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diff --git a/old/gm11v10.txt b/old/gm11v10.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cecd73a..0000000 --- a/old/gm11v10.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9998 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat by Meredith, Entire -#11 in our series by George Meredith - -Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the -copyright laws for your country before distributing this or any other -Project Gutenberg file. - -We encourage you to keep this file, exactly as it is, on your -own disk, thereby keeping an electronic path open for future -readers. Please do not remove this. - -This header should be the first thing seen when anyone starts to -view the etext. 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Hart -and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] -[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales -of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or -software or any other related product without express permission.] - -*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.10/04/01*END* - - - - - -This etext was produced by Pat Castevans <Patcat@ctnet.net> -and David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -By George Meredith - - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - -1898/1909 - - - - -CONTENTS: - -THE THWACKINGS -THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL -THE BETROTHAL -PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE BUILDER -THE GENIE KARAZ -THE WELL OF PARAVID -THE HORSE GARRAVEEN -THE TALKING HAWK -GOORELKA OF OOLB -THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA -STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE PRINCESS OF OOLB -THE WILES OF RABESQURAT -THE PALACE OF AKLIS -THE SONS OF AKLIS -THE SWORD OF AKLIS -KOOROOKH -THE VEILED FIGURE -THE BOSOM OF NOORNA -THE REVIVAL -THE PLOT -THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN -THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL -THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE -CONCLUSION - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - - -BOOK I. - -THE THWACKINGS -THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - - -THE THWACKINGS - -It was ordained that Shibli Bagarag, nephew to the renowned Baba -Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia, should shave Shagpat, the -son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and they had -been clothiers for generations, even to the time of Shagpat, the -illustrious. - -Now, the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the -subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, -and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he -released, and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and -bottled by her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of -men and traced in their corner-robes? As the poet says: - - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale, - But 'tis of the sort that can never grow stale. - -Now, things were in that condition with Shibli Bagarag, that on a certain -day he was hungry and abject, and the city of Shagpat the clothier was -before him; so he made toward it, deliberating as to how he should -procure a meal, for he had not a dirhem in his girdle, and the -remembrance of great dishes and savoury ingredients were to him as the -illusion of rivers sheening on the sands to travellers gasping with -thirst. - -And he considered his case, crying, 'Surely this comes of wandering, and -'tis the curse of the inquiring spirit! for in Shiraz, where my craft is -in favour, I should be sitting now with my uncle, Baba Mustapha, the -loquacious one, cross-legged, partaking of seasoned sweet dishes, dipping -my fingers in them, rejoicing my soul with scandal of the Court!' - -Now, he came to a knoll of sand under a palm, from which the yellow domes -and mosques of the city of Shagpat, and its black cypresses, and marble -palace fronts, and shining pillars, and lofty carven arches that spanned -half-circles of the hot grey sky, were plainly visible. Then gazed he -awhile despondingly on the city of Shagpat, and groaned in contemplation -of his evil plight, as is said by the poet: - - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - As the sun casteth shade, night showeth star, - We, measuring what we were by what we are, - Behold the depth to which we are undone. - -Wherefore he counselleth: - - Look neither too much up, nor down at all, - But, forward stepping, strive no more to fall. - -And the advice is excellent; but, as is again said: - - The preacher preacheth, and the hearer heareth, - But comfort first each function requireth. - -And 'wisdom to a hungry stomach is thin pottage,' saith the shrewd reader -of men. Little comfort was there with Shibli Bagarag, as he looked on -the city of Shagpat the clothier! He cried aloud that his evil chance -had got the better of him, and rolled his body in the sand, beating his -breast, and conjuring up images of the profusion of dainties and the -abundance of provision in Shiraz, exclaiming, 'Well-a-way and woe's me! -this it is to be selected for the diversion of him that plotteth against -man.' Truly is it written: - - On different heads misfortunes come: - One bears them firm, another faints, - While this one hangs them like a drum - Whereon to batter loud complaints. - -And of the three kinds, they who bang the drum outnumber the silent ones -as do the billows of the sea the ships that swim, or the grains of sand -the trees that grow; a noisy multitude. - -Now, he was in the pits of despondency, even as one that yieldeth without -further struggle to the waves of tempest at midnight, when he was ware of -one standing over him,--a woman, old, wrinkled, a very crone, with but -room for the drawing of a thread between her nose and her chin; she was, -as is cited of them who betray the doings of Time, - - Wrinkled at the rind, and overripe at the core, - -and every part of her nodded and shook like a tree sapped by the waters, -and her joints were sharp as the hind-legs of a grasshopper; she was -indeed one close-wrecked upon the rocks of Time. - -Now, when the old woman had scanned Shibli Bagarag, she called to him, 'O -thou! what is it with thee, that thou rollest as one reft of his wits?' - -He answered her, 'I bewail my condition, which is beggary, and the lack -of that which filleth with pleasantness.' - -So the old woman said, 'Tell me thy case.' - -He answered her, 'O old woman, surely it was written at my birth that I -should take ruin from the readers of planets. Now, they proclaimed that -I was one day destined for great things, if I stood by my tackle, I, a -barber. Know then, that I have had many offers and bribes, seductive -ones, from the rich and the exalted in rank; and I heeded them not, -mindful of what was foretold of me. I stood by my tackle as a warrior -standeth by his arms, flourishing them. Now, when I found great things -came not to me, and 'twas the continuance of sameness and satiety with -Baba Mustapha, my uncle, in Shiraz,--the tongue-wagger, the endless -tattler,--surely I was advised by the words of the poet to go forth in -search of what was wanting, and he says: - - "Thou that dreamest an Event, - While Circumstance is but a waste of sand, - Arise, take up thy fortunes in thy hand, - And daily forward pitch thy tent." - -Now, I passed from city to city, proclaiming my science, holding aloft my -tackle. Wullahy! many adventures were mine, and if there's some day -propitiousness in fortune, O old woman, I'll tell thee of what befell me -in the kingdom of Shah Shamshureen: 'tis wondrous, a matter to draw down -the lower jaw with amazement! Now, so it was, that in the eyes of one -city I was honoured and in request, by reason of my calling, and I fared -sumptuously, even as a great officer of state surrounded by slaves, -lounging upon clouds of silk stuffs, circled by attentive ears: in -another city there was no beast so base as I. Wah! I was one hunted of -men and an abomination; no housing for me, nought to operate upon. I was -the lean dog that lieth in wait for offal. It seemeth certain, O old -woman, that a curse hath fallen on barbercraft in these days, because of -the Identical, whose might I know not. Everywhere it is growing in -disrepute; 'tis languishing! Nevertheless till now I have preserved my -tackle, and I would descend on yonder city to exercise it, even for a -livelihood, forgetting awhile great things, but that I dread men may have -changed there also,--and there's no stability in them, I call Allah -(whose name be praised!) to witness; so should I be a thing unsightly, -subject to hateful castigation; wherefore is it that I am in that state -described by the poet, when, - - "Dreading retreat, dreading advance to make, - Round we revolve, like to the wounded snake." - -Is not my case now a piteous one, one that toucheth the tender corner in -man and woman?' - -When she that listened had heard him to an end, she shook her garments, -crying, 'O youth, son of my uncle, be comforted! for, if it is as I -think, the readers of planets were right, and thou art thus early within -reach of great things--nigh grasping them.' - -Then she fell to mumbling and reciting jigs of verse, quaint measures; -and she pored along the sand to where a line had been drawn, and saw that -the footprints of the youth were traced along it. Lo, at that sight she -clapped her hands joyfully, and ran up to the youth, and peered in his -face, exclaiming, 'Great things indeed! and praise thou the readers of -planets, O nephew of the barber, they that sent thee searching the Event -thou art to master. Wullahy! have I not half a mind to call thee already -Master of the Event?' - -Then she abated somewhat in her liveliness, and said to him, 'Know that -the city thou seest is the city of Shagpat, the clothier, and there's no -one living on the face of earth, nor a soul that requireth thy craft more -than he. Go therefore thou, bold of heart, brisk, full of the -sprightliness of the barber, and enter to him. Lo, thou'lt see him -lolling in his shop-front to be admired of this people--marvelled at. -Oh! no mistaking of Shagpat, and the mole might discern Shagpat among -myriads of our kind; and enter thou to him gaily, as to perform a -friendly office, one meriting thanks and gratulations, saying, ''I will -preserve thee the Identical!'' Now he'll at first feign not to understand -thee, dense of wit that he is! but mince not matters with him, perform -well thy operation, and thou wilt come to great things. What say I? 'tis -certain that when thou hast shaved Shagpat thou wilt have achieved the -greatest of things, and be most noteworthy of thy race, thou, Shibli -Bagarag, even thou! and thou wilt be Master of the Event, so named in -anecdotes and histories and records, to all succeeding generations.' - -At her words the breast of Shibli Bagarag took in a great wind, and he -hung his head a moment to ponder them; and he thought, 'There's -provokingness in the speech of this old woman, and she's one that -instigateth keenly. She called me by my name! Heard I that? 'Tis a -mystery!' And he thought, 'Peradventure she is a Genie, one of an ill -tribe, and she's luring me to my perdition in this city! How if that be -so?' And again he thought, 'It cannot be! She's probably the Genie that -presided over my birth, and promised me dower of great things through the -mouths of the readers of planets.' - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had so deliberated, he lifted his sight, and lo, -the old woman was no longer before him! He stared, and rubbed his eyes, -but she was clean gone. Then ran he to the knolls and eminences that -were scattered about, to command a view, but she was nowhere visible. So -he thought, ''Twas a dream!' and he was composing himself to despair upon -the scant herbage of one of those knolls, when as he chanced to gaze down -the city below, he saw there a commotion and a crowd of people flocking -one way; he thought, ''Twas surely no dream? come not Genii, and go they -not, in the fashion of that old woman? I'll even descend on yonder city, -and try my tackle on Shagpat, inquiring for him, and if he is there, I -shall know I have had to do with a potent spirit. Allah protect me!' - -So, having shut together the clasps of resolve, he arose and made for the -gates of the city, and entered it by the principal entrance. It was a -fair city, the fairest and chief of that country; prosperous, powerful; a -mart for numerous commodities, handicrafts, wares; round it a wild -country and a waste of sand, ruled by the lion in his wrath, and in it -the tiger, the camelopard, the antelope, and other animals. Hither, in -caravans, came the people of Oolb and the people of Damascus, and the -people of Vatz, and they of Bagdad, and the Ringheez, great traders, and -others, trading; and there was constant flow of intercourse between them -and the city of Shagpat. Now as Shibli Bagarag paced up one of the -streets of the city, he beheld a multitude in procession following one -that was crowned after the manner of kings, with a glittering crown, clad -in the yellow girdled robes, and he sporting a fine profusion of hair, -unequalled by all around him, save by one that was a little behind, -shadowed by his presence. So Shibli Bagarag thought, 'Is one of this -twain Shagpat? for never till now have I seen such rare growths, and -'twere indeed a bliss to slip the blade between them and those masses of -darkness that hang from them.' Then he stepped before the King, and made -himself prominent in his path, humbling himself; and it was as he -anticipated, the King prevented his removal by the slaves that would have -dragged him away, and desired a hearing as to his business, and what -brought him to the city, a stranger. - -Thereupon Shibli Bagarag prostrated himself and cried, 'O great King, -Sovereign of the Time! surely I am one to be looked on with the eye of -grace; and I am nephew to Baba Mustapha, renowned in Shiraz, a barber;--I -a barber, and it is my prayer, O King of the Age, that thou take me under -thy protection and the shield of thy fair will, while I perform good work -in this city by operating on the unshorn.' - -When he had spoken, the King made a point of his eyebrows, and exclaimed, -'Shiraz? So they hold out against Shagpat yet, aha? Shiraz! that nest -of them! that reptile's nest!' Then he turned to his Vizier beside him, -and said, 'What shall be done with this fellow?' - -So the Vizier replied, ''Twere well, O King, he be summoned to a sense of -the loathsomeness of his craft by the agency of fifty stripes.' - -The King said, ''Tis commanded!' - -Then he passed forward in his majesty, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him, and he was hurried at a quick pace through -the streets and before the eyes of the people, even to the common -receptacle of felons, and there received from each slave severally ten -thwacks with a thong: 'tis certain that at every thwack the thong took an -airing before it descended upon him. Then loosed they him, to wander -whither he listed; and disgust was strong in him by reason of the -disgrace and the severity of the administration of the blows. He strayed -along the streets in wretchedness, and hunger increased on him, assailing -him first as a wolf in his vitals, then as it had been a chasm yawning -betwixt his trunk and his lower members. And he thought, 'I have been -long in chase of great things, and the hope of attaining them is great; -yet, wullahy! would I barter all for one refreshing meal, and the sense -of fulness. 'Tis so, and sad is it!' And he was mindful of the poet's -words,-- - - Who seeks the shadow to the substance sinneth, - And daily craving what is not, he thinneth: - His lean ambition how shall he attain? - For with this constant foolishness he doeth, - He, waxing liker to what he pursueth, - Himself becometh what he chased in vain! - -And again: - - Of honour half my fellows boast,-- - A thing that scorns and kills us: - Methinks that honours us the most - Which nourishes and fills us. - -So he thought he would of a surety fling far away his tackle, discard -barbercraft, and be as other men, a mortal, forgotten with his -generation. And he cried aloud, 'O thou old woman! thou deceiver! what -halt thou obtained for me by thy deceits? and why put I faith in thee to -the purchase of a thwacking? Woe's me! I would thou hadst been but a -dream, thou crone! thou guileful parcel of belabouring bones!' - -Now, while he lounged and strolled, and was abusing the old woman, he -looked before him, and lo, one lolling in his shop-front, and people -standing outside the shop, marking him with admiration and reverence, and -pointing him out to each other with approving gestures. He who lolled -there was indeed a miracle of hairiness, black with hair as he had been -muzzled with it, and his head as it were a berry in a bush by reason of -it. Then thought Shibli Bagarag, ''Tis Shagpat! If the mole could swear -to him, surely can I.' So he regarded the clothier, and there was naught -seen on earth like the gravity of Shagpat as he lolled before those -people, that failed not to assemble in groups and gaze at him. He was as -a sleepy lion cased in his mane; as an owl drowsy in the daylight. Now -would he close an eye, or move two fingers, but of other motion made he -none, yet the people gazed at him with eagerness. Shibli Bagarag was -astonished at them, thinking, 'Hair! hair! There is might in hair; but -there is greater might in the barber! Nevertheless here the barber is -scorned, the grower of crops held in amazing reverence.' Then thought -he, ''Tis truly wondrous the crop he groweth; not even King Shamshureen, -after a thousand years, sported such mighty profusion! Him I sheared: it -was a high task!--why not this Shagpat?' - -Now, long gazing on Shagpat awoke in Shibli Bagarag fierce desire to -shear him, and it was scarce in his power to restrain himself from flying -at the clothier, he saying, 'What obstacle now? what protecteth him? -Nay, why not trust to the old woman? Said she not I should first essay -on Shagpat? and 'twas my folly in appealing to the King that brought on -me that thwacking. 'Tis well! I'll trust to her words. Wullahy! will -it not lead me to great things?' - -So it was, that as he thought this he continued to keep eye on Shagpat, -and the hunger that was in him passed, and became a ravenous vulture that -flew from him and singled forth Shagpat as prey; and there was no help -for it but in he must go and state his case to Shagpat, and essay -shearing him. - -Now, when he was in the presence, he exclaimed, 'Peace, O vendor of -apparel, unto thee and unto thine!' - -Shagpat answered, 'That with thee!' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'I have heard of thee, O thou wonder! Wullahy! I -am here to render homage to that I behold.' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis well!' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'Praise my discretion! I have even this day -entered the city, and it is to thee I offer the first shave, O tangle of -glory!' - -At these words Shagpat darkened, saying gruffly, 'Thy jest is offensive, -and it is unseasonable for staleness and lack of holiness.' - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'No jest, O purveyor to the outward of us! but -a very excellent earnest.' - -Thereat the face of Shagpat was as an exceeding red berry in a bush, and -he said angrily, 'Have done! no more of it! or haply my spleen will be -awakened, and that of them who see with more eyes than two.' - -Nevertheless Shibli Bagarag urged him, and he winked, and gesticulated, -and pointed to his head, crying, 'Fall not, O man of the nicety of -measure, into the trap of error; for 'tis I that am a barber, and a -rarity in this city, even Shibli Bagarag of Shiraz! Know me nephew of -the renowned Baba Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia. -Languishest thou not for my art? Lo! with three sweeps I'll give thee a -clean poll, all save the Identical! and I can discern and save it; fear -me not, nor distrust my skill and the cunning that is mine.' - -When he had heard Shibli Bagarag to a close, the countenance of Shagpat -waxed fiery, as it had been flame kindled by travellers at night in a -thorny bramble-bush, and he ruffled, and heaved, and was as when dense -jungle-growths are stirred violently by the near approach of a wild -animal in his fury, shouting in short breaths, 'A barber! a barber! Is't -so? can it be? To me? A barber! O thou, thou reptile! filthy thing! -A barber! O dog! A barber? What? when I bid fair for the highest -honours known? O sacrilegious wretch! monster! How? are the Afrites -jealous, that they send thee to jibe me?' - -Thereupon he set up a cry for his wife, and that woman rushed to him from -an inner room, and fell upon Shibli Bagarag, belabouring him. - -So, when she was weary of this, she said, 'O light of my eyes! O golden -crop and adorable man! what hath he done to thee?' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis a barber! and he hath sworn to shave me, and leave -me not save shorn!' - -Hardly had Shagpat spoken this, when she became limp with the hearing of -it. Then Shibli Bagarag slunk from the shop; but without the crowd had -increased, seeing an altercation, and as he took to his heels they -followed him, and there was uproar in the streets of the city and in the -air above them, as of raging Genii, he like a started quarry doubling -this way and that, and at the corners of streets and open places, -speeding on till there was no breath in his body, the cry still after him -that he had bearded Shagpat. At last they came up with him, and -belaboured him each and all; it was a storm of thwacks that fell on the -back of Shibli Bagarag. When they had wearied themselves in this -fashion, they took him as had he been a stray bundle or a damaged bale, -and hurled him from the gates of the city into the wilderness once more. - -Now, when he was alone, he staggered awhile and then flung himself to the -earth, looking neither to the right nor to the left, nor above. All he -could think was, 'O accursed old woman!' and this he kept repeating to -himself for solace; as the poet says: - - 'Tis sure the special privilege of hate, - To curse the authors of our evil state. - -As he was thus complaining, behold the very old woman before him! And -she wheezed, and croaked, and coughed, and shook herself, and screwed her -face into a pleasing pucker, and assumed womanish airs, and swayed -herself, like as do the full moons of the harem when the eye of the -master is upon them. Having made an end of these prettinesses, she said, -in a tone of soft insinuation, 'O youth, nephew of the barber, look upon -me.' - -Shibli Bagarag knew her voice, and he would not look, thinking, 'Oh, what -a dreadful old woman is this! just calling on her name in detestation -maketh her present to us.' So the old woman, seeing him resolute to shun -her, leaned to him, and put one hand to her dress, and squatted beside -him, and said, 'O youth, thou hast been thwacked!' - -He groaned, lifting not his face, nor saying aught. Then said she, 'Art -thou truly in search of great things, O youth?' - -Still he groaned, answering no syllable. And she continued, ''Tis surely -in sweet friendliness I ask. Art thou not a fair youth, one to entice a -damsel to perfect friendliness?' - -Louder yet did he groan at her words, thinking, 'A damsel, verily!' So -the old woman said, 'I wot thou art angry with me; but now look up, O -nephew of the barber! no time for vexation. What says the poet?-- - - "Cares the warrior for his wounds - When the steed in battle bounds?" - -Moreover: - - "Let him who grasps the crown strip not for shame, - Lest he expose what gain'd it blow and maim!" - -So be it with thee and thy thwacking, O foolish youth! Hide it from -thyself, thou silly one! What! thou hast been thwacked, and refusest the -fruit of it--which is resoluteness, strength of mind, sternness in -pursuit of the object!' - -Then she softened her tone to persuasiveness, saying, ''Twas written I -should be the head of thy fortune, O Shibli Bagarag! and thou'lt be -enviable among men by my aid, so look upon me, and (for I know thee -famished) thou shah presently be supplied with viands and bright wines -and sweetmeats, delicacies to cheer thee.' - -Now, the promise of food and provision was powerful with Shibli Bagarag, -and he looked up gloomily. And the old woman smiled archly at him, and -wriggled in her seat like a dusty worm, and said, 'Dost thou find me -charming, thou fair youth?' - -He was nigh laughing in her face, but restrained himself to reply, 'Thou -art that thou art!' - -Said she, 'Not so, but that I shall be.' Then she said, 'O youth, pay me -now a compliment!' - -Shibli Bagarag was at a loss what further to say to the old woman, for -his heart cursed her for her persecutions, and ridiculed her for her -vanities. At last he bethought himself of the saying of the poet, truly -the offspring of fine wit, where he says: - - Expect no flatteries from me, - While I am empty of good things; - I'll call thee fair, and I'll agree - Thou boldest Love in silken strings, - When thou bast primed me from thy plenteous store! - But, oh! till then a clod am I: - No seed within to throw up flowers: - All's drouthy to the fountain dry: - To empty stomachs Nature lowers: - The lake was full where heaven look'd fair of yore! - -So, when he had spoken that, the old woman laughed and exclaimed, 'Thou -art apt! it is well said! Surely I excuse thee till that time! Now -listen! 'Tis written we work together, and I know it by divination. -Have I not known thee wandering, and on thy way to this city of Shagpat, -where thou'lt some day sit throned? Now I propose to thee this--and 'tis -an excellent proposal--that I lead thee to great things, and make thee -glorious, a sitter in high seats, Master of an Event?' - -Cried he, 'A proposal honourable to thee, and pleasant in the ear.' - -She added, 'Provided thou marry me in sweet marriage.' - -Thereat he stared on vacancy with a serious eye, and he could scarce -credit her earnestness, but she repeated the same. So presently he -thought, 'This old hag appeareth deep in the fountain of events, and she -will be a right arm to me in the mastering of one, a torch in darkness, -seeing there is wisdom in her as well as wickedness. The thwackings?-- -sad was their taste, but they're in the road leading to greatness, and I -cannot say she put me out of that road in putting me where they were. -Her age?--shall I complain of that when it is a sign she goeth shortly -altogether?' - -As he was thus debating he regarded the old woman stealthily, and she was -in agitation, so that her joints creaked like forest branches in a wind, -and the puckers of her visage moved as do billows of the sea to and fro, -and the anticipations of a fair young bride are not more eager than what -was visible in the old woman. Wheedlingly she looked at him, and shaped -her mouth like a bird's bill to soften it; and she drew together her -dress, to give herself the look of slimness, using all fascinations. He -thought, ''Tis a wondrous old woman! Marriage would seem a thing of -moment to her, yet is the profit with me, and I'll agree to it.' So he -said, ''Tis a pact between us, O old woman!' - -Now, the eyes of the old woman brightened when she heard him, and were as -the eyes of a falcon that eyeth game, hungry with red fire, and she -looked brisk with impatience, laughing a low laugh and saying, 'O youth, -I must claim of thee, as is usual in such cases, the kiss of contract.' - -So Shibli Bagarag was mindful of what is written, - - If thou wouldst take the great leap, be ready for the little jump, - -and he stretched out his mouth to the forehead of the old woman. When he -had done so, it was as though she had been illuminated, as when light is -put in the hollow of a pumpkin. Then said she, 'This is well! this is a -fair beginning! Now look, for thy fortune will of a surety follow. Call -me now sweet bride, and knocker at the threshold of hearts!' - -So Shibli Bagarag sighed, and called her this, and he said, 'Forget not -my condition, O old woman, and that I am nigh famished.' - -Upon that she nodded gravely, and arose and shook her garments together, -and beckoned for Shibli Bagarag to follow her; and the two passed through -the gates of the city, and held on together through divers streets and -thoroughfares till they came before the doors of a palace with a pillared -entrance; and the old woman passed through the doors of the palace as one -familiar to them, and lo! they were in a lofty court, built all of -marble, and in the middle of it a fountain playing, splashing silvery. -Shibli Bagarag would have halted here to breathe the cool refreshingness -of the air, but the old woman would not; and she hurried on even to the -opening of a spacious Hall, and in it slaves in circle round a raised -seat, where sat one that was their lord, and it was the Chief Vizier of -the King. - -Then the old woman turned round sharply to Shibli Bagarag, and said, 'How -of thy tackle, O my betrothed?' - -He answered, 'The edge is keen, the hand ready.' - -Then said she, ''Tis well.' - -So the old woman put her two hands on the shoulders of Shibli Bagarag, -saying, 'Make thy reverence to him on the raised seat; have faith in thy -tackle and in me. Renounce not either, whatsoever ensueth. Be not -abashed, O my bridegroom to be!' - -Thereupon she thrust him in; and Shibli Bagarag was abashed, and played -foolishly with his fingers, knowing not what to do. So when the Chief -Vizier saw him he cried out, 'Who art thou, and what wantest thou?' - -Now, the back of Shibli Bagarag tingled when he heard the Vizier's voice, -and he said, 'I am, O man of exalted condition, he whom men know as -Shibli Bagarag, nephew to Baba Mustapha, the renowned of Shiraz; myself -barber likewise, proud of my art, prepared to exercise it.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'This even to our faces! Wonderful is the -audacity of impudence! Know, O nephew of the barber, thou art among them -that honour not thy art. Is it not written, For one thing thou shaft be -crowned here, for that thing be thwacked there? So also it is written, -The tongue of the insolent one is a lash and a perpetual castigation to -him. And it is written, O Shibli Bagarag, that I reap honour from thee, -and there is no help but that thou be made an example of.' - -So the Chief Vizier uttered command, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him; and they seized him familiarly, and placed -him in position, and made ready his clothing for the reception of fifty -other thwacks with a thong, each several thwack coming down on him with a -hiss, as it were a serpent, and with a smack, as it were the mouth of -satisfaction; and the people assembled extolled the Chief Vizier, saying, -'Well and valiantly done, O stay of the State! and such-like to the -accursed race of barbers.' - -Now, when they had passed before the Chief Vizier and departed, lo! he -fell to laughing violently, so that his hair was agitated and was as a -sand-cloud over him, and his countenance behind it was as the sun of the -desert reflected ripplingly on the waters of a bubbling spring, for it -had the aspect of merriness; and the Chief Vizier exclaimed, 'O Shibli -Bagarag, have I not made fair show?' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'Excellent fair show, O mighty one!' Yet knew -he not in what, but he was abject by reason of the thwacks. - -So the Vizier said, 'Thou lookest lean, even as one to whom Fortune oweth -a long debt. Tell me now of thy barbercraft: perchance thy gain will be -great thereby?' - -And Shibli Bagarag answered, 'My gain has been great, O eminent in rank, -but of evil quality, and I am content not to increase it.' And he broke -forth into lamentations, crying in excellent verse:-- - - Why am I thus the sport of all-- - A thing Fate knocketh like a ball - From point to point of evil chance, - Even as the sneer of Circumstance? - While thirsting for the highest fame, - I hunger like the lowest beast: - To be the first of men I aim - And find myself the least. - -Now, the Vizier delayed not when he heard this to have a fair supply set -before Shibli Bagarag, and meats dressed in divers fashions, spiced, and -coloured, and with herbs, and wines in golden goblets, and slaves in -attendance. So Shibli Bagarag ate and drank, and presently his soul -arose from its prostration, and he cried, 'Wullahy! the head cook of King -Shamshureen could have worked no better as regards the restorative -process.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'O Shibli Bagarag, where now is thy tackle?' - -And Shibli Bagarag winked and nodded and turned his head in the manner of -the knowing ones, and he recited the verse: - - 'Tis well that we are sometimes circumspect, - And hold ourselves in witless ways deterred: - One thwacking made me seriously reflect; - A SECOND turned the cream of love to curd: - Most surely that profession I reject - Before the fear of a prospective THIRD. - -So the Vizier said, ''Tis well, thou turnest verse neatly' And he -exclaimed extemporaneously: - - If thou wouldst have thy achievement as high - - As the wings of Ambition can fly: - If thou the clear summit of hope wouldst attain, - And not have thy labour in vain; - Be steadfast in that which impell'd, for the peace - Of earth he who leaves must have trust: - He is safe while he soars, but when faith shall cease, - Desponding he drops to the dust. - -Then said he, 'Fear no further thwacking, but honour and prosperity in -the place of it. What says the poet?-- - - "We faint, when for the fire - There needs one spark; - We droop, when our desire - Is near its mark." - -How near to it art thou, O Shibli Bagarag! Know, then, that among this -people there is great reverence for the growing of hair, and he that is -hairiest is honoured most, wherefore are barbers creatures of especial -abhorrence, and of a surety flourish not. And so it is that I owe my -station to the esteem I profess for the cultivation of hair, and to my -persecution of the clippers of it. And in this kingdom is no one that -beareth such a crop as I, saving one, a clothier, an accursed one!--and -may a blight fall upon him for his vanity and his affectation of solemn -priestliness, and his lolling in his shop-front to be admired and -marvelled at by the people. So this fellow I would disgrace and bring to -scorn,--this Shagpat! for he is mine enemy, and the eye of the King my -master is on him. Now I conceive thy assistance in this matter, Shibli -Bagarag,--thou, a barber.' - -When Shibli Bagarag heard mention of Shagpat, and the desire for -vengeance in the Vizier, he was as a new man, and he smelt the sweetness -of his own revenge as a vulture smelleth the carrion from afar, and he -said, 'I am thy servant, thy slave, O Vizier!' Then smiled he as to his -own soul, and he exclaimed, 'On my head be it!' - -And it was to him as when sudden gusts of perfume from garden roses of -the valley meet the traveller's nostril on the hill that overlooketh the -valley, filling him with ecstasy and newness of life, delicate visions. -And he cried, 'Wullahy! this is fair; this is well! I am he that was -appointed to do thy work, O man in office! What says the poet?-- - - "The destined hand doth strike the fated blow: - Surely the arrow's fitted to the bow!" - -And he says: - - "The feathered seed for the wind delayeth, - The wind above the garden swayeth, - The garden of its burden knoweth, - The burden falleth, sinketh, soweth."' - -So the Vizier chuckled and nodded, saying, 'Right, right! aptly spoken, O -youth of favour! 'Tis even so, and there is wisdom in what is written: - - "Chance is a poor knave; - Its own sad slave; - Two meet that were to meet: - Life 's no cheat."' - -Upon that he cried, 'First let us have with us the Eclipser of Reason, -and take counsel with her, as is my custom.' - -Now, the Vizier made signal to a slave in attendance, and the slave -departed from the Hall, and the Vizier led Shibli Bagarag into a closer -chamber, which had a smooth floor of inlaid silver and silken hangings, -the windows looking forth on the gardens of the palace and its fountains -and cool recesses of shade and temperate sweetness. While they sat there -conversing in this metre and that, measuring quotations, lo! the old -woman, the affianced of Shibli Bagarag--and she sumptuously arrayed, in -perfect queenliness, her head bound in a circlet of gems and gold, her -figure lustrous with a full robe of flowing crimson silk; and she wore -slippers embroidered with golden traceries, and round her waist a girdle -flashing with jewels, so that to look on she was as a long falling water -in the last bright slant of the sun. Her hair hung disarranged, and -spread in a scattered fashion off her shoulders; and she was younger by -many moons, her brow smooth where Shibli Bagarag had given the kiss of -contract, her hand soft and white where he had taken it. Shibli Bagarag -was smitten with astonishment at sight of her, and he thought, 'Surely -the aspect of this old woman would realise the story of Bhanavar the -Beautiful; and it is a story marvellous to think of; yet how great is the -likeness between Bhanavar and this old woman that groweth younger!' - -And he thought again, 'What if the story of Bhanavar be a true one; this -old woman such as she--no other?' - -So, while he considered her, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Is she not fair--my -daughter?' - -And the youth answered, 'She is, O Vizier, that she is!' - -But the Vizier cried, 'Nay, by Allah! she is that she will be.' And the -Vizier said, ''Tis she that is my daughter; tell me thy thought of her, as -thou thinkest it.' - -And Shibli Bagarag replied, 'O Vizier, my thought of her is, she seemeth -indeed as Bhanavar the Beautiful--no other.' - -Then the Vizier and the Eclipser of Reason exclaimed together, 'How of -Bhanavar and her story, O youth? We listen!' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned slightly on a cushion of a couch, and narrated -as followeth. - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - -Know that at the foot of a lofty mountain of the Caucasus there lieth a -deep blue lake; near to this lake a nest of serpents, wise and ancient. -Now, it was the habit of a damsel to pass by the lake early at morn, on -her way from the tents of her tribe to the pastures of the flocks. As -she pressed the white arch of her feet on the soft green-mossed grasses -by the shore of the lake she would let loose her hair, looking over into -the water, and bind the braid again round her temples and behind her -ears, as it had been in a lucent mirror: so doing she would laugh. Her -laughter was like the falls of water at moonrise; her loveliness like the -very moonrise; and she was stately as a palm-tree standing before the -moon. - -This was Bhanavar the Beautiful. - -Now, the damsel was betrothed to the son of a neighbouring Emir, a youth -comely, well-fashioned, skilled with the bow, apt in all exercises; one -that sat his mare firm as the trained falcon that fixeth on the plunging -bull of the plains; fair and terrible in combat as the lightning that -strideth the rolling storm; and it is sung by the poet: - - When on his desert mare I see - My prince of men, - I think him then - As high above humanity - As he shines radiant over me. - - Lo! like a torrent he doth bound, - Breasting the shock - From rock to rock: - A pillar of storm, he shakes the ground, - - His turban on his temples wound. - - Match me for worth to be adored - A youth like him - In heart and limb! - Swift as his anger is his sword; - Softer than woman his true word. - -Now, the love of this youth for the damsel Bhanavar was a consuming -passion, and the father of the damsel and the father of the youth looked -fairly on the prospect of their union, which was near, and was plighted -as the union of the two tribes. So they met, and there was no voice -against their meeting, and all the love that was in them they were free -to pour forth far from the hearing of men, even where they would. Before -the rising of the sun, and ere his setting, the youth rode swiftly from -the green tents of the Emir his father, to waylay her by the waters of -the lake; and Bhanavar was there, bending over the lake, her image in the -lake glowing like the fair fulness of the moon; and the youth leaned to -her from his steed, and sang to her verses of her great loveliness ere -she was wistful of him. Then she turned to him, and laughed lightly a -welcome of sweetness, and shook the falls of her hair across the blushes -of her face and her bosom; and he folded her to him, and those two would -fondle together in the fashion of the betrothed ones (the blessing of -Allah be on them all!), gazing on each other till their eyes swam with -tears, and they were nigh swooning with the fulness of their bliss. -Surely 'twas an innocent and tender dalliance, and their prattle was that -of lovers till the time of parting, he showing her how she -looked best--she him; and they were forgetful of all else that is, in -their sweet interchange of flatteries; and the world was a wilderness to -them both when the youth parted with Bhanavar by the brook which bounded -the tents of her tribe. - -It was on a night when they were so together, the damsel leaning on his -arm, her eyes toward the lake, and lo! what seemed the reflection of a -large star in the water; and there was darkness in the sky above it, -thick clouds, and no sight of the heavens; so she held her face to him -sideways and said, 'What meaneth this, O my betrothed? for there is -reflected in yonder lake a light as of a star, and there is no star -visible this night.' - -The youth trembled as one in trouble of spirit, and exclaimed, 'Look not -on it, O my soul! It is of evil omen.' - -But Bhanavar kept her gaze constantly on the light, and the light -increased in lustre; and the light became, from a pale sad splendour, -dazzling in its brilliancy. Listening, they heard presently a gurgling -noise as of one deeply drinking. Then the youth sighed a heavy sigh and -said, 'This is the Serpent of the Lake drinking of its waters, as is her -wont once every moon, and whoso heareth her drink by the sheening of that -light is under a destiny dark and imminent; so know I my days are -numbered, and it was foretold of me, this!' Now the youth sought to -dissuade Bhanavar from gazing on the light, and he flung his whole body -before her eyes, and clasped her head upon his breast, and clung about -her, caressing her; yet she slipped from him, and she cried, 'Tell me of -this serpent, and of this light.' - -So he said, 'Seek not to hear of it, O my betrothed!' - -Then she gazed at the light a moment more intently, and turned her fair -shape toward him, and put up her long white fingers to his chin, and -smoothed him with their softness, whispering, 'Tell me of it, my life!' - -And so it was that her winningness melted him, and he said, 'Bhanavar! -the serpent is the Serpent of the Lake; old, wise, powerful; of the brood -of the sacred mountain, that lifteth by day a peak of gold, and by night -a point of solitary silver. In her head, upon her forehead, between her -eyes, there is a Jewel, and it is this light.' - -Then she said, 'How came the Jewel there, in such a place?' - -He answered, ''Tis the growth of one thousand years in the head of the -serpent.' - -She cried, 'Surely precious?' - -He answered, 'Beyond price!' - -As he spake the tears streamed from him, and he was shaken with grief, -but she noted nought of this, and watched the wonder of the light, and -its increasing, and quivering, and lengthening; and the light was as an -arrow of beams and as a globe of radiance. Desire for the Jewel waxed in -her, and she had no sight but for it alone, crying, ''Tis a Jewel -exceeding in preciousness all jewels that are, and for the possessing it -would I forfeit all that is.' - -So he said sorrowfully, 'Our love, O Bhanavar? and our hopes of -espousal?' - -But she cried, 'No question of that! Prove now thy passion for me, O -warrior! and win for me that Jewel.' - -Then he pleaded with her, and exclaimed, 'Urge not this! The winning of -the Jewel is worth my life; and my life, O Bhanavar--surely its breath is -but the love of thee.' - -So she said, 'Thou fearest a risk?' - -And he replied, 'Little fear I; my life is thine to cast away. This -Jewel it is evil to have, and evil followeth the soul that hath it.' - -Upon that she cried, 'A trick to cheat me of the Jewel! thy love is -wanting at the proof.' - -And she taunted the youth her betrothed, and turned from him, and -hardened at his tenderness, and made her sweet shape as a thorn to his -caressing, and his heart was charged with anguish for her. So at the -last, when he had wept a space in silence, he cried, 'Thou hast willed -it; the Jewel shall be thine, O my soul!' - -Then said he, 'Thou hast willed it, O Bhanavar! and my life is as a grain -of sand weighed against thy wishes; Allah is my witness! Meet me -therefore here, O my beloved, at the end of one quarter-moon, even -beneath the shadow of this palm-tree, by the lake, and at this hour, and -I will deliver into thy hands the Jewel. So farewell! Wind me once -about with thine arms, that I may take comfort from thee.' - -When their kiss was over the youth led her silently to the brook of their -parting--the clear, cold, bubbling brook--and passed from her sight; and -the damsel was exulting, and leapt and made circles in her glee, and she -danced and rioted and sang, and clapped her hands, crying, 'If I am now -Bhanavar the Beautiful how shall I be when that Jewel is upon me, the -bright light which beameth in the darkness, and needeth to light it no -other light? Surely there will be envy among the maidens and the widows, -and my name and the odour of my beauty will travel to the courts of far -kings.' - -So was she jubilant; and her sisters that met her marvelled at her and -the deep glow that was upon her, even as the glow of the Great Desert -when the sun has fallen; and they said among themselves, 'She is covered -all over with the blush of one that is a bride, and the bridegroom's kiss -yet burneth upon Bhanavar!' - -So they undressed her and she lay among them, and was all night even as a -bursting rose in a vase filled with drooping lilies; and one of the -maidens that put her hand on the left breast of Bhanavar felt it full, -and the heart beneath it panting and beating swifter than the ground is -struck by hooves of the chosen steed sent by the Chieftain to the city of -his people with news of victory and the summons for rejoicing. - -Now, the nights and the days of Bhanavar were even as this night, and she -was as an unquiet soul till the appointed time for the meeting with her -lover had come. Then when the sun was lighting with slant beam the green -grass slope by the blue brook before her, Bhanavar arrayed herself and -went forth gaily, as a martial queen to certain conquest; and of all the -flowers that nodded to the setting,--yea, the crimson, purple, pure -white, streaked-yellow, azure, and saffron, there was no flower fairer in -its hues than Bhanavar, nor bird of the heavens freer in its glittering -plumage, nor shape of loveliness such as hers. Truly, when she had taken -her place under the palm by the waters of the lake, that was no -exaggeration of the poet, where he says: - - Snows of the mountain-peaks were mirror'd there - Beneath her feet, not whiter than they were; - Not rosier in the white, that falling flush - Broad on the wave, than in her cheek the blush. - -And again: - - She draws the heavens down to her, - So rare she is, so fair she is; - They flutter with a crown to her, - And lighten only where she is. - -And he exclaims, in verse that applieth to her: - - Exquisite slenderness! - Sleek little antelope! - Serpent of sweetness! - Eagle that soaringly - Wins me adoringly! - Teach me thy fleetness, - Vision of loveliness; - Turn to my tenderness! - -Now, when the sun was lost to earth, and all was darkness, Bhanavar fixed -her eyes upon an opening arch of foliage in the glade through which the -youth her lover should come to her, and clasped both hands across her -bosom, so shaken was she with eager longing and expectation. In her -hunger for his approach, she would at whiles pluck up the herbage about -her by the roots, and toss handfuls this way and that, chiding the -peaceful song of the nightbird in the leaves above her head; and she was -sinking with fretfulness, when lo! from the opening arch of the glade a -sudden light, and Bhanavar knew it for the Jewel in the fingers of her -betrothed, by the strength of its effulgence. Then she called to him -joyfully a cry of welcome, and quickened his coming with her calls, and -the youth alighted from his mare and left it to pasture, and advanced to -her, holding aloft the Jewel. And the Jewel was of great size and -purity, round, and all-luminous, throwing rays and beams everywhere about -it, a miracle to behold,--the light in it shining, and as the very life -of the blood, a sweet crimson, a ruby, a softer rose, an amethyst of -tender hues: it was a full globe of splendours, showing like a very -kingdom of the Blest; and blessed was the eye beholding it! So when he -was within reach of her arm, the damsel sprang to him and caught from his -hand the Jewel, and held it before her eyes, and danced with it, and -pressed it on her bosom, and was as a creature giddy with great joy in -possessing it. And she put the Jewel in her bosom, and looked on the -youth to thank him for the Jewel with all her beauty; for the passion of -a mighty pride in him who had won for her the Jewel exalted Bhanavar, and -she said sweetly, 'Now hast thou proved to me thy love of me, and I am -thine, O my betrothed,--wholly thine. Kiss me, then, and cease not -kissing me, for bliss is in me.' - -But the youth eyed her sorrowfully, even as one that hath great yearning, -and no power to move or speak. - -So she said again, in the low melody of deep love-tones, 'Kiss me, O my -lover! for I desire thy kiss.' - -Still he spake not, and was as a pillar of stone. - -And she started, and cried, 'Thou art whole? without a hurt?' Then sought -she to coax him to her with all the softness of her half-closed eyes and -budded lips, saying, ''Twas an idle fear! and I have thee, and thou art -mine, and I am thine; so speak to me, my lover! for there is no music -like the music of thy voice, and the absence of it is the absence of all -sweetness, and there is no pleasure in life without it.' - -So the tenderness of her fondling melted the silence in him, and -presently his tongue was loosed, and he breathed in pain of spirit, and -his words were the words of the proverb: - - He that fighteth with poison is no match for the prick of a thorn. - -And he said, 'Surely, O Bhanavar, my love for thee surpasseth what is -told of others that have loved before us, and I count no loss a loss that -is for thy sake.' And he sighed, and sang: - - Sadder than is the moon's lost light, - Lost ere the kindling of dawn, - To travellers journeying on, - - The shutting of thy fair face from my sight. - Might I look on thee in death, - With bliss I would yield my breath. - - Oh! what warrior dies - With heaven in his eyes? - O Bhanavar! too rich a prize! - The life of my nostrils art thou, - The balm-dew on my brow; - - Thou art the perfume I meet as I speed o'er the plains, - The strength of my arms, the blood of my veins. - -Then said he, 'I make nothing matter of complaint, Allah witnesseth! not -even the long parting from her I love. What will be, will be: so was it -written! 'Tis but a scratch, O my soul! yet am I of the dead and them -that are passed away. 'Tis hard; but I smile in the face of bitterness.' - -Now, at his words the damsel clutched him with both her hands, and the -blood went from her, and she was as a block of white marble, even as one -of those we meet in the desert, leaning together, marking the wrath of -the All-powerful on forgotten cities. And the tongue of the damsel was -dry, and she was without speech, gazing at him with wide-open eyes, like -one in trance. Then she started as a dreamer wakeneth, and flung herself -quickly on the breast of the youth, and put up the sleeve from his arm, -and beheld by the beams of the quarter-crescent that had risen through -the leaves, a small bite on the arm of the youth her betrothed, spotted -with seven spots of blood in a crescent; so she knew that the poison of -the serpent had entered by that bite; and she loosened herself to the -violence of her anguish, shrieking the shrieks of despair, so that the -voice of her lamentation was multiplied about and made many voices in the -night. Her spirit returned not to her till the crescent of the moon was -yellow to its fall; and lo! the youth was sighing heavy sighs and leaning -to the ground on one elbow, and she flung herself by him on the ground, -seeking for herbs that were antidotes to the poison of the serpent, -grovelling among the grasses and strewn leaves of the wood, peering at -them tearfully by the pale beams, and startling the insects as she moved. -When she had gathered some, she pressed them and bruised them, and laid -them along his lips, that were white as the ball of an eye; and she made -him drink drops of the juices of the herbs, wailing and swaying her body -across him, as one that seeketh vainly to give brightness again to the -flames of a dying fire. But now his time was drawing nigh, and he was -weak, and took her hand in his and gazed on her face, sighing, and said, -'There is nothing shall keep me by thee now, O my betrothed, my -beautiful! Weep not, for it is the doing of fate, and not thy doing. So -ere I go, and the grave-cloth separates thy heart from my heart, listen -to me. Lo, that Jewel! it is the giver of years and of powers, and of -loveliness beyond mortal, yet the wearing of it availeth not in the -pursuit of happiness. Now art thou Queen over the serpents of this lake: -it was the Queen-serpent I slew, and her vengeance is on me here. Now -art thou mighty, O Bhanavar! and look to do well by thy tribe, and that -from which I spring, recompensing my father for his loss, pouring -ointment on his affliction, for great is the grief of the old man, and he -loveth me, and is childless.' - -Then the youth fell back and was still; and Bhanavar put her ear to his -mouth, and heard what seemed an inner voice murmuring in him, and it was -of his infancy and his boyhood, and of his father the Emir's first gift -to him, his horse Zoora, in old times. Presently the youth revived -somewhat, and looked upon her; but his sight was glazed with a film, and -she sang her name to him ere he knew her, and the sad sweetness of her -name filled his soul, and he replied to her with it weakly, like a far -echo that groweth fainter, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' Then a -change came over him, and the pain of the poison and the passion of the -death-throe, and he was wistful of her no more; but she lay by him, -embracing him, and in the last violence of his anguish he hugged her to -his breast. Then it was over, and he sank. And the twain were as a -great wave heaving upon the shore; lo, part is wasted where it falleth; -part draweth back into the waters. So was it! - -Now the chill of dawn breathed blue on the lake and was astir among the -dewy leaves of the wood, when Bhanavar arose from the body of the youth, -and as she rose she saw that his mare Zoora, his father's first gift, was -snuffing at the ear of her dead master, and pawing him. At that sight -the tears poured from her eyelids, and she sobbed out to the mare, 'O -Zoora! never mare bore nobler burden on her back than thou in Zurvan my -betrothed. Zoora! thou weepest, for death is first known to thee in the -dearest thing that was thine; as to me, in the dearest that was mine! -And O Zoora, steed of Zurvan my betrothed, there's no loveliness for us -in life, for the loveliest is gone; and let us die, Zoora, mare of Zurvan -my betrothed, for what is dying to us, O Zoora, who cherish beyond all -that which death has taken?' - -So spake she to Zoora the mare, kissing her, and running her fingers -through the long white mane of the mare. Then she stooped to the body of -her betrothed, and toiled with it to lift it across the crimson saddle- -cloth that was on the back of Zoora; and the mare knelt to her, that she -might lay on her back the body of Zurvan; when that was done, Bhanavar -paced beside Zoora the mare, weeping and caressing her, reminding her of -the deeds of Zurvan, and the battles she had borne him to, and his -greatness and his gentleness. And the mare went without leading. It was -broad light when they had passed the glade and the covert of the wood. -Before them, between great mountains, glimmered a space of rolling grass -fed to deep greenness by many brooks. The shadow of a mountain was over -it, and one slant of the rising sun, down a glade of the mountain, -touched the green tent of the Emir, where it stood a little apart from -the others of his tribe. Goats and asses of the tribe were pasturing in -the quiet, but save them nothing moved among the tents, and it was deep -peacefulness. Bhanavar led Zoora slowly before the tent of the Emir, and -disburdened Zoora of the helpless weight, and spread the long fair limbs -of the youth lengthwise across the threshold of the Emir's tent, sitting -away from it with clasped hands, regarding it. Ere long the Emir came -forth, and his foot was on the body of his son, and he knew death on the -chin and the eyes of Zurvan, his sole son. Now the Emir was old, and -with the shock of that sight the world darkened before him, and he gave -forth a groan and stumbled over the sunken breast of Zurvan, and -stretched over him as one without life. When Bhanavar saw that old man -stretched over the body of his son, she sickened, and her ear was filled -with the wailings of grief that would arise, and she stood up and stole -away from the habitations of the tribe, stricken with her guilt, and -wandered beyond the mountains, knowing not whither she went, looking on -no living thing, for the sight of a thing that moved was hateful to her, -and all sounds were sounds of lamentation for a great loss. - -Now, she had wandered on alone two days and two nights, and nigh morn she -was seized with a swoon of weariness, and fell forward with her face to -the earth, and lay there prostrate, even as one that is adoring the -shrine; and it was on the sands of the desert she was lying. It chanced -that the Chieftain of a desert tribe passed at midday by the spot, and -seeing the figure of a damsel unshaded' by any shade of tree or herb or -tent-covering, and prostrate on the sands, he reined his steed and leaned -forward to her, and called to her. Then as she answered nothing he -dismounted, and thrust his arm softly beneath her and lifted her gently; -and her swoon had the whiteness of death, so that he thought her dead -verily, and the marvel of her great loveliness in death smote the heart -on his ribs as with a blow, and the powers of life went from him a moment -as he looked on her and the long dark wet lashes that clung to her -colourless face, as at night in groves where the betrothed ones wander, -the slender leaves of the acacia spread darkly over the full moon. And -he cried, ''Tis a loveliness that maketh the soul yearn to the cold bosom -of death, so lovely, exceeding all that liveth, is she!' - -After he had contemplated her longwhile, he snatched his sight from her, -and swung her swiftly on the back of his mare, and leaned her on one arm, -and sped westward over the sands of the desert, halting not till he was -in the hum of many tents, and the sun of that day hung a red half-circle -across the sand. He alighted before the tent of his mother, and sent -women in to her. When his mother came forth to the greetings of her son, -he said no word, but pointed to the damsel where he had leaned her at the -threshold of her tent. His mother kissed him on the forehead, and turned -her shoulder to peer upon the damsel. But when she had close view of -Bhanavar, she spat, and scattered her hair, and stamped, and cried aloud, -'Away with her! this slut of darkness! there's poison on her very -skirts, and evil in the look of her.' - -Then said he, 'O Rukrooth, my mother! art thou lost to charity and the -uses of kindliness and the laws of hospitality, that thou talkest this of -the damsel, a stranger? Take her now in, and if she be past help, as I -fear; be it thy care to give her decent burial; and if she live, O my -mother, tend her for the love of thy son, and for the love of him be -gentle with her.' - -While he spake, Rukrooth his mother knelt over the damsel, as a cat that -sniffeth the suspected dish; and she flashed her eyes back on him, -exclaiming scornfully, 'So art thou befooled, and the poison is already -in thee! But I will not have her, O my son! and thou, Ruark, my son, -neither shalt thou have her. What! will I not die to save thee from a -harm? Surely thy frown is little to me, my son, if I save thee from a -harm; and the damsel here is--I shudder to think what; but never lay -shadow across my threshold dark as this!' - -Now, Ruark gazed upon his mother, and upon Bhanavar, and the face of -Bhanavar was as a babe in sleep, and his soul melted to the parted -sweetness of her soft little curved red lips and her closed eyelids, and -her innocent open hands, where she lay at the threshold of the tent, -unconscious of hardness and the sayings of the unjust. So he cried -fiercely, 'No paltering, O Rukrooth, my mother: and if not to thy tent, -then to mine!' - -When she heard him say that in the voice of his anger, Rukrooth fixed her -eyes on him sorrowfully, and sighed, and went up to him and drew his head -once against her heart, and retreated into the tent, bidding the women -that were there bring in the body of the damsel. - -It was the morning of another day when Bhanavar awoke; and she awoke in a -dream of Zoora, the mare of Zurvan her betrothed, that was dead, and the -name of Zoora was on her tongue as she started up. She was on a couch of -silk and leopard-skins; at her feet a fair young girl with a fan of -pheasant feathers. She stared at the hangings of the tent, which were -richer than those of her own tribe; the cloths, and the cushions, and the -embroideries; and the strangeness of all was pain to her, she knew not -why. Then wept she bitterly, and with her tears the memory of what had -been came back to her, and she opened her arms to take into them the -little girl that fanned her, that she might love something and be beloved -awhile; and the child sobbed with her. After a time Bhanavar said, -'Where am I, and amongst whom, my child, my sister?' - -And the child answered her, 'Surely in the tent of the mother of Ruark, -the chief, even chief of the Beni-Asser, and he found thee in the desert, -nigh dead. 'Tis so; and this morning will Ruark be gone to meet the -challenge of Ebn Asrac, and they will fight at the foot of the Snow -Mountains, and the shadow of yonder date-palm will be over our tent here -at the hour they fight, and I shall sing for Ruark, and kneel here in the -darkness of the shadow.' - -While the child was speaking there entered to them a tall aged woman, -with one swathe of a turban across her long level brows; and she had hard -black eyes, and close lips and a square chin; and it was the mother of -Ruark. She strode forward toward Bhanavar to greet her, and folded her -legs before the damsel. Presently she said, 'Tell me thy story, and of -thy coming into the hands of Ruark my son.' - -Bhanavar shuddered. So Rukrooth dismissed the little maiden from the -chamber of the tent, and laid her left hand on one arm of Bhanavar, and -said, 'I would know whence comest thou, that we may deal well by thee and -thy people that have lost thee.' - -The touch of a hand was as the touch of a corpse to Bhanavar, and the -damsel was constrained to speak by a power she knew not of, and she told -all to Rukrooth of what had been, the great misery, and the wickedness -that was hers. Then Ruark's mother took hold of Bhanavar a strong grasp, -and eyed her long, piteously, and with reproach, and rocked forward and -back, and kept rocking to and fro, crying at intervals, 'O Ruark! my son! -my son! this feared I, and thou art not the first! and I saw it, I saw -it! Well-away! why came she in thy way, why, Ruark, my son, my fire-eye? -Canst thou be saved by me, fated that thou art, thou fair-face? And wilt -thou be saved by me, my son, ere thy story be told in tears as this one, -that is as thine to me? And thou wilt seize a jewel, Ruark, O thou soul -of wrath, my son, my dazzling Chief, and seize it to wear it, and think -it bliss, this lovely jewel; but 'tis an anguish endless and for ever, my -son! Woe's me! an anguish is she without end.' - -Rukrooth continued moaning, and the thought that was in the mother of -Ruark struck Bhanavar like a light in the land of despair that darkly -illumineth the dreaded gulfs and abysses of the land, and she knew -herself black in evil; and the scourge of her guilt was upon her, and she -cursed herself before Rukrooth, and fawned before her, abasing her body. -So Rukrooth was drawn to the damsel by the violence of her self-accusing -and her abandonment to grief, and lifted her, and comforted her, and -after awhile they had gentle speech together, and the two women opened -their hearts and wept. Then it was agreed between them that Bhanavar -should depart from the encampment of the tribe before the return of -Ruark, and seek shelter among her own people again, and aid them and the -tribe of Zurvan, her betrothed, by the might of the Jewel which was hers, -fulfilling the desire of Zurvan. The mind of the damsel was lowly, and -her soul yearned for the blessing of Rukrooth. - -Darkness hung over the tent from the shadow of the date-palm when -Bhanavar departed, and the blessing of Rukrooth was on her head. She -went forth fairly mounted on a fresh steed; beside her two warriors of -them that were left to guard the encampment of the tribe of Ruark in his -absence; and Rukrooth watched at the threshold of her tent for the coming -of Ruark. - -When it was middle night, and the splendour of the moon was beaming on -the edge of the desert, Bhanavar alighted to rest by the twigs of a -tamarisk that stood singly on the sands. The two warriors tied the -fetlocks of their steeds, and spread shawls for her, and watched over her -while she slept. And the damsel dreamed, and the roaring of the lion was -hoarse in her dream, and it was to her as were she the red whirlwind of -the desert before whom all bowed in terror, the Arab, the wild horsemen, -and the caravans of pilgrimage; and none could stay her, neither could -she stay herself, for the curse of Allah was on men by reason of her -guilt; and she went swinging great folds of darkness across kingdoms and -empires of earth where joy was and peace of spirit; and in her track -amazement and calamity, and the whitened bones of noble youths, valorous -chieftains. In that horror of her dream she stood up suddenly, and -thrust forth her hands as to avert an evil, and advanced a step; and with -the act her dream was cloven and she awoke, and lo! it was sunrise; and -where had been two warriors of the Beni-Asser, were now five, and besides -her own steed five others, one the steed of Ruark, and Ruark with them -that watched over her: pale was the visage of the Chief. Ruark eyed -Bhanavar, and signalled to his followers, and they, when they had lifted -the damsel to her steed and placed her in their front, mounted likewise, -and flourished their lances with cries, and jerked their heels to the -flanks of their steeds, and stretched forward till their beards were -mixed with the tossing manes, and the dust rose after them crimson in the -sun. So they coursed away, speeding behind their Chief and Bhanavar; -sweet were the desert herbs under their crushing hooves! Ere the shadow -of the acacia measured less than its height they came upon a spring of -silver water, and Ruark leaped from his steed, and Bhanavar from hers, -and they performed their ablutions by that spring, and ate and drank, and -watered their steeds. While they were there Bhanavar lifted her eyes to -Ruark, and said, 'Whither takest thou me, O my Chief?' - -His brow was stern, and he answered, 'Surely to the dwelling of thy -tribe.' - -Then she wept, and pulled her veil close, murmuring, ''Tis well!' - -They spake no further, and pursued their journey toward the mountains and -across the desert that was as a sea asleep in the blazing heat, and the -sun till his setting threw no shade upon the sands bigger than what was -broad above them. By the beams of the growing moon they entered the -first gorge of the mountains. Here they relaxed the swiftness of their -pace, picking their way over broken rocks and stunted shrubs, and the -mesh of spotted creeping plants; all around them in shadow a freshness of -noisy rivulets and cool scents of flowers, asphodel and rose blooming in -plots from the crevices of the crags. These, as the troop advanced, -wound and widened, gradually receding, and their summits, which were -silver in the moonlight, took in the distance a robe of purple, and the -sides of the mountains were rounded away in purple beyond a space of -emerald pasture. Now, Ruark beheld the heaviness of Bhanavar, and that -she drooped in her seat, and he halted her by a cave at the foot of the -mountains, browed with white broom. Before it, over grass and cresses, -ran a rill, a branch from others, larger ones, that went hurrying from -the heights to feed the meadows below, and Bhanavar dipped her hand in -the rill, and thought, 'I am no more as thou, rill of the mountain, but a -desert thing! Thy way is forward, thy end before thee; but I go this way -and that; my end is dark to me; not a life is mine that will have its -close kissing the cold cheeks of the saffron-crocus. Cold art thou, and -I--flames! They that lean to thee are refreshed, they that touch me -perish.' Then she looked forth on the stars that were above the purple -heights, and the blushes of inner heaven that streamed up the sky, and a -fear of meeting the eyes of her kindred possessed her, and she cried out -to Ruark, 'O Chief of the Beni-Asser, must this be? and is there no help -for it, but that I return among them that look on me basely?' - -Ruark stooped to her and said, 'Tell me thy name.' - -She answered, 'Bhanavar is my name with that people.' - -And he whispered, 'Surely when they speak of thee they say not Bhanavar -solely, but Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She started and sought the eye of the Chief, and it was fixed on her face -in a softened light, as if his soul had said that thing. Then she -sighed, and exclaimed, 'Unhappy are the beautiful! born to misery! Allah -dressed them in his grace and favour for their certain wretchedness! Lo, -their countenances are as the sun, their existence as the desert; barren -are they in fruits and waters, a snare to themselves and to others!' - -Now, the Chief leaned to her yet nearer, saying, 'Show me the Jewel.' - -Bhanavar caught up her hands and clenched them, and she cried bitterly, -''Tis known to thee! She told thee, and there be none that know it not!' - -Arising, she thrust her hand into her bosom, and held forth the Jewel in -the palm of her white hand. When Ruark beheld the marvel of the Jewel, -and the redness moving in it as of a panting heart, and the flashing eye -of fire that it was, and all its glory, he cried, 'It was indeed a Jewel -for queens to covet from the Serpent, and a prize the noblest might risk -all to win as a gift for thee.' - -Then she said, 'Thy voice is friendly with me, O Ruark! and thou scornest -not the creature that I am. Counsel me as to my dealing with the Jewel.' - -Surely the eyes of the Chief met the eyes of Bhanavar as when the -brightest stars of midnight are doubled in a clear dark lake, and he sang -in measured music: - - 'Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that tall palm-tree through the night; - Rest on the mountain-slope - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending, - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps,-- - Silvery leaps and falls. - Hang by the mountain walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And, O Bhanavar, Bhanavar the Beautiful! shall I counsel thee, moon of -loveliness,--bright, full, perfect moon!--counsel thee not to ascend and -be seen and worshipped of men, sitting above them in majesty, thou that -art thyself the Jewel beyond price? Wah! What if thou cast it from -thee?--thy beauty remaineth!' - -And Bhanavar smote her palms in the moonlight, and exclaimed, 'How then -shall I escape this in me, which is a curse to them that approach me?' - -And he replied: - - Long we the less for the pearl of the sea - Because in its depths there 's the death we flee? - Long we the less, the less, woe's me! - Because thou art deathly,--the less for thee? - -She sang aloud among the rocks and the caves and the illumined waters: - - Destiny! Destiny! why am I so dark? - I that have beauty and love to be fair. - Destiny! Destiny! am I but a spark - Track'd under heaven in flames and despair? - Destiny! Destiny! why am I desired - Thus like a poisonous fruit, deadly sweet? - Destiny! Destiny! lo, my soul is tired, - Make me thy plaything no more, I entreat! - -Ruark laughed low, and said, 'What is this dread of Rukrooth my mother -which weigheth on thee but silliness! For she saw thee willing to do -well by her; and thou with thy Jewel, O Bhanavar, do thou but well by -thyself, and there will be no woman such as thou in power and excellence -of endowments, as there is nowhere one such as thou in beauty.' Then he -sighed to her, 'Dare I look up to thee, O my Queen of Serpents?' And he -breathed as one that is losing breath, and the words came from him, -'My soul is thine!' - -When she heard him say this, great trouble was on the damsel, for his -voice was not the voice of Zurvan her betrothed; and she remembered the -sorrow of Rukrooth. She would have fled from him, but a dread of the -displeasure of the Chief restrained her, knowing Ruark a soul of wrath. -Her eyelids dropped and the Chief gazed on her eagerly, and sang in a -passion of praises of her; the fires of his love had a tongue, his speech -was a torrent of flame at the feet of the damsel. And Bhanavar -exclaimed, 'Oh, what am I, what am I, who have slain my love, my lover!-- -that one should love me and call on me for love? My life is a long -weeping for him! Death is my wooer!' - -Ruark still pleaded with her, and she said in fair gentleness, 'Speak not -of it now in the freshness of my grief! Other times and seasons are -there. My soul is but newly widowed!' - -Fierce was the eye of the Chief, and he sprang up, crying, 'By the life -of my head, I know thy wiles and the reading of these delays: but I'll -never leave thee, nor lose sight of thee, Bhanavar! And think not to fly -from me, thou subtle, brilliant Serpent! for thy track is my track, and -thy condition my condition, and thy fate my fate. By Allah! this is so.' - -Then he strode from her swiftly, and called to his Arabs. They had -kindled a fire to roast the flesh of a buffalo, slaughtered by them from -among a herd, and were laughing and singing beside the flames of the -fire. So by the direction of their Chief the Arabs brought slices of -sweet buffalo-flesh to Bhanavar, with cakes of grain: and Bhanavar ate -alone, and drank from the waters before her. Then they laid for her a -couch within the cave, and the aching of her spirit was lulled, and she -slept there a dreamless sleep till morning. - -By the morning light Bhanavar looked abroad for the Chief, and he was -nowhere by. A pang of violent hope struck through her, and she pressed -her bosom, praying he might have left her, and climbed the clefts and -ledges of the mountain to search over the fair expanse of pasture beyond, -for a trace of him departing. The sun was on the heads of the heavy -flowers, and a flood of gold down the gorges, and a delicate rose hue on -the distant peaks and upper dells of snow, which were as a crown to the -scene she surveyed; but no sight of Ruark had she. And now she was -beginning to rejoice, but on a sudden her eye caught far to east a -glimpse of something in motion across an even slope of the lower hills -leaning to the valley; and it was a herd that rushed forward, like a -black torrent of the mountains flinging foam this way and that, and after -the herd and at the sides of the herd she distinguished the white cloaks -and scarfs and glittering steel of the Arabs of Ruark. Presently she saw -a horseman break from the rest, and race in a line toward her. She knew -this one for Ruark, and sighed and descended slowly to meet him. The -greeting of the Chief was sharp, his manner wild, and he said little ere -he said, 'I will see thee under the light of the Jewel, so tie it in a -band and set it on thy brow, Bhanavar!' - -Her mouth was open to intercede with his desire, but his forehead became -black as night, and he shouted in the thunder of his lion-voice, 'Do -this!' - -She took the Jewel from its warm bed in her bosom, and held it, and got -together a band of green weeds, and set it in the middle of the band, and -tied the band on her brow, and lifted her countenance to the Chief. -Ruark stood back from her and gazed on her; and he would have veiled his -sight from her, but his hand fell. Then the might of her loveliness -seized Bhanavar likewise, and the full orbs of her eyes glowed on the -Chief as on a mirror, -and she moved her serpent figure scornfully, and smiled, saying, 'Is it -well?' - -And he, when he could speak, replied, ''Tis well! I have seen thee! for -now can I die this day, if it be that I am to die. And well it is! for -now know I there is truly no place but the tomb can hold me from thee!' - -Bhanavar put the Jewel from her brow into her bosom, and questioned him, -'What is thy dread this day, O my Chief?' - -He answered her gravely, 'I have seen Rukrooth my mother while I slept; -and she was weeping, weeping by a stream, yea, a stream of blood; and it -was a stream that flowed in a hundred gushes from her own veins. The sun -of this dawn now, seest thou not? 'tis overcrimson; the vulture hangeth -low down yonder valley.' And he cried to her, 'Haste! mount with me; for -I have told Rukrooth a thing; and I know that woman crafty in the -thwarting of schemes; such a fox is she where aught accordeth not with -her forecastings, and the judgment of her love for me! By Allah! 'twere -well we clash not; for that I will do I do, and that she will do doth -she.' - -So the twain mounted their steeds, and Ruark gathered his Arabs and -placed them, some in advance, some on either side of Bhanavar; and they -rode forward to the head of the valley, and across the meadows, through -the blushing crowds of flowers, baths of freshest scents, cool breezes -that awoke in the nostrils of the mares neighings of delight; and these -pranced and curvetted and swung their tails, and gave expression to their -joy in many graceful fashions; but a gloom was on Ruark, and a quick fire -in his falcon-eye, and he rode with heels alert on the flanks of his -mare, dashing onward to right and left, as do they that beat the jungle -for the crouching tiger. Once, when he was well-nigh half a league in -front, he wheeled his mare, and raced back full on Bhanavar, grasping her -bridle, and hissing between his teeth, 'Not a soul shall have thee save -I: by the tomb of my fathers, never, while life is with us!' - -And he taunted her with bitter names, and was as one in the madness of -intoxication, drunken with the aspect of her matchless beauty and with -exceeding love for her. And Bhanavar knew that the dread of a mishap was -on the mind of the Chief. - -Now, the space of pasture was behind them a broad lake of gold and -jasper, and they entered a region of hills, heights, and fastnesses, -robed in forests that rose in rounded swells of leafage, each over each-- -above all points of snow that were as flickering silver flames in the -farthest blue. This was the country of Bhanavar, and she gazed -mournfully on the glades of golden green and the glens of iron blackness, -and the wild flowers, wild blossoms, and weeds well known to her that -would not let her memory rest, and were wistful of what had been. And -she thought, 'My sisters tend the flocks, my mother spinneth with the -maidens of the tribe, my father hunteth; how shall I come among them but -strange? Coldly will they regard me; I shall feel them shudder when they -take me to their bosoms.' - -She looked on Ruark to speak with him, but the mouth of the Chief was set -and white; and even while she looked, cries of treason and battle arose -from the Arabs that were ahead, hidden by a branching wind of the way -round a mountain slant. Then the eyes of the Chief reddened, his -nostrils grew wide, and the darkness of his face was as flame mixed with -smoke, and he seized Bhanavar and hastened onward, and lo! yonder were -his men overmatched, and warriors of the mountains bursting on them from -an ambush on all sides. Ruark leapt in his seat, and the light of combat -was on him, and he dug his knees into his mare, and shouted the war-cry -of his tribe, lifting his hands as it were to draw down wrath from the -very heavens, and rushed to the encounter. Says the poet: - - Hast thou seen the wild herd by the jungle galloping close? - With a thunder of hooves they trample what heads may oppose: - Terribly, crushingly, tempest-like, onward they sweep: - But a spring from the reeds, and the panther is sprawling in air, - And with muzzle to dust and black beards foam-lash'd, here and there, - Scatter'd they fly, crimson-eyed, track'd with blood to the deep. - -Such was the onset of Ruark, his stroke the stroke of death; and ere the -echoes had ceased rolling from that cry of his, the mountain-warriors -were scattered before him on the narrow way, hurled down the scrub of the -mountain, even as dead leaves and loosened stones; so like an arm of -lightning was the Chief! - -Now Ruark pursued them, and was lost to Bhanavar round a slope of the -mountain. She quickened her pace to mark him in the glory of the battle, -and behold! a sudden darkness enveloped her, and she felt herself in the -swathe of tightened folds, clasped in an arm, and borne rapidly she knew -not whither, for she could hear and see nothing. It was to her as were -she speeding constantly downward in darkness to the lower realms of the -Genii of the Caucasus, and every sense, and even that of fear, was -stunned in her. How long an interval had elapsed she knew not, when the -folds were unwound; but it was light of day, and the faces of men, and -they were warriors that were about her, warriors of the mountain; but of -Ruark and his Arabs no voice. So she said to them, 'What do ye with me?' - -And one among them, that was a youth of dignity and grace, and a -countenance like morning on the mountains, answered, 'The will of -Rukrooth, O lady! and it is the plight of him we bow to with Rukrooth, -mother of the Desert-Chief.' - -She cried, 'Is he here, the Prince, that I may speak with him?' - -The same young warrior made answer, 'Not so; forewarned was he, and well -for him!' - -Bhanavar drew her robe about her and was mute. Ere the setting of the -moon they journeyed on with her; and continued so three days and nights -through the defiles and ravines and matted growths of the mountains. On -the fourth dawn they were on the summit of a lofty mountain-rise; below -them the sun, shooting a current of gold across leagues of sea. Then he -that had spoken with Bhanavar said, 'A sail will come,' and a sail came -from under the sun. Scarce had the ship grated shore when the warriors -lifted Bhanavar, and waded through the water with her, and placed her -unwetted in the ship, and one, the fair youth among the warriors, sprang -on board with her, remaining by her. So the captain pushed off, and the -wind filled the sails, and Bhanavar was borne over the lustre of the sea, -that was as a changing opal in its lustre, even as a melted jewel flowing -from the fingers of the maker, the Almighty One. The ship ceased not -sailing till they came to a narrow strait, where the sea was but a river -between fair sloping hills alight with towers and palaces, opening a way -to a great city that was in its radiance over the waters of the sea as -the aspect of myriad sheeny white doves breasting the wave. Hitherto the -young warrior had held aloof in coldness of courtesy from Bhanavar; but -now he sat by her, and said, 'The bond between my prince and Rukrooth is -accomplished, and it was to snatch thee from the Chief of the Beni-Asser -and bring thee even to this city.' - -Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Allah be praised in all things, and his will be -done!' - -The youth continued, 'Thou art alone here, O lady, exposed to the perils -of loneliness; surely it were well if I linger with thee awhile, and see -to thy welfare in this city, even as a brother with a sister; and I will -deal honourably by thee.' - -Bhanavar looked on the young warrior and blushed at his exceeding -sweetness with her; the soft freshness of his voice was to her as the -blossom-laden breeze in the valleys of the mountains, and she breathed -low the words of her gratitude, saying, 'If I am not a burden, let this -be so.' - -Then said he, 'Know me by my name, which is Almeryl; and that we seem -indeed of one kin, make known unto me thine.' - -She replied, 'Ill-omened is it, this name of Bhanavar!' - -The youth among warriors gazed on her a moment with the fluttering eye of -bashfulness, and said, 'Can they that have marked thee call thee other -than Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She remembered that Ruark had spoken in like manner, and the curse of her -beauty smote her, and she thought, 'This fair youth, he hath not a mother -to watch over him and ward off souls of evil. I dread there will come a -mishap to him through me; Allah shield him from it!' And she sought to -dissuade him from resting by her, but he cried, ''Tis but a choice to -dwell with thee or with the dogs in the street outside thy door, O -Bhanavar!' - -Now, the ship sailed close up to the quay, and cast anchor there in the -midst of other ships of merchandise. Almeryl then threw a robe over his -mountain dress and spoke with the captain apart, and he and Bhanavar took -leave of the captain, and landed on the quay among the porters, and of -these one stepped forward to them and shouted cheerily, 'Where be the -burdens and the bales, O ye, fair couple fashioned in the eye of elegant -proportions? Ye twin palm-trees, male and female! Wullahy! broad is the -back of your servant.' - -Almeryl beckoned to him that he should follow them, and he followed them, -blessing the wind that had brought them to that city and the day. So -they passed through the streets and lanes of the city, and the porter -pointed out this house and that house wanting an occupant, and Almeryl -fixed on one in an open thoroughfare that had before it a grass-plot, and -behind a garden with fountains and flowers, and grass-knolls shaded by -trees; and he paid down the half of its price, and had it furnished -before nightfall sumptuously, and women in it to wait on Bhanavar, and -stuffs and goods, and scents for the bath,--all luxuries whatsoever that -tradesmen and merchants there could give in exchange for gold. Then -Almeryl dismissed the porter in Allah's name, and gladdened his spirit -with a gift over the due of his hire that exalted him in the eyes of the -porter, and the porter went from him, exclaiming, 'In extremity Ukleet is -thy slave!' and he sang: - - Shouldst thou see a slim youth with a damsel arriving, - Be sure 'tis the hour when thy fortune is thriving; - A generous fee makes the members so supple - That over the world they could carry this couple. - -Now so it was that the youth Almeryl and the damsel Bhanavar abode in the -city they had come to weeks and months, and life to either of them as the -flowing of a gentle stream, even as brother and sister lived they, -chastely, and with temperate feasting. Surely the youth loved her with a -great love, and the heart of Bhanavar turned not from him, and was won -utterly by his gentleness and nobleness and devotion; and they relied on -each other's presence for any joy, and were desolate in absence, as the -poet says: - - When we must part, love, - Such is my smart, love, - Sweetness is savourless, - Fairness is favourless! - But when in sight, love, - We two unite, love, - Earth has no sour to me; - Life is a flower to me! - -And with the increase of every day their passion increased, and the -revealing light in their eyes brightened and was humid, as is sung by him -that luted to the rage of hearts: - - Evens star yonder - Comes like a crown on us, - Larger and fonder - Grows its orb down on us; - So, love, my love for thee - Blossoms increasingly; - So sinks it in the sea, - Waxing unceasingly. - -On a night, when the singing-girls had left them, the youth could contain -himself no more, and caught the two hands of Bhanavar in his, saying, -'This that is in my soul for thee thou knowest, O Bhanavar! and 'tis -spoken when I move and when I breathe, O my loved one! Tell me then the -cause of thy shunning me whenever I would speak of it, and be plain with -thee.' - -For a moment Bhanavar sought to release herself from his hold, but the -love in his eyes entangled her soul as in a net, and she sank forward to -him, and sighed under his chin, ''Twas indeed my very love of thee that -made me.' - -The twain embraced and kissed a long kiss, and leaned sideways together, -and Bhanavar said, 'Hear me, what I am.' - -Then she related the story of the Serpent and the Jewel, and of the death -of her betrothed. When it was ended, Almeryl cried, 'And was this all?-- -this that severed us?' And he said, 'Hear what I am.' - -So he told Bhanavar how Rukrooth, the mother of Ruark, had sent -messengers to the Prince his father, warning him of the passage of Ruark -through the mountains with one a Queen of Serpents, a sorceress, that had -bewitched him and enthralled him in a mighty love for her, to the ruin of -Ruark; and how the Chief was on his way with her to demand her in -marriage at the hands of her parents; and the words of Rukrooth were, 'By -the service that was between thee and my husband, and by the death he -died, O Prince, rescue the Chief my son from this damsel, and entrap her -from him, and have her sent even to the city of the inland sea, for no -less a distance than that keepeth Ruark from her.' - -And Almeryl continued, 'I questioned the messengers myself, and they told -me the marvel of thy loveliness and the peril to him that looked on it, -so I swore there was no power should keep me from a sight of thee, O my -loved one! my prize! my life! my sleek antelope of the hills! Surely -when my father appointed the warriors to lie in wait for thy coming, I -slipped among them, so that they thought it ordered by him I should head -them. The rest is known to thee, O my fountain of blissfulness! but the -treachery to Ruark was the treachery of Ebn Asrac, not of such warriors -as we; and I would have fallen on Ebn Asrac, had not Ruark so routed that -man without faith. 'Twas all as I have said, blessed be Allah and his -decrees!' - -Bhanavar gazed on her beloved, and the bridal dew overflowed her -underlids, and she loosed her hair to let it flow, part over her -shoulders, part over his, and in sighs that were the measure of music she -sang: - - I thought not to love again! - But now I love as I loved not before; - I love not; I adore! - O my beloved, kiss, kiss me! waste thy kisses like a rain. - Are not thy red lips fain? - Oh, and so softly they greet! - Am I not sweet? - Sweet must I be for thee, or sweet in vain: - Sweet to thee only, my dear love! - The lamps and censers sink, but cannot cheat - These eyes of thine that shoot above - Trembling lustres of the dove! - A darkness drowns all lustres: still I see - Thee, my love, thee! - Thee, my glory of gold, from head to feet! - Oh, how the lids of the world close quite when our lips meet! - -Almeryl strained her to him, and responded: - - My life was midnight on the mountain side; - Cold stars were on the heights: - There, in my darkness, I had lived and died, - Content with nameless lights. - Sudden I saw the heavens flush with a beam, - And I ascended soon, - And evermore over mankind supreme, - Stood silver in the moon. - -And he fell playfully into a new metre, singing: - - Who will paint my beloved - In musical word or colour? - Earth with an envy is moved: - Sea-shells and roses she brings, - Gems from the green ocean-springs, - Fruits with the fairy bloom-dews, - Feathers of Paradise hues, - Waters with jewel-bright falls, - Ore from the Genii-halls: - All in their splendour approved; - All; but, match'd with my beloved, - Darker, and denser, and duller. - -Then she kissed him for that song, and sang: - - Once to be beautiful was my pride, - And I blush'd in love with my own bright brow: - Once, when a wooer was by my side, - I worshipp'd the object that had his vow: - Different, different, different now, - Different now is my beauty to me: - Different, different, different now! - For I prize it alone because prized by thee. - -Almeryl stretched his arm to the lattice, and drew it open, letting in -the soft night wind, and the sound of the fountain and the bulbul and the -beam of the stars, and versed to her in the languor of deep love: - - Whether we die or we live, - Matters it now no more: - Life has nought further to give: - Love is its crown and its core. - Come to us either, we're rife,-- - Death or life! - - Death can take not away, - Darkness and light are the same: - We are beyond the pale ray, - Wrapt in a rosier flame: - Welcome which will to our breath; - Life or death! - -So did these two lovers lute and sing in the stillness of the night, -pouring into each other's ears melodies from the new sea of fancy and -feeling that flowed through them. - -Ere they ceased their sweet interchange of tenderness, which was but one -speech from one soul, a glow of light ran up the sky, and the edge of a -cloud was fired; and in the blooming of dawn Almeryl hung over Bhanavar, -and his heart ached to see the freshness of her wondrous loveliness; and -he sang, looking on her: - - The rose is living in her cheeks, - The lily in her rounded chin; - She speaks but when her whole soul speaks, - And then the two flow out and in, - And mix their red and white to make - The hue for which I'd Paradise forsake. - - Her brow from her black falling hair - Ascends like morn: her nose is clear - As morning hills, and finely fair - With pearly nostrils curving near - The red bow of her upper lip; - Her bosom's the white wave beneath the ship. - - The fair full earth, the enraptured skies, - She images in constant play: - Night and the stars are in her eyes, - But her sweet face is beaming day, - A bounteous interblush of flowers: - A dewy brilliance in a dale of bowers. - -Then he said, 'And this morning shall our contract of marriage be written -and witnessed?' - -She answered, 'As my lord willeth; I am his.' - -Said he, 'And it is thy desire?' - -She nestled to him and dinted his bare arm with the pearls of her mouth -for a reply. - -So that morning their contract of marriage was written, and witnessed by -the legal number of witnesses in the presence of the Cadi, with his -license on it endorsed; and Bhanavar was the bride of Almeryl, he her -husband. Never was youth blessed in a bride like that youth! - -Now, the twain lived together the circle of a full year of delightful -marriage, and love lessened not in them, but was as the love of the first -day. Little cared they, having each other, for the loneliness of their -dwelling in that city, where they knew none save the porter Ukleet, who -went about their commissions. Sometimes to amuse themselves with his -drolleries, they sent for him, and were bountiful with him, and made him -drink with them on the lawn of their garden leaning to an inlet of the -sea; and then he would entertain them with all the scandal and gossip of -the city, and its little folk and great. When he was outrageously -extravagant in these stories of his, Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Are such -things, now? can it be true?' - -And he nodded in his conceit, and replied loftily, ''Tis certain, O my -Prince and Princess! ye be from the mountains, unused to the follies and -dissipations of men where they herd; and ye know them not, men!' - -The lamps being lit in the garden to the edges of the water, where they -lay one evening, Ukleet, who had been in his briskest mood, became grave, -and put his forefinger to the side of his nose and began, 'Hear ye aught -of the great tidings? Wullahy! no other than the departure of the wife -of Boolp, the broker, into darkness. 'Tis of Boolp ye hire this house, -and had ye a hundred houses in this city ye might have had them from -Boolp the broker, he that's rich; and glory to them whom Allah -prospereth, say I! And I mention this matter, for 'tis certain now Boolp -will take another wife to him to comfort him, for there be two things -beloved of Boolp, and therein manifesteth he taste and the discernment of -excellence, and what is approved; and of these two things let the love of -his hoards of the yellow-skinned treasure go first, and after that -attachment to the silver-skinned of creation, the fair, the rapturous; -even to them! So by this see ye not Boolp will yearn in his soul for -another spouse? Now, O ye well-matched pair! what a chance were this, -knew ye but a damsel of the mountains, exquisite in symmetry, a moon to -enrapture the imagination of Boolp, and in the nature of things herit his -possessions! for Boolp is an old man, even very old.' - -They laughed, and cried, 'We know not of such a damsel, and the broker -must go unmarried for us.' - -When next Ukleet sat before them, Almeryl took occasion to speak of Boolp -again, and said, 'This broker, O Ukleet, is he also a lender of money?' - -Ukleet replied, 'O my Prince, he is or he is not: 'tis of the maybes. I -wot truly Boolp is one that baiteth the hook of an emergency.' - -The brows of the Prince were downcast, and he said no more; but on the -following morning he left Bhanavar early under a pretext, and sallied -forth from the house of their abode alone. - -Since their union in that city they had not been once apart, and Bhanavar -grieved and thought, 'Waneth his love for me?' and she called her women -to her, and dressed in this dress and that dress, and was satisfied with -none. The dews of the bath stood cold upon her, and she trembled, and -fled from mirror to mirror, and in each she was the same surpassing -vision of loveliness. Then her women held a glass to her, and she -examined herself closely, if there might be a fleck upon her anywhere, -and all was as the snow of the mountains on her round limbs sloping in -the curves of harmony, and the faint rose of the dawn on slants of snow -was their hue. Twining her fingers and sighing, she thought, 'It is not -that! he cannot but think me beautiful.' She smiled a melancholy smile at -her image in the glass, exclaiming, 'What availeth it, thy beauty? for he -is away and looketh not on thee, thou vain thing! And what of thy -loveliness if the light illumine it not, for he is the light to thee, -and it is darkness when he's away.' - -Suddenly she thought, 'What's that which needeth to light it no other -light? I had well-nigh forgotten it in my bliss, the Jewel!' Then she -went to a case of ebony-wood, where she kept the Jewel, and drew it -forth, and shone in the beam of a pleasant imagination, thinking, ''Twill -surprise him!' And she robed herself in a robe of saffron, and set -lesser gems of the diamond and the emerald in the braid of her hair, and -knotted the Serpent Jewel firmly in a band of gold-threaded tissue, and -had it woven in her hair among the braids. In this array she awaited his -coming, and pleased her mind with picturing his astonishment and the joy -that would be his. Mute were the women who waited on her, for in their -lives they had seen no such sight as Bhanavar beneath the beams of the -Jewel, and the whole chamber was aglow with her. - -Now, in her anxiety she sent them one and one repeatedly to look forth at -the window for the coming of the Prince. So, when he came not she went -herself to look forth, and stretched her white neck beyond the casement. -While her head was exposed, she heard a cry of some one from the house in -the street opposite, and Bhanavar beheld in the house of the broker an -old wrinkled fellow that gesticulated to her in a frenzy. She snatched -her veil down and drew in her head in anger at him, calling to her maids, -'What is yonder hideous old dotard?' - -And they answered, laughing, ''Tis indeed Boolp the broker, O fair -mistress and mighty!' - -To divert herself she made them tell her of Boolp, and they told her a -thousand anecdotes of the broker, and verses of him, and the constancy of -his amorous condition, and his greediness. And Bhanavar was beguiled of -her impatience till it was evening, and the Prince returned to her. So -they embraced, and she greeted him as usual, waiting what he would say, -searching his countenance for a token of wonderment; but the youth knew -not that aught was added to her beauty, for he looked nowhere save in her -eyes. Bhanavar was nigh weeping with vexation, and pushed him from her, -and chid him with lack of love and weariness of her; and the eye of the -Prince rose to her brow to read it, and he saw the Jewel. Almeryl -clapped his hands, crying, 'Wondrous! And this thy surprise for me, my -fond one? beloved of mine!' Then he gazed on her a space, and said, -'Knowest thou, thou art terrible in thy beauty, Bhanavar, and hast the -face of lightning under that Jewel of the Serpent?' - -She kissed him, whispering, 'Not lightning to thee! Yet lovest thou -Bhanavar?' - -He replied, 'Surely so; and all save Bhanavar in this world is the -darkness of oblivion to me.' - -When it was the next morning, Almeryl rose to go forth again. Ere he had -passed the curtain of the chamber Bhanavar caught him by the arm, and she -was trembling violently. Her visage was a wild inquiry: 'Thou goest?-- -and again? There is something hidden from me!' - -Almeryl took her to his heart, and caressed her with fond flatteries, -saying, 'Ask but what is beating under these two pomegranates, and thou -learnest all of me.' - -But she stamped her foot, crying, 'No! no! I will hear it! There's a -mystery.' - -So he said, 'Well, then, it is this only; small matter enough. I have a -business with the captain of the vessel that brought us hither, and I -must see him ere he setteth sail; no other than that, thou jealous, -watchful star! Pierce me with thine eyes; it is no other than that.' - -She levelled her lids at him till her lustrous black eyelashes were as -arrows, and mimicked him softly, 'No other than that?' - -And he replied, 'Even so.' - -Then she clung to him like a hungry creature, repeating, 'Even so,' and -let him go. Alone, she summoned a slave, a black, and bade him fetch to -her without delay Ukleet the porter, and the porter was presently ushered -in to her, protesting service and devotion. So, she questioned him of -Almeryl, and the Prince's business abroad, what he knew of it. Ukleet -commenced reciting verses on the ills of jealousy, but Bhanavar checked -him with an eye that Ukleet had seen never before in woman or in man, and -he gaped at her helplessly, as one that has swallowed a bone. She -laughed, crying, 'Learn, O thou fellow, to answer my like by the letter.' - -Now, what she heard from Ukleet when he had recovered his wits, was that -the Prince had a business with none save the lenders of money. So she -spake to Ukleet in a kindly tone, 'Thou art mine, to serve me?' - -He was as one fascinated, and delivered himself, 'Yea, O my mistress! -with tongue-service, toe-service, back-service, brain-service, whatso -pleaseth thy sweet presence.' - -Said she, 'Hie over to the broker opposite, and bring him hither to me.' - -Ukleet departed, saying, 'To hear is to obey.' - -She sat gazing on the Jewel and its counterchanging splendours in her -hand, and the thought of Almeryl and his necessity was her only thought. -Not ten minutes of the hour had passed before the women waiting on her -announced Ukleet and the broker Boolp. Bhanavar gave little heed to the -old fellow's grimaces, and the compliments he addressed her, but handed -him the Jewel and desired his valuation of its worth. The face of Boolp -was a keen edge when he regarded Bhanavar, but the sight of the Jewel -sharpened it tenfold, and he tossed his arms, exclaiming, 'A jewel, -this!' - -So Bhanavar cried to him, 'Fix a price for it, O thou broker!' - -And Boolp, the old miser, debated, and began prating, - -'O lady! the soul of thy slave is abashed by a double beam, this the -jewel of jewels, thou truly of thy sex; and saving thee there's no jewel -of worth like this one, and together ye be--wullahy! never felt I aught -like this since my espousal of Soolka that 's gone, and 'twas nothing -like it then! Now, O my Princess, confess it freely--this is but a -pretext, this valuation of the Jewel, and Ukleet our go-between; and -leave the rewarding of him to me. Wullahy! I can be generous, and my -days of favour with fair ladies be not yet over. Blessed be Allah for -this day! And thinkest thou those eyes fell on me with discriminating -observation ere my sense of perception was struck by thee? Not so, for I -had noted thee, O moon of hearts, from my window yonder.' - -In this fashion Boolp the broker went on prating, and bowing, and -screwing the corners of his little acid eyes to wink the wink of common -accord between himself and Bhanavar. Meantime she had spoken aside to -one of her women, and a second black slave entered the chamber, bearing -in his hand a twisted scourge, and that slave laid it on the back of -Boolp the broker, and by this means he was brought quickly to the -valuation of the Jewel. Then he named a sum that was a great sum, -but not the value of the Jewel to the fiftieth part, nay nor the five- -hundredth part, of its value; and Ukleet remonstrated with him, but he -was resolute, saying, 'Even that sum leaves me a beggar.' - -So Bhanavar said, 'My desire is for immediate payment of the money, and -the Jewel is thine for that sum.' - -Now the broker went to fetch the money, and returned with it in bags of -gold one-half the amount, and bags of silver one-third, and the remainder -in writing made due at a certain period for payment. And he groaned and -handed her the money, and took the Jewel in his hands; ejaculating, 'In -the name of Allah!' - -That evening, when it was dark and the lamps lit in the chamber, and the -wine set and the nosegay, Almeryl asked of Bhanavar to see her under the -light of the Jewel. She warded him with an excuse, but he was earnest -with her. So she feigned that he teased her, saying, ''Tis that thou art -no longer content with me as I am, O my husband!' Then she said, 'Wert -thou successful in thy dealings this day?' - -His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing. So she cried, 'Fie -on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over this -city? Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved? Surely I am -Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things -hidden, and I know thee. Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal -not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!' - -Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver. -Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, 'How came these? for I was at the last -extremity, without coin of any kind.' - -She answered, 'How, but by the Serpents!' - -And he exclaimed, 'Would that I might work as that porter worketh, rather -than this!' - -Now, seeing he bewailed her use of the powers of the Jewel, Bhanavar fell -between his arms, and related to him her discovery of his condition, and -how she disposed of the Jewel to the broker, and of the scourging of -Boolp; and he praised her, and clave to her, and they laughed and -delighted their souls in plenteousness, and bliss was their portion; as -the poet says, - - Bliss that is born of mutual esteem - And tried companionship, I truly deem - A well-based palace, wherein fountains rise - From springs that have their sources in the skies. - -So were they for awhile. It happened that one day, that was the last day -of the year since her wearing of the Jewel, Ukleet said to them, 'Be -wary! the Vizier Aswarak hath his eye on you, and it is no cool one. I -say nothing: the wise are discreet in their tellings of the great. 'Tis -certain the broker Boolp forgetteth not his treatment here.' - -They smiled, turning to each other, and said, 'We live innocently, we -harm no one, what should we fear?' - -During the night of that day Bhanavar awoke and kissed the Prince; and -lo! he shuddered in his sleep as with the grave-cold. A second time she -was awakened on the breast of Almeryl by a dream of the Serpents of the -Lake Karatis--the lake of the Jewel; and she stood up, and there was in -the street a hum of voices, and she saw there before the house armed men -with naked steel in their hands. Scarce had she called Almeryl to her, -when the outer door of their house was forced, and she shrieked to him, -''Tis thou they come for: fly, O my Prince, my husband! the way of the -garden is clear.' - -But he said sadly, 'Nay, what am I? it is thou they would win from me. -I'll leave thee not in this life.' - -So she cried, 'O my soul, then together!--but I shall hinder thee, and be -a burden to thy flight.' - -And she called on the All-powerful for aid, and ran with him into the -garden of the house, and lo! by the water side at the end of the garden a -boat full of armed soldiers with scimitars. So these fell upon them, and -bound them, and haled them into the house again, where was the dark -Vizier Aswarak, and certain officers of the night watch with a force. -The Vizier cried when he saw them, 'I accuse thee, Prince Almeryl, of -being here in the city of our lord the King, to conspire against him and -his authority.' - -Almeryl faced the Vizier firmly, and replied, 'I knew not in my life I -had made an enemy; but there is one here who telleth that of me.' - -The Vizier frowned, saying, 'Thou deniest this? And thou here, and thy -father at war with the sovereignty of our lord the King!' - -Almeryl beheld his danger, and he said, 'Is this so?' - -Then cried the Vizier, 'Hear him! is not that a fair simulation?' So he -called to the guard, 'Shackle him!' When that was done, he ordered the -house to be sacked, and the women and the slaves he divided for a spoil, -but he reserved Bhanavar to himself: and lo! twice she burst away from -them that held her to hang upon the lips of Almeryl, and twice was she -torn from him as a grape-bunch is torn from the streaming vine, and the -third time she swooned and the anguish of life left her. - -Now, Bhanavar was borne to the harem of the Vizier, and for days she -suffered no morsel of food to enter her mouth, and was dying, had not the -Vizier in the cunning of his dissimulation fed her with distant glimpses -of Almeryl, to show her he yet lived. Then she thought, 'While my -beloved liveth, life is due to me'; and she ate and drank and reassumed -her fair fulness and the queenliness that was hers; but the Vizier had no -love of her, and respected her, considering in his mind, 'Time will -exhaust the fury of this tigress, and she is a fruit worth the waiting -for. Wullahy! I shall have possessed her ere the days of over- -ripening.' - -There was in the harem of the Vizier a mountain-girl that had been -brought there in her childhood, and trained to play upon the lute and -accompany her voice with the instrument. To this little damsel Bhanavar -gave her heart, and would listen all day, as in a trance, to her luting, -till the desire to escape from that bondage and gather tidings of Almeryl -mastered her, and she persuaded one of the blacks of the harem with a -bribe to procure her an interview with the porter Ukleet. So at a -certain hour of the night Ukleet was introduced into the garden of the -harem, and he was in the darkness of that garden a white-faced porter -with knees that knocked the dread-march together; but Bhanavar -strengthened his soul, and he said to her, ''Twas the doing of Boolp the -broker: and he whispered the Vizier of thee and thy beauty, O my -mistress! Surely thy punishment and this ruin is but part payment to -Boolp of the price of the Jewel, the great Jewel that's in the hands of -the Vizier.' - -Then she questioned him: 'And Almeryl, the Prince, my husband, what of -him?' - -Ukleet was dumb, and Bhanavar asked to hear no more. Surely she was at -the gates of pale spirits within an hour of her interview with Ukleet, -and there was no blessedness for her save in death, the stiffer of ills, -the drug that is infallible. As is said: - - Dark is that last stage of sorrow - Which from Death alone can borrow - Comfort:-- - -Bhanavar would have died then, but in a certain pause of her fever the -Vizier stood by her. She looked at him long as she lay, and the life in -her large eyes was ebbing away slowly; but there seemed presently a -check, as an eddy comes in the stream, and the light of intelligence -flowed like a reviving fire into her eyes, and her heart quickened with -desire of life while she looked on the Vizier. So she passed the pitch -of that fever, and bloomed anew in her beauty, and cherished it, for she -had a purpose. - -Now, there was rejoicing in the harem of the Vizier Aswarak when Bhanavar -arose from the couch; and the Vizier exulted, thinking, 'I have tamed -this wild beauty, or she had reached death in that extremity.' So he -allowed Bhanavar greater freedom and indulgences, and Bhanavar feigned to -give her soul to the pleasures women delight in, and the Vizier buried -her in gems and trinkets and costly raiment, robes of exquisite silks, -the choicest of Samarcand and China; and he permitted her to make -purchases among certain of the warehouses of the city and the shops of -the tradesmen, jewellers and others, so that she went about as she would, -but for the slaves that attended her and the overseer of the harem. This -continued, and Aswarak became urgent with her, and to remove suspicion -from him she named a day from that period when she would be his. -Meantime she contrived to see Ukleet the porter frequently, and within a -week of her engagement with the Vizier she gazed from a lattice-window of -the harem, and beheld in the garden, by the beams of the moon, Ukleet, -and he was looking as on the watch for her. So she sent to him the -little mountain-girl she loved, but Ukleet would tell her nothing; then -went she herself, greeting him graciously, for his service was other than -that of self-seeking. - -Ukleet said, 'O Lady, mistress of hearts, moon of the tides of will! 'tis -certain I was thy slave from the hour I beheld thee first, and of the -Prince, thy husband; Allah rest his soul! Now these be my tidings. -Wullahy! the King is one maddened with the reports I've spread about of -thy beauty, yea! raging. And I have a friend in his palace, even an -under-cook, acute in the interpreting of wishes. There was he always -gabbling of thy case, O my Princess, till the head-cook seized hold on -it, and so it went to the chamberlain, thence to the chief of the -eunuchs, and from him in a natural course, to the King. Now from the -King the tracking of this tale went to the under-cook down again, and -from him to me. So was I summoned to the King, and the King discoursed -with me--I with him, in fair fluency; he in ejaculations of desire to -have sight of thee, I in expatiation on that he would see when he had his -desire. Now in this have I not done thee a service, O sovereign of -fancies?' - -Bhanavar mused and said, 'On the after-morrow I pass through the city to -make a selection of goods, and I shall pass at noon by the great mosque, -on my way to the shop of Ebn Roulchook, the King's jeweller, beyond the -meat-market. Of a surety, I know not how my lord the King may see me.' - -Said the porter, ''Tis enough! on my head be it.' And he went from her, -singing the song: - - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - When she's intent on doing! - How easily the world may burn - When kings come out a-wooing! - -Now, ere she set forth on the after-morrow to make her purchases, -Bhanavar sent word to the Vizier Aswarak that she would see him, and he -came to her drunken with alacrity, for he augured favourably that her -reluctance was melting toward him: so she said, 'O my master, my time of -mourning is at an end, and I would look well before thee, even as one -worthy of being thy bride; so bestow on me, I pray thee, for my wearing -that day, the jewels that be in thy treasury, the brightest and clearest -of them, and the largest.' - -The Vizier Aswarak replied, and he was one in great satisfaction of soul, -'All that I have are thine. Wullahy! and one, a marvel, that I bought of -Boolp the broker, that had it from an African merchant.' So he commanded -the box wherein he had deposited the Jewel to be brought to him there in -the chamber of Bhanavar, and took forth the Serpent Jewel between his -forefinger and thumb, and laughed at the eager eyes of Bhanavar when she -beheld it, saying, ''Tis thine! thy bridal gift the day I possess thee.' - -Bhanavar trembled at the sight of the Jewel, and its redness was to her -as the blood of Zurvan and Almeryl. She stretched her hand out for it -and cried, 'This day, O my lord, make it mine.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Nay, what I have spoken will I keep to; it has cost -me much.' - -Bhanavar looked at him, and uttered in a soft tone, 'Truly it has cost -thee much.' - -Then she exclaimed, as in play, 'See me, how I look by its beam.' And in -her guile she snatched the Jewel from him, and held it to her brow. Then -Aswarak started from her and feared her, for the red light of the Jewel -glowed, and darkened the chamber with its beam, darkening all save the -lustre that was on the visage of Bhanavar. He shouted, 'What's this! -Art thou a sorceress?' - -She removed the Jewel, and ceased glaring on him, and said, 'Nothing but -thy poor slave!' - -Then he coaxed her to give him the Jewel, and she would not; he commanded -her peremptorily, and she hesitated; so he grasped her tightened hand, -and his face loured with wrath; yet she withheld the Jewel from him -laughing; and he was stirred to extreme wrath, and drew from his girdle -the naked scimitar, and menaced her with it. And he looked mighty; but -she dreaded him little, and stood her full height before him, daring him, -and she was as the tigress defending a cub from a wilder beast. Now when -he was about to call in the armed slaves of the palace, she said, 'I warn -thee, Vizier Aswarak! tempt me not to match them that serve me with them -that serve thee.' - -He ground his teeth in fury, crying, 'A conspiracy! and in the harem! -Now, thou traitress! the logic of the lash shall be tried upon thee.' And -he roared, 'Ho! ye without there! ho!' - -But ere the slaves had entered Bhanavar rubbed the Jewel on her bosom, -muttering, 'I have forborne till now! Now will I have a sacrifice, -though I be it.' And rubbing the Jewel, she sang, - - Hither! hither! - Come to your Queen; - Come through the grey wall, - Come through the green! - -There was heard a noise like the noise of a wind coming down a narrow -gorge above falling waters, a hissing and a rushing of wings, and behold! -Bhanavar was circled by rings and rings of serpent-folds that glowed -round her, twisted each in each, with the fierceness of fire, she like a -flame rising up white in the midst of them. The black slaves, when they -had lifted the curtain of the harem-chamber, shrieked to see her, and -Aswarak crouched at her feet with the aspect of an angry beast carved in -stone. Then Bhanavar loosed on either of the slaves a serpent, saying, -'What these have seen they shall not say.' And while the sweat dropped -heavily from the forehead of Aswarak, she stepped out of the circle of -serpents, singing, - - Over! over! - Hie to the lake! - Sleep with the left eye, - Keep the right awake. - -Then the serpents spread with a great whirr, and flew through the high -window and the walls as they had come, and she said to the Vizier, 'What -now? Fearest thou? I have spared thee, thou that madest me desolate! -and thy slaves are a sacrifice for thee. Now this I ask: Where lies my -beloved, the Prince my husband? Speak nothing of him, save the place of -his burial!' - -So he told her, 'In the burial-ground of the great prison.' - -She rolled her eyes on the Vizier darkly, exclaiming, 'Even where the -felons lie entombed, he lieth!' And she began to pant, pale with what -she had done, and leaned to the floor, and called, - - Yellow stripe, with freckle red, - Coil and curl, and watch by my head. - -And a serpent with yellow stripes and red freckles came like a javelin -down to her, and coiled and curled round her head, and she slept an hour. -When she arose the Vizier was yet there, sitting with folded knees. So -she sped the serpent to the Lake Karatis, and called her women to her, -and went to an inner room, and drew an outer robe and a vest over that -she had on, and passed the Vizier, and said, 'Art thou not rejoiced in -thy bride, O Aswarak? 'Twas a wondrous clemency, hers! Now but four -more days and thou claimest her. Say nothing of what thou hast seen, or -thou wilt shortly see nothing further to say, my master.' - -So she left the Vizier sitting still in that chamber, and mounted a mule, -attended by slaves on foot before and behind her, and passed through the -streets till she came to the shop of Ebn Roulchook. The King was in -disguise at the extremity of the shop, and while she examined this and -that of the precious stones, Bhanavar for a moment made bare the beauty, -of her face, and love's fires took fast hold of the King, and he cried, -'I marvel not at the eloquence of the porter.' - -Now, she made Ebn Roulchook bring to her a circlet of gold, with a hollow -in the frontal centre, and fit into that hollow the Serpent Jewel. So, -while she laughed and chatted with her women Bhanavar lifted the circlet, -and made her countenance wholly bare even to the neck and the beginning -slope of the bosom, and fixed the circlet to her head with the Jewel -burning on her brow. Then when he beheld the glory of excelling -loveliness that she was, and the splendour in her eyes under the Jewel, -the King shouted and parted with his disguise, and Ebn Roulchook and the -women and slaves with Bhanavar fled to the courtyard that was behind the -shop, leaving Bhanavar alone with the King. Surely Bhanavar returned not -to the dwelling of the Vizier. - -Now, the King Mashalleed espoused Bhanavar, and she became his queen and -ruled him, and her word was the dictate of the land. Then caused she the -body of Almeryl, with the severed head of the Prince, to be disinterred, -and entombed secretly in the palace; and she had lamps lit in the vault, -and the pall spread, and the readers of the Koran to read by the tomb; -and then she stole to the tomb hourly, in the day and in the night, -wailing of him and her utter misery, repeating verses at the side of the -tomb, and they were, - - Take me to thee! - Like the deep-rooted tree, - My life is half in earth, and draws - Thence all sweetness; oh may my being pause - Soon beside thee! - - Welcome me soon! - As to the queenly moon, - Man's homage to my beauty sets; - Yet am I a rose-shrub budding regrets: - Welcome me soon. - - Soul of my soul! - Have me not half, but whole. - Dear dust, thou art my eyes, my breath! - Draw me to thee down the dark sea of death, - Soul of my soul! - -And she sang: - - Sad are they who drink life's cup - Till they have come to the bitter-sweet: - Better at once to toss it up, - And trample it beneath the feet; - For venom-charged as serpents' eggs - 'Tis then, and knows not other change. - Early, early, early, have I reached the dregs - Of life, and loathe and love the bittersweet, revenge! - -Then turned she aside, and sang musingly: - - I came to his arms like the flower of the spring, - And he was my bird of the radiant wing: - He flutter'd above me a moment, and won - The bliss of my breast as a beam of the sun, - Untouch'd and untasted till then-- - -The voice in her throat was like a drowning creature, and she rose up, -and chanted wildly: - - I weep again? - - What play is this? for the thing is dead in me long since: - Will all the reviving rain - Of heaven bring me back my Prince? - But I, when I weep, when I weep, - Blood will I weep! - And when I weep, - Sons for fathers shall weep; - Mothers for sons shall weep; - Wives for husbands shall weep! - Earth shall complain of floods red and deep, - When I weep! - -Upon that she ran up a secret passage to her chamber and rubbed the -Jewel, and called the serpents, to delight her soul with the sight of her -power, and rolled and sported madly among them, clutching them by the -necks till their thin little red tongues hung out, and their eyes were as -discoloured blisters of venom. Then she arose, and her arms and neck and -lips were glazed with the slime of the serpents, and she flung off her -robes to the close-fitting silken inner vest looped across her bosom with -pearls, and whirled in a mazy dance-measure among them, and sang -melancholy melodies, making them delirious, fascinating them; and they -followed her round and round, in twines and twists and curves, with -arched heads and stiffened tails; and the chamber swam like an undulating -sea of shifting sapphire lit by the moon of midnight. Not before the -moon of midnight was in the sky ceased Bhanavar sporting with the -serpents, and she sank to sleep exhausted in their midst. - -Such was the occupation of the Queen of Mashalleed when he came not to -her. The women and slaves of the palace dreaded her, and the King -himself was her very slave. - -Meanwhile the plot of her unforgivingness against Aswarak ripened: and -the Vizier beholding the bride he had lost Queen of Mashalleed his -master, it was as she conceived, that his heart was eaten with jealousy -and fierce rage. Bhanavar as she came across him spake mildly, and gave -him gentle looks, sad glances, suffering not his fires to abate, the -torment of his love to cool. Each night he awoke with a serpent in his -bed; the beam of her beauty was as the constant bite of a serpent, -poisoning his blood, and he deluded his soul with the belief that -Bhanavar loved him notwithstanding, and that she was seized forcibly from -him by the King. 'Otherwise,' thought he, 'why loosed she not a serpent -from the host to strangle me even as yonder black slaves?' Bhanavar knew -the mind of Aswarak, and considered, 'The King is cunning and weak, a -slave to his desires, and in the bondage of the jewel, my beauty. The -Vizier is unscrupulous, a hatcher of intrigues; but that he dreads me and -hopes a favour of me, he would have wrought against me ere now. 'Tis -then a combat 'twixt him and me. O my soul, art thou dreaming of a fair -youth that was the bliss of thy bosom night and day, night and day? The -Vizier shall die!' - -One morning, and it was a year from the day she had become Queen of -Mashalleed, Bhanavar sprang up quickly from the side of the King; and he -was gazing on her in amazement and loathing. She flew to her chamber, -chasing forth her women, and ran to a mirror. Therein she saw three -lines that were on her brow, lines of age, and at the corners of her -mouth and about her throat a slackness of skin, the skin no longer its -soft rosy white, but withered brown as leaves of the forest. She -shrieked, and fell back in a swoon of horror. When she recovered, she -ran to the mirror again, and it was the same sight. And she rose from -swooning a third time, and still she beheld the visage of a hag; nothing -of beauty there save the hair and the brilliant eyes. Then summoned she -the serpents in a circle, and the number of them was that of the days in -the year: and she bared her wrist and seized one, a gray-silver with -sapphire spots, and hissed at him till he hissed, and foam whitened the -lips of each. Thereupon she cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of hell, - What is come upon me, tell! - -And the Serpent replied, - - Jewel Queen! beauty's price! - 'Tis the time for sacrifice! - -She grasped another, one of leaden colour, with yellow bars and silver -crescents, and cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of fire, - Name the creature ye require! - -And the Serpent replied: - - Ruby lip! poison tooth! - We are hungry for a youth. - -She grasped another that writhed in her fingers like liquid emerald, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of glue! - How to know the one that's due? - -And the Serpent replied: - - Breast of snow! baleful bliss! - He that wooing wins a kiss. - -She clutched one at her elbow, a hairy serpent with yellow languid eyes -in flame-sockets and livid-lustrous length--a disease to look on, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of gall! - There's a youth beneath the pall. - -And the Serpent replied: - - Brilliant eye! bloody tear! - He has fed us for a year. - -She squeezed that hairy serpent till her finger-points whitened in his -neck, and he dropped lifelessly, crying: - - Treble-tongues and things of mud! - Sprang my beauty from his blood? - -And the Serpents rose erect, replying: - - Yearly one of us must die; - Yearly for us dieth one; - Else the Queen an ugly lie - Lives till all our lives be done! - -Bhanavar stood up, and hurried them to Karatis. When she was alone she -fell toward the floor, repeating, ''Tis the Curse!' Suddenly she thought, -'Yet another year my beauty shall be nourished by my vengeance, yet -another! And, O Vizier, the kiss shall be thine, the kiss of doom; for I -have doomed thee ere now. Thou, thou shalt restore me to my beauty: that -only love I now my Prince is lost.' - -So she veiled her face in the close veil of the virtuous, and despatched -Ukleet, whom she exalted in the palace of the King, to the Vizier; and -Ukleet stood before Aswarak, and said, 'O Vizier, my mistress truly is -longing for you with excessive longing, and in what she now undergoeth is -forgotten an evil done by you to her; and she bids you come and concert -with her a scheme deliberately as to the getting rid of this tyrant who -is an affliction to her, and her life is lessened by him.' - -The Vizier was deceived by his passion, and he chuckled and exclaimed, -'My very dream! and to mind me of her, then, she sent the serpents! -Wullahy, in the matter of women, wait! For, as the poet declareth: - - 'Tis vanity our souls for such to vex; - Patience is a harvest of the sex.'' - -And they fret themselves not overlong for husbands that are gone, these -young beauties. I know them. Tell the Queen of Serpents I am even hers -to the sole of my foot.' - -So it was understood between them that the Vizier should be at the gate -of the garden of the palace that night, disguised; and the Vizier -rejoiced, thinking, 'If she have not the Jewel with her, it shall go ill -with me, and I foiled this time!' - -Ukleet then proceeded to the house of Boolp the broker, fronting the -gutted ruins where Bhanavar had been happy in her innocence with Almeryl, -the mountain prince, her husband. Boolp was engaged haggling with a -slave-merchant the price of a fair slave, and Ukleet said to him,'Yet -awhile delay, O Boolp, ere you expend a fraction of treasure, for truly a -mighty bargain of jewels is waiting for you at the palace of my lord the -King. So come thither with all your money-bags of gold and silver, and -your securities, and your bonds and dues in writing, for 'tis the -favourite of the King requireth you to complete a bargain with her, and -the price of her jewels is the price of a kingdom.' - -Said Boolp, 'Hearing is compliance in such a case.' - -And Ukleet continued, 'What a fortune is yours, O Boolp! truly the tide -of fortune setteth into your lap. Fail not, wullahy! to come with all -you possess, or if you have not enough when she requireth it to complete -the bargain, my mistress will break off with you. I know not if she -intend even other game for you, O lucky one!' - -Boolp hitched his girdle and shrugged, saying, ''Tis she will fail, I -wot,--she, in having therewith to complete the bargain between us. Wa! -wa!--there! I've done this before now. Wullahy! if she have not enough -of her rubies and pearls to outweigh me and my gold, go to, Boolp will -school her! What says the poet?-- - - ''Earth and ocean search, East, West, and North, to the South, - None will match the bright rubies and pearls of her mouth.'' - -'Aha! what? O Ukleet! And he says: - - ''The lovely ones a bargain made - With me, and I renounced my trade, - Half-ruined; 'Ah!' said they, 'return and win! - To even scales ourselves we will throw in!''' - -How so? But let discreetness reign and security flourisheth!' - -Ukleet nodded at him, and repeated the distich: - - Men of worth and men of wits - Shoot with two arrows, and make two hits. - -So he arranged with Boolp the same appointment as with the Vizier, and -returned to Queen Bhanavar. - -Now, in the dark of night Aswarak stood within the gate of the palace- -garden of Mashalleed that was ajar, and a hand from a veiled figure -reached to him, and he caught it, in the fulness of his delusion, crying, -'Thou, my Queen?' But the hand signified silence, and drew him past the -tank of the garden and through a court of the palace into a passage lit -with lamps, and on into a close-curtained chamber, and beyond a heavy -curtain into another, a circular passage descending between black -hangings, and at the bottom a square vault draped with black, and in it -precious woods burning, oils in censers, and the odour of ambergris and -myrrh and musk floating in clouds, and the sight of the Vizier was for a -time obscured by the thickness of the incenses floating. As he became -familiar with the place, he saw marked therein a board spread at one end -with viands and wines, and the nosegay in a water-vase, and cups of gold -and a service of gold,--every preparation for feasting mightily. So the -soul of Aswarak leapt, and he cried, 'Now unveil thyself, O moon of our -meeting, my mistress!' - -The voice of Bhanavar answered him, 'Not till we have feasted and -drunken, and it seemeth little in our eyes. Surely the chamber is -secure: could I have chosen one better for our meeting, O Aswarak?' - -Upon that he entreated her to sit with him to the feast, but she cried, -'Nay! delay till the other is come.' - -Cried he, 'Another?' - -But she exclaimed, 'Hush!' and saying thus went forward to the foot of -the passage, and Boolp was there, following Ukleet, both of them under a -weight of bags and boxes. So she welcomed the broker, and led him to the -feast, he coughing and wheezing and blinking, unwitting the vexation of -the Vizier, nor that one other than himself was there. When Boolp heard -the voice of the Vizier, in astonishment, addressing him, he started back -and fell upon his bags, and the task of coaxing him to the board was as -that of haling a distempered beast to the water. Then they sat and -feasted together, and Ukleet with them; and if Aswarak or Boolp waxed -impatient of each other's presence, he whispered to them, 'Only wait! see -what she reserveth for you.' And Bhanavar mused with herself, 'Truly -that reserved shall be not long coming!' So they drank, and wine got the -mastery of Aswarak, so that he made no secret of his passion, and began -to lean to her and verse extemporaneously in her ear; and she stinted not -in her replies, answering to his urgency in girlish guise, sighing behind -the veil, as if under love's influence. And the Vizier pressed close, -and sang: - - 'Tis said that love brings beauty to the cheeks - Of them that love and meet, but mine are pale; - For merciless disdain on me she wreaks, - And hides her visage from my passionate tale: - I have her only, only when she speaks. - Bhanavar, unveil! - - I have thee, and I have thee not! Like one - Lifted by spirits to a shining dale - In Paradise, who seeks to leap and run - And clasp the beauty, but his foot doth fail, - For he is blind: ah! then more woful none! - Bhanavar, unveil! - -He thrust the wine-cup to her, and she lifted it under her veil, and then -sang, in answer to him: - - My beauty! for thy worth - Thank the Vizier! - - He gives thee second birth: - Thank the Vizier! - - His blooming form without a fault: - Thank the Vizier! - - Is at thy foot in this blest vault: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth not he telleth such a truth, - Thank the Vizier! - - That thou, thro' him, spring'st fresh in blushing youth: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth little now, but he shall soon be wise: - Thank the Vizier! - - This meeting bringeth bloom to cheeks and lips and eyes: - Thank the Vizier! - - O my beloved in this blest vault, if I love thee for aye, - Thank the Vizier! - - Thine am I, thine! and learns his soul what it has taught--to die, - Thank the Vizier! - -Now, Aswarak divined not her meaning, and was enraptured with her, and -cried, 'Wullahy! so and such thy love! Thine am I, thine! And what a -music is thy voice, O my mistress! 'Twere a bliss to Eblis in his -torment could he hear it. Life of my head! and is thy beauty increased -by me? Nay, thou flatterer!' Then he said to her, 'Away with these -importunate dogs! 'tis the very hour of tenderness! Wullahy! they offend -my nostril: stung am I at the sight of them.' - -She rejoined,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Thou that wakenest my beauty from night and scorn, - Thy time is near, and when 'tis come, - Long will a jackal howl that this thy request had been dumb. - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -So the Vizier imaged in his mind the neglect of Mashalleed from these -words, and said, 'Leave the King to my care, O Queen of Serpents, and -expend no portion of thy power on him; but hasten now the going of these -fellows; my heart is straitened by them, and I, wullahy! would gladly see -a serpent round the necks of either.' - -She continued,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Lo! the star must die when splendider light is born; - In stronger floods the beam will drown: - Shrink, thou puny orb, and dread to bring me my crown, - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -Then said she, 'Hark awhile at those two! There's a disputation between -them.' - -So they hearkened, and Ukleet was pledging Boolp, and passing the cup to -him; but a sullenness had seized the broker, and he refused it, and -Ukleet shouted, 'Out, boon-fellow! and what a company art thou, that thou -refusest the pledge of friendliness? Plague on all sulkers!' - -And the broker, the old miser, obstinate as are the half-fuddled, began -to mumble, 'I came not here to drink, O Ukleet, but to make a bargain; -and my bags be here, and I like not yonder veil, nor the presence of -yonder Vizier, nor the secresy of this. Now, by the Prophet and that -interdict of his, I'll drink no further.' - -And Ukleet said, 'Let her not mark your want of fellowship, or 'twill go -ill with you. Here be fine wines, spirited wines! choice flavours! and -you drink not! Where's the soul in you, O Boolp, and where's the life in -you, that you yield her to the Vizier utterly? Surely she waiteth a -gallant sign from you, so challenge her cheerily.' - -Quoth Boolp, 'I care not. Shall I leave my wealth and all I possess void -of eyes? and she so that I recognise her not behind the veil?' - -Ukleet pushed the old miser jeeringly: 'You not recognise her? Oh, -Boolp, a pretty dissimulation! Pledge her now a cup to the snatching of -the veil, and bethink you of a fitting verse, a seemly compliment,-- -something sugary.' - -Then Boolp smoothed his head, and was bothered; and tapped it, and -commenced repeating to Bhanavar: - - I saw the moon behind a cloud, - And I was cold as one that's in his shroud: - And I cried, Moon!-- - -Ukleet chorused him, 'Moon!' and Boolp was deranged in what he had to -say, and gasped,-- - - Moon! I cried, Moon!--and I cried, Moon! - -Then the Vizier and Ukleet laughed till they fell on their backs; so -Bhanavar took up his verse where he left it, singing,-- - - And to the cry - Moon did make fair the following reply: - 'Dotard, be still! for thy desire - Is to embrace consuming fire.' - -Then said Boolp, 'O my mistress, the laws of conviviality have till now -restrained me; but my coming here was on business, and with me my bags, -in good faith. So let us transact this matter of the jewels, and after -that the song of-- - - ''Thou and I - A cup will try,'' - -even as thou wilt.' - -Bhanavar threw aside her outer robe and veil, and appeared in a dress of -sumptuous blue, spotted with gold bees; her face veiled with a veil of -gauzy silver, and she was as the moon in summer heavens, and strode mar -jestically forward, saying, 'The jewels? 'tis but one. Behold!' - -The lamps were extinguished, and in her hand was the glory of the Serpent -Jewel, no other light save it in the vaulted chamber. - -So the old miser perked his chin and brows, and cried wondering, 'I know -it, this Jewel, O my mistress.' - -She turned to the Vizier, and said, lifting the red gloom of the Jewel on -him, 'And thou?' - -Aswarak ate his under-lip. - -Then she cried, 'There's much ye know in common, ye two.' - -Thereupon Bhanavar passed from the feast on to the centre of the vault, -and stood before the tomb of Almeryl, and drew the cloth from it; and -they saw by the glow of the Jewel that it was a tomb. When she had -mounted some steps at the side of the tomb, she beckoned them to come, -crying, in a voice of sobs, 'This which is here, likewise ye may know.' - -So they came with the coldness of a mystery in their blood, and looked as -she looked intently over a tomb. The lid was of glass, and through the -glass of the lid the Jewel flung a dark rosy ray on the body of Almeryl -lying beneath it. - -Now, the miser was perplexed at the sight; but Aswarak stepped backward -in defiance, bellowing, ''Twas for this I was tricked to come here! Is 't -fooling me a second time? By Allah! look to it; not a second time will -Aswarak be fooled.' - -Then she ran to him, and exclaimed, 'Fooled? For what cam'st thou to -me?' - -And he, foaming and grinding his breath, 'Thou woman of wiles! thou -serpent! but I'll be gone from here.' - -So she faltered in sweetness, knowing him doomed, and loving to dally -with him in her wickedness, 'Indeed if thou cam'st not for my kiss--' - -Then said the Vizier, 'Yet a further guile! Was't not an outrage to -bring me here?' - -She faltered again, leaning the fair length of her limbs on a couch, ''Tis -ill that we are not alone, else could these lips convince thee well: else -indeed!' - -And the Vizier cried, 'Chase then these intruders from us, O thou -sorceress, and above all serpents in power! for thou poisonest with a -touch; and the eye and the ear alike take in thy poisons greedily. Thou -overcomest the senses, the reason, the judgment; yea, vindictiveness, -wrath, suspicions; leading the soul captive with a breath of thine, as -'twere a breeze from the gardens of bliss.' - -Bhanavar changed her manner a little, lisping, 'And why that starting -from the tomb of a dead harmless youth? And that abuse of me?' - -He peered at her inquiringly, echoing 'Why?' - -And she repeated, as a child might repeat it, 'Why that?' - -Then the Vizier smote his forehead in the madness of utter perplexity, -changing his eye from Bhanavar to the tomb of Almeryl, doubting her -truth, yet dreading to disbelieve it. So she saw him fast enmeshed in -her subtleties, and clapped her hands crying, 'Come again with me to the -tomb, and note if there be aught I am to blame in, O Aswarak, and plight -thyself to me beside it.' - -He did nothing save to widen his eye at her somewhat; and she said, 'The -two are yonside the tomb, and they hear us not, and see us not by this -light of the Jewel; so come up to it boldly with me; free thy mind of its -doubt, and for a reconcilement kiss me on the way.' - -Aswarak moved not forward; but as Bhanavar laid the Jewel in her bosom he -tore the veil from her darkened head, and caught her to him and kissed -her. Then Bhanavar laughed and shouted, 'How is it with thee, Vizier -Aswarak?' - -He was tottering, and muttered, ''Tis a death-chill hath struck me even to -my marrow.' - -So she drew the Jewel forth once more, and rubbed it ablaze, and the -noise of the Serpents neared; and they streamed into the vault and under -it in fiery jets, surrounding Bhanavar, and whizzing about her till in -their velocity they were indivisible; and she stood as a fountain of fire -clothed in flashes of the underworld, the new loveliness of her face -growing vivid violet like an incessant lightning above them. Then -stretched she her two hands, and sang to the Serpents:-- - - Hither, hither, to the feast! - Hither to the sacrifice! - Virtue for my sake hath ceased: - Now to make an end of Vice! - - Twisted-tail and treble-tongue, - Swelling length and greedy maw! - I have had a horrid wrong; - Retribution is the law! - - Ye that suck'd my youthful lord, - Now shall make another meal: - Seize the black Vizier abhorr'd; - Seize him! seize him throat and heel! - - Set your serpent wits to find - Tortures of a new device: - Have him! have him heart and mind! - Hither to the sacrifice' - -Then she whirled with them round and round as a tempest whirls; and when -she had wound them to a fury, lo, she burst from the hissing circle and -dragged Ukleet from the vault into the passage, and blocked the entrance -to the vault. So was Queen Bhanavar avenged. - -Now, she said to Ukleet, 'Ransom presently the broker,--him they will not -harm,' and hastened to the King that he might see her in her beauty. The -King reclined on cushions in the harem with a fair slave-girl, newly from -the mountains, toying with the pearls in her locks. Then thought -Bhanavar, 'Let him not slight me!' So she drew a rose-coloured veil over -her face and sat beside Mashalleed. The King continued his fondling with -the girl, saying to her, 'Was there no destiny foretold of thy coming to -the palace of the King to rule it, O Nashta, starbeam in the waters! and -hadst thou no dream of it?' - -Bhanavar struck the King's arm, but he noticed her not, and Nashta -laughed. Then Bhanavar controlled her trembling and said, 'A word, O -King! and vouchsafe me a hearing.' - -The King replied languidly, still looking on Nashta, ''Tis a command that -the voice of none that are crabbed and hideous be heard in the harem, and -I find comfort in it, O Nashta! but speak thou, my fountain of sweet- -dropping lute-notes!' - -Bhanavar caught the King's hand and said, 'I have to speak with thee; -'tis the Queen. Chase from us this little wax puppet a space.' - -The King disengaged his hand and leaned it over to Nashta, who began -playing with it, and fitting on it a ring, giggling. Then, as he -answered nothing, Bhanavar came nearer and slapped him on the cheek. -Mashalleed started to his feet, and his hand grasped his girdle; but that -wrathfulness was stayed when he beheld the veil slide from her visage. -So he cried, 'My Queen! my soul!' - -She pointed to Nashta, and the King chid the girl, and sent her forth -lean with his shifted displeasure, as a kitten slinks wet from a fish- -pond where it had thought to catch a great fish. Then Bhanavar -exclaimed, 'There was a change in thy manner to me before that creature.' - -He sought to dissimulate with her, but at last he confessed, 'I was truly -this morning the victim of a sorcery.' - -Thereupon she cried, 'And thou went angered to find me not by thee on the -couch, but one in my place, a hag of ugliness. Hear then the case, O -Mashalleed! Surely that old crone had a dream, and it was that if she -slept one night by the King she would arise fresh in health from her -ills, and with powers lasting a year to heal others of all maladies with -a touch. So she came to me, petitioning me to bring this about. O my -lord the King, did I well in being privy to her desire?' - -The King could not doubt this story of Bhanavar, seeing her constant -loveliness, and the arch of her flashing brow, and the oval of her cheek -and chin smooth as milk. So he said, 'O my Queen! I had thought to go, -as I must, gladly; but how shall I go, knowing thy truth, thy beauty -unchanged; thee faithful, a follower of the injunctions of the Prophet in -charitable deeds?' - -Cried she, 'And whither goeth my lord, and on what errand?' - -He answered, 'The people of a province southward have raised the standard -of revolt and mocked my authority; they have been joined by certain of -the Arab chiefs subject to my dominion, and have defeated my armies. -'Tis to subdue them I go; yea, to crush them. Yet, wallaby! I know not. -Care I if kingdoms fall away, and nations, so that I have thee? Nay, let -all pass, so that thou remain by me.' - -Bhanavar paced from him to a mirror, and frowned at the reflection of her -fairness, thinking, 'Such had he spoken to the girl Nashta, or another, -this King!' And she thought, 'I have been beloved by the noblest three on -earth; I will ask no more of love; vengeance I have had. 'Tis time that -I demand of my beauty nothing save power, and I will make this King my -stepping-stone to power, rejoicing my soul with the shock of armies.' - -Now, she persuaded Mashalleed to take her with him on his expedition -against the Arabs; and they set forth, heading a great assemblage of -warriors, southward to the land bordering the Desert. The King credited -the suggestions of Bhanavar, that Aswarak had disappeared to join the -rebels, and pressed forward in his eagerness to inflict a chastisement -signal in swiftness upon them and that traitor; so eagerly Mashalleed -journeyed to his army in advance, that the main body, with Bhanavar, was -left by him long behind. She had encouraged him, saying, 'I shall love -thee much if thou art speedy in winning success.' The Queen was housed -on an elephant, harnessed with gold, and with silken purple trappings; -from the rose-hued curtains of her palanquin she looked on a mighty march -of warriors, filling the extent of the plains; all day she fed her sight -on them. Surely the story of her beauty became noised among the guards -of her person that rode and ran beneath the royal elephant, till the -soldiers of Mashalleed spake but of the beauty of the Queen, and Bhanavar -was as a moon shining over that sea of men. - -Now, they had passed the cultivated fields, and were halting by the ford -of a river bordering the Desert, when lo! a warrior on the yonside, -riding in a cloud of dust, and his shout was, 'The King Mashalleed is -defeated, and flying.' Then the Captains of the host witnessed to the -greatness of Allah, and were troubled with a dread, fearing to advance; -but Bhanavar commanded a horse to be saddled for her, and mounted it, and -plunged through the ford singly; so they followed her, and all day she -rode forward -on horseback, touching neither food nor drink. By night she was a league -beyond the foremost of them, and fell upon the King encamped in the -Desert, with the loose remnant of his forces. Mashalleed, when he had -looked on her, forgot his affliction, and stood up to embrace her, but -Bhanavar spurned him, crying, 'A time for this in the time of disgrace?' -Then she said, 'How came it?' - -He answered, 'There was a Chief among the enemy, an Arab, before the -terror of whom my people fled.' - -Cried she, 'Conquer him on the morrow, and till then I eat not, drink -not, sleep not.' - -On the morrow Mashalleed again encountered the rebels, and Bhanavar, -seated on her elephant, from a sand-hillock under a palm, beheld the -prowess of the Arab Chief and the tempest of battle that he was. She -thought, 'I have seen but one mighty in combat like that one, Ruark, the -Chief of the Beni-Asser.' Thereupon she coursed toward the King, even -where the arrows gloomed like locusts, thick and dark in the air aloof, -and said, 'The victory is with yonder Chief! Hurl on him three of thy -sons of valour.' - -The three were selected, and made onslaught on this Chief, and perished -under his arm. - -Bhanavar saw them fall, and exclaimed, 'Another attack on him, and with -thrice three!' - -Her will was the mandate of Mashalleed, and these likewise were ordered -forth, and closed on the Chief, but he darted from their toils and -wheeled about them, spearing them one by one till the nine were in the -dust. Bhanavar compressed her dry lips and muttered to the King, 'Head -thou a body against him.' - -Mashalleed gathered round his standard the chosen of his warriors, and -smoothed his beard, and headed them. Then the Chief struck his lance -behind him, and stretched rapidly a half-circle across the sand, and -halted on a knoll. When they neared him he retreated in a further half- -circle, and continued this wise, wasting the fury of Mashalleed, till he -stood among his followers. There, as the King hesitated and prepared to -retreat, he and the others of the tribe levelled their lances and hung -upon his rear, fretting them, slaughtering captains of the troop. When -Mashalleed turned to face his pursuer, the Chief was alone, immovable on -his mare, fronting the ranks. Then Bhanavar taunted the King, and he -essayed the capture of that Chief a second time and a third, and it was -each time as the first. Bhanavar looked about her with rapid eyes, -murmuring, 'Oh, what a Chief is he! Oh that a cloud would fall, a smoke -arise, to blind these hosts, that I might sling my serpents on him -unseen, for I will not be vanquished, though it be by Ruark!' So she -drew to the King, and the altercation between them was fierce in the fury -of the battle, he saying, ''Tis a feint of the Chief, this challenge; and -I must succour the left of my army by the well, that he is overmatching -with numbers'; and she, 'If thou head them not, then will I, and thou -shalt behold a woman do what thou durst not, and lose her love and win -her scorn.' While they spake the Arabs they looked on seemed to flutter -and waver, and the Chief was backing to them, calling to them as 'twere -words of shame to rally them. Seeing this, Mashalleed charged against -the Chief once more, and lo! the Arabs opened to receive him, closing on -his band of warriors like waters whitened by the storm on a fleet of -swift-scudding vessels: and there was a dust and a tumult visible, such -as is seen in the darkness when a vessel struck by the lightning-bolt is -sinking--flashes of steel, lifting of hands, rolling of horsemen and -horses. Then Bhanavar groaned aloud, 'They are lost! Shame to us! only -one hope is left-that 'tis Ruark, this Chief!' Now, the view of the -plain cleared, and with it she beheld the army of Mashalleed broken, the -King borne down by a dust of Arabs; so she unveiled her face and rode on -the host with the horsemen that guarded her, glorious with a crown of -gold and the glowing Jewel on her brow. When she was a javelin's flight -from them the Arabs shouted and paused in terror, for the light of her -head was as the sun setting between clouds of thunder; but that Chief -dashed forward like a flame beaten level by the wind, crying, 'Bhanavar; -Bhanavar!' and she knew the features of Ruark; so she said, 'Even I!' -And he cried again, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' and was as one stricken by a -shaft. Then Bhanavar threw on him certain of the horsemen with her, and -he suffered them without a sign to surround him and grasp his mare by the -bridle-rein, and bring him, disarmed, before the Queen. At sight of -Ruark a captive the Arabs fell into confusion, and lost heart, and were -speedily chased and scattered from the scene like a loose spray before -the wind; but Mashalleed the King rejoiced mightily and praised Bhanavar, -and the whole army of the King praised her, magnifying her. - -Now, with Ruark she interchanged no syllable, and said not farewell to -him when she departed with Mashalleed, to encounter other tribes; and the -Chief was bound and conducted a prisoner to the city of the inland sea, -and cast into prison, in expectation of Death the releaser, and continued -there wellnigh a year, eating the bitter bread of captivity. In the -evening of every seventh day there came to him a little mountain girl, -that sat by him and leaned a lute to her bosom, singing of the mountain -and the desert, but he turned his face from her to the wall. One day she -sang of Death the releaser, and Ruark thought, ''Tis come! she warneth -me! Merciful is Allah!' On the morning that followed Ukleet entered the -cell, and with him three slaves, blacks, armed with scimitars. So Ruark -stood up and bore witness to his faith, saying, 'Swift with the stroke!' -but Ukleet exclaimed, 'Fear not! the end is not yet.' - -Then said he, 'Peace with thee! These slaves, O Chief, excelling in -martial qualities! surely they're my retinue, and the retinue of them of -my rank in the palace; and where I go they go; for the exalted have more -shadows than one! yea, three have they in my case, even very grimly black -shadows, whereon the idle expend not laughter, and whoso joketh in their -hearing, 'tis, wullahy! the last joke of that person. In such-wise are -the powerful known among men, they that stand very prominent in the beams -of prosperity! Now this of myself; but for thee--of a surety the Queen -Bhanavar, my mistress, will be here by the time of the rising of the -moon. In the name of Allah!' Saying that he departed in his greatness, -and Ruark watched for her that rose in his soul as the moon in the -heavens. - -Meanwhile Bhanavar had mused, ''Tis this day, the day when the Serpents -desire their due, and the King Mashalleed they shall have; for what is -life to him but a treachery and a dalliance, and what is my hold on him -but this Jewel of the Serpents? He has had the profit of beauty, and he -shall yield the penalty: my kiss is for him, my serpent-kiss. And I will -release Ruark, and espouse him, and war with kings, sultans, emperors, -infidels, subduing them till they worship me.' - -She flashed her figure in the glass, and was lovely therein as one in the -light of Paradise; but ere she reached the King Mashalleed, lo! the hour -of the Serpents had struck, and her beauty melted from her as snow melts -from off the rock; and she was suddenly haggard in utter uncomeliness, -and knew it not, but marched, smiling a grand smile, on to the King. Now -as Mashalleed lifted his eyes to her he started amazed, crying, 'The hag -again!' and she said, 'What of the hag, O my lord the King?' Thereat he -was yet more amazed, and exclaimed, 'The hag of ugliness with the voice -of Bhanavar! Has then the Queen lent that loathsomeness her voice also?' - -Bhanavar chilled a moment, and looked on the faces of the women present, -and they were staring at her, the younger ones tittering, and among them -Nashta, whom she hated. So she cried, 'Away with ye!' But the King -commanded them, 'Stay!' Then the Queen leaned to him, saying, 'I will -speak with my lord alone'; whereat he shrank from her, and spat. Ice and -flame shivered through the blood of Bhanavar, yet such was her eagerness -to give the kiss to Mashalleed, that she leaned to him, still wooing him -to her with smiles. Then the King seized her violently, and flung her -over the marble floor to the very basin of the fountain, and the crown -that was on her brow fell and rolled to the feet of Nashta. The girl -lifted it, laughing, and was in the act of fitting it to her fair head -amid the chuckles of her companions, when a slap from the hand of -Bhanavar spun her twice round, and she dropped to the marble insensible. -The King bellowed in wrath, and ran to Nashta, crying to the Queen, -'Surrender that crown to her, foul hag!' But Bhanavar had bent over the -basin of the fountain, and beheld the image of her change therein, and -was hurrying from the hall and down the corridors of the palace to the -private chamber. So he made bare the steel by his side, and followed her -with a number of the harem guard, menacing her, and commanding her to -surrender the crown with the Jewel. Ere she could lay hand on a veil, he -was beside her, and she was encompassed. In that extremity Bhanavar -plucked the Jewel from her crown, and rubbed it, calling the Serpents to -her. One came, one only, and that one would not move from her to sling -himself about the neck of Mashalleed, but whirled round her, hissing: - - Every hour a serpent dies, - Till we have the sacrifice: - Sweeten, sweeten, with thy kiss, - Quick! a soul for Karatis. - -Surely the King bit his breath, marvelling, and his fury became an awful -fear, and he fell back from her, molesting her no further. Then she -squeezed the serpent till his body writhed in knots, and veiled herself, -and sprang down a secret passage to the garden, and it was the time of -the rising of the moon. Coolness and soothingness dropped on her as a -balm from the great light, and she gazed on it murmuring, as in a memory: - - Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that dark palm-tree through the night, - Rest on the mountain slope, - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps, - Silvery leaps and falls: - Hang by the mountain-walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And she panted and sighed, and wept, crying, 'Who, who will kiss me or -have my kiss now, that I may indeed be as yonder beam? Who, that I may -be avenged on this King? And who sang that song of the ascending of the -moon, that comes to me as a part of me from old times?' As she gazed on -the circled radiance swimming under a plume of palm leaves, she -exclaimed, 'Ruark! Ruark the Chief!' So she clasped her hands to her -bosom, and crouched under the shadows of the garden, and fled through the -garden gates and the streets of the city, heavily veiled, to the prison -where Ruark awaited her within the walls and Ukleet without. The -Governor of the prison had been warned by Ukleet of her coming, and the -doors and bars opened before her unchallenged, till she stood in the cell -of Ruark; her eyes, that were alone unveiled, scanned the countenance of -the Chief, the fevered lustre-jet of his looks, and by the little -moonlight in the cell she saw with a glance the straw-heap and the -fetters, and the black-bread and water untasted on the bench--signs of -his misery and desire for her coming. So she greeted him with the word -of peace, and he replied with the name of the All-Merciful. Then said -she, 'O Ruark, of Rukrooth thy mother tell me somewhat.' - -He answered, 'I know nought of her since that day. Allah have her in his -keeping!' - -So she cried, 'How? What say'st thou, Ruark? 'tis a riddle.' - -Then he, 'The oath of Ruark is no rope of sand! He swore to see her not -till he had set eyes on Bhanavar.' - -She knelt by the Chief, saying in a soft voice, 'Very greatly the Chief -of the Beni-Asser loved Bhanavar.' And she thought, 'Yea! greatly and -verily love I him; and he shall be no victim of the Serpents, for I defy -them and give them other prey.' So she said in deeper notes, 'Ruark! the -Queen is come hither to release thee. O my Chief! O thou soul of wrath! -Ruark, my fire-eye! my eagle of the desert! where is one on earth beloved -as thou art by Bhanavar?' The dark light in his eyes kindled as light in -the eyes of a lion, and she continued, 'Ruark, what a yoke is hers who -weareth this crown! He that is my lord, how am I mated to him save in -loathing? O my Chief, my lion! hadst thou no dream of Bhanavar, that she -would come hither to unbind thee and lift thee beside her, and live with -thee in love and veilless loveliness,--thine? Yea! and in power over -lands and nations and armies, lording the infidel, taming them to -submission, exulting in defiance and assaults and victories and -magnanimities--thou and she?' Then while his breast heaved like a broad -wave, the Queen started to her feet, crying, 'Lo, she is here! and this -she offereth thee, Ruark!' - -A shrill cry parted from her lips, and to the clapping of her hands -slaves entered the cell with lamps, and instruments to strike off the -fetters from the Chief; and they released him, and Ruark leaned on their -shoulders to bear the weight of a limb, so was he weakened by captivity; -but Bhanavar thrust them from the Chief, and took the pressure of his -elbow on her own shoulder, and walked with him thus to the door of the -cell, he sighing as one in a dream that dreameth the bliss of bliss. Now -they had gone three paces onward, and were in the light of many lamps, -when behold! the veil of Bhanavar caught in the sleeve of Ruark as he -lifted it, and her visage became bare. She shrieked, and caught up her -two hands to her brow, but the slaves had a glimpse of her, and said -among themselves, 'This is not the Queen.' And they murmured, ''Tis an -impostor! one in league with the Chief.' Bhanavar heard them say, 'Arrest -her with him at the Governor's gate,' and summoned her soul, thinking, -'He loveth me, the Chief! he will look into my eyes and mark not the -change. What need I then to dread his scorn when I ask of him the kiss: -now must it be given, or we are lost, both of us!' and she raised her -head on Ruark, and said to him, ' my Chief, ere we leave these walls and -join our fates, wilt thou plight thyself to me with a kiss?' - -Ruark leapt to her like the bounding leopard, and gave her the kiss, as -were it his whole soul he gave. Then in a moment Bhanavar felt the blush -of beauty burn over her, and drew the veil down on her face, and suffered -the slaves to arrest her with Ruark, and bring her before the Governor, -and from the Governor to the King in his council-chamber, with the Chief -of the Beni-Asser. - -Now, the King Mashalleed called to her, 'Thou traitress! thou sorceress! -thou serpent!' - -And she answered under the veil, 'What, O my lord the King! and wherefore -these evil names of me?' - -Cried he, 'Thou thing of guile! and thou hast pleaded with me for the -life of the Chief thus long to visit him in secret! Life of my head I -but Mashalleed is not one to be fooled.' - -So she said, ''Tis Bhanavar! hast thou forgotten her?' - -Then he waxed white with rage, exclaiming, 'Yea, 'tis she! a serpent in -the slough! and Ukleet in the torture hath told of thee what is known to -him. Unveil! unveil!' - -She threw the veil from her figure, and smiled, for Mashalleed was mute, -the torrent of invective frozen on his mouth when he beheld the miracle -of beauty that she was, the splendid jewel of throbbing loveliness. So -to scourge him with the bitter lash of jealousy, Bhanavar turned her eyes -on Ruark, and said sweetly, 'Yet shalt thou live to taste again the bliss -of the Desert. Pleasant was our time in it, O my Chief!' The King -glared and choked, and she said again, 'Nor he conquered thee, but I; and -I that conquered thee, little will it be for me to conquer him: his -threats are the winds of idleness.' - -Surely the world darkened before the eyes of Mashalleed, and he arose and -called to his guard hoarsely, 'Have off their heads!' They hesitated, -dreading the Queen, and he roared, 'Slay them!' - -Bhanavar beheld the winking of the steel, but ere the scimitars -descended, she seized Ruark, and they stood in a whizzing ring of -serpents, the sound of whom was as the hum of a thousand wires struck by -storm-winds. Then she glowed, towering over them with the Chief clasped -to her, and crying: - - King of vileness! match thy slaves - With my creatures of the caves. - -And she sang to the Serpents: - - Seize upon him! sting him thro'! - Thrice this day shall pay your due. - -But they, instead of obeying her injunction, made narrower their circle -round Bhanavar and the Chief. She yellowed, and took hold of the nearest -Serpent horribly, crying: - - Dare against me to rebel, - Ye, the bitter brood of hell? - -And the Serpent gasped in reply: - - One the kiss to us secures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Thereupon another of the Serpents swung on, the feet of Ruark, winding -his length upward round the body of the Chief; so she tugged at that one, -tearing it from him violently, and crying: - - Him ye shall not have, I swear! - Seize the King that's crouching there. - -And that Serpent hissed: - - This is he the kiss ensures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Another and another Serpent she flung from the Chief, and they began to -swarm venomously, answering her no more. Then Ruark bore witness to his -faith, and folded his arms with the grave smile she had known in the -desert; and Bhanavar struggled and tussled with the Serpents in -fierceness, strangling and tossing them to right and left. 'Great is -Allah!' cried all present, and the King trembled, for never was sight -like that seen, the hall flashing with the Serpents, and a woman-serpent, -their Queen, raging to save one from their fury, shrieking at intervals: - - Never, never shall ye fold, - Save with me the man I hold. - -But now the hiss and scream of the Serpents and the noise of their -circling was quickened to a slurred savage sound and they closed on -Ruark, and she felt him stifling and that they were relentless. So in -the height of the tempest Bhanavar seized the Jewel in the gold circlet -on her brow and cast it from her. Lo! the Serpents instantly abated -their frenzy, and flew all of them to pluck the Jewel, chasing the one -that had it in his fangs through the casement, and the hall breathed -empty of them. Then in the silence that was, Bhanavar veiled her face -and said to the Chief, 'Pass from the hall while they yet dread me. No -longer am I Queen of Serpents.' - -But he replied, 'Nay! said I not my soul is thine?' - -She cried to him, 'Seest thou not the change in me? I was bound to those -Serpents for my beauty, and 'tis gone! Now am I powerless, hateful to -look on, O Ruark my Chief!' - -He remained still, saying, 'What thou hast been thou art.' - -She exclaimed, 'O true soul, the light is hateful to me as I to the -light; but I will yet save thee to comfort Rukrooth, thy mother.' - -So she drew him with her swiftly from the hall of the King ere the King -had recovered his voice of command; but now the wrath of the All-powerful -was upon her and him! Surely within an hour from the flight of the -Serpents, the slaves and soldiers of Mashalleed laid at his feet two -heads that were the heads of Ruark and Bhanavar; and they said, 'O great -King, we tracked them to her chamber and through to a passage and a vault -hung with black, wherein were two corpses, one in a tomb and one -unburied, and we slew them there, clasping each other, O King of the -age!' - -Mashalleed gazed upon the head of Bhanavar and sighed, for death had made -the head again fair with a wondrous beauty, a loveliness never before -seen on earth. - - - - -ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: - -How little a thing serves Fortune's turn -Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale -The curse of sorrow is comparison! - - - - -End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat, v1 -by George Meredith - - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -by GEORGE MEREDITH - - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - -1898/1909 - - - - -BOOK 2. - -THE BETROTHAL -THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE BUILDER -THE GENIE KARAZ -THE WELL OF PARAVID -THE HORSE GARRAVEEN -THE TALKING HAWK -GOORELKA OF OOLB - - - - -THE BETROTHAL - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had ceased speaking, the Vizier smiled gravely, -and shook his beard with satisfaction, and said to the Eclipser of -Reason, 'What opinest thou of this nephew of the barber, O Noorna bin -Noorka?' - -She answered, "O Feshnavat, my father, truly I am content with the -bargain of my betrothal. He, Wullahy, is a fair youth of flowing -speech.' Then she said, 'Ask thou him what he opineth of me, his -betrothed?" - -So the Vizier put that interrogation to Shibli Bagarag, and the youth was -in perplexity; thinking, 'Is it possible to be joyful in the embrace of -one that hath brought thwackings upon us, serious blows?' Thinking, 'Yet -hath she, when the mood cometh, kindly looks; and I marked her eye -dwelling on me admiringly!' And he thought, 'Mayhap she that groweth -younger and counteth nature backwards, hath a history that would affect -me; or, it may be, my kisses--wah! I like not to give them, and it is -said, - - "Love is wither'd by the withered lip"; - -and that, - - "On bones become too prominent he'll trip." - -Yet put the case, that my kisses--I shower them not, Allah the All-seeing -is my witness! and they be given daintily as 'twere to the leaf of a -nettle, or over-hot pilau. Yet haply kisses repeated might restore her -to a bloom, and it is certain youth is somehow stolen from her, if the -Vizier Feshnavat went before her, and his blood be her blood; and he is -powerful, she wise. I'll decide to act the part of a rejoicer, -and express of her opinions honeyed to the soul of that sex.' - -Now, while he was thus debating he hung his head, and the Vizier awaited -his response, knitting his brows angrily at the delay, and at the last he -cried, 'What! no answer? how 's this? Shall thy like dare hold debate -when questioned of my like? And is my daughter Noorna bin Noorka, -thinkest thou, a slave-girl in the market,--thou haggling at her price, -O thou nephew of the barber?' - -So Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, 'O exalted one, bestower of the bride! -surely I debated with myself but for appropriate terms; and I delayed to -select the metre of the verse fitting my thoughts of her, and my wondrous -good fortune, and the honour done me.' - -Then the Vizier, 'Let us hear: we listen.' - -And Shibli Bagarag was advised to deal with illustrations in his dilemma, -by-ways of expression, and spake in extemporaneous verse, and with a full -voice: - - The pupils of the Sage for living Beauty sought; - And one a Vision clasped, and one a Model wrought. - 'I have it!' each exclaimed, and rivalry arose: - 'Paint me thy Maid of air!' 'Thy Grace of clay disclose.' - 'What! limbs that cannot move!' 'What! lips that melt away!' - 'Keep thou thy Maid of air!' 'Shroud up thy Grace of clay!' - 'Twas thus, contending hot, they went before the Sage, - And knelt at the wise wells of cold ascetic age. - 'The fairest of the twain, O father, thou record': - -He answered, 'Fairest she who's likest to her lord.' - -Said they, 'What fairer thing matched with them might prevail?' - -The Sage austerely smiled, and said, 'Yon monkey's tail.' - - 'Tis left for after-time his wisdom to declare: - That's loveliest we best love, and to ourselves compare. - Yet lovelier than all hands shape or fancies build, - The meanest thing of earth God with his fire hath filled. - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag ceased, Noorna bin Noorka cried, 'Enough, O -wondrous turner of verse, thou that art honest!' And she laughed loudly, -rustling like a bag of shavings, and rolling in her laughter. - -Then said she, 'O my betrothed, is not the thing thou wouldst say no -other than-- - - "Each to his mind doth the fairest enfold, - For broken long since was Beauty's mould"; - -and, "Thou that art old, withered, I cannot flatter thee, as I can in no -way pay compliments to the monkey's tail of high design; nevertheless the -Sage would do thee honour"? So read I thy illustration, O keen of wit! -and thou art forgiven its boldness, my betrothed,--Wullahy! utterly so.' - -Now, the youth was abashed at her discernment, and the kindliness of her -manner won him to say: - - There's many a flower of sweetness, there's many a gem of earth - Would thrill with bliss our being, could we perceive its worth. - O beauteous is creation, in fashion and device! - If I have fail'd to think thee fair, 'tis blindness is my vice. - -And she answered him: - - I've proved thy wit and power of verse, - That is at will diffuse and terse: - Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! - I am content: the time will come! - -Then she said to the Vizier Feshnavat, 'O my father, there is all in this -youth, the nephew of the barber, that's desirable for the undertaking; -and his feet will be on a level with the task we propose for him, he the -height of man above it. 'Tis clear that vanity will trip him, but -honesty is a strong upholder; and he is one that hath the spirit of -enterprise and the mask of dissimulation: gratitude I observe in him; and -it is as I thought when I came upon him on the sand-hill outside the -city, that his star is clearly in a web with our star, he destined for -the Shaving of Shagpat.' - -So the Vizier replied, 'He hath had thwackings, yet is he not deterred -from making further attempt on Shagpat. I think well of him, and I augur -hopefully. Wullahy! the Cadi shall be sent for; I can sleep in his -secresy; and he shall perform the ceremonies of betrothal, even now and -where we sit, and it shall be for him to write the terms of contract: so -shall we bind the youth firmly to us, and he will be one of us as we are, -devoted to the undertaking by three bonds--the bond of vengeance, the -bond of ambition, and that of love.' - -Now, so it was that the Vizier despatched a summons for the attendance of -the Cadi, and he carne and performed between Shibli Bagarag and Noorna -bin Noorka ceremonies of betrothal, and wrote terms of contract; and they -were witnessed duly by the legal number of witnesses, and so worded that -he had no claim on her as wife till such time as the Event to which he -bound himself was mastered. Then the fees being paid, and compliments -interchanged, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Be ye happy! and let the weak cling -to the strong; and be ye two to one in this world, and no split halves -that betray division and stick not together when the gum is heated.' -Then he made a sign to the Cadi and them that had witnessed the contract -to follow him, leaving the betrothed ones to their own company. - -So when they were alone Noorna gazed on the youth wistfully, and said in -a soft tone, 'Thou art dazed with the adventure, O youth! Surely there -is one kiss owing me: art thou willing? Am I reduced to beg it of thee? -Or dream'st thou?' - -He lifted his head and replied, 'Even so.' - -Thereat he stood up languidly, and went to her and kissed her. And she -smiled and said, 'I wot it will be otherwise, and thou wilt learn -swiftness of limb, brightness of eye, and the longing for earthly -beatitude, when next I ask thee, O my betrothed!' - -Lo! while she spake, new light seemed in her; and it was as if a splendid -jewel were struggling to cast its beams through the sides of a crystal -vase smeared with dust and old dirt and spinnings of the damp spider. He -was amazed, and cried, 'How's this? What change is passing in thee?' - -She said, 'Joy in thy kiss, and that I have 'scaped Shagpat.' - -Then he: 'Shagpat? How? had that wretch claim over thee ere I came?' - -But she looked fearfully at the corners of the room and exclaimed, 'Hush, -my betrothed! speak not of him in that fashion, 'tis dangerous; and my -power cannot keep off his emissaries at all times.' Then she said, 'O my -betrothed, know me a sorceress ensorcelled; not that I seem, but that I -shall be! Wait thou for the time and it will reward thee. What! thou -think'st to have plucked a wrinkled o'erripe fruit,--a mouldy pomegranate -under the branches, a sour tamarind? 'Tis well! I say nought, save that -time will come, and be thou content. It is truly as I said, that I have -thee between me and Shagpat; and that honoured one of this city thought -fit in his presumption to demand me in marriage at the hands of my -father, knowing me wise, and knowing the thing that transformed me to -this, the abominable fellow! Surely my father entertained not his -proposal save with scorn; but the King looked favourably on it, and it is -even now matter of reproach to Feshnavat, my father, that he withholdeth -me from Shagpat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'A clothier, O Noorna, control the Vizier! and -demand of him his daughter in marriage! and a clothier influence the King -against his Vizier!'--tis, wullahy! a riddle.' - -She replied, ''Tis even so, eyes of mine, my betrothed! but thou know'st -not Shagpat, and that he is. Lo! the King, and all of this city save we -three, are held in enchantment by him, and made foolish by one hair -that's in his head.' - -Shibli Bagarag started in his seat like one that shineth with a -discovery, and cried, 'The Identical!' - -Then she, sighing, ''Tis that indeed! but the Identical of Identicals, the -chief and head of them, and I, woe's me! I, the planter of it.' - -So he said, 'How so?' - -But she cried, 'I'll tell thee not here, nor aught of myself and him, and -the Genie held in bondage by me, till thou art proved by adventure, and -we float peacefully on the sea of the Bright Lily: there shalt thou see -me as I am, and hear my story, and marvel at it; for 'tis wondrous, and a -manifestation of the Power that dwelleth unseen.' - -So Shibli Bagarag pondered awhile on the strange nature of the things she -hinted, and laughter seized him as he reflected on Shagpat, and the whole -city enchanted by one hair in his head; and he exclaimed, 'O Noorna, -knoweth he, Shagpat, of the might in him?' - -She answered, 'Enough for his vain soul that homage is paid to him, and -he careth not for the wherefore!' - -Shibli Bagarag fixed his eyes on the deep-flowered carpets of the floor, -as if reading there a matter quaintly written, and smiled, saying, 'What -boldness was mine--the making offer to shear Shagpat, the lion in his -lair, he that holdeth a whole city in enchantment! Wah! 'twas an -instance of daring!' - -And Noorna said, 'Not only an entire city, but other cities affected by -him, as witness Oolb, whither thou wilt go; and there be governments and -states, and conditions of men remote, that hang upon him, Shagpat. 'Tis -even so; I swell not his size. When thou hast mastered the Event, and -sent him forth shivering from thy blade like the shorn lamb, 'twill be -known how great a thing has been achieved, and a record for the -generations to come; choice is that historian destined to record it!' - -Quoth he, looking eagerly at her, 'O Noorna, what is it in thy speech -affecteth me? Surely it infuseth the vigour of wine, old wine; and I -shiver with desire to shave Shagpat, and spin threads for the historian -to weave in order. I, wullahy! had but dry visions of the greatness -destined for me till now, my betrothed! Shall I master an Event in -shaving him, and be told of to future ages? By Allah and his Prophet -(praise be to that name!), this is greatness! Say, Noorna, hadst thou -foreknowledge of me and my coming to this city?' - -So she said, 'I was on the roofs one night among the stars ere moonrise, -O my betrothed, and 'twas close on the rise of this very month's moon. -The star of our enemy, Shagpat, was large and red, mine as it were -menaced by its proximity, nigh swallowed in its haughty beams and the -steady overbearings of its effulgence. 'Twas so as it had long been, -when suddenly, lo! a star from the upper heaven that shot down between -them wildly, and my star took lustre from it; and the star of Shagpat -trembled like a ring on a tightened rope, and waved and flickered, and -seemed to come forward and to retire; and 'twas presently as a comet in -the sky, bright,--a tadpole, with large head and lengthy tail, in the -assembly of the planets. This I saw: and that the stranger star was -stationed by my star, shielding it, and that it drew nearer to my star, -and entered its circle, and that the two stars seemed mixing the -splendour that was theirs. Now, that sight amazed me, and my heart in -its beating quickened with the expectation of things approaching. Surely -I rendered praise, and pressed both hands on my bosom, and watched, and -behold! the comet, the illumined tadpole, was becoming restless beneath -the joint rays of the twain that were dominating him; and he diminished, -and lashed his tail uneasily, half madly, darting as do captured beasts -from the fetters that constrain them. Then went there from thy star--for -I know now 'twas thine--a momentary flash across the head of the tadpole, -and again another and another, rapidly, pertinaciously. And from thy -star there passed repeated flashes across the head of the tadpole, till -his brilliance was as 'twere severed from him, and he, like drossy -silver, a dead shape in the conspicuous heavens. And he became yellow as -the rolling eyes of sick wretches in pain, and shrank in his place like -pale parchment at the touch of flame; dull was he as an animal fascinated -by fear, and deprived of all power to make head against the foe, -darkness, that now beset him, and usurped part of his yet lively tail, -and settled on his head, and coated part of his body. So when this -tadpole, that was once terrible to me, became turbaned, shoed, and -shawled with darkness, and there was little of him remaining visible, lo! -a concluding flash shot from thy star, and he fell heavily down the sky -and below the hills, into the sea, that is the Enchanted Sea, whose Queen -is Rabesqurat, Mistress of Illusions. Now when my soul recovered from -amazement at the marvels seen, I arose and went from the starry roofs to -consult my books of magic, and 'twas revealed to me that one was -wandering to a junction with my destiny, and that by his means the great -aim would of a surety be accomplished--Shagpat Shaved! So my purpose was -to discover him; and I made calculations, and summoned them that serve me -to search for such a youth as thou art; fairly, O my betrothed, did I -preconceive thee. And so it was that I traced a magic line from the -sand-hills to the city, and from the outer hills to the sand-hills; and -whoso approached by that line I knew was he marked out as my champion, my -betrothed,--a youth destined for great things. Was I right? The egg -hatcheth. Thou art already proved by thwackings, seasoned to the -undertaking, and I doubt not thou art he that will finish with that -tadpole Shagpat, and sit in the high seat, thy name an odour in distant -lands, a joy to the historian, the Compiler of Events, thou Master of the -Event, the greatest which time will witness for ages to come.' - -When she had spoken Shibli Bagarag considered her words, and the -knowledge that he was selected by destiny as Master of the Event inflated -him; and he was a hawk in eagerness, a peacock in pride, an ostrich in -fulness of chest, crying, 'O Noorna bin Noorka! is't really so? Truly it -must be, for the readers of planets were also busy with me at the time of -my birth, interpreting of me in excessive agitation; and the thing they -foretold is as thou foretellest. I am, wullahy! marked: I walk manifest -in the eye of Providence.' - -Thereupon he exulted, and his mind strutted through the future of his -days, and down the ladder of all time, exacting homage from men, his -brethren; and 'twas beyond the art of Noorna to fix him to the present -duties of the enterprise: he was as feathered seed before the breath of -vanity. - -Now, while the twain discoursed, she of the preparations for shaving -Shagpat, he of his completion of the deed, and the honours due to him as -Master of the Event, Feshnavat the Vizier returned to them from his -entertainment of the Cadi; and he had bribed him to silence with a mighty -bribe. So he called to them-- - -'Ho! be ye ready to commence the work? and have ye advised together as to -the beginning? True is that triplet: - - "Whatever enterprize man hath, - For waking love or curbing wrath, - 'Tis the first step that makes a path." - -And how have ye determined as to that first step?' - -Noorna replied, 'O my father! we have not decided, and there hath been -yet no deliberation between us as to that.' - -Then he said, 'All this while have ye talked, and no deliberation as to -that! Lo, I have drawn the Cadi to our plot, and bribed him with a -mighty bribe; and I have prepared possible disguises for this nephew of -the barber; and I have had the witnesses of thy betrothal despatched to -foreign parts, far kingdoms in the land of Roum, to prevent tattling and -gabbling; and ye that were left alone for debating as to the great deed, -ye have not yet deliberated as to that! Is't known to ye, O gabblers, -aught of the punishment inflicted by Shahpesh, the Persian, on Khipil, -the Builder?--a punishment that, by Allah!' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'How of that punishment, O Vizier?' - -And the Vizier narrated as followeth. - - - - - - -AND THIS IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE -BUILDER - -They relate that Shahpesh, the Persian, commanded the building of a -palace, and Khipil was his builder. The work lingered from the first -year of the reign of Shahpesh even to his fourth. One day Shahpesh went -to the riverside where it stood, to inspect it. Khipil was sitting on a -marble slab among the stones and blocks; round him stretched lazily the -masons and stonecutters and slaves of burden; and they with the curve of -humorous enjoyment on their lips, for he was reciting to them adventures, -interspersed with anecdotes and recitations and poetic instances, as was -his wont. They were like pleased flocks whom the shepherd hath led to a -pasture freshened with brooks, there to feed indolently; he, the -shepherd, in the midst. - -Now, the King said to him, 'O Khipil, show me my palace where it -standeth, for I desire to gratify my sight with its fairness.' - -Khipil abased himself before Shahpesh, and answered, ''Tis even here, O -King of the age, where thou delightest the earth with thy foot and the -ear of thy slave with sweetness. Surely a site of vantage, one that -dominateth earth, air, and water, which is the builder's first and chief -requisition for a noble palace, a palace to fill foreign kings and -sultans with the distraction of envy; and it is, O Sovereign of the time, -a site, this site I have chosen, to occupy the tongues of travellers and -awaken the flights of poets!' - -Shahpesh smiled and said, 'The site is good! I laud the site! Likewise -I laud the wisdom of Ebn Busrac, where he exclaims: - - "Be sure, where Virtue faileth to appear, - For her a gorgeous mansion men will rear; - And day and night her praises will be heard, - Where never yet she spake a single word."' - -Then said he, 'O Khipil, my builder, there was once a farm servant that, -having neglected in the seed-time to sow, took to singing the richness of -his soil when it was harvest, in proof of which he displayed the -abundance of weeds that coloured the land everywhere. Discover to me now -the completeness of my halls and apartments, I pray thee, O Khipil, and -be the excellence of thy construction made visible to me!' - -Quoth Khipil, 'To hear is to obey.' - -He conducted Shahpesh among the unfinished saloons and imperfect courts -and roofless rooms, and by half erected obelisks, and columns pierced and -chipped, of the palace of his building. And he was bewildered at the -words spoken by Shahpesh; but now the King exalted him, and admired the -perfection of his craft, the greatness of his labour, the speediness of -his construction, his assiduity; feigning not to behold his negligence. - -Presently they went up winding balusters to a marble terrace, and the -King said, 'Such is thy devotion and constancy in toil, Khipil, that -thou shaft walk before me here.' - -He then commanded Khipil to precede him, and Khipil was heightened with -the honour. When Khipil had paraded a short space he stopped quickly, -and said to Shahpesh, 'Here is, as it chanceth, a gap, O King! and we can -go no further this way.' - -Shahpesh said, 'All is perfect, and it is my will thou delay not to -advance.' - -Khipil cried, 'The gap is wide, O mighty King, and manifest, and it is an -incomplete part of thy palace.' - -Then said Shahpesh, 'O Khipil, I see no distinction between one part and -another; excellent are all parts in beauty and proportion, and there can -be no part incomplete in this palace that occupieth the builder four -years in its building: so advance, do my bidding.' - -Khipil yet hesitated, for the gap was of many strides, and at the bottom -of the gap was a deep water, and he one that knew not the motion of -swimming. But Shahpesh ordered his guard to point their arrows in the -direction of Khipil, and Khipil stepped forward hurriedly, and fell in -the gap, and was swallowed by the water below. When he rose the second -time, succour reached him, and he was drawn to land trembling, his teeth -chattering. And Shahpesh praised him, and said, 'This is an apt -contrivance for a bath, Khipil O my builder! well conceived; one that -taketh by surprise; and it shall be thy reward daily when much talking -hath fatigued thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead him to the hall of state. And when they were -there Shahpesh said, 'For a privilege, and as a mark of my approbation, I -give thee permission to sit in the marble chair of yonder throne, even in -my presence, O Khipil.' - -Khipil said, 'Surely, O King, the chair is not yet executed.' - -And Shahpesh exclaimed, 'If this be so, thou art but the length of thy -measure on the ground, O talkative one!' - -Khipil said, 'Nay, 'tis not so, O King of splendours! blind that I am! -yonder's indeed the chair.' - -And Khipil feared the King, and went to the place where the chair should -be, and bent his body in a sitting posture, eyeing the King, and made -pretence to sit in the chair of Shahpesh, as in conspiracy to amuse his -master. - -Then said Shahpesh, 'For a token that I approve thy execution of the -chair, thou shalt be honoured by remaining seated in it up to the hour of -noon; but move thou to the right or to the left, showing thy soul -insensible of the honour done thee, transfixed thou shah be with twenty -arrows and five.' - -The King then left him with a guard of twenty-five of his body-guard; and -they stood around him with bent bows, so that Khipil dared not move from -his sitting posture. And the masons and the people crowded to see Khipil -sitting on his master's chair, for it became rumoured about. When they -beheld him sitting upon nothing, and he trembling to stir for fear of the -loosening of the arrows, they laughed so that they rolled upon the floor -of the hall, and the echoes of laughter were a thousand-fold. Surely the -arrows of the guards swayed with the laughter that shook them. - -Now, when the time had expired for his sitting in the chair, Shahpesh -returned to him, and he was cramped, pitiable to see; and Shahpesh said, -'Thou hast been exalted above men, O Khipil! for that thou didst execute -for thy master has been found fitting for thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead the way to the noble gardens of dalliance and -pleasure that he had planted and contrived. And Khipil went in that -state described by the poet, when we go draggingly, with remonstrating -members, - - Knowing a dreadful strength behind, - And a dark fate before. - -They came to the gardens, and behold, these were full of weeds and -nettles, the fountains dry, no tree to be seen--a desert. And Shahpesh -cried, 'This is indeed of admirable design, O Khipil! Feelest thou not -the coolness of the fountains?--their refreshingness? Truly I am -grateful to thee! And these flowers, pluck me now a handful, and tell me -of their perfume.' - -Khipil plucked a handful of the nettles that were there in the place of -flowers, and put his nose to them before Shahpesh, till his nose was -reddened; and desire to rub it waxed in him, and possessed him, and -became a passion, so that he could scarce refrain from rubbing it even in -the King's presence. And the King encouraged him to sniff and enjoy -their fragrance, repeating the poet's words: - - Methinks I am a lover and a child, - A little child and happy lover, both! - When by the breath of flowers I am beguiled - From sense of pain, and lulled in odorous sloth. - So I adore them, that no mistress sweet - Seems worthier of the love which they awake: - In innocence and beauty more complete, - Was never maiden cheek in morning lake. - Oh, while I live, surround me with fresh flowers! - Oh, when I die, then bury me in their bowers! - -And the King said, 'What sayest thou, O my builder? that is a fair -quotation, applicable to thy feelings, one that expresseth them?' - -Khipil answered, ''Tis eloquent, O great King! comprehensiveness would be -its portion, but that it alludeth not to the delight of chafing.' - -Then Shahpesh laughed, and cried, 'Chafe not! it is an ill thing and a -hideous! This nosegay, O Khipil, it is for thee to present to thy -mistress. Truly she will receive thee well after its presentation! I -will have it now sent in thy name, with word that thou followest quickly. -And for thy nettled nose, surely if the whim seize thee that thou -desirest its chafing, to thy neighbour is permitted what to thy hand is -refused.' - -The King set a guard upon Khipil to see that his orders were executed, -and appointed a time for him to return to the gardens. - -At the hour indicated Khipil stood before Shahpesh again. He was pale, -saddened; his tongue drooped like the tongue of a heavy bell, that when -it soundeth giveth forth mournful sounds only: he had also the look of -one battered with many beatings. So the King said, 'How of the -presentation of the flowers of thy culture, O Khipil?' - -He answered, 'Surely, O King, she received me with wrath, and I am shamed -by her.' - -And the King said, 'How of my clemency in the matter of the chafing?' - -Khipil answered, 'O King of splendours! I made petition to my neighbours -whom I met, accosting them civilly and with imploring, for I ached to -chafe, and it was the very raging thirst of desire to chafe that was -mine, devouring eagerness for solace of chafing. And they chafed me, O -King; yet not in those parts which throbbed for the chafing, but in those -which abhorred it.' - -Then Shahpesh smiled and said, ''Tis certain that the magnanimity of -monarchs is as the rain that falleth, the sun that shineth: and in this -spot it fertilizeth richness; in that encourageth rankness. So art thou -but a weed, O Khipil! and my grace is thy chastisement.' - -Now, the King ceased not persecuting Khipil, under pretence of doing him -honour and heaping favours on him. Three days and three nights was -Khipil gasping without water, compelled to drink of the drought of the -fountain, as an honour at the hands of the King. And he was seven days -and seven nights made to stand with -stretched arms, as they were the branches of a tree, in each hand a -pomegranate. And Shahpesh brought the people of his court to regard the -wondrous pomegranate shoot planted by Khipil, very wondrous, and a new -sort, worthy the gardens of a King. So the wisdom of the King was -applauded, and men wotted he knew how to punish offences in coin, by the -punishment inflicted on Khipil the builder. Before that time his affairs -had languished, and the currents of business instead of flowing had -become stagnant pools. It was the fashion to do as did Khipil, and fancy -the tongue a constructor rather than a commentator; and there is a doom -upon that people and that man which runneth to seed in gabble, as the -poet says in his wisdom: - - If thou wouldst be famous, and rich in splendid fruits, - Leave to bloom the flower of things, and dig among the roots. - -Truly after Khipil's punishment there were few in the dominions of -Shahpesh who sought to win the honours bestowed by him on gabblers and -idlers: as again the poet: - - When to loquacious fools with patience rare - I listen, I have thoughts of Khipil's chair: - His bath, his nosegay, and his fount I see,-- - Himself stretch'd out as a pomegranate-tree. - And that I am not Shahpesh I regret, - So to inmesh the babbler in his net. - Well is that wisdom worthy to be sung, - Which raised the Palace of the Wagging Tongue! - -And whoso is punished after the fashion of Shahpesh, the Persian, on -Khipil the Builder, is said to be one 'in the Palace of the Wagging -Tongue' to this time. - - - - - - -THE GENIE KARAZ - -Now, when the voice of the Vizier had ceased, Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -'O Vizier, this night, no later, I'll surprise Shagpat, and shave him -while he sleepeth: and he shall wake shorn beside his spouse. Wullahy! -I'll delay no longer, I, Shibli Bagarag.' - -Said the Vizier, 'Thou?' - -And he replied, 'Surely, O Vizier! thou knowest little of my dexterity.' - -So the Vizier laughed, and Noorna bin Noorka laughed, and he was at a -loss to interpret the cause of their laughter. Then said Noorna, 'O my -betrothed, there's not a doubt among us of thy dexterity, nor question of -thy willingness; but this shaving of Shagpat, wullahy! 'tis longer work -than what thou makest of it.' - -And he cried, 'How? because of the Chief of Identicals planted by thee in -his head?' - -She answered, 'Because of that; but 'tis the smallest opposer, that.' - -Then the Vizier said, 'Let us consult.' - -So Shibli Bagarag gave ear, and the Vizier continued, 'There's first, the -Chief of Identicals planted by thee in the head of that presumptuous -fellow, O my daughter! By what means shall that be overcome?' - -She said, 'I rank not that first, O Feshnavat, my father; surely I rank -first the illusions with which Rabesqurat hath surrounded him, and made -it difficult to know him from his semblances, whenever real danger -threateneth him.' - -The Vizier assented, saying, 'Second, then, the Chief of Identicals?' - -She answered, 'Nay, O my father; second, the weakness that's in man, and -the little probability of his finishing with Shagpat at one effort; and -there is but a sole chance for whoso attempteth, and if he faileth, 'tis -forever he faileth.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Even I knew not 'twas so grave! Third, then, the -Chief of Identicals?' - -She replied, 'Third! which showeth the difficulty of the task. Read ye -not, first, how the barber must come upon Shagpat and fix him for his -operation; second, how the barber must be possessed of more than mortal -strength to master him in so many strokes; third, how the barber must -have a blade like no other blade in this world in sharpness, in temper, -in velocity of sweep, that he may reap this crop which flourisheth on -Shagpat, and with it the magic hair which defieth edge of mortal blades?' - -Now, the Vizier sighed at the words, saying, 'Powerful is Shagpat. I -knew not the thing I undertook. I fear his mastery of us, and we shall -be contemned--objects for the red finger of scorn.' - -Noorna turned to Shibli Bagarag and asked, 'Do the three bonds of -enterprise--vengeance, ambition, and love--shrink in thee from this great -contest?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, ''Tis terrible! on my head be it!' - -She gazed at him a moment tenderly, and said, 'Thou art worthy of what is -in store for thee, O my betrothed! and I think little of the dangers, in -contemplation of the courage in thee. Lo, if vengeance and ambition spur -thee so, how will not love when added to the two?' - -Then said she, 'As to the enchantments and spells that shall overreach -him, and as to the blade wherewith to shear him?' - -Feshnavat exclaimed, 'Yonder 's indeed where we stumble and are tripped -at starting.' - -But she cried, 'What if I know of a sword that nought on earth or under -resisteth, and before the keen edge of which all Illusions and Identicals -are as summer grass to the scythe?' - -They both shouted, 'The whereabout of that sword, O Noorna!' - -So she said, ''Tis in Aklis, in the mountains of the Koosh; and the seven -sons of Aklis sharpen it day and night till the adventurer cometh to -claim it for his occasion. Whoso succeedeth in coming to them they know -to have power over the sword, and 'tis then holiday for them. Many are -the impediments, and they are as holes where the fox haunteth. So they -deliver to his hand the sword till his object is attained, his Event -mastered, smitten through with it; and 'tis called the Sword of Events. -Surely, with it the father of the Seven vanquished the mighty Roc, -Kroojis, that threatened mankind with ruin, and a stain of the Roc's -blood is yet on the hilt of the sword. How sayest thou, O Feshnavat,-- -shall we devote ourselves to get possession of that Sword?' - -So the Vizier brightened at her words, and said, 'O excellent in wisdom -and star of counsel! speak further, and as to the means.' - -Noorna bin Noorka continued, 'Thou knowest, O my father, I am proficient -in the arts of magic, and I am what I am, and what I shall be, by its -uses. 'Tis known to thee also that I hold a Genie in bondage, and can -utter ten spells and one spell in a breath. Surely my services to the -youth in his attainment of the Sword will be beyond price! Now to reach -Aklis and the Sword there are three things needed--charms: and one is a -phial full of the waters of Paravid from the wells in the mountain yon- -side the desert; and one, certain hairs that grow in the tail of the -horse Garraveen, he that roameth wild in the meadows of Melistan; and -one, that the youth gather and bear to Aklis, for the white antelope -Gulrevaz, the Lily of the Lovely Light that groweth in the hollow of the -crags over the Enchanted Sea: with these spells he will command the Sword -of Aklis, and nothing can bar him passage. Moreover I will expend in his -aid all my subtleties, my transformations, the stores of my wisdom. Many -seek this Sword, and people the realms of Rabesqurat, or are beasts in -Aklis, or crowned Apes, or go to feed the Roc, Kroojis, in the abyss -beneath the Roc's-egg bridge; but there's virtue in Shibli Bagarag: -wullahy! I am wistful in him of the hand of Destiny, and he will succeed -in this undertaking if he dareth it.' - -Shibli Bagarag cried, 'At thy bidding, O Noorna! Care I for dangers? -I'm on fire to wield the Sword, and master the Event.' - -Thereupon, Noorna bin Noorka arose instantly, and took him by the cheeks -a tender pinch, and praised him. Then drew she round him a circle with -her forefinger that left a mark like the shimmering of evanescent green -flame, saying, 'White was the day I set eyes on thee!' Round the Vizier, -her father, she drew a like circle; and she took an unguent, and traced -with it characters on the two circles, and letters of strange form, -arrowy, lance-like, like leaning sheaves, and crouching baboons, and -kicking jackasses, and cocks a-crow, and lutes slack-strung; and she -knelt and mumbled over and over words of magic, like the drone of a bee -to hear, and as a roll of water, nothing distinguishable. After that she -sought for an unguent of a red colour, and smeared it on a part of the -floor by the corner of the room, and wrote on it in silver fluid a word -that was the word 'Eblis,' and over that likewise she droned awhile. -Presently she arose with a white-heated face, the sweat on her brow, and -said to Shibli Bagarag and Feshnavat hurriedly and in a harsh tone, 'How? -have ye fear?' - -They answered, 'Our faith is in Allah, our confidence in thee.' - -Said she then, 'I summon the Genie I hold in bondage. He will be -wrathful; but ye are secure from him. He's this moment in the farthest -region of earth, doing ill, as is his wont, and the wont of the stock of -Eblis.' - -So the Vizier said, 'He'll be no true helper, this Genie, and I care not -for his company.' - -She answered, 'O my father! leave thou that to me. What says the poet?-- - - "It is the sapiency of fools, - To shrink from handling evil tools."' - -Now, while she was speaking, she suddenly inclined her ear as to a -distant noise; but they heard nothing. Then, after again listening, she -cried in a sharp voice, 'Ho! muffle your mouths with both hands, and stir -not from the ring of the circles, as ye value life and its blessings.' - -So they did as she bade them, and watched her curiously. Lo! she swathed -the upper and lower part of her face in linen, leaving the lips and eyes -exposed; and she took water from an ewer, and sprinkled it on her head, -and on her arms and her feet, muttering incantations. Then she listened -a third time, and stooped to the floor, and put her lips to it, and -called the name, 'Karaz!' And she called this name seven times loudly, -sneezing between whiles. Then, as it were in answer to her summons, -there was a deep growl of thunder, and the palace rocked, tottering; and -the air became smoky and full of curling vapours. Presently they were -aware of the cry of a Cat, and its miaulings; and the patch of red -unguent on the floor parted and they beheld a tawny Cat with an arched -back. So Noorna bin Noorka frowned fiercely at the Cat, and cried, 'This -is thy shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -The Cat changed, and was a Leopard with glowing yellow eyes, crouched for -the spring. So Noorna bin Noorka stamped, and cried again, 'This is thy -shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -And the Leopard changed, and was a Serpent with many folds, sleek, -curled, venomous, hissing. - -Noorna bin Noorka cried in wrath, 'This is thy shape, O Karaz; change! or -thou'lt be no other till Eblis is accepted in Paradise.' - -And the Serpent vanished. Lo! in its place a Genie of terrible aspect, -black as a solitary tree seared by lightning; his forehead ridged and -cloven with red streaks; his hair and ears reddened; his eyes like two -hollow pits dug by the shepherd for the wolf, and the wolf in them. He -shouted, 'What work is it now, thou accursed traitress?' - -Noorna replied, 'I've need of thee!' - -He said, 'What shape?' - -She answered, 'The shape of an Ass that will carry two on its back, thou -Perversity!' - -Upon that, he cried, 'O faithless woman, how long shall I be the slave of -thy plotting? Now, but for that hair of my head, plucked by thy hand -while I slept, I were free, no doer of thy tasks. Say, who be these that -mark us?' - -She answered, 'One, the Vizier Feshnavat; and one, Shibli Bagarag of -Shiraz, he that's destined to shave Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son -of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and the youth is my betrothed.' - -Now, at her words the whole Genie became as live coal with anger, and he -panted black and bright, and made a stride toward Shibli Bagarag, and -stretched his arm out to seize him; but Noorna, blew quickly on the -circles she had drawn, and the circles rose up in a white flame high as -the heads of those present, and the Genie shrank hastily back from the -flame, and was seized with fits of sneezing. Then she said in scorn, -'Easily, O Karaz, is a woman outwitted! Surely I could not guess what -would be thy action! and I was wanting in foresight and insight! and I -am a woman bearing the weight of my power as a woodman staggereth under -the logs he hath felled!' - -So she taunted him, and he still sneezing and bent double with the might -of the sneeze. Then said Noorna in a stern voice, 'No more altercation -between us! Wait thou here till I reappear, Karaz!' - -Thereupon, she went from them; and the two, Feshnavat and Shibli Bagarag, -feared greatly being left with the Genie, for he became all colours, and -loured on them each time that he ceased sneezing. He was clearly -menacing them when Noorna returned, and in her hand a saddle made of -hide, traced over with mystic characters and gold stripes. - -So she cried, 'Take this!' Then, seeing he hesitated, she unclosed from -her left palm a powder, and scattered - -it over him; and he grew meek, and the bending knee of obedience was his, -and he took the saddle. So she said, ''Tis well! Go now, and wait -outside the city in the shape of an Ass, with this saddle on thy back.' - -The Genie groaned, and said, 'To hear is to obey!' And he departed with -those words, for she held him in bondage. Then she calmed down the white -flames of the circles that enclosed Shibli Bagarag and the Vizier -Feshnavat, and they stepped forth, marvelling at the greatness of her -sorceries that held such a Genie in bondage. - - - - - - -THE WELL OF PARAVID - -Now, there was haste in the movements of Noorna bin Noorka, and she -arrayed herself and clutched Shibli Bagarag by the arm, and the twain -departed from Feshnavat the Vizier, and came to the outside of the city, -and lo! there was the Genie by a well under a palm, and he standing in -the shape of an Ass, saddled. So they mounted him, and in a moment they -were in the midst of the desert, and naught round them save the hot -glimmer of the sands and the grey of the sky. Surely, the Ass went at -such a pace as never Ass went before in this world, resting not by the -rivulets, nor under the palms, nor beside the date-boughs; it was as if -the Ass scurried without motion of his legs, so swiftly went he. At last -the desert gave signs of a border on the low line of the distance, and -this grew rapidly higher as they advanced, revealing a country of hills -and rocks, and at the base of these the Ass rested. - -So Noorna, said, 'This desert that we have passed, O my betrothed, many -are they that perish in it, and reach not the well; but give thanks to -Allah that it is passed.' - -Then said she, 'Dismount, and be wary of moving to the front or to the -rear of this Ass, and measure thy distance from the lash of his tail.' - -So Shibli Bagarag dismounted, and followed her up the hills and the -rocks, through ravines and gorges of the rocks, and by tumbling torrents, -among hanging woods, over perilous precipices, where no sun hath pierced, -and the bones of travellers whiten in loneliness; and they continued -mounting upward by winding paths, now closed in by coverts, now upon open -heights having great views, and presently a mountain was disclosed to -them, green at the sides high up it; and Noorna bin Noorka said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Mount here, for the cunning of this Ass can furnish him no -excuse further for making thee food for the birds of prey.' - -So Shibli Bagarag mounted, and they ceased not to ascend the green slopes -till the grass became scanty and darkness fell, and they were in a region -of snow and cold. Then Noorna bin Noorka tethered the Ass to a stump of -a tree and breathed in his ear, and the Ass became as a creature carved -in stone; and she drew from her bosom two bags of silk, and blew in one -and entered it, bidding Shibli Bagarag do likewise with the other bag; -and he obeyed her, drawing it up to his neck, and the delightfulness of -warmth came over him. Then said she, 'To-morrow, at noon, we shall reach -near the summit of the mountain and the Well of Paravid, if my power last -over this Ass; and from that time thou wilt be on the high road to -greatness, so fail not to remember what I have done for thee, and be not -guilty of ingratitude when thy hand is the stronger.' - -He promised her, and they lay and slept. When he awoke the sun was half- -risen, and he looked at Noorna bin Noorka in the silken bag, and she was -yet in the peacefulness of pleasant dreams; but for the Ass, surely his -eyes rolled, and his head and fore legs were endued with life, while his -latter half seemed of stone. And the youth called to Noorna bin Noorka, -and pointed to her the strangeness of the condition of the Ass. As she -cast eyes on him she cried out, and rushed to him, and took him by the -ears and blew up his nostrils, and the animal was quiet. Then she and -Shibli Bagarag mounted him again, and she said to him, 'It is well thou -wert more vigilant than I, and that the sun rose not on this Ass while I -slept, or my enchantment would have thawed on him, and he would have -'scaped us.' - -She gave her heel to the Ass, and the Ass hung his tail in sullenness and -drooped his head; and she laughed, crying, 'Karaz, silly fellow! do thy -work willingly, and take wisely thine outwitting.' - -She jeered him as they journeyed, and made the soul of Shibli Bagarag -merry, so that he jerked in his seat upon the Ass. Now, as they ascended -the mountain they came to the opening of a cavern, and Noorna bin Noorka -halted the Ass, and said to Shibli Bagarag, 'We part here, and I wait for -thee in this place. Take this phial, and fill it with the waters of the -well, after thy bath. The way is before thee--speed on it.' - -He climbed the sides of the mountain, and was soon hidden in the clefts -and beyond the perches of the vulture. She kept her eyes on the rocky -point when he disappeared, awaiting his return; and the sun went over her -head and sank on the yon-side of the mountain, and it was by the beams of -the moon that she beheld Shibli Bagarag dropping from the crags and -ledges of rock, sliding and steadying himself downward till he reached -her with the phial in his hand, filled; and he was radiant, as it were -divine with freshness, so that Noorna, before she spoke welcome to him, -was lost in contemplating the warm shine of his visage, calling to mind -the poet's words: - - The wealth of light in sun and moon, - All nature's wealth, - Hath mortal beauty for a boon - When match'd with health. - -Then said she, 'O Shibli Bagarag, 'tis achieved, this first of thy tasks; -for mutely on the fresh red of thy mouth, my betrothed, speaketh the -honey of persuasiveness, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' -So she took the phial from him and led forth the Ass, and the twain -mounted the Ass and descended the slopes of the mountain in moonlight; -and Shibli Bagarag said, 'Lo! I have marked wonders, and lived a life -since our parting; and this well, 'tis a miracle to dip in it, and by it -sit many maidens weeping and old men babbling, and youths that were idle -youths striking bubbles from the surface of the water. The well is -rounded with marble, and the sky is clear in it, cool in it, the whole -earth imaged therein.' - -Then Noorna said, 'Hadst thou a difficulty in obtaining the waters of the -well?' - -He answered, 'Surely all was made smooth for me by thy aid. Now when I -came to the well I marked not them by it, but plunged, and the depth of -that well seemed to me the very depth of the earth itself, so went I ever -downward; and when I was near the bottom of the well I had forgotten life -above, and lo! no sooner had I touched the bottom of the well when my -head emerged from the surface: 'twas wondrous! But for a sign that -touched the bottom of the well, see, O Noorna bin Noorka, the Jewel, the -one of myriads that glitter at the bottom, and I plucked it for a gift to -thee.' - -So Noorna took the Jewel from his hand that was torn and crimson, and she -cried, 'Thou fair youth, thou bleedest with the plucking of it, and it -was written, no hand shall pluck a jewel at the bottom of that well -without letting of blood. Even so it is! Worthy art thou, and I was not -mistaken in thee.' - -At her words Shibli Bagarag burst forth into praises of her, and he sang: - - 'What is my worthiness - Match'd with thy worth? - Darkness and earthiness, - Dust and dearth! - -O Noorna, thou art wise above women: great and glorious over them.' - -In this fashion the youth lauded her that was his betrothed, but she -exclaimed, 'Hush! or the jealousy of this Ass will be aroused, and of a -surety he'll spill us.' - -Then he laughed and she laughed till the tail of Karaz trembled. - - - - - - -THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - - -Now, they descended leisurely the slopes of the mountain, and when they -were again in the green of its base, Noorna called to the Ass, 'Ho! -Karaz! Sniff now the breezes, for the end of our journey by night is the -meadows of Melistan. Forward in thy might, and bray not when we are in -them, for thy comfort's sake!' - -The Ass sniffed, turning to the four quarters, and chose a certain -direction, and bore them swiftly over hills and streans eddying in -silver; over huge mounds of sand, where the tents of Bedouins stood in -white clusters; over lakes smooth as the cheeks of sleeping loveliness; -by walls of cities, mosques, and palaces; under towers that rose as an -armed man with the steel on his brows and the frown of battle; by the -shores of the pale foaming sea it bore them, going at a pace that the -Arab on his steed outstrippeth not. So when the sun was red and the dews -were blushing with new light, they struggled from a wilderness of barren -broken ground, and saw beneath them, in the warm beams, green, peaceful, -deep, the meadows of Melistan. They were meadows dancing with flowers, -as it had been fresh damsels of the mountain, fair with variety of -colours that were so many gleams of changing light as the breezes of the -morn swept over them; lavish of hues, of sweetness, of pleasantness, fir -for the souls of the blest. - -Then, after they had gazed awhile, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'In these -meadows the Horse Garraveen roameth at will. Heroes of bliss bestride -him on great days. He is black to look on; speed quivers in his flanks -like the lightning; his nostrils are wide with flame; there is that in -his eye which is settled fire, and that in his hoofs which is ready -thunder; when he paws the earth kingdoms quake: no animal liveth with -blood like the Horse Garraveen. He is under a curse, for that he bore on -his back one who defied the Prophet. Now, to make him come to thee thou -must blow the call of battle, and to catch him thou must contrive to -strike him on the fetlock as he runs with this musk-ball which I give -thee; and to tame him thou must trace between his eyes a figure or the -crescent with thy forenail. When that is done, bring him to me here, -where I await thee, and I will advise thee further.' - -So she said, 'Go!' and Shibli Bagarag showed her the breadth of his -shoulders, and stepped briskly toward the meadows, and was soon brushing -among the flowers and soft mosses of the meadows, lifting his nostrils to -the joyful smells, looking about him with the broad eye of one that -hungereth for a coming thing. The birds went up above him, and the trees -shook and sparkled, and the waters of brooks and broad rivers flashed -like waving mirrors waved by the slave-girls in sport when the beauties -of the harem riot and dip their gleaming shoulders in the bath. He -wandered on, lost in the gladness that lived, till the loud neigh of a -steed startled him, and by the banks of a river before him he beheld the -Horse Garraveen stooping to drink of the river; glorious was the look of -the creature,--silver-hoofed, fashioned in the curves of beauty and -swiftness. So Shibli Bagarag put up his two hands and blew the call of -battle, and the Horse Garraveen arched his neck at the call, and swung -upon his haunches, and sought the call, answering it, and tossing his -mane as he advanced swiftly. Then, as he neared, Shibli Bagarag held the -musk-ball in his fingers, and aimed at the fetlock of the -Horse Garraveen, and flung it, and struck him so that he stumbled and -fell. He snorted fiercely as he bent to the grass, but Shibli Bagarag -ran to him, and grasped strongly the tuft of hair hanging forward between -his ears, and traced between his fine eyes a figure of the crescent with -his forenail, and the Horse ceased plunging, and was gentle as a colt by -its mother's side, and suffered Shibli Bagarag to bestride him, and spurn -him with his heel to speed, and bore him fleetly across the fair length -of the golden meadows to where Noorna bin Noorka sat awaiting him. She -uttered a cry of welcome, saying, 'This is achieved with diligence and -skill, O my betrothed! and on thy right wrist I mark strength like a -sleeping leopard, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' - -So she bade him alight from the Horse, but he said, 'Nay.' And she called -to him again to alight, but he cried, 'I will not alight from him! By -Allah! such a bounding wave of bliss have I never yet had beneath me, and -I will give him rein once again; as the poet says: - - "Divinely rings the rushing air - When I am on my mettled mare: - When fast along the plains we fly, - A creature of the heavens am I"' - -Then she levelled her brows at him, and said gravely, 'This is the -temptation thou art falling into, as have thousands before thy time. -Give him the rein a second time, and he will bear thee to the red pit, -and halt upon the brink, and pitch thee into it among bleeding masses and -skeletons of thy kind, where they lie who were men like to thee, and were -borne away by the Horse Garraveen.' - -He gave no heed to her words, taunting her, and making the animal prance -up and prove its spirit. - -And she cried reproachfully, 'O fool! is it thus our great aim will be -defeated by thy silly conceit? Lo, now, the greatness and the happiness -thou art losing for this idle vanity is to be as a dunghill cock matched -with an ostrich; and think not to escape the calamities thou bringest on -thyself, for as is said, - - No runner can outstrip his fate; - -and it will overtake thee, though thou part like an arrow from the bow.' - -He still made a jest of her remonstrance, trying the temper of the -animal, and rejoicing in its dark flushes of ireful vigour. - -And she cried out furiously, 'How! art thou past counsel? then will we -match strength with strength ere 'tis too late, though it weaken both.' - -Upon that, she turned quickly to the Ass and stroked it from one -extremity to the other, crying, 'Karaz! Karaz!' shouting, 'Come forth in -thy power!' And the Ass vanished, and the Genie stood in his place, -tall, dark, terrible as a pillar of storm to travellers ranging the -desert. He exclaimed, 'What is it, O woman? Charge me with thy -command!' - -And she said, 'Wrestle with him thou seest on the Horse Garraveen, and -fling him from his seat.' - -Then he yelled a glad yell, and stooped to Shibli Bagarag on the horse -and enveloped him, and seized him, and plucked him from the Horse, and -whirled him round, and flung him off. The youth went circling in the -air, high in it, and descended, circling, at a distance in the deep -meadow-waters. When he crept up the banks he saw the Genie astride the -Horse Garraveen, with a black flame round his head; and the Genie urged -him to speed and put him to the gallop, and was soon lost to sight, as he -had been a thunderbeam passing over a still lake at midnight. And Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the wrong and the folly of his act, and sought -to hide his sight from Noorna; but she called to him, 'Look up, O youth! -and face the calamity. Lo, we have now lost the service of Karaz! for -though I utter ten spells and one spell in a breath, the Horse Garraveen -will ere that have stretched beyond the circle of my magic, and the Genie -will be free to do his ill deeds and plot against us. Sad is it! but -profit thou by a knowledge of thy weakness.' - -Then said she, 'See, I have not failed to possess myself of the three -hairs of Garraveen, and there is that to rejoice in.' - -She displayed them, and they were sapphire hairs, and had a flickering -light; and they seemed to live, wriggling their lengths, and were as -snakes with sapphire skins. Then she said, 'Thy right wrist, O my -betrothed!' - -He gave her his right wrist, and she tied round it the three hairs of -Garraveen, exclaiming, 'Thus do skilful carpenters make stronger what has -broken and indicated disaster. Surely, I confide in thy star? I have -faith in my foresight?' - -And she cried, 'Eyes of mine, what sayest thou to me? Lo, we must part -awhile: it is written.' - -Said he, 'Leave me not, my betrothed: what am I without thy counsel? And -go not from me, or this adventure will come to miserable issue.' - -So she said, 'Thou beginnest to feel my worth?' - -He answered, 'O Noorna! was woman like thee before in this world? Surely -'tis a mask I mark thee under; yet art thou perforce of sheer wisdom and -sweet manners lovely in my sight; and I have a thirst to hear thee and -look on thee.' - -While he spake, a beam of struggling splendour burst from her, and she -said, 'O thou dear youth, yes! I must even go. But I go glad of heart, -knowing thee prepared to love me. I must go to counteract the -machinations of Karaz, for he's at once busy, vindictive, and cunning, -and there's no time for us to lose; so farewell, my betrothed, and make -thy wits keen to know me when we next meet.' - -So he said, 'And I--whither go I?' - -She answered, 'To the City of Oolb straightway.' - -Then he, 'But I know not its bearing from this spot: how reach it?' - -She answered, 'What! thou with the phial of Paravid in thy vest, that -endoweth, a single drop of it, the flowers, the herbage, the very stones -and desert sands, with a tongue to articulate intelligible talk?' - -Said he, 'Is it so?' - -She answered, 'Even so.' - -Ere Slubli Bagarag could question her further she embraced him, and blew -upon his eyes, and he was blinded by her breath, and saw not her -departure, groping for a seat on the rocks, and thinking her still by -him. Sight returned not to him till long after weariness had brought the -balm of sleep upon his eyelids. - - - - - - -THE TALKING HAWK - -Now, when he awoke he found himself alone in that place, the moon shining -over the low meadows and flower-cups fair with night-dew. Odours of -night-flowers were abroad, filling the cool air with deliciousness, and -he heard in the gardens below songs of the bulbul: it was like a dream to -his soul, and he lay somewhile contemplating the rich loveliness of the -scene, that showed no moving thing. Then rose he and bethought him of -the words of Noorna, and of the City of Oolb, and the phial of the waters -of Paravid in his vest; and he drew it forth, and dropped a drop of it on -the rock where he had reclined. A deep harmony seemed suddenly to awake -inside the rock, and to his interrogation as to the direction of Oolb, he -heard, 'The path of the shadows of the moon.' - -Thereupon he advanced to a prominent part of the rocks above the meadows, -and beheld the shadows of the moon thrown forward into dimness across a -waste of sand. And he stepped downward to the level of sand, and went -the way of the shadows till it was dawn. Then dropped he a drop of the -waters of the phial on a spike of lavender, and there was a voice said to -him in reply to what he questioned, 'The path of the shadows of the sun.' - -The shadows of the sun were thrown forward across the same waste of sand, -and he turned and pursued his way, resting at noon beneath a date-tree, -and refreshing himself at a clear spring beside it. Surely he was joyful -as he went, and elated with high prospects, singing: - - Sun and moon with their bright fingers - Point the hero's path; - - If in his great work he lingers, - Well may they be wroth. - -Now, the extent of the duration of his travel was four days and an equal -number of nights; and it was on the fifth morn that he entered the gates -of a city by the sea, even at that hour when the inhabitants were rising -from sleep: fair was the sea beyond it, and the harbour was crowded with -vessels, ships stored with merchandise--silks, dates, diamonds, Damascus -steel, huge bales piled on the decks for the land of Roum and other -lands. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'There's scarce a doubt but that one of -those sails will set for Oolb shortly. Wullahy! if I knew which, I'd -board her and win a berth in her.' Presently he thought, 'I'll go to the -public fountain and question it with the speech-winning waters.' -Thereupon he passed down the streets of the city and came to an open -space, where stood the fountain, and sprinkled it with Paravid; and the -fountain spake, saying, 'Where men are, question not dumb things.' - -Cried he, 'Faileth Paravid in its power? Have I done aught to baffle -myself?' - -Then he thought, ''Twere nevertheless well to do as the fountain -directeth, and question men while I see them.' And he walked about among -the people, and came to the quays of the harbour where the ships lay -close in, many of them an easy leap from shore, and considered whom to -address. So, as he loitered about the quays, meditating on the means at -the disposal of the All-Wise, and marking the vessels wistfully, behold, -there advanced to him one at a quick pace, in the garb of a sailor. He -observed Shibli Bagarag attentively a moment, and exclaimed as it were in -the plenitude of respect and with the manner of one that is abashed, -'Surely, thou art Shibli Bagarag, the nephew of the barber, him we watch -for.' - -So Shibli Bagarag marvelled at this recognition, and answered, 'Am I then -already famous to that extent?' - -And he that accosted him said, ''Tis certain the trumpet was blown before -thy steps, and there is not a man in this city but knoweth of thy -destination to the City of Oolb, and that thou art upon the track of -great things, one chosen to bring about imminent changes.' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'For this I praise Noorna bin Noorka, daughter -of Feshnavat, Vizier of the King that ruleth in the city of Shagpat! She -saw me, that I was marked for greatness. Wullahy, the eagle knoweth me -from afar, and proclaimeth me; the antelope of the hills scenteth the -coming of one not as other men, and telleth his tidings; the wind of the -desert shapeth its gust to a meaning, so that the stranger may wot Shibli -Bagarag is at hand!' - -He puffed his chest, and straightened his legs like the cock, and was as -a man upon whom the Sultan has bestowed a dress of honour, even as the -plumed peacock. Then the other said: - -'Know that I am captain of yonder vessel, that stands farthest out from -the harbour with her sails slackened; and she is laden with figs and -fruits which I exchange for silks, spices, and other merchandise, with -the people of Oolb. Now, what says the poet?-- - - "Delay in thine undertaking - Is disaster of thy own making"; - -and he says also: - - "Greatness is solely for them that succeed; - 'Tis a rotten applause that gives earlier meed." - -Therefore it is advisable for thee to follow me on board without loss of -time, and we will sail this very night for the City of Oolb.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was ruled by the words of the captain albeit he -desired to stay awhile and receive the homage of the people of that city. -So he followed him into a boat that was by, and the twain were rowed by -sailors to the ship. Then, when they were aboard the captain set sail, -and they were soon in the hollows of deep waters. There was a berth in -the ship set apart for Shibli Bagarag, and one for the captain. Shibli -Bagarag, when he entered his berth, beheld at the head of his couch a -hawk; its eyes red as rubies, its beak sharp as the curve of a scimitar. -So he called out to the captain, and the captain came to him; but when he -saw the hawk, he plucked his turban from his head, and dashed it at the -hawk, and afterward ran to it, trying to catch it; and the hawk flitted -from corner to corner of the berth, he after it with open arms. Then he -took a sword, but the hawk flew past him, and fixed on the back part of -his head, tearing up his hair by the talons, and pecking over his -forehead at his eyes. And Shibli Bagarag heard the hawk scream the name -'Karaz,' and he looked closely at the Captain of the vessel, and knew him -for the Genie Karaz. Then trembled he with exceeding terror, cursing his -credulities, for he saw himself in the hands of the Genie, and nothing -but this hawk friendly to him on the fearful waters. When the hawk had -torn up a certain hair, the Genie stiffened, and glowed like copper in -the furnace, the whole length of him; and he descended heavily through -the bottom of the ship, and sank into the waters beneath, which hissed -and smoked as at a bar of heated iron. Then Shibli Bagarag gave thanks -to the Prophet, and praised the hawk, but the hawk darted out of the -cabin, and he followed it on deck, and, lo! the vessel was in flames, -and the hawk in a circle of the flames; and the flames soared with it, -and left it no outlet. Now, as Shibli Bagarag watched the hawk, the -flames stretched out towards him and took hold of his vestments. So he -delayed not to commend his soul to the All-merciful, and bore witness to -his faith, and plunged into the sea headlong. When he rose, the ship had -vanished, and all was darkness where it had been; so he buffeted with the -billows, thinking his last hour had come, and there was no help for him -in this world; and the spray shaken from the billows blinded him, the -great walls of water crumbled over him; strength failed him, and his -memory ceased to picture images of the old time--his heart to beat with -ambition; and to keep the weight of his head above the surface was -becoming a thing worth the ransom of kings. As he was sinking and -turning his eyes upward, he heard a flutter as of fledgling's wings, and -the two red ruby eyes of the hawk were visible above him, like steady -fires in the gloom. And the hawk perched on him, and buried itself among -the wet hairs of his head, and presently taking the Identical in its -beak, the hawk lifted him half out of water, and bore him a distance, and -dropped him. This the hawk did many times, and at the last, Shibli -Bagarag felt land beneath him, and could wade through the surges to the -shore. He gave thanks to the Supreme Disposer, kneeling prostrate on the -shore, and fell into a sleep deep in peacefulness as a fathomless well, -unruffled by a breath. - -Now, when it was dawn Shibli Bagarag awoke and looked inland, and saw -plainly the minarets of a city shining in the first beams, and the front -of yellow mountains, and people moving about the walls and on the towers -and among the pastures round the city; so he made toward them, and -inquired of them the name of their city. And they stared at him, crying, -'What! know'st thou not the City of Oolb? the hawk on thy shoulder could -tell thee that much.' He looked and saw that the hawk was on his -shoulder; and its left wing was scorched, the plumage blackened. So he -said to the hawk, 'Is it profitable, O preserving bird, to ask of thee -questions?' - -The hawk shook its wings and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'Do I well in entering this city?' - -The hawk shook its wings again and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'To what house shall I direct my steps in this strange city -for the attainment of the purpose I have?' - -The hawk flew, and soared, and alighted on the topmost of the towers of -Oolb. So when it returned he said, 'O bird! rare bird! my counsellor! -it is an indication, this alighting on the highest tower, that thou -advisest me to go straight to the palace of the King?' - -The hawk flapped its wings and winked both eyes; so Shibli Bagarag took -forth the phial from his breast, remembering the virtues of the waters of -the Well of Paravid, and touched his lips with them, that he might be -endowed with flowing speech before the King of Oolb. As he did this the -phial was open, and the hawk leaned to it and dipped its beak into the -water; and he entered the city and passed through the long streets -towards the palace of the King, and craved audience of him as one that -had a thing marvellous to tell. So the King commanded that Shibli -Bagarag should be brought before him, for he was a lover of marvels. As -he went into the presence of the King, Shibli Bagarag listened to the -hawk, for the hawk spake his language, and it said, 'Proclaim to the King -a new wonder--"the talking hawk."' - -So when he had bent his body to the King, he proclaimed the new wonder; -and the King seemed not to observe the hawk, and said, 'From what city -art thou?' - -He answered, 'Native, O King, to Shiraz; newly from the City of Shagpat.' - -And the King asked, 'How is it with that hairy wonder?' - -He answered, 'The dark forest flourisheth about him.' - -And the King said, 'That is well! We of the City of Oolb take our -fashions from them of the City of Shagpat, and it is but yesterday that I -bastinadoed a barber that strayed among us.' - -Shibli Bagarag sighed when he heard the King, and thought to himself, -'How unfortunate is the race of barbers, once honourable and in esteem! -Surely it will not be otherwise till Shagpat is shaved!' And the King -called out to him for the cause of his sighing; so he said, 'I sigh, O -King of the age, considering how like may be the case of the barber -bastinadoed but yesterday, in his worth and value, to that of Roomdroom, -the reader of planets, that was a barber.' - -And he related the story of Roomdroom for the edification of the King and -the exaltation of barbercraft, delivering himself neatly and winningly -and pointedly, so that the story should apply, which was its merit and -its origin. - - - - - - -GOORELKA OF OOLB - - -When Shibli Bagarag had finished his narration of the case of Roomdroom -the barber, the King of Oolb said, 'O thou, native of Shiraz, there is -persuasion and sweetness and fascination on thy tongue, and I am touched -with compassion for the soles of Baba Mustapha, that I bastinadoed but -yesterday, and he was from Shiraz likewise.' - -Now, the heart of Shibli Bagarag leapt when he heard mention of Baba -Mustapha; and he knew him for his uncle that was searching him. He would -have cried aloud his relationship, but the hawk whispered in his ear. -Then the hawk said to him, 'There is danger in the King's muteness -respecting me, for I am visible to him. Proclaim the spirit of -prophecy.' - -So he proclaimed that spirit, and the King said, 'Prophesy to me of -barbercraft.' - -And he cried, 'O King of the age, the barber is abased, trodden -underfoot, given over to the sneers and the gibes of them that flatter -the powerful ones; he is as the winter worm, as the crocodile in the -slime of his sleep by the bank, as the sick eagle before moulting. But I -say, O King, that he will come forth like the serpent in a new skin, -shaming the old one; he slept a caterpillar, and will come forth a -butterfly; he sank a star, and lo! he riseth a constellation.' - -Now, while he was speaking in the fervour of his soul, the King said -something to one of the court officers surrounding him, and there was -brought to the King a basin, a soap-bowl, and barber's tackle. When -Shibli Bagarag saw these, the uses of the barber rushed upon his mind, -and desire to sway the tackle pushed him forward and agitated him, so -that he could not keep his hands from them. - -Then the King exclaimed, 'It is as I thought. Our passions betray -themselves, and our habits; so is it written. By Allah! I swear thou -art thyself none other than a barber, O youth.' - -Shibli Bagwrag was nigh fainting with terror at this discovery of the -King, but the hawk said in his ear, 'Proclaim speech in the tackle.' So -he proclaimed speech in the tackle; and the King smiled doubtfully, and -said, 'If this be a cheat, Shiraz will not see thy face more.' - -Then the hawk whispered in his ear, 'Drop on the tackle secretly a drop -from the phial.' This he did, spreading his garments, and commanded the -tackle to speak. And the tackle spake, each portion of it, confusedly as -the noise of Babel. So the King marvelled greatly, and said, ''Tis a -greater wonder than the talking hawk, the talking tackle. Wullahy! it -ennobleth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend the saying of the -tackle.' - -Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! the -blade and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordained -that Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.' - -The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then ensueth, O -talking tackle?' - -And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honour -to Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!' - -Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will forestall -the coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!' - -Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' So -he stepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to -the shaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task -with perfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of -the King, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they -were shaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at -the change that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order is -issued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So is -laughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli Bagarag, -'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?' - -And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.' - -The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that which -beareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, which -she nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with ugliness, -as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it before her. -Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, besides the -gift of speech?' - -Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; to -counteract enchantments and foul magic.' - -Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!' - -And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambers -fair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors, -down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round the -vault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; and -there were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars of -China, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy -choice of these in exchange for the hawk.' - -But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the cockle-shell, King!' - -Then the King threatened him, saying, 'There is a virtue in each of the -things thou seest: the China jar is brimmed with wine, and remaineth so -though a thousand drink of it; the dress of Samarcand rendereth the -wearer invisible; yet thou refusest to exchange them for thy hawk!' - -And the King swore by the beard of his father he would seize perforce the -hawk and shut up Shibli Bagarag in the vault, if he fell not into his -bargain. Shibli Bagarag was advised by the hawk to accept the China jar -and the dress of Samarcand, and handed the hawk to the King in exchange -for these things. So the King took the hawk upon his wrist and departed -with it to the apartments of his daughter, and Shibli Bagarag went to the -chamber prepared for him in the palace. - -Now, when it was night, Shibli Bagarag heard a noise at his lattice, and -he arose and peered through it, and lo! the hawk was fluttering without; -so he let it in, and caressed it, and the hawk bade him put on his silken -dress and carry forth his China jar, and go the round of the palace, and -offer drink to the sentinels and the slaves. So he did as the hawk -directed, and the sentinels and slaves were aware of a China jar brimmed -with wine that was lifted to their lips, but him that lifted it they saw -not: surely, they drank deep of the draught of astonishment. - -Then the hawk flew before him, and he followed it to a chamber lit with -golden lamps, gorgeously hung, and full of a dusky splendour and the -faint sparkle of gems, ruby, amethyst, topaz, and beryl; in it there was -the hush of sleep, and the heart of Shibli Bagarag told him that one -beautiful was near. So he approached on tiptoe a couch of blue silk, -bordered with gold-wire, and inwoven with stars of blue turquoise stones, -as it had been the heavens of midnight. On the couch lay one, a woman, -pure in loveliness; the dark fringes of her closed lids like living -flashes of darkness, her mouth like an unstrung bow and as a double -rosebud, even as two isles of coral between which in the clear -transparent watery beds the pearls shine freshly. - -And the hawk said to Shibli Bagarag, 'This is the Princess Goorelka, the -daughter of the King of Oolb, a sorceress, the Guardian of the Lily of -the Enchanted Sea. Beneath her pillow is the cockle-shell; grasp it, but -gaze not upon her.' - -He approached and slid his arm beneath the pillow of the Princess, and -grasped the cockle-shell; but ere he drew it forth he gazed upon her, and -the lustre of her countenance transfixed him as with a javelin, so that -he could not stir, nor move his eyes from the contemplation of her -sweetness of feature. The hawk darted at him fiercely, and pecked at him -to draw his attention from her, and he stepped back, yet he continued -taking fatal draughts from the magic cup of her beauty. Then the hawk -screamed a loud scream of anguish, and the Princess awoke, and started -half-way from the couch, and stared about her, and saw the bird in -agitation. As she looked at the bird a shudder passed over her, and she -snatched a veil and drew it over her face, murmuring, 'I dream, or I am -under the eye of a man.' Then she felt beneath the pillow, and knew that -the cockle-shell had been touched; and in a moment she leapt from her -couch, and ran to a mirror and saw herself as she was, a full-moon made -to snare the wariest and sit singly high on a throne in the hearts of -men. At the sight of her beauty she smiled and seemed at peace, -murmuring still, 'I am under the eye of a man, or I dream.' Now, while -she so murmured she arrayed herself, and took the cockle-shell, and -passed through the ante-room among her women sleeping; and Shibli Bagarag -tracked her till she came to the vault; and she entered it and walked to -the corner from which had hung the dress of Samarcand. When she saw it -gone her face waxed pale, and she gazed slowly at all points, muttering, -'There is no further doubt but that I am under the eye of a man!' -Thereupon she ran hastily from the vault, and passed between the -sentinels of the palace, and saw them where they lay drowsy with -intoxication: so she knew that the China jar and the dress of Samarcand -had been used that night, and for no purpose friendly to her wishes. -Then she passed down the palace steps, and through the gates of the -palace and the city, till she came to the shore of the sea; there she -launched the cockle-shell and took the wind in her garments, and sat in -it, filling it to overflowing, yet it floated. And Shibli Bagarag waded -to the cockle-shell and took hold of it, and was drawn along by its -motion swiftly through the waters, so that a foam swept after him; and -Goorelka marked the foam. Now, they had passage over the billows -smoothly, and soon the length of the sea was darkened with two high -rocks, and between them there was a narrow channel of the sea, roughened -with moonlight. So they sped between the rocks, and came upon a purple -sea, dark-blue overhead, with large stars leaning to the waves. There -was a soft whisperingness in the breath of the breezes that swung there, -and many sails of charmed ships were seen in momentary gleams, flapping -the mast idly far away. Warm as new milk from the full udders were the -waters of that sea, and figures of fair women stretched lengthwise with -the current, and lifted a head as they rushed rolling by. Truly it was -enchanted even to the very bed! - - - - -ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: - -Delay in thine undertaking Is disaster of thy own making -Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! -No runner can outstrip his fate -'Tis the first step that makes a path -When to loquacious fools with patience rare I listen - - - - -End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat, v2 -by George Meredith - - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -by GEORGE MEREDITH - - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - -1898/1909 - - - -BOOK 3. - -Contents: - -THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA -STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE PRINCESS OF OOLB -THE WILES OF RABESQURAT -THE PALACE OF AKLIS -THE SONS OF AKLIS -THE SWORD OF AKLIS - - - - -THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - - -Now, after the cockle-shell had skimmed calmly awhile, it began to pitch -and grew unquiet, and came upon a surging foam, pale, and with -scintillating bubbles. The surges increased in volume, and boiled, -hissing as with anger, like savage animals. Presently, the cockle-shell -rose upon one very lofty swell, and Shibli Bagarag lost hold of it, and -lo! it was overturned and engulfed in the descent of the great mountain -of water, and the Princess Goorelka was immersed in the depths. She -would have sunk, but Shibli Bagarag caught hold of her, and supported her -to the shore by the strength of his right arm. The shore was one of sand -and shells, their wet cheeks sparkling in the moonlight; over it hung a -promontory, a huge jut of black rock. Now, the Princess when she landed, -seeing not him that supported her, delayed not to run beneath the rock, -and ascended by steps cut from the base of the rock. And Shibli Bagarag -followed her by winding paths round the rock, till she came to the -highest peak commanding the circle of the Enchanted Sea, and glimpses of -enthralled vessels, and mariners bewitched on board; long paths of -starlight rippled into the distant gloom, and the reflection of the moon -opposite was as a wide nuptial sheet of silver on the waters: islands, -green and white, and with soft music floating from their foliage, sailed -slowly to and fro. Surely, to dwell reclining among the slopes of those -islands a man would forfeit Paradise! Now, the Princess, as she stood -upon the peak, knew that she was not alone, and pretended to slip from -her footing, and Shibli Bagarag called out and ran to her; but she turned -in the direction of his voice and laughed, and he knew he was outwitted. -Then, to deceive her, he dropped from the phial twenty drops round her on -the rock, and those twenty drops became twenty voices, so that she was -bewildered with their calls, and stopped her ears, and ran from them, and -descended from the eminence nimbly, slipping over ledges and leaping the -abysses. And Shibli Bagarag followed her, clutching at the trailers and -tearing them with him, letting loose a torrent of stones and earth, till -on a sudden they stood together above a greenswarded basin of the rock -opening to the sea; and in the middle of the basin, lo! in stature like a -maiden of the mountains, and one that droopeth her head pensively -thinking of her absent lover, the Enchanted Lily. Wonder knocked at the -breast of Shibli Bagarag when he saw that queenly flower waving its -illumined head to the breeze: he could not retain a cry of rapture. As -he did this the Princess stretched her hand to where he was and groped a -moment, and caught him by the silken dress and tore in it a great rent, -and by the rent he stood revealed to her. Then said she, 'O youth, thou -halt done ill to follow me here, and the danger of it is past computing; -surely, the motive was a deep one, nought other than the love of me.' - -She spoke winningly, sweet words to a luted voice, and the youth fell -upon his knees before her, smitten by her beauty; and he said, 'I -followed thee here as I would follow such loveliness to the gates of -doom, O Princess of Oolb.' - -She smiled and said playfully, 'I will read by thy hand whether thou be -one faithful in love.' - -She took his hand and sprinkled on it earth and gravel, and commenced -scanning it curiously. As she scanned it her forehead wrinkled up, and a -shot like black lightning travelled across her countenance, withering its -beauty: she cried in a forced voice, 'Aha! it is well, O youth, for thee -and for me that thou lovest me, and art faithful in love.' - -The look of the Princess of Oolb and her voice affrighted the soul of -Shibli Bagarag, and he would have turned from her; but she held him, and -went to the Lily, and emptied into the palm of her hand the dew that was -in the Lily, and raised it to the lips of Shibli Bagarag, bidding him -drink as a pledge for her sake and her love, and to appease his thirst. -As he was about to drink, there fell into the palm of the Princess from -above what seemed a bolt of storm scattering the dew; and after he had -blinked with the suddenness of the action he looked and beheld the hawk, -its red eyes inflamed with wrath. And the hawk screamed into the ear of -Shibli Bagarag, 'Pluck up the Lily ere it is too late, O fool!