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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #51219 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51219)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Princess Badoura, by Laurence Housman
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Princess Badoura
- A tale from the Arabian Nights
-
-Author: Laurence Housman
-
-Illustrator: Edmund Dulac
-
-Release Date: February 14, 2016 [EBook #51219]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESS BADOURA ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Madeleine Fournier. Images from the Collection
-of The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: Princess Badoura]
-
-
-
-PRINCESS BADOURA
-
-A tale from the Arabian Nights
-
-Retold by Laurence Housman
-
-illustrated by
-
-Edmund Dulac
-
-
-Hodder and Stoughton
-
-
-
-List of Illustrations
-
-
-Princess Badoura
-
-Dahnash and Meymooneh
-
- 'As she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his tail
- to be Dahnash.'
-
-The King of China and Badoura
-
- 'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had only
- pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.'
-
-Camaralzaman as an Astrologer
-
- 'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down and
- bring the Astrologer in."'
-
-Camaralzaman Cures Badoura
-
- 'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.'
-
-Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman
-
- 'The Prince saw the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large
- stone.'
-
-Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds
-
- 'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another with
- beak and claw.'
-
-Badoura Watching the Ship
-
- 'It so happened as the ship came into the harbour, Badoura was
- looking out towards the sea.'
-
-Capture of Camaralzaman
-
- 'The captain of the ship goes to capture Camaralzaman at the command
- of Badoura.'
-
-The Final Marriage Procession
-
-
-
-
-A Tale from The Arabian Nights Retold by Laurence Housman
-
-
-The Sultan Shahriar stands out to fame as the greatest monogamist in
-all history. Having been deceived by his first wife, he caused her to
-be put to death, and then proceeded to avenge himself upon a thousand
-others. Faithful to his monogamic instincts, he married a fresh wife
-every day, and on the morning of the next became a widower. Having
-thus achieved faith to a thousand dead maidens--all equally beloved
-in turn--he may, in his heart of hearts, have found that change, so
-doggedly insisted on, did but mean boredom, and so may readily have
-welcomed any excuse to relax a performance to which he had bound
-himself by many religious oaths.
-
-But, if he had a heart, the old Eastern chronicler has neglected
-to tell us what was in it; and at the point where his sacrificial
-bridals have become monotonous, the interest of the story shifts from
-bridegroom to bride, and Scheherazade, daughter of the Grand Vizier,
-witty, courageous, resourceful, and most prolix of all delightful
-tale-tellers, adventurously enters the royal menage, and becomes his
-only surviving wife.
-
-For Scheherazade, intent on saving the lives of others, brings her
-bridesmaid with her, a younger sister named Dinarzade; and when the
-morning light comes to tell her that death is near, Dinarzade--prompted
-thereto beforehand--stirs in her attendant place at the foot of the
-couch, and asks for the sake of old times that one last tale may be
-told.
-
-Shahriar, at the bride's humble request, grants permission, and from
-that moment is in the toils of the plot which has made his name so
-secondary in importance to hers. Scheherazade, 'to do a great right,
-does a little wrong': by her entrancing powers of narrative, always
-interrupted when the interest of each story is at its height, she
-breeds in her tyrant lord infirmity of will, and destroys the only
-principle of conduct wherewith he set out to teach woman her place. For
-the thousand and one nights which have given their name to the world's
-most famous collection of stories, he lives blissfully forsworn,
-postponing the execution of his wife to another day; and at the end,
-repenting him of his vows, does what we still make our kings do in
-England when justice has gone astray, and bestows his 'free pardon'
-upon innocence.
-
-The story which is here retold, with many of its life-saving
-prolixities omitted, has the distinction of being, according to some
-versions, the last of all: it witnesses the accomplishment of the task
-which Scheherazade set out to perform. [Pg 4]With the story of Badoura,
-the woman of beauty and brain, who, personating her husband, ruled a
-Kingdom, and without jealousy provided him at the end of his wanderings
-with a second wife--in this story Scheherazade, her great act of
-statesmanship concluded, adumbrates what woman set free to use her own
-resources can do. And in this reflection of her own great adventurous
-self the series concludes. Through a thousand dim dawns, with the
-issue still in doubt, she has led the forlorn hope for all the other
-women whose lives she would save; and when her tyrant relents, and in
-his promise to spare her life spares theirs as well, she kneels and
-gratefully kisses his feet.
-
-
-
-The History of Badoura, Princess of China, and of Camaralzaman, The
-Island Prince
-
-
-The story of Aboulhassan, the Prince of Persia, had come to an end and
-the light of morning was full. Then said Dinarzade, 'Another story,
-O sister, another story!' Scheherazade made answer, 'If my Lord will
-suffer me to live for another day, there is yet one more tale that I
-could tell. The history of Prince Camaralzaman and of his bride Badoura
-is far more entrancing than that which I have just given; but it is too
-long to be told now.'
-
-Then she was silent; and Shahriar could not bring himself to order her
-death till he had heard that story also. So once more he let his oath
-stay unfulfilled and deferred sentence; and the next night, wakened
-in the small hours towards dawn, Scheherazade, opening a mouth of
-loveliness and filling it with wise and sweet words, took up the thread
-of her tale and began:
-
-O King, live for ever! About twenty days' sail from the coast of
-Persia there lies in the open sea an island which is called Khaledan,
-a country wealthy and prosperous and containing many large and
-well-inhabited towns. Its ruler in ancient times was a king named
-Shahzaman. As a reward for his many virtues, he had gathered about him
-a large and well-proportioned household, four wives, the daughters of
-kings, and sixty concubines; but, in spite of so generous a provision
-for that which only Heaven can bestow, he had no son; and as time went
-on, and he grew old, his bones wasted, and his heart became filled with
-affliction; and he said to his Vizier, 'Now in a little while I shall
-die; then will my name perish, and my Kingdom pass to others, for I
-have not a son to come after me. Tell me, is there anything I can do to
-avert so great a calamity?'
-
-His Vizier answered, 'When human means fail, it is then that we must
-rely on Heaven, for often these evils are sent to remind us of our
-dependence on Him who alone holds power. Fast, therefore, and pray, and
-perform ablutions, and when that is done make a great banquet, and call
-to it the poor and needy; it may be that among them will be found one
-pure and righteous soul whose blessing will thus descend on thee, for
-the fulfilment of thy desire.'
-
-The King did as his Vizier advised: he made a great feast, and called
-to it all whose poverty might give virtue to their petition: and
-bidding them pray that he might have a son, caused meat to be set
-before them; so they did eat and were filled.
-
-This holy act had the desired effect; one of the King's four Queens
-immediately conceived, and in course of time presented him with a son
-as fair as a full moon on a cloudless night. When the midwives and
-nurses carried him to his father, the King, seeing his beauty and
-transported with joy at the event, named him Camaralzaman, that is to
-say Moon of the Age; and he sent out orders, on pain of death to any
-who disobeyed, that for seven days the drums were to beat and every
-house in the city to be decorated in sign of thanksgiving. Never were
-such rejoicings heard.
-
-The Prince was reared and educated with all care and magnificence until
-he attained the age of fifteen. For the polish of his manners and the
-enlightenment of his brain the wisest and most accomplished men in the
-Kingdom were chosen; and since from the first he displayed a modest and
-docile disposition, combined with a fine understanding, he became, as
-he approached the years of manhood, the most virtuous and eligible heir
-to a throne that monarch or people could find it in their hearts to
-desire.
-
-He was of surpassing comeliness and grace, perfect in form and stature;
-and his father loved him so tenderly that he could scarcely bear to be
-away from him either by night or day. This devotion to his son was,
-indeed, so excessive, that the King himself was perturbed by it, for
-always accompanying it was a terror lest the Prince might die.
-
-One day he said to his Grand Vizier, 'How came it that my happiness in
-the possession of such a son gives me anxiety rather than rest? When I
-was childless I was miserable, and now that the desire of my heart has
-been satisfied, I am full of dread lest he also should die childless
-and my hope of posterity fail? Calamities and accidents come when we
-least expect them, and so it seems to me now that the Prince being
-vigorous and strong is in greater danger of death than I who am near
-the grave. For him a thousand perils are waiting, while I have nothing
-to fear but old age. If, therefore, I may not see my son married in my
-own lifetime I shall die in a state more miserable than that which I
-endured before he was born.'
-
-His Vizier said, 'The Prince is still full young, but nothing forbids
-that he should marry if, by the will of Allah, we can find one worthy
-of him.'
-
-'As for that,' said the King, 'Heaven cannot have willed to send into
-the world a form of beauty and of virtue so pre-eminent without also
-providing a fitting match for it. Doubt not, if the Prince himself is
-willing, that some maiden not too far beneath him will be found capable
-of sustaining the honour.'
-
-So Shahzaman sent for his son, and Camaralzaman came and stood before
-him, and when he saw the King seated in state upon his throne, though
-not having his lords round him, the Prince bade reverence take the
-place of love, and with his head bowed down toward the ground waited in
-submission for the royal word to be spoken.
-
-Thus he stood before his father humbly as a stranger; for never before
-had the King so received him, and he wondered why he had been summoned,
-and in his heart there was a fear.
-
-The King perceiving his reserve said to him, 'My son, can you now
-guess for what reason I have sent for you?' But the Prince answered,
-'My lord, I would not so presume; for it is not in the power of one so
-young as I am to fathom the thoughts of the hearts of Kings. Only when
-I hear the true reason from your Majesty's lips will my brain become
-enlightened.'
-
-So he spoke, with all the decorum, and deference, and virtue, and
-prudent modesty which had been instilled in him by the preceptors of
-his youth; and Shahzaman, his father, loved him for it, and said in his
-heart, 'Never was King blessed with such a son as I.'
-
-Then he said to the Prince, 'What thou lackest in years of man's estate
-thou hast already gained in wisdom and understanding; therefore as
-a man I speak to thee. Know, then, it is my wish that thou shouldst
-marry, so that before my days are ended I may rejoice in the assurance
-of my posterity.'
-
-When Camaralzaman heard these words he no longer hung his head, but
-stood up straight; and as he made answer to the King his face flushed
-and his eyes grew bright; and said he, 'O my father, is it into bondage
-you would deliver me ere I become a man? Lo, here am I, the son of
-Kings, and all my life till now have I been free, and my soul has
-been free within me, because I have not gone in the way of women nor
-inclined my heart toward them; but if I marry, then by their cunning
-and guile will my soul and my freedom be taken from me. Far rather
-would I drink the cup of death.'
-
-When King Shahzaman heard that, the light of day darkened before him,
-for never until now had his son gone against his wish or disobeyed his
-word. But, because he loved the youth very tenderly, he forgave him
-and thought not at this time to punish him; for he said to himself,
-'At present he is full young, and excess of virtue hath caused his
-manhood to slumber.' So he forbore, and waited till another year should
-have passed, and withdrew not from his son the light and favour of his
-countenance.
-
-So Camaralzaman continued in undisturbed life to receive the
-instructions of his preceptors, and every day he increased in beauty
-and comeliness of form, in modesty of mind, and in grace of manner and
-in elegance of deportment. Added to which, he became accomplished in
-verse, and eloquence, and rhetoric and the divine sciences, so that the
-flower of his form and the honey of his understanding made together a
-thing of inconceivable loveliness and attraction. Even as a magical
-willow-branch bearing peach-blossom and fruit at one season, so was he.
-
-Now when another year was completed, his father having once more
-consulted with the Grand Vizier, sent for him again, and said, 'This
-time, O my son, listen to my word, and obey; for now have thy years
-touched manhood, and unless thou beget children thy virtue and wisdom
-are wasted. Therefore if thou wilt marry her whom I shall now choose
-for thee, I will also make thee ruler over all my dominions; so with
-mine eyes shall I see my kingdom and my posterity established, and
-rejoice in thee before I die.'
-
-But the Prince had listened so well to the preceptors set over him to
-guard his virtue, and had pondered so deeply the books which wise men
-had written in their old age, when delight had fled from them and when
-all that they had done in the past seemed only to be vanity, that his
-mind, even though his heart softened to his father's request, remained
-as aforetime. Therefore, abasing himself in fear and reverence at the
-King's feet, he said, 'O my father, not so can I find happiness, or
-strength, or wisdom wherewith to rule others, seeing that if I marry
-I cease to be ruler of myself. In all things outward it is Allah's
-will that I should obey you; but in this which comes from within and
-concerns myself alone, I can obey the voice of no man, however wise he
-may be. Yet, by all the seers and poets and soothsayers is the same
-thing told, that woman is a calamity, and that from her spring all the
-weaknesses and afflictions of men.' And so saying with sweetness and
-modulation of tone, and grace of gesture, Camaralzaman began to recite
-to his father all the words of the poets; and there was not a poet who
-had written poetry in his old age whose verses did not bear out the
-contention.
-
-So when the King had heard the verses of the poets and the words of
-the ancients arrayed against him, he returned no answer; for he said
-to himself: 'I doubt not but that before another year shall have run
-that voice within will have spoken differently to my son than it speaks
-now, and the words of the sages will have far less weight with him then
-than the glance of some woman's eye.' Once more, therefore, letting
-his tenderness extinguish his resentment, he forgave the Prince's
-disobedience and received him back into his favour.
-
-But to his Grand Vizier Shahzaman said, 'Now twice, O Vizier, have I
-come to thee for advice, and what profit has it been? When I consulted
-thee first as to marrying my son thy word was for it; yet no sooner did
-I mention it to him than his mind rebelled. This time also, it was on
-thy advice that I sought to bribe him by the offer of power; but when I
-offered him the Crown, so little did he care that he seemed almost not
-to have heard me. What better advice, then, wilt thou give me now so
-that my patience may be rewarded and my heart obtain its desire?'
-
-[Illustration: Dahnash and Meymooneh.
-
-'As she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his tail to
-be Dahnash.' (p. 27)]
-
-The Vizier answered, 'O King, thy son hath presumed on thy forbearance,
-knowing well thy tenderness, and when thou hast spoken with him it hath
-been privately and as a father. But when a year hence the time comes to
-speak with him again on this matter, then speak not to him privately
-any more, but before all the people, with the emirs and the viziers
-and the troops standing by. Then he will no longer dare to oppose
-thee, since to do so before all those witnesses would be an offence
-treasonable and worthy of death.'
-
-So the King accepted the advice of his Vizier, and when another
-year had gone by he summoned the Prince to his presence on a day of
-festival, when all about him were the dignitaries and chamberlains of
-his court, the viziers of the provinces, and the emirs of neighbouring
-states who paid tribute to Shahzaman as their Sultan. Thus he sat in
-all his power and splendour, and Camaralzaman came in and drew near,
-and stood before him, being then in his eighteenth year, with the early
-bloom of manhood beginning to show upon his cheek. Allah, who loves to
-give beauty to virtue, had clothed him in comeliness and crowned his
-features with joy; his eyes were like pools of deep water and their
-glances flashed like a fountain in the sun; and from head to foot
-whether he moved or stood he was perfect in dignity and grace.
-
-As he approached, thrice he bent and kissed the ground in sign of
-obedience and reverence, and thereafter stood upright, with hands
-folded behind his back, waiting to hear the King's pleasure.
-
-Shahzaman spoke. 'Once more, O my son, I have sent for thee to declare
-my will. Twice ere this have I been tender and patient, not forcing an
-inclination that was not ripe. But now thou art come to man's estate,
-and the season of waiting is ended. Therefore my command is that thou
-marry a daughter of kings, whom presently I shall choose for thee; so
-shall I have joy in thee before I die, seeing the establishment of my
-posterity.'
-
-When Camaralzaman heard these words he shut fast his lips and stood
-speechless for a while. But as his eye fell on all those lords
-assembled as witnesses as to what he should say, wrath kindled in his
-blood and the fire of youth mounted to his brain and he spoke swiftly
-and unadvisedly.
-
-'Surely,' he said, 'thou art a man of great age and little sense thus
-to talk, having already been answered! Twice before hast thou asked
-me, and twice have I refused. Thinkest thou with all these cooks to
-make a better broth of me, having thyself failed? I swear now that
-rather than marry I will drink the cup of perdition and die: for no
-man shall possess himself of my body to give it to another while my
-will is contrary!' And so saying Camaralzaman unclasped his hands from
-behind his back, and rolling up his sleeves stood before his father all
-quivering with anger.
-
-Greatly was Shahzaman, the King, disturbed at receiving so public an
-affront from the son whom he loved so tenderly. For a moment he sat
-speechless, seeing in the eyes of those around him the reflection of
-his humiliation and shame; then his energy returned to him, and rising
-from his throne he uttered so terrible a cry of wrath that at once
-Camaralzaman became conscious of the enormity of his offence, and his
-hasty anger departed leaving only contrition and fear.
-
-Then, at the King's command, the memlooks came and seized him, and
-having first bound his hands, dragged him before the throne.
-
-The extremity of Shahzaman's wrath now broke into words, and while the
-Prince stood speechless before him, his head bowed down and with drops
-of anguish upon his brow, he loaded him with a volume of abuse which
-did not spare even the Queen's unblemished reputation. 'Woe to thee,'
-he cried, 'baseborn child of iniquity and deceit! Is it thus that a
-King is to be answered in the presence of his people? Is it thus that a
-son nurtured in the tenderest affection casts insult on the head of his
-father. Had such language been uttered by one of the common people, it
-had been less disgraceful and more pardonable than coming from thee.'
-
-Then he commanded the memlooks to take him away and imprison him in the
-deepest dungeon of the castle, which had long stood neglected and empty.
-
-Servants of the Prince hearing of that order went in haste and prepared
-the chamber for his reception; they swept the walls of its cobwebs, and
-wiped the damp from the floors; they placed in it a bedstead, and on it
-laid a mattress and a leather covering and cushions; they also provided
-a large lantern and a candle, for even in the daytime the place was
-dark. To this dungeon came Camaralzaman escorted by his guard, and when
-all had been made secure and a eunuch set outside to keep watch, there
-they left him.
-
-Camaralzaman threw himself upon the couch weeping, for bitterly now
-did he repent of his injurious conduct to his father; yet even in his
-affliction he ceased not to inveigh against marriage. 'Malediction upon
-women!' he cried, 'alas, why were they invented to give sting to the
-affections and divide father and son! Had Allah refrained from creating
-women, certainly I should not have been here!'
-
-Thus in his misfortune did Camaralzaman find truths to comfort him.
-Meanwhile the King, his father, was suffering an equal affliction, and
-lacking the philosophy of youth he sought to find comfort in laying the
-blame for all that had happened upon the Grand Vizier. 'See, O Vizier!'
-he cried, 'what comes of taking counsel with thee! Thou alone hast
-been the cause of my son's undoing; for had I spoken to him privately
-on this matter as aforetime, he would not have answered me otherwise
-than as a son should and in such manner as would have made forgiveness
-possible. Now, therefore, since we are brought to this pass by the
-foolishness of thy wisdom, it is for thee to devise means by which we
-may find a remedy.'
-
-The Vizier replied: 'O King, let the Prince stay where he is for
-another fifteen days, so shall he have time to cool himself. I doubt
-not that thereafter his mind toward marriage will be all that your
-heart can desire. Better to him then will seem the bride's chamber than
-the stone walls of his prison.'
-
-Shahzaman took the Vizier's advice and slept on it, or rather slept not
-at all, for the loss of his son so troubled him that he lay awake all
-night tossing restlessly from side to side and longing for the light of
-day.
-
-Far better did Camaralzaman fare; for when night came the eunuch
-brought lantern and candle, and having prepared a table set food before
-him. The Prince ate little and thought much, sorrow for his ill-conduct
-having severed his appetite in half, and when he had finished he
-called for water and washed his hands from all taint of food; then he
-performed the ablution preparatory to prayer, and recited with his
-accustomed regularity the prayers of sunset and nightfall. After that
-he sat upon the couch reciting extracts from the Koran: he recited
-the chapters from 'The Cow' and 'The Family of Emran' and 'The Two
-Preventives'; and having done all these things he commended his soul to
-Allah and laid himself down upon the couch, whereon was a mattress of
-figured satin showing its pattern on both sides and stuffed abundantly
-with ostrich plumes. And when sleep drew near he took off his outer
-raiment and clothed himself in a fine shirt of waxed linen, and wrapped
-about his head a kerchief of blue muslin so that he seemed like the
-moon on its fourteenth night. Then with the lantern at his feet and the
-candle at his head, he covered himself with the sheet and fell into the
-sleep of the just from which he awakened not till after the third hour,
-knowing nought of the hidden event which then awaited him, or what
-Allah, who knoweth all secrets, had decreed should befell.
-
-[Illustration: The King of China and Badoura.
-
-'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had only
-pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.' (p. 51)]
-
-Now in the floor of this dungeon was an old well malodorous and foul
-through long disuse; and in this well dwelt a female Genie or Efreet,
-named Meymooneh, a monster of bad ancestry and of tremendous power to
-set evil above good. Toward midnight, when the hour for her nightly
-wanderings had come, Meymooneh rose up like a bubble from the bottom of
-the well and lifting her head over the brim saw a light which had not
-been there formerly and under it a couch whereon lay some one asleep.
-
-Full of wonder, she drew up her feet to earth, and advancing,
-cautiously turned back the coverlet from the sleeper's face. Thereafter
-she stood for a whole hour lost in wonder and astonishment at the
-beauty which she found there: perfect in all its lines and colour and
-texture was the loveliness of the sleeping youth, and there arose from
-his body an odour like fragrant musk. Meymooneh snuffed at it, and her
-heart became enlarged, lifting her thoughts toward Heaven. 'Blessed be
-Allah!' she cried, 'surely He must be good to have created this thing.'
-And as she continued to gaze, her mind acquired a benevolence which had
-long since been strange to it. 'By Allah,' she said, 'in no way will
-I injure him; rather will I watch over and protect him from any that
-may seek to do him harm.' And so saying she stooped over the youth and
-kissed him between the eyes.
-
-Then elated of heart she spread her wings and smiting the earth with
-her heel sprang upward and floated away into space, till the heavens
-about her were clear. As she rose up through clouds she heard above her
-head a flapping of wings, and there passed one she knew by his tail to
-be Dahnash, an Efreet greatly inferior in power to herself. After him
-she went like a hawk, pounced and caught him by the scruff.
-
-Dahnash, perceiving into whose clutches he had fallen, quivered through
-all his members, and imploring pardon for his existence cried, 'I
-conjure thee by the Most High Name and the sign on the Seal of Solomon
-that this time and for the present thou shouldst release me. So will I
-go upon my errand and return presently.'
-
-Then said Meymooneh, 'By the high oath which thou hast sworn, what
-errand art thou after?'
-
-Dahnash answered, 'I have seen once with mine eyes that which should
-make the wicked virtuous, and the foul-minded clean; therefore I am in
-haste to make known the story of it to others less virtuous than thou
-art; so that they too may see it and find reward.'
-
-'Though I am more virtuous than thou art,' replied Meymooneh, 'yet
-shalt thou tell me thy story, else I will pluck off every scale from
-thy body and every feather from thy wings and throw thee to the
-bottomless pit. And if what thou tellest be not true then also shalt
-thou fare as I have said.'
-
-Then said Dahnash,' O Meymooneh, if my word be not true, invent for
-me what tortures thou wilt and I will accept them. I am come to-night
-from the farthest isles of China, which are the dominions of King
-Gaiour, who is lord also of the Seas and of the Seven Palaces. There
-have I seen the Princess, his daughter, for whom also these palaces
-were built; surely there is none like her in all the world! Her hair
-is as dark as the night of separation and exile, and her face is like
-the dawn when lovers meet to embrace; her nose hath both point and
-edge, and her cheeks are like petals of anemone filled with wine. When
-she speaks, wisdom flows from her tongue; and when she moves, her feet
-faint with delight under the burden of the loveliness laid on them.
