “speak not thus of her who over her
+mountains leads my heart a willing captive.  Contrive, rather, that my
+eyes may be fixed upon hers—that I may respire her sweet breath, as she
+bounds panting along these delightful wilds!”
+
+On saying these words, Vathek extended his arms towards the hill, and
+directing his eyes with an anxiety unknown to him before, endeavoured to
+keep within view the object that enthralled his soul; but her course was
+as difficult to follow as the flight of one of those beautiful blue
+butterflies of Cachmere, which are at once so volatile and rare.
+
+The Caliph, not satisfied with seeing, wished also to hear Nouronihar,
+and eagerly turned to catch the sound of her voice.  At last he
+distinguished her whispering to one of her companions behind the thicket
+from whence she had thrown the jasamine:
+
+“A Caliph, it must be owned, is a fine thing to see, but my little
+Gulchenrouz is much more amiable; one lock of his hair is of more value
+to me than the richest embroidery of the Indies.  I had rather that his
+teeth should mischievously press my finger, than the richest ring of the
+imperial treasure.  Where have you left him, Sutlememe? and why is he now
+not here?”
+
+The agitated Caliph still wished to hear more, but she immediately
+retired with all her attendants.  The fond monarch pursued her with his
+eyes till she was gone out of sight, and then continued like a bewildered
+and benighted traveller, from whom the clouds had obscured the
+constellation that guided his way.  The curtain of night seemed dropped
+before him—everything appeared discoloured.  The falling waters filled
+his soul with dejection, and his tears trickled down the jasamines he had
+caught from Nouronihar, and placed in his inflamed bosom.  He snatched up
+a shining pebble to remind him of the scene where he felt the first
+tumults of love.  Two hours were elapsed, and evening drew on before he
+could resolve to depart from the place.  He often, but in vain, attempted
+to go: a soft languor enervated the powers of his mind.  Extending
+himself on the brink of the stream, he turned his eyes towards the blue
+summits of the mountain, and exclaimed:
+
+“What concealest thou behind thee? what is passing in thy solitudes?
+Whither is she gone?  O heaven! perhaps she is now wandering in the
+grottoes with her happy Gulchenrouz!”
+
+In the mean time the damps began to descend, and the emir, solicitous for
+the health of the Caliph, ordered the imperial litter to be brought.
+Vathek, absorbed in his reveries, was imperceptibly removed and conveyed
+back to the saloon that received him the evening before.
+
+But let us leave the Caliph immersed in his new passion, and attend
+Nouronihar beyond the rocks, where she had again joined her beloved
+Gulchenrouz.  This Gulchenrouz was the son of Ali Hassan, brother to the
+emir, and the most delicate and lovely creature in the world.  Ali
+Hassan, who had been absent ten years on a voyage to the unknown seas,
+committed at his departure this child, the only survivor of many, to the
+care and protection of his brother.  Gulchenrouz could write in various
+characters with precision, and paint upon vellum the most elegant
+arabesques that fancy could devise.  His sweet voice accompanied the lute
+in the most enchanting manner; and when he sung the loves of Megnoun and
+Leileh, or some unfortunate lovers of ancient days, tears insensibly
+overflowed the cheeks of his auditors.  The verses he composed (for like
+Megnoun, he too was a poet) inspired that unresisting languor so
+frequently fatal to the female heart.  The women all doated upon him, for
+though he had passed his thirteenth year, they still detained him in the
+harem.  His dancing was light as the gossamer waved by the zephyrs of
+spring; but his arms which twined so gracefully with those of the young
+girls in the dance, could neither dart the lance in the chase, nor curb
+the steeds that pastured his uncle’s domains.  The bow, however, he drew
+with a certain aim, and would have excelled his competitors in the race,
+could he have broken the ties that bound him to Nouronihar.
+
+The two brothers had mutually engaged their children to each other; and
+Nouronihar loved her cousin more than her eyes.  Both had the same tastes
+and amusements; the same long languishing looks; the same tresses; the
+same fair complexions; and when Gulchenrouz appeared in the dress of his
+cousin, he seemed to be more feminine than even herself.  If at any time
+he left the harem to visit Fakreddin, it was with all the bashfulness of
+a fawn that consciously ventures from the lair of its dam; he was however
+wanton enough to mock the solemn old grey-beards to whom he was subject,
+though sure to be rated without mercy in return.  Whenever this happened,
+he would plunge into the recesses of the harem, and sobbing take refuge
+in the arms of Nouronihar, who loved even his faults beyond the virtues
+of others.
+
+It fell out this evening that after leaving the Caliph in the meadow, she
+ran with Gulchenrouz over the green sward of the mountain that sheltered
+the vale, where Fakreddin had chosen to reside.  The sun was dilated on
+the edge of the horizon; and the young people, whose fancies were lively
+and inventive, imagined they beheld in the gorgeous clouds of the west
+the domes of Shadukiam and Ambreabad, where the Peries have fixed their
+abode.  Nouronihar, sitting on the slope of the hill, supported on her
+knees the perfumed head of Gulchenrouz.  The air was calm, and no sound
+stirred but the voices of other young girls who were drawing cool water
+from the streams below.  The unexpected arrival of the Caliph, and the
+splendour that marked his appearance, had already filled with emotion the
+ardent soul of Nouronihar.  Her vanity irresistibly prompted her to pique
+the prince’s attention, and this she before took good care to effect
+whilst he picked up the jasamine she had thrown upon him.  But when
+Gulchenrouz asked after the flowers he had culled for her bosom,
+Nouronihar was all in confusion.  She hastily kissed his forehead, arose
+in a flutter, and walked with unequal steps on the border of the
+precipice.  Night advanced, and the pure gold of the setting sun had
+yielded to a sanguine red, the glow of which, like the reflection of a
+burning furnace, flushed Nouronihar’s animated countenance.  Gulchenrouz
+alarmed at the agitation of his cousin, said to her with a supplicating
+accent:
+
+“Let us be gone; the sky looks portentious: the tamarisks tremble more
+than common; and the raw wind chills my very heart.  Come, let us be
+gone, ’tis a melancholy night.”
+
+Then taking hold of her hand he drew it towards the path he besought her
+to go.  Nouronihar unconsciously followed the attraction, for a thousand
+strange imaginations occupied her spirit.  She passed the large round of
+honeysuckles, her favourite resort, without ever vouchsafing it a glance,
+yet Gulchenrouz could not help snatching off a few shoots in his way,
+though he ran as if a wild beast were behind.
+
+The young females seeing him approach in such haste, and according to
+custom expecting a dance, instantly assembled in a circle and took each
+other by the hand, but Gulchenrouz coming up out of breath, fell down at
+once on the grass.  This accident struck with consternation the whole of
+this frolicsome party, whilst Nouronihar, half distracted, and overcome
+both by the violence of her exercise and the tumult of her thoughts, sunk
+feebly down at his side, cherished his cold hands in her bosom, and
+chafed his temples with a fragrant unguent.  At length he came to
+himself, and wrapping up his head in the robe of his cousin, entreated
+that she would not return to the harem.  He was afraid of being snapped
+at by Shaban his tutor, a wrinkled old eunuch of a surly disposition, for
+having interrupted the stated walk of Nouronihar, he dreaded lest the
+churl should take it amiss.  The whole of this sprightly group, sitting
+round upon a mossy knole, began to entertain themselves with various
+pastimes, whilst their superintendents the eunuchs were gravely
+conversing at a distance.  The nurse of the emir’s daughter observing her
+pupil sit ruminating with her eyes on the ground, endeavoured to amuse
+her with diverting tales, to which Gulchenrouz, who had already forgotten
+his inquietudes, listened with a breathless attention.  He laughed; he
+clapped his hands; and passed a hundred little tricks on the whole of the
+company, without omitting the eunuchs, whom he provoked to run after him,
+in spite of their age and decrepitude.
+
+During these occurrences the moon arose, the wind subsided, and the
+evening became so serene and inviting that a resolution was taken to sup
+on the spot.  Sutlememe, who excelled in dressing a salad, having filled
+large bowls of porcelain with eggs of small birds, curds turned with
+citron juice, slices of cucumber, and the inmost leaves of delicate
+herbs, handed it round from one to another, and gave each their shares in
+a large spoon of cocknos.  Gulchenrouz nestling as usual in the bosom of
+Nouronihar, pouted out his vermillion little lips against the offer of
+Sutlememe, and would take it only from the hand of his cousin, on whose
+mouth he hung like a bee inebriated with the quintessence of flowers.
+One of the eunuchs ran to fetch melons, whilst others were employed in
+showering down almonds from the branches that overhung this amiable
+party.
+
+In the midst of this festive scene there appeared a light on the top of
+the highest mountain, which attracted the notice of every eye.  This
+light was not less bright than the moon when at full, and might have been
+taken for her had it not been that the moon was already risen.  The
+phenomenon occasioned a general surprise, and no one could conjecture the
+cause.  It could not be a fire, for the light was clear and bluish; nor
+had meteors ever been seen of that magnitude or splendour.  This strange
+light faded for a moment, and immediately renewed its brightness.  It
+first appeared motionless at the foot of the rock, whence it darted in an
+instant to sparkle in a thicket of palm trees, from thence it glided
+along the torrent, and at last fixed in a glen that was narrow and dark.
+The moment it had taken its direction, Gulchenrouz, whose heart always
+trembled at any thing sudden or rare, drew Nouronihar by the robe, and
+anxiously requested her to return to the harem.  The women were
+importunate in seconding the entreaty, but the curiosity of the emir’s
+daughter prevailed.  She not only refused to go back, but resolved at all
+hazards to pursue the appearance.  Whilst they were debating what was
+best to be done, the light shot forth so dazzling a blaze that they all
+fled away shrieking.  Nouronihar followed them a few steps, but coming to
+the turn of a little bye path stopped, and went back alone.  As she ran
+with an alertness peculiar to herself, it was not long before she came to
+the place where they had just been supping.  The globe of fire now
+appeared stationary in the glen, and burned in majestic stillness.
+Nouronihar compressing her hands upon her bosom, hesitated for some
+moments to advance.  The solitude of her situation was new; the silence
+of the night awful; and every object inspired sensations which till then
+she never had felt.  The affright of Gulchenrouz recurred to her mind;
+and she a thousand times turned to go back, but this luminous appearance
+was always before her.  Urged on by an irresistible impulse, she
+continued to approach it in defiance of every obstacle that opposed her
+progress.
+
+At length she arrived at the opening of the glen, but instead of coming
+up to the light, she found herself surrounded by darkness, except that at
+a considerable distance a faint spark glimmered by fits.  She stopped a
+second time: the sound of waterfalls mingling their murmurs, the hollow
+rustlings amongst the palm branches, and the funereal screams of the
+birds from their rifted trunks, all conspired to fill her with terror.
+She imagined every moment that she trod on some venomous reptile.  All
+the stories of malignant Dives, and dismal Goules thronged into her
+memory, but her curiosity was notwithstanding more predominant than her
+fears.  She therefore firmly entered a winding track that led towards the
+spark, but being a stranger to the path, she had not gone far till she
+began to repent of her rashness.
+
+“Alas!” said she, “that I were but in those secure and illuminated
+apartments where my evenings glided on with Gulchenrouz!  Dear child, how
+would thy heart flutter with terror wert thou wandering in these wild
+solitudes like me.”
+
+At the close of this apostrophe she regained her road, and coming to
+steps hewn out in the rock ascended them undismayed.  The light, which
+was now gradually enlarging, appeared above her on the summit of the
+mountain.  At length she distinguished a plaintive and melodious union of
+voices proceeding from a sort of cavern, that resembled the dirges which
+are sung over tombs.  A sound likewise like that which arises from the
+filling of baths, at the same time struck her ear.  She continued
+ascending, and discovered large wax torches in full blaze planted here
+and there in the fissures of the rock.  This preparation filled her with
+fear, whilst the subtle and potent odour which the torches exhaled caused
+her to sink almost lifeless at the entrance of the grot.
+
+Casting her eyes within in this kind of trance, she beheld a large
+cistern of gold filled with a water, whose vapour distilled on her face a
+dew of the essence of roses.  A soft symphony resounded through the grot.
+On the sides of the cistern she noticed appendages of royalty; diadems
+and feathers of the heron, all sparkling with carbuncles.  Whilst her
+attention was fixed on this display of magnificence, the music ceased,
+and a voice instantly demanded:
+
+“For what monarch were these torches kindled, this bath prepared, and
+these habiliments? which belong not only to the sovereigns of the earth,
+but even to the talismanic powers!”
+
+To which a second voice answered:
+
+“They are for the charming daughter of the emir Fakreddin.”
+
+“What,” replied the first, “for that trifler who consumes her time with a
+giddy child, immersed in softness, and who at best can make but an
+enervated husband?”
+
+“And can she,” rejoined the other voice, “be amused with such empty
+trifles, whilst the Caliph, the sovereign of the world, he who is
+destined to enjoy the treasures of the preadimite sultans, a prince six
+feet high, and whose eyes pervade the inmost soul of a female, is
+inflamed with the love of her? no, she will be wise enough to answer that
+passion alone that can aggrandize her glory.  No doubt she will, and
+despise the puppet of her fancy; then all the riches this place contains,
+as well as the carbuncle of Giamschid shall be hers.”
+
+“You judge right,” returned the first voice, “and I haste to Istakar to
+prepare the palace of subterranean fire for the reception of the bridal
+pair.”
+
+The voices ceased, the torches were extinguished, the most entire
+darkness succeeded, and Nouronihar recovering with a start, found herself
+reclined on a sofa in the harem of her father.  She clapped her hands,
+and immediately came together Gulchenrouz and her women, who, in despair
+at having lost her, had despatched eunuchs to seek her in every
+direction.  Shaban appeared with the rest, and began to reprimand her
+with an air of consequence:
+
+“Little impertinent,” said he, “whence got you false keys? or are you
+beloved of some genius that hath given you a picklock?  I will try the
+extent of your power; come, to your chamber! through the two sky-lights,
+and expect not the company of Gulchenrouz.  Be expeditious!  I will shut
+you up in the double tower.”
+
+At these menaces Nouronihar indignantly raised her head, opened on Shaban
+her black eyes, which since the important dialogue of the enchanted grot
+were considerably enlarged, and said:
+
+“Go, speak thus to slaves! but learn to reverence her who is born to give
+laws, and subject all to her power.”
+
+She was proceeding in the same style, but was interrupted by a sudden
+exclamation of,
+
+“The Caliph! the Caliph!”
+
+The curtains at once were thrown open, and the slaves prostrate in double
+rows, whilst poor little Gulchenrouz hid himself beneath the elevation of
+a sofa.  At first appeared a file of black eunuchs trailing after them
+long trains of muslin embroidered with gold, and holding in their hands
+censers, which dispensed as they passed the grateful perfume of the wood
+of aloes.  Next marched Bababalouk with a solemn strut, and tossing his
+head as not over pleased at the visit.  Vathek came close after superbly
+robed; his gait was unembarrassed and noble, and his presence would have
+engaged admiration, though he had not been the sovereign of the world.
+He approached Nouronihar with a throbbing heart, and seemed enraptured at
+the full effulgence of her radiant eyes, of which he had before caught
+but a few glimpses; but she instantly depressed them, and her confusion
+augmented her beauty.
+
+Bababalouk, who was a thorough adept in coincidences of this nature, and
+knew that the worst game should be played with the best face, immediately
+made a signal for all to retire, and no sooner did he perceive beneath
+the sofa the little one’s feet, than he drew him forth without ceremony,
+set him upon his shoulders, and lavished on him as he went off a thousand
+odious caresses.  Gulchenrouz cried out, and resisted till his cheeks
+became the colour of the blossom of the pomegranite, and the tears that
+started into his eyes shot forth a gleam of indignation.  He cast a
+significant glance at Nouronihar, which the Caliph noticing, asked:
+
+“Is that then your Gulchenrouz?”
+
+“Sovereign of the world,” answered she, “spare my cousin, whose innocence
+and gentleness deserve not your anger!”
+
+“Take comfort,” said Vathek with a smile, “he is in good hands.
+Bababalouk is fond of children, and never goes without sweetmeats and
+comfits.”
+
+The daughter of Fakreddin was abashed; and suffered Gulchenrouz to be
+borne away without adding a word.  The tumult of her bosom betrayed her
+confusion; and Vathek becoming still more impassioned, gave a loose to
+his frenzy, which had only not subdued the last faint strugglings of
+reluctance, when the emir suddenly bursting in, threw his face upon the
+ground at the feet of the Caliph, and said:
+
+“Commander of the faithful, abase not yourself to the meanness of your
+slave.”
+
+“No, emir,” replied Vathek, “I raise her to an equality with myself; I
+declare her my wife; and the glory of your race shall extend from one
+generation to another.”
+
+“Alas! my lord,” said Fakreddin, as he plucked off the honours of his
+beard, “cut short the days of your faithful servant rather than force him
+to depart from his word.  Nouronihar, as her hands evince, is solemnly
+promised to Gulchenrouz, the son of my bother, Ali Hassan; they are
+united also in heart; their faith is mutually plighted; and affiances so
+sacred cannot be broken.”
+
+“What, then,” replied the Caliph bluntly, “would you surrender this
+divine beauty to a husband more womanish than herself?  And can you
+imagine that I will suffer her charms to decay in hands so inefficient
+and nerveless?  No! she is destined to live out her life within my
+embraces: such is my will: retire, and disturb not the night I devote to
+the homage of her charms.”
+
+The irritated emir drew forth his sabre, presented it to Vathek, and
+stretching out his neck, said in a firm tone of voice:
+
+“Strike your unhappy host my lord! he has lived long enough, since he
+hath seen the prophet’s vicegerent violate the rights of hospitality.”
+
+At his uttering these words, Nouronihar unable to support any longer the
+conflict of her passions, sunk down in a swoon.  Vathek, both terrified
+for her life, and furious at an opposition to his will, bade Fakreddin
+assist his daughter, and withdrew, darting his terrible look at the
+unfortunate emir, who suddenly fell backward bathed in a sweat, cold as
+the damp of death.
+
+Gulchenrouz, who had escaped from the hands of Bababalouk, and was that
+instant returned, called out for help as loudly as he could, not having
+strength to afford it himself.  Pale and panting, the poor child
+attempted to revive Nouronihar by caresses, and it happened that the
+thrilling warmth of his lips restored her to life.  Fakreddin beginning
+also to recover from the look of the Caliph, with difficulty tottered to
+a seat, and after warily casting round his eye to see if this dangerous
+prince were gone, sent for Shaban and Sutlememe, and said to them apart—
+
+“My friends, violent evils require as violent remedies; the Caliph has
+brought desolation and horror into my family, and how shall we resist his
+power?  Another of his looks will send me to my grave.  Fetch then that
+narcotic powder which the Dervise brought me from Aracan.  A dose of it,
+the effect of which will continue three days, must be administered to
+each of these children.  The Caliph will believe them to be dead, for
+they will have all the appearance of death.  We shall go as if to inter
+them in the cave of Meimoune, at the entrance of the great desert of
+sand, and near the cabin of my dwarfs.  When all the spectators shall be
+withdrawn, you, Shaban, and four select eunuchs shall convey them to the
+lake, where provision shall be ready to support them a month; for, one
+day allotted to the surprise this event will occasion, five to the tears,
+a fortnight to reflection, and the rest to prepare for renewing his
+progress, will, according to my calculation, fill up the whole time that
+Vathek will tarry, and I shall then be freed from his intrusion.”
+
+“Your plan,” said Sutlememe, “is a good one, if it can but be effected.
+I have remarked that Nouronihar is well able to support the glances of
+the Caliph, and that he is far from being sparing of them to her; be
+assured therefore, notwithstanding her fondness for Gulchenrouz, she will
+never remain quiet while she knows him to be here, unless we can persuade
+her that both herself and Gulchenrouz are really dead, and that they were
+conveyed to those rocks for a limited season to expiate the little faults
+of which their love was the cause.  We will add that we killed ourselves
+in despair, and that your dwarfs whom they never yet saw will preach to
+them delectable sermons.  I will engage that every thing shall succeed to
+the bent of your wishes.”
+
+“Be it so,” said Fakreddin; “I approve your proposal; let us lose not a
+moment to give it effect.”  They forthwith hastened to seek for the
+powder, which being mixed in a sherbet was immediately drunk by
+Gulchenrouz and Nouronihar.  Within the space of an hour both were seized
+with violent palpitations, and a general numbness gradually ensued.  They
+arose from the floor, where they had remained ever since the Caliph’s
+departure, and ascending to the sofa, reclined themselves at full length
+upon it, clasped in each other’s embraces.
+
+“Cherish me, my dear Nouronihar,” said Gulchenrouz; “put thy hand upon my
+heart, for it feels as if it were frozen.  Alas! thou art as cold as
+myself! hath the Caliph murdered us both with his terrible look?”
+
+“I am dying,” cried she in a faltering voice; “press me closer, I am
+ready to expire!”
+
+“Let us die then together,” answered the little Gulchenrouz, whilst his
+breast laboured with a convulsive sigh; “let me at least breathe forth my
+soul on thy lips.”
+
+They spoke no more, and became as dead.
+
+Immediately the most piercing cries were heard through the harem, whilst
+Shaban and Sutlememe personated with great adroitness the parts of
+persons in despair.  The emir, who was sufficiently mortified to be
+forced into such untoward expedients, and had now for the first time made
+a trial of his powder, was under no necessity of counterfeiting grief.
+The slaves, who had flocked together from all quarters, stood motionless
+at the spectacle before them.  All lights were extinguished save two
+lamps, which shed a wan glimmering over the faces of these lovely
+flowers, that seemed to be faded in the spring-time of life.  Funeral
+vestments were prepared; their bodies were washed with rose water; their
+beautiful tresses were braided and incensed; and they were wrapped in
+symars whiter than alabaster.  At the moment that their attendants were
+placing two wreaths of their favourite jasamines on their brows, the
+Caliph, who had just heard the tragical catastrophe, arrived.  He looked
+not less pale and haggard than the goules that wander at night among
+graves.  Forgetful of himself and every one else, he broke through the
+midst of the slaves, fell prostrate at the foot of the sofa, beat his
+bosom, called himself “atrocious murderer,” and invoked upon his head a
+thousand imprecations.  With a trembling hand he raised the veil that
+covered the countenance of Nouronihar, and uttering a loud shriek fell
+lifeless on the floor.  The chief of the eunuchs dragged him off with
+horrible grimaces, and repeated as he went:
+
+“Aye, I foresaw she would play you some ungracious turn.”
+
+No sooner was the Caliph gone than the emir commanded biers to be
+brought, and forbade that any one should enter the harem.  Every window
+was fastened; all instruments of music were broken; and the Imams began
+to recite their prayers.  Towards the close of this melancholy day Vathek
+sobbed in silence, for they had been forced to compose with anodynes his
+convulsions of rage and desperation.
+
+At the dawn of the succeeding morning the wide folding doors of the
+palace were set open, and the funeral procession moved forward for the
+mountain.  The wailful cries of “La Ilah illa Alla,” reached to the
+Caliph, who was eager to cicatrize himself and attend the ceremonial; nor
+could he have been dissuaded, had not his excessive weakness disabled him
+from walking.  At the few first steps he fell on the ground, and his
+people were obliged to lay him on a bed, where he remained many days in
+such a state of insensibility as excited compassion in the emir himself.
+
+When the procession was arrived at the grot of Meimoune, Shaban and
+Sutlememe dismissed the whole of the train excepting the four
+confidential eunuchs who were appointed to remain.  After resting some
+moments near the biers which had been left in the open air, they caused
+them to be carried to the brink of a small lake whose banks were
+overgrown with a hoary moss.  This was the great resort of herons and
+storks, which preyed continually on little blue fishes.  The dwarfs,
+instructed by the emir, soon repaired thither, and with the help of the
+eunuchs began to construct cabins of rushes and reeds, a work in which
+they had admirable skill.  A magazine also was contrived for provisions,
+with a small oratory for themselves, and a pyramid of wood neatly piled,
+to furnish the necessary fuel, for the air was bleak in the hollows of
+the mountains.
+
+At evening two fires were kindled on the brink of the lake, and the two
+lovely bodies taken from their biers were carefully deposited upon a bed
+of dried leaves within the same cabin.  The dwarfs began to recite the
+koran with their clear shrill voices, and Shaban and Sutlememe stood at
+some distance anxiously waiting the effects of the powder.  At length
+Nouronihar and Gulchenrouz faintly stretched out their arms, and
+gradually opening their eyes began to survey with looks of increasing
+amazement every object around them.  They even attempted to rise, but for
+want of strength fell back again.  Sutlememe on this administered a
+cordial which the emir had taken care to provide.
+
+Gulchenrouz thoroughly aroused sneezed out aloud, and raising himself
+with an effort that expressed his surprise, left the cabin, and inhaled
+the fresh air with the greatest avidity.
+
+“Yes,” said he, “I breathe again! again do I exist!  I hear sounds!  I
+behold a firmament spangled over with stars!”
+
+Nouronihar catching these beloved accents extricated herself from the
+leaves, and ran to clasp Gulchenrouz to her bosom.  The first objects she
+remarked were their long symars, their garlands of flowers, and their
+naked feet: she hid her face in her hands to reflect.  The vision of the
+enchanted bath, the despair of her father, and more vividly than both,
+the majestic figure of Vathek recurred to her memory.  She recollected
+also, that herself and Gulchenrouz had been sick and dying; but all these
+images bewildered her mind.  Not knowing where she was, she turned her
+eyes on all sides, as if to recognise the surrounding scene.  This
+singular lake, those flames reflected from its glassy surface, the pale
+hues of its banks, the romantic cabins, the bull-rushes that sadly waved
+their drooping heads, the storks whose melancholy cries blended with the
+shrill voices of the dwarfs, every thing conspired to persuade them that
+the angel of death had opened the portal of some other world.
+
+Gulchenrouz on his part, lost in wonder, clung to the neck of his cousin.
+He believed himself in the region of phantoms, and was terrified at the
+silence she preserved.  At length addressing her:
+
+“Speak,” said he; “where are we! do you not see those spectres that are
+stirring the burning coals?  Are they the Monker and Nakir, come to throw
+us into them?  Does the fatal bridge cross this lake, whose solemn
+stillness perhaps conceals from us an abyss, in which for whole ages we
+shall be doomed incessantly to sink?”
+
+“No my children,” said Sutlememe going towards them; “take comfort, the
+exterminating angel who conducted our souls hither after yours, hath
+assured us that the chastisement of your indolent and voluptuous life
+shall be restricted to a certain series of years, which you must pass in
+this dreary abode, where the sun is scarcely visible, and where the soil
+yields neither fruits nor flowers.  These,” continued she, pointing to
+the dwarfs, “will provide for our wants; for souls so mundane as ours
+retain too strong a tincture of their earthly extraction.  Instead of
+meats, your food will be nothing but rice, and your bread shall be
+moistened in the fogs that brood over the surface of the lake.”
+
+At this desolating prospect the poor children burst into tears, and
+prostrated themselves before the dwarfs, who perfectly supported their
+characters, and delivered an excellent discourse of a customary length
+upon the sacred camel, which after a thousand years was to convey them to
+the paradise of the faithful.
+
+The sermon being ended and ablutions performed, they praised Alla and the
+prophet, supped very indifferently, and retired to their withered leaves.
+Nouronihar and her little cousin consoled themselves on finding that,
+though dead, they yet lay in one cabin.  Having slept well before, the
+remainder of the night was spent in conversation on what had befallen
+them; and both, from a dread of apparitions, betook themselves for
+protection to one another’s arms.
+
+In the morning, which was lowering and rainy, the dwarfs mounted high
+poles like minarets, and called them to prayers.  The whole congregation,
+which consisted of Sutlememe, Shaban, the four eunuchs, and some storks,
+were already assembled.  The two children came forth from their cabin
+with a slow and dejected pace.  As their minds were in a tender and
+melancholy mood, their devotions were performed with fervour.  No sooner
+were they finished than Gulchenrouz demanded of Sutlememe and the rest,
+“how they happened to die so opportunely for his cousin and himself.”
+
+“We killed ourselves,” returned Sutlememe, “in despair at your death.”
+
+On this, said Nouronihar, who notwithstanding what was past, had not yet
+forgotten her vision:
+
+“And the Caliph, is he also dead of his grief? and will he likewise come
+hither?”
+
+The dwarfs, who were prepared with an answer, most demurely replied:
+
+“Vathek is damned beyond all redemption!”
+
+“I readily believe so,” said Gulchenrouz; “and am glad from my heart to
+hear it, for I am convinced it was his horrible look that sent us hither,
+to listen to sermons and mess upon rice.”
+
+One week passed away on the side of the lake unmarked by any variety;
+Nouronihar ruminating on the grandeur of which death had deprived her,
+and Gulchenrouz applying to prayers and to panniers along with the
+dwarfs, who infinitely pleased him.  Whilst this scene of innocence was
+exhibiting in the mountains, the Caliph presented himself to the emir in
+a new light.  The instant he recovered the use of his senses, with a
+voice that made Bababalouk quake, he thundered out:
+
+“Perfidious Giaour! I renounce thee for ever! it is thou who hast slain
+my beloved Nouronihar! and I supplicate the pardon of Mahomet, who would
+have preserved her to me had I been more wise.  Let water be brought to
+perform my ablutions, and let the pious Fakreddin be called to offer up
+his prayers with mine, and reconcile me to him.  Afterwards we will go
+together and visit the sepulchre of the unfortunate Nouronihar.  I am
+resolved to become a hermit, and consume the residue of my days on this
+mountain, in hope of expiating my crimes.”
+
+Nouronihar was not altogether so content, for though she felt a fondness
+for Gulchenrouz, who to augment the attachment, had been left at full
+liberty with her, yet she still regarded him as but a bauble that bore no
+competition with the carbuncle of Giamschid.  At times she indulged
+doubts on the mode of her being, and scarcely could believe that the dead
+had all the wants and the whims of the living.  To gain satisfaction,
+however, on so perplexing a topic, she arose one morning whilst all were
+asleep with a breathless caution from the side of Gulchenrouz, and after
+having given him a soft kiss, began to follow the windings of the lake
+till it terminated with a rock whose top was accessible though lofty.
+This she clambered up with considerable toil, and having reached the
+summit, set forward in a run like a doe that unwittingly follows her
+hunter.  Though she skipped along with the alertness of an antelope, yet
+at intervals she was forced to desist, and rest beneath the tamarisks to
+recover her breath.  Whilst she, thus reclined, was occupied with her
+little reflections on the apprehension that she had some knowledge of the
+place, Vathek, who finding himself that morning but ill at ease, had gone
+forth before the dawn, presented himself on a sudden to her view.
+Motionless with surprise, he durst not approach the figure before him,
+which lay shrouded up in a symar extended on the ground, trembling and
+pale, but yet lovely to behold.  At length Nouronihar, with a mixture of
+pleasure and affliction, raising her fine eyes to him, said:
+
+“My lord, are you come hither to eat rice and hear sermons with me?”
+
+“Beloved phantom!” cried Vathek, “dost thou speak? hast thou the same
+graceful form? the same radiant features? art thou palpable likewise?”
+and eagerly embracing her he added, “here are limbs and a bosom animated
+with a gentle warmth! what can such a prodigy mean?”
+
+Nouronihar with diffidence answered:
+
+“You know my lord that I died on the night you honoured me with your
+visit; my cousin maintains it was from one of your glances, but I cannot
+believe him, for to me they seem not so dreadful.  Gulchenrouz died with
+me, and we were both brought into a region of desolation, where we are
+fed with a wretched diet.  If you be dead also, and are come hither to
+join us, I pity your lot, for you will be stunned with the clang of the
+dwarfs and the storks.  Besides, it is mortifying in the extreme that you
+as well as myself should have lost the treasures of the subterranean
+palace.”
+
+At the mention of the subterranean palace, the Caliph suspended his
+caresses, which indeed had proceeded pretty far, to seek from Nouronihar
+an explanation of her meaning.  She then recapitulated her vision—what
+immediately followed—and the history of her pretended death; adding also
+a description of the palace of expiation from whence she had fled; and
+all in a manner that would have extorted his laughter, had not the
+thoughts of Vathek been too deeply engaged.  No sooner, however, had she
+ended, than he again clasped her to his bosom, and said:
+
+“Light of my eyes! the mystery is unravelled; we both are alive!  Your
+father is a cheat, who for the sake of dividing hath deluded us both; and
+the Giaour, whose design, as far as I can discover, is that we shall
+proceed together, seems scarce a whit better.  It shall be some time at
+least before he find us in his palace of fire.  Your lovely little person
+in my estimation is far more precious than all the treasures of the
+preadimite sultans, and I wish to possess it at pleasure, and in open day
+for many a moon, before I go to burrow under ground like a mole.”
+
+“Forget this little trifler Gulchenrouz, and”—
+
+“Ah, my lord,” interposed Nouronihar, “let me entreat that you do him no
+evil.”
+
+“No, no,” replied Vathek, “I have already bid you forbear to alarm
+yourself for him.  He has been brought up too much on milk and sugar to
+stimulate my jealousy.  We will leave him with the dwarfs, who by the bye
+are my old acquaintances; their company will suit him far better than
+yours.  As to other matters, I will return no more to your father’s.  I
+want not to have my ears dinned by him and his dotards with the violation
+of the rights of hospitality; as if it were less an honour for you to
+espouse the sovereign of the world, than a girl dressed up like a boy.”
+
+Nouronihar could find nothing to oppose in a discourse so eloquent.  She
+only wished the amorous monarch had discovered more ardour for the
+carbuncle of Giamschid; but flattered herself it would gradually
+increase, and therefore yielded to his will with the most bewitching
+submission.
+
+When the Caliph judged it proper he called for Bababalouk, who was asleep
+in the cave of Meimoune, and dreaming that the phantom of Nouronihar
+having mounted him once more on her swing, had just given him such a jerk
+that he one moment soared above the mountains, and the next sunk into the
+abyss.  Starting from his sleep at the voice of his master, he ran
+gasping for breath, and had nearly fallen backward at the sight, as he
+believed, of the spectre, by whom he had so lately been haunted in his
+dream.
+
+“Ah my lord,” cried he, recoiling ten steps, and covering his eyes with
+both hands, “do you then perform the office of a goule?  ’Tis true you
+have dug up the dead, yet hope not to make her your prey; for after all
+she hath caused me to suffer, she is even wicked enough to prey upon
+you.”
+
+“Cease thy folly,” said Vathek, “and thou shalt soon be convinced that it
+is Nouronihar herself, alive and well, whom I clasp to my breast.  Go
+only, and pitch my tents in the neighbouring valley.  There will I fix my
+abode with this beautiful tulip, whose colours I soon shall restore.
+There exert thy best endeavours to procure whatever can augment the
+enjoyments of life, till I shall disclose to thee more of my will.”
+
+The news of so unlucky an event soon reached the ears of the emir, who
+abandoned himself to grief and despair, and began, as did all his old
+greybeards, to begrime his visage with ashes.  A total supineness ensued;
+travellers were no longer entertained, no more plasters were spread, and
+instead of the charitable activity that had distinguished this asylum,
+the whole of its inhabitants exhibited only faces of a half cubit long,
+and uttered groans that accorded with their forlorn situation.
+
+Though Fakreddin bewailed his daughter as lost to him for ever, yet
+Gulchenrouz was not forgotten.  He despatched immediate instruction to
+Sutlememe, Shaban, and the dwarfs, enjoining them not to undeceive the
+child in respect to his state, but under some pretence to convey him far
+from the lofty rock at the extremity of the lake, to a place which he
+should appoint, as safer from danger; for he suspected that Vathek
+intended him evil.
+
+Gulchenrouz in the mean while was filled with amazement at not finding
+his cousin; nor were the dwarfs at all less surprised; but Sutlememe, who
+had more penetration, immediately guessed what had happened.  Gulchenrouz
+was amused with the delusive hope of once more embracing Nouronihar in
+the interior recesses of the mountains, where the ground, strewed over
+with orange blossoms and jasamines, offered beds much more inviting than
+the withered leaves in their cabin, where they might accompany with their
+voices the sounds of their lutes, and chase butterflies in concert.
+Sutlememe was far gone in this sort of description when one of the four
+eunuchs beckoned her aside to apprise her of the arrival of a messenger
+from their fraternity, who had explained the secret of the flight of
+Nouronihar, and brought the commands of the emir.  A council with Shaban
+and the dwarfs was immediately held.  Their baggage being stowed in
+consequence of it, they embarked in a shallop and quietly sailed with the
+little one, who acquiesced in all their proposals.  Their voyage
+proceeded in the same manner, till they came to the place where the lake
+sinks beneath the hollow of the rock, but as soon as the bark had entered
+it, and Gulchenrouz found himself surrounded with darkness, he was seized
+with a dreadful consternation, and incessantly uttered the most piercing
+outcries; for he now was persuaded he should actually be damned for
+having taken too many little freedoms in his life-time with his cousin.
+
+But let us return to the Caliph, and her who ruled over his heart.
+Bababalouk had pitched the tents, and closed up the extremities of the
+valley with magnificent screens of India cloth, which were guarded by
+Ethiopian slaves with their drawn sabres.  To preserve the verdure of
+this beautiful enclosure in its natural freshness, the white eunuchs went
+continually round it with their red water vessels.  The waving of fans
+was heard near the imperial pavilion, where by the voluptuous light that
+glowed through the muslins, the Caliph enjoyed at full view all the
+attractions of Nouronihar.  Inebriated with delight, he was all ear to
+her charming voice which accompanied the lute; while she was not less
+captivated with his descriptions of Samarah and the tower full of
+wonders, but especially with his relation of the adventure of the ball,
+and the chasm of the Giaour with its ebony portal.
+
+In this manner they conversed for a day and a night; they bathed together
+in a basin of black marble, which admirably relieved the fairness of
+Nouronihar.  Bababalouk, whose good graces this beauty had regained,
+spared no attention that their repasts might be served up with the
+minutest exactness: some exquisite rariety was ever placed before them;
+and he sent even to Schiraz for that fragrant and delicious wine which
+had been hoarded up in bottles prior to the birth of Mahomet.  He had
+excavated little ovens in the rock to bake the nice manchets which were
+prepared by the hands of Nouronihar, from whence they had derived a
+flavour so grateful to Vathek, that he regarded the ragouts of his other
+wives as entirely maukish; whilst they would have died at the emir’s of
+chagrin at finding themselves so neglected, if Fakreddin, notwithstanding
+his resentment, had not taken pity upon them.
+
+The sultana Dilara, who till then had been the favourite, took this
+dereliction of the Caliph to heart with a vehemence natural to her
+character; for during her continuance in favour she had imbibed from
+Vathek many of his extravagant fancies, and was fired with impatience to
+behold the superb tombs of Istakar, and the palace of forty columns;
+besides, having been brought up amongst the magi, she had fondly
+cherished the idea of the Caliph’s devoting himself to the worship of
+fire; thus his voluptuous and desultory life with her rival was to her a
+double source of affliction.  The transient piety of Vathek had
+occasioned her some serious alarms, but the present was an evil of far
+greater magnitude.  She resolved therefore without hesitation to write to
+Carathis, and acquaint her that all things went ill; that they had eaten,
+slept, and revelled at an old emir’s, whose sanctity was very formidable,
+and that after all the prospect of possessing the treasures of the
+preadimite sultans was no less remote than before.  This letter was
+entrusted to the care of two woodmen who were at work on one of the great
+forests of the mountains, and being acquainted with the shortest cuts,
+arrived in ten days at Samarah.
+
+The princess Carathis was engaged at chess with Morakanabad, when the
+arrival of these wood-fellers was announced.  She, after some weeks of
+Vathek’s absence, had forsaken the upper regions of her tower, because
+everything appeared in confusion among the stars, whom she consulted
+relative to the fate of her son.  In vain did she renew her fumigations,
+and extend herself on the roof to obtain mystic visions, nothing more
+could she see in her dreams than pieces of brocade, nosegays of flowers,
+and other unmeaning gewgaws.  These disappointments had thrown her into a
+state of dejection which no drug in her power was sufficient to remove.
+Her only resource was in Morakanabad, who was a good man, and endowed
+with a decent share of confidence, yet whilst in her company he never
+thought himself on roses.
+
+No person knew aught of Vathek, and a thousand ridiculous stories were
+propagated at his expense.  The eagerness of Carathis may be easily
+guessed at receiving the letter, as well as her rage at reading the
+dissolute conduct of her son.
+
+“Is it so,” said she; “either I will perish, or Vathek shall enter the
+palace of fire.  Let me expire in flames, provided he may reign on the
+throne of Soliman!”
+
+Having said this, and whirled herself round in a magical manner, which
+struck Morakanabad with such terror as caused him to recoil, she ordered
+her great camel Alboufaki to be brought, and the hideous Nerkes with the
+unrelenting Cafour to attend.
+
+“I require no other retinue,” said she to Morakanabad: “I am going on
+affairs of emergency, a truce therefore to parade!  Take you care of the
+people, fleece them well in my absence, for we shall expend large sums,
+and one knows not what may betide.”
+
+The night was uncommonly dark, and a pestilential blast ravaged the plain
+of Catoul that would have deterred any other traveller however urgent the
+call; but Carathis enjoyed most whatever filled others with dread.