--the dew -was poison! Pluck it by the root with thy right hand!' - -So thereat he strode to the Lily, and grasped it, and pulled with his -strength; and the Lily was loosened, and yielded, and came forth -streaming with blood from the bulb of the root; surely the bulb of the -root was a palpitating heart, yet warm, even as that we have within our -bosoms. - -Now, from the terror of that sight the Princess hid her eyes, and shrank -away. And the lines of malice, avarice, and envy seemed ageing her at -every breath. Then the hawk pecked at her three pecks, and perched on a -corner of rock, and called shrilly the name 'Karaz!' And the Genie Karaz -came slanting down the night air, like a preying bird, and stood among -them. So the hawk cried, 'See, O Karaz, the freshness of thy Princess of -Oolb'; and the Genie regarded her till loathing curled his lip, for she -grew in ghastliness to the colour of a frog, and a frog's face was hers, -a camel's back, a pelican's throat, the legs of a peacock. - -Then the hawk cried, 'Is this how ye meet, ye lovers,--ye that will be -wedded?' And the hawk made his tongue as a thorn to them. At the last -it exclaimed, 'Now let us fight our battle, Karaz!' - -But the Genie said, 'Nay, there will come a time for that, traitress!' - -The hawk cried, 'Thou delayest, till the phial of Paravid, the hairs of -Garraveen, and this Lily, my three helps, are expended, thinking Aklis, -for which we barter them, striketh but a single blow? That is well! Go, -then, and take thy Princess, and obtain permission of the King of Oolb, -her father, to wed her, O Karaz!' - -The hawk whistled with laughter, and the Genie was stung with its -mockeries, and clutched the Princess of Oolb in a bunch, and arose from -the ground with her, slanting up the night-air like fire, till he was -seen high up even as an angry star reddening the seas beneath. - -When he was lost to the eye, Shibli Bagarag drew a long breath and cried -aloud, 'The likeness of that Princess of Oolb in her ugliness to Noorna, -my betrothed, is a thing marvellous, if it be not she herself.' And he -reflected, 'Yet she seemed not to recognize and claim me'; and thought, -'I am bound to her by gratitude, and I should have rescued her from -Karaz, but I know not if it be she. Wullahy! I am bewildered; I will ask -counsel of the hawk.' He looked to the corner of the rock where the hawk -had perched, but the hawk was gone; as he searched for it, his eyes fell -upon the bed of earth where the Lily stood ere he plucked it, and lo! in -the place of the Lily, there was a damsel dressed in white shining silks, -fairer than the enchanted flower, straighter than the stalk of it; her -head slightly drooping, like the moon on a border of the night; her bosom -like the swell of the sea in moonlight; her eyes dark, under a low arch -of darker lashes, like stars on the skirts of storm; and she was the very -dream of loveliness, formed to freeze with awe, and to inflame with -passion. So Shibli Bagarag gazed at her with adoration, his hands -stretched half-way to her as if to clasp her, fearing she was a vision -and would fade; and the damsel smiled a sweet smile, and lifted her -antelope eyes, and said, 'Who am I, and to whom might I be likened, O -youth?' - -And he answered, 'Who thou art, O young perfection, I know not, if not a -Houri of Paradise; but thou art like the Princess of Oolb, yet lovelier, -oh lovelier! And thy voice is the voice of Noorna, my betrothed; yet -purer, sweeter, younger.' - -So the damsel laughed a laugh like a sudden sweeping of wild chords of -music, and said, 'O youth, saw'st thou not the ascent of Noorna, thy -betrothed, gathered in a bunch by Karaz?' - -And he answered, 'I saw her; but I knew not, O damsel of beauty; surely I -was bewildered, amazed, without power to contend with the Genie.' - -Then she said, 'Wouldst thou release her? So kiss me on the lips, on the -eyes, and on the forehead, three kisses each time; and with the first -say, "By the well of Paravid"; and with the second, "By the strength of -Garraveen!" and with the third, "By the Lily of the Sea!"' - -Now, the heart of the youth bounded at her words, and he went to her, and -trembling kissed her all bashfully on the lips, on the eyes, and on the -forehead, saying each time as she directed. Then she took him by the -hand, and stepped from the bed of earth, crying joyfully, 'Thanks be to -Allah and the Prophet! Noorna, is released from the sorceries that held -her, and powerful.' - -So, while he was wondering, she said, 'Knowest thou not the woman, thy -betrothed?' - -He answered, 'O damsel of beauty, I am charged with many feelings; doubts -and hopes are mixed in me. Say first who thou art, and fill my two ears -with bliss.' - -And she said, 'I will leave my name to other lips; surely I am the -daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, betrothed to a wandering youth,--a -barber, who sickened at the betrothal, and consoled himself with a -proverb when he gave me the kiss of contract, and knew not how with truth -to pay me a compliment.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag saw this was indeed Noorna bin Noorka, his betrothed, -and he fell before her in love and astonishment; but she lifted him to -her neck, and embraced him, saying, 'Said I not truly when I said "I am -that I shall be"? My youth is not as that of Bhanavar the Beautiful, -gained at another's cost, but my own, and stolen from me by wicked -sorceries.' And he cried, 'Tell me, O Noorna, my betrothed, how this -matter came to pass?' - -She said, 'On our way to Aklis.' - -She bade him grasp the Lily, and follow her; and he followed her down the -rock and over the bright shells upon the sand, admiring her stateliness, -her willowy lightness, her slimness as of the palm-tree. Then she waded -in the water, and began to strike out with her arms, and swim boldly,--he -likewise; and presently they came to a current that hurried them off in -its course, and carried them as weeds, streaming rapidly. He was bearing -witness to his faith as a man that has lost hope of life, when a strong -eddy stayed him, and whirled him from the current into the calm water. -So he looked for Noorna, and saw her safe beside him flinging back the -wet tresses from her face, that was like the full moon growing radiant -behind a dispersing cloud. And she said, 'Ask not for the interpretation -of wonders in this sea, for they cluster like dates on a date branch. -Surely, to be with me is enough?' - -And she bewitched him in the midst of the waters, making him oblivious of -all save her, so that he hugged the golden net of her smiles and fair -flatteries, and swam with an exulting stroke, giving his breast broadly -to the low billows, and shouting verses of love and delight to her. And -while they swam sweetly, behold, there was seen a pearly shell of -flashing crimson, amethyst, and emerald, that came scudding over the -waves toward them, raised to the wind, fan-shaped, and in its front two -silver seats. When she saw it, Noorna cried, 'She has sent me this, -Rabesqurat! Perchance is she favourable to my wishes, and this were -well!' - -Then she swayed in the water sideways, and drew the shell to her, and the -twain climbed into it, and sat each on one of the silver seats, folded -together. In its lightness it was as a foam-bubble before the wind on -the blue water, and bore them onward airily. At his feet Shibli Bagarag -beheld a stool of carved topaz, and above his head the arch of the shell -was inlaid with wreaths of gems: never was vessel fairer than that. - -Now, while they were speeding over the water, Noorna said, 'The end of -this fair sea is Aklis, and beyond it is the Koosh. So while the wind is -our helmsman, and we go circled by the quiet of this sea, I'll tell thee -of myself, if thou carest to hear.' - -And he cried with the ardour of love, 'Surely, I would hear of nought -save thyself, Noorna, and the music of the happy garden compareth not in -sweetness with it. I long for the freshness of thy voice, as the desert -camel for the green spring, O my betrothed!' - -So she said, 'And now give ear to the following':-- - - - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE -PRINCESS OF OOLB - - -Know, that when I was a babe, I lay on my mother's bosom in the -wilderness, and it was the bosom of death. Surely, I slept and smiled, -and dreamed the infant's dream, and knew not the coldness of the thing I -touched. So were we even as two dead creatures lying there; but life was -in me, and I awoke with hunger at the time of feeding, and turned to my -mother, and put up my little mouth to her for nourishment, and sucked -her, but nothing came. I cried, and commenced chiding her, and after a -while it was as decreed, that certain horsemen of a troop passing through -the wilderness beheld me, and seeing my distress and the helpless being I -was, their hearts were stirred, and they were mindful of what the poet -says concerning succour given to the poor, helpless, and innocent of this -world, and took me up, and mixed for me camel's milk and water from the -bags, and comforted me, and bore me with them, after they had paid -funeral rites to the body of my mother. - -Now, the rose-bud showeth if the rose-tree be of the wilds or of the -garden, and the chief of that troop seeing me born to the uses of -gentleness, carried me in his arms with him to his wife, and persuaded -her that was childless to make me the child of their adoption. So I -abode with them during the period of infancy and childhood, caressed and -cared for, as is said: - - The flower a stranger's hand may gather, - Strikes root into the stranger's breast; - Affection is our mother, father, - Friend, and of cherishers the best. - -And I loved them as their own child, witting not but that I was their -child, till on a day while I played among some children of my years, the -daughter of the King of Oolb passed by us on a mule, with her slaves and -drawn swords, and called to me, 'Thou little castaway!' and had me -brought to her, and peered upon my face in a manner that frightened me, -for I was young. Then she put me down from the neck of her mule where -she had seated me, saying, 'Child of a dead mother and a runaway father, -what need I fear from thy like, and the dreams of a love-sick Genie?' So -she departed, but I forgot not her words, and dwelt upon them, and grew -fevered with them, and drooped. Now, when he saw my bloom of health -gone, heaviness on my feet, the light hollowed from my eyes, my -benefactor, Ravaloke--he that I had thought my father--took me between -his knees, and asked me what it was and the cause of my ailing; and I -told him. - -Then said he, 'This is so: thou art not my child; but I love thee as -mine, O my little Desert-flower; and why the Princess should fancy fear -of thee I like not to think; but fear thou her, for she is a mask of -wiles and a vine trailing over pitfalls; such a sorceress the world -knoweth not as Goorelka of Oolb.' - -Now, I was penetrated by what he said, and ceased to be a companion to -them that loved childish games and romps, and meditated by myself in -gardens and closets, feigning sleep when the elder ones discoursed, that -I might learn something of this mystery, and all that was spoken -perplexed me more, as the sage declareth: - - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue, - More that he wandereth doth himself undo. - -Though I was quick as the quick-eyed falcon, I discovered nought, flying -ever at false game,-- - - A follower of misleading beams, - A cheated soul, the mock of dreams. - -At times I thought that it was the King of Oolb was my father, and -plotted to come in his path; and there were kings and princes of far -countries whom I sought to encounter, that they might claim me; but none -claimed me. O my betrothed, few gave me love beside Ravaloke, and when -the wife that he cherished died, he solely, for I was lost in waywardness -and the slave of moody imaginings. 'Tis said: - - If thou the love of the world for thyself wouldst gain, - mould thy breast - Liker the world to become, for its like the world loveth best; - -and this was not I then. - -Now, the sons and daughters of men are used to celebrate the days of -their birth with gifts and rejoicings, but I could only celebrate that -day which delivered me from death into the hands of Ravaloke, as none -knew my birth-hour. When it was the twelfth return of this event, -Ravaloke, my heart's father, called me to him and pressed in my hand a -glittering coin, telling me to buy with it in the bazaars what I would. -So I went forth, attended by a black slave, after the mid-noon, for I was -eager to expend my store, and cared not for the great heat. Scarcely had -we passed the cheese-market and were hurrying on to shops of the -goldsmiths and jewellers, when I saw an old man, a beggar, in a dirty -yellow turban and pieced particoloured cloth-stuff, and linen in rags his -other gear. So lean was he, and looked so weak that I wondered he did -other than lay his length on the ground; and as he asked me for alms his -voice had a piteousness that made me to weep, and I punished my slave for -seeking to drive him away, and gave my one piece of gold into his hand. -Then he asked me what I required of him in exchange, and I said, 'What -can a poor old man that is a beggar give?' He laughed, and asked me then -what I had intended to buy with that piece of money. So, beginning to -regret the power that was gone from me of commanding with my gold piece -this and that fine thing, I mused, and said, 'Truly, a blue dress -embroidered with gold, and a gold crown, and gold bracelets set with -turquoise stones,--these, and toys; but could I buy in this city a book -of magic, that were my purchase.' - -The old fellow smiled, and said to my black slave, 'And thou, hadst thou -this coin, what were thy purchase therewith?' - -He, scoffing the old beggar, answered, 'A plaister for sores as broad as -my back, and a camel's hump, O thou old villain!' - -The old man grunted in his chest, and said, 'Thou art but a camel -thyself, to hinder a true Mussulman from passing in peace down a street -of Oolb; so 'twere a good purchase and a fitting: know'st thou what is -said of the blessing given by them that receive a charity? - - "'Tis the fertilizing dew that streameth after the sun, - Strong as the breath of Allah to bless life well begun." - -So is my blessing on the little damsel, and she shall have her wish, -wullahy, thou black face! and thou thine.' - -This spake the old man, and hobbled off while my slave was jeering him. -So I strolled through the bazaars and thought no more of the old man's -words, and longed to purchase a hundred fineries, and came to the -confectioner's, and smelt the smell of his musk-scented sweetmeats and -lemon sweets and sugared pistachios that are delicious to crunch between -the teeth. My mouth watered, and I said to my slave, 'O Kadrab, a coin, -though 'twere small, would give us privilege in yonder shop to select, -and feast, and approve the skill of the confectioner.' - -He grinned, and displayed in his black fist a petty coin of exchange, but -would not let me have it till I had sworn to give no more away to -beggars. So even as we were hurrying into the shop, another old beggar -wretcheder than the first fronted me, and I was moved, and forgot my -promise to Kadrab, and gave him the money. Then was Kadrab wroth, and -kicked the old beggar with his fore-foot, lifting him high in air, and -lo! he did not alight, but rose over the roofs of the houses and beyond -the city, till he was but a speck in the blue of the sky above. So -Kadrab bit his forefinger amazed, and glanced at his foot, and at what -was visible of the old beggarman, and again at his foot, thinking but of -what he had done with it, and the might manifested in that kick, fool -that he was! All the way homeward he kept scanning the sky and lifting -his foot aloft, and I saw him bewildered with a strange conceit, as the -poet has exclaimed in his scorn: - - Oh, world diseased! oh, race empirical! - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle! - -Now, when I was in my chamber, what saw I there but a dress of very -costly blue raiment with gold-work broidery and a lovely circlet of gold, -and gold bracelets set with stones of turquoise, and a basket of gold -woven wire, wherein were toys, wondrous ones--soldiers that cut off each -other's heads and put them on again, springing antelopes, palm-trees that -turned to fountains, and others; and lo! a book in red binding, with -figures on it and clasps of gold, a great book! So I clapped my hands -joyfully, crying, 'The old beggar has done it!' and robed myself in the -dress, and ran forth to tell Ravaloke. As I ran by a window looking on -the inner court, I saw below a crowd of all the slaves of Ravaloke round -one that was seeking to escape from them, and 'twas Kadrab with a camel's -hump on his back, and a broad brown plaister over it, the wretch howling, -peering across his shoulder, and trying to bolt from his burden, as a -horse that would run from his rider. Then I saw that Kadrab also had his -wish, his camel's hump, and thought, 'The old beggar, what was he but a -Genie?' Surely Ravaloke caressed me when he heard of the adventure, and -what had befallen Kadrab was the jest of the city; but for me I spared -little time away from that book, and studied in it incessantly the ways -and windings of magic, till I could hold communication with Genii, and -wield charms to summon them, and utter spells that subdue them, -discovering the haunts of talismans that enthral Afrites and are powerful -among men. There was that Kadrab coming to me daily to call out in the -air for the old beggarman to rid him of his hump; and he would waste -hours looking up into the sky moodily for him, and cursing the five toes -of his foot, for he doubted not the two beggars were one, and that he was -punished for the kick, and lamented it direly, saying in the thick of his -whimperings, 'I'd give the foot that did it to be released from my hump, -O my fair mistress.' So I pitied him, and made a powder and a spell, and -my first experiment in magic was to relieve Kadrab of his hump, and I -succeeded in loosening it, and it came away from him, and sank into the -ground of the garden where we stood. So I told Kadrab to say nothing of -this, but the idle-pated fellow blabbed it over the city, and it came to -the ears of Goorelka. Then she sent for me to visit her, and by the -advice of Ravaloke I went, and she fondled me, and sought to get at the -depth of my knowledge by a spell that tieth every faculty save the -tongue, and it is the spell of vain longing. Now, because I baffled her -arts she knew me more cunning than I seemed, and as night advanced she -affected to be possessed with pleasure in me, and took me in her arms and -sought to fascinate me, and I heard her mutter once, 'Shall I doubt the -warning of Karaz?' So presently she said, 'Come with me'; and I went -with her under the curtain of that apartment into another, a long saloon, -wherein were couches round a fountain, and beyond it an aviary lit with -lamps: when we were there she whistled, and immediately there was a -concert of birds, a wondrous accord of exquisite piping, and she leaned -on a couch and took me by her to listen; sweet and passionate was the -harmony of the birds; but I let not my faculties lull, and observed that -round the throat of every bird was a ringed mark of gold and stamps of -divers gems similar in colour to a ring on the forefinger of her right -hand, which she dazzled my sight with as she flashed it. When we had -listened a long hour to this music, the Princess gazed on me as if to -mark the effect of a charm, and I saw disappointment on her lovely face, -and she bit her lip and looked spiteful, saying, 'Thou art far gone in -the use of magic, and wary, O girl!' Then she laughed unnaturally, and -called slaves to bring in sweet drinks to us, and I drank with her, and -became less wary, and she fondled me more, calling me tender names, -heaping endearments on me; and as the hour of the middle-night approached -I was losing all suspicion in deep languor, and sighed at the song of the -birds, the long love-song, and dozed awake with eyes half shut. I felt -her steal from me, and continued still motionless without alarm: so was I -mastered. What hour it was or what time had passed I cannot say, when a -bird that was chained on a perch before me--a very quaint bird, with a -topknot awry, and black, heavy bill, and ragged gorgeousness of plumage-- -the only object between my lids and darkness, suddenly, in the midst of -the singing, let loose a hoarse laugh that was followed by peals of -laughter from the other birds. Thereat I started up, and beheld the -Princess standing over a brazier, and she seized a slipper from her foot -and flung it at the bird that had first laughed, and struck him off his -perch, and went to him and seized him and shook him, crying, 'Dare to -laugh again!' and he kept clearing his throat and trying to catch the -tune he had lost, pitching a high note and a low note; but the marvel of -this laughter of the bird wakened me thoroughly, and I thanked the bird -in my soul, and said to Goorelka, 'More wondrous than their singing, this -laughter, O Princess!' - -She would not speak till she had beaten every bird in the aviary, and -then said in the words of the poet: - - Shall they that deal in magic match degrees of wonder? - From the bosom of one cloud comes the lightning and the thunder. - -Then said she, 'O Noorna! I'll tell thee truly my intent, which was to -enchant thee; but I find thee wise, so let us join our powers, and thou -shah become mighty as a sorceress.' - -Now, Ravaloke had said to me, 'Her friendship is fire, her enmity frost; -so be cold to the former, to the latter hot,' and I dissembled and -replied, 'Teach me, O Princess!' - -So she asked me what I could do. Could I plant a mountain in the sea and -people it? could I anchor a purple cloud under the sun and live there a -year with them I delighted in? could I fix the eyes of the world upon one -head and make the nations bow to it; change men to birds, fishes to men; -and so on--a hundred sorceries that I had never attempted and dreamed not -of my betrothed! I had never offended Allah by a misuse of my powers. -When I told her, she cried, 'Thou art then of a surety she that's fitted -for the custody of the Lily of the Light, so come with me.' - -Now, I had heard of the Lily, even this thou holdest may its influence be -unwithering!--and desired to see it. So she led me from the palace to -the shore of the sea, and flung a cockleshell on the waters, and seated -herself in it with me in her lap; and we scudded over the waters, and -entered this Enchanted Sea, and stood by the Lily. Then, I that loved -flowers undertook the custody of this one, knowing not the consequences -and the depth of her wiles. 'Tis truly said: - - The overwise themselves hoodwink, - For simple eyesight is a modest thing: - They on the black abysm's brink - Smile, and but when they fall bitterly think, - What difference 'twixt the fool and me, Creation's King? - -Nevertheless for awhile nothing evil resulted, and I had great joy in the -flower, and tended it with exceeding watchfulness, and loved it, so that -I was brought in my heart to thank the Princess and think well of her. - -Now, one summer eve as Ravaloke rested under the shade of his garden -palm, and I studied beside him great volumes of magic, it happened that -after I had read certain pages I closed one of the books marked on the -cover 'Alif,' and shut the clasp louder than I intended, so that he who -was dozing started up, and his head was in the sloped sun in an instant, -and I observed the shadow of his head lengthen out along the grass-plot -towards the mossed wall, and it shot up the wall, darkening it--then -drawing back and lessening, then darting forth like a beast of darkness -irritable for prey. I was troubled, for whatso is seen while the volume -Alif is in use hath a portent; but the discovery of what this might be -baffled me. So I determined to watch events, and it was not many days -ere Ravaloke, who was the leader of the armies of the King of Oolb, was -called forth to subdue certain revolted tributaries of the King, and at -my entreaty took me with him, and I saw battles and encounters lasting a -day's length. Once we were encamped in a fruitful country by a brook -running with a bright eye between green banks, and I that had freedom and -the password of the camp wandered down to it, and refreshed my forehead -with its coolness. So, as I looked under the falling drops, lo! on the -opposite bank the old beggar that had given me such fair return for my -alms and Kadrab his hump! I heard him call, 'This night is the key to -the mystery,' and he was gone. Every incantation I uttered was -insufficient to bring him back. Surely, I hurried to the tents and took -no sleep, watching zealously by the tent of Ravaloke, crouched in its -shadow. About the time of the setting of the moon I heard footsteps -approach the tent within the circle of the guard, and it was a youth that -held in his hand naked steel. When he was by the threshold of the tent, -I rose before him and beheld the favourite of Ravaloke, even the youth he -had destined to espouse me; so I reproached him, and he wept, denying not -the intention he had to assassinate Ravaloke, and when his soul was -softened he confessed to me, ''Twas that I might win the Princess -Goorelka, and she urged me to it, promising the King would promote me to -the vacant post of Ravaloke.' - -Then I said to him, 'Lov'st thou Goorelka?' - -And he answered, 'Yea, though I know my doom in loving her; and that it -will be the doom of them now piping to her pleasure and denied the -privilege of laughter.' - -So I thought, 'Oh, cruel sorceress! the birds are men!' And as I mused, -my breast melted with pity at their desire to laugh, and the little -restraint they had upon themselves notwithstanding her harshness; for -could they think of their changed condition and folly without laughter? -and the folly that sent them fresh mates in misery was indeed matter for -laughter, fed to fulness by constant meditation on the perch. Meantime, -I uncharmed the youth and bade him retire quickly; but as he was going, -he said, 'Beware of the Genie Karaz!' Then I held him back, and after -a parley he told me what he had heard the Princess say, and it was that -Karaz had seen me and sworn to possess me for my beauty. 'Strangely -smiled Goorelka when she spake that,' said he. - -Now, the City of Oolb fronts the sea, and behind it is a mountain and -a wood, where the King met Ravaloke on his return victorious over the -rebels. So, to escape the eye of the King I parted with Ravaloke, and -sought to enter the city by a circuitous way; but the paths wound about -and zigzagged, and my slaves suffered nightfall to surprise us in the -entanglements of the wood. I sent them in different directions to strike -into the main path, retaining Kadrab at the bridle of my mule; but that -creature now began to address me in a familiar tone, and he said -something of love for me that enraged me, so that I hit him a blow. Then -came from him sounds like the neighing of mares, and lo! he seized me and -rose with me in the air, and I thought the very heavens were opening to -that black beast, when on a sudden he paused, and shot down with me from -heights of the stars to the mouth of a cavern by the Putrid Sea, and -dragged me into a cavern greatly illuminated, hung like a palace chamber, -and supported on pillars of shining jasper. Then I fell upon the floor -in a swoon, and awaking saw Kadrab no longer, but in his place a Genie. -O my soul, thou halt seen him!--I thought at once, ''tis Karaz!' and when -he said to me, 'This is thy abode, O lady! and I he that have sworn to -possess thee from the hour I saw thee in the chamber of Goorelka,' then -was I certain 'twas Karaz. So, collecting the strength of my soul, -I said, in the words of the poet: - - 'Woo not a heart preoccupied! - What thorn is like a loathing bride? - Mark ye the shrubs how they turn from the sea, - The sea's rough whispers shun? - But like the sun of heaven be, - And every flower will open wide. - Woo with the shining patience we - Beheld in heaven's sun.' - -Then he sang: - - Exquisite lady! name the smart - That fills thy heart. - Thou art the foot and I the worm: - Prescribe the Term. - -Finding him compliant, I said, 'O great Genie, truly the search of my -life has been to discover him that is, my father, and how I was left in -the wilderness. There 's no peace for me, nor understanding the word of -love, till I hear by whom I was left a babe on the bosom of a dead -mother.' - -He exclaimed, and his eyes twinkled, ''Tis that? that shalt thou know in a -span of time. O my mistress, hast thou seen the birds of Goorelka? Thy -father Feshnavat is among them, perched like a bird.' - -So I cried, 'And tell me how he may be disenchanted.' - -He said, 'Swear first to be mine unreluctantly.' - -Then I said, 'What is thy oath?' - -He answered, 'I swear, when I swear, by the Identical.' - -Thereupon I questioned him concerning the Identical, what it was; and he, -not suspecting, revealed to me the mighty hair in his head now in the -head of Shagpat, even that. So I swore by that to give myself to the -possessor of the Identical, and flattered him. Then said he, 'O lovely -damsel, I am truly one of the most powerful of the Genii; yet am I in -bondage to that sorceress Goorelka by reason of a ring she holdeth; and -could I get that ring from her and be slave to nothing mortal an hour, I -could light creation as a torch, and broil the inhabitants of earth at -one fire.' - -I thought, 'That ring is known to me!' And he continued, 'Surely I -cannot assist thee in this work other than by revealing the means of -disenchantment, and it is to keep the birds laughing uninterruptedly an -hour; then are they men again, and take the forms of men that are -laughers--I know not why.' - -So I cried, ''Tis well! carry me back to Oolb.' - -Then the Genie lifted me into the air, and ceased not speeding rapidly -through it, till I was on the roof of the house of Ravaloke. O sweet -youth! moon of my soul! from that time to the disenchantment of -Feshnavat, I pored over my books, trying experiments in magic, dreadful -ones, hunting for talismans to countervail Goorelka; but her power was -great, and 'twas not in me to get her away from the birds one hour to -free them. On a certain occasion I had stolen to them, and kept them -laughing with stories of man to within an instant of the hour; and they -were laughing exultingly with the easy happy laugh of them that perceive -deliverance sure, when she burst in and beat them even to the door of -death. I saw too in her eyes, that glowed like the eyes of wild cats in -the dark, she suspected me, and I called Allah to aid the just cause -against the sinful, and prepared to war with her. - -Now, my desire, which was to liberate my father and his fellows in -tribulation, I knew pure, and had no fear of the sequel, as is declared: - - Fear nought so much as Fear itself; for arm'd with Fear the Foe - Finds passage to the vital part, and strikes a double blow. - -So one day as I leaned from my casement looking on the garden seaward, I -saw a strange red and yellow-feathered bird that flew to the branch of a -citron-tree opposite, with a ring in its beak; and the bird was singing, -and with every note the ring dropped from its bill, and it descended -swiftly in an arrowy slant downward, and seized it ere it reached the -ground, and commenced singing afresh. When I had marked this to happen -many times, I thought, 'How like is this bird to an innocent soul -possessed of magic and using its powers! Lo, it seeketh still to sing as -one of the careless, and cannot relinquish the ring and be as the -careless, and between the two there is neither peace for it nor -pleasure.' Now, while my eyes were on the pretty bird, dwelling on it, I -saw it struck suddenly by an arrow beneath the left wing, and the bird -fluttered to my bosom and dropped in it the ring from its beak. Then it -sprang weakly, and sought to fly and soar, and fluttered; but a blue film -lodged over its eyes, and its panting was quickly ended. So I looked at -the ring and knew it for that one I had noted on the finger of Goorelka. -Red blushed my bliss, and 'twas revealed to me that the bird was of the -birds of the Princess that had escaped from her with the ring. I buried -the bird, weeping for it, and flew to my books, and as I read a glow -stole over me. O my betrothed, eyes of my soul! I read that the -possessor of that ring was mistress of the marvellous hair which is a -magnet to the homage of men, so that they crowd and crush and hunger to -adore it, even the Identical! This was the power that peopled the aviary -of Goorelka, and had well-nigh conquered all the resistance of my craft. - -Now, while I read there arose a hubbub and noise in the outer court, and -shrieks of slaves. The noise approached with rapid strides, and before I -could close my books Goorelka burst in upon me, crying, 'Noorna! Noorna!' -Wild and haggard was her head, and she rushed to my books and saw them -open at the sign of the ring: then began our combat. She menaced me as -never mortal was menaced. Rapid lightning-flashes were her -transformations, and she was a serpent, a scorpion, a lizard, a lioness -in succession, but I leapt perpetually into fresh rings of fire and of -witched water; and at the fiftieth transformation, she fell on the floor -exhausted, a shuddering heap. Seeing that, I ran from her to the aviary -in her palace, and hurried over a story of men to the birds, that rocked -them on their perches with chestquakes of irresistible laughter. Then -flew I back to the Princess, and she still puffing on the floor, -commenced wheedling and begging the ring of me, stinting no promises. At -last she cried, 'Girl! what is this ring to thee without beauty? Thy -beauty is in my keeping.' - -And I exclaimed, 'How? how?' smitten to the soul. - -She answered, 'Yea; and I can wear it as my own, adding it to my own, -when thou'rt a hag!' - -My betrothed! I was on the verge of giving her the ring for this secret, -when a violent remote laughter filled the inner hollow of my ears, and it -increased, till the Princess heard it; and now the light of my casement -was darkened with birds, the birds of Goorelka, laughing as on a wind of -laughter. So I opened to them, and they darted in, laughing all of them, -till I could hold out no longer, and the infection of laughter seized me, -and I rolled with it; and the Princess, she too laughed a hyaena-laugh -under a cat's grin, and we all of us remained in this wise some minutes, -laughing the breath out of our bodies, as if death would take us. Whoso -in the City of Oolb heard us, the slaves, the people, and the King, -laughed, knowing not the cause. This day is still remembered in Oolb as -the day of laughter. Now, at a stroke of the hour the laughter ceased, -and I saw in the chamber a crowd of youths and elders of various ranks; -but their visages were become long and solemn as that of them that have -seen a dark experience. 'Tis certain they laughed little in their lives -from that time, and the muscles of their cheeks had rest. So I caught -down my veil, and cried to the Princess, 'My father is among these; point -him out to me.' - -Ere she replied one stepped forth, even Feshnavat, my father, and called -me by name, and knew me by a spot on the left arm, and made himself known -to me, and told me the story of my dead mother, how she had missed her -way from the caravan in the desert, and he searching her was set upon by -robbers, and borne on their expeditions. Nothing said he of the -sorceries of Goorelka, and I, not wishing to provoke the Princess, -suffered his dread to exist. So I kissed him, and bowed my head to him, -and she fled from the sight of innocent happiness. Then took I the ring, -and summoned Karaz, and ordered him to reinstate all those princes and -chiefs and officers in their possessions and powers, on what part of -earth soever that might be. Never till I stood as the Lily and thy voice -sweetened the name of love in my ears, heard I aught of delicate -delightfulness, like the sound of their gratitude. Many wooed me to let -them stay by me and guard me, and do service all their lives to me; but -this I would not allow, and though they were fair as moons, some of them, -I responded not to their soft glances, speaking calmly the word of -farewell, for I was burdened with other thoughts. - -Now, when the Genie had done my bidding, he returned to me joyfully. My -soul sickened to think myself his by a promise; but I revolved the words -of my promise, and saw in them a loophole of escape. So, when he claimed -me, I said, 'Ay! ay! lay thy head in my lap,' as if my mind treasured it. -Then he lay there, and revealed to me his plans for the destruction of -men. 'Or,' said he, 'they shall be our slaves and burden-beasts, for -there 's now no restraint on me, now thou art mistress of the ring, and -mine.' Thereupon his imagination swelled, and he saw his evil will -enthroned, and the hopes of men beneath his heel, crying, 'And the more I -crush them the thicker they crowd, for the Identical compelleth their -very souls to adore in spite of distaste.' - -Then said I, 'Tell me, O Genie! is the Identical subservient to me in -another head save thine?' - -He answered, 'Nay I in another head 'tis a counteraction to the power of -the Ring, the Ring powerless over it.' - -And I said, 'Must it live in a head, the Identical?' - -Cried he, 'Woe to what else holdeth it!' - -I whispered in his hairy pointed red ear, 'Sleep! sleep!' and lulled him -with a song, and he slept, being weary with my commissioning. Then I -bade Feshnavat, my father, fetch me one of my books of magic, and read in -it of the discovery of the Identical by means of the Ring; and I took the -Ring and hung it on a hair of my own head over the head of the Genie, and -saw one of the thin lengths begin to twist and dart and writhe, and shift -lustres as a creature in anguish. So I put the Ring on my forefinger, -and turned the hair round and round it, and tugged. Lo, with a noise -that stunned me, the hair came out! O my betrothed, what shrieks and -roars were those: with which the Genie awoke, finding himself bare of the -Identical! Oolb heard them, and the sea foamed like the mouth of -madness, as the Genie sped thunder-like over it, following me in mid-air. -Such a flight was that! Now, I found it not possible to hold the -Identical, for it twisted and stung, and was nigh slipping from me while -I flew. I saw white on a corner of the Desert, a city, and I descended -on it by the shop of a clothier that sat quietly by his goods and stuffs, -thinking of fate less than of kabobs and stews and rare seasonings. That -city hath now his name. Wullahy, had I not then sown in his head that -hair which he weareth yet, how had I escaped Karaz, and met thee? -Wondrous are the decrees of Providence! Praise be to Allah for them! So -the Genie, when he found himself baffled by me, and Shagpat with the -mighty hair in his head, the Identical, he yelled, and fetched Shagpat a -slap that sent him into the middle of the street; but Kadza screamed -after him, and there was immediately such lamentation in the city about -Shagpat, and such tearing of hair about him, that I perceived at once the -virtue that was in the Identical. As for Karaz, finding his claim as -possessor of the Identical no more valid, he vanished, and has been my -rebellious slave since, till thou, O my betrothed, mad'st me spend him in -curing thy folly on the horse Garraveen, and he escaped from my circles -beyond the dominion of the Ring; yet had he his revenge, for I that was -keeper of the Lily, had, I now learned ruefully, a bond of beauty with -it, and whatever was a stain to one withered the other. Then that -sorceress Goorelka stole my beauty from me by sprinkling a blight on the -petals of the fair flower, and I became as thou first saw'st me. But -what am I as I now am? Blissful! blissful! Surely I grew humble with -the loss of beauty, and by humility wise, so that I assisted Feshnavat to -become Vizier by the Ring, and watched for thy coming to shave Shagpat, -as a star watcheth; for 'tis written, 'A barber alone shall be shearer of -the Identical'; and he only, my betrothed, hath power to plant it in -Aklis, where it groweth as a pillar, bringing due reverence to Aklis. - - - - - - -THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - -Now, when Noorna bin Noorka had made an end of her narration, she folded -her hands and was mute awhile; and to the ear of Shibli Bagarag it seemed -as if a sweet instrument had on a sudden ceased luting. So, as he -leaned, listening for her voice to recommence, she said quickly, 'See -yonder fire on the mountain's height!' - -He looked and saw a great light on the summit of a lofty mountain before -them. - -Then said she, 'That is Aklis! and it is ablaze, knowing a visitant near. -Tighten now the hairs of Garraveen about thy wrist; touch thy lips with -the waters of Paravid; hold before thee the Lily, and make ready to enter -the mountain. Lo, my betrothed, thou art in possession of the three -means that melt opposition, and the fault is thine if thou fail.' - -He did as she directed; and they were taken on a tide and advanced -rapidly to the mountain, so that the waters smacked and crackled beneath -the shell, covering it with silver showering arches of glittering spray. -Then the fair beams of the moon became obscured, and the twain reddened -with the reflection of the fire, and the billows waxed like riotous -flames; and presently the shell rose upon the peak of many waves swollen -to one, and looking below, they saw in the scarlet abyss of waters at -their feet a monstrous fish, with open jaws and one baleful eye; and the -fish was lengthy as a caravan winding through the desert, and covered -with fiery scales. Shibli Bagarag heard the voice of Noorna shriek -affrightedly, 'Karaz!' and as they were sliding on the down slope, she -stood upright in the shell, pronouncing rapidly some words in magic; and -the shell closed upon them both, pressing them together, and writing -darkness on their very eyeballs. So, while they were thus, they felt -themselves gulped in, and borne forward with terrible swiftness, they -knew not where, like one that hath a dream of sinking; and outside the -shell a rushing, gurgling noise, and a noise as of shouting multitudes, -and muffled multitudes muttering complaints and yells and querulous -cries, told them they were yet speeding through the body of the depths in -the belly of the fish. Then there came a shock, and the shell was struck -with light, and they were sensible of stillness without motion. Then a -blow on the shell shivered it to fragments, and they were blinded with -seas of brilliancy on all sides from lamps and tapers and crystals, -cornelians and gems of fiery lustre, liquid lights and flashing mirrors, -and eyes of crowding damsels, bright ones. So, when they had risen, and -could bear to gaze on the insufferable splendour, they saw sitting on a -throne of coral and surrounded by slaves with scimitars, a fair Queen, -with black eyes, kindlers of storms, torches in the tempest, and with -floating tresses, crowned with a circlet of green-spiked precious stones -and masses of crimson weed with flaps of pearl; and she was robed with a -robe of amber, and had saffron sandals, loose silvery-silken trousers -tied in at the ankle, the ankle white as silver; wonderful was the -quivering of rays from the jewels upon her when she but moved a finger! -Now, as they stood with their hands across their brows, she cried out, 'O -ye traversers of my sea! how is this, that I am made to thank Karaz for -a sight of ye?' - -And Noorna bin Noorka answered, 'Surely, O Queen Rabesqurat, the haven of -our voyage was Aklis, and we feared delay, seeing the fire of the -mountain ablaze with expectations of us.' - -Then the Queen cried angrily, ''Tis well thou hadst wit to close the -shell, O Noorna, or there would have been delay indeed. Say, is not the -road to Aklis through my palace? And it is the road thousands travel.' - -So Noorna bin Noorka said, 'O Queen, this do they; but are they of them -that reach Aklis?' - -And the Queen cried violently, purpling with passion, 'This to me! when I -helped ye to the plucking of the Lily?' - -Now, the Queen muttered an imprecation, and called the name 'Abarak!' and -lo, a door opened in one of the pillars of jasper leading from the -throne, and there came forth a little man, humped, with legs like bows, -and arms reaching to his feet; in his hand a net weighted with leaden -weights. So the Queen levelled her finger at Noorna, and he spun the net -above her head, and dropped it on her shoulder, and dragged her with him -to the pillar. When Shibli Bagarag saw that, the world darkened to him, -and he rushed upon Abarak; but Noorna called swiftly in his ear, 'Wait! -wait! Thou by thy spells art stronger than all here save Abarak. Be -true! Remember the seventh pillar!' Then, with a spurn from the hand of -Abarak, the youth fell back senseless at the feet of the Queen. - -Now, with the return of consciousness his hearing was bewitched with -strange delicious melodies, the touch of stringed instruments, and others -breathed into softly as by the breath of love, delicate, tender, alive -with enamoured bashfulness. Surely, the soul that heard them dissolved -like a sweet in the goblet, mingling with so much ecstasy of sound; and -those melodies filling the white cave of the ear were even at once to -drown the soul in delightfulness and buoy it with bliss, as a heavy- -leaved flower is withered and refreshed by sun and dews. Surely, the -youth ceased not to listen, and oblivion of cares and aught other in this -life, save that hidden luting and piping, pillowed his drowsy head. At -last there was a pause, and it seemed every maze of music had been -wandered through. Opening his eyes hurriedly, as with the loss of the -music his own breath had gone likewise, he beheld a garden golden with -the light of lamps hung profusely from branches and twigs of trees by the -glowing cheeks of fruits, apple and grape, pomegranate and quince; and he -was reclining on a bank piled with purple cushions, his limbs clad in the -richest figured silks, fringed like the ends of clouds round the sun, -with amber fringes. He started up, striving to recall the confused -memory of his adventures and what evil had befallen him, and he would -have struggled with the vision of these glories, but it mastered him with -the strength of a potent drug, so that the very name of his betrothed was -forgotten by him, and he knew not whither he would, or the thing he -wished for. Now, when he had risen from the soft green bank that was his -couch, lo, at his feet a damsel weeping! So he lifted her by the hand, -and she arose and looked at him, and began plaining of love and its -tyrannies, softening him, already softened. Then said she, 'What I -suffer there is another, lovelier than I, suffering; thou the cause -of it, O cruel youth!' - -He said, 'How, O damsel? what of my cruelty? Surely, I know nothing -of it.' - -But she exclaimed, 'Ah, worse to feign forgetfulness!' - -Now, he was bewildered at the words of the damsel, and followed her -leading till they entered a dell in the garden canopied with foliage, -and beyond it a green rise, and on the rise a throne. So he looked -earnestly, and beheld thereon Queen Rabesqurat, she sobbing, her dark -hair pouring in streams from the crown of her head. Seeing him, she -cleared her eyes, and advanced to meet him timidly and with hesitating -steps; but he shrank from her, and the Queen shrieked with grief, crying, -'Is there in this cold heart no relenting?' - -Then she said to him winningly, and in a low voice, 'O youth, my husband, -to whom I am a bride!' - -He marvelled, saying, 'This is a game, for indeed I am no husband, -neither have I a bride . . . yet have I confused memory of some betrothal -. . .' - -Thereupon she cried, 'Said I not so? and I the betrothed.' - -Still he exclaimed, 'I cannot think it! Wullahy, it were a wonder!' - -So she said, 'Consider how a poor youth of excellent proportions came to -a flourishing Court before one, a widowed Queen, and she cast eyes of -love on him, and gave him rule over her and all that was hers when he had -achieved a task, and they were wedded. Oh, the bliss of it! Knit -together with bond and a writing; and these were the dominions, I the -Queen, woe's me!--thou the youth!' - -Now, he was roiled by the enchantments of the Queen, caught in the snare -of her beguilings; and he let her lead him to a seat beside her on the -throne, and sat there awhile in the midst of feastings, mazed, thinking, -'What life have I lived before this, if the matter be as I behold?' -thinking, ''Tis true I have had visions of a widowed queen, and I a poor -youth that came to her court, and espoused her, sitting in the vacant -seat beside her, ruling a realm; but it was a dream, a dream,--yet, wah! -here is she, here am I, yonder my dominions!' Then he thought, 'I will -solve it!' So, on a sudden he said to her beside him, 'O Queen, -sovereign of hearts! enlighten me as to a perplexity.' - -She answered, 'The voice of my lord is music in the ear of the bride.' - -Then said he, in the tone of one doubting realities, 'O fair Queen, is -there truly now such a one as Shagpat in the world?' - -She laughed at his speech and the puzzled appearance of his visage, -replying, 'Surely there liveth one, Shagpat by name in the world; strange -is the history of him, his friends, and enemies; and it would bear -recital.' - -Then he said, 'And one, the daughter of a Vizier, Vizier to the King in -the City of Shagpat?' - -Thereat, she shook her head, saying, 'I know nought of that one.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was mindful of his thwackings; and in this the wisdom -of Noorna, is manifest, that the sting of them yet chased away doubts of -illusion regarding their having been, as the poet says, - - If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! - 'Tis that oblivion controls; - I care not if't be on the back, - Or on the soles. - -He thought, 'Wah! yet feel I the thong, and the hiss of it as of the -serpent in the descent, and the smack of it as the mouth of satisfaction -in its contact with tender regions. This, wullahy! was no dream.' -Nevertheless, he was ashamed to allude thereto before the Queen, and he -said, 'O my mistress, another question, one only! This Shagpat--is he -shaved?' - -She said, 'Clean shorn!' - -Quoth he, astonished, grief-stricken, with drawn lips, 'By which hand, -chosen above men?' - -And she exclaimed, 'O thou witty one that feignest not to know! Wullahy! -by this hand of thine, O my lord and king, daring that it is; dexterous! -surely so! And the shaving of Shagpat was the task achieved,--I the -dower of it, and the rich reward.' - -Now, he was meshed yet deeper in the net of her subtleties, and by her -calling him 'lord and king'; and she gave a signal for fresh -entertainments, exhausting the resources of her art, the mines of her -wealth, to fascinate him. Ravishments of design and taste were on every -side, and he was in the lap of abundance, beguiled by magic, caressed by -beauty and a Queen. Marvel not that he was dazzled, and imagined himself -already come to the great things foretold of him by the readers of -planets and the casters of nativities in Shiraz. He assisted in -beguiling himself, trusting wilfully to the two witnesses of things -visible; as is declared by him of wise sayings: - - There is in every wizard-net a hole, - So the entangler first must blind the soul. - -And it is again said by that same teacher: - - Ye that the inner spirit's sight would seal, - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal. - -And the soul of Shibli Bagarag was blinded by Rabesqurat in the depths of -the Enchanted Sea. She sang to him, luting deliriously; and he was -intoxicated with the blissfulness of his fortune, and took a lute and -sang to her love-verses in praise of her, rhyming his rapture. Then they -handed the goblet to each other, and drank till they were on fire with -the joy of things, and life blushed beauteousness. Surely, Rabesqurat -was becoming forgetful of her arts through the strength of those -draughts, till her eye marked the Lily by his side, which he grasped -constantly, the bright flower, and she started and said, 'One grant, O my -King, my husband!' - -So he said courteously, 'All grants are granted to the lovely, the -fascinating; and their grief will be lack of aught to ask for?' - -Then said she, 'O my husband, my King, I am jealous of that silly flower: -laugh at my weakness, but fling it from thee.' - -Now, he was about to cast it from him, when a vanity possessed his mind, -and he exclaimed, 'See first the thing I will do, a wonder.' - -She cried, 'No wonders, my life! I am sated with them.' - -And he said, 'I am oblivious, O Queen, of how I came by this flower and -this phial; but thou shalt hear a thing beyond the power of common magic, -and see that I am something.' - -Now, she plucked at him to abstain from his action, but he held the phial -to the flower. She signed imperiously to some slaves to stay his right -wrist, and they seized on it; but not all of them together could withhold -him from dropping a drop into the petals of the flower, and lo, the Lily -spake, a voice from it like the voice of Noorna, saying, 'Remember the -Seventh Pillar.' Thereat, he lifted his eyes to his brows and frowned -back memory to his aid, and the scene of Karaz, Rabesqurat, Abarak, and -his betrothed was present to him. So perceiving that, the Queen delayed -not while he grasped the phial to take in her hands some water from a -basin near, and flung it over him, crying, 'Oblivion!' And while his -mind was straining to bring back images of what had happened, he fell -forward once more at the feet of Rabesqurat, senseless as a stone falls; -such was the force of her enchantments. - -Now, when he awoke the second time he was in the bosom of darkness, and -the Lily gone from his hand; so he lifted the phial to make certain of -that, and groped about till he came to what seemed an urn to the touch, -and into this he dropped a drop, and asked for the Lily; and a voice -said, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' And he came in the darkness -to a tree, and a bejewelled bank, and other urns, and swinging lamps -without light, and a running water, and a grassy bank, and flowers, and a -silver seat, sprinkling each; and they said all in answer to his question -of the Lily, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' At the last he -stumbled upon the steps of a palace, and ascended them, endowing the -steps with speech as he went, and they said, 'The light of it went over -us.' He groped at the porch of the palace, and gave the door a voice, -and it opened on jasper hinges, shrieking, 'The light of it went through -me.' Then he entered a spacious hall, scattering drops, and voices -exclaimed, 'We glow with the light of it.' He passed, groping his way -through other halls and dusk chambers, scattering drops, and as he -advanced the voices increased in the fervour of their replies, saying -sequently: 'We blush with the light of it; We beam with the light of it; -We burn with the light of it.' So, presently he found himself in a long -low room, sombrely lit, roofed with crystals; and in a corner of the -room, lo! a damsel on a couch of purple, she white as silver, spreading -radiance. Of such lustrous beauty was she that beside her, the Princess -Goorelka as Shibli Bagarag first beheld her, would have paled like a -morning moon; even Noorna had waned as Both a flower in fierce heat; and -the Queen of Enchantments was but the sun behind a sand-storm, in -comparison with that effulgent damsel on the length of the purple couch. -Well for him he wilt of the magic which floated through that palace; as -is said, - - Tempted by extremes, - The soul is most secure; - Too vivid loveliness blinds with its beams, - And eyes turned inward perceive the lure. - -Pulling down his turban hastily, he stepped on tiptoe to within arm's -reach of her, and, looking another way, inclined over her soft vermeil -mouth the phial slowly till it brimmed the neck, and dropped a drop of -Paravid between the bow of those sweet lips. Still not daring to gaze on -her, he said then, 'My question is of the Lily, the Lily of the Sea, and -where is it, O marvel?' - -And he heard a voice answer in the tones of a silver bell, clear as a -wind in strung wires, 'Where I lie, lies the Lily, the Lily of the Sea; I -with it, it with me.' - -Said he, 'O breather of music, tell me how I may lay hand on the flower -of beauty to bear it forth.' - -And he heard the voice, 'An equal space betwixt my right side and my -left, and from the shoulder one span and half a span downward.' - -Still without power to eye her, he measured the space and the spans, his -hand beneath the coverlids of the couch, and at a spot of the bosom his -hand sank in, and he felt a fluttering thing, fluttering like a frighted -bird in the midst of the fire. And the voice said, 'Quick, seize it, and -draw it out, and tie it to my feet by the twines of red silk about it.' - -He seized it and drew it out, and it was a heart--a heart of blood- -streaming with crimson, palpitating. Tears flashed on his sight -beholding it, and pity took the seat of fear, and he turned his eyes full -on her, crying, 'O sad fair thing! O creature of anguish! O painful -beauty! Oh, what have I done to thee?' - -But she panted, and gasped short and shorter gasps, pointing with one -finger to her feet. Then he took the warm living heart while it yet -leapt and quivered and sobbed; and he held it with a trembling hand, and -tied it by the red twines of silk about it to her feet, staining their -whiteness. When that was done, his whole soul melted with pity and -swelled with sorrow, and ere he could meet her eyes a swoon overcame him. -Surely, when the world dawned to him a third time in those regions the -damsel was no longer there, but in her place the Lily of Light. He -thought, 'It was a vision, that damsel! a terrible one; one to terrify -and bewilder! a bitter sweetness! Oh, the heart, the heart!' Reflecting -on the heart brought to his lids an overcharging of tears, and he wept -violently awhile. Then was he warned by the thought of his betrothed to -take the Lily and speed with it from the realms of Rabesqurat; and he -stole along the halls of the palace, and by the plashing fountains, and -across the magic courts, passing chambers of sleepers, fair dreamers, and -through ante-rooms crowded with thick-lipped slaves. Lo, as he held the -Lily to light him on, and the light of the Lily fell on them that were -asleep, they paled and shrank, and were such as the death-chill maketh of -us. So he called upon his head the protection of Allah, and went -swifter, to chase from his limbs the shudder of awe; and there were some -that slept not, but stared at him with fixed eyes, eyes frozen by the -light of the Lily, and he shunned those, for they were like spectres, -haunting spirits. After he had coursed the length of the palace, he came -to a steep place outside it, a rock with steps cut in stairs, and up -these he went till he came to a small door in the rock, and lying by it a -bar; so he seized the bar and smote the door, and the door shivered, for -on his right wrist were the hairs of Garraveen. Bending his body, he -slipped through the opening, and behold, an orchard dropping blossoms and -ripe golden fruits, streams flowing through it over sands, and brooks -bounding above glittering gems, and long dewy grasses, profusion of -scented flowers, shade and sweetness. So he let himself down to the -ground, which was an easy leap from the aperture, and walked through the -garden, holding the Lily behind him, for here it darkened all, and the -glowing orchard was a desert by its light. Presently, his eye fell on a -couch swinging between two almond trees, and advancing to it he beheld -the black-eyed Queen gathered up, folded temptingly, like a swaying -fruit; she with the gold circlet on her head, and she was fair as blossom -of the almond in a breeze of the wafted rose-leaf. Sweetly was she -gathered up, folded temptingly, and Shibli Bagarag refrained from using -the Lily, thinking, "Tis like the great things foretold of me, this -having of Queens within the very grasp, swinging to and fro as if to -taunt backwardness!' Then he thought, "Tis an enchantress! I will yet -try her.' So he made a motion of flourishing the Lily once or twice, but -forbore, fascinated, for she had on her fair face the softness of sleep, -her lips closed in dimples, and the wicked fire shut from beneath her -lids. Mastering his mind, the youth at last held the Lily to her, and -saw a sight to blacken the world and all bright things with its -hideousness. Scarce had he time to thrust the Lily in his robes, when -the Queen started up and clapped her hands, crying hurriedly, 'Abarak! -Abarak!' and the little man appeared in a moment at the door by which -Shibli Bagarag had entered the orchard. So, she cried still, 'Abarak!' -and he moved toward her. Then she said, 'How came this youth here, -prying in my private walks, my bowers? Speak!' - -He answered, 'By the aid of Garraveen only, O Queen! and there is no -force resisteth the bar so wielded.' - -Rabesqurat looked under her brows at Shibli Bagarag and saw the horror on -his face, and she cried out to Abarak in an agony, 'Fetch me the mirror!' -Then Abarak ran, and returned ere the Queen had drawn seven impatient -breaths, and in one hand he bore a sack, in the other a tray: so he -emptied the contents of the sack on the surface of the tray; surely they -were human eyes! and the Queen flung aside her tresses, and stood over -them. The youth saw her smile at them, and assume tender and taunting -manners before them, and imperious manners, killing glances, till in each -of the eyes there was a sparkle. Then she flung back her head as one -that feedeth on a mighty triumph, exclaiming, 'Yet am I Rabesqurat! wide -is my sovereignty.' Sideways then she regarded Shibli Bagarag, and it -seemed she was urging Abarak to do a deed beyond his powers, he frowning -and pointing to the right wrist of the youth. So she clenched her hands -an instant with that feeling which knocketh a nail in the coffin of a -desire not dead, and controlled herself, and went to the youth, breaking -into beams of beauty; and an enchanting sumptuousness breathed round her, -so that in spite of himself he suffered her to take him by the hand and -lead him from that orchard through the shivered door and into the palace -and the hall of the jasper pillars. Strange thrills went up his arm from -the touch of that Queen, and they were as little snakes twisting and -darting up, biting poison-bites of irritating blissfulness. - -Now, the hall was spread for a feast, and it was hung with lamps of -silver, strewn with great golden goblets, and viands, coloured meats, and -ordered fruits on shining platters. Then said she to Shibli Bagarag, 'O -youth! there shall be no deceit, no guile between us. Thou art but my -guest, I no bride to thee, so take the place of the guest beside me.' - -He took his seat beside her, Abarak standing by, and she helped the youth -to this dish and that dish, from the serving of slaves, caressing him -with flattering looks to starve aversion and nourish tender fellowship. -And he was like one that slideth down a hill and can arrest his descent -with a foot, yet faileth that freewill. When he had eaten and drunk with -her, the Queen said, 'O youth, no other than my guest! art thou not a -prince in the country thou comest from?' - -In a moment the pride of the barber forsook him, and he equivocated, -saying, 'O Queen! there is among the stars somewhere, as was divined by -the readers of planets, a crown hanging for me, and I search a point of -earth to intercept its fall.' - -She marked him beguiled by vanity, and put sweetmeats to his mouth, -exclaiming, 'Thy manners be those of a prince!' Then she sang to him of -the loneliness of her life, and of one with whom she wished to share her -state,--such as he. And at her signal came troops of damsels that stood -in rings and luted sweetly on the same theme--the Queen's loneliness, her -love. And he said to the Queen, 'Is this so?' - -She answered, 'Too truly so!' - -Now, he thought, 'She shall at least speak the thing that is, if she look -it not.' So he took the goblet, and contrived to drop a drop from the -phial of Paravid therein without her observing him; and he handed her the -goblet, she him; and they drank. Surely, the change that came over the -Queen was an enchantment, and her eyes shot lustre, her tongue was -loosed, and she laughed like one intoxicated, lolling in her seat, lost -to majesty and the sway of her magic, crying, 'O Abarak! Abarak! little -man, long my slave and my tool; ugly little man! And O Shibli Bagarag! -nephew of the barber! weak youth! small prince of the tackle! have I not -nigh fascinated thee? And thou wilt forfeit those two silly eyes of -thine to the sack. And, O Abarak, Abarak! little man, have I flattered -thee? So fetter I the strong with my allurements! and I stay the arrow -in its flight! and I blunt the barb of high intents! Wah! I have drunk a -potent stuff; I talk! Wullahy! I know there is a danger menacing -Shagpat, and the eyes of all Genii are fixed on him. And if he be -shaved, what changes will follow! But 'tis in me to delude the barber, -wullahy! and I will avert the calamity. I will save Shagpat!' - -While the Queen Rabesqurat prated in this wise with flushed face, Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the greatness of his task, and reproached his -soul with neglect of it. And he thought, 'I am powerful by spells as -none before me have been, and 'twas by my weakness the Queen sought to -tangle me. I will clasp the Seventh Pillar and make an end of it, by -Allah and his Prophet (praised be the name!), and I will reach Aklis by a -short path and shave Shagpat with the sword.' - -So he looked up, and Abarak was before him, the lifted nostrils of the -little man wide with the flame of anger. And Abarak said, 'O youth, -regard me with the eyes of judgement! Now, is it not frightful to rate -me little?--an instigation of the evil one to repute me ugly?' - -The promptings of wisdom counselled Shibli Bagarag to say, 'Frightful -beyond contemplation, O Abarak! one to shame our species! Surely, there -is a moon between thy legs, a pear upon thy shoulders, and the cock that -croweth is no match for thee in measure.' - -Abarak cried, 'We be aggrieved, we two! O youth, son of my uncle, I will -give thee means of vengeance; give thou me means.' - -Shibli Bagarag felt scorn at the Queen, and her hollowness, and he said, -''Tis well; take this Lily and hold it to her.' - -Now, the Queen jeered Abarak, and as he approached her she shouted, -'What! thou small of build! mite of creation! sour mixture! thou puppet -of mine! thou! comest thou to seek a second kiss against the compact, -knowing that I give not the well-favoured of mortals beyond one, a -second. - -Little delayed Abarak at this to put her to the test of the Lily, and he -held the flower to her, and saw the sight, and staggered back like one -stricken with a shaft. When he could get a breath he uttered such a howl -that Rabesqurat in her drunkenness was fain to save her ears, and the -hall echoed as with the bellows of a thousand beasts of the forest. -Then, to glut his revenge he ran for the sack, and emptied the contents -of it, the Queen's mirror, before her; and the sackful of eyes, they saw -the sight, and sickened, rolling their whites. That done, Abarak gave -Shibli Bagarag the bar of iron, and bade him smite the pillars, all save -the seventh; and he smote them strengthily, crumbling them at a blow, and -bringing down the great hall and its groves, and glasses and gems, lamps, -traceries, devices, a heap of ruin, the seventh pillar alone standing. -Then, while he pumped back breath into his body, Abarak said, 'There's no -delaying in this place now, O youth! Say, halt thou spells for the -entering of Aklis?' - -He answered, 'Three!' - -Then said Abarak, ''Tis well! Surely now, if thou takest me in thy -service, I'll help thee to master the Event, and serve thee faithfully, -requiring nought from thee save a sight of the Event, and 'tis I that -myself missed one, wiled by Rabesqurat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'Thou?' - -He answered, 'No word of it now. Is't agreed?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Even so.' - -Thereupon, the twain entered the pillar, leaving Rabesqurat prone, and -the waves of the sea bounding toward her where she lay. Now, they -descended and ascended flights of slippery steps, and sped together along -murky passages, in which light never was, and under arches of caves with -hanging crystals, groping and tumbling on hurriedly, till they came to an -obstruction, and felt an iron door, frosty to the touch. Then Abarak -said to Shibli Bagarag, 'Smite!' And the youth lifted the bar to his -right shoulder, and smote; and the door obeyed the blow, and discovered -an opening into a strange dusky land, as it seemed a valley, on one side -of which was a ragged copper sun setting low, large as a warrior's -battered shield, giving deep red lights to a brook that fell, and over a -flat stream a red reflection, and to the sides of the hills a dark red -glow. The sky was a brown colour; the earth a deeper brown, like the -skins of tawny lions. Trees with reddened stems stood about the valley, -scattered and in groups, showing between their leaves the cheeks of -melancholy fruits swarthily tinged, and toward the centre of the valley a -shining palace was visible, supported by massive columns of marble -reddened by that copper sun. Shibli Bagarag was awed at the stillness -that hung everywhere, and said to Abarak, 'Where am I, O Abarak? the look -of this place is fearful!' - -And the little man answered, 'Where, but beneath the mountains in Aklis? -Wullahy! I should know it, I that keep the passage of the seventh -pillar!' - -Then the thought of his betrothed Noorna, and her beauty, and the words, -'Remember the seventh pillar,' struck the heart of Shibli Bagarag, and he -exclaimed passionately, 'Is she in safety? Noorna, my companion, my -betrothed, netted by thee, O Abarak!' - -Abarak answered sharply, 'Speak not of betrothals in this place, or the -sword of Aklis will move without a hand!' - -But Shibli Bagarag waxed the colour of the sun that was over them, and -cried, 'By Allah! I will smite thee with the bar, if thou swear not to -her safety, and point not out to me where she now is.' - -Then said Abarak, 'Thou wilt make a better use of the bar by lifting it -to my shoulder, and poising it, and peering through it.' - -Shibli Bagarag lifted the bar to the shoulder of Abarak, and poised it, -and peered through the length of it, and lo! there was a sea tossing in -tumult, and one pillar standing erect in the midst of the sea; and on the -pillar, above the washing waves, with hair blown back, and flapping -raiment, pale but smiling still, Noorna, his betrothed! - -Now, when he saw her, he made a rush to the door of the passage; but -Abarak blocked the way, crying, 'Fool! a step backward in Aklis is -death!' - -And when he had wrestled with him and reined him, Abarak said, 'Haste to -reach the Sword from the sons of Aklis, if thou wouldst save her.' - -He drew him to the brink of the stream, and whistled a parrot's whistle; -and Shibli Bagarag beheld a boat draped with drooping white lotuses that -floated slowly toward them; and when it was near, he and Abarak entered -it, and saw one, a veiled figure, sitting in the stern, who neither moved -to them nor spake, but steered the boat to a certain point of land across -the stream, where stood an elephant ready girt for travellers to mount -him; and the elephant kneeled among the reeds as they approached, that -they might mount him, and when they had each taken a seat, moved off, -waving his trunk. Presently the elephant came to a halt, and went upon -his knees again, and the two slid off his back, and were among black -slaves that bowed to the ground before them, and led them to the shining -gates of the palace in silence. Now, on the first marble step of the -palace there sat an old white-headed man dressed like a dervish, who held -out at arm's length a branch of gold with golden singing-birds between -its leaves, saying, 'This for the strongest of ye!' - -Abarak exclaimed, 'I am that one'; and he held forth his hand for the -branch. - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Nay, 'tis mine. Wullahy, what has not the -strength of this hand overthrown?' - -Then the brows of Abarak twisted; his limbs twitched, and he bawled, 'To -the proof!' waking all the echoes of Aklis. Shibli Bagarag was tempted -in his desire for the golden branch to lift the iron bar upon Abarak, -when lo! the phial of Paravid fell from his vest, and he took it, and -sprinkled a portion of the waters over the singing birds, and in a moment -they burst into a sweet union of voices, singing, in the words of the -poet: - - When for one serpent were two asses match? - How shall one foe but with wiles master double? - So let the strong keep for ever good watch, - Lest their strength prove a snare, and themselves a mere bubble; - For vanity maketh the strongest most weak, - As lions and men totter after the struggle. - Ye heroes, be modest! while combats ye seek, - The cunning one trippeth ye both with a juggle. - -Now, at this verse of the birds Shibli Bagarag fixed his eye on the old -man, and the beard of the old man shrivelled; he waxed in size, and flew -up in a blaze and with a baffled shout bearing the branch; surely, his -features were those of Karaz, and Shibli Bagarag knew him by the length -of his limbs, his stiff ears, and copper skin. Then he laughed a loud -laugh, but Abarak sobbed, saying, 'By this know I that I never should -have seized the Sword, even though I had vanquished the illusions of -Rabesqurat, which held me fast half-way.' - -So Shibli Bagarag stared at him, and said, 'Wert thou also a searcher, O -Abarak?' - -But Abarak cried, 'Rouse not the talkative tongue of the past, O youth! -Wullahy! relinquish the bar that is my bar, won by me, for the Sword is -within thy grip, and they await thee up yonder steps. Go! go! and look -for me here on thy return.' - - - - - - -THE PALACE OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag assured himself of his three spells, and made his -heart resolute, and hastened up the reddened marble steps of the Palace; -and when he was on the topmost step, lo! one with a man's body and the -head of a buffalo, that prostrated himself, and prayed the youth -obsequiously to enter the palace with the title of King. So Shibli -Bagarag held his head erect, and followed him with the footing of a -Sultan, and passed into a great hall, with fountains in it that were -fountains of gems, pearls, chrysolites, thousand-hued jewels, and by the -margin of the fountains were shapes of men with the heads of beasts- -wolves, foxes, lions, bears, oxen, sheep, serpents, asses, that stretched -their hands to the falls, and loaded their vestments with brilliants, -loading them without cessation, so that from the vestments of each there -was another pouring of the liquid lights. Then he with the buffalo's -head bade Shibli Bagarag help himself from the falls; but Shibli Bagarag -refused, for his soul was with Noorna, his betrothed; and he saw her pale -on that solitary pillar in the tumult of the sea, and knew her safety -depended on his faithfulness. - -He cried, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the fox-heads and the sheep-heads and the ass-heads -and the other heads of beasts were lifted up, and lo! they put their -hands to their ears, and tapped their foreheads with the finger of -reflection, as creatures seeking to bring to mind a serious matter. Then -the fountains rose higher, and flung jets of radiant jewels, and a -drenching spray of gems upon them, and new thirst aroused them to renew -their gulping of the falls, and a look of eagerness was even in the eyes -of the ass-heads and the silly sheep-heads; surely, Shibli Bagarag -laughed to see them! Now, when he had pressed his lips to recover his -sight from the dazzling of those wondrous fountains, he heard himself -again addressed by the title of King, and there was before him a lofty -cock with a man's head. So he resumed the majesty of his march, and -followed the fine-stepping cock into another hall, spacious, and clouded -with heavy scents and perfumes burning in censers and urns, musk, myrrh, -ambergris, and livelier odours, gladdening the nostril like wine, making -the soul reel as with a draught of the forbidden drink. Here, before a -feast that would prick the dead with appetite, were shapes of beasts with -heads of men, asses, elephants, bulls, horses, swine, foxes, river- -horses, dromedaries; and they ate and drank as do the famished with munch -and gurgle, clacking their lips joyfully. Shibli Bagarag remembered the -condition of his frame when first he looked upon the City of Shagpat, and -was incited to eat and accede to the invitation of the cock with the -man's head, and sit among these merry feeders and pickers of mouth- -watering morsels, when, with the City of Shagpat, lo! he had a vision of -Shagpat, hairier than at their interview, arrogant in hairiness; his head -remote in contemptuous waves and curls and frizzes, and bushy -protuberances of hair, lost in it, like an idolatrous temple in -impenetrable thickets. Then the yearning of the Barber seized Shibli -Bagarag, and desire to shear Shagpat was as a mighty overwhelming wave in -his bosom, and he shouted, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the beasts with men's heads wagged their tails, all -of them, from right to left, and kept their jaws from motion, staring -stupidly at the dishes; but the dishes began to send forth stealthy -steams, insidious whispers to the nose, silver intimations of -savouriness, so that they on a sudden set up a howl, and Shibli Bagarag -puckered his garments from them as from devouring dogs, and hastened from -that hall to a third, where at the entrance a damsel stood that smiled to -him, and led him into a vast marbled chamber, forty cubits high, hung -with draperies, and in it a hundred doors; and he was in the midst of a -very rose-garden of young beauties, such as the Blest behold in Paradise, -robed in the colours of the rising and setting sun; plump, with long, -black, languishing, almond-shaped eyes, and undulating figures. So they -cried to him, 'What greeting, O our King?' - -Now, he counted twenty and seven of them, and, fitting his gallantry to -verse, answered: - - Poor are the heavens that have not ye - To swell their glowing plenty; - Up there but one bright moon I see, - Here mark I seven-and-twenty. - -The damsels laughed and flung back their locks at his flattery, sporting -with him; and he thought, 'These be sweet maidens! I will know if they -be illusions like Rabesqurat'; so, as they were romping, he slung his -right arm round one, and held the Lily to her, but there was no change in -her save that she winked somewhat and her eyes watered; and it was so -with the others, for when they saw him hold the Lily to one they made him -do so to them likewise. Then he took the phial, and touched their lips -with the waters, and lo! they commenced luting and laughing, and singing -verses, and prattling, laughing betweenwhiles at each other; and one, a -noisy one, with long, black, unquiet tresses, and a curved foot and -roguish ankle, sang as she twirled: - - My heart is another's, I cannot be tender; - Yet if thou storm it, I fain must surrender. - -And another, a fresh-cheeked, fair-haired, full-eyed damsel, strong upon -her instep and stately in the bearing of her shoulders, sang shrilly: - - I'm of the mountains, and he that comes to me - Like eagle must win, and like hurricane woo me. - -And another, reclining on a couch buried in dusky silks, like a butterfly -under the leaves, a soft ball of beauty, sang moaningly: - - Here like a fruit on the branch am I swaying; - Snatch ere I fall, love! there's death in delaying. - -And another, light as an antelope on the hills, with antelope eyes edged -with kohl, and timid, graceful movements, and small, white, rounded ears, -sang clearly: - - Swiftness is mine, and I fly from the sordid; - Follow me, follow! and you'll be rewarded. - -And another, with large limbs and massive mould, that stepped like a cow -leisurely cropping the pasture, and shook with jewels amid her black hair -and above her brown eyes, and round her white neck and her wrists, and on -her waist, even to her ankle, sang as with a kiss upon every word: - - Sweet 'tis in stillness and bliss to be basking! - He who would have me, may have for the asking. - -And another, with eyebrows like a bow, and arrows of fire in her eyes, -and two rosebuds her full moist parted pouting lips, sang, clasping her -hands, and voiced like the tremulous passionate bulbul in the shadows of -the moon: - - Love is my life, and with love I live only; - Give me life, lover, and leave me not lonely. - -And a seventh, a very beam of beauty, and the perfection of all that is -imagined in fairness and ample grace of expression and proportion, lo! -she came straight to Shibli Bagarag, and took him by the hand and pierced -him with lightning glances, singing: - - Were we not destined to meet by one planet? - Can a fate sever us?--can it, ah! can it? - -And she sang tender songs to him, mazing him with blandishments, so that -the aim of existence and the summit of ambition now seemed to him the -life of a king in that palace among the damsels; and he thought, 'Wah! -these be no illusions, and they speak the thing that is in them. -Wullahy, loveliness is their portion; they call me King.' - -Then she that had sung to him said, 'Surely we have been waiting thee -long to crown thee our King! Thou hast been in some way delayed, O -glorious one!' - -And he answered, 'O fair ones, transcending in affability, I have -stumbled upon obstructions in my journey hither, and I have met with -adventures, but of this crowning that was to follow them I knew nought. -Wullahy, thrice have I been saluted King; I whom fate selecteth for the -shaving of Shagpat, and till now it was a beguilement, all emptiness.' - -They marked his bewildered state, and some knelt before him, some held -their arms out adoringly, some leaned to him with glistening looks, and -he was fast falling a slave to their flatteries, succumbing to them; -imagination fired him with the splendours due to one that was a king, and -the thought of wearing a crown again took possession of his soul, and he -cried, 'Crown me, O my handmaidens, and delay not to crown me; for, as -the poet says: - - "The king without his crown - Hath a forehead like the clown"; - -and the circle of my head itcheth for the symbols of majesty.' - -At these words of Shibli Bagarag they arose quickly and clapped their -hands, and danced with the nimble step of gladness, exclaiming, 'O our -King! pleasant will be the time with him!' And one smoothed his head and -poured oil upon it; one brought him garments of gold and silk inwoven; -one fetched him slippers like the sun's beam in brightness; others stood -together in clusters, and with lutes and wood-instruments, low-toned, -singing odes to him; and lo! one took a needle and threaded it, and gave -the thread into the hands of Shibli Bagarag, and with the point of the -needle she pricked certain letters on his right wrist, and afterwards -pricked the same letters on a door in the wall. Then she said to him, -'Is it in thy power to make those letters speak?' - -He answered, 'We will prove how that may be.' - -So he flung some drops from the phial over the letters, and they glowed -the colour of blood and flashed with a report, and it was as if a fiery -forked-tongue had darted before them and spake the words written, and -they were, 'This is the crown of him who bath achieved his aim and -resteth here.' Thereupon, she stuck the needle in the door, and he -pulled the thread, and the door drew apart, and lo! a small chamber, and -on a raised cushion of blue satin a glittering crown, thick with jewels -as a frost, such as Ambition pineth to wear, and the knees of men weaken -and bend beholding, and it lanced lights about it like a living sun. -Beside the cushion was a vacant throne, radiant as morning in the East, -ablaze with devices in gold and gems, a seat to fill the meanest soul -with sensations of majesty and tempt dervishes to the sitting posture. -Shibli Bagarag was intoxicated at the sight, and he thought, 'Wah! but if -I sit on this throne and am a king, with that crown I can command men and -things! and I have but to say, Fetch Noorna, my betrothed, from yonder -pillar in the midst of the uproarious sea!--Let the hairy Shagpat be -shaved! and behold, slaves, thousands of them, do my bidding! Wullahy, -this is greatness!' Now, he made a rush to the throne, but the damsels -held him back, crying, 'Not for thy life till we have crowned thee, our -master and lord!' - -Then they took the crown and crowned him with it; and he sat upon the -throne calmly, serenely, like a Sultan of the great race accustomed to -sovereignty, tempering the awfulness of his brows with benignant glances. -So, while he sat the damsels hid their faces and started some paces from -him, as unable to bear the splendour of his presence, and in a moment, -lo! the door closed between him and them, and he was in darkness. Then -he heard a voice of the damsels cry in the hall, 'The ninety and ninth! -Peace now for us and blissfulness with our lords, for now all are filled -save the door of the Sword, which maketh the hundredth.' After that he -heard the same voice say, 'Leave them, O my sisters!' - -So he listened to the noise of their departing, and knew he had been -duped. Surely his soul cursed him as he sat crowned and throned in that -darkness! He seized the crown to dash it to the earth, but the crown was -fixed on his forehead and would not come off; neither had he force to -rise from the throne. Now, the thought of Noorna, his betrothed, where -she rested waiting for him to deliver her, filled Shibli Bagarag with the -extremes of anguish; and he lifted his right arm and dashed it above his -head in the violence of his grief, striking in the motion a hidden gong -that gave forth a burst of thunder and a roll of bellowings, and lo! the -door opened before him, and the throne as he sat on it moved out of the -chamber into the hall where he had seen the damsels that duped him, and -on every side of the hall doors opened; and he marvelled to see men, old -and young, beardless and venerable, sitting upon thrones and crowned with -crowns, motionless, with eyes like stones in the recesses. He thought, -'These be other dupes! Wallaby! a drop of the waters of Paravid upon -their lips might reveal mysteries, and guide me to the Sword of my -seeking.' So, as he considered how to get at them from the seat of his -throne, his gaze fell on a mirror, and he beheld the crown on his -forehead what it was, bejewelled asses' ears stiffened upright, and -skulls of monkeys grinning with gems! The sight of that crowning his -head convulsed Shibli Bagarag with laughter, and, as he laughed, his seat -upon the throne was loosened, and he pitched from it, but the crown stuck -to him and was tenacious of its hold as the lion that pounceth upon a -victim. He bowed to the burden of necessity, and took the phial, and -touched the lips of one that sat crowned on a throne with the waters in -the phial; and it was a man of exceeding age, whitened with time, and in -the long sweep of his beard like a mountain clad with snow from the peak -that is in the sky to the base that slopeth to the valley. Then he -addressed the old man on his throne, saying, 'Tell me, O King! how camest -thou here? and in search of what?' - -The old man's lips moved, and he muttered in deep tones, 'When cometh he -of the ninety-and-ninth door?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Surely he is before thee, in Aklis.' - -And the old man said, 'Let him ask no secrets; but when he hath reached -the Sword forget not to flash it in this hall, for the sake of -brotherhood in adventure.' - -After that he would answer no word to any questioning. - - - - - - -THE SONS OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'The poet is right in Aklis as elsewhere, in -his words: - - "The cunning of our oft-neglected wit - Doth best the keyhole of occasion fit"; - -and whoso looketh for help from others looketh the wrong way in an -undertaking. Wah! I will be bold and batter at the hundredth door, which -is the door of the Sword.' So he advanced straightway to the door, which -was one of solid silver, charactered with silver letters, and knocked -against it three knocks; and a voice within said, 'What spells?' - -He answered, 'Paravid; Garraveen; and the Lily of the Sea!' - -Upon that the voice said, 'Enter by virtue of the spells!' and the silver -door swung open, discovering a deep pit, lightened by a torch, and across -it, bridging it, a string of enormous eggs, rocs' eggs, hollowed, and so -large that a man might walk through them without stooping. At the side -of each egg three lamps were suspended from a claw, and the shell passage -was illumined with them from end to end. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'These -eggs are of a surety the eggs of the Roc mastered by Aklis with his -sword!' Now, as the sight of Shibli Bagarag grew familiar to the place, -he beheld at the bottom of the pit a fluttering mass of blackness and two -sickly eyes that glittered below. - -Then thought he, 'Wah! if that be the Roc, and it not dead, will the bird -suffer one to defile its eggs with other than the sole of the foot, -naked?' He undid his sandals and kicked off the slippers given him by -the damsels that had duped him, and went into the first egg over the -abyss, and into the second, and into the third, and into the fourth, and -into the fifth. Surely the eggs swung with him, and bent; and the fear -of their breaking and he falling into the maw of the terrible bird made -him walk unevenly. When he had come to the seventh egg, which was the -last, it shook and swung violently, and he heard underneath the flapping -of the wings of the Roc, as with eagerness expecting a victim to prey -upon. He sustained his soul with the firmness of resolve and darted -himself lengthwise to the landing, clutching a hold with his right hand; -as he did so, the bridge of eggs broke, and he heard the feathers of the -bird in agitation, and the bird screaming a scream of disappointment as -he scrambled up the sides of the pit. - -Now, Shibli Bagarag failed not to perform two prostrations to Allah, and -raised the song of gratitude for his preservation when he found himself -in safety. Then he looked up, and lo! behind a curtain, steps leading to -an anteroom, and beyond that a chamber like the chamber of kings where -they sit in state dispensing judgements, like the sun at noon in -splendour; and in the chamber seven youths, tall and comely young men, -calm as princes in their port, each one dressed in flowing robes, and -with a large glowing pearl in the front of their turbans. They advanced -to meet him, saying, 'Welcome to Aklis, thou that art proved worthy! -'Tis holiday now with us'; and they took him by the hand and led him with -them in silence past fountain-jets and porphyry pillars to where a -service with refreshments was spread, meats, fowls with rice, sweetmeats, -preserves, palateable mixtures, and monuments of the cook's art, goblets -of wine like liquid rubies. Then one of the youths said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Thou hast come to us crowned, O our guest! Now, it is not our -custom to pay homage, but thou shalt presently behold them that will, so -let not thy kingliness droop with us, but feast royally.' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'O my princes, surely it is a silly matter to -crown a mouse! Humility hath depressed my stature! Wullahy, I have had -warning in the sticking of this crown to my brows, and it sticketh like -an abomination.' - -They laughed at him, saying, 'It was the heaviness of that crown which -overweighted thee in the bridge of the abyss, and few be they that bear -it and go not to feed the Roc.' - -Now, they feasted together, interchanging civilities, offering to each -other choice morsels, dainties. And the anecdotes of Shibli Bagarag, his -simplicity and his honesty, and his vanity and his airiness, and the -betraying tongue of the barber, diverted the youths; and they plied him -with old wine till his stores of merriment broke forth and were as a -river swollen by torrents of the mountain; and the seven youths laughed -at him, spluttering with laughter, lurching with it. Surely, he -described to them the loquacity of Baba Mustapha his uncle, and they -laughed so that their chins were uppermost; but at his mention of Shagpat -greater gravity was theirs, and they smoothed their faces solemnly, and -the sun of their merriment was darkened for awhile. Then they took to -flinging about pellets of a sugared preparation, and reciting verses in -praise of jovial living, challenging to drink this one and that one, -passing the cup with a stanza. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'What a life is -this led by these youths! a fair one! 'Tis they that be the sons of -Aklis who sharpen the Sword of Events; yet live they in jollity, skimming -from the profusion of abundance that which floateth!' - -Now, marking him contemplative, one of the youths shouted, 'The King -lacketh homage!' - -And another called, 'Admittance for his people!' - -Then the seven arose and placed Shibli Bagarag on an elevation in the -midst of them, and lo! a troop of black slaves leading by the collar, -asses, and by a string, monkeys. Now, for the asses they brayed to the -Evil One, and the monkeys were prankish, pulling against the string, till -they caught sight of Shibli Bagarag. Then was it as if they had been -awestricken; and they came forward to him with docile steps, eyeing the -crown on his head, and prostrated themselves, the asses and the monkeys, -like creatures in whom glowed the lamp of reason and the gift of -intelligence. So Shibli Bagarag drooped his jaw and was ashamed, and he -cried, 'my princes! am I a King of these?' - -They answered, 'A King in mightiness! Sultan of a race!' - -So he said, 'It is certain I shall need physic to support such a -sovereignty! And I must be excused liberal allowances of old wine to sit -in state among them. Wullahy! they were best gone for awhile. Send them -from me, O my princes! I sicken.' - -And he called to the animals, 'Away! begone!' frowning. - -Then said the youths, 'Well commanded! and like a King! See, they troop -from thy presence obediently.' - -Now the animals fled from before the brows of Shibli Bagarag, and when -the chamber was empty of them the seven young men said, 'Of a surety thou -wert flattered to observe the aspect of these animals at beholding thee.' - -But he cried, 'Not so, O my princes; there is nought flattering in the -homage of asses and monkeys.' - -Then they said, 'O Sultan of asses, ruler of monkeys, better that than -thyself an ass and an ape! As was said by Shah Kasirwan, "I prefer being -king of beasts worshipped by beasts, rather than a crowned beast -worshipped by men"; and it was well said. Wullahy! the kings of Roum -quote it.' - -Now Shibli Bagarag was not rendered oblivious of the Sword of his quest -by the humour of these youths, or the wine-bibbings, and he exclaimed -while they were turning up the heels of their cups, 'O ye sons of Aklis, -know that I have come hither for the Sword sharpened by your hands, for -the releasing of my betrothed, Noorna bin Noorka, daughter of the Vizier -Feshnavat, and for the shaving of Shagpat.' - -While he was proceeding to recount the story of his search for the Sword, -they said, 'Enough, O potentate of the braying class and of the -scratching tribe! we have seen thee through the eye of Aklis since the -time of thy first thwacking. What says the poet? - - "A day for toil and a day for rest - Gives labour zeal, and pleasure zest." - -So, of thy seeking let us hear to-morrow; but now drink with us, and make -merry, and touch the springs of memory; spout forth verses, quaint ones, -suitable to the hour and the entertainment. Wullahy! drink with us! -taste life! Let the humours flow.' - -Then they made a motion to some slaves, and presently a clattering of -anklets struck the ear of Shibli Bagarag: and he beheld dancing-girls, -moons of beauty and elegance, and they danced wild dances, and dances -graceful and leopard-like and serpent-like in movement; and the youths -flung flowers at them, applauding them. Then came other sets of dancers -even lovelier, more languishing; and again others with tambourines and -musical instruments, that sang ravishingly. So the senses of Shibli -Bagarag were all taken with what he saw and heard, and ate and drank; and -by degrees a mist came before his eyes, and the sweet sounds and voices -of the girls grew distant, and it was with difficulty he kept his back -from the length of the cushions that were about him. Then he thought of -Noorna, and that she sang to him and danced, and when he rose to embrace -her she was Rabesqurat by the light of the Lily! And he thought of -Shagpat, and that in shaving him the blade was checked in its rapid -sweep, and blunted by a stumpy twine of hair that waxed in size and -became the head of Karaz that gulped at him a wide devouring gulp, and -took him in, and flew up with him, leaving Shagpat half sheared. Then he -thought himself struggling halfway down the throat of the monstrous Roc, -and that, when he was wholly inside the Roc, he was in a wide-arched -passage crowded with lamps, and at the end of the passage Noorna in the -clutch of Karaz, she shouting, 'The Sword, the Sword!' - -Now, while he felt for the Sword wherewith to release her from the Genie, -his eyes opened, and he saw day through a casement, and that he had -reposed on an embroidered couch in the corner of a stately room -ornamented with carvings of blue and gold. So while he wondered and -yawned, gaping, slaves started up from the floor and led him to a bath of -coloured marble, and bathed him in perfumed waters, and dressed him in a -dress of yellow silk, rich and ample. Then they paraded before him -through lesser apartments and across terraces, till they came to a great -hall; loftier and more spacious than any he had yet beheld, with -fountains at the two ends, and in the centre a tree with golden spreading -branches and leaves of gold; among the leaves gold-feathered birds, and -fruits of all seasons and every description--the drooping grape and the -pleasant-smelling quince, and the blood-red pomegranate, and the apricot, -and the green and rosy apple, and the gummy date, and the oily pistachio- -nut, and peaches, and citrons, and oranges, and the plum, and the fig. -Surely, they were countless in number, melting with ripeness, soft, full -to bursting; and the birds darted among them like sun-flashes. Now, -Shibli Bagarag thought, 'This is a wondrous tree! Wullahy! there is -nought like it save the tree in the hall of the Prophet in Paradise, -feeding the faithful!' As he regarded it he heard his name spoken in the -hall, and turning he beheld seven youths in royal garments, that were -like the youths he had feasted with, and yet unlike them, pale, and stern -in their manners, their courtesy as the courtesy of kings. They said, -'Sit with us and eat the morning's meal, O our guest!' - -So he sat with them under the low branches of the tree; and they whistled -the tune of one bird and of another bird, and of another, and lo! those -different birds flew down with golden baskets hanging from their bills, -and in the baskets fruits and viands and sweetmeats, and cool drinks. -And Shibli Bagarag ate from the baskets of the birds, watching the action -of the seven youths and the difference that was in them. He sought to -make them recognise him and acknowledge their carouse of the evening that -was past, but they stared at him strangely and seemed offended at the -allusion, neither would they hear mention of the Sword of his seeking. -Presently, one of the youths stood upon his feet and cried, "The time for -kings to sit in judgement!" - -And the youths arose and led Shibli Bagarag to a hall of ebony, and -seated him on the upper seat, themselves standing about him; and lo! -asses and monkeys came before him, complaining of the injustice of men -and their fellows, in brays and bellows and hoots. Now, at the sight of -them again Shibli Bagarag was enraged, and he said to the youths, 'How! -do ye not mock me, O masters of Aklis!' - -But they said only, 'The burden of his crown is for the King.' - -He cooled, thinking, 'I will use a spell.' So he touched the lips of an -animal with the waters of Paravid, and the animal prated volubly in our -language of the kick this ass had given him, and the jibe of that monkey, -and of his desire of litigation with such and such a beast for pasture; -and the others when they spake had the same complaints to make. Shibli -Bagarag listened to them gravely, and it was revealed to him that he who -ruleth over men hath a labour and duties of hearing and judging and -dispensing judgement similar to those of him who ruleth over apes and -asses. Then said he, 'O youths, my princes! methinks the sitting in this -seat giveth a key to secret sources of wisdom; and I see what it is, the -glory and the exaltation coveted by men.' Now, he took from the asses -and the monkeys one, and said to it, 'Be my chief Vizier,' and to -another, 'Be my Chamberlain!' and to another, 'Be my Treasurer!' and so -on, till a dispute arose between the animals, and jealousy of each other -was visible in their glances, and they appealed to him clamorously. So -he said, 'What am I to ye?' - -They answered, 'Our King!' - -And he said, 'How so?' - -They answered, 'By the crowning of the brides of Aklis.' - -Then he said, 'What be ye, O my subjects?' - -They answered, 'Men that were searchers of the Sword and plunged into the -tank of temptation.' - -And he said, 'How that?' - -They answered, 'By the lures of vanity, the blinding of ambition, and -tasting the gall of the Roc.' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned to the seven youths, saying, 'O my princes, but -for not tasting the gall of the Roc I might be as one of these. Wullahy! -I the King am warned by base creatures.' Then he said to the animals, -'Have ye still a longing for the crown?' - -And they cried, all of them, 'O light of the astonished earth, we care -for nought other than it.' - -So he said, 'And is it known to ye how to dispossess the wearer of his -burden?' - -They answered, 'By a touch of the gall of the Roc on his forehead.' - -Then he lifted his arms, crying, 'Hie out of my presence! and whoso of ye -fetcheth a drop of the gall, with that one will I exchange the crown.' - -At these words some moved hastily, but the most faltered, as doubting and -incredulous that he would propose such an exchange; and one, an old -monkey, sat down and crossed his legs, and made a study of Shibli -Bagarag, as of a sovereign that held forth a deceiving bargain. But he -cried again, 'Hie and haste! as my head is now cased I think it not the -honoured part.' - -Then the old monkey arose with a puzzled look, half scornful, and made -for the door slowly, turning his head toward Shibli Bagarag betweenwhiles -as he went, and scratching his lower limbs with the mute reflectiveness -of age and extreme caution. - -Now, when they were gone, Shibli Bagarag looked in the eyes of the seven -youths, and saw they were content with him, and his countenance was -brightened with approval. So he descended from his seat, and went with -them from the hall of ebony to a court where horses were waiting saddled, -and slaves with hawks on their wrists stood in readiness; and they -mounted each a horse, but he loitered. The seven youths divined his -feeling, and cried impatiently, 'Come! no lingering in Aklis!' So he -mounted likewise, and they emerged from the palace, and entered the hills -that glowed under the copper sun, and started a milk-white antelope with -ruby spots, and chased it from its cover over the sand-hills, a hawk -being let loose to worry it and distress its timid beaming eyes. When -the creature was quite overcome, one of the youths struck his heel into -his horse's side and flung a noose over the head of the quarry, and drew -it with them, gently petting it the way home to the palace. At the gates -of the palace it was released, and lo! it went up the steps, and passed -through the halls as one familiar with them. Now, when they were all -assembled in the anteroom of the hall, where Shibli Bagarag had first -seen the seven youths, sons of Aklis, in their jollity, one of them said -to the Antelope, 'We have need of thee to speak a word with Aklis, O our -sister!' - -So the same youth requested the use of the phial of Paravid, and Shibli -Bagarag applied it carefully, tenderly, to the mouth of the Antelope. -Then the Antelope spake in a silver-ringing voice, saying, 'What is it, O -my brothers?' - -They answered, 'Thou knowest we dare not attempt interchange of speech -with Aklis, seeing that we disobeyed him in visiting the kingdoms of the -earth: so it is for thee to question him as to the object of this youth, -and it is the Shaving of Shagpat.' - -So she said, ''Tis well; I wot of it.' - -Then she advanced to the curtain concealing the abyss of the Roc and the -bridge of its eggs, and went behind it. There was a pause, and they -heard her say presently in a grave voice, toned with reverence, 'How is -it, O our father? is it a good thing that thy Sword be in use at this -season?' - -And they heard the Voice answer from a depth, ''Twere well it rust not!' - -They heard her say, 'O our father Aklis, and we wish to know if be held -in favour by thee, and thou sanction it with thy Sword.' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'The Shaving of Shagpat is my Sword -alone equal to, and he that shaveth him performeth a service to mankind -ranking next my vanquishing of the Roc.' - -Then they heard her say, 'And it is thy will we teach him the mysteries -of the Sword, and that which may be done with it?' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'Even so!' - -After that the Voice was still, and soon the Antelope returned from -behind the curtain, and the youths caressed her with brotherly caresses, -and took a circle of hands about her, and so moved to the great Hall of -the gorgeous Tree, and fed her from the branches. Now, while they were -there, Shibli Bagarag advanced to the Antelope, and knelt at her feet, -and said, 'O Princess of Aklis, surely I am betrothed to one constant as -a fixed star, and brighter; a mistress of magic, and innocent as the -bleating lamb; and she is now on a pillar, chained there, in the midst of -the white wrathful sea, wailing for me to deliver her with this Sword of -my seeking. So, now, I pray thee help me to the Sword swiftly, that I -may deliver her.' - -The youths, her brothers, clamoured and interposed, saying, 'Take thy -shape ere that, O Gulrevaz, our sister!' - -But she cried, 'He is betrothed! not till he graspeth the Sword. Tell -him, the youth, our conditions, and for what exchange the Sword is -yielded.' - -And they said, 'The conditions are, thou part with thy spells, all of -them, O youth!' - -And he said, 'There is no condition harsh that exchangeth the Sword; O ye -Seven, I agree!' - -Then she said, ''Tis well! nobility is in the soul of this youth. Go -before us now to the Cave of Chrysolites, O my brothers.' - -So these departed before, and she in her antelope form followed footing -gracefully, and made Shibli Bagarag repeat the story of his betrothal as -they went. - - - - - - -THE SWORD OF AKLIS - -Now, when they had made the passage of many halls, built of different -woods, filled with divers wonders, they descended a sloping vault, and -came to a narrow way in the earth, hung with black, at the end of it a -stedfast blaze like a sun, that grew larger as they advanced, and they -heard the sea above them. The noise of it, and its plunging and -weltering and its pitilessness, struck on the heart of Shibli Bagarag as -with a blow, and he cried, 'Haste, haste, O Princess! perchance she is -even now calling to me with her tongue, and I not aiding her; delayed by -the temptation of this crown and the guile of the Brides.' - -She checked him, and said, 'In Aklis no haste!' Then she said, 'Look!' -And lo, fronting them the single blaze became two fires; and drawing -nigh, Shibli Bagarag beheld them what they were, angry eyes in the head -of a great lion, a model of majesty, and passion was in his mane and -power was in his forepaws; so while he lashed his tail as a tempest -whippeth the tawny billows at night, and was lifting himself for a roar, -she said, 'A hair of Garraveen, and touch him with it!' - -Shibli Bagarag pushed up his sleeve and broke one of the three sapphire -hairs and stepped forward to the lion, holding in his right hand the hair -of vivid light. The lion crouched, and was in the vigour of the spring -when that hair touched him, and he trembled, tumbling on his knees and -letting the twain pass. So they advanced beyond him, and lo! the Cave of -Chrysolites irradiate with beams, breaks of brilliance, confluences of -lively hues, restless rays, meeting, vanishing, flooding splendours, now -scattered in dazzling joints and spars, now uniting in momentary disks of -radiance. In the centre of the cave glowed a furnace, and round it he -distinguished the seven youths, swarthier and sterner than before, dark -sweat standing on the brows of each. Their words were brief, and they -wore each a terrible frown, saying to him, without further salutation, -'Thrust in the flame of this furnace thy right wrist.' - -At the same moment, the Antelope said in his ear, 'Do thou their bidding, -and be not backward! In Aklis fear is ruin, and hesitation a destroyer.' - -He fixed his mind on the devotedness of Noorna, and held his nether lip -tightly between his teeth, and thrust his right wrist in the flame of the -furnace. The wrist reddened, and became transparent with heat, but he -felt no pain, only that his whole arm was thrice its natural weight. -Then the flame of the furnace fell, and the seven youths made him kneel -by a brook of golden waters and dip his forehead up to his eyes in the -waters. Then they took him to the other side of the cave, and his sight -was strengthened to mark the glory of the Sword, where it hung in slings, -a little way from the wall, outshining the lights of the cave, and -throwing them back with its superior force and stedfastness of lustre. -Lo! the length of it was as the length of crimson across the sea when the -sun is sideways on the wave, and it seemed full a mile long, the whole -blade sheening like an arrested lightning from the end to the hilt; the -hilt two large live serpents twined together, with eyes like sombre -jewels, and sparkling spotted skins, points of fire in their folds, and -reflections of the emerald and topaz and ruby stones, studded in the -blood-stained haft. Then the seven young men, sons of Aklis, said to -Shibli Bagarag, 'Surrender the Lily!' And when he had given into their -hands the Lily, they said, 'Grasp the handle of the Sword!' - -Now, he beheld the Sword and the ripples of violet heat that were -breathing down it, and those two venomous serpents twined together, and -the size of it, its ponderousness; and to essay lifting it appeared to -him a madness, but he concealed his thought, and, setting his soul on the -safety of Noorna, went forward to it boldly, and piercing his right arm -between the twists of the serpents, grasped the jewelled haft. Surely, -the Sword moved from the slings as if a giant had swayed it! But what -amazed him was the marvel of the blade, for its sharpness was such that -nothing stood in its way, and it slipped through everything as we pass -through still water, the stone columns, blocks of granite by the walls, -the walls of earth, and the thick solidity of the ground beneath his -feet. They bade him say to the Sword, 'Sleep!' and it was no longer than -a knife in the girdle. Likewise, they bade him hiss on the heads of the -serpents, and say, 'Wake!' and while he held it lengthwise it shot -lengthening out. Then they bade him hold in one hand the sapphire hair -that conquered the lion, and with the edge of the Sword touch one point -of it. So he did that, and it split in half, and the two halves he also -split; and he split those four, and those eight, till the hairs were thin -as light and not distinguishable from it. When Shibli Bagarag saw the -power of the Sword, he exulted and cried, 'Praise be to the science of -them that forecast events and the haps of life!' Now, in the meantime he -marked the youths take those hairs of Garraveen that he had split, and -tie them round the neck of the Antelope, and empty the contents of the -phial down her throat; and they put the bulb of the Lily, that was a -heart, in her mouth, and she swallowed it till the flower covered her -face. Then they took each a handful of the golden waters of the brook -flowing through the cave, and flung the waters over her, exclaiming, 'By -the three spells that have power in Aklis, and by which these waters are -a blessing!' - -In the passing of a flash she took her shape, and was a damsel taller -than the tallest of them that descend from the mountains, a vision of -loveliness, with queenly brows, closed red lips, and large full black -eyes; her hair black, and on it a net of amber strung with pearls. To -look upon her was to feel the tyranny of love, love's pangs of alarm and -hope and anguish; and she was dressed in a dress of white silk, threaded -with gold and sapphire, showing in shadowy beams her rounded figure and -the stateliness that was hers. So she ran to her brothers and embraced -them, calling them by their names, catching their hands, caressing them -as one that had been long parted from them. Then, seeing Shibli Bagarag -as he stood transfixed with the javelins of loveliness that flew from her -on all sides, she cried: 'What, O Master of the Event! halt thou nought -for the Sword but to gaze before thee in silliness?' - -Then he said, 'O rare in beauty! marvel of Aklis and the world! surely -the paradise of eyes is thy figure and the glory of thy face!' - -But she shouted, 'To work with the Sword! Shame on thee! is there not -one, a bright one, a miracle in faithfulness, that awaiteth thy rescue on -the pillar?' - -And she repeated the praises he had spoken of Noorna bin Noorka, his -betrothed. Then he grasped the Sword firmly, remembering the love of -Noorna, and crying, 'Lead me from this, O ye sons of Aklis, and thou, -Princess Gulrevaz, lead me, that I may come to her.' - -So they said, 'Follow us!' and he sheathed the Sword in his girdle with -the word 'Sleep!' and followed them, his heart beating violently. - - - - -ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: - -Arm'd with Fear the Foe Finds passage to the vital part -Fear nought so much as Fear itself -If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! -Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal -The overwise themselves hoodwink -The king without his crown Hath a forehead like the clown -Vanity maketh the strongest most weak -Where fools are the fathers of every miracle -Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue - - - - -End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat, v3 -by George Meredith - - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -by GEORGE MEREDITH - - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - -1898/1909 - - - -BOOK 4. - -KOOROOKH -THE VEILED FIGURE -THE BOSOM OF NOORNA -THE REVIVAL -THE PLOT -THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN -THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL -THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE -CONCLUSION - - - -KOOROOKH - - -Now, they sped from the Cave of Chrysolites by another passage than that -by which they entered it, and nothing but the light of the Sword to guide -them. By that light Shibli Bagarag could distinguish glimmering shapes, -silent and statue-like, to the right and the left of them, their visages -hidden in a veil of heavy webs; and he saw what seemed in the dusk broad -halls, halls of council, and again black pools and black groves, and -columns of crowded porticoes,--all signs of an underground kingdom. They -came to some steps and mounted these severally, coming to a platform, in -the middle of which leapt a fountain, the top spray of it touched with a -beam of earth and the air breathed by men. Here he heard the youths -dabble with the dark waters, and he discerned Gulrevaz tossing it in her -two hands, calling, 'Koorookh! Koorookh!' Then they said to him, 'Stir -this fountain with the Sword, O Master of the Event!' So he stirred the -fountain, and the whole body of it took a leap toward the light that was -like the shoot of a long lance of silver in the moon's rays, and lo! in -its place the ruffled feathers of a bird. Then the seven youths and the -Princess and Shibli Bagarag got up under its feathers like a brood of -water-fowl; and the bird winged straight up as doth a blinded bee, -ascending, and passing in the ascent a widening succession of winding -terraces, till he observed the copper sun of Aklis and the red lands -below it. Thrice, in the exuberance of his gladness, he waved the Sword, -and the sun lost that dulness on its disk and took a bright flame, and -threw golden arrows everywhere; and the pastures were green, the streams -clear, the sands sparkling. The bird flew, and circled, and hung poised -a moment, presently descending on the roof of the palace. Now, there was -here a piece of solid glass, propped on two crossed bars of gold, and it -was shaped like an eye, and might have been taken for one of the eyes -inhabiting the head of some monstrous Genie. Shibli Bagarag ran to it -when he was afoot, and peered through it. Surely, it was the first -object of his heart that he beheld--Noorna, his betrothed, pale on the -pillar; she with her head between her hands and her hair scattered by the -storm, as one despairing. Still he looked, and he save swimming round -the pillar that monstrous fish, with its sole baleful eye, which had -gulped them both in the closed shell of magic pearl; and he knew the fish -for Karaz, the Genie, their enemy. Then he turned to the Princess, with -an imploring voice for counsel how to reach her and bring her rescue; but -she said, 'The Sword is in thy hands, none of us dare wield it'; and the -seven youths answered likewise. So, left to himself, he drew the Sword -from his girdle, and hissed on the heads of the serpents, at the same -time holding it so that it might lengthen out inimitably. Then he leaned -it over the eye of the glass, in the direction of the pillar besieged by -the billows, and lo! with one cut, even at that distance, he divided the -fishy monster, and with another severed the chains that had fettered -Noorna; and she arose and smiled blissfully to the sky, and stood -upright, and signalled him to lay the point of the blade on the pillar. -When he had done this, knowing her wisdom, she put a foot boldly upon the -blade and ran up it toward him, and she was half-way up the blade, when -suddenly a kite darted down upon her, pecking at her eyes, to confuse -her. She waxed unsteady and swayed this way and that, balancing with one -arm and defending herself from the attacks of the kite with another. It -seemed to Shibli Bagarag she must fall and be lost; and the sweat started -on his forehead in great drops big as nuts. Seeing that and the -agitation of his limbs, Gulrevaz cried, 'O Master of the Event, let us -hear it!' - -But he shrieked, 'The kite! the kite! she is running up the blade, and -the kite is at her eyes! and she swaying, swaying! falling, falling!' - -So the Princess exclaimed, 'A kite! Koorookh is match for a kite!' - -Then she smoothed the throat of Koorookh, and clasped round it a collar -of bright steel, roughened with secret characters; and she took a hoop of -gold, and passed the bird through it, urging it all the while with one -strange syllable; and the bird went up with a strong whirr of the wing -till he was over the sea, and caught sight of Noorna tottering beneath -him on the blade, and the kite pecking fiercely at her. Thereat he -fluttered eagerly a twinkle of time, and the next was down with his beak -in the neck of the kite, crimsoned in it. Now, by the shouts and -exclamations of Shibli Bagarag, the Princess and the seven youths, her -brothers, knew that the bird had performed well his task, and that the -fight was between Koorookh and the kite. Then he cried gladly to them, -'Joy for us, and Allah be praised! The kite is dropping, and she leaneth -on one wing of Koorookh!' - -And he cried in anguish, 'What see I? The kite is become a white ball, -rolling down the blade toward her; and it will of a surety destroy her.' -And he called to her, thinking vainly his voice might reach her. So the -Princess said, 'A white ball? 'tis I that am match for a white ball!' - -Now, she seized from the corner of the palace-roof a bow and an arrow, -and her brothers lifted her to a level with the hilt of the Sword, -leaning on the eye of glass. Then she planted one foot on the shoulder -of Shibli Bagarag as he bent peering through the eye, and fitted the -arrow to a level of the Sword, slanting its slant, and let it fly, -doubling the bow. Shibli Bagarag saw the ball roll to within a foot of -Noorna, when it was as if stricken by a gleam of light, and burst, and -was a black cloud veined with fire, swathing her in folds. He lost all -sight of Noorna; and where she had been were vivid flashes, and then a -great flame, and in the midst a red serpent and a green serpent twisted -as in the death-struggle. So he cried, 'A red serpent and a green -serpent!' - -And the sons of Aklis exclaimed, 'A red serpent? 'Tis we that are match -for a red serpent!' - -Thereupon they descended steps through the palace roof, and while the -fight between those two serpents was rageing, Shibli Bagarag beheld seven -small bright birds, bee-catchers, that entered the flame, bearing in -their bills slips of a herb, and hovering about the heal of the red -serpent, distracting it. Then he saw the red serpent hiss and snap at -one, darting out its tongue, and lo! on the fork of its tongue the little -bird let fall the slip of herb in its bill, and in an instant the serpent -changed from red to yellow and from yellow to pale-spotted blue, and from -that to a speckled indigo-colour, writhing at every change, and hissing -fire from its open jaws. Meantime the green serpent was released and was -making circles round the flame, seeking to complete some enchantment, -when suddenly the whole scene vanished, and Shibli Bagarag again beheld -Noorna steadying her steps on the blade, and leaning on one wing of -Koorookh. She advanced up the blade, coming nearer and nearer; and he -thought her close, and breathed quick and ceased looking through the -glass. When he gazed abroad, lo! she was with Koorookh, on a far hill -beyond the stream in outer Aklis. So he said to the Princess Gulrevaz, -'O Princess, comes she not to me here in the palace?' - -But the Princess shook her head, and said, 'She hath not a spell! She -waiteth for thee yonder with Koorookh. Now, look through the glass once -more.' - -He looked through the glass, and there on a plain, as he had first seen -it when Noorna appeared to him, was the City of Shagpat, and in the -streets of the city a vast assembly, and a procession passing on, its -front banner surmounted by the Crescent, and bands with curled and curved -instruments playing, and slaves scattering gold and clashing cymbals, -every demonstration and evidence of a great day and a high occasion in -the City of Shagpat! So he peered yet keenlier through the glass, and -behold, the Vizier Feshnavat, father of Noorna, walking in fetters, -subject to the jibes and evil-speaking of the crowds of people, his -turban off, and he in a robe of drab-coloured stuff, in the scorned -condition of an unbeliever. Shibli Bagarag peered yet more earnestly -through the glass eye, and in the centre of the procession, clad -gorgeously in silks and stuffs, woven with gold and gems, a crown upon -his head, and the appanages of supremacy and majesty about him, was -Shagpat. He paced upon a yellow flooring that was unrolled before him -from a mighty roll; and there were slaves that swarmed on all sides of -him, supporting upon gold pans and platters the masses of hair that -spread bushily before and behind, and to the right and left of him. -Truly the gravity of his demeanour exceeded that which is attained by -Sheiks and Dervishes after much drinking of the waters of wisdom, and -fasting, and abnegation of the pleasures that betray us to folly in this -world! Now, when he saw Shagpat, the soul of Shibli Bagarag was -quickened to do his appointed work upon him, shear him, and release the -Vizier Feshnavat. Desire to shave Shagpat was as a salt thirst rageing -in him, as the dream of munching to one that starveth; even as the -impelling of violent tempests to skiffs on the sea; and he hungered to be -at him, crying, as he peered, ''Tis he! even he, Shagpat!' - -Then he turned to the Princess Gulrevaz, and said, ''Tis Shagpat, exalted, -clothed with majesty, O thou morning star of Aklis!' - -She said, 'Koorookh is given thee, and waiteth to carry ye both; and for -me I will watch that this glass send forth a beam to light ye to that -city; so farewell, O thou that art loved! And delay in nothing to finish -the work in hand.' - -Now, when he had set his face from the Princess he descended through the -roof of the palace, and met the seven youths returning, and they -accompanied him through the halls of the palace to that hall where the -damsels had duped him. He was mindful of his promise to the old man -crowned, and flashed the Sword a strong flash, so that he who looked on -it would be seared in the eyelashes. Then the doors of the recesses flew -apart, eight-and-ninety in number, and he beheld divers sitters on -thrones, with the diadem of asses' ears stiffened upright, and monkeys' -skulls grinning with gems; they having on each countenance the look of -sovereigns and the serenity of high estate. Shibli Bagarag laughed at -them, and he thought, 'Wullahy! was I one of these? I, the beloved of -Noorna, destined Master of the Event!' and he thought, 'Of a surety, if -these sitters could but laugh at themselves, there would be a release for -them, and the crown would topple off which getteth the homage of asses -and monkeys!' He would have spoken to them, but the sons of Aklis said, -'They have seen the flashing of the Sword, and 'twere well they wake -not.' As they went from the hall the seven youths said, 'Reflect upon -the age of these sitters, that have been sitting in the chairs from three -to eleven generations back! And they were searchers of the Sword like -thee, but were duped! In like manner, the hen sitteth in complacency, -but she bringeth forth and may cackle; 'tis owing to the aids of Noorna -that thou art not one of these sitters, O Master of the Event!' Now, they -paced through the hall of dainty provender, and through the hall of the -jewel-fountains, coming to the palace steps, where stood Abarak leaning -on his bar. As they advanced to Abarak, there was a clamour in the halls -behind, that gathered in noise like a torrent, and approached, and -presently the Master was ware of a sharp stroke on his forehead with a -hairy finger, and then a burn, and the Crown that had clung to him -toppled off; surely it fell upon the head of the old monkey, the cautious -and wise one, he that had made a study of Shibli Bagarag. Thereupon that -monkey stalked scornfully from them; and Abarak cried, 'O Master of the -Event! it was better for me to keep the passage of the Seventh Pillar, -than be an ape of this order. Wah! the flashing of the Sword scorcheth -them, and they scamper.' - - - - - - -THE VEILED FIGURE - - -Verily there was lightning in Aklis as Shibli Bagarag flashed the Sword -over the clamouring beasts: the shape of the great palace stood forth -vividly, and a wide illumination struck up the streams, and gilded the -large hanging leaves, and drew the hills glimmeringly together, and -scattered fires on the flat faces of the rocks. Then the seven youths -said quickly, 'Away! out of Aklis, O Master of the Event! from city to -city of earth this light is visible, and men will know that Fate is in -travail, and an Event preparing for them, and Shagpat will be warned by -the portent; wherefore lose not the happy point of time on which thy star -is manifest.' And they cried again, 'Away! out of Aklis!' with gestures -of impatience, urging his departure. - -Then said he, 'O youths, Sons of Aklis, it is written that gratitude is -the poor man's mine of wealth, and the rich man's flower of beauty; and I -have but that to give ye for all this aid and friendliness of yours.' - -But they exclaimed, 'No aid or friendliness in Aklis! By the gall of the -Roc! it is well for thee thou camest armed with potent spells, and hadst -one to advise and inspirit thee, or thou wouldst have stayed here to -people Aklis, and grazed in a strange shape.' - -Now, the seven waxed in impatience, and he laid their hands upon his -head and moved from them with Abarak, to where in the dusk the elephant -that had brought them stood. Then the elephant kneeled and took the -twain upon his back, and bore them across the dark land to that reach of -the river where the boat was moored in readiness. They entered the boat -silently among its drapery of lotuses, and the Veiled Figure ferried them -over the stream that rippled not with their motion. As they were -crossing, desire to know that Veiled Figure counselled Shibli Bagarag -evilly to draw the Sword again, and flash it, so that the veil became -transparent. Then, when Abarak turned to him for the reason of the -flashing of the Sword, he beheld the eyes of the youth fixed in horror, -glaring as at sights beyond the tomb. He said nought, but as the boat's- -head whispered among the reeds and long flowers of the opposite marge, he -took Shibli Bagarag by the shoulders and pushed him out of the boat, and -leaped out likewise, leading him from the marge forcibly, hurrying him -forward from it, he at the heels of the youth propelling him; and crying -in out-of-breath voice at intervals, 'What sight? what sight?' But the -youth was powerless of speech, and when at last he opened his lips, the -little man shrank from him, for he laughed as do the insane, a peal of -laughter ended by gasps; then a louder peal, presently softer; then a -peal that started all the echoes in Aklis. After awhile, as Abarak still -cried in his ear, 'What sight?' he looked at him with a large eye, saying -querulously, 'Is it written I shall be pushed by the shoulder through -life? And is it in the pursuit of further thwackings?' - -Abarak heeded him not, crying still, 'What sight?' and Shibli Bagarag -lowered his tone, and jerked his body, pronouncing the name 'Rabesqurat!' -Then Abarak exclaimed, ''Tis as I weened. Oh, fool! to flash the Sword -and peer through the veil! Truly, there be few wits will bear that -sight!' On a sudden he cried, 'No cure but one, and that a sleep in the -bosom of the betrothed!' - -Thereupon he hurried the youth yet faster across the dark lawns of Aklis -toward the passage of the Seventh Pillar, by which the twain had entered -that kingdom. And Shibli Bagarag saw as in a dream the shattered door, -shattered by the bar, remembering dimly as a thing distant in years the -netting of the Queen, and Noorna chained upon the pillar; he remembered -Shagpat even vacantly in his mind, as one sheaf of barley amid other -sheaves of the bearded field, so was he overcome by the awfulness of that -sight behind the veil of the Veiled Figure! - -As they advanced to the passage, he was aware of an impediment to its -entrance, as it had been a wall of stone there; and seeing Abarak enter -the passage without let, he kicked hard in front at the invisible -obstruction, but there was no coming by. Abarak returned to him, and -took his right arm, and raised the sleeve from his wrist, and lo, the two -remaining hairs of Garraveen twisted round it in sapphire winds. Cried -he, 'Oh, the generosity of Gulrevaz! she has left these two hairs that he -may accomplish swiftly the destiny marked for him! but now, since his -gazing through that veil, he must part with them to get out of Aklis.' -And he muttered, 'His star is a strange one! one that leadeth him to -fortune by the path of frowns! to greatness by the aid of thwackings! -Truly the ways of Allah are wonderful!' Shibli Bagarag resisted him in -nothing, and Abarak loosed the two bright hairs from his wrist, and those -two hairs swelled and took glittering scales, and were sapphire snakes -with wings of intense emerald; and they rose in the air spirally -together, each over each, so that to see them one would fancy in the -darkness a fountain of sapphire waters flashed with the sheen of emerald. -When they had reached a height loftier than the topmost palace-towers of -Aklis, they descended like javelins into the earth, and in a moment re- -appeared, in the shape of Genii when they are charitably disposed to them -they visit; not much above the mortal size, nor overbright, save for a -certain fire in their eyes when they turned them; and they were clothed -each from head to foot in an armour of sapphire plates shot with steely -emerald. Surely the dragon-fly that darteth all day in the blaze over -pools is like what they were. Abarak bit his forefinger and said, 'Who -be ye, O sons of brilliance?' - -They answered, 'Karavejis and Veejravoosh, slaves of the Sword.' - -Then he said, 'Come with us now, O slaves of the Sword, and help us to -the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -They answered, 'O thou, there be but two means for us of quitting Aklis: -on the wrist of the Master, or down the blade of the Sword! and from the -wrist of the Master we have been loosed, and no one of thy race can tie -us to it again.' - -Abarak said, 'How then shall the Master leave Aklis?' - -They answered, 'By Allah in Aklis! he can carve a way whither he will -with the Sword.' - -But Abarak cried, 'O Karavejis and Veejravoosh! he bath peered through -the veil of the Ferrying Figure.' - -Now, when they heard his words, the visages of the Genii darkened, and -they exclaimed sorrowfully, 'Serve we such a one?' - -And they looked at Shibli Bagarag a look of anger, so that he, whose wits -were in past occurrences, imagined them his enemy and the foe of Noorna -split in two, crying, 'How? Is Karaz a couple? and do I multiply him -with strokes of the Sword?' - -Thereupon he drew the Sword from his girdle in wrath, flourishing it; and -Karavejis and Veejravoosh felt the might of the Sword, and prostrated -themselves to the ground at his feet. And Abarak said, 'Arise, and bring -us swiftly to the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -Then said they, 'Seek a passage down yonder brook in the moonbeams; and -it is the sole passage for him now.' - -Abarak went with them to the brook that was making watery music to itself -between banks of splintered rock and over broad slabs of marble, bubbling -here and there about the roots of large-leaved water-flowers, and -catching the mirrored moon of Aklis in whirls, breaking it in lances. -Then they waded into the water knee-deep, and the two Genii seized hold -of a great slab of marble in the middle of the water, and under was a -hollow brimmed with the brook, that the brook partly filled and flowed -over. Then the Genii said to Abarak, 'Plunge!' and they said the same to -Shibli Bagarag. The swayer of the Sword replied, as it had been a simple -occasion, a common matter, and a thing for the exercise of civility, -'With pleasure and all willingness!' Thereupon he tightened his girth, -and arrowing his two hands, flung up his heels and disappeared in the -depths, Abarak following. Surely, those two went diving downward till it -seemed to each there was no bottom in the depth, and they would not cease -to feel the rushing of the water in their ears till the time anticipated -by mortals. - - - - - - -THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - - -Now, while a thousand sparks of fire were bursting on the sight of the -two divers, and they speeded heels uppermost to the destiny marked out -for them by the premeditations of the All-Wise, lo! Noorna was on the -mountain in outer Aklis with Koorookh, waiting for the appearance of her -betrothed, Sword in hand. She saw beams from the blazing eye of Aklis, -and knew by the redness of it that one, a mortal, was peering on the -earth and certain of created things. So she waited awhile in patience -for the return of her betrothed, with the head of Koorookh in her lap, -caressing the bird, and teaching it words of our language; and the bird -fashioned its bill to the pronouncing of names, such as 'Noorna' and -'Feshnavat,' and 'Goorelka'; and it said 'Karaz,' and stuck not at the -name 'Shagpat,' and it learnt to say even 'Shagpat shall be shaved! -Shagpat shall be shaved!' but no effort of Noorna could teach it to say, -'Shibli Bagarag,' the bird calling instead, 'Shiparack, Shiplabarack, -Shibblisharack.' And Noorna chid it with her forefinger, crying, 'O -Koorookh! wilt thou speak all names but that one of my betrothed?' - -So she said again, 'Shibli Bagarag.' And the bird answered, imitating -its best, 'Shibberacavarack.' Noorna was wroth with it, crying, 'Oh -naughty bird! is the name of my beloved hateful to thee?' - -And she chid Koorookh angrily, he with a heavy eye sulking, and keeping -the sullen feathers close upon his poll. Now, she thought, 'There is in -this a meaning and I will fathom it.' So she counted the letters in the -name of her betrothed, that were thirteen, and spelt them backwards, -afterwards multiplying them by an equal number, and fashioning words from -the selection of every third and seventh letter. Then took she the leaf -from a tree and bade Koorookh fly with her to the base of the mountain -sloping from Aklis to the sea, and there wrote with a pin's point on the -leaf the words fashioned, dipping the leaf in the salt ripple by the -beach, till they were distinctly traced. And it was revealed to her that -Shibli Bagarag bore now a name that might be uttered by none, for that -the bearer of it had peered through the veil of the ferrying figure in -Aklis. When she knew that, her grief was heavy, and she sat on the cold -stones of the beach and among the bright shells, weeping in anguish, -loosing her hair, scattering it wildly, exclaiming, 'Awahy! woe on me! -Was ever man more tired than he before entering Aklis, he that was in -turns abased and beloved and exalted! yet his weakness clingeth to him, -even in Aklis and with the Wondrous Sword in his grasp.' - -Then she thought, 'Still he had strength to wield the Sword, for I marked -the flashing of it, and 'twas he that leaned forward the blade to me; and -he possesses the qualities that bring one gloriously to the fruits of -enterprise!' And she thought, 'Of a surety, if Abarak be with him, and a -single of the three slaves of the Sword that I released from the tail of -Garraveen, Ravejoura, Karavejis, and Veejravoosh, he will yet come -through, and I may revive him in my bosom for the task.' So, thinking -upon that, the sweet crimson surprised her cheeks, and she arose and drew -Koorookh with her along the beach till they came to some rocks piled -ruggedly and the waves breaking over them. She mounted these, and -stepped across them to the entrance of a cavern, where flowed a full -water swiftly to the sea, rolling smooth bulks over and over, and with a -translucent light in each, showing precious pebbles in the bed of the -water below; agates of size, limpid cornelians, plates of polished jet, -rubies, diamonds innumerable that were smitten into sheen by slant rays -of the level sun, the sun just losing its circle behind lustrous billows -of that Enchanted Sea. She turned to Koorookh a moment, saying, with a -coax of smiles, 'Will my bird wait here for me, even at this point?' -Koorookh clapped both his wings, and she said again, petting him, 'He -will keep watch to pluck me from the force of water as I roll past, that -I be not carried to the sea, and lost?' - -Koorookh still clapped his wings, and she entered under the arch of the -cavern. It was roofed with crystals, a sight of glory, with golden lamps -at intervals, still centres of a thousand beams. Taking the sandal from -her left foot and tucking up the folds of her trousers to the bend of her -clear white knee, she advanced, half wading, up the winds of the cavern, -and holding by the juts of granite here and there, till she came to a -long straight lane in the cavern, and at the end of it, far down, a solid -pillar of many-coloured water that fell into the current, as it had been -one block of gleaming marble from the roof, without ceasing. Now, she -made toward it, and fixed her eye warily wide on it, and it was bright, -flawless in brilliancy; but while she gazed a sudden blot was visible, -and she observed in the body of the fall two dark objects plumping -downward one after the other, like bolts, and they splashed in the -current and were carried off by the violence of its full sweep, shooting -by her where she stood, rapidly; but she, knotting her garments round the -waist to give her limbs freedom and swiftness, ran a space, and then bent -and plunged, catching, as she rose, the foremost to her bosom, and -whirled away under the flashing crystals like a fish scaled with -splendours that hath darted and seized upon a prey, and is bearing it -greedily to some secure corner of the deeps to swallow the quivering -repast at leisure. Surely, the heart of Noorna was wise of what she bore -against her bosom; and it beat exulting strokes in the midst of the rush -and roar and gurgle of the torrent, and the gulping sounds and -multitudinous outcries of the headlong water. That verse of the poet -would apply to her where he says: - - Lead me to the precipice, - And bid me leap the dark abyss: - I care not what the danger be, - So my beloved, my beauteous vision, - Be but the prize I bear with me, - For she to Paradise can turn Perdition. - -Praise be to him that planteth love, the worker of this marvel, within -us! Now, she sped in the manner narrated through the mazes of the -cavern, coming suddenly to the point at the entrance where perched -Koorookh gravely upon one leg, like a bird with an angling beak: he -caught at her as she was hurling toward the sea, and drew her to the bank -of rock, that burden on her bosom; and it was Shibli Bagarag, her -betrothed, his eyes closed, his whole countenance colourless. Behind him -like a shadow streamed Abarak, and Noorna kneeled by the waterside and -fetched the little man from it likewise; he was without a change, as if -drawn from a familiar element; and when he had prostrated himself thrice -and called on the Prophet's name in the form of thanksgiving, he wrung -his beard of the wet, and had wit to bless the action of Noorna, that -saved him. Then the two raised Shibli Bagarag from the rock, and -reclined him lengthwise under the wings of Koorookh, and Noorna stretched -herself there beside him with one arm about his neck, the fair head of -the youth on her bosom. And she said to Abarak, 'He hath dreamed many -dreams, my betrothed, but never one so sweet as that I give him. -Already, see, the hue returneth to his cheek and the dimples of -pleasure.' So was it; and she said, 'Mount, O thou of the net and the -bar! and stride Koorookh across the neck, for it is nigh the setting of -the moon, and by dawn we must be in our middle flight, seen of men, a -cloud over them.' - -Said Abarak, 'To hear is to obey!' - -He bestrode the neck of Koorookh and sat with dangling feet, till she -cried, 'Rise!' and the bird spread its wings and flapped them wide, -rising high in the silver rays, and flying rapidly forward with the three -on him from the mountain in front of Aklis, and the white sea with its -enchanted isles and wonders; flying and soaring till the earth was as -what might be held in the hollow of the hand, and the kingdoms of the -earth a mingled heap of shining dust in the midst. - - - - - - -THE REVIVAL - - -Now, the feathers of Koorookh in his flight were ruffled by a chill -breeze, and they were speeding through a light glow of cold rose-colour. -Then said Noorna, ''Tis the messenger of morning, the blush. Oh, what -changes will date from this day!' - -The glow of rose became golden, and they beheld underneath them, on one -side, the rim of the rising red sun, and rays streaming over the earth -and its waters. And Noorna said, 'I must warn Feshnavat, my father, and -prepare him for our coming.' - -So she plucked a feather from Koorookh and laid the quill downward, -letting it drop. Then said she, 'Now for the awakening of my betrothed!' - -Thereupon she hugged his head a moment, and kissed him on the eyelids, -the cheeks, and the lips, crying, 'By this means only!' Crying that, she -pushed him, sliding, from the back of the bird, and he parted from them, -falling headforemost in the air like a stricken eagle. Then she called -to Koorookh, 'Seize him!' and the bird slanted his beak and closed his -wings, the two, Abarak and Noorna, clinging to him tightly; and he was -down like an arrow between Shibli Bagarag and the ground, spreading -beneath him like a tent, and Noorna caught the youth gently to her lap; -then she pushed him off again, intercepting his descent once more, till -they were on a level with one of the mountains of the earth, from which -the City of Shagpat is visible among the yellow sands like a white spot -in the yolk of an egg. So by this time the eyes of the youth gave -symptoms of a desire to look upon the things that be, peeping faintly -beneath the lashes, and she exclaimed joyfully, raising her white hands -above her head, 'One plunge in the lake, and life will be his again!' - -Below them was a green lake, tinted by the dawn with crimson and yellow, -deep, and with high banks. As they crossed it to the middle, she slipped -off the youth from Koorookh, and he with a great plunge was received into -the stillness of the lake. Meanwhile Koorookh quivered his wings and -seized him when he arose, bearing him to an end of the lake, where stood -one dressed like a Dervish, and it was the Vizier Feshnavat, the father -of Noorna. So when he saw them, he shouted the shout of congratulation, -catching Noorna to his breast, and Shibli Bagarag stretched as doth a -heavy sleeper in his last doze, saying, in a yawning voice, 'What -trouble? I wot there is nought more for us now that Shagpat is shaved! -Oh, I have had a dream, a dream! He that is among Houris in Paradise -dreameth not a dream like that. And I dreamed--'tis gone!' - -Then said he, staring at them, 'Who be ye? What is this?' - -Noorna, took him again to her bosom, and held him there; and she plucked -a herb, and squeezed it till a drop from it fell on either of his lids, -applying to them likewise a dew from the serpents of the Sword, and he -awoke to the reality of things. Surely, then he prostrated himself and -repeated the articles of his faith, taking one hand of his betrothed and -kissing her; and he embraced Abarak and Feshnavat, saying to the father -of Noorna, 'I know, O Feshnavat, that by my folly and through my weakness -I have lost time in this undertaking, but it shall be short work now with -Shagpat. This thy daughter, the Eclipser of Reason, was ever such a -prize as she? I will deserve her. Wullahy! I am now a new man, sprung -like fire from ashes. Lo, I am revived by her for the great work.' - -Said Abarak: 'O Master of the Event, secure now without delay the two -slaves of the Sword, and lean the blade toward Aklis.' - -Upon that, he ran up rapidly to the summit of the mountain and drew the -Sword from his girdle, and leaned it toward Aklis, and it lengthened out -over lands, the blade of it a beam of solid brilliance. Presently, from -forth the invisible remoteness they saw the two Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, and they were footing the blade swiftly, like stars, -speeding up till they were within reach of the serpents of the hilt, when -they dropped to the earth, bowing their heads; so he commanded them to -rise, crying, 'Search ye the earth and its confines, and bring hither -tidings of the Genie Karaz.' - -They said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Then they began to circle each round the other, circling more and more -sharply till beyond the stretch of sight, and Shibli Bagarag said to -Feshnavat, 'Am I not awake, O Feshnavat? I will know where is Karaz ere -I seek to operate on Shagpat, for it is well spoken of the poet: - - "Obstructions first remove - Ere thou thy cunning prove"; - -and I will encounter this Karaz that was our Ass, ere I try the great -shave.' - -Then said he, turning quickly, 'Yonder is the light from Aklis striking -on the city, and I mark Shagpat, even he, illumined by it, singled out, -where he sitteth on the roof of the palace by the market-place.' - -So they looked, and it was as he had spoken, that Shagpat was singled out -in the midst of the city by the wondrous beams of the eye of Aklis, and -made prominent in effulgence. - -Said Abarak, climbing to the level of observation, 'He hath a redness -like the inside of a halved pomegranate.' - -Feshnavat stroked his chin, exclaiming, 'He may be likened to a mountain -goat in the midst of a forest roaring with conflagration.' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'Now is he the red-maned lion, the bristling boar, -the uncombed buffalo, the plumaged cock, but soon will he be like nothing -else save the wrinkled kernel of a shaggy fruit. Lo, now, the Sword! it -leapeth to be at him, and 'twill be as the keen icicle of winter to that -perishing foliage, that doomed crop! So doth the destined minute destroy -with a flash the hoarded arrogance of ages; and the destined hand doeth -what creation failed to perform; and 'tis by order, destiny, and -preordainment, that the works of this world come to pass. This know I, -and I witness thereto that am of a surety ordained to the Shaving of -Shagpat!' - -Then he stood apart and gazed from Shagpat to the city that now began to -move with the morning; elephants and coursers saddled by the gates of the -King's palace were visible, and camels blocking the narrow streets, and -the markets bustling. Surely, though the sun illumined that city, it was -as a darkness behind Shagpat singled by the beams of Aklis. - - - - - - -THE PLOT - - -Now, while Shibli Bagarag gazed on Shagpat kindled by the beams of Aklis, -lo, the Genii Karavejis and Veejravoosh circling each other in swift -circles like two sapphire rings toward him, and they whirled to a point -above his head, and fell and prostrated themselves at his feet: so he -cried, 'O ye slaves of the Sword, my servitors! how of the whereabout of -Karaz?' - -They answered, 'O Master of the Event, we found him after many circlings -far off, and 'twas by the borders of the Putrid Sea. We came not close -on him, for he is stronger than we without the Sword, but it seemed he -was distilling drops of an oil from certain substances, large thickened -drops that dropped into a phial.' - -Then Shibli Bagarag said, 'The season of weakness with me is over, and -they that confide in my strength, my cunning, my watchfulness, my -wielding of the Sword, have nought to fear for themselves. Now, this is -my plot, O Feshnavat,--that part of it in which thou art to have a share. -'Tis that thou depart forthwith to the City yonder, and enter thy palace -by a back entrance, and I will see that thou art joined within an hour of -thy arrival there by Baba Mustapha, my uncle, the gabbler. He is there, -as I guess by signs; I have had warnings of him. Discover him speedily. -Thy task is then to induce him to make an attempt on the head of Shagpat -in all wiliness, as he and thou think well to devise. He will fail, as I -know, but what is that saying of the poet? - - "Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends, - For failures oft are but advising friends." - -And he says: - - "Every failure is a step advanced, - To him who will consider how it chanced." - -Wherefore, will I that this attempt be made, keeping the counsel that is -mine. Thou must tell Baba Mustapha I wait without the city to reward him -by my powers of reward with all that he best loveth. So, when he has -failed in his attempt on Shagpat, and blows fall plenteously upon him, -and he is regaled with the accustomed thwacking, as I have tasted it in -this undertaking, do thou waste no further word on him, for his part is -over, and as is said: - - "Waste not a word in enterprise! - Against--or for--the minute flies." - -'Tis then for thee, O Feshnavat, to speed to the presence of the King in -his majesty, and thou wilt find means of coming to him by a disguise. -Once in the Hall of Council, challenge the tongue of contradiction to -affirm Shagpat other than a bald-pate bewigged. This is for thee to do.' - -Quoth Feshnavat plaintively, after thought, 'And what becometh of me, O -thou Master of the Event?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'The clutch of the executioner will be upon thee, O -Feshnavat, and a clamouring multitude around; short breathing-time given -thee, O father of Noorna, ere the time of breathing is commanded to -cease. Now, in that respite the thing that will occur, 'tis for thee to -see and mark; sure, never will reverse of things be more complete, and -the other side of the picture more rapidly exhibited, if all go as I -conceive and plot, and the trap be not premature nor too perfect for the -trappers; as the poet has declared: - - "Ye that intrigue, to thy slaves proper portions adapt; - Perfectest plots burst too often, for all are not apt." - -And I witness likewise to the excellence of his saying: - - "To master an Event, - Study men! - The minutes are well spent - Only then." - -Also 'tis he that says: - - "The man of men who knoweth men, the Man of men is he! - His army is the human race, and every foe must flee." - -So have I apportioned to thee thy work, to Baba Mustapha his; reserving -to myself the work that is mine!' - -Thereat Feshnavat exclaimed, 'O Master of the Event, may I be thy -sacrifice! on my head be it! and for thee to command is for me to obey! -but surely, this Sword of thine that is in thy girdle, the marvellous -blade--'tis alone equal to the project and the shave; and the matter -might be consummated, the great thing done, even from this point whence -we behold Shagpat visible, as 'twere brought forward toward us by the -beams! And this Sword swayed by thee, and with thy skill and strength -and the hardihood of hand that is thine, wullahy! 'twould shear him now, -this moment, taking the light of Aklis for a lather.' - -Shibli Bagarag knotted the brows of impatience, crying, 'Hast thou -forgotten Karaz in thy calculations? I know of a surety what this Sword -will do, and I wot the oil he distilleth strengtheneth Shagpat but -against common blades. Yet shall it not be spoken of me, Shibli Bagarag, -that I was tripped by my own conceit; the poet counselleth: - - "When for any mighty end thou hast the aid of heaven, - Mount until thy strength shall match those great means which are - given": - -nor that I was overthrown in despising mine enemy, forgetful of the -saying of the sage: - - "Read the features of thy foe, wherever he may find thee, - Small he is, seen face to face, but thrice his size behind thee." - -Wullahy! this Karaz is a Genie of craft and resources, one of a mighty -stock, and I must close with Shagpat to be sure of him; and that I am not -deceived by semblances, opposing guile with guile, and guile deeper than -his, for that he awaiteth it not, thinking I have leaped in fancy beyond -the Event, and am puffed by the after-breaths of adulation, I!--thinking -I pluck the blossoms in my hunger for the fruit, that I eat the chick of -the yet unlaid egg, O Feshnavat. As is said, and the warrior beareth -witness to the wisdom of it: - - "His weapon I'll study; my own conceal; - So with two arms to his one shall I deal." - -The same also testifieth: - - "'Tis folly of the hero, though resistless in the field, - To stake the victory on his steel, and fling away the shield." - -And likewise: - - "Examine thine armour in every joint, - For slain was the Giant, and by a pin's point." - -Wah! 'tis certain there will need subtlety in this undertaking, and a -plot plotted, so do thou my bidding, and fail not in the part assigned to -thee.' - -Now, Feshnavat was persuaded by his words, and cried, 'In diligence, -discretion, and the virtues which characterize subordinates, I go, and I -delay not! I will perform the thing required of me, O Master of the -Event.' And he repeated in verse: - - With danger beset, be the path crooked or narrow, - Thou art the bow, and I the arrow. - -Then embraced he his daughter, kissing her on the forehead and the eyes, -and tightening the girdle of his robe, departed, with the name of Allah -on his lips, in the direction of the City. - -So Shibli Bagarag called to him the two Genii, and his command was, -'Soar, ye slaves of the Sword, till the range of earth and its mountains -and seas and deserts are a cluster in the orb of the eye, Shiraz -conspicuous as a rose among garlands, and the ruby consorted with other -gems in a setting. In Shiraz or the country adjoining ye will come upon -one Baba Mustapha by name; and, if he be alone, ye may recognize him by -his forlorn look and the hang of his cheeks, his vacancy as of utter -abandonment; if in company, 'twill be the only talker that's he; seize on -him, give him a taste of thin air, and deposit him without speech on the -roof of a palace, where ye will see Feshnavat in yonder city: this do ere -the shadows of the palm-tree by the well in the plain move up the mounds -that enclose the fortified parts.' - -Cried Karavejis and Veejravoosh, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Up into the sky, like two bright balls tossed by jugglers, the two Genii -shot; and, watching them, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'My life, there is a -third wanting, Ravejoura; and with aid of the three, earth could have -planted no obstruction to thy stroke; but thou wert tempted by the third -temptation in Aklis, and left not the Hall in triumph, the Hall of the -Duping Brides!' - -He answered, 'That is so, my soul; and the penalty is mine, by which I am -made to employ deceits ere I strike.' - -And she said, ''Tis to the generosity of Gulrevaz thou owest Karavejis and -Veejravoosh; and I think she was generous, seeing thee true to me in -love, she that hath sorrows!' - -So he said, 'What of the sorrows of Gulrevaz? Tell me of them.' - -But she said, 'Nay, O my betrothed! wouldst thou have this tongue -blistered, and a consuming spark shot against this bosom?' - -Then he: 'Make it clear to me.' - -She put her mouth to his ear, saying, 'There is a curse on whoso telleth -of things in Aklis, and to tattle of the Seven and their sister -forerunneth wretchedness.' - -Surely, he stooped to that fair creature, and folded her to his heart, -his whole soul heaving to her; and he cried again and again, 'Shall harm -hap to thee through me? by Allah, no!' - -And he closed the privileged arm of the bridegroom round her waist, that -had the yieldingness of the willow-branchlet, the flowingness of the -summer sea-wave, and seemed as 'twere melting honey-like at the first -gentle pressure; she leaning her head shyly on his shoulder, yet -confiding in his faithfulness; it was that she was shy of the great bliss -in her bosom, and was made timid by the fervour of her affection; as is -sung: - - - Deeper than the source of blushes - Is the power that makes them start; - Up in floods the red stream rushes, - At one whisper of the heart. - -And it is sung in words present to the youth as he surveyed her: - - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Her bashful joys like serpents sting her tenderness to - tears: - Her hopes are sleeping eagles in the shining of the spheres; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - And she's a lapping antelope that from her image flees; - And she's a dove caught in two hands, to pant as she shall - please; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Like torrents over Paradise her lengthy tresses roll: - She moves as doth a swaying rose, and chides her hasty soul; - The thing she will, that will she not, yet can no will control - O beauty, beauty, beauty of the bride! - -They were thus together, Abarak leaning under one wing of Koorookh for -shade up the slope of the hill, and Shibli Bagarag called to him, 'Ho, -Abarak! look if there be aught impending over the City.' - -So he arose and looked, crying, 'One with plunging legs, high up in air -over the City, between two bright bodies.' Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -''Tis well! The second chapter of the Event is opened; so call it, thou -that tellest of the Shaving of Shagpat. It will be the shortest.' - -Then he said, 'The shadow of yonder palm is now a slanted spear up the -looped wall of the City. Now, the time of Shagpat's triumph, and his -greatest majesty, will be when yonder walls chase the shadow of the palm -up this hill; and then will Baba Mustapha be joining the chorus of -creatures that shriek toward even ere they snooze. There's not an ape in -the woods, nor hyaena in the forest, nor birds on the branches, nor frogs -in the marsh that will outnoise Baba Mustapha under the thong! Wullahy, -'twill grieve his soul in aftertime when he sitteth secure in honours, -courted, with a thousand ears at his bidding, that so much breath 'scaped -him without toll of the tongue! But as the poet says truly: - - "The chariot of Events lifteth many dusty heels, - And many, high and of renown, it crusheth with its wheels." - -Wah! I have had my share of the thong, and am I, Master of the Event, to -be squeamish in attaining an end by its means? Nay, by this Sword!' - -Thereat, he strode once again to the summit of the hill, and in a moment -the Genii fronted him like two shot arrows quivering from the flight. So -he cried, 'It is done?' - -They answered, 'In faithfulness.' - -So he beckoned to Noorna, and she came forward swiftly to him, -exclaiming, 'I read the plot, and the thing required of me; so say -nought, but embrace me ere I leave thee, my betrothed, my master!' - -He embraced her, and led her to where the Genii stood. Then said he to -the Genii, 'Convey her to the City, O ye slaves of the Sword, and watch -over her there. If ye let but an evil wind ruffle the hair of her head, -lo! I sever ye with a stroke that shaketh the under worlds. Remain by -her till the shrieks of Baba Mustapha greet ye, and then will follow -commotion among the crowd, and cries for Shagpat to show himself to the -people, cries also of death to Feshnavat; and there will be an assembly -in the King's Hall of Justice; thither lead ye my betrothed, and watch -over her.' And he said to Noorna, 'Thou knowest my design?' - -So she said, 'When condemnation is passed on Feshnavat, that I appear in -the hall as bride of Shagpat, and so rescue him that is my father.' And -she cried, 'Oh, fair delightful time that is coming! my happiness and thy -honour on earth dateth from it. Farewell, O my betrothed, beloved youth! -Eyes of mine! these Genii will be by, and there's no cause for fear or -sorrow, and 'tis for thee to look like morning that speeds the march of -light. Thou, my betrothed, art thou not all that enslaveth the heart of -woman?' - -Cried Shibli Bagarag, 'And thou, O Noorna, all that enraptureth the soul -of man! Allah keep thee, my life!' - -Lo! while they were wasting the rich love in their hearts, the Genii rose -up with Noorna, and she, waving her hand to him, was soon distant and as -the white breast of a bird turned to the sun. Then went he to where -Abarak was leaning, and summoned Koorookh, and the twain mounted him, and -rose up high over the City of Shagpat to watch the ripening of the Event, -as a vulture watcheth over the desert. - - - - - - -THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - - -Now, in the City of Shagpat, Kadza, spouse of Shagpat, she that had -belaboured Shibli Bagarag, had a dream while these things were doing; and -it was a dream of danger and portent to the glory of her eyes, Shagpat. -So, at the hour when he was revealed to Shibli Bagarag, made luminous by -the beams of Aklis, Kadza went to an inner chamber, and greased her hands -and her eyelids, and drank of a phial, and commenced tugging at a brass -ring fixed in the floor, and it yielded and displayed an opening, over -which she stooped the upper half of her leanness, and pitching her note -high, called 'Karaz!' After that, she rose and retreated from the hole -hastily, and in the winking of an eye it was filled, as 'twere a pillar -of black smoke, by the body of the Genie, he breathing hard with mighty -travel. So he cried to her between his pantings and puffings, 'Speak! -where am I wanted, and for what?' - -Now, Kadza was affrighted at the terribleness of his manner, and the -great smell of the Genie was an intoxication in her nostril, so that she -reeled and could just falter out, 'Danger to the Identical!' - -Then he, in a voice like claps of thunder, 'Out with it!' - -She answered beseechingly, ''Tis a dream I had, O Genie; a dream of danger -to him.' - -While she spake, the Genie clenched his fists and stamped so that the -palace shook and the earth under it, exclaiming, 'O abominable Kadza! a -dream is it? another dream? Wilt thou cease dreaming awhile, thou silly -woman? Know I not he that's powerful against us is in Aklis, crowned -ape, and that his spells are gone? And I was distilling drops to defy -the Sword and strengthen Shagpat from assault, yet bringest thou me from -my labour by the Putrid Sea with thy accursed dream!' Thereat, he -frowned and shot fire at her from his eyes, so that she singed, and the -room thickened with a horrible smell of burning. She feared greatly and -trembled, but he cooled himself against the air, crying presently in a -diminished voice, 'Let's hear this dream, thou foolish Kadza! 'Tis as -well to hear it. Probably Rabesqurat hath sent thee some sign from -Aklis, where she ferryeth a term. What's that saying: - - "A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth, - And like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth." - -So, out with it, thou Kadza!' - -Now, the urgency of that she had dreamed overcame fear in Kadza, and she -said, 'O great Genie and terrible, my dream was this. Lo! I saw an -assemblage of the beasts of the forests and them that inhabit wild -places. And there was the elephant and the rhinoceros and the -hippopotamus, and the camel and the camelopard, and the serpent and the -striped tiger; also the antelope, the hyena, the jackal, and above them, -eminent in majesty, the lion. Surely, he sat as 'twere on a high seat, -and they like suppliants thronging the presence: this I saw, the heart on -my ribs beating for Shagpat. And there appeared among the beasts a -monkey all ajoint with tricks, jerking with malice, he looking as 'twere -hungry for the doing of things detestable; and the lion scorned him, and -I marked him ridicule the lion: 'twas so. And the lion began to scowl, -and the other beasts marked the displeasure of the lion. Then chased -they that monkey from the presence, and for awhile he was absent, and the -lion sat in his place gravely, with calm, receiving homage of the other -beasts; and down to his feet came the eagle that's lord of air, and -before him kneeled the great elephant, and the subtle serpent eyed him -with awe. But soon did that monkey, the wretched animal! reappear, and -there was no peace for the lion, he worrying till close within stretch of -the lion's paw! Wah! the lion might have crushed him, but that he's -magnanimous. And so it was that as the monkey advanced the lion roared -to him, "Begone!" - -'And the monkey cried, "Who commandeth?" - -'So the lion roared, "The King of beasts and thy King!" - -'Then that monkey cried, "Homage to the King of beasts and my King! -Allah keep him in his seat, and I would he were visible." - -'So the lion roared, "He sitteth here acknowledged, thou graceless -animal! and he's before thee apparent." - -'Then the monkey affected eagerness, and gazed about him, and peered on -this beast and on that, exclaiming like one that's injured and under -slight, "What's this I've done, and wherein have I offended, that he -should be hidden from me when pointed out?" - -'So the lion roared, "'Tis I where I sit, thou offensive monkey!" - -'Then that monkey in the upper pitch of amazement, "Thou! Is it for -created thing to acknowledge a king without a tail? And, O beasts of the -forest and the wilderness, how say ye? Am I to blame that I bow not to -one that hath it not?" - -'Upon that, the lion rose, and roared in the extreme of wrath; but the -word he was about to utter was checked in him, for 'twas manifest that -where he would have lashed a tail he shook a stump, wagging it as the dog -doth. Lo! when the lion saw that, the majesty melted from him, and in a -moment the plumpness of content and prosperity forsook him, so that his -tawny skin hung flabbily and his jaw drooped, and shame deprived him of -stateliness; abashed was he! Now, seeing the lion shamed in this manner, -my heart beat violently for Shagpat, so that I awoke with the strength of -its beating, and 'twas hidden from me whether the monkey was punished by -the lion, or exalted by the other beasts in his place, or how came it -that the lion's tail was lost, witched from him by that villain of -mischief, the monkey; but, O great Genie, I knew there was a lion among -men, reverenced, and with enemies; that lion, he that espoused me and my -glory, Shagpat! 'Twas enough to know that and tremble at the omen of my -dream, O Genie. Wherefore I thought it well to summon thee here, that -thou mightest set a guard over Shagpat, and shield him from the -treacheries that beset him.' - -When Kadza had ceased speaking, the Genie glowered at her awhile in -silence. Then said he, 'What creature is that, Kadza, which tormenteth -like the tongue of a woman, is small as her pretensions to virtue, and -which showeth how the chapters of her history should be read by the holy -ones, even in its manner of movement?' - -Cried Kadza, 'The flea that hoppeth!' - -So he said, ''Tis well! Hast thou strength to carry one of my weight, O -Kadza?' - -She answered in squeamishness, 'I, wullahy! I'm but a woman, Genie, -though the wife of Shagpat: and to carry thee is for the camel and the -elephant and the horse.' - -Then he, 'Tighten thy girdle, and when tightened, let a loose loop hang -from it.' - -She did that, and he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow -the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over -thee.' - -That did she, and thereupon he exclaimed, 'Now go, and thy part is to -move round Shagpat; and a wind will strike thee from one quarter, and -from which quarter it striketh is the one of menace and danger to -Shagpat.' - -So Kadza was diligent in doing what the Genie commanded, and sought for -Shagpat, and moved round him many times; but no wind struck her. She -went back to the Genie, and told him of this, and the Genie cried, 'What? -no wind? not one from Aklis? Then will Shagpat of a surety triumph, and -we with him.' - -Now, there was joy on the features of Kadza and Karaz, till suddenly he -said, 'Halt in thy song! How if there be danger and menace above? and -'tis the thing that may be.' - -Then he seized Kadza, and slung her by him, and went into the air, and up -it till the roofs of the City of Shagpat were beneath their feet, all on -them visible. And under an awning, on the roof of a palace, there was -the Vizier Feshnavat and Baba Mustapha, they ear to lip in consultation, -and Baba Mustapha brightening with the matter revealed to him, and -bobbing his head, and breaking on the speech of the Vizier. Now, when he -saw them the Genie blew from his nostrils a double stream of darkness -which curled in a thick body round and round him, and Kadza slung at his -side was enveloped in it, as with folds of a huge serpent. Then the -Genie hung still, and lo! two radiant figures swept toward the roof he -watched, and between them Noorna bin Noorka, her long dark hair borne far -backward, and her robe of silken stuff fluttering and straining on the -pearl buttons as she flew. There was that in her beauty and the silver -clearness of her temples and her eyes, and her cheeks, and her neck, and -chin and ankles, that made the Genie shudder with love of her, and he was -nigh dropping Kadza to the ground, forgetful of all save Noorna. When he -recovered, and it was by tightening his muscles till he was all over hard -knots, Noorna was seated on a cushion, and descending he heard her speak -his name. Then sniffed he the air, and said to Kadza, 'O spouse of -Shagpat, a plot breweth, and the odour of it is in my nostril. Fearest -thou a scorching for his sake thou adorest, the miracle of men?' - -She answered, 'On my head be it, and my eyes!' - -He said, 'I shall alight thee behind the pole of awning on yonder roof, -where are the two bright figures and the dingy one, and the Vizier -Feshnavat and Noorna bin Noorka. A flame will spring up severing thee -from them; but thou'rt secure from it by reason of the powder I gave -thee, all save the hair that's on thee. Thou'lt have another shape than -that which is thine, even that of a slave of Noorna bin Noorka, and say -to her when she asketh thy business with her, "O my mistress, let the -storm gather-in the storm-bird when it would surprise men." Do this, and -thy part's done, O Kadza!' - -Thereupon he swung a circle, and alighted her behind the pole of awning -on the roof, and vanished, and the circle of flame rose up, and Kadza -passed through it slightly scorched, and answered to the question of -Noorna, 'O my mistress, let the storm gather-in the storm-bird when it -would surprise men.' Now, when Noorna beheld her, and heard her voice, -she pierced the disguise, and was ware of the wife of Shagpat, and -glanced her large eyes over Kadza from head to sole till they rested on -the loose loop in her girdle. Seeing that, she rose up, and stretched -her arms, and spread open the palm of her hand, and slapped Kadza on the -cheek and ear a hard slap, so that she heard bells; and ere she ceased to -hear them, another, so that Kadza staggered back and screamed, and -Feshnavat was moved to exclaim, 'What has the girl, thy favourite, -offended in, O my daughter?' - -So Noorna continued slapping Kadza, and cried, 'Is she not sluttish? and -where's the point of decency established in her, this Luloo? Shall her -like appear before thee and me with loose girdle!' - -Then she pointed to the girdle, and Kadza tightened the loose loop, and -fell upon the ground to avoid the slaps, and Noorna knelt by her, and -clutched at a portion of her dress and examined it, peering intently; and -she caught up another part, and knotted it as if to crush a living -creature, hunting over her, and grasping at her; and so it was that while -she tore strips from the garments of Kadza, Feshnavat jumped suddenly in -wrath, and pinched over his garments, crying, 'Tis unbearable! 'Tis I -know not what other than a flea that persecuteth me:' - -Upon that, Noorna ran to him, and while they searched together for the -flea, Baba Mustapha fidgeted and worried in his seat, lurching to the -right and to the left, muttering curses; and it was evident he too was -persecuted, and there was no peace on the roof of that palace, but -pinching and howling and stretching of limbs, and curses snarled in the -throat and imprecations on the head of the tormenting flea. Surely, the -soul of Kadza rejoiced, for she knew the flea was Karaz, whom she had -brought with her in the loose loop of her girdle through the circle of -flame which was a barrier against him. She glistened at the triumph of -the flea, but Noorna strode to her, and took her to the side of the roof, -and pitched her down it, and closed the passage to her. Then ran she to -Karavejis and Veejravoosh, whispering in the ear of each, 'No word of the -Sword?' and afterward aloud, 'What think ye will be the term of the -staying of my betrothed in Aklis, crowned ape?' - -They answered, 'O pearl of the morn, crowned ape till such time as -Shagpat be shaved.' - -So she beat her breast, crying, 'Oh, utter stagnation, till Shagpat be -shaved! and oh, stoppage in the tide of business, dense cloud upon the -face of beauty, and frost on the river of events, till Shagpat be shaved! -And oh! my betrothed, crowned ape in Aklis till Shagpat be shaved!' - -Then she lifted her hands and arms, and said, 'To him where he is, ye -Genii! and away, for he needeth comfort.' - -Thereat the glittering spirits dissolved and thinned, and were as taper -gleams of curved light across the water in their ascent of the heavens. -When they were gone Noorna, exclaimed, 'Now for the dish of pomegrante -grain, O Baba Mustapha, and let nothing delay us further.' - -Quoth Baba Mustapha, ''Tis ordered, O my princess and fair mistress, from -the confectioner's; and with it the sleepy drug from the seller of -medicaments--accursed flea!' - -Now, she laughed, and said, 'What am I, O Baba Mustapha?' - -So he said, 'Not thou, O bright shooter of beams, but I, wullahy! I'm -but a bundle of points through the pertinacity of this flea! a house of -irritabilities! a mere mass of fretfulness! and I've no thought but for -the chasing of this unlucky flea: was never flea like it in the world -before this flea; and 'tis a flea to anger the holy ones, and make the -saintly Dervish swear at such a flea.' He wriggled and curled where he -sat, and Noorna cried, 'What! shall we be defeated by a flea, we that -would shave Shagpat, and release this city and the world from bondage?' -And she looked up to the sky that was then without a cloud, blazing with -the sun on his mid seat, and exclaimed, 'O star of Shagpat! wilt thou -constantly be in the ascendant, and defeat us, the liberators of men, -with a flea?' - -Now, whenever one of the twain, Baba Mustapha and the Vizier Feshnavat, -commenced speaking of the dish of pomegranate grain, the torment of the -flea took all tongue from him, and was destruction to the gravity of -council and deliberation. The dish of pomegranate grain was brought to -them by slaves, and the drug to induce sleep, yet neither could say aught -concerning it, they were as jointy grasshoppers through the action of the -flea, and the torment of the flea became a madness, they shrieking, ''Tis -now with thee! 'Tis now with me! Fires of the damned on this flea!' In -their extremity, they called to Allah for help, but no help came, save -when they abandoned all speech concerning the dish of pomegranate grain, -then were they for a moment eased of the flea. So Noorna recognized the -presence of her enemy Karaz, and his malicious working; and she went and -fetched a jar brimmed with water for the bath, and stirred it with her -forefinger, and drew on it a flame from the rays of the sun till there -rose up from the jar a white thick smoke. She rustled her raiment, -making the wind of it collect round Baba Mustapha and Feshnavat, and did -this till the sweat streamed from their brows and bodies, and they were -sensible of peace and the absence of the flea. Then she whisked away the -smoke, and they were attended by slaves with fresh robes, and were as new -men, and sat together over the dish of pomegranate grain, praising the -wisdom of Noorna and her power. Then Baba Mustapha revived in briskness, -and cried, 'Here the dish! and 'tis in my hands an instrument, an -instrument of vengeance! and one to endow the skilful wielder of it with -glory. And 'tis as I designed it,--sweet, seasoned, savoury,--a flattery -to the eye and no deceiver to the palate. Wah! and such an instrument in -the hands of the discerning and the dexterous, and the discreet and the -judicious, and them gifted with determination, is't not such as sufficeth -for the overturning of empires and systems, O my mistress, fair one, -sapphire of this city? And is't not written that I shall beguile Shagpat -by its means, and master the Event, and shame the King of Oolb and his -Court? And I shall then sit in state among men, and surround myself with -adornments and with slaves, mute, that speak not save at the signal, and -are as statues round the cushions of their lord--that's myself. And I -shall surround myself with the flatteries of wealth, and walk bewildered -in silks and stuffs and perfumeries; and sweet young beauties shall I -have about me, antelopes of grace, as I like them, and select them, long- -eyed, lazy, fond of listening, and with bashful looks that timidly admire -the dignity that's in man.' - -While he was prating Noorna took the dish in her lap, and folded her -silvery feet beneath her, and commenced whipping into it the drug: and -she whipped it dexterously and with equal division among the grain, -whipping it and the flea with it, but she feigned not to mark the flea -and whipped harder. Then took she colour and coloured it saffron, and -laid over it gold-leaf, so that it glittered and was an enticing sight; -and the dish was of gold, crusted over with devices and patterns, and -heads of golden monsters, a ravishment of skill in him that executed it, -cumbrous with ornate golden workmanship; likewise there were places round -the dish for sticks of perfume and cups carved for the storing of -perfumed pellets, and into these Noorna put myrrh and ambergris and rich -incenses, aloes, sandalwood, prepared essences, divers keen and sweet -scents. Then when all was in readiness, she put the dish upon the knee -of Baba Mustapha, and awoke him from his babbling reverie with a shout, -and said, 'An instrument verily, O Baba Mustapha! and art thou a cat to -shave Shagpat with that tongue of thine?' - -Now, he arose and made the sign of obedience and said, ''Tis well, O lady -of grace and bright wit! and now for the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and my twenty slaves and seven to follow me to the mansion of -Shagpat. I'll do: I'll act.' - -So she motioned to a slave to bring the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and in these Baba Mustapha arrayed himself. Then called he for the -twenty-and-seven slaves, and they were ranged, some to go before, some to -follow him. And he was exalted, and made the cap of Shiraz nod in his -conceit, crying, 'Am I not leader in this complot? Wullahy! all bow to -me and acknowledge it.' Then, to check himself, he called out sternly to -the slaves, 'Ho ye! forward to the mansion of Shagpat; and pass at a slow -pace through the streets of the city--solemnly, gravely, as before a -potentate; then will the people inquire of ye, Who't is ye marshal, and -what mighty one? and ye will answer, He's from the court of Shiraz, -nothing less than a Vizier--bearing homage to Shagpat, even this dish of -pomegranate grain.' - -So they said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Upon that he waved his hand and stalked majestically, and they descended -from the roof into the street, criers running in front to clear the way. -When Baba Mustapha was hidden from view by a corner of the street, Noorna -shrank in her white shoulders and laughed, and was like a flashing pearl -as she swayed and dimpled with laughter. And she cried, 'True are those -words of the poet, and I testify to them in the instance of Baba -Mustapha: - - "With feathers of the cock, I'll fashion a vain creature; - With feathers of the owl, I'll make a judge in feature"; - -Is not the barber elate and lofty? He goeth forth to the mastery of this -Event as go many, armed with nought other than their own conceit: and -'tis written: - - "Fools from their fate seek not to urge: - The coxcomb carrieth his scourge."' - -So Feshnavat smoothed his face, and said, 'Is't not also written?-- - - "Oft may the fall of fools make wise men moan! - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone!" - -'Tis so, O Noorna, my daughter, and I am as a reed shaken by the wind of -apprehensiveness, and doubt in me is a deep root as to the issue of this -undertaking, for the wrath of the King will be terrible, and the clamour -of the people soundeth in my ears already. If Shibli Bagarag fail in one -stroke, where be we? 'Tis certain I knew not the might in Shagpat when I -strove with him, and he's powerful beyond the measure of man's subtlety; -and yonder flies a rook without fellow--an omen; and all's ominous, and -ominous of ill: and I marked among the troop of slaves that preceded Baba -Mustapha one that squinted, and that's an omen; and, O my daughter, I -counsel that thou by thy magic speed us to some remote point in the -Caucasus, where we may abide the unravelling of this web securely, one -way or the other way. 'Tis my counsel, O Noorna.' - -Then she, 'Abandon my betrothed? and betray him on the very stroke of the -Sword? and diminish him by a withdrawal of that faith in his right wrist -which strengtheneth it more than Karavejis and Veejravoosh wound round it -in coils?' And she leaned her head, and cried, 'Hark! hear'st thou? -there's shouting in the streets of Shiraz and of Shagpat! Shall we merit -the punishment of Shahpesh the Persian on Khipil the builder, while the -Event is mastering? I'll mark this interview between Baba Mustapha and -Shagpat; and do thou, O my father, rest here on this roof till the King's -guard of horsemen and soldiers of the law come hither for thee, and go -with them sedately, fearing nought, for I shall be by thee in the garb of -an old woman; and preserve thy composure in the presence of the King and -Shagpat exalted, and allow not the thing that happeneth let fly from thee -the shaft of speech, but remain a slackened bow till the strength of my -betrothed is testified, fearing nought, for fear is that which defeateth -men, and 'tis declared in a distich,-- - - "The strongest weapon one can see - In mortal hands is constancy." - -And for us to flee now would rank us with that King described by the -poet: - - "A king of Ind there was who fought a fight - From the first gleam of morn till fall of night; - But when the royal tent his generals sought, - Proclaiming victory, fled was he who fought. - Despair possessed them, till they chanced to spy - A Dervish that paced on with downward eye; - They questioned of the King; he answer'd slow, - 'Ye fought but one, the King a double, foe."' - -And, O my father, they interpreted of this that the King had been -vanquished, he that was victor, by the phantom army of his fears.' - -Now, the Vizier cried, 'Be the will of Allah achieved and consummated!' -and he was silenced by her wisdom and urgency, and sat where he was, -diverting not the arch on his brow from its settled furrow. He was as -one that thirsteth, and whose eye hath marked a snake of swift poison by -the water, so thirsted he for the Event, yet hung with dread from -advancing; but Noorna bin Noorka busied herself about the roof, drawing -circles to witness the track of an enemy, and she clapped her hands and -cried, 'Luloo!' and lo, a fair slave-girl that came to her and stood by -with bent head, like a white lily by a milk-white antelope; so Noorna -clouded her brow a moment, as when the moon darkeneth behind a scud, and -cried, 'Speak! art thou in league with Karaz, girl?' - -Luloo strained her hands to her temples, exclaiming, 'With the terrible -Genie?--I?--in league with him? my mistress, surely the charms I wear, -and the amulets, I wear them as a protection from that Genie, and a -safeguard, he that carrieth off the maidens and the young sucklings, -walking under the curse of mothers.' - -Said Noorna, 'O Luloo, have I boxed those little ears of thine this day?' - -The fair slave-girl smiled a smile of submissive tenderness, and -answered, 'Not this day, nor once since Luloo was rescued from the wicked -old merchant by thy overbidding, and was taken to the arms of a wise kind -sister, wiser and kinder than any she had been stolen from, she that is -thy slave for ever.' - -She said this weeping, and Noorna mused, ''Twas as I divined, that -wretched Kadza: her grief 's to come!' Then spake she aloud as to -herself, 'Knew I, or could one know, I should this day be a bride?' And, -hearing that, Luloo shrieked, 'Thou a bride, and torn from me, and we two -parted? and I, a poor drooping tendril, left to wither? for my life is -round thee and worthless away from thee, O cherisher of the fallen -flower.' - -And she sobbed out wailful verses and words, broken and without a -meaning; but Noorna caught her by the arm and swung her, and bade her -fetch on the instant a robe of blue, and pile in her chamber robes of -amber and saffron and grey, bridal-robes of many-lighted silks, plum- -coloured, peach-coloured, of the colour of musk mixed with pale gold, -together with bridal ornaments and veils of the bride, and a jewelled -circlet for the brow. When this was done, Noorna went with Luloo to her -chamber, attended by slave-girls, and arrayed herself in the first dress -of blue, and swayed herself before the mirror, and rattled the gold -pieces in her hair and on her neck with laughter. And Luloo was -bewildered, and forgot her tears to watch the gaiety of her mistress; and -lo! Noorna, made her women take off one set of ornaments with every -dress, and with every dress she put on another set; and after she had -gone the round of the different dresses, she went to the bathroom with -Luloo, and at her bidding Luloo entered the bath beside Noorna,, and the -twain dipped and shouldered in the blue water, and were as when a single -star is by the full moon on a bright midnight pouring lustre about. And -Noorna splashed Luloo, and said, 'This night we shall not sleep together, -O Luloo, nor lie close, thy bosom on mine.' - -Thereat, Luloo wept afresh, and cried, 'Ah, cruel! and 'tis a sweet -thought for thee, and thou'lt have no mind for me, tossing on my hateful -lonely couch.' - -Tenderly Noorna eyed Luloo, and the sprinkles of the bath fell with the -tears of both, and they clung together, and were like the lily and its -bud on one stalk in a shower. Then, when Noorna had spent her affection, -she said, 'O thou of the long downward lashes, thy love was constant when -I stood under a curse and was an old woman--a hag! Carest thou so little -to learn the name of him that claimeth me?' - -Luloo replied, 'I thought of no one save myself and my loss, O my lost -pearl; happy is he, a youth of favour. Oh, how I shall hate him that -taketh thee from me. Tell me now his name, O sovereign of hearts!' - -So Noorna smoothed the curves and corners of her mouth and calmed her -countenance, crying in a deep tone and a voice as of reverence, -'Shagpat!' - -Now, at that name Luloo drank in her breath and was awed, and sank in -herself, and had just words to ask, 'Hath he demanded thee again in -marriage, O my mistress?' - -Said Noorna, 'Even so.' - -Luloo muttered, 'Great is the Dispenser of our fates!' - -And she spake no further, but sighed and took napkins and summoned the -slave-girls, and arrayed Noorna silently in the robe of blue and bridal -ornaments. Then Noorna said to them that thronged about her, 'Put on, -each of ye, a robe of white, ye that are maidens, and a fillet of blue, -and a sash of saffron, and abide my coming.' - -And she said to Luloo, 'Array thyself in a robe of blue, even as mine, -and let trinkets lurk in thy tresses, and abide my coming.' - -Then went she forth from them, and veiled her head and swathed her figure -in raiment of a coarse white stuff, and was as the moon going behind a -hill of dusky snow; and she left the house, and passed along the streets -and by the palaces, till she came to the palace of her father, now filled -by Shagpat. Before the palace grouped a great concourse and a multitude -of all ages and either sex in that city, despite the blaze and the heat. -Like roaring of a sea beyond the mountains was the noise that issued from -them, and their eyes were a fire of beams against the portal of the -palace. Now, she saw in the crowd one Shafrac, a shoemaker, and -addressed. him, saying, 'O Shafrac, the shoemaker, what's this assembly -and how got together? for the poet says: - - "Ye string not such assemblies in the street, - Save when some high Event should be complete."' - -He answered, ''Tis an Event complete. Wullahy! the deputation from Shiraz -to Shagpat, and the submission of that vain city to the might of -Shagpat.' And he asked her, jestingly, 'Art thou a witch, to guess that, -O veiled and virtuous one?' - -Quoth she, 'I read the thing that cometh ere 'tis come, and I read danger -to Shagpat in this deputation from Shiraz, and this dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -So Shafrac cried, 'By the beard of my fathers and that of Shagpat! let's -speak of this to Zeel, the garlic-seller.' - -He broadened to one that was by him, and said, 'O Zeel, what's thy mind? -Here's a woman, a wise woman, a witch, and she sees danger to Shagpat in -this deputation from Shiraz and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Zeel screwed his visage and gazed up into his forehead, and said, -''Twere best to consult with Bootlbac, the drum-beater.' - -The two then called to Bootlbac, the drum-beater, and told him the -matter, and Bootlbac pondered, and tapped his brow and beat on his -stomach, and said, 'Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, is good in such a -case.' - -Now, from Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, they went to Dob, the -confectioner; and from Dob, the confectioner, to Azawool, the builder; -and from Azawool, the builder, to Tcheik, the collector of taxes; and -each referred to some other, till perplexity triumphed and was a cloud -over them, and the words, 'Danger to Shagpat,' went about like bees, and -were canvassing, when suddenly a shrill voice rose from the midst, -dominating other voices, and it was that of Kadza, and she cried, 'Who -talks here of danger to Shagpat, and what wretch is it?' - -Now, Tcheik pointed out Azawool, and Azawool Dob, and Dob Krooz el -Krazawik, and he Bootlbac, and the drum-beater shrugged his shoulder at -Zeel, and Zeel stood away from Shafrac, and Shafrac seized Noorna and -shouted, ''Tis she, this woman, the witch!' - -Kadza fronted Noorna, and called to her, 'O thing of infamy, what's this -talk of thine concerning danger to our glory, Shagpat?' - -Then Noorna replied, 'I say it, O Kadza! and I say it; there's danger -threateneth him, and from that deputation and that dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -Now, Kadza laughed a loose laugh, and jeered at Noorna, crying, 'Danger -to Shagpat! he that's attended by Genii, and watched over by the greatest -of them, day and night incessantly?' - -And Noorna said, 'I ask pardon of the Power that seeth, and of thee, if I -be wrong. Wah! am I not also of them that watch over Shagpat? So then -let thou and I go into the palace and examine the doings of this -deputation and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Kadza remembered the scene on the roofs of the Vizier Feshnavat, and -relaxed in her look of suspicion, and said, ''Tis well! Let's in to -them.' - -Thereupon the twain threaded through the crowd and locked at the portals -of the palace, and it was opened to them and they entered, and lo! the -hand that opened the portals was the hand of a slave of the Sword, and -against corners of the Court leaned slaves silly with slumber. So Kadza -went up to them, and beat them, and shook them, and they yawned and -mumbled, 'Excellent grain! good grain! the grain of Shiraz!' And she -beat them with what might was hers, till some fell sideways and some -forward, still mumbling, 'Excellent pomegranate grain!' Kadza was beside -herself with anger and vexation at them, tearing them and cuffing them; -but Noorna cried, 'O Kadza! what said I? there's danger to Shagpat in -this dish of pomegranate grain! and what's that saying: - - "'Tis much against the Master's wish - That slaves too greatly praise his dish." - -Wullahy! I like not this talk of the grain of Shiraz.' - -Now, while Noorna spake, the eyes of Kadza became like those of the -starved wild-cat, and she sprang off and along the marble of the Court, -and clawed a passage through the air and past the marble pillars of the -palace toward the first room of reception, Noorna following her. And in -the first room were slaves leaning and lolling like them about the Court, -and in the second room and in the third room, silent all of them and -senseless. So at this sight the spark of suspicion became a mighty flame -in the bosom of Kadza, and horror burst out at all ends of her, and she -shuddered, and cried, 'What for us, and where's our hope if Shagpat be -shorn, and he lopped of the Identical, shamed like the lion of my dream!' - -And Noorna clasped her hands, and said, ''Tis that I fear! Seek for him, -O Kadza!' - -So Kadza ran to a window and looked forth over the garden of the palace, -and it was a fair garden with the gleam of a fountain and watered plants -and cool arches of shade, thick bowers, fragrant alleys, long sheltered -terraces, and beyond the garden a summer-house of marble fanned by the -broad leaves of a palm. Now, when Kadza had gazed a moment, she -shrieked, 'He's there! Shagpat! giveth he not the light of a jewel to -the house that holdeth him? Awahy! and he's witched there for an ill -purpose.' - -Then tore she from that room like a mad wild thing after its stolen cubs, -and sped along corridors of the palace, and down the great flight of -steps into the garden and across the garden, knocking over the ablution- -pots in her haste; and Noorna had just strength to withhold her from -dashing through the doors of the summer-house to come upon Shagpat, she -straining and crying, 'He's there, I say, O wise woman! Shagpat! let's -into him.' - -But Noorna clung to her, and spake in her ear, 'Wilt thou blow the fire -that menaces him, O Kadza? and what are two women against the assailants -of such a mighty one as he?' Then said she, 'Watch, rather, and avail -thyself of yonder window by the blue-painted pillar.' - -So Kadza crept up to the blue-painted pillar which was on the right side -of the porch, and the twain peered through the window. Noorna beheld the -Dish of Pomegranate Grain; and it was on the floor, empty of the grain, -and Baba Mustapha was by it alone making a lather, and he was twitching -his mouth and his legs, and flinging about his arms, and Noorna heard him -mutter wrathfully, 'O accursed flea! art thou at me again?' And she -heard him mutter as in anguish, 'No peace for thee, O pertinacious flea! -and my steadiness of hand will be gone, now when I have him safe as the -hawk his prey, mine enemy, this Shagpat that abused me: thou abominable -flea! And, O thou flea, wilt thou, vile thing! hinder me from mastering -the Event, and releasing this people and the world from enchantment and -bondage? And shall I fail to become famous to the ages and the times -because of such as thee, flea?' - -So Kadza whispered to Noorna, 'What's that he's muttering? Is't of -Shagpat? for I mark him not here, nor the light by which he's girt.' - -She answered, 'Listen with the ear and the eye and all the senses.' - -Now, presently they heard Baba Mustapha say in a louder tone, like one -that is secure from interruption, 'Two lathers, and this the third! a -potent lather! and I wot there's not a hair in this world resisteth the -sweep of my blade over such a lather as--Ah! flea of iniquity and -abomination! what! am I doomed to thy torments?--so let's spread! Lo! -this lather, is't not the pride of Shiraz? and the polish and smoothness -it sheddeth, is't not roseate? my invention! as the poet says,--O -accursed flea! now the knee-joint, now the knee-cap, and 'tis but a hop -for thee to the arm-pit. Fires of the pit without bottom seize thee! is -no place sacred from thee, and art thou a restless soul, infernal flea? -So then, peace awhile, and here's for the third lather.' - -While he was speaking Baba Mustapha advanced to a large white object that -sat motionless, upright like a snow-mound on a throne of cushions, and -commenced lathering. When she saw that, Kadza tossed up her head and her -throat, and a shriek was coming from her, for she was ware of Shagpat; -but Noorna stifled the shriek, and clutched her fast, whispering, 'He's -safe if thou have but patience, thou silly Kadza! and the flea will -defeat this fellow if thou spoil it not.' - -So Kadza said, looking up, 'Is 't seen of Allah, and be the Genii still -in their depths?' but she constrained herself, peering and perking out -her chin, and lifting one foot and the other foot, as on furnaces of fire -in the excess of the fury she smothered. And lo, Baba Mustapha worked -diligently, and Shagpat was behind an exulting lather, even as one pelted -with wheaten flour-balls or balls of powdery perfume, and his hairiness -was as branches of the forest foliage bent under a sudden fall of -overwhelming snow that filleth the pits and sharpeneth the wolves with -hunger, and teacheth new cunning to the fox. A fox was Baba Mustapha in -his stratagems, and a wolf in the fierceness of his setting upon Shagpat. -Surely he drew forth the blade that was to shear Shagpat, and made with -it in the air a preparatory sweep and flourish; and the blade frolicked -and sent forth a light, and seemed eager for Shagpat. So Baba Mustapha -addressed his arm to the shearing, and inclined gently the edge of the -blade, and they marked him let it slide twice to a level with the head of -Shagpat, and at the third time it touched, and Kadza howled, but from -Baba Mustapha there burst a howl to madden the beasts; and he flung up -his blade, and wrenched open his robe, crying, 'A flea was it to bite in -that fashion? Now, I swear by the Merciful, a fang like that's common to -tigers and hyaenas and ferocious animals.' - -Then looked he for the mark of the bite, plaining of its pang, and he -could find the mark nowhere. So, as he caressed himself, eyeing Shagpat -sheepishly and with gathering awe, Noorna said hurriedly to Kadza, 'Away -now, and call them in, the crowd about the palace, that they may behold -the triumph of Shagpat, for 'tis ripe, O Kadza!' - -And Kadza replied, 'Thou'rt a wise woman, and I'll have thee richly -rewarded. Lo, I'm as a camel lightened of fifty loads, and the glory of -Shagpat see I as a new sun rising in the desert. Wullahy! thou'rt wise, -and I'll do thy bidding.' - -Now, she went flying back to the palace, and called shrill calls to the -crowd, and collected them in the palace, and headed them through the -garden, and it was when Baba Mustapha had summoned courage for a second -essay, and was in the act of standing over Shagpat to operate on him, -that the crowd burst the doors, and he was quickly seized by them, and -tugged at and hauled at and pummelled, and torn and vituperated, and as a -wrecked vessel on stormy waters, plunging up and down with tattered -sails, when the crew fling overboard freight and ballast and provision. -Surely his time would have been short with that mob, but Noorna made -Kadza see the use of examining him before the King, and there were in -that mob sheikhs and fakirs, holy men who listened to the words of Kadza, -and exerted themselves to rescue Baba Mustapha, and quieted the rage that -was prevailing, and bore Baba Mustapha with them to the great palace of -the King, which was in the centre of that City. Now, when the King heard -of the attempt on Shagpat, and the affair of the Pomegranate Grain, he -gave orders for the admission of the people, as many of them as could be -contained in the Hall of Justice: and he set a guard over Baba Mustapha, -and commanded that Shagpat should be brought to the palace even as he -then was, and with the lather on him. So the regal mandate went forth, -and Shagpat was brought in state on cushions, and the potency of the drug -preserved his sedateness through all this, and he remained motionless in -sleep, folded in the centre of calm and satisfaction, while this tumult -was rageing and the City shook with uproar. But the people, when they -saw him whitened behind a lather, wrath at Baba Mustapha's polluting -touch and the audacity of barbercraft wrestled in them with the -outpouring of reverence for Shagpat, and a clamour arose for the instant -sacrifice of Baba Mustapha at the foot of their idol Shagpat. And the -whole of the City of Shagpat, men, women, and children, and the sheikhs -and the dervishes and crafts of the City besieged the King's palace in -that middle hour of the noon, clamouring for the sacrifice of Baba -Mustapha at the feet of their idol Shagpat. - - - - - - -THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - - -Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of the -King was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished all -their arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions of -uniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense of -abasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him that -ruled and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne -was of solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the -hall was lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging in -stateliness down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars were -pillars of porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all of -them with sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence, -odes of the poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and that -solve knotty points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each the -gift of a mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie. - -In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spread -abroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, and -shimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. It -was rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fed -underground from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in the -reign of El Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by the -labours of Zak,--a Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of El -Rasoon; but, of a surety, none of earth were like to them in silveriness -and sweet coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary. - -Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him his -ministers, and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and black -slaves, and the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And -the King was as a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on his -forehead to darken kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred his -kingly wrath, and awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspirators -and offenders. So when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throne -of cushions where he sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the King -commanded that he should be placed at his side, the place of honour; and -Shagpat was as a moon behind the whiteness of the lathers; even as we -behold moon and sun together in the heavens, was Shagpat by the King. - -There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a hum -of rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people that -filled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; but -presently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people! -thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has brought -honour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine a -constellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands and -corners of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I not -castigated barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that no -youth is taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber, -is't not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by and -broken, for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpat -precious.' - -While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion at -beholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat and -the King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters and -triumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, -and its King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And -I had this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the -adhesion of that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So -commenced the day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a -few hours defiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!' - -At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury; -but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! Probably -we have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us in -Shagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, and -creeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasement -voluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; for -how is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to rise -again freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of the -City of Shagpat!' - -Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to the -loins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abased -himself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, and -penitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as when -the sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and the -Viziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of the -guard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcries -and wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated their -bodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned to -bewail himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shrieked -loudest, striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall was -as a pit full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wild -beasts howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, so -that the tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hall -save Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers, -inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there came -a pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in the -intervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered among -themselves, "Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and the moaning and howling -prevailed again. And again they heard another moan, a deep one, as of -the earth in its throes, and said among themselves, "Tis that of -Bootlbac, the drumbeater!' and this led off to the howl of Areep, the -dervish; and this was followed by the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; -and the waul of Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier; and the complainings of -Dob, the confectioner; and the groan of Sallap, the broker; and the yell -of Azawool, the builder. There would have been no end to it known; but -the King rose and commenced plucking his beard and his hair,--they -likewise in silence. When he had performed this ceremony a space, the -King called, and a basin of water was brought to him, and handed round by -slaves, and all dipped in it their hands, and renewed their countenances -and re-arranged their limbs; and the Hall brightened with the eye of the -King, and he cried, 'O people, lo, the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis a -deep one; but, by this beard, we'll strike at the root of it, and a blow -of deadliness. Surely we have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance is -ours! How say ye?' - -A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleth -that fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed these -words; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth with -this wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your heads be -it to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my Vizier, he -that was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our clemency.' - -Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction on -Feshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King. -Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembled -and was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and with -eyeballs goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him, -he contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object, -crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness and horrible -presumption? Truly 'tis said: - - "For ruin and the deeds preluding change, - Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range: - But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean, - Satan selects them, for they are unseen." - -And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with the -top of the reptile, and away with him!' - -Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blocked -the throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save stagger -imploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of the -throne, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! 'tis -Kadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and lo! a wise -woman has said in my ear, "How if this emissary and instrument of the -Evil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to essay on Shagpat -before the people his science and his malice? for 'tis certain that -Shagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, defended by -them, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of glory and -triumph manifest": and for this barber, his punishment can afterwards be -looked to, O great King!' - -The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them that -had hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought over -it, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. So -release this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.' - -This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, and -crowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when he -felt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and wit -returned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'll -yet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I was -to look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is a -mighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackle -to combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in his -mightiness!' - -So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and the -King called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile wretch, to -make preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' And the people -murmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, 'Thou'lt essay -this, thou wretch, without a head, let but another minute pass.' So when -Baba Mustapha could delay no longer, he sighed heavily and his trembling -returned, and the power of Shagpat smote him with an invisible hand, so -that he could scarce move; but dread pricked him against dread, and he -advanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and assumed the briskness of the -barber, and was in the act of bending over him to bring the blade into -play, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of the King stood up in the -presence and spake a word that troubled him, and the King rose and -hurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on three sides of -the Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and from these -clouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and plumes; and -he could discern the flashing of their helms and the glistening of steel- -plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the colour went from -the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched pomegranate, and -he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? Awahy! we are beset, and here's -abasement brought on us without self-abasing!' Meantime these horsemen -detached themselves from the main bodies and advanced at a gallop, -wheeling and circling round each other, toward the walls of the city, and -when they were close they lowered their arms and made signs of amity, and -proclaimed their mission and the name of him they served. So tidings -were brought to the King that the Lords of three cities, with vast -retinues, were come, by reason of a warning, to pay homage to Shagpat, -the son of Shimpoor; and these three cities were the cities of Oolb, and -of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these! - -Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and -arrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of his -stables, and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded by -the horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the city -walls that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted and -embraced, and bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titles -of Cousin and Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, these -three Kings rode back to the city with the King that was their host, and -the horsemen of the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outside -the walls, making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related to -the three Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been made -on him; and in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting of -thrones for them whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage to -Shagpat, sat by him there on either side. Then the King cried, 'This -likewise owe we to Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's in -him shall defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and of -Gaf, and of Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!' - -So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and the -King of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan, -exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince of -barbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head of -me in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand of -this barber will do it!' - -And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this fellow I -bastinadoed!' - -And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time, -said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To my court -he came, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us all in -spite of our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, and so -thinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and stripes -and lashes!' - -Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allah -achieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou! -do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store for -thee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: -small chance of that!' - -Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words: - - The abyss is worth a leap, however wide, - When life, sweet life, is on the other side. - -And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and stepped -forward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall -was breathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its -fall, and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right -arm, hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was -buzzing as a bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a -butterfly when 'tis fluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed -at Shagpat within arm's reach, fearing him, so that the people began to -hum with a great rapture, and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! -this monkey knoweth the fire!' - -But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guards -to flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords of -indecision in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash of -desperation; and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the blade -upon the head of Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest, -for suddenly in his head the Identical rose up straight, even to a level -with the roof of that hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of many -fiery colours, and Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like a -ball that reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomed -serpents, sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely, -to see that sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers, -and winked till the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about, -exclaimed, 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So she -called about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!' - -Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, she -shrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, male and -female, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! I his -moon!' - -Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou had -enough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head of -Shagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruited -abroad, and a great load upon the four winds.' - -Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to a -second essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot away -from Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end of -the hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and he -in his despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of his -limbs, was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essay -on the head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous, -light of heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, and -whirled away like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air and -beyond the city walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a -great cry rose from the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the -Identical stood up wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in -brilliance, blinding to look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it -waxed in size and pierced through the roof of the hall, and was a sight -to the streets of the city; and the horsemen camped without the walls -beheld it, and marvelled, and it was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes -of the Desert afar, and the wild Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans -of pilgrimage. Distant cities asked the reason of that appearance, and -the cunning fakir interpreted it, and the fervent dervish expounded from -it, and messengers flew from gate to gate and from land to land in -exultation, and barbers hid their heads, and were friendly with the fox -in his earth, because of that light. So the Identical burned on the head -of Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding splendour of attraction, three -nights and three days; and the fishes of the sea shoaled to the sea's -surface and stared at it, and the fowls of the air congregated about the -fury of the light with screams and mad flutters, till the streets and -mosques and minarets and bright domes and roofs and cupolas of the City -of Shagpat were blackened with scorched feathers of the vulture and the -eagle and the rook and the raven and the hawk, and other birds, sacred -and obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat made manifest to men and the -end of the world by the burning of the Identical three days and three -nights. - - - - - - -THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - - -Now, it was the morning of the fourth day, and lo! at the first leap of -the sun of that day the flame of the Identical abated in its fierceness, -and it dwindled and darkened, and tapered and flickered feebly, -descending from its altitude in the heavens and through the ceiling of -the Hall, and lay down to sleep among the intricate lengths and frizzled -convolutions and undulating weights flowing from Shagpat, an -undistinguished hair, even as the common hairs of his head. So, upon -that, the four fasting Kings breathed, and from the people of the City -there went up a mighty shout of gladness and congratulation at the glory -they had witnessed; and they took the air deeply into their chests, and -were as divers that have been long fathoms-deep under water, and ascend -and puff hard and press the water from their eyes, that yet refuse to -acknowledge with a recognition the things that be and the sights above, -so mazed are they with those unmentionable marvels and treasures and -profusion of jewels, and splendid lazy growths and lavish filmy -illuminations, and multitudinous pearls and sheering shells, that lie -heaped in the beds of the ocean. As the poet has said: - - After too strong a beam, - Too bright a glory, - We ask, Is this a dream - Or magic story? - -And he says: - - When I've had rapturous visions such as make - The sun turn pale, and suddenly awake, - Long must I pull at memory in this beard, - Ere I remember men and things revered. - -So was it with the people of the City, and they stood in the Hall and -winked staringly at one another, shouting and dancing at intervals, -capering with mad gravity, exclaiming on the greatness of that they had -witnessed. And Zeel the garlic-seller fell upon Mob the confectioner, -and cried, 'Was this so, O Dob? Wullahy! this glory, was it verily?' -And Dob peered dimly upon Zeel, whispering solemnly, 'Say, now, art thou -of a surety that Zeel the garlic-seller known to me, my boon-fellow?' -And the twain turned to Sallap the broker, and exchanged interjections -with him, and with Azawool the builder, and with Krooz el Krazawik the -carrier; and they accosted Bootlbac the drum-beater, where he stood -apart, drumming the air as to a march of triumph, and no word would he -utter, neither to Zeel, nor to Sallap, nor to Krooz el Krazawik, nor to -Azawool his neighbour, nor to any present, but continued drumming on the -air rapidly as in answer, increasing in the swiftness of his drumming -till it was a rage to mark him, and the excitement about Bootlbac became -as a mad eddy in the midst of a mighty stream, he drumming the air with -exceeding swiftness to various measures, beating before him as on the -tightened skin, lost to all presences save the Identical and Shagpat. So -they edged away from Bootlbac in awe, saying, 'He's inspired, Bootlbac! -'tis the triumph of Shagpat he drummeth.' They feigned to listen to him -till their ears deceived them, and they rejoiced in the velocity of the -soundless tune of Bootlbac the drum-beater, and were stirred by it, -excited to a forgetfulness of their fasting. Such was the force of the -inspiration of Bootlbac the drum-beater, caused by the burning of the -Identical. - -Now, the four Kings, when they had mastered their wits, gazed in silence -on Shagpat, and sighed and shook their heads, and were as they that have -swallowed a potent draught and ponder sagely over the gulp. Surely, the -visages of the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf and of Oolb betokened dread of -Shagpat and amazement at him; but the King of the City exulted, and the -shining of content was on his countenance, and he cried, 'Wondrous!' and -again, 'Wullahy, wondrous!' and 'Oh, glory!' And he laughed and clucked -and chuckled, and the triumph of Shagpat was to him as a new jewel in his -crown outshining all others, and he was for awhile as the cock smitten -with the pride of his comb, the peacock magnified by admiration of his -tail. Then he cried, 'For this, praise we Allah and the Prophet. -Wullahy, 'twas wondrous!' and he went off again into a roll of cluckings -and chucklings and exclamations of delight, crying, 'Need they further -proof of the power in Shagpat now? Has he not manifested it? So true is -that saying-- - - "The friend that flattereth weakeneth at length; - It is the foe that calleth forth our strength." - -Wondrous! and never knew earth a thing to equal it in the range of -marvels!' - -Now, ere the last word was spoken by the King, there passed through the -sky a mighty flash. Those in the Hall saw it, and the horsemen of the -three cities encamped without the walls were nigh blinded by the keenness -of its blaze. So they looked into the height, and saw straight over the -City a speck of cloud, but no thunder came from it; and the King cried, -'These be Genii! the issue of this miracle is yet to come! look for it, -and exult.' Then he turned to the other Kings, but they were leaning to -right and left in their seats, as do the intoxicated, without strength to -answer his questioning. So he exclaimed, 'A curse on my head! have I -forgotten the laws of hospitality? my cousins are famished!' He was -giving orders for the spreading of a sumptuous banquet when there passed -through the sky another mighty flash. They awaited the thunder this time -confidently, yet none came. Suddenly the King exclaimed, ''Tis the wrath -of Shagpat that his assailants remain uncastigated!' Then cried he to -the eunuchs of the guard, 'Hither with Feshnavat, the son of Feil!' And -the King said to Feshnavat, 'Thou plotter! envious of Shagpat!' Here the -King, Kresnuk, fell forward at the feet of Shagpat from sheer inanition, -and the King of the City ordered instantly wines and viands to be brought -into the Hall, and commenced saying to Feshnavat, in the words of the -wise entablature: - - '"Of reckless mercy thus the Sage declared: - More culpable the sparer than the spared; - For he that breaks one law, breaks one alone: - But who thwarts Justice flouts Law's sovereign throne." - -And have I not been over-merciful in thy case?' - -As the King was haranguing Feshnavat, his nostril took in the steam of -the viands and the fresh odours of the wines, and he could delay no -longer to satisfy his craving, but caught up the goblet, and drank from -it till his visage streamed the tears of contentment. Lo, while he put -forth his hand tremblingly, as to continue the words of his condemnation -of the Vizier, the heavens were severed by a third flash, one exceeding -in fierceness the other flashes; and now the Great Hall rocked, and the -pillars and thrones trembled, and the eyes of Shagpat opened. He made no -motion, but sat like a wonder of stone, looking before him. Surely, -Kadza shrieked, and rushed forward to him from the crowd, yet he said -nothing, and was as one frozen. So the King cried, 'He waketh! the -flashes preceded his wakening! Now shall he see the vengeance of kings -on his enemies.' Thereupon he made a signal, and the scimitars of the -guard were in air over the head of Feshnavat, when darkness as of the -dropping of night fell upon all, and the darkness spake, saying, 'I am -Abarak of the Bar, preceder of the Event!' - -Then it was light, but the ears of every soul present were pierced with -the wailing of wild animals, and on all sides from the Desert hundreds of -them were seen making toward the City, some swiftly, others at a heavy -pace; and when they were come near they crouched and fawned, and dropped -their dry tongues as in awe. There was the serpent, meek as before the -days of sin, and the leopard slinking to get among the legs of men, and -the lion came trundling along in utter flabbiness, raising not his head. -Soon the streets were thronged with elephants and lions and sullen -tigers, and wild cats and wolves, not a tail erect among them: great was -the marvel! So the King cried, 'We 're in the thick of wonders; banquet -we lightly while they increase upon us! What's yonder little man?' This -was Abarak that stood before the King, and exclaimed, 'I am the darkness -that announceth the mastery of the Event, as a shadow before the sun's -approach, and it is the Shaving of Shagpat!' The world darkened before -the eyes of the King when he heard this, and in a moment Abarak was -clutched by the soldiers of the guard, and dragged beside Feshnavat to -await the final blow; and this would have parted two heads from two -bodies at one stroke, but now Noorna bin Noorka entered the hall, veiled -and in the bright garb of a bride, with veiled attendants about her, and -the people opened to give her passage to the throne of the King. So she -said, 'Delay the stroke yet awhile, O Head of the Magnanimous! I am she -claimed by Shagpat; surely, I am bride of him that is Master of the -Event, and the hour of bridals is the hour of clemency.' - -The King looked at Shagpat, perplexed; but the eye of Shagpat gazed as -into the distance of another world. Then said he, 'We shall hear nought -from the mouth of Shagpat till he is avenged, and till then he is silent -with exceeding wrath.' Hearing this, Noorna ran quickly to a window of -the Hall, and let loose a white dove from her bosom. - -Then came there that flash which is recorded in old traditions as the -fourth of the flashes of thunderless lightnings, after the passing of -which, hundreds of fakirs that had been awaiting it saw nothing further -on this earth. Down through the Hall it swept; and lo! when the Kings -and the people recovered their sight to regard Shagpat, he was, one side -of him, clean shorn, the shaven side shining as the very moon! - -Surely from that moment there was no longer aught mortal in the combat -that ensued. For now, while amazement and horror palsied all present, -the Genie Karaz, uttering a howl of fury, shot down the length of the -Hall like a black storm-bolt, and caught up Shagpat, and whirled off with -him into the air; and they beheld him dive and dodge the lightnings that -beset him from upper heaven, catching Shagpat from them, now by the -heels, now by the hair remaining one side his head. This lasted a full -hour, when the Genie paused a second, and made a sheer descent into the -earth. Then saw they the wings of Koorookh, each a league in length, -overshadow the entire land, and on the neck of the bird sat Shibli -Bagarag cleaving through the earth with his blade, and he sat on Koorookh -as the moon sits on the midnight. There was no light save the light shed -abroad by the flashes of the blade, and in these they beheld the air -suffocated with Afrites and Genii in a red and brown and white heat, -followers of Karaz. Strokes of the blade clove them, and their blood was -fire that flowed over the feathers of Koorookh, lighting him in a -conflagration; but the bird flew constantly to a fountain of earth below -and extinguished it. Then the battle recommenced, and the solid earth -yawned at the gashes made by the mighty blade, and its depths revealed -how Karaz was flying with Shagpat from circle to circle of the under- -regions, hurrying with him downward to the lowest circle, that was -flaming to points, like the hair of vast heads. Presently they saw a -wondrous quivering flash divide the Genie, and his heels and head fell -together in the abysses, leaving Shagpat prone on great brasiers of penal -flame. Then the blade made another hissing sweep over Shagpat, leaving -little of the wondrous growths on him save a topknot. - -But now was the hour struck when Rabesqurat could be held no longer -serving the ferry in Aklis; and the terrible Queen streamed in the sky, -like a red disastrous comet, and dived, eagle-like, into the depths, re- -ascending with Shagpat in her arms, cherishing him; and lo, there were -suddenly a thousand Shagpats multiplied about, and the hand of Shibli -Bagarag became exhausted with hewing at them. The scornful laugh of the -Queen was heard throughout earth as she triumphed over Shibli Bagarag -with hundreds of Shagpats, Illusions; and he knew not where to strike at -the Shagpat, and was losing all sleight of hand, dexterity, and cunning. -Noorna shrieked, thinking him lost; but Abarak seized his bar, and -leaning it in the direction of Aklis, blew a pellet from it that struck -on the eye of Aklis, and this sent out a stretching finger of beams, and -singled forth very Shagpat from the myriads of semblances, so that he -glowed and was ruddy, the rest cowering pale, and dissolving like salt- -grains in water. - -Then saw earth and its inhabitants how the Genie Karaz re-ascended in the -shape of a vulture with a fire beak, pecking at the eyes of him that -wielded the Sword, so that he was bewildered and shook this way and that -over the neck of Koorookh, striking wildly, languidly cleaving towers and -palaces, and monuments of earth underneath him. Now, Shibli Bagarag -discerned his danger, and considered, 'The power of the Sword is to sever -brains and thoughts. Great is Allah! I'll seek my advantage in that.' - -So he whirled Koorookh thrice in the crimson smoke of the atmosphere, and -put the blade between the first and second thought in the head of -Rabesqurat, whereby the sense of the combat became immediately confused -in her mind, and she used her powers as the fool does, equally against -all, for the sake of mischief solely--no longer mistress of her own -Illusions; and she began doubling and trebling Shibli Bagarag on the neck -of monstrous birds, speeding in draggled flightiness from one point of -the sky to another. Even in the terror of the combat, Shibli Bagarag was -fair to burst into a fit of violent laughter at the sight of the Queen -wagging her neck loosely, perking it like a mad raven; and he took heart, -and swept the blade rapidly over Shagpat as she dandled him, leaving -Shagpat but one hair remaining on him; yet was that the Identical; and it -arose, and was a serpent in his head, and from its jaws issued a river of -fiery serpents: these and a host of Afrites besieged Shibli Bagarag; and -now, to defend himself, he unloosed the twin Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, from the wrist of that hand which wielded the Sword of -Aklis, and these alternately interwound before and about him, and were -even as a glittering armour of emerald plates, warding from him the -assaults of the host; and lo! he flew, and the battle followed him over -blazing cities and lands on fire with the slanting hail of sparkles. - -By this time every soul in the City of Shagpat, kings and people, all -save Abarak and Noorna bin Noorka, were overcome and prostrate with their -faces to the ground; but Noorna watched the conflict eagerly, and saw the -head of Shagpat sprouting incessant fresh crops of hair, despite the -pertinacious shearing of her betrothed. Then she smote her hands, and -cried, 'Yea! though I lose my beauty and the love of my betrothed, I must -join in this, or he'll be lost.' So, saying to Abarak, 'Watch over me,' -she went into the air, and, as she passed Rabesqurat, was multiplied into -twenty damsels of loveliness. Then Abarak beheld a scorpion following -the twenty in mid-air, and darting stings among them. Noorna tossed a -ring, and it fell in a circle of flame round the scorpion. So, while the -scorpion was shooting in squares to escape from the circle, the fire- -beaked vulture flew to it, and fluttered a dense rain which swallowed the -flame, and the scorpion and vulture assailed Noorna, that was changed to -a golden hawk in the midst of nineteen other golden hawks. Now, as -Rabesqurat came scudding by, and saw the encounter, she made the twenty -hawks a hundred. The Genie Karaz howled at her, and pinioned her to a -pillar below in the Desert, with Shagpat in her arms. But, as he soared -aloft to renew the fight with Noorna, Shibli Bagarag loosed to her aid -the Slaves of the Sword, and Abarak marked him slope to a distant corner -of earth, and reascend in a cloud, which drew swiftly over the land -toward the Great Hall. Lo, Shibli Bagarag stepped from it through a -casement of the Hall, and with him Shagpat, a slack weight, mated out of -all power of motion. Koorookh swooped low, on his back Baba Mustapha, -and Shibli Bagarag flung Abarak beside him on the bird. Then Koorookh -whirred off with them; and while the heavens raged, Shibli Bagarag -prepared a rapid lather, and dashed it over Shagpat, and commenced -shearing him with lightning sweeps of the blade. 'Twas as a racing wheel -of fire to see him! Suddenly he desisted, and wiped the sweat from his -face. Then calling on the name of Allah, he gave a last keen cunning -sweep with the blade, and following that, the earth awfully quaked and -groaned, as if speaking in the abysmal tongue the Mastery of the Event to -all men. Aklis was revealed in burning beams as of a sun, and the -trouble of the air ceased, vapours slowly curling to the four quarters. -Shibli Bagarag had smitten clean through the Identical! Terribly had -Noorna and those that aided her been oppressed by the multitude of their -enemies; but, in a moment these melted away, and Karaz, together with the -scorpion that was Goorelka, vanished. Day was on the baldness of -Shagpat. - - - - - - -CONCLUSION - -So was shaved Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son -of Shullum, by Shibli Bagarag, of Shiraz, according to preordainment. - -The chronicles relate, that no sooner had he mastered the Event, than men -on the instant perceived what illusion had beguiled them, and, in the -words of the poet,-- - - The blush with which their folly they confess - Is the first prize of his supreme success. - -Even Bootlbac, the drum-beater, drummed in homage to him, and the four -Kings were they that were loudest in their revilings of the spouse of -Kadza, and most obsequious in praises of the Master. The King of the -City was fain to propitiate his people by a voluntary resignation of his -throne to Shibli Bagarag, and that King took well to heart the wisdom of -the sage, when he says: - - Power, on Illusion based, o'ertoppeth all; - The more disastrous is its certain fall! - -Surely Shibli Bagarag returned the Sword to the Sons of Aklis, flashing -it in midnight air, and they, with the others, did reverence to his -achievement. They were now released from the toil of sharpening the -Sword a half-cycle of years, to wander in delight on the fair surface of -the flowery earth, breathing its roses, wooing its brides; for the -mastery of an Event lasteth among men the space of one cycle of years, -and after that a fresh Illusion springeth to befool mankind, and the -Seven must expend the concluding half-cycle in preparing the edge of the -Sword for a new mastery. As the poet declareth in his scorn: - - Some doubt Eternity: from life begun, - Has folly ceased within them, sire to son? - So, ever fresh Illusions will arise - And lord creation, until men are wise. - -And he adds: - - That is a distant period; so prepare - To fight the false, O youths, and never spare! - For who would live in chronicles renowned - Must combat folly, or as fool be crowned. - -Now, for the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf, Shibli Bagarag entertained them -in honour; but the King of Oolb he disgraced and stripped of his robes, -to invest Baba Mustapha in those royal emblems--a punishment to the -treachery of the King of Oolb, as is said by Aboo Eznol: - - When nations with opposing forces, rash, - Shatter each other, thou that wouldst have stood - Apart to profit by the monstrous feud, - Thou art the surest victim of the crash. - - Take colours of whichever side thou wilt, - And stedfastly thyself in battle range; - Yet, having taken, shouldst thou dare to change, - Suspicion hunts thee as a thing of guilt. - -Baba Mustapha, was pronounced Sovereign of Oolb, amid the acclamations of -the guard encamped under the command of Ravaloke, without the walls. - -No less did Shibli Bagarag honour the benefactor of Noorna, making him -chief of his armies; and he, with his own hand, bestowed on the good old -warrior the dress of honour presented to him by the Seven Sons, -charactered with all the mysteries of Aklis, a marvel lost to men in the -failure to master the Illusion now dominating earth. - -So, then, of all that had worshipped Shagpat, only Kadza clung to him, -and she departed with him into the realms of Rabesqurat, who reigned -there, divided against herself by the stroke of the Sword. The Queen is -no longer mighty, for the widening of her power has weakened it, she -being now the mistress of the single-thoughted, and them that follow one -idea to the exclusion of a second. The failure in the unveiling of her -last-cherished Illusion was in the succumbing frailty of him that -undertook the task, the world and its wise men having come to the belief -that in thwackings there was ignominy to the soul of man, and a tarnish -on the lustre of heroes. On that score, hear the words of the poet, a -vain protest: - - Ye that nourish hopes of fame! - Ye who would be known in song! - Ponder old history, and duly frame - Your souls to meek acceptance of the thong. - - Lo! of hundreds who aspire, - Eighties perish-nineties tire! - They who bear up, in spite of wrecks and wracks, - Were season 'd by celestial hail of thwacks. - - Fortune in this mortal race - Builds on thwackings for its base; - Thus the All-Wise doth make a flail a staff, - And separates his heavenly corn from chaff. - - Think ye, had he never known - Noorna a belabouring crone, - Shibli Bagarag would have shaved Shagpat - The unthwack'd lives in chronicle a rat! - - 'Tis the thwacking in this den - Maketh lions of true men! - So are we nerved to break the clinging mesh - Which tames the noblest efforts of poor flesh. - -Feshnavat became the Master's Vizier, and Abarak remained at the right -hand of Shibli Bagarag, his slave in great adventure. No other condition -than bondage gave peace to Abarak. He was of the class enumerated by the -sage: - - Who, with the strength of giants, are but tools, - The weighty hands which serve selected fools. - -Now, this was how it was in the case of Baba Mustapha, and the four -Kings, and Feshnavat, and Abarak, and Ravaloke, and Kadza, together with -Shagpat; but, in the case of Noorna bin Noorka, surely she was withering -from a sting of the scorpion shot against her bosom, but the Seven Sons -of Aklis gave her a pass into Aklis on the wings of Koorookh, and -Gulrevaz, the daughter of Aklis, tended her, she that was alone capable -of restoring her, and counteracting the malice of the scorpion by the -hand of purity. So Noorna, prospered; but Shibli Bagarag drooped in -uncertainty of her state, and was as a reaper in a field of harvest, -around whom lie the yellow sheaves, and the brown beam of autumn on his -head, the blaze of plenty; yet is he joyless and stands musing, for one -is away who should be there, and without whom the goblet of Success -giveth an unsweetened draught, and there is nothing pleasant in life, and -the flower on the summit of achievement is blighted. At last, as he was -listlessly dispensing justice in the Great Hall, seven days after the -mastery of the Event, lo, Noorna, in air, borne by Gulrevaz, she fair and -fresh in the revival of health and beauty, and the light of constant -love. Of her entry into the Great Hall, to the -embrace of her betrothed, the poet exclaims, picturing her in a rapture: - - Her march is music, and my soul obeys - Each motion, as a lute to cunning fingers - I see the earth throb for her as she sways - Wave-like in air, and like a great flower lingers - Heavily over all, as loath to leave - What loves her so, and for her loss would grieve. - - But oh, what other hand than heaven's can paint - Her eyes, and that black bow from which their lightning - Pierces afar! long lustrous eyes, that faint - In languor, or with stormy passion brightening: - Within them world in world lights up from sleep, - And gives a glimpse of the eternal deep. - - Sigh round her, odorous winds; and, envious rose, - So vainly envious, with such blushes gifted, - Bow to her; die, strangled with jealous throes, - O Bulbul! when she sings with brow uplifted; - Gather her, happy youth, and for thy gain - Thank Him who could such loveliness ordain. - -Surely the Master of the Event advanced to her in the glory of a Sultan, -and seated her beside him in majesty, and their contract of marriage was -read aloud in the Hall, and witnessed, and sealed: joyful was he! Then -commenced that festival which lasted forty days, and is termed the -Festival of the honours of hospitality to the Sons of Aldis, wherein the -head-cook of the palace, Uruish, performed wonders in his science, and -menaced the renown of Zrmack, the head-cook of King Shamshureen. Even so -the confectioner, Dob, excelled himself in devices and inventions, and -his genius urged him to depict in sugars and pastes the entire adventures -of Shibli Bagarag in search of the Sword. Honour we Uruish and Do-b! as -the poet sayeth: - - Divide not this fraternal twain; - One are they, and one should for ever remain: - As to sweet close in fine music we look, - So the Confectioner follows the Cook. - -And one of the Sons of Aklis, Zaragal, beholding this masterpiece of Dob, -which was served to the guests in the Great Hall on the fortieth evening, -was fair to exclaim in extemporaneous verse: - - Have I been wafted to a rise - Of banquet spread in Paradise, - Dower'd with consuming powers divine;-- - That I, who have not fail'd to dine, - And greatly, - Fall thus upon the cater and wine - Sedately? - -So there was feasting in the Hall, and in the City, and over Earth; great -pledging the Sovereign of Barbers, who had mastered an Event, and become -the benefactor of his craft and of his kind. 'Tis certain the race of -the Bagarags endured for many centuries, and his seed were the rulers of -men, and the seal of their empire stamped on mighty wax the Tackle of -Barbers. - -Now, of the promise made by the Sons of Aklis to visit Shibli Bagarag -before their compulsory return to the labour of the Sword, and recount to -him the marvel of their antecedent adventures; and of the love and grief -nourished in the souls of men by the beauty and sorrowful eyes of -Gulrevaz, that was mined the Bleeding Lily, and of her engagement to tell -her story, on condition of receiving the first-born of Noorna to nurse -for a season in Aklis; and of Shibli Bagarag's restoration of towns and -monuments destroyed by his battle with Karaz; and of the constancy of -passion of Shibli Bagarag for Noorna, and his esteem for her sweetness, -and his reverence for her wisdom; and of the glory of his reign, and of -the Songs and Sentences of Noorna, and of his Laws for the protection and -upholding of women, in honour of Noorna, concerning which the Sage has -said: - - Were men once clad in them, we should create - A race not following, but commanding, fate: - ---of all these records, and of the reign of Baba Mustapha in Oolb, surely -the chronicles give them in fulness; and they that have searched say of -them, there is matter therein for the amusement of generations. - - - - -ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: - -A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth -Every failure is a step advanced -Failures oft are but advising friends -Like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth -More culpable the sparer than the spared -Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends -Too often hangs the house on one loose stone - - - - -End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat, v4 -by George Meredith - - - - - - -ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS, SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE: - -A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth -Arm'd with Fear the Foe finds passage to the vital part -Delay in thine undertaking Is disaster of thy own making -Every failure is a step advanced -Failures oft are but advising friends -Fear nought so much as Fear itself -How little a thing serves Fortune's turn -If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! -Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! -Like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth -More culpable the sparer than the spared -No runner can outstrip his fate -Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal -Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends -Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale -The curse of sorrow is comparison! -The king without his crown hath a forehead like the clown -The overwise themselves hoodwink -'Tis the first step that makes a path -Too often hangs the house on one loose stone -Vanity maketh the strongest most weak -When to loquacious fools with patience rare I listen -Where fools are the fathers of every miracle -Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue - - - - -End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of The Shaving of Shagpat, entire -by George Meredith - diff --git a/old/gm11v10.zip b/old/gm11v10.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f819259..0000000 --- a/old/gm11v10.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/old-2025-02-21/4405-0.txt b/old/old-2025-02-21/4405-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 764855d..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-02-21/4405-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9795 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete, by George Meredith - -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: The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete - -Author: George Meredith - -Release Date: October 13, 2006 [EBook #4405] -Last Updated: February 26, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - - - - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -By George Meredith - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - - -1898/1909 - - - - CONTENTS: - - THE THWACKINGS - THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - THE BETROTHAL - PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE BUILDER - THE GENIE KARAZ - THE WELL OF PARAVID - THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - THE TALKING HAWK - GOORELKA OF OOLB - THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE PRINCESS OF OOLB - THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - THE PALACE OF AKLIS - THE SONS OF AKLIS - THE SWORD OF AKLIS - KOOROOKH - THE VEILED FIGURE - THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - THE REVIVAL - THE PLOT - THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - CONCLUSION - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -BOOK I. - -THE THWACKINGS -THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - - - - -THE THWACKINGS - -It was ordained that Shibli Bagarag, nephew to the renowned Baba -Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia, should shave Shagpat, the -son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and they had -been clothiers for generations, even to the time of Shagpat, the -illustrious. - -Now, the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the -subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, -and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he -released, and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and -bottled by her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of -men and traced in their corner-robes? As the poet says: - - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale, - But 'tis of the sort that can never grow stale. - -Now, things were in that condition with Shibli Bagarag, that on a certain -day he was hungry and abject, and the city of Shagpat the clothier was -before him; so he made toward it, deliberating as to how he should -procure a meal, for he had not a dirhem in his girdle, and the -remembrance of great dishes and savoury ingredients were to him as the -illusion of rivers sheening on the sands to travellers gasping with -thirst. - -And he considered his case, crying, 'Surely this comes of wandering, and -'tis the curse of the inquiring spirit! for in Shiraz, where my craft is -in favour, I should be sitting now with my uncle, Baba Mustapha, the -loquacious one, cross-legged, partaking of seasoned sweet dishes, dipping -my fingers in them, rejoicing my soul with scandal of the Court!' - -Now, he came to a knoll of sand under a palm, from which the yellow domes -and mosques of the city of Shagpat, and its black cypresses, and marble -palace fronts, and shining pillars, and lofty carven arches that spanned -half-circles of the hot grey sky, were plainly visible. Then gazed he -awhile despondingly on the city of Shagpat, and groaned in contemplation -of his evil plight, as is said by the poet: - - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - As the sun casteth shade, night showeth star, - We, measuring what we were by what we are, - Behold the depth to which we are undone. - -Wherefore he counselleth: - - Look neither too much up, nor down at all, - But, forward stepping, strive no more to fall. - -And the advice is excellent; but, as is again said: - - The preacher preacheth, and the hearer heareth, - But comfort first each function requireth. - -And 'wisdom to a hungry stomach is thin pottage,' saith the shrewd reader -of men. Little comfort was there with Shibli Bagarag, as he looked on the -city of Shagpat the clothier! He cried aloud that his evil chance had got -the better of him, and rolled his body in the sand, beating his breast, -and conjuring up images of the profusion of dainties and the abundance of -provision in Shiraz, exclaiming, 'Well-a-way and woe's me! this it is to -be selected for the diversion of him that plotteth against man.' Truly is -it written: - - On different heads misfortunes come: - One bears them firm, another faints, - While this one hangs them like a drum - Whereon to batter loud complaints. - -And of the three kinds, they who bang the drum outnumber the silent ones -as do the billows of the sea the ships that swim, or the grains of sand -the trees that grow; a noisy multitude. - -Now, he was in the pits of despondency, even as one that yieldeth without -further struggle to the waves of tempest at midnight, when he was ware of -one standing over him,--a woman, old, wrinkled, a very crone, with but -room for the drawing of a thread between her nose and her chin; she was, -as is cited of them who betray the doings of Time, - - Wrinkled at the rind, and overripe at the core, - -and every part of her nodded and shook like a tree sapped by the waters, -and her joints were sharp as the hind-legs of a grasshopper; she was -indeed one close-wrecked upon the rocks of Time. - -Now, when the old woman had scanned Shibli Bagarag, she called to him, 'O -thou! what is it with thee, that thou rollest as one reft of his wits?' - -He answered her, 'I bewail my condition, which is beggary, and the lack -of that which filleth with pleasantness.' - -So the old woman said, 'Tell me thy case.' - -He answered her, 'O old woman, surely it was written at my birth that I -should take ruin from the readers of planets. Now, they proclaimed that I -was one day destined for great things, if I stood by my tackle, I, a -barber. Know then, that I have had many offers and bribes, seductive -ones, from the rich and the exalted in rank; and I heeded them not, -mindful of what was foretold of me. I stood by my tackle as a warrior -standeth by his arms, flourishing them. Now, when I found great things -came not to me, and 'twas the continuance of sameness and satiety with -Baba Mustapha, my uncle, in Shiraz,--the tongue-wagger, the endless -tattler,--surely I was advised by the words of the poet to go forth in -search of what was wanting, and he says: - - “Thou that dreamest an Event, - While Circumstance is but a waste of sand, - Arise, take up thy fortunes in thy hand, - And daily forward pitch thy tent.” - -Now, I passed from city to city, proclaiming my science, holding aloft my -tackle. Wullahy! many adventures were mine, and if there's some day -propitiousness in fortune, O old woman, I'll tell thee of what befell me -in the kingdom of Shah Shamshureen: 'tis wondrous, a matter to draw down -the lower jaw with amazement! Now, so it was, that in the eyes of one -city I was honoured and in request, by reason of my calling, and I fared -sumptuously, even as a great officer of state surrounded by slaves, -lounging upon clouds of silk stuffs, circled by attentive ears: in -another city there was no beast so base as I. Wah! I was one hunted of -men and an abomination; no housing for me, nought to operate upon. I was -the lean dog that lieth in wait for offal. It seemeth certain, O old -woman, that a curse hath fallen on barbercraft in these days, because of -the Identical, whose might I know not. Everywhere it is growing in -disrepute; 'tis languishing! Nevertheless till now I have preserved my -tackle, and I would descend on yonder city to exercise it, even for a -livelihood, forgetting awhile great things, but that I dread men may have -changed there also,--and there's no stability in them, I call Allah -(whose name be praised!) to witness; so should I be a thing unsightly, -subject to hateful castigation; wherefore is it that I am in that state -described by the poet, when, - - “Dreading retreat, dreading advance to make, - Round we revolve, like to the wounded snake.” - -Is not my case now a piteous one, one that toucheth the tender corner in -man and woman?' - -When she that listened had heard him to an end, she shook her garments, -crying, 'O youth, son of my uncle, be comforted! for, if it is as I -think, the readers of planets were right, and thou art thus early within -reach of great things--nigh grasping them.' - -Then she fell to mumbling and reciting jigs of verse, quaint measures; -and she pored along the sand to where a line had been drawn, and saw that -the footprints of the youth were traced along it. Lo, at that sight she -clapped her hands joyfully, and ran up to the youth, and peered in his -face, exclaiming, 'Great things indeed! and praise thou the readers of -planets, O nephew of the barber, they that sent thee searching the Event -thou art to master. Wullahy! have I not half a mind to call thee already -Master of the Event?' - -Then she abated somewhat in her liveliness, and said to him, 'Know that -the city thou seest is the city of Shagpat, the clothier, and there's no -one living on the face of earth, nor a soul that requireth thy craft more -than he. Go therefore thou, bold of heart, brisk, full of the -sprightliness of the barber, and enter to him. Lo, thou'lt see him -lolling in his shop-front to be admired of this people--marvelled at. Oh! -no mistaking of Shagpat, and the mole might discern Shagpat among myriads -of our kind; and enter thou to him gaily, as to perform a friendly -office, one meriting thanks and gratulations, saying, ''I will preserve -thee the Identical!'' Now he'll at first feign not to understand thee, -dense of wit that he is! but mince not matters with him, perform well thy -operation, and thou wilt come to great things. What say I? 