-The King's love for her is so great that there is no limit to what he
-will bestow on her if only it may add to her happiness; therefore in
-her honour hath he built the seven palaces: the first is of crystal,
-the second of marble, the third of steel, the fourth of onyx, the fifth
-silver, the sixth is of inlaid gold, and the seventh of all manner of
-jewels. Also these palaces are most sumptuously furnished, and around
-them lie gardens embellished with everything that can soothe the senses
-and delight the eye. Yet all this is but as a shade when the beauty
-of the Princess shines in the midst of it. Because the fame of her
-incomparable loveliness has gone far and wide, many kings and powerful
-princes come to demand her hand in marriage. But so tender is the
-King's love for her, that in all these years without her free consent
-he has married her to none. Many a time has he sought to persuade her,
-but it is all in vain. 'For where,' says the Princess, 'shall I have
-honour and freedom such as I enjoy now? Here I sit at thy side in
-council and am a ruler over men; but if I marry then will my husband
-rule me.' And now there has come to the court of King Gaiour, another
-monarch, so dreaded and so powerful that his suit cannot be refused.
-Nevertheless the Princess, whose name is Badoura, will not consent;
-and having threatened to kill herself rather than submit, the King now
-treats her as insane in order to excuse himself, and hath shut her
-up in one of her palaces with ten old women to look after her. There
-she has been confined for a whole year, but the imprisonment has done
-nothing either to change her will or diminish the enchantment of her
-beauty. So to-night when I saw her lying asleep every evil thought and
-passion died within me, for so holy is her beauty that I respected her
-even as I respect myself. Come, Meymooneh, and you shall see what is
-indeed a miracle and a wonder!'
-
-So far had Dahnash proceeded, when Meymooneh impatiently interrupted
-him. First, she cuffed him over the head, and then spitting in his face
-cried with laughter, 'O fool, what eyes have you to behold beauty, or
-what tongue to tell of it? This Princess that you speak of is, I doubt
-not, a poor insignificant creature not worth looking at. What would you
-say, then, if I shewed you my own beloved? Little talk would there be
-then of this fine Princess of yours; you would have but to look at him
-once and you would go crazy with jealousy.'
-
-Dahnash replied humbly, 'O Mistress of language and of facts, far be it
-from me to deny beauty that you yourself have verified; but neither can
-I deny that which I, in turn, have beheld and think to be incomparable.
-All I can ask, therefore, is that you should accompany me to the
-bedchamber of this adorable Princess, where she now lies sleeping, and
-judge for yourself.'
-
-'Not so,' answered Meymooneh, 'wherefore should I travel to the far
-ends of China merely to prove thy folly and thy falsehood? Here close
-at hand is the tower wherein my beloved lies prisoner; come, then, and
-see for yourself the face of him whose loveliness even in sleep puts
-all other beauty to scorn.'
-
-So they descended, and passing through the roof and floors of the tower
-came to the dungeon below, where Camaralzaman lay sleeping. There by
-the bedside Meymooneh put forth her hand and drew back the sheet; and
-Dahnash gazed with awe and remained silent, for doubt swayed him.
-Nevertheless after a while he said, 'O Meymooneh, though my word may
-seem hard to believe, yet do I still say that she whom I saw is fairer
-than this youth; and needs must it be so, since the fairest woman is by
-her sex made fairer than the fairest man. But for that, these two whom
-we contend over might be twin flowers from the same stem, so like are
-they.'
-
-When Meymooneh heard that she struck him a hard blow over the head with
-her wing, crying, 'Go, accursed one, fly back to China, lift up thy
-beloved and bring her quickly to this place; so when we see them side
-by side shall it be manifest which one is the more beautiful. Then if
-I am right thou shalt pay forfeit to me, and if thou art right I will
-pay.'
-
-Then with inconceivable swiftness Dahnash departed; and within an hour
-returned bearing the Princess in his arms. She was clad in a gown of
-finest silk with two borders of gold, and when the Efreet laid her upon
-the bed beside Camaralzaman, the two proved to be so alike that they
-might have been twin brother and sister. Nevertheless Meymooneh and
-Dahnash continued to say each to each, 'My beloved is more beautiful
-than thine.' Nor was agreement possible between them.
-
-Therefore after much strife, wherein Dahnash, though physically
-worsted, stuck to his opinion, they determined to refer the matter to
-an arbitrator, and by his sentence to abide.
-
-Then Meymooneh struck the ground with her foot and cried 'Kashkash!'
-Instantly the earth opened and there arose from it an Efreet hideous
-to look upon; he was blind of an eye, and lame of a leg, and upon his
-back he carried a hump bigger than the rest of his body; and when he
-saw Meymooneh he prostrated himself before her, saying, 'O Mistress and
-daughter of Kings, what dost thou require of me?'
-
-Meymooneh told him of the contention that had arisen between them, and
-showing him the Prince and Princess lying side by side called on him to
-say which was the more beautiful of the two.
-
-But Kashkash, having considered them for a while with great attention,
-replied, 'When mortals are endowed with such beauty as these, then only
-themselves can decide. Let us, then, awake them each in turn, and the
-one that draws from the other the most violent protestations of love
-and admiration shall be esteemed the more beautiful.'
-
-This proposal was approved both by Meymooneh and Dahnash.
-
-Thereupon Meymooneh transformed herself into a flea, and leaping upon
-Camaralzaman's neck bit him in a soft place. The youth put up his hand
-and rubbed to allay the smarting; then moving sideways he touched
-something that stirred, and starting up saw by his side a maiden of
-most marvellous beauty.
-
-No sooner had he beheld her than all his reasons against marriage were
-confounded and put to flight; and he said within his heart, 'What God
-desireth will come to pass, and what He desireth not will not happen.'
-Then taking the Princess by the hand, he endeavoured gently to rouse
-her, and ceasing not to invoke her with words and kisses of tenderness,
-he would infallibly have awakened her had not Dahnash bound her by a
-spell.
-
-Then, seeing how fast she slept, 'What!' cried the Prince, 'must
-the love of Camaralzaman admit an impediment such as this? Awake, O
-beloved!' Carried away by his words he was tempted for a moment to
-assail her rudely, but then the nobility of his nature reasserted
-itself and respect for her beauty and innocence constrained him. Then
-he bethought himself, and said, 'Doubtless this is the honourable
-maiden to whom the King, my father, intended to marry me. Oh why,
-instead of argument, did he not show me her face? So would none of this
-trouble have come about!'
-
-Then perceiving upon the Princess's finger a ring, he drew it off and
-exchanged it for his own, saying, 'Since I may not yet possess myself
-of the owner I will take this.' And having so done, he turned his back
-to her and slept.
-
-Then Meymooneh, jealous of the testimony which Camaralzaman had given
-to the Princess's beauty, transformed herself again into a flea, and
-entering beneath the clothes of Badoura, the beloved of Dahnash, bit
-her sharply; whereupon she opened her eyes and sat up; and there at
-her side beheld a youth snoring in his sleep, with eyelashes shading
-roseate cheeks and a mouth like the seal of Solomon. No sooner had she
-seen him than her heart was filled with contending emotions. 'Oh me!'
-she cried, 'what disgrace is this that has come upon me to be lying
-in the same bed with a stranger? But, by Allah, he is so beautiful
-that I have much ado not to love him to distraction. Nay, if this be
-the Prince who came demanding my hand in marriage of my father, I
-would have been willing to marry him ten times over had I but known
-beforehand.'
-
-So saying she seized Camaralzaman by the arm and shook him so violently
-that, saving for the enchantment, he must surely have awakened.
-
-Thereat she lost patience. 'Self-satisfied youth,' she cried, 'is this
-the way to behave to a Princess upon the night of her bridal? What?
-has so much beauty made thee proud?' Then as love began to devour her
-heart, 'O my lord,' she cried, 'light of mine eyes, and moon of my
-existence, arise, awake out of sleep!' And forthwith seizing his hand
-she began kissing it. While she was doing so she saw her ring upon his
-little finger, and uttered a cry of astonishment; while even greater
-became her amaze when she found upon her own hand a strange ring. This,
-she thought, must surely mean that she had become wedded to him in her
-sleep, so putting away all false modesty and fear she lay down again by
-his side, and fell fast asleep.
-
-Then Meymooneh and Dahnash, seeing how evenly between the pair the
-balance of love and admiration was divided, composed their difference;
-and Dahnash, taking the sleeping Princess upon his shoulder, carried
-her back to China.
-
-
-When Camaralzaman awoke the next morning to find no maiden at his side,
-he supposed that the King, his father, had caused her to be carried
-away secretly, in order that thereby his desire for her might be
-increased. So he called to the slave who guarded him and said, 'Tell me
-of the lady who slept with me last night: how came she, and who brought
-her?'
-
-The slave replied, 'O Prince, there was no lady; how could any lady get
-in while I slept all night across the doorway, and had the key?'
-
-This answer so infuriated the Prince that he fetched the slave a buffet
-which knocked him over; then tying him to the well rope he let him
-down into the well, though it was the middle of winter; and this he
-continued to do, now up, now down, saying as he did so, 'When thou hast
-told me the truth I will let thee go.'
-
-After a while the unfortunate slave, at the last gasp for wretchedness,
-cried, 'O Prince, restore to me my life and I will tell thee all.'
-
-So Camaralzaman drew him up and laid him to drain upon the floor.
-
-Then the eunuch, with shiverings and chattering of teeth, said, 'Alas,
-Master, in my present plight I have not tongue nor wits to tell thee
-the whole story. Suffer me to go hence and get dry, then will I
-return.' So Camaralzaman let him go.
-
-[Illustration: Camaralzaman as an Astrologer.
-
-'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down and bring
-the Astrologer in."' (p. 67)]
-
-Off ran the eunuch, and without stopping came even as he was into the
-presence of Shahzaman, the King. Shahzaman was complaining to the Grand
-Vizier of the misery he had endured and the restless night he had
-passed, when the slave entered all a-drench with wetness and forthwith
-uttered his tidings. 'O King,' he cried, 'insanity hath seized on thy
-son, and thus hath he done to me! He saith there hath been a lady in
-his bed, when there hath been no lady; and because I cannot tell him
-how she came or how she went, or where now he can find her, see from
-what a drowning I have escaped!'
-
-When the King heard these words his sorrow for his son and his wrath
-against the Vizier knew no bounds. 'Go, accursed,' he cried, 'this is
-thy doing. Go to the Prince and discover the true cause of his malady;
-then come again and tell me.'
-
-So the Vizier hastened, treading upon his skirts as he went forth in
-fear of the King's anger, and coming to the tower found the Prince not
-mad at all, but seated upon the couch reciting verses from the Koran
-with the utmost composure.
-
-'O Prince,' cried the Vizier, 'the mere sight of thee relieves me of
-affliction; but so have I the more reason to complain of that vile
-slave who attends on thee, and hath said shameful things concerning
-thee to thy father, the King.'
-
-'I also,' answered the Prince, 'have great reason to complain of him;
-but let that be for a while, and tell me now what has become of the
-lady who slept with me last night? For I know my father must have sent
-her to me for a just purpose, and to cure me of my folly: which indeed
-she hath done. So let that sweet remedy return to me and you shall find
-me sane.'
-
-'Of a truth, Prince,' replied the Vizier, 'the King, thy father, sent
-no lady to thee, and all that thou sayest now is mystery. Bethink thee,
-shut in here a prisoner, how canst thou have seen any lady with thine
-eyes except in a dream?'
-
-'O ill-omened old man,' cried the Prince, 'thou wilt be saying next
-that I saw her only with my ears!' And approaching the Vizier he seized
-him by the beard, which was long, and twisting it this way and that,
-cried, 'Tell me the truth, or I will treat thee as I did the slave!'
-
-Then the Vizier, to save himself from further ill-treatment, replied
-even as the slave had done, and said, 'O Prince, I am not free to
-reveal the secrets of my master, but I will take to him any message
-wherewith you may be pleased to entrust me.'
-
-'Go, then,' answered the Prince, 'and tell my father that I repent of
-my former words and will marry the lady he sent to me last night, but
-no other, though he should put me to a thousand deaths!'
-
-So the Vizier, as soon as Camaralzaman had let go of his beard,
-returned in haste to the King and said to him, 'O my lord, what the
-slave says is true; the Prince hath been seized with insanity of the
-most violent kind; yea, he heareth with his eyes, and seeth with his
-ears, and declareth a lady hath slept with him, whom he will marry and
-no other.'
-
-Then Shahzaman went himself to see the Prince and to learn the truth
-of this matter, for he doubted the Vizier's word. And when he came to
-the prison, his son received him with so much respect, and contrition
-and devotion, that he turned upon the Vizier with eyes of anger and
-reproach, crying, 'O wretch, why hast thou afflicted me with lies?' But
-the Vizier only shook his head sorrowfully, waiting for the truth to
-reveal itself.
-
-Then said the King, 'O my son, what day of the week is it?'
-Camaralzaman answered, 'To-day is Saturday, to-morrow is Sunday, the
-next day is Monday, then comes Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday
-and then Friday.'
-
-'Praise be to Allah!' cried the King, 'my son is not mad, for he knows
-the days of the week.' Then he said to Camaralzaman, 'Tell me, my son,
-who is this lady who, you say, slept with you last night; for truly I
-know nothing about her.'
-
-'O my lord,' replied the Prince, 'I pray that you cease to mock me,
-for though I have deserved it through my folly, yet now am I ready and
-eager to marry this lady whom you have chosen for me, since her beauty
-delights me, and her manners, even in her sleep, fascinate me.'
-
-On hearing these words the King was as much astonished as the Vizier
-had been; but the countenance of his son was so full of ingenuousness
-and truth that he was not as incredulous as the others had been before
-him. 'I swear to you, my son,' said he, 'that I know nothing of this
-matter. What my Vizier has told you, he invented to appease your anger.
-But now tell me everything, just as it happened, for whether it be true
-or no, this event has given me cause for rejoicing.'
-
-Then the Prince sat down by his father's side and told him everything,
-and when he had finished he showed him the ring for proof that his tale
-was true; and the King was so convinced by his son's manner and by all
-the incidents of the story, that he had not a word to say against it.
-
-Therefore was his heart uplifted, and he said to Camaralzaman, 'Though
-all these things be mysteries in the hands of Allah, so deep that we
-may not fathom them, yet now hast thou convinced me that thou art not
-as was said of thee. Keep, therefore, that precious mind to which
-Heaven hath given light, and possess thyself in patience till the
-mystery hath resolved itself.'
-
-But Camaralzaman replied, 'Alas, O my father, to what term of
-imprisonment dost thou now condemn me? for if thou canst not find
-for me this maiden who hath ravished my heart, surely I shall die of
-anguish. So great is my love and my distraction that I cannot wait for
-her even an hour.'
-
-Upon this the King smote his palms together, and cried, 'Now are we in
-the hands of Allah, where no mortal power can avail!' Then he took his
-son gently by the hand and led him back to the palace: and there the
-Prince threw himself down upon a bed of sickness, too weak to rise or
-look up: and Shahzaman seated himself at his side, mourning and weeping
-for his grief, and leaving him neither by day or night.
-
-But after a while his Vizier came to him and said, 'O King of the Age,
-how long shall thy people seek for thee, and not find thee? Thy troops
-murmur that they have none to lead them to the field, and in the city
-corruption grows rife because the seat of judgment stays empty. This
-sickness into which the Prince has fallen comes only from grief; and
-as his grief increases thine, so does thine give nourishment to his.
-Therefore I entreat your Majesty to provide some better relief for the
-complaint both of the Prince and of the people. Here in the city his
-spirits languish and his strength returns not; but take him to the
-palace which is upon the shore looking toward the islands; there shall
-his soul, on the days when thou art absent, find peace and refreshment.
-And do thou, O King, on two days in each week return to the affairs of
-state, which need thy presence, to give audiences and to hold councils,
-else out of these two evils which are upon us there may grow a greater.'
-
-[Illustration: Camaralzaman Cures Badoura.
-
-'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.' (p.
-71)]
-
-So Shahzaman did as his Vizier advised him, and caused the Prince to be
-carried, all wasted as he was with grief, to a pavilion which was upon
-the shore, and there on the days when affairs of state caused the King
-to be absent Camaralzaman lay and looked out over the sea.
-
-
-While these things were happening in the land of Khaledan, Dahnash
-had conveyed the Princess of China safely back to her own bed. There
-the next morning she awoke, unstained by travel and with her raiment
-undisturbed; nor was she conscious that she had been anywhere but where
-she now was. No sooner, therefore, did she perceive on looking to left
-and right that the youth who had lain in her bosom was no longer near
-her than her heart became agitated and her reason confounded, and she
-uttered a loud cry.
-
-All her women came running; and her nurse, who was the chief, inquired
-what misfortune had befallen her. The Princess, who continued to search
-among the bedclothes, said, 'Vexatious and contrary old woman, what
-have you done with the beautiful youth who slept last night in my
-bosom, or how comes it that I have mislaid him?'
-
-At these words the nurse was shocked in her morals and confounded in
-her understanding, and she answered, 'O mistress, what mean these
-disgraceful words! Surely thy bosom is guiltless of any such deed, and
-no youth, whether beautiful or otherwise, has been near thee.'
-
-Badoura answered, 'He had black eyes and a lovely face, and a mouth
-like the seal of Solomon, and his eyebrows were joined where I kissed
-them; and he was here sleeping at my side from nightfall to nigh upon
-daybreak.'
-
-'Princess,' answered her nurse, 'thou hast had an unpermissible dream
-and art talking non-sense. No such young man hath been near thee, nor
-would I have permitted it.'
-
-Then the Princess lifting her hand in anger saw upon it the ring which
-Camaralzaman had given her in exchange for her own, and cried to her
-nurse, 'Woe to thee, O deceitful! Have I also dreamed this ring which
-is not mine and lost that which belonged to me?' And so saying she
-started to belabour her nurse so unmercifully, that she would assuredly
-have killed her had not all the other women and the eunuchs lifted
-up their voices in lamentation; whereupon the Princess, who greatly
-disliked loud noises, desisted.
-
-So the nurse, escaping from her vengeance, fled and acquainted the King
-with all that had happened and with the story which the Princess had
-told her.
-
-The King came in haste and found that which till now he had only
-pretended concerning his daughter apparently come true. For excess of
-reason had fled to her brain, and rushing this way and that she was
-searching for her beloved in every cupboard, and under every article of
-furniture, crying, 'Where is the beautiful youth who slept in my bosom
-last night? He belongs to me; he is mine. If I do not find him I shall
-die.'
-
-When her father saw and heard this he inquired no further, but ordered
-the slaves and eunuchs to seize her, and bind her with chains lest she
-should do herself or others an injury.
-
-So they put a chain about her neck and fastened her to a window of
-the palace looking toward the sea, that so by the will of Allah her
-thoughts might have rest and her reason be restored. And the King,
-loving her tenderly and greatly distressed at the condition she
-had fallen into, caused a proclamation to be issued to all sages,
-astrologers, and men skilled in such matters saying, 'Whosoever shall
-cure my daughter of her present malady, to him will I give her hand
-in marriage together with the half of my kingdom; and whoso fails to
-cure her, having offered, his head will I strike off and set it above
-the gates of my palace as a warning to others.' This he continued to
-do till forty of the wisest physicians and astrologers had lost their
-heads. Then the supply foiled; and the Princess, whom the offer of
-any husband other than the one she sighed for threw into paroxysms of
-wrath, was as far from a cure at the end as at the beginning. Thus she
-remained for the space of three years, sitting at a window with a chain
-about her neck and looking out over the sea.
-
-
-Now the nurse of the Princess Badoura had a son named Marzavan, who was
-a great traveller. He was foster-brother to the Princess; when they
-were children she had been to him as his own sister; and the two loved
-each other tenderly. So on the day when he returned from his travels he
-went to the palace to get tidings of the Princess, and there over the
-gates were ranged the heads of the forty wise men. This surprised him
-greatly, and when on inquiring into the matter he learned the cause,
-he heard also of the unhappy state into which the Princess had fallen.
-The news troubled him far more deeply than the death of forty wise men
-who had been found foolish, but, unwilling to trust to the judgment of
-others in such a case, being himself also well skilled in medicine, he
-besought his mother to obtain for him an interview with the Princess.
-
-This was a difficult matter, for the door of the chamber was strictly
-guarded, and no one had access to it except the nurse herself. So
-urgent, however, was her son's entreaty, that at last she consented and
-set about finding the means. To this end she said to the eunuch who was
-on guard at the door, 'You know well my devotion to the Princess, and
-my desire to do anything that may alleviate her affliction, therefore
-I am come to ask you for a favour. I have a daughter whom my mistress
-from her earliest childhood, when I nursed them together, has ever
-regarded with the tenderest affection. She has lately married, and
-the Princess, hearing of this event, has expressed a wish to see her.
-Allow this to be; and do not doubt that Heaven will reward you for your
-goodness.'
-
-The eunuch readily consented in spite of the strictness of his orders.
-'Let her come at night,' he said, 'or bring her yourself, after the
-King has retired: then the door shall be open and no one need know of
-it.'
-
-Accordingly, the next night, the nurse disguised Marzavan in woman's
-attire, and taking his hand in hers led him to the palace. The eunuch
-let them pass without suspicion; but as soon as they were in the
-Princess's presence, and the door shut behind them, the nurse said,
-'O mistress, I have brought gladness to you to-night; for this is no
-woman but my son Marzavan, who, having returned from his travels,
-wished greatly to see you.' No sooner did the Princess hear the name
-of Marzavan than she sprang joyfully forward, the full length of her
-chain, and being held back by it, she stretched her hands toward him,
-crying, 'O brother, come to me!' When Marzavan beheld her in that
-unhappy plight, then for weeping he could not look at her, but turned
-away his head and covered his eyes. Then said Badoura, 'Dost thou also
-think that I am mad like the rest of them? Nay, hear my story and be
-undeceived, for it is true.'
-
-Then she told Marzavan everything; and he, perceiving that she was
-in love, doubted no longer, for he knew that such passion and such a
-desire for beauty could arise neither out of madness nor of a dream.
-So when she besought his aid, he pondered deeply what he might do, and
-then said, 'O sister, have patience yet a little while, and I will go
-search through the world for thy missing friend. Be assured that if he
-lives I will find him.' Then they embraced as brother and sister in
-full affection; and Marzavan departed.
-
-The next day he set out once more upon his travels, and continued
-to journey from city to city, and island to island for the space of
-some months. At first, wherever he went, he heard men speaking of the
-beauty of the Princess Badoura and of the strange malady that afflicted
-her; but presently, as he changed from country to country, her name
-ceased to be upon men's lips, and he heard instead of one by name
-Camaralzaman, a prince of the Islands of Khaledan, who for three years
-had suffered from a grievous affliction of body and a desolation of
-spirit to which there seemed no remedy.
-
-Marzavan did not delay when he heard that story; but inquiring for the
-nearest route he took ship and sailed from the city of Torf, where
-these tidings had first reached him, to the islands of Khaledan, a
-whole month's voyage; and all the way he was glad so that his heart
-sang. But on the day when the ship approached the dominions of
-Shahzaman, there arose a great storm which broke the mast and carried
-away the sail and capsized the vessel.