+Nerkes concurred in opinion with her, and Cafour had a particular
+predilection for a pestilence.  In the morning this accomplished caravan,
+with the wood-fellers who directed their route, halted on the edge of an
+extensive marsh, from whence so noxious a vapour arose as would have
+destroyed any animal but Alboufaki, who naturally inhaled these malignant
+fogs.  The peasants entreated their convoy not to sleep in this place.
+
+“To sleep,” cried Carathis, “what an excellent thought!  I never sleep
+but for visions; and as to my attendants, their occupations are too many
+to close the only eye they each have.”
+
+The poor peasants, who were not over pleased with their party, remained
+open-mouthed with surprise.
+
+Carathis alighted as well as her negresses, and severally stripping off
+their outer garments, they all ran in their drawers to cull from those
+spots where the sun shone fiercest, the venomous plants that grew on the
+marsh.  This provision was made for the family of the emir, and whoever
+might retard the expedition to Istakar.  The woodmen were overcome with
+fear when they beheld these three horrible phantoms run, and not much
+relishing the company of Alboufaki, stood aghast at the command of
+Carathis to set forward, notwithstanding it was noon, and the heat fierce
+enough to calcine even rocks.  In spite, however, of every remonstrance,
+they were forced implicitly to submit.
+
+Alboufaki, who delighted in solitude, constantly snorted whenever he
+perceived himself near a habitation, and Carathis, who was apt to spoil
+him with indulgence, as constantly turned him aside; so that the peasants
+were precluded from procuring subsistence; for the milch goats and ewes
+which Providence had sent towards the district they traversed, to refresh
+travellers with their milk, all fled at the sight of the hideous animal
+and his strange riders.  As to Carathis, she needed no common aliment;
+for her invention had previously furnished her with an opiate to stay her
+stomach, some of which she imparted to her mutes.
+
+At the fall of night Alboufaki making a sudden stop, stamped with his
+foot, which to Carathis, who understood his paces, was a certain
+indication that she was near the confines of some cemetery.  The moon
+shed a bright light on the spot, which served to discover a long wall
+with a large door in it standing a-jar, and so high that Alboufaki might
+easily enter.  The miserable guides, who perceived their end approaching,
+humbly implored Carathis, as she had now so good an opportunity, to inter
+them, and immediately gave up the ghost.  Nerkes and Cafour, whose wit
+was of a style peculiar to themselves, were by no means parsimonious of
+it on the folly of these poor people, nor could any thing have been found
+more suited to their taste than the site of the burying ground, and the
+sepulchres which its precincts contained.  There were at least two
+thousand of them on the declivity of a hill; some in the form of
+pyramids, others like columns, and in short the variety of their shapes
+was endless.  Carathis was too much immersed in her sublime
+contemplations to stop at the view, charming as it appeared in her eyes.
+Pondering the advantages that might accrue from her present situation,
+she could not forbear to exclaim:
+
+“So beautiful a cemetery must be haunted by Gouls, and they want not for
+intelligence! having heedlessly suffered my guides to expire, I will
+apply for directions to them, and as an inducement, will invite them to
+regale on these fresh corpses.”
+
+After this short soliloquy, she beckoned to Nerkes and Cafour, and made
+signs with her fingers, as much as to say:
+
+“Go, knock against the sides of the tombs, and strike up your delightful
+warblings, that are so like to those of the guests whose company I wish
+to obtain.”
+
+The negresses, full of joy at the behests of their mistress, and
+promising themselves much pleasure from the society of the Gouls, went
+with an air of conquest, and began their knockings at the tombs.  As
+their strokes were repeated, a hollow noise was heard in the earth, the
+surface hove up into heaps, and the Gouls on all sides protruded their
+noses to inhale the effluvia which the carcasses of the woodmen began to
+emit.
+
+They assembled before a sarcophagus of white marble, where Carathis was
+seated between the bodies of her miserable guides.  The princess received
+her visitants with distinguished politeness, and when supper was ended,
+proceeded with them to business.  Having soon learnt from them every
+thing she wished to discover, it was her intention to set forward
+forthwith on her journey, but her negresses, who were forming tender
+connections with the Gouls, importuned her with all their fingers to
+wait, at least till the dawn.  Carathis, however, being chastity in the
+abstract, and an implacable enemy to love and repose, at once rejected
+their prayer, mounted Alboufaki, and commanded them to take their seats
+in a moment.  Four days and four nights she continued her route, without
+turning to the right hand or left; on the fifth she traversed the
+mountains and half-burnt forests, and arrived on the sixth before the
+beautiful screens which concealed from all eyes the voluptuous wanderings
+of her son.
+
+It was day-break, and the guards were snoring on their posts in careless
+security, when the rough trot of Alboufaki awoke them in consternation.
+Imagining that a group of spectres ascended from the abyss was
+approaching, they all without ceremony took to their heels.  Vathek was
+at that instant with Nouronihar in the bath, hearing tales and laughing
+at Bababalouk who related them; but no sooner did the outcry of his
+guards reach him, than he flounced from the water like a carp, and as
+soon threw himself back at the sight of Carathis, who advancing with her
+negresses upon Alboufaki, broke through the muslin awnings and veils of
+the pavilion.  At this sudden apparition Nouronihar (for she was not at
+all times free from remorse) fancied that the moment of celestial
+vengeance was come, and clung about the Caliph in amorous despondence.
+
+Carathis, still seated on her camel, foamed with indignation at the
+spectacle which obtruded itself on her chaste view.  She thundered forth
+without check or mercy:
+
+“Thou double-headed and four legged monster! what means all this winding
+and writhing? art thou not ashamed to be seen grasping this limber
+sapling, in preference to the sceptre of the preadimite sultans?  Is it
+then for this paltry doxy that thou hast violated the conditions in the
+parchment of our Giaour?  Is it on her thou hast lavished thy precious
+moments?  Is this the fruit of the knowledge I have taught thee?  Is this
+the end of thy journey?  Tear thyself from the arms of this little
+simpleton; drown her in the water before me, and instantly follow my
+guidance.”
+
+In the first ebullition of his fury, Vathek resolved to make a skeleton
+of Alboufaki, and to stuff the skins of Carathis and her blacks; but the
+ideas of the Giaour, the palace of Istakar, the sabres, and the
+talismans, flashing before his imagination with the simultaneousness of
+lightning, he became more moderate, and said to his mother in a civil but
+decisive tone:
+
+“Dread lady, you shall be obeyed; but I will not drown Nouronihar; she is
+sweeter to me than a Myrabolan comfit, and is enamoured of carbuncles,
+especially that of Giamschid, which hath also been promised to be
+conferred upon her; she therefore shall go along with us, for I intend to
+repose with her beneath the canopies of Soliman; I can sleep no more
+without her.”
+
+“Be it so,” replied Carathis alighting, and at the same time committing
+Alboufaki to the charge of her women.
+
+Nouronihar, who had not yet quitted her hold, began to take courage, and
+said with an accent of fondness to the Caliph:
+
+“Dear sovereign of my soul!  I will follow thee, if it be thy will beyond
+the Kaf, in the land of the Afrits.  I will not hesitate to climb for
+thee the nest of the Simurgh, who, this lady excepted, is the most awful
+of created existences.”
+
+“We have here then,” subjoined Carathis, “a girl both of courage and
+science.”
+
+Nouronihar had certainly both; but notwithstanding all her firmness, she
+could not help casting back a look of regret upon the graces of her
+little Gulchenrouz, and the days of tenderness she had participated with
+him.  She even dropped a few tears, which Carathis observed, and
+inadvertently breathed out with a sigh:
+
+“Alas! my gentle cousin, what will become of him!”
+
+Vathek at this apostrophe knitted up his brows, and Carathis enquired
+what it could mean.
+
+“She is preposterously sighing after a stripling with languishing eyes
+and soft hair who loves her,” said the Caliph.
+
+“Where is he?” asked Carathis.  “I must be acquainted with this pretty
+child; for,” added she, lowering her voice, “I design before I depart to
+regain the favour of the Giaour.  There is nothing so delicious in his
+estimation as the heart of a delicate boy, palpitating with the first
+tumults of love.”
+
+Vathek as he came from the bath commanded Bababalouk to collect the women
+and other moveables of his harem, embody his troops, and hold himself in
+readiness to march in three days; whilst Carathis retired alone to a
+tent, where the Giaour solaced her with encouraging visions; but at
+length waking, she found at her feet Nerkes and Cafour, who informed her
+by their signs, that having led Alboufaki to the borders of a lake, to
+browse on some moss that looked tolerably venomous, they had discovered
+certain blue fishes of the same kind with those in the reservoir on the
+top of the tower.
+
+“Ah, ah,” said she, “I will go thither to them.  These fish are past
+doubt of a species that by a small operation I can render oracular.  They
+may tell me where this little Gulchenrouz is, whom I am bent upon
+sacrificing.”
+
+Having thus spoken, she immediately set out with her swarthy retinue.
+
+It being but seldom that time is lost in the accomplishment of a wicked
+enterprise, Carathis and her negresses soon arrived at the lake, where,
+after burning the magical drugs with which they were always provided,
+they, stripping themselves naked, waded to their chins, Nerkes and Cafour
+waving torches around them, and Carathis pronouncing her barbarous
+incantations.  The fishes with one accord thrust forth their heads from
+the water, which was violently rippled by the flutter of their fins, and
+at length finding themselves constrained by the potency of the charm,
+they opened their piteous mouths, said:
+
+“From gills to tail we are yours; what seek ye to know?”
+
+“Fishes,” answered she, “I conjure you by your glittering scales, tell me
+where now is Gulchenrouz?”
+
+“Beyond the rock,” replied the shoal in full chorus: “will this content
+you? for we do not delight in expanding our mouths.”
+
+“It will,” returned the princess: “I am not to learn that you like not
+long conversations; I will leave you therefore to repose, though I had
+other questions to propound.”
+
+The instant she had spoken the water became smooth, and the fishes at
+once disappeared.
+
+Carathis, inflated with the venom of her projects, strode hastily over
+the rock, and found the amiable Gulchenrouz asleep in an arbour, whilst
+the two dwarfs were watching at his side, and ruminating their accustomed
+prayers.  These diminutive personages possessed the gift of divining
+whenever an enemy to good Mussulmans approached; thus they anticipated
+the arrival of Carathis, who stopping short, said to herself:
+
+“How placidly doth he recline his lovely little head! how pale and
+languishing are his looks! it is just the very child of my wishes!”
+
+The dwarfs interrupted this delectable soliloquy by leaping instantly
+upon her, and scratching her face with their utmost zeal.  But Nerkes and
+Cafour betaking themselves to the succour of their mistress, pinched the
+dwarfs so severely in return, that they both gave up the ghost, imploring
+Mahomet to inflict his sorest vengeance upon this wicked woman and all
+her household.
+
+At the noise which this strange conflict occasioned in the valley,
+Gulchenrouz awoke, and bewildered with terror sprung impetuously upon an
+old fig-tree that rose against the acclivity of the rocks, from thence
+gained their summits, and ran for two hours without once looking back.
+At last, exhausted with fatigue, he fell as if dead into the arms of a
+good old Genius, whose fondness for the company of children had made it
+his sole occupation to protect them, and who, whilst performing his
+wonted rounds through the air, happening on the cruel Giaour at the
+instant of his growling in the horrible chasm, rescued the fifty little
+victims which the impiety of Vathek had devoted to his maw.  These the
+Genius brought up in nests still higher than the clouds, and himself
+fixed his abode in a nest more capacious than the rest, from which he had
+expelled the possessors that had built it.
+
+These inviolable asylums were defended against the Dives and the Afrits
+by waving streamers, on which were inscribed in characters of gold that
+flashed like lightning, the names of Alla and the prophet.  It was there
+that Gulchenrouz, who as yet remained undeceived with respect to his
+pretended death, thought himself in the mansions of eternal peace.  He
+admitted without fear the congratulations of his little friends, who were
+all assembled in the nest of the venerable Genius, and vied with each
+other in kissing his serene forehead and beautiful eye-lids.  This he
+found to be the state congenial to his soul—remote from the inquietudes
+of earth—the impertinence of harems—the brutality of eunuchs—and the
+lubricity of women.  In this peaceable society his days, months, and
+years glided on, nor was he less happy than the rest of his companions,
+for the Genius, instead of burdening his pupils with perishable riches,
+and the vain sciences of the world, conferred upon them the boon of
+perpetual childhood.
+
+Carathis, unaccustomed to the loss of her prey, vented a thousand
+execrations on her negresses for not seizing the child, instead of
+amusing themselves with pinching to death the dwarfs, from which they
+could gain no advantage.  She returned into the valley murmuring, and
+finding that her son was not risen from the arms of Nouronihar,
+discharged her ill-humour upon both.  The idea, however, of departing
+next day for Istakar, and cultivating, through the good offices of the
+Giaour, an intimacy with Eblis himself, at length consoled her chagrin:
+but fate had ordained it otherwise.
+
+In the evening, as Carathis was conversing with Dilara, who through her
+contrivance had become of the party, and whose taste resembled her own,
+Bababalouk came to acquaint her “that the sky towards Samarah looked of a
+fiery red, and seemed to portend some alarming disaster.”  Immediately
+recurring to her astrolabes and instruments of magic, she took the
+altitude of the planets, and discovered by her calculations, to her great
+mortification, that a formidable revolt had taken place at Samarah; that
+Motavakel, availing himself of the disgust which was inveterate against
+his brother had incited commotions amongst the populace, made himself
+master of the palace, and actually invested the great tower, to which
+Morakanabad had retired with a handful of the few that still remained
+faithful to Vathek.
+
+“What,” exclaimed she, “must I lose then my tower, my mutes, my
+negresses, my mummies, and worse than all, the laboratory, in which I
+have spent so many a night, without knowing, at least, if my hair-brained
+son will complete his adventure?  No! I will not be the dupe!
+Immediately will I speed to support Morakanabad.  By my formidable art
+the clouds shall sleet hail-stones in the faces of the assailants, and
+shafts of red-hot iron on their heads.  I will spring mines of serpents
+and torpedoes from beneath them, and we shall soon see the stand they
+will make against such an explosion!”
+
+Having thus spoken, Carathis hasted to her son, who was tranquilly
+banqueting with Nouronihar in his superb carnation coloured tent.
+
+“Glutton that thou art,” cried she, “were it not for me, thou wouldst
+soon find thyself the commander only of pies.  Thy faithful subjects have
+abjured the faith they swore to thee.  Motavakel thy brother now reigns
+on the hill of pied horses; and had I not some slight resources in the
+tower, would not be easily persuaded to abdicate.  But that time may not
+be lost, I shall only add four words: strike tent to-night; set forward;
+and beware how thou loiterest again by the way.  Though thou hast
+forfeited the conditions of the parchment, I am not yet without hope; for
+it cannot be denied that thou hast violated to admiration the laws of
+hospitality by seducing the daughter of the emir, after having partaken
+of his bread and his salt.  Such a conduct cannot but be delightful to
+the Giaour; and if on thy march thou canst signalize thyself by an
+additional crime, all will still go well, and thou shalt enter the palace
+of Soliman in triumph.  Adieu!  Alboufaki and my negresses are waiting.”
+
+The Caliph had nothing to offer in reply: he wished his mother a
+prosperous journey, and eat on till he had finished his supper.  At
+midnight the camp broke up, amidst the flourishing of trumpets and other
+martial instruments; but loud indeed must have been the sound of the
+tymbals, to overpower the blubbering of the emir and his long-beards, who
+by an excessive profusion of tears had so far exhausted the radical
+moisture, that their eyes shrivelled up in their sockets, and their hairs
+dropped off by the roots.  Nouronihar, to whom such a symphony was
+painful, did not grieve to get out of hearing.  She accompanied the
+Caliph in the imperial litter, where they amused themselves with
+imagining the splendour which was soon to surround them.  The other
+women, overcome with dejection, were dolefully rocked in their cages,
+whilst Dilara consoled herself with anticipating the joy of celebrating
+the rites of fire on the stately terraces of Istakar.
+
+In four days they reached the spacious valley of Rocnabad.  The season of
+spring was in all its vigour, and the grotesque branches of the almond
+trees in full blossom fantastically chequered the clear blue sky.  The
+earth, variegated with hyacinths and jonquils, breathed forth a fragrance
+which diffused through the soul a divine repose.  Myriads of bees, and
+scarce fewer of Santons had there taken up their abode.  On the banks of
+the stream hives and oratories were alternately ranged, and their
+neatness and whiteness were set off by the deep green of the cypresses
+that spired up amongst them.  These pious personages amused themselves
+with cultivating little gardens that abounded with flowers and fruits,
+especially musk-melons of the best flavour that Persia could boast.
+Sometimes dispersed over the meadow they entertained themselves with
+feeding peacocks whiter than snow, and turtles more blue than the
+sapphire.  In this manner were they occupied when the harbingers of the
+imperial procession began to proclaim:
+
+“Inhabitants of Rocnabad, prostrate yourselves on the brink of your pure
+waters, and tender your thanksgivings to heaven that vouchsafeth to shew
+you a ray of its glory; for lo! the commander of the faithful draws
+near.”
+
+The poor Santons, filled with holy energy, having bustled to light up wax
+torches in their oratories, and expand the koran on their ebony desks,
+went forth to meet the Caliph with baskets of honeycomb, dates, and
+melons.  But whilst they were advancing in solemn procession and with
+measured steps, the horses, camels, and guards wantoned over their tulips
+and other flowers, and made a terrible havoc amongst them.  The Santons
+could not help casting from one eye a look of pity on the ravages
+committing around them, whilst the other was fixed upon the Caliph and
+heaven.  Nouronihar, enraptured with the scenery of a place which brought
+back to her remembrance the pleasing solitudes where her infancy had
+passed, entreated Vathek to stop, but he, suspecting that each oratory
+might be deemed by the Giaour a distinct habitation, commanded his
+pioneers to level them all.  The Santons stood motionless with horror at
+the barbarous mandate, and at last broke out into lamentations, but these
+were uttered with so ill a grace, that Vathek bade his eunuchs to kick
+them from his presence.  He then descended from the litter with
+Nouronihar.  They sauntered together in the meadow, and amused themselves
+with culling flowers, and passing a thousand pleasantries on each other.
+But the bees, who were staunch Mussulmans, thinking it their duty to
+revenge the insult on their dear masters the Santons, assembled so
+zealously to do it with effect, that the Caliph and Nouronihar were glad
+to find their tents prepared to receive them.
+
+Bababalouk, who in capacity of purveyor, had acquitted himself with
+applause, as to peacocks and turtles, lost no time in consigning some
+dozens to the spit, and as many more to be fricasseed.  Whilst they were
+feasting, laughing, carousing, and blaspheming at pleasure on the banquet
+so liberally furnished, the Moullahs, the Sheiks, the Cadis, and Imans of
+Schiraz (who seemed not to have met the Santons) arrived, leading by
+bridles of ribband, inscribed from the koran, a train of asses which were
+loaded with the choicest fruits the country could boast.  Having
+presented their offerings to the Caliph, they petitioned him to honour
+their city and mosques with his presence.
+
+“Fancy not,” said Vathek, “that you can detain me.  Your presents I
+condescend to accept, but beg you will let me be quiet, for I am not over
+fond of resisting temptation.  Retire then.  Yet, as it is not decent for
+personages so reverend to return on foot, and as you have not the
+appearance of expert riders, my eunuchs shall tie you on your asses with
+the precaution that your backs be not turned towards me, for they
+understand etiquette.”
+
+In this deputation were some high-stomached Sheiks, who taking Vathek for
+a fool, scrupled not to speak their opinion.  These Bababalouk girded
+with double cords; and having well disciplined their asses with nettles
+behind, they all started with a preternatural alertness, plunging,
+kicking, and running foul of each other in the most ludicrous manner
+imaginable.
+
+Nouronihar and the Caliph mutually contended who should most enjoy so
+degrading a sight.  They burst out in volleys of laughter to see the old
+men and their asses fall into the stream.  The leg of one was fractured,
+the shoulder of another dislocated, the teeth of a third dashed out, and
+the rest suffered still worse.
+
+Two days more, undisturbed by fresh embassies, having been devoted to the
+pleasures of Rocnabad, the expedition proceeded, leaving Schiraz on the
+right, and verging towards a large plain, from whence were discernible on
+the edge of the horizon the dark summits of the mountains of Istakar.
+
+At this prospect the Caliph and Nouronihar were unable to repress their
+transports.  They bounded from their litter to the ground, and broke
+forth into such wild exclamations as amazed all within hearing.
+Interrogating each other, they shouted,
+
+“Are we not approaching the radiant palace of light, or gardens more
+delightful than those of Sheddad?”
+
+Infatuated mortals! they thus indulged delusive conjecture, unable to
+fathom the decrees of the Most High!
+
+The good Genii who had not totally relinquished the superintendence of
+Vathek, repairing to Mahomet in the seventh heaven, said:
+
+“Merciful Prophet! stretch forth thy propitious arms towards thy
+vicegerent, who is ready to fall irretrievably into the snare which his
+enemies the Dives have prepared to destroy him.  The Giaour is awaiting
+his arrival in the abominable palace of fire, where if he once set his
+foot his perdition will be inevitable.”
+
+Mahomet answered with an air of indignation:
+
+“He hath too well deserved to be resigned to himself; but I permit you to
+try if one effort more will be effectual to divert him from pursuing his
+ruin.”
+
+One of these beneficent Genii, assuming without delay the exterior of a
+shepherd, more renowned for his piety than all the Dervises and Santons
+of the region, took his station near a flock of white sheep on the slope
+of a hill, and began to pour forth from his flute such airs of pathetic
+melody, as subdued the very soul; and awakening remorse, drove far from
+it every frivolous fancy.  At these energetic sounds, the sun hid himself
+beneath a gloomy cloud; and the waters of two little lakes, that were
+naturally clearer than chrystal, became a colour like blood.  The whole
+of this superb assembly, was involuntarily drawn towards the declivity of
+the hill.  With downcast eyes, they all stood abashed; each upbraiding
+himself with the evil he had done.  The heart of Dilara palpitated; and
+the chief of the eunuchs, with a sigh of contrition, implored pardon of
+the women, whom, for his own satisfaction, he had so often tormented.
+
+Vathek and Nouronihar turned pale in their litter; and, regarding each
+other with haggard looks, reproached themselves—the one with a thousand
+of the blackest crimes, a thousand projects of impious ambition; the
+other, with the desolation of her family, and the perdition of the
+amiable Gulchenrouz.  Nouronihar persuaded herself that she heard in the
+fatal music the groans of her dying father; and Vathek, the sobs of the
+fifty children he had sacrificed to the Giaour.  Amidst these complicated
+pangs of anguish, they perceived themselves impelled towards the
+shepherd, whose countenance was so commanding, that Vathek, for the first
+time, felt overawed; whilst Nouronihar concealed her face with her hands.
+The music paused, and the Genius, addressing the Caliph, said:
+
+“Deluded Prince! to whom Providence hath confided the care of innumerable
+subjects, is it thus that thou fulfillest thy mission?  Thy crimes are
+already completed; and, art thou now hastening towards thy punishment?
+Thou knowest, that beyond these mountains, Eblis and his accursed Dives
+hold their infernal empire; and seduced by a malignant phantom, thou art
+proceeding to surrender thyself to them!  This moment is the last of
+grace allowed thee!  Abandon thy atrocious purpose.  Return.  Give back
+Nouronihar to her father, who still retains a few sparks of life.
+Destroy thy tower, with all its abominations.  Drive Carathis from thy
+councils.  Be just to thy subjects.  Respect the ministers of the
+Prophet.  Compensate for thy impieties by an exemplary life; and, instead
+of squandering thy days in voluptuous indulgence, lament thy crimes on
+the sepulchres of thy ancestors.  Thou beholdest the clouds that obscure
+the sun; at the instant he recovers his splendour, if thy heart be not
+changed, the time of mercy assigned thee will be past for ever.”
+
+Vathek, depressed with fear, was on the point of prostrating himself at
+the feet of the shepherd, whom he perceived to be of a nature superior to
+man, but his pride prevailing, he audaciously lifted his head, and
+glancing at him one of his terrible looks, said:
+
+“Whoever thou art, withhold thy useless admonitions.  Thou wouldst either
+delude me, or art thyself deceived.  If what I have done be so criminal
+as thou pretendest, there remains not for me a moment of grace.  I have
+traversed a sea of blood, to acquire a power which will make thy equals
+tremble; deem not that I shall retire when in view of the port; or that I
+will relinquish her who is dearer to me than either my life or thy mercy.
+Let the sun appear!  Let him illumine my career!  It matters not where it
+may end.”
+
+On uttering these words, which made even the Genius shudder, Vathek threw
+himself into the arms of Nouronihar, and commanded that his horses should
+be forced back to the road.
+
+There was no difficulty in obeying these orders, for the attraction had
+ceased, the sun shone forth in all his glory, and the shepherd vanished
+with a lamentable scream.
+
+The fatal impression of the music of the Genius remained,
+notwithstanding, in the hearts of Vathek’s attendants.  They viewed each
+other with looks of consternation.  At the approach of night, almost all
+of them escaped; and, of this numerous assemblage, there only remained
+the chief of the eunuchs, some idolatrous slaves, Dilara, and a few other
+women, who, like herself, were votaries of the religion of the Magi.
+
+The Caliph, fired with the ambition of prescribing laws to the
+Intelligences of Darkness, was but little embarrassed at this
+dereliction.  The impetuosity of his blood prevented him from sleeping;
+nor did he encamp any more as before.  Nouronihar, whose impatience, if
+possible, exceeded his own, importuned him to hasten his march, and
+lavished on him a thousand caresses, to beguile all reflection.  She
+fancied herself already more potent than Balkis; {134} and pictured to
+her imagination the Genii falling prostrate at the foot of her throne.
+In this manner they advanced by moonlight, till they came within view of
+the two towering rocks, that form a kind of portal to the valley, at
+whose extremity rose the vast ruins of Istakar.  Aloft on the mountain,
+glimmered the fronts of various royal mausoleums, the horror of which was
+deepened by the shadows of night.  They passed through two villages,
+almost deserted; the only inhabitants remaining being a few feeble old
+men, who at the sight of horses and litters fell upon their knees, and
+cried out:
+
+“O heaven! is it then by these phantoms that we have been for six months
+tormented!  Alas! it was from the terror of these spectres, and the noise
+beneath the mountains, that our people have fled, and left us at the
+mercy of maleficent spirits!”
+
+The Caliph, to whom these complaints were but unpromising auguries, drove
+over the bodies of these wretched old men, and at length arrived at the
+foot of the terrace of black marble.  There he descended from his litter,
+handing down Nouronihar; both, with beating hearts, stared wildly around
+them, and expected, with an apprehensive shudder, the approach of the
+Giaour.  But nothing as yet announced his appearance.
+
+A deathlike stillness reigned over the mountain, and through the air.
+The moon dilated, on a vast platform, the shades of the lofty columns,
+which reached from the terrace almost to the clouds.  The gloomy
+watch-towers, whose number could not be counted, were veiled by no roof:
+and their capitals, of an architecture unknown in the records of the
+earth, served as an asylum for the birds of darkness, which, alarmed at
+the approach of such visitants, fled away croaking.
+
+The chief of the eunuchs, trembling with fear, besought Vathek that a
+fire might be kindled.
+
+“No!” replied he, “there is no time left to think of such trifles; abide
+where thou art, and expect my commands.”
+
+Having thus spoken, he presented his hand to Nouronihar, and ascending
+the steps of a vast staircase, reached the terrace, which was flagged
+with squares of marble, and resembled a smooth expanse of water, upon
+whose surface not a leaf ever dared to vegetate.  On the right rose the
+watch-towers, ranged before the ruins of an immense palace, whose walls
+were embossed with various figures.  In front stood forth the colossal
+forms of four creatures, composed of the leopard and the griffin; and
+though but of stone, inspired emotions of terror.  Near these were
+distinguished by the splendour of the moon, which streamed full on the
+place, characters like those on the sabres of the Giaour, that possessed
+the same virtue of changing every moment.  These, after vacillating for
+some time, at last fixed in Arabic letters, and prescribed to the Caliph
+the following words:
+
+“Vathek! thou hast violated the conditions of my parchment, and deservest
+to be sent back; but in favour to thy companion, and as the meed for what
+thou hast done to obtain it, Eblis permitteth that the portal of his
+palace shall be opened, and the subterranean fire will receive thee into
+the number of its adorers.”
+
+He scarcely had read these words before the mountain, against which the
+terrace was reared, trembled; and the watch-towers were ready to topple
+headlong upon them.  The rock yawned, and disclosed within it a staircase
+of polished marble, that seemed to approach the abyss.  Upon each stair
+were planted two large torches, like those Nouronihar had seen in her
+vision, the camphorated vapour ascending from which gathered into a cloud
+under the hollow of the vault.
+
+This appearance, instead of terrifying, gave new courage to the daughter
+of Fakreddin.  Scarcely deigning to bid adieu to the moon and the
+firmament, she abandoned without hesitation the pure atmosphere, to
+plunge into these infernal exhalations.   The gait of those impious
+personages was haughty and determined.  As they descended, by the
+effulgence of the torches, they gazed on each other with mutual
+admiration, and both appeared so resplendent, that they already esteemed
+themselves spiritual intelligences.  The only circumstance that perplexed
+them, was their not arriving at the bottom of the stairs.  On hastening
+their descent, with an ardent impetuosity, they felt their steps
+accelerated to such a degree, that they seemed not walking, but falling
+from a precipice.  Their progress, however, was at length impeded by a
+vast portal of ebony, which the Caliph without difficulty recognized.
+Here the Giaour awaited them, with the key in his hand,
+
+“Ye are welcome!” said he to them, with a ghastly smile, “in spite of
+Mahomet, and all his dependents.  I will now admit you into that palace,
+where you have so highly merited a place.”
+
+Whilst he was uttering these words, he touched the enamelled lock with
+his key, and the doors at once expanded with a noise still louder than
+the thunder of mountains, and as suddenly recoiled the moment they had
+entered.
+
+The Caliph and Nouronihar beheld each other with amazement, at finding
+themselves in a place which, though roofed with a vaulted ceiling, was so
+spacious and lofty, that at first they took it for an immeasurable plain.
+But their eyes at length growing to the grandeur of the objects at hand,
+they extended their view to those at a distance, and discovered rows of
+columns and arcades, which gradually diminished, till they terminated in
+a point, radiant as the sun, when he darts his last beams athwart the
+ocean.  The pavement, strewed over with gold dust and saffron, exhaled so
+subtile an odour, as almost overpowered them.  They, however, went on,
+and observed an infinity of censers, in which ambergris and the wood of
+aloes were continually burning.  Between the several columns were placed
+tables, each spread with a profusion of viands, and wines of every
+species, sparkling in vases of chrystal.  A throng of Genii, and other
+phantastic spirits, of each sex, danced lasciviously in troops, at the
+sound of music which issued from beneath.
+
+In the midst of this immense hall, a vast multitude was incessantly
+passing, who severally kept their right hands on their hearts, without
+once regarding any thing around them.  They had all the livid paleness of
+death.  Their eyes, deep sank in their sockets, resembled those
+phosphoric meteors, that glimmer by night in places of interment.  Some
+stalked slowly on, absorbed in profound reverie; some shrieking with
+agony, ran furiously about, like tigers wounded with poisoned arrows;
+whilst others, grinding their teeth in rage, foamed along, more frantic
+than the wildest maniac.  They all avoided each other, and though
+surrounded by a multitude that no one could number, each wandered at
+random unheedful of the rest, as if alone on a desert which no foot had
+trodden.
+
+Vathek and Nouronihar, frozen with terror at a sight so baleful, demanded
+of the Giaour what these appearances might mean, and why these ambulating
+spectres never withdrew their hands from their hearts.
+
+“Perplex not yourselves,” replied he bluntly, “with so much at once, you
+will soon be acquainted with all; let us haste and present you to Eblis.”
+
+They continued their way through the multitude, but notwithstanding their
+confidence at first, they were not sufficiently composed to examine with
+attention the various perspectives of halls, and of galleries, that
+opened on the right hand and left, which were all illuminated by torches
+and braziers, whose flames rose in pyramids, to the centre of the vault.
+At length they came to a place where long curtains, brocaded with crimson
+and gold, fell from all parts, in striking confusion.  Here the choirs
+and dances were heard no longer.  The light which glimmered came from
+afar.
+
+After some time Vathek and Nouronihar perceived a gleam brightening
+through the drapery, and entered a vast tabernacle, carpeted with the
+skins of leopards.  An infinity of elders, with streaming beards, and
+afrits, in complete armour, had prostrated themselves before the ascent
+of a lofty eminence, on the top of which, upon a globe of fire, sat the
+formidable Eblis.  His person was that of a young man, whose noble and
+regular features seemed to have been tarnished by malignant vapours.  In
+his large eyes appeared both pride and despair; his flowing hair retained
+some resemblance to that of an angel of light.  In his hand, which
+thunder had blasted, he swayed the iron sceptre, that causes the monster
+Ouranabad, {140} the afrits, and all the powers of the abyss to tremble.
+At his presence the heart of the Caliph sank within him, and, for the
+first time, he fell prostrate on his face.  Nouronihar, however, though
+greatly dismayed, could not help admiring the person of Eblis, for she
+expected to have seen some stupendous giant.  Eblis, with a voice more
+mild than might be imagined, but such as transfused through the soul the
+deepest melancholy, said:
+
+“CREATURES OF CLAY, I receive you into mine empire.  Ye are numbered
+amongst my adorers.  Enjoy whatever this palace affords—the treasures of
+the preadimite sultans, their bickering sabres, and those talismans that
+compel the Dives to open the subterranean expanses of the mountain of
+Kaf, which communicate with these.  There, insatiable as your curiosity
+may be, shall you find sufficient to gratify it.  You shall possess the
+exclusive privilege of entering the fortress of Aherman, and the halls of
+Argenk, where are portrayed all creatures endowed with intelligence, and
+the various animals that inhabited the earth prior to the creation of
+that contemptible being, whom ye denominate the Father of Mankind.”
+
+Vathek and Nouronihar feeling themselves revived and encouraged by this
+harangue, eagerly said to the Giaour:
+
+“Bring us instantly to the place which contains these precious
+talismans.”
+
+“Come,” answered this wicked Dive, with his malignant grin, “come, and
+possess all that my sovereign hath promised, and more.”
+
+He then conducted them into a long aisle adjoining the tabernacle,
+preceding them with hasty steps, and followed by his disciples with the
+utmost alacrity.  They reached at length a hall of great extent, and
+covered with a lofty dome, around which appeared fifty portals of bronze,
+secured with as many fastenings of iron.  A funereal gloom prevailed over
+the whole scene.  Here, upon two beds of incorruptible cedar, lay
+recumbent the fleshless forms of the preadimite kings, who had been
+monarchs of the whole earth.  They still possessed enough of life to be
+conscious of their deplorable condition.  Their eyes retained a
+melancholy motion; they regarded each other with looks of the deepest
+dejection, each holding his right hand motionless on his heart.  At their
+feet were inscribed the events of their several reigns, their power,
+their pride, and their crimes.  Soliman Raad, Soliman Daki, and Soliman
+Di Gian Ben Gian, who, after having chained up the Dives in the dark
+caverns of Kaf, became so presumptuous, as to doubt of the Supreme Power.
+All these maintained great state, though not to be compared with the
+eminence of Soliman Ben Daoud.
+
+This king, so renowned for his wisdom, was on the loftiest elevation, and
+placed immediately under the dome.  He appeared to possess more animation
+than the rest, though, from time to time, he laboured with profound
+sighs, and, like his companions, kept his right hand on his heart; yet
+his countenance was more composed, and he seemed to be listening to the
+sullen roar of a vast cataract, visible in part through the grated
+portals.  This was the only sound that intruded on the silence of these
+doleful mansions.  A range of brazen vases surrounded the elevation.
+
+“Remove the covers from these cabalistic depositaries,” said the Giaour
+to Vathek, “and avail thyself of the talismans, which will break asunder
+all these gates of bronze, and not only render thee master of the
+treasures contained within them, but also of the spirits by which they
+are guarded.”
+
+The Caliph, whom this ominous preliminary had entirely disconcerted,
+approached the vases with faltering footsteps, and was ready to sink with
+terror, when he heard the groans of Soliman.  As he proceeded, a voice
+from the livid lips of the prophet articulated these words:
+
+“In my lifetime, I filled a magnificent throne, having on my right hand
+twelve thousand seats of gold, where the patriarchs and prophets heard my
+doctrines; on my left the sages and doctors, upon as many thrones of
+silver, were present at all my decisions.  Whilst I thus administered
+justice to innumerable multitudes, the birds of the air librating over
+me, served as a canopy from the rays of the sun.  My people flourished,
+and my palace rose to the clouds.  I erected a temple to the Most High,
+which was the wonder of the universe; but I basely suffered myself to be
+seduced by the love of women, and a curiosity that could not be
+restrained by sub-lunary things.  I listened to the counsels of Aherman,
+and the daughter of Pharaoh; and adored fire, and the host of heaven.  I
+forsook the holy city, and commanded the Genii to rear the stupendous
+palace of Istakar, and the terrace of the watch-towers, each of which was
+consecrated to a star.  There for a while I enjoyed myself in the zenith
+of glory and pleasure.  Not only men, but supernatural existences were
+subject also to my will.  I began to think, as these unhappy monarchs
+around had already thought, that the vengeance of heaven was asleep, when
+at once the thunder burst my structures asunder, and precipitated me
+hither; where, however, I do not remain like the other inhabitants
+totally destitute of hope, for an angel of light hath revealed, that in
+consideration of the piety of my early youth, my woes shall come to an
+end when this cataract shall for ever cease to flow.  Till then I am in
+torments, ineffable torments, an unrelenting fire preys on my heart.”
+
+Having uttered this exclamation, Soliman raised his hands towards heaven,
+in token of supplication, and the Caliph discerned through his bosom,
+which was transparent as crystal, his heart enveloped in flames.  At a
+sight so full of horror, Nouronihar fell back like one petrified, into
+the arms of Vathek, who cried out with a convulsive sob:
+
+“O Giaour! whither hast thou brought us!  Allow us to depart, and I will
+relinquish all thou hast promised.  O Mahomet! remains there no more
+mercy!”
+
+“None! none!” replied the malicious Dive.  “Know, miserable prince, thou
+art now in the abode of vengeance, and despair.  Thy heart, also, will be
+kindled, like those of the other votaries of Eblis.  A few days are
+allotted thee previous to this fatal period: employ them as thou wilt.
+Recline on these heaps of gold: command the Infernal Potentates: range at
+thy pleasure through these immense subterranean domains.  No barrier
+shall be shut against thee.  As for me, I have fulfilled my mission.  I
+now leave thee to thyself.”
+
+At these words he vanished.
+
+The Caliph and Nouronihar remained in the most abject affliction.  Their
+tears unable to flow, scarcely could they support themselves.  At length,
+taking each other despondingly by the hand, they went faltering from this
+fatal hall, indifferent which way they turned their steps.  Every portal
+opened at their approach.  The Dives fell prostrate before them.  Every
+reservoir of riches was disclosed to their view, but they no longer felt
+the incentives of curiosity, pride, or avarice.  With like apathy they
+heard the chorus of Genii, and saw the stately banquets prepared to
+regale them.  They went wandering on from chamber to chamber, hall to
+hall, and gallery to gallery; all without bounds or limit; all
+distinguishable by the same lowering gloom; all adorned with the same
+awful grandeur; all traversed by persons in search of repose and
+consolation, but who sought them in vain, for every one carried within
+him a heart tormented in flames.  Shunned by these various sufferers, who
+seemed by their looks to be upbraiding the partners of their guilt, they
+withdrew from them, to wait in direful suspense the moment which should
+render them to each other the like objects of terror.
+
+“What,” exclaimed Nouronihar, “will the time come, when I shall snatch my
+hand from thine!”
+
+“Ah!” said Vathek, “and shall my eyes ever cease to drink from thine long
+draughts of enjoyment!  Shall the moments of our reciprocal ecstasies be
+reflected on with horror!  It was not thou that broughtest me hither; the
+principles by which Carathis perverted my youth have been the sole cause
+of my perdition!”
+
+Having given vent to these painful expressions, he called to an Afrit,
+who was stirring up one of the braziers, and bade him fetch the Princess
+Carathis from the palace of Samarah.
+
+After issuing these orders, the Caliph and Nouronihar continued walking
+amidst the silent crowd, till they heard voices at the end of the
+gallery.  Presuming them to proceed from some unhappy beings, who like
+themselves were awaiting their final doom, they followed the sound, and
+found it to come from a small square chamber, where they discovered
+sitting on sofas, five young men of goodly figure, and a lovely female,
+who were all holding a melancholy conversation, by the glimmering of a
+lonely lamp.  Each had a gloomy and forlorn air, and two of them were
+embracing each other with great tenderness.  On seeing the Caliph and the
+daughter of Fakreddin enter they arose, saluted, and gave them place.
+Then he who had appeared the most considerable of the group, addressed
+himself thus to Vathek:
+
+“Strangers! who doubtless are in the same state of suspense as ourselves,
+as you do not yet bear your hand on your heart, if you are come hither to
+pass the interval allotted previous to the infliction of our common
+punishment, condescend to relate the adventures that have brought you to
+this fatal place; and we in return will acquaint you with ours; which
+deserves but too well to be heard.  We will trace back our crimes to
+their source, though we are not permitted to repent.  This is the only
+employment suited to wretches like us.”