'tis certain -that when thou hast shaved Shagpat thou wilt have achieved the greatest -of things, and be most noteworthy of thy race, thou, Shibli Bagarag, even -thou! and thou wilt be Master of the Event, so named in anecdotes and -histories and records, to all succeeding generations.' - -At her words the breast of Shibli Bagarag took in a great wind, and he -hung his head a moment to ponder them; and he thought, 'There's -provokingness in the speech of this old woman, and she's one that -instigateth keenly. She called me by my name! Heard I that? 'Tis a -mystery!' And he thought, 'Peradventure she is a Genie, one of an ill -tribe, and she's luring me to my perdition in this city! How if that be -so?' And again he thought, 'It cannot be! She's probably the Genie that -presided over my birth, and promised me dower of great things through the -mouths of the readers of planets.' - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had so deliberated, he lifted his sight, and lo, -the old woman was no longer before him! He stared, and rubbed his eyes, -but she was clean gone. Then ran he to the knolls and eminences that were -scattered about, to command a view, but she was nowhere visible. So he -thought, ''Twas a dream!' and he was composing himself to despair upon -the scant herbage of one of those knolls, when as he chanced to gaze down -the city below, he saw there a commotion and a crowd of people flocking -one way; he thought, ''Twas surely no dream? come not Genii, and go they -not, in the fashion of that old woman? I'll even descend on yonder city, -and try my tackle on Shagpat, inquiring for him, and if he is there, I -shall know I have had to do with a potent spirit. Allah protect me!' - -So, having shut together the clasps of resolve, he arose and made for the -gates of the city, and entered it by the principal entrance. It was a -fair city, the fairest and chief of that country; prosperous, powerful; a -mart for numerous commodities, handicrafts, wares; round it a wild -country and a waste of sand, ruled by the lion in his wrath, and in it -the tiger, the camelopard, the antelope, and other animals. Hither, in -caravans, came the people of Oolb and the people of Damascus, and the -people of Vatz, and they of Bagdad, and the Ringheez, great traders, and -others, trading; and there was constant flow of intercourse between them -and the city of Shagpat. Now as Shibli Bagarag paced up one of the -streets of the city, he beheld a multitude in procession following one -that was crowned after the manner of kings, with a glittering crown, clad -in the yellow girdled robes, and he sporting a fine profusion of hair, -unequalled by all around him, save by one that was a little behind, -shadowed by his presence. So Shibli Bagarag thought, 'Is one of this -twain Shagpat? for never till now have I seen such rare growths, and -'twere indeed a bliss to slip the blade between them and those masses of -darkness that hang from them.' Then he stepped before the King, and made -himself prominent in his path, humbling himself; and it was as he -anticipated, the King prevented his removal by the slaves that would have -dragged him away, and desired a hearing as to his business, and what -brought him to the city, a stranger. - -Thereupon Shibli Bagarag prostrated himself and cried, 'O great King, -Sovereign of the Time! surely I am one to be looked on with the eye of -grace; and I am nephew to Baba Mustapha, renowned in Shiraz, a barber;--I -a barber, and it is my prayer, O King of the Age, that thou take me under -thy protection and the shield of thy fair will, while I perform good work -in this city by operating on the unshorn.' - -When he had spoken, the King made a point of his eyebrows, and exclaimed, -'Shiraz? So they hold out against Shagpat yet, aha? Shiraz! that nest of -them! that reptile's nest!' Then he turned to his Vizier beside him, and -said, 'What shall be done with this fellow?' - -So the Vizier replied, ''Twere well, O King, he be summoned to a sense of -the loathsomeness of his craft by the agency of fifty stripes.' - -The King said, ''Tis commanded!' - -Then he passed forward in his majesty, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him, and he was hurried at a quick pace through -the streets and before the eyes of the people, even to the common -receptacle of felons, and there received from each slave severally ten -thwacks with a thong: 'tis certain that at every thwack the thong took an -airing before it descended upon him. Then loosed they him, to wander -whither he listed; and disgust was strong in him by reason of the -disgrace and the severity of the administration of the blows. He strayed -along the streets in wretchedness, and hunger increased on him, assailing -him first as a wolf in his vitals, then as it had been a chasm yawning -betwixt his trunk and his lower members. And he thought, 'I have been -long in chase of great things, and the hope of attaining them is great; -yet, wullahy! would I barter all for one refreshing meal, and the sense -of fulness. 'Tis so, and sad is it!' And he was mindful of the poet's -words,-- - - Who seeks the shadow to the substance sinneth, - And daily craving what is not, he thinneth: - His lean ambition how shall he attain? - For with this constant foolishness he doeth, - He, waxing liker to what he pursueth, - Himself becometh what he chased in vain! - -And again: - - Of honour half my fellows boast,-- - A thing that scorns and kills us: - Methinks that honours us the most - Which nourishes and fills us. - -So he thought he would of a surety fling far away his tackle, discard -barbercraft, and be as other men, a mortal, forgotten with his -generation. And he cried aloud, 'O thou old woman! thou deceiver! what -halt thou obtained for me by thy deceits? and why put I faith in thee to -the purchase of a thwacking? Woe's me! I would thou hadst been but a -dream, thou crone! thou guileful parcel of belabouring bones!' - -Now, while he lounged and strolled, and was abusing the old woman, he -looked before him, and lo, one lolling in his shop-front, and people -standing outside the shop, marking him with admiration and reverence, and -pointing him out to each other with approving gestures. He who lolled -there was indeed a miracle of hairiness, black with hair as he had been -muzzled with it, and his head as it were a berry in a bush by reason of -it. Then thought Shibli Bagarag, ''Tis Shagpat! If the mole could swear -to him, surely can I.' So he regarded the clothier, and there was naught -seen on earth like the gravity of Shagpat as he lolled before those -people, that failed not to assemble in groups and gaze at him. He was as -a sleepy lion cased in his mane; as an owl drowsy in the daylight. Now -would he close an eye, or move two fingers, but of other motion made he -none, yet the people gazed at him with eagerness. Shibli Bagarag was -astonished at them, thinking, 'Hair! hair! There is might in hair; but -there is greater might in the barber! Nevertheless here the barber is -scorned, the grower of crops held in amazing reverence.' Then thought he, -''Tis truly wondrous the crop he groweth; not even King Shamshureen, -after a thousand years, sported such mighty profusion! Him I sheared: it -was a high task!--why not this Shagpat?' - -Now, long gazing on Shagpat awoke in Shibli Bagarag fierce desire to -shear him, and it was scarce in his power to restrain himself from flying -at the clothier, he saying, 'What obstacle now? what protecteth him? Nay, -why not trust to the old woman? Said she not I should first essay on -Shagpat? and 'twas my folly in appealing to the King that brought on me -that thwacking. 'Tis well! I'll trust to her words. Wullahy! will it not -lead me to great things?' - -So it was, that as he thought this he continued to keep eye on Shagpat, -and the hunger that was in him passed, and became a ravenous vulture that -flew from him and singled forth Shagpat as prey; and there was no help -for it but in he must go and state his case to Shagpat, and essay -shearing him. - -Now, when he was in the presence, he exclaimed, 'Peace, O vendor of -apparel, unto thee and unto thine!' - -Shagpat answered, 'That with thee!' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'I have heard of thee, O thou wonder! Wullahy! I am -here to render homage to that I behold.' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis well!' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'Praise my discretion! I have even this day -entered the city, and it is to thee I offer the first shave, O tangle of -glory!' - -At these words Shagpat darkened, saying gruffly, 'Thy jest is offensive, -and it is unseasonable for staleness and lack of holiness.' - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'No jest, O purveyor to the outward of us! but -a very excellent earnest.' - -Thereat the face of Shagpat was as an exceeding red berry in a bush, and -he said angrily, 'Have done! no more of it! or haply my spleen will be -awakened, and that of them who see with more eyes than two.' - -Nevertheless Shibli Bagarag urged him, and he winked, and gesticulated, -and pointed to his head, crying, 'Fall not, O man of the nicety of -measure, into the trap of error; for 'tis I that am a barber, and a -rarity in this city, even Shibli Bagarag of Shiraz! Know me nephew of the -renowned Baba Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia. Languishest -thou not for my art? Lo! with three sweeps I'll give thee a clean poll, -all save the Identical! and I can discern and save it; fear me not, nor -distrust my skill and the cunning that is mine.' - -When he had heard Shibli Bagarag to a close, the countenance of Shagpat -waxed fiery, as it had been flame kindled by travellers at night in a -thorny bramble-bush, and he ruffled, and heaved, and was as when dense -jungle-growths are stirred violently by the near approach of a wild -animal in his fury, shouting in short breaths, 'A barber! a barber! Is't -so? can it be? To me? A barber! O thou, thou reptile! filthy thing! A -barber! O dog! A barber? What? when I bid fair for the highest honours -known? O sacrilegious wretch! monster! How? are the Afrites jealous, that -they send thee to jibe me?' - -Thereupon he set up a cry for his wife, and that woman rushed to him from -an inner room, and fell upon Shibli Bagarag, belabouring him. - -So, when she was weary of this, she said, 'O light of my eyes! O golden -crop and adorable man! what hath he done to thee?' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis a barber! and he hath sworn to shave me, and -leave me not save shorn!' - -Hardly had Shagpat spoken this, when she became limp with the hearing of -it. Then Shibli Bagarag slunk from the shop; but without the crowd had -increased, seeing an altercation, and as he took to his heels they -followed him, and there was uproar in the streets of the city and in the -air above them, as of raging Genii, he like a started quarry doubling -this way and that, and at the corners of streets and open places, -speeding on till there was no breath in his body, the cry still after him -that he had bearded Shagpat. At last they came up with him, and -belaboured him each and all; it was a storm of thwacks that fell on the -back of Shibli Bagarag. When they had wearied themselves in this fashion, -they took him as had he been a stray bundle or a damaged bale, and hurled -him from the gates of the city into the wilderness once more. - -Now, when he was alone, he staggered awhile and then flung himself to the -earth, looking neither to the right nor to the left, nor above. All he -could think was, 'O accursed old woman!' and this he kept repeating to -himself for solace; as the poet says: - - 'Tis sure the special privilege of hate, - To curse the authors of our evil state. - -As he was thus complaining, behold the very old woman before him! And she -wheezed, and croaked, and coughed, and shook herself, and screwed her -face into a pleasing pucker, and assumed womanish airs, and swayed -herself, like as do the full moons of the harem when the eye of the -master is upon them. Having made an end of these prettinesses, she said, -in a tone of soft insinuation, 'O youth, nephew of the barber, look upon -me.' - -Shibli Bagarag knew her voice, and he would not look, thinking, 'Oh, what -a dreadful old woman is this! just calling on her name in detestation -maketh her present to us.' So the old woman, seeing him resolute to shun -her, leaned to him, and put one hand to her dress, and squatted beside -him, and said, 'O youth, thou hast been thwacked!' - -He groaned, lifting not his face, nor saying aught. Then said she, 'Art -thou truly in search of great things, O youth?' - -Still he groaned, answering no syllable. And she continued, ''Tis surely -in sweet friendliness I ask. Art thou not a fair youth, one to entice a -damsel to perfect friendliness?' - -Louder yet did he groan at her words, thinking, 'A damsel, verily!' So -the old woman said, 'I wot thou art angry with me; but now look up, O -nephew of the barber! no time for vexation. What says the poet?-- - - “Cares the warrior for his wounds - When the steed in battle bounds?” - -Moreover: - - “Let him who grasps the crown strip not for shame, - Lest he expose what gain'd it blow and maim!” - -So be it with thee and thy thwacking, O foolish youth! Hide it from -thyself, thou silly one! What! thou hast been thwacked, and refusest the -fruit of it--which is resoluteness, strength of mind, sternness in -pursuit of the object!' - -Then she softened her tone to persuasiveness, saying, ''Twas written I -should be the head of thy fortune, O Shibli Bagarag! and thou'lt be -enviable among men by my aid, so look upon me, and (for I know thee -famished) thou shah presently be supplied with viands and bright wines -and sweetmeats, delicacies to cheer thee.' - -Now, the promise of food and provision was powerful with Shibli Bagarag, -and he looked up gloomily. And the old woman smiled archly at him, and -wriggled in her seat like a dusty worm, and said, 'Dost thou find me -charming, thou fair youth?' - -He was nigh laughing in her face, but restrained himself to reply, 'Thou -art that thou art!' - -Said she, 'Not so, but that I shall be.' Then she said, 'O youth, pay me -now a compliment!' - -Shibli Bagarag was at a loss what further to say to the old woman, for -his heart cursed her for her persecutions, and ridiculed her for her -vanities. At last he bethought himself of the saying of the poet, truly -the offspring of fine wit, where he says: - - Expect no flatteries from me, - While I am empty of good things; - I'll call thee fair, and I'll agree - Thou boldest Love in silken strings, - When thou bast primed me from thy plenteous store! - But, oh! till then a clod am I: - No seed within to throw up flowers: - All's drouthy to the fountain dry: - To empty stomachs Nature lowers: - The lake was full where heaven look'd fair of yore! - -So, when he had spoken that, the old woman laughed and exclaimed, 'Thou -art apt! it is well said! Surely I excuse thee till that time! Now -listen! 'Tis written we work together, and I know it by divination. Have -I not known thee wandering, and on thy way to this city of Shagpat, where -thou'lt some day sit throned? Now I propose to thee this--and 'tis an -excellent proposal--that I lead thee to great things, and make thee -glorious, a sitter in high seats, Master of an Event?' - -Cried he, 'A proposal honourable to thee, and pleasant in the ear.' - -She added, 'Provided thou marry me in sweet marriage.' - -Thereat he stared on vacancy with a serious eye, and he could scarce -credit her earnestness, but she repeated the same. So presently he -thought, 'This old hag appeareth deep in the fountain of events, and she -will be a right arm to me in the mastering of one, a torch in darkness, -seeing there is wisdom in her as well as wickedness. The thwackings?--sad -was their taste, but they're in the road leading to greatness, and I -cannot say she put me out of that road in putting me where they were. Her -age?--shall I complain of that when it is a sign she goeth shortly -altogether?' - -As he was thus debating he regarded the old woman stealthily, and she was -in agitation, so that her joints creaked like forest branches in a wind, -and the puckers of her visage moved as do billows of the sea to and fro, -and the anticipations of a fair young bride are not more eager than what -was visible in the old woman. Wheedlingly she looked at him, and shaped -her mouth like a bird's bill to soften it; and she drew together her -dress, to give herself the look of slimness, using all fascinations. He -thought, ''Tis a wondrous old woman! Marriage would seem a thing of -moment to her, yet is the profit with me, and I'll agree to it.' So he -said, ''Tis a pact between us, O old woman!' - -Now, the eyes of the old woman brightened when she heard him, and were as -the eyes of a falcon that eyeth game, hungry with red fire, and she -looked brisk with impatience, laughing a low laugh and saying, 'O youth, -I must claim of thee, as is usual in such cases, the kiss of contract.' - -So Shibli Bagarag was mindful of what is written, - - If thou wouldst take the great leap, be ready for the little jump, - -and he stretched out his mouth to the forehead of the old woman. When he -had done so, it was as though she had been illuminated, as when light is -put in the hollow of a pumpkin. Then said she, 'This is well! this is a -fair beginning! Now look, for thy fortune will of a surety follow. Call -me now sweet bride, and knocker at the threshold of hearts!' - -So Shibli Bagarag sighed, and called her this, and he said, 'Forget not -my condition, O old woman, and that I am nigh famished.' - -Upon that she nodded gravely, and arose and shook her garments together, -and beckoned for Shibli Bagarag to follow her; and the two passed through -the gates of the city, and held on together through divers streets and -thoroughfares till they came before the doors of a palace with a pillared -entrance; and the old woman passed through the doors of the palace as one -familiar to them, and lo! they were in a lofty court, built all of -marble, and in the middle of it a fountain playing, splashing silvery. -Shibli Bagarag would have halted here to breathe the cool refreshingness -of the air, but the old woman would not; and she hurried on even to the -opening of a spacious Hall, and in it slaves in circle round a raised -seat, where sat one that was their lord, and it was the Chief Vizier of -the King. - -Then the old woman turned round sharply to Shibli Bagarag, and said, 'How -of thy tackle, O my betrothed?' - -He answered, 'The edge is keen, the hand ready.' - -Then said she, ''Tis well.' - -So the old woman put her two hands on the shoulders of Shibli Bagarag, -saying, 'Make thy reverence to him on the raised seat; have faith in thy -tackle and in me. Renounce not either, whatsoever ensueth. Be not -abashed, O my bridegroom to be!' - -Thereupon she thrust him in; and Shibli Bagarag was abashed, and played -foolishly with his fingers, knowing not what to do. So when the Chief -Vizier saw him he cried out, 'Who art thou, and what wantest thou?' - -Now, the back of Shibli Bagarag tingled when he heard the Vizier's voice, -and he said, 'I am, O man of exalted condition, he whom men know as -Shibli Bagarag, nephew to Baba Mustapha, the renowned of Shiraz; myself -barber likewise, proud of my art, prepared to exercise it.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'This even to our faces! Wonderful is the -audacity of impudence! Know, O nephew of the barber, thou art among them -that honour not thy art. Is it not written, For one thing thou shaft be -crowned here, for that thing be thwacked there? So also it is written, -The tongue of the insolent one is a lash and a perpetual castigation to -him. And it is written, O Shibli Bagarag, that I reap honour from thee, -and there is no help but that thou be made an example of.' - -So the Chief Vizier uttered command, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him; and they seized him familiarly, and placed -him in position, and made ready his clothing for the reception of fifty -other thwacks with a thong, each several thwack coming down on him with a -hiss, as it were a serpent, and with a smack, as it were the mouth of -satisfaction; and the people assembled extolled the Chief Vizier, saying, -'Well and valiantly done, O stay of the State! and such-like to the -accursed race of barbers.' - -Now, when they had passed before the Chief Vizier and departed, lo! he -fell to laughing violently, so that his hair was agitated and was as a -sand-cloud over him, and his countenance behind it was as the sun of the -desert reflected ripplingly on the waters of a bubbling spring, for it -had the aspect of merriness; and the Chief Vizier exclaimed, 'O Shibli -Bagarag, have I not made fair show?' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'Excellent fair show, O mighty one!' Yet knew he -not in what, but he was abject by reason of the thwacks. - -So the Vizier said, 'Thou lookest lean, even as one to whom Fortune oweth -a long debt. Tell me now of thy barbercraft: perchance thy gain will be -great thereby?' - -And Shibli Bagarag answered, 'My gain has been great, O eminent in rank, -but of evil quality, and I am content not to increase it.' And he broke -forth into lamentations, crying in excellent verse:-- - - Why am I thus the sport of all-- - A thing Fate knocketh like a ball - From point to point of evil chance, - Even as the sneer of Circumstance? - While thirsting for the highest fame, - I hunger like the lowest beast: - To be the first of men I aim - And find myself the least. - -Now, the Vizier delayed not when he heard this to have a fair supply set -before Shibli Bagarag, and meats dressed in divers fashions, spiced, and -coloured, and with herbs, and wines in golden goblets, and slaves in -attendance. So Shibli Bagarag ate and drank, and presently his soul arose -from its prostration, and he cried, 'Wullahy! the head cook of King -Shamshureen could have worked no better as regards the restorative -process.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'O Shibli Bagarag, where now is thy tackle?' - -And Shibli Bagarag winked and nodded and turned his head in the manner of -the knowing ones, and he recited the verse: - - 'Tis well that we are sometimes circumspect, - And hold ourselves in witless ways deterred: - One thwacking made me seriously reflect; - A SECOND turned the cream of love to curd: - Most surely that profession I reject - Before the fear of a prospective THIRD. - -So the Vizier said, ''Tis well, thou turnest verse neatly' And he -exclaimed extemporaneously: - - If thou wouldst have thy achievement as high - - As the wings of Ambition can fly: - If thou the clear summit of hope wouldst attain, - And not have thy labour in vain; - Be steadfast in that which impell'd, for the peace - Of earth he who leaves must have trust: - He is safe while he soars, but when faith shall cease, - Desponding he drops to the dust. - -Then said he, 'Fear no further thwacking, but honour and prosperity in -the place of it. What says the poet?-- - - “We faint, when for the fire - There needs one spark; - We droop, when our desire - Is near its mark.” - -How near to it art thou, O Shibli Bagarag! Know, then, that among this -people there is great reverence for the growing of hair, and he that is -hairiest is honoured most, wherefore are barbers creatures of especial -abhorrence, and of a surety flourish not. And so it is that I owe my -station to the esteem I profess for the cultivation of hair, and to my -persecution of the clippers of it. And in this kingdom is no one that -beareth such a crop as I, saving one, a clothier, an accursed one!--and -may a blight fall upon him for his vanity and his affectation of solemn -priestliness, and his lolling in his shop-front to be admired and -marvelled at by the people. So this fellow I would disgrace and bring to -scorn,--this Shagpat! for he is mine enemy, and the eye of the King my -master is on him. Now I conceive thy assistance in this matter, Shibli -Bagarag,--thou, a barber.' - -When Shibli Bagarag heard mention of Shagpat, and the desire for -vengeance in the Vizier, he was as a new man, and he smelt the sweetness -of his own revenge as a vulture smelleth the carrion from afar, and he -said, 'I am thy servant, thy slave, O Vizier!' Then smiled he as to his -own soul, and he exclaimed, 'On my head be it!' - -And it was to him as when sudden gusts of perfume from garden roses of -the valley meet the traveller's nostril on the hill that overlooketh the -valley, filling him with ecstasy and newness of life, delicate visions. -And he cried, 'Wullahy! this is fair; this is well! I am he that was -appointed to do thy work, O man in office! What says the poet?-- - - “The destined hand doth strike the fated blow: - Surely the arrow's fitted to the bow!” - -And he says: - - “The feathered seed for the wind delayeth, - The wind above the garden swayeth, - The garden of its burden knoweth, - The burden falleth, sinketh, soweth.”' - -So the Vizier chuckled and nodded, saying, 'Right, right! aptly spoken, O -youth of favour! 'Tis even so, and there is wisdom in what is written: - - “Chance is a poor knave; - Its own sad slave; - Two meet that were to meet: - Life 's no cheat.”' - -Upon that he cried, 'First let us have with us the Eclipser of Reason, -and take counsel with her, as is my custom.' - -Now, the Vizier made signal to a slave in attendance, and the slave -departed from the Hall, and the Vizier led Shibli Bagarag into a closer -chamber, which had a smooth floor of inlaid silver and silken hangings, -the windows looking forth on the gardens of the palace and its fountains -and cool recesses of shade and temperate sweetness. While they sat there -conversing in this metre and that, measuring quotations, lo! the old -woman, the affianced of Shibli Bagarag--and she sumptuously arrayed, in -perfect queenliness, her head bound in a circlet of gems and gold, her -figure lustrous with a full robe of flowing crimson silk; and she wore -slippers embroidered with golden traceries, and round her waist a girdle -flashing with jewels, so that to look on she was as a long falling water -in the last bright slant of the sun. Her hair hung disarranged, and -spread in a scattered fashion off her shoulders; and she was younger by -many moons, her brow smooth where Shibli Bagarag had given the kiss of -contract, her hand soft and white where he had taken it. Shibli Bagarag -was smitten with astonishment at sight of her, and he thought, 'Surely -the aspect of this old woman would realise the story of Bhanavar the -Beautiful; and it is a story marvellous to think of; yet how great is the -likeness between Bhanavar and this old woman that groweth younger!' - -And he thought again, 'What if the story of Bhanavar be a true one; this -old woman such as she--no other?' - -So, while he considered her, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Is she not fair--my -daughter?' - -And the youth answered, 'She is, O Vizier, that she is!' - -But the Vizier cried, 'Nay, by Allah! she is that she will be.' And the -Vizier said, ''Tis she that is my daughter; tell me thy thought of her, -as thou thinkest it.' - -And Shibli Bagarag replied, 'O Vizier, my thought of her is, she seemeth -indeed as Bhanavar the Beautiful--no other.' - -Then the Vizier and the Eclipser of Reason exclaimed together, 'How of -Bhanavar and her story, O youth? We listen!' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned slightly on a cushion of a couch, and narrated -as followeth. - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - -Know that at the foot of a lofty mountain of the Caucasus there lieth a -deep blue lake; near to this lake a nest of serpents, wise and ancient. -Now, it was the habit of a damsel to pass by the lake early at morn, on -her way from the tents of her tribe to the pastures of the flocks. As she -pressed the white arch of her feet on the soft green-mossed grasses by -the shore of the lake she would let loose her hair, looking over into the -water, and bind the braid again round her temples and behind her ears, as -it had been in a lucent mirror: so doing she would laugh. Her laughter -was like the falls of water at moonrise; her loveliness like the very -moonrise; and she was stately as a palm-tree standing before the moon. - -This was Bhanavar the Beautiful. - -Now, the damsel was betrothed to the son of a neighbouring Emir, a youth -comely, well-fashioned, skilled with the bow, apt in all exercises; one -that sat his mare firm as the trained falcon that fixeth on the plunging -bull of the plains; fair and terrible in combat as the lightning that -strideth the rolling storm; and it is sung by the poet: - - When on his desert mare I see - My prince of men, - I think him then - As high above humanity - As he shines radiant over me. - - Lo! like a torrent he doth bound, - Breasting the shock - From rock to rock: - A pillar of storm, he shakes the ground, - - His turban on his temples wound. - - Match me for worth to be adored - A youth like him - In heart and limb! - Swift as his anger is his sword; - Softer than woman his true word. - -Now, the love of this youth for the damsel Bhanavar was a consuming -passion, and the father of the damsel and the father of the youth looked -fairly on the prospect of their union, which was near, and was plighted -as the union of the two tribes. So they met, and there was no voice -against their meeting, and all the love that was in them they were free -to pour forth far from the hearing of men, even where they would. Before -the rising of the sun, and ere his setting, the youth rode swiftly from -the green tents of the Emir his father, to waylay her by the waters of -the lake; and Bhanavar was there, bending over the lake, her image in the -lake glowing like the fair fulness of the moon; and the youth leaned to -her from his steed, and sang to her verses of her great loveliness ere -she was wistful of him. Then she turned to him, and laughed lightly a -welcome of sweetness, and shook the falls of her hair across the blushes -of her face and her bosom; and he folded her to him, and those two would -fondle together in the fashion of the betrothed ones (the blessing of -Allah be on them all!), gazing on each other till their eyes swam with -tears, and they were nigh swooning with the fulness of their bliss. -Surely 'twas an innocent and tender dalliance, and their prattle was that -of lovers till the time of parting, he showing her how she looked -best--she him; and they were forgetful of all else that is, in their -sweet interchange of flatteries; and the world was a wilderness to them -both when the youth parted with Bhanavar by the brook which bounded the -tents of her tribe. - -It was on a night when they were so together, the damsel leaning on his -arm, her eyes toward the lake, and lo! what seemed the reflection of a -large star in the water; and there was darkness in the sky above it, -thick clouds, and no sight of the heavens; so she held her face to him -sideways and said, 'What meaneth this, O my betrothed? for there is -reflected in yonder lake a light as of a star, and there is no star -visible this night.' - -The youth trembled as one in trouble of spirit, and exclaimed, 'Look not -on it, O my soul! It is of evil omen.' - -But Bhanavar kept her gaze constantly on the light, and the light -increased in lustre; and the light became, from a pale sad splendour, -dazzling in its brilliancy. Listening, they heard presently a gurgling -noise as of one deeply drinking. Then the youth sighed a heavy sigh and -said, 'This is the Serpent of the Lake drinking of its waters, as is her -wont once every moon, and whoso heareth her drink by the sheening of that -light is under a destiny dark and imminent; so know I my days are -numbered, and it was foretold of me, this!' Now the youth sought to -dissuade Bhanavar from gazing on the light, and he flung his whole body -before her eyes, and clasped her head upon his breast, and clung about -her, caressing her; yet she slipped from him, and she cried, 'Tell me of -this serpent, and of this light.' - -So he said, 'Seek not to hear of it, O my betrothed!' - -Then she gazed at the light a moment more intently, and turned her fair -shape toward him, and put up her long white fingers to his chin, and -smoothed him with their softness, whispering, 'Tell me of it, my life!' - -And so it was that her winningness melted him, and he said, 'Bhanavar! -the serpent is the Serpent of the Lake; old, wise, powerful; of the brood -of the sacred mountain, that lifteth by day a peak of gold, and by night -a point of solitary silver. In her head, upon her forehead, between her -eyes, there is a Jewel, and it is this light.' - -Then she said, 'How came the Jewel there, in such a place?' - -He answered, ''Tis the growth of one thousand years in the head of the -serpent.' - -She cried, 'Surely precious?' - -He answered, 'Beyond price!' - -As he spake the tears streamed from him, and he was shaken with grief, -but she noted nought of this, and watched the wonder of the light, and -its increasing, and quivering, and lengthening; and the light was as an -arrow of beams and as a globe of radiance. Desire for the Jewel waxed in -her, and she had no sight but for it alone, crying, ''Tis a Jewel -exceeding in preciousness all jewels that are, and for the possessing it -would I forfeit all that is.' - -So he said sorrowfully, 'Our love, O Bhanavar? and our hopes of -espousal?' - -But she cried, 'No question of that! Prove now thy passion for me, O -warrior! and win for me that Jewel.' - -Then he pleaded with her, and exclaimed, 'Urge not this! The winning of -the Jewel is worth my life; and my life, O Bhanavar--surely its breath is -but the love of thee.' - -So she said, 'Thou fearest a risk?' - -And he replied, 'Little fear I; my life is thine to cast away. This Jewel -it is evil to have, and evil followeth the soul that hath it.' - -Upon that she cried, 'A trick to cheat me of the Jewel! thy love is -wanting at the proof.' - -And she taunted the youth her betrothed, and turned from him, and -hardened at his tenderness, and made her sweet shape as a thorn to his -caressing, and his heart was charged with anguish for her. So at the -last, when he had wept a space in silence, he cried, 'Thou hast willed -it; the Jewel shall be thine, O my soul!' - -Then said he, 'Thou hast willed it, O Bhanavar! and my life is as a grain -of sand weighed against thy wishes; Allah is my witness! Meet me -therefore here, O my beloved, at the end of one quarter-moon, even -beneath the shadow of this palm-tree, by the lake, and at this hour, and -I will deliver into thy hands the Jewel. So farewell! Wind me once about -with thine arms, that I may take comfort from thee.' - -When their kiss was over the youth led her silently to the brook of their -parting--the clear, cold, bubbling brook--and passed from her sight; and -the damsel was exulting, and leapt and made circles in her glee, and she -danced and rioted and sang, and clapped her hands, crying, 'If I am now -Bhanavar the Beautiful how shall I be when that Jewel is upon me, the -bright light which beameth in the darkness, and needeth to light it no -other light? Surely there will be envy among the maidens and the widows, -and my name and the odour of my beauty will travel to the courts of far -kings.' - -So was she jubilant; and her sisters that met her marvelled at her and -the deep glow that was upon her, even as the glow of the Great Desert -when the sun has fallen; and they said among themselves, 'She is covered -all over with the blush of one that is a bride, and the bridegroom's kiss -yet burneth upon Bhanavar!' - -So they undressed her and she lay among them, and was all night even as a -bursting rose in a vase filled with drooping lilies; and one of the -maidens that put her hand on the left breast of Bhanavar felt it full, -and the heart beneath it panting and beating swifter than the ground is -struck by hooves of the chosen steed sent by the Chieftain to the city of -his people with news of victory and the summons for rejoicing. - -Now, the nights and the days of Bhanavar were even as this night, and she -was as an unquiet soul till the appointed time for the meeting with her -lover had come. Then when the sun was lighting with slant beam the green -grass slope by the blue brook before her, Bhanavar arrayed herself and -went forth gaily, as a martial queen to certain conquest; and of all the -flowers that nodded to the setting,--yea, the crimson, purple, pure -white, streaked-yellow, azure, and saffron, there was no flower fairer in -its hues than Bhanavar, nor bird of the heavens freer in its glittering -plumage, nor shape of loveliness such as hers. Truly, when she had taken -her place under the palm by the waters of the lake, that was no -exaggeration of the poet, where he says: - - Snows of the mountain-peaks were mirror'd there - Beneath her feet, not whiter than they were; - Not rosier in the white, that falling flush - Broad on the wave, than in her cheek the blush. - -And again: - - She draws the heavens down to her, - So rare she is, so fair she is; - They flutter with a crown to her, - And lighten only where she is. - -And he exclaims, in verse that applieth to her: - - Exquisite slenderness! - Sleek little antelope! - Serpent of sweetness! - Eagle that soaringly - Wins me adoringly! - Teach me thy fleetness, - Vision of loveliness; - Turn to my tenderness! - -Now, when the sun was lost to earth, and all was darkness, Bhanavar fixed -her eyes upon an opening arch of foliage in the glade through which the -youth her lover should come to her, and clasped both hands across her -bosom, so shaken was she with eager longing and expectation. In her -hunger for his approach, she would at whiles pluck up the herbage about -her by the roots, and toss handfuls this way and that, chiding the -peaceful song of the nightbird in the leaves above her head; and she was -sinking with fretfulness, when lo! from the opening arch of the glade a -sudden light, and Bhanavar knew it for the Jewel in the fingers of her -betrothed, by the strength of its effulgence. Then she called to him -joyfully a cry of welcome, and quickened his coming with her calls, and -the youth alighted from his mare and left it to pasture, and advanced to -her, holding aloft the Jewel. And the Jewel was of great size and purity, -round, and all-luminous, throwing rays and beams everywhere about it, a -miracle to behold,--the light in it shining, and as the very life of the -blood, a sweet crimson, a ruby, a softer rose, an amethyst of tender -hues: it was a full globe of splendours, showing like a very kingdom of -the Blest; and blessed was the eye beholding it! So when he was within -reach of her arm, the damsel sprang to him and caught from his hand the -Jewel, and held it before her eyes, and danced with it, and pressed it on -her bosom, and was as a creature giddy with great joy in possessing it. -And she put the Jewel in her bosom, and looked on the youth to thank him -for the Jewel with all her beauty; for the passion of a mighty pride in -him who had won for her the Jewel exalted Bhanavar, and she said sweetly, -'Now hast thou proved to me thy love of me, and I am thine, O my -betrothed,--wholly thine. Kiss me, then, and cease not kissing me, for -bliss is in me.' - -But the youth eyed her sorrowfully, even as one that hath great yearning, -and no power to move or speak. - -So she said again, in the low melody of deep love-tones, 'Kiss me, O my -lover! for I desire thy kiss.' - -Still he spake not, and was as a pillar of stone. - -And she started, and cried, 'Thou art whole? without a hurt?' Then sought -she to coax him to her with all the softness of her half-closed eyes and -budded lips, saying, ''Twas an idle fear! and I have thee, and thou art -mine, and I am thine; so speak to me, my lover! for there is no music -like the music of thy voice, and the absence of it is the absence of all -sweetness, and there is no pleasure in life without it.' - -So the tenderness of her fondling melted the silence in him, and -presently his tongue was loosed, and he breathed in pain of spirit, and -his words were the words of the proverb: - - He that fighteth with poison is no match for the prick of a thorn. - -And he said, 'Surely, O Bhanavar, my love for thee surpasseth what is -told of others that have loved before us, and I count no loss a loss that -is for thy sake.' And he sighed, and sang: - - Sadder than is the moon's lost light, - Lost ere the kindling of dawn, - To travellers journeying on, - - The shutting of thy fair face from my sight. - Might I look on thee in death, - With bliss I would yield my breath. - - Oh! what warrior dies - With heaven in his eyes? - O Bhanavar! too rich a prize! - The life of my nostrils art thou, - The balm-dew on my brow; - - Thou art the perfume I meet as I speed o'er the plains, - The strength of my arms, the blood of my veins. - -Then said he, 'I make nothing matter of complaint, Allah witnesseth! not -even the long parting from her I love. What will be, will be: so was it -written! 'Tis but a scratch, O my soul! yet am I of the dead and them -that are passed away. 'Tis hard; but I smile in the face of bitterness.' - -Now, at his words the damsel clutched him with both her hands, and the -blood went from her, and she was as a block of white marble, even as one -of those we meet in the desert, leaning together, marking the wrath of -the All-powerful on forgotten cities. And the tongue of the damsel was -dry, and she was without speech, gazing at him with wide-open eyes, like -one in trance. Then she started as a dreamer wakeneth, and flung herself -quickly on the breast of the youth, and put up the sleeve from his arm, -and beheld by the beams of the quarter-crescent that had risen through -the leaves, a small bite on the arm of the youth her betrothed, spotted -with seven spots of blood in a crescent; so she knew that the poison of -the serpent had entered by that bite; and she loosened herself to the -violence of her anguish, shrieking the shrieks of despair, so that the -voice of her lamentation was multiplied about and made many voices in the -night. Her spirit returned not to her till the crescent of the moon was -yellow to its fall; and lo! the youth was sighing heavy sighs and leaning -to the ground on one elbow, and she flung herself by him on the ground, -seeking for herbs that were antidotes to the poison of the serpent, -grovelling among the grasses and strewn leaves of the wood, peering at -them tearfully by the pale beams, and startling the insects as she moved. -When she had gathered some, she pressed them and bruised them, and laid -them along his lips, that were white as the ball of an eye; and she made -him drink drops of the juices of the herbs, wailing and swaying her body -across him, as one that seeketh vainly to give brightness again to the -flames of a dying fire. But now his time was drawing nigh, and he was -weak, and took her hand in his and gazed on her face, sighing, and said, -'There is nothing shall keep me by thee now, O my betrothed, my -beautiful! Weep not, for it is the doing of fate, and not thy doing. So -ere I go, and the grave-cloth separates thy heart from my heart, listen -to me. Lo, that Jewel! it is the giver of years and of powers, and of -loveliness beyond mortal, yet the wearing of it availeth not in the -pursuit of happiness. Now art thou Queen over the serpents of this lake: -it was the Queen-serpent I slew, and her vengeance is on me here. Now art -thou mighty, O Bhanavar! and look to do well by thy tribe, and that from -which I spring, recompensing my father for his loss, pouring ointment on -his affliction, for great is the grief of the old man, and he loveth me, -and is childless.' - -Then the youth fell back and was still; and Bhanavar put her ear to his -mouth, and heard what seemed an inner voice murmuring in him, and it was -of his infancy and his boyhood, and of his father the Emir's first gift -to him, his horse Zoora, in old times. Presently the youth revived -somewhat, and looked upon her; but his sight was glazed with a film, and -she sang her name to him ere he knew her, and the sad sweetness of her -name filled his soul, and he replied to her with it weakly, like a far -echo that groweth fainter, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' Then a change -came over him, and the pain of the poison and the passion of the -death-throe, and he was wistful of her no more; but she lay by him, -embracing him, and in the last violence of his anguish he hugged her to -his breast. Then it was over, and he sank. And the twain were as a great -wave heaving upon the shore; lo, part is wasted where it falleth; part -draweth back into the waters. So was it! - -Now the chill of dawn breathed blue on the lake and was astir among the -dewy leaves of the wood, when Bhanavar arose from the body of the youth, -and as she rose she saw that his mare Zoora, his father's first gift, was -snuffing at the ear of her dead master, and pawing him. At that sight the -tears poured from her eyelids, and she sobbed out to the mare, 'O Zoora! -never mare bore nobler burden on her back than thou in Zurvan my -betrothed. Zoora! thou weepest, for death is first known to thee in the -dearest thing that was thine; as to me, in the dearest that was mine! And -O Zoora, steed of Zurvan my betrothed, there's no loveliness for us in -life, for the loveliest is gone; and let us die, Zoora, mare of Zurvan my -betrothed, for what is dying to us, O Zoora, who cherish beyond all that -which death has taken?' - -So spake she to Zoora the mare, kissing her, and running her fingers -through the long white mane of the mare. Then she stooped to the body of -her betrothed, and toiled with it to lift it across the crimson -saddle-cloth that was on the back of Zoora; and the mare knelt to her, -that she might lay on her back the body of Zurvan; when that was done, -Bhanavar paced beside Zoora the mare, weeping and caressing her, -reminding her of the deeds of Zurvan, and the battles she had borne him -to, and his greatness and his gentleness. And the mare went without -leading. It was broad light when they had passed the glade and the covert -of the wood. Before them, between great mountains, glimmered a space of -rolling grass fed to deep greenness by many brooks. The shadow of a -mountain was over it, and one slant of the rising sun, down a glade of -the mountain, touched the green tent of the Emir, where it stood a little -apart from the others of his tribe. Goats and asses of the tribe were -pasturing in the quiet, but save them nothing moved among the tents, and -it was deep peacefulness. Bhanavar led Zoora slowly before the tent of -the Emir, and disburdened Zoora of the helpless weight, and spread the -long fair limbs of the youth lengthwise across the threshold of the -Emir's tent, sitting away from it with clasped hands, regarding it. Ere -long the Emir came forth, and his foot was on the body of his son, and he -knew death on the chin and the eyes of Zurvan, his sole son. Now the Emir -was old, and with the shock of that sight the world darkened before him, -and he gave forth a groan and stumbled over the sunken breast of Zurvan, -and stretched over him as one without life. When Bhanavar saw that old -man stretched over the body of his son, she sickened, and her ear was -filled with the wailings of grief that would arise, and she stood up and -stole away from the habitations of the tribe, stricken with her guilt, -and wandered beyond the mountains, knowing not whither she went, looking -on no living thing, for the sight of a thing that moved was hateful to -her, and all sounds were sounds of lamentation for a great loss. - -Now, she had wandered on alone two days and two nights, and nigh morn she -was seized with a swoon of weariness, and fell forward with her face to -the earth, and lay there prostrate, even as one that is adoring the -shrine; and it was on the sands of the desert she was lying. It chanced -that the Chieftain of a desert tribe passed at midday by the spot, and -seeing the figure of a damsel unshaded' by any shade of tree or herb or -tent-covering, and prostrate on the sands, he reined his steed and leaned -forward to her, and called to her. Then as she answered nothing he -dismounted, and thrust his arm softly beneath her and lifted her gently; -and her swoon had the whiteness of death, so that he thought her dead -verily, and the marvel of her great loveliness in death smote the heart -on his ribs as with a blow, and the powers of life went from him a moment -as he looked on her and the long dark wet lashes that clung to her -colourless face, as at night in groves where the betrothed ones wander, -the slender leaves of the acacia spread darkly over the full moon. And he -cried, ''Tis a loveliness that maketh the soul yearn to the cold bosom of -death, so lovely, exceeding all that liveth, is she!' - -After he had contemplated her longwhile, he snatched his sight from her, -and swung her swiftly on the back of his mare, and leaned her on one arm, -and sped westward over the sands of the desert, halting not till he was -in the hum of many tents, and the sun of that day hung a red half-circle -across the sand. He alighted before the tent of his mother, and sent -women in to her. When his mother came forth to the greetings of her son, -he said no word, but pointed to the damsel where he had leaned her at the -threshold of her tent. His mother kissed him on the forehead, and turned -her shoulder to peer upon the damsel. But when she had close view of -Bhanavar, she spat, and scattered her hair, and stamped, and cried aloud, -'Away with her! this slut of darkness! there's poison on her very skirts, -and evil in the look of her.' - -Then said he, 'O Rukrooth, my mother! art thou lost to charity and the -uses of kindliness and the laws of hospitality, that thou talkest this of -the damsel, a stranger? Take her now in, and if she be past help, as I -fear; be it thy care to give her decent burial; and if she live, O my -mother, tend her for the love of thy son, and for the love of him be -gentle with her.' - -While he spake, Rukrooth his mother knelt over the damsel, as a cat that -sniffeth the suspected dish; and she flashed her eyes back on him, -exclaiming scornfully, 'So art thou befooled, and the poison is already -in thee! But I will not have her, O my son! and thou, Ruark, my son, -neither shalt thou have her. What! will I not die to save thee from a -harm? Surely thy frown is little to me, my son, if I save thee from a -harm; and the damsel here is--I shudder to think what; but never lay -shadow across my threshold dark as this!' - -Now, Ruark gazed upon his mother, and upon Bhanavar, and the face of -Bhanavar was as a babe in sleep, and his soul melted to the parted -sweetness of her soft little curved red lips and her closed eyelids, and -her innocent open hands, where she lay at the threshold of the tent, -unconscious of hardness and the sayings of the unjust. So he cried -fiercely, 'No paltering, O Rukrooth, my mother: and if not to thy tent, -then to mine!' - -When she heard him say that in the voice of his anger, Rukrooth fixed her -eyes on him sorrowfully, and sighed, and went up to him and drew his head -once against her heart, and retreated into the tent, bidding the women -that were there bring in the body of the damsel. - -It was the morning of another day when Bhanavar awoke; and she awoke in a -dream of Zoora, the mare of Zurvan her betrothed, that was dead, and the -name of Zoora was on her tongue as she started up. She was on a couch of -silk and leopard-skins; at her feet a fair young girl with a fan of -pheasant feathers. She stared at the hangings of the tent, which were -richer than those of her own tribe; the cloths, and the cushions, and the -embroideries; and the strangeness of all was pain to her, she knew not -why. Then wept she bitterly, and with her tears the memory of what had -been came back to her, and she opened her arms to take into them the -little girl that fanned her, that she might love something and be beloved -awhile; and the child sobbed with her. After a time Bhanavar said, 'Where -am I, and amongst whom, my child, my sister?' - -And the child answered her, 'Surely in the tent of the mother of Ruark, -the chief, even chief of the Beni-Asser, and he found thee in the desert, -nigh dead. 'Tis so; and this morning will Ruark be gone to meet the -challenge of Ebn Asrac, and they will fight at the foot of the Snow -Mountains, and the shadow of yonder date-palm will be over our tent here -at the hour they fight, and I shall sing for Ruark, and kneel here in the -darkness of the shadow.' - -While the child was speaking there entered to them a tall aged woman, -with one swathe of a turban across her long level brows; and she had hard -black eyes, and close lips and a square chin; and it was the mother of -Ruark. She strode forward toward Bhanavar to greet her, and folded her -legs before the damsel. Presently she said, 'Tell me thy story, and of -thy coming into the hands of Ruark my son.' - -Bhanavar shuddered. So Rukrooth dismissed the little maiden from the -chamber of the tent, and laid her left hand on one arm of Bhanavar, and -said, 'I would know whence comest thou, that we may deal well by thee and -thy people that have lost thee.' - -The touch of a hand was as the touch of a corpse to Bhanavar, and the -damsel was constrained to speak by a power she knew not of, and she told -all to Rukrooth of what had been, the great misery, and the wickedness -that was hers. Then Ruark's mother took hold of Bhanavar a strong grasp, -and eyed her long, piteously, and with reproach, and rocked forward and -back, and kept rocking to and fro, crying at intervals, 'O Ruark! my son! -my son! this feared I, and thou art not the first! and I saw it, I saw -it! Well-away! why came she in thy way, why, Ruark, my son, my fire-eye? -Canst thou be saved by me, fated that thou art, thou fair-face? And wilt -thou be saved by me, my son, ere thy story be told in tears as this one, -that is as thine to me? And thou wilt seize a jewel, Ruark, O thou soul -of wrath, my son, my dazzling Chief, and seize it to wear it, and think -it bliss, this lovely jewel; but 'tis an anguish endless and for ever, my -son! Woe's me! an anguish is she without end.' - -Rukrooth continued moaning, and the thought that was in the mother of -Ruark struck Bhanavar like a light in the land of despair that darkly -illumineth the dreaded gulfs and abysses of the land, and she knew -herself black in evil; and the scourge of her guilt was upon her, and she -cursed herself before Rukrooth, and fawned before her, abasing her body. -So Rukrooth was drawn to the damsel by the violence of her self-accusing -and her abandonment to grief, and lifted her, and comforted her, and -after awhile they had gentle speech together, and the two women opened -their hearts and wept. Then it was agreed between them that Bhanavar -should depart from the encampment of the tribe before the return of -Ruark, and seek shelter among her own people again, and aid them and the -tribe of Zurvan, her betrothed, by the might of the Jewel which was hers, -fulfilling the desire of Zurvan. The mind of the damsel was lowly, and -her soul yearned for the blessing of Rukrooth. - -Darkness hung over the tent from the shadow of the date-palm when -Bhanavar departed, and the blessing of Rukrooth was on her head. She went -forth fairly mounted on a fresh steed; beside her two warriors of them -that were left to guard the encampment of the tribe of Ruark in his -absence; and Rukrooth watched at the threshold of her tent for the coming -of Ruark. - -When it was middle night, and the splendour of the moon was beaming on -the edge of the desert, Bhanavar alighted to rest by the twigs of a -tamarisk that stood singly on the sands. The two warriors tied the -fetlocks of their steeds, and spread shawls for her, and watched over her -while she slept. And the damsel dreamed, and the roaring of the lion was -hoarse in her dream, and it was to her as were she the red whirlwind of -the desert before whom all bowed in terror, the Arab, the wild horsemen, -and the caravans of pilgrimage; and none could stay her, neither could -she stay herself, for the curse of Allah was on men by reason of her -guilt; and she went swinging great folds of darkness across kingdoms and -empires of earth where joy was and peace of spirit; and in her track -amazement and calamity, and the whitened bones of noble youths, valorous -chieftains. In that horror of her dream she stood up suddenly, and thrust -forth her hands as to avert an evil, and advanced a step; and with the -act her dream was cloven and she awoke, and lo! it was sunrise; and where -had been two warriors of the Beni-Asser, were now five, and besides her -own steed five others, one the steed of Ruark, and Ruark with them that -watched over her: pale was the visage of the Chief. Ruark eyed Bhanavar, -and signalled to his followers, and they, when they had lifted the damsel -to her steed and placed her in their front, mounted likewise, and -flourished their lances with cries, and jerked their heels to the flanks -of their steeds, and stretched forward till their beards were mixed with -the tossing manes, and the dust rose after them crimson in the sun. So -they coursed away, speeding behind their Chief and Bhanavar; sweet were -the desert herbs under their crushing hooves! Ere the shadow of the -acacia measured less than its height they came upon a spring of silver -water, and Ruark leaped from his steed, and Bhanavar from hers, and they -performed their ablutions by that spring, and ate and drank, and watered -their steeds. While they were there Bhanavar lifted her eyes to Ruark, -and said, 'Whither takest thou me, O my Chief?' - -His brow was stern, and he answered, 'Surely to the dwelling of thy -tribe.' - -Then she wept, and pulled her veil close, murmuring, ''Tis well!' - -They spake no further, and pursued their journey toward the mountains and -across the desert that was as a sea asleep in the blazing heat, and the -sun till his setting threw no shade upon the sands bigger than what was -broad above them. By the beams of the growing moon they entered the first -gorge of the mountains. Here they relaxed the swiftness of their pace, -picking their way over broken rocks and stunted shrubs, and the mesh of -spotted creeping plants; all around them in shadow a freshness of noisy -rivulets and cool scents of flowers, asphodel and rose blooming in plots -from the crevices of the crags. These, as the troop advanced, wound and -widened, gradually receding, and their summits, which were silver in the -moonlight, took in the distance a robe of purple, and the sides of the -mountains were rounded away in purple beyond a space of emerald pasture. -Now, Ruark beheld the heaviness of Bhanavar, and that she drooped in her -seat, and he halted her by a cave at the foot of the mountains, browed -with white broom. Before it, over grass and cresses, ran a rill, a branch -from others, larger ones, that went hurrying from the heights to feed the -meadows below, and Bhanavar dipped her hand in the rill, and thought, 'I -am no more as thou, rill of the mountain, but a desert thing! Thy way is -forward, thy end before thee; but I go this way and that; my end is dark -to me; not a life is mine that will have its close kissing the cold -cheeks of the saffron-crocus. Cold art thou, and I--flames! They that -lean to thee are refreshed, they that touch me perish.' Then she looked -forth on the stars that were above the purple heights, and the blushes of -inner heaven that streamed up the sky, and a fear of meeting the eyes of -her kindred possessed her, and she cried out to Ruark, 'O Chief of the -Beni-Asser, must this be? and is there no help for it, but that I return -among them that look on me basely?' - -Ruark stooped to her and said, 'Tell me thy name.' - -She answered, 'Bhanavar is my name with that people.' - -And he whispered, 'Surely when they speak of thee they say not Bhanavar -solely, but Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She started and sought the eye of the Chief, and it was fixed on her face -in a softened light, as if his soul had said that thing. Then she sighed, -and exclaimed, 'Unhappy are the beautiful! born to misery! Allah dressed -them in his grace and favour for their certain wretchedness! Lo, their -countenances are as the sun, their existence as the desert; barren are -they in fruits and waters, a snare to themselves and to others!' - -Now, the Chief leaned to her yet nearer, saying, 'Show me the Jewel.' - -Bhanavar caught up her hands and clenched them, and she cried bitterly, -''Tis known to thee! She told thee, and there be none that know it not!' - -Arising, she thrust her hand into her bosom, and held forth the Jewel in -the palm of her white hand. When Ruark beheld the marvel of the Jewel, -and the redness moving in it as of a panting heart, and the flashing eye -of fire that it was, and all its glory, he cried, 'It was indeed a Jewel -for queens to covet from the Serpent, and a prize the noblest might risk -all to win as a gift for thee.' - -Then she said, 'Thy voice is friendly with me, O Ruark! and thou scornest -not the creature that I am. Counsel me as to my dealing with the Jewel.' - -Surely the eyes of the Chief met the eyes of Bhanavar as when the -brightest stars of midnight are doubled in a clear dark lake, and he sang -in measured music: - - 'Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that tall palm-tree through the night; - Rest on the mountain-slope - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending, - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps,-- - Silvery leaps and falls. - Hang by the mountain walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And, O Bhanavar, Bhanavar the Beautiful! shall I counsel thee, moon of -loveliness,--bright, full, perfect moon!--counsel thee not to ascend and -be seen and worshipped of men, sitting above them in majesty, thou that -art thyself the Jewel beyond price? Wah! What if thou cast it from -thee?--thy beauty remaineth!' - -And Bhanavar smote her palms in the moonlight, and exclaimed, 'How then -shall I escape this in me, which is a curse to them that approach me?' - -And he replied: - - Long we the less for the pearl of the sea - Because in its depths there 's the death we flee? - Long we the less, the less, woe's me! - Because thou art deathly,--the less for thee? - -She sang aloud among the rocks and the caves and the illumined waters: - - Destiny! Destiny! why am I so dark? - I that have beauty and love to be fair. - Destiny! Destiny! am I but a spark - Track'd under heaven in flames and despair? - Destiny! Destiny! why am I desired - Thus like a poisonous fruit, deadly sweet? - Destiny! Destiny! lo, my soul is tired, - Make me thy plaything no more, I entreat! - -Ruark laughed low, and said, 'What is this dread of Rukrooth my mother -which weigheth on thee but silliness! For she saw thee willing to do well -by her; and thou with thy Jewel, O Bhanavar, do thou but well by thyself, -and there will be no woman such as thou in power and excellence of -endowments, as there is nowhere one such as thou in beauty.' Then he -sighed to her, 'Dare I look up to thee, O my Queen of Serpents?' And he -breathed as one that is losing breath, and the words came from him, 'My -soul is thine!' - -When she heard him say this, great trouble was on the damsel, for his -voice was not the voice of Zurvan her betrothed; and she remembered the -sorrow of Rukrooth. She would have fled from him, but a dread of the -displeasure of the Chief restrained her, knowing Ruark a soul of wrath. -Her eyelids dropped and the Chief gazed on her eagerly, and sang in a -passion of praises of her; the fires of his love had a tongue, his speech -was a torrent of flame at the feet of the damsel. And Bhanavar exclaimed, -'Oh, what am I, what am I, who have slain my love, my lover!--that one -should love me and call on me for love? My life is a long weeping for -him! Death is my wooer!' - -Ruark still pleaded with her, and she said in fair gentleness, 'Speak not -of it now in the freshness of my grief! Other times and seasons are -there. My soul is but newly widowed!' - -Fierce was the eye of the Chief, and he sprang up, crying, 'By the life -of my head, I know thy wiles and the reading of these delays: but I'll -never leave thee, nor lose sight of thee, Bhanavar! And think not to fly -from me, thou subtle, brilliant Serpent! for thy track is my track, and -thy condition my condition, and thy fate my fate. By Allah! this is so.' - -Then he strode from her swiftly, and called to his Arabs. They had -kindled a fire to roast the flesh of a buffalo, slaughtered by them from -among a herd, and were laughing and singing beside the flames of the -fire. So by the direction of their Chief the Arabs brought slices of -sweet buffalo-flesh to Bhanavar, with cakes of grain: and Bhanavar ate -alone, and drank from the waters before her. Then they laid for her a -couch within the cave, and the aching of her spirit was lulled, and she -slept there a dreamless sleep till morning. - -By the morning light Bhanavar looked abroad for the Chief, and he was -nowhere by. A pang of violent hope struck through her, and she pressed -her bosom, praying he might have left her, and climbed the clefts and -ledges of the mountain to search over the fair expanse of pasture beyond, -for a trace of him departing. The sun was on the heads of the heavy -flowers, and a flood of gold down the gorges, and a delicate rose hue on -the distant peaks and upper dells of snow, which were as a crown to the -scene she surveyed; but no sight of Ruark had she. And now she was -beginning to rejoice, but on a sudden her eye caught far to east a -glimpse of something in motion across an even slope of the lower hills -leaning to the valley; and it was a herd that rushed forward, like a -black torrent of the mountains flinging foam this way and that, and after -the herd and at the sides of the herd she distinguished the white cloaks -and scarfs and glittering steel of the Arabs of Ruark. Presently she saw -a horseman break from the rest, and race in a line toward her. She knew -this one for Ruark, and sighed and descended slowly to meet him. The -greeting of the Chief was sharp, his manner wild, and he said little ere -he said, 'I will see thee under the light of the Jewel, so tie it in a -band and set it on thy brow, Bhanavar!' - -Her mouth was open to intercede with his desire, but his forehead became -black as night, and he shouted in the thunder of his lion-voice, 'Do -this!' - -She took the Jewel from its warm bed in her bosom, and held it, and got -together a band of green weeds, and set it in the middle of the band, and -tied the band on her brow, and lifted her countenance to the Chief. Ruark -stood back from her and gazed on her; and he would have veiled his sight -from her, but his hand fell. Then the might of her loveliness seized -Bhanavar likewise, and the full orbs of her eyes glowed on the Chief as -on a mirror, and she moved her serpent figure scornfully, and smiled, -saying, 'Is it well?' - -And he, when he could speak, replied, ''Tis well! I have seen thee! for -now can I die this day, if it be that I am to die. And well it is! for -now know I there is truly no place but the tomb can hold me from thee!' - -Bhanavar put the Jewel from her brow into her bosom, and questioned him, -'What is thy dread this day, O my Chief?' - -He answered her gravely, 'I have seen Rukrooth my mother while I slept; -and she was weeping, weeping by a stream, yea, a stream of blood; and it -was a stream that flowed in a hundred gushes from her own veins. The sun -of this dawn now, seest thou not? 'tis overcrimson; the vulture hangeth -low down yonder valley.' And he cried to her, 'Haste! mount with me; for -I have told Rukrooth a thing; and I know that woman crafty in the -thwarting of schemes; such a fox is she where aught accordeth not with -her forecastings, and the judgment of her love for me! By Allah! 'twere -well we clash not; for that I will do I do, and that she will do doth -she.' - -So the twain mounted their steeds, and Ruark gathered his Arabs and -placed them, some in advance, some on either side of Bhanavar; and they -rode forward to the head of the valley, and across the meadows, through -the blushing crowds of flowers, baths of freshest scents, cool breezes -that awoke in the nostrils of the mares neighings of delight; and these -pranced and curvetted and swung their tails, and gave expression to their -joy in many graceful fashions; but a gloom was on Ruark, and a quick fire -in his falcon-eye, and he rode with heels alert on the flanks of his -mare, dashing onward to right and left, as do they that beat the jungle -for the crouching tiger. Once, when he was well-nigh half a league in -front, he wheeled his mare, and raced back full on Bhanavar, grasping her -bridle, and hissing between his teeth, 'Not a soul shall have thee save -I: by the tomb of my fathers, never, while life is with us!' - -And he taunted her with bitter names, and was as one in the madness of -intoxication, drunken with the aspect of her matchless beauty and with -exceeding love for her. And Bhanavar knew that the dread of a mishap was -on the mind of the Chief. - -Now, the space of pasture was behind them a broad lake of gold and -jasper, and they entered a region of hills, heights, and fastnesses, -robed in forests that rose in rounded swells of leafage, each over -each--above all points of snow that were as flickering silver flames in -the farthest blue. This was the country of Bhanavar, and she gazed -mournfully on the glades of golden green and the glens of iron blackness, -and the wild flowers, wild blossoms, and weeds well known to her that -would not let her memory rest, and were wistful of what had been. And she -thought, 'My sisters tend the flocks, my mother spinneth with the maidens -of the tribe, my father hunteth; how shall I come among them but strange? -Coldly will they regard me; I shall feel them shudder when they take me -to their bosoms.' - -She looked on Ruark to speak with him, but the mouth of the Chief was set -and white; and even while she looked, cries of treason and battle arose -from the Arabs that were ahead, hidden by a branching wind of the way -round a mountain slant. Then the eyes of the Chief reddened, his nostrils -grew wide, and the darkness of his face was as flame mixed with smoke, -and he seized Bhanavar and hastened onward, and lo! yonder were his men -overmatched, and warriors of the mountains bursting on them from an -ambush on all sides. Ruark leapt in his seat, and the light of combat was -on him, and he dug his knees into his mare, and shouted the war-cry of -his tribe, lifting his hands as it were to draw down wrath from the very -heavens, and rushed to the encounter. Says the poet: - - Hast thou seen the wild herd by the jungle galloping close? - With a thunder of hooves they trample what heads may oppose: - Terribly, crushingly, tempest-like, onward they sweep: - But a spring from the reeds, and the panther is sprawling in air, - And with muzzle to dust and black beards foam-lash'd, here and there, - Scatter'd they fly, crimson-eyed, track'd with blood to the deep. - -Such was the onset of Ruark, his stroke the stroke of death; and ere the -echoes had ceased rolling from that cry of his, the mountain-warriors -were scattered before him on the narrow way, hurled down the scrub of the -mountain, even as dead leaves and loosened stones; so like an arm of -lightning was the Chief! - -Now Ruark pursued them, and was lost to Bhanavar round a slope of the -mountain. She quickened her pace to mark him in the glory of the battle, -and behold! a sudden darkness enveloped her, and she felt herself in the -swathe of tightened folds, clasped in an arm, and borne rapidly she knew -not whither, for she could hear and see nothing. It was to her as were -she speeding constantly downward in darkness to the lower realms of the -Genii of the Caucasus, and every sense, and even that of fear, was -stunned in her. How long an interval had elapsed she knew not, when the -folds were unwound; but it was light of day, and the faces of men, and -they were warriors that were about her, warriors of the mountain; but of -Ruark and his Arabs no voice. So she said to them, 'What do ye with me?' - -And one among them, that was a youth of dignity and grace, and a -countenance like morning on the mountains, answered, 'The will of -Rukrooth, O lady! and it is the plight of him we bow to with Rukrooth, -mother of the Desert-Chief.' - -She cried, 'Is he here, the Prince, that I may speak with him?' - -The same young warrior made answer, 'Not so; forewarned was he, and well -for him!' - -Bhanavar drew her robe about her and was mute. Ere the setting of the -moon they journeyed on with her; and continued so three days and nights -through the defiles and ravines and matted growths of the mountains. On -the fourth dawn they were on the summit of a lofty mountain-rise; below -them the sun, shooting a current of gold across leagues of sea. Then he -that had spoken with Bhanavar said, 'A sail will come,' and a sail came -from under the sun. Scarce had the ship grated shore when the warriors -lifted Bhanavar, and waded through the water with her, and placed her -unwetted in the ship, and one, the fair youth among the warriors, sprang -on board with her, remaining by her. So the captain pushed off, and the -wind filled the sails, and Bhanavar was borne over the lustre of the sea, -that was as a changing opal in its lustre, even as a melted jewel flowing -from the fingers of the maker, the Almighty One. The ship ceased not -sailing till they came to a narrow strait, where the sea was but a river -between fair sloping hills alight with towers and palaces, opening a way -to a great city that was in its radiance over the waters of the sea as -the aspect of myriad sheeny white doves breasting the wave. Hitherto the -young warrior had held aloof in coldness of courtesy from Bhanavar; but -now he sat by her, and said, 'The bond between my prince and Rukrooth is -accomplished, and it was to snatch thee from the Chief of the Beni-Asser -and bring thee even to this city.' - -Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Allah be praised in all things, and his will be -done!' - -The youth continued, 'Thou art alone here, O lady, exposed to the perils -of loneliness; surely it were well if I linger with thee awhile, and see -to thy welfare in this city, even as a brother with a sister; and I will -deal honourably by thee.' - -Bhanavar looked on the young warrior and blushed at his exceeding -sweetness with her; the soft freshness of his voice was to her as the -blossom-laden breeze in the valleys of the mountains, and she breathed -low the words of her gratitude, saying, 'If I am not a burden, let this -be so.' - -Then said he, 'Know me by my name, which is Almeryl; and that we seem -indeed of one kin, make known unto me thine.' - -She replied, 'Ill-omened is it, this name of Bhanavar!' - -The youth among warriors gazed on her a moment with the fluttering eye of -bashfulness, and said, 'Can they that have marked thee call thee other -than Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She remembered that Ruark had spoken in like manner, and the curse of her -beauty smote her, and she thought, 'This fair youth, he hath not a mother -to watch over him and ward off souls of evil. I dread there will come a -mishap to him through me; Allah shield him from it!' And she sought to -dissuade him from resting by her, but he cried, ''Tis but a choice to -dwell with thee or with the dogs in the street outside thy door, O -Bhanavar!' - -Now, the ship sailed close up to the quay, and cast anchor there in the -midst of other ships of merchandise. Almeryl then threw a robe over his -mountain dress and spoke with the captain apart, and he and Bhanavar took -leave of the captain, and landed on the quay among the porters, and of -these one stepped forward to them and shouted cheerily, 'Where be the -burdens and the bales, O ye, fair couple fashioned in the eye of elegant -proportions? Ye twin palm-trees, male and female! Wullahy! broad is the -back of your servant.' - -Almeryl beckoned to him that he should follow them, and he followed them, -blessing the wind that had brought them to that city and the day. So they -passed through the streets and lanes of the city, and the porter pointed -out this house and that house wanting an occupant, and Almeryl fixed on -one in an open thoroughfare that had before it a grass-plot, and behind a -garden with fountains and flowers, and grass-knolls shaded by trees; and -he paid down the half of its price, and had it furnished before nightfall -sumptuously, and women in it to wait on Bhanavar, and stuffs and goods, -and scents for the bath,--all luxuries whatsoever that tradesmen and -merchants there could give in exchange for gold. Then Almeryl dismissed -the porter in Allah's name, and gladdened his spirit with a gift over the -due of his hire that exalted him in the eyes of the porter, and the -porter went from him, exclaiming, 'In extremity Ukleet is thy slave!' and -he sang: - - Shouldst thou see a slim youth with a damsel arriving, - Be sure 'tis the hour when thy fortune is thriving; - A generous fee makes the members so supple - That over the world they could carry this couple. - -Now so it was that the youth Almeryl and the damsel Bhanavar abode in the -city they had come to weeks and months, and life to either of them as the -flowing of a gentle stream, even as brother and sister lived they, -chastely, and with temperate feasting. Surely the youth loved her with a -great love, and the heart of Bhanavar turned not from him, and was won -utterly by his gentleness and nobleness and devotion; and they relied on -each other's presence for any joy, and were desolate in absence, as the -poet says: - - When we must part, love, - Such is my smart, love, - Sweetness is savourless, - Fairness is favourless! - But when in sight, love, - We two unite, love, - Earth has no sour to me; - Life is a flower to me! - -And with the increase of every day their passion increased, and the -revealing light in their eyes brightened and was humid, as is sung by him -that luted to the rage of hearts: - - Evens star yonder - Comes like a crown on us, - Larger and fonder - Grows its orb down on us; - So, love, my love for thee - Blossoms increasingly; - So sinks it in the sea, - Waxing unceasingly. - -On a night, when the singing-girls had left them, the youth could contain -himself no more, and caught the two hands of Bhanavar in his, saying, -'This that is in my soul for thee thou knowest, O Bhanavar! and 'tis -spoken when I move and when I breathe, O my loved one! Tell me then the -cause of thy shunning me whenever I would speak of it, and be plain with -thee.' - -For a moment Bhanavar sought to release herself from his hold, but the -love in his eyes entangled her soul as in a net, and she sank forward to -him, and sighed under his chin, ''Twas indeed my very love of thee that -made me.' - -The twain embraced and kissed a long kiss, and leaned sideways together, -and Bhanavar said, 'Hear me, what I am.' - -Then she related the story of the Serpent and the Jewel, and of the death -of her betrothed. When it was ended, Almeryl cried, 'And was this -all?--this that severed us?' And he said, 'Hear what I am.' - -So he told Bhanavar how Rukrooth, the mother of Ruark, had sent -messengers to the Prince his father, warning him of the passage of Ruark -through the mountains with one a Queen of Serpents, a sorceress, that had -bewitched him and enthralled him in a mighty love for her, to the ruin of -Ruark; and how the Chief was on his way with her to demand her in -marriage at the hands of her parents; and the words of Rukrooth were, 'By -the service that was between thee and my husband, and by the death he -died, O Prince, rescue the Chief my son from this damsel, and entrap her -from him, and have her sent even to the city of the inland sea, for no -less a distance than that keepeth Ruark from her.' - -And Almeryl continued, 'I questioned the messengers myself, and they told -me the marvel of thy loveliness and the peril to him that looked on it, -so I swore there was no power should keep me from a sight of thee, O my -loved one! my prize! my life! my sleek antelope of the hills! Surely when -my father appointed the warriors to lie in wait for thy coming, I slipped -among them, so that they thought it ordered by him I should head them. -The rest is known to thee, O my fountain of blissfulness! but the -treachery to Ruark was the treachery of Ebn Asrac, not of such warriors -as we; and I would have fallen on Ebn Asrac, had not Ruark so routed that -man without faith. 'Twas all as I have said, blessed be Allah and his -decrees!' - -Bhanavar gazed on her beloved, and the bridal dew overflowed her -underlids, and she loosed her hair to let it flow, part over her -shoulders, part over his, and in sighs that were the measure of music she -sang: - - I thought not to love again! - But now I love as I loved not before; - I love not; I adore! - O my beloved, kiss, kiss me! waste thy kisses like a rain. - Are not thy red lips fain? - Oh, and so softly they greet! - Am I not sweet? - Sweet must I be for thee, or sweet in vain: - Sweet to thee only, my dear love! - The lamps and censers sink, but cannot cheat - These eyes of thine that shoot above - Trembling lustres of the dove! - A darkness drowns all lustres: still I see - Thee, my love, thee! - Thee, my glory of gold, from head to feet! - Oh, how the lids of the world close quite when our lips meet! - -Almeryl strained her to him, and responded: - - My life was midnight on the mountain side; - Cold stars were on the heights: - There, in my darkness, I had lived and died, - Content with nameless lights. - Sudden I saw the heavens flush with a beam, - And I ascended soon, - And evermore over mankind supreme, - Stood silver in the moon. - -And he fell playfully into a new metre, singing: - - Who will paint my beloved - In musical word or colour? - Earth with an envy is moved: - Sea-shells and roses she brings, - Gems from the green ocean-springs, - Fruits with the fairy bloom-dews, - Feathers of Paradise hues, - Waters with jewel-bright falls, - Ore from the Genii-halls: - All in their splendour approved; - All; but, match'd with my beloved, - Darker, and denser, and duller. - -Then she kissed him for that song, and sang: - - Once to be beautiful was my pride, - And I blush'd in love with my own bright brow: - Once, when a wooer was by my side, - I worshipp'd the object that had his vow: - Different, different, different now, - Different now is my beauty to me: - Different, different, different now! - For I prize it alone because prized by thee. - -Almeryl stretched his arm to the lattice, and drew it open, letting in -the soft night wind, and the sound of the fountain and the bulbul and the -beam of the stars, and versed to her in the languor of deep love: - - Whether we die or we live, - Matters it now no more: - Life has nought further to give: - Love is its crown and its core. - Come to us either, we're rife,-- - Death or life! - - Death can take not away, - Darkness and light are the same: - We are beyond the pale ray, - Wrapt in a rosier flame: - Welcome which will to our breath; - Life or death! - -So did these two lovers lute and sing in the stillness of the night, -pouring into each other's ears melodies from the new sea of fancy and -feeling that flowed through them. - -Ere they ceased their sweet interchange of tenderness, which was but one -speech from one soul, a glow of light ran up the sky, and the edge of a -cloud was fired; and in the blooming of dawn Almeryl hung over Bhanavar, -and his heart ached to see the freshness of her wondrous loveliness; and -he sang, looking on her: - - The rose is living in her cheeks, - The lily in her rounded chin; - She speaks but when her whole soul speaks, - And then the two flow out and in, - And mix their red and white to make - The hue for which I'd Paradise forsake. - - Her brow from her black falling hair - Ascends like morn: her nose is clear - As morning hills, and finely fair - With pearly nostrils curving near - The red bow of her upper lip; - Her bosom's the white wave beneath the ship. - - The fair full earth, the enraptured skies, - She images in constant play: - Night and the stars are in her eyes, - But her sweet face is beaming day, - A bounteous interblush of flowers: - A dewy brilliance in a dale of bowers. - -Then he said, 'And this morning shall our contract of marriage be written -and witnessed?' - -She answered, 'As my lord willeth; I am his.' - -Said he, 'And it is thy desire?' - -She nestled to him and dinted his bare arm with the pearls of her mouth -for a reply. - -So that morning their contract of marriage was written, and witnessed by -the legal number of witnesses in the presence of the Cadi, with his -license on it endorsed; and Bhanavar was the bride of Almeryl, he her -husband. Never was youth blessed in a bride like that youth! - -Now, the twain lived together the circle of a full year of delightful -marriage, and love lessened not in them, but was as the love of the first -day. Little cared they, having each other, for the loneliness of their -dwelling in that city, where they knew none save the porter Ukleet, who -went about their commissions. Sometimes to amuse themselves with his -drolleries, they sent for him, and were bountiful with him, and made him -drink with them on the lawn of their garden leaning to an inlet of the -sea; and then he would entertain them with all the scandal and gossip of -the city, and its little folk and great. When he was outrageously -extravagant in these stories of his, Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Are such -things, now? can it be true?' - -And he nodded in his conceit, and replied loftily, ''Tis certain, O my -Prince and Princess! ye be from the mountains, unused to the follies and -dissipations of men where they herd; and ye know them not, men!' - -The lamps being lit in the garden to the edges of the water, where they -lay one evening, Ukleet, who had been in his briskest mood, became grave, -and put his forefinger to the side of his nose and began, 'Hear ye aught -of the great tidings? Wullahy! no other than the departure of the wife of -Boolp, the broker, into darkness. 'Tis of Boolp ye hire this house, and -had ye a hundred houses in this city ye might have had them from Boolp -the broker, he that's rich; and glory to them whom Allah prospereth, say -I! And I mention this matter, for 'tis certain now Boolp will take -another wife to him to comfort him, for there be two things beloved of -Boolp, and therein manifesteth he taste and the discernment of -excellence, and what is approved; and of these two things let the love of -his hoards of the yellow-skinned treasure go first, and after that -attachment to the silver-skinned of creation, the fair, the rapturous; -even to them! So by this see ye not Boolp will yearn in his soul for -another spouse? Now, O ye well-matched pair! what a chance were this, -knew ye but a damsel of the mountains, exquisite in symmetry, a moon to -enrapture the imagination of Boolp, and in the nature of things herit his -possessions! for Boolp is an old man, even very old.' - -They laughed, and cried, 'We know not of such a damsel, and the broker -must go unmarried for us.' - -When next Ukleet sat before them, Almeryl took occasion to speak of Boolp -again, and said, 'This broker, O Ukleet, is he also a lender of money?' - -Ukleet replied, 'O my Prince, he is or he is not: 'tis of the maybes. I -wot truly Boolp is one that baiteth the hook of an emergency.' - -The brows of the Prince were downcast, and he said no more; but on the -following morning he left Bhanavar early under a pretext, and sallied -forth from the house of their abode alone. - -Since their union in that city they had not been once apart, and Bhanavar -grieved and thought, 'Waneth his love for me?' and she called her women -to her, and dressed in this dress and that dress, and was satisfied with -none. The dews of the bath stood cold upon her, and she trembled, and -fled from mirror to mirror, and in each she was the same surpassing -vision of loveliness. Then her women held a glass to her, and she -examined herself closely, if there might be a fleck upon her anywhere, -and all was as the snow of the mountains on her round limbs sloping in -the curves of harmony, and the faint rose of the dawn on slants of snow -was their hue. Twining her fingers and sighing, she thought, 'It is not -that! he cannot but think me beautiful.' She smiled a melancholy smile at -her image in the glass, exclaiming, 'What availeth it, thy beauty? for he -is away and looketh not on thee, thou vain thing! And what of thy -loveliness if the light illumine it not, for he is the light to thee, and -it is darkness when he's away.' - -Suddenly she thought, 'What's that which needeth to light it no other -light? I had well-nigh forgotten it in my bliss, the Jewel!' Then she -went to a case of ebony-wood, where she kept the Jewel, and drew it -forth, and shone in the beam of a pleasant imagination, thinking, ''Twill -surprise him!' And she robed herself in a robe of saffron, and set lesser -gems of the diamond and the emerald in the braid of her hair, and knotted -the Serpent Jewel firmly in a band of gold-threaded tissue, and had it -woven in her hair among the braids. In this array she awaited his coming, -and pleased her mind with picturing his astonishment and the joy that -would be his. Mute were the women who waited on her, for in their lives -they had seen no such sight as Bhanavar beneath the beams of the Jewel, -and the whole chamber was aglow with her. - -Now, in her anxiety she sent them one and one repeatedly to look forth at -the window for the coming of the Prince. So, when he came not she went -herself to look forth, and stretched her white neck beyond the casement. -While her head was exposed, she heard a cry of some one from the house in -the street opposite, and Bhanavar beheld in the house of the broker an -old wrinkled fellow that gesticulated to her in a frenzy. She snatched -her veil down and drew in her head in anger at him, calling to her maids, -'What is yonder hideous old dotard?' - -And they answered, laughing, ''Tis indeed Boolp the broker, O fair -mistress and mighty!' - -To divert herself she made them tell her of Boolp, and they told her a -thousand anecdotes of the broker, and verses of him, and the constancy of -his amorous condition, and his greediness. And Bhanavar was beguiled of -her impatience till it was evening, and the Prince returned to her. So -they embraced, and she greeted him as usual, waiting what he would say, -searching his countenance for a token of wonderment; but the youth knew -not that aught was added to her beauty, for he looked nowhere save in her -eyes. Bhanavar was nigh weeping with vexation, and pushed him from her, -and chid him with lack of love and weariness of her; and the eye of the -Prince rose to her brow to read it, and he saw the Jewel. Almeryl clapped -his hands, crying, 'Wondrous! And this thy surprise for me, my fond one? -beloved of mine!' Then he gazed on her a space, and said, 'Knowest thou, -thou art terrible in thy beauty, Bhanavar, and hast the face of lightning -under that Jewel of the Serpent?' - -She kissed him, whispering, 'Not lightning to thee! Yet lovest thou -Bhanavar?' - -He replied, 'Surely so; and all save Bhanavar in this world is the -darkness of oblivion to me.' - -When it was the next morning, Almeryl rose to go forth again. Ere he had -passed the curtain of the chamber Bhanavar caught him by the arm, and she -was trembling violently. Her visage was a wild inquiry: 'Thou goest?--and -again? There is something hidden from me!' - -Almeryl took her to his heart, and caressed her with fond flatteries, -saying, 'Ask but what is beating under these two pomegranates, and thou -learnest all of me.' - -But she stamped her foot, crying, 'No! no! I will hear it! There's a -mystery.' - -So he said, 'Well, then, it is this only; small matter enough. I have a -business with the captain of the vessel that brought us hither, and I -must see him ere he setteth sail; no other than that, thou jealous, -watchful star! Pierce me with thine eyes; it is no other than that.' - -She levelled her lids at him till her lustrous black eyelashes were as -arrows, and mimicked him softly, 'No other than that?' - -And he replied, 'Even so.' - -Then she clung to him like a hungry creature, repeating, 'Even so,' and -let him go. Alone, she summoned a slave, a black, and bade him fetch to -her without delay Ukleet the porter, and the porter was presently ushered -in to her, protesting service and devotion. So, she questioned him of -Almeryl, and the Prince's business abroad, what he knew of it. Ukleet -commenced reciting verses on the ills of jealousy, but Bhanavar checked -him with an eye that Ukleet had seen never before in woman or in man, and -he gaped at her helplessly, as one that has swallowed a bone. She -laughed, crying, 'Learn, O thou fellow, to answer my like by the letter.' - -Now, what she heard from Ukleet when he had recovered his wits, was that -the Prince had a business with none save the lenders of money. So she -spake to Ukleet in a kindly tone, 'Thou art mine, to serve me?' - -He was as one fascinated, and delivered himself, 'Yea, O my mistress! -with tongue-service, toe-service, back-service, brain-service, whatso -pleaseth thy sweet presence.' - -Said she, 'Hie over to the broker opposite, and bring him hither to me.' - -Ukleet departed, saying, 'To hear is to obey.' - -She sat gazing on the Jewel and its counterchanging splendours in her -hand, and the thought of Almeryl and his necessity was her only thought. -Not ten minutes of the hour had passed before the women waiting on her -announced Ukleet and the broker Boolp. Bhanavar gave little heed to the -old fellow's grimaces, and the compliments he addressed her, but handed -him the Jewel and desired his valuation of its worth. The face of Boolp -was a keen edge when he regarded Bhanavar, but the sight of the Jewel -sharpened it tenfold, and he tossed his arms, exclaiming, 'A jewel, -this!' - -So Bhanavar cried to him, 'Fix a price for it, O thou broker!' - -And Boolp, the old miser, debated, and began prating, - -'O lady! the soul of thy slave is abashed by a double beam, this the -jewel of jewels, thou truly of thy sex; and saving thee there's no jewel -of worth like this one, and together ye be--wullahy! never felt I aught -like this since my espousal of Soolka that 's gone, and 'twas nothing -like it then! Now, O my Princess, confess it freely--this is but a -pretext, this valuation of the Jewel, and Ukleet our go-between; and -leave the rewarding of him to me. Wullahy! I can be generous, and my days -of favour with fair ladies be not yet over. Blessed be Allah for this -day! And thinkest thou those eyes fell on me with discriminating -observation ere my sense of perception was struck by thee? Not so, for I -had noted thee, O moon of hearts, from my window yonder.' - -In this fashion Boolp the broker went on prating, and bowing, and -screwing the corners of his little acid eyes to wink the wink of common -accord between himself and Bhanavar. Meantime she had spoken aside to one -of her women, and a second black slave entered the chamber, bearing in -his hand a twisted scourge, and that slave laid it on the back of Boolp -the broker, and by this means he was brought quickly to the valuation of -the Jewel. Then he named a sum that was a great sum, but not the value of -the Jewel to the fiftieth part, nay nor the five-hundredth part, of its -value; and Ukleet remonstrated with him, but he was resolute, saying, -'Even that sum leaves me a beggar.' - -So Bhanavar said, 'My desire is for immediate payment of the money, and -the Jewel is thine for that sum.' - -Now the broker went to fetch the money, and returned with it in bags of -gold one-half the amount, and bags of silver one-third, and the remainder -in writing made due at a certain period for payment. And he groaned and -handed her the money, and took the Jewel in his hands; ejaculating, 'In -the name of Allah!' - -That evening, when it was dark and the lamps lit in the chamber, and the -wine set and the nosegay, Almeryl asked of Bhanavar to see her under the -light of the Jewel. She warded him with an excuse, but he was earnest -with her. So she feigned that he teased her, saying, ''Tis that thou art -no longer content with me as I am, O my husband!' Then she said, 'Wert -thou successful in thy dealings this day?' - -His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing. So she cried, 'Fie -on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over this -city? Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved? Surely I am -Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things -hidden, and I know thee. Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal -not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!' - -Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver. -Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, 'How came these? for I was at the last -extremity, without coin of any kind.' - -She answered, 'How, but by the Serpents!' - -And he exclaimed, 'Would that I might work as that porter worketh, rather -than this!' - -Now, seeing he bewailed her use of the powers of the Jewel, Bhanavar fell -between his arms, and related to him her discovery of his condition, and -how she disposed of the Jewel to the broker, and of the scourging of -Boolp; and he praised her, and clave to her, and they laughed and -delighted their souls in plenteousness, and bliss was their portion; as -the poet says, - - Bliss that is born of mutual esteem - And tried companionship, I truly deem - A well-based palace, wherein fountains rise - From springs that have their sources in the skies. - -So were they for awhile. It happened that one day, that was the last day -of the year since her wearing of the Jewel, Ukleet said to them, 'Be -wary! the Vizier Aswarak hath his eye on you, and it is no cool one. I -say nothing: the wise are discreet in their tellings of the great. 'Tis -certain the broker Boolp forgetteth not his treatment here.' - -They smiled, turning to each other, and said, 'We live innocently, we -harm no one, what should we fear?' - -During the night of that day Bhanavar awoke and kissed the Prince; and -lo! he shuddered in his sleep as with the grave-cold. A second time she -was awakened on the breast of Almeryl by a dream of the Serpents of the -Lake Karatis--the lake of the Jewel; and she stood up, and there was in -the street a hum of voices, and she saw there before the house armed men -with naked steel in their hands. Scarce had she called Almeryl to her, -when the outer door of their house was forced, and she shrieked to him, -''Tis thou they come for: fly, O my Prince, my husband! the way of the -garden is clear.' - -But he said sadly, 'Nay, what am I? it is thou they would win from me. -I'll leave thee not in this life.' - -So she cried, 'O my soul, then together!--but I shall hinder thee, and be -a burden to thy flight.' - -And she called on the All-powerful for aid, and ran with him into the -garden of the house, and lo! by the water side at the end of the garden a -boat full of armed soldiers with scimitars. So these fell upon them, and -bound them, and haled them into the house again, where was the dark -Vizier Aswarak, and certain officers of the night watch with a force. The -Vizier cried when he saw them, 'I accuse thee, Prince Almeryl, of being -here in the city of our lord the King, to conspire against him and his -authority.' - -Almeryl faced the Vizier firmly, and replied, 'I knew not in my life I -had made an enemy; but there is one here who telleth that of me.' - -The Vizier frowned, saying, 'Thou deniest this? And thou here, and thy -father at war with the sovereignty of our lord the King!' - -Almeryl beheld his danger, and he said, 'Is this so?' - -Then cried the Vizier, 'Hear him! is not that a fair simulation?' So he -called to the guard, 'Shackle him!' When that was done, he ordered the -house to be sacked, and the women and the slaves he divided for a spoil, -but he reserved Bhanavar to himself: and lo! twice she burst away from -them that held her to hang upon the lips of Almeryl, and twice was she -torn from him as a grape-bunch is torn from the streaming vine, and the -third time she swooned and the anguish of life left her. - -Now, Bhanavar was borne to the harem of the Vizier, and for days she -suffered no morsel of food to enter her mouth, and was dying, had not the -Vizier in the cunning of his dissimulation fed her with distant glimpses -of Almeryl, to show her he yet lived. Then she thought, 'While my beloved -liveth, life is due to me'; and she ate and drank and reassumed her fair -fulness and the queenliness that was hers; but the Vizier had no love of -her, and respected her, considering in his mind, 'Time will exhaust the -fury of this tigress, and she is a fruit worth the waiting for. Wullahy! -I shall have possessed her ere the days of over-ripening.' - -There was in the harem of the Vizier a mountain-girl that had been -brought there in her childhood, and trained to play upon the lute and -accompany her voice with the instrument. To this little damsel Bhanavar -gave her heart, and would listen all day, as in a trance, to her luting, -till the desire to escape from that bondage and gather tidings of Almeryl -mastered her, and she persuaded one of the blacks of the harem with a -bribe to procure her an interview with the porter Ukleet. So at a certain -hour of the night Ukleet was introduced into the garden of the harem, and -he was in the darkness of that garden a white-faced porter with knees -that knocked the dread-march together; but Bhanavar strengthened his -soul, and he said to her, ''Twas the doing of Boolp the broker: and he -whispered the Vizier of thee and thy beauty, O my mistress! Surely thy -punishment and this ruin is but part payment to Boolp of the price of the -Jewel, the great Jewel that's in the hands of the Vizier.' - -Then she questioned him: 'And Almeryl, the Prince, my husband, what of -him?' - -Ukleet was dumb, and Bhanavar asked to hear no more. Surely she was at -the gates of pale spirits within an hour of her interview with Ukleet, -and there was no blessedness for her save in death, the stiffer of ills, -the drug that is infallible. As is said: - - Dark is that last stage of sorrow - Which from Death alone can borrow - Comfort:-- - -Bhanavar would have died then, but in a certain pause of her fever the -Vizier stood by her. She looked at him long as she lay, and the life in -her large eyes was ebbing away slowly; but there seemed presently a -check, as an eddy comes in the stream, and the light of intelligence -flowed like a reviving fire into her eyes, and her heart quickened with -desire of life while she looked on the Vizier. So she passed the pitch of -that fever, and bloomed anew in her beauty, and cherished it, for she had -a purpose. - -Now, there was rejoicing in the harem of the Vizier Aswarak when Bhanavar -arose from the couch; and the Vizier exulted, thinking, 'I have tamed -this wild beauty, or she had reached death in that extremity.' So he -allowed Bhanavar greater freedom and indulgences, and Bhanavar feigned to -give her soul to the pleasures women delight in, and the Vizier buried -her in gems and trinkets and costly raiment, robes of exquisite silks, -the choicest of Samarcand and China; and he permitted her to make -purchases among certain of the warehouses of the city and the shops of -the tradesmen, jewellers and others, so that she went about as she would, -but for the slaves that attended her and the overseer of the harem. This -continued, and Aswarak became urgent with her, and to remove suspicion -from him she named a day from that period when she would be his. Meantime -she contrived to see Ukleet the porter frequently, and within a week of -her engagement with the Vizier she gazed from a lattice-window of the -harem, and beheld in the garden, by the beams of the moon, Ukleet, and he -was looking as on the watch for her. So she sent to him the little -mountain-girl she loved, but Ukleet would tell her nothing; then went she -herself, greeting him graciously, for his service was other than that of -self-seeking. - -Ukleet said, 'O Lady, mistress of hearts, moon of the tides of will! 'tis -certain I was thy slave from the hour I beheld thee first, and of the -Prince, thy husband; Allah rest his soul! Now these be my tidings. -Wullahy! the King is one maddened with the reports I've spread about of -thy beauty, yea! raging. And I have a friend in his palace, even an -under-cook, acute in the interpreting of wishes. There was he always -gabbling of thy case, O my Princess, till the head-cook seized hold on -it, and so it went to the chamberlain, thence to the chief of the -eunuchs, and from him in a natural course, to the King. Now from the King -the tracking of this tale went to the under-cook down again, and from him -to me. So was I summoned to the King, and the King discoursed with me--I -with him, in fair fluency; he in ejaculations of desire to have sight of -thee, I in expatiation on that he would see when he had his desire. Now -in this have I not done thee a service, O sovereign of fancies?' - -Bhanavar mused and said, 'On the after-morrow I pass through the city to -make a selection of goods, and I shall pass at noon by the great mosque, -on my way to the shop of Ebn Roulchook, the King's jeweller, beyond the -meat-market. Of a surety, I know not how my lord the King may see me.' - -Said the porter, ''Tis enough! on my head be it.' And he went from her, -singing the song: - - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - When she's intent on doing! - How easily the world may burn - When kings come out a-wooing! - -Now, ere she set forth on the after-morrow to make her purchases, -Bhanavar sent word to the Vizier Aswarak that she would see him, and he -came to her drunken with alacrity, for he augured favourably that her -reluctance was melting toward him: so she said, 'O my master, my time of -mourning is at an end, and I would look well before thee, even as one -worthy of being thy bride; so bestow on me, I pray thee, for my wearing -that day, the jewels that be in thy treasury, the brightest and clearest -of them, and the largest.' - -The Vizier Aswarak replied, and he was one in great satisfaction of soul, -'All that I have are thine. Wullahy! and one, a marvel, that I bought of -Boolp the broker, that had it from an African merchant.' So he commanded -the box wherein he had deposited the Jewel to be brought to him there in -the chamber of Bhanavar, and took forth the Serpent Jewel between his -forefinger and thumb, and laughed at the eager eyes of Bhanavar when she -beheld it, saying, ''Tis thine! thy bridal gift the day I possess thee.' - -Bhanavar trembled at the sight of the Jewel, and its redness was to her -as the blood of Zurvan and Almeryl. She stretched her hand out for it and -cried, 'This day, O my lord, make it mine.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Nay, what I have spoken will I keep to; it has cost -me much.' - -Bhanavar looked at him, and uttered in a soft tone, 'Truly it has cost -thee much.' - -Then she exclaimed, as in play, 'See me, how I look by its beam.' And in -her guile she snatched the Jewel from him, and held it to her brow. Then -Aswarak started from her and feared her, for the red light of the Jewel -glowed, and darkened the chamber with its beam, darkening all save the -lustre that was on the visage of Bhanavar. He shouted, 'What's this! Art -thou a sorceress?' - -She removed the Jewel, and ceased glaring on him, and said, 'Nothing but -thy poor slave!' - -Then he coaxed her to give him the Jewel, and she would not; he commanded -her peremptorily, and she hesitated; so he grasped her tightened hand, -and his face loured with wrath; yet she withheld the Jewel from him -laughing; and he was stirred to extreme wrath, and drew from his girdle -the naked scimitar, and menaced her with it. And he looked mighty; but -she dreaded him little, and stood her full height before him, daring him, -and she was as the tigress defending a cub from a wilder beast. Now when -he was about to call in the armed slaves of the palace, she said, 'I warn -thee, Vizier Aswarak! tempt me not to match them that serve me with them -that serve thee.' - -He ground his teeth in fury, crying, 'A conspiracy! and in the harem! -Now, thou traitress! the logic of the lash shall be tried upon thee.' And -he roared, 'Ho! ye without there! ho!' - -But ere the slaves had entered Bhanavar rubbed the Jewel on her bosom, -muttering, 'I have forborne till now! Now will I have a sacrifice, though -I be it.' And rubbing the Jewel, she sang, - - Hither! hither! - Come to your Queen; - Come through the grey wall, - Come through the green! - -There was heard a noise like the noise of a wind coming down a narrow -gorge above falling waters, a hissing and a rushing of wings, and behold! -Bhanavar was circled by rings and rings of serpent-folds that glowed -round her, twisted each in each, with the fierceness of fire, she like a -flame rising up white in the midst of them. The black slaves, when they -had lifted the curtain of the harem-chamber, shrieked to see her, and -Aswarak crouched at her feet with the aspect of an angry beast carved in -stone. Then Bhanavar loosed on either of the slaves a serpent, saying, -'What these have seen they shall not say.' And while the sweat dropped -heavily from the forehead of Aswarak, she stepped out of the circle of -serpents, singing, - - Over! over! - Hie to the lake! - Sleep with the left eye, - Keep the right awake. - -Then the serpents spread with a great whirr, and flew through the high -window and the walls as they had come, and she said to the Vizier, 'What -now? Fearest thou? I have spared thee, thou that madest me desolate! and -thy slaves are a sacrifice for thee. Now this I ask: Where lies my -beloved, the Prince my husband? Speak nothing of him, save the place of -his burial!' - -So he told her, 'In the burial-ground of the great prison.' - -She rolled her eyes on the Vizier darkly, exclaiming, 'Even where the -felons lie entombed, he lieth!' And she began to pant, pale with what she -had done, and leaned to the floor, and called, - - Yellow stripe, with freckle red, - Coil and curl, and watch by my head. - -And a serpent with yellow stripes and red freckles came like a javelin -down to her, and coiled and curled round her head, and she slept an hour. -When she arose the Vizier was yet there, sitting with folded knees. So -she sped the serpent to the Lake Karatis, and called her women to her, -and went to an inner room, and drew an outer robe and a vest over that -she had on, and passed the Vizier, and said, 'Art thou not rejoiced in -thy bride, O Aswarak? 'Twas a wondrous clemency, hers! Now but four more -days and thou claimest her. Say nothing of what thou hast seen, or thou -wilt shortly see nothing further to say, my master.' - -So she left the Vizier sitting still in that chamber, and mounted a mule, -attended by slaves on foot before and behind her, and passed through the -streets till she came to the shop of Ebn Roulchook. The King was in -disguise at the extremity of the shop, and while she examined this and -that of the precious stones, Bhanavar for a moment made bare the beauty, -of her face, and love's fires took fast hold of the King, and he cried, -'I marvel not at the eloquence of the porter.' - -Now, she made Ebn Roulchook bring to her a circlet of gold, with a hollow -in the frontal centre, and fit into that hollow the Serpent Jewel. So, -while she laughed and chatted with her women Bhanavar lifted the circlet, -and made her countenance wholly bare even to the neck and the beginning -slope of the bosom, and fixed the circlet to her head with the Jewel -burning on her brow. Then when he beheld the glory of excelling -loveliness that she was, and the splendour in her eyes under the Jewel, -the King shouted and parted with his disguise, and Ebn Roulchook and the -women and slaves with Bhanavar fled to the courtyard that was behind the -shop, leaving Bhanavar alone with the King. Surely Bhanavar returned not -to the dwelling of the Vizier. - -Now, the King Mashalleed espoused Bhanavar, and she became his queen and -ruled him, and her word was the dictate of the land. Then caused she the -body of Almeryl, with the severed head of the Prince, to be disinterred, -and entombed secretly in the palace; and she had lamps lit in the vault, -and the pall spread, and the readers of the Koran to read by the tomb; -and then she stole to the tomb hourly, in the day and in the night, -wailing of him and her utter misery, repeating verses at the side of the -tomb, and they were, - - Take me to thee! - Like the deep-rooted tree, - My life is half in earth, and draws - Thence all sweetness; oh may my being pause - Soon beside thee! - - Welcome me soon! - As to the queenly moon, - Man's homage to my beauty sets; - Yet am I a rose-shrub budding regrets: - Welcome me soon. - - Soul of my soul! - Have me not half, but whole. - Dear dust, thou art my eyes, my breath! - Draw me to thee down the dark sea of death, - Soul of my soul! - -And she sang: - - Sad are they who drink life's cup - Till they have come to the bitter-sweet: - Better at once to toss it up, - And trample it beneath the feet; - For venom-charged as serpents' eggs - 'Tis then, and knows not other change. - Early, early, early, have I reached the dregs - Of life, and loathe and love the bittersweet, revenge! - -Then turned she aside, and sang musingly: - - I came to his arms like the flower of the spring, - And he was my bird of the radiant wing: - He flutter'd above me a moment, and won - The bliss of my breast as a beam of the sun, - Untouch'd and untasted till then-- - -The voice in her throat was like a drowning creature, and she rose up, -and chanted wildly: - - I weep again? - - What play is this? for the thing is dead in me long since: - Will all the reviving rain - Of heaven bring me back my Prince? - But I, when I weep, when I weep, - Blood will I weep! - And when I weep, - Sons for fathers shall weep; - Mothers for sons shall weep; - Wives for husbands shall weep! - Earth shall complain of floods red and deep, - When I weep! - -Upon that she ran up a secret passage to her chamber and rubbed the -Jewel, and called the serpents, to delight her soul with the sight of her -power, and rolled and sported madly among them, clutching them by the -necks till their thin little red tongues hung out, and their eyes were as -discoloured blisters of venom. Then she arose, and her arms and neck and -lips were glazed with the slime of the serpents, and she flung off her -robes to the close-fitting silken inner vest looped across her bosom with -pearls, and whirled in a mazy dance-measure among them, and sang -melancholy melodies, making them delirious, fascinating them; and they -followed her round and round, in twines and twists and curves, with -arched heads and stiffened tails; and the chamber swam like an undulating -sea of shifting sapphire lit by the moon of midnight. Not before the moon -of midnight was in the sky ceased Bhanavar sporting with the serpents, -and she sank to sleep exhausted in their midst. - -Such was the occupation of the Queen of Mashalleed when he came not to -her. The women and slaves of the palace dreaded her, and the King himself -was her very slave. - -Meanwhile the plot of her unforgivingness against Aswarak ripened: and -the Vizier beholding the bride he had lost Queen of Mashalleed his -master, it was as she conceived, that his heart was eaten with jealousy -and fierce rage. Bhanavar as she came across him spake mildly, and gave -him gentle looks, sad glances, suffering not his fires to abate, the -torment of his love to cool. Each night he awoke with a serpent in his -bed; the beam of her beauty was as the constant bite of a serpent, -poisoning his blood, and he deluded his soul with the belief that -Bhanavar loved him notwithstanding, and that she was seized forcibly from -him by the King. 'Otherwise,' thought he, 'why loosed she not a serpent -from the host to strangle me even as yonder black slaves?' Bhanavar knew -the mind of Aswarak, and considered, 'The King is cunning and weak, a -slave to his desires, and in the bondage of the jewel, my beauty. The -Vizier is unscrupulous, a hatcher of intrigues; but that he dreads me and -hopes a favour of me, he would have wrought against me ere now. 'Tis then -a combat 'twixt him and me. O my soul, art thou dreaming of a fair youth -that was the bliss of thy bosom night and day, night and day? The Vizier -shall die!' - -One morning, and it was a year from the day she had become Queen of -Mashalleed, Bhanavar sprang up quickly from the side of the King; and he -was gazing on her in amazement and loathing. She flew to her chamber, -chasing forth her women, and ran to a mirror. Therein she saw three lines -that were on her brow, lines of age, and at the corners of her mouth and -about her throat a slackness of skin, the skin no longer its soft rosy -white, but withered brown as leaves of the forest. She shrieked, and fell -back in a swoon of horror. When she recovered, she ran to the mirror -again, and it was the same sight. And she rose from swooning a third -time, and still she beheld the visage of a hag; nothing of beauty there -save the hair and the brilliant eyes. Then summoned she the serpents in a -circle, and the number of them was that of the days in the year: and she -bared her wrist and seized one, a gray-silver with sapphire spots, and -hissed at him till he hissed, and foam whitened the lips of each. -Thereupon she cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of hell, - What is come upon me, tell! - -And the Serpent replied, - - Jewel Queen! beauty's price! - 'Tis the time for sacrifice! - -She grasped another, one of leaden colour, with yellow bars and silver -crescents, and cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of fire, - Name the creature ye require! - -And the Serpent replied: - - Ruby lip! poison tooth! - We are hungry for a youth. - -She grasped another that writhed in her fingers like liquid emerald, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of glue! - How to know the one that's due? - -And the Serpent replied: - - Breast of snow! baleful bliss! - He that wooing wins a kiss. - -She clutched one at her elbow, a hairy serpent with yellow languid eyes -in flame-sockets and livid-lustrous length--a disease to look on, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of gall! - There's a youth beneath the pall. - -And the Serpent replied: - - Brilliant eye! bloody tear! - He has fed us for a year. - -She squeezed that hairy serpent till her finger-points whitened in his -neck, and he dropped lifelessly, crying: - - Treble-tongues and things of mud! - Sprang my beauty from his blood? - -And the Serpents rose erect, replying: - - Yearly one of us must die; - Yearly for us dieth one; - Else the Queen an ugly lie - Lives till all our lives be done! - -Bhanavar stood up, and hurried them to Karatis. When she was alone she -fell toward the floor, repeating, ''Tis the Curse!' Suddenly she thought, -'Yet another year my beauty shall be nourished by my vengeance, yet -another! And, O Vizier, the kiss shall be thine, the kiss of doom; for I -have doomed thee ere now. Thou, thou shalt restore me to my beauty: that -only love I now my Prince is lost.' - -So she veiled her face in the close veil of the virtuous, and despatched -Ukleet, whom she exalted in the palace of the King, to the Vizier; and -Ukleet stood before Aswarak, and said, 'O Vizier, my mistress truly is -longing for you with excessive longing, and in what she now undergoeth is -forgotten an evil done by you to her; and she bids you come and concert -with her a scheme deliberately as to the getting rid of this tyrant who -is an affliction to her, and her life is lessened by him.' - -The Vizier was deceived by his passion, and he chuckled and exclaimed, -'My very dream! and to mind me of her, then, she sent the serpents! -Wullahy, in the matter of women, wait! For, as the poet declareth: - - 'Tis vanity our souls for such to vex; - Patience is a harvest of the sex.'' - -And they fret themselves not overlong for husbands that are gone, these -young beauties. I know them. Tell the Queen of Serpents I am even hers to -the sole of my foot.' - -So it was understood between them that the Vizier should be at the gate -of the garden of the palace that night, disguised; and the Vizier -rejoiced, thinking, 'If she have not the Jewel with her, it shall go ill -with me, and I foiled this time!' - -Ukleet then proceeded to the house of Boolp the broker, fronting the -gutted ruins where Bhanavar had been happy in her innocence with Almeryl, -the mountain prince, her husband. Boolp was engaged haggling with a -slave-merchant the price of a fair slave, and Ukleet said to him, 'Yet -awhile delay, O Boolp, ere you expend a fraction of treasure, for truly a -mighty bargain of jewels is waiting for you at the palace of my lord the -King. So come thither with all your money-bags of gold and silver, and -your securities, and your bonds and dues in writing, for 'tis the -favourite of the King requireth you to complete a bargain with her, and -the price of her jewels is the price of a kingdom.' - -Said Boolp, 'Hearing is compliance in such a case.' - -And Ukleet continued, 'What a fortune is yours, O Boolp! truly the tide -of fortune setteth into your lap. Fail not, wullahy! to come with all you -possess, or if you have not enough when she requireth it to complete the -bargain, my mistress will break off with you. I know not if she intend -even other game for you, O lucky one!' - -Boolp hitched his girdle and shrugged, saying, ''Tis she will fail, I -wot,--she, in having therewith to complete the bargain between us. Wa! -wa!--there! I've done this before now. Wullahy! if she have not enough of -her rubies and pearls to outweigh me and my gold, go to, Boolp will -school her! What says the poet?-- - - ''Earth and ocean search, East, West, and North, to the South, - None will match the bright rubies and pearls of her mouth.'' - -'Aha! what? O Ukleet! And he says: - - ''The lovely ones a bargain made - With me, and I renounced my trade, - Half-ruined; 'Ah!' said they, 'return and win! - To even scales ourselves we will throw in!'' - -How so? But let discreetness reign and security flourisheth!' - -Ukleet nodded at him, and repeated the distich: - - Men of worth and men of wits - Shoot with two arrows, and make two hits. - -So he arranged with Boolp the same appointment as with the Vizier, and -returned to Queen Bhanavar. - -Now, in the dark of night Aswarak stood within the gate of the -palace-garden of Mashalleed that was ajar, and a hand from a veiled -figure reached to him, and he caught it, in the fulness of his delusion, -crying, 'Thou, my Queen?' But the hand signified silence, and drew him -past the tank of the garden and through a court of the palace into a -passage lit with lamps, and on into a close-curtained chamber, and beyond -a heavy curtain into another, a circular passage descending between black -hangings, and at the bottom a square vault draped with black, and in it -precious woods burning, oils in censers, and the odour of ambergris and -myrrh and musk floating in clouds, and the sight of the Vizier was for a -time obscured by the thickness of the incenses floating. As he became -familiar with the place, he saw marked therein a board spread at one end -with viands and wines, and the nosegay in a water-vase, and cups of gold -and a service of gold,--every preparation for feasting mightily. So the -soul of Aswarak leapt, and he cried, 'Now unveil thyself, O moon of our -meeting, my mistress!' - -The voice of Bhanavar answered him, 'Not till we have feasted and -drunken, and it seemeth little in our eyes. Surely the chamber is secure: -could I have chosen one better for our meeting, O Aswarak?' - -Upon that he entreated her to sit with him to the feast, but she cried, -'Nay! delay till the other is come.' - -Cried he, 'Another?' - -But she exclaimed, 'Hush!' and saying thus went forward to the foot of -the passage, and Boolp was there, following Ukleet, both of them under a -weight of bags and boxes. So she welcomed the broker, and led him to the -feast, he coughing and wheezing and blinking, unwitting the vexation of -the Vizier, nor that one other than himself was there. When Boolp heard -the voice of the Vizier, in astonishment, addressing him, he started back -and fell upon his bags, and the task of coaxing him to the board was as -that of haling a distempered beast to the water. Then they sat and -feasted together, and Ukleet with them; and if Aswarak or Boolp waxed -impatient of each other's presence, he whispered to them, 'Only wait! see -what she reserveth for you.' And Bhanavar mused with herself, 'Truly that -reserved shall be not long coming!' So they drank, and wine got the -mastery of Aswarak, so that he made no secret of his passion, and began -to lean to her and verse extemporaneously in her ear; and she stinted not -in her replies, answering to his urgency in girlish guise, sighing behind -the veil, as if under love's influence. And the Vizier pressed close, and -sang: - - 'Tis said that love brings beauty to the cheeks - Of them that love and meet, but mine are pale; - For merciless disdain on me she wreaks, - And hides her visage from my passionate tale: - I have her only, only when she speaks. - Bhanavar, unveil! - - I have thee, and I have thee not! Like one - Lifted by spirits to a shining dale - In Paradise, who seeks to leap and run - And clasp the beauty, but his foot doth fail, - For he is blind: ah! then more woful none! - Bhanavar, unveil! - -He thrust the wine-cup to her, and she lifted it under her veil, and then -sang, in answer to him: - - My beauty! for thy worth - Thank the Vizier! - - He gives thee second birth: - Thank the Vizier! - - His blooming form without a fault: - Thank the Vizier! - - Is at thy foot in this blest vault: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth not he telleth such a truth, - Thank the Vizier! - - That thou, thro' him, spring'st fresh in blushing youth: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth little now, but he shall soon be wise: - Thank the Vizier! - - This meeting bringeth bloom to cheeks and lips and eyes: - Thank the Vizier! - - O my beloved in this blest vault, if I love thee for aye, - Thank the Vizier! - - Thine am I, thine! and learns his soul what it has taught--to die, - Thank the Vizier! - -Now, Aswarak divined not her meaning, and was enraptured with her, and -cried, 'Wullahy! so and such thy love! Thine am I, thine! And what a -music is thy voice, O my mistress! 'Twere a bliss to Eblis in his torment -could he hear it. Life of my head! and is thy beauty increased by me? -Nay, thou flatterer!' Then he said to her, 'Away with these importunate -dogs! 'tis the very hour of tenderness! Wullahy! they offend my nostril: -stung am I at the sight of them.' - -She rejoined,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Thou that wakenest my beauty from night and scorn, - Thy time is near, and when 'tis come, - Long will a jackal howl that this thy request had been dumb. - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -So the Vizier imaged in his mind the neglect of Mashalleed from these -words, and said, 'Leave the King to my care, O Queen of Serpents, and -expend no portion of thy power on him; but hasten now the going of these -fellows; my heart is straitened by them, and I, wullahy! would gladly see -a serpent round the necks of either.' - -She continued,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Lo! the star must die when splendider light is born; - In stronger floods the beam will drown: - Shrink, thou puny orb, and dread to bring me my crown, - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -Then said she, 'Hark awhile at those two! There's a disputation between -them.' - -So they hearkened, and Ukleet was pledging Boolp, and passing the cup to -him; but a sullenness had seized the broker, and he refused it, and -Ukleet shouted, 'Out, boon-fellow! and what a company art thou, that thou -refusest the pledge of friendliness? Plague on all sulkers!' - -And the broker, the old miser, obstinate as are the half-fuddled, began -to mumble, 'I came not here to drink, O Ukleet, but to make a bargain; -and my bags be here, and I like not yonder veil, nor the presence of -yonder Vizier, nor the secresy of this. Now, by the Prophet and that -interdict of his, I'll drink no further.' - -And Ukleet said, 'Let her not mark your want of fellowship, or 'twill go -ill with you. Here be fine wines, spirited wines! choice flavours! and -you drink not! Where's the soul in you, O Boolp, and where's the life in -you, that you yield her to the Vizier utterly? Surely she waiteth a -gallant sign from you, so challenge her cheerily.' - -Quoth Boolp, 'I care not. Shall I leave my wealth and all I possess void -of eyes? and she so that I recognise her not behind the veil?' - -Ukleet pushed the old miser jeeringly: 'You not recognise her? Oh, Boolp, -a pretty dissimulation! Pledge her now a cup to the snatching of the -veil, and bethink you of a fitting verse, a seemly compliment,--something -sugary.' - -Then Boolp smoothed his head, and was bothered; and tapped it, and -commenced repeating to Bhanavar: - - I saw the moon behind a cloud, - And I was cold as one that's in his shroud: - And I cried, Moon!-- - -Ukleet chorused him, 'Moon!' and Boolp was deranged in what he had to -say, and gasped,-- - - Moon! I cried, Moon!--and I cried, Moon! - -Then the Vizier and Ukleet laughed till they fell on their backs; so -Bhanavar took up his verse where he left it, singing,-- - - And to the cry - Moon did make fair the following reply: - 'Dotard, be still! for thy desire - Is to embrace consuming fire.' - -Then said Boolp, 'O my mistress, the laws of conviviality have till now -restrained me; but my coming here was on business, and with me my bags, -in good faith. So let us transact this matter of the jewels, and after -that the song of-- - - ''Thou and I - A cup will try,'' - -even as thou wilt.' - -Bhanavar threw aside her outer robe and veil, and appeared in a dress of -sumptuous blue, spotted with gold bees; her face veiled with a veil of -gauzy silver, and she was as the moon in summer heavens, and strode mar -jestically forward, saying, 'The jewels? 'tis but one. Behold!' - -The lamps were extinguished, and in her hand was the glory of the Serpent -Jewel, no other light save it in the vaulted chamber. - -So the old miser perked his chin and brows, and cried wondering, 'I know -it, this Jewel, O my mistress.' - -She turned to the Vizier, and said, lifting the red gloom of the Jewel on -him, 'And thou?' - -Aswarak ate his under-lip. - -Then she cried, 'There's much ye know in common, ye two.' - -Thereupon Bhanavar passed from the feast on to the centre of the vault, -and stood before the tomb of Almeryl, and drew the cloth from it; and -they saw by the glow of the Jewel that it was a tomb. When she had -mounted some steps at the side of the tomb, she beckoned them to come, -crying, in a voice of sobs, 'This which is here, likewise ye may know.' - -So they came with the coldness of a mystery in their blood, and looked as -she looked intently over a tomb. The lid was of glass, and through the -glass of the lid the Jewel flung a dark rosy ray on the body of Almeryl -lying beneath it. - -Now, the miser was perplexed at the sight; but Aswarak stepped backward -in defiance, bellowing, ''Twas for this I was tricked to come here! Is 't -fooling me a second time? By Allah! look to it; not a second time will -Aswarak be fooled.' - -Then she ran to him, and exclaimed, 'Fooled? For what cam'st thou to me?' - -And he, foaming and grinding his breath, 'Thou woman of wiles! thou -serpent! but I'll be gone from here.' - -So she faltered in sweetness, knowing him doomed, and loving to dally -with him in her wickedness, 'Indeed if thou cam'st not for my kiss--' - -Then said the Vizier, 'Yet a further guile! Was't not an outrage to bring -me here?' - -She faltered again, leaning the fair length of her limbs on a couch, -''Tis ill that we are not alone, else could these lips convince thee -well: else indeed!' - -And the Vizier cried, 'Chase then these intruders from us, O thou -sorceress, and above all serpents in power! for thou poisonest with a -touch; and the eye and the ear alike take in thy poisons greedily. Thou -overcomest the senses, the reason, the judgment; yea, vindictiveness, -wrath, suspicions; leading the soul captive with a breath of thine, as -'twere a breeze from the gardens of bliss.' - -Bhanavar changed her manner a little, lisping, 'And why that starting -from the tomb of a dead harmless youth? And that abuse of me?' - -He peered at her inquiringly, echoing 'Why?' - -And she repeated, as a child might repeat it, 'Why that?' - -Then the Vizier smote his forehead in the madness of utter perplexity, -changing his eye from Bhanavar to the tomb of Almeryl, doubting her -truth, yet dreading to disbelieve it. So she saw him fast enmeshed in her -subtleties, and clapped her hands crying, 'Come again with me to the -tomb, and note if there be aught I am to blame in, O Aswarak, and plight -thyself to me beside it.' - -He did nothing save to widen his eye at her somewhat; and she said, 'The -two are yonside the tomb, and they hear us not, and see us not by this -light of the Jewel; so come up to it boldly with me; free thy mind of its -doubt, and for a reconcilement kiss me on the way.' - -Aswarak moved not forward; but as Bhanavar laid the Jewel in her bosom he -tore the veil from her darkened head, and caught her to him and kissed -her. Then Bhanavar laughed and shouted, 'How is it with thee, Vizier -Aswarak?' - -He was tottering, and muttered, ''Tis a death-chill hath struck me even -to my marrow.' - -So she drew the Jewel forth once more, and rubbed it ablaze, and the -noise of the Serpents neared; and they streamed into the vault and under -it in fiery jets, surrounding Bhanavar, and whizzing about her till in -their velocity they were indivisible; and she stood as a fountain of fire -clothed in flashes of the underworld, the new loveliness of her face -growing vivid violet like an incessant lightning above them. Then -stretched she her two hands, and sang to the Serpents:-- - - Hither, hither, to the feast! - Hither to the sacrifice! - Virtue for my sake hath ceased: - Now to make an end of Vice! - - Twisted-tail and treble-tongue, - Swelling length and greedy maw! - I have had a horrid wrong; - Retribution is the law! - - Ye that suck'd my youthful lord, - Now shall make another meal: - Seize the black Vizier abhorr'd; - Seize him! seize him throat and heel! - - Set your serpent wits to find - Tortures of a new device: - Have him! have him heart and mind! - Hither to the sacrifice' - -Then she whirled with them round and round as a tempest whirls; and when -she had wound them to a fury, lo, she burst from the hissing circle and -dragged Ukleet from the vault into the passage, and blocked the entrance -to the vault. So was Queen Bhanavar avenged. - -Now, she said to Ukleet, 'Ransom presently the broker,--him they will not -harm,' and hastened to the King that he might see her in her beauty. The -King reclined on cushions in the harem with a fair slave-girl, newly from -the mountains, toying with the pearls in her locks. Then thought -Bhanavar, 'Let him not slight me!' So she drew a rose-coloured veil over -her face and sat beside Mashalleed. The King continued his fondling with -the girl, saying to her, 'Was there no destiny foretold of thy coming to -the palace of the King to rule it, O Nashta, starbeam in the waters! and -hadst thou no dream of it?' - -Bhanavar struck the King's arm, but he noticed her not, and Nashta -laughed. Then Bhanavar controlled her trembling and said, 'A word, O -King! and vouchsafe me a hearing.' - -The King replied languidly, still looking on Nashta, ''Tis a command that -the voice of none that are crabbed and hideous be heard in the harem, and -I find comfort in it, O Nashta! but speak thou, my fountain of -sweet-dropping lute-notes!' - -Bhanavar caught the King's hand and said, 'I have to speak with thee; -'tis the Queen. Chase from us this little wax puppet a space.' - -The King disengaged his hand and leaned it over to Nashta, who began -playing with it, and fitting on it a ring, giggling. Then, as he answered -nothing, Bhanavar came nearer and slapped him on the cheek. Mashalleed -started to his feet, and his hand grasped his girdle; but that -wrathfulness was stayed when he beheld the veil slide from her visage. So -he cried, 'My Queen! my soul!' - -She pointed to Nashta, and the King chid the girl, and sent her forth -lean with his shifted displeasure, as a kitten slinks wet from a -fish-pond where it had thought to catch a great fish. Then Bhanavar -exclaimed, 'There was a change in thy manner to me before that creature.' - -He sought to dissimulate with her, but at last he confessed, 'I was truly -this morning the victim of a sorcery.' - -Thereupon she cried, 'And thou went angered to find me not by thee on the -couch, but one in my place, a hag of ugliness. Hear then the case, O -Mashalleed! Surely that old crone had a dream, and it was that if she -slept one night by the King she would arise fresh in health from her -ills, and with powers lasting a year to heal others of all maladies with -a touch. So she came to me, petitioning me to bring this about. O my lord -the King, did I well in being privy to her desire?' - -The King could not doubt this story of Bhanavar, seeing her constant -loveliness, and the arch of her flashing brow, and the oval of her cheek -and chin smooth as milk. So he said, 'O my Queen! I had thought to go, as -I must, gladly; but how shall I go, knowing thy truth, thy beauty -unchanged; thee faithful, a follower of the injunctions of the Prophet in -charitable deeds?' - -Cried she, 'And whither goeth my lord, and on what errand?' - -He answered, 'The people of a province southward have raised the standard -of revolt and mocked my authority; they have been joined by certain of -the Arab chiefs subject to my dominion, and have defeated my armies. 'Tis -to subdue them I go; yea, to crush them. Yet, wallaby! I know not. Care I -if kingdoms fall away, and nations, so that I have thee? Nay, let all -pass, so that thou remain by me.' - -Bhanavar paced from him to a mirror, and frowned at the reflection of her -fairness, thinking, 'Such had he spoken to the girl Nashta, or another, -this King!' And she thought, 'I have been beloved by the noblest three on -earth; I will ask no more of love; vengeance I have had. 'Tis time that I -demand of my beauty nothing save power, and I will make this King my -stepping-stone to power, rejoicing my soul with the shock of armies.' - -Now, she persuaded Mashalleed to take her with him on his expedition -against the Arabs; and they set forth, heading a great assemblage of -warriors, southward to the land bordering the Desert. The King credited -the suggestions of Bhanavar, that Aswarak had disappeared to join the -rebels, and pressed forward in his eagerness to inflict a chastisement -signal in swiftness upon them and that traitor; so eagerly Mashalleed -journeyed to his army in advance, that the main body, with Bhanavar, was -left by him long behind. She had encouraged him, saying, 'I shall love -thee much if thou art speedy in winning success.' The Queen was housed on -an elephant, harnessed with gold, and with silken purple trappings; from -the rose-hued curtains of her palanquin she looked on a mighty march of -warriors, filling the extent of the plains; all day she fed her sight on -them. Surely the story of her beauty became noised among the guards of -her person that rode and ran beneath the royal elephant, till the -soldiers of Mashalleed spake but of the beauty of the Queen, and Bhanavar -was as a moon shining over that sea of men. - -Now, they had passed the cultivated fields, and were halting by the ford -of a river bordering the Desert, when lo! a warrior on the yonside, -riding in a cloud of dust, and his shout was, 'The King Mashalleed is -defeated, and flying.' Then the Captains of the host witnessed to the -greatness of Allah, and were troubled with a dread, fearing to advance; -but Bhanavar commanded a horse to be saddled for her, and mounted it, and -plunged through the ford singly; so they followed her, and all day she -rode forward on horseback, touching neither food nor drink. By night she -was a league beyond the foremost of them, and fell upon the King encamped -in the Desert, with the loose remnant of his forces. Mashalleed, when he -had looked on her, forgot his affliction, and stood up to embrace her, -but Bhanavar spurned him, crying, 'A time for this in the time of -disgrace?' Then she said, 'How came it?' - -He answered, 'There was a Chief among the enemy, an Arab, before the -terror of whom my people fled.' - -Cried she, 'Conquer him on the morrow, and till then I eat not, drink -not, sleep not.' - -On the morrow Mashalleed again encountered the rebels, and Bhanavar, -seated on her elephant, from a sand-hillock under a palm, beheld the -prowess of the Arab Chief and the tempest of battle that he was. She -thought, 'I have seen but one mighty in combat like that one, Ruark, the -Chief of the Beni-Asser.' Thereupon she coursed toward the King, even -where the arrows gloomed like locusts, thick and dark in the air aloof, -and said, 'The victory is with yonder Chief! Hurl on him three of thy -sons of valour.' - -The three were selected, and made onslaught on this Chief, and perished -under his arm. - -Bhanavar saw them fall, and exclaimed, 'Another attack on him, and with -thrice three!' - -Her will was the mandate of Mashalleed, and these likewise were ordered -forth, and closed on the Chief, but he darted from their toils and -wheeled about them, spearing them one by one till the nine were in the -dust. Bhanavar compressed her dry lips and muttered to the King, 'Head -thou a body against him.' - -Mashalleed gathered round his standard the chosen of his warriors, and -smoothed his beard, and headed them. Then the Chief struck his lance -behind him, and stretched rapidly a half-circle across the sand, and -halted on a knoll. When they neared him he retreated in a further -half-circle, and continued this wise, wasting the fury of Mashalleed, -till he stood among his followers. There, as the King hesitated and -prepared to retreat, he and the others of the tribe levelled their lances -and hung upon his rear, fretting them, slaughtering captains of the -troop. When Mashalleed turned to face his pursuer, the Chief was alone, -immovable on his mare, fronting the ranks. Then Bhanavar taunted the -King, and he essayed the capture of that Chief a second time and a third, -and it was each time as the first. Bhanavar looked about her with rapid -eyes, murmuring, 'Oh, what a Chief is he! Oh that a cloud would fall, a -smoke arise, to blind these hosts, that I might sling my serpents on him -unseen, for I will not be vanquished, though it be by Ruark!' So she drew -to the King, and the altercation between them was fierce in the fury of -the battle, he saying, ''Tis a feint of the Chief, this challenge; and I -must succour the left of my army by the well, that he is overmatching -with numbers'; and she, 'If thou head them not, then will I, and thou -shalt behold a woman do what thou durst not, and lose her love and win -her scorn.' While they spake the Arabs they looked on seemed to flutter -and waver, and the Chief was backing to them, calling to them as 'twere -words of shame to rally them. Seeing this, Mashalleed charged against the -Chief once more, and lo! the Arabs opened to receive him, closing on his -band of warriors like waters whitened by the storm on a fleet of -swift-scudding vessels: and there was a dust and a tumult visible, such -as is seen in the darkness when a vessel struck by the lightning-bolt is -sinking--flashes of steel, lifting of hands, rolling of horsemen and -horses. Then Bhanavar groaned aloud, 'They are lost! Shame to us! only -one hope is left-that 'tis Ruark, this Chief!' Now, the view of the plain -cleared, and with it she beheld the army of Mashalleed broken, the King -borne down by a dust of Arabs; so she unveiled her face and rode on the -host with the horsemen that guarded her, glorious with a crown of gold -and the glowing Jewel on her brow. When she was a javelin's flight from -them the Arabs shouted and paused in terror, for the light of her head -was as the sun setting between clouds of thunder; but that Chief dashed -forward like a flame beaten level by the wind, crying, 'Bhanavar; -Bhanavar!' and she knew the features of Ruark; so she said, 'Even I!' And -he cried again, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' and was as one stricken by a shaft. -Then Bhanavar threw on him certain of the horsemen with her, and he -suffered them without a sign to surround him and grasp his mare by the -bridle-rein, and bring him, disarmed, before the Queen. At sight of Ruark -a captive the Arabs fell into confusion, and lost heart, and were -speedily chased and scattered from the scene like a loose spray before -the wind; but Mashalleed the King rejoiced mightily and praised Bhanavar, -and the whole army of the King praised her, magnifying her. - -Now, with Ruark she interchanged no syllable, and said not farewell to -him when she departed with Mashalleed, to encounter other tribes; and the -Chief was bound and conducted a prisoner to the city of the inland sea, -and cast into prison, in expectation of Death the releaser, and continued -there wellnigh a year, eating the bitter bread of captivity. In the -evening of every seventh day there came to him a little mountain girl, -that sat by him and leaned a lute to her bosom, singing of the mountain -and the desert, but he turned his face from her to the wall. One day she -sang of Death the releaser, and Ruark thought, ''Tis come! she warneth -me! Merciful is Allah!' On the morning that followed Ukleet entered the -cell, and with him three slaves, blacks, armed with scimitars. So Ruark -stood up and bore witness to his faith, saying, 'Swift with the stroke!' -but Ukleet exclaimed, 'Fear not! the end is not yet.' - -Then said he, 'Peace with thee! These slaves, O Chief, excelling in -martial qualities! surely they're my retinue, and the retinue of them of -my rank in the palace; and where I go they go; for the exalted have more -shadows than one! yea, three have they in my case, even very grimly black -shadows, whereon the idle expend not laughter, and whoso joketh in their -hearing, 'tis, wullahy! the last joke of that person. In such-wise are -the powerful known among men, they that stand very prominent in the beams -of prosperity! Now this of myself; but for thee--of a surety the Queen -Bhanavar, my mistress, will be here by the time of the rising of the -moon. In the name of Allah!' Saying that he departed in his greatness, -and Ruark watched for her that rose in his soul as the moon in the -heavens. - -Meanwhile Bhanavar had mused, ''Tis this day, the day when the Serpents -desire their due, and the King Mashalleed they shall have; for what is -life to him but a treachery and a dalliance, and what is my hold on him -but this Jewel of the Serpents? He has had the profit of beauty, and he -shall yield the penalty: my kiss is for him, my serpent-kiss. And I will -release Ruark, and espouse him, and war with kings, sultans, emperors, -infidels, subduing them till they worship me.' - -She flashed her figure in the glass, and was lovely therein as one in the -light of Paradise; but ere she reached the King Mashalleed, lo! the hour -of the Serpents had struck, and her beauty melted from her as snow melts -from off the rock; and she was suddenly haggard in utter uncomeliness, -and knew it not, but marched, smiling a grand smile, on to the King. Now -as Mashalleed lifted his eyes to her he started amazed, crying, 'The hag -again!' and she said, 'What of the hag, O my lord the King?' Thereat he -was yet more amazed, and exclaimed, 'The hag of ugliness with the voice -of Bhanavar! Has then the Queen lent that loathsomeness her voice also?' - -Bhanavar chilled a moment, and looked on the faces of the women present, -and they were staring at her, the younger ones tittering, and among them -Nashta, whom she hated. So she cried, 'Away with ye!' But the King -commanded them, 'Stay!' Then the Queen leaned to him, saying, 'I will -speak with my lord alone'; whereat he shrank from her, and spat. Ice and -flame shivered through the blood of Bhanavar, yet such was her eagerness -to give the kiss to Mashalleed, that she leaned to him, still wooing him -to her with smiles. Then the King seized her violently, and flung her -over the marble floor to the very basin of the fountain, and the crown -that was on her brow fell and rolled to the feet of Nashta. The girl -lifted it, laughing, and was in the act of fitting it to her fair head -amid the chuckles of her companions, when a slap from the hand of -Bhanavar spun her twice round, and she dropped to the marble insensible. -The King bellowed in wrath, and ran to Nashta, crying to the Queen, -'Surrender that crown to her, foul hag!' But Bhanavar had bent over the -basin of the fountain, and beheld the image of her change therein, and -was hurrying from the hall and down the corridors of the palace to the -private chamber. So he made bare the steel by his side, and followed her -with a number of the harem guard, menacing her, and commanding her to -surrender the crown with the Jewel. Ere she could lay hand on a veil, he -was beside her, and she was encompassed. In that extremity Bhanavar -plucked the Jewel from her crown, and rubbed it, calling the Serpents to -her. One came, one only, and that one would not move from her to sling -himself about the neck of Mashalleed, but whirled round her, hissing: - - Every hour a serpent dies, - Till we have the sacrifice: - Sweeten, sweeten, with thy kiss, - Quick! a soul for Karatis. - -Surely the King bit his breath, marvelling, and his fury became an awful -fear, and he fell back from her, molesting her no further. Then she -squeezed the serpent till his body writhed in knots, and veiled herself, -and sprang down a secret passage to the garden, and it was the time of -the rising of the moon. Coolness and soothingness dropped on her as a -balm from the great light, and she gazed on it murmuring, as in a memory: - - Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that dark palm-tree through the night, - Rest on the mountain slope, - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps, - Silvery leaps and falls: - Hang by the mountain-walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And she panted and sighed, and wept, crying, 'Who, who will kiss me or -have my kiss now, that I may indeed be as yonder beam? Who, that I may be -avenged on this King? And who sang that song of the ascending of the -moon, that comes to me as a part of me from old times?' As she gazed on -the circled radiance swimming under a plume of palm leaves, she -exclaimed, 'Ruark! Ruark the Chief!' So she clasped her hands to her -bosom, and crouched under the shadows of the garden, and fled through the -garden gates and the streets of the city, heavily veiled, to the prison -where Ruark awaited her within the walls and Ukleet without. The Governor -of the prison had been warned by Ukleet of her coming, and the doors and -bars opened before her unchallenged, till she stood in the cell of Ruark; -her eyes, that were alone unveiled, scanned the countenance of the Chief, -the fevered lustre-jet of his looks, and by the little moonlight in the -cell she saw with a glance the straw-heap and the fetters, and the -black-bread and water untasted on the bench--signs of his misery and -desire for her coming. So she greeted him with the word of peace, and he -replied with the name of the All-Merciful. Then said she, 'O Ruark, of -Rukrooth thy mother tell me somewhat.' - -He answered, 'I know nought of her since that day. Allah have her in his -keeping!' - -So she cried, 'How? What say'st thou, Ruark? 'tis a riddle.' - -Then he, 'The oath of Ruark is no rope of sand! He swore to see her not -till he had set eyes on Bhanavar.' - -She knelt by the Chief, saying in a soft voice, 'Very greatly the Chief -of the Beni-Asser loved Bhanavar.' And she thought, 'Yea! greatly and -verily love I him; and he shall be no victim of the Serpents, for I defy -them and give them other prey.' So she said in deeper notes, 'Ruark! the -Queen is come hither to release thee. O my Chief! O thou soul of wrath! -Ruark, my fire-eye! my eagle of the desert! where is one on earth beloved -as thou art by Bhanavar?' The dark light in his eyes kindled as light in -the eyes of a lion, and she continued, 'Ruark, what a yoke is hers who -weareth this crown! He that is my lord, how am I mated to him save in -loathing? O my Chief, my lion! hadst thou no dream of Bhanavar, that she -would come hither to unbind thee and lift thee beside her, and live with -thee in love and veilless loveliness,--thine? Yea! and in power over -lands and nations and armies, lording the infidel, taming them to -submission, exulting in defiance and assaults and victories and -magnanimities--thou and she?' Then while his breast heaved like a broad -wave, the Queen started to her feet, crying, 'Lo, she is here! and this -she offereth thee, Ruark!' - -A shrill cry parted from her lips, and to the clapping of her hands -slaves entered the cell with lamps, and instruments to strike off the -fetters from the Chief; and they released him, and Ruark leaned on their -shoulders to bear the weight of a limb, so was he weakened by captivity; -but Bhanavar thrust them from the Chief, and took the pressure of his -elbow on her own shoulder, and walked with him thus to the door of the -cell, he sighing as one in a dream that dreameth the bliss of bliss. Now -they had gone three paces onward, and were in the light of many lamps, -when behold! the veil of Bhanavar caught in the sleeve of Ruark as he -lifted it, and her visage became bare. She shrieked, and caught up her -two hands to her brow, but the slaves had a glimpse of her, and said -among themselves, 'This is not the Queen.' And they murmured, ''Tis an -impostor! one in league with the Chief.' Bhanavar heard them say, 'Arrest -her with him at the Governor's gate,' and summoned her soul, thinking, -'He loveth me, the Chief! he will look into my eyes and mark not the -change. What need I then to dread his scorn when I ask of him the kiss: -now must it be given, or we are lost, both of us!' and she raised her -head on Ruark, and said to him, 'my Chief, ere we leave these walls and -join our fates, wilt thou plight thyself to me with a kiss?' - -Ruark leapt to her like the bounding leopard, and gave her the kiss, as -were it his whole soul he gave. Then in a moment Bhanavar felt the blush -of beauty burn over her, and drew the veil down on her face, and suffered -the slaves to arrest her with Ruark, and bring her before the Governor, -and from the Governor to the King in his council-chamber, with the Chief -of the Beni-Asser. - -Now, the King Mashalleed called to her, 'Thou traitress! thou sorceress! -thou serpent!' - -And she answered under the veil, 'What, O my lord the King! and wherefore -these evil names of me?' - -Cried he, 'Thou thing of guile! and thou hast pleaded with me for the -life of the Chief thus long to visit him in secret! Life of my head I but -Mashalleed is not one to be fooled.' - -So she said, ''Tis Bhanavar! hast thou forgotten her?' - -Then he waxed white with rage, exclaiming, 'Yea, 'tis she! a serpent in -the slough! and Ukleet in the torture hath told of thee what is known to -him. Unveil! unveil!' - -She threw the veil from her figure, and smiled, for Mashalleed was mute, -the torrent of invective frozen on his mouth when he beheld the miracle -of beauty that she was, the splendid jewel of throbbing loveliness. So to -scourge him with the bitter lash of jealousy, Bhanavar turned her eyes on -Ruark, and said sweetly, 'Yet shalt thou live to taste again the bliss of -the Desert. Pleasant was our time in it, O my Chief!' The King glared and -choked, and she said again, 'Nor he conquered thee, but I; and I that -conquered thee, little will it be for me to conquer him: his threats are -the winds of idleness.' - -Surely the world darkened before the eyes of Mashalleed, and he arose and -called to his guard hoarsely, 'Have off their heads!' They hesitated, -dreading the Queen, and he roared, 'Slay them!' - -Bhanavar beheld the winking of the steel, but ere the scimitars -descended, she seized Ruark, and they stood in a whizzing ring of -serpents, the sound of whom was as the hum of a thousand wires struck by -storm-winds. Then she glowed, towering over them with the Chief clasped -to her, and crying: - - King of vileness! match thy slaves - With my creatures of the caves. - -And she sang to the Serpents: - - Seize upon him! sting him thro'! - Thrice this day shall pay your due. - -But they, instead of obeying her injunction, made narrower their circle -round Bhanavar and the Chief. She yellowed, and took hold of the nearest -Serpent horribly, crying: - - Dare against me to rebel, - Ye, the bitter brood of hell? - -And the Serpent gasped in reply: - - One the kiss to us secures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Thereupon another of the Serpents swung on, the feet of Ruark, winding -his length upward round the body of the Chief; so she tugged at that one, -tearing it from him violently, and crying: - - Him ye shall not have, I swear! - Seize the King that's crouching there. - -And that Serpent hissed: - - This is he the kiss ensures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Another and another Serpent she flung from the Chief, and they began to -swarm venomously, answering her no more. Then Ruark bore witness to his -faith, and folded his arms with the grave smile she had known in the -desert; and Bhanavar struggled and tussled with the Serpents in -fierceness, strangling and tossing them to right and left. 'Great is -Allah!' cried all present, and the King trembled, for never was sight -like that seen, the hall flashing with the Serpents, and a woman-serpent, -their Queen, raging to save one from their fury, shrieking at intervals: - - Never, never shall ye fold, - Save with me the man I hold. - -But now the hiss and scream of the Serpents and the noise of their -circling was quickened to a slurred savage sound and they closed on -Ruark, and she felt him stifling and that they were relentless. So in the -height of the tempest Bhanavar seized the Jewel in the gold circlet on -her brow and cast it from her. Lo! the Serpents instantly abated their -frenzy, and flew all of them to pluck the Jewel, chasing the one that had -it in his fangs through the casement, and the hall breathed empty of -them. Then in the silence that was, Bhanavar veiled her face and said to -the Chief, 'Pass from the hall while they yet dread me. No longer am I -Queen of Serpents.' - -But he replied, 'Nay! said I not my soul is thine?' - -She cried to him, 'Seest thou not the change in me? I was bound to those -Serpents for my beauty, and 'tis gone! Now am I powerless, hateful to -look on, O Ruark my Chief!' - -He remained still, saying, 'What thou hast been thou art.' - -She exclaimed, 'O true soul, the light is hateful to me as I to the -light; but I will yet save thee to comfort Rukrooth, thy mother.' - -So she drew him with her swiftly from the hall of the King ere the King -had recovered his voice of command; but now the wrath of the All-powerful -was upon her and him! Surely within an hour from the flight of the -Serpents, the slaves and soldiers of Mashalleed laid at his feet two -heads that were the heads of Ruark and Bhanavar; and they said, 'O great -King, we tracked them to her chamber and through to a passage and a vault -hung with black, wherein were two corpses, one in a tomb and one -unburied, and we slew them there, clasping each other, O King of the -age!' - -Mashalleed gazed upon the head of Bhanavar and sighed, for death had made -the head again fair with a wondrous beauty, a loveliness never before -seen on earth. - - - - -THE BETROTHAL - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had ceased speaking, the Vizier smiled gravely, -and shook his beard with satisfaction, and said to the Eclipser of -Reason, 'What opinest thou of this nephew of the barber, O Noorna bin -Noorka?' - -She answered, “O Feshnavat, my father, truly I am content with the -bargain of my betrothal. He, Wullahy, is a fair youth of flowing speech.' -Then she said, 'Ask thou him what he opineth of me, his betrothed?” - -So the Vizier put that interrogation to Shibli Bagarag, and the youth was -in perplexity; thinking, 'Is it possible to be joyful in the embrace of -one that hath brought thwackings upon us, serious blows?' Thinking, 'Yet -hath she, when the mood cometh, kindly looks; and I marked her eye -dwelling on me admiringly!' And he thought, 'Mayhap she that groweth -younger and counteth nature backwards, hath a history that would affect -me; or, it may be, my kisses--wah! I like not to give them, and it is -said, - - “Love is wither'd by the withered lip”; - -and that, - - “On bones become too prominent he'll trip.” - -Yet put the case, that my kisses--I shower them not, Allah the All-seeing -is my witness! and they be given daintily as 'twere to the leaf of a -nettle, or over-hot pilau. Yet haply kisses repeated might restore her to -a bloom, and it is certain youth is somehow stolen from her, if the -Vizier Feshnavat went before her, and his blood be her blood; and he is -powerful, she wise. I'll decide to act the part of a rejoicer, and -express of her opinions honeyed to the soul of that sex.' - -Now, while he was thus debating he hung his head, and the Vizier awaited -his response, knitting his brows angrily at the delay, and at the last he -cried, 'What! no answer? how 's this? Shall thy like dare hold debate -when questioned of my like? And is my daughter Noorna bin Noorka, -thinkest thou, a slave-girl in the market,--thou haggling at her price, O -thou nephew of the barber?' - -So Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, 'O exalted one, bestower of the bride! -surely I debated with myself but for appropriate terms; and I delayed to -select the metre of the verse fitting my thoughts of her, and my wondrous -good fortune, and the honour done me.' - -Then the Vizier, 'Let us hear: we listen.' - -And Shibli Bagarag was advised to deal with illustrations in his dilemma, -by-ways of expression, and spake in extemporaneous verse, and with a full -voice: - - The pupils of the Sage for living Beauty sought; - And one a Vision clasped, and one a Model wrought. - 'I have it!' each exclaimed, and rivalry arose: - 'Paint me thy Maid of air!' 'Thy Grace of clay disclose.' - 'What! limbs that cannot move!' 'What! lips that melt away!' - 'Keep thou thy Maid of air!' 'Shroud up thy Grace of clay!' - 'Twas thus, contending hot, they went before the Sage, - And knelt at the wise wells of cold ascetic age. - 'The fairest of the twain, O father, thou record': - -He answered, 'Fairest she who's likest to her lord.' - -Said they, 'What fairer thing matched with them might prevail?' - -The Sage austerely smiled, and said, 'Yon monkey's tail.' - - 'Tis left for after-time his wisdom to declare: - That's loveliest we best love, and to ourselves compare. - Yet lovelier than all hands shape or fancies build, - The meanest thing of earth God with his fire hath filled. - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag ceased, Noorna bin Noorka cried, 'Enough, O -wondrous turner of verse, thou that art honest!' And she laughed loudly, -rustling like a bag of shavings, and rolling in her laughter. - -Then said she, 'O my betrothed, is not the thing thou wouldst say no -other than-- - - “Each to his mind doth the fairest enfold, - For broken long since was Beauty's mould”; - -and, “Thou that art old, withered, I cannot flatter thee, as I can in no -way pay compliments to the monkey's tail of high design; nevertheless the -Sage would do thee honour”? So read I thy illustration, O keen of wit! -and thou art forgiven its boldness, my betrothed,--Wullahy! utterly so.' - -Now, the youth was abashed at her discernment, and the kindliness of her -manner won him to say: - - There's many a flower of sweetness, there's many a gem of earth - Would thrill with bliss our being, could we perceive its worth. - O beauteous is creation, in fashion and device! - If I have fail'd to think thee fair, 'tis blindness is my vice. - -And she answered him: - - I've proved thy wit and power of verse, - That is at will diffuse and terse: - Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! - I am content: the time will come! - -Then she said to the Vizier Feshnavat, 'O my father, there is all in this -youth, the nephew of the barber, that's desirable for the undertaking; -and his feet will be on a level with the task we propose for him, he the -height of man above it. 'Tis clear that vanity will trip him, but honesty -is a strong upholder; and he is one that hath the spirit of enterprise -and the mask of dissimulation: gratitude I observe in him; and it is as I -thought when I came upon him on the sand-hill outside the city, that his -star is clearly in a web with our star, he destined for the Shaving of -Shagpat.' - -So the Vizier replied, 'He hath had thwackings, yet is he not deterred -from making further attempt on Shagpat. I think well of him, and I augur -hopefully. Wullahy! the Cadi shall be sent for; I can sleep in his -secresy; and he shall perform the ceremonies of betrothal, even now and -where we sit, and it shall be for him to write the terms of contract: so -shall we bind the youth firmly to us, and he will be one of us as we are, -devoted to the undertaking by three bonds--the bond of vengeance, the -bond of ambition, and that of love.' - -Now, so it was that the Vizier despatched a summons for the attendance of -the Cadi, and he came and performed between Shibli Bagarag and Noorna bin -Noorka ceremonies of betrothal, and wrote terms of contract; and they -were witnessed duly by the legal number of witnesses, and so worded that -he had no claim on her as wife till such time as the Event to which he -bound himself was mastered. Then the fees being paid, and compliments -interchanged, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Be ye happy! and let the weak cling -to the strong; and be ye two to one in this world, and no split halves -that betray division and stick not together when the gum is heated.' Then -he made a sign to the Cadi and them that had witnessed the contract to -follow him, leaving the betrothed ones to their own company. - -So when they were alone Noorna gazed on the youth wistfully, and said in -a soft tone, 'Thou art dazed with the adventure, O youth! Surely there is -one kiss owing me: art thou willing? Am I reduced to beg it of thee? Or -dream'st thou?' - -He lifted his head and replied, 'Even so.' - -Thereat he stood up languidly, and went to her and kissed her. And she -smiled and said, 'I wot it will be otherwise, and thou wilt learn -swiftness of limb, brightness of eye, and the longing for earthly -beatitude, when next I ask thee, O my betrothed!' - -Lo! while she spake, new light seemed in her; and it was as if a splendid -jewel were struggling to cast its beams through the sides of a crystal -vase smeared with dust and old dirt and spinnings of the damp spider. He -was amazed, and cried, 'How's this? What change is passing in thee?' - -She said, 'Joy in thy kiss, and that I have 'scaped Shagpat.' - -Then he: 'Shagpat? How? had that wretch claim over thee ere I came?' - -But she looked fearfully at the corners of the room and exclaimed, 'Hush, -my betrothed! speak not of him in that fashion, 'tis dangerous; and my -power cannot keep off his emissaries at all times.' Then she said, 'O my -betrothed, know me a sorceress ensorcelled; not that I seem, but that I -shall be! Wait thou for the time and it will reward thee. What! thou -think'st to have plucked a wrinkled o'erripe fruit,--a mouldy pomegranate -under the branches, a sour tamarind? 'Tis well! I say nought, save that -time will come, and be thou content. It is truly as I said, that I have -thee between me and Shagpat; and that honoured one of this city thought -fit in his presumption to demand me in marriage at the hands of my -father, knowing me wise, and knowing the thing that transformed me to -this, the abominable fellow! Surely my father entertained not his -proposal save with scorn; but the King looked favourably on it, and it is -even now matter of reproach to Feshnavat, my father, that he withholdeth -me from Shagpat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'A clothier, O Noorna, control the Vizier! and -demand of him his daughter in marriage! and a clothier influence the King -against his Vizier!'--tis, wullahy! a riddle.' - -She replied, ''Tis even so, eyes of mine, my betrothed! but thou know'st -not Shagpat, and that he is. Lo! the King, and all of this city save we -three, are held in enchantment by him, and made foolish by one hair -that's in his head.' - -Shibli Bagarag started in his seat like one that shineth with a -discovery, and cried, 'The Identical!' - -Then she, sighing, ''Tis that indeed! but the Identical of Identicals, -the chief and head of them, and I, woe's me! I, the planter of it.' - -So he said, 'How so?' - -But she cried, 'I'll tell thee not here, nor aught of myself and him, and -the Genie held in bondage by me, till thou art proved by adventure, and -we float peacefully on the sea of the Bright Lily: there shalt thou see -me as I am, and hear my story, and marvel at it; for 'tis wondrous, and a -manifestation of the Power that dwelleth unseen.' - -So Shibli Bagarag pondered awhile on the strange nature of the things she -hinted, and laughter seized him as he reflected on Shagpat, and the whole -city enchanted by one hair in his head; and he exclaimed, 'O Noorna, -knoweth he, Shagpat, of the might in him?' - -She answered, 'Enough for his vain soul that homage is paid to him, and -he careth not for the wherefore!' - -Shibli Bagarag fixed his eyes on the deep-flowered carpets of the floor, -as if reading there a matter quaintly written, and smiled, saying, 'What -boldness was mine--the making offer to shear Shagpat, the lion in his -lair, he that holdeth a whole city in enchantment! Wah! 'twas an instance -of daring!' - -And Noorna said, 'Not only an entire city, but other cities affected by -him, as witness Oolb, whither thou wilt go; and there be governments and -states, and conditions of men remote, that hang upon him, Shagpat. 'Tis -even so; I swell not his size. When thou hast mastered the Event, and -sent him forth shivering from thy blade like the shorn lamb, 'twill be -known how great a thing has been achieved, and a record for the -generations to come; choice is that historian destined to record it!' - -Quoth he, looking eagerly at her, 'O Noorna, what is it in thy speech -affecteth me? Surely it infuseth the vigour of wine, old wine; and I -shiver with desire to shave Shagpat, and spin threads for the historian -to weave in order. I, wullahy! had but dry visions of the greatness -destined for me till now, my betrothed! Shall I master an Event in -shaving him, and be told of to future ages? By Allah and his Prophet -(praise be to that name!), this is greatness! Say, Noorna, hadst thou -foreknowledge of me and my coming to this city?' - -So she said, 'I was on the roofs one night among the stars ere moonrise, -O my betrothed, and 'twas close on the rise of this very month's moon. -The star of our enemy, Shagpat, was large and red, mine as it were -menaced by its proximity, nigh swallowed in its haughty beams and the -steady overbearings of its effulgence. 'Twas so as it had long been, when -suddenly, lo! a star from the upper heaven that shot down between them -wildly, and my star took lustre from it; and the star of Shagpat trembled -like a ring on a tightened rope, and waved and flickered, and seemed to -come forward and to retire; and 'twas presently as a comet in the sky, -bright,--a tadpole, with large head and lengthy tail, in the assembly of -the planets. This I saw: and that the stranger star was stationed by my -star, shielding it, and that it drew nearer to my star, and entered its -circle, and that the two stars seemed mixing the splendour that was -theirs. Now, that sight amazed me, and my heart in its beating quickened -with the expectation of things approaching. Surely I rendered praise, and -pressed both hands on my bosom, and watched, and behold! the comet, the -illumined tadpole, was becoming restless beneath the joint rays of the -twain that were dominating him; and he diminished, and lashed his tail -uneasily, half madly, darting as do captured beasts from the fetters that -constrain them. Then went there from thy star--for I know now 'twas -thine--a momentary flash across the head of the tadpole, and again -another and another, rapidly, pertinaciously. And from thy star there -passed repeated flashes across the head of the tadpole, till his -brilliance was as 'twere severed from him, and he, like drossy silver, a -dead shape in the conspicuous heavens. And he became yellow as the -rolling eyes of sick wretches in pain, and shrank in his place like pale -parchment at the touch of flame; dull was he as an animal fascinated by -fear, and deprived of all power to make head against the foe, darkness, -that now beset him, and usurped part of his yet lively tail, and settled -on his head, and coated part of his body. So when this tadpole, that was -once terrible to me, became turbaned, shoed, and shawled with darkness, -and there was little of him remaining visible, lo! a concluding flash -shot from thy star, and he fell heavily down the sky and below the hills, -into the sea, that is the Enchanted Sea, whose Queen is Rabesqurat, -Mistress of Illusions. Now when my soul recovered from amazement at the -marvels seen, I arose and went from the starry roofs to consult my books -of magic, and 'twas revealed to me that one was wandering to a junction -with my destiny, and that by his means the great aim would of a surety be -accomplished--Shagpat Shaved! So my purpose was to discover him; and I -made calculations, and summoned them that serve me to search for such a -youth as thou art; fairly, O my betrothed, did I preconceive thee. And so -it was that I traced a magic line from the sand-hills to the city, and -from the outer hills to the sand-hills; and whoso approached by that line -I knew was he marked out as my champion, my betrothed,--a youth destined -for great things. Was I right? The egg hatcheth. Thou art already proved -by thwackings, seasoned to the undertaking, and I doubt not thou art he -that will finish with that tadpole Shagpat, and sit in the high seat, thy -name an odour in distant lands, a joy to the historian, the Compiler of -Events, thou Master of the Event, the greatest which time will witness -for ages to come.' - -When she had spoken Shibli Bagarag considered her words, and the -knowledge that he was selected by destiny as Master of the Event inflated -him; and he was a hawk in eagerness, a peacock in pride, an ostrich in -fulness of chest, crying, 'O Noorna bin Noorka! is't really so? Truly it -must be, for the readers of planets were also busy with me at the time of -my birth, interpreting of me in excessive agitation; and the thing they -foretold is as thou foretellest. I am, wullahy! marked: I walk manifest -in the eye of Providence.' - -Thereupon he exulted, and his mind strutted through the future of his -days, and down the ladder of all time, exacting homage from men, his -brethren; and 'twas beyond the art of Noorna to fix him to the present -duties of the enterprise: he was as feathered seed before the breath of -vanity. - -Now, while the twain discoursed, she of the preparations for shaving -Shagpat, he of his completion of the deed, and the honours due to him as -Master of the Event, Feshnavat the Vizier returned to them from his -entertainment of the Cadi; and he had bribed him to silence with a mighty -bribe. So he called to them-- - -'Ho! be ye ready to commence the work? and have ye advised together as to -the beginning? True is that triplet: - - “Whatever enterprize man hath, - For waking love or curbing wrath, - 'Tis the first step that makes a path.” - -And how have ye determined as to that first step?' - -Noorna replied, 'O my father! we have not decided, and there hath been -yet no deliberation between us as to that.' - -Then he said, 'All this while have ye talked, and no deliberation as to -that! Lo, I have drawn the Cadi to our plot, and bribed him with a mighty -bribe; and I have prepared possible disguises for this nephew of the -barber; and I have had the witnesses of thy betrothal despatched to -foreign parts, far kingdoms in the land of Roum, to prevent tattling and -gabbling; and ye that were left alone for debating as to the great deed, -ye have not yet deliberated as to that! Is't known to ye, O gabblers, -aught of the punishment inflicted by Shahpesh, the Persian, on Khipil, -the Builder?--a punishment that, by Allah!' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'How of that punishment, O Vizier?' - -And the Vizier narrated as followeth. - - - - -AND THIS IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE -BUILDER - -They relate that Shahpesh, the Persian, commanded the building of a -palace, and Khipil was his builder. The work lingered from the first year -of the reign of Shahpesh even to his fourth. One day Shahpesh went to the -riverside where it stood, to inspect it. Khipil was sitting on a marble -slab among the stones and blocks; round him stretched lazily the masons -and stonecutters and slaves of burden; and they with the curve of -humorous enjoyment on their lips, for he was reciting to them adventures, -interspersed with anecdotes and recitations and poetic instances, as was -his wont. They were like pleased flocks whom the shepherd hath led to a -pasture freshened with brooks, there to feed indolently; he, the -shepherd, in the midst. - -Now, the King said to him, 'O Khipil, show me my palace where it -standeth, for I desire to gratify my sight with its fairness.' - -Khipil abased himself before Shahpesh, and answered, ''Tis even here, O -King of the age, where thou delightest the earth with thy foot and the -ear of thy slave with sweetness. Surely a site of vantage, one that -dominateth earth, air, and water, which is the builder's first and chief -requisition for a noble palace, a palace to fill foreign kings and -sultans with the distraction of envy; and it is, O Sovereign of the time, -a site, this site I have chosen, to occupy the tongues of travellers and -awaken the flights of poets!' - -Shahpesh smiled and said, 'The site is good! I laud the site! Likewise I -laud the wisdom of Ebn Busrac, where he exclaims: - - “Be sure, where Virtue faileth to appear, - For her a gorgeous mansion men will rear; - And day and night her praises will be heard, - Where never yet she spake a single word.”' - -Then said he, 'O Khipil, my builder, there was once a farm servant that, -having neglected in the seed-time to sow, took to singing the richness of -his soil when it was harvest, in proof of which he displayed the -abundance of weeds that coloured the land everywhere. Discover to me now -the completeness of my halls and apartments, I pray thee, O Khipil, and -be the excellence of thy construction made visible to me!' - -Quoth Khipil, 'To hear is to obey.' - -He conducted Shahpesh among the unfinished saloons and imperfect courts -and roofless rooms, and by half erected obelisks, and columns pierced and -chipped, of the palace of his building. And he was bewildered at the -words spoken by Shahpesh; but now the King exalted him, and admired the -perfection of his craft, the greatness of his labour, the speediness of -his construction, his assiduity; feigning not to behold his negligence. - -Presently they went up winding balusters to a marble terrace, and the -King said, 'Such is thy devotion and constancy in toil, Khipil, that thou -shaft walk before me here.' - -He then commanded Khipil to precede him, and Khipil was heightened with -the honour. When Khipil had paraded a short space he stopped quickly, and -said to Shahpesh, 'Here is, as it chanceth, a gap, O King! and we can go -no further this way.' - -Shahpesh said, 'All is perfect, and it is my will thou delay not to -advance.' - -Khipil cried, 'The gap is wide, O mighty King, and manifest, and it is an -incomplete part of thy palace.' - -Then said Shahpesh, 'O Khipil, I see no distinction between one part and -another; excellent are all parts in beauty and proportion, and there can -be no part incomplete in this palace that occupieth the builder four -years in its building: so advance, do my bidding.' - -Khipil yet hesitated, for the gap was of many strides, and at the bottom -of the gap was a deep water, and he one that knew not the motion of -swimming. But Shahpesh ordered his guard to point their arrows in the -direction of Khipil, and Khipil stepped forward hurriedly, and fell in -the gap, and was swallowed by the water below. When he rose the second -time, succour reached him, and he was drawn to land trembling, his teeth -chattering. And Shahpesh praised him, and said, 'This is an apt -contrivance for a bath, Khipil O my builder! well conceived; one that -taketh by surprise; and it shall be thy reward daily when much talking -hath fatigued thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead him to the hall of state. And when they were -there Shahpesh said, 'For a privilege, and as a mark of my approbation, I -give thee permission to sit in the marble chair of yonder throne, even in -my presence, O Khipil.' - -Khipil said, 'Surely, O King, the chair is not yet executed.' - -And Shahpesh exclaimed, 'If this be so, thou art but the length of thy -measure on the ground, O talkative one!' - -Khipil said, 'Nay, 'tis not so, O King of splendours! blind that I am! -yonder's indeed the chair.' - -And Khipil feared the King, and went to the place where the chair should -be, and bent his body in a sitting posture, eyeing the King, and made -pretence to sit in the chair of Shahpesh, as in conspiracy to amuse his -master. - -Then said Shahpesh, 'For a token that I approve thy execution of the -chair, thou shalt be honoured by remaining seated in it up to the hour of -noon; but move thou to the right or to the left, showing thy soul -insensible of the honour done thee, transfixed thou shah be with twenty -arrows and five.' - -The King then left him with a guard of twenty-five of his body-guard; and -they stood around him with bent bows, so that Khipil dared not move from -his sitting posture. And the masons and the people crowded to see Khipil -sitting on his master's chair, for it became rumoured about. When they -beheld him sitting upon nothing, and he trembling to stir for fear of the -loosening of the arrows, they laughed so that they rolled upon the floor -of the hall, and the echoes of laughter were a thousand-fold. Surely the -arrows of the guards swayed with the laughter that shook them. - -Now, when the time had expired for his sitting in the chair, Shahpesh -returned to him, and he was cramped, pitiable to see; and Shahpesh said, -'Thou hast been exalted above men, O Khipil! for that thou didst execute -for thy master has been found fitting for thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead the way to the noble gardens of dalliance and -pleasure that he had planted and contrived. And Khipil went in that state -described by the poet, when we go draggingly, with remonstrating members, - - Knowing a dreadful strength behind, - And a dark fate before. - -They came to the gardens, and behold, these were full of weeds and -nettles, the fountains dry, no tree to be seen--a desert. And Shahpesh -cried, 'This is indeed of admirable design, O Khipil! Feelest thou not -the coolness of the fountains?--their refreshingness? Truly I am grateful -to thee! And these flowers, pluck me now a handful, and tell me of their -perfume.' - -Khipil plucked a handful of the nettles that were there in the place of -flowers, and put his nose to them before Shahpesh, till his nose was -reddened; and desire to rub it waxed in him, and possessed him, and -became a passion, so that he could scarce refrain from rubbing it even in -the King's presence. And the King encouraged him to sniff and enjoy their -fragrance, repeating the poet's words: - - Methinks I am a lover and a child, - A little child and happy lover, both! - When by the breath of flowers I am beguiled - From sense of pain, and lulled in odorous sloth. - So I adore them, that no mistress sweet - Seems worthier of the love which they awake: - In innocence and beauty more complete, - Was never maiden cheek in morning lake. - Oh, while I live, surround me with fresh flowers! - Oh, when I die, then bury me in their bowers! - -And the King said, 'What sayest thou, O my builder? that is a fair -quotation, applicable to thy feelings, one that expresseth them?' - -Khipil answered, ''Tis eloquent, O great King! comprehensiveness would be -its portion, but that it alludeth not to the delight of chafing.' - -Then Shahpesh laughed, and cried, 'Chafe not! it is an ill thing and a -hideous! This nosegay, O Khipil, it is for thee to present to thy -mistress. Truly she will receive thee well after its presentation! I will -have it now sent in thy name, with word that thou followest quickly. And -for thy nettled nose, surely if the whim seize thee that thou desirest -its chafing, to thy neighbour is permitted what to thy hand is refused.' - -The King set a guard upon Khipil to see that his orders were executed, -and appointed a time for him to return to the gardens. - -At the hour indicated Khipil stood before Shahpesh again. He was pale, -saddened; his tongue drooped like the tongue of a heavy bell, that when -it soundeth giveth forth mournful sounds only: he had also the look of -one battered with many beatings. So the King said, 'How of the -presentation of the flowers of thy culture, O Khipil?' - -He answered, 'Surely, O King, she received me with wrath, and I am shamed -by her.' - -And the King said, 'How of my clemency in the matter of the chafing?' - -Khipil answered, 'O King of splendours! I made petition to my neighbours -whom I met, accosting them civilly and with imploring, for I ached to -chafe, and it was the very raging thirst of desire to chafe that was -mine, devouring eagerness for solace of chafing. And they chafed me, O -King; yet not in those parts which throbbed for the chafing, but in those -which abhorred it.' - -Then Shahpesh smiled and said, ''Tis certain that the magnanimity of -monarchs is as the rain that falleth, the sun that shineth: and in this -spot it fertilizeth richness; in that encourageth rankness. So art thou -but a weed, O Khipil! and my grace is thy chastisement.' - -Now, the King ceased not persecuting Khipil, under pretence of doing him -honour and heaping favours on him. Three days and three nights was Khipil -gasping without water, compelled to drink of the drought of the fountain, -as an honour at the hands of the King. And he was seven days and seven -nights made to stand with stretched arms, as they were the branches of a -tree, in each hand a pomegranate. And Shahpesh brought the people of his -court to regard the wondrous pomegranate shoot planted by Khipil, very -wondrous, and a new sort, worthy the gardens of a King. So the wisdom of -the King was applauded, and men wotted he knew how to punish offences in -coin, by the punishment inflicted on Khipil the builder. Before that time -his affairs had languished, and the currents of business instead of -flowing had become stagnant pools. It was the fashion to do as did -Khipil, and fancy the tongue a constructor rather than a commentator; and -there is a doom upon that people and that man which runneth to seed in -gabble, as the poet says in his wisdom: - - If thou wouldst be famous, and rich in splendid fruits, - Leave to bloom the flower of things, and dig among the roots. - -Truly after Khipil's punishment there were few in the dominions of -Shahpesh who sought to win the honours bestowed by him on gabblers and -idlers: as again the poet: - - When to loquacious fools with patience rare - I listen, I have thoughts of Khipil's chair: - His bath, his nosegay, and his fount I see,-- - Himself stretch'd out as a pomegranate-tree. - And that I am not Shahpesh I regret, - So to inmesh the babbler in his net. - Well is that wisdom worthy to be sung, - Which raised the Palace of the Wagging Tongue! - -And whoso is punished after the fashion of Shahpesh, the Persian, on -Khipil the Builder, is said to be one 'in the Palace of the Wagging -Tongue' to this time. - - - - -THE GENIE KARAZ - -Now, when the voice of the Vizier had ceased, Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -'O Vizier, this night, no later, I'll surprise Shagpat, and shave him -while he sleepeth: and he shall wake shorn beside his spouse. Wullahy! -I'll delay no longer, I, Shibli Bagarag.' - -Said the Vizier, 'Thou?' - -And he replied, 'Surely, O Vizier! thou knowest little of my dexterity.' - -So the Vizier laughed, and Noorna bin Noorka laughed, and he was at a -loss to interpret the cause of their laughter. Then said Noorna, 'O my -betrothed, there's not a doubt among us of thy dexterity, nor question of -thy willingness; but this shaving of Shagpat, wullahy! 'tis longer work -than what thou makest of it.' - -And he cried, 'How? because of the Chief of Identicals planted by thee in -his head?' - -She answered, 'Because of that; but 'tis the smallest opposer, that.' - -Then the Vizier said, 'Let us consult.' - -So Shibli Bagarag gave ear, and the Vizier continued, 'There's first, the -Chief of Identicals planted by thee in the head of that presumptuous -fellow, O my daughter! By what means shall that be overcome?' - -She said, 'I rank not that first, O Feshnavat, my father; surely I rank -first the illusions with which Rabesqurat hath surrounded him, and made -it difficult to know him from his semblances, whenever real danger -threateneth him.' - -The Vizier assented, saying, 'Second, then, the Chief of Identicals?' - -She answered, 'Nay, O my father; second, the weakness that's in man, and -the little probability of his finishing with Shagpat at one effort; and -there is but a sole chance for whoso attempteth, and if he faileth, 'tis -forever he faileth.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Even I knew not 'twas so grave! Third, then, the -Chief of Identicals?' - -She replied, 'Third! which showeth the difficulty of the task. Read ye -not, first, how the barber must come upon Shagpat and fix him for his -operation; second, how the barber must be possessed of more than mortal -strength to master him in so many strokes; third, how the barber must -have a blade like no other blade in this world in sharpness, in temper, -in velocity of sweep, that he may reap this crop which flourisheth on -Shagpat, and with it the magic hair which defieth edge of mortal blades?' - -Now, the Vizier sighed at the words, saying, 'Powerful is Shagpat. I knew -not the thing I undertook. I fear his mastery of us, and we shall be -contemned--objects for the red finger of scorn.' - -Noorna turned to Shibli Bagarag and asked, 'Do the three bonds of -enterprise--vengeance, ambition, and love--shrink in thee from this great -contest?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, ''Tis terrible! on my head be it!' - -She gazed at him a moment tenderly, and said, 'Thou art worthy of what is -in store for thee, O my betrothed! and I think little of the dangers, in -contemplation of the courage in thee. Lo, if vengeance and ambition spur -thee so, how will not love when added to the two?' - -Then said she, 'As to the enchantments and spells that shall overreach -him, and as to the blade wherewith to shear him?' - -Feshnavat exclaimed, 'Yonder 's indeed where we stumble and are tripped -at starting.' - -But she cried, 'What if I know of a sword that nought on earth or under -resisteth, and before the keen edge of which all Illusions and Identicals -are as summer grass to the scythe?' - -They both shouted, 'The whereabout of that sword, O Noorna!' - -So she said, ''Tis in Aklis, in the mountains of the Koosh; and the seven -sons of Aklis sharpen it day and night till the adventurer cometh to -claim it for his occasion. Whoso succeedeth in coming to them they know -to have power over the sword, and 'tis then holiday for them. Many are -the impediments, and they are as holes where the fox haunteth. So they -deliver to his hand the sword till his object is attained, his Event -mastered, smitten through with it; and 'tis called the Sword of Events. -Surely, with it the father of the Seven vanquished the mighty Roc, -Kroojis, that threatened mankind with ruin, and a stain of the Roc's -blood is yet on the hilt of the sword. How sayest thou, O -Feshnavat,--shall we devote ourselves to get possession of that Sword?' - -So the Vizier brightened at her words, and said, 'O excellent in wisdom -and star of counsel! speak further, and as to the means.' - -Noorna bin Noorka continued, 'Thou knowest, O my father, I am proficient -in the arts of magic, and I am what I am, and what I shall be, by its -uses. 'Tis known to thee also that I hold a Genie in bondage, and can -utter ten spells and one spell in a breath. Surely my services to the -youth in his attainment of the Sword will be beyond price! Now to reach -Aklis and the Sword there are three things needed--charms: and one is a -phial full of the waters of Paravid from the wells in the mountain -yon-side the desert; and one, certain hairs that grow in the tail of the -horse Garraveen, he that roameth wild in the meadows of Melistan; and -one, that the youth gather and bear to Aklis, for the white antelope -Gulrevaz, the Lily of the Lovely Light that groweth in the hollow of the -crags over the Enchanted Sea: with these spells he will command the Sword -of Aklis, and nothing can bar him passage. Moreover I will expend in his -aid all my subtleties, my transformations, the stores of my wisdom. Many -seek this Sword, and people the realms of Rabesqurat, or are beasts in -Aklis, or crowned Apes, or go to feed the Roc, Kroojis, in the abyss -beneath the Roc's-egg bridge; but there's virtue in Shibli Bagarag: -wullahy! I am wistful in him of the hand of Destiny, and he will succeed -in this undertaking if he dareth it.' - -Shibli Bagarag cried, 'At thy bidding, O Noorna! Care I for dangers? I'm -on fire to wield the Sword, and master the Event.' - -Thereupon, Noorna bin Noorka arose instantly, and took him by the cheeks -a tender pinch, and praised him. Then drew she round him a circle with -her forefinger that left a mark like the shimmering of evanescent green -flame, saying, 'White was the day I set eyes on thee!' Round the Vizier, -her father, she drew a like circle; and she took an unguent, and traced -with it characters on the two circles, and letters of strange form, -arrowy, lance-like, like leaning sheaves, and crouching baboons, and -kicking jackasses, and cocks a-crow, and lutes slack-strung; and she -knelt and mumbled over and over words of magic, like the drone of a bee -to hear, and as a roll of water, nothing distinguishable. After that she -sought for an unguent of a red colour, and smeared it on a part of the -floor by the corner of the room, and wrote on it in silver fluid a word -that was the word 'Eblis,' and over that likewise she droned awhile. -Presently she arose with a white-heated face, the sweat on her brow, and -said to Shibli Bagarag and Feshnavat hurriedly and in a harsh tone, 'How? -have ye fear?' - -They answered, 'Our faith is in Allah, our confidence in thee.' - -Said she then, 'I summon the Genie I hold in bondage. He will be -wrathful; but ye are secure from him. He's this moment in the farthest -region of earth, doing ill, as is his wont, and the wont of the stock of -Eblis.' - -So the Vizier said, 'He'll be no true helper, this Genie, and I care not -for his company.' - -She answered, 'O my father! leave thou that to me. What says the poet?-- - - “It is the sapiency of fools, - To shrink from handling evil tools.”' - -Now, while she was speaking, she suddenly inclined her ear as to a -distant noise; but they heard nothing. Then, after again listening, she -cried in a sharp voice, 'Ho! muffle your mouths with both hands, and stir -not from the ring of the circles, as ye value life and its blessings.' - -So they did as she bade them, and watched her curiously. Lo! she swathed -the upper and lower part of her face in linen, leaving the lips and eyes -exposed; and she took water from an ewer, and sprinkled it on her head, -and on her arms and her feet, muttering incantations. Then she listened a -third time, and stooped to the floor, and put her lips to it, and called -the name, 'Karaz!' And she called this name seven times loudly, sneezing -between whiles. Then, as it were in answer to her summons, there was a -deep growl of thunder, and the palace rocked, tottering; and the air -became smoky and full of curling vapours. Presently they were aware of -the cry of a Cat, and its miaulings; and the patch of red unguent on the -floor parted and they beheld a tawny Cat with an arched back. So Noorna -bin Noorka frowned fiercely at the Cat, and cried, 'This is thy shape, O -Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -The Cat changed, and was a Leopard with glowing yellow eyes, crouched for -the spring. So Noorna bin Noorka stamped, and cried again, 'This is thy -shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -And the Leopard changed, and was a Serpent with many folds, sleek, -curled, venomous, hissing. - -Noorna bin Noorka cried in wrath, 'This is thy shape, O Karaz; change! or -thou'lt be no other till Eblis is accepted in Paradise.' - -And the Serpent vanished. Lo! in its place a Genie of terrible aspect, -black as a solitary tree seared by lightning; his forehead ridged and -cloven with red streaks; his hair and ears reddened; his eyes like two -hollow pits dug by the shepherd for the wolf, and the wolf in them. He -shouted, 'What work is it now, thou accursed traitress?' - -Noorna replied, 'I've need of thee!' - -He said, 'What shape?' - -She answered, 'The shape of an Ass that will carry two on its back, thou -Perversity!' - -Upon that, he cried, 'O faithless woman, how long shall I be the slave of -thy plotting? Now, but for that hair of my head, plucked by thy hand -while I slept, I were free, no doer of thy tasks. Say, who be these that -mark us?' - -She answered, 'One, the Vizier Feshnavat; and one, Shibli Bagarag of -Shiraz, he that's destined to shave Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son -of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and the youth is my betrothed.' - -Now, at her words the whole Genie became as live coal with anger, and he -panted black and bright, and made a stride toward Shibli Bagarag, and -stretched his arm out to seize him; but Noorna, blew quickly on the -circles she had drawn, and the circles rose up in a white flame high as -the heads of those present, and the Genie shrank hastily back from the -flame, and was seized with fits of sneezing. Then she said in scorn, -'Easily, O Karaz, is a woman outwitted! Surely I could not guess what -would be thy action! and I was wanting in foresight and insight! and I am -a woman bearing the weight of my power as a woodman staggereth under the -logs he hath felled!' - -So she taunted him, and he still sneezing and bent double with the might -of the sneeze. Then said Noorna in a stern voice, 'No more altercation -between us! Wait thou here till I reappear, Karaz!' - -Thereupon, she went from them; and the two, Feshnavat and Shibli Bagarag, -feared greatly being left with the Genie, for he became all colours, and -loured on them each time that he ceased sneezing. He was clearly menacing -them when Noorna returned, and in her hand a saddle made of hide, traced -over with mystic characters and gold stripes. - -So she cried, 'Take this!' Then, seeing he hesitated, she unclosed from -her left palm a powder, and scattered - -it over him; and he grew meek, and the bending knee of obedience was his, -and he took the saddle. So she said, ''Tis well! Go now, and wait outside -the city in the shape of an Ass, with this saddle on thy back.' - -The Genie groaned, and said, 'To hear is to obey!' And he departed with -those words, for she held him in bondage. Then she calmed down the white -flames of the circles that enclosed Shibli Bagarag and the Vizier -Feshnavat, and they stepped forth, marvelling at the greatness of her -sorceries that held such a Genie in bondage. - - - - -THE WELL OF PARAVID - -Now, there was haste in the movements of Noorna bin Noorka, and she -arrayed herself and clutched Shibli Bagarag by the arm, and the twain -departed from Feshnavat the Vizier, and came to the outside of the city, -and lo! there was the Genie by a well under a palm, and he standing in -the shape of an Ass, saddled. So they mounted him, and in a moment they -were in the midst of the desert, and naught round them save the hot -glimmer of the sands and the grey of the sky. Surely, the Ass went at -such a pace as never Ass went before in this world, resting not by the -rivulets, nor under the palms, nor beside the date-boughs; it was as if -the Ass scurried without motion of his legs, so swiftly went he. At last -the desert gave signs of a border on the low line of the distance, and -this grew rapidly higher as they advanced, revealing a country of hills -and rocks, and at the base of these the Ass rested. - -So Noorna, said, 'This desert that we have passed, O my betrothed, many -are they that perish in it, and reach not the well; but give thanks to -Allah that it is passed.' - -Then said she, 'Dismount, and be wary of moving to the front or to the -rear of this Ass, and measure thy distance from the lash of his tail.' - -So Shibli Bagarag dismounted, and followed her up the hills and the -rocks, through ravines and gorges of the rocks, and by tumbling torrents, -among hanging woods, over perilous precipices, where no sun hath pierced, -and the bones of travellers whiten in loneliness; and they continued -mounting upward by winding paths, now closed in by coverts, now upon open -heights having great views, and presently a mountain was disclosed to -them, green at the sides high up it; and Noorna bin Noorka said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Mount here, for the cunning of this Ass can furnish him no -excuse further for making thee food for the birds of prey.' - -So Shibli Bagarag mounted, and they ceased not to ascend the green slopes -till the grass became scanty and darkness fell, and they were in a region -of snow and cold. Then Noorna bin Noorka tethered the Ass to a stump of a -tree and breathed in his ear, and the Ass became as a creature carved in -stone; and she drew from her bosom two bags of silk, and blew in one and -entered it, bidding Shibli Bagarag do likewise with the other bag; and he -obeyed her, drawing it up to his neck, and the delightfulness of warmth -came over him. Then said she, 'To-morrow, at noon, we shall reach near -the summit of the mountain and the Well of Paravid, if my power last over -this Ass; and from that time thou wilt be on the high road to greatness, -so fail not to remember what I have done for thee, and be not guilty of -ingratitude when thy hand is the stronger.' - -He promised her, and they lay and slept. When he awoke the sun was -half-risen, and he looked at Noorna bin Noorka in the silken bag, and she -was yet in the peacefulness of pleasant dreams; but for the Ass, surely -his eyes rolled, and his head and fore legs were endued with life, while -his latter half seemed of stone. And the youth called to Noorna bin -Noorka, and pointed to her the strangeness of the condition of the Ass. -As she cast eyes on him she cried out, and rushed to him, and took him by -the ears and blew up his nostrils, and the animal was quiet. Then she and -Shibli Bagarag mounted him again, and she said to him, 'It is well thou -wert more vigilant than I, and that the sun rose not on this Ass while I -slept, or my enchantment would have thawed on him, and he would have -'scaped us.' - -She gave her heel to the Ass, and the Ass hung his tail in sullenness and -drooped his head; and she laughed, crying, 'Karaz, silly fellow! do thy -work willingly, and take wisely thine outwitting.' - -She jeered him as they journeyed, and made the soul of Shibli Bagarag -merry, so that he jerked in his seat upon the Ass. Now, as they ascended -the mountain they came to the opening of a cavern, and Noorna bin Noorka -halted the Ass, and said to Shibli Bagarag, 'We part here, and I wait for -thee in this place. Take this phial, and fill it with the waters of the -well, after thy bath. The way is before thee--speed on it.' - -He climbed the sides of the mountain, and was soon hidden in the clefts -and beyond the perches of the vulture. She kept her eyes on the rocky -point when he disappeared, awaiting his return; and the sun went over her -head and sank on the yon-side of the mountain, and it was by the beams of -the moon that she beheld Shibli Bagarag dropping from the crags and -ledges of rock, sliding and steadying himself downward till he reached -her with the phial in his hand, filled; and he was radiant, as it were -divine with freshness, so that Noorna, before she spoke welcome to him, -was lost in contemplating the warm shine of his visage, calling to mind -the poet's words: - - The wealth of light in sun and moon, - All nature's wealth, - Hath mortal beauty for a boon - When match'd with health. - -Then said she, 'O Shibli Bagarag, 'tis achieved, this first of thy tasks; -for mutely on the fresh red of thy mouth, my betrothed, speaketh the -honey of persuasiveness, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' -So she took the phial from him and led forth the Ass, and the twain -mounted the Ass and descended the slopes of the mountain in moonlight; -and Shibli Bagarag said, 'Lo! I have marked wonders, and lived a life -since our parting; and this well, 'tis a miracle to dip in it, and by it -sit many maidens weeping and old men babbling, and youths that were idle -youths striking bubbles from the surface of the water. The well is -rounded with marble, and the sky is clear in it, cool in it, the whole -earth imaged therein.' - -Then Noorna said, 'Hadst thou a difficulty in obtaining the waters of the -well?' - -He answered, 'Surely all was made smooth for me by thy aid. Now when I -came to the well I marked not them by it, but plunged, and the depth of -that well seemed to me the very depth of the earth itself, so went I ever -downward; and when I was near the bottom of the well I had forgotten life -above, and lo! no sooner had I touched the bottom of the well when my -head emerged from the surface: 'twas wondrous! But for a sign that -touched the bottom of the well, see, O Noorna bin Noorka, the Jewel, the -one of myriads that glitter at the bottom, and I plucked it for a gift to -thee.' - -So Noorna took the Jewel from his hand that was torn and crimson, and she -cried, 'Thou fair youth, thou bleedest with the plucking of it, and it -was written, no hand shall pluck a jewel at the bottom of that well -without letting of blood. Even so it is! Worthy art thou, and I was not -mistaken in thee.' - -At her words Shibli Bagarag burst forth into praises of her, and he sang: - - 'What is my worthiness - Match'd with thy worth? - Darkness and earthiness, - Dust and dearth! - -O Noorna, thou art wise above women: great and glorious over them.' - -In this fashion the youth lauded her that was his betrothed, but she -exclaimed, 'Hush! or the jealousy of this Ass will be aroused, and of a -surety he'll spill us.' - -Then he laughed and she laughed till the tail of Karaz trembled. - - - - -THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - -Now, they descended leisurely the slopes of the mountain, and when they -were again in the green of its base, Noorna called to the Ass, 'Ho! -Karaz! Sniff now the breezes, for the end of our journey by night is the -meadows of Melistan. Forward in thy might, and bray not when we are in -them, for thy comfort's sake!' - -The Ass sniffed, turning to the four quarters, and chose a certain -direction, and bore them swiftly over hills and streams eddying in -silver; over huge mounds of sand, where the tents of Bedouins stood in -white clusters; over lakes smooth as the cheeks of sleeping loveliness; -by walls of cities, mosques, and palaces; under towers that rose as an -armed man with the steel on his brows and the frown of battle; by the -shores of the pale foaming sea it bore them, going at a pace that the -Arab on his steed outstrippeth not. So when the sun was red and the dews -were blushing with new light, they struggled from a wilderness of barren -broken ground, and saw beneath them, in the warm beams, green, peaceful, -deep, the meadows of Melistan. They were meadows dancing with flowers, as -it had been fresh damsels of the mountain, fair with variety of colours -that were so many gleams of changing light as the breezes of the morn -swept over them; lavish of hues, of sweetness, of pleasantness, fir for -the souls of the blest. - -Then, after they had gazed awhile, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'In these -meadows the Horse Garraveen roameth at will. Heroes of bliss bestride him -on great days. He is black to look on; speed quivers in his flanks like -the lightning; his nostrils are wide with flame; there is that in his eye -which is settled fire, and that in his hoofs which is ready thunder; when -he paws the earth kingdoms quake: no animal liveth with blood like the -Horse Garraveen. He is under a curse, for that he bore on his back one -who defied the Prophet. Now, to make him come to thee thou must blow the -call of battle, and to catch him thou must contrive to strike him on the -fetlock as he runs with this musk-ball which I give thee; and to tame him -thou must trace between his eyes a figure or the crescent with thy -forenail. When that is done, bring him to me here, where I await thee, -and I will advise thee further.' - -So she said, 'Go!' and Shibli Bagarag showed her the breadth of his -shoulders, and stepped briskly toward the meadows, and was soon brushing -among the flowers and soft mosses of the meadows, lifting his nostrils to -the joyful smells, looking about him with the broad eye of one that -hungereth for a coming thing. The birds went up above him, and the trees -shook and sparkled, and the waters of brooks and broad rivers flashed -like waving mirrors waved by the slave-girls in sport when the beauties -of the harem riot and dip their gleaming shoulders in the bath. He -wandered on, lost in the gladness that lived, till the loud neigh of a -steed startled him, and by the banks of a river before him he beheld the -Horse Garraveen stooping to drink of the river; glorious was the look of -the creature,--silver-hoofed, fashioned in the curves of beauty and -swiftness. So Shibli Bagarag put up his two hands and blew the call of -battle, and the Horse Garraveen arched his neck at the call, and swung -upon his haunches, and sought the call, answering it, and tossing his -mane as he advanced swiftly. Then, as he neared, Shibli Bagarag held the -musk-ball in his fingers, and aimed at the fetlock of the Horse -Garraveen, and flung it, and struck him so that he stumbled and fell. He -snorted fiercely as he bent to the grass, but Shibli Bagarag ran to him, -and grasped strongly the tuft of hair hanging forward between his ears, -and traced between his fine eyes a figure of the crescent with his -forenail, and the Horse ceased plunging, and was gentle as a colt by its -mother's side, and suffered Shibli Bagarag to bestride him, and spurn him -with his heel to speed, and bore him fleetly across the fair length of -the golden meadows to where Noorna bin Noorka sat awaiting him. She -uttered a cry of welcome, saying, 'This is achieved with diligence and -skill, O my betrothed! and on thy right wrist I mark strength like a -sleeping leopard, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' - -So she bade him alight from the Horse, but he said, 'Nay.' And she called -to him again to alight, but he cried, 'I will not alight from him! By -Allah! such a bounding wave of bliss have I never yet had beneath me, and -I will give him rein once again; as the poet says: - - “Divinely rings the rushing air - When I am on my mettled mare: - When fast along the plains we fly, - A creature of the heavens am I.” - -Then she levelled her brows at him, and said gravely, 'This is the -temptation thou art falling into, as have thousands before thy time. Give -him the rein a second time, and he will bear thee to the red pit, and -halt upon the brink, and pitch thee into it among bleeding masses and -skeletons of thy kind, where they lie who were men like to thee, and were -borne away by the Horse Garraveen.' - -He gave no heed to her words, taunting her, and making the animal prance -up and prove its spirit. - -And she cried reproachfully, 'O fool! is it thus our great aim will be -defeated by thy silly conceit? Lo, now, the greatness and the happiness -thou art losing for this idle vanity is to be as a dunghill cock matched -with an ostrich; and think not to escape the calamities thou bringest on -thyself, for as is said, - - No runner can outstrip his fate; - -and it will overtake thee, though thou part like an arrow from the bow.' - -He still made a jest of her remonstrance, trying the temper of the -animal, and rejoicing in its dark flushes of ireful vigour. - -And she cried out furiously, 'How! art thou past counsel? then will we -match strength with strength ere 'tis too late, though it weaken both.' - -Upon that, she turned quickly to the Ass and stroked it from one -extremity to the other, crying, 'Karaz! Karaz!' shouting, 'Come forth in -thy power!' And the Ass vanished, and the Genie stood in his place, tall, -dark, terrible as a pillar of storm to travellers ranging the desert. He -exclaimed, 'What is it, O woman? Charge me with thy command!' - -And she said, 'Wrestle with him thou seest on the Horse Garraveen, and -fling him from his seat.' - -Then he yelled a glad yell, and stooped to Shibli Bagarag on the horse -and enveloped him, and seized him, and plucked him from the Horse, and -whirled him round, and flung him off. The youth went circling in the air, -high in it, and descended, circling, at a distance in the deep -meadow-waters. When he crept up the banks he saw the Genie astride the -Horse Garraveen, with a black flame round his head; and the Genie urged -him to speed and put him to the gallop, and was soon lost to sight, as he -had been a thunderbeam passing over a still lake at midnight. And Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the wrong and the folly of his act, and sought -to hide his sight from Noorna; but she called to him, 'Look up, O youth! -and face the calamity. Lo, we have now lost the service of Karaz! for -though I utter ten spells and one spell in a breath, the Horse Garraveen -will ere that have stretched beyond the circle of my magic, and the Genie -will be free to do his ill deeds and plot against us. Sad is it! but -profit thou by a knowledge of thy weakness.' - -Then said she, 'See, I have not failed to possess myself of the three -hairs of Garraveen, and there is that to rejoice in.' - -She displayed them, and they were sapphire hairs, and had a flickering -light; and they seemed to live, wriggling their lengths, and were as -snakes with sapphire skins. Then she said, 'Thy right wrist, O my -betrothed!' - -He gave her his right wrist, and she tied round it the three hairs of -Garraveen, exclaiming, 'Thus do skilful carpenters make stronger what has -broken and indicated disaster. Surely, I confide in thy star? I have -faith in my foresight?' - -And she cried, 'Eyes of mine, what sayest thou to me? Lo, we must part -awhile: it is written.' - -Said he, 'Leave me not, my betrothed: what am I without thy counsel? And -go not from me, or this adventure will come to miserable issue.' - -So she said, 'Thou beginnest to feel my worth?' - -He answered, 'O Noorna! was woman like thee before in this world? Surely -'tis a mask I mark thee under; yet art thou perforce of sheer wisdom and -sweet manners lovely in my sight; and I have a thirst to hear thee and -look on thee.' - -While he spake, a beam of struggling splendour burst from her, and she -said, 'O thou dear youth, yes! I must even go. But I go glad of heart, -knowing thee prepared to love me. I must go to counteract the -machinations of Karaz, for he's at once busy, vindictive, and cunning, -and there's no time for us to lose; so farewell, my betrothed, and make -thy wits keen to know me when we next meet.' - -So he said, 'And I--whither go I?' - -She answered, 'To the City of Oolb straightway.' - -Then he, 'But I know not its bearing from this spot: how reach it?' - -She answered, 'What! thou with the phial of Paravid in thy vest, that -endoweth, a single drop of it, the flowers, the herbage, the very stones -and desert sands, with a tongue to articulate intelligible talk?' - -Said he, 'Is it so?' - -She answered, 'Even so.' - -Ere Slubli Bagarag could question her further she embraced him, and blew -upon his eyes, and he was blinded by her breath, and saw not her -departure, groping for a seat on the rocks, and thinking her still by -him. Sight returned not to him till long after weariness had brought the -balm of sleep upon his eyelids. - - - - -THE TALKING HAWK - -Now, when he awoke he found himself alone in that place, the moon shining -over the low meadows and flower-cups fair with night-dew. Odours of -night-flowers were abroad, filling the cool air with deliciousness, and -he heard in the gardens below songs of the bulbul: it was like a dream to -his soul, and he lay somewhile contemplating the rich loveliness of the -scene, that showed no moving thing. Then rose he and bethought him of the -words of Noorna, and of the City of Oolb, and the phial of the waters of -Paravid in his vest; and he drew it forth, and dropped a drop of it on -the rock where he had reclined. A deep harmony seemed suddenly to awake -inside the rock, and to his interrogation as to the direction of Oolb, he -heard, 'The path of the shadows of the moon.' - -Thereupon he advanced to a prominent part of the rocks above the meadows, -and beheld the shadows of the moon thrown forward into dimness across a -waste of sand. And he stepped downward to the level of sand, and went the -way of the shadows till it was dawn. Then dropped he a drop of the waters -of the phial on a spike of lavender, and there was a voice said to him in -reply to what he questioned, 'The path of the shadows of the sun.' - -The shadows of the sun were thrown forward across the same waste of sand, -and he turned and pursued his way, resting at noon beneath a date-tree, -and refreshing himself at a clear spring beside it. Surely he was joyful -as he went, and elated with high prospects, singing: - - Sun and moon with their bright fingers - Point the hero's path; - - If in his great work he lingers, - Well may they be wroth. - -Now, the extent of the duration of his travel was four days and an equal -number of nights; and it was on the fifth morn that he entered the gates -of a city by the sea, even at that hour when the inhabitants were rising -from sleep: fair was the sea beyond it, and the harbour was crowded with -vessels, ships stored with merchandise--silks, dates, diamonds, Damascus -steel, huge bales piled on the decks for the land of Roum and other -lands. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'There's scarce a doubt but that one of -those sails will set for Oolb shortly. Wullahy! if I knew which, I'd -board her and win a berth in her.' Presently he thought, 'I'll go to the -public fountain and question it with the speech-winning waters.' -Thereupon he passed down the streets of the city and came to an open -space, where stood the fountain, and sprinkled it with Paravid; and the -fountain spake, saying, 'Where men are, question not dumb things.' - -Cried he, 'Faileth Paravid in its power? Have I done aught to baffle -myself?' - -Then he thought, ''Twere nevertheless well to do as the fountain -directeth, and question men while I see them.' And he walked about among -the people, and came to the quays of the harbour where the ships lay -close in, many of them an easy leap from shore, and considered whom to -address. So, as he loitered about the quays, meditating on the means at -the disposal of the All-Wise, and marking the vessels wistfully, behold, -there advanced to him one at a quick pace, in the garb of a sailor. He -observed Shibli Bagarag attentively a moment, and exclaimed as it were in -the plenitude of respect and with the manner of one that is abashed, -'Surely, thou art Shibli Bagarag, the nephew of the barber, him we watch -for.' - -So Shibli Bagarag marvelled at this recognition, and answered, 'Am I then -already famous to that extent?' - -And he that accosted him said, ''Tis certain the trumpet was blown before -thy steps, and there is not a man in this city but knoweth of thy -destination to the City of Oolb, and that thou art upon the track of -great things, one chosen to bring about imminent changes.' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'For this I praise Noorna bin Noorka, daughter -of Feshnavat, Vizier of the King that ruleth in the city of Shagpat! She -saw me, that I was marked for greatness. Wullahy, the eagle knoweth me -from afar, and proclaimeth me; the antelope of the hills scenteth the -coming of one not as other men, and telleth his tidings; the wind of the -desert shapeth its gust to a meaning, so that the stranger may wot Shibli -Bagarag is at hand!' - -He puffed his chest, and straightened his legs like the cock, and was as -a man upon whom the Sultan has bestowed a dress of honour, even as the -plumed peacock. Then the other said: - -'Know that I am captain of yonder vessel, that stands farthest out from -the harbour with her sails slackened; and she is laden with figs and -fruits which I exchange for silks, spices, and other merchandise, with -the people of Oolb. Now, what says the poet?-- - - “Delay in thine undertaking - Is disaster of thy own making”; - -and he says also: - - “Greatness is solely for them that succeed; - 'Tis a rotten applause that gives earlier meed.” - -Therefore it is advisable for thee to follow me on board without loss of -time, and we will sail this very night for the City of Oolb.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was ruled by the words of the captain albeit he -desired to stay awhile and receive the homage of the people of that city. -So he followed him into a boat that was by, and the twain were rowed by -sailors to the ship. Then, when they were aboard the captain set sail, -and they were soon in the hollows of deep waters. There was a berth in -the ship set apart for Shibli Bagarag, and one for the captain. Shibli -Bagarag, when he entered his berth, beheld at the head of his couch a -hawk; its eyes red as rubies, its beak sharp as the curve of a scimitar. -So he called out to the captain, and the captain came to him; but when he -saw the hawk, he plucked his turban from his head, and dashed it at the -hawk, and afterward ran to it, trying to catch it; and the hawk flitted -from corner to corner of the berth, he after it with open arms. Then he -took a sword, but the hawk flew past him, and fixed on the back part of -his head, tearing up his hair by the talons, and pecking over his -forehead at his eyes. And Shibli Bagarag heard the hawk scream the name -'Karaz,' and he looked closely at the Captain of the vessel, and knew him -for the Genie Karaz. Then trembled he with exceeding terror, cursing his -credulities, for he saw himself in the hands of the Genie, and nothing -but this hawk friendly to him on the fearful waters. When the hawk had -torn up a certain hair, the Genie stiffened, and glowed like copper in -the furnace, the whole length of him; and he descended heavily through -the bottom of the ship, and sank into the waters beneath, which hissed -and smoked as at a bar of heated iron. Then Shibli Bagarag gave thanks to -the Prophet, and praised the hawk, but the hawk darted out of the cabin, -and he followed it on deck, and, lo! the vessel was in flames, and the -hawk in a circle of the flames; and the flames soared with it, and left -it no outlet. Now, as Shibli Bagarag watched the hawk, the flames -stretched out towards him and took hold of his vestments. So he delayed -not to commend his soul to the All-merciful, and bore witness to his -faith, and plunged into the sea headlong. When he rose, the ship had -vanished, and all was darkness where it had been; so he buffeted with the -billows, thinking his last hour had come, and there was no help for him -in this world; and the spray shaken from the billows blinded him, the -great walls of water crumbled over him; strength failed him, and his -memory ceased to picture images of the old time--his heart to beat with -ambition; and to keep the weight of his head above the surface was -becoming a thing worth the ransom of kings. As he was sinking and turning -his eyes upward, he heard a flutter as of fledgling's wings, and the two -red ruby eyes of the hawk were visible above him, like steady fires in -the gloom. And the hawk perched on him, and buried itself among the wet -hairs of his head, and presently taking the Identical in its beak, the -hawk lifted him half out of water, and bore him a distance, and dropped -him. This the hawk did many times, and at the last, Shibli Bagarag felt -land beneath him, and could wade through the surges to the shore. He gave -thanks to the Supreme Disposer, kneeling prostrate on the shore, and fell -into a sleep deep in peacefulness as a fathomless well, unruffled by a -breath. - -Now, when it was dawn Shibli Bagarag awoke and looked inland, and saw -plainly the minarets of a city shining in the first beams, and the front -of yellow mountains, and people moving about the walls and on the towers -and among the pastures round the city; so he made toward them, and -inquired of them the name of their city. And they stared at him, crying, -'What! know'st thou not the City of Oolb? the hawk on thy shoulder could -tell thee that much.' He looked and saw that the hawk was on his -shoulder; and its left wing was scorched, the plumage blackened. So he -said to the hawk, 'Is it profitable, O preserving bird, to ask of thee -questions?' - -The hawk shook its wings and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'Do I well in entering this city?' - -The hawk shook its wings again and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'To what house shall I direct my steps in this strange city -for the attainment of the purpose I have?' - -The hawk flew, and soared, and alighted on the topmost of the towers of -Oolb. So when it returned he said, 'O bird! rare bird! my counsellor! it -is an indication, this alighting on the highest tower, that thou advisest -me to go straight to the palace of the King?' - -The hawk flapped its wings and winked both eyes; so Shibli Bagarag took -forth the phial from his breast, remembering the virtues of the waters of -the Well of Paravid, and touched his lips with them, that he might be -endowed with flowing speech before the King of Oolb. As he did this the -phial was open, and the hawk leaned to it and dipped its beak into the -water; and he entered the city and passed through the long streets -towards the palace of the King, and craved audience of him as one that -had a thing marvellous to tell. So the King commanded that Shibli Bagarag -should be brought before him, for he was a lover of marvels. As he went -into the presence of the King, Shibli Bagarag listened to the hawk, for -the hawk spake his language, and it said, 'Proclaim to the King a new -wonder--“the talking hawk.”' - -So when he had bent his body to the King, he proclaimed the new wonder; -and the King seemed not to observe the hawk, and said, 'From what city -art thou?' - -He answered, 'Native, O King, to Shiraz; newly from the City of Shagpat.' - -And the King asked, 'How is it with that hairy wonder?' - -He answered, 'The dark forest flourisheth about him.' - -And the King said, 'That is well! We of the City of Oolb take our -fashions from them of the City of Shagpat, and it is but yesterday that I -bastinadoed a barber that strayed among us.' - -Shibli Bagarag sighed when he heard the King, and thought to himself, -'How unfortunate is the race of barbers, once honourable and in esteem! -Surely it will not be otherwise till Shagpat is shaved!' And the King -called out to him for the cause of his sighing; so he said, 'I sigh, O -King of the age, considering how like may be the case of the barber -bastinadoed but yesterday, in his worth and value, to that of Roomdroom, -the reader of planets, that was a barber.' - -And he related the story of Roomdroom for the edification of the King and -the exaltation of barbercraft, delivering himself neatly and winningly -and pointedly, so that the story should apply, which was its merit and -its origin. - - - - -GOORELKA OF OOLB - -When Shibli Bagarag had finished his narration of the case of Roomdroom -the barber, the King of Oolb said, 'O thou, native of Shiraz, there is -persuasion and sweetness and fascination on thy tongue, and I am touched -with compassion for the soles of Baba Mustapha, that I bastinadoed but -yesterday, and he was from Shiraz likewise.' - -Now, the heart of Shibli Bagarag leapt when he heard mention of Baba -Mustapha; and he knew him for his uncle that was searching him. He would -have cried aloud his relationship, but the hawk whispered in his ear. -Then the hawk said to him, 'There is danger in the King's muteness -respecting me, for I am visible to him. Proclaim the spirit of prophecy.' - -So he proclaimed that spirit, and the King said, 'Prophesy to me of -barbercraft.' - -And he cried, 'O King of the age, the barber is abased, trodden -underfoot, given over to the sneers and the gibes of them that flatter -the powerful ones; he is as the winter worm, as the crocodile in the -slime of his sleep by the bank, as the sick eagle before moulting. But I -say, O King, that he will come forth like the serpent in a new skin, -shaming the old one; he slept a caterpillar, and will come forth a -butterfly; he sank a star, and lo! he riseth a constellation.' - -Now, while he was speaking in the fervour of his soul, the King said -something to one of the court officers surrounding him, and there was -brought to the King a basin, a soap-bowl, and barber's tackle. When -Shibli Bagarag saw these, the uses of the barber rushed upon his mind, -and desire to sway the tackle pushed him forward and agitated him, so -that he could not keep his hands from them. - -Then the King exclaimed, 'It is as I thought. Our passions betray -themselves, and our habits; so is it written. By Allah! I swear thou art -thyself none other than a barber, O youth.' - -Shibli Bagwrag was nigh fainting with terror at this discovery of the -King, but the hawk said in his ear, 'Proclaim speech in the tackle.' So -he proclaimed speech in the tackle; and the King smiled doubtfully, and -said, 'If this be a cheat, Shiraz will not see thy face more.' - -Then the hawk whispered in his ear, 'Drop on the tackle secretly a drop -from the phial.' This he did, spreading his garments, and commanded the -tackle to speak. And the tackle spake, each portion of it, confusedly as -the noise of Babel. So the King marvelled greatly, and said, ''Tis a -greater wonder than the talking hawk, the talking tackle. Wullahy! it -ennobleth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend the saying of the -tackle.' - -Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! the -blade and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordained -that Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.' - -The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then ensueth, O -talking tackle?' - -And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honour -to Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!' - -Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will forestall -the coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!' - -Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' So he -stepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to the -shaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task with -perfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of the -King, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they were -shaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at the -change that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order is -issued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So is -laughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli Bagarag, -'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?' - -And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.' - -The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that which -beareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, which -she nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with ugliness, -as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it before her. -Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, besides the gift -of speech?' - -Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; to -counteract enchantments and foul magic.' - -Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!' - -And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambers -fair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors, -down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round the -vault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; and -there were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars of -China, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy choice -of these in exchange for the hawk.' - -But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the cockle-shell, King!' - -Then the King threatened him, saying, 'There is a virtue in each of the -things thou seest: the China jar is brimmed with wine, and remaineth so -though a thousand drink of it; the dress of Samarcand rendereth the -wearer invisible; yet thou refusest to exchange them for thy hawk!' - -And the King swore by the beard of his father he would seize perforce the -hawk and shut up Shibli Bagarag in the vault, if he fell not into his -bargain. Shibli Bagarag was advised by the hawk to accept the China jar -and the dress of Samarcand, and handed the hawk to the King in exchange -for these things. So the King took the hawk upon his wrist and departed -with it to the apartments of his daughter, and Shibli Bagarag went to the -chamber prepared for him in the palace. - -Now, when it was night, Shibli Bagarag heard a noise at his lattice, and -he arose and peered through it, and lo! the hawk was fluttering without; -so he let it in, and caressed it, and the hawk bade him put on his silken -dress and carry forth his China jar, and go the round of the palace, and -offer drink to the sentinels and the slaves. So he did as the hawk -directed, and the sentinels and slaves were aware of a China jar brimmed -with wine that was lifted to their lips, but him that lifted it they saw -not: surely, they drank deep of the draught of astonishment. - -Then the hawk flew before him, and he followed it to a chamber lit with -golden lamps, gorgeously hung, and full of a dusky splendour and the -faint sparkle of gems, ruby, amethyst, topaz, and beryl; in it there was -the hush of sleep, and the heart of Shibli Bagarag told him that one -beautiful was near. So he approached on tiptoe a couch of blue silk, -bordered with gold-wire, and inwoven with stars of blue turquoise stones, -as it had been the heavens of midnight. On the couch lay one, a woman, -pure in loveliness; the dark fringes of her closed lids like living -flashes of darkness, her mouth like an unstrung bow and as a double -rosebud, even as two isles of coral between which in the clear -transparent watery beds the pearls shine freshly. - -And the hawk said to Shibli Bagarag, 'This is the Princess Goorelka, the -daughter of the King of Oolb, a sorceress, the Guardian of the Lily of -the Enchanted Sea. Beneath her pillow is the cockle-shell; grasp it, but -gaze not upon her.' - -He approached and slid his arm beneath the pillow of the Princess, and -grasped the cockle-shell; but ere he drew it forth he gazed upon her, and -the lustre of her countenance transfixed him as with a javelin, so that -he could not stir, nor move his eyes from the contemplation of her -sweetness of feature. The hawk darted at him fiercely, and pecked at him -to draw his attention from her, and he stepped back, yet he continued -taking fatal draughts from the magic cup of her beauty. Then the hawk -screamed a loud scream of anguish, and the Princess awoke, and started -half-way from the couch, and stared about her, and saw the bird in -agitation. As she looked at the bird a shudder passed over her, and she -snatched a veil and drew it over her face, murmuring, 'I dream, or I am -under the eye of a man.' Then she felt beneath the pillow, and knew that -the cockle-shell had been touched; and in a moment she leapt from her -couch, and ran to a mirror and saw herself as she was, a full-moon made -to snare the wariest and sit singly high on a throne in the hearts of -men. At the sight of her beauty she smiled and seemed at peace, murmuring -still, 'I am under the eye of a man, or I dream.' Now, while she so -murmured she arrayed herself, and took the cockle-shell, and passed -through the ante-room among her women sleeping; and Shibli Bagarag -tracked her till she came to the vault; and she entered it and walked to -the corner from which had hung the dress of Samarcand. When she saw it -gone her face waxed pale, and she gazed slowly at all points, muttering, -'There is no further doubt but that I am under the eye of a man!' -Thereupon she ran hastily from the vault, and passed between the -sentinels of the palace, and saw them where they lay drowsy with -intoxication: so she knew that the China jar and the dress of Samarcand -had been used that night, and for no purpose friendly to her wishes. Then -she passed down the palace steps, and through the gates of the palace and -the city, till she came to the shore of the sea; there she launched the -cockle-shell and took the wind in her garments, and sat in it, filling it -to overflowing, yet it floated. And Shibli Bagarag waded to the -cockle-shell and took hold of it, and was drawn along by its motion -swiftly through the waters, so that a foam swept after him; and Goorelka -marked the foam. Now, they had passage over the billows smoothly, and -soon the length of the sea was darkened with two high rocks, and between -them there was a narrow channel of the sea, roughened with moonlight. So -they sped between the rocks, and came upon a purple sea, dark-blue -overhead, with large stars leaning to the waves. There was a soft -whisperingness in the breath of the breezes that swung there, and many -sails of charmed ships were seen in momentary gleams, flapping the mast -idly far away. Warm as new milk from the full udders were the waters of -that sea, and figures of fair women stretched lengthwise with the -current, and lifted a head as they rushed rolling by. Truly it was -enchanted even to the very bed! - - - - -THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - -Now, after the cockle-shell had skimmed calmly awhile, it began to pitch -and grew unquiet, and came upon a surging foam, pale, and with -scintillating bubbles. The surges increased in volume, and boiled, -hissing as with anger, like savage animals. Presently, the cockle-shell -rose upon one very lofty swell, and Shibli Bagarag lost hold of it, and -lo! it was overturned and engulfed in the descent of the great mountain -of water, and the Princess Goorelka was immersed in the depths. She would -have sunk, but Shibli Bagarag caught hold of her, and supported her to -the shore by the strength of his right arm. The shore was one of sand and -shells, their wet cheeks sparkling in the moonlight; over it hung a -promontory, a huge jut of black rock. Now, the Princess when she landed, -seeing not him that supported her, delayed not to run beneath the rock, -and ascended by steps cut from the base of the rock. And Shibli Bagarag -followed her by winding paths round the rock, till she came to the -highest peak commanding the circle of the Enchanted Sea, and glimpses of -enthralled vessels, and mariners bewitched on board; long paths of -starlight rippled into the distant gloom, and the reflection of the moon -opposite was as a wide nuptial sheet of silver on the waters: islands, -green and white, and with soft music floating from their foliage, sailed -slowly to and fro. Surely, to dwell reclining among the slopes of those -islands a man would forfeit Paradise! Now, the Princess, as she stood -upon the peak, knew that she was not alone, and pretended to slip from -her footing, and Shibli Bagarag called out and ran to her; but she turned -in the direction of his voice and laughed, and he knew he was outwitted. -Then, to deceive her, he dropped from the phial twenty drops round her on -the rock, and those twenty drops became twenty voices, so that she was -bewildered with their calls, and stopped her ears, and ran from them, and -descended from the eminence nimbly, slipping over ledges and leaping the -abysses. And Shibli Bagarag followed her, clutching at the trailers and -tearing them with him, letting loose a torrent of stones and earth, till -on a sudden they stood together above a greenswarded basin of the rock -opening to the sea; and in the middle of the basin, lo! in stature like a -maiden of the mountains, and one that droopeth her head pensively -thinking of her absent lover, the Enchanted Lily. Wonder knocked at the -breast of Shibli Bagarag when he saw that queenly flower waving its -illumined head to the breeze: he could not retain a cry of rapture. As he -did this the Princess stretched her hand to where he was and groped a -moment, and caught him by the silken dress and tore in it a great rent, -and by the rent he stood revealed to her. Then said she, 'O youth, thou -halt done ill to follow me here, and the danger of it is past computing; -surely, the motive was a deep one, nought other than the love of me.' - -She spoke winningly, sweet words to a luted voice, and the youth fell -upon his knees before her, smitten by her beauty; and he said, 'I -followed thee here as I would follow such loveliness to the gates of -doom, O Princess of Oolb.' - -She smiled and said playfully, 'I will read by thy hand whether thou be -one faithful in love.' - -She took his hand and sprinkled on it earth and gravel, and commenced -scanning it curiously. As she scanned it her forehead wrinkled up, and a -shot like black lightning travelled across her countenance, withering its -beauty: she cried in a forced voice, 'Aha! it is well, O youth, for thee -and for me that thou lovest me, and art faithful in love.' - -The look of the Princess of Oolb and her voice affrighted the soul of -Shibli Bagarag, and he would have turned from her; but she held him, and -went to the Lily, and emptied into the palm of her hand the dew that was -in the Lily, and raised it to the lips of Shibli Bagarag, bidding him -drink as a pledge for her sake and her love, and to appease his thirst. -As he was about to drink, there fell into the palm of the Princess from -above what seemed a bolt of storm scattering the dew; and after he had -blinked with the suddenness of the action he looked and beheld the hawk, -its red eyes inflamed with wrath. And the hawk screamed into the ear of -Shibli Bagarag, 'Pluck up the Lily ere it is too late, O fool!--the dew -was poison! Pluck it by the root with thy right hand!' - -So thereat he strode to the Lily, and grasped it, and pulled with his -strength; and the Lily was loosened, and yielded, and came forth -streaming with blood from the bulb of the root; surely the bulb of the -root was a palpitating heart, yet warm, even as that we have within our -bosoms. - -Now, from the terror of that sight the Princess hid her eyes, and shrank -away. And the lines of malice, avarice, and envy seemed ageing her at -every breath. Then the hawk pecked at her three pecks, and perched on a -corner of rock, and called shrilly the name 'Karaz!' And the Genie Karaz -came slanting down the night air, like a preying bird, and stood among -them. So the hawk cried, 'See, O Karaz, the freshness of thy Princess of -Oolb'; and the Genie regarded her till loathing curled his lip, for she -grew in ghastliness to the colour of a frog, and a frog's face was hers, -a camel's back, a pelican's throat, the legs of a peacock. - -Then the hawk cried, 'Is this how ye meet, ye lovers,--ye that will be -wedded?' And the hawk made his tongue as a thorn to them. At the last it -exclaimed, 'Now let us fight our battle, Karaz!' - -But the Genie said, 'Nay, there will come a time for that, traitress!' - -The hawk cried, 'Thou delayest, till the phial of Paravid, the hairs of -Garraveen, and this Lily, my three helps, are expended, thinking Aklis, -for which we barter them, striketh but a single blow? That is well! Go, -then, and take thy Princess, and obtain permission of the King of Oolb, -her father, to wed her, O Karaz!' - -The hawk whistled with laughter, and the Genie was stung with its -mockeries, and clutched the Princess of Oolb in a bunch, and arose from -the ground with her, slanting up the night-air like fire, till he was -seen high up even as an angry star reddening the seas beneath. - -When he was lost to the eye, Shibli Bagarag drew a long breath and cried -aloud, 'The likeness of that Princess of Oolb in her ugliness to Noorna, -my betrothed, is a thing marvellous, if it be not she herself.' And he -reflected, 'Yet she seemed not to recognize and claim me'; and thought, -'I am bound to her by gratitude, and I should have rescued her from -Karaz, but I know not if it be she. Wullahy! I am bewildered; I will ask -counsel of the hawk.' He looked to the corner of the rock where the hawk -had perched, but the hawk was gone; as he searched for it, his eyes fell -upon the bed of earth where the Lily stood ere he plucked it, and lo! in -the place of the Lily, there was a damsel dressed in white shining silks, -fairer than the enchanted flower, straighter than the stalk of it; her -head slightly drooping, like the moon on a border of the night; her bosom -like the swell of the sea in moonlight; her eyes dark, under a low arch -of darker lashes, like stars on the skirts of storm; and she was the very -dream of loveliness, formed to freeze with awe, and to inflame with -passion. So Shibli Bagarag gazed at her with adoration, his hands -stretched half-way to her as if to clasp her, fearing she was a vision -and would fade; and the damsel smiled a sweet smile, and lifted her -antelope eyes, and said, 'Who am I, and to whom might I be likened, O -youth?' - -And he answered, 'Who thou art, O young perfection, I know not, if not a -Houri of Paradise; but thou art like the Princess of Oolb, yet lovelier, -oh lovelier! And thy voice is the voice of Noorna, my betrothed; yet -purer, sweeter, younger.' - -So the damsel laughed a laugh like a sudden sweeping of wild chords of -music, and said, 'O youth, saw'st thou not the ascent of Noorna, thy -betrothed, gathered in a bunch by Karaz?' - -And he answered, 'I saw her; but I knew not, O damsel of beauty; surely I -was bewildered, amazed, without power to contend with the Genie.' - -Then she said, 'Wouldst thou release her? So kiss me on the lips, on the -eyes, and on the forehead, three kisses each time; and with the first -say, “By the well of Paravid”; and with the second, “By the strength of -Garraveen!” and with the third, “By the Lily of the Sea!”' - -Now, the heart of the youth bounded at her words, and he went to her, and -trembling kissed her all bashfully on the lips, on the eyes, and on the -forehead, saying each time as she directed. Then she took him by the -hand, and stepped from the bed of earth, crying joyfully, 'Thanks be to -Allah and the Prophet! Noorna, is released from the sorceries that held -her, and powerful.' - -So, while he was wondering, she said, 'Knowest thou not the woman, thy -betrothed?' - -He answered, 'O damsel of beauty, I am charged with many feelings; doubts -and hopes are mixed in me. Say first who thou art, and fill my two ears -with bliss.' - -And she said, 'I will leave my name to other lips; surely I am the -daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, betrothed to a wandering youth,--a -barber, who sickened at the betrothal, and consoled himself with a -proverb when he gave me the kiss of contract, and knew not how with truth -to pay me a compliment.