-
-Marzavan, thrown overboard with the rest, was caught by a strong
-current and carried shorewards; and as fate would have it, since the
-destiny of all are in the hands of the Most High, the current bore
-him toward that part of the coast where stood the palace of the King;
-and there at that time, in the pavilion looking toward the sea, sat
-Shahzaman attended by his Vizier; and the head of Camaralzaman lay upon
-his lap; and a eunuch was whisking the flies from him.
-
-The Vizier, looking out from the terrace, saw in the water below him
-the shipwrecked Marzavan, tossed this way and that and unable to land;
-so his heart was moved with pity and he came running to the King and
-crying, 'Permit me, O my lord, to open the gates of the court and put
-forth my hand to save yonder man who is now drowning. For since a just
-action is never without reward, it may be he shall bring us good.'
-
-Shahzaman replied, 'Thou art the cause of all our trouble, and I doubt
-not that coming by thy hand this drowning man will bring us more. Yet
-I cannot forbid thee to save his life: only be sure that he comes not
-near us to spy upon my son in his affliction and report it to others.
-If he do, his head and thine shall be forfeit.'
-
-So the Vizier ran, and opening the gates of the court leaned down, and
-caught Marzavan by the hair and drew him up to dry land. And Marzavan
-came forth from the sea all lost to consciousness, his stomach filled
-with water and his eyes protruding. The Vizier waited till his spirit
-had returned to him; then he took from him his clothes and clad him in
-others and put on his head the turban of an attendant and said to him,
-'Now, as I have saved thy life, do my bidding and save mine also. Cast
-down thine eyes, speak not, look not into any chamber as we go, but
-follow closely where I lead lest worse befall thee.'
-
-Then said Marzavan, 'What is this peril that I am not to see?'
-
-The Vizier answered, 'It is the King's son, who is sorely afflicted for
-the loss of a fair damsel that came to him but once and is gone again,
-none knows where. That is the story, and on pain of death all who hear
-it must believe it.' And the Vizier sighed heavily, for at this time
-life was hard to him and belief difficult.
-
-When the half-drowned Marzavan heard that, his heart went up like a
-singing bird, and he skipt at the Vizier's heels like a squirrel. And
-when they came by the chamber where Camaralzaman was lying, with the
-King seated beside him, then Marzavan turned swiftly and went in and
-stood before him; and no sooner had he seen the Prince than, with an
-exclamation of joy, he cried: 'Extolled be the perfection of him who
-hath given beauty its pair! Lo, the eyes are hers, the complexion is
-hers, the lips and the cheeks are hers!'
-
-At these words the knees of the Vizier went from under him, and he
-prayed succour of death: but on the heart of Camaralzaman there
-descended a coolness and a refreshment, and turning his tongue in his
-mouth, he signalled with his hand to Shahzaman to make the young man
-sit down.
-
-The King seeing the look of joy upon his son's face easily forgave the
-intrusion which had earned death; and having placed Marzavan in the
-seat at the Prince's side, he bade him recount his history and whence
-and why he came.
-
-So Marzavan told of the country from which he had come and of its King
-and people, and of all the events of his journey, but of the real
-cause which had brought him he said nothing. And the Prince listened
-and waited, for he saw that something was concealed: and all the
-while, since hope had returned to him, his countenance grew bright and
-his strength of body increased. So presently he made a sign for his
-father to raise him to a sitting posture; and the King, full of joy,
-lifted him, and placed cushions behind him and under him. Thus after
-three years of lying down did Camaralzaman sit up. So after a while
-Shahzaman, seeing how by the conversation of Marzavan the Prince was
-restored to health, went away and left them; and the Vizier departed
-also.
-
-Then, seeing that they were alone, Marzavan spoke low in the ear of
-Camaralzaman saying, 'O Prince, thy sorrow is at an end; for she whom
-thou lovest is the Princess Badoura, daughter of the King of China and
-my own foster-sister: and I am come through the world seeking thee
-because of my devotion to her, who, for love of thee, now lieth in
-chains. All that hath happened unto thee with thy father hath happened
-to her also with her father, yea, and worse things also.' So he went on
-and told him all.
-
-Now when Camaralzaman had heard the story of the Princess, and of her
-sufferings and constancy, and of all the useless cures for her malady
-that had been tried, his heart was divided in its joy by an overflowing
-of sorrow, even as a rich country is divided and broken by a stream
-when it floods its banks; and he said to Marzavan, 'Alas! how may I
-bring her the true cure, seeing that we dwell in such different parts
-of the world, and my father will not suffer me to be out of his sight
-even for one day?'
-
-Marzavan answered, 'For thy health's sake he will allow thee that
-one, and it shall suffice. For to-morrow thou shalt say to him, "Let
-me go out into the hills for a day and a night, that I may hunt and
-recover my strength," and surely he shall not deny it to thee. And
-when thou hast found that for which thou art in search, I know that
-thou wilt return to him. But we will take with us two spare horses and
-saddlebags, with money sufficient for our journey, and when we have
-started upon our way I will provide, so that we may not be pursued and
-overtaken.'
-
-At these words the Prince rejoiced greatly, and it all came about even
-as Marzavan had planned. For on the morrow the King, rejoicing that his
-son's health was so quickly restored, granted him the permission he
-sought, saying only, 'Be not absent, my son, longer than one night, for
-while thou art away from me I have no joy left.' Camaralzaman answered,
-'The night of sorrow will end, then shall I return.' So he took leave
-of his father and departed.
-
-[Illustration: Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman.
-
-'The Prince sow the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large
-stone.' (p. 75)]
-
-For the whole of that day until the evening Camaralzaman and Marzavan
-went in the direction they had chosen, setting their laces for the
-open country and the seaport lying beyond. And when it was night they
-ate and drank, fed their beasts, and rested for a while; then they
-remounted and journeyed on. At daybreak they came to a spacious tract
-of forest; there Marzavan took one of the led horses and killed it,
-stripping the flesh from its bones; next he took the garments which
-Camaralzaman had worn on the previous day, and after tearing them this
-way and that daubed them with blood.
-
-Camaralzaman inquired why he did this: and Marzavan answered, 'When we
-return not great search will be made for thee, and I doubt not, if it
-went far enough, we should be overtaken. But when the searchers come
-upon this they will suppose that a wild beast has fallen upon thee and
-devoured thee; and that I, fearing the King's wrath, have fled away.
-Doubtless the news will bring great sorrow to thy father's heart; but
-when thou returnest with thine errand safely accomplished, he shall be
-recompensed with joy.'
-
-The Prince sorrowfully commended the plan which Marzavan had devised
-for the safety of their enterprise; and so they continued upon their
-way unmolested, and after much travelling by land and water, and many
-adventures not to be told of here, they arrived at the capital of the
-dominions of King Gaiour, where the Princess Badoura lay in captivity.
-
-Marzavan did not take Camaralzaman to his own house, but to a public
-khan, where for three days they remained recovering from the fatigues
-of their journey. Then, having clothed the Prince in the garb of a
-merchant-doctor with all the signs and instruments of his calling,
-he conducted him to the gates of the palace; standing before which
-Camaralzaman began, on the instructions of Marzavan, to cry in a loud
-voice, 'Look at me, for I am learned! Marvel at me, for I am wise! I
-am the healer, the calculator, the astrologer; I know the cause of
-all maladies and their cure. If any one, be he king or peasant, is in
-affliction, let him come to me!'
-
-The people were greatly astonished to hear once more an astrologer so
-bold of tongue; and pitying him for his youth and wondering at the
-beauty of his form, they pointed to the heads which were over the
-palace gates, saying, 'While there is time save thyself; for if the
-King hear thee thy head will be joined to those.'
-
-Nevertheless Camaralzaman continued to cry with a loud voice; till at
-last the King heard him, and said to his Vizier, 'Go down, and bring
-this astrologer in.'
-
-So the Vizier went out and fetched him, and Camaralzaman came and
-bowed himself before the King. And when the King looked at him, his
-heart also was moved with pity toward the stranger, as the heart of
-the people had been, because of his youth and the beauty of his form.
-And he said to him, 'My son, comply not with my conditions; for I have
-bound myself with an oath, and whoso goes in to visit my daughter but
-cannot cure her, his head must I strike off; and of a truth you have
-but to look over my palace gate to see that her malady is obstinate.
-Nevertheless if you can cure her she is yours, and the half of my
-kingdom is yours also.'
-
-Camaralzaman said, 'To those conditions, O King, I am agreed!' Then the
-King, sighing heavily, sent for the eunuch and bade him conduct the
-astrologer to the apartment of the Princess.
-
-The eunuch led the way; but when they were come to the corridor wherein
-Badoura's chamber was situated, so great was the joy of the Prince that
-he hastened and went before; and the eunuch called after him, 'Tarry,
-good sir, and be not so hasty before the event, for I alone have the
-key that shall bring thee to thy death! Never was any other astrologer
-in such haste to depart from life as thou.'
-
-'Friend,' answered Camaralzaman, 'they had not such science as I have
-to make them glad: for they could not tell what the end would be, but
-I know it already, nay, even without entering that door of which thou
-hast the key I can cure the Princess of her malady.'
-
-The eunuch, astonished to be met with so much confidence, ceased from
-his taunts, and admitted the Prince to the ante-chamber. 'If thou canst
-do that,' he said, 'thou art indeed the wonder of the world. Truly were
-I only permitted to see such a marvel accomplished, I should account
-myself rich.'
-
-Thereupon Camaralzaman seated himself against the curtain which divided
-the outer from the inner chamber and wrote the following prescription:
-
-'He whom estrangement hath afflicted is cured when the vow of the
-beloved is accomplished; and the heart of exile findeth restoration in
-union with that which was lost. Love alone can heal those whom love
-hath persecuted.'
-
-Underneath this prescription he added the following words:
-
-'From the distracted, the passionate, the perplexed, the famished with
-longing, the captive of transport and ardent desire, Camaralzaman, son
-of Shahzaman, King of Khaledan, to the peerless one of her age, the
-pre-eminent among Hooris, the Princess Badoura, daughter of Gaiour,
-King of the Isles of China and lord of the seven Palaces. Behold the
-slave of the ring who, sleepless and inflamed by love, now awaits the
-call of his Beloved.'
-
-Then, having enclosed the ring which at their first meeting he had
-exchanged for his own, he sealed the missive, and putting it into the
-hands of the eunuch bade him carry it to his mistress.
-
-No sooner had the Princess Badoura received the missive and the ring
-than she knew at once from whom it came. Whereupon joy overthrew her
-reason, and leaping up in a transport of exultation she pressed her
-feet against the wall, and breaking the chains which bound her ran
-forth and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.
-
-Speechless with joy she kissed him without ceasing; even as a pigeon
-when it feeds its young, so upon the lips of Camaralzaman fell the
-kisses of the Princess Badoura. Then came the nurse, crying aloud for
-gladness to behold the joy of her mistress and the healing of her
-malady accomplished; and presently after her came the King. For to him
-had run the eunuch in swift haste bringing tidings of the event--how
-that without entering her chamber the astrologer had cured her. 'What?'
-cried the King, 'can such news be true?' 'O my lord,' answered the
-eunuch, 'let thine own eyes look upon her and be blest; for she hath
-broken her chains of iron, and coming forth to the astrologer she
-falleth upon him and kisseth him, and never will she let him go.'
-
-So Gaiour the King came and found it even as the eunuch had said. Full
-of joy to behold so sweet a sight, he embraced first the Princess
-and then the Prince, thanking him with tears of gratitude for the
-debt which he owed him. And when he inquired further and learned of
-Camaralzaman his name, and his true rank, and of the country from which
-he came, with all the strange story of his love and the grief of his
-separation, then his satisfaction and delight knew no bounds. And so on
-that very day the nuptials were celebrated, and word of rejoicing went
-forth through the whole of the King's dominions.
-
-[Illustration: Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds.
-
-'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another with
-beak and claw.' (p. 90)]
-
-The hearts of Prince Camaralzaman and his bride were now so full of
-happiness that for many months they wist not the passing of time, and
-waking or sleeping it seemed to them as one day. But while their joy
-thus decked itself in the colours of immortality, the Prince one night
-had a dream, wherein he beheld his father, Shahzaman, lying as at the
-point of death. And in his dream it seemed that he heard him say, 'O
-my son, whom in thy grief I so tenderly cherished, wherefore hast thou
-acted thus, leaving me in my old age to die alone?'
-
-So sharp was the sting of that dream upon his conscience that, sighing,
-the Prince woke; and his wife hearing him made inquiry as to his
-grief. 'Alas!' answered Camaralzaman, 'in my happiness with thee I had
-forgotten my father.' And thereupon he recounted his dream. So the next
-day the Princess Badoura went to her father, and having told him all,
-besought leave for Camaralzaman to return for a while to his own land
-so that he might comfort his father in his old age.
-
-The King readily granted his daughter's request. Then said Badoura,
-'If my husband goes I must go too.' 'Why so?' inquired her father.
-'Because,' said she, 'if you separate us there is no power in the world
-that shall keep me alive.'
-
-Now the King had learned during the years of his daughter's captivity,
-that anything which she said she meant. Therefore with much grief
-and reluctance at being so compelled, he granted her request; and
-having accorded them permission to be absent for a whole year, he made
-preparation for their departure. In order that they might appear at
-the court of Shahzaman in the splendour that became their rank, he
-presented them with many changes of costly apparel, and having provided
-a large train of horses, dromedaries, and attendants, he bade them an
-affectionate farewell, and with many tears watched them depart.
-
-For a whole month Camaralzaman and his bride travelled in comfort and
-luxury by the route that they had chosen, and greatly was the Prince's
-heart rejoiced by the thought of seeing his father once more and
-presenting to his eyes the lovely and innocent cause of all their past
-affliction. Therefore, early and late they journeyed on, only stopping
-to rest at night and during the heat of each day.
-
-And so it chanced that one day, about noon, they came to a spacious
-meadow shaded by trees, and there at the Prince's command the tents
-were pitched; and the Princess went into her pavilion and lay down to
-sleep.
-
-Now when she lay down, the heat being very great, she took off her
-outer robe and her girdle. And the Prince, coming in later, saw the
-girdle lying, and knotted within its folds a large stone, red as
-blood, inscribed with strange characters which, in the darkness of the
-tent, he could not read. Being curious, therefore, to see what words
-were upon this talisman which the Princess carried so secretly in her
-apparel, he unfastened the knot, and taking the knot went forth from
-the tent to examine it.
-
-Scarcely had he done so when, with a strange cry, a bird swooped down
-from the tree above his head, caught up the stone in its beak, and flew
-away with it. Camaralzaman, fearing to lose what, for all he knew,
-might be a precious talisman, ran after the bird, throwing up his
-arms, shouting and endeavouring in all possible ways to make it let go
-the stone. But the bird flew on from tree to tree, and from valley to
-valley, never so fast that Camaralzaman could not keep pace with it,
-but never coming within his reach, or letting go of the talisman. So
-the flight went on and so the chase continued, till several hours had
-passed and it began to grow dark. Then the bird, uttering once more its
-strange cry, went up to the topmost branch of a high tree and settled
-itself to roost.
-
-The pursuit had now led Camaralzaman so far and in so many directions,
-that he no longer knew which way to turn. So, commending himself to
-Allah, he lay down at the foot of the tree and slept.
-
-In the morning, with a loud rustling of feathers, the bird awakened
-him, and still carrying the stone in its beak, sprang out of the tree
-and continued its flight. And as Camaralzaman rose and followed, it
-presently became apparent that at whatever rate he went, the bird went
-too; so when he ran the bird flew fast, and when he could run no more
-it waited for him, flying from point to point and never disappearing
-from view.
-
-'By Allah!' cried Camaralzaman, 'this is wonderful! This chase will
-lead me either to great fortune or to death.' So without giving up he
-went on; and thus he followed the bird for ten days, living upon roots
-and drinking of the streams that he crossed; and every night he slept
-at the foot of some tree while the bird perched in its topmost branches.
-
-Thus on the tenth day he was brought to the outskirts of a large
-city. Then, like a flash, the bird flew over it and disappeared; and
-Camaralzaman following, footsore and weary, came to the city gates and
-passed through. Here for some time he wandered, solitary and without
-hope, not knowing what to do nor of whom to seek aid; and coming
-presently to the other side of the city, he found there a harbour
-with much shipping and merchandise, and people plying their trade and
-talking in many languages. And as he walked along the shore, still
-uncertain what course to pursue, he came upon an old man working in a
-garden of flowers; and when he halted the old man looked up.
-
-The gardener, seeing a stranger at his gate, came forward, and saluting
-him in the name of Allah, bade him come in. 'I see by your dress,'
-said he, 'that you are a Mussulman, as I also am; and great is your
-good fortune to have escaped until now the wrath of the inhabitants,
-for they are unbelievers and idolaters, and fierce is their hatred for
-those who are of the true faith. Therefore come quickly into my house,
-and disguise yourself; else is your life not safe.'
-
-Camaralzaman was thankful to have found a friend in such a moment of
-need; and after his host had supplied him with food and drink and made
-him rest for a while, then without concealment he confided to him the
-whole of his story. Greater than ever had now become his longing to
-reach the island of Khaledan, for there not only did he hope to find
-his father still alive, but to be re-united with his wife, the Princess
-Badoura. Inquiring therefore of the old gardener, he learned that there
-were two routes; the longer being for the greater part of the way by
-land--a year's journey, and the shorter by sea. 'But if,' said the
-gardener, 'you would go by sea, then you must wait for the merchant
-ship which sails every year to the Island of Ebony, for through that
-country lies your way. Had you but come a few days earlier, you would
-have been in time; but now the ship has left the harbour and will not
-return for another year. If you decide upon this course, then while you
-wait my house is open to you, and if you are willing to share my work
-and be my assistant, you shall also have a fair share of the profits.'
-
-Camaralzaman gladly accepted the proposition, for better by far is
-work, however hard or humble it may be, than the idleness of unavailing
-regret. So for a whole year he lived with the old gardener as if he
-had been his son, wearing a blue smock down to his knees, working with
-a hoe, tending plants, tilling the soil, and carrying its produce
-for sale to the market. And every day he looked out over the sea for
-the merchant vessel which was to arrive and bear him back to his own
-country and to the arms of his beloved.
-
-
-Now turn we to the Princess Badoura, whom we left lying asleep in her
-tent. When she awoke she inquired after her husband, the Prince, but
-he was not to be found; some had seen him go into the tent, but no
-one had seen him come out. Then, as she put on her dress, she noticed
-that the knot in her girdle had been untied and that the stone was
-missing. 'Alas, O Beloved, what hast thou done?' she cried. 'Ignorant
-of its virtues thou hast taken from me the talisman which unites us;
-now surely if thou hast lost it we shall be separated for ever.' And
-as time went on her distress and her certainty of misfortune became
-greater; for she knew that had not the Prince already lost the talisman
-its infallible virtues would by now have brought him back to her.
-Knowing therefore that if the talisman were indeed lost, he also was
-lost to her, and that when found, he would return to her again, she
-made no useless delay in proceeding to her destination. Yet was there
-now great peril if the absence of the Prince were discovered, lest she
-and her women and all the wealth which her father had bestowed on her
-might fall a prey to the men who formed their escort. For this reason
-she concealed the matter from all but her women, and having dressed
-herself in some of her husband's clothes, and put into her litter a
-girl-slave wearing the royal veil, she went forth from her tent and
-gave orders for the camp to be struck and their journey resumed.
-So, for many days she continued to travel by land and sea, till she
-came before a city set on a height with a great harbour lying below;
-and when she inquired its name of the inhabitants they said to her,
-'This is the city of Ebony, wherein dwells King Amanos, and he has a
-beautiful daughter whose name is Hayatelnefoos.'
-
-Presently word went to the palace that a stranger prince of very noble
-appearance, accompanied by a large retinue, had arrived in the harbour
-and was seeking admission to the city. Whereupon the King sent in haste
-certain high dignitaries of his court to give welcome and to conduct
-the supposed Prince into his presence. And no sooner had he beheld the
-noble appearance of his guest and the graciousness of her bearing than
-he gave orders for a great banquet to be prepared, appointed that she
-should be lodged in the palace, and extended to her for three days an
-entertainment of the most royal magnificence.
-
-During the whole of these festivities the Princess bore herself exactly
-as Camaralzaman would have done, doing honour to that rank and name
-which for her own protection she had assumed. Therefore the heart of
-King Amanos was drawn greatly towards her, and when she began to speak
-of departure, he said, 'Wherefore, O Prince, shouldst thou seek to
-leave a country where happiness and power can be thine? For behold, I
-am an old man and childless, save for one daughter, whose beauty and
-perfection resemble thine. But, for me, the cares of state have become
-too heavy a burden, and I sigh to be released from them. Remain with
-us, therefore, and I will give to thee even now the hand of my daughter
-and the sceptre and rule of my kingdom.'
-
-At this proposal, so generously expressed, the face of Badoura became
-covered with bashfulness, for strange indeed to a woman was this offer
-of a kingdom and a bride. Yet at her father's court she had long since
-become learned in the affairs of state, and to rule a kingdom had ever
-been her desire; moreover, since by the loss of the talisman she and
-her husband seemed destined to eternal separation, there was no cause
-that she could see why her life should not thus be dedicated; there was
-also some peril in a refusal, which the King would be certain to take
-as an affront both to himself and his daughter. So after pondering the
-matter for a while she lifted her head and spoke to the King as follows:
-
-'O King, if I delayed for one moment my acceptance of so splendid an
-offer, it was only a knowledge of unworthiness which held me back. Yet
-to delay longer might seem to throw a doubt on the discretion of your
-royal mind. Beset by these two dangers I place myself entirely in your
-Majesty's hands; and if I may have your promise of the guidance and
-counsel which I shall constantly need, then I will unreservedly accept
-your Majesty's proposal. To hear is to obey.'
-
-The marriage being thus agreed on, the nuptial ceremony was fixed for
-the following day. The pretended Prince, putting a bold face upon the
-matter, informed the officers of her escort of the coming event, saying
-also that the Princess Badoura had given it her approval. As for her
-women, their silence was already assured since, as partners to the
-deception, their very lives depended on it.
-
-So on the morrow King Amanos gathered together his emirs, viziers,
-and captains, and having presented to them the Princess Badoura as
-his destined son-in-law and heir, he placed her upon the throne and
-gave orders for the nuptial ceremony to commence. And when the day of
-rejoicings was ended, the Princess Badoura was conducted to the bridal
-chamber.
-
-But no sooner did Badoura find herself by the side of the beautiful
-Princess Hayatelnefoos than the thought of her beloved Camaralzaman
-overwhelmed her with grief, and committing herself to prayer and
-recitation, she continued at her devotions till the bride lay fast
-asleep. And thus she did the next night and on the night following.
-
-Finding herself thus neglected by the husband of whom she had received
-such glowing reports, the Princess Hayatelnefoos was filled with a
-depression of spirit which immediately became visible in her looks; and
-when her father, King Amanos, discerning his daughter's grief, inquired
-what was amiss, she informed him that her husband, whom she already
-loved most tenderly, had conceived for her an aversion so intense that
-to avoid all intimacy of conversation he committed himself to prayer,
-and thus continued till weariness and sleep overcame her.
-
-At this news the countenance of King Amanos was darkened, and he said
-to his daughter, 'If the Prince does not treat thee with the respect
-due from a husband to a wife, he shall be divested of his royal dignity
-and banished from my kingdom.'
-
-This threat so afflicted the heart of Hayatelnefoos, to whom the
-thought of separation from her husband was already unbearable, that on
-their next meeting she confided to Badoura her grief, informing her
-also of the King's words and of the danger that threatened her.