+
+The Caliph and Nouronihar assented to the proposal, and Vathek began, not
+without tears and lamentations, a sincere recital of every circumstance
+that had passed.  When the afflicting narrative was closed, the young man
+entered on his own.  Each person proceeded in order, and when the fourth
+prince had reached the midst of his adventures, a sudden noise
+interrupted him, which caused the vault to tremble, and to open.
+
+Immediately a cloud descended, which gradually dissipating, discovered
+Carathis, on the back of an Afrit, who grievously complained of his
+burden.  She, instantly springing to the ground, advanced towards her
+son, and said:
+
+“What dost thou here, in this little square chamber?  As the Dives are
+become subject to thy beck, I expected to have found thee on the throne
+of the preadimite kings.”
+
+“Execrable woman!” answered the Caliph; “cursed be the day thou gavest me
+birth!  Go! follow this Afrit; let him conduct thee to the hall of the
+Prophet Soliman; there thou wilt learn to what these palaces are
+destined, and how much I ought to abhor the impious knowledge thou hast
+taught me.”
+
+“The height of power to which thou art arrived, has certainly turned thy
+brain,” answered Carathis; “but I ask no more, than permission to show my
+respect for the prophet.  It is, however, proper thou shouldst know,
+that, as the Afrit has informed me neither of us shall return to Samarah,
+I requested his permission to arrange my affairs, and he politely
+consented.  Availing myself, therefore, of the few moments allowed me, I
+set fire to the tower, and consumed in it the mutes, negresses, and
+serpents, which have rendered me so much good service; nor should I have
+been less kind to Morakanabad, had he not prevented me, by deserting at
+last to thy brother.  As for Bababalouk, who had the folly to return to
+Samarah, and all the good brotherhood to provide husbands for thy wives,
+I undoubtedly would have put them to the torture, could I but have
+allowed them the time.  Being, however, in a hurry, I only hung him,
+after having caught him in a snare with thy wives; whilst them I buried
+alive by the help of my negresses, who thus spent their last moments,
+greatly to their satisfaction.  With respect to Dilara, who ever stood
+high in my favour, she hath evinced the greatness of her mind, by fixing
+herself near, in the service of one of the Magi, and, I think, will soon
+be our own.”
+
+Vathek, too much cast down to express the indignation excited by such a
+discourse, ordered the Afrit to remove Carathis from his presence, and
+continued immersed in thought, which his companions durst not disturb.
+
+Carathis, however, eagerly entered the dome of Soliman, and, without
+regarding in the least the groans of the Prophet, undauntedly removed the
+covers of the vases, and violently seized on the talismans.  Then, with a
+voice more loud than had hitherto been heard in these mansions, she
+compelled the Dives to disclose to her the most secret treasures, the
+most profound stores, which the Afrit himself had not seen.  She passed
+by rapid descents known only to Eblis and his most favoured Potentates,
+and thus penetrated the very entrails of the earth, where breathes the
+Sansar, or icy wind of death.  Nothing appalled her dauntless soul.  She
+perceived, however, in all the inmates who bore their hands on their
+heart, a little singularity not much to her taste.  As she was emerging
+from one of the abysses, Eblis stood forth to her view, but,
+notwithstanding he displayed the full effulgence of his infernal majesty,
+she preserved her countenance unaltered, and even paid her compliments
+with considerable firmness.
+
+This superb monarch thus answered:
+
+“PRINCESS, whose knowledge and whose crimes have merited a conspicuous
+rank in my empire, thou doest well to employ the leisure that remains,
+for the flames and torments which are ready to seize on thy heart, will
+not fail to provide thee with full employment.”
+
+He said this, and was lost in the curtains of his tabernacle.
+
+Carathis paused for a moment with surprise, but, resolved to follow the
+advice of Eblis, she assembled all the choirs of Genii, and all the
+Dives, to pay her homage.  Thus marched she in triumph through a vapour
+of perfumes, amidst the acclamations of all the malignant spirits; with
+most of whom she had formed a previous acquaintance.  She even attempted
+to dethrone one of the Solimans, for the purpose of usurping his place,
+when a voice, proceeding from the Abyss of Death, proclaimed:
+
+“ALL IS ACCOMPLISHED!”
+
+Instantaneously, the haughty forehead of the intrepid princess became
+corrugated with agony; she uttered a tremendous yell, and fixed—no more
+to be withdrawn—her right hand upon her heart, which was become a
+receptacle of eternal fire.
+
+In this delirium, forgetting all ambitious projects, and her thirst for
+that knowledge which should ever be hidden from mortals, she overturned
+the offerings of the Genii; and, having execrated the hour she was
+begotten, and the womb that had borne her, glanced off in a whirl that
+rendered her invisible, and continued to revolve without intermission.
+
+At almost the same instant, the same voice announced to the Caliph,
+Nouronihar, the five princes, and the princess, the awful and irrevocable
+decree.  Their hearts immediately took fire, and they at once lost the
+most precious of the gifts of heaven—HOPE.  These unhappy beings
+recoiled, with looks of the most furious distraction.  Vathek beheld in
+the eyes of Nouronihar nothing but rage and vengeance; nor could she
+discern ought in his but aversion and despair.  The two princes who were
+friends, and till that moment had preserved their attachment, shrunk
+back, gnashing their teeth with mutual and unchangeable hatred.  Kalilah
+and his sister made reciprocal gestures of imprecation; whilst the two
+other princes testified their horror for each other by the most ghastly
+convulsions, and screams that could not be smothered.  All severally
+plunged themselves into the accursed multitude, there to wander in an
+eternity of unabating anguish.
+
+Such was, and such should be, the punishment of unrestrained passions,
+and atrocious actions.  Such is, and such should be, the chastisement of
+blind ambition, that would transgress those bounds which the Creator hath
+prescribed to human knowledge, and by aiming at discoveries reserved for
+pure intelligence, acquire that infatuated pride, which perceives not the
+condition appointed to man is, TO BE IGNORANT AND HUMBLE.
+
+Thus the CALIPH VATHEK who, for the sake of empty pomp and forbidden
+power, hath sullied himself with a thousand crimes, became a prey to
+grief without end, and remorse without mitigation; whilst the humble and
+despised GULCHENROUZ passed whole ages in undisturbed tranquillity, and
+the pure happiness of childhood.
+
+
+
+
+NOTES.
+
+
+{7a}  _Caliph_.  This title amongst the Mahometans comprehends the
+concrete character of prophet, priest, and king; and is used to signify
+_the Vicar of God on earth_.—Habesci’s State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 9.
+Herbelot, p. 985.
+
+{7b}  _One of his eyes became so terrible_.  The author of Nighiaristan
+hath preserved a fact that supports this account; and there is no history
+of Vathek, in which his _terrible eye_ is not mentioned.
+
+{8a}  _Omar Ben Abdalaziz_.  This Caliph was eminent above all others for
+temperance and self-denial; insomuch, that he is believed to have been
+raised to Mahomet’s bosom, as a reward for his abstinence in an age of
+corruption.  Herbelot, p. 690.
+
+{8b}  _Samarah_.  A city of the Babylonian Irak, supposed to have stood
+on the site where Nimrod erected his tower.  Khondemir relates, in his
+life of Motassem, that this prince, to terminate the disputes which were
+perpetually happening between the inhabitants of Bagdat and his Turkish
+slaves, withdrew from thence; and, having fixed on a situation in the
+plain of Catoul, there founded Samarah.  He is said to have had in the
+stables of this city a hundred and thirty thousand pied horses; each of
+which carried, by his order, a sack of earth to a place he had chosen.
+By this accumulation, an elevation was formed that commanded a view of
+all Samarah, and served for the foundation of his magnificent palace.
+Herbelot, p. 752, 808, 985.  Anecdotes Arabes, p. 413.
+
+{9}  _Houris_.  The Virgins of Paradise, called, from their large black
+eyes, _Hur al oyun_.  An intercourse with these, according to the
+institution of Mahomet, is to constitute the principal felicity of the
+faithful.  Not formed of clay, like mortal women, they are deemed in the
+highest degree beautiful, and exempt from every inconvenience incident to
+the sex.  Al Koran; passim.
+
+{10}  _Genii_.  Genn or Ginn, in the Arabic, signifies a Genius or
+Demon—a being of a higher order, and formed of more subtile matter than
+man.  According to Oriental mythology, the Genii governed the world long
+before the creation of Adam.  The Mahometans regarded them as an
+intermediate race between angels and men, and capable of salvation:
+whence Mahomet pretended a commission to convert them.  Consonant to
+this, we read that, “When the servant of God stood up to invoke him, it
+wanted little but that the Genii had pressed on him in crowds, to hear
+him rehearse the Koran.”  Herbelot, p. 357.  Al Koran ch. 72.
+
+{23}  _Accursed Giaour_.  Dives of this kind are frequently mentioned by
+Eastern writers.  Consult their tales in general, and especially those of
+“The Fisherman,” “Aladdin,” and “The Princess of China.”
+
+{26a}  _Bababalouk_, _the Chief of his Eunuchs_.  As it was the
+employment of the black eunuchs to wait upon, and guard the sultanas, to
+the general superintendence of the Harem was particularly committed to
+their chief.  Habesci’s State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 155–6.
+
+{26b}  _The Divan_.  This was both the supreme council, and court of
+justice, at which the Caliphs of the race of the Abassides assisted in
+person to redress the injuries of every appellant.  Herbelot, p. 298.
+
+{27}  _The Prime Vizier_.  Vazir, Vezir, or as we express it, Vizier,
+literally signifies a porter; and by metaphor, the minister who bears the
+principal burden of the state.
+
+{50}  _Gian Ben Gian_.  By this appellation was distinguished the monarch
+of that species of beings, whom the Arabians denominate _Gian_ or _Ginn_,
+that is, _Genii_; and the Tarik Thabari, _Peres_, _Feez_, or _Faeries_.
+
+{51}  _Rocnabad_.  The stream thus denominated flows near the city of
+Schiraz.  Its waters are uncommonly pure and limpid, and their banks
+swarded with the finest verdure.
+
+{53}  _Moullahs_.  Those among the Mahometans who were bred to the law
+had this title; and from their order the judges of cities and provinces
+were taken.
+
+{55}  _Bababalouk almost sunk with confusion_, _whilst_, _etc._  The
+heinousness of Vathek’s profanation can only be judged of by an orthodox
+Mussulman; or one who recollects the ablution and prayer indispensably
+required on the exoneration of nature.  Sale’s Prelim. Disc. p. 139.  Al
+Koran, ch. 4.  Habesci’s State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 93.
+
+{67a}  _Horrible Kaf_.  This mountain, which in reality is no other than
+Caucasus, was supposed to surround the earth, like a ring encompassing a
+finger.  The sun was believed to rise from one of its eminences (as over
+Octa, by the Latin poets) and to set on the opposite; whence “from Kaf to
+Kaf,” signified from one extremity of the earth to the other.
+
+{67b}  _The Simurgh_.  This is that wonderful bird of the East concerning
+which so many marvels are told.  It was not only endowed with reason, but
+possessed also the knowledge of every language.  This creature relates of
+itself, that it had seen the great revolution of seven thousand years,
+twelve times, commence and close; and, that in its duration, the world
+had been seven times void of inhabitants, and as often replenished.  The
+Simurgh is represented as a great friend to the race of Adam, and not
+less inimical to the Dives.
+
+{67c}  _Afrits_.  These were a kind of Medusa, or Lamia, supposed to be
+the most terrible and cruel of all the orders of the Dives.  Herbelot, p.
+66.
+
+{68}  _Deggial_.  This word signifies properly a liar and imposter, but
+is applied by Mahometan writers to their Antichrist.  He is described as
+having but one eye and eyebrow, and on his forehead the radicals of
+_cafer_, or infidel, are said to be impressed.
+
+{79a}  _Calenders_.  These were a sort of men amongst the Mahometans who
+abandoned father and mother, wife and children, relations and
+possessions, to wander through the world, under a pretence of religion,
+entirely subsisting on the fortuitous bounty of those they had the
+address to dupe.  Herbelot, Suppl. p. 204.
+
+{79b}  _Santons_.  A body of religionists who were also called _Abdals_,
+and pretended to be inspired with the most enthusiastic raptures of
+divine love.  They were regarded by the vulgar as saints.  Olearius, Tom.
+I. p. 971.  Herbelot, p. 5.
+
+{79c}  _Dervises_.  The term _dervise_ signifies a poor man, and is the
+general appellation by which a religious sect amongst the Mahometans is
+named.
+
+{79d}  _Brahmins_.  These constituted the principal caste of the Indians,
+according to whose doctrines Brahma, from whom they are called, is the
+first of the three created beings by whom the world was made.  This
+Brahma is said to have communicated to the Indians four books, in which
+all the sciences and ceremonies of their religion are comprised.
+
+{79e}  _Faquirs_.  This sect were a kind of religious anchorites, who
+spent their whole lives in the severest austerities and mortification.
+
+{82}  _Peries_.  The word Peri, in the Persian language, signifies that
+beautiful race of creatures which constitutes the link between angels and
+men.
+
+{134}  _Balkis_.  This was the Arabian name of the Queen of Sheba, who
+went from the South to hear the wisdom and admire the glory of Solomon.
+The Koran represents her as a worshipper of fire.  Solomon is said not
+only to have entertained her with the greatest magnificence, but also to
+have raised her to his bed and his throne.  Al Koran, ch. 27, and Sale’s
+notes.  Herbelot, p. 182.
+
+{140}  _Ouranabad_.  This monster is represented as a fierce flying
+hydra, and belongs to the same class with the _Rakshe_, whose ordinary
+food was serpents and dragons; the _Soham_, which had the head of a
+horse, with four eyes, and the body of a flame-coloured dragon; the
+_Syl_, a basilisk with a face resembling the human, but so tremendous
+that no mortal could bear to behold it; the _Ejder_, and others.  See
+these respective titles in Richardson’s Dictionary, Persian, Arabic and
+English.
+
+
+
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Vathek, by William Beckford, et al
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Vathek
+       An Arabian Tale
+
+
+Author: William Beckford
+
+
+
+Release Date: March 24, 2013  [eBook #42401]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VATHEK***
+</pre>
+<p>This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.</p>
+<h1>VATHEK;</h1>
+<p style="text-align: center">AN ARABIAN TALE,</p>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span
+class="GutSmall">BY</span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">WILLIAM BECKFORD, ESQ.</p>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span
+class="GutSmall">WITH</span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">NOTES, CRITICAL AND
+EXPLANATORY.</p>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center">LONDON:<br />
+GEORGE SLATER, 252, STRAND.</p>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center">1849.</p>
+<h2><a name="pagei"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+i</span>MEMOIR.<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">BY WILLIAM NORTH.</span></h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">William Beckford</span>, the author of the
+following celebrated Eastern tale, was born in 1760, and died in
+the spring of 1844, at the advanced age of eighty-four
+years.&nbsp; It is to be regretted, that a man of so remarkable a
+character, did not leave the world some record of a life offering
+points of interest different from that of any of his
+contemporaries, from the peculiarly studious retirement and
+eccentric avocations in which it was chiefly passed.&nbsp; Such a
+memoir would have formed a curious contrast with that of the late
+M. de Chateaubriand, who, born nearly at the same period, <a
+name="pageii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. ii</span>outlived but
+by a few years, the strange Englishman, whose famous romance
+forms a brilliant ornament to French literature, which even Atala
+is unlikely to outlive in the memory of Chateaubriand&rsquo;s
+countrymen.&nbsp; All men of genius should write
+autobiographies.&nbsp; Such works are inestimable lessons to
+posterity.&nbsp; As it is, there are few men, of whom it is more
+difficult to compose an elaborate and detailed history than the
+author of &ldquo;Vathek.&rdquo;&nbsp; From such scanty sources as
+are open to us, the reader must be content with a few striking
+facts and illustrations, which may serve to convey some idea of
+the idiosyncrasy of a man, whose whole life was a sort of
+mystery, even to his personal acquaintances.</p>
+<p>His great-great-grandfather was lieutenant-governor and
+commander of the forces in Jamaica; and his grandfather president
+of the council in the same island.&nbsp; His father, though not a
+merchant, as has been represented, but a large landed proprietor,
+both in England and the West Indies, was <a
+name="pageiii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. iii</span>lord mayor
+of London, and distinguished himself in presenting an address to
+the king, George the Third,&mdash;by a spirited retort to his
+majesty,&mdash;who had the ill-breeding to treat discourteously a
+deputation which the lord mayor headed.&nbsp; The portraits of
+Alderman Beckford, and his more celebrated son, were painted by
+Sir Joshua Reynolds.&nbsp; The former died in 1770, leaving the
+subject of this memoir the wealthiest commoner in England.</p>
+<p>No pains were spared on the education of the young
+Croesus&mdash;the lords Chatham and Camden being consulted by his
+father on that subject.&nbsp; Besides Latin and Greek, he spoke
+five modern languages, and wrote three with facility and
+elegance.&nbsp; He read Persian and Arabic, designed with great
+skill, and studied the science of music under the great
+Mozart.</p>
+<p>At the age of eighteen he visited Paris, and was introduced to
+Voltaire.&nbsp; &ldquo;On taking leave of me,&rdquo; said
+Beckford, &ldquo;he placed his hand on my head, <a
+name="pageiv"></a><span class="pagenum">p. iv</span>saying,
+&lsquo;There, young Englishman, I give you the blessing of a very
+old man.&rsquo;&nbsp; Voltaire was a mere skeleton&mdash;a bony
+anatomy.&nbsp; His countenance I shall never forget.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>His first literary production, &ldquo;Memoirs of Extraordinary
+Painters,&rdquo; was written at the early age of seventeen.&nbsp;
+It would appear, that the old housekeeper at Fonthill, was in the
+habit of edifying visitors to its picture gallery by a
+description of the paintings, mainly derived from her own fertile
+imagination.&nbsp; This suggested to our author, the humorous
+idea of composing a catalogue of suppositious painters with
+histories of each, equally fanciful and grotesque.&nbsp;
+Henceforward, the old housekeeper had a printed guide (or rather,
+mis-guider) to go by, and could discourse at large on the merits
+of Og of Bashan! Waterslouchy of Amsterdam! and Herr Sucrewasser
+of Vienna! their wives and styles!&nbsp; As for the country
+squires, etc., &ldquo;they,&rdquo; Beckford tells us, &ldquo;took
+all for gospel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="pagev"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+v</span>&ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo;&mdash;the superb
+&ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo; which Lord Byron so much admired, and on
+which he so frequently complimented the
+author,&mdash;&ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo; the finest of Oriental
+romances, as &ldquo;Lallah Rookh&rdquo; is the first of Oriental
+poems, by the pen of a &ldquo;Frank,&rdquo; was written and
+published before our author had completed his twentieth year, it
+having been composed at a <i>single sitting</i>!&nbsp; Yes, for
+three days and two nights did the indefatigable author persevere
+in his task.&nbsp; He completed it, and a serious illness was the
+result.&nbsp; What other literary man ever equalled this feat of
+rapidity and genius?</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vathek&rdquo; was originally written in French, of
+which its style is a model.&nbsp; The translation which follows,
+is not by the author himself, though he expressed perfect
+satisfaction with it.&nbsp; It was originally published in
+1786.&nbsp; For splendour of description, exquisite humour, and
+supernatural interest and grandeur, it stands without a rival in
+romance.&nbsp; In as thoroughly Oriental keeping, <a
+name="pagevi"></a><span class="pagenum">p. vi</span>Hope&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;Anastasius, or Memoirs of a Modern Greek,&rdquo; which
+Beckford himself highly admired, can alone be compared with
+it.</p>
+<p>Much of the description of Vathek&rsquo;s palace, and even the
+renowned &ldquo;Hall of Eblis,&rdquo; was afterwards visibly
+embodied in the real Fonthill Abbey, of which wonders, almost as
+fabulous, were at one time reported and believed.</p>
+<p>Fonthill Abbey, which had been destroyed by fire, and re-built
+during the life-time of the elder Beckford, was on account of its
+bad site demolished, and again re-built under the superintendence
+of our author himself, assisted by James Wyatt, Esq., the
+architect, with a magnificence that excited the greatest
+attention and wonder at the time.&nbsp; The total outlay of
+building Fonthill, including furniture, articles of virtu, etc.,
+must have been enormous, not much within the million, as
+estimated by the &ldquo;Times.&rdquo;&nbsp; A writer in the
+&ldquo;Athen&aelig;um&rdquo; mentions &pound;400,000 as the
+sum.&nbsp; <a name="pagevii"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+vii</span>Beckford informed Mr. Cyrus Redding, that the exact
+cost of building Fonthill was &pound;273,000.</p>
+<p>The distinguishing architectural peculiarity of Fonthill
+Abbey, was a lofty tower, 280 feet in height.&nbsp; This tower
+was prominently shadowed forth in &ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo; and shows
+how strong a hold the idea had upon his mind.&nbsp; Such was his
+impatience to see Fonthill completed, that he had the works
+continued by torchlight, with relays of workmen.&nbsp; During the
+progress of the building, the tower caught fire, and was partly
+destroyed.&nbsp; The owner, however, was present, and enjoyed the
+magnificent burning spectacle.&nbsp; It was soon restored; but a
+radical fault in laying the foundation, caused it eventually to
+fall down, and leave Fonthill a ruin in the life-time of its
+founder.</p>
+<p>Not so much his extravagant mode of life, which is the common
+notion, as the loss of two large estates in a law suit (the value
+of which may be inferred from the fact, that <i>fifteen hundred
+slaves</i> were upon <a name="pageviii"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. viii</span>them) induced our author to quit
+Fonthill, and offer it and its contents for public sale.&nbsp;
+There was a general desire to see the interior of the palace, in
+which its lord had lived in a luxurious seclusion, so little
+admired by the curious of the fashionable world.&nbsp; &ldquo;He
+is fortunate,&rdquo; says the &ldquo;Times&rdquo; of 1822,
+&ldquo;who finds a vacant chair within twenty miles of Fonthill;
+the solitude of a private apartment is a luxury which few can
+hope for.&rdquo; . . .&nbsp; &ldquo;Falstaff himself could not
+<i>take his ease</i> at this moment within a dozen leagues of
+Fonthill.&rdquo; . . . &ldquo;The beds through the county are
+(literally) doing double duty&mdash;people who come in from a
+distance during the night must wait to go to bed until others get
+up in the morning.&rdquo; . . . &ldquo;Not a farm-house, however
+humble,&mdash;not a cottage near Fonthill, but gives shelter to
+fashion, to beauty, and rank; ostrich plumes, which, by their
+very waving, we can trace back to Piccadilly, are seen nodding at
+a casement window over a depopulated poultry-yard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="pageix"></a><span class="pagenum">p. ix</span>The
+costly treasures of art and virtu, as well as the furniture of
+the rich mansion, were scattered far and wide; and one of its
+tables served the writer of this memoir to scribble upon, when
+first stern necessity, or yet sterner ambition, urged him to add
+his mite to the Babel tower of literature.&nbsp; At that table I
+first read &ldquo;Vathek.&rdquo;&nbsp; I have read it often
+since, and every perusal has increased my admiration.</p>
+<p>Nearly fifty years after the publication of
+&ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo; in 1835, Mr. Beckford published his
+&ldquo;Recollections of an Excursion to the Monasteries of
+Alcobaca and Batalha,&rdquo; which he had taken in 1795, together
+with an epistolatory record of his observations in Italy, Spain
+and Portugal, between the years 1780 and 1794.&nbsp; These are
+marked, as he himself intimates, &ldquo;with the bloom and heyday
+of youthful spirits and youthful confidence, at a period when the
+older order of things existed with all its picturesque pomps and
+absurdities; when Venice enjoyed her Piombi and <a
+name="pagex"></a><span class="pagenum">p. x</span>sub-marine
+dungeons; Prance her Bastille; the Peninsula her Holy
+Inquisition.&rdquo;&nbsp; With none of those subjects, however,
+are the letters occupied&mdash;but with delineations of
+landscape, and the effects of natural phenomena.&nbsp; These
+literary efforts appear to have exhausted their author&rsquo;s
+productive powers; in a word, he seems soon to have been
+&ldquo;used-up,&rdquo; and then to have discontinued his search
+after new sensations, or to have been content to live without
+them.</p>
+<p>After the sale of Fonthill, our author lived a considerable
+time in Portugal, and hence Lord Byron, who was fond of casting
+the shadow of his own imagination over every object, penned the
+well-known lines at Cintra:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;There thou, too, Vathek, England&rsquo;s
+wealthiest son, <br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Once formed thy paradise; as not aware<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Where wanton wealth her mightiest deeds hath done,
+<br />
+Meek peace, voluptuous lures, was ever wont to shun.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here didst thou dwell; here scenes of
+pleasure plan,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Beneath yon mountain&rsquo;s ever beauteous brow;<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; <a name="pagexi"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+xi</span>But now, as if a thing unblest by man,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou!&nbsp; <br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Here giant weeds a passage scarce allow <br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To halls deserted; portals gaping wide <br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom; how <br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Vain are the pleasaunces on earth supplied,<br />
+Swept into wrecks anon by time&rsquo;s ungentle tide.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>These sombre verses contrast strangely with Beckford&rsquo;s
+saying to Mr. Cyrus Redding, in his seventy-sixth year,
+&ldquo;that he had never felt a moments&rsquo; ennui in his
+life.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Beckford was in person scarcely above the middle height,
+slender, and well formed, with features indicating great
+intellectual power.&nbsp; He was exactly one year younger than
+Pitt, the companion of his minority.&nbsp; His political
+principles were popular, though it is recorded, that at a court
+ball on the Queen&rsquo;s birth-day, in 1782, he, with Miss
+North, led up a country dance.&nbsp; He sat in parliament, in his
+early years, both for Wells and Hendon, but retired on account of
+bad health.&nbsp; This, however, he overcame by careful diet and
+exercise, as testified <a name="pagexii"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. xii</span>by his great bodily activity almost
+to the last.&nbsp; He was a man of most extensive reading, and
+cultivated taste.</p>
+<p>The last years of his life were passed at Bath&mdash;where he
+united two houses in Lansdown Crescent, by an arch thrown across
+the street, and containing his library, which was well selected,
+and very extensive.&nbsp; Not far off, he again erected a tower,
+180 feet high, of which the following description was given at
+the time of his decease, by a correspondent of the
+Athen&aelig;um:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr. Beckford, at an early period of his residence
+there, erected a lofty tower, in the apartments of which were
+placed many of his choicest paintings and articles of
+virtu.&nbsp; Asiatic in its style, with gilded lattices and
+blinds, or curtains, of crimson cloth, its striped ceilings, its
+minaret, and other accessories, conveyed the idea that the being
+who designed the place and endeavoured to carry out the plan, was
+deeply imbued with the spirit of that <a
+name="pagexiii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. xiii</span>lonely
+grandeur and strict solitariness which obtains through all
+countries and among all people of the East.&nbsp; The building
+was surrounded by a high wall, and entrance afforded to the
+garden in which the tower stood, by a door of small
+dimensions.&nbsp; The garden itself was Eastern in its
+character.&nbsp; Though comparatively circumscribed in its size,
+nevertheless were to be found within it, solitary walks and deep
+retiring shades, such as could be supposed Vathek, the mournful
+and the magnificent, loved, and from the bowers of which might be
+expected would suddenly fall upon the ear, sounds of the cymbal
+and the dulcimer.&nbsp; The building contained several apartments
+crowded with the finest paintings.&nbsp; At the time I made my
+inspection the walls were crowded with the choicest productions
+of the easel.&nbsp; The memory falls back upon ineffaceable
+impressions of Old Franks, Breughel, Cuyp, Titian, (a Holy
+Family), Hondekooter, Polemberg, and a host of other painters
+whose works have immortalized Art.&nbsp; <a
+name="pagexiv"></a><span class="pagenum">p. xiv</span>Ornaments
+of the most exquisite gold fillagree, carvings in ivory and wood,
+Raphaelesque china, goblets formed of gems, others fashioned by
+the miraculous hands of Benvenuto Cellini, filled the many
+cabinets and <i>recherch&eacute;</i> receptacles created for such
+things.&nbsp; The doors of the rooms were of finely polished
+wood&mdash;the windows of single sweeps of plate glass&mdash;the
+cornices of gilded silver; every part, both within and without,
+bespeaking the wealth, the magnificence, and the taste of him who
+had built this temple in dedication to grandeur, solitariness,
+and the arts.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From the summit of this tower, Mr. Beckford, and he alone
+without a telescope,&mdash;could behold that other tower of his
+youthful magnificence, Fonthill; on which he loved to gaze, with
+feelings which it would be difficult to describe.&nbsp; His
+eyesight was wonderful; he could gaze upon the sun like an eagle;
+and on the day that the great tower at Fonthill fell he missed it
+in the landscape <a name="pagexv"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+xv</span>long before the news of the catastrophe reached
+Bath.</p>
+<p>In conclusion, we have only to add, that our author, in his
+life-time, had all that wealth can give, and in his grave his
+memory will retain that which no wealth can purchase.&nbsp;
+Whatever may have been his errors, they have died with him.&nbsp;
+His genius yet lives, and &ldquo;Vathek,&rdquo; now for the first
+time presented to the public in a popular form, will, whilst
+English literature lasts, never want readers, and, while good
+taste flourishes, admirers.</p>
+<h2><a name="pagexvii"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+xvii</span>PREFACE.</h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> original of the following
+story, with some others of a similar kind, collected in the east
+by a man of letters, was communicated to the editor above three
+years ago.&nbsp; The pleasure he received from the perusal of it
+induced him at that time to transcribe, and since to translate
+it.&nbsp; How far the copy may be a just representation it
+becomes not him to determine.&nbsp; He presumes however to hope
+that if the difficulty of accommodating our English idioms to the
+Arabic, preserving the correspondent tones of a diversified
+narration, and discriminating the nicer touches of character
+through the shades of foreign manners be <a
+name="pagexviii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. xviii</span>duly
+considered, a failure in some points will not preclude him from
+all claim to indulgence; especially if those images, sentiments,
+and passions, which being independent of local peculiarities, may
+be expressed in every language, shall be found to retain their
+native energy in our own.</p>
+<h2><a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+7</span>VATHEK.</h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">Vathek</span>, ninth Caliph <a
+name="citation7a"></a><a href="#footnote7a"
+class="citation">[7a]</a> of the race of the Abassides, was the
+son of Motassem, and the grandson of Haroun Al Raschid.&nbsp;
+From an early accession to the throne, and the talents he
+possessed to adorn it, his subjects were induced to expect that
+his reign would be long and happy.&nbsp; His figure was pleasing
+and majestic; but when he was angry, one of his eyes became so
+terrible <a name="citation7b"></a><a href="#footnote7b"
+class="citation">[7b]</a> that no person could bear to behold it;
+and the wretch upon whom it was fixed instantly fell backward,
+and sometimes expired.&nbsp; For fear, however, of depopulating
+his dominions, and making his palace desolate, he but rarely gave
+way to his anger.</p>
+<p>Being much addicted to women, and the pleasures of the table,
+he sought by his affability to procure agreeable companions; and
+he succeeded the better, <a name="page8"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 8</span>as his generosity was unbounded and
+his indulgences unrestrained; for he was by no means scrupulous:
+nor did he think, with the Caliph Omar Ben Abdalaziz, <a
+name="citation8a"></a><a href="#footnote8a"
+class="citation">[8a]</a> that it was necessary to make a hell of
+this world to enjoy Paradise in the next.</p>
+<p>He surpassed in magnificence all his predecessors.&nbsp; The
+palace of Alkoremmi, which his father Motassem had erected on the
+hill of Pied Horses, and which commanded the whole city of
+Samarah, <a name="citation8b"></a><a href="#footnote8b"
+class="citation">[8b]</a> was in his idea far too scanty: he
+added, therefore, five wings, or rather other palaces, which he
+destined for the particular gratification of each of his
+senses.</p>
+<p>In the first of these were tables continually covered with the
+most exquisite dainties, which were supplied both by night and by
+day according to their constant consumption; whilst the most
+delicious wines, and the choicest cordials, flowed forth from a
+hundred fountains, that were never exhausted.&nbsp; This palace
+was called &ldquo;The Eternal, or Unsatiating Banquet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The second was styled &ldquo;The Temple of Melody, or the
+Nectar of the Soul.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was inhabited by the most
+skilful musicians and admired poets of the time, who not only
+displayed their talents within, but dispersing in bands without,
+caused every surrounding scene to reverberate their songs, which
+were continually varied in the most delightful succession.</p>
+<p>The palace named &ldquo;The Delight of the Eyes, or the
+Support of Memory,&rdquo; was one entire enchantment.&nbsp;
+Rarities collected from every corner of the <a
+name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 9</span>earth were
+there found in such profusion as to dazzle and confound, but for
+the order in which they were arranged.&nbsp; One gallery
+exhibited the pictures of the celebrated Mani; and statues that
+seemed to be alive.&nbsp; Here a well-managed perspective
+attracted the sight; there, the magic of optics agreeably
+deceived it; whilst the naturalist, on his part, exhibited in
+their several classes the various gifts that heaven had bestowed
+on our globe.&nbsp; In a word, Vathek omitted nothing in this
+particular that might gratify the curiosity of those who resorted
+to it, although he was not able to satisfy his own; for he was,
+of all men, the most curious.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Palace of Perfumes,&rdquo; which was termed
+likewise, &ldquo;The Incentive to Pleasure,&rdquo; consisted of
+various halls, where the different perfumes which the earth
+produces were kept perpetually burning in censers of gold.&nbsp;
+Flambeaus and aromatic lamps were here lighted in open day; but
+the too powerful effects of this agreeable delirium might be
+avoided by descending into an immense garden, where an assemblage
+of every fragrant flower diffused through the air the purest
+odours.</p>
+<p>The fifth palace, denominated &ldquo;The Retreat of Joy, or
+the Dangerous,&rdquo; was frequented by troops of young females,
+beautiful as the Houris, <a name="citation9"></a><a
+href="#footnote9" class="citation">[9]</a> and not less seducing,
+who never failed to receive with caresses all whom the Caliph
+allowed to approach them; for he was by no means disposed to be
+jealous, as his own women were secluded within the palace he
+inhabited himself.</p>
+<p><a name="page10"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+10</span>Notwithstanding the sensuality in which Vathek indulged,
+he experienced no abatement in the love of his people, who
+thought that a sovereign immersed in pleasure was not less
+tolerable to his subjects than one that employed himself in
+creating them foes.&nbsp; But the unquiet and impetuous
+disposition of the Caliph would not allow him to rest there: he
+had studied so much for his amusement in the life-time of his
+father as to acquire a great deal of knowledge, though not a
+sufficiency to satisfy himself; for he wished to know everything;
+even sciences that did not exist.&nbsp; He was fond of engaging
+in disputes with the learned, but liked them not to push their
+opposition with warmth.&nbsp; He stopped the mouths of those with
+presents, whose mouths could be stopped; whilst others, whom his
+liberality was unable to subdue, he sent to prison to cool their
+blood; a remedy that often succeeded.</p>
+<p>Vathek discovered also a predilection for theological
+controversy; but it was not with the orthodox that he usually
+held.&nbsp; By this means he induced the zealots to oppose him,
+and then persecuted them in return; for he resolved, at any rate,
+to have reason on his side.</p>
+<p>The great prophet Mahomet, whose vicars the Caliphs are,
+beheld with indignation from his abode in the seventh heaven the
+irreligious conduct of such a vicegerent.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us leave him to himself,&rdquo; said he to the
+Genii, <a name="citation10"></a><a href="#footnote10"
+class="citation">[10]</a> who are always ready to receive his
+commands; &ldquo;let us see to what lengths his folly and <a
+name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 11</span>impiety will
+carry him; if he run into excess we shall know how to chastise
+him.&nbsp; Assist him, therefore, to complete the tower which, in
+imitation of Nimrod, he hath begun; not, like that great warrior,
+to escape being drowned, but from the insolent curiosity of
+penetrating the secrets of heaven: he will not divine the fate
+that awaits him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Genii obeyed; and when the workmen had raised their
+structure a cubit in the day time, two cubits more were added in
+the night.&nbsp; The expedition with which the fabric arose was
+not a little flattering to the vanity of Vathek.&nbsp; He fancied
+that even insensible matter showed forwardness to subserve his
+designs; not considering that the successes of the foolish and
+wicked form the first rod of their chastisement.</p>
+<p>His pride arrived at its height when, having ascended, for the
+first time, the eleven thousand stairs of his tower, he cast his
+eyes below and beheld men not larger than pismires; mountains
+than shells; and cities than bee-hives.&nbsp; The idea which such
+an elevation inspired of his own grandeur completely bewildered
+him; he was almost ready to adore himself; till lifting his eyes
+upwards, he saw the stars as high above him as they appeared when
+he stood on the surface of the earth.&nbsp; He consoled himself,
+however, for this transient perception of his littleness with the
+thought of being great in the eyes of the others, and flattered
+himself that the light of his mind would extend beyond the reach
+of <a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 12</span>his
+sight, and transfer to the stars the decrees of his destiny.</p>
+<p>With this view the inquisitive prince passed most of his
+nights on the summit of his tower, till he became an adept in the
+mysteries of astrology, and imagined that the planets had
+disclosed to him the most marvellous adventures, which were to be
+accomplished by an extraordinary personage, from a country
+altogether unknown.&nbsp; Prompted by motives of curiosity, he
+had always been courteous to strangers; but from this instant he
+redoubled his attention, and ordered it to be announced by sound
+of trumpet, through all the streets of Samarah, that no one of
+his subjects, on peril of his displeasure, should either lodge or
+detain a traveller, but forthwith bring him to the palace.</p>
+<p>Not long after this proclamation, there arrived in his
+metropolis, a man so hideous that the very guards who arrested
+him were forced to shut their eyes as they led him along.&nbsp;
+The Caliph himself appeared startled at so horrible a visage; but
+joy succeeded to this emotion of terror when the stranger
+displayed to his view such rarities as he had never before seen,
+and of which he had no conception.</p>
+<p>In reality, nothing was ever so extraordinary as the
+merchandise this stranger produced.&nbsp; Most of his
+curiosities, which were not less admirable for their workmanship
+than their splendour, had besides, their several virtues
+described on a parchment fastened to each.&nbsp; There were
+slippers which enabled the feet to walk; knives that cut without
+the motion of a <a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+13</span>hand; sabres which dealt the blow at the person they
+were wished to strike; and the whole enriched with gems that were
+hitherto unknown.</p>
+<p>The sabres, whose blades emitted a dazzling radiance, fixed
+more than all the Caliph&rsquo;s attention, who promised himself
+to decipher at his leisure the uncouth characters engraven on
+their sides.&nbsp; Without, therefore, demanding their price, he
+ordered all the coined gold to be brought from his treasury, and
+commanded the merchant to take what he pleased.&nbsp; The