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag saw this was indeed Noorna bin Noorka, his betrothed, -and he fell before her in love and astonishment; but she lifted him to -her neck, and embraced him, saying, 'Said I not truly when I said “I am -that I shall be”? My youth is not as that of Bhanavar the Beautiful, -gained at another's cost, but my own, and stolen from me by wicked -sorceries.' And he cried, 'Tell me, O Noorna, my betrothed, how this -matter came to pass?' - -She said, 'On our way to Aklis.' - -She bade him grasp the Lily, and follow her; and he followed her down the -rock and over the bright shells upon the sand, admiring her stateliness, -her willowy lightness, her slimness as of the palm-tree. Then she waded -in the water, and began to strike out with her arms, and swim boldly,--he -likewise; and presently they came to a current that hurried them off in -its course, and carried them as weeds, streaming rapidly. He was bearing -witness to his faith as a man that has lost hope of life, when a strong -eddy stayed him, and whirled him from the current into the calm water. So -he looked for Noorna, and saw her safe beside him flinging back the wet -tresses from her face, that was like the full moon growing radiant behind -a dispersing cloud. And she said, 'Ask not for the interpretation of -wonders in this sea, for they cluster like dates on a date branch. -Surely, to be with me is enough?' - -And she bewitched him in the midst of the waters, making him oblivious of -all save her, so that he hugged the golden net of her smiles and fair -flatteries, and swam with an exulting stroke, giving his breast broadly -to the low billows, and shouting verses of love and delight to her. And -while they swam sweetly, behold, there was seen a pearly shell of -flashing crimson, amethyst, and emerald, that came scudding over the -waves toward them, raised to the wind, fan-shaped, and in its front two -silver seats. When she saw it, Noorna cried, 'She has sent me this, -Rabesqurat! Perchance is she favourable to my wishes, and this were -well!' - -Then she swayed in the water sideways, and drew the shell to her, and the -twain climbed into it, and sat each on one of the silver seats, folded -together. In its lightness it was as a foam-bubble before the wind on the -blue water, and bore them onward airily. At his feet Shibli Bagarag -beheld a stool of carved topaz, and above his head the arch of the shell -was inlaid with wreaths of gems: never was vessel fairer than that. - -Now, while they were speeding over the water, Noorna said, 'The end of -this fair sea is Aklis, and beyond it is the Koosh. So while the wind is -our helmsman, and we go circled by the quiet of this sea, I'll tell thee -of myself, if thou carest to hear.' - -And he cried with the ardour of love, 'Surely, I would hear of nought -save thyself, Noorna, and the music of the happy garden compareth not in -sweetness with it. I long for the freshness of thy voice, as the desert -camel for the green spring, O my betrothed!' - -So she said, 'And now give ear to the following':-- - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE -PRINCESS OF OOLB - -Know, that when I was a babe, I lay on my mother's bosom in the -wilderness, and it was the bosom of death. Surely, I slept and smiled, -and dreamed the infant's dream, and knew not the coldness of the thing I -touched. So were we even as two dead creatures lying there; but life was -in me, and I awoke with hunger at the time of feeding, and turned to my -mother, and put up my little mouth to her for nourishment, and sucked -her, but nothing came. I cried, and commenced chiding her, and after a -while it was as decreed, that certain horsemen of a troop passing through -the wilderness beheld me, and seeing my distress and the helpless being I -was, their hearts were stirred, and they were mindful of what the poet -says concerning succour given to the poor, helpless, and innocent of this -world, and took me up, and mixed for me camel's milk and water from the -bags, and comforted me, and bore me with them, after they had paid -funeral rites to the body of my mother. - -Now, the rose-bud showeth if the rose-tree be of the wilds or of the -garden, and the chief of that troop seeing me born to the uses of -gentleness, carried me in his arms with him to his wife, and persuaded -her that was childless to make me the child of their adoption. So I abode -with them during the period of infancy and childhood, caressed and cared -for, as is said: - - The flower a stranger's hand may gather, - Strikes root into the stranger's breast; - Affection is our mother, father, - Friend, and of cherishers the best. - -And I loved them as their own child, witting not but that I was their -child, till on a day while I played among some children of my years, the -daughter of the King of Oolb passed by us on a mule, with her slaves and -drawn swords, and called to me, 'Thou little castaway!' and had me -brought to her, and peered upon my face in a manner that frightened me, -for I was young. Then she put me down from the neck of her mule where she -had seated me, saying, 'Child of a dead mother and a runaway father, what -need I fear from thy like, and the dreams of a love-sick Genie?' So she -departed, but I forgot not her words, and dwelt upon them, and grew -fevered with them, and drooped. Now, when he saw my bloom of health gone, -heaviness on my feet, the light hollowed from my eyes, my benefactor, -Ravaloke--he that I had thought my father--took me between his knees, and -asked me what it was and the cause of my ailing; and I told him. - -Then said he, 'This is so: thou art not my child; but I love thee as -mine, O my little Desert-flower; and why the Princess should fancy fear -of thee I like not to think; but fear thou her, for she is a mask of -wiles and a vine trailing over pitfalls; such a sorceress the world -knoweth not as Goorelka of Oolb.' - -Now, I was penetrated by what he said, and ceased to be a companion to -them that loved childish games and romps, and meditated by myself in -gardens and closets, feigning sleep when the elder ones discoursed, that -I might learn something of this mystery, and all that was spoken -perplexed me more, as the sage declareth: - - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue, - More that he wandereth doth himself undo. - -Though I was quick as the quick-eyed falcon, I discovered nought, flying -ever at false game,-- - - A follower of misleading beams, - A cheated soul, the mock of dreams. - -At times I thought that it was the King of Oolb was my father, and -plotted to come in his path; and there were kings and princes of far -countries whom I sought to encounter, that they might claim me; but none -claimed me. O my betrothed, few gave me love beside Ravaloke, and when -the wife that he cherished died, he solely, for I was lost in waywardness -and the slave of moody imaginings. 'Tis said: - - If thou the love of the world for thyself wouldst gain, - mould thy breast - Liker the world to become, for its like the world loveth best; - -and this was not I then. - -Now, the sons and daughters of men are used to celebrate the days of -their birth with gifts and rejoicings, but I could only celebrate that -day which delivered me from death into the hands of Ravaloke, as none -knew my birth-hour. When it was the twelfth return of this event, -Ravaloke, my heart's father, called me to him and pressed in my hand a -glittering coin, telling me to buy with it in the bazaars what I would. -So I went forth, attended by a black slave, after the mid-noon, for I was -eager to expend my store, and cared not for the great heat. Scarcely had -we passed the cheese-market and were hurrying on to shops of the -goldsmiths and jewellers, when I saw an old man, a beggar, in a dirty -yellow turban and pieced particoloured cloth-stuff, and linen in rags his -other gear. So lean was he, and looked so weak that I wondered he did -other than lay his length on the ground; and as he asked me for alms his -voice had a piteousness that made me to weep, and I punished my slave for -seeking to drive him away, and gave my one piece of gold into his hand. -Then he asked me what I required of him in exchange, and I said, 'What -can a poor old man that is a beggar give?' He laughed, and asked me then -what I had intended to buy with that piece of money. So, beginning to -regret the power that was gone from me of commanding with my gold piece -this and that fine thing, I mused, and said, 'Truly, a blue dress -embroidered with gold, and a gold crown, and gold bracelets set with -turquoise stones,--these, and toys; but could I buy in this city a book -of magic, that were my purchase.' - -The old fellow smiled, and said to my black slave, 'And thou, hadst thou -this coin, what were thy purchase therewith?' - -He, scoffing the old beggar, answered, 'A plaister for sores as broad as -my back, and a camel's hump, O thou old villain!' - -The old man grunted in his chest, and said, 'Thou art but a camel -thyself, to hinder a true Mussulman from passing in peace down a street -of Oolb; so 'twere a good purchase and a fitting: know'st thou what is -said of the blessing given by them that receive a charity? - - “'Tis the fertilizing dew that streameth after the sun, - Strong as the breath of Allah to bless life well begun.” - -So is my blessing on the little damsel, and she shall have her wish, -wullahy, thou black face! and thou thine.' - -This spake the old man, and hobbled off while my slave was jeering him. -So I strolled through the bazaars and thought no more of the old man's -words, and longed to purchase a hundred fineries, and came to the -confectioner's, and smelt the smell of his musk-scented sweetmeats and -lemon sweets and sugared pistachios that are delicious to crunch between -the teeth. My mouth watered, and I said to my slave, 'O Kadrab, a coin, -though 'twere small, would give us privilege in yonder shop to select, -and feast, and approve the skill of the confectioner.' - -He grinned, and displayed in his black fist a petty coin of exchange, but -would not let me have it till I had sworn to give no more away to -beggars. So even as we were hurrying into the shop, another old beggar -wretcheder than the first fronted me, and I was moved, and forgot my -promise to Kadrab, and gave him the money. Then was Kadrab wroth, and -kicked the old beggar with his fore-foot, lifting him high in air, and -lo! he did not alight, but rose over the roofs of the houses and beyond -the city, till he was but a speck in the blue of the sky above. So Kadrab -bit his forefinger amazed, and glanced at his foot, and at what was -visible of the old beggarman, and again at his foot, thinking but of what -he had done with it, and the might manifested in that kick, fool that he -was! All the way homeward he kept scanning the sky and lifting his foot -aloft, and I saw him bewildered with a strange conceit, as the poet has -exclaimed in his scorn: - - Oh, world diseased! oh, race empirical! - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle! - -Now, when I was in my chamber, what saw I there but a dress of very -costly blue raiment with gold-work broidery and a lovely circlet of gold, -and gold bracelets set with stones of turquoise, and a basket of gold -woven wire, wherein were toys, wondrous ones--soldiers that cut off each -other's heads and put them on again, springing antelopes, palm-trees that -turned to fountains, and others; and lo! a book in red binding, with -figures on it and clasps of gold, a great book! So I clapped my hands -joyfully, crying, 'The old beggar has done it!' and robed myself in the -dress, and ran forth to tell Ravaloke. As I ran by a window looking on -the inner court, I saw below a crowd of all the slaves of Ravaloke round -one that was seeking to escape from them, and 'twas Kadrab with a camel's -hump on his back, and a broad brown plaister over it, the wretch howling, -peering across his shoulder, and trying to bolt from his burden, as a -horse that would run from his rider. Then I saw that Kadrab also had his -wish, his camel's hump, and thought, 'The old beggar, what was he but a -Genie?' Surely Ravaloke caressed me when he heard of the adventure, and -what had befallen Kadrab was the jest of the city; but for me I spared -little time away from that book, and studied in it incessantly the ways -and windings of magic, till I could hold communication with Genii, and -wield charms to summon them, and utter spells that subdue them, -discovering the haunts of talismans that enthral Afrites and are powerful -among men. There was that Kadrab coming to me daily to call out in the -air for the old beggarman to rid him of his hump; and he would waste -hours looking up into the sky moodily for him, and cursing the five toes -of his foot, for he doubted not the two beggars were one, and that he was -punished for the kick, and lamented it direly, saying in the thick of his -whimperings, 'I'd give the foot that did it to be released from my hump, -O my fair mistress.' So I pitied him, and made a powder and a spell, and -my first experiment in magic was to relieve Kadrab of his hump, and I -succeeded in loosening it, and it came away from him, and sank into the -ground of the garden where we stood. So I told Kadrab to say nothing of -this, but the idle-pated fellow blabbed it over the city, and it came to -the ears of Goorelka. Then she sent for me to visit her, and by the -advice of Ravaloke I went, and she fondled me, and sought to get at the -depth of my knowledge by a spell that tieth every faculty save the -tongue, and it is the spell of vain longing. Now, because I baffled her -arts she knew me more cunning than I seemed, and as night advanced she -affected to be possessed with pleasure in me, and took me in her arms and -sought to fascinate me, and I heard her mutter once, 'Shall I doubt the -warning of Karaz?' So presently she said, 'Come with me'; and I went with -her under the curtain of that apartment into another, a long saloon, -wherein were couches round a fountain, and beyond it an aviary lit with -lamps: when we were there she whistled, and immediately there was a -concert of birds, a wondrous accord of exquisite piping, and she leaned -on a couch and took me by her to listen; sweet and passionate was the -harmony of the birds; but I let not my faculties lull, and observed that -round the throat of every bird was a ringed mark of gold and stamps of -divers gems similar in colour to a ring on the forefinger of her right -hand, which she dazzled my sight with as she flashed it. When we had -listened a long hour to this music, the Princess gazed on me as if to -mark the effect of a charm, and I saw disappointment on her lovely face, -and she bit her lip and looked spiteful, saying, 'Thou art far gone in -the use of magic, and wary, O girl!' Then she laughed unnaturally, and -called slaves to bring in sweet drinks to us, and I drank with her, and -became less wary, and she fondled me more, calling me tender names, -heaping endearments on me; and as the hour of the middle-night approached -I was losing all suspicion in deep languor, and sighed at the song of the -birds, the long love-song, and dozed awake with eyes half shut. I felt -her steal from me, and continued still motionless without alarm: so was I -mastered. What hour it was or what time had passed I cannot say, when a -bird that was chained on a perch before me--a very quaint bird, with a -topknot awry, and black, heavy bill, and ragged gorgeousness of -plumage--the only object between my lids and darkness, suddenly, in the -midst of the singing, let loose a hoarse laugh that was followed by peals -of laughter from the other birds. Thereat I started up, and beheld the -Princess standing over a brazier, and she seized a slipper from her foot -and flung it at the bird that had first laughed, and struck him off his -perch, and went to him and seized him and shook him, crying, 'Dare to -laugh again!' and he kept clearing his throat and trying to catch the -tune he had lost, pitching a high note and a low note; but the marvel of -this laughter of the bird wakened me thoroughly, and I thanked the bird -in my soul, and said to Goorelka, 'More wondrous than their singing, this -laughter, O Princess!' - -She would not speak till she had beaten every bird in the aviary, and -then said in the words of the poet: - - Shall they that deal in magic match degrees of wonder? - From the bosom of one cloud comes the lightning and the thunder. - -Then said she, 'O Noorna! I'll tell thee truly my intent, which was to -enchant thee; but I find thee wise, so let us join our powers, and thou -shah become mighty as a sorceress.' - -Now, Ravaloke had said to me, 'Her friendship is fire, her enmity frost; -so be cold to the former, to the latter hot,' and I dissembled and -replied, 'Teach me, O Princess!' - -So she asked me what I could do. Could I plant a mountain in the sea and -people it? could I anchor a purple cloud under the sun and live there a -year with them I delighted in? could I fix the eyes of the world upon one -head and make the nations bow to it; change men to birds, fishes to men; -and so on--a hundred sorceries that I had never attempted and dreamed not -of my betrothed! I had never offended Allah by a misuse of my powers. -When I told her, she cried, 'Thou art then of a surety she that's fitted -for the custody of the Lily of the Light, so come with me.' - -Now, I had heard of the Lily, even this thou holdest may its influence be -unwithering!--and desired to see it. So she led me from the palace to the -shore of the sea, and flung a cockleshell on the waters, and seated -herself in it with me in her lap; and we scudded over the waters, and -entered this Enchanted Sea, and stood by the Lily. Then, I that loved -flowers undertook the custody of this one, knowing not the consequences -and the depth of her wiles. 'Tis truly said: - - The overwise themselves hoodwink, - For simple eyesight is a modest thing: - They on the black abysm's brink - Smile, and but when they fall bitterly think, - What difference 'twixt the fool and me, Creation's King? - -Nevertheless for awhile nothing evil resulted, and I had great joy in the -flower, and tended it with exceeding watchfulness, and loved it, so that -I was brought in my heart to thank the Princess and think well of her. - -Now, one summer eve as Ravaloke rested under the shade of his garden -palm, and I studied beside him great volumes of magic, it happened that -after I had read certain pages I closed one of the books marked on the -cover 'Alif,' and shut the clasp louder than I intended, so that he who -was dozing started up, and his head was in the sloped sun in an instant, -and I observed the shadow of his head lengthen out along the grass-plot -towards the mossed wall, and it shot up the wall, darkening it--then -drawing back and lessening, then darting forth like a beast of darkness -irritable for prey. I was troubled, for whatso is seen while the volume -Alif is in use hath a portent; but the discovery of what this might be -baffled me. So I determined to watch events, and it was not many days ere -Ravaloke, who was the leader of the armies of the King of Oolb, was -called forth to subdue certain revolted tributaries of the King, and at -my entreaty took me with him, and I saw battles and encounters lasting a -day's length. Once we were encamped in a fruitful country by a brook -running with a bright eye between green banks, and I that had freedom and -the password of the camp wandered down to it, and refreshed my forehead -with its coolness. So, as I looked under the falling drops, lo! on the -opposite bank the old beggar that had given me such fair return for my -alms and Kadrab his hump! I heard him call, 'This night is the key to the -mystery,' and he was gone. Every incantation I uttered was insufficient -to bring him back. Surely, I hurried to the tents and took no sleep, -watching zealously by the tent of Ravaloke, crouched in its shadow. About -the time of the setting of the moon I heard footsteps approach the tent -within the circle of the guard, and it was a youth that held in his hand -naked steel. When he was by the threshold of the tent, I rose before him -and beheld the favourite of Ravaloke, even the youth he had destined to -espouse me; so I reproached him, and he wept, denying not the intention -he had to assassinate Ravaloke, and when his soul was softened he -confessed to me, ''Twas that I might win the Princess Goorelka, and she -urged me to it, promising the King would promote me to the vacant post of -Ravaloke.' - -Then I said to him, 'Lov'st thou Goorelka?' - -And he answered, 'Yea, though I know my doom in loving her; and that it -will be the doom of them now piping to her pleasure and denied the -privilege of laughter.' - -So I thought, 'Oh, cruel sorceress! the birds are men!' And as I mused, -my breast melted with pity at their desire to laugh, and the little -restraint they had upon themselves notwithstanding her harshness; for -could they think of their changed condition and folly without laughter? -and the folly that sent them fresh mates in misery was indeed matter for -laughter, fed to fulness by constant meditation on the perch. Meantime, I -uncharmed the youth and bade him retire quickly; but as he was going, he -said, 'Beware of the Genie Karaz!' Then I held him back, and after a -parley he told me what he had heard the Princess say, and it was that -Karaz had seen me and sworn to possess me for my beauty. 'Strangely -smiled Goorelka when she spake that,' said he. - -Now, the City of Oolb fronts the sea, and behind it is a mountain and a -wood, where the King met Ravaloke on his return victorious over the -rebels. So, to escape the eye of the King I parted with Ravaloke, and -sought to enter the city by a circuitous way; but the paths wound about -and zigzagged, and my slaves suffered nightfall to surprise us in the -entanglements of the wood. I sent them in different directions to strike -into the main path, retaining Kadrab at the bridle of my mule; but that -creature now began to address me in a familiar tone, and he said -something of love for me that enraged me, so that I hit him a blow. Then -came from him sounds like the neighing of mares, and lo! he seized me and -rose with me in the air, and I thought the very heavens were opening to -that black beast, when on a sudden he paused, and shot down with me from -heights of the stars to the mouth of a cavern by the Putrid Sea, and -dragged me into a cavern greatly illuminated, hung like a palace chamber, -and supported on pillars of shining jasper. Then I fell upon the floor in -a swoon, and awaking saw Kadrab no longer, but in his place a Genie. O my -soul, thou halt seen him!--I thought at once, ''tis Karaz!' and when he -said to me, 'This is thy abode, O lady! and I he that have sworn to -possess thee from the hour I saw thee in the chamber of Goorelka,' then -was I certain 'twas Karaz. So, collecting the strength of my soul, I -said, in the words of the poet: - - 'Woo not a heart preoccupied! - What thorn is like a loathing bride? - Mark ye the shrubs how they turn from the sea, - The sea's rough whispers shun? - But like the sun of heaven be, - And every flower will open wide. - Woo with the shining patience we - Beheld in heaven's sun.' - -Then he sang: - - Exquisite lady! name the smart - That fills thy heart. - Thou art the foot and I the worm: - Prescribe the Term. - -Finding him compliant, I said, 'O great Genie, truly the search of my -life has been to discover him that is, my father, and how I was left in -the wilderness. There 's no peace for me, nor understanding the word of -love, till I hear by whom I was left a babe on the bosom of a dead -mother.' - -He exclaimed, and his eyes twinkled, ''Tis that? that shalt thou know in -a span of time. O my mistress, hast thou seen the birds of Goorelka? Thy -father Feshnavat is among them, perched like a bird.' - -So I cried, 'And tell me how he may be disenchanted.' - -He said, 'Swear first to be mine unreluctantly.' - -Then I said, 'What is thy oath?' - -He answered, 'I swear, when I swear, by the Identical.' - -Thereupon I questioned him concerning the Identical, what it was; and he, -not suspecting, revealed to me the mighty hair in his head now in the -head of Shagpat, even that. So I swore by that to give myself to the -possessor of the Identical, and flattered him. Then said he, 'O lovely -damsel, I am truly one of the most powerful of the Genii; yet am I in -bondage to that sorceress Goorelka by reason of a ring she holdeth; and -could I get that ring from her and be slave to nothing mortal an hour, I -could light creation as a torch, and broil the inhabitants of earth at -one fire.' - -I thought, 'That ring is known to me!' And he continued, 'Surely I cannot -assist thee in this work other than by revealing the means of -disenchantment, and it is to keep the birds laughing uninterruptedly an -hour; then are they men again, and take the forms of men that are -laughers--I know not why.' - -So I cried, ''Tis well! carry me back to Oolb.' - -Then the Genie lifted me into the air, and ceased not speeding rapidly -through it, till I was on the roof of the house of Ravaloke. O sweet -youth! moon of my soul! from that time to the disenchantment of -Feshnavat, I pored over my books, trying experiments in magic, dreadful -ones, hunting for talismans to countervail Goorelka; but her power was -great, and 'twas not in me to get her away from the birds one hour to -free them. On a certain occasion I had stolen to them, and kept them -laughing with stories of man to within an instant of the hour; and they -were laughing exultingly with the easy happy laugh of them that perceive -deliverance sure, when she burst in and beat them even to the door of -death. I saw too in her eyes, that glowed like the eyes of wild cats in -the dark, she suspected me, and I called Allah to aid the just cause -against the sinful, and prepared to war with her. - -Now, my desire, which was to liberate my father and his fellows in -tribulation, I knew pure, and had no fear of the sequel, as is declared: - - Fear nought so much as Fear itself; for arm'd with Fear the Foe - Finds passage to the vital part, and strikes a double blow. - -So one day as I leaned from my casement looking on the garden seaward, I -saw a strange red and yellow-feathered bird that flew to the branch of a -citron-tree opposite, with a ring in its beak; and the bird was singing, -and with every note the ring dropped from its bill, and it descended -swiftly in an arrowy slant downward, and seized it ere it reached the -ground, and commenced singing afresh. When I had marked this to happen -many times, I thought, 'How like is this bird to an innocent soul -possessed of magic and using its powers! Lo, it seeketh still to sing as -one of the careless, and cannot relinquish the ring and be as the -careless, and between the two there is neither peace for it nor -pleasure.' Now, while my eyes were on the pretty bird, dwelling on it, I -saw it struck suddenly by an arrow beneath the left wing, and the bird -fluttered to my bosom and dropped in it the ring from its beak. Then it -sprang weakly, and sought to fly and soar, and fluttered; but a blue film -lodged over its eyes, and its panting was quickly ended. So I looked at -the ring and knew it for that one I had noted on the finger of Goorelka. -Red blushed my bliss, and 'twas revealed to me that the bird was of the -birds of the Princess that had escaped from her with the ring. I buried -the bird, weeping for it, and flew to my books, and as I read a glow -stole over me. O my betrothed, eyes of my soul! I read that the possessor -of that ring was mistress of the marvellous hair which is a magnet to the -homage of men, so that they crowd and crush and hunger to adore it, even -the Identical! This was the power that peopled the aviary of Goorelka, -and had well-nigh conquered all the resistance of my craft. - -Now, while I read there arose a hubbub and noise in the outer court, and -shrieks of slaves. The noise approached with rapid strides, and before I -could close my books Goorelka burst in upon me, crying, 'Noorna! Noorna!' -Wild and haggard was her head, and she rushed to my books and saw them -open at the sign of the ring: then began our combat. She menaced me as -never mortal was menaced. Rapid lightning-flashes were her -transformations, and she was a serpent, a scorpion, a lizard, a lioness -in succession, but I leapt perpetually into fresh rings of fire and of -witched water; and at the fiftieth transformation, she fell on the floor -exhausted, a shuddering heap. Seeing that, I ran from her to the aviary -in her palace, and hurried over a story of men to the birds, that rocked -them on their perches with chestquakes of irresistible laughter. Then -flew I back to the Princess, and she still puffing on the floor, -commenced wheedling and begging the ring of me, stinting no promises. At -last she cried, 'Girl! what is this ring to thee without beauty? Thy -beauty is in my keeping.' - -And I exclaimed, 'How? how?' smitten to the soul. - -She answered, 'Yea; and I can wear it as my own, adding it to my own, -when thou'rt a hag!' - -My betrothed! I was on the verge of giving her the ring for this secret, -when a violent remote laughter filled the inner hollow of my ears, and it -increased, till the Princess heard it; and now the light of my casement -was darkened with birds, the birds of Goorelka, laughing as on a wind of -laughter. So I opened to them, and they darted in, laughing all of them, -till I could hold out no longer, and the infection of laughter seized me, -and I rolled with it; and the Princess, she too laughed a hyaena-laugh -under a cat's grin, and we all of us remained in this wise some minutes, -laughing the breath out of our bodies, as if death would take us. Whoso -in the City of Oolb heard us, the slaves, the people, and the King, -laughed, knowing not the cause. This day is still remembered in Oolb as -the day of laughter. Now, at a stroke of the hour the laughter ceased, -and I saw in the chamber a crowd of youths and elders of various ranks; -but their visages were become long and solemn as that of them that have -seen a dark experience. 'Tis certain they laughed little in their lives -from that time, and the muscles of their cheeks had rest. So I caught -down my veil, and cried to the Princess, 'My father is among these; point -him out to me.' - -Ere she replied one stepped forth, even Feshnavat, my father, and called -me by name, and knew me by a spot on the left arm, and made himself known -to me, and told me the story of my dead mother, how she had missed her -way from the caravan in the desert, and he searching her was set upon by -robbers, and borne on their expeditions. Nothing said he of the sorceries -of Goorelka, and I, not wishing to provoke the Princess, suffered his -dread to exist. So I kissed him, and bowed my head to him, and she fled -from the sight of innocent happiness. Then took I the ring, and summoned -Karaz, and ordered him to reinstate all those princes and chiefs and -officers in their possessions and powers, on what part of earth soever -that might be. Never till I stood as the Lily and thy voice sweetened the -name of love in my ears, heard I aught of delicate delightfulness, like -the sound of their gratitude. Many wooed me to let them stay by me and -guard me, and do service all their lives to me; but this I would not -allow, and though they were fair as moons, some of them, I responded not -to their soft glances, speaking calmly the word of farewell, for I was -burdened with other thoughts. - -Now, when the Genie had done my bidding, he returned to me joyfully. My -soul sickened to think myself his by a promise; but I revolved the words -of my promise, and saw in them a loophole of escape. So, when he claimed -me, I said, 'Ay! ay! lay thy head in my lap,' as if my mind treasured it. -Then he lay there, and revealed to me his plans for the destruction of -men. 'Or,' said he, 'they shall be our slaves and burden-beasts, for -there 's now no restraint on me, now thou art mistress of the ring, and -mine.' Thereupon his imagination swelled, and he saw his evil will -enthroned, and the hopes of men beneath his heel, crying, 'And the more I -crush them the thicker they crowd, for the Identical compelleth their -very souls to adore in spite of distaste.' - -Then said I, 'Tell me, O Genie! is the Identical subservient to me in -another head save thine?' - -He answered, 'Nay I in another head 'tis a counteraction to the power of -the Ring, the Ring powerless over it.' - -And I said, 'Must it live in a head, the Identical?' - -Cried he, 'Woe to what else holdeth it!' - -I whispered in his hairy pointed red ear, 'Sleep! sleep!' and lulled him -with a song, and he slept, being weary with my commissioning. Then I bade -Feshnavat, my father, fetch me one of my books of magic, and read in it -of the discovery of the Identical by means of the Ring; and I took the -Ring and hung it on a hair of my own head over the head of the Genie, and -saw one of the thin lengths begin to twist and dart and writhe, and shift -lustres as a creature in anguish. So I put the Ring on my forefinger, and -turned the hair round and round it, and tugged. Lo, with a noise that -stunned me, the hair came out! O my betrothed, what shrieks and roars -were those: with which the Genie awoke, finding himself bare of the -Identical! Oolb heard them, and the sea foamed like the mouth of madness, -as the Genie sped thunder-like over it, following me in mid-air. Such a -flight was that! Now, I found it not possible to hold the Identical, for -it twisted and stung, and was nigh slipping from me while I flew. I saw -white on a corner of the Desert, a city, and I descended on it by the -shop of a clothier that sat quietly by his goods and stuffs, thinking of -fate less than of kabobs and stews and rare seasonings. That city hath -now his name. Wullahy, had I not then sown in his head that hair which he -weareth yet, how had I escaped Karaz, and met thee? Wondrous are the -decrees of Providence! Praise be to Allah for them! So the Genie, when he -found himself baffled by me, and Shagpat with the mighty hair in his -head, the Identical, he yelled, and fetched Shagpat a slap that sent him -into the middle of the street; but Kadza screamed after him, and there -was immediately such lamentation in the city about Shagpat, and such -tearing of hair about him, that I perceived at once the virtue that was -in the Identical. As for Karaz, finding his claim as possessor of the -Identical no more valid, he vanished, and has been my rebellious slave -since, till thou, O my betrothed, mad'st me spend him in curing thy folly -on the horse Garraveen, and he escaped from my circles beyond the -dominion of the Ring; yet had he his revenge, for I that was keeper of -the Lily, had, I now learned ruefully, a bond of beauty with it, and -whatever was a stain to one withered the other. Then that sorceress -Goorelka stole my beauty from me by sprinkling a blight on the petals of -the fair flower, and I became as thou first saw'st me. But what am I as I -now am? Blissful! blissful! Surely I grew humble with the loss of beauty, -and by humility wise, so that I assisted Feshnavat to become Vizier by -the Ring, and watched for thy coming to shave Shagpat, as a star -watcheth; for 'tis written, 'A barber alone shall be shearer of the -Identical'; and he only, my betrothed, hath power to plant it in Aklis, -where it groweth as a pillar, bringing due reverence to Aklis. - - - - -THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - -Now, when Noorna bin Noorka had made an end of her narration, she folded -her hands and was mute awhile; and to the ear of Shibli Bagarag it seemed -as if a sweet instrument had on a sudden ceased luting. So, as he leaned, -listening for her voice to recommence, she said quickly, 'See yonder fire -on the mountain's height!' - -He looked and saw a great light on the summit of a lofty mountain before -them. - -Then said she, 'That is Aklis! and it is ablaze, knowing a visitant near. -Tighten now the hairs of Garraveen about thy wrist; touch thy lips with -the waters of Paravid; hold before thee the Lily, and make ready to enter -the mountain. Lo, my betrothed, thou art in possession of the three means -that melt opposition, and the fault is thine if thou fail.' - -He did as she directed; and they were taken on a tide and advanced -rapidly to the mountain, so that the waters smacked and crackled beneath -the shell, covering it with silver showering arches of glittering spray. -Then the fair beams of the moon became obscured, and the twain reddened -with the reflection of the fire, and the billows waxed like riotous -flames; and presently the shell rose upon the peak of many waves swollen -to one, and looking below, they saw in the scarlet abyss of waters at -their feet a monstrous fish, with open jaws and one baleful eye; and the -fish was lengthy as a caravan winding through the desert, and covered -with fiery scales. Shibli Bagarag heard the voice of Noorna shriek -affrightedly, 'Karaz!' and as they were sliding on the down slope, she -stood upright in the shell, pronouncing rapidly some words in magic; and -the shell closed upon them both, pressing them together, and writing -darkness on their very eyeballs. So, while they were thus, they felt -themselves gulped in, and borne forward with terrible swiftness, they -knew not where, like one that hath a dream of sinking; and outside the -shell a rushing, gurgling noise, and a noise as of shouting multitudes, -and muffled multitudes muttering complaints and yells and querulous -cries, told them they were yet speeding through the body of the depths in -the belly of the fish. Then there came a shock, and the shell was struck -with light, and they were sensible of stillness without motion. Then a -blow on the shell shivered it to fragments, and they were blinded with -seas of brilliancy on all sides from lamps and tapers and crystals, -cornelians and gems of fiery lustre, liquid lights and flashing mirrors, -and eyes of crowding damsels, bright ones. So, when they had risen, and -could bear to gaze on the insufferable splendour, they saw sitting on a -throne of coral and surrounded by slaves with scimitars, a fair Queen, -with black eyes, kindlers of storms, torches in the tempest, and with -floating tresses, crowned with a circlet of green-spiked precious stones -and masses of crimson weed with flaps of pearl; and she was robed with a -robe of amber, and had saffron sandals, loose silvery-silken trousers -tied in at the ankle, the ankle white as silver; wonderful was the -quivering of rays from the jewels upon her when she but moved a finger! -Now, as they stood with their hands across their brows, she cried out, 'O -ye traversers of my sea! how is this, that I am made to thank Karaz for a -sight of ye?' - -And Noorna bin Noorka answered, 'Surely, O Queen Rabesqurat, the haven of -our voyage was Aklis, and we feared delay, seeing the fire of the -mountain ablaze with expectations of us.' - -Then the Queen cried angrily, ''Tis well thou hadst wit to close the -shell, O Noorna, or there would have been delay indeed. Say, is not the -road to Aklis through my palace? And it is the road thousands travel.' - -So Noorna bin Noorka said, 'O Queen, this do they; but are they of them -that reach Aklis?' - -And the Queen cried violently, purpling with passion, 'This to me! when I -helped ye to the plucking of the Lily?' - -Now, the Queen muttered an imprecation, and called the name 'Abarak!' and -lo, a door opened in one of the pillars of jasper leading from the -throne, and there came forth a little man, humped, with legs like bows, -and arms reaching to his feet; in his hand a net weighted with leaden -weights. So the Queen levelled her finger at Noorna, and he spun the net -above her head, and dropped it on her shoulder, and dragged her with him -to the pillar. When Shibli Bagarag saw that, the world darkened to him, -and he rushed upon Abarak; but Noorna called swiftly in his ear, 'Wait! -wait! Thou by thy spells art stronger than all here save Abarak. Be true! -Remember the seventh pillar!' Then, with a spurn from the hand of Abarak, -the youth fell back senseless at the feet of the Queen. - -Now, with the return of consciousness his hearing was bewitched with -strange delicious melodies, the touch of stringed instruments, and others -breathed into softly as by the breath of love, delicate, tender, alive -with enamoured bashfulness. Surely, the soul that heard them dissolved -like a sweet in the goblet, mingling with so much ecstasy of sound; and -those melodies filling the white cave of the ear were even at once to -drown the soul in delightfulness and buoy it with bliss, as a -heavy-leaved flower is withered and refreshed by sun and dews. Surely, -the youth ceased not to listen, and oblivion of cares and aught other in -this life, save that hidden luting and piping, pillowed his drowsy head. -At last there was a pause, and it seemed every maze of music had been -wandered through. Opening his eyes hurriedly, as with the loss of the -music his own breath had gone likewise, he beheld a garden golden with -the light of lamps hung profusely from branches and twigs of trees by the -glowing cheeks of fruits, apple and grape, pomegranate and quince; and he -was reclining on a bank piled with purple cushions, his limbs clad in the -richest figured silks, fringed like the ends of clouds round the sun, -with amber fringes. He started up, striving to recall the confused memory -of his adventures and what evil had befallen him, and he would have -struggled with the vision of these glories, but it mastered him with the -strength of a potent drug, so that the very name of his betrothed was -forgotten by him, and he knew not whither he would, or the thing he -wished for. Now, when he had risen from the soft green bank that was his -couch, lo, at his feet a damsel weeping! So he lifted her by the hand, -and she arose and looked at him, and began plaining of love and its -tyrannies, softening him, already softened. Then said she, 'What I suffer -there is another, lovelier than I, suffering; thou the cause of it, O -cruel youth!' - -He said, 'How, O damsel? what of my cruelty? Surely, I know nothing of -it.' - -But she exclaimed, 'Ah, worse to feign forgetfulness!' - -Now, he was bewildered at the words of the damsel, and followed her -leading till they entered a dell in the garden canopied with foliage, and -beyond it a green rise, and on the rise a throne. So he looked earnestly, -and beheld thereon Queen Rabesqurat, she sobbing, her dark hair pouring -in streams from the crown of her head. Seeing him, she cleared her eyes, -and advanced to meet him timidly and with hesitating steps; but he shrank -from her, and the Queen shrieked with grief, crying, 'Is there in this -cold heart no relenting?' - -Then she said to him winningly, and in a low voice, 'O youth, my husband, -to whom I am a bride!' - -He marvelled, saying, 'This is a game, for indeed I am no husband, -neither have I a bride . . . yet have I confused memory of some betrothal -. . .' - -Thereupon she cried, 'Said I not so? and I the betrothed.' - -Still he exclaimed, 'I cannot think it! Wullahy, it were a wonder!' - -So she said, 'Consider how a poor youth of excellent proportions came to -a flourishing Court before one, a widowed Queen, and she cast eyes of -love on him, and gave him rule over her and all that was hers when he had -achieved a task, and they were wedded. Oh, the bliss of it! Knit together -with bond and a writing; and these were the dominions, I the Queen, woe's -me!--thou the youth!' - -Now, he was roiled by the enchantments of the Queen, caught in the snare -of her beguilings; and he let her lead him to a seat beside her on the -throne, and sat there awhile in the midst of feastings, mazed, thinking, -'What life have I lived before this, if the matter be as I behold?' -thinking, ''Tis true I have had visions of a widowed queen, and I a poor -youth that came to her court, and espoused her, sitting in the vacant -seat beside her, ruling a realm; but it was a dream, a dream,--yet, wah! -here is she, here am I, yonder my dominions!' Then he thought, 'I will -solve it!' So, on a sudden he said to her beside him, 'O Queen, sovereign -of hearts! enlighten me as to a perplexity.' - -She answered, 'The voice of my lord is music in the ear of the bride.' - -Then said he, in the tone of one doubting realities, 'O fair Queen, is -there truly now such a one as Shagpat in the world?' - -She laughed at his speech and the puzzled appearance of his visage, -replying, 'Surely there liveth one, Shagpat by name in the world; strange -is the history of him, his friends, and enemies; and it would bear -recital.' - -Then he said, 'And one, the daughter of a Vizier, Vizier to the King in -the City of Shagpat?' - -Thereat, she shook her head, saying, 'I know nought of that one.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was mindful of his thwackings; and in this the wisdom -of Noorna, is manifest, that the sting of them yet chased away doubts of -illusion regarding their having been, as the poet says, - - If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! - 'Tis that oblivion controls; - I care not if't be on the back, - Or on the soles. - -He thought, 'Wah! yet feel I the thong, and the hiss of it as of the -serpent in the descent, and the smack of it as the mouth of satisfaction -in its contact with tender regions. This, wullahy! was no dream.' -Nevertheless, he was ashamed to allude thereto before the Queen, and he -said, 'O my mistress, another question, one only! This Shagpat--is he -shaved?' - -She said, 'Clean shorn!' - -Quoth he, astonished, grief-stricken, with drawn lips, 'By which hand, -chosen above men?' - -And she exclaimed, 'O thou witty one that feignest not to know! Wullahy! -by this hand of thine, O my lord and king, daring that it is; dexterous! -surely so! And the shaving of Shagpat was the task achieved,--I the dower -of it, and the rich reward.' - -Now, he was meshed yet deeper in the net of her subtleties, and by her -calling him 'lord and king'; and she gave a signal for fresh -entertainments, exhausting the resources of her art, the mines of her -wealth, to fascinate him. Ravishments of design and taste were on every -side, and he was in the lap of abundance, beguiled by magic, caressed by -beauty and a Queen. Marvel not that he was dazzled, and imagined himself -already come to the great things foretold of him by the readers of -planets and the casters of nativities in Shiraz. He assisted in beguiling -himself, trusting wilfully to the two witnesses of things visible; as is -declared by him of wise sayings: - - There is in every wizard-net a hole, - So the entangler first must blind the soul. - -And it is again said by that same teacher: - - Ye that the inner spirit's sight would seal, - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal. - -And the soul of Shibli Bagarag was blinded by Rabesqurat in the depths of -the Enchanted Sea. She sang to him, luting deliriously; and he was -intoxicated with the blissfulness of his fortune, and took a lute and -sang to her love-verses in praise of her, rhyming his rapture. Then they -handed the goblet to each other, and drank till they were on fire with -the joy of things, and life blushed beauteousness. Surely, Rabesqurat was -becoming forgetful of her arts through the strength of those draughts, -till her eye marked the Lily by his side, which he grasped constantly, -the bright flower, and she started and said, 'One grant, O my King, my -husband!' - -So he said courteously, 'All grants are granted to the lovely, the -fascinating; and their grief will be lack of aught to ask for?' - -Then said she, 'O my husband, my King, I am jealous of that silly flower: -laugh at my weakness, but fling it from thee.' - -Now, he was about to cast it from him, when a vanity possessed his mind, -and he exclaimed, 'See first the thing I will do, a wonder.' - -She cried, 'No wonders, my life! I am sated with them.' - -And he said, 'I am oblivious, O Queen, of how I came by this flower and -this phial; but thou shalt hear a thing beyond the power of common magic, -and see that I am something.' - -Now, she plucked at him to abstain from his action, but he held the phial -to the flower. She signed imperiously to some slaves to stay his right -wrist, and they seized on it; but not all of them together could withhold -him from dropping a drop into the petals of the flower, and lo, the Lily -spake, a voice from it like the voice of Noorna, saying, 'Remember the -Seventh Pillar.' Thereat, he lifted his eyes to his brows and frowned -back memory to his aid, and the scene of Karaz, Rabesqurat, Abarak, and -his betrothed was present to him. So perceiving that, the Queen delayed -not while he grasped the phial to take in her hands some water from a -basin near, and flung it over him, crying, 'Oblivion!' And while his mind -was straining to bring back images of what had happened, he fell forward -once more at the feet of Rabesqurat, senseless as a stone falls; such was -the force of her enchantments. - -Now, when he awoke the second time he was in the bosom of darkness, and -the Lily gone from his hand; so he lifted the phial to make certain of -that, and groped about till he came to what seemed an urn to the touch, -and into this he dropped a drop, and asked for the Lily; and a voice -said, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' And he came in the darkness -to a tree, and a bejewelled bank, and other urns, and swinging lamps -without light, and a running water, and a grassy bank, and flowers, and a -silver seat, sprinkling each; and they said all in answer to his question -of the Lily, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' At the last he -stumbled upon the steps of a palace, and ascended them, endowing the -steps with speech as he went, and they said, 'The light of it went over -us.' He groped at the porch of the palace, and gave the door a voice, and -it opened on jasper hinges, shrieking, 'The light of it went through me.' -Then he entered a spacious hall, scattering drops, and voices exclaimed, -'We glow with the light of it.' He passed, groping his way through other -halls and dusk chambers, scattering drops, and as he advanced the voices -increased in the fervour of their replies, saying sequently: 'We blush -with the light of it; We beam with the light of it; We burn with the -light of it.' So, presently he found himself in a long low room, sombrely -lit, roofed with crystals; and in a corner of the room, lo! a damsel on a -couch of purple, she white as silver, spreading radiance. Of such -lustrous beauty was she that beside her, the Princess Goorelka as Shibli -Bagarag first beheld her, would have paled like a morning moon; even -Noorna had waned as Both a flower in fierce heat; and the Queen of -Enchantments was but the sun behind a sand-storm, in comparison with that -effulgent damsel on the length of the purple couch. Well for him he wilt -of the magic which floated through that palace; as is said, - - Tempted by extremes, - The soul is most secure; - Too vivid loveliness blinds with its beams, - And eyes turned inward perceive the lure. - -Pulling down his turban hastily, he stepped on tiptoe to within arm's -reach of her, and, looking another way, inclined over her soft vermeil -mouth the phial slowly till it brimmed the neck, and dropped a drop of -Paravid between the bow of those sweet lips. Still not daring to gaze on -her, he said then, 'My question is of the Lily, the Lily of the Sea, and -where is it, O marvel?' - -And he heard a voice answer in the tones of a silver bell, clear as a -wind in strung wires, 'Where I lie, lies the Lily, the Lily of the Sea; I -with it, it with me.' - -Said he, 'O breather of music, tell me how I may lay hand on the flower -of beauty to bear it forth.' - -And he heard the voice, 'An equal space betwixt my right side and my -left, and from the shoulder one span and half a span downward.' - -Still without power to eye her, he measured the space and the spans, his -hand beneath the coverlids of the couch, and at a spot of the bosom his -hand sank in, and he felt a fluttering thing, fluttering like a frighted -bird in the midst of the fire. And the voice said, 'Quick, seize it, and -draw it out, and tie it to my feet by the twines of red silk about it.' - -He seized it and drew it out, and it was a heart--a heart of -blood-streaming with crimson, palpitating. Tears flashed on his sight -beholding it, and pity took the seat of fear, and he turned his eyes full -on her, crying, 'O sad fair thing! O creature of anguish! O painful -beauty! Oh, what have I done to thee?' - -But she panted, and gasped short and shorter gasps, pointing with one -finger to her feet. Then he took the warm living heart while it yet leapt -and quivered and sobbed; and he held it with a trembling hand, and tied -it by the red twines of silk about it to her feet, staining their -whiteness. When that was done, his whole soul melted with pity and -swelled with sorrow, and ere he could meet her eyes a swoon overcame him. -Surely, when the world dawned to him a third time in those regions the -damsel was no longer there, but in her place the Lily of Light. He -thought, 'It was a vision, that damsel! a terrible one; one to terrify -and bewilder! a bitter sweetness! Oh, the heart, the heart!' Reflecting -on the heart brought to his lids an overcharging of tears, and he wept -violently awhile. Then was he warned by the thought of his betrothed to -take the Lily and speed with it from the realms of Rabesqurat; and he -stole along the halls of the palace, and by the plashing fountains, and -across the magic courts, passing chambers of sleepers, fair dreamers, and -through ante-rooms crowded with thick-lipped slaves. Lo, as he held the -Lily to light him on, and the light of the Lily fell on them that were -asleep, they paled and shrank, and were such as the death-chill maketh of -us. So he called upon his head the protection of Allah, and went swifter, -to chase from his limbs the shudder of awe; and there were some that -slept not, but stared at him with fixed eyes, eyes frozen by the light of -the Lily, and he shunned those, for they were like spectres, haunting -spirits. After he had coursed the length of the palace, he came to a -steep place outside it, a rock with steps cut in stairs, and up these he -went till he came to a small door in the rock, and lying by it a bar; so -he seized the bar and smote the door, and the door shivered, for on his -right wrist were the hairs of Garraveen. Bending his body, he slipped -through the opening, and behold, an orchard dropping blossoms and ripe -golden fruits, streams flowing through it over sands, and brooks bounding -above glittering gems, and long dewy grasses, profusion of scented -flowers, shade and sweetness. So he let himself down to the ground, which -was an easy leap from the aperture, and walked through the garden, -holding the Lily behind him, for here it darkened all, and the glowing -orchard was a desert by its light. Presently, his eye fell on a couch -swinging between two almond trees, and advancing to it he beheld the -black-eyed Queen gathered up, folded temptingly, like a swaying fruit; -she with the gold circlet on her head, and she was fair as blossom of the -almond in a breeze of the wafted rose-leaf. Sweetly was she gathered up, -folded temptingly, and Shibli Bagarag refrained from using the Lily, -thinking, ''Tis like the great things foretold of me, this having of -Queens within the very grasp, swinging to and fro as if to taunt -backwardness!' Then he thought, ''Tis an enchantress! I will yet try her.' -So he made a motion of flourishing the Lily once or twice, but forbore, -fascinated, for she had on her fair face the softness of sleep, her lips -closed in dimples, and the wicked fire shut from beneath her lids. -Mastering his mind, the youth at last held the Lily to her, and saw a -sight to blacken the world and all bright things with its hideousness. -Scarce had he time to thrust the Lily in his robes, when the Queen -started up and clapped her hands, crying hurriedly, 'Abarak! Abarak!' and -the little man appeared in a moment at the door by which Shibli Bagarag -had entered the orchard. So, she cried still, 'Abarak!' and he moved -toward her. Then she said, 'How came this youth here, prying in my -private walks, my bowers? Speak!' - -He answered, 'By the aid of Garraveen only, O Queen! and there is no -force resisteth the bar so wielded.' - -Rabesqurat looked under her brows at Shibli Bagarag and saw the horror on -his face, and she cried out to Abarak in an agony, 'Fetch me the mirror!' -Then Abarak ran, and returned ere the Queen had drawn seven impatient -breaths, and in one hand he bore a sack, in the other a tray: so he -emptied the contents of the sack on the surface of the tray; surely they -were human eyes! and the Queen flung aside her tresses, and stood over -them. The youth saw her smile at them, and assume tender and taunting -manners before them, and imperious manners, killing glances, till in each -of the eyes there was a sparkle. Then she flung back her head as one that -feedeth on a mighty triumph, exclaiming, 'Yet am I Rabesqurat! wide is my -sovereignty.' Sideways then she regarded Shibli Bagarag, and it seemed -she was urging Abarak to do a deed beyond his powers, he frowning and -pointing to the right wrist of the youth. So she clenched her hands an -instant with that feeling which knocketh a nail in the coffin of a desire -not dead, and controlled herself, and went to the youth, breaking into -beams of beauty; and an enchanting sumptuousness breathed round her, so -that in spite of himself he suffered her to take him by the hand and lead -him from that orchard through the shivered door and into the palace and -the hall of the jasper pillars. Strange thrills went up his arm from the -touch of that Queen, and they were as little snakes twisting and darting -up, biting poison-bites of irritating blissfulness. - -Now, the hall was spread for a feast, and it was hung with lamps of -silver, strewn with great golden goblets, and viands, coloured meats, and -ordered fruits on shining platters. Then said she to Shibli Bagarag, 'O -youth! there shall be no deceit, no guile between us. Thou art but my -guest, I no bride to thee, so take the place of the guest beside me.' - -He took his seat beside her, Abarak standing by, and she helped the youth -to this dish and that dish, from the serving of slaves, caressing him -with flattering looks to starve aversion and nourish tender fellowship. -And he was like one that slideth down a hill and can arrest his descent -with a foot, yet faileth that freewill. When he had eaten and drunk with -her, the Queen said, 'O youth, no other than my guest! art thou not a -prince in the country thou comest from?' - -In a moment the pride of the barber forsook him, and he equivocated, -saying, 'O Queen! there is among the stars somewhere, as was divined by -the readers of planets, a crown hanging for me, and I search a point of -earth to intercept its fall.' - -She marked him beguiled by vanity, and put sweetmeats to his mouth, -exclaiming, 'Thy manners be those of a prince!' Then she sang to him of -the loneliness of her life, and of one with whom she wished to share her -state,--such as he. And at her signal came troops of damsels that stood -in rings and luted sweetly on the same theme--the Queen's loneliness, her -love. And he said to the Queen, 'Is this so?' - -She answered, 'Too truly so!' - -Now, he thought, 'She shall at least speak the thing that is, if she look -it not.' So he took the goblet, and contrived to drop a drop from the -phial of Paravid therein without her observing him; and he handed her the -goblet, she him; and they drank. Surely, the change that came over the -Queen was an enchantment, and her eyes shot lustre, her tongue was -loosed, and she laughed like one intoxicated, lolling in her seat, lost -to majesty and the sway of her magic, crying, 'O Abarak! Abarak! little -man, long my slave and my tool; ugly little man! And O Shibli Bagarag! -nephew of the barber! weak youth! small prince of the tackle! have I not -nigh fascinated thee? And thou wilt forfeit those two silly eyes of thine -to the sack. And, O Abarak, Abarak! little man, have I flattered thee? So -fetter I the strong with my allurements! and I stay the arrow in its -flight! and I blunt the barb of high intents! Wah! I have drunk a potent -stuff; I talk! Wullahy! I know there is a danger menacing Shagpat, and -the eyes of all Genii are fixed on him. And if he be shaved, what changes -will follow! But 'tis in me to delude the barber, wullahy! and I will -avert the calamity. I will save Shagpat!' - -While the Queen Rabesqurat prated in this wise with flushed face, Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the greatness of his task, and reproached his -soul with neglect of it. And he thought, 'I am powerful by spells as none -before me have been, and 'twas by my weakness the Queen sought to tangle -me. I will clasp the Seventh Pillar and make an end of it, by Allah and -his Prophet (praised be the name!), and I will reach Aklis by a short -path and shave Shagpat with the sword.' - -So he looked up, and Abarak was before him, the lifted nostrils of the -little man wide with the flame of anger. And Abarak said, 'O youth, -regard me with the eyes of judgement! Now, is it not frightful to rate me -little?--an instigation of the evil one to repute me ugly?' - -The promptings of wisdom counselled Shibli Bagarag to say, 'Frightful -beyond contemplation, O Abarak! one to shame our species! Surely, there -is a moon between thy legs, a pear upon thy shoulders, and the cock that -croweth is no match for thee in measure.' - -Abarak cried, 'We be aggrieved, we two! O youth, son of my uncle, I will -give thee means of vengeance; give thou me means.' - -Shibli Bagarag felt scorn at the Queen, and her hollowness, and he said, -''Tis well; take this Lily and hold it to her.' - -Now, the Queen jeered Abarak, and as he approached her she shouted, -'What! thou small of build! mite of creation! sour mixture! thou puppet -of mine! thou! comest thou to seek a second kiss against the compact, -knowing that I give not the well-favoured of mortals beyond one, a -second. - -Little delayed Abarak at this to put her to the test of the Lily, and he -held the flower to her, and saw the sight, and staggered back like one -stricken with a shaft. When he could get a breath he uttered such a howl -that Rabesqurat in her drunkenness was fain to save her ears, and the -hall echoed as with the bellows of a thousand beasts of the forest. Then, -to glut his revenge he ran for the sack, and emptied the contents of it, -the Queen's mirror, before her; and the sackful of eyes, they saw the -sight, and sickened, rolling their whites. That done, Abarak gave Shibli -Bagarag the bar of iron, and bade him smite the pillars, all save the -seventh; and he smote them strengthily, crumbling them at a blow, and -bringing down the great hall and its groves, and glasses and gems, lamps, -traceries, devices, a heap of ruin, the seventh pillar alone standing. -Then, while he pumped back breath into his body, Abarak said, 'There's no -delaying in this place now, O youth! Say, halt thou spells for the -entering of Aklis?' - -He answered, 'Three!' - -Then said Abarak, ''Tis well! Surely now, if thou takest me in thy -service, I'll help thee to master the Event, and serve thee faithfully, -requiring nought from thee save a sight of the Event, and 'tis I that -myself missed one, wiled by Rabesqurat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'Thou?' - -He answered, 'No word of it now. Is't agreed?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Even so.' - -Thereupon, the twain entered the pillar, leaving Rabesqurat prone, and -the waves of the sea bounding toward her where she lay. Now, they -descended and ascended flights of slippery steps, and sped together along -murky passages, in which light never was, and under arches of caves with -hanging crystals, groping and tumbling on hurriedly, till they came to an -obstruction, and felt an iron door, frosty to the touch. Then Abarak said -to Shibli Bagarag, 'Smite!' And the youth lifted the bar to his right -shoulder, and smote; and the door obeyed the blow, and discovered an -opening into a strange dusky land, as it seemed a valley, on one side of -which was a ragged copper sun setting low, large as a warrior's battered -shield, giving deep red lights to a brook that fell, and over a flat -stream a red reflection, and to the sides of the hills a dark red glow. -The sky was a brown colour; the earth a deeper brown, like the skins of -tawny lions. Trees with reddened stems stood about the valley, scattered -and in groups, showing between their leaves the cheeks of melancholy -fruits swarthily tinged, and toward the centre of the valley a shining -palace was visible, supported by massive columns of marble reddened by -that copper sun. Shibli Bagarag was awed at the stillness that hung -everywhere, and said to Abarak, 'Where am I, O Abarak? the look of this -place is fearful!' - -And the little man answered, 'Where, but beneath the mountains in Aklis? -Wullahy! I should know it, I that keep the passage of the seventh -pillar!' - -Then the thought of his betrothed Noorna, and her beauty, and the words, -'Remember the seventh pillar,' struck the heart of Shibli Bagarag, and he -exclaimed passionately, 'Is she in safety? Noorna, my companion, my -betrothed, netted by thee, O Abarak!' - -Abarak answered sharply, 'Speak not of betrothals in this place, or the -sword of Aklis will move without a hand!' - -But Shibli Bagarag waxed the colour of the sun that was over them, and -cried, 'By Allah! I will smite thee with the bar, if thou swear not to -her safety, and point not out to me where she now is.' - -Then said Abarak, 'Thou wilt make a better use of the bar by lifting it -to my shoulder, and poising it, and peering through it.' - -Shibli Bagarag lifted the bar to the shoulder of Abarak, and poised it, -and peered through the length of it, and lo! there was a sea tossing in -tumult, and one pillar standing erect in the midst of the sea; and on the -pillar, above the washing waves, with hair blown back, and flapping -raiment, pale but smiling still, Noorna, his betrothed! - -Now, when he saw her, he made a rush to the door of the passage; but -Abarak blocked the way, crying, 'Fool! a step backward in Aklis is -death!' - -And when he had wrestled with him and reined him, Abarak said, 'Haste to -reach the Sword from the sons of Aklis, if thou wouldst save her.' - -He drew him to the brink of the stream, and whistled a parrot's whistle; -and Shibli Bagarag beheld a boat draped with drooping white lotuses that -floated slowly toward them; and when it was near, he and Abarak entered -it, and saw one, a veiled figure, sitting in the stern, who neither moved -to them nor spake, but steered the boat to a certain point of land across -the stream, where stood an elephant ready girt for travellers to mount -him; and the elephant kneeled among the reeds as they approached, that -they might mount him, and when they had each taken a seat, moved off, -waving his trunk. Presently the elephant came to a halt, and went upon -his knees again, and the two slid off his back, and were among black -slaves that bowed to the ground before them, and led them to the shining -gates of the palace in silence. Now, on the first marble step of the -palace there sat an old white-headed man dressed like a dervish, who held -out at arm's length a branch of gold with golden singing-birds between -its leaves, saying, 'This for the strongest of ye!' - -Abarak exclaimed, 'I am that one'; and he held forth his hand for the -branch. - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Nay, 'tis mine. Wullahy, what has not the -strength of this hand overthrown?' - -Then the brows of Abarak twisted; his limbs twitched, and he bawled, 'To -the proof!' waking all the echoes of Aklis. Shibli Bagarag was tempted in -his desire for the golden branch to lift the iron bar upon Abarak, when -lo! the phial of Paravid fell from his vest, and he took it, and -sprinkled a portion of the waters over the singing birds, and in a moment -they burst into a sweet union of voices, singing, in the words of the -poet: - - When for one serpent were two asses match? - How shall one foe but with wiles master double? - So let the strong keep for ever good watch, - Lest their strength prove a snare, and themselves a mere bubble; - For vanity maketh the strongest most weak, - As lions and men totter after the struggle. - Ye heroes, be modest! while combats ye seek, - The cunning one trippeth ye both with a juggle. - -Now, at this verse of the birds Shibli Bagarag fixed his eye on the old -man, and the beard of the old man shrivelled; he waxed in size, and flew -up in a blaze and with a baffled shout bearing the branch; surely, his -features were those of Karaz, and Shibli Bagarag knew him by the length -of his limbs, his stiff ears, and copper skin. Then he laughed a loud -laugh, but Abarak sobbed, saying, 'By this know I that I never should -have seized the Sword, even though I had vanquished the illusions of -Rabesqurat, which held me fast half-way.' - -So Shibli Bagarag stared at him, and said, 'Wert thou also a searcher, O -Abarak?' - -But Abarak cried, 'Rouse not the talkative tongue of the past, O youth! -Wullahy! relinquish the bar that is my bar, won by me, for the Sword is -within thy grip, and they await thee up yonder steps. Go! go! and look -for me here on thy return.' - - - - -THE PALACE OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag assured himself of his three spells, and made his -heart resolute, and hastened up the reddened marble steps of the Palace; -and when he was on the topmost step, lo! one with a man's body and the -head of a buffalo, that prostrated himself, and prayed the youth -obsequiously to enter the palace with the title of King. So Shibli -Bagarag held his head erect, and followed him with the footing of a -Sultan, and passed into a great hall, with fountains in it that were -fountains of gems, pearls, chrysolites, thousand-hued jewels, and by the -margin of the fountains were shapes of men with the heads of -beasts-wolves, foxes, lions, bears, oxen, sheep, serpents, asses, that -stretched their hands to the falls, and loaded their vestments with -brilliants, loading them without cessation, so that from the vestments of -each there was another pouring of the liquid lights. Then he with the -buffalo's head bade Shibli Bagarag help himself from the falls; but -Shibli Bagarag refused, for his soul was with Noorna, his betrothed; and -he saw her pale on that solitary pillar in the tumult of the sea, and -knew her safety depended on his faithfulness. - -He cried, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the fox-heads and the sheep-heads and the ass-heads -and the other heads of beasts were lifted up, and lo! they put their -hands to their ears, and tapped their foreheads with the finger of -reflection, as creatures seeking to bring to mind a serious matter. Then -the fountains rose higher, and flung jets of radiant jewels, and a -drenching spray of gems upon them, and new thirst aroused them to renew -their gulping of the falls, and a look of eagerness was even in the eyes -of the ass-heads and the silly sheep-heads; surely, Shibli Bagarag -laughed to see them! Now, when he had pressed his lips to recover his -sight from the dazzling of those wondrous fountains, he heard himself -again addressed by the title of King, and there was before him a lofty -cock with a man's head. So he resumed the majesty of his march, and -followed the fine-stepping cock into another hall, spacious, and clouded -with heavy scents and perfumes burning in censers and urns, musk, myrrh, -ambergris, and livelier odours, gladdening the nostril like wine, making -the soul reel as with a draught of the forbidden drink. Here, before a -feast that would prick the dead with appetite, were shapes of beasts with -heads of men, asses, elephants, bulls, horses, swine, foxes, -river-horses, dromedaries; and they ate and drank as do the famished with -munch and gurgle, clacking their lips joyfully. Shibli Bagarag remembered -the condition of his frame when first he looked upon the City of Shagpat, -and was incited to eat and accede to the invitation of the cock with the -man's head, and sit among these merry feeders and pickers of -mouth-watering morsels, when, with the City of Shagpat, lo! he had a -vision of Shagpat, hairier than at their interview, arrogant in -hairiness; his head remote in contemptuous waves and curls and frizzes, -and bushy protuberances of hair, lost in it, like an idolatrous temple in -impenetrable thickets. Then the yearning of the Barber seized Shibli -Bagarag, and desire to shear Shagpat was as a mighty overwhelming wave in -his bosom, and he shouted, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the beasts with men's heads wagged their tails, all -of them, from right to left, and kept their jaws from motion, staring -stupidly at the dishes; but the dishes began to send forth stealthy -steams, insidious whispers to the nose, silver intimations of -savouriness, so that they on a sudden set up a howl, and Shibli Bagarag -puckered his garments from them as from devouring dogs, and hastened from -that hall to a third, where at the entrance a damsel stood that smiled to -him, and led him into a vast marbled chamber, forty cubits high, hung -with draperies, and in it a hundred doors; and he was in the midst of a -very rose-garden of young beauties, such as the Blest behold in Paradise, -robed in the colours of the rising and setting sun; plump, with long, -black, languishing, almond-shaped eyes, and undulating figures. So they -cried to him, 'What greeting, O our King?' - -Now, he counted twenty and seven of them, and, fitting his gallantry to -verse, answered: - - Poor are the heavens that have not ye - To swell their glowing plenty; - Up there but one bright moon I see, - Here mark I seven-and-twenty. - -The damsels laughed and flung back their locks at his flattery, sporting -with him; and he thought, 'These be sweet maidens! I will know if they be -illusions like Rabesqurat'; so, as they were romping, he slung his right -arm round one, and held the Lily to her, but there was no change in her -save that she winked somewhat and her eyes watered; and it was so with -the others, for when they saw him hold the Lily to one they made him do -so to them likewise. Then he took the phial, and touched their lips with -the waters, and lo! they commenced luting and laughing, and singing -verses, and prattling, laughing betweenwhiles at each other; and one, a -noisy one, with long, black, unquiet tresses, and a curved foot and -roguish ankle, sang as she twirled: - - My heart is another's, I cannot be tender; - Yet if thou storm it, I fain must surrender. - -And another, a fresh-cheeked, fair-haired, full-eyed damsel, strong upon -her instep and stately in the bearing of her shoulders, sang shrilly: - - I'm of the mountains, and he that comes to me - Like eagle must win, and like hurricane woo me. - -And another, reclining on a couch buried in dusky silks, like a butterfly -under the leaves, a soft ball of beauty, sang moaningly: - - Here like a fruit on the branch am I swaying; - Snatch ere I fall, love! there's death in delaying. - -And another, light as an antelope on the hills, with antelope eyes edged -with kohl, and timid, graceful movements, and small, white, rounded ears, -sang clearly: - - Swiftness is mine, and I fly from the sordid; - Follow me, follow! and you'll be rewarded. - -And another, with large limbs and massive mould, that stepped like a cow -leisurely cropping the pasture, and shook with jewels amid her black hair -and above her brown eyes, and round her white neck and her wrists, and on -her waist, even to her ankle, sang as with a kiss upon every word: - - Sweet 'tis in stillness and bliss to be basking! - He who would have me, may have for the asking. - -And another, with eyebrows like a bow, and arrows of fire in her eyes, -and two rosebuds her full moist parted pouting lips, sang, clasping her -hands, and voiced like the tremulous passionate bulbul in the shadows of -the moon: - - Love is my life, and with love I live only; - Give me life, lover, and leave me not lonely. - -And a seventh, a very beam of beauty, and the perfection of all that is -imagined in fairness and ample grace of expression and proportion, lo! -she came straight to Shibli Bagarag, and took him by the hand and pierced -him with lightning glances, singing: - - Were we not destined to meet by one planet? - Can a fate sever us?--can it, ah! can it? - -And she sang tender songs to him, mazing him with blandishments, so that -the aim of existence and the summit of ambition now seemed to him the -life of a king in that palace among the damsels; and he thought, 'Wah! -these be no illusions, and they speak the thing that is in them. Wullahy, -loveliness is their portion; they call me King.' - -Then she that had sung to him said, 'Surely we have been waiting thee -long to crown thee our King! Thou hast been in some way delayed, O -glorious one!' - -And he answered, 'O fair ones, transcending in affability, I have -stumbled upon obstructions in my journey hither, and I have met with -adventures, but of this crowning that was to follow them I knew nought. -Wullahy, thrice have I been saluted King; I whom fate selecteth for the -shaving of Shagpat, and till now it was a beguilement, all emptiness.' - -They marked his bewildered state, and some knelt before him, some held -their arms out adoringly, some leaned to him with glistening looks, and -he was fast falling a slave to their flatteries, succumbing to them; -imagination fired him with the splendours due to one that was a king, and -the thought of wearing a crown again took possession of his soul, and he -cried, 'Crown me, O my handmaidens, and delay not to crown me; for, as -the poet says: - - “The king without his crown - Hath a forehead like the clown”; - -and the circle of my head itcheth for the symbols of majesty.' - -At these words of Shibli Bagarag they arose quickly and clapped their -hands, and danced with the nimble step of gladness, exclaiming, 'O our -King! pleasant will be the time with him!' And one smoothed his head and -poured oil upon it; one brought him garments of gold and silk inwoven; -one fetched him slippers like the sun's beam in brightness; others stood -together in clusters, and with lutes and wood-instruments, low-toned, -singing odes to him; and lo! one took a needle and threaded it, and gave -the thread into the hands of Shibli Bagarag, and with the point of the -needle she pricked certain letters on his right wrist, and afterwards -pricked the same letters on a door in the wall. Then she said to him, 'Is -it in thy power to make those letters speak?' - -He answered, 'We will prove how that may be.' - -So he flung some drops from the phial over the letters, and they glowed -the colour of blood and flashed with a report, and it was as if a fiery -forked-tongue had darted before them and spake the words written, and -they were, 'This is the crown of him who bath achieved his aim and -resteth here.' Thereupon, she stuck the needle in the door, and he pulled -the thread, and the door drew apart, and lo! a small chamber, and on a -raised cushion of blue satin a glittering crown, thick with jewels as a -frost, such as Ambition pineth to wear, and the knees of men weaken and -bend beholding, and it lanced lights about it like a living sun. Beside -the cushion was a vacant throne, radiant as morning in the East, ablaze -with devices in gold and gems, a seat to fill the meanest soul with -sensations of majesty and tempt dervishes to the sitting posture. Shibli -Bagarag was intoxicated at the sight, and he thought, 'Wah! but if I sit -on this throne and am a king, with that crown I can command men and -things! and I have but to say, Fetch Noorna, my betrothed, from yonder -pillar in the midst of the uproarious sea!--Let the hairy Shagpat be -shaved! and behold, slaves, thousands of them, do my bidding! Wullahy, -this is greatness!' Now, he made a rush to the throne, but the damsels -held him back, crying, 'Not for thy life till we have crowned thee, our -master and lord!' - -Then they took the crown and crowned him with it; and he sat upon the -throne calmly, serenely, like a Sultan of the great race accustomed to -sovereignty, tempering the awfulness of his brows with benignant glances. -So, while he sat the damsels hid their faces and started some paces from -him, as unable to bear the splendour of his presence, and in a moment, -lo! the door closed between him and them, and he was in darkness. Then he -heard a voice of the damsels cry in the hall, 'The ninety and ninth! -Peace now for us and blissfulness with our lords, for now all are filled -save the door of the Sword, which maketh the hundredth.' After that he -heard the same voice say, 'Leave them, O my sisters!' - -So he listened to the noise of their departing, and knew he had been -duped. Surely his soul cursed him as he sat crowned and throned in that -darkness! He seized the crown to dash it to the earth, but the crown was -fixed on his forehead and would not come off; neither had he force to -rise from the throne. Now, the thought of Noorna, his betrothed, where -she rested waiting for him to deliver her, filled Shibli Bagarag with the -extremes of anguish; and he lifted his right arm and dashed it above his -head in the violence of his grief, striking in the motion a hidden gong -that gave forth a burst of thunder and a roll of bellowings, and lo! the -door opened before him, and the throne as he sat on it moved out of the -chamber into the hall where he had seen the damsels that duped him, and -on every side of the hall doors opened; and he marvelled to see men, old -and young, beardless and venerable, sitting upon thrones and crowned with -crowns, motionless, with eyes like stones in the recesses. He thought, -'These be other dupes! Wallaby! a drop of the waters of Paravid upon -their lips might reveal mysteries, and guide me to the Sword of my -seeking.' So, as he considered how to get at them from the seat of his -throne, his gaze fell on a mirror, and he beheld the crown on his -forehead what it was, bejewelled asses' ears stiffened upright, and -skulls of monkeys grinning with gems! The sight of that crowning his head -convulsed Shibli Bagarag with laughter, and, as he laughed, his seat upon -the throne was loosened, and he pitched from it, but the crown stuck to -him and was tenacious of its hold as the lion that pounceth upon a -victim. He bowed to the burden of necessity, and took the phial, and -touched the lips of one that sat crowned on a throne with the waters in -the phial; and it was a man of exceeding age, whitened with time, and in -the long sweep of his beard like a mountain clad with snow from the peak -that is in the sky to the base that slopeth to the valley. Then he -addressed the old man on his throne, saying, 'Tell me, O King! how camest -thou here? and in search of what?' - -The old man's lips moved, and he muttered in deep tones, 'When cometh he -of the ninety-and-ninth door?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Surely he is before thee, in Aklis.' - -And the old man said, 'Let him ask no secrets; but when he hath reached -the Sword forget not to flash it in this hall, for the sake of -brotherhood in adventure.' - -After that he would answer no word to any questioning. - - - - -THE SONS OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'The poet is right in Aklis as elsewhere, in -his words: - - “The cunning of our oft-neglected wit - Doth best the keyhole of occasion fit”; - -and whoso looketh for help from others looketh the wrong way in an -undertaking. Wah! I will be bold and batter at the hundredth door, which -is the door of the Sword.' So he advanced straightway to the door, which -was one of solid silver, charactered with silver letters, and knocked -against it three knocks; and a voice within said, 'What spells?' - -He answered, 'Paravid; Garraveen; and the Lily of the Sea!' - -Upon that the voice said, 'Enter by virtue of the spells!' and the silver -door swung open, discovering a deep pit, lightened by a torch, and across -it, bridging it, a string of enormous eggs, rocs' eggs, hollowed, and so -large that a man might walk through them without stooping. At the side of -each egg three lamps were suspended from a claw, and the shell passage -was illumined with them from end to end. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'These -eggs are of a surety the eggs of the Roc mastered by Aklis with his -sword!' Now, as the sight of Shibli Bagarag grew familiar to the place, -he beheld at the bottom of the pit a fluttering mass of blackness and two -sickly eyes that glittered below. - -Then thought he, 'Wah! if that be the Roc, and it not dead, will the bird -suffer one to defile its eggs with other than the sole of the foot, -naked?' He undid his sandals and kicked off the slippers given him by the -damsels that had duped him, and went into the first egg over the abyss, -and into the second, and into the third, and into the fourth, and into -the fifth. Surely the eggs swung with him, and bent; and the fear of -their breaking and he falling into the maw of the terrible bird made him -walk unevenly. When he had come to the seventh egg, which was the last, -it shook and swung violently, and he heard underneath the flapping of the -wings of the Roc, as with eagerness expecting a victim to prey upon. He -sustained his soul with the firmness of resolve and darted himself -lengthwise to the landing, clutching a hold with his right hand; as he -did so, the bridge of eggs broke, and he heard the feathers of the bird -in agitation, and the bird screaming a scream of disappointment as he -scrambled up the sides of the pit. - -Now, Shibli Bagarag failed not to perform two prostrations to Allah, and -raised the song of gratitude for his preservation when he found himself -in safety. Then he looked up, and lo! behind a curtain, steps leading to -an anteroom, and beyond that a chamber like the chamber of kings where -they sit in state dispensing judgements, like the sun at noon in -splendour; and in the chamber seven youths, tall and comely young men, -calm as princes in their port, each one dressed in flowing robes, and -with a large glowing pearl in the front of their turbans. They advanced -to meet him, saying, 'Welcome to Aklis, thou that art proved worthy! 'Tis -holiday now with us'; and they took him by the hand and led him with them -in silence past fountain-jets and porphyry pillars to where a service -with refreshments was spread, meats, fowls with rice, sweetmeats, -preserves, palateable mixtures, and monuments of the cook's art, goblets -of wine like liquid rubies. Then one of the youths said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Thou hast come to us crowned, O our guest! Now, it is not our -custom to pay homage, but thou shalt presently behold them that will, so -let not thy kingliness droop with us, but feast royally.' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'O my princes, surely it is a silly matter to -crown a mouse! Humility hath depressed my stature! Wullahy, I have had -warning in the sticking of this crown to my brows, and it sticketh like -an abomination.' - -They laughed at him, saying, 'It was the heaviness of that crown which -overweighted thee in the bridge of the abyss, and few be they that bear -it and go not to feed the Roc.' - -Now, they feasted together, interchanging civilities, offering to each -other choice morsels, dainties. And the anecdotes of Shibli Bagarag, his -simplicity and his honesty, and his vanity and his airiness, and the -betraying tongue of the barber, diverted the youths; and they plied him -with old wine till his stores of merriment broke forth and were as a -river swollen by torrents of the mountain; and the seven youths laughed -at him, spluttering with laughter, lurching with it. Surely, he described -to them the loquacity of Baba Mustapha his uncle, and they laughed so -that their chins were uppermost; but at his mention of Shagpat greater -gravity was theirs, and they smoothed their faces solemnly, and the sun -of their merriment was darkened for awhile. Then they took to flinging -about pellets of a sugared preparation, and reciting verses in praise of -jovial living, challenging to drink this one and that one, passing the -cup with a stanza. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'What a life is this led by -these youths! a fair one! 'Tis they that be the sons of Aklis who sharpen -the Sword of Events; yet live they in jollity, skimming from the -profusion of abundance that which floateth!' - -Now, marking him contemplative, one of the youths shouted, 'The King -lacketh homage!' - -And another called, 'Admittance for his people!' - -Then the seven arose and placed Shibli Bagarag on an elevation in the -midst of them, and lo! a troop of black slaves leading by the collar, -asses, and by a string, monkeys. Now, for the asses they brayed to the -Evil One, and the monkeys were prankish, pulling against the string, till -they caught sight of Shibli Bagarag. Then was it as if they had been -awestricken; and they came forward to him with docile steps, eyeing the -crown on his head, and prostrated themselves, the asses and the monkeys, -like creatures in whom glowed the lamp of reason and the gift of -intelligence. So Shibli Bagarag drooped his jaw and was ashamed, and he -cried, 'my princes! am I a King of these?' - -They answered, 'A King in mightiness! Sultan of a race!' - -So he said, 'It is certain I shall need physic to support such a -sovereignty! And I must be excused liberal allowances of old wine to sit -in state among them. Wullahy! they were best gone for awhile. Send them -from me, O my princes! I sicken.' - -And he called to the animals, 'Away! begone!' frowning. - -Then said the youths, 'Well commanded! and like a King! See, they troop -from thy presence obediently.' - -Now the animals fled from before the brows of Shibli Bagarag, and when -the chamber was empty of them the seven young men said, 'Of a surety thou -wert flattered to observe the aspect of these animals at beholding thee.' - -But he cried, 'Not so, O my princes; there is nought flattering in the -homage of asses and monkeys.' - -Then they said, 'O Sultan of asses, ruler of monkeys, better that than -thyself an ass and an ape! As was said by Shah Kasirwan, “I prefer being -king of beasts worshipped by beasts, rather than a crowned beast -worshipped by men”; and it was well said. Wullahy! the kings of Roum -quote it.' - -Now Shibli Bagarag was not rendered oblivious of the Sword of his quest -by the humour of these youths, or the wine-bibbings, and he exclaimed -while they were turning up the heels of their cups, 'O ye sons of Aklis, -know that I have come hither for the Sword sharpened by your hands, for -the releasing of my betrothed, Noorna bin Noorka, daughter of the Vizier -Feshnavat, and for the shaving of Shagpat.' - -While he was proceeding to recount the story of his search for the Sword, -they said, 'Enough, O potentate of the braying class and of the -scratching tribe! we have seen thee through the eye of Aklis since the -time of thy first thwacking. What says the poet? - - “A day for toil and a day for rest - Gives labour zeal, and pleasure zest.” - -So, of thy seeking let us hear to-morrow; but now drink with us, and make -merry, and touch the springs of memory; spout forth verses, quaint ones, -suitable to the hour and the entertainment. Wullahy! drink with us! taste -life! Let the humours flow.' - -Then they made a motion to some slaves, and presently a clattering of -anklets struck the ear of Shibli Bagarag: and he beheld dancing-girls, -moons of beauty and elegance, and they danced wild dances, and dances -graceful and leopard-like and serpent-like in movement; and the youths -flung flowers at them, applauding them. Then came other sets of dancers -even lovelier, more languishing; and again others with tambourines and -musical instruments, that sang ravishingly. So the senses of Shibli -Bagarag were all taken with what he saw and heard, and ate and drank; and -by degrees a mist came before his eyes, and the sweet sounds and voices -of the girls grew distant, and it was with difficulty he kept his back -from the length of the cushions that were about him. Then he thought of -Noorna, and that she sang to him and danced, and when he rose to embrace -her she was Rabesqurat by the light of the Lily! And he thought of -Shagpat, and that in shaving him the blade was checked in its rapid -sweep, and blunted by a stumpy twine of hair that waxed in size and -became the head of Karaz that gulped at him a wide devouring gulp, and -took him in, and flew up with him, leaving Shagpat half sheared. Then he -thought himself struggling halfway down the throat of the monstrous Roc, -and that, when he was wholly inside the Roc, he was in a wide-arched -passage crowded with lamps, and at the end of the passage Noorna in the -clutch of Karaz, she shouting, 'The Sword, the Sword!' - -Now, while he felt for the Sword wherewith to release her from the Genie, -his eyes opened, and he saw day through a casement, and that he had -reposed on an embroidered couch in the corner of a stately room -ornamented with carvings of blue and gold. So while he wondered and -yawned, gaping, slaves started up from the floor and led him to a bath of -coloured marble, and bathed him in perfumed waters, and dressed him in a -dress of yellow silk, rich and ample. Then they paraded before him -through lesser apartments and across terraces, till they came to a great -hall; loftier and more spacious than any he had yet beheld, with -fountains at the two ends, and in the centre a tree with golden spreading -branches and leaves of gold; among the leaves gold-feathered birds, and -fruits of all seasons and every description--the drooping grape and the -pleasant-smelling quince, and the blood-red pomegranate, and the apricot, -and the green and rosy apple, and the gummy date, and the oily -pistachio-nut, and peaches, and citrons, and oranges, and the plum, and -the fig. Surely, they were countless in number, melting with ripeness, -soft, full to bursting; and the birds darted among them like sun-flashes. -Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'This is a wondrous tree! Wullahy! there is -nought like it save the tree in the hall of the Prophet in Paradise, -feeding the faithful!' As he regarded it he heard his name spoken in the -hall, and turning he beheld seven youths in royal garments, that were -like the youths he had feasted with, and yet unlike them, pale, and stern -in their manners, their courtesy as the courtesy of kings. They said, -'Sit with us and eat the morning's meal, O our guest!' - -So he sat with them under the low branches of the tree; and they whistled -the tune of one bird and of another bird, and of another, and lo! those -different birds flew down with golden baskets hanging from their bills, -and in the baskets fruits and viands and sweetmeats, and cool drinks. And -Shibli Bagarag ate from the baskets of the birds, watching the action of -the seven youths and the difference that was in them. He sought to make -them recognise him and acknowledge their carouse of the evening that was -past, but they stared at him strangely and seemed offended at the -allusion, neither would they hear mention of the Sword of his seeking. -Presently, one of the youths stood upon his feet and cried, “The time for -kings to sit in judgement!” - -And the youths arose and led Shibli Bagarag to a hall of ebony, and -seated him on the upper seat, themselves standing about him; and lo! -asses and monkeys came before him, complaining of the injustice of men -and their fellows, in brays and bellows and hoots. Now, at the sight of -them again Shibli Bagarag was enraged, and he said to the youths, 'How! -do ye not mock me, O masters of Aklis!' - -But they said only, 'The burden of his crown is for the King.' - -He cooled, thinking, 'I will use a spell.' So he touched the lips of an -animal with the waters of Paravid, and the animal prated volubly in our -language of the kick this ass had given him, and the jibe of that monkey, -and of his desire of litigation with such and such a beast for pasture; -and the others when they spake had the same complaints to make. Shibli -Bagarag listened to them gravely, and it was revealed to him that he who -ruleth over men hath a labour and duties of hearing and judging and -dispensing judgement similar to those of him who ruleth over apes and -asses. Then said he, 'O youths, my princes! methinks the sitting in this -seat giveth a key to secret sources of wisdom; and I see what it is, the -glory and the exaltation coveted by men.' Now, he took from the asses and -the monkeys one, and said to it, 'Be my chief Vizier,' and to another, -'Be my Chamberlain!' and to another, 'Be my Treasurer!' and so on, till a -dispute arose between the animals, and jealousy of each other was visible -in their glances, and they appealed to him clamorously. So he said, 'What -am I to ye?' - -They answered, 'Our King!' - -And he said, 'How so?' - -They answered, 'By the crowning of the brides of Aklis.' - -Then he said, 'What be ye, O my subjects?' - -They answered, 'Men that were searchers of the Sword and plunged into the -tank of temptation.' - -And he said, 'How that?' - -They answered, 'By the lures of vanity, the blinding of ambition, and -tasting the gall of the Roc.' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned to the seven youths, saying, 'O my princes, but -for not tasting the gall of the Roc I might be as one of these. Wullahy! -I the King am warned by base creatures.' Then he said to the animals, -'Have ye still a longing for the crown?' - -And they cried, all of them, 'O light of the astonished earth, we care -for nought other than it.' - -So he said, 'And is it known to ye how to dispossess the wearer of his -burden?' - -They answered, 'By a touch of the gall of the Roc on his forehead.' - -Then he lifted his arms, crying, 'Hie out of my presence! and whoso of ye -fetcheth a drop of the gall, with that one will I exchange the crown.' - -At these words some moved hastily, but the most faltered, as doubting and -incredulous that he would propose such an exchange; and one, an old -monkey, sat down and crossed his legs, and made a study of Shibli -Bagarag, as of a sovereign that held forth a deceiving bargain. But he -cried again, 'Hie and haste! as my head is now cased I think it not the -honoured part.' - -Then the old monkey arose with a puzzled look, half scornful, and made -for the door slowly, turning his head toward Shibli Bagarag betweenwhiles -as he went, and scratching his lower limbs with the mute reflectiveness -of age and extreme caution. - -Now, when they were gone, Shibli Bagarag looked in the eyes of the seven -youths, and saw they were content with him, and his countenance was -brightened with approval. So he descended from his seat, and went with -them from the hall of ebony to a court where horses were waiting saddled, -and slaves with hawks on their wrists stood in readiness; and they -mounted each a horse, but he loitered. The seven youths divined his -feeling, and cried impatiently, 'Come! no lingering in Aklis!' So he -mounted likewise, and they emerged from the palace, and entered the hills -that glowed under the copper sun, and started a milk-white antelope with -ruby spots, and chased it from its cover over the sand-hills, a hawk -being let loose to worry it and distress its timid beaming eyes. When the -creature was quite overcome, one of the youths struck his heel into his -horse's side and flung a noose over the head of the quarry, and drew it -with them, gently petting it the way home to the palace. At the gates of -the palace it was released, and lo! it went up the steps, and passed -through the halls as one familiar with them. Now, when they were all -assembled in the anteroom of the hall, where Shibli Bagarag had first -seen the seven youths, sons of Aklis, in their jollity, one of them said -to the Antelope, 'We have need of thee to speak a word with Aklis, O our -sister!' - -So the same youth requested the use of the phial of Paravid, and Shibli -Bagarag applied it carefully, tenderly, to the mouth of the Antelope. -Then the Antelope spake in a silver-ringing voice, saying, 'What is it, O -my brothers?' - -They answered, 'Thou knowest we dare not attempt interchange of speech -with Aklis, seeing that we disobeyed him in visiting the kingdoms of the -earth: so it is for thee to question him as to the object of this youth, -and it is the Shaving of Shagpat.' - -So she said, ''Tis well; I wot of it.' - -Then she advanced to the curtain concealing the abyss of the Roc and the -bridge of its eggs, and went behind it. There was a pause, and they heard -her say presently in a grave voice, toned with reverence, 'How is it, O -our father? is it a good thing that thy Sword be in use at this season?' - -And they heard the Voice answer from a depth, ''Twere well it rust not!' - -They heard her say, 'O our father Aklis, and we wish to know if be held -in favour by thee, and thou sanction it with thy Sword.' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'The Shaving of Shagpat is my Sword -alone equal to, and he that shaveth him performeth a service to mankind -ranking next my vanquishing of the Roc.' - -Then they heard her say, 'And it is thy will we teach him the mysteries -of the Sword, and that which may be done with it?' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'Even so!' - -After that the Voice was still, and soon the Antelope returned from -behind the curtain, and the youths caressed her with brotherly caresses, -and took a circle of hands about her, and so moved to the great Hall of -the gorgeous Tree, and fed her from the branches. Now, while they were -there, Shibli Bagarag advanced to the Antelope, and knelt at her feet, -and said, 'O Princess of Aklis, surely I am betrothed to one constant as -a fixed star, and brighter; a mistress of magic, and innocent as the -bleating lamb; and she is now on a pillar, chained there, in the midst of -the white wrathful sea, wailing for me to deliver her with this Sword of -my seeking. So, now, I pray thee help me to the Sword swiftly, that I may -deliver her.' - -The youths, her brothers, clamoured and interposed, saying, 'Take thy -shape ere that, O Gulrevaz, our sister!' - -But she cried, 'He is betrothed! not till he graspeth the Sword. Tell -him, the youth, our conditions, and for what exchange the Sword is -yielded.' - -And they said, 'The conditions are, thou part with thy spells, all of -them, O youth!' - -And he said, 'There is no condition harsh that exchangeth the Sword; O ye -Seven, I agree!' - -Then she said, ''Tis well! nobility is in the soul of this youth. Go -before us now to the Cave of Chrysolites, O my brothers.' - -So these departed before, and she in her antelope form followed footing -gracefully, and made Shibli Bagarag repeat the story of his betrothal as -they went. - - - - -THE SWORD OF AKLIS - -Now, when they had made the passage of many halls, built of different -woods, filled with divers wonders, they descended a sloping vault, and -came to a narrow way in the earth, hung with black, at the end of it a -stedfast blaze like a sun, that grew larger as they advanced, and they -heard the sea above them. The noise of it, and its plunging and weltering -and its pitilessness, struck on the heart of Shibli Bagarag as with a -blow, and he cried, 'Haste, haste, O Princess! perchance she is even now -calling to me with her tongue, and I not aiding her; delayed by the -temptation of this crown and the guile of the Brides.' - -She checked him, and said, 'In Aklis no haste!' Then she said, 'Look!' -And lo, fronting them the single blaze became two fires; and drawing -nigh, Shibli Bagarag beheld them what they were, angry eyes in the head -of a great lion, a model of majesty, and passion was in his mane and -power was in his forepaws; so while he lashed his tail as a tempest -whippeth the tawny billows at night, and was lifting himself for a roar, -she said, 'A hair of Garraveen, and touch him with it!' - -Shibli Bagarag pushed up his sleeve and broke one of the three sapphire -hairs and stepped forward to the lion, holding in his right hand the hair -of vivid light. The lion crouched, and was in the vigour of the spring -when that hair touched him, and he trembled, tumbling on his knees and -letting the twain pass. So they advanced beyond him, and lo! the Cave of -Chrysolites irradiate with beams, breaks of brilliance, confluences of -lively hues, restless rays, meeting, vanishing, flooding splendours, now -scattered in dazzling joints and spars, now uniting in momentary disks of -radiance. In the centre of the cave glowed a furnace, and round it he -distinguished the seven youths, swarthier and sterner than before, dark -sweat standing on the brows of each. Their words were brief, and they -wore each a terrible frown, saying to him, without further salutation, -'Thrust in the flame of this furnace thy right wrist.' - -At the same moment, the Antelope said in his ear, 'Do thou their bidding, -and be not backward! In Aklis fear is ruin, and hesitation a destroyer.' - -He fixed his mind on the devotedness of Noorna, and held his nether lip -tightly between his teeth, and thrust his right wrist in the flame of the -furnace. The wrist reddened, and became transparent with heat, but he -felt no pain, only that his whole arm was thrice its natural weight. Then -the flame of the furnace fell, and the seven youths made him kneel by a -brook of golden waters and dip his forehead up to his eyes in the waters. -Then they took him to the other side of the cave, and his sight was -strengthened to mark the glory of the Sword, where it hung in slings, a -little way from the wall, outshining the lights of the cave, and throwing -them back with its superior force and stedfastness of lustre. Lo! the -length of it was as the length of crimson across the sea when the sun is -sideways on the wave, and it seemed full a mile long, the whole blade -sheening like an arrested lightning from the end to the hilt; the hilt -two large live serpents twined together, with eyes like sombre jewels, -and sparkling spotted skins, points of fire in their folds, and -reflections of the emerald and topaz and ruby stones, studded in the -blood-stained haft. Then the seven young men, sons of Aklis, said to -Shibli Bagarag, 'Surrender the Lily!' And when he had given into their -hands the Lily, they said, 'Grasp the handle of the Sword!' - -Now, he beheld the Sword and the ripples of violet heat that were -breathing down it, and those two venomous serpents twined together, and -the size of it, its ponderousness; and to essay lifting it appeared to -him a madness, but he concealed his thought, and, setting his soul on the -safety of Noorna, went forward to it boldly, and piercing his right arm -between the twists of the serpents, grasped the jewelled haft. Surely, -the Sword moved from the slings as if a giant had swayed it! But what -amazed him was the marvel of the blade, for its sharpness was such that -nothing stood in its way, and it slipped through everything as we pass -through still water, the stone columns, blocks of granite by the walls, -the walls of earth, and the thick solidity of the ground beneath his -feet. They bade him say to the Sword, 'Sleep!' and it was no longer than -a knife in the girdle. Likewise, they bade him hiss on the heads of the -serpents, and say, 'Wake!' and while he held it lengthwise it shot -lengthening out. Then they bade him hold in one hand the sapphire hair -that conquered the lion, and with the edge of the Sword touch one point -of it. So he did that, and it split in half, and the two halves he also -split; and he split those four, and those eight, till the hairs were thin -as light and not distinguishable from it. When Shibli Bagarag saw the -power of the Sword, he exulted and cried, 'Praise be to the science of -them that forecast events and the haps of life!' Now, in the meantime he -marked the youths take those hairs of Garraveen that he had split, and -tie them round the neck of the Antelope, and empty the contents of the -phial down her throat; and they put the bulb of the Lily, that was a -heart, in her mouth, and she swallowed it till the flower covered her -face. Then they took each a handful of the golden waters of the brook -flowing through the cave, and flung the waters over her, exclaiming, 'By -the three spells that have power in Aklis, and by which these waters are -a blessing!' - -In the passing of a flash she took her shape, and was a damsel taller -than the tallest of them that descend from the mountains, a vision of -loveliness, with queenly brows, closed red lips, and large full black -eyes; her hair black, and on it a net of amber strung with pearls. To -look upon her was to feel the tyranny of love, love's pangs of alarm and -hope and anguish; and she was dressed in a dress of white silk, threaded -with gold and sapphire, showing in shadowy beams her rounded figure and -the stateliness that was hers. So she ran to her brothers and embraced -them, calling them by their names, catching their hands, caressing them -as one that had been long parted from them. Then, seeing Shibli Bagarag -as he stood transfixed with the javelins of loveliness that flew from her -on all sides, she cried: 'What, O Master of the Event! halt thou nought -for the Sword but to gaze before thee in silliness?' - -Then he said, 'O rare in beauty! marvel of Aklis and the world! surely -the paradise of eyes is thy figure and the glory of thy face!' - -But she shouted, 'To work with the Sword! Shame on thee! is there not -one, a bright one, a miracle in faithfulness, that awaiteth thy rescue on -the pillar?' - -And she repeated the praises he had spoken of Noorna bin Noorka, his -betrothed. Then he grasped the Sword firmly, remembering the love of -Noorna, and crying, 'Lead me from this, O ye sons of Aklis, and thou, -Princess Gulrevaz, lead me, that I may come to her.' - -So they said, 'Follow us!' and he sheathed the Sword in his girdle with -the word 'Sleep!' and followed them, his heart beating violently. - - - - -KOOROOKH - -Now, they sped from the Cave of Chrysolites by another passage than that -by which they entered it, and nothing but the light of the Sword to guide -them. By that light Shibli Bagarag could distinguish glimmering shapes, -silent and statue-like, to the right and the left of them, their visages -hidden in a veil of heavy webs; and he saw what seemed in the dusk broad -halls, halls of council, and again black pools and black groves, and -columns of crowded porticoes,--all signs of an underground kingdom. They -came to some steps and mounted these severally, coming to a platform, in -the middle of which leapt a fountain, the top spray of it touched with a -beam of earth and the air breathed by men. Here he heard the youths -dabble with the dark waters, and he discerned Gulrevaz tossing it in her -two hands, calling, 'Koorookh! Koorookh!' Then they said to him, 'Stir -this fountain with the Sword, O Master of the Event!' So he stirred the -fountain, and the whole body of it took a leap toward the light that was -like the shoot of a long lance of silver in the moon's rays, and lo! in -its place the ruffled feathers of a bird. Then the seven youths and the -Princess and Shibli Bagarag got up under its feathers like a brood of -water-fowl; and the bird winged straight up as doth a blinded bee, -ascending, and passing in the ascent a widening succession of winding -terraces, till he observed the copper sun of Aklis and the red lands -below it. Thrice, in the exuberance of his gladness, he waved the Sword, -and the sun lost that dulness on its disk and took a bright flame, and -threw golden arrows everywhere; and the pastures were green, the streams -clear, the sands sparkling. The bird flew, and circled, and hung poised a -moment, presently descending on the roof of the palace. Now, there was -here a piece of solid glass, propped on two crossed bars of gold, and it -was shaped like an eye, and might have been taken for one of the eyes -inhabiting the head of some monstrous Genie. Shibli Bagarag ran to it -when he was afoot, and peered through it. Surely, it was the first object -of his heart that he beheld--Noorna, his betrothed, pale on the pillar; -she with her head between her hands and her hair scattered by the storm, -as one despairing. Still he looked, and he save swimming round the pillar -that monstrous fish, with its sole baleful eye, which had gulped them -both in the closed shell of magic pearl; and he knew the fish for Karaz, -the Genie, their enemy. Then he turned to the Princess, with an imploring -voice for counsel how to reach her and bring her rescue; but she said, -'The Sword is in thy hands, none of us dare wield it'; and the seven -youths answered likewise. So, left to himself, he drew the Sword from his -girdle, and hissed on the heads of the serpents, at the same time holding -it so that it might lengthen out inimitably. Then he leaned it over the -eye of the glass, in the direction of the pillar besieged by the billows, -and lo! with one cut, even at that distance, he divided the fishy -monster, and with another severed the chains that had fettered Noorna; -and she arose and smiled blissfully to the sky, and stood upright, and -signalled him to lay the point of the blade on the pillar. When he had -done this, knowing her wisdom, she put a foot boldly upon the blade and -ran up it toward him, and she was half-way up the blade, when suddenly a -kite darted down upon her, pecking at her eyes, to confuse her. She waxed -unsteady and swayed this way and that, balancing with one arm and -defending herself from the attacks of the kite with another. It seemed to -Shibli Bagarag she must fall and be lost; and the sweat started on his -forehead in great drops big as nuts. Seeing that and the agitation of his -limbs, Gulrevaz cried, 'O Master of the Event, let us hear it!' - -But he shrieked, 'The kite! the kite! she is running up the blade, and -the kite is at her eyes! and she swaying, swaying! falling, falling!' - -So the Princess exclaimed, 'A kite! Koorookh is match for a kite!' - -Then she smoothed the throat of Koorookh, and clasped round it a collar -of bright steel, roughened with secret characters; and she took a hoop of -gold, and passed the bird through it, urging it all the while with one -strange syllable; and the bird went up with a strong whirr of the wing -till he was over the sea, and caught sight of Noorna tottering beneath -him on the blade, and the kite pecking fiercely at her. Thereat he -fluttered eagerly a twinkle of time, and the next was down with his beak -in the neck of the kite, crimsoned in it. Now, by the shouts and -exclamations of Shibli Bagarag, the Princess and the seven youths, her -brothers, knew that the bird had performed well his task, and that the -fight was between Koorookh and the kite. Then he cried gladly to them, -'Joy for us, and Allah be praised! The kite is dropping, and she leaneth -on one wing of Koorookh!' - -And he cried in anguish, 'What see I? The kite is become a white ball, -rolling down the blade toward her; and it will of a surety destroy her.' -And he called to her, thinking vainly his voice might reach her. So the -Princess said, 'A white ball? 'tis I that am match for a white ball!' - -Now, she seized from the corner of the palace-roof a bow and an arrow, -and her brothers lifted her to a level with the hilt of the Sword, -leaning on the eye of glass. Then she planted one foot on the shoulder of -Shibli Bagarag as he bent peering through the eye, and fitted the arrow -to a level of the Sword, slanting its slant, and let it fly, doubling the -bow. Shibli Bagarag saw the ball roll to within a foot of Noorna, when it -was as if stricken by a gleam of light, and burst, and was a black cloud -veined with fire, swathing her in folds. He lost all sight of Noorna; and -where she had been were vivid flashes, and then a great flame, and in the -midst a red serpent and a green serpent twisted as in the death-struggle. -So he cried, 'A red serpent and a green serpent!' - -And the sons of Aklis exclaimed, 'A red serpent? 'Tis we that are match -for a red serpent!' - -Thereupon they descended steps through the palace roof, and while the -fight between those two serpents was rageing, Shibli Bagarag beheld seven -small bright birds, bee-catchers, that entered the flame, bearing in -their bills slips of a herb, and hovering about the heal of the red -serpent, distracting it. Then he saw the red serpent hiss and snap at -one, darting out its tongue, and lo! on the fork of its tongue the little -bird let fall the slip of herb in its bill, and in an instant the serpent -changed from red to yellow and from yellow to pale-spotted blue, and from -that to a speckled indigo-colour, writhing at every change, and hissing -fire from its open jaws. Meantime the green serpent was released and was -making circles round the flame, seeking to complete some enchantment, -when suddenly the whole scene vanished, and Shibli Bagarag again beheld -Noorna steadying her steps on the blade, and leaning on one wing of -Koorookh. She advanced up the blade, coming nearer and nearer; and he -thought her close, and breathed quick and ceased looking through the -glass. When he gazed abroad, lo! she was with Koorookh, on a far hill -beyond the stream in outer Aklis. So he said to the Princess Gulrevaz, 'O -Princess, comes she not to me here in the palace?' - -But the Princess shook her head, and said, 'She hath not a spell! She -waiteth for thee yonder with Koorookh. Now, look through the glass once -more.' - -He looked through the glass, and there on a plain, as he had first seen -it when Noorna appeared to him, was the City of Shagpat, and in the -streets of the city a vast assembly, and a procession passing on, its -front banner surmounted by the Crescent, and bands with curled and curved -instruments playing, and slaves scattering gold and clashing cymbals, -every demonstration and evidence of a great day and a high occasion in -the City of Shagpat! So he peered yet keenlier through the glass, and -behold, the Vizier Feshnavat, father of Noorna, walking in fetters, -subject to the jibes and evil-speaking of the crowds of people, his -turban off, and he in a robe of drab-coloured stuff, in the scorned -condition of an unbeliever. Shibli Bagarag peered yet more earnestly -through the glass eye, and in the centre of the procession, clad -gorgeously in silks and stuffs, woven with gold and gems, a crown upon -his head, and the appanages of supremacy and majesty about him, was -Shagpat. He paced upon a yellow flooring that was unrolled before him -from a mighty roll; and there were slaves that swarmed on all sides of -him, supporting upon gold pans and platters the masses of hair that -spread bushily before and behind, and to the right and left of him. Truly -the gravity of his demeanour exceeded that which is attained by Sheiks -and Dervishes after much drinking of the waters of wisdom, and fasting, -and abnegation of the pleasures that betray us to folly in this world! -Now, when he saw Shagpat, the soul of Shibli Bagarag was quickened to do -his appointed work upon him, shear him, and release the Vizier Feshnavat. -Desire to shave Shagpat was as a salt thirst rageing in him, as the dream -of munching to one that starveth; even as the impelling of violent -tempests to skiffs on the sea; and he hungered to be at him, crying, as -he peered, ''Tis he! even he, Shagpat!' - -Then he turned to the Princess Gulrevaz, and said, ''Tis Shagpat, -exalted, clothed with majesty, O thou morning star of Aklis!' - -She said, 'Koorookh is given thee, and waiteth to carry ye both; and for -me I will watch that this glass send forth a beam to light ye to that -city; so farewell, O thou that art loved! And delay in nothing to finish -the work in hand.' - -Now, when he had set his face from the Princess he descended through the -roof of the palace, and met the seven youths returning, and they -accompanied him through the halls of the palace to that hall where the -damsels had duped him. He was mindful of his promise to the old man -crowned, and flashed the Sword a strong flash, so that he who looked on -it would be seared in the eyelashes. Then the doors of the recesses flew -apart, eight-and-ninety in number, and he beheld divers sitters on -thrones, with the diadem of asses' ears stiffened upright, and monkeys' -skulls grinning with gems; they having on each countenance the look of -sovereigns and the serenity of high estate. Shibli Bagarag laughed at -them, and he thought, 'Wullahy! was I one of these? I, the beloved of -Noorna, destined Master of the Event!' and he thought, 'Of a surety, if -these sitters could but laugh at themselves, there would be a release for -them, and the crown would topple off which getteth the homage of asses -and monkeys!' He would have spoken to them, but the sons of Aklis said, -'They have seen the flashing of the Sword, and 'twere well they wake -not.' As they went from the hall the seven youths said, 'Reflect upon the -age of these sitters, that have been sitting in the chairs from three to -eleven generations back! And they were searchers of the Sword like thee, -but were duped! In like manner, the hen sitteth in complacency, but she -bringeth forth and may cackle; 'tis owing to the aids of Noorna that thou -art not one of these sitters, O Master of the Event!' Now, they paced -through the hall of dainty provender, and through the hall of the -jewel-fountains, coming to the palace steps, where stood Abarak leaning -on his bar. As they advanced to Abarak, there was a clamour in the halls -behind, that gathered in noise like a torrent, and approached, and -presently the Master was ware of a sharp stroke on his forehead with a -hairy finger, and then a burn, and the Crown that had clung to him -toppled off; surely it fell upon the head of the old monkey, the cautious -and wise one, he that had made a study of Shibli Bagarag. Thereupon that -monkey stalked scornfully from them; and Abarak cried, 'O Master of the -Event! it was better for me to keep the passage of the Seventh Pillar, -than be an ape of this order. Wah! the flashing of the Sword scorcheth -them, and they scamper.' - - - - -THE VEILED FIGURE - -Verily there was lightning in Aklis as Shibli Bagarag flashed the Sword -over the clamouring beasts: the shape of the great palace stood forth -vividly, and a wide illumination struck up the streams, and gilded the -large hanging leaves, and drew the hills glimmeringly together, and -scattered fires on the flat faces of the rocks. Then the seven youths -said quickly, 'Away! out of Aklis, O Master of the Event! from city to -city of earth this light is visible, and men will know that Fate is in -travail, and an Event preparing for them, and Shagpat will be warned by -the portent; wherefore lose not the happy point of time on which thy star -is manifest.' And they cried again, 'Away! out of Aklis!' with gestures -of impatience, urging his departure. - -Then said he, 'O youths, Sons of Aklis, it is written that gratitude is -the poor man's mine of wealth, and the rich man's flower of beauty; and I -have but that to give ye for all this aid and friendliness of yours.' - -But they exclaimed, 'No aid or friendliness in Aklis! By the gall of the -Roc! it is well for thee thou camest armed with potent spells, and hadst -one to advise and inspirit thee, or thou wouldst have stayed here to -people Aklis, and grazed in a strange shape.' - -Now, the seven waxed in impatience, and he laid their hands upon his head -and moved from them with Abarak, to where in the dusk the elephant that -had brought them stood. Then the elephant kneeled and took the twain upon -his back, and bore them across the dark land to that reach of the river -where the boat was moored in readiness. They entered the boat silently -among its drapery of lotuses, and the Veiled Figure ferried them over the -stream that rippled not with their motion. As they were crossing, desire -to know that Veiled Figure counselled Shibli Bagarag evilly to draw the -Sword again, and flash it, so that the veil became transparent. Then, -when Abarak turned to him for the reason of the flashing of the Sword, he -beheld the eyes of the youth fixed in horror, glaring as at sights beyond -the tomb. He said nought, but as the boat's-head whispered among the -reeds and long flowers of the opposite marge, he took Shibli Bagarag by -the shoulders and pushed him out of the boat, and leaped out likewise, -leading him from the marge forcibly, hurrying him forward from it, he at -the heels of the youth propelling him; and crying in out-of-breath voice -at intervals, 'What sight? what sight?' But the youth was powerless of -speech, and when at last he opened his lips, the little man shrank from -him, for he laughed as do the insane, a peal of laughter ended by gasps; -then a louder peal, presently softer; then a peal that started all the -echoes in Aklis. After awhile, as Abarak still cried in his ear, 'What -sight?' he looked at him with a large eye, saying querulously, 'Is it -written I shall be pushed by the shoulder through life? And is it in the -pursuit of further thwackings?' - -Abarak heeded him not, crying still, 'What sight?' and Shibli Bagarag -lowered his tone, and jerked his body, pronouncing the name 'Rabesqurat!' -Then Abarak exclaimed, ''Tis as I weened. Oh, fool! to flash the Sword -and peer through the veil! Truly, there be few wits will bear that -sight!' On a sudden he cried, 'No cure but one, and that a sleep in the -bosom of the betrothed!' - -Thereupon he hurried the youth yet faster across the dark lawns of Aklis -toward the passage of the Seventh Pillar, by which the twain had entered -that kingdom. And Shibli Bagarag saw as in a dream the shattered door, -shattered by the bar, remembering dimly as a thing distant in years the -netting of the Queen, and Noorna chained upon the pillar; he remembered -Shagpat even vacantly in his mind, as one sheaf of barley amid other -sheaves of the bearded field, so was he overcome by the awfulness of that -sight behind the veil of the Veiled Figure! - -As they advanced to the passage, he was aware of an impediment to its -entrance, as it had been a wall of stone there; and seeing Abarak enter -the passage without let, he kicked hard in front at the invisible -obstruction, but there was no coming by. Abarak returned to him, and took -his right arm, and raised the sleeve from his wrist, and lo, the two -remaining hairs of Garraveen twisted round it in sapphire winds. Cried -he, 'Oh, the generosity of Gulrevaz! she has left these two hairs that he -may accomplish swiftly the destiny marked for him! but now, since his -gazing through that veil, he must part with them to get out of Aklis.' -And he muttered, 'His star is a strange one! one that leadeth him to -fortune by the path of frowns! to greatness by the aid of thwackings! -Truly the ways of Allah are wonderful!' Shibli Bagarag resisted him in -nothing, and Abarak loosed the two bright hairs from his wrist, and those -two hairs swelled and took glittering scales, and were sapphire snakes -with wings of intense emerald; and they rose in the air spirally -together, each over each, so that to see them one would fancy in the -darkness a fountain of sapphire waters flashed with the sheen of emerald. -When they had reached a height loftier than the topmost palace-towers of -Aklis, they descended like javelins into the earth, and in a moment -re-appeared, in the shape of Genii when they are charitably disposed to -them they visit; not much above the mortal size, nor overbright, save for -a certain fire in their eyes when they turned them; and they were clothed -each from head to foot in an armour of sapphire plates shot with steely -emerald. Surely the dragon-fly that darteth all day in the blaze over -pools is like what they were. Abarak bit his forefinger and said, 'Who be -ye, O sons of brilliance?' - -They answered, 'Karavejis and Veejravoosh, slaves of the Sword.' - -Then he said, 'Come with us now, O slaves of the Sword, and help us to -the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -They answered, 'O thou, there be but two means for us of quitting Aklis: -on the wrist of the Master, or down the blade of the Sword! and from the -wrist of the Master we have been loosed, and no one of thy race can tie -us to it again.' - -Abarak said, 'How then shall the Master leave Aklis?' - -They answered, 'By Allah in Aklis! he can carve a way whither he will -with the Sword.' - -But Abarak cried, 'O Karavejis and Veejravoosh! he bath peered through -the veil of the Ferrying Figure.' - -Now, when they heard his words, the visages of the Genii darkened, and -they exclaimed sorrowfully, 'Serve we such a one?' - -And they looked at Shibli Bagarag a look of anger, so that he, whose wits -were in past occurrences, imagined them his enemy and the foe of Noorna -split in two, crying, 'How? Is Karaz a couple? and do I multiply him with -strokes of the Sword?' - -Thereupon he drew the Sword from his girdle in wrath, flourishing it; and -Karavejis and Veejravoosh felt the might of the Sword, and prostrated -themselves to the ground at his feet. And Abarak said, 'Arise, and bring -us swiftly to the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -Then said they, 'Seek a passage down yonder brook in the moonbeams; and -it is the sole passage for him now.' - -Abarak went with them to the brook that was making watery music to itself -between banks of splintered rock and over broad slabs of marble, bubbling -here and there about the roots of large-leaved water-flowers, and -catching the mirrored moon of Aklis in whirls, breaking it in lances. -Then they waded into the water knee-deep, and the two Genii seized hold -of a great slab of marble in the middle of the water, and under was a -hollow brimmed with the brook, that the brook partly filled and flowed -over. Then the Genii said to Abarak, 'Plunge!' and they said the same to -Shibli Bagarag. The swayer of the Sword replied, as it had been a simple -occasion, a common matter, and a thing for the exercise of civility, -'With pleasure and all willingness!' Thereupon he tightened his girth, -and arrowing his two hands, flung up his heels and disappeared in the -depths, Abarak following. Surely, those two went diving downward till it -seemed to each there was no bottom in the depth, and they would not cease -to feel the rushing of the water in their ears till the time anticipated -by mortals. - - - - -THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - -Now, while a thousand sparks of fire were bursting on the sight of the -two divers, and they speeded heels uppermost to the destiny marked out -for them by the premeditations of the All-Wise, lo! Noorna was on the -mountain in outer Aklis with Koorookh, waiting for the appearance of her -betrothed, Sword in hand. She saw beams from the blazing eye of Aklis, -and knew by the redness of it that one, a mortal, was peering on the -earth and certain of created things. So she waited awhile in patience for -the return of her betrothed, with the head of Koorookh in her lap, -caressing the bird, and teaching it words of our language; and the bird -fashioned its bill to the pronouncing of names, such as 'Noorna' and -'Feshnavat,' and 'Goorelka'; and it said 'Karaz,' and stuck not at the -name 'Shagpat,' and it learnt to say even 'Shagpat shall be shaved! -Shagpat shall be shaved!' but no effort of Noorna could teach it to say, -'Shibli Bagarag,' the bird calling instead, 'Shiparack, Shiplabarack, -Shibblisharack.' And Noorna chid it with her forefinger, crying, 'O -Koorookh! wilt thou speak all names but that one of my betrothed?' - -So she said again, 'Shibli Bagarag.' And the bird answered, imitating its -best, 'Shibberacavarack.' Noorna was wroth with it, crying, 'Oh naughty -bird! is the name of my beloved hateful to thee?' - -And she chid Koorookh angrily, he with a heavy eye sulking, and keeping -the sullen feathers close upon his poll. Now, she thought, 'There is in -this a meaning and I will fathom it.' So she counted the letters in the -name of her betrothed, that were thirteen, and spelt them backwards, -afterwards multiplying them by an equal number, and fashioning words from -the selection of every third and seventh letter. Then took she the leaf -from a tree and bade Koorookh fly with her to the base of the mountain -sloping from Aklis to the sea, and there wrote with a pin's point on the -leaf the words fashioned, dipping the leaf in the salt ripple by the -beach, till they were distinctly traced. And it was revealed to her that -Shibli Bagarag bore now a name that might be uttered by none, for that -the bearer of it had peered through the veil of the ferrying figure in -Aklis. When she knew that, her grief was heavy, and she sat on the cold -stones of the beach and among the bright shells, weeping in anguish, -loosing her hair, scattering it wildly, exclaiming, 'Awahy! woe on me! -Was ever man more tired than he before entering Aklis, he that was in -turns abased and beloved and exalted! yet his weakness clingeth to him, -even in Aklis and with the Wondrous Sword in his grasp.' - -Then she thought, 'Still he had strength to wield the Sword, for I marked -the flashing of it, and 'twas he that leaned forward the blade to me; and -he possesses the qualities that bring one gloriously to the fruits of -enterprise!' And she thought, 'Of a surety, if Abarak be with him, and a -single of the three slaves of the Sword that I released from the tail of -Garraveen, Ravejoura, Karavejis, and Veejravoosh, he will yet come -through, and I may revive him in my bosom for the task.' So, thinking -upon that, the sweet crimson surprised her cheeks, and she arose and drew -Koorookh with her along the beach till they came to some rocks piled -ruggedly and the waves breaking over them. She mounted these, and stepped -across them to the entrance of a cavern, where flowed a full water -swiftly to the sea, rolling smooth bulks over and over, and with a -translucent light in each, showing precious pebbles in the bed of the -water below; agates of size, limpid cornelians, plates of polished jet, -rubies, diamonds innumerable that were smitten into sheen by slant rays -of the level sun, the sun just losing its circle behind lustrous billows -of that Enchanted Sea. She turned to Koorookh a moment, saying, with a -coax of smiles, 'Will my bird wait here for me, even at this point?' -Koorookh clapped both his wings, and she said again, petting him, 'He -will keep watch to pluck me from the force of water as I roll past, that -I be not carried to the sea, and lost?' - -Koorookh still clapped his wings, and she entered under the arch of the -cavern. It was roofed with crystals, a sight of glory, with golden lamps -at intervals, still centres of a thousand beams. Taking the sandal from -her left foot and tucking up the folds of her trousers to the bend of her -clear white knee, she advanced, half wading, up the winds of the cavern, -and holding by the juts of granite here and there, till she came to a -long straight lane in the cavern, and at the end of it, far down, a solid -pillar of many-coloured water that fell into the current, as it had been -one block of gleaming marble from the roof, without ceasing. Now, she -made toward it, and fixed her eye warily wide on it, and it was bright, -flawless in brilliancy; but while she gazed a sudden blot was visible, -and she observed in the body of the fall two dark objects plumping -downward one after the other, like bolts, and they splashed in the -current and were carried off by the violence of its full sweep, shooting -by her where she stood, rapidly; but she, knotting her garments round the -waist to give her limbs freedom and swiftness, ran a space, and then bent -and plunged, catching, as she rose, the foremost to her bosom, and -whirled away under the flashing crystals like a fish scaled with -splendours that hath darted and seized upon a prey, and is bearing it -greedily to some secure corner of the deeps to swallow the quivering -repast at leisure. Surely, the heart of Noorna was wise of what she bore -against her bosom; and it beat exulting strokes in the midst of the rush -and roar and gurgle of the torrent, and the gulping sounds and -multitudinous outcries of the headlong water. That verse of the poet -would apply to her where he says: - - Lead me to the precipice, - And bid me leap the dark abyss: - I care not what the danger be, - So my beloved, my beauteous vision, - Be but the prize I bear with me, - For she to Paradise can turn Perdition. - -Praise be to him that planteth love, the worker of this marvel, within -us! Now, she sped in the manner narrated through the mazes of the cavern, -coming suddenly to the point at the entrance where perched Koorookh -gravely upon one leg, like a bird with an angling beak: he caught at her -as she was hurling toward the sea, and drew her to the bank of rock, that -burden on her bosom; and it was Shibli Bagarag, her betrothed, his eyes -closed, his whole countenance colourless. Behind him like a shadow -streamed Abarak, and Noorna kneeled by the waterside and fetched the -little man from it likewise; he was without a change, as if drawn from a -familiar element; and when he had prostrated himself thrice and called on -the Prophet's name in the form of thanksgiving, he wrung his beard of the -wet, and had wit to bless the action of Noorna, that saved him. Then the -two raised Shibli Bagarag from the rock, and reclined him lengthwise -under the wings of Koorookh, and Noorna stretched herself there beside -him with one arm about his neck, the fair head of the youth on her bosom. -And she said to Abarak, 'He hath dreamed many dreams, my betrothed, but -never one so sweet as that I give him. Already, see, the hue returneth to -his cheek and the dimples of pleasure.' So was it; and she said, 'Mount, -O thou of the net and the bar! and stride Koorookh across the neck, for -it is nigh the setting of the moon, and by dawn we must be in our middle -flight, seen of men, a cloud over them.' - -Said Abarak, 'To hear is to obey!' - -He bestrode the neck of Koorookh and sat with dangling feet, till she -cried, 'Rise!' and the bird spread its wings and flapped them wide, -rising high in the silver rays, and flying rapidly forward with the three -on him from the mountain in front of Aklis, and the white sea with its -enchanted isles and wonders; flying and soaring till the earth was as -what might be held in the hollow of the hand, and the kingdoms of the -earth a mingled heap of shining dust in the midst. - - - - -THE REVIVAL - -Now, the feathers of Koorookh in his flight were ruffled by a chill -breeze, and they were speeding through a light glow of cold rose-colour. -Then said Noorna, ''Tis the messenger of morning, the blush. Oh, what -changes will date from this day!' - -The glow of rose became golden, and they beheld underneath them, on one -side, the rim of the rising red sun, and rays streaming over the earth -and its waters. And Noorna said, 'I must warn Feshnavat, my father, and -prepare him for our coming.' - -So she plucked a feather from Koorookh and laid the quill downward, -letting it drop. Then said she, 'Now for the awakening of my betrothed!' - -Thereupon she hugged his head a moment, and kissed him on the eyelids, -the cheeks, and the lips, crying, 'By this means only!' Crying that, she -pushed him, sliding, from the back of the bird, and he parted from them, -falling headforemost in the air like a stricken eagle. Then she called to -Koorookh, 'Seize him!' and the bird slanted his beak and closed his -wings, the two, Abarak and Noorna, clinging to him tightly; and he was -down like an arrow between Shibli Bagarag and the ground, spreading -beneath him like a tent, and Noorna caught the youth gently to her lap; -then she pushed him off again, intercepting his descent once more, till -they were on a level with one of the mountains of the earth, from which -the City of Shagpat is visible among the yellow sands like a white spot -in the yolk of an egg. So by this time the eyes of the youth gave -symptoms of a desire to look upon the things that be, peeping faintly -beneath the lashes, and she exclaimed joyfully, raising her white hands -above her head, 'One plunge in the lake, and life will be his again!' - -Below them was a green lake, tinted by the dawn with crimson and yellow, -deep, and with high banks. As they crossed it to the middle, she slipped -off the youth from Koorookh, and he with a great plunge was received into -the stillness of the lake. Meanwhile Koorookh quivered his wings and -seized him when he arose, bearing him to an end of the lake, where stood -one dressed like a Dervish, and it was the Vizier Feshnavat, the father -of Noorna. So when he saw them, he shouted the shout of congratulation, -catching Noorna to his breast, and Shibli Bagarag stretched as doth a -heavy sleeper in his last doze, saying, in a yawning voice, 'What -trouble? I wot there is nought more for us now that Shagpat is shaved! -Oh, I have had a dream, a dream! He that is among Houris in Paradise -dreameth not a dream like that. And I dreamed--'tis gone!' - -Then said he, staring at them, 'Who be ye? What is this?' - -Noorna, took him again to her bosom, and held him there; and she plucked -a herb, and squeezed it till a drop from it fell on either of his lids, -applying to them likewise a dew from the serpents of the Sword, and he -awoke to the reality of things. Surely, then he prostrated himself and -repeated the articles of his faith, taking one hand of his betrothed and -kissing her; and he embraced Abarak and Feshnavat, saying to the father -of Noorna, 'I know, O Feshnavat, that by my folly and through my weakness -I have lost time in this undertaking, but it shall be short work now with -Shagpat. This thy daughter, the Eclipser of Reason, was ever such a prize -as she? I will deserve her. Wullahy! I am now a new man, sprung like fire -from ashes. Lo, I am revived by her for the great work.' - -Said Abarak: 'O Master of the Event, secure now without delay the two -slaves of the Sword, and lean the blade toward Aklis.' - -Upon that, he ran up rapidly to the summit of the mountain and drew the -Sword from his girdle, and leaned it toward Aklis, and it lengthened out -over lands, the blade of it a beam of solid brilliance. Presently, from -forth the invisible remoteness they saw the two Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, and they were footing the blade swiftly, like stars, -speeding up till they were within reach of the serpents of the hilt, when -they dropped to the earth, bowing their heads; so he commanded them to -rise, crying, 'Search ye the earth and its confines, and bring hither -tidings of the Genie Karaz.' - -They said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Then they began to circle each round the other, circling more and more -sharply till beyond the stretch of sight, and Shibli Bagarag said to -Feshnavat, 'Am I not awake, O Feshnavat? I will know where is Karaz ere I -seek to operate on Shagpat, for it is well spoken of the poet: - - “Obstructions first remove - Ere thou thy cunning prove”; - -and I will encounter this Karaz that was our Ass, ere I try the great -shave.' - -Then said he, turning quickly, 'Yonder is the light from Aklis striking -on the city, and I mark Shagpat, even he, illumined by it, singled out, -where he sitteth on the roof of the palace by the market-place.' - -So they looked, and it was as he had spoken, that Shagpat was singled out -in the midst of the city by the wondrous beams of the eye of Aklis, and -made prominent in effulgence. - -Said Abarak, climbing to the level of observation, 'He hath a redness -like the inside of a halved pomegranate.' - -Feshnavat stroked his chin, exclaiming, 'He may be likened to a mountain -goat in the midst of a forest roaring with conflagration.' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'Now is he the red-maned lion, the bristling boar, -the uncombed buffalo, the plumaged cock, but soon will he be like nothing -else save the wrinkled kernel of a shaggy fruit. Lo, now, the Sword! it -leapeth to be at him, and 'twill be as the keen icicle of winter to that -perishing foliage, that doomed crop! So doth the destined minute destroy -with a flash the hoarded arrogance of ages; and the destined hand doeth -what creation failed to perform; and 'tis by order, destiny, and -preordainment, that the works of this world come to pass. This know I, -and I witness thereto that am of a surety ordained to the Shaving of -Shagpat!' - -Then he stood apart and gazed from Shagpat to the city that now began to -move with the morning; elephants and coursers saddled by the gates of the -King's palace were visible, and camels blocking the narrow streets, and -the markets bustling. Surely, though the sun illumined that city, it was -as a darkness behind Shagpat singled by the beams of Aklis. - - - - -THE PLOT - -Now, while Shibli Bagarag gazed on Shagpat kindled by the beams of Aklis, -lo, the Genii Karavejis and Veejravoosh circling each other in swift -circles like two sapphire rings toward him, and they whirled to a point -above his head, and fell and prostrated themselves at his feet: so he -cried, 'O ye slaves of the Sword, my servitors! how of the whereabout of -Karaz?' - -They answered, 'O Master of the Event, we found him after many circlings -far off, and 'twas by the borders of the Putrid Sea. We came not close on -him, for he is stronger than we without the Sword, but it seemed he was -distilling drops of an oil from certain substances, large thickened drops -that dropped into a phial.' - -Then Shibli Bagarag said, 'The season of weakness with me is over, and -they that confide in my strength, my cunning, my watchfulness, my -wielding of the Sword, have nought to fear for themselves. Now, this is -my plot, O Feshnavat,--that part of it in which thou art to have a share. -'Tis that thou depart forthwith to the City yonder, and enter thy palace -by a back entrance, and I will see that thou art joined within an hour of -thy arrival there by Baba Mustapha, my uncle, the gabbler. He is there, -as I guess by signs; I have had warnings of him. Discover him speedily. -Thy task is then to induce him to make an attempt on the head of Shagpat -in all wiliness, as he and thou think well to devise. He will fail, as I -know, but what is that saying of the poet? - - “Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends, - For failures oft are but advising friends.” - -And he says: - - “Every failure is a step advanced, - To him who will consider how it chanced.” - -Wherefore, will I that this attempt be made, keeping the counsel that is -mine. Thou must tell Baba Mustapha I wait without the city to reward him -by my powers of reward with all that he best loveth. So, when he has -failed in his attempt on Shagpat, and blows fall plenteously upon him, -and he is regaled with the accustomed thwacking, as I have tasted it in -this undertaking, do thou waste no further word on him, for his part is -over, and as is said: - - “Waste not a word in enterprise! - Against--or for--the minute flies.” - -'Tis then for thee, O Feshnavat, to speed to the presence of the King in -his majesty, and thou wilt find means of coming to him by a disguise. -Once in the Hall of Council, challenge the tongue of contradiction to -affirm Shagpat other than a bald-pate bewigged. This is for thee to do.' - -Quoth Feshnavat plaintively, after thought, 'And what becometh of me, O -thou Master of the Event?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'The clutch of the executioner will be upon thee, O -Feshnavat, and a clamouring multitude around; short breathing-time given -thee, O father of Noorna, ere the time of breathing is commanded to -cease. Now, in that respite the thing that will occur, 'tis for thee to -see and mark; sure, never will reverse of things be more complete, and -the other side of the picture more rapidly exhibited, if all go as I -conceive and plot, and the trap be not premature nor too perfect for the -trappers; as the poet has declared: - - “Ye that intrigue, to thy slaves proper portions adapt; - Perfectest plots burst too often, for all are not apt.” - -And I witness likewise to the excellence of his saying: - - “To master an Event, - Study men! - The minutes are well spent - Only then.” - -Also 'tis he that says: - - “The man of men who knoweth men, the Man of men is he! - His army is the human race, and every foe must flee.” - -So have I apportioned to thee thy work, to Baba Mustapha his; reserving -to myself the work that is mine!' - -Thereat Feshnavat exclaimed, 'O Master of the Event, may I be thy -sacrifice! on my head be it! and for thee to command is for me to obey! -but surely, this Sword of thine that is in thy girdle, the marvellous -blade--'tis alone equal to the project and the shave; and the matter -might be consummated, the great thing done, even from this point whence -we behold Shagpat visible, as 'twere brought forward toward us by the -beams! And this Sword swayed by thee, and with thy skill and strength and -the hardihood of hand that is thine, wullahy! 'twould shear him now, this -moment, taking the light of Aklis for a lather.' - -Shibli Bagarag knotted the brows of impatience, crying, 'Hast thou -forgotten Karaz in thy calculations? I know of a surety what this Sword -will do, and I wot the oil he distilleth strengtheneth Shagpat but -against common blades. Yet shall it not be spoken of me, Shibli Bagarag, -that I was tripped by my own conceit; the poet counselleth: - - “When for any mighty end thou hast the aid of heaven, - Mount until thy strength shall match those great means which are - given”: - -nor that I was overthrown in despising mine enemy, forgetful of the -saying of the sage: - - “Read the features of thy foe, wherever he may find thee, - Small he is, seen face to face, but thrice his size behind thee.” - -Wullahy! this Karaz is a Genie of craft and resources, one of a mighty -stock, and I must close with Shagpat to be sure of him; and that I am not -deceived by semblances, opposing guile with guile, and guile deeper than -his, for that he awaiteth it not, thinking I have leaped in fancy beyond -the Event, and am puffed by the after-breaths of adulation, I!--thinking -I pluck the blossoms in my hunger for the fruit, that I eat the chick of -the yet unlaid egg, O Feshnavat. As is said, and the warrior beareth -witness to the wisdom of it: - - “His weapon I'll study; my own conceal; - So with two arms to his one shall I deal.” - -The same also testifieth: - - “'Tis folly of the hero, though resistless in the field, - To stake the victory on his steel, and fling away the shield.” - -And likewise: - - “Examine thine armour in every joint, - For slain was the Giant, and by a pin's point.” - -Wah! 'tis certain there will need subtlety in this undertaking, and a -plot plotted, so do thou my bidding, and fail not in the part assigned to -thee.' - -Now, Feshnavat was persuaded by his words, and cried, 'In diligence, -discretion, and the virtues which characterize subordinates, I go, and I -delay not! I will perform the thing required of me, O Master of the -Event.' And he repeated in verse: - - With danger beset, be the path crooked or narrow, - Thou art the bow, and I the arrow. - -Then embraced he his daughter, kissing her on the forehead and the eyes, -and tightening the girdle of his robe, departed, with the name of Allah -on his lips, in the direction of the City. - -So Shibli Bagarag called to him the two Genii, and his command was, -'Soar, ye slaves of the Sword, till the range of earth and its mountains -and seas and deserts are a cluster in the orb of the eye, Shiraz -conspicuous as a rose among garlands, and the ruby consorted with other -gems in a setting. In Shiraz or the country adjoining ye will come upon -one Baba Mustapha by name; and, if he be alone, ye may recognize him by -his forlorn look and the hang of his cheeks, his vacancy as of utter -abandonment; if in company, 'twill be the only talker that's he; seize on -him, give him a taste of thin air, and deposit him without speech on the -roof of a palace, where ye will see Feshnavat in yonder city: this do ere -the shadows of the palm-tree by the well in the plain move up the mounds -that enclose the fortified parts.' - -Cried Karavejis and Veejravoosh, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Up into the sky, like two bright balls tossed by jugglers, the two Genii -shot; and, watching them, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'My life, there is a -third wanting, Ravejoura; and with aid of the three, earth could have -planted no obstruction to thy stroke; but thou wert tempted by the third -temptation in Aklis, and left not the Hall in triumph, the Hall of the -Duping Brides!' - -He answered, 'That is so, my soul; and the penalty is mine, by which I am -made to employ deceits ere I strike.' - -And she said, ''Tis to the generosity of Gulrevaz thou owest Karavejis -and Veejravoosh; and I think she was generous, seeing thee true to me in -love, she that hath sorrows!' - -So he said, 'What of the sorrows of Gulrevaz? Tell me of them.' - -But she said, 'Nay, O my betrothed! wouldst thou have this tongue -blistered, and a consuming spark shot against this bosom?' - -Then he: 'Make it clear to me.' - -She put her mouth to his ear, saying, 'There is a curse on whoso telleth -of things in Aklis, and to tattle of the Seven and their sister -forerunneth wretchedness.' - -Surely, he stooped to that fair creature, and folded her to his heart, -his whole soul heaving to her; and he cried again and again, 'Shall harm -hap to thee through me? by Allah, no!' - -And he closed the privileged arm of the bridegroom round her waist, that -had the yieldingness of the willow-branchlet, the flowingness of the -summer sea-wave, and seemed as 'twere melting honey-like at the first -gentle pressure; she leaning her head shyly on his shoulder, yet -confiding in his faithfulness; it was that she was shy of the great bliss -in her bosom, and was made timid by the fervour of her affection; as is -sung: - - Deeper than the source of blushes - Is the power that makes them start; - Up in floods the red stream rushes, - At one whisper of the heart. - -And it is sung in words present to the youth as he surveyed her: - - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Her bashful joys like serpents sting her tenderness to - tears: - Her hopes are sleeping eagles in the shining of the spheres; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - And she's a lapping antelope that from her image flees; - And she's a dove caught in two hands, to pant as she shall - please; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Like torrents over Paradise her lengthy tresses roll: - She moves as doth a swaying rose, and chides her hasty soul; - The thing she will, that will she not, yet can no will control - O beauty, beauty, beauty of the bride! - -They were thus together, Abarak leaning under one wing of Koorookh for -shade up the slope of the hill, and Shibli Bagarag called to him, 'Ho, -Abarak! look if there be aught impending over the City.' - -So he arose and looked, crying, 'One with plunging legs, high up in air -over the City, between two bright bodies.' Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -''Tis well! The second chapter of the Event is opened; so call it, thou -that tellest of the Shaving of Shagpat. It will be the shortest.' - -Then he said, 'The shadow of yonder palm is now a slanted spear up the -looped wall of the City. Now, the time of Shagpat's triumph, and his -greatest majesty, will be when yonder walls chase the shadow of the palm -up this hill; and then will Baba Mustapha be joining the chorus of -creatures that shriek toward even ere they snooze. There's not an ape in -the woods, nor hyaena in the forest, nor birds on the branches, nor frogs -in the marsh that will outnoise Baba Mustapha under the thong! Wullahy, -'twill grieve his soul in aftertime when he sitteth secure in honours, -courted, with a thousand ears at his bidding, that so much breath 'scaped -him without toll of the tongue! But as the poet says truly: - - “The chariot of Events lifteth many dusty heels, - And many, high and of renown, it crusheth with its wheels.” - -Wah! I have had my share of the thong, and am I, Master of the Event, to -be squeamish in attaining an end by its means? Nay, by this Sword!' - -Thereat, he strode once again to the summit of the hill, and in a moment -the Genii fronted him like two shot arrows quivering from the flight. So -he cried, 'It is done?' - -They answered, 'In faithfulness.' - -So he beckoned to Noorna, and she came forward swiftly to him, -exclaiming, 'I read the plot, and the thing required of me; so say -nought, but embrace me ere I leave thee, my betrothed, my master!' - -He embraced her, and led her to where the Genii stood. Then said he to -the Genii, 'Convey her to the City, O ye slaves of the Sword, and watch -over her there. If ye let but an evil wind ruffle the hair of her head, -lo! I sever ye with a stroke that shaketh the under worlds. Remain by her -till the shrieks of Baba Mustapha greet ye, and then will follow -commotion among the crowd, and cries for Shagpat to show himself to the -people, cries also of death to Feshnavat; and there will be an assembly -in the King's Hall of Justice; thither lead ye my betrothed, and watch -over her.' And he said to Noorna, 'Thou knowest my design?' - -So she said, 'When condemnation is passed on Feshnavat, that I appear in -the hall as bride of Shagpat, and so rescue him that is my father.' And -she cried, 'Oh, fair delightful time that is coming! my happiness and thy -honour on earth dateth from it. Farewell, O my betrothed, beloved youth! -Eyes of mine! these Genii will be by, and there's no cause for fear or -sorrow, and 'tis for thee to look like morning that speeds the march of -light. Thou, my betrothed, art thou not all that enslaveth the heart of -woman?' - -Cried Shibli Bagarag, 'And thou, O Noorna, all that enraptureth the soul -of man! Allah keep thee, my life!' - -Lo! while they were wasting the rich love in their hearts, the Genii rose -up with Noorna, and she, waving her hand to him, was soon distant and as -the white breast of a bird turned to the sun. Then went he to where -Abarak was leaning, and summoned Koorookh, and the twain mounted him, and -rose up high over the City of Shagpat to watch the ripening of the Event, -as a vulture watcheth over the desert. - - - - -THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - -Now, in the City of Shagpat, Kadza, spouse of Shagpat, she that had -belaboured Shibli Bagarag, had a dream while these things were doing; and -it was a dream of danger and portent to the glory of her eyes, Shagpat. -So, at the hour when he was revealed to Shibli Bagarag, made luminous by -the beams of Aklis, Kadza went to an inner chamber, and greased her hands -and her eyelids, and drank of a phial, and commenced tugging at a brass -ring fixed in the floor, and it yielded and displayed an opening, over -which she stooped the upper half of her leanness, and pitching her note -high, called 'Karaz!' After that, she rose and retreated from the hole -hastily, and in the winking of an eye it was filled, as 'twere a pillar -of black smoke, by the body of the Genie, he breathing hard with mighty -travel. So he cried to her between his pantings and puffings, 'Speak! -where am I wanted, and for what?' - -Now, Kadza was affrighted at the terribleness of his manner, and the -great smell of the Genie was an intoxication in her nostril, so that she -reeled and could just falter out, 'Danger to the Identical!' - -Then he, in a voice like claps of thunder, 'Out with it!' - -She answered beseechingly, ''Tis a dream I had, O Genie; a dream of -danger to him.' - -While she spake, the Genie clenched his fists and stamped so that the -palace shook and the earth under it, exclaiming, 'O abominable Kadza! a -dream is it? another dream? Wilt thou cease dreaming awhile, thou silly -woman? Know I not he that's powerful against us is in Aklis, crowned ape, -and that his spells are gone? And I was distilling drops to defy the -Sword and strengthen Shagpat from assault, yet bringest thou me from my -labour by the Putrid Sea with thy accursed dream!' Thereat, he frowned -and shot fire at her from his eyes, so that she singed, and the room -thickened with a horrible smell of burning. She feared greatly and -trembled, but he cooled himself against the air, crying presently in a -diminished voice, 'Let's hear this dream, thou foolish Kadza! 'Tis as -well to hear it. Probably Rabesqurat hath sent thee some sign from Aklis, -where she ferryeth a term. What's that saying: - - “A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth, - And like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth.” - -So, out with it, thou Kadza!' - -Now, the urgency of that she had dreamed overcame fear in Kadza, and she -said, 'O great Genie and terrible, my dream was this. Lo! I saw an -assemblage of the beasts of the forests and them that inhabit wild -places. And there was the elephant and the rhinoceros and the -hippopotamus, and the camel and the camelopard, and the serpent and the -striped tiger; also the antelope, the hyena, the jackal, and above them, -eminent in majesty, the lion. Surely, he sat as 'twere on a high seat, -and they like suppliants thronging the presence: this I saw, the heart on -my ribs beating for Shagpat. And there appeared among the beasts a monkey -all ajoint with tricks, jerking with malice, he looking as 'twere hungry -for the doing of things detestable; and the lion scorned him, and I -marked him ridicule the lion: 'twas so. And the lion began to scowl, and -the other beasts marked the displeasure of the lion. Then chased they -that monkey from the presence, and for awhile he was absent, and the lion -sat in his place gravely, with calm, receiving homage of the other -beasts; and down to his feet came the eagle that's lord of air, and -before him kneeled the great elephant, and the subtle serpent eyed him -with awe. But soon did that monkey, the wretched animal! reappear, and -there was no peace for the lion, he worrying till close within stretch of -the lion's paw! Wah! the lion might have crushed him, but that he's -magnanimous. And so it was that as the monkey advanced the lion roared to -him, “Begone!” - -'And the monkey cried, “Who commandeth?” - -'So the lion roared, “The King of beasts and thy King!” - -'Then that monkey cried, “Homage to the King of beasts and my King! Allah -keep him in his seat, and I would he were visible.” - -'So the lion roared, “He sitteth here acknowledged, thou graceless -animal! and he's before thee apparent.” - -'Then the monkey affected eagerness, and gazed about him, and peered on -this beast and on that, exclaiming like one that's injured and under -slight, “What's this I've done, and wherein have I offended, that he -should be hidden from me when pointed out?” - -'So the lion roared, “'Tis I where I sit, thou offensive monkey!” - -'Then that monkey in the upper pitch of amazement, “Thou! Is it for -created thing to acknowledge a king without a tail? And, O beasts of the -forest and the wilderness, how say ye? Am I to blame that I bow not to -one that hath it not?” - -'Upon that, the lion rose, and roared in the extreme of wrath; but the -word he was about to utter was checked in him, for 'twas manifest that -where he would have lashed a tail he shook a stump, wagging it as the dog -doth. Lo! when the lion saw that, the majesty melted from him, and in a -moment the plumpness of content and prosperity forsook him, so that his -tawny skin hung flabbily and his jaw drooped, and shame deprived him of -stateliness; abashed was he! Now, seeing the lion shamed in this manner, -my heart beat violently for Shagpat, so that I awoke with the strength of -its beating, and 'twas hidden from me whether the monkey was punished by -the lion, or exalted by the other beasts in his place, or how came it -that the lion's tail was lost, witched from him by that villain of -mischief, the monkey; but, O great Genie, I knew there was a lion among -men, reverenced, and with enemies; that lion, he that espoused me and my -glory, Shagpat! 'Twas enough to know that and tremble at the omen of my -dream, O Genie. Wherefore I thought it well to summon thee here, that -thou mightest set a guard over Shagpat, and shield him from the -treacheries that beset him.' - -When Kadza had ceased speaking, the Genie glowered at her awhile in -silence. Then said he, 'What creature is that, Kadza, which tormenteth -like the tongue of a woman, is small as her pretensions to virtue, and -which showeth how the chapters of her history should be read by the holy -ones, even in its manner of movement?' - -Cried Kadza, 'The flea that hoppeth!' - -So he said, ''Tis well! Hast thou strength to carry one of my weight, O -Kadza?' - -She answered in squeamishness, 'I, wullahy! I'm but a woman, Genie, -though the wife of Shagpat: and to carry thee is for the camel and the -elephant and the horse.' - -Then he, 'Tighten thy girdle, and when tightened, let a loose loop hang -from it.' - -She did that, and he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow -the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over -thee.' - -That did she, and thereupon he exclaimed, 'Now go, and thy part is to -move round Shagpat; and a wind will strike thee from one quarter, and -from which quarter it striketh is the one of menace and danger to -Shagpat.' - -So Kadza was diligent in doing what the Genie commanded, and sought for -Shagpat, and moved round him many times; but no wind struck her. She went -back to the Genie, and told him of this, and the Genie cried, 'What? no -wind? not one from Aklis? Then will Shagpat of a surety triumph, and we -with him.' - -Now, there was joy on the features of Kadza and Karaz, till suddenly he -said, 'Halt in thy song! How if there be danger and menace above? and -'tis the thing that may be.' - -Then he seized Kadza, and slung her by him, and went into the air, and up -it till the roofs of the City of Shagpat were beneath their feet, all on -them visible. And under an awning, on the roof of a palace, there was the -Vizier Feshnavat and Baba Mustapha, they ear to lip in consultation, and -Baba Mustapha brightening with the matter revealed to him, and bobbing -his head, and breaking on the speech of the Vizier. Now, when he saw them -the Genie blew from his nostrils a double stream of darkness which curled -in a thick body round and round him, and Kadza slung at his side was -enveloped in it, as with folds of a huge serpent. Then the Genie hung -still, and lo! two radiant figures swept toward the roof he watched, and -between them Noorna bin Noorka, her long dark hair borne far backward, -and her robe of silken stuff fluttering and straining on the pearl -buttons as she flew. There was that in her beauty and the silver -clearness of her temples and her eyes, and her cheeks, and her neck, and -chin and ankles, that made the Genie shudder with love of her, and he was -nigh dropping Kadza to the ground, forgetful of all save Noorna. When he -recovered, and it was by tightening his muscles till he was all over hard -knots, Noorna was seated on a cushion, and descending he heard her speak -his name. Then sniffed he the air, and said to Kadza, 'O spouse of -Shagpat, a plot breweth, and the odour of it is in my nostril. Fearest -thou a scorching for his sake thou adorest, the miracle of men?' - -She answered, 'On my head be it, and my eyes!' - -He said, 'I shall alight thee behind the pole of awning on yonder roof, -where are the two bright figures and the dingy one, and the Vizier -Feshnavat and Noorna bin Noorka. A flame will spring up severing thee -from them; but thou'rt secure from it by reason of the powder I gave -thee, all save the hair that's on thee. Thou'lt have another shape than -that which is thine, even that of a slave of Noorna bin Noorka, and say -to her when she asketh thy business with her, “O my mistress, let the -storm gather-in the storm-bird when it would surprise men.” Do this, and -thy part's done, O Kadza!' - -Thereupon he swung a circle, and alighted her behind the pole of awning -on the roof, and vanished, and the circle of flame rose up, and Kadza -passed through it slightly scorched, and answered to the question of -Noorna, 'O my mistress, let the storm gather-in the storm-bird when it -would surprise men.' Now, when Noorna beheld her, and heard her voice, -she pierced the disguise, and was ware of the wife of Shagpat, and -glanced her large eyes over Kadza from head to sole till they rested on -the loose loop in her girdle. Seeing that, she rose up, and stretched her -arms, and spread open the palm of her hand, and slapped Kadza on the -cheek and ear a hard slap, so that she heard bells; and ere she ceased to -hear them, another, so that Kadza staggered back and screamed, and -Feshnavat was moved to exclaim, 'What has the girl, thy favourite, -offended in, O my daughter?' - -So Noorna continued slapping Kadza, and cried, 'Is she not sluttish? and -where's the point of decency established in her, this Luloo? Shall her -like appear before thee and me with loose girdle!' - -Then she pointed to the girdle, and Kadza tightened the loose loop, and -fell upon the ground to avoid the slaps, and Noorna knelt by her, and -clutched at a portion of her dress and examined it, peering intently; and -she caught up another part, and knotted it as if to crush a living -creature, hunting over her, and grasping at her; and so it was that while -she tore strips from the garments of Kadza, Feshnavat jumped suddenly in -wrath, and pinched over his garments, crying, 'Tis unbearable! 'Tis I -know not what other than a flea that persecuteth me:' - -Upon that, Noorna ran to him, and while they searched together for the -flea, Baba Mustapha fidgeted and worried in his seat, lurching to the -right and to the left, muttering curses; and it was evident he too was -persecuted, and there was no peace on the roof of that palace, but -pinching and howling and stretching of limbs, and curses snarled in the -throat and imprecations on the head of the tormenting flea. Surely, the -soul of Kadza rejoiced, for she knew the flea was Karaz, whom she had -brought with her in the loose loop of her girdle through the circle of -flame which was a barrier against him. She glistened at the triumph of -the flea, but Noorna strode to her, and took her to the side of the roof, -and pitched her down it, and closed the passage to her. Then ran she to -Karavejis and Veejravoosh, whispering in the ear of each, 'No word of the -Sword?' and afterward aloud, 'What think ye will be the term of the -staying of my betrothed in Aklis, crowned ape?' - -They answered, 'O pearl of the morn, crowned ape till such time as -Shagpat be shaved.' - -So she beat her breast, crying, 'Oh, utter stagnation, till Shagpat be -shaved! and oh, stoppage in the tide of business, dense cloud upon the -face of beauty, and frost on the river of events, till Shagpat be shaved! -And oh! my betrothed, crowned ape in Aklis till Shagpat be shaved!' - -Then she lifted her hands and arms, and said, 'To him where he is, ye -Genii! and away, for he needeth comfort.' - -Thereat the glittering spirits dissolved and thinned, and were as taper -gleams of curved light across the water in their ascent of the heavens. -When they were gone Noorna, exclaimed, 'Now for the dish of pomegrante -grain, O Baba Mustapha, and let nothing delay us further.' - -Quoth Baba Mustapha, ''Tis ordered, O my princess and fair mistress, from -the confectioner's; and with it the sleepy drug from the seller of -medicaments--accursed flea!' - -Now, she laughed, and said, 'What am I, O Baba Mustapha?' - -So he said, 'Not thou, O bright shooter of beams, but I, wullahy! I'm but -a bundle of points through the pertinacity of this flea! a house of -irritabilities! a mere mass of fretfulness! and I've no thought but for -the chasing of this unlucky flea: was never flea like it in the world -before this flea; and 'tis a flea to anger the holy ones, and make the -saintly Dervish swear at such a flea.' He wriggled and curled where he -sat, and Noorna cried, 'What! shall we be defeated by a flea, we that -would shave Shagpat, and release this city and the world from bondage?' -And she looked up to the sky that was then without a cloud, blazing with -the sun on his mid seat, and exclaimed, 'O star of Shagpat! wilt thou -constantly be in the ascendant, and defeat us, the liberators of men, -with a flea?' - -Now, whenever one of the twain, Baba Mustapha and the Vizier Feshnavat, -commenced speaking of the dish of pomegranate grain, the torment of the -flea took all tongue from him, and was destruction to the gravity of -council and deliberation. The dish of pomegranate grain was brought to -them by slaves, and the drug to induce sleep, yet neither could say aught -concerning it, they were as jointy grasshoppers through the action of the -flea, and the torment of the flea became a madness, they shrieking, ''Tis -now with thee! 'Tis now with me! Fires of the damned on this flea!' In -their extremity, they called to Allah for help, but no help came, save -when they abandoned all speech concerning the dish of pomegranate grain, -then were they for a moment eased of the flea. So Noorna recognized the -presence of her enemy Karaz, and his malicious working; and she went and -fetched a jar brimmed with water for the bath, and stirred it with her -forefinger, and drew on it a flame from the rays of the sun till there -rose up from the jar a white thick smoke. She rustled her raiment, making -the wind of it collect round Baba Mustapha and Feshnavat, and did this -till the sweat streamed from their brows and bodies, and they were -sensible of peace and the absence of the flea. Then she whisked away the -smoke, and they were attended by slaves with fresh robes, and were as new -men, and sat together over the dish of pomegranate grain, praising the -wisdom of Noorna and her power. Then Baba Mustapha revived in briskness, -and cried, 'Here the dish! and 'tis in my hands an instrument, an -instrument of vengeance! and one to endow the skilful wielder of it with -glory. And 'tis as I designed it,--sweet, seasoned, savoury,--a flattery -to the eye and no deceiver to the palate. Wah! and such an instrument in -the hands of the discerning and the dexterous, and the discreet and the -judicious, and them gifted with determination, is't not such as sufficeth -for the overturning of empires and systems, O my mistress, fair one, -sapphire of this city? And is't not written that I shall beguile Shagpat -by its means, and master the Event, and shame the King of Oolb and his -Court? And I shall then sit in state among men, and surround myself with -adornments and with slaves, mute, that speak not save at the signal, and -are as statues round the cushions of their lord--that's myself. And I -shall surround myself with the flatteries of wealth, and walk bewildered -in silks and stuffs and perfumeries; and sweet young beauties shall I -have about me, antelopes of grace, as I like them, and select them, -long-eyed, lazy, fond of listening, and with bashful looks that timidly -admire the dignity that's in man.' - -While he was prating Noorna took the dish in her lap, and folded her -silvery feet beneath her, and commenced whipping into it the drug: and -she whipped it dexterously and with equal division among the grain, -whipping it and the flea with it, but she feigned not to mark the flea -and whipped harder. Then took she colour and coloured it saffron, and -laid over it gold-leaf, so that it glittered and was an enticing sight; -and the dish was of gold, crusted over with devices and patterns, and -heads of golden monsters, a ravishment of skill in him that executed it, -cumbrous with ornate golden workmanship; likewise there were places round -the dish for sticks of perfume and cups carved for the storing of -perfumed pellets, and into these Noorna put myrrh and ambergris and rich -incenses, aloes, sandalwood, prepared essences, divers keen and sweet -scents. Then when all was in readiness, she put the dish upon the knee of -Baba Mustapha, and awoke him from his babbling reverie with a shout, and -said, 'An instrument verily, O Baba Mustapha! and art thou a cat to shave -Shagpat with that tongue of thine?' - -Now, he arose and made the sign of obedience and said, ''Tis well, O lady -of grace and bright wit! and now for the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and my twenty slaves and seven to follow me to the mansion of -Shagpat. I'll do: I'll act.' - -So she motioned to a slave to bring the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and in these Baba Mustapha arrayed himself. Then called he for the -twenty-and-seven slaves, and they were ranged, some to go before, some to -follow him. And he was exalted, and made the cap of Shiraz nod in his -conceit, crying, 'Am I not leader in this complot? Wullahy! all bow to me -and acknowledge it.' Then, to check himself, he called out sternly to the -slaves, 'Ho ye! forward to the mansion of Shagpat; and pass at a slow -pace through the streets of the city--solemnly, gravely, as before a -potentate; then will the people inquire of ye, Who't is ye marshal, and -what mighty one? and ye will answer, He's from the court of Shiraz, -nothing less than a Vizier--bearing homage to Shagpat, even this dish of -pomegranate grain.' - -So they said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Upon that he waved his hand and stalked majestically, and they descended -from the roof into the street, criers running in front to clear the way. -When Baba Mustapha was hidden from view by a corner of the street, Noorna -shrank in her white shoulders and laughed, and was like a flashing pearl -as she swayed and dimpled with laughter. And she cried, 'True are those -words of the poet, and I testify to them in the instance of Baba -Mustapha: - - “With feathers of the cock, I'll fashion a vain creature; - With feathers of the owl, I'll make a judge in feature”; - -Is not the barber elate and lofty? He goeth forth to the mastery of this -Event as go many, armed with nought other than their own conceit: and -'tis written: - - “Fools from their fate seek not to urge: - The coxcomb carrieth his scourge.”' - -So Feshnavat smoothed his face, and said, 'Is't not also written?-- - - “Oft may the fall of fools make wise men moan! - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone!” - -'Tis so, O Noorna, my daughter, and I am as a reed shaken by the wind of -apprehensiveness, and doubt in me is a deep root as to the issue of this -undertaking, for the wrath of the King will be terrible, and the clamour -of the people soundeth in my ears already. If Shibli Bagarag fail in one -stroke, where be we? 'Tis certain I knew not the might in Shagpat when I -strove with him, and he's powerful beyond the measure of man's subtlety; -and yonder flies a rook without fellow--an omen; and all's ominous, and -ominous of ill: and I marked among the troop of slaves that preceded Baba -Mustapha one that squinted, and that's an omen; and, O my daughter, I -counsel that thou by thy magic speed us to some remote point in the -Caucasus, where we may abide the unravelling of this web securely, one -way or the other way. 'Tis my counsel, O Noorna.' - -Then she, 'Abandon my betrothed? and betray him on the very stroke of the -Sword? and diminish him by a withdrawal of that faith in his right wrist -which strengtheneth it more than Karavejis and Veejravoosh wound round it -in coils?' And she leaned her head, and cried, 'Hark! hear'st thou? -there's shouting in the streets of Shiraz and of Shagpat! Shall we merit -the punishment of Shahpesh the Persian on Khipil the builder, while the -Event is mastering? I'll mark this interview between Baba Mustapha and -Shagpat; and do thou, O my father, rest here on this roof till the King's -guard of horsemen and soldiers of the law come hither for thee, and go -with them sedately, fearing nought, for I shall be by thee in the garb of -an old woman; and preserve thy composure in the presence of the King and -Shagpat exalted, and allow not the thing that happeneth let fly from thee -the shaft of speech, but remain a slackened bow till the strength of my -betrothed is testified, fearing nought, for fear is that which defeateth -men, and 'tis declared in a distich,-- - - “The strongest weapon one can see - In mortal hands is constancy.” - -And for us to flee now would rank us with that King described by the -poet: - - “A king of Ind there was who fought a fight - From the first gleam of morn till fall of night; - But when the royal tent his generals sought, - Proclaiming victory, fled was he who fought. - Despair possessed them, till they chanced to spy - A Dervish that paced on with downward eye; - They questioned of the King; he answer'd slow, - 'Ye fought but one, the King a double, foe.”' - -And, O my father, they interpreted of this that the King had been -vanquished, he that was victor, by the phantom army of his fears.' - -Now, the Vizier cried, 'Be the will of Allah achieved and consummated!' -and he was silenced by her wisdom and urgency, and sat where he was, -diverting not the arch on his brow from its settled furrow. He was as one -that thirsteth, and whose eye hath marked a snake of swift poison by the -water, so thirsted he for the Event, yet hung with dread from advancing; -but Noorna bin Noorka busied herself about the roof, drawing circles to -witness the track of an enemy, and she clapped her hands and cried, -'Luloo!' and lo, a fair slave-girl that came to her and stood by with -bent head, like a white lily by a milk-white antelope; so Noorna clouded -her brow a moment, as when the moon darkeneth behind a scud, and cried, -'Speak! art thou in league with Karaz, girl?' - -Luloo strained her hands to her temples, exclaiming, 'With the terrible -Genie?--I?--in league with him? my mistress, surely the charms I wear, -and the amulets, I wear them as a protection from that Genie, and a -safeguard, he that carrieth off the maidens and the young sucklings, -walking under the curse of mothers.' - -Said Noorna, 'O Luloo, have I boxed those little ears of thine this day?' - -The fair slave-girl smiled a smile of submissive tenderness, and -answered, 'Not this day, nor once since Luloo was rescued from the wicked -old merchant by thy overbidding, and was taken to the arms of a wise kind -sister, wiser and kinder than any she had been stolen from, she that is -thy slave for ever.' - -She said this weeping, and Noorna mused, ''Twas as I divined, that -wretched Kadza: her grief 's to come!' Then spake she aloud as to -herself, 'Knew I, or could one know, I should this day be a bride?' And, -hearing that, Luloo shrieked, 'Thou a bride, and torn from me, and we two -parted? and I, a poor drooping tendril, left to wither? for my life is -round thee and worthless away from thee, O cherisher of the fallen -flower.' - -And she sobbed out wailful verses and words, broken and without a -meaning; but Noorna caught her by the arm and swung her, and bade her -fetch on the instant a robe of blue, and pile in her chamber robes of -amber and saffron and grey, bridal-robes of many-lighted silks, -plum-coloured, peach-coloured, of the colour of musk mixed with pale -gold, together with bridal ornaments and veils of the bride, and a -jewelled circlet for the brow. When this was done, Noorna went with Luloo -to her chamber, attended by slave-girls, and arrayed herself in the first -dress of blue, and swayed herself before the mirror, and rattled the gold -pieces in her hair and on her neck with laughter. And Luloo was -bewildered, and forgot her tears to watch the gaiety of her mistress; and -lo! Noorna, made her women take off one set of ornaments with every -dress, and with every dress she put on another set; and after she had -gone the round of the different dresses, she went to the bathroom with -Luloo, and at her bidding Luloo entered the bath beside Noorna, and the -twain dipped and shouldered in the blue water, and were as when a single -star is by the full moon on a bright midnight pouring lustre about. And -Noorna splashed Luloo, and said, 'This night we shall not sleep together, -O Luloo, nor lie close, thy bosom on mine.' - -Thereat, Luloo wept afresh, and cried, 'Ah, cruel! and 'tis a sweet -thought for thee, and thou'lt have no mind for me, tossing on my hateful -lonely couch.' - -Tenderly Noorna eyed Luloo, and the sprinkles of the bath fell with the -tears of both, and they clung together, and were like the lily and its -bud on one stalk in a shower. Then, when Noorna had spent her affection, -she said, 'O thou of the long downward lashes, thy love was constant when -I stood under a curse and was an old woman--a hag! Carest thou so little -to learn the name of him that claimeth me?' - -Luloo replied, 'I thought of no one save myself and my loss, O my lost -pearl; happy is he, a youth of favour. Oh, how I shall hate him that -taketh thee from me. Tell me now his name, O sovereign of hearts!' - -So Noorna smoothed the curves and corners of her mouth and calmed her -countenance, crying in a deep tone and a voice as of reverence, -'Shagpat!' - -Now, at that name Luloo drank in her breath and was awed, and sank in -herself, and had just words to ask, 'Hath he demanded thee again in -marriage, O my mistress?' - -Said Noorna, 'Even so.' - -Luloo muttered, 'Great is the Dispenser of our fates!' - -And she spake no further, but sighed and took napkins and summoned the -slave-girls, and arrayed Noorna silently in the robe of blue and bridal -ornaments. Then Noorna said to them that thronged about her, 'Put on, -each of ye, a robe of white, ye that are maidens, and a fillet of blue, -and a sash of saffron, and abide my coming.' - -And she said to Luloo, 'Array thyself in a robe of blue, even as mine, -and let trinkets lurk in thy tresses, and abide my coming.' - -Then went she forth from them, and veiled her head and swathed her figure -in raiment of a coarse white stuff, and was as the moon going behind a -hill of dusky snow; and she left the house, and passed along the streets -and by the palaces, till she came to the palace of her father, now filled -by Shagpat. Before the palace grouped a great concourse and a multitude -of all ages and either sex in that city, despite the blaze and the heat. -Like roaring of a sea beyond the mountains was the noise that issued from -them, and their eyes were a fire of beams against the portal of the -palace. Now, she saw in the crowd one Shafrac, a shoemaker, and -addressed him, saying, 'O Shafrac, the shoemaker, what's this assembly -and how got together? for the poet says: - - “Ye string not such assemblies in the street, - Save when some high Event should be complete.”' - -He answered, ''Tis an Event complete. Wullahy! the deputation from Shiraz -to Shagpat, and the submission of that vain city to the might of -Shagpat.' And he asked her, jestingly, 'Art thou a witch, to guess that, -O veiled and virtuous one?' - -Quoth she, 'I read the thing that cometh ere 'tis come, and I read danger -to Shagpat in this deputation from Shiraz, and this dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -So Shafrac cried, 'By the beard of my fathers and that of Shagpat! let's -speak of this to Zeel, the garlic-seller.' - -He broadened to one that was by him, and said, 'O Zeel, what's thy mind? -Here's a woman, a wise woman, a witch, and she sees danger to Shagpat in -this deputation from Shiraz and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Zeel screwed his visage and gazed up into his forehead, and said, -''Twere best to consult with Bootlbac, the drum-beater.' - -The two then called to Bootlbac, the drum-beater, and told him the -matter, and Bootlbac pondered, and tapped his brow and beat on his -stomach, and said, 'Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, is good in such a -case.' - -Now, from Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, they went to Dob, the -confectioner; and from Dob, the confectioner, to Azawool, the builder; -and from Azawool, the builder, to Tcheik, the collector of taxes; and -each referred to some other, till perplexity triumphed and was a cloud -over them, and the words, 'Danger to Shagpat,' went about like bees, and -were canvassing, when suddenly a shrill voice rose from the midst, -dominating other voices, and it was that of Kadza, and she cried, 'Who -talks here of danger to Shagpat, and what wretch is it?' - -Now, Tcheik pointed out Azawool, and Azawool Dob, and Dob Krooz el -Krazawik, and he Bootlbac, and the drum-beater shrugged his shoulder at -Zeel, and Zeel stood away from Shafrac, and Shafrac seized Noorna and -shouted, ''Tis she, this woman, the witch!' - -Kadza fronted Noorna, and called to her, 'O thing of infamy, what's this -talk of thine concerning danger to our glory, Shagpat?' - -Then Noorna replied, 'I say it, O Kadza! and I say it; there's danger -threateneth him, and from that deputation and that dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -Now, Kadza laughed a loose laugh, and jeered at Noorna, crying, 'Danger -to Shagpat! he that's attended by Genii, and watched over by the greatest -of them, day and night incessantly?' - -And Noorna said, 'I ask pardon of the Power that seeth, and of thee, if I -be wrong. Wah! am I not also of them that watch over Shagpat? So then let -thou and I go into the palace and examine the doings of this deputation -and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Kadza remembered the scene on the roofs of the Vizier Feshnavat, and -relaxed in her look of suspicion, and said, ''Tis well! Let's in to -them.' - -Thereupon the twain threaded through the crowd and locked at the portals -of the palace, and it was opened to them and they entered, and lo! the -hand that opened the portals was the hand of a slave of the Sword, and -against corners of the Court leaned slaves silly with slumber. So Kadza -went up to them, and beat them, and shook them, and they yawned and -mumbled, 'Excellent grain! good grain! the grain of Shiraz!' And she beat -them with what might was hers, till some fell sideways and some forward, -still mumbling, 'Excellent pomegranate grain!' Kadza was beside herself -with anger and vexation at them, tearing them and cuffing them; but -Noorna cried, 'O Kadza! what said I? there's danger to Shagpat in this -dish of pomegranate grain! and what's that saying: - - “'Tis much against the Master's wish - That slaves too greatly praise his dish.” - -Wullahy! I like not this talk of the grain of Shiraz.' - -Now, while Noorna spake, the eyes of Kadza became like those of the -starved wild-cat, and she sprang off and along the marble of the Court, -and clawed a passage through the air and past the marble pillars of the -palace toward the first room of reception, Noorna following her. And in -the first room were slaves leaning and lolling like them about the Court, -and in the second room and in the third room, silent all of them and -senseless. So at this sight the spark of suspicion became a mighty flame -in the bosom of Kadza, and horror burst out at all ends of her, and she -shuddered, and cried, 'What for us, and where's our hope if Shagpat be -shorn, and he lopped of the Identical, shamed like the lion of my dream!' - -And Noorna clasped her hands, and said, ''Tis that I fear! Seek for him, -O Kadza!' - -So Kadza ran to a window and looked forth over the garden of the palace, -and it was a fair garden with the gleam of a fountain and watered plants -and cool arches of shade, thick bowers, fragrant alleys, long sheltered -terraces, and beyond the garden a summer-house of marble fanned by the -broad leaves of a palm. Now, when Kadza had gazed a moment, she shrieked, -'He's there! Shagpat! giveth he not the light of a jewel to the house -that holdeth him? Awahy! and he's witched there for an ill purpose.' - -Then tore she from that room like a mad wild thing after its stolen cubs, -and sped along corridors of the palace, and down the great flight of -steps into the garden and across the garden, knocking over the -ablution-pots in her haste; and Noorna had just strength to withhold her -from dashing through the doors of the summer-house to come upon Shagpat, -she straining and crying, 'He's there, I say, O wise woman! Shagpat! -let's into him.' - -But Noorna clung to her, and spake in her ear, 'Wilt thou blow the fire -that menaces him, O Kadza? and what are two women against the assailants -of such a mighty one as he?' Then said she, 'Watch, rather, and avail -thyself of yonder window by the blue-painted pillar.' - -So Kadza crept up to the blue-painted pillar which was on the right side -of the porch, and the twain peered through the window. Noorna beheld the -Dish of Pomegranate Grain; and it was on the floor, empty of the grain, -and Baba Mustapha was by it alone making a lather, and he was twitching -his mouth and his legs, and flinging about his arms, and Noorna heard him -mutter wrathfully, 'O accursed flea! art thou at me again?' And she heard -him mutter as in anguish, 'No peace for thee, O pertinacious flea! and my -steadiness of hand will be gone, now when I have him safe as the hawk his -prey, mine enemy, this Shagpat that abused me: thou abominable flea! And, -O thou flea, wilt thou, vile thing! hinder me from mastering the Event, -and releasing this people and the world from enchantment and bondage? And -shall I fail to become famous to the ages and the times because of such -as thee, flea?' - -So Kadza whispered to Noorna, 'What's that he's muttering? Is't of -Shagpat? for I mark him not here, nor the light by which he's girt.' - -She answered, 'Listen with the ear and the eye and all the senses.' - -Now, presently they heard Baba Mustapha say in a louder tone, like one -that is secure from interruption, 'Two lathers, and this the third! a -potent lather! and I wot there's not a hair in this world resisteth the -sweep of my blade over such a lather as--Ah! flea of iniquity and -abomination! what! am I doomed to thy torments?--so let's spread! Lo! -this lather, is't not the pride of Shiraz? and the polish and smoothness -it sheddeth, is't not roseate? my invention! as the poet says,--O -accursed flea! now the knee-joint, now the knee-cap, and 'tis but a hop -for thee to the arm-pit. Fires of the pit without bottom seize thee! is -no place sacred from thee, and art thou a restless soul, infernal flea? -So then, peace awhile, and here's for the third lather.' - -While he was speaking Baba Mustapha advanced to a large white object that -sat motionless, upright like a snow-mound on a throne of cushions, and -commenced lathering. When she saw that, Kadza tossed up her head and her -throat, and a shriek was coming from her, for she was ware of Shagpat; -but Noorna stifled the shriek, and clutched her fast, whispering, 'He's -safe if thou have but patience, thou silly Kadza! and the flea will -defeat this fellow if thou spoil it not.' - -So Kadza said, looking up, 'Is 't seen of Allah, and be the Genii still -in their depths?' but she constrained herself, peering and perking out -her chin, and lifting one foot and the other foot, as on furnaces of fire -in the excess of the fury she smothered. And lo, Baba Mustapha worked -diligently, and Shagpat was behind an exulting lather, even as one pelted -with wheaten flour-balls or balls of powdery perfume, and his hairiness -was as branches of the forest foliage bent under a sudden fall of -overwhelming snow that filleth the pits and sharpeneth the wolves with -hunger, and teacheth new cunning to the fox. A fox was Baba Mustapha in -his stratagems, and a wolf in the fierceness of his setting upon Shagpat. -Surely he drew forth the blade that was to shear Shagpat, and made with -it in the air a preparatory sweep and flourish; and the blade frolicked -and sent forth a light, and seemed eager for Shagpat. So Baba Mustapha -addressed his arm to the shearing, and inclined gently the edge of the -blade, and they marked him let it slide twice to a level with the head of -Shagpat, and at the third time it touched, and Kadza howled, but from -Baba Mustapha there burst a howl to madden the beasts; and he flung up -his blade, and wrenched open his robe, crying, 'A flea was it to bite in -that fashion? Now, I swear by the Merciful, a fang like that's common to -tigers and hyaenas and ferocious animals.' - -Then looked he for the mark of the bite, plaining of its pang, and he -could find the mark nowhere. So, as he caressed himself, eyeing Shagpat -sheepishly and with gathering awe, Noorna said hurriedly to Kadza, 'Away -now, and call them in, the crowd about the palace, that they may behold -the triumph of Shagpat, for 'tis ripe, O Kadza!' - -And Kadza replied, 'Thou'rt a wise woman, and I'll have thee richly -rewarded. Lo, I'm as a camel lightened of fifty loads, and the glory of -Shagpat see I as a new sun rising in the desert. Wullahy! thou'rt wise, -and I'll do thy bidding.' - -Now, she went flying back to the palace, and called shrill calls to the -crowd, and collected them in the palace, and headed them through the -garden, and it was when Baba Mustapha had summoned courage for a second -essay, and was in the act of standing over Shagpat to operate on him, -that the crowd burst the doors, and he was quickly seized by them, and -tugged at and hauled at and pummelled, and torn and vituperated, and as a -wrecked vessel on stormy waters, plunging up and down with tattered -sails, when the crew fling overboard freight and ballast and provision. -Surely his time would have been short with that mob, but Noorna made -Kadza see the use of examining him before the King, and there were in -that mob sheikhs and fakirs, holy men who listened to the words of Kadza, -and exerted themselves to rescue Baba Mustapha, and quieted the rage that -was prevailing, and bore Baba Mustapha with them to the great palace of -the King, which was in the centre of that City. Now, when the King heard -of the attempt on Shagpat, and the affair of the Pomegranate Grain, he -gave orders for the admission of the people, as many of them as could be -contained in the Hall of Justice: and he set a guard over Baba Mustapha, -and commanded that Shagpat should be brought to the palace even as he -then was, and with the lather on him. So the regal mandate went forth, -and Shagpat was brought in state on cushions, and the potency of the drug -preserved his sedateness through all this, and he remained motionless in -sleep, folded in the centre of calm and satisfaction, while this tumult -was rageing and the City shook with uproar. But the people, when they saw -him whitened behind a lather, wrath at Baba Mustapha's polluting touch -and the audacity of barbercraft wrestled in them with the outpouring of -reverence for Shagpat, and a clamour arose for the instant sacrifice of -Baba Mustapha at the foot of their idol Shagpat. And the whole of the -City of Shagpat, men, women, and children, and the sheikhs and the -dervishes and crafts of the City besieged the King's palace in that -middle hour of the noon, clamouring for the sacrifice of Baba Mustapha at -the feet of their idol Shagpat. - - - - -THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - -Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of the -King was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished all -their arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions of -uniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense of -abasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him that -ruled and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne was -of solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the hall -was lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging in -stateliness down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars were -pillars of porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all of -them with sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence, -odes of the poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and that -solve knotty points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each the -gift of a mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie. - -In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spread -abroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, and -shimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. It -was rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fed -underground from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in the -reign of El Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by the -labours of Zak,--a Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of El -Rasoon; but, of a surety, none of earth were like to them in silveriness -and sweet coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary. - -Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him his -ministers, and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and black -slaves, and the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And the -King was as a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on his -forehead to darken kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred his -kingly wrath, and awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspirators -and offenders. So when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throne -of cushions where he sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the King -commanded that he should be placed at his side, the place of honour; and -Shagpat was as a moon behind the whiteness of the lathers; even as we -behold moon and sun together in the heavens, was Shagpat by the King. - -There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a hum -of rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people that -filled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; but -presently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people! -thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has brought -honour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine a -constellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands and -corners of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I not -castigated barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that no -youth is taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber, -is't not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by and -broken, for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpat -precious.' - -While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion at -beholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat and -the King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters and -triumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, and -its King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And I -had this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the adhesion -of that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So commenced -the day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a few hours -defiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!' - -At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury; -but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! Probably -we have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us in -Shagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, and -creeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasement -voluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; for -how is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to rise -again freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of the -City of Shagpat!' - -Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to the -loins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abased -himself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, and -penitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as when -the sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and the -Viziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of the -guard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcries -and wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated their -bodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned to -bewail himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shrieked -loudest, striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall was -as a pit full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wild -beasts howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, so -that the tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hall -save Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers, -inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there came -a pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in the -intervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered among -themselves, ''Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and the moaning and howling -prevailed again. And again they heard another moan, a deep one, as of the -earth in its throes, and said among themselves, ''Tis that of Bootlbac, -the drumbeater!' and this led off to the howl of Areep, the dervish; and -this was followed by the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; and the waul -of Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier; and the complainings of Dob, the -confectioner; and the groan of Sallap, the broker; and the yell of -Azawool, the builder. There would have been no end to it known; but the -King rose and commenced plucking his beard and his hair,--they likewise -in silence. When he had performed this ceremony a space, the King called, -and a basin of water was brought to him, and handed round by slaves, and -all dipped in it their hands, and renewed their countenances and -re-arranged their limbs; and the Hall brightened with the eye of the -King, and he cried, 'O people, lo, the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis a -deep one; but, by this beard, we'll strike at the root of it, and a blow -of deadliness. Surely we have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance is -ours! How say ye?' - -A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleth -that fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed these -words; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth with -this wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your heads be -it to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my Vizier, he -that was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our clemency.' - -Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction on -Feshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King. -Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembled -and was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and with -eyeballs goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him, -he contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object, -crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness and horrible -presumption? Truly 'tis said: - - “For ruin and the deeds preluding change, - Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range: - But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean, - Satan selects them, for they are unseen.” - -And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with the -top of the reptile, and away with him!' - -Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blocked -the throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save stagger -imploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of the -throne, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! 'tis -Kadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and lo! a wise -woman has said in my ear, “How if this emissary and instrument of the -Evil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to essay on Shagpat -before the people his science and his malice? for 'tis certain that -Shagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, defended by -them, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of glory and -triumph manifest”: and for this barber, his punishment can afterwards be -looked to, O great King!' - -The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them that -had hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought over -it, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. So -release this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.' - -This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, and -crowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when he -felt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and wit -returned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'll -yet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I was -to look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is a -mighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackle -to combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in his -mightiness!' - -So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and the -King called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile wretch, to -make preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' And the people -murmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, 'Thou'lt essay -this, thou wretch, without a head, let but another minute pass.' So when -Baba Mustapha could delay no longer, he sighed heavily and his trembling -returned, and the power of Shagpat smote him with an invisible hand, so -that he could scarce move; but dread pricked him against dread, and he -advanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and assumed the briskness of the -barber, and was in the act of bending over him to bring the blade into -play, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of the King stood up in the -presence and spake a word that troubled him, and the King rose and -hurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on three sides of -the Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and from these -clouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and plumes; and -he could discern the flashing of their helms and the glistening of -steel-plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the colour went -from the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched pomegranate, -and he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? Awahy! we are beset, and -here's abasement brought on us without self-abasing!' Meantime these -horsemen detached themselves from the main bodies and advanced at a -gallop, wheeling and circling round each other, toward the walls of the -city, and when they were close they lowered their arms and made signs of -amity, and proclaimed their mission and the name of him they served. So -tidings were brought to the King that the Lords of three cities, with -vast retinues, were come, by reason of a warning, to pay homage to -Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor; and these three cities were the cities of -Oolb, and of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these! - -Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and -arrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of his -stables, and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded by -the horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the city -walls that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted and -embraced, and bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titles -of Cousin and Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, these -three Kings rode back to the city with the King that was their host, and -the horsemen of the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outside -the walls, making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related to -the three Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been made -on him; and in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting of -thrones for them whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage to -Shagpat, sat by him there on either side. Then the King cried, 'This -likewise owe we to Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's in -him shall defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and of -Gaf, and of Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!' - -So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and the -King of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan, -exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince of -barbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head of -me in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand of -this barber will do it!' - -And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this fellow I -bastinadoed!' - -And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time, -said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To my court he -came, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us all in spite -of our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, and so -thinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and stripes -and lashes!' - -Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allah -achieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou! -do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store for -thee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: small -chance of that!' - -Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words: - - The abyss is worth a leap, however wide, - When life, sweet life, is on the other side. - -And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and stepped -forward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall was -breathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its fall, -and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right arm, -hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was buzzing as -a bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a butterfly when 'tis -fluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed at Shagpat within -arm's reach, fearing him, so that the people began to hum with a great -rapture, and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! this monkey -knoweth the fire!' - -But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guards -to flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords of -indecision in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash of -desperation; and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the blade -upon the head of Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest, -for suddenly in his head the Identical rose up straight, even to a level -with the roof of that hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of many -fiery colours, and Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like a -ball that reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomed -serpents, sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely, -to see that sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers, -and winked till the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about, -exclaimed, 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So she -called about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!' - -Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, she -shrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, male and -female, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! I his -moon!' - -Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou had -enough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head of -Shagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruited -abroad, and a great load upon the four winds.' - -Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to a -second essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot away -from Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end of -the hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and he -in his despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of his -limbs, was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essay -on the head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous, -light of heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, and -whirled away like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air and -beyond the city walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a great -cry rose from the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the Identical -stood up wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in brilliance, -blinding to look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it waxed in -size and pierced through the roof of the hall, and was a sight to the -streets of the city; and the horsemen camped without the walls beheld it, -and marvelled, and it was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes of the -Desert afar, and the wild Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans of -pilgrimage. Distant cities asked the reason of that appearance, and the -cunning fakir interpreted it, and the fervent dervish expounded from it, -and messengers flew from gate to gate and from land to land in -exultation, and barbers hid their heads, and were friendly with the fox -in his earth, because of that light. So the Identical burned on the head -of Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding splendour of attraction, three -nights and three days; and the fishes of the sea shoaled to the sea's -surface and stared at it, and the fowls of the air congregated about the -fury of the light with screams and mad flutters, till the streets and -mosques and minarets and bright domes and roofs and cupolas of the City -of Shagpat were blackened with scorched feathers of the vulture and the -eagle and the rook and the raven and the hawk, and other birds, sacred -and obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat made manifest to men and the -end of the world by the burning of the Identical three days and three -nights. - - - - -THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - -Now, it was the morning of the fourth day, and lo! at the first leap of -the sun of that day the flame of the Identical abated in its fierceness, -and it dwindled and darkened, and tapered and flickered feebly, -descending from its altitude in the heavens and through the ceiling of -the Hall, and lay down to sleep among the intricate lengths and frizzled -convolutions and undulating weights flowing from Shagpat, an -undistinguished hair, even as the common hairs of his head. So, upon -that, the four fasting Kings breathed, and from the people of the City -there went up a mighty shout of gladness and congratulation at the glory -they had witnessed; and they took the air deeply into their chests, and -were as divers that have been long fathoms-deep under water, and ascend -and puff hard and press the water from their eyes, that yet refuse to -acknowledge with a recognition the things that be and the sights above, -so mazed are they with those unmentionable marvels and treasures and -profusion of jewels, and splendid lazy growths and lavish filmy -illuminations, and multitudinous pearls and sheering shells, that lie -heaped in the beds of the ocean. As the poet has said: - - After too strong a beam, - Too bright a glory, - We ask, Is this a dream - Or magic story? - -And he says: - - When I've had rapturous visions such as make - The sun turn pale, and suddenly awake, - Long must I pull at memory in this beard, - Ere I remember men and things revered. - -So was it with the people of the City, and they stood in the Hall and -winked staringly at one another, shouting and dancing at intervals, -capering with mad gravity, exclaiming on the greatness of that they had -witnessed. And Zeel the garlic-seller fell upon Mob the confectioner, and -cried, 'Was this so, O Dob? Wullahy! this glory, was it verily?' And Dob -peered dimly upon Zeel, whispering solemnly, 'Say, now, art thou of a -surety that Zeel the garlic-seller known to me, my boon-fellow?' And the -twain turned to Sallap the broker, and exchanged interjections with him, -and with Azawool the builder, and with Krooz el Krazawik the carrier; and -they accosted Bootlbac the drum-beater, where he stood apart, drumming -the air as to a march of triumph, and no word would he utter, neither to -Zeel, nor to Sallap, nor to Krooz el Krazawik, nor to Azawool his -neighbour, nor to any present, but continued drumming on the air rapidly -as in answer, increasing in the swiftness of his drumming till it was a -rage to mark him, and the excitement about Bootlbac became as a mad eddy -in the midst of a mighty stream, he drumming the air with exceeding -swiftness to various measures, beating before him as on the tightened -skin, lost to all presences save the Identical and Shagpat. So they edged -away from Bootlbac in awe, saying, 'He's inspired, Bootlbac! 'tis the -triumph of Shagpat he drummeth.' They feigned to listen to him till their -ears deceived them, and they rejoiced in the velocity of the soundless -tune of Bootlbac the drum-beater, and were stirred by it, excited to a -forgetfulness of their fasting. Such was the force of the inspiration of -Bootlbac the drum-beater, caused by the burning of the Identical. - -Now, the four Kings, when they had mastered their wits, gazed in silence -on Shagpat, and sighed and shook their heads, and were as they that have -swallowed a potent draught and ponder sagely over the gulp. Surely, the -visages of the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf and of Oolb betokened dread of -Shagpat and amazement at him; but the King of the City exulted, and the -shining of content was on his countenance, and he cried, 'Wondrous!' and -again, 'Wullahy, wondrous!' and 'Oh, glory!' And he laughed and clucked -and chuckled, and the triumph of Shagpat was to him as a new jewel in his -crown outshining all others, and he was for awhile as the cock smitten -with the pride of his comb, the peacock magnified by admiration of his -tail. Then he cried, 'For this, praise we Allah and the Prophet. Wullahy, -'twas wondrous!' and he went off again into a roll of cluckings and -chucklings and exclamations of delight, crying, 'Need they further proof -of the power in Shagpat now? Has he not manifested it? So true is that -saying-- - - “The friend that flattereth weakeneth at length; - It is the foe that calleth forth our strength.” - -Wondrous! and never knew earth a thing to equal it in the range of -marvels!' - -Now, ere the last word was spoken by the King, there passed through the -sky a mighty flash. Those in the Hall saw it, and the horsemen of the -three cities encamped without the walls were nigh blinded by the keenness -of its blaze. So they looked into the height, and saw straight over the -City a speck of cloud, but no thunder came from it; and the King cried, -'These be Genii! the issue of this miracle is yet to come! look for it, -and exult.' Then he turned to the other Kings, but they were leaning to -right and left in their seats, as do the intoxicated, without strength to -answer his questioning. So he exclaimed, 'A curse on my head! have I -forgotten the laws of hospitality? my cousins are famished!' He was -giving orders for the spreading of a sumptuous banquet when there passed -through the sky another mighty flash. They awaited the thunder this time -confidently, yet none came. Suddenly the King exclaimed, ''Tis the wrath -of Shagpat that his assailants remain uncastigated!' Then cried he to the -eunuchs of the guard, 'Hither with Feshnavat, the son of Feil!' And the -King said to Feshnavat, 'Thou plotter! envious of Shagpat!' Here the -King, Kresnuk, fell forward at the feet of Shagpat from sheer inanition, -and the King of the City ordered instantly wines and viands to be brought -into the Hall, and commenced saying to Feshnavat, in the words of the -wise entablature: - - '“Of reckless mercy thus the Sage declared: - More culpable the sparer than the spared; - For he that breaks one law, breaks one alone: - But who thwarts Justice flouts Law's sovereign throne.” - -And have I not been over-merciful in thy case?' - -As the King was haranguing Feshnavat, his nostril took in the steam of -the viands and the fresh odours of the wines, and he could delay no -longer to satisfy his craving, but caught up the goblet, and drank from -it till his visage streamed the tears of contentment. Lo, while he put -forth his hand tremblingly, as to continue the words of his condemnation -of the Vizier, the heavens were severed by a third flash, one exceeding -in fierceness the other flashes; and now the Great Hall rocked, and the -pillars and thrones trembled, and the eyes of Shagpat opened. He made no -motion, but sat like a wonder of stone, looking before him. Surely, Kadza -shrieked, and rushed forward to him from the crowd, yet he said nothing, -and was as one frozen. So the King cried, 'He waketh! the flashes -preceded his wakening! Now shall he see the vengeance of kings on his -enemies.' Thereupon he made a signal, and the scimitars of the guard were -in air over the head of Feshnavat, when darkness as of the dropping of -night fell upon all, and the darkness spake, saying, 'I am Abarak of the -Bar, preceder of the Event!' - -Then it was light, but the ears of every soul present were pierced with -the wailing of wild animals, and on all sides from the Desert hundreds of -them were seen making toward the City, some swiftly, others at a heavy -pace; and when they were come near they crouched and fawned, and dropped -their dry tongues as in awe. There was the serpent, meek as before the -days of sin, and the leopard slinking to get among the legs of men, and -the lion came trundling along in utter flabbiness, raising not his head. -Soon the streets were thronged with elephants and lions and sullen -tigers, and wild cats and wolves, not a tail erect among them: great was -the marvel! So the King cried, 'We 're in the thick of wonders; banquet -we lightly while they increase upon us! What's yonder little man?' This -was Abarak that stood before the King, and exclaimed, 'I am the darkness -that announceth the mastery of the Event, as a shadow before the sun's -approach, and it is the Shaving of Shagpat!' The world darkened before -the eyes of the King when he heard this, and in a moment Abarak was -clutched by the soldiers of the guard, and dragged beside Feshnavat to -await the final blow; and this would have parted two heads from two -bodies at one stroke, but now Noorna bin Noorka entered the hall, veiled -and in the bright garb of a bride, with veiled attendants about her, and -the people opened to give her passage to the throne of the King. So she -said, 'Delay the stroke yet awhile, O Head of the Magnanimous! I am she -claimed by Shagpat; surely, I am bride of him that is Master of the -Event, and the hour of bridals is the hour of clemency.' - -The King looked at Shagpat, perplexed; but the eye of Shagpat gazed as -into the distance of another world. Then said he, 'We shall hear nought -from the mouth of Shagpat till he is avenged, and till then he is silent -with exceeding wrath.' Hearing this, Noorna ran quickly to a window of -the Hall, and let loose a white dove from her bosom. - -Then came there that flash which is recorded in old traditions as the -fourth of the flashes of thunderless lightnings, after the passing of -which, hundreds of fakirs that had been awaiting it saw nothing further -on this earth. Down through the Hall it swept; and lo! when the Kings and -the people recovered their sight to regard Shagpat, he was, one side of -him, clean shorn, the shaven side shining as the very moon! - -Surely from that moment there was no longer aught mortal in the combat -that ensued. For now, while amazement and horror palsied all present, the -Genie Karaz, uttering a howl of fury, shot down the length of the Hall -like a black storm-bolt, and caught up Shagpat, and whirled off with him -into the air; and they beheld him dive and dodge the lightnings that -beset him from upper heaven, catching Shagpat from them, now by the -heels, now by the hair remaining one side his head. This lasted a full -hour, when the Genie paused a second, and made a sheer descent into the -earth. Then saw they the wings of Koorookh, each a league in length, -overshadow the entire land, and on the neck of the bird sat Shibli -Bagarag cleaving through the earth with his blade, and he sat on Koorookh -as the moon sits on the midnight. There was no light save the light shed -abroad by the flashes of the blade, and in these they beheld the air -suffocated with Afrites and Genii in a red and brown and white heat, -followers of Karaz. Strokes of the blade clove them, and their blood was -fire that flowed over the feathers of Koorookh, lighting him in a -conflagration; but the bird flew constantly to a fountain of earth below -and extinguished it. Then the battle recommenced, and the solid earth -yawned at the gashes made by the mighty blade, and its depths revealed -how Karaz was flying with Shagpat from circle to circle of the -under-regions, hurrying with him downward to the lowest circle, that was -flaming to points, like the hair of vast heads. Presently they saw a -wondrous quivering flash divide the Genie, and his heels and head fell -together in the abysses, leaving Shagpat prone on great brasiers of penal -flame. Then the blade made another hissing sweep over Shagpat, leaving -little of the wondrous growths on him save a topknot. - -But now was the hour struck when Rabesqurat could be held no longer -serving the ferry in Aklis; and the terrible Queen streamed in the sky, -like a red disastrous comet, and dived, eagle-like, into the depths, -re-ascending with Shagpat in her arms, cherishing him; and lo, there were -suddenly a thousand Shagpats multiplied about, and the hand of Shibli -Bagarag became exhausted with hewing at them. The scornful laugh of the -Queen was heard throughout earth as she triumphed over Shibli Bagarag -with hundreds of Shagpats, Illusions; and he knew not where to strike at -the Shagpat, and was losing all sleight of hand, dexterity, and cunning. -Noorna shrieked, thinking him lost; but Abarak seized his bar, and -leaning it in the direction of Aklis, blew a pellet from it that struck -on the eye of Aklis, and this sent out a stretching finger of beams, and -singled forth very Shagpat from the myriads of semblances, so that he -glowed and was ruddy, the rest cowering pale, and dissolving like -salt-grains in water. - -Then saw earth and its inhabitants how the Genie Karaz re-ascended in the -shape of a vulture with a fire beak, pecking at the eyes of him that -wielded the Sword, so that he was bewildered and shook this way and that -over the neck of Koorookh, striking wildly, languidly cleaving towers and -palaces, and monuments of earth underneath him. Now, Shibli Bagarag -discerned his danger, and considered, 'The power of the Sword is to sever -brains and thoughts. Great is Allah! I'll seek my advantage in that.' - -So he whirled Koorookh thrice in the crimson smoke of the atmosphere, and -put the blade between the first and second thought in the head of -Rabesqurat, whereby the sense of the combat became immediately confused -in her mind, and she used her powers as the fool does, equally against -all, for the sake of mischief solely--no longer mistress of her own -Illusions; and she began doubling and trebling Shibli Bagarag on the neck -of monstrous birds, speeding in draggled flightiness from one point of -the sky to another. Even in the terror of the combat, Shibli Bagarag was -fair to burst into a fit of violent laughter at the sight of the Queen -wagging her neck loosely, perking it like a mad raven; and he took heart, -and swept the blade rapidly over Shagpat as she dandled him, leaving -Shagpat but one hair remaining on him; yet was that the Identical; and it -arose, and was a serpent in his head, and from its jaws issued a river of -fiery serpents: these and a host of Afrites besieged Shibli Bagarag; and -now, to defend himself, he unloosed the twin Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, from the wrist of that hand which wielded the Sword of -Aklis, and these alternately interwound before and about him, and were -even as a glittering armour of emerald plates, warding from him the -assaults of the host; and lo! he flew, and the battle followed him over -blazing cities and lands on fire with the slanting hail of sparkles. - -By this time every soul in the City of Shagpat, kings and people, all -save Abarak and Noorna bin Noorka, were overcome and prostrate with their -faces to the ground; but Noorna watched the conflict eagerly, and saw the -head of Shagpat sprouting incessant fresh crops of hair, despite the -pertinacious shearing of her betrothed. Then she smote her hands, and -cried, 'Yea! though I lose my beauty and the love of my betrothed, I must -join in this, or he'll be lost.' So, saying to Abarak, 'Watch over me,' -she went into the air, and, as she passed Rabesqurat, was multiplied into -twenty damsels of loveliness. Then Abarak beheld a scorpion following the -twenty in mid-air, and darting stings among them. Noorna tossed a ring, -and it fell in a circle of flame round the scorpion. So, while the -scorpion was shooting in squares to escape from the circle, the -fire-beaked vulture flew to it, and fluttered a dense rain which -swallowed the flame, and the scorpion and vulture assailed Noorna, that -was changed to a golden hawk in the midst of nineteen other golden hawks. -Now, as Rabesqurat came scudding by, and saw the encounter, she made the -twenty hawks a hundred. The Genie Karaz howled at her, and pinioned her -to a pillar below in the Desert, with Shagpat in her arms. But, as he -soared aloft to renew the fight with Noorna, Shibli Bagarag loosed to her -aid the Slaves of the Sword, and Abarak marked him slope to a distant -corner of earth, and reascend in a cloud, which drew swiftly over the -land toward the Great Hall. Lo, Shibli Bagarag stepped from it through a -casement of the Hall, and with him Shagpat, a slack weight, mated out of -all power of motion. Koorookh swooped low, on his back Baba Mustapha, and -Shibli Bagarag flung Abarak beside him on the bird. Then Koorookh whirred -off with them; and while the heavens raged, Shibli Bagarag prepared a -rapid lather, and dashed it over Shagpat, and commenced shearing him with -lightning sweeps of the blade. 'Twas as a racing wheel of fire to see -him! Suddenly he desisted, and wiped the sweat from his face. Then -calling on the name of Allah, he gave a last keen cunning sweep with the -blade, and following that, the earth awfully quaked and groaned, as if -speaking in the abysmal tongue the Mastery of the Event to all men. Aklis -was revealed in burning beams as of a sun, and the trouble of the air -ceased, vapours slowly curling to the four quarters. Shibli Bagarag had -smitten clean through the Identical! Terribly had Noorna and those that -aided her been oppressed by the multitude of their enemies; but, in a -moment these melted away, and Karaz, together with the scorpion that was -Goorelka, vanished. Day was on the baldness of Shagpat. - - - - -CONCLUSION - -So was shaved Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son -of Shullum, by Shibli Bagarag, of Shiraz, according to preordainment. - -The chronicles relate, that no sooner had he mastered the Event, than men -on the instant perceived what illusion had beguiled them, and, in the -words of the poet,-- - - The blush with which their folly they confess - Is the first prize of his supreme success. - -Even Bootlbac, the drum-beater, drummed in homage to him, and the four -Kings were they that were loudest in their revilings of the spouse of -Kadza, and most obsequious in praises of the Master. The King of the City -was fain to propitiate his people by a voluntary resignation of his -throne to Shibli Bagarag, and that King took well to heart the wisdom of -the sage, when he says: - - Power, on Illusion based, o'ertoppeth all; - The more disastrous is its certain fall! - -Surely Shibli Bagarag returned the Sword to the Sons of Aklis, flashing -it in midnight air, and they, with the others, did reverence to his -achievement. They were now released from the toil of sharpening the Sword -a half-cycle of years, to wander in delight on the fair surface of the -flowery earth, breathing its roses, wooing its brides; for the mastery of -an Event lasteth among men the space of one cycle of years, and after -that a fresh Illusion springeth to befool mankind, and the Seven must -expend the concluding half-cycle in preparing the edge of the Sword for a -new mastery. As the poet declareth in his scorn: - - Some doubt Eternity: from life begun, - Has folly ceased within them, sire to son? - So, ever fresh Illusions will arise - And lord creation, until men are wise. - -And he adds: - - That is a distant period; so prepare - To fight the false, O youths, and never spare! - For who would live in chronicles renowned - Must combat folly, or as fool be crowned. - -Now, for the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf, Shibli Bagarag entertained them -in honour; but the King of Oolb he disgraced and stripped of his robes, -to invest Baba Mustapha in those royal emblems--a punishment to the -treachery of the King of Oolb, as is said by Aboo Eznol: - - When nations with opposing forces, rash, - Shatter each other, thou that wouldst have stood - Apart to profit by the monstrous feud, - Thou art the surest victim of the crash. - - Take colours of whichever side thou wilt, - And stedfastly thyself in battle range; - Yet, having taken, shouldst thou dare to change, - Suspicion hunts thee as a thing of guilt. - -Baba Mustapha, was pronounced Sovereign of Oolb, amid the acclamations of -the guard encamped under the command of Ravaloke, without the walls. - -No less did Shibli Bagarag honour the benefactor of Noorna, making him -chief of his armies; and he, with his own hand, bestowed on the good old -warrior the dress of honour presented to him by the Seven Sons, -charactered with all the mysteries of Aklis, a marvel lost to men in the -failure to master the Illusion now dominating earth. - -So, then, of all that had worshipped Shagpat, only Kadza clung to him, -and she departed with him into the realms of Rabesqurat, who reigned -there, divided against herself by the stroke of the Sword. The Queen is -no longer mighty, for the widening of her power has weakened it, she -being now the mistress of the single-thoughted, and them that follow one -idea to the exclusion of a second. The failure in the unveiling of her -last-cherished Illusion was in the succumbing frailty of him that -undertook the task, the world and its wise men having come to the belief -that in thwackings there was ignominy to the soul of man, and a tarnish -on the lustre of heroes. On that score, hear the words of the poet, a -vain protest: - - Ye that nourish hopes of fame! - Ye who would be known in song! - Ponder old history, and duly frame - Your souls to meek acceptance of the thong. - - Lo! of hundreds who aspire, - Eighties perish-nineties tire! - They who bear up, in spite of wrecks and wracks, - Were season 'd by celestial hail of thwacks. - - Fortune in this mortal race - Builds on thwackings for its base; - Thus the All-Wise doth make a flail a staff, - And separates his heavenly corn from chaff. - - Think ye, had he never known - Noorna a belabouring crone, - Shibli Bagarag would have shaved Shagpat - The unthwack'd lives in chronicle a rat! - - 'Tis the thwacking in this den - Maketh lions of true men! - So are we nerved to break the clinging mesh - Which tames the noblest efforts of poor flesh. - -Feshnavat became the Master's Vizier, and Abarak remained at the right -hand of Shibli Bagarag, his slave in great adventure. No other condition -than bondage gave peace to Abarak. He was of the class enumerated by the -sage: - - Who, with the strength of giants, are but tools, - The weighty hands which serve selected fools. - -Now, this was how it was in the case of Baba Mustapha, and the four -Kings, and Feshnavat, and Abarak, and Ravaloke, and Kadza, together with -Shagpat; but, in the case of Noorna bin Noorka, surely she was withering -from a sting of the scorpion shot against her bosom, but the Seven Sons -of Aklis gave her a pass into Aklis on the wings of Koorookh, and -Gulrevaz, the daughter of Aklis, tended her, she that was alone capable -of restoring her, and counteracting the malice of the scorpion by the -hand of purity. So Noorna, prospered; but Shibli Bagarag drooped in -uncertainty of her state, and was as a reaper in a field of harvest, -around whom lie the yellow sheaves, and the brown beam of autumn on his -head, the blaze of plenty; yet is he joyless and stands musing, for one -is away who should be there, and without whom the goblet of Success -giveth an unsweetened draught, and there is nothing pleasant in life, and -the flower on the summit of achievement is blighted. At last, as he was -listlessly dispensing justice in the Great Hall, seven days after the -mastery of the Event, lo, Noorna, in air, borne by Gulrevaz, she fair and -fresh in the revival of health and beauty, and the light of constant -love. Of her entry into the Great Hall, to the embrace of her betrothed, -the poet exclaims, picturing her in a rapture: - - Her march is music, and my soul obeys - Each motion, as a lute to cunning fingers - I see the earth throb for her as she sways - Wave-like in air, and like a great flower lingers - Heavily over all, as loath to leave - What loves her so, and for her loss would grieve. - - But oh, what other hand than heaven's can paint - Her eyes, and that black bow from which their lightning - Pierces afar! long lustrous eyes, that faint - In languor, or with stormy passion brightening: - Within them world in world lights up from sleep, - And gives a glimpse of the eternal deep. - - Sigh round her, odorous winds; and, envious rose, - So vainly envious, with such blushes gifted, - Bow to her; die, strangled with jealous throes, - O Bulbul! when she sings with brow uplifted; - Gather her, happy youth, and for thy gain - Thank Him who could such loveliness ordain. - -Surely the Master of the Event advanced to her in the glory of a Sultan, -and seated her beside him in majesty, and their contract of marriage was -read aloud in the Hall, and witnessed, and sealed: joyful was he! Then -commenced that festival which lasted forty days, and is termed the -Festival of the honours of hospitality to the Sons of Aldis, wherein the -head-cook of the palace, Uruish, performed wonders in his science, and -menaced the renown of Zrmack, the head-cook of King Shamshureen. Even so -the confectioner, Dob, excelled himself in devices and inventions, and -his genius urged him to depict in sugars and pastes the entire adventures -of Shibli Bagarag in search of the Sword. Honour we Uruish and Do-b! as -the poet sayeth: - - Divide not this fraternal twain; - One are they, and one should for ever remain: - As to sweet close in fine music we look, - So the Confectioner follows the Cook. - -And one of the Sons of Aklis, Zaragal, beholding this masterpiece of Dob, -which was served to the guests in the Great Hall on the fortieth evening, -was fair to exclaim in extemporaneous verse: - - Have I been wafted to a rise - Of banquet spread in Paradise, - Dower'd with consuming powers divine;-- - That I, who have not fail'd to dine, - And greatly, - Fall thus upon the cater and wine - Sedately? - -So there was feasting in the Hall, and in the City, and over Earth; great -pledging the Sovereign of Barbers, who had mastered an Event, and become -the benefactor of his craft and of his kind. 'Tis certain the race of the -Bagarags endured for many centuries, and his seed were the rulers of men, -and the seal of their empire stamped on mighty wax the Tackle of Barbers. - -Now, of the promise made by the Sons of Aklis to visit Shibli Bagarag -before their compulsory return to the labour of the Sword, and recount to -him the marvel of their antecedent adventures; and of the love and grief -nourished in the souls of men by the beauty and sorrowful eyes of -Gulrevaz, that was mined the Bleeding Lily, and of her engagement to tell -her story, on condition of receiving the first-born of Noorna to nurse -for a season in Aklis; and of Shibli Bagarag's restoration of towns and -monuments destroyed by his battle with Karaz; and of the constancy of -passion of Shibli Bagarag for Noorna, and his esteem for her sweetness, -and his reverence for her wisdom; and of the glory of his reign, and of -the Songs and Sentences of Noorna, and of his Laws for the protection and -upholding of women, in honour of Noorna, concerning which the Sage has -said: - - Were men once clad in them, we should create - A race not following, but commanding, fate: - ---of all these records, and of the reign of Baba Mustapha in Oolb, surely -the chronicles give them in fulness; and they that have searched say of -them, there is matter therein for the amusement of generations. - - ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS - - A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth - Arm'd with Fear the Foe finds passage to the vital part - Delay in thine undertaking Is disaster of thy own making - Every failure is a step advanced - Failures oft are but advising friends - Fear nought so much as Fear itself - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! - Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! - Like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth - More culpable the sparer than the spared - No runner can outstrip his fate - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal - Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - The king without his crown hath a forehead like the clown - The overwise themselves hoodwink - 'Tis the first step that makes a path - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone - Vanity maketh the strongest most weak - When to loquacious fools with patience rare I listen - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete -by George Meredith - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - -***** This file should be named 4405-0.txt or 4405-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/0/4405/ - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete - -Author: George Meredith - -Release Date: November 2, 2004 [EBook #4405] -Last Updated: February 26, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - - - - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - - - - - -</pre> - <h1> - THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - </h1> - <p> - <br /> - </p> - <h2> - By George Meredith - </h2> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <h3> - AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - </h3> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <h3> - 1898/1909 - </h3> - <p> - <br /><br /> <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <blockquote> - <p class="toc"> - <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> - </p> - <p> - <br /> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE THWACKINGS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> AND THIS IS THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE - BEAUTIFUL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> THE BETROTHAL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> AND THIS IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE GENIE KARAZ </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THE WELL OF PARAVID </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE HORSE GARRAVEEN </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> THE TALKING HAWK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> GOORELKA OF OOLB </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> AND THIS IS THE STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE WILES OF RABESQURAT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE PALACE OF AKLIS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> THE SONS OF AKLIS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> THE SWORD OF AKLIS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> KOOROOKH </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> THE VEILED FIGURE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> THE BOSOM OF NOORNA </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE REVIVAL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> THE PLOT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_CONC"> CONCLUSION </a> - </p> - </blockquote> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - </h2> - <h3> - BOOK I. - </h3> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE THWACKINGS - </h2> - <p> - It was ordained that Shibli Bagarag, nephew to the renowned Baba Mustapha, - chief barber to the Court of Persia, should shave Shagpat, the son of - Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and they had been - clothiers for generations, even to the time of Shagpat, the illustrious. - </p> - <p> - Now, the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the - subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, - and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he released, - and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and bottled by - her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of men - and traced in their corner-robes? As the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale, - But 'tis of the sort that can never grow stale. -</pre> - <p> - Now, things were in that condition with Shibli Bagarag, that on a certain - day he was hungry and abject, and the city of Shagpat the clothier was - before him; so he made toward it, deliberating as to how he should procure - a meal, for he had not a dirhem in his girdle, and the remembrance of - great dishes and savoury ingredients were to him as the illusion of rivers - sheening on the sands to travellers gasping with thirst. - </p> - <p> - And he considered his case, crying, 'Surely this comes of wandering, - and 'tis the curse of the inquiring spirit! for in Shiraz, where my - craft is in favour, I should be sitting now with my uncle, Baba Mustapha, - the loquacious one, cross-legged, partaking of seasoned sweet dishes, - dipping my fingers in them, rejoicing my soul with scandal of the Court!' - </p> - <p> - Now, he came to a knoll of sand under a palm, from which the yellow domes - and mosques of the city of Shagpat, and its black cypresses, and marble - palace fronts, and shining pillars, and lofty carven arches that spanned - half-circles of the hot grey sky, were plainly visible. Then gazed he - awhile despondingly on the city of Shagpat, and groaned in contemplation - of his evil plight, as is said by the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - As the sun casteth shade, night showeth star, - We, measuring what we were by what we are, - Behold the depth to which we are undone. -</pre> - <p> - Wherefore he counselleth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Look neither too much up, nor down at all, - But, forward stepping, strive no more to fall. -</pre> - <p> - And the advice is excellent; but, as is again said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The preacher preacheth, and the hearer heareth, - But comfort first each function requireth. -</pre> - <p> - And 'wisdom to a hungry stomach is thin pottage,' saith the - shrewd reader of men. Little comfort was there with Shibli Bagarag, as he - looked on the city of Shagpat the clothier! He cried aloud that his evil - chance had got the better of him, and rolled his body in the sand, beating - his breast, and conjuring up images of the profusion of dainties and the - abundance of provision in Shiraz, exclaiming, 'Well-a-way and woe's - me! this it is to be selected for the diversion of him that plotteth - against man.' Truly is it written: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - On different heads misfortunes come: - One bears them firm, another faints, - While this one hangs them like a drum - Whereon to batter loud complaints. -</pre> - <p> - And of the three kinds, they who bang the drum outnumber the silent ones - as do the billows of the sea the ships that swim, or the grains of sand - the trees that grow; a noisy multitude. - </p> - <p> - Now, he was in the pits of despondency, even as one that yieldeth without - further struggle to the waves of tempest at midnight, when he was ware of - one standing over him,—a woman, old, wrinkled, a very crone, with - but room for the drawing of a thread between her nose and her chin; she - was, as is cited of them who betray the doings of Time, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Wrinkled at the rind, and overripe at the core, -</pre> - <p> - and every part of her nodded and shook like a tree sapped by the waters, - and her joints were sharp as the hind-legs of a grasshopper; she was - indeed one close-wrecked upon the rocks of Time. - </p> - <p> - Now, when the old woman had scanned Shibli Bagarag, she called to him, - 'O thou! what is it with thee, that thou rollest as one reft of his - wits?' - </p> - <p> - He answered her, 'I bewail my condition, which is beggary, and the - lack of that which filleth with pleasantness.' - </p> - <p> - So the old woman said, 'Tell me thy case.' - </p> - <p> - He answered her, 'O old woman, surely it was written at my birth - that I should take ruin from the readers of planets. Now, they proclaimed - that I was one day destined for great things, if I stood by my tackle, I, - a barber. Know then, that I have had many offers and bribes, seductive - ones, from the rich and the exalted in rank; and I heeded them not, - mindful of what was foretold of me. I stood by my tackle as a warrior - standeth by his arms, flourishing them. Now, when I found great things - came not to me, and 'twas the continuance of sameness and satiety - with Baba Mustapha, my uncle, in Shiraz,—the tongue-wagger, the - endless tattler,—surely I was advised by the words of the poet to go - forth in search of what was wanting, and he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Thou that dreamest an Event, - While Circumstance is but a waste of sand, - Arise, take up thy fortunes in thy hand, - And daily forward pitch thy tent.” - </pre> - <p> - Now, I passed from city to city, proclaiming my science, holding aloft my - tackle. Wullahy! many adventures were mine, and if there's some day - propitiousness in fortune, O old woman, I'll tell thee of what - befell me in the kingdom of Shah Shamshureen: 'tis wondrous, a - matter to draw down the lower jaw with amazement! Now, so it was, that in - the eyes of one city I was honoured and in request, by reason of my - calling, and I fared sumptuously, even as a great officer of state - surrounded by slaves, lounging upon clouds of silk stuffs, circled by - attentive ears: in another city there was no beast so base as I. Wah! I - was one hunted of men and an abomination; no housing for me, nought to - operate upon. I was the lean dog that lieth in wait for offal. It seemeth - certain, O old woman, that a curse hath fallen on barbercraft in these - days, because of the Identical, whose might I know not. Everywhere it is - growing in disrepute; 'tis languishing! Nevertheless till now I have - preserved my tackle, and I would descend on yonder city to exercise it, - even for a livelihood, forgetting awhile great things, but that I dread - men may have changed there also,—and there's no stability in - them, I call Allah (whose name be praised!) to witness; so should I be a - thing unsightly, subject to hateful castigation; wherefore is it that I am - in that state described by the poet, when, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Dreading retreat, dreading advance to make, - Round we revolve, like to the wounded snake.” - </pre> - <p> - Is not my case now a piteous one, one that toucheth the tender corner in - man and woman?' - </p> - <p> - When she that listened had heard him to an end, she shook her garments, - crying, 'O youth, son of my uncle, be comforted! for, if it is as I - think, the readers of planets were right, and thou art thus early within - reach of great things—nigh grasping them.' - </p> - <p> - Then she fell to mumbling and reciting jigs of verse, quaint measures; and - she pored along the sand to where a line had been drawn, and saw that the - footprints of the youth were traced along it. Lo, at that sight she - clapped her hands joyfully, and ran up to the youth, and peered in his - face, exclaiming, 'Great things indeed! and praise thou the readers - of planets, O nephew of the barber, they that sent thee searching the - Event thou art to master. Wullahy! have I not half a mind to call thee - already Master of the Event?' - </p> - <p> - Then she abated somewhat in her liveliness, and said to him, 'Know - that the city thou seest is the city of Shagpat, the clothier, and there's - no one living on the face of earth, nor a soul that requireth thy craft - more than he. Go therefore thou, bold of heart, brisk, full of the - sprightliness of the barber, and enter to him. Lo, thou'lt see him - lolling in his shop-front to be admired of this people—marvelled at. - Oh! no mistaking of Shagpat, and the mole might discern Shagpat among - myriads of our kind; and enter thou to him gaily, as to perform a friendly - office, one meriting thanks and gratulations, saying, 'I will - preserve thee the Identical!' Now he'll at first feign not to - understand thee, dense of wit that he is! but mince not matters with him, - perform well thy operation, and thou wilt come to great things. What say - I? 'tis certain that when thou hast shaved Shagpat thou wilt have - achieved the greatest of things, and be most noteworthy of thy race, thou, - Shibli Bagarag, even thou! and thou wilt be Master of the Event, so named - in anecdotes and histories and records, to all succeeding generations.' - </p> - <p> - At her words the breast of Shibli Bagarag took in a great wind, and he - hung his head a moment to ponder them; and he thought, 'There's - provokingness in the speech of this old woman, and she's one that - instigateth keenly. She called me by my name! Heard I that? 'Tis a - mystery!' And he thought, 'Peradventure she is a Genie, one of - an ill tribe, and she's luring me to my perdition in this city! How - if that be so?' And again he thought, 'It cannot be! She's - probably the Genie that presided over my birth, and promised me dower of - great things through the mouths of the readers of planets.' - </p> - <p> - Now, when Shibli Bagarag had so deliberated, he lifted his sight, and lo, - the old woman was no longer before him! He stared, and rubbed his eyes, - but she was clean gone. Then ran he to the knolls and eminences that were - scattered about, to command a view, but she was nowhere visible. So he - thought, ''Twas a dream!' and he was composing himself - to despair upon the scant herbage of one of those knolls, when as he - chanced to gaze down the city below, he saw there a commotion and a crowd - of people flocking one way; he thought, ''Twas surely no - dream? come not Genii, and go they not, in the fashion of that old woman? - I'll even descend on yonder city, and try my tackle on Shagpat, - inquiring for him, and if he is there, I shall know I have had to do with - a potent spirit. Allah protect me!' - </p> - <p> - So, having shut together the clasps of resolve, he arose and made for the - gates of the city, and entered it by the principal entrance. It was a fair - city, the fairest and chief of that country; prosperous, powerful; a mart - for numerous commodities, handicrafts, wares; round it a wild country and - a waste of sand, ruled by the lion in his wrath, and in it the tiger, the - camelopard, the antelope, and other animals. Hither, in caravans, came the - people of Oolb and the people of Damascus, and the people of Vatz, and - they of Bagdad, and the Ringheez, great traders, and others, trading; and - there was constant flow of intercourse between them and the city of - Shagpat. Now as Shibli Bagarag paced up one of the streets of the city, he - beheld a multitude in procession following one that was crowned after the - manner of kings, with a glittering crown, clad in the yellow girdled - robes, and he sporting a fine profusion of hair, unequalled by all around - him, save by one that was a little behind, shadowed by his presence. So - Shibli Bagarag thought, 'Is one of this twain Shagpat? for never - till now have I seen such rare growths, and 'twere indeed a bliss to - slip the blade between them and those masses of darkness that hang from - them.' Then he stepped before the King, and made himself prominent - in his path, humbling himself; and it was as he anticipated, the King - prevented his removal by the slaves that would have dragged him away, and - desired a hearing as to his business, and what brought him to the city, a - stranger. - </p> - <p> - Thereupon Shibli Bagarag prostrated himself and cried, 'O great - King, Sovereign of the Time! surely I am one to be looked on with the eye - of grace; and I am nephew to Baba Mustapha, renowned in Shiraz, a barber;—I - a barber, and it is my prayer, O King of the Age, that thou take me under - thy protection and the shield of thy fair will, while I perform good work - in this city by operating on the unshorn.' - </p> - <p> - When he had spoken, the King made a point of his eyebrows, and exclaimed, - 'Shiraz? So they hold out against Shagpat yet, aha? Shiraz! that - nest of them! that reptile's nest!' Then he turned to his - Vizier beside him, and said, 'What shall be done with this fellow?' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier replied, ''Twere well, O King, he be summoned to - a sense of the loathsomeness of his craft by the agency of fifty stripes.' - </p> - <p> - The King said, ''Tis commanded!' - </p> - <p> - Then he passed forward in his majesty, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the - power of five slaves upon him, and he was hurried at a quick pace through - the streets and before the eyes of the people, even to the common - receptacle of felons, and there received from each slave severally ten - thwacks with a thong: 'tis certain that at every thwack the thong - took an airing before it descended upon him. Then loosed they him, to - wander whither he listed; and disgust was strong in him by reason of the - disgrace and the severity of the administration of the blows. He strayed - along the streets in wretchedness, and hunger increased on him, assailing - him first as a wolf in his vitals, then as it had been a chasm yawning - betwixt his trunk and his lower members. And he thought, 'I have - been long in chase of great things, and the hope of attaining them is - great; yet, wullahy! would I barter all for one refreshing meal, and the - sense of fulness. 'Tis so, and sad is it!' And he was mindful - of the poet's words,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Who seeks the shadow to the substance sinneth, - And daily craving what is not, he thinneth: - His lean ambition how shall he attain? - For with this constant foolishness he doeth, - He, waxing liker to what he pursueth, - Himself becometh what he chased in vain! -</pre> - <p> - And again: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Of honour half my fellows boast,— - A thing that scorns and kills us: - Methinks that honours us the most - Which nourishes and fills us. -</pre> - <p> - So he thought he would of a surety fling far away his tackle, discard - barbercraft, and be as other men, a mortal, forgotten with his generation. - And he cried aloud, 'O thou old woman! thou deceiver! what halt thou - obtained for me by thy deceits? and why put I faith in thee to the - purchase of a thwacking? Woe's me! I would thou hadst been but a - dream, thou crone! thou guileful parcel of belabouring bones!' - </p> - <p> - Now, while he lounged and strolled, and was abusing the old woman, he - looked before him, and lo, one lolling in his shop-front, and people - standing outside the shop, marking him with admiration and reverence, and - pointing him out to each other with approving gestures. He who lolled - there was indeed a miracle of hairiness, black with hair as he had been - muzzled with it, and his head as it were a berry in a bush by reason of - it. Then thought Shibli Bagarag, ''Tis Shagpat! If the mole - could swear to him, surely can I.' So he regarded the clothier, and - there was naught seen on earth like the gravity of Shagpat as he lolled - before those people, that failed not to assemble in groups and gaze at - him. He was as a sleepy lion cased in his mane; as an owl drowsy in the - daylight. Now would he close an eye, or move two fingers, but of other - motion made he none, yet the people gazed at him with eagerness. Shibli - Bagarag was astonished at them, thinking, 'Hair! hair! There is - might in hair; but there is greater might in the barber! Nevertheless here - the barber is scorned, the grower of crops held in amazing reverence.' - Then thought he, ''Tis truly wondrous the crop he groweth; not - even King Shamshureen, after a thousand years, sported such mighty - profusion! Him I sheared: it was a high task!—why not this Shagpat?' - </p> - <p> - Now, long gazing on Shagpat awoke in Shibli Bagarag fierce desire to shear - him, and it was scarce in his power to restrain himself from flying at the - clothier, he saying, 'What obstacle now? what protecteth him? Nay, - why not trust to the old woman? Said she not I should first essay on - Shagpat? and 'twas my folly in appealing to the King that brought on - me that thwacking. 'Tis well! I'll trust to her words. - Wullahy! will it not lead me to great things?' - </p> - <p> - So it was, that as he thought this he continued to keep eye on Shagpat, - and the hunger that was in him passed, and became a ravenous vulture that - flew from him and singled forth Shagpat as prey; and there was no help for - it but in he must go and state his case to Shagpat, and essay shearing - him. - </p> - <p> - Now, when he was in the presence, he exclaimed, 'Peace, O vendor of - apparel, unto thee and unto thine!' - </p> - <p> - Shagpat answered, 'That with thee!' - </p> - <p> - Said Shibli Bagarag, 'I have heard of thee, O thou wonder! Wullahy! - I am here to render homage to that I behold.' - </p> - <p> - Shagpat answered, ''Tis well!' - </p> - <p> - Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'Praise my discretion! I have even this - day entered the city, and it is to thee I offer the first shave, O tangle - of glory!' - </p> - <p> - At these words Shagpat darkened, saying gruffly, 'Thy jest is - offensive, and it is unseasonable for staleness and lack of holiness.' - </p> - <p> - But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'No jest, O purveyor to the outward of us! - but a very excellent earnest.' - </p> - <p> - Thereat the face of Shagpat was as an exceeding red berry in a bush, and - he said angrily, 'Have done! no more of it! or haply my spleen will - be awakened, and that of them who see with more eyes than two.' - </p> - <p> - Nevertheless Shibli Bagarag urged him, and he winked, and gesticulated, - and pointed to his head, crying, 'Fall not, O man of the nicety of - measure, into the trap of error; for 'tis I that am a barber, and a - rarity in this city, even Shibli Bagarag of Shiraz! Know me nephew of the - renowned Baba Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia. Languishest - thou not for my art? Lo! with three sweeps I'll give thee a clean - poll, all save the Identical! and I can discern and save it; fear me not, - nor distrust my skill and the cunning that is mine.' - </p> - <p> - When he had heard Shibli Bagarag to a close, the countenance of Shagpat - waxed fiery, as it had been flame kindled by travellers at night in a - thorny bramble-bush, and he ruffled, and heaved, and was as when dense - jungle-growths are stirred violently by the near approach of a wild animal - in his fury, shouting in short breaths, 'A barber! a barber! Is't - so? can it be? To me? A barber! O thou, thou reptile! filthy thing! A - barber! O dog! A barber? What? when I bid fair for the highest honours - known? O sacrilegious wretch! monster! How? are the Afrites jealous, that - they send thee to jibe me?' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he set up a cry for his wife, and that woman rushed to him from - an inner room, and fell upon Shibli Bagarag, belabouring him. - </p> - <p> - So, when she was weary of this, she said, 'O light of my eyes! O - golden crop and adorable man! what hath he done to thee?' - </p> - <p> - Shagpat answered, ''Tis a barber! and he hath sworn to shave - me, and leave me not save shorn!' - </p> - <p> - Hardly had Shagpat spoken this, when she became limp with the hearing of - it. Then Shibli Bagarag slunk from the shop; but without the crowd had - increased, seeing an altercation, and as he took to his heels they - followed him, and there was uproar in the streets of the city and in the - air above them, as of raging Genii, he like a started quarry doubling this - way and that, and at the corners of streets and open places, speeding on - till there was no breath in his body, the cry still after him that he had - bearded Shagpat. At last they came up with him, and belaboured him each - and all; it was a storm of thwacks that fell on the back of Shibli - Bagarag. When they had wearied themselves in this fashion, they took him - as had he been a stray bundle or a damaged bale, and hurled him from the - gates of the city into the wilderness once more. - </p> - <p> - Now, when he was alone, he staggered awhile and then flung himself to the - earth, looking neither to the right nor to the left, nor above. All he - could think was, 'O accursed old woman!' and this he kept - repeating to himself for solace; as the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Tis sure the special privilege of hate, - To curse the authors of our evil state. -</pre> - <p> - As he was thus complaining, behold the very old woman before him! And she - wheezed, and croaked, and coughed, and shook herself, and screwed her face - into a pleasing pucker, and assumed womanish airs, and swayed herself, - like as do the full moons of the harem when the eye of the master is upon - them. Having made an end of these prettinesses, she said, in a tone of - soft insinuation, 'O youth, nephew of the barber, look upon me.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag knew her voice, and he would not look, thinking, 'Oh, - what a dreadful old woman is this! just calling on her name in detestation - maketh her present to us.' So the old woman, seeing him resolute to - shun her, leaned to him, and put one hand to her dress, and squatted - beside him, and said, 'O youth, thou hast been thwacked!' - </p> - <p> - He groaned, lifting not his face, nor saying aught. Then said she, 'Art - thou truly in search of great things, O youth?' - </p> - <p> - Still he groaned, answering no syllable. And she continued, ''Tis - surely in sweet friendliness I ask. Art thou not a fair youth, one to - entice a damsel to perfect friendliness?' - </p> - <p> - Louder yet did he groan at her words, thinking, 'A damsel, verily!' - So the old woman said, 'I wot thou art angry with me; but now look - up, O nephew of the barber! no time for vexation. What says the poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Cares the warrior for his wounds - When the steed in battle bounds?” - </pre> - <p> - Moreover: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Let him who grasps the crown strip not for shame, - Lest he expose what gain'd it blow and maim!” - </pre> - <p> - So be it with thee and thy thwacking, O foolish youth! Hide it from - thyself, thou silly one! What! thou hast been thwacked, and refusest the - fruit of it—which is resoluteness, strength of mind, sternness in - pursuit of the object!' - </p> - <p> - Then she softened her tone to persuasiveness, saying, ''Twas - written I should be the head of thy fortune, O Shibli Bagarag! and thou'lt - be enviable among men by my aid, so look upon me, and (for I know thee - famished) thou shah presently be supplied with viands and bright wines and - sweetmeats, delicacies to cheer thee.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the promise of food and provision was powerful with Shibli Bagarag, - and he looked up gloomily. And the old woman smiled archly at him, and - wriggled in her seat like a dusty worm, and said, 'Dost thou find me - charming, thou fair youth?' - </p> - <p> - He was nigh laughing in her face, but restrained himself to reply, 'Thou - art that thou art!' - </p> - <p> - Said she, 'Not so, but that I shall be.' Then she said, - 'O youth, pay me now a compliment!' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag was at a loss what further to say to the old woman, for his - heart cursed her for her persecutions, and ridiculed her for her vanities. - At last he bethought himself of the saying of the poet, truly the - offspring of fine wit, where he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Expect no flatteries from me, - While I am empty of good things; - I'll call thee fair, and I'll agree - Thou boldest Love in silken strings, - When thou bast primed me from thy plenteous store! - But, oh! till then a clod am I: - No seed within to throw up flowers: - All's drouthy to the fountain dry: - To empty stomachs Nature lowers: - The lake was full where heaven look'd fair of yore! -</pre> - <p> - So, when he had spoken that, the old woman laughed and exclaimed, 'Thou - art apt! it is well said! Surely I excuse thee till that time! Now listen! - 'Tis written we work together, and I know it by divination. Have I - not known thee wandering, and on thy way to this city of Shagpat, where - thou'lt some day sit throned? Now I propose to thee this—and - 'tis an excellent proposal—that I lead thee to great things, - and make thee glorious, a sitter in high seats, Master of an Event?' - </p> - <p> - Cried he, 'A proposal honourable to thee, and pleasant in the ear.' - </p> - <p> - She added, 'Provided thou marry me in sweet marriage.' - </p> - <p> - Thereat he stared on vacancy with a serious eye, and he could scarce - credit her earnestness, but she repeated the same. So presently he - thought, 'This old hag appeareth deep in the fountain of events, and - she will be a right arm to me in the mastering of one, a torch in - darkness, seeing there is wisdom in her as well as wickedness. The - thwackings?—sad was their taste, but they're in the road - leading to greatness, and I cannot say she put me out of that road in - putting me where they were. Her age?—shall I complain of that when - it is a sign she goeth shortly altogether?' - </p> - <p> - As he was thus debating he regarded the old woman stealthily, and she was - in agitation, so that her joints creaked like forest branches in a wind, - and the puckers of her visage moved as do billows of the sea to and fro, - and the anticipations of a fair young bride are not more eager than what - was visible in the old woman. Wheedlingly she looked at him, and shaped - her mouth like a bird's bill to soften it; and she drew together her - dress, to give herself the look of slimness, using all fascinations. He - thought, ''Tis a wondrous old woman! Marriage would seem a - thing of moment to her, yet is the profit with me, and I'll agree to - it.' So he said, ''Tis a pact between us, O old woman!' - </p> - <p> - Now, the eyes of the old woman brightened when she heard him, and were as - the eyes of a falcon that eyeth game, hungry with red fire, and she looked - brisk with impatience, laughing a low laugh and saying, 'O youth, I - must claim of thee, as is usual in such cases, the kiss of contract.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag was mindful of what is written, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - If thou wouldst take the great leap, be ready for the little jump, -</pre> - <p> - and he stretched out his mouth to the forehead of the old woman. When he - had done so, it was as though she had been illuminated, as when light is - put in the hollow of a pumpkin. Then said she, 'This is well! this - is a fair beginning! Now look, for thy fortune will of a surety follow. - Call me now sweet bride, and knocker at the threshold of hearts!' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag sighed, and called her this, and he said, 'Forget - not my condition, O old woman, and that I am nigh famished.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that she nodded gravely, and arose and shook her garments together, - and beckoned for Shibli Bagarag to follow her; and the two passed through - the gates of the city, and held on together through divers streets and - thoroughfares till they came before the doors of a palace with a pillared - entrance; and the old woman passed through the doors of the palace as one - familiar to them, and lo! they were in a lofty court, built all of marble, - and in the middle of it a fountain playing, splashing silvery. Shibli - Bagarag would have halted here to breathe the cool refreshingness of the - air, but the old woman would not; and she hurried on even to the opening - of a spacious Hall, and in it slaves in circle round a raised seat, where - sat one that was their lord, and it was the Chief Vizier of the King. - </p> - <p> - Then the old woman turned round sharply to Shibli Bagarag, and said, - 'How of thy tackle, O my betrothed?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'The edge is keen, the hand ready.' - </p> - <p> - Then said she, ''Tis well.' - </p> - <p> - So the old woman put her two hands on the shoulders of Shibli Bagarag, - saying, 'Make thy reverence to him on the raised seat; have faith in - thy tackle and in me. Renounce not either, whatsoever ensueth. Be not - abashed, O my bridegroom to be!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon she thrust him in; and Shibli Bagarag was abashed, and played - foolishly with his fingers, knowing not what to do. So when the Chief - Vizier saw him he cried out, 'Who art thou, and what wantest thou?' - </p> - <p> - Now, the back of Shibli Bagarag tingled when he heard the Vizier's - voice, and he said, 'I am, O man of exalted condition, he whom men - know as Shibli Bagarag, nephew to Baba Mustapha, the renowned of Shiraz; - myself barber likewise, proud of my art, prepared to exercise it.' - </p> - <p> - Then said the Chief Vizier, 'This even to our faces! Wonderful is - the audacity of impudence! Know, O nephew of the barber, thou art among - them that honour not thy art. Is it not written, For one thing thou shaft - be crowned here, for that thing be thwacked there? So also it is written, - The tongue of the insolent one is a lash and a perpetual castigation to - him. And it is written, O Shibli Bagarag, that I reap honour from thee, - and there is no help but that thou be made an example of.' - </p> - <p> - So the Chief Vizier uttered command, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the - power of five slaves upon him; and they seized him familiarly, and placed - him in position, and made ready his clothing for the reception of fifty - other thwacks with a thong, each several thwack coming down on him with a - hiss, as it were a serpent, and with a smack, as it were the mouth of - satisfaction; and the people assembled extolled the Chief Vizier, saying, - 'Well and valiantly done, O stay of the State! and such-like to the - accursed race of barbers.' - </p> - <p> - Now, when they had passed before the Chief Vizier and departed, lo! he - fell to laughing violently, so that his hair was agitated and was as a - sand-cloud over him, and his countenance behind it was as the sun of the - desert reflected ripplingly on the waters of a bubbling spring, for it had - the aspect of merriness; and the Chief Vizier exclaimed, 'O Shibli - Bagarag, have I not made fair show?' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag said, 'Excellent fair show, O mighty one!' - Yet knew he not in what, but he was abject by reason of the thwacks. - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier said, 'Thou lookest lean, even as one to whom Fortune - oweth a long debt. Tell me now of thy barbercraft: perchance thy gain will - be great thereby?' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag answered, 'My gain has been great, O eminent in - rank, but of evil quality, and I am content not to increase it.' And - he broke forth into lamentations, crying in excellent verse:— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Why am I thus the sport of all— - A thing Fate knocketh like a ball - From point to point of evil chance, - Even as the sneer of Circumstance? - While thirsting for the highest fame, - I hunger like the lowest beast: - To be the first of men I aim - And find myself the least. -</pre> - <p> - Now, the Vizier delayed not when he heard this to have a fair supply set - before Shibli Bagarag, and meats dressed in divers fashions, spiced, and - coloured, and with herbs, and wines in golden goblets, and slaves in - attendance. So Shibli Bagarag ate and drank, and presently his soul arose - from its prostration, and he cried, 'Wullahy! the head cook of King - Shamshureen could have worked no better as regards the restorative - process.' - </p> - <p> - Then said the Chief Vizier, 'O Shibli Bagarag, where now is thy - tackle?' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag winked and nodded and turned his head in the manner of - the knowing ones, and he recited the verse: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Tis well that we are sometimes circumspect, - And hold ourselves in witless ways deterred: - One thwacking made me seriously reflect; - A SECOND turned the cream of love to curd: - Most surely that profession I reject - Before the fear of a prospective THIRD. -</pre> - <p> - So the Vizier said, ''Tis well, thou turnest verse neatly' - And he exclaimed extemporaneously: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - If thou wouldst have thy achievement as high - - As the wings of Ambition can fly: - If thou the clear summit of hope wouldst attain, - And not have thy labour in vain; - Be steadfast in that which impell'd, for the peace - Of earth he who leaves must have trust: - He is safe while he soars, but when faith shall cease, - Desponding he drops to the dust. -</pre> - <p> - Then said he, 'Fear no further thwacking, but honour and prosperity - in the place of it. What says the poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “We faint, when for the fire - There needs one spark; - We droop, when our desire - Is near its mark.” - </pre> - <p> - How near to it art thou, O Shibli Bagarag! Know, then, that among this - people there is great reverence for the growing of hair, and he that is - hairiest is honoured most, wherefore are barbers creatures of especial - abhorrence, and of a surety flourish not. And so it is that I owe my - station to the esteem I profess for the cultivation of hair, and to my - persecution of the clippers of it. And in this kingdom is no one that - beareth such a crop as I, saving one, a clothier, an accursed one!—and - may a blight fall upon him for his vanity and his affectation of solemn - priestliness, and his lolling in his shop-front to be admired and - marvelled at by the people. So this fellow I would disgrace and bring to - scorn,—this Shagpat! for he is mine enemy, and the eye of the King - my master is on him. Now I conceive thy assistance in this matter, Shibli - Bagarag,—thou, a barber.' - </p> - <p> - When Shibli Bagarag heard mention of Shagpat, and the desire for vengeance - in the Vizier, he was as a new man, and he smelt the sweetness of his own - revenge as a vulture smelleth the carrion from afar, and he said, 'I - am thy servant, thy slave, O Vizier!' Then smiled he as to his own - soul, and he exclaimed, 'On my head be it!' - </p> - <p> - And it was to him as when sudden gusts of perfume from garden roses of the - valley meet the traveller's nostril on the hill that overlooketh the - valley, filling him with ecstasy and newness of life, delicate visions. - And he cried, 'Wullahy! this is fair; this is well! I am he that was - appointed to do thy work, O man in office! What says the poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The destined hand doth strike the fated blow: - Surely the arrow's fitted to the bow!” - </pre> - <p> - And he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The feathered seed for the wind delayeth, - The wind above the garden swayeth, - The garden of its burden knoweth, - The burden falleth, sinketh, soweth.”' -</pre> - <p> - So the Vizier chuckled and nodded, saying, 'Right, right! aptly - spoken, O youth of favour! 'Tis even so, and there is wisdom in what - is written: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Chance is a poor knave; - Its own sad slave; - Two meet that were to meet: - Life 's no cheat.”' -</pre> - <p> - Upon that he cried, 'First let us have with us the Eclipser of - Reason, and take counsel with her, as is my custom.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Vizier made signal to a slave in attendance, and the slave - departed from the Hall, and the Vizier led Shibli Bagarag into a closer - chamber, which had a smooth floor of inlaid silver and silken hangings, - the windows looking forth on the gardens of the palace and its fountains - and cool recesses of shade and temperate sweetness. While they sat there - conversing in this metre and that, measuring quotations, lo! the old - woman, the affianced of Shibli Bagarag—and she sumptuously arrayed, - in perfect queenliness, her head bound in a circlet of gems and gold, her - figure lustrous with a full robe of flowing crimson silk; and she wore - slippers embroidered with golden traceries, and round her waist a girdle - flashing with jewels, so that to look on she was as a long falling water - in the last bright slant of the sun. Her hair hung disarranged, and spread - in a scattered fashion off her shoulders; and she was younger by many - moons, her brow smooth where Shibli Bagarag had given the kiss of - contract, her hand soft and white where he had taken it. Shibli Bagarag - was smitten with astonishment at sight of her, and he thought, 'Surely - the aspect of this old woman would realise the story of Bhanavar the - Beautiful; and it is a story marvellous to think of; yet how great is the - likeness between Bhanavar and this old woman that groweth younger!' - </p> - <p> - And he thought again, 'What if the story of Bhanavar be a true one; - this old woman such as she—no other?' - </p> - <p> - So, while he considered her, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Is she not fair—my - daughter?' - </p> - <p> - And the youth answered, 'She is, O Vizier, that she is!' - </p> - <p> - But the Vizier cried, 'Nay, by Allah! she is that she will be.' - And the Vizier said, ''Tis she that is my daughter; tell me - thy thought of her, as thou thinkest it.' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag replied, 'O Vizier, my thought of her is, she - seemeth indeed as Bhanavar the Beautiful—no other.' - </p> - <p> - Then the Vizier and the Eclipser of Reason exclaimed together, 'How - of Bhanavar and her story, O youth? We listen!' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag leaned slightly on a cushion of a couch, and narrated as - followeth. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - AND THIS IS THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - </h2> - <p> - Know that at the foot of a lofty mountain of the Caucasus there lieth a - deep blue lake; near to this lake a nest of serpents, wise and ancient. - Now, it was the habit of a damsel to pass by the lake early at morn, on - her way from the tents of her tribe to the pastures of the flocks. As she - pressed the white arch of her feet on the soft green-mossed grasses by the - shore of the lake she would let loose her hair, looking over into the - water, and bind the braid again round her temples and behind her ears, as - it had been in a lucent mirror: so doing she would laugh. Her laughter was - like the falls of water at moonrise; her loveliness like the very - moonrise; and she was stately as a palm-tree standing before the moon. - </p> - <p> - This was Bhanavar the Beautiful. - </p> - <p> - Now, the damsel was betrothed to the son of a neighbouring Emir, a youth - comely, well-fashioned, skilled with the bow, apt in all exercises; one - that sat his mare firm as the trained falcon that fixeth on the plunging - bull of the plains; fair and terrible in combat as the lightning that - strideth the rolling storm; and it is sung by the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When on his desert mare I see - My prince of men, - I think him then - As high above humanity - As he shines radiant over me. - - Lo! like a torrent he doth bound, - Breasting the shock - From rock to rock: - A pillar of storm, he shakes the ground, - - His turban on his temples wound. - - Match me for worth to be adored - A youth like him - In heart and limb! - Swift as his anger is his sword; - Softer than woman his true word. -</pre> - <p> - Now, the love of this youth for the damsel Bhanavar was a consuming - passion, and the father of the damsel and the father of the youth looked - fairly on the prospect of their union, which was near, and was plighted as - the union of the two tribes. So they met, and there was no voice against - their meeting, and all the love that was in them they were free to pour - forth far from the hearing of men, even where they would. Before the - rising of the sun, and ere his setting, the youth rode swiftly from the - green tents of the Emir his father, to waylay her by the waters of the - lake; and Bhanavar was there, bending over the lake, her image in the lake - glowing like the fair fulness of the moon; and the youth leaned to her - from his steed, and sang to her verses of her great loveliness ere she was - wistful of him. Then she turned to him, and laughed lightly a welcome of - sweetness, and shook the falls of her hair across the blushes of her face - and her bosom; and he folded her to him, and those two would fondle - together in the fashion of the betrothed ones (the blessing of Allah be on - them all!), gazing on each other till their eyes swam with tears, and they - were nigh swooning with the fulness of their bliss. Surely 'twas an - innocent and tender dalliance, and their prattle was that of lovers till - the time of parting, he showing her how she looked best—she him; and - they were forgetful of all else that is, in their sweet interchange of - flatteries; and the world was a wilderness to them both when the youth - parted with Bhanavar by the brook which bounded the tents of her tribe. - </p> - <p> - It was on a night when they were so together, the damsel leaning on his - arm, her eyes toward the lake, and lo! what seemed the reflection of a - large star in the water; and there was darkness in the sky above it, thick - clouds, and no sight of the heavens; so she held her face to him sideways - and said, 'What meaneth this, O my betrothed? for there is reflected - in yonder lake a light as of a star, and there is no star visible this - night.' - </p> - <p> - The youth trembled as one in trouble of spirit, and exclaimed, 'Look - not on it, O my soul! It is of evil omen.' - </p> - <p> - But Bhanavar kept her gaze constantly on the light, and the light - increased in lustre; and the light became, from a pale sad splendour, - dazzling in its brilliancy. Listening, they heard presently a gurgling - noise as of one deeply drinking. Then the youth sighed a heavy sigh and - said, 'This is the Serpent of the Lake drinking of its waters, as is - her wont once every moon, and whoso heareth her drink by the sheening of - that light is under a destiny dark and imminent; so know I my days are - numbered, and it was foretold of me, this!' Now the youth sought to - dissuade Bhanavar from gazing on the light, and he flung his whole body - before her eyes, and clasped her head upon his breast, and clung about - her, caressing her; yet she slipped from him, and she cried, 'Tell - me of this serpent, and of this light.' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'Seek not to hear of it, O my betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - Then she gazed at the light a moment more intently, and turned her fair - shape toward him, and put up her long white fingers to his chin, and - smoothed him with their softness, whispering, 'Tell me of it, my - life!' - </p> - <p> - And so it was that her winningness melted him, and he said, 'Bhanavar! - the serpent is the Serpent of the Lake; old, wise, powerful; of the brood - of the sacred mountain, that lifteth by day a peak of gold, and by night a - point of solitary silver. In her head, upon her forehead, between her - eyes, there is a Jewel, and it is this light.' - </p> - <p> - Then she said, 'How came the Jewel there, in such a place?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, ''Tis the growth of one thousand years in the - head of the serpent.' - </p> - <p> - She cried, 'Surely precious?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Beyond price!' - </p> - <p> - As he spake the tears streamed from him, and he was shaken with grief, but - she noted nought of this, and watched the wonder of the light, and its - increasing, and quivering, and lengthening; and the light was as an arrow - of beams and as a globe of radiance. Desire for the Jewel waxed in her, - and she had no sight but for it alone, crying, ''Tis a Jewel - exceeding in preciousness all jewels that are, and for the possessing it - would I forfeit all that is.' - </p> - <p> - So he said sorrowfully, 'Our love, O Bhanavar? and our hopes of - espousal?' - </p> - <p> - But she cried, 'No question of that! Prove now thy passion for me, O - warrior! and win for me that Jewel.' - </p> - <p> - Then he pleaded with her, and exclaimed, 'Urge not this! The winning - of the Jewel is worth my life; and my life, O Bhanavar—surely its - breath is but the love of thee.' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'Thou fearest a risk?' - </p> - <p> - And he replied, 'Little fear I; my life is thine to cast away. This - Jewel it is evil to have, and evil followeth the soul that hath it.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that she cried, 'A trick to cheat me of the Jewel! thy love is - wanting at the proof.' - </p> - <p> - And she taunted the youth her betrothed, and turned from him, and hardened - at his tenderness, and made her sweet shape as a thorn to his caressing, - and his heart was charged with anguish for her. So at the last, when he - had wept a space in silence, he cried, 'Thou hast willed it; the - Jewel shall be thine, O my soul!' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'Thou hast willed it, O Bhanavar! and my life is as a - grain of sand weighed against thy wishes; Allah is my witness! Meet me - therefore here, O my beloved, at the end of one quarter-moon, even beneath - the shadow of this palm-tree, by the lake, and at this hour, and I will - deliver into thy hands the Jewel. So farewell! Wind me once about with - thine arms, that I may take comfort from thee.' - </p> - <p> - When their kiss was over the youth led her silently to the brook of their - parting—the clear, cold, bubbling brook—and passed from her - sight; and the damsel was exulting, and leapt and made circles in her - glee, and she danced and rioted and sang, and clapped her hands, crying, - 'If I am now Bhanavar the Beautiful how shall I be when that Jewel - is upon me, the bright light which beameth in the darkness, and needeth to - light it no other light? Surely there will be envy among the maidens and - the widows, and my name and the odour of my beauty will travel to the - courts of far kings.' - </p> - <p> - So was she jubilant; and her sisters that met her marvelled at her and the - deep glow that was upon her, even as the glow of the Great Desert when the - sun has fallen; and they said among themselves, 'She is covered all - over with the blush of one that is a bride, and the bridegroom's - kiss yet burneth upon Bhanavar!' - </p> - <p> - So they undressed her and she lay among them, and was all night even as a - bursting rose in a vase filled with drooping lilies; and one of the - maidens that put her hand on the left breast of Bhanavar felt it full, and - the heart beneath it panting and beating swifter than the ground is struck - by hooves of the chosen steed sent by the Chieftain to the city of his - people with news of victory and the summons for rejoicing. - </p> - <p> - Now, the nights and the days of Bhanavar were even as this night, and she - was as an unquiet soul till the appointed time for the meeting with her - lover had come. Then when the sun was lighting with slant beam the green - grass slope by the blue brook before her, Bhanavar arrayed herself and - went forth gaily, as a martial queen to certain conquest; and of all the - flowers that nodded to the setting,—yea, the crimson, purple, pure - white, streaked-yellow, azure, and saffron, there was no flower fairer in - its hues than Bhanavar, nor bird of the heavens freer in its glittering - plumage, nor shape of loveliness such as hers. Truly, when she had taken - her place under the palm by the waters of the lake, that was no - exaggeration of the poet, where he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Snows of the mountain-peaks were mirror'd there - Beneath her feet, not whiter than they were; - Not rosier in the white, that falling flush - Broad on the wave, than in her cheek the blush. -</pre> - <p> - And again: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - She draws the heavens down to her, - So rare she is, so fair she is; - They flutter with a crown to her, - And lighten only where she is. -</pre> - <p> - And he exclaims, in verse that applieth to her: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Exquisite slenderness! - Sleek little antelope! - Serpent of sweetness! - Eagle that soaringly - Wins me adoringly! - Teach me thy fleetness, - Vision of loveliness; - Turn to my tenderness! -</pre> - <p> - Now, when the sun was lost to earth, and all was darkness, Bhanavar fixed - her eyes upon an opening arch of foliage in the glade through which the - youth her lover should come to her, and clasped both hands across her - bosom, so shaken was she with eager longing and expectation. In her hunger - for his approach, she would at whiles pluck up the herbage about her by - the roots, and toss handfuls this way and that, chiding the peaceful song - of the nightbird in the leaves above her head; and she was sinking with - fretfulness, when lo! from the opening arch of the glade a sudden light, - and Bhanavar knew it for the Jewel in the fingers of her betrothed, by the - strength of its effulgence. Then she called to him joyfully a cry of - welcome, and quickened his coming with her calls, and the youth alighted - from his mare and left it to pasture, and advanced to her, holding aloft - the Jewel. And the Jewel was of great size and purity, round, and - all-luminous, throwing rays and beams everywhere about it, a miracle to - behold,—the light in it shining, and as the very life of the blood, - a sweet crimson, a ruby, a softer rose, an amethyst of tender hues: it was - a full globe of splendours, showing like a very kingdom of the Blest; and - blessed was the eye beholding it! So when he was within reach of her arm, - the damsel sprang to him and caught from his hand the Jewel, and held it - before her eyes, and danced with it, and pressed it on her bosom, and was - as a creature giddy with great joy in possessing it. And she put the Jewel - in her bosom, and looked on the youth to thank him for the Jewel with all - her beauty; for the passion of a mighty pride in him who had won for her - the Jewel exalted Bhanavar, and she said sweetly, 'Now hast thou - proved to me thy love of me, and I am thine, O my betrothed,—wholly - thine. Kiss me, then, and cease not kissing me, for bliss is in me.' - </p> - <p> - But the youth eyed her sorrowfully, even as one that hath great yearning, - and no power to move or speak. - </p> - <p> - So she said again, in the low melody of deep love-tones, 'Kiss me, O - my lover! for I desire thy kiss.' - </p> - <p> - Still he spake not, and was as a pillar of stone. - </p> - <p> - And she started, and cried, 'Thou art whole? without a hurt?' - Then sought she to coax him to her with all the softness of her - half-closed eyes and budded lips, saying, ''Twas an idle fear! - and I have thee, and thou art mine, and I am thine; so speak to me, my - lover! for there is no music like the music of thy voice, and the absence - of it is the absence of all sweetness, and there is no pleasure in life - without it.' - </p> - <p> - So the tenderness of her fondling melted the silence in him, and presently - his tongue was loosed, and he breathed in pain of spirit, and his words - were the words of the proverb: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - He that fighteth with poison is no match for the prick of a thorn. -</pre> - <p> - And he said, 'Surely, O Bhanavar, my love for thee surpasseth what - is told of others that have loved before us, and I count no loss a loss - that is for thy sake.' And he sighed, and sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Sadder than is the moon's lost light, - Lost ere the kindling of dawn, - To travellers journeying on, - - The shutting of thy fair face from my sight. - Might I look on thee in death, - With bliss I would yield my breath. - - Oh! what warrior dies - With heaven in his eyes? - O Bhanavar! too rich a prize! - The life of my nostrils art thou, - The balm-dew on my brow; - - Thou art the perfume I meet as I speed o'er the plains, - The strength of my arms, the blood of my veins. -</pre> - <p> - Then said he, 'I make nothing matter of complaint, Allah witnesseth! - not even the long parting from her I love. What will be, will be: so was - it written! 'Tis but a scratch, O my soul! yet am I of the dead and - them that are passed away. 'Tis hard; but I smile in the face of - bitterness.' - </p> - <p> - Now, at his words the damsel clutched him with both her hands, and the - blood went from her, and she was as a block of white marble, even as one - of those we meet in the desert, leaning together, marking the wrath of the - All-powerful on forgotten cities. And the tongue of the damsel was dry, - and she was without speech, gazing at him with wide-open eyes, like one in - trance. Then she started as a dreamer wakeneth, and flung herself quickly - on the breast of the youth, and put up the sleeve from his arm, and beheld - by the beams of the quarter-crescent that had risen through the leaves, a - small bite on the arm of the youth her betrothed, spotted with seven spots - of blood in a crescent; so she knew that the poison of the serpent had - entered by that bite; and she loosened herself to the violence of her - anguish, shrieking the shrieks of despair, so that the voice of her - lamentation was multiplied about and made many voices in the night. Her - spirit returned not to her till the crescent of the moon was yellow to its - fall; and lo! the youth was sighing heavy sighs and leaning to the ground - on one elbow, and she flung herself by him on the ground, seeking for - herbs that were antidotes to the poison of the serpent, grovelling among - the grasses and strewn leaves of the wood, peering at them tearfully by - the pale beams, and startling the insects as she moved. When she had - gathered some, she pressed them and bruised them, and laid them along his - lips, that were white as the ball of an eye; and she made him drink drops - of the juices of the herbs, wailing and swaying her body across him, as - one that seeketh vainly to give brightness again to the flames of a dying - fire. But now his time was drawing nigh, and he was weak, and took her - hand in his and gazed on her face, sighing, and said, 'There is - nothing shall keep me by thee now, O my betrothed, my beautiful! Weep not, - for it is the doing of fate, and not thy doing. So ere I go, and the - grave-cloth separates thy heart from my heart, listen to me. Lo, that - Jewel! it is the giver of years and of powers, and of loveliness beyond - mortal, yet the wearing of it availeth not in the pursuit of happiness. - Now art thou Queen over the serpents of this lake: it was the - Queen-serpent I slew, and her vengeance is on me here. Now art thou - mighty, O Bhanavar! and look to do well by thy tribe, and that from which - I spring, recompensing my father for his loss, pouring ointment on his - affliction, for great is the grief of the old man, and he loveth me, and - is childless.' - </p> - <p> - Then the youth fell back and was still; and Bhanavar put her ear to his - mouth, and heard what seemed an inner voice murmuring in him, and it was - of his infancy and his boyhood, and of his father the Emir's first - gift to him, his horse Zoora, in old times. Presently the youth revived - somewhat, and looked upon her; but his sight was glazed with a film, and - she sang her name to him ere he knew her, and the sad sweetness of her - name filled his soul, and he replied to her with it weakly, like a far - echo that groweth fainter, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' - Then a change came over him, and the pain of the poison and the passion of - the death-throe, and he was wistful of her no more; but she lay by him, - embracing him, and in the last violence of his anguish he hugged her to - his breast. Then it was over, and he sank. And the twain were as a great - wave heaving upon the shore; lo, part is wasted where it falleth; part - draweth back into the waters. So was it! - </p> - <p> - Now the chill of dawn breathed blue on the lake and was astir among the - dewy leaves of the wood, when Bhanavar arose from the body of the youth, - and as she rose she saw that his mare Zoora, his father's first - gift, was snuffing at the ear of her dead master, and pawing him. At that - sight the tears poured from her eyelids, and she sobbed out to the mare, - 'O Zoora! never mare bore nobler burden on her back than thou in - Zurvan my betrothed. Zoora! thou weepest, for death is first known to thee - in the dearest thing that was thine; as to me, in the dearest that was - mine! And O Zoora, steed of Zurvan my betrothed, there's no - loveliness for us in life, for the loveliest is gone; and let us die, - Zoora, mare of Zurvan my betrothed, for what is dying to us, O Zoora, who - cherish beyond all that which death has taken?' - </p> - <p> - So spake she to Zoora the mare, kissing her, and running her fingers - through the long white mane of the mare. Then she stooped to the body of - her betrothed, and toiled with it to lift it across the crimson - saddle-cloth that was on the back of Zoora; and the mare knelt to her, - that she might lay on her back the body of Zurvan; when that was done, - Bhanavar paced beside Zoora the mare, weeping and caressing her, reminding - her of the deeds of Zurvan, and the battles she had borne him to, and his - greatness and his gentleness. And the mare went without leading. It was - broad light when they had passed the glade and the covert of the wood. - Before them, between great mountains, glimmered a space of rolling grass - fed to deep greenness by many brooks. The shadow of a mountain was over - it, and one slant of the rising sun, down a glade of the mountain, touched - the green tent of the Emir, where it stood a little apart from the others - of his tribe. Goats and asses of the tribe were pasturing in the quiet, - but save them nothing moved among the tents, and it was deep peacefulness. - Bhanavar led Zoora slowly before the tent of the Emir, and disburdened - Zoora of the helpless weight, and spread the long fair limbs of the youth - lengthwise across the threshold of the Emir's tent, sitting away - from it with clasped hands, regarding it. Ere long the Emir came forth, - and his foot was on the body of his son, and he knew death on the chin and - the eyes of Zurvan, his sole son. Now the Emir was old, and with the shock - of that sight the world darkened before him, and he gave forth a groan and - stumbled over the sunken breast of Zurvan, and stretched over him as one - without life. When Bhanavar saw that old man stretched over the body of - his son, she sickened, and her ear was filled with the wailings of grief - that would arise, and she stood up and stole away from the habitations of - the tribe, stricken with her guilt, and wandered beyond the mountains, - knowing not whither she went, looking on no living thing, for the sight of - a thing that moved was hateful to her, and all sounds were sounds of - lamentation for a great loss. - </p> - <p> - Now, she had wandered on alone two days and two nights, and nigh morn she - was seized with a swoon of weariness, and fell forward with her face to - the earth, and lay there prostrate, even as one that is adoring the - shrine; and it was on the sands of the desert she was lying. It chanced - that the Chieftain of a desert tribe passed at midday by the spot, and - seeing the figure of a damsel unshaded' by any shade of tree or herb - or tent-covering, and prostrate on the sands, he reined his steed and - leaned forward to her, and called to her. Then as she answered nothing he - dismounted, and thrust his arm softly beneath her and lifted her gently; - and her swoon had the whiteness of death, so that he thought her dead - verily, and the marvel of her great loveliness in death smote the heart on - his ribs as with a blow, and the powers of life went from him a moment as - he looked on her and the long dark wet lashes that clung to her colourless - face, as at night in groves where the betrothed ones wander, the slender - leaves of the acacia spread darkly over the full moon. And he cried, - ''Tis a loveliness that maketh the soul yearn to the cold - bosom of death, so lovely, exceeding all that liveth, is she!' - </p> - <p> - After he had contemplated her longwhile, he snatched his sight from her, - and swung her swiftly on the back of his mare, and leaned her on one arm, - and sped westward over the sands of the desert, halting not till he was in - the hum of many tents, and the sun of that day hung a red half-circle - across the sand. He alighted before the tent of his mother, and sent women - in to her. When his mother came forth to the greetings of her son, he said - no word, but pointed to the damsel where he had leaned her at the - threshold of her tent. His mother kissed him on the forehead, and turned - her shoulder to peer upon the damsel. But when she had close view of - Bhanavar, she spat, and scattered her hair, and stamped, and cried aloud, - 'Away with her! this slut of darkness! there's poison on her - very skirts, and evil in the look of her.' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'O Rukrooth, my mother! art thou lost to charity and - the uses of kindliness and the laws of hospitality, that thou talkest this - of the damsel, a stranger? Take her now in, and if she be past help, as I - fear; be it thy care to give her decent burial; and if she live, O my - mother, tend her for the love of thy son, and for the love of him be - gentle with her.' - </p> - <p> - While he spake, Rukrooth his mother knelt over the damsel, as a cat that - sniffeth the suspected dish; and she flashed her eyes back on him, - exclaiming scornfully, 'So art thou befooled, and the poison is - already in thee! But I will not have her, O my son! and thou, Ruark, my - son, neither shalt thou have her. What! will I not die to save thee from a - harm? Surely thy frown is little to me, my son, if I save thee from a - harm; and the damsel here is—I shudder to think what; but never lay - shadow across my threshold dark as this!' - </p> - <p> - Now, Ruark gazed upon his mother, and upon Bhanavar, and the face of - Bhanavar was as a babe in sleep, and his soul melted to the parted - sweetness of her soft little curved red lips and her closed eyelids, and - her innocent open hands, where she lay at the threshold of the tent, - unconscious of hardness and the sayings of the unjust. So he cried - fiercely, 'No paltering, O Rukrooth, my mother: and if not to thy - tent, then to mine!' - </p> - <p> - When she heard him say that in the voice of his anger, Rukrooth fixed her - eyes on him sorrowfully, and sighed, and went up to him and drew his head - once against her heart, and retreated into the tent, bidding the women - that were there bring in the body of the damsel. - </p> - <p> - It was the morning of another day when Bhanavar awoke; and she awoke in a - dream of Zoora, the mare of Zurvan her betrothed, that was dead, and the - name of Zoora was on her tongue as she started up. She was on a couch of - silk and leopard-skins; at her feet a fair young girl with a fan of - pheasant feathers. She stared at the hangings of the tent, which were - richer than those of her own tribe; the cloths, and the cushions, and the - embroideries; and the strangeness of all was pain to her, she knew not - why. Then wept she bitterly, and with her tears the memory of what had - been came back to her, and she opened her arms to take into them the - little girl that fanned her, that she might love something and be beloved - awhile; and the child sobbed with her. After a time Bhanavar said, 'Where - am I, and amongst whom, my child, my sister?' - </p> - <p> - And the child answered her, 'Surely in the tent of the mother of - Ruark, the chief, even chief of the Beni-Asser, and he found thee in the - desert, nigh dead. 'Tis so; and this morning will Ruark be gone to - meet the challenge of Ebn Asrac, and they will fight at the foot of the - Snow Mountains, and the shadow of yonder date-palm will be over our tent - here at the hour they fight, and I shall sing for Ruark, and kneel here in - the darkness of the shadow.' - </p> - <p> - While the child was speaking there entered to them a tall aged woman, with - one swathe of a turban across her long level brows; and she had hard black - eyes, and close lips and a square chin; and it was the mother of Ruark. - She strode forward toward Bhanavar to greet her, and folded her legs - before the damsel. Presently she said, 'Tell me thy story, and of - thy coming into the hands of Ruark my son.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar shuddered. So Rukrooth dismissed the little maiden from the - chamber of the tent, and laid her left hand on one arm of Bhanavar, and - said, 'I would know whence comest thou, that we may deal well by - thee and thy people that have lost thee.' - </p> - <p> - The touch of a hand was as the touch of a corpse to Bhanavar, and the - damsel was constrained to speak by a power she knew not of, and she told - all to Rukrooth of what had been, the great misery, and the wickedness - that was hers. Then Ruark's mother took hold of Bhanavar a strong - grasp, and eyed her long, piteously, and with reproach, and rocked forward - and back, and kept rocking to and fro, crying at intervals, 'O - Ruark! my son! my son! this feared I, and thou art not the first! and I - saw it, I saw it! Well-away! why came she in thy way, why, Ruark, my son, - my fire-eye? Canst thou be saved by me, fated that thou art, thou - fair-face? And wilt thou be saved by me, my son, ere thy story be told in - tears as this one, that is as thine to me? And thou wilt seize a jewel, - Ruark, O thou soul of wrath, my son, my dazzling Chief, and seize it to - wear it, and think it bliss, this lovely jewel; but 'tis an anguish - endless and for ever, my son! Woe's me! an anguish is she without - end.' - </p> - <p> - Rukrooth continued moaning, and the thought that was in the mother of - Ruark struck Bhanavar like a light in the land of despair that darkly - illumineth the dreaded gulfs and abysses of the land, and she knew herself - black in evil; and the scourge of her guilt was upon her, and she cursed - herself before Rukrooth, and fawned before her, abasing her body. So - Rukrooth was drawn to the damsel by the violence of her self-accusing and - her abandonment to grief, and lifted her, and comforted her, and after - awhile they had gentle speech together, and the two women opened their - hearts and wept. Then it was agreed between them that Bhanavar should - depart from the encampment of the tribe before the return of Ruark, and - seek shelter among her own people again, and aid them and the tribe of - Zurvan, her betrothed, by the might of the Jewel which was hers, - fulfilling the desire of Zurvan. The mind of the damsel was lowly, and her - soul yearned for the blessing of Rukrooth. - </p> - <p> - Darkness hung over the tent from the shadow of the date-palm when Bhanavar - departed, and the blessing of Rukrooth was on her head. She went forth - fairly mounted on a fresh steed; beside her two warriors of them that were - left to guard the encampment of the tribe of Ruark in his absence; and - Rukrooth watched at the threshold of her tent for the coming of Ruark. - </p> - <p> - When it was middle night, and the splendour of the moon was beaming on the - edge of the desert, Bhanavar alighted to rest by the twigs of a tamarisk - that stood singly on the sands. The two warriors tied the fetlocks of - their steeds, and spread shawls for her, and watched over her while she - slept. And the damsel dreamed, and the roaring of the lion was hoarse in - her dream, and it was to her as were she the red whirlwind of the desert - before whom all bowed in terror, the Arab, the wild horsemen, and the - caravans of pilgrimage; and none could stay her, neither could she stay - herself, for the curse of Allah was on men by reason of her guilt; and she - went swinging great folds of darkness across kingdoms and empires of earth - where joy was and peace of spirit; and in her track amazement and - calamity, and the whitened bones of noble youths, valorous chieftains. In - that horror of her dream she stood up suddenly, and thrust forth her hands - as to avert an evil, and advanced a step; and with the act her dream was - cloven and she awoke, and lo! it was sunrise; and where had been two - warriors of the Beni-Asser, were now five, and besides her own steed five - others, one the steed of Ruark, and Ruark with them that watched over her: - pale was the visage of the Chief. Ruark eyed Bhanavar, and signalled to - his followers, and they, when they had lifted the damsel to her steed and - placed her in their front, mounted likewise, and flourished their lances - with cries, and jerked their heels to the flanks of their steeds, and - stretched forward till their beards were mixed with the tossing manes, and - the dust rose after them crimson in the sun. So they coursed away, - speeding behind their Chief and Bhanavar; sweet were the desert herbs - under their crushing hooves! Ere the shadow of the acacia measured less - than its height they came upon a spring of silver water, and Ruark leaped - from his steed, and Bhanavar from hers, and they performed their ablutions - by that spring, and ate and drank, and watered their steeds. While they - were there Bhanavar lifted her eyes to Ruark, and said, 'Whither - takest thou me, O my Chief?' - </p> - <p> - His brow was stern, and he answered, 'Surely to the dwelling of thy - tribe.' - </p> - <p> - Then she wept, and pulled her veil close, murmuring, ''Tis - well!' - </p> - <p> - They spake no further, and pursued their journey toward the mountains and - across the desert that was as a sea asleep in the blazing heat, and the - sun till his setting threw no shade upon the sands bigger than what was - broad above them. By the beams of the growing moon they entered the first - gorge of the mountains. Here they relaxed the swiftness of their pace, - picking their way over broken rocks and stunted shrubs, and the mesh of - spotted creeping plants; all around them in shadow a freshness of noisy - rivulets and cool scents of flowers, asphodel and rose blooming in plots - from the crevices of the crags. These, as the troop advanced, wound and - widened, gradually receding, and their summits, which were silver in the - moonlight, took in the distance a robe of purple, and the sides of the - mountains were rounded away in purple beyond a space of emerald pasture. - Now, Ruark beheld the heaviness of Bhanavar, and that she drooped in her - seat, and he halted her by a cave at the foot of the mountains, browed - with white broom. Before it, over grass and cresses, ran a rill, a branch - from others, larger ones, that went hurrying from the heights to feed the - meadows below, and Bhanavar dipped her hand in the rill, and thought, - 'I am no more as thou, rill of the mountain, but a desert thing! Thy - way is forward, thy end before thee; but I go this way and that; my end is - dark to me; not a life is mine that will have its close kissing the cold - cheeks of the saffron-crocus. Cold art thou, and I—flames! They that - lean to thee are refreshed, they that touch me perish.' Then she - looked forth on the stars that were above the purple heights, and the - blushes of inner heaven that streamed up the sky, and a fear of meeting - the eyes of her kindred possessed her, and she cried out to Ruark, 'O - Chief of the Beni-Asser, must this be? and is there no help for it, but - that I return among them that look on me basely?' - </p> - <p> - Ruark stooped to her and said, 'Tell me thy name.' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Bhanavar is my name with that people.' - </p> - <p> - And he whispered, 'Surely when they speak of thee they say not - Bhanavar solely, but Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - </p> - <p> - She started and sought the eye of the Chief, and it was fixed on her face - in a softened light, as if his soul had said that thing. Then she sighed, - and exclaimed, 'Unhappy are the beautiful! born to misery! Allah - dressed them in his grace and favour for their certain wretchedness! Lo, - their countenances are as the sun, their existence as the desert; barren - are they in fruits and waters, a snare to themselves and to others!' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Chief leaned to her yet nearer, saying, 'Show me the Jewel.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar caught up her hands and clenched them, and she cried bitterly, - ''Tis known to thee! She told thee, and there be none that - know it not!' - </p> - <p> - Arising, she thrust her hand into her bosom, and held forth the Jewel in - the palm of her white hand. When Ruark beheld the marvel of the Jewel, and - the redness moving in it as of a panting heart, and the flashing eye of - fire that it was, and all its glory, he cried, 'It was indeed a - Jewel for queens to covet from the Serpent, and a prize the noblest might - risk all to win as a gift for thee.' - </p> - <p> - Then she said, 'Thy voice is friendly with me, O Ruark! and thou - scornest not the creature that I am. Counsel me as to my dealing with the - Jewel.' - </p> - <p> - Surely the eyes of the Chief met the eyes of Bhanavar as when the - brightest stars of midnight are doubled in a clear dark lake, and he sang - in measured music: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that tall palm-tree through the night; - Rest on the mountain-slope - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending, - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps,— - Silvery leaps and falls. - Hang by the mountain walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! -</pre> - <p> - And, O Bhanavar, Bhanavar the Beautiful! shall I counsel thee, moon of - loveliness,—bright, full, perfect moon!—counsel thee not to - ascend and be seen and worshipped of men, sitting above them in majesty, - thou that art thyself the Jewel beyond price? Wah! What if thou cast it - from thee?—thy beauty remaineth!' - </p> - <p> - And Bhanavar smote her palms in the moonlight, and exclaimed, 'How - then shall I escape this in me, which is a curse to them that approach me?' - </p> - <p> - And he replied: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Long we the less for the pearl of the sea - Because in its depths there 's the death we flee? - Long we the less, the less, woe's me! - Because thou art deathly,—the less for thee? -</pre> - <p> - She sang aloud among the rocks and the caves and the illumined waters: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Destiny! Destiny! why am I so dark? - I that have beauty and love to be fair. - Destiny! Destiny! am I but a spark - Track'd under heaven in flames and despair? - Destiny! Destiny! why am I desired - Thus like a poisonous fruit, deadly sweet? - Destiny! Destiny! lo, my soul is tired, - Make me thy plaything no more, I entreat! -</pre> - <p> - Ruark laughed low, and said, 'What is this dread of Rukrooth my - mother which weigheth on thee but silliness! For she saw thee willing to - do well by her; and thou with thy Jewel, O Bhanavar, do thou but well by - thyself, and there will be no woman such as thou in power and excellence - of endowments, as there is nowhere one such as thou in beauty.' Then - he sighed to her, 'Dare I look up to thee, O my Queen of Serpents?' - And he breathed as one that is losing breath, and the words came from him, - 'My soul is thine!' - </p> - <p> - When she heard him say this, great trouble was on the damsel, for his - voice was not the voice of Zurvan her betrothed; and she remembered the - sorrow of Rukrooth. She would have fled from him, but a dread of the - displeasure of the Chief restrained her, knowing Ruark a soul of wrath. - Her eyelids dropped and the Chief gazed on her eagerly, and sang in a - passion of praises of her; the fires of his love had a tongue, his speech - was a torrent of flame at the feet of the damsel. And Bhanavar exclaimed, - 'Oh, what am I, what am I, who have slain my love, my lover!—that - one should love me and call on me for love? My life is a long weeping for - him! Death is my wooer!' - </p> - <p> - Ruark still pleaded with her, and she said in fair gentleness, 'Speak - not of it now in the freshness of my grief! Other times and seasons are - there. My soul is but newly widowed!' - </p> - <p> - Fierce was the eye of the Chief, and he sprang up, crying, 'By the - life of my head, I know thy wiles and the reading of these delays: but I'll - never leave thee, nor lose sight of thee, Bhanavar! And think not to fly - from me, thou subtle, brilliant Serpent! for thy track is my track, and - thy condition my condition, and thy fate my fate. By Allah! this is so.' - </p> - <p> - Then he strode from her swiftly, and called to his Arabs. They had kindled - a fire to roast the flesh of a buffalo, slaughtered by them from among a - herd, and were laughing and singing beside the flames of the fire. So by - the direction of their Chief the Arabs brought slices of sweet - buffalo-flesh to Bhanavar, with cakes of grain: and Bhanavar ate alone, - and drank from the waters before her. Then they laid for her a couch - within the cave, and the aching of her spirit was lulled, and she slept - there a dreamless sleep till morning. - </p> - <p> - By the morning light Bhanavar looked abroad for the Chief, and he was - nowhere by. A pang of violent hope struck through her, and she pressed her - bosom, praying he might have left her, and climbed the clefts and ledges - of the mountain to search over the fair expanse of pasture beyond, for a - trace of him departing. The sun was on the heads of the heavy flowers, and - a flood of gold down the gorges, and a delicate rose hue on the distant - peaks and upper dells of snow, which were as a crown to the scene she - surveyed; but no sight of Ruark had she. And now she was beginning to - rejoice, but on a sudden her eye caught far to east a glimpse of something - in motion across an even slope of the lower hills leaning to the valley; - and it was a herd that rushed forward, like a black torrent of the - mountains flinging foam this way and that, and after the herd and at the - sides of the herd she distinguished the white cloaks and scarfs and - glittering steel of the Arabs of Ruark. Presently she saw a horseman break - from the rest, and race in a line toward her. She knew this one for Ruark, - and sighed and descended slowly to meet him. The greeting of the Chief was - sharp, his manner wild, and he said little ere he said, 'I will see - thee under the light of the Jewel, so tie it in a band and set it on thy - brow, Bhanavar!' - </p> - <p> - Her mouth was open to intercede with his desire, but his forehead became - black as night, and he shouted in the thunder of his lion-voice, 'Do - this!' - </p> - <p> - She took the Jewel from its warm bed in her bosom, and held it, and got - together a band of green weeds, and set it in the middle of the band, and - tied the band on her brow, and lifted her countenance to the Chief. Ruark - stood back from her and gazed on her; and he would have veiled his sight - from her, but his hand fell. Then the might of her loveliness seized - Bhanavar likewise, and the full orbs of her eyes glowed on the Chief as on - a mirror, and she moved her serpent figure scornfully, and smiled, saying, - 'Is it well?' - </p> - <p> - And he, when he could speak, replied, ''Tis well! I have seen - thee! for now can I die this day, if it be that I am to die. And well it - is! for now know I there is truly no place but the tomb can hold me from - thee!' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar put the Jewel from her brow into her bosom, and questioned him, - 'What is thy dread this day, O my Chief?' - </p> - <p> - He answered her gravely, 'I have seen Rukrooth my mother while I - slept; and she was weeping, weeping by a stream, yea, a stream of blood; - and it was a stream that flowed in a hundred gushes from her own veins. - The sun of this dawn now, seest thou not? 'tis overcrimson; the - vulture hangeth low down yonder valley.' And he cried to her, - 'Haste! mount with me; for I have told Rukrooth a thing; and I know - that woman crafty in the thwarting of schemes; such a fox is she where - aught accordeth not with her forecastings, and the judgment of her love - for me! By Allah! 'twere well we clash not; for that I will do I do, - and that she will do doth she.' - </p> - <p> - So the twain mounted their steeds, and Ruark gathered his Arabs and placed - them, some in advance, some on either side of Bhanavar; and they rode - forward to the head of the valley, and across the meadows, through the - blushing crowds of flowers, baths of freshest scents, cool breezes that - awoke in the nostrils of the mares neighings of delight; and these pranced - and curvetted and swung their tails, and gave expression to their joy in - many graceful fashions; but a gloom was on Ruark, and a quick fire in his - falcon-eye, and he rode with heels alert on the flanks of his mare, - dashing onward to right and left, as do they that beat the jungle for the - crouching tiger. Once, when he was well-nigh half a league in front, he - wheeled his mare, and raced back full on Bhanavar, grasping her bridle, - and hissing between his teeth, 'Not a soul shall have thee save I: - by the tomb of my fathers, never, while life is with us!' - </p> - <p> - And he taunted her with bitter names, and was as one in the madness of - intoxication, drunken with the aspect of her matchless beauty and with - exceeding love for her. And Bhanavar knew that the dread of a mishap was - on the mind of the Chief. - </p> - <p> - Now, the space of pasture was behind them a broad lake of gold and jasper, - and they entered a region of hills, heights, and fastnesses, robed in - forests that rose in rounded swells of leafage, each over each—above - all points of snow that were as flickering silver flames in the farthest - blue. This was the country of Bhanavar, and she gazed mournfully on the - glades of golden green and the glens of iron blackness, and the wild - flowers, wild blossoms, and weeds well known to her that would not let her - memory rest, and were wistful of what had been. And she thought, 'My - sisters tend the flocks, my mother spinneth with the maidens of the tribe, - my father hunteth; how shall I come among them but strange? Coldly will - they regard me; I shall feel them shudder when they take me to their - bosoms.' - </p> - <p> - She looked on Ruark to speak with him, but the mouth of the Chief was set - and white; and even while she looked, cries of treason and battle arose - from the Arabs that were ahead, hidden by a branching wind of the way - round a mountain slant. Then the eyes of the Chief reddened, his nostrils - grew wide, and the darkness of his face was as flame mixed with smoke, and - he seized Bhanavar and hastened onward, and lo! yonder were his men - overmatched, and warriors of the mountains bursting on them from an ambush - on all sides. Ruark leapt in his seat, and the light of combat was on him, - and he dug his knees into his mare, and shouted the war-cry of his tribe, - lifting his hands as it were to draw down wrath from the very heavens, and - rushed to the encounter. Says the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Hast thou seen the wild herd by the jungle galloping close? - With a thunder of hooves they trample what heads may oppose: - Terribly, crushingly, tempest-like, onward they sweep: - But a spring from the reeds, and the panther is sprawling in air, - And with muzzle to dust and black beards foam-lash'd, here and there, - Scatter'd they fly, crimson-eyed, track'd with blood to the deep. -</pre> - <p> - Such was the onset of Ruark, his stroke the stroke of death; and ere the - echoes had ceased rolling from that cry of his, the mountain-warriors were - scattered before him on the narrow way, hurled down the scrub of the - mountain, even as dead leaves and loosened stones; so like an arm of - lightning was the Chief! - </p> - <p> - Now Ruark pursued them, and was lost to Bhanavar round a slope of the - mountain. She quickened her pace to mark him in the glory of the battle, - and behold! a sudden darkness enveloped her, and she felt herself in the - swathe of tightened folds, clasped in an arm, and borne rapidly she knew - not whither, for she could hear and see nothing. It was to her as were she - speeding constantly downward in darkness to the lower realms of the Genii - of the Caucasus, and every sense, and even that of fear, was stunned in - her. How long an interval had elapsed she knew not, when the folds were - unwound; but it was light of day, and the faces of men, and they were - warriors that were about her, warriors of the mountain; but of Ruark and - his Arabs no voice. So she said to them, 'What do ye with me?' - </p> - <p> - And one among them, that was a youth of dignity and grace, and a - countenance like morning on the mountains, answered, 'The will of - Rukrooth, O lady! and it is the plight of him we bow to with Rukrooth, - mother of the Desert-Chief.' - </p> - <p> - She cried, 'Is he here, the Prince, that I may speak with him?' - </p> - <p> - The same young warrior made answer, 'Not so; forewarned was he, and - well for him!' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar drew her robe about her and was mute. Ere the setting of the moon - they journeyed on with her; and continued so three days and nights through - the defiles and ravines and matted growths of the mountains. On the fourth - dawn they were on the summit of a lofty mountain-rise; below them the sun, - shooting a current of gold across leagues of sea. Then he that had spoken - with Bhanavar said, 'A sail will come,' and a sail came from - under the sun. Scarce had the ship grated shore when the warriors lifted - Bhanavar, and waded through the water with her, and placed her unwetted in - the ship, and one, the fair youth among the warriors, sprang on board with - her, remaining by her. So the captain pushed off, and the wind filled the - sails, and Bhanavar was borne over the lustre of the sea, that was as a - changing opal in its lustre, even as a melted jewel flowing from the - fingers of the maker, the Almighty One. The ship ceased not sailing till - they came to a narrow strait, where the sea was but a river between fair - sloping hills alight with towers and palaces, opening a way to a great - city that was in its radiance over the waters of the sea as the aspect of - myriad sheeny white doves breasting the wave. Hitherto the young warrior - had held aloof in coldness of courtesy from Bhanavar; but now he sat by - her, and said, 'The bond between my prince and Rukrooth is - accomplished, and it was to snatch thee from the Chief of the Beni-Asser - and bring thee even to this city.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Allah be praised in all things, and his will be - done!' - </p> - <p> - The youth continued, 'Thou art alone here, O lady, exposed to the - perils of loneliness; surely it were well if I linger with thee awhile, - and see to thy welfare in this city, even as a brother with a sister; and - I will deal honourably by thee.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar looked on the young warrior and blushed at his exceeding - sweetness with her; the soft freshness of his voice was to her as the - blossom-laden breeze in the valleys of the mountains, and she breathed low - the words of her gratitude, saying, 'If I am not a burden, let this - be so.' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'Know me by my name, which is Almeryl; and that we - seem indeed of one kin, make known unto me thine.' - </p> - <p> - She replied, 'Ill-omened is it, this name of Bhanavar!' - </p> - <p> - The youth among warriors gazed on her a moment with the fluttering eye of - bashfulness, and said, 'Can they that have marked thee call thee - other than Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - </p> - <p> - She remembered that Ruark had spoken in like manner, and the curse of her - beauty smote her, and she thought, 'This fair youth, he hath not a - mother to watch over him and ward off souls of evil. I dread there will - come a mishap to him through me; Allah shield him from it!' And she - sought to dissuade him from resting by her, but he cried, ''Tis - but a choice to dwell with thee or with the dogs in the street outside thy - door, O Bhanavar!' - </p> - <p> - Now, the ship sailed close up to the quay, and cast anchor there in the - midst of other ships of merchandise. Almeryl then threw a robe over his - mountain dress and spoke with the captain apart, and he and Bhanavar took - leave of the captain, and landed on the quay among the porters, and of - these one stepped forward to them and shouted cheerily, 'Where be - the burdens and the bales, O ye, fair couple fashioned in the eye of - elegant proportions? Ye twin palm-trees, male and female! Wullahy! broad - is the back of your servant.' - </p> - <p> - Almeryl beckoned to him that he should follow them, and he followed them, - blessing the wind that had brought them to that city and the day. So they - passed through the streets and lanes of the city, and the porter pointed - out this house and that house wanting an occupant, and Almeryl fixed on - one in an open thoroughfare that had before it a grass-plot, and behind a - garden with fountains and flowers, and grass-knolls shaded by trees; and - he paid down the half of its price, and had it furnished before nightfall - sumptuously, and women in it to wait on Bhanavar, and stuffs and goods, - and scents for the bath,—all luxuries whatsoever that tradesmen and - merchants there could give in exchange for gold. Then Almeryl dismissed - the porter in Allah's name, and gladdened his spirit with a gift - over the due of his hire that exalted him in the eyes of the porter, and - the porter went from him, exclaiming, 'In extremity Ukleet is thy - slave!' and he sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Shouldst thou see a slim youth with a damsel arriving, - Be sure 'tis the hour when thy fortune is thriving; - A generous fee makes the members so supple - That over the world they could carry this couple. -</pre> - <p> - Now so it was that the youth Almeryl and the damsel Bhanavar abode in the - city they had come to weeks and months, and life to either of them as the - flowing of a gentle stream, even as brother and sister lived they, - chastely, and with temperate feasting. Surely the youth loved her with a - great love, and the heart of Bhanavar turned not from him, and was won - utterly by his gentleness and nobleness and devotion; and they relied on - each other's presence for any joy, and were desolate in absence, as - the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When we must part, love, - Such is my smart, love, - Sweetness is savourless, - Fairness is favourless! - But when in sight, love, - We two unite, love, - Earth has no sour to me; - Life is a flower to me! -</pre> - <p> - And with the increase of every day their passion increased, and the - revealing light in their eyes brightened and was humid, as is sung by him - that luted to the rage of hearts: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Evens star yonder - Comes like a crown on us, - Larger and fonder - Grows its orb down on us; - So, love, my love for thee - Blossoms increasingly; - So sinks it in the sea, - Waxing unceasingly. -</pre> - <p> - On a night, when the singing-girls had left them, the youth could contain - himself no more, and caught the two hands of Bhanavar in his, saying, - 'This that is in my soul for thee thou knowest, O Bhanavar! and - 'tis spoken when I move and when I breathe, O my loved one! Tell me - then the cause of thy shunning me whenever I would speak of it, and be - plain with thee.' - </p> - <p> - For a moment Bhanavar sought to release herself from his hold, but the - love in his eyes entangled her soul as in a net, and she sank forward to - him, and sighed under his chin, ''Twas indeed my very love of - thee that made me.' - </p> - <p> - The twain embraced and kissed a long kiss, and leaned sideways together, - and Bhanavar said, 'Hear me, what I am.' - </p> - <p> - Then she related the story of the Serpent and the Jewel, and of the death - of her betrothed. When it was ended, Almeryl cried, 'And was this - all?—this that severed us?' And he said, 'Hear what I - am.' - </p> - <p> - So he told Bhanavar how Rukrooth, the mother of Ruark, had sent messengers - to the Prince his father, warning him of the passage of Ruark through the - mountains with one a Queen of Serpents, a sorceress, that had bewitched - him and enthralled him in a mighty love for her, to the ruin of Ruark; and - how the Chief was on his way with her to demand her in marriage at the - hands of her parents; and the words of Rukrooth were, 'By the - service that was between thee and my husband, and by the death he died, O - Prince, rescue the Chief my son from this damsel, and entrap her from him, - and have her sent even to the city of the inland sea, for no less a - distance than that keepeth Ruark from her.' - </p> - <p> - And Almeryl continued, 'I questioned the messengers myself, and they - told me the marvel of thy loveliness and the peril to him that looked on - it, so I swore there was no power should keep me from a sight of thee, O - my loved one! my prize! my life! my sleek antelope of the hills! Surely - when my father appointed the warriors to lie in wait for thy coming, I - slipped among them, so that they thought it ordered by him I should head - them. The rest is known to thee, O my fountain of blissfulness! but the - treachery to Ruark was the treachery of Ebn Asrac, not of such warriors as - we; and I would have fallen on Ebn Asrac, had not Ruark so routed that man - without faith. 'Twas all as I have said, blessed be Allah and his - decrees!' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar gazed on her beloved, and the bridal dew overflowed her - underlids, and she loosed her hair to let it flow, part over her - shoulders, part over his, and in sighs that were the measure of music she - sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I thought not to love again! - But now I love as I loved not before; - I love not; I adore! - O my beloved, kiss, kiss me! waste thy kisses like a rain. - Are not thy red lips fain? - Oh, and so softly they greet! - Am I not sweet? - Sweet must I be for thee, or sweet in vain: - Sweet to thee only, my dear love! - The lamps and censers sink, but cannot cheat - These eyes of thine that shoot above - Trembling lustres of the dove! - A darkness drowns all lustres: still I see - Thee, my love, thee! - Thee, my glory of gold, from head to feet! - Oh, how the lids of the world close quite when our lips meet! -</pre> - <p> - Almeryl strained her to him, and responded: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - My life was midnight on the mountain side; - Cold stars were on the heights: - There, in my darkness, I had lived and died, - Content with nameless lights. - Sudden I saw the heavens flush with a beam, - And I ascended soon, - And evermore over mankind supreme, - Stood silver in the moon. -</pre> - <p> - And he fell playfully into a new metre, singing: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Who will paint my beloved - In musical word or colour? - Earth with an envy is moved: - Sea-shells and roses she brings, - Gems from the green ocean-springs, - Fruits with the fairy bloom-dews, - Feathers of Paradise hues, - Waters with jewel-bright falls, - Ore from the Genii-halls: - All in their splendour approved; - All; but, match'd with my beloved, - Darker, and denser, and duller. -</pre> - <p> - Then she kissed him for that song, and sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Once to be beautiful was my pride, - And I blush'd in love with my own bright brow: - Once, when a wooer was by my side, - I worshipp'd the object that had his vow: - Different, different, different now, - Different now is my beauty to me: - Different, different, different now! - For I prize it alone because prized by thee. -</pre> - <p> - Almeryl stretched his arm to the lattice, and drew it open, letting in the - soft night wind, and the sound of the fountain and the bulbul and the beam - of the stars, and versed to her in the languor of deep love: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Whether we die or we live, - Matters it now no more: - Life has nought further to give: - Love is its crown and its core. - Come to us either, we're rife,— - Death or life! - - Death can take not away, - Darkness and light are the same: - We are beyond the pale ray, - Wrapt in a rosier flame: - Welcome which will to our breath; - Life or death! -</pre> - <p> - So did these two lovers lute and sing in the stillness of the night, - pouring into each other's ears melodies from the new sea of fancy - and feeling that flowed through them. - </p> - <p> - Ere they ceased their sweet interchange of tenderness, which was but one - speech from one soul, a glow of light ran up the sky, and the edge of a - cloud was fired; and in the blooming of dawn Almeryl hung over Bhanavar, - and his heart ached to see the freshness of her wondrous loveliness; and - he sang, looking on her: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The rose is living in her cheeks, - The lily in her rounded chin; - She speaks but when her whole soul speaks, - And then the two flow out and in, - And mix their red and white to make - The hue for which I'd Paradise forsake. - - Her brow from her black falling hair - Ascends like morn: her nose is clear - As morning hills, and finely fair - With pearly nostrils curving near - The red bow of her upper lip; - Her bosom's the white wave beneath the ship. - - The fair full earth, the enraptured skies, - She images in constant play: - Night and the stars are in her eyes, - But her sweet face is beaming day, - A bounteous interblush of flowers: - A dewy brilliance in a dale of bowers. -</pre> - <p> - Then he said, 'And this morning shall our contract of marriage be - written and witnessed?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'As my lord willeth; I am his.' - </p> - <p> - Said he, 'And it is thy desire?' - </p> - <p> - She nestled to him and dinted his bare arm with the pearls of her mouth - for a reply. - </p> - <p> - So that morning their contract of marriage was written, and witnessed by - the legal number of witnesses in the presence of the Cadi, with his - license on it endorsed; and Bhanavar was the bride of Almeryl, he her - husband. Never was youth blessed in a bride like that youth! - </p> - <p> - Now, the twain lived together the circle of a full year of delightful - marriage, and love lessened not in them, but was as the love of the first - day. Little cared they, having each other, for the loneliness of their - dwelling in that city, where they knew none save the porter Ukleet, who - went about their commissions. Sometimes to amuse themselves with his - drolleries, they sent for him, and were bountiful with him, and made him - drink with them on the lawn of their garden leaning to an inlet of the - sea; and then he would entertain them with all the scandal and gossip of - the city, and its little folk and great. When he was outrageously - extravagant in these stories of his, Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Are such - things, now? can it be true?' - </p> - <p> - And he nodded in his conceit, and replied loftily, ''Tis - certain, O my Prince and Princess! ye be from the mountains, unused to the - follies and dissipations of men where they herd; and ye know them not, - men!' - </p> - <p> - The lamps being lit in the garden to the edges of the water, where they - lay one evening, Ukleet, who had been in his briskest mood, became grave, - and put his forefinger to the side of his nose and began, 'Hear ye - aught of the great tidings? Wullahy! no other than the departure of the - wife of Boolp, the broker, into darkness. 'Tis of Boolp ye hire this - house, and had ye a hundred houses in this city ye might have had them - from Boolp the broker, he that's rich; and glory to them whom Allah - prospereth, say I! And I mention this matter, for 'tis certain now - Boolp will take another wife to him to comfort him, for there be two - things beloved of Boolp, and therein manifesteth he taste and the - discernment of excellence, and what is approved; and of these two things - let the love of his hoards of the yellow-skinned treasure go first, and - after that attachment to the silver-skinned of creation, the fair, the - rapturous; even to them! So by this see ye not Boolp will yearn in his - soul for another spouse? Now, O ye well-matched pair! what a chance were - this, knew ye but a damsel of the mountains, exquisite in symmetry, a moon - to enrapture the imagination of Boolp, and in the nature of things herit - his possessions! for Boolp is an old man, even very old.' - </p> - <p> - They laughed, and cried, 'We know not of such a damsel, and the - broker must go unmarried for us.' - </p> - <p> - When next Ukleet sat before them, Almeryl took occasion to speak of Boolp - again, and said, 'This broker, O Ukleet, is he also a lender of - money?' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet replied, 'O my Prince, he is or he is not: 'tis of the - maybes. I wot truly Boolp is one that baiteth the hook of an emergency.' - </p> - <p> - The brows of the Prince were downcast, and he said no more; but on the - following morning he left Bhanavar early under a pretext, and sallied - forth from the house of their abode alone. - </p> - <p> - Since their union in that city they had not been once apart, and Bhanavar - grieved and thought, 'Waneth his love for me?' and she called - her women to her, and dressed in this dress and that dress, and was - satisfied with none. The dews of the bath stood cold upon her, and she - trembled, and fled from mirror to mirror, and in each she was the same - surpassing vision of loveliness. Then her women held a glass to her, and - she examined herself closely, if there might be a fleck upon her anywhere, - and all was as the snow of the mountains on her round limbs sloping in the - curves of harmony, and the faint rose of the dawn on slants of snow was - their hue. Twining her fingers and sighing, she thought, 'It is not - that! he cannot but think me beautiful.' She smiled a melancholy - smile at her image in the glass, exclaiming, 'What availeth it, thy - beauty? for he is away and looketh not on thee, thou vain thing! And what - of thy loveliness if the light illumine it not, for he is the light to - thee, and it is darkness when he's away.' - </p> - <p> - Suddenly she thought, 'What's that which needeth to light it - no other light? I had well-nigh forgotten it in my bliss, the Jewel!' - Then she went to a case of ebony-wood, where she kept the Jewel, and drew - it forth, and shone in the beam of a pleasant imagination, thinking, - ''Twill surprise him!' And she robed herself in a robe - of saffron, and set lesser gems of the diamond and the emerald in the - braid of her hair, and knotted the Serpent Jewel firmly in a band of - gold-threaded tissue, and had it woven in her hair among the braids. In - this array she awaited his coming, and pleased her mind with picturing his - astonishment and the joy that would be his. Mute were the women who waited - on her, for in their lives they had seen no such sight as Bhanavar beneath - the beams of the Jewel, and the whole chamber was aglow with her. - </p> - <p> - Now, in her anxiety she sent them one and one repeatedly to look forth at - the window for the coming of the Prince. So, when he came not she went - herself to look forth, and stretched her white neck beyond the casement. - While her head was exposed, she heard a cry of some one from the house in - the street opposite, and Bhanavar beheld in the house of the broker an old - wrinkled fellow that gesticulated to her in a frenzy. She snatched her - veil down and drew in her head in anger at him, calling to her maids, - 'What is yonder hideous old dotard?' - </p> - <p> - And they answered, laughing, ''Tis indeed Boolp the broker, O - fair mistress and mighty!' - </p> - <p> - To divert herself she made them tell her of Boolp, and they told her a - thousand anecdotes of the broker, and verses of him, and the constancy of - his amorous condition, and his greediness. And Bhanavar was beguiled of - her impatience till it was evening, and the Prince returned to her. So - they embraced, and she greeted him as usual, waiting what he would say, - searching his countenance for a token of wonderment; but the youth knew - not that aught was added to her beauty, for he looked nowhere save in her - eyes. Bhanavar was nigh weeping with vexation, and pushed him from her, - and chid him with lack of love and weariness of her; and the eye of the - Prince rose to her brow to read it, and he saw the Jewel. Almeryl clapped - his hands, crying, 'Wondrous! And this thy surprise for me, my fond - one? beloved of mine!' Then he gazed on her a space, and said, - 'Knowest thou, thou art terrible in thy beauty, Bhanavar, and hast - the face of lightning under that Jewel of the Serpent?' - </p> - <p> - She kissed him, whispering, 'Not lightning to thee! Yet lovest thou - Bhanavar?' - </p> - <p> - He replied, 'Surely so; and all save Bhanavar in this world is the - darkness of oblivion to me.' - </p> - <p> - When it was the next morning, Almeryl rose to go forth again. Ere he had - passed the curtain of the chamber Bhanavar caught him by the arm, and she - was trembling violently. Her visage was a wild inquiry: 'Thou goest?—and - again? There is something hidden from me!' - </p> - <p> - Almeryl took her to his heart, and caressed her with fond flatteries, - saying, 'Ask but what is beating under these two pomegranates, and - thou learnest all of me.' - </p> - <p> - But she stamped her foot, crying, 'No! no! I will hear it! There's - a mystery.' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'Well, then, it is this only; small matter enough. I - have a business with the captain of the vessel that brought us hither, and - I must see him ere he setteth sail; no other than that, thou jealous, - watchful star! Pierce me with thine eyes; it is no other than that.' - </p> - <p> - She levelled her lids at him till her lustrous black eyelashes were as - arrows, and mimicked him softly, 'No other than that?' - </p> - <p> - And he replied, 'Even so.' - </p> - <p> - Then she clung to him like a hungry creature, repeating, 'Even so,' - and let him go. Alone, she summoned a slave, a black, and bade him fetch - to her without delay Ukleet the porter, and the porter was presently - ushered in to her, protesting service and devotion. So, she questioned him - of Almeryl, and the Prince's business abroad, what he knew of it. - Ukleet commenced reciting verses on the ills of jealousy, but Bhanavar - checked him with an eye that Ukleet had seen never before in woman or in - man, and he gaped at her helplessly, as one that has swallowed a bone. She - laughed, crying, 'Learn, O thou fellow, to answer my like by the - letter.' - </p> - <p> - Now, what she heard from Ukleet when he had recovered his wits, was that - the Prince had a business with none save the lenders of money. So she - spake to Ukleet in a kindly tone, 'Thou art mine, to serve me?' - </p> - <p> - He was as one fascinated, and delivered himself, 'Yea, O my - mistress! with tongue-service, toe-service, back-service, brain-service, - whatso pleaseth thy sweet presence.' - </p> - <p> - Said she, 'Hie over to the broker opposite, and bring him hither to - me.' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet departed, saying, 'To hear is to obey.' - </p> - <p> - She sat gazing on the Jewel and its counterchanging splendours in her - hand, and the thought of Almeryl and his necessity was her only thought. - Not ten minutes of the hour had passed before the women waiting on her - announced Ukleet and the broker Boolp. Bhanavar gave little heed to the - old fellow's grimaces, and the compliments he addressed her, but - handed him the Jewel and desired his valuation of its worth. The face of - Boolp was a keen edge when he regarded Bhanavar, but the sight of the - Jewel sharpened it tenfold, and he tossed his arms, exclaiming, 'A - jewel, this!' - </p> - <p> - So Bhanavar cried to him, 'Fix a price for it, O thou broker!' - </p> - <p> - And Boolp, the old miser, debated, and began prating, - </p> - <p> - 'O lady! the soul of thy slave is abashed by a double beam, this the - jewel of jewels, thou truly of thy sex; and saving thee there's no - jewel of worth like this one, and together ye be—wullahy! never felt - I aught like this since my espousal of Soolka that 's gone, and - 'twas nothing like it then! Now, O my Princess, confess it freely—this - is but a pretext, this valuation of the Jewel, and Ukleet our go-between; - and leave the rewarding of him to me. Wullahy! I can be generous, and my - days of favour with fair ladies be not yet over. Blessed be Allah for this - day! And thinkest thou those eyes fell on me with discriminating - observation ere my sense of perception was struck by thee? Not so, for I - had noted thee, O moon of hearts, from my window yonder.' - </p> - <p> - In this fashion Boolp the broker went on prating, and bowing, and screwing - the corners of his little acid eyes to wink the wink of common accord - between himself and Bhanavar. Meantime she had spoken aside to one of her - women, and a second black slave entered the chamber, bearing in his hand a - twisted scourge, and that slave laid it on the back of Boolp the broker, - and by this means he was brought quickly to the valuation of the Jewel. - Then he named a sum that was a great sum, but not the value of the Jewel - to the fiftieth part, nay nor the five-hundredth part, of its value; and - Ukleet remonstrated with him, but he was resolute, saying, 'Even - that sum leaves me a beggar.' - </p> - <p> - So Bhanavar said, 'My desire is for immediate payment of the money, - and the Jewel is thine for that sum.' - </p> - <p> - Now the broker went to fetch the money, and returned with it in bags of - gold one-half the amount, and bags of silver one-third, and the remainder - in writing made due at a certain period for payment. And he groaned and - handed her the money, and took the Jewel in his hands; ejaculating, - 'In the name of Allah!' - </p> - <p> - That evening, when it was dark and the lamps lit in the chamber, and the - wine set and the nosegay, Almeryl asked of Bhanavar to see her under the - light of the Jewel. She warded him with an excuse, but he was earnest with - her. So she feigned that he teased her, saying, ''Tis that - thou art no longer content with me as I am, O my husband!' Then she - said, 'Wert thou successful in thy dealings this day?' - </p> - <p> - His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing. So she cried, - 'Fie on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over - this city? Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved? Surely I - am Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things - hidden, and I know thee. Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal - not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!' - </p> - <p> - Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver. - Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, 'How came these? for I was at the - last extremity, without coin of any kind.' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'How, but by the Serpents!' - </p> - <p> - And he exclaimed, 'Would that I might work as that porter worketh, - rather than this!' - </p> - <p> - Now, seeing he bewailed her use of the powers of the Jewel, Bhanavar fell - between his arms, and related to him her discovery of his condition, and - how she disposed of the Jewel to the broker, and of the scourging of - Boolp; and he praised her, and clave to her, and they laughed and - delighted their souls in plenteousness, and bliss was their portion; as - the poet says, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Bliss that is born of mutual esteem - And tried companionship, I truly deem - A well-based palace, wherein fountains rise - From springs that have their sources in the skies. -</pre> - <p> - So were they for awhile. It happened that one day, that was the last day - of the year since her wearing of the Jewel, Ukleet said to them, 'Be - wary! the Vizier Aswarak hath his eye on you, and it is no cool one. I say - nothing: the wise are discreet in their tellings of the great. 'Tis - certain the broker Boolp forgetteth not his treatment here.' - </p> - <p> - They smiled, turning to each other, and said, 'We live innocently, - we harm no one, what should we fear?' - </p> - <p> - During the night of that day Bhanavar awoke and kissed the Prince; and lo! - he shuddered in his sleep as with the grave-cold. A second time she was - awakened on the breast of Almeryl by a dream of the Serpents of the Lake - Karatis—the lake of the Jewel; and she stood up, and there was in - the street a hum of voices, and she saw there before the house armed men - with naked steel in their hands. Scarce had she called Almeryl to her, - when the outer door of their house was forced, and she shrieked to him, - ''Tis thou they come for: fly, O my Prince, my husband! the - way of the garden is clear.' - </p> - <p> - But he said sadly, 'Nay, what am I? it is thou they would win from - me. I'll leave thee not in this life.' - </p> - <p> - So she cried, 'O my soul, then together!—but I shall hinder - thee, and be a burden to thy flight.' - </p> - <p> - And she called on the All-powerful for aid, and ran with him into the - garden of the house, and lo! by the water side at the end of the garden a - boat full of armed soldiers with scimitars. So these fell upon them, and - bound them, and haled them into the house again, where was the dark Vizier - Aswarak, and certain officers of the night watch with a force. The Vizier - cried when he saw them, 'I accuse thee, Prince Almeryl, of being - here in the city of our lord the King, to conspire against him and his - authority.' - </p> - <p> - Almeryl faced the Vizier firmly, and replied, 'I knew not in my life - I had made an enemy; but there is one here who telleth that of me.' - </p> - <p> - The Vizier frowned, saying, 'Thou deniest this? And thou here, and - thy father at war with the sovereignty of our lord the King!' - </p> - <p> - Almeryl beheld his danger, and he said, 'Is this so?' - </p> - <p> - Then cried the Vizier, 'Hear him! is not that a fair simulation?' - So he called to the guard, 'Shackle him!' When that was done, - he ordered the house to be sacked, and the women and the slaves he divided - for a spoil, but he reserved Bhanavar to himself: and lo! twice she burst - away from them that held her to hang upon the lips of Almeryl, and twice - was she torn from him as a grape-bunch is torn from the streaming vine, - and the third time she swooned and the anguish of life left her. - </p> - <p> - Now, Bhanavar was borne to the harem of the Vizier, and for days she - suffered no morsel of food to enter her mouth, and was dying, had not the - Vizier in the cunning of his dissimulation fed her with distant glimpses - of Almeryl, to show her he yet lived. Then she thought, 'While my - beloved liveth, life is due to me'; and she ate and drank and - reassumed her fair fulness and the queenliness that was hers; but the - Vizier had no love of her, and respected her, considering in his mind, - 'Time will exhaust the fury of this tigress, and she is a fruit - worth the waiting for. Wullahy! I shall have possessed her ere the days of - over-ripening.' - </p> - <p> - There was in the harem of the Vizier a mountain-girl that had been brought - there in her childhood, and trained to play upon the lute and accompany - her voice with the instrument. To this little damsel Bhanavar gave her - heart, and would listen all day, as in a trance, to her luting, till the - desire to escape from that bondage and gather tidings of Almeryl mastered - her, and she persuaded one of the blacks of the harem with a bribe to - procure her an interview with the porter Ukleet. So at a certain hour of - the night Ukleet was introduced into the garden of the harem, and he was - in the darkness of that garden a white-faced porter with knees that - knocked the dread-march together; but Bhanavar strengthened his soul, and - he said to her, ''Twas the doing of Boolp the broker: and he - whispered the Vizier of thee and thy beauty, O my mistress! Surely thy - punishment and this ruin is but part payment to Boolp of the price of the - Jewel, the great Jewel that's in the hands of the Vizier.' - </p> - <p> - Then she questioned him: 'And Almeryl, the Prince, my husband, what - of him?' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet was dumb, and Bhanavar asked to hear no more. Surely she was at the - gates of pale spirits within an hour of her interview with Ukleet, and - there was no blessedness for her save in death, the stiffer of ills, the - drug that is infallible. As is said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Dark is that last stage of sorrow - Which from Death alone can borrow - Comfort:— -</pre> - <p> - Bhanavar would have died then, but in a certain pause of her fever the - Vizier stood by her. She looked at him long as she lay, and the life in - her large eyes was ebbing away slowly; but there seemed presently a check, - as an eddy comes in the stream, and the light of intelligence flowed like - a reviving fire into her eyes, and her heart quickened with desire of life - while she looked on the Vizier. So she passed the pitch of that fever, and - bloomed anew in her beauty, and cherished it, for she had a purpose. - </p> - <p> - Now, there was rejoicing in the harem of the Vizier Aswarak when Bhanavar - arose from the couch; and the Vizier exulted, thinking, 'I have - tamed this wild beauty, or she had reached death in that extremity.' - So he allowed Bhanavar greater freedom and indulgences, and Bhanavar - feigned to give her soul to the pleasures women delight in, and the Vizier - buried her in gems and trinkets and costly raiment, robes of exquisite - silks, the choicest of Samarcand and China; and he permitted her to make - purchases among certain of the warehouses of the city and the shops of the - tradesmen, jewellers and others, so that she went about as she would, but - for the slaves that attended her and the overseer of the harem. This - continued, and Aswarak became urgent with her, and to remove suspicion - from him she named a day from that period when she would be his. Meantime - she contrived to see Ukleet the porter frequently, and within a week of - her engagement with the Vizier she gazed from a lattice-window of the - harem, and beheld in the garden, by the beams of the moon, Ukleet, and he - was looking as on the watch for her. So she sent to him the little - mountain-girl she loved, but Ukleet would tell her nothing; then went she - herself, greeting him graciously, for his service was other than that of - self-seeking. - </p> - <p> - Ukleet said, 'O Lady, mistress of hearts, moon of the tides of will! - 'tis certain I was thy slave from the hour I beheld thee first, and - of the Prince, thy husband; Allah rest his soul! Now these be my tidings. - Wullahy! the King is one maddened with the reports I've spread about - of thy beauty, yea! raging. And I have a friend in his palace, even an - under-cook, acute in the interpreting of wishes. There was he always - gabbling of thy case, O my Princess, till the head-cook seized hold on it, - and so it went to the chamberlain, thence to the chief of the eunuchs, and - from him in a natural course, to the King. Now from the King the tracking - of this tale went to the under-cook down again, and from him to me. So was - I summoned to the King, and the King discoursed with me—I with him, - in fair fluency; he in ejaculations of desire to have sight of thee, I in - expatiation on that he would see when he had his desire. Now in this have - I not done thee a service, O sovereign of fancies?' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar mused and said, 'On the after-morrow I pass through the - city to make a selection of goods, and I shall pass at noon by the great - mosque, on my way to the shop of Ebn Roulchook, the King's jeweller, - beyond the meat-market. Of a surety, I know not how my lord the King may - see me.' - </p> - <p> - Said the porter, ''Tis enough! on my head be it.' And he - went from her, singing the song: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - When she's intent on doing! - How easily the world may burn - When kings come out a-wooing! -</pre> - <p> - Now, ere she set forth on the after-morrow to make her purchases, Bhanavar - sent word to the Vizier Aswarak that she would see him, and he came to her - drunken with alacrity, for he augured favourably that her reluctance was - melting toward him: so she said, 'O my master, my time of mourning - is at an end, and I would look well before thee, even as one worthy of - being thy bride; so bestow on me, I pray thee, for my wearing that day, - the jewels that be in thy treasury, the brightest and clearest of them, - and the largest.' - </p> - <p> - The Vizier Aswarak replied, and he was one in great satisfaction of soul, - 'All that I have are thine. Wullahy! and one, a marvel, that I - bought of Boolp the broker, that had it from an African merchant.' - So he commanded the box wherein he had deposited the Jewel to be brought - to him there in the chamber of Bhanavar, and took forth the Serpent Jewel - between his forefinger and thumb, and laughed at the eager eyes of - Bhanavar when she beheld it, saying, ''Tis thine! thy bridal - gift the day I possess thee.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar trembled at the sight of the Jewel, and its redness was to her as - the blood of Zurvan and Almeryl. She stretched her hand out for it and - cried, 'This day, O my lord, make it mine.' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier said, 'Nay, what I have spoken will I keep to; it has - cost me much.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar looked at him, and uttered in a soft tone, 'Truly it has - cost thee much.' - </p> - <p> - Then she exclaimed, as in play, 'See me, how I look by its beam.' - And in her guile she snatched the Jewel from him, and held it to her brow. - Then Aswarak started from her and feared her, for the red light of the - Jewel glowed, and darkened the chamber with its beam, darkening all save - the lustre that was on the visage of Bhanavar. He shouted, 'What's - this! Art thou a sorceress?' - </p> - <p> - She removed the Jewel, and ceased glaring on him, and said, 'Nothing - but thy poor slave!' - </p> - <p> - Then he coaxed her to give him the Jewel, and she would not; he commanded - her peremptorily, and she hesitated; so he grasped her tightened hand, and - his face loured with wrath; yet she withheld the Jewel from him laughing; - and he was stirred to extreme wrath, and drew from his girdle the naked - scimitar, and menaced her with it. And he looked mighty; but she dreaded - him little, and stood her full height before him, daring him, and she was - as the tigress defending a cub from a wilder beast. Now when he was about - to call in the armed slaves of the palace, she said, 'I warn thee, - Vizier Aswarak! tempt me not to match them that serve me with them that - serve thee.' - </p> - <p> - He ground his teeth in fury, crying, 'A conspiracy! and in the - harem! Now, thou traitress! the logic of the lash shall be tried upon - thee.' And he roared, 'Ho! ye without there! ho!' - </p> - <p> - But ere the slaves had entered Bhanavar rubbed the Jewel on her bosom, - muttering, 'I have forborne till now! Now will I have a sacrifice, - though I be it.' And rubbing the Jewel, she sang, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Hither! hither! - Come to your Queen; - Come through the grey wall, - Come through the green! -</pre> - <p> - There was heard a noise like the noise of a wind coming down a narrow - gorge above falling waters, a hissing and a rushing of wings, and behold! - Bhanavar was circled by rings and rings of serpent-folds that glowed round - her, twisted each in each, with the fierceness of fire, she like a flame - rising up white in the midst of them. The black slaves, when they had - lifted the curtain of the harem-chamber, shrieked to see her, and Aswarak - crouched at her feet with the aspect of an angry beast carved in stone. - Then Bhanavar loosed on either of the slaves a serpent, saying, 'What - these have seen they shall not say.' And while the sweat dropped - heavily from the forehead of Aswarak, she stepped out of the circle of - serpents, singing, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Over! over! - Hie to the lake! - Sleep with the left eye, - Keep the right awake. -</pre> - <p> - Then the serpents spread with a great whirr, and flew through the high - window and the walls as they had come, and she said to the Vizier, 'What - now? Fearest thou? I have spared thee, thou that madest me desolate! and - thy slaves are a sacrifice for thee. Now this I ask: Where lies my - beloved, the Prince my husband? Speak nothing of him, save the place of - his burial!' - </p> - <p> - So he told her, 'In the burial-ground of the great prison.' - </p> - <p> - She rolled her eyes on the Vizier darkly, exclaiming, 'Even where - the felons lie entombed, he lieth!' And she began to pant, pale with - what she had done, and leaned to the floor, and called, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Yellow stripe, with freckle red, - Coil and curl, and watch by my head. -</pre> - <p> - And a serpent with yellow stripes and red freckles came like a javelin - down to her, and coiled and curled round her head, and she slept an hour. - When she arose the Vizier was yet there, sitting with folded knees. So she - sped the serpent to the Lake Karatis, and called her women to her, and - went to an inner room, and drew an outer robe and a vest over that she had - on, and passed the Vizier, and said, 'Art thou not rejoiced in thy - bride, O Aswarak? 'Twas a wondrous clemency, hers! Now but four more - days and thou claimest her. Say nothing of what thou hast seen, or thou - wilt shortly see nothing further to say, my master.' - </p> - <p> - So she left the Vizier sitting still in that chamber, and mounted a mule, - attended by slaves on foot before and behind her, and passed through the - streets till she came to the shop of Ebn Roulchook. The King was in - disguise at the extremity of the shop, and while she examined this and - that of the precious stones, Bhanavar for a moment made bare the beauty, - of her face, and love's fires took fast hold of the King, and he - cried, 'I marvel not at the eloquence of the porter.' - </p> - <p> - Now, she made Ebn Roulchook bring to her a circlet of gold, with a hollow - in the frontal centre, and fit into that hollow the Serpent Jewel. So, - while she laughed and chatted with her women Bhanavar lifted the circlet, - and made her countenance wholly bare even to the neck and the beginning - slope of the bosom, and fixed the circlet to her head with the Jewel - burning on her brow. Then when he beheld the glory of excelling loveliness - that she was, and the splendour in her eyes under the Jewel, the King - shouted and parted with his disguise, and Ebn Roulchook and the women and - slaves with Bhanavar fled to the courtyard that was behind the shop, - leaving Bhanavar alone with the King. Surely Bhanavar returned not to the - dwelling of the Vizier. - </p> - <p> - Now, the King Mashalleed espoused Bhanavar, and she became his queen and - ruled him, and her word was the dictate of the land. Then caused she the - body of Almeryl, with the severed head of the Prince, to be disinterred, - and entombed secretly in the palace; and she had lamps lit in the vault, - and the pall spread, and the readers of the Koran to read by the tomb; and - then she stole to the tomb hourly, in the day and in the night, wailing of - him and her utter misery, repeating verses at the side of the tomb, and - they were, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Take me to thee! - Like the deep-rooted tree, - My life is half in earth, and draws - Thence all sweetness; oh may my being pause - Soon beside thee! - - Welcome me soon! - As to the queenly moon, - Man's homage to my beauty sets; - Yet am I a rose-shrub budding regrets: - Welcome me soon. - - Soul of my soul! - Have me not half, but whole. - Dear dust, thou art my eyes, my breath! - Draw me to thee down the dark sea of death, - Soul of my soul! -</pre> - <p> - And she sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Sad are they who drink life's cup - Till they have come to the bitter-sweet: - Better at once to toss it up, - And trample it beneath the feet; - For venom-charged as serpents' eggs - 'Tis then, and knows not other change. - Early, early, early, have I reached the dregs - Of life, and loathe and love the bittersweet, revenge! -</pre> - <p> - Then turned she aside, and sang musingly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I came to his arms like the flower of the spring, - And he was my bird of the radiant wing: - He flutter'd above me a moment, and won - The bliss of my breast as a beam of the sun, - Untouch'd and untasted till then— -</pre> - <p> - The voice in her throat was like a drowning creature, and she rose up, and - chanted wildly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I weep again? - - What play is this? for the thing is dead in me long since: - Will all the reviving rain - Of heaven bring me back my Prince? - But I, when I weep, when I weep, - Blood will I weep! - And when I weep, - Sons for fathers shall weep; - Mothers for sons shall weep; - Wives for husbands shall weep! - Earth shall complain of floods red and deep, - When I weep! -</pre> - <p> - Upon that she ran up a secret passage to her chamber and rubbed the Jewel, - and called the serpents, to delight her soul with the sight of her power, - and rolled and sported madly among them, clutching them by the necks till - their thin little red tongues hung out, and their eyes were as discoloured - blisters of venom. Then she arose, and her arms and neck and lips were - glazed with the slime of the serpents, and she flung off her robes to the - close-fitting silken inner vest looped across her bosom with pearls, and - whirled in a mazy dance-measure among them, and sang melancholy melodies, - making them delirious, fascinating them; and they followed her round and - round, in twines and twists and curves, with arched heads and stiffened - tails; and the chamber swam like an undulating sea of shifting sapphire - lit by the moon of midnight. Not before the moon of midnight was in the - sky ceased Bhanavar sporting with the serpents, and she sank to sleep - exhausted in their midst. - </p> - <p> - Such was the occupation of the Queen of Mashalleed when he came not to - her. The women and slaves of the palace dreaded her, and the King himself - was her very slave. - </p> - <p> - Meanwhile the plot of her unforgivingness against Aswarak ripened: and the - Vizier beholding the bride he had lost Queen of Mashalleed his master, it - was as she conceived, that his heart was eaten with jealousy and fierce - rage. Bhanavar as she came across him spake mildly, and gave him gentle - looks, sad glances, suffering not his fires to abate, the torment of his - love to cool. Each night he awoke with a serpent in his bed; the beam of - her beauty was as the constant bite of a serpent, poisoning his blood, and - he deluded his soul with the belief that Bhanavar loved him - notwithstanding, and that she was seized forcibly from him by the King. - 'Otherwise,' thought he, 'why loosed she not a serpent - from the host to strangle me even as yonder black slaves?' Bhanavar - knew the mind of Aswarak, and considered, 'The King is cunning and - weak, a slave to his desires, and in the bondage of the jewel, my beauty. - The Vizier is unscrupulous, a hatcher of intrigues; but that he dreads me - and hopes a favour of me, he would have wrought against me ere now. - 'Tis then a combat 'twixt him and me. O my soul, art thou - dreaming of a fair youth that was the bliss of thy bosom night and day, - night and day? The Vizier shall die!' - </p> - <p> - One morning, and it was a year from the day she had become Queen of - Mashalleed, Bhanavar sprang up quickly from the side of the King; and he - was gazing on her in amazement and loathing. She flew to her chamber, - chasing forth her women, and ran to a mirror. Therein she saw three lines - that were on her brow, lines of age, and at the corners of her mouth and - about her throat a slackness of skin, the skin no longer its soft rosy - white, but withered brown as leaves of the forest. She shrieked, and fell - back in a swoon of horror. When she recovered, she ran to the mirror - again, and it was the same sight. And she rose from swooning a third time, - and still she beheld the visage of a hag; nothing of beauty there save the - hair and the brilliant eyes. Then summoned she the serpents in a circle, - and the number of them was that of the days in the year: and she bared her - wrist and seized one, a gray-silver with sapphire spots, and hissed at him - till he hissed, and foam whitened the lips of each. Thereupon she cried: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Treble-tongue and throat of hell, - What is come upon me, tell! -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpent replied, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Jewel Queen! beauty's price! - 'Tis the time for sacrifice! -</pre> - <p> - She grasped another, one of leaden colour, with yellow bars and silver - crescents, and cried: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Treble-tongue and throat of fire, - Name the creature ye require! -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpent replied: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Ruby lip! poison tooth! - We are hungry for a youth. -</pre> - <p> - She grasped another that writhed in her fingers like liquid emerald, and - cried: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Treble-tongue and throat of glue! - How to know the one that's due? -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpent replied: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Breast of snow! baleful bliss! - He that wooing wins a kiss. -</pre> - <p> - She clutched one at her elbow, a hairy serpent with yellow languid eyes in - flame-sockets and livid-lustrous length—a disease to look on, and - cried: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Treble-tongue and throat of gall! - There's a youth beneath the pall. -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpent replied: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Brilliant eye! bloody tear! - He has fed us for a year. -</pre> - <p> - She squeezed that hairy serpent till her finger-points whitened in his - neck, and he dropped lifelessly, crying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Treble-tongues and things of mud! - Sprang my beauty from his blood? -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpents rose erect, replying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Yearly one of us must die; - Yearly for us dieth one; - Else the Queen an ugly lie - Lives till all our lives be done! -</pre> - <p> - Bhanavar stood up, and hurried them to Karatis. When she was alone she - fell toward the floor, repeating, ''Tis the Curse!' - Suddenly she thought, 'Yet another year my beauty shall be nourished - by my vengeance, yet another! And, O Vizier, the kiss shall be thine, the - kiss of doom; for I have doomed thee ere now. Thou, thou shalt restore me - to my beauty: that only love I now my Prince is lost.' - </p> - <p> - So she veiled her face in the close veil of the virtuous, and despatched - Ukleet, whom she exalted in the palace of the King, to the Vizier; and - Ukleet stood before Aswarak, and said, 'O Vizier, my mistress truly - is longing for you with excessive longing, and in what she now undergoeth - is forgotten an evil done by you to her; and she bids you come and concert - with her a scheme deliberately as to the getting rid of this tyrant who is - an affliction to her, and her life is lessened by him.' - </p> - <p> - The Vizier was deceived by his passion, and he chuckled and exclaimed, - 'My very dream! and to mind me of her, then, she sent the serpents! - Wullahy, in the matter of women, wait! For, as the poet declareth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Tis vanity our souls for such to vex; - Patience is a harvest of the sex.'' -</pre> - <p> - And they fret themselves not overlong for husbands that are gone, these - young beauties. I know them. Tell the Queen of Serpents I am even hers to - the sole of my foot.' - </p> - <p> - So it was understood between them that the Vizier should be at the gate of - the garden of the palace that night, disguised; and the Vizier rejoiced, - thinking, 'If she have not the Jewel with her, it shall go ill with - me, and I foiled this time!' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet then proceeded to the house of Boolp the broker, fronting the - gutted ruins where Bhanavar had been happy in her innocence with Almeryl, - the mountain prince, her husband. Boolp was engaged haggling with a - slave-merchant the price of a fair slave, and Ukleet said to him, 'Yet - awhile delay, O Boolp, ere you expend a fraction of treasure, for truly a - mighty bargain of jewels is waiting for you at the palace of my lord the - King. So come thither with all your money-bags of gold and silver, and - your securities, and your bonds and dues in writing, for 'tis the - favourite of the King requireth you to complete a bargain with her, and - the price of her jewels is the price of a kingdom.' - </p> - <p> - Said Boolp, 'Hearing is compliance in such a case.' - </p> - <p> - And Ukleet continued, 'What a fortune is yours, O Boolp! truly the - tide of fortune setteth into your lap. Fail not, wullahy! to come with all - you possess, or if you have not enough when she requireth it to complete - the bargain, my mistress will break off with you. I know not if she intend - even other game for you, O lucky one!' - </p> - <p> - Boolp hitched his girdle and shrugged, saying, ''Tis she will - fail, I wot,—she, in having therewith to complete the bargain - between us. Wa! wa!—there! I've done this before now. Wullahy! - if she have not enough of her rubies and pearls to outweigh me and my - gold, go to, Boolp will school her! What says the poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - ''Earth and ocean search, East, West, and North, to the South, - None will match the bright rubies and pearls of her mouth.'' -</pre> - <p> - 'Aha! what? O Ukleet! And he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - ''The lovely ones a bargain made - With me, and I renounced my trade, - Half-ruined; 'Ah!' said they, 'return and win! - To even scales ourselves we will throw in!'' -</pre> - <p> - How so? But let discreetness reign and security flourisheth!' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet nodded at him, and repeated the distich: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Men of worth and men of wits - Shoot with two arrows, and make two hits. -</pre> - <p> - So he arranged with Boolp the same appointment as with the Vizier, and - returned to Queen Bhanavar. - </p> - <p> - Now, in the dark of night Aswarak stood within the gate of the - palace-garden of Mashalleed that was ajar, and a hand from a veiled figure - reached to him, and he caught it, in the fulness of his delusion, crying, - 'Thou, my Queen?' But the hand signified silence, and drew him - past the tank of the garden and through a court of the palace into a - passage lit with lamps, and on into a close-curtained chamber, and beyond - a heavy curtain into another, a circular passage descending between black - hangings, and at the bottom a square vault draped with black, and in it - precious woods burning, oils in censers, and the odour of ambergris and - myrrh and musk floating in clouds, and the sight of the Vizier was for a - time obscured by the thickness of the incenses floating. As he became - familiar with the place, he saw marked therein a board spread at one end - with viands and wines, and the nosegay in a water-vase, and cups of gold - and a service of gold,—every preparation for feasting mightily. So - the soul of Aswarak leapt, and he cried, 'Now unveil thyself, O moon - of our meeting, my mistress!' - </p> - <p> - The voice of Bhanavar answered him, 'Not till we have feasted and - drunken, and it seemeth little in our eyes. Surely the chamber is secure: - could I have chosen one better for our meeting, O Aswarak?' - </p> - <p> - Upon that he entreated her to sit with him to the feast, but she cried, - 'Nay! delay till the other is come.' - </p> - <p> - Cried he, 'Another?' - </p> - <p> - But she exclaimed, 'Hush!' and saying thus went forward to the - foot of the passage, and Boolp was there, following Ukleet, both of them - under a weight of bags and boxes. So she welcomed the broker, and led him - to the feast, he coughing and wheezing and blinking, unwitting the - vexation of the Vizier, nor that one other than himself was there. When - Boolp heard the voice of the Vizier, in astonishment, addressing him, he - started back and fell upon his bags, and the task of coaxing him to the - board was as that of haling a distempered beast to the water. Then they - sat and feasted together, and Ukleet with them; and if Aswarak or Boolp - waxed impatient of each other's presence, he whispered to them, - 'Only wait! see what she reserveth for you.' And Bhanavar - mused with herself, 'Truly that reserved shall be not long coming!' - So they drank, and wine got the mastery of Aswarak, so that he made no - secret of his passion, and began to lean to her and verse extemporaneously - in her ear; and she stinted not in her replies, answering to his urgency - in girlish guise, sighing behind the veil, as if under love's - influence. And the Vizier pressed close, and sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Tis said that love brings beauty to the cheeks - Of them that love and meet, but mine are pale; - For merciless disdain on me she wreaks, - And hides her visage from my passionate tale: - I have her only, only when she speaks. - Bhanavar, unveil! - - I have thee, and I have thee not! Like one - Lifted by spirits to a shining dale - In Paradise, who seeks to leap and run - And clasp the beauty, but his foot doth fail, - For he is blind: ah! then more woful none! - Bhanavar, unveil! -</pre> - <p> - He thrust the wine-cup to her, and she lifted it under her veil, and then - sang, in answer to him: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - My beauty! for thy worth - Thank the Vizier! - - He gives thee second birth: - Thank the Vizier! - - His blooming form without a fault: - Thank the Vizier! - - Is at thy foot in this blest vault: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth not he telleth such a truth, - Thank the Vizier! - - That thou, thro' him, spring'st fresh in blushing youth: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth little now, but he shall soon be wise: - Thank the Vizier! - - This meeting bringeth bloom to cheeks and lips and eyes: - Thank the Vizier! - - O my beloved in this blest vault, if I love thee for aye, - Thank the Vizier! - - Thine am I, thine! and learns his soul what it has taught—to die, - Thank the Vizier! -</pre> - <p> - Now, Aswarak divined not her meaning, and was enraptured with her, and - cried, 'Wullahy! so and such thy love! Thine am I, thine! And what a - music is thy voice, O my mistress! 'Twere a bliss to Eblis in his - torment could he hear it. Life of my head! and is thy beauty increased by - me? Nay, thou flatterer!' Then he said to her, 'Away with - these importunate dogs! 'tis the very hour of tenderness! Wullahy! - they offend my nostril: stung am I at the sight of them.' - </p> - <p> - She rejoined,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Thou that wakenest my beauty from night and scorn, - Thy time is near, and when 'tis come, - Long will a jackal howl that this thy request had been dumb. - O Aswarak! star of the morn! -</pre> - <p> - So the Vizier imaged in his mind the neglect of Mashalleed from these - words, and said, 'Leave the King to my care, O Queen of Serpents, - and expend no portion of thy power on him; but hasten now the going of - these fellows; my heart is straitened by them, and I, wullahy! would - gladly see a serpent round the necks of either.' - </p> - <p> - She continued,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Lo! the star must die when splendider light is born; - In stronger floods the beam will drown: - Shrink, thou puny orb, and dread to bring me my crown, - O Aswarak! star of the morn! -</pre> - <p> - Then said she, 'Hark awhile at those two! There's a - disputation between them.' - </p> - <p> - So they hearkened, and Ukleet was pledging Boolp, and passing the cup to - him; but a sullenness had seized the broker, and he refused it, and Ukleet - shouted, 'Out, boon-fellow! and what a company art thou, that thou - refusest the pledge of friendliness? Plague on all sulkers!' - </p> - <p> - And the broker, the old miser, obstinate as are the half-fuddled, began to - mumble, 'I came not here to drink, O Ukleet, but to make a bargain; - and my bags be here, and I like not yonder veil, nor the presence of - yonder Vizier, nor the secresy of this. Now, by the Prophet and that - interdict of his, I'll drink no further.' - </p> - <p> - And Ukleet said, 'Let her not mark your want of fellowship, or - 'twill go ill with you. Here be fine wines, spirited wines! choice - flavours! and you drink not! Where's the soul in you, O Boolp, and - where's the life in you, that you yield her to the Vizier utterly? - Surely she waiteth a gallant sign from you, so challenge her cheerily.' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Boolp, 'I care not. Shall I leave my wealth and all I possess - void of eyes? and she so that I recognise her not behind the veil?' - </p> - <p> - Ukleet pushed the old miser jeeringly: 'You not recognise her? Oh, - Boolp, a pretty dissimulation! Pledge her now a cup to the snatching of - the veil, and bethink you of a fitting verse, a seemly compliment,—something - sugary.' - </p> - <p> - Then Boolp smoothed his head, and was bothered; and tapped it, and - commenced repeating to Bhanavar: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I saw the moon behind a cloud, - And I was cold as one that's in his shroud: - And I cried, Moon!— -</pre> - <p> - Ukleet chorused him, 'Moon!' and Boolp was deranged in what he - had to say, and gasped,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Moon! I cried, Moon!—and I cried, Moon! -</pre> - <p> - Then the Vizier and Ukleet laughed till they fell on their backs; so - Bhanavar took up his verse where he left it, singing,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - And to the cry - Moon did make fair the following reply: - 'Dotard, be still! for thy desire - Is to embrace consuming fire.' -</pre> - <p> - Then said Boolp, 'O my mistress, the laws of conviviality have till - now restrained me; but my coming here was on business, and with me my - bags, in good faith. So let us transact this matter of the jewels, and - after that the song of— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - ''Thou and I - A cup will try,'' -</pre> - <p> - even as thou wilt.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar threw aside her outer robe and veil, and appeared in a dress of - sumptuous blue, spotted with gold bees; her face veiled with a veil of - gauzy silver, and she was as the moon in summer heavens, and strode mar - jestically forward, saying, 'The jewels? 'tis but one. Behold!' - </p> - <p> - The lamps were extinguished, and in her hand was the glory of the Serpent - Jewel, no other light save it in the vaulted chamber. - </p> - <p> - So the old miser perked his chin and brows, and cried wondering, 'I - know it, this Jewel, O my mistress.' - </p> - <p> - She turned to the Vizier, and said, lifting the red gloom of the Jewel on - him, 'And thou?' - </p> - <p> - Aswarak ate his under-lip. - </p> - <p> - Then she cried, 'There's much ye know in common, ye two.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon Bhanavar passed from the feast on to the centre of the vault, - and stood before the tomb of Almeryl, and drew the cloth from it; and they - saw by the glow of the Jewel that it was a tomb. When she had mounted some - steps at the side of the tomb, she beckoned them to come, crying, in a - voice of sobs, 'This which is here, likewise ye may know.' - </p> - <p> - So they came with the coldness of a mystery in their blood, and looked as - she looked intently over a tomb. The lid was of glass, and through the - glass of the lid the Jewel flung a dark rosy ray on the body of Almeryl - lying beneath it. - </p> - <p> - Now, the miser was perplexed at the sight; but Aswarak stepped backward in - defiance, bellowing, ''Twas for this I was tricked to come - here! Is 't fooling me a second time? By Allah! look to it; not a - second time will Aswarak be fooled.' - </p> - <p> - Then she ran to him, and exclaimed, 'Fooled? For what cam'st - thou to me?' - </p> - <p> - And he, foaming and grinding his breath, 'Thou woman of wiles! thou - serpent! but I'll be gone from here.' - </p> - <p> - So she faltered in sweetness, knowing him doomed, and loving to dally with - him in her wickedness, 'Indeed if thou cam'st not for my kiss—' - </p> - <p> - Then said the Vizier, 'Yet a further guile! Was't not an - outrage to bring me here?' - </p> - <p> - She faltered again, leaning the fair length of her limbs on a couch, - ''Tis ill that we are not alone, else could these lips - convince thee well: else indeed!' - </p> - <p> - And the Vizier cried, 'Chase then these intruders from us, O thou - sorceress, and above all serpents in power! for thou poisonest with a - touch; and the eye and the ear alike take in thy poisons greedily. Thou - overcomest the senses, the reason, the judgment; yea, vindictiveness, - wrath, suspicions; leading the soul captive with a breath of thine, as - 'twere a breeze from the gardens of bliss.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar changed her manner a little, lisping, 'And why that - starting from the tomb of a dead harmless youth? And that abuse of me?' - </p> - <p> - He peered at her inquiringly, echoing 'Why?' - </p> - <p> - And she repeated, as a child might repeat it, 'Why that?' - </p> - <p> - Then the Vizier smote his forehead in the madness of utter perplexity, - changing his eye from Bhanavar to the tomb of Almeryl, doubting her truth, - yet dreading to disbelieve it. So she saw him fast enmeshed in her - subtleties, and clapped her hands crying, 'Come again with me to the - tomb, and note if there be aught I am to blame in, O Aswarak, and plight - thyself to me beside it.' - </p> - <p> - He did nothing save to widen his eye at her somewhat; and she said, - 'The two are yonside the tomb, and they hear us not, and see us not - by this light of the Jewel; so come up to it boldly with me; free thy mind - of its doubt, and for a reconcilement kiss me on the way.' - </p> - <p> - Aswarak moved not forward; but as Bhanavar laid the Jewel in her bosom he - tore the veil from her darkened head, and caught her to him and kissed - her. Then Bhanavar laughed and shouted, 'How is it with thee, Vizier - Aswarak?' - </p> - <p> - He was tottering, and muttered, ''Tis a death-chill hath - struck me even to my marrow.' - </p> - <p> - So she drew the Jewel forth once more, and rubbed it ablaze, and the noise - of the Serpents neared; and they streamed into the vault and under it in - fiery jets, surrounding Bhanavar, and whizzing about her till in their - velocity they were indivisible; and she stood as a fountain of fire - clothed in flashes of the underworld, the new loveliness of her face - growing vivid violet like an incessant lightning above them. Then - stretched she her two hands, and sang to the Serpents:— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Hither, hither, to the feast! - Hither to the sacrifice! - Virtue for my sake hath ceased: - Now to make an end of Vice! - - Twisted-tail and treble-tongue, - Swelling length and greedy maw! - I have had a horrid wrong; - Retribution is the law! - - Ye that suck'd my youthful lord, - Now shall make another meal: - Seize the black Vizier abhorr'd; - Seize him! seize him throat and heel! - - Set your serpent wits to find - Tortures of a new device: - Have him! have him heart and mind! - Hither to the sacrifice' -</pre> - <p> - Then she whirled with them round and round as a tempest whirls; and when - she had wound them to a fury, lo, she burst from the hissing circle and - dragged Ukleet from the vault into the passage, and blocked the entrance - to the vault. So was Queen Bhanavar avenged. - </p> - <p> - Now, she said to Ukleet, 'Ransom presently the broker,—him - they will not harm,' and hastened to the King that he might see her - in her beauty. The King reclined on cushions in the harem with a fair - slave-girl, newly from the mountains, toying with the pearls in her locks. - Then thought Bhanavar, 'Let him not slight me!' So she drew a - rose-coloured veil over her face and sat beside Mashalleed. The King - continued his fondling with the girl, saying to her, 'Was there no - destiny foretold of thy coming to the palace of the King to rule it, O - Nashta, starbeam in the waters! and hadst thou no dream of it?' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar struck the King's arm, but he noticed her not, and Nashta - laughed. Then Bhanavar controlled her trembling and said, 'A word, O - King! and vouchsafe me a hearing.' - </p> - <p> - The King replied languidly, still looking on Nashta, ''Tis a - command that the voice of none that are crabbed and hideous be heard in - the harem, and I find comfort in it, O Nashta! but speak thou, my fountain - of sweet-dropping lute-notes!' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar caught the King's hand and said, 'I have to speak - with thee; 'tis the Queen. Chase from us this little wax puppet a - space.' - </p> - <p> - The King disengaged his hand and leaned it over to Nashta, who began - playing with it, and fitting on it a ring, giggling. Then, as he answered - nothing, Bhanavar came nearer and slapped him on the cheek. Mashalleed - started to his feet, and his hand grasped his girdle; but that - wrathfulness was stayed when he beheld the veil slide from her visage. So - he cried, 'My Queen! my soul!' - </p> - <p> - She pointed to Nashta, and the King chid the girl, and sent her forth lean - with his shifted displeasure, as a kitten slinks wet from a fish-pond - where it had thought to catch a great fish. Then Bhanavar exclaimed, - 'There was a change in thy manner to me before that creature.' - </p> - <p> - He sought to dissimulate with her, but at last he confessed, 'I was - truly this morning the victim of a sorcery.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon she cried, 'And thou went angered to find me not by thee - on the couch, but one in my place, a hag of ugliness. Hear then the case, - O Mashalleed! Surely that old crone had a dream, and it was that if she - slept one night by the King she would arise fresh in health from her ills, - and with powers lasting a year to heal others of all maladies with a - touch. So she came to me, petitioning me to bring this about. O my lord - the King, did I well in being privy to her desire?' - </p> - <p> - The King could not doubt this story of Bhanavar, seeing her constant - loveliness, and the arch of her flashing brow, and the oval of her cheek - and chin smooth as milk. So he said, 'O my Queen! I had thought to - go, as I must, gladly; but how shall I go, knowing thy truth, thy beauty - unchanged; thee faithful, a follower of the injunctions of the Prophet in - charitable deeds?' - </p> - <p> - Cried she, 'And whither goeth my lord, and on what errand?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'The people of a province southward have raised the - standard of revolt and mocked my authority; they have been joined by - certain of the Arab chiefs subject to my dominion, and have defeated my - armies. 'Tis to subdue them I go; yea, to crush them. Yet, wallaby! - I know not. Care I if kingdoms fall away, and nations, so that I have - thee? Nay, let all pass, so that thou remain by me.' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar paced from him to a mirror, and frowned at the reflection of her - fairness, thinking, 'Such had he spoken to the girl Nashta, or - another, this King!' And she thought, 'I have been beloved by - the noblest three on earth; I will ask no more of love; vengeance I have - had. 'Tis time that I demand of my beauty nothing save power, and I - will make this King my stepping-stone to power, rejoicing my soul with the - shock of armies.' - </p> - <p> - Now, she persuaded Mashalleed to take her with him on his expedition - against the Arabs; and they set forth, heading a great assemblage of - warriors, southward to the land bordering the Desert. The King credited - the suggestions of Bhanavar, that Aswarak had disappeared to join the - rebels, and pressed forward in his eagerness to inflict a chastisement - signal in swiftness upon them and that traitor; so eagerly Mashalleed - journeyed to his army in advance, that the main body, with Bhanavar, was - left by him long behind. She had encouraged him, saying, 'I shall - love thee much if thou art speedy in winning success.' The Queen was - housed on an elephant, harnessed with gold, and with silken purple - trappings; from the rose-hued curtains of her palanquin she looked on a - mighty march of warriors, filling the extent of the plains; all day she - fed her sight on them. Surely the story of her beauty became noised among - the guards of her person that rode and ran beneath the royal elephant, - till the soldiers of Mashalleed spake but of the beauty of the Queen, and - Bhanavar was as a moon shining over that sea of men. - </p> - <p> - Now, they had passed the cultivated fields, and were halting by the ford - of a river bordering the Desert, when lo! a warrior on the yonside, riding - in a cloud of dust, and his shout was, 'The King Mashalleed is - defeated, and flying.' Then the Captains of the host witnessed to - the greatness of Allah, and were troubled with a dread, fearing to - advance; but Bhanavar commanded a horse to be saddled for her, and mounted - it, and plunged through the ford singly; so they followed her, and all day - she rode forward on horseback, touching neither food nor drink. By night - she was a league beyond the foremost of them, and fell upon the King - encamped in the Desert, with the loose remnant of his forces. Mashalleed, - when he had looked on her, forgot his affliction, and stood up to embrace - her, but Bhanavar spurned him, crying, 'A time for this in the time - of disgrace?' Then she said, 'How came it?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'There was a Chief among the enemy, an Arab, before the - terror of whom my people fled.' - </p> - <p> - Cried she, 'Conquer him on the morrow, and till then I eat not, - drink not, sleep not.' - </p> - <p> - On the morrow Mashalleed again encountered the rebels, and Bhanavar, - seated on her elephant, from a sand-hillock under a palm, beheld the - prowess of the Arab Chief and the tempest of battle that he was. She - thought, 'I have seen but one mighty in combat like that one, Ruark, - the Chief of the Beni-Asser.' Thereupon she coursed toward the King, - even where the arrows gloomed like locusts, thick and dark in the air - aloof, and said, 'The victory is with yonder Chief! Hurl on him - three of thy sons of valour.' - </p> - <p> - The three were selected, and made onslaught on this Chief, and perished - under his arm. - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar saw them fall, and exclaimed, 'Another attack on him, and - with thrice three!' - </p> - <p> - Her will was the mandate of Mashalleed, and these likewise were ordered - forth, and closed on the Chief, but he darted from their toils and wheeled - about them, spearing them one by one till the nine were in the dust. - Bhanavar compressed her dry lips and muttered to the King, 'Head - thou a body against him.' - </p> - <p> - Mashalleed gathered round his standard the chosen of his warriors, and - smoothed his beard, and headed them. Then the Chief struck his lance - behind him, and stretched rapidly a half-circle across the sand, and - halted on a knoll. When they neared him he retreated in a further - half-circle, and continued this wise, wasting the fury of Mashalleed, till - he stood among his followers. There, as the King hesitated and prepared to - retreat, he and the others of the tribe levelled their lances and hung - upon his rear, fretting them, slaughtering captains of the troop. When - Mashalleed turned to face his pursuer, the Chief was alone, immovable on - his mare, fronting the ranks. Then Bhanavar taunted the King, and he - essayed the capture of that Chief a second time and a third, and it was - each time as the first. Bhanavar looked about her with rapid eyes, - murmuring, 'Oh, what a Chief is he! Oh that a cloud would fall, a - smoke arise, to blind these hosts, that I might sling my serpents on him - unseen, for I will not be vanquished, though it be by Ruark!' So she - drew to the King, and the altercation between them was fierce in the fury - of the battle, he saying, ''Tis a feint of the Chief, this - challenge; and I must succour the left of my army by the well, that he is - overmatching with numbers'; and she, 'If thou head them not, - then will I, and thou shalt behold a woman do what thou durst not, and - lose her love and win her scorn.' While they spake the Arabs they - looked on seemed to flutter and waver, and the Chief was backing to them, - calling to them as 'twere words of shame to rally them. Seeing this, - Mashalleed charged against the Chief once more, and lo! the Arabs opened - to receive him, closing on his band of warriors like waters whitened by - the storm on a fleet of swift-scudding vessels: and there was a dust and a - tumult visible, such as is seen in the darkness when a vessel struck by - the lightning-bolt is sinking—flashes of steel, lifting of hands, - rolling of horsemen and horses. Then Bhanavar groaned aloud, 'They - are lost! Shame to us! only one hope is left-that 'tis Ruark, this - Chief!' Now, the view of the plain cleared, and with it she beheld - the army of Mashalleed broken, the King borne down by a dust of Arabs; so - she unveiled her face and rode on the host with the horsemen that guarded - her, glorious with a crown of gold and the glowing Jewel on her brow. When - she was a javelin's flight from them the Arabs shouted and paused in - terror, for the light of her head was as the sun setting between clouds of - thunder; but that Chief dashed forward like a flame beaten level by the - wind, crying, 'Bhanavar; Bhanavar!' and she knew the features - of Ruark; so she said, 'Even I!' And he cried again, 'Bhanavar! - Bhanavar!' and was as one stricken by a shaft. Then Bhanavar threw - on him certain of the horsemen with her, and he suffered them without a - sign to surround him and grasp his mare by the bridle-rein, and bring him, - disarmed, before the Queen. At sight of Ruark a captive the Arabs fell - into confusion, and lost heart, and were speedily chased and scattered - from the scene like a loose spray before the wind; but Mashalleed the King - rejoiced mightily and praised Bhanavar, and the whole army of the King - praised her, magnifying her. - </p> - <p> - Now, with Ruark she interchanged no syllable, and said not farewell to him - when she departed with Mashalleed, to encounter other tribes; and the - Chief was bound and conducted a prisoner to the city of the inland sea, - and cast into prison, in expectation of Death the releaser, and continued - there wellnigh a year, eating the bitter bread of captivity. In the - evening of every seventh day there came to him a little mountain girl, - that sat by him and leaned a lute to her bosom, singing of the mountain - and the desert, but he turned his face from her to the wall. One day she - sang of Death the releaser, and Ruark thought, ''Tis come! she - warneth me! Merciful is Allah!' On the morning that followed Ukleet - entered the cell, and with him three slaves, blacks, armed with scimitars. - So Ruark stood up and bore witness to his faith, saying, 'Swift with - the stroke!' but Ukleet exclaimed, 'Fear not! the end is not - yet.' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'Peace with thee! These slaves, O Chief, excelling in - martial qualities! surely they're my retinue, and the retinue of - them of my rank in the palace; and where I go they go; for the exalted - have more shadows than one! yea, three have they in my case, even very - grimly black shadows, whereon the idle expend not laughter, and whoso - joketh in their hearing, 'tis, wullahy! the last joke of that - person. In such-wise are the powerful known among men, they that stand - very prominent in the beams of prosperity! Now this of myself; but for - thee—of a surety the Queen Bhanavar, my mistress, will be here by - the time of the rising of the moon. In the name of Allah!' Saying - that he departed in his greatness, and Ruark watched for her that rose in - his soul as the moon in the heavens. - </p> - <p> - Meanwhile Bhanavar had mused, ''Tis this day, the day when the - Serpents desire their due, and the King Mashalleed they shall have; for - what is life to him but a treachery and a dalliance, and what is my hold - on him but this Jewel of the Serpents? He has had the profit of beauty, - and he shall yield the penalty: my kiss is for him, my serpent-kiss. And I - will release Ruark, and espouse him, and war with kings, sultans, - emperors, infidels, subduing them till they worship me.' - </p> - <p> - She flashed her figure in the glass, and was lovely therein as one in the - light of Paradise; but ere she reached the King Mashalleed, lo! the hour - of the Serpents had struck, and her beauty melted from her as snow melts - from off the rock; and she was suddenly haggard in utter uncomeliness, and - knew it not, but marched, smiling a grand smile, on to the King. Now as - Mashalleed lifted his eyes to her he started amazed, crying, 'The - hag again!' and she said, 'What of the hag, O my lord the - King?' Thereat he was yet more amazed, and exclaimed, 'The hag - of ugliness with the voice of Bhanavar! Has then the Queen lent that - loathsomeness her voice also?' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar chilled a moment, and looked on the faces of the women present, - and they were staring at her, the younger ones tittering, and among them - Nashta, whom she hated. So she cried, 'Away with ye!' But the - King commanded them, 'Stay!' Then the Queen leaned to him, - saying, 'I will speak with my lord alone'; whereat he shrank - from her, and spat. Ice and flame shivered through the blood of Bhanavar, - yet such was her eagerness to give the kiss to Mashalleed, that she leaned - to him, still wooing him to her with smiles. Then the King seized her - violently, and flung her over the marble floor to the very basin of the - fountain, and the crown that was on her brow fell and rolled to the feet - of Nashta. The girl lifted it, laughing, and was in the act of fitting it - to her fair head amid the chuckles of her companions, when a slap from the - hand of Bhanavar spun her twice round, and she dropped to the marble - insensible. The King bellowed in wrath, and ran to Nashta, crying to the - Queen, 'Surrender that crown to her, foul hag!' But Bhanavar - had bent over the basin of the fountain, and beheld the image of her - change therein, and was hurrying from the hall and down the corridors of - the palace to the private chamber. So he made bare the steel by his side, - and followed her with a number of the harem guard, menacing her, and - commanding her to surrender the crown with the Jewel. Ere she could lay - hand on a veil, he was beside her, and she was encompassed. In that - extremity Bhanavar plucked the Jewel from her crown, and rubbed it, - calling the Serpents to her. One came, one only, and that one would not - move from her to sling himself about the neck of Mashalleed, but whirled - round her, hissing: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Every hour a serpent dies, - Till we have the sacrifice: - Sweeten, sweeten, with thy kiss, - Quick! a soul for Karatis. -</pre> - <p> - Surely the King bit his breath, marvelling, and his fury became an awful - fear, and he fell back from her, molesting her no further. Then she - squeezed the serpent till his body writhed in knots, and veiled herself, - and sprang down a secret passage to the garden, and it was the time of the - rising of the moon. Coolness and soothingness dropped on her as a balm - from the great light, and she gazed on it murmuring, as in a memory: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that dark palm-tree through the night, - Rest on the mountain slope, - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps, - Silvery leaps and falls: - Hang by the mountain-walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! -</pre> - <p> - And she panted and sighed, and wept, crying, 'Who, who will kiss me - or have my kiss now, that I may indeed be as yonder beam? Who, that I may - be avenged on this King? And who sang that song of the ascending of the - moon, that comes to me as a part of me from old times?' As she gazed - on the circled radiance swimming under a plume of palm leaves, she - exclaimed, 'Ruark! Ruark the Chief!' So she clasped her hands - to her bosom, and crouched under the shadows of the garden, and fled - through the garden gates and the streets of the city, heavily veiled, to - the prison where Ruark awaited her within the walls and Ukleet without. - The Governor of the prison had been warned by Ukleet of her coming, and - the doors and bars opened before her unchallenged, till she stood in the - cell of Ruark; her eyes, that were alone unveiled, scanned the countenance - of the Chief, the fevered lustre-jet of his looks, and by the little - moonlight in the cell she saw with a glance the straw-heap and the - fetters, and the black-bread and water untasted on the bench—signs - of his misery and desire for her coming. So she greeted him with the word - of peace, and he replied with the name of the All-Merciful. Then said she, - 'O Ruark, of Rukrooth thy mother tell me somewhat.' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'I know nought of her since that day. Allah have her in - his keeping!' - </p> - <p> - So she cried, 'How? What say'st thou, Ruark? 'tis a - riddle.' - </p> - <p> - Then he, 'The oath of Ruark is no rope of sand! He swore to see her - not till he had set eyes on Bhanavar.' - </p> - <p> - She knelt by the Chief, saying in a soft voice, 'Very greatly the - Chief of the Beni-Asser loved Bhanavar.' And she thought, 'Yea! - greatly and verily love I him; and he shall be no victim of the Serpents, - for I defy them and give them other prey.' So she said in deeper - notes, 'Ruark! the Queen is come hither to release thee. O my Chief! - O thou soul of wrath! Ruark, my fire-eye! my eagle of the desert! where is - one on earth beloved as thou art by Bhanavar?' The dark light in his - eyes kindled as light in the eyes of a lion, and she continued, 'Ruark, - what a yoke is hers who weareth this crown! He that is my lord, how am I - mated to him save in loathing? O my Chief, my lion! hadst thou no dream of - Bhanavar, that she would come hither to unbind thee and lift thee beside - her, and live with thee in love and veilless loveliness,—thine? Yea! - and in power over lands and nations and armies, lording the infidel, - taming them to submission, exulting in defiance and assaults and victories - and magnanimities—thou and she?' Then while his breast heaved - like a broad wave, the Queen started to her feet, crying, 'Lo, she - is here! and this she offereth thee, Ruark!' - </p> - <p> - A shrill cry parted from her lips, and to the clapping of her hands slaves - entered the cell with lamps, and instruments to strike off the fetters - from the Chief; and they released him, and Ruark leaned on their shoulders - to bear the weight of a limb, so was he weakened by captivity; but - Bhanavar thrust them from the Chief, and took the pressure of his elbow on - her own shoulder, and walked with him thus to the door of the cell, he - sighing as one in a dream that dreameth the bliss of bliss. Now they had - gone three paces onward, and were in the light of many lamps, when behold! - the veil of Bhanavar caught in the sleeve of Ruark as he lifted it, and - her visage became bare. She shrieked, and caught up her two hands to her - brow, but the slaves had a glimpse of her, and said among themselves, - 'This is not the Queen.' And they murmured, ''Tis - an impostor! one in league with the Chief.' Bhanavar heard them say, - 'Arrest her with him at the Governor's gate,' and - summoned her soul, thinking, 'He loveth me, the Chief! he will look - into my eyes and mark not the change. What need I then to dread his scorn - when I ask of him the kiss: now must it be given, or we are lost, both of - us!' and she raised her head on Ruark, and said to him, 'my - Chief, ere we leave these walls and join our fates, wilt thou plight - thyself to me with a kiss?' - </p> - <p> - Ruark leapt to her like the bounding leopard, and gave her the kiss, as - were it his whole soul he gave. Then in a moment Bhanavar felt the blush - of beauty burn over her, and drew the veil down on her face, and suffered - the slaves to arrest her with Ruark, and bring her before the Governor, - and from the Governor to the King in his council-chamber, with the Chief - of the Beni-Asser. - </p> - <p> - Now, the King Mashalleed called to her, 'Thou traitress! thou - sorceress! thou serpent!' - </p> - <p> - And she answered under the veil, 'What, O my lord the King! and - wherefore these evil names of me?' - </p> - <p> - Cried he, 'Thou thing of guile! and thou hast pleaded with me for - the life of the Chief thus long to visit him in secret! Life of my head I - but Mashalleed is not one to be fooled.' - </p> - <p> - So she said, ''Tis Bhanavar! hast thou forgotten her?' - </p> - <p> - Then he waxed white with rage, exclaiming, 'Yea, 'tis she! a - serpent in the slough! and Ukleet in the torture hath told of thee what is - known to him. Unveil! unveil!' - </p> - <p> - She threw the veil from her figure, and smiled, for Mashalleed was mute, - the torrent of invective frozen on his mouth when he beheld the miracle of - beauty that she was, the splendid jewel of throbbing loveliness. So to - scourge him with the bitter lash of jealousy, Bhanavar turned her eyes on - Ruark, and said sweetly, 'Yet shalt thou live to taste again the - bliss of the Desert. Pleasant was our time in it, O my Chief!' The - King glared and choked, and she said again, 'Nor he conquered thee, - but I; and I that conquered thee, little will it be for me to conquer him: - his threats are the winds of idleness.' - </p> - <p> - Surely the world darkened before the eyes of Mashalleed, and he arose and - called to his guard hoarsely, 'Have off their heads!' They - hesitated, dreading the Queen, and he roared, 'Slay them!' - </p> - <p> - Bhanavar beheld the winking of the steel, but ere the scimitars descended, - she seized Ruark, and they stood in a whizzing ring of serpents, the sound - of whom was as the hum of a thousand wires struck by storm-winds. Then she - glowed, towering over them with the Chief clasped to her, and crying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - King of vileness! match thy slaves - With my creatures of the caves. -</pre> - <p> - And she sang to the Serpents: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Seize upon him! sting him thro'! - Thrice this day shall pay your due. -</pre> - <p> - But they, instead of obeying her injunction, made narrower their circle - round Bhanavar and the Chief. She yellowed, and took hold of the nearest - Serpent horribly, crying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Dare against me to rebel, - Ye, the bitter brood of hell? -</pre> - <p> - And the Serpent gasped in reply: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - One the kiss to us secures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. -</pre> - <p> - Thereupon another of the Serpents swung on, the feet of Ruark, winding his - length upward round the body of the Chief; so she tugged at that one, - tearing it from him violently, and crying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Him ye shall not have, I swear! - Seize the King that's crouching there. -</pre> - <p> - And that Serpent hissed: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - This is he the kiss ensures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. -</pre> - <p> - Another and another Serpent she flung from the Chief, and they began to - swarm venomously, answering her no more. Then Ruark bore witness to his - faith, and folded his arms with the grave smile she had known in the - desert; and Bhanavar struggled and tussled with the Serpents in - fierceness, strangling and tossing them to right and left. 'Great is - Allah!' cried all present, and the King trembled, for never was - sight like that seen, the hall flashing with the Serpents, and a - woman-serpent, their Queen, raging to save one from their fury, shrieking - at intervals: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Never, never shall ye fold, - Save with me the man I hold. -</pre> - <p> - But now the hiss and scream of the Serpents and the noise of their - circling was quickened to a slurred savage sound and they closed on Ruark, - and she felt him stifling and that they were relentless. So in the height - of the tempest Bhanavar seized the Jewel in the gold circlet on her brow - and cast it from her. Lo! the Serpents instantly abated their frenzy, and - flew all of them to pluck the Jewel, chasing the one that had it in his - fangs through the casement, and the hall breathed empty of them. Then in - the silence that was, Bhanavar veiled her face and said to the Chief, - 'Pass from the hall while they yet dread me. No longer am I Queen of - Serpents.' - </p> - <p> - But he replied, 'Nay! said I not my soul is thine?' - </p> - <p> - She cried to him, 'Seest thou not the change in me? I was bound to - those Serpents for my beauty, and 'tis gone! Now am I powerless, - hateful to look on, O Ruark my Chief!' - </p> - <p> - He remained still, saying, 'What thou hast been thou art.' - </p> - <p> - She exclaimed, 'O true soul, the light is hateful to me as I to the - light; but I will yet save thee to comfort Rukrooth, thy mother.' - </p> - <p> - So she drew him with her swiftly from the hall of the King ere the King - had recovered his voice of command; but now the wrath of the All-powerful - was upon her and him! Surely within an hour from the flight of the - Serpents, the slaves and soldiers of Mashalleed laid at his feet two heads - that were the heads of Ruark and Bhanavar; and they said, 'O great - King, we tracked them to her chamber and through to a passage and a vault - hung with black, wherein were two corpses, one in a tomb and one unburied, - and we slew them there, clasping each other, O King of the age!' - </p> - <p> - Mashalleed gazed upon the head of Bhanavar and sighed, for death had made - the head again fair with a wondrous beauty, a loveliness never before seen - on earth. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE BETROTHAL - </h2> - <p> - Now, when Shibli Bagarag had ceased speaking, the Vizier smiled gravely, - and shook his beard with satisfaction, and said to the Eclipser of Reason, - 'What opinest thou of this nephew of the barber, O Noorna bin - Noorka?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, “O Feshnavat, my father, truly I am content with the - bargain of my betrothal. He, Wullahy, is a fair youth of flowing speech.' - Then she said, 'Ask thou him what he opineth of me, his betrothed?” - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier put that interrogation to Shibli Bagarag, and the youth was - in perplexity; thinking, 'Is it possible to be joyful in the embrace - of one that hath brought thwackings upon us, serious blows?' - Thinking, 'Yet hath she, when the mood cometh, kindly looks; and I - marked her eye dwelling on me admiringly!' And he thought, 'Mayhap - she that groweth younger and counteth nature backwards, hath a history - that would affect me; or, it may be, my kisses—wah! I like not to - give them, and it is said, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Love is wither'd by the withered lip”; -</pre> - <p> - and that, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “On bones become too prominent he'll trip.” - </pre> - <p> - Yet put the case, that my kisses—I shower them not, Allah the - All-seeing is my witness! and they be given daintily as 'twere to - the leaf of a nettle, or over-hot pilau. Yet haply kisses repeated might - restore her to a bloom, and it is certain youth is somehow stolen from - her, if the Vizier Feshnavat went before her, and his blood be her blood; - and he is powerful, she wise. I'll decide to act the part of a - rejoicer, and express of her opinions honeyed to the soul of that sex.' - </p> - <p> - Now, while he was thus debating he hung his head, and the Vizier awaited - his response, knitting his brows angrily at the delay, and at the last he - cried, 'What! no answer? how 's this? Shall thy like dare hold - debate when questioned of my like? And is my daughter Noorna bin Noorka, - thinkest thou, a slave-girl in the market,—thou haggling at her - price, O thou nephew of the barber?' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, 'O exalted one, bestower of the bride! - surely I debated with myself but for appropriate terms; and I delayed to - select the metre of the verse fitting my thoughts of her, and my wondrous - good fortune, and the honour done me.' - </p> - <p> - Then the Vizier, 'Let us hear: we listen.' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag was advised to deal with illustrations in his dilemma, - by-ways of expression, and spake in extemporaneous verse, and with a full - voice: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The pupils of the Sage for living Beauty sought; - And one a Vision clasped, and one a Model wrought. - 'I have it!' each exclaimed, and rivalry arose: - 'Paint me thy Maid of air!' 'Thy Grace of clay disclose.' - 'What! limbs that cannot move!' 'What! lips that melt away!' - 'Keep thou thy Maid of air!' 'Shroud up thy Grace of clay!' - 'Twas thus, contending hot, they went before the Sage, - And knelt at the wise wells of cold ascetic age. - 'The fairest of the twain, O father, thou record': -</pre> - <p> - He answered, 'Fairest she who's likest to her lord.' - </p> - <p> - Said they, 'What fairer thing matched with them might prevail?' - </p> - <p> - The Sage austerely smiled, and said, 'Yon monkey's tail.' - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Tis left for after-time his wisdom to declare: - That's loveliest we best love, and to ourselves compare. - Yet lovelier than all hands shape or fancies build, - The meanest thing of earth God with his fire hath filled. -</pre> - <p> - Now, when Shibli Bagarag ceased, Noorna bin Noorka cried, 'Enough, O - wondrous turner of verse, thou that art honest!' And she laughed - loudly, rustling like a bag of shavings, and rolling in her laughter. - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'O my betrothed, is not the thing thou wouldst say no - other than— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Each to his mind doth the fairest enfold, - For broken long since was Beauty's mould”; -</pre> - <p> - and, “Thou that art old, withered, I cannot flatter thee, as I can - in no way pay compliments to the monkey's tail of high design; - nevertheless the Sage would do thee honour”? So read I thy - illustration, O keen of wit! and thou art forgiven its boldness, my - betrothed,—Wullahy! utterly so.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the youth was abashed at her discernment, and the kindliness of her - manner won him to say: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - There's many a flower of sweetness, there's many a gem of earth - Would thrill with bliss our being, could we perceive its worth. - O beauteous is creation, in fashion and device! - If I have fail'd to think thee fair, 'tis blindness is my vice. -</pre> - <p> - And she answered him: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I've proved thy wit and power of verse, - That is at will diffuse and terse: - Lest thou commence to lie—be dumb! - I am content: the time will come! -</pre> - <p> - Then she said to the Vizier Feshnavat, 'O my father, there is all in - this youth, the nephew of the barber, that's desirable for the - undertaking; and his feet will be on a level with the task we propose for - him, he the height of man above it. 'Tis clear that vanity will trip - him, but honesty is a strong upholder; and he is one that hath the spirit - of enterprise and the mask of dissimulation: gratitude I observe in him; - and it is as I thought when I came upon him on the sand-hill outside the - city, that his star is clearly in a web with our star, he destined for the - Shaving of Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier replied, 'He hath had thwackings, yet is he not - deterred from making further attempt on Shagpat. I think well of him, and - I augur hopefully. Wullahy! the Cadi shall be sent for; I can sleep in his - secresy; and he shall perform the ceremonies of betrothal, even now and - where we sit, and it shall be for him to write the terms of contract: so - shall we bind the youth firmly to us, and he will be one of us as we are, - devoted to the undertaking by three bonds—the bond of vengeance, the - bond of ambition, and that of love.' - </p> - <p> - Now, so it was that the Vizier despatched a summons for the attendance of - the Cadi, and he came and performed between Shibli Bagarag and Noorna bin - Noorka ceremonies of betrothal, and wrote terms of contract; and they were - witnessed duly by the legal number of witnesses, and so worded that he had - no claim on her as wife till such time as the Event to which he bound - himself was mastered. Then the fees being paid, and compliments - interchanged, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Be ye happy! and let the weak - cling to the strong; and be ye two to one in this world, and no split - halves that betray division and stick not together when the gum is heated.' - Then he made a sign to the Cadi and them that had witnessed the contract - to follow him, leaving the betrothed ones to their own company. - </p> - <p> - So when they were alone Noorna gazed on the youth wistfully, and said in a - soft tone, 'Thou art dazed with the adventure, O youth! Surely there - is one kiss owing me: art thou willing? Am I reduced to beg it of thee? Or - dream'st thou?' - </p> - <p> - He lifted his head and replied, 'Even so.' - </p> - <p> - Thereat he stood up languidly, and went to her and kissed her. And she - smiled and said, 'I wot it will be otherwise, and thou wilt learn - swiftness of limb, brightness of eye, and the longing for earthly - beatitude, when next I ask thee, O my betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - Lo! while she spake, new light seemed in her; and it was as if a splendid - jewel were struggling to cast its beams through the sides of a crystal - vase smeared with dust and old dirt and spinnings of the damp spider. He - was amazed, and cried, 'How's this? What change is passing in - thee?' - </p> - <p> - She said, 'Joy in thy kiss, and that I have 'scaped Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - Then he: 'Shagpat? How? had that wretch claim over thee ere I came?' - </p> - <p> - But she looked fearfully at the corners of the room and exclaimed, 'Hush, - my betrothed! speak not of him in that fashion, 'tis dangerous; and - my power cannot keep off his emissaries at all times.' Then she - said, 'O my betrothed, know me a sorceress ensorcelled; not that I - seem, but that I shall be! Wait thou for the time and it will reward thee. - What! thou think'st to have plucked a wrinkled o'erripe fruit,—a - mouldy pomegranate under the branches, a sour tamarind? 'Tis well! I - say nought, save that time will come, and be thou content. It is truly as - I said, that I have thee between me and Shagpat; and that honoured one of - this city thought fit in his presumption to demand me in marriage at the - hands of my father, knowing me wise, and knowing the thing that - transformed me to this, the abominable fellow! Surely my father - entertained not his proposal save with scorn; but the King looked - favourably on it, and it is even now matter of reproach to Feshnavat, my - father, that he withholdeth me from Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'A clothier, O Noorna, control the Vizier! and - demand of him his daughter in marriage! and a clothier influence the King - against his Vizier!'—tis, wullahy! a riddle.' - </p> - <p> - She replied, ''Tis even so, eyes of mine, my betrothed! but - thou know'st not Shagpat, and that he is. Lo! the King, and all of - this city save we three, are held in enchantment by him, and made foolish - by one hair that's in his head.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag started in his seat like one that shineth with a discovery, - and cried, 'The Identical!' - </p> - <p> - Then she, sighing, ''Tis that indeed! but the Identical of - Identicals, the chief and head of them, and I, woe's me! I, the - planter of it.' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'How so?' - </p> - <p> - But she cried, 'I'll tell thee not here, nor aught of myself - and him, and the Genie held in bondage by me, till thou art proved by - adventure, and we float peacefully on the sea of the Bright Lily: there - shalt thou see me as I am, and hear my story, and marvel at it; for - 'tis wondrous, and a manifestation of the Power that dwelleth - unseen.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag pondered awhile on the strange nature of the things she - hinted, and laughter seized him as he reflected on Shagpat, and the whole - city enchanted by one hair in his head; and he exclaimed, 'O Noorna, - knoweth he, Shagpat, of the might in him?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Enough for his vain soul that homage is paid to him, - and he careth not for the wherefore!' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag fixed his eyes on the deep-flowered carpets of the floor, - as if reading there a matter quaintly written, and smiled, saying, 'What - boldness was mine—the making offer to shear Shagpat, the lion in his - lair, he that holdeth a whole city in enchantment! Wah! 'twas an - instance of daring!' - </p> - <p> - And Noorna said, 'Not only an entire city, but other cities affected - by him, as witness Oolb, whither thou wilt go; and there be governments - and states, and conditions of men remote, that hang upon him, Shagpat. - 'Tis even so; I swell not his size. When thou hast mastered the - Event, and sent him forth shivering from thy blade like the shorn lamb, - 'twill be known how great a thing has been achieved, and a record - for the generations to come; choice is that historian destined to record - it!' - </p> - <p> - Quoth he, looking eagerly at her, 'O Noorna, what is it in thy - speech affecteth me? Surely it infuseth the vigour of wine, old wine; and - I shiver with desire to shave Shagpat, and spin threads for the historian - to weave in order. I, wullahy! had but dry visions of the greatness - destined for me till now, my betrothed! Shall I master an Event in shaving - him, and be told of to future ages? By Allah and his Prophet (praise be to - that name!), this is greatness! Say, Noorna, hadst thou foreknowledge of - me and my coming to this city?' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'I was on the roofs one night among the stars ere - moonrise, O my betrothed, and 'twas close on the rise of this very - month's moon. The star of our enemy, Shagpat, was large and red, - mine as it were menaced by its proximity, nigh swallowed in its haughty - beams and the steady overbearings of its effulgence. 'Twas so as it - had long been, when suddenly, lo! a star from the upper heaven that shot - down between them wildly, and my star took lustre from it; and the star of - Shagpat trembled like a ring on a tightened rope, and waved and flickered, - and seemed to come forward and to retire; and 'twas presently as a - comet in the sky, bright,—a tadpole, with large head and lengthy - tail, in the assembly of the planets. This I saw: and that the stranger - star was stationed by my star, shielding it, and that it drew nearer to my - star, and entered its circle, and that the two stars seemed mixing the - splendour that was theirs. Now, that sight amazed me, and my heart in its - beating quickened with the expectation of things approaching. Surely I - rendered praise, and pressed both hands on my bosom, and watched, and - behold! the comet, the illumined tadpole, was becoming restless beneath - the joint rays of the twain that were dominating him; and he diminished, - and lashed his tail uneasily, half madly, darting as do captured beasts - from the fetters that constrain them. Then went there from thy star—for - I know now 'twas thine—a momentary flash across the head of - the tadpole, and again another and another, rapidly, pertinaciously. And - from thy star there passed repeated flashes across the head of the - tadpole, till his brilliance was as 'twere severed from him, and he, - like drossy silver, a dead shape in the conspicuous heavens. And he became - yellow as the rolling eyes of sick wretches in pain, and shrank in his - place like pale parchment at the touch of flame; dull was he as an animal - fascinated by fear, and deprived of all power to make head against the - foe, darkness, that now beset him, and usurped part of his yet lively - tail, and settled on his head, and coated part of his body. So when this - tadpole, that was once terrible to me, became turbaned, shoed, and shawled - with darkness, and there was little of him remaining visible, lo! a - concluding flash shot from thy star, and he fell heavily down the sky and - below the hills, into the sea, that is the Enchanted Sea, whose Queen is - Rabesqurat, Mistress of Illusions. Now when my soul recovered from - amazement at the marvels seen, I arose and went from the starry roofs to - consult my books of magic, and 'twas revealed to me that one was - wandering to a junction with my destiny, and that by his means the great - aim would of a surety be accomplished—Shagpat Shaved! So my purpose - was to discover him; and I made calculations, and summoned them that serve - me to search for such a youth as thou art; fairly, O my betrothed, did I - preconceive thee. And so it was that I traced a magic line from the - sand-hills to the city, and from the outer hills to the sand-hills; and - whoso approached by that line I knew was he marked out as my champion, my - betrothed,—a youth destined for great things. Was I right? The egg - hatcheth. Thou art already proved by thwackings, seasoned to the - undertaking, and I doubt not thou art he that will finish with that - tadpole Shagpat, and sit in the high seat, thy name an odour in distant - lands, a joy to the historian, the Compiler of Events, thou Master of the - Event, the greatest which time will witness for ages to come.' - </p> - <p> - When she had spoken Shibli Bagarag considered her words, and the knowledge - that he was selected by destiny as Master of the Event inflated him; and - he was a hawk in eagerness, a peacock in pride, an ostrich in fulness of - chest, crying, 'O Noorna bin Noorka! is't really so? Truly it - must be, for the readers of planets were also busy with me at the time of - my birth, interpreting of me in excessive agitation; and the thing they - foretold is as thou foretellest. I am, wullahy! marked: I walk manifest in - the eye of Providence.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he exulted, and his mind strutted through the future of his - days, and down the ladder of all time, exacting homage from men, his - brethren; and 'twas beyond the art of Noorna to fix him to the - present duties of the enterprise: he was as feathered seed before the - breath of vanity. - </p> - <p> - Now, while the twain discoursed, she of the preparations for shaving - Shagpat, he of his completion of the deed, and the honours due to him as - Master of the Event, Feshnavat the Vizier returned to them from his - entertainment of the Cadi; and he had bribed him to silence with a mighty - bribe. So he called to them— - </p> - <p> - 'Ho! be ye ready to commence the work? and have ye advised together - as to the beginning? True is that triplet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Whatever enterprize man hath, - For waking love or curbing wrath, - 'Tis the first step that makes a path.” - </pre> - <p> - And how have ye determined as to that first step?' - </p> - <p> - Noorna replied, 'O my father! we have not decided, and there hath - been yet no deliberation between us as to that.' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'All this while have ye talked, and no deliberation as - to that! Lo, I have drawn the Cadi to our plot, and bribed him with a - mighty bribe; and I have prepared possible disguises for this nephew of - the barber; and I have had the witnesses of thy betrothal despatched to - foreign parts, far kingdoms in the land of Roum, to prevent tattling and - gabbling; and ye that were left alone for debating as to the great deed, - ye have not yet deliberated as to that! Is't known to ye, O - gabblers, aught of the punishment inflicted by Shahpesh, the Persian, on - Khipil, the Builder?—a punishment that, by Allah!' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag said, 'How of that punishment, O Vizier?' - </p> - <p> - And the Vizier narrated as followeth. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - AND THIS IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE - BUILDER - </h2> - <p> - They relate that Shahpesh, the Persian, commanded the building of a - palace, and Khipil was his builder. The work lingered from the first year - of the reign of Shahpesh even to his fourth. One day Shahpesh went to the - riverside where it stood, to inspect it. Khipil was sitting on a marble - slab among the stones and blocks; round him stretched lazily the masons - and stonecutters and slaves of burden; and they with the curve of humorous - enjoyment on their lips, for he was reciting to them adventures, - interspersed with anecdotes and recitations and poetic instances, as was - his wont. They were like pleased flocks whom the shepherd hath led to a - pasture freshened with brooks, there to feed indolently; he, the shepherd, - in the midst. - </p> - <p> - Now, the King said to him, 'O Khipil, show me my palace where it - standeth, for I desire to gratify my sight with its fairness.' - </p> - <p> - Khipil abased himself before Shahpesh, and answered, ''Tis - even here, O King of the age, where thou delightest the earth with thy - foot and the ear of thy slave with sweetness. Surely a site of vantage, - one that dominateth earth, air, and water, which is the builder's - first and chief requisition for a noble palace, a palace to fill foreign - kings and sultans with the distraction of envy; and it is, O Sovereign of - the time, a site, this site I have chosen, to occupy the tongues of - travellers and awaken the flights of poets!' - </p> - <p> - Shahpesh smiled and said, 'The site is good! I laud the site! - Likewise I laud the wisdom of Ebn Busrac, where he exclaims: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Be sure, where Virtue faileth to appear, - For her a gorgeous mansion men will rear; - And day and night her praises will be heard, - Where never yet she spake a single word.”' -</pre> - <p> - Then said he, 'O Khipil, my builder, there was once a farm servant - that, having neglected in the seed-time to sow, took to singing the - richness of his soil when it was harvest, in proof of which he displayed - the abundance of weeds that coloured the land everywhere. Discover to me - now the completeness of my halls and apartments, I pray thee, O Khipil, - and be the excellence of thy construction made visible to me!' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Khipil, 'To hear is to obey.' - </p> - <p> - He conducted Shahpesh among the unfinished saloons and imperfect courts - and roofless rooms, and by half erected obelisks, and columns pierced and - chipped, of the palace of his building. And he was bewildered at the words - spoken by Shahpesh; but now the King exalted him, and admired the - perfection of his craft, the greatness of his labour, the speediness of - his construction, his assiduity; feigning not to behold his negligence. - </p> - <p> - Presently they went up winding balusters to a marble terrace, and the King - said, 'Such is thy devotion and constancy in toil, Khipil, that thou - shaft walk before me here.' - </p> - <p> - He then commanded Khipil to precede him, and Khipil was heightened with - the honour. When Khipil had paraded a short space he stopped quickly, and - said to Shahpesh, 'Here is, as it chanceth, a gap, O King! and we - can go no further this way.' - </p> - <p> - Shahpesh said, 'All is perfect, and it is my will thou delay not to - advance.' - </p> - <p> - Khipil cried, 'The gap is wide, O mighty King, and manifest, and it - is an incomplete part of thy palace.' - </p> - <p> - Then said Shahpesh, 'O Khipil, I see no distinction between one part - and another; excellent are all parts in beauty and proportion, and there - can be no part incomplete in this palace that occupieth the builder four - years in its building: so advance, do my bidding.' - </p> - <p> - Khipil yet hesitated, for the gap was of many strides, and at the bottom - of the gap was a deep water, and he one that knew not the motion of - swimming. But Shahpesh ordered his guard to point their arrows in the - direction of Khipil, and Khipil stepped forward hurriedly, and fell in the - gap, and was swallowed by the water below. When he rose the second time, - succour reached him, and he was drawn to land trembling, his teeth - chattering. And Shahpesh praised him, and said, 'This is an apt - contrivance for a bath, Khipil O my builder! well conceived; one that - taketh by surprise; and it shall be thy reward daily when much talking - hath fatigued thee.' - </p> - <p> - Then he bade Khipil lead him to the hall of state. And when they were - there Shahpesh said, 'For a privilege, and as a mark of my - approbation, I give thee permission to sit in the marble chair of yonder - throne, even in my presence, O Khipil.' - </p> - <p> - Khipil said, 'Surely, O King, the chair is not yet executed.' - </p> - <p> - And Shahpesh exclaimed, 'If this be so, thou art but the length of - thy measure on the ground, O talkative one!' - </p> - <p> - Khipil said, 'Nay, 'tis not so, O King of splendours! blind - that I am! yonder's indeed the chair.' - </p> - <p> - And Khipil feared the King, and went to the place where the chair should - be, and bent his body in a sitting posture, eyeing the King, and made - pretence to sit in the chair of Shahpesh, as in conspiracy to amuse his - master. - </p> - <p> - Then said Shahpesh, 'For a token that I approve thy execution of the - chair, thou shalt be honoured by remaining seated in it up to the hour of - noon; but move thou to the right or to the left, showing thy soul - insensible of the honour done thee, transfixed thou shah be with twenty - arrows and five.' - </p> - <p> - The King then left him with a guard of twenty-five of his body-guard; and - they stood around him with bent bows, so that Khipil dared not move from - his sitting posture. And the masons and the people crowded to see Khipil - sitting on his master's chair, for it became rumoured about. When - they beheld him sitting upon nothing, and he trembling to stir for fear of - the loosening of the arrows, they laughed so that they rolled upon the - floor of the hall, and the echoes of laughter were a thousand-fold. Surely - the arrows of the guards swayed with the laughter that shook them. - </p> - <p> - Now, when the time had expired for his sitting in the chair, Shahpesh - returned to him, and he was cramped, pitiable to see; and Shahpesh said, - 'Thou hast been exalted above men, O Khipil! for that thou didst - execute for thy master has been found fitting for thee.' - </p> - <p> - Then he bade Khipil lead the way to the noble gardens of dalliance and - pleasure that he had planted and contrived. And Khipil went in that state - described by the poet, when we go draggingly, with remonstrating members, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Knowing a dreadful strength behind, - And a dark fate before. -</pre> - <p> - They came to the gardens, and behold, these were full of weeds and - nettles, the fountains dry, no tree to be seen—a desert. And - Shahpesh cried, 'This is indeed of admirable design, O Khipil! - Feelest thou not the coolness of the fountains?—their - refreshingness? Truly I am grateful to thee! And these flowers, pluck me - now a handful, and tell me of their perfume.' - </p> - <p> - Khipil plucked a handful of the nettles that were there in the place of - flowers, and put his nose to them before Shahpesh, till his nose was - reddened; and desire to rub it waxed in him, and possessed him, and became - a passion, so that he could scarce refrain from rubbing it even in the - King's presence. And the King encouraged him to sniff and enjoy - their fragrance, repeating the poet's words: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Methinks I am a lover and a child, - A little child and happy lover, both! - When by the breath of flowers I am beguiled - From sense of pain, and lulled in odorous sloth. - So I adore them, that no mistress sweet - Seems worthier of the love which they awake: - In innocence and beauty more complete, - Was never maiden cheek in morning lake. - Oh, while I live, surround me with fresh flowers! - Oh, when I die, then bury me in their bowers! -</pre> - <p> - And the King said, 'What sayest thou, O my builder? that is a fair - quotation, applicable to thy feelings, one that expresseth them?' - </p> - <p> - Khipil answered, ''Tis eloquent, O great King! - comprehensiveness would be its portion, but that it alludeth not to the - delight of chafing.' - </p> - <p> - Then Shahpesh laughed, and cried, 'Chafe not! it is an ill thing and - a hideous! This nosegay, O Khipil, it is for thee to present to thy - mistress. Truly she will receive thee well after its presentation! I will - have it now sent in thy name, with word that thou followest quickly. And - for thy nettled nose, surely if the whim seize thee that thou desirest its - chafing, to thy neighbour is permitted what to thy hand is refused.' - </p> - <p> - The King set a guard upon Khipil to see that his orders were executed, and - appointed a time for him to return to the gardens. - </p> - <p> - At the hour indicated Khipil stood before Shahpesh again. He was pale, - saddened; his tongue drooped like the tongue of a heavy bell, that when it - soundeth giveth forth mournful sounds only: he had also the look of one - battered with many beatings. So the King said, 'How of the - presentation of the flowers of thy culture, O Khipil?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Surely, O King, she received me with wrath, and I am - shamed by her.' - </p> - <p> - And the King said, 'How of my clemency in the matter of the chafing?' - </p> - <p> - Khipil answered, 'O King of splendours! I made petition to my - neighbours whom I met, accosting them civilly and with imploring, for I - ached to chafe, and it was the very raging thirst of desire to chafe that - was mine, devouring eagerness for solace of chafing. And they chafed me, O - King; yet not in those parts which throbbed for the chafing, but in those - which abhorred it.' - </p> - <p> - Then Shahpesh smiled and said, ''Tis certain that the - magnanimity of monarchs is as the rain that falleth, the sun that shineth: - and in this spot it fertilizeth richness; in that encourageth rankness. So - art thou but a weed, O Khipil! and my grace is thy chastisement.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the King ceased not persecuting Khipil, under pretence of doing him - honour and heaping favours on him. Three days and three nights was Khipil - gasping without water, compelled to drink of the drought of the fountain, - as an honour at the hands of the King. And he was seven days and seven - nights made to stand with stretched arms, as they were the branches of a - tree, in each hand a pomegranate. And Shahpesh brought the people of his - court to regard the wondrous pomegranate shoot planted by Khipil, very - wondrous, and a new sort, worthy the gardens of a King. So the wisdom of - the King was applauded, and men wotted he knew how to punish offences in - coin, by the punishment inflicted on Khipil the builder. Before that time - his affairs had languished, and the currents of business instead of - flowing had become stagnant pools. It was the fashion to do as did Khipil, - and fancy the tongue a constructor rather than a commentator; and there is - a doom upon that people and that man which runneth to seed in gabble, as - the poet says in his wisdom: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - If thou wouldst be famous, and rich in splendid fruits, - Leave to bloom the flower of things, and dig among the roots. -</pre> - <p> - Truly after Khipil's punishment there were few in the dominions of - Shahpesh who sought to win the honours bestowed by him on gabblers and - idlers: as again the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When to loquacious fools with patience rare - I listen, I have thoughts of Khipil's chair: - His bath, his nosegay, and his fount I see,— - Himself stretch'd out as a pomegranate-tree. - And that I am not Shahpesh I regret, - So to inmesh the babbler in his net. - Well is that wisdom worthy to be sung, - Which raised the Palace of the Wagging Tongue! -</pre> - <p> - And whoso is punished after the fashion of Shahpesh, the Persian, on - Khipil the Builder, is said to be one 'in the Palace of the Wagging - Tongue' to this time. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE GENIE KARAZ - </h2> - <p> - Now, when the voice of the Vizier had ceased, Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, - 'O Vizier, this night, no later, I'll surprise Shagpat, and - shave him while he sleepeth: and he shall wake shorn beside his spouse. - Wullahy! I'll delay no longer, I, Shibli Bagarag.' - </p> - <p> - Said the Vizier, 'Thou?' - </p> - <p> - And he replied, 'Surely, O Vizier! thou knowest little of my - dexterity.' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier laughed, and Noorna bin Noorka laughed, and he was at a loss - to interpret the cause of their laughter. Then said Noorna, 'O my - betrothed, there's not a doubt among us of thy dexterity, nor - question of thy willingness; but this shaving of Shagpat, wullahy! 'tis - longer work than what thou makest of it.' - </p> - <p> - And he cried, 'How? because of the Chief of Identicals planted by - thee in his head?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Because of that; but 'tis the smallest opposer, - that.' - </p> - <p> - Then the Vizier said, 'Let us consult.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag gave ear, and the Vizier continued, 'There's - first, the Chief of Identicals planted by thee in the head of that - presumptuous fellow, O my daughter! By what means shall that be overcome?' - </p> - <p> - She said, 'I rank not that first, O Feshnavat, my father; surely I - rank first the illusions with which Rabesqurat hath surrounded him, and - made it difficult to know him from his semblances, whenever real danger - threateneth him.' - </p> - <p> - The Vizier assented, saying, 'Second, then, the Chief of Identicals?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Nay, O my father; second, the weakness that's - in man, and the little probability of his finishing with Shagpat at one - effort; and there is but a sole chance for whoso attempteth, and if he - faileth, 'tis forever he faileth.' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier said, 'Even I knew not 'twas so grave! Third, - then, the Chief of Identicals?' - </p> - <p> - She replied, 'Third! which showeth the difficulty of the task. Read - ye not, first, how the barber must come upon Shagpat and fix him for his - operation; second, how the barber must be possessed of more than mortal - strength to master him in so many strokes; third, how the barber must have - a blade like no other blade in this world in sharpness, in temper, in - velocity of sweep, that he may reap this crop which flourisheth on - Shagpat, and with it the magic hair which defieth edge of mortal blades?' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Vizier sighed at the words, saying, 'Powerful is Shagpat. I - knew not the thing I undertook. I fear his mastery of us, and we shall be - contemned—objects for the red finger of scorn.' - </p> - <p> - Noorna turned to Shibli Bagarag and asked, 'Do the three bonds of - enterprise—vengeance, ambition, and love—shrink in thee from - this great contest?' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag said, ''Tis terrible! on my head be it!' - </p> - <p> - She gazed at him a moment tenderly, and said, 'Thou art worthy of - what is in store for thee, O my betrothed! and I think little of the - dangers, in contemplation of the courage in thee. Lo, if vengeance and - ambition spur thee so, how will not love when added to the two?' - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'As to the enchantments and spells that shall - overreach him, and as to the blade wherewith to shear him?' - </p> - <p> - Feshnavat exclaimed, 'Yonder 's indeed where we stumble and - are tripped at starting.' - </p> - <p> - But she cried, 'What if I know of a sword that nought on earth or - under resisteth, and before the keen edge of which all Illusions and - Identicals are as summer grass to the scythe?' - </p> - <p> - They both shouted, 'The whereabout of that sword, O Noorna!' - </p> - <p> - So she said, ''Tis in Aklis, in the mountains of the Koosh; - and the seven sons of Aklis sharpen it day and night till the adventurer - cometh to claim it for his occasion. Whoso succeedeth in coming to them - they know to have power over the sword, and 'tis then holiday for - them. Many are the impediments, and they are as holes where the fox - haunteth. So they deliver to his hand the sword till his object is - attained, his Event mastered, smitten through with it; and 'tis - called the Sword of Events. Surely, with it the father of the Seven - vanquished the mighty Roc, Kroojis, that threatened mankind with ruin, and - a stain of the Roc's blood is yet on the hilt of the sword. How - sayest thou, O Feshnavat,—shall we devote ourselves to get - possession of that Sword?' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier brightened at her words, and said, 'O excellent in - wisdom and star of counsel! speak further, and as to the means.' - </p> - <p> - Noorna bin Noorka continued, 'Thou knowest, O my father, I am - proficient in the arts of magic, and I am what I am, and what I shall be, - by its uses. 'Tis known to thee also that I hold a Genie in bondage, - and can utter ten spells and one spell in a breath. Surely my services to - the youth in his attainment of the Sword will be beyond price! Now to - reach Aklis and the Sword there are three things needed—charms: and - one is a phial full of the waters of Paravid from the wells in the - mountain yon-side the desert; and one, certain hairs that grow in the tail - of the horse Garraveen, he that roameth wild in the meadows of Melistan; - and one, that the youth gather and bear to Aklis, for the white antelope - Gulrevaz, the Lily of the Lovely Light that groweth in the hollow of the - crags over the Enchanted Sea: with these spells he will command the Sword - of Aklis, and nothing can bar him passage. Moreover I will expend in his - aid all my subtleties, my transformations, the stores of my wisdom. Many - seek this Sword, and people the realms of Rabesqurat, or are beasts in - Aklis, or crowned Apes, or go to feed the Roc, Kroojis, in the abyss - beneath the Roc's-egg bridge; but there's virtue in Shibli - Bagarag: wullahy! I am wistful in him of the hand of Destiny, and he will - succeed in this undertaking if he dareth it.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag cried, 'At thy bidding, O Noorna! Care I for dangers? - I'm on fire to wield the Sword, and master the Event.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon, Noorna bin Noorka arose instantly, and took him by the cheeks a - tender pinch, and praised him. Then drew she round him a circle with her - forefinger that left a mark like the shimmering of evanescent green flame, - saying, 'White was the day I set eyes on thee!' Round the - Vizier, her father, she drew a like circle; and she took an unguent, and - traced with it characters on the two circles, and letters of strange form, - arrowy, lance-like, like leaning sheaves, and crouching baboons, and - kicking jackasses, and cocks a-crow, and lutes slack-strung; and she knelt - and mumbled over and over words of magic, like the drone of a bee to hear, - and as a roll of water, nothing distinguishable. After that she sought for - an unguent of a red colour, and smeared it on a part of the floor by the - corner of the room, and wrote on it in silver fluid a word that was the - word 'Eblis,' and over that likewise she droned awhile. - Presently she arose with a white-heated face, the sweat on her brow, and - said to Shibli Bagarag and Feshnavat hurriedly and in a harsh tone, - 'How? have ye fear?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'Our faith is in Allah, our confidence in thee.' - </p> - <p> - Said she then, 'I summon the Genie I hold in bondage. He will be - wrathful; but ye are secure from him. He's this moment in the - farthest region of earth, doing ill, as is his wont, and the wont of the - stock of Eblis.' - </p> - <p> - So the Vizier said, 'He'll be no true helper, this Genie, and - I care not for his company.' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'O my father! leave thou that to me. What says the - poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “It is the sapiency of fools, - To shrink from handling evil tools.”' -</pre> - <p> - Now, while she was speaking, she suddenly inclined her ear as to a distant - noise; but they heard nothing. Then, after again listening, she cried in a - sharp voice, 'Ho! muffle your mouths with both hands, and stir not - from the ring of the circles, as ye value life and its blessings.' - </p> - <p> - So they did as she bade them, and watched her curiously. Lo! she swathed - the upper and lower part of her face in linen, leaving the lips and eyes - exposed; and she took water from an ewer, and sprinkled it on her head, - and on her arms and her feet, muttering incantations. Then she listened a - third time, and stooped to the floor, and put her lips to it, and called - the name, 'Karaz!' And she called this name seven times - loudly, sneezing between whiles. Then, as it were in answer to her - summons, there was a deep growl of thunder, and the palace rocked, - tottering; and the air became smoky and full of curling vapours. Presently - they were aware of the cry of a Cat, and its miaulings; and the patch of - red unguent on the floor parted and they beheld a tawny Cat with an arched - back. So Noorna bin Noorka frowned fiercely at the Cat, and cried, 'This - is thy shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - </p> - <p> - The Cat changed, and was a Leopard with glowing yellow eyes, crouched for - the spring. So Noorna bin Noorka stamped, and cried again, 'This is - thy shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - </p> - <p> - And the Leopard changed, and was a Serpent with many folds, sleek, curled, - venomous, hissing. - </p> - <p> - Noorna bin Noorka cried in wrath, 'This is thy shape, O Karaz; - change! or thou'lt be no other till Eblis is accepted in Paradise.' - </p> - <p> - And the Serpent vanished. Lo! in its place a Genie of terrible aspect, - black as a solitary tree seared by lightning; his forehead ridged and - cloven with red streaks; his hair and ears reddened; his eyes like two - hollow pits dug by the shepherd for the wolf, and the wolf in them. He - shouted, 'What work is it now, thou accursed traitress?' - </p> - <p> - Noorna replied, 'I've need of thee!' - </p> - <p> - He said, 'What shape?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'The shape of an Ass that will carry two on its back, - thou Perversity!' - </p> - <p> - Upon that, he cried, 'O faithless woman, how long shall I be the - slave of thy plotting? Now, but for that hair of my head, plucked by thy - hand while I slept, I were free, no doer of thy tasks. Say, who be these - that mark us?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'One, the Vizier Feshnavat; and one, Shibli Bagarag of - Shiraz, he that's destined to shave Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, - the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and the youth is my betrothed.' - </p> - <p> - Now, at her words the whole Genie became as live coal with anger, and he - panted black and bright, and made a stride toward Shibli Bagarag, and - stretched his arm out to seize him; but Noorna, blew quickly on the - circles she had drawn, and the circles rose up in a white flame high as - the heads of those present, and the Genie shrank hastily back from the - flame, and was seized with fits of sneezing. Then she said in scorn, - 'Easily, O Karaz, is a woman outwitted! Surely I could not guess - what would be thy action! and I was wanting in foresight and insight! and - I am a woman bearing the weight of my power as a woodman staggereth under - the logs he hath felled!' - </p> - <p> - So she taunted him, and he still sneezing and bent double with the might - of the sneeze. Then said Noorna in a stern voice, 'No more - altercation between us! Wait thou here till I reappear, Karaz!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon, she went from them; and the two, Feshnavat and Shibli Bagarag, - feared greatly being left with the Genie, for he became all colours, and - loured on them each time that he ceased sneezing. He was clearly menacing - them when Noorna returned, and in her hand a saddle made of hide, traced - over with mystic characters and gold stripes. - </p> - <p> - So she cried, 'Take this!' Then, seeing he hesitated, she - unclosed from her left palm a powder, and scattered - </p> - <p> - it over him; and he grew meek, and the bending knee of obedience was his, - and he took the saddle. So she said, ''Tis well! Go now, and - wait outside the city in the shape of an Ass, with this saddle on thy - back.' - </p> - <p> - The Genie groaned, and said, 'To hear is to obey!' And he - departed with those words, for she held him in bondage. Then she calmed - down the white flames of the circles that enclosed Shibli Bagarag and the - Vizier Feshnavat, and they stepped forth, marvelling at the greatness of - her sorceries that held such a Genie in bondage. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE WELL OF PARAVID - </h2> - <p> - Now, there was haste in the movements of Noorna bin Noorka, and she - arrayed herself and clutched Shibli Bagarag by the arm, and the twain - departed from Feshnavat the Vizier, and came to the outside of the city, - and lo! there was the Genie by a well under a palm, and he standing in the - shape of an Ass, saddled. So they mounted him, and in a moment they were - in the midst of the desert, and naught round them save the hot glimmer of - the sands and the grey of the sky. Surely, the Ass went at such a pace as - never Ass went before in this world, resting not by the rivulets, nor - under the palms, nor beside the date-boughs; it was as if the Ass scurried - without motion of his legs, so swiftly went he. At last the desert gave - signs of a border on the low line of the distance, and this grew rapidly - higher as they advanced, revealing a country of hills and rocks, and at - the base of these the Ass rested. - </p> - <p> - So Noorna, said, 'This desert that we have passed, O my betrothed, - many are they that perish in it, and reach not the well; but give thanks - to Allah that it is passed.' - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'Dismount, and be wary of moving to the front or to - the rear of this Ass, and measure thy distance from the lash of his tail.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag dismounted, and followed her up the hills and the rocks, - through ravines and gorges of the rocks, and by tumbling torrents, among - hanging woods, over perilous precipices, where no sun hath pierced, and - the bones of travellers whiten in loneliness; and they continued mounting - upward by winding paths, now closed in by coverts, now upon open heights - having great views, and presently a mountain was disclosed to them, green - at the sides high up it; and Noorna bin Noorka said to Shibli Bagarag, - 'Mount here, for the cunning of this Ass can furnish him no excuse - further for making thee food for the birds of prey.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag mounted, and they ceased not to ascend the green slopes - till the grass became scanty and darkness fell, and they were in a region - of snow and cold. Then Noorna bin Noorka tethered the Ass to a stump of a - tree and breathed in his ear, and the Ass became as a creature carved in - stone; and she drew from her bosom two bags of silk, and blew in one and - entered it, bidding Shibli Bagarag do likewise with the other bag; and he - obeyed her, drawing it up to his neck, and the delightfulness of warmth - came over him. Then said she, 'To-morrow, at noon, we shall reach - near the summit of the mountain and the Well of Paravid, if my power last - over this Ass; and from that time thou wilt be on the high road to - greatness, so fail not to remember what I have done for thee, and be not - guilty of ingratitude when thy hand is the stronger.' - </p> - <p> - He promised her, and they lay and slept. When he awoke the sun was - half-risen, and he looked at Noorna bin Noorka in the silken bag, and she - was yet in the peacefulness of pleasant dreams; but for the Ass, surely - his eyes rolled, and his head and fore legs were endued with life, while - his latter half seemed of stone. And the youth called to Noorna bin - Noorka, and pointed to her the strangeness of the condition of the Ass. As - she cast eyes on him she cried out, and rushed to him, and took him by the - ears and blew up his nostrils, and the animal was quiet. Then she and - Shibli Bagarag mounted him again, and she said to him, 'It is well - thou wert more vigilant than I, and that the sun rose not on this Ass - while I slept, or my enchantment would have thawed on him, and he would - have 'scaped us.' - </p> - <p> - She gave her heel to the Ass, and the Ass hung his tail in sullenness and - drooped his head; and she laughed, crying, 'Karaz, silly fellow! do - thy work willingly, and take wisely thine outwitting.' - </p> - <p> - She jeered him as they journeyed, and made the soul of Shibli Bagarag - merry, so that he jerked in his seat upon the Ass. Now, as they ascended - the mountain they came to the opening of a cavern, and Noorna bin Noorka - halted the Ass, and said to Shibli Bagarag, 'We part here, and I - wait for thee in this place. Take this phial, and fill it with the waters - of the well, after thy bath. The way is before thee—speed on it.' - </p> - <p> - He climbed the sides of the mountain, and was soon hidden in the clefts - and beyond the perches of the vulture. She kept her eyes on the rocky - point when he disappeared, awaiting his return; and the sun went over her - head and sank on the yon-side of the mountain, and it was by the beams of - the moon that she beheld Shibli Bagarag dropping from the crags and ledges - of rock, sliding and steadying himself downward till he reached her with - the phial in his hand, filled; and he was radiant, as it were divine with - freshness, so that Noorna, before she spoke welcome to him, was lost in - contemplating the warm shine of his visage, calling to mind the poet's - words: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The wealth of light in sun and moon, - All nature's wealth, - Hath mortal beauty for a boon - When match'd with health. -</pre> - <p> - Then said she, 'O Shibli Bagarag, 'tis achieved, this first of - thy tasks; for mutely on the fresh red of thy mouth, my betrothed, - speaketh the honey of persuasiveness, and the children of Aklis will not - resist thee.' So she took the phial from him and led forth the Ass, - and the twain mounted the Ass and descended the slopes of the mountain in - moonlight; and Shibli Bagarag said, 'Lo! I have marked wonders, and - lived a life since our parting; and this well, 'tis a miracle to dip - in it, and by it sit many maidens weeping and old men babbling, and youths - that were idle youths striking bubbles from the surface of the water. The - well is rounded with marble, and the sky is clear in it, cool in it, the - whole earth imaged therein.' - </p> - <p> - Then Noorna said, 'Hadst thou a difficulty in obtaining the waters - of the well?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Surely all was made smooth for me by thy aid. Now when - I came to the well I marked not them by it, but plunged, and the depth of - that well seemed to me the very depth of the earth itself, so went I ever - downward; and when I was near the bottom of the well I had forgotten life - above, and lo! no sooner had I touched the bottom of the well when my head - emerged from the surface: 'twas wondrous! But for a sign that - touched the bottom of the well, see, O Noorna bin Noorka, the Jewel, the - one of myriads that glitter at the bottom, and I plucked it for a gift to - thee.' - </p> - <p> - So Noorna took the Jewel from his hand that was torn and crimson, and she - cried, 'Thou fair youth, thou bleedest with the plucking of it, and - it was written, no hand shall pluck a jewel at the bottom of that well - without letting of blood. Even so it is! Worthy art thou, and I was not - mistaken in thee.' - </p> - <p> - At her words Shibli Bagarag burst forth into praises of her, and he sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'What is my worthiness - Match'd with thy worth? - Darkness and earthiness, - Dust and dearth! -</pre> - <p> - O Noorna, thou art wise above women: great and glorious over them.' - </p> - <p> - In this fashion the youth lauded her that was his betrothed, but she - exclaimed, 'Hush! or the jealousy of this Ass will be aroused, and - of a surety he'll spill us.' - </p> - <p> - Then he laughed and she laughed till the tail of Karaz trembled. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - </h2> - <p> - Now, they descended leisurely the slopes of the mountain, and when they - were again in the green of its base, Noorna called to the Ass, 'Ho! - Karaz! Sniff now the breezes, for the end of our journey by night is the - meadows of Melistan. Forward in thy might, and bray not when we are in - them, for thy comfort's sake!' - </p> - <p> - The Ass sniffed, turning to the four quarters, and chose a certain - direction, and bore them swiftly over hills and streams eddying in silver; - over huge mounds of sand, where the tents of Bedouins stood in white - clusters; over lakes smooth as the cheeks of sleeping loveliness; by walls - of cities, mosques, and palaces; under towers that rose as an armed man - with the steel on his brows and the frown of battle; by the shores of the - pale foaming sea it bore them, going at a pace that the Arab on his steed - outstrippeth not. So when the sun was red and the dews were blushing with - new light, they struggled from a wilderness of barren broken ground, and - saw beneath them, in the warm beams, green, peaceful, deep, the meadows of - Melistan. They were meadows dancing with flowers, as it had been fresh - damsels of the mountain, fair with variety of colours that were so many - gleams of changing light as the breezes of the morn swept over them; - lavish of hues, of sweetness, of pleasantness, fir for the souls of the - blest. - </p> - <p> - Then, after they had gazed awhile, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'In these - meadows the Horse Garraveen roameth at will. Heroes of bliss bestride him - on great days. He is black to look on; speed quivers in his flanks like - the lightning; his nostrils are wide with flame; there is that in his eye - which is settled fire, and that in his hoofs which is ready thunder; when - he paws the earth kingdoms quake: no animal liveth with blood like the - Horse Garraveen. He is under a curse, for that he bore on his back one who - defied the Prophet. Now, to make him come to thee thou must blow the call - of battle, and to catch him thou must contrive to strike him on the - fetlock as he runs with this musk-ball which I give thee; and to tame him - thou must trace between his eyes a figure or the crescent with thy - forenail. When that is done, bring him to me here, where I await thee, and - I will advise thee further.' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'Go!' and Shibli Bagarag showed her the breadth - of his shoulders, and stepped briskly toward the meadows, and was soon - brushing among the flowers and soft mosses of the meadows, lifting his - nostrils to the joyful smells, looking about him with the broad eye of one - that hungereth for a coming thing. The birds went up above him, and the - trees shook and sparkled, and the waters of brooks and broad rivers - flashed like waving mirrors waved by the slave-girls in sport when the - beauties of the harem riot and dip their gleaming shoulders in the bath. - He wandered on, lost in the gladness that lived, till the loud neigh of a - steed startled him, and by the banks of a river before him he beheld the - Horse Garraveen stooping to drink of the river; glorious was the look of - the creature,—silver-hoofed, fashioned in the curves of beauty and - swiftness. So Shibli Bagarag put up his two hands and blew the call of - battle, and the Horse Garraveen arched his neck at the call, and swung - upon his haunches, and sought the call, answering it, and tossing his mane - as he advanced swiftly. Then, as he neared, Shibli Bagarag held the - musk-ball in his fingers, and aimed at the fetlock of the Horse Garraveen, - and flung it, and struck him so that he stumbled and fell. He snorted - fiercely as he bent to the grass, but Shibli Bagarag ran to him, and - grasped strongly the tuft of hair hanging forward between his ears, and - traced between his fine eyes a figure of the crescent with his forenail, - and the Horse ceased plunging, and was gentle as a colt by its mother's - side, and suffered Shibli Bagarag to bestride him, and spurn him with his - heel to speed, and bore him fleetly across the fair length of the golden - meadows to where Noorna bin Noorka sat awaiting him. She uttered a cry of - welcome, saying, 'This is achieved with diligence and skill, O my - betrothed! and on thy right wrist I mark strength like a sleeping leopard, - and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' - </p> - <p> - So she bade him alight from the Horse, but he said, 'Nay.' And - she called to him again to alight, but he cried, 'I will not alight - from him! By Allah! such a bounding wave of bliss have I never yet had - beneath me, and I will give him rein once again; as the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Divinely rings the rushing air - When I am on my mettled mare: - When fast along the plains we fly, - A creature of the heavens am I.” - </pre> - <p> - Then she levelled her brows at him, and said gravely, 'This is the - temptation thou art falling into, as have thousands before thy time. Give - him the rein a second time, and he will bear thee to the red pit, and halt - upon the brink, and pitch thee into it among bleeding masses and skeletons - of thy kind, where they lie who were men like to thee, and were borne away - by the Horse Garraveen.' - </p> - <p> - He gave no heed to her words, taunting her, and making the animal prance - up and prove its spirit. - </p> - <p> - And she cried reproachfully, 'O fool! is it thus our great aim will - be defeated by thy silly conceit? Lo, now, the greatness and the happiness - thou art losing for this idle vanity is to be as a dunghill cock matched - with an ostrich; and think not to escape the calamities thou bringest on - thyself, for as is said, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - No runner can outstrip his fate; -</pre> - <p> - and it will overtake thee, though thou part like an arrow from the bow.' - </p> - <p> - He still made a jest of her remonstrance, trying the temper of the animal, - and rejoicing in its dark flushes of ireful vigour. - </p> - <p> - And she cried out furiously, 'How! art thou past counsel? then will - we match strength with strength ere 'tis too late, though it weaken - both.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that, she turned quickly to the Ass and stroked it from one extremity - to the other, crying, 'Karaz! Karaz!' shouting, 'Come - forth in thy power!' And the Ass vanished, and the Genie stood in - his place, tall, dark, terrible as a pillar of storm to travellers ranging - the desert. He exclaimed, 'What is it, O woman? Charge me with thy - command!' - </p> - <p> - And she said, 'Wrestle with him thou seest on the Horse Garraveen, - and fling him from his seat.' - </p> - <p> - Then he yelled a glad yell, and stooped to Shibli Bagarag on the horse and - enveloped him, and seized him, and plucked him from the Horse, and whirled - him round, and flung him off. The youth went circling in the air, high in - it, and descended, circling, at a distance in the deep meadow-waters. When - he crept up the banks he saw the Genie astride the Horse Garraveen, with a - black flame round his head; and the Genie urged him to speed and put him - to the gallop, and was soon lost to sight, as he had been a thunderbeam - passing over a still lake at midnight. And Shibli Bagarag was smitten with - the wrong and the folly of his act, and sought to hide his sight from - Noorna; but she called to him, 'Look up, O youth! and face the - calamity. Lo, we have now lost the service of Karaz! for though I utter - ten spells and one spell in a breath, the Horse Garraveen will ere that - have stretched beyond the circle of my magic, and the Genie will be free - to do his ill deeds and plot against us. Sad is it! but profit thou by a - knowledge of thy weakness.' - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'See, I have not failed to possess myself of the - three hairs of Garraveen, and there is that to rejoice in.' - </p> - <p> - She displayed them, and they were sapphire hairs, and had a flickering - light; and they seemed to live, wriggling their lengths, and were as - snakes with sapphire skins. Then she said, 'Thy right wrist, O my - betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - He gave her his right wrist, and she tied round it the three hairs of - Garraveen, exclaiming, 'Thus do skilful carpenters make stronger - what has broken and indicated disaster. Surely, I confide in thy star? I - have faith in my foresight?' - </p> - <p> - And she cried, 'Eyes of mine, what sayest thou to me? Lo, we must - part awhile: it is written.' - </p> - <p> - Said he, 'Leave me not, my betrothed: what am I without thy counsel? - And go not from me, or this adventure will come to miserable issue.' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'Thou beginnest to feel my worth?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'O Noorna! was woman like thee before in this world? - Surely 'tis a mask I mark thee under; yet art thou perforce of sheer - wisdom and sweet manners lovely in my sight; and I have a thirst to hear - thee and look on thee.' - </p> - <p> - While he spake, a beam of struggling splendour burst from her, and she - said, 'O thou dear youth, yes! I must even go. But I go glad of - heart, knowing thee prepared to love me. I must go to counteract the - machinations of Karaz, for he's at once busy, vindictive, and - cunning, and there's no time for us to lose; so farewell, my - betrothed, and make thy wits keen to know me when we next meet.' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'And I—whither go I?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'To the City of Oolb straightway.' - </p> - <p> - Then he, 'But I know not its bearing from this spot: how reach it?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'What! thou with the phial of Paravid in thy vest, - that endoweth, a single drop of it, the flowers, the herbage, the very - stones and desert sands, with a tongue to articulate intelligible talk?' - </p> - <p> - Said he, 'Is it so?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Even so.' - </p> - <p> - Ere Slubli Bagarag could question her further she embraced him, and blew - upon his eyes, and he was blinded by her breath, and saw not her - departure, groping for a seat on the rocks, and thinking her still by him. - Sight returned not to him till long after weariness had brought the balm - of sleep upon his eyelids. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE TALKING HAWK - </h2> - <p> - Now, when he awoke he found himself alone in that place, the moon shining - over the low meadows and flower-cups fair with night-dew. Odours of - night-flowers were abroad, filling the cool air with deliciousness, and he - heard in the gardens below songs of the bulbul: it was like a dream to his - soul, and he lay somewhile contemplating the rich loveliness of the scene, - that showed no moving thing. Then rose he and bethought him of the words - of Noorna, and of the City of Oolb, and the phial of the waters of Paravid - in his vest; and he drew it forth, and dropped a drop of it on the rock - where he had reclined. A deep harmony seemed suddenly to awake inside the - rock, and to his interrogation as to the direction of Oolb, he heard, - 'The path of the shadows of the moon.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he advanced to a prominent part of the rocks above the meadows, - and beheld the shadows of the moon thrown forward into dimness across a - waste of sand. And he stepped downward to the level of sand, and went the - way of the shadows till it was dawn. Then dropped he a drop of the waters - of the phial on a spike of lavender, and there was a voice said to him in - reply to what he questioned, 'The path of the shadows of the sun.' - </p> - <p> - The shadows of the sun were thrown forward across the same waste of sand, - and he turned and pursued his way, resting at noon beneath a date-tree, - and refreshing himself at a clear spring beside it. Surely he was joyful - as he went, and elated with high prospects, singing: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Sun and moon with their bright fingers - Point the hero's path; - - If in his great work he lingers, - Well may they be wroth. -</pre> - <p> - Now, the extent of the duration of his travel was four days and an equal - number of nights; and it was on the fifth morn that he entered the gates - of a city by the sea, even at that hour when the inhabitants were rising - from sleep: fair was the sea beyond it, and the harbour was crowded with - vessels, ships stored with merchandise—silks, dates, diamonds, - Damascus steel, huge bales piled on the decks for the land of Roum and - other lands. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'There's scarce a doubt - but that one of those sails will set for Oolb shortly. Wullahy! if I knew - which, I'd board her and win a berth in her.' Presently he - thought, 'I'll go to the public fountain and question it with - the speech-winning waters.' Thereupon he passed down the streets of - the city and came to an open space, where stood the fountain, and - sprinkled it with Paravid; and the fountain spake, saying, 'Where - men are, question not dumb things.' - </p> - <p> - Cried he, 'Faileth Paravid in its power? Have I done aught to baffle - myself?' - </p> - <p> - Then he thought, ''Twere nevertheless well to do as the - fountain directeth, and question men while I see them.' And he - walked about among the people, and came to the quays of the harbour where - the ships lay close in, many of them an easy leap from shore, and - considered whom to address. So, as he loitered about the quays, meditating - on the means at the disposal of the All-Wise, and marking the vessels - wistfully, behold, there advanced to him one at a quick pace, in the garb - of a sailor. He observed Shibli Bagarag attentively a moment, and - exclaimed as it were in the plenitude of respect and with the manner of - one that is abashed, 'Surely, thou art Shibli Bagarag, the nephew of - the barber, him we watch for.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag marvelled at this recognition, and answered, 'Am I - then already famous to that extent?' - </p> - <p> - And he that accosted him said, ''Tis certain the trumpet was - blown before thy steps, and there is not a man in this city but knoweth of - thy destination to the City of Oolb, and that thou art upon the track of - great things, one chosen to bring about imminent changes.' - </p> - <p> - Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'For this I praise Noorna bin Noorka, - daughter of Feshnavat, Vizier of the King that ruleth in the city of - Shagpat! She saw me, that I was marked for greatness. Wullahy, the eagle - knoweth me from afar, and proclaimeth me; the antelope of the hills - scenteth the coming of one not as other men, and telleth his tidings; the - wind of the desert shapeth its gust to a meaning, so that the stranger may - wot Shibli Bagarag is at hand!' - </p> - <p> - He puffed his chest, and straightened his legs like the cock, and was as a - man upon whom the Sultan has bestowed a dress of honour, even as the - plumed peacock. Then the other said: - </p> - <p> - 'Know that I am captain of yonder vessel, that stands farthest out - from the harbour with her sails slackened; and she is laden with figs and - fruits which I exchange for silks, spices, and other merchandise, with the - people of Oolb. Now, what says the poet?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Delay in thine undertaking - Is disaster of thy own making”; -</pre> - <p> - and he says also: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Greatness is solely for them that succeed; - 'Tis a rotten applause that gives earlier meed.” - </pre> - <p> - Therefore it is advisable for thee to follow me on board without loss of - time, and we will sail this very night for the City of Oolb.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag was ruled by the words of the captain albeit he - desired to stay awhile and receive the homage of the people of that city. - So he followed him into a boat that was by, and the twain were rowed by - sailors to the ship. Then, when they were aboard the captain set sail, and - they were soon in the hollows of deep waters. There was a berth in the - ship set apart for Shibli Bagarag, and one for the captain. Shibli - Bagarag, when he entered his berth, beheld at the head of his couch a - hawk; its eyes red as rubies, its beak sharp as the curve of a scimitar. - So he called out to the captain, and the captain came to him; but when he - saw the hawk, he plucked his turban from his head, and dashed it at the - hawk, and afterward ran to it, trying to catch it; and the hawk flitted - from corner to corner of the berth, he after it with open arms. Then he - took a sword, but the hawk flew past him, and fixed on the back part of - his head, tearing up his hair by the talons, and pecking over his forehead - at his eyes. And Shibli Bagarag heard the hawk scream the name 'Karaz,' - and he looked closely at the Captain of the vessel, and knew him for the - Genie Karaz. Then trembled he with exceeding terror, cursing his - credulities, for he saw himself in the hands of the Genie, and nothing but - this hawk friendly to him on the fearful waters. When the hawk had torn up - a certain hair, the Genie stiffened, and glowed like copper in the - furnace, the whole length of him; and he descended heavily through the - bottom of the ship, and sank into the waters beneath, which hissed and - smoked as at a bar of heated iron. Then Shibli Bagarag gave thanks to the - Prophet, and praised the hawk, but the hawk darted out of the cabin, and - he followed it on deck, and, lo! the vessel was in flames, and the hawk in - a circle of the flames; and the flames soared with it, and left it no - outlet. Now, as Shibli Bagarag watched the hawk, the flames stretched out - towards him and took hold of his vestments. So he delayed not to commend - his soul to the All-merciful, and bore witness to his faith, and plunged - into the sea headlong. When he rose, the ship had vanished, and all was - darkness where it had been; so he buffeted with the billows, thinking his - last hour had come, and there was no help for him in this world; and the - spray shaken from the billows blinded him, the great walls of water - crumbled over him; strength failed him, and his memory ceased to picture - images of the old time—his heart to beat with ambition; and to keep - the weight of his head above the surface was becoming a thing worth the - ransom of kings. As he was sinking and turning his eyes upward, he heard a - flutter as of fledgling's wings, and the two red ruby eyes of the - hawk were visible above him, like steady fires in the gloom. And the hawk - perched on him, and buried itself among the wet hairs of his head, and - presently taking the Identical in its beak, the hawk lifted him half out - of water, and bore him a distance, and dropped him. This the hawk did many - times, and at the last, Shibli Bagarag felt land beneath him, and could - wade through the surges to the shore. He gave thanks to the Supreme - Disposer, kneeling prostrate on the shore, and fell into a sleep deep in - peacefulness as a fathomless well, unruffled by a breath. - </p> - <p> - Now, when it was dawn Shibli Bagarag awoke and looked inland, and saw - plainly the minarets of a city shining in the first beams, and the front - of yellow mountains, and people moving about the walls and on the towers - and among the pastures round the city; so he made toward them, and - inquired of them the name of their city. And they stared at him, crying, - 'What! know'st thou not the City of Oolb? the hawk on thy - shoulder could tell thee that much.' He looked and saw that the hawk - was on his shoulder; and its left wing was scorched, the plumage - blackened. So he said to the hawk, 'Is it profitable, O preserving - bird, to ask of thee questions?' - </p> - <p> - The hawk shook its wings and closed an eye. - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'Do I well in entering this city?' - </p> - <p> - The hawk shook its wings again and closed an eye. - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'To what house shall I direct my steps in this strange - city for the attainment of the purpose I have?' - </p> - <p> - The hawk flew, and soared, and alighted on the topmost of the towers of - Oolb. So when it returned he said, 'O bird! rare bird! my - counsellor! it is an indication, this alighting on the highest tower, that - thou advisest me to go straight to the palace of the King?' - </p> - <p> - The hawk flapped its wings and winked both eyes; so Shibli Bagarag took - forth the phial from his breast, remembering the virtues of the waters of - the Well of Paravid, and touched his lips with them, that he might be - endowed with flowing speech before the King of Oolb. As he did this the - phial was open, and the hawk leaned to it and dipped its beak into the - water; and he entered the city and passed through the long streets towards - the palace of the King, and craved audience of him as one that had a thing - marvellous to tell. So the King commanded that Shibli Bagarag should be - brought before him, for he was a lover of marvels. As he went into the - presence of the King, Shibli Bagarag listened to the hawk, for the hawk - spake his language, and it said, 'Proclaim to the King a new wonder—“the - talking hawk.”' - </p> - <p> - So when he had bent his body to the King, he proclaimed the new wonder; - and the King seemed not to observe the hawk, and said, 'From what - city art thou?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Native, O King, to Shiraz; newly from the City of - Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - And the King asked, 'How is it with that hairy wonder?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'The dark forest flourisheth about him.' - </p> - <p> - And the King said, 'That is well! We of the City of Oolb take our - fashions from them of the City of Shagpat, and it is but yesterday that I - bastinadoed a barber that strayed among us.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag sighed when he heard the King, and thought to himself, - 'How unfortunate is the race of barbers, once honourable and in - esteem! Surely it will not be otherwise till Shagpat is shaved!' And - the King called out to him for the cause of his sighing; so he said, - 'I sigh, O King of the age, considering how like may be the case of - the barber bastinadoed but yesterday, in his worth and value, to that of - Roomdroom, the reader of planets, that was a barber.' - </p> - <p> - And he related the story of Roomdroom for the edification of the King and - the exaltation of barbercraft, delivering himself neatly and winningly and - pointedly, so that the story should apply, which was its merit and its - origin. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - GOORELKA OF OOLB - </h2> - <p> - When Shibli Bagarag had finished his narration of the case of Roomdroom - the barber, the King of Oolb said, 'O thou, native of Shiraz, there - is persuasion and sweetness and fascination on thy tongue, and I am - touched with compassion for the soles of Baba Mustapha, that I bastinadoed - but yesterday, and he was from Shiraz likewise.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the heart of Shibli Bagarag leapt when he heard mention of Baba - Mustapha; and he knew him for his uncle that was searching him. He would - have cried aloud his relationship, but the hawk whispered in his ear. Then - the hawk said to him, 'There is danger in the King's muteness - respecting me, for I am visible to him. Proclaim the spirit of prophecy.' - </p> - <p> - So he proclaimed that spirit, and the King said, 'Prophesy to me of - barbercraft.' - </p> - <p> - And he cried, 'O King of the age, the barber is abased, trodden - underfoot, given over to the sneers and the gibes of them that flatter the - powerful ones; he is as the winter worm, as the crocodile in the slime of - his sleep by the bank, as the sick eagle before moulting. But I say, O - King, that he will come forth like the serpent in a new skin, shaming the - old one; he slept a caterpillar, and will come forth a butterfly; he sank - a star, and lo! he riseth a constellation.' - </p> - <p> - Now, while he was speaking in the fervour of his soul, the King said - something to one of the court officers surrounding him, and there was - brought to the King a basin, a soap-bowl, and barber's tackle. When - Shibli Bagarag saw these, the uses of the barber rushed upon his mind, and - desire to sway the tackle pushed him forward and agitated him, so that he - could not keep his hands from them. - </p> - <p> - Then the King exclaimed, 'It is as I thought. Our passions betray - themselves, and our habits; so is it written. By Allah! I swear thou art - thyself none other than a barber, O youth.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagwrag was nigh fainting with terror at this discovery of the - King, but the hawk said in his ear, 'Proclaim speech in the tackle.' - So he proclaimed speech in the tackle; and the King smiled doubtfully, and - said, 'If this be a cheat, Shiraz will not see thy face more.' - </p> - <p> - Then the hawk whispered in his ear, 'Drop on the tackle secretly a - drop from the phial.' This he did, spreading his garments, and - commanded the tackle to speak. And the tackle spake, each portion of it, - confusedly as the noise of Babel. So the King marvelled greatly, and said, - ''Tis a greater wonder than the talking hawk, the talking - tackle. Wullahy! it ennobleth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend - the saying of the tackle.' - </p> - <p> - Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! the blade - and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordained - that Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.' - </p> - <p> - The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then - ensueth, O talking tackle?' - </p> - <p> - And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honour - to Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!' - </p> - <p> - Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will - forestall the coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!' - </p> - <p> - Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' - So he stepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to - the shaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task - with perfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of the - King, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they were - shaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at the - change that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order is - issued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So - is laughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli - Bagarag, 'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?' - </p> - <p> - And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.' - </p> - <p> - The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that which - beareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, which - she nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with - ugliness, as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it - before her. Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, - besides the gift of speech?' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; to - counteract enchantments and foul magic.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!' - </p> - <p> - And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambers - fair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors, - down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round the - vault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; and - there were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars of - China, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy - choice of these in exchange for the hawk.' - </p> - <p> - But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the cockle-shell, - King!' - </p> - <p> - Then the King threatened him, saying, 'There is a virtue in each of - the things thou seest: the China jar is brimmed with wine, and remaineth - so though a thousand drink of it; the dress of Samarcand rendereth the - wearer invisible; yet thou refusest to exchange them for thy hawk!' - </p> - <p> - And the King swore by the beard of his father he would seize perforce the - hawk and shut up Shibli Bagarag in the vault, if he fell not into his - bargain. Shibli Bagarag was advised by the hawk to accept the China jar - and the dress of Samarcand, and handed the hawk to the King in exchange - for these things. So the King took the hawk upon his wrist and departed - with it to the apartments of his daughter, and Shibli Bagarag went to the - chamber prepared for him in the palace. - </p> - <p> - Now, when it was night, Shibli Bagarag heard a noise at his lattice, and - he arose and peered through it, and lo! the hawk was fluttering without; - so he let it in, and caressed it, and the hawk bade him put on his silken - dress and carry forth his China jar, and go the round of the palace, and - offer drink to the sentinels and the slaves. So he did as the hawk - directed, and the sentinels and slaves were aware of a China jar brimmed - with wine that was lifted to their lips, but him that lifted it they saw - not: surely, they drank deep of the draught of astonishment. - </p> - <p> - Then the hawk flew before him, and he followed it to a chamber lit with - golden lamps, gorgeously hung, and full of a dusky splendour and the faint - sparkle of gems, ruby, amethyst, topaz, and beryl; in it there was the - hush of sleep, and the heart of Shibli Bagarag told him that one beautiful - was near. So he approached on tiptoe a couch of blue silk, bordered with - gold-wire, and inwoven with stars of blue turquoise stones, as it had been - the heavens of midnight. On the couch lay one, a woman, pure in - loveliness; the dark fringes of her closed lids like living flashes of - darkness, her mouth like an unstrung bow and as a double rosebud, even as - two isles of coral between which in the clear transparent watery beds the - pearls shine freshly. - </p> - <p> - And the hawk said to Shibli Bagarag, 'This is the Princess Goorelka, - the daughter of the King of Oolb, a sorceress, the Guardian of the Lily of - the Enchanted Sea. Beneath her pillow is the cockle-shell; grasp it, but - gaze not upon her.' - </p> - <p> - He approached and slid his arm beneath the pillow of the Princess, and - grasped the cockle-shell; but ere he drew it forth he gazed upon her, and - the lustre of her countenance transfixed him as with a javelin, so that he - could not stir, nor move his eyes from the contemplation of her sweetness - of feature. The hawk darted at him fiercely, and pecked at him to draw his - attention from her, and he stepped back, yet he continued taking fatal - draughts from the magic cup of her beauty. Then the hawk screamed a loud - scream of anguish, and the Princess awoke, and started half-way from the - couch, and stared about her, and saw the bird in agitation. As she looked - at the bird a shudder passed over her, and she snatched a veil and drew it - over her face, murmuring, 'I dream, or I am under the eye of a man.' - Then she felt beneath the pillow, and knew that the cockle-shell had been - touched; and in a moment she leapt from her couch, and ran to a mirror and - saw herself as she was, a full-moon made to snare the wariest and sit - singly high on a throne in the hearts of men. At the sight of her beauty - she smiled and seemed at peace, murmuring still, 'I am under the eye - of a man, or I dream.' Now, while she so murmured she arrayed - herself, and took the cockle-shell, and passed through the ante-room among - her women sleeping; and Shibli Bagarag tracked her till she came to the - vault; and she entered it and walked to the corner from which had hung the - dress of Samarcand. When she saw it gone her face waxed pale, and she - gazed slowly at all points, muttering, 'There is no further doubt - but that I am under the eye of a man!' Thereupon she ran hastily - from the vault, and passed between the sentinels of the palace, and saw - them where they lay drowsy with intoxication: so she knew that the China - jar and the dress of Samarcand had been used that night, and for no - purpose friendly to her wishes. Then she passed down the palace steps, and - through the gates of the palace and the city, till she came to the shore - of the sea; there she launched the cockle-shell and took the wind in her - garments, and sat in it, filling it to overflowing, yet it floated. And - Shibli Bagarag waded to the cockle-shell and took hold of it, and was - drawn along by its motion swiftly through the waters, so that a foam swept - after him; and Goorelka marked the foam. Now, they had passage over the - billows smoothly, and soon the length of the sea was darkened with two - high rocks, and between them there was a narrow channel of the sea, - roughened with moonlight. So they sped between the rocks, and came upon a - purple sea, dark-blue overhead, with large stars leaning to the waves. - There was a soft whisperingness in the breath of the breezes that swung - there, and many sails of charmed ships were seen in momentary gleams, - flapping the mast idly far away. Warm as new milk from the full udders - were the waters of that sea, and figures of fair women stretched - lengthwise with the current, and lifted a head as they rushed rolling by. - Truly it was enchanted even to the very bed! - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - </h2> - <p> - Now, after the cockle-shell had skimmed calmly awhile, it began to pitch - and grew unquiet, and came upon a surging foam, pale, and with - scintillating bubbles. The surges increased in volume, and boiled, hissing - as with anger, like savage animals. Presently, the cockle-shell rose upon - one very lofty swell, and Shibli Bagarag lost hold of it, and lo! it was - overturned and engulfed in the descent of the great mountain of water, and - the Princess Goorelka was immersed in the depths. She would have sunk, but - Shibli Bagarag caught hold of her, and supported her to the shore by the - strength of his right arm. The shore was one of sand and shells, their wet - cheeks sparkling in the moonlight; over it hung a promontory, a huge jut - of black rock. Now, the Princess when she landed, seeing not him that - supported her, delayed not to run beneath the rock, and ascended by steps - cut from the base of the rock. And Shibli Bagarag followed her by winding - paths round the rock, till she came to the highest peak commanding the - circle of the Enchanted Sea, and glimpses of enthralled vessels, and - mariners bewitched on board; long paths of starlight rippled into the - distant gloom, and the reflection of the moon opposite was as a wide - nuptial sheet of silver on the waters: islands, green and white, and with - soft music floating from their foliage, sailed slowly to and fro. Surely, - to dwell reclining among the slopes of those islands a man would forfeit - Paradise! Now, the Princess, as she stood upon the peak, knew that she was - not alone, and pretended to slip from her footing, and Shibli Bagarag - called out and ran to her; but she turned in the direction of his voice - and laughed, and he knew he was outwitted. Then, to deceive her, he - dropped from the phial twenty drops round her on the rock, and those - twenty drops became twenty voices, so that she was bewildered with their - calls, and stopped her ears, and ran from them, and descended from the - eminence nimbly, slipping over ledges and leaping the abysses. And Shibli - Bagarag followed her, clutching at the trailers and tearing them with him, - letting loose a torrent of stones and earth, till on a sudden they stood - together above a greenswarded basin of the rock opening to the sea; and in - the middle of the basin, lo! in stature like a maiden of the mountains, - and one that droopeth her head pensively thinking of her absent lover, the - Enchanted Lily. Wonder knocked at the breast of Shibli Bagarag when he saw - that queenly flower waving its illumined head to the breeze: he could not - retain a cry of rapture. As he did this the Princess stretched her hand to - where he was and groped a moment, and caught him by the silken dress and - tore in it a great rent, and by the rent he stood revealed to her. Then - said she, 'O youth, thou halt done ill to follow me here, and the - danger of it is past computing; surely, the motive was a deep one, nought - other than the love of me.' - </p> - <p> - She spoke winningly, sweet words to a luted voice, and the youth fell upon - his knees before her, smitten by her beauty; and he said, 'I - followed thee here as I would follow such loveliness to the gates of doom, - O Princess of Oolb.' - </p> - <p> - She smiled and said playfully, 'I will read by thy hand whether thou - be one faithful in love.' - </p> - <p> - She took his hand and sprinkled on it earth and gravel, and commenced - scanning it curiously. As she scanned it her forehead wrinkled up, and a - shot like black lightning travelled across her countenance, withering its - beauty: she cried in a forced voice, 'Aha! it is well, O youth, for - thee and for me that thou lovest me, and art faithful in love.' - </p> - <p> - The look of the Princess of Oolb and her voice affrighted the soul of - Shibli Bagarag, and he would have turned from her; but she held him, and - went to the Lily, and emptied into the palm of her hand the dew that was - in the Lily, and raised it to the lips of Shibli Bagarag, bidding him - drink as a pledge for her sake and her love, and to appease his thirst. As - he was about to drink, there fell into the palm of the Princess from above - what seemed a bolt of storm scattering the dew; and after he had blinked - with the suddenness of the action he looked and beheld the hawk, its red - eyes inflamed with wrath. And the hawk screamed into the ear of Shibli - Bagarag, 'Pluck up the Lily ere it is too late, O fool!