-
-Then said Badoura, 'O amiable and charming Princess, though thou canst
-not be my wife thou canst be my friend. Hear first my story, and
-then, if thou art unable to pardon me thou canst at least have the
-satisfaction of depriving me of life.' And forthwith she proceeded to
-give the full story of her adventures.
-
-When she had finished, Hayatelnefoos replied, 'O Princess, I should
-indeed be unworthy of your confidence, if such a tale of misfortune
-had failed to win not only my pity, but my devotion. Henceforth we two
-are of one mind, and will have between us but one heart and one desire
-for the preservation of thy life and honour and the restoration of thy
-husband.'
-
-[Illustration: Badoura Watching the Ship.
-
-'It so happened as the ship came into the harbour, Badoura was looking
-out towards the sea.' (p. 96)]
-
-Thereupon the two Princesses embraced with the tenderest affection, and
-from that day on, concealing from all others the true facts, they lived
-together in the greatest amity and concord; while the Princess Badoura
-continued in her husband's name to rule over the city of Ebony, giving
-law and justice to all.
-
-
-Prince Camaralzaman, meanwhile, was living with the old gardener,
-tilling the soil, and carrying each day fruit and vegetables to the
-market. The time was now near for the merchant vessel which he was
-awaiting to return; but having lost the talisman of which he had come
-in quest, he had little hope of a successful issue to the adventure. So
-one day, when the inhabitants of the city were making holiday and all
-the markets were closed, the Prince, released from labour, sat in deep
-dejection of spirit under the trees of the garden away from the sound
-of festival, when suddenly he heard a strange cry of birds and in the
-leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another with beak and
-claw. So desperate was the fight, that before many minutes were over
-one of the birds fell dead at his feet, and the conqueror, uttering a
-loud cry of triumph, flew swiftly away.
-
-But hardly had it disappeared, when two other birds of larger size
-came flying into the garden, and making straight for the murdered body
-they bowed their heads over it, crying lamentably and seeking with the
-warmth of their breasts to restore it to life. Presently, when all
-their efforts proved vain, they scooped a grave with their claws, and
-having laid therein the slaughtered bird, they covered it with earth
-and immediately soared upward and disappeared.
-
-Camaralzaman sat weeping; for the mourning of these birds reminded him
-in some way of the grief and separation he himself had endured, and as
-little could he hope for the return of his lost happiness as they for
-the revival of their dead comrade. As he was thus thinking, once again
-came the strange cry he had heard before, and looking up he saw the
-two birds flying back carrying the murderer in their claws. No sooner
-had they alighted above the grave than falling upon their captive they
-tore out his heart and entrails, and having drained out his blood as an
-offering to the slain, they left the body lying, and flew away.
-
-All this while Camaralzaman had looked on in wonder; and surely it
-seemed to him that if, in the lower order of creation such miracles
-of devotion and service were wrought, humanity had no cause for
-despair. And even as he so thought, he saw in the torn body of the bird
-something that shone brightly, and coming nearer he recognised it as
-the talisman which he had taken from his wife's girdle.
-
-Instantly all life became changed to him; seizing the stone he wiped it
-of blood and pressed it a thousand times to his lips. 'Now at last,' he
-cried, 'I believe and know that my beloved is to be restored to me!'
-
-So sure was he his good fortune had now returned to him that, unable to
-remain idle and inactive, he seized a hoe, and started to break up the
-ground at the foot of the tree under which he had been standing. At the
-third stroke the earth gave back a hollow and metallic sound. Quickly
-removing the soil he discovered a trapdoor, which, when it was opened,
-disclosed an aperture and a narrow flight of steps. Descending these he
-found himself in a deep cellar lined with jars, twenty in all, filled
-with red gold.
-
-Contentment now took hold of his spirit, and having returned to the
-garden he replaced the trap and continued at his work until in the
-evening the old gardener returned from the festivities.
-
-On seeing him the old man said, 'Rejoice, my son, I bring you good
-tidings. The ship which you have so long waited for is now in the
-harbour, and in three days will be ready once more to set sail.'
-
-This news so delighted Camaralzaman that taking the old man's hand he
-kissed it saying, 'I too have tidings for you of a happy kind.' And
-leading the gardener to the tree he lifted the trap, and disclosed to
-his astonished eyes the gold that lay stored below.
-
-'Well,' said the gardener, 'I am glad that my poor plot of ground
-should have yielded thee such rich fruit. Take it, my son, and Heaven
-prosper thee by its aid till thou come once more to thine own land and
-the heart of thy beloved.'
-
-'Not so,' replied Camaralzaman, 'I will take nothing if I may not share
-it equally with thee.'
-
-So it was agreed. Then said the gardener, 'My son, hast thou thought
-how to convey safely so much gold on a voyage where thou wilt be alone
-in the hands of strangers? Surely if they find thee possessed of such
-wealth they will kill thee for the sake of it. Hearken, therefore, to
-what I shall advise. From this country we send olives into all parts
-of the world, and many ships go laden with them. Fill for thyself,
-therefore, fifty jars from the olive-trees which are in this garden,
-and at the bottom of each jar lay a portion of the gold: so shall it be
-safe, and no man will know of it.'
-
-So the Prince did as the gardener advised; and fearing lest, while on
-the voyage, he himself might be robbed, he put the talisman along with
-the gold in one of the olive jars, marking it with a number so that
-he might know it again. Then he made a bargain with the owner of the
-vessel, and on the third day the seamen came and carried away the jars
-and stowed them on board. And the captain said to Camaralzaman, who had
-accompanied them, 'Do not be long in returning, for the wind is fair
-and I only wait for you to set sail.'
-
-So Camaralzaman hastened back to say farewell to the old gardener and
-to thank him for all that he had done; but when he arrived at the house
-he found the old man so stricken with grief at his departure that he
-was already at the point of death. Camaralzaman therefore sat down
-by his bed and tended him, holding him by the hand and speaking many
-comfortable words; and toward evening, having made his profession of
-faith, as all good Mussulmans do, the old man let fell his head and
-expired.
-
-Camaralzaman closed his eyes, wrapped his body for burial, and having
-dug a grave in the garden, interred it. Then he went down in haste to
-the shore and found that the vessel had gone.
-
-Once again, therefore, despair returned to him, for now a second time
-the talisman was lost, and he had no hope of recovering it. Also he
-must needs wait another year before the ship could return and take him
-upon his way. So going to the landlord of the garden he became a tenant
-in the place of his dead friend, and hiding what remained of the gold
-in fifty other olive jars, he set to work once more as a gardener until
-the time should once more come round for him to embark.
-
-
-Meantime, under a favourable wind, the ship arrived at the island of
-Ebony; and it so happened that as it came into the harbour the Princess
-Badoura was looking out of one of the palace windows toward the sea.
-No sooner did her eyes rest upon the sails of that ship than her heart
-became uplifted with joy. 'Surely,' she said to herself, 'either my
-beloved is there on board or it brings news of him.'
-
-[Illustration: Capture of Camaralzaman.
-
-'The captain of the ship goes to capture Camaralzaman at the command of
-Badoura.' (p. 99)]
-
-So going down to the shore, accompanied by her emirs and attendants,
-she caused the master of the vessel to be summoned before her and
-inquired of him what merchandise he had brought. 'O King,' replied the
-captain, 'I have spices, drugs, aromatic scents, and sweet ointments;
-I have also rich fabrics and metal-work; and in addition to all these
-things I have olives such as are not to be found in any other country,
-and these, since I came by them fortunately, I can let you have cheap.'
-On hearing this a desire for the olives took hold of the Princess, and
-she said, 'What quantity have you brought?' 'Fifty jars,' answered the
-master; 'that is all I have.' 'Well,' said the Princess, 'I will take
-fifty.' And she paid him for them the price that he asked--a thousand
-pieces of silver.
-
-Now presently, when the olives had been conveyed to the palace, there
-came upon the Princess a strange desire to taste that which she had
-just purchased, so she gave orders for one of the jars to be opened and
-the contents to be poured into a dish; and as the attendant poured,
-first came olives and then a heap of red gold.
-
-Then said Badoura to the Princess Hayatelnefoos, who alone was with
-her, 'That is gold!' So she examined further and in every jar found
-gold in equal quantity. Presently as she emptied one of the jars, along
-with the gold came the talisman which Camaralzaman had concealed there;
-and no sooner did the Princess Badoura see it than she knew it again;
-and she showed it to Hayatelnefoos, saying, 'Lo, this is the stone
-whose loss hath caused our separation; now, finding it again, I know
-that my beloved will be restored to me.'
-
-Then she sent in haste and caused the master of the vessel to be
-brought before her, and she said to him, 'Whence had you these olives?
-Tell me the truth, or you shall die!'
-
-Thereupon the master being smitten in his conscience dropped to earth
-and lay there, crying, 'Alas, I had them of a poor man who brought
-them himself to the vessel but did not return at the appointed time;
-therefore I sailed without him. Be assured, O King, that all the money
-I got for them shall be honestly paid to him.'
-
-Then said Badoura, 'As to that I care not. But go back straightway
-to that country from which you came and find the man and bring him
-to me, for he is a malefactor against the laws of this kingdom, for
-he hath stolen from me a precious thing dearer than life itself;
-therefore is his life forfeit. And if you fail to bring him, then all
-the merchandise which you have now brought I will hold, and no ship or
-merchandise of yours shall ever enter this port again. But if you bring
-him safely, I will reward you abundantly.'
-
-The master therefore, being so compelled, left his merchandise in bond
-and returned with all haste to the port from which he had set out, and
-there coming with his men to the house of Camaralzaman, he knocked; and
-no sooner had the Prince opened than, seizing him, they carried him
-off, and bestowed him on board the vessel as a prisoner.
-
-Camaralzaman said to them, 'Masters, why are you treating me thus?'
-They answered, 'Thou art an offender and malefactor against the King of
-the Ebony Isles, son to the King Amanos, and hast stolen his wealth;
-yea, a precious thing hast thou stolen from him, and now he requires it
-of thee!'
-
-'Well,' said Camaralzaman, 'this is the first that I have heard of it.'
-
-So they bore him away, and after they had sailed for some while they
-came again to the city of Ebony, and word was sent to the palace that
-the master of the vessel had returned bringing the King his prisoner.
-
-Then Badoura gave orders, and Camaralzaman, still in his workman's
-dress, his body wasted with grief, and his face and hands soiled with
-the defilements of his long voyage, came and stood before her. As soon
-as she saw him her heart leapt with joy, but she feared to reveal
-herself, for how would it appear to her emirs and chamberlains were she
-before all eyes to throw herself into the arms of a common gardener.
-Therefore, retaining her disguise, she spoke to him as a King should do
-to a peasant, and in a man's voice. And Camaralzaman, fearful of the
-unknown charge which was to be brought against him, stood before her
-with bowed head and did not look up.
-
-The Princess asked him but a few questions, of the country from which
-he had come, of the time that he had lived there, and what calling
-he had followed. Then she said to him, 'Be assured that if thou art
-innocent of that which is charged against thee, thine honour and
-integrity shall be made known to all. Even now if thou wilt confess to
-having taken a thing which is not thine and wilt restore it to me, I
-am willing to pardon thee, seeing that it was done without thought of
-evil.' But Camaralzaman hearing these words knew not what they meant,
-for his thoughts were all astray and he did not dream that it was of
-himself and of the talisman that she spoke.
-
-Then Badoura ordered an officer of her household to take charge of
-the prisoner and treat him with all care; and having recompensed the
-master of the vessel and set free his merchandise, she went in to
-Hayatelnefoos, and told her of all that had come about. And she said
-to her, 'O bosom-friend and comforter of my heart, be sure that what
-brings happiness to me shall bring it to thee also; for no fortune
-shall Heaven send me, nor any bliss, however great, that I am not ready
-to share equally with thee.' Then speaking of Camaralzaman she said,
-'So great a distance divides in men's eyes what seems his present lot
-from ours, that it were peril to be sudden in this matter lest the
-truth of our story should not be believed. Therefore we must wait till
-of his own natural nobleness he shall have raised himself in the eyes
-of all.' And to this plan Queen Hayatelnefoos agreed.
-
-So the next day Badoura gave orders to conduct Camaralzaman to the
-bath; then she caused him to be clad in an emir's robes and brought
-forth where all might see; and lo! as a willow branch after rain or the
-planet of love shining at dusk, so seemed he then to the eyes of all.
-
-Then again she caused him to be brought before her in the Hall of
-Judgment and pronounced him clear of all that had been charged against
-him. 'For that which was precious to me,' she said, 'has been restored;
-and other hands held it from me, not thine. Therefore as thou hast been
-proved true I will appoint thee to high honour.' Then addressing the
-emirs and councillors who were gathered about her she said, 'My lords,
-this Camaralzaman whom to-day I admit to my Councils is not unworthy of
-the high post which I confer on him; for not only have I tested him as
-ye have seen on an accusation whereof he is innocent, but he is a man
-of approved valour, of grace, and learning, being also a descendant of
-kings.'
-
-Great was Camaralzaman's astonishment at finding his name and lineage
-known to the King of the Ebony Isles; but not daring to question how
-his good fortune had come about he prostrated himself before the
-throne, saying, 'O King, only by thy favour have I been raised to this
-honour, and by that alone can I either deserve or maintain it.' So the
-Council ended, and Camaralzaman was conducted to a large and sumptuous
-abode with slaves and attendants to wait upon him, and everything that
-his heart could desire save only his beloved Princess.
-
-After a few days Badoura, wishing to find occasion for Camaralzaman's
-more frequent presence, appointed him to the office of Grand Treasurer,
-and thereafter scarcely a day passed that she did not bestow on him
-fresh honours; while Camaralzaman, for his part, wondering why such
-high favours were shown him, served the King diligently, and was
-greatly respected not only by all the emirs and officials of the Court,
-but by the common people, who swore by his life, and would have asked
-no better than for such an one as he to be their ruler.
-
-So time went on, and ever did the wonder of Camaralzaman increase why
-he alone had been chosen for such great honours. And because this thing
-seemed to him without reason, he came at last to fear it. Furthermore,
-for loss of his beloved, restlessness and the desire for travel filled
-his heart, and in no one place could he find happiness. So one day
-coming to the King--that is to say to Badoura--he spoke as follows: 'O
-King of the Age, so great is the favour that thou hast shown me, that I
-know well it cannot last. Suffer me therefore to depart before I have
-outstayed my welcome; so shall my gratitude be undiminished and the
-nature of thy regard for me unchanged.' When Badoura heard these words
-she smiled on him and said: 'If indeed it is thy will to depart, then
-must thou take and cast away once more--yea, lose utterly--this stone
-whose virtue brought thee back to me, and by which, while it is in my
-possession, our lives are bound.' So saying she reached out and put the
-talisman in his hand.
-
-When Camaralzaman beheld the stone once more his wonder was beyond
-words. 'O King,' he cried, 'whence came this to thee? For herein lies
-the cause of all my afflictions and separation from one whom I loved as
-my own soul.'
-
-'Surely,' answered Badoura, 'none can part from that talisman without
-estrangement and separation. And since now I have parted from it to
-thee, our separation must infallibly begin from this hour. Therefore
-the King of the Ebony Isles thou shalt see no more.'
-
-So saying she passed out of the chamber, and Camaralzaman stood and
-wondered, not knowing what to think.
-
-Then Badoura went in haste to a closet, and there she put on the
-dress and the girdle which she had worn on the day of separation; and
-taking from her head the man's turban, she spread her hair and put on
-a head-dress of fine gold delicately wrought. So she returned to him,
-and when Camaralzaman saw her he uttered a cry and ran into her arms
-and held her with kisses as if he could never let her go. And when at
-last he spoke of things other than his joy--'How,' he inquired, 'has
-the King accomplished this miracle? Surely when he spoke I understood
-nothing of what he said.'
-
-Badoura smiled as she answered: 'When the King put the talisman into
-thy hand, then did his kingship cease, and he returned once more to his
-true form. O my lord, look upon thy king, who is now become thy slave.
-Surely hadst thou loved me a little more thou wouldst have known me.'
-
-Then she told Camaralzaman of all that had happened to her from first
-to last; and on the morrow she went to King Amanos, and to him also
-made her story plain. Nor would she allow that any deception had been
-used, 'For truly,' she said, 'I and my beloved are one; and I did but
-come before and prepare for him the place which he was destined to
-fill. Therefore when I married thy daughter, it was Camaralzaman who
-married her; and when I accepted of thee the crown, it was Camaralzaman
-who accepted it. Give me leave, therefore, O King, who hast been to me
-as a father, to show my beloved to the Queen whom I have won for him,
-and to the people over whom, in his name, I have ruled.'
-
-Greatly was King Amanos astonished to hear a woman utter such words;
-and the wonder of Camaralzaman was scarcely less. Yet, as she had
-brought fortune and happiness to both alike, they consented to do her
-will; and so it was agreed.
-
-Therefore from that day on did Camaralzaman take up the power and
-authority which Badoura had attained for him, rejoicing also in the
-domestic felicity of two wives, the one as beautiful as the other,
-each without jealousy, and having no wish or thought out of which
-estrangement could arise. Doubtless it was the perfect happiness in
-which he thus dwelt which caused Camaralzaman to forget altogether the
-object for which his journey had been begun. No second dream of his
-father, the King Shahzaman, ever came to remind him of his neglected
-purpose, while to the dominions of King Gaiour of China he had no wish
-to return.
-
-
-
-Epilogue
-
-
-'This, O King, is the story of Prince Camaralzaman and of the Princess
-Badoura from the time of their falling in love until the day when
-all their wanderings of separation were ended. A year later the two
-Queens each presented him with a son almost upon the same day. And the
-birth of these Princes was celebrated with every kind of festivity and
-rejoicing.'
-
-As Scheherazade concluded her story the light of dawn grew full. For a
-thousand and one nights she had given entertainment to her lord, saving
-at the same time the lives of her fellow-women. During this period she
-had borne the King three children, all with so strong a resemblance
-to their father that even he could find no cause in them for casting
-suspicion upon his wife's virtue.
-
-So the tale being ended Scheherazade rose, and having kissed the ground
-at the King's feet, said, 'O King of the Age, perfect and incomparable,
-lo in dust and ashes I thy slave come to present to thee a petition.'
-And the King said, 'Ask, and it shall be granted thee.'
-
-Then Scheherazade called to her attendants and said, 'Bring in the
-children!' So they brought the children quickly; one of them walked,
-one crawled, and one lay at the breast.
-
-So she set them before the King, and said, 'These children are thine
-and mine. In pain I bore them, having little hope of any joy that
-they might bring me; for under sentence of death I brought them into
-the world, and though thrice I have been a mother thou hast not yet
-pardoned me. Say, therefore, O King, when is my death to be; or, if it
-is not to be, then let my suspense be ended.'
-
-At these words the King wept; and embracing his children tenderly,
-cried: 'O Scheherazade, by Allah I swear to thee that before the coming
-of these children thou wast pardoned already. Nor shall the death of
-such an one as thou be laid to my charge when Kings come before God to
-be judged.'
-
-[Illustration: The Final Marriage Procession.]
-
-Then Scheherazade fell down and kissed his feet and his hands, crying,
-'God give thee a long life, and power and strength, and dominion and
-majesty to the world's end.'
-
-Joy of that news spread through the palace, and thence to the city and
-all the people; and the night of rejoicing that followed was a night
-not to be reckoned among lives, for its colour was as the rainbow in
-its promise over young fields of corn, and its light whiter than the
-face of day.
-
-THE END
-
-
-
-
-
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-
-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Princess Badoura, by Laurence Housman
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Princess Badoura
- A tale from the Arabian Nights
-
-Author: Laurence Housman
-
-Illustrator: Edmund Dulac
-
-Release Date: February 14, 2016 [EBook #51219]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESS BADOURA ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Madeleine Fournier. Images from the Collection
-of The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-<div class="cover">
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 401px;">
-<img src="images/tp.png" width="401" height="269" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a id="pl01"></a><a href="images/large/pl01.jpg"><img src="images/pl01.jpg" alt="Princess Badoura" /></a>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;">
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Princess Badoura</p>
-
-<hr class="full" />
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
-<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="600" height="863" alt="" />
-</div>
-<h1>Princess Badoura<br />
-
-<span style="font-size: smaller;">A tale from the Arabian Nights</span></h1>
-
-<p class="author">Retold by Laurence Housman</p>
-
-<p class="edition">illustrated by<br />
-
-Edmund Dulac</p>
-
-<p class="editor">Hodder and Stoughton</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="transnote">
-<p>Transcriber's Note: You may click on the plates to display a larger version.</p>
-</div>
-
-<h2>List of Illustrations</h2>
-
-<table summary="illustrations">
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Princess Badoura</span></td><td><i><a href="#pl01">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>
-<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">page</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Dahnash and Meymooneh</span><br />
-'As she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his
-tail to be Dahnash.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl02">16</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">The King of China and Badoura</span><br />
-'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had
-only pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl03">24</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Camaralzaman as an Astrologer</span><br />
-'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down
-and bring the Astrologer in."'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl04">40</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Camaralzaman Cures Badoura</span><br />
-'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl05">48</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman</span><br />
-'The Prince saw the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large
-stone.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl06">64</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds</span><br />
-'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another
-with beak and claw.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl07">72</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Badoura Watching the Ship</span><br />
-'It so happened as the ship came into the harbour, Badoura was
-looking out towards the sea.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl08">88</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">Capture of Camaralzaman</span><br />
-'The captain of the ship goes to capture Camaralzaman at the
-command of Badoura.'</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl09">96</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="caption">The Final Marriage Procession</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#pl10">112</a></td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>A Tale from
-The Arabian Nights
-Retold by Laurence Housman</h2>
-
-<p>The Sultan Shahriar stands out to fame as the
-greatest monogamist in all history. Having
-been deceived by his first wife, he caused her to
-be put to death, and then proceeded to avenge
-himself upon a thousand others. Faithful to his
-monogamic instincts, he married a fresh wife every
-day, and on the morning of the next became a
-widower. Having thus achieved faith to a thousand
-dead maidens&mdash;all equally beloved in turn&mdash;he
-may, in his heart of hearts, have found that
-change, so doggedly insisted on, did but mean
-boredom, and so may readily have welcomed any
-excuse to relax a performance to which he had
-bound himself by many religious oaths.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>But, if he had a heart, the old Eastern chronicler
-has neglected to tell us what was in it; and
-at the point where his sacrificial bridals have become
-monotonous, the interest of the story shifts
-from bridegroom to bride, and Scheherazade,
-daughter of the Grand Vizier, witty, courageous,
-resourceful, and most prolix of all delightful tale-tellers,
-adventurously enters the royal menage, and
-becomes his only surviving wife.</p>
-
-<p>For Scheherazade, intent on saving the lives of
-others, brings her bridesmaid with her, a younger
-sister named Dinarzade; and when the morning
-light comes to tell her that death is near, Dinarzade&mdash;prompted
-thereto beforehand&mdash;stirs in her
-attendant place at the foot of the couch, and asks
-for the sake of old times that one last tale may
-be told.</p>
-
-<p>Shahriar, at the bride's humble request, grants
-permission, and from that moment is in the toils
-of the plot which has made his name so secondary
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>in importance to hers. Scheherazade, 'to do a
-great right, does a little wrong': by her entrancing
-powers of narrative, always interrupted when
-the interest of each story is at its height, she breeds
-in her tyrant lord infirmity of will, and destroys
-the only principle of conduct wherewith he set
-out to teach woman her place. For the thousand
-and one nights which have given their
-name to the world's most famous collection of
-stories, he lives blissfully forsworn, postponing
-the execution of his wife to another day; and
-at the end, repenting him of his vows, does what
-we still make our kings do in England when
-justice has gone astray, and bestows his 'free
-pardon' upon innocence.</p>
-
-<p>The story which is here retold, with many
-of its life-saving prolixities omitted, has the
-distinction of being, according to some versions,
-the last of all: it witnesses the accomplishment
-of the task which Scheherazade set out to perform.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>With the story of Badoura, the woman of
-beauty and brain, who, personating her husband,
-ruled a Kingdom, and without jealousy provided
-him at the end of his wanderings with a second
-wife&mdash;in this story Scheherazade, her great act
-of statesmanship concluded, adumbrates what
-woman set free to use her own resources can do.