+stranger complied with modesty and silence.</p>
+<p>Vathek, imagining that the merchant&rsquo;s taciturnity was
+occasioned by the awe which his presence inspired, encouraged him
+to advance, and asked him, with an air of condescension,
+&ldquo;Who he was? whence he came? and where he obtained such
+beautiful commodities?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The man, or rather monster, instead of making a reply, thrice
+rubbed his forehead, which, as well as his body, was blacker than
+ebony; four times clapped his paunch, the projection of which was
+enormous; opened wide his huge eyes, which glowed like
+firebrands; began to laugh with a hideous noise, and discovered
+his long amber coloured teeth bestreaked with green.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, though a little startled, renewed his enquiries,
+but without being able to procure a reply.&nbsp; At which,
+beginning to be ruffled, he exclaimed, &ldquo;knowest thou,
+varlet, who I am? and at whom thou art aiming thy
+gibes?&rdquo;&nbsp; Then addressing his guards, &ldquo;have ye
+heard him speak? is he dumb?&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+14</span>&ldquo;He hath spoken,&rdquo; they replied,
+&ldquo;though but little.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let him speak then again,&rdquo; said Vathek,
+&ldquo;and tell me who he is, from whence he came, and where he
+procured these singular curiosities, or I swear, by the ass of
+Balaam, that I will make him rue his pertinacity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This menace was accompanied by the Caliph with one of his
+angry and perilous glances, which the stranger sustained without
+the slightest emotion, although his eyes were fixed on the
+terrible eye of the prince.</p>
+<p>No words can describe the amazement of the courtiers, when
+they beheld this rude merchant withstand the encounter
+unshocked.&nbsp; They all fell prostrate with their faces on the
+ground, to avoid the risk of their lives, and continued in the
+same abject posture till the Caliph exclaimed in a furious
+tone:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Up, cowards! seize the miscreant! see that he be
+committed to prison, and guarded by the best of my
+soldiers!&nbsp; Let him, however, retain the money I gave him; it
+is not my intent to take from him his property, I only want him
+to speak.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>No sooner had he uttered these words than the stranger was
+surrounded, pinioned with strong fetters, and hurried away to the
+prison of the great tower, which was encompassed by seven
+empalements of iron bars, and armed with spikes in every
+direction, longer and sharper than spits.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, nevertheless, remained in the most violent
+agitation.&nbsp; He sat down indeed to eat, but <a
+name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 15</span>of the three
+hundred covers that were daily placed before him, could taste of
+no more than thirty-two.</p>
+<p>A diet to which he had been so little accustomed, was
+sufficient of itself to prevent him from sleeping, what then must
+be its effect when joined to the anxiety that prayed upon his
+spirits?&nbsp; At the first glimpse of dawn he hastened to the
+prison, again to importune this intractable stranger; but the
+rage of Vathek exceeded all bounds on finding the prison empty,
+the gates burst asunder, and his guards lying lifeless around
+him.&nbsp; In the paroxysm of his passion he fell furiously on
+the poor carcases, and kicked them till evening without
+intermission.&nbsp; His courtiers and viziers exerted their
+efforts to soothe his extravagance, but finding every expedient
+ineffectual, they all united in one vociferation:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Caliph is gone mad! the Caliph is out of his
+senses!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This outcry, which was soon resounded through the streets of
+Samarah, at length reached the ears of Carathis, his mother: she
+flew in the utmost consternation to try her ascendency on the
+mind of her son.&nbsp; Her tears and caresses called off his
+attention; and he was prevailed upon by her entreaties to be
+brought back to the palace.</p>
+<p>Carathis, apprehensive of leaving Vathek to himself, caused
+him to be put to bed; and seating herself by him, endeavoured by
+her conversation to heal and compose him.&nbsp; Nor could any one
+have attempted it with better success; for the Caliph not only
+loved her as a mother but respected her as a <a
+name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 16</span>person of
+superior genius.&nbsp; It was she who had induced him, being a
+Greek herself, to adopt all the sciences and systems of her
+country, which good Mussulmans hold in such thorough
+abhorrence.</p>
+<p>Judicial astrology was one of those systems in which Carathis
+was a perfect adept.&nbsp; She began, therefore, with reminding
+her son of the promise which the stars had made him; and
+intimated an intention of consulting them again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas!&rdquo; sighed the Caliph, as soon at he could
+speak, &ldquo;what a fool have I been! not for the kicks bestowed
+on my guards, who so tamely submitted to death, but for never
+considering that this extraordinary man was the same the planets
+had foretold; whom, instead of ill-treating, I should have
+conciliated by all the arts of persuasion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The past,&rdquo; said Carathis, &ldquo;cannot be
+recalled; but it behoves us to think of the future: perhaps you
+may again see the object you so much regret: it is possible the
+inscriptions on the sabres will afford information.&nbsp; Eat,
+therefore, and take thy repose, my dear son.&nbsp; We will
+consider, to-morrow, in what manner to act.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek yielded to her counsel as well as he could, and arose
+in the morning with a mind more at ease.&nbsp; The sabres he
+commanded to be instantly brought; and poring upon them through a
+green glass, that their glittering might not dazzle, he set
+himself in earnest to decipher the inscriptions; but his
+reiterated attempts were all of them nugatory: in vain did he
+beat his head and bite his nails; not a letter <a
+name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 17</span>of the whole
+was he able to ascertain.&nbsp; So unlucky a disappointment would
+have undone him again, had not Carathis, by good fortune, entered
+the apartment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have patience, son!&rdquo; said she.&nbsp; &ldquo;You
+certainly are possessed of every important science, but the
+knowledge of languages is a trifle, at best; and the
+accomplishment of none but a pedant.&nbsp; Issue forth a
+proclamation that you will confer such rewards as become your
+greatness upon any one that shall interpret what you do not
+understand, and what it is beneath you to learn.&nbsp; You will
+soon find your curiosity gratified.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That may be,&rdquo; said the Caliph; &ldquo;but in the
+mean time I shall be horribly disgusted by a crowd of smatterers,
+who will come to the trial as much for the pleasure of retailing
+their jargon as from the hope of gaining the reward.&nbsp; To
+avoid this evil, it will be proper to add that I will put every
+candidate to death who shall fail to give satisfaction; for,
+thank heaven, I have skill enough to distinguish between one that
+translates and one that invents.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of that I have no doubt,&rdquo; replied Carathis,
+&ldquo;but to put the ignorant to death is somewhat severe, and
+may be productive of dangerous effects.&nbsp; Content yourself
+with commanding their beards to be burnt: beards, in a state, are
+not quite so essential as men.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph submitted to the reasons of his mother, and sending
+for Morakanabad, his prime vizier, said:</p>
+<p><a name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+18</span>&ldquo;Let the common criers proclaim, not only in
+Samarah, but throughout every city in my empire, that whosoever
+will repair hither, and decipher certain characters which appear
+to be inexplicable, shall experience the liberality for which I
+am renowned; but that all who fail upon trial shall have their
+beards burnt off to the last hair.&nbsp; Let them add also, that
+I will bestow fifty beautiful slaves, and as many jars of
+apricots from the isle of Kirmith, upon any man that shall bring
+me intelligence of the stranger.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The subjects of the Caliph, like their sovereign, being great
+admirers of women, and apricots from Kirmith, felt their mouths
+water at these promises, but were totally unable to gratify their
+hankering, for no one knew which way the stranger had gone.</p>
+<p>As to the Caliph&rsquo;s other requisition the result was
+different: the learned, the half-learned, and those who were
+neither, but fancied themselves equal to both, came boldly to
+hazard their beards, and all shamefully lost them.</p>
+<p>The exaction of these forfeitures, which found sufficient
+employment for the Eunuchs, gave them such a smell of singed hair
+as greatly to disgust the ladies of the seraglio, and make it
+necessary that this new occupation of their guardians should be
+transferred into other hands.</p>
+<p>At length, however, an old man presented himself, whose beard
+was a cubit-and-a-half longer than any that had appeared before
+him.&nbsp; The officers of <a name="page19"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 19</span>the palace whispered to each other,
+as they ushered him in:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What a pity such a beard should be burnt!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Even the Caliph, when he saw it, concurred with them in
+opinion; but his concern was entirely needless.&nbsp; This
+venerable personage read the characters with facility, and
+explained them verbatim, as follows:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We were made where everything good is made; we are the
+least of the wonders of a place where all is wonderful; and
+deserving the sight of the first potentate on earth.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You translate admirably!&rdquo; cried Vathek.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I know to what these marvellous characters allude.&nbsp;
+Let him receive as many robes of honour, and thousands of sequins
+of gold, as he hath spoken words.&nbsp; I am in some measure
+relieved from the perplexity that embarrassed me!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek invited the old man to dine, and even to remain some
+days in the palace.&nbsp; Unluckily for him, he accepted the
+offer; for the Caliph having ordered him next morning to be
+called, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Read again to me what you have read already; I cannot
+hear too often the promise that is made me, the completion of
+which I languish to obtain.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The old man forthwith put on his green spectacles; but they
+instantly dropped from his nose, on perceiving that the
+characters he had read the day preceding, had given place to
+others of different import.</p>
+<p><a name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+20</span>&ldquo;What ails you?&rdquo; asked the Caliph;
+&ldquo;and why these symptoms of wonder?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sovereign of the world,&rdquo; replied the old man,
+&ldquo;these sabres hold another language to-day, from that they
+yesterday held.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How say you?&rdquo; returned Vathek.&nbsp; &ldquo;But
+it matters not! tell me, if you can, what they mean.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is this, my lord,&rdquo; rejoined the old man:
+&ldquo;&lsquo;Woe to the rash mortal who seeks to know that of
+which he should remain ignorant and to undertake that which
+surpasseth his power!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And woe to thee!&rdquo; cried the Caliph, in a burst of
+indignation: &ldquo;to-day thou art void of understanding: begone
+from my presence, they shall burn but the half of thy beard,
+because thou wert yesterday fortunate in guessing.&nbsp; My gifts
+I never resume.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The old man, wise enough to perceive he had luckily escaped,
+considering the folly of disclosing so disgusting a truth,
+immediately withdrew, and appeared not again.</p>
+<p>But it was not long before Vathek discovered abundant reason
+to regret his precipitation; for though he could not decipher the
+characters himself, yet, by constantly poring upon them, he
+plainly perceived that they every day changed; and unfortunately
+no other candidate offered to explain them.&nbsp; This perplexing
+occupation inflamed his blood, dazzled his sight, and brought on
+a giddiness and debility that he could not support.&nbsp; He
+failed not, however, though in so reduced a condition, to be <a
+name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 21</span>often carried
+to his tower, as he flattered himself that he might there read in
+the stars, which he went to consult, something more congruous to
+his wishes.&nbsp; But in this his hopes were deluded; for his
+eyes, dimmed by the vapours of his head, began to subserve his
+curiosity so ill, that he beheld nothing but a thick dun cloud,
+which he took for the most direful of omens.</p>
+<p>Agitated with so much anxiety, Vathek entirely lost all
+firmness; a fever seized him and his appetite failed.&nbsp;
+Instead of being one of the greatest eaters, he became as
+distinguished for drinking.&nbsp; So insatiable was the thirst
+which tormented him, that his mouth, like a funnel, was always
+open to receive the various liquors that might be poured into it
+and especially cold water, which calmed him more than every
+other.</p>
+<p>This unhappy prince being thus incapacitated for the enjoyment
+of any pleasure, commanded the palaces of the five senses to be
+shut up; forebore to appear in public, either to display his
+magnificence or administer justice; and retired to the inmost
+apartment of his harem.&nbsp; As he had ever been an indulgent
+husband, his wives, overwhelmed with grief at his deplorable
+situation, incessantly offered their prayers for his health, and
+unremittingly supplied him with water.</p>
+<p>In the mean time, the Princess Carathis, whose affliction no
+words can describe, instead of restraining herself to sobbing and
+tears, was closeted daily with the Vizier Morakanabad, to find
+out some cure <a name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+22</span>or mitigation of the Caliph&rsquo;s disease.&nbsp; Under
+the persuasion that it was caused by enchantment, they turned
+over together leaf by leaf, all the books of magic that might
+point out a remedy; and caused the horrible stranger, whom they
+accused as the enchanter, to be everywhere sought for with the
+strictest diligence.</p>
+<p>At the distance of a few miles from Samarah stood a high
+mountain, whose sides were swarded with wild thyme and basil, and
+its summit overspread with so delightful a plain that it might be
+taken for the Paradise destined for the faithful.&nbsp; Upon it
+grew a hundred thickets of eglantine and other fragrant shrubs; a
+hundred arbours of roses, jessamine, and honeysuckle; as many
+clumps of orange trees, cedar, and citron; whose branches,
+interwoven with the palm, the pomegranate, and the vine,
+presented every luxury that could regale the eye or the
+taste.&nbsp; The ground was strewed with violets, harebells, and
+pansies; in the midst of which sprung forth tufts of jonquils,
+hyacinths, and carnations, with every other perfume that
+impregnates the air.&nbsp; Four fountains, not less clear than
+deep, and so abundant as to slake the thirst of ten armies,
+seemed purposely placed here to make the scene more resemble the
+garden of Eden, which was watered by the four sacred
+rivers.&nbsp; Here the nightingale sang the birth of the rose,
+her well-beloved, and at the same time lamented its short-lived
+beauty; whilst the turtle deplored the loss of more substantial
+pleasures and the wakeful lark hailed the rising <a
+name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 23</span>light that
+reanimates the whole creation.&nbsp; Here, more than anywhere,
+the mingled melodies of birds expressed the various passions they
+inspired; as if the exquisite fruits, which they pecked at
+pleasure, had given them a double energy.</p>
+<p>To this mountain Vathek was sometimes brought, for the sake of
+breathing a purer air; and especially, to drink at will of the
+four fountains, which were reputed in the highest degree
+salubrious, and sacred to himself.&nbsp; His attendants were his
+mother, his wives, and some eunuchs, who assiduously employed
+themselves in filling capacious bowls of rock crystal, and
+emulously presenting them to him.&nbsp; But it frequently
+happened that his avidity exceeded their zeal; insomuch that he
+would prostrate himself upon the ground to lap up the water, of
+which he could never have enough.</p>
+<p>One day when this unhappy prince had been long lying in so
+debasing a posture, a voice, hoarse but strong, thus addressed
+him:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why assumest thou the function of a dog, oh Caliph, so
+proud of thy dignity and power?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this apostrophe he raised up his head and beheld the
+stranger that had caused him so much affliction.&nbsp; Inflamed
+with anger at the sight, he exclaimed:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Accursed Giaour! <a name="citation23"></a><a
+href="#footnote23" class="citation">[23]</a> what comest thou
+hither to do? is it not enough to have transformed a prince,
+remarkable for his agility, into one of those leather barrels
+which the Bedouin Arabs carry on their camels when they traverse
+the deserts?&nbsp; Perceivest <a name="page24"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 24</span>thou not that I may perish by
+drinking to excess, no less than by a total
+abstinence?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Drink then this draught,&rdquo; said the stranger, as
+he presented to him a phial of a red and yellow mixture;
+&ldquo;and to satiate the thirst of thy soul as well as of thy
+body, know that I am an Indian, but from a region of India which
+is wholly unknown.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph, delighted to see his desires accomplished in part,
+and flattering himself with the hope of obtaining their entire
+fulfilment, without a moment&rsquo;s hesitation swallowed the
+potion, and instantaneously found his health restored, his thirst
+appeased, and his limbs as agile as ever.</p>
+<p>In the transports of his joy, Vathek leaped upon the neck of
+the frightful Indian, and kissed his horrid mouth and hollow
+cheeks, as though they had been the coral lips, and the lilies
+and roses of his most beautiful wives; whilst they, less
+terrified than jealous at the sight, dropped their veils to hide
+the blush of mortification that suffused their foreheads.</p>
+<p>Nor would the scene have closed here, had not Carathis, with
+all the art of insinuation, a little repressed the raptures of
+her son.&nbsp; Having prevailed upon him to return to Samarah,
+she caused a herald to precede him, whom she commanded to
+proclaim as loudly as possible:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The wonderful stranger hath appeared again; he hath
+healed the Caliph; he hath spoken! he hath spoken!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Forthwith all the inhabitants of this vast city <a
+name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 25</span>quitted their
+habitations, and ran together in crowds to see the procession of
+Vathek and the Indian, whom they now blessed as much as they had
+before execrated, incessantly shouting,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He hath healed our sovereign; he hath spoken! he hath
+spoken!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nor were these words forgotten in the public festivals, which
+were celebrated the same evening to testify the general joy, for
+the poets applied them as a chorus to all the songs they
+composed.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, in the mean while caused the palaces of the senses
+to be again set open, and as he found himself prompted to visit
+that of taste, in preference to the rest, immediately ordered a
+splendid entertainment, to which his great officers and favourite
+courtiers were all invited.&nbsp; The Indian, who was placed near
+the prince, seemed to think that as a proper acknowledgment of so
+distinguished a privilege, he could neither eat, drink, nor talk
+too much.&nbsp; The various dainties were no sooner served up
+than they vanished, to the great mortification of Vathek, who
+piqued himself on being the greatest eater alive, and at this
+time in particular had an excellent appetite.</p>
+<p>The rest of the company looked round at each other in
+amazement, but the Indian without appearing to observe it,
+quaffed large bumpers to the health of each of them: sung in a
+style altogether extravagant; related stories at which he laughed
+immoderately; and poured forth extemporaneous verses which would
+not have been thought bad, but <a name="page26"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 26</span>for the strange grimaces with which
+they were uttered.&nbsp; In a word, his loquacity was equal to
+that of a hundred astrologers; he ate as much as a hundred
+porters, and caroused in proportion.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, notwithstanding the table had been thirty times
+covered, found himself incommoded by the voraciousness of his
+guest, who was now considerably declined in the prince&rsquo;s
+esteem.&nbsp; Vathek, however, being unwilling to betray the
+chagrin he could hardly disguise, said in a whisper to
+Bababalouk, <a name="citation26a"></a><a href="#footnote26a"
+class="citation">[26a]</a> the chief of his eunuchs:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You see how enormous his performances in every way are;
+what would be the consequence should he get at my wives?&nbsp;
+Go! redouble your vigilance, and be sure look well to my
+Circassians, who would be more to his taste than all of the
+rest.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The bird of the morning had thrice renewed his song, when the
+hour of the divan <a name="citation26b"></a><a
+href="#footnote26b" class="citation">[26b]</a> sounded.&nbsp;
+Vathek, in gratitude to his subjects, having promised to attend,
+immediately arose from table and repaired thither leaning upon
+his vizier, who could scarcely support him, so disordered was the
+poor prince by the wine he had drank, and still more by the
+extravagant vagaries of his boisterous guest.</p>
+<p>The viziers, the officers of the crown, and of the law,
+arranged themselves in a semi-circle about their sovereign, and
+preserved a respectful silence, whilst the Indian, who looked as
+cool as if come from a fast, sat down without ceremony on a step
+of the <a name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+27</span>throne, laughing in his sleeve at the indignation with
+which his temerity had filled the spectators.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, however, whose ideas were confused and his head
+embarrassed, went on administering justice at hap-hazard, till at
+length the prime vizier <a name="citation27"></a><a
+href="#footnote27" class="citation">[27]</a> perceiving his
+situation, hit upon a sudden expedient to interrupt the audience,
+and rescue the honour of his master, to whom he said in a
+whisper:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My lord, the princess Carathis, who hath passed the
+night in consulting the planets, informs you that they portend
+you evil; and the danger is urgent.&nbsp; Beware, lest this
+stranger whom you have so lavishly recompensed for his magical
+gewgaws, should make some attempt on your life: his liquor, which
+at first had the appearance of effecting your cure, may be no
+more than a poison of a sudden operation.&nbsp; Slight not this
+surmise; ask him, at least, of what it was compounded; whence he
+procured it; and mention the sabres, which you seem to have
+forgotten.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek, to whom the insolent airs of the stranger became every
+moment less supportable, intimated to his vizier by a wink of
+acquiescence, that he would adopt his advice, and at once turning
+towards the Indian, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Get up and declare in full divan of what drugs the
+liquor was compounded you enjoined me to take, for it is
+suspected to be poison; add also the explanation I have so
+earnestly desired concerning the sabres you sold me, and thus
+show your gratitude for the favours heaped on you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page28"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 28</span>Having
+pronounced these words in as moderate a tone as a Caliph well
+could, he waited in silent expectation for an answer; but the
+Indian, still keeping his seat, began to renew his loud shouts of
+laughter, and exhibit the same horrid grimaces he had shown them
+before, without vouchsafing a word in reply.&nbsp; Vathek, no
+longer able to brook such insolence, immediately kicked him from
+the steps, instantly descending repeated his blow, and persisted
+with such assiduity, as incited all who were present to follow
+his example.&nbsp; Every foot was aimed at the Indian, and no
+sooner had any one given him a kick than he felt himself
+constrained to reiterate the stroke.</p>
+<p>The stranger afforded them no small entertainment; for being
+both short and plump, he collected himself into a ball and rolled
+round on all sides at the blows of his assailants, who pressed
+after him wherever he turned, with an eagerness beyond
+conception, whilst their numbers were every moment
+increasing.&nbsp; The ball, indeed, in passing from one apartment
+to another, drew every person after it that came in its way,
+insomuch that the whole palace was thrown into confusion, and
+resounded with a tremendous clamour.&nbsp; The women of the
+harem, amazed at the uproar, flew to their blinds to discover the
+cause, but no sooner did they catch a glimpse of the ball than
+feeling themselves unable to refrain, they broke from the
+clutches of their eunuchs, who to stop their flight pinched them
+till they bled, but in vain; whilst themselves, though <a
+name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>trembling
+with terror at the escape of their charge, were as incapable of
+resisting the attraction.</p>
+<p>The Indian, after having traversed the halls, galleries,
+chambers, kitchens, gardens, and stables of the palace, at last
+took his course through the courts, whilst the Caliph, pursuing
+him closer than the rest, bestowed as many kicks as he possibly
+could, yet not without receiving now and then one, which his
+competitors, in their eagerness, designed for the ball.</p>
+<p>Carathis, Morakanabad, and two or three old viziers whose
+wisdom had hitherto withstood the attraction, wishing to prevent
+Vathek from exposing himself in the presence of his subjects,
+fell down in his way to impede the pursuit, but he, regardless of
+their obstruction, leaped over their heads, and went on as
+before.&nbsp; They then ordered the muezzins to call the people
+to prayers, both for the sake of getting them out of the way, and
+of endeavouring by their petitions to avert the calamity; but
+neither of these expedients was a whit more successful.&nbsp; The
+sight of this fatal ball was alone sufficient to draw after it
+every beholder.&nbsp; The muezzins themselves, though they saw it
+but at a distance, hastened down from their minarets and mixed
+with the crowd, which continued to increase in so surprising a
+manner, that scarce an inhabitant was left in Samarah, except the
+aged, the sick confined to their beds, and infants at the breast,
+whose nurses could run more nimbly without them.&nbsp; Even
+Carathis, Morakanabad, and the rest, were all become of the
+party.</p>
+<p><a name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span>The
+shrill screams of the females who had broken from their
+apartments, and were unable to extricate themselves from the
+pressure of the crowd, together with those of the eunuchs
+jostling after them, terrified lest their charge should escape
+from their sight, increased by the execrations of husbands urging
+forward and menacing both, kicks given and received, stumblings
+and overthrows at every step, in a word, the confusion that
+universally prevailed, rendered Samarah like a city taken by
+storm, and devoted to absolute plunder.</p>
+<p>At last the cursed Indian, who still preserved his rotundity
+of figure, after passing through all the streets and public
+places, and leaving them empty, rolled onwards to the plain of
+Catoul, and traversed the valley at the foot of the mountain of
+the four fountains.</p>
+<p>As a continual fall of water had excavated an immense gulph in
+the valley, whose opposite side was closed in by a steep
+acclivity, the Caliph and his attendants were apprehensive lest
+the ball should bound into the chasm, and to prevent it,
+redoubled their efforts, but in vain.&nbsp; The Indian persevered
+in his onward direction, and as had been apprehended, glancing
+from the precipice with the rapidity of lightning, was lost in
+the gulph below.</p>
+<p>Vathek would have followed the perfidious Giaour, had not an
+invisible agency arrested his progress.&nbsp; The multitude that
+pressed after him were at once checked in the same manner, and a
+calm instantaneously ensued.&nbsp; They all gazed at each other
+with <a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 31</span>an
+air of astonishment; and notwithstanding that the loss of veils
+and turbans, together with torn habits, and dust blended with
+sweat, presented a most laughable spectacle, there was not one
+smile to be seen; on the contrary, all with looks of confusion
+and sadness returned in silence to Samarah, and retired to their
+inmost apartments, without ever reflecting that they had been
+impelled by an invisible power into the extravagance for which
+they reproached themselves: for it is but just, that men who so
+often arrogate to their own merit the good of which they are but
+instruments, should attribute to themselves the absurdities which
+they could not prevent.</p>
+<p>The Caliph was the only person that refused to leave the
+valley.&nbsp; He commanded his tents to be pitched there, and
+stationed himself on the very edge of the precipice, in spite of
+the representations of Carathis and Morakanabad, who pointed out
+the hazard of its brink giving way, and the vicinity to the
+magician that had so severely tormented him.&nbsp; Vathek derided
+all their remonstrances; and having ordered a thousand flambeaus
+to be lighted, and directed his attendants to proceed in lighting
+more, lay down on the slippery margin, and attempted, by the help
+of this artificial splendour, to look through that gloom which
+all the fires of the empyrean had been insufficient to
+pervade.&nbsp; One while he fancied to himself voices arising
+from the depth of the gulph, at another he seemed to distinguish
+the accents of the Indian, but all was no more than the hollow <a
+name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 32</span>murmur of
+waters, and the din of the cataracts that rushed from steep to
+steep, down the sides of the mountain.</p>
+<p>Having passed the night in this cruel perturbation, the Caliph
+at day-break retired to his tent, where, without taking the least
+sustenance, he continued to doze till the dusk of evening began
+to come on; he then resumed his vigils as before, and persevered
+in observing them for many nights together.&nbsp; At length,
+fatigued with so successless an employment, he sought relief from
+change.&nbsp; To this end he sometimes paced with hasty strides
+across the plain; and as he wildly gazed at the stars, reproached
+them with having deceived him; but lo! on a sudden the clear blue
+sky appeared streaked over with streams of blood, which reached
+from the valley even to the city of Samarah.&nbsp; As this awful
+phenomenon seemed to touch his tower, Vathek at first thought of
+repairing thither to view it more distinctly, but feeling himself
+unable to advance, and being overcome with apprehension, he
+muffled up his face in his robe.</p>
+<p>Terrifying as these prodigies were, this impression upon him
+was no more than momentary, and served only to stimulate his love
+of the marvellous.&nbsp; Instead, therefore, of returning to his
+palace, he persisted in the resolution of abiding where the
+Indian vanished from his view.&nbsp; One night, however, while he
+was walking as usual on the plain, the moon and the stars at once
+were eclipsed, and a total darkness ensued.&nbsp; The earth
+trembled beneath him, and a voice <a name="page33"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 33</span>came forth, the voice of the Giaour,
+who in accents more sonorous than thunder, thus addressed
+him:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would&rsquo;st thou devote thyself to me? adore then
+the terrestrial influences, and abjure Mahomet.&nbsp; On these
+conditions I will bring thee to the palace of subterranean fire:
+there shalt thou behold, in immense depositories, the treasures
+which the stars have promised thee, and which will be conferred
+by those intelligences whom thou shalt thus render
+propitious.&nbsp; It was from thence I brought my sabres; and it
+is there that Soliman Ben Daoud reposes, surrounded by the
+talismans that control the world.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The astonished Caliph trembled as he answered, yet in a style
+that showed him to be no novice in preternatural adventures:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where art thou?&nbsp; Be present to my eyes; dissipate
+the gloom that perplexes me, and of which I deem thee the
+cause.&nbsp; After the many flambeaus I have burnt to discover
+thee, thou mayest at least grant a glimpse of thy horrible
+visage.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Abjure then Mahomet,&rdquo; replied the Indian,
+&ldquo;and promise me full proofs of thy sincerity; otherwise
+thou shalt never behold me again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The unhappy Caliph, instigated by insatiable curiosity,
+lavished his promises in the utmost profusion.&nbsp; The sky
+immediately brightened; and by the light of the planets, which
+seemed almost to blaze, Vathek beheld the earth open, and at the
+extremity of a vast black chasm a portal of ebony, before which
+stood the Indian, still blacker, holding in his hand a golden
+key, that caused the lock to resound.</p>
+<p><a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+34</span>&ldquo;How,&rdquo; cried Vathek, &ldquo;can I descend to
+thee, without the certainty of breaking my neck?&nbsp; Come take
+me, and instantly open the portal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not so fast,&rdquo; replied the Indian,
+&ldquo;impatient Caliph!&nbsp; Know that I am parched with
+thirst, and cannot open this door till my thirst be thoroughly
+appeased.&nbsp; I require the blood of fifty of the most
+beautiful sons of thy viziers and great men, or neither can my
+thirst nor thy curiosity be satisfied.&nbsp; Return to Samarah;
+procure for me this necessary libation; come back hither; throw
+it thyself into this chasm; and then shalt thou see!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having thus spoken, the Indian turned his back on the Caliph,
+who, incited by the suggestion of demons, resolved on the direful
+sacrifice.&nbsp; He now pretended to have regained his
+tranquillity, and set out for Samarah amidst the acclamations of
+a people who still loved him, and forbore not to rejoice when
+they believed him to have recovered his reason.&nbsp; So
+successfully did he conceal the emotion of his heart, that even
+Carathis and Morakanabad were equally deceived with the
+rest.&nbsp; Nothing was heard of but festivals and
+rejoicings.&nbsp; The ball, which no tongue had hitherto ventured
+to mention, was again brought on the tapis.&nbsp; A general laugh
+went round; though many, still smarting under the hands of the
+surgeon, from the hurts received in that memorable adventure, had
+no great reason for mirth.</p>
+<p>The prevalence of this gay humour was not a little grateful to
+Vathek, as perceiving how much it conduced to his project.&nbsp;
+He put on the appearance <a name="page35"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 35</span>of affability to every one; but
+especially to his viziers, and the grandees of his court, whom he
+failed not to regale with a sumptuous banquet, during which he
+insensibly inclined the conversation to the children of his
+guests.&nbsp; Having asked, with a good-natured air, who of them
+were blessed with the handsomest boys, every father at once
+asserted the pretensions of his own; and the contest
+imperceptibly grew so warm, that nothing could have with-holden
+them from coming to blows but their profound reverence for the
+person of the Caliph.&nbsp; Under the pretence, therefore, of
+reconciling the disputants, Vathek took upon him to decide; and
+with this view commanded the boys to be brought.</p>
+<p>It was not long before a troop of these poor children made
+their appearance, all equipped by their fond mothers with such
+ornaments as might give the greatest relief to their beauty, or
+most advantageously display the graces of their age.&nbsp; But
+whilst this brilliant assemblage attracted the eyes and hearts of
+every one besides, the Caliph scrutinized each in his turn with a
+malignant avidity that passed for attention, and selected from
+their number the fifty whom he judged the Giaour would
+prefer.</p>
+<p>With an equal show of kindness as before, he proposed to
+celebrate a festival on the plain, for the entertainment of his
+young favourites, who he said ought to rejoice still more than
+all at the restoration of his health, on account of the favours
+he intended for them.</p>
+<p><a name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 36</span>The
+Caliph&rsquo;s proposal was received with the greatest delight,
+and soon published through Samarah.&nbsp; Litters, camels, and
+horses were prepared.&nbsp; Women and children, old men and
+young&mdash;every one placed himself in the station he
+chose.&nbsp; The cavalcade set forward, attended by all the
+confectioners in the city and its precincts.&nbsp; The populace,
+following on foot, composed an amazing crowd, and occasioned no
+little noise.&nbsp; All was joy; nor did any one call to mind
+what most of them had suffered when they first travelled the road
+they were now passing so gaily.</p>
+<p>The evening was serene, the air refreshing, the sky clear, and
+the flowers exhaled their fragrance.&nbsp; The beams of the
+declining sun, whose mild splendour reposed on the summit of the
+mountain, shed a glow of ruddy light over its green declivity,
+and the white flocks sporting upon it.&nbsp; No sounds were
+audible, save the murmurs of the four fountains, and the reeds
+and voices of shepherds, calling to each other from different
+eminences.</p>
+<p>The lovely innocents, proceeding to the destined sacrifice,
+added not a little to the hilarity of the scene.&nbsp; They
+approached the plain full of sportiveness; some coursing
+butterflies, others culling flowers, or picking up the shining
+little pebbles that attracted their notice.&nbsp; At intervals,
+they nimbly started from each other, for the sake of being caught
+again, and mutually imparting a thousand caresses.</p>
+<p>The dreadful chasm, at whose bottom the portal of ebony was
+placed, began to appear at a distance.&nbsp; It looked like a
+black streak that divided the plain.&nbsp; <a
+name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 37</span>Morakanabad
+and his companions took it for some work which the Caliph had
+ordered.&nbsp; Unhappy men! little did they surmise for what it
+was destined.</p>
+<p>Vathek, not liking that they should examine it too nearly,
+stopped the procession, and ordered a spacious circle to be
+formed on this side, at some distance from the accursed
+chasm.&nbsp; The body-guard of eunuchs was detached, to measure
+out the lists intended for the games, and prepare ringles for the
+lines to keep off the crowd.&nbsp; The fifty competitors were
+soon stripped, and presented to the admiration of the spectators
+the suppleness and grace of their delicate limbs.&nbsp; Their
+eyes sparkled with a joy which those of their fond parents
+reflected.&nbsp; Every one offered wishes for the little
+candidate nearest his heart, and doubted not of his being
+victorious.&nbsp; A breathless suspense awaited the contest of
+these amiable and innocent victims.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, availing himself of the first moment to retire
+from the crowd, advanced towards the chasm, and there heard, yet
+not without shuddering, the voice of the Indian; who, gnashing
+his teeth, eagerly demanded:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where are they?&nbsp; Where are they? perceivest thou
+not how my mouth waters?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Relentless Giaour!&rdquo; answered Vathek, with
+emotion, &ldquo;can nothing content thee but the massacre of
+these lovely victims?&nbsp; Ah! wert thou to behold their beauty,
+it must certainly move thy compassion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perdition on thy compassion, babbler!&rdquo; cried <a
+name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 38</span>the
+Indian.&nbsp; &ldquo;Give them me! instantly give them, or my
+portal shall be closed against thee for ever!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not so loudly,&rdquo; replied the Caliph, blushing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I understand thee,&rdquo; returned the Giaour, with the
+grin of an ogre: &ldquo;thou wantest to summon up more presence
+of mind.&nbsp; I will for a moment forbear.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>During this exquisite dialogue the games went forward with all
+alacrity, and at length concluded, just as the twilight began to
+overcast the mountains.&nbsp; Vathek, who was still standing on
+the edge of the chasm, called out with all his might:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let my fifty little favourites approach me, separately;
+and let them come in the order of their success.&nbsp; To the
+first I will give my diamond bracelet; to the second my collar of
+emeralds; to the third my aigret of rubies; to the fourth my
+girdle of topazes; and to the rest, each a part of my dress, even
+down to my slippers.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This declaration was received with reiterated acclamations;
+and all extolled the liberality of a prince who would thus strip
+himself for the amusement of his subjects and the encouragement
+of the rising generation.</p>
+<p>The Caliph in the mean while undressed himself by degrees; and
+raising his arm as high as he was able, made each of the prizes
+glitter in the air; but, whilst he delivered it with one hand to
+the child, who sprang forward to receive it, he with the other
+pushed the poor innocent into the gulph, where the <a
+name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 39</span>Giaour, with
+a sullen muttering, incessantly repeated &ldquo;More!