—the - dew was poison! Pluck it by the root with thy right hand!' - </p> - <p> - So thereat he strode to the Lily, and grasped it, and pulled with his - strength; and the Lily was loosened, and yielded, and came forth streaming - with blood from the bulb of the root; surely the bulb of the root was a - palpitating heart, yet warm, even as that we have within our bosoms. - </p> - <p> - Now, from the terror of that sight the Princess hid her eyes, and shrank - away. And the lines of malice, avarice, and envy seemed ageing her at - every breath. Then the hawk pecked at her three pecks, and perched on a - corner of rock, and called shrilly the name 'Karaz!' And the - Genie Karaz came slanting down the night air, like a preying bird, and - stood among them. So the hawk cried, 'See, O Karaz, the freshness of - thy Princess of Oolb'; and the Genie regarded her till loathing - curled his lip, for she grew in ghastliness to the colour of a frog, and a - frog's face was hers, a camel's back, a pelican's - throat, the legs of a peacock. - </p> - <p> - Then the hawk cried, 'Is this how ye meet, ye lovers,—ye that - will be wedded?' And the hawk made his tongue as a thorn to them. At - the last it exclaimed, 'Now let us fight our battle, Karaz!' - </p> - <p> - But the Genie said, 'Nay, there will come a time for that, - traitress!' - </p> - <p> - The hawk cried, 'Thou delayest, till the phial of Paravid, the hairs - of Garraveen, and this Lily, my three helps, are expended, thinking Aklis, - for which we barter them, striketh but a single blow? That is well! Go, - then, and take thy Princess, and obtain permission of the King of Oolb, - her father, to wed her, O Karaz!' - </p> - <p> - The hawk whistled with laughter, and the Genie was stung with its - mockeries, and clutched the Princess of Oolb in a bunch, and arose from - the ground with her, slanting up the night-air like fire, till he was seen - high up even as an angry star reddening the seas beneath. - </p> - <p> - When he was lost to the eye, Shibli Bagarag drew a long breath and cried - aloud, 'The likeness of that Princess of Oolb in her ugliness to - Noorna, my betrothed, is a thing marvellous, if it be not she herself.' - And he reflected, 'Yet she seemed not to recognize and claim me'; - and thought, 'I am bound to her by gratitude, and I should have - rescued her from Karaz, but I know not if it be she. Wullahy! I am - bewildered; I will ask counsel of the hawk.' He looked to the corner - of the rock where the hawk had perched, but the hawk was gone; as he - searched for it, his eyes fell upon the bed of earth where the Lily stood - ere he plucked it, and lo! in the place of the Lily, there was a damsel - dressed in white shining silks, fairer than the enchanted flower, - straighter than the stalk of it; her head slightly drooping, like the moon - on a border of the night; her bosom like the swell of the sea in - moonlight; her eyes dark, under a low arch of darker lashes, like stars on - the skirts of storm; and she was the very dream of loveliness, formed to - freeze with awe, and to inflame with passion. So Shibli Bagarag gazed at - her with adoration, his hands stretched half-way to her as if to clasp - her, fearing she was a vision and would fade; and the damsel smiled a - sweet smile, and lifted her antelope eyes, and said, 'Who am I, and - to whom might I be likened, O youth?' - </p> - <p> - And he answered, 'Who thou art, O young perfection, I know not, if - not a Houri of Paradise; but thou art like the Princess of Oolb, yet - lovelier, oh lovelier! And thy voice is the voice of Noorna, my betrothed; - yet purer, sweeter, younger.' - </p> - <p> - So the damsel laughed a laugh like a sudden sweeping of wild chords of - music, and said, 'O youth, saw'st thou not the ascent of - Noorna, thy betrothed, gathered in a bunch by Karaz?' - </p> - <p> - And he answered, 'I saw her; but I knew not, O damsel of beauty; - surely I was bewildered, amazed, without power to contend with the Genie.' - </p> - <p> - Then she said, 'Wouldst thou release her? So kiss me on the lips, on - the eyes, and on the forehead, three kisses each time; and with the first - say, “By the well of Paravid”; and with the second, “By - the strength of Garraveen!” and with the third, “By the Lily - of the Sea!”' - </p> - <p> - Now, the heart of the youth bounded at her words, and he went to her, and - trembling kissed her all bashfully on the lips, on the eyes, and on the - forehead, saying each time as she directed. Then she took him by the hand, - and stepped from the bed of earth, crying joyfully, 'Thanks be to - Allah and the Prophet! Noorna, is released from the sorceries that held - her, and powerful.' - </p> - <p> - So, while he was wondering, she said, 'Knowest thou not the woman, - thy betrothed?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'O damsel of beauty, I am charged with many feelings; - doubts and hopes are mixed in me. Say first who thou art, and fill my two - ears with bliss.' - </p> - <p> - And she said, 'I will leave my name to other lips; surely I am the - daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, betrothed to a wandering youth,—a - barber, who sickened at the betrothal, and consoled himself with a proverb - when he gave me the kiss of contract, and knew not how with truth to pay - me a compliment.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag saw this was indeed Noorna bin Noorka, his betrothed, - and he fell before her in love and astonishment; but she lifted him to her - neck, and embraced him, saying, 'Said I not truly when I said - “I am that I shall be”? My youth is not as that of Bhanavar - the Beautiful, gained at another's cost, but my own, and stolen from - me by wicked sorceries.' And he cried, 'Tell me, O Noorna, my - betrothed, how this matter came to pass?' - </p> - <p> - She said, 'On our way to Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - She bade him grasp the Lily, and follow her; and he followed her down the - rock and over the bright shells upon the sand, admiring her stateliness, - her willowy lightness, her slimness as of the palm-tree. Then she waded in - the water, and began to strike out with her arms, and swim boldly,—he - likewise; and presently they came to a current that hurried them off in - its course, and carried them as weeds, streaming rapidly. He was bearing - witness to his faith as a man that has lost hope of life, when a strong - eddy stayed him, and whirled him from the current into the calm water. So - he looked for Noorna, and saw her safe beside him flinging back the wet - tresses from her face, that was like the full moon growing radiant behind - a dispersing cloud. And she said, 'Ask not for the interpretation of - wonders in this sea, for they cluster like dates on a date branch. Surely, - to be with me is enough?' - </p> - <p> - And she bewitched him in the midst of the waters, making him oblivious of - all save her, so that he hugged the golden net of her smiles and fair - flatteries, and swam with an exulting stroke, giving his breast broadly to - the low billows, and shouting verses of love and delight to her. And while - they swam sweetly, behold, there was seen a pearly shell of flashing - crimson, amethyst, and emerald, that came scudding over the waves toward - them, raised to the wind, fan-shaped, and in its front two silver seats. - When she saw it, Noorna cried, 'She has sent me this, Rabesqurat! - Perchance is she favourable to my wishes, and this were well!' - </p> - <p> - Then she swayed in the water sideways, and drew the shell to her, and the - twain climbed into it, and sat each on one of the silver seats, folded - together. In its lightness it was as a foam-bubble before the wind on the - blue water, and bore them onward airily. At his feet Shibli Bagarag beheld - a stool of carved topaz, and above his head the arch of the shell was - inlaid with wreaths of gems: never was vessel fairer than that. - </p> - <p> - Now, while they were speeding over the water, Noorna said, 'The end - of this fair sea is Aklis, and beyond it is the Koosh. So while the wind - is our helmsman, and we go circled by the quiet of this sea, I'll - tell thee of myself, if thou carest to hear.' - </p> - <p> - And he cried with the ardour of love, 'Surely, I would hear of - nought save thyself, Noorna, and the music of the happy garden compareth - not in sweetness with it. I long for the freshness of thy voice, as the - desert camel for the green spring, O my betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'And now give ear to the following':— - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - AND THIS IS THE STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE - PRINCESS OF OOLB - </h2> - <p> - Know, that when I was a babe, I lay on my mother's bosom in the - wilderness, and it was the bosom of death. Surely, I slept and smiled, and - dreamed the infant's dream, and knew not the coldness of the thing I - touched. So were we even as two dead creatures lying there; but life was - in me, and I awoke with hunger at the time of feeding, and turned to my - mother, and put up my little mouth to her for nourishment, and sucked her, - but nothing came. I cried, and commenced chiding her, and after a while it - was as decreed, that certain horsemen of a troop passing through the - wilderness beheld me, and seeing my distress and the helpless being I was, - their hearts were stirred, and they were mindful of what the poet says - concerning succour given to the poor, helpless, and innocent of this - world, and took me up, and mixed for me camel's milk and water from - the bags, and comforted me, and bore me with them, after they had paid - funeral rites to the body of my mother. - </p> - <p> - Now, the rose-bud showeth if the rose-tree be of the wilds or of the - garden, and the chief of that troop seeing me born to the uses of - gentleness, carried me in his arms with him to his wife, and persuaded her - that was childless to make me the child of their adoption. So I abode with - them during the period of infancy and childhood, caressed and cared for, - as is said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The flower a stranger's hand may gather, - Strikes root into the stranger's breast; - Affection is our mother, father, - Friend, and of cherishers the best. -</pre> - <p> - And I loved them as their own child, witting not but that I was their - child, till on a day while I played among some children of my years, the - daughter of the King of Oolb passed by us on a mule, with her slaves and - drawn swords, and called to me, 'Thou little castaway!' and - had me brought to her, and peered upon my face in a manner that frightened - me, for I was young. Then she put me down from the neck of her mule where - she had seated me, saying, 'Child of a dead mother and a runaway - father, what need I fear from thy like, and the dreams of a love-sick - Genie?' So she departed, but I forgot not her words, and dwelt upon - them, and grew fevered with them, and drooped. Now, when he saw my bloom - of health gone, heaviness on my feet, the light hollowed from my eyes, my - benefactor, Ravaloke—he that I had thought my father—took me - between his knees, and asked me what it was and the cause of my ailing; - and I told him. - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'This is so: thou art not my child; but I love thee as - mine, O my little Desert-flower; and why the Princess should fancy fear of - thee I like not to think; but fear thou her, for she is a mask of wiles - and a vine trailing over pitfalls; such a sorceress the world knoweth not - as Goorelka of Oolb.' - </p> - <p> - Now, I was penetrated by what he said, and ceased to be a companion to - them that loved childish games and romps, and meditated by myself in - gardens and closets, feigning sleep when the elder ones discoursed, that I - might learn something of this mystery, and all that was spoken perplexed - me more, as the sage declareth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue, - More that he wandereth doth himself undo. -</pre> - <p> - Though I was quick as the quick-eyed falcon, I discovered nought, flying - ever at false game,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - A follower of misleading beams, - A cheated soul, the mock of dreams. -</pre> - <p> - At times I thought that it was the King of Oolb was my father, and plotted - to come in his path; and there were kings and princes of far countries - whom I sought to encounter, that they might claim me; but none claimed me. - O my betrothed, few gave me love beside Ravaloke, and when the wife that - he cherished died, he solely, for I was lost in waywardness and the slave - of moody imaginings. 'Tis said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - If thou the love of the world for thyself wouldst gain, - mould thy breast - Liker the world to become, for its like the world loveth best; -</pre> - <p> - and this was not I then. - </p> - <p> - Now, the sons and daughters of men are used to celebrate the days of their - birth with gifts and rejoicings, but I could only celebrate that day which - delivered me from death into the hands of Ravaloke, as none knew my - birth-hour. When it was the twelfth return of this event, Ravaloke, my - heart's father, called me to him and pressed in my hand a glittering - coin, telling me to buy with it in the bazaars what I would. So I went - forth, attended by a black slave, after the mid-noon, for I was eager to - expend my store, and cared not for the great heat. Scarcely had we passed - the cheese-market and were hurrying on to shops of the goldsmiths and - jewellers, when I saw an old man, a beggar, in a dirty yellow turban and - pieced particoloured cloth-stuff, and linen in rags his other gear. So - lean was he, and looked so weak that I wondered he did other than lay his - length on the ground; and as he asked me for alms his voice had a - piteousness that made me to weep, and I punished my slave for seeking to - drive him away, and gave my one piece of gold into his hand. Then he asked - me what I required of him in exchange, and I said, 'What can a poor - old man that is a beggar give?' He laughed, and asked me then what I - had intended to buy with that piece of money. So, beginning to regret the - power that was gone from me of commanding with my gold piece this and that - fine thing, I mused, and said, 'Truly, a blue dress embroidered with - gold, and a gold crown, and gold bracelets set with turquoise stones,—these, - and toys; but could I buy in this city a book of magic, that were my - purchase.' - </p> - <p> - The old fellow smiled, and said to my black slave, 'And thou, hadst - thou this coin, what were thy purchase therewith?' - </p> - <p> - He, scoffing the old beggar, answered, 'A plaister for sores as - broad as my back, and a camel's hump, O thou old villain!' - </p> - <p> - The old man grunted in his chest, and said, 'Thou art but a camel - thyself, to hinder a true Mussulman from passing in peace down a street of - Oolb; so 'twere a good purchase and a fitting: know'st thou - what is said of the blessing given by them that receive a charity? - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “'Tis the fertilizing dew that streameth after the sun, - Strong as the breath of Allah to bless life well begun.” - </pre> - <p> - So is my blessing on the little damsel, and she shall have her wish, - wullahy, thou black face! and thou thine.' - </p> - <p> - This spake the old man, and hobbled off while my slave was jeering him. So - I strolled through the bazaars and thought no more of the old man's - words, and longed to purchase a hundred fineries, and came to the - confectioner's, and smelt the smell of his musk-scented sweetmeats - and lemon sweets and sugared pistachios that are delicious to crunch - between the teeth. My mouth watered, and I said to my slave, 'O - Kadrab, a coin, though 'twere small, would give us privilege in - yonder shop to select, and feast, and approve the skill of the - confectioner.' - </p> - <p> - He grinned, and displayed in his black fist a petty coin of exchange, but - would not let me have it till I had sworn to give no more away to beggars. - So even as we were hurrying into the shop, another old beggar wretcheder - than the first fronted me, and I was moved, and forgot my promise to - Kadrab, and gave him the money. Then was Kadrab wroth, and kicked the old - beggar with his fore-foot, lifting him high in air, and lo! he did not - alight, but rose over the roofs of the houses and beyond the city, till he - was but a speck in the blue of the sky above. So Kadrab bit his forefinger - amazed, and glanced at his foot, and at what was visible of the old - beggarman, and again at his foot, thinking but of what he had done with - it, and the might manifested in that kick, fool that he was! All the way - homeward he kept scanning the sky and lifting his foot aloft, and I saw - him bewildered with a strange conceit, as the poet has exclaimed in his - scorn: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Oh, world diseased! oh, race empirical! - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle! -</pre> - <p> - Now, when I was in my chamber, what saw I there but a dress of very costly - blue raiment with gold-work broidery and a lovely circlet of gold, and - gold bracelets set with stones of turquoise, and a basket of gold woven - wire, wherein were toys, wondrous ones—soldiers that cut off each - other's heads and put them on again, springing antelopes, palm-trees - that turned to fountains, and others; and lo! a book in red binding, with - figures on it and clasps of gold, a great book! So I clapped my hands - joyfully, crying, 'The old beggar has done it!' and robed - myself in the dress, and ran forth to tell Ravaloke. As I ran by a window - looking on the inner court, I saw below a crowd of all the slaves of - Ravaloke round one that was seeking to escape from them, and 'twas - Kadrab with a camel's hump on his back, and a broad brown plaister - over it, the wretch howling, peering across his shoulder, and trying to - bolt from his burden, as a horse that would run from his rider. Then I saw - that Kadrab also had his wish, his camel's hump, and thought, - 'The old beggar, what was he but a Genie?' Surely Ravaloke - caressed me when he heard of the adventure, and what had befallen Kadrab - was the jest of the city; but for me I spared little time away from that - book, and studied in it incessantly the ways and windings of magic, till I - could hold communication with Genii, and wield charms to summon them, and - utter spells that subdue them, discovering the haunts of talismans that - enthral Afrites and are powerful among men. There was that Kadrab coming - to me daily to call out in the air for the old beggarman to rid him of his - hump; and he would waste hours looking up into the sky moodily for him, - and cursing the five toes of his foot, for he doubted not the two beggars - were one, and that he was punished for the kick, and lamented it direly, - saying in the thick of his whimperings, 'I'd give the foot - that did it to be released from my hump, O my fair mistress.' So I - pitied him, and made a powder and a spell, and my first experiment in - magic was to relieve Kadrab of his hump, and I succeeded in loosening it, - and it came away from him, and sank into the ground of the garden where we - stood. So I told Kadrab to say nothing of this, but the idle-pated fellow - blabbed it over the city, and it came to the ears of Goorelka. Then she - sent for me to visit her, and by the advice of Ravaloke I went, and she - fondled me, and sought to get at the depth of my knowledge by a spell that - tieth every faculty save the tongue, and it is the spell of vain longing. - Now, because I baffled her arts she knew me more cunning than I seemed, - and as night advanced she affected to be possessed with pleasure in me, - and took me in her arms and sought to fascinate me, and I heard her mutter - once, 'Shall I doubt the warning of Karaz?' So presently she - said, 'Come with me'; and I went with her under the curtain of - that apartment into another, a long saloon, wherein were couches round a - fountain, and beyond it an aviary lit with lamps: when we were there she - whistled, and immediately there was a concert of birds, a wondrous accord - of exquisite piping, and she leaned on a couch and took me by her to - listen; sweet and passionate was the harmony of the birds; but I let not - my faculties lull, and observed that round the throat of every bird was a - ringed mark of gold and stamps of divers gems similar in colour to a ring - on the forefinger of her right hand, which she dazzled my sight with as - she flashed it. When we had listened a long hour to this music, the - Princess gazed on me as if to mark the effect of a charm, and I saw - disappointment on her lovely face, and she bit her lip and looked - spiteful, saying, 'Thou art far gone in the use of magic, and wary, - O girl!' Then she laughed unnaturally, and called slaves to bring in - sweet drinks to us, and I drank with her, and became less wary, and she - fondled me more, calling me tender names, heaping endearments on me; and - as the hour of the middle-night approached I was losing all suspicion in - deep languor, and sighed at the song of the birds, the long love-song, and - dozed awake with eyes half shut. I felt her steal from me, and continued - still motionless without alarm: so was I mastered. What hour it was or - what time had passed I cannot say, when a bird that was chained on a perch - before me—a very quaint bird, with a topknot awry, and black, heavy - bill, and ragged gorgeousness of plumage—the only object between my - lids and darkness, suddenly, in the midst of the singing, let loose a - hoarse laugh that was followed by peals of laughter from the other birds. - Thereat I started up, and beheld the Princess standing over a brazier, and - she seized a slipper from her foot and flung it at the bird that had first - laughed, and struck him off his perch, and went to him and seized him and - shook him, crying, 'Dare to laugh again!' and he kept clearing - his throat and trying to catch the tune he had lost, pitching a high note - and a low note; but the marvel of this laughter of the bird wakened me - thoroughly, and I thanked the bird in my soul, and said to Goorelka, - 'More wondrous than their singing, this laughter, O Princess!' - </p> - <p> - She would not speak till she had beaten every bird in the aviary, and then - said in the words of the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Shall they that deal in magic match degrees of wonder? - From the bosom of one cloud comes the lightning and the thunder. -</pre> - <p> - Then said she, 'O Noorna! I'll tell thee truly my intent, - which was to enchant thee; but I find thee wise, so let us join our - powers, and thou shah become mighty as a sorceress.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Ravaloke had said to me, 'Her friendship is fire, her enmity - frost; so be cold to the former, to the latter hot,' and I - dissembled and replied, 'Teach me, O Princess!' - </p> - <p> - So she asked me what I could do. Could I plant a mountain in the sea and - people it? could I anchor a purple cloud under the sun and live there a - year with them I delighted in? could I fix the eyes of the world upon one - head and make the nations bow to it; change men to birds, fishes to men; - and so on—a hundred sorceries that I had never attempted and dreamed - not of my betrothed! I had never offended Allah by a misuse of my powers. - When I told her, she cried, 'Thou art then of a surety she that's - fitted for the custody of the Lily of the Light, so come with me.' - </p> - <p> - Now, I had heard of the Lily, even this thou holdest may its influence be - unwithering!—and desired to see it. So she led me from the palace to - the shore of the sea, and flung a cockleshell on the waters, and seated - herself in it with me in her lap; and we scudded over the waters, and - entered this Enchanted Sea, and stood by the Lily. Then, I that loved - flowers undertook the custody of this one, knowing not the consequences - and the depth of her wiles. 'Tis truly said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The overwise themselves hoodwink, - For simple eyesight is a modest thing: - They on the black abysm's brink - Smile, and but when they fall bitterly think, - What difference 'twixt the fool and me, Creation's King? -</pre> - <p> - Nevertheless for awhile nothing evil resulted, and I had great joy in the - flower, and tended it with exceeding watchfulness, and loved it, so that I - was brought in my heart to thank the Princess and think well of her. - </p> - <p> - Now, one summer eve as Ravaloke rested under the shade of his garden palm, - and I studied beside him great volumes of magic, it happened that after I - had read certain pages I closed one of the books marked on the cover - 'Alif,' and shut the clasp louder than I intended, so that he - who was dozing started up, and his head was in the sloped sun in an - instant, and I observed the shadow of his head lengthen out along the - grass-plot towards the mossed wall, and it shot up the wall, darkening it—then - drawing back and lessening, then darting forth like a beast of darkness - irritable for prey. I was troubled, for whatso is seen while the volume - Alif is in use hath a portent; but the discovery of what this might be - baffled me. So I determined to watch events, and it was not many days ere - Ravaloke, who was the leader of the armies of the King of Oolb, was called - forth to subdue certain revolted tributaries of the King, and at my - entreaty took me with him, and I saw battles and encounters lasting a day's - length. Once we were encamped in a fruitful country by a brook running - with a bright eye between green banks, and I that had freedom and the - password of the camp wandered down to it, and refreshed my forehead with - its coolness. So, as I looked under the falling drops, lo! on the opposite - bank the old beggar that had given me such fair return for my alms and - Kadrab his hump! I heard him call, 'This night is the key to the - mystery,' and he was gone. Every incantation I uttered was - insufficient to bring him back. Surely, I hurried to the tents and took no - sleep, watching zealously by the tent of Ravaloke, crouched in its shadow. - About the time of the setting of the moon I heard footsteps approach the - tent within the circle of the guard, and it was a youth that held in his - hand naked steel. When he was by the threshold of the tent, I rose before - him and beheld the favourite of Ravaloke, even the youth he had destined - to espouse me; so I reproached him, and he wept, denying not the intention - he had to assassinate Ravaloke, and when his soul was softened he - confessed to me, ''Twas that I might win the Princess - Goorelka, and she urged me to it, promising the King would promote me to - the vacant post of Ravaloke.' - </p> - <p> - Then I said to him, 'Lov'st thou Goorelka?' - </p> - <p> - And he answered, 'Yea, though I know my doom in loving her; and that - it will be the doom of them now piping to her pleasure and denied the - privilege of laughter.' - </p> - <p> - So I thought, 'Oh, cruel sorceress! the birds are men!' And as - I mused, my breast melted with pity at their desire to laugh, and the - little restraint they had upon themselves notwithstanding her harshness; - for could they think of their changed condition and folly without - laughter? and the folly that sent them fresh mates in misery was indeed - matter for laughter, fed to fulness by constant meditation on the perch. - Meantime, I uncharmed the youth and bade him retire quickly; but as he was - going, he said, 'Beware of the Genie Karaz!' Then I held him - back, and after a parley he told me what he had heard the Princess say, - and it was that Karaz had seen me and sworn to possess me for my beauty. - 'Strangely smiled Goorelka when she spake that,' said he. - </p> - <p> - Now, the City of Oolb fronts the sea, and behind it is a mountain and a - wood, where the King met Ravaloke on his return victorious over the - rebels. So, to escape the eye of the King I parted with Ravaloke, and - sought to enter the city by a circuitous way; but the paths wound about - and zigzagged, and my slaves suffered nightfall to surprise us in the - entanglements of the wood. I sent them in different directions to strike - into the main path, retaining Kadrab at the bridle of my mule; but that - creature now began to address me in a familiar tone, and he said something - of love for me that enraged me, so that I hit him a blow. Then came from - him sounds like the neighing of mares, and lo! he seized me and rose with - me in the air, and I thought the very heavens were opening to that black - beast, when on a sudden he paused, and shot down with me from heights of - the stars to the mouth of a cavern by the Putrid Sea, and dragged me into - a cavern greatly illuminated, hung like a palace chamber, and supported on - pillars of shining jasper. Then I fell upon the floor in a swoon, and - awaking saw Kadrab no longer, but in his place a Genie. O my soul, thou - halt seen him!—I thought at once, ''tis Karaz!' - and when he said to me, 'This is thy abode, O lady! and I he that - have sworn to possess thee from the hour I saw thee in the chamber of - Goorelka,' then was I certain 'twas Karaz. So, collecting the - strength of my soul, I said, in the words of the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - 'Woo not a heart preoccupied! - What thorn is like a loathing bride? - Mark ye the shrubs how they turn from the sea, - The sea's rough whispers shun? - But like the sun of heaven be, - And every flower will open wide. - Woo with the shining patience we - Beheld in heaven's sun.' -</pre> - <p> - Then he sang: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Exquisite lady! name the smart - That fills thy heart. - Thou art the foot and I the worm: - Prescribe the Term. -</pre> - <p> - Finding him compliant, I said, 'O great Genie, truly the search of - my life has been to discover him that is, my father, and how I was left in - the wilderness. There 's no peace for me, nor understanding the word - of love, till I hear by whom I was left a babe on the bosom of a dead - mother.' - </p> - <p> - He exclaimed, and his eyes twinkled, ''Tis that? that shalt - thou know in a span of time. O my mistress, hast thou seen the birds of - Goorelka? Thy father Feshnavat is among them, perched like a bird.' - </p> - <p> - So I cried, 'And tell me how he may be disenchanted.' - </p> - <p> - He said, 'Swear first to be mine unreluctantly.' - </p> - <p> - Then I said, 'What is thy oath?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'I swear, when I swear, by the Identical.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon I questioned him concerning the Identical, what it was; and he, - not suspecting, revealed to me the mighty hair in his head now in the head - of Shagpat, even that. So I swore by that to give myself to the possessor - of the Identical, and flattered him. Then said he, 'O lovely damsel, - I am truly one of the most powerful of the Genii; yet am I in bondage to - that sorceress Goorelka by reason of a ring she holdeth; and could I get - that ring from her and be slave to nothing mortal an hour, I could light - creation as a torch, and broil the inhabitants of earth at one fire.' - </p> - <p> - I thought, 'That ring is known to me!' And he continued, - 'Surely I cannot assist thee in this work other than by revealing - the means of disenchantment, and it is to keep the birds laughing - uninterruptedly an hour; then are they men again, and take the forms of - men that are laughers—I know not why.' - </p> - <p> - So I cried, ''Tis well! carry me back to Oolb.' - </p> - <p> - Then the Genie lifted me into the air, and ceased not speeding rapidly - through it, till I was on the roof of the house of Ravaloke. O sweet - youth! moon of my soul! from that time to the disenchantment of Feshnavat, - I pored over my books, trying experiments in magic, dreadful ones, hunting - for talismans to countervail Goorelka; but her power was great, and - 'twas not in me to get her away from the birds one hour to free - them. On a certain occasion I had stolen to them, and kept them laughing - with stories of man to within an instant of the hour; and they were - laughing exultingly with the easy happy laugh of them that perceive - deliverance sure, when she burst in and beat them even to the door of - death. I saw too in her eyes, that glowed like the eyes of wild cats in - the dark, she suspected me, and I called Allah to aid the just cause - against the sinful, and prepared to war with her. - </p> - <p> - Now, my desire, which was to liberate my father and his fellows in - tribulation, I knew pure, and had no fear of the sequel, as is declared: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Fear nought so much as Fear itself; for arm'd with Fear the Foe - Finds passage to the vital part, and strikes a double blow. -</pre> - <p> - So one day as I leaned from my casement looking on the garden seaward, I - saw a strange red and yellow-feathered bird that flew to the branch of a - citron-tree opposite, with a ring in its beak; and the bird was singing, - and with every note the ring dropped from its bill, and it descended - swiftly in an arrowy slant downward, and seized it ere it reached the - ground, and commenced singing afresh. When I had marked this to happen - many times, I thought, 'How like is this bird to an innocent soul - possessed of magic and using its powers! Lo, it seeketh still to sing as - one of the careless, and cannot relinquish the ring and be as the - careless, and between the two there is neither peace for it nor pleasure.' - Now, while my eyes were on the pretty bird, dwelling on it, I saw it - struck suddenly by an arrow beneath the left wing, and the bird fluttered - to my bosom and dropped in it the ring from its beak. Then it sprang - weakly, and sought to fly and soar, and fluttered; but a blue film lodged - over its eyes, and its panting was quickly ended. So I looked at the ring - and knew it for that one I had noted on the finger of Goorelka. Red - blushed my bliss, and 'twas revealed to me that the bird was of the - birds of the Princess that had escaped from her with the ring. I buried - the bird, weeping for it, and flew to my books, and as I read a glow stole - over me. O my betrothed, eyes of my soul! I read that the possessor of - that ring was mistress of the marvellous hair which is a magnet to the - homage of men, so that they crowd and crush and hunger to adore it, even - the Identical! This was the power that peopled the aviary of Goorelka, and - had well-nigh conquered all the resistance of my craft. - </p> - <p> - Now, while I read there arose a hubbub and noise in the outer court, and - shrieks of slaves. The noise approached with rapid strides, and before I - could close my books Goorelka burst in upon me, crying, 'Noorna! - Noorna!' Wild and haggard was her head, and she rushed to my books - and saw them open at the sign of the ring: then began our combat. She - menaced me as never mortal was menaced. Rapid lightning-flashes were her - transformations, and she was a serpent, a scorpion, a lizard, a lioness in - succession, but I leapt perpetually into fresh rings of fire and of - witched water; and at the fiftieth transformation, she fell on the floor - exhausted, a shuddering heap. Seeing that, I ran from her to the aviary in - her palace, and hurried over a story of men to the birds, that rocked them - on their perches with chestquakes of irresistible laughter. Then flew I - back to the Princess, and she still puffing on the floor, commenced - wheedling and begging the ring of me, stinting no promises. At last she - cried, 'Girl! what is this ring to thee without beauty? Thy beauty - is in my keeping.' - </p> - <p> - And I exclaimed, 'How? how?' smitten to the soul. - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Yea; and I can wear it as my own, adding it to my - own, when thou'rt a hag!' - </p> - <p> - My betrothed! I was on the verge of giving her the ring for this secret, - when a violent remote laughter filled the inner hollow of my ears, and it - increased, till the Princess heard it; and now the light of my casement - was darkened with birds, the birds of Goorelka, laughing as on a wind of - laughter. So I opened to them, and they darted in, laughing all of them, - till I could hold out no longer, and the infection of laughter seized me, - and I rolled with it; and the Princess, she too laughed a hyaena-laugh - under a cat's grin, and we all of us remained in this wise some - minutes, laughing the breath out of our bodies, as if death would take us. - Whoso in the City of Oolb heard us, the slaves, the people, and the King, - laughed, knowing not the cause. This day is still remembered in Oolb as - the day of laughter. Now, at a stroke of the hour the laughter ceased, and - I saw in the chamber a crowd of youths and elders of various ranks; but - their visages were become long and solemn as that of them that have seen a - dark experience. 'Tis certain they laughed little in their lives - from that time, and the muscles of their cheeks had rest. So I caught down - my veil, and cried to the Princess, 'My father is among these; point - him out to me.' - </p> - <p> - Ere she replied one stepped forth, even Feshnavat, my father, and called - me by name, and knew me by a spot on the left arm, and made himself known - to me, and told me the story of my dead mother, how she had missed her way - from the caravan in the desert, and he searching her was set upon by - robbers, and borne on their expeditions. Nothing said he of the sorceries - of Goorelka, and I, not wishing to provoke the Princess, suffered his - dread to exist. So I kissed him, and bowed my head to him, and she fled - from the sight of innocent happiness. Then took I the ring, and summoned - Karaz, and ordered him to reinstate all those princes and chiefs and - officers in their possessions and powers, on what part of earth soever - that might be. Never till I stood as the Lily and thy voice sweetened the - name of love in my ears, heard I aught of delicate delightfulness, like - the sound of their gratitude. Many wooed me to let them stay by me and - guard me, and do service all their lives to me; but this I would not - allow, and though they were fair as moons, some of them, I responded not - to their soft glances, speaking calmly the word of farewell, for I was - burdened with other thoughts. - </p> - <p> - Now, when the Genie had done my bidding, he returned to me joyfully. My - soul sickened to think myself his by a promise; but I revolved the words - of my promise, and saw in them a loophole of escape. So, when he claimed - me, I said, 'Ay! ay! lay thy head in my lap,' as if my mind - treasured it. Then he lay there, and revealed to me his plans for the - destruction of men. 'Or,' said he, 'they shall be our - slaves and burden-beasts, for there 's now no restraint on me, now - thou art mistress of the ring, and mine.' Thereupon his imagination - swelled, and he saw his evil will enthroned, and the hopes of men beneath - his heel, crying, 'And the more I crush them the thicker they crowd, - for the Identical compelleth their very souls to adore in spite of - distaste.' - </p> - <p> - Then said I, 'Tell me, O Genie! is the Identical subservient to me - in another head save thine?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Nay I in another head 'tis a counteraction to - the power of the Ring, the Ring powerless over it.' - </p> - <p> - And I said, 'Must it live in a head, the Identical?' - </p> - <p> - Cried he, 'Woe to what else holdeth it!' - </p> - <p> - I whispered in his hairy pointed red ear, 'Sleep! sleep!' and - lulled him with a song, and he slept, being weary with my commissioning. - Then I bade Feshnavat, my father, fetch me one of my books of magic, and - read in it of the discovery of the Identical by means of the Ring; and I - took the Ring and hung it on a hair of my own head over the head of the - Genie, and saw one of the thin lengths begin to twist and dart and writhe, - and shift lustres as a creature in anguish. So I put the Ring on my - forefinger, and turned the hair round and round it, and tugged. Lo, with a - noise that stunned me, the hair came out! O my betrothed, what shrieks and - roars were those: with which the Genie awoke, finding himself bare of the - Identical! Oolb heard them, and the sea foamed like the mouth of madness, - as the Genie sped thunder-like over it, following me in mid-air. Such a - flight was that! Now, I found it not possible to hold the Identical, for - it twisted and stung, and was nigh slipping from me while I flew. I saw - white on a corner of the Desert, a city, and I descended on it by the shop - of a clothier that sat quietly by his goods and stuffs, thinking of fate - less than of kabobs and stews and rare seasonings. That city hath now his - name. Wullahy, had I not then sown in his head that hair which he weareth - yet, how had I escaped Karaz, and met thee? Wondrous are the decrees of - Providence! Praise be to Allah for them! So the Genie, when he found - himself baffled by me, and Shagpat with the mighty hair in his head, the - Identical, he yelled, and fetched Shagpat a slap that sent him into the - middle of the street; but Kadza screamed after him, and there was - immediately such lamentation in the city about Shagpat, and such tearing - of hair about him, that I perceived at once the virtue that was in the - Identical. As for Karaz, finding his claim as possessor of the Identical - no more valid, he vanished, and has been my rebellious slave since, till - thou, O my betrothed, mad'st me spend him in curing thy folly on the - horse Garraveen, and he escaped from my circles beyond the dominion of the - Ring; yet had he his revenge, for I that was keeper of the Lily, had, I - now learned ruefully, a bond of beauty with it, and whatever was a stain - to one withered the other. Then that sorceress Goorelka stole my beauty - from me by sprinkling a blight on the petals of the fair flower, and I - became as thou first saw'st me. But what am I as I now am? Blissful! - blissful! Surely I grew humble with the loss of beauty, and by humility - wise, so that I assisted Feshnavat to become Vizier by the Ring, and - watched for thy coming to shave Shagpat, as a star watcheth; for 'tis - written, 'A barber alone shall be shearer of the Identical'; - and he only, my betrothed, hath power to plant it in Aklis, where it - groweth as a pillar, bringing due reverence to Aklis. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - </h2> - <p> - Now, when Noorna bin Noorka had made an end of her narration, she folded - her hands and was mute awhile; and to the ear of Shibli Bagarag it seemed - as if a sweet instrument had on a sudden ceased luting. So, as he leaned, - listening for her voice to recommence, she said quickly, 'See yonder - fire on the mountain's height!' - </p> - <p> - He looked and saw a great light on the summit of a lofty mountain before - them. - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'That is Aklis! and it is ablaze, knowing a visitant - near. Tighten now the hairs of Garraveen about thy wrist; touch thy lips - with the waters of Paravid; hold before thee the Lily, and make ready to - enter the mountain. Lo, my betrothed, thou art in possession of the three - means that melt opposition, and the fault is thine if thou fail.' - </p> - <p> - He did as she directed; and they were taken on a tide and advanced rapidly - to the mountain, so that the waters smacked and crackled beneath the - shell, covering it with silver showering arches of glittering spray. Then - the fair beams of the moon became obscured, and the twain reddened with - the reflection of the fire, and the billows waxed like riotous flames; and - presently the shell rose upon the peak of many waves swollen to one, and - looking below, they saw in the scarlet abyss of waters at their feet a - monstrous fish, with open jaws and one baleful eye; and the fish was - lengthy as a caravan winding through the desert, and covered with fiery - scales. Shibli Bagarag heard the voice of Noorna shriek affrightedly, - 'Karaz!' and as they were sliding on the down slope, she stood - upright in the shell, pronouncing rapidly some words in magic; and the - shell closed upon them both, pressing them together, and writing darkness - on their very eyeballs. So, while they were thus, they felt themselves - gulped in, and borne forward with terrible swiftness, they knew not where, - like one that hath a dream of sinking; and outside the shell a rushing, - gurgling noise, and a noise as of shouting multitudes, and muffled - multitudes muttering complaints and yells and querulous cries, told them - they were yet speeding through the body of the depths in the belly of the - fish. Then there came a shock, and the shell was struck with light, and - they were sensible of stillness without motion. Then a blow on the shell - shivered it to fragments, and they were blinded with seas of brilliancy on - all sides from lamps and tapers and crystals, cornelians and gems of fiery - lustre, liquid lights and flashing mirrors, and eyes of crowding damsels, - bright ones. So, when they had risen, and could bear to gaze on the - insufferable splendour, they saw sitting on a throne of coral and - surrounded by slaves with scimitars, a fair Queen, with black eyes, - kindlers of storms, torches in the tempest, and with floating tresses, - crowned with a circlet of green-spiked precious stones and masses of - crimson weed with flaps of pearl; and she was robed with a robe of amber, - and had saffron sandals, loose silvery-silken trousers tied in at the - ankle, the ankle white as silver; wonderful was the quivering of rays from - the jewels upon her when she but moved a finger! Now, as they stood with - their hands across their brows, she cried out, 'O ye traversers of - my sea! how is this, that I am made to thank Karaz for a sight of ye?' - </p> - <p> - And Noorna bin Noorka answered, 'Surely, O Queen Rabesqurat, the - haven of our voyage was Aklis, and we feared delay, seeing the fire of the - mountain ablaze with expectations of us.' - </p> - <p> - Then the Queen cried angrily, ''Tis well thou hadst wit to - close the shell, O Noorna, or there would have been delay indeed. Say, is - not the road to Aklis through my palace? And it is the road thousands - travel.' - </p> - <p> - So Noorna bin Noorka said, 'O Queen, this do they; but are they of - them that reach Aklis?' - </p> - <p> - And the Queen cried violently, purpling with passion, 'This to me! - when I helped ye to the plucking of the Lily?' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Queen muttered an imprecation, and called the name 'Abarak!' - and lo, a door opened in one of the pillars of jasper leading from the - throne, and there came forth a little man, humped, with legs like bows, - and arms reaching to his feet; in his hand a net weighted with leaden - weights. So the Queen levelled her finger at Noorna, and he spun the net - above her head, and dropped it on her shoulder, and dragged her with him - to the pillar. When Shibli Bagarag saw that, the world darkened to him, - and he rushed upon Abarak; but Noorna called swiftly in his ear, 'Wait! - wait! Thou by thy spells art stronger than all here save Abarak. Be true! - Remember the seventh pillar!' Then, with a spurn from the hand of - Abarak, the youth fell back senseless at the feet of the Queen. - </p> - <p> - Now, with the return of consciousness his hearing was bewitched with - strange delicious melodies, the touch of stringed instruments, and others - breathed into softly as by the breath of love, delicate, tender, alive - with enamoured bashfulness. Surely, the soul that heard them dissolved - like a sweet in the goblet, mingling with so much ecstasy of sound; and - those melodies filling the white cave of the ear were even at once to - drown the soul in delightfulness and buoy it with bliss, as a heavy-leaved - flower is withered and refreshed by sun and dews. Surely, the youth ceased - not to listen, and oblivion of cares and aught other in this life, save - that hidden luting and piping, pillowed his drowsy head. At last there was - a pause, and it seemed every maze of music had been wandered through. - Opening his eyes hurriedly, as with the loss of the music his own breath - had gone likewise, he beheld a garden golden with the light of lamps hung - profusely from branches and twigs of trees by the glowing cheeks of - fruits, apple and grape, pomegranate and quince; and he was reclining on a - bank piled with purple cushions, his limbs clad in the richest figured - silks, fringed like the ends of clouds round the sun, with amber fringes. - He started up, striving to recall the confused memory of his adventures - and what evil had befallen him, and he would have struggled with the - vision of these glories, but it mastered him with the strength of a potent - drug, so that the very name of his betrothed was forgotten by him, and he - knew not whither he would, or the thing he wished for. Now, when he had - risen from the soft green bank that was his couch, lo, at his feet a - damsel weeping! So he lifted her by the hand, and she arose and looked at - him, and began plaining of love and its tyrannies, softening him, already - softened. Then said she, 'What I suffer there is another, lovelier - than I, suffering; thou the cause of it, O cruel youth!' - </p> - <p> - He said, 'How, O damsel? what of my cruelty? Surely, I know nothing - of it.' - </p> - <p> - But she exclaimed, 'Ah, worse to feign forgetfulness!' - </p> - <p> - Now, he was bewildered at the words of the damsel, and followed her - leading till they entered a dell in the garden canopied with foliage, and - beyond it a green rise, and on the rise a throne. So he looked earnestly, - and beheld thereon Queen Rabesqurat, she sobbing, her dark hair pouring in - streams from the crown of her head. Seeing him, she cleared her eyes, and - advanced to meet him timidly and with hesitating steps; but he shrank from - her, and the Queen shrieked with grief, crying, 'Is there in this - cold heart no relenting?' - </p> - <p> - Then she said to him winningly, and in a low voice, 'O youth, my - husband, to whom I am a bride!' - </p> - <p> - He marvelled, saying, 'This is a game, for indeed I am no husband, - neither have I a bride . . . yet have I confused memory of some betrothal - . . .' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon she cried, 'Said I not so? and I the betrothed.' - </p> - <p> - Still he exclaimed, 'I cannot think it! Wullahy, it were a wonder!' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'Consider how a poor youth of excellent proportions - came to a flourishing Court before one, a widowed Queen, and she cast eyes - of love on him, and gave him rule over her and all that was hers when he - had achieved a task, and they were wedded. Oh, the bliss of it! Knit - together with bond and a writing; and these were the dominions, I the - Queen, woe's me!—thou the youth!' - </p> - <p> - Now, he was roiled by the enchantments of the Queen, caught in the snare - of her beguilings; and he let her lead him to a seat beside her on the - throne, and sat there awhile in the midst of feastings, mazed, thinking, - 'What life have I lived before this, if the matter be as I behold?' - thinking, ''Tis true I have had visions of a widowed queen, - and I a poor youth that came to her court, and espoused her, sitting in - the vacant seat beside her, ruling a realm; but it was a dream, a dream,—yet, - wah! here is she, here am I, yonder my dominions!' Then he thought, - 'I will solve it!' So, on a sudden he said to her beside him, - 'O Queen, sovereign of hearts! enlighten me as to a perplexity.' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'The voice of my lord is music in the ear of the - bride.' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, in the tone of one doubting realities, 'O fair Queen, - is there truly now such a one as Shagpat in the world?' - </p> - <p> - She laughed at his speech and the puzzled appearance of his visage, - replying, 'Surely there liveth one, Shagpat by name in the world; - strange is the history of him, his friends, and enemies; and it would bear - recital.' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'And one, the daughter of a Vizier, Vizier to the King - in the City of Shagpat?' - </p> - <p> - Thereat, she shook her head, saying, 'I know nought of that one.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag was mindful of his thwackings; and in this the wisdom - of Noorna, is manifest, that the sting of them yet chased away doubts of - illusion regarding their having been, as the poet says, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - If thou wouldst fix remembrance—thwack! - 'Tis that oblivion controls; - I care not if't be on the back, - Or on the soles. -</pre> - <p> - He thought, 'Wah! yet feel I the thong, and the hiss of it as of the - serpent in the descent, and the smack of it as the mouth of satisfaction - in its contact with tender regions. This, wullahy! was no dream.' - Nevertheless, he was ashamed to allude thereto before the Queen, and he - said, 'O my mistress, another question, one only! This Shagpat—is - he shaved?' - </p> - <p> - She said, 'Clean shorn!' - </p> - <p> - Quoth he, astonished, grief-stricken, with drawn lips, 'By which - hand, chosen above men?' - </p> - <p> - And she exclaimed, 'O thou witty one that feignest not to know! - Wullahy! by this hand of thine, O my lord and king, daring that it is; - dexterous! surely so! And the shaving of Shagpat was the task achieved,—I - the dower of it, and the rich reward.' - </p> - <p> - Now, he was meshed yet deeper in the net of her subtleties, and by her - calling him 'lord and king'; and she gave a signal for fresh - entertainments, exhausting the resources of her art, the mines of her - wealth, to fascinate him. Ravishments of design and taste were on every - side, and he was in the lap of abundance, beguiled by magic, caressed by - beauty and a Queen. Marvel not that he was dazzled, and imagined himself - already come to the great things foretold of him by the readers of planets - and the casters of nativities in Shiraz. He assisted in beguiling himself, - trusting wilfully to the two witnesses of things visible; as is declared - by him of wise sayings: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - There is in every wizard-net a hole, - So the entangler first must blind the soul. -</pre> - <p> - And it is again said by that same teacher: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Ye that the inner spirit's sight would seal, - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal. -</pre> - <p> - And the soul of Shibli Bagarag was blinded by Rabesqurat in the depths of - the Enchanted Sea. She sang to him, luting deliriously; and he was - intoxicated with the blissfulness of his fortune, and took a lute and sang - to her love-verses in praise of her, rhyming his rapture. Then they handed - the goblet to each other, and drank till they were on fire with the joy of - things, and life blushed beauteousness. Surely, Rabesqurat was becoming - forgetful of her arts through the strength of those draughts, till her eye - marked the Lily by his side, which he grasped constantly, the bright - flower, and she started and said, 'One grant, O my King, my husband!' - </p> - <p> - So he said courteously, 'All grants are granted to the lovely, the - fascinating; and their grief will be lack of aught to ask for?' - </p> - <p> - Then said she, 'O my husband, my King, I am jealous of that silly - flower: laugh at my weakness, but fling it from thee.' - </p> - <p> - Now, he was about to cast it from him, when a vanity possessed his mind, - and he exclaimed, 'See first the thing I will do, a wonder.' - </p> - <p> - She cried, 'No wonders, my life! I am sated with them.' - </p> - <p> - And he said, 'I am oblivious, O Queen, of how I came by this flower - and this phial; but thou shalt hear a thing beyond the power of common - magic, and see that I am something.' - </p> - <p> - Now, she plucked at him to abstain from his action, but he held the phial - to the flower. She signed imperiously to some slaves to stay his right - wrist, and they seized on it; but not all of them together could withhold - him from dropping a drop into the petals of the flower, and lo, the Lily - spake, a voice from it like the voice of Noorna, saying, 'Remember - the Seventh Pillar.' Thereat, he lifted his eyes to his brows and - frowned back memory to his aid, and the scene of Karaz, Rabesqurat, - Abarak, and his betrothed was present to him. So perceiving that, the - Queen delayed not while he grasped the phial to take in her hands some - water from a basin near, and flung it over him, crying, 'Oblivion!' - And while his mind was straining to bring back images of what had - happened, he fell forward once more at the feet of Rabesqurat, senseless - as a stone falls; such was the force of her enchantments. - </p> - <p> - Now, when he awoke the second time he was in the bosom of darkness, and - the Lily gone from his hand; so he lifted the phial to make certain of - that, and groped about till he came to what seemed an urn to the touch, - and into this he dropped a drop, and asked for the Lily; and a voice said, - 'I caught a light from it in passing.' And he came in the - darkness to a tree, and a bejewelled bank, and other urns, and swinging - lamps without light, and a running water, and a grassy bank, and flowers, - and a silver seat, sprinkling each; and they said all in answer to his - question of the Lily, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' - At the last he stumbled upon the steps of a palace, and ascended them, - endowing the steps with speech as he went, and they said, 'The light - of it went over us.' He groped at the porch of the palace, and gave - the door a voice, and it opened on jasper hinges, shrieking, 'The - light of it went through me.' Then he entered a spacious hall, - scattering drops, and voices exclaimed, 'We glow with the light of - it.' He passed, groping his way through other halls and dusk - chambers, scattering drops, and as he advanced the voices increased in the - fervour of their replies, saying sequently: 'We blush with the light - of it; We beam with the light of it; We burn with the light of it.' - So, presently he found himself in a long low room, sombrely lit, roofed - with crystals; and in a corner of the room, lo! a damsel on a couch of - purple, she white as silver, spreading radiance. Of such lustrous beauty - was she that beside her, the Princess Goorelka as Shibli Bagarag first - beheld her, would have paled like a morning moon; even Noorna had waned as - Both a flower in fierce heat; and the Queen of Enchantments was but the - sun behind a sand-storm, in comparison with that effulgent damsel on the - length of the purple couch. Well for him he wilt of the magic which - floated through that palace; as is said, - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Tempted by extremes, - The soul is most secure; - Too vivid loveliness blinds with its beams, - And eyes turned inward perceive the lure. -</pre> - <p> - Pulling down his turban hastily, he stepped on tiptoe to within arm's - reach of her, and, looking another way, inclined over her soft vermeil - mouth the phial slowly till it brimmed the neck, and dropped a drop of - Paravid between the bow of those sweet lips. Still not daring to gaze on - her, he said then, 'My question is of the Lily, the Lily of the Sea, - and where is it, O marvel?' - </p> - <p> - And he heard a voice answer in the tones of a silver bell, clear as a wind - in strung wires, 'Where I lie, lies the Lily, the Lily of the Sea; I - with it, it with me.' - </p> - <p> - Said he, 'O breather of music, tell me how I may lay hand on the - flower of beauty to bear it forth.' - </p> - <p> - And he heard the voice, 'An equal space betwixt my right side and my - left, and from the shoulder one span and half a span downward.' - </p> - <p> - Still without power to eye her, he measured the space and the spans, his - hand beneath the coverlids of the couch, and at a spot of the bosom his - hand sank in, and he felt a fluttering thing, fluttering like a frighted - bird in the midst of the fire. And the voice said, 'Quick, seize it, - and draw it out, and tie it to my feet by the twines of red silk about it.' - </p> - <p> - He seized it and drew it out, and it was a heart—a heart of - blood-streaming with crimson, palpitating. Tears flashed on his sight - beholding it, and pity took the seat of fear, and he turned his eyes full - on her, crying, 'O sad fair thing! O creature of anguish! O painful - beauty! Oh, what have I done to thee?' - </p> - <p> - But she panted, and gasped short and shorter gasps, pointing with one - finger to her feet. Then he took the warm living heart while it yet leapt - and quivered and sobbed; and he held it with a trembling hand, and tied it - by the red twines of silk about it to her feet, staining their whiteness. - When that was done, his whole soul melted with pity and swelled with - sorrow, and ere he could meet her eyes a swoon overcame him. Surely, when - the world dawned to him a third time in those regions the damsel was no - longer there, but in her place the Lily of Light. He thought, 'It - was a vision, that damsel! a terrible one; one to terrify and bewilder! a - bitter sweetness! Oh, the heart, the heart!' Reflecting on the heart - brought to his lids an overcharging of tears, and he wept violently - awhile. Then was he warned by the thought of his betrothed to take the - Lily and speed with it from the realms of Rabesqurat; and he stole along - the halls of the palace, and by the plashing fountains, and across the - magic courts, passing chambers of sleepers, fair dreamers, and through - ante-rooms crowded with thick-lipped slaves. Lo, as he held the Lily to - light him on, and the light of the Lily fell on them that were asleep, - they paled and shrank, and were such as the death-chill maketh of us. So - he called upon his head the protection of Allah, and went swifter, to - chase from his limbs the shudder of awe; and there were some that slept - not, but stared at him with fixed eyes, eyes frozen by the light of the - Lily, and he shunned those, for they were like spectres, haunting spirits. - After he had coursed the length of the palace, he came to a steep place - outside it, a rock with steps cut in stairs, and up these he went till he - came to a small door in the rock, and lying by it a bar; so he seized the - bar and smote the door, and the door shivered, for on his right wrist were - the hairs of Garraveen. Bending his body, he slipped through the opening, - and behold, an orchard dropping blossoms and ripe golden fruits, streams - flowing through it over sands, and brooks bounding above glittering gems, - and long dewy grasses, profusion of scented flowers, shade and sweetness. - So he let himself down to the ground, which was an easy leap from the - aperture, and walked through the garden, holding the Lily behind him, for - here it darkened all, and the glowing orchard was a desert by its light. - Presently, his eye fell on a couch swinging between two almond trees, and - advancing to it he beheld the black-eyed Queen gathered up, folded - temptingly, like a swaying fruit; she with the gold circlet on her head, - and she was fair as blossom of the almond in a breeze of the wafted - rose-leaf. Sweetly was she gathered up, folded temptingly, and Shibli - Bagarag refrained from using the Lily, thinking, ''Tis like - the great things foretold of me, this having of Queens within the very - grasp, swinging to and fro as if to taunt backwardness!' Then he - thought, ''Tis an enchantress! I will yet try her.' So - he made a motion of flourishing the Lily once or twice, but forbore, - fascinated, for she had on her fair face the softness of sleep, her lips - closed in dimples, and the wicked fire shut from beneath her lids. - Mastering his mind, the youth at last held the Lily to her, and saw a - sight to blacken the world and all bright things with its hideousness. - Scarce had he time to thrust the Lily in his robes, when the Queen started - up and clapped her hands, crying hurriedly, 'Abarak! Abarak!' - and the little man appeared in a moment at the door by which Shibli - Bagarag had entered the orchard. So, she cried still, 'Abarak!' - and he moved toward her. Then she said, 'How came this youth here, - prying in my private walks, my bowers? Speak!' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'By the aid of Garraveen only, O Queen! and there is no - force resisteth the bar so wielded.' - </p> - <p> - Rabesqurat looked under her brows at Shibli Bagarag and saw the horror on - his face, and she cried out to Abarak in an agony, 'Fetch me the - mirror!' Then Abarak ran, and returned ere the Queen had drawn seven - impatient breaths, and in one hand he bore a sack, in the other a tray: so - he emptied the contents of the sack on the surface of the tray; surely - they were human eyes! and the Queen flung aside her tresses, and stood - over them. The youth saw her smile at them, and assume tender and taunting - manners before them, and imperious manners, killing glances, till in each - of the eyes there was a sparkle. Then she flung back her head as one that - feedeth on a mighty triumph, exclaiming, 'Yet am I Rabesqurat! wide - is my sovereignty.' Sideways then she regarded Shibli Bagarag, and - it seemed she was urging Abarak to do a deed beyond his powers, he - frowning and pointing to the right wrist of the youth. So she clenched her - hands an instant with that feeling which knocketh a nail in the coffin of - a desire not dead, and controlled herself, and went to the youth, breaking - into beams of beauty; and an enchanting sumptuousness breathed round her, - so that in spite of himself he suffered her to take him by the hand and - lead him from that orchard through the shivered door and into the palace - and the hall of the jasper pillars. Strange thrills went up his arm from - the touch of that Queen, and they were as little snakes twisting and - darting up, biting poison-bites of irritating blissfulness. - </p> - <p> - Now, the hall was spread for a feast, and it was hung with lamps of - silver, strewn with great golden goblets, and viands, coloured meats, and - ordered fruits on shining platters. Then said she to Shibli Bagarag, - 'O youth! there shall be no deceit, no guile between us. Thou art - but my guest, I no bride to thee, so take the place of the guest beside - me.' - </p> - <p> - He took his seat beside her, Abarak standing by, and she helped the youth - to this dish and that dish, from the serving of slaves, caressing him with - flattering looks to starve aversion and nourish tender fellowship. And he - was like one that slideth down a hill and can arrest his descent with a - foot, yet faileth that freewill. When he had eaten and drunk with her, the - Queen said, 'O youth, no other than my guest! art thou not a prince - in the country thou comest from?' - </p> - <p> - In a moment the pride of the barber forsook him, and he equivocated, - saying, 'O Queen! there is among the stars somewhere, as was divined - by the readers of planets, a crown hanging for me, and I search a point of - earth to intercept its fall.' - </p> - <p> - She marked him beguiled by vanity, and put sweetmeats to his mouth, - exclaiming, 'Thy manners be those of a prince!' Then she sang - to him of the loneliness of her life, and of one with whom she wished to - share her state,—such as he. And at her signal came troops of - damsels that stood in rings and luted sweetly on the same theme—the - Queen's loneliness, her love. And he said to the Queen, 'Is - this so?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Too truly so!' - </p> - <p> - Now, he thought, 'She shall at least speak the thing that is, if she - look it not.' So he took the goblet, and contrived to drop a drop - from the phial of Paravid therein without her observing him; and he handed - her the goblet, she him; and they drank. Surely, the change that came over - the Queen was an enchantment, and her eyes shot lustre, her tongue was - loosed, and she laughed like one intoxicated, lolling in her seat, lost to - majesty and the sway of her magic, crying, 'O Abarak! Abarak! little - man, long my slave and my tool; ugly little man! And O Shibli Bagarag! - nephew of the barber! weak youth! small prince of the tackle! have I not - nigh fascinated thee? And thou wilt forfeit those two silly eyes of thine - to the sack. And, O Abarak, Abarak! little man, have I flattered thee? So - fetter I the strong with my allurements! and I stay the arrow in its - flight! and I blunt the barb of high intents! Wah! I have drunk a potent - stuff; I talk! Wullahy! I know there is a danger menacing Shagpat, and the - eyes of all Genii are fixed on him. And if he be shaved, what changes will - follow! But 'tis in me to delude the barber, wullahy! and I will - avert the calamity. I will save Shagpat!' - </p> - <p> - While the Queen Rabesqurat prated in this wise with flushed face, Shibli - Bagarag was smitten with the greatness of his task, and reproached his - soul with neglect of it. And he thought, 'I am powerful by spells as - none before me have been, and 'twas by my weakness the Queen sought - to tangle me. I will clasp the Seventh Pillar and make an end of it, by - Allah and his Prophet (praised be the name!), and I will reach Aklis by a - short path and shave Shagpat with the sword.' - </p> - <p> - So he looked up, and Abarak was before him, the lifted nostrils of the - little man wide with the flame of anger. And Abarak said, 'O youth, - regard me with the eyes of judgement! Now, is it not frightful to rate me - little?—an instigation of the evil one to repute me ugly?' - </p> - <p> - The promptings of wisdom counselled Shibli Bagarag to say, 'Frightful - beyond contemplation, O Abarak! one to shame our species! Surely, there is - a moon between thy legs, a pear upon thy shoulders, and the cock that - croweth is no match for thee in measure.' - </p> - <p> - Abarak cried, 'We be aggrieved, we two! O youth, son of my uncle, I - will give thee means of vengeance; give thou me means.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag felt scorn at the Queen, and her hollowness, and he said, - ''Tis well; take this Lily and hold it to her.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Queen jeered Abarak, and as he approached her she shouted, - 'What! thou small of build! mite of creation! sour mixture! thou - puppet of mine! thou! comest thou to seek a second kiss against the - compact, knowing that I give not the well-favoured of mortals beyond one, - a second. - </p> - <p> - Little delayed Abarak at this to put her to the test of the Lily, and he - held the flower to her, and saw the sight, and staggered back like one - stricken with a shaft. When he could get a breath he uttered such a howl - that Rabesqurat in her drunkenness was fain to save her ears, and the hall - echoed as with the bellows of a thousand beasts of the forest. Then, to - glut his revenge he ran for the sack, and emptied the contents of it, the - Queen's mirror, before her; and the sackful of eyes, they saw the - sight, and sickened, rolling their whites. That done, Abarak gave Shibli - Bagarag the bar of iron, and bade him smite the pillars, all save the - seventh; and he smote them strengthily, crumbling them at a blow, and - bringing down the great hall and its groves, and glasses and gems, lamps, - traceries, devices, a heap of ruin, the seventh pillar alone standing. - Then, while he pumped back breath into his body, Abarak said, 'There's - no delaying in this place now, O youth! Say, halt thou spells for the - entering of Aklis?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Three!' - </p> - <p> - Then said Abarak, ''Tis well! Surely now, if thou takest me in - thy service, I'll help thee to master the Event, and serve thee - faithfully, requiring nought from thee save a sight of the Event, and - 'tis I that myself missed one, wiled by Rabesqurat.' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'Thou?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'No word of it now. Is't agreed?' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Even so.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon, the twain entered the pillar, leaving Rabesqurat prone, and the - waves of the sea bounding toward her where she lay. Now, they descended - and ascended flights of slippery steps, and sped together along murky - passages, in which light never was, and under arches of caves with hanging - crystals, groping and tumbling on hurriedly, till they came to an - obstruction, and felt an iron door, frosty to the touch. Then Abarak said - to Shibli Bagarag, 'Smite!' And the youth lifted the bar to - his right shoulder, and smote; and the door obeyed the blow, and - discovered an opening into a strange dusky land, as it seemed a valley, on - one side of which was a ragged copper sun setting low, large as a warrior's - battered shield, giving deep red lights to a brook that fell, and over a - flat stream a red reflection, and to the sides of the hills a dark red - glow. The sky was a brown colour; the earth a deeper brown, like the skins - of tawny lions. Trees with reddened stems stood about the valley, - scattered and in groups, showing between their leaves the cheeks of - melancholy fruits swarthily tinged, and toward the centre of the valley a - shining palace was visible, supported by massive columns of marble - reddened by that copper sun. Shibli Bagarag was awed at the stillness that - hung everywhere, and said to Abarak, 'Where am I, O Abarak? the look - of this place is fearful!' - </p> - <p> - And the little man answered, 'Where, but beneath the mountains in - Aklis? Wullahy! I should know it, I that keep the passage of the seventh - pillar!' - </p> - <p> - Then the thought of his betrothed Noorna, and her beauty, and the words, - 'Remember the seventh pillar,' struck the heart of Shibli - Bagarag, and he exclaimed passionately, 'Is she in safety? Noorna, - my companion, my betrothed, netted by thee, O Abarak!' - </p> - <p> - Abarak answered sharply, 'Speak not of betrothals in this place, or - the sword of Aklis will move without a hand!' - </p> - <p> - But Shibli Bagarag waxed the colour of the sun that was over them, and - cried, 'By Allah! I will smite thee with the bar, if thou swear not - to her safety, and point not out to me where she now is.' - </p> - <p> - Then said Abarak, 'Thou wilt make a better use of the bar by lifting - it to my shoulder, and poising it, and peering through it.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag lifted the bar to the shoulder of Abarak, and poised it, - and peered through the length of it, and lo! there was a sea tossing in - tumult, and one pillar standing erect in the midst of the sea; and on the - pillar, above the washing waves, with hair blown back, and flapping - raiment, pale but smiling still, Noorna, his betrothed! - </p> - <p> - Now, when he saw her, he made a rush to the door of the passage; but - Abarak blocked the way, crying, 'Fool! a step backward in Aklis is - death!' - </p> - <p> - And when he had wrestled with him and reined him, Abarak said, 'Haste - to reach the Sword from the sons of Aklis, if thou wouldst save her.' - </p> - <p> - He drew him to the brink of the stream, and whistled a parrot's - whistle; and Shibli Bagarag beheld a boat draped with drooping white - lotuses that floated slowly toward them; and when it was near, he and - Abarak entered it, and saw one, a veiled figure, sitting in the stern, who - neither moved to them nor spake, but steered the boat to a certain point - of land across the stream, where stood an elephant ready girt for - travellers to mount him; and the elephant kneeled among the reeds as they - approached, that they might mount him, and when they had each taken a - seat, moved off, waving his trunk. Presently the elephant came to a halt, - and went upon his knees again, and the two slid off his back, and were - among black slaves that bowed to the ground before them, and led them to - the shining gates of the palace in silence. Now, on the first marble step - of the palace there sat an old white-headed man dressed like a dervish, - who held out at arm's length a branch of gold with golden - singing-birds between its leaves, saying, 'This for the strongest of - ye!' - </p> - <p> - Abarak exclaimed, 'I am that one'; and he held forth his hand - for the branch. - </p> - <p> - But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Nay, 'tis mine. Wullahy, what has - not the strength of this hand overthrown?' - </p> - <p> - Then the brows of Abarak twisted; his limbs twitched, and he bawled, - 'To the proof!' waking all the echoes of Aklis. Shibli Bagarag - was tempted in his desire for the golden branch to lift the iron bar upon - Abarak, when lo! the phial of Paravid fell from his vest, and he took it, - and sprinkled a portion of the waters over the singing birds, and in a - moment they burst into a sweet union of voices, singing, in the words of - the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When for one serpent were two asses match? - How shall one foe but with wiles master double? - So let the strong keep for ever good watch, - Lest their strength prove a snare, and themselves a mere bubble; - For vanity maketh the strongest most weak, - As lions and men totter after the struggle. - Ye heroes, be modest! while combats ye seek, - The cunning one trippeth ye both with a juggle. -</pre> - <p> - Now, at this verse of the birds Shibli Bagarag fixed his eye on the old - man, and the beard of the old man shrivelled; he waxed in size, and flew - up in a blaze and with a baffled shout bearing the branch; surely, his - features were those of Karaz, and Shibli Bagarag knew him by the length of - his limbs, his stiff ears, and copper skin. Then he laughed a loud laugh, - but Abarak sobbed, saying, 'By this know I that I never should have - seized the Sword, even though I had vanquished the illusions of - Rabesqurat, which held me fast half-way.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag stared at him, and said, 'Wert thou also a - searcher, O Abarak?' - </p> - <p> - But Abarak cried, 'Rouse not the talkative tongue of the past, O - youth! Wullahy! relinquish the bar that is my bar, won by me, for the - Sword is within thy grip, and they await thee up yonder steps. Go! go! and - look for me here on thy return.' - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE PALACE OF AKLIS - </h2> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag assured himself of his three spells, and made his - heart resolute, and hastened up the reddened marble steps of the Palace; - and when he was on the topmost step, lo! one with a man's body and - the head of a buffalo, that prostrated himself, and prayed the youth - obsequiously to enter the palace with the title of King. So Shibli Bagarag - held his head erect, and followed him with the footing of a Sultan, and - passed into a great hall, with fountains in it that were fountains of - gems, pearls, chrysolites, thousand-hued jewels, and by the margin of the - fountains were shapes of men with the heads of beasts-wolves, foxes, - lions, bears, oxen, sheep, serpents, asses, that stretched their hands to - the falls, and loaded their vestments with brilliants, loading them - without cessation, so that from the vestments of each there was another - pouring of the liquid lights. Then he with the buffalo's head bade - Shibli Bagarag help himself from the falls; but Shibli Bagarag refused, - for his soul was with Noorna, his betrothed; and he saw her pale on that - solitary pillar in the tumult of the sea, and knew her safety depended on - his faithfulness. - </p> - <p> - He cried, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - </p> - <p> - Now, at these words the fox-heads and the sheep-heads and the ass-heads - and the other heads of beasts were lifted up, and lo! they put their hands - to their ears, and tapped their foreheads with the finger of reflection, - as creatures seeking to bring to mind a serious matter. Then the fountains - rose higher, and flung jets of radiant jewels, and a drenching spray of - gems upon them, and new thirst aroused them to renew their gulping of the - falls, and a look of eagerness was even in the eyes of the ass-heads and - the silly sheep-heads; surely, Shibli Bagarag laughed to see them! Now, - when he had pressed his lips to recover his sight from the dazzling of - those wondrous fountains, he heard himself again addressed by the title of - King, and there was before him a lofty cock with a man's head. So he - resumed the majesty of his march, and followed the fine-stepping cock into - another hall, spacious, and clouded with heavy scents and perfumes burning - in censers and urns, musk, myrrh, ambergris, and livelier odours, - gladdening the nostril like wine, making the soul reel as with a draught - of the forbidden drink. Here, before a feast that would prick the dead - with appetite, were shapes of beasts with heads of men, asses, elephants, - bulls, horses, swine, foxes, river-horses, dromedaries; and they ate and - drank as do the famished with munch and gurgle, clacking their lips - joyfully. Shibli Bagarag remembered the condition of his frame when first - he looked upon the City of Shagpat, and was incited to eat and accede to - the invitation of the cock with the man's head, and sit among these - merry feeders and pickers of mouth-watering morsels, when, with the City - of Shagpat, lo! he had a vision of Shagpat, hairier than at their - interview, arrogant in hairiness; his head remote in contemptuous waves - and curls and frizzes, and bushy protuberances of hair, lost in it, like - an idolatrous temple in impenetrable thickets. Then the yearning of the - Barber seized Shibli Bagarag, and desire to shear Shagpat was as a mighty - overwhelming wave in his bosom, and he shouted, 'The Sword of Aklis! - nought save the Sword!' - </p> - <p> - Now, at these words the beasts with men's heads wagged their tails, - all of them, from right to left, and kept their jaws from motion, staring - stupidly at the dishes; but the dishes began to send forth stealthy - steams, insidious whispers to the nose, silver intimations of savouriness, - so that they on a sudden set up a howl, and Shibli Bagarag puckered his - garments from them as from devouring dogs, and hastened from that hall to - a third, where at the entrance a damsel stood that smiled to him, and led - him into a vast marbled chamber, forty cubits high, hung with draperies, - and in it a hundred doors; and he was in the midst of a very rose-garden - of young beauties, such as the Blest behold in Paradise, robed in the - colours of the rising and setting sun; plump, with long, black, - languishing, almond-shaped eyes, and undulating figures. So they cried to - him, 'What greeting, O our King?' - </p> - <p> - Now, he counted twenty and seven of them, and, fitting his gallantry to - verse, answered: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Poor are the heavens that have not ye - To swell their glowing plenty; - Up there but one bright moon I see, - Here mark I seven-and-twenty. -</pre> - <p> - The damsels laughed and flung back their locks at his flattery, sporting - with him; and he thought, 'These be sweet maidens! I will know if - they be illusions like Rabesqurat'; so, as they were romping, he - slung his right arm round one, and held the Lily to her, but there was no - change in her save that she winked somewhat and her eyes watered; and it - was so with the others, for when they saw him hold the Lily to one they - made him do so to them likewise. Then he took the phial, and touched their - lips with the waters, and lo! they commenced luting and laughing, and - singing verses, and prattling, laughing betweenwhiles at each other; and - one, a noisy one, with long, black, unquiet tresses, and a curved foot and - roguish ankle, sang as she twirled: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - My heart is another's, I cannot be tender; - Yet if thou storm it, I fain must surrender. -</pre> - <p> - And another, a fresh-cheeked, fair-haired, full-eyed damsel, strong upon - her instep and stately in the bearing of her shoulders, sang shrilly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - I'm of the mountains, and he that comes to me - Like eagle must win, and like hurricane woo me. -</pre> - <p> - And another, reclining on a couch buried in dusky silks, like a butterfly - under the leaves, a soft ball of beauty, sang moaningly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Here like a fruit on the branch am I swaying; - Snatch ere I fall, love! there's death in delaying. -</pre> - <p> - And another, light as an antelope on the hills, with antelope eyes edged - with kohl, and timid, graceful movements, and small, white, rounded ears, - sang clearly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Swiftness is mine, and I fly from the sordid; - Follow me, follow! and you'll be rewarded. -</pre> - <p> - And another, with large limbs and massive mould, that stepped like a cow - leisurely cropping the pasture, and shook with jewels amid her black hair - and above her brown eyes, and round her white neck and her wrists, and on - her waist, even to her ankle, sang as with a kiss upon every word: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Sweet 'tis in stillness and bliss to be basking! - He who would have me, may have for the asking. -</pre> - <p> - And another, with eyebrows like a bow, and arrows of fire in her eyes, and - two rosebuds her full moist parted pouting lips, sang, clasping her hands, - and voiced like the tremulous passionate bulbul in the shadows of the - moon: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Love is my life, and with love I live only; - Give me life, lover, and leave me not lonely. -</pre> - <p> - And a seventh, a very beam of beauty, and the perfection of all that is - imagined in fairness and ample grace of expression and proportion, lo! she - came straight to Shibli Bagarag, and took him by the hand and pierced him - with lightning glances, singing: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Were we not destined to meet by one planet? - Can a fate sever us?—can it, ah! can it? -</pre> - <p> - And she sang tender songs to him, mazing him with blandishments, so that - the aim of existence and the summit of ambition now seemed to him the life - of a king in that palace among the damsels; and he thought, 'Wah! - these be no illusions, and they speak the thing that is in them. Wullahy, - loveliness is their portion; they call me King.' - </p> - <p> - Then she that had sung to him said, 'Surely we have been waiting - thee long to crown thee our King! Thou hast been in some way delayed, O - glorious one!' - </p> - <p> - And he answered, 'O fair ones, transcending in affability, I have - stumbled upon obstructions in my journey hither, and I have met with - adventures, but of this crowning that was to follow them I knew nought. - Wullahy, thrice have I been saluted King; I whom fate selecteth for the - shaving of Shagpat, and till now it was a beguilement, all emptiness.' - </p> - <p> - They marked his bewildered state, and some knelt before him, some held - their arms out adoringly, some leaned to him with glistening looks, and he - was fast falling a slave to their flatteries, succumbing to them; - imagination fired him with the splendours due to one that was a king, and - the thought of wearing a crown again took possession of his soul, and he - cried, 'Crown me, O my handmaidens, and delay not to crown me; for, - as the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The king without his crown - Hath a forehead like the clown”; -</pre> - <p> - and the circle of my head itcheth for the symbols of majesty.' - </p> - <p> - At these words of Shibli Bagarag they arose quickly and clapped their - hands, and danced with the nimble step of gladness, exclaiming, 'O - our King! pleasant will be the time with him!' And one smoothed his - head and poured oil upon it; one brought him garments of gold and silk - inwoven; one fetched him slippers like the sun's beam in brightness; - others stood together in clusters, and with lutes and wood-instruments, - low-toned, singing odes to him; and lo! one took a needle and threaded it, - and gave the thread into the hands of Shibli Bagarag, and with the point - of the needle she pricked certain letters on his right wrist, and - afterwards pricked the same letters on a door in the wall. Then she said - to him, 'Is it in thy power to make those letters speak?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'We will prove how that may be.' - </p> - <p> - So he flung some drops from the phial over the letters, and they glowed - the colour of blood and flashed with a report, and it was as if a fiery - forked-tongue had darted before them and spake the words written, and they - were, 'This is the crown of him who bath achieved his aim and - resteth here.' Thereupon, she stuck the needle in the door, and he - pulled the thread, and the door drew apart, and lo! a small chamber, and - on a raised cushion of blue satin a glittering crown, thick with jewels as - a frost, such as Ambition pineth to wear, and the knees of men weaken and - bend beholding, and it lanced lights about it like a living sun. Beside - the cushion was a vacant throne, radiant as morning in the East, ablaze - with devices in gold and gems, a seat to fill the meanest soul with - sensations of majesty and tempt dervishes to the sitting posture. Shibli - Bagarag was intoxicated at the sight, and he thought, 'Wah! but if I - sit on this throne and am a king, with that crown I can command men and - things! and I have but to say, Fetch Noorna, my betrothed, from yonder - pillar in the midst of the uproarious sea!—Let the hairy Shagpat be - shaved! and behold, slaves, thousands of them, do my bidding! Wullahy, - this is greatness!' Now, he made a rush to the throne, but the - damsels held him back, crying, 'Not for thy life till we have - crowned thee, our master and lord!' - </p> - <p> - Then they took the crown and crowned him with it; and he sat upon the - throne calmly, serenely, like a Sultan of the great race accustomed to - sovereignty, tempering the awfulness of his brows with benignant glances. - So, while he sat the damsels hid their faces and started some paces from - him, as unable to bear the splendour of his presence, and in a moment, lo! - the door closed between him and them, and he was in darkness. Then he - heard a voice of the damsels cry in the hall, 'The ninety and ninth! - Peace now for us and blissfulness with our lords, for now all are filled - save the door of the Sword, which maketh the hundredth.' After that - he heard the same voice say, 'Leave them, O my sisters!' - </p> - <p> - So he listened to the noise of their departing, and knew he had been - duped. Surely his soul cursed him as he sat crowned and throned in that - darkness! He seized the crown to dash it to the earth, but the crown was - fixed on his forehead and would not come off; neither had he force to rise - from the throne. Now, the thought of Noorna, his betrothed, where she - rested waiting for him to deliver her, filled Shibli Bagarag with the - extremes of anguish; and he lifted his right arm and dashed it above his - head in the violence of his grief, striking in the motion a hidden gong - that gave forth a burst of thunder and a roll of bellowings, and lo! the - door opened before him, and the throne as he sat on it moved out of the - chamber into the hall where he had seen the damsels that duped him, and on - every side of the hall doors opened; and he marvelled to see men, old and - young, beardless and venerable, sitting upon thrones and crowned with - crowns, motionless, with eyes like stones in the recesses. He thought, - 'These be other dupes! Wallaby! a drop of the waters of Paravid upon - their lips might reveal mysteries, and guide me to the Sword of my - seeking.' So, as he considered how to get at them from the seat of - his throne, his gaze fell on a mirror, and he beheld the crown on his - forehead what it was, bejewelled asses' ears stiffened upright, and - skulls of monkeys grinning with gems! The sight of that crowning his head - convulsed Shibli Bagarag with laughter, and, as he laughed, his seat upon - the throne was loosened, and he pitched from it, but the crown stuck to - him and was tenacious of its hold as the lion that pounceth upon a victim. - He bowed to the burden of necessity, and took the phial, and touched the - lips of one that sat crowned on a throne with the waters in the phial; and - it was a man of exceeding age, whitened with time, and in the long sweep - of his beard like a mountain clad with snow from the peak that is in the - sky to the base that slopeth to the valley. Then he addressed the old man - on his throne, saying, 'Tell me, O King! how camest thou here? and - in search of what?' - </p> - <p> - The old man's lips moved, and he muttered in deep tones, 'When - cometh he of the ninety-and-ninth door?' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Surely he is before thee, in Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - And the old man said, 'Let him ask no secrets; but when he hath - reached the Sword forget not to flash it in this hall, for the sake of - brotherhood in adventure.' - </p> - <p> - After that he would answer no word to any questioning. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE SONS OF AKLIS - </h2> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'The poet is right in Aklis as - elsewhere, in his words: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The cunning of our oft-neglected wit - Doth best the keyhole of occasion fit”; -</pre> - <p> - and whoso looketh for help from others looketh the wrong way in an - undertaking. Wah! I will be bold and batter at the hundredth door, which - is the door of the Sword.' So he advanced straightway to the door, - which was one of solid silver, charactered with silver letters, and - knocked against it three knocks; and a voice within said, 'What - spells?' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'Paravid; Garraveen; and the Lily of the Sea!' - </p> - <p> - Upon that the voice said, 'Enter by virtue of the spells!' and - the silver door swung open, discovering a deep pit, lightened by a torch, - and across it, bridging it, a string of enormous eggs, rocs' eggs, - hollowed, and so large that a man might walk through them without - stooping. At the side of each egg three lamps were suspended from a claw, - and the shell passage was illumined with them from end to end. Shibli - Bagarag thought, 'These eggs are of a surety the eggs of the Roc - mastered by Aklis with his sword!' Now, as the sight of Shibli - Bagarag grew familiar to the place, he beheld at the bottom of the pit a - fluttering mass of blackness and two sickly eyes that glittered below. - </p> - <p> - Then thought he, 'Wah! if that be the Roc, and it not dead, will the - bird suffer one to defile its eggs with other than the sole of the foot, - naked?' He undid his sandals and kicked off the slippers given him - by the damsels that had duped him, and went into the first egg over the - abyss, and into the second, and into the third, and into the fourth, and - into the fifth. Surely the eggs swung with him, and bent; and the fear of - their breaking and he falling into the maw of the terrible bird made him - walk unevenly. When he had come to the seventh egg, which was the last, it - shook and swung violently, and he heard underneath the flapping of the - wings of the Roc, as with eagerness expecting a victim to prey upon. He - sustained his soul with the firmness of resolve and darted himself - lengthwise to the landing, clutching a hold with his right hand; as he did - so, the bridge of eggs broke, and he heard the feathers of the bird in - agitation, and the bird screaming a scream of disappointment as he - scrambled up the sides of the pit. - </p> - <p> - Now, Shibli Bagarag failed not to perform two prostrations to Allah, and - raised the song of gratitude for his preservation when he found himself in - safety. Then he looked up, and lo! behind a curtain, steps leading to an - anteroom, and beyond that a chamber like the chamber of kings where they - sit in state dispensing judgements, like the sun at noon in splendour; and - in the chamber seven youths, tall and comely young men, calm as princes in - their port, each one dressed in flowing robes, and with a large glowing - pearl in the front of their turbans. They advanced to meet him, saying, - 'Welcome to Aklis, thou that art proved worthy! 'Tis holiday - now with us'; and they took him by the hand and led him with them in - silence past fountain-jets and porphyry pillars to where a service with - refreshments was spread, meats, fowls with rice, sweetmeats, preserves, - palateable mixtures, and monuments of the cook's art, goblets of - wine like liquid rubies. Then one of the youths said to Shibli Bagarag, - 'Thou hast come to us crowned, O our guest! Now, it is not our - custom to pay homage, but thou shalt presently behold them that will, so - let not thy kingliness droop with us, but feast royally.' - </p> - <p> - And Shibli Bagarag said, 'O my princes, surely it is a silly matter - to crown a mouse! Humility hath depressed my stature! Wullahy, I have had - warning in the sticking of this crown to my brows, and it sticketh like an - abomination.' - </p> - <p> - They laughed at him, saying, 'It was the heaviness of that crown - which overweighted thee in the bridge of the abyss, and few be they that - bear it and go not to feed the Roc.' - </p> - <p> - Now, they feasted together, interchanging civilities, offering to each - other choice morsels, dainties. And the anecdotes of Shibli Bagarag, his - simplicity and his honesty, and his vanity and his airiness, and the - betraying tongue of the barber, diverted the youths; and they plied him - with old wine till his stores of merriment broke forth and were as a river - swollen by torrents of the mountain; and the seven youths laughed at him, - spluttering with laughter, lurching with it. Surely, he described to them - the loquacity of Baba Mustapha his uncle, and they laughed so that their - chins were uppermost; but at his mention of Shagpat greater gravity was - theirs, and they smoothed their faces solemnly, and the sun of their - merriment was darkened for awhile. Then they took to flinging about - pellets of a sugared preparation, and reciting verses in praise of jovial - living, challenging to drink this one and that one, passing the cup with a - stanza. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'What a life is this led by these - youths! a fair one! 'Tis they that be the sons of Aklis who sharpen - the Sword of Events; yet live they in jollity, skimming from the profusion - of abundance that which floateth!' - </p> - <p> - Now, marking him contemplative, one of the youths shouted, 'The King - lacketh homage!' - </p> - <p> - And another called, 'Admittance for his people!' - </p> - <p> - Then the seven arose and placed Shibli Bagarag on an elevation in the - midst of them, and lo! a troop of black slaves leading by the collar, - asses, and by a string, monkeys. Now, for the asses they brayed to the - Evil One, and the monkeys were prankish, pulling against the string, till - they caught sight of Shibli Bagarag. Then was it as if they had been - awestricken; and they came forward to him with docile steps, eyeing the - crown on his head, and prostrated themselves, the asses and the monkeys, - like creatures in whom glowed the lamp of reason and the gift of - intelligence. So Shibli Bagarag drooped his jaw and was ashamed, and he - cried, 'my princes! am I a King of these?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'A King in mightiness! Sultan of a race!' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'It is certain I shall need physic to support such a - sovereignty! And I must be excused liberal allowances of old wine to sit - in state among them. Wullahy! they were best gone for awhile. Send them - from me, O my princes! I sicken.' - </p> - <p> - And he called to the animals, 'Away! begone!' frowning. - </p> - <p> - Then said the youths, 'Well commanded! and like a King! See, they - troop from thy presence obediently.' - </p> - <p> - Now the animals fled from before the brows of Shibli Bagarag, and when the - chamber was empty of them the seven young men said, 'Of a surety - thou wert flattered to observe the aspect of these animals at beholding - thee.' - </p> - <p> - But he cried, 'Not so, O my princes; there is nought flattering in - the homage of asses and monkeys.' - </p> - <p> - Then they said, 'O Sultan of asses, ruler of monkeys, better that - than thyself an ass and an ape! As was said by Shah Kasirwan, “I - prefer being king of beasts worshipped by beasts, rather than a crowned - beast worshipped by men”; and it was well said. Wullahy! the kings - of Roum quote it.' - </p> - <p> - Now Shibli Bagarag was not rendered oblivious of the Sword of his quest by - the humour of these youths, or the wine-bibbings, and he exclaimed while - they were turning up the heels of their cups, 'O ye sons of Aklis, - know that I have come hither for the Sword sharpened by your hands, for - the releasing of my betrothed, Noorna bin Noorka, daughter of the Vizier - Feshnavat, and for the shaving of Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - While he was proceeding to recount the story of his search for the Sword, - they said, 'Enough, O potentate of the braying class and of the - scratching tribe! we have seen thee through the eye of Aklis since the - time of thy first thwacking. What says the poet? - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “A day for toil and a day for rest - Gives labour zeal, and pleasure zest.” - </pre> - <p> - So, of thy seeking let us hear to-morrow; but now drink with us, and make - merry, and touch the springs of memory; spout forth verses, quaint ones, - suitable to the hour and the entertainment. Wullahy! drink with us! taste - life! Let the humours flow.' - </p> - <p> - Then they made a motion to some slaves, and presently a clattering of - anklets struck the ear of Shibli Bagarag: and he beheld dancing-girls, - moons of beauty and elegance, and they danced wild dances, and dances - graceful and leopard-like and serpent-like in movement; and the youths - flung flowers at them, applauding them. Then came other sets of dancers - even lovelier, more languishing; and again others with tambourines and - musical instruments, that sang ravishingly. So the senses of Shibli - Bagarag were all taken with what he saw and heard, and ate and drank; and - by degrees a mist came before his eyes, and the sweet sounds and voices of - the girls grew distant, and it was with difficulty he kept his back from - the length of the cushions that were about him. Then he thought of Noorna, - and that she sang to him and danced, and when he rose to embrace her she - was Rabesqurat by the light of the Lily! And he thought of Shagpat, and - that in shaving him the blade was checked in its rapid sweep, and blunted - by a stumpy twine of hair that waxed in size and became the head of Karaz - that gulped at him a wide devouring gulp, and took him in, and flew up - with him, leaving Shagpat half sheared. Then he thought himself struggling - halfway down the throat of the monstrous Roc, and that, when he was wholly - inside the Roc, he was in a wide-arched passage crowded with lamps, and at - the end of the passage Noorna in the clutch of Karaz, she shouting, - 'The Sword, the Sword!' - </p> - <p> - Now, while he felt for the Sword wherewith to release her from the Genie, - his eyes opened, and he saw day through a casement, and that he had - reposed on an embroidered couch in the corner of a stately room ornamented - with carvings of blue and gold. So while he wondered and yawned, gaping, - slaves started up from the floor and led him to a bath of coloured marble, - and bathed him in perfumed waters, and dressed him in a dress of yellow - silk, rich and ample. Then they paraded before him through lesser - apartments and across terraces, till they came to a great hall; loftier - and more spacious than any he had yet beheld, with fountains at the two - ends, and in the centre a tree with golden spreading branches and leaves - of gold; among the leaves gold-feathered birds, and fruits of all seasons - and every description—the drooping grape and the pleasant-smelling - quince, and the blood-red pomegranate, and the apricot, and the green and - rosy apple, and the gummy date, and the oily pistachio-nut, and peaches, - and citrons, and oranges, and the plum, and the fig. Surely, they were - countless in number, melting with ripeness, soft, full to bursting; and - the birds darted among them like sun-flashes. Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, - 'This is a wondrous tree! Wullahy! there is nought like it save the - tree in the hall of the Prophet in Paradise, feeding the faithful!' - As he regarded it he heard his name spoken in the hall, and turning he - beheld seven youths in royal garments, that were like the youths he had - feasted with, and yet unlike them, pale, and stern in their manners, their - courtesy as the courtesy of kings. They said, 'Sit with us and eat - the morning's meal, O our guest!' - </p> - <p> - So he sat with them under the low branches of the tree; and they whistled - the tune of one bird and of another bird, and of another, and lo! those - different birds flew down with golden baskets hanging from their bills, - and in the baskets fruits and viands and sweetmeats, and cool drinks. And - Shibli Bagarag ate from the baskets of the birds, watching the action of - the seven youths and the difference that was in them. He sought to make - them recognise him and acknowledge their carouse of the evening that was - past, but they stared at him strangely and seemed offended at the - allusion, neither would they hear mention of the Sword of his seeking. - Presently, one of the youths stood upon his feet and cried, “The - time for kings to sit in judgement!” - </p> - <p> - And the youths arose and led Shibli Bagarag to a hall of ebony, and seated - him on the upper seat, themselves standing about him; and lo! asses and - monkeys came before him, complaining of the injustice of men and their - fellows, in brays and bellows and hoots. Now, at the sight of them again - Shibli Bagarag was enraged, and he said to the youths, 'How! do ye - not mock me, O masters of Aklis!' - </p> - <p> - But they said only, 'The burden of his crown is for the King.' - </p> - <p> - He cooled, thinking, 'I will use a spell.' So he touched the - lips of an animal with the waters of Paravid, and the animal prated - volubly in our language of the kick this ass had given him, and the jibe - of that monkey, and of his desire of litigation with such and such a beast - for pasture; and the others when they spake had the same complaints to - make. Shibli Bagarag listened to them gravely, and it was revealed to him - that he who ruleth over men hath a labour and duties of hearing and - judging and dispensing judgement similar to those of him who ruleth over - apes and asses. Then said he, 'O youths, my princes! methinks the - sitting in this seat giveth a key to secret sources of wisdom; and I see - what it is, the glory and the exaltation coveted by men.' Now, he - took from the asses and the monkeys one, and said to it, 'Be my - chief Vizier,' and to another, 'Be my Chamberlain!' and - to another, 'Be my Treasurer!' and so on, till a dispute arose - between the animals, and jealousy of each other was visible in their - glances, and they appealed to him clamorously. So he said, 'What am - I to ye?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'Our King!' - </p> - <p> - And he said, 'How so?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'By the crowning of the brides of Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'What be ye, O my subjects?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'Men that were searchers of the Sword and plunged - into the tank of temptation.' - </p> - <p> - And he said, 'How that?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'By the lures of vanity, the blinding of ambition, - and tasting the gall of the Roc.' - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag leaned to the seven youths, saying, 'O my princes, - but for not tasting the gall of the Roc I might be as one of these. - Wullahy! I the King am warned by base creatures.' Then he said to - the animals, 'Have ye still a longing for the crown?' - </p> - <p> - And they cried, all of them, 'O light of the astonished earth, we - care for nought other than it.' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'And is it known to ye how to dispossess the wearer of - his burden?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'By a touch of the gall of the Roc on his forehead.' - </p> - <p> - Then he lifted his arms, crying, 'Hie out of my presence! and whoso - of ye fetcheth a drop of the gall, with that one will I exchange the - crown.' - </p> - <p> - At these words some moved hastily, but the most faltered, as doubting and - incredulous that he would propose such an exchange; and one, an old - monkey, sat down and crossed his legs, and made a study of Shibli Bagarag, - as of a sovereign that held forth a deceiving bargain. But he cried again, - 'Hie and haste! as my head is now cased I think it not the honoured - part.' - </p> - <p> - Then the old monkey arose with a puzzled look, half scornful, and made for - the door slowly, turning his head toward Shibli Bagarag betweenwhiles as - he went, and scratching his lower limbs with the mute reflectiveness of - age and extreme caution. - </p> - <p> - Now, when they were gone, Shibli Bagarag looked in the eyes of the seven - youths, and saw they were content with him, and his countenance was - brightened with approval. So he descended from his seat, and went with - them from the hall of ebony to a court where horses were waiting saddled, - and slaves with hawks on their wrists stood in readiness; and they mounted - each a horse, but he loitered. The seven youths divined his feeling, and - cried impatiently, 'Come! no lingering in Aklis!' So he - mounted likewise, and they emerged from the palace, and entered the hills - that glowed under the copper sun, and started a milk-white antelope with - ruby spots, and chased it from its cover over the sand-hills, a hawk being - let loose to worry it and distress its timid beaming eyes. When the - creature was quite overcome, one of the youths struck his heel into his - horse's side and flung a noose over the head of the quarry, and drew - it with them, gently petting it the way home to the palace. At the gates - of the palace it was released, and lo! it went up the steps, and passed - through the halls as one familiar with them. Now, when they were all - assembled in the anteroom of the hall, where Shibli Bagarag had first seen - the seven youths, sons of Aklis, in their jollity, one of them said to the - Antelope, 'We have need of thee to speak a word with Aklis, O our - sister!' - </p> - <p> - So the same youth requested the use of the phial of Paravid, and Shibli - Bagarag applied it carefully, tenderly, to the mouth of the Antelope. Then - the Antelope spake in a silver-ringing voice, saying, 'What is it, O - my brothers?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'Thou knowest we dare not attempt interchange of - speech with Aklis, seeing that we disobeyed him in visiting the kingdoms - of the earth: so it is for thee to question him as to the object of this - youth, and it is the Shaving of Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - So she said, ''Tis well; I wot of it.' - </p> - <p> - Then she advanced to the curtain concealing the abyss of the Roc and the - bridge of its eggs, and went behind it. There was a pause, and they heard - her say presently in a grave voice, toned with reverence, 'How is - it, O our father? is it a good thing that thy Sword be in use at this - season?' - </p> - <p> - And they heard the Voice answer from a depth, ''Twere well it - rust not!' - </p> - <p> - They heard her say, 'O our father Aklis, and we wish to know if be - held in favour by thee, and thou sanction it with thy Sword.' - </p> - <p> - And they heard the Voice answer, 'The Shaving of Shagpat is my Sword - alone equal to, and he that shaveth him performeth a service to mankind - ranking next my vanquishing of the Roc.' - </p> - <p> - Then they heard her say, 'And it is thy will we teach him the - mysteries of the Sword, and that which may be done with it?' - </p> - <p> - And they heard the Voice answer, 'Even so!' - </p> - <p> - After that the Voice was still, and soon the Antelope returned from behind - the curtain, and the youths caressed her with brotherly caresses, and took - a circle of hands about her, and so moved to the great Hall of the - gorgeous Tree, and fed her from the branches. Now, while they were there, - Shibli Bagarag advanced to the Antelope, and knelt at her feet, and said, - 'O Princess of Aklis, surely I am betrothed to one constant as a - fixed star, and brighter; a mistress of magic, and innocent as the - bleating lamb; and she is now on a pillar, chained there, in the midst of - the white wrathful sea, wailing for me to deliver her with this Sword of - my seeking. So, now, I pray thee help me to the Sword swiftly, that I may - deliver her.' - </p> - <p> - The youths, her brothers, clamoured and interposed, saying, 'Take - thy shape ere that, O Gulrevaz, our sister!' - </p> - <p> - But she cried, 'He is betrothed! not till he graspeth the Sword. - Tell him, the youth, our conditions, and for what exchange the Sword is - yielded.' - </p> - <p> - And they said, 'The conditions are, thou part with thy spells, all - of them, O youth!' - </p> - <p> - And he said, 'There is no condition harsh that exchangeth the Sword; - O ye Seven, I agree!' - </p> - <p> - Then she said, ''Tis well! nobility is in the soul of this - youth. Go before us now to the Cave of Chrysolites, O my brothers.' - </p> - <p> - So these departed before, and she in her antelope form followed footing - gracefully, and made Shibli Bagarag repeat the story of his betrothal as - they went. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE SWORD OF AKLIS - </h2> - <p> - Now, when they had made the passage of many halls, built of different - woods, filled with divers wonders, they descended a sloping vault, and - came to a narrow way in the earth, hung with black, at the end of it a - stedfast blaze like a sun, that grew larger as they advanced, and they - heard the sea above them. The noise of it, and its plunging and weltering - and its pitilessness, struck on the heart of Shibli Bagarag as with a - blow, and he cried, 'Haste, haste, O Princess! perchance she is even - now calling to me with her tongue, and I not aiding her; delayed by the - temptation of this crown and the guile of the Brides.' - </p> - <p> - She checked him, and said, 'In Aklis no haste!' Then she said, - 'Look!' And lo, fronting them the single blaze became two - fires; and drawing nigh, Shibli Bagarag beheld them what they were, angry - eyes in the head of a great lion, a model of majesty, and passion was in - his mane and power was in his forepaws; so while he lashed his tail as a - tempest whippeth the tawny billows at night, and was lifting himself for a - roar, she said, 'A hair of Garraveen, and touch him with it!' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag pushed up his sleeve and broke one of the three sapphire - hairs and stepped forward to the lion, holding in his right hand the hair - of vivid light. The lion crouched, and was in the vigour of the spring - when that hair touched him, and he trembled, tumbling on his knees and - letting the twain pass. So they advanced beyond him, and lo! the Cave of - Chrysolites irradiate with beams, breaks of brilliance, confluences of - lively hues, restless rays, meeting, vanishing, flooding splendours, now - scattered in dazzling joints and spars, now uniting in momentary disks of - radiance. In the centre of the cave glowed a furnace, and round it he - distinguished the seven youths, swarthier and sterner than before, dark - sweat standing on the brows of each. Their words were brief, and they wore - each a terrible frown, saying to him, without further salutation, 'Thrust - in the flame of this furnace thy right wrist.' - </p> - <p> - At the same moment, the Antelope said in his ear, 'Do thou their - bidding, and be not backward! In Aklis fear is ruin, and hesitation a - destroyer.' - </p> - <p> - He fixed his mind on the devotedness of Noorna, and held his nether lip - tightly between his teeth, and thrust his right wrist in the flame of the - furnace. The wrist reddened, and became transparent with heat, but he felt - no pain, only that his whole arm was thrice its natural weight. Then the - flame of the furnace fell, and the seven youths made him kneel by a brook - of golden waters and dip his forehead up to his eyes in the waters. Then - they took him to the other side of the cave, and his sight was - strengthened to mark the glory of the Sword, where it hung in slings, a - little way from the wall, outshining the lights of the cave, and throwing - them back with its superior force and stedfastness of lustre. Lo! the - length of it was as the length of crimson across the sea when the sun is - sideways on the wave, and it seemed full a mile long, the whole blade - sheening like an arrested lightning from the end to the hilt; the hilt two - large live serpents twined together, with eyes like sombre jewels, and - sparkling spotted skins, points of fire in their folds, and reflections of - the emerald and topaz and ruby stones, studded in the blood-stained haft. - Then the seven young men, sons of Aklis, said to Shibli Bagarag, 'Surrender - the Lily!' And when he had given into their hands the Lily, they - said, 'Grasp the handle of the Sword!' - </p> - <p> - Now, he beheld the Sword and the ripples of violet heat that were - breathing down it, and those two venomous serpents twined together, and - the size of it, its ponderousness; and to essay lifting it appeared to him - a madness, but he concealed his thought, and, setting his soul on the - safety of Noorna, went forward to it boldly, and piercing his right arm - between the twists of the serpents, grasped the jewelled haft. Surely, the - Sword moved from the slings as if a giant had swayed it! But what amazed - him was the marvel of the blade, for its sharpness was such that nothing - stood in its way, and it slipped through everything as we pass through - still water, the stone columns, blocks of granite by the walls, the walls - of earth, and the thick solidity of the ground beneath his feet. They bade - him say to the Sword, 'Sleep!' and it was no longer than a - knife in the girdle. Likewise, they bade him hiss on the heads of the - serpents, and say, 'Wake!' and while he held it lengthwise it - shot lengthening out. Then they bade him hold in one hand the sapphire - hair that conquered the lion, and with the edge of the Sword touch one - point of it. So he did that, and it split in half, and the two halves he - also split; and he split those four, and those eight, till the hairs were - thin as light and not distinguishable from it. When Shibli Bagarag saw the - power of the Sword, he exulted and cried, 'Praise be to the science - of them that forecast events and the haps of life!' Now, in the - meantime he marked the youths take those hairs of Garraveen that he had - split, and tie them round the neck of the Antelope, and empty the contents - of the phial down her throat; and they put the bulb of the Lily, that was - a heart, in her mouth, and she swallowed it till the flower covered her - face. Then they took each a handful of the golden waters of the brook - flowing through the cave, and flung the waters over her, exclaiming, - 'By the three spells that have power in Aklis, and by which these - waters are a blessing!' - </p> - <p> - In the passing of a flash she took her shape, and was a damsel taller than - the tallest of them that descend from the mountains, a vision of - loveliness, with queenly brows, closed red lips, and large full black - eyes; her hair black, and on it a net of amber strung with pearls. To look - upon her was to feel the tyranny of love, love's pangs of alarm and - hope and anguish; and she was dressed in a dress of white silk, threaded - with gold and sapphire, showing in shadowy beams her rounded figure and - the stateliness that was hers. So she ran to her brothers and embraced - them, calling them by their names, catching their hands, caressing them as - one that had been long parted from them. Then, seeing Shibli Bagarag as he - stood transfixed with the javelins of loveliness that flew from her on all - sides, she cried: 'What, O Master of the Event! halt thou nought for - the Sword but to gaze before thee in silliness?' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'O rare in beauty! marvel of Aklis and the world! - surely the paradise of eyes is thy figure and the glory of thy face!' - </p> - <p> - But she shouted, 'To work with the Sword! Shame on thee! is there - not one, a bright one, a miracle in faithfulness, that awaiteth thy rescue - on the pillar?' - </p> - <p> - And she repeated the praises he had spoken of Noorna bin Noorka, his - betrothed. Then he grasped the Sword firmly, remembering the love of - Noorna, and crying, 'Lead me from this, O ye sons of Aklis, and - thou, Princess Gulrevaz, lead me, that I may come to her.' - </p> - <p> - So they said, 'Follow us!' and he sheathed the Sword in his - girdle with the word 'Sleep!' and followed them, his heart - beating violently. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - KOOROOKH - </h2> - <p> - Now, they sped from the Cave of Chrysolites by another passage than that - by which they entered it, and nothing but the light of the Sword to guide - them. By that light Shibli Bagarag could distinguish glimmering shapes, - silent and statue-like, to the right and the left of them, their visages - hidden in a veil of heavy webs; and he saw what seemed in the dusk broad - halls, halls of council, and again black pools and black groves, and - columns of crowded porticoes,—all signs of an underground kingdom. - They came to some steps and mounted these severally, coming to a platform, - in the middle of which leapt a fountain, the top spray of it touched with - a beam of earth and the air breathed by men. Here he heard the youths - dabble with the dark waters, and he discerned Gulrevaz tossing it in her - two hands, calling, 'Koorookh! Koorookh!' Then they said to - him, 'Stir this fountain with the Sword, O Master of the Event!' - So he stirred the fountain, and the whole body of it took a leap toward - the light that was like the shoot of a long lance of silver in the moon's - rays, and lo! in its place the ruffled feathers of a bird. Then the seven - youths and the Princess and Shibli Bagarag got up under its feathers like - a brood of water-fowl; and the bird winged straight up as doth a blinded - bee, ascending, and passing in the ascent a widening succession of winding - terraces, till he observed the copper sun of Aklis and the red lands below - it. Thrice, in the exuberance of his gladness, he waved the Sword, and the - sun lost that dulness on its disk and took a bright flame, and threw - golden arrows everywhere; and the pastures were green, the streams clear, - the sands sparkling. The bird flew, and circled, and hung poised a moment, - presently descending on the roof of the palace. Now, there was here a - piece of solid glass, propped on two crossed bars of gold, and it was - shaped like an eye, and might have been taken for one of the eyes - inhabiting the head of some monstrous Genie. Shibli Bagarag ran to it when - he was afoot, and peered through it. Surely, it was the first object of - his heart that he beheld—Noorna, his betrothed, pale on the pillar; - she with her head between her hands and her hair scattered by the storm, - as one despairing. Still he looked, and he save swimming round the pillar - that monstrous fish, with its sole baleful eye, which had gulped them both - in the closed shell of magic pearl; and he knew the fish for Karaz, the - Genie, their enemy. Then he turned to the Princess, with an imploring - voice for counsel how to reach her and bring her rescue; but she said, - 'The Sword is in thy hands, none of us dare wield it'; and the - seven youths answered likewise. So, left to himself, he drew the Sword - from his girdle, and hissed on the heads of the serpents, at the same time - holding it so that it might lengthen out inimitably. Then he leaned it - over the eye of the glass, in the direction of the pillar besieged by the - billows, and lo! with one cut, even at that distance, he divided the fishy - monster, and with another severed the chains that had fettered Noorna; and - she arose and smiled blissfully to the sky, and stood upright, and - signalled him to lay the point of the blade on the pillar. When he had - done this, knowing her wisdom, she put a foot boldly upon the blade and - ran up it toward him, and she was half-way up the blade, when suddenly a - kite darted down upon her, pecking at her eyes, to confuse her. She waxed - unsteady and swayed this way and that, balancing with one arm and - defending herself from the attacks of the kite with another. It seemed to - Shibli Bagarag she must fall and be lost; and the sweat started on his - forehead in great drops big as nuts. Seeing that and the agitation of his - limbs, Gulrevaz cried, 'O Master of the Event, let us hear it!' - </p> - <p> - But he shrieked, 'The kite! the kite! she is running up the blade, - and the kite is at her eyes! and she swaying, swaying! falling, falling!' - </p> - <p> - So the Princess exclaimed, 'A kite! Koorookh is match for a kite!' - </p> - <p> - Then she smoothed the throat of Koorookh, and clasped round it a collar of - bright steel, roughened with secret characters; and she took a hoop of - gold, and passed the bird through it, urging it all the while with one - strange syllable; and the bird went up with a strong whirr of the wing - till he was over the sea, and caught sight of Noorna tottering beneath him - on the blade, and the kite pecking fiercely at her. Thereat he fluttered - eagerly a twinkle of time, and the next was down with his beak in the neck - of the kite, crimsoned in it. Now, by the shouts and exclamations of - Shibli Bagarag, the Princess and the seven youths, her brothers, knew that - the bird had performed well his task, and that the fight was between - Koorookh and the kite. Then he cried gladly to them, 'Joy for us, - and Allah be praised! The kite is dropping, and she leaneth on one wing of - Koorookh!' - </p> - <p> - And he cried in anguish, 'What see I? The kite is become a white - ball, rolling down the blade toward her; and it will of a surety destroy - her.' And he called to her, thinking vainly his voice might reach - her. So the Princess said, 'A white ball? 'tis I that am match - for a white ball!' - </p> - <p> - Now, she seized from the corner of the palace-roof a bow and an arrow, and - her brothers lifted her to a level with the hilt of the Sword, leaning on - the eye of glass. Then she planted one foot on the shoulder of Shibli - Bagarag as he bent peering through the eye, and fitted the arrow to a - level of the Sword, slanting its slant, and let it fly, doubling the bow. - Shibli Bagarag saw the ball roll to within a foot of Noorna, when it was - as if stricken by a gleam of light, and burst, and was a black cloud - veined with fire, swathing her in folds. He lost all sight of Noorna; and - where she had been were vivid flashes, and then a great flame, and in the - midst a red serpent and a green serpent twisted as in the death-struggle. - So he cried, 'A red serpent and a green serpent!' - </p> - <p> - And the sons of Aklis exclaimed, 'A red serpent? 'Tis we that - are match for a red serpent!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon they descended steps through the palace roof, and while the - fight between those two serpents was rageing, Shibli Bagarag beheld seven - small bright birds, bee-catchers, that entered the flame, bearing in their - bills slips of a herb, and hovering about the heal of the red serpent, - distracting it. Then he saw the red serpent hiss and snap at one, darting - out its tongue, and lo! on the fork of its tongue the little bird let fall - the slip of herb in its bill, and in an instant the serpent changed from - red to yellow and from yellow to pale-spotted blue, and from that to a - speckled indigo-colour, writhing at every change, and hissing fire from - its open jaws. Meantime the green serpent was released and was making - circles round the flame, seeking to complete some enchantment, when - suddenly the whole scene vanished, and Shibli Bagarag again beheld Noorna - steadying her steps on the blade, and leaning on one wing of Koorookh. She - advanced up the blade, coming nearer and nearer; and he thought her close, - and breathed quick and ceased looking through the glass. When he gazed - abroad, lo! she was with Koorookh, on a far hill beyond the stream in - outer Aklis. So he said to the Princess Gulrevaz, 'O Princess, comes - she not to me here in the palace?' - </p> - <p> - But the Princess shook her head, and said, 'She hath not a spell! - She waiteth for thee yonder with Koorookh. Now, look through the glass - once more.' - </p> - <p> - He looked through the glass, and there on a plain, as he had first seen it - when Noorna appeared to him, was the City of Shagpat, and in the streets - of the city a vast assembly, and a procession passing on, its front banner - surmounted by the Crescent, and bands with curled and curved instruments - playing, and slaves scattering gold and clashing cymbals, every - demonstration and evidence of a great day and a high occasion in the City - of Shagpat! So he peered yet keenlier through the glass, and behold, the - Vizier Feshnavat, father of Noorna, walking in fetters, subject to the - jibes and evil-speaking of the crowds of people, his turban off, and he in - a robe of drab-coloured stuff, in the scorned condition of an unbeliever. - Shibli Bagarag peered yet more earnestly through the glass eye, and in the - centre of the procession, clad gorgeously in silks and stuffs, woven with - gold and gems, a crown upon his head, and the appanages of supremacy and - majesty about him, was Shagpat. He paced upon a yellow flooring that was - unrolled before him from a mighty roll; and there were slaves that swarmed - on all sides of him, supporting upon gold pans and platters the masses of - hair that spread bushily before and behind, and to the right and left of - him. Truly the gravity of his demeanour exceeded that which is attained by - Sheiks and Dervishes after much drinking of the waters of wisdom, and - fasting, and abnegation of the pleasures that betray us to folly in this - world! Now, when he saw Shagpat, the soul of Shibli Bagarag was quickened - to do his appointed work upon him, shear him, and release the Vizier - Feshnavat. Desire to shave Shagpat was as a salt thirst rageing in him, as - the dream of munching to one that starveth; even as the impelling of - violent tempests to skiffs on the sea; and he hungered to be at him, - crying, as he peered, ''Tis he! even he, Shagpat!' - </p> - <p> - Then he turned to the Princess Gulrevaz, and said, ''Tis - Shagpat, exalted, clothed with majesty, O thou morning star of Aklis!' - </p> - <p> - She said, 'Koorookh is given thee, and waiteth to carry ye both; and - for me I will watch that this glass send forth a beam to light ye to that - city; so farewell, O thou that art loved! And delay in nothing to finish - the work in hand.' - </p> - <p> - Now, when he had set his face from the Princess he descended through the - roof of the palace, and met the seven youths returning, and they - accompanied him through the halls of the palace to that hall where the - damsels had duped him. He was mindful of his promise to the old man - crowned, and flashed the Sword a strong flash, so that he who looked on it - would be seared in the eyelashes. Then the doors of the recesses flew - apart, eight-and-ninety in number, and he beheld divers sitters on - thrones, with the diadem of asses' ears stiffened upright, and - monkeys' skulls grinning with gems; they having on each countenance - the look of sovereigns and the serenity of high estate. Shibli Bagarag - laughed at them, and he thought, 'Wullahy! was I one of these? I, - the beloved of Noorna, destined Master of the Event!' and he - thought, 'Of a surety, if these sitters could but laugh at - themselves, there would be a release for them, and the crown would topple - off which getteth the homage of asses and monkeys!' He would have - spoken to them, but the sons of Aklis said, 'They have seen the - flashing of the Sword, and 'twere well they wake not.' As they - went from the hall the seven youths said, 'Reflect upon the age of - these sitters, that have been sitting in the chairs from three to eleven - generations back! And they were searchers of the Sword like thee, but were - duped! In like manner, the hen sitteth in complacency, but she bringeth - forth and may cackle; 'tis owing to the aids of Noorna that thou art - not one of these sitters, O Master of the Event!' Now, they paced - through the hall of dainty provender, and through the hall of the - jewel-fountains, coming to the palace steps, where stood Abarak leaning on - his bar. As they advanced to Abarak, there was a clamour in the halls - behind, that gathered in noise like a torrent, and approached, and - presently the Master was ware of a sharp stroke on his forehead with a - hairy finger, and then a burn, and the Crown that had clung to him toppled - off; surely it fell upon the head of the old monkey, the cautious and wise - one, he that had made a study of Shibli Bagarag. Thereupon that monkey - stalked scornfully from them; and Abarak cried, 'O Master of the - Event! it was better for me to keep the passage of the Seventh Pillar, - than be an ape of this order. Wah! the flashing of the Sword scorcheth - them, and they scamper.' - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE VEILED FIGURE - </h2> - <p> - Verily there was lightning in Aklis as Shibli Bagarag flashed the Sword - over the clamouring beasts: the shape of the great palace stood forth - vividly, and a wide illumination struck up the streams, and gilded the - large hanging leaves, and drew the hills glimmeringly together, and - scattered fires on the flat faces of the rocks. Then the seven youths said - quickly, 'Away! out of Aklis, O Master of the Event! from city to - city of earth this light is visible, and men will know that Fate is in - travail, and an Event preparing for them, and Shagpat will be warned by - the portent; wherefore lose not the happy point of time on which thy star - is manifest.' And they cried again, 'Away! out of Aklis!' - with gestures of impatience, urging his departure. - </p> - <p> - Then said he, 'O youths, Sons of Aklis, it is written that gratitude - is the poor man's mine of wealth, and the rich man's flower of - beauty; and I have but that to give ye for all this aid and friendliness - of yours.' - </p> - <p> - But they exclaimed, 'No aid or friendliness in Aklis! By the gall of - the Roc! it is well for thee thou camest armed with potent spells, and - hadst one to advise and inspirit thee, or thou wouldst have stayed here to - people Aklis, and grazed in a strange shape.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the seven waxed in impatience, and he laid their hands upon his head - and moved from them with Abarak, to where in the dusk the elephant that - had brought them stood. Then the elephant kneeled and took the twain upon - his back, and bore them across the dark land to that reach of the river - where the boat was moored in readiness. They entered the boat silently - among its drapery of lotuses, and the Veiled Figure ferried them over the - stream that rippled not with their motion. As they were crossing, desire - to know that Veiled Figure counselled Shibli Bagarag evilly to draw the - Sword again, and flash it, so that the veil became transparent. Then, when - Abarak turned to him for the reason of the flashing of the Sword, he - beheld the eyes of the youth fixed in horror, glaring as at sights beyond - the tomb. He said nought, but as the boat's-head whispered among the - reeds and long flowers of the opposite marge, he took Shibli Bagarag by - the shoulders and pushed him out of the boat, and leaped out likewise, - leading him from the marge forcibly, hurrying him forward from it, he at - the heels of the youth propelling him; and crying in out-of-breath voice - at intervals, 'What sight? what sight?' But the youth was - powerless of speech, and when at last he opened his lips, the little man - shrank from him, for he laughed as do the insane, a peal of laughter ended - by gasps; then a louder peal, presently softer; then a peal that started - all the echoes in Aklis. After awhile, as Abarak still cried in his ear, - 'What sight?' he looked at him with a large eye, saying - querulously, 'Is it written I shall be pushed by the shoulder - through life? And is it in the pursuit of further thwackings?' - </p> - <p> - Abarak heeded him not, crying still, 'What sight?' and Shibli - Bagarag lowered his tone, and jerked his body, pronouncing the name - 'Rabesqurat!' Then Abarak exclaimed, ''Tis as I - weened. Oh, fool! to flash the Sword and peer through the veil! Truly, - there be few wits will bear that sight!' On a sudden he cried, - 'No cure but one, and that a sleep in the bosom of the betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he hurried the youth yet faster across the dark lawns of Aklis - toward the passage of the Seventh Pillar, by which the twain had entered - that kingdom. And Shibli Bagarag saw as in a dream the shattered door, - shattered by the bar, remembering dimly as a thing distant in years the - netting of the Queen, and Noorna chained upon the pillar; he remembered - Shagpat even vacantly in his mind, as one sheaf of barley amid other - sheaves of the bearded field, so was he overcome by the awfulness of that - sight behind the veil of the Veiled Figure! - </p> - <p> - As they advanced to the passage, he was aware of an impediment to its - entrance, as it had been a wall of stone there; and seeing Abarak enter - the passage without let, he kicked hard in front at the invisible - obstruction, but there was no coming by. Abarak returned to him, and took - his right arm, and raised the sleeve from his wrist, and lo, the two - remaining hairs of Garraveen twisted round it in sapphire winds. Cried he, - 'Oh, the generosity of Gulrevaz! she has left these two hairs that - he may accomplish swiftly the destiny marked for him! but now, since his - gazing through that veil, he must part with them to get out of Aklis.' - And he muttered, 'His star is a strange one! one that leadeth him to - fortune by the path of frowns! to greatness by the aid of thwackings! - Truly the ways of Allah are wonderful!' Shibli Bagarag resisted him - in nothing, and Abarak loosed the two bright hairs from his wrist, and - those two hairs swelled and took glittering scales, and were sapphire - snakes with wings of intense emerald; and they rose in the air spirally - together, each over each, so that to see them one would fancy in the - darkness a fountain of sapphire waters flashed with the sheen of emerald. - When they had reached a height loftier than the topmost palace-towers of - Aklis, they descended like javelins into the earth, and in a moment - re-appeared, in the shape of Genii when they are charitably disposed to - them they visit; not much above the mortal size, nor overbright, save for - a certain fire in their eyes when they turned them; and they were clothed - each from head to foot in an armour of sapphire plates shot with steely - emerald. Surely the dragon-fly that darteth all day in the blaze over - pools is like what they were. Abarak bit his forefinger and said, 'Who - be ye, O sons of brilliance?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'Karavejis and Veejravoosh, slaves of the Sword.' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'Come with us now, O slaves of the Sword, and help us - to the mountain of outer Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'O thou, there be but two means for us of quitting - Aklis: on the wrist of the Master, or down the blade of the Sword! and - from the wrist of the Master we have been loosed, and no one of thy race - can tie us to it again.' - </p> - <p> - Abarak said, 'How then shall the Master leave Aklis?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'By Allah in Aklis! he can carve a way whither he - will with the Sword.' - </p> - <p> - But Abarak cried, 'O Karavejis and Veejravoosh! he bath peered - through the veil of the Ferrying Figure.' - </p> - <p> - Now, when they heard his words, the visages of the Genii darkened, and - they exclaimed sorrowfully, 'Serve we such a one?' - </p> - <p> - And they looked at Shibli Bagarag a look of anger, so that he, whose wits - were in past occurrences, imagined them his enemy and the foe of Noorna - split in two, crying, 'How? Is Karaz a couple? and do I multiply him - with strokes of the Sword?' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he drew the Sword from his girdle in wrath, flourishing it; and - Karavejis and Veejravoosh felt the might of the Sword, and prostrated - themselves to the ground at his feet. And Abarak said, 'Arise, and - bring us swiftly to the mountain of outer Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - Then said they, 'Seek a passage down yonder brook in the moonbeams; - and it is the sole passage for him now.' - </p> - <p> - Abarak went with them to the brook that was making watery music to itself - between banks of splintered rock and over broad slabs of marble, bubbling - here and there about the roots of large-leaved water-flowers, and catching - the mirrored moon of Aklis in whirls, breaking it in lances. Then they - waded into the water knee-deep, and the two Genii seized hold of a great - slab of marble in the middle of the water, and under was a hollow brimmed - with the brook, that the brook partly filled and flowed over. Then the - Genii said to Abarak, 'Plunge!' and they said the same to - Shibli Bagarag. The swayer of the Sword replied, as it had been a simple - occasion, a common matter, and a thing for the exercise of civility, - 'With pleasure and all willingness!' Thereupon he tightened - his girth, and arrowing his two hands, flung up his heels and disappeared - in the depths, Abarak following. Surely, those two went diving downward - till it seemed to each there was no bottom in the depth, and they would - not cease to feel the rushing of the water in their ears till the time - anticipated by mortals. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - </h2> - <p> - Now, while a thousand sparks of fire were bursting on the sight of the two - divers, and they speeded heels uppermost to the destiny marked out for - them by the premeditations of the All-Wise, lo! Noorna was on the mountain - in outer Aklis with Koorookh, waiting for the appearance of her betrothed, - Sword in hand. She saw beams from the blazing eye of Aklis, and knew by - the redness of it that one, a mortal, was peering on the earth and certain - of created things. So she waited awhile in patience for the return of her - betrothed, with the head of Koorookh in her lap, caressing the bird, and - teaching it words of our language; and the bird fashioned its bill to the - pronouncing of names, such as 'Noorna' and 'Feshnavat,' - and 'Goorelka'; and it said 'Karaz,' and stuck not - at the name 'Shagpat,' and it learnt to say even 'Shagpat - shall be shaved! Shagpat shall be shaved!' but no effort of Noorna - could teach it to say, 'Shibli Bagarag,' the bird calling - instead, 'Shiparack, Shiplabarack, Shibblisharack.' And Noorna - chid it with her forefinger, crying, 'O Koorookh! wilt thou speak - all names but that one of my betrothed?' - </p> - <p> - So she said again, 'Shibli Bagarag.' And the bird answered, - imitating its best, 'Shibberacavarack.' Noorna was wroth with - it, crying, 'Oh naughty bird! is the name of my beloved hateful to - thee?' - </p> - <p> - And she chid Koorookh angrily, he with a heavy eye sulking, and keeping - the sullen feathers close upon his poll. Now, she thought, 'There is - in this a meaning and I will fathom it.' So she counted the letters - in the name of her betrothed, that were thirteen, and spelt them - backwards, afterwards multiplying them by an equal number, and fashioning - words from the selection of every third and seventh letter. Then took she - the leaf from a tree and bade Koorookh fly with her to the base of the - mountain sloping from Aklis to the sea, and there wrote with a pin's - point on the leaf the words fashioned, dipping the leaf in the salt ripple - by the beach, till they were distinctly traced. And it was revealed to her - that Shibli Bagarag bore now a name that might be uttered by none, for - that the bearer of it had peered through the veil of the ferrying figure - in Aklis. When she knew that, her grief was heavy, and she sat on the cold - stones of the beach and among the bright shells, weeping in anguish, - loosing her hair, scattering it wildly, exclaiming, 'Awahy! woe on - me! Was ever man more tired than he before entering Aklis, he that was in - turns abased and beloved and exalted! yet his weakness clingeth to him, - even in Aklis and with the Wondrous Sword in his grasp.' - </p> - <p> - Then she thought, 'Still he had strength to wield the Sword, for I - marked the flashing of it, and 'twas he that leaned forward the - blade to me; and he possesses the qualities that bring one gloriously to - the fruits of enterprise!' And she thought, 'Of a surety, if - Abarak be with him, and a single of the three slaves of the Sword that I - released from the tail of Garraveen, Ravejoura, Karavejis, and - Veejravoosh, he will yet come through, and I may revive him in my bosom - for the task.' So, thinking upon that, the sweet crimson surprised - her cheeks, and she arose and drew Koorookh with her along the beach till - they came to some rocks piled ruggedly and the waves breaking over them. - She mounted these, and stepped across them to the entrance of a cavern, - where flowed a full water swiftly to the sea, rolling smooth bulks over - and over, and with a translucent light in each, showing precious pebbles - in the bed of the water below; agates of size, limpid cornelians, plates - of polished jet, rubies, diamonds innumerable that were smitten into sheen - by slant rays of the level sun, the sun just losing its circle behind - lustrous billows of that Enchanted Sea. She turned to Koorookh a moment, - saying, with a coax of smiles, 'Will my bird wait here for me, even - at this point?' Koorookh clapped both his wings, and she said again, - petting him, 'He will keep watch to pluck me from the force of water - as I roll past, that I be not carried to the sea, and lost?' - </p> - <p> - Koorookh still clapped his wings, and she entered under the arch of the - cavern. It was roofed with crystals, a sight of glory, with golden lamps - at intervals, still centres of a thousand beams. Taking the sandal from - her left foot and tucking up the folds of her trousers to the bend of her - clear white knee, she advanced, half wading, up the winds of the cavern, - and holding by the juts of granite here and there, till she came to a long - straight lane in the cavern, and at the end of it, far down, a solid - pillar of many-coloured water that fell into the current, as it had been - one block of gleaming marble from the roof, without ceasing. Now, she made - toward it, and fixed her eye warily wide on it, and it was bright, - flawless in brilliancy; but while she gazed a sudden blot was visible, and - she observed in the body of the fall two dark objects plumping downward - one after the other, like bolts, and they splashed in the current and were - carried off by the violence of its full sweep, shooting by her where she - stood, rapidly; but she, knotting her garments round the waist to give her - limbs freedom and swiftness, ran a space, and then bent and plunged, - catching, as she rose, the foremost to her bosom, and whirled away under - the flashing crystals like a fish scaled with splendours that hath darted - and seized upon a prey, and is bearing it greedily to some secure corner - of the deeps to swallow the quivering repast at leisure. Surely, the heart - of Noorna was wise of what she bore against her bosom; and it beat - exulting strokes in the midst of the rush and roar and gurgle of the - torrent, and the gulping sounds and multitudinous outcries of the headlong - water. That verse of the poet would apply to her where he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Lead me to the precipice, - And bid me leap the dark abyss: - I care not what the danger be, - So my beloved, my beauteous vision, - Be but the prize I bear with me, - For she to Paradise can turn Perdition. -</pre> - <p> - Praise be to him that planteth love, the worker of this marvel, within us! - Now, she sped in the manner narrated through the mazes of the cavern, - coming suddenly to the point at the entrance where perched Koorookh - gravely upon one leg, like a bird with an angling beak: he caught at her - as she was hurling toward the sea, and drew her to the bank of rock, that - burden on her bosom; and it was Shibli Bagarag, her betrothed, his eyes - closed, his whole countenance colourless. Behind him like a shadow - streamed Abarak, and Noorna kneeled by the waterside and fetched the - little man from it likewise; he was without a change, as if drawn from a - familiar element; and when he had prostrated himself thrice and called on - the Prophet's name in the form of thanksgiving, he wrung his beard - of the wet, and had wit to bless the action of Noorna, that saved him. - Then the two raised Shibli Bagarag from the rock, and reclined him - lengthwise under the wings of Koorookh, and Noorna stretched herself there - beside him with one arm about his neck, the fair head of the youth on her - bosom. And she said to Abarak, 'He hath dreamed many dreams, my - betrothed, but never one so sweet as that I give him. Already, see, the - hue returneth to his cheek and the dimples of pleasure.' So was it; - and she said, 'Mount, O thou of the net and the bar! and stride - Koorookh across the neck, for it is nigh the setting of the moon, and by - dawn we must be in our middle flight, seen of men, a cloud over them.' - </p> - <p> - Said Abarak, 'To hear is to obey!' - </p> - <p> - He bestrode the neck of Koorookh and sat with dangling feet, till she - cried, 'Rise!' and the bird spread its wings and flapped them - wide, rising high in the silver rays, and flying rapidly forward with the - three on him from the mountain in front of Aklis, and the white sea with - its enchanted isles and wonders; flying and soaring till the earth was as - what might be held in the hollow of the hand, and the kingdoms of the - earth a mingled heap of shining dust in the midst. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE REVIVAL - </h2> - <p> - Now, the feathers of Koorookh in his flight were ruffled by a chill - breeze, and they were speeding through a light glow of cold rose-colour. - Then said Noorna, ''Tis the messenger of morning, the blush. - Oh, what changes will date from this day!' - </p> - <p> - The glow of rose became golden, and they beheld underneath them, on one - side, the rim of the rising red sun, and rays streaming over the earth and - its waters. And Noorna said, 'I must warn Feshnavat, my father, and - prepare him for our coming.' - </p> - <p> - So she plucked a feather from Koorookh and laid the quill downward, - letting it drop. Then said she, 'Now for the awakening of my - betrothed!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon she hugged his head a moment, and kissed him on the eyelids, the - cheeks, and the lips, crying, 'By this means only!' Crying - that, she pushed him, sliding, from the back of the bird, and he parted - from them, falling headforemost in the air like a stricken eagle. Then she - called to Koorookh, 'Seize him!' and the bird slanted his beak - and closed his wings, the two, Abarak and Noorna, clinging to him tightly; - and he was down like an arrow between Shibli Bagarag and the ground, - spreading beneath him like a tent, and Noorna caught the youth gently to - her lap; then she pushed him off again, intercepting his descent once - more, till they were on a level with one of the mountains of the earth, - from which the City of Shagpat is visible among the yellow sands like a - white spot in the yolk of an egg. So by this time the eyes of the youth - gave symptoms of a desire to look upon the things that be, peeping faintly - beneath the lashes, and she exclaimed joyfully, raising her white hands - above her head, 'One plunge in the lake, and life will be his again!' - </p> - <p> - Below them was a green lake, tinted by the dawn with crimson and yellow, - deep, and with high banks. As they crossed it to the middle, she slipped - off the youth from Koorookh, and he with a great plunge was received into - the stillness of the lake. Meanwhile Koorookh quivered his wings and - seized him when he arose, bearing him to an end of the lake, where stood - one dressed like a Dervish, and it was the Vizier Feshnavat, the father of - Noorna. So when he saw them, he shouted the shout of congratulation, - catching Noorna to his breast, and Shibli Bagarag stretched as doth a - heavy sleeper in his last doze, saying, in a yawning voice, 'What - trouble? I wot there is nought more for us now that Shagpat is shaved! Oh, - I have had a dream, a dream! He that is among Houris in Paradise dreameth - not a dream like that. And I dreamed—'tis gone!' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, staring at them, 'Who be ye? What is this?' - </p> - <p> - Noorna, took him again to her bosom, and held him there; and she plucked a - herb, and squeezed it till a drop from it fell on either of his lids, - applying to them likewise a dew from the serpents of the Sword, and he - awoke to the reality of things. Surely, then he prostrated himself and - repeated the articles of his faith, taking one hand of his betrothed and - kissing her; and he embraced Abarak and Feshnavat, saying to the father of - Noorna, 'I know, O Feshnavat, that by my folly and through my - weakness I have lost time in this undertaking, but it shall be short work - now with Shagpat. This thy daughter, the Eclipser of Reason, was ever such - a prize as she? I will deserve her. Wullahy! I am now a new man, sprung - like fire from ashes. Lo, I am revived by her for the great work.' - </p> - <p> - Said Abarak: 'O Master of the Event, secure now without delay the - two slaves of the Sword, and lean the blade toward Aklis.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that, he ran up rapidly to the summit of the mountain and drew the - Sword from his girdle, and leaned it toward Aklis, and it lengthened out - over lands, the blade of it a beam of solid brilliance. Presently, from - forth the invisible remoteness they saw the two Genii, Karavejis and - Veejravoosh, and they were footing the blade swiftly, like stars, speeding - up till they were within reach of the serpents of the hilt, when they - dropped to the earth, bowing their heads; so he commanded them to rise, - crying, 'Search ye the earth and its confines, and bring hither - tidings of the Genie Karaz.' - </p> - <p> - They said, 'To hear is to obey.' - </p> - <p> - Then they began to circle each round the other, circling more and more - sharply till beyond the stretch of sight, and Shibli Bagarag said to - Feshnavat, 'Am I not awake, O Feshnavat? I will know where is Karaz - ere I seek to operate on Shagpat, for it is well spoken of the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Obstructions first remove - Ere thou thy cunning prove”; -</pre> - <p> - and I will encounter this Karaz that was our Ass, ere I try the great - shave.' - </p> - <p> - Then said he, turning quickly, 'Yonder is the light from Aklis - striking on the city, and I mark Shagpat, even he, illumined by it, - singled out, where he sitteth on the roof of the palace by the - market-place.' - </p> - <p> - So they looked, and it was as he had spoken, that Shagpat was singled out - in the midst of the city by the wondrous beams of the eye of Aklis, and - made prominent in effulgence. - </p> - <p> - Said Abarak, climbing to the level of observation, 'He hath a - redness like the inside of a halved pomegranate.' - </p> - <p> - Feshnavat stroked his chin, exclaiming, 'He may be likened to a - mountain goat in the midst of a forest roaring with conflagration.' - </p> - <p> - Said Shibli Bagarag, 'Now is he the red-maned lion, the bristling - boar, the uncombed buffalo, the plumaged cock, but soon will he be like - nothing else save the wrinkled kernel of a shaggy fruit. Lo, now, the - Sword! it leapeth to be at him, and 'twill be as the keen icicle of - winter to that perishing foliage, that doomed crop! So doth the destined - minute destroy with a flash the hoarded arrogance of ages; and the - destined hand doeth what creation failed to perform; and 'tis by - order, destiny, and preordainment, that the works of this world come to - pass. This know I, and I witness thereto that am of a surety ordained to - the Shaving of Shagpat!' - </p> - <p> - Then he stood apart and gazed from Shagpat to the city that now began to - move with the morning; elephants and coursers saddled by the gates of the - King's palace were visible, and camels blocking the narrow streets, - and the markets bustling. Surely, though the sun illumined that city, it - was as a darkness behind Shagpat singled by the beams of Aklis. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE PLOT - </h2> - <p> - Now, while Shibli Bagarag gazed on Shagpat kindled by the beams of Aklis, - lo, the Genii Karavejis and Veejravoosh circling each other in swift - circles like two sapphire rings toward him, and they whirled to a point - above his head, and fell and prostrated themselves at his feet: so he - cried, 'O ye slaves of the Sword, my servitors! how of the - whereabout of Karaz?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'O Master of the Event, we found him after many - circlings far off, and 'twas by the borders of the Putrid Sea. We - came not close on him, for he is stronger than we without the Sword, but - it seemed he was distilling drops of an oil from certain substances, large - thickened drops that dropped into a phial.' - </p> - <p> - Then Shibli Bagarag said, 'The season of weakness with me is over, - and they that confide in my strength, my cunning, my watchfulness, my - wielding of the Sword, have nought to fear for themselves. Now, this is my - plot, O Feshnavat,—that part of it in which thou art to have a - share. 'Tis that thou depart forthwith to the City yonder, and enter - thy palace by a back entrance, and I will see that thou art joined within - an hour of thy arrival there by Baba Mustapha, my uncle, the gabbler. He - is there, as I guess by signs; I have had warnings of him. Discover him - speedily. Thy task is then to induce him to make an attempt on the head of - Shagpat in all wiliness, as he and thou think well to devise. He will - fail, as I know, but what is that saying of the poet? - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends, - For failures oft are but advising friends.” - </pre> - <p> - And he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Every failure is a step advanced, - To him who will consider how it chanced.” - </pre> - <p> - Wherefore, will I that this attempt be made, keeping the counsel that is - mine. Thou must tell Baba Mustapha I wait without the city to reward him - by my powers of reward with all that he best loveth. So, when he has - failed in his attempt on Shagpat, and blows fall plenteously upon him, and - he is regaled with the accustomed thwacking, as I have tasted it in this - undertaking, do thou waste no further word on him, for his part is over, - and as is said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Waste not a word in enterprise! - Against—or for—the minute flies.” - </pre> - <p> - 'Tis then for thee, O Feshnavat, to speed to the presence of the - King in his majesty, and thou wilt find means of coming to him by a - disguise. Once in the Hall of Council, challenge the tongue of - contradiction to affirm Shagpat other than a bald-pate bewigged. This is - for thee to do.' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Feshnavat plaintively, after thought, 'And what becometh of - me, O thou Master of the Event?' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag said, 'The clutch of the executioner will be upon - thee, O Feshnavat, and a clamouring multitude around; short breathing-time - given thee, O father of Noorna, ere the time of breathing is commanded to - cease. Now, in that respite the thing that will occur, 'tis for thee - to see and mark; sure, never will reverse of things be more complete, and - the other side of the picture more rapidly exhibited, if all go as I - conceive and plot, and the trap be not premature nor too perfect for the - trappers; as the poet has declared: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Ye that intrigue, to thy slaves proper portions adapt; - Perfectest plots burst too often, for all are not apt.” - </pre> - <p> - And I witness likewise to the excellence of his saying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “To master an Event, - Study men! - The minutes are well spent - Only then.” - </pre> - <p> - Also 'tis he that says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The man of men who knoweth men, the Man of men is he! - His army is the human race, and every foe must flee.” - </pre> - <p> - So have I apportioned to thee thy work, to Baba Mustapha his; reserving to - myself the work that is mine!' - </p> - <p> - Thereat Feshnavat exclaimed, 'O Master of the Event, may I be thy - sacrifice! on my head be it! and for thee to command is for me to obey! - but surely, this Sword of thine that is in thy girdle, the marvellous - blade—'tis alone equal to the project and the shave; and the - matter might be consummated, the great thing done, even from this point - whence we behold Shagpat visible, as 'twere brought forward toward - us by the beams! And this Sword swayed by thee, and with thy skill and - strength and the hardihood of hand that is thine, wullahy! 'twould - shear him now, this moment, taking the light of Aklis for a lather.' - </p> - <p> - Shibli Bagarag knotted the brows of impatience, crying, 'Hast thou - forgotten Karaz in thy calculations? I know of a surety what this Sword - will do, and I wot the oil he distilleth strengtheneth Shagpat but against - common blades. Yet shall it not be spoken of me, Shibli Bagarag, that I - was tripped by my own conceit; the poet counselleth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “When for any mighty end thou hast the aid of heaven, - Mount until thy strength shall match those great means which are - given”: -</pre> - <p> - nor that I was overthrown in despising mine enemy, forgetful of the saying - of the sage: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Read the features of thy foe, wherever he may find thee, - Small he is, seen face to face, but thrice his size behind thee.” - </pre> - <p> - Wullahy! this Karaz is a Genie of craft and resources, one of a mighty - stock, and I must close with Shagpat to be sure of him; and that I am not - deceived by semblances, opposing guile with guile, and guile deeper than - his, for that he awaiteth it not, thinking I have leaped in fancy beyond - the Event, and am puffed by the after-breaths of adulation, I!—thinking - I pluck the blossoms in my hunger for the fruit, that I eat the chick of - the yet unlaid egg, O Feshnavat. As is said, and the warrior beareth - witness to the wisdom of it: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “His weapon I'll study; my own conceal; - So with two arms to his one shall I deal.” - </pre> - <p> - The same also testifieth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “'Tis folly of the hero, though resistless in the field, - To stake the victory on his steel, and fling away the shield.” - </pre> - <p> - And likewise: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Examine thine armour in every joint, - For slain was the Giant, and by a pin's point.” - </pre> - <p> - Wah! 'tis certain there will need subtlety in this undertaking, and - a plot plotted, so do thou my bidding, and fail not in the part assigned - to thee.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Feshnavat was persuaded by his words, and cried, 'In diligence, - discretion, and the virtues which characterize subordinates, I go, and I - delay not! I will perform the thing required of me, O Master of the Event.' - And he repeated in verse: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - With danger beset, be the path crooked or narrow, - Thou art the bow, and I the arrow. -</pre> - <p> - Then embraced he his daughter, kissing her on the forehead and the eyes, - and tightening the girdle of his robe, departed, with the name of Allah on - his lips, in the direction of the City. - </p> - <p> - So Shibli Bagarag called to him the two Genii, and his command was, - 'Soar, ye slaves of the Sword, till the range of earth and its - mountains and seas and deserts are a cluster in the orb of the eye, Shiraz - conspicuous as a rose among garlands, and the ruby consorted with other - gems in a setting. In Shiraz or the country adjoining ye will come upon - one Baba Mustapha by name; and, if he be alone, ye may recognize him by - his forlorn look and the hang of his cheeks, his vacancy as of utter - abandonment; if in company, 'twill be the only talker that's - he; seize on him, give him a taste of thin air, and deposit him without - speech on the roof of a palace, where ye will see Feshnavat in yonder - city: this do ere the shadows of the palm-tree by the well in the plain - move up the mounds that enclose the fortified parts.' - </p> - <p> - Cried Karavejis and Veejravoosh, 'To hear is to obey.' - </p> - <p> - Up into the sky, like two bright balls tossed by jugglers, the two Genii - shot; and, watching them, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'My life, there is - a third wanting, Ravejoura; and with aid of the three, earth could have - planted no obstruction to thy stroke; but thou wert tempted by the third - temptation in Aklis, and left not the Hall in triumph, the Hall of the - Duping Brides!' - </p> - <p> - He answered, 'That is so, my soul; and the penalty is mine, by which - I am made to employ deceits ere I strike.' - </p> - <p> - And she said, ''Tis to the generosity of Gulrevaz thou owest - Karavejis and Veejravoosh; and I think she was generous, seeing thee true - to me in love, she that hath sorrows!' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'What of the sorrows of Gulrevaz? Tell me of them.' - </p> - <p> - But she said, 'Nay, O my betrothed! wouldst thou have this tongue - blistered, and a consuming spark shot against this bosom?' - </p> - <p> - Then he: 'Make it clear to me.' - </p> - <p> - She put her mouth to his ear, saying, 'There is a curse on whoso - telleth of things in Aklis, and to tattle of the Seven and their sister - forerunneth wretchedness.' - </p> - <p> - Surely, he stooped to that fair creature, and folded her to his heart, his - whole soul heaving to her; and he cried again and again, 'Shall harm - hap to thee through me? by Allah, no!' - </p> - <p> - And he closed the privileged arm of the bridegroom round her waist, that - had the yieldingness of the willow-branchlet, the flowingness of the - summer sea-wave, and seemed as 'twere melting honey-like at the - first gentle pressure; she leaning her head shyly on his shoulder, yet - confiding in his faithfulness; it was that she was shy of the great bliss - in her bosom, and was made timid by the fervour of her affection; as is - sung: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Deeper than the source of blushes - Is the power that makes them start; - Up in floods the red stream rushes, - At one whisper of the heart. -</pre> - <p> - And it is sung in words present to the youth as he surveyed her: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Her bashful joys like serpents sting her tenderness to - tears: - Her hopes are sleeping eagles in the shining of the spheres; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - And she's a lapping antelope that from her image flees; - And she's a dove caught in two hands, to pant as she shall - please; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Like torrents over Paradise her lengthy tresses roll: - She moves as doth a swaying rose, and chides her hasty soul; - The thing she will, that will she not, yet can no will control - O beauty, beauty, beauty of the bride! -</pre> - <p> - They were thus together, Abarak leaning under one wing of Koorookh for - shade up the slope of the hill, and Shibli Bagarag called to him, 'Ho, - Abarak! look if there be aught impending over the City.' - </p> - <p> - So he arose and looked, crying, 'One with plunging legs, high up in - air over the City, between two bright bodies.' Shibli Bagarag - exclaimed, ''Tis well! The second chapter of the Event is - opened; so call it, thou that tellest of the Shaving of Shagpat. It will - be the shortest.' - </p> - <p> - Then he said, 'The shadow of yonder palm is now a slanted spear up - the looped wall of the City. Now, the time of Shagpat's triumph, and - his greatest majesty, will be when yonder walls chase the shadow of the - palm up this hill; and then will Baba Mustapha be joining the chorus of - creatures that shriek toward even ere they snooze. There's not an - ape in the woods, nor hyaena in the forest, nor birds on the branches, nor - frogs in the marsh that will outnoise Baba Mustapha under the thong! - Wullahy, 'twill grieve his soul in aftertime when he sitteth secure - in honours, courted, with a thousand ears at his bidding, that so much - breath 'scaped him without toll of the tongue! But as the poet says - truly: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The chariot of Events lifteth many dusty heels, - And many, high and of renown, it crusheth with its wheels.” - </pre> - <p> - Wah! I have had my share of the thong, and am I, Master of the Event, to - be squeamish in attaining an end by its means? Nay, by this Sword!' - </p> - <p> - Thereat, he strode once again to the summit of the hill, and in a moment - the Genii fronted him like two shot arrows quivering from the flight. So - he cried, 'It is done?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'In faithfulness.' - </p> - <p> - So he beckoned to Noorna, and she came forward swiftly to him, exclaiming, - 'I read the plot, and the thing required of me; so say nought, but - embrace me ere I leave thee, my betrothed, my master!' - </p> - <p> - He embraced her, and led her to where the Genii stood. Then said he to the - Genii, 'Convey her to the City, O ye slaves of the Sword, and watch - over her there. If ye let but an evil wind ruffle the hair of her head, - lo! I sever ye with a stroke that shaketh the under worlds. Remain by her - till the shrieks of Baba Mustapha greet ye, and then will follow commotion - among the crowd, and cries for Shagpat to show himself to the people, - cries also of death to Feshnavat; and there will be an assembly in the - King's Hall of Justice; thither lead ye my betrothed, and watch over - her.' And he said to Noorna, 'Thou knowest my design?' - </p> - <p> - So she said, 'When condemnation is passed on Feshnavat, that I - appear in the hall as bride of Shagpat, and so rescue him that is my - father.' And she cried, 'Oh, fair delightful time that is - coming! my happiness and thy honour on earth dateth from it. Farewell, O - my betrothed, beloved youth! Eyes of mine! these Genii will be by, and - there's no cause for fear or sorrow, and 'tis for thee to look - like morning that speeds the march of light. Thou, my betrothed, art thou - not all that enslaveth the heart of woman?' - </p> - <p> - Cried Shibli Bagarag, 'And thou, O Noorna, all that enraptureth the - soul of man! Allah keep thee, my life!' - </p> - <p> - Lo! while they were wasting the rich love in their hearts, the Genii rose - up with Noorna, and she, waving her hand to him, was soon distant and as - the white breast of a bird turned to the sun. Then went he to where Abarak - was leaning, and summoned Koorookh, and the twain mounted him, and rose up - high over the City of Shagpat to watch the ripening of the Event, as a - vulture watcheth over the desert. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - </h2> - <p> - Now, in the City of Shagpat, Kadza, spouse of Shagpat, she that had - belaboured Shibli Bagarag, had a dream while these things were doing; and - it was a dream of danger and portent to the glory of her eyes, Shagpat. - So, at the hour when he was revealed to Shibli Bagarag, made luminous by - the beams of Aklis, Kadza went to an inner chamber, and greased her hands - and her eyelids, and drank of a phial, and commenced tugging at a brass - ring fixed in the floor, and it yielded and displayed an opening, over - which she stooped the upper half of her leanness, and pitching her note - high, called 'Karaz!' After that, she rose and retreated from - the hole hastily, and in the winking of an eye it was filled, as 'twere - a pillar of black smoke, by the body of the Genie, he breathing hard with - mighty travel. So he cried to her between his pantings and puffings, - 'Speak! where am I wanted, and for what?' - </p> - <p> - Now, Kadza was affrighted at the terribleness of his manner, and the great - smell of the Genie was an intoxication in her nostril, so that she reeled - and could just falter out, 'Danger to the Identical!' - </p> - <p> - Then he, in a voice like claps of thunder, 'Out with it!' - </p> - <p> - She answered beseechingly, ''Tis a dream I had, O Genie; a - dream of danger to him.' - </p> - <p> - While she spake, the Genie clenched his fists and stamped so that the - palace shook and the earth under it, exclaiming, 'O abominable - Kadza! a dream is it? another dream? Wilt thou cease dreaming awhile, thou - silly woman? Know I not he that's powerful against us is in Aklis, - crowned ape, and that his spells are gone? And I was distilling drops to - defy the Sword and strengthen Shagpat from assault, yet bringest thou me - from my labour by the Putrid Sea with thy accursed dream!' Thereat, - he frowned and shot fire at her from his eyes, so that she singed, and the - room thickened with a horrible smell of burning. She feared greatly and - trembled, but he cooled himself against the air, crying presently in a - diminished voice, 'Let's hear this dream, thou foolish Kadza! - 'Tis as well to hear it. Probably Rabesqurat hath sent thee some - sign from Aklis, where she ferryeth a term. What's that saying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth, - And like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth.” - </pre> - <p> - So, out with it, thou Kadza!' - </p> - <p> - Now, the urgency of that she had dreamed overcame fear in Kadza, and she - said, 'O great Genie and terrible, my dream was this. Lo! I saw an - assemblage of the beasts of the forests and them that inhabit wild places. - And there was the elephant and the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, and - the camel and the camelopard, and the serpent and the striped tiger; also - the antelope, the hyena, the jackal, and above them, eminent in majesty, - the lion. Surely, he sat as 'twere on a high seat, and they like - suppliants thronging the presence: this I saw, the heart on my ribs - beating for Shagpat. And there appeared among the beasts a monkey all - ajoint with tricks, jerking with malice, he looking as 'twere hungry - for the doing of things detestable; and the lion scorned him, and I marked - him ridicule the lion: 'twas so. And the lion began to scowl, and - the other beasts marked the displeasure of the lion. Then chased they that - monkey from the presence, and for awhile he was absent, and the lion sat - in his place gravely, with calm, receiving homage of the other beasts; and - down to his feet came the eagle that's lord of air, and before him - kneeled the great elephant, and the subtle serpent eyed him with awe. But - soon did that monkey, the wretched animal! reappear, and there was no - peace for the lion, he worrying till close within stretch of the lion's - paw! Wah! the lion might have crushed him, but that he's - magnanimous. And so it was that as the monkey advanced the lion roared to - him, “Begone!” - </p> - <p> - 'And the monkey cried, “Who commandeth?” - </p> - <p> - 'So the lion roared, “The King of beasts and thy King!” - </p> - <p> - 'Then that monkey cried, “Homage to the King of beasts and my - King! Allah keep him in his seat, and I would he were visible.” - </p> - <p> - 'So the lion roared, “He sitteth here acknowledged, thou - graceless animal! and he's before thee apparent.” - </p> - <p> - 'Then the monkey affected eagerness, and gazed about him, and peered - on this beast and on that, exclaiming like one that's injured and - under slight, “What's this I've done, and wherein have I - offended, that he should be hidden from me when pointed out?” - </p> - <p> - 'So the lion roared, “'Tis I where I sit, thou offensive - monkey!” - </p> - <p> - 'Then that monkey in the upper pitch of amazement, “Thou! Is - it for created thing to acknowledge a king without a tail? And, O beasts - of the forest and the wilderness, how say ye? Am I to blame that I bow not - to one that hath it not?” - </p> - <p> - 'Upon that, the lion rose, and roared in the extreme of wrath; but - the word he was about to utter was checked in him, for 'twas - manifest that where he would have lashed a tail he shook a stump, wagging - it as the dog doth. Lo! when the lion saw that, the majesty melted from - him, and in a moment the plumpness of content and prosperity forsook him, - so that his tawny skin hung flabbily and his jaw drooped, and shame - deprived him of stateliness; abashed was he! Now, seeing the lion shamed - in this manner, my heart beat violently for Shagpat, so that I awoke with - the strength of its beating, and 'twas hidden from me whether the - monkey was punished by the lion, or exalted by the other beasts in his - place, or how came it that the lion's tail was lost, witched from - him by that villain of mischief, the monkey; but, O great Genie, I knew - there was a lion among men, reverenced, and with enemies; that lion, he - that espoused me and my glory, Shagpat! 'Twas enough to know that - and tremble at the omen of my dream, O Genie. Wherefore I thought it well - to summon thee here, that thou mightest set a guard over Shagpat, and - shield him from the treacheries that beset him.' - </p> - <p> - When Kadza had ceased speaking, the Genie glowered at her awhile in - silence. Then said he, 'What creature is that, Kadza, which - tormenteth like the tongue of a woman, is small as her pretensions to - virtue, and which showeth how the chapters of her history should be read - by the holy ones, even in its manner of movement?' - </p> - <p> - Cried Kadza, 'The flea that hoppeth!' - </p> - <p> - So he said, ''Tis well! Hast thou strength to carry one of my - weight, O Kadza?' - </p> - <p> - She answered in squeamishness, 'I, wullahy! I'm but a woman, - Genie, though the wife of Shagpat: and to carry thee is for the camel and - the elephant and the horse.' - </p> - <p> - Then he, 'Tighten thy girdle, and when tightened, let a loose loop - hang from it.' - </p> - <p> - She did that, and he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow - the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over - thee.' - </p> - <p> - That did she, and thereupon he exclaimed, 'Now go, and thy part is - to move round Shagpat; and a wind will strike thee from one quarter, and - from which quarter it striketh is the one of menace and danger to Shagpat.' - </p> - <p> - So Kadza was diligent in doing what the Genie commanded, and sought for - Shagpat, and moved round him many times; but no wind struck her. She went - back to the Genie, and told him of this, and the Genie cried, 'What? - no wind? not one from Aklis? Then will Shagpat of a surety triumph, and we - with him.' - </p> - <p> - Now, there was joy on the features of Kadza and Karaz, till suddenly he - said, 'Halt in thy song! How if there be danger and menace above? - and 'tis the thing that may be.' - </p> - <p> - Then he seized Kadza, and slung her by him, and went into the air, and up - it till the roofs of the City of Shagpat were beneath their feet, all on - them visible. And under an awning, on the roof of a palace, there was the - Vizier Feshnavat and Baba Mustapha, they ear to lip in consultation, and - Baba Mustapha brightening with the matter revealed to him, and bobbing his - head, and breaking on the speech of the Vizier. Now, when he saw them the - Genie blew from his nostrils a double stream of darkness which curled in a - thick body round and round him, and Kadza slung at his side was enveloped - in it, as with folds of a huge serpent. Then the Genie hung still, and lo! - two radiant figures swept toward the roof he watched, and between them - Noorna bin Noorka, her long dark hair borne far backward, and her robe of - silken stuff fluttering and straining on the pearl buttons as she flew. - There was that in her beauty and the silver clearness of her temples and - her eyes, and her cheeks, and her neck, and chin and ankles, that made the - Genie shudder with love of her, and he was nigh dropping Kadza to the - ground, forgetful of all save Noorna. When he recovered, and it was by - tightening his muscles till he was all over hard knots, Noorna was seated - on a cushion, and descending he heard her speak his name. Then sniffed he - the air, and said to Kadza, 'O spouse of Shagpat, a plot breweth, - and the odour of it is in my nostril. Fearest thou a scorching for his - sake thou adorest, the miracle of men?' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'On my head be it, and my eyes!' - </p> - <p> - He said, 'I shall alight thee behind the pole of awning on yonder - roof, where are the two bright figures and the dingy one, and the Vizier - Feshnavat and Noorna bin Noorka. A flame will spring up severing thee from - them; but thou'rt secure from it by reason of the powder I gave - thee, all save the hair that's on thee. Thou'lt have another - shape than that which is thine, even that of a slave of Noorna bin Noorka, - and say to her when she asketh thy business with her, “O my - mistress, let the storm gather-in the storm-bird when it would surprise - men.” Do this, and thy part's done, O Kadza!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon he swung a circle, and alighted her behind the pole of awning on - the roof, and vanished, and the circle of flame rose up, and Kadza passed - through it slightly scorched, and answered to the question of Noorna, - 'O my mistress, let the storm gather-in the storm-bird when it would - surprise men.' Now, when Noorna beheld her, and heard her voice, she - pierced the disguise, and was ware of the wife of Shagpat, and glanced her - large eyes over Kadza from head to sole till they rested on the loose loop - in her girdle. Seeing that, she rose up, and stretched her arms, and - spread open the palm of her hand, and slapped Kadza on the cheek and ear a - hard slap, so that she heard bells; and ere she ceased to hear them, - another, so that Kadza staggered back and screamed, and Feshnavat was - moved to exclaim, 'What has the girl, thy favourite, offended in, O - my daughter?' - </p> - <p> - So Noorna continued slapping Kadza, and cried, 'Is she not sluttish? - and where's the point of decency established in her, this Luloo? - Shall her like appear before thee and me with loose girdle!' - </p> - <p> - Then she pointed to the girdle, and Kadza tightened the loose loop, and - fell upon the ground to avoid the slaps, and Noorna knelt by her, and - clutched at a portion of her dress and examined it, peering intently; and - she caught up another part, and knotted it as if to crush a living - creature, hunting over her, and grasping at her; and so it was that while - she tore strips from the garments of Kadza, Feshnavat jumped suddenly in - wrath, and pinched over his garments, crying, 'Tis unbearable! - 'Tis I know not what other than a flea that persecuteth me:' - </p> - <p> - Upon that, Noorna ran to him, and while they searched together for the - flea, Baba Mustapha fidgeted and worried in his seat, lurching to the - right and to the left, muttering curses; and it was evident he too was - persecuted, and there was no peace on the roof of that palace, but - pinching and howling and stretching of limbs, and curses snarled in the - throat and imprecations on the head of the tormenting flea. Surely, the - soul of Kadza rejoiced, for she knew the flea was Karaz, whom she had - brought with her in the loose loop of her girdle through the circle of - flame which was a barrier against him. She glistened at the triumph of the - flea, but Noorna strode to her, and took her to the side of the roof, and - pitched her down it, and closed the passage to her. Then ran she to - Karavejis and Veejravoosh, whispering in the ear of each, 'No word - of the Sword?' and afterward aloud, 'What think ye will be the - term of the staying of my betrothed in Aklis, crowned ape?' - </p> - <p> - They answered, 'O pearl of the morn, crowned ape till such time as - Shagpat be shaved.' - </p> - <p> - So she beat her breast, crying, 'Oh, utter stagnation, till Shagpat - be shaved! and oh, stoppage in the tide of business, dense cloud upon the - face of beauty, and frost on the river of events, till Shagpat be shaved! - And oh! my betrothed, crowned ape in Aklis till Shagpat be shaved!' - </p> - <p> - Then she lifted her hands and arms, and said, 'To him where he is, - ye Genii! and away, for he needeth comfort.' - </p> - <p> - Thereat the glittering spirits dissolved and thinned, and were as taper - gleams of curved light across the water in their ascent of the heavens. - When they were gone Noorna, exclaimed, 'Now for the dish of - pomegrante grain, O Baba Mustapha, and let nothing delay us further.' - </p> - <p> - Quoth Baba Mustapha, ''Tis ordered, O my princess and fair - mistress, from the confectioner's; and with it the sleepy drug from - the seller of medicaments—accursed flea!' - </p> - <p> - Now, she laughed, and said, 'What am I, O Baba Mustapha?' - </p> - <p> - So he said, 'Not thou, O bright shooter of beams, but I, wullahy! I'm - but a bundle of points through the pertinacity of this flea! a house of - irritabilities! a mere mass of fretfulness! and I've no thought but - for the chasing of this unlucky flea: was never flea like it in the world - before this flea; and 'tis a flea to anger the holy ones, and make - the saintly Dervish swear at such a flea.' He wriggled and curled - where he sat, and Noorna cried, 'What! shall we be defeated by a - flea, we that would shave Shagpat, and release this city and the world - from bondage?' And she looked up to the sky that was then without a - cloud, blazing with the sun on his mid seat, and exclaimed, 'O star - of Shagpat! wilt thou constantly be in the ascendant, and defeat us, the - liberators of men, with a flea?' - </p> - <p> - Now, whenever one of the twain, Baba Mustapha and the Vizier Feshnavat, - commenced speaking of the dish of pomegranate grain, the torment of the - flea took all tongue from him, and was destruction to the gravity of - council and deliberation. The dish of pomegranate grain was brought to - them by slaves, and the drug to induce sleep, yet neither could say aught - concerning it, they were as jointy grasshoppers through the action of the - flea, and the torment of the flea became a madness, they shrieking, - ''Tis now with thee! 'Tis now with me! Fires of the - damned on this flea!' In their extremity, they called to Allah for - help, but no help came, save when they abandoned all speech concerning the - dish of pomegranate grain, then were they for a moment eased of the flea. - So Noorna recognized the presence of her enemy Karaz, and his malicious - working; and she went and fetched a jar brimmed with water for the bath, - and stirred it with her forefinger, and drew on it a flame from the rays - of the sun till there rose up from the jar a white thick smoke. She - rustled her raiment, making the wind of it collect round Baba Mustapha and - Feshnavat, and did this till the sweat streamed from their brows and - bodies, and they were sensible of peace and the absence of the flea. Then - she whisked away the smoke, and they were attended by slaves with fresh - robes, and were as new men, and sat together over the dish of pomegranate - grain, praising the wisdom of Noorna and her power. Then Baba Mustapha - revived in briskness, and cried, 'Here the dish! and 'tis in - my hands an instrument, an instrument of vengeance! and one to endow the - skilful wielder of it with glory. And 'tis as I designed it,—sweet, - seasoned, savoury,—a flattery to the eye and no deceiver to the - palate. Wah! and such an instrument in the hands of the discerning and the - dexterous, and the discreet and the judicious, and them gifted with - determination, is't not such as sufficeth for the overturning of - empires and systems, O my mistress, fair one, sapphire of this city? And - is't not written that I shall beguile Shagpat by its means, and - master the Event, and shame the King of Oolb and his Court? And I shall - then sit in state among men, and surround myself with adornments and with - slaves, mute, that speak not save at the signal, and are as statues round - the cushions of their lord—that's myself. And I shall surround - myself with the flatteries of wealth, and walk bewildered in silks and - stuffs and perfumeries; and sweet young beauties shall I have about me, - antelopes of grace, as I like them, and select them, long-eyed, lazy, fond - of listening, and with bashful looks that timidly admire the dignity that's - in man.' - </p> - <p> - While he was prating Noorna took the dish in her lap, and folded her - silvery feet beneath her, and commenced whipping into it the drug: and she - whipped it dexterously and with equal division among the grain, whipping - it and the flea with it, but she feigned not to mark the flea and whipped - harder. Then took she colour and coloured it saffron, and laid over it - gold-leaf, so that it glittered and was an enticing sight; and the dish - was of gold, crusted over with devices and patterns, and heads of golden - monsters, a ravishment of skill in him that executed it, cumbrous with - ornate golden workmanship; likewise there were places round the dish for - sticks of perfume and cups carved for the storing of perfumed pellets, and - into these Noorna put myrrh and ambergris and rich incenses, aloes, - sandalwood, prepared essences, divers keen and sweet scents. Then when all - was in readiness, she put the dish upon the knee of Baba Mustapha, and - awoke him from his babbling reverie with a shout, and said, 'An - instrument verily, O Baba Mustapha! and art thou a cat to shave Shagpat - with that tongue of thine?' - </p> - <p> - Now, he arose and made the sign of obedience and said, ''Tis - well, O lady of grace and bright wit! and now for the cap of Shiraz and - the Persian robe, and my twenty slaves and seven to follow me to the - mansion of Shagpat. I'll do: I'll act.' - </p> - <p> - So she motioned to a slave to bring the cap of Shiraz and the Persian - robe, and in these Baba Mustapha arrayed himself. Then called he for the - twenty-and-seven slaves, and they were ranged, some to go before, some to - follow him. And he was exalted, and made the cap of Shiraz nod in his - conceit, crying, 'Am I not leader in this complot? Wullahy! all bow - to me and acknowledge it.' Then, to check himself, he called out - sternly to the slaves, 'Ho ye! forward to the mansion of Shagpat; - and pass at a slow pace through the streets of the city—solemnly, - gravely, as before a potentate; then will the people inquire of ye, Who't - is ye marshal, and what mighty one? and ye will answer, He's from - the court of Shiraz, nothing less than a Vizier—bearing homage to - Shagpat, even this dish of pomegranate grain.' - </p> - <p> - So they said, 'To hear is to obey.' - </p> - <p> - Upon that he waved his hand and stalked majestically, and they descended - from the roof into the street, criers running in front to clear the way. - When Baba Mustapha was hidden from view by a corner of the street, Noorna - shrank in her white shoulders and laughed, and was like a flashing pearl - as she swayed and dimpled with laughter. And she cried, 'True are - those words of the poet, and I testify to them in the instance of Baba - Mustapha: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “With feathers of the cock, I'll fashion a vain creature; - With feathers of the owl, I'll make a judge in feature”; -</pre> - <p> - Is not the barber elate and lofty? He goeth forth to the mastery of this - Event as go many, armed with nought other than their own conceit: and - 'tis written: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Fools from their fate seek not to urge: - The coxcomb carrieth his scourge.”' -</pre> - <p> - So Feshnavat smoothed his face, and said, 'Is't not also - written?— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Oft may the fall of fools make wise men moan! - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone!” - </pre> - <p> - 'Tis so, O Noorna, my daughter, and I am as a reed shaken by the - wind of apprehensiveness, and doubt in me is a deep root as to the issue - of this undertaking, for the wrath of the King will be terrible, and the - clamour of the people soundeth in my ears already. If Shibli Bagarag fail - in one stroke, where be we? 'Tis certain I knew not the might in - Shagpat when I strove with him, and he's powerful beyond the measure - of man's subtlety; and yonder flies a rook without fellow—an - omen; and all's ominous, and ominous of ill: and I marked among the - troop of slaves that preceded Baba Mustapha one that squinted, and that's - an omen; and, O my daughter, I counsel that thou by thy magic speed us to - some remote point in the Caucasus, where we may abide the unravelling of - this web securely, one way or the other way. 'Tis my counsel, O - Noorna.' - </p> - <p> - Then she, 'Abandon my betrothed? and betray him on the very stroke - of the Sword? and diminish him by a withdrawal of that faith in his right - wrist which strengtheneth it more than Karavejis and Veejravoosh wound - round it in coils?' And she leaned her head, and cried, 'Hark! - hear'st thou? there's shouting in the streets of Shiraz and of - Shagpat! Shall we merit the punishment of Shahpesh the Persian on Khipil - the builder, while the Event is mastering? I'll mark this interview - between Baba Mustapha and Shagpat; and do thou, O my father, rest here on - this roof till the King's guard of horsemen and soldiers of the law - come hither for thee, and go with them sedately, fearing nought, for I - shall be by thee in the garb of an old woman; and preserve thy composure - in the presence of the King and Shagpat exalted, and allow not the thing - that happeneth let fly from thee the shaft of speech, but remain a - slackened bow till the strength of my betrothed is testified, fearing - nought, for fear is that which defeateth men, and 'tis declared in a - distich,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The strongest weapon one can see - In mortal hands is constancy.” - </pre> - <p> - And for us to flee now would rank us with that King described by the poet: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “A king of Ind there was who fought a fight - From the first gleam of morn till fall of night; - But when the royal tent his generals sought, - Proclaiming victory, fled was he who fought. - Despair possessed them, till they chanced to spy - A Dervish that paced on with downward eye; - They questioned of the King; he answer'd slow, - 'Ye fought but one, the King a double, foe.”' -</pre> - <p> - And, O my father, they interpreted of this that the King had been - vanquished, he that was victor, by the phantom army of his fears.' - </p> - <p> - Now, the Vizier cried, 'Be the will of Allah achieved and - consummated!' and he was silenced by her wisdom and urgency, and sat - where he was, diverting not the arch on his brow from its settled furrow. - He was as one that thirsteth, and whose eye hath marked a snake of swift - poison by the water, so thirsted he for the Event, yet hung with dread - from advancing; but Noorna bin Noorka busied herself about the roof, - drawing circles to witness the track of an enemy, and she clapped her - hands and cried, 'Luloo!' and lo, a fair slave-girl that came - to her and stood by with bent head, like a white lily by a milk-white - antelope; so Noorna clouded her brow a moment, as when the moon darkeneth - behind a scud, and cried, 'Speak! art thou in league with Karaz, - girl?' - </p> - <p> - Luloo strained her hands to her temples, exclaiming, 'With the - terrible Genie?—I?—in league with him? my mistress, surely the - charms I wear, and the amulets, I wear them as a protection from that - Genie, and a safeguard, he that carrieth off the maidens and the young - sucklings, walking under the curse of mothers.' - </p> - <p> - Said Noorna, 'O Luloo, have I boxed those little ears of thine this - day?' - </p> - <p> - The fair slave-girl smiled a smile of submissive tenderness, and answered, - 'Not this day, nor once since Luloo was rescued from the wicked old - merchant by thy overbidding, and was taken to the arms of a wise kind - sister, wiser and kinder than any she had been stolen from, she that is - thy slave for ever.' - </p> - <p> - She said this weeping, and Noorna mused, ''Twas as I divined, - that wretched Kadza: her grief 's to come!' Then spake she - aloud as to herself, 'Knew I, or could one know, I should this day - be a bride?' And, hearing that, Luloo shrieked, 'Thou a bride, - and torn from me, and we two parted? and I, a poor drooping tendril, left - to wither? for my life is round thee and worthless away from thee, O - cherisher of the fallen flower.' - </p> - <p> - And she sobbed out wailful verses and words, broken and without a meaning; - but Noorna caught her by the arm and swung her, and bade her fetch on the - instant a robe of blue, and pile in her chamber robes of amber and saffron - and grey, bridal-robes of many-lighted silks, plum-coloured, - peach-coloured, of the colour of musk mixed with pale gold, together with - bridal ornaments and veils of the bride, and a jewelled circlet for the - brow. When this was done, Noorna went with Luloo to her chamber, attended - by slave-girls, and arrayed herself in the first dress of blue, and swayed - herself before the mirror, and rattled the gold pieces in her hair and on - her neck with laughter. And Luloo was bewildered, and forgot her tears to - watch the gaiety of her mistress; and lo! Noorna, made her women take off - one set of ornaments with every dress, and with every dress she put on - another set; and after she had gone the round of the different dresses, - she went to the bathroom with Luloo, and at her bidding Luloo entered the - bath beside Noorna, and the twain dipped and shouldered in the blue water, - and were as when a single star is by the full moon on a bright midnight - pouring lustre about. And Noorna splashed Luloo, and said, 'This - night we shall not sleep together, O Luloo, nor lie close, thy bosom on - mine.' - </p> - <p> - Thereat, Luloo wept afresh, and cried, 'Ah, cruel! and 'tis a - sweet thought for thee, and thou'lt have no mind for me, tossing on - my hateful lonely couch.' - </p> - <p> - Tenderly Noorna eyed Luloo, and the sprinkles of the bath fell with the - tears of both, and they clung together, and were like the lily and its bud - on one stalk in a shower. Then, when Noorna had spent her affection, she - said, 'O thou of the long downward lashes, thy love was constant - when I stood under a curse and was an old woman—a hag! Carest thou - so little to learn the name of him that claimeth me?' - </p> - <p> - Luloo replied, 'I thought of no one save myself and my loss, O my - lost pearl; happy is he, a youth of favour. Oh, how I shall hate him that - taketh thee from me. Tell me now his name, O sovereign of hearts!' - </p> - <p> - So Noorna smoothed the curves and corners of her mouth and calmed her - countenance, crying in a deep tone and a voice as of reverence, 'Shagpat!' - </p> - <p> - Now, at that name Luloo drank in her breath and was awed, and sank in - herself, and had just words to ask, 'Hath he demanded thee again in - marriage, O my mistress?' - </p> - <p> - Said Noorna, 'Even so.' - </p> - <p> - Luloo muttered, 'Great is the Dispenser of our fates!' - </p> - <p> - And she spake no further, but sighed and took napkins and summoned the - slave-girls, and arrayed Noorna silently in the robe of blue and bridal - ornaments. Then Noorna said to them that thronged about her, 'Put - on, each of ye, a robe of white, ye that are maidens, and a fillet of - blue, and a sash of saffron, and abide my coming.' - </p> - <p> - And she said to Luloo, 'Array thyself in a robe of blue, even as - mine, and let trinkets lurk in thy tresses, and abide my coming.' - </p> - <p> - Then went she forth from them, and veiled her head and swathed her figure - in raiment of a coarse white stuff, and was as the moon going behind a - hill of dusky snow; and she left the house, and passed along the streets - and by the palaces, till she came to the palace of her father, now filled - by Shagpat. Before the palace grouped a great concourse and a multitude of - all ages and either sex in that city, despite the blaze and the heat. Like - roaring of a sea beyond the mountains was the noise that issued from them, - and their eyes were a fire of beams against the portal of the palace. Now, - she saw in the crowd one Shafrac, a shoemaker, and addressed him, saying, - 'O Shafrac, the shoemaker, what's this assembly and how got - together? for the poet says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “Ye string not such assemblies in the street, - Save when some high Event should be complete.”' -</pre> - <p> - He answered, ''Tis an Event complete. Wullahy! the deputation - from Shiraz to Shagpat, and the submission of that vain city to the might - of Shagpat.' And he asked her, jestingly, 'Art thou a witch, - to guess that, O veiled and virtuous one?' - </p> - <p> - Quoth she, 'I read the thing that cometh ere 'tis come, and I - read danger to Shagpat in this deputation from Shiraz, and this dish of - pomegranate grain.' - </p> - <p> - So Shafrac cried, 'By the beard of my fathers and that of Shagpat! - let's speak of this to Zeel, the garlic-seller.' - </p> - <p> - He broadened to one that was by him, and said, 'O Zeel, what's - thy mind? Here's a woman, a wise woman, a witch, and she sees danger - to Shagpat in this deputation from Shiraz and this dish of pomegranate - grain.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Zeel screwed his visage and gazed up into his forehead, and said, - ''Twere best to consult with Bootlbac, the drum-beater.' - </p> - <p> - The two then called to Bootlbac, the drum-beater, and told him the matter, - and Bootlbac pondered, and tapped his brow and beat on his stomach, and - said, 'Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, is good in such a case.' - </p> - <p> - Now, from Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, they went to Dob, the - confectioner; and from Dob, the confectioner, to Azawool, the builder; and - from Azawool, the builder, to Tcheik, the collector of taxes; and each - referred to some other, till perplexity triumphed and was a cloud over - them, and the words, 'Danger to Shagpat,' went about like - bees, and were canvassing, when suddenly a shrill voice rose from the - midst, dominating other voices, and it was that of Kadza, and she cried, - 'Who talks here of danger to Shagpat, and what wretch is it?' - </p> - <p> - Now, Tcheik pointed out Azawool, and Azawool Dob, and Dob Krooz el - Krazawik, and he Bootlbac, and the drum-beater shrugged his shoulder at - Zeel, and Zeel stood away from Shafrac, and Shafrac seized Noorna and - shouted, ''Tis she, this woman, the witch!' - </p> - <p> - Kadza fronted Noorna, and called to her, 'O thing of infamy, what's - this talk of thine concerning danger to our glory, Shagpat?' - </p> - <p> - Then Noorna replied, 'I say it, O Kadza! and I say it; there's - danger threateneth him, and from that deputation and that dish of - pomegranate grain.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Kadza laughed a loose laugh, and jeered at Noorna, crying, 'Danger - to Shagpat! he that's attended by Genii, and watched over by the - greatest of them, day and night incessantly?' - </p> - <p> - And Noorna said, 'I ask pardon of the Power that seeth, and of thee, - if I be wrong. Wah! am I not also of them that watch over Shagpat? So then - let thou and I go into the palace and examine the doings of this - deputation and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Kadza remembered the scene on the roofs of the Vizier Feshnavat, and - relaxed in her look of suspicion, and said, ''Tis well! Let's - in to them.' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon the twain threaded through the crowd and locked at the portals - of the palace, and it was opened to them and they entered, and lo! the - hand that opened the portals was the hand of a slave of the Sword, and - against corners of the Court leaned slaves silly with slumber. So Kadza - went up to them, and beat them, and shook them, and they yawned and - mumbled, 'Excellent grain! good grain! the grain of Shiraz!' - And she beat them with what might was hers, till some fell sideways and - some forward, still mumbling, 'Excellent pomegranate grain!' - Kadza was beside herself with anger and vexation at them, tearing them and - cuffing them; but Noorna cried, 'O Kadza! what said I? there's - danger to Shagpat in this dish of pomegranate grain! and what's that - saying: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “'Tis much against the Master's wish - That slaves too greatly praise his dish.” - </pre> - <p> - Wullahy! I like not this talk of the grain of Shiraz.' - </p> - <p> - Now, while Noorna spake, the eyes of Kadza became like those of the - starved wild-cat, and she sprang off and along the marble of the Court, - and clawed a passage through the air and past the marble pillars of the - palace toward the first room of reception, Noorna following her. And in - the first room were slaves leaning and lolling like them about the Court, - and in the second room and in the third room, silent all of them and - senseless. So at this sight the spark of suspicion became a mighty flame - in the bosom of Kadza, and horror burst out at all ends of her, and she - shuddered, and cried, 'What for us, and where's our hope if - Shagpat be shorn, and he lopped of the Identical, shamed like the lion of - my dream!' - </p> - <p> - And Noorna clasped her hands, and said, ''Tis that I fear! - Seek for him, O Kadza!' - </p> - <p> - So Kadza ran to a window and looked forth over the garden of the palace, - and it was a fair garden with the gleam of a fountain and watered plants - and cool arches of shade, thick bowers, fragrant alleys, long sheltered - terraces, and beyond the garden a summer-house of marble fanned by the - broad leaves of a palm. Now, when Kadza had gazed a moment, she shrieked, - 'He's there! Shagpat! giveth he not the light of a jewel to - the house that holdeth him? Awahy! and he's witched there for an ill - purpose.' - </p> - <p> - Then tore she from that room like a mad wild thing after its stolen cubs, - and sped along corridors of the palace, and down the great flight of steps - into the garden and across the garden, knocking over the ablution-pots in - her haste; and Noorna had just strength to withhold her from dashing - through the doors of the summer-house to come upon Shagpat, she straining - and crying, 'He's there, I say, O wise woman! Shagpat! let's - into him.' - </p> - <p> - But Noorna clung to her, and spake in her ear, 'Wilt thou blow the - fire that menaces him, O Kadza? and what are two women against the - assailants of such a mighty one as he?' Then said she, 'Watch, - rather, and avail thyself of yonder window by the blue-painted pillar.' - </p> - <p> - So Kadza crept up to the blue-painted pillar which was on the right side - of the porch, and the twain peered through the window. Noorna beheld the - Dish of Pomegranate Grain; and it was on the floor, empty of the grain, - and Baba Mustapha was by it alone making a lather, and he was twitching - his mouth and his legs, and flinging about his arms, and Noorna heard him - mutter wrathfully, 'O accursed flea! art thou at me again?' - And she heard him mutter as in anguish, 'No peace for thee, O - pertinacious flea! and my steadiness of hand will be gone, now when I have - him safe as the hawk his prey, mine enemy, this Shagpat that abused me: - thou abominable flea! And, O thou flea, wilt thou, vile thing! hinder me - from mastering the Event, and releasing this people and the world from - enchantment and bondage? And shall I fail to become famous to the ages and - the times because of such as thee, flea?' - </p> - <p> - So Kadza whispered to Noorna, 'What's that he's - muttering? Is't of Shagpat? for I mark him not here, nor the light - by which he's girt.' - </p> - <p> - She answered, 'Listen with the ear and the eye and all the senses.' - </p> - <p> - Now, presently they heard Baba Mustapha say in a louder tone, like one - that is secure from interruption, 'Two lathers, and this the third! - a potent lather! and I wot there's not a hair in this world - resisteth the sweep of my blade over such a lather as—Ah! flea of - iniquity and abomination! what! am I doomed to thy torments?—so let's - spread! Lo! this lather, is't not the pride of Shiraz? and the - polish and smoothness it sheddeth, is't not roseate? my invention! - as the poet says,—O accursed flea! now the knee-joint, now the - knee-cap, and 'tis but a hop for thee to the arm-pit. Fires of the - pit without bottom seize thee! is no place sacred from thee, and art thou - a restless soul, infernal flea? So then, peace awhile, and here's - for the third lather.' - </p> - <p> - While he was speaking Baba Mustapha advanced to a large white object that - sat motionless, upright like a snow-mound on a throne of cushions, and - commenced lathering. When she saw that, Kadza tossed up her head and her - throat, and a shriek was coming from her, for she was ware of Shagpat; but - Noorna stifled the shriek, and clutched her fast, whispering, 'He's - safe if thou have but patience, thou silly Kadza! and the flea will defeat - this fellow if thou spoil it not.' - </p> - <p> - So Kadza said, looking up, 'Is 't seen of Allah, and be the - Genii still in their depths?' but she constrained herself, peering - and perking out her chin, and lifting one foot and the other foot, as on - furnaces of fire in the excess of the fury she smothered. And lo, Baba - Mustapha worked diligently, and Shagpat was behind an exulting lather, - even as one pelted with wheaten flour-balls or balls of powdery perfume, - and his hairiness was as branches of the forest foliage bent under a - sudden fall of overwhelming snow that filleth the pits and sharpeneth the - wolves with hunger, and teacheth new cunning to the fox. A fox was Baba - Mustapha in his stratagems, and a wolf in the fierceness of his setting - upon Shagpat. Surely he drew forth the blade that was to shear Shagpat, - and made with it in the air a preparatory sweep and flourish; and the - blade frolicked and sent forth a light, and seemed eager for Shagpat. So - Baba Mustapha addressed his arm to the shearing, and inclined gently the - edge of the blade, and they marked him let it slide twice to a level with - the head of Shagpat, and at the third time it touched, and Kadza howled, - but from Baba Mustapha there burst a howl to madden the beasts; and he - flung up his blade, and wrenched open his robe, crying, 'A flea was - it to bite in that fashion? Now, I swear by the Merciful, a fang like that's - common to tigers and hyaenas and ferocious animals.' - </p> - <p> - Then looked he for the mark of the bite, plaining of its pang, and he - could find the mark nowhere. So, as he caressed himself, eyeing Shagpat - sheepishly and with gathering awe, Noorna said hurriedly to Kadza, 'Away - now, and call them in, the crowd about the palace, that they may behold - the triumph of Shagpat, for 'tis ripe, O Kadza!' - </p> - <p> - And Kadza replied, 'Thou'rt a wise woman, and I'll have - thee richly rewarded. Lo, I'm as a camel lightened of fifty loads, - and the glory of Shagpat see I as a new sun rising in the desert. Wullahy! - thou'rt wise, and I'll do thy bidding.' - </p> - <p> - Now, she went flying back to the palace, and called shrill calls to the - crowd, and collected them in the palace, and headed them through the - garden, and it was when Baba Mustapha had summoned courage for a second - essay, and was in the act of standing over Shagpat to operate on him, that - the crowd burst the doors, and he was quickly seized by them, and tugged - at and hauled at and pummelled, and torn and vituperated, and as a wrecked - vessel on stormy waters, plunging up and down with tattered sails, when - the crew fling overboard freight and ballast and provision. Surely his - time would have been short with that mob, but Noorna made Kadza see the - use of examining him before the King, and there were in that mob sheikhs - and fakirs, holy men who listened to the words of Kadza, and exerted - themselves to rescue Baba Mustapha, and quieted the rage that was - prevailing, and bore Baba Mustapha with them to the great palace of the - King, which was in the centre of that City. Now, when the King heard of - the attempt on Shagpat, and the affair of the Pomegranate Grain, he gave - orders for the admission of the people, as many of them as could be - contained in the Hall of Justice: and he set a guard over Baba Mustapha, - and commanded that Shagpat should be brought to the palace even as he then - was, and with the lather on him. So the regal mandate went forth, and - Shagpat was brought in state on cushions, and the potency of the drug - preserved his sedateness through all this, and he remained motionless in - sleep, folded in the centre of calm and satisfaction, while this tumult - was rageing and the City shook with uproar. But the people, when they saw - him whitened behind a lather, wrath at Baba Mustapha's polluting - touch and the audacity of barbercraft wrestled in them with the outpouring - of reverence for Shagpat, and a clamour arose for the instant sacrifice of - Baba Mustapha at the foot of their idol Shagpat. And the whole of the City - of Shagpat, men, women, and children, and the sheikhs and the dervishes - and crafts of the City besieged the King's palace in that middle - hour of the noon, clamouring for the sacrifice of Baba Mustapha at the - feet of their idol Shagpat. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - </h2> - <p> - Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of the - King was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished all - their arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions of - uniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense of - abasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him that ruled - and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne was of - solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the hall was - lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging in stateliness - down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars were pillars of - porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all of them with - sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence, odes of the - poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and that solve knotty - points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each the gift of a - mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie. - </p> - <p> - In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spread - abroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, and - shimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. It - was rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fed underground - from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in the reign of El - Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by the labours of Zak,—a - Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of El Rasoon; but, of a - surety, none of earth were like to them in silveriness and sweet - coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary. - </p> - <p> - Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him his ministers, - and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and black slaves, and - the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And the King was as - a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on his forehead to darken - kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred his kingly wrath, and - awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspirators and offenders. So - when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throne of cushions where he - sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the King commanded that he should be - placed at his side, the place of honour; and Shagpat was as a moon behind - the whiteness of the lathers; even as we behold moon and sun together in - the heavens, was Shagpat by the King. - </p> - <p> - There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a hum - of rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people that - filled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; but - presently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people! - thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has brought - honour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine a - constellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands and corners - of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I not castigated - barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that no youth is - taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber, is't - not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by and broken, - for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpat precious.' - </p> - <p> - While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion at - beholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat and the - King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters and - triumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, and - its King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And I had - this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the adhesion of - that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So commenced the - day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a few hours - defiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!' - </p> - <p> - At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury; - but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! - Probably we have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us - in Shagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, and - creeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasement - voluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; for - how is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to rise again - freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of the City of - Shagpat!' - </p> - <p> - Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to the - loins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abased - himself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, and - penitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as when the - sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and the - Viziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of the - guard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcries - and wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated their - bodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned to bewail - himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shrieked loudest, - striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall was as a pit - full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wild beasts - howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, so that the - tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hall save - Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers, - inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there - came a pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in - the intervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered - among themselves, ''Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and - the moaning and howling prevailed again. And again they heard another - moan, a deep one, as of the earth in its throes, and said among - themselves, ''Tis that of Bootlbac, the drumbeater!' and - this led off to the howl of Areep, the dervish; and this was followed by - the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; and the waul of Krooz el Krazawik, - the carrier; and the complainings of Dob, the confectioner; and the groan - of Sallap, the broker; and the yell of Azawool, the builder. There would - have been no end to it known; but the King rose and commenced plucking his - beard and his hair,—they likewise in silence. When he had performed - this ceremony a space, the King called, and a basin of water was brought - to him, and handed round by slaves, and all dipped in it their hands, and - renewed their countenances and re-arranged their limbs; and the Hall - brightened with the eye of the King, and he cried, 'O people, lo, - the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis a deep one; but, by this beard, - we'll strike at the root of it, and a blow of deadliness. Surely we - have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance is ours! How say ye?' - </p> - <p> - A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleth - that fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed these - words; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth - with this wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your - heads be it to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my - Vizier, he that was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our - clemency.' - </p> - <p> - Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction - on Feshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King. - Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembled and - was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and with eyeballs - goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him, he - contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object, - crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness - and horrible presumption? Truly 'tis said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “For ruin and the deeds preluding change, - Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range: - But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean, - Satan selects them, for they are unseen.” - </pre> - <p> - And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with the - top of the reptile, and away with him!' - </p> - <p> - Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blocked - the throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save stagger - imploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of the - throne, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! - 'tis Kadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and - lo! a wise woman has said in my ear, “How if this emissary and - instrument of the Evil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to - essay on Shagpat before the people his science and his malice? for 'tis - certain that Shagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, - defended by them, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of glory - and triumph manifest”: and for this barber, his punishment can - afterwards be looked to, O great King!' - </p> - <p> - The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them that had - hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought over - it, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. So - release this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.' - </p> - <p> - This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, and - crowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when he - felt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and wit - returned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'll - yet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I was to - look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is a - mighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackle - to combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in - his mightiness!' - </p> - <p> - So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and the - King called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile - wretch, to make preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' - And the people murmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, - 'Thou'lt essay this, thou wretch, without a head, let but - another minute pass.' So when Baba Mustapha could delay no longer, - he sighed heavily and his trembling returned, and the power of Shagpat - smote him with an invisible hand, so that he could scarce move; but dread - pricked him against dread, and he advanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and - assumed the briskness of the barber, and was in the act of bending over - him to bring the blade into play, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of - the King stood up in the presence and spake a word that troubled him, and - the King rose and hurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on - three sides of the Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and - from these clouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and - plumes; and he could discern the flashing of their helms and the - glistening of steel-plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the - colour went from the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched - pomegranate, and he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? - Awahy! we are beset, and here's abasement brought on us without - self-abasing!' Meantime these horsemen detached themselves from the - main bodies and advanced at a gallop, wheeling and circling round each - other, toward the walls of the city, and when they were close they lowered - their arms and made signs of amity, and proclaimed their mission and the - name of him they served. So tidings were brought to the King that the - Lords of three cities, with vast retinues, were come, by reason of a - warning, to pay homage to Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor; and these three - cities were the cities of Oolb, and of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these! - </p> - <p> - Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and - arrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of his stables, - and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded by the - horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the city walls - that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted and embraced, and - bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titles of Cousin and - Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, these three Kings rode - back to the city with the King that was their host, and the horsemen of - the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outside the walls, - making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related to the three - Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been made on him; and - in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting of thrones for them - whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage to Shagpat, sat by him - there on either side. Then the King cried, 'This likewise owe we to - Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's in him shall - defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and of Gaf, and of - Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!' - </p> - <p> - So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and the - King of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan, - exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince - of barbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head - of me in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand - of this barber will do it!' - </p> - <p> - And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this - fellow I bastinadoed!' - </p> - <p> - And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time, - said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To - my court he came, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us - all in spite of our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, - and so thinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and - stripes and lashes!' - </p> - <p> - Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allah - achieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou! - do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store for - thee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: small - chance of that!' - </p> - <p> - Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The abyss is worth a leap, however wide, - When life, sweet life, is on the other side. -</pre> - <p> - And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and stepped - forward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall was - breathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its fall, - and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right arm, - hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was buzzing as a - bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a butterfly when 'tis - fluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed at Shagpat within arm's - reach, fearing him, so that the people began to hum with a great rapture, - and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! this monkey knoweth - the fire!' - </p> - <p> - But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guards to - flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords of indecision - in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash of desperation; - and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the blade upon the head of - Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest, for suddenly in his - head the Identical rose up straight, even to a level with the roof of that - hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of many fiery colours, and - Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like a ball that - reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomed serpents, - sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely, to see that - sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers, and winked till - the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about, exclaimed, - 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So she - called about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!' - </p> - <p> - Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, she - shrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, - male and female, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! - I his moon!' - </p> - <p> - Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou - had enough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head of - Shagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruited - abroad, and a great load upon the four winds.' - </p> - <p> - Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to a second - essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot away from - Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end of the - hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and he in his - despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of his limbs, - was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essay on the - head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous, light of - heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, and whirled away - like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air and beyond the city - walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a great cry rose from - the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the Identical stood up - wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in brilliance, blinding to - look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it waxed in size and pierced - through the roof of the hall, and was a sight to the streets of the city; - and the horsemen camped without the walls beheld it, and marvelled, and it - was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes of the Desert afar, and the wild - Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans of pilgrimage. Distant cities - asked the reason of that appearance, and the cunning fakir interpreted it, - and the fervent dervish expounded from it, and messengers flew from gate - to gate and from land to land in exultation, and barbers hid their heads, - and were friendly with the fox in his earth, because of that light. So the - Identical burned on the head of Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding - splendour of attraction, three nights and three days; and the fishes of - the sea shoaled to the sea's surface and stared at it, and the fowls - of the air congregated about the fury of the light with screams and mad - flutters, till the streets and mosques and minarets and bright domes and - roofs and cupolas of the City of Shagpat were blackened with scorched - feathers of the vulture and the eagle and the rook and the raven and the - hawk, and other birds, sacred and obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat - made manifest to men and the end of the world by the burning of the - Identical three days and three nights. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - </h2> - <p> - Now, it was the morning of the fourth day, and lo! at the first leap of - the sun of that day the flame of the Identical abated in its fierceness, - and it dwindled and darkened, and tapered and flickered feebly, descending - from its altitude in the heavens and through the ceiling of the Hall, and - lay down to sleep among the intricate lengths and frizzled convolutions - and undulating weights flowing from Shagpat, an undistinguished hair, even - as the common hairs of his head. So, upon that, the four fasting Kings - breathed, and from the people of the City there went up a mighty shout of - gladness and congratulation at the glory they had witnessed; and they took - the air deeply into their chests, and were as divers that have been long - fathoms-deep under water, and ascend and puff hard and press the water - from their eyes, that yet refuse to acknowledge with a recognition the - things that be and the sights above, so mazed are they with those - unmentionable marvels and treasures and profusion of jewels, and splendid - lazy growths and lavish filmy illuminations, and multitudinous pearls and - sheering shells, that lie heaped in the beds of the ocean. As the poet has - said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - After too strong a beam, - Too bright a glory, - We ask, Is this a dream - Or magic story? -</pre> - <p> - And he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When I've had rapturous visions such as make - The sun turn pale, and suddenly awake, - Long must I pull at memory in this beard, - Ere I remember men and things revered. -</pre> - <p> - So was it with the people of the City, and they stood in the Hall and - winked staringly at one another, shouting and dancing at intervals, - capering with mad gravity, exclaiming on the greatness of that they had - witnessed. And Zeel the garlic-seller fell upon Mob the confectioner, and - cried, 'Was this so, O Dob? Wullahy! this glory, was it verily?' - And Dob peered dimly upon Zeel, whispering solemnly, 'Say, now, art - thou of a surety that Zeel the garlic-seller known to me, my boon-fellow?' - And the twain turned to Sallap the broker, and exchanged interjections - with him, and with Azawool the builder, and with Krooz el Krazawik the - carrier; and they accosted Bootlbac the drum-beater, where he stood apart, - drumming the air as to a march of triumph, and no word would he utter, - neither to Zeel, nor to Sallap, nor to Krooz el Krazawik, nor to Azawool - his neighbour, nor to any present, but continued drumming on the air - rapidly as in answer, increasing in the swiftness of his drumming till it - was a rage to mark him, and the excitement about Bootlbac became as a mad - eddy in the midst of a mighty stream, he drumming the air with exceeding - swiftness to various measures, beating before him as on the tightened - skin, lost to all presences save the Identical and Shagpat. So they edged - away from Bootlbac in awe, saying, 'He's inspired, Bootlbac! - 'tis the triumph of Shagpat he drummeth.' They feigned to - listen to him till their ears deceived them, and they rejoiced in the - velocity of the soundless tune of Bootlbac the drum-beater, and were - stirred by it, excited to a forgetfulness of their fasting. Such was the - force of the inspiration of Bootlbac the drum-beater, caused by the - burning of the Identical. - </p> - <p> - Now, the four Kings, when they had mastered their wits, gazed in silence - on Shagpat, and sighed and shook their heads, and were as they that have - swallowed a potent draught and ponder sagely over the gulp. Surely, the - visages of the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf and of Oolb betokened dread of - Shagpat and amazement at him; but the King of the City exulted, and the - shining of content was on his countenance, and he cried, 'Wondrous!' - and again, 'Wullahy, wondrous!' and 'Oh, glory!' - And he laughed and clucked and chuckled, and the triumph of Shagpat was to - him as a new jewel in his crown outshining all others, and he was for - awhile as the cock smitten with the pride of his comb, the peacock - magnified by admiration of his tail. Then he cried, 'For this, - praise we Allah and the Prophet. Wullahy, 'twas wondrous!' and - he went off again into a roll of cluckings and chucklings and exclamations - of delight, crying, 'Need they further proof of the power in Shagpat - now? Has he not manifested it? So true is that saying— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - “The friend that flattereth weakeneth at length; - It is the foe that calleth forth our strength.” - </pre> - <p> - Wondrous! and never knew earth a thing to equal it in the range of - marvels!' - </p> - <p> - Now, ere the last word was spoken by the King, there passed through the - sky a mighty flash. Those in the Hall saw it, and the horsemen of the - three cities encamped without the walls were nigh blinded by the keenness - of its blaze. So they looked into the height, and saw straight over the - City a speck of cloud, but no thunder came from it; and the King cried, - 'These be Genii! the issue of this miracle is yet to come! look for - it, and exult.' Then he turned to the other Kings, but they were - leaning to right and left in their seats, as do the intoxicated, without - strength to answer his questioning. So he exclaimed, 'A curse on my - head! have I forgotten the laws of hospitality? my cousins are famished!' - He was giving orders for the spreading of a sumptuous banquet when there - passed through the sky another mighty flash. They awaited the thunder this - time confidently, yet none came. Suddenly the King exclaimed, ''Tis - the wrath of Shagpat that his assailants remain uncastigated!' Then - cried he to the eunuchs of the guard, 'Hither with Feshnavat, the - son of Feil!' And the King said to Feshnavat, 'Thou plotter! - envious of Shagpat!' Here the King, Kresnuk, fell forward at the - feet of Shagpat from sheer inanition, and the King of the City ordered - instantly wines and viands to be brought into the Hall, and commenced - saying to Feshnavat, in the words of the wise entablature: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - '“Of reckless mercy thus the Sage declared: - More culpable the sparer than the spared; - For he that breaks one law, breaks one alone: - But who thwarts Justice flouts Law's sovereign throne.” - </pre> - <p> - And have I not been over-merciful in thy case?' - </p> - <p> - As the King was haranguing Feshnavat, his nostril took in the steam of the - viands and the fresh odours of the wines, and he could delay no longer to - satisfy his craving, but caught up the goblet, and drank from it till his - visage streamed the tears of contentment. Lo, while he put forth his hand - tremblingly, as to continue the words of his condemnation of the Vizier, - the heavens were severed by a third flash, one exceeding in fierceness the - other flashes; and now the Great Hall rocked, and the pillars and thrones - trembled, and the eyes of Shagpat opened. He made no motion, but sat like - a wonder of stone, looking before him. Surely, Kadza shrieked, and rushed - forward to him from the crowd, yet he said nothing, and was as one frozen. - So the King cried, 'He waketh! the flashes preceded his wakening! - Now shall he see the vengeance of kings on his enemies.' Thereupon - he made a signal, and the scimitars of the guard were in air over the head - of Feshnavat, when darkness as of the dropping of night fell upon all, and - the darkness spake, saying, 'I am Abarak of the Bar, preceder of the - Event!' - </p> - <p> - Then it was light, but the ears of every soul present were pierced with - the wailing of wild animals, and on all sides from the Desert hundreds of - them were seen making toward the City, some swiftly, others at a heavy - pace; and when they were come near they crouched and fawned, and dropped - their dry tongues as in awe. There was the serpent, meek as before the - days of sin, and the leopard slinking to get among the legs of men, and - the lion came trundling along in utter flabbiness, raising not his head. - Soon the streets were thronged with elephants and lions and sullen tigers, - and wild cats and wolves, not a tail erect among them: great was the - marvel! So the King cried, 'We 're in the thick of wonders; - banquet we lightly while they increase upon us! What's yonder little - man?' This was Abarak that stood before the King, and exclaimed, - 'I am the darkness that announceth the mastery of the Event, as a - shadow before the sun's approach, and it is the Shaving of Shagpat!' - The world darkened before the eyes of the King when he heard this, and in - a moment Abarak was clutched by the soldiers of the guard, and dragged - beside Feshnavat to await the final blow; and this would have parted two - heads from two bodies at one stroke, but now Noorna bin Noorka entered the - hall, veiled and in the bright garb of a bride, with veiled attendants - about her, and the people opened to give her passage to the throne of the - King. So she said, 'Delay the stroke yet awhile, O Head of the - Magnanimous! I am she claimed by Shagpat; surely, I am bride of him that - is Master of the Event, and the hour of bridals is the hour of clemency.' - </p> - <p> - The King looked at Shagpat, perplexed; but the eye of Shagpat gazed as - into the distance of another world. Then said he, 'We shall hear - nought from the mouth of Shagpat till he is avenged, and till then he is - silent with exceeding wrath.' Hearing this, Noorna ran quickly to a - window of the Hall, and let loose a white dove from her bosom. - </p> - <p> - Then came there that flash which is recorded in old traditions as the - fourth of the flashes of thunderless lightnings, after the passing of - which, hundreds of fakirs that had been awaiting it saw nothing further on - this earth. Down through the Hall it swept; and lo! when the Kings and the - people recovered their sight to regard Shagpat, he was, one side of him, - clean shorn, the shaven side shining as the very moon! - </p> - <p> - Surely from that moment there was no longer aught mortal in the combat - that ensued. For now, while amazement and horror palsied all present, the - Genie Karaz, uttering a howl of fury, shot down the length of the Hall - like a black storm-bolt, and caught up Shagpat, and whirled off with him - into the air; and they beheld him dive and dodge the lightnings that beset - him from upper heaven, catching Shagpat from them, now by the heels, now - by the hair remaining one side his head. This lasted a full hour, when the - Genie paused a second, and made a sheer descent into the earth. Then saw - they the wings of Koorookh, each a league in length, overshadow the entire - land, and on the neck of the bird sat Shibli Bagarag cleaving through the - earth with his blade, and he sat on Koorookh as the moon sits on the - midnight. There was no light save the light shed abroad by the flashes of - the blade, and in these they beheld the air suffocated with Afrites and - Genii in a red and brown and white heat, followers of Karaz. Strokes of - the blade clove them, and their blood was fire that flowed over the - feathers of Koorookh, lighting him in a conflagration; but the bird flew - constantly to a fountain of earth below and extinguished it. Then the - battle recommenced, and the solid earth yawned at the gashes made by the - mighty blade, and its depths revealed how Karaz was flying with Shagpat - from circle to circle of the under-regions, hurrying with him downward to - the lowest circle, that was flaming to points, like the hair of vast - heads. Presently they saw a wondrous quivering flash divide the Genie, and - his heels and head fell together in the abysses, leaving Shagpat prone on - great brasiers of penal flame. Then the blade made another hissing sweep - over Shagpat, leaving little of the wondrous growths on him save a - topknot. - </p> - <p> - But now was the hour struck when Rabesqurat could be held no longer - serving the ferry in Aklis; and the terrible Queen streamed in the sky, - like a red disastrous comet, and dived, eagle-like, into the depths, - re-ascending with Shagpat in her arms, cherishing him; and lo, there were - suddenly a thousand Shagpats multiplied about, and the hand of Shibli - Bagarag became exhausted with hewing at them. The scornful laugh of the - Queen was heard throughout earth as she triumphed over Shibli Bagarag with - hundreds of Shagpats, Illusions; and he knew not where to strike at the - Shagpat, and was losing all sleight of hand, dexterity, and cunning. - Noorna shrieked, thinking him lost; but Abarak seized his bar, and leaning - it in the direction of Aklis, blew a pellet from it that struck on the eye - of Aklis, and this sent out a stretching finger of beams, and singled - forth very Shagpat from the myriads of semblances, so that he glowed and - was ruddy, the rest cowering pale, and dissolving like salt-grains in - water. - </p> - <p> - Then saw earth and its inhabitants how the Genie Karaz re-ascended in the - shape of a vulture with a fire beak, pecking at the eyes of him that - wielded the Sword, so that he was bewildered and shook this way and that - over the neck of Koorookh, striking wildly, languidly cleaving towers and - palaces, and monuments of earth underneath him. Now, Shibli Bagarag - discerned his danger, and considered, 'The power of the Sword is to - sever brains and thoughts. Great is Allah! I'll seek my advantage in - that.' - </p> - <p> - So he whirled Koorookh thrice in the crimson smoke of the atmosphere, and - put the blade between the first and second thought in the head of - Rabesqurat, whereby the sense of the combat became immediately confused in - her mind, and she used her powers as the fool does, equally against all, - for the sake of mischief solely—no longer mistress of her own - Illusions; and she began doubling and trebling Shibli Bagarag on the neck - of monstrous birds, speeding in draggled flightiness from one point of the - sky to another. Even in the terror of the combat, Shibli Bagarag was fair - to burst into a fit of violent laughter at the sight of the Queen wagging - her neck loosely, perking it like a mad raven; and he took heart, and - swept the blade rapidly over Shagpat as she dandled him, leaving Shagpat - but one hair remaining on him; yet was that the Identical; and it arose, - and was a serpent in his head, and from its jaws issued a river of fiery - serpents: these and a host of Afrites besieged Shibli Bagarag; and now, to - defend himself, he unloosed the twin Genii, Karavejis and Veejravoosh, - from the wrist of that hand which wielded the Sword of Aklis, and these - alternately interwound before and about him, and were even as a glittering - armour of emerald plates, warding from him the assaults of the host; and - lo! he flew, and the battle followed him over blazing cities and lands on - fire with the slanting hail of sparkles. - </p> - <p> - By this time every soul in the City of Shagpat, kings and people, all save - Abarak and Noorna bin Noorka, were overcome and prostrate with their faces - to the ground; but Noorna watched the conflict eagerly, and saw the head - of Shagpat sprouting incessant fresh crops of hair, despite the - pertinacious shearing of her betrothed. Then she smote her hands, and - cried, 'Yea! though I lose my beauty and the love of my betrothed, I - must join in this, or he'll be lost.' So, saying to Abarak, - 'Watch over me,' she went into the air, and, as she passed - Rabesqurat, was multiplied into twenty damsels of loveliness. Then Abarak - beheld a scorpion following the twenty in mid-air, and darting stings - among them. Noorna tossed a ring, and it fell in a circle of flame round - the scorpion. So, while the scorpion was shooting in squares to escape - from the circle, the fire-beaked vulture flew to it, and fluttered a dense - rain which swallowed the flame, and the scorpion and vulture assailed - Noorna, that was changed to a golden hawk in the midst of nineteen other - golden hawks. Now, as Rabesqurat came scudding by, and saw the encounter, - she made the twenty hawks a hundred. The Genie Karaz howled at her, and - pinioned her to a pillar below in the Desert, with Shagpat in her arms. - But, as he soared aloft to renew the fight with Noorna, Shibli Bagarag - loosed to her aid the Slaves of the Sword, and Abarak marked him slope to - a distant corner of earth, and reascend in a cloud, which drew swiftly - over the land toward the Great Hall. Lo, Shibli Bagarag stepped from it - through a casement of the Hall, and with him Shagpat, a slack weight, - mated out of all power of motion. Koorookh swooped low, on his back Baba - Mustapha, and Shibli Bagarag flung Abarak beside him on the bird. Then - Koorookh whirred off with them; and while the heavens raged, Shibli - Bagarag prepared a rapid lather, and dashed it over Shagpat, and commenced - shearing him with lightning sweeps of the blade. 