-And in this reflection of her own great adventurous
-self the series concludes. Through a
-thousand dim dawns, with the issue still in
-doubt, she has led the forlorn hope for all the
-other women whose lives she would save; and
-when her tyrant relents, and in his promise to
-spare her life spares theirs as well, she kneels
-and gratefully kisses his feet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The
-History of Badoura,
-Princess of China, and of
-Camaralzaman, The Island Prince</p>
-
-<p>The story of Aboulhassan, the Prince of
-Persia, had come to an end and the light
-of morning was full. Then said Dinarzade,
-'Another story, O sister, another story!' Scheherazade
-made answer, 'If my Lord will suffer
-me to live for another day, there is yet one more
-tale that I could tell. The history of Prince
-Camaralzaman and of his bride Badoura is far
-more entrancing than that which I have just
-given; but it is too long to be told now.'</p>
-
-<p>Then she was silent; and Shahriar could not
-bring himself to order her death till he had heard
-that story also. So once more he let his oath stay
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>unfulfilled and deferred sentence; and the next
-night, wakened in the small hours towards dawn,
-Scheherazade, opening a mouth of loveliness and
-filling it with wise and sweet words, took up the
-thread of her tale and began:</p>
-
-<p>O King, live for ever! About twenty days'
-sail from the coast of Persia there lies in the open
-sea an island which is called Khaledan, a country
-wealthy and prosperous and containing many
-large and well-inhabited towns. Its ruler in
-ancient times was a king named Shahzaman.
-As a reward for his many virtues, he had gathered
-about him a large and well-proportioned household,
-four wives, the daughters of kings, and sixty
-concubines; but, in spite of so generous a provision
-for that which only Heaven can bestow,
-he had no son; and as time went on, and he
-grew old, his bones wasted, and his heart became
-filled with affliction; and he said to his Vizier,
-'Now in a little while I shall die; then will my
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>name perish, and my Kingdom pass to others, for
-I have not a son to come after me. Tell me,
-is there anything I can do to avert so great a
-calamity?'</p>
-
-<p>His Vizier answered, 'When human means
-fail, it is then that we must rely on Heaven, for
-often these evils are sent to remind us of our
-dependence on Him who alone holds power.
-Fast, therefore, and pray, and perform ablutions,
-and when that is done make a great banquet, and
-call to it the poor and needy; it may be that
-among them will be found one pure and righteous
-soul whose blessing will thus descend on thee, for
-the fulfilment of thy desire.'</p>
-
-<p>The King did as his Vizier advised: he made
-a great feast, and called to it all whose poverty
-might give virtue to their petition: and bidding
-them pray that he might have a son, caused meat to
-be set before them; so they did eat and were filled.</p>
-
-<p>This holy act had the desired effect; one of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>the King's four Queens immediately conceived,
-and in course of time presented him with a son as
-fair as a full moon on a cloudless night. When
-the midwives and nurses carried him to his father,
-the King, seeing his beauty and transported with
-joy at the event, named him Camaralzaman, that is
-to say Moon of the Age; and he sent out orders,
-on pain of death to any who disobeyed, that for
-seven days the drums were to beat and every house
-in the city to be decorated in sign of thanksgiving.
-Never were such rejoicings heard.</p>
-
-<p>The Prince was reared and educated with all
-care and magnificence until he attained the age of
-fifteen. For the polish of his manners and the
-enlightenment of his brain the wisest and most
-accomplished men in the Kingdom were chosen;
-and since from the first he displayed a modest
-and docile disposition, combined with a fine understanding,
-he became, as he approached the years
-of manhood, the most virtuous and eligible heir to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>a throne that monarch or people could find it in
-their hearts to desire.</p>
-
-<p>He was of surpassing comeliness and grace,
-perfect in form and stature; and his father loved
-him so tenderly that he could scarcely bear to be
-away from him either by night or day. This
-devotion to his son was, indeed, so excessive, that
-the King himself was perturbed by it, for always
-accompanying it was a terror lest the Prince might
-die.</p>
-
-<p>One day he said to his Grand Vizier, 'How
-came it that my happiness in the possession of such
-a son gives me anxiety rather than rest? When I
-was childless I was miserable, and now that the
-desire of my heart has been satisfied, I am full of
-dread lest he also should die childless and my hope
-of posterity fail? Calamities and accidents come
-when we least expect them, and so it seems to me
-now that the Prince being vigorous and strong is
-in greater danger of death than I who am near the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>grave. For him a thousand perils are waiting,
-while I have nothing to fear but old age. If,
-therefore, I may not see my son married in my
-own lifetime I shall die in a state more miserable
-than that which I endured before he was born.'</p>
-
-<p>His Vizier said, 'The Prince is still full young,
-but nothing forbids that he should marry if, by the
-will of Allah, we can find one worthy of him.'</p>
-
-<p>'As for that,' said the King, 'Heaven cannot
-have willed to send into the world a form of beauty
-and of virtue so pre-eminent without also providing
-a fitting match for it. Doubt not, if the Prince
-himself is willing, that some maiden not too far
-beneath him will be found capable of sustaining
-the honour.'</p>
-
-<p>So Shahzaman sent for his son, and Camaralzaman
-came and stood before him, and when he
-saw the King seated in state upon his throne,
-though not having his lords round him, the Prince
-bade reverence take the place of love, and with his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>head bowed down toward the ground waited in
-submission for the royal word to be spoken.</p>
-
-<p>Thus he stood before his father humbly as a
-stranger; for never before had the King so received
-him, and he wondered why he had been summoned,
-and in his heart there was a fear.</p>
-
-<p>The King perceiving his reserve said to him,
-'My son, can you now guess for what reason I
-have sent for you?' But the Prince answered,
-'My lord, I would not so presume; for it is not
-in the power of one so young as I am to fathom
-the thoughts of the hearts of Kings. Only when I
-hear the true reason from your Majesty's lips will
-my brain become enlightened.'</p>
-
-<p>So he spoke, with all the decorum, and deference,
-and virtue, and prudent modesty which
-had been instilled in him by the preceptors of his
-youth; and Shahzaman, his father, loved him for
-it, and said in his heart, 'Never was King blessed
-with such a son as I.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>Then he said to the Prince, 'What thou
-lackest in years of man's estate thou hast already
-gained in wisdom and understanding; therefore
-as a man I speak to thee. Know, then, it is my
-wish that thou shouldst marry, so that before my
-days are ended I may rejoice in the assurance of
-my posterity.'</p>
-
-<p>When Camaralzaman heard these words he
-no longer hung his head, but stood up straight;
-and as he made answer to the King his face flushed
-and his eyes grew bright; and said he, 'O my
-father, is it into bondage you would deliver me
-ere I become a man? Lo, here am I, the son of
-Kings, and all my life till now have I been free,
-and my soul has been free within me, because I
-have not gone in the way of women nor inclined
-my heart toward them; but if I marry, then by
-their cunning and guile will my soul and my
-freedom be taken from me. Far rather would I
-drink the cup of death.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>When King Shahzaman heard that, the light of
-day darkened before him, for never until now had
-his son gone against his wish or disobeyed his
-word. But, because he loved the youth very
-tenderly, he forgave him and thought not at this
-time to punish him; for he said to himself, 'At
-present he is full young, and excess of virtue hath
-caused his manhood to slumber.' So he forbore,
-and waited till another year should have passed,
-and withdrew not from his son the light and
-favour of his countenance.</p>
-
-<p>So Camaralzaman continued in undisturbed life
-to receive the instructions of his preceptors, and
-every day he increased in beauty and comeliness
-of form, in modesty of mind, and in grace of
-manner and in elegance of deportment. Added
-to which, he became accomplished in verse, and
-eloquence, and rhetoric and the divine sciences,
-so that the flower of his form and the honey of
-his understanding made together a thing of inconceivable
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>loveliness and attraction. Even as a
-magical willow-branch bearing peach-blossom and
-fruit at one season, so was he.</p>
-
-<p>Now when another year was completed, his
-father having once more consulted with the Grand
-Vizier, sent for him again, and said, 'This time,
-O my son, listen to my word, and obey; for now
-have thy years touched manhood, and unless thou
-beget children thy virtue and wisdom are wasted.
-Therefore if thou wilt marry her whom I shall
-now choose for thee, I will also make thee ruler
-over all my dominions; so with mine eyes shall
-I see my kingdom and my posterity established,
-and rejoice in thee before I die.'</p>
-
-<p>But the Prince had listened so well to the preceptors
-set over him to guard his virtue, and had
-pondered so deeply the books which wise men
-had written in their old age, when delight had fled
-from them and when all that they had done in
-the past seemed only to be vanity, that his mind,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>even though his heart softened to his father's request,
-remained as aforetime. Therefore, abasing
-himself in fear and reverence at the King's
-feet, he said, 'O my father, not so can I find
-happiness, or strength, or wisdom wherewith to
-rule others, seeing that if I marry I cease to be
-ruler of myself. In all things outward it is
-Allah's will that I should obey you; but in this
-which comes from within and concerns myself
-alone, I can obey the voice of no man, however
-wise he may be. Yet, by all the seers and poets
-and soothsayers is the same thing told, that woman
-is a calamity, and that from her spring all the
-weaknesses and afflictions of men.' And so saying
-with sweetness and modulation of tone, and grace
-of gesture, Camaralzaman began to recite to his
-father all the words of the poets; and there was
-not a poet who had written poetry in his old age
-whose verses did not bear out the contention.</p>
-
-<p>So when the King had heard the verses of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>poets and the words of the ancients arrayed against
-him, he returned no answer; for he said to himself:
-'I doubt not but that before another year
-shall have run that voice within will have spoken
-differently to my son than it speaks now, and the
-words of the sages will have far less weight with
-him then than the glance of some woman's eye.'
-Once more, therefore, letting his tenderness extinguish
-his resentment, he forgave the Prince's
-disobedience and received him back into his
-favour.</p>
-
-<p>But to his Grand Vizier Shahzaman said,
-'Now twice, O Vizier, have I come to thee for
-advice, and what profit has it been? When I
-consulted thee first as to marrying my son thy
-word was for it; yet no sooner did I mention it
-to him than his mind rebelled. This time also, it
-was on thy advice that I sought to bribe him by
-the offer of power; but when I offered him the
-Crown, so little did he care that he seemed almost
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>not to have heard me. What better advice, then,
-wilt thou give me now so that my patience may be
-rewarded and my heart obtain its desire?'</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl02"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Dahnash and Meymooneh.<br />
-'At she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his
-tail to be Dahnash.' (<a href="#Page_27">p. 27</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl02.jpg"><img src="images/pl02.jpg" alt="Dahnash and Meymooneh" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>The Vizier answered, 'O King, thy son hath
-presumed on thy forbearance, knowing well thy
-tenderness, and when thou hast spoken with him
-it hath been privately and as a father. But when
-a year hence the time comes to speak with him
-again on this matter, then speak not to him
-privately any more, but before all the people,
-with the emirs and the viziers and the troops
-standing by. Then he will no longer dare to
-oppose thee, since to do so before all those
-witnesses would be an offence treasonable and
-worthy of death.'</p>
-
-<p>So the King accepted the advice of his Vizier,
-and when another year had gone by he summoned
-the Prince to his presence on a day of
-festival, when all about him were the dignitaries
-and chamberlains of his court, the viziers of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>provinces, and the emirs of neighbouring states
-who paid tribute to Shahzaman as their Sultan.
-Thus he sat in all his power and splendour, and
-Camaralzaman came in and drew near, and stood
-before him, being then in his eighteenth year, with
-the early bloom of manhood beginning to show
-upon his cheek. Allah, who loves to give beauty
-to virtue, had clothed him in comeliness and
-crowned his features with joy; his eyes were like
-pools of deep water and their glances flashed like
-a fountain in the sun; and from head to foot
-whether he moved or stood he was perfect in
-dignity and grace.</p>
-
-<p>As he approached, thrice he bent and kissed
-the ground in sign of obedience and reverence,
-and thereafter stood upright, with hands folded
-behind his back, waiting to hear the King's
-pleasure.</p>
-
-<p>Shahzaman spoke. 'Once more, O my son,
-I have sent for thee to declare my will. Twice
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>ere this have I been tender and patient, not
-forcing an inclination that was not ripe. But
-now thou art come to man's estate, and the season
-of waiting is ended. Therefore my command is
-that thou marry a daughter of kings, whom
-presently I shall choose for thee; so shall I have
-joy in thee before I die, seeing the establishment
-of my posterity.'</p>
-
-<p>When Camaralzaman heard these words he
-shut fast his lips and stood speechless for a while.
-But as his eye fell on all those lords assembled as
-witnesses as to what he should say, wrath kindled
-in his blood and the fire of youth mounted to his
-brain and he spoke swiftly and unadvisedly.</p>
-
-<p>'Surely,' he said, 'thou art a man of great age
-and little sense thus to talk, having already been
-answered! Twice before hast thou asked me,
-and twice have I refused. Thinkest thou with all
-these cooks to make a better broth of me, having
-thyself failed? I swear now that rather than
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>marry I will drink the cup of perdition and die:
-for no man shall possess himself of my body to
-give it to another while my will is contrary!'
-And so saying Camaralzaman unclasped his hands
-from behind his back, and rolling up his sleeves
-stood before his father all quivering with anger.</p>
-
-<p>Greatly was Shahzaman, the King, disturbed
-at receiving so public an affront from the son
-whom he loved so tenderly. For a moment he
-sat speechless, seeing in the eyes of those around
-him the reflection of his humiliation and shame;
-then his energy returned to him, and rising from his
-throne he uttered so terrible a cry of wrath that
-at once Camaralzaman became conscious of the
-enormity of his offence, and his hasty anger
-departed leaving only contrition and fear.</p>
-
-<p>Then, at the King's command, the memlooks
-came and seized him, and having first bound his
-hands, dragged him before the throne.</p>
-
-<p>The extremity of Shahzaman's wrath now
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>broke into words, and while the Prince stood
-speechless before him, his head bowed down and
-with drops of anguish upon his brow, he loaded
-him with a volume of abuse which did not spare
-even the Queen's unblemished reputation. 'Woe to
-thee,' he cried, 'baseborn child of iniquity and
-deceit! Is it thus that a King is to be answered
-in the presence of his people? Is it thus that a
-son nurtured in the tenderest affection casts insult
-on the head of his father. Had such language
-been uttered by one of the common people, it had
-been less disgraceful and more pardonable than
-coming from thee.'</p>
-
-<p>Then he commanded the memlooks to take
-him away and imprison him in the deepest
-dungeon of the castle, which had long stood
-neglected and empty.</p>
-
-<p>Servants of the Prince hearing of that order
-went in haste and prepared the chamber for his
-reception; they swept the walls of its cobwebs,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>and wiped the damp from the floors; they placed
-in it a bedstead, and on it laid a mattress and a
-leather covering and cushions; they also provided
-a large lantern and a candle, for even in the
-daytime the place was dark. To this dungeon
-came Camaralzaman escorted by his guard, and
-when all had been made secure and a eunuch set
-outside to keep watch, there they left him.</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman threw himself upon the couch
-weeping, for bitterly now did he repent of his
-injurious conduct to his father; yet even in his
-affliction he ceased not to inveigh against marriage.
-'Malediction upon women!' he cried,
-'alas, why were they invented to give sting to the
-affections and divide father and son! Had Allah
-refrained from creating women, certainly I should
-not have been here!'</p>
-
-<p>Thus in his misfortune did Camaralzaman find
-truths to comfort him. Meanwhile the King, his
-father, was suffering an equal affliction, and lacking
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>the philosophy of youth he sought to find comfort
-in laying the blame for all that had happened upon
-the Grand Vizier. 'See, O Vizier!' he cried,
-'what comes of taking counsel with thee! Thou
-alone hast been the cause of my son's undoing;
-for had I spoken to him privately on this matter
-as aforetime, he would not have answered me otherwise
-than as a son should and in such manner
-as would have made forgiveness possible. Now,
-therefore, since we are brought to this pass by the
-foolishness of thy wisdom, it is for thee to devise
-means by which we may find a remedy.'</p>
-
-<p>The Vizier replied: 'O King, let the Prince
-stay where he is for another fifteen days, so shall
-he have time to cool himself. I doubt not that
-thereafter his mind toward marriage will be all that
-your heart can desire. Better to him then will
-seem the bride's chamber than the stone walls of
-his prison.'</p>
-
-<p>Shahzaman took the Vizier's advice and slept
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>on it, or rather slept not at all, for the loss of his
-son so troubled him that he lay awake all night
-tossing restlessly from side to side and longing for
-the light of day.</p>
-
-<p>Far better did Camaralzaman fare; for when
-night came the eunuch brought lantern and candle,
-and having prepared a table set food before him.
-The Prince ate little and thought much, sorrow
-for his ill-conduct having severed his appetite in
-half, and when he had finished he called for
-water and washed his hands from all taint of
-food; then he performed the ablution preparatory
-to prayer, and recited with his accustomed
-regularity the prayers of sunset and nightfall.
-After that he sat upon the couch reciting
-extracts from the Koran: he recited the chapters
-from 'The Cow' and 'The Family of Emran'
-and 'The Two Preventives'; and having done
-all these things he commended his soul to Allah
-and laid himself down upon the couch, whereon
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>was a mattress of figured satin showing its pattern
-on both sides and stuffed abundantly with ostrich
-plumes. And when sleep drew near he took off
-his outer raiment and clothed himself in a fine
-shirt of waxed linen, and wrapped about his head
-a kerchief of blue muslin so that he seemed like
-the moon on its fourteenth night. Then with
-the lantern at his feet and the candle at his head,
-he covered himself with the sheet and fell into the
-sleep of the just from which he awakened not till
-after the third hour, knowing nought of the hidden
-event which then awaited him, or what Allah, who
-knoweth all secrets, had decreed should befell.</p>
-
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl03"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">The King of China and Badoura.<br />
-'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had
-only pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.' (<a href="#Page_51">p. 51</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl03.jpg"><img src="images/pl03.jpg" alt="The King of China and Badoura" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>Now in the floor of this dungeon was an old
-well malodorous and foul through long disuse;
-and in this well dwelt a female Genie or Efreet,
-named Meymooneh, a monster of bad ancestry and
-of tremendous power to set evil above good. Toward
-midnight, when the hour for her nightly
-wanderings had come, Meymooneh rose up like
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>a bubble from the bottom of the well and lifting
-her head over the brim saw a light which had not
-been there formerly and under it a couch whereon
-lay some one asleep.</p>
-
-<p>Full of wonder, she drew up her feet to earth,
-and advancing, cautiously turned back the coverlet
-from the sleeper's face. Thereafter she stood
-for a whole hour lost in wonder and astonishment
-at the beauty which she found there: perfect
-in all its lines and colour and texture was the
-loveliness of the sleeping youth, and there arose
-from his body an odour like fragrant musk.
-Meymooneh snuffed at it, and her heart became
-enlarged, lifting her thoughts toward Heaven.
-'Blessed be Allah!' she cried, 'surely He must
-be good to have created this thing.' And as she
-continued to gaze, her mind acquired a benevolence
-which had long since been strange to it.
-'By Allah,' she said, 'in no way will I injure
-him; rather will I watch over and protect him
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>from any that may seek to do him harm.' And
-so saying she stooped over the youth and kissed
-him between the eyes.</p>
-
-<p>Then elated of heart she spread her wings
-and smiting the earth with her heel sprang
-upward and floated away into space, till the
-heavens about her were clear. As she rose up
-through clouds she heard above her head a
-flapping of wings, and there passed one she
-knew by his tail to be Dahnash, an Efreet greatly
-inferior in power to herself. After him she went
-like a hawk, pounced and caught him by the scruff.</p>
-
-<p>Dahnash, perceiving into whose clutches he
-had fallen, quivered through all his members, and
-imploring pardon for his existence cried, 'I
-conjure thee by the Most High Name and the
-sign on the Seal of Solomon that this time and
-for the present thou shouldst release me. So
-will I go upon my errand and return presently.'</p>
-
-<p>Then said Meymooneh, 'By the high oath
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>which thou hast sworn, what errand art thou
-after?'</p>
-
-<p>Dahnash answered, 'I have seen once with
-mine eyes that which should make the wicked
-virtuous, and the foul-minded clean; therefore
-I am in haste to make known the story of it to
-others less virtuous than thou art; so that they
-too may see it and find reward.'</p>
-
-<p>'Though I am more virtuous than thou art,'
-replied Meymooneh, 'yet shalt thou tell me thy
-story, else I will pluck off every scale from thy
-body and every feather from thy wings and throw
-thee to the bottomless pit. And if what thou
-tellest be not true then also shalt thou fare as I
-have said.'</p>
-
-<p>Then said Dahnash,' O Meymooneh, if my
-word be not true, invent for me what tortures
-thou wilt and I will accept them. I am come
-to-night from the farthest isles of China, which
-are the dominions of King Gaiour, who is lord
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>also of the Seas and of the Seven Palaces. There
-have I seen the Princess, his daughter, for whom
-also these palaces were built; surely there is none
-like her in all the world! Her hair is as dark
-as the night of separation and exile, and her face
-is like the dawn when lovers meet to embrace;
-her nose hath both point and edge, and her
-cheeks are like petals of anemone filled with
-wine. When she speaks, wisdom flows from her
-tongue; and when she moves, her feet faint with
-delight under the burden of the loveliness laid
-on them. The King's love for her is so great
-that there is no limit to what he will bestow on
-her if only it may add to her happiness; therefore
-in her honour hath he built the seven palaces:
-the first is of crystal, the second of marble, the
-third of steel, the fourth of onyx, the fifth silver,
-the sixth is of inlaid gold, and the seventh of all
-manner of jewels. Also these palaces are most
-sumptuously furnished, and around them lie gardens
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>embellished with everything that can soothe the
-senses and delight the eye. Yet all this is but as
-a shade when the beauty of the Princess shines in
-the midst of it. Because the fame of her incomparable
-loveliness has gone far and wide, many
-kings and powerful princes come to demand her
-hand in marriage. But so tender is the King's
-love for her, that in all these years without her
-free consent he has married her to none. Many
-a time has he sought to persuade her, but it is all
-in vain. 'For where,' says the Princess, 'shall I
-have honour and freedom such as I enjoy now?
-Here I sit at thy side in council and am a ruler
-over men; but if I marry then will my husband
-rule me.' And now there has come to the court
-of King Gaiour, another monarch, so dreaded and
-so powerful that his suit cannot be refused.