+more!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This dreadful device was executed with so much dexterity, that
+the boy who was approaching him remained unconscious of the fate
+of his forerunner; and as to the spectators, the shades of
+evening, together with their distance, precluded them from
+perceiving any object distinctly.&nbsp; Vathek, having in this
+manner thrown in the last of the fifty, and expecting that the
+Giaour on receiving him would have presented the key, already
+fancied himself as great as Soliman, and consequently above being
+amenable for what he had done; when, to his utter amazement, the
+chasm closed, and the ground became as entire as the rest of the
+plain.</p>
+<p>No language could express his rage and despair.&nbsp; He
+execrated the perfidy of the Indian; loaded him with the most
+infamous invectives; and stamped with his foot as resolving to be
+heard.&nbsp; He persisted in this demeanour till his strength
+failed him, and then fell on the earth like one void of
+sense.&nbsp; His viziers and grandees, who were nearer than the
+rest, supposed him at first to be sitting on the grass at play
+with their amiable children; but at length, prompted by doubt,
+they advanced towards the spot, and found the Caliph alone, who
+wildly demanded what they wanted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Our children! our children!&rdquo; cried they.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is assuredly pleasant,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;to
+make me accountable for accidents.&nbsp; Your children, while at
+play, fell from the precipice that was here; and I <a
+name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 40</span>should have
+experienced their fate had I not been saved by a sudden start
+back.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At these words, the fathers of the fifty boys cried out aloud:
+the mothers repeated their exclamations an octave higher; whilst
+the rest, without knowing the cause, soon drowned the voices of
+both, with still louder lamentations of their own.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Our Caliph,&rdquo; said they, and the report soon
+circulated, &ldquo;Our Caliph has played us this trick, to
+gratify his accursed Giaour.&nbsp; Let us punish him for his
+perfidy! let us avenge ourselves! let us avenge the blood of the
+innocent! let us throw this cruel Prince into the gulph that is
+near, and let his name be mentioned no more!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this rumour, and these menaces, Carathis, full of
+consternation, hastened to Morakanabad, and said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vizier, you have lost two beautiful boys, and must
+necessarily be the most afflicted of fathers; but you are
+virtuous; save your master!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will brave every hazard,&rdquo; replied the Vizier,
+&ldquo;to rescue him from his present danger; but afterwards will
+abandon him to his fate.&nbsp; Bababalouk,&rdquo; continued he,
+&ldquo;put yourself at the head of your Eunuchs, disperse the
+mob, and if possible bring back this unhappy Prince to his
+palace.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Bababalouk and his fraternity, felicitating each other in a
+low voice on their disability of ever being fathers, obeyed the
+mandate of the Vizier; who, seconding their exertions to the
+utmost of his power, <a name="page41"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 41</span>at length accomplished his generous
+enterprise, and retired, as he resolved, to lament at his
+leisure.</p>
+<p>No sooner had the Caliph re-entered his palace, than Carathis
+commanded the doors to be fastened; but perceiving the tumult to
+be still violent, and hearing the imprecations which resounded
+from all quarters, she said to her son:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Whether the populace be right or wrong, it behoves you
+to provide for your safety: let us retire to your own apartment,
+and from thence, through the subterranean passage known only to
+ourselves, into your tower; there, with the assistance of the
+mutes who never leave it, we may be able to make some
+resistance.&nbsp; Bababalouk, supposing us to be still in the
+palace, will guard its avenues for his own sake; and we shall
+soon find, without the counsels of that blubberer Morakanabad,
+what expedient may be the best to adopt.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek, without making the least reply, acquiesced in his
+mother&rsquo;s proposal, and repeated as he went:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nefarious Giaour! where art thou? hast thou not yet
+devoured those poor children? where are thy sabres? thy golden
+key? thy talismans?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carathis, who guessed from these interrogations a part of the
+truth, had no difficulty to apprehend in getting at the whole, as
+soon as he should be a little composed in his tower.&nbsp; This
+Princess was so far from being influenced by scruples that she
+was as wicked as woman could be, which is not saying a little,
+for the sex pique themselves on their superiority in every
+competition.&nbsp; The recital of the Caliph therefore <a
+name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 42</span>occasioned
+neither terror nor surprise to his mother; she felt no emotion
+but from the promises of the Giaour; and said to her son:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This Giaour, it must be confessed, is somewhat
+sanguinary in his taste, but the terrestrial powers are always
+terrible: nevertheless, what the one has promised and the others
+can confer, will prove a sufficient indemnification.&nbsp; No
+crimes should be thought too dear for such a reward.&nbsp;
+Forbear then to revile the Indian: you have not fulfilled the
+conditions to which his services are annexed.&nbsp; For instance,
+is not a sacrifice to the subterranean Genii required? and should
+we not be prepared to offer it as soon as the tumult is
+subsided?&nbsp; This charge I will take on myself, and have no
+doubt of succeeding by means of your treasures; which, as there
+are now so many others in store, may without fear be
+exhausted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Accordingly, the Princess, who possessed the most consummate
+skill in the art of persuasion, went immediately back through the
+subterranean passage, and presenting herself to the populace from
+a window of the palace, began to harangue them with all the
+address of which she was mistress, whilst Bababalouk showered
+money from both hands amongst the crowd, who by these united
+means were soon appeased.&nbsp; Every person retired to his home,
+and Carathis returned to the tower.</p>
+<p>Prayer at break of day was announced, when Carathis and Vathek
+ascended the steps which led to the summit of the tower, where
+they remained <a name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+43</span>for some time, though the weather was lowering and
+wet.&nbsp; This impending gloom corresponded with their malignant
+dispositions; but when the sun began to break through the clouds,
+they ordered a pavilion to be raised as a screen from the
+intrusion of his beams.&nbsp; The Caliph, overcome with fatigue,
+sought refreshment from repose, at the same time hoping that
+significant dreams might attend on his slumbers; whilst the
+indefatigable Carathis, followed by a party of her mutes,
+descended to prepare whatever she judged proper for the oblation
+of the approaching night.</p>
+<p>By secret stairs, known only to herself and her son, she first
+repaired to the mysterious recesses in which were deposited the
+mummies that had been brought from the catacombs of the ancient
+Pharaohs.&nbsp; Of these she ordered several to be taken.&nbsp;
+From thence she resorted to a gallery, where, under the guard of
+fifty female negroes, mute, and blind of the right eye, were
+preserved the oil of the most venomous serpents,
+rhinoceros&rsquo; horns, and woods of a subtle and penetrating
+odour, procured from the interior of the Indies, together with a
+thousand other horrible rarieties.&nbsp; This collection had been
+formed for a purpose like the present, by Carathis herself, from
+a presentiment that she might one day enjoy some intercourse with
+the infernal powers, to whom she had ever been passionately
+attached, and to whose taste she was no stranger.</p>
+<p>To familiarize herself the better with the horrors in view,
+the Princess remained in the company of <a
+name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 44</span>her
+negresses, who squinted in the most amiable manner from the only
+eye they had, and leered with exquisite delight at the skulls and
+skeletons which Carathis had drawn forth from her cabinets, whose
+key she entrusted to no one; all of them making contortions, and
+uttering a frightful jargon, but very amusing to the Princess
+till at last, being stunned by their gibbering, and suffocated by
+the potency of their exhalations, she was forced to quit the
+gallery, after stripping it of a part of its treasures.</p>
+<p>Whilst she was thus occupied, the Caliph, who instead of the
+visions he expected, had acquired in these insubstantial regions
+a voracious appetite, was greatly provoked at the negresses: for,
+having totally forgotten their deafness, he had impatiently asked
+them for food; and seeing them regardless of his demand, he began
+to cuff, pinch, and push them, till Carathis arrived to terminate
+a scene so indecent, to the great content of these miserable
+creatures, who having been brought up by her, understood all her
+signs, and communicated in the same way their thoughts in
+return.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Son! what means all this?&rdquo; said she, panting for
+breath.&nbsp; &ldquo;I thought I heard as I came up, the shrieks
+of a thousand bats, tearing from their crannies in the recesses
+of a cavern, and it was the outcry only of these poor mutes, whom
+you were so unmercifully abusing.&nbsp; In truth you but ill
+deserve the admirable provision I have brought you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Give it me instantly!&rdquo; exclaimed the Caliph:
+&ldquo;I am perishing for hunger!&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+45</span>&ldquo;As to that,&rdquo; answered she, &ldquo;you must
+have an excellent stomach if it can digest what I have been
+preparing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Be quick,&rdquo; replied the Caliph.&nbsp; &ldquo;But
+oh, heavens! what horrors!&nbsp; What do you intend?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come, come,&rdquo; returned Carathis, &ldquo;be not so
+squeamish, but help me to arrange every thing properly, and you
+shall see that what you reject with such symptoms of disgust will
+soon complete your felicity.&nbsp; Let us get ready the pile for
+the sacrifice of to-night, and think not of eating till that is
+performed.&nbsp; Know you not that all solemn rites are preceded
+by a rigorous abstinence?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph, not daring to object, abandoned himself to grief,
+and the wind that ravaged his entrails, whilst his mother went
+forward with the requisite operations.&nbsp; Phials of
+serpents&rsquo; oil, mummies, and bones, were soon set in order
+on the balustrade of the tower.&nbsp; The pile began to rise; and
+in three hours was as many cubits high.&nbsp; At length, darkness
+approached, and Carathis having stripped herself to her inmost
+garment, clapped her hands in an impulse of ecstasy, and struck
+light with all her force.&nbsp; The mutes followed her example:
+but Vathek, extenuated with hunger and impatience, was unable to
+support himself, and fell down in a swoon.&nbsp; The sparks had
+already kindled the dry wood; the venomous oil burst into a
+thousand blue flames; the mummies, dissolving, emitted a thick
+dun vapour; and the rhinoceros&rsquo; horns beginning to consume;
+all together diffused such a stench, that the Caliph, <a
+name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 46</span>recovering,
+started from his trance and gazed wildly on the scene in full
+blaze around him.&nbsp; The oil gushed forth in a plentitude of
+streams; and the negresses, who supplied it without intermission,
+united their cries to those of the Princess.&nbsp; At last the
+fire became so violent, and the flames reflected from the
+polished marble so dazzling, that the Caliph, unable to withstand
+the heat and the blaze, effected his escape, and clambered up the
+imperial standard.</p>
+<p>In the mean time, the inhabitants of Samarah, scared at the
+light which shone over the city, arose in haste, ascended their
+roofs, beheld the tower on fire, and hurried half-naked to the
+square.&nbsp; Their love to their sovereign immediately awoke;
+and apprehending him in danger of perishing in his tower, their
+whole thoughts were occupied with the means of his safety.&nbsp;
+Morakanabad flew from his retirement, wiped away his tears, and
+cried out for water like the rest.&nbsp; Bababalouk, whose
+olfactory nerves were more familiarized to magical odours,
+readily conjecturing that Carathis was engaged in her favourite
+amusements, strenuously exhorted them not to be alarmed.&nbsp;
+Him, however, they treated as an old poltroon; and forbore not to
+style him a rascally traitor.&nbsp; The camels and dromedaries
+were advancing with water, but no one knew by which way to enter
+the tower.&nbsp; Whilst the populace was obstinate in forcing the
+doors, a violent east wind drove such a volume of flame against
+them, as at first forced them off; but afterwards, rekindled
+their zeal.&nbsp; At the <a name="page47"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 47</span>same time, the stench of the horns
+and mummies increasing, most of the crowd fell backward in a
+state of suffocation.&nbsp; Those that kept their feet mutually
+wondered at the cause of the smell, and admonished each other to
+retire.&nbsp; Morakanabad, more sick than the rest, remained in a
+piteous condition.&nbsp; Holding his nose with one hand, he
+persisted in his efforts with the other to burst open the doors,
+and obtain admission.&nbsp; A hundred and forty of the strongest
+and most resolute at length accomplished their purpose.&nbsp;
+Having gained the staircase by their violent exertions, they
+attained a great height in a quarter of an hour.</p>
+<p>Carathis, alarmed at the signs of her mutes, advanced to the
+staircase, went down a few steps, and heard several voices
+calling out from below:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You shall in a moment have water!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Being rather alert, considering her age, she presently
+regained the top of the tower, and bade her son suspend the
+sacrifice for some minutes, adding:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We shall soon be enabled to render it more
+grateful.&nbsp; Certain dolts of your subjects, imagining, no
+doubt, that we were on fire, have been rash enough to break
+through those doors, which had hitherto remained inviolate, for
+the sake of bringing up water.&nbsp; They are very kind, you must
+allow, so soon to forget the wrongs you have done them: but that
+is of little moment.&nbsp; Let us offer them to the Giaour.&nbsp;
+Let them come up: our mutes, who neither want strength nor
+experience, will soon despatch them, exhausted as they are with
+fatigue.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+48</span>&ldquo;Be it so,&rdquo; answered the Caliph,
+&ldquo;provided we finish, and I dine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In fact, these good people, out of breath from ascending
+eleven thousand stairs in such haste, and chagrined at having
+spilt, by the way, the water they had taken, were no sooner
+arrived at the top than the blaze of the flames and the fumes of
+the mummies at once overpowered their senses.&nbsp; It was a
+pity! for they beheld not the agreeable smile with which the
+mutes and the negresses adjusted the cord to their necks: these
+amiable personages rejoiced, however, no less at the scene.&nbsp;
+Never before had the ceremony of strangling been performed with
+so much facility.&nbsp; They all fell without the least
+resistance or struggle; so that Vathek, in the space of a few
+moments, found himself surrounded by the dead bodies of his most
+faithful subjects, all of which were thrown on the top of the
+pile.</p>
+<p>Carathis, whose presence of mind never forsook her, perceiving
+that she had carcases sufficient to complete her oblation,
+commanded the chains to be stretched across the staircase, and
+the iron doors barricaded, that no more might come up.</p>
+<p>No sooner were these orders obeyed, than the tower shook; the
+dead bodies vanished in the flames; which at once changed from a
+swarthy crimson to a bright rose colour.&nbsp; An ambient vapour
+emitted the most exquisite fragrance; the marble columns rang
+with harmonious sounds, and the liquefied horns diffused a
+delicious perfume.&nbsp; Carathis, in transports, anticipated the
+success of her <a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+49</span>enterprise; whilst the mutes and negresses, to whom
+these sweets had given the cholic, retired to their cells
+grumbling.</p>
+<p>Scarcely were they gone, when, instead of the pile, horns,
+mummies, and ashes, the Caliph both saw and felt, with a degree
+of pleasure which he could not express, a table, covered with the
+most magnificent repast: flaggons of wine, and vases of exquisite
+sherbet, floating on snow.&nbsp; He availed himself, without
+scruple, of such an entertainment; and had already laid hands on
+a lamb stuffed with pistachios, whilst Carathis was privately
+drawing from a fillagreen urn, a parchment that seemed to be
+endless; and which had escaped the notice of her son.&nbsp;
+Totally occupied, in gratifying an importunate appetite, he left
+her to peruse it, without interruption; which having finished,
+she said to him, in an authoritative tone,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Put an end to your gluttony, and hear the splendid
+promises with which you are favoured!&rdquo;&nbsp; She then read,
+as follows:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vathek, my well-beloved, thou hast surpassed my hopes:
+my nostrils have been regaled by the savour of thy mummies, thy
+horns; and, still more, by the lives devoted on the pile.&nbsp;
+At the full of the moon, cause the bands of thy musicians, and
+thy tymbals, to be heard; depart from thy palace surrounded by
+all the pageants of majesty; thy most faithful slaves, thy best
+beloved wives; thy most magnificent litters; thy richest loaden
+camels; and set forward on thy way to Istakar.&nbsp; There await
+I thy coming.&nbsp; <a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+50</span>That is the region of wonders.&nbsp; There shalt thou
+receive the diadem of Gian Ben Gian, <a name="citation50"></a><a
+href="#footnote50" class="citation">[50]</a> the talismans of
+Soliman, and the treasures of the preadimite Sultans: there shalt
+thou be solaced with all kinds of delight.&nbsp; But, beware how
+thou enterest any dwelling on thy route, or thou shalt feel the
+effects of my anger.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph, who, notwithstanding his habitual luxury, had
+never before dined with so much satisfaction, gave full scope to
+the joy of these golden tidings, and betook himself to drinking
+anew.&nbsp; Carathis, whose antipathy to wine was by no means
+insuperable, failed not to supply a reason for every bumper,
+which they ironically quaffed to the health of Mahomet.&nbsp;
+This infernal liquor completed their impious temerity, and
+prompted them to utter a profusion of blasphemies.&nbsp; They
+gave a loose to their wit, at the expense of the ass of Balaam,
+the dog of the seven sleepers, and the other animals admitted
+into the paradise of Mahomet.&nbsp; In this sprightly humour they
+descended the eleven thousand stairs, diverting themselves as
+they went at the anxious faces they saw on the square, through
+the oilets of the tower, and at length arrived at the royal
+apartments by the subterranean passage.&nbsp; Bababalouk was
+parading to and fro, and issuing his mandates with great pomp to
+the eunuchs, who were snuffing the lights and painting the eyes
+of the Circassians.&nbsp; No sooner did he catch sight of the
+Caliph and his mother than he exclaimed,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hah! you have then, I perceive, escaped from the
+flames; I was not, however, altogether out of doubt.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+51</span>&ldquo;Of what moment is it to us what you thought or
+think?&rdquo; cried Carathis &ldquo;go, speed, tell Morakanabad
+that we immediately want him; and take care how you stop by the
+way to make your insipid reflections.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Morakanabad delayed not to obey the summons, and was received
+by Vathek and his mother with great solemnity.&nbsp; They told
+him with an air of composure and commiseration that the fire at
+the top of the tower was extinguished, but that it had cost the
+lives of the brave people who sought to assist them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Still more misfortunes!&rdquo; cried Morakanabad with a
+sigh.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ah, commander of the faithful, our holy
+prophet is certainly irritated against us! it behoves you to
+appease him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will appease him hereafter,&rdquo; replied the
+Caliph, with a smile that augured nothing of good.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;You will have leisure sufficient for your supplications
+during my absence; for this country is the bane of my
+health.&nbsp; I am disgusted with the mountain of the Four
+Fountains, and am resolved to go and drink of the stream of
+Rocnabad. <a name="citation51"></a><a href="#footnote51"
+class="citation">[51]</a>&nbsp; I long to refresh myself in the
+delightful valleys which it waters.&nbsp; Do you, with the advice
+of my mother, govern my dominions; and take care to supply
+whatever her experiments may demand; for you well know that our
+tower abounds in materials for the advancement of
+science.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The tower but ill suited Morakanabad&rsquo;s taste.&nbsp;
+Immense treasures had been lavished upon it, and nothing had he
+ever seen carried thither but female <a name="page52"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 52</span>negroes, mutes, and abominable
+drugs.&nbsp; Nor did he know well what to think of Carathis, who
+like a chamelion could assume all possible colours.&nbsp; Her
+cursed eloquence had often driven the poor Mussulman to his last
+shifts.&nbsp; He considered, however, that if she possessed but
+few good qualities, her son had still fewer, and that the
+alternative, on the whole, would be in her favour.&nbsp;
+Consoled, therefore, with this reflection, he went in good
+spirits to soothe the populace, and make the proper arrangements
+for his master&rsquo;s journey.</p>
+<p>Vathek, to conciliate the spirits of the subterranean palace,
+resolved that his expedition should be uncommonly splendid.&nbsp;
+With this view he confiscated on all sides the property of his
+subjects, whilst his worthy mother stripped the seraglios she
+visited of the gems they contained.&nbsp; She collected all the
+sempstresses and embroiderers of Samarah, and other cities, to
+the distance of sixty leagues, to prepare pavilions, palanquins,
+sofas, canopies, and litters, for the train of the monarch.&nbsp;
+There was not left in Masulipatan a single piece of chintz; and
+so much muslin had been bought up to dress out Bababalouk and the
+other black eunuchs, that there remained not an ell in the whole
+Irak of Babylon.</p>
+<p>During these preparations, Carathis, who never lost sight of
+her great object, which was to obtain favour with the powers of
+darkness, made select parties of the fairest and most delicate
+ladies of the city; but in the midst of their gaiety she
+contrived to introduce serpents amongst them, and to break <a
+name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 53</span>pots of
+scorpions under the table.&nbsp; They all bit to a wonder, and
+Carathis would have left them to bite, were it not that to fill
+up the time, she now and then amused herself in curing their
+wounds with an excellent anodyne of her own invention; for this
+good princess abhorred being indolent.</p>
+<p>Vathek, who was not altogether so active as his mother,
+devoted his time to the sole gratification of his senses, in the
+palaces which were severally dedicated to them.&nbsp; He
+disgusted himself no more with the divan or the mosque.&nbsp; One
+half of Samarah followed his example, whilst the other lamented
+the progress of corruption.</p>
+<p>In the midst of these transactions, the embassy returned which
+had been sent in pious times to Mecca.&nbsp; It consisted of the
+most reverend moullahs, <a name="citation53"></a><a
+href="#footnote53" class="citation">[53]</a> who had fulfilled
+their commission, and brought back one of those precious besoms
+which are used to sweep the sacred caaba; a present truly worthy
+of the greatest potentate on earth!</p>
+<p>The Caliph happened at this instant to be engaged in an
+apartment by no means adapted to the reception of embassies,
+though adorned with a certain magnificence, not only to render it
+agreeable, but also because he resorted to it frequently, and
+staid a considerable time together.&nbsp; Whilst occupied in this
+retreat, he heard the voice of Bababalouk calling out from
+between the door and the tapestry that hung before it:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here are the excellent Mahomet Ebn Edris al Shafei, and
+the seraphic Al Mouhadethin, who have <a name="page54"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 54</span>brought the besom from Mecca, and
+with tears of joy entreat they may present it to your majesty in
+person.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let them bring the besom hither, it may be of
+use,&rdquo; said Vathek, who was still employed, not having quite
+racked off his wine.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How!&rdquo; answered Bababalouk, half aloud and
+amazed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Obey,&rdquo; replied the Caliph, &ldquo;for it is my
+sovereign will; go instantly! vanish! for here will I receive the
+good folk who have thus filled thee with joy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The eunuch departed muttering, and bade the venerable train
+attend him.&nbsp; A sacred rapture was diffused amongst these
+reverend old men.&nbsp; Though fatigued with the length of their
+expedition, they followed Bababalouk with an alertness almost
+miraculous, and felt themselves highly flattered as they swept
+along the stately porticos, that the Caliph would not receive
+them like ambassadors in ordinary, in his hall of audience.&nbsp;
+Soon reaching the interior of the harem (where, through blinds of
+persian they perceived large soft eyes, dark and blue, that went
+and came like lightning) penetrated with respect and wonder, and
+full of their celestial mission, they advanced in procession
+towards the small corridors that appeared to terminate in
+nothing, but nevertheless led to the cell where the Caliph
+expected their coming.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What! is the commander of the faithful sick?&rdquo;
+said Ebn Edris al Shafei, in a low voice to his companion.</p>
+<p><a name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+55</span>&ldquo;I rather think he is in his oratory,&rdquo;
+answered Al Mouhadethin.</p>
+<p>Vathek, who heard the dialogue, cried out &ldquo;What imports
+it you how I am employed? approach without delay.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They advanced, and Bababalouk almost sunk with confusion, <a
+name="citation55"></a><a href="#footnote55"
+class="citation">[55]</a> whilst the Caliph, without showing
+himself, put forth his hand from behind the tapestry that hung
+before the door, and demanded of them the besom.</p>
+<p>Having prostrated themselves as well as the corridor would
+permit, and even in a tolerable semi-circle, the venerable Al
+Shafei, drawing forth the besom from the embroidered and perfumed
+scarfs in which it had been enveloped, and secured from the
+profane gaze of vulgar eyes, arose from his associates and
+advanced with an air of the most awful solemnity towards the
+supposed oratory; but with what astonishment! with what horror
+was he seized!</p>
+<p>Vathek, bursting out into a villainous laugh, snatched the
+besom from his trembling hand, and fixing upon it some cobwebs
+that hung suspended from the ceiling, gravely brushed away till
+not a single one remained.</p>
+<p>The old men, overpowered with amazement, were unable to lift
+their beards from the ground; for as Vathek had carelessly left
+the tapestry between them half drawn, they were witnesses to the
+whole transaction.&nbsp; Their tears gushed forth on the
+marble.&nbsp; Al Mouhadethin swooned through mortification and
+fatigue, whilst the Caliph, throwing himself <a
+name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 56</span>backward on
+his seat, shouted and clapped his hands without mercy.&nbsp; At
+last, addressing himself to Bababalouk:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear black,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;go, regale these
+pious poor souls with my good wine from Shiraz; and as they can
+boast of having seen more of my palace than any one besides, let
+them also visit my office courts, and lead them out by the back
+steps that go to my stables.&rdquo;&nbsp; Having said this, he
+threw the besom in their face, and went to enjoy the laugh with
+Carathis.</p>
+<p>Bababalouk did all in his power to console the ambassadors,
+but the two most infirm expired on the spot; the rest were
+carried to their beds, from whence, being heart-broken with
+sorrow and shame, they never arose.</p>
+<p>The succeeding night, Vathek, attended by his mother, ascended
+the tower to see if everything were ready for his journey, for he
+had great faith in the influence of the stars.&nbsp; The planets
+appeared in their most favourable aspects.&nbsp; The Caliph, to
+enjoy so flattering a sight, supped gaily on the roof, and
+fancied that he heard, during his repast, loud shouts of laughter
+resound through the sky, in a manner that inspired the fullest
+assurance.</p>
+<p>All was in motion at the palace; lights were kept burning
+through the whole of the night; the sound of implements, and of
+artisans finishing their work; the voices of women and their
+guardians who sung at their embroidery; all conspired to
+interrupt the stillness of nature, and infinitely delight the
+heart of <a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+57</span>Vathek, who imagined himself going in triumph to sit
+upon the throne of Soliman.</p>
+<p>The people were not less satisfied than himself; all assisted
+to accelerate the moment which should rescue them from the
+wayward caprices of so extravagant a master.</p>
+<p>The day preceding the departure of this infatuated prince was
+employed by Carathis in repeating to him the decrees of the
+mysterious parchment, which she had thoroughly gotten by heart;
+and in recommending him not to enter the habitation of any one by
+the way; &ldquo;for well thou knowest,&rdquo; added she,
+&ldquo;how liquorish thy taste is after good dishes and young
+damsels; let me therefore enjoin thee to be content with thy old
+cooks, who are the best in the world; and not to forget that in
+thy ambulatory seraglio there are three dozen pretty faces, which
+Bababalouk hath not yet unveiled.&nbsp; I, myself, have a great
+desire to watch over thy conduct, and visit the subterranean
+palace, which no doubt contains whatever can interest persons
+like us.&nbsp; There is nothing so pleasing as retiring to
+caverns; my taste for dead bodies and everything like mummy is
+decided; and I am confident thou wilt see the most exquisite of
+their kind.&nbsp; Forget me not then, but the moment thou art in
+possession of the talismans which are to open to thee the mineral
+kingdoms, and the centre of the earth itself, fail not to
+dispatch some trusty genius to take me and my cabinet, for the
+oil of the serpents I have pinched to death will be a pretty
+present to the Giaour, who cannot but be charmed with such
+dainties.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+58</span>Scarcely had Carathis ended this edifying discourse,
+when the sun, setting behind the mountain of the Four Fountains,
+gave place to the rising moon.&nbsp; This planet being that
+evening at full, appeared of unusual beauty and magnitude in the
+eyes of the women, the eunuchs, and the pages, who were all
+impatient to set forward.&nbsp; The city re-echoed with shouts of
+joy and flourishing of trumpets.&nbsp; Nothing was visible but
+plumes nodding on pavilions, and aigrets shining in the mild
+lustre of the moon.&nbsp; The spacious square resembled an
+immense parterre, variegated with the most stately tulips of the
+east.</p>
+<p>Arrayed in the robes which were only worn at the most
+distinguished ceremonials, and supported by his vizier and
+Bababalouk, the Caliph descended the grand staircase of the tower
+in the sight of all his people.&nbsp; He could not forbear
+pausing at intervals to admire the superb appearance which
+everywhere courted his view, whilst the whole multitude, even to
+the camels with their sumptuous burdens, knelt down before
+him.&nbsp; For some time a general stillness prevailed, which
+nothing happened to disturb, but the shrill screams of some
+eunuchs in the rear.&nbsp; These vigilant guards having remarked
+certain cages of the ladies swagging somewhat awry, and
+discovered that a few adventurous gallants had contrived to get
+in, soon dislodged the enraptured culprits, and consigned them
+with good commendations, to the surgeons of the serail.&nbsp; The
+majesty of so magnificent a spectacle was not, however, violated
+<a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 59</span>by
+incidents like these.&nbsp; Vathek, meanwhile, saluted the moon
+with an idolatrous air, that neither pleased Morakanabad nor the
+doctors of the law, any more than the viziers and grandees of his
+court, who were all assembled to enjoy the last view of their
+sovereign.</p>
+<p>At length the clarions and trumpets from the top of the tower
+announced the prelude of departure.&nbsp; Though the instruments
+were in unison with each other, yet a singular dissonance was
+blended with their sounds.&nbsp; This proceeded from Carathis,
+who was singing her direful orisons to the Giaour, whilst the
+negresses and mutes supplied thorough bass without articulating a
+word.&nbsp; The good Mussulmans fancied that they heard the
+sullen hum of those nocturnal insects which presage evil, and
+importuned Vathek to beware how he ventured his sacred
+person.</p>
+<p>On a given signal the great standard of the Califat was
+displayed; twenty thousand lances shone around it; and the
+Caliph, treading royally on the cloth of gold which had been
+spread for his feet, ascended his litter amidst the general awe
+that possessed his subjects.</p>
+<p>The expedition commenced with the utmost order, and so entire
+a silence, that even the locusts were heard from the thickets on
+the plain of Catoul.&nbsp; Gaiety and good humour prevailing, six
+good leagues were past before the dawn; and the morning star was
+still glittering in the firmament when the whole of this numerous
+train had halted on the <a name="page60"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 60</span>banks of the Tigris, where they
+encamped to repose for the rest of the day.</p>
+<p>The three days that followed were spent in the same manner,
+but on the fourth the heavens looked angry, lightnings broke
+forth in frequent flashes, re-echoing peals of thunder succeeded,
+and the trembling Circassians clung with all their might to their
+ugly guardians.&nbsp; The Caliph himself was greatly inclined to
+take shelter in the large town of Gulchissar, the governor of
+which came forth to meet him, and tendered every kind of
+refreshment the place could supply.&nbsp; But having examined his
+tablets, he suffered the rain to soak him almost to the bone,
+notwithstanding the importunity of his first favourites.&nbsp;
+Though he began to regret the palace of the senses, yet he lost
+not sight of his enterprise, and his sanguine expectations
+confirmed his resolution.&nbsp; His geographers were ordered to
+attend him, but the weather proved so terrible, that these poor
+people exhibited a lamentable appearance; and as no long journeys
+had been undertaken since the time of Haroun al Raschid, their
+maps of the different countries were in a still worse plight than
+themselves.&nbsp; Every one was ignorant which way to turn; for
+Vathek, though well versed in the course of the heavens, no
+longer knew his situation on earth.&nbsp; He thundered even
+louder than the elements, and muttered forth certain hints of the
+bowstring which were not very soothing to literary ears.&nbsp;
+Disgusted at the toilsome weariness of the way, he determined to
+cross over the craggy heights, and <a name="page61"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 61</span>follow the guidance of a peasant, who
+undertook to bring him, in four days, to Rocnabad.&nbsp;
+Remonstrances were all to no purpose, his resolution was fixed,
+and an invasion commenced on the province of the goats, who sped
+away in large troops before them.&nbsp; It was curious to view on
+these half calcined rocks camels richly caparisoned, and
+pavilions of gold and silk waving on their summits, which till
+then had never been covered, but with sapless thistles and
+fern.</p>
+<p>The females and eunuchs uttered shrill wailings at the sight
+of the precipices below them, and the dreary prospects that
+opened in the vast gorges of the mountains.&nbsp; Before they
+could reach the ascent of the steepest rock night overtook them,
+and a boisterous tempest arose, which having rent the awnings of
+the palanquins and cages, exposed to the raw gusts the poor
+ladies within, who had never before felt so piercing a
+cold.&nbsp; The dark clouds that overcast the face of the sky
+deepened the horrors of this disastrous night, insomuch that
+nothing could be heard distinctly but the mewling of pages, and
+lamentations of sultanas.</p>
+<p>To increase the general misfortune, the frightful uproar of
+wild beasts resounded at a distance, and there were soon
+perceived in the forest they were skirting the glaring of eyes
+which could belong only to devils or tigers.&nbsp; The pioneers,
+who as well as they could, had marked out a track, and a part of
+the advanced guard were devoured before they had been in the
+least apprised of their danger.&nbsp; The confusion that
+prevailed was extreme.&nbsp; Wolves, <a name="page62"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 62</span>tigers, and other carnivorous
+animals, invited by the howling of their companions, flocked
+together from every quarter.&nbsp; The crushing of bones was
+heard on all sides, and a fearful rush of wings over head, for
+now vultures also began to be of the party.</p>
+<p>The terror at length reached the main body of the troops which
+surrounded the monarch and his harem, at the distance of two
+leagues from the scene.&nbsp; Vathek (voluptuously reposed in his
+capacious litter upon cushions of silk, with two little pages
+beside him, of complexions more fair than the enamel of
+Franguestan, who were occupied in keeping off flies) was soundly
+asleep, and contemplating in his dreams the treasures of
+Soliman.&nbsp; The shrieks, however, of his wives awoke him with
+a start, and instead of the Giaour with his key of gold, he
+beheld Bababalouk full of consternation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sire,&rdquo; exclaimed this good servant of the most
+potent of monarchs, &ldquo;misfortune has arrived at its height;
+wild beasts, who entertain no more reverence for your sacred
+person than for that of a dead ass, have beset your camels and
+their drivers: thirty of the richest laden are already become
+their prey, as well as all your confectioners, your cooks, and
+purveyors, and unless our holy prophet should protect us, we
+shall have all eaten our last meal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the mention of eating, the Caliph lost all patience.&nbsp;
+He began to bellow, and even beat himself, for there was no
+seeing in the dark.&nbsp; The rumour every instant increased, and
+Bababalouk finding no good could be done with his master <a
+name="page63"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 63</span>stopped both
+his ears against the hurly-burly of the harem, and called out
+aloud:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come, ladies and brothers! all hands to work! strike
+light in a moment! never shall it be said that the commander of
+the faithful served to regale these infidel brutes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Though there wanted not in this bevy of beauties a sufficient
+number of capricious and wayward, yet, on the present occasion
+they were all compliance.&nbsp; Fires were visible in a twinkling
+in all their cages.&nbsp; Ten thousand torches were lighted at
+once.&nbsp; The Caliph himself seized a large one of wax; every
+person followed his example; and by kindling ropes ends dipped in
+oil and fastened on poles, an amazing blaze was spread.&nbsp; The
+rocks were covered with the splendour of sunshine.&nbsp; The
+trails of sparks wafted by the wind, communicated to the dry
+fern, of which there was plenty.&nbsp; Serpents were observed to
+crawl forth from their retreats with amazement and hissings,
+whilst the horses snorted, stamped the ground, tossed their noses
+in the air, and plunged about without mercy.</p>
+<p>One of the forests of cedar that bordered their way took fire,
+and the branches that overhung the path extending their flames to
+the muslins and chintzes which covered the cages of the ladies,
+obliged them to jump out at the peril of their necks.&nbsp;
+Vathek, who vented on the occasion a thousand blasphemies, was
+himself compelled to touch with his sacred feet the naked
+earth.</p>
+<p>Never had such an incident happened before.&nbsp; <a
+name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 64</span>Full of
+mortification, shame and despondence, and not knowing how to
+walk, the ladies fell into the dirt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Must I go on foot,&rdquo; said one.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Must I wet my feet,&rdquo; cried another.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Must I soil my dress,&rdquo; asked a third.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Execrable Bababalouk,&rdquo; exclaimed all;
+&ldquo;Outcast of hell! what hadst thou to do with torches?&nbsp;
+Better were it to be eaten by tigers than to fall into our
+present condition; we are for ever undone.&nbsp; Not a porter is
+there in the army, nor a currier of camels but hath seen some
+part of our bodies, and what is worse, our very faces!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On saying this, the most bashful amongst them hid their
+foreheads on the ground, whilst such as had more boldness flew at
+Bababalouk, but he, well apprised of their humour, and not
+wanting in shrewdness, betook himself to his heels along with his
+comrades, all dropping their torches and striking their
+tymbals.</p>
+<p>It was not less light than in the brightest of the dog-days,
+and the weather was hot in proportion; but how degrading was the
+spectacle, to behold the Caliph bespattered like an ordinary
+mortal!&nbsp; As the exercise of his faculties seemed to be
+suspended, one of his Ethiopian wives (for he delighted in
+variety) clasped him in her arms, threw him upon her shoulder
+like a sack of dates, and finding that the fire was hemming them
+in, set off with no small expedition, considering the weight of
+her burden.&nbsp; The other ladies who had just learned the use
+of their feet <a name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+65</span>followed her; their guards galloped after; and the camel
+drivers brought up the rear as fast as their charge would
+permit.</p>
+<p>They soon reached the spot where the wild beasts had commenced
+the carnage, and which they had too much spirit to leave,
+notwithstanding the approaching tumult, and the luxurious supper
+they had made.&nbsp; Bababalouk nevertheless seized on a few of
+the plumpest, which were unable to budge from the place, and
+began to flay them with admirable adroitness.&nbsp; The cavalcade
+being got so far from the conflagration as that the heat felt
+rather grateful than violent, it was immediately resolved on to
+halt.&nbsp; The tattered chintzes were picked up; the scraps left
+by the wolves and tigers interred; and vengeance was taken on
+some dozens of vultures that were too much glutted to rise on the
+wing.&nbsp; The camels which had been left unmolested to make
+sal-ammoniac being numbered, and the ladies once more inclosed in
+their cages, the imperial tent was pitched on the levellest
+ground they could find.</p>
+<p>Vathek, reposing upon a matress of down, and tolerably
+recovered from the jolting of the Ethiopian, who, to his feelings
+seemed the roughest trotting jade he had hitherto mounted, called
+out for something to eat; but alas! those delicate cakes which
+had been baked in silver ovens for his royal mouth, those rich
+manchets, amber comfits, flaggons of Schiraz wine, porcelain
+vases of snow, and grapes from the banks of the Tigris, were all
+irremediably lost; and nothing had Bababalouk to present in <a
+name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 66</span>their stead,
+but a roasted wolf, vultures &agrave; la daube, aromatic herbs of
+the most acrid poignancy, rotten truffles, boiled thistles, and
+such other wild plants as must ulcerate the throat and parch up
+the tongue.&nbsp; Nor was he better provided in the article of
+drink, for he could procure nothing to accompany these irritating
+viands but a few phials of abominable brandy, which had been
+secreted by the scullions in their slippers.</p>
+<p>Vathek made wry faces at so savage a repast, and Bababalouk
+answered them with shrugs and contortions.&nbsp; The Caliph
+however ate with tolerable appetite, and fell into a nap that
+lasted six hours.&nbsp; The splendour of the sun, reflected from
+the white cliffs of the mountains in spite of the curtains that
+inclosed him, at length disturbed his repose.&nbsp; He awoke
+terrified, and stung to the quick by those wormwood-coloured
+flies which emit from their wings a suffocating stench.&nbsp; The
+miserable monarch was perplexed how to act, though his wits were
+not idle in seeking expedients, whilst Bababalouk lay snoring
+amidst a swarm of those insects, that busily thronged to pay
+court to his nose.&nbsp; The little pages, famished with hunger,
+had dropped their fans on the ground, and exerted their dying
+voices in bitter reproaches on the Caliph, who now for the first
+time heard the language of truth.</p>
+<p>Thus stimulated, he renewed his imprecations against the
+Giaour, and bestowed upon Mahomet some soothing expressions.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where am I?&rdquo; cried he; &ldquo;What are these <a
+name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 67</span>dreadful
+rocks; these valleys of darkness?&nbsp; Are we arrived at the
+horrible Kaf? <a name="citation67a"></a><a href="#footnote67a"
+class="citation">[67a]</a>&nbsp; Is the Simurgh <a
+name="citation67b"></a><a href="#footnote67b"
+class="citation">[67b]</a> coming to pluck out my eyes as a
+punishment for undertaking this impious enterprise?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having said this, he bellowed like a calf, and turned himself
+towards an outlet in the side of his pavilion.&nbsp; But alas!
+what objects occurred to his view! on one side a plain of black
+sand that appeared to be unbounded, and on the other
+perpendicular crags bristled over with those abominable thistles
+which had so severely lacerated his tongue.&nbsp; He fancied,
+however, that he perceived amongst the brambles and briars some
+gigantic flowers, but was mistaken, for these were only the
+dangling palampores and variegated tatters of his gay
+retinue.&nbsp; As there were several clefts in the rock from
+whence water seemed to have flowed, Vathek applied his ear with
+the hope of catching the sound of some latent runnel, but could
+only distinguish the low murmurs of his people, who were repining
+at their journey, and complaining for the want of water.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To what purpose,&rdquo; asked they, &ldquo;have we been
+brought hither?&nbsp; Hath our Caliph another tower to build? or
+have the relentless Afrits <a name="citation67c"></a><a
+href="#footnote67c" class="citation">[67c]</a> whom Carathis so
+much loves, fixed in this place their abode?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the name of Carathis, Vathek recollected the tablets he had
+received from his mother, who assured him they were fraught with
+preternatural qualities, and advised him to consult them as
+emergencies might require.&nbsp; Whilst he was engaged in turning
+them over, he heard a shout of joy, <a name="page68"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 68</span>and a loud clapping of hands.&nbsp;
+The curtains of his pavilion were soon drawn back, and he beheld
+Bababalouk, followed by a troop of his favourites, conducting two
+dwarfs, each a cubit high, who brought between them a large
+basket of melons, oranges, and pomegranites.&nbsp; They were
+singing in the sweetest tones the words that follow:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We dwell on the top of these rocks, in a cabin of
+rushes and canes; the eagles envy us our nest; a small spring
+supplies us with abdest, and we daily repeat prayers which the
+prophet approves.&nbsp; We love you, O commander of the faithful!
+our master, the good emir Fakreddin, loves you also; he reveres
+in your person the vicegerent of Mahomet.&nbsp; Little as we are,
+in us he confides; he knows our hearts to be good, as our bodies
+are contemptible, and hath placed us here to aid those who are
+bewildered on these dreary mountains.&nbsp; Last night, whilst we
+were occupied within our cell in reading the holy koran, a sudden
+hurricane blew out our lights and rocked our habitation.&nbsp;
+For two whole hours a palpable darkness prevailed: but we heard
+sounds at a distance which we conjectured to proceed from the
+bells of a cafila, passing over the rocks.&nbsp; Our ears were
+soon filled with deplorable shrieks, frightful roarings, and the
+sound of tymbals.&nbsp; Chilled with terror, we concluded that
+the Deggial <a name="citation68"></a><a href="#footnote68"
+class="citation">[68]</a> with his exterminating angels had sent
+forth their plagues on the earth.&nbsp; In the midst of these
+melancholy reflections, we perceived flames of the deepest red
+glow in the horizon, and found ourselves in a few <a
+name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 69</span>moments
+covered with flakes of fire.&nbsp; Amazed at so strange an
+appearance, we took up the volume dictated by the blessed
+intelligence, and kneeling by the light of the fire that
+surrounded us, we recited the verse which says: &lsquo;Put no
+trust in any thing but the mercy of heaven; there is no help save
+in the holy prophet; the mountain of Kaf itself may tremble; it
+is the power of Alla only that cannot be moved.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+After having pronounced these words, we felt consolation, and our
+minds were hushed into a sacred repose.&nbsp; Silence ensued, and
+our ears clearly distinguished a voice in the air, saying:
+&lsquo;Servants of my faithful servant, go down to the happy
+valley of Fakreddin; tell him that an illustrious opportunity now
+offers to satiate the thirst of his hospitable heart.&nbsp; The
+commander of true believers is this day bewildered amongst these
+mountains, and stands in need of thy aid.&rsquo;&nbsp; We obeyed
+with joy the angelic mission, and our master, filled with pious
+zeal, hath culled with his own hands these melons, oranges, and
+pomegranites.&nbsp; He is following us with a hundred dromedaries
+laden with the purest waters of his fountains, and is coming to
+kiss the fringe of your consecrated robe, and implore you to
+enter his humble habitation, which, placed amidst these barren
+wilds, resembles an emerald set in lead.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The dwarfs having ended their address, remained still
+standing, and with hands crossed upon their bosoms, preserved a
+respectful silence.</p>
+<p>Vathek, in the midst of this curious harangue <a
+name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>seized the
+basket, and long before it was finished, the fruits had dissolved
+in his mouth.&nbsp; As he continued to eat, his piety increased,
+and in the same breath which recited his prayers, he called for
+the koran and sugar.</p>
+<p>Such was the state of his mind when the tablets, which were
+thrown by at the approach of the dwarfs, again attracted his
+eye.&nbsp; He took them up, but was ready to drop on the ground
+when he beheld, in large red characters, these words inscribed by
+Carathis, which were indeed enough to make him tremble.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Beware of thy old doctors, and their puny messengers of
+but one cubit high; distrust their pious frauds; and instead of
+eating their melons, impale on a spit the bearers of them.&nbsp;
+Shouldst thou be such a fool as to visit them, the portal of the
+subterranean palace will be shut in thy face, and with such force
+as shall shake thee asunder; thy body shall be spit upon, and
+bats will engender in thy belly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To what tends this ominous rhapsody?&rdquo; cries the
+Caliph; &ldquo;and must I then perish in these deserts with
+thirst, whilst I may refresh myself in the valley of melons and
+cucumbers?&nbsp; Accursed be the Giaour with his portal of ebony!
+he hath made me dance attendance too long already.&nbsp; Besides,
+who shall prescribe laws to me?&nbsp; I, forsooth, must not enter
+any one&rsquo;s habitation!&nbsp; Be it so, but what one can I
+enter that is not my own.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Bababalouk, who lost not a syllable of this <a
+name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 71</span>soliloquy,
+applauded it with all his heart; and the ladies, for the first
+time, agreed with him in opinion.&nbsp; The dwarfs were
+entertained, caressed, and seated with great ceremony on little
+cushions of satin.&nbsp; The symmetry of their persons was the
+subject of criticism; not an inch of them was suffered to pass
+unexamined.&nbsp; Nick-nacks and dainties were offered in
+profusion, but all were declined with respectful gravity.&nbsp;
+They clambered up the sides of the Caliph&rsquo;s seat, and
+placing themselves each on one of his shoulders, began to whisper
+prayers in his ears.&nbsp; Their tongues quivered like the leaves
+of a poplar, and the patience of Vathek was almost exhausted,
+when the acclamations of the troops announced the approach of
+Fakreddin, who was come with a hundred old grey-beards, and as
+many korans and dromedaries.&nbsp; They instantly set about their
+ablutions, and began to repeat the Bismillah.&nbsp; Vathek, to
+get rid of these officious monitors, followed their example, for
+his hands were burning.</p>
+<p>The good Emir, who was punctiliously religious, and likewise a
+great dealer in compliments, made an harangue five times more
+prolix and insipid than his harbingers had already
+delivered.&nbsp; The Caliph, unable any longer to refrain,
+exclaimed:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For the love of Mahomet, my dear Fakreddin, have done!