'Twas as a racing - wheel of fire to see him! Suddenly he desisted, and wiped the sweat from - his face. Then calling on the name of Allah, he gave a last keen cunning - sweep with the blade, and following that, the earth awfully quaked and - groaned, as if speaking in the abysmal tongue the Mastery of the Event to - all men. Aklis was revealed in burning beams as of a sun, and the trouble - of the air ceased, vapours slowly curling to the four quarters. Shibli - Bagarag had smitten clean through the Identical! Terribly had Noorna and - those that aided her been oppressed by the multitude of their enemies; - but, in a moment these melted away, and Karaz, together with the scorpion - that was Goorelka, vanished. Day was on the baldness of Shagpat. - </p> - <p> - <a name="link2H_CONC" id="link2H_CONC"> - <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CONCLUSION - </h2> - <p> - So was shaved Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of - Shullum, by Shibli Bagarag, of Shiraz, according to preordainment. - </p> - <p> - The chronicles relate, that no sooner had he mastered the Event, than men - on the instant perceived what illusion had beguiled them, and, in the - words of the poet,— - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - The blush with which their folly they confess - Is the first prize of his supreme success. -</pre> - <p> - Even Bootlbac, the drum-beater, drummed in homage to him, and the four - Kings were they that were loudest in their revilings of the spouse of - Kadza, and most obsequious in praises of the Master. The King of the City - was fain to propitiate his people by a voluntary resignation of his throne - to Shibli Bagarag, and that King took well to heart the wisdom of the - sage, when he says: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Power, on Illusion based, o'ertoppeth all; - The more disastrous is its certain fall! -</pre> - <p> - Surely Shibli Bagarag returned the Sword to the Sons of Aklis, flashing it - in midnight air, and they, with the others, did reverence to his - achievement. They were now released from the toil of sharpening the Sword - a half-cycle of years, to wander in delight on the fair surface of the - flowery earth, breathing its roses, wooing its brides; for the mastery of - an Event lasteth among men the space of one cycle of years, and after that - a fresh Illusion springeth to befool mankind, and the Seven must expend - the concluding half-cycle in preparing the edge of the Sword for a new - mastery. As the poet declareth in his scorn: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Some doubt Eternity: from life begun, - Has folly ceased within them, sire to son? - So, ever fresh Illusions will arise - And lord creation, until men are wise. -</pre> - <p> - And he adds: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - That is a distant period; so prepare - To fight the false, O youths, and never spare! - For who would live in chronicles renowned - Must combat folly, or as fool be crowned. -</pre> - <p> - Now, for the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf, Shibli Bagarag entertained them - in honour; but the King of Oolb he disgraced and stripped of his robes, to - invest Baba Mustapha in those royal emblems—a punishment to the - treachery of the King of Oolb, as is said by Aboo Eznol: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - When nations with opposing forces, rash, - Shatter each other, thou that wouldst have stood - Apart to profit by the monstrous feud, - Thou art the surest victim of the crash. - - Take colours of whichever side thou wilt, - And stedfastly thyself in battle range; - Yet, having taken, shouldst thou dare to change, - Suspicion hunts thee as a thing of guilt. -</pre> - <p> - Baba Mustapha, was pronounced Sovereign of Oolb, amid the acclamations of - the guard encamped under the command of Ravaloke, without the walls. - </p> - <p> - No less did Shibli Bagarag honour the benefactor of Noorna, making him - chief of his armies; and he, with his own hand, bestowed on the good old - warrior the dress of honour presented to him by the Seven Sons, - charactered with all the mysteries of Aklis, a marvel lost to men in the - failure to master the Illusion now dominating earth. - </p> - <p> - So, then, of all that had worshipped Shagpat, only Kadza clung to him, and - she departed with him into the realms of Rabesqurat, who reigned there, - divided against herself by the stroke of the Sword. The Queen is no longer - mighty, for the widening of her power has weakened it, she being now the - mistress of the single-thoughted, and them that follow one idea to the - exclusion of a second. The failure in the unveiling of her last-cherished - Illusion was in the succumbing frailty of him that undertook the task, the - world and its wise men having come to the belief that in thwackings there - was ignominy to the soul of man, and a tarnish on the lustre of heroes. On - that score, hear the words of the poet, a vain protest: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Ye that nourish hopes of fame! - Ye who would be known in song! - Ponder old history, and duly frame - Your souls to meek acceptance of the thong. - - Lo! of hundreds who aspire, - Eighties perish-nineties tire! - They who bear up, in spite of wrecks and wracks, - Were season 'd by celestial hail of thwacks. - - Fortune in this mortal race - Builds on thwackings for its base; - Thus the All-Wise doth make a flail a staff, - And separates his heavenly corn from chaff. - - Think ye, had he never known - Noorna a belabouring crone, - Shibli Bagarag would have shaved Shagpat - The unthwack'd lives in chronicle a rat! - - 'Tis the thwacking in this den - Maketh lions of true men! - So are we nerved to break the clinging mesh - Which tames the noblest efforts of poor flesh. -</pre> - <p> - Feshnavat became the Master's Vizier, and Abarak remained at the - right hand of Shibli Bagarag, his slave in great adventure. No other - condition than bondage gave peace to Abarak. He was of the class - enumerated by the sage: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Who, with the strength of giants, are but tools, - The weighty hands which serve selected fools. -</pre> - <p> - Now, this was how it was in the case of Baba Mustapha, and the four Kings, - and Feshnavat, and Abarak, and Ravaloke, and Kadza, together with Shagpat; - but, in the case of Noorna bin Noorka, surely she was withering from a - sting of the scorpion shot against her bosom, but the Seven Sons of Aklis - gave her a pass into Aklis on the wings of Koorookh, and Gulrevaz, the - daughter of Aklis, tended her, she that was alone capable of restoring - her, and counteracting the malice of the scorpion by the hand of purity. - So Noorna, prospered; but Shibli Bagarag drooped in uncertainty of her - state, and was as a reaper in a field of harvest, around whom lie the - yellow sheaves, and the brown beam of autumn on his head, the blaze of - plenty; yet is he joyless and stands musing, for one is away who should be - there, and without whom the goblet of Success giveth an unsweetened - draught, and there is nothing pleasant in life, and the flower on the - summit of achievement is blighted. At last, as he was listlessly - dispensing justice in the Great Hall, seven days after the mastery of the - Event, lo, Noorna, in air, borne by Gulrevaz, she fair and fresh in the - revival of health and beauty, and the light of constant love. Of her entry - into the Great Hall, to the embrace of her betrothed, the poet exclaims, - picturing her in a rapture: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Her march is music, and my soul obeys - Each motion, as a lute to cunning fingers - I see the earth throb for her as she sways - Wave-like in air, and like a great flower lingers - Heavily over all, as loath to leave - What loves her so, and for her loss would grieve. - - But oh, what other hand than heaven's can paint - Her eyes, and that black bow from which their lightning - Pierces afar! long lustrous eyes, that faint - In languor, or with stormy passion brightening: - Within them world in world lights up from sleep, - And gives a glimpse of the eternal deep. - - Sigh round her, odorous winds; and, envious rose, - So vainly envious, with such blushes gifted, - Bow to her; die, strangled with jealous throes, - O Bulbul! when she sings with brow uplifted; - Gather her, happy youth, and for thy gain - Thank Him who could such loveliness ordain. -</pre> - <p> - Surely the Master of the Event advanced to her in the glory of a Sultan, - and seated her beside him in majesty, and their contract of marriage was - read aloud in the Hall, and witnessed, and sealed: joyful was he! Then - commenced that festival which lasted forty days, and is termed the - Festival of the honours of hospitality to the Sons of Aldis, wherein the - head-cook of the palace, Uruish, performed wonders in his science, and - menaced the renown of Zrmack, the head-cook of King Shamshureen. Even so - the confectioner, Dob, excelled himself in devices and inventions, and his - genius urged him to depict in sugars and pastes the entire adventures of - Shibli Bagarag in search of the Sword. Honour we Uruish and Do-b! as the - poet sayeth: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Divide not this fraternal twain; - One are they, and one should for ever remain: - As to sweet close in fine music we look, - So the Confectioner follows the Cook. -</pre> - <p> - And one of the Sons of Aklis, Zaragal, beholding this masterpiece of Dob, - which was served to the guests in the Great Hall on the fortieth evening, - was fair to exclaim in extemporaneous verse: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Have I been wafted to a rise - Of banquet spread in Paradise, - Dower'd with consuming powers divine;— - That I, who have not fail'd to dine, - And greatly, - Fall thus upon the cater and wine - Sedately? -</pre> - <p> - So there was feasting in the Hall, and in the City, and over Earth; great - pledging the Sovereign of Barbers, who had mastered an Event, and become - the benefactor of his craft and of his kind. 'Tis certain the race - of the Bagarags endured for many centuries, and his seed were the rulers - of men, and the seal of their empire stamped on mighty wax the Tackle of - Barbers. - </p> - <p> - Now, of the promise made by the Sons of Aklis to visit Shibli Bagarag - before their compulsory return to the labour of the Sword, and recount to - him the marvel of their antecedent adventures; and of the love and grief - nourished in the souls of men by the beauty and sorrowful eyes of - Gulrevaz, that was mined the Bleeding Lily, and of her engagement to tell - her story, on condition of receiving the first-born of Noorna to nurse for - a season in Aklis; and of Shibli Bagarag's restoration of towns and - monuments destroyed by his battle with Karaz; and of the constancy of - passion of Shibli Bagarag for Noorna, and his esteem for her sweetness, - and his reverence for her wisdom; and of the glory of his reign, and of - the Songs and Sentences of Noorna, and of his Laws for the protection and - upholding of women, in honour of Noorna, concerning which the Sage has - said: - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - Were men once clad in them, we should create - A race not following, but commanding, fate: -</pre> - <p> - —of all these records, and of the reign of Baba Mustapha in Oolb, - surely the chronicles give them in fulness; and they that have searched - say of them, there is matter therein for the amusement of generations. - </p> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - - - - ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS - - A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth - Arm'd with Fear the Foe finds passage to the vital part - Delay in thine undertaking Is disaster of thy own making - Every failure is a step advanced - Failures oft are but advising friends - Fear nought so much as Fear itself - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - If thou wouldst fix remembrance—thwack! - Lest thou commence to lie—be dumb! - Like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth - More culpable the sparer than the spared - No runner can outstrip his fate - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal - Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - The king without his crown hath a forehead like the clown - The overwise themselves hoodwink - 'Tis the first step that makes a path - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone - Vanity maketh the strongest most weak - When to loquacious fools with patience rare I listen - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue -</pre> - <div style="height: 6em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> -<pre xml:space="preserve"> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete -by George Meredith - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - -***** This file should be named 4405-h.htm or 4405-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/0/4405/ - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - https://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - </body> -</html> diff --git a/old/old-2025-02-21/4405.txt b/old/old-2025-02-21/4405.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d180f83..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-02-21/4405.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9794 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete, by George Meredith - -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: The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete - -Author: George Meredith - -Release Date: October 13, 2006 [EBook #4405] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - - - - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -By George Meredith - -AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT - - -1898/1909 - - - - CONTENTS: - - THE THWACKINGS - THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - THE BETROTHAL - PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE BUILDER - THE GENIE KARAZ - THE WELL OF PARAVID - THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - THE TALKING HAWK - GOORELKA OF OOLB - THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE PRINCESS OF OOLB - THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - THE PALACE OF AKLIS - THE SONS OF AKLIS - THE SWORD OF AKLIS - KOOROOKH - THE VEILED FIGURE - THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - THE REVIVAL - THE PLOT - THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - CONCLUSION - - - - -THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT - -BOOK I. - -THE THWACKINGS -THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - - - - -THE THWACKINGS - -It was ordained that Shibli Bagarag, nephew to the renowned Baba -Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia, should shave Shagpat, the -son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and they had -been clothiers for generations, even to the time of Shagpat, the -illustrious. - -Now, the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the -subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, -and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he -released, and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and -bottled by her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of -men and traced in their corner-robes? As the poet says: - - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale, - But 'tis of the sort that can never grow stale. - -Now, things were in that condition with Shibli Bagarag, that on a certain -day he was hungry and abject, and the city of Shagpat the clothier was -before him; so he made toward it, deliberating as to how he should -procure a meal, for he had not a dirhem in his girdle, and the -remembrance of great dishes and savoury ingredients were to him as the -illusion of rivers sheening on the sands to travellers gasping with -thirst. - -And he considered his case, crying, 'Surely this comes of wandering, and -'tis the curse of the inquiring spirit! for in Shiraz, where my craft is -in favour, I should be sitting now with my uncle, Baba Mustapha, the -loquacious one, cross-legged, partaking of seasoned sweet dishes, dipping -my fingers in them, rejoicing my soul with scandal of the Court!' - -Now, he came to a knoll of sand under a palm, from which the yellow domes -and mosques of the city of Shagpat, and its black cypresses, and marble -palace fronts, and shining pillars, and lofty carven arches that spanned -half-circles of the hot grey sky, were plainly visible. Then gazed he -awhile despondingly on the city of Shagpat, and groaned in contemplation -of his evil plight, as is said by the poet: - - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - As the sun casteth shade, night showeth star, - We, measuring what we were by what we are, - Behold the depth to which we are undone. - -Wherefore he counselleth: - - Look neither too much up, nor down at all, - But, forward stepping, strive no more to fall. - -And the advice is excellent; but, as is again said: - - The preacher preacheth, and the hearer heareth, - But comfort first each function requireth. - -And 'wisdom to a hungry stomach is thin pottage,' saith the shrewd reader -of men. Little comfort was there with Shibli Bagarag, as he looked on the -city of Shagpat the clothier! He cried aloud that his evil chance had got -the better of him, and rolled his body in the sand, beating his breast, -and conjuring up images of the profusion of dainties and the abundance of -provision in Shiraz, exclaiming, 'Well-a-way and woe's me! this it is to -be selected for the diversion of him that plotteth against man.' Truly is -it written: - - On different heads misfortunes come: - One bears them firm, another faints, - While this one hangs them like a drum - Whereon to batter loud complaints. - -And of the three kinds, they who bang the drum outnumber the silent ones -as do the billows of the sea the ships that swim, or the grains of sand -the trees that grow; a noisy multitude. - -Now, he was in the pits of despondency, even as one that yieldeth without -further struggle to the waves of tempest at midnight, when he was ware of -one standing over him,--a woman, old, wrinkled, a very crone, with but -room for the drawing of a thread between her nose and her chin; she was, -as is cited of them who betray the doings of Time, - - Wrinkled at the rind, and overripe at the core, - -and every part of her nodded and shook like a tree sapped by the waters, -and her joints were sharp as the hind-legs of a grasshopper; she was -indeed one close-wrecked upon the rocks of Time. - -Now, when the old woman had scanned Shibli Bagarag, she called to him, 'O -thou! what is it with thee, that thou rollest as one reft of his wits?' - -He answered her, 'I bewail my condition, which is beggary, and the lack -of that which filleth with pleasantness.' - -So the old woman said, 'Tell me thy case.' - -He answered her, 'O old woman, surely it was written at my birth that I -should take ruin from the readers of planets. Now, they proclaimed that I -was one day destined for great things, if I stood by my tackle, I, a -barber. Know then, that I have had many offers and bribes, seductive -ones, from the rich and the exalted in rank; and I heeded them not, -mindful of what was foretold of me. I stood by my tackle as a warrior -standeth by his arms, flourishing them. Now, when I found great things -came not to me, and 'twas the continuance of sameness and satiety with -Baba Mustapha, my uncle, in Shiraz,--the tongue-wagger, the endless -tattler,--surely I was advised by the words of the poet to go forth in -search of what was wanting, and he says: - - "Thou that dreamest an Event, - While Circumstance is but a waste of sand, - Arise, take up thy fortunes in thy hand, - And daily forward pitch thy tent." - -Now, I passed from city to city, proclaiming my science, holding aloft my -tackle. Wullahy! many adventures were mine, and if there's some day -propitiousness in fortune, O old woman, I'll tell thee of what befell me -in the kingdom of Shah Shamshureen: 'tis wondrous, a matter to draw down -the lower jaw with amazement! Now, so it was, that in the eyes of one -city I was honoured and in request, by reason of my calling, and I fared -sumptuously, even as a great officer of state surrounded by slaves, -lounging upon clouds of silk stuffs, circled by attentive ears: in -another city there was no beast so base as I. Wah! I was one hunted of -men and an abomination; no housing for me, nought to operate upon. I was -the lean dog that lieth in wait for offal. It seemeth certain, O old -woman, that a curse hath fallen on barbercraft in these days, because of -the Identical, whose might I know not. Everywhere it is growing in -disrepute; 'tis languishing! Nevertheless till now I have preserved my -tackle, and I would descend on yonder city to exercise it, even for a -livelihood, forgetting awhile great things, but that I dread men may have -changed there also,--and there's no stability in them, I call Allah -(whose name be praised!) to witness; so should I be a thing unsightly, -subject to hateful castigation; wherefore is it that I am in that state -described by the poet, when, - - "Dreading retreat, dreading advance to make, - Round we revolve, like to the wounded snake." - -Is not my case now a piteous one, one that toucheth the tender corner in -man and woman?' - -When she that listened had heard him to an end, she shook her garments, -crying, 'O youth, son of my uncle, be comforted! for, if it is as I -think, the readers of planets were right, and thou art thus early within -reach of great things--nigh grasping them.' - -Then she fell to mumbling and reciting jigs of verse, quaint measures; -and she pored along the sand to where a line had been drawn, and saw that -the footprints of the youth were traced along it. Lo, at that sight she -clapped her hands joyfully, and ran up to the youth, and peered in his -face, exclaiming, 'Great things indeed! and praise thou the readers of -planets, O nephew of the barber, they that sent thee searching the Event -thou art to master. Wullahy! have I not half a mind to call thee already -Master of the Event?' - -Then she abated somewhat in her liveliness, and said to him, 'Know that -the city thou seest is the city of Shagpat, the clothier, and there's no -one living on the face of earth, nor a soul that requireth thy craft more -than he. Go therefore thou, bold of heart, brisk, full of the -sprightliness of the barber, and enter to him. Lo, thou'lt see him -lolling in his shop-front to be admired of this people--marvelled at. Oh! -no mistaking of Shagpat, and the mole might discern Shagpat among myriads -of our kind; and enter thou to him gaily, as to perform a friendly -office, one meriting thanks and gratulations, saying, ''I will preserve -thee the Identical!'' Now he'll at first feign not to understand thee, -dense of wit that he is! but mince not matters with him, perform well thy -operation, and thou wilt come to great things. What say I? 'tis certain -that when thou hast shaved Shagpat thou wilt have achieved the greatest -of things, and be most noteworthy of thy race, thou, Shibli Bagarag, even -thou! and thou wilt be Master of the Event, so named in anecdotes and -histories and records, to all succeeding generations.' - -At her words the breast of Shibli Bagarag took in a great wind, and he -hung his head a moment to ponder them; and he thought, 'There's -provokingness in the speech of this old woman, and she's one that -instigateth keenly. She called me by my name! Heard I that? 'Tis a -mystery!' And he thought, 'Peradventure she is a Genie, one of an ill -tribe, and she's luring me to my perdition in this city! How if that be -so?' And again he thought, 'It cannot be! She's probably the Genie that -presided over my birth, and promised me dower of great things through the -mouths of the readers of planets.' - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had so deliberated, he lifted his sight, and lo, -the old woman was no longer before him! He stared, and rubbed his eyes, -but she was clean gone. Then ran he to the knolls and eminences that were -scattered about, to command a view, but she was nowhere visible. So he -thought, ''Twas a dream!' and he was composing himself to despair upon -the scant herbage of one of those knolls, when as he chanced to gaze down -the city below, he saw there a commotion and a crowd of people flocking -one way; he thought, ''Twas surely no dream? come not Genii, and go they -not, in the fashion of that old woman? I'll even descend on yonder city, -and try my tackle on Shagpat, inquiring for him, and if he is there, I -shall know I have had to do with a potent spirit. Allah protect me!' - -So, having shut together the clasps of resolve, he arose and made for the -gates of the city, and entered it by the principal entrance. It was a -fair city, the fairest and chief of that country; prosperous, powerful; a -mart for numerous commodities, handicrafts, wares; round it a wild -country and a waste of sand, ruled by the lion in his wrath, and in it -the tiger, the camelopard, the antelope, and other animals. Hither, in -caravans, came the people of Oolb and the people of Damascus, and the -people of Vatz, and they of Bagdad, and the Ringheez, great traders, and -others, trading; and there was constant flow of intercourse between them -and the city of Shagpat. Now as Shibli Bagarag paced up one of the -streets of the city, he beheld a multitude in procession following one -that was crowned after the manner of kings, with a glittering crown, clad -in the yellow girdled robes, and he sporting a fine profusion of hair, -unequalled by all around him, save by one that was a little behind, -shadowed by his presence. So Shibli Bagarag thought, 'Is one of this -twain Shagpat? for never till now have I seen such rare growths, and -'twere indeed a bliss to slip the blade between them and those masses of -darkness that hang from them.' Then he stepped before the King, and made -himself prominent in his path, humbling himself; and it was as he -anticipated, the King prevented his removal by the slaves that would have -dragged him away, and desired a hearing as to his business, and what -brought him to the city, a stranger. - -Thereupon Shibli Bagarag prostrated himself and cried, 'O great King, -Sovereign of the Time! surely I am one to be looked on with the eye of -grace; and I am nephew to Baba Mustapha, renowned in Shiraz, a barber;--I -a barber, and it is my prayer, O King of the Age, that thou take me under -thy protection and the shield of thy fair will, while I perform good work -in this city by operating on the unshorn.' - -When he had spoken, the King made a point of his eyebrows, and exclaimed, -'Shiraz? So they hold out against Shagpat yet, aha? Shiraz! that nest of -them! that reptile's nest!' Then he turned to his Vizier beside him, and -said, 'What shall be done with this fellow?' - -So the Vizier replied, ''Twere well, O King, he be summoned to a sense of -the loathsomeness of his craft by the agency of fifty stripes.' - -The King said, ''Tis commanded!' - -Then he passed forward in his majesty, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him, and he was hurried at a quick pace through -the streets and before the eyes of the people, even to the common -receptacle of felons, and there received from each slave severally ten -thwacks with a thong: 'tis certain that at every thwack the thong took an -airing before it descended upon him. Then loosed they him, to wander -whither he listed; and disgust was strong in him by reason of the -disgrace and the severity of the administration of the blows. He strayed -along the streets in wretchedness, and hunger increased on him, assailing -him first as a wolf in his vitals, then as it had been a chasm yawning -betwixt his trunk and his lower members. And he thought, 'I have been -long in chase of great things, and the hope of attaining them is great; -yet, wullahy! would I barter all for one refreshing meal, and the sense -of fulness. 'Tis so, and sad is it!' And he was mindful of the poet's -words,-- - - Who seeks the shadow to the substance sinneth, - And daily craving what is not, he thinneth: - His lean ambition how shall he attain? - For with this constant foolishness he doeth, - He, waxing liker to what he pursueth, - Himself becometh what he chased in vain! - -And again: - - Of honour half my fellows boast,-- - A thing that scorns and kills us: - Methinks that honours us the most - Which nourishes and fills us. - -So he thought he would of a surety fling far away his tackle, discard -barbercraft, and be as other men, a mortal, forgotten with his -generation. And he cried aloud, 'O thou old woman! thou deceiver! what -halt thou obtained for me by thy deceits? and why put I faith in thee to -the purchase of a thwacking? Woe's me! I would thou hadst been but a -dream, thou crone! thou guileful parcel of belabouring bones!' - -Now, while he lounged and strolled, and was abusing the old woman, he -looked before him, and lo, one lolling in his shop-front, and people -standing outside the shop, marking him with admiration and reverence, and -pointing him out to each other with approving gestures. He who lolled -there was indeed a miracle of hairiness, black with hair as he had been -muzzled with it, and his head as it were a berry in a bush by reason of -it. Then thought Shibli Bagarag, ''Tis Shagpat! If the mole could swear -to him, surely can I.' So he regarded the clothier, and there was naught -seen on earth like the gravity of Shagpat as he lolled before those -people, that failed not to assemble in groups and gaze at him. He was as -a sleepy lion cased in his mane; as an owl drowsy in the daylight. Now -would he close an eye, or move two fingers, but of other motion made he -none, yet the people gazed at him with eagerness. Shibli Bagarag was -astonished at them, thinking, 'Hair! hair! There is might in hair; but -there is greater might in the barber! Nevertheless here the barber is -scorned, the grower of crops held in amazing reverence.' Then thought he, -''Tis truly wondrous the crop he groweth; not even King Shamshureen, -after a thousand years, sported such mighty profusion! Him I sheared: it -was a high task!--why not this Shagpat?' - -Now, long gazing on Shagpat awoke in Shibli Bagarag fierce desire to -shear him, and it was scarce in his power to restrain himself from flying -at the clothier, he saying, 'What obstacle now? what protecteth him? Nay, -why not trust to the old woman? Said she not I should first essay on -Shagpat? and 'twas my folly in appealing to the King that brought on me -that thwacking. 'Tis well! I'll trust to her words. Wullahy! will it not -lead me to great things?' - -So it was, that as he thought this he continued to keep eye on Shagpat, -and the hunger that was in him passed, and became a ravenous vulture that -flew from him and singled forth Shagpat as prey; and there was no help -for it but in he must go and state his case to Shagpat, and essay -shearing him. - -Now, when he was in the presence, he exclaimed, 'Peace, O vendor of -apparel, unto thee and unto thine!' - -Shagpat answered, 'That with thee!' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'I have heard of thee, O thou wonder! Wullahy! I am -here to render homage to that I behold.' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis well!' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'Praise my discretion! I have even this day -entered the city, and it is to thee I offer the first shave, O tangle of -glory!' - -At these words Shagpat darkened, saying gruffly, 'Thy jest is offensive, -and it is unseasonable for staleness and lack of holiness.' - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'No jest, O purveyor to the outward of us! but -a very excellent earnest.' - -Thereat the face of Shagpat was as an exceeding red berry in a bush, and -he said angrily, 'Have done! no more of it! or haply my spleen will be -awakened, and that of them who see with more eyes than two.' - -Nevertheless Shibli Bagarag urged him, and he winked, and gesticulated, -and pointed to his head, crying, 'Fall not, O man of the nicety of -measure, into the trap of error; for 'tis I that am a barber, and a -rarity in this city, even Shibli Bagarag of Shiraz! Know me nephew of the -renowned Baba Mustapha, chief barber to the Court of Persia. Languishest -thou not for my art? Lo! with three sweeps I'll give thee a clean poll, -all save the Identical! and I can discern and save it; fear me not, nor -distrust my skill and the cunning that is mine.' - -When he had heard Shibli Bagarag to a close, the countenance of Shagpat -waxed fiery, as it had been flame kindled by travellers at night in a -thorny bramble-bush, and he ruffled, and heaved, and was as when dense -jungle-growths are stirred violently by the near approach of a wild -animal in his fury, shouting in short breaths, 'A barber! a barber! Is't -so? can it be? To me? A barber! O thou, thou reptile! filthy thing! A -barber! O dog! A barber? What? when I bid fair for the highest honours -known? O sacrilegious wretch! monster! How? are the Afrites jealous, that -they send thee to jibe me?' - -Thereupon he set up a cry for his wife, and that woman rushed to him from -an inner room, and fell upon Shibli Bagarag, belabouring him. - -So, when she was weary of this, she said, 'O light of my eyes! O golden -crop and adorable man! what hath he done to thee?' - -Shagpat answered, ''Tis a barber! and he hath sworn to shave me, and -leave me not save shorn!' - -Hardly had Shagpat spoken this, when she became limp with the hearing of -it. Then Shibli Bagarag slunk from the shop; but without the crowd had -increased, seeing an altercation, and as he took to his heels they -followed him, and there was uproar in the streets of the city and in the -air above them, as of raging Genii, he like a started quarry doubling -this way and that, and at the corners of streets and open places, -speeding on till there was no breath in his body, the cry still after him -that he had bearded Shagpat. At last they came up with him, and -belaboured him each and all; it was a storm of thwacks that fell on the -back of Shibli Bagarag. When they had wearied themselves in this fashion, -they took him as had he been a stray bundle or a damaged bale, and hurled -him from the gates of the city into the wilderness once more. - -Now, when he was alone, he staggered awhile and then flung himself to the -earth, looking neither to the right nor to the left, nor above. All he -could think was, 'O accursed old woman!' and this he kept repeating to -himself for solace; as the poet says: - - 'Tis sure the special privilege of hate, - To curse the authors of our evil state. - -As he was thus complaining, behold the very old woman before him! And she -wheezed, and croaked, and coughed, and shook herself, and screwed her -face into a pleasing pucker, and assumed womanish airs, and swayed -herself, like as do the full moons of the harem when the eye of the -master is upon them. Having made an end of these prettinesses, she said, -in a tone of soft insinuation, 'O youth, nephew of the barber, look upon -me.' - -Shibli Bagarag knew her voice, and he would not look, thinking, 'Oh, what -a dreadful old woman is this! just calling on her name in detestation -maketh her present to us.' So the old woman, seeing him resolute to shun -her, leaned to him, and put one hand to her dress, and squatted beside -him, and said, 'O youth, thou hast been thwacked!' - -He groaned, lifting not his face, nor saying aught. Then said she, 'Art -thou truly in search of great things, O youth?' - -Still he groaned, answering no syllable. And she continued, ''Tis surely -in sweet friendliness I ask. Art thou not a fair youth, one to entice a -damsel to perfect friendliness?' - -Louder yet did he groan at her words, thinking, 'A damsel, verily!' So -the old woman said, 'I wot thou art angry with me; but now look up, O -nephew of the barber! no time for vexation. What says the poet?-- - - "Cares the warrior for his wounds - When the steed in battle bounds?" - -Moreover: - - "Let him who grasps the crown strip not for shame, - Lest he expose what gain'd it blow and maim!" - -So be it with thee and thy thwacking, O foolish youth! Hide it from -thyself, thou silly one! What! thou hast been thwacked, and refusest the -fruit of it--which is resoluteness, strength of mind, sternness in -pursuit of the object!' - -Then she softened her tone to persuasiveness, saying, ''Twas written I -should be the head of thy fortune, O Shibli Bagarag! and thou'lt be -enviable among men by my aid, so look upon me, and (for I know thee -famished) thou shah presently be supplied with viands and bright wines -and sweetmeats, delicacies to cheer thee.' - -Now, the promise of food and provision was powerful with Shibli Bagarag, -and he looked up gloomily. And the old woman smiled archly at him, and -wriggled in her seat like a dusty worm, and said, 'Dost thou find me -charming, thou fair youth?' - -He was nigh laughing in her face, but restrained himself to reply, 'Thou -art that thou art!' - -Said she, 'Not so, but that I shall be.' Then she said, 'O youth, pay me -now a compliment!' - -Shibli Bagarag was at a loss what further to say to the old woman, for -his heart cursed her for her persecutions, and ridiculed her for her -vanities. At last he bethought himself of the saying of the poet, truly -the offspring of fine wit, where he says: - - Expect no flatteries from me, - While I am empty of good things; - I'll call thee fair, and I'll agree - Thou boldest Love in silken strings, - When thou bast primed me from thy plenteous store! - But, oh! till then a clod am I: - No seed within to throw up flowers: - All's drouthy to the fountain dry: - To empty stomachs Nature lowers: - The lake was full where heaven look'd fair of yore! - -So, when he had spoken that, the old woman laughed and exclaimed, 'Thou -art apt! it is well said! Surely I excuse thee till that time! Now -listen! 'Tis written we work together, and I know it by divination. Have -I not known thee wandering, and on thy way to this city of Shagpat, where -thou'lt some day sit throned? Now I propose to thee this--and 'tis an -excellent proposal--that I lead thee to great things, and make thee -glorious, a sitter in high seats, Master of an Event?' - -Cried he, 'A proposal honourable to thee, and pleasant in the ear.' - -She added, 'Provided thou marry me in sweet marriage.' - -Thereat he stared on vacancy with a serious eye, and he could scarce -credit her earnestness, but she repeated the same. So presently he -thought, 'This old hag appeareth deep in the fountain of events, and she -will be a right arm to me in the mastering of one, a torch in darkness, -seeing there is wisdom in her as well as wickedness. The thwackings?--sad -was their taste, but they're in the road leading to greatness, and I -cannot say she put me out of that road in putting me where they were. Her -age?--shall I complain of that when it is a sign she goeth shortly -altogether?' - -As he was thus debating he regarded the old woman stealthily, and she was -in agitation, so that her joints creaked like forest branches in a wind, -and the puckers of her visage moved as do billows of the sea to and fro, -and the anticipations of a fair young bride are not more eager than what -was visible in the old woman. Wheedlingly she looked at him, and shaped -her mouth like a bird's bill to soften it; and she drew together her -dress, to give herself the look of slimness, using all fascinations. He -thought, ''Tis a wondrous old woman! Marriage would seem a thing of -moment to her, yet is the profit with me, and I'll agree to it.' So he -said, ''Tis a pact between us, O old woman!' - -Now, the eyes of the old woman brightened when she heard him, and were as -the eyes of a falcon that eyeth game, hungry with red fire, and she -looked brisk with impatience, laughing a low laugh and saying, 'O youth, -I must claim of thee, as is usual in such cases, the kiss of contract.' - -So Shibli Bagarag was mindful of what is written, - - If thou wouldst take the great leap, be ready for the little jump, - -and he stretched out his mouth to the forehead of the old woman. When he -had done so, it was as though she had been illuminated, as when light is -put in the hollow of a pumpkin. Then said she, 'This is well! this is a -fair beginning! Now look, for thy fortune will of a surety follow. Call -me now sweet bride, and knocker at the threshold of hearts!' - -So Shibli Bagarag sighed, and called her this, and he said, 'Forget not -my condition, O old woman, and that I am nigh famished.' - -Upon that she nodded gravely, and arose and shook her garments together, -and beckoned for Shibli Bagarag to follow her; and the two passed through -the gates of the city, and held on together through divers streets and -thoroughfares till they came before the doors of a palace with a pillared -entrance; and the old woman passed through the doors of the palace as one -familiar to them, and lo! they were in a lofty court, built all of -marble, and in the middle of it a fountain playing, splashing silvery. -Shibli Bagarag would have halted here to breathe the cool refreshingness -of the air, but the old woman would not; and she hurried on even to the -opening of a spacious Hall, and in it slaves in circle round a raised -seat, where sat one that was their lord, and it was the Chief Vizier of -the King. - -Then the old woman turned round sharply to Shibli Bagarag, and said, 'How -of thy tackle, O my betrothed?' - -He answered, 'The edge is keen, the hand ready.' - -Then said she, ''Tis well.' - -So the old woman put her two hands on the shoulders of Shibli Bagarag, -saying, 'Make thy reverence to him on the raised seat; have faith in thy -tackle and in me. Renounce not either, whatsoever ensueth. Be not -abashed, O my bridegroom to be!' - -Thereupon she thrust him in; and Shibli Bagarag was abashed, and played -foolishly with his fingers, knowing not what to do. So when the Chief -Vizier saw him he cried out, 'Who art thou, and what wantest thou?' - -Now, the back of Shibli Bagarag tingled when he heard the Vizier's voice, -and he said, 'I am, O man of exalted condition, he whom men know as -Shibli Bagarag, nephew to Baba Mustapha, the renowned of Shiraz; myself -barber likewise, proud of my art, prepared to exercise it.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'This even to our faces! Wonderful is the -audacity of impudence! Know, O nephew of the barber, thou art among them -that honour not thy art. Is it not written, For one thing thou shaft be -crowned here, for that thing be thwacked there? So also it is written, -The tongue of the insolent one is a lash and a perpetual castigation to -him. And it is written, O Shibli Bagarag, that I reap honour from thee, -and there is no help but that thou be made an example of.' - -So the Chief Vizier uttered command, and Shibli Bagarag was ware of the -power of five slaves upon him; and they seized him familiarly, and placed -him in position, and made ready his clothing for the reception of fifty -other thwacks with a thong, each several thwack coming down on him with a -hiss, as it were a serpent, and with a smack, as it were the mouth of -satisfaction; and the people assembled extolled the Chief Vizier, saying, -'Well and valiantly done, O stay of the State! and such-like to the -accursed race of barbers.' - -Now, when they had passed before the Chief Vizier and departed, lo! he -fell to laughing violently, so that his hair was agitated and was as a -sand-cloud over him, and his countenance behind it was as the sun of the -desert reflected ripplingly on the waters of a bubbling spring, for it -had the aspect of merriness; and the Chief Vizier exclaimed, 'O Shibli -Bagarag, have I not made fair show?' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'Excellent fair show, O mighty one!' Yet knew he -not in what, but he was abject by reason of the thwacks. - -So the Vizier said, 'Thou lookest lean, even as one to whom Fortune oweth -a long debt. Tell me now of thy barbercraft: perchance thy gain will be -great thereby?' - -And Shibli Bagarag answered, 'My gain has been great, O eminent in rank, -but of evil quality, and I am content not to increase it.' And he broke -forth into lamentations, crying in excellent verse:-- - - Why am I thus the sport of all-- - A thing Fate knocketh like a ball - From point to point of evil chance, - Even as the sneer of Circumstance? - While thirsting for the highest fame, - I hunger like the lowest beast: - To be the first of men I aim - And find myself the least. - -Now, the Vizier delayed not when he heard this to have a fair supply set -before Shibli Bagarag, and meats dressed in divers fashions, spiced, and -coloured, and with herbs, and wines in golden goblets, and slaves in -attendance. So Shibli Bagarag ate and drank, and presently his soul arose -from its prostration, and he cried, 'Wullahy! the head cook of King -Shamshureen could have worked no better as regards the restorative -process.' - -Then said the Chief Vizier, 'O Shibli Bagarag, where now is thy tackle?' - -And Shibli Bagarag winked and nodded and turned his head in the manner of -the knowing ones, and he recited the verse: - - 'Tis well that we are sometimes circumspect, - And hold ourselves in witless ways deterred: - One thwacking made me seriously reflect; - A SECOND turned the cream of love to curd: - Most surely that profession I reject - Before the fear of a prospective THIRD. - -So the Vizier said, ''Tis well, thou turnest verse neatly' And he -exclaimed extemporaneously: - - If thou wouldst have thy achievement as high - - As the wings of Ambition can fly: - If thou the clear summit of hope wouldst attain, - And not have thy labour in vain; - Be steadfast in that which impell'd, for the peace - Of earth he who leaves must have trust: - He is safe while he soars, but when faith shall cease, - Desponding he drops to the dust. - -Then said he, 'Fear no further thwacking, but honour and prosperity in -the place of it. What says the poet?-- - - "We faint, when for the fire - There needs one spark; - We droop, when our desire - Is near its mark." - -How near to it art thou, O Shibli Bagarag! Know, then, that among this -people there is great reverence for the growing of hair, and he that is -hairiest is honoured most, wherefore are barbers creatures of especial -abhorrence, and of a surety flourish not. And so it is that I owe my -station to the esteem I profess for the cultivation of hair, and to my -persecution of the clippers of it. And in this kingdom is no one that -beareth such a crop as I, saving one, a clothier, an accursed one!--and -may a blight fall upon him for his vanity and his affectation of solemn -priestliness, and his lolling in his shop-front to be admired and -marvelled at by the people. So this fellow I would disgrace and bring to -scorn,--this Shagpat! for he is mine enemy, and the eye of the King my -master is on him. Now I conceive thy assistance in this matter, Shibli -Bagarag,--thou, a barber.' - -When Shibli Bagarag heard mention of Shagpat, and the desire for -vengeance in the Vizier, he was as a new man, and he smelt the sweetness -of his own revenge as a vulture smelleth the carrion from afar, and he -said, 'I am thy servant, thy slave, O Vizier!' Then smiled he as to his -own soul, and he exclaimed, 'On my head be it!' - -And it was to him as when sudden gusts of perfume from garden roses of -the valley meet the traveller's nostril on the hill that overlooketh the -valley, filling him with ecstasy and newness of life, delicate visions. -And he cried, 'Wullahy! this is fair; this is well! I am he that was -appointed to do thy work, O man in office! What says the poet?-- - - "The destined hand doth strike the fated blow: - Surely the arrow's fitted to the bow!" - -And he says: - - "The feathered seed for the wind delayeth, - The wind above the garden swayeth, - The garden of its burden knoweth, - The burden falleth, sinketh, soweth."' - -So the Vizier chuckled and nodded, saying, 'Right, right! aptly spoken, O -youth of favour! 'Tis even so, and there is wisdom in what is written: - - "Chance is a poor knave; - Its own sad slave; - Two meet that were to meet: - Life 's no cheat."' - -Upon that he cried, 'First let us have with us the Eclipser of Reason, -and take counsel with her, as is my custom.' - -Now, the Vizier made signal to a slave in attendance, and the slave -departed from the Hall, and the Vizier led Shibli Bagarag into a closer -chamber, which had a smooth floor of inlaid silver and silken hangings, -the windows looking forth on the gardens of the palace and its fountains -and cool recesses of shade and temperate sweetness. While they sat there -conversing in this metre and that, measuring quotations, lo! the old -woman, the affianced of Shibli Bagarag--and she sumptuously arrayed, in -perfect queenliness, her head bound in a circlet of gems and gold, her -figure lustrous with a full robe of flowing crimson silk; and she wore -slippers embroidered with golden traceries, and round her waist a girdle -flashing with jewels, so that to look on she was as a long falling water -in the last bright slant of the sun. Her hair hung disarranged, and -spread in a scattered fashion off her shoulders; and she was younger by -many moons, her brow smooth where Shibli Bagarag had given the kiss of -contract, her hand soft and white where he had taken it. Shibli Bagarag -was smitten with astonishment at sight of her, and he thought, 'Surely -the aspect of this old woman would realise the story of Bhanavar the -Beautiful; and it is a story marvellous to think of; yet how great is the -likeness between Bhanavar and this old woman that groweth younger!' - -And he thought again, 'What if the story of Bhanavar be a true one; this -old woman such as she--no other?' - -So, while he considered her, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Is she not fair--my -daughter?' - -And the youth answered, 'She is, O Vizier, that she is!' - -But the Vizier cried, 'Nay, by Allah! she is that she will be.' And the -Vizier said, ''Tis she that is my daughter; tell me thy thought of her, -as thou thinkest it.' - -And Shibli Bagarag replied, 'O Vizier, my thought of her is, she seemeth -indeed as Bhanavar the Beautiful--no other.' - -Then the Vizier and the Eclipser of Reason exclaimed together, 'How of -Bhanavar and her story, O youth? We listen!' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned slightly on a cushion of a couch, and narrated -as followeth. - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL - -Know that at the foot of a lofty mountain of the Caucasus there lieth a -deep blue lake; near to this lake a nest of serpents, wise and ancient. -Now, it was the habit of a damsel to pass by the lake early at morn, on -her way from the tents of her tribe to the pastures of the flocks. As she -pressed the white arch of her feet on the soft green-mossed grasses by -the shore of the lake she would let loose her hair, looking over into the -water, and bind the braid again round her temples and behind her ears, as -it had been in a lucent mirror: so doing she would laugh. Her laughter -was like the falls of water at moonrise; her loveliness like the very -moonrise; and she was stately as a palm-tree standing before the moon. - -This was Bhanavar the Beautiful. - -Now, the damsel was betrothed to the son of a neighbouring Emir, a youth -comely, well-fashioned, skilled with the bow, apt in all exercises; one -that sat his mare firm as the trained falcon that fixeth on the plunging -bull of the plains; fair and terrible in combat as the lightning that -strideth the rolling storm; and it is sung by the poet: - - When on his desert mare I see - My prince of men, - I think him then - As high above humanity - As he shines radiant over me. - - Lo! like a torrent he doth bound, - Breasting the shock - From rock to rock: - A pillar of storm, he shakes the ground, - - His turban on his temples wound. - - Match me for worth to be adored - A youth like him - In heart and limb! - Swift as his anger is his sword; - Softer than woman his true word. - -Now, the love of this youth for the damsel Bhanavar was a consuming -passion, and the father of the damsel and the father of the youth looked -fairly on the prospect of their union, which was near, and was plighted -as the union of the two tribes. So they met, and there was no voice -against their meeting, and all the love that was in them they were free -to pour forth far from the hearing of men, even where they would. Before -the rising of the sun, and ere his setting, the youth rode swiftly from -the green tents of the Emir his father, to waylay her by the waters of -the lake; and Bhanavar was there, bending over the lake, her image in the -lake glowing like the fair fulness of the moon; and the youth leaned to -her from his steed, and sang to her verses of her great loveliness ere -she was wistful of him. Then she turned to him, and laughed lightly a -welcome of sweetness, and shook the falls of her hair across the blushes -of her face and her bosom; and he folded her to him, and those two would -fondle together in the fashion of the betrothed ones (the blessing of -Allah be on them all!), gazing on each other till their eyes swam with -tears, and they were nigh swooning with the fulness of their bliss. -Surely 'twas an innocent and tender dalliance, and their prattle was that -of lovers till the time of parting, he showing her how she looked -best--she him; and they were forgetful of all else that is, in their -sweet interchange of flatteries; and the world was a wilderness to them -both when the youth parted with Bhanavar by the brook which bounded the -tents of her tribe. - -It was on a night when they were so together, the damsel leaning on his -arm, her eyes toward the lake, and lo! what seemed the reflection of a -large star in the water; and there was darkness in the sky above it, -thick clouds, and no sight of the heavens; so she held her face to him -sideways and said, 'What meaneth this, O my betrothed? for there is -reflected in yonder lake a light as of a star, and there is no star -visible this night.' - -The youth trembled as one in trouble of spirit, and exclaimed, 'Look not -on it, O my soul! It is of evil omen.' - -But Bhanavar kept her gaze constantly on the light, and the light -increased in lustre; and the light became, from a pale sad splendour, -dazzling in its brilliancy. Listening, they heard presently a gurgling -noise as of one deeply drinking. Then the youth sighed a heavy sigh and -said, 'This is the Serpent of the Lake drinking of its waters, as is her -wont once every moon, and whoso heareth her drink by the sheening of that -light is under a destiny dark and imminent; so know I my days are -numbered, and it was foretold of me, this!' Now the youth sought to -dissuade Bhanavar from gazing on the light, and he flung his whole body -before her eyes, and clasped her head upon his breast, and clung about -her, caressing her; yet she slipped from him, and she cried, 'Tell me of -this serpent, and of this light.' - -So he said, 'Seek not to hear of it, O my betrothed!' - -Then she gazed at the light a moment more intently, and turned her fair -shape toward him, and put up her long white fingers to his chin, and -smoothed him with their softness, whispering, 'Tell me of it, my life!' - -And so it was that her winningness melted him, and he said, 'Bhanavar! -the serpent is the Serpent of the Lake; old, wise, powerful; of the brood -of the sacred mountain, that lifteth by day a peak of gold, and by night -a point of solitary silver. In her head, upon her forehead, between her -eyes, there is a Jewel, and it is this light.' - -Then she said, 'How came the Jewel there, in such a place?' - -He answered, ''Tis the growth of one thousand years in the head of the -serpent.' - -She cried, 'Surely precious?' - -He answered, 'Beyond price!' - -As he spake the tears streamed from him, and he was shaken with grief, -but she noted nought of this, and watched the wonder of the light, and -its increasing, and quivering, and lengthening; and the light was as an -arrow of beams and as a globe of radiance. Desire for the Jewel waxed in -her, and she had no sight but for it alone, crying, ''Tis a Jewel -exceeding in preciousness all jewels that are, and for the possessing it -would I forfeit all that is.' - -So he said sorrowfully, 'Our love, O Bhanavar? and our hopes of -espousal?' - -But she cried, 'No question of that! Prove now thy passion for me, O -warrior! and win for me that Jewel.' - -Then he pleaded with her, and exclaimed, 'Urge not this! The winning of -the Jewel is worth my life; and my life, O Bhanavar--surely its breath is -but the love of thee.' - -So she said, 'Thou fearest a risk?' - -And he replied, 'Little fear I; my life is thine to cast away. This Jewel -it is evil to have, and evil followeth the soul that hath it.' - -Upon that she cried, 'A trick to cheat me of the Jewel! thy love is -wanting at the proof.' - -And she taunted the youth her betrothed, and turned from him, and -hardened at his tenderness, and made her sweet shape as a thorn to his -caressing, and his heart was charged with anguish for her. So at the -last, when he had wept a space in silence, he cried, 'Thou hast willed -it; the Jewel shall be thine, O my soul!' - -Then said he, 'Thou hast willed it, O Bhanavar! and my life is as a grain -of sand weighed against thy wishes; Allah is my witness! Meet me -therefore here, O my beloved, at the end of one quarter-moon, even -beneath the shadow of this palm-tree, by the lake, and at this hour, and -I will deliver into thy hands the Jewel. So farewell! Wind me once about -with thine arms, that I may take comfort from thee.' - -When their kiss was over the youth led her silently to the brook of their -parting--the clear, cold, bubbling brook--and passed from her sight; and -the damsel was exulting, and leapt and made circles in her glee, and she -danced and rioted and sang, and clapped her hands, crying, 'If I am now -Bhanavar the Beautiful how shall I be when that Jewel is upon me, the -bright light which beameth in the darkness, and needeth to light it no -other light? Surely there will be envy among the maidens and the widows, -and my name and the odour of my beauty will travel to the courts of far -kings.' - -So was she jubilant; and her sisters that met her marvelled at her and -the deep glow that was upon her, even as the glow of the Great Desert -when the sun has fallen; and they said among themselves, 'She is covered -all over with the blush of one that is a bride, and the bridegroom's kiss -yet burneth upon Bhanavar!' - -So they undressed her and she lay among them, and was all night even as a -bursting rose in a vase filled with drooping lilies; and one of the -maidens that put her hand on the left breast of Bhanavar felt it full, -and the heart beneath it panting and beating swifter than the ground is -struck by hooves of the chosen steed sent by the Chieftain to the city of -his people with news of victory and the summons for rejoicing. - -Now, the nights and the days of Bhanavar were even as this night, and she -was as an unquiet soul till the appointed time for the meeting with her -lover had come. Then when the sun was lighting with slant beam the green -grass slope by the blue brook before her, Bhanavar arrayed herself and -went forth gaily, as a martial queen to certain conquest; and of all the -flowers that nodded to the setting,--yea, the crimson, purple, pure -white, streaked-yellow, azure, and saffron, there was no flower fairer in -its hues than Bhanavar, nor bird of the heavens freer in its glittering -plumage, nor shape of loveliness such as hers. Truly, when she had taken -her place under the palm by the waters of the lake, that was no -exaggeration of the poet, where he says: - - Snows of the mountain-peaks were mirror'd there - Beneath her feet, not whiter than they were; - Not rosier in the white, that falling flush - Broad on the wave, than in her cheek the blush. - -And again: - - She draws the heavens down to her, - So rare she is, so fair she is; - They flutter with a crown to her, - And lighten only where she is. - -And he exclaims, in verse that applieth to her: - - Exquisite slenderness! - Sleek little antelope! - Serpent of sweetness! - Eagle that soaringly - Wins me adoringly! - Teach me thy fleetness, - Vision of loveliness; - Turn to my tenderness! - -Now, when the sun was lost to earth, and all was darkness, Bhanavar fixed -her eyes upon an opening arch of foliage in the glade through which the -youth her lover should come to her, and clasped both hands across her -bosom, so shaken was she with eager longing and expectation. In her -hunger for his approach, she would at whiles pluck up the herbage about -her by the roots, and toss handfuls this way and that, chiding the -peaceful song of the nightbird in the leaves above her head; and she was -sinking with fretfulness, when lo! from the opening arch of the glade a -sudden light, and Bhanavar knew it for the Jewel in the fingers of her -betrothed, by the strength of its effulgence. Then she called to him -joyfully a cry of welcome, and quickened his coming with her calls, and -the youth alighted from his mare and left it to pasture, and advanced to -her, holding aloft the Jewel. And the Jewel was of great size and purity, -round, and all-luminous, throwing rays and beams everywhere about it, a -miracle to behold,--the light in it shining, and as the very life of the -blood, a sweet crimson, a ruby, a softer rose, an amethyst of tender -hues: it was a full globe of splendours, showing like a very kingdom of -the Blest; and blessed was the eye beholding it! So when he was within -reach of her arm, the damsel sprang to him and caught from his hand the -Jewel, and held it before her eyes, and danced with it, and pressed it on -her bosom, and was as a creature giddy with great joy in possessing it. -And she put the Jewel in her bosom, and looked on the youth to thank him -for the Jewel with all her beauty; for the passion of a mighty pride in -him who had won for her the Jewel exalted Bhanavar, and she said sweetly, -'Now hast thou proved to me thy love of me, and I am thine, O my -betrothed,--wholly thine. Kiss me, then, and cease not kissing me, for -bliss is in me.' - -But the youth eyed her sorrowfully, even as one that hath great yearning, -and no power to move or speak. - -So she said again, in the low melody of deep love-tones, 'Kiss me, O my -lover! for I desire thy kiss.' - -Still he spake not, and was as a pillar of stone. - -And she started, and cried, 'Thou art whole? without a hurt?' Then sought -she to coax him to her with all the softness of her half-closed eyes and -budded lips, saying, ''Twas an idle fear! and I have thee, and thou art -mine, and I am thine; so speak to me, my lover! for there is no music -like the music of thy voice, and the absence of it is the absence of all -sweetness, and there is no pleasure in life without it.' - -So the tenderness of her fondling melted the silence in him, and -presently his tongue was loosed, and he breathed in pain of spirit, and -his words were the words of the proverb: - - He that fighteth with poison is no match for the prick of a thorn. - -And he said, 'Surely, O Bhanavar, my love for thee surpasseth what is -told of others that have loved before us, and I count no loss a loss that -is for thy sake.' And he sighed, and sang: - - Sadder than is the moon's lost light, - Lost ere the kindling of dawn, - To travellers journeying on, - - The shutting of thy fair face from my sight. - Might I look on thee in death, - With bliss I would yield my breath. - - Oh! what warrior dies - With heaven in his eyes? - O Bhanavar! too rich a prize! - The life of my nostrils art thou, - The balm-dew on my brow; - - Thou art the perfume I meet as I speed o'er the plains, - The strength of my arms, the blood of my veins. - -Then said he, 'I make nothing matter of complaint, Allah witnesseth! not -even the long parting from her I love. What will be, will be: so was it -written! 'Tis but a scratch, O my soul! yet am I of the dead and them -that are passed away. 'Tis hard; but I smile in the face of bitterness.' - -Now, at his words the damsel clutched him with both her hands, and the -blood went from her, and she was as a block of white marble, even as one -of those we meet in the desert, leaning together, marking the wrath of -the All-powerful on forgotten cities. And the tongue of the damsel was -dry, and she was without speech, gazing at him with wide-open eyes, like -one in trance. Then she started as a dreamer wakeneth, and flung herself -quickly on the breast of the youth, and put up the sleeve from his arm, -and beheld by the beams of the quarter-crescent that had risen through -the leaves, a small bite on the arm of the youth her betrothed, spotted -with seven spots of blood in a crescent; so she knew that the poison of -the serpent had entered by that bite; and she loosened herself to the -violence of her anguish, shrieking the shrieks of despair, so that the -voice of her lamentation was multiplied about and made many voices in the -night. Her spirit returned not to her till the crescent of the moon was -yellow to its fall; and lo! the youth was sighing heavy sighs and leaning -to the ground on one elbow, and she flung herself by him on the ground, -seeking for herbs that were antidotes to the poison of the serpent, -grovelling among the grasses and strewn leaves of the wood, peering at -them tearfully by the pale beams, and startling the insects as she moved. -When she had gathered some, she pressed them and bruised them, and laid -them along his lips, that were white as the ball of an eye; and she made -him drink drops of the juices of the herbs, wailing and swaying her body -across him, as one that seeketh vainly to give brightness again to the -flames of a dying fire. But now his time was drawing nigh, and he was -weak, and took her hand in his and gazed on her face, sighing, and said, -'There is nothing shall keep me by thee now, O my betrothed, my -beautiful! Weep not, for it is the doing of fate, and not thy doing. So -ere I go, and the grave-cloth separates thy heart from my heart, listen -to me. Lo, that Jewel! it is the giver of years and of powers, and of -loveliness beyond mortal, yet the wearing of it availeth not in the -pursuit of happiness. Now art thou Queen over the serpents of this lake: -it was the Queen-serpent I slew, and her vengeance is on me here. Now art -thou mighty, O Bhanavar! and look to do well by thy tribe, and that from -which I spring, recompensing my father for his loss, pouring ointment on -his affliction, for great is the grief of the old man, and he loveth me, -and is childless.' - -Then the youth fell back and was still; and Bhanavar put her ear to his -mouth, and heard what seemed an inner voice murmuring in him, and it was -of his infancy and his boyhood, and of his father the Emir's first gift -to him, his horse Zoora, in old times. Presently the youth revived -somewhat, and looked upon her; but his sight was glazed with a film, and -she sang her name to him ere he knew her, and the sad sweetness of her -name filled his soul, and he replied to her with it weakly, like a far -echo that groweth fainter, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' Then a change -came over him, and the pain of the poison and the passion of the -death-throe, and he was wistful of her no more; but she lay by him, -embracing him, and in the last violence of his anguish he hugged her to -his breast. Then it was over, and he sank. And the twain were as a great -wave heaving upon the shore; lo, part is wasted where it falleth; part -draweth back into the waters. So was it! - -Now the chill of dawn breathed blue on the lake and was astir among the -dewy leaves of the wood, when Bhanavar arose from the body of the youth, -and as she rose she saw that his mare Zoora, his father's first gift, was -snuffing at the ear of her dead master, and pawing him. At that sight the -tears poured from her eyelids, and she sobbed out to the mare, 'O Zoora! -never mare bore nobler burden on her back than thou in Zurvan my -betrothed. Zoora! thou weepest, for death is first known to thee in the -dearest thing that was thine; as to me, in the dearest that was mine! And -O Zoora, steed of Zurvan my betrothed, there's no loveliness for us in -life, for the loveliest is gone; and let us die, Zoora, mare of Zurvan my -betrothed, for what is dying to us, O Zoora, who cherish beyond all that -which death has taken?' - -So spake she to Zoora the mare, kissing her, and running her fingers -through the long white mane of the mare. Then she stooped to the body of -her betrothed, and toiled with it to lift it across the crimson -saddle-cloth that was on the back of Zoora; and the mare knelt to her, -that she might lay on her back the body of Zurvan; when that was done, -Bhanavar paced beside Zoora the mare, weeping and caressing her, -reminding her of the deeds of Zurvan, and the battles she had borne him -to, and his greatness and his gentleness. And the mare went without -leading. It was broad light when they had passed the glade and the covert -of the wood. Before them, between great mountains, glimmered a space of -rolling grass fed to deep greenness by many brooks. The shadow of a -mountain was over it, and one slant of the rising sun, down a glade of -the mountain, touched the green tent of the Emir, where it stood a little -apart from the others of his tribe. Goats and asses of the tribe were -pasturing in the quiet, but save them nothing moved among the tents, and -it was deep peacefulness. Bhanavar led Zoora slowly before the tent of -the Emir, and disburdened Zoora of the helpless weight, and spread the -long fair limbs of the youth lengthwise across the threshold of the -Emir's tent, sitting away from it with clasped hands, regarding it. Ere -long the Emir came forth, and his foot was on the body of his son, and he -knew death on the chin and the eyes of Zurvan, his sole son. Now the Emir -was old, and with the shock of that sight the world darkened before him, -and he gave forth a groan and stumbled over the sunken breast of Zurvan, -and stretched over him as one without life. When Bhanavar saw that old -man stretched over the body of his son, she sickened, and her ear was -filled with the wailings of grief that would arise, and she stood up and -stole away from the habitations of the tribe, stricken with her guilt, -and wandered beyond the mountains, knowing not whither she went, looking -on no living thing, for the sight of a thing that moved was hateful to -her, and all sounds were sounds of lamentation for a great loss. - -Now, she had wandered on alone two days and two nights, and nigh morn she -was seized with a swoon of weariness, and fell forward with her face to -the earth, and lay there prostrate, even as one that is adoring the -shrine; and it was on the sands of the desert she was lying. It chanced -that the Chieftain of a desert tribe passed at midday by the spot, and -seeing the figure of a damsel unshaded' by any shade of tree or herb or -tent-covering, and prostrate on the sands, he reined his steed and leaned -forward to her, and called to her. Then as she answered nothing he -dismounted, and thrust his arm softly beneath her and lifted her gently; -and her swoon had the whiteness of death, so that he thought her dead -verily, and the marvel of her great loveliness in death smote the heart -on his ribs as with a blow, and the powers of life went from him a moment -as he looked on her and the long dark wet lashes that clung to her -colourless face, as at night in groves where the betrothed ones wander, -the slender leaves of the acacia spread darkly over the full moon. And he -cried, ''Tis a loveliness that maketh the soul yearn to the cold bosom of -death, so lovely, exceeding all that liveth, is she!' - -After he had contemplated her longwhile, he snatched his sight from her, -and swung her swiftly on the back of his mare, and leaned her on one arm, -and sped westward over the sands of the desert, halting not till he was -in the hum of many tents, and the sun of that day hung a red half-circle -across the sand. He alighted before the tent of his mother, and sent -women in to her. When his mother came forth to the greetings of her son, -he said no word, but pointed to the damsel where he had leaned her at the -threshold of her tent. His mother kissed him on the forehead, and turned -her shoulder to peer upon the damsel. But when she had close view of -Bhanavar, she spat, and scattered her hair, and stamped, and cried aloud, -'Away with her! this slut of darkness! there's poison on her very skirts, -and evil in the look of her.' - -Then said he, 'O Rukrooth, my mother! art thou lost to charity and the -uses of kindliness and the laws of hospitality, that thou talkest this of -the damsel, a stranger? Take her now in, and if she be past help, as I -fear; be it thy care to give her decent burial; and if she live, O my -mother, tend her for the love of thy son, and for the love of him be -gentle with her.' - -While he spake, Rukrooth his mother knelt over the damsel, as a cat that -sniffeth the suspected dish; and she flashed her eyes back on him, -exclaiming scornfully, 'So art thou befooled, and the poison is already -in thee! But I will not have her, O my son! and thou, Ruark, my son, -neither shalt thou have her. What! will I not die to save thee from a -harm? Surely thy frown is little to me, my son, if I save thee from a -harm; and the damsel here is--I shudder to think what; but never lay -shadow across my threshold dark as this!' - -Now, Ruark gazed upon his mother, and upon Bhanavar, and the face of -Bhanavar was as a babe in sleep, and his soul melted to the parted -sweetness of her soft little curved red lips and her closed eyelids, and -her innocent open hands, where she lay at the threshold of the tent, -unconscious of hardness and the sayings of the unjust. So he cried -fiercely, 'No paltering, O Rukrooth, my mother: and if not to thy tent, -then to mine!' - -When she heard him say that in the voice of his anger, Rukrooth fixed her -eyes on him sorrowfully, and sighed, and went up to him and drew his head -once against her heart, and retreated into the tent, bidding the women -that were there bring in the body of the damsel. - -It was the morning of another day when Bhanavar awoke; and she awoke in a -dream of Zoora, the mare of Zurvan her betrothed, that was dead, and the -name of Zoora was on her tongue as she started up. She was on a couch of -silk and leopard-skins; at her feet a fair young girl with a fan of -pheasant feathers. She stared at the hangings of the tent, which were -richer than those of her own tribe; the cloths, and the cushions, and the -embroideries; and the strangeness of all was pain to her, she knew not -why. Then wept she bitterly, and with her tears the memory of what had -been came back to her, and she opened her arms to take into them the -little girl that fanned her, that she might love something and be beloved -awhile; and the child sobbed with her. After a time Bhanavar said, 'Where -am I, and amongst whom, my child, my sister?' - -And the child answered her, 'Surely in the tent of the mother of Ruark, -the chief, even chief of the Beni-Asser, and he found thee in the desert, -nigh dead. 'Tis so; and this morning will Ruark be gone to meet the -challenge of Ebn Asrac, and they will fight at the foot of the Snow -Mountains, and the shadow of yonder date-palm will be over our tent here -at the hour they fight, and I shall sing for Ruark, and kneel here in the -darkness of the shadow.' - -While the child was speaking there entered to them a tall aged woman, -with one swathe of a turban across her long level brows; and she had hard -black eyes, and close lips and a square chin; and it was the mother of -Ruark. She strode forward toward Bhanavar to greet her, and folded her -legs before the damsel. Presently she said, 'Tell me thy story, and of -thy coming into the hands of Ruark my son.' - -Bhanavar shuddered. So Rukrooth dismissed the little maiden from the -chamber of the tent, and laid her left hand on one arm of Bhanavar, and -said, 'I would know whence comest thou, that we may deal well by thee and -thy people that have lost thee.' - -The touch of a hand was as the touch of a corpse to Bhanavar, and the -damsel was constrained to speak by a power she knew not of, and she told -all to Rukrooth of what had been, the great misery, and the wickedness -that was hers. Then Ruark's mother took hold of Bhanavar a strong grasp, -and eyed her long, piteously, and with reproach, and rocked forward and -back, and kept rocking to and fro, crying at intervals, 'O Ruark! my son! -my son! this feared I, and thou art not the first! and I saw it, I saw -it! Well-away! why came she in thy way, why, Ruark, my son, my fire-eye? -Canst thou be saved by me, fated that thou art, thou fair-face? And wilt -thou be saved by me, my son, ere thy story be told in tears as this one, -that is as thine to me? And thou wilt seize a jewel, Ruark, O thou soul -of wrath, my son, my dazzling Chief, and seize it to wear it, and think -it bliss, this lovely jewel; but 'tis an anguish endless and for ever, my -son! Woe's me! an anguish is she without end.' - -Rukrooth continued moaning, and the thought that was in the mother of -Ruark struck Bhanavar like a light in the land of despair that darkly -illumineth the dreaded gulfs and abysses of the land, and she knew -herself black in evil; and the scourge of her guilt was upon her, and she -cursed herself before Rukrooth, and fawned before her, abasing her body. -So Rukrooth was drawn to the damsel by the violence of her self-accusing -and her abandonment to grief, and lifted her, and comforted her, and -after awhile they had gentle speech together, and the two women opened -their hearts and wept. Then it was agreed between them that Bhanavar -should depart from the encampment of the tribe before the return of -Ruark, and seek shelter among her own people again, and aid them and the -tribe of Zurvan, her betrothed, by the might of the Jewel which was hers, -fulfilling the desire of Zurvan. The mind of the damsel was lowly, and -her soul yearned for the blessing of Rukrooth. - -Darkness hung over the tent from the shadow of the date-palm when -Bhanavar departed, and the blessing of Rukrooth was on her head. She went -forth fairly mounted on a fresh steed; beside her two warriors of them -that were left to guard the encampment of the tribe of Ruark in his -absence; and Rukrooth watched at the threshold of her tent for the coming -of Ruark. - -When it was middle night, and the splendour of the moon was beaming on -the edge of the desert, Bhanavar alighted to rest by the twigs of a -tamarisk that stood singly on the sands. The two warriors tied the -fetlocks of their steeds, and spread shawls for her, and watched over her -while she slept. And the damsel dreamed, and the roaring of the lion was -hoarse in her dream, and it was to her as were she the red whirlwind of -the desert before whom all bowed in terror, the Arab, the wild horsemen, -and the caravans of pilgrimage; and none could stay her, neither could -she stay herself, for the curse of Allah was on men by reason of her -guilt; and she went swinging great folds of darkness across kingdoms and -empires of earth where joy was and peace of spirit; and in her track -amazement and calamity, and the whitened bones of noble youths, valorous -chieftains. In that horror of her dream she stood up suddenly, and thrust -forth her hands as to avert an evil, and advanced a step; and with the -act her dream was cloven and she awoke, and lo! it was sunrise; and where -had been two warriors of the Beni-Asser, were now five, and besides her -own steed five others, one the steed of Ruark, and Ruark with them that -watched over her: pale was the visage of the Chief. Ruark eyed Bhanavar, -and signalled to his followers, and they, when they had lifted the damsel -to her steed and placed her in their front, mounted likewise, and -flourished their lances with cries, and jerked their heels to the flanks -of their steeds, and stretched forward till their beards were mixed with -the tossing manes, and the dust rose after them crimson in the sun. So -they coursed away, speeding behind their Chief and Bhanavar; sweet were -the desert herbs under their crushing hooves! Ere the shadow of the -acacia measured less than its height they came upon a spring of silver -water, and Ruark leaped from his steed, and Bhanavar from hers, and they -performed their ablutions by that spring, and ate and drank, and watered -their steeds. While they were there Bhanavar lifted her eyes to Ruark, -and said, 'Whither takest thou me, O my Chief?' - -His brow was stern, and he answered, 'Surely to the dwelling of thy -tribe.' - -Then she wept, and pulled her veil close, murmuring, ''Tis well!' - -They spake no further, and pursued their journey toward the mountains and -across the desert that was as a sea asleep in the blazing heat, and the -sun till his setting threw no shade upon the sands bigger than what was -broad above them. By the beams of the growing moon they entered the first -gorge of the mountains. Here they relaxed the swiftness of their pace, -picking their way over broken rocks and stunted shrubs, and the mesh of -spotted creeping plants; all around them in shadow a freshness of noisy -rivulets and cool scents of flowers, asphodel and rose blooming in plots -from the crevices of the crags. These, as the troop advanced, wound and -widened, gradually receding, and their summits, which were silver in the -moonlight, took in the distance a robe of purple, and the sides of the -mountains were rounded away in purple beyond a space of emerald pasture. -Now, Ruark beheld the heaviness of Bhanavar, and that she drooped in her -seat, and he halted her by a cave at the foot of the mountains, browed -with white broom. Before it, over grass and cresses, ran a rill, a branch -from others, larger ones, that went hurrying from the heights to feed the -meadows below, and Bhanavar dipped her hand in the rill, and thought, 'I -am no more as thou, rill of the mountain, but a desert thing! Thy way is -forward, thy end before thee; but I go this way and that; my end is dark -to me; not a life is mine that will have its close kissing the cold -cheeks of the saffron-crocus. Cold art thou, and I--flames! They that -lean to thee are refreshed, they that touch me perish.' Then she looked -forth on the stars that were above the purple heights, and the blushes of -inner heaven that streamed up the sky, and a fear of meeting the eyes of -her kindred possessed her, and she cried out to Ruark, 'O Chief of the -Beni-Asser, must this be? and is there no help for it, but that I return -among them that look on me basely?' - -Ruark stooped to her and said, 'Tell me thy name.' - -She answered, 'Bhanavar is my name with that people.' - -And he whispered, 'Surely when they speak of thee they say not Bhanavar -solely, but Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She started and sought the eye of the Chief, and it was fixed on her face -in a softened light, as if his soul had said that thing. Then she sighed, -and exclaimed, 'Unhappy are the beautiful! born to misery! Allah dressed -them in his grace and favour for their certain wretchedness! Lo, their -countenances are as the sun, their existence as the desert; barren are -they in fruits and waters, a snare to themselves and to others!' - -Now, the Chief leaned to her yet nearer, saying, 'Show me the Jewel.' - -Bhanavar caught up her hands and clenched them, and she cried bitterly, -''Tis known to thee! She told thee, and there be none that know it not!' - -Arising, she thrust her hand into her bosom, and held forth the Jewel in -the palm of her white hand. When Ruark beheld the marvel of the Jewel, -and the redness moving in it as of a panting heart, and the flashing eye -of fire that it was, and all its glory, he cried, 'It was indeed a Jewel -for queens to covet from the Serpent, and a prize the noblest might risk -all to win as a gift for thee.' - -Then she said, 'Thy voice is friendly with me, O Ruark! and thou scornest -not the creature that I am. Counsel me as to my dealing with the Jewel.' - -Surely the eyes of the Chief met the eyes of Bhanavar as when the -brightest stars of midnight are doubled in a clear dark lake, and he sang -in measured music: - - 'Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that tall palm-tree through the night; - Rest on the mountain-slope - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending, - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps,-- - Silvery leaps and falls. - Hang by the mountain walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And, O Bhanavar, Bhanavar the Beautiful! shall I counsel thee, moon of -loveliness,--bright, full, perfect moon!--counsel thee not to ascend and -be seen and worshipped of men, sitting above them in majesty, thou that -art thyself the Jewel beyond price? Wah! What if thou cast it from -thee?--thy beauty remaineth!' - -And Bhanavar smote her palms in the moonlight, and exclaimed, 'How then -shall I escape this in me, which is a curse to them that approach me?' - -And he replied: - - Long we the less for the pearl of the sea - Because in its depths there 's the death we flee? - Long we the less, the less, woe's me! - Because thou art deathly,--the less for thee? - -She sang aloud among the rocks and the caves and the illumined waters: - - Destiny! Destiny! why am I so dark? - I that have beauty and love to be fair. - Destiny! Destiny! am I but a spark - Track'd under heaven in flames and despair? - Destiny! Destiny! why am I desired - Thus like a poisonous fruit, deadly sweet? - Destiny! Destiny! lo, my soul is tired, - Make me thy plaything no more, I entreat! - -Ruark laughed low, and said, 'What is this dread of Rukrooth my mother -which weigheth on thee but silliness! For she saw thee willing to do well -by her; and thou with thy Jewel, O Bhanavar, do thou but well by thyself, -and there will be no woman such as thou in power and excellence of -endowments, as there is nowhere one such as thou in beauty.' Then he -sighed to her, 'Dare I look up to thee, O my Queen of Serpents?' And he -breathed as one that is losing breath, and the words came from him, 'My -soul is thine!' - -When she heard him say this, great trouble was on the damsel, for his -voice was not the voice of Zurvan her betrothed; and she remembered the -sorrow of Rukrooth. She would have fled from him, but a dread of the -displeasure of the Chief restrained her, knowing Ruark a soul of wrath. -Her eyelids dropped and the Chief gazed on her eagerly, and sang in a -passion of praises of her; the fires of his love had a tongue, his speech -was a torrent of flame at the feet of the damsel. And Bhanavar exclaimed, -'Oh, what am I, what am I, who have slain my love, my lover!--that one -should love me and call on me for love? My life is a long weeping for -him! Death is my wooer!' - -Ruark still pleaded with her, and she said in fair gentleness, 'Speak not -of it now in the freshness of my grief! Other times and seasons are -there. My soul is but newly widowed!' - -Fierce was the eye of the Chief, and he sprang up, crying, 'By the life -of my head, I know thy wiles and the reading of these delays: but I'll -never leave thee, nor lose sight of thee, Bhanavar! And think not to fly -from me, thou subtle, brilliant Serpent! for thy track is my track, and -thy condition my condition, and thy fate my fate. By Allah! this is so.' - -Then he strode from her swiftly, and called to his Arabs. They had -kindled a fire to roast the flesh of a buffalo, slaughtered by them from -among a herd, and were laughing and singing beside the flames of the -fire. So by the direction of their Chief the Arabs brought slices of -sweet buffalo-flesh to Bhanavar, with cakes of grain: and Bhanavar ate -alone, and drank from the waters before her. Then they laid for her a -couch within the cave, and the aching of her spirit was lulled, and she -slept there a dreamless sleep till morning. - -By the morning light Bhanavar looked abroad for the Chief, and he was -nowhere by. A pang of violent hope struck through her, and she pressed -her bosom, praying he might have left her, and climbed the clefts and -ledges of the mountain to search over the fair expanse of pasture beyond, -for a trace of him departing. The sun was on the heads of the heavy -flowers, and a flood of gold down the gorges, and a delicate rose hue on -the distant peaks and upper dells of snow, which were as a crown to the -scene she surveyed; but no sight of Ruark had she. And now she was -beginning to rejoice, but on a sudden her eye caught far to east a -glimpse of something in motion across an even slope of the lower hills -leaning to the valley; and it was a herd that rushed forward, like a -black torrent of the mountains flinging foam this way and that, and after -the herd and at the sides of the herd she distinguished the white cloaks -and scarfs and glittering steel of the Arabs of Ruark. Presently she saw -a horseman break from the rest, and race in a line toward her. She knew -this one for Ruark, and sighed and descended slowly to meet him. The -greeting of the Chief was sharp, his manner wild, and he said little ere -he said, 'I will see thee under the light of the Jewel, so tie it in a -band and set it on thy brow, Bhanavar!' - -Her mouth was open to intercede with his desire, but his forehead became -black as night, and he shouted in the thunder of his lion-voice, 'Do -this!' - -She took the Jewel from its warm bed in her bosom, and held it, and got -together a band of green weeds, and set it in the middle of the band, and -tied the band on her brow, and lifted her countenance to the Chief. Ruark -stood back from her and gazed on her; and he would have veiled his sight -from her, but his hand fell. Then the might of her loveliness seized -Bhanavar likewise, and the full orbs of her eyes glowed on the Chief as -on a mirror, and she moved her serpent figure scornfully, and smiled, -saying, 'Is it well?' - -And he, when he could speak, replied, ''Tis well! I have seen thee! for -now can I die this day, if it be that I am to die. And well it is! for -now know I there is truly no place but the tomb can hold me from thee!' - -Bhanavar put the Jewel from her brow into her bosom, and questioned him, -'What is thy dread this day, O my Chief?' - -He answered her gravely, 'I have seen Rukrooth my mother while I slept; -and she was weeping, weeping by a stream, yea, a stream of blood; and it -was a stream that flowed in a hundred gushes from her own veins. The sun -of this dawn now, seest thou not? 'tis overcrimson; the vulture hangeth -low down yonder valley.' And he cried to her, 'Haste! mount with me; for -I have told Rukrooth a thing; and I know that woman crafty in the -thwarting of schemes; such a fox is she where aught accordeth not with -her forecastings, and the judgment of her love for me! By Allah! 'twere -well we clash not; for that I will do I do, and that she will do doth -she.' - -So the twain mounted their steeds, and Ruark gathered his Arabs and -placed them, some in advance, some on either side of Bhanavar; and they -rode forward to the head of the valley, and across the meadows, through -the blushing crowds of flowers, baths of freshest scents, cool breezes -that awoke in the nostrils of the mares neighings of delight; and these -pranced and curvetted and swung their tails, and gave expression to their -joy in many graceful fashions; but a gloom was on Ruark, and a quick fire -in his falcon-eye, and he rode with heels alert on the flanks of his -mare, dashing onward to right and left, as do they that beat the jungle -for the crouching tiger. Once, when he was well-nigh half a league in -front, he wheeled his mare, and raced back full on Bhanavar, grasping her -bridle, and hissing between his teeth, 'Not a soul shall have thee save -I: by the tomb of my fathers, never, while life is with us!' - -And he taunted her with bitter names, and was as one in the madness of -intoxication, drunken with the aspect of her matchless beauty and with -exceeding love for her. And Bhanavar knew that the dread of a mishap was -on the mind of the Chief. - -Now, the space of pasture was behind them a broad lake of gold and -jasper, and they entered a region of hills, heights, and fastnesses, -robed in forests that rose in rounded swells of leafage, each over -each--above all points of snow that were as flickering silver flames in -the farthest blue. This was the country of Bhanavar, and she gazed -mournfully on the glades of golden green and the glens of iron blackness, -and the wild flowers, wild blossoms, and weeds well known to her that -would not let her memory rest, and were wistful of what had been. And she -thought, 'My sisters tend the flocks, my mother spinneth with the maidens -of the tribe, my father hunteth; how shall I come among them but strange? -Coldly will they regard me; I shall feel them shudder when they take me -to their bosoms.' - -She looked on Ruark to speak with him, but the mouth of the Chief was set -and white; and even while she looked, cries of treason and battle arose -from the Arabs that were ahead, hidden by a branching wind of the way -round a mountain slant. Then the eyes of the Chief reddened, his nostrils -grew wide, and the darkness of his face was as flame mixed with smoke, -and he seized Bhanavar and hastened onward, and lo! yonder were his men -overmatched, and warriors of the mountains bursting on them from an -ambush on all sides. Ruark leapt in his seat, and the light of combat was -on him, and he dug his knees into his mare, and shouted the war-cry of -his tribe, lifting his hands as it were to draw down wrath from the very -heavens, and rushed to the encounter. Says the poet: - - Hast thou seen the wild herd by the jungle galloping close? - With a thunder of hooves they trample what heads may oppose: - Terribly, crushingly, tempest-like, onward they sweep: - But a spring from the reeds, and the panther is sprawling in air, - And with muzzle to dust and black beards foam-lash'd, here and there, - Scatter'd they fly, crimson-eyed, track'd with blood to the deep. - -Such was the onset of Ruark, his stroke the stroke of death; and ere the -echoes had ceased rolling from that cry of his, the mountain-warriors -were scattered before him on the narrow way, hurled down the scrub of the -mountain, even as dead leaves and loosened stones; so like an arm of -lightning was the Chief! - -Now Ruark pursued them, and was lost to Bhanavar round a slope of the -mountain. She quickened her pace to mark him in the glory of the battle, -and behold! a sudden darkness enveloped her, and she felt herself in the -swathe of tightened folds, clasped in an arm, and borne rapidly she knew -not whither, for she could hear and see nothing. It was to her as were -she speeding constantly downward in darkness to the lower realms of the -Genii of the Caucasus, and every sense, and even that of fear, was -stunned in her. How long an interval had elapsed she knew not, when the -folds were unwound; but it was light of day, and the faces of men, and -they were warriors that were about her, warriors of the mountain; but of -Ruark and his Arabs no voice. So she said to them, 'What do ye with me?' - -And one among them, that was a youth of dignity and grace, and a -countenance like morning on the mountains, answered, 'The will of -Rukrooth, O lady! and it is the plight of him we bow to with Rukrooth, -mother of the Desert-Chief.' - -She cried, 'Is he here, the Prince, that I may speak with him?' - -The same young warrior made answer, 'Not so; forewarned was he, and well -for him!' - -Bhanavar drew her robe about her and was mute. Ere the setting of the -moon they journeyed on with her; and continued so three days and nights -through the defiles and ravines and matted growths of the mountains. On -the fourth dawn they were on the summit of a lofty mountain-rise; below -them the sun, shooting a current of gold across leagues of sea. Then he -that had spoken with Bhanavar said, 'A sail will come,' and a sail came -from under the sun. Scarce had the ship grated shore when the warriors -lifted Bhanavar, and waded through the water with her, and placed her -unwetted in the ship, and one, the fair youth among the warriors, sprang -on board with her, remaining by her. So the captain pushed off, and the -wind filled the sails, and Bhanavar was borne over the lustre of the sea, -that was as a changing opal in its lustre, even as a melted jewel flowing -from the fingers of the maker, the Almighty One. The ship ceased not -sailing till they came to a narrow strait, where the sea was but a river -between fair sloping hills alight with towers and palaces, opening a way -to a great city that was in its radiance over the waters of the sea as -the aspect of myriad sheeny white doves breasting the wave. Hitherto the -young warrior had held aloof in coldness of courtesy from Bhanavar; but -now he sat by her, and said, 'The bond between my prince and Rukrooth is -accomplished, and it was to snatch thee from the Chief of the Beni-Asser -and bring thee even to this city.' - -Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Allah be praised in all things, and his will be -done!' - -The youth continued, 'Thou art alone here, O lady, exposed to the perils -of loneliness; surely it were well if I linger with thee awhile, and see -to thy welfare in this city, even as a brother with a sister; and I will -deal honourably by thee.' - -Bhanavar looked on the young warrior and blushed at his exceeding -sweetness with her; the soft freshness of his voice was to her as the -blossom-laden breeze in the valleys of the mountains, and she breathed -low the words of her gratitude, saying, 'If I am not a burden, let this -be so.' - -Then said he, 'Know me by my name, which is Almeryl; and that we seem -indeed of one kin, make known unto me thine.' - -She replied, 'Ill-omened is it, this name of Bhanavar!' - -The youth among warriors gazed on her a moment with the fluttering eye of -bashfulness, and said, 'Can they that have marked thee call thee other -than Bhanavar the Beautiful?' - -She remembered that Ruark had spoken in like manner, and the curse of her -beauty smote her, and she thought, 'This fair youth, he hath not a mother -to watch over him and ward off souls of evil. I dread there will come a -mishap to him through me; Allah shield him from it!' And she sought to -dissuade him from resting by her, but he cried, ''Tis but a choice to -dwell with thee or with the dogs in the street outside thy door, O -Bhanavar!' - -Now, the ship sailed close up to the quay, and cast anchor there in the -midst of other ships of merchandise. Almeryl then threw a robe over his -mountain dress and spoke with the captain apart, and he and Bhanavar took -leave of the captain, and landed on the quay among the porters, and of -these one stepped forward to them and shouted cheerily, 'Where be the -burdens and the bales, O ye, fair couple fashioned in the eye of elegant -proportions? Ye twin palm-trees, male and female! Wullahy! broad is the -back of your servant.' - -Almeryl beckoned to him that he should follow them, and he followed them, -blessing the wind that had brought them to that city and the day. So they -passed through the streets and lanes of the city, and the porter pointed -out this house and that house wanting an occupant, and Almeryl fixed on -one in an open thoroughfare that had before it a grass-plot, and behind a -garden with fountains and flowers, and grass-knolls shaded by trees; and -he paid down the half of its price, and had it furnished before nightfall -sumptuously, and women in it to wait on Bhanavar, and stuffs and goods, -and scents for the bath,--all luxuries whatsoever that tradesmen and -merchants there could give in exchange for gold. Then Almeryl dismissed -the porter in Allah's name, and gladdened his spirit with a gift over the -due of his hire that exalted him in the eyes of the porter, and the -porter went from him, exclaiming, 'In extremity Ukleet is thy slave!' and -he sang: - - Shouldst thou see a slim youth with a damsel arriving, - Be sure 'tis the hour when thy fortune is thriving; - A generous fee makes the members so supple - That over the world they could carry this couple. - -Now so it was that the youth Almeryl and the damsel Bhanavar abode in the -city they had come to weeks and months, and life to either of them as the -flowing of a gentle stream, even as brother and sister lived they, -chastely, and with temperate feasting. Surely the youth loved her with a -great love, and the heart of Bhanavar turned not from him, and was won -utterly by his gentleness and nobleness and devotion; and they relied on -each other's presence for any joy, and were desolate in absence, as the -poet says: - - When we must part, love, - Such is my smart, love, - Sweetness is savourless, - Fairness is favourless! - But when in sight, love, - We two unite, love, - Earth has no sour to me; - Life is a flower to me! - -And with the increase of every day their passion increased, and the -revealing light in their eyes brightened and was humid, as is sung by him -that luted to the rage of hearts: - - Evens star yonder - Comes like a crown on us, - Larger and fonder - Grows its orb down on us; - So, love, my love for thee - Blossoms increasingly; - So sinks it in the sea, - Waxing unceasingly. - -On a night, when the singing-girls had left them, the youth could contain -himself no more, and caught the two hands of Bhanavar in his, saying, -'This that is in my soul for thee thou knowest, O Bhanavar! and 'tis -spoken when I move and when I breathe, O my loved one! Tell me then the -cause of thy shunning me whenever I would speak of it, and be plain with -thee.' - -For a moment Bhanavar sought to release herself from his hold, but the -love in his eyes entangled her soul as in a net, and she sank forward to -him, and sighed under his chin, ''Twas indeed my very love of thee that -made me.' - -The twain embraced and kissed a long kiss, and leaned sideways together, -and Bhanavar said, 'Hear me, what I am.' - -Then she related the story of the Serpent and the Jewel, and of the death -of her betrothed. When it was ended, Almeryl cried, 'And was this -all?--this that severed us?' And he said, 'Hear what I am.' - -So he told Bhanavar how Rukrooth, the mother of Ruark, had sent -messengers to the Prince his father, warning him of the passage of Ruark -through the mountains with one a Queen of Serpents, a sorceress, that had -bewitched him and enthralled him in a mighty love for her, to the ruin of -Ruark; and how the Chief was on his way with her to demand her in -marriage at the hands of her parents; and the words of Rukrooth were, 'By -the service that was between thee and my husband, and by the death he -died, O Prince, rescue the Chief my son from this damsel, and entrap her -from him, and have her sent even to the city of the inland sea, for no -less a distance than that keepeth Ruark from her.' - -And Almeryl continued, 'I questioned the messengers myself, and they told -me the marvel of thy loveliness and the peril to him that looked on it, -so I swore there was no power should keep me from a sight of thee, O my -loved one! my prize! my life! my sleek antelope of the hills! Surely when -my father appointed the warriors to lie in wait for thy coming, I slipped -among them, so that they thought it ordered by him I should head them. -The rest is known to thee, O my fountain of blissfulness! but the -treachery to Ruark was the treachery of Ebn Asrac, not of such warriors -as we; and I would have fallen on Ebn Asrac, had not Ruark so routed that -man without faith. 'Twas all as I have said, blessed be Allah and his -decrees!' - -Bhanavar gazed on her beloved, and the bridal dew overflowed her -underlids, and she loosed her hair to let it flow, part over her -shoulders, part over his, and in sighs that were the measure of music she -sang: - - I thought not to love again! - But now I love as I loved not before; - I love not; I adore! - O my beloved, kiss, kiss me! waste thy kisses like a rain. - Are not thy red lips fain? - Oh, and so softly they greet! - Am I not sweet? - Sweet must I be for thee, or sweet in vain: - Sweet to thee only, my dear love! - The lamps and censers sink, but cannot cheat - These eyes of thine that shoot above - Trembling lustres of the dove! - A darkness drowns all lustres: still I see - Thee, my love, thee! - Thee, my glory of gold, from head to feet! - Oh, how the lids of the world close quite when our lips meet! - -Almeryl strained her to him, and responded: - - My life was midnight on the mountain side; - Cold stars were on the heights: - There, in my darkness, I had lived and died, - Content with nameless lights. - Sudden I saw the heavens flush with a beam, - And I ascended soon, - And evermore over mankind supreme, - Stood silver in the moon. - -And he fell playfully into a new metre, singing: - - Who will paint my beloved - In musical word or colour? - Earth with an envy is moved: - Sea-shells and roses she brings, - Gems from the green ocean-springs, - Fruits with the fairy bloom-dews, - Feathers of Paradise hues, - Waters with jewel-bright falls, - Ore from the Genii-halls: - All in their splendour approved; - All; but, match'd with my beloved, - Darker, and denser, and duller. - -Then she kissed him for that song, and sang: - - Once to be beautiful was my pride, - And I blush'd in love with my own bright brow: - Once, when a wooer was by my side, - I worshipp'd the object that had his vow: - Different, different, different now, - Different now is my beauty to me: - Different, different, different now! - For I prize it alone because prized by thee. - -Almeryl stretched his arm to the lattice, and drew it open, letting in -the soft night wind, and the sound of the fountain and the bulbul and the -beam of the stars, and versed to her in the languor of deep love: - - Whether we die or we live, - Matters it now no more: - Life has nought further to give: - Love is its crown and its core. - Come to us either, we're rife,-- - Death or life! - - Death can take not away, - Darkness and light are the same: - We are beyond the pale ray, - Wrapt in a rosier flame: - Welcome which will to our breath; - Life or death! - -So did these two lovers lute and sing in the stillness of the night, -pouring into each other's ears melodies from the new sea of fancy and -feeling that flowed through them. - -Ere they ceased their sweet interchange of tenderness, which was but one -speech from one soul, a glow of light ran up the sky, and the edge of a -cloud was fired; and in the blooming of dawn Almeryl hung over Bhanavar, -and his heart ached to see the freshness of her wondrous loveliness; and -he sang, looking on her: - - The rose is living in her cheeks, - The lily in her rounded chin; - She speaks but when her whole soul speaks, - And then the two flow out and in, - And mix their red and white to make - The hue for which I'd Paradise forsake. - - Her brow from her black falling hair - Ascends like morn: her nose is clear - As morning hills, and finely fair - With pearly nostrils curving near - The red bow of her upper lip; - Her bosom's the white wave beneath the ship. - - The fair full earth, the enraptured skies, - She images in constant play: - Night and the stars are in her eyes, - But her sweet face is beaming day, - A bounteous interblush of flowers: - A dewy brilliance in a dale of bowers. - -Then he said, 'And this morning shall our contract of marriage be written -and witnessed?' - -She answered, 'As my lord willeth; I am his.' - -Said he, 'And it is thy desire?' - -She nestled to him and dinted his bare arm with the pearls of her mouth -for a reply. - -So that morning their contract of marriage was written, and witnessed by -the legal number of witnesses in the presence of the Cadi, with his -license on it endorsed; and Bhanavar was the bride of Almeryl, he her -husband. Never was youth blessed in a bride like that youth! - -Now, the twain lived together the circle of a full year of delightful -marriage, and love lessened not in them, but was as the love of the first -day. Little cared they, having each other, for the loneliness of their -dwelling in that city, where they knew none save the porter Ukleet, who -went about their commissions. Sometimes to amuse themselves with his -drolleries, they sent for him, and were bountiful with him, and made him -drink with them on the lawn of their garden leaning to an inlet of the -sea; and then he would entertain them with all the scandal and gossip of -the city, and its little folk and great. When he was outrageously -extravagant in these stories of his, Bhanavar exclaimed, 'Are such -things, now? can it be true?' - -And he nodded in his conceit, and replied loftily, ''Tis certain, O my -Prince and Princess! ye be from the mountains, unused to the follies and -dissipations of men where they herd; and ye know them not, men!' - -The lamps being lit in the garden to the edges of the water, where they -lay one evening, Ukleet, who had been in his briskest mood, became grave, -and put his forefinger to the side of his nose and began, 'Hear ye aught -of the great tidings? Wullahy! no other than the departure of the wife of -Boolp, the broker, into darkness. 'Tis of Boolp ye hire this house, and -had ye a hundred houses in this city ye might have had them from Boolp -the broker, he that's rich; and glory to them whom Allah prospereth, say -I! And I mention this matter, for 'tis certain now Boolp will take -another wife to him to comfort him, for there be two things beloved of -Boolp, and therein manifesteth he taste and the discernment of -excellence, and what is approved; and of these two things let the love of -his hoards of the yellow-skinned treasure go first, and after that -attachment to the silver-skinned of creation, the fair, the rapturous; -even to them! So by this see ye not Boolp will yearn in his soul for -another spouse? Now, O ye well-matched pair! what a chance were this, -knew ye but a damsel of the mountains, exquisite in symmetry, a moon to -enrapture the imagination of Boolp, and in the nature of things herit his -possessions! for Boolp is an old man, even very old.' - -They laughed, and cried, 'We know not of such a damsel, and the broker -must go unmarried for us.' - -When next Ukleet sat before them, Almeryl took occasion to speak of Boolp -again, and said, 'This broker, O Ukleet, is he also a lender of money?' - -Ukleet replied, 'O my Prince, he is or he is not: 'tis of the maybes. I -wot truly Boolp is one that baiteth the hook of an emergency.' - -The brows of the Prince were downcast, and he said no more; but on the -following morning he left Bhanavar early under a pretext, and sallied -forth from the house of their abode alone. - -Since their union in that city they had not been once apart, and Bhanavar -grieved and thought, 'Waneth his love for me?' and she called her women -to her, and dressed in this dress and that dress, and was satisfied with -none. The dews of the bath stood cold upon her, and she trembled, and -fled from mirror to mirror, and in each she was the same surpassing -vision of loveliness. Then her women held a glass to her, and she -examined herself closely, if there might be a fleck upon her anywhere, -and all was as the snow of the mountains on her round limbs sloping in -the curves of harmony, and the faint rose of the dawn on slants of snow -was their hue. Twining her fingers and sighing, she thought, 'It is not -that! he cannot but think me beautiful.' She smiled a melancholy smile at -her image in the glass, exclaiming, 'What availeth it, thy beauty? for he -is away and looketh not on thee, thou vain thing! And what of thy -loveliness if the light illumine it not, for he is the light to thee, and -it is darkness when he's away.' - -Suddenly she thought, 'What's that which needeth to light it no other -light? I had well-nigh forgotten it in my bliss, the Jewel!' Then she -went to a case of ebony-wood, where she kept the Jewel, and drew it -forth, and shone in the beam of a pleasant imagination, thinking, ''Twill -surprise him!' And she robed herself in a robe of saffron, and set lesser -gems of the diamond and the emerald in the braid of her hair, and knotted -the Serpent Jewel firmly in a band of gold-threaded tissue, and had it -woven in her hair among the braids. In this array she awaited his coming, -and pleased her mind with picturing his astonishment and the joy that -would be his. Mute were the women who waited on her, for in their lives -they had seen no such sight as Bhanavar beneath the beams of the Jewel, -and the whole chamber was aglow with her. - -Now, in her anxiety she sent them one and one repeatedly to look forth at -the window for the coming of the Prince. So, when he came not she went -herself to look forth, and stretched her white neck beyond the casement. -While her head was exposed, she heard a cry of some one from the house in -the street opposite, and Bhanavar beheld in the house of the broker an -old wrinkled fellow that gesticulated to her in a frenzy. She snatched -her veil down and drew in her head in anger at him, calling to her maids, -'What is yonder hideous old dotard?' - -And they answered, laughing, ''Tis indeed Boolp the broker, O fair -mistress and mighty!' - -To divert herself she made them tell her of Boolp, and they told her a -thousand anecdotes of the broker, and verses of him, and the constancy of -his amorous condition, and his greediness. And Bhanavar was beguiled of -her impatience till it was evening, and the Prince returned to her. So -they embraced, and she greeted him as usual, waiting what he would say, -searching his countenance for a token of wonderment; but the youth knew -not that aught was added to her beauty, for he looked nowhere save in her -eyes. Bhanavar was nigh weeping with vexation, and pushed him from her, -and chid him with lack of love and weariness of her; and the eye of the -Prince rose to her brow to read it, and he saw the Jewel. Almeryl clapped -his hands, crying, 'Wondrous! And this thy surprise for me, my fond one? -beloved of mine!' Then he gazed on her a space, and said, 'Knowest thou, -thou art terrible in thy beauty, Bhanavar, and hast the face of lightning -under that Jewel of the Serpent?' - -She kissed him, whispering, 'Not lightning to thee! Yet lovest thou -Bhanavar?' - -He replied, 'Surely so; and all save Bhanavar in this world is the -darkness of oblivion to me.' - -When it was the next morning, Almeryl rose to go forth again. Ere he had -passed the curtain of the chamber Bhanavar caught him by the arm, and she -was trembling violently. Her visage was a wild inquiry: 'Thou goest?--and -again? There is something hidden from me!' - -Almeryl took her to his heart, and caressed her with fond flatteries, -saying, 'Ask but what is beating under these two pomegranates, and thou -learnest all of me.' - -But she stamped her foot, crying, 'No! no! I will hear it! There's a -mystery.' - -So he said, 'Well, then, it is this only; small matter enough. I have a -business with the captain of the vessel that brought us hither, and I -must see him ere he setteth sail; no other than that, thou jealous, -watchful star! Pierce me with thine eyes; it is no other than that.' - -She levelled her lids at him till her lustrous black eyelashes were as -arrows, and mimicked him softly, 'No other than that?' - -And he replied, 'Even so.' - -Then she clung to him like a hungry creature, repeating, 'Even so,' and -let him go. Alone, she summoned a slave, a black, and bade him fetch to -her without delay Ukleet the porter, and the porter was presently ushered -in to her, protesting service and devotion. So, she questioned him of -Almeryl, and the Prince's business abroad, what he knew of it. Ukleet -commenced reciting verses on the ills of jealousy, but Bhanavar checked -him with an eye that Ukleet had seen never before in woman or in man, and -he gaped at her helplessly, as one that has swallowed a bone. She -laughed, crying, 'Learn, O thou fellow, to answer my like by the letter.' - -Now, what she heard from Ukleet when he had recovered his wits, was that -the Prince had a business with none save the lenders of money. So she -spake to Ukleet in a kindly tone, 'Thou art mine, to serve me?' - -He was as one fascinated, and delivered himself, 'Yea, O my mistress! -with tongue-service, toe-service, back-service, brain-service, whatso -pleaseth thy sweet presence.' - -Said she, 'Hie over to the broker opposite, and bring him hither to me.' - -Ukleet departed, saying, 'To hear is to obey.' - -She sat gazing on the Jewel and its counterchanging splendours in her -hand, and the thought of Almeryl and his necessity was her only thought. -Not ten minutes of the hour had passed before the women waiting on her -announced Ukleet and the broker Boolp. Bhanavar gave little heed to the -old fellow's grimaces, and the compliments he addressed her, but handed -him the Jewel and desired his valuation of its worth. The face of Boolp -was a keen edge when he regarded Bhanavar, but the sight of the Jewel -sharpened it tenfold, and he tossed his arms, exclaiming, 'A jewel, -this!' - -So Bhanavar cried to him, 'Fix a price for it, O thou broker!' - -And Boolp, the old miser, debated, and began prating, - -'O lady! the soul of thy slave is abashed by a double beam, this the -jewel of jewels, thou truly of thy sex; and saving thee there's no jewel -of worth like this one, and together ye be--wullahy! never felt I aught -like this since my espousal of Soolka that 's gone, and 'twas nothing -like it then! Now, O my Princess, confess it freely--this is but a -pretext, this valuation of the Jewel, and Ukleet our go-between; and -leave the rewarding of him to me. Wullahy! I can be generous, and my days -of favour with fair ladies be not yet over. Blessed be Allah for this -day! And thinkest thou those eyes fell on me with discriminating -observation ere my sense of perception was struck by thee? Not so, for I -had noted thee, O moon of hearts, from my window yonder.' - -In this fashion Boolp the broker went on prating, and bowing, and -screwing the corners of his little acid eyes to wink the wink of common -accord between himself and Bhanavar. Meantime she had spoken aside to one -of her women, and a second black slave entered the chamber, bearing in -his hand a twisted scourge, and that slave laid it on the back of Boolp -the broker, and by this means he was brought quickly to the valuation of -the Jewel. Then he named a sum that was a great sum, but not the value of -the Jewel to the fiftieth part, nay nor the five-hundredth part, of its -value; and Ukleet remonstrated with him, but he was resolute, saying, -'Even that sum leaves me a beggar.' - -So Bhanavar said, 'My desire is for immediate payment of the money, and -the Jewel is thine for that sum.' - -Now the broker went to fetch the money, and returned with it in bags of -gold one-half the amount, and bags of silver one-third, and the remainder -in writing made due at a certain period for payment. And he groaned and -handed her the money, and took the Jewel in his hands; ejaculating, 'In -the name of Allah!' - -That evening, when it was dark and the lamps lit in the chamber, and the -wine set and the nosegay, Almeryl asked of Bhanavar to see her under the -light of the Jewel. She warded him with an excuse, but he was earnest -with her. So she feigned that he teased her, saying, ''Tis that thou art -no longer content with me as I am, O my husband!' Then she said, 'Wert -thou successful in thy dealings this day?' - -His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing. So she cried, 'Fie -on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over this -city? Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved? Surely I am -Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things -hidden, and I know thee. Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal -not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!' - -Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver. -Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, 'How came these? for I was at the last -extremity, without coin of any kind.' - -She answered, 'How, but by the Serpents!' - -And he exclaimed, 'Would that I might work as that porter worketh, rather -than this!' - -Now, seeing he bewailed her use of the powers of the Jewel, Bhanavar fell -between his arms, and related to him her discovery of his condition, and -how she disposed of the Jewel to the broker, and of the scourging of -Boolp; and he praised her, and clave to her, and they laughed and -delighted their souls in plenteousness, and bliss was their portion; as -the poet says, - - Bliss that is born of mutual esteem - And tried companionship, I truly deem - A well-based palace, wherein fountains rise - From springs that have their sources in the skies. - -So were they for awhile. It happened that one day, that was the last day -of the year since her wearing of the Jewel, Ukleet said to them, 'Be -wary! the Vizier Aswarak hath his eye on you, and it is no cool one. I -say nothing: the wise are discreet in their tellings of the great. 'Tis -certain the broker Boolp forgetteth not his treatment here.' - -They smiled, turning to each other, and said, 'We live innocently, we -harm no one, what should we fear?' - -During the night of that day Bhanavar awoke and kissed the Prince; and -lo! he shuddered in his sleep as with the grave-cold. A second time she -was awakened on the breast of Almeryl by a dream of the Serpents of the -Lake Karatis--the lake of the Jewel; and she stood up, and there was in -the street a hum of voices, and she saw there before the house armed men -with naked steel in their hands. Scarce had she called Almeryl to her, -when the outer door of their house was forced, and she shrieked to him, -''Tis thou they come for: fly, O my Prince, my husband! the way of the -garden is clear.' - -But he said sadly, 'Nay, what am I? it is thou they would win from me. -I'll leave thee not in this life.' - -So she cried, 'O my soul, then together!--but I shall hinder thee, and be -a burden to thy flight.' - -And she called on the All-powerful for aid, and ran with him into the -garden of the house, and lo! by the water side at the end of the garden a -boat full of armed soldiers with scimitars. So these fell upon them, and -bound them, and haled them into the house again, where was the dark -Vizier Aswarak, and certain officers of the night watch with a force. The -Vizier cried when he saw them, 'I accuse thee, Prince Almeryl, of being -here in the city of our lord the King, to conspire against him and his -authority.' - -Almeryl faced the Vizier firmly, and replied, 'I knew not in my life I -had made an enemy; but there is one here who telleth that of me.' - -The Vizier frowned, saying, 'Thou deniest this? And thou here, and thy -father at war with the sovereignty of our lord the King!' - -Almeryl beheld his danger, and he said, 'Is this so?' - -Then cried the Vizier, 'Hear him! is not that a fair simulation?' So he -called to the guard, 'Shackle him!' When that was done, he ordered the -house to be sacked, and the women and the slaves he divided for a spoil, -but he reserved Bhanavar to himself: and lo! twice she burst away from -them that held her to hang upon the lips of Almeryl, and twice was she -torn from him as a grape-bunch is torn from the streaming vine, and the -third time she swooned and the anguish of life left her. - -Now, Bhanavar was borne to the harem of the Vizier, and for days she -suffered no morsel of food to enter her mouth, and was dying, had not the -Vizier in the cunning of his dissimulation fed her with distant glimpses -of Almeryl, to show her he yet lived. Then she thought, 'While my beloved -liveth, life is due to me'; and she ate and drank and reassumed her fair -fulness and the queenliness that was hers; but the Vizier had no love of -her, and respected her, considering in his mind, 'Time will exhaust the -fury of this tigress, and she is a fruit worth the waiting for. Wullahy! -I shall have possessed her ere the days of over-ripening.' - -There was in the harem of the Vizier a mountain-girl that had been -brought there in her childhood, and trained to play upon the lute and -accompany her voice with the instrument. To this little damsel Bhanavar -gave her heart, and would listen all day, as in a trance, to her luting, -till the desire to escape from that bondage and gather tidings of Almeryl -mastered her, and she persuaded one of the blacks of the harem with a -bribe to procure her an interview with the porter Ukleet. So at a certain -hour of the night Ukleet was introduced into the garden of the harem, and -he was in the darkness of that garden a white-faced porter with knees -that knocked the dread-march together; but Bhanavar strengthened his -soul, and he said to her, ''Twas the doing of Boolp the broker: and he -whispered the Vizier of thee and thy beauty, O my mistress! Surely thy -punishment and this ruin is but part payment to Boolp of the price of the -Jewel, the great Jewel that's in the hands of the Vizier.' - -Then she questioned him: 'And Almeryl, the Prince, my husband, what of -him?' - -Ukleet was dumb, and Bhanavar asked to hear no more. Surely she was at -the gates of pale spirits within an hour of her interview with Ukleet, -and there was no blessedness for her save in death, the stiffer of ills, -the drug that is infallible. As is said: - - Dark is that last stage of sorrow - Which from Death alone can borrow - Comfort:-- - -Bhanavar would have died then, but in a certain pause of her fever the -Vizier stood by her. She looked at him long as she lay, and the life in -her large eyes was ebbing away slowly; but there seemed presently a -check, as an eddy comes in the stream, and the light of intelligence -flowed like a reviving fire into her eyes, and her heart quickened with -desire of life while she looked on the Vizier. So she passed the pitch of -that fever, and bloomed anew in her beauty, and cherished it, for she had -a purpose. - -Now, there was rejoicing in the harem of the Vizier Aswarak when Bhanavar -arose from the couch; and the Vizier exulted, thinking, 'I have tamed -this wild beauty, or she had reached death in that extremity.' So he -allowed Bhanavar greater freedom and indulgences, and Bhanavar feigned to -give her soul to the pleasures women delight in, and the Vizier buried -her in gems and trinkets and costly raiment, robes of exquisite silks, -the choicest of Samarcand and China; and he permitted her to make -purchases among certain of the warehouses of the city and the shops of -the tradesmen, jewellers and others, so that she went about as she would, -but for the slaves that attended her and the overseer of the harem. This -continued, and Aswarak became urgent with her, and to remove suspicion -from him she named a day from that period when she would be his. Meantime -she contrived to see Ukleet the porter frequently, and within a week of -her engagement with the Vizier she gazed from a lattice-window of the -harem, and beheld in the garden, by the beams of the moon, Ukleet, and he -was looking as on the watch for her. So she sent to him the little -mountain-girl she loved, but Ukleet would tell her nothing; then went she -herself, greeting him graciously, for his service was other than that of -self-seeking. - -Ukleet said, 'O Lady, mistress of hearts, moon of the tides of will! 'tis -certain I was thy slave from the hour I beheld thee first, and of the -Prince, thy husband; Allah rest his soul! Now these be my tidings. -Wullahy! the King is one maddened with the reports I've spread about of -thy beauty, yea! raging. And I have a friend in his palace, even an -under-cook, acute in the interpreting of wishes. There was he always -gabbling of thy case, O my Princess, till the head-cook seized hold on -it, and so it went to the chamberlain, thence to the chief of the -eunuchs, and from him in a natural course, to the King. Now from the King -the tracking of this tale went to the under-cook down again, and from him -to me. So was I summoned to the King, and the King discoursed with me--I -with him, in fair fluency; he in ejaculations of desire to have sight of -thee, I in expatiation on that he would see when he had his desire. Now -in this have I not done thee a service, O sovereign of fancies?' - -Bhanavar mused and said, 'On the after-morrow I pass through the city to -make a selection of goods, and I shall pass at noon by the great mosque, -on my way to the shop of Ebn Roulchook, the King's jeweller, beyond the -meat-market. Of a surety, I know not how my lord the King may see me.' - -Said the porter, ''Tis enough! on my head be it.' And he went from her, -singing the song: - - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - When she's intent on doing! - How easily the world may burn - When kings come out a-wooing! - -Now, ere she set forth on the after-morrow to make her purchases, -Bhanavar sent word to the Vizier Aswarak that she would see him, and he -came to her drunken with alacrity, for he augured favourably that her -reluctance was melting toward him: so she said, 'O my master, my time of -mourning is at an end, and I would look well before thee, even as one -worthy of being thy bride; so bestow on me, I pray thee, for my wearing -that day, the jewels that be in thy treasury, the brightest and clearest -of them, and the largest.' - -The Vizier Aswarak replied, and he was one in great satisfaction of soul, -'All that I have are thine. Wullahy! and one, a marvel, that I bought of -Boolp the broker, that had it from an African merchant.' So he commanded -the box wherein he had deposited the Jewel to be brought to him there in -the chamber of Bhanavar, and took forth the Serpent Jewel between his -forefinger and thumb, and laughed at the eager eyes of Bhanavar when she -beheld it, saying, ''Tis thine! thy bridal gift the day I possess thee.' - -Bhanavar trembled at the sight of the Jewel, and its redness was to her -as the blood of Zurvan and Almeryl. She stretched her hand out for it and -cried, 'This day, O my lord, make it mine.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Nay, what I have spoken will I keep to; it has cost -me much.' - -Bhanavar looked at him, and uttered in a soft tone, 'Truly it has cost -thee much.' - -Then she exclaimed, as in play, 'See me, how I look by its beam.' And in -her guile she snatched the Jewel from him, and held it to her brow. Then -Aswarak started from her and feared her, for the red light of the Jewel -glowed, and darkened the chamber with its beam, darkening all save the -lustre that was on the visage of Bhanavar. He shouted, 'What's this! Art -thou a sorceress?' - -She removed the Jewel, and ceased glaring on him, and said, 'Nothing but -thy poor slave!' - -Then he coaxed her to give him the Jewel, and she would not; he commanded -her peremptorily, and she hesitated; so he grasped her tightened hand, -and his face loured with wrath; yet she withheld the Jewel from him -laughing; and he was stirred to extreme wrath, and drew from his girdle -the naked scimitar, and menaced her with it. And he looked mighty; but -she dreaded him little, and stood her full height before him, daring him, -and she was as the tigress defending a cub from a wilder beast. Now when -he was about to call in the armed slaves of the palace, she said, 'I warn -thee, Vizier Aswarak! tempt me not to match them that serve me with them -that serve thee.' - -He ground his teeth in fury, crying, 'A conspiracy! and in the harem! -Now, thou traitress! the logic of the lash shall be tried upon thee.' And -he roared, 'Ho! ye without there! ho!' - -But ere the slaves had entered Bhanavar rubbed the Jewel on her bosom, -muttering, 'I have forborne till now! Now will I have a sacrifice, though -I be it.' And rubbing the Jewel, she sang, - - Hither! hither! - Come to your Queen; - Come through the grey wall, - Come through the green! - -There was heard a noise like the noise of a wind coming down a narrow -gorge above falling waters, a hissing and a rushing of wings, and behold! -Bhanavar was circled by rings and rings of serpent-folds that glowed -round her, twisted each in each, with the fierceness of fire, she like a -flame rising up white in the midst of them. The black slaves, when they -had lifted the curtain of the harem-chamber, shrieked to see her, and -Aswarak crouched at her feet with the aspect of an angry beast carved in -stone. Then Bhanavar loosed on either of the slaves a serpent, saying, -'What these have seen they shall not say.' And while the sweat dropped -heavily from the forehead of Aswarak, she stepped out of the circle of -serpents, singing, - - Over! over! - Hie to the lake! - Sleep with the left eye, - Keep the right awake. - -Then the serpents spread with a great whirr, and flew through the high -window and the walls as they had come, and she said to the Vizier, 'What -now? Fearest thou? I have spared thee, thou that madest me desolate! and -thy slaves are a sacrifice for thee. Now this I ask: Where lies my -beloved, the Prince my husband? Speak nothing of him, save the place of -his burial!' - -So he told her, 'In the burial-ground of the great prison.' - -She rolled her eyes on the Vizier darkly, exclaiming, 'Even where the -felons lie entombed, he lieth!' And she began to pant, pale with what she -had done, and leaned to the floor, and called, - - Yellow stripe, with freckle red, - Coil and curl, and watch by my head. - -And a serpent with yellow stripes and red freckles came like a javelin -down to her, and coiled and curled round her head, and she slept an hour. -When she arose the Vizier was yet there, sitting with folded knees. So -she sped the serpent to the Lake Karatis, and called her women to her, -and went to an inner room, and drew an outer robe and a vest over that -she had on, and passed the Vizier, and said, 'Art thou not rejoiced in -thy bride, O Aswarak? 'Twas a wondrous clemency, hers! Now but four more -days and thou claimest her. Say nothing of what thou hast seen, or thou -wilt shortly see nothing further to say, my master.' - -So she left the Vizier sitting still in that chamber, and mounted a mule, -attended by slaves on foot before and behind her, and passed through the -streets till she came to the shop of Ebn Roulchook. The King was in -disguise at the extremity of the shop, and while she examined this and -that of the precious stones, Bhanavar for a moment made bare the beauty, -of her face, and love's fires took fast hold of the King, and he cried, -'I marvel not at the eloquence of the porter.' - -Now, she made Ebn Roulchook bring to her a circlet of gold, with a hollow -in the frontal centre, and fit into that hollow the Serpent Jewel. So, -while she laughed and chatted with her women Bhanavar lifted the circlet, -and made her countenance wholly bare even to the neck and the beginning -slope of the bosom, and fixed the circlet to her head with the Jewel -burning on her brow. Then when he beheld the glory of excelling -loveliness that she was, and the splendour in her eyes under the Jewel, -the King shouted and parted with his disguise, and Ebn Roulchook and the -women and slaves with Bhanavar fled to the courtyard that was behind the -shop, leaving Bhanavar alone with the King. Surely Bhanavar returned not -to the dwelling of the Vizier. - -Now, the King Mashalleed espoused Bhanavar, and she became his queen and -ruled him, and her word was the dictate of the land. Then caused she the -body of Almeryl, with the severed head of the Prince, to be disinterred, -and entombed secretly in the palace; and she had lamps lit in the vault, -and the pall spread, and the readers of the Koran to read by the tomb; -and then she stole to the tomb hourly, in the day and in the night, -wailing of him and her utter misery, repeating verses at the side of the -tomb, and they were, - - Take me to thee! - Like the deep-rooted tree, - My life is half in earth, and draws - Thence all sweetness; oh may my being pause - Soon beside thee! - - Welcome me soon! - As to the queenly moon, - Man's homage to my beauty sets; - Yet am I a rose-shrub budding regrets: - Welcome me soon. - - Soul of my soul! - Have me not half, but whole. - Dear dust, thou art my eyes, my breath! - Draw me to thee down the dark sea of death, - Soul of my soul! - -And she sang: - - Sad are they who drink life's cup - Till they have come to the bitter-sweet: - Better at once to toss it up, - And trample it beneath the feet; - For venom-charged as serpents' eggs - 'Tis then, and knows not other change. - Early, early, early, have I reached the dregs - Of life, and loathe and love the bittersweet, revenge! - -Then turned she aside, and sang musingly: - - I came to his arms like the flower of the spring, - And he was my bird of the radiant wing: - He flutter'd above me a moment, and won - The bliss of my breast as a beam of the sun, - Untouch'd and untasted till then-- - -The voice in her throat was like a drowning creature, and she rose up, -and chanted wildly: - - I weep again? - - What play is this? for the thing is dead in me long since: - Will all the reviving rain - Of heaven bring me back my Prince? - But I, when I weep, when I weep, - Blood will I weep! - And when I weep, - Sons for fathers shall weep; - Mothers for sons shall weep; - Wives for husbands shall weep! - Earth shall complain of floods red and deep, - When I weep! - -Upon that she ran up a secret passage to her chamber and rubbed the -Jewel, and called the serpents, to delight her soul with the sight of her -power, and rolled and sported madly among them, clutching them by the -necks till their thin little red tongues hung out, and their eyes were as -discoloured blisters of venom. Then she arose, and her arms and neck and -lips were glazed with the slime of the serpents, and she flung off her -robes to the close-fitting silken inner vest looped across her bosom with -pearls, and whirled in a mazy dance-measure among them, and sang -melancholy melodies, making them delirious, fascinating them; and they -followed her round and round, in twines and twists and curves, with -arched heads and stiffened tails; and the chamber swam like an undulating -sea of shifting sapphire lit by the moon of midnight. Not before the moon -of midnight was in the sky ceased Bhanavar sporting with the serpents, -and she sank to sleep exhausted in their midst. - -Such was the occupation of the Queen of Mashalleed when he came not to -her. The women and slaves of the palace dreaded her, and the King himself -was her very slave. - -Meanwhile the plot of her unforgivingness against Aswarak ripened: and -the Vizier beholding the bride he had lost Queen of Mashalleed his -master, it was as she conceived, that his heart was eaten with jealousy -and fierce rage. Bhanavar as she came across him spake mildly, and gave -him gentle looks, sad glances, suffering not his fires to abate, the -torment of his love to cool. Each night he awoke with a serpent in his -bed; the beam of her beauty was as the constant bite of a serpent, -poisoning his blood, and he deluded his soul with the belief that -Bhanavar loved him notwithstanding, and that she was seized forcibly from -him by the King. 'Otherwise,' thought he, 'why loosed she not a serpent -from the host to strangle me even as yonder black slaves?' Bhanavar knew -the mind of Aswarak, and considered, 'The King is cunning and weak, a -slave to his desires, and in the bondage of the jewel, my beauty. The -Vizier is unscrupulous, a hatcher of intrigues; but that he dreads me and -hopes a favour of me, he would have wrought against me ere now. 'Tis then -a combat 'twixt him and me. O my soul, art thou dreaming of a fair youth -that was the bliss of thy bosom night and day, night and day? The Vizier -shall die!' - -One morning, and it was a year from the day she had become Queen of -Mashalleed, Bhanavar sprang up quickly from the side of the King; and he -was gazing on her in amazement and loathing. She flew to her chamber, -chasing forth her women, and ran to a mirror. Therein she saw three lines -that were on her brow, lines of age, and at the corners of her mouth and -about her throat a slackness of skin, the skin no longer its soft rosy -white, but withered brown as leaves of the forest. She shrieked, and fell -back in a swoon of horror. When she recovered, she ran to the mirror -again, and it was the same sight. And she rose from swooning a third -time, and still she beheld the visage of a hag; nothing of beauty there -save the hair and the brilliant eyes. Then summoned she the serpents in a -circle, and the number of them was that of the days in the year: and she -bared her wrist and seized one, a gray-silver with sapphire spots, and -hissed at him till he hissed, and foam whitened the lips of each. -Thereupon she cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of hell, - What is come upon me, tell! - -And the Serpent replied, - - Jewel Queen! beauty's price! - 'Tis the time for sacrifice! - -She grasped another, one of leaden colour, with yellow bars and silver -crescents, and cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of fire, - Name the creature ye require! - -And the Serpent replied: - - Ruby lip! poison tooth! - We are hungry for a youth. - -She grasped another that writhed in her fingers like liquid emerald, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of glue! - How to know the one that's due? - -And the Serpent replied: - - Breast of snow! baleful bliss! - He that wooing wins a kiss. - -She clutched one at her elbow, a hairy serpent with yellow languid eyes -in flame-sockets and livid-lustrous length--a disease to look on, and -cried: - - Treble-tongue and throat of gall! - There's a youth beneath the pall. - -And the Serpent replied: - - Brilliant eye! bloody tear! - He has fed us for a year. - -She squeezed that hairy serpent till her finger-points whitened in his -neck, and he dropped lifelessly, crying: - - Treble-tongues and things of mud! - Sprang my beauty from his blood? - -And the Serpents rose erect, replying: - - Yearly one of us must die; - Yearly for us dieth one; - Else the Queen an ugly lie - Lives till all our lives be done! - -Bhanavar stood up, and hurried them to Karatis. When she was alone she -fell toward the floor, repeating, ''Tis the Curse!' Suddenly she thought, -'Yet another year my beauty shall be nourished by my vengeance, yet -another! And, O Vizier, the kiss shall be thine, the kiss of doom; for I -have doomed thee ere now. Thou, thou shalt restore me to my beauty: that -only love I now my Prince is lost.' - -So she veiled her face in the close veil of the virtuous, and despatched -Ukleet, whom she exalted in the palace of the King, to the Vizier; and -Ukleet stood before Aswarak, and said, 'O Vizier, my mistress truly is -longing for you with excessive longing, and in what she now undergoeth is -forgotten an evil done by you to her; and she bids you come and concert -with her a scheme deliberately as to the getting rid of this tyrant who -is an affliction to her, and her life is lessened by him.' - -The Vizier was deceived by his passion, and he chuckled and exclaimed, -'My very dream! and to mind me of her, then, she sent the serpents! -Wullahy, in the matter of women, wait! For, as the poet declareth: - - 'Tis vanity our souls for such to vex; - Patience is a harvest of the sex.'' - -And they fret themselves not overlong for husbands that are gone, these -young beauties. I know them. Tell the Queen of Serpents I am even hers to -the sole of my foot.' - -So it was understood between them that the Vizier should be at the gate -of the garden of the palace that night, disguised; and the Vizier -rejoiced, thinking, 'If she have not the Jewel with her, it shall go ill -with me, and I foiled this time!' - -Ukleet then proceeded to the house of Boolp the broker, fronting the -gutted ruins where Bhanavar had been happy in her innocence with Almeryl, -the mountain prince, her husband. Boolp was engaged haggling with a -slave-merchant the price of a fair slave, and Ukleet said to him,'Yet -awhile delay, O Boolp, ere you expend a fraction of treasure, for truly a -mighty bargain of jewels is waiting for you at the palace of my lord the -King. So come thither with all your money-bags of gold and silver, and -your securities, and your bonds and dues in writing, for 'tis the -favourite of the King requireth you to complete a bargain with her, and -the price of her jewels is the price of a kingdom.' - -Said Boolp, 'Hearing is compliance in such a case.' - -And Ukleet continued, 'What a fortune is yours, O Boolp! truly the tide -of fortune setteth into your lap. Fail not, wullahy! to come with all you -possess, or if you have not enough when she requireth it to complete the -bargain, my mistress will break off with you. I know not if she intend -even other game for you, O lucky one!' - -Boolp hitched his girdle and shrugged, saying, ''Tis she will fail, I -wot,--she, in having therewith to complete the bargain between us. Wa! -wa!--there! I've done this before now. Wullahy! if she have not enough of -her rubies and pearls to outweigh me and my gold, go to, Boolp will -school her! What says the poet?-- - - ''Earth and ocean search, East, West, and North, to the South, - None will match the bright rubies and pearls of her mouth.'' - -'Aha! what? O Ukleet! And he says: - - ''The lovely ones a bargain made - With me, and I renounced my trade, - Half-ruined; 'Ah!' said they, 'return and win! - To even scales ourselves we will throw in!''' - -How so? But let discreetness reign and security flourisheth!' - -Ukleet nodded at him, and repeated the distich: - - Men of worth and men of wits - Shoot with two arrows, and make two hits. - -So he arranged with Boolp the same appointment as with the Vizier, and -returned to Queen Bhanavar. - -Now, in the dark of night Aswarak stood within the gate of the -palace-garden of Mashalleed that was ajar, and a hand from a veiled -figure reached to him, and he caught it, in the fulness of his delusion, -crying, 'Thou, my Queen?' But the hand signified silence, and drew him -past the tank of the garden and through a court of the palace into a -passage lit with lamps, and on into a close-curtained chamber, and beyond -a heavy curtain into another, a circular passage descending between black -hangings, and at the bottom a square vault draped with black, and in it -precious woods burning, oils in censers, and the odour of ambergris and -myrrh and musk floating in clouds, and the sight of the Vizier was for a -time obscured by the thickness of the incenses floating. As he became -familiar with the place, he saw marked therein a board spread at one end -with viands and wines, and the nosegay in a water-vase, and cups of gold -and a service of gold,--every preparation for feasting mightily. So the -soul of Aswarak leapt, and he cried, 'Now unveil thyself, O moon of our -meeting, my mistress!' - -The voice of Bhanavar answered him, 'Not till we have feasted and -drunken, and it seemeth little in our eyes. Surely the chamber is secure: -could I have chosen one better for our meeting, O Aswarak?' - -Upon that he entreated her to sit with him to the feast, but she cried, -'Nay! delay till the other is come.' - -Cried he, 'Another?' - -But she exclaimed, 'Hush!' and saying thus went forward to the foot of -the passage, and Boolp was there, following Ukleet, both of them under a -weight of bags and boxes. So she welcomed the broker, and led him to the -feast, he coughing and wheezing and blinking, unwitting the vexation of -the Vizier, nor that one other than himself was there. When Boolp heard -the voice of the Vizier, in astonishment, addressing him, he started back -and fell upon his bags, and the task of coaxing him to the board was as -that of haling a distempered beast to the water. Then they sat and -feasted together, and Ukleet with them; and if Aswarak or Boolp waxed -impatient of each other's presence, he whispered to them, 'Only wait! see -what she reserveth for you.' And Bhanavar mused with herself, 'Truly that -reserved shall be not long coming!' So they drank, and wine got the -mastery of Aswarak, so that he made no secret of his passion, and began -to lean to her and verse extemporaneously in her ear; and she stinted not -in her replies, answering to his urgency in girlish guise, sighing behind -the veil, as if under love's influence. And the Vizier pressed close, and -sang: - - 'Tis said that love brings beauty to the cheeks - Of them that love and meet, but mine are pale; - For merciless disdain on me she wreaks, - And hides her visage from my passionate tale: - I have her only, only when she speaks. - Bhanavar, unveil! - - I have thee, and I have thee not! Like one - Lifted by spirits to a shining dale - In Paradise, who seeks to leap and run - And clasp the beauty, but his foot doth fail, - For he is blind: ah! then more woful none! - Bhanavar, unveil! - -He thrust the wine-cup to her, and she lifted it under her veil, and then -sang, in answer to him: - - My beauty! for thy worth - Thank the Vizier! - - He gives thee second birth: - Thank the Vizier! - - His blooming form without a fault: - Thank the Vizier! - - Is at thy foot in this blest vault: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth not he telleth such a truth, - Thank the Vizier! - - That thou, thro' him, spring'st fresh in blushing youth: - Thank the Vizier! - - He knoweth little now, but he shall soon be wise: - Thank the Vizier! - - This meeting bringeth bloom to cheeks and lips and eyes: - Thank the Vizier! - - O my beloved in this blest vault, if I love thee for aye, - Thank the Vizier! - - Thine am I, thine! and learns his soul what it has taught--to die, - Thank the Vizier! - -Now, Aswarak divined not her meaning, and was enraptured with her, and -cried, 'Wullahy! so and such thy love! Thine am I, thine! And what a -music is thy voice, O my mistress! 'Twere a bliss to Eblis in his torment -could he hear it. Life of my head! and is thy beauty increased by me? -Nay, thou flatterer!' Then he said to her, 'Away with these importunate -dogs! 'tis the very hour of tenderness! Wullahy! they offend my nostril: -stung am I at the sight of them.' - -She rejoined,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Thou that wakenest my beauty from night and scorn, - Thy time is near, and when 'tis come, - Long will a jackal howl that this thy request had been dumb. - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -So the Vizier imaged in his mind the neglect of Mashalleed from these -words, and said, 'Leave the King to my care, O Queen of Serpents, and -expend no portion of thy power on him; but hasten now the going of these -fellows; my heart is straitened by them, and I, wullahy! would gladly see -a serpent round the necks of either.' - -She continued,-- - - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - Lo! the star must die when splendider light is born; - In stronger floods the beam will drown: - Shrink, thou puny orb, and dread to bring me my crown, - O Aswarak! star of the morn! - -Then said she, 'Hark awhile at those two! There's a disputation between -them.' - -So they hearkened, and Ukleet was pledging Boolp, and passing the cup to -him; but a sullenness had seized the broker, and he refused it, and -Ukleet shouted, 'Out, boon-fellow! and what a company art thou, that thou -refusest the pledge of friendliness? Plague on all sulkers!' - -And the broker, the old miser, obstinate as are the half-fuddled, began -to mumble, 'I came not here to drink, O Ukleet, but to make a bargain; -and my bags be here, and I like not yonder veil, nor the presence of -yonder Vizier, nor the secresy of this. Now, by the Prophet and that -interdict of his, I'll drink no further.' - -And Ukleet said, 'Let her not mark your want of fellowship, or 'twill go -ill with you. Here be fine wines, spirited wines! choice flavours! and -you drink not! Where's the soul in you, O Boolp, and where's the life in -you, that you yield her to the Vizier utterly? Surely she waiteth a -gallant sign from you, so challenge her cheerily.' - -Quoth Boolp, 'I care not. Shall I leave my wealth and all I possess void -of eyes? and she so that I recognise her not behind the veil?' - -Ukleet pushed the old miser jeeringly: 'You not recognise her? Oh, Boolp, -a pretty dissimulation! Pledge her now a cup to the snatching of the -veil, and bethink you of a fitting verse, a seemly compliment,--something -sugary.' - -Then Boolp smoothed his head, and was bothered; and tapped it, and -commenced repeating to Bhanavar: - - I saw the moon behind a cloud, - And I was cold as one that's in his shroud: - And I cried, Moon!-- - -Ukleet chorused him, 'Moon!' and Boolp was deranged in what he had to -say, and gasped,-- - - Moon! I cried, Moon!--and I cried, Moon! - -Then the Vizier and Ukleet laughed till they fell on their backs; so -Bhanavar took up his verse where he left it, singing,-- - - And to the cry - Moon did make fair the following reply: - 'Dotard, be still! for thy desire - Is to embrace consuming fire.' - -Then said Boolp, 'O my mistress, the laws of conviviality have till now -restrained me; but my coming here was on business, and with me my bags, -in good faith. So let us transact this matter of the jewels, and after -that the song of-- - - ''Thou and I - A cup will try,'' - -even as thou wilt.' - -Bhanavar threw aside her outer robe and veil, and appeared in a dress of -sumptuous blue, spotted with gold bees; her face veiled with a veil of -gauzy silver, and she was as the moon in summer heavens, and strode mar -jestically forward, saying, 'The jewels? 'tis but one. Behold!' - -The lamps were extinguished, and in her hand was the glory of the Serpent -Jewel, no other light save it in the vaulted chamber. - -So the old miser perked his chin and brows, and cried wondering, 'I know -it, this Jewel, O my mistress.' - -She turned to the Vizier, and said, lifting the red gloom of the Jewel on -him, 'And thou?' - -Aswarak ate his under-lip. - -Then she cried, 'There's much ye know in common, ye two.' - -Thereupon Bhanavar passed from the feast on to the centre of the vault, -and stood before the tomb of Almeryl, and drew the cloth from it; and -they saw by the glow of the Jewel that it was a tomb. When she had -mounted some steps at the side of the tomb, she beckoned them to come, -crying, in a voice of sobs, 'This which is here, likewise ye may know.' - -So they came with the coldness of a mystery in their blood, and looked as -she looked intently over a tomb. The lid was of glass, and through the -glass of the lid the Jewel flung a dark rosy ray on the body of Almeryl -lying beneath it. - -Now, the miser was perplexed at the sight; but Aswarak stepped backward -in defiance, bellowing, ''Twas for this I was tricked to come here! Is 't -fooling me a second time? By Allah! look to it; not a second time will -Aswarak be fooled.' - -Then she ran to him, and exclaimed, 'Fooled? For what cam'st thou to me?' - -And he, foaming and grinding his breath, 'Thou woman of wiles! thou -serpent! but I'll be gone from here.' - -So she faltered in sweetness, knowing him doomed, and loving to dally -with him in her wickedness, 'Indeed if thou cam'st not for my kiss--' - -Then said the Vizier, 'Yet a further guile! Was't not an outrage to bring -me here?' - -She faltered again, leaning the fair length of her limbs on a couch, -''Tis ill that we are not alone, else could these lips convince thee -well: else indeed!' - -And the Vizier cried, 'Chase then these intruders from us, O thou -sorceress, and above all serpents in power! for thou poisonest with a -touch; and the eye and the ear alike take in thy poisons greedily. Thou -overcomest the senses, the reason, the judgment; yea, vindictiveness, -wrath, suspicions; leading the soul captive with a breath of thine, as -'twere a breeze from the gardens of bliss.' - -Bhanavar changed her manner a little, lisping, 'And why that starting -from the tomb of a dead harmless youth? And that abuse of me?' - -He peered at her inquiringly, echoing 'Why?' - -And she repeated, as a child might repeat it, 'Why that?' - -Then the Vizier smote his forehead in the madness of utter perplexity, -changing his eye from Bhanavar to the tomb of Almeryl, doubting her -truth, yet dreading to disbelieve it. So she saw him fast enmeshed in her -subtleties, and clapped her hands crying, 'Come again with me to the -tomb, and note if there be aught I am to blame in, O Aswarak, and plight -thyself to me beside it.' - -He did nothing save to widen his eye at her somewhat; and she said, 'The -two are yonside the tomb, and they hear us not, and see us not by this -light of the Jewel; so come up to it boldly with me; free thy mind of its -doubt, and for a reconcilement kiss me on the way.' - -Aswarak moved not forward; but as Bhanavar laid the Jewel in her bosom he -tore the veil from her darkened head, and caught her to him and kissed -her. Then Bhanavar laughed and shouted, 'How is it with thee, Vizier -Aswarak?' - -He was tottering, and muttered, ''Tis a death-chill hath struck me even -to my marrow.' - -So she drew the Jewel forth once more, and rubbed it ablaze, and the -noise of the Serpents neared; and they streamed into the vault and under -it in fiery jets, surrounding Bhanavar, and whizzing about her till in -their velocity they were indivisible; and she stood as a fountain of fire -clothed in flashes of the underworld, the new loveliness of her face -growing vivid violet like an incessant lightning above them. Then -stretched she her two hands, and sang to the Serpents:-- - - Hither, hither, to the feast! - Hither to the sacrifice! - Virtue for my sake hath ceased: - Now to make an end of Vice! - - Twisted-tail and treble-tongue, - Swelling length and greedy maw! - I have had a horrid wrong; - Retribution is the law! - - Ye that suck'd my youthful lord, - Now shall make another meal: - Seize the black Vizier abhorr'd; - Seize him! seize him throat and heel! - - Set your serpent wits to find - Tortures of a new device: - Have him! have him heart and mind! - Hither to the sacrifice' - -Then she whirled with them round and round as a tempest whirls; and when -she had wound them to a fury, lo, she burst from the hissing circle and -dragged Ukleet from the vault into the passage, and blocked the entrance -to the vault. So was Queen Bhanavar avenged. - -Now, she said to Ukleet, 'Ransom presently the broker,--him they will not -harm,' and hastened to the King that he might see her in her beauty. The -King reclined on cushions in the harem with a fair slave-girl, newly from -the mountains, toying with the pearls in her locks. Then thought -Bhanavar, 'Let him not slight me!' So she drew a rose-coloured veil over -her face and sat beside Mashalleed. The King continued his fondling with -the girl, saying to her, 'Was there no destiny foretold of thy coming to -the palace of the King to rule it, O Nashta, starbeam in the waters! and -hadst thou no dream of it?' - -Bhanavar struck the King's arm, but he noticed her not, and Nashta -laughed. Then Bhanavar controlled her trembling and said, 'A word, O -King! and vouchsafe me a hearing.' - -The King replied languidly, still looking on Nashta, ''Tis a command that -the voice of none that are crabbed and hideous be heard in the harem, and -I find comfort in it, O Nashta! but speak thou, my fountain of -sweet-dropping lute-notes!' - -Bhanavar caught the King's hand and said, 'I have to speak with thee; -'tis the Queen. Chase from us this little wax puppet a space.' - -The King disengaged his hand and leaned it over to Nashta, who began -playing with it, and fitting on it a ring, giggling. Then, as he answered -nothing, Bhanavar came nearer and slapped him on the cheek. Mashalleed -started to his feet, and his hand grasped his girdle; but that -wrathfulness was stayed when he beheld the veil slide from her visage. So -he cried, 'My Queen! my soul!' - -She pointed to Nashta, and the King chid the girl, and sent her forth -lean with his shifted displeasure, as a kitten slinks wet from a -fish-pond where it had thought to catch a great fish. Then Bhanavar -exclaimed, 'There was a change in thy manner to me before that creature.' - -He sought to dissimulate with her, but at last he confessed, 'I was truly -this morning the victim of a sorcery.' - -Thereupon she cried, 'And thou went angered to find me not by thee on the -couch, but one in my place, a hag of ugliness. Hear then the case, O -Mashalleed! Surely that old crone had a dream, and it was that if she -slept one night by the King she would arise fresh in health from her -ills, and with powers lasting a year to heal others of all maladies with -a touch. So she came to me, petitioning me to bring this about. O my lord -the King, did I well in being privy to her desire?' - -The King could not doubt this story of Bhanavar, seeing her constant -loveliness, and the arch of her flashing brow, and the oval of her cheek -and chin smooth as milk. So he said, 'O my Queen! I had thought to go, as -I must, gladly; but how shall I go, knowing thy truth, thy beauty -unchanged; thee faithful, a follower of the injunctions of the Prophet in -charitable deeds?' - -Cried she, 'And whither goeth my lord, and on what errand?' - -He answered, 'The people of a province southward have raised the standard -of revolt and mocked my authority; they have been joined by certain of -the Arab chiefs subject to my dominion, and have defeated my armies. 'Tis -to subdue them I go; yea, to crush them. Yet, wallaby! I know not. Care I -if kingdoms fall away, and nations, so that I have thee? Nay, let all -pass, so that thou remain by me.' - -Bhanavar paced from him to a mirror, and frowned at the reflection of her -fairness, thinking, 'Such had he spoken to the girl Nashta, or another, -this King!' And she thought, 'I have been beloved by the noblest three on -earth; I will ask no more of love; vengeance I have had. 'Tis time that I -demand of my beauty nothing save power, and I will make this King my -stepping-stone to power, rejoicing my soul with the shock of armies.' - -Now, she persuaded Mashalleed to take her with him on his expedition -against the Arabs; and they set forth, heading a great assemblage of -warriors, southward to the land bordering the Desert. The King credited -the suggestions of Bhanavar, that Aswarak had disappeared to join the -rebels, and pressed forward in his eagerness to inflict a chastisement -signal in swiftness upon them and that traitor; so eagerly Mashalleed -journeyed to his army in advance, that the main body, with Bhanavar, was -left by him long behind. She had encouraged him, saying, 'I shall love -thee much if thou art speedy in winning success.' The Queen was housed on -an elephant, harnessed with gold, and with silken purple trappings; from -the rose-hued curtains of her palanquin she looked on a mighty march of -warriors, filling the extent of the plains; all day she fed her sight on -them. Surely the story of her beauty became noised among the guards of -her person that rode and ran beneath the royal elephant, till the -soldiers of Mashalleed spake but of the beauty of the Queen, and Bhanavar -was as a moon shining over that sea of men. - -Now, they had passed the cultivated fields, and were halting by the ford -of a river bordering the Desert, when lo! a warrior on the yonside, -riding in a cloud of dust, and his shout was, 'The King Mashalleed is -defeated, and flying.' Then the Captains of the host witnessed to the -greatness of Allah, and were troubled with a dread, fearing to advance; -but Bhanavar commanded a horse to be saddled for her, and mounted it, and -plunged through the ford singly; so they followed her, and all day she -rode forward on horseback, touching neither food nor drink. By night she -was a league beyond the foremost of them, and fell upon the King encamped -in the Desert, with the loose remnant of his forces. Mashalleed, when he -had looked on her, forgot his affliction, and stood up to embrace her, -but Bhanavar spurned him, crying, 'A time for this in the time of -disgrace?' Then she said, 'How came it?' - -He answered, 'There was a Chief among the enemy, an Arab, before the -terror of whom my people fled.' - -Cried she, 'Conquer him on the morrow, and till then I eat not, drink -not, sleep not.' - -On the morrow Mashalleed again encountered the rebels, and Bhanavar, -seated on her elephant, from a sand-hillock under a palm, beheld the -prowess of the Arab Chief and the tempest of battle that he was. She -thought, 'I have seen but one mighty in combat like that one, Ruark, the -Chief of the Beni-Asser.' Thereupon she coursed toward the King, even -where the arrows gloomed like locusts, thick and dark in the air aloof, -and said, 'The victory is with yonder Chief! Hurl on him three of thy -sons of valour.' - -The three were selected, and made onslaught on this Chief, and perished -under his arm. - -Bhanavar saw them fall, and exclaimed, 'Another attack on him, and with -thrice three!' - -Her will was the mandate of Mashalleed, and these likewise were ordered -forth, and closed on the Chief, but he darted from their toils and -wheeled about them, spearing them one by one till the nine were in the -dust. Bhanavar compressed her dry lips and muttered to the King, 'Head -thou a body against him.' - -Mashalleed gathered round his standard the chosen of his warriors, and -smoothed his beard, and headed them. Then the Chief struck his lance -behind him, and stretched rapidly a half-circle across the sand, and -halted on a knoll. When they neared him he retreated in a further -half-circle, and continued this wise, wasting the fury of Mashalleed, -till he stood among his followers. There, as the King hesitated and -prepared to retreat, he and the others of the tribe levelled their lances -and hung upon his rear, fretting them, slaughtering captains of the -troop. When Mashalleed turned to face his pursuer, the Chief was alone, -immovable on his mare, fronting the ranks. Then Bhanavar taunted the -King, and he essayed the capture of that Chief a second time and a third, -and it was each time as the first. Bhanavar looked about her with rapid -eyes, murmuring, 'Oh, what a Chief is he! Oh that a cloud would fall, a -smoke arise, to blind these hosts, that I might sling my serpents on him -unseen, for I will not be vanquished, though it be by Ruark!' So she drew -to the King, and the altercation between them was fierce in the fury of -the battle, he saying, ''Tis a feint of the Chief, this challenge; and I -must succour the left of my army by the well, that he is overmatching -with numbers'; and she, 'If thou head them not, then will I, and thou -shalt behold a woman do what thou durst not, and lose her love and win -her scorn.' While they spake the Arabs they looked on seemed to flutter -and waver, and the Chief was backing to them, calling to them as 'twere -words of shame to rally them. Seeing this, Mashalleed charged against the -Chief once more, and lo! the Arabs opened to receive him, closing on his -band of warriors like waters whitened by the storm on a fleet of -swift-scudding vessels: and there was a dust and a tumult visible, such -as is seen in the darkness when a vessel struck by the lightning-bolt is -sinking--flashes of steel, lifting of hands, rolling of horsemen and -horses. Then Bhanavar groaned aloud, 'They are lost! Shame to us! only -one hope is left-that 'tis Ruark, this Chief!' Now, the view of the plain -cleared, and with it she beheld the army of Mashalleed broken, the King -borne down by a dust of Arabs; so she unveiled her face and rode on the -host with the horsemen that guarded her, glorious with a crown of gold -and the glowing Jewel on her brow. When she was a javelin's flight from -them the Arabs shouted and paused in terror, for the light of her head -was as the sun setting between clouds of thunder; but that Chief dashed -forward like a flame beaten level by the wind, crying, 'Bhanavar; -Bhanavar!' and she knew the features of Ruark; so she said, 'Even I!' And -he cried again, 'Bhanavar! Bhanavar!' and was as one stricken by a shaft. -Then Bhanavar threw on him certain of the horsemen with her, and he -suffered them without a sign to surround him and grasp his mare by the -bridle-rein, and bring him, disarmed, before the Queen. At sight of Ruark -a captive the Arabs fell into confusion, and lost heart, and were -speedily chased and scattered from the scene like a loose spray before -the wind; but Mashalleed the King rejoiced mightily and praised Bhanavar, -and the whole army of the King praised her, magnifying her. - -Now, with Ruark she interchanged no syllable, and said not farewell to -him when she departed with Mashalleed, to encounter other tribes; and the -Chief was bound and conducted a prisoner to the city of the inland sea, -and cast into prison, in expectation of Death the releaser, and continued -there wellnigh a year, eating the bitter bread of captivity. In the -evening of every seventh day there came to him a little mountain girl, -that sat by him and leaned a lute to her bosom, singing of the mountain -and the desert, but he turned his face from her to the wall. One day she -sang of Death the releaser, and Ruark thought, ''Tis come! she warneth -me! Merciful is Allah!' On the morning that followed Ukleet entered the -cell, and with him three slaves, blacks, armed with scimitars. So Ruark -stood up and bore witness to his faith, saying, 'Swift with the stroke!' -but Ukleet exclaimed, 'Fear not! the end is not yet.' - -Then said he, 'Peace with thee! These slaves, O Chief, excelling in -martial qualities! surely they're my retinue, and the retinue of them of -my rank in the palace; and where I go they go; for the exalted have more -shadows than one! yea, three have they in my case, even very grimly black -shadows, whereon the idle expend not laughter, and whoso joketh in their -hearing, 'tis, wullahy! the last joke of that person. In such-wise are -the powerful known among men, they that stand very prominent in the beams -of prosperity! Now this of myself; but for thee--of a surety the Queen -Bhanavar, my mistress, will be here by the time of the rising of the -moon. In the name of Allah!' Saying that he departed in his greatness, -and Ruark watched for her that rose in his soul as the moon in the -heavens. - -Meanwhile Bhanavar had mused, ''Tis this day, the day when the Serpents -desire their due, and the King Mashalleed they shall have; for what is -life to him but a treachery and a dalliance, and what is my hold on him -but this Jewel of the Serpents? He has had the profit of beauty, and he -shall yield the penalty: my kiss is for him, my serpent-kiss. And I will -release Ruark, and espouse him, and war with kings, sultans, emperors, -infidels, subduing them till they worship me.' - -She flashed her figure in the glass, and was lovely therein as one in the -light of Paradise; but ere she reached the King Mashalleed, lo! the hour -of the Serpents had struck, and her beauty melted from her as snow melts -from off the rock; and she was suddenly haggard in utter uncomeliness, -and knew it not, but marched, smiling a grand smile, on to the King. Now -as Mashalleed lifted his eyes to her he started amazed, crying, 'The hag -again!' and she said, 'What of the hag, O my lord the King?' Thereat he -was yet more amazed, and exclaimed, 'The hag of ugliness with the voice -of Bhanavar! Has then the Queen lent that loathsomeness her voice also?' - -Bhanavar chilled a moment, and looked on the faces of the women present, -and they were staring at her, the younger ones tittering, and among them -Nashta, whom she hated. So she cried, 'Away with ye!' But the King -commanded them, 'Stay!' Then the Queen leaned to him, saying, 'I will -speak with my lord alone'; whereat he shrank from her, and spat. Ice and -flame shivered through the blood of Bhanavar, yet such was her eagerness -to give the kiss to Mashalleed, that she leaned to him, still wooing him -to her with smiles. Then the King seized her violently, and flung her -over the marble floor to the very basin of the fountain, and the crown -that was on her brow fell and rolled to the feet of Nashta. The girl -lifted it, laughing, and was in the act of fitting it to her fair head -amid the chuckles of her companions, when a slap from the hand of -Bhanavar spun her twice round, and she dropped to the marble insensible. -The King bellowed in wrath, and ran to Nashta, crying to the Queen, -'Surrender that crown to her, foul hag!' But Bhanavar had bent over the -basin of the fountain, and beheld the image of her change therein, and -was hurrying from the hall and down the corridors of the palace to the -private chamber. So he made bare the steel by his side, and followed her -with a number of the harem guard, menacing her, and commanding her to -surrender the crown with the Jewel. Ere she could lay hand on a veil, he -was beside her, and she was encompassed. In that extremity Bhanavar -plucked the Jewel from her crown, and rubbed it, calling the Serpents to -her. One came, one only, and that one would not move from her to sling -himself about the neck of Mashalleed, but whirled round her, hissing: - - Every hour a serpent dies, - Till we have the sacrifice: - Sweeten, sweeten, with thy kiss, - Quick! a soul for Karatis. - -Surely the King bit his breath, marvelling, and his fury became an awful -fear, and he fell back from her, molesting her no further. Then she -squeezed the serpent till his body writhed in knots, and veiled herself, -and sprang down a secret passage to the garden, and it was the time of -the rising of the moon. Coolness and soothingness dropped on her as a -balm from the great light, and she gazed on it murmuring, as in a memory: - - Shall I counsel the moon in her ascending? - Stay under that dark palm-tree through the night, - Rest on the mountain slope, - By the couching antelope, - O thou enthroned supremacy of light! - And for ever the lustre thou art lending - Lean on the fair long brook that leaps and leaps, - Silvery leaps and falls: - Hang by the mountain-walls, - Moon! and arise no more to crown the steeps, - For a danger and dolour is thy wending! - -And she panted and sighed, and wept, crying, 'Who, who will kiss me or -have my kiss now, that I may indeed be as yonder beam? Who, that I may be -avenged on this King? And who sang that song of the ascending of the -moon, that comes to me as a part of me from old times?' As she gazed on -the circled radiance swimming under a plume of palm leaves, she -exclaimed, 'Ruark! Ruark the Chief!' So she clasped her hands to her -bosom, and crouched under the shadows of the garden, and fled through the -garden gates and the streets of the city, heavily veiled, to the prison -where Ruark awaited her within the walls and Ukleet without. The Governor -of the prison had been warned by Ukleet of her coming, and the doors and -bars opened before her unchallenged, till she stood in the cell of Ruark; -her eyes, that were alone unveiled, scanned the countenance of the Chief, -the fevered lustre-jet of his looks, and by the little moonlight in the -cell she saw with a glance the straw-heap and the fetters, and the -black-bread and water untasted on the bench--signs of his misery and -desire for her coming. So she greeted him with the word of peace, and he -replied with the name of the All-Merciful. Then said she, 'O Ruark, of -Rukrooth thy mother tell me somewhat.' - -He answered, 'I know nought of her since that day. Allah have her in his -keeping!' - -So she cried, 'How? What say'st thou, Ruark? 'tis a riddle.' - -Then he, 'The oath of Ruark is no rope of sand! He swore to see her not -till he had set eyes on Bhanavar.' - -She knelt by the Chief, saying in a soft voice, 'Very greatly the Chief -of the Beni-Asser loved Bhanavar.' And she thought, 'Yea! greatly and -verily love I him; and he shall be no victim of the Serpents, for I defy -them and give them other prey.' So she said in deeper notes, 'Ruark! the -Queen is come hither to release thee. O my Chief! O thou soul of wrath! -Ruark, my fire-eye! my eagle of the desert! where is one on earth beloved -as thou art by Bhanavar?' The dark light in his eyes kindled as light in -the eyes of a lion, and she continued, 'Ruark, what a yoke is hers who -weareth this crown! He that is my lord, how am I mated to him save in -loathing? O my Chief, my lion! hadst thou no dream of Bhanavar, that she -would come hither to unbind thee and lift thee beside her, and live with -thee in love and veilless loveliness,--thine? Yea! and in power over -lands and nations and armies, lording the infidel, taming them to -submission, exulting in defiance and assaults and victories and -magnanimities--thou and she?' Then while his breast heaved like a broad -wave, the Queen started to her feet, crying, 'Lo, she is here! and this -she offereth thee, Ruark!' - -A shrill cry parted from her lips, and to the clapping of her hands -slaves entered the cell with lamps, and instruments to strike off the -fetters from the Chief; and they released him, and Ruark leaned on their -shoulders to bear the weight of a limb, so was he weakened by captivity; -but Bhanavar thrust them from the Chief, and took the pressure of his -elbow on her own shoulder, and walked with him thus to the door of the -cell, he sighing as one in a dream that dreameth the bliss of bliss. Now -they had gone three paces onward, and were in the light of many lamps, -when behold! the veil of Bhanavar caught in the sleeve of Ruark as he -lifted it, and her visage became bare. She shrieked, and caught up her -two hands to her brow, but the slaves had a glimpse of her, and said -among themselves, 'This is not the Queen.' And they murmured, ''Tis an -impostor! one in league with the Chief.' Bhanavar heard them say, 'Arrest -her with him at the Governor's gate,' and summoned her soul, thinking, -'He loveth me, the Chief! he will look into my eyes and mark not the -change. What need I then to dread his scorn when I ask of him the kiss: -now must it be given, or we are lost, both of us!' and she raised her -head on Ruark, and said to him, 'my Chief, ere we leave these walls and -join our fates, wilt thou plight thyself to me with a kiss?' - -Ruark leapt to her like the bounding leopard, and gave her the kiss, as -were it his whole soul he gave. Then in a moment Bhanavar felt the blush -of beauty burn over her, and drew the veil down on her face, and suffered -the slaves to arrest her with Ruark, and bring her before the Governor, -and from the Governor to the King in his council-chamber, with the Chief -of the Beni-Asser. - -Now, the King Mashalleed called to her, 'Thou traitress! thou sorceress! -thou serpent!' - -And she answered under the veil, 'What, O my lord the King! and wherefore -these evil names of me?' - -Cried he, 'Thou thing of guile! and thou hast pleaded with me for the -life of the Chief thus long to visit him in secret! Life of my head I but -Mashalleed is not one to be fooled.' - -So she said, ''Tis Bhanavar! hast thou forgotten her?' - -Then he waxed white with rage, exclaiming, 'Yea, 'tis she! a serpent in -the slough! and Ukleet in the torture hath told of thee what is known to -him. Unveil! unveil!' - -She threw the veil from her figure, and smiled, for Mashalleed was mute, -the torrent of invective frozen on his mouth when he beheld the miracle -of beauty that she was, the splendid jewel of throbbing loveliness. So to -scourge him with the bitter lash of jealousy, Bhanavar turned her eyes on -Ruark, and said sweetly, 'Yet shalt thou live to taste again the bliss of -the Desert. Pleasant was our time in it, O my Chief!' The King glared and -choked, and she said again, 'Nor he conquered thee, but I; and I that -conquered thee, little will it be for me to conquer him: his threats are -the winds of idleness.' - -Surely the world darkened before the eyes of Mashalleed, and he arose and -called to his guard hoarsely, 'Have off their heads!' They hesitated, -dreading the Queen, and he roared, 'Slay them!' - -Bhanavar beheld the winking of the steel, but ere the scimitars -descended, she seized Ruark, and they stood in a whizzing ring of -serpents, the sound of whom was as the hum of a thousand wires struck by -storm-winds. Then she glowed, towering over them with the Chief clasped -to her, and crying: - - King of vileness! match thy slaves - With my creatures of the caves. - -And she sang to the Serpents: - - Seize upon him! sting him thro'! - Thrice this day shall pay your due. - -But they, instead of obeying her injunction, made narrower their circle -round Bhanavar and the Chief. She yellowed, and took hold of the nearest -Serpent horribly, crying: - - Dare against me to rebel, - Ye, the bitter brood of hell? - -And the Serpent gasped in reply: - - One the kiss to us secures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Thereupon another of the Serpents swung on, the feet of Ruark, winding -his length upward round the body of the Chief; so she tugged at that one, -tearing it from him violently, and crying: - - Him ye shall not have, I swear! - Seize the King that's crouching there. - -And that Serpent hissed: - - This is he the kiss ensures: - Give us ours, and we are yours. - -Another and another Serpent she flung from the Chief, and they began to -swarm venomously, answering her no more. Then Ruark bore witness to his -faith, and folded his arms with the grave smile she had known in the -desert; and Bhanavar struggled and tussled with the Serpents in -fierceness, strangling and tossing them to right and left. 'Great is -Allah!' cried all present, and the King trembled, for never was sight -like that seen, the hall flashing with the Serpents, and a woman-serpent, -their Queen, raging to save one from their fury, shrieking at intervals: - - Never, never shall ye fold, - Save with me the man I hold. - -But now the hiss and scream of the Serpents and the noise of their -circling was quickened to a slurred savage sound and they closed on -Ruark, and she felt him stifling and that they were relentless. So in the -height of the tempest Bhanavar seized the Jewel in the gold circlet on -her brow and cast it from her. Lo! the Serpents instantly abated their -frenzy, and flew all of them to pluck the Jewel, chasing the one that had -it in his fangs through the casement, and the hall breathed empty of -them. Then in the silence that was, Bhanavar veiled her face and said to -the Chief, 'Pass from the hall while they yet dread me. No longer am I -Queen of Serpents.' - -But he replied, 'Nay! said I not my soul is thine?' - -She cried to him, 'Seest thou not the change in me? I was bound to those -Serpents for my beauty, and 'tis gone! Now am I powerless, hateful to -look on, O Ruark my Chief!' - -He remained still, saying, 'What thou hast been thou art.' - -She exclaimed, 'O true soul, the light is hateful to me as I to the -light; but I will yet save thee to comfort Rukrooth, thy mother.' - -So she drew him with her swiftly from the hall of the King ere the King -had recovered his voice of command; but now the wrath of the All-powerful -was upon her and him! Surely within an hour from the flight of the -Serpents, the slaves and soldiers of Mashalleed laid at his feet two -heads that were the heads of Ruark and Bhanavar; and they said, 'O great -King, we tracked them to her chamber and through to a passage and a vault -hung with black, wherein were two corpses, one in a tomb and one -unburied, and we slew them there, clasping each other, O King of the -age!' - -Mashalleed gazed upon the head of Bhanavar and sighed, for death had made -the head again fair with a wondrous beauty, a loveliness never before -seen on earth. - - - - -THE BETROTHAL - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag had ceased speaking, the Vizier smiled gravely, -and shook his beard with satisfaction, and said to the Eclipser of -Reason, 'What opinest thou of this nephew of the barber, O Noorna bin -Noorka?' - -She answered, "O Feshnavat, my father, truly I am content with the -bargain of my betrothal. He, Wullahy, is a fair youth of flowing speech.' -Then she said, 'Ask thou him what he opineth of me, his betrothed?" - -So the Vizier put that interrogation to Shibli Bagarag, and the youth was -in perplexity; thinking, 'Is it possible to be joyful in the embrace of -one that hath brought thwackings upon us, serious blows?' Thinking, 'Yet -hath she, when the mood cometh, kindly looks; and I marked her eye -dwelling on me admiringly!' And he thought, 'Mayhap she that groweth -younger and counteth nature backwards, hath a history that would affect -me; or, it may be, my kisses--wah! I like not to give them, and it is -said, - - "Love is wither'd by the withered lip"; - -and that, - - "On bones become too prominent he'll trip." - -Yet put the case, that my kisses--I shower them not, Allah the All-seeing -is my witness! and they be given daintily as 'twere to the leaf of a -nettle, or over-hot pilau. Yet haply kisses repeated might restore her to -a bloom, and it is certain youth is somehow stolen from her, if the -Vizier Feshnavat went before her, and his blood be her blood; and he is -powerful, she wise. I'll decide to act the part of a rejoicer, and -express of her opinions honeyed to the soul of that sex.' - -Now, while he was thus debating he hung his head, and the Vizier awaited -his response, knitting his brows angrily at the delay, and at the last he -cried, 'What! no answer? how 's this? Shall thy like dare hold debate -when questioned of my like? And is my daughter Noorna bin Noorka, -thinkest thou, a slave-girl in the market,--thou haggling at her price, O -thou nephew of the barber?' - -So Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, 'O exalted one, bestower of the bride! -surely I debated with myself but for appropriate terms; and I delayed to -select the metre of the verse fitting my thoughts of her, and my wondrous -good fortune, and the honour done me.' - -Then the Vizier, 'Let us hear: we listen.' - -And Shibli Bagarag was advised to deal with illustrations in his dilemma, -by-ways of expression, and spake in extemporaneous verse, and with a full -voice: - - The pupils of the Sage for living Beauty sought; - And one a Vision clasped, and one a Model wrought. - 'I have it!' each exclaimed, and rivalry arose: - 'Paint me thy Maid of air!' 'Thy Grace of clay disclose.' - 'What! limbs that cannot move!' 'What! lips that melt away!' - 'Keep thou thy Maid of air!' 'Shroud up thy Grace of clay!' - 'Twas thus, contending hot, they went before the Sage, - And knelt at the wise wells of cold ascetic age. - 'The fairest of the twain, O father, thou record': - -He answered, 'Fairest she who's likest to her lord.' - -Said they, 'What fairer thing matched with them might prevail?' - -The Sage austerely smiled, and said, 'Yon monkey's tail.' - - 'Tis left for after-time his wisdom to declare: - That's loveliest we best love, and to ourselves compare. - Yet lovelier than all hands shape or fancies build, - The meanest thing of earth God with his fire hath filled. - -Now, when Shibli Bagarag ceased, Noorna bin Noorka cried, 'Enough, O -wondrous turner of verse, thou that art honest!' And she laughed loudly, -rustling like a bag of shavings, and rolling in her laughter. - -Then said she, 'O my betrothed, is not the thing thou wouldst say no -other than-- - - "Each to his mind doth the fairest enfold, - For broken long since was Beauty's mould"; - -and, "Thou that art old, withered, I cannot flatter thee, as I can in no -way pay compliments to the monkey's tail of high design; nevertheless the -Sage would do thee honour"? So read I thy illustration, O keen of wit! -and thou art forgiven its boldness, my betrothed,--Wullahy! utterly so.' - -Now, the youth was abashed at her discernment, and the kindliness of her -manner won him to say: - - There's many a flower of sweetness, there's many a gem of earth - Would thrill with bliss our being, could we perceive its worth. - O beauteous is creation, in fashion and device! - If I have fail'd to think thee fair, 'tis blindness is my vice. - -And she answered him: - - I've proved thy wit and power of verse, - That is at will diffuse and terse: - Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! - I am content: the time will come! - -Then she said to the Vizier Feshnavat, 'O my father, there is all in this -youth, the nephew of the barber, that's desirable for the undertaking; -and his feet will be on a level with the task we propose for him, he the -height of man above it. 'Tis clear that vanity will trip him, but honesty -is a strong upholder; and he is one that hath the spirit of enterprise -and the mask of dissimulation: gratitude I observe in him; and it is as I -thought when I came upon him on the sand-hill outside the city, that his -star is clearly in a web with our star, he destined for the Shaving of -Shagpat.' - -So the Vizier replied, 'He hath had thwackings, yet is he not deterred -from making further attempt on Shagpat. I think well of him, and I augur -hopefully. Wullahy! the Cadi shall be sent for; I can sleep in his -secresy; and he shall perform the ceremonies of betrothal, even now and -where we sit, and it shall be for him to write the terms of contract: so -shall we bind the youth firmly to us, and he will be one of us as we are, -devoted to the undertaking by three bonds--the bond of vengeance, the -bond of ambition, and that of love.' - -Now, so it was that the Vizier despatched a summons for the attendance of -the Cadi, and he came and performed between Shibli Bagarag and Noorna bin -Noorka ceremonies of betrothal, and wrote terms of contract; and they -were witnessed duly by the legal number of witnesses, and so worded that -he had no claim on her as wife till such time as the Event to which he -bound himself was mastered. Then the fees being paid, and compliments -interchanged, the Vizier exclaimed, 'Be ye happy! and let the weak cling -to the strong; and be ye two to one in this world, and no split halves -that betray division and stick not together when the gum is heated.' Then -he made a sign to the Cadi and them that had witnessed the contract to -follow him, leaving the betrothed ones to their own company. - -So when they were alone Noorna gazed on the youth wistfully, and said in -a soft tone, 'Thou art dazed with the adventure, O youth! Surely there is -one kiss owing me: art thou willing? Am I reduced to beg it of thee? Or -dream'st thou?' - -He lifted his head and replied, 'Even so.' - -Thereat he stood up languidly, and went to her and kissed her. And she -smiled and said, 'I wot it will be otherwise, and thou wilt learn -swiftness of limb, brightness of eye, and the longing for earthly -beatitude, when next I ask thee, O my betrothed!' - -Lo! while she spake, new light seemed in her; and it was as if a splendid -jewel were struggling to cast its beams through the sides of a crystal -vase smeared with dust and old dirt and spinnings of the damp spider. He -was amazed, and cried, 'How's this? What change is passing in thee?' - -She said, 'Joy in thy kiss, and that I have 'scaped Shagpat.' - -Then he: 'Shagpat? How? had that wretch claim over thee ere I came?' - -But she looked fearfully at the corners of the room and exclaimed, 'Hush, -my betrothed! speak not of him in that fashion, 'tis dangerous; and my -power cannot keep off his emissaries at all times.' Then she said, 'O my -betrothed, know me a sorceress ensorcelled; not that I seem, but that I -shall be! Wait thou for the time and it will reward thee. What! thou -think'st to have plucked a wrinkled o'erripe fruit,--a mouldy pomegranate -under the branches, a sour tamarind? 'Tis well! I say nought, save that -time will come, and be thou content. It is truly as I said, that I have -thee between me and Shagpat; and that honoured one of this city thought -fit in his presumption to demand me in marriage at the hands of my -father, knowing me wise, and knowing the thing that transformed me to -this, the abominable fellow! Surely my father entertained not his -proposal save with scorn; but the King looked favourably on it, and it is -even now matter of reproach to Feshnavat, my father, that he withholdeth -me from Shagpat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'A clothier, O Noorna, control the Vizier! and -demand of him his daughter in marriage! and a clothier influence the King -against his Vizier!'--tis, wullahy! a riddle.' - -She replied, ''Tis even so, eyes of mine, my betrothed! but thou know'st -not Shagpat, and that he is. Lo! the King, and all of this city save we -three, are held in enchantment by him, and made foolish by one hair -that's in his head.' - -Shibli Bagarag started in his seat like one that shineth with a -discovery, and cried, 'The Identical!' - -Then she, sighing, ''Tis that indeed! but the Identical of Identicals, -the chief and head of them, and I, woe's me! I, the planter of it.' - -So he said, 'How so?' - -But she cried, 'I'll tell thee not here, nor aught of myself and him, and -the Genie held in bondage by me, till thou art proved by adventure, and -we float peacefully on the sea of the Bright Lily: there shalt thou see -me as I am, and hear my story, and marvel at it; for 'tis wondrous, and a -manifestation of the Power that dwelleth unseen.' - -So Shibli Bagarag pondered awhile on the strange nature of the things she -hinted, and laughter seized him as he reflected on Shagpat, and the whole -city enchanted by one hair in his head; and he exclaimed, 'O Noorna, -knoweth he, Shagpat, of the might in him?' - -She answered, 'Enough for his vain soul that homage is paid to him, and -he careth not for the wherefore!' - -Shibli Bagarag fixed his eyes on the deep-flowered carpets of the floor, -as if reading there a matter quaintly written, and smiled, saying, 'What -boldness was mine--the making offer to shear Shagpat, the lion in his -lair, he that holdeth a whole city in enchantment! Wah! 'twas an instance -of daring!' - -And Noorna said, 'Not only an entire city, but other cities affected by -him, as witness Oolb, whither thou wilt go; and there be governments and -states, and conditions of men remote, that hang upon him, Shagpat. 'Tis -even so; I swell not his size. When thou hast mastered the Event, and -sent him forth shivering from thy blade like the shorn lamb, 'twill be -known how great a thing has been achieved, and a record for the -generations to come; choice is that historian destined to record it!' - -Quoth he, looking eagerly at her, 'O Noorna, what is it in thy speech -affecteth me? Surely it infuseth the vigour of wine, old wine; and I -shiver with desire to shave Shagpat, and spin threads for the historian -to weave in order. I, wullahy! had but dry visions of the greatness -destined for me till now, my betrothed! Shall I master an Event in -shaving him, and be told of to future ages? By Allah and his Prophet -(praise be to that name!), this is greatness! Say, Noorna, hadst thou -foreknowledge of me and my coming to this city?' - -So she said, 'I was on the roofs one night among the stars ere moonrise, -O my betrothed, and 'twas close on the rise of this very month's moon. -The star of our enemy, Shagpat, was large and red, mine as it were -menaced by its proximity, nigh swallowed in its haughty beams and the -steady overbearings of its effulgence. 'Twas so as it had long been, when -suddenly, lo! a star from the upper heaven that shot down between them -wildly, and my star took lustre from it; and the star of Shagpat trembled -like a ring on a tightened rope, and waved and flickered, and seemed to -come forward and to retire; and 'twas presently as a comet in the sky, -bright,--a tadpole, with large head and lengthy tail, in the assembly of -the planets. This I saw: and that the stranger star was stationed by my -star, shielding it, and that it drew nearer to my star, and entered its -circle, and that the two stars seemed mixing the splendour that was -theirs. Now, that sight amazed me, and my heart in its beating quickened -with the expectation of things approaching. Surely I rendered praise, and -pressed both hands on my bosom, and watched, and behold! the comet, the -illumined tadpole, was becoming restless beneath the joint rays of the -twain that were dominating him; and he diminished, and lashed his tail -uneasily, half madly, darting as do captured beasts from the fetters that -constrain them. Then went there from thy star--for I know now 'twas -thine--a momentary flash across the head of the tadpole, and again -another and another, rapidly, pertinaciously. And from thy star there -passed repeated flashes across the head of the tadpole, till his -brilliance was as 'twere severed from him, and he, like drossy silver, a -dead shape in the conspicuous heavens. And he became yellow as the -rolling eyes of sick wretches in pain, and shrank in his place like pale -parchment at the touch of flame; dull was he as an animal fascinated by -fear, and deprived of all power to make head against the foe, darkness, -that now beset him, and usurped part of his yet lively tail, and settled -on his head, and coated part of his body. So when this tadpole, that was -once terrible to me, became turbaned, shoed, and shawled with darkness, -and there was little of him remaining visible, lo! a concluding flash -shot from thy star, and he fell heavily down the sky and below the hills, -into the sea, that is the Enchanted Sea, whose Queen is Rabesqurat, -Mistress of Illusions. Now when my soul recovered from amazement at the -marvels seen, I arose and went from the starry roofs to consult my books -of magic, and 'twas revealed to me that one was wandering to a junction -with my destiny, and that by his means the great aim would of a surety be -accomplished--Shagpat Shaved! So my purpose was to discover him; and I -made calculations, and summoned them that serve me to search for such a -youth as thou art; fairly, O my betrothed, did I preconceive thee. And so -it was that I traced a magic line from the sand-hills to the city, and -from the outer hills to the sand-hills; and whoso approached by that line -I knew was he marked out as my champion, my betrothed,--a youth destined -for great things. Was I right? The egg hatcheth. Thou art already proved -by thwackings, seasoned to the undertaking, and I doubt not thou art he -that will finish with that tadpole Shagpat, and sit in the high seat, thy -name an odour in distant lands, a joy to the historian, the Compiler of -Events, thou Master of the Event, the greatest which time will witness -for ages to come.' - -When she had spoken Shibli Bagarag considered her words, and the -knowledge that he was selected by destiny as Master of the Event inflated -him; and he was a hawk in eagerness, a peacock in pride, an ostrich in -fulness of chest, crying, 'O Noorna bin Noorka! is't really so? Truly it -must be, for the readers of planets were also busy with me at the time of -my birth, interpreting of me in excessive agitation; and the thing they -foretold is as thou foretellest. I am, wullahy! marked: I walk manifest -in the eye of Providence.' - -Thereupon he exulted, and his mind strutted through the future of his -days, and down the ladder of all time, exacting homage from men, his -brethren; and 'twas beyond the art of Noorna to fix him to the present -duties of the enterprise: he was as feathered seed before the breath of -vanity. - -Now, while the twain discoursed, she of the preparations for shaving -Shagpat, he of his completion of the deed, and the honours due to him as -Master of the Event, Feshnavat the Vizier returned to them from his -entertainment of the Cadi; and he had bribed him to silence with a mighty -bribe. So he called to them-- - -'Ho! be ye ready to commence the work? and have ye advised together as to -the beginning? True is that triplet: - - "Whatever enterprize man hath, - For waking love or curbing wrath, - 'Tis the first step that makes a path." - -And how have ye determined as to that first step?' - -Noorna replied, 'O my father! we have not decided, and there hath been -yet no deliberation between us as to that.' - -Then he said, 'All this while have ye talked, and no deliberation as to -that! Lo, I have drawn the Cadi to our plot, and bribed him with a mighty -bribe; and I have prepared possible disguises for this nephew of the -barber; and I have had the witnesses of thy betrothal despatched to -foreign parts, far kingdoms in the land of Roum, to prevent tattling and -gabbling; and ye that were left alone for debating as to the great deed, -ye have not yet deliberated as to that! Is't known to ye, O gabblers, -aught of the punishment inflicted by Shahpesh, the Persian, on Khipil, -the Builder?--a punishment that, by Allah!' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'How of that punishment, O Vizier?' - -And the Vizier narrated as followeth. - - - - -AND THIS IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SHAHPESH, THE PERSIAN, ON KHIPIL, THE -BUILDER - -They relate that Shahpesh, the Persian, commanded the building of a -palace, and Khipil was his builder. The work lingered from the first year -of the reign of Shahpesh even to his fourth. One day Shahpesh went to the -riverside where it stood, to inspect it. Khipil was sitting on a marble -slab among the stones and blocks; round him stretched lazily the masons -and stonecutters and slaves of burden; and they with the curve of -humorous enjoyment on their lips, for he was reciting to them adventures, -interspersed with anecdotes and recitations and poetic instances, as was -his wont. They were like pleased flocks whom the shepherd hath led to a -pasture freshened with brooks, there to feed indolently; he, the -shepherd, in the midst. - -Now, the King said to him, 'O Khipil, show me my palace where it -standeth, for I desire to gratify my sight with its fairness.' - -Khipil abased himself before Shahpesh, and answered, ''Tis even here, O -King of the age, where thou delightest the earth with thy foot and the -ear of thy slave with sweetness. Surely a site of vantage, one that -dominateth earth, air, and water, which is the builder's first and chief -requisition for a noble palace, a palace to fill foreign kings and -sultans with the distraction of envy; and it is, O Sovereign of the time, -a site, this site I have chosen, to occupy the tongues of travellers and -awaken the flights of poets!' - -Shahpesh smiled and said, 'The site is good! I laud the site! Likewise I -laud the wisdom of Ebn Busrac, where he exclaims: - - "Be sure, where Virtue faileth to appear, - For her a gorgeous mansion men will rear; - And day and night her praises will be heard, - Where never yet she spake a single word."' - -Then said he, 'O Khipil, my builder, there was once a farm servant that, -having neglected in the seed-time to sow, took to singing the richness of -his soil when it was harvest, in proof of which he displayed the -abundance of weeds that coloured the land everywhere. Discover to me now -the completeness of my halls and apartments, I pray thee, O Khipil, and -be the excellence of thy construction made visible to me!' - -Quoth Khipil, 'To hear is to obey.' - -He conducted Shahpesh among the unfinished saloons and imperfect courts -and roofless rooms, and by half erected obelisks, and columns pierced and -chipped, of the palace of his building. And he was bewildered at the -words spoken by Shahpesh; but now the King exalted him, and admired the -perfection of his craft, the greatness of his labour, the speediness of -his construction, his assiduity; feigning not to behold his negligence. - -Presently they went up winding balusters to a marble terrace, and the -King said, 'Such is thy devotion and constancy in toil, Khipil, that thou -shaft walk before me here.' - -He then commanded Khipil to precede him, and Khipil was heightened with -the honour. When Khipil had paraded a short space he stopped quickly, and -said to Shahpesh, 'Here is, as it chanceth, a gap, O King! and we can go -no further this way.' - -Shahpesh said, 'All is perfect, and it is my will thou delay not to -advance.' - -Khipil cried, 'The gap is wide, O mighty King, and manifest, and it is an -incomplete part of thy palace.' - -Then said Shahpesh, 'O Khipil, I see no distinction between one part and -another; excellent are all parts in beauty and proportion, and there can -be no part incomplete in this palace that occupieth the builder four -years in its building: so advance, do my bidding.' - -Khipil yet hesitated, for the gap was of many strides, and at the bottom -of the gap was a deep water, and he one that knew not the motion of -swimming. But Shahpesh ordered his guard to point their arrows in the -direction of Khipil, and Khipil stepped forward hurriedly, and fell in -the gap, and was swallowed by the water below. When he rose the second -time, succour reached him, and he was drawn to land trembling, his teeth -chattering. And Shahpesh praised him, and said, 'This is an apt -contrivance for a bath, Khipil O my builder! well conceived; one that -taketh by surprise; and it shall be thy reward daily when much talking -hath fatigued thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead him to the hall of state. And when they were -there Shahpesh said, 'For a privilege, and as a mark of my approbation, I -give thee permission to sit in the marble chair of yonder throne, even in -my presence, O Khipil.' - -Khipil said, 'Surely, O King, the chair is not yet executed.' - -And Shahpesh exclaimed, 'If this be so, thou art but the length of thy -measure on the ground, O talkative one!' - -Khipil said, 'Nay, 'tis not so, O King of splendours! blind that I am! -yonder's indeed the chair.' - -And Khipil feared the King, and went to the place where the chair should -be, and bent his body in a sitting posture, eyeing the King, and made -pretence to sit in the chair of Shahpesh, as in conspiracy to amuse his -master. - -Then said Shahpesh, 'For a token that I approve thy execution of the -chair, thou shalt be honoured by remaining seated in it up to the hour of -noon; but move thou to the right or to the left, showing thy soul -insensible of the honour done thee, transfixed thou shah be with twenty -arrows and five.' - -The King then left him with a guard of twenty-five of his body-guard; and -they stood around him with bent bows, so that Khipil dared not move from -his sitting posture. And the masons and the people crowded to see Khipil -sitting on his master's chair, for it became rumoured about. When they -beheld him sitting upon nothing, and he trembling to stir for fear of the -loosening of the arrows, they laughed so that they rolled upon the floor -of the hall, and the echoes of laughter were a thousand-fold. Surely the -arrows of the guards swayed with the laughter that shook them. - -Now, when the time had expired for his sitting in the chair, Shahpesh -returned to him, and he was cramped, pitiable to see; and Shahpesh said, -'Thou hast been exalted above men, O Khipil! for that thou didst execute -for thy master has been found fitting for thee.' - -Then he bade Khipil lead the way to the noble gardens of dalliance and -pleasure that he had planted and contrived. And Khipil went in that state -described by the poet, when we go draggingly, with remonstrating members, - - Knowing a dreadful strength behind, - And a dark fate before. - -They came to the gardens, and behold, these were full of weeds and -nettles, the fountains dry, no tree to be seen--a desert. And Shahpesh -cried, 'This is indeed of admirable design, O Khipil! Feelest thou not -the coolness of the fountains?--their refreshingness? Truly I am grateful -to thee! And these flowers, pluck me now a handful, and tell me of their -perfume.' - -Khipil plucked a handful of the nettles that were there in the place of -flowers, and put his nose to them before Shahpesh, till his nose was -reddened; and desire to rub it waxed in him, and possessed him, and -became a passion, so that he could scarce refrain from rubbing it even in -the King's presence. And the King encouraged him to sniff and enjoy their -fragrance, repeating the poet's words: - - Methinks I am a lover and a child, - A little child and happy lover, both! - When by the breath of flowers I am beguiled - From sense of pain, and lulled in odorous sloth. - So I adore them, that no mistress sweet - Seems worthier of the love which they awake: - In innocence and beauty more complete, - Was never maiden cheek in morning lake. - Oh, while I live, surround me with fresh flowers! - Oh, when I die, then bury me in their bowers! - -And the King said, 'What sayest thou, O my builder? that is a fair -quotation, applicable to thy feelings, one that expresseth them?' - -Khipil answered, ''Tis eloquent, O great King! comprehensiveness would be -its portion, but that it alludeth not to the delight of chafing.' - -Then Shahpesh laughed, and cried, 'Chafe not! it is an ill thing and a -hideous! This nosegay, O Khipil, it is for thee to present to thy -mistress. Truly she will receive thee well after its presentation! I will -have it now sent in thy name, with word that thou followest quickly. And -for thy nettled nose, surely if the whim seize thee that thou desirest -its chafing, to thy neighbour is permitted what to thy hand is refused.' - -The King set a guard upon Khipil to see that his orders were executed, -and appointed a time for him to return to the gardens. - -At the hour indicated Khipil stood before Shahpesh again. He was pale, -saddened; his tongue drooped like the tongue of a heavy bell, that when -it soundeth giveth forth mournful sounds only: he had also the look of -one battered with many beatings. So the King said, 'How of the -presentation of the flowers of thy culture, O Khipil?' - -He answered, 'Surely, O King, she received me with wrath, and I am shamed -by her.' - -And the King said, 'How of my clemency in the matter of the chafing?' - -Khipil answered, 'O King of splendours! I made petition to my neighbours -whom I met, accosting them civilly and with imploring, for I ached to -chafe, and it was the very raging thirst of desire to chafe that was -mine, devouring eagerness for solace of chafing. And they chafed me, O -King; yet not in those parts which throbbed for the chafing, but in those -which abhorred it.' - -Then Shahpesh smiled and said, ''Tis certain that the magnanimity of -monarchs is as the rain that falleth, the sun that shineth: and in this -spot it fertilizeth richness; in that encourageth rankness. So art thou -but a weed, O Khipil! and my grace is thy chastisement.' - -Now, the King ceased not persecuting Khipil, under pretence of doing him -honour and heaping favours on him. Three days and three nights was Khipil -gasping without water, compelled to drink of the drought of the fountain, -as an honour at the hands of the King. And he was seven days and seven -nights made to stand with stretched arms, as they were the branches of a -tree, in each hand a pomegranate. And Shahpesh brought the people of his -court to regard the wondrous pomegranate shoot planted by Khipil, very -wondrous, and a new sort, worthy the gardens of a King. So the wisdom of -the King was applauded, and men wotted he knew how to punish offences in -coin, by the punishment inflicted on Khipil the builder. Before that time -his affairs had languished, and the currents of business instead of -flowing had become stagnant pools. It was the fashion to do as did -Khipil, and fancy the tongue a constructor rather than a commentator; and -there is a doom upon that people and that man which runneth to seed in -gabble, as the poet says in his wisdom: - - If thou wouldst be famous, and rich in splendid fruits, - Leave to bloom the flower of things, and dig among the roots. - -Truly after Khipil's punishment there were few in the dominions of -Shahpesh who sought to win the honours bestowed by him on gabblers and -idlers: as again the poet: - - When to loquacious fools with patience rare - I listen, I have thoughts of Khipil's chair: - His bath, his nosegay, and his fount I see,-- - Himself stretch'd out as a pomegranate-tree. - And that I am not Shahpesh I regret, - So to inmesh the babbler in his net. - Well is that wisdom worthy to be sung, - Which raised the Palace of the Wagging Tongue! - -And whoso is punished after the fashion of Shahpesh, the Persian, on -Khipil the Builder, is said to be one 'in the Palace of the Wagging -Tongue' to this time. - - - - -THE GENIE KARAZ - -Now, when the voice of the Vizier had ceased, Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -'O Vizier, this night, no later, I'll surprise Shagpat, and shave him -while he sleepeth: and he shall wake shorn beside his spouse. Wullahy! -I'll delay no longer, I, Shibli Bagarag.' - -Said the Vizier, 'Thou?' - -And he replied, 'Surely, O Vizier! thou knowest little of my dexterity.' - -So the Vizier laughed, and Noorna bin Noorka laughed, and he was at a -loss to interpret the cause of their laughter. Then said Noorna, 'O my -betrothed, there's not a doubt among us of thy dexterity, nor question of -thy willingness; but this shaving of Shagpat, wullahy! 'tis longer work -than what thou makest of it.' - -And he cried, 'How? because of the Chief of Identicals planted by thee in -his head?' - -She answered, 'Because of that; but 'tis the smallest opposer, that.' - -Then the Vizier said, 'Let us consult.' - -So Shibli Bagarag gave ear, and the Vizier continued, 'There's first, the -Chief of Identicals planted by thee in the head of that presumptuous -fellow, O my daughter! By what means shall that be overcome?' - -She said, 'I rank not that first, O Feshnavat, my father; surely I rank -first the illusions with which Rabesqurat hath surrounded him, and made -it difficult to know him from his semblances, whenever real danger -threateneth him.' - -The Vizier assented, saying, 'Second, then, the Chief of Identicals?' - -She answered, 'Nay, O my father; second, the weakness that's in man, and -the little probability of his finishing with Shagpat at one effort; and -there is but a sole chance for whoso attempteth, and if he faileth, 'tis -forever he faileth.' - -So the Vizier said, 'Even I knew not 'twas so grave! Third, then, the -Chief of Identicals?' - -She replied, 'Third! which showeth the difficulty of the task. Read ye -not, first, how the barber must come upon Shagpat and fix him for his -operation; second, how the barber must be possessed of more than mortal -strength to master him in so many strokes; third, how the barber must -have a blade like no other blade in this world in sharpness, in temper, -in velocity of sweep, that he may reap this crop which flourisheth on -Shagpat, and with it the magic hair which defieth edge of mortal blades?' - -Now, the Vizier sighed at the words, saying, 'Powerful is Shagpat. I knew -not the thing I undertook. I fear his mastery of us, and we shall be -contemned--objects for the red finger of scorn.' - -Noorna turned to Shibli Bagarag and asked, 'Do the three bonds of -enterprise--vengeance, ambition, and love--shrink in thee from this great -contest?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, ''Tis terrible! on my head be it!' - -She gazed at him a moment tenderly, and said, 'Thou art worthy of what is -in store for thee, O my betrothed! and I think little of the dangers, in -contemplation of the courage in thee. Lo, if vengeance and ambition spur -thee so, how will not love when added to the two?' - -Then said she, 'As to the enchantments and spells that shall overreach -him, and as to the blade wherewith to shear him?' - -Feshnavat exclaimed, 'Yonder 's indeed where we stumble and are tripped -at starting.' - -But she cried, 'What if I know of a sword that nought on earth or under -resisteth, and before the keen edge of which all Illusions and Identicals -are as summer grass to the scythe?' - -They both shouted, 'The whereabout of that sword, O Noorna!' - -So she said, ''Tis in Aklis, in the mountains of the Koosh; and the seven -sons of Aklis sharpen it day and night till the adventurer cometh to -claim it for his occasion. Whoso succeedeth in coming to them they know -to have power over the sword, and 'tis then holiday for them. Many are -the impediments, and they are as holes where the fox haunteth. So they -deliver to his hand the sword till his object is attained, his Event -mastered, smitten through with it; and 'tis called the Sword of Events. -Surely, with it the father of the Seven vanquished the mighty Roc, -Kroojis, that threatened mankind with ruin, and a stain of the Roc's -blood is yet on the hilt of the sword. How sayest thou, O -Feshnavat,--shall we devote ourselves to get possession of that Sword?' - -So the Vizier brightened at her words, and said, 'O excellent in wisdom -and star of counsel! speak further, and as to the means.' - -Noorna bin Noorka continued, 'Thou knowest, O my father, I am proficient -in the arts of magic, and I am what I am, and what I shall be, by its -uses. 'Tis known to thee also that I hold a Genie in bondage, and can -utter ten spells and one spell in a breath. Surely my services to the -youth in his attainment of the Sword will be beyond price! Now to reach -Aklis and the Sword there are three things needed--charms: and one is a -phial full of the waters of Paravid from the wells in the mountain -yon-side the desert; and one, certain hairs that grow in the tail of the -horse Garraveen, he that roameth wild in the meadows of Melistan; and -one, that the youth gather and bear to Aklis, for the white antelope -Gulrevaz, the Lily of the Lovely Light that groweth in the hollow of the -crags over the Enchanted Sea: with these spells he will command the Sword -of Aklis, and nothing can bar him passage. Moreover I will expend in his -aid all my subtleties, my transformations, the stores of my wisdom. Many -seek this Sword, and people the realms of Rabesqurat, or are beasts in -Aklis, or crowned Apes, or go to feed the Roc, Kroojis, in the abyss -beneath the Roc's-egg bridge; but there's virtue in Shibli Bagarag: -wullahy! I am wistful in him of the hand of Destiny, and he will succeed -in this undertaking if he dareth it.' - -Shibli Bagarag cried, 'At thy bidding, O Noorna! Care I for dangers? I'm -on fire to wield the Sword, and master the Event.' - -Thereupon, Noorna bin Noorka arose instantly, and took him by the cheeks -a tender pinch, and praised him. Then drew she round him a circle with -her forefinger that left a mark like the shimmering of evanescent green -flame, saying, 'White was the day I set eyes on thee!' Round the Vizier, -her father, she drew a like circle; and she took an unguent, and traced -with it characters on the two circles, and letters of strange form, -arrowy, lance-like, like leaning sheaves, and crouching baboons, and -kicking jackasses, and cocks a-crow, and lutes slack-strung; and she -knelt and mumbled over and over words of magic, like the drone of a bee -to hear, and as a roll of water, nothing distinguishable. After that she -sought for an unguent of a red colour, and smeared it on a part of the -floor by the corner of the room, and wrote on it in silver fluid a word -that was the word 'Eblis,' and over that likewise she droned awhile. -Presently she arose with a white-heated face, the sweat on her brow, and -said to Shibli Bagarag and Feshnavat hurriedly and in a harsh tone, 'How? -have ye fear?' - -They answered, 'Our faith is in Allah, our confidence in thee.' - -Said she then, 'I summon the Genie I hold in bondage. He will be -wrathful; but ye are secure from him. He's this moment in the farthest -region of earth, doing ill, as is his wont, and the wont of the stock of -Eblis.' - -So the Vizier said, 'He'll be no true helper, this Genie, and I care not -for his company.' - -She answered, 'O my father! leave thou that to me. What says the poet?-- - - "It is the sapiency of fools, - To shrink from handling evil tools."' - -Now, while she was speaking, she suddenly inclined her ear as to a -distant noise; but they heard nothing. Then, after again listening, she -cried in a sharp voice, 'Ho! muffle your mouths with both hands, and stir -not from the ring of the circles, as ye value life and its blessings.' - -So they did as she bade them, and watched her curiously. Lo! she swathed -the upper and lower part of her face in linen, leaving the lips and eyes -exposed; and she took water from an ewer, and sprinkled it on her head, -and on her arms and her feet, muttering incantations. Then she listened a -third time, and stooped to the floor, and put her lips to it, and called -the name, 'Karaz!' And she called this name seven times loudly, sneezing -between whiles. Then, as it were in answer to her summons, there was a -deep growl of thunder, and the palace rocked, tottering; and the air -became smoky and full of curling vapours. Presently they were aware of -the cry of a Cat, and its miaulings; and the patch of red unguent on the -floor parted and they beheld a tawny Cat with an arched back. So Noorna -bin Noorka frowned fiercely at the Cat, and cried, 'This is thy shape, O -Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -The Cat changed, and was a Leopard with glowing yellow eyes, crouched for -the spring. So Noorna bin Noorka stamped, and cried again, 'This is thy -shape, O Karaz; change! for it serves not the purpose.' - -And the Leopard changed, and was a Serpent with many folds, sleek, -curled, venomous, hissing. - -Noorna bin Noorka cried in wrath, 'This is thy shape, O Karaz; change! or -thou'lt be no other till Eblis is accepted in Paradise.' - -And the Serpent vanished. Lo! in its place a Genie of terrible aspect, -black as a solitary tree seared by lightning; his forehead ridged and -cloven with red streaks; his hair and ears reddened; his eyes like two -hollow pits dug by the shepherd for the wolf, and the wolf in them. He -shouted, 'What work is it now, thou accursed traitress?' - -Noorna replied, 'I've need of thee!' - -He said, 'What shape?' - -She answered, 'The shape of an Ass that will carry two on its back, thou -Perversity!' - -Upon that, he cried, 'O faithless woman, how long shall I be the slave of -thy plotting? Now, but for that hair of my head, plucked by thy hand -while I slept, I were free, no doer of thy tasks. Say, who be these that -mark us?' - -She answered, 'One, the Vizier Feshnavat; and one, Shibli Bagarag of -Shiraz, he that's destined to shave Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son -of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum; and the youth is my betrothed.' - -Now, at her words the whole Genie became as live coal with anger, and he -panted black and bright, and made a stride toward Shibli Bagarag, and -stretched his arm out to seize him; but Noorna, blew quickly on the -circles she had drawn, and the circles rose up in a white flame high as -the heads of those present, and the Genie shrank hastily back from the -flame, and was seized with fits of sneezing. Then she said in scorn, -'Easily, O Karaz, is a woman outwitted! Surely I could not guess what -would be thy action! and I was wanting in foresight and insight! and I am -a woman bearing the weight of my power as a woodman staggereth under the -logs he hath felled!' - -So she taunted him, and he still sneezing and bent double with the might -of the sneeze. Then said Noorna in a stern voice, 'No more altercation -between us! Wait thou here till I reappear, Karaz!' - -Thereupon, she went from them; and the two, Feshnavat and Shibli Bagarag, -feared greatly being left with the Genie, for he became all colours, and -loured on them each time that he ceased sneezing. He was clearly menacing -them when Noorna returned, and in her hand a saddle made of hide, traced -over with mystic characters and gold stripes. - -So she cried, 'Take this!' Then, seeing he hesitated, she unclosed from -her left palm a powder, and scattered - -it over him; and he grew meek, and the bending knee of obedience was his, -and he took the saddle. So she said, ''Tis well! Go now, and wait outside -the city in the shape of an Ass, with this saddle on thy back.' - -The Genie groaned, and said, 'To hear is to obey!' And he departed with -those words, for she held him in bondage. Then she calmed down the white -flames of the circles that enclosed Shibli Bagarag and the Vizier -Feshnavat, and they stepped forth, marvelling at the greatness of her -sorceries that held such a Genie in bondage. - - - - -THE WELL OF PARAVID - -Now, there was haste in the movements of Noorna bin Noorka, and she -arrayed herself and clutched Shibli Bagarag by the arm, and the twain -departed from Feshnavat the Vizier, and came to the outside of the city, -and lo! there was the Genie by a well under a palm, and he standing in -the shape of an Ass, saddled. So they mounted him, and in a moment they -were in the midst of the desert, and naught round them save the hot -glimmer of the sands and the grey of the sky. Surely, the Ass went at -such a pace as never Ass went before in this world, resting not by the -rivulets, nor under the palms, nor beside the date-boughs; it was as if -the Ass scurried without motion of his legs, so swiftly went he. At last -the desert gave signs of a border on the low line of the distance, and -this grew rapidly higher as they advanced, revealing a country of hills -and rocks, and at the base of these the Ass rested. - -So Noorna, said, 'This desert that we have passed, O my betrothed, many -are they that perish in it, and reach not the well; but give thanks to -Allah that it is passed.' - -Then said she, 'Dismount, and be wary of moving to the front or to the -rear of this Ass, and measure thy distance from the lash of his tail.' - -So Shibli Bagarag dismounted, and followed her up the hills and the -rocks, through ravines and gorges of the rocks, and by tumbling torrents, -among hanging woods, over perilous precipices, where no sun hath pierced, -and the bones of travellers whiten in loneliness; and they continued -mounting upward by winding paths, now closed in by coverts, now upon open -heights having great views, and presently a mountain was disclosed to -them, green at the sides high up it; and Noorna bin Noorka said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Mount here, for the cunning of this Ass can furnish him no -excuse further for making thee food for the birds of prey.' - -So Shibli Bagarag mounted, and they ceased not to ascend the green slopes -till the grass became scanty and darkness fell, and they were in a region -of snow and cold. Then Noorna bin Noorka tethered the Ass to a stump of a -tree and breathed in his ear, and the Ass became as a creature carved in -stone; and she drew from her bosom two bags of silk, and blew in one and -entered it, bidding Shibli Bagarag do likewise with the other bag; and he -obeyed her, drawing it up to his neck, and the delightfulness of warmth -came over him. Then said she, 'To-morrow, at noon, we shall reach near -the summit of the mountain and the Well of Paravid, if my power last over -this Ass; and from that time thou wilt be on the high road to greatness, -so fail not to remember what I have done for thee, and be not guilty of -ingratitude when thy hand is the stronger.' - -He promised her, and they lay and slept. When he awoke the sun was -half-risen, and he looked at Noorna bin Noorka in the silken bag, and she -was yet in the peacefulness of pleasant dreams; but for the Ass, surely -his eyes rolled, and his head and fore legs were endued with life, while -his latter half seemed of stone. And the youth called to Noorna bin -Noorka, and pointed to her the strangeness of the condition of the Ass. -As she cast eyes on him she cried out, and rushed to him, and took him by -the ears and blew up his nostrils, and the animal was quiet. Then she and -Shibli Bagarag mounted him again, and she said to him, 'It is well thou -wert more vigilant than I, and that the sun rose not on this Ass while I -slept, or my enchantment would have thawed on him, and he would have -'scaped us.' - -She gave her heel to the Ass, and the Ass hung his tail in sullenness and -drooped his head; and she laughed, crying, 'Karaz, silly fellow! do thy -work willingly, and take wisely thine outwitting.' - -She jeered him as they journeyed, and made the soul of Shibli Bagarag -merry, so that he jerked in his seat upon the Ass. Now, as they ascended -the mountain they came to the opening of a cavern, and Noorna bin Noorka -halted the Ass, and said to Shibli Bagarag, 'We part here, and I wait for -thee in this place. Take this phial, and fill it with the waters of the -well, after thy bath. The way is before thee--speed on it.' - -He climbed the sides of the mountain, and was soon hidden in the clefts -and beyond the perches of the vulture. She kept her eyes on the rocky -point when he disappeared, awaiting his return; and the sun went over her -head and sank on the yon-side of the mountain, and it was by the beams of -the moon that she beheld Shibli Bagarag dropping from the crags and -ledges of rock, sliding and steadying himself downward till he reached -her with the phial in his hand, filled; and he was radiant, as it were -divine with freshness, so that Noorna, before she spoke welcome to him, -was lost in contemplating the warm shine of his visage, calling to mind -the poet's words: - - The wealth of light in sun and moon, - All nature's wealth, - Hath mortal beauty for a boon - When match'd with health. - -Then said she, 'O Shibli Bagarag, 'tis achieved, this first of thy tasks; -for mutely on the fresh red of thy mouth, my betrothed, speaketh the -honey of persuasiveness, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' -So she took the phial from him and led forth the Ass, and the twain -mounted the Ass and descended the slopes of the mountain in moonlight; -and Shibli Bagarag said, 'Lo! I have marked wonders, and lived a life -since our parting; and this well, 'tis a miracle to dip in it, and by it -sit many maidens weeping and old men babbling, and youths that were idle -youths striking bubbles from the surface of the water. The well is -rounded with marble, and the sky is clear in it, cool in it, the whole -earth imaged therein.' - -Then Noorna said, 'Hadst thou a difficulty in obtaining the waters of the -well?' - -He answered, 'Surely all was made smooth for me by thy aid. Now when I -came to the well I marked not them by it, but plunged, and the depth of -that well seemed to me the very depth of the earth itself, so went I ever -downward; and when I was near the bottom of the well I had forgotten life -above, and lo! no sooner had I touched the bottom of the well when my -head emerged from the surface: 'twas wondrous! But for a sign that -touched the bottom of the well, see, O Noorna bin Noorka, the Jewel, the -one of myriads that glitter at the bottom, and I plucked it for a gift to -thee.' - -So Noorna took the Jewel from his hand that was torn and crimson, and she -cried, 'Thou fair youth, thou bleedest with the plucking of it, and it -was written, no hand shall pluck a jewel at the bottom of that well -without letting of blood. Even so it is! Worthy art thou, and I was not -mistaken in thee.' - -At her words Shibli Bagarag burst forth into praises of her, and he sang: - - 'What is my worthiness - Match'd with thy worth? - Darkness and earthiness, - Dust and dearth! - -O Noorna, thou art wise above women: great and glorious over them.' - -In this fashion the youth lauded her that was his betrothed, but she -exclaimed, 'Hush! or the jealousy of this Ass will be aroused, and of a -surety he'll spill us.' - -Then he laughed and she laughed till the tail of Karaz trembled. - - - - -THE HORSE GARRAVEEN - -Now, they descended leisurely the slopes of the mountain, and when they -were again in the green of its base, Noorna called to the Ass, 'Ho! -Karaz! Sniff now the breezes, for the end of our journey by night is the -meadows of Melistan. Forward in thy might, and bray not when we are in -them, for thy comfort's sake!' - -The Ass sniffed, turning to the four quarters, and chose a certain -direction, and bore them swiftly over hills and streams eddying in -silver; over huge mounds of sand, where the tents of Bedouins stood in -white clusters; over lakes smooth as the cheeks of sleeping loveliness; -by walls of cities, mosques, and palaces; under towers that rose as an -armed man with the steel on his brows and the frown of battle; by the -shores of the pale foaming sea it bore them, going at a pace that the -Arab on his steed outstrippeth not. So when the sun was red and the dews -were blushing with new light, they struggled from a wilderness of barren -broken ground, and saw beneath them, in the warm beams, green, peaceful, -deep, the meadows of Melistan. They were meadows dancing with flowers, as -it had been fresh damsels of the mountain, fair with variety of colours -that were so many gleams of changing light as the breezes of the morn -swept over them; lavish of hues, of sweetness, of pleasantness, fir for -the souls of the blest. - -Then, after they had gazed awhile, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'In these -meadows the Horse Garraveen roameth at will. Heroes of bliss bestride him -on great days. He is black to look on; speed quivers in his flanks like -the lightning; his nostrils are wide with flame; there is that in his eye -which is settled fire, and that in his hoofs which is ready thunder; when -he paws the earth kingdoms quake: no animal liveth with blood like the -Horse Garraveen. He is under a curse, for that he bore on his back one -who defied the Prophet. Now, to make him come to thee thou must blow the -call of battle, and to catch him thou must contrive to strike him on the -fetlock as he runs with this musk-ball which I give thee; and to tame him -thou must trace between his eyes a figure or the crescent with thy -forenail. When that is done, bring him to me here, where I await thee, -and I will advise thee further.' - -So she said, 'Go!' and Shibli Bagarag showed her the breadth of his -shoulders, and stepped briskly toward the meadows, and was soon brushing -among the flowers and soft mosses of the meadows, lifting his nostrils to -the joyful smells, looking about him with the broad eye of one that -hungereth for a coming thing. The birds went up above him, and the trees -shook and sparkled, and the waters of brooks and broad rivers flashed -like waving mirrors waved by the slave-girls in sport when the beauties -of the harem riot and dip their gleaming shoulders in the bath. He -wandered on, lost in the gladness that lived, till the loud neigh of a -steed startled him, and by the banks of a river before him he beheld the -Horse Garraveen stooping to drink of the river; glorious was the look of -the creature,--silver-hoofed, fashioned in the curves of beauty and -swiftness. So Shibli Bagarag put up his two hands and blew the call of -battle, and the Horse Garraveen arched his neck at the call, and swung -upon his haunches, and sought the call, answering it, and tossing his -mane as he advanced swiftly. Then, as he neared, Shibli Bagarag held the -musk-ball in his fingers, and aimed at the fetlock of the Horse -Garraveen, and flung it, and struck him so that he stumbled and fell. He -snorted fiercely as he bent to the grass, but Shibli Bagarag ran to him, -and grasped strongly the tuft of hair hanging forward between his ears, -and traced between his fine eyes a figure of the crescent with his -forenail, and the Horse ceased plunging, and was gentle as a colt by its -mother's side, and suffered Shibli Bagarag to bestride him, and spurn him -with his heel to speed, and bore him fleetly across the fair length of -the golden meadows to where Noorna bin Noorka sat awaiting him. She -uttered a cry of welcome, saying, 'This is achieved with diligence and -skill, O my betrothed! and on thy right wrist I mark strength like a -sleeping leopard, and the children of Aklis will not resist thee.' - -So she bade him alight from the Horse, but he said, 'Nay.' And she called -to him again to alight, but he cried, 'I will not alight from him! By -Allah! such a bounding wave of bliss have I never yet had beneath me, and -I will give him rein once again; as the poet says: - - "Divinely rings the rushing air - When I am on my mettled mare: - When fast along the plains we fly, - A creature of the heavens am I." - -Then she levelled her brows at him, and said gravely, 'This is the -temptation thou art falling into, as have thousands before thy time. Give -him the rein a second time, and he will bear thee to the red pit, and -halt upon the brink, and pitch thee into it among bleeding masses and -skeletons of thy kind, where they lie who were men like to thee, and were -borne away by the Horse Garraveen.' - -He gave no heed to her words, taunting her, and making the animal prance -up and prove its spirit. - -And she cried reproachfully, 'O fool! is it thus our great aim will be -defeated by thy silly conceit? Lo, now, the greatness and the happiness -thou art losing for this idle vanity is to be as a dunghill cock matched -with an ostrich; and think not to escape the calamities thou bringest on -thyself, for as is said, - - No runner can outstrip his fate; - -and it will overtake thee, though thou part like an arrow from the bow.' - -He still made a jest of her remonstrance, trying the temper of the -animal, and rejoicing in its dark flushes of ireful vigour. - -And she cried out furiously, 'How! art thou past counsel? then will we -match strength with strength ere 'tis too late, though it weaken both.' - -Upon that, she turned quickly to the Ass and stroked it from one -extremity to the other, crying, 'Karaz! Karaz!' shouting, 'Come forth in -thy power!' And the Ass vanished, and the Genie stood in his place, tall, -dark, terrible as a pillar of storm to travellers ranging the desert. He -exclaimed, 'What is it, O woman? Charge me with thy command!' - -And she said, 'Wrestle with him thou seest on the Horse Garraveen, and -fling him from his seat.' - -Then he yelled a glad yell, and stooped to Shibli Bagarag on the horse -and enveloped him, and seized him, and plucked him from the Horse, and -whirled him round, and flung him off. The youth went circling in the air, -high in it, and descended, circling, at a distance in the deep -meadow-waters. When he crept up the banks he saw the Genie astride the -Horse Garraveen, with a black flame round his head; and the Genie urged -him to speed and put him to the gallop, and was soon lost to sight, as he -had been a thunderbeam passing over a still lake at midnight. And Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the wrong and the folly of his act, and sought -to hide his sight from Noorna; but she called to him, 'Look up, O youth! -and face the calamity. Lo, we have now lost the service of Karaz! for -though I utter ten spells and one spell in a breath, the Horse Garraveen -will ere that have stretched beyond the circle of my magic, and the Genie -will be free to do his ill deeds and plot against us. Sad is it! but -profit thou by a knowledge of thy weakness.' - -Then said she, 'See, I have not failed to possess myself of the three -hairs of Garraveen, and there is that to rejoice in.' - -She displayed them, and they were sapphire hairs, and had a flickering -light; and they seemed to live, wriggling their lengths, and were as -snakes with sapphire skins. Then she said, 'Thy right wrist, O my -betrothed!' - -He gave her his right wrist, and she tied round it the three hairs of -Garraveen, exclaiming, 'Thus do skilful carpenters make stronger what has -broken and indicated disaster. Surely, I confide in thy star? I have -faith in my foresight?' - -And she cried, 'Eyes of mine, what sayest thou to me? Lo, we must part -awhile: it is written.' - -Said he, 'Leave me not, my betrothed: what am I without thy counsel? And -go not from me, or this adventure will come to miserable issue.' - -So she said, 'Thou beginnest to feel my worth?' - -He answered, 'O Noorna! was woman like thee before in this world? Surely -'tis a mask I mark thee under; yet art thou perforce of sheer wisdom and -sweet manners lovely in my sight; and I have a thirst to hear thee and -look on thee.' - -While he spake, a beam of struggling splendour burst from her, and she -said, 'O thou dear youth, yes! I must even go. But I go glad of heart, -knowing thee prepared to love me. I must go to counteract the -machinations of Karaz, for he's at once busy, vindictive, and cunning, -and there's no time for us to lose; so farewell, my betrothed, and make -thy wits keen to know me when we next meet.' - -So he said, 'And I--whither go I?' - -She answered, 'To the City of Oolb straightway.' - -Then he, 'But I know not its bearing from this spot: how reach it?' - -She answered, 'What! thou with the phial of Paravid in thy vest, that -endoweth, a single drop of it, the flowers, the herbage, the very stones -and desert sands, with a tongue to articulate intelligible talk?' - -Said he, 'Is it so?' - -She answered, 'Even so.' - -Ere Slubli Bagarag could question her further she embraced him, and blew -upon his eyes, and he was blinded by her breath, and saw not her -departure, groping for a seat on the rocks, and thinking her still by -him. Sight returned not to him till long after weariness had brought the -balm of sleep upon his eyelids. - - - - -THE TALKING HAWK - -Now, when he awoke he found himself alone in that place, the moon shining -over the low meadows and flower-cups fair with night-dew. Odours of -night-flowers were abroad, filling the cool air with deliciousness, and -he heard in the gardens below songs of the bulbul: it was like a dream to -his soul, and he lay somewhile contemplating the rich loveliness of the -scene, that showed no moving thing. Then rose he and bethought him of the -words of Noorna, and of the City of Oolb, and the phial of the waters of -Paravid in his vest; and he drew it forth, and dropped a drop of it on -the rock where he had reclined. A deep harmony seemed suddenly to awake -inside the rock, and to his interrogation as to the direction of Oolb, he -heard, 'The path of the shadows of the moon.' - -Thereupon he advanced to a prominent part of the rocks above the meadows, -and beheld the shadows of the moon thrown forward into dimness across a -waste of sand. And he stepped downward to the level of sand, and went the -way of the shadows till it was dawn. Then dropped he a drop of the waters -of the phial on a spike of lavender, and there was a voice said to him in -reply to what he questioned, 'The path of the shadows of the sun.' - -The shadows of the sun were thrown forward across the same waste of sand, -and he turned and pursued his way, resting at noon beneath a date-tree, -and refreshing himself at a clear spring beside it. Surely he was joyful -as he went, and elated with high prospects, singing: - - Sun and moon with their bright fingers - Point the hero's path; - - If in his great work he lingers, - Well may they be wroth. - -Now, the extent of the duration of his travel was four days and an equal -number of nights; and it was on the fifth morn that he entered the gates -of a city by the sea, even at that hour when the inhabitants were rising -from sleep: fair was the sea beyond it, and the harbour was crowded with -vessels, ships stored with merchandise--silks, dates, diamonds, Damascus -steel, huge bales piled on the decks for the land of Roum and other -lands. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'There's scarce a doubt but that one of -those sails will set for Oolb shortly. Wullahy! if I knew which, I'd -board her and win a berth in her.' Presently he thought, 'I'll go to the -public fountain and question it with the speech-winning waters.' -Thereupon he passed down the streets of the city and came to an open -space, where stood the fountain, and sprinkled it with Paravid; and the -fountain spake, saying, 'Where men are, question not dumb things.' - -Cried he, 'Faileth Paravid in its power? Have I done aught to baffle -myself?' - -Then he thought, ''Twere nevertheless well to do as the fountain -directeth, and question men while I see them.' And he walked about among -the people, and came to the quays of the harbour where the ships lay -close in, many of them an easy leap from shore, and considered whom to -address. So, as he loitered about the quays, meditating on the means at -the disposal of the All-Wise, and marking the vessels wistfully, behold, -there advanced to him one at a quick pace, in the garb of a sailor. He -observed Shibli Bagarag attentively a moment, and exclaimed as it were in -the plenitude of respect and with the manner of one that is abashed, -'Surely, thou art Shibli Bagarag, the nephew of the barber, him we watch -for.' - -So Shibli Bagarag marvelled at this recognition, and answered, 'Am I then -already famous to that extent?' - -And he that accosted him said, ''Tis certain the trumpet was blown before -thy steps, and there is not a man in this city but knoweth of thy -destination to the City of Oolb, and that thou art upon the track of -great things, one chosen to bring about imminent changes.' - -Then said Shibli Bagarag, 'For this I praise Noorna bin Noorka, daughter -of Feshnavat, Vizier of the King that ruleth in the city of Shagpat! She -saw me, that I was marked for greatness. Wullahy, the eagle knoweth me -from afar, and proclaimeth me; the antelope of the hills scenteth the -coming of one not as other men, and telleth his tidings; the wind of the -desert shapeth its gust to a meaning, so that the stranger may wot Shibli -Bagarag is at hand!' - -He puffed his chest, and straightened his legs like the cock, and was as -a man upon whom the Sultan has bestowed a dress of honour, even as the -plumed peacock. Then the other said: - -'Know that I am captain of yonder vessel, that stands farthest out from -the harbour with her sails slackened; and she is laden with figs and -fruits which I exchange for silks, spices, and other merchandise, with -the people of Oolb. Now, what says the poet?-- - - "Delay in thine undertaking - Is disaster of thy own making"; - -and he says also: - - "Greatness is solely for them that succeed; - 'Tis a rotten applause that gives earlier meed." - -Therefore it is advisable for thee to follow me on board without loss of -time, and we will sail this very night for the City of Oolb.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was ruled by the words of the captain albeit he -desired to stay awhile and receive the homage of the people of that city. -So he followed him into a boat that was by, and the twain were rowed by -sailors to the ship. Then, when they were aboard the captain set sail, -and they were soon in the hollows of deep waters. There was a berth in -the ship set apart for Shibli Bagarag, and one for the captain. Shibli -Bagarag, when he entered his berth, beheld at the head of his couch a -hawk; its eyes red as rubies, its beak sharp as the curve of a scimitar. -So he called out to the captain, and the captain came to him; but when he -saw the hawk, he plucked his turban from his head, and dashed it at the -hawk, and afterward ran to it, trying to catch it; and the hawk flitted -from corner to corner of the berth, he after it with open arms. Then he -took a sword, but the hawk flew past him, and fixed on the back part of -his head, tearing up his hair by the talons, and pecking over his -forehead at his eyes. And Shibli Bagarag heard the hawk scream the name -'Karaz,' and he looked closely at the Captain of the vessel, and knew him -for the Genie Karaz. Then trembled he with exceeding terror, cursing his -credulities, for he saw himself in the hands of the Genie, and nothing -but this hawk friendly to him on the fearful waters. When the hawk had -torn up a certain hair, the Genie stiffened, and glowed like copper in -the furnace, the whole length of him; and he descended heavily through -the bottom of the ship, and sank into the waters beneath, which hissed -and smoked as at a bar of heated iron. Then Shibli Bagarag gave thanks to -the Prophet, and praised the hawk, but the hawk darted out of the cabin, -and he followed it on deck, and, lo! the vessel was in flames, and the -hawk in a circle of the flames; and the flames soared with it, and left -it no outlet. Now, as Shibli Bagarag watched the hawk, the flames -stretched out towards him and took hold of his vestments. So he delayed -not to commend his soul to the All-merciful, and bore witness to his -faith, and plunged into the sea headlong. When he rose, the ship had -vanished, and all was darkness where it had been; so he buffeted with the -billows, thinking his last hour had come, and there was no help for him -in this world; and the spray shaken from the billows blinded him, the -great walls of water crumbled over him; strength failed him, and his -memory ceased to picture images of the old time--his heart to beat with -ambition; and to keep the weight of his head above the surface was -becoming a thing worth the ransom of kings. As he was sinking and turning -his eyes upward, he heard a flutter as of fledgling's wings, and the two -red ruby eyes of the hawk were visible above him, like steady fires in -the gloom. And the hawk perched on him, and buried itself among the wet -hairs of his head, and presently taking the Identical in its beak, the -hawk lifted him half out of water, and bore him a distance, and dropped -him. This the hawk did many times, and at the last, Shibli Bagarag felt -land beneath him, and could wade through the surges to the shore. He gave -thanks to the Supreme Disposer, kneeling prostrate on the shore, and fell -into a sleep deep in peacefulness as a fathomless well, unruffled by a -breath. - -Now, when it was dawn Shibli Bagarag awoke and looked inland, and saw -plainly the minarets of a city shining in the first beams, and the front -of yellow mountains, and people moving about the walls and on the towers -and among the pastures round the city; so he made toward them, and -inquired of them the name of their city. And they stared at him, crying, -'What! know'st thou not the City of Oolb? the hawk on thy shoulder could -tell thee that much.' He looked and saw that the hawk was on his -shoulder; and its left wing was scorched, the plumage blackened. So he -said to the hawk, 'Is it profitable, O preserving bird, to ask of thee -questions?' - -The hawk shook its wings and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'Do I well in entering this city?' - -The hawk shook its wings again and closed an eye. - -So he said, 'To what house shall I direct my steps in this strange city -for the attainment of the purpose I have?' - -The hawk flew, and soared, and alighted on the topmost of the towers of -Oolb. So when it returned he said, 'O bird! rare bird! my counsellor! it -is an indication, this alighting on the highest tower, that thou advisest -me to go straight to the palace of the King?' - -The hawk flapped its wings and winked both eyes; so Shibli Bagarag took -forth the phial from his breast, remembering the virtues of the waters of -the Well of Paravid, and touched his lips with them, that he might be -endowed with flowing speech before the King of Oolb. As he did this the -phial was open, and the hawk leaned to it and dipped its beak into the -water; and he entered the city and passed through the long streets -towards the palace of the King, and craved audience of him as one that -had a thing marvellous to tell. So the King commanded that Shibli Bagarag -should be brought before him, for he was a lover of marvels. As he went -into the presence of the King, Shibli Bagarag listened to the hawk, for -the hawk spake his language, and it said, 'Proclaim to the King a new -wonder--"the talking hawk."' - -So when he had bent his body to the King, he proclaimed the new wonder; -and the King seemed not to observe the hawk, and said, 'From what city -art thou?' - -He answered, 'Native, O King, to Shiraz; newly from the City of Shagpat.' - -And the King asked, 'How is it with that hairy wonder?' - -He answered, 'The dark forest flourisheth about him.' - -And the King said, 'That is well! We of the City of Oolb take our -fashions from them of the City of Shagpat, and it is but yesterday that I -bastinadoed a barber that strayed among us.' - -Shibli Bagarag sighed when he heard the King, and thought to himself, -'How unfortunate is the race of barbers, once honourable and in esteem! -Surely it will not be otherwise till Shagpat is shaved!' And the King -called out to him for the cause of his sighing; so he said, 'I sigh, O -King of the age, considering how like may be the case of the barber -bastinadoed but yesterday, in his worth and value, to that of Roomdroom, -the reader of planets, that was a barber.' - -And he related the story of Roomdroom for the edification of the King and -the exaltation of barbercraft, delivering himself neatly and winningly -and pointedly, so that the story should apply, which was its merit and -its origin. - - - - -GOORELKA OF OOLB - -When Shibli Bagarag had finished his narration of the case of Roomdroom -the barber, the King of Oolb said, 'O thou, native of Shiraz, there is -persuasion and sweetness and fascination on thy tongue, and I am touched -with compassion for the soles of Baba Mustapha, that I bastinadoed but -yesterday, and he was from Shiraz likewise.' - -Now, the heart of Shibli Bagarag leapt when he heard mention of Baba -Mustapha; and he knew him for his uncle that was searching him. He would -have cried aloud his relationship, but the hawk whispered in his ear. -Then the hawk said to him, 'There is danger in the King's muteness -respecting me, for I am visible to him. Proclaim the spirit of prophecy.' - -So he proclaimed that spirit, and the King said, 'Prophesy to me of -barbercraft.' - -And he cried, 'O King of the age, the barber is abased, trodden -underfoot, given over to the sneers and the gibes of them that flatter -the powerful ones; he is as the winter worm, as the crocodile in the -slime of his sleep by the bank, as the sick eagle before moulting. But I -say, O King, that he will come forth like the serpent in a new skin, -shaming the old one; he slept a caterpillar, and will come forth a -butterfly; he sank a star, and lo! he riseth a constellation.' - -Now, while he was speaking in the fervour of his soul, the King said -something to one of the court officers surrounding him, and there was -brought to the King a basin, a soap-bowl, and barber's tackle. When -Shibli Bagarag saw these, the uses of the barber rushed upon his mind, -and desire to sway the tackle pushed him forward and agitated him, so -that he could not keep his hands from them. - -Then the King exclaimed, 'It is as I thought. Our passions betray -themselves, and our habits; so is it written. By Allah! I swear thou art -thyself none other than a barber, O youth.' - -Shibli Bagwrag was nigh fainting with terror at this discovery of the -King, but the hawk said in his ear, 'Proclaim speech in the tackle.' So -he proclaimed speech in the tackle; and the King smiled doubtfully, and -said, 'If this be a cheat, Shiraz will not see thy face more.' - -Then the hawk whispered in his ear, 'Drop on the tackle secretly a drop -from the phial.' This he did, spreading his garments, and commanded the -tackle to speak. And the tackle spake, each portion of it, confusedly as -the noise of Babel. So the King marvelled greatly, and said, ''Tis a -greater wonder than the talking hawk, the talking tackle. Wullahy! it -ennobleth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend the saying of the -tackle.' - -Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! the -blade and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordained -that Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.' - -The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then ensueth, O -talking tackle?' - -And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honour -to Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!' - -Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will forestall -the coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!' - -Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' So he -stepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to the -shaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task with -perfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of the -King, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they were -shaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at the -change that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order is -issued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So is -laughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli Bagarag, -'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?' - -And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.' - -The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that which -beareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, which -she nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with ugliness, -as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it before her. -Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, besides the gift -of speech?' - -Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; to -counteract enchantments and foul magic.' - -Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!' - -And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambers -fair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors, -down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round the -vault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; and -there were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars of -China, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy choice -of these in exchange for the hawk.' - -But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the cockle-shell, King!' - -Then the King threatened him, saying, 'There is a virtue in each of the -things thou seest: the China jar is brimmed with wine, and remaineth so -though a thousand drink of it; the dress of Samarcand rendereth the -wearer invisible; yet thou refusest to exchange them for thy hawk!' - -And the King swore by the beard of his father he would seize perforce the -hawk and shut up Shibli Bagarag in the vault, if he fell not into his -bargain. Shibli Bagarag was advised by the hawk to accept the China jar -and the dress of Samarcand, and handed the hawk to the King in exchange -for these things. So the King took the hawk upon his wrist and departed -with it to the apartments of his daughter, and Shibli Bagarag went to the -chamber prepared for him in the palace. - -Now, when it was night, Shibli Bagarag heard a noise at his lattice, and -he arose and peered through it, and lo! the hawk was fluttering without; -so he let it in, and caressed it, and the hawk bade him put on his silken -dress and carry forth his China jar, and go the round of the palace, and -offer drink to the sentinels and the slaves. So he did as the hawk -directed, and the sentinels and slaves were aware of a China jar brimmed -with wine that was lifted to their lips, but him that lifted it they saw -not: surely, they drank deep of the draught of astonishment. - -Then the hawk flew before him, and he followed it to a chamber lit with -golden lamps, gorgeously hung, and full of a dusky splendour and the -faint sparkle of gems, ruby, amethyst, topaz, and beryl; in it there was -the hush of sleep, and the heart of Shibli Bagarag told him that one -beautiful was near. So he approached on tiptoe a couch of blue silk, -bordered with gold-wire, and inwoven with stars of blue turquoise stones, -as it had been the heavens of midnight. On the couch lay one, a woman, -pure in loveliness; the dark fringes of her closed lids like living -flashes of darkness, her mouth like an unstrung bow and as a double -rosebud, even as two isles of coral between which in the clear -transparent watery beds the pearls shine freshly. - -And the hawk said to Shibli Bagarag, 'This is the Princess Goorelka, the -daughter of the King of Oolb, a sorceress, the Guardian of the Lily of -the Enchanted Sea. Beneath her pillow is the cockle-shell; grasp it, but -gaze not upon her.' - -He approached and slid his arm beneath the pillow of the Princess, and -grasped the cockle-shell; but ere he drew it forth he gazed upon her, and -the lustre of her countenance transfixed him as with a javelin, so that -he could not stir, nor move his eyes from the contemplation of her -sweetness of feature. The hawk darted at him fiercely, and pecked at him -to draw his attention from her, and he stepped back, yet he continued -taking fatal draughts from the magic cup of her beauty. Then the hawk -screamed a loud scream of anguish, and the Princess awoke, and started -half-way from the couch, and stared about her, and saw the bird in -agitation. As she looked at the bird a shudder passed over her, and she -snatched a veil and drew it over her face, murmuring, 'I dream, or I am -under the eye of a man.' Then she felt beneath the pillow, and knew that -the cockle-shell had been touched; and in a moment she leapt from her -couch, and ran to a mirror and saw herself as she was, a full-moon made -to snare the wariest and sit singly high on a throne in the hearts of -men. At the sight of her beauty she smiled and seemed at peace, murmuring -still, 'I am under the eye of a man, or I dream.' Now, while she so -murmured she arrayed herself, and took the cockle-shell, and passed -through the ante-room among her women sleeping; and Shibli Bagarag -tracked her till she came to the vault; and she entered it and walked to -the corner from which had hung the dress of Samarcand. When she saw it -gone her face waxed pale, and she gazed slowly at all points, muttering, -'There is no further doubt but that I am under the eye of a man!' -Thereupon she ran hastily from the vault, and passed between the -sentinels of the palace, and saw them where they lay drowsy with -intoxication: so she knew that the China jar and the dress of Samarcand -had been used that night, and for no purpose friendly to her wishes. Then -she passed down the palace steps, and through the gates of the palace and -the city, till she came to the shore of the sea; there she launched the -cockle-shell and took the wind in her garments, and sat in it, filling it -to overflowing, yet it floated. And Shibli Bagarag waded to the -cockle-shell and took hold of it, and was drawn along by its motion -swiftly through the waters, so that a foam swept after him; and Goorelka -marked the foam. Now, they had passage over the billows smoothly, and -soon the length of the sea was darkened with two high rocks, and between -them there was a narrow channel of the sea, roughened with moonlight. So -they sped between the rocks, and came upon a purple sea, dark-blue -overhead, with large stars leaning to the waves. There was a soft -whisperingness in the breath of the breezes that swung there, and many -sails of charmed ships were seen in momentary gleams, flapping the mast -idly far away. Warm as new milk from the full udders were the waters of -that sea, and figures of fair women stretched lengthwise with the -current, and lifted a head as they rushed rolling by. Truly it was -enchanted even to the very bed! - - - - -THE LILY OF THE ENCHANTED SEA - -Now, after the cockle-shell had skimmed calmly awhile, it began to pitch -and grew unquiet, and came upon a surging foam, pale, and with -scintillating bubbles. The surges increased in volume, and boiled, -hissing as with anger, like savage animals. Presently, the cockle-shell -rose upon one very lofty swell, and Shibli Bagarag lost hold of it, and -lo! it was overturned and engulfed in the descent of the great mountain -of water, and the Princess Goorelka was immersed in the depths. She would -have sunk, but Shibli Bagarag caught hold of her, and supported her to -the shore by the strength of his right arm. The shore was one of sand and -shells, their wet cheeks sparkling in the moonlight; over it hung a -promontory, a huge jut of black rock. Now, the Princess when she landed, -seeing not him that supported her, delayed not to run beneath the rock, -and ascended by steps cut from the base of the rock. And Shibli Bagarag -followed her by winding paths round the rock, till she came to the -highest peak commanding the circle of the Enchanted Sea, and glimpses of -enthralled vessels, and mariners bewitched on board; long paths of -starlight rippled into the distant gloom, and the reflection of the moon -opposite was as a wide nuptial sheet of silver on the waters: islands, -green and white, and with soft music floating from their foliage, sailed -slowly to and fro. Surely, to dwell reclining among the slopes of those -islands a man would forfeit Paradise! Now, the Princess, as she stood -upon the peak, knew that she was not alone, and pretended to slip from -her footing, and Shibli Bagarag called out and ran to her; but she turned -in the direction of his voice and laughed, and he knew he was outwitted. -Then, to deceive her, he dropped from the phial twenty drops round her on -the rock, and those twenty drops became twenty voices, so that she was -bewildered with their calls, and stopped her ears, and ran from them, and -descended from the eminence nimbly, slipping over ledges and leaping the -abysses. And Shibli Bagarag followed her, clutching at the trailers and -tearing them with him, letting loose a torrent of stones and earth, till -on a sudden they stood together above a greenswarded basin of the rock -opening to the sea; and in the middle of the basin, lo! in stature like a -maiden of the mountains, and one that droopeth her head pensively -thinking of her absent lover, the Enchanted Lily. Wonder knocked at the -breast of Shibli Bagarag when he saw that queenly flower waving its -illumined head to the breeze: he could not retain a cry of rapture. As he -did this the Princess stretched her hand to where he was and groped a -moment, and caught him by the silken dress and tore in it a great rent, -and by the rent he stood revealed to her. Then said she, 'O youth, thou -halt done ill to follow me here, and the danger of it is past computing; -surely, the motive was a deep one, nought other than the love of me.' - -She spoke winningly, sweet words to a luted voice, and the youth fell -upon his knees before her, smitten by her beauty; and he said, 'I -followed thee here as I would follow such loveliness to the gates of -doom, O Princess of Oolb.' - -She smiled and said playfully, 'I will read by thy hand whether thou be -one faithful in love.' - -She took his hand and sprinkled on it earth and gravel, and commenced -scanning it curiously. As she scanned it her forehead wrinkled up, and a -shot like black lightning travelled across her countenance, withering its -beauty: she cried in a forced voice, 'Aha! it is well, O youth, for thee -and for me that thou lovest me, and art faithful in love.' - -The look of the Princess of Oolb and her voice affrighted the soul of -Shibli Bagarag, and he would have turned from her; but she held him, and -went to the Lily, and emptied into the palm of her hand the dew that was -in the Lily, and raised it to the lips of Shibli Bagarag, bidding him -drink as a pledge for her sake and her love, and to appease his thirst. -As he was about to drink, there fell into the palm of the Princess from -above what seemed a bolt of storm scattering the dew; and after he had -blinked with the suddenness of the action he looked and beheld the hawk, -its red eyes inflamed with wrath. And the hawk screamed into the ear of -Shibli Bagarag, 'Pluck up the Lily ere it is too late, O fool!