-Nevertheless the Princess, whose name is Badoura,
-will not consent; and having threatened to kill
-herself rather than submit, the King now treats
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>her as insane in order to excuse himself, and hath
-shut her up in one of her palaces with ten old
-women to look after her. There she has been
-confined for a whole year, but the imprisonment
-has done nothing either to change her will or
-diminish the enchantment of her beauty. So
-to-night when I saw her lying asleep every evil
-thought and passion died within me, for so holy
-is her beauty that I respected her even as I respect
-myself. Come, Meymooneh, and you shall see
-what is indeed a miracle and a wonder!'</p>
-
-<p>So far had Dahnash proceeded, when Meymooneh
-impatiently interrupted him. First, she
-cuffed him over the head, and then spitting in
-his face cried with laughter, 'O fool, what eyes
-have you to behold beauty, or what tongue to
-tell of it? This Princess that you speak of is,
-I doubt not, a poor insignificant creature not
-worth looking at. What would you say, then,
-if I shewed you my own beloved? Little talk
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>would there be then of this fine Princess of
-yours; you would have but to look at him
-once and you would go crazy with jealousy.'</p>
-
-<p>Dahnash replied humbly, 'O Mistress of
-language and of facts, far be it from me to deny
-beauty that you yourself have verified; but neither
-can I deny that which I, in turn, have beheld and
-think to be incomparable. All I can ask, therefore,
-is that you should accompany me to the bedchamber
-of this adorable Princess, where she now
-lies sleeping, and judge for yourself.'</p>
-
-<p>'Not so,' answered Meymooneh, 'wherefore
-should I travel to the far ends of China merely to
-prove thy folly and thy falsehood? Here close
-at hand is the tower wherein my beloved lies
-prisoner; come, then, and see for yourself the
-face of him whose loveliness even in sleep puts all
-other beauty to scorn.'</p>
-
-<p>So they descended, and passing through the
-roof and floors of the tower came to the dungeon
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>below, where Camaralzaman lay sleeping. There
-by the bedside Meymooneh put forth her hand
-and drew back the sheet; and Dahnash gazed
-with awe and remained silent, for doubt swayed
-him. Nevertheless after a while he said, 'O
-Meymooneh, though my word may seem hard to
-believe, yet do I still say that she whom I saw is
-fairer than this youth; and needs must it be so,
-since the fairest woman is by her sex made fairer
-than the fairest man. But for that, these two
-whom we contend over might be twin flowers
-from the same stem, so like are they.'</p>
-
-<p>When Meymooneh heard that she struck him
-a hard blow over the head with her wing, crying,
-'Go, accursed one, fly back to China, lift up thy
-beloved and bring her quickly to this place; so
-when we see them side by side shall it be manifest
-which one is the more beautiful. Then if I am
-right thou shalt pay forfeit to me, and if thou art
-right I will pay.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>Then with inconceivable swiftness Dahnash
-departed; and within an hour returned bearing
-the Princess in his arms. She was clad in a
-gown of finest silk with two borders of gold,
-and when the Efreet laid her upon the bed beside
-Camaralzaman, the two proved to be so alike that
-they might have been twin brother and sister.
-Nevertheless Meymooneh and Dahnash continued
-to say each to each, 'My beloved is more beautiful
-than thine.' Nor was agreement possible between
-them.</p>
-
-<p>Therefore after much strife, wherein Dahnash,
-though physically worsted, stuck to his opinion,
-they determined to refer the matter to an arbitrator,
-and by his sentence to abide.</p>
-
-<p>Then Meymooneh struck the ground with
-her foot and cried 'Kashkash!' Instantly the
-earth opened and there arose from it an Efreet
-hideous to look upon; he was blind of an eye,
-and lame of a leg, and upon his back he carried a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>hump bigger than the rest of his body; and when
-he saw Meymooneh he prostrated himself before
-her, saying, 'O Mistress and daughter of Kings,
-what dost thou require of me?'</p>
-
-<p>Meymooneh told him of the contention that
-had arisen between them, and showing him the
-Prince and Princess lying side by side called on him
-to say which was the more beautiful of the two.</p>
-
-<p>But Kashkash, having considered them for a
-while with great attention, replied, 'When mortals
-are endowed with such beauty as these, then only
-themselves can decide. Let us, then, awake them
-each in turn, and the one that draws from the
-other the most violent protestations of love and
-admiration shall be esteemed the more beautiful.'</p>
-
-<p>This proposal was approved both by Meymooneh
-and Dahnash.</p>
-
-<p>Thereupon Meymooneh transformed herself
-into a flea, and leaping upon Camaralzaman's
-neck bit him in a soft place. The youth put
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>up his hand and rubbed to allay the smarting;
-then moving sideways he touched something
-that stirred, and starting up saw by his side a
-maiden of most marvellous beauty.</p>
-
-<p>No sooner had he beheld her than all his
-reasons against marriage were confounded and put
-to flight; and he said within his heart, 'What
-God desireth will come to pass, and what He
-desireth not will not happen.' Then taking the
-Princess by the hand, he endeavoured gently to
-rouse her, and ceasing not to invoke her with
-words and kisses of tenderness, he would infallibly
-have awakened her had not Dahnash bound her
-by a spell.</p>
-
-<p>Then, seeing how fast she slept, 'What!'
-cried the Prince, 'must the love of Camaralzaman
-admit an impediment such as this? Awake, O
-beloved!' Carried away by his words he was
-tempted for a moment to assail her rudely, but
-then the nobility of his nature reasserted itself
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>and respect for her beauty and innocence constrained
-him. Then he bethought himself, and
-said, 'Doubtless this is the honourable maiden to
-whom the King, my father, intended to marry
-me. Oh why, instead of argument, did he not
-show me her face? So would none of this
-trouble have come about!'</p>
-
-<p>Then perceiving upon the Princess's finger a
-ring, he drew it off and exchanged it for his own,
-saying, 'Since I may not yet possess myself of the
-owner I will take this.' And having so done, he
-turned his back to her and slept.</p>
-
-<p>Then Meymooneh, jealous of the testimony
-which Camaralzaman had given to the Princess's
-beauty, transformed herself again into a flea, and
-entering beneath the clothes of Badoura, the beloved
-of Dahnash, bit her sharply; whereupon
-she opened her eyes and sat up; and there at her
-side beheld a youth snoring in his sleep, with eyelashes
-shading roseate cheeks and a mouth like
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>the seal of Solomon. No sooner had she seen
-him than her heart was filled with contending
-emotions. 'Oh me!' she cried, 'what disgrace
-is this that has come upon me to be lying in
-the same bed with a stranger? But, by Allah,
-he is so beautiful that I have much ado not to
-love him to distraction. Nay, if this be the
-Prince who came demanding my hand in
-marriage of my father, I would have been willing
-to marry him ten times over had I but known
-beforehand.'</p>
-
-<p>So saying she seized Camaralzaman by the arm
-and shook him so violently that, saving for the
-enchantment, he must surely have awakened.</p>
-
-<p>Thereat she lost patience. 'Self-satisfied
-youth,' she cried, 'is this the way to behave to a
-Princess upon the night of her bridal? What?
-has so much beauty made thee proud?' Then as
-love began to devour her heart, 'O my lord,' she
-cried, 'light of mine eyes, and moon of my existence,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>arise, awake out of sleep!' And forthwith
-seizing his hand she began kissing it. While she
-was doing so she saw her ring upon his little finger,
-and uttered a cry of astonishment; while even
-greater became her amaze when she found upon
-her own hand a strange ring. This, she thought,
-must surely mean that she had become wedded to
-him in her sleep, so putting away all false modesty
-and fear she lay down again by his side, and fell
-fast asleep.</p>
-
-<p>Then Meymooneh and Dahnash, seeing how
-evenly between the pair the balance of love and
-admiration was divided, composed their difference;
-and Dahnash, taking the sleeping Princess upon
-his shoulder, carried her back to China.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">When Camaralzaman awoke the next morning
-to find no maiden at his side, he supposed that
-the King, his father, had caused her to be carried
-away secretly, in order that thereby his desire for
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>her might be increased. So he called to the slave
-who guarded him and said, 'Tell me of the lady
-who slept with me last night: how came she, and
-who brought her?'</p>
-
-<p>The slave replied, 'O Prince, there was no
-lady; how could any lady get in while I slept all
-night across the doorway, and had the key?'</p>
-
-<p>This answer so infuriated the Prince that he
-fetched the slave a buffet which knocked him
-over; then tying him to the well rope he let
-him down into the well, though it was the middle
-of winter; and this he continued to do, now up,
-now down, saying as he did so, 'When thou hast
-told me the truth I will let thee go.'</p>
-
-<p>After a while the unfortunate slave, at the last
-gasp for wretchedness, cried, 'O Prince, restore to
-me my life and I will tell thee all.'</p>
-
-<p>So Camaralzaman drew him up and laid him to
-drain upon the floor.</p>
-
-<p>Then the eunuch, with shiverings and chattering
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>of teeth, said, 'Alas, Master, in my present
-plight I have not tongue nor wits to tell thee the
-whole story. Suffer me to go hence and get dry,
-then will I return.' So Camaralzaman let him go.</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl04"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Camaralzaman as an Astrologer.<br />
-'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down
-and bring the Astrologer in."' (<a href="#Page_67">p. 67</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl04.jpg"><img src="images/pl04.jpg" alt="Camaralzaman as an Astrologer" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>Off ran the eunuch, and without stopping came
-even as he was into the presence of Shahzaman, the
-King. Shahzaman was complaining to the Grand
-Vizier of the misery he had endured and the restless
-night he had passed, when the slave entered all
-a-drench with wetness and forthwith uttered his
-tidings. 'O King,' he cried, 'insanity hath seized
-on thy son, and thus hath he done to me! He
-saith there hath been a lady in his bed, when
-there hath been no lady; and because I cannot
-tell him how she came or how she went, or where
-now he can find her, see from what a drowning I
-have escaped!'</p>
-
-<p>When the King heard these words his sorrow
-for his son and his wrath against the Vizier knew
-no bounds. 'Go, accursed,' he cried, 'this is thy
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>doing. Go to the Prince and discover the true
-cause of his malady; then come again and tell me.'</p>
-
-<p>So the Vizier hastened, treading upon his
-skirts as he went forth in fear of the King's anger,
-and coming to the tower found the Prince not mad
-at all, but seated upon the couch reciting verses
-from the Koran with the utmost composure.</p>
-
-<p>'O Prince,' cried the Vizier, 'the mere sight
-of thee relieves me of affliction; but so have I the
-more reason to complain of that vile slave who
-attends on thee, and hath said shameful things
-concerning thee to thy father, the King.'</p>
-
-<p>'I also,' answered the Prince, 'have great
-reason to complain of him; but let that be for
-a while, and tell me now what has become of the
-lady who slept with me last night? For I know my
-father must have sent her to me for a just purpose,
-and to cure me of my folly: which indeed she hath
-done. So let that sweet remedy return to me and
-you shall find me sane.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>'Of a truth, Prince,' replied the Vizier, 'the
-King, thy father, sent no lady to thee, and all
-that thou sayest now is mystery. Bethink thee,
-shut in here a prisoner, how canst thou have seen
-any lady with thine eyes except in a dream?'</p>
-
-<p>'O ill-omened old man,' cried the Prince,
-'thou wilt be saying next that I saw her only
-with my ears!' And approaching the Vizier he
-seized him by the beard, which was long, and
-twisting it this way and that, cried, 'Tell me
-the truth, or I will treat thee as I did the slave!'</p>
-
-<p>Then the Vizier, to save himself from further
-ill-treatment, replied even as the slave had done,
-and said, 'O Prince, I am not free to reveal the
-secrets of my master, but I will take to him any
-message wherewith you may be pleased to entrust
-me.'</p>
-
-<p>'Go, then,' answered the Prince, 'and tell my
-father that I repent of my former words and
-will marry the lady he sent to me last night,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>but no other, though he should put me to a
-thousand deaths!'</p>
-
-<p>So the Vizier, as soon as Camaralzaman had
-let go of his beard, returned in haste to the King
-and said to him, 'O my lord, what the slave says
-is true; the Prince hath been seized with insanity
-of the most violent kind; yea, he heareth with
-his eyes, and seeth with his ears, and declareth
-a lady hath slept with him, whom he will marry
-and no other.'</p>
-
-<p>Then Shahzaman went himself to see the
-Prince and to learn the truth of this matter, for
-he doubted the Vizier's word. And when he
-came to the prison, his son received him with so
-much respect, and contrition and devotion, that
-he turned upon the Vizier with eyes of anger
-and reproach, crying, 'O wretch, why hast thou
-afflicted me with lies?' But the Vizier only
-shook his head sorrowfully, waiting for the truth
-to reveal itself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>Then said the King, 'O my son, what day
-of the week is it?' Camaralzaman answered,
-'To-day is Saturday, to-morrow is Sunday,
-the next day is Monday, then comes Tuesday,
-then Wednesday, then Thursday and then
-Friday.'</p>
-
-<p>'Praise be to Allah!' cried the King, 'my
-son is not mad, for he knows the days of the
-week.' Then he said to Camaralzaman, 'Tell
-me, my son, who is this lady who, you say, slept
-with you last night; for truly I know nothing
-about her.'</p>
-
-<p>'O my lord,' replied the Prince, 'I pray that
-you cease to mock me, for though I have deserved
-it through my folly, yet now am I ready and
-eager to marry this lady whom you have chosen
-for me, since her beauty delights me, and her
-manners, even in her sleep, fascinate me.'</p>
-
-<p>On hearing these words the King was as
-much astonished as the Vizier had been; but the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>countenance of his son was so full of ingenuousness
-and truth that he was not as incredulous as
-the others had been before him. 'I swear to
-you, my son,' said he, 'that I know nothing of
-this matter. What my Vizier has told you, he
-invented to appease your anger. But now tell
-me everything, just as it happened, for whether
-it be true or no, this event has given me cause
-for rejoicing.'</p>
-
-<p>Then the Prince sat down by his father's
-side and told him everything, and when he had
-finished he showed him the ring for proof that
-his tale was true; and the King was so convinced
-by his son's manner and by all the incidents
-of the story, that he had not a word to say
-against it.</p>
-
-<p>Therefore was his heart uplifted, and he said
-to Camaralzaman, 'Though all these things be
-mysteries in the hands of Allah, so deep that we
-may not fathom them, yet now hast thou convinced
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>me that thou art not as was said of thee.
-Keep, therefore, that precious mind to which
-Heaven hath given light, and possess thyself in
-patience till the mystery hath resolved itself.'</p>
-
-<p>But Camaralzaman replied, 'Alas, O my
-father, to what term of imprisonment dost thou
-now condemn me? for if thou canst not find for
-me this maiden who hath ravished my heart, surely
-I shall die of anguish. So great is my love and
-my distraction that I cannot wait for her even
-an hour.'</p>
-
-<p>Upon this the King smote his palms together,
-and cried, 'Now are we in the hands of Allah,
-where no mortal power can avail!' Then he took
-his son gently by the hand and led him back to
-the palace: and there the Prince threw himself
-down upon a bed of sickness, too weak to rise or
-look up: and Shahzaman seated himself at his
-side, mourning and weeping for his grief, and
-leaving him neither by day or night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>But after a while his Vizier came to him and
-said, 'O King of the Age, how long shall thy
-people seek for thee, and not find thee? Thy
-troops murmur that they have none to lead them
-to the field, and in the city corruption grows rife
-because the seat of judgment stays empty. This
-sickness into which the Prince has fallen comes
-only from grief; and as his grief increases thine,
-so does thine give nourishment to his. Therefore
-I entreat your Majesty to provide some
-better relief for the complaint both of the
-Prince and of the people. Here in the city
-his spirits languish and his strength returns
-not; but take him to the palace which is upon
-the shore looking toward the islands; there shall
-his soul, on the days when thou art absent,
-find peace and refreshment. And do thou, O
-King, on two days in each week return to the
-affairs of state, which need thy presence, to give
-audiences and to hold councils, else out of these
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>two evils which are upon us there may grow a
-greater.'</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl05"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Camaralzaman Cures Badoura.<br />
-'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.' (<a href="#Page_71">p. 71</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl05.jpg"><img src="images/pl05.jpg" alt="Camaralzaman Cures Badoura" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>So Shahzaman did as his Vizier advised him,
-and caused the Prince to be carried, all wasted as
-he was with grief, to a pavilion which was upon
-the shore, and there on the days when affairs of
-state caused the King to be absent Camaralzaman
-lay and looked out over the sea.</p>
-
-
-<p>While these things were happening in the
-land of Khaledan, Dahnash had conveyed the
-Princess of China safely back to her own bed.
-There the next morning she awoke, unstained by
-travel and with her raiment undisturbed; nor was
-she conscious that she had been anywhere but
-where she now was. No sooner, therefore, did she
-perceive on looking to left and right that the
-youth who had lain in her bosom was no longer
-near her than her heart became agitated and her
-reason confounded, and she uttered a loud cry.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>All her women came running; and her nurse,
-who was the chief, inquired what misfortune had
-befallen her. The Princess, who continued to
-search among the bedclothes, said, 'Vexatious and
-contrary old woman, what have you done with the
-beautiful youth who slept last night in my bosom,
-or how comes it that I have mislaid him?'</p>
-
-<p>At these words the nurse was shocked in her
-morals and confounded in her understanding, and
-she answered, 'O mistress, what mean these
-disgraceful words! Surely thy bosom is guiltless
-of any such deed, and no youth, whether beautiful
-or otherwise, has been near thee.'</p>
-
-<p>Badoura answered, 'He had black eyes and a
-lovely face, and a mouth like the seal of Solomon,
-and his eyebrows were joined where I kissed
-them; and he was here sleeping at my side from
-nightfall to nigh upon daybreak.'</p>
-
-<p>'Princess,' answered her nurse, 'thou hast
-had an unpermissible dream and art talking non-sense.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>No such young man hath been near thee,
-nor would I have permitted it.'</p>
-
-<p>Then the Princess lifting her hand in anger
-saw upon it the ring which Camaralzaman had
-given her in exchange for her own, and cried to
-her nurse, 'Woe to thee, O deceitful! Have I
-also dreamed this ring which is not mine and lost
-that which belonged to me?' And so saying she
-started to belabour her nurse so unmercifully, that
-she would assuredly have killed her had not all
-the other women and the eunuchs lifted up their
-voices in lamentation; whereupon the Princess,
-who greatly disliked loud noises, desisted.</p>
-
-<p>So the nurse, escaping from her vengeance,
-fled and acquainted the King with all that had
-happened and with the story which the Princess
-had told her.</p>
-
-<p>The King came in haste and found that
-which till now he had only pretended concerning
-his daughter apparently come true. For excess of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>reason had fled to her brain, and rushing this way
-and that she was searching for her beloved in every
-cupboard, and under every article of furniture,
-crying, 'Where is the beautiful youth who slept
-in my bosom last night? He belongs to me; he
-is mine. If I do not find him I shall die.'</p>
-
-<p>When her father saw and heard this he
-inquired no further, but ordered the slaves and
-eunuchs to seize her, and bind her with chains
-lest she should do herself or others an injury.</p>
-
-<p>So they put a chain about her neck and
-fastened her to a window of the palace looking
-toward the sea, that so by the will of Allah her
-thoughts might have rest and her reason be restored.
-And the King, loving her tenderly and
-greatly distressed at the condition she had fallen
-into, caused a proclamation to be issued to all
-sages, astrologers, and men skilled in such matters
-saying, 'Whosoever shall cure my daughter of her
-present malady, to him will I give her hand in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>marriage together with the half of my kingdom;
-and whoso fails to cure her, having offered, his
-head will I strike off and set it above the gates of
-my palace as a warning to others.' This he
-continued to do till forty of the wisest physicians
-and astrologers had lost their heads. Then
-the supply foiled; and the Princess, whom
-the offer of any husband other than the one she
-sighed for threw into paroxysms of wrath, was as
-far from a cure at the end as at the beginning.
-Thus she remained for the space of three years,
-sitting at a window with a chain about her neck
-and looking out over the sea.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">Now the nurse of the Princess Badoura had a
-son named Marzavan, who was a great traveller.
-He was foster-brother to the Princess; when they
-were children she had been to him as his own
-sister; and the two loved each other tenderly.
-So on the day when he returned from his travels
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>he went to the palace to get tidings of the
-Princess, and there over the gates were ranged the
-heads of the forty wise men. This surprised him
-greatly, and when on inquiring into the matter
-he learned the cause, he heard also of the unhappy
-state into which the Princess had fallen. The
-news troubled him far more deeply than the death
-of forty wise men who had been found foolish,
-but, unwilling to trust to the judgment of others
-in such a case, being himself also well skilled in
-medicine, he besought his mother to obtain for
-him an interview with the Princess.</p>
-
-<p>This was a difficult matter, for the door of the
-chamber was strictly guarded, and no one had
-access to it except the nurse herself. So urgent,
-however, was her son's entreaty, that at last she
-consented and set about finding the means. To
-this end she said to the eunuch who was on guard
-at the door, 'You know well my devotion to the
-Princess, and my desire to do anything that may
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>alleviate her affliction, therefore I am come to ask
-you for a favour. I have a daughter whom my
-mistress from her earliest childhood, when I
-nursed them together, has ever regarded with the
-tenderest affection. She has lately married, and
-the Princess, hearing of this event, has expressed
-a wish to see her. Allow this to be; and do
-not doubt that Heaven will reward you for your
-goodness.'</p>
-
-<p>The eunuch readily consented in spite of the
-strictness of his orders. 'Let her come at night,'
-he said, 'or bring her yourself, after the King has
-retired: then the door shall be open and no one
-need know of it.'</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, the next night, the nurse disguised
-Marzavan in woman's attire, and taking his
-hand in hers led him to the palace. The eunuch
-let them pass without suspicion; but as soon as
-they were in the Princess's presence, and the door
-shut behind them, the nurse said, 'O mistress, I
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>have brought gladness to you to-night; for this is
-no woman but my son Marzavan, who, having returned
-from his travels, wished greatly to see you.'
-No sooner did the Princess hear the name of
-Marzavan than she sprang joyfully forward, the
-full length of her chain, and being held back by it,
-she stretched her hands toward him, crying, 'O
-brother, come to me!' When Marzavan beheld
-her in that unhappy plight, then for weeping he
-could not look at her, but turned away his head
-and covered his eyes. Then said Badoura, 'Dost
-thou also think that I am mad like the rest of
-them? Nay, hear my story and be undeceived,
-for it is true.'</p>
-
-<p>Then she told Marzavan everything; and he,
-perceiving that she was in love, doubted no longer,
-for he knew that such passion and such a desire
-for beauty could arise neither out of madness nor
-of a dream. So when she besought his aid, he
-pondered deeply what he might do, and then said,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>'O sister, have patience yet a little while, and I
-will go search through the world for thy missing
-friend. Be assured that if he lives I will find him.'
-Then they embraced as brother and sister in full
-affection; and Marzavan departed.</p>
-
-<p>The next day he set out once more upon his
-travels, and continued to journey from city to city,
-and island to island for the space of some months.