+let us proceed to your valley, and enjoy the fruits that heaven
+hath vouchsafed you.&rdquo;&nbsp; The hint of proceeding put all
+into motion.&nbsp; The venerable attendants of the emir set
+forward somewhat slowly, but Vathek having ordered his little <a
+name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 72</span>pages, in
+private, to goad on the dromedaries, loud fits of laughter broke
+forth from the cages, for the unwieldy curvetting of these poor
+beasts, and the ridiculous distress of their superannuated riders
+afforded the ladies no small entertainment.</p>
+<p>They descended, however, unhurt into the valley, by the large
+steps which the emir had cut in the rock; and already the
+murmuring of streams and the rustling of leaves began to catch
+their attention.&nbsp; The cavalcade soon entered a path, which
+was skirted by flowering shrubs, and extended to a vast wood of
+palm-trees whose branches overspread a building of hewn
+stone.&nbsp; This edifice was crowned with nine domes, and
+adorned with as many portals of bronze, on which was engraven the
+following inscription:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the asylum of pilgrims, the refuge of
+travellers, and the depository of secrets for all parts of the
+world.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nine pages beautiful as the day, and clothed in robes of
+Egyptian linen, very long and very modest, were standing at each
+door.&nbsp; They received the whole retinue with an easy and
+inviting air.&nbsp; Four of the most amiable placed the Caliph on
+a magnificent taktrevan; four others, somewhat less graceful,
+took charge of Bababalouk, who capered for joy at the snug little
+cabin that fell to his share; the pages that remained, waited on
+the rest of the train.</p>
+<p>When every thing masculine was gone out of sight, the gate of
+a large inclosure on the right turned on its harmonious hinges,
+and a young female <a name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+73</span>of a slender form came forth.&nbsp; Her light brown hair
+floated in the hazy breeze of the twilight.&nbsp; A troop of
+young maidens, like the Pleiades, attended her on tip-toe.&nbsp;
+They hastened to the pavilions that contained the sultanas; and
+the young lady gracefully bending said to them:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Charming princesses, every thing is ready; we have
+prepared beds for your repose, and strewed your apartments with
+jasamine; no insects will keep off slumber from visiting your
+eyelids; we will dispel them with a thousand plumes.&nbsp; Come
+then, amiable ladies! refresh your delicate feet and your ivory
+limbs in baths of rose water, and by the light of perfumed lamps
+your servants will amuse you with tales.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The sultanas accepted with pleasure these obliging offers, and
+followed the young lady to the emir&rsquo;s harem, where we must
+for a moment leave them and return to the Caliph.</p>
+<p>Vathek found himself beneath a vast dome illuminated by a
+thousand lamps of rock crystal, as many vases of the same
+material filled with excellent sherbet sparkled on a large table,
+where a profusion of viands were spread.&nbsp; Amongst others
+were sweetbreads stewed in milk of almonds, saffron soups, and
+lamb &agrave; la cr&ecirc;me, of all of which the Caliph was
+amazingly fond.&nbsp; He took of each as much as he was able;
+testified his sense of the emir&rsquo;s friendship by the gaiety
+of his heart; and made the dwarfs dance against their will; for
+these little devotees durst not refuse the commander of the
+faithful.&nbsp; At <a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+74</span>last he spread himself on the sofa and slept sounder
+than he had ever before.</p>
+<p>Beneath this dome a general silence prevailed, for there was
+nothing to disturb it but the jaws of Bababalouk, who had
+untrussed himself to eat with greater advantage, being anxious to
+make amends for his fast in the mountains.&nbsp; As his spirits
+were too high to admit of his sleeping, and not loving to be
+idle, he proposed with himself to visit the harem, and repair to
+his charge of the ladies, to examine if they had been properly
+lubricated with the balm of Mecca, if their eye-brows and tresses
+were in order, and in a word, to perform all the little offices
+they might need.&nbsp; He sought for a long time together, but
+without being able to find out the door.&nbsp; He durst not speak
+aloud for fear of disturbing the Caliph, and not a soul was
+stirring in the precincts of the palace.&nbsp; He almost
+despaired of effecting his purpose, when a low whispering just
+reached his ear: it came from the dwarfs, who were returned to
+their old occupation, and for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth
+time in their lives were reading over the koran.&nbsp; They very
+politely invited Bababalouk to be of their party, but his head
+was full of other concerns.&nbsp; The dwarfs, though scandalized
+at his dissolute morals, directed him to the apartments he wanted
+to find.&nbsp; His way thither lay through a hundred dark
+corridors, along which he groped as he went, and at last began to
+catch, from the extremity of a passage, the charming gossiping of
+women, which not a little delighted his heart.</p>
+<p><a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+75</span>&ldquo;Ah, ah! what not yet asleep?&rdquo; cried he, and
+taking long strides as he spoke, &ldquo;did you not suspect me of
+abjuring my charge?&nbsp; I stayed but to finish what my master
+had left.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Two of the black eunuchs on hearing a voice so loud detached a
+party in haste, sabre in hand, to discover the cause, but
+presently was repeated on all sides:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis only Bababalouk, no one but
+Bababalouk!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This circumspect guardian having gone up to a thin veil of
+carnation colour silk that hung before the doorway, distinguished
+by means of a softened splendour that shone through it, an oval
+bath of dark porphyry surrounded by curtains festooned in large
+folds.&nbsp; Through the apertures between them, as they were not
+drawn close, groups of young slaves were visible, amongst whom
+Bababalouk perceived his pupils indulgingly expanding their arms,
+as if to embrace the perfumed water, and refresh themselves after
+their fatigues.&nbsp; The looks of tender languor, their
+confidential whispers, and the enchanting smiles with which they
+were imparted, the exquisite fragrance of the roses, all combined
+to inspire a voluptuousness which even Bababalouk himself was
+scarce able to withstand.</p>
+<p>He summoned up, however, his usual solemnity, and in the
+peremptory tone of authority commanded the ladies instantly to
+leave the bath.&nbsp; Whilst he was issuing these mandates, the
+young Nouronihar, daughter of the emir, who was sprightly as an
+antelope, and full of wanton gaiety, beckoned one <a
+name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 76</span>of her slaves
+to let down the great swing, which was suspended to the ceiling
+by cords of silk, and whilst this was doing winked to her
+companions in the bath, who chagrined to be forced from so
+soothing a state of indolence, began to twist it round
+Bababalouk, and teaze him with a thousand vagaries.</p>
+<p>When Nouronihar perceived that he was exhausted with fatigue,
+she accosted him with an arch air of respectful concern, and
+said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My lord, it is not by any means decent that the chief
+eunuch of the Caliph our sovereign should thus continue standing,
+deign but to recline your graceful person upon this sofa, which
+will burst with vexation if it have not the honour to receive
+you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Caught by these flattering accents, Bababalouk gallantly
+replied:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Delight of the apple of my eye!&nbsp; I accept the
+invitation of thy honied lips, and to say truth, my senses are
+dazzled with the radiance that beams from thy charms.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Repose, then, at your ease,&rdquo; replied the beauty,
+and placed him on the pretended sofa, which, quicker than
+lightning, gave way all at once.&nbsp; The rest of the women
+having aptly conceived her design, sprang naked from the bath and
+plied the swing with such unmerciful jerks, that it swept through
+the whole compass of a very lofty dome, and took from the poor
+victim all power of respiration.&nbsp; Sometimes his feet rased
+the surface of the water, and at others the skylight almost
+flattened <a name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+77</span>his nose.&nbsp; In vain did he pierce the air with the
+cries of a voice that resembled the ringing of a cracked basin,
+for their peals of laughter were still more predominant.</p>
+<p>Nouronihar in the inebriety of youthful spirits being used
+only to eunuchs of ordinary harems, and having never seen any
+thing so royal and disgusting, was far more diverted than all of
+the rest.&nbsp; She began to parody some Persian verses, and sung
+with an accent most demurely piquant:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;O gentle white dove as thou soar&rsquo;st
+through the air, <br />
+Vouchsafe one kind glance on the mate of thy love: <br />
+Melodious Philomel I am thy rose;<br />
+Warble some couplet to ravish my heart!&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The sultanas and their slaves stimulated by these pleasantries
+persevered at the swing with such unremitted assiduity, that at
+length the cord which had secured it snapped suddenly asunder,
+and Bababalouk fell floundering like a turtle to the bottom of
+the bath.&nbsp; This accident occasioned a universal shout.&nbsp;
+Twelve little doors till now unobserved flew open at once, and
+the ladies in an instant made their escape, after throwing all
+the towels on his head, and putting out the lights that
+remained.</p>
+<p>The deplorable animal, in water to the chin, overwhelmed with
+darkness, and unable to extricate himself from the warp that
+embarrassed him, was still doomed to hear for his further
+consolation, the fresh bursts of merriment his disaster
+occasioned.&nbsp; He bustled but in vain to get from the bath,
+for the margin was become so slippery with the oil spilt in <a
+name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 78</span>breaking the
+lamps, that at every effort he slid back with a plunge, which
+resounded aloud through the hollow of the dome.&nbsp; These
+cursed peals of laughter at every relapse were redoubled, and he,
+who thought the place infested rather by devils than women,
+resolved to cease groping, and abide in the bath, where he amused
+himself with soliloquies interspersed with imprecations, of which
+his malicious neighbours, reclining on down, suffered not an
+accent to escape.&nbsp; In this delectable plight the morning
+surprised him.&nbsp; The Caliph, wondering at his absence, had
+caused him to be everywhere sought for.&nbsp; At last he was
+drawn forth almost smothered from the whisp of linen, and wet
+even to the marrow.&nbsp; Limping, and chattering his teeth, he
+appeared before his master, who inquired what was the matter, and
+how he came soused in so strange a pickle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And why did you enter this cursed lodge?&rdquo;
+answered Bababalouk, gruffly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ought a monarch like
+you to visit with his harem the abode of a grey bearded emir who
+knows nothing of life?&nbsp; And with what gracious damsels does
+the place too abound!&nbsp; Fancy to yourself how they have
+soaked me like a burnt crust, and made me dance like a
+jack-pudding the live-long night through on their damnable
+swing.&nbsp; What an excellent lesson for your sultanas to
+follow, into whom I have instilled such reserve and
+decorum!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek, comprehending not a syllable of all this invective,
+obliged him to relate minutely the transaction; but instead of
+sympathising with the <a name="page79"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 79</span>miserable sufferer, he laughed
+immoderately at the device of the swing, and the figure of
+Bababalouk mounting upon it.&nbsp; The stung eunuch could
+scarcely preserve the semblance of respect.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye, laugh my lord! laugh,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but I
+wish this Nouronihar would play some trick on you; she is too
+wicked to spare even majesty itself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>These words made for the present but a slight impression on
+the Caliph, but they not long after recurred to his mind.</p>
+<p>This conversation was cut short by Fakreddin, who came to
+request that Vathek would join in the prayers and ablutions to be
+solemnized on a spacious meadow, watered by innumerable
+streams.&nbsp; The Caliph found the waters refreshing, but the
+prayers abominably irksome.&nbsp; He diverted himself however
+with the multitude of Calenders, <a name="citation79a"></a><a
+href="#footnote79a" class="citation">[79a]</a> Santons, <a
+name="citation79b"></a><a href="#footnote79b"
+class="citation">[79b]</a> and Dervises <a
+name="citation79c"></a><a href="#footnote79c"
+class="citation">[79c]</a> who were continually coming and going,
+but especially with the Brahmins, <a name="citation79d"></a><a
+href="#footnote79d" class="citation">[79d]</a> Faquirs, <a
+name="citation79e"></a><a href="#footnote79e"
+class="citation">[79e]</a> and other enthusiasts, who had
+travelled from the heart of India, and halted on their way with
+the emir.&nbsp; These latter had each of them some mummery
+peculiar to himself.&nbsp; One dragged a huge chain where ever he
+went, another an ourang-outang, whilst a third was furnished with
+scourges, and all performed to a charm.&nbsp; Some clambered up
+trees, holding one foot in the air; others poised themselves over
+a fire, and without mercy fillipped their noses.&nbsp; There were
+some amongst them that cherished vermin, which were not
+ungrateful in requiting their caresses.&nbsp; These rambling
+fanatics <a name="page80"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+80</span>revolted the hearts of the Dervises, the Calenders, and
+Santons; however the vehemence of their aversion soon subsided
+under the hope that the presence of the Caliph would cure their
+folly, and convert them to the Mussulman faith.&nbsp; But alas!
+how great was their disappointment! for Vathek, instead of
+preaching to them, treated them as buffoons; bade them present
+his compliments to Visnow and Ixhora, and discovered a
+predilection for a squat old man from the Isle of Serendib, who
+was more ridiculous than any of the rest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;for the love of your gods,
+bestow a few slaps on your chops to amuse me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The old fellow offended at such an address began loudly to
+weep; but as he betrayed a villainous drivelling in his tears,
+the Caliph turned his back and listened to Bababalouk, who
+whispered, whilst he held the umbrella over him:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your majesty should be cautious of this odd assembly,
+which hath been collected I know not for what.&nbsp; Is it
+necessary to exhibit such spectacles to a mighty potentate, with
+interludes of talapoins more mangy than dogs?&nbsp; Were I you, I
+would command a fire to be kindled, and at once purge the earth
+of the emir, his harem, and all his menagery.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Tush, dolt,&rdquo; answered Vathek, &ldquo;and know
+that all this infinitely charms me.&nbsp; Nor shall I leave the
+meadow till I have visited every hive of these pious
+mendicants.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Where ever the Caliph directed his course, objects of pity
+were sure to swarm round him: the blind, <a
+name="page81"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 81</span>the purblind,
+smarts without noses, damsels without ears, each to extol the
+munificence of Fakreddin, who, as well as his attendant
+grey-beards, dealt about gratis plasters and cataplasms to all
+that applied.&nbsp; At noon a superb corps of cripples made its
+appearance; and soon after advanced by platoons on the plain the
+completest association of invalids that had ever been embodied
+till then.&nbsp; The blind went groping with the blind; the lame
+limped on together; and the maimed made gestures to each other
+with the only arm that remained.&nbsp; The sides of a
+considerable waterfall were crowded by the deaf, amongst whom
+were some from Pegu, with ears uncommonly handsome and large, but
+were still less able to hear than the rest.&nbsp; Nor were there
+wanting others in abundance with hump backs, wenny necks, and
+even horns of an exquisite polish.</p>
+<p>The emir, to aggrandize the solemnity of the festival in
+honour of his illustrious visitant, ordered the turf to be spread
+on all sides with skins and table cloths, upon which were served
+up for the good mussulmans pilaus of every hue, with other
+orthodox dishes, and by the express order of Vathek, who was
+shamefully tolerant, small plates of abominations for regaling
+the rest.&nbsp; This prince on seeing so many mouths put in
+motion began to think it time for employing his own.&nbsp; In
+spite, therefore, of every remonstrance from the chief of his
+eunuchs, he resolved to have a dinner dressed on the spot.&nbsp;
+The complaisant emir immediately gave orders for a table to be
+placed in the shade of the willows.&nbsp; <a
+name="page82"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 82</span>The first
+service consisted of fish, which they drew from a river flowing
+over sands of gold, at the foot of a lofty hill: these were
+broiled as fast as taken, and served up with a sauce of vinegar
+and small herbs that grew on Mount Sinai; for everything with the
+emir was excellent and pious.</p>
+<p>The dessert was not quite set on when the sound of lutes from
+the hill was repeated by the echoes of the neighbouring
+mountains.&nbsp; The Caliph with an emotion of pleasure and
+surprise, had no sooner raised up his head than a handful of
+jasamine dropped on his face.&nbsp; An abundance of tittering
+succeeded this frolic, and instantly appeared through the bushes
+the elegant forms of several young females, skipping and bounding
+like roes.&nbsp; The fragrance diffused from their hair struck
+the sense of Vathek, who in an ecstasy, suspending his repast,
+said to Bababalouk:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are the Peries <a name="citation82"></a><a
+href="#footnote82" class="citation">[82]</a> come down from their
+spheres?&nbsp; Note her in particular whose form is so perfect,
+venturously running on the brink of the precipice, and turning
+back her head as regardless of nothing but the graceful flow of
+her robe.&nbsp; With what captivating impatience doth she contend
+with the bushes for her veil? Could it be she who threw the
+jasamine at me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye, she it was; and you too would she throw from the
+top of the rock,&rdquo; answered Bababalouk, &ldquo;for that is
+my good friend Nouronihar, who so kindly lent me her swing.&nbsp;
+My dear lord and master,&rdquo; added he, twisting a twig that
+hung by the <a name="page83"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+83</span>rind from a willow, &ldquo;let me correct her for her
+want of respect: the emir will have no reason to complain, since
+(bating what I owe to his piety) he is much to be censured for
+keeping a troop of girls on the mountains, whose sharp air gives
+their blood too brisk a circulation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Peace, blasphemer!&rdquo; said the Caliph: &ldquo;speak
+not thus of her who over her mountains leads my heart a willing
+captive.&nbsp; Contrive, rather, that my eyes may be fixed upon
+hers&mdash;that I may respire her sweet breath, as she bounds
+panting along these delightful wilds!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On saying these words, Vathek extended his arms towards the
+hill, and directing his eyes with an anxiety unknown to him
+before, endeavoured to keep within view the object that
+enthralled his soul; but her course was as difficult to follow as
+the flight of one of those beautiful blue butterflies of
+Cachmere, which are at once so volatile and rare.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, not satisfied with seeing, wished also to hear
+Nouronihar, and eagerly turned to catch the sound of her
+voice.&nbsp; At last he distinguished her whispering to one of
+her companions behind the thicket from whence she had thrown the
+jasamine:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A Caliph, it must be owned, is a fine thing to see, but
+my little Gulchenrouz is much more amiable; one lock of his hair
+is of more value to me than the richest embroidery of the
+Indies.&nbsp; I had rather that his teeth should mischievously
+press my finger, than the richest ring of the imperial
+treasure.&nbsp; <a name="page84"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+84</span>Where have you left him, Sutlememe? and why is he now
+not here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The agitated Caliph still wished to hear more, but she
+immediately retired with all her attendants.&nbsp; The fond
+monarch pursued her with his eyes till she was gone out of sight,
+and then continued like a bewildered and benighted traveller,
+from whom the clouds had obscured the constellation that guided
+his way.&nbsp; The curtain of night seemed dropped before
+him&mdash;everything appeared discoloured.&nbsp; The falling
+waters filled his soul with dejection, and his tears trickled
+down the jasamines he had caught from Nouronihar, and placed in
+his inflamed bosom.&nbsp; He snatched up a shining pebble to
+remind him of the scene where he felt the first tumults of
+love.&nbsp; Two hours were elapsed, and evening drew on before he
+could resolve to depart from the place.&nbsp; He often, but in
+vain, attempted to go: a soft languor enervated the powers of his
+mind.&nbsp; Extending himself on the brink of the stream, he
+turned his eyes towards the blue summits of the mountain, and
+exclaimed:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What concealest thou behind thee? what is passing in
+thy solitudes?&nbsp; Whither is she gone?&nbsp; O heaven! perhaps
+she is now wandering in the grottoes with her happy
+Gulchenrouz!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the mean time the damps began to descend, and the emir,
+solicitous for the health of the Caliph, ordered the imperial
+litter to be brought.&nbsp; Vathek, absorbed in his reveries, was
+imperceptibly removed and conveyed back to the saloon that
+received him the evening before.</p>
+<p><a name="page85"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 85</span>But let
+us leave the Caliph immersed in his new passion, and attend
+Nouronihar beyond the rocks, where she had again joined her
+beloved Gulchenrouz.&nbsp; This Gulchenrouz was the son of Ali
+Hassan, brother to the emir, and the most delicate and lovely
+creature in the world.&nbsp; Ali Hassan, who had been absent ten
+years on a voyage to the unknown seas, committed at his departure
+this child, the only survivor of many, to the care and protection
+of his brother.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz could write in various
+characters with precision, and paint upon vellum the most elegant
+arabesques that fancy could devise.&nbsp; His sweet voice
+accompanied the lute in the most enchanting manner; and when he
+sung the loves of Megnoun and Leileh, or some unfortunate lovers
+of ancient days, tears insensibly overflowed the cheeks of his
+auditors.&nbsp; The verses he composed (for like Megnoun, he too
+was a poet) inspired that unresisting languor so frequently fatal
+to the female heart.&nbsp; The women all doated upon him, for
+though he had passed his thirteenth year, they still detained him
+in the harem.&nbsp; His dancing was light as the gossamer waved
+by the zephyrs of spring; but his arms which twined so gracefully
+with those of the young girls in the dance, could neither dart
+the lance in the chase, nor curb the steeds that pastured his
+uncle&rsquo;s domains.&nbsp; The bow, however, he drew with a
+certain aim, and would have excelled his competitors in the race,
+could he have broken the ties that bound him to Nouronihar.</p>
+<p>The two brothers had mutually engaged their <a
+name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 86</span>children to
+each other; and Nouronihar loved her cousin more than her
+eyes.&nbsp; Both had the same tastes and amusements; the same
+long languishing looks; the same tresses; the same fair
+complexions; and when Gulchenrouz appeared in the dress of his
+cousin, he seemed to be more feminine than even herself.&nbsp; If
+at any time he left the harem to visit Fakreddin, it was with all
+the bashfulness of a fawn that consciously ventures from the lair
+of its dam; he was however wanton enough to mock the solemn old
+grey-beards to whom he was subject, though sure to be rated
+without mercy in return.&nbsp; Whenever this happened, he would
+plunge into the recesses of the harem, and sobbing take refuge in
+the arms of Nouronihar, who loved even his faults beyond the
+virtues of others.</p>
+<p>It fell out this evening that after leaving the Caliph in the
+meadow, she ran with Gulchenrouz over the green sward of the
+mountain that sheltered the vale, where Fakreddin had chosen to
+reside.&nbsp; The sun was dilated on the edge of the horizon; and
+the young people, whose fancies were lively and inventive,
+imagined they beheld in the gorgeous clouds of the west the domes
+of Shadukiam and Ambreabad, where the Peries have fixed their
+abode.&nbsp; Nouronihar, sitting on the slope of the hill,
+supported on her knees the perfumed head of Gulchenrouz.&nbsp;
+The air was calm, and no sound stirred but the voices of other
+young girls who were drawing cool water from the streams
+below.&nbsp; The unexpected arrival of the Caliph, and the
+splendour that marked <a name="page87"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 87</span>his appearance, had already filled
+with emotion the ardent soul of Nouronihar.&nbsp; Her vanity
+irresistibly prompted her to pique the prince&rsquo;s attention,
+and this she before took good care to effect whilst he picked up
+the jasamine she had thrown upon him.&nbsp; But when Gulchenrouz
+asked after the flowers he had culled for her bosom, Nouronihar
+was all in confusion.&nbsp; She hastily kissed his forehead,
+arose in a flutter, and walked with unequal steps on the border
+of the precipice.&nbsp; Night advanced, and the pure gold of the
+setting sun had yielded to a sanguine red, the glow of which,
+like the reflection of a burning furnace, flushed
+Nouronihar&rsquo;s animated countenance.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz
+alarmed at the agitation of his cousin, said to her with a
+supplicating accent:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us be gone; the sky looks portentious: the
+tamarisks tremble more than common; and the raw wind chills my
+very heart.&nbsp; Come, let us be gone, &rsquo;tis a melancholy
+night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Then taking hold of her hand he drew it towards the path he
+besought her to go.&nbsp; Nouronihar unconsciously followed the
+attraction, for a thousand strange imaginations occupied her
+spirit.&nbsp; She passed the large round of honeysuckles, her
+favourite resort, without ever vouchsafing it a glance, yet
+Gulchenrouz could not help snatching off a few shoots in his way,
+though he ran as if a wild beast were behind.</p>
+<p>The young females seeing him approach in such haste, and
+according to custom expecting a dance, instantly assembled in a
+circle and took each other by the hand, but Gulchenrouz coming up
+out of <a name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+88</span>breath, fell down at once on the grass.&nbsp; This
+accident struck with consternation the whole of this frolicsome
+party, whilst Nouronihar, half distracted, and overcome both by
+the violence of her exercise and the tumult of her thoughts, sunk
+feebly down at his side, cherished his cold hands in her bosom,
+and chafed his temples with a fragrant unguent.&nbsp; At length
+he came to himself, and wrapping up his head in the robe of his
+cousin, entreated that she would not return to the harem.&nbsp;
+He was afraid of being snapped at by Shaban his tutor, a wrinkled
+old eunuch of a surly disposition, for having interrupted the
+stated walk of Nouronihar, he dreaded lest the churl should take
+it amiss.&nbsp; The whole of this sprightly group, sitting round
+upon a mossy knole, began to entertain themselves with various
+pastimes, whilst their superintendents the eunuchs were gravely
+conversing at a distance.&nbsp; The nurse of the emir&rsquo;s
+daughter observing her pupil sit ruminating with her eyes on the
+ground, endeavoured to amuse her with diverting tales, to which
+Gulchenrouz, who had already forgotten his inquietudes, listened
+with a breathless attention.&nbsp; He laughed; he clapped his
+hands; and passed a hundred little tricks on the whole of the
+company, without omitting the eunuchs, whom he provoked to run
+after him, in spite of their age and decrepitude.</p>
+<p>During these occurrences the moon arose, the wind subsided,
+and the evening became so serene and inviting that a resolution
+was taken to sup on <a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+89</span>the spot.&nbsp; Sutlememe, who excelled in dressing a
+salad, having filled large bowls of porcelain with eggs of small
+birds, curds turned with citron juice, slices of cucumber, and
+the inmost leaves of delicate herbs, handed it round from one to
+another, and gave each their shares in a large spoon of
+cocknos.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz nestling as usual in the bosom of
+Nouronihar, pouted out his vermillion little lips against the
+offer of Sutlememe, and would take it only from the hand of his
+cousin, on whose mouth he hung like a bee inebriated with the
+quintessence of flowers.&nbsp; One of the eunuchs ran to fetch
+melons, whilst others were employed in showering down almonds
+from the branches that overhung this amiable party.</p>
+<p>In the midst of this festive scene there appeared a light on
+the top of the highest mountain, which attracted the notice of
+every eye.&nbsp; This light was not less bright than the moon
+when at full, and might have been taken for her had it not been
+that the moon was already risen.&nbsp; The phenomenon occasioned
+a general surprise, and no one could conjecture the cause.&nbsp;
+It could not be a fire, for the light was clear and bluish; nor
+had meteors ever been seen of that magnitude or splendour.&nbsp;
+This strange light faded for a moment, and immediately renewed
+its brightness.&nbsp; It first appeared motionless at the foot of
+the rock, whence it darted in an instant to sparkle in a thicket
+of palm trees, from thence it glided along the torrent, and at
+last fixed in a glen that was narrow and dark.&nbsp; The moment
+<a name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 90</span>it had
+taken its direction, Gulchenrouz, whose heart always trembled at
+any thing sudden or rare, drew Nouronihar by the robe, and
+anxiously requested her to return to the harem.&nbsp; The women
+were importunate in seconding the entreaty, but the curiosity of
+the emir&rsquo;s daughter prevailed.&nbsp; She not only refused
+to go back, but resolved at all hazards to pursue the
+appearance.&nbsp; Whilst they were debating what was best to be
+done, the light shot forth so dazzling a blaze that they all fled
+away shrieking.&nbsp; Nouronihar followed them a few steps, but
+coming to the turn of a little bye path stopped, and went back
+alone.&nbsp; As she ran with an alertness peculiar to herself, it
+was not long before she came to the place where they had just
+been supping.&nbsp; The globe of fire now appeared stationary in
+the glen, and burned in majestic stillness.&nbsp; Nouronihar
+compressing her hands upon her bosom, hesitated for some moments
+to advance.&nbsp; The solitude of her situation was new; the
+silence of the night awful; and every object inspired sensations
+which till then she never had felt.&nbsp; The affright of
+Gulchenrouz recurred to her mind; and she a thousand times turned
+to go back, but this luminous appearance was always before
+her.&nbsp; Urged on by an irresistible impulse, she continued to
+approach it in defiance of every obstacle that opposed her
+progress.</p>
+<p>At length she arrived at the opening of the glen, but instead
+of coming up to the light, she found herself surrounded by
+darkness, except that at a considerable distance a faint spark
+glimmered by <a name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+91</span>fits.&nbsp; She stopped a second time: the sound of
+waterfalls mingling their murmurs, the hollow rustlings amongst
+the palm branches, and the funereal screams of the birds from
+their rifted trunks, all conspired to fill her with terror.&nbsp;
+She imagined every moment that she trod on some venomous
+reptile.&nbsp; All the stories of malignant Dives, and dismal
+Goules thronged into her memory, but her curiosity was
+notwithstanding more predominant than her fears.&nbsp; She
+therefore firmly entered a winding track that led towards the
+spark, but being a stranger to the path, she had not gone far
+till she began to repent of her rashness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas!&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;that I were but in those
+secure and illuminated apartments where my evenings glided on
+with Gulchenrouz!&nbsp; Dear child, how would thy heart flutter
+with terror wert thou wandering in these wild solitudes like
+me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the close of this apostrophe she regained her road, and
+coming to steps hewn out in the rock ascended them
+undismayed.&nbsp; The light, which was now gradually enlarging,
+appeared above her on the summit of the mountain.&nbsp; At length
+she distinguished a plaintive and melodious union of voices
+proceeding from a sort of cavern, that resembled the dirges which
+are sung over tombs.&nbsp; A sound likewise like that which
+arises from the filling of baths, at the same time struck her
+ear.&nbsp; She continued ascending, and discovered large wax
+torches in full blaze planted here and there in the fissures of
+the rock.&nbsp; This preparation filled her with fear, whilst <a
+name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 92</span>the subtle
+and potent odour which the torches exhaled caused her to sink
+almost lifeless at the entrance of the grot.</p>
+<p>Casting her eyes within in this kind of trance, she beheld a
+large cistern of gold filled with a water, whose vapour distilled
+on her face a dew of the essence of roses.&nbsp; A soft symphony
+resounded through the grot.&nbsp; On the sides of the cistern she
+noticed appendages of royalty; diadems and feathers of the heron,
+all sparkling with carbuncles.&nbsp; Whilst her attention was
+fixed on this display of magnificence, the music ceased, and a
+voice instantly demanded:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For what monarch were these torches kindled, this bath
+prepared, and these habiliments? which belong not only to the
+sovereigns of the earth, but even to the talismanic
+powers!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To which a second voice answered:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are for the charming daughter of the emir
+Fakreddin.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What,&rdquo; replied the first, &ldquo;for that trifler
+who consumes her time with a giddy child, immersed in softness,
+and who at best can make but an enervated husband?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And can she,&rdquo; rejoined the other voice, &ldquo;be
+amused with such empty trifles, whilst the Caliph, the sovereign
+of the world, he who is destined to enjoy the treasures of the
+preadimite sultans, a prince six feet high, and whose eyes
+pervade the inmost soul of a female, is inflamed with the love of
+her? no, she will be wise enough to answer that <a
+name="page93"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 93</span>passion alone
+that can aggrandize her glory.&nbsp; No doubt she will, and
+despise the puppet of her fancy; then all the riches this place
+contains, as well as the carbuncle of Giamschid shall be
+hers.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You judge right,&rdquo; returned the first voice,
+&ldquo;and I haste to Istakar to prepare the palace of
+subterranean fire for the reception of the bridal
+pair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The voices ceased, the torches were extinguished, the most
+entire darkness succeeded, and Nouronihar recovering with a
+start, found herself reclined on a sofa in the harem of her
+father.&nbsp; She clapped her hands, and immediately came
+together Gulchenrouz and her women, who, in despair at having
+lost her, had despatched eunuchs to seek her in every
+direction.&nbsp; Shaban appeared with the rest, and began to
+reprimand her with an air of consequence:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Little impertinent,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;whence got
+you false keys? or are you beloved of some genius that hath given
+you a picklock?&nbsp; I will try the extent of your power; come,
+to your chamber! through the two sky-lights, and expect not the
+company of Gulchenrouz.&nbsp; Be expeditious!&nbsp; I will shut
+you up in the double tower.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At these menaces Nouronihar indignantly raised her head,
+opened on Shaban her black eyes, which since the important
+dialogue of the enchanted grot were considerably enlarged, and
+said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Go, speak thus to slaves! but learn to reverence her
+who is born to give laws, and subject all to her
+power.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 94</span>She was
+proceeding in the same style, but was interrupted by a sudden
+exclamation of,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Caliph! the Caliph!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The curtains at once were thrown open, and the slaves
+prostrate in double rows, whilst poor little Gulchenrouz hid
+himself beneath the elevation of a sofa.&nbsp; At first appeared
+a file of black eunuchs trailing after them long trains of muslin
+embroidered with gold, and holding in their hands censers, which
+dispensed as they passed the grateful perfume of the wood of
+aloes.&nbsp; Next marched Bababalouk with a solemn strut, and
+tossing his head as not over pleased at the visit.&nbsp; Vathek
+came close after superbly robed; his gait was unembarrassed and
+noble, and his presence would have engaged admiration, though he
+had not been the sovereign of the world.&nbsp; He approached
+Nouronihar with a throbbing heart, and seemed enraptured at the
+full effulgence of her radiant eyes, of which he had before
+caught but a few glimpses; but she instantly depressed them, and
+her confusion augmented her beauty.</p>
+<p>Bababalouk, who was a thorough adept in coincidences of this
+nature, and knew that the worst game should be played with the
+best face, immediately made a signal for all to retire, and no
+sooner did he perceive beneath the sofa the little one&rsquo;s
+feet, than he drew him forth without ceremony, set him upon his
+shoulders, and lavished on him as he went off a thousand odious
+caresses.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz cried out, and resisted till his
+cheeks became the colour of the blossom of the pomegranite, and
+the tears that <a name="page95"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+95</span>started into his eyes shot forth a gleam of
+indignation.&nbsp; He cast a significant glance at Nouronihar,
+which the Caliph noticing, asked:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is that then your Gulchenrouz?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sovereign of the world,&rdquo; answered she,
+&ldquo;spare my cousin, whose innocence and gentleness deserve
+not your anger!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Take comfort,&rdquo; said Vathek with a smile,
+&ldquo;he is in good hands.&nbsp; Bababalouk is fond of children,
+and never goes without sweetmeats and comfits.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The daughter of Fakreddin was abashed; and suffered
+Gulchenrouz to be borne away without adding a word.&nbsp; The
+tumult of her bosom betrayed her confusion; and Vathek becoming
+still more impassioned, gave a loose to his frenzy, which had
+only not subdued the last faint strugglings of reluctance, when
+the emir suddenly bursting in, threw his face upon the ground at
+the feet of the Caliph, and said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Commander of the faithful, abase not yourself to the
+meanness of your slave.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, emir,&rdquo; replied Vathek, &ldquo;I raise her to
+an equality with myself; I declare her my wife; and the glory of
+your race shall extend from one generation to another.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas! my lord,&rdquo; said Fakreddin, as he plucked off
+the honours of his beard, &ldquo;cut short the days of your
+faithful servant rather than force him to depart from his
+word.&nbsp; Nouronihar, as her hands evince, is solemnly promised
+to Gulchenrouz, the son of my bother, Ali Hassan; they are united
+also in heart; <a name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+96</span>their faith is mutually plighted; and affiances so
+sacred cannot be broken.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What, then,&rdquo; replied the Caliph bluntly,
+&ldquo;would you surrender this divine beauty to a husband more
+womanish than herself?&nbsp; And can you imagine that I will
+suffer her charms to decay in hands so inefficient and
+nerveless?&nbsp; No! she is destined to live out her life within
+my embraces: such is my will: retire, and disturb not the night I
+devote to the homage of her charms.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The irritated emir drew forth his sabre, presented it to
+Vathek, and stretching out his neck, said in a firm tone of
+voice:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Strike your unhappy host my lord! he has lived long
+enough, since he hath seen the prophet&rsquo;s vicegerent violate
+the rights of hospitality.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At his uttering these words, Nouronihar unable to support any
+longer the conflict of her passions, sunk down in a swoon.&nbsp;
+Vathek, both terrified for her life, and furious at an opposition
+to his will, bade Fakreddin assist his daughter, and withdrew,
+darting his terrible look at the unfortunate emir, who suddenly
+fell backward bathed in a sweat, cold as the damp of death.</p>
+<p>Gulchenrouz, who had escaped from the hands of Bababalouk, and
+was that instant returned, called out for help as loudly as he
+could, not having strength to afford it himself.&nbsp; Pale and
+panting, the poor child attempted to revive Nouronihar by
+caresses, and it happened that the thrilling warmth of his lips
+restored her to life.&nbsp; Fakreddin beginning <a
+name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 97</span>also to
+recover from the look of the Caliph, with difficulty tottered to
+a seat, and after warily casting round his eye to see if this
+dangerous prince were gone, sent for Shaban and Sutlememe, and
+said to them apart&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My friends, violent evils require as violent remedies;
+the Caliph has brought desolation and horror into my family, and
+how shall we resist his power?&nbsp; Another of his looks will
+send me to my grave.&nbsp; Fetch then that narcotic powder which
+the Dervise brought me from Aracan.&nbsp; A dose of it, the
+effect of which will continue three days, must be administered to
+each of these children.&nbsp; The Caliph will believe them to be
+dead, for they will have all the appearance of death.&nbsp; We
+shall go as if to inter them in the cave of Meimoune, at the
+entrance of the great desert of sand, and near the cabin of my
+dwarfs.&nbsp; When all the spectators shall be withdrawn, you,
+Shaban, and four select eunuchs shall convey them to the lake,
+where provision shall be ready to support them a month; for, one
+day allotted to the surprise this event will occasion, five to
+the tears, a fortnight to reflection, and the rest to prepare for
+renewing his progress, will, according to my calculation, fill up
+the whole time that Vathek will tarry, and I shall then be freed
+from his intrusion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your plan,&rdquo; said Sutlememe, &ldquo;is a good one,
+if it can but be effected.&nbsp; I have remarked that Nouronihar
+is well able to support the glances of the Caliph, and that he is
+far from being sparing of them to her; be assured therefore,
+notwithstanding her <a name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+98</span>fondness for Gulchenrouz, she will never remain quiet
+while she knows him to be here, unless we can persuade her that
+both herself and Gulchenrouz are really dead, and that they were
+conveyed to those rocks for a limited season to expiate the
+little faults of which their love was the cause.&nbsp; We will
+add that we killed ourselves in despair, and that your dwarfs
+whom they never yet saw will preach to them delectable
+sermons.&nbsp; I will engage that every thing shall succeed to
+the bent of your wishes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Be it so,&rdquo; said Fakreddin; &ldquo;I approve your
+proposal; let us lose not a moment to give it
+effect.&rdquo;&nbsp; They forthwith hastened to seek for the
+powder, which being mixed in a sherbet was immediately drunk by
+Gulchenrouz and Nouronihar.&nbsp; Within the space of an hour
+both were seized with violent palpitations, and a general
+numbness gradually ensued.&nbsp; They arose from the floor, where
+they had remained ever since the Caliph&rsquo;s departure, and
+ascending to the sofa, reclined themselves at full length upon
+it, clasped in each other&rsquo;s embraces.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Cherish me, my dear Nouronihar,&rdquo; said
+Gulchenrouz; &ldquo;put thy hand upon my heart, for it feels as
+if it were frozen.&nbsp; Alas! thou art as cold as myself! hath
+the Caliph murdered us both with his terrible look?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am dying,&rdquo; cried she in a faltering voice;
+&ldquo;press me closer, I am ready to expire!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us die then together,&rdquo; answered the little
+Gulchenrouz, whilst his breast laboured with a <a
+name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 99</span>convulsive
+sigh; &ldquo;let me at least breathe forth my soul on thy
+lips.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They spoke no more, and became as dead.</p>
+<p>Immediately the most piercing cries were heard through the
+harem, whilst Shaban and Sutlememe personated with great
+adroitness the parts of persons in despair.&nbsp; The emir, who
+was sufficiently mortified to be forced into such untoward
+expedients, and had now for the first time made a trial of his
+powder, was under no necessity of counterfeiting grief.&nbsp; The
+slaves, who had flocked together from all quarters, stood
+motionless at the spectacle before them.&nbsp; All lights were
+extinguished save two lamps, which shed a wan glimmering over the