--the dew -was poison! Pluck it by the root with thy right hand!' - -So thereat he strode to the Lily, and grasped it, and pulled with his -strength; and the Lily was loosened, and yielded, and came forth -streaming with blood from the bulb of the root; surely the bulb of the -root was a palpitating heart, yet warm, even as that we have within our -bosoms. - -Now, from the terror of that sight the Princess hid her eyes, and shrank -away. And the lines of malice, avarice, and envy seemed ageing her at -every breath. Then the hawk pecked at her three pecks, and perched on a -corner of rock, and called shrilly the name 'Karaz!' And the Genie Karaz -came slanting down the night air, like a preying bird, and stood among -them. So the hawk cried, 'See, O Karaz, the freshness of thy Princess of -Oolb'; and the Genie regarded her till loathing curled his lip, for she -grew in ghastliness to the colour of a frog, and a frog's face was hers, -a camel's back, a pelican's throat, the legs of a peacock. - -Then the hawk cried, 'Is this how ye meet, ye lovers,--ye that will be -wedded?' And the hawk made his tongue as a thorn to them. At the last it -exclaimed, 'Now let us fight our battle, Karaz!' - -But the Genie said, 'Nay, there will come a time for that, traitress!' - -The hawk cried, 'Thou delayest, till the phial of Paravid, the hairs of -Garraveen, and this Lily, my three helps, are expended, thinking Aklis, -for which we barter them, striketh but a single blow? That is well! Go, -then, and take thy Princess, and obtain permission of the King of Oolb, -her father, to wed her, O Karaz!' - -The hawk whistled with laughter, and the Genie was stung with its -mockeries, and clutched the Princess of Oolb in a bunch, and arose from -the ground with her, slanting up the night-air like fire, till he was -seen high up even as an angry star reddening the seas beneath. - -When he was lost to the eye, Shibli Bagarag drew a long breath and cried -aloud, 'The likeness of that Princess of Oolb in her ugliness to Noorna, -my betrothed, is a thing marvellous, if it be not she herself.' And he -reflected, 'Yet she seemed not to recognize and claim me'; and thought, -'I am bound to her by gratitude, and I should have rescued her from -Karaz, but I know not if it be she. Wullahy! I am bewildered; I will ask -counsel of the hawk.' He looked to the corner of the rock where the hawk -had perched, but the hawk was gone; as he searched for it, his eyes fell -upon the bed of earth where the Lily stood ere he plucked it, and lo! in -the place of the Lily, there was a damsel dressed in white shining silks, -fairer than the enchanted flower, straighter than the stalk of it; her -head slightly drooping, like the moon on a border of the night; her bosom -like the swell of the sea in moonlight; her eyes dark, under a low arch -of darker lashes, like stars on the skirts of storm; and she was the very -dream of loveliness, formed to freeze with awe, and to inflame with -passion. So Shibli Bagarag gazed at her with adoration, his hands -stretched half-way to her as if to clasp her, fearing she was a vision -and would fade; and the damsel smiled a sweet smile, and lifted her -antelope eyes, and said, 'Who am I, and to whom might I be likened, O -youth?' - -And he answered, 'Who thou art, O young perfection, I know not, if not a -Houri of Paradise; but thou art like the Princess of Oolb, yet lovelier, -oh lovelier! And thy voice is the voice of Noorna, my betrothed; yet -purer, sweeter, younger.' - -So the damsel laughed a laugh like a sudden sweeping of wild chords of -music, and said, 'O youth, saw'st thou not the ascent of Noorna, thy -betrothed, gathered in a bunch by Karaz?' - -And he answered, 'I saw her; but I knew not, O damsel of beauty; surely I -was bewildered, amazed, without power to contend with the Genie.' - -Then she said, 'Wouldst thou release her? So kiss me on the lips, on the -eyes, and on the forehead, three kisses each time; and with the first -say, "By the well of Paravid"; and with the second, "By the strength of -Garraveen!" and with the third, "By the Lily of the Sea!"' - -Now, the heart of the youth bounded at her words, and he went to her, and -trembling kissed her all bashfully on the lips, on the eyes, and on the -forehead, saying each time as she directed. Then she took him by the -hand, and stepped from the bed of earth, crying joyfully, 'Thanks be to -Allah and the Prophet! Noorna, is released from the sorceries that held -her, and powerful.' - -So, while he was wondering, she said, 'Knowest thou not the woman, thy -betrothed?' - -He answered, 'O damsel of beauty, I am charged with many feelings; doubts -and hopes are mixed in me. Say first who thou art, and fill my two ears -with bliss.' - -And she said, 'I will leave my name to other lips; surely I am the -daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, betrothed to a wandering youth,--a -barber, who sickened at the betrothal, and consoled himself with a -proverb when he gave me the kiss of contract, and knew not how with truth -to pay me a compliment.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag saw this was indeed Noorna bin Noorka, his betrothed, -and he fell before her in love and astonishment; but she lifted him to -her neck, and embraced him, saying, 'Said I not truly when I said "I am -that I shall be"? My youth is not as that of Bhanavar the Beautiful, -gained at another's cost, but my own, and stolen from me by wicked -sorceries.' And he cried, 'Tell me, O Noorna, my betrothed, how this -matter came to pass?' - -She said, 'On our way to Aklis.' - -She bade him grasp the Lily, and follow her; and he followed her down the -rock and over the bright shells upon the sand, admiring her stateliness, -her willowy lightness, her slimness as of the palm-tree. Then she waded -in the water, and began to strike out with her arms, and swim boldly,--he -likewise; and presently they came to a current that hurried them off in -its course, and carried them as weeds, streaming rapidly. He was bearing -witness to his faith as a man that has lost hope of life, when a strong -eddy stayed him, and whirled him from the current into the calm water. So -he looked for Noorna, and saw her safe beside him flinging back the wet -tresses from her face, that was like the full moon growing radiant behind -a dispersing cloud. And she said, 'Ask not for the interpretation of -wonders in this sea, for they cluster like dates on a date branch. -Surely, to be with me is enough?' - -And she bewitched him in the midst of the waters, making him oblivious of -all save her, so that he hugged the golden net of her smiles and fair -flatteries, and swam with an exulting stroke, giving his breast broadly -to the low billows, and shouting verses of love and delight to her. And -while they swam sweetly, behold, there was seen a pearly shell of -flashing crimson, amethyst, and emerald, that came scudding over the -waves toward them, raised to the wind, fan-shaped, and in its front two -silver seats. When she saw it, Noorna cried, 'She has sent me this, -Rabesqurat! Perchance is she favourable to my wishes, and this were -well!' - -Then she swayed in the water sideways, and drew the shell to her, and the -twain climbed into it, and sat each on one of the silver seats, folded -together. In its lightness it was as a foam-bubble before the wind on the -blue water, and bore them onward airily. At his feet Shibli Bagarag -beheld a stool of carved topaz, and above his head the arch of the shell -was inlaid with wreaths of gems: never was vessel fairer than that. - -Now, while they were speeding over the water, Noorna said, 'The end of -this fair sea is Aklis, and beyond it is the Koosh. So while the wind is -our helmsman, and we go circled by the quiet of this sea, I'll tell thee -of myself, if thou carest to hear.' - -And he cried with the ardour of love, 'Surely, I would hear of nought -save thyself, Noorna, and the music of the happy garden compareth not in -sweetness with it. I long for the freshness of thy voice, as the desert -camel for the green spring, O my betrothed!' - -So she said, 'And now give ear to the following':-- - - - - -AND THIS IS THE STORY OF NOORNA BIN NOORKA, THE GENIE KARAZ, AND THE -PRINCESS OF OOLB - -Know, that when I was a babe, I lay on my mother's bosom in the -wilderness, and it was the bosom of death. Surely, I slept and smiled, -and dreamed the infant's dream, and knew not the coldness of the thing I -touched. So were we even as two dead creatures lying there; but life was -in me, and I awoke with hunger at the time of feeding, and turned to my -mother, and put up my little mouth to her for nourishment, and sucked -her, but nothing came. I cried, and commenced chiding her, and after a -while it was as decreed, that certain horsemen of a troop passing through -the wilderness beheld me, and seeing my distress and the helpless being I -was, their hearts were stirred, and they were mindful of what the poet -says concerning succour given to the poor, helpless, and innocent of this -world, and took me up, and mixed for me camel's milk and water from the -bags, and comforted me, and bore me with them, after they had paid -funeral rites to the body of my mother. - -Now, the rose-bud showeth if the rose-tree be of the wilds or of the -garden, and the chief of that troop seeing me born to the uses of -gentleness, carried me in his arms with him to his wife, and persuaded -her that was childless to make me the child of their adoption. So I abode -with them during the period of infancy and childhood, caressed and cared -for, as is said: - - The flower a stranger's hand may gather, - Strikes root into the stranger's breast; - Affection is our mother, father, - Friend, and of cherishers the best. - -And I loved them as their own child, witting not but that I was their -child, till on a day while I played among some children of my years, the -daughter of the King of Oolb passed by us on a mule, with her slaves and -drawn swords, and called to me, 'Thou little castaway!' and had me -brought to her, and peered upon my face in a manner that frightened me, -for I was young. Then she put me down from the neck of her mule where she -had seated me, saying, 'Child of a dead mother and a runaway father, what -need I fear from thy like, and the dreams of a love-sick Genie?' So she -departed, but I forgot not her words, and dwelt upon them, and grew -fevered with them, and drooped. Now, when he saw my bloom of health gone, -heaviness on my feet, the light hollowed from my eyes, my benefactor, -Ravaloke--he that I had thought my father--took me between his knees, and -asked me what it was and the cause of my ailing; and I told him. - -Then said he, 'This is so: thou art not my child; but I love thee as -mine, O my little Desert-flower; and why the Princess should fancy fear -of thee I like not to think; but fear thou her, for she is a mask of -wiles and a vine trailing over pitfalls; such a sorceress the world -knoweth not as Goorelka of Oolb.' - -Now, I was penetrated by what he said, and ceased to be a companion to -them that loved childish games and romps, and meditated by myself in -gardens and closets, feigning sleep when the elder ones discoursed, that -I might learn something of this mystery, and all that was spoken -perplexed me more, as the sage declareth: - - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue, - More that he wandereth doth himself undo. - -Though I was quick as the quick-eyed falcon, I discovered nought, flying -ever at false game,-- - - A follower of misleading beams, - A cheated soul, the mock of dreams. - -At times I thought that it was the King of Oolb was my father, and -plotted to come in his path; and there were kings and princes of far -countries whom I sought to encounter, that they might claim me; but none -claimed me. O my betrothed, few gave me love beside Ravaloke, and when -the wife that he cherished died, he solely, for I was lost in waywardness -and the slave of moody imaginings. 'Tis said: - - If thou the love of the world for thyself wouldst gain, - mould thy breast - Liker the world to become, for its like the world loveth best; - -and this was not I then. - -Now, the sons and daughters of men are used to celebrate the days of -their birth with gifts and rejoicings, but I could only celebrate that -day which delivered me from death into the hands of Ravaloke, as none -knew my birth-hour. When it was the twelfth return of this event, -Ravaloke, my heart's father, called me to him and pressed in my hand a -glittering coin, telling me to buy with it in the bazaars what I would. -So I went forth, attended by a black slave, after the mid-noon, for I was -eager to expend my store, and cared not for the great heat. Scarcely had -we passed the cheese-market and were hurrying on to shops of the -goldsmiths and jewellers, when I saw an old man, a beggar, in a dirty -yellow turban and pieced particoloured cloth-stuff, and linen in rags his -other gear. So lean was he, and looked so weak that I wondered he did -other than lay his length on the ground; and as he asked me for alms his -voice had a piteousness that made me to weep, and I punished my slave for -seeking to drive him away, and gave my one piece of gold into his hand. -Then he asked me what I required of him in exchange, and I said, 'What -can a poor old man that is a beggar give?' He laughed, and asked me then -what I had intended to buy with that piece of money. So, beginning to -regret the power that was gone from me of commanding with my gold piece -this and that fine thing, I mused, and said, 'Truly, a blue dress -embroidered with gold, and a gold crown, and gold bracelets set with -turquoise stones,--these, and toys; but could I buy in this city a book -of magic, that were my purchase.' - -The old fellow smiled, and said to my black slave, 'And thou, hadst thou -this coin, what were thy purchase therewith?' - -He, scoffing the old beggar, answered, 'A plaister for sores as broad as -my back, and a camel's hump, O thou old villain!' - -The old man grunted in his chest, and said, 'Thou art but a camel -thyself, to hinder a true Mussulman from passing in peace down a street -of Oolb; so 'twere a good purchase and a fitting: know'st thou what is -said of the blessing given by them that receive a charity? - - "'Tis the fertilizing dew that streameth after the sun, - Strong as the breath of Allah to bless life well begun." - -So is my blessing on the little damsel, and she shall have her wish, -wullahy, thou black face! and thou thine.' - -This spake the old man, and hobbled off while my slave was jeering him. -So I strolled through the bazaars and thought no more of the old man's -words, and longed to purchase a hundred fineries, and came to the -confectioner's, and smelt the smell of his musk-scented sweetmeats and -lemon sweets and sugared pistachios that are delicious to crunch between -the teeth. My mouth watered, and I said to my slave, 'O Kadrab, a coin, -though 'twere small, would give us privilege in yonder shop to select, -and feast, and approve the skill of the confectioner.' - -He grinned, and displayed in his black fist a petty coin of exchange, but -would not let me have it till I had sworn to give no more away to -beggars. So even as we were hurrying into the shop, another old beggar -wretcheder than the first fronted me, and I was moved, and forgot my -promise to Kadrab, and gave him the money. Then was Kadrab wroth, and -kicked the old beggar with his fore-foot, lifting him high in air, and -lo! he did not alight, but rose over the roofs of the houses and beyond -the city, till he was but a speck in the blue of the sky above. So Kadrab -bit his forefinger amazed, and glanced at his foot, and at what was -visible of the old beggarman, and again at his foot, thinking but of what -he had done with it, and the might manifested in that kick, fool that he -was! All the way homeward he kept scanning the sky and lifting his foot -aloft, and I saw him bewildered with a strange conceit, as the poet has -exclaimed in his scorn: - - Oh, world diseased! oh, race empirical! - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle! - -Now, when I was in my chamber, what saw I there but a dress of very -costly blue raiment with gold-work broidery and a lovely circlet of gold, -and gold bracelets set with stones of turquoise, and a basket of gold -woven wire, wherein were toys, wondrous ones--soldiers that cut off each -other's heads and put them on again, springing antelopes, palm-trees that -turned to fountains, and others; and lo! a book in red binding, with -figures on it and clasps of gold, a great book! So I clapped my hands -joyfully, crying, 'The old beggar has done it!' and robed myself in the -dress, and ran forth to tell Ravaloke. As I ran by a window looking on -the inner court, I saw below a crowd of all the slaves of Ravaloke round -one that was seeking to escape from them, and 'twas Kadrab with a camel's -hump on his back, and a broad brown plaister over it, the wretch howling, -peering across his shoulder, and trying to bolt from his burden, as a -horse that would run from his rider. Then I saw that Kadrab also had his -wish, his camel's hump, and thought, 'The old beggar, what was he but a -Genie?' Surely Ravaloke caressed me when he heard of the adventure, and -what had befallen Kadrab was the jest of the city; but for me I spared -little time away from that book, and studied in it incessantly the ways -and windings of magic, till I could hold communication with Genii, and -wield charms to summon them, and utter spells that subdue them, -discovering the haunts of talismans that enthral Afrites and are powerful -among men. There was that Kadrab coming to me daily to call out in the -air for the old beggarman to rid him of his hump; and he would waste -hours looking up into the sky moodily for him, and cursing the five toes -of his foot, for he doubted not the two beggars were one, and that he was -punished for the kick, and lamented it direly, saying in the thick of his -whimperings, 'I'd give the foot that did it to be released from my hump, -O my fair mistress.' So I pitied him, and made a powder and a spell, and -my first experiment in magic was to relieve Kadrab of his hump, and I -succeeded in loosening it, and it came away from him, and sank into the -ground of the garden where we stood. So I told Kadrab to say nothing of -this, but the idle-pated fellow blabbed it over the city, and it came to -the ears of Goorelka. Then she sent for me to visit her, and by the -advice of Ravaloke I went, and she fondled me, and sought to get at the -depth of my knowledge by a spell that tieth every faculty save the -tongue, and it is the spell of vain longing. Now, because I baffled her -arts she knew me more cunning than I seemed, and as night advanced she -affected to be possessed with pleasure in me, and took me in her arms and -sought to fascinate me, and I heard her mutter once, 'Shall I doubt the -warning of Karaz?' So presently she said, 'Come with me'; and I went with -her under the curtain of that apartment into another, a long saloon, -wherein were couches round a fountain, and beyond it an aviary lit with -lamps: when we were there she whistled, and immediately there was a -concert of birds, a wondrous accord of exquisite piping, and she leaned -on a couch and took me by her to listen; sweet and passionate was the -harmony of the birds; but I let not my faculties lull, and observed that -round the throat of every bird was a ringed mark of gold and stamps of -divers gems similar in colour to a ring on the forefinger of her right -hand, which she dazzled my sight with as she flashed it. When we had -listened a long hour to this music, the Princess gazed on me as if to -mark the effect of a charm, and I saw disappointment on her lovely face, -and she bit her lip and looked spiteful, saying, 'Thou art far gone in -the use of magic, and wary, O girl!' Then she laughed unnaturally, and -called slaves to bring in sweet drinks to us, and I drank with her, and -became less wary, and she fondled me more, calling me tender names, -heaping endearments on me; and as the hour of the middle-night approached -I was losing all suspicion in deep languor, and sighed at the song of the -birds, the long love-song, and dozed awake with eyes half shut. I felt -her steal from me, and continued still motionless without alarm: so was I -mastered. What hour it was or what time had passed I cannot say, when a -bird that was chained on a perch before me--a very quaint bird, with a -topknot awry, and black, heavy bill, and ragged gorgeousness of -plumage--the only object between my lids and darkness, suddenly, in the -midst of the singing, let loose a hoarse laugh that was followed by peals -of laughter from the other birds. Thereat I started up, and beheld the -Princess standing over a brazier, and she seized a slipper from her foot -and flung it at the bird that had first laughed, and struck him off his -perch, and went to him and seized him and shook him, crying, 'Dare to -laugh again!' and he kept clearing his throat and trying to catch the -tune he had lost, pitching a high note and a low note; but the marvel of -this laughter of the bird wakened me thoroughly, and I thanked the bird -in my soul, and said to Goorelka, 'More wondrous than their singing, this -laughter, O Princess!' - -She would not speak till she had beaten every bird in the aviary, and -then said in the words of the poet: - - Shall they that deal in magic match degrees of wonder? - From the bosom of one cloud comes the lightning and the thunder. - -Then said she, 'O Noorna! I'll tell thee truly my intent, which was to -enchant thee; but I find thee wise, so let us join our powers, and thou -shah become mighty as a sorceress.' - -Now, Ravaloke had said to me, 'Her friendship is fire, her enmity frost; -so be cold to the former, to the latter hot,' and I dissembled and -replied, 'Teach me, O Princess!' - -So she asked me what I could do. Could I plant a mountain in the sea and -people it? could I anchor a purple cloud under the sun and live there a -year with them I delighted in? could I fix the eyes of the world upon one -head and make the nations bow to it; change men to birds, fishes to men; -and so on--a hundred sorceries that I had never attempted and dreamed not -of my betrothed! I had never offended Allah by a misuse of my powers. -When I told her, she cried, 'Thou art then of a surety she that's fitted -for the custody of the Lily of the Light, so come with me.' - -Now, I had heard of the Lily, even this thou holdest may its influence be -unwithering!--and desired to see it. So she led me from the palace to the -shore of the sea, and flung a cockleshell on the waters, and seated -herself in it with me in her lap; and we scudded over the waters, and -entered this Enchanted Sea, and stood by the Lily. Then, I that loved -flowers undertook the custody of this one, knowing not the consequences -and the depth of her wiles. 'Tis truly said: - - The overwise themselves hoodwink, - For simple eyesight is a modest thing: - They on the black abysm's brink - Smile, and but when they fall bitterly think, - What difference 'twixt the fool and me, Creation's King? - -Nevertheless for awhile nothing evil resulted, and I had great joy in the -flower, and tended it with exceeding watchfulness, and loved it, so that -I was brought in my heart to thank the Princess and think well of her. - -Now, one summer eve as Ravaloke rested under the shade of his garden -palm, and I studied beside him great volumes of magic, it happened that -after I had read certain pages I closed one of the books marked on the -cover 'Alif,' and shut the clasp louder than I intended, so that he who -was dozing started up, and his head was in the sloped sun in an instant, -and I observed the shadow of his head lengthen out along the grass-plot -towards the mossed wall, and it shot up the wall, darkening it--then -drawing back and lessening, then darting forth like a beast of darkness -irritable for prey. I was troubled, for whatso is seen while the volume -Alif is in use hath a portent; but the discovery of what this might be -baffled me. So I determined to watch events, and it was not many days ere -Ravaloke, who was the leader of the armies of the King of Oolb, was -called forth to subdue certain revolted tributaries of the King, and at -my entreaty took me with him, and I saw battles and encounters lasting a -day's length. Once we were encamped in a fruitful country by a brook -running with a bright eye between green banks, and I that had freedom and -the password of the camp wandered down to it, and refreshed my forehead -with its coolness. So, as I looked under the falling drops, lo! on the -opposite bank the old beggar that had given me such fair return for my -alms and Kadrab his hump! I heard him call, 'This night is the key to the -mystery,' and he was gone. Every incantation I uttered was insufficient -to bring him back. Surely, I hurried to the tents and took no sleep, -watching zealously by the tent of Ravaloke, crouched in its shadow. About -the time of the setting of the moon I heard footsteps approach the tent -within the circle of the guard, and it was a youth that held in his hand -naked steel. When he was by the threshold of the tent, I rose before him -and beheld the favourite of Ravaloke, even the youth he had destined to -espouse me; so I reproached him, and he wept, denying not the intention -he had to assassinate Ravaloke, and when his soul was softened he -confessed to me, ''Twas that I might win the Princess Goorelka, and she -urged me to it, promising the King would promote me to the vacant post of -Ravaloke.' - -Then I said to him, 'Lov'st thou Goorelka?' - -And he answered, 'Yea, though I know my doom in loving her; and that it -will be the doom of them now piping to her pleasure and denied the -privilege of laughter.' - -So I thought, 'Oh, cruel sorceress! the birds are men!' And as I mused, -my breast melted with pity at their desire to laugh, and the little -restraint they had upon themselves notwithstanding her harshness; for -could they think of their changed condition and folly without laughter? -and the folly that sent them fresh mates in misery was indeed matter for -laughter, fed to fulness by constant meditation on the perch. Meantime, I -uncharmed the youth and bade him retire quickly; but as he was going, he -said, 'Beware of the Genie Karaz!' Then I held him back, and after a -parley he told me what he had heard the Princess say, and it was that -Karaz had seen me and sworn to possess me for my beauty. 'Strangely -smiled Goorelka when she spake that,' said he. - -Now, the City of Oolb fronts the sea, and behind it is a mountain and a -wood, where the King met Ravaloke on his return victorious over the -rebels. So, to escape the eye of the King I parted with Ravaloke, and -sought to enter the city by a circuitous way; but the paths wound about -and zigzagged, and my slaves suffered nightfall to surprise us in the -entanglements of the wood. I sent them in different directions to strike -into the main path, retaining Kadrab at the bridle of my mule; but that -creature now began to address me in a familiar tone, and he said -something of love for me that enraged me, so that I hit him a blow. Then -came from him sounds like the neighing of mares, and lo! he seized me and -rose with me in the air, and I thought the very heavens were opening to -that black beast, when on a sudden he paused, and shot down with me from -heights of the stars to the mouth of a cavern by the Putrid Sea, and -dragged me into a cavern greatly illuminated, hung like a palace chamber, -and supported on pillars of shining jasper. Then I fell upon the floor in -a swoon, and awaking saw Kadrab no longer, but in his place a Genie. O my -soul, thou halt seen him!--I thought at once, ''tis Karaz!' and when he -said to me, 'This is thy abode, O lady! and I he that have sworn to -possess thee from the hour I saw thee in the chamber of Goorelka,' then -was I certain 'twas Karaz. So, collecting the strength of my soul, I -said, in the words of the poet: - - 'Woo not a heart preoccupied! - What thorn is like a loathing bride? - Mark ye the shrubs how they turn from the sea, - The sea's rough whispers shun? - But like the sun of heaven be, - And every flower will open wide. - Woo with the shining patience we - Beheld in heaven's sun.' - -Then he sang: - - Exquisite lady! name the smart - That fills thy heart. - Thou art the foot and I the worm: - Prescribe the Term. - -Finding him compliant, I said, 'O great Genie, truly the search of my -life has been to discover him that is, my father, and how I was left in -the wilderness. There 's no peace for me, nor understanding the word of -love, till I hear by whom I was left a babe on the bosom of a dead -mother.' - -He exclaimed, and his eyes twinkled, ''Tis that? that shalt thou know in -a span of time. O my mistress, hast thou seen the birds of Goorelka? Thy -father Feshnavat is among them, perched like a bird.' - -So I cried, 'And tell me how he may be disenchanted.' - -He said, 'Swear first to be mine unreluctantly.' - -Then I said, 'What is thy oath?' - -He answered, 'I swear, when I swear, by the Identical.' - -Thereupon I questioned him concerning the Identical, what it was; and he, -not suspecting, revealed to me the mighty hair in his head now in the -head of Shagpat, even that. So I swore by that to give myself to the -possessor of the Identical, and flattered him. Then said he, 'O lovely -damsel, I am truly one of the most powerful of the Genii; yet am I in -bondage to that sorceress Goorelka by reason of a ring she holdeth; and -could I get that ring from her and be slave to nothing mortal an hour, I -could light creation as a torch, and broil the inhabitants of earth at -one fire.' - -I thought, 'That ring is known to me!' And he continued, 'Surely I cannot -assist thee in this work other than by revealing the means of -disenchantment, and it is to keep the birds laughing uninterruptedly an -hour; then are they men again, and take the forms of men that are -laughers--I know not why.' - -So I cried, ''Tis well! carry me back to Oolb.' - -Then the Genie lifted me into the air, and ceased not speeding rapidly -through it, till I was on the roof of the house of Ravaloke. O sweet -youth! moon of my soul! from that time to the disenchantment of -Feshnavat, I pored over my books, trying experiments in magic, dreadful -ones, hunting for talismans to countervail Goorelka; but her power was -great, and 'twas not in me to get her away from the birds one hour to -free them. On a certain occasion I had stolen to them, and kept them -laughing with stories of man to within an instant of the hour; and they -were laughing exultingly with the easy happy laugh of them that perceive -deliverance sure, when she burst in and beat them even to the door of -death. I saw too in her eyes, that glowed like the eyes of wild cats in -the dark, she suspected me, and I called Allah to aid the just cause -against the sinful, and prepared to war with her. - -Now, my desire, which was to liberate my father and his fellows in -tribulation, I knew pure, and had no fear of the sequel, as is declared: - - Fear nought so much as Fear itself; for arm'd with Fear the Foe - Finds passage to the vital part, and strikes a double blow. - -So one day as I leaned from my casement looking on the garden seaward, I -saw a strange red and yellow-feathered bird that flew to the branch of a -citron-tree opposite, with a ring in its beak; and the bird was singing, -and with every note the ring dropped from its bill, and it descended -swiftly in an arrowy slant downward, and seized it ere it reached the -ground, and commenced singing afresh. When I had marked this to happen -many times, I thought, 'How like is this bird to an innocent soul -possessed of magic and using its powers! Lo, it seeketh still to sing as -one of the careless, and cannot relinquish the ring and be as the -careless, and between the two there is neither peace for it nor -pleasure.' Now, while my eyes were on the pretty bird, dwelling on it, I -saw it struck suddenly by an arrow beneath the left wing, and the bird -fluttered to my bosom and dropped in it the ring from its beak. Then it -sprang weakly, and sought to fly and soar, and fluttered; but a blue film -lodged over its eyes, and its panting was quickly ended. So I looked at -the ring and knew it for that one I had noted on the finger of Goorelka. -Red blushed my bliss, and 'twas revealed to me that the bird was of the -birds of the Princess that had escaped from her with the ring. I buried -the bird, weeping for it, and flew to my books, and as I read a glow -stole over me. O my betrothed, eyes of my soul! I read that the possessor -of that ring was mistress of the marvellous hair which is a magnet to the -homage of men, so that they crowd and crush and hunger to adore it, even -the Identical! This was the power that peopled the aviary of Goorelka, -and had well-nigh conquered all the resistance of my craft. - -Now, while I read there arose a hubbub and noise in the outer court, and -shrieks of slaves. The noise approached with rapid strides, and before I -could close my books Goorelka burst in upon me, crying, 'Noorna! Noorna!' -Wild and haggard was her head, and she rushed to my books and saw them -open at the sign of the ring: then began our combat. She menaced me as -never mortal was menaced. Rapid lightning-flashes were her -transformations, and she was a serpent, a scorpion, a lizard, a lioness -in succession, but I leapt perpetually into fresh rings of fire and of -witched water; and at the fiftieth transformation, she fell on the floor -exhausted, a shuddering heap. Seeing that, I ran from her to the aviary -in her palace, and hurried over a story of men to the birds, that rocked -them on their perches with chestquakes of irresistible laughter. Then -flew I back to the Princess, and she still puffing on the floor, -commenced wheedling and begging the ring of me, stinting no promises. At -last she cried, 'Girl! what is this ring to thee without beauty? Thy -beauty is in my keeping.' - -And I exclaimed, 'How? how?' smitten to the soul. - -She answered, 'Yea; and I can wear it as my own, adding it to my own, -when thou'rt a hag!' - -My betrothed! I was on the verge of giving her the ring for this secret, -when a violent remote laughter filled the inner hollow of my ears, and it -increased, till the Princess heard it; and now the light of my casement -was darkened with birds, the birds of Goorelka, laughing as on a wind of -laughter. So I opened to them, and they darted in, laughing all of them, -till I could hold out no longer, and the infection of laughter seized me, -and I rolled with it; and the Princess, she too laughed a hyaena-laugh -under a cat's grin, and we all of us remained in this wise some minutes, -laughing the breath out of our bodies, as if death would take us. Whoso -in the City of Oolb heard us, the slaves, the people, and the King, -laughed, knowing not the cause. This day is still remembered in Oolb as -the day of laughter. Now, at a stroke of the hour the laughter ceased, -and I saw in the chamber a crowd of youths and elders of various ranks; -but their visages were become long and solemn as that of them that have -seen a dark experience. 'Tis certain they laughed little in their lives -from that time, and the muscles of their cheeks had rest. So I caught -down my veil, and cried to the Princess, 'My father is among these; point -him out to me.' - -Ere she replied one stepped forth, even Feshnavat, my father, and called -me by name, and knew me by a spot on the left arm, and made himself known -to me, and told me the story of my dead mother, how she had missed her -way from the caravan in the desert, and he searching her was set upon by -robbers, and borne on their expeditions. Nothing said he of the sorceries -of Goorelka, and I, not wishing to provoke the Princess, suffered his -dread to exist. So I kissed him, and bowed my head to him, and she fled -from the sight of innocent happiness. Then took I the ring, and summoned -Karaz, and ordered him to reinstate all those princes and chiefs and -officers in their possessions and powers, on what part of earth soever -that might be. Never till I stood as the Lily and thy voice sweetened the -name of love in my ears, heard I aught of delicate delightfulness, like -the sound of their gratitude. Many wooed me to let them stay by me and -guard me, and do service all their lives to me; but this I would not -allow, and though they were fair as moons, some of them, I responded not -to their soft glances, speaking calmly the word of farewell, for I was -burdened with other thoughts. - -Now, when the Genie had done my bidding, he returned to me joyfully. My -soul sickened to think myself his by a promise; but I revolved the words -of my promise, and saw in them a loophole of escape. So, when he claimed -me, I said, 'Ay! ay! lay thy head in my lap,' as if my mind treasured it. -Then he lay there, and revealed to me his plans for the destruction of -men. 'Or,' said he, 'they shall be our slaves and burden-beasts, for -there 's now no restraint on me, now thou art mistress of the ring, and -mine.' Thereupon his imagination swelled, and he saw his evil will -enthroned, and the hopes of men beneath his heel, crying, 'And the more I -crush them the thicker they crowd, for the Identical compelleth their -very souls to adore in spite of distaste.' - -Then said I, 'Tell me, O Genie! is the Identical subservient to me in -another head save thine?' - -He answered, 'Nay I in another head 'tis a counteraction to the power of -the Ring, the Ring powerless over it.' - -And I said, 'Must it live in a head, the Identical?' - -Cried he, 'Woe to what else holdeth it!' - -I whispered in his hairy pointed red ear, 'Sleep! sleep!' and lulled him -with a song, and he slept, being weary with my commissioning. Then I bade -Feshnavat, my father, fetch me one of my books of magic, and read in it -of the discovery of the Identical by means of the Ring; and I took the -Ring and hung it on a hair of my own head over the head of the Genie, and -saw one of the thin lengths begin to twist and dart and writhe, and shift -lustres as a creature in anguish. So I put the Ring on my forefinger, and -turned the hair round and round it, and tugged. Lo, with a noise that -stunned me, the hair came out! O my betrothed, what shrieks and roars -were those: with which the Genie awoke, finding himself bare of the -Identical! Oolb heard them, and the sea foamed like the mouth of madness, -as the Genie sped thunder-like over it, following me in mid-air. Such a -flight was that! Now, I found it not possible to hold the Identical, for -it twisted and stung, and was nigh slipping from me while I flew. I saw -white on a corner of the Desert, a city, and I descended on it by the -shop of a clothier that sat quietly by his goods and stuffs, thinking of -fate less than of kabobs and stews and rare seasonings. That city hath -now his name. Wullahy, had I not then sown in his head that hair which he -weareth yet, how had I escaped Karaz, and met thee? Wondrous are the -decrees of Providence! Praise be to Allah for them! So the Genie, when he -found himself baffled by me, and Shagpat with the mighty hair in his -head, the Identical, he yelled, and fetched Shagpat a slap that sent him -into the middle of the street; but Kadza screamed after him, and there -was immediately such lamentation in the city about Shagpat, and such -tearing of hair about him, that I perceived at once the virtue that was -in the Identical. As for Karaz, finding his claim as possessor of the -Identical no more valid, he vanished, and has been my rebellious slave -since, till thou, O my betrothed, mad'st me spend him in curing thy folly -on the horse Garraveen, and he escaped from my circles beyond the -dominion of the Ring; yet had he his revenge, for I that was keeper of -the Lily, had, I now learned ruefully, a bond of beauty with it, and -whatever was a stain to one withered the other. Then that sorceress -Goorelka stole my beauty from me by sprinkling a blight on the petals of -the fair flower, and I became as thou first saw'st me. But what am I as I -now am? Blissful! blissful! Surely I grew humble with the loss of beauty, -and by humility wise, so that I assisted Feshnavat to become Vizier by -the Ring, and watched for thy coming to shave Shagpat, as a star -watcheth; for 'tis written, 'A barber alone shall be shearer of the -Identical'; and he only, my betrothed, hath power to plant it in Aklis, -where it groweth as a pillar, bringing due reverence to Aklis. - - - - -THE WILES OF RABESQURAT - -Now, when Noorna bin Noorka had made an end of her narration, she folded -her hands and was mute awhile; and to the ear of Shibli Bagarag it seemed -as if a sweet instrument had on a sudden ceased luting. So, as he leaned, -listening for her voice to recommence, she said quickly, 'See yonder fire -on the mountain's height!' - -He looked and saw a great light on the summit of a lofty mountain before -them. - -Then said she, 'That is Aklis! and it is ablaze, knowing a visitant near. -Tighten now the hairs of Garraveen about thy wrist; touch thy lips with -the waters of Paravid; hold before thee the Lily, and make ready to enter -the mountain. Lo, my betrothed, thou art in possession of the three means -that melt opposition, and the fault is thine if thou fail.' - -He did as she directed; and they were taken on a tide and advanced -rapidly to the mountain, so that the waters smacked and crackled beneath -the shell, covering it with silver showering arches of glittering spray. -Then the fair beams of the moon became obscured, and the twain reddened -with the reflection of the fire, and the billows waxed like riotous -flames; and presently the shell rose upon the peak of many waves swollen -to one, and looking below, they saw in the scarlet abyss of waters at -their feet a monstrous fish, with open jaws and one baleful eye; and the -fish was lengthy as a caravan winding through the desert, and covered -with fiery scales. Shibli Bagarag heard the voice of Noorna shriek -affrightedly, 'Karaz!' and as they were sliding on the down slope, she -stood upright in the shell, pronouncing rapidly some words in magic; and -the shell closed upon them both, pressing them together, and writing -darkness on their very eyeballs. So, while they were thus, they felt -themselves gulped in, and borne forward with terrible swiftness, they -knew not where, like one that hath a dream of sinking; and outside the -shell a rushing, gurgling noise, and a noise as of shouting multitudes, -and muffled multitudes muttering complaints and yells and querulous -cries, told them they were yet speeding through the body of the depths in -the belly of the fish. Then there came a shock, and the shell was struck -with light, and they were sensible of stillness without motion. Then a -blow on the shell shivered it to fragments, and they were blinded with -seas of brilliancy on all sides from lamps and tapers and crystals, -cornelians and gems of fiery lustre, liquid lights and flashing mirrors, -and eyes of crowding damsels, bright ones. So, when they had risen, and -could bear to gaze on the insufferable splendour, they saw sitting on a -throne of coral and surrounded by slaves with scimitars, a fair Queen, -with black eyes, kindlers of storms, torches in the tempest, and with -floating tresses, crowned with a circlet of green-spiked precious stones -and masses of crimson weed with flaps of pearl; and she was robed with a -robe of amber, and had saffron sandals, loose silvery-silken trousers -tied in at the ankle, the ankle white as silver; wonderful was the -quivering of rays from the jewels upon her when she but moved a finger! -Now, as they stood with their hands across their brows, she cried out, 'O -ye traversers of my sea! how is this, that I am made to thank Karaz for a -sight of ye?' - -And Noorna bin Noorka answered, 'Surely, O Queen Rabesqurat, the haven of -our voyage was Aklis, and we feared delay, seeing the fire of the -mountain ablaze with expectations of us.' - -Then the Queen cried angrily, ''Tis well thou hadst wit to close the -shell, O Noorna, or there would have been delay indeed. Say, is not the -road to Aklis through my palace? And it is the road thousands travel.' - -So Noorna bin Noorka said, 'O Queen, this do they; but are they of them -that reach Aklis?' - -And the Queen cried violently, purpling with passion, 'This to me! when I -helped ye to the plucking of the Lily?' - -Now, the Queen muttered an imprecation, and called the name 'Abarak!' and -lo, a door opened in one of the pillars of jasper leading from the -throne, and there came forth a little man, humped, with legs like bows, -and arms reaching to his feet; in his hand a net weighted with leaden -weights. So the Queen levelled her finger at Noorna, and he spun the net -above her head, and dropped it on her shoulder, and dragged her with him -to the pillar. When Shibli Bagarag saw that, the world darkened to him, -and he rushed upon Abarak; but Noorna called swiftly in his ear, 'Wait! -wait! Thou by thy spells art stronger than all here save Abarak. Be true! -Remember the seventh pillar!' Then, with a spurn from the hand of Abarak, -the youth fell back senseless at the feet of the Queen. - -Now, with the return of consciousness his hearing was bewitched with -strange delicious melodies, the touch of stringed instruments, and others -breathed into softly as by the breath of love, delicate, tender, alive -with enamoured bashfulness. Surely, the soul that heard them dissolved -like a sweet in the goblet, mingling with so much ecstasy of sound; and -those melodies filling the white cave of the ear were even at once to -drown the soul in delightfulness and buoy it with bliss, as a -heavy-leaved flower is withered and refreshed by sun and dews. Surely, -the youth ceased not to listen, and oblivion of cares and aught other in -this life, save that hidden luting and piping, pillowed his drowsy head. -At last there was a pause, and it seemed every maze of music had been -wandered through. Opening his eyes hurriedly, as with the loss of the -music his own breath had gone likewise, he beheld a garden golden with -the light of lamps hung profusely from branches and twigs of trees by the -glowing cheeks of fruits, apple and grape, pomegranate and quince; and he -was reclining on a bank piled with purple cushions, his limbs clad in the -richest figured silks, fringed like the ends of clouds round the sun, -with amber fringes. He started up, striving to recall the confused memory -of his adventures and what evil had befallen him, and he would have -struggled with the vision of these glories, but it mastered him with the -strength of a potent drug, so that the very name of his betrothed was -forgotten by him, and he knew not whither he would, or the thing he -wished for. Now, when he had risen from the soft green bank that was his -couch, lo, at his feet a damsel weeping! So he lifted her by the hand, -and she arose and looked at him, and began plaining of love and its -tyrannies, softening him, already softened. Then said she, 'What I suffer -there is another, lovelier than I, suffering; thou the cause of it, O -cruel youth!' - -He said, 'How, O damsel? what of my cruelty? Surely, I know nothing of -it.' - -But she exclaimed, 'Ah, worse to feign forgetfulness!' - -Now, he was bewildered at the words of the damsel, and followed her -leading till they entered a dell in the garden canopied with foliage, and -beyond it a green rise, and on the rise a throne. So he looked earnestly, -and beheld thereon Queen Rabesqurat, she sobbing, her dark hair pouring -in streams from the crown of her head. Seeing him, she cleared her eyes, -and advanced to meet him timidly and with hesitating steps; but he shrank -from her, and the Queen shrieked with grief, crying, 'Is there in this -cold heart no relenting?' - -Then she said to him winningly, and in a low voice, 'O youth, my husband, -to whom I am a bride!' - -He marvelled, saying, 'This is a game, for indeed I am no husband, -neither have I a bride . . . yet have I confused memory of some betrothal -. . .' - -Thereupon she cried, 'Said I not so? and I the betrothed.' - -Still he exclaimed, 'I cannot think it! Wullahy, it were a wonder!' - -So she said, 'Consider how a poor youth of excellent proportions came to -a flourishing Court before one, a widowed Queen, and she cast eyes of -love on him, and gave him rule over her and all that was hers when he had -achieved a task, and they were wedded. Oh, the bliss of it! Knit together -with bond and a writing; and these were the dominions, I the Queen, woe's -me!--thou the youth!' - -Now, he was roiled by the enchantments of the Queen, caught in the snare -of her beguilings; and he let her lead him to a seat beside her on the -throne, and sat there awhile in the midst of feastings, mazed, thinking, -'What life have I lived before this, if the matter be as I behold?' -thinking, ''Tis true I have had visions of a widowed queen, and I a poor -youth that came to her court, and espoused her, sitting in the vacant -seat beside her, ruling a realm; but it was a dream, a dream,--yet, wah! -here is she, here am I, yonder my dominions!' Then he thought, 'I will -solve it!' So, on a sudden he said to her beside him, 'O Queen, sovereign -of hearts! enlighten me as to a perplexity.' - -She answered, 'The voice of my lord is music in the ear of the bride.' - -Then said he, in the tone of one doubting realities, 'O fair Queen, is -there truly now such a one as Shagpat in the world?' - -She laughed at his speech and the puzzled appearance of his visage, -replying, 'Surely there liveth one, Shagpat by name in the world; strange -is the history of him, his friends, and enemies; and it would bear -recital.' - -Then he said, 'And one, the daughter of a Vizier, Vizier to the King in -the City of Shagpat?' - -Thereat, she shook her head, saying, 'I know nought of that one.' - -Now, Shibli Bagarag was mindful of his thwackings; and in this the wisdom -of Noorna, is manifest, that the sting of them yet chased away doubts of -illusion regarding their having been, as the poet says, - - If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! - 'Tis that oblivion controls; - I care not if't be on the back, - Or on the soles. - -He thought, 'Wah! yet feel I the thong, and the hiss of it as of the -serpent in the descent, and the smack of it as the mouth of satisfaction -in its contact with tender regions. This, wullahy! was no dream.' -Nevertheless, he was ashamed to allude thereto before the Queen, and he -said, 'O my mistress, another question, one only! This Shagpat--is he -shaved?' - -She said, 'Clean shorn!' - -Quoth he, astonished, grief-stricken, with drawn lips, 'By which hand, -chosen above men?' - -And she exclaimed, 'O thou witty one that feignest not to know! Wullahy! -by this hand of thine, O my lord and king, daring that it is; dexterous! -surely so! And the shaving of Shagpat was the task achieved,--I the dower -of it, and the rich reward.' - -Now, he was meshed yet deeper in the net of her subtleties, and by her -calling him 'lord and king'; and she gave a signal for fresh -entertainments, exhausting the resources of her art, the mines of her -wealth, to fascinate him. Ravishments of design and taste were on every -side, and he was in the lap of abundance, beguiled by magic, caressed by -beauty and a Queen. Marvel not that he was dazzled, and imagined himself -already come to the great things foretold of him by the readers of -planets and the casters of nativities in Shiraz. He assisted in beguiling -himself, trusting wilfully to the two witnesses of things visible; as is -declared by him of wise sayings: - - There is in every wizard-net a hole, - So the entangler first must blind the soul. - -And it is again said by that same teacher: - - Ye that the inner spirit's sight would seal, - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal. - -And the soul of Shibli Bagarag was blinded by Rabesqurat in the depths of -the Enchanted Sea. She sang to him, luting deliriously; and he was -intoxicated with the blissfulness of his fortune, and took a lute and -sang to her love-verses in praise of her, rhyming his rapture. Then they -handed the goblet to each other, and drank till they were on fire with -the joy of things, and life blushed beauteousness. Surely, Rabesqurat was -becoming forgetful of her arts through the strength of those draughts, -till her eye marked the Lily by his side, which he grasped constantly, -the bright flower, and she started and said, 'One grant, O my King, my -husband!' - -So he said courteously, 'All grants are granted to the lovely, the -fascinating; and their grief will be lack of aught to ask for?' - -Then said she, 'O my husband, my King, I am jealous of that silly flower: -laugh at my weakness, but fling it from thee.' - -Now, he was about to cast it from him, when a vanity possessed his mind, -and he exclaimed, 'See first the thing I will do, a wonder.' - -She cried, 'No wonders, my life! I am sated with them.' - -And he said, 'I am oblivious, O Queen, of how I came by this flower and -this phial; but thou shalt hear a thing beyond the power of common magic, -and see that I am something.' - -Now, she plucked at him to abstain from his action, but he held the phial -to the flower. She signed imperiously to some slaves to stay his right -wrist, and they seized on it; but not all of them together could withhold -him from dropping a drop into the petals of the flower, and lo, the Lily -spake, a voice from it like the voice of Noorna, saying, 'Remember the -Seventh Pillar.' Thereat, he lifted his eyes to his brows and frowned -back memory to his aid, and the scene of Karaz, Rabesqurat, Abarak, and -his betrothed was present to him. So perceiving that, the Queen delayed -not while he grasped the phial to take in her hands some water from a -basin near, and flung it over him, crying, 'Oblivion!' And while his mind -was straining to bring back images of what had happened, he fell forward -once more at the feet of Rabesqurat, senseless as a stone falls; such was -the force of her enchantments. - -Now, when he awoke the second time he was in the bosom of darkness, and -the Lily gone from his hand; so he lifted the phial to make certain of -that, and groped about till he came to what seemed an urn to the touch, -and into this he dropped a drop, and asked for the Lily; and a voice -said, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' And he came in the darkness -to a tree, and a bejewelled bank, and other urns, and swinging lamps -without light, and a running water, and a grassy bank, and flowers, and a -silver seat, sprinkling each; and they said all in answer to his question -of the Lily, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' At the last he -stumbled upon the steps of a palace, and ascended them, endowing the -steps with speech as he went, and they said, 'The light of it went over -us.' He groped at the porch of the palace, and gave the door a voice, and -it opened on jasper hinges, shrieking, 'The light of it went through me.' -Then he entered a spacious hall, scattering drops, and voices exclaimed, -'We glow with the light of it.' He passed, groping his way through other -halls and dusk chambers, scattering drops, and as he advanced the voices -increased in the fervour of their replies, saying sequently: 'We blush -with the light of it; We beam with the light of it; We burn with the -light of it.' So, presently he found himself in a long low room, sombrely -lit, roofed with crystals; and in a corner of the room, lo! a damsel on a -couch of purple, she white as silver, spreading radiance. Of such -lustrous beauty was she that beside her, the Princess Goorelka as Shibli -Bagarag first beheld her, would have paled like a morning moon; even -Noorna had waned as Both a flower in fierce heat; and the Queen of -Enchantments was but the sun behind a sand-storm, in comparison with that -effulgent damsel on the length of the purple couch. Well for him he wilt -of the magic which floated through that palace; as is said, - - Tempted by extremes, - The soul is most secure; - Too vivid loveliness blinds with its beams, - And eyes turned inward perceive the lure. - -Pulling down his turban hastily, he stepped on tiptoe to within arm's -reach of her, and, looking another way, inclined over her soft vermeil -mouth the phial slowly till it brimmed the neck, and dropped a drop of -Paravid between the bow of those sweet lips. Still not daring to gaze on -her, he said then, 'My question is of the Lily, the Lily of the Sea, and -where is it, O marvel?' - -And he heard a voice answer in the tones of a silver bell, clear as a -wind in strung wires, 'Where I lie, lies the Lily, the Lily of the Sea; I -with it, it with me.' - -Said he, 'O breather of music, tell me how I may lay hand on the flower -of beauty to bear it forth.' - -And he heard the voice, 'An equal space betwixt my right side and my -left, and from the shoulder one span and half a span downward.' - -Still without power to eye her, he measured the space and the spans, his -hand beneath the coverlids of the couch, and at a spot of the bosom his -hand sank in, and he felt a fluttering thing, fluttering like a frighted -bird in the midst of the fire. And the voice said, 'Quick, seize it, and -draw it out, and tie it to my feet by the twines of red silk about it.' - -He seized it and drew it out, and it was a heart--a heart of -blood-streaming with crimson, palpitating. Tears flashed on his sight -beholding it, and pity took the seat of fear, and he turned his eyes full -on her, crying, 'O sad fair thing! O creature of anguish! O painful -beauty! Oh, what have I done to thee?' - -But she panted, and gasped short and shorter gasps, pointing with one -finger to her feet. Then he took the warm living heart while it yet leapt -and quivered and sobbed; and he held it with a trembling hand, and tied -it by the red twines of silk about it to her feet, staining their -whiteness. When that was done, his whole soul melted with pity and -swelled with sorrow, and ere he could meet her eyes a swoon overcame him. -Surely, when the world dawned to him a third time in those regions the -damsel was no longer there, but in her place the Lily of Light. He -thought, 'It was a vision, that damsel! a terrible one; one to terrify -and bewilder! a bitter sweetness! Oh, the heart, the heart!' Reflecting -on the heart brought to his lids an overcharging of tears, and he wept -violently awhile. Then was he warned by the thought of his betrothed to -take the Lily and speed with it from the realms of Rabesqurat; and he -stole along the halls of the palace, and by the plashing fountains, and -across the magic courts, passing chambers of sleepers, fair dreamers, and -through ante-rooms crowded with thick-lipped slaves. Lo, as he held the -Lily to light him on, and the light of the Lily fell on them that were -asleep, they paled and shrank, and were such as the death-chill maketh of -us. So he called upon his head the protection of Allah, and went swifter, -to chase from his limbs the shudder of awe; and there were some that -slept not, but stared at him with fixed eyes, eyes frozen by the light of -the Lily, and he shunned those, for they were like spectres, haunting -spirits. After he had coursed the length of the palace, he came to a -steep place outside it, a rock with steps cut in stairs, and up these he -went till he came to a small door in the rock, and lying by it a bar; so -he seized the bar and smote the door, and the door shivered, for on his -right wrist were the hairs of Garraveen. Bending his body, he slipped -through the opening, and behold, an orchard dropping blossoms and ripe -golden fruits, streams flowing through it over sands, and brooks bounding -above glittering gems, and long dewy grasses, profusion of scented -flowers, shade and sweetness. So he let himself down to the ground, which -was an easy leap from the aperture, and walked through the garden, -holding the Lily behind him, for here it darkened all, and the glowing -orchard was a desert by its light. Presently, his eye fell on a couch -swinging between two almond trees, and advancing to it he beheld the -black-eyed Queen gathered up, folded temptingly, like a swaying fruit; -she with the gold circlet on her head, and she was fair as blossom of the -almond in a breeze of the wafted rose-leaf. Sweetly was she gathered up, -folded temptingly, and Shibli Bagarag refrained from using the Lily, -thinking, ''Tis like the great things foretold of me, this having of -Queens within the very grasp, swinging to and fro as if to taunt -backwardness!' Then he thought, ''Tis an enchantress! I will yet try her.' -So he made a motion of flourishing the Lily once or twice, but forbore, -fascinated, for she had on her fair face the softness of sleep, her lips -closed in dimples, and the wicked fire shut from beneath her lids. -Mastering his mind, the youth at last held the Lily to her, and saw a -sight to blacken the world and all bright things with its hideousness. -Scarce had he time to thrust the Lily in his robes, when the Queen -started up and clapped her hands, crying hurriedly, 'Abarak! Abarak!' and -the little man appeared in a moment at the door by which Shibli Bagarag -had entered the orchard. So, she cried still, 'Abarak!' and he moved -toward her. Then she said, 'How came this youth here, prying in my -private walks, my bowers? Speak!' - -He answered, 'By the aid of Garraveen only, O Queen! and there is no -force resisteth the bar so wielded.' - -Rabesqurat looked under her brows at Shibli Bagarag and saw the horror on -his face, and she cried out to Abarak in an agony, 'Fetch me the mirror!' -Then Abarak ran, and returned ere the Queen had drawn seven impatient -breaths, and in one hand he bore a sack, in the other a tray: so he -emptied the contents of the sack on the surface of the tray; surely they -were human eyes! and the Queen flung aside her tresses, and stood over -them. The youth saw her smile at them, and assume tender and taunting -manners before them, and imperious manners, killing glances, till in each -of the eyes there was a sparkle. Then she flung back her head as one that -feedeth on a mighty triumph, exclaiming, 'Yet am I Rabesqurat! wide is my -sovereignty.' Sideways then she regarded Shibli Bagarag, and it seemed -she was urging Abarak to do a deed beyond his powers, he frowning and -pointing to the right wrist of the youth. So she clenched her hands an -instant with that feeling which knocketh a nail in the coffin of a desire -not dead, and controlled herself, and went to the youth, breaking into -beams of beauty; and an enchanting sumptuousness breathed round her, so -that in spite of himself he suffered her to take him by the hand and lead -him from that orchard through the shivered door and into the palace and -the hall of the jasper pillars. Strange thrills went up his arm from the -touch of that Queen, and they were as little snakes twisting and darting -up, biting poison-bites of irritating blissfulness. - -Now, the hall was spread for a feast, and it was hung with lamps of -silver, strewn with great golden goblets, and viands, coloured meats, and -ordered fruits on shining platters. Then said she to Shibli Bagarag, 'O -youth! there shall be no deceit, no guile between us. Thou art but my -guest, I no bride to thee, so take the place of the guest beside me.' - -He took his seat beside her, Abarak standing by, and she helped the youth -to this dish and that dish, from the serving of slaves, caressing him -with flattering looks to starve aversion and nourish tender fellowship. -And he was like one that slideth down a hill and can arrest his descent -with a foot, yet faileth that freewill. When he had eaten and drunk with -her, the Queen said, 'O youth, no other than my guest! art thou not a -prince in the country thou comest from?' - -In a moment the pride of the barber forsook him, and he equivocated, -saying, 'O Queen! there is among the stars somewhere, as was divined by -the readers of planets, a crown hanging for me, and I search a point of -earth to intercept its fall.' - -She marked him beguiled by vanity, and put sweetmeats to his mouth, -exclaiming, 'Thy manners be those of a prince!' Then she sang to him of -the loneliness of her life, and of one with whom she wished to share her -state,--such as he. And at her signal came troops of damsels that stood -in rings and luted sweetly on the same theme--the Queen's loneliness, her -love. And he said to the Queen, 'Is this so?' - -She answered, 'Too truly so!' - -Now, he thought, 'She shall at least speak the thing that is, if she look -it not.' So he took the goblet, and contrived to drop a drop from the -phial of Paravid therein without her observing him; and he handed her the -goblet, she him; and they drank. Surely, the change that came over the -Queen was an enchantment, and her eyes shot lustre, her tongue was -loosed, and she laughed like one intoxicated, lolling in her seat, lost -to majesty and the sway of her magic, crying, 'O Abarak! Abarak! little -man, long my slave and my tool; ugly little man! And O Shibli Bagarag! -nephew of the barber! weak youth! small prince of the tackle! have I not -nigh fascinated thee? And thou wilt forfeit those two silly eyes of thine -to the sack. And, O Abarak, Abarak! little man, have I flattered thee? So -fetter I the strong with my allurements! and I stay the arrow in its -flight! and I blunt the barb of high intents! Wah! I have drunk a potent -stuff; I talk! Wullahy! I know there is a danger menacing Shagpat, and -the eyes of all Genii are fixed on him. And if he be shaved, what changes -will follow! But 'tis in me to delude the barber, wullahy! and I will -avert the calamity. I will save Shagpat!' - -While the Queen Rabesqurat prated in this wise with flushed face, Shibli -Bagarag was smitten with the greatness of his task, and reproached his -soul with neglect of it. And he thought, 'I am powerful by spells as none -before me have been, and 'twas by my weakness the Queen sought to tangle -me. I will clasp the Seventh Pillar and make an end of it, by Allah and -his Prophet (praised be the name!), and I will reach Aklis by a short -path and shave Shagpat with the sword.' - -So he looked up, and Abarak was before him, the lifted nostrils of the -little man wide with the flame of anger. And Abarak said, 'O youth, -regard me with the eyes of judgement! Now, is it not frightful to rate me -little?--an instigation of the evil one to repute me ugly?' - -The promptings of wisdom counselled Shibli Bagarag to say, 'Frightful -beyond contemplation, O Abarak! one to shame our species! Surely, there -is a moon between thy legs, a pear upon thy shoulders, and the cock that -croweth is no match for thee in measure.' - -Abarak cried, 'We be aggrieved, we two! O youth, son of my uncle, I will -give thee means of vengeance; give thou me means.' - -Shibli Bagarag felt scorn at the Queen, and her hollowness, and he said, -''Tis well; take this Lily and hold it to her.' - -Now, the Queen jeered Abarak, and as he approached her she shouted, -'What! thou small of build! mite of creation! sour mixture! thou puppet -of mine! thou! comest thou to seek a second kiss against the compact, -knowing that I give not the well-favoured of mortals beyond one, a -second. - -Little delayed Abarak at this to put her to the test of the Lily, and he -held the flower to her, and saw the sight, and staggered back like one -stricken with a shaft. When he could get a breath he uttered such a howl -that Rabesqurat in her drunkenness was fain to save her ears, and the -hall echoed as with the bellows of a thousand beasts of the forest. Then, -to glut his revenge he ran for the sack, and emptied the contents of it, -the Queen's mirror, before her; and the sackful of eyes, they saw the -sight, and sickened, rolling their whites. That done, Abarak gave Shibli -Bagarag the bar of iron, and bade him smite the pillars, all save the -seventh; and he smote them strengthily, crumbling them at a blow, and -bringing down the great hall and its groves, and glasses and gems, lamps, -traceries, devices, a heap of ruin, the seventh pillar alone standing. -Then, while he pumped back breath into his body, Abarak said, 'There's no -delaying in this place now, O youth! Say, halt thou spells for the -entering of Aklis?' - -He answered, 'Three!' - -Then said Abarak, ''Tis well! Surely now, if thou takest me in thy -service, I'll help thee to master the Event, and serve thee faithfully, -requiring nought from thee save a sight of the Event, and 'tis I that -myself missed one, wiled by Rabesqurat.' - -Quoth Shibli Bagarag, 'Thou?' - -He answered, 'No word of it now. Is't agreed?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Even so.' - -Thereupon, the twain entered the pillar, leaving Rabesqurat prone, and -the waves of the sea bounding toward her where she lay. Now, they -descended and ascended flights of slippery steps, and sped together along -murky passages, in which light never was, and under arches of caves with -hanging crystals, groping and tumbling on hurriedly, till they came to an -obstruction, and felt an iron door, frosty to the touch. Then Abarak said -to Shibli Bagarag, 'Smite!' And the youth lifted the bar to his right -shoulder, and smote; and the door obeyed the blow, and discovered an -opening into a strange dusky land, as it seemed a valley, on one side of -which was a ragged copper sun setting low, large as a warrior's battered -shield, giving deep red lights to a brook that fell, and over a flat -stream a red reflection, and to the sides of the hills a dark red glow. -The sky was a brown colour; the earth a deeper brown, like the skins of -tawny lions. Trees with reddened stems stood about the valley, scattered -and in groups, showing between their leaves the cheeks of melancholy -fruits swarthily tinged, and toward the centre of the valley a shining -palace was visible, supported by massive columns of marble reddened by -that copper sun. Shibli Bagarag was awed at the stillness that hung -everywhere, and said to Abarak, 'Where am I, O Abarak? the look of this -place is fearful!' - -And the little man answered, 'Where, but beneath the mountains in Aklis? -Wullahy! I should know it, I that keep the passage of the seventh -pillar!' - -Then the thought of his betrothed Noorna, and her beauty, and the words, -'Remember the seventh pillar,' struck the heart of Shibli Bagarag, and he -exclaimed passionately, 'Is she in safety? Noorna, my companion, my -betrothed, netted by thee, O Abarak!' - -Abarak answered sharply, 'Speak not of betrothals in this place, or the -sword of Aklis will move without a hand!' - -But Shibli Bagarag waxed the colour of the sun that was over them, and -cried, 'By Allah! I will smite thee with the bar, if thou swear not to -her safety, and point not out to me where she now is.' - -Then said Abarak, 'Thou wilt make a better use of the bar by lifting it -to my shoulder, and poising it, and peering through it.' - -Shibli Bagarag lifted the bar to the shoulder of Abarak, and poised it, -and peered through the length of it, and lo! there was a sea tossing in -tumult, and one pillar standing erect in the midst of the sea; and on the -pillar, above the washing waves, with hair blown back, and flapping -raiment, pale but smiling still, Noorna, his betrothed! - -Now, when he saw her, he made a rush to the door of the passage; but -Abarak blocked the way, crying, 'Fool! a step backward in Aklis is -death!' - -And when he had wrestled with him and reined him, Abarak said, 'Haste to -reach the Sword from the sons of Aklis, if thou wouldst save her.' - -He drew him to the brink of the stream, and whistled a parrot's whistle; -and Shibli Bagarag beheld a boat draped with drooping white lotuses that -floated slowly toward them; and when it was near, he and Abarak entered -it, and saw one, a veiled figure, sitting in the stern, who neither moved -to them nor spake, but steered the boat to a certain point of land across -the stream, where stood an elephant ready girt for travellers to mount -him; and the elephant kneeled among the reeds as they approached, that -they might mount him, and when they had each taken a seat, moved off, -waving his trunk. Presently the elephant came to a halt, and went upon -his knees again, and the two slid off his back, and were among black -slaves that bowed to the ground before them, and led them to the shining -gates of the palace in silence. Now, on the first marble step of the -palace there sat an old white-headed man dressed like a dervish, who held -out at arm's length a branch of gold with golden singing-birds between -its leaves, saying, 'This for the strongest of ye!' - -Abarak exclaimed, 'I am that one'; and he held forth his hand for the -branch. - -But Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Nay, 'tis mine. Wullahy, what has not the -strength of this hand overthrown?' - -Then the brows of Abarak twisted; his limbs twitched, and he bawled, 'To -the proof!' waking all the echoes of Aklis. Shibli Bagarag was tempted in -his desire for the golden branch to lift the iron bar upon Abarak, when -lo! the phial of Paravid fell from his vest, and he took it, and -sprinkled a portion of the waters over the singing birds, and in a moment -they burst into a sweet union of voices, singing, in the words of the -poet: - - When for one serpent were two asses match? - How shall one foe but with wiles master double? - So let the strong keep for ever good watch, - Lest their strength prove a snare, and themselves a mere bubble; - For vanity maketh the strongest most weak, - As lions and men totter after the struggle. - Ye heroes, be modest! while combats ye seek, - The cunning one trippeth ye both with a juggle. - -Now, at this verse of the birds Shibli Bagarag fixed his eye on the old -man, and the beard of the old man shrivelled; he waxed in size, and flew -up in a blaze and with a baffled shout bearing the branch; surely, his -features were those of Karaz, and Shibli Bagarag knew him by the length -of his limbs, his stiff ears, and copper skin. Then he laughed a loud -laugh, but Abarak sobbed, saying, 'By this know I that I never should -have seized the Sword, even though I had vanquished the illusions of -Rabesqurat, which held me fast half-way.' - -So Shibli Bagarag stared at him, and said, 'Wert thou also a searcher, O -Abarak?' - -But Abarak cried, 'Rouse not the talkative tongue of the past, O youth! -Wullahy! relinquish the bar that is my bar, won by me, for the Sword is -within thy grip, and they await thee up yonder steps. Go! go! and look -for me here on thy return.' - - - - -THE PALACE OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag assured himself of his three spells, and made his -heart resolute, and hastened up the reddened marble steps of the Palace; -and when he was on the topmost step, lo! one with a man's body and the -head of a buffalo, that prostrated himself, and prayed the youth -obsequiously to enter the palace with the title of King. So Shibli -Bagarag held his head erect, and followed him with the footing of a -Sultan, and passed into a great hall, with fountains in it that were -fountains of gems, pearls, chrysolites, thousand-hued jewels, and by the -margin of the fountains were shapes of men with the heads of -beasts-wolves, foxes, lions, bears, oxen, sheep, serpents, asses, that -stretched their hands to the falls, and loaded their vestments with -brilliants, loading them without cessation, so that from the vestments of -each there was another pouring of the liquid lights. Then he with the -buffalo's head bade Shibli Bagarag help himself from the falls; but -Shibli Bagarag refused, for his soul was with Noorna, his betrothed; and -he saw her pale on that solitary pillar in the tumult of the sea, and -knew her safety depended on his faithfulness. - -He cried, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the fox-heads and the sheep-heads and the ass-heads -and the other heads of beasts were lifted up, and lo! they put their -hands to their ears, and tapped their foreheads with the finger of -reflection, as creatures seeking to bring to mind a serious matter. Then -the fountains rose higher, and flung jets of radiant jewels, and a -drenching spray of gems upon them, and new thirst aroused them to renew -their gulping of the falls, and a look of eagerness was even in the eyes -of the ass-heads and the silly sheep-heads; surely, Shibli Bagarag -laughed to see them! Now, when he had pressed his lips to recover his -sight from the dazzling of those wondrous fountains, he heard himself -again addressed by the title of King, and there was before him a lofty -cock with a man's head. So he resumed the majesty of his march, and -followed the fine-stepping cock into another hall, spacious, and clouded -with heavy scents and perfumes burning in censers and urns, musk, myrrh, -ambergris, and livelier odours, gladdening the nostril like wine, making -the soul reel as with a draught of the forbidden drink. Here, before a -feast that would prick the dead with appetite, were shapes of beasts with -heads of men, asses, elephants, bulls, horses, swine, foxes, -river-horses, dromedaries; and they ate and drank as do the famished with -munch and gurgle, clacking their lips joyfully. Shibli Bagarag remembered -the condition of his frame when first he looked upon the City of Shagpat, -and was incited to eat and accede to the invitation of the cock with the -man's head, and sit among these merry feeders and pickers of -mouth-watering morsels, when, with the City of Shagpat, lo! he had a -vision of Shagpat, hairier than at their interview, arrogant in -hairiness; his head remote in contemptuous waves and curls and frizzes, -and bushy protuberances of hair, lost in it, like an idolatrous temple in -impenetrable thickets. Then the yearning of the Barber seized Shibli -Bagarag, and desire to shear Shagpat was as a mighty overwhelming wave in -his bosom, and he shouted, 'The Sword of Aklis! nought save the Sword!' - -Now, at these words the beasts with men's heads wagged their tails, all -of them, from right to left, and kept their jaws from motion, staring -stupidly at the dishes; but the dishes began to send forth stealthy -steams, insidious whispers to the nose, silver intimations of -savouriness, so that they on a sudden set up a howl, and Shibli Bagarag -puckered his garments from them as from devouring dogs, and hastened from -that hall to a third, where at the entrance a damsel stood that smiled to -him, and led him into a vast marbled chamber, forty cubits high, hung -with draperies, and in it a hundred doors; and he was in the midst of a -very rose-garden of young beauties, such as the Blest behold in Paradise, -robed in the colours of the rising and setting sun; plump, with long, -black, languishing, almond-shaped eyes, and undulating figures. So they -cried to him, 'What greeting, O our King?' - -Now, he counted twenty and seven of them, and, fitting his gallantry to -verse, answered: - - Poor are the heavens that have not ye - To swell their glowing plenty; - Up there but one bright moon I see, - Here mark I seven-and-twenty. - -The damsels laughed and flung back their locks at his flattery, sporting -with him; and he thought, 'These be sweet maidens! I will know if they be -illusions like Rabesqurat'; so, as they were romping, he slung his right -arm round one, and held the Lily to her, but there was no change in her -save that she winked somewhat and her eyes watered; and it was so with -the others, for when they saw him hold the Lily to one they made him do -so to them likewise. Then he took the phial, and touched their lips with -the waters, and lo! they commenced luting and laughing, and singing -verses, and prattling, laughing betweenwhiles at each other; and one, a -noisy one, with long, black, unquiet tresses, and a curved foot and -roguish ankle, sang as she twirled: - - My heart is another's, I cannot be tender; - Yet if thou storm it, I fain must surrender. - -And another, a fresh-cheeked, fair-haired, full-eyed damsel, strong upon -her instep and stately in the bearing of her shoulders, sang shrilly: - - I'm of the mountains, and he that comes to me - Like eagle must win, and like hurricane woo me. - -And another, reclining on a couch buried in dusky silks, like a butterfly -under the leaves, a soft ball of beauty, sang moaningly: - - Here like a fruit on the branch am I swaying; - Snatch ere I fall, love! there's death in delaying. - -And another, light as an antelope on the hills, with antelope eyes edged -with kohl, and timid, graceful movements, and small, white, rounded ears, -sang clearly: - - Swiftness is mine, and I fly from the sordid; - Follow me, follow! and you'll be rewarded. - -And another, with large limbs and massive mould, that stepped like a cow -leisurely cropping the pasture, and shook with jewels amid her black hair -and above her brown eyes, and round her white neck and her wrists, and on -her waist, even to her ankle, sang as with a kiss upon every word: - - Sweet 'tis in stillness and bliss to be basking! - He who would have me, may have for the asking. - -And another, with eyebrows like a bow, and arrows of fire in her eyes, -and two rosebuds her full moist parted pouting lips, sang, clasping her -hands, and voiced like the tremulous passionate bulbul in the shadows of -the moon: - - Love is my life, and with love I live only; - Give me life, lover, and leave me not lonely. - -And a seventh, a very beam of beauty, and the perfection of all that is -imagined in fairness and ample grace of expression and proportion, lo! -she came straight to Shibli Bagarag, and took him by the hand and pierced -him with lightning glances, singing: - - Were we not destined to meet by one planet? - Can a fate sever us?--can it, ah! can it? - -And she sang tender songs to him, mazing him with blandishments, so that -the aim of existence and the summit of ambition now seemed to him the -life of a king in that palace among the damsels; and he thought, 'Wah! -these be no illusions, and they speak the thing that is in them. Wullahy, -loveliness is their portion; they call me King.' - -Then she that had sung to him said, 'Surely we have been waiting thee -long to crown thee our King! Thou hast been in some way delayed, O -glorious one!' - -And he answered, 'O fair ones, transcending in affability, I have -stumbled upon obstructions in my journey hither, and I have met with -adventures, but of this crowning that was to follow them I knew nought. -Wullahy, thrice have I been saluted King; I whom fate selecteth for the -shaving of Shagpat, and till now it was a beguilement, all emptiness.' - -They marked his bewildered state, and some knelt before him, some held -their arms out adoringly, some leaned to him with glistening looks, and -he was fast falling a slave to their flatteries, succumbing to them; -imagination fired him with the splendours due to one that was a king, and -the thought of wearing a crown again took possession of his soul, and he -cried, 'Crown me, O my handmaidens, and delay not to crown me; for, as -the poet says: - - "The king without his crown - Hath a forehead like the clown"; - -and the circle of my head itcheth for the symbols of majesty.' - -At these words of Shibli Bagarag they arose quickly and clapped their -hands, and danced with the nimble step of gladness, exclaiming, 'O our -King! pleasant will be the time with him!' And one smoothed his head and -poured oil upon it; one brought him garments of gold and silk inwoven; -one fetched him slippers like the sun's beam in brightness; others stood -together in clusters, and with lutes and wood-instruments, low-toned, -singing odes to him; and lo! one took a needle and threaded it, and gave -the thread into the hands of Shibli Bagarag, and with the point of the -needle she pricked certain letters on his right wrist, and afterwards -pricked the same letters on a door in the wall. Then she said to him, 'Is -it in thy power to make those letters speak?' - -He answered, 'We will prove how that may be.' - -So he flung some drops from the phial over the letters, and they glowed -the colour of blood and flashed with a report, and it was as if a fiery -forked-tongue had darted before them and spake the words written, and -they were, 'This is the crown of him who bath achieved his aim and -resteth here.' Thereupon, she stuck the needle in the door, and he pulled -the thread, and the door drew apart, and lo! a small chamber, and on a -raised cushion of blue satin a glittering crown, thick with jewels as a -frost, such as Ambition pineth to wear, and the knees of men weaken and -bend beholding, and it lanced lights about it like a living sun. Beside -the cushion was a vacant throne, radiant as morning in the East, ablaze -with devices in gold and gems, a seat to fill the meanest soul with -sensations of majesty and tempt dervishes to the sitting posture. Shibli -Bagarag was intoxicated at the sight, and he thought, 'Wah! but if I sit -on this throne and am a king, with that crown I can command men and -things! and I have but to say, Fetch Noorna, my betrothed, from yonder -pillar in the midst of the uproarious sea!--Let the hairy Shagpat be -shaved! and behold, slaves, thousands of them, do my bidding! Wullahy, -this is greatness!' Now, he made a rush to the throne, but the damsels -held him back, crying, 'Not for thy life till we have crowned thee, our -master and lord!' - -Then they took the crown and crowned him with it; and he sat upon the -throne calmly, serenely, like a Sultan of the great race accustomed to -sovereignty, tempering the awfulness of his brows with benignant glances. -So, while he sat the damsels hid their faces and started some paces from -him, as unable to bear the splendour of his presence, and in a moment, -lo! the door closed between him and them, and he was in darkness. Then he -heard a voice of the damsels cry in the hall, 'The ninety and ninth! -Peace now for us and blissfulness with our lords, for now all are filled -save the door of the Sword, which maketh the hundredth.' After that he -heard the same voice say, 'Leave them, O my sisters!' - -So he listened to the noise of their departing, and knew he had been -duped. Surely his soul cursed him as he sat crowned and throned in that -darkness! He seized the crown to dash it to the earth, but the crown was -fixed on his forehead and would not come off; neither had he force to -rise from the throne. Now, the thought of Noorna, his betrothed, where -she rested waiting for him to deliver her, filled Shibli Bagarag with the -extremes of anguish; and he lifted his right arm and dashed it above his -head in the violence of his grief, striking in the motion a hidden gong -that gave forth a burst of thunder and a roll of bellowings, and lo! the -door opened before him, and the throne as he sat on it moved out of the -chamber into the hall where he had seen the damsels that duped him, and -on every side of the hall doors opened; and he marvelled to see men, old -and young, beardless and venerable, sitting upon thrones and crowned with -crowns, motionless, with eyes like stones in the recesses. He thought, -'These be other dupes! Wallaby! a drop of the waters of Paravid upon -their lips might reveal mysteries, and guide me to the Sword of my -seeking.' So, as he considered how to get at them from the seat of his -throne, his gaze fell on a mirror, and he beheld the crown on his -forehead what it was, bejewelled asses' ears stiffened upright, and -skulls of monkeys grinning with gems! The sight of that crowning his head -convulsed Shibli Bagarag with laughter, and, as he laughed, his seat upon -the throne was loosened, and he pitched from it, but the crown stuck to -him and was tenacious of its hold as the lion that pounceth upon a -victim. He bowed to the burden of necessity, and took the phial, and -touched the lips of one that sat crowned on a throne with the waters in -the phial; and it was a man of exceeding age, whitened with time, and in -the long sweep of his beard like a mountain clad with snow from the peak -that is in the sky to the base that slopeth to the valley. Then he -addressed the old man on his throne, saying, 'Tell me, O King! how camest -thou here? and in search of what?' - -The old man's lips moved, and he muttered in deep tones, 'When cometh he -of the ninety-and-ninth door?' - -So Shibli Bagarag cried, 'Surely he is before thee, in Aklis.' - -And the old man said, 'Let him ask no secrets; but when he hath reached -the Sword forget not to flash it in this hall, for the sake of -brotherhood in adventure.' - -After that he would answer no word to any questioning. - - - - -THE SONS OF AKLIS - -Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'The poet is right in Aklis as elsewhere, in -his words: - - "The cunning of our oft-neglected wit - Doth best the keyhole of occasion fit"; - -and whoso looketh for help from others looketh the wrong way in an -undertaking. Wah! I will be bold and batter at the hundredth door, which -is the door of the Sword.' So he advanced straightway to the door, which -was one of solid silver, charactered with silver letters, and knocked -against it three knocks; and a voice within said, 'What spells?' - -He answered, 'Paravid; Garraveen; and the Lily of the Sea!' - -Upon that the voice said, 'Enter by virtue of the spells!' and the silver -door swung open, discovering a deep pit, lightened by a torch, and across -it, bridging it, a string of enormous eggs, rocs' eggs, hollowed, and so -large that a man might walk through them without stooping. At the side of -each egg three lamps were suspended from a claw, and the shell passage -was illumined with them from end to end. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'These -eggs are of a surety the eggs of the Roc mastered by Aklis with his -sword!' Now, as the sight of Shibli Bagarag grew familiar to the place, -he beheld at the bottom of the pit a fluttering mass of blackness and two -sickly eyes that glittered below. - -Then thought he, 'Wah! if that be the Roc, and it not dead, will the bird -suffer one to defile its eggs with other than the sole of the foot, -naked?' He undid his sandals and kicked off the slippers given him by the -damsels that had duped him, and went into the first egg over the abyss, -and into the second, and into the third, and into the fourth, and into -the fifth. Surely the eggs swung with him, and bent; and the fear of -their breaking and he falling into the maw of the terrible bird made him -walk unevenly. When he had come to the seventh egg, which was the last, -it shook and swung violently, and he heard underneath the flapping of the -wings of the Roc, as with eagerness expecting a victim to prey upon. He -sustained his soul with the firmness of resolve and darted himself -lengthwise to the landing, clutching a hold with his right hand; as he -did so, the bridge of eggs broke, and he heard the feathers of the bird -in agitation, and the bird screaming a scream of disappointment as he -scrambled up the sides of the pit. - -Now, Shibli Bagarag failed not to perform two prostrations to Allah, and -raised the song of gratitude for his preservation when he found himself -in safety. Then he looked up, and lo! behind a curtain, steps leading to -an anteroom, and beyond that a chamber like the chamber of kings where -they sit in state dispensing judgements, like the sun at noon in -splendour; and in the chamber seven youths, tall and comely young men, -calm as princes in their port, each one dressed in flowing robes, and -with a large glowing pearl in the front of their turbans. They advanced -to meet him, saying, 'Welcome to Aklis, thou that art proved worthy! 'Tis -holiday now with us'; and they took him by the hand and led him with them -in silence past fountain-jets and porphyry pillars to where a service -with refreshments was spread, meats, fowls with rice, sweetmeats, -preserves, palateable mixtures, and monuments of the cook's art, goblets -of wine like liquid rubies. Then one of the youths said to Shibli -Bagarag, 'Thou hast come to us crowned, O our guest! Now, it is not our -custom to pay homage, but thou shalt presently behold them that will, so -let not thy kingliness droop with us, but feast royally.' - -And Shibli Bagarag said, 'O my princes, surely it is a silly matter to -crown a mouse! Humility hath depressed my stature! Wullahy, I have had -warning in the sticking of this crown to my brows, and it sticketh like -an abomination.' - -They laughed at him, saying, 'It was the heaviness of that crown which -overweighted thee in the bridge of the abyss, and few be they that bear -it and go not to feed the Roc.' - -Now, they feasted together, interchanging civilities, offering to each -other choice morsels, dainties. And the anecdotes of Shibli Bagarag, his -simplicity and his honesty, and his vanity and his airiness, and the -betraying tongue of the barber, diverted the youths; and they plied him -with old wine till his stores of merriment broke forth and were as a -river swollen by torrents of the mountain; and the seven youths laughed -at him, spluttering with laughter, lurching with it. Surely, he described -to them the loquacity of Baba Mustapha his uncle, and they laughed so -that their chins were uppermost; but at his mention of Shagpat greater -gravity was theirs, and they smoothed their faces solemnly, and the sun -of their merriment was darkened for awhile. Then they took to flinging -about pellets of a sugared preparation, and reciting verses in praise of -jovial living, challenging to drink this one and that one, passing the -cup with a stanza. Shibli Bagarag thought, 'What a life is this led by -these youths! a fair one! 'Tis they that be the sons of Aklis who sharpen -the Sword of Events; yet live they in jollity, skimming from the -profusion of abundance that which floateth!' - -Now, marking him contemplative, one of the youths shouted, 'The King -lacketh homage!' - -And another called, 'Admittance for his people!' - -Then the seven arose and placed Shibli Bagarag on an elevation in the -midst of them, and lo! a troop of black slaves leading by the collar, -asses, and by a string, monkeys. Now, for the asses they brayed to the -Evil One, and the monkeys were prankish, pulling against the string, till -they caught sight of Shibli Bagarag. Then was it as if they had been -awestricken; and they came forward to him with docile steps, eyeing the -crown on his head, and prostrated themselves, the asses and the monkeys, -like creatures in whom glowed the lamp of reason and the gift of -intelligence. So Shibli Bagarag drooped his jaw and was ashamed, and he -cried, 'my princes! am I a King of these?' - -They answered, 'A King in mightiness! Sultan of a race!' - -So he said, 'It is certain I shall need physic to support such a -sovereignty! And I must be excused liberal allowances of old wine to sit -in state among them. Wullahy! they were best gone for awhile. Send them -from me, O my princes! I sicken.' - -And he called to the animals, 'Away! begone!' frowning. - -Then said the youths, 'Well commanded! and like a King! See, they troop -from thy presence obediently.' - -Now the animals fled from before the brows of Shibli Bagarag, and when -the chamber was empty of them the seven young men said, 'Of a surety thou -wert flattered to observe the aspect of these animals at beholding thee.' - -But he cried, 'Not so, O my princes; there is nought flattering in the -homage of asses and monkeys.' - -Then they said, 'O Sultan of asses, ruler of monkeys, better that than -thyself an ass and an ape! As was said by Shah Kasirwan, "I prefer being -king of beasts worshipped by beasts, rather than a crowned beast -worshipped by men"; and it was well said. Wullahy! the kings of Roum -quote it.' - -Now Shibli Bagarag was not rendered oblivious of the Sword of his quest -by the humour of these youths, or the wine-bibbings, and he exclaimed -while they were turning up the heels of their cups, 'O ye sons of Aklis, -know that I have come hither for the Sword sharpened by your hands, for -the releasing of my betrothed, Noorna bin Noorka, daughter of the Vizier -Feshnavat, and for the shaving of Shagpat.' - -While he was proceeding to recount the story of his search for the Sword, -they said, 'Enough, O potentate of the braying class and of the -scratching tribe! we have seen thee through the eye of Aklis since the -time of thy first thwacking. What says the poet? - - "A day for toil and a day for rest - Gives labour zeal, and pleasure zest." - -So, of thy seeking let us hear to-morrow; but now drink with us, and make -merry, and touch the springs of memory; spout forth verses, quaint ones, -suitable to the hour and the entertainment. Wullahy! drink with us! taste -life! Let the humours flow.' - -Then they made a motion to some slaves, and presently a clattering of -anklets struck the ear of Shibli Bagarag: and he beheld dancing-girls, -moons of beauty and elegance, and they danced wild dances, and dances -graceful and leopard-like and serpent-like in movement; and the youths -flung flowers at them, applauding them. Then came other sets of dancers -even lovelier, more languishing; and again others with tambourines and -musical instruments, that sang ravishingly. So the senses of Shibli -Bagarag were all taken with what he saw and heard, and ate and drank; and -by degrees a mist came before his eyes, and the sweet sounds and voices -of the girls grew distant, and it was with difficulty he kept his back -from the length of the cushions that were about him. Then he thought of -Noorna, and that she sang to him and danced, and when he rose to embrace -her she was Rabesqurat by the light of the Lily! And he thought of -Shagpat, and that in shaving him the blade was checked in its rapid -sweep, and blunted by a stumpy twine of hair that waxed in size and -became the head of Karaz that gulped at him a wide devouring gulp, and -took him in, and flew up with him, leaving Shagpat half sheared. Then he -thought himself struggling halfway down the throat of the monstrous Roc, -and that, when he was wholly inside the Roc, he was in a wide-arched -passage crowded with lamps, and at the end of the passage Noorna in the -clutch of Karaz, she shouting, 'The Sword, the Sword!' - -Now, while he felt for the Sword wherewith to release her from the Genie, -his eyes opened, and he saw day through a casement, and that he had -reposed on an embroidered couch in the corner of a stately room -ornamented with carvings of blue and gold. So while he wondered and -yawned, gaping, slaves started up from the floor and led him to a bath of -coloured marble, and bathed him in perfumed waters, and dressed him in a -dress of yellow silk, rich and ample. Then they paraded before him -through lesser apartments and across terraces, till they came to a great -hall; loftier and more spacious than any he had yet beheld, with -fountains at the two ends, and in the centre a tree with golden spreading -branches and leaves of gold; among the leaves gold-feathered birds, and -fruits of all seasons and every description--the drooping grape and the -pleasant-smelling quince, and the blood-red pomegranate, and the apricot, -and the green and rosy apple, and the gummy date, and the oily -pistachio-nut, and peaches, and citrons, and oranges, and the plum, and -the fig. Surely, they were countless in number, melting with ripeness, -soft, full to bursting; and the birds darted among them like sun-flashes. -Now, Shibli Bagarag thought, 'This is a wondrous tree! Wullahy! there is -nought like it save the tree in the hall of the Prophet in Paradise, -feeding the faithful!' As he regarded it he heard his name spoken in the -hall, and turning he beheld seven youths in royal garments, that were -like the youths he had feasted with, and yet unlike them, pale, and stern -in their manners, their courtesy as the courtesy of kings. They said, -'Sit with us and eat the morning's meal, O our guest!' - -So he sat with them under the low branches of the tree; and they whistled -the tune of one bird and of another bird, and of another, and lo! those -different birds flew down with golden baskets hanging from their bills, -and in the baskets fruits and viands and sweetmeats, and cool drinks. And -Shibli Bagarag ate from the baskets of the birds, watching the action of -the seven youths and the difference that was in them. He sought to make -them recognise him and acknowledge their carouse of the evening that was -past, but they stared at him strangely and seemed offended at the -allusion, neither would they hear mention of the Sword of his seeking. -Presently, one of the youths stood upon his feet and cried, "The time for -kings to sit in judgement!" - -And the youths arose and led Shibli Bagarag to a hall of ebony, and -seated him on the upper seat, themselves standing about him; and lo! -asses and monkeys came before him, complaining of the injustice of men -and their fellows, in brays and bellows and hoots. Now, at the sight of -them again Shibli Bagarag was enraged, and he said to the youths, 'How! -do ye not mock me, O masters of Aklis!' - -But they said only, 'The burden of his crown is for the King.' - -He cooled, thinking, 'I will use a spell.' So he touched the lips of an -animal with the waters of Paravid, and the animal prated volubly in our -language of the kick this ass had given him, and the jibe of that monkey, -and of his desire of litigation with such and such a beast for pasture; -and the others when they spake had the same complaints to make. Shibli -Bagarag listened to them gravely, and it was revealed to him that he who -ruleth over men hath a labour and duties of hearing and judging and -dispensing judgement similar to those of him who ruleth over apes and -asses. Then said he, 'O youths, my princes! methinks the sitting in this -seat giveth a key to secret sources of wisdom; and I see what it is, the -glory and the exaltation coveted by men.' Now, he took from the asses and -the monkeys one, and said to it, 'Be my chief Vizier,' and to another, -'Be my Chamberlain!' and to another, 'Be my Treasurer!' and so on, till a -dispute arose between the animals, and jealousy of each other was visible -in their glances, and they appealed to him clamorously. So he said, 'What -am I to ye?' - -They answered, 'Our King!' - -And he said, 'How so?' - -They answered, 'By the crowning of the brides of Aklis.' - -Then he said, 'What be ye, O my subjects?' - -They answered, 'Men that were searchers of the Sword and plunged into the -tank of temptation.' - -And he said, 'How that?' - -They answered, 'By the lures of vanity, the blinding of ambition, and -tasting the gall of the Roc.' - -So Shibli Bagarag leaned to the seven youths, saying, 'O my princes, but -for not tasting the gall of the Roc I might be as one of these. Wullahy! -I the King am warned by base creatures.' Then he said to the animals, -'Have ye still a longing for the crown?' - -And they cried, all of them, 'O light of the astonished earth, we care -for nought other than it.' - -So he said, 'And is it known to ye how to dispossess the wearer of his -burden?' - -They answered, 'By a touch of the gall of the Roc on his forehead.' - -Then he lifted his arms, crying, 'Hie out of my presence! and whoso of ye -fetcheth a drop of the gall, with that one will I exchange the crown.' - -At these words some moved hastily, but the most faltered, as doubting and -incredulous that he would propose such an exchange; and one, an old -monkey, sat down and crossed his legs, and made a study of Shibli -Bagarag, as of a sovereign that held forth a deceiving bargain. But he -cried again, 'Hie and haste! as my head is now cased I think it not the -honoured part.' - -Then the old monkey arose with a puzzled look, half scornful, and made -for the door slowly, turning his head toward Shibli Bagarag betweenwhiles -as he went, and scratching his lower limbs with the mute reflectiveness -of age and extreme caution. - -Now, when they were gone, Shibli Bagarag looked in the eyes of the seven -youths, and saw they were content with him, and his countenance was -brightened with approval. So he descended from his seat, and went with -them from the hall of ebony to a court where horses were waiting saddled, -and slaves with hawks on their wrists stood in readiness; and they -mounted each a horse, but he loitered. The seven youths divined his -feeling, and cried impatiently, 'Come! no lingering in Aklis!' So he -mounted likewise, and they emerged from the palace, and entered the hills -that glowed under the copper sun, and started a milk-white antelope with -ruby spots, and chased it from its cover over the sand-hills, a hawk -being let loose to worry it and distress its timid beaming eyes. When the -creature was quite overcome, one of the youths struck his heel into his -horse's side and flung a noose over the head of the quarry, and drew it -with them, gently petting it the way home to the palace. At the gates of -the palace it was released, and lo! it went up the steps, and passed -through the halls as one familiar with them. Now, when they were all -assembled in the anteroom of the hall, where Shibli Bagarag had first -seen the seven youths, sons of Aklis, in their jollity, one of them said -to the Antelope, 'We have need of thee to speak a word with Aklis, O our -sister!' - -So the same youth requested the use of the phial of Paravid, and Shibli -Bagarag applied it carefully, tenderly, to the mouth of the Antelope. -Then the Antelope spake in a silver-ringing voice, saying, 'What is it, O -my brothers?' - -They answered, 'Thou knowest we dare not attempt interchange of speech -with Aklis, seeing that we disobeyed him in visiting the kingdoms of the -earth: so it is for thee to question him as to the object of this youth, -and it is the Shaving of Shagpat.' - -So she said, ''Tis well; I wot of it.' - -Then she advanced to the curtain concealing the abyss of the Roc and the -bridge of its eggs, and went behind it. There was a pause, and they heard -her say presently in a grave voice, toned with reverence, 'How is it, O -our father? is it a good thing that thy Sword be in use at this season?' - -And they heard the Voice answer from a depth, ''Twere well it rust not!' - -They heard her say, 'O our father Aklis, and we wish to know if be held -in favour by thee, and thou sanction it with thy Sword.' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'The Shaving of Shagpat is my Sword -alone equal to, and he that shaveth him performeth a service to mankind -ranking next my vanquishing of the Roc.' - -Then they heard her say, 'And it is thy will we teach him the mysteries -of the Sword, and that which may be done with it?' - -And they heard the Voice answer, 'Even so!' - -After that the Voice was still, and soon the Antelope returned from -behind the curtain, and the youths caressed her with brotherly caresses, -and took a circle of hands about her, and so moved to the great Hall of -the gorgeous Tree, and fed her from the branches. Now, while they were -there, Shibli Bagarag advanced to the Antelope, and knelt at her feet, -and said, 'O Princess of Aklis, surely I am betrothed to one constant as -a fixed star, and brighter; a mistress of magic, and innocent as the -bleating lamb; and she is now on a pillar, chained there, in the midst of -the white wrathful sea, wailing for me to deliver her with this Sword of -my seeking. So, now, I pray thee help me to the Sword swiftly, that I may -deliver her.' - -The youths, her brothers, clamoured and interposed, saying, 'Take thy -shape ere that, O Gulrevaz, our sister!' - -But she cried, 'He is betrothed! not till he graspeth the Sword. Tell -him, the youth, our conditions, and for what exchange the Sword is -yielded.' - -And they said, 'The conditions are, thou part with thy spells, all of -them, O youth!' - -And he said, 'There is no condition harsh that exchangeth the Sword; O ye -Seven, I agree!' - -Then she said, ''Tis well! nobility is in the soul of this youth. Go -before us now to the Cave of Chrysolites, O my brothers.' - -So these departed before, and she in her antelope form followed footing -gracefully, and made Shibli Bagarag repeat the story of his betrothal as -they went. - - - - -THE SWORD OF AKLIS - -Now, when they had made the passage of many halls, built of different -woods, filled with divers wonders, they descended a sloping vault, and -came to a narrow way in the earth, hung with black, at the end of it a -stedfast blaze like a sun, that grew larger as they advanced, and they -heard the sea above them. The noise of it, and its plunging and weltering -and its pitilessness, struck on the heart of Shibli Bagarag as with a -blow, and he cried, 'Haste, haste, O Princess! perchance she is even now -calling to me with her tongue, and I not aiding her; delayed by the -temptation of this crown and the guile of the Brides.' - -She checked him, and said, 'In Aklis no haste!' Then she said, 'Look!' -And lo, fronting them the single blaze became two fires; and drawing -nigh, Shibli Bagarag beheld them what they were, angry eyes in the head -of a great lion, a model of majesty, and passion was in his mane and -power was in his forepaws; so while he lashed his tail as a tempest -whippeth the tawny billows at night, and was lifting himself for a roar, -she said, 'A hair of Garraveen, and touch him with it!' - -Shibli Bagarag pushed up his sleeve and broke one of the three sapphire -hairs and stepped forward to the lion, holding in his right hand the hair -of vivid light. The lion crouched, and was in the vigour of the spring -when that hair touched him, and he trembled, tumbling on his knees and -letting the twain pass. So they advanced beyond him, and lo! the Cave of -Chrysolites irradiate with beams, breaks of brilliance, confluences of -lively hues, restless rays, meeting, vanishing, flooding splendours, now -scattered in dazzling joints and spars, now uniting in momentary disks of -radiance. In the centre of the cave glowed a furnace, and round it he -distinguished the seven youths, swarthier and sterner than before, dark -sweat standing on the brows of each. Their words were brief, and they -wore each a terrible frown, saying to him, without further salutation, -'Thrust in the flame of this furnace thy right wrist.' - -At the same moment, the Antelope said in his ear, 'Do thou their bidding, -and be not backward! In Aklis fear is ruin, and hesitation a destroyer.' - -He fixed his mind on the devotedness of Noorna, and held his nether lip -tightly between his teeth, and thrust his right wrist in the flame of the -furnace. The wrist reddened, and became transparent with heat, but he -felt no pain, only that his whole arm was thrice its natural weight. Then -the flame of the furnace fell, and the seven youths made him kneel by a -brook of golden waters and dip his forehead up to his eyes in the waters. -Then they took him to the other side of the cave, and his sight was -strengthened to mark the glory of the Sword, where it hung in slings, a -little way from the wall, outshining the lights of the cave, and throwing -them back with its superior force and stedfastness of lustre. Lo! the -length of it was as the length of crimson across the sea when the sun is -sideways on the wave, and it seemed full a mile long, the whole blade -sheening like an arrested lightning from the end to the hilt; the hilt -two large live serpents twined together, with eyes like sombre jewels, -and sparkling spotted skins, points of fire in their folds, and -reflections of the emerald and topaz and ruby stones, studded in the -blood-stained haft. Then the seven young men, sons of Aklis, said to -Shibli Bagarag, 'Surrender the Lily!' And when he had given into their -hands the Lily, they said, 'Grasp the handle of the Sword!' - -Now, he beheld the Sword and the ripples of violet heat that were -breathing down it, and those two venomous serpents twined together, and -the size of it, its ponderousness; and to essay lifting it appeared to -him a madness, but he concealed his thought, and, setting his soul on the -safety of Noorna, went forward to it boldly, and piercing his right arm -between the twists of the serpents, grasped the jewelled haft. Surely, -the Sword moved from the slings as if a giant had swayed it! But what -amazed him was the marvel of the blade, for its sharpness was such that -nothing stood in its way, and it slipped through everything as we pass -through still water, the stone columns, blocks of granite by the walls, -the walls of earth, and the thick solidity of the ground beneath his -feet. They bade him say to the Sword, 'Sleep!' and it was no longer than -a knife in the girdle. Likewise, they bade him hiss on the heads of the -serpents, and say, 'Wake!' and while he held it lengthwise it shot -lengthening out. Then they bade him hold in one hand the sapphire hair -that conquered the lion, and with the edge of the Sword touch one point -of it. So he did that, and it split in half, and the two halves he also -split; and he split those four, and those eight, till the hairs were thin -as light and not distinguishable from it. When Shibli Bagarag saw the -power of the Sword, he exulted and cried, 'Praise be to the science of -them that forecast events and the haps of life!' Now, in the meantime he -marked the youths take those hairs of Garraveen that he had split, and -tie them round the neck of the Antelope, and empty the contents of the -phial down her throat; and they put the bulb of the Lily, that was a -heart, in her mouth, and she swallowed it till the flower covered her -face. Then they took each a handful of the golden waters of the brook -flowing through the cave, and flung the waters over her, exclaiming, 'By -the three spells that have power in Aklis, and by which these waters are -a blessing!' - -In the passing of a flash she took her shape, and was a damsel taller -than the tallest of them that descend from the mountains, a vision of -loveliness, with queenly brows, closed red lips, and large full black -eyes; her hair black, and on it a net of amber strung with pearls. To -look upon her was to feel the tyranny of love, love's pangs of alarm and -hope and anguish; and she was dressed in a dress of white silk, threaded -with gold and sapphire, showing in shadowy beams her rounded figure and -the stateliness that was hers. So she ran to her brothers and embraced -them, calling them by their names, catching their hands, caressing them -as one that had been long parted from them. Then, seeing Shibli Bagarag -as he stood transfixed with the javelins of loveliness that flew from her -on all sides, she cried: 'What, O Master of the Event! halt thou nought -for the Sword but to gaze before thee in silliness?' - -Then he said, 'O rare in beauty! marvel of Aklis and the world! surely -the paradise of eyes is thy figure and the glory of thy face!' - -But she shouted, 'To work with the Sword! Shame on thee! is there not -one, a bright one, a miracle in faithfulness, that awaiteth thy rescue on -the pillar?' - -And she repeated the praises he had spoken of Noorna bin Noorka, his -betrothed. Then he grasped the Sword firmly, remembering the love of -Noorna, and crying, 'Lead me from this, O ye sons of Aklis, and thou, -Princess Gulrevaz, lead me, that I may come to her.' - -So they said, 'Follow us!' and he sheathed the Sword in his girdle with -the word 'Sleep!' and followed them, his heart beating violently. - - - - -KOOROOKH - -Now, they sped from the Cave of Chrysolites by another passage than that -by which they entered it, and nothing but the light of the Sword to guide -them. By that light Shibli Bagarag could distinguish glimmering shapes, -silent and statue-like, to the right and the left of them, their visages -hidden in a veil of heavy webs; and he saw what seemed in the dusk broad -halls, halls of council, and again black pools and black groves, and -columns of crowded porticoes,--all signs of an underground kingdom. They -came to some steps and mounted these severally, coming to a platform, in -the middle of which leapt a fountain, the top spray of it touched with a -beam of earth and the air breathed by men. Here he heard the youths -dabble with the dark waters, and he discerned Gulrevaz tossing it in her -two hands, calling, 'Koorookh! Koorookh!' Then they said to him, 'Stir -this fountain with the Sword, O Master of the Event!' So he stirred the -fountain, and the whole body of it took a leap toward the light that was -like the shoot of a long lance of silver in the moon's rays, and lo! in -its place the ruffled feathers of a bird. Then the seven youths and the -Princess and Shibli Bagarag got up under its feathers like a brood of -water-fowl; and the bird winged straight up as doth a blinded bee, -ascending, and passing in the ascent a widening succession of winding -terraces, till he observed the copper sun of Aklis and the red lands -below it. Thrice, in the exuberance of his gladness, he waved the Sword, -and the sun lost that dulness on its disk and took a bright flame, and -threw golden arrows everywhere; and the pastures were green, the streams -clear, the sands sparkling. The bird flew, and circled, and hung poised a -moment, presently descending on the roof of the palace. Now, there was -here a piece of solid glass, propped on two crossed bars of gold, and it -was shaped like an eye, and might have been taken for one of the eyes -inhabiting the head of some monstrous Genie. Shibli Bagarag ran to it -when he was afoot, and peered through it. Surely, it was the first object -of his heart that he beheld--Noorna, his betrothed, pale on the pillar; -she with her head between her hands and her hair scattered by the storm, -as one despairing. Still he looked, and he save swimming round the pillar -that monstrous fish, with its sole baleful eye, which had gulped them -both in the closed shell of magic pearl; and he knew the fish for Karaz, -the Genie, their enemy. Then he turned to the Princess, with an imploring -voice for counsel how to reach her and bring her rescue; but she said, -'The Sword is in thy hands, none of us dare wield it'; and the seven -youths answered likewise. So, left to himself, he drew the Sword from his -girdle, and hissed on the heads of the serpents, at the same time holding -it so that it might lengthen out inimitably. Then he leaned it over the -eye of the glass, in the direction of the pillar besieged by the billows, -and lo! with one cut, even at that distance, he divided the fishy -monster, and with another severed the chains that had fettered Noorna; -and she arose and smiled blissfully to the sky, and stood upright, and -signalled him to lay the point of the blade on the pillar. When he had -done this, knowing her wisdom, she put a foot boldly upon the blade and -ran up it toward him, and she was half-way up the blade, when suddenly a -kite darted down upon her, pecking at her eyes, to confuse her. She waxed -unsteady and swayed this way and that, balancing with one arm and -defending herself from the attacks of the kite with another. It seemed to -Shibli Bagarag she must fall and be lost; and the sweat started on his -forehead in great drops big as nuts. Seeing that and the agitation of his -limbs, Gulrevaz cried, 'O Master of the Event, let us hear it!' - -But he shrieked, 'The kite! the kite! she is running up the blade, and -the kite is at her eyes! and she swaying, swaying! falling, falling!' - -So the Princess exclaimed, 'A kite! Koorookh is match for a kite!' - -Then she smoothed the throat of Koorookh, and clasped round it a collar -of bright steel, roughened with secret characters; and she took a hoop of -gold, and passed the bird through it, urging it all the while with one -strange syllable; and the bird went up with a strong whirr of the wing -till he was over the sea, and caught sight of Noorna tottering beneath -him on the blade, and the kite pecking fiercely at her. Thereat he -fluttered eagerly a twinkle of time, and the next was down with his beak -in the neck of the kite, crimsoned in it. Now, by the shouts and -exclamations of Shibli Bagarag, the Princess and the seven youths, her -brothers, knew that the bird had performed well his task, and that the -fight was between Koorookh and the kite. Then he cried gladly to them, -'Joy for us, and Allah be praised! The kite is dropping, and she leaneth -on one wing of Koorookh!' - -And he cried in anguish, 'What see I? The kite is become a white ball, -rolling down the blade toward her; and it will of a surety destroy her.' -And he called to her, thinking vainly his voice might reach her. So the -Princess said, 'A white ball? 'tis I that am match for a white ball!' - -Now, she seized from the corner of the palace-roof a bow and an arrow, -and her brothers lifted her to a level with the hilt of the Sword, -leaning on the eye of glass. Then she planted one foot on the shoulder of -Shibli Bagarag as he bent peering through the eye, and fitted the arrow -to a level of the Sword, slanting its slant, and let it fly, doubling the -bow. Shibli Bagarag saw the ball roll to within a foot of Noorna, when it -was as if stricken by a gleam of light, and burst, and was a black cloud -veined with fire, swathing her in folds. He lost all sight of Noorna; and -where she had been were vivid flashes, and then a great flame, and in the -midst a red serpent and a green serpent twisted as in the death-struggle. -So he cried, 'A red serpent and a green serpent!' - -And the sons of Aklis exclaimed, 'A red serpent? 'Tis we that are match -for a red serpent!' - -Thereupon they descended steps through the palace roof, and while the -fight between those two serpents was rageing, Shibli Bagarag beheld seven -small bright birds, bee-catchers, that entered the flame, bearing in -their bills slips of a herb, and hovering about the heal of the red -serpent, distracting it. Then he saw the red serpent hiss and snap at -one, darting out its tongue, and lo! on the fork of its tongue the little -bird let fall the slip of herb in its bill, and in an instant the serpent -changed from red to yellow and from yellow to pale-spotted blue, and from -that to a speckled indigo-colour, writhing at every change, and hissing -fire from its open jaws. Meantime the green serpent was released and was -making circles round the flame, seeking to complete some enchantment, -when suddenly the whole scene vanished, and Shibli Bagarag again beheld -Noorna steadying her steps on the blade, and leaning on one wing of -Koorookh. She advanced up the blade, coming nearer and nearer; and he -thought her close, and breathed quick and ceased looking through the -glass. When he gazed abroad, lo! she was with Koorookh, on a far hill -beyond the stream in outer Aklis. So he said to the Princess Gulrevaz, 'O -Princess, comes she not to me here in the palace?' - -But the Princess shook her head, and said, 'She hath not a spell! She -waiteth for thee yonder with Koorookh. Now, look through the glass once -more.' - -He looked through the glass, and there on a plain, as he had first seen -it when Noorna appeared to him, was the City of Shagpat, and in the -streets of the city a vast assembly, and a procession passing on, its -front banner surmounted by the Crescent, and bands with curled and curved -instruments playing, and slaves scattering gold and clashing cymbals, -every demonstration and evidence of a great day and a high occasion in -the City of Shagpat! So he peered yet keenlier through the glass, and -behold, the Vizier Feshnavat, father of Noorna, walking in fetters, -subject to the jibes and evil-speaking of the crowds of people, his -turban off, and he in a robe of drab-coloured stuff, in the scorned -condition of an unbeliever. Shibli Bagarag peered yet more earnestly -through the glass eye, and in the centre of the procession, clad -gorgeously in silks and stuffs, woven with gold and gems, a crown upon -his head, and the appanages of supremacy and majesty about him, was -Shagpat. He paced upon a yellow flooring that was unrolled before him -from a mighty roll; and there were slaves that swarmed on all sides of -him, supporting upon gold pans and platters the masses of hair that -spread bushily before and behind, and to the right and left of him. Truly -the gravity of his demeanour exceeded that which is attained by Sheiks -and Dervishes after much drinking of the waters of wisdom, and fasting, -and abnegation of the pleasures that betray us to folly in this world! -Now, when he saw Shagpat, the soul of Shibli Bagarag was quickened to do -his appointed work upon him, shear him, and release the Vizier Feshnavat. -Desire to shave Shagpat was as a salt thirst rageing in him, as the dream -of munching to one that starveth; even as the impelling of violent -tempests to skiffs on the sea; and he hungered to be at him, crying, as -he peered, ''Tis he! even he, Shagpat!' - -Then he turned to the Princess Gulrevaz, and said, ''Tis Shagpat, -exalted, clothed with majesty, O thou morning star of Aklis!' - -She said, 'Koorookh is given thee, and waiteth to carry ye both; and for -me I will watch that this glass send forth a beam to light ye to that -city; so farewell, O thou that art loved! And delay in nothing to finish -the work in hand.' - -Now, when he had set his face from the Princess he descended through the -roof of the palace, and met the seven youths returning, and they -accompanied him through the halls of the palace to that hall where the -damsels had duped him. He was mindful of his promise to the old man -crowned, and flashed the Sword a strong flash, so that he who looked on -it would be seared in the eyelashes. Then the doors of the recesses flew -apart, eight-and-ninety in number, and he beheld divers sitters on -thrones, with the diadem of asses' ears stiffened upright, and monkeys' -skulls grinning with gems; they having on each countenance the look of -sovereigns and the serenity of high estate. Shibli Bagarag laughed at -them, and he thought, 'Wullahy! was I one of these? I, the beloved of -Noorna, destined Master of the Event!' and he thought, 'Of a surety, if -these sitters could but laugh at themselves, there would be a release for -them, and the crown would topple off which getteth the homage of asses -and monkeys!' He would have spoken to them, but the sons of Aklis said, -'They have seen the flashing of the Sword, and 'twere well they wake -not.' As they went from the hall the seven youths said, 'Reflect upon the -age of these sitters, that have been sitting in the chairs from three to -eleven generations back! And they were searchers of the Sword like thee, -but were duped! In like manner, the hen sitteth in complacency, but she -bringeth forth and may cackle; 'tis owing to the aids of Noorna that thou -art not one of these sitters, O Master of the Event!' Now, they paced -through the hall of dainty provender, and through the hall of the -jewel-fountains, coming to the palace steps, where stood Abarak leaning -on his bar. As they advanced to Abarak, there was a clamour in the halls -behind, that gathered in noise like a torrent, and approached, and -presently the Master was ware of a sharp stroke on his forehead with a -hairy finger, and then a burn, and the Crown that had clung to him -toppled off; surely it fell upon the head of the old monkey, the cautious -and wise one, he that had made a study of Shibli Bagarag. Thereupon that -monkey stalked scornfully from them; and Abarak cried, 'O Master of the -Event! it was better for me to keep the passage of the Seventh Pillar, -than be an ape of this order. Wah! the flashing of the Sword scorcheth -them, and they scamper.' - - - - -THE VEILED FIGURE - -Verily there was lightning in Aklis as Shibli Bagarag flashed the Sword -over the clamouring beasts: the shape of the great palace stood forth -vividly, and a wide illumination struck up the streams, and gilded the -large hanging leaves, and drew the hills glimmeringly together, and -scattered fires on the flat faces of the rocks. Then the seven youths -said quickly, 'Away! out of Aklis, O Master of the Event! from city to -city of earth this light is visible, and men will know that Fate is in -travail, and an Event preparing for them, and Shagpat will be warned by -the portent; wherefore lose not the happy point of time on which thy star -is manifest.' And they cried again, 'Away! out of Aklis!' with gestures -of impatience, urging his departure. - -Then said he, 'O youths, Sons of Aklis, it is written that gratitude is -the poor man's mine of wealth, and the rich man's flower of beauty; and I -have but that to give ye for all this aid and friendliness of yours.' - -But they exclaimed, 'No aid or friendliness in Aklis! By the gall of the -Roc! it is well for thee thou camest armed with potent spells, and hadst -one to advise and inspirit thee, or thou wouldst have stayed here to -people Aklis, and grazed in a strange shape.' - -Now, the seven waxed in impatience, and he laid their hands upon his head -and moved from them with Abarak, to where in the dusk the elephant that -had brought them stood. Then the elephant kneeled and took the twain upon -his back, and bore them across the dark land to that reach of the river -where the boat was moored in readiness. They entered the boat silently -among its drapery of lotuses, and the Veiled Figure ferried them over the -stream that rippled not with their motion. As they were crossing, desire -to know that Veiled Figure counselled Shibli Bagarag evilly to draw the -Sword again, and flash it, so that the veil became transparent. Then, -when Abarak turned to him for the reason of the flashing of the Sword, he -beheld the eyes of the youth fixed in horror, glaring as at sights beyond -the tomb. He said nought, but as the boat's-head whispered among the -reeds and long flowers of the opposite marge, he took Shibli Bagarag by -the shoulders and pushed him out of the boat, and leaped out likewise, -leading him from the marge forcibly, hurrying him forward from it, he at -the heels of the youth propelling him; and crying in out-of-breath voice -at intervals, 'What sight? what sight?' But the youth was powerless of -speech, and when at last he opened his lips, the little man shrank from -him, for he laughed as do the insane, a peal of laughter ended by gasps; -then a louder peal, presently softer; then a peal that started all the -echoes in Aklis. After awhile, as Abarak still cried in his ear, 'What -sight?' he looked at him with a large eye, saying querulously, 'Is it -written I shall be pushed by the shoulder through life? And is it in the -pursuit of further thwackings?' - -Abarak heeded him not, crying still, 'What sight?' and Shibli Bagarag -lowered his tone, and jerked his body, pronouncing the name 'Rabesqurat!' -Then Abarak exclaimed, ''Tis as I weened. Oh, fool! to flash the Sword -and peer through the veil! Truly, there be few wits will bear that -sight!' On a sudden he cried, 'No cure but one, and that a sleep in the -bosom of the betrothed!' - -Thereupon he hurried the youth yet faster across the dark lawns of Aklis -toward the passage of the Seventh Pillar, by which the twain had entered -that kingdom. And Shibli Bagarag saw as in a dream the shattered door, -shattered by the bar, remembering dimly as a thing distant in years the -netting of the Queen, and Noorna chained upon the pillar; he remembered -Shagpat even vacantly in his mind, as one sheaf of barley amid other -sheaves of the bearded field, so was he overcome by the awfulness of that -sight behind the veil of the Veiled Figure! - -As they advanced to the passage, he was aware of an impediment to its -entrance, as it had been a wall of stone there; and seeing Abarak enter -the passage without let, he kicked hard in front at the invisible -obstruction, but there was no coming by. Abarak returned to him, and took -his right arm, and raised the sleeve from his wrist, and lo, the two -remaining hairs of Garraveen twisted round it in sapphire winds. Cried -he, 'Oh, the generosity of Gulrevaz! she has left these two hairs that he -may accomplish swiftly the destiny marked for him! but now, since his -gazing through that veil, he must part with them to get out of Aklis.' -And he muttered, 'His star is a strange one! one that leadeth him to -fortune by the path of frowns! to greatness by the aid of thwackings! -Truly the ways of Allah are wonderful!' Shibli Bagarag resisted him in -nothing, and Abarak loosed the two bright hairs from his wrist, and those -two hairs swelled and took glittering scales, and were sapphire snakes -with wings of intense emerald; and they rose in the air spirally -together, each over each, so that to see them one would fancy in the -darkness a fountain of sapphire waters flashed with the sheen of emerald. -When they had reached a height loftier than the topmost palace-towers of -Aklis, they descended like javelins into the earth, and in a moment -re-appeared, in the shape of Genii when they are charitably disposed to -them they visit; not much above the mortal size, nor overbright, save for -a certain fire in their eyes when they turned them; and they were clothed -each from head to foot in an armour of sapphire plates shot with steely -emerald. Surely the dragon-fly that darteth all day in the blaze over -pools is like what they were. Abarak bit his forefinger and said, 'Who be -ye, O sons of brilliance?' - -They answered, 'Karavejis and Veejravoosh, slaves of the Sword.' - -Then he said, 'Come with us now, O slaves of the Sword, and help us to -the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -They answered, 'O thou, there be but two means for us of quitting Aklis: -on the wrist of the Master, or down the blade of the Sword! and from the -wrist of the Master we have been loosed, and no one of thy race can tie -us to it again.' - -Abarak said, 'How then shall the Master leave Aklis?' - -They answered, 'By Allah in Aklis! he can carve a way whither he will -with the Sword.' - -But Abarak cried, 'O Karavejis and Veejravoosh! he bath peered through -the veil of the Ferrying Figure.' - -Now, when they heard his words, the visages of the Genii darkened, and -they exclaimed sorrowfully, 'Serve we such a one?' - -And they looked at Shibli Bagarag a look of anger, so that he, whose wits -were in past occurrences, imagined them his enemy and the foe of Noorna -split in two, crying, 'How? Is Karaz a couple? and do I multiply him with -strokes of the Sword?' - -Thereupon he drew the Sword from his girdle in wrath, flourishing it; and -Karavejis and Veejravoosh felt the might of the Sword, and prostrated -themselves to the ground at his feet. And Abarak said, 'Arise, and bring -us swiftly to the mountain of outer Aklis.' - -Then said they, 'Seek a passage down yonder brook in the moonbeams; and -it is the sole passage for him now.' - -Abarak went with them to the brook that was making watery music to itself -between banks of splintered rock and over broad slabs of marble, bubbling -here and there about the roots of large-leaved water-flowers, and -catching the mirrored moon of Aklis in whirls, breaking it in lances. -Then they waded into the water knee-deep, and the two Genii seized hold -of a great slab of marble in the middle of the water, and under was a -hollow brimmed with the brook, that the brook partly filled and flowed -over. Then the Genii said to Abarak, 'Plunge!' and they said the same to -Shibli Bagarag. The swayer of the Sword replied, as it had been a simple -occasion, a common matter, and a thing for the exercise of civility, -'With pleasure and all willingness!' Thereupon he tightened his girth, -and arrowing his two hands, flung up his heels and disappeared in the -depths, Abarak following. Surely, those two went diving downward till it -seemed to each there was no bottom in the depth, and they would not cease -to feel the rushing of the water in their ears till the time anticipated -by mortals. - - - - -THE BOSOM OF NOORNA - -Now, while a thousand sparks of fire were bursting on the sight of the -two divers, and they speeded heels uppermost to the destiny marked out -for them by the premeditations of the All-Wise, lo! Noorna was on the -mountain in outer Aklis with Koorookh, waiting for the appearance of her -betrothed, Sword in hand. She saw beams from the blazing eye of Aklis, -and knew by the redness of it that one, a mortal, was peering on the -earth and certain of created things. So she waited awhile in patience for -the return of her betrothed, with the head of Koorookh in her lap, -caressing the bird, and teaching it words of our language; and the bird -fashioned its bill to the pronouncing of names, such as 'Noorna' and -'Feshnavat,' and 'Goorelka'; and it said 'Karaz,' and stuck not at the -name 'Shagpat,' and it learnt to say even 'Shagpat shall be shaved! -Shagpat shall be shaved!' but no effort of Noorna could teach it to say, -'Shibli Bagarag,' the bird calling instead, 'Shiparack, Shiplabarack, -Shibblisharack.' And Noorna chid it with her forefinger, crying, 'O -Koorookh! wilt thou speak all names but that one of my betrothed?' - -So she said again, 'Shibli Bagarag.' And the bird answered, imitating its -best, 'Shibberacavarack.' Noorna was wroth with it, crying, 'Oh naughty -bird! is the name of my beloved hateful to thee?' - -And she chid Koorookh angrily, he with a heavy eye sulking, and keeping -the sullen feathers close upon his poll. Now, she thought, 'There is in -this a meaning and I will fathom it.' So she counted the letters in the -name of her betrothed, that were thirteen, and spelt them backwards, -afterwards multiplying them by an equal number, and fashioning words from -the selection of every third and seventh letter. Then took she the leaf -from a tree and bade Koorookh fly with her to the base of the mountain -sloping from Aklis to the sea, and there wrote with a pin's point on the -leaf the words fashioned, dipping the leaf in the salt ripple by the -beach, till they were distinctly traced. And it was revealed to her that -Shibli Bagarag bore now a name that might be uttered by none, for that -the bearer of it had peered through the veil of the ferrying figure in -Aklis. When she knew that, her grief was heavy, and she sat on the cold -stones of the beach and among the bright shells, weeping in anguish, -loosing her hair, scattering it wildly, exclaiming, 'Awahy! woe on me! -Was ever man more tired than he before entering Aklis, he that was in -turns abased and beloved and exalted! yet his weakness clingeth to him, -even in Aklis and with the Wondrous Sword in his grasp.' - -Then she thought, 'Still he had strength to wield the Sword, for I marked -the flashing of it, and 'twas he that leaned forward the blade to me; and -he possesses the qualities that bring one gloriously to the fruits of -enterprise!' And she thought, 'Of a surety, if Abarak be with him, and a -single of the three slaves of the Sword that I released from the tail of -Garraveen, Ravejoura, Karavejis, and Veejravoosh, he will yet come -through, and I may revive him in my bosom for the task.' So, thinking -upon that, the sweet crimson surprised her cheeks, and she arose and drew -Koorookh with her along the beach till they came to some rocks piled -ruggedly and the waves breaking over them. She mounted these, and stepped -across them to the entrance of a cavern, where flowed a full water -swiftly to the sea, rolling smooth bulks over and over, and with a -translucent light in each, showing precious pebbles in the bed of the -water below; agates of size, limpid cornelians, plates of polished jet, -rubies, diamonds innumerable that were smitten into sheen by slant rays -of the level sun, the sun just losing its circle behind lustrous billows -of that Enchanted Sea. She turned to Koorookh a moment, saying, with a -coax of smiles, 'Will my bird wait here for me, even at this point?' -Koorookh clapped both his wings, and she said again, petting him, 'He -will keep watch to pluck me from the force of water as I roll past, that -I be not carried to the sea, and lost?' - -Koorookh still clapped his wings, and she entered under the arch of the -cavern. It was roofed with crystals, a sight of glory, with golden lamps -at intervals, still centres of a thousand beams. Taking the sandal from -her left foot and tucking up the folds of her trousers to the bend of her -clear white knee, she advanced, half wading, up the winds of the cavern, -and holding by the juts of granite here and there, till she came to a -long straight lane in the cavern, and at the end of it, far down, a solid -pillar of many-coloured water that fell into the current, as it had been -one block of gleaming marble from the roof, without ceasing. Now, she -made toward it, and fixed her eye warily wide on it, and it was bright, -flawless in brilliancy; but while she gazed a sudden blot was visible, -and she observed in the body of the fall two dark objects plumping -downward one after the other, like bolts, and they splashed in the -current and were carried off by the violence of its full sweep, shooting -by her where she stood, rapidly; but she, knotting her garments round the -waist to give her limbs freedom and swiftness, ran a space, and then bent -and plunged, catching, as she rose, the foremost to her bosom, and -whirled away under the flashing crystals like a fish scaled with -splendours that hath darted and seized upon a prey, and is bearing it -greedily to some secure corner of the deeps to swallow the quivering -repast at leisure. Surely, the heart of Noorna was wise of what she bore -against her bosom; and it beat exulting strokes in the midst of the rush -and roar and gurgle of the torrent, and the gulping sounds and -multitudinous outcries of the headlong water. That verse of the poet -would apply to her where he says: - - Lead me to the precipice, - And bid me leap the dark abyss: - I care not what the danger be, - So my beloved, my beauteous vision, - Be but the prize I bear with me, - For she to Paradise can turn Perdition. - -Praise be to him that planteth love, the worker of this marvel, within -us! Now, she sped in the manner narrated through the mazes of the cavern, -coming suddenly to the point at the entrance where perched Koorookh -gravely upon one leg, like a bird with an angling beak: he caught at her -as she was hurling toward the sea, and drew her to the bank of rock, that -burden on her bosom; and it was Shibli Bagarag, her betrothed, his eyes -closed, his whole countenance colourless. Behind him like a shadow -streamed Abarak, and Noorna kneeled by the waterside and fetched the -little man from it likewise; he was without a change, as if drawn from a -familiar element; and when he had prostrated himself thrice and called on -the Prophet's name in the form of thanksgiving, he wrung his beard of the -wet, and had wit to bless the action of Noorna, that saved him. Then the -two raised Shibli Bagarag from the rock, and reclined him lengthwise -under the wings of Koorookh, and Noorna stretched herself there beside -him with one arm about his neck, the fair head of the youth on her bosom. -And she said to Abarak, 'He hath dreamed many dreams, my betrothed, but -never one so sweet as that I give him. Already, see, the hue returneth to -his cheek and the dimples of pleasure.' So was it; and she said, 'Mount, -O thou of the net and the bar! and stride Koorookh across the neck, for -it is nigh the setting of the moon, and by dawn we must be in our middle -flight, seen of men, a cloud over them.' - -Said Abarak, 'To hear is to obey!' - -He bestrode the neck of Koorookh and sat with dangling feet, till she -cried, 'Rise!' and the bird spread its wings and flapped them wide, -rising high in the silver rays, and flying rapidly forward with the three -on him from the mountain in front of Aklis, and the white sea with its -enchanted isles and wonders; flying and soaring till the earth was as -what might be held in the hollow of the hand, and the kingdoms of the -earth a mingled heap of shining dust in the midst. - - - - -THE REVIVAL - -Now, the feathers of Koorookh in his flight were ruffled by a chill -breeze, and they were speeding through a light glow of cold rose-colour. -Then said Noorna, ''Tis the messenger of morning, the blush. Oh, what -changes will date from this day!' - -The glow of rose became golden, and they beheld underneath them, on one -side, the rim of the rising red sun, and rays streaming over the earth -and its waters. And Noorna said, 'I must warn Feshnavat, my father, and -prepare him for our coming.' - -So she plucked a feather from Koorookh and laid the quill downward, -letting it drop. Then said she, 'Now for the awakening of my betrothed!' - -Thereupon she hugged his head a moment, and kissed him on the eyelids, -the cheeks, and the lips, crying, 'By this means only!' Crying that, she -pushed him, sliding, from the back of the bird, and he parted from them, -falling headforemost in the air like a stricken eagle. Then she called to -Koorookh, 'Seize him!' and the bird slanted his beak and closed his -wings, the two, Abarak and Noorna, clinging to him tightly; and he was -down like an arrow between Shibli Bagarag and the ground, spreading -beneath him like a tent, and Noorna caught the youth gently to her lap; -then she pushed him off again, intercepting his descent once more, till -they were on a level with one of the mountains of the earth, from which -the City of Shagpat is visible among the yellow sands like a white spot -in the yolk of an egg. So by this time the eyes of the youth gave -symptoms of a desire to look upon the things that be, peeping faintly -beneath the lashes, and she exclaimed joyfully, raising her white hands -above her head, 'One plunge in the lake, and life will be his again!' - -Below them was a green lake, tinted by the dawn with crimson and yellow, -deep, and with high banks. As they crossed it to the middle, she slipped -off the youth from Koorookh, and he with a great plunge was received into -the stillness of the lake. Meanwhile Koorookh quivered his wings and -seized him when he arose, bearing him to an end of the lake, where stood -one dressed like a Dervish, and it was the Vizier Feshnavat, the father -of Noorna. So when he saw them, he shouted the shout of congratulation, -catching Noorna to his breast, and Shibli Bagarag stretched as doth a -heavy sleeper in his last doze, saying, in a yawning voice, 'What -trouble? I wot there is nought more for us now that Shagpat is shaved! -Oh, I have had a dream, a dream! He that is among Houris in Paradise -dreameth not a dream like that. And I dreamed--'tis gone!' - -Then said he, staring at them, 'Who be ye? What is this?' - -Noorna, took him again to her bosom, and held him there; and she plucked -a herb, and squeezed it till a drop from it fell on either of his lids, -applying to them likewise a dew from the serpents of the Sword, and he -awoke to the reality of things. Surely, then he prostrated himself and -repeated the articles of his faith, taking one hand of his betrothed and -kissing her; and he embraced Abarak and Feshnavat, saying to the father -of Noorna, 'I know, O Feshnavat, that by my folly and through my weakness -I have lost time in this undertaking, but it shall be short work now with -Shagpat. This thy daughter, the Eclipser of Reason, was ever such a prize -as she? I will deserve her. Wullahy! I am now a new man, sprung like fire -from ashes. Lo, I am revived by her for the great work.' - -Said Abarak: 'O Master of the Event, secure now without delay the two -slaves of the Sword, and lean the blade toward Aklis.' - -Upon that, he ran up rapidly to the summit of the mountain and drew the -Sword from his girdle, and leaned it toward Aklis, and it lengthened out -over lands, the blade of it a beam of solid brilliance. Presently, from -forth the invisible remoteness they saw the two Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, and they were footing the blade swiftly, like stars, -speeding up till they were within reach of the serpents of the hilt, when -they dropped to the earth, bowing their heads; so he commanded them to -rise, crying, 'Search ye the earth and its confines, and bring hither -tidings of the Genie Karaz.' - -They said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Then they began to circle each round the other, circling more and more -sharply till beyond the stretch of sight, and Shibli Bagarag said to -Feshnavat, 'Am I not awake, O Feshnavat? I will know where is Karaz ere I -seek to operate on Shagpat, for it is well spoken of the poet: - - "Obstructions first remove - Ere thou thy cunning prove"; - -and I will encounter this Karaz that was our Ass, ere I try the great -shave.' - -Then said he, turning quickly, 'Yonder is the light from Aklis striking -on the city, and I mark Shagpat, even he, illumined by it, singled out, -where he sitteth on the roof of the palace by the market-place.' - -So they looked, and it was as he had spoken, that Shagpat was singled out -in the midst of the city by the wondrous beams of the eye of Aklis, and -made prominent in effulgence. - -Said Abarak, climbing to the level of observation, 'He hath a redness -like the inside of a halved pomegranate.' - -Feshnavat stroked his chin, exclaiming, 'He may be likened to a mountain -goat in the midst of a forest roaring with conflagration.' - -Said Shibli Bagarag, 'Now is he the red-maned lion, the bristling boar, -the uncombed buffalo, the plumaged cock, but soon will he be like nothing -else save the wrinkled kernel of a shaggy fruit. Lo, now, the Sword! it -leapeth to be at him, and 'twill be as the keen icicle of winter to that -perishing foliage, that doomed crop! So doth the destined minute destroy -with a flash the hoarded arrogance of ages; and the destined hand doeth -what creation failed to perform; and 'tis by order, destiny, and -preordainment, that the works of this world come to pass. This know I, -and I witness thereto that am of a surety ordained to the Shaving of -Shagpat!' - -Then he stood apart and gazed from Shagpat to the city that now began to -move with the morning; elephants and coursers saddled by the gates of the -King's palace were visible, and camels blocking the narrow streets, and -the markets bustling. Surely, though the sun illumined that city, it was -as a darkness behind Shagpat singled by the beams of Aklis. - - - - -THE PLOT - -Now, while Shibli Bagarag gazed on Shagpat kindled by the beams of Aklis, -lo, the Genii Karavejis and Veejravoosh circling each other in swift -circles like two sapphire rings toward him, and they whirled to a point -above his head, and fell and prostrated themselves at his feet: so he -cried, 'O ye slaves of the Sword, my servitors! how of the whereabout of -Karaz?' - -They answered, 'O Master of the Event, we found him after many circlings -far off, and 'twas by the borders of the Putrid Sea. We came not close on -him, for he is stronger than we without the Sword, but it seemed he was -distilling drops of an oil from certain substances, large thickened drops -that dropped into a phial.' - -Then Shibli Bagarag said, 'The season of weakness with me is over, and -they that confide in my strength, my cunning, my watchfulness, my -wielding of the Sword, have nought to fear for themselves. Now, this is -my plot, O Feshnavat,--that part of it in which thou art to have a share. -'Tis that thou depart forthwith to the City yonder, and enter thy palace -by a back entrance, and I will see that thou art joined within an hour of -thy arrival there by Baba Mustapha, my uncle, the gabbler. He is there, -as I guess by signs; I have had warnings of him. Discover him speedily. -Thy task is then to induce him to make an attempt on the head of Shagpat -in all wiliness, as he and thou think well to devise. He will fail, as I -know, but what is that saying of the poet? - - "Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends, - For failures oft are but advising friends." - -And he says: - - "Every failure is a step advanced, - To him who will consider how it chanced." - -Wherefore, will I that this attempt be made, keeping the counsel that is -mine. Thou must tell Baba Mustapha I wait without the city to reward him -by my powers of reward with all that he best loveth. So, when he has -failed in his attempt on Shagpat, and blows fall plenteously upon him, -and he is regaled with the accustomed thwacking, as I have tasted it in -this undertaking, do thou waste no further word on him, for his part is -over, and as is said: - - "Waste not a word in enterprise! - Against--or for--the minute flies." - -'Tis then for thee, O Feshnavat, to speed to the presence of the King in -his majesty, and thou wilt find means of coming to him by a disguise. -Once in the Hall of Council, challenge the tongue of contradiction to -affirm Shagpat other than a bald-pate bewigged. This is for thee to do.' - -Quoth Feshnavat plaintively, after thought, 'And what becometh of me, O -thou Master of the Event?' - -Shibli Bagarag said, 'The clutch of the executioner will be upon thee, O -Feshnavat, and a clamouring multitude around; short breathing-time given -thee, O father of Noorna, ere the time of breathing is commanded to -cease. Now, in that respite the thing that will occur, 'tis for thee to -see and mark; sure, never will reverse of things be more complete, and -the other side of the picture more rapidly exhibited, if all go as I -conceive and plot, and the trap be not premature nor too perfect for the -trappers; as the poet has declared: - - "Ye that intrigue, to thy slaves proper portions adapt; - Perfectest plots burst too often, for all are not apt." - -And I witness likewise to the excellence of his saying: - - "To master an Event, - Study men! - The minutes are well spent - Only then." - -Also 'tis he that says: - - "The man of men who knoweth men, the Man of men is he! - His army is the human race, and every foe must flee." - -So have I apportioned to thee thy work, to Baba Mustapha his; reserving -to myself the work that is mine!' - -Thereat Feshnavat exclaimed, 'O Master of the Event, may I be thy -sacrifice! on my head be it! and for thee to command is for me to obey! -but surely, this Sword of thine that is in thy girdle, the marvellous -blade--'tis alone equal to the project and the shave; and the matter -might be consummated, the great thing done, even from this point whence -we behold Shagpat visible, as 'twere brought forward toward us by the -beams! And this Sword swayed by thee, and with thy skill and strength and -the hardihood of hand that is thine, wullahy! 'twould shear him now, this -moment, taking the light of Aklis for a lather.' - -Shibli Bagarag knotted the brows of impatience, crying, 'Hast thou -forgotten Karaz in thy calculations? I know of a surety what this Sword -will do, and I wot the oil he distilleth strengtheneth Shagpat but -against common blades. Yet shall it not be spoken of me, Shibli Bagarag, -that I was tripped by my own conceit; the poet counselleth: - - "When for any mighty end thou hast the aid of heaven, - Mount until thy strength shall match those great means which are - given": - -nor that I was overthrown in despising mine enemy, forgetful of the -saying of the sage: - - "Read the features of thy foe, wherever he may find thee, - Small he is, seen face to face, but thrice his size behind thee." - -Wullahy! this Karaz is a Genie of craft and resources, one of a mighty -stock, and I must close with Shagpat to be sure of him; and that I am not -deceived by semblances, opposing guile with guile, and guile deeper than -his, for that he awaiteth it not, thinking I have leaped in fancy beyond -the Event, and am puffed by the after-breaths of adulation, I!--thinking -I pluck the blossoms in my hunger for the fruit, that I eat the chick of -the yet unlaid egg, O Feshnavat. As is said, and the warrior beareth -witness to the wisdom of it: - - "His weapon I'll study; my own conceal; - So with two arms to his one shall I deal." - -The same also testifieth: - - "'Tis folly of the hero, though resistless in the field, - To stake the victory on his steel, and fling away the shield." - -And likewise: - - "Examine thine armour in every joint, - For slain was the Giant, and by a pin's point." - -Wah! 'tis certain there will need subtlety in this undertaking, and a -plot plotted, so do thou my bidding, and fail not in the part assigned to -thee.' - -Now, Feshnavat was persuaded by his words, and cried, 'In diligence, -discretion, and the virtues which characterize subordinates, I go, and I -delay not! I will perform the thing required of me, O Master of the -Event.' And he repeated in verse: - - With danger beset, be the path crooked or narrow, - Thou art the bow, and I the arrow. - -Then embraced he his daughter, kissing her on the forehead and the eyes, -and tightening the girdle of his robe, departed, with the name of Allah -on his lips, in the direction of the City. - -So Shibli Bagarag called to him the two Genii, and his command was, -'Soar, ye slaves of the Sword, till the range of earth and its mountains -and seas and deserts are a cluster in the orb of the eye, Shiraz -conspicuous as a rose among garlands, and the ruby consorted with other -gems in a setting. In Shiraz or the country adjoining ye will come upon -one Baba Mustapha by name; and, if he be alone, ye may recognize him by -his forlorn look and the hang of his cheeks, his vacancy as of utter -abandonment; if in company, 'twill be the only talker that's he; seize on -him, give him a taste of thin air, and deposit him without speech on the -roof of a palace, where ye will see Feshnavat in yonder city: this do ere -the shadows of the palm-tree by the well in the plain move up the mounds -that enclose the fortified parts.' - -Cried Karavejis and Veejravoosh, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Up into the sky, like two bright balls tossed by jugglers, the two Genii -shot; and, watching them, Noorna bin Noorka said, 'My life, there is a -third wanting, Ravejoura; and with aid of the three, earth could have -planted no obstruction to thy stroke; but thou wert tempted by the third -temptation in Aklis, and left not the Hall in triumph, the Hall of the -Duping Brides!' - -He answered, 'That is so, my soul; and the penalty is mine, by which I am -made to employ deceits ere I strike.' - -And she said, ''Tis to the generosity of Gulrevaz thou owest Karavejis -and Veejravoosh; and I think she was generous, seeing thee true to me in -love, she that hath sorrows!' - -So he said, 'What of the sorrows of Gulrevaz? Tell me of them.' - -But she said, 'Nay, O my betrothed! wouldst thou have this tongue -blistered, and a consuming spark shot against this bosom?' - -Then he: 'Make it clear to me.' - -She put her mouth to his ear, saying, 'There is a curse on whoso telleth -of things in Aklis, and to tattle of the Seven and their sister -forerunneth wretchedness.' - -Surely, he stooped to that fair creature, and folded her to his heart, -his whole soul heaving to her; and he cried again and again, 'Shall harm -hap to thee through me? by Allah, no!' - -And he closed the privileged arm of the bridegroom round her waist, that -had the yieldingness of the willow-branchlet, the flowingness of the -summer sea-wave, and seemed as 'twere melting honey-like at the first -gentle pressure; she leaning her head shyly on his shoulder, yet -confiding in his faithfulness; it was that she was shy of the great bliss -in her bosom, and was made timid by the fervour of her affection; as is -sung: - - Deeper than the source of blushes - Is the power that makes them start; - Up in floods the red stream rushes, - At one whisper of the heart. - -And it is sung in words present to the youth as he surveyed her: - - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Her bashful joys like serpents sting her tenderness to - tears: - Her hopes are sleeping eagles in the shining of the spheres; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - And she's a lapping antelope that from her image flees; - And she's a dove caught in two hands, to pant as she shall - please; - O beauty of the bride! O beauty of the bride! - Like torrents over Paradise her lengthy tresses roll: - She moves as doth a swaying rose, and chides her hasty soul; - The thing she will, that will she not, yet can no will control - O beauty, beauty, beauty of the bride! - -They were thus together, Abarak leaning under one wing of Koorookh for -shade up the slope of the hill, and Shibli Bagarag called to him, 'Ho, -Abarak! look if there be aught impending over the City.' - -So he arose and looked, crying, 'One with plunging legs, high up in air -over the City, between two bright bodies.' Shibli Bagarag exclaimed, -''Tis well! The second chapter of the Event is opened; so call it, thou -that tellest of the Shaving of Shagpat. It will be the shortest.' - -Then he said, 'The shadow of yonder palm is now a slanted spear up the -looped wall of the City. Now, the time of Shagpat's triumph, and his -greatest majesty, will be when yonder walls chase the shadow of the palm -up this hill; and then will Baba Mustapha be joining the chorus of -creatures that shriek toward even ere they snooze. There's not an ape in -the woods, nor hyaena in the forest, nor birds on the branches, nor frogs -in the marsh that will outnoise Baba Mustapha under the thong! Wullahy, -'twill grieve his soul in aftertime when he sitteth secure in honours, -courted, with a thousand ears at his bidding, that so much breath 'scaped -him without toll of the tongue! But as the poet says truly: - - "The chariot of Events lifteth many dusty heels, - And many, high and of renown, it crusheth with its wheels." - -Wah! I have had my share of the thong, and am I, Master of the Event, to -be squeamish in attaining an end by its means? Nay, by this Sword!' - -Thereat, he strode once again to the summit of the hill, and in a moment -the Genii fronted him like two shot arrows quivering from the flight. So -he cried, 'It is done?' - -They answered, 'In faithfulness.' - -So he beckoned to Noorna, and she came forward swiftly to him, -exclaiming, 'I read the plot, and the thing required of me; so say -nought, but embrace me ere I leave thee, my betrothed, my master!' - -He embraced her, and led her to where the Genii stood. Then said he to -the Genii, 'Convey her to the City, O ye slaves of the Sword, and watch -over her there. If ye let but an evil wind ruffle the hair of her head, -lo! I sever ye with a stroke that shaketh the under worlds. Remain by her -till the shrieks of Baba Mustapha greet ye, and then will follow -commotion among the crowd, and cries for Shagpat to show himself to the -people, cries also of death to Feshnavat; and there will be an assembly -in the King's Hall of Justice; thither lead ye my betrothed, and watch -over her.' And he said to Noorna, 'Thou knowest my design?' - -So she said, 'When condemnation is passed on Feshnavat, that I appear in -the hall as bride of Shagpat, and so rescue him that is my father.' And -she cried, 'Oh, fair delightful time that is coming! my happiness and thy -honour on earth dateth from it. Farewell, O my betrothed, beloved youth! -Eyes of mine! these Genii will be by, and there's no cause for fear or -sorrow, and 'tis for thee to look like morning that speeds the march of -light. Thou, my betrothed, art thou not all that enslaveth the heart of -woman?' - -Cried Shibli Bagarag, 'And thou, O Noorna, all that enraptureth the soul -of man! Allah keep thee, my life!' - -Lo! while they were wasting the rich love in their hearts, the Genii rose -up with Noorna, and she, waving her hand to him, was soon distant and as -the white breast of a bird turned to the sun. Then went he to where -Abarak was leaning, and summoned Koorookh, and the twain mounted him, and -rose up high over the City of Shagpat to watch the ripening of the Event, -as a vulture watcheth over the desert. - - - - -THE DISH OF POMEGRANATE GRAIN - -Now, in the City of Shagpat, Kadza, spouse of Shagpat, she that had -belaboured Shibli Bagarag, had a dream while these things were doing; and -it was a dream of danger and portent to the glory of her eyes, Shagpat. -So, at the hour when he was revealed to Shibli Bagarag, made luminous by -the beams of Aklis, Kadza went to an inner chamber, and greased her hands -and her eyelids, and drank of a phial, and commenced tugging at a brass -ring fixed in the floor, and it yielded and displayed an opening, over -which she stooped the upper half of her leanness, and pitching her note -high, called 'Karaz!' After that, she rose and retreated from the hole -hastily, and in the winking of an eye it was filled, as 'twere a pillar -of black smoke, by the body of the Genie, he breathing hard with mighty -travel. So he cried to her between his pantings and puffings, 'Speak! -where am I wanted, and for what?' - -Now, Kadza was affrighted at the terribleness of his manner, and the -great smell of the Genie was an intoxication in her nostril, so that she -reeled and could just falter out, 'Danger to the Identical!' - -Then he, in a voice like claps of thunder, 'Out with it!' - -She answered beseechingly, ''Tis a dream I had, O Genie; a dream of -danger to him.' - -While she spake, the Genie clenched his fists and stamped so that the -palace shook and the earth under it, exclaiming, 'O abominable Kadza! a -dream is it? another dream? Wilt thou cease dreaming awhile, thou silly -woman? Know I not he that's powerful against us is in Aklis, crowned ape, -and that his spells are gone? And I was distilling drops to defy the -Sword and strengthen Shagpat from assault, yet bringest thou me from my -labour by the Putrid Sea with thy accursed dream!' Thereat, he frowned -and shot fire at her from his eyes, so that she singed, and the room -thickened with a horrible smell of burning. She feared greatly and -trembled, but he cooled himself against the air, crying presently in a -diminished voice, 'Let's hear this dream, thou foolish Kadza! 'Tis as -well to hear it. Probably Rabesqurat hath sent thee some sign from Aklis, -where she ferryeth a term. What's that saying: - - "A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth, - And like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth." - -So, out with it, thou Kadza!' - -Now, the urgency of that she had dreamed overcame fear in Kadza, and she -said, 'O great Genie and terrible, my dream was this. Lo! I saw an -assemblage of the beasts of the forests and them that inhabit wild -places. And there was the elephant and the rhinoceros and the -hippopotamus, and the camel and the camelopard, and the serpent and the -striped tiger; also the antelope, the hyena, the jackal, and above them, -eminent in majesty, the lion. Surely, he sat as 'twere on a high seat, -and they like suppliants thronging the presence: this I saw, the heart on -my ribs beating for Shagpat. And there appeared among the beasts a monkey -all ajoint with tricks, jerking with malice, he looking as 'twere hungry -for the doing of things detestable; and the lion scorned him, and I -marked him ridicule the lion: 'twas so. And the lion began to scowl, and -the other beasts marked the displeasure of the lion. Then chased they -that monkey from the presence, and for awhile he was absent, and the lion -sat in his place gravely, with calm, receiving homage of the other -beasts; and down to his feet came the eagle that's lord of air, and -before him kneeled the great elephant, and the subtle serpent eyed him -with awe. But soon did that monkey, the wretched animal! reappear, and -there was no peace for the lion, he worrying till close within stretch of -the lion's paw! Wah! the lion might have crushed him, but that he's -magnanimous. And so it was that as the monkey advanced the lion roared to -him, "Begone!" - -'And the monkey cried, "Who commandeth?" - -'So the lion roared, "The King of beasts and thy King!" - -'Then that monkey cried, "Homage to the King of beasts and my King! Allah -keep him in his seat, and I would he were visible." - -'So the lion roared, "He sitteth here acknowledged, thou graceless -animal! and he's before thee apparent." - -'Then the monkey affected eagerness, and gazed about him, and peered on -this beast and on that, exclaiming like one that's injured and under -slight, "What's this I've done, and wherein have I offended, that he -should be hidden from me when pointed out?" - -'So the lion roared, "'Tis I where I sit, thou offensive monkey!" - -'Then that monkey in the upper pitch of amazement, "Thou! Is it for -created thing to acknowledge a king without a tail? And, O beasts of the -forest and the wilderness, how say ye? Am I to blame that I bow not to -one that hath it not?" - -'Upon that, the lion rose, and roared in the extreme of wrath; but the -word he was about to utter was checked in him, for 'twas manifest that -where he would have lashed a tail he shook a stump, wagging it as the dog -doth. Lo! when the lion saw that, the majesty melted from him, and in a -moment the plumpness of content and prosperity forsook him, so that his -tawny skin hung flabbily and his jaw drooped, and shame deprived him of -stateliness; abashed was he! Now, seeing the lion shamed in this manner, -my heart beat violently for Shagpat, so that I awoke with the strength of -its beating, and 'twas hidden from me whether the monkey was punished by -the lion, or exalted by the other beasts in his place, or how came it -that the lion's tail was lost, witched from him by that villain of -mischief, the monkey; but, O great Genie, I knew there was a lion among -men, reverenced, and with enemies; that lion, he that espoused me and my -glory, Shagpat! 'Twas enough to know that and tremble at the omen of my -dream, O Genie. Wherefore I thought it well to summon thee here, that -thou mightest set a guard over Shagpat, and shield him from the -treacheries that beset him.' - -When Kadza had ceased speaking, the Genie glowered at her awhile in -silence. Then said he, 'What creature is that, Kadza, which tormenteth -like the tongue of a woman, is small as her pretensions to virtue, and -which showeth how the chapters of her history should be read by the holy -ones, even in its manner of movement?' - -Cried Kadza, 'The flea that hoppeth!' - -So he said, ''Tis well! Hast thou strength to carry one of my weight, O -Kadza?' - -She answered in squeamishness, 'I, wullahy! I'm but a woman, Genie, -though the wife of Shagpat: and to carry thee is for the camel and the -elephant and the horse.' - -Then he, 'Tighten thy girdle, and when tightened, let a loose loop hang -from it.' - -She did that, and he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow -the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over -thee.' - -That did she, and thereupon he exclaimed, 'Now go, and thy part is to -move round Shagpat; and a wind will strike thee from one quarter, and -from which quarter it striketh is the one of menace and danger to -Shagpat.' - -So Kadza was diligent in doing what the Genie commanded, and sought for -Shagpat, and moved round him many times; but no wind struck her. She went -back to the Genie, and told him of this, and the Genie cried, 'What? no -wind? not one from Aklis? Then will Shagpat of a surety triumph, and we -with him.' - -Now, there was joy on the features of Kadza and Karaz, till suddenly he -said, 'Halt in thy song! How if there be danger and menace above? and -'tis the thing that may be.' - -Then he seized Kadza, and slung her by him, and went into the air, and up -it till the roofs of the City of Shagpat were beneath their feet, all on -them visible. And under an awning, on the roof of a palace, there was the -Vizier Feshnavat and Baba Mustapha, they ear to lip in consultation, and -Baba Mustapha brightening with the matter revealed to him, and bobbing -his head, and breaking on the speech of the Vizier. Now, when he saw them -the Genie blew from his nostrils a double stream of darkness which curled -in a thick body round and round him, and Kadza slung at his side was -enveloped in it, as with folds of a huge serpent. Then the Genie hung -still, and lo! two radiant figures swept toward the roof he watched, and -between them Noorna bin Noorka, her long dark hair borne far backward, -and her robe of silken stuff fluttering and straining on the pearl -buttons as she flew. There was that in her beauty and the silver -clearness of her temples and her eyes, and her cheeks, and her neck, and -chin and ankles, that made the Genie shudder with love of her, and he was -nigh dropping Kadza to the ground, forgetful of all save Noorna. When he -recovered, and it was by tightening his muscles till he was all over hard -knots, Noorna was seated on a cushion, and descending he heard her speak -his name. Then sniffed he the air, and said to Kadza, 'O spouse of -Shagpat, a plot breweth, and the odour of it is in my nostril. Fearest -thou a scorching for his sake thou adorest, the miracle of men?' - -She answered, 'On my head be it, and my eyes!' - -He said, 'I shall alight thee behind the pole of awning on yonder roof, -where are the two bright figures and the dingy one, and the Vizier -Feshnavat and Noorna bin Noorka. A flame will spring up severing thee -from them; but thou'rt secure from it by reason of the powder I gave -thee, all save the hair that's on thee. Thou'lt have another shape than -that which is thine, even that of a slave of Noorna bin Noorka, and say -to her when she asketh thy business with her, "O my mistress, let the -storm gather-in the storm-bird when it would surprise men." Do this, and -thy part's done, O Kadza!' - -Thereupon he swung a circle, and alighted her behind the pole of awning -on the roof, and vanished, and the circle of flame rose up, and Kadza -passed through it slightly scorched, and answered to the question of -Noorna, 'O my mistress, let the storm gather-in the storm-bird when it -would surprise men.' Now, when Noorna beheld her, and heard her voice, -she pierced the disguise, and was ware of the wife of Shagpat, and -glanced her large eyes over Kadza from head to sole till they rested on -the loose loop in her girdle. Seeing that, she rose up, and stretched her -arms, and spread open the palm of her hand, and slapped Kadza on the -cheek and ear a hard slap, so that she heard bells; and ere she ceased to -hear them, another, so that Kadza staggered back and screamed, and -Feshnavat was moved to exclaim, 'What has the girl, thy favourite, -offended in, O my daughter?' - -So Noorna continued slapping Kadza, and cried, 'Is she not sluttish? and -where's the point of decency established in her, this Luloo? Shall her -like appear before thee and me with loose girdle!' - -Then she pointed to the girdle, and Kadza tightened the loose loop, and -fell upon the ground to avoid the slaps, and Noorna knelt by her, and -clutched at a portion of her dress and examined it, peering intently; and -she caught up another part, and knotted it as if to crush a living -creature, hunting over her, and grasping at her; and so it was that while -she tore strips from the garments of Kadza, Feshnavat jumped suddenly in -wrath, and pinched over his garments, crying, 'Tis unbearable! 'Tis I -know not what other than a flea that persecuteth me:' - -Upon that, Noorna ran to him, and while they searched together for the -flea, Baba Mustapha fidgeted and worried in his seat, lurching to the -right and to the left, muttering curses; and it was evident he too was -persecuted, and there was no peace on the roof of that palace, but -pinching and howling and stretching of limbs, and curses snarled in the -throat and imprecations on the head of the tormenting flea. Surely, the -soul of Kadza rejoiced, for she knew the flea was Karaz, whom she had -brought with her in the loose loop of her girdle through the circle of -flame which was a barrier against him. She glistened at the triumph of -the flea, but Noorna strode to her, and took her to the side of the roof, -and pitched her down it, and closed the passage to her. Then ran she to -Karavejis and Veejravoosh, whispering in the ear of each, 'No word of the -Sword?' and afterward aloud, 'What think ye will be the term of the -staying of my betrothed in Aklis, crowned ape?' - -They answered, 'O pearl of the morn, crowned ape till such time as -Shagpat be shaved.' - -So she beat her breast, crying, 'Oh, utter stagnation, till Shagpat be -shaved! and oh, stoppage in the tide of business, dense cloud upon the -face of beauty, and frost on the river of events, till Shagpat be shaved! -And oh! my betrothed, crowned ape in Aklis till Shagpat be shaved!' - -Then she lifted her hands and arms, and said, 'To him where he is, ye -Genii! and away, for he needeth comfort.' - -Thereat the glittering spirits dissolved and thinned, and were as taper -gleams of curved light across the water in their ascent of the heavens. -When they were gone Noorna, exclaimed, 'Now for the dish of pomegrante -grain, O Baba Mustapha, and let nothing delay us further.' - -Quoth Baba Mustapha, ''Tis ordered, O my princess and fair mistress, from -the confectioner's; and with it the sleepy drug from the seller of -medicaments--accursed flea!' - -Now, she laughed, and said, 'What am I, O Baba Mustapha?' - -So he said, 'Not thou, O bright shooter of beams, but I, wullahy! I'm but -a bundle of points through the pertinacity of this flea! a house of -irritabilities! a mere mass of fretfulness! and I've no thought but for -the chasing of this unlucky flea: was never flea like it in the world -before this flea; and 'tis a flea to anger the holy ones, and make the -saintly Dervish swear at such a flea.' He wriggled and curled where he -sat, and Noorna cried, 'What! shall we be defeated by a flea, we that -would shave Shagpat, and release this city and the world from bondage?' -And she looked up to the sky that was then without a cloud, blazing with -the sun on his mid seat, and exclaimed, 'O star of Shagpat! wilt thou -constantly be in the ascendant, and defeat us, the liberators of men, -with a flea?' - -Now, whenever one of the twain, Baba Mustapha and the Vizier Feshnavat, -commenced speaking of the dish of pomegranate grain, the torment of the -flea took all tongue from him, and was destruction to the gravity of -council and deliberation. The dish of pomegranate grain was brought to -them by slaves, and the drug to induce sleep, yet neither could say aught -concerning it, they were as jointy grasshoppers through the action of the -flea, and the torment of the flea became a madness, they shrieking, ''Tis -now with thee! 'Tis now with me! Fires of the damned on this flea!' In -their extremity, they called to Allah for help, but no help came, save -when they abandoned all speech concerning the dish of pomegranate grain, -then were they for a moment eased of the flea. So Noorna recognized the -presence of her enemy Karaz, and his malicious working; and she went and -fetched a jar brimmed with water for the bath, and stirred it with her -forefinger, and drew on it a flame from the rays of the sun till there -rose up from the jar a white thick smoke. She rustled her raiment, making -the wind of it collect round Baba Mustapha and Feshnavat, and did this -till the sweat streamed from their brows and bodies, and they were -sensible of peace and the absence of the flea. Then she whisked away the -smoke, and they were attended by slaves with fresh robes, and were as new -men, and sat together over the dish of pomegranate grain, praising the -wisdom of Noorna and her power. Then Baba Mustapha revived in briskness, -and cried, 'Here the dish! and 'tis in my hands an instrument, an -instrument of vengeance! and one to endow the skilful wielder of it with -glory. And 'tis as I designed it,--sweet, seasoned, savoury,--a flattery -to the eye and no deceiver to the palate. Wah! and such an instrument in -the hands of the discerning and the dexterous, and the discreet and the -judicious, and them gifted with determination, is't not such as sufficeth -for the overturning of empires and systems, O my mistress, fair one, -sapphire of this city? And is't not written that I shall beguile Shagpat -by its means, and master the Event, and shame the King of Oolb and his -Court? And I shall then sit in state among men, and surround myself with -adornments and with slaves, mute, that speak not save at the signal, and -are as statues round the cushions of their lord--that's myself. And I -shall surround myself with the flatteries of wealth, and walk bewildered -in silks and stuffs and perfumeries; and sweet young beauties shall I -have about me, antelopes of grace, as I like them, and select them, -long-eyed, lazy, fond of listening, and with bashful looks that timidly -admire the dignity that's in man.' - -While he was prating Noorna took the dish in her lap, and folded her -silvery feet beneath her, and commenced whipping into it the drug: and -she whipped it dexterously and with equal division among the grain, -whipping it and the flea with it, but she feigned not to mark the flea -and whipped harder. Then took she colour and coloured it saffron, and -laid over it gold-leaf, so that it glittered and was an enticing sight; -and the dish was of gold, crusted over with devices and patterns, and -heads of golden monsters, a ravishment of skill in him that executed it, -cumbrous with ornate golden workmanship; likewise there were places round -the dish for sticks of perfume and cups carved for the storing of -perfumed pellets, and into these Noorna put myrrh and ambergris and rich -incenses, aloes, sandalwood, prepared essences, divers keen and sweet -scents. Then when all was in readiness, she put the dish upon the knee of -Baba Mustapha, and awoke him from his babbling reverie with a shout, and -said, 'An instrument verily, O Baba Mustapha! and art thou a cat to shave -Shagpat with that tongue of thine?' - -Now, he arose and made the sign of obedience and said, ''Tis well, O lady -of grace and bright wit! and now for the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and my twenty slaves and seven to follow me to the mansion of -Shagpat. I'll do: I'll act.' - -So she motioned to a slave to bring the cap of Shiraz and the Persian -robe, and in these Baba Mustapha arrayed himself. Then called he for the -twenty-and-seven slaves, and they were ranged, some to go before, some to -follow him. And he was exalted, and made the cap of Shiraz nod in his -conceit, crying, 'Am I not leader in this complot? Wullahy! all bow to me -and acknowledge it.' Then, to check himself, he called out sternly to the -slaves, 'Ho ye! forward to the mansion of Shagpat; and pass at a slow -pace through the streets of the city--solemnly, gravely, as before a -potentate; then will the people inquire of ye, Who't is ye marshal, and -what mighty one? and ye will answer, He's from the court of Shiraz, -nothing less than a Vizier--bearing homage to Shagpat, even this dish of -pomegranate grain.' - -So they said, 'To hear is to obey.' - -Upon that he waved his hand and stalked majestically, and they descended -from the roof into the street, criers running in front to clear the way. -When Baba Mustapha was hidden from view by a corner of the street, Noorna -shrank in her white shoulders and laughed, and was like a flashing pearl -as she swayed and dimpled with laughter. And she cried, 'True are those -words of the poet, and I testify to them in the instance of Baba -Mustapha: - - "With feathers of the cock, I'll fashion a vain creature; - With feathers of the owl, I'll make a judge in feature"; - -Is not the barber elate and lofty? He goeth forth to the mastery of this -Event as go many, armed with nought other than their own conceit: and -'tis written: - - "Fools from their fate seek not to urge: - The coxcomb carrieth his scourge."' - -So Feshnavat smoothed his face, and said, 'Is't not also written?-- - - "Oft may the fall of fools make wise men moan! - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone!" - -'Tis so, O Noorna, my daughter, and I am as a reed shaken by the wind of -apprehensiveness, and doubt in me is a deep root as to the issue of this -undertaking, for the wrath of the King will be terrible, and the clamour -of the people soundeth in my ears already. If Shibli Bagarag fail in one -stroke, where be we? 'Tis certain I knew not the might in Shagpat when I -strove with him, and he's powerful beyond the measure of man's subtlety; -and yonder flies a rook without fellow--an omen; and all's ominous, and -ominous of ill: and I marked among the troop of slaves that preceded Baba -Mustapha one that squinted, and that's an omen; and, O my daughter, I -counsel that thou by thy magic speed us to some remote point in the -Caucasus, where we may abide the unravelling of this web securely, one -way or the other way. 'Tis my counsel, O Noorna.' - -Then she, 'Abandon my betrothed? and betray him on the very stroke of the -Sword? and diminish him by a withdrawal of that faith in his right wrist -which strengtheneth it more than Karavejis and Veejravoosh wound round it -in coils?' And she leaned her head, and cried, 'Hark! hear'st thou? -there's shouting in the streets of Shiraz and of Shagpat! Shall we merit -the punishment of Shahpesh the Persian on Khipil the builder, while the -Event is mastering? I'll mark this interview between Baba Mustapha and -Shagpat; and do thou, O my father, rest here on this roof till the King's -guard of horsemen and soldiers of the law come hither for thee, and go -with them sedately, fearing nought, for I shall be by thee in the garb of -an old woman; and preserve thy composure in the presence of the King and -Shagpat exalted, and allow not the thing that happeneth let fly from thee -the shaft of speech, but remain a slackened bow till the strength of my -betrothed is testified, fearing nought, for fear is that which defeateth -men, and 'tis declared in a distich,-- - - "The strongest weapon one can see - In mortal hands is constancy." - -And for us to flee now would rank us with that King described by the -poet: - - "A king of Ind there was who fought a fight - From the first gleam of morn till fall of night; - But when the royal tent his generals sought, - Proclaiming victory, fled was he who fought. - Despair possessed them, till they chanced to spy - A Dervish that paced on with downward eye; - They questioned of the King; he answer'd slow, - 'Ye fought but one, the King a double, foe."' - -And, O my father, they interpreted of this that the King had been -vanquished, he that was victor, by the phantom army of his fears.' - -Now, the Vizier cried, 'Be the will of Allah achieved and consummated!' -and he was silenced by her wisdom and urgency, and sat where he was, -diverting not the arch on his brow from its settled furrow. He was as one -that thirsteth, and whose eye hath marked a snake of swift poison by the -water, so thirsted he for the Event, yet hung with dread from advancing; -but Noorna bin Noorka busied herself about the roof, drawing circles to -witness the track of an enemy, and she clapped her hands and cried, -'Luloo!' and lo, a fair slave-girl that came to her and stood by with -bent head, like a white lily by a milk-white antelope; so Noorna clouded -her brow a moment, as when the moon darkeneth behind a scud, and cried, -'Speak! art thou in league with Karaz, girl?' - -Luloo strained her hands to her temples, exclaiming, 'With the terrible -Genie?--I?--in league with him? my mistress, surely the charms I wear, -and the amulets, I wear them as a protection from that Genie, and a -safeguard, he that carrieth off the maidens and the young sucklings, -walking under the curse of mothers.' - -Said Noorna, 'O Luloo, have I boxed those little ears of thine this day?' - -The fair slave-girl smiled a smile of submissive tenderness, and -answered, 'Not this day, nor once since Luloo was rescued from the wicked -old merchant by thy overbidding, and was taken to the arms of a wise kind -sister, wiser and kinder than any she had been stolen from, she that is -thy slave for ever.' - -She said this weeping, and Noorna mused, ''Twas as I divined, that -wretched Kadza: her grief 's to come!' Then spake she aloud as to -herself, 'Knew I, or could one know, I should this day be a bride?' And, -hearing that, Luloo shrieked, 'Thou a bride, and torn from me, and we two -parted? and I, a poor drooping tendril, left to wither? for my life is -round thee and worthless away from thee, O cherisher of the fallen -flower.' - -And she sobbed out wailful verses and words, broken and without a -meaning; but Noorna caught her by the arm and swung her, and bade her -fetch on the instant a robe of blue, and pile in her chamber robes of -amber and saffron and grey, bridal-robes of many-lighted silks, -plum-coloured, peach-coloured, of the colour of musk mixed with pale -gold, together with bridal ornaments and veils of the bride, and a -jewelled circlet for the brow. When this was done, Noorna went with Luloo -to her chamber, attended by slave-girls, and arrayed herself in the first -dress of blue, and swayed herself before the mirror, and rattled the gold -pieces in her hair and on her neck with laughter. And Luloo was -bewildered, and forgot her tears to watch the gaiety of her mistress; and -lo! Noorna, made her women take off one set of ornaments with every -dress, and with every dress she put on another set; and after she had -gone the round of the different dresses, she went to the bathroom with -Luloo, and at her bidding Luloo entered the bath beside Noorna, and the -twain dipped and shouldered in the blue water, and were as when a single -star is by the full moon on a bright midnight pouring lustre about. And -Noorna splashed Luloo, and said, 'This night we shall not sleep together, -O Luloo, nor lie close, thy bosom on mine.' - -Thereat, Luloo wept afresh, and cried, 'Ah, cruel! and 'tis a sweet -thought for thee, and thou'lt have no mind for me, tossing on my hateful -lonely couch.' - -Tenderly Noorna eyed Luloo, and the sprinkles of the bath fell with the -tears of both, and they clung together, and were like the lily and its -bud on one stalk in a shower. Then, when Noorna had spent her affection, -she said, 'O thou of the long downward lashes, thy love was constant when -I stood under a curse and was an old woman--a hag! Carest thou so little -to learn the name of him that claimeth me?' - -Luloo replied, 'I thought of no one save myself and my loss, O my lost -pearl; happy is he, a youth of favour. Oh, how I shall hate him that -taketh thee from me. Tell me now his name, O sovereign of hearts!' - -So Noorna smoothed the curves and corners of her mouth and calmed her -countenance, crying in a deep tone and a voice as of reverence, -'Shagpat!' - -Now, at that name Luloo drank in her breath and was awed, and sank in -herself, and had just words to ask, 'Hath he demanded thee again in -marriage, O my mistress?' - -Said Noorna, 'Even so.' - -Luloo muttered, 'Great is the Dispenser of our fates!' - -And she spake no further, but sighed and took napkins and summoned the -slave-girls, and arrayed Noorna silently in the robe of blue and bridal -ornaments. Then Noorna said to them that thronged about her, 'Put on, -each of ye, a robe of white, ye that are maidens, and a fillet of blue, -and a sash of saffron, and abide my coming.' - -And she said to Luloo, 'Array thyself in a robe of blue, even as mine, -and let trinkets lurk in thy tresses, and abide my coming.' - -Then went she forth from them, and veiled her head and swathed her figure -in raiment of a coarse white stuff, and was as the moon going behind a -hill of dusky snow; and she left the house, and passed along the streets -and by the palaces, till she came to the palace of her father, now filled -by Shagpat. Before the palace grouped a great concourse and a multitude -of all ages and either sex in that city, despite the blaze and the heat. -Like roaring of a sea beyond the mountains was the noise that issued from -them, and their eyes were a fire of beams against the portal of the -palace. Now, she saw in the crowd one Shafrac, a shoemaker, and -addressed him, saying, 'O Shafrac, the shoemaker, what's this assembly -and how got together? for the poet says: - - "Ye string not such assemblies in the street, - Save when some high Event should be complete."' - -He answered, ''Tis an Event complete. Wullahy! the deputation from Shiraz -to Shagpat, and the submission of that vain city to the might of -Shagpat.' And he asked her, jestingly, 'Art thou a witch, to guess that, -O veiled and virtuous one?' - -Quoth she, 'I read the thing that cometh ere 'tis come, and I read danger -to Shagpat in this deputation from Shiraz, and this dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -So Shafrac cried, 'By the beard of my fathers and that of Shagpat! let's -speak of this to Zeel, the garlic-seller.' - -He broadened to one that was by him, and said, 'O Zeel, what's thy mind? -Here's a woman, a wise woman, a witch, and she sees danger to Shagpat in -this deputation from Shiraz and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Zeel screwed his visage and gazed up into his forehead, and said, -''Twere best to consult with Bootlbac, the drum-beater.' - -The two then called to Bootlbac, the drum-beater, and told him the -matter, and Bootlbac pondered, and tapped his brow and beat on his -stomach, and said, 'Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, is good in such a -case.' - -Now, from Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier, they went to Dob, the -confectioner; and from Dob, the confectioner, to Azawool, the builder; -and from Azawool, the builder, to Tcheik, the collector of taxes; and -each referred to some other, till perplexity triumphed and was a cloud -over them, and the words, 'Danger to Shagpat,' went about like bees, and -were canvassing, when suddenly a shrill voice rose from the midst, -dominating other voices, and it was that of Kadza, and she cried, 'Who -talks here of danger to Shagpat, and what wretch is it?' - -Now, Tcheik pointed out Azawool, and Azawool Dob, and Dob Krooz el -Krazawik, and he Bootlbac, and the drum-beater shrugged his shoulder at -Zeel, and Zeel stood away from Shafrac, and Shafrac seized Noorna and -shouted, ''Tis she, this woman, the witch!' - -Kadza fronted Noorna, and called to her, 'O thing of infamy, what's this -talk of thine concerning danger to our glory, Shagpat?' - -Then Noorna replied, 'I say it, O Kadza! and I say it; there's danger -threateneth him, and from that deputation and that dish of pomegranate -grain.' - -Now, Kadza laughed a loose laugh, and jeered at Noorna, crying, 'Danger -to Shagpat! he that's attended by Genii, and watched over by the greatest -of them, day and night incessantly?' - -And Noorna said, 'I ask pardon of the Power that seeth, and of thee, if I -be wrong. Wah! am I not also of them that watch over Shagpat? So then let -thou and I go into the palace and examine the doings of this deputation -and this dish of pomegranate grain.' - -Now, Kadza remembered the scene on the roofs of the Vizier Feshnavat, and -relaxed in her look of suspicion, and said, ''Tis well! Let's in to -them.' - -Thereupon the twain threaded through the crowd and locked at the portals -of the palace, and it was opened to them and they entered, and lo! the -hand that opened the portals was the hand of a slave of the Sword, and -against corners of the Court leaned slaves silly with slumber. So Kadza -went up to them, and beat them, and shook them, and they yawned and -mumbled, 'Excellent grain! good grain! the grain of Shiraz!' And she beat -them with what might was hers, till some fell sideways and some forward, -still mumbling, 'Excellent pomegranate grain!' Kadza was beside herself -with anger and vexation at them, tearing them and cuffing them; but -Noorna cried, 'O Kadza! what said I? there's danger to Shagpat in this -dish of pomegranate grain! and what's that saying: - - "'Tis much against the Master's wish - That slaves too greatly praise his dish." - -Wullahy! I like not this talk of the grain of Shiraz.' - -Now, while Noorna spake, the eyes of Kadza became like those of the -starved wild-cat, and she sprang off and along the marble of the Court, -and clawed a passage through the air and past the marble pillars of the -palace toward the first room of reception, Noorna following her. And in -the first room were slaves leaning and lolling like them about the Court, -and in the second room and in the third room, silent all of them and -senseless. So at this sight the spark of suspicion became a mighty flame -in the bosom of Kadza, and horror burst out at all ends of her, and she -shuddered, and cried, 'What for us, and where's our hope if Shagpat be -shorn, and he lopped of the Identical, shamed like the lion of my dream!' - -And Noorna clasped her hands, and said, ''Tis that I fear! Seek for him, -O Kadza!' - -So Kadza ran to a window and looked forth over the garden of the palace, -and it was a fair garden with the gleam of a fountain and watered plants -and cool arches of shade, thick bowers, fragrant alleys, long sheltered -terraces, and beyond the garden a summer-house of marble fanned by the -broad leaves of a palm. Now, when Kadza had gazed a moment, she shrieked, -'He's there! Shagpat! giveth he not the light of a jewel to the house -that holdeth him? Awahy! and he's witched there for an ill purpose.' - -Then tore she from that room like a mad wild thing after its stolen cubs, -and sped along corridors of the palace, and down the great flight of -steps into the garden and across the garden, knocking over the -ablution-pots in her haste; and Noorna had just strength to withhold her -from dashing through the doors of the summer-house to come upon Shagpat, -she straining and crying, 'He's there, I say, O wise woman! Shagpat! -let's into him.' - -But Noorna clung to her, and spake in her ear, 'Wilt thou blow the fire -that menaces him, O Kadza? and what are two women against the assailants -of such a mighty one as he?' Then said she, 'Watch, rather, and avail -thyself of yonder window by the blue-painted pillar.' - -So Kadza crept up to the blue-painted pillar which was on the right side -of the porch, and the twain peered through the window. Noorna beheld the -Dish of Pomegranate Grain; and it was on the floor, empty of the grain, -and Baba Mustapha was by it alone making a lather, and he was twitching -his mouth and his legs, and flinging about his arms, and Noorna heard him -mutter wrathfully, 'O accursed flea! art thou at me again?' And she heard -him mutter as in anguish, 'No peace for thee, O pertinacious flea! and my -steadiness of hand will be gone, now when I have him safe as the hawk his -prey, mine enemy, this Shagpat that abused me: thou abominable flea! And, -O thou flea, wilt thou, vile thing! hinder me from mastering the Event, -and releasing this people and the world from enchantment and bondage? And -shall I fail to become famous to the ages and the times because of such -as thee, flea?' - -So Kadza whispered to Noorna, 'What's that he's muttering? Is't of -Shagpat? for I mark him not here, nor the light by which he's girt.' - -She answered, 'Listen with the ear and the eye and all the senses.' - -Now, presently they heard Baba Mustapha say in a louder tone, like one -that is secure from interruption, 'Two lathers, and this the third! a -potent lather! and I wot there's not a hair in this world resisteth the -sweep of my blade over such a lather as--Ah! flea of iniquity and -abomination! what! am I doomed to thy torments?--so let's spread! Lo! -this lather, is't not the pride of Shiraz? and the polish and smoothness -it sheddeth, is't not roseate? my invention! as the poet says,--O -accursed flea! now the knee-joint, now the knee-cap, and 'tis but a hop -for thee to the arm-pit. Fires of the pit without bottom seize thee! is -no place sacred from thee, and art thou a restless soul, infernal flea? -So then, peace awhile, and here's for the third lather.' - -While he was speaking Baba Mustapha advanced to a large white object that -sat motionless, upright like a snow-mound on a throne of cushions, and -commenced lathering. When she saw that, Kadza tossed up her head and her -throat, and a shriek was coming from her, for she was ware of Shagpat; -but Noorna stifled the shriek, and clutched her fast, whispering, 'He's -safe if thou have but patience, thou silly Kadza! and the flea will -defeat this fellow if thou spoil it not.' - -So Kadza said, looking up, 'Is 't seen of Allah, and be the Genii still -in their depths?' but she constrained herself, peering and perking out -her chin, and lifting one foot and the other foot, as on furnaces of fire -in the excess of the fury she smothered. And lo, Baba Mustapha worked -diligently, and Shagpat was behind an exulting lather, even as one pelted -with wheaten flour-balls or balls of powdery perfume, and his hairiness -was as branches of the forest foliage bent under a sudden fall of -overwhelming snow that filleth the pits and sharpeneth the wolves with -hunger, and teacheth new cunning to the fox. A fox was Baba Mustapha in -his stratagems, and a wolf in the fierceness of his setting upon Shagpat. -Surely he drew forth the blade that was to shear Shagpat, and made with -it in the air a preparatory sweep and flourish; and the blade frolicked -and sent forth a light, and seemed eager for Shagpat. So Baba Mustapha -addressed his arm to the shearing, and inclined gently the edge of the -blade, and they marked him let it slide twice to a level with the head of -Shagpat, and at the third time it touched, and Kadza howled, but from -Baba Mustapha there burst a howl to madden the beasts; and he flung up -his blade, and wrenched open his robe, crying, 'A flea was it to bite in -that fashion? Now, I swear by the Merciful, a fang like that's common to -tigers and hyaenas and ferocious animals.' - -Then looked he for the mark of the bite, plaining of its pang, and he -could find the mark nowhere. So, as he caressed himself, eyeing Shagpat -sheepishly and with gathering awe, Noorna said hurriedly to Kadza, 'Away -now, and call them in, the crowd about the palace, that they may behold -the triumph of Shagpat, for 'tis ripe, O Kadza!' - -And Kadza replied, 'Thou'rt a wise woman, and I'll have thee richly -rewarded. Lo, I'm as a camel lightened of fifty loads, and the glory of -Shagpat see I as a new sun rising in the desert. Wullahy! thou'rt wise, -and I'll do thy bidding.' - -Now, she went flying back to the palace, and called shrill calls to the -crowd, and collected them in the palace, and headed them through the -garden, and it was when Baba Mustapha had summoned courage for a second -essay, and was in the act of standing over Shagpat to operate on him, -that the crowd burst the doors, and he was quickly seized by them, and -tugged at and hauled at and pummelled, and torn and vituperated, and as a -wrecked vessel on stormy waters, plunging up and down with tattered -sails, when the crew fling overboard freight and ballast and provision. -Surely his time would have been short with that mob, but Noorna made -Kadza see the use of examining him before the King, and there were in -that mob sheikhs and fakirs, holy men who listened to the words of Kadza, -and exerted themselves to rescue Baba Mustapha, and quieted the rage that -was prevailing, and bore Baba Mustapha with them to the great palace of -the King, which was in the centre of that City. Now, when the King heard -of the attempt on Shagpat, and the affair of the Pomegranate Grain, he -gave orders for the admission of the people, as many of them as could be -contained in the Hall of Justice: and he set a guard over Baba Mustapha, -and commanded that Shagpat should be brought to the palace even as he -then was, and with the lather on him. So the regal mandate went forth, -and Shagpat was brought in state on cushions, and the potency of the drug -preserved his sedateness through all this, and he remained motionless in -sleep, folded in the centre of calm and satisfaction, while this tumult -was rageing and the City shook with uproar. But the people, when they saw -him whitened behind a lather, wrath at Baba Mustapha's polluting touch -and the audacity of barbercraft wrestled in them with the outpouring of -reverence for Shagpat, and a clamour arose for the instant sacrifice of -Baba Mustapha at the foot of their idol Shagpat. And the whole of the -City of Shagpat, men, women, and children, and the sheikhs and the -dervishes and crafts of the City besieged the King's palace in that -middle hour of the noon, clamouring for the sacrifice of Baba Mustapha at -the feet of their idol Shagpat. - - - - -THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL - -Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of the -King was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished all -their arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions of -uniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense of -abasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him that -ruled and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne was -of solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the hall -was lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging in -stateliness down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars were -pillars of porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all of -them with sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence, -odes of the poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and that -solve knotty points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each the -gift of a mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie. - -In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spread -abroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, and -shimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. It -was rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fed -underground from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in the -reign of El Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by the -labours of Zak,--a Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of El -Rasoon; but, of a surety, none of earth were like to them in silveriness -and sweet coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary. - -Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him his -ministers, and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and black -slaves, and the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And the -King was as a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on his -forehead to darken kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred his -kingly wrath, and awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspirators -and offenders. So when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throne -of cushions where he sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the King -commanded that he should be placed at his side, the place of honour; and -Shagpat was as a moon behind the whiteness of the lathers; even as we -behold moon and sun together in the heavens, was Shagpat by the King. - -There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a hum -of rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people that -filled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; but -presently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people! -thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has brought -honour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine a -constellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands and -corners of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I not -castigated barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that no -youth is taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber, -is't not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by and -broken, for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpat -precious.' - -While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion at -beholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat and -the King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters and -triumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, and -its King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And I -had this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the adhesion -of that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So commenced -the day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a few hours -defiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!' - -At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury; -but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! Probably -we have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us in -Shagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, and -creeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasement -voluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; for -how is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to rise -again freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of the -City of Shagpat!' - -Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to the -loins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abased -himself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, and -penitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as when -the sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and the -Viziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of the -guard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcries -and wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated their -bodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned to -bewail himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shrieked -loudest, striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall was -as a pit full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wild -beasts howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, so -that the tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hall -save Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers, -inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there came -a pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in the -intervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered among -themselves, ''Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and the moaning and howling -prevailed again. And again they heard another moan, a deep one, as of the -earth in its throes, and said among themselves, ''Tis that of Bootlbac, -the drumbeater!' and this led off to the howl of Areep, the dervish; and -this was followed by the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; and the waul -of Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier; and the complainings of Dob, the -confectioner; and the groan of Sallap, the broker; and the yell of -Azawool, the builder. There would have been no end to it known; but the -King rose and commenced plucking his beard and his hair,--they likewise -in silence. When he had performed this ceremony a space, the King called, -and a basin of water was brought to him, and handed round by slaves, and -all dipped in it their hands, and renewed their countenances and -re-arranged their limbs; and the Hall brightened with the eye of the -King, and he cried, 'O people, lo, the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis a -deep one; but, by this beard, we'll strike at the root of it, and a blow -of deadliness. Surely we have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance is -ours! How say ye?' - -A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleth -that fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed these -words; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth with -this wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your heads be -it to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my Vizier, he -that was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our clemency.' - -Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction on -Feshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King. -Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembled -and was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and with -eyeballs goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him, -he contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object, -crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness and horrible -presumption? Truly 'tis said: - - "For ruin and the deeds preluding change, - Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range: - But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean, - Satan selects them, for they are unseen." - -And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with the -top of the reptile, and away with him!' - -Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blocked -the throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save stagger -imploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of the -throne, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! 'tis -Kadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and lo! a wise -woman has said in my ear, "How if this emissary and instrument of the -Evil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to essay on Shagpat -before the people his science and his malice? for 'tis certain that -Shagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, defended by -them, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of glory and -triumph manifest": and for this barber, his punishment can afterwards be -looked to, O great King!' - -The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them that -had hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought over -it, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. So -release this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.' - -This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, and -crowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when he -felt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and wit -returned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'll -yet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I was -to look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is a -mighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackle -to combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in his -mightiness!' - -So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and the -King called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile wretch, to -make preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' And the people -murmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, 'Thou'lt essay -this, thou wretch, without a head, let but another minute pass.' So when -Baba Mustapha could delay no longer, he sighed heavily and his trembling -returned, and the power of Shagpat smote him with an invisible hand, so -that he could scarce move; but dread pricked him against dread, and he -advanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and assumed the briskness of the -barber, and was in the act of bending over him to bring the blade into -play, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of the King stood up in the -presence and spake a word that troubled him, and the King rose and -hurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on three sides of -the Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and from these -clouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and plumes; and -he could discern the flashing of their helms and the glistening of -steel-plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the colour went -from the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched pomegranate, -and he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? Awahy! we are beset, and -here's abasement brought on us without self-abasing!' Meantime these -horsemen detached themselves from the main bodies and advanced at a -gallop, wheeling and circling round each other, toward the walls of the -city, and when they were close they lowered their arms and made signs of -amity, and proclaimed their mission and the name of him they served. So -tidings were brought to the King that the Lords of three cities, with -vast retinues, were come, by reason of a warning, to pay homage to -Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor; and these three cities were the cities of -Oolb, and of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these! - -Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, and -arrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of his -stables, and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded by -the horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the city -walls that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted and -embraced, and bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titles -of Cousin and Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, these -three Kings rode back to the city with the King that was their host, and -the horsemen of the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outside -the walls, making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related to -the three Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been made -on him; and in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting of -thrones for them whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage to -Shagpat, sat by him there on either side. Then the King cried, 'This -likewise owe we to Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's in -him shall defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and of -Gaf, and of Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!' - -So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and the -King of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan, -exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince of -barbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head of -me in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand of -this barber will do it!' - -And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this fellow I -bastinadoed!' - -And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time, -said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To my court he -came, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us all in spite -of our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, and so -thinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and stripes -and lashes!' - -Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allah -achieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou! -do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store for -thee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: small -chance of that!' - -Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words: - - The abyss is worth a leap, however wide, - When life, sweet life, is on the other side. - -And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and stepped -forward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall was -breathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its fall, -and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right arm, -hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was buzzing as -a bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a butterfly when 'tis -fluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed at Shagpat within -arm's reach, fearing him, so that the people began to hum with a great -rapture, and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! this monkey -knoweth the fire!' - -But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guards -to flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords of -indecision in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash of -desperation; and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the blade -upon the head of Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest, -for suddenly in his head the Identical rose up straight, even to a level -with the roof of that hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of many -fiery colours, and Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like a -ball that reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomed -serpents, sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely, -to see that sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers, -and winked till the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about, -exclaimed, 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So she -called about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!' - -Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, she -shrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, male and -female, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! I his -moon!' - -Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou had -enough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head of -Shagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruited -abroad, and a great load upon the four winds.' - -Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to a -second essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot away -from Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end of -the hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and he -in his despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of his -limbs, was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essay -on the head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous, -light of heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, and -whirled away like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air and -beyond the city walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a great -cry rose from the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the Identical -stood up wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in brilliance, -blinding to look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it waxed in -size and pierced through the roof of the hall, and was a sight to the -streets of the city; and the horsemen camped without the walls beheld it, -and marvelled, and it was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes of the -Desert afar, and the wild Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans of -pilgrimage. Distant cities asked the reason of that appearance, and the -cunning fakir interpreted it, and the fervent dervish expounded from it, -and messengers flew from gate to gate and from land to land in -exultation, and barbers hid their heads, and were friendly with the fox -in his earth, because of that light. So the Identical burned on the head -of Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding splendour of attraction, three -nights and three days; and the fishes of the sea shoaled to the sea's -surface and stared at it, and the fowls of the air congregated about the -fury of the light with screams and mad flutters, till the streets and -mosques and minarets and bright domes and roofs and cupolas of the City -of Shagpat were blackened with scorched feathers of the vulture and the -eagle and the rook and the raven and the hawk, and other birds, sacred -and obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat made manifest to men and the -end of the world by the burning of the Identical three days and three -nights. - - - - -THE FLASHES OF THE BLADE - -Now, it was the morning of the fourth day, and lo! at the first leap of -the sun of that day the flame of the Identical abated in its fierceness, -and it dwindled and darkened, and tapered and flickered feebly, -descending from its altitude in the heavens and through the ceiling of -the Hall, and lay down to sleep among the intricate lengths and frizzled -convolutions and undulating weights flowing from Shagpat, an -undistinguished hair, even as the common hairs of his head. So, upon -that, the four fasting Kings breathed, and from the people of the City -there went up a mighty shout of gladness and congratulation at the glory -they had witnessed; and they took the air deeply into their chests, and -were as divers that have been long fathoms-deep under water, and ascend -and puff hard and press the water from their eyes, that yet refuse to -acknowledge with a recognition the things that be and the sights above, -so mazed are they with those unmentionable marvels and treasures and -profusion of jewels, and splendid lazy growths and lavish filmy -illuminations, and multitudinous pearls and sheering shells, that lie -heaped in the beds of the ocean. As the poet has said: - - After too strong a beam, - Too bright a glory, - We ask, Is this a dream - Or magic story? - -And he says: - - When I've had rapturous visions such as make - The sun turn pale, and suddenly awake, - Long must I pull at memory in this beard, - Ere I remember men and things revered. - -So was it with the people of the City, and they stood in the Hall and -winked staringly at one another, shouting and dancing at intervals, -capering with mad gravity, exclaiming on the greatness of that they had -witnessed. And Zeel the garlic-seller fell upon Mob the confectioner, and -cried, 'Was this so, O Dob? Wullahy! this glory, was it verily?' And Dob -peered dimly upon Zeel, whispering solemnly, 'Say, now, art thou of a -surety that Zeel the garlic-seller known to me, my boon-fellow?' And the -twain turned to Sallap the broker, and exchanged interjections with him, -and with Azawool the builder, and with Krooz el Krazawik the carrier; and -they accosted Bootlbac the drum-beater, where he stood apart, drumming -the air as to a march of triumph, and no word would he utter, neither to -Zeel, nor to Sallap, nor to Krooz el Krazawik, nor to Azawool his -neighbour, nor to any present, but continued drumming on the air rapidly -as in answer, increasing in the swiftness of his drumming till it was a -rage to mark him, and the excitement about Bootlbac became as a mad eddy -in the midst of a mighty stream, he drumming the air with exceeding -swiftness to various measures, beating before him as on the tightened -skin, lost to all presences save the Identical and Shagpat. So they edged -away from Bootlbac in awe, saying, 'He's inspired, Bootlbac! 'tis the -triumph of Shagpat he drummeth.' They feigned to listen to him till their -ears deceived them, and they rejoiced in the velocity of the soundless -tune of Bootlbac the drum-beater, and were stirred by it, excited to a -forgetfulness of their fasting. Such was the force of the inspiration of -Bootlbac the drum-beater, caused by the burning of the Identical. - -Now, the four Kings, when they had mastered their wits, gazed in silence -on Shagpat, and sighed and shook their heads, and were as they that have -swallowed a potent draught and ponder sagely over the gulp. Surely, the -visages of the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf and of Oolb betokened dread of -Shagpat and amazement at him; but the King of the City exulted, and the -shining of content was on his countenance, and he cried, 'Wondrous!' and -again, 'Wullahy, wondrous!' and 'Oh, glory!' And he laughed and clucked -and chuckled, and the triumph of Shagpat was to him as a new jewel in his -crown outshining all others, and he was for awhile as the cock smitten -with the pride of his comb, the peacock magnified by admiration of his -tail. Then he cried, 'For this, praise we Allah and the Prophet. Wullahy, -'twas wondrous!' and he went off again into a roll of cluckings and -chucklings and exclamations of delight, crying, 'Need they further proof -of the power in Shagpat now? Has he not manifested it? So true is that -saying-- - - "The friend that flattereth weakeneth at length; - It is the foe that calleth forth our strength." - -Wondrous! and never knew earth a thing to equal it in the range of -marvels!' - -Now, ere the last word was spoken by the King, there passed through the -sky a mighty flash. Those in the Hall saw it, and the horsemen of the -three cities encamped without the walls were nigh blinded by the keenness -of its blaze. So they looked into the height, and saw straight over the -City a speck of cloud, but no thunder came from it; and the King cried, -'These be Genii! the issue of this miracle is yet to come! look for it, -and exult.' Then he turned to the other Kings, but they were leaning to -right and left in their seats, as do the intoxicated, without strength to -answer his questioning. So he exclaimed, 'A curse on my head! have I -forgotten the laws of hospitality? my cousins are famished!' He was -giving orders for the spreading of a sumptuous banquet when there passed -through the sky another mighty flash. They awaited the thunder this time -confidently, yet none came. Suddenly the King exclaimed, ''Tis the wrath -of Shagpat that his assailants remain uncastigated!' Then cried he to the -eunuchs of the guard, 'Hither with Feshnavat, the son of Feil!' And the -King said to Feshnavat, 'Thou plotter! envious of Shagpat!' Here the -King, Kresnuk, fell forward at the feet of Shagpat from sheer inanition, -and the King of the City ordered instantly wines and viands to be brought -into the Hall, and commenced saying to Feshnavat, in the words of the -wise entablature: - - '"Of reckless mercy thus the Sage declared: - More culpable the sparer than the spared; - For he that breaks one law, breaks one alone: - But who thwarts Justice flouts Law's sovereign throne." - -And have I not been over-merciful in thy case?' - -As the King was haranguing Feshnavat, his nostril took in the steam of -the viands and the fresh odours of the wines, and he could delay no -longer to satisfy his craving, but caught up the goblet, and drank from -it till his visage streamed the tears of contentment. Lo, while he put -forth his hand tremblingly, as to continue the words of his condemnation -of the Vizier, the heavens were severed by a third flash, one exceeding -in fierceness the other flashes; and now the Great Hall rocked, and the -pillars and thrones trembled, and the eyes of Shagpat opened. He made no -motion, but sat like a wonder of stone, looking before him. Surely, Kadza -shrieked, and rushed forward to him from the crowd, yet he said nothing, -and was as one frozen. So the King cried, 'He waketh! the flashes -preceded his wakening! Now shall he see the vengeance of kings on his -enemies.' Thereupon he made a signal, and the scimitars of the guard were -in air over the head of Feshnavat, when darkness as of the dropping of -night fell upon all, and the darkness spake, saying, 'I am Abarak of the -Bar, preceder of the Event!' - -Then it was light, but the ears of every soul present were pierced with -the wailing of wild animals, and on all sides from the Desert hundreds of -them were seen making toward the City, some swiftly, others at a heavy -pace; and when they were come near they crouched and fawned, and dropped -their dry tongues as in awe. There was the serpent, meek as before the -days of sin, and the leopard slinking to get among the legs of men, and -the lion came trundling along in utter flabbiness, raising not his head. -Soon the streets were thronged with elephants and lions and sullen -tigers, and wild cats and wolves, not a tail erect among them: great was -the marvel! So the King cried, 'We 're in the thick of wonders; banquet -we lightly while they increase upon us! What's yonder little man?' This -was Abarak that stood before the King, and exclaimed, 'I am the darkness -that announceth the mastery of the Event, as a shadow before the sun's -approach, and it is the Shaving of Shagpat!' The world darkened before -the eyes of the King when he heard this, and in a moment Abarak was -clutched by the soldiers of the guard, and dragged beside Feshnavat to -await the final blow; and this would have parted two heads from two -bodies at one stroke, but now Noorna bin Noorka entered the hall, veiled -and in the bright garb of a bride, with veiled attendants about her, and -the people opened to give her passage to the throne of the King. So she -said, 'Delay the stroke yet awhile, O Head of the Magnanimous! I am she -claimed by Shagpat; surely, I am bride of him that is Master of the -Event, and the hour of bridals is the hour of clemency.' - -The King looked at Shagpat, perplexed; but the eye of Shagpat gazed as -into the distance of another world. Then said he, 'We shall hear nought -from the mouth of Shagpat till he is avenged, and till then he is silent -with exceeding wrath.' Hearing this, Noorna ran quickly to a window of -the Hall, and let loose a white dove from her bosom. - -Then came there that flash which is recorded in old traditions as the -fourth of the flashes of thunderless lightnings, after the passing of -which, hundreds of fakirs that had been awaiting it saw nothing further -on this earth. Down through the Hall it swept; and lo! when the Kings and -the people recovered their sight to regard Shagpat, he was, one side of -him, clean shorn, the shaven side shining as the very moon! - -Surely from that moment there was no longer aught mortal in the combat -that ensued. For now, while amazement and horror palsied all present, the -Genie Karaz, uttering a howl of fury, shot down the length of the Hall -like a black storm-bolt, and caught up Shagpat, and whirled off with him -into the air; and they beheld him dive and dodge the lightnings that -beset him from upper heaven, catching Shagpat from them, now by the -heels, now by the hair remaining one side his head. This lasted a full -hour, when the Genie paused a second, and made a sheer descent into the -earth. Then saw they the wings of Koorookh, each a league in length, -overshadow the entire land, and on the neck of the bird sat Shibli -Bagarag cleaving through the earth with his blade, and he sat on Koorookh -as the moon sits on the midnight. There was no light save the light shed -abroad by the flashes of the blade, and in these they beheld the air -suffocated with Afrites and Genii in a red and brown and white heat, -followers of Karaz. Strokes of the blade clove them, and their blood was -fire that flowed over the feathers of Koorookh, lighting him in a -conflagration; but the bird flew constantly to a fountain of earth below -and extinguished it. Then the battle recommenced, and the solid earth -yawned at the gashes made by the mighty blade, and its depths revealed -how Karaz was flying with Shagpat from circle to circle of the -under-regions, hurrying with him downward to the lowest circle, that was -flaming to points, like the hair of vast heads. Presently they saw a -wondrous quivering flash divide the Genie, and his heels and head fell -together in the abysses, leaving Shagpat prone on great brasiers of penal -flame. Then the blade made another hissing sweep over Shagpat, leaving -little of the wondrous growths on him save a topknot. - -But now was the hour struck when Rabesqurat could be held no longer -serving the ferry in Aklis; and the terrible Queen streamed in the sky, -like a red disastrous comet, and dived, eagle-like, into the depths, -re-ascending with Shagpat in her arms, cherishing him; and lo, there were -suddenly a thousand Shagpats multiplied about, and the hand of Shibli -Bagarag became exhausted with hewing at them. The scornful laugh of the -Queen was heard throughout earth as she triumphed over Shibli Bagarag -with hundreds of Shagpats, Illusions; and he knew not where to strike at -the Shagpat, and was losing all sleight of hand, dexterity, and cunning. -Noorna shrieked, thinking him lost; but Abarak seized his bar, and -leaning it in the direction of Aklis, blew a pellet from it that struck -on the eye of Aklis, and this sent out a stretching finger of beams, and -singled forth very Shagpat from the myriads of semblances, so that he -glowed and was ruddy, the rest cowering pale, and dissolving like -salt-grains in water. - -Then saw earth and its inhabitants how the Genie Karaz re-ascended in the -shape of a vulture with a fire beak, pecking at the eyes of him that -wielded the Sword, so that he was bewildered and shook this way and that -over the neck of Koorookh, striking wildly, languidly cleaving towers and -palaces, and monuments of earth underneath him. Now, Shibli Bagarag -discerned his danger, and considered, 'The power of the Sword is to sever -brains and thoughts. Great is Allah! I'll seek my advantage in that.' - -So he whirled Koorookh thrice in the crimson smoke of the atmosphere, and -put the blade between the first and second thought in the head of -Rabesqurat, whereby the sense of the combat became immediately confused -in her mind, and she used her powers as the fool does, equally against -all, for the sake of mischief solely--no longer mistress of her own -Illusions; and she began doubling and trebling Shibli Bagarag on the neck -of monstrous birds, speeding in draggled flightiness from one point of -the sky to another. Even in the terror of the combat, Shibli Bagarag was -fair to burst into a fit of violent laughter at the sight of the Queen -wagging her neck loosely, perking it like a mad raven; and he took heart, -and swept the blade rapidly over Shagpat as she dandled him, leaving -Shagpat but one hair remaining on him; yet was that the Identical; and it -arose, and was a serpent in his head, and from its jaws issued a river of -fiery serpents: these and a host of Afrites besieged Shibli Bagarag; and -now, to defend himself, he unloosed the twin Genii, Karavejis and -Veejravoosh, from the wrist of that hand which wielded the Sword of -Aklis, and these alternately interwound before and about him, and were -even as a glittering armour of emerald plates, warding from him the -assaults of the host; and lo! he flew, and the battle followed him over -blazing cities and lands on fire with the slanting hail of sparkles. - -By this time every soul in the City of Shagpat, kings and people, all -save Abarak and Noorna bin Noorka, were overcome and prostrate with their -faces to the ground; but Noorna watched the conflict eagerly, and saw the -head of Shagpat sprouting incessant fresh crops of hair, despite the -pertinacious shearing of her betrothed. Then she smote her hands, and -cried, 'Yea! though I lose my beauty and the love of my betrothed, I must -join in this, or he'll be lost.' So, saying to Abarak, 'Watch over me,' -she went into the air, and, as she passed Rabesqurat, was multiplied into -twenty damsels of loveliness. Then Abarak beheld a scorpion following the -twenty in mid-air, and darting stings among them. Noorna tossed a ring, -and it fell in a circle of flame round the scorpion. So, while the -scorpion was shooting in squares to escape from the circle, the -fire-beaked vulture flew to it, and fluttered a dense rain which -swallowed the flame, and the scorpion and vulture assailed Noorna, that -was changed to a golden hawk in the midst of nineteen other golden hawks. -Now, as Rabesqurat came scudding by, and saw the encounter, she made the -twenty hawks a hundred. The Genie Karaz howled at her, and pinioned her -to a pillar below in the Desert, with Shagpat in her arms. But, as he -soared aloft to renew the fight with Noorna, Shibli Bagarag loosed to her -aid the Slaves of the Sword, and Abarak marked him slope to a distant -corner of earth, and reascend in a cloud, which drew swiftly over the -land toward the Great Hall. Lo, Shibli Bagarag stepped from it through a -casement of the Hall, and with him Shagpat, a slack weight, mated out of -all power of motion. Koorookh swooped low, on his back Baba Mustapha, and -Shibli Bagarag flung Abarak beside him on the bird. Then Koorookh whirred -off with them; and while the heavens raged, Shibli Bagarag prepared a -rapid lather, and dashed it over Shagpat, and commenced shearing him with -lightning sweeps of the blade. 'Twas as a racing wheel of fire to see -him! Suddenly he desisted, and wiped the sweat from his face. Then -calling on the name of Allah, he gave a last keen cunning sweep with the -blade, and following that, the earth awfully quaked and groaned, as if -speaking in the abysmal tongue the Mastery of the Event to all men. Aklis -was revealed in burning beams as of a sun, and the trouble of the air -ceased, vapours slowly curling to the four quarters. Shibli Bagarag had -smitten clean through the Identical! Terribly had Noorna and those that -aided her been oppressed by the multitude of their enemies; but, in a -moment these melted away, and Karaz, together with the scorpion that was -Goorelka, vanished. Day was on the baldness of Shagpat. - - - - -CONCLUSION - -So was shaved Shagpat, the son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son -of Shullum, by Shibli Bagarag, of Shiraz, according to preordainment. - -The chronicles relate, that no sooner had he mastered the Event, than men -on the instant perceived what illusion had beguiled them, and, in the -words of the poet,-- - - The blush with which their folly they confess - Is the first prize of his supreme success. - -Even Bootlbac, the drum-beater, drummed in homage to him, and the four -Kings were they that were loudest in their revilings of the spouse of -Kadza, and most obsequious in praises of the Master. The King of the City -was fain to propitiate his people by a voluntary resignation of his -throne to Shibli Bagarag, and that King took well to heart the wisdom of -the sage, when he says: - - Power, on Illusion based, o'ertoppeth all; - The more disastrous is its certain fall! - -Surely Shibli Bagarag returned the Sword to the Sons of Aklis, flashing -it in midnight air, and they, with the others, did reverence to his -achievement. They were now released from the toil of sharpening the Sword -a half-cycle of years, to wander in delight on the fair surface of the -flowery earth, breathing its roses, wooing its brides; for the mastery of -an Event lasteth among men the space of one cycle of years, and after -that a fresh Illusion springeth to befool mankind, and the Seven must -expend the concluding half-cycle in preparing the edge of the Sword for a -new mastery. As the poet declareth in his scorn: - - Some doubt Eternity: from life begun, - Has folly ceased within them, sire to son? - So, ever fresh Illusions will arise - And lord creation, until men are wise. - -And he adds: - - That is a distant period; so prepare - To fight the false, O youths, and never spare! - For who would live in chronicles renowned - Must combat folly, or as fool be crowned. - -Now, for the Kings of Shiraz and of Gaf, Shibli Bagarag entertained them -in honour; but the King of Oolb he disgraced and stripped of his robes, -to invest Baba Mustapha in those royal emblems--a punishment to the -treachery of the King of Oolb, as is said by Aboo Eznol: - - When nations with opposing forces, rash, - Shatter each other, thou that wouldst have stood - Apart to profit by the monstrous feud, - Thou art the surest victim of the crash. - - Take colours of whichever side thou wilt, - And stedfastly thyself in battle range; - Yet, having taken, shouldst thou dare to change, - Suspicion hunts thee as a thing of guilt. - -Baba Mustapha, was pronounced Sovereign of Oolb, amid the acclamations of -the guard encamped under the command of Ravaloke, without the walls. - -No less did Shibli Bagarag honour the benefactor of Noorna, making him -chief of his armies; and he, with his own hand, bestowed on the good old -warrior the dress of honour presented to him by the Seven Sons, -charactered with all the mysteries of Aklis, a marvel lost to men in the -failure to master the Illusion now dominating earth. - -So, then, of all that had worshipped Shagpat, only Kadza clung to him, -and she departed with him into the realms of Rabesqurat, who reigned -there, divided against herself by the stroke of the Sword. The Queen is -no longer mighty, for the widening of her power has weakened it, she -being now the mistress of the single-thoughted, and them that follow one -idea to the exclusion of a second. The failure in the unveiling of her -last-cherished Illusion was in the succumbing frailty of him that -undertook the task, the world and its wise men having come to the belief -that in thwackings there was ignominy to the soul of man, and a tarnish -on the lustre of heroes. On that score, hear the words of the poet, a -vain protest: - - Ye that nourish hopes of fame! - Ye who would be known in song! - Ponder old history, and duly frame - Your souls to meek acceptance of the thong. - - Lo! of hundreds who aspire, - Eighties perish-nineties tire! - They who bear up, in spite of wrecks and wracks, - Were season 'd by celestial hail of thwacks. - - Fortune in this mortal race - Builds on thwackings for its base; - Thus the All-Wise doth make a flail a staff, - And separates his heavenly corn from chaff. - - Think ye, had he never known - Noorna a belabouring crone, - Shibli Bagarag would have shaved Shagpat - The unthwack'd lives in chronicle a rat! - - 'Tis the thwacking in this den - Maketh lions of true men! - So are we nerved to break the clinging mesh - Which tames the noblest efforts of poor flesh. - -Feshnavat became the Master's Vizier, and Abarak remained at the right -hand of Shibli Bagarag, his slave in great adventure. No other condition -than bondage gave peace to Abarak. He was of the class enumerated by the -sage: - - Who, with the strength of giants, are but tools, - The weighty hands which serve selected fools. - -Now, this was how it was in the case of Baba Mustapha, and the four -Kings, and Feshnavat, and Abarak, and Ravaloke, and Kadza, together with -Shagpat; but, in the case of Noorna bin Noorka, surely she was withering -from a sting of the scorpion shot against her bosom, but the Seven Sons -of Aklis gave her a pass into Aklis on the wings of Koorookh, and -Gulrevaz, the daughter of Aklis, tended her, she that was alone capable -of restoring her, and counteracting the malice of the scorpion by the -hand of purity. So Noorna, prospered; but Shibli Bagarag drooped in -uncertainty of her state, and was as a reaper in a field of harvest, -around whom lie the yellow sheaves, and the brown beam of autumn on his -head, the blaze of plenty; yet is he joyless and stands musing, for one -is away who should be there, and without whom the goblet of Success -giveth an unsweetened draught, and there is nothing pleasant in life, and -the flower on the summit of achievement is blighted. At last, as he was -listlessly dispensing justice in the Great Hall, seven days after the -mastery of the Event, lo, Noorna, in air, borne by Gulrevaz, she fair and -fresh in the revival of health and beauty, and the light of constant -love. Of her entry into the Great Hall, to the embrace of her betrothed, -the poet exclaims, picturing her in a rapture: - - Her march is music, and my soul obeys - Each motion, as a lute to cunning fingers - I see the earth throb for her as she sways - Wave-like in air, and like a great flower lingers - Heavily over all, as loath to leave - What loves her so, and for her loss would grieve. - - But oh, what other hand than heaven's can paint - Her eyes, and that black bow from which their lightning - Pierces afar! long lustrous eyes, that faint - In languor, or with stormy passion brightening: - Within them world in world lights up from sleep, - And gives a glimpse of the eternal deep. - - Sigh round her, odorous winds; and, envious rose, - So vainly envious, with such blushes gifted, - Bow to her; die, strangled with jealous throes, - O Bulbul! when she sings with brow uplifted; - Gather her, happy youth, and for thy gain - Thank Him who could such loveliness ordain. - -Surely the Master of the Event advanced to her in the glory of a Sultan, -and seated her beside him in majesty, and their contract of marriage was -read aloud in the Hall, and witnessed, and sealed: joyful was he! Then -commenced that festival which lasted forty days, and is termed the -Festival of the honours of hospitality to the Sons of Aldis, wherein the -head-cook of the palace, Uruish, performed wonders in his science, and -menaced the renown of Zrmack, the head-cook of King Shamshureen. Even so -the confectioner, Dob, excelled himself in devices and inventions, and -his genius urged him to depict in sugars and pastes the entire adventures -of Shibli Bagarag in search of the Sword. Honour we Uruish and Do-b! as -the poet sayeth: - - Divide not this fraternal twain; - One are they, and one should for ever remain: - As to sweet close in fine music we look, - So the Confectioner follows the Cook. - -And one of the Sons of Aklis, Zaragal, beholding this masterpiece of Dob, -which was served to the guests in the Great Hall on the fortieth evening, -was fair to exclaim in extemporaneous verse: - - Have I been wafted to a rise - Of banquet spread in Paradise, - Dower'd with consuming powers divine;-- - That I, who have not fail'd to dine, - And greatly, - Fall thus upon the cater and wine - Sedately? - -So there was feasting in the Hall, and in the City, and over Earth; great -pledging the Sovereign of Barbers, who had mastered an Event, and become -the benefactor of his craft and of his kind. 'Tis certain the race of the -Bagarags endured for many centuries, and his seed were the rulers of men, -and the seal of their empire stamped on mighty wax the Tackle of Barbers. - -Now, of the promise made by the Sons of Aklis to visit Shibli Bagarag -before their compulsory return to the labour of the Sword, and recount to -him the marvel of their antecedent adventures; and of the love and grief -nourished in the souls of men by the beauty and sorrowful eyes of -Gulrevaz, that was mined the Bleeding Lily, and of her engagement to tell -her story, on condition of receiving the first-born of Noorna to nurse -for a season in Aklis; and of Shibli Bagarag's restoration of towns and -monuments destroyed by his battle with Karaz; and of the constancy of -passion of Shibli Bagarag for Noorna, and his esteem for her sweetness, -and his reverence for her wisdom; and of the glory of his reign, and of -the Songs and Sentences of Noorna, and of his Laws for the protection and -upholding of women, in honour of Noorna, concerning which the Sage has -said: - - Were men once clad in them, we should create - A race not following, but commanding, fate: - ---of all these records, and of the reign of Baba Mustapha in Oolb, surely -the chronicles give them in fulness; and they that have searched say of -them, there is matter therein for the amusement of generations. - - ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS - - A woman's at the core of every plot man plotteth - Arm'd with Fear the Foe finds passage to the vital part - Delay in thine undertaking Is disaster of thy own making - Every failure is a step advanced - Failures oft are but advising friends - Fear nought so much as Fear itself - How little a thing serves Fortune's turn - If thou wouldst fix remembrance--thwack! - Lest thou commence to lie--be dumb! - Like an ill-reared fruit, first at the core it rotteth - More culpable the sparer than the spared - No runner can outstrip his fate - Nought credit but what outward orbs reveal - Persist, if thou wouldst truly reach thine ends - Ripe with oft telling and old is the tale - The curse of sorrow is comparison! - The king without his crown hath a forehead like the clown - The overwise themselves hoodwink - 'Tis the first step that makes a path - Too often hangs the house on one loose stone - Vanity maketh the strongest most weak - When to loquacious fools with patience rare I listen - Where fools are the fathers of every miracle - Who in a labyrinth wandereth without clue - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete -by George Meredith - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT, COMPLETE *** - -***** This file should be named 4405.txt or 4405.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/0/4405/ - -Produced by Pat Castevans and David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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