-At first, wherever he went, he heard men speaking
-of the beauty of the Princess Badoura and of the
-strange malady that afflicted her; but presently, as
-he changed from country to country, her name
-ceased to be upon men's lips, and he heard instead
-of one by name Camaralzaman, a prince of the
-Islands of Khaledan, who for three years had
-suffered from a grievous affliction of body and a
-desolation of spirit to which there seemed no
-remedy.</p>
-
-<p>Marzavan did not delay when he heard that
-story; but inquiring for the nearest route he took
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>ship and sailed from the city of Torf, where these
-tidings had first reached him, to the islands of
-Khaledan, a whole month's voyage; and all the
-way he was glad so that his heart sang. But on
-the day when the ship approached the dominions
-of Shahzaman, there arose a great storm which
-broke the mast and carried away the sail and
-capsized the vessel.</p>
-
-<p>Marzavan, thrown overboard with the rest, was
-caught by a strong current and carried shorewards;
-and as fate would have it, since the destiny of all
-are in the hands of the Most High, the current
-bore him toward that part of the coast where stood
-the palace of the King; and there at that time, in
-the pavilion looking toward the sea, sat Shahzaman
-attended by his Vizier; and the head of Camaralzaman
-lay upon his lap; and a eunuch was whisking
-the flies from him.</p>
-
-<p>The Vizier, looking out from the terrace, saw
-in the water below him the shipwrecked Marzavan,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>tossed this way and that and unable to land;
-so his heart was moved with pity and he came
-running to the King and crying, 'Permit me, O
-my lord, to open the gates of the court and put
-forth my hand to save yonder man who is now
-drowning. For since a just action is never without
-reward, it may be he shall bring us good.'</p>
-
-<p>Shahzaman replied, 'Thou art the cause of all
-our trouble, and I doubt not that coming by thy
-hand this drowning man will bring us more. Yet
-I cannot forbid thee to save his life: only be sure
-that he comes not near us to spy upon my son in
-his affliction and report it to others. If he do, his
-head and thine shall be forfeit.'</p>
-
-<p>So the Vizier ran, and opening the gates of the
-court leaned down, and caught Marzavan by the
-hair and drew him up to dry land. And Marzavan
-came forth from the sea all lost to consciousness,
-his stomach filled with water and his eyes protruding.
-The Vizier waited till his spirit had returned
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>to him; then he took from him his clothes and
-clad him in others and put on his head the turban
-of an attendant and said to him, 'Now, as I have
-saved thy life, do my bidding and save mine also.
-Cast down thine eyes, speak not, look not into any
-chamber as we go, but follow closely where I lead
-lest worse befall thee.'</p>
-
-<p>Then said Marzavan, 'What is this peril that I
-am not to see?'</p>
-
-<p>The Vizier answered, 'It is the King's son,
-who is sorely afflicted for the loss of a fair damsel
-that came to him but once and is gone again, none
-knows where. That is the story, and on pain of
-death all who hear it must believe it.' And the
-Vizier sighed heavily, for at this time life was hard
-to him and belief difficult.</p>
-
-<p>When the half-drowned Marzavan heard that,
-his heart went up like a singing bird, and he skipt
-at the Vizier's heels like a squirrel. And when
-they came by the chamber where Camaralzaman
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>was lying, with the King seated beside him,
-then Marzavan turned swiftly and went in
-and stood before him; and no sooner had he
-seen the Prince than, with an exclamation of joy,
-he cried: 'Extolled be the perfection of him
-who hath given beauty its pair! Lo, the eyes are
-hers, the complexion is hers, the lips and the
-cheeks are hers!'</p>
-
-<p>At these words the knees of the Vizier went
-from under him, and he prayed succour of death:
-but on the heart of Camaralzaman there descended
-a coolness and a refreshment, and turning his
-tongue in his mouth, he signalled with his hand
-to Shahzaman to make the young man sit down.</p>
-
-<p>The King seeing the look of joy upon his son's
-face easily forgave the intrusion which had earned
-death; and having placed Marzavan in the seat at
-the Prince's side, he bade him recount his history
-and whence and why he came.</p>
-
-<p>So Marzavan told of the country from which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>he had come and of its King and people, and of
-all the events of his journey, but of the real cause
-which had brought him he said nothing. And the
-Prince listened and waited, for he saw that something
-was concealed: and all the while, since hope
-had returned to him, his countenance grew bright
-and his strength of body increased. So presently
-he made a sign for his father to raise him to a sitting
-posture; and the King, full of joy, lifted him,
-and placed cushions behind him and under him.
-Thus after three years of lying down did Camaralzaman
-sit up. So after a while Shahzaman, seeing
-how by the conversation of Marzavan the Prince
-was restored to health, went away and left them;
-and the Vizier departed also.</p>
-
-<p>Then, seeing that they were alone, Marzavan
-spoke low in the ear of Camaralzaman saying, 'O
-Prince, thy sorrow is at an end; for she whom
-thou lovest is the Princess Badoura, daughter of
-the King of China and my own foster-sister: and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>I am come through the world seeking thee because
-of my devotion to her, who, for love of thee, now
-lieth in chains. All that hath happened unto thee
-with thy father hath happened to her also with
-her father, yea, and worse things also.' So he
-went on and told him all.</p>
-
-<p>Now when Camaralzaman had heard the story
-of the Princess, and of her sufferings and constancy,
-and of all the useless cures for her malady
-that had been tried, his heart was divided in its
-joy by an overflowing of sorrow, even as a rich
-country is divided and broken by a stream when
-it floods its banks; and he said to Marzavan,
-'Alas! how may I bring her the true cure, seeing
-that we dwell in such different parts of the world,
-and my father will not suffer me to be out of his
-sight even for one day?'</p>
-
-<p>Marzavan answered, 'For thy health's sake
-he will allow thee that one, and it shall suffice.
-For to-morrow thou shalt say to him, "Let me go
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>out into the hills for a day and a night, that I may
-hunt and recover my strength," and surely he shall
-not deny it to thee. And when thou hast found
-that for which thou art in search, I know that thou
-wilt return to him. But we will take with us two
-spare horses and saddlebags, with money sufficient
-for our journey, and when we have started upon
-our way I will provide, so that we may not be
-pursued and overtaken.'</p>
-
-<p>At these words the Prince rejoiced greatly,
-and it all came about even as Marzavan had
-planned. For on the morrow the King, rejoicing
-that his son's health was so quickly restored,
-granted him the permission he sought, saying
-only, 'Be not absent, my son, longer than one
-night, for while thou art away from me I have no
-joy left.' Camaralzaman answered, 'The night
-of sorrow will end, then shall I return.' So he
-took leave of his father and departed.</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl06"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman.<br />
-'The Prince sow the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large
-stone.' (<a href="#Page_75">p. 75</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl06.jpg"><img src="images/pl06.jpg" alt="Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>For the whole of that day until the evening
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>Camaralzaman and Marzavan went in the direction
-they had chosen, setting their laces for the open
-country and the seaport lying beyond. And
-when it was night they ate and drank, fed their
-beasts, and rested for a while; then they remounted
-and journeyed on. At daybreak they
-came to a spacious tract of forest; there Marzavan
-took one of the led horses and killed it, stripping
-the flesh from its bones; next he took the garments
-which Camaralzaman had worn on the
-previous day, and after tearing them this way and
-that daubed them with blood.</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman inquired why he did this: and
-Marzavan answered, 'When we return not great
-search will be made for thee, and I doubt not, if
-it went far enough, we should be overtaken. But
-when the searchers come upon this they will
-suppose that a wild beast has fallen upon thee and
-devoured thee; and that I, fearing the King's
-wrath, have fled away. Doubtless the news will
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>bring great sorrow to thy father's heart; but
-when thou returnest with thine errand safely
-accomplished, he shall be recompensed with
-joy.'</p>
-
-<p>The Prince sorrowfully commended the plan
-which Marzavan had devised for the safety of their
-enterprise; and so they continued upon their way
-unmolested, and after much travelling by land and
-water, and many adventures not to be told of here,
-they arrived at the capital of the dominions of
-King Gaiour, where the Princess Badoura lay in
-captivity.</p>
-
-<p>Marzavan did not take Camaralzaman to his
-own house, but to a public khan, where for
-three days they remained recovering from the
-fatigues of their journey. Then, having clothed
-the Prince in the garb of a merchant-doctor
-with all the signs and instruments of his calling,
-he conducted him to the gates of the palace;
-standing before which Camaralzaman began, on
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>the instructions of Marzavan, to cry in a loud
-voice, 'Look at me, for I am learned! Marvel
-at me, for I am wise! I am the healer, the
-calculator, the astrologer; I know the cause
-of all maladies and their cure. If any one, be
-he king or peasant, is in affliction, let him come
-to me!'</p>
-
-<p>The people were greatly astonished to hear
-once more an astrologer so bold of tongue; and
-pitying him for his youth and wondering at the
-beauty of his form, they pointed to the heads
-which were over the palace gates, saying, 'While
-there is time save thyself; for if the King hear
-thee thy head will be joined to those.'</p>
-
-<p>Nevertheless Camaralzaman continued to cry
-with a loud voice; till at last the King heard him,
-and said to his Vizier, 'Go down, and bring this
-astrologer in.'</p>
-
-<p>So the Vizier went out and fetched him, and
-Camaralzaman came and bowed himself before the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>King. And when the King looked at him, his
-heart also was moved with pity toward the
-stranger, as the heart of the people had been,
-because of his youth and the beauty of his form.
-And he said to him, 'My son, comply not with my
-conditions; for I have bound myself with an oath,
-and whoso goes in to visit my daughter but cannot
-cure her, his head must I strike off; and of a
-truth you have but to look over my palace gate to
-see that her malady is obstinate. Nevertheless if
-you can cure her she is yours, and the half of my
-kingdom is yours also.'</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman said, 'To those conditions, O
-King, I am agreed!' Then the King, sighing
-heavily, sent for the eunuch and bade him conduct
-the astrologer to the apartment of the
-Princess.</p>
-
-<p>The eunuch led the way; but when they were
-come to the corridor wherein Badoura's chamber
-was situated, so great was the joy of the Prince
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>that he hastened and went before; and the eunuch
-called after him, 'Tarry, good sir, and be not so
-hasty before the event, for I alone have the key
-that shall bring thee to thy death! Never was
-any other astrologer in such haste to depart from
-life as thou.'</p>
-
-<p>'Friend,' answered Camaralzaman, 'they had
-not such science as I have to make them glad:
-for they could not tell what the end would be, but
-I know it already, nay, even without entering that
-door of which thou hast the key I can cure the
-Princess of her malady.'</p>
-
-<p>The eunuch, astonished to be met with so
-much confidence, ceased from his taunts, and admitted
-the Prince to the ante-chamber. 'If thou
-canst do that,' he said, 'thou art indeed the wonder
-of the world. Truly were I only permitted to
-see such a marvel accomplished, I should account
-myself rich.'</p>
-
-<p>Thereupon Camaralzaman seated himself
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>against the curtain which divided the outer from
-the inner chamber and wrote the following prescription:</p>
-
-<p>'He whom estrangement hath afflicted is cured
-when the vow of the beloved is accomplished; and
-the heart of exile findeth restoration in union with
-that which was lost. Love alone can heal those
-whom love hath persecuted.'</p>
-
-<p>Underneath this prescription he added the
-following words:</p>
-
-<p>'From the distracted, the passionate, the perplexed,
-the famished with longing, the captive of
-transport and ardent desire, Camaralzaman, son of
-Shahzaman, King of Khaledan, to the peerless one
-of her age, the pre-eminent among Hooris, the
-Princess Badoura, daughter of Gaiour, King of
-the Isles of China and lord of the seven Palaces.
-Behold the slave of the ring who, sleepless and
-inflamed by love, now awaits the call of his Beloved.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>Then, having enclosed the ring which at their
-first meeting he had exchanged for his own, he
-sealed the missive, and putting it into the hands
-of the eunuch bade him carry it to his mistress.</p>
-
-<p>No sooner had the Princess Badoura received
-the missive and the ring than she knew at once
-from whom it came. Whereupon joy overthrew
-her reason, and leaping up in a transport of exultation
-she pressed her feet against the wall, and breaking
-the chains which bound her ran forth and
-threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.</p>
-
-<p>Speechless with joy she kissed him without
-ceasing; even as a pigeon when it feeds its young,
-so upon the lips of Camaralzaman fell the kisses of
-the Princess Badoura. Then came the nurse, crying
-aloud for gladness to behold the joy of her
-mistress and the healing of her malady accomplished;
-and presently after her came the King.
-For to him had run the eunuch in swift haste
-bringing tidings of the event&mdash;how that without
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>entering her chamber the astrologer had cured
-her. 'What?' cried the King, 'can such news
-be true?' 'O my lord,' answered the eunuch,
-'let thine own eyes look upon her and be blest;
-for she hath broken her chains of iron, and coming
-forth to the astrologer she falleth upon him and
-kisseth him, and never will she let him go.'</p>
-
-<p>So Gaiour the King came and found it even
-as the eunuch had said. Full of joy to behold so
-sweet a sight, he embraced first the Princess and
-then the Prince, thanking him with tears of gratitude
-for the debt which he owed him. And when
-he inquired further and learned of Camaralzaman
-his name, and his true rank, and of the country
-from which he came, with all the strange story of
-his love and the grief of his separation, then his
-satisfaction and delight knew no bounds. And so
-on that very day the nuptials were celebrated, and
-word of rejoicing went forth through the whole of
-the King's dominions.</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl07"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds.<br />
-'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another
-with beak and claw.' (<a href="#Page_90">p. 90</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl07.jpg"><img src="images/pl07.jpg" alt="Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>The hearts of Prince Camaralzaman and his
-bride were now so full of happiness that for many
-months they wist not the passing of time, and
-waking or sleeping it seemed to them as one day.
-But while their joy thus decked itself in the colours
-of immortality, the Prince one night had a dream,
-wherein he beheld his father, Shahzaman, lying
-as at the point of death. And in his dream it
-seemed that he heard him say, 'O my son, whom
-in thy grief I so tenderly cherished, wherefore
-hast thou acted thus, leaving me in my old age to
-die alone?'</p>
-
-<p>So sharp was the sting of that dream upon
-his conscience that, sighing, the Prince woke;
-and his wife hearing him made inquiry as to his
-grief. 'Alas!' answered Camaralzaman, 'in
-my happiness with thee I had forgotten my
-father.' And thereupon he recounted his dream.
-So the next day the Princess Badoura went to
-her father, and having told him all, besought
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>leave for Camaralzaman to return for a while to
-his own land so that he might comfort his father
-in his old age.</p>
-
-<p>The King readily granted his daughter's
-request. Then said Badoura, 'If my husband
-goes I must go too.' 'Why so?' inquired her
-father. 'Because,' said she, 'if you separate us
-there is no power in the world that shall keep
-me alive.'</p>
-
-<p>Now the King had learned during the years
-of his daughter's captivity, that anything which
-she said she meant. Therefore with much grief
-and reluctance at being so compelled, he granted
-her request; and having accorded them permission
-to be absent for a whole year, he made
-preparation for their departure. In order that
-they might appear at the court of Shahzaman in
-the splendour that became their rank, he presented
-them with many changes of costly apparel, and
-having provided a large train of horses, dromedaries,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>and attendants, he bade them an affectionate
-farewell, and with many tears watched them
-depart.</p>
-
-<p>For a whole month Camaralzaman and his bride
-travelled in comfort and luxury by the route that
-they had chosen, and greatly was the Prince's
-heart rejoiced by the thought of seeing his
-father once more and presenting to his eyes the
-lovely and innocent cause of all their past affliction.
-Therefore, early and late they journeyed
-on, only stopping to rest at night and during
-the heat of each day.</p>
-
-<p>And so it chanced that one day, about noon,
-they came to a spacious meadow shaded by trees,
-and there at the Prince's command the tents were
-pitched; and the Princess went into her pavilion
-and lay down to sleep.</p>
-
-<p>Now when she lay down, the heat being very
-great, she took off her outer robe and her girdle.
-And the Prince, coming in later, saw the girdle
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>lying, and knotted within its folds a large stone,
-red as blood, inscribed with strange characters
-which, in the darkness of the tent, he could not
-read. Being curious, therefore, to see what
-words were upon this talisman which the Princess
-carried so secretly in her apparel, he unfastened
-the knot, and taking the knot went forth
-from the tent to examine it.</p>
-
-<p>Scarcely had he done so when, with a strange
-cry, a bird swooped down from the tree above his
-head, caught up the stone in its beak, and flew
-away with it. Camaralzaman, fearing to lose
-what, for all he knew, might be a precious
-talisman, ran after the bird, throwing up his arms,
-shouting and endeavouring in all possible ways
-to make it let go the stone. But the bird flew
-on from tree to tree, and from valley to valley,
-never so fast that Camaralzaman could not keep
-pace with it, but never coming within his reach,
-or letting go of the talisman. So the flight went
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>on and so the chase continued, till several hours
-had passed and it began to grow dark. Then the
-bird, uttering once more its strange cry, went
-up to the topmost branch of a high tree and
-settled itself to roost.</p>
-
-<p>The pursuit had now led Camaralzaman so
-far and in so many directions, that he no longer
-knew which way to turn. So, commending himself
-to Allah, he lay down at the foot of the tree
-and slept.</p>
-
-<p>In the morning, with a loud rustling of
-feathers, the bird awakened him, and still carrying
-the stone in its beak, sprang out of the tree and
-continued its flight. And as Camaralzaman rose
-and followed, it presently became apparent that
-at whatever rate he went, the bird went too;
-so when he ran the bird flew fast, and when he
-could run no more it waited for him, flying from
-point to point and never disappearing from view.</p>
-
-<p>'By Allah!' cried Camaralzaman, 'this is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>wonderful! This chase will lead me either to
-great fortune or to death.' So without giving
-up he went on; and thus he followed the bird
-for ten days, living upon roots and drinking of
-the streams that he crossed; and every night he
-slept at the foot of some tree while the bird
-perched in its topmost branches.</p>
-
-<p>Thus on the tenth day he was brought to the
-outskirts of a large city. Then, like a flash, the
-bird flew over it and disappeared; and Camaralzaman
-following, footsore and weary, came to the
-city gates and passed through. Here for some
-time he wandered, solitary and without hope,
-not knowing what to do nor of whom to seek
-aid; and coming presently to the other side of
-the city, he found there a harbour with much
-shipping and merchandise, and people plying
-their trade and talking in many languages. And
-as he walked along the shore, still uncertain what
-course to pursue, he came upon an old man
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>working in a garden of flowers; and when he
-halted the old man looked up.</p>
-
-<p>The gardener, seeing a stranger at his gate,
-came forward, and saluting him in the name of
-Allah, bade him come in. 'I see by your dress,'
-said he, 'that you are a Mussulman, as I also
-am; and great is your good fortune to have
-escaped until now the wrath of the inhabitants,
-for they are unbelievers and idolaters, and fierce
-is their hatred for those who are of the true faith.
-Therefore come quickly into my house, and
-disguise yourself; else is your life not safe.'</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman was thankful to have found a
-friend in such a moment of need; and after his
-host had supplied him with food and drink and
-made him rest for a while, then without concealment
-he confided to him the whole of his story.
-Greater than ever had now become his longing
-to reach the island of Khaledan, for there not
-only did he hope to find his father still alive,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>but to be re-united with his wife, the Princess
-Badoura. Inquiring therefore of the old gardener,
-he learned that there were two routes; the longer
-being for the greater part of the way by land&mdash;a
-year's journey, and the shorter by sea. 'But
-if,' said the gardener, 'you would go by sea,
-then you must wait for the merchant ship which
-sails every year to the Island of Ebony, for
-through that country lies your way. Had you
-but come a few days earlier, you would have been
-in time; but now the ship has left the harbour
-and will not return for another year. If you
-decide upon this course, then while you wait
-my house is open to you, and if you are willing
-to share my work and be my assistant, you shall
-also have a fair share of the profits.'</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman gladly accepted the proposition,
-for better by far is work, however hard or humble
-it may be, than the idleness of unavailing regret.
-So for a whole year he lived with the old gardener
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>as if he had been his son, wearing a blue smock
-down to his knees, working with a hoe, tending
-plants, tilling the soil, and carrying its produce
-for sale to the market. And every day he looked
-out over the sea for the merchant vessel which
-was to arrive and bear him back to his own
-country and to the arms of his beloved.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">Now turn we to the Princess Badoura, whom
-we left lying asleep in her tent. When she awoke
-she inquired after her husband, the Prince, but he
-was not to be found; some had seen him go into
-the tent, but no one had seen him come out. Then,
-as she put on her dress, she noticed that the knot
-in her girdle had been untied and that the stone
-was missing. 'Alas, O Beloved, what hast thou
-done?' she cried. 'Ignorant of its virtues thou
-hast taken from me the talisman which unites us;
-now surely if thou hast lost it we shall be separated
-for ever.' And as time went on her distress
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>and her certainty of misfortune became greater;
-for she knew that had not the Prince already lost
-the talisman its infallible virtues would by now
-have brought him back to her. Knowing therefore
-that if the talisman were indeed lost, he also
-was lost to her, and that when found, he would
-return to her again, she made no useless delay in
-proceeding to her destination. Yet was there now
-great peril if the absence of the Prince were discovered,
-lest she and her women and all the wealth
-which her father had bestowed on her might fall
-a prey to the men who formed their escort. For
-this reason she concealed the matter from all but
-her women, and having dressed herself in some of
-her husband's clothes, and put into her litter a
-girl-slave wearing the royal veil, she went forth
-from her tent and gave orders for the camp to be
-struck and their journey resumed. So, for many
-days she continued to travel by land and sea, till
-she came before a city set on a height with a great
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>harbour lying below; and when she inquired its
-name of the inhabitants they said to her, 'This is
-the city of Ebony, wherein dwells King Amanos,
-and he has a beautiful daughter whose name is
-Hayatelnefoos.'</p>
-
-<p>Presently word went to the palace that a
-stranger prince of very noble appearance, accompanied
-by a large retinue, had arrived in the
-harbour and was seeking admission to the city.
-Whereupon the King sent in haste certain high
-dignitaries of his court to give welcome and to
-conduct the supposed Prince into his presence.
-And no sooner had he beheld the noble appearance
-of his guest and the graciousness of her bearing
-than he gave orders for a great banquet to be
-prepared, appointed that she should be lodged in
-the palace, and extended to her for three days an
-entertainment of the most royal magnificence.</p>
-
-<p>During the whole of these festivities the
-Princess bore herself exactly as Camaralzaman
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>would have done, doing honour to that rank and
-name which for her own protection she had assumed.
-Therefore the heart of King Amanos
-was drawn greatly towards her, and when she
-began to speak of departure, he said, 'Wherefore,
-O Prince, shouldst thou seek to leave a country
-where happiness and power can be thine? For
-behold, I am an old man and childless, save for
-one daughter, whose beauty and perfection resemble
-thine. But, for me, the cares of state have
-become too heavy a burden, and I sigh to be
-released from them. Remain with us, therefore,
-and I will give to thee even now the hand of
-my daughter and the sceptre and rule of my
-kingdom.'</p>
-
-<p>At this proposal, so generously expressed, the
-face of Badoura became covered with bashfulness,
-for strange indeed to a woman was this offer of a
-kingdom and a bride. Yet at her father's court
-she had long since become learned in the affairs
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>of state, and to rule a kingdom had ever been her
-desire; moreover, since by the loss of the talisman
-she and her husband seemed destined to eternal
-separation, there was no cause that she could see
-why her life should not thus be dedicated; there
-was also some peril in a refusal, which the King
-would be certain to take as an affront both to
-himself and his daughter. So after pondering the
-matter for a while she lifted her head and spoke
-to the King as follows:</p>
-
-<p>'O King, if I delayed for one moment my
-acceptance of so splendid an offer, it was only a
-knowledge of unworthiness which held me back.