+faces of these lovely flowers, that seemed to be faded in the
+spring-time of life.&nbsp; Funeral vestments were prepared; their
+bodies were washed with rose water; their beautiful tresses were
+braided and incensed; and they were wrapped in symars whiter than
+alabaster.&nbsp; At the moment that their attendants were placing
+two wreaths of their favourite jasamines on their brows, the
+Caliph, who had just heard the tragical catastrophe,
+arrived.&nbsp; He looked not less pale and haggard than the
+goules that wander at night among graves.&nbsp; Forgetful of
+himself and every one else, he broke through the midst of the
+slaves, fell prostrate at the foot of the sofa, beat his bosom,
+called himself &ldquo;atrocious murderer,&rdquo; and invoked upon
+his head a thousand imprecations.&nbsp; With a trembling hand he
+raised the veil that covered the countenance of Nouronihar, and
+uttering a loud shriek fell <a name="page100"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 100</span>lifeless on the floor.&nbsp; The
+chief of the eunuchs dragged him off with horrible grimaces, and
+repeated as he went:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye, I foresaw she would play you some ungracious
+turn.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>No sooner was the Caliph gone than the emir commanded biers to
+be brought, and forbade that any one should enter the
+harem.&nbsp; Every window was fastened; all instruments of music
+were broken; and the Imams began to recite their prayers.&nbsp;
+Towards the close of this melancholy day Vathek sobbed in
+silence, for they had been forced to compose with anodynes his
+convulsions of rage and desperation.</p>
+<p>At the dawn of the succeeding morning the wide folding doors
+of the palace were set open, and the funeral procession moved
+forward for the mountain.&nbsp; The wailful cries of &ldquo;La
+Ilah illa Alla,&rdquo; reached to the Caliph, who was eager to
+cicatrize himself and attend the ceremonial; nor could he have
+been dissuaded, had not his excessive weakness disabled him from
+walking.&nbsp; At the few first steps he fell on the ground, and
+his people were obliged to lay him on a bed, where he remained
+many days in such a state of insensibility as excited compassion
+in the emir himself.</p>
+<p>When the procession was arrived at the grot of Meimoune,
+Shaban and Sutlememe dismissed the whole of the train excepting
+the four confidential eunuchs who were appointed to remain.&nbsp;
+After resting some moments near the biers which had been <a
+name="page101"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 101</span>left in the
+open air, they caused them to be carried to the brink of a small
+lake whose banks were overgrown with a hoary moss.&nbsp; This was
+the great resort of herons and storks, which preyed continually
+on little blue fishes.&nbsp; The dwarfs, instructed by the emir,
+soon repaired thither, and with the help of the eunuchs began to
+construct cabins of rushes and reeds, a work in which they had
+admirable skill.&nbsp; A magazine also was contrived for
+provisions, with a small oratory for themselves, and a pyramid of
+wood neatly piled, to furnish the necessary fuel, for the air was
+bleak in the hollows of the mountains.</p>
+<p>At evening two fires were kindled on the brink of the lake,
+and the two lovely bodies taken from their biers were carefully
+deposited upon a bed of dried leaves within the same cabin.&nbsp;
+The dwarfs began to recite the koran with their clear shrill
+voices, and Shaban and Sutlememe stood at some distance anxiously
+waiting the effects of the powder.&nbsp; At length Nouronihar and
+Gulchenrouz faintly stretched out their arms, and gradually
+opening their eyes began to survey with looks of increasing
+amazement every object around them.&nbsp; They even attempted to
+rise, but for want of strength fell back again.&nbsp; Sutlememe
+on this administered a cordial which the emir had taken care to
+provide.</p>
+<p>Gulchenrouz thoroughly aroused sneezed out aloud, and raising
+himself with an effort that expressed his surprise, left the
+cabin, and inhaled the fresh air with the greatest avidity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I breathe again! again do I
+<a name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+102</span>exist!&nbsp; I hear sounds!&nbsp; I behold a firmament
+spangled over with stars!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nouronihar catching these beloved accents extricated herself
+from the leaves, and ran to clasp Gulchenrouz to her bosom.&nbsp;
+The first objects she remarked were their long symars, their
+garlands of flowers, and their naked feet: she hid her face in
+her hands to reflect.&nbsp; The vision of the enchanted bath, the
+despair of her father, and more vividly than both, the majestic
+figure of Vathek recurred to her memory.&nbsp; She recollected
+also, that herself and Gulchenrouz had been sick and dying; but
+all these images bewildered her mind.&nbsp; Not knowing where she
+was, she turned her eyes on all sides, as if to recognise the
+surrounding scene.&nbsp; This singular lake, those flames
+reflected from its glassy surface, the pale hues of its banks,
+the romantic cabins, the bull-rushes that sadly waved their
+drooping heads, the storks whose melancholy cries blended with
+the shrill voices of the dwarfs, every thing conspired to
+persuade them that the angel of death had opened the portal of
+some other world.</p>
+<p>Gulchenrouz on his part, lost in wonder, clung to the neck of
+his cousin.&nbsp; He believed himself in the region of phantoms,
+and was terrified at the silence she preserved.&nbsp; At length
+addressing her:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Speak,&rdquo; said he; &ldquo;where are we! do you not
+see those spectres that are stirring the burning coals?&nbsp; Are
+they the Monker and Nakir, come to throw us into them?&nbsp; Does
+the fatal bridge cross this lake, whose solemn stillness perhaps
+conceals from us an <a name="page103"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 103</span>abyss, in which for whole ages we
+shall be doomed incessantly to sink?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No my children,&rdquo; said Sutlememe going towards
+them; &ldquo;take comfort, the exterminating angel who conducted
+our souls hither after yours, hath assured us that the
+chastisement of your indolent and voluptuous life shall be
+restricted to a certain series of years, which you must pass in
+this dreary abode, where the sun is scarcely visible, and where
+the soil yields neither fruits nor flowers.&nbsp; These,&rdquo;
+continued she, pointing to the dwarfs, &ldquo;will provide for
+our wants; for souls so mundane as ours retain too strong a
+tincture of their earthly extraction.&nbsp; Instead of meats,
+your food will be nothing but rice, and your bread shall be
+moistened in the fogs that brood over the surface of the
+lake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this desolating prospect the poor children burst into
+tears, and prostrated themselves before the dwarfs, who perfectly
+supported their characters, and delivered an excellent discourse
+of a customary length upon the sacred camel, which after a
+thousand years was to convey them to the paradise of the
+faithful.</p>
+<p>The sermon being ended and ablutions performed, they praised
+Alla and the prophet, supped very indifferently, and retired to
+their withered leaves.&nbsp; Nouronihar and her little cousin
+consoled themselves on finding that, though dead, they yet lay in
+one cabin.&nbsp; Having slept well before, the remainder of the
+night was spent in conversation on what had befallen them; and
+both, from a dread of apparitions, <a name="page104"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 104</span>betook themselves for protection to
+one another&rsquo;s arms.</p>
+<p>In the morning, which was lowering and rainy, the dwarfs
+mounted high poles like minarets, and called them to
+prayers.&nbsp; The whole congregation, which consisted of
+Sutlememe, Shaban, the four eunuchs, and some storks, were
+already assembled.&nbsp; The two children came forth from their
+cabin with a slow and dejected pace.&nbsp; As their minds were in
+a tender and melancholy mood, their devotions were performed with
+fervour.&nbsp; No sooner were they finished than Gulchenrouz
+demanded of Sutlememe and the rest, &ldquo;how they happened to
+die so opportunely for his cousin and himself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We killed ourselves,&rdquo; returned Sutlememe,
+&ldquo;in despair at your death.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On this, said Nouronihar, who notwithstanding what was past,
+had not yet forgotten her vision:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And the Caliph, is he also dead of his grief? and will
+he likewise come hither?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The dwarfs, who were prepared with an answer, most demurely
+replied:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vathek is damned beyond all redemption!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I readily believe so,&rdquo; said Gulchenrouz;
+&ldquo;and am glad from my heart to hear it, for I am convinced
+it was his horrible look that sent us hither, to listen to
+sermons and mess upon rice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>One week passed away on the side of the lake unmarked by any
+variety; Nouronihar ruminating on the grandeur of which death had
+deprived her, <a name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+105</span>and Gulchenrouz applying to prayers and to panniers
+along with the dwarfs, who infinitely pleased him.&nbsp; Whilst
+this scene of innocence was exhibiting in the mountains, the
+Caliph presented himself to the emir in a new light.&nbsp; The
+instant he recovered the use of his senses, with a voice that
+made Bababalouk quake, he thundered out:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perfidious Giaour! I renounce thee for ever! it is thou
+who hast slain my beloved Nouronihar! and I supplicate the pardon
+of Mahomet, who would have preserved her to me had I been more
+wise.&nbsp; Let water be brought to perform my ablutions, and let
+the pious Fakreddin be called to offer up his prayers with mine,
+and reconcile me to him.&nbsp; Afterwards we will go together and
+visit the sepulchre of the unfortunate Nouronihar.&nbsp; I am
+resolved to become a hermit, and consume the residue of my days
+on this mountain, in hope of expiating my crimes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nouronihar was not altogether so content, for though she felt
+a fondness for Gulchenrouz, who to augment the attachment, had
+been left at full liberty with her, yet she still regarded him as
+but a bauble that bore no competition with the carbuncle of
+Giamschid.&nbsp; At times she indulged doubts on the mode of her
+being, and scarcely could believe that the dead had all the wants
+and the whims of the living.&nbsp; To gain satisfaction, however,
+on so perplexing a topic, she arose one morning whilst all were
+asleep with a breathless caution from the side of Gulchenrouz,
+and after having given him a soft kiss, began to follow the
+windings of the lake till it <a name="page106"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 106</span>terminated with a rock whose top was
+accessible though lofty.&nbsp; This she clambered up with
+considerable toil, and having reached the summit, set forward in
+a run like a doe that unwittingly follows her hunter.&nbsp;
+Though she skipped along with the alertness of an antelope, yet
+at intervals she was forced to desist, and rest beneath the
+tamarisks to recover her breath.&nbsp; Whilst she, thus reclined,
+was occupied with her little reflections on the apprehension that
+she had some knowledge of the place, Vathek, who finding himself
+that morning but ill at ease, had gone forth before the dawn,
+presented himself on a sudden to her view.&nbsp; Motionless with
+surprise, he durst not approach the figure before him, which lay
+shrouded up in a symar extended on the ground, trembling and
+pale, but yet lovely to behold.&nbsp; At length Nouronihar, with
+a mixture of pleasure and affliction, raising her fine eyes to
+him, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My lord, are you come hither to eat rice and hear
+sermons with me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Beloved phantom!&rdquo; cried Vathek, &ldquo;dost thou
+speak? hast thou the same graceful form? the same radiant
+features? art thou palpable likewise?&rdquo; and eagerly
+embracing her he added, &ldquo;here are limbs and a bosom
+animated with a gentle warmth! what can such a prodigy
+mean?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nouronihar with diffidence answered:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know my lord that I died on the night you honoured
+me with your visit; my cousin maintains it was from one of your
+glances, but I cannot believe <a name="page107"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 107</span>him, for to me they seem not so
+dreadful.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz died with me, and we were both
+brought into a region of desolation, where we are fed with a
+wretched diet.&nbsp; If you be dead also, and are come hither to
+join us, I pity your lot, for you will be stunned with the clang
+of the dwarfs and the storks.&nbsp; Besides, it is mortifying in
+the extreme that you as well as myself should have lost the
+treasures of the subterranean palace.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the mention of the subterranean palace, the Caliph
+suspended his caresses, which indeed had proceeded pretty far, to
+seek from Nouronihar an explanation of her meaning.&nbsp; She
+then recapitulated her vision&mdash;what immediately
+followed&mdash;and the history of her pretended death; adding
+also a description of the palace of expiation from whence she had
+fled; and all in a manner that would have extorted his laughter,
+had not the thoughts of Vathek been too deeply engaged.&nbsp; No
+sooner, however, had she ended, than he again clasped her to his
+bosom, and said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Light of my eyes! the mystery is unravelled; we both
+are alive!&nbsp; Your father is a cheat, who for the sake of
+dividing hath deluded us both; and the Giaour, whose design, as
+far as I can discover, is that we shall proceed together, seems
+scarce a whit better.&nbsp; It shall be some time at least before
+he find us in his palace of fire.&nbsp; Your lovely little person
+in my estimation is far more precious than all the treasures of
+the preadimite sultans, and I wish to possess it at pleasure, and
+in open day for many a <a name="page108"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 108</span>moon, before I go to burrow under
+ground like a mole.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Forget this little trifler Gulchenrouz,
+and&rdquo;&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, my lord,&rdquo; interposed Nouronihar, &ldquo;let
+me entreat that you do him no evil.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; replied Vathek, &ldquo;I have already
+bid you forbear to alarm yourself for him.&nbsp; He has been
+brought up too much on milk and sugar to stimulate my
+jealousy.&nbsp; We will leave him with the dwarfs, who by the bye
+are my old acquaintances; their company will suit him far better
+than yours.&nbsp; As to other matters, I will return no more to
+your father&rsquo;s.&nbsp; I want not to have my ears dinned by
+him and his dotards with the violation of the rights of
+hospitality; as if it were less an honour for you to espouse the
+sovereign of the world, than a girl dressed up like a
+boy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nouronihar could find nothing to oppose in a discourse so
+eloquent.&nbsp; She only wished the amorous monarch had
+discovered more ardour for the carbuncle of Giamschid; but
+flattered herself it would gradually increase, and therefore
+yielded to his will with the most bewitching submission.</p>
+<p>When the Caliph judged it proper he called for Bababalouk, who
+was asleep in the cave of Meimoune, and dreaming that the phantom
+of Nouronihar having mounted him once more on her swing, had just
+given him such a jerk that he one moment soared above the
+mountains, and the next sunk into the abyss.&nbsp; Starting from
+his sleep at the voice of his master, he ran gasping for breath,
+and had nearly <a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+109</span>fallen backward at the sight, as he believed, of the
+spectre, by whom he had so lately been haunted in his dream.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah my lord,&rdquo; cried he, recoiling ten steps, and
+covering his eyes with both hands, &ldquo;do you then perform the
+office of a goule?&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis true you have dug up the
+dead, yet hope not to make her your prey; for after all she hath
+caused me to suffer, she is even wicked enough to prey upon
+you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Cease thy folly,&rdquo; said Vathek, &ldquo;and thou
+shalt soon be convinced that it is Nouronihar herself, alive and
+well, whom I clasp to my breast.&nbsp; Go only, and pitch my
+tents in the neighbouring valley.&nbsp; There will I fix my abode
+with this beautiful tulip, whose colours I soon shall
+restore.&nbsp; There exert thy best endeavours to procure
+whatever can augment the enjoyments of life, till I shall
+disclose to thee more of my will.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The news of so unlucky an event soon reached the ears of the
+emir, who abandoned himself to grief and despair, and began, as
+did all his old greybeards, to begrime his visage with
+ashes.&nbsp; A total supineness ensued; travellers were no longer
+entertained, no more plasters were spread, and instead of the
+charitable activity that had distinguished this asylum, the whole
+of its inhabitants exhibited only faces of a half cubit long, and
+uttered groans that accorded with their forlorn situation.</p>
+<p>Though Fakreddin bewailed his daughter as lost to him for
+ever, yet Gulchenrouz was not forgotten.&nbsp; He despatched
+immediate instruction to Sutlememe, <a name="page110"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 110</span>Shaban, and the dwarfs, enjoining
+them not to undeceive the child in respect to his state, but
+under some pretence to convey him far from the lofty rock at the
+extremity of the lake, to a place which he should appoint, as
+safer from danger; for he suspected that Vathek intended him
+evil.</p>
+<p>Gulchenrouz in the mean while was filled with amazement at not
+finding his cousin; nor were the dwarfs at all less surprised;
+but Sutlememe, who had more penetration, immediately guessed what
+had happened.&nbsp; Gulchenrouz was amused with the delusive hope
+of once more embracing Nouronihar in the interior recesses of the
+mountains, where the ground, strewed over with orange blossoms
+and jasamines, offered beds much more inviting than the withered
+leaves in their cabin, where they might accompany with their
+voices the sounds of their lutes, and chase butterflies in
+concert.&nbsp; Sutlememe was far gone in this sort of description
+when one of the four eunuchs beckoned her aside to apprise her of
+the arrival of a messenger from their fraternity, who had
+explained the secret of the flight of Nouronihar, and brought the
+commands of the emir.&nbsp; A council with Shaban and the dwarfs
+was immediately held.&nbsp; Their baggage being stowed in
+consequence of it, they embarked in a shallop and quietly sailed
+with the little one, who acquiesced in all their proposals.&nbsp;
+Their voyage proceeded in the same manner, till they came to the
+place where the lake sinks beneath the hollow of the rock, but as
+soon as the bark had entered it, and Gulchenrouz <a
+name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 111</span>found
+himself surrounded with darkness, he was seized with a dreadful
+consternation, and incessantly uttered the most piercing
+outcries; for he now was persuaded he should actually be damned
+for having taken too many little freedoms in his life-time with
+his cousin.</p>
+<p>But let us return to the Caliph, and her who ruled over his
+heart.&nbsp; Bababalouk had pitched the tents, and closed up the
+extremities of the valley with magnificent screens of India
+cloth, which were guarded by Ethiopian slaves with their drawn
+sabres.&nbsp; To preserve the verdure of this beautiful enclosure
+in its natural freshness, the white eunuchs went continually
+round it with their red water vessels.&nbsp; The waving of fans
+was heard near the imperial pavilion, where by the voluptuous
+light that glowed through the muslins, the Caliph enjoyed at full
+view all the attractions of Nouronihar.&nbsp; Inebriated with
+delight, he was all ear to her charming voice which accompanied
+the lute; while she was not less captivated with his descriptions
+of Samarah and the tower full of wonders, but especially with his
+relation of the adventure of the ball, and the chasm of the
+Giaour with its ebony portal.</p>
+<p>In this manner they conversed for a day and a night; they
+bathed together in a basin of black marble, which admirably
+relieved the fairness of Nouronihar.&nbsp; Bababalouk, whose good
+graces this beauty had regained, spared no attention that their
+repasts might be served up with the minutest exactness: some
+exquisite rariety was ever placed <a name="page112"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 112</span>before them; and he sent even to
+Schiraz for that fragrant and delicious wine which had been
+hoarded up in bottles prior to the birth of Mahomet.&nbsp; He had
+excavated little ovens in the rock to bake the nice manchets
+which were prepared by the hands of Nouronihar, from whence they
+had derived a flavour so grateful to Vathek, that he regarded the
+ragouts of his other wives as entirely maukish; whilst they would
+have died at the emir&rsquo;s of chagrin at finding themselves so
+neglected, if Fakreddin, notwithstanding his resentment, had not
+taken pity upon them.</p>
+<p>The sultana Dilara, who till then had been the favourite, took
+this dereliction of the Caliph to heart with a vehemence natural
+to her character; for during her continuance in favour she had
+imbibed from Vathek many of his extravagant fancies, and was
+fired with impatience to behold the superb tombs of Istakar, and
+the palace of forty columns; besides, having been brought up
+amongst the magi, she had fondly cherished the idea of the
+Caliph&rsquo;s devoting himself to the worship of fire; thus his
+voluptuous and desultory life with her rival was to her a double
+source of affliction.&nbsp; The transient piety of Vathek had
+occasioned her some serious alarms, but the present was an evil
+of far greater magnitude.&nbsp; She resolved therefore without
+hesitation to write to Carathis, and acquaint her that all things
+went ill; that they had eaten, slept, and revelled at an old
+emir&rsquo;s, whose sanctity was very formidable, and that after
+all the prospect of <a name="page113"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 113</span>possessing the treasures of the
+preadimite sultans was no less remote than before.&nbsp; This
+letter was entrusted to the care of two woodmen who were at work
+on one of the great forests of the mountains, and being
+acquainted with the shortest cuts, arrived in ten days at
+Samarah.</p>
+<p>The princess Carathis was engaged at chess with Morakanabad,
+when the arrival of these wood-fellers was announced.&nbsp; She,
+after some weeks of Vathek&rsquo;s absence, had forsaken the
+upper regions of her tower, because everything appeared in
+confusion among the stars, whom she consulted relative to the
+fate of her son.&nbsp; In vain did she renew her fumigations, and
+extend herself on the roof to obtain mystic visions, nothing more
+could she see in her dreams than pieces of brocade, nosegays of
+flowers, and other unmeaning gewgaws.&nbsp; These disappointments
+had thrown her into a state of dejection which no drug in her
+power was sufficient to remove.&nbsp; Her only resource was in
+Morakanabad, who was a good man, and endowed with a decent share
+of confidence, yet whilst in her company he never thought himself
+on roses.</p>
+<p>No person knew aught of Vathek, and a thousand ridiculous
+stories were propagated at his expense.&nbsp; The eagerness of
+Carathis may be easily guessed at receiving the letter, as well
+as her rage at reading the dissolute conduct of her son.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it so,&rdquo; said she; &ldquo;either I will perish,
+or Vathek shall enter the palace of fire.&nbsp; Let me <a
+name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 114</span>expire in
+flames, provided he may reign on the throne of
+Soliman!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having said this, and whirled herself round in a magical
+manner, which struck Morakanabad with such terror as caused him
+to recoil, she ordered her great camel Alboufaki to be brought,
+and the hideous Nerkes with the unrelenting Cafour to attend.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I require no other retinue,&rdquo; said she to
+Morakanabad: &ldquo;I am going on affairs of emergency, a truce
+therefore to parade!&nbsp; Take you care of the people, fleece
+them well in my absence, for we shall expend large sums, and one
+knows not what may betide.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The night was uncommonly dark, and a pestilential blast
+ravaged the plain of Catoul that would have deterred any other
+traveller however urgent the call; but Carathis enjoyed most
+whatever filled others with dread.&nbsp; Nerkes concurred in
+opinion with her, and Cafour had a particular predilection for a
+pestilence.&nbsp; In the morning this accomplished caravan, with
+the wood-fellers who directed their route, halted on the edge of
+an extensive marsh, from whence so noxious a vapour arose as
+would have destroyed any animal but Alboufaki, who naturally
+inhaled these malignant fogs.&nbsp; The peasants entreated their
+convoy not to sleep in this place.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To sleep,&rdquo; cried Carathis, &ldquo;what an
+excellent thought!&nbsp; I never sleep but for visions; and as to
+<a name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 115</span>my
+attendants, their occupations are too many to close the only eye
+they each have.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The poor peasants, who were not over pleased with their party,
+remained open-mouthed with surprise.</p>
+<p>Carathis alighted as well as her negresses, and severally
+stripping off their outer garments, they all ran in their drawers
+to cull from those spots where the sun shone fiercest, the
+venomous plants that grew on the marsh.&nbsp; This provision was
+made for the family of the emir, and whoever might retard the
+expedition to Istakar.&nbsp; The woodmen were overcome with fear
+when they beheld these three horrible phantoms run, and not much
+relishing the company of Alboufaki, stood aghast at the command
+of Carathis to set forward, notwithstanding it was noon, and the
+heat fierce enough to calcine even rocks.&nbsp; In spite,
+however, of every remonstrance, they were forced implicitly to
+submit.</p>
+<p>Alboufaki, who delighted in solitude, constantly snorted
+whenever he perceived himself near a habitation, and Carathis,
+who was apt to spoil him with indulgence, as constantly turned
+him aside; so that the peasants were precluded from procuring
+subsistence; for the milch goats and ewes which Providence had
+sent towards the district they traversed, to refresh travellers
+with their milk, all fled at the sight of the hideous animal and
+his strange riders.&nbsp; As to Carathis, she needed no common
+aliment; for her invention had previously <a
+name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 116</span>furnished
+her with an opiate to stay her stomach, some of which she
+imparted to her mutes.</p>
+<p>At the fall of night Alboufaki making a sudden stop, stamped
+with his foot, which to Carathis, who understood his paces, was a
+certain indication that she was near the confines of some
+cemetery.&nbsp; The moon shed a bright light on the spot, which
+served to discover a long wall with a large door in it standing
+a-jar, and so high that Alboufaki might easily enter.&nbsp; The
+miserable guides, who perceived their end approaching, humbly
+implored Carathis, as she had now so good an opportunity, to
+inter them, and immediately gave up the ghost.&nbsp; Nerkes and
+Cafour, whose wit was of a style peculiar to themselves, were by
+no means parsimonious of it on the folly of these poor people,
+nor could any thing have been found more suited to their taste
+than the site of the burying ground, and the sepulchres which its
+precincts contained.&nbsp; There were at least two thousand of
+them on the declivity of a hill; some in the form of pyramids,
+others like columns, and in short the variety of their shapes was
+endless.&nbsp; Carathis was too much immersed in her sublime
+contemplations to stop at the view, charming as it appeared in
+her eyes.&nbsp; Pondering the advantages that might accrue from
+her present situation, she could not forbear to exclaim:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So beautiful a cemetery must be haunted by Gouls, and
+they want not for intelligence! having heedlessly suffered my
+guides to expire, I will apply <a name="page117"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 117</span>for directions to them, and as an
+inducement, will invite them to regale on these fresh
+corpses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After this short soliloquy, she beckoned to Nerkes and Cafour,
+and made signs with her fingers, as much as to say:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Go, knock against the sides of the tombs, and strike up
+your delightful warblings, that are so like to those of the
+guests whose company I wish to obtain.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The negresses, full of joy at the behests of their mistress,
+and promising themselves much pleasure from the society of the
+Gouls, went with an air of conquest, and began their knockings at
+the tombs.&nbsp; As their strokes were repeated, a hollow noise
+was heard in the earth, the surface hove up into heaps, and the
+Gouls on all sides protruded their noses to inhale the effluvia
+which the carcasses of the woodmen began to emit.</p>
+<p>They assembled before a sarcophagus of white marble, where
+Carathis was seated between the bodies of her miserable
+guides.&nbsp; The princess received her visitants with
+distinguished politeness, and when supper was ended, proceeded
+with them to business.&nbsp; Having soon learnt from them every
+thing she wished to discover, it was her intention to set forward
+forthwith on her journey, but her negresses, who were forming
+tender connections with the Gouls, importuned her with all their
+fingers to wait, at least till the dawn.&nbsp; Carathis, however,
+being chastity in the abstract, and an implacable enemy to love
+and repose, at once <a name="page118"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 118</span>rejected their prayer, mounted
+Alboufaki, and commanded them to take their seats in a
+moment.&nbsp; Four days and four nights she continued her route,
+without turning to the right hand or left; on the fifth she
+traversed the mountains and half-burnt forests, and arrived on
+the sixth before the beautiful screens which concealed from all
+eyes the voluptuous wanderings of her son.</p>
+<p>It was day-break, and the guards were snoring on their posts
+in careless security, when the rough trot of Alboufaki awoke them
+in consternation.&nbsp; Imagining that a group of spectres
+ascended from the abyss was approaching, they all without
+ceremony took to their heels.&nbsp; Vathek was at that instant
+with Nouronihar in the bath, hearing tales and laughing at
+Bababalouk who related them; but no sooner did the outcry of his
+guards reach him, than he flounced from the water like a carp,
+and as soon threw himself back at the sight of Carathis, who
+advancing with her negresses upon Alboufaki, broke through the
+muslin awnings and veils of the pavilion.&nbsp; At this sudden
+apparition Nouronihar (for she was not at all times free from
+remorse) fancied that the moment of celestial vengeance was come,
+and clung about the Caliph in amorous despondence.</p>
+<p>Carathis, still seated on her camel, foamed with indignation
+at the spectacle which obtruded itself on her chaste view.&nbsp;
+She thundered forth without check or mercy:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thou double-headed and four legged monster! <a
+name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 119</span>what means
+all this winding and writhing? art thou not ashamed to be seen
+grasping this limber sapling, in preference to the sceptre of the
+preadimite sultans?&nbsp; Is it then for this paltry doxy that
+thou hast violated the conditions in the parchment of our
+Giaour?&nbsp; Is it on her thou hast lavished thy precious
+moments?&nbsp; Is this the fruit of the knowledge I have taught
+thee?&nbsp; Is this the end of thy journey?&nbsp; Tear thyself
+from the arms of this little simpleton; drown her in the water
+before me, and instantly follow my guidance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the first ebullition of his fury, Vathek resolved to make a
+skeleton of Alboufaki, and to stuff the skins of Carathis and her
+blacks; but the ideas of the Giaour, the palace of Istakar, the
+sabres, and the talismans, flashing before his imagination with
+the simultaneousness of lightning, he became more moderate, and
+said to his mother in a civil but decisive tone:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dread lady, you shall be obeyed; but I will not drown
+Nouronihar; she is sweeter to me than a Myrabolan comfit, and is
+enamoured of carbuncles, especially that of Giamschid, which hath
+also been promised to be conferred upon her; she therefore shall
+go along with us, for I intend to repose with her beneath the
+canopies of Soliman; I can sleep no more without her.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Be it so,&rdquo; replied Carathis alighting, and at the
+same time committing Alboufaki to the charge of her women.</p>
+<p>Nouronihar, who had not yet quitted her hold, <a
+name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 120</span>began to
+take courage, and said with an accent of fondness to the
+Caliph:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dear sovereign of my soul!&nbsp; I will follow thee, if
+it be thy will beyond the Kaf, in the land of the Afrits.&nbsp; I
+will not hesitate to climb for thee the nest of the Simurgh, who,
+this lady excepted, is the most awful of created
+existences.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have here then,&rdquo; subjoined Carathis, &ldquo;a
+girl both of courage and science.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nouronihar had certainly both; but notwithstanding all her
+firmness, she could not help casting back a look of regret upon
+the graces of her little Gulchenrouz, and the days of tenderness
+she had participated with him.&nbsp; She even dropped a few
+tears, which Carathis observed, and inadvertently breathed out
+with a sigh:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas! my gentle cousin, what will become of
+him!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek at this apostrophe knitted up his brows, and Carathis
+enquired what it could mean.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She is preposterously sighing after a stripling with
+languishing eyes and soft hair who loves her,&rdquo; said the
+Caliph.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where is he?&rdquo; asked Carathis.&nbsp; &ldquo;I must
+be acquainted with this pretty child; for,&rdquo; added she,
+lowering her voice, &ldquo;I design before I depart to regain the
+favour of the Giaour.&nbsp; There is nothing so delicious in his
+estimation as the heart of a delicate boy, palpitating with the
+first tumults of love.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek as he came from the bath commanded <a
+name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 121</span>Bababalouk
+to collect the women and other moveables of his harem, embody his
+troops, and hold himself in readiness to march in three days;
+whilst Carathis retired alone to a tent, where the Giaour solaced
+her with encouraging visions; but at length waking, she found at
+her feet Nerkes and Cafour, who informed her by their signs, that
+having led Alboufaki to the borders of a lake, to browse on some
+moss that looked tolerably venomous, they had discovered certain
+blue fishes of the same kind with those in the reservoir on the
+top of the tower.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, ah,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;I will go thither to
+them.&nbsp; These fish are past doubt of a species that by a
+small operation I can render oracular.&nbsp; They may tell me
+where this little Gulchenrouz is, whom I am bent upon
+sacrificing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having thus spoken, she immediately set out with her swarthy
+retinue.</p>
+<p>It being but seldom that time is lost in the accomplishment of
+a wicked enterprise, Carathis and her negresses soon arrived at
+the lake, where, after burning the magical drugs with which they
+were always provided, they, stripping themselves naked, waded to
+their chins, Nerkes and Cafour waving torches around them, and
+Carathis pronouncing her barbarous incantations.&nbsp; The fishes
+with one accord thrust forth their heads from the water, which
+was violently rippled by the flutter of their fins, and at length
+finding themselves constrained by the potency of the charm, they
+opened their piteous mouths, said:</p>
+<p><a name="page122"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+122</span>&ldquo;From gills to tail we are yours; what seek ye to
+know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fishes,&rdquo; answered she, &ldquo;I conjure you by
+your glittering scales, tell me where now is
+Gulchenrouz?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Beyond the rock,&rdquo; replied the shoal in full
+chorus: &ldquo;will this content you? for we do not delight in
+expanding our mouths.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will,&rdquo; returned the princess: &ldquo;I am not
+to learn that you like not long conversations; I will leave you
+therefore to repose, though I had other questions to
+propound.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The instant she had spoken the water became smooth, and the
+fishes at once disappeared.</p>
+<p>Carathis, inflated with the venom of her projects, strode
+hastily over the rock, and found the amiable Gulchenrouz asleep
+in an arbour, whilst the two dwarfs were watching at his side,
+and ruminating their accustomed prayers.&nbsp; These diminutive
+personages possessed the gift of divining whenever an enemy to
+good Mussulmans approached; thus they anticipated the arrival of
+Carathis, who stopping short, said to herself:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How placidly doth he recline his lovely little head!
+how pale and languishing are his looks! it is just the very child
+of my wishes!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The dwarfs interrupted this delectable soliloquy by leaping
+instantly upon her, and scratching her face with their utmost
+zeal.&nbsp; But Nerkes and Cafour betaking themselves to the
+succour of their mistress, pinched the dwarfs so severely in
+return, that they both gave up the ghost, imploring <a
+name="page123"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 123</span>Mahomet to
+inflict his sorest vengeance upon this wicked woman and all her
+household.</p>
+<p>At the noise which this strange conflict occasioned in the
+valley, Gulchenrouz awoke, and bewildered with terror sprung
+impetuously upon an old fig-tree that rose against the acclivity
+of the rocks, from thence gained their summits, and ran for two
+hours without once looking back.&nbsp; At last, exhausted with
+fatigue, he fell as if dead into the arms of a good old Genius,
+whose fondness for the company of children had made it his sole
+occupation to protect them, and who, whilst performing his wonted
+rounds through the air, happening on the cruel Giaour at the
+instant of his growling in the horrible chasm, rescued the fifty
+little victims which the impiety of Vathek had devoted to his
+maw.&nbsp; These the Genius brought up in nests still higher than
+the clouds, and himself fixed his abode in a nest more capacious
+than the rest, from which he had expelled the possessors that had
+built it.</p>
+<p>These inviolable asylums were defended against the Dives and
+the Afrits by waving streamers, on which were inscribed in
+characters of gold that flashed like lightning, the names of Alla
+and the prophet.&nbsp; It was there that Gulchenrouz, who as yet
+remained undeceived with respect to his pretended death, thought
+himself in the mansions of eternal peace.&nbsp; He admitted
+without fear the congratulations of his little friends, who were
+all assembled in the nest of the venerable Genius, and vied with
+each other in kissing his serene forehead and beautiful
+eye-lids.&nbsp; <a name="page124"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+124</span>This he found to be the state congenial to his
+soul&mdash;remote from the inquietudes of earth&mdash;the
+impertinence of harems&mdash;the brutality of eunuchs&mdash;and
+the lubricity of women.&nbsp; In this peaceable society his days,
+months, and years glided on, nor was he less happy than the rest
+of his companions, for the Genius, instead of burdening his
+pupils with perishable riches, and the vain sciences of the
+world, conferred upon them the boon of perpetual childhood.</p>
+<p>Carathis, unaccustomed to the loss of her prey, vented a
+thousand execrations on her negresses for not seizing the child,
+instead of amusing themselves with pinching to death the dwarfs,
+from which they could gain no advantage.&nbsp; She returned into
+the valley murmuring, and finding that her son was not risen from
+the arms of Nouronihar, discharged her ill-humour upon
+both.&nbsp; The idea, however, of departing next day for Istakar,
+and cultivating, through the good offices of the Giaour, an
+intimacy with Eblis himself, at length consoled her chagrin: but
+fate had ordained it otherwise.</p>
+<p>In the evening, as Carathis was conversing with Dilara, who
+through her contrivance had become of the party, and whose taste
+resembled her own, Bababalouk came to acquaint her &ldquo;that
+the sky towards Samarah looked of a fiery red, and seemed to
+portend some alarming disaster.&rdquo;&nbsp; Immediately
+recurring to her astrolabes and instruments of magic, she took
+the altitude of the planets, and discovered by her calculations,
+to her great mortification, that a formidable revolt had taken
+place at Samarah; <a name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+125</span>that Motavakel, availing himself of the disgust which
+was inveterate against his brother had incited commotions amongst
+the populace, made himself master of the palace, and actually
+invested the great tower, to which Morakanabad had retired with a
+handful of the few that still remained faithful to Vathek.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What,&rdquo; exclaimed she, &ldquo;must I lose then my
+tower, my mutes, my negresses, my mummies, and worse than all,
+the laboratory, in which I have spent so many a night, without
+knowing, at least, if my hair-brained son will complete his
+adventure?&nbsp; No! I will not be the dupe!&nbsp; Immediately
+will I speed to support Morakanabad.&nbsp; By my formidable art
+the clouds shall sleet hail-stones in the faces of the
+assailants, and shafts of red-hot iron on their heads.&nbsp; I
+will spring mines of serpents and torpedoes from beneath them,
+and we shall soon see the stand they will make against such an
+explosion!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having thus spoken, Carathis hasted to her son, who was
+tranquilly banqueting with Nouronihar in his superb carnation
+coloured tent.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Glutton that thou art,&rdquo; cried she, &ldquo;were it
+not for me, thou wouldst soon find thyself the commander only of
+pies.&nbsp; Thy faithful subjects have abjured the faith they
+swore to thee.&nbsp; Motavakel thy brother now reigns on the hill
+of pied horses; and had I not some slight resources in the tower,
+would not be easily persuaded to abdicate.&nbsp; But that time
+may not be lost, I shall only add four words: strike tent
+to-night; set forward; and <a name="page126"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 126</span>beware how thou loiterest again by
+the way.&nbsp; Though thou hast forfeited the conditions of the
+parchment, I am not yet without hope; for it cannot be denied
+that thou hast violated to admiration the laws of hospitality by
+seducing the daughter of the emir, after having partaken of his
+bread and his salt.&nbsp; Such a conduct cannot but be delightful
+to the Giaour; and if on thy march thou canst signalize thyself
+by an additional crime, all will still go well, and thou shalt
+enter the palace of Soliman in triumph.&nbsp; Adieu!&nbsp;
+Alboufaki and my negresses are waiting.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph had nothing to offer in reply: he wished his mother
+a prosperous journey, and eat on till he had finished his
+supper.&nbsp; At midnight the camp broke up, amidst the
+flourishing of trumpets and other martial instruments; but loud
+indeed must have been the sound of the tymbals, to overpower the
+blubbering of the emir and his long-beards, who by an excessive
+profusion of tears had so far exhausted the radical moisture,
+that their eyes shrivelled up in their sockets, and their hairs
+dropped off by the roots.&nbsp; Nouronihar, to whom such a
+symphony was painful, did not grieve to get out of hearing.&nbsp;
+She accompanied the Caliph in the imperial litter, where they
+amused themselves with imagining the splendour which was soon to
+surround them.&nbsp; The other women, overcome with dejection,
+were dolefully rocked in their cages, whilst Dilara consoled
+herself with anticipating the joy of <a name="page127"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 127</span>celebrating the rites of fire on the
+stately terraces of Istakar.</p>
+<p>In four days they reached the spacious valley of
+Rocnabad.&nbsp; The season of spring was in all its vigour, and
+the grotesque branches of the almond trees in full blossom
+fantastically chequered the clear blue sky.&nbsp; The earth,
+variegated with hyacinths and jonquils, breathed forth a
+fragrance which diffused through the soul a divine repose.&nbsp;
+Myriads of bees, and scarce fewer of Santons had there taken up
+their abode.&nbsp; On the banks of the stream hives and oratories
+were alternately ranged, and their neatness and whiteness were
+set off by the deep green of the cypresses that spired up amongst
+them.&nbsp; These pious personages amused themselves with
+cultivating little gardens that abounded with flowers and fruits,
+especially musk-melons of the best flavour that Persia could
+boast.&nbsp; Sometimes dispersed over the meadow they entertained
+themselves with feeding peacocks whiter than snow, and turtles
+more blue than the sapphire.&nbsp; In this manner were they
+occupied when the harbingers of the imperial procession began to
+proclaim:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inhabitants of Rocnabad, prostrate yourselves on the
+brink of your pure waters, and tender your thanksgivings to
+heaven that vouchsafeth to shew you a ray of its glory; for lo!
+the commander of the faithful draws near.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The poor Santons, filled with holy energy, having bustled to
+light up wax torches in their oratories, and expand the koran on
+their ebony desks, went <a name="page128"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 128</span>forth to meet the Caliph with
+baskets of honeycomb, dates, and melons.&nbsp; But whilst they
+were advancing in solemn procession and with measured steps, the
+horses, camels, and guards wantoned over their tulips and other
+flowers, and made a terrible havoc amongst them.&nbsp; The
+Santons could not help casting from one eye a look of pity on the
+ravages committing around them, whilst the other was fixed upon
+the Caliph and heaven.&nbsp; Nouronihar, enraptured with the
+scenery of a place which brought back to her remembrance the
+pleasing solitudes where her infancy had passed, entreated Vathek
+to stop, but he, suspecting that each oratory might be deemed by
+the Giaour a distinct habitation, commanded his pioneers to level
+them all.&nbsp; The Santons stood motionless with horror at the
+barbarous mandate, and at last broke out into lamentations, but
+these were uttered with so ill a grace, that Vathek bade his
+eunuchs to kick them from his presence.&nbsp; He then descended
+from the litter with Nouronihar.&nbsp; They sauntered together in
+the meadow, and amused themselves with culling flowers, and
+passing a thousand pleasantries on each other.&nbsp; But the
+bees, who were staunch Mussulmans, thinking it their duty to
+revenge the insult on their dear masters the Santons, assembled
+so zealously to do it with effect, that the Caliph and Nouronihar
+were glad to find their tents prepared to receive them.</p>
+<p>Bababalouk, who in capacity of purveyor, had acquitted himself
+with applause, as to peacocks and turtles, lost no time in
+consigning some dozens to <a name="page129"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 129</span>the spit, and as many more to be
+fricasseed.&nbsp; Whilst they were feasting, laughing, carousing,
+and blaspheming at pleasure on the banquet so liberally
+furnished, the Moullahs, the Sheiks, the Cadis, and Imans of
+Schiraz (who seemed not to have met the Santons) arrived, leading
+by bridles of ribband, inscribed from the koran, a train of asses
+which were loaded with the choicest fruits the country could
+boast.&nbsp; Having presented their offerings to the Caliph, they
+petitioned him to honour their city and mosques with his
+presence.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fancy not,&rdquo; said Vathek, &ldquo;that you can
+detain me.&nbsp; Your presents I condescend to accept, but beg
+you will let me be quiet, for I am not over fond of resisting
+temptation.&nbsp; Retire then.&nbsp; Yet, as it is not decent for
+personages so reverend to return on foot, and as you have not the
+appearance of expert riders, my eunuchs shall tie you on your
+asses with the precaution that your backs be not turned towards
+me, for they understand etiquette.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In this deputation were some high-stomached Sheiks, who taking
+Vathek for a fool, scrupled not to speak their opinion.&nbsp;
+These Bababalouk girded with double cords; and having well
+disciplined their asses with nettles behind, they all started
+with a preternatural alertness, plunging, kicking, and running
+foul of each other in the most ludicrous manner imaginable.</p>
+<p>Nouronihar and the Caliph mutually contended who should most
+enjoy so degrading a sight.&nbsp; They burst out in volleys of
+laughter to see the old men <a name="page130"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 130</span>and their asses fall into the
+stream.&nbsp; The leg of one was fractured, the shoulder of
+another dislocated, the teeth of a third dashed out, and the rest
+suffered still worse.</p>
+<p>Two days more, undisturbed by fresh embassies, having been
+devoted to the pleasures of Rocnabad, the expedition proceeded,
+leaving Schiraz on the right, and verging towards a large plain,
+from whence were discernible on the edge of the horizon the dark
+summits of the mountains of Istakar.</p>
+<p>At this prospect the Caliph and Nouronihar were unable to
+repress their transports.&nbsp; They bounded from their litter to
+the ground, and broke forth into such wild exclamations as amazed
+all within hearing.&nbsp; Interrogating each other, they
+shouted,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are we not approaching the radiant palace of light, or
+gardens more delightful than those of Sheddad?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Infatuated mortals! they thus indulged delusive conjecture,
+unable to fathom the decrees of the Most High!</p>
+<p>The good Genii who had not totally relinquished the
+superintendence of Vathek, repairing to Mahomet in the seventh
+heaven, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Merciful Prophet! stretch forth thy propitious arms
+towards thy vicegerent, who is ready to fall irretrievably into
+the snare which his enemies the Dives have prepared to destroy
+him.&nbsp; The Giaour is awaiting his arrival in the abominable
+palace of fire, where if he once set his foot his perdition will
+be inevitable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page131"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+131</span>Mahomet answered with an air of indignation:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He hath too well deserved to be resigned to himself;
+but I permit you to try if one effort more will be effectual to
+divert him from pursuing his ruin.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>One of these beneficent Genii, assuming without delay the
+exterior of a shepherd, more renowned for his piety than all the
+Dervises and Santons of the region, took his station near a flock
+of white sheep on the slope of a hill, and began to pour forth
+from his flute such airs of pathetic melody, as subdued the very
+soul; and awakening remorse, drove far from it every frivolous
+fancy.&nbsp; At these energetic sounds, the sun hid himself
+beneath a gloomy cloud; and the waters of two little lakes, that
+were naturally clearer than chrystal, became a colour like
+blood.&nbsp; The whole of this superb assembly, was involuntarily
+drawn towards the declivity of the hill.&nbsp; With downcast
+eyes, they all stood abashed; each upbraiding himself with the
+evil he had done.&nbsp; The heart of Dilara palpitated; and the
+chief of the eunuchs, with a sigh of contrition, implored pardon
+of the women, whom, for his own satisfaction, he had so often
+tormented.</p>
+<p>Vathek and Nouronihar turned pale in their litter; and,
+regarding each other with haggard looks, reproached
+themselves&mdash;the one with a thousand of the blackest crimes,
+a thousand projects of impious ambition; the other, with the
+desolation of her family, and the perdition of the amiable
+Gulchenrouz.&nbsp; Nouronihar persuaded herself that she heard <a
+name="page132"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 132</span>in the
+fatal music the groans of her dying father; and Vathek, the sobs
+of the fifty children he had sacrificed to the Giaour.&nbsp;
+Amidst these complicated pangs of anguish, they perceived
+themselves impelled towards the shepherd, whose countenance was
+so commanding, that Vathek, for the first time, felt overawed;
+whilst Nouronihar concealed her face with her hands.&nbsp; The
+music paused, and the Genius, addressing the Caliph, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Deluded Prince! to whom Providence hath confided the
+care of innumerable subjects, is it thus that thou fulfillest thy
+mission?&nbsp; Thy crimes are already completed; and, art thou
+now hastening towards thy punishment?&nbsp; Thou knowest, that
+beyond these mountains, Eblis and his accursed Dives hold their
+infernal empire; and seduced by a malignant phantom, thou art
+proceeding to surrender thyself to them!&nbsp; This moment is the
+last of grace allowed thee!&nbsp; Abandon thy atrocious
+purpose.&nbsp; Return.&nbsp; Give back Nouronihar to her father,
+who still retains a few sparks of life.&nbsp; Destroy thy tower,
+with all its abominations.&nbsp; Drive Carathis from thy
+councils.&nbsp; Be just to thy subjects.&nbsp; Respect the
+ministers of the Prophet.&nbsp; Compensate for thy impieties by
+an exemplary life; and, instead of squandering thy days in
+voluptuous indulgence, lament thy crimes on the sepulchres of thy
+ancestors.&nbsp; Thou beholdest the clouds that obscure the sun;
+at the instant he recovers his splendour, if thy heart be not
+changed, the time of mercy assigned thee will be past for
+ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page133"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+133</span>Vathek, depressed with fear, was on the point of
+prostrating himself at the feet of the shepherd, whom he
+perceived to be of a nature superior to man, but his pride
+prevailing, he audaciously lifted his head, and glancing at him
+one of his terrible looks, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Whoever thou art, withhold thy useless
+admonitions.&nbsp; Thou wouldst either delude me, or art thyself
+deceived.&nbsp; If what I have done be so criminal as thou
+pretendest, there remains not for me a moment of grace.&nbsp; I
+have traversed a sea of blood, to acquire a power which will make
+thy equals tremble; deem not that I shall retire when in view of
+the port; or that I will relinquish her who is dearer to me than
+either my life or thy mercy.&nbsp; Let the sun appear!&nbsp; Let
+him illumine my career!&nbsp; It matters not where it may
+end.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On uttering these words, which made even the Genius shudder,
+Vathek threw himself into the arms of Nouronihar, and commanded
+that his horses should be forced back to the road.</p>
+<p>There was no difficulty in obeying these orders, for the
+attraction had ceased, the sun shone forth in all his glory, and
+the shepherd vanished with a lamentable scream.</p>
+<p>The fatal impression of the music of the Genius remained,
+notwithstanding, in the hearts of Vathek&rsquo;s
+attendants.&nbsp; They viewed each other with looks of
+consternation.&nbsp; At the approach of night, almost all of them
+escaped; and, of this numerous assemblage, there only remained
+the chief of the eunuchs, some <a name="page134"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 134</span>idolatrous slaves, Dilara, and a few
+other women, who, like herself, were votaries of the religion of
+the Magi.</p>
+<p>The Caliph, fired with the ambition of prescribing laws to the
+Intelligences of Darkness, was but little embarrassed at this
+dereliction.&nbsp; The impetuosity of his blood prevented him
+from sleeping; nor did he encamp any more as before.&nbsp;
+Nouronihar, whose impatience, if possible, exceeded his own,
+importuned him to hasten his march, and lavished on him a
+thousand caresses, to beguile all reflection.&nbsp; She fancied
+herself already more potent than Balkis; <a
+name="citation134"></a><a href="#footnote134"
+class="citation">[134]</a> and pictured to her imagination the
+Genii falling prostrate at the foot of her throne.&nbsp; In this
+manner they advanced by moonlight, till they came within view of
+the two towering rocks, that form a kind of portal to the valley,
+at whose extremity rose the vast ruins of Istakar.&nbsp; Aloft on
+the mountain, glimmered the fronts of various royal mausoleums,
+the horror of which was deepened by the shadows of night.&nbsp;
+They passed through two villages, almost deserted; the only
+inhabitants remaining being a few feeble old men, who at the
+sight of horses and litters fell upon their knees, and cried
+out:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O heaven! is it then by these phantoms that we have
+been for six months tormented!&nbsp; Alas! it was from the terror
+of these spectres, and the noise beneath the mountains, that our
+people have fled, and left us at the mercy of maleficent
+spirits!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph, to whom these complaints were but unpromising
+auguries, drove over the bodies of these <a
+name="page135"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 135</span>wretched
+old men, and at length arrived at the foot of the terrace of
+black marble.&nbsp; There he descended from his litter, handing
+down Nouronihar; both, with beating hearts, stared wildly around
+them, and expected, with an apprehensive shudder, the approach of
+the Giaour.&nbsp; But nothing as yet announced his
+appearance.</p>
+<p>A deathlike stillness reigned over the mountain, and through
+the air.&nbsp; The moon dilated, on a vast platform, the shades
+of the lofty columns, which reached from the terrace almost to
+the clouds.&nbsp; The gloomy watch-towers, whose number could not
+be counted, were veiled by no roof: and their capitals, of an
+architecture unknown in the records of the earth, served as an
+asylum for the birds of darkness, which, alarmed at the approach
+of such visitants, fled away croaking.</p>
+<p>The chief of the eunuchs, trembling with fear, besought Vathek
+that a fire might be kindled.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No!&rdquo; replied he, &ldquo;there is no time left to
+think of such trifles; abide where thou art, and expect my
+commands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having thus spoken, he presented his hand to Nouronihar, and
+ascending the steps of a vast staircase, reached the terrace,
+which was flagged with squares of marble, and resembled a smooth
+expanse of water, upon whose surface not a leaf ever dared to
+vegetate.&nbsp; On the right rose the watch-towers, ranged before
+the ruins of an immense palace, whose walls were embossed with
+various figures.&nbsp; In front stood forth the colossal forms of
+<a name="page136"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 136</span>four
+creatures, composed of the leopard and the griffin; and though
+but of stone, inspired emotions of terror.&nbsp; Near these were
+distinguished by the splendour of the moon, which streamed full
+on the place, characters like those on the sabres of the Giaour,
+that possessed the same virtue of changing every moment.&nbsp;
+These, after vacillating for some time, at last fixed in Arabic
+letters, and prescribed to the Caliph the following words:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vathek! thou hast violated the conditions of my
+parchment, and deservest to be sent back; but in favour to thy
+companion, and as the meed for what thou hast done to obtain it,
+Eblis permitteth that the portal of his palace shall be opened,
+and the subterranean fire will receive thee into the number of
+its adorers.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He scarcely had read these words before the mountain, against
+which the terrace was reared, trembled; and the watch-towers were
+ready to topple headlong upon them.&nbsp; The rock yawned, and
+disclosed within it a staircase of polished marble, that seemed
+to approach the abyss.&nbsp; Upon each stair were planted two
+large torches, like those Nouronihar had seen in her vision, the
+camphorated vapour ascending from which gathered into a cloud
+under the hollow of the vault.</p>
+<p>This appearance, instead of terrifying, gave new courage to
+the daughter of Fakreddin.&nbsp; Scarcely deigning to bid adieu
+to the moon and the firmament, she abandoned without hesitation
+the pure atmosphere, to plunge into these infernal
+exhalations.&nbsp;&nbsp; <a name="page137"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 137</span>The gait of those impious personages
+was haughty and determined.&nbsp; As they descended, by the
+effulgence of the torches, they gazed on each other with mutual
+admiration, and both appeared so resplendent, that they already
+esteemed themselves spiritual intelligences.&nbsp; The only
+circumstance that perplexed them, was their not arriving at the
+bottom of the stairs.&nbsp; On hastening their descent, with an
+ardent impetuosity, they felt their steps accelerated to such a
+degree, that they seemed not walking, but falling from a
+precipice.&nbsp; Their progress, however, was at length impeded
+by a vast portal of ebony, which the Caliph without difficulty
+recognized.&nbsp; Here the Giaour awaited them, with the key in
+his hand,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ye are welcome!&rdquo; said he to them, with a ghastly
+smile, &ldquo;in spite of Mahomet, and all his dependents.&nbsp;
+I will now admit you into that palace, where you have so highly
+merited a place.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Whilst he was uttering these words, he touched the enamelled
+lock with his key, and the doors at once expanded with a noise
+still louder than the thunder of mountains, and as suddenly
+recoiled the moment they had entered.</p>
+<p>The Caliph and Nouronihar beheld each other with amazement, at
+finding themselves in a place which, though roofed with a vaulted
+ceiling, was so spacious and lofty, that at first they took it
+for an immeasurable plain.&nbsp; But their eyes at length growing
+to the grandeur of the objects at hand, they extended their view
+to those at a <a name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+138</span>distance, and discovered rows of columns and arcades,
+which gradually diminished, till they terminated in a point,
+radiant as the sun, when he darts his last beams athwart the
+ocean.&nbsp; The pavement, strewed over with gold dust and
+saffron, exhaled so subtile an odour, as almost overpowered
+them.&nbsp; They, however, went on, and observed an infinity of
+censers, in which ambergris and the wood of aloes were
+continually burning.&nbsp; Between the several columns were
+placed tables, each spread with a profusion of viands, and wines
+of every species, sparkling in vases of chrystal.&nbsp; A throng
+of Genii, and other phantastic spirits, of each sex, danced
+lasciviously in troops, at the sound of music which issued from
+beneath.</p>
+<p>In the midst of this immense hall, a vast multitude was
+incessantly passing, who severally kept their right hands on
+their hearts, without once regarding any thing around them.&nbsp;
+They had all the livid paleness of death.&nbsp; Their eyes, deep
+sank in their sockets, resembled those phosphoric meteors, that
+glimmer by night in places of interment.&nbsp; Some stalked
+slowly on, absorbed in profound reverie; some shrieking with
+agony, ran furiously about, like tigers wounded with poisoned
+arrows; whilst others, grinding their teeth in rage, foamed
+along, more frantic than the wildest maniac.&nbsp; They all
+avoided each other, and though surrounded by a multitude that no
+one could number, each wandered at random unheedful of the rest,
+as if alone on a desert which no foot had trodden.</p>
+<p>Vathek and Nouronihar, frozen with terror at a <a
+name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 139</span>sight so
+baleful, demanded of the Giaour what these appearances might
+mean, and why these ambulating spectres never withdrew their
+hands from their hearts.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perplex not yourselves,&rdquo; replied he bluntly,
+&ldquo;with so much at once, you will soon be acquainted with
+all; let us haste and present you to Eblis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They continued their way through the multitude, but
+notwithstanding their confidence at first, they were not
+sufficiently composed to examine with attention the various
+perspectives of halls, and of galleries, that opened on the right
+hand and left, which were all illuminated by torches and
+braziers, whose flames rose in pyramids, to the centre of the
+vault.&nbsp; At length they came to a place where long curtains,
+brocaded with crimson and gold, fell from all parts, in striking
+confusion.&nbsp; Here the choirs and dances were heard no
+longer.&nbsp; The light which glimmered came from afar.</p>
+<p>After some time Vathek and Nouronihar perceived a gleam
+brightening through the drapery, and entered a vast tabernacle,
+carpeted with the skins of leopards.&nbsp; An infinity of elders,
+with streaming beards, and afrits, in complete armour, had
+prostrated themselves before the ascent of a lofty eminence, on
+the top of which, upon a globe of fire, sat the formidable
+Eblis.&nbsp; His person was that of a young man, whose noble and
+regular features seemed to have been tarnished by malignant
+vapours.&nbsp; In his large eyes appeared both pride and despair;
+his flowing hair retained some resemblance to that of <a
+name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 140</span>an angel of
+light.&nbsp; In his hand, which thunder had blasted, he swayed
+the iron sceptre, that causes the monster Ouranabad, <a
+name="citation140"></a><a href="#footnote140"
+class="citation">[140]</a> the afrits, and all the powers of the
+abyss to tremble.&nbsp; At his presence the heart of the Caliph
+sank within him, and, for the first time, he fell prostrate on
+his face.&nbsp; Nouronihar, however, though greatly dismayed,
+could not help admiring the person of Eblis, for she expected to
+have seen some stupendous giant.&nbsp; Eblis, with a voice more
+mild than might be imagined, but such as transfused through the
+soul the deepest melancholy, said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Creatures of clay</span>, I receive
+you into mine empire.&nbsp; Ye are numbered amongst my
+adorers.&nbsp; Enjoy whatever this palace affords&mdash;the
+treasures of the preadimite sultans, their bickering sabres, and
+those talismans that compel the Dives to open the subterranean
+expanses of the mountain of Kaf, which communicate with
+these.&nbsp; There, insatiable as your curiosity may be, shall
+you find sufficient to gratify it.&nbsp; You shall possess the
+exclusive privilege of entering the fortress of Aherman, and the
+halls of Argenk, where are portrayed all creatures endowed with
+intelligence, and the various animals that inhabited the earth
+prior to the creation of that contemptible being, whom ye
+denominate the Father of Mankind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek and Nouronihar feeling themselves revived and
+encouraged by this harangue, eagerly said to the Giaour:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Bring us instantly to the place which contains these
+precious talismans.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+141</span>&ldquo;Come,&rdquo; answered this wicked Dive, with his
+malignant grin, &ldquo;come, and possess all that my sovereign
+hath promised, and more.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He then conducted them into a long aisle adjoining the
+tabernacle, preceding them with hasty steps, and followed by his
+disciples with the utmost alacrity.&nbsp; They reached at length
+a hall of great extent, and covered with a lofty dome, around
+which appeared fifty portals of bronze, secured with as many
+fastenings of iron.&nbsp; A funereal gloom prevailed over the
+whole scene.&nbsp; Here, upon two beds of incorruptible cedar,
+lay recumbent the fleshless forms of the preadimite kings, who
+had been monarchs of the whole earth.&nbsp; They still possessed
+enough of life to be conscious of their deplorable
+condition.&nbsp; Their eyes retained a melancholy motion; they
+regarded each other with looks of the deepest dejection, each
+holding his right hand motionless on his heart.&nbsp; At their
+feet were inscribed the events of their several reigns, their
+power, their pride, and their crimes.&nbsp; Soliman Raad, Soliman
+Daki, and Soliman Di Gian Ben Gian, who, after having chained up
+the Dives in the dark caverns of Kaf, became so presumptuous, as
+to doubt of the Supreme Power.&nbsp; All these maintained great
+state, though not to be compared with the eminence of Soliman Ben
+Daoud.</p>
+<p>This king, so renowned for his wisdom, was on the loftiest
+elevation, and placed immediately under the dome.&nbsp; He
+appeared to possess more animation than the rest, though, from
+time to time, he <a name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+142</span>laboured with profound sighs, and, like his companions,
+kept his right hand on his heart; yet his countenance was more
+composed, and he seemed to be listening to the sullen roar of a
+vast cataract, visible in part through the grated portals.&nbsp;
+This was the only sound that intruded on the silence of these
+doleful mansions.&nbsp; A range of brazen vases surrounded the
+elevation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Remove the covers from these cabalistic
+depositaries,&rdquo; said the Giaour to Vathek, &ldquo;and avail
+thyself of the talismans, which will break asunder all these
+gates of bronze, and not only render thee master of the treasures
+contained within them, but also of the spirits by which they are
+guarded.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph, whom this ominous preliminary had entirely
+disconcerted, approached the vases with faltering footsteps, and
+was ready to sink with terror, when he heard the groans of
+Soliman.&nbsp; As he proceeded, a voice from the livid lips of
+the prophet articulated these words:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In my lifetime, I filled a magnificent throne, having
+on my right hand twelve thousand seats of gold, where the
+patriarchs and prophets heard my doctrines; on my left the sages
+and doctors, upon as many thrones of silver, were present at all
+my decisions.&nbsp; Whilst I thus administered justice to
+innumerable multitudes, the birds of the air librating over me,
+served as a canopy from the rays of the sun.&nbsp; My people
+flourished, and my palace rose to the clouds.&nbsp; I erected a
+temple to the Most High, which was the wonder of the universe;
+but I basely <a name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+143</span>suffered myself to be seduced by the love of women, and
+a curiosity that could not be restrained by sub-lunary
+things.&nbsp; I listened to the counsels of Aherman, and the
+daughter of Pharaoh; and adored fire, and the host of
+heaven.&nbsp; I forsook the holy city, and commanded the Genii to
+rear the stupendous palace of Istakar, and the terrace of the
+watch-towers, each of which was consecrated to a star.&nbsp;
+There for a while I enjoyed myself in the zenith of glory and
+pleasure.&nbsp; Not only men, but supernatural existences were
+subject also to my will.&nbsp; I began to think, as these unhappy
+monarchs around had already thought, that the vengeance of heaven
+was asleep, when at once the thunder burst my structures asunder,
+and precipitated me hither; where, however, I do not remain like
+the other inhabitants totally destitute of hope, for an angel of
+light hath revealed, that in consideration of the piety of my
+early youth, my woes shall come to an end when this cataract
+shall for ever cease to flow.&nbsp; Till then I am in torments,
+ineffable torments, an unrelenting fire preys on my
+heart.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having uttered this exclamation, Soliman raised his hands
+towards heaven, in token of supplication, and the Caliph
+discerned through his bosom, which was transparent as crystal,
+his heart enveloped in flames.&nbsp; At a sight so full of
+horror, Nouronihar fell back like one petrified, into the arms of
+Vathek, who cried out with a convulsive sob:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O Giaour! whither hast thou brought us!&nbsp; <a
+name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 144</span>Allow us to
+depart, and I will relinquish all thou hast promised.&nbsp; O
+Mahomet! remains there no more mercy!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;None! none!&rdquo; replied the malicious Dive.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Know, miserable prince, thou art now in the abode of
+vengeance, and despair.&nbsp; Thy heart, also, will be kindled,
+like those of the other votaries of Eblis.&nbsp; A few days are
+allotted thee previous to this fatal period: employ them as thou
+wilt.&nbsp; Recline on these heaps of gold: command the Infernal
+Potentates: range at thy pleasure through these immense
+subterranean domains.&nbsp; No barrier shall be shut against
+thee.&nbsp; As for me, I have fulfilled my mission.&nbsp; I now
+leave thee to thyself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At these words he vanished.</p>
+<p>The Caliph and Nouronihar remained in the most abject
+affliction.&nbsp; Their tears unable to flow, scarcely could they
+support themselves.&nbsp; At length, taking each other
+despondingly by the hand, they went faltering from this fatal
+hall, indifferent which way they turned their steps.&nbsp; Every
+portal opened at their approach.&nbsp; The Dives fell prostrate
+before them.&nbsp; Every reservoir of riches was disclosed to
+their view, but they no longer felt the incentives of curiosity,
+pride, or avarice.&nbsp; With like apathy they heard the chorus
+of Genii, and saw the stately banquets prepared to regale
+them.&nbsp; They went wandering on from chamber to chamber, hall
+to hall, and gallery to gallery; all without bounds or limit; all
+distinguishable by the same lowering gloom; all adorned with the
+same awful grandeur; all traversed <a name="page145"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 145</span>by persons in search of repose and
+consolation, but who sought them in vain, for every one carried
+within him a heart tormented in flames.&nbsp; Shunned by these
+various sufferers, who seemed by their looks to be upbraiding the
+partners of their guilt, they withdrew from them, to wait in
+direful suspense the moment which should render them to each
+other the like objects of terror.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What,&rdquo; exclaimed Nouronihar, &ldquo;will the time
+come, when I shall snatch my hand from thine!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said Vathek, &ldquo;and shall my eyes ever
+cease to drink from thine long draughts of enjoyment!&nbsp; Shall
+the moments of our reciprocal ecstasies be reflected on with
+horror!&nbsp; It was not thou that broughtest me hither; the
+principles by which Carathis perverted my youth have been the
+sole cause of my perdition!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having given vent to these painful expressions, he called to
+an Afrit, who was stirring up one of the braziers, and bade him
+fetch the Princess Carathis from the palace of Samarah.</p>
+<p>After issuing these orders, the Caliph and Nouronihar
+continued walking amidst the silent crowd, till they heard voices
+at the end of the gallery.&nbsp; Presuming them to proceed from
+some unhappy beings, who like themselves were awaiting their
+final doom, they followed the sound, and found it to come from a
+small square chamber, where they discovered sitting on sofas,
+five young men of goodly figure, and a lovely female, who were
+all holding a <a name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+146</span>melancholy conversation, by the glimmering of a lonely
+lamp.&nbsp; Each had a gloomy and forlorn air, and two of them
+were embracing each other with great tenderness.&nbsp; On seeing
+the Caliph and the daughter of Fakreddin enter they arose,
+saluted, and gave them place.&nbsp; Then he who had appeared the
+most considerable of the group, addressed himself thus to
+Vathek:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Strangers! who doubtless are in the same state of
+suspense as ourselves, as you do not yet bear your hand on your
+heart, if you are come hither to pass the interval allotted
+previous to the infliction of our common punishment, condescend
+to relate the adventures that have brought you to this fatal
+place; and we in return will acquaint you with ours; which
+deserves but too well to be heard.&nbsp; We will trace back our
+crimes to their source, though we are not permitted to
+repent.&nbsp; This is the only employment suited to wretches like
+us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Caliph and Nouronihar assented to the proposal, and Vathek
+began, not without tears and lamentations, a sincere recital of
+every circumstance that had passed.&nbsp; When the afflicting
+narrative was closed, the young man entered on his own.&nbsp;
+Each person proceeded in order, and when the fourth prince had
+reached the midst of his adventures, a sudden noise interrupted
+him, which caused the vault to tremble, and to open.</p>
+<p>Immediately a cloud descended, which gradually dissipating,
+discovered Carathis, on the back of an Afrit, who grievously
+complained of his burden.&nbsp; <a name="page147"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 147</span>She, instantly springing to the
+ground, advanced towards her son, and said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What dost thou here, in this little square
+chamber?&nbsp; As the Dives are become subject to thy beck, I
+expected to have found thee on the throne of the preadimite
+kings.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Execrable woman!&rdquo; answered the Caliph;
+&ldquo;cursed be the day thou gavest me birth!&nbsp; Go! follow
+this Afrit; let him conduct thee to the hall of the Prophet
+Soliman; there thou wilt learn to what these palaces are
+destined, and how much I ought to abhor the impious knowledge
+thou hast taught me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The height of power to which thou art arrived, has
+certainly turned thy brain,&rdquo; answered Carathis; &ldquo;but
+I ask no more, than permission to show my respect for the
+prophet.&nbsp; It is, however, proper thou shouldst know, that,
+as the Afrit has informed me neither of us shall return to
+Samarah, I requested his permission to arrange my affairs, and he
+politely consented.&nbsp; Availing myself, therefore, of the few
+moments allowed me, I set fire to the tower, and consumed in it
+the mutes, negresses, and serpents, which have rendered me so
+much good service; nor should I have been less kind to
+Morakanabad, had he not prevented me, by deserting at last to thy
+brother.&nbsp; As for Bababalouk, who had the folly to return to
+Samarah, and all the good brotherhood to provide husbands for thy
+wives, I undoubtedly would have put them to the torture, could I
+but have allowed them the time.&nbsp; Being, however, in a <a
+name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 148</span>hurry, I
+only hung him, after having caught him in a snare with thy wives;
+whilst them I buried alive by the help of my negresses, who thus
+spent their last moments, greatly to their satisfaction.&nbsp;
+With respect to Dilara, who ever stood high in my favour, she
+hath evinced the greatness of her mind, by fixing herself near,
+in the service of one of the Magi, and, I think, will soon be our
+own.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vathek, too much cast down to express the indignation excited
+by such a discourse, ordered the Afrit to remove Carathis from
+his presence, and continued immersed in thought, which his
+companions durst not disturb.</p>
+<p>Carathis, however, eagerly entered the dome of Soliman, and,
+without regarding in the least the groans of the Prophet,
+undauntedly removed the covers of the vases, and violently seized
+on the talismans.&nbsp; Then, with a voice more loud than had
+hitherto been heard in these mansions, she compelled the Dives to
+disclose to her the most secret treasures, the most profound
+stores, which the Afrit himself had not seen.&nbsp; She passed by
+rapid descents known only to Eblis and his most favoured
+Potentates, and thus penetrated the very entrails of the earth,
+where breathes the Sansar, or icy wind of death.&nbsp; Nothing
+appalled her dauntless soul.&nbsp; She perceived, however, in all
+the inmates who bore their hands on their heart, a little
+singularity not much to her taste.&nbsp; As she was emerging from
+one of the abysses, Eblis stood forth to her view, but,
+notwithstanding he displayed the full effulgence of <a
+name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 149</span>his
+infernal majesty, she preserved her countenance unaltered, and
+even paid her compliments with considerable firmness.</p>
+<p>This superb monarch thus answered:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Princess</span>, whose knowledge
+and whose crimes have merited a conspicuous rank in my empire,
+thou doest well to employ the leisure that remains, for the
+flames and torments which are ready to seize on thy heart, will
+not fail to provide thee with full employment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He said this, and was lost in the curtains of his
+tabernacle.</p>
+<p>Carathis paused for a moment with surprise, but, resolved to
+follow the advice of Eblis, she assembled all the choirs of
+Genii, and all the Dives, to pay her homage.&nbsp; Thus marched
+she in triumph through a vapour of perfumes, amidst the
+acclamations of all the malignant spirits; with most of whom she
+had formed a previous acquaintance.&nbsp; She even attempted to
+dethrone one of the Solimans, for the purpose of usurping his
+place, when a voice, proceeding from the Abyss of Death,
+proclaimed:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">All is
+accomplished</span>!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Instantaneously, the haughty forehead of the intrepid princess
+became corrugated with agony; she uttered a tremendous yell, and
+fixed&mdash;no more to be withdrawn&mdash;her right hand upon her
+heart, which was become a receptacle of eternal fire.</p>
+<p>In this delirium, forgetting all ambitious projects, and her
+thirst for that knowledge which should ever <a
+name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 150</span>be hidden
+from mortals, she overturned the offerings of the Genii; and,
+having execrated the hour she was begotten, and the womb that had
+borne her, glanced off in a whirl that rendered her invisible,
+and continued to revolve without intermission.</p>
+<p>At almost the same instant, the same voice announced to the
+Caliph, Nouronihar, the five princes, and the princess, the awful
+and irrevocable decree.&nbsp; Their hearts immediately took fire,
+and they at once lost the most precious of the gifts of
+heaven&mdash;<span class="smcap">hope</span>.&nbsp; These unhappy
+beings recoiled, with looks of the most furious
+distraction.&nbsp; Vathek beheld in the eyes of Nouronihar
+nothing but rage and vengeance; nor could she discern ought in
+his but aversion and despair.&nbsp; The two princes who were
+friends, and till that moment had preserved their attachment,
+shrunk back, gnashing their teeth with mutual and unchangeable
+hatred.&nbsp; Kalilah and his sister made reciprocal gestures of
+imprecation; whilst the two other princes testified their horror
+for each other by the most ghastly convulsions, and screams that
+could not be smothered.&nbsp; All severally plunged themselves
+into the accursed multitude, there to wander in an eternity of
+unabating anguish.</p>
+<p>Such was, and such should be, the punishment of unrestrained
+passions, and atrocious actions.&nbsp; Such is, and such should
+be, the chastisement of blind ambition, that would transgress
+those bounds which the Creator hath prescribed to human
+knowledge, and by aiming at discoveries reserved for pure
+intelligence, acquire that infatuated pride, which <a
+name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 151</span>perceives
+not the condition appointed to man is, <span class="smcap">to be
+ignorant and humble</span>.</p>
+<p>Thus the <span class="smcap">Caliph Vathek</span> who, for the
+sake of empty pomp and forbidden power, hath sullied himself with
+a thousand crimes, became a prey to grief without end, and
+remorse without mitigation; whilst the humble and despised <span
+class="smcap">Gulchenrouz</span> passed whole ages in undisturbed
+tranquillity, and the pure happiness of childhood.</p>
+<h2><a name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+153</span>NOTES.</h2>
+<p><a name="footnote7a"></a><a href="#citation7a"
+class="footnote">[7a]</a>&nbsp; <i>Caliph</i>.&nbsp; This title
+amongst the Mahometans comprehends the concrete character of
+prophet, priest, and king; and is used to signify <i>the Vicar of
+God on earth</i>.&mdash;Habesci&rsquo;s State of the Ottoman
+Empire, p. 9.&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 985.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote7b"></a><a href="#citation7b"
+class="footnote">[7b]</a>&nbsp; <i>One of his eyes became so
+terrible</i>.&nbsp; The author of Nighiaristan hath preserved a
+fact that supports this account; and there is no history of
+Vathek, in which his <i>terrible eye</i> is not mentioned.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote8a"></a><a href="#citation8a"
+class="footnote">[8a]</a>&nbsp; <i>Omar Ben Abdalaziz</i>.&nbsp;
+This Caliph was eminent above all others for temperance and
+self-denial; insomuch, that he is <a name="page154"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 154</span>believed to have been raised to
+Mahomet&rsquo;s bosom, as a reward for his abstinence in an age
+of corruption.&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 690.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote8b"></a><a href="#citation8b"
+class="footnote">[8b]</a>&nbsp; <i>Samarah</i>.&nbsp; A city of
+the Babylonian Irak, supposed to have stood on the site where
+Nimrod erected his tower.&nbsp; Khondemir relates, in his life of
+Motassem, that this prince, to terminate the disputes which were
+perpetually happening between the inhabitants of Bagdat and his
+Turkish slaves, withdrew from thence; and, having fixed on a
+situation in the plain of Catoul, there founded Samarah.&nbsp; He
+is said to have had in the stables of this city a hundred and
+thirty thousand pied horses; each of which carried, by his order,
+a sack of earth to a place he had chosen.&nbsp; By this
+accumulation, an elevation was formed that commanded a view of
+all Samarah, and served for the foundation of his magnificent
+palace.&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 752, 808, 985.&nbsp; Anecdotes Arabes,
+p. 413.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote9"></a><a href="#citation9"
+class="footnote">[9]</a>&nbsp; <i>Houris</i>.&nbsp; The Virgins
+of Paradise, called, from their large black eyes, <i>Hur al
+oyun</i>.&nbsp; An intercourse with these, according to the
+institution of Mahomet, is to constitute the principal felicity
+of the faithful.&nbsp; Not formed of clay, like mortal women,
+they are deemed in the highest degree beautiful, and exempt from
+<a name="page155"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 155</span>every
+inconvenience incident to the sex.&nbsp; Al Koran; passim.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10"
+class="footnote">[10]</a>&nbsp; <i>Genii</i>.&nbsp; Genn or Ginn,
+in the Arabic, signifies a Genius or Demon&mdash;a being of a
+higher order, and formed of more subtile matter than man.&nbsp;
+According to Oriental mythology, the Genii governed the world
+long before the creation of Adam.&nbsp; The Mahometans regarded
+them as an intermediate race between angels and men, and capable
+of salvation: whence Mahomet pretended a commission to convert
+them.&nbsp; Consonant to this, we read that, &ldquo;When the
+servant of God stood up to invoke him, it wanted little but that
+the Genii had pressed on him in crowds, to hear him rehearse the
+Koran.&rdquo;&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 357.&nbsp; Al Koran ch. 72.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote23"></a><a href="#citation23"
+class="footnote">[23]</a>&nbsp; <i>Accursed Giaour</i>.&nbsp;
+Dives of this kind are frequently mentioned by Eastern
+writers.&nbsp; Consult their tales in general, and especially
+those of &ldquo;The Fisherman,&rdquo; &ldquo;Aladdin,&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;The Princess of China.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote26a"></a><a href="#citation26a"
+class="footnote">[26a]</a>&nbsp; <i>Bababalouk</i>, <i>the Chief
+of his Eunuchs</i>.&nbsp; As it was the employment of the black
+eunuchs to wait upon, and guard the sultanas, to the general <a
+name="page156"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+156</span>superintendence of the Harem was particularly committed
+to their chief.&nbsp; Habesci&rsquo;s State of the Ottoman
+Empire, p. 155&ndash;6.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote26b"></a><a href="#citation26b"
+class="footnote">[26b]</a>&nbsp; <i>The Divan</i>.&nbsp; This was
+both the supreme council, and court of justice, at which the
+Caliphs of the race of the Abassides assisted in person to
+redress the injuries of every appellant.&nbsp; Herbelot, p.
+298.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote27"></a><a href="#citation27"
+class="footnote">[27]</a>&nbsp; <i>The Prime Vizier</i>.&nbsp;
+Vazir, Vezir, or as we express it, Vizier, literally signifies a
+porter; and by metaphor, the minister who bears the principal
+burden of the state.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote50"></a><a href="#citation50"
+class="footnote">[50]</a>&nbsp; <i>Gian Ben Gian</i>.&nbsp; By
+this appellation was distinguished the monarch of that species of
+beings, whom the Arabians denominate <i>Gian</i> or <i>Ginn</i>,
+that is, <i>Genii</i>; and the Tarik Thabari, <i>Peres</i>,
+<i>Feez</i>, or <i>Faeries</i>.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote51"></a><a href="#citation51"
+class="footnote">[51]</a>&nbsp; <i>Rocnabad</i>.&nbsp; The stream
+thus denominated flows near the city of Schiraz.&nbsp; Its waters
+are uncommonly pure and limpid, and their banks swarded with the
+finest verdure.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote53"></a><a href="#citation53"
+class="footnote">[53]</a>&nbsp; <a name="page157"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 157</span><i>Moullahs</i>.&nbsp; Those among
+the Mahometans who were bred to the law had this title; and from
+their order the judges of cities and provinces were taken.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote55"></a><a href="#citation55"
+class="footnote">[55]</a>&nbsp; <i>Bababalouk almost sunk with
+confusion</i>, <i>whilst</i>, <i>etc.</i>&nbsp; The heinousness
+of Vathek&rsquo;s profanation can only be judged of by an
+orthodox Mussulman; or one who recollects the ablution and prayer
+indispensably required on the exoneration of nature.&nbsp;
+Sale&rsquo;s Prelim. Disc. p. 139.&nbsp; Al Koran, ch. 4.&nbsp;
+Habesci&rsquo;s State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 93.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote67a"></a><a href="#citation67a"
+class="footnote">[67a]</a>&nbsp; <i>Horrible Kaf</i>.&nbsp; This
+mountain, which in reality is no other than Caucasus, was
+supposed to surround the earth, like a ring encompassing a
+finger.&nbsp; The sun was believed to rise from one of its
+eminences (as over Octa, by the Latin poets) and to set on the
+opposite; whence &ldquo;from Kaf to Kaf,&rdquo; signified from
+one extremity of the earth to the other.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote67b"></a><a href="#citation67b"
+class="footnote">[67b]</a>&nbsp; <i>The Simurgh</i>.&nbsp; This
+is that wonderful bird of the East concerning which so many
+marvels are told.&nbsp; It was not <a name="page158"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 158</span>only endowed with reason, but
+possessed also the knowledge of every language.&nbsp; This
+creature relates of itself, that it had seen the great revolution
+of seven thousand years, twelve times, commence and close; and,
+that in its duration, the world had been seven times void of
+inhabitants, and as often replenished.&nbsp; The Simurgh is
+represented as a great friend to the race of Adam, and not less
+inimical to the Dives.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote67c"></a><a href="#citation67c"
+class="footnote">[67c]</a>&nbsp; <i>Afrits</i>.&nbsp; These were
+a kind of Medusa, or Lamia, supposed to be the most terrible and
+cruel of all the orders of the Dives.&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 66.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote68"></a><a href="#citation68"
+class="footnote">[68]</a>&nbsp; <i>Deggial</i>.&nbsp; This word
+signifies properly a liar and imposter, but is applied by
+Mahometan writers to their Antichrist.&nbsp; He is described as
+having but one eye and eyebrow, and on his forehead the radicals
+of <i>cafer</i>, or infidel, are said to be impressed.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote79a"></a><a href="#citation79a"
+class="footnote">[79a]</a>&nbsp; <i>Calenders</i>.&nbsp; These
+were a sort of men amongst the Mahometans who abandoned father
+and mother, wife and children, relations and possessions, to
+wander through the world, under a pretence of religion, entirely
+subsisting on the fortuitous bounty of those they had the address
+to dupe.&nbsp; Herbelot, Suppl. p. 204.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote79b"></a><a href="#citation79b"
+class="footnote">[79b]</a>&nbsp; <a name="page159"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 159</span><i>Santons</i>.&nbsp; A body of
+religionists who were also called <i>Abdals</i>, and pretended to
+be inspired with the most enthusiastic raptures of divine
+love.&nbsp; They were regarded by the vulgar as saints.&nbsp;
+Olearius, Tom. I. p. 971.&nbsp; Herbelot, p. 5.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote79c"></a><a href="#citation79c"
+class="footnote">[79c]</a>&nbsp; <i>Dervises</i>.&nbsp; The term
+<i>dervise</i> signifies a poor man, and is the general
+appellation by which a religious sect amongst the Mahometans is
+named.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote79d"></a><a href="#citation79d"
+class="footnote">[79d]</a>&nbsp; <i>Brahmins</i>.&nbsp; These
+constituted the principal caste of the Indians, according to
+whose doctrines Brahma, from whom they are called, is the first
+of the three created beings by whom the world was made.&nbsp;
+This Brahma is said to have communicated to the Indians four
+books, in which all the sciences and ceremonies of their religion
+are comprised.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote79e"></a><a href="#citation79e"
+class="footnote">[79e]</a>&nbsp; <i>Faquirs</i>.&nbsp; This sect
+were a kind of religious anchorites, who spent their whole lives
+in the severest austerities and mortification.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote82"></a><a href="#citation82"
+class="footnote">[82]</a>&nbsp; <a name="page160"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 160</span><i>Peries</i>.&nbsp; The word Peri,
+in the Persian language, signifies that beautiful race of
+creatures which constitutes the link between angels and men.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote134"></a><a href="#citation134"
+class="footnote">[134]</a>&nbsp; <i>Balkis</i>.&nbsp; This was
+the Arabian name of the Queen of Sheba, who went from the South
+to hear the wisdom and admire the glory of Solomon.&nbsp; The
+Koran represents her as a worshipper of fire.&nbsp; Solomon is
+said not only to have entertained her with the greatest
+magnificence, but also to have raised her to his bed and his
+throne.&nbsp; Al Koran, ch. 27, and Sale&rsquo;s notes.&nbsp;
+Herbelot, p. 182.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote140"></a><a href="#citation140"
+class="footnote">[140]</a>&nbsp; <i>Ouranabad</i>.&nbsp; This
+monster is represented as a fierce flying hydra, and belongs to
+the same class with the <i>Rakshe</i>, whose ordinary food was
+serpents and dragons; the <i>Soham</i>, which had the head of a
+horse, with four eyes, and the body of a flame-coloured dragon;
+the <i>Syl</i>, a basilisk with a face resembling the human, but
+so tremendous that no mortal could bear to behold it; the
+<i>Ejder</i>, and others.&nbsp; See these respective titles in
+Richardson&rsquo;s Dictionary, Persian, Arabic and English.</p>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VATHEK***</p>
+<pre>
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