-Yet to delay longer might seem to throw a doubt
-on the discretion of your royal mind. Beset by
-these two dangers I place myself entirely in your
-Majesty's hands; and if I may have your promise
-of the guidance and counsel which I shall constantly
-need, then I will unreservedly accept your
-Majesty's proposal. To hear is to obey.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>The marriage being thus agreed on, the nuptial
-ceremony was fixed for the following day. The
-pretended Prince, putting a bold face upon the
-matter, informed the officers of her escort of the
-coming event, saying also that the Princess
-Badoura had given it her approval. As for her
-women, their silence was already assured since, as
-partners to the deception, their very lives depended
-on it.</p>
-
-<p>So on the morrow King Amanos gathered together
-his emirs, viziers, and captains, and having
-presented to them the Princess Badoura as his
-destined son-in-law and heir, he placed her upon
-the throne and gave orders for the nuptial
-ceremony to commence. And when the day
-of rejoicings was ended, the Princess Badoura
-was conducted to the bridal chamber.</p>
-
-<p>But no sooner did Badoura find herself by the
-side of the beautiful Princess Hayatelnefoos than
-the thought of her beloved Camaralzaman overwhelmed
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>her with grief, and committing herself
-to prayer and recitation, she continued at her devotions
-till the bride lay fast asleep. And thus she
-did the next night and on the night following.</p>
-
-<p>Finding herself thus neglected by the husband
-of whom she had received such glowing reports,
-the Princess Hayatelnefoos was filled with a
-depression of spirit which immediately became
-visible in her looks; and when her father, King
-Amanos, discerning his daughter's grief, inquired
-what was amiss, she informed him that her
-husband, whom she already loved most tenderly,
-had conceived for her an aversion so intense that
-to avoid all intimacy of conversation he committed
-himself to prayer, and thus continued till weariness
-and sleep overcame her.</p>
-
-<p>At this news the countenance of King
-Amanos was darkened, and he said to his
-daughter, 'If the Prince does not treat thee
-with the respect due from a husband to a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>wife, he shall be divested of his royal dignity
-and banished from my kingdom.'</p>
-
-<p>This threat so afflicted the heart of Hayatelnefoos,
-to whom the thought of separation from
-her husband was already unbearable, that on
-their next meeting she confided to Badoura her
-grief, informing her also of the King's words
-and of the danger that threatened her.</p>
-
-<p>Then said Badoura, 'O amiable and charming
-Princess, though thou canst not be my wife thou
-canst be my friend. Hear first my story, and
-then, if thou art unable to pardon me thou canst
-at least have the satisfaction of depriving me of
-life.' And forthwith she proceeded to give the
-full story of her adventures.</p>
-
-<p>When she had finished, Hayatelnefoos replied,
-'O Princess, I should indeed be unworthy of
-your confidence, if such a tale of misfortune had
-failed to win not only my pity, but my devotion.
-Henceforth we two are of one mind, and will
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>have between us but one heart and one desire
-for the preservation of thy life and honour
-and the restoration of thy husband.'</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl08"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Badoura Watching the Ship.<br />
-'It so happened as the ship came into the harbour, Badoura was
-looking out towards the sea.' (<a href="#Page_96">p. 96</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl08.jpg"><img src="images/pl08.jpg" alt="Badoura Watching the Ship" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>Thereupon the two Princesses embraced with
-the tenderest affection, and from that day on,
-concealing from all others the true facts, they
-lived together in the greatest amity and concord;
-while the Princess Badoura continued
-in her husband's name to rule over the city
-of Ebony, giving law and justice to all.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">Prince Camaralzaman, meanwhile, was living
-with the old gardener, tilling the soil, and carrying
-each day fruit and vegetables to the market.
-The time was now near for the merchant vessel
-which he was awaiting to return; but having
-lost the talisman of which he had come in quest,
-he had little hope of a successful issue to the
-adventure. So one day, when the inhabitants
-of the city were making holiday and all the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>markets were closed, the Prince, released from
-labour, sat in deep dejection of spirit under the
-trees of the garden away from the sound of
-festival, when suddenly he heard a strange cry
-of birds and in the leaves overhead he saw one
-furiously attacking another with beak and claw.
-So desperate was the fight, that before many
-minutes were over one of the birds fell dead at
-his feet, and the conqueror, uttering a loud cry
-of triumph, flew swiftly away.</p>
-
-<p>But hardly had it disappeared, when two
-other birds of larger size came flying into the
-garden, and making straight for the murdered
-body they bowed their heads over it, crying
-lamentably and seeking with the warmth of their
-breasts to restore it to life. Presently, when all
-their efforts proved vain, they scooped a grave
-with their claws, and having laid therein the
-slaughtered bird, they covered it with earth and
-immediately soared upward and disappeared.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>Camaralzaman sat weeping; for the mourning
-of these birds reminded him in some way of the
-grief and separation he himself had endured, and
-as little could he hope for the return of his
-lost happiness as they for the revival of their
-dead comrade. As he was thus thinking, once
-again came the strange cry he had heard before,
-and looking up he saw the two birds flying back
-carrying the murderer in their claws. No sooner
-had they alighted above the grave than falling
-upon their captive they tore out his heart and
-entrails, and having drained out his blood as an
-offering to the slain, they left the body lying, and
-flew away.</p>
-
-<p>All this while Camaralzaman had looked on
-in wonder; and surely it seemed to him that if,
-in the lower order of creation such miracles of
-devotion and service were wrought, humanity had
-no cause for despair. And even as he so thought,
-he saw in the torn body of the bird something
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>that shone brightly, and coming nearer he recognised
-it as the talisman which he had taken from
-his wife's girdle.</p>
-
-<p>Instantly all life became changed to him; seizing
-the stone he wiped it of blood and pressed
-it a thousand times to his lips. 'Now at last,'
-he cried, 'I believe and know that my beloved
-is to be restored to me!'</p>
-
-<p>So sure was he his good fortune had now
-returned to him that, unable to remain idle and
-inactive, he seized a hoe, and started to break up
-the ground at the foot of the tree under which
-he had been standing. At the third stroke the
-earth gave back a hollow and metallic sound.
-Quickly removing the soil he discovered a trapdoor,
-which, when it was opened, disclosed an
-aperture and a narrow flight of steps. Descending
-these he found himself in a deep cellar lined
-with jars, twenty in all, filled with red gold.</p>
-
-<p>Contentment now took hold of his spirit,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>and having returned to the garden he replaced
-the trap and continued at his work until in the
-evening the old gardener returned from the
-festivities.</p>
-
-<p>On seeing him the old man said, 'Rejoice, my
-son, I bring you good tidings. The ship which
-you have so long waited for is now in the harbour,
-and in three days will be ready once more to
-set sail.'</p>
-
-<p>This news so delighted Camaralzaman that
-taking the old man's hand he kissed it saying, 'I
-too have tidings for you of a happy kind.' And
-leading the gardener to the tree he lifted the trap,
-and disclosed to his astonished eyes the gold that
-lay stored below.</p>
-
-<p>'Well,' said the gardener, 'I am glad that my
-poor plot of ground should have yielded thee such
-rich fruit. Take it, my son, and Heaven prosper
-thee by its aid till thou come once more to thine
-own land and the heart of thy beloved.'</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>'Not so,' replied Camaralzaman, 'I will take
-nothing if I may not share it equally with thee.'</p>
-
-<p>So it was agreed. Then said the gardener,
-'My son, hast thou thought how to convey safely
-so much gold on a voyage where thou wilt be
-alone in the hands of strangers? Surely if they
-find thee possessed of such wealth they will kill
-thee for the sake of it. Hearken, therefore, to what
-I shall advise. From this country we send olives
-into all parts of the world, and many ships go
-laden with them. Fill for thyself, therefore, fifty
-jars from the olive-trees which are in this garden,
-and at the bottom of each jar lay a portion of the
-gold: so shall it be safe, and no man will know
-of it.'</p>
-
-<p>So the Prince did as the gardener advised;
-and fearing lest, while on the voyage, he himself
-might be robbed, he put the talisman along with
-the gold in one of the olive jars, marking it with a
-number so that he might know it again. Then
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>he made a bargain with the owner of the vessel,
-and on the third day the seamen came and carried
-away the jars and stowed them on board. And
-the captain said to Camaralzaman, who had accompanied
-them, 'Do not be long in returning, for the
-wind is fair and I only wait for you to set sail.'</p>
-
-<p>So Camaralzaman hastened back to say farewell
-to the old gardener and to thank him for all
-that he had done; but when he arrived at the
-house he found the old man so stricken with grief
-at his departure that he was already at the point of
-death. Camaralzaman therefore sat down by his
-bed and tended him, holding him by the hand and
-speaking many comfortable words; and toward
-evening, having made his profession of faith, as all
-good Mussulmans do, the old man let fell his head
-and expired.</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman closed his eyes, wrapped his
-body for burial, and having dug a grave in the
-garden, interred it. Then he went down in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>haste to the shore and found that the vessel had
-gone.</p>
-
-<p>Once again, therefore, despair returned to him,
-for now a second time the talisman was lost, and
-he had no hope of recovering it. Also he must
-needs wait another year before the ship could
-return and take him upon his way. So going to
-the landlord of the garden he became a tenant in
-the place of his dead friend, and hiding what remained
-of the gold in fifty other olive jars, he set
-to work once more as a gardener until the time
-should once more come round for him to
-embark.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">Meantime, under a favourable wind, the ship
-arrived at the island of Ebony; and it so happened
-that as it came into the harbour the Princess
-Badoura was looking out of one of the palace
-windows toward the sea. No sooner did her eyes
-rest upon the sails of that ship than her heart became
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>uplifted with joy. 'Surely,' she said to herself,
-'either my beloved is there on board or it
-brings news of him.'</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl09"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">Capture of Camaralzaman.<br />
-'The captain of the ship goes to capture Camaralzaman at the
-command of Badoura.' (<a href="#Page_99">p. 99</a>)</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl09.jpg"><img src="images/pl09.jpg" alt="Capture of Camaralzaman" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>So going down to the shore, accompanied by
-her emirs and attendants, she caused the master of
-the vessel to be summoned before her and inquired
-of him what merchandise he had brought. 'O
-King,' replied the captain, 'I have spices, drugs,
-aromatic scents, and sweet ointments; I have also
-rich fabrics and metal-work; and in addition to all
-these things I have olives such as are not to be
-found in any other country, and these, since I
-came by them fortunately, I can let you have cheap.'
-On hearing this a desire for the olives took
-hold of the Princess, and she said, 'What quantity
-have you brought?' 'Fifty jars,' answered the
-master; 'that is all I have.' 'Well,' said the
-Princess, 'I will take fifty.' And she paid him for
-them the price that he asked&mdash;a thousand pieces
-of silver.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>Now presently, when the olives had been
-conveyed to the palace, there came upon the
-Princess a strange desire to taste that which she
-had just purchased, so she gave orders for one of
-the jars to be opened and the contents to be
-poured into a dish; and as the attendant poured,
-first came olives and then a heap of red gold.</p>
-
-<p>Then said Badoura to the Princess Hayatelnefoos,
-who alone was with her, 'That is gold!'
-So she examined further and in every jar found
-gold in equal quantity. Presently as she emptied
-one of the jars, along with the gold came the talisman
-which Camaralzaman had concealed there;
-and no sooner did the Princess Badoura see it than
-she knew it again; and she showed it to Hayatelnefoos,
-saying, 'Lo, this is the stone whose loss
-hath caused our separation; now, finding it again,
-I know that my beloved will be restored to me.'</p>
-
-<p>Then she sent in haste and caused the master
-of the vessel to be brought before her, and she
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>said to him, 'Whence had you these olives?
-Tell me the truth, or you shall die!'</p>
-
-<p>Thereupon the master being smitten in his
-conscience dropped to earth and lay there,
-crying, 'Alas, I had them of a poor man who
-brought them himself to the vessel but did not
-return at the appointed time; therefore I sailed
-without him. Be assured, O King, that all the
-money I got for them shall be honestly paid to
-him.'</p>
-
-<p>Then said Badoura, 'As to that I care not.
-But go back straightway to that country from
-which you came and find the man and bring him
-to me, for he is a malefactor against the laws of
-this kingdom, for he hath stolen from me a
-precious thing dearer than life itself; therefore is
-his life forfeit. And if you fail to bring him,
-then all the merchandise which you have now
-brought I will hold, and no ship or merchandise
-of yours shall ever enter this port again.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>But if you bring him safely, I will reward you
-abundantly.'</p>
-
-<p>The master therefore, being so compelled, left
-his merchandise in bond and returned with all
-haste to the port from which he had set out, and
-there coming with his men to the house of
-Camaralzaman, he knocked; and no sooner had
-the Prince opened than, seizing him, they carried
-him off, and bestowed him on board the vessel as a
-prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>Camaralzaman said to them, 'Masters, why
-are you treating me thus?' They answered,
-'Thou art an offender and malefactor against the
-King of the Ebony Isles, son to the King
-Amanos, and hast stolen his wealth; yea, a
-precious thing hast thou stolen from him, and
-now he requires it of thee!'</p>
-
-<p>'Well,' said Camaralzaman, 'this is the first
-that I have heard of it.'</p>
-
-<p>So they bore him away, and after they had
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>sailed for some while they came again to the city
-of Ebony, and word was sent to the palace that
-the master of the vessel had returned bringing
-the King his prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>Then Badoura gave orders, and Camaralzaman,
-still in his workman's dress, his body wasted
-with grief, and his face and hands soiled with the
-defilements of his long voyage, came and stood
-before her. As soon as she saw him her heart
-leapt with joy, but she feared to reveal herself, for
-how would it appear to her emirs and chamberlains
-were she before all eyes to throw herself
-into the arms of a common gardener. Therefore,
-retaining her disguise, she spoke to him as a
-King should do to a peasant, and in a man's
-voice. And Camaralzaman, fearful of the unknown
-charge which was to be brought against
-him, stood before her with bowed head and
-did not look up.</p>
-
-<p>The Princess asked him but a few questions,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>of the country from which he had come, of the
-time that he had lived there, and what calling
-he had followed. Then she said to him, 'Be
-assured that if thou art innocent of that which
-is charged against thee, thine honour and integrity
-shall be made known to all. Even now
-if thou wilt confess to having taken a thing
-which is not thine and wilt restore it to me, I
-am willing to pardon thee, seeing that it was done
-without thought of evil.' But Camaralzaman
-hearing these words knew not what they meant,
-for his thoughts were all astray and he did not
-dream that it was of himself and of the talisman
-that she spoke.</p>
-
-<p>Then Badoura ordered an officer of her
-household to take charge of the prisoner and
-treat him with all care; and having recompensed
-the master of the vessel and set free his merchandise,
-she went in to Hayatelnefoos, and told her
-of all that had come about. And she said to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>her, 'O bosom-friend and comforter of my
-heart, be sure that what brings happiness to me
-shall bring it to thee also; for no fortune shall
-Heaven send me, nor any bliss, however great,
-that I am not ready to share equally with thee.'
-Then speaking of Camaralzaman she said, 'So
-great a distance divides in men's eyes what
-seems his present lot from ours, that it were
-peril to be sudden in this matter lest the truth
-of our story should not be believed. Therefore
-we must wait till of his own natural nobleness
-he shall have raised himself in the eyes of all.'
-And to this plan Queen Hayatelnefoos agreed.</p>
-
-<p>So the next day Badoura gave orders to conduct
-Camaralzaman to the bath; then she caused
-him to be clad in an emir's robes and brought
-forth where all might see; and lo! as a willow
-branch after rain or the planet of love shining at
-dusk, so seemed he then to the eyes of all.</p>
-
-<p>Then again she caused him to be brought
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>before her in the Hall of Judgment and pronounced
-him clear of all that had been charged against him.
-'For that which was precious to me,' she said,
-'has been restored; and other hands held it from
-me, not thine. Therefore as thou hast been
-proved true I will appoint thee to high honour.'
-Then addressing the emirs and councillors who
-were gathered about her she said, 'My lords, this
-Camaralzaman whom to-day I admit to my Councils
-is not unworthy of the high post which I confer
-on him; for not only have I tested him as ye
-have seen on an accusation whereof he is innocent,
-but he is a man of approved valour, of grace, and
-learning, being also a descendant of kings.'</p>
-
-<p>Great was Camaralzaman's astonishment at
-finding his name and lineage known to the King
-of the Ebony Isles; but not daring to question
-how his good fortune had come about he prostrated
-himself before the throne, saying, 'O King,
-only by thy favour have I been raised to this
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>honour, and by that alone can I either deserve
-or maintain it.' So the Council ended, and
-Camaralzaman was conducted to a large and
-sumptuous abode with slaves and attendants to
-wait upon him, and everything that his heart
-could desire save only his beloved Princess.</p>
-
-<p>After a few days Badoura, wishing to find
-occasion for Camaralzaman's more frequent presence,
-appointed him to the office of Grand
-Treasurer, and thereafter scarcely a day passed
-that she did not bestow on him fresh honours;
-while Camaralzaman, for his part, wondering why
-such high favours were shown him, served the
-King diligently, and was greatly respected not
-only by all the emirs and officials of the Court,
-but by the common people, who swore by his life,
-and would have asked no better than for such an
-one as he to be their ruler.</p>
-
-<p>So time went on, and ever did the wonder of
-Camaralzaman increase why he alone had been
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>chosen for such great honours. And because this
-thing seemed to him without reason, he came at
-last to fear it. Furthermore, for loss of his beloved,
-restlessness and the desire for travel filled his heart,
-and in no one place could he find happiness. So
-one day coming to the King&mdash;that is to say to
-Badoura&mdash;he spoke as follows: 'O King of the
-Age, so great is the favour that thou hast shown
-me, that I know well it cannot last. Suffer me
-therefore to depart before I have outstayed my
-welcome; so shall my gratitude be undiminished
-and the nature of thy regard for me unchanged.'
-When Badoura heard these words she smiled
-on him and said: 'If indeed it is thy will to
-depart, then must thou take and cast away once
-more&mdash;yea, lose utterly&mdash;this stone whose virtue
-brought thee back to me, and by which, while it
-is in my possession, our lives are bound.' So
-saying she reached out and put the talisman in his
-hand.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>When Camaralzaman beheld the stone once
-more his wonder was beyond words. 'O King,'
-he cried, 'whence came this to thee? For herein
-lies the cause of all my afflictions and separation
-from one whom I loved as my own soul.'</p>
-
-<p>'Surely,' answered Badoura, 'none can part
-from that talisman without estrangement and
-separation. And since now I have parted from it
-to thee, our separation must infallibly begin from
-this hour. Therefore the King of the Ebony
-Isles thou shalt see no more.'</p>
-
-<p>So saying she passed out of the chamber, and
-Camaralzaman stood and wondered, not knowing
-what to think.</p>
-
-<p>Then Badoura went in haste to a closet, and
-there she put on the dress and the girdle which
-she had worn on the day of separation; and taking
-from her head the man's turban, she spread her
-hair and put on a head-dress of fine gold delicately
-wrought. So she returned to him, and when
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>Camaralzaman saw her he uttered a cry and ran
-into her arms and held her with kisses as if he
-could never let her go. And when at last he
-spoke of things other than his joy&mdash;'How,' he
-inquired, 'has the King accomplished this miracle?
-Surely when he spoke I understood nothing of
-what he said.'</p>
-
-<p>Badoura smiled as she answered: 'When the
-King put the talisman into thy hand, then did his
-kingship cease, and he returned once more to his
-true form. O my lord, look upon thy king, who
-is now become thy slave. Surely hadst thou loved
-me a little more thou wouldst have known me.'</p>
-
-<p>Then she told Camaralzaman of all that had
-happened to her from first to last; and on the
-morrow she went to King Amanos, and to him
-also made her story plain. Nor would she allow
-that any deception had been used, 'For truly,' she
-said, 'I and my beloved are one; and I did but
-come before and prepare for him the place which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>he was destined to fill. Therefore when I married
-thy daughter, it was Camaralzaman who married
-her; and when I accepted of thee the crown, it was
-Camaralzaman who accepted it. Give me leave,
-therefore, O King, who hast been to me as a father,
-to show my beloved to the Queen whom I have
-won for him, and to the people over whom, in his
-name, I have ruled.'</p>
-
-<p>Greatly was King Amanos astonished to hear
-a woman utter such words; and the wonder of
-Camaralzaman was scarcely less. Yet, as she had
-brought fortune and happiness to both alike, they
-consented to do her will; and so it was agreed.</p>
-
-<p>Therefore from that day on did Camaralzaman
-take up the power and authority which Badoura
-had attained for him, rejoicing also in the domestic
-felicity of two wives, the one as beautiful as the
-other, each without jealousy, and having no wish
-or thought out of which estrangement could arise.
-Doubtless it was the perfect happiness in which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>he thus dwelt which caused Camaralzaman to
-forget altogether the object for which his journey
-had been begun. No second dream of his father,
-the King Shahzaman, ever came to remind him of
-his neglected purpose, while to the dominions of
-King Gaiour of China he had no wish to return.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>&nbsp;</p>
-
-<h2>Epilogue</h2>
-
-<p>'This, O King, is the story of Prince Camaralzaman
-and of the Princess Badoura from
-the time of their falling in love until the day when
-all their wanderings of separation were ended. A
-year later the two Queens each presented him with
-a son almost upon the same day. And the birth
-of these Princes was celebrated with every kind of
-festivity and rejoicing.'</p>
-
-<p>As Scheherazade concluded her story the
-light of dawn grew full. For a thousand and one
-nights she had given entertainment to her lord,
-saving at the same time the lives of her fellow-women.
-During this period she had borne the
-King three children, all with so strong a resemblance
-to their father that even he could find no
-cause in them for casting suspicion upon his wife's
-virtue.</p>
-
-<p>So the tale being ended Scheherazade rose, and
-having kissed the ground at the King's feet, said,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>'O King of the Age, perfect and incomparable, lo
-in dust and ashes I thy slave come to present to
-thee a petition.' And the King said, 'Ask, and
-it shall be granted thee.'</p>
-
-<p>Then Scheherazade called to her attendants
-and said, 'Bring in the children!' So they
-brought the children quickly; one of them
-walked, one crawled, and one lay at the breast.</p>
-
-<p>So she set them before the King, and said,
-'These children are thine and mine. In pain I
-bore them, having little hope of any joy that they
-might bring me; for under sentence of death I
-brought them into the world, and though thrice
-I have been a mother thou hast not yet pardoned
-me. Say, therefore, O King, when is my death to
-be; or, if it is not to be, then let my suspense be
-ended.'</p>
-
-<p>At these words the King wept; and embracing
-his children tenderly, cried: 'O Scheherazade,
-by Allah I swear to thee that before the coming
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>of these children thou wast pardoned already.
-Nor shall the death of such an one as thou be laid
-to my charge when Kings come before God to be
-judged.'</p>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><a id="pl10"></a>
-<img src="images/legend.png" width="266" height="235" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption">The Final Marriage Procession.</p>
-
-<hr class="r5" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
-<a href="images/large/pl10.jpg"><img src="images/pl10.jpg" alt="The Final Marriage Procession" /></a></div>
-
-<hr class="r35" />
-
-<p>Then Scheherazade fell down and kissed his
-feet and his hands, crying, 'God give thee a long
-life, and power and strength, and dominion and
-majesty to the world's end.'</p>
-
-<p>Joy of that news spread through the palace,
-and thence to the city and all the people; and
-the night of rejoicing that followed was a night
-not to be reckoned among lives, for its colour was
-as the rainbow in its promise over young fields of
-corn, and its light whiter than the face of day.</p>
-
-<p class="center" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 120%;">THE END</p>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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